Virtual Tour w/Giveaway: Blackbird Summer by Em Shotwell

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BLACKBIRD SUMMER

A Blackbird Summer Series Novel

Em Shotwell

Releasing April 5th, 2016

City Owl Press

When people fear the unknown, being Gifted is a curse.

In the cornerstone of the rural south, Brooklyn, Mississippi, no one dares make eye contact with the strange Caibre family. Until the rewards are worth the cost. The townsfolk come, cash in hand, always at night, to pay for services only a Gifted can provide.

No matter the Gifts prevalent in her family, at twenty-one, Tallulah is expected to follow the path laid out for her: marriage, babies, and helping her mama teach the family home school program. She’s resigned to live the quiet life and stay out of trouble…until she meets Logan.

An outsider and all around rebel, Logan doesn’t care about her family’s reputation. Yet after a tragic loss wreaks havoc on the crumbling relationship between the Caibres and the townsfolk, Tallulah must decide if love and freedom are worth risking everything.

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Love & Sisterhood: Tallulah & Delia

BLACKBIRD SUMMER is the story of a family of outsiders who are desperately trying to hang on to their place in a world that doesn’t have room for them. It touches lightly on prejudice and overcoming hate and the importance of family.

But at its heart, BLACKBIRD SUMMER is a love story. Not only does it focus on the story of star-crossed twenty-somethings Logan Hosteen and Tallulah Caibre, but it also tells the story of another kind of love. Central to the book is the most complicated form of love that there is: the love between sisters. Tallulah and Delia, like a lot of sisters, are night and day. They are summer and winter. They love each other fiercely—but on the surface they don’t have much in common outside of their crazy, strange family.

Lets Meet Them!

Name- Tallulah Caibre

Age- 21 years old

Hair & Eye Color- Dark brown and always in a pony-tail. Her eyes are “Gifted” green.

Gift- Suggestion…maybe more.

“If I could lock eyes with someone, I should be able to plant an idea in their subconscious. Like a seed, the idea should stretch out and grow, twining and snaking through their mind, covering it like a weed. In the end, sometimes days later, the person shouldn’t even realize the idea wasn’t their own.”-Tallulah Caibre talking about her Gift.

Tallulah is the older sister. She is practical, hard-working, and even at 21, still kind of a tom-boy. Tallulah is smart as a whip, but a little awkward around “outsiders.” She dreams of doing more with her life, but because of the strict rules that govern her family, she doesn’t see how it’s possible. Of course…all of this changes during through the course of the summer…

allulah loves her sister but thinks that Delia is immature and a little shallow.

“For Delia, every payday may meant a new purse or outfit, but I was fine with my cut offs and t-shirts, thank you very much.” -Tallulah Caibre talking about her style.

Name- Delia Caibre

Age- 18 years old

Hair & Eyes- Medium brown and always flat ironed or curled. Her eyes are “Gifted” green.

Gift- Charm. And boy does she use it.

“A sort of glazed look came over Shanon and I could practically see her will turn to mush, leaving her as pliable as clay, ready and wanting nothing more than to please my sister. The happy current of Delia’s Gift rolled off of her so strongly I could feel it from where I sat in the truck. I counted it as a not so small blessing that Delia’s Charm only worked on those unGifted.”- Tallulah Caibre, talking about Delia’s Gift of Charm.

Delia is the younger sister (and seems to be my readers’ favorite). She is a little bossy, fickle, but also loveable. Like her older sister, she is shrewd. But unlike Tallulah, Delia never meets a stranger. She speaks her mind and is always figuring out ways to get what she wants. She is up to date on fashion, her make-up is always “done” Every penny she earns is spent on outfits and bags. She loves her sister fiercely, but thinks that Tallulah can be a little bit of a downer and worry-wart.

“I waited in the parking space while Delia strode across the lot, her hips moving from side to side, purposefully drawing the attention of anything with a Y chromosome. Two teenage boys stared as she moseyed by, their shared cigarette held between them, forgotten. Delia looked at them over her shoulder, lapping up the attention like a stray puppy.”-Tallulah Caibre, annoyed at her sister’s antics.

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Em Shotwell is the author of Blackbird Summer with City Owl Press. She believes the most interesting characters are the ones who live on the sidelines, and that the smallest towns often hide the biggest secrets.

Em’s characters will bless your heart between sips of sweet tea- but be warned! There is often more to them than meets the eye. She loves to craft stories around outcasts and weirdos with a spark of magic and a penchant for finding trouble.

She lives in South Louisiana with a husband who spoils her and two mini-superheroes who call her mom. When she isn’t writing about misfits and oddballs, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, and debating Doctor Who facts with her obsessed ten year old.

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