Month: November 2017

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Book Review- The Other Sound (Balancers Book 1) by N. C. Stow

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The Other Sound
(Balancers Book 1)
N. C. Stow

5 Stars

Stow has given us an imaginative world with a rich history to explore. Her characters are deep and run the gamut of what one should expect in a fantasy novel. There are unlikely heroes, friendships betrayed (or are they?), creatures of mythical and magical proportions, and a few old codgers you can’t help but laugh at. I enjoyed the wit and comedic elements sprinkled into the rampant action scenes.

Tebby awakes one night to a strange sound emanating from her father’s library. When she discovers a talking book, you know things are just going to get weirder. Soon she and her friend Aiden are separated in a strange other world. With her constant companion, the voice in her head she named Nasty Giggles, Tebby sets out to discover how to learn the “knowing” in order to “do the doing” of Balancing. Reality is in danger and Balancers are the only hope the two have.

Will Tebby and Aiden be reunited? Can they solve the mystery of Balancing in time to prevent catastrophe? Grab a copy of “The Other Sound (Balancers Book 1)” and find out today.

Grab your copy on Amazon

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Guest Post – Calliope Jones and The Forests of Mist by Haylie Machado Hanson

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Hello, readers! I’d like to apologize in advance if this blog is incoherent. I’m bone-tired from being up all hours of the night feeding Girl Spawn, who coincidentally came early on launch week. Two October babies for me, what a lucky gal I am!

The biggest news I have (writing-wise, I happen to think Girl Spawn joining the world is pretty big news) is that Calliope Jones and The Forests of Mist launched on Amazon on October 21st!* I’m so excited for you guys to be able to download it and read it. I hope you love it. I know I do, but I’m biased. So please, download it, read it, review it! Beta feedback for this book is better than the first, and I tend to agree.

And with that, I’m off, since Girl Spawn forgot I just fed her, like, 15 minutes ago. My literary baby is far less demanding. And doesn’t keep me up all night. Well, I can’t promise my literary baby won’t keep you up all might until you finish it. In fact, I wish you many sleepless nights as you Dive into Callie’s exciting new adventure!

You can find Forsests of Mist here.

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Meet The Author Monday – Wanda Luthman

‘My Gentle Readers, we are joined today by children’s author, Wanda Luthman. In the usual style, my comments/questions will be in BLUE and Wanda will be in GREEN.

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Thank you for joining us today, Wanda. I always like to ask my guests what brought them into the literary world. What were your early reading experiences like? Favorite books?
I love spiritual books, Sci fi books, and a fun rom com! I have always loved reading and writing. I wrote many books as a kid and in college, I studied literature. I always wanted to publish a book but never really knew what it would be until one morning a story came to me that I had to write down. That began my publishing career. I’ve never been happier!

I think that feeling of “having to” write is what separates real writers from those who casually say, “I want to write a book someday”. What genre gets you excited to read these days?
Spiritual books. I honestly can’t read enough about the journey inward and upward!

How would you describe your path from reading to writing?
I would say I was a writer before I was a real reader. I was painfully shy as a kid and writing was how I communicated. I enjoyed telling fantasy stories. What actually opened the door to me to write to publish was some kind support from a friend. She promised to help me. Since I didn’t know anything about publishing, her support gave me the feeling that together we would figure it out.

Sounds like a great friend. Hold onto her for sure. So your chosen genre is children’s books. Tell us about your journey to publication.
I tried to get professionally published. I even had a positive response but once I did a re-write, I never heard back from him.
So I pursued self-publishing and I’ve never looked back. I love being an indie author!

Being an Indie Author certainly has its perks. The full creative control is a great feeling. When you aren’t writing, how do you spend your time?
I am a High School Guidance Counselor. For hobbies, I enjoy cycling and baking!Ha! Good combo, right?
I am married 23 years now and my daughter is away at college.

Cycling and baking seem to be a good yin/yang combination. What would you say your goal as a writer is? What do you hope to accomplish with your creative work?
I hope to inspire youth through magical adventure stories to be the best they can be!

A wonderful goal to pursue, and right in line with your chosen career path. You are definitely a double whammy. Thank you again for stopping by Wanda.

If anyone would like to find out more about Wanda and her work, you can find her at the below links.

Website
Twitter
Instagram

If you would like to be a guest on Meet The Author Mondays, just Click Here to find all the details and submit your information.

 

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Book Review – A Trinity of Wicked Tales – Jilted, by Kyla Ross

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A Trinity of Wicked Tales – JIlted
Kyla Ross
4 Stars

Today my Gentle Readers is a delightfully dark quick read. This one is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart as this one comes with a sexual content and gore warning label. Nevertheless, I found the twists in these tales to be surprising. The author does a good job setting you up for a shock.

Junk for Two – Explore the power over life and death with Trev, a junkie who would do anything in the world for his love, Suzie.

Iris – Betrayal makes for a bitter heart in this tale of a twice-burnedwoman and what happens when presented with a third familiar scene.

Phil – Phil is always in control. He wields power over his life and the perceptions of his existence like an iron-fisted monarch. That is until it comes to a screaming halt. How will he take back his control?

If you like dark and twisty stories and won’t shy away from a little blood or sexual talk, then pick up Kyla Ross’s book today.

Find this one on Amazon.

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Meet The Author Monday – Jenn Bregman

Today, my Gentle Readers, I have a lawyer turned author for you to meet. Jenn Bregman’s first book, The TimeKeepers, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. As usual, I will have my questions/comments in BLUE and Jenn will be in GREEN.
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Jenn, Thank for coming to visit us today. Let’s jump right in and get to know you. Tell us about your early reading experiences.
I have been a voracious (yes, think giant dinosaur teeth!) reader since I was a kid. During elementary school, I would hop on my bike, go to the library every day in the summer, check-out as many books as I could fit into my basket, pedal home, read them all, and then repeat the next day. I just couldn’t get enough books! And I had friends, so go figure? It must have been whatever secret sauce was in those books . . .

That sounds like a great summer to me. After you finished devouring whole libraries as a kid, what genre did you settle on as a favorite?
I love my genre — thrillers! I also love the subcategories — legal thrillers, mysteries, historical thrillers. And I love biographies of people I admire.

What made you cross that line from just devouring these books to creating one of your own?
It really was the process of writing on Law Review in Law School and then writing my article that got published in the UCLA Law Review. The reason, I think, was that it was SO hard. Every part of it was hard. The research, writing, and editing were incredibly demanding and I didn’t know if I could do it. But then, when it was done and published, I thought maybe, just maybe, I could write. And I was proud of the effort and the product. “Trial” so to speak, by fire!

Very punny for a lawyer *wink*. I’m guessing on your particular flavor to write, but do you find yourself dabbling into other areas or sticking with the one path?
I only write legal thrillers, with perhaps some elements of mystery and history mixed in. That is my voice.

Admirable that you have found your niche. Run with it. We can’t let Grisham have all the best legal thrillers. Tell us a little about your journey as a writer.
I love that you use the word “journey,” because it is. First, you need to have something that you “have” to write, it’s not enough to “want” to, you need to “have” to. Then, of course, is the actual writing followed by editing, editing and more editing. After that initial process, I contacted an agent who I knew through a friend, who was wonderful and supportive and gave me some very good ideas about how to improve the work. I implemented those and then was lucky enough to receive even more helpful advice from other agents and friends. My biggest surprise about the whole process was the kindness many showed me by people in the industry. Criticism was truly constructive and given gracefully and with a generous spirit. These people gave me the greatest gift of all — their time — and for that, I am forever grateful.

Sounds like you have some great connections. Maybe I can borrow them one day. Just kidding. When you aren’t taking the legal world, literary and for real, by storm, what keeps you busy?
I am a crazy adventurer and love running marathons, hiking fourteeners, scuba diving and other physical pursuits that challenge me and scare me. I adore my family and friends and spend a lot of time with both. And, although I’m not practicing law anymore, I enjoy working with my bar associations and their causes. I also try to do one thing that stretches me (either physically — ha!, emotionally, intellectually or spiritually) every day.

That sounds like a great philosophy. Did you have anything else you wanted to share with my readers?
Finally, it seems that a lot of us crazy readers are also crazy closet writers. As I answered the question about the “journey” above, it struck me that we all have our journey and our story to tell. So, whoever, is reading this, I encourage you to tell your story if you at all want to. Write it. Don’t criticize it, just finish it. Who knows? It might be really good.

Sound advice, Counselor. Something that everyone should take under advisement. Thank you again for stopping by, Jenn.

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If you want to find out more about Jenn or her book, The TimeKeepers, you can find her at the following links.

Website
Facebook Page
Twitter
Instagram

If you would like to be a guest on Meet The Author Mondays, just Click Here to find all the details and submit your information.

 

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Guest Post – Kitty Boyes, “Her Brother’s Keeper”

Have you ever helped out a stranger only to have it turn your normal life into something that resembles a nightmare?

Arina did.

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After a dead man is discovered in one of her motel units, his only relative, an older sister, asks Arina to help her. The sister believes her brother was murdered.

Despite being dissuaded from getting involved, true to form, Arina dives in. Head first.

Without knowing exactly what she was getting into, she inadvertently puts lives on the line. Including the life of her two-year-old son, Ben.

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Money laundering and multi-million-dollar tax evasion scams are uncovered. Ruthless and desperate people will do all they can to avoid detection to protect their interests. Including murder.

Book Three ‘HER BROTHER’S KEEPER’ of the Arina Perry Series takes a phycological ride on the wild side.

Released in e-book late November 2017 and in paperback late December 2017.

Find it on Amazon Here.

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Book Review – Curse Breaker by Melinda Kucsera

Curse Breaker: Enchanted

Melinda Kucsera

4 Stars

Today, my Gentle Readers, I have an excellent fantasy book for you. Melinda Kucsera delivers a fully realized fantasy world with enough background to bring it to life without burying us in a history lesson. There were a few awkward proofing errors, and missing punctuation, but not enough to put me off from finishing this book.

Sarn possesses magic in a world that has spent a long time eradicating magic. Beholden to the Lord of the Mountain and the Rangers, he tries to keep to his promises and protect his son from discovery. There are those who distrust Sarn’s magic, those that just want to use him, but most are unaware of his gift.

When the magical forest surrounding his home decides Sarn needs to see a clearing of horrendous murders, Sarn is forced to face the capricious magic within. Armed with the seemingly moody force within his blood, and a ghost boy who tries to guide him, Sarn must unravel the mystery of the deaths and how it is connected to his own battered past. When the forces seem to be targeting his son as well, Sarn goes on the offensive, defying his Masters instructions at almost every turn.

Can Sarn protect his son, unravel the mystery, and keep his growing magic in check? If you want to know you’re going to have to read the book, because I’m not spoiling it for you.

Curse Breaker:Enchanted on Amazon

Melinda Kucsera’s Website