Snippets

Lullaby of the Dead: Every Ghost Has a Story by Lynn Lamb My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was absolutely fascinating! From time to time, Landry isn’t likable, but she is heartbreakingly human. She learns, grows, and evolves from an office worker into a warrior with a purpose. This thriller/horror is well thought out in how all the supernatural elements work and interact with the real world. It was fascinating digging into each character's past and how they each feel about the present. There is a bit of a love story in there, but I wouldn’t say it’s the focus, but rather the seasoning. I’m eager to see how this world of the dead evolves throughout the series! Available on Amazon View all my reviews  on goodreads

Of Magic and Moonlight by Elena Lawson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Well now! We get to dig more into Harper’s past, as ghosts haunt her every step. We get some witches up to no good (though we don’t find out who they are), a vampire, and a secret room. As far as character development goes, we don’t get too much. This particular book is more plot-driven than character-driven. It feels a little bit short/abrupt because of it. There was also more of the Harper/professor relationship, which is a trope that I’m not a fan of. The relationship between Harper and her familiars is a bit lost in the action. The action itself was amazing! I really enjoyed the mystery and the “am I going crazy?” moments, including a certain ghost from the 1920s! Available on Amazon View all my reviews  on goodreads

Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold by Demelza Carlton My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a great reimagining of Beauty and the Beast! Great characters and an enthralling love story. I loved the combination of the enchantress and Beauty, turning an already strong character into something new. The beast curse made much more sense. The story combines various versions of the fairytale, coming up with a fresh take that also feels familiar in a comforting way. I can’t wait to dig into more of the series, and maybe see the comeuppance of a certain character. Available on Amazon View all my reviews  on goodreads

Awake by Jennifer Reynolds My rating: 5 of 5 stars Awake was unlike any other zombie apocalypse novel I’ve ever read! The story follows a former zombie, after receiving the cure. The opening was absolutely brilliant and sucked me right in. Throughout the story, you discover the character's history or as much of it comes back to Liv as she starts having dreams and flashbacks about being a zombie and before she was bitten. This was a fascinating look at the What If’s of zombies, delving into much more than survival into the rebuilding of society, prejudice, finding love, and starting life again with a fresh start (though not so much a clean slate!) if you love zombie fiction, I highly recommend Jennifer Reynolds’s books, especially this one, if you’re looking for something fresh in the genre! Available on Amazon View all my reviews  on goodreads

Born Bad by Sarah Noffke My rating: 5 of 5 stars Great wrap up of an awesome series! There were a few more wolf surprises in this book that I got super excited about. These weres are right up my ally! This also gave Adelaide a sweet finish to her story arc in this particular series. I hope to see more of her in other dream traveler books! As for the men in the story, I’m sure there’s plenty more to tell, but I really enjoyed their arcs, especially Conner’s. I finally got used to the narrators pronunciation of werewolves (she says “we’re-wolves” instead of “where-wolves”) and I appreciate the different voices she used for each character while not getting too ridiculous with men vs women tones. Available on Amazon View all my reviews  on goodreads

Corrupted Enchantment: When Fairy Tales Collide by C. Penticoff My rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting blending of tales First off, I loved the character of Robin Hood! I loved the classic character reimagined as a young girl. There were all sorts of fairytales in this book Everything from Rumplestilskin to Alice in Wonderland. I loved those parts. However, the political undercurrent was a little on the nose for my tastes (Rump running for president) and while I know social and political issues need addressing in literature, I found them a bit distracting. It made me feel a bit like I was watching the news, not reading a novel. Now, some readers will love that aspect, I’m just not the target for that particular story. Outside of the politics, there was some classic good versus evil moments, some fun character cameos, and a great ‘save the world’ aspect. I’m also wondering if there will be a sequel because there are plenty of characters that I’d love to get to know better!

Gifts for Readers: A travel mug   Keep those drinks hot and hard to spill! Personal Library Kit   Keep track of who's borrowing books or how many times you've read each book! Scotch Book Tape   Sometimes well-loved books need a little extra attention. Novel Teas   Nothing like a nice hot cuppa while reading a good book. Shhhh reading socks Book page holder   It might seem silly at first, but it's great for someone who's hands hurt or for reading and drinking that tea! Book Dragon Mug   One can never have too many mugs. Magnetic bookmarks   The description says for kids, but they won't fall out of your book and they're fun! Tote bag   Gotta carry all those libraries books Kindle Paperwhite   I love mine! It's easy to travel with! Books! Beauty is the Beast: Beasts Among Us - Book 1  by Jennifer Zamboni  Come on, you know I'm gonna mention my own books! Urban fantasy featuring werewolves, vampires, mythology, and all the what ifs! Pac

🌠 COVER REVEAL  🌠 RELEASING APRIL 21ST 2020- PRE-ORDER NOW SYNOPSIS: When Kairi Freemont happens upon a winged man on her parents’ Tennessee Ranch, she’s given what she’s wanted ever since the day she was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: An escape from the pain of her chronic, invisible illness. Through the power of the Aetherial Sun, Aro shows her there’s not only a place where her pain disappears but that she can live in a fairytale world of Unicorns, Fae, and magic she’s always wished was real. But when Kairi discovers that meeting Aro was no accident, that she may have lived a whole past life at Aro’s side before being stolen away by the monstrous Draconians, things start to spin out of control. Are the Draconians, a race of banished dragon riders who have long since lost their precious reptilian steeds, as monstrous as the rest of Aetheria believes? And what lies at the heart of Aro’s motivation behind sweeping Kairi off her feet? Is it simply flirtation and his desire t

NaNo is just around the corner and a big part of some writer's experience is meet-ups. Writing in a group is a different experience than writing at home in your own little nook. You may be expected to socialize *gasp*, I know writing is normally a task best performed alone. Let me back up and talk to you about what kick-off events and meet-ups are (I know, it sounds self-explanatory) Kick-off Kick-off events are put together to help a group get to know each other and each other's writing. Often times there is NaNo-swag, such as stickers and bookmarks. Some ML's put together goody bags, give out candy, or do giveaways. This year, I probably went overboard. It's my first time, and I'm excited! My goody bags include little notebooks, pens, stickers, bookmarks, gum, and hard candy. I'm also doing a door prize: a candy bucket with a coffee mug, chocolate, latte mix, bigger notebook, better pens, a stuffy to squeeze, and a fake plant (perfect for the for

Hungry For Blood by Sarah Noffke My rating: 5 of 5 stars I'm really loving this series (and finally getting used to the audio narrator's pronunciation of werewolf) Some are won, some are lost, and the action continues! Really, the narrative from novel to novel is one cohesive storyline. You get to know the characters little by little and we get to travel even deeper into what Olento research is cooking up. The 'Rabid Wolf' is terrifying, and it was awesome to see Zepher, in particular, step up to the challenge. The was also a moment between two characters that I've been looking forward to, and I'm hoping for more in the next book. I'm hoping at least some of the werewolves get their happily ever afters! Available on Amazon for $4.99 View all my reviews

I love research! Love it! Is that weird? I hope not. I really enjoy learning new things, and writing has given me the perfect opportunity to indulge in that.  What does research look like to you? How in-depth do you go? This year I have quite a bit to do. Today at the library I spent two hours researching only one topic, and I have so much more to do. I'll probably not get it all done before I start writing, but that's okay. I might find something that I need more information on while  I'm writing, and that's okay as well. As much as I love research, while I'm writing isn't when I indulge in it, it's too distracting for me. Perhaps you are able to take a breather and follow the research bunny trails, and that's awesome! Now, what I do when I run into something like this is leave myself a note, right in the text! I'll simply be going along and then I'll add some brackets, inside which I note down what I need to learn more about, then co

I know, I know, outlines aren't for everyone. However, they definitely are for me.  NaNoWriMo '11 (I think), I decided to try writing without an outline. I succeeded and won with just over 50,000 words, but I hated that novel. I haven't actually opened it since that November and I'm still intrigued by that particular idea, but I'm not ready to revisit it yet! I suppose you might not consider my outlines as traditional, it's more like a bullet point roadmap, and it works for me. Let me walk you through my progress. Step 1. After coming up with the initial idea, I sit there with some index cards and think about how I want things to happen. on each card, I note down a particular beat I want to hit. This year, I'm writing a romance, so my main focus is the relationship. I had a vague idea of how I wanted things to progress so I wrote down things like the circumstances of their first meeting, how they get to know each other, the first kiss, etc. I then f

Ypsilon and The Plague Doctor by Zachary Paul Chopchinski My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yahoo! Another amazing Hall of Doors book! Ypsilon and The Plague Doctor is an action-packed steampunk zombie science-fantasy. (Yeah, you read that right!) I can guarantee you've never read anything like this before. I don't know what goes on in Mr. Chopchinski's head, but it seems to be a strange and terrifying place. The monsters he has created for the world machine remind me a bit of Night Watch/Day Watch in that it's just a different kind of horror that you don't typically see in an American written novel (Night Watch is, I believe, written by a native Russian). It's fun to follow characters that I now know pretty well through different landscapes and genres. I feel like the preceding book in the series, Arija and the Burning City raised the bar on the series and this one meets it head-on, taking you into a place of comfort (the world machine) and turning everything i

Alpha Wolf by Sarah Noffke My rating: 5 of 5 stars Awesome! I was already familiar with Ms Noffke's work, so I was so excited to learn she was working on a series featuring werewolves. This book was awesome! This series takes place in the same world as the rest of Ms Noffke's book, so at the heart of it are the Dream Walkers. The werewolves are the result of science and are a cool new take on the whole idea. Ren might not be there, but his trademark snark continues on in his daughter, Adelaide, which I totally appreciate. I love how her character is explored in this story, as the woman underneath. As for the werewolves themselves, you meet three of the 12 men in this story, and I loved all of them. I'm intrigued and am looking forward to getting to know them better as they hunt down the rest. View all my reviews

How do you create your characters? Do you discover them as you write, or do you have a firm picture in your mind? When I write a new character, I like to get to know them pretty well, before I start torturing fitting them into the story. I do a fairly thorough questionnaire, then I free write/interview them to get a feel for their voice. The following is the character builder I did for Percy before I started Beauty is the Beast. (Warning: There may be spoilers if you haven't read Beauty is the Beast yet. Also, things tend to change and grow as I write. This is just the original stream of consciousness interview) Who Is Percy? ⦁ What is the character’s name? Persephone, Proserpine ⦁ How old is the character? Very, appears to be in her thirties ⦁ Who were the character’s parents? Demeter (Ceres) Dionysus (Bacchus) ⦁ Where was the character born? What were the circumstances of the birth? Did anything unusual happen? What is the character’s relationship with his/h