A SHADOWED SPIRIT BY SARA C. SNIDER

Okay, peeps, I'm doing something entirely new and different here.  A blogging friend has a book coming out, and I have the honor of posting about it.

Isn't the cover soooo pretty?  I just love the feel of it.  

The muted background  enhances the gold sparklies.

Where to find the Awesomeness:

Kobo
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play 
Goodreads 

Plus, she is having a giveaway on her blog between May 17th through the 31st.

So swing on over and try your luck!

The mystical Blurb: 

She used to be called Emelyn. She used to be nobody. Now she is Siyan--a creature of magic known as an And'estar. But Siyan doesn't understand what that means, just as she can't control the power that has woken within her.

Addigan worked her entire life to master the Art of magic and become a respected Magister, only to fail her final test. Scarred and desperate to prove her worth, Addigan pursues rumors of trees of power and a mysterious people called And'estar.

When Siyan heads into the dense and dangerous forest searching for answers, she doesn't realize Addigan is coming for her. In this twisting chase of hunter against hunted, Addigan must choose how far she is willing to go to prove herself. And Siyan must let go of everything she knows--and everything she loves--if she is to gain control over her power. Even if it kills her.

In a journey that follows the intertwined lives of two women, A Shadowed Spirit is a mystical tale that redefines the boundaries between life and death, dreams and reality, and what one is willing to sacrifice to achieve the happiness she seeks.

And last but not least Where to find the Author:

Blog
Facebook 
Twitter
Pinterest

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #6 A BOOK WITH A NUMBER IN THE TITLE

Book 2 One False Note

One False Note is the second book in the 39 Clues.  In this book, the two Cahills, Amy and Dan, travel into Germany and Vienna following the musical clue from the first book.  They follow the life of Mozart and of his sister as they try to find the next clue.  It's a race against others who are ruthless enough to kill.

With death-defying explosions, mystery, and adventure, they do pack a wallop. They have historical figures, places, and facts all throughout the book, but in such a way that I wasn't realizing I was learning things.  The books take those historic figures like Mozart, Ben Franklin, and Marie Antoinette and have them connected through the fictional Cahill family.

These books are in the Juvenile section of my public library.  Written by various authors including David Baldacci, Rick Riordan, and Margaret Peterson Haddix.  I picked up the first on a whim, and I must say that they are quite fun little books.

I would definitely recommend them.

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #5 -- BOOK WITH A ONE WORD TITLE

Infinity

I've read a couple of books by Sherrilyn Kenyon under her pseudonym of Kinley MacGregor.  I have not read anything of her Dark Hunters series.

This is a spin-off of that series.  It has characters from the main, romance series showing up in this first book, including Kyrian from Night Pleasures and Acheron from -- well, Acheron.  Heh heh.

It had some great LOL moments.

I liked it enough that I'm going to read the second book, which you will probably see here as a different Challenge entry.  That is, if I don't find something different to fill the category.

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #3 -- A BOOK FROM AN AUTHOR YOU LOVE THAT YOU HAVEN'T READ YET

Snow Kisses

Okay, I admit I really like her books.  There are more hits than misses with this author for me, which is a miracle.  

The two novels in this book are Snow Kisses and Lionhearted.  I've read Lionhearted before but Snow Kisses was new.  They are reprints of some of her older works.  I love reprints because I can read older works without having to scrounge for them.  

Abby and Cade are at odds with each other.  She left for New York at eighteen after he rejected her.  Four years have passed, yet they haven't figured out how to tell each other about their feelings and the misunderstanding it caused in the past and present.  All the drama and angst is there as they fumble around trying figure out what each other wants instead of just talking.  

Gotta love romance novels.  

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #1 AND #2 -- GRAPHIC NOVEL AND COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

MeruPuri: Märchen Prince by Matsuri Hino

Meru Puri is a fun little quartet of manga.  It's about a normal girl, obsessed with a romantinc TV show, that finds out that love is more than what her naive plans think.  

Airi Hoshino meets Aram when he magically appears through a mirror.  She doesn't know that her life will soon be entangled in his.

Aram is on the run from his older brother who tried to curse him.  He seeks refuge from his world in Airi's home.  

It's one misadventure after another as Airi and Aram trek through a mire of court intrigue, their feelings, and a host of slightly psychotic characters.  

This is a collections of short stories by Patricia Wrede the author of many wonderful tales.  It has a couple of short stories that go along with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.  It also has a great chocolate cake recipe that has hilarious instructions.  I mean how can you go wrong with a name like Quick After-the-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake.  

There are also other diverse tales like one that is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and an urban fantasy one that has the girl trying to choose her own destiny. 

A READING CHALLENGE

I found this reading challenge on a blog.  Don't ask me where because I couldn't tell you if I tried. *Edit:  POPSUGAR

Anywho, I'm going to try to accomplish it.

What is really awesome is that I ticked one off without even trying.  It was to read a graphic novel.  Oops!  I was reading MeruPuri: Märchen Prince by Matsuri Hino (aka Vampire Knight author).

So I will try to post about my accomplishments in this challenge.

You can see the entire list on my 2015 Reading Challenge page in which I will have pretty covers of the books I have chosen.  The order of them will change as I tick off each one.

FAIRY TALE TO MUSIC

My lovely blogging buddy, writing pal, and all-around fabulous lady, Samantha Redstreake Geary is having another writing contest!!!

SQUEE!!!

Really Slow Motion has a new album coming out.  It's called Of Mist and Magic.  I've listened to one of the songs and it is beautiful.

The prompt is a piece from the album.  In 500 words or less, retell a classic fairy tale and post it to her blog.

It's due before December 1st, peeps.

Not only can you win a digital copy of the album, but there is a chance to be published in companion anthology!!!  That's right, peeps.  Published.  That lovely magic word any writer aspires to have in their bio.

So, go forth and write.

HERE IS THE YOUTUBE LINK TO THE SONG:  THE ETERNAL REST OF A RONIN

NANO TIME!

It's that time of year again!  It's the time of coffee, writing, coffee, writing, and STRESS!  That's right, folks!  It's NaNoWriMo time!  Woot!

30 days and 50k words.  Not that I have won.  I think I hit 15k last year.  So, I'm going for again this year.  

What can I say?  I like it!  I am masochistic enough to do it again for the third . . . Or is fourth time?  I don't remember.  

It is fun and rewarding.  So join in the crazy and write 'till your brain oozes out your ears and your fingers are numb!

REUTSWAY: THE RETURN!

Reuts

That's right Peeps!  Reuts is unfurling the red carpet on the second round of crazy madness for NaNo.

Not only that they have a sign up for the the cover reveal and blitz for the release of last year's project!

So if you have trouble with NaNo (Like Me!) then this will be a great opportunity for prompt writing under pressure!  Stress and coffee and coffee and coffee . . . and that brick wall staring you in the face called --DU DU DUN! -- The Deadline!!

Muhahahaha!!

Come join the fun!  

HALLOWEEN IS COMING! BLOG HOP ANTICIPATION!

So next month is October and the best holiday (IMO) is coming up!  HALLOWEEN!  WOOT!

As I cannot stop myself from just going all out, I have signed up for the Halloween Blog hop.  Sara Snider is hosting it.  Clicky on her name and join up.

Write a story, post an image, or do just about anything really as long it's Halloween related.

The rules for this blog hop are:

1. Add your blog using the link tool found on Sara's Page.
2. Grab the button to put on your blog to help spread the word (optional).
3. On Halloween (Oct. 31), post your short story, poem, artwork, or whatever on your blog.
4. Visit other people’s blogs to see what they’ve posted.
5. Have fun!

O.L.L.E. HOW I LOVE THEE!!!

Today my family went to the park.  Not an unusual occurrence, true, but this weekend is special.  Today is the annual Frontier Days weekend.  There all various booths from out of town and local selling things  Community parade, games, competitions, and all sorts of things.

Every year,  for I don't know how long, my family waits for this event because of our favorite booth: the O.L.L.E. stand.

What is an O.L.L.E.? you ask.

It is a drink.  It's a combination of lemon, lime, orange juice (fresh from the fruit) with ice and maraschino cherries.  Or mana from heaven.

 With the sun beating down and the temp at 90+ degrees Fahrenheit (32+ Celsius), it is the most fantastic tasting thing.  So refreshing.

I drool thinking about it.

What's great is that they have cups that you can buy and then reuse every year.  It drops the price of a large drink by a dollar fifty.

Also, they have plain lemon, lime, or orange ades.  And you can get them sans cherries too for a more  tangy flavor.

Well, all I can say is that I'm dosed up on vitamin C.

And I can't wait to do it again next year!