Hubs and I purchased our dream home, and we're elated.
We also had a plan in place for things to accomplish before we move in. First on the list: New carpeting throughout. Final papers were signed October 2nd. Two hours later hubs and I were in the house and started ripping up carpet in the formal dining room.
Imagine our surprise when we discovered pristine oak tongue and groove hardwood floors...that extended through the formal living room and down one hallway. That's the kind of thing you hear about happening to other people but never happens to you, right?
The next day we pulled up the carpet in each hallway on two sides of the atrium, hoping to find more hardwood. Unfortunately, we found an awful, orange-colored linoleum...which didn't make sense because it looked terrible next to the beautiful hardwood.
But, you can't have everything, right?
And then we discovered a chipped corner of the linoleum and found a light colored stone underneath. I held my breath as hubs stripped a large piece of linoleum away to reveal travertine tiles. All I could think was WOW!
Hubs shook his head and smiled at me. "How did we get so blessed?"
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Righting My Universe
Okay, I admit I've been off my game lately.
My blog is languishing and writing anything new is on hold. Having limited time to do things I want to do has been driving me crazy...but I'm a firm believer in the bigger picture. You know, everything happens for a reason. There's a cosmic plan in place and I have a part in it.
So I sat down and meditated yesterday. Cleared my head of all the stuff and just was. I opened my eyes an hour later and nearly floated to my office. Everything made sense.
My transcript load has been insane for the last 18 months. I've struggled, trying to keep up with appellate court deadlines and still write. Work feeds my family. Writing feeds my soul. Since work hasn't gotten any less busy, these last few months I've questioned whether I should keep trying to write.
Then we discovered our dream home was for sale--below market value.
It was fluke. I tapped a real estate map on my iPad and randomly landed on the listing. I called the real estate agent. Never got a call back. Two weeks later we stopped by the house to look at it from the outside. The owner was there mowing the lawn. He showed us the house. Told us three other people were interested and working on closing a deal.
Two months later, we still hadn't heard any word on the other deals. So, we decided to purchase a different house. Three hours after talking to the builder, the first home owner called us and offered to sell us our dream home. We signed papers and started the process. Crazy things had to happen for us to have a shot at buying this home (including the extra funds my unusual transcript load provided), but things kept falling our way.
We're supposed to close on the house this afternoon or some time Tuesday.
My point with all this?
I believe there truly is a larger plan than the small pieces I see or try to understand. No matter how difficult or stressful, each circumstance I've encountered has happened for a reason. This last 18-months has led my family to the next milestone in our lives...the last home we ever plan to buy.
This home is where our growing family will gather, celebrate holidays together, where our grandchildren will run and play. It's the home my husband and I will live in together when the last of our four daughters move out on their own. The home where we'll sit on the porch, years from now, reliving all the memories we're going to make.
My blog is languishing and writing anything new is on hold. Having limited time to do things I want to do has been driving me crazy...but I'm a firm believer in the bigger picture. You know, everything happens for a reason. There's a cosmic plan in place and I have a part in it.
So I sat down and meditated yesterday. Cleared my head of all the stuff and just was. I opened my eyes an hour later and nearly floated to my office. Everything made sense.
My transcript load has been insane for the last 18 months. I've struggled, trying to keep up with appellate court deadlines and still write. Work feeds my family. Writing feeds my soul. Since work hasn't gotten any less busy, these last few months I've questioned whether I should keep trying to write.
Then we discovered our dream home was for sale--below market value.
It was fluke. I tapped a real estate map on my iPad and randomly landed on the listing. I called the real estate agent. Never got a call back. Two weeks later we stopped by the house to look at it from the outside. The owner was there mowing the lawn. He showed us the house. Told us three other people were interested and working on closing a deal.
Two months later, we still hadn't heard any word on the other deals. So, we decided to purchase a different house. Three hours after talking to the builder, the first home owner called us and offered to sell us our dream home. We signed papers and started the process. Crazy things had to happen for us to have a shot at buying this home (including the extra funds my unusual transcript load provided), but things kept falling our way.
We're supposed to close on the house this afternoon or some time Tuesday.
My point with all this?
I believe there truly is a larger plan than the small pieces I see or try to understand. No matter how difficult or stressful, each circumstance I've encountered has happened for a reason. This last 18-months has led my family to the next milestone in our lives...the last home we ever plan to buy.
This home is where our growing family will gather, celebrate holidays together, where our grandchildren will run and play. It's the home my husband and I will live in together when the last of our four daughters move out on their own. The home where we'll sit on the porch, years from now, reliving all the memories we're going to make.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Reviewing Your World
Cleanse Fire: The Kinir Elite Chronicles, #1
By Anastasia
Pergakis
Ecopy provided by author
Rating:
3 Stars
Captain Derac Vidor takes pride in
leading his team of Elite Kinir warrior elves. Serving his country by
protecting the weak and rescuing those in need fill his life—until an act of
betrayal threatens not only himself but every member of his team. He will stop
at nothing to discover who is trying to kill them and why.
Let me start by saying I enjoyed Cleanse
Fire. As a debut author, Ms Pergakis is off to a great start. The main male
protagonist, Derac Vidor, is an interesting character with internal conflict
that is driven by his sense of integrity and honor. The right balance was struck
between moral fiber and not overly stiff and prudish.
Several other members on the team are
worth noting as well. Kie is a strong female with issues of her own. They are
revealed through the course of the book and not all at once, and I liked
learning about her in active scenes as the plot unfolded.
Tyn, as Derac’s best friend, is a very
likeable character. He had his friend’s back no matter the situation and always
looked for the positive from each team member. Rakan, Jardel and Aeli are all
secondary characters with distinct personalities that added to the story as
well.
With all the positive story aspects noted
up front, it’s time to talk about what didn’t work for me. The book needed a
final edit before going to print. Word misuse and grammatical issues pulled me
out of the story. That’s a common issue for new authors, but I think the
easiest to correct in the future.
One issue I had with the story was the somewhat
two-dimensional writing. By this I mean senses. In many of the scenes, I had no
real idea what the characters looked like or how things smelled or felt.
My biggest problem with Cleanse Fire is
there was no real description of the world. I had no idea why there were elves,
faeries and dwarves and why they were allies or enemies. Humans existed in this
world, but the mention was so tenuous, for the most part I forgot they were
part they existed in Kinir.
Some world description would have been
helpful as well. I know Kinir is a fantasy world, but modern phrases
occasionally crept into the writing. When comparing that with the dragon’s
verbiage and some of the other vernacular, the world did not seem modern in the
contemporary sense.
Did all of these issues
detract from the book? They did a bit for me. Will they keep me from reading
the next book in the Kinir Elite Chronicles? Not a chance. I have a feeling Ms
Pergakis’ stories will get better with each telling, and I intend to enjoy the
resulting novels!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Reviewing Your Universe
Edge of Passion by Tina
Folsom
(Cloak Warriors #1)
ARC provided by
NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars
Tina Folsom came highly
recommended as an author. So when I received Edge of Passion from NetGalley, I
turned on my Kindle and dove into the story.
Who wouldn’t—the blurb screams interesting:
Cloak Warriors have been
protecting humans from demons for centuries. So when demons discover a way of
seducing humans to their side, they jump on the opportunity. Aiden and his
fellow Cloak Warriors learn of this new threat to humanity. In order to save
mankind, they must protect the one scientist that could unknowingly hand the
demons the weapon they’ve been searching for.
Aiden is a strong alpha
male, emotionally hampered by a traumatic incident early in his life. His
strong, sometimes testosterone laden character is offset by his loyalty and
determination to do the right thing.
Leila is a scientist
that’s discovered a way to cure Alzheimer’s. Talk about smarts! Once she
realizes Demons are real and they’re after her research, she understands how
dangerous her discovery would be in their evil hands. Leila is faced with a
horrific moral decision. (Don’t worry, she has the moral character to make the right decision.)
Despite the interesting
plot and mostly likeable characters, for me, this book could have been better.
The characters’ emotions whipsawed often and without much explanation. Also, I
understood Aiden’s baggage, but it didn’t make me like him any better when he
was being a disrespectful jerk.
Overall, the premise for
Edge of Passion was great. I just didn’t connect with the characters as much as
I’d have liked. Will I read more of Ms Folsom’s work? Absolutely.
Her next book might knock my socks off!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Sharing Your Universe
Welcome to Sharing Your Universe. Today, Marissa Carmel has graciously agreed to share a little about herself and her latest release with us.
Marissa Carmel has been writing since a young age and
although it has always been for personal enjoyment, she finally decided to
breakout and share her imagination with the world. She hopes that her universe
is as fun and intriguing to her readers as it is to her. Marissa Carmel is
originally from NJ but moved to Maryland several years ago, she enjoys reading,
writing, and catching up on her DVR library. She is currently working on the
sequel to iFeel, Gravitational Pull, which she hopes to release sometime in
2012.
I can feel the rage course through my veins; my head throbs and my throat burns as I thrash at my tiny bathroom. All I can hear are the voices of people who mean the most to me, those who encourage me, those who support me. To my surprise, the loudest voice is the one who is farthest away. Justice’s words echo against the tiled surface, telling me to let go, to accept my fate, to be magical and not mental. It makes me miss him all the more, but what he said finally makes sense.
My breaths pulse quickly in my lungs, as if the air is thinning. I have worked myself up into a crazed frenzy to expel my true self. My enraged fit has resulted in a bathroom bloodbath, me versus myself.
And I won.
Contact Info-
Twitter- @MarissaCarmel
Facebook- Marissa Carmel
Goodreads.com
Her latest release: (and TOTAL cover love here!)
Book Blurb-
Lust. Anger. Hate. Desire. Love. Happiness. Joy. iFeel.
Liv Christianni is isolated, alone, tortured and withdrawn, saddled with the torrential downpour of the world’s emotions. Accepting of her providence Liv has lost all hope, until one day fate steps in and spins the course of her life like a spiraling top. Hunted by a Spirit Stalker, Liv is forced to gain control of herself and her surroundings, threatened by the touch of her immortal love; she must find a way to survive both physically and emotionally as her reality is shaken up like dice on a Craps table. Can she find the courage to accept her true self? Can she love unconditionally cognizant of the condemning consequences? Can she rise from the ashes to become the person she was always meant to be?
Funny, witty, real, and poignant, iFeel rips into your soul, and sets your emotions on fire.
If you are a fan of Charmed or Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries or The Secret Circle this series is for you!
Liv Christianni is isolated, alone, tortured and withdrawn, saddled with the torrential downpour of the world’s emotions. Accepting of her providence Liv has lost all hope, until one day fate steps in and spins the course of her life like a spiraling top. Hunted by a Spirit Stalker, Liv is forced to gain control of herself and her surroundings, threatened by the touch of her immortal love; she must find a way to survive both physically and emotionally as her reality is shaken up like dice on a Craps table. Can she find the courage to accept her true self? Can she love unconditionally cognizant of the condemning consequences? Can she rise from the ashes to become the person she was always meant to be?
Funny, witty, real, and poignant, iFeel rips into your soul, and sets your emotions on fire.
If you are a fan of Charmed or Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries or The Secret Circle this series is for you!
Excerpt-
I direct my anger towards the mocking bottles of
crazy pills settled in the cabinet. I attack them; clearing all the glass
shelves in one angered fit. Tiny orange bottles fly all around my white tiled
bathroom, exploding an array of colored pills against the walls and floor. It
feels like I am bombing my past; liberating my future and releasing myself from
whatever binds me. I want to be free, and if that means destroying my whole
apartment in the process to get there, I am willing to do that.I can feel the rage course through my veins; my head throbs and my throat burns as I thrash at my tiny bathroom. All I can hear are the voices of people who mean the most to me, those who encourage me, those who support me. To my surprise, the loudest voice is the one who is farthest away. Justice’s words echo against the tiled surface, telling me to let go, to accept my fate, to be magical and not mental. It makes me miss him all the more, but what he said finally makes sense.
My breaths pulse quickly in my lungs, as if the air is thinning. I have worked myself up into a crazed frenzy to expel my true self. My enraged fit has resulted in a bathroom bloodbath, me versus myself.
And I won.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Changing Your Universe
I'd like to welcome Marissa Carmel to Changing Your Universe.
We're all the sum total of our life experiences, but there are
moments when someone or something affects us, possibly even influences the
direction our lives will take. Here is one of those stories.
You plan, God laughs. This is the story of my life.
There are ideals and
expectations I assume everyone has; whom you will marry, what your career
will be like, where you will raise your kids. And yes, I had all those
ideologies in my head, except mine were more like, have a career, don't get
married and absolutely no kids. Boy was I
wrong. Today I am married with two kids, and living in a state I
only passed through on occasion. And my career? Well let’s just say, I
have more than one, and I never saw that coming. Who needs more than
one career? Apparently me. To make a long story short, I
started my first career as a logistician, yawn, I won’t bore you with the
details. The second career came shortly after.
I've always loved to
write. Always. My imagination constantly runs away with itself, and I am
without doubt following it. My best subject was creative
writing. So when I would write, it was primarily for me (or a good
grade). As time went on though, I found myself imagining more and
more and wanting to create, but my life was so busy, and what would it get me
anyway? Until one day my mother- in- law dropped a bomb that would change my
life. She was talking to one of my husband’s cousins who was
complaining about getting her college degree (she was already married with 4
kids. Yikes. I’d be complaining too.) And my MIL, the
wise woman that she is simply said, honey, time is going to go by anyway,
so you might as well do it. Well, it felt like the sky fell on me. The
advice wasn’t even directed at me, but it resonated. I started writing that
night. And never stopped.
My husband once asked
where my creativity comes from, and in return I asked him if he ever heard
voices in his head. His reply, I needed to see a shrink. I told him
a keyboard and a curser is the best therapy. I have always loved the supernatural, thanks in part to my mom; Charmed was one of our
favorite shows to watch together and still is. So when I started writing,
it only felt natural that it took on a paranormal feel. But I didn't want
to write about vampires or werewolves or really anything that had been
done. I'm like that; I always tend to steer towards the opposite of
popular and then proceed to make fun of it. So I started researching, and
brainstorming, and concocting my mix of love, humor and emotion. Liv
was already an entity in my head, festering. I'd often imagine a dark
haired girl with amethyst eyes, suffering and alone.
When I finally established who she really was, and what kind of
supernatural elements she would possess, (an Empath-someone who can feel
the emotions of others- with active abilities) I asked myself,
what would it be like for someone like that to carry the world's emotions?
Torrential I thought. What would it be like for her to fall in love? Even
worse than torrential. The story evolved rather quickly after
that, but I didn't rush it. It took me a little over a year to
write, over two years to edit. I learned a lot about my writing style
during that time, developed my voice and really tried to give it
a life-like feel.
So here I am almost
four years later, a husband, 2 kids, and a home in what feels like
a foreign country; a daytime career and a nighttime career, all
jumbling together, fighting for a piece of my time. Go hard or go home, my
husband and I always joke, if we have a story, it needs a theme and that is
it. I wouldn't change it though, not for anything. Life is nothing, if
not a venture - (I have no idea who said that).
Contact Info-
Twitter- @MarissaCarmel
Facebook- Marissa Carmel
Goodreads.com
Friday, August 10, 2012
Gifting Your Universe
Welcome to Friday's Gifting Your Universe!
Aaron Ritchey's been with us all week, sharing his personal story and giving us a peek at The Never Prayer's cover and great excerpt.
AND he's graciously offered to host an ebook giveaway for The Never Prayer.
So, leave a comment below with your email addy.
You can also visit Aaron at:
http://www.aaronmritchey.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer
http://www.twitter.com/aaronmritchey
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As always, thanks for stopping by. Please join the blog through
Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. I enjoy making new friends and
sharing my love of everything bookish!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Sharing Your Universe
Welcome to Sharing Your Universe. Today, Aaron Ritchey is sharing a
little about himself and his latest release with us.
Links:
http://www.aaronmritchey.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer
http://www.twitter.com/aaronmritchey
His latest young adult release:
little about himself and his latest release with us.
I was born in Colorado, on the edges of the Great Plains of
America, and spent my early years as a trash can for stories. Everything
went in: Greek myths, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, the romance books
I snuck in while babysitting, my mother’s psychology text books, horror novels,
and a whole lot of Catholic catechism. The good kind. And yes,
there is such a thing.
When anyone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer
was the same: a writer. On the first day of kindergarten, when I figured
out they weren’t going to teach me to read that first hour, I packed up my
stuff and walked home. Cut school on the first day of kindergarten.
That’s how I roll.
Still a complete sucker for fiction, I graduated with degrees in
English Literature and World History from Santa Clara University and taught
middle school and high school until I burned off all the negative karma from
all of my past lives. While not enlightened, I will be going straight to
heaven because of my time in the trenches, molding young minds and avoiding
bullets.
I hooked up with a world traveler, got married, traveled the
world (since I studied it and what’s history but a bunch of interesting
stories?), and returned to the Great Plains to raise two sleepless little girls
who never ate a thing. I think they might be Cylons.
Since I didn’t sleep, I ran triathlons. It takes endurance
to raise children and write novels, so I had lots and lots of practice.
In stolen moments along the way I wrote books, big books, huge
sweeping, windy books, too big and bizarre for anyone to read. Mostly
post modern fantasy novels: think David Lynch meets The Lord of the Rings
with a Sci-Fi-Hindu-Christian-atheist twist. A million monkeys on meth
couldn’t churn it out as fast as I could. Lord in heaven, I loved those
books.
My writing life changed forever when a genuine literary agent
rejected me, reducing me to ashes. After numerous, fist-shaking rants at
heaven, hours spent weeping in critique groups, and membership in Rocky
Mountain Fiction Writers, I rose from the ashes, very phoenixy, and started
writing books people could read and even like. In my better moments, I
think I write genre fiction with a literary twist. In my darker moments,
well, I’ll keep those demons to myself.
Currently, when I’m not scribbling and smoking cigars, I work at
the best health care company on the planet helping OR nurses with their
computers. And I’m a recovering TV addict. My last relapse was with
Battlestar Galactica (the new, bleak one) and Firefly (you can’t
stop the signal). I attend support groups. It helps.
Links:
http://www.aaronmritchey.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer
http://www.twitter.com/aaronmritchey
His latest young adult release:
The Fury of Heaven
The Desires of Hell
The Desires of Hell
A Broken Girl
Shattered by the death of her parents, Lena knows she is not handling her sorrow well – keeping to herself, running drugs, risking her little brother. But she’ll do whatever it takes to keep her disintegrating family together.
Shattered by the death of her parents, Lena knows she is not handling her sorrow well – keeping to herself, running drugs, risking her little brother. But she’ll do whatever it takes to keep her disintegrating family together.
Two Lost Souls
Lurking on the edges of the afterlife, Chael and Johnny Beels have spent centuries manipulating events, one pushing for good, the other sowing chaos. Now these two desperate souls have taken human form to play a dangerous game of hope and despair with Lena trapped in the middle.
Lurking on the edges of the afterlife, Chael and Johnny Beels have spent centuries manipulating events, one pushing for good, the other sowing chaos. Now these two desperate souls have taken human form to play a dangerous game of hope and despair with Lena trapped in the middle.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Lena must maneuver the shadowy realm between angel and demon, love and lust, good and evil, until she finds the courage to see the truth and make the ultimate sacrifice.
Lena must maneuver the shadowy realm between angel and demon, love and lust, good and evil, until she finds the courage to see the truth and make the ultimate sacrifice.
When do we struggle to
change the world?
When do we let go and embrace life’s broken beauty?
When do we let go and embrace life’s broken beauty?
Excerpt
Copyright © 2012 Aaron
M. Ritchey
All rights reserved — a Crescent Moon Press publication
All rights reserved — a Crescent Moon Press publication
"I'm not going to
do it again," Lena Marquez whispered to the red purse across the hall from
her nestle of blankets. "Never again."
All of her other purses,
scarves, and belts were just shadows hanging from hooks on both sides of the
bathroom door, but in the glow of the cracked Thomas the Train nightlight, the
red purse glittered. Each sequin like a teardrop of blood.
The heater chugged on
sending lukewarm air into the basement apartment, as cold as an icebox. In
October, at ten thousand feet, Avalon, Colorado had no pity for the weak or
poor. It killed both.
Through anorexic walls,
Lena could hear her aunt's barking cough in the next room. But it wasn't the
coughing that had Lena awake at 4:46 on a Monday morning. It was her
three-year-old brother, Joziah, who would wake up any minute.
He was like an alarm
clock, same time, every morning. So regular Lena was awake before he asked the
questions she couldn't answer.
Already the work of the
day felt like bricks on her chest. Her junior year homework continued to pile
up among the dirty laundry around their mattress on the floor.
But first, Jozey, always
Jozey, no matter what.
"Mama!" he
called out, still caught in the clutches of sleep.
Lena smoothed his hair
with dark purple fingernails, perfectly polished. "It's okay, Jozey.
Lena's here. Lena'll always be here."
Only half awake, he
struggled in his footed blue pajamas and asked the same question he asked every
morning. "Where's my mama?"
"She's in heaven,
Jozey." Her voice cracked.
"Where's
Daddy?" He blinked as if he had forgotten everything.
Lena let go of her
tears. She could only cry them with Jozey in the darkness of the morning,
because once she had her mask of make-up on, she sealed up all emotion with
base, blush, and mascara.
Everyone was watching.
Jozey sobbed against
her, soaking her father's t-shirt she wore as pajamas. "I want them, Weni,
I want them." Weni, because he couldn't say Leni, what her parents had
called her.
"I want them
too," she said through her tears and she cried with her brother until he
fell back asleep. She stayed with him, cradling his warm body, brushing the
tears off his face.
The ritual of her
morning continued. First, her orphaned brother, followed by a shower, then her
equally orphaned aunt. Aunt Mercedes shuffled out of her room wearing the
bathrobe she always wore at home, holding a cigarette that was always lit. She
stopped in the narrow hallway to watch Lena apply her make-up.
Her aunt's voice came
out in a slow scratch. "We need a hundred dollars. More if it don't snow
and I don't get my real job at Copper Mountain."
An ever so slight tremor
shook Lena's fingers as she fought the urge to throw her eyebrow pencil at her
aunt. She forced herself to concentrate on her face in the mirror, but Aunt
Mercedes was behind her, taking up most of the doorway, all sad eyes and dog
face and bad square haircut. Next to her aunt, the red purse dangled on a hook
tempting Lena to use it.
Buy Links:
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Changing Your Universe
I'd like to welcome Aaron Ritchey, fellow Crescent Moon Press author to Changing Your Universe!
We're all the sum total of our life experiences, but there are
moments when someone or something affects us, possibly even influences the
direction our lives will take. Sometimes, just being grateful for the life path we're on is enough. Here is one of those stories.
The Happy Writer – Seven Things I’m Grateful For
Thank you to Renee Rearden for letting me crash her blog and
spread the disease that is my blogging.
Incurable. Mostly when I blog I
talk about the angst and the gnashing of the teeth of the writer’s life, but I
wanted to change things up for this post.
I’ve spent the last twenty years complaining and shaking my
fist at the heavens for being cursed with the desire to write books. Yet, if the writing game didn’t have any
rewards, well, I think I would’ve stopped playing a long time ago. I think I would, but I don’t know. I have a masochistic streak. Hit me baby one more time.
So I want to do a list of the seven things I am grateful for
right now in my writing journey:
1) I
am so grateful for my publisher, Crescent Moon Press, for my cover art, the
design of my book, the finished final product of my debut novel, The Never Prayer. I’ve seen other small presses release books
that look like they’ve been photocopied.
Poorly. Not my book. My book glows righteously.
2) So
I’ve written twelve or thirteen books, I lose track, but I’m glad I debuted
with The Never Prayer, an angel\demon
story which is so unique and yet still marketable. Lord knows the first books I wrote, surreal
Postmodern fantasy adventures (think David Lynch meets Lord of the Rings) were
unique, but not so marketable. I’m proud
that The Never Prayer is my first
book. Every round of edits, I laughed, I
cried, in all the right places.
3) At
every turn in the writing game, I’ve been blessed with wonderful people who’ve
supported me, from poor unpublished writer schmoes to elite literary agents to
bestselling writers. I have been
involved in wonderful critique groups that have shaped me and challenged me to
be my best.
4) I
feel very lucky to have social skills.
Now, I had to learn them the hard way which involved lots of awkward
moments when I said the wrong thing, in a loud voice, at the wrong time, naked. But I learned. A lot of writers don’t have social skills,
but I’ll tell you this, if I can learn how to be social (and clothed) you can
too.
5) I
am thankful for the writing skills that seem to have come naturally to me. I needed help with my actual writing, I can
get so purply and wordy at times, and I needed to learn story structure, but
creating characters seems to have come naturally to me and people remember my
characters. As my friend says, they are
sticky and sticky characters are the best characters. Get your minds out of the gutter.
6) I
am grateful that after years of suffering, I enjoy the writing process
now. I can get lost in my stories with
my characters and the minutes fly by. It
wasn’t always like that, but I learned to love writing. It is a special thing to create stories out
of nothing, to watch your characters grow and change, to weep with them, to
laugh with them—in some ways, writing novels is a divine experience. I’m glad I learned to like it.
7) My
whole life now really revolves around my writing. Some of that was conscious choice, but in
other ways, it all just kind of happened to me.
I have a wife and family who supports me in my authorial madness and my
job gives me the flexibility to pursue this dream.
So that’s what I’m grateful for
today. And practicing gratitude is so
much more rewarding than complaining and gnashing teeth. Less dental visits as well.
For more about me and The
Never Prayer, you can visit us both at www.aaronmritchey.com. And of course, I’m on Facebook, as is the
book at http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer. And I tweet - @aaronmritchey. If you are at all curious about the novel,
our friends at Amazon.com would love for you to visit them!
Thanks again, Renee!
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As always, thanks for stopping by. Please join the blog through
Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. I enjoy making new friends and
sharing my love of everything bookish!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Reviewing Your Universe
The Werewolf’s Wife by
Michele Hauf
Published by Harlequin
Nocturne
Free ARC Provided by
NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars
I love Michele Hauf’s
voice. If her name’s on a book, I’ll read it. And I’ve never been
disappointed—until now.
The Werewolf’s Wife has
a great premise. Who wouldn’t want read about a yummy shifter wolf saving a
damsel in distress, commiserating over drinks, getting hitched in Vegas and having
a crazy-wild night of passion? Okay, so that’s only the start for the rest of
the book, but it grabs your attention, right?
Ridge Addison becomes
pack leader. In order to set a good example and help his pack grow, he needs to
marry and have children—which means he needs to get a divorce from his
who-knows-where-she-is-or-what-she’s- doing witch of a wife. No, seriously. Abigail
Rowan’s a real witch with powers and everything.
Here’s where the plot
derailed for me. Ridge wants to have a family desperately. Of course Abigail
has a son, and of course Ryan might be Ridge’s child (or the deadly abusive
boyfriend Ridge rescued her from). A little predictable, but I rolled with
that.
When Ridge finally
tracks Abigail down to ask for a divorce, all kind of wrong hits the page.
Abigail has received a call that her son has been kidnapped. She’s scared,
angry, hurt. Then Ridge knocks on her door.
She basically tells him
this isn’t a good time so shove off. Ridge says he has divorce papers, but what
if he wants to keep her. He’s working an angle just to get inside the house.
Lousy angle. These two people had a one-night stand and haven’t seen each other
in 13 years. Why would they want anything to do with the other?
I digress. Abigail lets
him in. She’s stressed. Then she notices how good he looks. Really? Her son’s
kidnapping just occurred. Why wouldn’t she just sign the divorce papers, get
him out of her hair, search for her son and fry the bastards that took him?
That’s what a badass witch would do, right?
Nope. Abigail’s
obsessive, controlling and plain mean. I didn’t like her character at all—which
is sad because I really liked Ridge’s
character. I had to forgive him for being such a knob toward Abigail, but the
rest of his qualities made him a nice, caring, working-on-being-an-alpha male.
Will I read more of
Michele Hauf’s books? You bet. Hopefully the characters will be more engaging
as a whole and the plot will not be so predictable.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Reviewing Your Universe
Talisman of El by Alecia
Stone
Published by Centrinian
Publishing Ltd
ARC provided by
NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars
I cut my reading teeth
on fantasy novels. Nothing cured my school angst better than escaping to
different worlds filled with interesting characters and never before seen
creatures. So when I read the synopsis for Talisman of El, I couldn’t wait to
find some reading time and jump right in.
The idea of an orphaned young
boy having trouble fitting into his new life—family, school, friends—is not
new, but Ms. Stone found a way to create a story with her own twist.
Charlie is a young boy
suffering from nightmares. He gets through the day by rationalizing his dreams.
But when Charlie meets a man from his dreams in real life, he discovers nothing
is as it seems. A different world exists, and he has a vital connection to it.
As Charlie journeys
through this new land called Arcadia, searching for a way to save his new
friend Derekin, he encounters allies and foes at every turn. Mythical
creatures, people with the ability to shape shift, even demons and angels populate
Arcadia.
Talisman of El is the
first step in Charlie’s coming of age story. He must decide who his true
friends are and how much he is willing to sacrifice for them.
Ms Stone has created a vivid
fantasy world in Talisman of El. The creatures, the land they inhabit, and even
the “other” beings are clear and detailed. I pictured every nuance described. Unfortunately,
the fantasy elements were the best part of the story.
I wish I could say I
loved this book, but I can’t. The characters are written younger than
described. I felt I was reading a middle school book, not a young adult novel.
The characters were not as dimensional as other aspects created by the author.
The plot was also a
little difficult to follow. I had to reread several passages to ensure I had
not missed a transition. I’m sure the world and its inhabitants are clear in
the author’s mind. Regrettably, the story on the page does not reflect the same
precision.
Will I read the rest of
the series? No. But I do recommend the book to younger kids and tweens who
enjoy fantasy. My issues with the book may not matter to them at all.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Sharing Your Universe
Welcome to Sharing Your Universe. Kinley Baker is sharing a
little about herself and her latest release with us.
little about herself and her latest release with us.
Kinley Baker is the author of the fantasy romance
series, Shadowed Love. She read her first romance at the age of thirteen and
immediately fell in love with the hero and the genre. She lives with her
husband, Benjamin, and her dog, Joker, in the Pacific Northwest. Ruined and
Denied are available now. Look for Freed in July 2012. As a firm supporter of
all supernatural lifestyles, she writes fantasy romance, paranormal romance,
and futuristic romance. You can find Kinley at :
Kinley's latest release:
SHADOWED LOVE,
BOOK TWO
When invaders brutally massacred the women and
children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can
comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope
for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter
Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who
challenges his limits.
Refused the right to join the king’s guard because
of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to
be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will
help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the
foundation of his culture.
When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb
must come together not only to fight, but to find the
strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they
revere most--including each other.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Changing Your Universe
I'd like to welcome Kinley Baker, fellow Crescent Moon Press author, to Changing Your Universe.
We're all the sum total of our life experiences, but there are
moments when someone or something affects us, possibly even influences the
direction our lives will take. Here is one of those stories.
Everyone Needs a Friend by Kinley Baker
I love friends who turn into more than friends in romance
stories, probably because it reminds me of my own experience with my husband.
He’s really one of the people who changed the direction of my life, and it all
started with an unlikely friendship.
During my younger years, I was very conflicted. I started
figure skating at age three, and started competing around age five. By the time
I was a teenager, I was practicing hours a day, and doing all sorts of off-ice training,
as well. Between classes, skating, and my shyness, I wasn’t very close to
anyone. When I met my husband at seventeen, he wasn’t my biggest fan. I was
very lost and really struggling to figure out who I was.
I got mono and ended up staying home from school for several
weeks. We ended up talking online a lot and started a friendship. I wasn’t
quite as annoying as he thought I was. He wasn’t quite as much of a jerk as I
had thought. And most importantly, at the time, we both could have really used
a friend.
We didn’t start dating until college, but those initial years
taught me a lot about myself, and he was there for me during the most
challenging time in my life. He proved he would stick, no matter what happened.
Eventually, I had to admit to myself that I was never going
to the Olympics as a figure skater. Luckily, I found something I loved even
more in college: writing. I don’t think my husband understood how important
writing romance novels was to me, until I started reading like crazy and writing
stories. But he’s supported me for the last four years, as I got serious about
seeking publication. I’ve been trying to navigate the publishing jungle ever
since.
My husband taught me a lot about friendship and caring for
other people. His family taught me about love and acceptance. I’m definitely
lucky he came into my life, and didn’t give up. Looking back at how lost I was
makes me realize how lucky I am now to have a direction. Everything I went
through and we went through together, took me here to writing romance stories
set in fantasy realms, and it all feels just right.
I think in my stories, the couples go through a lot. In
Denied, Tabitha and Caleb face numerous challenges, and they go through a lot
together. I think part of that stems from my own experiences, and finally
believing that someone will stay for the first time, and learning to trust that.
I hope you’ll relate to Tabitha’s journey as she fights for
the right to be the first female guard in her kingdom, and Caleb, who wants to
protect her after losing the women and children of his home realm, and his
homeland. They’re both struggling to find their place, and I definitely relate
to their journey.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sharing Your Universe
Welcome to Sharing Your Universe. Louann Carroll is sharing a little about herself and her latest release with us.
I was probably 7 or 8 the first time I read a horror story. It was The
Haunting of Hill House, straight out of Reader's Digest condensed stories. I
was frightened, curious, and fascinated. The thoughts and ideas expressed
within the Haunting thrilled me. One day, I thought. I'd write something that
would thrill a reader, well, hopefully that is.
As I grew older different ideas about my first horror story surrounded me. My friends and I played with ouija boards, automatic writing, we put tape recorders in graveyards. Elements of the paranormal surrounded my family and close friends. Each of us had our own unique experiences. I often wondered if in some way I was trying to find my father whom I lost when I was five.
Still, things happened to me--continue to happen to me. In some way we are all interconnected. You run into old friends, people you haven't seen in years but you think about them and the next thing you know you run into them in the grocery store. You have the odd dream that sparks into reality a week or so later. You think of someone and the phone rings. A friend's son sees the future. Your dog runs around the house, barking at someone or something that floats near the ceiling, something she can see and you cannot. You get a phone call from a relative with a warning about someone in the family.
I held my nose, took a deep breath, and jumped into theoretical physics. What a miraculous place we live in where thoughts can influence reality. Strange things happen outside of our visible world. There are more dimensions than we can comprehend, a world filled with wonder and delight. And ofttimes cruelty.
I wondered, is evil real? Or is it genetic, crossed wires, written in our DNA.
From all these thoughts A Shadow of Time was born. It is a world of possibilities, multidimensions, evil, and the overpowering force of love. Welcome to my world, where things that go bump in the night are all too real.
Louann Carroll has written numerous radio talk shows, articles about adoption, Gemini Rising, a sci-fi romance, and The Journey Series, helping our children navigate through life.
Louann can be found at: http://louanncarrollbooks.weebly.com/
As I grew older different ideas about my first horror story surrounded me. My friends and I played with ouija boards, automatic writing, we put tape recorders in graveyards. Elements of the paranormal surrounded my family and close friends. Each of us had our own unique experiences. I often wondered if in some way I was trying to find my father whom I lost when I was five.
Still, things happened to me--continue to happen to me. In some way we are all interconnected. You run into old friends, people you haven't seen in years but you think about them and the next thing you know you run into them in the grocery store. You have the odd dream that sparks into reality a week or so later. You think of someone and the phone rings. A friend's son sees the future. Your dog runs around the house, barking at someone or something that floats near the ceiling, something she can see and you cannot. You get a phone call from a relative with a warning about someone in the family.
I held my nose, took a deep breath, and jumped into theoretical physics. What a miraculous place we live in where thoughts can influence reality. Strange things happen outside of our visible world. There are more dimensions than we can comprehend, a world filled with wonder and delight. And ofttimes cruelty.
I wondered, is evil real? Or is it genetic, crossed wires, written in our DNA.
From all these thoughts A Shadow of Time was born. It is a world of possibilities, multidimensions, evil, and the overpowering force of love. Welcome to my world, where things that go bump in the night are all too real.
Louann Carroll has written numerous radio talk shows, articles about adoption, Gemini Rising, a sci-fi romance, and The Journey Series, helping our children navigate through life.
Louann can be found at: http://louanncarrollbooks.weebly.com/
And her latest release is A Shadow of Time.
 |
Kellyn O'Brien strives to create the perfect family. Then, disaster strikes. Her husband is dead. Three weeks later, she discovers her son is heir to Shadow Ley, a nineteenth century estate nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Reeling from Michael's death, Kellyn moves to Shadow Ley. Soon, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary: broken drinking glasses repair themselves, stair rails that were once old are now new, and suddenly the estate of Shadow Ley is not what it seems.
She turns to the local historian and learns of Sha' na ho bet, the angry fire god, bound forever to Earth. Native Americans tell her about Coyote, the Trickster who creates chaos out of order. Then the dreams begin with windows into past lives, hints of multidimensionality, and the promise of life beyond death.
Legends abound and so Shadow Ley, the home Kellyn had hoped would bring peace to herself and her children, becomes mired first in doubt, then in terror, and finally in love eternal.
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