What I'm Currently Reading...

Interview With the Vampire (Vampire Chronicles, #1)Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
I started reading these books when I was a kid but never really got into them. Time to give them another shot!



Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan, #2)Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching, #2) by Terry Pratchett

A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching, #2) (Discworld, #32)A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching, #2) by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The joys of returning to Terry Pratchett are inumerable. It never fails to get me chuckling aloud, causing strange looks to be directed at me. Pratchett has such a way with words, quite the amazing imagination.

While many authors, that write in a pun-filled style led by sarcasm, lose the swing of things very early (or the reader gets bored because the style gets old), Pratchett seems to keep going strong. This is book 32 and his style is still going strong, keeping me very interested!

One of my favorite parts of this book was the fact that you get to see Mistress Weatherwax as an actual human, showing respect to another for the first time. To make things better, she was actually kind and helpful. I guess even grumpy old ladies aren't always grumpy...



Friday, May 20, 2011

The Mind Entangled - Part One: The Discovery

The Mind Entangled - Part One: The DiscoveryThe Mind Entangled - Part One: The Discovery by Courtney Conant

That's right folks! Time for another shameless plug...

The first in the short series, The Mind Entangled, is officially up and available as an ebook on Smashwords for all to read. What could be better than that, you ask?  IT'S FREE!! That's right. Part One: The Discovery is 100% free for all my readers to enjoy.

Now if you enjoy it as much as I hope you will, be sure to rate it, review it, tell your friends... And check out The Blood Moon of Winter, my debut novel, while there!

Get The Mind Entangled - Part One: The Discovery here...

Get The Blood Moon of Winter here...



Monday, May 16, 2011

Keizara - Part One: Dean By XchylerConn

Keizara - Part One: Dean by XchylerConn


Get Keizara - Part One: Dean here

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an entriguing tale that follows the young lives of three siblings in search of a way to save their family. Their parents had been kidnapped by an evil being and they hope to do everything in their power to get them back. Keizara is an land of imaginable powers and so much potential to grow into a place that anyone would want to visit.

XchylerConn is very descriptive and has a wonderful mind for creativity. This may be a short story, but it is part of a series that I can't wait to read more of. She grips the reader from the instant the story starts and keeps you flipping the electronic pages until the end. This is definitely worth reading and an author to watch for.


Friday, May 13, 2011

Kitties and Windows...

 


For those of you that know me, and read my previous post, Elements of Distraction... Oohhh shiny!, you must know that I would NEVER toss my cat out a window. He does that all on his own...

That's right! The image on your left...

<----- poor destroyed window

That is the window that my cat, Monkey, threw himself through. I wasn't even in the room at the time! I'm innocent, I swear it!



The poor little guy was rushed to the kitty ER and got a face full of stitches...


Monkey  ----->

So remember folks, when trying to avoid distractions, keep your kitties away from windows...



Elements of Distraction... Oohhh shiny!

As a writer, heck, as a person... I have always been prone to distraction. In the past, I required that distraction stay as far away from me as possible when I was working on something. I'm one of those people that loses focus very easily. So easily, in fact, that it has taken me over half an hour to get this far into the post because I keep getting DISTRACTED!!!

Okay, and I'm back...

What was I saying again? Oh, right, distractions... They seem to take over my world when I really want to work on my writing. It's sad to say that seems to be the only time when I get really distracted.

Everywhere you look on the net, there are suggestions on how to avoid distraction. The main ones that I always come across tell you to shut off your phone, turn off the tv, disconnect the internet and pretend that there is no outside world. Tell everyone and everything that you are in DND mode and the first time the cat doesn't listen and tries to get on your lap, toss it out the window so that it stays away... Well, maybe just put it out of the office and close the door.

I've tried all these things and none of them seem to work anymore! Every time I want to start working on a project, I can't seem to get going. There are so few distractions that I find I can't focus on what is before me. It also doesn't help having a significant other that is more needy than my cats, when it comes to my 'ME' time. Okay, another exaggeration but still close. Why is it that when someone closes a door, the person on the other side always needs to know what's going on?

But I digress... The point that I was getting to was that I tried something different. For a couple of months I have been trying to write the first in a series of short stories entitled, The Mind Entangled. It was just a short story and should have been quick and easy to write. Yet no matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't stay on task. Finally, this past Monday, I decided to throw in every distraction I could find. That's right, folks! I broke all the rules. The TV was on (but to a low volume). My phone sat on the arm of the chair. I even had my cats laying at my feet.

After fighting with myself for so long, attempting to avoid the distractions, I discovered that I was causing more distraction by removing the elements that could supposedly lead to it. I got more writing done in two days than I had in two months, just by adding in the 'dangerous' components listed above.

What I've been trying to say this whole time is that IT'S DONE! Yes, I finished Part One of The Mind Entangled and it came out pretty good and even longer than I expected it to be. Of course, it still needs to go through a final round of editing, but I'm very happy with the results.

My intention is to have it up and available to the public for download on May 20th. Watch my blog, my tweets, my fan page, etc... for more updates.


The Mind Entangled

After living what seemed to be a perfect life with the perfect man, Adrianna makes a life shattering discovery. When his supposedly dead family shows up, disturbing truths come to light. Everything about her life was a lie, especially her husband. Through powers unknown to her, Torstein controlled every move she made, every thought she had.

With her life falling to pieces around her, could only focus on one thought. Not who her husband was, but what?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The King Whisperers by Kerwin Swint

The King Whisperers: Power Behind the Throne, from Rasputin to RoveThe King Whisperers: Power Behind the Throne, from Rasputin to Rove by Kerwin Swint

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Purchase The King Whisperers here.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Swint's book when I first started reading it. I'm not much of a fan of politics or history unless it is in the form of ficticious intrigue, gripping the reader and taking them to and fro. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

The author paints amazing pictures of the past (and present in come cases), allowing the reader to get a true feel for the "Whisperer" being described. The text was definitely informative and will teach the reader a great deal about political powers throughout the centuries. I was very glad to discover that Swint had a lighter note/style to his writing, keeping the reader interested as well as informed.

I believe that if I found it as well written and interesting as I did, I can only imagine that someone with a true interest in history and/or politics will find it extremely enlightening.


Tour Notes:

Please vote for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll for this tour. The blogger with the most votes wins a free promotional twitterview and a special winner’s badge. I want that to be me! You can vote in the poll by visiting the official King Whisperers blog tour page and scrolling all the way to the bottom.

The next word for the book giveaway is (TODAY). Learn more about the giveaway and enter to win 1 of 3 copies on the official King Whisperers blog tour page. The other 2 copies are being given away courtesy of the GoodReads author program, go here to enter. And don’t forget to stop by the Q&A with Kerwin Swint Group to discuss the King Whisperers (including questions from the official book club guide), the author, and his previous works.



Book Trailers for the King Whisperers:









Friday, May 6, 2011

How to cope...

With absolutely no time for myself, it seem quite difficult finding just that, TIME... I love reading books so very much, especially finding new authors, but I am discovering that I don't seem to have any time to write my own books.

All in all, this has been a sad discovery. I'm currently working 2 jobs, trying to make ends meet as best I know how. While doing just that, I am still working toward finding the time to push the readership and sales of my first novel, The Blood Moon of Winter.

I have two current works in progress.The first is Book 2 in The Land of Makayra series, Beyond the Known Horizon. The second is a short story entitled The Mind Entangled. Both start out strong and I really can't wait to see them completed. I'm excited to see how they grow and to find out what will happen as the word count of each work expands. The only problem that I'm having right at the moment is finding the time to actually work on them.

I'm hoping that things will settle down a bit in my life so that I can get back to working on what I love instead of just working! In the meantime, I have chosen to slow down on the reviewing of other authors and focus more on my own authorship for awhile. Yes, reviews will still go up and posts will be regular. I just intend to cut my reading time in half and take the other half of that time for writing.

My initial intention was to complete The Mind Entangled and have it published by the end of this month. That is still my greatest hope! I will get back to work on it today and hopefully will find some spare time to complete it in the next few days. It is over halfway done. I will push forward and make it happen!

Watch for updates on my progress and maybe, just maybe, I'll host another giveaway soon!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Monstrous Regiment (Discworld, #31)Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This tale of cross-dressing soldiers brought a smile to my face, in a way that only Terry Pratchett can! I can only imagine that, back in the day, women really did dress as men to be able to join the military.

While giving bit parts to some old favorites, Pratchett introduces a whole new cast of characters to entertain the reader, in this book. Continuing with the theme of all Pratchett books, this will make any reader laugh, not only at the fantastical humor but also at the silly puns incorporated within...

This is another of the Discworld series that does not require having read any of the previous books to be able to enjoy it. It would be a great stand alone novel for someone looking for a quick read.

And ladies, remember that socks are the key...