Last Week's Shenanigans (28th September - 4th October)...

Yikes it's been a boring week! What I mean is, other than working and sitting around, I've done next to nothing. It's actually been quite nice to chill out and not have to worry about doing a whole lot. On Monday I remember having another productive day in terms of chores: cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, hoovering the bedroom and bed, making dinner etc. I also worked a lot on my blog because I didn't really have anything else to do. Over the course of the week I worked (obviously) and it turned out to be one of the slowest progressing work weeks I can remember living through. Still, it wasn't a bad week! Sunday I spent off with Mat and it was lovely! The girls were out so I did a ton of reading while he finished some Uni stuff off, then we watched 'Laputa: Castle In The Sky' together and played on the Xbox. All in all, not a hugely exciting week, but not a bad one.

I Read:

Blitzes/Tours/Cover Reveals/Giveaways:

Memes:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books To Read If You Liked These Popular Books

Six Degrees Of Separation: A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara

I Posted:

September Wrap-Up

Planned Reads For October

Story Sprites Sign-Up Post!

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'Fairy Tale Confessions'; Tish Thawer & Sarah J. Pepper et al.

What better way to mark the beginning of the month than with another Book Blitz! This time, it's for a book that represents one of my favourite genres: Fairy Tale retellings! 'Fairy Tale Confessions' contains fourteen gorgeous new short stories that bring a fresh feel to classics such as 'Beauty & The Beast', Rumplestiltskin', 'Alice In Wonderland' and 'The Snow Queen'! I'm seriously so excited about this collection, and if you are too, then read on for details, teasers and a Giveaway with the chance to win an e-copy and a $100 Amazon Gift Card! Click the picture below to be linked directly to the Goodreads page!

Synopsis: Fourteen bestselling authors twist up your favorite tales. Will your favorite have a happily-ever-after?

Get ready to meet some sexy, not-so-valiant princes, punk-rock princesses, villains turned heroes, and truly vile monsters wreaking havoc within our favorite tales.

Read about Dancing Princesses getting their groove on in a disco club, a seriously sexy Rumpelstiltskin, and one alluring Puss-in-Boots, plus many, many more captivating characters in these fourteen all new short-stories.


You can purchase this book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble right now! Also, this collection and its authors are being featured at RT 2016 at the Fairy Tale Costume Party in Vegas, hosted by Sarah J. Pepper and Tish Thawer. Be sure to get your copy and stop by if you're attending the event.

Teasers:

Giveaway:

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This Giveaway will end on the 11th October! Good luck! Thank you Xpresso Reads for hosting this Book Blitz!

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'Dreamwielder'; Garrett Calcaterra.

These Book Blitz posts just keep on coming! I'm tremendously excited about this book so welcome to my post on Garrett Calcaterra's 'Dreamwielder', an exciting YA Fantasy! The cover is so beautiful for this one. I'm running a Giveaway at the end of this post and I've got some exciting stuff to share, including an Author Q&A! Don't forget to click the picture below to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Synopsis: Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian’s minions discover a Dreamwielder on a seaside farmstead, a chain of events forces Guderian’s new threat—the young Makarria—to flee from her home and embark upon an epic journey where her path intertwines with that of Princess Taera, her headstrong brother, Prince Caile, and the northman Siegbjorn, who captains a night-flying airship.

Dogging their every step is the part-wolf, part-raven sorcerer, Wulfram, and Emperor Guderian himself, a man who has the ability to stint magic and a vision to create a world where the laws of nature are beholden to men and machines. Only by learning to control the power she wields can Makarria save her newfound companions and stop the Emperor from irreversibly exterminating both the magic in humans and their bond with nature.

About The Author: Garrett Calcaterra is author of the epic fantasy novel DREAMWIELDER, available from Diversion Books. In addition, he is author of the horror collection UMBRAL VISIONS, and co-author of the mosaic fantasy novel THE ROADS TO BALDAIRN MOTTE. His humor titles include CODE BROWN and A GOOD BREW IS HARD TO FIND. When not writing, Garrett enjoys hiking with his two dogs and quaffing good beer.

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Author Q & A

So Garrett, Makarria and Caile meet up in this first book and start to bond—how much can you divulge about Makarria and Caile’s relationship in the next book? Do they end up together?

Ha! Nice try. No spoilers here. I will say this, though. They are much closer in Book 2, and the plot is, in part, directly tied in to their budding relationship. Just remember, new relationships are always hard. Compound that with the fact that Makarria and Caile have some new, very powerful, adversaries, and you don’t exactly have a great formula for a normal relationship.

It sounds like Book 2, Souldrifter, is going to have just as much drama and action as the first book.

It’s actually even more action packed. I worked really hard to make sure Souldrifter was better than Dreamwielder in every way, so the plot is full of action and twists, there are great new characters, and Makarria and Caile continue to grow as individuals.

How many more books do you have planned for the series?

Just one more book after Souldrifter, to round it out as a trilogy. That’s the plan, at least. Who knows? I’m just now starting Book 3, so things could change.

How long did it take you to come up with the world of the Five Kingdoms? And did you draw the map in the books yourself?

That’s a good question. I’m not entirely certain how long it took me to come up with the world. All said and done, I spent a good six months outlining Dreamwielder, developing my characters, and figuring out the world—which included coming up with the history and mythology of the Five Kingdoms and, yes, drawing the map myself. I’m not a horribly good artist, but if I take my time, I can put together a decent map.

Your novella, The Knight’s Dog, has blown up on Wattpad and frequently gets compared to George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. For readers who haven’t read your work before, would you say that The Dreamwielder Chronicles fall into the same vein?

Well, I hate comparing myself to other authors, particularly authors I admire, like Martin! How about this? Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is definitely an influence of mine. It’s more apparent in The Knight’s Dog, but I imagine you can see the influence in the Dreamwielder novels, too. Since the series is aimed toward a YA audience, it doesn’t have quite as much, uh, “adult content,” but that’s not to say it’s not dark and complex.

Okay, last question. What made you decide to have a young female protagonist? And who would play Makarria in a movie?


Hey, that’s two questions! Ha! Okay, the second question first. I think Sarah Hyland would do a great job as Makarria in a movie. Or maybe Hailee Steinfeld. As for the first question, it’s pretty simple. My mom literally dreamt up Makarria! The opening scene in Dreamwielder is based on the dream she had. Once she told me about it, I saw all the potential in Makarria as a character and the world she inhabited, and I just had to write the novel.

Giveaway

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Open internationally and finishing on October 25th so I can submit the Winner's information! Prizes will be mailed after October 27th. Good luck! Thanks Xpresso Book Tours for running the Giveaway!

Last Week's Shenanigans (21st September - 27th September)...

Compared to the last couple of weeks, this one has turned out to be relatively boring I'm afraid! On Monday Mat and I planned to go to Stratford but instead we had a good old sort out of our room, which has been neglected a little as of late. I am namely talking about the wardrobe because it was so disorganised and I had more coming in than going out. I feel a lot better now the room is a bit tidier!

I worked for the rest of the week, with the only interesting thing happening on Thursday: my Dad's birthday! I wasn't able to go and visit him but I gave him chocolates and the 'Child 44' DVD. I loved the book so much but I know he would appreciate the film more. On Sunday, Mat actually had a day off and so we went to Stratford as we had planned to earlier on in the week. It was a pretty successful shopping trip, with new trainers for him and some new jeans and pyjamas for me. Before shopping, we ate lunch at Gourmet Burger Kitchen which was delicious!

I Read:

Blitzes/Tours/Cover Reveals/Giveaways:

Memes:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Autumn TBR List

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'Girl Wife Prisoner'; Hanna Peach.

Hello everyone and welcome to my Book Blitz post for Hanna Peach's dark new contemporary romance 'Girl Wife Prisoner'. It is of the New Adult genre which is normally one I would overlook but something about this book caught my eye. Could it be the gorgeous cover? Or the intriguing synopsis that shows the book covers a very unusual subject? Either way, I'm excited about this book and at the end of this post there's a Giveaway for those who want to nab a copy for themselves! As usual, click the picture below to be taken to the Goodreads page!

Synopsis: How far would you go to set yourself free? Drake Blackwell is successful, controlling, and hiding a violent family past. He just made his latest investment: Noriko.

Imported from Japan and wed to a stranger, Noriko struggles to stick to the rules of a Good Wife. Drake can’t seem to love her, not the way she wants to be loved. She dreams of freedom beyond the gates of Blackwell Manor.

She meets Keir, a passionate young gardener who shares her desire to break free. He gets under her skin and ignites a fire in her she can’t ignore. In the midst of her quiet desperation she thinks she has found happiness. And a glimpse of hope. But this affair can’t last…can it?

There is a darkness lingering, but not how you’d expect. There are monsters, but not as you usually know them. The truth is, in this story, no one is completely innocent. And it’s always darkest before the dawn.

Although part of a series, this is a standalone novel with no cliffhanger. WARNING: For ages 18+. There are scenes in this novel that infer or allude to physical violence.

About The Author: Hanna is the bestselling author of the Bound romantic suspense series and the Dark Angel fantasy series. Although she writes in more than one genre she can't write a book without weaving together a complicated plot and filling it with twists. She writes what she believes: good people can do bad things, ordinary people can do great things and choose love above everything.

Eternally restless, Hanna has lived in Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Scotland, England, Croatia and Ireland - everything she owns fits into one suitcase. She's planning her next move with her gorgeous (and understanding) partner right now. If not writing, she can be found wandering a dusty market in Marrakesh or trekking a mountain in Peru, often using her travels as settings in her novels.

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Giveaway:

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The Giveaway is open internationally and ends on October 12th to allow me time to submit the information! Prizes will be mailed out after October 15th. Good luck! Thanks Xpresso Book Tours for running this Blitz!

Last Week's Shenanigans (14th September - 20th September)...

I have had such a busy week this week, and a vast majority of it hasn't included work, which is good! I was still back in Ashford on Monday, and I met up with a few friends that I haven't seen for a while. I don't get the opportunity to do that a whole lot, so it was really nice to see them all again. We went and had lunch at Wagamamas, followed by a shopping trip around the Designer Outlet. I bought a couple of new jumpers, some soap, candles for my sister and a ton of chocolate! On Tuesday I had the house to myself and so I caught up with some blogging and reading.

Wednesday was my last day back in Ashford and I had Rosie, one of the girls I'd seen on Monday, round again to play games and chill out with. She only stayed for the morning, but it was nice to relax and do our favourite thing to do together: play horror games. The chosen game (for those interested) was 'Dreadout' and it's a really good one which draws upon Indonesian Mythology and folklore. Definitely worth a play if you're into that kind of thing or just want to scare yourself silly! I left Ashford that evening to come back home, as I had work the next afternoon and wanted to make sure I could definitely get there.

On Friday, Mat returned from America! I was seriously so happy to see him (I didn't realise how much I'd missed him until he walked through the door). He bought me the cutest dress styled around Disney's 'Alice In Wonderland' which I absolutely adore, and some sweets that are hard to find here in the UK. He was actually badly sunburnt and severely jet-lagged over the next few days but glad to be home after an amazing trip. Sunday he went back to work and I had the day off so I watched 'The Killing' with my flat-mate Meg and 'Les Miserables' in the evening when Tash and Mat got home. All in all, a productive week!

I Read:

Blitzes/Tours/Cover Reveals/Giveaways: 

Memes:

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Books I've Read In The First Half Of 2015

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'Em & Em'; Linda Budzinski.

I think it's time for another Book Blitz! This time, it's for Linda Budzinski's 'Em & Em', a Young Adult contemporary novel that's being released today! The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to letting you all know everything there is to know about this book! Please click the picture below for a link to the Goodreads page!

Synopsis: The last thing sixteen-year-old Emily Slovkowski wants is to move away from her home at the Jersey shore, gorgeous surfer boyfriend Zach, and her entire identity. But that’s kind of how Witness Protection works, and Em must prepare herself for an epic do-over as she starts a new life in the Midwest.

Even as she pines for sandy beaches and the night life of the shore, the newly-named Ember O’Malley finds herself making new friends, taking photos for the high school newspaper, and thinking an awful lot about the paper’s editor, an oddly cute cowboy named Charles.

When Em stumbles upon a shady beneath-the-bleachers exchange between one of the school’s football coaches and a student, she refuses to get involved. The last thing she needs is to be witness to another crime or call attention to herself. Besides, she finally has some real friends – well, real except for the fact that they don’t know a single thing about her – and she prefers to keep it that way until the trial.

But as her day in court approaches, Em begins piecing together what she saw that day beneath the bleachers. And, as her own past secrets start to catch up with her, Em needs to figure out who she really is – Em or Em.

About The Author: I live in Northern Virginia with my husband, Joe, and our feisty chihuahua, Demitria (also known as Dee Dee, The Puppy, and Killer). I'm a sucker for romance and reality TV and have been known to turn off my phone's ringer when watching "The Bachelor." My favorite flower is the daisy, my favorite food is chocolate, and my favorite song is "Amazing Grace."

I write young adult romance. My novels, both published by Swoon Romance YA, are EM & EM and THE FUNERAL SINGER. I am represented by Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.

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Excerpts:

Ember hesitated. She should keep her mouth shut. She didn’t need to be a witness to another crime, and she certainly didn’t need to be nark-ing out the one person in Boyd County who knew her real identity and could expose her at any time. Still, a part of her wanted to confide in Claire. She was so sick of lying, of pretending, of keeping secrets.

“Ember, are you okay?” Claire reached out and touched her arm.

Ember grabbed her hand and held it. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?”

Claire nodded, her eyes wide. “Of course.”

“During the homecoming game, I saw something I shouldn’t have. Under the bleachers.”

Claire drew back. “You mean … Tommy Walker?”

“Yeah.”

Claire jumped up and plugged her ears. “Ew, gross. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to hear it. Ew, ew, ew.” She grabbed Ember’s shoulders. “I realize you can never un-see that, but you have to try to forget. Understand?”


Ember laughed and nodded. Claire had the wrong idea—a very, very wrong idea—but something about her reaction, her sweetness, her innocence, snapped Ember back to reality. No way could she confide in this girl. That huge ball of lies, pretending, and secrets she was living formed the entire basis of their friendship.

***

Charles leaned toward her. “Come on, tell me. What kind of photographer do you want to be?”

Ember pulled the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands. She drew up her knees and hugged them into her chest. She’d never talked about this to anyone. What if it sounded stupid? “I want to be a portrait photographer, but not the kind that takes pictures in the studio; the kind that takes pictures of people out in the real world, being who they are and doing the things they love to do.”

She glanced at him. He didn’t look as though he thought she was stupid. He looked… interested. “You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, I want to tell stories about people. True stories. Stories of who they are deep down.” Like that picture of Trina. The one that proved she wasn’t too old or too cool to love the thrill of the wind tugging a kite up, up, up into the sky. “I want to take pictures that push past people’s images and uncovers something real.”

Charles whistled. “Now that’s a dream.”

“Sorry. It’s silly, right?”


“No, not at all.” Charles leaned in even closer, his face just a few inches from hers. His voice was barely a whisper. “I didn't mean it’s an impossible dream. I meant it’s the kind of dream worth dreaming.”

Giveaways:

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The Giveaway ends September 24th, so get entering! Good luck! Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for running this Book Blitz!

Last Week's Shenanigans (10th August - 16th August)...

This week has actually ended up being quite different to my normal week because I booked a couple of days off of work, so I only worked three days this week! I'll start with Monday though (my usual day off) because once again, Mat and I have been on a London adventure! This time we went to Covent Garden & Soho to have a look around. I've been to Covent Garden a few times before, but I've never really been able to explore it fully. If I had to describe it in one word, I'd use 'quaint'.

If you have never been I thoroughly recommend it. As well as being the home of high-end brand pop-up stores, there are long-standing toy stores (one of which had a pretty Alice In Wonderland display), ice cream shops, bakeries, etc. All of these are small and charming, with an almost old-fashioned feel about them. The cafés in the lower court always have music being played by talented artists and it creates a very special sort of atmosphere. There are plenty of markets too, which are always interesting to admire!

We then went and had a drink at a local pub, before heading off to Soho to have a look around and something to eat. We did also stop off at Forbidden Planet, which has a really fun basement floor dedicated to books, comics, graphic novels and virtually anything else you could think of. We didn't fully explore Soho, choosing only to go to 'Mildred's', a vegetarian café (Mat is a vegetarian in case I have never mentioned this before) and Carnaby Street which also contained a variety of interesting shops. I particularly loved 'Liberty' (a gift store) and 'Irregular Choice' a very unique shoe shop with some gorgeous and slightly bizarre designs. A quick stop at Selfridge's on Oxford Street bought the wonderful, fun day out to a close.

I had work for a few days before my holiday on Friday & Saturday. On Friday, I went to Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford to do a little bit of shopping and meet Mat for lunch. Apart from that, my day was fairly uneventful. Saturday Mat and I had to get up very early to travel back to our home town, so that we could go to a lovely garden party with my family, as it was my Uncle's sixtieth birthday. It was a lot of fun and very strange seeing my cousin's children looking a lot more grown up than I remember them! On Sunday, I finally got my day of rest and made a good start on Season 4 of 'Once Upon A Time'.

I Read:

Blitzes/Tours/Cover Reveals/Giveaways:

Memes:

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Have Read The Most Books From

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'Lumière'; Jacqueline E. Garlick.

Hello everybody, welcome to my Book Blitz stop for Jacqueline E. Garlick's 'Lumière', a book that I for one am very excited about! Just look at that gorgeous cover! This post will contain all the information you need to know about this wonderful-looking book, as well as a couple of Giveaways. Both will be international, so get entering! Please click the picture below to be taken to the Goodreads page!

Synopsis: Even in a land of eternal twilight, secrets can’t stay hidden forever.

Seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth is no stranger to living in the dark. She’s hidden her secret affliction all of her life—a life that would be in danger if superstitious townspeople ever guessed the truth. After her mother is accused and executed for a crime that she didn't commit, the now-orphaned Eyelet has no choice but to track down the machine—her last hope for a cure. But Eyelet’s late father’s most prized invention, the Illuminator, has been missing since the day of the mysterious flash—a day that saw the sun wiped out over Brethren forever.

Alone and on the run, she finds the Illuminator—only to witness a young man hauling it away. Determined to follow the thief and recover the machine, she ventures into the deepest, darkest, most dangerous part of her twisted world.

About The Author: I'm Jacqueline Garlick, author of young adult and new adult fiction. I love strong heroines, despise whiny sidekicks, and adore a good story about a triumphant underdog (don't you?). I love to read, write, paint (walls and paper). I have a love/hate relationship with chocolate, grammar, and technology and would rather hang out with a dog, than a cat. I prefer creating things to cleaning things, and believe laughter is a one-stop-shop solution to all that ails you. You will always find a purple wall (or two) in my house (currently in my writing room), and there may or may not be a hidden passageway that leads to a mystery room. Okay, so you won't find a hidden passageway, but a girl can dream, can't she? Oh, and tea. There will always be tea. 

My writing style has been described as edgy and rule-breaking, and by some--a touch Tim Burton-esque. Because of this, I am often referred to as the Quentin Tarantino of YA among writing friends. 

In my former life, I was a teacher (both grade school and college-don't ask), but more recently I've been a graduate of Ellen Hopkin's Nevada Mentor Program and a student of James Scott Bell, Christopher Vogler and Don Maass. An excerpt from Lumière earned me the 2012 Don Maass Break Out Novel Intensive Scholarship. 

Lumière--A Romantic Steampunk Fantasy--my debut novel, is the recipient of an indieBRAG Medallion!!! B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree October 15, 2014) I am so proud!  Book II of the ILLUMINATION PARADOX SERIES, is out January 26th, now on pre-order.

Also, check out my young adult contemporary romantic/mystery serial, IF ONLY, where reluctant telepathic sleuth Kyla Cooper must embrace her powers and risks all to solve the mystery of what happened to her boyfriend Denver Munro, becoming his voice of truth, before he has no voice at all...

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A Couple Of Excerpts

Giveaways:

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My giveaway (the first one) ends on September 4th so that I may get the Winner's information in on time for them to receive their prize after September 8th. The blitz-wide giveaway ends August 20th. Good luck! Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for running this Book Blitz!

Book Blitz & Giveaway: 'At The Heart Of The Deep'; Carrie L. Wells.

Welcome everybody to my Book Blitz post for 'At The Heart Of The Deep' by Carrie L. Wells. I've got plenty of treats in store for you, including an Author Q&A, two International Giveaways to enter and all the information you'll need on what looks to be a fantastic read! Enjoy! Make sure to click the picture below to be taken to the Goodreads page!

Synopsis: Oceanographer Luke McAllister races to figure out why the ocean depth is changing off Florida's Treasure Coast. But before he and his crew discover what’s transforming the deep, he stumbles upon an even greater mystery. Leagues below the waves, he swear he sees…a mermaid?

Anya isn’t allowed to get close to humans. But when a golden-haired researcher gets too close to her island, she can’t afford to stay away.

Together, this unlikely pair will seek to discover what’s causing shifts in ocean floor. While their new alliance is forbidden, Anya will risk everything to save her beloved ocean. The only problem is, she’s not sure what’s really luring her in, her love of the sea or the tempest Luke has stirred in her heart. Either way, Anya knows that the dangers facing the sea are nothing compared to what will happen to her when her father learns she’s broken the merfolks’ most sacred law.

Can Anya and Luke discover what lurks at the heart of the deep before it's too late?

About The Author: Carrie L. Wells crosses genres, writing everything from newspaper editorials and textbooks to paranormal romance novellas. Her first fiction publication, The Heart of the Deep, will release in June 2015, followed by Playing with Magic in October 2015. A New England native, she spent her childhood on the beach and inland, fishing and dancing, before moving to Florida. And while she doesn’t tan, nothing keeps her from a walk on the beach.

Carrie earned her Master's degree in English with a minor in Psychology from Hardin-Simmons University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida. With a love of chocolate, books, and her family, Carrie braves the world and chaos only children can bring. She currently lives in Florida with her fire-medic hubby and three children. She is an English instructor at Eastern Florida State College.

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Author Q & A

1. What is your favorite mermaid story or myth?

Growing up in New England, it seems all stories were about the ocean. I know it is cliché, but I remember sitting on my grandmother’s porch, looking at the water, and wondering if Marina, the “real” little mermaid was actually out there. I guess she started it all for me.

2. What was the inspiration for your mermaid novella?

I spend a lot of time down in Vero Beach, FL where my sister lives, and since it is on the Treasure Coast there are plenty of stories about buried and found treasure. I wanted to mix pirates with mermaids, and while I didn’t quite do that here, this leads into the next book in my series, The Mark of the Mermaid, which does just that.

3. Cast your characters. If your novella was made into a movie, who would play your main characters?

Anya would be a Drew Barrymore type, independent and a bit silly. I could see her tripping in front of Luke and just laughing it off. Luke, well, I wrote him with the surfer version of Matthew McConaughey in mind. Focused and fun, at home in the water, and cut!

4. What was most challenging thing writing about mermaids?

The challenge was determining how much time to put them on land. It isn’t easy to offer mermaid human interaction in the middle of the ocean, so you need a plausible world where they walk on land.

5. Ursula or Ariel?

Ariel’s curiosity, but not her “sell my soul” naiveté.

6. What else should we know about your novella?


It’s my first! I have plenty more in the works, but I’m busy reveling in this one right now.

Giveaways

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Giveaway (the first one) ends on August 8th so that I may get the winner's information in on time for them to receive their prize after August 12th. Enjoy! Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for running this Book Blitz!

I'm back, and my Giveaway has ended!

I've arrived back in England after a lovely week in Llangollen, and I cannot wait to catch you guys up on what I've been doing with my time, as I certainly haven't been blogging. I will try very hard to have a post up tomorrow explaining my antics, but I am doing other things too tomorrow, and it will mean grabbing some pictures off of my camera so the post might take time. I do also wish to catch up with some missed posts because I'm pretty annoyed I missed this week's topics!

However, I do have a little something for you all before I leave this rather short post. My giveaway for Vanessa Morton's 'Moonfall' has now ended and a winner has been picked. That winner was Cait from Notebook Sisters, so well done to her and do check out the blog that she runs with her sister. It's great! I think that is really all I have to say, I'm absolutely knackered but I do have some exciting things to show you guys and I'm in a really happy mood after a wonderful holiday.

Daily Shenanigans, 12/07/2014: My first ever Blog Tour Post and Giveaway!

Today marks a pretty special day for my blog guys. I took part in Vanessa Morton's Blog Tour for her debut novel, 'Moonfall'. I really enjoyed the book, so I've been looking forward to posting my review for it. As well as that, the post included my first Author Interview and first Giveaway too! That's a lot of firsts! It has been so much fun taking part, thank you to all those involved for letting me be part of the tour. If you're interested learning more (particularly about the Giveaway for a free book) then follow this link. After all that, I had work which was pretty stressful, but it went fairly quickly I suppose. Mat came over for an hour or so before heading to a friends, and he brought me a present of some chocolate-filled croissants because he knew I'd had a hectic day. It was such a nice gesture that it instantly made me feel ten times better.

Tomorrow I have work (again) and a Weekly Wishlist to upload. Hooray! For now though, time for bed.

Book Review (Blog Tour - Interview and Giveaway!): Moonfall; Vanessa Morton.

Goodness me! Is it July already? So do you remember months ago me talking in a post about how excited I was to be invited to take part in my first ever Blog Tour? Well here it is! Vanessa Morton's 'Moonfall', the first in the 'Tales From The Levant' series is a book that instantly caught my eye on Netgalley and I couldn't wait to get stuck in. This post won't just include a review though, I have a Q&A with the wonderful author herself, and an International Giveaway for an E-Copy of the book for you lovely lot. I will also be using this book as a 'Quick Fix' entry! Before I start, I'd like to thank Vanessa for writing such a great book and taking the time to answer my questions, and Sami for getting me involved in the tour in the first place! If you want to keep following the Blog Tour and read some of the posts that have been up for it so far, then follow this link. There's a timetable at the bottom!

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Moonfall
AUTHOR: Vanessa Morton
SERIES: Tales From The Levant (#1)
PUBLISHER: WEbook Publishing
PAGES: 245
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
When sixteen-year-old Rachav drinks the Moon Temple’s forbidden wine, she hardly expects it to result in the death of a priestess. But when King Nur orders Rachav to serve the Queen of the Night - the kingdom’s powerful goddess - as restitution, Rachav’s identical twin, Zaron, has her own reasons for joining the priesthood and offers to take her twin’s place. But choices have consequences. Now Rachav’s family is in danger. As she uncovers the shocking reason why, she finds an ally in Salma, a brooding nomad who wields an ancient force powerful enough to destroy the entire kingdom. While the epic showdown rages above the city, Rachav plays a dangerous game of her own. Can she rescue her sister and right the wrongs of that fateful choice? Or will the king succeed and trap her in the doomed city?

What I Liked:

• The world-building was just ridiculously good in this book! Anyone who has read my reviews before knows I love stories that are well-grounded in context and this one certainly was. I was transported to a really different and interesting world and I really felt like Morton knew what she was writing about. It was so refreshing! I was impressed as well because there was a huge level of detail, and yet it never became overwhelming or boring to read. 
• The character relationships in this book were really interesting and I loved their interactions. For example, the relationship between Rachav and Zaron was so well-written and really reflected a true interpretation of twins who look identical but think differently. Also, despite it not being the main focus of the book, I loved the hints of romance I got between Rachav and Salma. In fact, the chapters that focused on Rachav's time in Salma's camp were among my favourites. I really wanted to read more of them and got extremely excited when I found out that this is the first book in a planned series!
• The plot was very memorable and I really liked the way it took a recognisable Biblical story of old, and mixed in elements of Fantasy. I thought that it was paced very well and I was hooked from start to finish! Vanessa Morton writes really well too, her style has a really nice flow to it that kept me wanting more.

What I Disliked:

• This is a pretty small issue but having read the book, I actually felt Rachav's initial decision to sneak into the temple to drink the forbidden wine was a little out of keeping with her character from that point onward. I would have maybe liked an explanation as to why she actually chose to do it. I felt a little thrown into the beginning but this feeling soon disappeared, it wasn't a huge issue.

Overall Conclusion:

This book was an good read and one I really enjoyed. I am a big fan of well-written Historical Fiction and this definitely checks that box. I also love the inclusion of Fantasy in any book, it's my favourite genre. Guess what, this one has that too! Another aspect I really enjoyed was an obvious connection between Rachav and Salma but it was built slowly. And I love slow-building romances, it just feels so much more natural and right. I had a slightly rocky start with this book admittedly, but I enjoyed it far too much not to give it an awesome rating. I can't wait to read Book two!

Author Interview:

1) So this is your debut novel! What inspired you to pick up the pen and write it? 

In the beginning, I wanted to write entertaining stories for my daughters because they were studying ancient history and most of the historical fiction we found was either authentic and dull, or it was interesting, but not very accurate. My goal was to write authentic yet entertaining stories.

2) What challenges, if any, did you face in bringing your idea to life? Is there anything you would do differently? 

At first, I researched much more than I wrote. I ended up with tons of details and a story that read more like a research paper than a novel. The year before I signed my publishing contract, I had cut over 25% of the story to restore the original vision of entertainment! Now I'm more selective when choosing authentic details, and I don't let it get in the way of the story!

3) I really like the cover design! Who actually came up with it? 

I'm glad you like it! My publisher, WEbook, has a creative team that designs their authors' covers. I asked them to feature a moon and this is what they came up with… it's awesome!

4) 'Moonfall' has, in my opinion, a really interesting plot concept which I’ve not really seen before! Where did the idea come from? 

My daughters were studying the ancient Levant, and we'd been talking about the legend of Jericho, did it really happen and what would it be like for a teen to live inside the walls? I discovered that supernatural events were normal—even expected—in that era, which added a fascinating yet authentic layer to the story.

5) How easy was the process of getting your book published? 

My publication story is not typical. I've been a member of WEbook for several years. It's a social network where writers submit their work through successive rounds of peer judging. The process can lead to an opportunity for publication, as it did for me.

6) Do you consider writing as your career? 

Writing is my passion, but it doesn't support me … yet! I still have a career by day, and I squeeze writing into my evenings and weekends.

7) Out of interest, name the last few books that you read which you really enjoyed! 

My tastes are eclectic. During the last few months, my favorites were Doctor Sleep (Stephen King), Iscariot: a Novel of Judas (Tosca Lee), and I always keep a book of poetry going—right now it's English Romantic Verse.

Wow so many exciting things on this post, and I really enjoyed reading this book, and conducting the Q&A! Now for something even more exciting for you guys, a chance to win a free copy of the book itself! It is an E-Copy and so the Giveaway is open internationally. Enjoy!

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