Upcoming Release (May 7)

 

W.A.R.P. Book 1
The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
 
Riley, a teenage orphan in London, is apprentice to illusionist Albert Garrick. Garrick uses unique skills to enter victims' dwellings. On one such outing, Garrick brings the reluctant Riley. Finding their intended vicitm, Garrick pushes Riley to commit the murder. Riley hesitates and they discover that the victim is a scientist from the future. Riley is transported through a wormhole to modern day London followed closely by the angry and vengeful Garrick. 

Upon arriving in the modern day, Riley is helped by nineteen-year-old Chevron Savano, a pseudo-FBI agent who ended up in London as punishment for an undercover operation that went wrong. Working together they must evade Garrick, who has been become more powerful--absorbing the knowledge of the scientist--and evil through some genetic altering that happened as a result of his travel through the wormhole. Garrick will stop at nothing to find Riley and get the timekey Chevie possesses in order to get back to Victorian London where he can literally change the events of history.

YA Paranormal/Time Travel

A lot of tense moments in this book, some were a little graphic and violent for me. I thought the characters had good development and worked well together to create the tension and conflict that kept me turning the pages and thinking about this story after reading the last page. I'm looking forward to more stories from the Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (aka W.A.R.P.).

Available May 7 at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

The Buttersmith's Gold

Doesn't this look fun? Read on, but be warned, you're going to want to dive in to this tale.

The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC EVERTASTER NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all. 

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and

through – he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith. That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

About The Buttersmiths' Gold

The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past. The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing. 

Evertaster, Book #1:

A legendary taste. Sought after for centuries. Shrouded in secrecy.

When eleven-year-old Guster Johnsonville rejects his mother’s casserole for the umpteenth time, she takes him into the city of New Orleans to find him something to eat. There, in a dark, abandoned corner of the city they meet a dying pastry maker. In his last breath he entrusts them with a secret: an ancient recipe that makes the most delicious taste the world will ever know — a taste that will change the fate of humanity forever.

Forced to flee by a cult of murderous chefs, the Johnsonvilles embark on a perilous journey to ancient ruins, faraway jungles and forgotten caves. Along the way they discover the truth: Guster is an Evertaster — a kid so picky that nothing but the legendary taste itself will save him from starvation. With the sinister chefs hot on Guster’s heels and the chefs’ reign of terror spreading, Guster and his family must find the legendary taste before it’s too late.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fun stuff, right? Have fun with this and be sure to enter the giveaway!

I Have a Confession

I have a confession. I really am a terrible housekeeper. My husband, on one occasion asked, "Do we even own a vacuum?" It's true. "Yes, dear. It's in the closet." The closet is a great place for a vacuum, I think. That being said, I have attempted since last fall to turn over a new leaf. Shortly into the venture, Fate--never one to miss a chance to throw a wrench into things--handed me a broken vacuum.

Did I cheer and do a victory dance over the dead vacuum? No. I got my screwdriver and extra vacuum belt and attempted to fix it. Turns out, it wasn't a broken belt, but a broken part. Not one to be deterred once I set my mind to something, I got online and looked for a part. I found it, but cheapskate that I am, I hesitated buying one. Instead, I borrowed the vacuum from my husband's office. (Not to worry, he owns the office and I was not hauled away for stealing).

December and a house-party came around. I ditched the office vac for my steam cleaner. It was like I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and suddenly nesting. I was cleaning everything. I steam-cleaned all the carpets, dusted, organized, decorated. Exhausting, but invigorating at the same time.

A few weeks later,  early on Christmas morning, we opened our gifts. Guess what Santa left me? A new VACUUM. It was like the year I got a ten-speed bike. COOL! Minutes after opening gifts, I was waving my arms and shouting for everyone to get their stuff off the floor so I could vacuum. I instantly fell in love with my Dyson.

Here's my next confession: I'm still a lousy housekeeper, but I have vacuumed more in the last month than I did the entire previous year (maybe even eighteen months). What is it that has made the difference? I think there have been three key things: Goal, Determination, and Tools. I left tools for last, because I think it has made the biggest difference.

When we have the right tools, it's easier and a lot more FUN getting the job done.

Writing is no different. When we have good tools, our writing journey will be easier and more fun. Some of my essential writing tools are: my laptop, my dictionary/thesaurus, my ANWA chapter, writing conferences (ANWA and StoryMakers are a couple of favorites), and online newsletters from writing oriented places like Writer's Digest and Copyblogger.

What are some of your essential writing tools? Or, the essential tools of your craft?

I hope you will leave a comment. Write On!

24 Days with the Savior

My friend, Connie Sokol, has come up with a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas by focusing on the Savior.

Here's what she has to say:

"It's been the neatest, unexpected thing. I started posting a daily blog about the Savior, to have a more Christ-centered Christmas. Then ended up having many requests for the full "24 Days with the Savior". So with the help of great people, it's done and live, for this week at only .99 so that it's available to everyone, and we're donating ALL the profits to local food banks.

"If you're interested, you can check out the link below. 

"This has already been a great way to have a more Christ-centered Christmas, AND give to a great cause!" 


Thanks,
Connie Sokol
www.conniesokol.com


24 Days with the Savior: 

Do you desire a more Christ-centered Christmas?

Spend "24 Days with the Savior." For each day of December you'll find a scripture excerpt and an inspiring thought about one character trait of Jesus Christ. Simple, thoughtful, focused. Feel the peace and joy of the season by knowing Him more fully. Now available on e-book at Amazon.com, ALL profits are donated to food banks.  

24 Days with the Savior

 

 

 

 

Forged in Flame Anthology

Isn't this cover gorgeous? I love it!

From the back of the book: 

Forged in flame, wrought in blood, bone and steel, from the bowels of the earth and the inner most chambers of the heart, dragons arise. Fired by their passion, inspired by legend, six talented storytellers delve into realms of myth and fantasy as they explore what it means to be human.

First Flight: Vanderson Egilhard yearns to fly, but when he discovers his father’s secret, the fate of his family and perhaps the world falls into his young hands.

A Dragon’s Honor: When ancient alliances fail and friends stand alone to face certain doom, one dark secret and Calrym’s courage spell the utter destruction or dawning new age of two failing nations.

Birth Pains: Bellalinde made a terrible sacrifice for love. Years later, her choice sends her and her granddaughter on a journey from which only one can return.

Golden Legacy: Hated, hunted, marked for extermination, when a young assassin hunts down Zachariah, he must decide which of them truly deserves to live.

Heart of Steel: When murder steals his wife from Gideon Hendry, lust for revenge fires his passions. Only his fantastic creations know if he can escape his obsession before it seals his fate.

A Chink In The Armor: Blessed by the gods, Job has never lost a battle. He has triumphed over every challenge from man and nature. Arrogant? Yes, but he's invincible. Or is he?

My take: Fantasy ranks toward the top of my list in preferred genres, so I was excited to read this anthology. The stories are each unique, although some were a little dark. There are a couple of the stories that are steam-punk, but I thought it added to the story. 

I am not a huge fan of short stories, mostly because I end up wanting more. This was true of a couple of these stories from wanting more information to wanting the story to be fleshed out a bit to wanting the story to continue. 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book. No other compensation was given.

Calling All Shoppers

It's a CYBER MONDAY DEAL! (and Tuesday).

For .99 you can purchase The Archer's Hollow at Smashwords. Use coupon code RR65U.

It's a fun, fantasy romance. A perfect way to ease your holiday stress AND a great gift for your friends. Buy one for you and one for a friend (or two or three). Easy, inexpensive, and you can cross a few names off your list. Enjoy!

Words

I have been fascinated by words for as long as I can remember. I love words that are fun to say, like 'antediluvian' and words that sound funny like 'ululate' (which really isn't funny). I remember loving Mary Poppins' song 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' and how cool I thought I was that, like Mary, I could say it backward. What a fantastic word. (I also grew up on games like Scrabble and Boggle, so maybe that explains part of it, too).

So, when one of my writer friends gave a writing lesson recently, I was excited to learn it involved words. (I know, what's a writing lesson without words, but be patient whilst I explain). One of her classes required extemporaneous speaking ('extemporaneous' might be a fun word if it didn't strike fear into the core of my being). The teacher would give them two seemingly unrelated countries and they had to find the commonality. So our exercise for the lesson was to pick two words out of a 'hat' that she'd prepared and come up with a question for our characters. It was a great exercise and very illuminating. Something you really could have fun with. Don't stop at one question or one answer (typically your first answer will be cliche' because, unfortunately, that is what is at the forefront of our imagination).

Your writing challenge for today: Open the dictionary to a random page and without looking, point to a word. Open your eyes and write down your first word. Repeat and write down your second word. Now, come up with a question for the characters of your WIP.

I would love to have you post your question(s) in the comments! Dont' forget to have fun with this.

Write on, my friends, write on.