Saturday, April 25, 2015

A Dream Not Imagined—Cover Reveal

A Dream Not Imagined Cover

Today I am pleased to help out in revealing the cover of A Dream Not Imagined by my friend, Shantelle Mary Hannu! This will be her debut into publishing, which is always an incredibly exciting time for any author. Here is a bit about the story.

About the Book

A MAID, a PRINCE, and a DUKE. A GARDENER, a STEPMOTHER, and a secret...

Ellie Abbington, a beautiful yet unassuming young woman, quietly longs for her life to change. Too privileged to associate with the servants—too underprivileged to associate with her own family; she dreams a dream of a prince and a happily ever after.

But it could be that her own stepsisters, conniving Dezmarie and easily-influenced Adelaide, are dreaming the same dream...of the same prince.

In the end, are dreams even all they're made out to be? Especially with deep and long-hidden secrets about to be unearthed?

A Dream Not Imagined is a non-magical fairytale novella based loosely on the classic tale of Cinderella.

Tentative Release Date: June 2015

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About the Author

AuthorPicShantelle Mary Hannu was born in the mountainous west, spending her golden childhood years there. Since then, she has relocated time and again with her parents and seven siblings, making cherished memories in both the South and Central United States.

A Christian homeschool graduate, Shantelle has a passion for writing and all things books. From a young age she’s been penning tales with a hope of sharing with the world adventurous and soul-stirring stories that bring glory to God.

A Dream Not Imagined, a fairytale novella, will be her first published book. She’s currently preparing a full-length fantasy novel for publication as well, and working on its sequel.

Shantelle blogs at A Writer’s Heart: http://shantellemaryh.blogspot.com/ about her stories, favorite books and movies (with reviews), healthy wheat-free recipes, and hosts fellow authors, among other things. One of her joys is connecting with fellow writers and readers! You can also find her on:

Facebook: Shantelle Mary Hannu, Author
Twitter: @shantellemary
Goodreads: Shantelle Mary Hannu
Google+: Shantelle H.
Pinterest: Shantelle H.

About the Illustrator

Natasha H. is an aspiring photographer and also loves drawing and painting. A Dream Not Imagined is the first book she has drawn the cover picture for.

Learn more about her work at her blog: http://tashahphotography.blogspot.com/

Bloggers Participating in the Cover Reveal

Hayden Wand at The Story Girl
Claire Banschbach at Thoughts and Rants
Amber Stokes at Seasons of Humility
Ghost Ryter at Anything, Everything
Deborah O’Carroll at The Road of a Writer
E. Kaiser Writes at …The Adventure Begins
Alyssa-Faith at The American Anglophile
Hannah Williams at The Writer’s Window
Laura Pol at Crafty Booksheeps
Natasha H. at Through My Lens (+ review)
Skye Hoffert at Ink Castles
Serena at Poetree
Brittney at Brittney’s Book Nook
Jesseca Dawn at Whimsical Writings
Lena K. at Read, Write, Laugh, DANCE
Allison Ruvidich at The Art of Storytelling
Shannon McDermott at Shannon McDermott’s Blog
Tricia Mingerink at The Pen of a Ready Writer

Friday, April 24, 2015

Hear ye! Hear ye! You are invited…

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(Click on the invitation to see it larger.)

I am thrilled to announce and invite everyone to the upcoming Resistance Anniversary Ball! On May 15th, I will be temporarily taking over Auréa Palace (*cough Facebook cough*) from 4-8 PM CST (2-6 PST, 3-7 MST, 5-9 EST). Don’t worry, I’ve arranged it so that Emperor Daican and others of a less than savory nature will be occupied elsewhere, which means we’ll have the whole palace to ourselves. There will be lots of fun discussions, quizzes, prizes, music, and more! This is an open invitation to anyone who wishes to attend. And you’re welcome to bring a celebrity or character date if you are otherwise unattached. ;) Make sure you invite your friends and get your gowns and suits ready. I recommend Pinterest for all your celebration attire needs. You can RSVP here. I look forward to seeing you at the ball!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Book Awards for Indie Fiction

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Here is a post I’ve been promising over at Goodreads for a couple of weeks now. About the time I published Resistance, I started scouring the internet to find book award contests that accepted indies. Easier said than done, that’s for sure. I spent hours compiling a list of contests to check out. To help out my fellow indie authors, here is that list. I’ve only entered two so far (Readers’ Favorite and the LYRA Award), so I can’t vouch for most of them, but I do want to check out others once I decide which ones fit in my budget and would be the most beneficial.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Resistance £0.99 Kindle Sale

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Exciting news for readers in the UK! From today through Sunday, the Kindle version of Resistance is on sale for £0.99! You can check it out on Amazon.co.uk, and if you have any UK friends, make sure to let them know!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Resistance Celebration Contest Prizes

All right, after getting all my thoughts and ideas together, I've decided on the prizes for the Resistance Anniversary Celebration contests. Here they are.

Fan Art Contest

1st Place - Autographed copies of Resistance, The King's Scrolls, and Half-Blood (when it is published), a $10 Amazon gift card (because who doesn't love gift cards?), and a piece of handmade jewelry of the winner's choice from my Etsy shop.

2nd Place - An autographed copy of the winner's choice of either Resistance, TKS, or Half-Blood and a piece of jewelry of their choice.

3rd Place - An autographed Ilyon book of winner's choice or piece of jewelry.

Photo Contest

An autographed copy of Half-Blood and a $10 Amazon gift card.

I look forward to everyone's submissions!

Friday, April 10, 2015

Resistance Anniversary Celebration

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May is less than a month away and it happens to be a very special month. May 20th will be Resistance’s one year publication anniversary (and June 27th will actually be its fourth birthday since the idea was “born”). I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and instead of simply celebrating that day, I’ve decided to have a month long celebration instead. After all, who doesn’t love a fun celebration, right? ;) Though I haven’t worked out all the details and events just yet, I can tell you it will include my first fan art contest, a photo contest, other fun giveaways, and more character Q&A posts since those were so popular during the TKS blog tour. Other readers also thought it would be fun to hear how everyone found out about Ilyon Chronicles. Oh yeah, and I’ll be revealing the cover of Half-Blood! Yay! :)

I’m not as organized as I’d like to be and am just sort of throwing this together as the ideas come, but you can follow the links below for information on how you can get involved on each of the activities. You can take part in one of them, two, three, all, or none. It’s up to you. :) And if you know of any friends who would like to participate, be sure to let them know!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Out of Darkness Rising Blog Tour—Guest Post

OODR Blog Tour Header

Hey, everyone! Today I have Gillian Bronte Adams here for a special guest post as part of the blog tour for her new novella, Out of Darkness Rising!

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Serpent’s Breath

Have you ever had an idea that seized hold of your mind and refused to let go? Writers face this a lot I think. It can be anything from the character who pops into your head while you’re doing the dishes and can’t possibly take notes because your hands are covered in soapy water, to the notion that there’s a serial killer on the loose when you’re home alone at night and the dog starts barking.

(Surely, I’m not the only one?)

When I was writing my novella Out of Darkness Rising, one of those ideas that I couldn’t shake was the concept of a heavy blanket of mist that shrouded the island that the villagers call home. The mist hides the full light of the sun, conceals the full glory of the moon, and all but smothers the stars. But it is ever at its thickest when the Serpent appears to claim his prey.

One of the previous blog tour posts (The Sun Yet Rises) expounded upon how by the time the main character, Marya, enters the story, it has been almost a thousand years since the villagers have seen the full light of the sun—which is something that bears thinking about, in and of itself. But in this post, we’re going to focus on an even darker aspect of the mist. (Pun intended, of course.)

The fact that it’s not mist at all, but rather the Serpent’s breath.

“A dark mist rose from the water, filling the air with the reek of death. Fog wrapped around the Island, shielding the horizon and any glimpse of the Kingdom from view.”

Out of Darkness Rising, Gillian Bronte Adams

A lot of the themes woven throughout Out of Darkness Rising were conceived during my morning Bible reading, including the Serpent’s breath. Something about certain passages of Scripture latched hold of my mind and worked their way into the storyworld. Funny how that happens, right?

In Ephesians 4:18, Paul writes that “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

And again in Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Their foolish hearts were darkened …

I don’t know about you, but there’s something indescribably sad about that verse. There are many places in the Bible where it talks about how sinful man cannot understand the things of God. The message of the cross is foolishness to him. He cannot comprehend the Gospel. It’s as if he is deaf, blind, and without a heartbeat, until the Holy Spirit stirs his heart to life, opens his ears to the Word, and clears the scales from his eyes.

In Out of Darkness Rising, the Serpent’s breath dulls the villagers’ minds until they forget the tales of the King and his promise to rescue them, until legends of the Kingdom seem foolish, until all they can remember is the Island and the Serpent’s rule.

“The Serpent lies sheltered in the depths of the Loch, belching forth noxious fumes to encircle the Island. He attacks your minds and your hearts, dulling your understanding … For a thousand years, the villagers have lived in the mist, dwelling in the Serpent’s darkness and daily inhaling his poison, until the memory of the Kingdom has faded from their minds.”

Out of Darkness Rising, Gillian Bronte Adams

But though the villagers have forgotten the King, He has not forgotten them. Though they no longer believe in the Promise, the Promise stands unaltered. Though they no longer hope for a rescuer, the Rescuer will come.

In I Corinthians 1:18, Paul reminds the Corinthian church that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

I am grateful that our salvation does not rest upon our own wisdom or our own ability to comprehend, but rather upon the working of the Holy Spirit awakening our dead hearts, unstopping our ears, and healing our eyes so we can see and believe. How about you?

About Gillian

Gillian Bronte AdamsGILLIAN BRONTE ADAMS is a sword-wielding, horse-riding, coffee-loving speculative fiction author from the great state of Texas. During the day, she manages the equestrian program at a youth camp. But at night, she kicks off her boots and spurs, pulls out her trusty laptop, and transforms into a novelist. She is the author of Orphan’s Song, book one of the Songkeeper Chronicles, and Out of Darkness Rising. Visit Gillian online at her blog, Twitter, or Facebook page.

About the Book

OODR Front CoverDarkness reigns unchallenged.

For the villagers on the accursed Island, life has only one meaning - death.  Bound to the Island by the curse, the villagers suffer beneath the iron claw of the serpent, daily breathing the poison of his breath and dying to appease his insatiable appetite.

When Marya’s parents are slain by the serpent for their belief in a legendary king, she becomes an Outcast.  Struggling to survive and avoid the vengeance of the Tribunal, Marya is torn between legend and the harsh reality of the Island.  Yet when a forgotten promise springs to life, she cannot help wondering if the old stories might in fact be true.  And if they are, will the promise prove stronger than the curse?

Book Trailer

Monday, April 6, 2015

Creighton Hill—Cover Reveal

I’m so excited to help reveal the cover of my friend, Morgan Elizabeth Huneke’s upcoming book, Creighton Hill, book one of Time Captives! I’m currently beta reading Creighton Hill and loving it. It reminds me a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia, though I’m enjoying it more than I’ve enjoyed reading Narnia. *imagines everyone’s shocked gasps and shrugs* But, without further ado, I give you the cover!

Creighton Hill Cover Front

About the Book

“No one can mysteriously disappear leaving no trace. It isn’t realistic.”

“You’re right, Emily,” her grandfather said thoughtfully. “It isn’t realistic. However, a good many things happen in this world that are not realistic, things supernatural.”

Emily, Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna have grown up on their grandfather’s tales of ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from Creighton Hill, the plantation home that has been in their family for centuries. When Grampa’s death forces them to move into Creighton Hill, the truth about the supposed disappearances is the first thing on their minds. Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna’s, that is. As for Emily, why must they keep at their supernatural hogwash?

Could it be that their family really does just have an unusual history of early deaths? Most people seem to think so. But Grampa’s research has uncovered something different.

When mysterious writing matching descriptions found in ancient accounts begins appearing to the children, they know something’s up. They must find out what really happened to their ancestors, and work together to discover the reason behind the mysterious writings.

Creighton Hill is the first book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.

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Release Date

Creighton Hill, Time Captives book 1, will release on June 8th, 2015. Stay tuned on Morgan’s blog and Facebook page for more information and sneak peeks.

About the Author

Morgan cropped blurred backgroundMorgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Don’t forget to check out the other blogs participating in the reveal! You can find links to all of them here.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Book Review--An Uncertain Choice

 
The first book in a new YA historical fiction series from bestselling author Jody Hedlund.
 
Due to her parents' promise at her birth, Lady Rosemarie has been prepared to become a nun on the day she turns eighteen. Then, a month before her birthday, a friend of her father's enters the kingdom and proclaims her parents' will left a second choice-if Rosemarie can marry before the eve of her eighteenth year, she will be exempt from the ancient vow.
 
Before long, Rosemarie is presented with the three most handsome and brave knights in the land. But when the competition for her heart seemingly results in a knight playing foul, she begins to wonder if the cloister is the best place after all. If only one of the knights-the one who appears the most guilty-had not already captured her heart.
 
My Rating: 4 Stars
 
I was a little leery starting An Uncertain Choice. I’d seen several not so great reviews before I started it, so I went in with rather low expectations. I think that might be one reason I enjoyed it. I almost always find myself surprised when I go in with low expectations whether it be books or movies. While the book may have been predictable in areas and perhaps a little silly and unrealistic at times, I liked it quite a bit. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Derrick and the duke. I just loved their nobility. I even liked Rosemarie, which is quite a surprise knowing my usual dislike for female protagonists. Yes, her naiveté and indecisiveness was a bit frustrating at times, she still grew on me. Aside from a few darker moments involving torture and such, this was a light, very fairytale-ish read, especially in the romance department. And who says fairy tale stories can’t be a little silly and unrealistic? Once in a while, you just need fun stories like that to unwind and relax. There was definitely adventure to it as well. I devoured the last quarter of the book, almost skimming because I was so anxious to see what would happen (even if I could predict the ending). So if you’re looking for a (mostly) light and fun fairytale princess-like story, then I recommend checking it out.
 
I received a copy of this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.