Thursday, June 26, 2014

Kundalis Storm Dragon Book Tour and Review


I recently agreed to be part of a book tour for the book "Kundalis Storm Dragon" by author Frances Pauli. I had not previously heard of this author, so, although I  have a love for stories about dragons, I was a little bit wary. 

The blurb:
 
"Karin knows she’s gone completely insane—nuts—absolutely batshit crazy, when she 
spots an insidious blue dragon twining through the trees at a  rest stop in the Cascade 
Mountains. Despite agreeing to join her roommate at a psychic fair, she’s never believed 
in anything metaphysical. She’s pretty sure the Reiki treatment she succumbed to has 
brought on a frighteningly realistic hallucination—until they roll their mini-van in the 
middle of I-90, and she is rescued from the vehicle by the same monstrous blue figment 
of her imagination. 

She awakens to find that she’s been delivered to a cabin high in the mountains instead 
of to a proper hospital. The “doctor” looking out for her is more of a new-ager than a 
physician, and the people who own the  house, including the urban highlander version 
of Fabio, don’t have any intention of letting her leave.

Faced with the unimaginable, and strapped to an all-too-real dragon, Karin must decide 
how to tame the beast or risk losing herself to it forever."

My review:
The cover, as you can see, is beautiful, and although the book was only an ARC copy which still hadn't had 
its final edits completed, I found it to have few, if any  grammatical or spelling errors. The book was very 
well written and a delight to  read. In fact, once I got past the first few pages and started to understand the 
story a bit more, I became thoroughly engrossed in the book. I read it within a couple of  hours and pretty 
much didn't want to put it down until I finished the story. I highly recommend it if you like the idea of 
reading a dragon story that has an interesting twist on the idea of what a dragon really is.
 
Spoiler (Don't read beyond this point if you don't want to read a spoiler): My favorite line in the book: 
"We are not enlightened. We are broken." (That may not be an exact quote; it's just from memory.)

author Frances Pauli

Purchase Link:

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Summer Book Crush: Book Boyfriends Are Here!

What would you say to over 80 titles with many undeniably-hot BOOK BOYFRIENDS that leave you wanting more? Yep, we've got you covered. The second annual SUMMER BOOK CRUSH event runs this year from June 19th through June 22nd. Don't miss it, or you will have to wait a full year for the next one! main banner2 So many ways to fall in love with just a right BOOK BOYFRIEND! And the best part? You can purchase your dream Book Boyfriend for only 99¢ each, but for a limited time only.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

When Life Gives You Lemons- Writer's Reveal June 2014


This month's Writers Reveal topic was provided by Melissa: When life gives you lemons... how do you keep on writing?

I try not to focus on the lemons that life gives me.

When my laptop crashed, I focused on the positive which was that my husband had a desktop computer and, although it required some changes in how I did things, I was able to move my work to his computer. I was fortunate in that my work was saved and I was fortunate in that we were able to purchase a new laptop for me within months.

When my son was ill and had to stay home from school, missing seven full school days in a row, it meant that I only had to take my kids to one school during that time, which significantly shortened the time I spent on the school runs. I saw it as gaining me an hour a day of writing time. My son eventually got over his mysterious fever and was back at school, and, in the meantime, I managed to get in a little bit of extra writing.

Currently, I am suffering with severe hayfever. It's too the point that my eyes are so watery, itchy and puffy that I can barely see out of them and I can't breathe at all through my nose. I am suffering from allergy-related migraines, and the allergy medicine makes me very sleepy. But it can't be all bad,because I have managed to sit down here and type up this post.

So I guess you could say that when life gives me lemons, I decide that I like lemons and then make the most of it. Yes, I'm a "make lemonade" kind of gal.

But if something happens which absolutely prevents me from writing and editing, here is what I do:

1. Try and be productive in other ways, if at all possible. Maybe that's cleaning house or organizing my files, or maybe it's just about spending more time with my kids.

2. Think about my stories and how they can be improved or what direction they will take next. Often taking a small break from writing helps to renew my creative juices.

3. Read some books and watch some television. I love to read; it helps keep my mind active, helps me learn new things and even helps generate new ideas. Watching television shows and movies can spark creativity too, but it doesn't take as much thought as reading so it's a great way to just rest and recharge my batteries.

4. Spend time with friends. Between raising my children and working on my books, I often find myself spending less and less time with my friends. It's healthy for me to spend some tie with my friends and renew those friendships that have been lax.

5. Volunteer to help someone else. When I am unable to write or edit my work, but I am able to talk and go out in public (i.e. I'm not sick), then I offer to help at my children's schools or to give a talk at the local library.

*****

This post is part of the Writer’s Reveal monthly blog challenge. To read some of the other posts, visit the blogs below: