Inspiration at 35,000 Feet! Guest Post by Natalie Wright

 

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Natalie Wright to the blog. She's traveling the blogosphere promoting her new release, a YA Paranormal/Fantasy, "Emily's Trial" that was released last month. Natalie is the author of The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. When not writing, blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, Wattpadding or eating chocolate, Natalie nurtures her young daughter, feeds her dog too many treats, and can’t resist watching "Ancient Aliens", no matter how absurd the show becomes. Natalie enjoys travel, good wine, and excellent food shared with family and friends. She was raised an Ohio farm girl, now lives in the desert Southwest, and dreams of living in a high rise in a big city. “Books are my friends, ideas my passion.”  

Find Natalie Online:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

YouTube

Wattpad
Pinterest

 

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Inspiration for Emily's Trial at 35,000 Feet! 

Much of my first novel, Emily’s House, takes place in Ireland. I’d been inspired to write a story about Ireland, but I’d never been there! As I finished the first draft, I knew that I had to go to Ireland before I could finish my revisions. 

But there was a problem. I didn’t have the money to go to Ireland. But that problem was solved when I won a trip to Ireland in a radio contest – true story! Less than a month after I’d prayed for the opportunity, my plane touched down in Dublin. 

 It was magical to traipse around the Irish countryside, roughly following the path that my characters tread in Emily’s House. I smiled so much my face hurt! 

That’s my head peaking around an Irish Megalithic site. 

 Before I left for Ireland, I’d envisioned "Emily’s House" as a single novel, not a series. Written for a late tween to early teen audience, "Emily’s House" is a classic hero quest. Emily learns of her ancient magical heritage; journeys solo and learns secret knowledge from a wise mentor; receives magical objects; and then defeats the bad guy and saves the day. A grand adventure for Emily and her pals. One big story. The end. 

"Emily’s House", Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles 

 But on my way back from Ireland, cruising at 35,000 above the Earth, something happened. Maybe it was the lower-than-normal oxygen level. Or perhaps the white noise hum of the engines created stillness and focus. Whatever the reason, my mind was open and my imagination flowed. 

And there, 35,000 feet in the air, three titles popped into my head: "Emily’s House", "Emily’s Trial", and "Emily’s Heart". 

On that flight, Emily told me that she had more than one story to tell. In "Emily’s House", Emily was faced with obstacles, to be sure. But I hadn’t challenged her as much as I could. I wanted to see what would happen if I pushed her to the edge of the cliff. All I needed was a juicy catalyst of a challenge. 

 By the time I touched down back in the U.S., the theme of book 2 was clear to me: Fear. 

 What if Emily’s worst fears began to come true? 

What if her friends’ nightmares became real? 

My initial premise was born on that flight in September, 2010. And by the time I touched down back in the U.S., I had a brief outline of Book 2, "Emily’s Trial". 

Last November (2011), I gave myself a challenge and participated in NaNoWriMo (Nat’l Novel Writing Month). The goal: To write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. 

My family ate out of boxes and bags for much of the month, but I achieved my goal. By December 1, I had the first draft of "Emily’s Trial" written! It was an incredible challenge to push myself to write that much each and every day. The truth is, usually I’m a sporadic writer. I may write for eight hours one day, then not write at all for a few weeks. 

But I soon found that total immersion in the story for thirty days straight was a blessing. I ate, breathed, slept and dreamt Emily’s world and characters for a whole month. And as I lived with them, they spoke to me more clearly than they ever had. The characters took the story to places I hadn’t imagined. And I ended up with an ending that required me to go back and rewrite the beginning! 

It was wonderful fun for me, as a writer, to explore the theme of fear with these characters. Poor Emily – I pushed her so hard! But the reward is a character-driven action story that tests long-held friendships and loyalties. 

I had so much fun writing "Emily’s Trial"! I hope you have fun reading it.

"Emily's Trial", Book 2 of the Akasha Chronicles 

I may be crazy, but I’ll be doing the NaNoWriMo challenge again this November, and banging out a first draft of Book 3, Emily’s Heart. So think of me this November, foregoing decent food, sleep, fresh air and Facebook as I write the last chapter of Emily’s amazing journey.

Will Emily rise to the challenge left her at the end of Book 2? 

And will love flourish in Emily’s Heart? 

I’ll see you in December ;-) 

Happy reading! 

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Emily's Trial

Author: Natalie Wright

ISBN: 978-0615702766

Publisher: Boadicea Press

Genre: YA, paranormal, fantasy

Release Date: September 19, 2012

Formats: paperback, ebook

Length: 204 pages, 281 KB

Book Blurb:

Two years ago, Emily’s journey began. She learned the ancient magic of her Celtic ancestors, and became a modern Celtic Priestess. The golden torc, forged by faerie hands, is still wound around her arm, fused to her soul. She was entrusted with powerful magic – secret knowledge. But even a Priestess can feel desire – temptation – and the quest for love. Will passion entice Emily to use her sacred magic in a forbidden way? Can new love take root in a world of nightmares? And will her friendships survive Emily’s Trial? The Journey Continues . . .

Buying Links: 

Paperback:
 CreateSpace: http://bit.ly/UJuq9M
 Amazon: http://amzn.to/QscryF
 Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/RdAscm
 Powell’s: http://bit.ly/R4hBS9

 E-Book:
 Smashwords*: http://bit.ly/UJuq9M
               *At Smashwords you can download the version of your choice – for Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo, Sony, PDF, etc.
 Amazon for Kindle: http://amzn.to/R58yyW
 Apple iBookstore: http://bit.ly/UWeGeg

Book Blast: Greta and the Goblin King

GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING by Chloe Jacobs

While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.

To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

Greta and the Goblin King on
Goodreads

Purchase:

(US)

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / BAM

(Canada)
Amazon / Chapters Indigo

(International)
Book Depository

Praise for GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING:

"High adventure and hot romance. Greta and the Goblin King is a winner!"
~ Kelley Armstrong #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Don't miss this rollicking adventure through a fascinating world. You'll gobble up Greta & the Goblin King and be left hungry for more!"
– Deborah Cooke, bestselling author of The Dragonfire Novels and The Dragon Diaries

"Chloe Jacob's YA debut is unputdownable with a kick-butt heroine and a super sexy hero. This goblin king is a keeper!"
– Michelle Rowen, national bestselling author

"The fantasy world Chloe Jacobs created is stunning...Fans of Shadow and Bone and Throne of Glass, this one is definitely for you."
–Teresa Mary Rose of Readers Live a Thousand Lives

Author Chloe Jacobs:

Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

School/Library Visits:
If you would like to have Chloe visit your school, library, or other event, don’t hesitate to contact her at chloejacobs@rogers.com.

Her presentations are informative as well as entertaining. She is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker. She offers workshops and gives presentations on the craft of writing – from that first spark of an idea all the way through to implementation; the trials of getting published; the business of publishing; marketing and promotional tips and tools for authors; writing for young adults; why the young adult genre is so strong in today’s declining book market; balancing life’s passions with daily responsibilities; what it’s like to be a writer; how she gets ideas for books; and many other writing-related topics.

She is also more than happy to customize a presentation to your specific needs, and would be pleased to do Skype visits as well.

Links:

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash from Author Chloe Jacobs

Ends 11/21/12

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive, and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dusty Reads Link Up

Dusty Reads is a meme started by Giselle at Xpresso Reads featuring a book that has been sitting unread on your shelf for some time. Books don't have to be 'x' years old. If you've had the book for a few months without reading it, it's dusty! :D You can post on any day but Giselle and I usually post or put up a linky on Tuesdays. If you don't use the button, try to link back to this post or Giselle's so others will know how/where to link up. You can use the above button, the one below or create your own if you prefer.  

ARC Review of Kept by Shawntelle Madison

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Series: Coveted #2
Format Read: eGalley
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Fresh from defending her pack in battle, Natalya Stravinsky, a whip-smart werewolf with a lovable neurotic streak, wants a little rest and relaxation. Once an outcast, she’s now eager to rejoin the ranks of her New Jersey pack, and has even gotten a handle on her obsessive urge to hoard holiday ornaments. Yet Nat barely has time to revel in her progress before the next crisis comes howling at her door.


Nat’s father has suddenly gone missing, captured by the Russian werewolf mafia. And as Nat steps up to save her dad from a mob boss’s deadly game, two men step in to play another round for her heart: her gorgeous alpha ex-boyfriend, Thorn, and her new flame, the sweetly sensitive wizard Nick. With her life growing more harried by the minute, Nat must stay cool, calm, and collected . . . or else risk losing everything.

Reviewed By: Bea

Quote:

The child leapt into my arms.

I expected to cringe. To cry out from the filth that crawled all over her. But she smelled of forever. Youth. The warmth of my babushka's blankets wrapped around me.

I cried out, but it wasn't in pain. It felt good to do the right thing.

Bea's Thoughts:

When the first book came out, I was intrigued. An OCD werewolf? That was different. I never did get around to reading the first book but that wasn't a problem when reading this one. Madison did an excellent job of working in information about events from book one without dragging down the story. That's a good thing as much of what happens in this story unfolds from those events.

Approximately the first half of the story is Nat and friends paying off her father's debt, but not in any way the mob boss expects. Despite the difficulties and some challenging choices, Nat is honorable. That sense of honor which led her to shoulder her father's debt also leads to her endangering her father and her place in the pack. Packs in this world live by a Code, a strict code with severe consequences for failure to abide by it. It's that Code that led to her father's debt and her assuming the debt.

Nat is a different sort of wolf, with her OCD, and attending therapy for it. The group therapy scenes were among my favorites in the book. Due to circumstances in the first book, Nat lost her place in her pack. Unlike most werewolf books I've read, the packs in this world don't grant automatic admission, you have to pass a trial. She lost her pack status previously and in this book, she strives to regain it. The actual trial itself happens at the very end of the book. There were some cliches and "twists" that really weren't twists but even so, Madison manages some tension about the outcome. The trial also serves to resolve the love triangle, no, quadrangle, that Nat's involved in.

Nat loves Thorn, the Alpha-elect, who loves her but is required to marry Erica. But Nat also has feelings for Nick, a wizard from her therapy group, who loves her. Happily, Madison doesn't drag out this storyline but resolves it by the end of this book. The book is a curious mix of straight up urban fantasy and romance. At times, the romance felt grafted on and while I believed Nat's feelings Thorn, his for her never felt real to me. I liked the romance between her and Nick and was rooting for them. Who does she end up with? You'll have to read and see for yourself.

I liked Nat; she's a little gruff but kind, loyal to her family and friends, tries to deal with her disability (trust me, in the werewolf world OCD is a disability), is snarky, and while she sometimes acts before thinking, she's not one of those too-stupi-to-love heroines so common in urban fantasy books. I loved Madison's world building and how different it is from other werewolf books I read; I loved the humor and the secondary characters (I really want to know what happens with Heidi and Abby).

In between the trial and paying off her father's debt, Nat deals with her family, her former lover's jealous fiance, her OCD, magic, and various other odds and ends. At times, the book felt less like a cohesive story and more like a collection of anecdotes and short stories.

There are some cliches and predictable events, the characters could have used some additional depth, but in all, it was a good book and I expect I'll be back for more.

The ARC I read did have a lot of typos, some wrong words and missing words, and several oddly constructed sentences. I hope that these were fixed in the final copy as they were frequent enough to keep me from buying it if not.

Some favorite quotes:

"You have the pace of a were-sloth participating in the Olympics. You'd slow me down to the point of aggravation."

"Do you do everything in heels? Never mind, don't answer that. My mind went to the wrong place real fast."

Thanks to being a clean freak, I was used to being stared at by the other werewolves back at home. In comparison, a few humans I'd never see again didn't seem like a problem. The cheap plastic gloves brought me a strange comfort just looking at them.

No one said anything after that. What the hell could I say to back up a story about an evil hitcher and his trained killer monkey?

I sighed deeply. Everything I'd learned so far should've been a warning, but I wanted to learn more.

He sounded all confident and smug. Too bad Auntie Yelena didn't know he had that rampant a***ole disease going around the on the East Coast.

"I'm not just your average truck-driving, bartending mermaid who likes roughnecks."

I received an eGalley from the publisher for review.

Sunday Book Share #10

 

I'm participating in both The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Each meme allows book bloggers the chance to share books they've received, and different posts and events at their blog.

Last week went by quickly, how is it Sunday again already? We got some snow this week, about on an inch of it, heavy and wet. Happily it melted in a couple days. I'm not ready for winter yet, then again I never am. :D I had a checkup with the main doctor on the surgical team and she's excited, quite optimistic about its effects. She thinks that my quick recovery from the asthma attack a few weeks ago is a sign that the procedure is working. :)

Reviews:  ARC Review of Trapped by Kevin Hearne

ARC Review of Checking It Twice by Jodi Redford

Cover Reveals:  Hidden Gates by D.T. Dillin

Pieces by Michelle Davidson Argyle

 

News:  Sale on ebook bundle of John Scalzi books

Giveaways:  Hades for President Swag Giveaway (now over)

Spotlights:  The Breeders by Matthew J Beier

This week I have several spotlights, an excerpt and giveaway, a guest post, and reviews. I'm very excited about the excerpt and giveaway; the author J.A. Campbell is a friend of mine and I've been waiting for this book, "Summer Break Blues", for a year now. Be sure to stop in on Friday, read the excerpt and enter the giveaway! Also, if you want to be part of her blog tour, send me an email, beasbooknook@gmail.com

BOOKS

Library:

I'm so behind on the Elder Races series; I need to catch up so I can read the book I won a few weeks ago.

Bought:

Won:

I won this from the author in a giveaway on the wonderful Kimba the Caffeinated's blog. 

Kindle Freebies:

"Waking Up Married" is a pre-order, it won't land on my Kindle until December 1st. I bought "The Negotiator" because of the blurb and despite the cover. I really dislike that cover, though the purple is pretty.

Kindle freebies are crack, my crack certainly. :D

I hope you all have a good week. Don't forget to leave a link to your post in your comment.

ARC Review of Checking It Twice by Jodi Redford

Publisher: Samhain
Format Read: eARC
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Samhain

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Tis the season for double seduction.

The only item on Jana Colton's Christmas list this year is Kevin Monahan. Preferably naked in her bed. The delicious, hunky chef has been resisting her forever, but she's pulling out all the sexy stops this holiday. Especially since his acceptance of an out-of-state job threatens to nix her quest to rock his boxers off.

Jana has always been Kevin's personal Kryptonite, but giving in to her isn't an option. Relationships are a four-letter word in his book. He cares far too much for Jana to let his emotional baggage ultimately break her heart.

With the arrival of his best friend, Nick Pappas, the balance of temptation shifts. From their past history of sharing women, Nick knows every dirty trick it takes to lead Kevin astray, and he's not afraid to use them. Particularly since Nick's convinced that Jana is exactly what Kevin needs to be happy and whole.

Their game of seduction quickly snowballs into something that feels an awful lot like love--in triplicate. But with Kevin dead set on leaving Michigan, there's a real possibility it could be a blue Christmas for them all.

Warning: This book contains an extremely tormented voyeur, a very naughty and not so saintly Nick, a liberal application of candy cane-flavored body paint, a buzzing butterfly, and enough raunchy fun on a sex swing to melt a snowman...or two.

Quote:

Intimacy didn't come easy for him. Until Jana entered his life, he rarely let down his guard enough to share that side of himself. The only other person who'd broken through his barriers had been Nick.

And look where that got you.

Reviewed By: Bea

Bea's Thoughts:

"Checking It Twice" is a follow up to "The Naughty List", featuring Jana Colton, sister to one of the main characters in  that book. As always with Redford's books, there's hot, steamy sex; humor; and a character who is reluctant to love.

Jana is in love with Kevin and though they are friends, she's never had any luck in getting him to let her in. Kevin is attracted to Jana, may even love her but due to several different past experiences feels that he has nothing to offer her and that he is in fact a sexual freak. Then his former best friend Nick arrives in town and turns everything upside down. As relationships change and boundaries are pushed, Kevin slowly starts to confront his past and his hangups, Jana discovers a side to herself that she'd been unaware of and Nick makes another life change. Everyone changes during the story, a process that can be frightening and Redford doesn't back away from showing us the difficulties.

There's a revelation near the end of the book that I wish she'd spent more time on and I hope that if there's another book, it will be addressed. She presents what happened in a character's past as an affair but since only one partner was of legal age and the other one was only fifteen years old it strikes me more as abuse or statuatory rape. That bothered me but not enough to detract from the story. If you enjoy your romances extra steamy and aren't bothered by threesomes or voyeurism, then you need to read this story.



I received an eARC from the author for review.

Spotlight: The Breeders by Matthew J. Beier

Matthew J. Beier’s new novel "The Breeders", set in a dystopian future where homosexuals run the world and heterosexuals are being set on a path to extinction, is available now from Epicality Books. Beier, an openly gay Minnesota native, hopes the political satire will add fuel to the nation’s debate over gay marriage, coming just in time to dovetail with Minnesota’s proposed amendment to ban it.

 Beier knows something most heterosexual people don’t: what it’s like to be perceived as a threat—or even hated—due to his sexual orientation. In a unique reflection of his own life experience, "The Breeders" flips social norms upside down and imagines a future where homosexuals have figured out how to reproduce via genetic engineering, and heterosexuals are the disdained minority—kept around only as a backup plan for human survival. Inspiration for the novel came from the National Organization for Marriage, whose 2008 ad campaign equating gay marriage to “a coming storm” was both humorous and frustrating for the author.

“Despite the fact that I’ve been very fortunate in avoiding any life-altering instances of prejudice, I’m often on the outside, looking in,” he says of his experience living on the homosexual fringe. “When I see political agendas, news stories, or online news comments conveying fear or disgust over the GLBT community, I can’t help but think that most of the people behind them haven’t even bothered to put themselves in the place of those they are speaking out against. In developing The Breeders, I asked myself, ‘What would happen if I imagined it for them?’” 

What drew Beier’s attention was the idea of two heterosexuals conceiving a child in a future where reckless, unplanned reproduction is the most hated of human flaws. The book draws on current political, media, and scientific trends to make the dystopian future feel as realistic as possible.

“The Breeders takes this scenario to the extreme, but at its core is a story about two human beings trying to find their own worth in a society that drags them down,” Beier says. “I think the book is hitting at just the right time due to the public attention focused on gay marriage issues, bullying, and anti-gay prejudice. I’m often surprised to see just how diverse people’s beliefs and feelings are on these subjects, especially when hatred and violence are involved. One of the key problems is that there are so few conversation starters out there that encourage the differing camps to understand each other.” 

While Beier hopes "The Breeders" will be entertaining for people of all political persuasions, he also hopes it will foster dialogue between people of differing opinions on human rights and social progress. “My dream,” he says, “is to help people to see that humanity is—to quote Albus Dumbledore—only as strong as it is united and as weak as it is divided. But if this novel simply makes anybody’s list of top books to read, that would be a thrill, too.”

I like the cover of this book, though why it has icebergs I have no idea. I guess I'll have to read it to find out. It's an intriguing premise with a dynamite plot. If you read it before I do, let me know what you think.

 The Breeders

Author: Matthew Beier 

ISBN: 978-0983859406 

Publisher: Epicality Books 

Genre: Fiction, Dystopian, Speculative

Release Date: January 2012 

Formats: paperback, ebook

Length: 426 pages, 708 KB

Price: $14.99US 

Buying Links:  The Book Depository   Amazon   Barnes & Noble

Website  Twitter

Interested? Check out the book trailer.

John Scalzi Ebook Bundle Sale

Subterranean Press is having a sale on it's John Scalzi ebook bundle. You get 7 fiction titles and 1 non-fiction title. The sale runs until the end of November and is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo (links below).

Fiction:

• How I Proposed To My Wife: An Alien Sex Story
• An Election
• Questions for a Soldier
• The Sagan Diary
• Judge Sn Goes Golfling 
• The Tale of the Wicked
• The God Engines

Non-Fiction

• You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop

If purchased individually, the books would run you $17.92, but for the month of November, you can get all of the Scalzi you can handle for the low price of $7.99. If you haven't read Scalzi before, this is a good way to ease into his writing.

To order, head over to (Kindle|BN.com|Kobo).