Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts

Monday, March 5, 2018

Jenelle Leanne Schmidt on Writing // Guest Post + MINSTREL'S CALL Blog Tour & Giveaway


Hello, my Dragons! Today, I'm delighted to share my sweet blogger friend, Jenelle's, latest release -- Minstrel's Call -- with y'all! 💙

ABOUT THE BOOK


BOOK IV OF THE MINSTREL'S SONG SERIES

War threatens. The game board is set. But the Minstrel is missing...

Advancing his growing power, the Dread Prince breaks free of his prison and brings a faction of dragons under his control, stirring unrest and hatred in the newly united kingdoms of Tellurae Aquaous.

When the dragon wards of Kallayohm are targeted in a ruthless attack, the High King travels there to administer justice. But the trial results in a crippling blow that leaves him reeling.

On the heels of defeat, an unexpected message from the erstwhile Minstrel arrives, pleading with his friends for rescue. Together, the High King and his companions must follow the fragile trail, braving peril and darkness that will test the measure of them all...



Book I: King's Warrior: Amazon // Goodreads

Book II: Second Son: Amazon // Goodreads

Book III: Yorien's Hand: Amazon // Goodreads

GUEST POST: JENELLE'S WRITING PROCESS

It begins with an idea. This idea can come from anywhere, something I see, a line or phrase that pops into my head, a sudden "what if?" that I find compelling. King's Warrior began with the image of the sun rising over the pond across the street on one of those mornings where the weather has changed suddenly, causing steam to hover over the water. It made me think of a dragon emerging from his cave, and I had this sudden thought that such an image would make a great myth for a fantasy world in which the sun was called "the Dragon's Eye" in reference to an early belief that a great dragon soared across the sky each day and kept watch over the inhabitants of the world.

For me, it is often that the world comes first -- before characters, before plot, just this glimmering of a different realm in which a story could be told.

After the initial idea, I spend hours... and hours and hours... discussing this idea with my husband. He is my sounding board, my inspiration, my technical guru, the one who helps me tackle the nitty-gritty details of world building and plot strategizing, and in many instances, the one responsible for helping me break through any writer’s block I may be experiencing. Whenever I have a moment of, "Hmmm, that's a problem, how should I solve it?" I talk it through with Derek and we bounce ideas back and forth. Sometimes I will ask a friend or other family member for ideas, as well, if I feel like I'm stuck and not getting anywhere, or if I need a different perspective. One thing I've learned over the years is that the more perspectives and angles I can get on a story, the better it turns out.

Usually, the characters begin to emerge as I work through the idea, so I will generally take a little time to jot down notes about them: what they look like, who their families are (if they have family), their general personality... things like that. I always meet more characters once the writing starts, so I don’t try too hard to figure out every character that will be in the story... the ones that step in unannounced are generally the most fun, anway!

OUTLINES!

All through school, I was the kid who wrote the paper first (usually weeks early) so that I could hand in that dratted outline. I could never figure out how I was supposed to know what I was going to write, or in what order I was going to write it, before I had actually written the paper. I got a lot of As in English...

However, strategies that work well for one-to-ten page papers, are not always the best for 140,000-word novels, and I discovered after writing my first novel that neglecting an outline at the beginning meant a lot of work on the editing and rewriting side of things. So, now I generally have at least a loose outline of events that I want to see happen throughout the story. It remains "more of a guideline, than actual rules," but it is a helpful tool as I draft.

I do a lot of different things when I write. I don't usually draft to music, unless I'm struggling, and then I'll usually turn on some instrumental Christmas music, which has almost always proven to be an effective way of surmounting the dreaded writer's block.

Once that first draft is done, I tend to let it sit for a while while I work on other things. I find that coming back to a project with "fresh" eyes and brainpower is best, otherwise I get a little burned out on the story. Then I transition into editing mode! I have absolutely fantastic editors, and each one of them helps me hone my rough drafts into something presentable.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my writing process. Writing a book is not something I can do within a vacuum. For me, it really does take a village.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Jenelle Schmidt grew up in the northern-Midwest. She now resides with her husband and their four adorable children in the wilds of Wisconsin. Jenelle fell in love with reading at a young age, during family story-times when her father would read out loud to her and her siblings each night before bed. Her imagination was captured by authors such as Madeleine L'Engle, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Lloyd Alexander. It wasn't long before she began making up her own stories and sharing them with her family. To this day she enjoys creating exciting adventure tales filled with poignant themes and compelling characters in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.


GIVEAWAY


Jenelle has kindly offered to give away a dragon sword, a 252-piece Minstrel's Call cover art puzzle, and a signed Minstrel's Call paperback! This giveaway is open both internationally and to US residents. Should an international winner be selected, he/she will receive a $35 Amazon gift card in place of the sword.

Entrants may enter here, or through the widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

MONDAY, February 26 = Welcome post from Jenelle + interview with Kyle Shultz + guest post for E.E Rawls

TUESDAY, February 27 = guest post for DJ Edwardson + book spot from Catherine Chant

WEDNESDAY, February 28 = book spot from CL Wells

THURSDAY, March 1 = book spot from Annie Douglas Lima + character interview with Kendra E. Ardnek

FRIDAY, March 2 = book spot from Bryn Shutt + newsletter release with Sarah Ashwood

MONDAY, March 5 = book spot from Dawn Roberto + guest post from Liv. K Fisher

TUESDAY, March 6 = ARC Review from Deborah O’Carroll

WEDNESDAY, March 7 = book spot from Nancy Moors + character interview with Kandi J Wyatt

THURSDAY, March 8 = author interview with Kendra E. Ardnek

FRIDAY, March 9 = book spot with Laurie Lucking + Tour End/giveaway winner post with Jenelle


Many thanks to Jenelle on sharing her writing process with us, and congratulations on her latest release! Dragons, don't forget to enter her giveaway and add Minstrel's Call to Goodreads!

Have you read any of Jenelle's books, before? What were some of your favorite childhood reads?

❤,


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Sunday, February 11, 2018

Laurie Lucking on Writing // Guest Post + COMMON Blog Tour & Party Invitation


HULLO, MY DEAR DRAGONS! Today, I am absolutely ecstatic to be a part of the launch team for Laurie Lucking's debut novel, Common!

Laurie is a sweet soul I met online through spec fic writing groups and mutual friends, and when I learned that she was releasing a novel with L2L2 Publishing, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. 💗 Without further ado, Common...

ABOUT THE BOOK


TALES OF THE MYSTICS, BOOK I

Only one person knows of the plot against the royal family
and cares enough to try to stop it -- the servant girl they banished.

Leah spends her days scrubbing floors, polishing silver, and meekly curtsying to nobility. Nothing distinguishes her from the other commoners serving at the palace, except her red hair.

And her secret friendship with Rafe, the Crown Prince of Imperia.

But Leah's safe, ordinary world begins to splinter. Rafe's parents announce his betrothal to a foreign princess, and she unearths a plot to overthrow the royal family. When she reports it without proof, her life shatters completely when the queen banishes her for treason.

Harbored by an unusual group of nuns, Leah must secure Rafe's safety before it's too late. But her quest reveals a villain far more sinister than an ambitious nobleman with his eye on the throne. Can a common maidservant summon the courage to fight for her dearest friend?



GUEST POST: MY (SOMEWHAT
DYSFUNCTIONAL) WRITING PROCESS

I never planned on being a fiction writer. Although I've dreamed up stories for most of my life, I never thought to write them down. So when I became a stay-at-home mom and needed a creative outlet, the idea of writing a book felt like it came out of nowhere.

It started as a hobby. I didn't know if this strange new obsession would even last the week, so I just had fun writing whatever events or conversations I came up with. Eventually those blossomed into more and more scenes, until the entire storyline took shape. When I decided I had so much written that I may as well complete the book, I went back through, drafting transitions and filling in the gaps. The editing process required a huge overhaul to make the story consistent and to improve the pacing and character development.

You'd think when I started my new project (what is now Common), I would've learned from that first experience and taken a more organized approach. Nope! I did the exact same thing, writing whatever scenes inspired me and letting the story grow organically from there, leading to another major editing overhaul.

It's not pretty, but at least for now, it's how I operate. And I don't see that changing any time soon. Because as dysfunctional as my process is, it’s what makes writing fun for me.

When I first get a story idea, it's a vague sense of two main characters, where they start, a few major conflicts, and where they end up. So I'm somewhere in between the plotter and panster extremes. The idea of outlining makes sense logically, but for some reason I seem to need to actually start writing and exploring the plot and characters before I can fill in the details of how they'll get from point A to point B.

And then there's a fact that I'm now the mother of two very active little boys. When I had one newborn I was looking for something to do, now most days I'm just trying to keep up. I only get to write a few times a week, and I have to carve out those opportunities. When I try to discipline myself to write the next scene in the story, regardless of whether I'm excited about it, the results are often a low word count and frustration that I used precious time to accomplish so little. So instead, as much as possible, I write whatever I'm excited about. The scene that keeps playing itself over and over in my head until I can get it down on paper. Even if that happens to be the second-to-last scene and I’m only halfway done with the manuscript. 🙂

My editing stages will likely continue to be painfully thorough, but if that's what it takes to keep me moving forward and enthusiastic about my writing, then it's a risk I’m willing to take! And I can always hold on to the dream that maybe next time I'll finally get my act together :)

How about you? Does your creative process look anything like mine, or do you manage to stay more disciplined? Has your approach changed over time?

Thank you so much for inviting me to visit and share about myself and my writing!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


An avid reader since birth (her parents claim she often kept them up late begging to hear just one more story), Laurie Lucking discovered her passion for writing after leaving her career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom. She writes young adult fantasy with a strong thread of romance, and her debut novel, Common, releases in 2018 from Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing.

Laurie is the secretary of her local ACFW chapter and a co-founder of landsuncharted.com, a blog for fans of clean young adult speculative fiction. A Midwestern girl through and through, she currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. Find out more about Laurie and her writing by visiting laurielucking.com.

Website/Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Google+
Instagram // Goodreads // Pinterest

A SPECIAL TREAT JUST FOR YOU <3

Laurie and her publisher are hosting a delightful online celebration the day after Common releases! February 15th, from 6 - 8 PM PST, join the fun on Facebook and dive into a night of games, prizes, and trivia, featuring guest authors Michele Israel Harper and Jebraun Clifford!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

TOUR SCHEDULE


Thank you so much for sharing your writing process with us, Laurie! And congratulations on your first release!! 💕

Writers, what does your writing process look like?
Readers, have you pre-ordered Common, yet?

❤,

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Friday, February 9, 2018

BookBurn Candles from Author Ivy Rose // Launch Blitz



Hello, Dragons! Today, I'm delighted to be handing the stage to my sweet blogger friend (and one of my favorite authors!), Ivy!

Ivy, take it away! 😄


Hey everyone! I'm Ivy Rose, the author of The Old River Road and Left to Die, and I'm excited to be announcing my newest bookish endeavor!

Doesn't everyone love a flickering candle that smells like their favorite book? I know I do! I'm excited to finally be opening my Etsy shop, BookBurn Candles.


With scents inspired by literary classics, authors, writers, and readers alike will love these adorable candles. Bookish candles make fantastic gifts for all book enthusiasts.

BookBurn Candles are made with natural soy wax, cotton wicks, and essential oils, making them as allergy-friendly as possible. They are available to purchase on Etsy.

Who in your life needs a bookish candle? (Is it you? That's okay, too. 😉)

Follow BookBurn Candles on Instagram for the first look at new scents and special deals!



ABOUT THE CANDLEMAKER


Ivy Rose is a young novelist with a passion to create beautiful fiction. Armed with a desire to make scenarios readers can easily relate to, she writes in many genres about ordinary individuals faced with extraordinary choices. As a chronic illness warrior, Ivy eagerly encourages others to find joy no matter what the circumstances. In her free time, she loves dancing, playing music, or enjoying various outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest.



Thank you for sharing, Ivy! 💗

Readers, you can check out Left to Die on Amazon and Goodreads, and purchase The Old River Road (ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER 😉😍😍😍), or add it to your TBR. The Old River Road's sequel, Along the Riverbank, is releasing later this year. 🙂

Dragons, have you read any of Ivy's books? Which bookish scent do you hope to find in her shop?

❤,


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Friday, January 19, 2018

ALLEGIANCE by Sarah Addison-Fox // Blog Tour & Guest Post


HELLO, MY DRAGON FRIENDS!!!! Today, I'm thrilled to be sharing my tour stop for Twitter and Goodreads friend, Sarah Addison-Fox's, novels, Disowned and Dissemble!

ABOUT DISOWNED


Book I of the Allegiance Series

Two countries, two choices, one life.

When Kyraenean slave Celeste risks her life to reach the free nation of Etraea, a country filled with technology and wealth, she unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

After escaping her new owner, Celeste awakens in the home of an Etraean soldier, sworn to protect the fragile peace.

For Corporal Mick Haynes, life is simple. Follow the rules, do your job and work your way up the ranks. Getting shot and finding a wanted slave at his family's farm wasn't part of the plan.

When a Kyraenean bounty hunter locates Celeste, Mick's loyalty will be stretched to the limit.

With war on the horizon, Celeste faces two impossible choices. Both securing her freedom, but both at a cost she could never have imagined.

Will Etraea provide the freedom she's longed for or shackle her to an entirely new master?



ABOUT DISSEMBLE


Book II of the Allegiance Series

Once you're in, you're in for life.

Plunged into the heart of the country she fled, with one chance to unlock her past, Celeste must employ every skill to protect the unsuspecting family she's grown to love.

With her future, and that of the Haynes family, dependent on her success, a newly trained Celeste is sent undercover to the capital city of Kyraenea.

Celeste's new handler Torrance Kyle has plans that don't involve doing his job or playing by the rules. Can she trust Torrance with her life, or is he hiding as many secrets as she is?

Will a disillusioned Mick risk everything to find Celeste, or settle for guarding the home front in Etraea?

Can Celeste find the truth in a world built on deceit, or will her mission lead her straight to the place she fears the most?

COMING SOON TO AMAZON


PRAISE FOR DISOWNED
"If you like non-magical fantasy with a strong dash of romance about a girl who fights against incredible odds to find freedom and her place in the world, then this is for you!"
~ Amazon reviewer

"If I could give ten stars, I would. This book was difficult to put down and when I finished it I really didn't know what to do with myself. I felt as though a part of me was missing and wandered around in a daze for days! How refreshing to read a book without being offended in any way. This author has a God-given talent and I wish her the very best!"
~ Amazon reviewer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born home-schooling mother of two who loves action-packed, clean, fantasy with strong heroines. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and a husband who, after twenty-seven years, can still make her blush. When she's not working on both her YA fantasy series she can be found fangirling on Goodreads or sending GIFs on Twitter.


GUEST POST: SARAH'S WRITING PROCESS

My writing process is pretty simple. When my son takes a nap in the morning, I grab my laptop, line up a can of coke, chocolate and put on some epic music.

I usually begin by reading over the last scene I wrote. Revising, and making changes, but I try not to dally too long on that. Maybe half-an-hour maximum. Then I try to get out as many words as I can before the thing (my son) needs to get up.

Sometimes I don’t get to write as long as I'd like to, "the thing" and life sometimes intercede, but I always make a commitment to write one-thousand words per day. My usual writing spot is in the dining room, on the couch, with only my dog for company. I'm a shocker for starting to write then losing myself in the story. Quite often I'll check the clock to find it's waaay past lunchtime and I haven't gotten dressed or cleaned my teeth!

My gorgeous daughter is most obliging and is usually doing her school work while I write (we homeschool), and since my husband works crazy shifts, and is mostly gone during the mornings, it works really well for our family.

I do get more writing time in the evenings when my husband works, but I have to put a limit on that because if I write too late, my brain gets wired and I don't sleep! No fun when "the thing" wakes at 6AM, and you didn't get to sleep until 2AM thinking about plot bunnies!

I don't spend too much time researching. That's something I do on my phone when I'm away from my laptop. If I do get stuck on something while writing, I’m fairly disciplined about looking something up if I need it and hopping off the internet. It's so easy to fall down rabbit holes and get lost looking at swords, parkour, forges, etc. All good fun, but all suck away the limited amount of time in the day I have.

If the words aren't flowing freely, my default is dialogue. A scene can always be fixed later. Descriptions can be added later. But it's the dialogue that moves a scene to where I need it to go. I call it bare bones writing. It still counts towards the word count even though the writing is minimal, and it’s much easier to flesh a scene out afterwards.

My writing day typically looks like this:

9.30 am: Drink first can of coke. (Caffeine takes approx. 30 mins to jump start my system)

10-11AM: "The thing" goes to bed. Clear the area of all remaining family members. Daughter to room. Husband to gym (if he's home).

11-1PM: Revise for thirty minutes, write till get to one-thousand words, taking breaks to check "the thing" is okay, while drinking another can of coke and trying not to consume all the chocolate.

7PM: Revise for thirty minutes. Write as much as possible. Leave self a note on what needs to happen in the scene. Yesterday when I finished writing I left this note to myself: steel capped boots, broken ribs. It's enough to make me remember where I was heading with my train of thought, and really helpful if I was interrupted before I could wind up a scene.

I don't always leave myself notes, and I don't always follow them. I am a die-hard "panster", so every when I do have something in mind, I often change it as I let the characters lead me.

I'm pretty regimented with my system. But it's a good formula that must work since I've finished eight first drafts this way.

It's really just revise, write, repeat.

Simple. Just like me.

TOUR SCHEDULE


Thank you so much for sharing your writing process with us, Sarah! And thanks to Livy Lynn for coordinating and organizing this tour! 💜

And Dragons, don't Disowned and Dissemble look amazing? They're high near the top of my TBR, and I've heard nothing but praise for them! I do believe that someday, they'll be sitting on many a bookshelf, right alongside Jaye L. Knight's The Ilyon Chronicles and Tricia Mingerink's The Blades of Acktar. 😉

Have you read any books in the Allegiance series, yet?

❤,


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Sunday, January 14, 2018

THE VANISHING SPARK OF DUSK by Sara Baysinger // Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway


HELLO, MY DRAGONS. I'm here on a Sunday (#whaaa) to bring you an exclusive look behind-the-scenes of Sara Baysinger's writing process! Sara is the author of the Black Tiger series -- a dystopian trilogy for Christian readers -- and The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, a shiny new YA sci-fi, which I'm here to share with you, today! 😄

ABOUT THE BOOK


Stand up.

When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she's determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she's brave enough, her voice.

Be heard.

Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father's business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth -- escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR


My name is Sara Baysinger and I write books. I was born in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, where I spent my early life exploring uncharted lands on horseback and raising chickens. I now make my home among the endless cornfields of Indiana with my husband and two children... and I still raise chickens. My dystopian novel Black Tiger was self-published in 2016. My science fiction / romance novel The Vanishing Spark of Dust released with Entangled Teen on January eighth, 2018. When not getting lost in a book, I can be found gardening, star-gazing, or drinking my favorite vanilla chai tea.

GUEST POST: SARA'S WRITING PROCESS

The writing process is something I love to hear others talk about because everyone does it differently. So here's what my process looks like:

First of all, I am what writers call a pantser, meaning I write by the seat of my pants. As in, no outline, other than what I think the ending might look like. (My endings never turn out as I plan, though, so never mind.) Outlining takes the fun out of writing for me. Would you want to finish reading a book if someone gave you scene-by-scene description of the book? Exactly. I let the story flow naturally, and follow whichever rabbit hole looks most interesting. Unfortunately, this does make for some extensive rewrites and revisions, but I’m okay with that. *shrugs*

I prefer to write in the mornings, but since having kids, that has been near impossible. I try not to write when the kids are awake, because I get so lost in my story world that I forget my surroundings, which isn't the greatest parenting tactic, especially with toddlers. 😉 So now I wait until after they're asleep to write. And yes, I have a ritual. I usually fix a cup of tea, light a few candles, occasionally put on music, and settle into my favorite recliner.

And write.

It's a beautiful thing to have the privilege of doing this every day. A good ending after a hard day's work, where I can escape for a little while and do something for me.

Because I write such messy first drafts, there are many, many, many rounds of revisions that follow. And once I think it's perfect and ready to publish, my editor gives me many, many, many more revisions. And I love every part of it. Every. Single. Stage.

About the publishing process -- when I self-published, I had a process that really worked for me. After I did everything I could with my book, I sent it out to a select group of beta readers and usually allowed about a month for them to read it and get it back to me. I would then work on their suggestions, then send it off to my editor. Once I received the manuscript back from my editor and cleaned it up to my satisfaction, it was off to the typesetter. After that, I sent it to my advance readers, who would send me a list of typos I missed, then back to the typesetter, and then off Amazon -- and my readers!

It's a busy process to self-publish, and while I don't think I’ll ever do it again (*not a business owner type personality*) I am glad I tried it out. It gave me a glimpse into the publishing process so I knew what to expect when I actually had people counting on me. It also forced me to set my own deadlines and challenged me to meet them. (I'm proud to say I met every deadline I set for myself. 🙂)

So there it is! Like I said, everyone has a different writing process, so if you are trying to write a book, and you don't understand why you're stuck when you're doing the exact same thing that famous author does, then try something else. Do you want to write out an outline or see where the story takes you? Do you want to start at the beginning, or write that scene that’s been burning in your mind since you got the idea for the book? Do what works for you, and the writing process will be so much easier and FUN. Plus your readers will love your books (and you!) for it.

Thank you so much, Sara! It's very exciting to hear how your writing/publishing process goes -- especially when you have a family to take care of! 🙂

EXCERPT FROM THE VANISHING SPARK OF DUSK

"What have we here. A runaway?"

I can't think. In my panic I can hardly breathe--

"Easy there." His voice is lucid and smooth, not rough and unkind like I imagined it would be. He releases me. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The first scattered thought that crosses my mind when I look at him is, he's not really too different from Humans. I mean, apart from being exceptionally tall, he really could pass for a Human. His tanned face is clean-shaven, and when he smiles, dimples appear. Dark feathery hair the color of molasses curls around two pointed ears. Amusement flickers in his eyes -- and for the first time I notice the strange color of them. They're not crazy at all, the way Johnson described. They have a purple hue, soft and deep like lilacs. Never look them in the eye. One of Johnson's many lessons. I avert my gaze.

"What are you doing outside the plantation?" His voice is not accusing but slightly curious. "You shouldn’t be out here unless you have a death wish. Correct?"

My stomach drops. Yes. He thinks I'm a slave. This could be good.

Or really bad.

I glance at the sky, think of something to say, but every Tavdorian word I've ever learned has decided to take a vacation.

"The sunset," I finally say in his language. "You can get the best view from here." It's the weakest excuse ever, but it'll buy me some time.

"The sunset?" He crosses his arms, and I notice how strong he is, his forearms corded in muscle. "You risked your life leaving the plantation... for a sunset?"

One swallow. Two blinks. "It's worth it, don't you think?" I gesture toward the sky, now turning a deep shade of crimson.

He swivels his eyes toward the sunset, then back at me. A confused smile forms on his two perfect lips, and I briefly wonder if all Tavdorians are this good-looking or if I've officially lost my mind.

"Alno must be lenient. Not many slaves get the privilege of enjoying a sunset."

My heartbeat spikes. Look away. Johnson told me Tavdorians never speak civilly to Humans. It's all orders and reprimands. So why is this one speaking to me? Why isn't he reacting in anger at my "privilege"?

"But you don’t have to worry about a lashing from me." The Tavdorian steps closer, and my shoulders stiffen. He's so tall my head barely reaches his chest. If he thought I was a runaway, he could easily swing me over his shoulder and carry me to the plantation himself.

"What do you want with me?" The question comes out in a breathless whisper. I allow myself to peek up at him. He stares back, his eyes sparking with curiosity.

"Simple conversation would be enough."

A conversation. With a Tavdorian. There's nothing simple about that.

"You don't need to tremble so much. I'm not going to harm you." He waves his hand in the air. "Or tell on you for running away."

"Thank you," I manage to whisper, realizing after I speak the words that I just confirmed his suspicion.

"I would suggest you run with more resources, though. Food. Water." His eyes drift over my threadbare tunic, and he frowns. "Layers of clothing, perhaps."

"I'm fine, really."

"Do you know how to hunt?"

I'm starting to wonder if this is an interrogation.

He narrows his eyes and lowers his voice a notch. "Or are you meeting with other runaways? I heard there were two who ran from the plantation. Alno must have a terrible time keeping his fence intact."

I can't speak. My mouth has been bolted shut, my fear threatening to choke me.

He sighs and drags his hand through his hair. "This conversation is seriously getting boring. You can either speak to me like a civil... being. Or you can walk away and leave me hanging, wondering who the mysterious copper-haired runaway was that I met on the riverbank."

My brain screams at me to walk away, but this Tavdorian isn't the only curious one here.

GIVEAWAY

Sara has kindly offered to give away a signed paperback copy of The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, along with a $25 Amazon gift card and a handmade, adjustable "be heard" ring! Enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE


Eeep! I'm so, so excited for The Vanishing Spark of Dusk! Doesn't it sound EPIC? And that gorgeous cover, too...! *drools*

Have you read any of Sara's books, before? What's your favorite thing about her cover?

❤,


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Monday, November 6, 2017

THE FINAL PALADIN // Blog Tour & Guest Post


HELLO, MY DRAGONS! Today, I'm positively delighted to be sharing some info behind T.J. Akers's The Final Paladin, L2L2 Publishing's last release for 2017! The Final Paladin is a YA fantasy and standalone, set in Lower Manhattan, New York, and friends, I'm so, so excited for this book! 😄

ABOUT THE BOOK


Life for Peg Bowman is rough in the infamous slums of Five Points, New York, but her brother's murder changes everything.

Thrust into incredible worlds beyond any story she's ever heard, Peg meets Sir Godfrey, an eleven-hundred-year-old knight from Charlemagne's court, trainer of Paladins. He reveals to Peg her family's ancient obligation to protect the Key of Apollyon, a relic of immense power. She is the last descendant of the Paladins and his only hope for keeping it safe.

When Godfrey confides her brother was murdered because of the Key, Peg rejects her calling and demands revenge, a luxury she can ill afford as otherworldly creatures seek her death to claim the Key’s power for themselves.

Can Godfrey and his faithful retinue -- Chim the Hobgoblin, Rebecca the Jewish Maven and healer, and Jack the sometimes human and sometimes seven-foot Black Dog -- keep her safe and convince her that her calling is worth pursuing? Or will she succumb to the Key's lure and wield it for revenge?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR


T.J. Akers desires to be a multimillionaire when he grows up and give his wealth to his favorite causes: churches, schools, and animal shelters. Since the millions have been slow in coming, he's settled for working as a computer technician for a state university and volunteering at his church and local animal shelter. Whenever possible, he indulges his love of writing to entertain people, especially young readers.

Akers holds a masters of English from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and can often be found roaming the university's library, especially the children's and young adult sections. Librarians have always been his heroes.

He lives with his beloved wife of thirty years, his dog, and two cats. The dog is an excellent writing companion, but the cats have proved to be rather critical. Learn more at tjakers.com.


GUEST POST: A HISTORY OF FIVE POINTS

Hi, everyone!

My new novel, The Final Paladin, is a fantasy novel that takes place in a particular time and place of U.S. history. Of course, this is no history textbook, but I do try to keep with the spirit of the time. For this novel, my heroine, Peg Bowmen, starts the novel in her home in the New York City neighborhood of Five Points in 1870.

According to webpage.pace.edu, the neighborhood formed in 1820 and grew rather quickly. It was next to a lake fed by a spring, but in no time, the lake became a collecting pool for waste and sewage. It was so polluted that the people of New York City drained the lake and filled it completely in. The excavation was poorly done, and in no time the lower southeastern end became a swamp.

Property values plummeted, and just like today, those well off and able to move did so. Those who couldn’t move had to stay. From that came the infamous slum called Five Points.
HOW IT GOT ITS NAME

In 1854 there were five streets that intersected each other. They were Cross, Anthony, Orange, and Little Water. The name for this neighborhood came from the fact that all five streets poured into a common spot (note the star in the graphic). Later, the names were changed to Worth, Baxter, Mosco, and a public park called Paradise Square.
Tyler Anbinder, Five Points (New York: The Free Press, 2001).

This image below is from Getty Images is from circa 1829. Note the five corners.
Five Points.
THEATRE

It's mentioned that Peg and her brother, Archie, would attend (a.k.a. sneak into) the theater. There were no televisions, radio, or movies. Any music had to happen live. The only source of entertainment outside of drinking establishments or church came from live theater. This picture below is of the Bowery Theater which was originally published in Harpers Weekly April of 1871.
The Bowery Theater picture from the Collection of Maggie Land-Blanck.

Class differences abounded. In Uptown, where the more prosperous lived, the theaters would have opera and music recitals. Down in the Bowery they would have melodramas, Shakespeare, and variety acts. By 1850 and 1860, straight variety grew popular with the masses. Of course, in 1870, where my story takes place, the acts would have been on the racy side. Tony Pastor, a ballad and minstrel singer, is credited both with giving the first performance of what would come to be called by 1881, Vaudeville. Personally, I think the Bowery had better options.
New York Public Library ID 805681.

I mention cheap seats in my novel. In theaters of that era, the cheap seats would be nothing more than benches right up against the Orchestra pit, or up in the nosebleed sections. Notice the clothing of the boys and the wooden bench they're seated on. The more expensive seating was plush and centered at stage level on the ground floor.
CHILD LABOR

Forcing children to work is, and has been, a complicated issue for a long time. Peg worked at the Shirtwaist Factory sewing clothing. The sewing machine existed in the 1870s and was used for home and commercial uses. The factory mentioned in my book actually opened in 1901, thirty years after my story takes place, but such places did exist. Whole families often sewed in small rooms for a living. The picture below is from Harper's Weekly 1895.
Collection of Maggie Land-Blanck.
LIVING IN FIVE POINTS

Since the neighborhood was built on a bog, water drainage was a problem. The streets were often wet, and keep in mind that most people threw their waste out on the street.
Chinatown.

The photo below was taken by John Rii, the Danish-born, investigative journalist. Note the stone street. This was where I got my idea for the opening scene.
Bandits' Roost -- Circa 1888.
POOR LIGHTING

Electricity didn't exist for homes in 1870. All the apartment buildings had to use natural light. Note In the picture below, the long narrow window at the end of the hall. This was the only way to light these places during the day. Imagine how dark they were at night. Some of the tenements even hired someone to keep the halls and bathroom, if they had one, clean.
Collection of Maggie Land Blanck.

Since Five Points was built on a swamp, and the building were neither cooled nor heated, escaping the temperature was hard. Many people slept on the roof during the summer.

Harper's Weekly, date unknown, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck 2013.

Peg and Archie would have slept on their roof in the summer.

TUG BOATS AND BARGES

New York was an international port of call. Goods were shipped to New York harbor by barge on the Hudson River, or goods arrived on ship from ports all over the world. Barges weren’t motorized, and ships needed help getting towed into the harbor. There were two ways to do this. The first, a tow boat or tug, which existed in Peg's time.

Tugboat Beaver, taken in 1870.

Of course Peg travels by barge on a canal to go further upstate. The barge, or packet boat, would have been pulled by horse or mule, because the canals wouldn't have been large enough. Horses and mules were used up through the early twentieth century for river travel. Some sources have them working as late as the 1950s.


So to be sure that I'm not playing too fast and loose with historic detail, here are some of the sources that inspired the beginning of The Final Paladin.

Thank you for your time and kind attention. I hope you will check out The Final Paladin.

—T.J. Akers
TOUR SCHEDULE


Thank you so much for your tour behind the scenes, TJ! 🙂

Dragons, you can pre-order paperback and kindle copies of The Final Paladin on Amazon!

Have you ordered The Final Paladin, yet? Have you ever explored the history of Victorian New York?

❤,


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