Monday 31 December 2012

Wanted: Dead or Undead - Angela Scott



Red is a woman who needs or wants no one, it only complicates life. She is travelling east to find her brother, fighting zombies along the way. A plaque has hit the country, possibly the world but Red can take care of herself. The trouble is, after running into Trace at a saloon, she is no longer alone and she doesn’t really know what he wants from her. As they continue to travel, they pick up more and more people, all of whom discover why she is so good at killing zombies.

Angela Scott writes with a lovely descriptive piece of work, in fact the image of the baby in the cot stayed with me when I closed my eyes. I liked the feisty MC, she takes nonsense from no one but as the story continues and we learn of her horrendous life, we get to see her softer side. Trace is more of a gentleman than cowboy but again it works in the relationship between them.

The idea of treating zombies as a plague has intrigued me for some time and unlike recent books about the apocalypse there are no bombs, weapons of mass destruction that can wipe out some of the numbers, here you just have a gun, a sword and they are greatly outnumbered. What I like about this book is the change in Red and what grows within her and wondering whether it will take over.

It is nicely written, paced well and good strong characters. I will be reading the second book.


Ethan's Story: My life with Autism - Ethan Rice



This is a children’s book written by eight year old Ethan Rice. It is fully illustrated and shows you how Ethan deals with life with autism.

The illustrations are fantastic in their simplicity. Very well drawn and nicely coloured. What I loved about this book, even when we are only given a line or two per page, is the insight we get from this. I know it is aimed at children but I still found this very interesting. I love that we are told about how he feels in different situations and how he looks at the positive side of autism. This is not something we tend to see in books and films and I found this so refreshing.

This is a book that should be in all primary schools to show the pros and cons of this condition and I highly recommend it.

 

Golden - Monika Pardon


 
 
Sonora has had a lot to deal with in her life, watching her parents die and recently her grandmother. Now she lives with her wicked Aunt who is less than happy that she has to deal with her. The only thing keeping her sane, are her friends and Luke who is her Aunt’s reluctant boyfriend.

One day trying to find shelter from torrential rain, she and her cousin find themselves in a small cabin. Suddenly they are attacked by bears, they both survive but it wakens something inside Sonora that leads her down a path of family secrets and deadly vengeance.

With everything Sonora has been through it’s nice to see her as a strong character, ready to fight anything that is thrown her way but still we get to see her softer side as the story continues. Luke’s character is also interesting as we watch his conflicted feelings over what he wants to do and what others demand from him.  They work well together, both being tough, strong characters. As we follow them and she starts to discover about her blood line and the search for the codex, I must admit it reminded me of the holy grail and the theory of Jesus having family but it didn’t distract me from the book.

The story builds up well, we get a sense of something not right and it slowly opens up into Shadow Realms and fae. This is a well paced piece of writing and a good start to the series. Monika builds up the suspense well and pulls the plot together nicely.


Saturday 22 December 2012

Are you listening to me? Well are you?



I apologise for ignoring everyone out there but the holidays are coming, or so a certain advert tells me. Are we all done and raring to go, for a  change, I am. I have bought, spending way too much, everyones presents and even wrapped the majority. Go me!

Pulling myself away from the festive celebrations I still managed to finish the first draft of book two in the series of the Sword of Idis and I have even been writing a book aimed at just one person. How many times do you read a story and feel it didn't end they way you would like, well I promised to write a story just for her and I owe her BIG. Did you hear that Jane? She is the person I turn to when I need to ramble about where a book is going and boy do I ramble. As a writer, we all need someone who will put up with our nonsense because every writer wants someone who can understand how and why they do it. They feel that everyone should have their passion and love of books, regardless of the type of book. And I love books and films I have to admit. Jane may say I have to analyse everything and she sits and suffers through it all. This feels like a GO Jane post and maybe it is as I wanted to say to writers that you need that person, whether its a partner, teacher or a good friend.

Monday 10 December 2012

Cover Reveal: Birth by Janell Rhiannon


Thank you for stopping by! And now, without further ado, the cover reveal for Birth, book one in the Livingstone Saga, by Janell Rhiannon. Read on for the synopsis, biography, and stalker links.

Synopsis:

Medieval Spain 1208 AD

When Iseo’s father sends her to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela—to await a profitable, arranged marriage—Father Tomas discovers her natural talent for stone working and trains her to become the first female Maker of Gargoyles. Guided by heavenly inspiration, she carves the sacred stone, freeing the glorious gargoyle she names Celestino. He exists in a cycle of flesh and blood for forty days, morphing between the body of a man and a winged-lion, and resting for seven days in stone. Iseo knows the beast well, but the man surprises her. Their mutual innocence complicates the natural bond between Maker and gargoyle, as it blossoms with the first blush of love. Sharing only a single kiss, they struggle to resist temptation, even as fate cruelly tears them apart.

Celestino is a mighty adversary against the combined evil of demons and Fallen angels, in the great battle between Heaven and Hell. He possesses the strength to send demons screaming back to Hell, and the consecrated heart to exorcise them from human souls.
When Celestino discovers that what he thought was demonic possession is really decay of the soul, he discovers that hundreds of infant baptisms performed by midwives were tainted. An encounter with a mysterious Archangel reveals that someone is making use of an ancient relic known as the Tear of Lucifer stone. Once the relic is used on a person, their soul is condemned to Hell upon their death, with no hope of salvation.
The Arch promises to help Celestino destroy the stone and punish the person responsible for bringing it to Santiago in the first place.


Iseo & Celestino … let their love possess you.

Biography:
Janell Rhiannon has been writing since she was in grade school. In high school, her 9th grade English teacher suggested she consider a career in writing. After a decade in college and a Master's degree in history, she became a part-time college history instructor and eventually settled into teaching high school. 

Writing never stopped. Stories never stopped. Reading fiction never stopped. Now, Janell writes and publishes her works online. The Livingstone Saga: Birth is her second YA novel, and the first book in the planned gargoyle trilogy. History, mythology,  and fairytales are her favorite things to write about. When she’s not writing, Janell loves spending lazy days with her granddaughter, going to the movies, and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Her secret obsession is Twitter, once she starts, she can’t tweet just one.

She resides in CA and continues teaching freshmen and writing. 
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Find out about Janell Rhiannon and The Livingstone Saga

Stalker Links: 
Website: www.livingstonesaga.com
Like on Facebook: Livingstone Saga
Follow on Twitter: @theravenangel
www.janellrhiannon.weebly.com 
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