Sunday, February 26, 2017

Review: The Bookminder

Title: The Bookminder
Author: M.K. Wiseman
Page Count: 444
My Rating: 3.5 TURTLES: A very enjoyable read, I recommend you check it out.
Amazon
*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review


About the Book:

Sired by magick and violence, sixteen-year-old Liara is found guilty of witchcraft and banished from her tiny village by the very priest who raised, then betrayed her. However, a mysterious mage steps forward to assume custody of her: Nagarath, the Wizard of Parentino, whose secret spellwork has long protected both Liara and Dvigrad from the ravages of war.

Despite Liara’s best hopes, Nagarath refuses to apprentice her to his craft but tasks her instead with the restoration of his neglected library. Liara gleans what magickal knowledge she can on the sly, determined to learn, come what may. But the first test of her stolen knowledge goes awry and renews an evil wizard’s interest in the people of the Limska Draga valley.

Only by tapping Liara’s inherent magick and joining it with his own can Nagarath protect Parentino from suffering a horrible fate. However, her discovery of his secrets destroys their fragile trust and ignites the darker tendencies of her gift. Now, he must rescue her from the influence of his mortal enemy before their powerful new alliance destroys them all.

My Review:
The Bookminder had some very interesting world building. I really liked how there were specific rules to the magick in the book and how the reader gets to see the effects and consequences of those rules. Along those lines, I also really enjoyed the appendix at the end that spells out the rules of magick as well as some of the words from the “green” or magickal language, but not the pronunciation -  for the safety of the reader. Liara and Nagarath’s relationship was also really sweet, and I really enjoyed reading the interactions between the two of them.

The plot did seem to slow down quite a bit in the middle of the novel, though. I think part of this had to do that much of the book is just Liara and Nagarath. As much as I like the chemistry between the two of them, it felt a bit odd to me that they were the only two characters with any considerable page time. Many of the other characters had only small roles to play, and even more did not have anything to do with the main plot. I think having just one more character to add a new dynamic, even a sassy talking cat might have done the trick. The pace of the middle also ended up feeling at odds with the quick, gripping ending.


I would recommend this book to all readers of Young Adult Fantasy, but especially fans of Tamora Pierce. The Bookminder has a lot of the themes that I love about Young Adult like self-discovery, budding independence, and making and learning from mistakes. Liara is a complex, dynamic heroine and I really enjoyed getting to know her.





Disclosure: this post contains links to an affiliate program (Amazon), for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Release Announcement: Shattered Fates

Albuquerque, NM (February 22, 2017) – World Weaver Press has announced Shattered Fates, the final installment in the Shards of History trilogy byRebecca Roland, will be released May 23, 2017Shattered Fates follows a tribal woman trying to protect her people from a dangerous colonizer, and
the wife of the colonizers’ leader, who begins a revolution from within.
Praise for the SHARDS OF HISTORY series:

Shards of History and its sequel, Fractured Days, are terrifically entertaining reads from beginning to end clearly establishing and demonstrating author Rebecca Roland’s consummate skills as an original and entertaining storyteller that will leave her enthusiastic readers looking forward to more novels featuring Malia and her world. Very highly recommended as enduringly popular addition to community library Fantasy Fiction collections.”
— Midwest Book Review



 

Sometimes unlikely alliances are the only way to succeed.
 

The magic barrier protecting the Taakwa from their enemies, the Maddion, is gone. Malia, who led the Taakwa against the Maddion in the Dragon War, must convince the magical being, the changer, to repair the barrier before the Maddion invade to take revenge on her people and the winged Jeguduns who also call the valley home, even if it means reversing the healing the changer wrought for her.

Chanwa, the wife of the Maddion leader, uses the disorder created by the changer to lead a coup against her husband in a desperate attempt to ensure she and the other Maddion women are treated as equals. Her life, and the future of every Maddion woman, depends on her success.

Both women know the only way to succeed is to come together in an unlikely alliance.

Shattered Fates will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.comBarnesandNoble.comKoboWorld Weaver Press, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram.
 

Rebecca Roland is the author of the Shards of History series, The Necromancer's Inheritance series, and The King of Ash and Bones, and Other Stories. Her short fiction has appeared in publications such as NatureFantastic Stories of the ImaginationStupefying StoriesPlasma Frequency, and Every Day Fiction, and she is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. You can find out more about her and her work at rebeccaroland.net, her blog Spice of Life, or follow her on Twitter @rebecca_roland.

World Weaver Press is an independently owned publisher of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction. We believe in great storytelling.


Be sure and check out the newly redesigned covers for the first two books in the series, Shards of History and Fractured Days:
Publication Date: May 23, 2017 • Fantasy
$13.95 trade paperback, 292 pages  • $4.99 ebook

ISBN-13: 978-0997788884

Publicity/Reviews:
publicity@worldweaverpress.com

Information:

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Author Interview: Michelle Foxworthy



Today I'd like to welcome Michelle Foxworthy to the blog to talk a bit about herself and her recent release The Village Green!

How did you get the idea for The Village Green?
I’ve always liked reading dystopian literature, such as 1984 and Brave New World. And I wondered, What other devices might a government use to control its citizens. So, I thought of something that is supposed to be used for good, like the environmental movement. I think it is easier to get people to agree to all sorts of things they maybe never would have, if they feel good about themselves in doing it.

Could you talk a bit about your publishing experience?
I had a much easier time than I expected. I finished my book and began submitting it to every publisher I could find that published in my genre. I received a lot of rejections, but within a month of submitting I was accepted by Clean Reads.

Which authors have inspired you the most?
In the dystopian genre, Lois Lowry and Aldous Huxley, have been very influential. 

What is the hardest thing about writing a dystopian novel?
Writing a happy ending.

I see that you live in a 35 foot caravan! Some of my best childhood memories come from the RV trips my family would take in the summer. What's it like being on the road full-time?
It has been an adventure and sometimes very challenging. There are six of us (my husband, four children, and myself) sharing a very limited amount of space, and you really have to be dedicated to the traveling lifestyle to not give up and move back to suburbia. I don’t know how long we will continue, but we are going on three years now.

When you start writing do you have a complete plot in mind or do you see where the story takes you?
I have tried to plot out my stories first, and I do have a basic idea, but I generally just go with the flow.

If you had to describe The Village Green in three words, what would they be?
Vision, hope, courage.

 About The Village Green:
"Kelsey stood in a long line of ragged people..." And so she did every week at the Hand-Out waiting to receive her weekly rations. But the rations were getting smaller and the people were getting worried. 

"Had life always been like this: hunger, want, and disease?" As far as Kelsey knew, it always had, but when she finds the journal of Henry Martin everything begins to change. 

Learning that her best friend is part of an underground resistance is strange enough, but finding out that she is the prophesied liberator of the people is almost too hard to believe. Will Kelsey be strong enough to fulfill that prophecy?

 About Michelle:
M.A. Foxworthy is the author of the dystopian, YA novella,The Village Green.  
She lives and travels full-time with her family in a 35ft travel trailer. When she is not teaching her four children, she enjoys: writing, reading, sight-seeing, and drawing.


Contact the Author:
Facebook:
@M.A.Foxworthy
Twitter:
@MAFoxworthy

Book Teaser




Disclosure: this post contains links to an affiliate program (Amazon), for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases.