New TDP Release: Flame Isfree and the Feather of Fate by KD Sarge

I’m a bit late posting this (my bad!) but I’m just in time for Christmas! Full disclosure: I copy edited this book for KD. Regardless, I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed every one of KD’s books that I’ve read. So check it out!

Bucking thousands of years of tradition, Flame ran away from her elven heritage, her glorious destiny, and her arranged marriage. Now she’s an expert treasure-finder in the human world, one job away from buying out her indenture and setting up a tower somewhere full of pretty things and pretty men.

Just one more job–but her employer doesn’t know exactly what they’re questing for, and also the world has changed since his map was drawn. Flame can handle all that with her usual sarcasm and skill, but when her intended husband turns up at the fateful meeting of the moons, ready to fulfill his destiny and help her save the world, she really just wants to run again.

All Flame really wants to do is nothing, but failure in the quest means a price on her head. Failure in the world-saving would be even worse.

Why can’t everyone, fate included, just leave her alone?

Get your copy here!

New Release: Forged from Flame by Kasey Mackenzie

Kasey Mackenzie is an old friend of mine. We met at Forward Motion, a writer’s forum we were members of. I’ve been following her career for years. I’ve always been amazed at her awesome books.

So I’m just a little bit biased. But still…check this out:

Plenty people have deadbeat parents, but how many have fathers who keep showing up to kill them? Just one more example of what a lucky woman I am. Oh wait, I’m not even human anymore—I’m a Fire-controlling Elemental called a Phoenix. And boy, do I have daddy issues!

I also have long-lost sibling issues when my sister and brother show up on my new Elemental clan’s doorstep. They were rescued from Daddy Dearest’s evil lab by an old enemy in a show of good faith. Turns out that enemy’s now carrying his latest magical science experiments (twins!) and claims she can help us save my bondmate Jake’s own twin, Colin. The one we thought was beyond saving.

Now we’re in a race to find Colin’s watery grave and free my siblings from our father’s psychic powers. If only I master my own abilities as the world’s first Elemental liegelord in centuries, we might stand a chance.

The title’s gender-neutral, thank you very much, and I’m about to show Daddy Dearest he messed with the wrong daughter. Failure’s not an option, because it means that everyone I love will be mind-controlled minions of my father—or dead beyond saving.

Go to her website to purchase.

But wait! there’s more.

Kasey is giving away—for free, no strings attached—copies of book 1, Reborn in Fire, for a limited time. To take advantage of this awesome offer, go here (this is Bookfunnel, where you can download ePubs and MOBIs).

And you have to admit, these covers are stunning.

I haven’t read either one yet—but I have read her other books. I feel confident in recommending these books. She is a great writer. You will love them.

Go forth and buy. 😉

#ROW80 Check-in 1/27/18

The past two weeks have been a bit crazy, but things are calming down, finally. I am able to finally take a Sunday off, whoohoo!

I haven’t mentioned this before, but I recently tore a ligament in my right ankle. I’m not even sure how or when this happened; I actually found out by accident while investigating Achilles tendonitis. I’ve been in a boot for just over a month now, which means I’ve been working upstairs instead of in my basement office. 😦 My pain level is considerably low when in the boot. I am supposed to be weaning myself off it and unfortunately, I’ve had pain each time I’ve tried to go without it. My doctor initially said  I may need surgery on both the ligament and my Achilles tendon. I am hoping that doesn’t happen. 😦 Anyway, this week was an extremely frustrating week with my ligament. I am hoping things get better.

Here’s the rundown:

~Loosely plot Immortal Faeborn ~Calling it Immortal to prevent confusion with my Fey Touched books
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system. ~Created a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Booked January ads and 1 ad for February.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1 ~Turned it into a journal instead; also added a section for Tarot readings. Been keeping it updated.
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Start pulling cards daily and journaling.~Been pulling/journaling hit and miss.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish ~I plan on writing some today
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1)~Finished revisions on my own story; need to copyedit another story by 2/1.
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays.
~Catch up up on ARCs:
Go Manifest Yourself
Cure for Chaos
The Ones Who Left
Hell’s Hinges 50% in, due 2/28. I am going to be late, ugh
Alpha Legacy 1-5
~Take Sundays off work when possible ~I am taking today off!
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum. Started; been logging hit and miss.
~Water 5x a week 

Chocolate consumption report: Dark chocolate Dove hearts (from hubby), Mini York peppermint patties, chocolate/peppermint cookies, s’mores hot chocolate, chocolate cupcakes….yeah, I haven’t exactly deprived myself, regardless of my decision to try to limit candy/chocolate/junk food.

2018 Year-in-Review and Q1 2019 Goals #ROW80

So here I am with my end-of-year review and a new goals post. I have switched to quarterly planning, which works so much better for me than yearly goals. Thank you, Sarra Cannon, for showing me the way!

This year was HUGE for my virtual assisting/freelance editing business. I landed several new clients in very quick succession which was absolutely awesome. My workload increased a lot, which required adjustments and better planning. However, I am ecstatic that I was able to make this happen. That was my biggest goal: increasing my client base and by extension bringing in more money.

I have also learned so much from my clients, stuff that I can apply to my own publishing efforts. So it’s a win-win.

Health wise…ugh, a lot of stuff went wrong this year. Not going to get into it, but suffice to say it was tough and stressful. However, I’ve survived it and I am looking forward to a new slate.

Since it’s my intention to jump back into ROW80 again, I figured I would put everything into one, handy-dandy simple post.

But first, let’s look at what I did (or didn’t do) this year:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018) – DONE. Except it was delayed by unavoidable issues until 12/7. Very happy to have it finally out in the world! 
~Revise and release Fireborn – DONE. Released August 1st.
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING – Nope. I remain a couch potato. 😦 
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc) – Nope, and I really wish I could have.
~Get moving with dictation again – DONE. Not dictating currently, but I did purchase the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I also bought a digital recorder for transcription. Just need to actually start doing it.
~Progress on Covenant – DONE. I don’t have the exact figures handy, but I think I got it up to around 25k.
~Progress on When She Sleeps – This has been put on hold.
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time – Nope, but one of my goals for Q1 is to JUST DO IT.
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette – Nope. But as soon as I can, I’ll start working on this. I have Plans. 
~Get better with planning – My mom bought me a planner for Christmas last year, so I used that for deadlines/appointments/modified bullet journal. It worked great, so 
I asked for another one. And got it. Also, Sarra Cannon’s quarterly planning system worked wonderfully as well. I believe this planning system is the only reason why I was able to release the secret project this year. I was focused in a way I haven’t been in awhile. Being that I am a head planner (that is, I do all my planning in my head), this is a HUGE accomplishment.
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words – Nope. Time seems to get away from me sometimes.
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn – DONE. I have a premise. And apparently I’d forgotten that I’d called it Faeborn. Oops.

As for how many words I wrote this year: 75,000, which was my modest goal. I was hoping to write more, but given how busy I was and how awful my health was at times, I’ll take it. 🙂

Alrighty, so what’s on tap for Q1 and #ROW80? I’m glad you asked.

~Loosely plot Immortal Faeborn
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Start pulling cards daily and journaling.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1)
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays.
~Catch up up on ARCs
~Take Sundays off work when possible
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum.
~Water 5x a week

I think that’s it for now. 🙂

Links to the books:

Gain with Pain on Amazon
Fireborn on Amazon 

Fiction Friday — “it’s been forever” edition

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these! I’ve been pretty busy. But to make up for it, I have LOTS of books to review today. So let’s get started!

As a reminder, here is my rating system:

Double yay – Astounding read! Perfect in every way! Get thee to a bookstore NOW.
Yay – I recommend with no reservations. Guaranteed good read.
Maybe – Read at your own risk. A mixed bag
Nay – DNF (Did Not Finish) or sucky or both. I do not recommend.

And all links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy a book using my links, I will get a tiny little commission from it.

 First up is Die For Me by Dan Rix. A double yay for sure. I am a HUGE fan of Dan Rix because his books are so amazing. They are mostly sci-fi, and this one kind of is too. There is a big mystery. A girl commits suicide and she leaves TWO suicide notes. Her best friend and boyfriend race against time to find out what really happened and why she did what she did. This book had me in such a stranglehold that I even put off dinner (which I never do) so I could finish it. The ending has quite the twist.  Link to my review.

Next is the Nashville series by Inglath Cooper. A yay.  I actually read the 10-book boxed set, which was the entire series. I can’t find it on Amazon so here’s the 4-book set. I’m not much into contemporary romance, but my mom was raving about how great it was so I decided to give it a whirl. It’s about these four people who are trying to make it as singers/musicians in Nashville. In the opening scene, the main character for that book, Cece, ends up with a car on fire and nowhere to go. She’s picked up by two guys (also musicians/singers) and they form a kind of family by choice type thing. There’s romance, heartache, crazy stuff, and fun stuff. I enjoyed it a lot.

Next up is Blood Fury by J. R. Ward. A solid yay. I have been a fan of J.R. Ward since the beginning (2006 or thereabouts). This book is part of her Black Dagger Legacy series which is a spin off of her amazingly awesome Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I really enjoyed this one. It’s about this guy (vampire) who’s an aristocrat and a girl who is one of his fellow classmates in the training program. I really loved their romance because it started with wild monkey sex but then they had to catch up to what each other was feeling. And the female lead gets injured, and he’s there for her, but as always, there are complications. Of course! But it does end happily.

And now we have Queen Takes Queen by Joely Sue Burkhart. Double yay. Vampire reverse harem, sexy as hell, and bloody! This is book 3. The series is about this young woman who’s part vampire but doesn’t know it. But she’s also a queen, and she has several yummy, sexy men guarding her and feeding her and doing other things with her. She is trying to gain more power because The Triune (all the most powerful vampires) has caught wind of her and will want to kill her. This book also features her first female/female pairing. There isn’t a lot, but it is there. I personally like that so it wasn’t a problem. But some may not, which is why I’m mentioning it. A great book and a great series. Link to my review.

Next we have Shattered Memories by V.C. Andrews. A maybe. This is the final book in her Mirror Sisters trilogy. As I’ve mentioned before, I was a fan of hers in the 80s and 90s but drifted away for a long time. When I saw book 1, The Mirror Sisters, I was intrigued. This series has been pretty good overall, but I almost felt like it could have been two books instead of three. This book deals with the aftermath of what one of the twins did to the other. And the synopsis says something like, “…but her twin isn’t through with her yet..” and I was gearing up for something epic. I was a bit let down when that epic thing did not happen. But a good book overall.

And now we come to Painless by Marty Thornley. Double yay. This was a horror/sci-fi book and it was just dark enough to catch my interest. It’s about this scientist who is experimenting with eliminating pain. Like, for example, if someone has a back injury, or a bad knee. He brings a group of people into his remote compound for treatments and finally surgeries, but something goes really wrong and…well, I’ll just let you read it. It’s a bit gory, so be warned.

And finally, we have The Treasurekeeper by Joely Sue Burkhart, which is part of the Shamrocked anthology. A yay. It’s a reverse harem, but it’s really unique in that it’s based in Irish lore. This woman wakes up after a night of partying and finds this statue of a gargoyle in her room. And it talks to her inside her mind. It wants her to find it (there’s an extremely sexy man trapped in another, larger statue) and also find four other “treasures.” They are also sexy Irish men. The one in the gargoyle has been cursed and must be released or the world will fall to demons. No pressure, right? She’s the treasurekeeper which is a big deal. They are destined to love her and have wild sexytimes with her. After the gargoyle is released, of course. Loved it. It’s the beginning of a new series so stay tuned. Link to my review.

And that’s it. 🙂

New Release: In the Forests of the Night by KD Sarge

It is my sincerest pleasure to announce that KD Sarge, my fellow Turtleducker, has released the second book in her Seize the Fire trilogy, In the Forests of the Night. I am slightly biased because I copyedited it. But still—grab it. It is amazing!

Here’s the blurb:

As a Keeper-Apprentice, Hiro Takai followed his master everywhere. The adept Eshan Kisaragi taught him swordcraft and spellcasting and demon-fighting, but it was only after Hiro’s Kindling that he learned what Eshan couldn’t teach him. Such as what could go wrong in a ritual that tied the soul of a human mage to a creature of elemental power. Or how quickly the Keepers could turn on their own.

Damaged and dangerous, Hiro fled, seeking the one person he knew would help—his teacher and his beloved, Eshan.

 Now, though—Hiro found Eshan, in the midst of a battle he could not win and would not lose. Now Eshan’s body lives but lies withering, while his soul clings to the elemental tiger…somewhere. Hiro can feel it to the south, in lands his studies never reached, where demons are unknown but spirits walk the paths of the Forests of the Night—and sometimes wander out.

 Hiro has one chance to save his beloved. If he can find the tiger, if he can retrieve Eshan’s soul before his body fades, a way may be found to make his master whole.

 With a failed priest and a possessed boy as guides, with a mad phoenix in his soul and a growing understanding of just how little he knows of magic, Hiro will follow wherever the tiger leads.

 As Hiro searches for his lover’s soul, Eshan, more than half-mad from the sundering of his being, meets a child fleeing both his family and himself. Together, they stagger across the continent, in need of aid that only Hiro can give…if he can find them in time.

 

You can buy it here.

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Fiction Friday – the “it’s colder than cold” edition

It’s pretty cold in my part of the world. Thank God for hot chocolate, heat, and covers to keep warm.

Alrighty, let’s get this party started. Once again, a reminder about my rating system:

Double yay – Astounding read! Perfect in every way! Get thee to a bookstore NOW.
Yay – I recommend with no reservations. Guaranteed good read.
Maybe – Read at your own risk. A mixed bag
Nay – DNF (Did Not Finish) or sucky or both. I do not recommend.

Also, fyi, these are affiliate links.

NEED by Joelle Charbonneau – A yay. This was a good book, and a fast read. It’s about this school, and a new social network called NEED. The students post anonymous requests for things they “need” (and stuff they really don’t, frivolous things) and they are asked to do one little thing, and are given the thing they requested. Seems relatively harmless, until someone ups the stakes. Soon, people are being asked to do more dangerous things. People are dying. And you’ll never guess who the mastermind is. 😉 I think it’s really cool and very relevant with all the focus on social networking these days. Made me think for sure.

Queen Takes King by Joely Sue Burkhart – A yay. Book 2 in her amazing Their Vampire Queen series. Blood, politics, and lots of hot sex! More Blood came to Shara’s call, as well as a mysterious king that’s been held captive in a cave for thousands of years. Shara is growing in power, and she’s starting to find out who her enemies are. Great book, great series. Link to my review 

Midnight Rain by Kate Aeon – Double yay. This is actually a reread. I had read this book years ago in paperback. When I saw the Kindle edition was free, I snapped it up. The story STILL hunts me to this day. It’s about this woman psychic who left her abusive husband, but not before he injured her and killed two kids. She’s been hiding and running ever since. She reads tarot cards for a psychic hotline and one day her husband calls her. Except…he’s in a coma. WTF, right? READ THIS BOOK. You won’t regret it. (Just FYI, this book was previously published under the name Holly Lisle. This is apparently a pen name she’s using to separate the different genres she writes. She’s an amazing author, no matter what name she’s using).

And that’s it for today’s edition. Check these out.

 

 

Fiction Friday — the “it’s snowing” edition

Here’s this week’s Fiction Friday! Let’s get this party started!

My rating system:

Double yay – Astounding read! Perfect in every way! Get thee to a bookstore NOW.
Yay – I recommend with no reservations. Guaranteed good read.
Maybe – Read at your own risk. A mixed bag
Nay – DNF (Did Not Finish) or sucky or both. I do not recommend.

Tiny Tales of Terror by Rudy Perez – Has the dubious distinction of being my first Nay. I did not even finish it. The stories I read were not scary at all and weren’t very interesting. Save your time and pass this one up. I’m only linking it in case someone feels like a masochist.

Lifeblood by Gena Showalter – Yay! Book 2 in her Everlife series. Things are heating up! Our lovely protagonist has to cope with where she picked to be after death (I’m not telling!) and various other things. I am dying to read book 3!

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst – My first double yay. OMG this book was amazing! It’s about this girl who’s betrothed to a prince (a political marriage) and she needs to learn how to ride the special warhorses so the prince’s sister teaches her and….things get complicated. I loved everything about this book, from the slow-burn romance of the two girls, the lyrical prose, and what an ending! Read it NOW. You won’t be disappointed.

Annnd that’s it for now. Happy reading!

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in 12/10/17

Fifteen days till Christmas, and ten days to the end of the round. Time is just flying for me!

Here’s the rundown:

~Finish rewrite of Fireborn, revise it, edit it, and submit it for Dec. 1st deadline. ~ Submitted on Friday 12/1!
~Transfer Survivor outline to notecards, for reals this time ~Started, but my hand started complaining so I had to stop. Still not finished.
~Participate in NanoWriMo with an amended goal of 30k (Survivor) ~ Nope. Between Fireborn, freelance jobs, and helping my mom, I’ve had no extra time at all. I am contemplating doing my own Nano once Fireborn is submitted.
~Begin edit of Secret Project ~Now with betas. :twitches:
~Decide on next project and start working on that (Covenant and When She Sleeps are the top contenders) ~Most likely Covenant, with When She Sleeps as a secondary. Also toying with the idea of restarting Survivor Sundays.
~Finish In Flames cover or hire someone to do it ~A writer friend generously offered to make me a cover. Cover reveal soon!

Non-writing stuffs:

~Water 5x a week
~Read 1 book a week ~ Finished Lifeblood by Gena Showalter and started White Death by Jack Castle and Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst.
~Chocolate consumption reports, of course! ~Lots and lots of hot chocolate and dark chocolate minis! 

Fiction Friday – it’s been awhile edition

I’ve finally got some more books to talk about, yay!

A reminder about my rating system:

Yay – Great book. I recommend it with no reservations.
Maybe – A mixed bag. Read at your own risk.
Nay – A DNF (Did Not Finish) or a book I do not recommend.

Here we go!

Broken Glass by V.C. Andrews – Yay. As I mentioned before, I stopped reading V.C. Andrews many years ago but this series caught my eye. This is book 2. I really enjoyed it and it kept me on the edge of my seat. This book continued the story of the twins Haylee and Kaylee, who were separated by something that one of them did (trying to avoid spoilers!). It does end happily, with a hook into book 3, Shattered Memories.

FirstLife by Gena Showalter – Yay for sure! This series I believe is utterly unique in that it deals with the afterlife. Basically, there are two realms fighting to the death for people to “make covenant” with them (ie, agree to join the realm when he or she dies). Except our main character, Ten, is very unique and important to both realms so they are trying to “win” her. And there’s a love interest, naturally! You will not believe who she decides to make covenant with and why. And it’s also interesting that the FIrstlife — that is, when you are alive — is not as important as your Everlife (where you go when you die). And it’s kind of sad b/c families sometimes get broken up and fight against each other for control. Very cool world, though.

Cold Memory by Harvey Church – a total yay. It’s about this man who loses his memory every 30 days. And he’s trying to find a way to stop that from happening. He and his wife founded a company for cryopreservation (freezing) but with a twist — the idea that you can go to a special state of consciousness and live out a lifetime within until you are able to be woken up and cured of your condition (because the people who do this are typically dying of a terminal disease). But there’s so much more to it. My only complaint? It ended on a cliffhanger and book 2 does not exist yet!

Well, that’s it for this edition. Happy reading!