Bladelore (Cadis Trilogy Book 3) by Krista Walsh – Cover Reveal!

If there’s one thing I love about as much as reading, it’s a beautiful book cover.  So, I offered to help Krista Walsh with her newest cover reveal.  Now, I haven’t actually read any of the Cadis Trilogy yet, but I definitely plan on it.  Alas, so many books to read, so little time.  I have read Evensong, though, the first book in her Meratis Trilogy and loved it.

Along with the cover reveal, there is also a description of the book (sounds exciting!), an author bio and information on the upcoming promotion for Bloodlore, the first book in the trilogy.

So, without further adieu … here it is!

Bladelore (Cadis Trilogy – Book 3)

War has come to Andvell. Enemy after enemy takes its place along the northern border, each one a terrifying result of dark magic and experimentation. In the face of the great army, Andvell’s resources are few.

As the enemy marches, unlikely hero Venn Connell must act or be lost in the flood — one final mission to end the war, no matter the cost.

Standing on the brink of devastation, Venn is forced to question her most deeply held beliefs and trust her friends to see her through the darkness.

Contact info:

www.kristawalshauthor.com

Twitter: @kwalshauthor

Facebook: /kristawalshauthor

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Author Bio:

Known for witty, vivid characters, Krista Walsh never has more fun than getting them into trouble and taking her time getting them out. When not writing, she can be found walking, reading, gaming, or watching a film – anything to get lost in a good story. She currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

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Happy New Year / 2015 in Review

Image by slapher at freeimages.com

Wow, it’s 2016 already.  Where did 2015 go in such a hurry?  It’s that cliché that as you get older, the years go by faster.  That certainly seems to be true.  It seems not that long ago that we were celebrating the start of a new millennium and here it is 16 years later.  Again, wow.

So, what has 2015 been like for me?  Let’s see…

At the beginning of the year, I made myself three unspecific goals of:  write more, read more and blog more.  And happily, I reached all three goals.

Write more –

I definitely wrote more in 2015 than in any years past and that’s a sad commentary because it was only around 25,000 words (including my NaNoWriMo writing and my writing done for a small online writing course – but not including my blog posts).  It’s a step ahead for me, but in order to actually publish some books, I’ll need to do way more writing.  My efforts in NaNoWriMo got me a good start on a YA/Sci-Fi project (16,489 words written so far).  I took a break after the end of November, but am planning on getting back to it in January.

My writing goal this year would probably be at least 50,000 words, hopefully more than that if I can complete a first draft of the aforementioned project I worked on in November.

Read more –

Again, I definitely read more books in 2015 than in any years past.  On Goodreads, I gave myself the reading challenge of 18 books (1.5 books per month) and I completed that goal on December 19th and then went on to read one more book on top of that.  Here is a list of the books I read this year (in order of completion):

• Insurgent – Veronica Roth
• Bound – Kate Sparkes
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
• Grave Mercy – Robin LaFevers
• Beautiful Creatures – Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
• Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
• Allegiant – Veronica Roth
• Torn – Kate Sparkes
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes – Cassandra Clare
• Dark Triumph – Robin LaFevers
• Beautiful Darkness – Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
• Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass – Cassandra Clare
• Mortal Heart – Robin LaFevers
• Beautiful Chaos – Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels – Cassandra Clare
• Poison Princess – Kresley Cole
• Beautiful Redemption – Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
• Evensong – Krista Walsh

I won’t try to review all of these, but suffice it to say, I enjoyed all of them.  I’m very picky when I choose to read a book, so I’m always pretty sure I’m going to enjoy it.  It has to have positive reviews, but it also has to have a premise that I find interesting.  If I had to pick a favorite for the year, it would have to be Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, book two of her His Fair Assassin trilogy – a wonderful trilogy if you enjoy historical fiction mixed with fantasy.

For the new year, I’m going to up my reading challenge to 24 books or two books per month.  I would include more books in my reading challenge, but I’m trying to be realistic here. 🙂

Blog more –

It’s plain to see I’ve blogged way more in 2015 than I did last year when I started this blog.  I have NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to thank for that.  I probably won’t do that particular challenge this year so that I can focus my efforts more on NaNoWriMo next November.  But, it brought me a lot more views, likes and followers, so it was very much worth it.  Going forward, I would really like to try to post every other week (at the very least, once per month).

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So, that’s it for this blog post.  Again, my goals for 2016 –

• Write more – at least 50,000 words (not including blog posts)
• Read more – at least 24 books
• Blog more – post at least once every month

Again, Happy New Year!  I hope all of you had a great 2015 and have an even better 2016. 🙂

Sworn (Bound Trilogy Book Three) by Kate Sparkes – Cover Reveal!

If you are like me and have read (and loved) the first two books in Kate Sparkes’ Bound trilogy, you will be happy to know the third book, Sworn, is on the way!

Below is the beautiful cover, some information about the story (sounds exciting) and the author.  Also, a sale announcement for the Bound e-book, for those of you who don’t already own it.  It’s a limited time sale, so be sure to pick up your copy, you won’t regret it. 🙂

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Sworn (Bound Trilogy Book Three)

Not every fairy tale ends with “happily ever after.”

The plan was simple: Find Ulric, the lost king of Tyrea, then return him to Luid to reclaim his throne and depose the tyrant who stole it from him. With the country free, Aren, Rowan, and Nox would finally be able to leave their pasts behind and seek out their futures. But though they accomplished the first part of their task, the rest is proving to be more complicated than any of them imagined.

Severn won’t give up his throne without a fight. Worse, it seems Ulric did not fare as well during his years in captivity as he’s led everyone to believe—and Rowan may not have escaped unscathed, either.

If Nox doesn’t find a cure for the king’s mysterious ailment, Aren will be forced to challenge Severn for the crown. It’s a battle Aren has little hope of winning. And if he does, it will cost him the love and the freedom he’s fought so hard to gain.

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About the Author

Kate Sparkes wears many hats—so many, in fact, that she frequently becomes lost under them. She’s a professional author and an amateur wife and mom, a semi-pro dragon watcher (assuming good intentions count for something), and experienced pursuer of random dreams and hobbies.

You can find her at her website, www.katesparkes.com (where you can also sign up for her newsletter and get free stories), or the following spots:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/katesparkesauthor

Twitter: @kate_sparkes

Instagram: @kate.sparkes

Blog: www.disregardtheprologue.com

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SALE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Bound (Bound Trilogy Book One) is on sale for 99 cents for the ebook! This sale will only last until December 5, so be sure to grab a copy. Now is the perfect time to start the story and catch up in time for the stunning conclusion.

Amazon / Kobo / Nook / iBooks

NaBloPoMo – Day 30 !!

Hi there again, every one.

Well, we’ve reached the end of November, the end of NaBloPoMo and the end of NaNoWriMo.  Whew!  Wow, this month just flew by.  I can’t believe it’s the end of November already.  So, here’s a wrap up of the two challenges I set for myself this month:

NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month)

The challenge:  To post on my blog every day for the month of November

The results:  Success!  While there were a few days where I barely squeaked by, I actually managed a post a day.   Maybe they weren’t always very long posts, but I had fun!  Hope you enjoyed the posts at least.  Now, I can definitely say I will not be keeping up with daily blog posts.  But, I would like to definitely try to get back to posting once a week, like I originally planned when I started this thing. 🙂

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

The challenge:  To write a 50,000 word novel (or portion of a novel) during the month of November

The results:  While I fell far short of the 50,000, due to a slow start, then a start-over, then stalling a bit while I figured where I wanted the story to go, I did finish strongly.  I managed to write around 7,000 words since the start of the long weekend, which brought my total this month to 16,489 words.  It’s nowhere near a complete novel, but it is a darn good start on one.  I will definitely continue writing it and keep you apprised of my progress. 🙂

So, as we close this month, I want to say thank you to everyone who read and liked my posts.  Hope to see you around in the future.  See you later. 🙂

~Kelly B.

NaBloPoMo – Day 14

Hi there.  Day 14 already, almost half way through the month already, that’s crazy.  Anyway, on with the post, today’s letter is K.

K is for …

Kelly (of course) and also Kangaroos!

Image by Tom Thanachart at freeimages.com

Well, so far, I haven’t done any writing, but did finish the book I was reading.  So, time to get back to the writing.  Anyway, g’day everyone and see you later! 🙂

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NaNoWriMo progress:  3,467 words written, 46,533 words to go

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NaBloPoMo – Day 5

Hi there.  It’s day 5 and today’s letter is B.

B is for …

Books!  I love to read (although I don’t have nearly enough time in the day for reading as I would like).  Here are some I’ve read this year:

If you can tell by the selections above, I am all about the genre books.  Anything “other-worldly”, be it fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal/supernatural, dystopian, is going to get my attention.  I also enjoy historical fiction, especially when it includes a genre twist (see His Fair Assassin trilogy, which I loved).

Although I am currently behind on my NaNo writing, I am right on track to finish my Goodreads reading challenge this year.  Of course, I wasn’t overly ambitious and chose a very reasonable 18 books to read this year.  I should definitely finish the 18 (I’ve currently finished 16 and am half-way through one book and almost one-third of the way through another – those would be books 17 and 18).  I might even be able to squeeze in a 19th book.

But, November is supposed to be all about writing.  So, I will definitely be spending a little less time reading this month.  I’m still stuck at 1,540 NaNo words, but I will definitely be trying my hardest to get caught up this weekend.  Well, that’s about it for now.  See you later… 🙂

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NaNoWriMo progress:  1,540 words written, 48,460 words to go

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