Wander Dust by Michelle Warren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Exciting and magical YA, can't wait to read the next...

The story opens at Sera's birthday dinner. Her father, engrossed in his flirty girlfriend, barely acknowledges his daughter's presence, which is probably why he doesn't notice when a mysterious, and obviously evil, woman in black takes an interest in her. It isn't until Sera collapses to the ground under the fiery weight of the woman's attack on her mind, that he realizes something's wrong. Of course, Sera can't tell him what really happened. She's not even sure of it herself.

Reality crushing events continue to haunt Sera to the point she begins to doubt her sanity even as she discovers clues to the mysteries of her past, present, and future. When her father sends her to live with her aunt in Chicago, she soon realizes that insanity is the least of her worries.

Review: Iron William and the Carpenter's Tears by Michael Gardner

Iron William and the Carpenter's Tears by Michael Gardner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great plot, well-researched, and above all, fun to read!

Iron William Kidd is a former secret agent for the English King Henry. After falling out of favor, he finds himself opposite a former colleague, Hamilton Rush. When the two collide, the results are disastrous for both, though Kidd seems to get the worst of it. He nearly loses his hands, but his friend Vllen, one of the innovative minds of the budding renaissance, devises a pair of metal gauntlets that fuse with his maimed flesh.

Not only must Kidd cope with his less than agile replacement hands, but also a nearly impossible quest. With nothing more than a snippet of text hinting at the missing relic's existence and the threat of the Church's retribution should he fail, Kidd is faced with the ultimate cold case file, and he's not the only one after the prize.

Progress!

Hi all, I just wanted to post a quick announcement.  I've finally rapped up edits for Forgotten Valor (Shadows of Valor #2).

Keep an eye out for the cover reveal and release date!

If you want to catch up with Shadows of Valor #1 before #2 comes out, you can find it at most ebook stores, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and in print at Amazon.

I'm also running a freebee at Smashwords.com if you use the following code at checkout.

Free ebook of Shadows of Valor
Code: GD23W
Expires: 05OCT2013
At: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/291758

About Shadows of Valor:
Four years ago, Edwin's father was slain by Verackan raiders, intent on plundering the Orescan heartland to supplement their own waning resources.

Now seventeen and intent on vengeance, Edwin runs away from home to join the Orescan Army. Soon, he finds himself a Probationary Recruit, not in the Army, but in the Special Air Corps. Through a combination of natural and technologically enhanced gifts, this elite and secretive organization battles the Verackans from the shadows.

As Edwin explores the full potential of his gift, a new objective begins to take hold: ending the Verackan threat for all time.


What others are saying about Shadows of Valor:

M.K. says, "quick-paced, well written sci-fi" (full review here).

Michael Long says, "I found the story to be engrossing and I couldn't put it down" (full review here).

Jaq Hawkins says, "took me back to a time when I left my own home at a young age" (full review here).

Amanda says, "In no way was I expecting the exceptional quality revealed to me" (full review here).

Review: Xenolith by A. Sparrow

 Xenolith by A. Sparrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Complex and intriguing...

Xenolith starts with the definition of the stone of the same name: "a stone foreign to the matrix that embeds it." This story has many elements that refer themselves to this definitions.

First, the story is told in a non-linear fashion. Something will happen, sparking a memory, and then we travel back with that person and experience it with them, before coming back to the present, or sometimes almost back to the present. I've read books using this format before, sometimes with confusing results, but in this book, there are enough clues, prompts, and guides built in to keep everything straight. Each change of time and perspective is purposeful and meaningful, and I love the complexity it yields and how it relates to the title of the book.

Review: The Quest for Juice by Jonathan-David Jackson

The Quest for Juice 
by Jonathan-David Jackson

Description:
Oscar has always lived a life of quiet paranoia, but now everything is changing. Suddenly, the bus is frequently late, his housekeys won't fit in the lock, and someone has taken his juice, which was the one thing holding his life together. He strikes back against the people behind it all, but when he strikes too hard an innocent man ends up dead, and Oscar ends up in jail, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and facing life in a mental institution. On his journey to mental health and the truth, he has to make hard decisions about medication, trusting his own mind, dating a nurse, and whether that hedgehog can actually talk.


My Review:
Quirky, dark and funny.

Oscar Wells suspects 'they' are up to no good in his town. All of his extensive research, documented meticulously on a wall in his house, points towards a dark conspiracy. First, it's little things, like his key not quite fitting and having to jiggle it to open his door. But when his favorite Sunshine Juice is replaced by Sunlight OJ, "now with 50% more real orange pulp," they've gone too far. From there Oscar spirals into a paranoid breakdown that lands him first in jail and later in a mental ward, and then it gets really interesting.

Oscar is a mess. The book is told from his perspective and he freely walks you through every connection, suspicion and thought that lead him to his often tenuous conclusions and decidedly odd outlook on life. I found myself laughing aloud many a time.

On the other hand, the unlikely outcome requires quite a leap of faith, even through the eyes of the delusional main character. Entertaining, yes; believable, no. I'm not certain I would read the next one in the series when it comes out, because I'm not sure what's left to tell based on where the story left off.

Overall, The Quest for Juice is an enjoyable read with a ton of humorous, though at times dark, insanity sprinkled in. I highly recommend it to people who like stories where reality and perception clash in interesting ways. This story kept me guessing and second guessing, and I loved that about it.


About the Author:

Jonathan-David Jackson was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, at 3 in the morning on May 14, 1987. At first, he could not walk, talk, or indeed use the toilet. After a year of intensive training in NC, he moved his family to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he finally overcame those early disabilities. Soon, he was walking and talking as good as anyone, and perhaps better. Walking and talking wasn't good enough, though, so he also learned to write.

He wrote and wrote, and with gentle encouragement from his wife, he finally wrote a book. Then he wrote this biography. Then he wrote other books. Perhaps he'll do more things; that would certainly be exciting.

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Website

The Color of Thunder by J.C. Wing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful and satisfying, though sometimes bogged down in the details.

The Color of Thunder follows young Faith Linsey as she grows up in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. As the daughter of a prominent and respected pastor, her role in the family and the community is one of service. To her father, she is an extra female useful for helping her mother with the household and for keeping her unruly sister, Hope, out of trouble.

Faith embraces her responsibilities and accepts the world at face value until one fateful night when she witnesses her father sneaking out into the night to send a fiery message to a family who committed the unspeakable crime of showing kindness and giving a ride to their young black housekeeper. Rocked by the revelation that her father isn't the righteous man she'd always believed him to be, Faith begins to take note of the things happening in her family, her town and the world.

Back to the drawing board...

Here's another legacy post from my Goodreads blog.

November 14, 2012
Back to the drawing board...

Last time I detoured into a quick tally of all the books I devoured this year. This time, let's go back to where I left off.

I had come up with a few easy (read short cut) steps and worked up the courage to send a query letter to an agent. The response was swift and decisive. Either my book or my pitch was lacking. So, back to the drawing board I went.

First off, I needed to come up with some more realistic steps for attracting an agent, steps based on actual research. So here is the revised plan I came up with:

Review: Sea of Silver Light (Otherland #4) by Tad Williams

Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An exciting conclusion, I loved it.

Everything falls apart at the close of Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland #3), and now the unlikely heroes of the Otherland system are scattered far and wide in the heart of the dying operating system and beyond. Renie, !Xabbu, and Fredericks are stuck with unlikely allies in the evil Felix Jongleur and the brain damaged Ricardo Klement. But even this tenuous partnership is shattered when the virtual world shatters, and Renie finds herself stranded in an amorphous landscape with the doddering Klement her only companion.

Martine, Paul Jonas, T4b, and Florimel find themselves back in the already terrifying bug world, made even worse with horrifically human-bug mutations on the loose, mutations whose sole desire is to rip them limb from limb. Not even the benevolent Kunohara seems to be able to hold off the writhing masses for long.

In the real world, things are becoming truly scary for little Christabel. Her daddy learns of Mr. Sellers and now the entire family, plus Sellers, the boy Cho Cho and the lawyer Catur Ramsey, end up on the run together. But they can't run forever...

Interview with David Estes, author of the fantastic Dwellers and Country Sagas

Welcome, David, and thank you for stopping by my blog for this interview.  I'm excited to participate in the Earth Dwellers Book Blast event.

Thanks so much, Patricia! It’s an honor to be able to stop by your awesome blog.

1.   Before we get started on the interview questions, why don't you take a moment to tell us a little bit about the Earth Dwellers?

This shouldn’t be a complicated question, but it is! Why? Because The Earth Dwellers is the 7th and final book that brings together two other series that, to this point, haven’t had any connection to each other; namely, The Dwellers Saga and The Country Saga. 

The Earth Dwellers is an attempt to bring an epic end to two YA dystopian series that take place in the same overall world, but with different characters, settings, and plotlines. However, in the final book, these characters and plotlines come together in a tale of rebellion against a tyrant, love, family, and unfortunately, loss. 

2.  David, you've written quite a few books over the past couple of years. Do you have a favorite?

Whew! It’s been a really busy couple of years! I’ve written and published 14 books (including my 4 Children’s chapter books) over the last three years. But picking a favorite would be like choosing your favorite child, right? Ha! Not exactly. Well, my favorite of my books was Fire Country, because of the strong and colorful personality of the protagonist, Siena (random fact: I’m responding to these interview questions while staying in Siena, Italy. Just a coincidence!). Siena spoke to me so strongly that she practically wrote the book herself. So I’ll always love Fire Country. But I have to say that my new favorite is definitely The Earth Dwellers, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my newest book. 

3.  What makes Earth Country your favorite?