Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Happy News

I've just received a mail telling me that one of my poems will soon be featured on 4and20poetry and that totally made my day!

So, to accompany this happy, happy news, I'll just post the poem they featured in April for their double issue:


Spring Emotion



The spirits of spring returned
Dancing madly, singing the nature.
On butterfly wings was burned
The scent of our future.


And since my schedule starts getting closer to normal, here's a haiku written today, for a great challenge:

Carpe Diem #231 Nagoshi (half year's end festival)

summer festival - 
in her grand-children's giggles,
her eyes spark with love


Also, here's one other cover that will go up on Amazon later this week.




Have a great day! Mine is excellent already!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

My Very First Cover: 17 Syllables: Of Love And Life


Here it is! 



My first cover! 

I've been working, trying to figure out the way Amazon works, but surprisingly, publishing isn't difficult at all. What made it difficult for me (and put my plans on hold for a month and a half) - the paperwork and the changes around the banking system. Got to love the way our economy works!

17 Syllables: Of Love And Life is a collection of 40 very  subjective haiku and senryu: love and life in very few words, the way I saw it and felt it at that moment. 


Now that I've finally sorted out the paperwork and the financial matters, I can focus on the nice part: the actual publishing. And also come back to more frequent blogging, which I've missed a lot.


Have a great day, mine is excellent!



Saturday, June 22, 2013

Six Words Saturday

in impasse - better less or more?


Last night I've written 10 great haiku becuase of lack of sleep. I always work better when tired and caffeine driven. I love my insomnia but it doesn't agree with me.

Have a great Saturday!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Faerie Prince (The Creepy Hollow #2) Author Interview & Book Review

Author Interview: Rachel Morgan


1. Which are your favourite fairytale, myth and legend?
As far as Disney fairytales go, I love Beauty and the Beast. And as for myths and legends, I’ve always been a big fan of Greek mythology (I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series).

2. You have nicely cemented characters in the series. How much did you use folklore to create the magical world and the faeries’ "job description" (worldbuilding)?
I actually didn’t use much traditional folklore in the worldbuilding of the Creepy Hollow series. I wanted it to be a more modern twist on faeries, so I made up a lot of stuff. A number of the creatures mentioned, as well as trees and berries etc, are all my own creations, as well as the magical devices like amber, stylus and glass comm.

3. Why did you choose the faeries for your first series? (A great choice, by the way!)
This might sound ridiculous, but I honestly can’t remember exactly why I chose faeries! I wanted to write about magical characters who would guard and protect humans. I wanted them to live in a forest. So I think the next logical step (in my mind, anyway!), was that these magical characters would be faeries. And when I was little I liked to believe that faeries were real. I’d make little gardens for them, and write letters to them. So the fact that I’ve always been a faerie fan probably also had something to do with it.

4. Name your favorite movie and cartoon. (I would so love a movie after your series!)
Oh, I would also LOVE a movie based on my series! Favorite movie … that’s a tough one. I just scanned through my DVD collection, and the one that jumped out at me that I’d be happy to watch over and over again is Pirates of the Caribbean. So we’ll go with that for now! And cartoons … I’ve never really been into cartoons so I don’t have a favorite (and if you mean animated movies, then there are just too many favorites!).

5. The writer in me just has to ask: why do you write in the present tense instead of past tense?
I feel like it makes the action more immediate, especially since it is also written in first person, and the reader hears a lot of Vi’s thoughts. To me, when I’m reading present tense, it helps me to feel like I’m right there as it’s happening!

6. Could you write faster, because I'm dying to know what happens next? ;) When should we expect the next book?
Haha! I’d love it if I could write faster ;-) I can’t make any guarantees, but I do plan for the third book to be out before the end of this year.

7. What's next after the Creepy Hollow series?
I have some contemporary romance stories planned :-)

 
The Faerie Gardian - Book Review
Warning!
Do not start reading this book in the evening except if you really want to see the sunset! Because you will!

I'll start by saying I've enjoyed the book (clearly, since I decided in favor of a sleepless night just to read one more chapter, till there was no other chapter to read).

The second book in the series, "The Faerie Prince" starts a few weeks after Nate's betrayal and after Vi and Ryn successfully retrieve Calla from Zell. The 5th year guardians Vi and Ryn are in odd friendship territhory - after years of hate and vengeful actions against each other - awaiting for their final most important assignment before graduation, just like the other trainees.
Their road is filled with turns and twists on their final assignment and after graduation they find themselves uncovering secrets of their world, learning more about their past and their parents' past.

I love the progress and the dinamics of the relationship between Vi and Ryn in this book. They move from former enemies towards awkward friends and assignment partners and eventually to shy teens in love. And the lines that Vi and Ryn exchange... great, fun, entertaining dialogue! I must say I love Ryn more than I love Vi - he has the makings of a bad boy hiding the fact that he's really a good guy.
And he's dark-haired! --> --> -->
I find the action in the second book well cemented, more thrilling and faster paced. The characters' development is clear and one can relate to their decisions, feelings and actions. Both V and Ryn make believable teens who must deal with their work in responsible manners. I also love the magic system in the series and its rules.

The story focuses around the interaction between V and Ryn and I can promise the finale is more than surprising - if not a little shoking - and a very strong cliffhanger for the next book that I'm really really eager to read right now.

All in all a great book! I really enjoyed reading this beautiful book filled with emotion, teen love and action.



Purchase The Faerie Prince
  
Author Bio
Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults.

The Creepy Hollow Series

Rachel's Links