Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays with "Blood, Body and Mind" by Kathi S. Barton

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser from "Blood, Body and Mind (Aaron's Kiss Series)" a beatiful adult paranormal romance by Kathi S. Barton.

"Miss Temple, how are you feeling this fine morning?" The humor he wasn't trying to hide in voice made him sound almost human. 
"Fine enough to wanna smack that smirk right off your face." she told him. "And alive and kicking, not thanks to you either. You lied to me, bloodsucker."

I love the dialogue and the interaction between all the characters, but the dinamic between the two romantic interests is deliciously funny.


 

 

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

Friday, May 31, 2013

The W(h)IP IT GooD Blogfest



Again, DL Hammons at Criusing Altitude and Elise Fallson  came up with another great idea for a blogfest that allows writers to share their ideas with others, find CPs and Betas for their work and most importantly, share their ideas with others. I admit, 4 months of daily writing and sharing at least 2 haiku on the net has made easier for me talking about poerty writing, but prose ideas are still... difficult to let out.

Here are the prompts and my answers:

WIP Title: Still under consideration - titles make me nervous, so this one is still under consideration
Word Count (projected/actual so far): 18.214 written from 30-35 K projected
Genre: Paranormal Romance with a little adventure in a N/A world
How long have you been working on it?: about 2 months
 

Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book): 

When he decided to go against the rules and break a centuries old blood oath, he had thought of  many things going wrong, but being forced to protect the one he's trying to get away from was never on his list. Going from a long term goal to own his fate to the complicate, annoying task of trying to keep her alive and out of danger turns both their lives upside down.   

Brief Synopsis (250 words or less):  
An old, crazy, stupid oath... crazy stupid decisions... What kind of results can you expect? (I'm not saying more, yet. Though the romantic interest has her own plans that have nothing to do with what he wants.)

Are you looking for a Critique Partner?: YES, please!
Are you looking for a Beta Reader?: YES, please!


If you'd like to help turning this idea into a true, honest to God story, let me know. 

Now go visit other writers and discover their WIP. 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Faerie Tale Prince Blog Fest

Rachel Morgan, Author of the Creepy Hollow series came up with a great Blog fest in order to celebrate the release of the second novel in the Creepy Hollow series, THE FAERIE PRINCE. That's why we get to tell everyone who your fave fairy tale prince/hero is and why.


SO, fairy tale princes and heroes... that's tough... even more so, being Romanian. If it comes down to my Romanian herritage, my hero comes from a poem and it's named Hyperion or The Evening Star. Hyperion falls in love with an emperor's daughter, Cătălina, and leaves his place on the sky to ask to ask his father to make him mortal, as the emperor's daughter had asked, so they can be together. But while he's gone, Cătălina falls in love with a boy in the palace and forgets about Hyperion who's willing to give immortality up for her.
Hyperion is a true prince/hero because of the moral values he shows in spite of being hurt by Cătălina. This rather sad, but beautiful poem was written by Mihai Eminescu and it is one of my favourites.

It's only fit to mention Ryn from The Creepy Hollow series after this sad story because he has his own sad story and a strong personality. And he's dark-haired! (just like I like it! - please, don't question my preferences!)

In movies, Tv shows and animees, I love a diversity of heroes: Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice,
Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries,
Dean from Supernatural,
 

In books, my heroes would be: Adrian Ivashkov from The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines,
Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood and Magnus from The Mortal instruments series,
Patch in Hush, Hush series
The Beast from The Beauty and the Beast
Hercules

And... Rachel says:

It's release day for The Faerie Prince, the second novel in the Creepy Hollow series! Woohoo! If you're keen to read it, you can find it at the following places online:



Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale is just weeks away from one of the most important occasions of her life: graduation. After messing up big time by bringing a human into the fae realm, Vi needs to step up her game and forget about Nate if she hopes to graduate as the top guardian of her year. Everything would be fine if she wasn’t forced to partner with Ryn, her ex-friend, ex-enemy, current ‘sort of friend’. They might be trying to patch up their relationship, but does she really want to spend a week undercover with him for their final assignment? On top of that, the possibly insane Unseelie Prince is still on the loose, free to ‘collect’ as many specially talented faeries as he can find—and Vi is still at the top of his list. Add in faerie queens, enchanted storms, complicated not-just-friends feelings, and a murder within the Guild itself, and graduation is about to become the least of Vi’s problems.



In celebration, The Faerie Guardian is on sale for a limited time!


**GIVEAWAY**

There will be a giveaway running from now until the end of the blog tour (Sun 9 June). A giveaway where FOUR people could win something! The prizes are a signed copy of The Faerie Prince (or The Faerie Guardian, should the winner prefer that), an Amazon gift card, a mini book pendant and necklace, and a Creepy Hollow pin badge. Check out the pic below!
Giveaway is open internationally



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, May 27, 2013

Around, but not quite there/here yet

What do you do when you set too many goals and make too many promisses?

I had a well thought plan for April, May and June, but I've let myself get caught in so many things that I barely remember the original plan. I'm working to get back on track, though, so, I hope that by the end of May, I'll be back to some semblance of normality.

I don't know what others do when they try to do more than they can take, but I (almost) gave up my super good griend, the Internet, and I'm also on the verge of cutting back on sleep. ;) Neah, that's too extreme.

I think I must start learning to say NO.
Help me learn how to do that by asking me to help you with impossible things! I need practice.


Friday, May 17, 2013

The Night of Spring - Kyoshi Takahama

Kristjaan came up with a new Special haiku episode, where Kyoshi Takahama, the haiku-master of May and his haiku are used as inspiration. Kyoshi isn't a well known haiku poet, but he has written wonderful haiku.

Today's haiku by Kyoshi is written at the end of Spring,which he calls 'the night of Spring'. As Kristjaan said, that's a wonderful imagery for the departure of Spring.

I really liked this prompt and felt very happy to write on this theme.

The special haiku:


haru no yo ya tsukue no ue no hiji-makura

the night of Spring -
an elbow-pillow
on the desk

Carpe Diem Special #37
May 17th - The night od Spring

the night of this Spring -
decorating my window
last apple -blossoms

late apple-blossoms
swung by the late-Sping faint beeze -
writing spring haiku

last sight of Spring moon -
the summer morning ballads 
in forest's birds song

NahaiWriMo
May 17th - Quandary or Quietude

the peace in her voice
filling her yard in sping sun -
acacia perfume
  
 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The WIP IT Good Blogfest

The WIP IT GooD Blogfest





On Friday, May 31st, you can take your chance to tell the blogosphere about your most recent [W]ork [I]n [P]rogress. You’ll be guided by the provided prompts to answer in your own post, and even give you the opportunity to solicit CP’s (partners who exchange material for detail critique – usually chapter by chapter) or Beta Readers (test readers who read entire manuscripts and offer broad opinions) if you’re looking for that.
Here are the prompts you'll have to follow:

WIP Title:
Word Count (projected/actual so far):
Genre:
How long have you been working on it?:
Elevator Pitch (if you came across an agent in an elevator ride, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book):
Brief Synopsis (250 words or less):
Are you looking for a Critique Partner?:
Are you looking for a Beta Reader?:


I really love this blogfest idea because it helps and guides you to tell others about what you're working at and it helps you get help in finishing/editing/revising/ your work. :) Go visit DL Hammons at Criusing Altitude and Elise Fallson to sign up for this fun and very, very useful blogfest.


Carpe Diem
May 16th - Justice

no right or wrong now
on paths of Life, awaiting
the Divine Justice

merciful cherry
knows no distinction between
the damned and the blessed

in perfect balance
serving the Creation's heart
Free Will and justice

NaHaiWriMo
May 16th - pet

caressing my cheeks
sweeping my old verandah
 May morning mild breeze 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Review Shadows of the Past

Review: Shadows of the Past


   Shadows of the Past

Publish date: 4th December 2012
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Genre: paranormal/light romance/light horror.
 Blurb 
Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.
The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.
Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?
The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

My Review:

The book is exactly what the blurb promises to be: a beautiful and touching paranormal love story that plays on the idea that love transcends time and soul mates will always search for each other.

First, I loved the premise of the book: the restless soul of a young nun from the XVth century leads Anne, its present day reincarnation, towards the place where the nun's body has been abandoned centuries ago without being aloud to find peace.

Secondly, I loved the shift between present and past, between Anne's and Genevive's stories and the way their stories are woven together. Carmen plays the visions/apparitions/dreams card and the fact that in spite of telling the story of two different female protags, she manages to create background for both Genevive and Anne.

Thirdly, I liked the descriptions the author used to put everything in place - I'm not usually a big fan of thorough descriptions, but this book is one of the few exceptions.

I'd say Carmen managed to write a beautiful, touching love story that transcends time, about overcoming adversity and one's learning, personal growth and transformation and a second love story about choices.

The end of the book is a happy one if just a little gloomy, which is understandable for such a tragic story (promising more, maybe? - I hope so). 

I felt for Genevive's lack of luck, I loved Anne for her strenght and I loved the  book.


Author bio:
            Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
            Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books. 
            She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.
Find her on:
Amazon

Blog


 

Carpe Diem
April 15th - The Wheel of Fortune

silent mid-spring clouds -
young gypsy reading the cards
near an acacia ***

foretold destiny -
a May rain washes away
all my misfortune

my fate's dual coin -
tossing up the dry  branches,
down they go again

my faith and my fate -
walking by a water stream
searching direction

karma comes and goes -
in Mother Earth's ancient laws
I find my justice

NaHaiWriMo
April 15th - odour and ornaments

robed in small sharp thornes,
perfuming my green garden,
roses' pale blossoms

tasting like spring day -
red poppies smile at the sun 
in wheat fields odour

*** I'm not a racist I'm just playing on stereotypes

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Wisdom

After too much time away from my very good friend, the Internet, I'm back to it.

Carpe Diem
May 14th - The Hermit

all our world's wisdom -
children's happy, lovely smiles
in morning sun rays

under the blue sky,
his Inner Self connection -
no Sunday service

NaHaiWriMo
May 14th - neccessity

blue butterfly wings -
all my happy dreams shattered
by reality