In need of a good read? I know I am!

June 30, 2014June 30, 20144 Comments

Here in the Midwest, the last couple of days have been a nightmare, at least at our house (well, part of the time was a lot of fun, but the storms have definitely taken their toll), so I’m glad to have another Summer Reads Blog Tour post to share today. Let’s have a look at the books that fellow Worldbuilder Andrea Baker has chosen, shall we? That oughtta keep my mind off the river forming outside my door, at least for a little while…

Summer Reads Blog Tour – Week Five
Andrea Baker

It’s week five already, and it’s time to welcome Andrea Baker. I had the privilege of meeting Andrea a number of years ago on a forum, we became fast friends and have watched each other’s work develop over the years. It’s always amazing for me to look back and see all the changes we’ve been through. Take a peek at not only Andrea’s reads list, but also her books. You won’t be disappointed!

Andrea Baker has had ideas for stories, and poems all of her life, and as a child and teenager, many of these were written in one shape or another.

As she grew older, and graduated University, she convinced herself that writing was a childhood adventure, and something that she should have grown out of – that these daydreams belonged in the realms of childhood. For many years she stopped herself writing – although her mind continued creating these worlds and stories, she refused to write them down.

Over the last decade, however…

Five more fun facts!

June 27, 2014June 27, 2014Leave a comment

Lipei serves as a source of much consternation to her beloved big brother
Artwork by Hazel Butler

My good friend and fellow Worldbuilder, Andrea Baker, tagged me in the five facts game, and since I’d already considered doing this again for other characters, I was tickled to see I’d been tagged again. 🙂

With that in mind, let’s meet Vegin’s antagonist, shall we?

Fun Facts About Balil Tolhana

Balil is Vegin’s brother-in-law.
He’s a devout priest of the Tolathan order, dedicated to following the teachings of Kiala.
He loathes the royal family and is infuriated when his sister (Lipei) marries the Crown Prince of Lokana (Vegin).
He shares a desire to transform society with his brother-in-law, but goes about it in a much different way.
A complex man, his character is shaped by the loss of his younger brother.

Once again, if you’d like to participate, have at it, and have fun! Happy Friday!

Seven more lines

June 27, 2014Leave a comment

Anná
Artwork by Hazel Butler

The wonderful Sammy HK Smith re-tagged me in the 7/7 challenge, so I decided to share a bit more from The Lokana Chronicles, this time from the second book, tentatively titled Fog of War.

Anna stumbled on a tree root. Her backpack flew from her shoulder and landed somewhere behind her as she went sprawling forward and landed on her stomach. Groaning, she pushed herself up slowly, rising to her feet from a squat. She brushed the dirt and leaves from her clothes as she looked for her backpack, but it was nowhere to be found.

With no flashlight to help her see in the dark woods, she gave up on finding her backpack and took a step forward, causing her leg to throb. She explored her leg with her fingers till she felt something sticky on her right calf – blood. The sickly metallic scent was unmistakable.

If you’d like to join in the fun, have at it! I can’t wait to read more excerpts. 🙂

Another writing challenge

June 25, 20143 Comments

Lipei, the woman for whom Vegin defied his parents
Artwork by Hazel Butler

Yes, I’m doing this on my blog again instead of on Facebook like I’m supposed to. That’s just the way I roll.

I’m a rebel, see. 😉

Okay, no I’m not – this will make its way to Facebook, probably a couple times over, even.

I was tagged by the lovely AFE Smith for this challenge, which is to share five facts about the main character of your book. Then, of course, you have to tag five more people, and so it goes.

Fun Facts About Vegin Martoka

Despite all spelling similarities to the word “vegan,” his name is pronounced differently. It rhymes with “bacon.”
Vegin is an idealist, but feels powerless to fix anything in his kingdom.
His love life, however, is another story. He fights for the right to marry the woman he loves instead of the woman his parents have chosen, and learns in the process that he’s more capable than he thinks.
He shares the same desire for change as his brother-in-law, but disagrees on how to accomplish that change. While Balil wants revolution, Vegin hopes for peaceful progress.
Though he counts himself a follower of Kiala (the deity worshipped in Lokana as the Great Mother), he remains skeptical of the truth he discovers in his father’s bequest.

I’m going to make this an open tag – if you’d like to participate, have at it! Then let me know so that I can read all about your characters. 🙂

The 7/7/7 challenge!

June 23, 20143 Comments

Vegin
Artwork by Hazel Butler

The ever-lovely Will Macmillan Jones tagged me in the 7/7 challenge (or the 7/7/7 challenge – I’ve seen it both ways). It’s a new thing going around Facebook, where you go to the seventh page (or the seventeenth page or the seventy-seventh page) of your current WIP and share seven lines (or seven sentences, whichever you choose). Once finished, you tag seven others to complete the challenge.

Give you one guess which WIP I’m going to quote from. 😀

From the newly-revised page seven, here’s a snippet from The Lokana Chronicles, in which the prince, Vegin, receives a history lesson from his tutor, Surat:

“Garedon was a widower early in life,” Surat began. “The loss of his wife devastated him, for they’d been very much in love. But when the pain of losing her began to fade, loneliness replaced it, and he sought companionship in the less reputable quarters of the city.

“One day, Misranna caught his eye. Garedon was immediately infatuated, and soon he was sneaking off to see her at all hours of the day and night. His father threatened to imprison him for disregarding his responsibilities, but the young prince ignored him.”

Vegin found himself wishing he’d known his great-grandfather. It took guts to stand up to one’s parents so publicly, and he wasn’t sure he’d have had the stomach for it. “So what happened?”

Okay, so this is nine sentences, but I couldn’t very well stop after the first line of that paragraph, and nine lines isn’t so much, is it? Actually, I guess it’s only eight lines (but nine sentences). So see? It’s okay.

And now for the tagging bit! I’ll tag AFE Smith, Kate Jack, MT McGuire, Tricia Drammeh, and Emily McKeon. I know this is a Facebook thing, but I couldn’t resist sharing this with you, too. 🙂

Need a new book? Check these out!

June 23, 2014June 25, 2014Leave a comment

The Summer Reads Blog Tour is here again, and this time the guest is the hilarious Will Macmillan Jones, Comedy Goon of the Alliance of Worldbuilders! To see which books he recommends, scroll down. And don’t forget to head over to host Lisa L. Wiedmeier’s blog, where you can enter to win a whole bunch of fantastic prizes!

Summer Reads Blog Tour – Week Four
Welcome Will Macmillan Jones!

Well, week four of the Summer Reads Blog Tour brings us a dear friend and fellow author, Will Macmillan Jones. Will’s the comedic act in our group with his dry sense of humor, I can’t help but smile when I read his posts or chat away in a lively conversation.

Will Macmillan Jones live in Wales, a lovely green, verdant land with a rich cultural heritage. He does his best to support this heritage by drinking the local beer and shouting loud encouragement whenever International Rugby is on the TV. A fifty something lover of blues, rock and jazz he has just fulfilled a lifetime ambition by filling an entire wall of his home office with (full) bookcases.

His major comic fantasy series, released by Safkhet Publishing, can be found at: www.thebannedunderground.com and information on his other work and stuff in general at…

Next up on the Summer Reads Blog Tour is…

June 17, 2014June 25, 20141 Comment

Once again, I’ve got some great book recommendations to share with you. To find out more about the Summer Reads Blog Tour, check out Lisa L. Wiedmeier’s blog, original home of the following post.

Now, without further ado, here’s this week’s guest, Carrie Fetzer!

Summer Reads Blog Tour – Week Three

Welcome Carrie Fetzer!

This week it’s our beloved Carrie’s turn to share her favorite reads with you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have her come into my life and support me the way she has. Last November, I half jokingly put it out on the page that I needed a page administrator, and our lovely Carrie messaged me! Not only did she volunteer, but she’s run with it wholeheartedly.

She’s done an amazing job with keeping the conversation going, and filled a huge gap for me when I needed it most. This was supposed to just be a temporary position, but Carrie wanted to stay on! The best part of having her admin my page?

A chocolatey challenge

June 10, 201412 Comments

The Chocolate Bar Challenge is a blog tour in which participants choose up to eight of their favorite books and then pick the perfect chocolate to go with each of them. I was tagged by the lovely AFE Smith and since the only thing I like better than books or chocolate is books AND chocolate, this seemed like a fantastic idea.

Now, on to the deliciousness! In no particular order, of course. 🙂

First up, it’s my all-time favorite book, Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi. It’s set in Trenton during the Revolutionary War and follows Jemima, a staunch Patriot who can’t understand why her parents allow a Tory to tutor her. But things aren’t quite what they seem, and as the war takes an unexpected toll, she learns some hard lessons about freedom and responsibility. It’s a fantastic book, and I’ve read it so many times I can quote it at length.

I think the best chocolate to pair with a great comfort read like this (because it’s one of my favorite comfort reads) is a milk chocolate Dove bar. Smooth and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness…

WIP Blog Hop

June 7, 2014June 4, 201415 Comments

Basically, this blog hop involves answering seven questions about my current work in progress, tagging five new participants, and linking back to the person who nominated me. I was nominated by the lovely Tricia Drammeh, and you can find her post here. 🙂

Vegin
Artwork by Hazel Butler

1. What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Vegin is the Crown Prince of Lokana and very much a figment of my imagination.

2. When and where is the story set?
The story is set in the kingdom of Lokana in the present day, but present-day Lokana looks very much like the Middle Ages. Eventually there is a small detour to Arkona, a mythical world based on our own that looks very much like present-day eastern Iowa.

3. What should we know about him/her?
Vegin is an idealist. He wants to improve living conditions (among other things) in his kingdom, but feels powerless to change anything. He’s headstrong and naïve, charismatic and caring. He tries to do the best he can with what’s at hand.

4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
In Book One…