Ice on Fire: A Story Worth Reading
Posted: June 23, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, romance | Tags: Amy Cecil, Book Review, Fiction, Ice on Fire, Knights of Silence, Motorcycle Clubs, romance 1 Comment
Ice on Fire, by Amy Cecil is the second book in her contemporary romance Knights of Silence MC series. An intricately woven story line, which ties characters to one another and to the other books in the series, takes readers on a journey into the violent, volatile world of motorcycle club mayhem, where broken souls heal and form family.
Book 2 of this series, Ice on Fire, follows the growth and development as three separate romances blossom, as Ice (or Caden), the president of the Knights of Silence, let’s the world believe he’s dead in an effort to protect those he loves from the retaliation of the Satans, after brutally killing one of their members, while he puts a plan into action to bring about a peace between the two rival clubs.
Although this story has the romance elements and some pretty steamy bedroom scenes, the main story line, mentioned above overrides all three budding romances, causing me to question if it can really be classified as the romance genre. For me, it was more a story of loyalty, with a theme of family sticking together, showing a different, softer side to the motorcycle club culture. With three budding romances in progress, the Knights of Silence certainly prove that they can be gentle and romantic.
It’s a good story line, and I will certainly read book 1, Ice, and maybe future books in the series, as well. My one criticism is that there were times when exposition pulled me out of the story, making me feel like a distant observer rather than a participant. I give Ice on Fire four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“The Day My Fart Followed Santa Up The Chimney”: A Unique Children’s Christmas Story
Posted: June 16, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Children's Books, Fiction | Tags: Ben Jackson & Sam Lawrence, Book Review, Books, Children's Books, Christmas, Picture Books, Reviews, The Day My Fart Followed Santa Up The Chimney Leave a comment(No Cover Photo Available)
Most kids dream of hitching a ride in Santa’s sleigh at one time or another. In The Day My Fart Followed Santa Up The Chimney by Ben Jackson and Sam Lawrence, Timmy doesn’t get a ride, but his little fart does. Timmy’s Fart is a cute little green guy, kind of a cross between a Smurf and a chubby baby dragon.
The Day My Fart Followed Santa Up The Chimney is a delightful children’s picture book, which explores the magic of Christmas and takes Little Fart on a great adventure. It wasn’t what I expected, (I expected a lot of fart humor from the title), but I was pleasantly surprised. I give it four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Wolves for the Holiday 1.1” has potential to be more
Posted: June 9, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Erotica, Fiction, Paranormal, romance, Speculative Fiction | Tags: BookReview, Josette Reuel, Paranormal Romanace, romance, Wolves for the Holiday 1.1 4 Comments
Wolves for the Holiday 1.1, by Josette Reuel is a short story with the potential to be a longer supernatural romance. As with many short stories, it feels like there should be more. The ground work is laid for secondary characters to have relationships, providing plenty of subplot material that Reuel fails to take advantage of, and readers are left wanting more. This story has the potential to become a novel length work, if more fully developed.
When first three wolves, and then later, three naked men show up at a secluded mountain cabin, where three writer friends are taking a writer’s retreat, things promise to get a little weird. That’s where the problem lies, for three women in a secluded cabin just wouldn’t react the way these women do, so I had a hard time buying into the story. The premise is good. Actually, the premise is great, but Reuel fails to suspend my disbelief.
Then there is the romance element, which is good, and almost believable. However, having our heroine submit to the Alpha male makes her appear weak, conforming to typical female stereotypes. The males are stereotyped as well, but I could buy that because they are wolves, after all.
After our two protagonists have their romp in the hay, there is no follow through. The story just ends, leaving the reader feeling cheated. Relationships with her friends and his pack members are alluded to, but not shown. We can only guess what was happening in the rest of the cabin while the main romance is blossoming in the bedroom. I will say the bedroom scene itself was done tastefully.
Wolves for the Holiday 1.1 has a great premise, but fails to deliver, doesn’t carry through the full romance arc, has a weak female protagonist, but does include a well written bedroom scene. I give it two quills.
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“Wicked Treasure” is a Wicked Story
Posted: May 26, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Steampunk, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Jordan Elizabeth, Steampunk, Treasure Chronicles, Wicked Treasure, Young Adult Leave a comment
Wicked Treasure, by Jordan Elizabeth is a read you won’t want to put down. Elizabeth captures the reader’s attention from the first page. It’s a truly enjoyable read. Wicked Treasure is the third novel in her Treasure Chronicle series. Preceding it are Treasure Darkly and Born of Treasure. As with all of Elizabeth’s YA steampunk romance novels, (including Runners and Riders, from her Return to Amston series). Wicked Treasure is an enticing adventure that leaves you wanting more.
Garth and Amethyst are thrown into sleuthing out a new mystery, when the kidnapping of their daughter throws them onto the trail of a diabolical conspiracy of government cover up that threatens to rock the entire country. Exposing the cover up threatens to rock the very structure of the government, making all Treasures and Grishams dispensable liabilities and they find themselves in a race to save their own lives. Full of twists, turns and outright surprises, Wicked Treasure keeps readers guessing and pages turning.
Wicked Treasure is a well crafted YA steampunk novel, filled with suspense and intrigue, that holds readers’ interest from the very first page. I give it five quills.
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“The Lying Planet”: Only The Truth Will Set Them Free
Posted: May 12, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Carol Riggs, Science Fiction, The Lying Planet, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
The Lying Planet, by Carol Riggs is a grabbing YA science fiction novel. Riggs puts a new twist on the story where all is not as it appears. On the planet Liberty, the future seems bright, but when the truth is finally unveiled, it may be very dark indeed.
On the planet Liberty, kids look forward to turning eighteen and venturing out of the colony they grew up in, away from their families, to live lives of their own. Jay can’t wait to gain his freedom. But what’s a kid to do when he discovers that everything he was ever lead to believe is a lie, the very fabric that he’s built his life on is false? Jay uncovers a secret that will change life on Liberty forever, and once he knows the truth, there’s no turning back.
Riggs brings us action and suspense in a well crafted YA science fiction novel which is filled with surprises. Just when you think you have it all figured out, another twist is added. I give The Lying Planet five quills.
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“The Path to Old Talbot”: A YA Novel That Deals With Tough Real Life Issues With Sensitivity
Posted: May 5, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Jordan Elizabeth, Novel, Reviews, The Path to Old Talbot, Young Adult Leave a comment
The Path to Old Talbot, by Jordan Elizabeth appears on the surface to be a novel about a doorway leading to another time, and it is that. But it is also a story about how a young girl and her mother cope with her father’s mental illness. It’s a tough issue. What does a teen do when their parent has mental problems. It may be something that isn’t talked about, so the child or young adult must deal with it internally, not expressing their feelings outwardly. Our heroine, Charity, expresses her inner thoughts and feelings to the reader, even when they are thoughts and feelings she can’t express to friends or family, giving readers a unique insider’s view of a tough love scenario. It is a difficult issue and I give Jordan Elizabeth kudos for tackling it in a realistic, but sensitive manner.
When Charity and her mother discover a door to the past in their new home, they can hardly believe it, but they quickly take advantage of to make brief escapes from their own reality. But with each visit, it gets harder for Charity to leave her new found friends from the past to their fates, as she digs up the past in the present. But can the past really be changed or is it preordained?
The Path to Old Talbot is a well written and engaging story, perfect for today’s YA readers, who may be dealing with similar issues in their own lives, (mental illness, not time travel). I give it four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Perils for Portents”: A Steampunkish Novel with a Heroine to be Admired
Posted: April 28, 2017 Filed under: Action/Adventure, Book Review, Books, Fiction, Steampunk, Young Adult | Tags: Action, Book Review, Books, Diana Benedict, Historical Fiction, Novel, Perils for Portents, Reviews, Young Adult Leave a comment
Perils for Portents, by Diana Benedict is a well crafted story and a truly enjoyable read. Taking place in an era when women had to struggle to be taken seriously, young Francie Wolcott proves a heroine who young women today can look up to in a story of mystery and adventure.
When their parents die, Francie and her brother, Rooney, are left to make their own way in the world. Francie uses her resources, combined with Rooney’s ingenuity to travel across the country by unconventional means, to their uncle and grandmother in San Francisco. On the journey, the automaton Rooney designed is possessed by a ghost, whose fortunes are right on the mark. When she reveals a murder the circus owner was involved with, it puts Francie on his radar as a liability. Once they’ve reached their family, Rooney settles in well, while Francie entertains plans to travel the world with the fortune telling automaton. But her grandmother has other plans for her, as she puts Francie on display for all eligible suitors, regardless of how repulsive Francie finds them. Besides thwarting her grandmother, Francie must also evade the circus owner, who is set on her demise, and she proves herself up to the task.
Perils for Portents is a delightful historic YA novel, with elements of adventure and romance. It is well written and entertaining. I give it four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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A Published Author At Last – Now It’s In My Readers’ Hands
Posted: April 24, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Western, Writing | Tags: Books, Colorado, Delilah, Fiction, Kaye Lynne Booth, marketing, Novels, promotion, Review, Reviews, Western, Writing 2 Comments
The exciting news this week is, Delilah is now available in digital format! It’s something I’ve been waiting for for quite a while, so of course, I am ecstatic. But, something many aspiring authors may not realize is that publication isn’t the end of the road. No, it’s actually just the beginning of a new chapter in the book of writing, this one titled Sell that Book.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with my road to publication, I started Delilah back in 2012, when I entered the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program at Western State Colorado University. The assignment given by my instructor, Russell Davis, was to write an excerpt in a genre outside our comfort zone. I was assigned to write in western genre, and low and behold, I found not only am I good at it, but I like writing western. Four years later, that small excerpt, grew into a 60,000 word western novel which I’ve been trying to find a publisher for over the past year.
You see, writing the book, while a great accomplishment unto itself, is only half the battle. It doesn’t do any good to write a story, if no one ever reads it. In order for that to happen, the book must be published, and while I could self-publish, (I had considered it), I held out hope of finding a publisher, and in the end my persistence paid off.
So, now that I got Delilah published, with the help of Dusty Saddles Publishing, I must get the word out through marketing and promotion. I must get people to read, and maybe more important, write reviews.
Reviews are where it’s at these days. According to Amazon, reviews are how you get your book promoted, and I just read somewhere that Amazon has recently increased the number of reviews needed for them to promote your book, from thirty-five to fifty or one hundred.
The question is, where do I get reviews from? Although I do honest reviews here, on Writing to be Read, I don’t know many other bloggers who do. So, it comes down to appealing to you, my readers, to buy Delilah, read it and then go onto Amazon and Goodreads, (Delilah will be listed there soon -another thing I still need to do), and leave a review.
If you are willing to go to the trouble of doing all that, I thank you, but I also ask that you leave a review that is honest. While I would love you to leave a review which sings Delilah’s praises, I want it only if it is heartfelt. If you see problems with my story, I need to know what they are, in order to improve my writing of future books, so I am asking for honest criticism, if you are kind enough to leave a review at all.
In the end, it’s up to you, the reader, how successful Delilah, or any book, will be. So, buy the books you want to read, (which I hope includes my debut novel), and be kind. Leave an honest review.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Weeping Willows”: A Ghostly Tale
Posted: April 21, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Fiction, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Stories | Tags: B.J. Robinson, Book Review, Ghosts, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Short Story, Weeping Willows Leave a comment
Weeping Willows by B.J. Robinson has the potential to be a good ghostly tale. Unfortunately, Robinson didn’t take it quite far enough. All the elements are there, but they just don’t come together very well.
The story fails to set a tone scary enough to cause any real anticipation. The House of Usher, it is not. The one spirit that actually shows herself, isn’t very threatening, is actually rather helpful, providing all the needed information about the house’s history, so the story may proceed, thus removing any sense of mystery the story might have been carrying.
The plot is classic haunted house to the point of almost being cliché. Two couples enter into a contest where the couple who lasts the longest in the old house, which threatens to crumble and fall into the sea, wins a honeymoon in Hawaii, but of course, the house is haunted and the spirits don’t seem happy about its latest guests.
The circumstances often seem a little too convenient, as if the events occur at the convenience of the author, to get the story out. It feels like the characters do what is necessary for the story to unfold, but perhaps not what would be natural for their personalities, but that could be because the characters lack depth. Character development is always a challenge when writing short fiction due to the short amount of page space, but without it, it’s difficult to care about the characters.
Weeping Willows is a ghost story of fair quality. I give it three quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Interview with author DeAnna Knippling
Posted: April 17, 2017 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Publishing, Science Fiction, Self-Publishing, Speculative Fiction, Writing | Tags: Author, DeAnna Knippling, Interview, Profile, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing 1 Comment
This week, I’m interviewing Colorado freelance writer, editor, author and book designer, DeAnna Knippling. I first met DeAnna through the Pike’s Peak Writers when I was still serving as the Southern Colorado Literature Examiner. What struck me about her was her enthusiasm and willingness to help where ever she can. She treats her writing as a business and goes at it with a high degree of professionalism, yet she is personable and willing to share what she’s learned from her own writing experiences.
DeAnna Knippling writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and mystery for adults under her own name; adventurous and weird fiction for middle-grade (8-12 year old) kids under the pseudonym De Kenyon; and various thriller and suspense fiction for her ghostwriting clients under various and non-disclosable names. Her latest book, Alice’s Adventures in Underland: The Queen of Stilled Hearts, combines two of her favorite topics–zombies and Lewis Carroll. It’s the story of a tame zombie who told a little girl named Alice a story that got them both in more trouble than they could handle. Her short fiction has appeared in Black Static, Penumbra, Crossed Genres, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, and more.
Kaye: You created Wonderland Press to get your books out there. What all is involved in creating a press for your work and what are the advantages of doing so? I mean, why would an author do this rather than just throwing their book out on Amazon or Smashwords?
DeAnna: This isn’t one of the fun answers. It’s stupid easy to make a “press.” It involves no special equipment. You look online, make sure nobody else has one of that name in your state, register a business name with your state or county (look up, “How to register a business name in [name of state]”), and Bob’s your uncle. You might want to get more complex with an LLC or something–but I recommend leaving that for later, unless you already have experience doing that. I am, of course not a lawyer and can’t give legal advice. When you want to start looking at an LLC or corporation, I believe, is when you start having to worry about taxes and tax brackets.
DeAnna: Just keep working. Everybody’s in a hurry to succeed. Success! Millions! Riches! Fame! But, in the end, it comes back to the basics. Did you read? Did you write? Did you learn something? Did you talk to other people in the writing community?
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