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Book Review: Temple of No God
by: H. M. Long Highly Recommend Where to find: Amazon Barnes & Nobles Indigo Books Spoiler Alert: This is book 2 of the series. If you haven’t read the previous novel, there may be spoilers for events in book one. If you wish to see my review for the first book, click here. Hessa has been the leader and high priest of her people for ten years now. Life under Tyvander’s guidance has become normal even if it isn’t exactly peaceful. When a visitor comes to her village on behalf of an arpa aspiring to be their new emperor, the world becomes uncertain once again. Maybe there is still more…
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Book Review: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
by: Amélie Wen Zhao Recommend Where to find: Amazon Barnes & Nobles Indigo Books Lan, a song girl in a tea house, knows what it’s like to lose everything. She lost her mother, her home, her culture. When she meets Zen, she loses everything again. However, this time is different. Zen not only saves her, he introduces her to a world of magic and excitement. He might even be able to lead her to answers about her past. Amélie Wen Zhao’s book Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is an epic adventure fantasy novel. It focuses on a girl, who goes by Lan, and she has a strange looking scar…
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Stories Steeped in Mythology
1. The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec Angrboda is a witch in hiding. She survived being burned not once, not twice, but three times. Now she spends her time living in a cave at the edge of Jotunheim. Only a precious few know where she currently resides, another giantess who helps her market her potions for supplies and the giant who brought her lost heart back to her. Loki, the most mischievous god of them all, visits Angrboda now and again. Maybe, something happened for both of them the day he brought her back her heart. Mythology Type: Norse This book is great for anyone who is less familiar with…
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Book Review: Beckoning of the Gate
by: Benjamin J. Ryan Recommend (lightly) Where to find: Amazon Barnes & Nobles Indigo Books Santha Lathagin is a simple girl from a small village. She tends to her goats and wishes for all the whispers behind her back to go away. One day she stumbles upon a key, and her simple life becomes much more complicated. Santha must leave her village and adventure into the unknown for a quest she doesn’t fully understand. Will she make it past the dangers haunting her, or will she fail and doom the world along with her? Beckoning of the Gate by Benjamin J Ryan is a tale of faeries and adventure. As…
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Book Review: Dragons of Deceit
by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Highly Recommend Where to find: Amazon Barnes & Nobles Indigo Books Destina Rosethorn is the daughter of a Solomanic knight. All she wishes to do is to uphold his legacy, make him proud. Her love for her father is so strong that when she loses him and his legacy, she decides that she will do the impossible. She will find a way to go back in time to save him. Nothing will change her mind. Nothing will stand in her way. Traveling through time is always risky, and what happens if you change more than intended? Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s newest addition to…
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Going to My First Book Signing
This post’s title might be a little misleading considering I have only been to one book signing. Maybe I have been unlucky since I usually find out about a visiting author after they have already come and gone. I have often wondered how people are notified of author readings and signings. I know that authors often post about it on their websites, but does that mean readers are only notified if they often visit his or her sites? I guess social media is another way. They must post about it, but I only have limited time for personal scrolling through social media, so I often miss them until it’s too…
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Series with Deep Complex Plots
#1. The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman In a world where having magic is a requirement to be alive, a baby with no magical aptitude is considered to be born dead. No matter how healthy the newborn, the parents will have no problems leaving the child to die. They are doing nothing wrong since it is already ‘dead’. Joram was one such baby left for nature to claim, but he survives. He spends his life fooling those around him until he has no choice but to flee. He stumbles upon a forbidden practice called science and those that practice it. Insight: Religion has many sides to it.…
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Great Fantasy Movies For Families
Mary Poppins This movie is a great movie for a family to watch together. Mary Poppins helps bring a lot of joy and adventure to little Jane and Micheal’s life while helping heal the wounds that reside in George Bank’s heart. The magic in this movie is focused around bringing joy and adventure into the world for both the characters and the watchers a like. Plus, the music from this movie is a whole lot of fun. It is truly a feel good movie with wonder and the meaning of family. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas This animated movie depicts an epic sea adventure conducted by Sinbad and his…
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Typical Types of Magic Users
Important note: Authors manipulate, change, and reimagine these terms for their own stories, and they can be quite malleable. This is just a base for what these terms generally mean and are often associated as. While reading and writing, there is room to see what you or other authors do to make these magic users unique. Wizard/Witch- These terms are very popular for magic users and there are many different visions on what a witch and wizard may look like. They usually cast their magic with spells and ingredients or even a ritual of some kind. Common associations with these terms include wands, brooms (in the case of witches), potion…
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Start With an Idea
Having an idea or something to write about is an important starting point when writing. It’s hard to write a book if you really don’t have any idea of what you want to write about. This doesn’t mean everything has to be fleshed out at the start, but you do need a base of something that sparks your imagination and gets you writing. Coming up with an idea is often a very personal process. Different people have different processes that work best for them. Sometimes ideas come easily, but the ability to stay motivated on the idea is the hard part. Other times, it takes forever to come up with…
