WeWriWa #4: There still be Dragons!

This is incredible...I'm on my 4th weekend participating in WeWriWa, and third week in a row!  This is kind of amazing, I'm actually keeping myself on task : ) 

If you happened upon here by chance, what is about to occur, is me sharing eight sentences from my WIP with you.  The cool thing is...lots of other fantastic writers are doing the same thing, and if you'd like, you can click here...Weekend Writing Warriors! to find their blogs and see what tantalizing tidbits they are posting. 

Last week, Ravyn stepped outside the cabin to talk to the dragon Ena, whom she'd befriended years ago.  If you'd like to refresh your memory, click here First, then here!

“Ena stop, it’s okay, we’re safe!”  Ravyn sped across the ground toward the dragon, but the thrashing tail caught her in the middle of her chest.  The air whooshed from her lungs as she sailed through the air to fall in a heap on the ground.

Ronan burst out of the cabin brandishing a stout shillelagh.  He ran to the dragon, swinging the heavy wooden club overhead.  A second red dragon, larger than the first, careened down out of the sky and plucked Ronan up in its razor sharp talons.  The cudgel fell from his hands to fall to the ground with a passive thud.  Ravyn struggled to find her breath forcing in air past the ache in her chest.

So, I always love your comments.  Would you leave one, pretty please with sugar on top?  Have a great #eight Sunday!

Guest Post: #BBF Sierra Burns reviews The Escape of Princess Madeline

Review: The Escape of Princess Madeline

By, Sierra Burns

 

 

Hello there I am Sierra Burns, daughter of Millie Burns, and I read The Escape of Princess Madeline.

I am 9 and 362/365 years old.  My birthday is in three days : )

 

I think the story is really good.  There are scenes in the story that reminded me of scenes from my mom's book.  Spoiler alert:  Like when the bad guys captured her, and she had to pretend to be unconscious...both books were similar.  That made me smile.

 

My favorite character is Daniel.  I like him because he seems like a really good guy, and he will never give up, he will save Princess Madeline!

 

I would recommend this book to all my friends because it is a very good adventure.  I can see the story play out in my mind.

 

 

 

Thanks, Sierra for chiming in with your two cents!  If you would like to find out more about Kirstin Pulioff and her books, please keep reading! Or click the book above and it'll take you directly to Amazon!

 

Kirstin Pulioff is a storyteller at heart. Born and raised in Southern California, she moved to the Pacific Northwest to follow her dreams and graduated from Oregon State University (Go Beavs!) with a degree in Forest Management. Happily married and a mother of two, she lives in Oregon, and enjoys being a stay at home mom. When she's not writing, she is busy with her kids, church and the family business.

I love to hear from my readers and fans. Please connect with me on my other sites:
Webpage: www.kirstinpulioff.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kirstinpulioffauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KirstinPulioff
Goodreads:www.goodreads.com/author/show/6558842.Kirstin_Pulioff





Review: Lunula By Alyssa Auch #BBF

Lunula

By Alyssa Auch

The Book's Blurb: 

 The witch knows he will hunt her.

If history repeats itself, as it always does, Wynn will have no choice but to cross paths with her feared counterpart, the warlock. If given the chance, he would kill Wynn, absorbing her aura and obtaining ultimate power. In a desperate attempt to outrun destiny, Wynn moves from place to place, hoping to stray from the map laid out by the Fates. But by chance, on an urgent errand for Queen Alexandria herself, Wynn finds she has fallen into the hands of the one man she so hopelessly fled from. Now his captive, Wynn must guard her secret and that of her kingdom, or risk bringing forth a dark age not seen in hundreds of years.

My review:  Every 100 years a witch is born.  Every 100 years a warlock is born.  One has the power of the light, the other the dark.  And every 100 years the witch is killed, her powers stolen. Every 100 years!  History always repeats.  Damn, that sucks!

Did I enjoy Lunula?  You bet your sweet bippy I did!  I loved that Wynn, the main character is not perfect.  She makes mistakes.  Which makes it very easy to relate to her.  I like her stubborn disposition, and yet, she is willing to question that which she has been taught her whole life. Gethin is the warlock that Wynn has spent her whole life hiding from.  I enjoyed the interactions between these two characters, Alyssa Auch did a fantastic job with the dialogue.  

This story is in the first person POV.  This is not generally my preferred writing style, but I'll admit that once I settled in to the story, I didn't even think about it.  I enjoyed the clever similes and metaphor's that Alyssa sprinkles throughout the story.  Nicely done!

The descriptions of the scenery and action also well done!  I could easily see the events play out in my minds eye.

  

The end of the book started to stress me out...until I read the epilogue!  Hope reigns eternal!  Yay!  I can't wait for Poltarion's release (sometime this year)!

So to sum it all up...would I recommend it?  Sure would.  

  Alyssa Auch was born and raised in Pennsylvania with loving parents and three hilarious younger siblings. Her imagination was sparked by the lush, green forests and bright colors of her home that often spoke of other worlds only found in the magic of writing. She brought that inspiration into the fantasy novels she so loves to create.

Currently, Alyssa is a senior at Brigham Young University-Idaho studying Marriage and Family Relations with a minor in English. She is married to her High School sweetheart, and they have three beautiful children who keep them both very occupied. Although her novels are often written in the late hours of the night and during cherished naptime blocks, she devotes a very special part of herself to the power of words and love of storytelling.

Lunula Purchase Links

Publisher Site

http://www.caliburnbook.com/

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Lunula-ebook/dp/B009NINDRC/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1374095002&sr=8-1&keywords=Lunula

Barnes and Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lunula-alyssa-auch/1114110286?ean=2940016079295

Smashwords

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/246157

Author Contact

Blog: http://alyssaauch.blogspot.com

Email: alyssaauch@yahoo.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alyssaauchwrites

Twitter: @alyssa_auch

I am also on Goodreads and LinkedIn under my full name, Alyssa Auch

The Battle for Princess Madeline

By Kirstin Pulioff

Have you been to the Kingdom of Soron yet?  I have, and I met King Theodore and his twin children, Prince Braden and Princess Madeline.  I met the Knight Daniel who won the Princess'  heart and Elias her wizard uncle in his brilliant green robes who returns from exile to teach her the ways of magic.  What a delightful adventure I found between the pages of The Battle for Princess Madeline.

This book is written for middle grade students and I think the author hit the mark, with just the right amount of action without gratuitous bloodshed.  The romance is handled without too much gush!  Your child will either giggle at the gentle little shows of affection, or maybe, like my 10-year old, Sierra, they’ll blush and say, “Eww gross!” while secretly being delighted. 

This is the second book in a series.  I’ve read the first book The Escape of Princess Madeline and was delighted to see that Madeline has done some growing up, and gives some thought to her actions and their consequences.  Madeline has become a thoughtful young lady, who thinks about her Kingdom first, not just her own happiness.  She is still a lil' stubborn, but in a good way.  She's learned to listen to advice and weigh it, but to still follow her heart. 

I feel like the author's voice strengthened in her second book, which delights me to no end, as there are more adventures waiting for Madeline and Daniel.  The writing keeps getting better, with more "show" and less "tell".  Psst!  I believe we’ll be encountering dragons soon!  Squee!  Kirstin is writing the third book now, with a release date of late 2013/early 2014!  Yay, Sierra and I have another adventure to look forward to.

When I review, I don't like to rehash the synopsis too much.  You can get a good idea of what the book is all about at Amazon, and I've provided a link so you can do just that, I also provided the books blurb below for your perusal.  I'm guessing you just want to know whether I liked it or not.  I would highly recommend  The Battle for Princess Madeline for the 4^th-8^th Grader in your life.

Synopsis:  The Kingdom of Soron bustled with activity as preparations for the Fall Festival began. Lively merchants, hardworking farmers, and musicians eagerly awaited this event of harvest and joy. This year’s festival was even more important, as they celebrated Princess Madeline’s betrothal to her knight champion, Daniel
.
Celebration quickly turns to disaster as Prince Paulsen returns with curious demands, either Princess Madeline will be his, or no ones. Rejection turns to obsession and battle is declared.

In a tense struggle to decide her future, Princess Madeline must choose where to put her trust… in the king’s tried and true plan, the wizard’s cryptic messages and maps, or her own sense of bravery. Follow Princess Madeline on this adventure as she battles evil in an attempt to create a future of love and magic.

Click here for the amazon link to purchase.

 

 

Kirstin Pulioff is a storyteller at heart. Born and raised in Southern California, she moved to the Pacific Northwest to follow her dreams and graduated from Oregon State University (Go Beavs!) with a degree in Forest Management. Happily married and a mother of two, she lives in Oregon, and enjoys being a stay at home mom. When she's not writing, she is busy with her kids, church and the family business.

I love to hear from my readers and fans. Please connect with me at any of these sites:
Webpage: www.kirstinpulioff.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kirstinpulioffauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KirstinPulioff
Goodreads:www.goodreads.com/author/show/6558842.Kirstin_Pulioff

Millie's WeWriWa#3 Or, The Coming of the Big Red Beasties

It's that day of the week when we share snippets again. Never tried a snippet? You should. They're so delicious and come in many savory flavors; adventure, romance, fantasy, mystery-why the menu is endless. Join these clever literary chefs at WeWriWa , read their tasty morsels, and set your reading buds tingling! First, check out my little appetizer. Love to hear what you think.

Since so many folks enjoyed last week, I am sharing the next eight sentences today. If you remember, the ladies were sipping tea, when Ronan spied the dragons outside his wee cabin which put him in a bit of a panic. Ravyn, giggling, asked if the dragons were red...(you can find last week's eight Here).

Ronan nodded, “Aye, monstrous beasties they are, and redder than a rose, the both of ‘em.”

A humungous roar blasted the air, the thatched roof shivered against the mighty onslaught, raining straw and dust down on their heads.

Ravyn stood and brushed herself off, “Well, let me tell them we don’t need rescuing before they tear your house apart. Or set it on fire.”

She stepped around Ronan and opened the door. Ena, the large red dragon Ravyn had befriended four years before, sat on her back haunches, her serpentine tail lashing back and forth against the walls of the little cabin. Boom, boom, boom. Smoke billowed from her nostrils and she growled low in her throat.



I'm not going to directly toot my own horn, but, this coming week is the Blogger Book Fair, (of which I am a participant)! My first book Return of the Crown will be reviewed by a couple folks, and Zelera will give an interview, and there are tons of authors also participating that are worth checking out (I'm actually not sure of the exact tonnage of all authors and bloggers combined, 'cause it'd just be rude to ask for everybody's weight--but I'm sure we'd be tons and tons and tons). The link to check out the site is just off to the right on my blog. I hear there will be contests with giveaways and such! Make some time next week to travel the BBF, I'm sure you will have a fabulous time!

WeWriWa #2

So, welcome to my second time participating in WeWriWa. I should have been here last week as well, but what can I say...I wasn't. This week, I'm going to share some more from my WIP (it's Fantasy, Good old-fashioned quest style). Ravyn and Lareina are in a cabin on an island with some Selkie men (two new characters) and they are soon joined by Dragons! If you read my last little snippet...well, this has nothing to do with that. If you didn't read it, but are dying to...it's right here...WeWriWa#1 Love to hear what you think : )



Ronan reached the window and peeked outside. “Ravyn, no,” he screamed, slamming himself against the door and knocking her backwards onto her bottom. “There’s two bloody dragons out there, they’ll eat ye alive!”
Ravyn glanced over at Lareina who had taken a seat by the fire and sat sipping tea. They both burst out laughing.
Ronan crouched down and reached a tentative hand out toward Ravyn’s head, “Ah bless me, did I knock ye so hard that ye hit yer head? Dragon’s are naught to laugh at.”
Ravyn shook her head, still giggling, “Are they both huge and red?”


Should you desire to join in on the fun, or peek at other eight line snippets...just click here WeWriWa!

Nineteen!

Nineteen years ago today this wonderful amazing baby girl was born to my husband and I. She came a'squallering into this world, and what lungs she did possess! After a few awkward months of dealing with colic... she turned into a delightful...little girl.

Time it passed and she grew and grew. The beauty the lives inside her heart blossomed full when she became a big sis, instead of being the little sis.

And today, a prouder mother you will not find. I love you my darling Ram Sam Sam!