GABRIEL STONE AND THE WRATH OF THE SOLARIANS BlogTour & Giveaway

Challenges of writing book two

It was definitely a bit of a challenge to write book two of Gabriel Stone, albeit a fun challenge. When writing a sequel, it’s important to try to write it as though somebody could be reading it without having read book one. So you want to get enough info in there so the particular reader isn’t lost, but also not have too much backstory that it gets boring of course.

Also, finishing off this series was bittersweet. I absolutely loved writing the characters again. It really does feel like meeting up with old friends and hanging out. So cool. But it was also sad to write the ending and say good-bye to those guys. I’ll always love those characters so much.

Thanks,
Shannon

The Books

Gabriel Stone And The Wrath Of The Solarians by Shannon Duffy
Book 2 of the Gabriel Stone series
Genre: urban fantasy

About Gabriel Stone And The Wrath Of The Solarians:

Gabriel Stone is back from Valta, but the adventure is just beginning! His friend Tahlita is trapped in Willow Creek with no memory of Valta. Gabe, Piper, and Brent are determined to reunite Tahlita with her father. Yet even as they do, Prince Oliver arrives asking for their help. Menacing forces known as the Solarians have kidnapped the Empress and Princess and are threatening the lives of humans everywhere. Along with talking tracker monkey, Finley, the friends battle vampire mermaids and a living, blood-filled lake in their quest to save the Empress and Princess. Even with cool new powers, Gabe discovers their strongest weapon is their friendship as they battle the Solarians and rescue a cursed white witch—who may be the only one who can save Valta.

Source: Info in the About Gabriel Stone And The Wrath Of The Solarians was from the press kit from the publicity team.

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Gabriel Stone And The Divinity Of Valta by Shannon Duffy
Book 1 of the Gabriel Stone series
Genre: urban fantasy

About Gabriel Stone And The Divinity Of Valta:

Gabriel Stone is a twelve-year-old boy still reeling from the unsolved disappearance of his mother. With a dad who’s hard to relate to, and mounting pressures at school, Gabriel lets off steam by hiking in the place where his mother was last seen. There, Gabe and friends find a crystal that proves not only beautiful, but magical beyond their wildest dreams. Only, magic and beauty come with a price: in order to return home, they must save the dying world of Valta.

Source: Info in the About Gabriel Stone And The Divinity Of Valta was from the press kit from the publicity team.

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Meet The Author

About Shannon:

Author of MG and YA books full of adventure. I grew up on the east coast of Canada in the province of Newfoundland and now live in Ontario with my husband, one awesome boy named Gabe, and two amazing dogs. I love writing, reading, working out, shopping, and traveling the globe.

www.shannonduffylit.com | blog | twitter | facebook | google+ | pinterest | goodreads

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Giveaway

• Four (4) winners will receive an ebook copy of Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians by Shannon Duffy (INT)
• One (1) winner will receive an ebook copy of Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians by Shannon Duffy AND a $10 Amazon Gift Card or B&N Gift Card – Winner’s Choice (INT)
• Ebook with Swag (US/Canada only)

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NO INNOCENT AFFAIR Blog Tour & Giveaway

The Book

No Innocent Affair by Edward F. Mrkvicka Jr.
Genre: Christian Life

About No Innocent Affair:

'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Exodus 20:14).

Have you found yourself contemplating committing adultery? Are you currently in an adulterous relationship? Have you been affected by an act of adultery? If you answered yes to any of these questions, No Innocent Affair: Making Right the Wrong of Adultery is the tool you need.

An avid student of the Word, Ed Mrkvicka addresses the fact that adultery is one of the main contributors to the destruction of the American family and seeks to reverse this terrifying statistic. Mrkvicka posits that few who engage in adulterous relationships realize the enormity of the cost of infidelity, both to themselves and innocent people in their lives.

Beginning by comparing God's view of adultery to society's view, No Innocent Affair explains in frank yet loving terms that unrepentant adultery is more than just an innocent affair. It is choosing Satan over Jesus and death over life. Mrkvicka desires to lead adulterers to repentance and eternal life with Jesus Christ.

Most importantly, No Innocent Affair takes you on a step-by-step biblical progression that leads to the sin of adultery being forgiven and salvation reclaimed.

Infidelity is no easy subject to discuss, but it is one that must be addressed. Follow along on this exploration of the consequences and ways out of adultery.

Source: Info in the About No Innocent Affair was from the press kit from the publicity team.

Buy Link(s):


Excerpt:

Nothing could be clearer. Unrepentant adulterers will not spend eternity in heaven.

So if you’re thinking about committing adultery, don’t. The cost to everyone, especially you, is just too high. Adultery is more than physical lust or an innocent affair and/or choosing another person over one’s spouse. Adultery is choosing Satan over Jesus, death over life, and hell over heaven. But God does not condemn us to that fate. Instead, if we will follow the step-by-step instructions culled from the Bible and offered in this book, He forgives us so we may be saved. Of course, as with all things God asks of His children, our obedience is rewarded far beyond what we deserve: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

If you’re in an adulterous relationship, end it. Now. As with all sin, adulterers must first admit it and then quit it. Thank God we can be forgiven, but only if we repent and make right that which we have made wrong.

Lastly, no matter how far removed we are from the Light of the Lord, we must never forget the life-affirming words of Jesus in Luke 15:7. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over on sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Meet The Author

About Edward:

Edward F. Mrkvicka is a lifelong Christian, award-winning author, lay minister and counselor. He is devoted to saving families from the ravages of adultery, and the divorce that almost always follows. Most important, he is devoted to the innocent children who are damaged by the selfish acts of their parents who give in to temptation.

Mrkvicka believes the only hope for betraying adulterers is the Word of God. This is what he tries to do with his books and counseling – ensure that as many as possible know what a true evil adultery is, and that they know it before-the-fact, as it is far easier to avoid the evil than to get back once the line has been crossed.

His efforts on behalf of families, understanding adultery, and the devastating effect of divorce on children has earned him a United States Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition.

He started writing professionally in 1980.

www.edwardfmrkvickajr.com | linkedin | goodreads

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THE NIGHT HOUSE Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

The Night House by Rachel Tafoya

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

The Book

Bianca St. Germain works at a Night House, a place where vampires like the aristocratic Jeremiah Archer, pay to feed on humans, and she doesn’t much care what others think of her. The money is good, and at least there, she’s safe. Bianca also doesn’t care that the Night House is killing her. All she cares about is: nauth, the highly addictive poison in vampire bites that brings a euphoria like no drug ever could.

But when Bianca meets James, a reclusive empath who feels everything she does, for the first time, she considers a life outside of the Night House and a someone worth living for. But Jeremiah has decided to keep Bianca for himself; he won’t allow her to walk away.

As she allows her feelings for James to grow, she struggles to contain nauth's strong hold on her life. If they are to have a future, James must make her see what she's worth, what she means to him, before Jeremiah and nauth claim her for good.

Title: THE NIGHT HOUSE
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Rachel Tafoya

Meet The Author

Rachel Tafoya studied creative writing while at Solebury School and was published in their student run literary magazine, SLAM. She attended a writing program for teens at both Susquehanna University and Denison University, and the Experimental Writing for Teens class and Novels for Young Writers program, both run by NY Times bestselling author, Jonathan Maberry. Rachel is the daughter crime author Dennis Tafoya.

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Giveaway

• One (1) ebook copy of The Night House by Rachel Tafoya and a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
• Open Internationally

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Re-Read Review: THE RITHMATIST

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Book 1 of the Rithmatist series
Read by Michael Kramer
Genre: urban fantasy | steampunk | YA
Format: paperback & audiobook

About The Rithmatist:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson: his debut novel for the young adult audience.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense — the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

Source: Info in the About The Rithmatist was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17454731-the-rithmatist on 15/07/2013.

[Credit: Rithmatist Gallery]

Re-Read Review:

I had trouble with the audiobook version of this book but was pressed into listening to it quickly because it was a free review copy and the publicist was emailing me about my review so I rushed through it the first time around. And here is my review. I still enjoyed it at the end thus the 3 cherries rating, but I was very conscious that I skipped on a lot of the finer details of the story. So I borrowed the print copy from the library. I still stand by my claim that this is not the kind of book which translates well into an audiobook because of the very technical and too detailed magical system of this world. Brandon Sanderson obviously poured a lot of brain power into creating the world building and thus it is intricate. However I think Brandon Sanderson got too carried away and went at it too much. I like intricate world buildings. But I am not fond of a physics lecture, for example, the Rithmatics diagram inserted after every chapter. It disrupts the flow of the story which induces me to stop reading. I needed a break from the info dump after every single chapter! This contributes to making the pace of the book quite long. Therefore can't call this book a page turner. So I think that the world building should be intricate enough to substantiate the story, but not too much that it overwhelmed the entire book, overshadowing the characters and the plot. And that is the main reason why this book would never be a 5 out of 5 for me. However if you take the info dump away, it is quite a fascinating read! And that is also the reason that this book would never get a less than 3 rating.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 3
World building = 3.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (10hrs & 26mins listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 3.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Rithmatist Series:

Thank you to macmillan audio and audible for the audiobook review copy received and to RCT Library for lending me the paperback copy of this book.

FTC Disclosure:
No money received for this review.