Books and Reading Thursday: Books on my Bookshelf

(Books on my Bookshelf is not a review, just my personal thoughts, feelings, and memories on the books I own).

Another book for this series 😀

This week I have chosen, Magic Kingdom for Sale- Sold! By Terry Brooks.

Nice chapter headings!

I actually didn’t realise this was the first book in a series until recently, so I might have to g check out the rest.

I got this book for free because someone I knew quite a few years ago was having a big turn out, and I saw this in his pile of ‘rubbish’ and it caught my interest.

Not only because the title looked great fun, but because of how well read it looked! I figured any book that looked like it had been opened over and over again had to be a good read.

So he let me have it, and it sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years longer until I finally got around to it.

One of my main memories of this book is that it was a major slog to get through the first few chapters. I mean, seriously a slog. It probably wasn’t like that for a lot of people, but I’m not very good with books that don’t start the story or action within a couple of chapters. I lose interest with all the scene setting and background setting.

I get that it has to be done sometimes, especially in series, but it didn’t help that the main character’s background that was being set up was really rather depressing!

But, I managed to churn my way through the chapters and I’m glad I stuck with it! It was a great read, and was packed with a great deal of fun as the cover and title hinted at.

I also have to say it’s one of those books that really inspired me to want to write my own books. I love those stories where someone goes from a hum-drum life and is thrown into a new world of adventure and excitement (that also might have something to do with all the fairytales my mum read me as a kid, it really spurred my imagination!).

Those books where an ordinary person is thrown into another world just is such a great parllel to readers.

You pick up a book and, as the reader, you’re like the character being thrown into this whole new world and story to enjoy. And sometimes it can be just as confusing, but also incredible!

But that’s what books do and why we read them, right? To let ourselves be taken somewhere else for a few hours, away from the hum-drum of everyday life.

So, yeah, it was a book that I definitely remember for the slow start, but also the incredible adventure that lay beyond it.

Random quote: “Ben grimaced. Wonderful. Just tap the red shoes together three times and repeat, ‘There’s no place like home.’ Off he would go, back to Kansas. Just wonderful.”

Favourite thing about the book: The story of the ordinary being thrown into the extraordinary. It was definitely one that got my imagination and creativeness pumping!

Least favourite thing: The incredibly slow start. My word. Ugh.

Something I took away from the book: That I shouldn’t be afraid to write the story I want to, even if it seems outlandish. You just got to write it!

Have you read any books with a slow start but a great story? Do you enjoy these kind of fish out of water tales?

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: A bit up in the air!
Word count: … Don’t ask.

Books read towards goal: 1/50
Currently reading: The Creative Writing Workbook by Matthew Branton.

Blind Desire

This is a random piece I wrote based on this prompt- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/385268943097186761/.

It was only going to be a scene description and it turned into something more 😀 My writing exercises tend to have a habit of doing that! Anyway, this is an unedited piece of writing done for fun! Hope you enjoy.

Blind Desire.

A dirt trodden aisle ran between the centre of the stalls, the owners peddling their wares of bright woollen sweaters. Other smaller goods cascaded down on ropes from the cloth roofs covering the stalls, swaying in the breeze that the grey clouds above brought with them.

But there was only one thing Cassie was searching for in the mess of tables and crowds, her gaze flicking from side to side in the hope of catching a glimpse of what she’d come to collect. It was close.

She could feel it.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she took a step forwards and she froze. Whipping around to her left, she elbowed a browser out of the way, the woman sneering but eventually shuffled away muttering curses under her breath.

How long had she been searching for it, Cassie couldn’t remember. And now it was right before her it felt like a dream, her body shivered and she clenched her hands into fists to stop the shaking. A light drizzle of rain laced across her skin and dampened her hair, but she didn’t feel it; staring at the object before her had already made her numb.

“You interested?” the stall owner asked, obviously sensing a potential sale, and he shifted his bulk closer, his moustache twitching above his thin lips.

Cassie didn’t glance up. “Very.”

“Well, I’m sure we can work out a reasonable price…” He spread his hands out before him.

Now she flicked her eyes up to meet his, a long smile breaking her stern expression. “No, you don’t understand,” she said, the smile making the man fidget, “I’m not interested in purchasing it.”

The man stuttered to respond, but his lips snapped shut before he got the chance. Cassie waved her hand in an arc before his face and his eyes, once a dull hazel, turned white. Whilst the stall owner rubbed blindly at his eyes, Cassie slid the item off the corner of the wooden table, it dropping silently into her jacket pocket. She patted at the weight of it now concealed in her coat and turned to walk away, the man’s panic now bursting forth in a wail of fear.

As the crowd rushed towards the table, Cassie weaved between them and out into the open, disappearing into the fingers of fog that began to grip at the market.

—

Bit random I know, but still, every bit of writing is practice, right? 😀

How’s everyone doing on their writing? How are those in NaNo progressing?

Have a great weekend everyone! 🙂

End of Month Indie Review: Destiny of Kings by Fiona Tarr

Destiny of Kings by Fiona Tarr

*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*

Blurb: The King is going slowly mad, bewitched by the dark magic and seductive powers of the Egyptian Princess Jezebel. Martinez, the King’s general must choose between the life of a young shepherd boy who is like the son he never had or the man who is his King and lifelong friend. The One True God has shared a prophecy with the old seer Samuel, while the little Holy man Narayana claims the Universe has called him out of meditation to restore balance. Francesca the Priestess carries the burden of responsibility, until her faith is rocked, her heart opened and her resolve challenged. In a world where control is only an illusion, evil is subjective and the most righteous are challenged, an unlikely group will be drawn together to restore balance once more.

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Destiny of Kings is a retelling of the story of David and Goliath, but involving much more than that. There are witches and priestesses, kings and monks, and a whole plethora of exciting events that bring them all together in a destined path.

Destiny of Kings involves a lot of different points of views from a range of characters. Though the points of view could jump around quite a bit, I didn’t find it difficult to keep up with and enjoyed being able to view different points of the stories through such varying characters.

The story pretty much follows the tale of David as he is destined to become King of Israel and what he must do to accomplish that. The character of David was written really well and, in fact, all of the characters were brilliantly written and unique in their viewpoints. Francesca was probably one of my favourites, and Martinez, the two of them were strong characters that I would have been happy to read a lot more about.

This is a well-paced book that didn’t feel like it lacked at any points, though I did skip over some hunting scenes. Everything flowed nicely and at some points when I thought it was going one way, it would quickly turn in another direction and surprised me, which was nice as it kept me excited to turn the page and find out what came next to these characters I really came to care for.

The way the book was written made it feel like an old book, like a telling of a tale passed down through the years, which I absolutely loved! It gave the whole story a kind of other-world feel whilst I was reading and took me to another world and time.

Now I have to admit, I am not a religious person, so I think a lot of the biblical references were lost on me! But I also have to say not to be put off this book if you’re not a fan of bible tales or religion, it’s a good story in itself, and the religious side of things wasn’t that heavy, it was just like magic or faith in any fantasy-type book.

The only reason I didn’t give this book full 5 stars is due to the amount of errors throughout, including spelling and grammar. It really just needs someone with fresh eyes to go over it and pull them out. Still, I kept reading even through the errors as I was enjoying the story so much.

Overall I have to say I loved this book, the story pulled me in without realising and I found myself eager to read it everyday to find out what happened next. It’s a great read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a sweeping tale filled with great characters and exciting adventure.

Links:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

The Ancient’s Prophecy

Prophecy of Stones

The bond of love can conquer all, but only if it is accepted.

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Prophecy states that three champions imbued with the best virtues of the mortal race: heart, strength and soul, will be the ones to save them all from an enemy which threatens to steal the life from their world and those who live upon it.

These three, along with their scribe, his bond mate, and an overly sarcastic oracle, must set off on a journey which will take them through forest, city, swamp and mountain. On this quest they activate the magical stones which charge the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Tildar and his cult of Dwell.

Yet the closer they draw to journey’s end, the more it seems that it is not the evil which will be their downfall, but the fear of a champion unwilling to accept the bond of their destiny.

Prophecy of Stones is a tale of adventure, love and magic.

To Buy:

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble

Prophecy of Stones- Release Day!

It’s here! Prophecy of Stones is now available!

Blurb:

The bond of love can conquer all, but only if it is accepted.

–

Prophecy states that three champions imbued with the best virtues of the mortal race: heart, strength and soul, will be the ones to save them all from an enemy which threatens to steal the life from their world and those who live upon it.

These three, along with their scribe, his bond mate, and an overly sarcastic oracle, must set off on a journey which will take them through forest, city, swamp and mountain. On this quest they activate the magical stones which charge the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Tildar and his cult of Dwell.

Yet the closer they draw to journey’s end, the more it seems that it is not the evil which will be their downfall, but the fear of a champion unwilling to accept the bond of their destiny.

Prophecy of Stones is a tale of adventure, love and magic.

Trailer:

Excerpt:

“Eight years is a long time to hide away from the world.” There was a momentary flicker of hurt which creased his brow before it softened again, and she knew he’d meant that it was a long time for her to hide from him.

She ran her fingers through her hair and twisted away, a wave of shame passing over her that she didn’t want him to see. “I did what I had to, for Leena.”

“Only for Leena?” he prodded.

Milana gritted her teeth. “What else was I supposed to do after what happened? Leave her alone and flounce off to join the war?” She flung her arms into the air, her raised voice echoing through the trees and quietening the wildlife that had been scuttling in the undergrowth. Riff was unmoved by her anger, as he always was. At times Milana wished to shake the feeling out of him and force him to react with more than a gentle frown or small smile. “You didn’t have to rejoin the fight.” Her voice was weak now, her rage battered into submission by the silent concern that shone through his soft gaze.

“Yes I did,” he replied. “It is our fight.”

“You could have come with me.”

“You could have asked.”

There was a long pause where years of pent up emotion hung in the air like the gazes of an accusing jury. Milana thought she would crumble beneath the weight of what remained unspoken.

Links:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Smashwords

Goodreads

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And it’s done… finally!

It is done!

I have finished the editing on my second novella!

Yay!

But now my March schedule is a week out, so I’m going to have to work hard and fast this month. But, that extra time editing did give me extra time for research and planning on my next novella, and I feel really ready to just dive in and get started.

So, as the editing is done and I can finally put my second novella away, I shall give it a little introduction (as calling it my second novella is getting tiring 😀 )

It is called, ‘The Queen’s Jester’, and is a fantasy, medieval-inspired romance. It came out at about 33,500 words and I think is one of my best stories so far 🙂 I even got a comment from my friend and proof-reader that said:

‘I really enjoyed my time with it, and had to keep rereading things because I’d get wrapped up in the story and forget to have my critical eyes on.’

I can’t express once again how much I found reading aloud such an incredible editing tool. You should really try it out, I cannot ever recommend it enough.

Today, I am starting on my third novella, and I am extremely excited! I have been wanting to get this story out for ages, and I’m about ready to explode to get it written 😀

I also realised that I haven’t actually ever posted anything of what I’ve been working on. So, here is an excerpt from, The Queen’s Jester. I hope you enjoy it, you guys are the first people to lay eyes on it other than my 3 readers, and I am kind of nervous! 😀

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“What I want doesn‘t matter,” she turned her gaze away but he put his finger beneath her chin to turn her back to look at him.

“That is the only thing that matters.”

Marie could barely breathe at the weight of his words. “I must try with Warrick.”

“Why? He barely knows how to write his name let alone how to please a wife.” A half-smile played at his mouth.

“Because he is my husband.”

“He is but a boy.”

“He is king,” she said, reminding herself as well as him.

“And yet.” The smirk on his face widened. “He is not the one you came seeking,” he said. Marie’s breath quickened, she wanted to argue, to deny his words, but could not. She had followed the Jester down that darkened hallway, the one filled with shadows deep enough that she knew no one would see them, more than willingly. “What is it you desire from me, my queen?” His voice was laced heavily with seductive suggestion, the clarity of every word like the coolness of satin against her ears. The gentle heat of his breath caressed her skin and she could barely focus as he leaned closer.

“Nothing,” she finally whispered, biting her lip to hide the obvious lie in her tone.

“I don’t believe you,” he replied instantly and pressed himself firmly against her. Marie gasped at his closeness, every inch of her tingling and aching. His fingers slid down her arms and caged her wrists, pinning them to the cold stone wall behind. With agonisingly slow, silent movements, the Jester let his lips graze along her jaw and down her neck, never once truly pressing them against her skin. How it drove her mad! All she wanted was for him to push more, press harder, to feel how it would be to have his kisses trail over her skin.

He never did. Instead, he drew back from her, a satisfied expression smoothing his features at her reaction.

“Who are you?” Marie asked after regaining her composure and breath.

He pondered her question. “I am simply the king’s jester, or should I say, the queen’s jester,” he said in response, seeming to avoid truly answering the question.

—

How has your writing been going so far? Are you meeting your goals for this month?

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Progress Report

Status of Second Manuscript: FINISHED!

March E-Book Review: Book Chosen.