Author Archives: rachelauthorbarnard

NaNo November: Why I Won’t Win NaNoWriMo This Year

by in NaNoWriMo | 1 Comment

Or will I?

What are your excuses for not making time to write/winning?

Here’s my list:

  1. I have two jobs and one is in retail so I’m working 50-60 hours/week
  2. I lose a lot of time driving because Seattle area traffic = black hole of time suck
  3. I have 4 major events in November (Belles of the Ball, a Tuesday all day sales event, Oddmall one weekend, and Bard & Starlett)

Here’s why I WILL win:

  1. I’m extremely stubborn
  2. I like a challenge
  3. I have a schedule for my For the Love of Donuts series
  4. I like to write
  5. I actually have an outline for my NaNo novel

And finally, why I love NaNoWriMo:

  1. I’m writing
  2. I get to meet other writers
  3. Write-ins are hecka awesome!
  4. Novel bragging rights
  5. I’m being highly productive
  6. It helps me finish/start/work on my writing
  7. I go to new places

Not to forget a list about my upcoming NaNo manuscript:

  1. It’s a young adult novel
  2. It’s the third book in the For the Love of Donut books
  3. Nichole and Vanessa are in it
  4. There will be donuts
  5. There will be themes of friendship
  6. It will be set in Sarasota
  7. I’m super excited to write it!

Book Review: Purple Text Talk by C.Y. Robertson

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Purple Text Talk by C.Y. Robertson

A Middle Grade Novel published by Chizzy Press (2/12/16)

Summary:

Aria doesn’t want to make her family worry any more than they have to. She remains quiet and unobtrusive in the middle of her many siblings as they move mid-year. Leaving her best friend Lily behind shouldn’t be so bad because she can make new friends in her new school, right? Fitting in is hard and maybe not even worth it if Aria has to do and say things she’s not proud of, will she stick with it or stay true to herself?

Keywords:

Texting, New School, New Friends, Travel, Popularity, Best Friends, Talking, Phone Calls, New Town, New House, Bullies, Mean Girls

My Review:

This book felt scattered, just like a preteen. Not only was there text talk, there was text grammar and text style. It was difficult to read because details and transitions were not there, but you get the tone of the novel, the mood of the main character Aria and the big picture for the plot. I prefer books with more to them, but for pre-teenagers who text talk and text read and text love, they will totally get this.

The plot was more scattered than I would have liked, since it was more based on showing a slice of life than on a particular main character goal. I enjoyed the story with Luke even though it felt like a subplot that took over the story in the end. Luke and Aria were very fascinating characters, not the norm for pre-teens.

I wish I had more details on how old the characters were. Aria had too many siblings to keep straight!

This novel was published by Chizzy Press on February 12th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Author Events in the Seattle’s Eastside today! Neverending Bookshop and Monroe Books

by in Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard, Seattle Specific Saturdays and tagged , , | 1 Comment

Meet the authors at Main Street Books in Monroe today from 2pm-4pm! For more info, check out the Facebook event page here.

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And don’t forget to support your other local bookstore in Bothell! The Nevending Bookshop is turning 1-year old!

Come help us celebrate one year at The Neverending Bookshop! We’ll have storytime, a literary costume contest (both adults and kids), a short story writing contest (both adults and kids), giveaways, mysterious books for sale, and so much more! For more information, visitwww.theneverendingbookshop.com/events We can’t wait to celebrate one year in the Bothell community!
The day’s schedule: 10:30 a.m.: storytime; 11 a.m.: coloring; 2 p.m.: the children’s literary costume contest; 2:30 p.m.: the adult’s costume contest. Throughout the day we’ll be collecting business cards and contact information for a super awesome giveaway!

For more info, check out the Facebook event page here.

Book Review: Breeder: Arrow’s Flight Book #1 by Casey Hays

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Breeder: Arrow’s Flight Book #1 by Casey Hays

A Science Fiction/Dystopian Novel published by Whispering Pages, LLC (11/22/14)

Summary:

Kate lives in the only civilization left on earth, a small village where women rule the town and men are kept alive only as breeding stock to replenish the earth. Kate has been chosen as a breeder and she must fulfill her role in society, but on her birthday when she is led to the Pit for her first mating, she rebels. Kate never wanted to be a breeder, but in this society where Fate is all important, will she be able to break out and do what she wants or will she be forced to conform to society’s rules?

Keywords:

Breeding, Procreation, Dystopian, Female Run Society, Rebelling, Leadership, Fate, Destiny, Village, Isolation, Friendship, Council, Voice, Chosen, Disobedience, Punishment, Secrets

My Review:

Another dystopian novel. Another female heroine. Another enticing and excellent book that had me enthralled to the very end. Some parts may have rambled on a bit, but the story was so well written and held my attention from beginning to end.

Kate is an amazingly active and headstrong character who doesn’t let things happen to her, even though this is how Fate works. She refuses a role as a placid character. She is dynamic and stubborn and in this way, too, she is special. Any one of us could be Kate if we too followed our hearts and didn’t look the other way when injustice happened.

I loved Kate just a little bit more every time she interacted with a male and showed her strength, innocence, determination and humanity.

I look forward to more books, dystopian or otherwise, from this author.

This novel was published by Whispering Pages, LLC on November 22nd, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Casey Hays Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Black Poodle Over Seven Hills by Victoria Bastedo

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Black Poodle Over Seven Hills by Victoria Bastedo

A Contemporary Romance novel published by Satin Romance (10/18/2016)

Summary:

Soubrette offered to transport a high-end black poodle to Seattle in exchange for a free ticket to a new life, but when the owner’s cousin shows up instead of the owner, Soubrette will have to follow up to make sure the puppy gets to the right home. The cousin, Timothy, is immediately taken with Soubrette (and the dog) and offers to show her around and help get her settled. This simple meet cute will take a turn when Soubrette’s left behind baggage arrives in Seattle and interferes with Soubrette’s new life and new relationship.

Keywords:

Seattle, Poodle, Romance, Friendship, New Place, Moving, Leaving Behind, Stalker, Bully, New Beginnings, Queen Anne, Tourist, New Job

My Review:

A simple, meet-cute novel full of witty dialogue set against the lovely hills of Seattle’s Queen Anne, Black Poodle Over Seven Hills was a charming fast read. Where does the titular poodle fit in? She brings Soubrette and Timothy together – not in the ‘can I pet your dog’ sense, but in quite a different manner altogether. An airport chase and mistaken identity isn’t that big of a deal for Soubrette since she is calm in the face of potential danger, but this first scene foreshadows the depths the plot will jump to after the main characters meet and grow their friendship.

Both Soubrette and Timothy were fully developed persons with interesting backstories. Never has the answer to the question “so what brings you to Seattle” been so intriguing. Soubrette is a lively and cheerful lady with spunk and wit to spare even in the face of the past that won’t stop clinging to her coattails. Seattle may offer a new start for her, but she can’t leave her past behind, it will just take a bit longer to catch up to her.

Soubrette is a great mixture of passive and active character. Even when bad things followed her around, she was able to use her strength of character to make her own way and bully her way around some fairly tight situations. She is no damsel in distress, but even she can’t win all her battles. And that’s where Timothy Marsh gets a chance to save the day. Both Timothy and soubrette are independent, but any time they are together you will just have to smile at their witty banter and camaraderie.

I received an ARC from the author.

This novel was published by Satin Romance 10/18/2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 3.75

 

Links for more information:

On the web

SnoValley blog

Victoria Bastedo blog

Emerald City Writer’s Conference First Timer Experience – My Takeaways

by in author platform, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged , , , ,

Check out my YouTube video (please subscribe!) of my thoughts regarding my first time attending the Emerald City Writer’s Conference this weekend in Bellevue. And here’s the only picture of me I took during the whole weekend – me and one of the Wanderlust models.

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My to read list from conference recommendations:

  1. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
  2. Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need (for pacing help) by Blake Snyder
  3. Silvia Day books because they’re angsty and have broken characters
  4. Nalini Singh for contemporary world building
  5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
  6. Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels (How to Write Kissing Books) (Volume 1) by Gwen Hayes
  7. Elizabeth Moon for sci-fi/fantasy

Book Review: The Cloud (The Marian Series #3) by Taylor Hohulin

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The Cloud by Taylor Hohulin

A Steampunk/Pirate Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (10/21/16)

Summary:

“Donovan Johns clearly preferred motivating his people to stick to Plan A by leaving them woefully unprepared for Plan B.” (Kindle Locations 1480-1481).

Ethan’s last hope lies in a three-way soul swap between the water dictator Donovon Johns, Duncan, and Ethan himself. All they have to do is go into the Cloud and get Duncan out of Ethan’s home dimension, use the blood from all three, and get someone to read from a book so powerful it corrupts. Easy, right? The Marian and its crew is committed to helping out Ethan, not just because he’s part of the crew now, but because they can change the face of the post-Bomb water scarce world for good.

Keywords:

Illegal Water Harvesting, Water Scarcity, Criminals, Soul swapping, Steampunk, Ship on Legs, Navigation, Well, Extraction, Water Police, Teenagers, Captain, Mercenaries, Trouble, Pirates, Post-Apocalyptic, Own Agenda, Death, Other World

My Review:

Excellent trilogy. Excellent ending. Excellent book. The Marian Trilogy is the best steampunkian series I’ve ever read. It’s well written and the plot makes sense on both the individual book level and as a series. There’s action, adventure, and tension. There’s depth, complexity and the characters are interesting and multi-faceted.

Every part of this story felt tight and well-edited. I never questioned a single scene or moment or piece of dialogue. I simply read the book (and the series) as a well-written story should be read: at the edge of my seat and without putting it down.

The evil HydroSystems and Donovon Johns were fleshed out and clever enough to give the Marian and its crew a run for its money. The good guys weren’t all good though – they were conflicted and sympathetic. And we finally get to see Duncan ‘in the soul’ with this final book! After so much hype about how great and motivating he is, even after abandoning his crew and a random soul to its own sordid fate, Duncan did live up to all that everyone thought he was. I very much enjoyed this book and the series and look forward to what Hohulin will write next!

I received a free copy of this novel.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on October 21st, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Taylor Hohulin’s Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Book Review: Alone In The Darkness by Matthew Buza

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Alone In The Darkness by Matthew Buza

A Suspense/Thriller Novel published by Buza (04/13/16)

Summary:

Steven owes a debt he cannot repay by himself and he only has a few hours to come up with the money. The only solution is to take it, but the person Steven decides to rob becomes entangled in his problems. Now it’s a fight to survive.

Keywords:

Kidnapping, Crime, Suspense, Thriller, Drugs, Violence, Poverty, Debt, Fighting, Brave, Danger, Innocence, Bartender, Robbery

My Review:

This story was short and gritty. It reminded me of Breaking Bad with its in depth details on drug production, but within the low end of society. I was shocked at some of these details – like the druggie house. I felt like I learned a lot about drugs, drug runners, drug houses, etc. The story did get weighed down at times with these details, but they were fairly fascinating.

This short novel kept me in suspense and I had mild anxiety throughout the entire story as I waited to find out how the kidnapping would resolve. Would she make it out? Would she get the help she needed in time or would she figure a way out on her own? There were just enough obstacles to keep the plot realistic and moving forward.

This novel was published by Buza on April 13th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information:

Matthew Buza’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

Indie Author Day After and Book Haul!!

by in At One's Beast, Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, For the Love of Donuts, Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged

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Indie Author Day was such fun, though it was the first year that KCLS participated and we still need to spread the word! Myself and 24 other authors camped out in the KCLS service center building and promoted Indies!

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Sunday I went out to Geek Girl Con in Seattle, debuting my new Olive costume (can you guess what it’s from?)

I met an author (Lish McBride) and got my hair done by Vain!

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Here are the books I’ve added to my review queue…

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