And yes, that is an entire steamed/boiled stalk of broccoli.
Author Archives: rachelauthorbarnard
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd! – Contest
Want to be featured in the second edition of Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things? Submit your vignette, opinion piece, essay, or short story with the theme of “donuts” to rachel.author.barnard(at)gmail(dot)com
Submissions should be between 250 – 2500 words.
The contest winner will win the following:
- Their piece will be featured in the next version of Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things
- Donuts swag bag, including the original edition of Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things
Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things already features:
The Food Challenge,
Tips to Help You Win a Food Challenge,
10 Challenges at 10,
Facts About Corgis,
20 Challenges at 20,
The Secret of Tree Beach,
Fat Boy Run,
30 Challenges at 30,
Your Local Hangout,
40 Challenges at 40,
Reasons to Bask in a Sea of Puppies,
50 Challenges at 50,
Kale is Not a Curse Word,
Doughnuts Recipe,
Object Scavenger Hunt,
Photo Scavenger Hunt,
To Do with Donuts, Yes or No?,
Top Ten Worst Donut Flavors,
Top Ten Donuts You Have to Try,
For the Love of Donuts Books,
Donuts in an Empty Field Chapter One,
About the Author
Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1)
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Book Review: Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton
Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton
A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (10/14/14)
Summary:
“I had been moving on blind faith and pure desperation.” (Kindle Location 338).
“Why would someone sit around waiting for bad things to happen? Action was better.” (Kindle Location 2347).
Olivia was left behind at the Eidolon, only to be captured by the CAMFers and the evil Dr. Fineman. He will torture and manipulate Olivia to get what he wants. Olivia tries to stay ahead of him, but at every turn he bests her. She will just have to wait for her rescue to arrive. But back at the Hold everything is chaos and things are falling apart.
Keywords:
Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan, Reuniting, Lost
My Review:
Book three picks up where book two left off and the story has diverged because the original PSSers have become scattered. Jason and Passion are alone in the woods. Samantha and the Hold are off somewhere else. Olivia has been separated from everyone and is now at the CAMFer camp. Marcus is at the bottom of the lake. There is a lot going on to begin with and a lot of tension right from the start. A continuation of the climax and resolution from book two feeds right into the conflict buildup in book three.
I still love Olivia. In fact, I love her even more. I’m still on the fence with Marcus. Passion has become a strong character with her own personality and I love her too. Jason gets more time in this book as well and we learn much more about him than we ever knew before.
We learn more about PSS, especially Olivia’s ghost hand. The overall story arc is becoming clear as well. All the hints and setups in books one and two are most or partially revealed in this third book. But all is not over! I can’t wait to get my hands on book four and find out what will happen next!
This novel was published by Ripley Patton on October 14th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00
Links for more information:
St. James Espresso Multiple FVP Authors Event Wrapup
We had fun last Saturday at St. James. I got to try their green power smoothie for the first time. It was delicious! Hope to see you at our next event!
Sheri implemented our new idea for showing prices – with number beads on our lovely new bookmarks!
All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Voodoo Too Donuts
Voodoo Donuts
Portland, OR
1501 NE Davis St, Portland, OR 97232
(206) 496-3670
Website: http://voodoodoughnut.com/
Review criteria:
Most popular donut at the shop: Bacon Maple Bar
Signature shop donut: Voodoo Doughnut
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston Crème
Donut Hole: Not available
.
What I tried:
Bacon Maple Bar, Portland Creme, Raised Glaze, Voodoo Doll, Lemon Chiffon Crueler.
.
What to expect:
Expect to wait. If you want to get your hands on doughnuts faster, visit the Voodoo Too shop rather than the original or visit at a non-peak hour. There are Disney style gates to funnel customers inside and the menu is available online and on the wall and with representative doughnuts in display cases. It helps to know what you want ahead of time so you don’t stop up the line. Expect the employees to be fast and helpful. Now move along and enjoy your doughnuts.
.
Perks:
You get to visit the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts. You get to try out some crafty and well-made doughnuts. There is more than one Voodoo to choose from. Doughnuts.
.
Don’t Worry:
You’ll understand what to do when you get there as they are totally set up for large customer volume.
.
My favorite:
Going to a place like Voodoo (Even Too) is fun in and of itself because it is one of the most well-known little doughnut shops in America. Voodoo is an experience. My favorite doughnut, thus far, is their raised glaze.
Local Event this SATURDAY – St. James Espresso in Kirkland, WA with multiple FVP authors!
Book Review: Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells
Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells
A Paranormal/Action/Romance Novel published by Second Circle Press (03/22/16)
Summary:
“If grace had a scent, it would smell like you, Ava.” (Kindle Locations 1836-1837).
Remus Reese was branded an Omega and thrown out of the largest Pacific Northwest pack. He is not completely lost, because he knows he wants to be a part of a pack again, but before he has a chance to convince another pack to take him in, a Hunter catches up to his trail. Ava, the Hunter with a chip on her shoulder, has a personal vendetta with Remus and will stop at nothing to bring him in, but when she finds out more about who she’s working for, will she ultimately change her mind about how much she despises Remus and the Moon Forged?
Keywords:
Wolf-Kind, Hunters, Murder, Harsh Laws, Violence, Fleeing, Fighting, Change, Healing, Pack, Omega, Anger, Determination, Revenge, Experiments
My Review:
The first chapter made me want to put this book down. There was violent sex between the main character of this book and some poor unwilling prostitute. How could I come to like our ‘hero’ if I despised him from the first chapter? I’m not sure what was going on with that first chapter, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of the book and the only way I could sympathize with Remus was to forget that he was the rapist from chapter one. The way Remus acts around Ava is also sometimes off-putting.
Besides the violence in the first chapter, I was hooked into Remus’s story and Ava’s involvement almost immediately. The plot was super cool and very well done, with elements from book one colliding together with a logic I didn’t see coming. The tension was held nicely throughout the story and there was no way I would put the book down after that first chapter.
This novel was published by Second Circle Press on March 22nd, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50
Links for more information:
WAAAlk for Autism Last Saturday
Saturday was autism awareness day. I supported my family’s walk for autism to help collect funds for the Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy in my donut costume.
THE STORY:
Sensory Sensitive, Child & Teen Suitable Activities, Family Fun & Resource Fair – WAAAlk for Autism is a day for our community to come together to honor and recognize the 2,800 families and 12,000 individuals that WAAA has helped statewide. It is a day to celebrate the unique gifts that each individual and family touched with autism brings into our lives.
You can still donate to the cause! Click this link HERE to donate
Foodie Fridays: The Best Loaf I Ever Made
How do you make your loaf rise to its full potential?
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
What about the characters! Donuts in an Empty Field takes place in Sarasota, FL in 2008. How many of these songs do you remember from 2008?
Nichole’s Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdAjUG-eFywQgRW4ufzUCnl_w7k4y-E4
Clocks by Coldplay
Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N’ Roses
How You Remind Me by Nickelback
Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Here It Goes Again by Ok Go
Money by Pink Floyd
Iron Man by Black Sabbath
Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Photograph by Nickelback
Call Me When You’re Sober by Evanescence
Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Umbrella by Rihanna
The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
Rockstar by Nickelback
Paralyzer by Finger Eleven
Raspberry Beret by Prince
…
Vanessa’s Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdAjUG-eFyz-ftKjgsFSArn2x6VU5Al6
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Clocks by Coldplay
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Explosive by Bond
Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Here It Goes Again by Ok Go
One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve
Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles
Don’t Bring me Down by Electric Light Orchestra
Baba O’Riley by The Who
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
The Luckiest by Ben Folds
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
Mad World by Tears for Fears
Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to receive important updates and promotions if you haven’t already. Signup HERE
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Rachel Author Barnard 