Author Archives: rachelauthorbarnard

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 4/5 – T.B. Markinson

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I found T.B. Markinson from a Goodreads Review group. The book was Marionette and I fell in love. I was so excited to see that Markinson had other books I could read and was going to release Claudia Must Die in December. I was hooked, but I didn’t read all her books immediately. I wanted to save them, savor them, cherish the reading time I spent with them. I have since read all but A Woman Lost and I’m super psyched that Markinson is working on the sequel!

T.B. Markinson is on my list of Indie stars to watch out for because she writes such good books. I’ve read all her books and in each of her four books (thus far, but I’m hoping for more) she has hooked me from the very first sentence to the first paragraph to the first page and on throughout the entire novel to the very end. I’ve never read such a great opener as the one in Marionette. Markinson had me hooked and I couldn’t put it, or any of her other books, down. And now I want more. Markinson delivers a smooth writing style that is descriptive without giving away too much. Her characters are alive and have a depth and personality that rivals anyone you might meet in real life. But the characters were so much more than alive, they were larger than life and I wanted to stay in their lives indefinitely, but they were still very relatable. The situations Markinson writes about are intriguing and the dialogue is realistic and, at many times, quite witty. One of the reasons I really like Markinson as an author is that she always (so far) uses female characters as her protagonists and many of her other characters as well.

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Check back next Monday for the week’s Indie Author Rising Star 5/5

Book Review: Ghostwriter by Tyan Wyss

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Ghostwriter by Tyan Wyss

A Teen/YA Speculative Fiction/Historical Fiction Novel published by Tyan Wyss-Lockner (07/27/13)

 

Summary:

 Micah is not afraid of ghosts, in fact, they don’t faze him at all. When the Chasens move into a haunted house in the San Jacinto Mountains in Southern California, the ghost of the house’s former occupant appears to Mica and asks for his help. The ghost is Ethan Samuels, who died approximately 100 years ago in the very house Micah lives in, in present day 2013, and the 11-year old precocious Micah is compelled to help the ghost. Acting as a ‘ghostwriter’ Micah simultaneously writes up a social studies report for school and documents the details surrounding Ethan’s death. In his quest to help his only ghostly friend, Micah becomes involved in current town affairs and will attempt to get to the bottom of what really happened all those years ago.

 

Keywords:

 Ghosts, Historical Fiction, Grieving, Southern California, Jews, Friendship, Thoughtfulness, Bullies, Resolutions

 

My Review:

Tyan Wyss is a writer who doesn’t leave any checks unmarked in the lengthy list of novel requirements. Her story is robust. The characters are well-written and vibrant, coming alive through the story. Her descriptions are just enough to give the reader the complete picture while still leaving some parts to the imagination. The pacing is perfect. And then the ending… Wyss has a way with the climax of the story and with giving a well-rounded ending. This book in particular was so heartfelt and connected with me emotionally that I got a bit teary eyed. I was so caught up in the story that I felt the emotions coming through the story.

Ghostwriter reminds me of Holes, in that it seamlessly intertwines two stories into one novel, the story of how Ethan died and the story of how Micah helps Ethan discover his past and move forward with his death. Not all authors can work two stories together well, but Wyss is phenomenal with this aspect of the story. She would probably be a great mystery writer because she is able to mingle the stories in such a way that pieces start to fall into place, grabbing and hooking the reader with each new part of the puzzle. She also delivers a killer ending that makes sense according to the previous elements while still being not completely predictable.

Wyss also touches upon subjects like moving to a new town, being bullied, being alone, making friends, grieving for lost loved ones, and other situations that affect young teens in an expert manner that is so subtle it just blends right into the story without intruding into the main action, but rounds out the novel.

I was too involved in the story to take many notes of my reactions to elements of the story or highlight favorite passages, it was just too good to put down, even for a moment.

This story would appeal to the underdogs, those who like a well-written historical fiction mashup like Holes by Louis Sachar, or a mesmerizing YA book about a precocious boy and a ghost.

This novel was published by Tyan Wyss-Lockner July 27th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating:5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Tyan Wyss’s Website

Merry Christmas Readers!

by in Rachel Barnard and tagged , , | 1 Comment

 

Here is my 2014 Christmas Letter:

Christmas letter 2014

The books I’ve read in 2014 with my star ratings for each. An asterisk indicates a recommended read:

The Kill Order by James Dashner 3/5

A Woman Lost by T.B. Markinson 4/5: to-be-reviewed

The Death Cure by James Dashner 3/5

If I Stay by Gayle Forman 3/5

*Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 4/5

Caching In by Tracy Krimmer 3/5: to-be-reviewed

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper 4/5

*Scattered Links by M. Weidenbenner 5/5: to-be-reviewed

*Claudia Must Die by T.B. Markinson 5/5: to-be-reviewed

*Ghostwriter by Tyan Wyss 5/5: to-be-reviewed

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner 4/5

Wildest Dreams by Stefany Rattles 3/5

Neuromancer by William Gibson 1/5

Deny the Moon by Melissa A. Graham 3/5

*Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 5/5

Zero Anaphora by Luke Brimblecombe 4/5

The Maze Runner by James Dashner 4/5

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais 4/5

The Genesis Code: Lambda by Robert E. Parkin 3/5

The French for Christmas by Fiano Valpy 2/5

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters 3/5

Deadly Accounts by C.R. Wiley 4/5

Of Mice and Money by Winifred Morris 4/5

Shift by Bill Castengera 4/5: to-be-reviewed

*Confessions from a Coffee Shop 5/5: to-be-reviewed

*The Solitaire Prince by Tyan Wyss 5/5

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James 1/5

The Thousand Year Curse by Taylor Lavati 4/5

*Little Bee by Chris Cleave 5/5

*Irkadura by Ksenia Anske 5/5

Moonlight by David Rose 5/5

*Marionette by T.B. Markinson 5/5

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 3/5

First to Find by Mark Gessner 5/5: to-be-reviewed

Rock Your Plot by Cathy Yardley 5/5

Landline by Rainbow Rowell 3/5

The Heist by Shaun Jeffrey 4/5: to-be-reviewed

The Cleansing by Danielle Tara Evans 3/5

Coordinates for Murder by Darren Kirby 2/5

*Cache a Predator by M. Weidenbenner 5/5

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean 3/5

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty 4/5

The Time Sphere by A.E. Albert 4/5

Haylee Awakened Seed 4/5

Call off the Search by Natasja Hellenthal 2/5

Roll the Bones by Rob May 5/5

*Return to Mt. Snagra by Tyan Wyss 5/5

*Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion 5/5

Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller 4/5

Intrigue in the House of Wong by Amy Kwei 4/5

Dragon Killer by Rob May 4/5

*Mind Space Book 3 by David Moore 5/5

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell 3/5

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner 3/5

Click Date Repeat by K.J. Farnham 4/5

Siren Suicides #3 by Ksenia Anske 4/5

Siren Suicides #2 by Ksenia Anske 4/5

Siren Suicides #1 by Ksenia Anske 5/5

The Boy Who Fell into the Sky by Chad Spencer 3/5

Defending Jacob by William Landay 2/5

A Concubine for the Family by Amy Kwei 5/5: to-be-reviewed

Silo #2 by Hugh Howey 5/5

*I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai 5/5

High Born by Natalia Leigh 4/5

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 2/5

The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello 4/5

*Mind Space Book #2 by David Moore 5/5

We All Fall Down by Michael Harvey 3/5

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov 3/5

*The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 5/5

Stars in the Texas Sky by Stephen J. Matlock 4/5

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 2/5

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 5/5

*The Moment Before by Suzy Vitello 5/5

Roots Entwine by Victoria Bastedo 5/5

Wonderkid: A Novel by Wesley Stace 4/5

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin 1/5

Highland Lord by Colleen Faulkner 3/5

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier 5/5

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke 4/5

*Mind Space Book #1 by David Moore 5/5

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 4/5

A clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 1/5

*Rosehead by Ksenia Anske 5/5

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain 4/5

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 4/5

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 4/5

Dawn of Steam: First Light by Jeffrey Cook 4/5

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green 5/5

Paper Towns by John Green 4/5

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory 4/5

Unicorn Battle Squad by Kirsten Alene 3/5

Sunrise Meets the Star by Victoria Bastedo 4/5

*Room by Emma Donogue 4/5

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick 4/5

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede 4/5

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 3/5

*The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 5/5

Allegiant by Veronica Roth 4/5

The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island by Cameron Pierce 3/5

*Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 5/5

Book Review: The Solitaire Prince by Tyan Wyss

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The Solitaire Prince by Tyan Wyss

A Fantasy Novel published by Tyan Wyss-Lockner (12/15/13)

Summary:

 King Henry cannot see further than the length of his own nose. “All his life he’d been the one in control, barking out flippant orders and fickle whims to his subordinates. It would be a nightmare indeed to lose his power and control to another man; to a mere woman, inconceivable and humiliating.” (Page 46).

What the king fails to realize is how clever his own daughter is because he never wanted a princess, he wanted a son. She must grow up in the shadow of his rules. No chess! She might beat him. No climbing trees! It’s not ladylike. Only solitaire is allowed, and with that game she might be able to bend the rules to get what she wants, but according to the king, one can’t cheat at solitaire.

Keywords:

Fantasy, Princesses, Solitaire, Finding a Groom

My Review:

 Tyan Wyss shows us that she is very skilled at her back story without being boring or overly descriptive. The back story is told in the perfect rhythm and with the perfect progression of time to arrive at the heart of the struggle.

Wyss gives us an entire world within King Henry’s castle and is able to place the reader into the Princesses’ predicaments (yes there is another Princess). I loved the specific food descriptions, they really put me into the world of King Henry and Princess Christine.

It is a special story indeed that can deliver a full and complete novel without a true evil villain or one that is able to redeem himself by the end. With so many villains, once evil always evil pervades, but Wyss is able to construct a character that is conflicted enough, through a story that is different enough, that the ‘villain’ is able to transform.

This story is a true young adult novel for all ages, as it’s written in a clever style. Wyss delivers a clever twist on the last line, summing up the slight bending of a Princess fairy tale in this delightful novel. “Their voices faded softly away as everyone tried their best to live happily ever after.” (Page 158). The voice of the writing style is more than just warm and intimate to the story, but is also a great translator of the truth of the characters’ struggles.

This novel was published by Tyan Wyss December 15th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating:4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Tyan Wyss’s Website

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 3/5 – Tyan Wyss

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I found out about Tyan Wyss on Facebook and have not met her in person. She writes under two names, Tyan Wyss and Loren Lockner. She has written a number of books under each name, but I will focus on the Tyan Wyss books as those are the ones I have read and love and I can vouch for them.

Tyan Wyss is on my list of Indie stars to watch out for because her writing style is concise and fully formed. She doesn’t fall into common mistakes like rookie authors. She knows what she’s doing and her books are immensely fun to read. The stories are fully fledged and immerse you in their intrigue. The author layers her plot and her motives like an expert, giving her books a higher degree of elegance than other authors. Wyss has a smooth and charming personable writing style.

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Check back next Monday for the week’s Indie Author Rising Star 4/5

Book Reading and Release Such Fun!

by in Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard, Seattle Specific Saturdays | 1 Comment

 

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All eight of the authors featured in Free-Flowing Stories came out to the Black Dog in Snoqualmie on Thursday to read from their selections, eat cake, and have fun! The Black Dog is wonderful and has the best fritata around.

 

 

 

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I read from my story, Ataxia and the Girl of Lost Dreams which is a prequel to Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams and follows MC’s decision to leave her home town and sneak into the elite Academy where she hopes to take down the corrupt government from within.

 

 

 

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I love to dress up! This is my latest mashup costume.

Book Review: Wildest Dreams by Stefany Rattles

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Wildest Dreams by Stefany Rattles

A Romance Novel published by Stefany Rattles (09/28/14)

 

Summary:

Alaina never went to college. She’s of average intelligence, but she’s given a chance at a career when she’s accepted at a law firm in Arkansas. She is a short brunette with hazel eyes and a penchant for engaged men. Alaina is excited to start her new job, but soon gets caught up in the man she crushed on in high school, a case involving a young Russian girl in the Witness Protection Program, and threats telling her to stay away from Rayden (the engaged man).

 

Keywords:

 Romance, Cheating Fiance, Female POV, Jealousy

 

My Review:

The first thing any reader will notice about Wildest Dreams is the well-crafted book cover that indicates the book is solidly a romance (between a man and a woman) and that the eBook has not been formatted. The author, it would seem, has forgotten to justify her paragraphs to indent for dialogue and new paragraphs. This makes for a book that is physically difficult to read, unless she was continuing in the book’s stream of consciousness writing style. Clever or forgetful, who knows?

What can only be deemed an oversight is the abundance of obvious grammatical errors, where the incorrect word is used or spelled wrong, commas are skipped over, and possessives are given oddly spaced apostrophes. The tenses used also skip from present to past without missing a beat (still could be from stream of consciousness). Many of the sentences are short and choppy and a lot of the action is told to us by the author/narrator Alaina.

I adore the character names used, Alaina and Rayden being my favorites, but I couldn’t get into the romance of the story. To me, it was unbelievable, unrealistic and became dull and lifeless. Why does Alaina even appeal to these career-men? We are not told much about her outside of her fascination for Rayden and her involvement in the present action with her job and the Russian girl.

It is difficult to pull off a romance between an engaged man and another woman without making the characters unlikeable and Rattles was not able to balance this morally-gray area to my satisfaction as a reader. Rayden is ready to leave it all behind for Alaina, his job and his fiancé and his parents’ approval, but why? It also makes him less appealing as the lead man and less appealing professionally. He lost my sympathy when he actively pursued another woman when he was in a committed relationship (no matter what the terms). I was also very perturbed when he took advantage of Alaina when she was drunk and neither the characters nor the author seem fazed by this act of rape.

I was impressed when Rattles was able to dish out an epilogue that was able to wrap up the main story without giving away the entire happily ever after. I was also delighted with each new character’s introduction and Rattles’ instant description of what they looked like and a quick personality description.

I received a free copy of this book for an honest, non-reciprocal review.

This novel was published by Stefany Rattles September 28, 20104 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 2.50

 

Links for more information:

Stefany Rattles’ Website

Goodreads Profile

Book Review: Deny the Moon (Wolfblooded Book 1) by Melissa A Graham

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Deny the Moon (Wolfblooded Book 1) by Melissa A Graham

A Paranormal Drama Novel published by Melissa A. Graham (11/28/14)

 

Summary:

 Harley “Harls” Rayne is just an average girl in an average town in an average family, except for the fact that her parents favor her younger daughter Lorelei. This favoritism spurs Harley to run off with the bad boy biker to become his bike b***h (aka the person who rides behind him on his Harley). But Frank isn’t all that she thought he was and his violent behavior and a culminating incident becomes the final straw for her to steal his bike and run away again. She thinks she’s safe with her new life and new job and new friends, until it all comes crashing down around her once more.

 

Keywords:

 Bikers, gang, packs, werewolves, female protagonist, strippers, abusive relationships

 

My Review:

I went through a sequence of liking and disliking this book. At first I loved it, there was tension from the very first page and the characters were very real. The story was alive from paragraph one and the inciting incident went off without a hitch. Harley turned her life upside down. Then I started to get bogged down in grammatical errors and the gruesome violence that the author described. I was not prepared for the horrific violence, but kudos to the author for bringing out such a strong emotional reaction in me, it is a telltale sign of a good writer, just not what I was expecting in a paranormal young adult story. I was further disgusted by the behavior of Frank and the relationship between Harley and Frank. It was an abusive relationship described in a way to make my toes curl and my hair stand on end, but was interlaced with these extremely steamy descriptions. Graham was putting me through emotional loops, with ups and downs and extremes in between. Be warned fair readers of the violence, abuse, and foul language in this book. Graham depicts the not-so-nice aspects of relationships and the gruesome results of foul play, but she does it in a hypnotizing way that makes you turn the pages with shaking fingers.

I despised Frank so much he made my stomach curdle. He is cold-blooded and cold-shoulders and the definition of the opposite of a gentleman. But he has a soft spot for Harley and it’s hard to hate him too much because he has that undeniably redeeming quality of wanting to protect her (from everybody but himself at least). He is domineering and possessive with a pack-like animalistic quality. He is raw and as Harley sees him: extremely and ruggedly attractive.

Harley is also a hard character to like. She put herself into the bad situation. Don’t girls know that the bad boys are usually bad news? Her most redeeming moments are when she is being protective of her best friend Liz. Harley surprised me with her gumption and ability to leave the situation when it crossed the line. When at first I didn’t like her because she couldn’t take action and kept staying in the abusive relationship, she showed her true strength when she up and left and started over with a confidence not many women would have after her experiences.

This book pushes the boundaries of paranormal with its down to earth grittiness and would appeal to those who enjoy a gritty paranormal story with violence, werewolves, or a female protagonist.

This novel was published by Melissa A. Graham November 28th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

 

Links for more information:

Melissa A Graham’s Website

Goodreads Profile

Twitter

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 2/5 – Ksenia Anske

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Here’s the story of how I met Ksenia Anske….

Remember last week when I told you how I met Hugh Howey? The story of how I met Ksenia starts out the same way because… I met her at the Hugh Howey meetup! Part of the reason I love Ksenia so much as an author is because I love her as a person. If you met her in real life you would instantly fall in love with her too. She is dynamic and charming and loud. She gives out hugs and tells you that you can kiss her hand. She is playful and doesn’t take herself too seriously. She has the easy manner you might associate with a movie star and not a writer. She is the writer that writers wish to be and boy can she promote herself! I was charmed when I met her and I’m still charmed today because I follow her on Facebook and her blog. She has a way with talking to her readers and her fans and she’s so entertaining.

Not only is she a great personality and writer in person, but also in her books. Not all of her novels are glitter and roses (one of them has roses) because she has lived a life. She brings so much to the table as a writer through her books and the sometimes hard lessons learned through them. Irkadura and Siren Suicides deal with real issues and when I read them I took away something ddifferent a perspective on suicide and hard times I don’t always get from the normal YA and fantasy that I usually read. Life is not always fun and games, but it can be described beautifully by authors like Ksenia Anske.

Ksenia Anske is on my list of Indie stars to watch out for because she is a wonderful writer with an easy to read and compelling writing style, is so charming, brings up the real issues in her books, and has a great relationship with her readers through both her social media and in person presence.

I’ve read every novel of Ksenia’s and am ready and waiting for her new works, especially the manuscript she’s currently editing/working on: Corners.

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Here’s what Ksenia says and another reason I love her as an author: “I believe that art is not about protecting it from being stolen, it’s about giving it away and inspiring others to create more art. All of my books (and drafts) you can download for FREE on my site indefinitely. You can also buy signed paperbacks or digital/paper copies on sites like Amazon. If you think my writing is worth your money and you want to support me, please buy my books or donate. It’s a pay-what-you-want idea. Any amount spells to me your love. It will enable me to give you more love in return, to write more books for you to read and share. XOXO.”

I’m so glad Ksenia is local and I’m able to see her now and then at events like her book reading and the Gifts for Geeks at the AFK Tavern.

Check back next Monday for the week’s Indie Author Rising Star 3/5