FreeValley Publishing and NIWA will host a booth at the 2016 Holiday Odmall show in Everett from November 19-20, 2016. Come visit the FVP/NIWA booth (#151) and check out other really neat and perhaps wacky offerings.
NEW LOCATION
The Everett Community College
Walt Price Student Fitness Center
2206 Tower Street
Everett, WA
Show Hours
Saturday, November 19 – Doors open at 10am – Close at 6pm
Sunday, November 20 – Doors open at 11am – Close at 5pm
I had a booth on election day last Tuesday as an additional Oddmall opportunity. Check out my lovely little booth of FVP/NIWA authors!
And then Bard & Starlet with FVP at the Black Dog in Snoqualmie. I missed this event last year, but I thought it was such a wonderful event for all. It was highly entertaining and fun and involved the local authors for their screenplays and the local actors and the local community to come watch and the local cafe! You can check out my screenplay being performed on Youtube here!
Bitsy by Rayna L. Stiner
A Dark Fantasy Novel published by Tagorbi Publishing, LLC (08/15/16)
Summary:
“It takes guts to get up every day and face the world after you’ve seen so much of its ugliness.” (Kindle Locations 2415-2416).
Bitsy and Liz are the same person, or rather different personalities of the same person. After surviving her own childhood horror, Bitsy and Liz emerged. Now an admin assistant for the local hospital in the ER for abuse victims, Bitsy wants nothing more than to play violin in the local orchestra, but her alternate ego has other plans.
Keywords:
Music, Musician, Violin, Orchestra, Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Violence, Fantasy, Survivor, Split Personality, Psychic, Hospital, Boss, Portland, Alternate Personality, Vigilante, Crime, Death, Dying, Angels, Rape
My Review:
This book wasn’t a story so much about Bitsy as it was about trying to relate a concept about the terribleness of child abuse and sexual abuse, which is quite noble but didn’t work in this particular novel. The fantasy and dream sequences seemed forced into the narrative and the plot was overwhelmingly odd and ill-fitting with the subject matter. The graphic sexual violence and suggestions of sexual violence felt forced into the storyline and these gritty details didn’t so much further the plot as gross me out.
The fantasy was necessary for the plot, but very distracting and unnatural seeming in the way it was integrated into the story. I skipped over much of the description, especially wherever the fantasy was involved.
The concept of a person who has been in such a traumatic experience that their personality splits into two separate entities to deal with the emotional turbulence and healing is very, very interesting and kept me reading this story, but the plot and the interjection of the ‘dark fantasy’ element was a big turn off and didn’t fit into the story well.
This novel was published by Tagorbi Publishing, LLC on August 15th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 2.75
Links for more information:
What a week this has been. I have, in no particular order:
Photo taken by the man on the right at the SnoValley Coffee write in
Left – Hallonanoween and my new onesie! Right – beautiful cupcake from the show on Saturday
Never been this empty before…
The terrible flat.
Doughnut and writing at SnoValley Coffee
The Unwitting Journeys of the Witty Miss Livingstone: Book I: Journey Key (Miss Liv Adventures 1)by Kennedy J. Quinn
A Steampunk Novel published by Amazon Digital Services Inc. (10/25/16)
Summary:
Miss Livingstone doesn’t quite fit into her era because she is a woman with her own mind. It is the early 1900’s until Miss Livingstone peeks into the new bookshop and finds time-traveling stones that take her forward in time to meet the owner of the bookshop. Then she is taken back through time as she attempts to solve the mystery of the stones and find some good books on the side!
Keywords:
Time Travel, Female Heroine, Adventure, History, Literature, Literary References, Snoqualmie, Books, Steampunk, Evil, Lurking, Romance
My Review:
A new blend of history, great literature, and adventure, Miss Liv Adventures was a fun read. I especially liked how every adventure ended with the steam train taking Miss Livingstone back (or forward) to her own time. I really liked the integration of books and history into the plot of the book and thought the details surrounding the key were marvelous and fantastical.
Miss Livingstone was curious to a fault and brave beyond doubt as she traveled across time and space, never forgetting her home and her love of books. The places she traveled to were rich and lively and there were just enough different settings to keep my interest but not too many to be confusing.
This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services Inc. on October 25th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50
Links for more information:
I tried out a 3 meal for two people Blue Apron this month.
Pros:
Cons:
I really enjoyed the experience but felt harried trying to make the meals and not let them sit in the fridge for too long. I liked having new ingredients to work with that I’m not sure I’d ever find or purchase in the grocery store and I will be using chickpeas in the near future! I wish Blue Apron had levels of difficulty/gourmet so that the harried overworked overbusy people can start off with the starter pack that uses less dishes and takes less prep finagling to figure out, but introduces you to new ingredients and provides a ready meal when you’re too busy to go to the grocery store.
The spicy chicken with Mediterranean flair (my favorite):
The seared salmon with fall vegetables:
And the roasted pork steam buns without final picture because we were too busy eating:
Or will I?
What are your excuses for not making time to write/winning?
Here’s my list:
Here’s why I WILL win:
And finally, why I love NaNoWriMo:
Not to forget a list about my upcoming NaNo manuscript:
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:
What a fun local bookstore in Monroe! I enjoyed talking with the customers and my fellow YA authors from the Writer’s Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest.
Rachel Author Barnard 