Book Review: Alpha by Taylor Hohulin

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Alpha by Taylor Hohulin

A Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (6/17/15)

Summary:

“Everything about Alpha was an inhumanly perfect imitation of humanity.” (Page 48).

In Alpha by Taylor Hohulin, four characters come together to form a hilariously written story about how hard it is to build a military-ready robot and to get everyone to accept the idea of a robot military. The Doctor who builds the robots is all consumed with creating a robot that will be loyal to its military and fierce but not too threatening. The first robot he builds, his Alpha, is consumed with his heart’s desire and wants to love the doctor’s sister over anything else. Meat is the soldier with a chip on his shoulder, just forced into retirement from a military life and nothing to do but plot to destroy the very robot that threatens the careers of all future human soldiers. And finally there is the leader and CEO of the Planet Earth Military Forces who just wants to get back into action and be done with all the paperwork.

Keywords:

Robots, Fighting, Paperwork, CEO, Leader, Soldier, Love, Goals, Robotic Soldiers, Meetings, Killing Machines, Emotions, Intelligence, Feelings

My Review:

With robots the likes of Douglas Adams’ characters in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the book is full of little laugh moments. The way the story is written and the writing style itself will blow you away with its funny little insights into humanity and how people think and look at the world. Hohulin has built a hilarious world out of a mashup of what ifs in this book. What if a robot fell in love? What if a scientist wanted to create a military robot but kept failing? What if a former soldier didn’t want to retire?

Meat is your classic all brawns and no brain character but he isn’t pathetically dimwitted. He can reason out logical conclusions and utilize resources and go about trying to attain his goal. He is not stupid, he is just single-minded. All he wants is to be a soldier and if he can’t do that for the Planet Earth Military Defense, well then he will wage war against any who opposed him rejoining the military and any who newly oppose him. Meat was a fun character to laugh at with his strictly logical thinking and surface level.

I loved how the robots thought and how they were different in their personalities depending on how they were built and I was glad Hohulin decided to make Alpha the more prominent robot instead of spreading narrative thinly over all three robots. Alpha was the most interesting robot and the one with the most story to tell.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on June 17th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Taylor Hohulin’s Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Call for submissions for a Seattle Anthology: Stories from Seattle (Deadline Extended)

by in Local Authors, Miscellaneous Mondays and tagged ,

Call for submissions for a Seattle Anthology: Stories from Seattle (working title)

This anthology will feature what Seattle is best known for, the places and the people and the feeling of being here. The purpose of this anthology is to showcase Seattle from an insider’s perspective. The stories should center around the ‘destination’ you choose such that the reader will gain a deep understanding of what it’s like to visit that place. Any person who has never been to Seattle should be able to imagine living here from the stories. The stories do not have to be true and they can be any genre.

Stories should be approximately 200 to 2000 words each. You may submit up to three stories.

Consideration will be given first to submissions received before December 31st, 2015.

You may choose from the below destinations or pick your own that is an iconic Seattle or Seattle area destination.

Please also answer the following questions to include with your submission. We will be using some or all of the answers in the backend matter of the anthology or/and within your ‘about the author’ section at the end of your submission(s). If you would like, you can provide a short (under 100 words) author biography and a black and white author photograph to be included in your ‘about the author’ section.

  1. What do you like most about Seattle?
  2. What do you like least about Seattle?
  3. What is your favorite restaurant/café?
  4. What is your favorite book or movie that features Seattle?
  5. What is your favorite local product?
  6. What makes you a Seattleite?

If you would like to help with copy editing or provide editorial help for this anthology, please let me know.

Send to rachel(dot)author(dot)barnard@gmail.com, the author name you wish to have credited for the story, the Seattle location you chose, answers to the ‘about the author’ questions and any additional about the author information you would like (up to 100 words) as well as your submission (up to three stories). Please also sign and return This anthology-Author Contract.

Possible destinations:

Alaska Way Viaduct Market Ghost Tour
Alki Point Microsoft Campus
Archie McPhee Molly Moon
Argosy Cruise Museum of Flight
Ballard Locks Northwest Trek
Bellevue Strawberry Festival Olympic Sculpture Park
Benaroya Hall Pacific Science Center
Beoing Factory Future of Flight Paramount Theatre
Bill Gates’ House Pike’s Place
CenturyLink Field Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Chihuly Garden and Glass Ride the Ducks
Costco Seattle Aquarium
Dick’s Drive-In Seattle Great Wheel
Discovery Park Seattle Pinball Museum
Elliot Bay Book Company Smith Tower Observation Deck
EMP Snoqualmie Casino
Fremont Troll Snoqualmie Falls
Frye Art Museum Space Needle
Gas Works Park Starbucks Original
Hat N’ Boots Teatro ZinZanni
Jimi Hendrix Grave Site Twin Peaks (North Bend)
Lake View Cemetery Underground Seattle
Lake Washington Unicorn
Lighthouse at the Lime Kiln State Park UW
Lunchbox Laboratory

 

Seattle Specific Saturdays: 10/21 Author Book Release and Signing – N. Bend, WA Sheri J. Kennedy

by in Local Authors, Local Events, Seattle Specific Saturdays and tagged , | 6 Comments

Author Sheri J. Kennedy invites you to join her to Celebrate the Release of her third published novel, LIKENESS! There will be a Reading by the Author, Give-aways, and FREE CAKE! Books available for Signing, and will release same day on Amazon as paperback and Kindle. Come and celebrate this snappy contemporary novel that provides much to think about and plenty of humor as it considers the value of who we are.

RSVP here on the facebook event page

Where: Pioneer Cafe in NB   202 W North Bend Way, North Bend, Washington 98045

When: Wednesday October 21st 6PM

Who: Sheri J. Kennedy and her new book Likeness

*Stay tuned for Rachel Barnard’s review of Likeness on 10/22

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From the Amazon book description:

What if everyone became the same?… In LIKENESS, early millennium Seattle-based workers Charlie and Emmaline are thrust from their comfortable and quirky marketing department to the Worldwide Pharmaceutical Conference stage. They present their ad for a new drug, Assimilaire, that minimizes social anxiety by making one feel the same as those around them.
In a strange twist, a free sample causes the audience members to not only feel like, but to become like athletic geek Charlie and adventurous artist Emmaline.
Forced to stay at the conference by a bomb scare, the affected hotel guests are caught in a grand experiment and a madcap romp exposing the nature of similarity and difference.

This snappy contemporary novel provides much to think about and plenty of humor as it considers the value of who we are.

The Buzz from readers: “energetic, fun language made for a quick, happy read. BONUS: i quite liked the concept.”

“Emmaline is a strong business woman I could totally relate to. I fell in love with her!”

“Give me a good-sized dose of Charlie! Line up the pseudo-Charlies – but none is as charming as the original. Lucky Emmaline!”

“A great fiction read for the more philosophical or psychological leaning reader.”

“Never before has the impending apocalyptic dystopia been such an amusing romp.”

Book Review: Puppet by Pauline C. Harris

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Puppet by Pauline C. Harris

A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novel published by Patchwork Press (10/17/14)

 

Summary:

“What I am now was derived from things like that puppet onstage. In many ways, we’re alike; the same. Controlled by others in a world where all you want is to be free.” (Kindle Locations 1121-1122).

Puppet is a twisted retelling of Pinocchio, where Penelope is a real girl with real problems who is recruited (somewhat forced to volunteer) to be an experiment by her new adoptee father Jed. He has created an advanced technology that allows Pen to be stronger, faster, and more like a puppet than ever…. Her abilities make her a liability and so she must be curbed, but Jed doesn’t have that technology yet and what he has to do to make it so she is free takes away all the freedoms she thought she wanted.

 

Keywords:

Orphan, Experiment, Retelling, Pinocchio, Girl with Power, Puppet, Advanced Technology, Scientists, Humanity, Vulnerability, Lies, Past Life, Normal

 

My Review:

This shorter novel contained many similarities to the Mechanical Trilogy by the same author, Pauline C. Harris, as if this shorter version is the inspiration for the trilogy. There were similar themes, events, and characters between Puppet and the Mechanical Trilogy. At one point, someone throws something fast and without warning at Pen’s head and she is able to catch it with her newfound abilities, just like in both stories.

I thought it was really clever some of the integrations of Pinocchio with this modern sci fi retelling of the tale. The smooth inclusion of taking away Pen’s ability to lie was quite interesting. I could clearly see the imagination of the author at work.

The appearance of a carnival in the middle of the woods is random and seems unrelated to the plot.

There was a lack of clarity and definition for the science or technology or the more general description of a world with this type of technology.

The version I read, downloaded for kindle from Amazon contained very little proper ebook formatting. The book was simple, though, and flowed enough where the lack of spacing and justifying didn’t actually detract from the speed and ease of reading, just detracted from the maturity and responsibility of the publisher and the author.

This novel was published by Patchwork Press October 17th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 2.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Pauline C. Harris’s Website and Blog

Book Review: The Secrets of Evelyn Taylor by Pauline C. Harris

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The Secrets of Evelyn Taylor by Pauline C. Harris

A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Amazon Digital Services (04/08/13)

Summary:

“Remember. Remember. Don’t forget. The words swirled through my mind. What did they mean? What were all these secrets? Greta, Ms. Ferguson, Sophie and Jill kept secrets from me. Even my mind kept secrets from me. Was there anyone or anything that could be honest with me?” (Kindle Locations 1081-1083).

Evelyn Taylor needs to remember. But what is she forgetting? There is a reason she is holed up in a house and kept in a perpetual eighth grade. There is a reason she is not allowed outside.

Keywords:

Speculative Fiction, Past Life, Erased Memory, Caretakers, Plants, Remembering, 14 Years Old, New Life, Curiosity, Young Writer

 

My Review:

I was greatly disappointed with this book, however, I didn’t realize it was written by a teenager. What does a thirteen year old know about writing? What does a thirteen year old know about the world? Pauline C. Harris knew enough to craft a fun, easy read, but she was missing some of the important elements to bring the book together and make it something great.

Harris keeps both the reader and the main character Evelyn in the dark about what is really going on. To begin, all the reader gets is a confused day to day randomness with hints at something bigger in the background. Harris keeps the meat of the story withheld too long and I think it would have been more interesting to have more of a clue of what was going on or to make this a short story and not try to make it a standalone novel. There is not enough of the story. There were too many characters introduced late in the story and not enough descriptions and personalities ascribed to them.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services April 8th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Pauline C. Harris’s Website and Blog

Book Review: Mechanical Trilogy by Pauline C. Harris

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Mechanical Trilogy by Pauline C. Harris

Mechanical – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (04/28/13)

Perfect – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (07/27/13)

Flawed – A YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi Novelette published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books (11/07/13)

My Review:

 

I am going to review the entire trilogy in one post as each book was not very long and the trilogy could have been one book in the first place. Also, I will not be posting full reviews to Amazon/Goodreads as I admire what the author is doing and thought her last book published was stellar (The Hourglass) and the fact that this trilogy was so poorly done shouldn’t count against her as an author or for her future works.

The Mechanical Trilogy was a disappointment to me as a reader but much more impressive when I took into consideration that the author (at the time) was only a teenager. This fact, however, doesn’t make the book better it just makes me consider the book differently. Perhaps knowing how young the author was would have been helpful to know before I read the books rather than after as I would have let a lot more things that weren’t so great slide.

The message Harris was conveying with her trilogy was a good one: nobody is perfect and it’s ok to be flawed. Her dystopian theme was neat, with robots vs. people as the main component. Where things fell apart was the lack of cohesion overall, the plot randomness without many plot points being supported, the obvious lack of an outline, the unreality of the technology and the decisions the characters made, the immaturity of the characters that were supposed to be “perfect” but had obvious lacks of intelligence and ability to think through situations clearly. The author never went very deep into any action. For instance, multiple times the rebel characters wanted to break into the institution and every time they were able to with the first idea they came up with. It wasn’t suspending disbelief but rather there was no reality to the actions and sequences.

I really wish the mechanized humans acted like the ‘perfect’ machines they were supposed to be, except in reality they were rather pathetic in their reasoning abilities and intelligence and understanding. Even normal humans are many times more clever than the ‘perfect’ mechanical characters Harris created. If the androids are so perfect, why do they keep making the most ridiculously stupid mistakes? Sure it moves the plot along, but it’s at odds with the concept Harris is trying to get across. Most of the time the characters just went along with everything, didn’t question things, didn’t think out the possibilities, and didn’t try to escape. Much of the second book was the group of rebels trying to escape from the institution creators and robots over and over. They were just reacting to the situation and not learning from any of their experiences.

The world they lived in never felt real. The author didn’t bring the far-fetched concept (perfecting humans by making them androids) into reality. She also never defined how her magic-like technology could even exist and there weren’t other examples of futuristic technology. Mechanical was isolated.

The writing itself displayed many amateur mistakes that popped out like using frequently the words, “just then,” “as I was,” and “suddenly.” Still, there was something that compelled me to read all three books (could be the short length of each one individually) and I wanted to stick it out for an author that truly amazed me with Hourglass. I recommend skipping this trilogy entirely and going straight to her truly finessed work.

This trilogy was published by Fire and Ice Young Adult Books and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 2.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Pauline C. Harris’s Website and Blog

Nano Update: Planning, Pantsing and Writing Two Novels in 30 Days

by in For the Love of Donuts, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard and tagged , | 1 Comment

I am an overachiever… This translates to me having full-time hobbies and something going on every night after a full work-day. Last year I wrote approximately 60k words for nanowrimo 2014. This year I plan on writing two books at the same time… Two separate, yet intertwined books.

How will I do this?

A. I’m a fast typer.

B. I’m actually planning these books out with full on outlines and character mapping (unlike last year where I just pantsed my butt off).

C. Writing 30 minutes every morning before work 7:30-8AM

D. Attending at least 3 write ins every week to focus on word counts and have specific time for writing

E. Having a goal of 5k words on day one for the kickoff party at midnight

F. Creating my own special Half-Way Day of Donuts Hustle with a goal of 3k words

G. Tracking my progress and taking any opportunity I have to write, write, write!

What is your nano plan and what are your goals?

Want to join me at my Day of Donuts Half-Way Hustle? I’ll buy you a donut….

Untitled picture

Daddy’s Donuts – open 8am – 7pm Sunday November 15th

Address: 7018 NE Bothell Way, Kenmore Wa 98028

Writing Time: 8AM – 9:15AM

Words written:

CountrySide Donut House – open 5:30am – 3pm Sunday November 15th

Address: 10032 Main St, Bothell, WA 98011

Writing Time: 9:30AM – 10:45AM

Words written:

Factory Donuts – open 5AM-2PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 12505 NE 144th St., Kirkland, WA 98034

Writing Time: 11AM – 12:15PM

Words written:

Sunrise Donuts & Espresso – open 6AM – 2PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 7299 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, WA 98052

Writing Time: 12:30 – 1:45PM

Words written:

Westernco – Bellevue – open 4AM – 5:30PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 1412 156th Ave NE., Bellevue, WA 98007

Writing Time: 2PM – 3:15PM

Words written:

Top Pot – Bellevue – open 7AM – 5:30PM Sunday November 15th

Address: 10600 NE 9th Place, Bellevue, WA 98004

Writing Time: 3:30PM – 5PM

Words written:

 

Here are my two nano 2015 novels:

The Optimist Sees the Donut (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

The Pessimist Sees the Hole (For the Love of Donuts Book 2)

 

Their friendship has been the one unbreakable thing, the one certainty in their lives, but Nichole Adams and Vanessa Smith are developing into their own persons. The glimpse into who they were in Donuts in an Empty Field was just the beginning of their diverging interests and them slowly pulling apart as friends when they start their own lives beyond high school.

 

Vanessa has never had many friends in her life and even though she wanted to stay friends with Nichole, she met new people in college and is moving on. She has school, she has social activities, and a new group of friends but she can’t seem to find the right guy.

 

Nichole is jealous of Vanessa’s ease of everything in the real world. She has no trouble with jobs, money, school, or getting and going places. Nichole, on the other hand was preemptively kicked out of her mom’s house after graduating high school and has been floundering ever since. The only thing she has easy in her life is flirting and finding a boyfriend, or at least a guy that will let her crash at his house.

 

Forever hopeful that things will change, Nichole still clings to the hope that Vanessa will come back to their friendship and be the best friend from high school that Nichole misses. When guy after guy doesn’t work out for her, Vanessa changes more and more about her personality to attract the right guy, drifting farther and farther from who she really is. Something’s gotta give and this story of how friendships get off track, lies become reality, and bad luck tails bad choices will bring you in and around the little town of Sarasota, Florida that you grew to love in book one of the series – Donuts in an Empty Field.

Seattle Specific Saturdays: AFK Renton Multi-Author Event Must Read! Today!

by in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Seattle Specific Saturdays and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love finding new local authors and Jeffrey Cook has set up another great AFK event you simply must check out! For more information, see the flyer below or visit the event’s facebook page here.

 

jeffs-afk-event-promo

Book Review: I Am the Alpha by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

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I Am the Alpha by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

A Paranormal/Action/Romance Novel published by Second Circle Press (08/04/15)

Summary:

Chloe never knew that her father, a stern accountant who is continuously disappointed in his daughter and her life choices, is none other than the Hangman, the deadliest Wolf-Kind hunter of his generation. Chloe just wants to make her own choices in life, but all control is taken from her when William kidnaps her. She puts up a fight at every turn, but eventually finds out why she was chosen. When she learns that her father killed William’s father and Alpha of the Pack, her feelings towards William as a kidnapper soften. When he is gentle and cares for her well-being, Chloe begins to see things from his perspective and to see him for the strong protector type he really is.

Keywords:

Wolf-Kind, Kidnapped, Hunters, Alphas, Twins, Murder, Harsh Laws, Violence, Fleeing, Fighting, Change, Seattle, Healing, Pack, Bitten, Mate, Stubborn

 

My Review:

I couldn’t put this book down. AJ Downey’s books are so tense and exciting that it is hard to stop reading them. I’m eagerly awaiting the second and third books in this series.

There were parts, granted, that delved into the annoying tropes of paranormal/romance books, but I almost didn’t care because I was so enthralled with what was going on and how the characters were interacting. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

AJ Downey and Ryan Kells delve upon the surface of something fascinating: discrimination and pure hatred of wolf-kind/hybrid. This is a concept that makes the easy-read paranormal/romance into a deeper book.

“As reviled as he was, I was my father’s daughter in some of the more important ways. The ones that really counted. Having a backbone was one of those ways. I was also my mother’s daughter. Even though she’d died when I was young, she’d taught me understanding. To look beyond the surface. Past the color of people’s skin, past their clothes or where they lived or how they were raised.” (Kindle locations 3777-3781).

Downey and Kells also go just deep enough into Pack politics and the biological particulars to build a world that I’m interested in. I’m not usually interested in paranormal, though Downey has shown me the better side of romance novels, but I Am the Alpha has more going on than most novels.

Chloe has the right amount of stubbornness and she continuously, at first, fights back even against an insurmountable foe as William. She has spit and fire within her and doesn’t give up until she has completely exhausted all possibilities for escape. Toward the end of the novel, though, she gets even stronger and more stubborn in her convictions. William is a good balance between gentle, sympathetic man to jerk captor wolf-kind. He is the character I most liked.

This novel was published by Second Circle Press on August 4th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

A.J. Downey’s Blog

Goodreads

Facebook