NORWESCON aftermath – pitching/panels/costumes/exhaustion

by in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged , , ,

Norwescon is one of my favorite events of the year! I bought my full membership early for the early bird discount (which I highly recommend) and FreeValley Publishing had planned to have a presence like they have for the past couple of years (2015, 2014). I also sent in two of my short stories for critique from Fairwood Writers. Thursday they offered us a special “pitching” class with Jennifer Brozek, which was fun, interactive, and useful. Jennifer liked my Donuts pitch, my Donuts cover, and my Donuts title (whew).

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A young adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and a mysterious bucket list. The more main character Vanessa fails the food challenge, the more she takes it out on the boy she blames for her father’s death because letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

I also wrote a lovely Star Wars themed anthology pitch:

R2-D2 unit took the name Radar when he won his freedom. Successful pod race owner, he trades parts weekly at the local machine shop and falls in love with the snarky, young attendant Zendaya. But there are two problems. She’s working off a seven-year indentured apprenticeship and she doesn’t seem to like droids. The twist is that Radar owns the machine shop and she’s been selling parts under the table.

Brozek’s comment: Don’t use R2-D2

I snuck into one panel on Thursday on fat shaming and enjoyed it quite a bit. Shout out to Jami and learning about fat acceptance and the fat experience in advance of reading her upcoming novel about a fat protagonist.

I didn’t go Friday because work and I had budgeted Thursday and Saturday to go. I brought my books for the Clockwork Dragon/FreeValley Publishing table on Thursday and checked out the dealer room. I even got sized for a corset (which brought up some mild claustrophobia, even though it was beautiful).

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I was nervous about parking and didn’t get there soon enough on Thursday to park at the DoubleTree itself so went across the street to the large undercover WallyPark, which turned out to be a whopping $21 for just under 5 hours. I was not happy with that bill and resolved to find a better solution for Saturday, the busiest day of the con. I ended up going to the non-covered WallyPark on the other side of the street for valet parking, which was only $14 plus tip and the two guys there were very polite and helpful. Next year, if I don’t find an even better parking area, I’ll use them.

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I wore my ghillie suit Saturday for most of the day and switched to my leopard print dancer’s outfit after dinner to round out the evening. Everyone loves my ghillie suit. I was very busy with my Fairwood writer’s workshops Saturday and only went to one panel: the Art of Critique, but it was so stuffy and hot that I had to leave halfway through for cooler rooms. I wandered everywhere! I even got locked out of the hotel and had to go around the entire building to get back inside (note that you need a keycard, obviously). Hospitality is always super cool and handy and I even made use of the coat check for my ghillie suit! Thanks coat check people. You made my life so much easier.

The masquerade was not as exciting as I thought it would be. I couldn’t see above hats and hair and it dragged on too long for me, though I absolutely loved seeing the costumes. I went to the Fairwood writer’s social and the Cascade writer’s social and rounded out my evening checking out the Star Wars dance (the music was so low and only kids were dancing). I imagine if I stayed late into the night, the party’s would pick up, but as it was I was too tired to stay any longer and went home around 9:00PM. Until next year, Norwescon!

 

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I grabbed two print books and a slew of flyers to check out.

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Money Spent: $160

Parking: $37
Food: $23
Books/Souvenirs: $20
Membership: $50
Dealer Room Partial Table Fee: $20
Gas: 120 miles = $10

All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!

by in author platform, Author Thursdays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged ,

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Can’t get enough about donuts? Check out these blogs and let me know about any other cool donut centered blogs

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Dunkin Donuts Behind the Beans Blog

Keep Your Eye Upon the Donut

Donut Blog

Dave’s Donut Blog

 

Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to receive important updates and promotions, if you haven’t already. Signup HERE

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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 Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , , ,

Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (11/28/12)

Summary:

“Don’t think about it. Solve the problem. Get yourself out.” (Page 86).
Olivia was born with a ghost hand. It’s rare to have PSS (a ghost body part), but Liv isn’t the only one. The ghost hand wasn’t that bad, if you didn’t mind being a freak in the middle of a small town, but after new kid Marcus shows up, the hand starts acting up. Olivia just wants to live her life, hide her hand as much as possible, but now she can’t. There are people after her who want to forcefully extract her PSS and if she wants to live she’ll have to team up with the new boy and his band of PSSers.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Small Town, Gossip, Rumor, Distant Mother, Friendship, Leader, Strategy

My Review:

I loved the main character, Olivia. She might freak out, as any normal teen under these circumstances should and would, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to find a solution. She’s a girl of action. She’s a real superhero and a model main female character. She’s funny, snarky, and thinks fast on her feet. She never lets the situation get the better of her in the end. She may get bad things thrown at her left and right, but she’s always trying to think of a solution and doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She is the strong underdog you’ll love to root for.

I laughed out loud more than once! The dialogue between the teenagers is so realistic and the things they say are hilarious! I especially loved and laughed at the scene where Olivia eats some salted almonds.

I very much appreciate books where the genders of the main characters could have been flipped and the book would hold true the same way. Olivia isn’t overly feminized or put into a gender corner. There was a romantic element, yes, but Olivia could have been Marcus as easily as Marcus could have been Olivia. I like the way Patton wrote this book the way it is written because I loved Olivia as a strong female lead. Marcus was also a strong character and a strong person, but his role was not as large as Olivia’s. She was the protagonist of the story.

Thank you, Ripley Patton for giving us more than just the usual paranormal fare. I was intrigued and fascinated throughout the entire story with Olivia’s ghost hand and the whole concept of “PSS” and I didn’t even mind not getting a thorough explanation for how PSS came about. Sometimes things are just unknown. I loved how this PSS concept is fully developed in this book and the characters discover more about it at the same time as the reader, so we gain a full understanding (but not right away). I believe there’s more to PSS than we know about from the first book and I wholeheartedly await reading more about PSS and hopefully Olivia, Marcus and the gang of PSSers in book two and beyond.

The PSS Chronicles are currently available for FREE in epub and mobi when you sign up for Ripley’s Booklist, the author’s discount YA/NA ebook newsletter (similar to Bookbub but smaller and friendlier). You can sign up here now to get your FREE books: http://eepurl.com/bfMiy9

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on November 28th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Portland Event! FLYA Zero at the Doubletree Hilton in Portland TODAY 03/19/16

by in Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged , ,

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FLYA Zero is the inception event for the Festival of Literature for Young Adults! Come on down to the Doubletree on Saturday, March 19th, 2016 and celebrate YA Lit writers and readers with us – and get the conversation going for the 2017 event!

Purchase your tickets here for just $10!
https://squareup.com/store/steampunk-filmfest/item/flya

Facebook event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1047694628587066/# 

Where: Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Portland Oregon
1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, Oregon 97232

When: 11AM – 7PM

All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!

by in Author Thursdays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged

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It’s time for a little excerpt from the book!

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My thoughts linger on Dad, but I push them away.

I grab four soufflé sample cups and expertly fill them with our more seasonal flavors: candy cane, eggnog, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon roll. I swoop up to Nichole at her table and present the four with a flourish.

“I noticed you went right for vanilla, for a wild child that is highly unusual,” I say to her.

She drops her spoon back into her cup with a clunk. I pick up the first sample cup.

“Candy cane aka peppermint. A familiar flavor disguised as a seasonal favorite. It goes by many names throughout the year: mint, Girl Scout cookie something or other, etc., but ultimately it is recognized during the holiday season in its home as candy cane.” I hold out the miniature serving and whip it back and forth under her nose, as if scents are wafting up from the yogurt. She inhales deeply and scrunches up her nose. “Come on, Nichole, you can’t go through life as a Plain Jane vanilla. You have to branch out.”

“I branch out with everything that I do, can’t you leave my ice cream and frozen yogurt blandness alone. I LIKE vanilla,” she counters.

“Ok, well you can’t deny this next one.” I set down the candy cane and pick up the eggnog. “THIS is a classic and undeniably a favorite. For three out of twelve months it makes its debut and everyone is clamoring for it.”

“Ugh, not the pumpkin spice!” Nichole interjects.

“No! You Starbucks peon. Anyways, that’s the next one. No interrupting. I’m working on my sales pitch here.”

Nichole tips her head toward the door as its familiar tinkle brings me back to reality. Working a real job is not as much fun as I thought it would be. It’s just full of interruptions and cranky people.

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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: Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

A Fantasy Novel published by Clockwork Dragon (03/11/16)

Summary:

“Everything about her was different from every other Knight. She had a different build, a different weapon, a different sprite, and different challenges.” (Kindle Locations 2034-2035).

Claire is a Spirit Knight and even though she still isn’t accepted by everyone in the male-dominated group, she wants to show them that she is really a Knight. After she gets a dragon as her sprite and has won a weapon from the Heart of the castle, Claire is ready to begin training. But, before she can truly prepare, things start to go wrong. There are mysterious things going on and Claire and Justin must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Keywords:

Spirit Knight, Fantasy, POV Change, Fighting, Responsibility, Unsafe, Strange Things, Horse, Trust, Hope, Death, Problems, Taking Charge, Discovery, Personal Sprite, Dragon, Friendship, Family

My Review:

I found the pacing good, the tension good and storytelling solid, but there were a few characteristics of this book I didn’t like. Justin felt almost like a villain when he was supposed to be supportive of Claire. There were a few scenes where his thoughts about his family were less than positive and that made me uncomfortable. I thought he was supposed to be the hero passing the torch to the new girl? I believe that there are outside forces that influence how he perceives the things he loves, but I wish he had remained the underdog hero instead of the villain’s assistant. Justin is your average knight, but even so, he was easily manipulated and seemed to get caught in the simplest of traps that Claire was able to figure out immediately! How can one be a Spirit Knight, when one is so easily undone! This did let Claire be the hero and this is her story. I did like that there were average knights like Justin and that he tries to be valiant, that he tries hard all the time.

I liked most everything about Claire. The scenes between her and the Heart of the castle were awesome! I loved how in every situation she found herself in, she didn’t give up, even if she had no real weapon. She wasn’t afraid to use her fists!

Dragons. Super cool. I liked how the dragon actually had his own backstory and personality.

I found the twist of the main plot to be obvious. The clues were so good that I guessed what was going to happen quickly. All new information led directly to this obvious ending, which was still satisfying even though I knew it was coming. It was the logical ending.

This novel was published by Clockwork Dragon on March 11th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Lee French on Facebook

Lee French on Twitter

Goodreads