Short Story Opportunities

Looking for a fun writing exercise over the weekend?

Anne Elisabeth Stengl is hosting a spooky short story exercise based on on your childhood fears. To find all the rules and guidelines, please go to her blog to learn more. But here's the catch...your story will have to leave off on the moment of highest tension!

Also, Molly (who's creating a absolutely awesome writer's blog that you should go and follow) might host a short story based on a mysterious picture she drew if she gets enough people interested in participating.

 Do you think you might have a story to answer the questions the picture presents? Who is the woman? Where is she? What is in the bag at her belt? Whose hand is she holding? If you're interested, go over to A Writer's Ponderings and let Molly know! :)

Have a splendid weekend!

Vacation!

Well, life has been pretty busy for me as of late! My days are just packed with schoolwork, writing, art, reading, and animal care.

Just this September, my family and I took a vacation through our beautiful state of Oregon. We went to Joseph where we hiked, pigged out at a chocolate/coffee shop (which had the most heavenly white hot chocolate), watched a thunderstorm, and fished. Then we went to John Day where we saw a few fossil bed sites and a Chinese historical site. Finally, we camped at Clear Lake, taking a beautiful hike by the lake.

It was a wonderful time. I thought I'd share some of the beautiful areas I saw. They truly are fodder for the imagination!

The Painted Hills Fossil Beds

Clear Lake

Minam River

Eagle Cap Wilderness

A pretty little creek

Cowboy statue in Joesph

Wilderness towards Imnaha

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! There is some really beautiful wilderness in this country of ours...

Last Chance for Giveaway!

Greetings, readers of mine!

Just wanted to remind you all that there's still a big chance to win the generous giveaway in Jennette Mbewe's novel release blog tour! Click here to see my feature and the giveaway on the tour! She's offering signed copies of her novel and her three prequel short stories plus swag! Also find out if Secrets Kept sounds like your sort of adventure in my review! Contest ends tonight!

Secrets Kept Release Day Blog Tour: Meet the Characters Part 1

Today, as part of the celebration of Jennette Mbewe's first novel, Secret's Kept, we get to have a preview of three of the main characters in the exciting tale! I'm quite delighted to feature Ayianna, her faithful wolf, Liam, and my favorite character...Kael! Also please enter in the incredible giveaway down at the bottom! If you'd like to see my review of Secrets Kept please go here. Be sure to continue with the tour!

Now, I'll give you over to Jennette who not only wrote the character bios for us, but also drew illustrations!

~

Thank you so much for having me on your blog today and celebrating the release of Secrets Kept! 

Today we are going to meet three characters near and dear to my heart.

Ayianna grew up among the Esusamor Elves of Zurial. With the mountains at her back, the glittering sea before her, and the great expanse of stars above, her dreams were her own. She would be one of the nu'mraryzi, a learned elf who could read the stars. Not a common thing, mind you, and being a half-elf, the odds were against her. Then her father uproots the family, and they move to the plains of Prathae to live among her mother’s people. The humans. Ayianna hopes, with her brother’s return, she can convince her family to move back to Zurial, but then her parents betroth her to a man she barely knows.

If you have read Indestructible, then you get a glimpse into who her father is and what secret her family has been keeping from her. 

Liam. Ayianna’s world turns upside, but despite the chaos around her, she has Liam. When her family first moved to the plains, her brother left for Dagmar to help in the construction of the new bell tower, but before he went, he gave Ayianna a gift. A wolf pup. And ever since, Liam has been at Ayianna’s side. Although, the wolf likes to wander, she knows where home is, but as things become less certain and the times more desperate, Liam determines not to wander too far from Ayianna again.

  

Kael. A son of an elven lord, he seeks to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a lord of the elven council in Zurial, and to do that, he must complete his rydazi. A type of rite of passage elves must fulfil, which involves service to the crown and their family. He married young and moved to Dagmar shortly after the birth of his son to finish his rydazi. On a return trip to Zurial to put his father’s affairs in order, tragedy struck. Sailing with his family and friends, pirates attacked their small ship, sinking it. Kael managed to save his son, but lost his wife to a watery grave. Burying his grief in his studies and duties, he returned to Dagmar with the aid of his sister and a greater determination to finish what he started. But now, as his rydazi comes to a close, the High Guardian asks him to join the Guardian Circle. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes again, but this time Kael throws himself into saving the world or die trying.

 

The Novel

 With a curse, she will build an army.

With the dagger, she will undo the last sacrifice.
But first the sorceress must find the secret keeper.

Torn from her homeland and thrust into a betrothal against her wishes, Ayianna learns her family has a deadly secret that now has her on the run. She joins forces with Kael, an embittered half-elf, and Saeed, an elderly High Guardian, to seek answers to her father’s death, the destruction of Dagmar, and the plains people’s bizarre behavior.

Ayianna discovers there is more at stake here than just her mother’s disappearance and her familial duty to her betrothed. The sorceress has cursed the plains people, and it is a race against time to release them before the sorceress resurrects an ancient evil.

Find it at Amazon and Goodsreads.

 Welcome to the World of Nälu!

The Tales.

Can a desert princess find love with a foreign king?

Johari lives in the shadow of her beautiful sister until a foreign king notices her, but in her haste to prove herself worthy of affection she finds herself compromised and on a difficult journey to make things right.

Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Goodsread

What if all you knew had been a lie?

The teaching of the Guardians has guided Semine's footsteps since her infancy. When her mentor shows up with information contrary to what she's been taught, she doubts her decision to follow in their footsteps. She must decide if there is life beyond what she has always known or embrace a new, mysterious path and reject the Guardians' legacy.

Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords

To what lengths would you go to save the world?

Elothryn keeps the darkest secret of Nälu: The cursed dagger of Raemoja. A weapon powerful enough to release the greatest evil from the underworld. For generations, his family has lived without incident until now. The hunters have his scent and will stop at nothing to reclaim the dagger. Elothryn and his son flee, seeking help, but will they find it?

Find it on Amazon and Smashwords

Coming soon: All three Tales of Nälu in paperback!

 

Author Picture & Bio

Writing as J. L. Mbewe, Jennette is an author, artist, mother, wife, but not always in that order. Born and raised in Minnesota, she now braves the heat of Texas, but pines for the Northern Lights and the lakes of home every autumn. She loves trying to capture the abstract and make it concrete. She has two short stories published in The Clockwork Dragon anthology, and is busily creating worlds inhabited by all sorts of fantasy creatures and characters, all questing about and discovering true love amid lots of peril. Her debut novel Secrets Kept and her short stories set in the world of Nälu: Desert Rose, Dragon Thief, and Indestructible are now available. She is currently living her second childhood with a wonderful husband and two precious children who don’t seem to mind her eclectic collections of rocks, shells, and books, among other things. For more information about her journey as a writer mama and all things creative please visit her at http://www.jlmbewe.com/

Social Media

Connect with Jennette!

Website/Blog

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Google+ (But I’m still learning the ropes here!)

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Continue With The Tour!

 

October 16^th

J. L. Mbewe: Release Day Kick-Off

The Writer’s Window: Meet the Characters Part 1

Sitting on the Porch with Lynn: Interview

In Darkness, There is Light: Excerpt

October 17^th

The Wonderings of One Person: Meet the Villains

Lightly Salted: Guest Post

Aaron DeMott: Excerpt

Writing without Compromise, Clare Davidson: Top Ten favorite YA novels

October 18^th

J. L. Mbewe: Top Secret Project Reveal

Anne Elisabeth Stengl: Meet the Characters part 2

Emerald Barnes’ Dreaming Awake Blog: Interview

Pauline Creeden: Dream Cast

Sheila Hollinghead’s Rise, Write, Shine: Review of Dragon Thief

Exciting Upcoming Releases!

The future is full of things to look forward to. In fact, there are more things to look forward to than I can name. But here are some things that I'm eagerly anticipating!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is releasing December 13th. SQUEEE! I'm so excited! Whether Peter Jackson is sticking to the children's book or not, he is at the very least, creating an exiting fantasy adventure to join in. And to the delight of my elf-loving heart, it looks like there's going to be a LOT of elf action in this movie.

An absolutely awesome poster of some absolutely awesome elves.

 Yes, yes, I know. Along with probably every other Tolkien fan, I rebelled against the idea of Tauriel. I still don't entirely approve, but I've resigned myself to her addition. To be honest, now that I'm resigned, I'm actually looking forward to her. So Peter Jackson created a fan fiction character to help the movies along. All right. As long as he doesn't go against the spirit and quality of the books, I'm willing to see what he comes up with.

Here's the link to the oh-so-exciting trailer 2!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=186079584912410

And I can't wait for the upcoming Disney fairytale remake of the Snow Queen--Frozen!
http://movies.disney.com/frozen/video/trailers/

Also, Jill Stengl, the mother of my very favorite author, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, is returning to writing novels! Her first novel in several years is going to be releasing this November! And from what I hear, it's going to be her best one yet! She's certainly picked a dramatic time...the French Revolution. Yikes! Here's an article she wrote about writing this novel that I found interesting.

What about you, oh readers of mine? Are there some things you're especially looking forward to in the near future?

Book Review: Secrets Kept

With a curse, she will build an army.
With the dagger, she will undo the last sacrifice.
But first the sorceress must find the secret keeper.

Torn from her homeland and thrust into a betrothal against her wishes, Ayianna learns her family has a deadly secret that now has her on the run. She joins forces with Kael, an embittered half-elf, and Saeed, an elderly High Guardian, to seek answers to her father’s death, the destruction of Dagmar, and the plains people’s bizarre behavior.

Ayianna discovers there is more at stake here than just her mother’s disappearance and her familial duty to her betrothed. The sorceress has cursed the plains people, and it is a race against time to release them before the sorceress resurrects an ancient evil.

 I was delighted to receive an advance copy of Jennette Mbewe's first novel in The Hidden Dagger Trilogy. Since Jennette is a fellow Goldstone Wood Imp and has been very encouraging to me on my own stories, I was quite curious to read her work. I was not disappointed. :)

Secrets Kept is an exciting tale of a half-elven girl trying to figure out her place in a society where she lives a lie. When disaster falls, she finds herself caught up in an adventure with people she fears to trust.

Ayianna is a girl easy to sympathize with. Her confusion, grief, and frustration is quite understandable, and though she makes some decisions and opinions that readers will shake their heads at, readers must remember they are not under her pressure. She feels duty to her betrothed, Desmond, but she's unsure if she can love him, much less trust him with her terrible secrets. Then there's that aggravating half-elf Kael who always seems to be there to help her, though he acts like it's the most annoying duty in the world...

My favorite character of this book? Kael, hands down, no doubt about it. Pretty much any scene with Kael is sure to be interesting, and if it's a scene where Kael and Desmond are clashing, so much the better, heh, heh. He's a rather dark, mysterious character, but he has a noble heart and dry wit. Some of the banter exchanged between him and Ayianna is genius.

This was quite an adventure story. Characters cover a lot of ground and enter many realms. The world abounds with characters and creatures such as elves, dryads, faeries, harpies, and feline shape-shifters. I admit, I did have trouble keeping up at some points. Sometimes, I felt the plot was a little rushed, random, or unclear, but I'm such a fast reader, I could have missed some important details. By the end of the book, the plot is well established again, and an exciting new quest is ready to launch in the next book. The ending will make readers groan and want to pick up the next book to find out how such a terrible problem will be resolved.

Ayianna is not the only one keeping secrets. Kael hides his own past and feelings close to him, afraid to love again. And Desmond has a secret or two of his own...

Violence Content: There is a descriptive scene of the aftermath of a massacre. The description of the dead bodies is rather grisly, and the squeamish of stomach might want to skip over it. There's also a good deal of combat. Decapitation is the popular method of choice.

Sexual Content: Characters kiss. Not exactly the ones you want to be kissing either. An evil sorceress obviously leads a promiscuous lifestyle (though it is not seen) and is flirtatious with fellow villains.

Language Content: None.

Spiritual Content: The world of Nalu has a wide assortment of gods, some false, some true. Keeping track of which ones are which can be a bit of a challenge at times. The Shadow God, who seems to be the greatest, has several different names, which can also be confusing. There's also the evil forces as well, such as an evil spiritual being who is locked in the underworld and is working havoc through her servants on earth. Those in service to the Higher Powers of Nalu can carry such power as casting spells or curses.

Because of the violence and suggestive content concerning villains, I probably would say this book is appropriate for readers starting at 16. Individuals may feel comfortable with it younger or older.

I really enjoyed the story! Those who love The Dragonkeeper Chronicles or Books of the Infinite, or who are just looking for a fun new fantasy adventure will find much to love in Jennette Mbewe's debut novel, Secrets Kept!

Movie Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Recently, I've been watching some of the classic animated movies that I missed during my childhood. There were some very good reasons why I didn't watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a child. But how did I feel about watching it as a young adult?

Absolutely floored.

With a dramatic prologue, I was plunged into one of Disney's most complicated animated masterpieces! Quasimodo has been locked up in the bell towers of Notre Dame all his life, and though his flight for freedom turns into a disaster, he finds an unexpected friend in another social misfit, the gypsy dancer Esmerelda.

Meanwhile, Judge Frollo seeks to purge the world of sin, ignoring the terrible condition of his own soul. 

This was no simple story. The cruelty of humankind is revealed in some people's treatment of Quasimodo, but mercy and love shines from others. Persecuted for many years, the gypsies are quite willing to return the same treatment on their enemies. Esmerelda is a street dancer, but she seems to wish for another way to survive. Her heart to help others is truly touching. But Quasi isn't the only one who falls for her. Captain Pheobus, lately returned from war, also notices her beauty and courage. And as if things weren't complicated enough, the evil Frollo simultaneously burns with lust for her and the desire to destroy her and all gypsies.

The music in this film is stunning. The opening and closing songs gave me chills. In another beautiful scene, Esmerelda sings a song to God, which while not entirely accurate, still shows an honest desire to know Him better.

The characters were incredibly well-developed. Though I adore Quasi and Esmerelda, Captain Pheobus became my favorite. Quite honestly, he left the Disney princes behind in the dust.

And I found so many Rapunzal vibes throughout this movie. Someone locked up in a tower because of a lie... As if that wasn't enough, Maximus from Tangled wasn't the first animated horse to take orders like a dog. Ha! Pheobus's horse, Achilles, doesn't show up often, but is awesome. And in one brief scene, Pheobus tells him, "Achilles, heel." I didn't even get it until my mom started laughing.

For those of you who have watched this movie and have read the Goldstone Wood books, didn't Esmerelda's goat remind you of Beana? Hee, hee, hee.

While this movie definitely was not for kids with the villain's raging lust and a surprising amount of casualties, I was simply delighted to discover this magnificent story. I don't understand why I've barely heard anything about this movie, because it topped so many of the Disney classics in so many ways. Was it just me who hadn't watched this movie or did you not know much about it either?

If you haven't watched it yet, I strongly recommend it! :) Who is the Monster and who is the Man?