by Sarah | Jul 5, 2014 | Books, Challenge, Masked Hearts, WeWriWa, Writing
Welcome back to the Weekend Writing Warriors!
Last week got away from me and I totally missed seeing you all. However, I’m back with my travelling wild west show story, Masked Hearts.
For those that were wondering from my post two weeks back…the horse was moving at a VERY slow walk…I’m not about to have my heroine leap off a trotting horse, that’s just silly.
Now, back to this week. Roy’s persistence has paid off, and he has managed to make Minni speak to him, although she still carries a lot of anger. He begs her to tell him what tribe she is from. She finally relents, but names the tribe in her language:
“Newe,” she kept stitching.
“Newe; the people,” he whispered.
A small yelp escaped as a drop of blood appeared on her thumb before she shoved it in her mouth. With wide eyes, she stared at him.
With a gentle touch he pulled out her thumb, “What?”
“How did you know that?”
“I don’t know. I think…I think I remembered it.”
*Creative editing used this week to fit in the 8.
*~*
If you want more of these wonderful two…pick up a copy!
| Amazon | SCP | BN | ARe |
Minnie Woodward lives a lie. After barely surviving the Bear River Massacre she’s lived in the white world of her guardian Mister Rawlins, her life debt keeping her tied there. The last thing she needs is Roy’s attempts to gain her favor. Her fate’s sealed. She’s never believed in hope, and not even Roy can make her start.
Roy Ornum saves Minnie every night in the traveling Wild West show. The job he took to break his gambling habit brought him a new addiction – her. He knows she doesn’t want to be rescued, but maybe he does. She’s the key to a past he lost, one he wants to find again.
As the two grow closer old wounds are reopened and their burgeoning trust is shattered. When lives hang in the balance of their choices they’ll need to work together. Otherwise everything will be lost before hope can be found.
*~*
Head back on over to the Weekend Writing Warriors to read many more wonderful offerings!
by Sarah | Jul 2, 2014 | Books, Curiosity Quills, Reviews, Writing
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Four and a Half Stars
Publication Date: July 15, 2014 – Buy Links Coming Soon
*~*
Truth be told, when I first started reading, I didn’t think I would like the book. In the first few chapters, my attention wandered.
Then, BAM. I was hooked and couldn’t put the story down until I’d finished.
Emma is your average college student, a sort of awkward wallflower who started pretending she didn’t hear or see ghosts at a young age. The separation she felt from the rest of society because of a childhood event carried into her young adulthood. She’s shy and withdrawn and feels out of place with the friends her roommate hangs out with.
She’s dragged along to a frat party where she meets and gets a crush on a hot guy on campus, Matt. After a few more meetings disaster strikes, and Matt drowns in the river. Emma is blamed for his death by many on campus, including herself.
Overcome with guilt, Emma tries a spell, but fails to fulfill her end of it, and that’s when things get interesting.
We meet several new characters from that point on, and I fell in love with every single one of them. Sam was great, and Jake? Well, I fell in love with Jake right along with Emma as he proved to be more than he seemed at first. I was SO sad to see him go. The arrival of three men after that, took the take.
Added in the mix was a nosy cop that seemed to know too much…but Officer Walker became one of my favorite characters and I’m glad he’ll definitely be back in book 2.
I truly enjoyed watching Emma come into her own, grow a spine, and eventually figure out the answers she’d sought. The peace she, and the spirits she brought back, found was a welcome relief.
Overall, this was a great setup for a series, and I’m looking forward to book 2. I have a feeling Emma and Officer Walker are going to get into a whole new mess of trouble that’ll be fun to see resolved once again.
by Sarah | Jul 2, 2014 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Crap, Personal, Pour Your Heart Out, Random, Redefining Perfect
I like to act like I have all the answers.
It’s better to be in the know.
But I’m a fake.
There’s so many minutes of every day that I’m lost.
I don’t know how to handle all of the things life has thrown at me lately. Sometimes the littlest thing sets me off in a tizzy and I’m gone for hours.
My mind eventually catches up to my panic and eases my internal panic, but in the interim I’m lost.
The past month has been overwhelming in a seemingly never-ending stream of issue upon issue. Most of which I have no answers for, no way to resolve in the real world in any matter of real time.
99% of the time I do my best not to show it (this past month has been an exception).
I’m a great actress in this respect. I’m great at the “fake it ’til you make it”.
When all I want to do is cry.
Scream.
Hide.
Crawl into a dark hole until the worst passes.
I wish I had all the answers. I work better with facts. Knowledge. They say knowledge is power, and in most ways it’s true. Unfortunately, too many of the current events are great unknowns.
What will happen with my dad’s Parkinson’s?
Will my sons CF issues crop up again this year?
Will my daughter’s erupt in a way they haven’t in years?
Did we make a mistake putting the middle on meds?
Will SSI resolve fast or do I have more fight ahead?
Will my new (old) job really help us out? Or hinder us in some way?
Too many questions and not enough answers.
If I could get some solid answers, maybe I’d be better off.
Until then, I’ll keep faking it until I make it, I guess.
*~*
Written for Things I can’t Say’s Pour Your Heart Out
by Sarah | Jul 1, 2014 | All About Home, All About Me, All of Us, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
Just over five years ago we gave up cable. Then, after a year I caved and got it again, only to cancel it again after our discount rate went away.
We sure don’t miss the cost, but there are a few things I miss .
With regular stations, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, we have plenty to watch and shows to catch up on, and other shows we can catch after a year, but some things just aren’t the same.
- DVR. There are so many times I simply forget a show is on, or something comes up and I’m not at the TV when it comes on. Worse, some shows (Hell, SYTYCD) just don’t let me catch it online “next day”. I miss the convenience of in-box DVR.
- Ghost Hunters. Inarguably the one show I miss. It’s also the one that SyFy refuses to stream in any way.
- The Dead Files. Another favorite. (Are we sensing a theme here?)
- My Ghost Story. (Seriously, I need help.)
- Nick at Night. It’s showing MY old favorites now…good shows, great reruns.
- Hell on Wheels. Yes it’s on Netflix, but first run is better.
- American Pickers. Yeah.
- Nat Geo. ‘Nuff said.
- FX.
- 100’s of channels. Always something on. (this is both a blessing and a curse. Harder to turn off the TV and, oh, I dunno…WORK.)
In the end, life is better without cable. But some days I do get waxing poetic over the whole thing.
What about you? What is your favorite thing about having, or not having, cable as the case may be? If you don’t…what do you miss most from cable?
by Sarah | Jun 30, 2014 | Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Writing
To post this Grand Finale and add your Social Media to the Rafflecopter,
email us at PrismBookTours(at)gmail.com with “Valley of Decision” in the subject line.
A themed book tour through Prism Book Tours.
It’s the Grand Finale for
The Valley of Decision
by Shannon McDermott
“A solid fantasy that wears its spirituality lightly yet effectively.”
~Kirkus Reviews (read the entire review here)
We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about the characters and the story-book world of The Valley of Decision. Did you miss any of the stops? You can check them out below:
Colorimetry – The Mountains, the Moors, and the Hills
If you ever travel north beyond the Black Mountains, into the kingdom of Belenus, you will find yourself in a vast and varied land, a country of laws unwritten, unspoken, and scrupulously obeyed…
Katie’s Clean Book Collection – The Trow
Deep in the mountain Anuin, the smithies of the Trow house mighty fires. Those crimson flames imbue the stony heart of the mountain with heat, fill it with a pulsing red glow like living rubies.
Bookworm Lisa – The Fays
Belenus, the master of the North, does not often leave his glittering palace or his green hills. You are not likely, even if you roam his kingdom, to ever see him…
Distractions of Grandeur – Review
“The best story element involved the Fay, an elvish race who for once felt truly alien. She went beyond current stereotypes and really brought out the danger of these beings, even those one might count as allies. There were echoes of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, elevating the stakes and the narrative itself.”
Finding the True Fairy Tale – Interview
Which of the characters from The Valley of Decision was your favorite to write?
The main character, Keiran the Captain of the Hosts. To even attempt what he did, a person would have to be either very desperate or very confident of his own abilities. Keiran is the second, and he has an extreme self-assurance, and sometimes conceit, that I enjoyed using. He’s also bold, another fun characteristic for a writer to work with. And because he is a very able man, and has reason to be confident, his occasional conceit adds texture to his character and makes him more interesting.
I Love to Read and Review Books 🙂 – Ten Fun Things to Know About Shannon
(1) I was born in California but grew up on the East Coast.
(2) I have seven little sisters.
(3) I like sweet potatoes baked or boiled, with butter or with sugar, made into fries and made into pies. But I cannot stand them canned.
Wishful Endings – Dokrait and the Black Mountains
The Black Mountains are high and treacherous – so many sheer, soaring cliffs, so many monstrous boulders dangerously perched. Wolves teem on the mountains, spilling into the lowlands when the winters are long. Bears and the great cats prowl those hazardous slopes, too.
Kelly P’s Blog – Interview
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Pretty much. I was eight when I first decided (and declared) my ambition to write a book. Of course, it was years later when this desire to write took on the adult dimension of “This is what I want to do with my life, this is how I want to earn my living”.
Mythical Books – The Dochraitay
The Dochraitay possess the unhappy distinction of being the foremost servants of Belenus. They fight his campaigns against Alamir and the Islemen, they grow the crops and hunt the animals eaten by the Fays, they give up their children for the mines and the army and the palace of Muireach.
Brooke Blogs – Interview
2) What is your favorite part of the writing process?
When I take my scenes, written longhand in my notebook, and transcribe them into the computer, revising and polishing as I go. It’s easier than the initial writing, and I finish with a feeling of satisfaction. The scene is done! Until my editor gets her hands on it, anyway.
Coffee Books & Art – Interview
How did you come up with the title? Names?
The title comes from a Bible verse found in the Book of Joel: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!” For the names, I established this pattern: of Gaelic origin, unusual enough that the names would not be common in our own world, but not too unusual. I avoided names like Ruairidh because it just looks too foreign. Who would care to guess how to pronounce it? So I ended with names like Torradan and Artek and Belenus – different, but easy enough.
Mel’s Shelves – Review
“There are lots of moving parts that came together in the end for a satisfying conclusion. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this, and I look forward to reading more from this author!”
The Wonderings of One Person – The Alamiri
Long ago, the Alamiri tribes came from the distant sunrise lands – climbing nameless mountains, fording forgotten rivers. Their wanderings ended here, among the forests south of the Black Mountains.
The Written Adventure – Interview
3) What gave you the idea for The Valley of Decision?
The Lord of the Rings, much as it pains me to admit it. In those books, Sauron had legions of human slaves whose only purpose in the story was to fight the good guys (and get beaten). It’s not that Tolkien was heartless in his use of these characters – remember Sam witnessing one of them being killed and sadly wondering what his name was and if he even wanted to fight – but I came to think how good it would have been if Sauron’s slaves had staged a revolt. Why should all the heroes come from the free nations fighting Sauron? Why not from the enslaved nations oppressed by him?
Mommynificent – Review
“The characters were definitely my favorite part of the book. I really enjoyed coming to understand the complexities of the three main characters, who interestingly are all male. I also really enjoyed the unfolding mystery of who the Fay are and why they are a part of this world.”
Deal Sharing Aunt – Interview
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
If there is one message in The Valley of Decision, it’s that we all have choices to make, and we can’t escape it. Not making the choice is itself a choice. My principal character, Keiran, faces the ultimate choice: Rebellion or obedience, God’s way or his? But all the characters have to choose, and their choices mean risk and sacrifice and (sometimes) reward – just as our choices do.
Platypire Reviews – Review
“Keiran, the Captain of the Hosts, was an interesting character. From the beginning of the book, I wasn’t quite sure what direction the story was going to go in, and I didn’t know what to think of him at first. As things were revealed and I got further in the story, I found myself rooting for him as a reader and enjoyed his character development.”
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – The Northmen
In the uttermost north, beyond even the kingdom of Belenus, icy mountain peaks look down on the Coldlands. The Coldlands are not on our maps, not even the borders. The Alamiri do not venture even to Belenus’ home, let alone past it. But rumors come to us – from foreigners, adventurers, and far-travelers, brave, reckless, wild men.
My Devotional Thoughts – The Hobgoblins
One more tale? All right, my love; just one.
Long ago, the great father Athair led the first Alamiri up into the Rhugarch Pass. They were men of his clan, relatives loyal and strong. When they scaled the mountain to the Rhugarch Gap, they stopped for the night.
The men settled down to their rest; the fire sank into embers; the watchman grew drowsy. And a soft, soft pattering murmured into the camp.
Christy’s Cozy Corners – Interview
What do you hope people take away from your books?
I hope that whenever someone finishes one of my books, they feel like they’ve been on a journey and it has ended well. Every story is about a character’s struggle for something, and I hope my readers will be able to feel that in my stories and be encouraged.
The Bookish Fairy – This or That
Chocolaty or fruity candy?
Chocolaty. Hands-down, 100%, all the time.
Get out of the house or stay at home?
Stay at home.
Winter or summer?
Can I pick spring or fall? I’ll go with summer.
The Valley of Decision
by Shannon McDermott
Adult Fantasy
Paperback, 416 pages
May 31st 2014 by SALT Christian Press
Where the Black Mountains pierce the sky, they divide the south from the north, Alamir from the kingdom of Belenus. Belenus, the undying master of the north, commanded Keiran – the Captain of the Hosts – to conquer Alamir. But the Captain is deep in conspiracy, and he has his own plans.
The Valley of Decision is a fantasy novel, a saga of slavery, freedom, and choices.
Amazon – SALT Christian Press
Shannon McDermott is a Christian author of speculative fiction, as well as a humorous detective series called “The Adventures of Christian Holmes”. She has written both fantasy and science fiction, and has yet to decide on which one to like better.
She was born to Wisconsin, expatriates in California, grew up on the East Coast, and now lives in the Midwest. Her principal hobbies are politics, history, novels, and coffee.
Website – Blog – Goodreads – Facebook
Tour-Wide Giveaway
– Grand Prize: $25 Amazon gift card and ebooks of The Valley of Decision and The Sunrise Windows (open INT)
– 2 print copies of The Valley of Decision (US only)
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