My newest novel is out now! The print version is available for purchase now, and the kindle version is available for pre-orders (will be released on Sept. 23, 2023)!
To purchase a copy of your very own, click the title:
Or, to share with everyone, use the Amazon widget below:
Even though this is a middle grade fantasy novel, readers of all ages will enjoy it! Tell everyone you know!
Happy reading today and every day!
Book 3 of my Magical Realms series is out now on amazon!
Happy reading and writing today and every day!
If I haven’t mentioned it lately, I have two books that are available on Amazon. As I’m getting closer to finishing book three, I just wanted to remind everyone that you need to read the first two before the third one is released.
The third book is going to be the ending of the series (for now). You don’t want to miss the epic conclusion!
If you are looking for adventure, my books are for you!
If you’re looking for mythical creatures and magical elements, my books are for you.
If you’re reading at a fifth grade level and up, my books are for you. (I wrote my first book at a level my daughter, who was 10 at the time, could read. Because of that, this series has inadvertently become a middle grade reader).
If you just want to see what I’m always carrying on about, my books are for you!
You get the idea…
Happy reading and writing today and every day!
Here are the links to my books, (you can even read a sample before you buy):
This point in the year is usually when I sit down and assess how my yearly goals are going. One of my goals this year, as you might have guessed, is to finish and publish novel #3 in my YA book series.
So how is it going?
It’s actually off to a great start. At this moment, I’m a little over 50,000 words into the story, and I’m not finished with the second part yet. If you’ve read my other two books, you may have noticed that both were broken into three parts. This book is also sectioned that way.
This story is also going to be the last part of this trilogy. I may come back and write more stories in this world later, but I think I’m going to work on a different project after this. (I’m also going to work on getting published the traditional way. Wish me luck).
I don’t plan to abandon Jamie and her friends forever, but I want to work on something I’ve been brewing for a while now. When I do return to Jamie’s friends, I’m thinking about writing a story from a different character’s point of view. I think the story of Zak and how he became a unicorn hunter at such a young age would be fun. I also want to write about what went down when the two worlds collided. And then there are the Sisters of Rising Magic. (So many options…).
Anyway… back to novel #3… I’m not quite 2/3 of the way done, and this one is tying up many stories and ending with something epic (no spoilers). That being said, this book will probably be a bit longer than the other two. I want to give Jamie and her friends an ending they deserve.
When I wrote the first two books, I wrote the first 2/3 of each book in about the same amount of time it took me to write the last third. Even though I always start my book knowing how I want it to end, I work carefully and slowly on the end to make sure it makes sense how it got there. For me, the last third needs to be solid.
With that in mind, I am rereading the first two thirds right now and making sure details connect the way I want them too, and then I will write the last bit. I’m very excited about the last third (no spoilers… but it’s gonna be good).
If you haven’t read them yet, there is definitely still time before book #3 comes out… Check them out by clicking the titles below:
Happy writing and reading today and every day!
I’m going to do something that I don’t do very often… review a book. I personally am not a fan of book reviews. They are either rave reviews or really hateful. You rarely find anything in between. So, as a reader and writer, I kind of ignore them. Additionally, I pretty much like something about every book I read. I rarely read something and want to give it less than three stars.
However, I’m going to review a book I recently finished. If you plan on reading A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer, don’t read any further; there will be spoilers.
The reason I want to review this book is because I’m hoping someone can help me find some clarity after reading it. I honestly don’t know (even though I read all 600+ pages of it) whether or not I like it or not. I find it odd that after reading that many pages I can’t decide. Parts of the book confuse me.
Because I’m not sure about my feelings for this particular tome, I’m going to ask a series of questions about the book and then proceed to immediately answer them.
Question 1: Why is this book in the YA lit section?
I read a fair amount of YA lit and I just don’t think this belongs there. I think that perhaps the publishers felt that because the main characters are teens, it should be YA lit. I can also see that it has an Alice in Wonderland meets Chronicles of Narnia on speed vibe, but that’s not enough for it to be in the YA lit section. I really believe that most YA readers would start this book and then not finish it because of the style (more about that later).
I say that it has vibes from other stories, and by that I mean that it is a story about parallel worlds and in those worlds animals talk. There is also a series of magical doors involved. That, however, is where the comparison ends.
If I were asked to categorize this book, I would put it with “Weird Tales.” I love weird tales btw. It’s one of my favorite type of stories to read.
Someone asked me what is a weird tale? My answer: you know it when you read it.
That’s how I felt when I read this book. It belongs with adult lit, and with the weird tales, wherever they are.
Question 2: Was he drinking?
I’m being completely serious. The reason I ask this is because almost all of the conversations between characters in this book are impossible to follow. It reminds me of being in a room with drunk people and you’re the only one sober. There are 10 conversations going on and no one is having the same one, but they are all talking to each other anyway.
At first I thought maybe the author was trying to be silly, but it continues throughout the whole book (did I mention it’s 600+ pages)?
The stilted conversations are not the only style choice that I struggled with. There were what felt like an unnecessary amount of puns and play on words. I’m not sure what the point of most of them were. All the double meanings and trick word play and weird conversations made whole sections of the novel very hard to follow.
I think most of what I find odd about this style is simply a choice the author made. Perhaps it makes more sense if you drink while you read it? (Again, should not be in the YA lit section if it requires alcohol to understand).
Question 3: Why are there so many characters?
This is not the first author to include an astronomical number of characters (anyone heard of Charles Dickens), but some of the characters didn’t even appear until page 500 or so. Additionally, because the author likes puns, some of the characters have nick names given to them by other characters.
And then what felt like randomly a character we hadn’t heard from in 100+ pages would show up again. IDK but sometimes I felt like I was falling into a rabbit hole. And other times I started to wonder if maybe there were pages from a different book accidentally printed with mine…
Conclusion
Further investigation is needed. I have added another VanderMeer book to my TBR list because I am curious if this is his style or if this was something new for him. I am going to figure this out.
Plus, despite the length of this book, the story isn’t finished and if the next part is published, I will be reading it. I have to know where all this nonsense was going.
Ultimately, I did find the plot engaging. It’s about parallel worlds, and big baddies versus inept teenagers. There are also lots of spies and wars going on. Distilled down to it’s essential plot, it’s a great story, and I really do want to know where it’s going.
Anyway, that’s enough from me….
Happy reading and writing today!
IT’S TIME!!!
BOOK 2 OF THE MAGICAL REALMS ADVENTURES IS OUT NOW ON AMAZON!
CHECK IT OUT NOW.
TELL EVERYONE!
HAPPY READING AND WRITING EVERYONE! GET EXCITED!
If you haven’t read it yet, my first book Unicorns Are Really Vampires is on sale this week. The e-book is only 99 cents!
Read it now before book two comes out!
Happy reading and writing!
For those of you who read the first book… book two is almost done… it’s time for the big title reveal!
Black Market Unicorns will be available soon in paperback, e-book, and on Kindle unlimited!
Tell your friends!
Happy reading and writing everyone!
If you haven’t heard, my first book is out now on Amazon!
Reasons to read my book:
If that doesn’t convince you, please read the preview below, and as always, happy reading and writing today and every day!
My book is available for purchase on Amazon. The print edition is out now, and the kindle edition is available for pre-order now. (Will release on Christmas Eve).
Thank you to everyone who has already purchased a copy!!!!
If you aren’t a big reader of fantasy, please share with someone who is. My book is appropriate for middle school and up.
If you read it and like it, please leave me a review on Amazon or on goodreads.
Happy reading and writing this month!!!
Still Working on My Novel 