What is Kickstarter?

You’ve heard of gofundme. Think of Kickstarter as a gofundme with perks! The gaming community has used Kickstarter for years. The indie-published book industry has just recently hopped on board.

This crowdunding option, enables the reader to have direct access to the author. The messsage feature works well, and many times the author has the reader interact with them through polls.

Since Kickstarter has been around for years, they’ve figured out the ins and outs of how to vet projects, provide secure payment options, etc.

How Kickstarter works

The project will be live for 23 days. During that time, you have the opportunity of pledging and encouraging your friends to pledge and back the project. If it funds, and only if it funds, you’ll pay what you pledged and get your rewards.

Reward tiers allow you to choose how much you wish to receive and how much you wish to support a project.

If the project funds early, then stretch goals are implemented–these are things that brings more value to your product and the project. For books, it’s often character art, maps, special art to include in the book, bookmarks, stickers, deleted scenes, extra short stories, etc. The more people who back, the higher the project goes and the more perks everyone gets!

When the project ends, late pledges can be in effect. (I’ve set mine to last until I make a final order of books.) This means there will still be people who can get the perks, even if they were late to the party.

A week after the project ends, Kickstarter uses Stripe to charge your credit card. Then if your card has changed since you pledged, Kickstarter, and often the author, will reach out to get that fixed. I just supported one Kickstarter where those errored cards made the difference in what art we would receive in our books! I was so excited to hear it got figured out and everyone still was able to have that stretch goal.

Kristjan’s Rise as a Kickstarter

I learned a lot from Bonded Crowns as a Kickstarter, and that helps you out.

You’ll be choosing from several options.

The first level is “back because you want to”–you can add some extra change to support it without receiving anything or add more to your pledge because you believe in it.

Then there are ebook options–from Uprooted to Kristjan’s Rise months before it’ll be available on outlets.

Physical product: Every physical product comes with an ebook as well. You’ll have your choice of paperback or hardback or sparkly hardback. Let me explain.

Both paperback and hardback will come with chapter art headings. These look really nice in the proof paperback I’ve received. There are two different images–one for Geirfinnur (the dad) and one for Kristjan’s point of view.

In hardback, you’ll have two choices–regular and shiny sparkly. The regular one has a dust jacket with the cover on it, and on the book, just Kristjan and his thinking spot.

The Sparkly Hardback special edition:

Let’s work our way from the outside in. There is a gold-foiled dust jacket–the title and author name in gold foil. When you turn the book to the side, you’ll see the gold-colored sprayed edges. When you open it, you’ll see leather-look endpages. If you take off the dust jacket, you’ll understand why the endpages are leather-like. This cover is as if you’re opening a leather tome like Kristjan would have in the library. There is gold foil on the metal corner pieces. And then each chapter has the art.

Stretch Goals

Once we reach our goal of $500 pledged, we’ll be working toward art that will be placed in each book. There are a lot of art-worthy scenes in this story, and Moonpix Art is already working on pieces for the game that will go along with Kristjan’s Rise.

This scene is of the original founders of Storeheltur.

Besides art, there are many deleted scenes. My editor was even sad to see these go! So, I’ll be offering those up.

There are also songs in the story and as those who followed Bonded Crowns knows songs can be fun to have digitally, but can also take a long time to produce. This time, I already have the songs composed and written down for musicians to play. I’ve spoken with a harpist and she has access to two different studios and has recorded before.

So as you can see, these books, besides being available months before the rest of the world gets access, have the potential to be unique and an interactive experience.

Now What?

How do you get your own special edition? Hop over to the Kickstarter and click follow (or make a pledge) depending on when you see this. It will only be available from May 13-June 5. A few tiers will be available after that.

Did you hear about the game? I’ll have more information later about that, but think Settlers of Catan meets Ticket to Ride meets Arkham. You’ll become one of the Ancients, the original settlers of Storeheltur, and help them create Storeheltur in under 30 days. Each round is one day, so the clock is ticking.

In the meantime, follow the kickstarter to get in on the special edition. It won’t be availble until November otherwise, and the sparkly hardback won’t be availble until next year sometime! And then only on my website.

What’s all the hype about?

Four sovereigns.
Two dragons.
One kingdom.

Peace evades them, but through it all, they’ll fight for family and their place in the history of Muintir—or die trying.

The first six books follow an 18-year-old stablehand who’s better with horses than he is with people. When a magnificent stallion walks through the barn doors, he’s in love, but when the soldier who owns the horse gives money to the innkeeper the next morning, Hest thinks he’s been sold as a slave. As he manuevers the ins and outs of court intrigue and tries not to anger a princess, he discovers the family he’s longed for and a place to call home, but when he rescues a baby dragon, suddenly, he’s destined to be the next king of Muintir!

As Hest learns what it’s like to be dragon rider, king, husband, and father, his own insecurities come to the fore, and his decisions are often made from emotions not what he truly values. Follow his story, his wife’s story, and their daughter’s in the first six books.

Books 7 and 8 are the story of the original dragon king of Muintir–Shawnahur. Shawn’s a simple herder who longs to be more–to do more. When he helps a wounded dragon, he gains the popularity he’s after, but it comes at a price. Soon he’s running for his life from the enemy on the battlefield but also from his own king and faither-in-law!

Reviews

I’m going to step into trouble, and immediately admit that the cover is not my thing, which made me hesitant to pick this one up (Yep, I’m superficial like that). Gosh, I’m glad I took a peek anyway because this is really an amazing read. ~Tonja from Goodreads

The world is well-developed and rich, and even the supporting characters have quite a bit of depth. ~Lily The Fairie Review

It is easy to get pulled into the world. ~Kimberly from Goodreads

It had what I was looking for in the genre. ~Kat M from Goodreads

There is no doubt that this author is a master of world building. ~Sandra Stiles from Goodreads

Every character is masterfully developed, so much you could think you’d see one of them any day walking down the street… if you lived in Medieval times with dragons, that is. ~Priscila Gilbert from Goodreads

I loved this book and how the characters developed over time. It is full of action with a bit of romance. ~Jaimie The Fantasy Princess

WOW, this story deserves more than the 5 stars that I gave it.  I LOVED it and I thought it was the best one of the series! ~Jamie The Fantasy Princess about book 8.

Learn more

You can read chapters from each book, check out info, etc on the series page.

Where to find it?

The best place is to purchase directly from the author. This supports a small business and takes out the middle-man. It also benefits you! That’s right. If you purchase from me, you get autographed books, and this series comes as a bundled boxed set–complete with box–and the spines will create an image when they’re all collected and put in order. But I understand that retailers have their place as well, so you have that option as well.

Cover Reveal celebration

To celebrate the cover reveal, you can pre-order Determined for only 99 cents! That’s this week only, so be sure to snag your copy.

If you haven’t started yet, you can start with book 1, Uprooted, for only 99 cents. The rest of the series is on sale for 30% off.

I also wrote an interview for The Fantasy Princess. It features Hest, Sydur, and Kyeth along with some Easter eggs, so you’ll want to bookmark it and return to it after reading Determined as well as Resolved and Divided.

What It’s About

What’s all the hype? Four Stars over Ardatz: Sovereigns is a coming-of-age epic fantasy set in a world where one side of the planet is always in night and the other side is always in sun.

18-year-old Hest lives on the dark side of the planet, and gets along with horses better than people. When a magnificent stallion walks into his stables, and the horse’s owner hands the innkeeper coins, Hest assumes he’s been sold into slavery.

It’s not until he’s traveled to the capital that Hest discovers he’s been taken on as squire to Captain of the Royal Guard of the neighboring kingdom.

If that’s not enough, he frees a baby dragon and sets into motion events that are beyond his small town heritage.

The first trilogy follows Hest as he learns to deal with castle intrigue, relationships, and his bond with the dragon. The second trilogy, beginning with Determined, focuses on Siobhan and then their daughter.

Blurb

When your nightmares waken, where do you find rest?

Eighteen-year-old Siobhan had lived a sheltered life until the Navwood attacked and a dragon bonded with her betrothed. Living with the remnant terrors of two abductions has left its mark, and that cut is getting deeper as she tries to adapt to life as a queen, a wife, and a mother.

Her husband is more interested in spending time with his dragon than being with her—or fulfilling his duties as king. Siobhan’s jealousy over their bond feeds her fear of the draconic features that come and go with his emotions, and the dragon’s silver around his eyes is a constant reminder that he’s not wholly hers—or ever will be.

But when the Navwood send a kidnapper to steal their daughter, Hest marches to battle, leaving his family under the protection of a palace guard. Unfortunately, the dangers of war are closer to home than either of them realized, and to save herself and her family, Siobhan will have to find new courage in the face of a waking nightmare.

When Hest returns, it’ll take all her strength to face the pressures from the court—let alone the changes war has wrought on her husband. Can their own bond survive both the pressures of a kingdom and the fears they both carry?

Cover

Nyssa Glass Series

H. L. Burke has a wonderful, whimsical way of telling a story. Her Nyssa Glass series is a steampunk fantasy that introduces you to a young girl whose former life involved pick-pocketing and cat-burglering. Her safe and secure life changes, however, when she finds her employer murdered and she’s accused of his death. Nyssa is blackmailed into entering a deserted mansion and getting company secrets. Along the way, she meets a unique computer and tries to escape robots and other attempts on her life.

I loved the first book but haven’t made it to the rest of the series, yet. Each of the books in the series is on sale for 99 cents right now on amazon. There are five in the series and a prequel, which is free.

Beggar Magic

This past fall, Fellowship of Fantasy put on a cosplay contest. My youngest son entered as Kirito and The Black Butler, and he won the juvenile division. His prize was supposed to be paperback books, but when the authors discovered he loves audiobooks better, they offered him audio versions of their books. Beggar Magic was one of H. L. Burke’s that David received.

In my life as a mom, I’ve learned to listen when my kids come up to me and say, “Mom, you’ve got to read this book!” I discovered Cornelia Funke’s Dragonrider and Inkheart as well as the Pendragon series that way. Well, at dinner one night, David asked if I’d read Beggar Magic. I had to ask what it was. He then proceeded to tell me it was one of H. L. Burke’s books. His eyes lit up as he talked about a story. Now, in his fifteen-year-old mind, the story started out slowly, but then (and this is where his eyes lit up) things started happening and he couldn’t put it down.

In and of itself, that should be enough to say, go get this book! However, I’ll tell you more. In a world where people are divided between Highmost and Common, two girls one from either of the two classes become friends. As they move to their apprenticeships, they discover a sinister plan that will threaten their very friendship. It’s a fun-loving story of good and evil and trying to manuever through the two.

Dragon’s Curse

This weekend, I had the privilege of traveling four and half hours to a conference. So, on my way there, I listened to Beggar Magic, and on my way home, I listened to Dragon’s Curse, another H. L. Burke tale. I was impressed with the variety of stories this author has. Dragon’s Curse is a bit more grown up. A young girl heads out on her first assignment after the academy. However, Shannon finds she must tread carefully in the court of the new king. He seeks revenge on the dragon that killed his brother. When a dragon comes to live on the mountain outside the king’s castle, Shannon’s world is turned upside down.

This tale is almost a fairy tale, and as I looked it up to give you a link, I discovered it’s a series. That means I have to add three more books to my to-be-read list! Just when I thought I could cross three off, I’m adding three more.

Firethorn chronicles

At the beginning of the year, Fellowship of Fantasy started a book club. (If you want to join, just tell them I sent you.) Each month the group chooses a book to read and then we interact with the author and other readers. February introduced me to Lea Doue and this fairy tale series. I’d not really read a retelling of a fairy tale before I read The Firethorn Crown. I became ill and had to stay home from work one day which enabled me to read most of the first book of the series in one sitting.

The story gives an intriguing look into the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. We are introduced to the first princess as she’s preparing to choose a prince and take over the kingdom. As she runs from one eligible suitor, she and her sisters are pulled into a secret passage under the maze in their garden. To rescue her sisters from a curse, she returns to the secret realm.

I really enjoyed the story. Not only did it have intrigue and romance, it also held some underlying themes of redemption and temptation. Again, it’s book one in a series. I believe, we’ll be introduced to each of the princesses through different books and fairy tales. So, if that’s true, I have another eleven books added to my to-be-read list.

Dragon Friend

This month the book club is reading Dragon Friend by Marc Secchia. I was excited to sit down and read this book because it’s been in the “also bought” section of Dragon’s Future in Amazon. I haven’t finished the book, but I am definitely giving it a thumbs up!

Lia has been thrown overboard, left to try to fly on her own, befriended by a dragonet, and now’s trying to restore the rightful heir to the throne. That’s all within the first half of the book. When a book has dragons, adventure, and romance, and it’s clean for my kids as well, it’s a book to put on my recommend list. Again, it’s the first of a series. So, I have even more books to add to my reading list, but it’s more than worth it.

What books are you reading? Any good recommendations? Please share in the comments.

I’ve always found the idea of a “bride from the sea” deeply disturbing. You know that bit of myth—the sailor or fisherman sees a pretty lady splashing about and steals her little fur coat, and now she can’t return to the water. She’s in his power, so yay! He scores a wife. I’m not sure whose fantasy that is, but it sure isn’t mine. It sounds like slavery to me, and I’ve never liked stories that glamorize that kind of thing.

But those stories still abound in folk lore, and so I think about them. I think about them from the woman’s perspective, what it would be like to be married to a man who stole your freedom, your identity. And what if he wasn’t all that awful of a person—what if he was my worst nightmare? A relatively decent person who just doesn’t see the wrong in what they’re doing? Or sees it, and perhaps regrets it, but just lets that slip by because life is comfortable as is? I mean, you’ve got a wife and maybe a kid, and maybe you shouldn’t have done that thing, but it’s okay, really. We’re one happy family now, aren’t we?

Seekers is about one such family. It’s a story of things that shouldn’t have been done, and love that isn’t enough. It’s a story of unraveling. And, strangely enough, it’s also a story of learning to seek for what your heart most needs.

 Mini-Giveaway

 Today, I’m excited to share my fantasy novella, Sunbolt, with you! Here’s the blurb:

” width=”297″ height=”475″ />The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame.

When the League gets word that Blackflame intends to detain—and execute—a leading political family, Hitomi volunteers to help the family escape. But there are more secrets at play than Hitomi’s, and much worse fates than execution. When Hitomi finds herself captured along with her charges, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life.

Download your free copy today!

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. She has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. Until recently, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. To find out more about her writings, visit her website or sign up for her monthly author newsletter.

What it’s all about

Here be dragons … and selkies and griffins and maybe even a mermaid or two.

Twenty fantasy authors band together to bring you a collection of thrilling tales and magical monsters. Do you like to slay dragons? Or befriend them? Do you prefer to meet cephalopods as gigantic kraken or adorable tree octopuses?

Each story focuses around a fantastic creature from folklore or mythology, and they range from light and playful tales for the whole family to darker stories that may make you wish to leave the lights on. These stories carry the Fellowship of Fantasy seal of approval. While our monsters may be horrifying, you won’t stumble into graphic sex and constant swearing.

Perfect for the fantasy lover who can’t get enough of mythical beasts.

Available at these retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Scavenger Hunt Stops

Be sure to check out all the other stops to get all the clues to the giveaway and pick up special prizes along the way.

Kandi J. Wyatt

A. R. Silverberry

Bokerah Brumley

H. L. Burke

Lea Doué

Morgan Smith

Jessica L. Elliott

Caren Rich

Julie C. Gilbert

Nicole Zoltack

D. G. Driver

Intisar Khanani

Scavenger Hunt Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If I was still teaching Wednesday nights, I’d definitely pick up Annie Douglass Lima’s Hide it in Your Heart coloring book. Not only does it have memory verses and puzzles to help kids memorize the verses, it was designed for a specific school’s curriculum to help the kids learn the Bible verses. If that wasn’t enough, proceeds from sales will go to Christar.org to help translate the Bible for a specific people group in East Asia who do not yet have the Bible in their own language. (Being a language teacher, that pulls at my heartstring as well.)

So, where can you find this coloring book? It’s available on amazon, but here’s the deal. You pay $8.99 there. On createspace you can use coupon code JZBVVBH8 and get 15% off! You’ll be helping a good cause and have fun coloring and doing puzzles that will help you hide God’s word in your heart.

Blurb: 

More than just a coloring book, this inspirational activity book will help you relax, unwind, and enjoy some creative fun while hiding God’s Word in your heart.

The 35 separate verses and passages are printed in colorable word art with decorative borders, blank on the back to make them easier to remove and frame or display, if desired. Each one is accompanied by two different activities or puzzles featuring the verse or key words from it.

Hide it in Your Heart is an ideal Scripture memorization aid for Christian schools, homeschool programs, Sunday schools, or your own personal use. Children and adults will enjoy learning, practicing, and meditating on these artistically presented verses from the New International Version Bible.

About the Author:

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published thirteen books (two YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, five anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Scripture coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

Connect with the Author:

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Blog: http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/princeofalasia

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGoodreads

Google+: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGooglePlus

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnieDouglassLima

LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnLinkedIn

Sign up for author updates and receive a free ebook of “interviews” with characters from her fantasy series: http://bit.ly/LimaUpdates

Old Favorites

The Godsland series by Brian Rathbone

I’ve featured this series before. It’s well worth the read. A clean, epic fantasy which often is hard to find. The story of Catlin is just a normal farm girl who must go to school in town and endure the bullies; that is until the bullies decide to pick on her friend. When she wakes up, she finds she’s won the fight and majorly wounded the bully. This catalyst sets her and her friends on a journey to save their homeland from an even bigger threat. You can get the first book free on Brian Rathbone’s website. The series is good for everyone from 8 to 108. You may have to read it to an eight-year-old, though.

Saga of Recluce series by L. E. Modesitt, Jr

With fall coming, I’m often drawn to Recluce where white or chaos and black or order magicians clash and where food is abundant and mouthwatering. The world of Recluce sends out potential mages who can’t abide by the rulers into Gandar to find their way. Each story builds the world history. Each character is unforgettable and multifacetted. And did I say food? Yes, the descriptions of burhka a spicy meat dish served with piping hot bread or the cheese, wine, sausage, and bread platters make me want to bake bread and sit beside a fire and enjoy it. The series is for older readers teenage and above.

New Books

The Beat on Ruby’s Street by Jenna Zark

I may have mentioned this book before, but it’s still fairly new. It has been republished since June. I’m currently reading it to my 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts class. The kids are loving it, even though we only get a page or two a day.

Ruby’s an outgoing, young teen that just wants to go meet the famous poet who’ll perform at The Scene. However, Tatoo Tina messes up those plans when she accusses Ruby of stealing some fruit from the cart outside the store. When children’s services step into the scene, Ruby’s life is turned upside down. Her courage and ingenuity earn her friends and give young readers someone to look up to. Adults will enjoy learning about or reliving the Beat Generation all in a fun story with depth that will stir the heart to tears. You can learn more about it on Jenna Zark’s website.

Dragon’s Cure by Kandi J Wyatt

I usually don’t add my own books to these lists, but if this is a list of books I’m reading or have read, then Dragon’s Cure needs to be on it. I read Dragon’s Cure repeatedly this summer as it went through editing and then proofreading. Yes, it’s book 4 of the series, but my proofreader was introduced to the series via this book and had no problem reading it without having read the others.

This is a book that is a little darker and tells a story of the emotional struggle to survive abuse. Serena’s decisions in trying to stay in control lead her from bad to safe to okay to worse than bad. It’s a cautionary tale for ages twelve and up.

New on October 10

Tyrants and Traitors by Joshua McHenry Miller

This book is a great read. It won’t be completely available until October 10, but that’s less than a month away. In the meantime, you can read the first chapter on the author’s website.

If you’re looking for the traditional Sunday School story of David the shepherd boy, this book isn’t for you. But, if you want a very believable spiritual struggle of a young teen thrust into a role he didn’t ask for, then go grab Tyrants and Traitors. To add to the mix, you’ll have laughs and a delightful story of shinanegans and tight spots. This is a read for the whole family.

After all the excitement of opening Dragon’s Future, the other books have received varying degrees of welcome. On Friday, I opened my fifth book from Createspace. Dragon’s Cure joined the Dragon Courage series. This reception was slightly different. First off, it was only one book. It was my proof book to okay publishing it on Amazon. Secondly, it came in the mail and my husband picked it up. All the others have gone to our mailing address and I’ve either opened them at my parents’ home or gathered them together and brought them home for opening with the video camera rolling. My husband crept up the stairs and showed me a box. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked as he snuck back downstairs. I bolted from chair and ran to get it. He proceeded to play keep-away from me with the boys! Once I finally was handed the box, I eagerly ripped it open. I examined the spine first. At a casual glance, I thought I was going to have to redo it. Then I realized it was just the shadow of the box. Next, I read through the back cover. Finally, I turned it over to the front. After admiring the cover, I opened it to make sure the table of contents matched and the page numbers were all there. Once satisfied it looked right, I handed it to my husband to review. With his vote of approval, I hit submit to amazon. The official release date is Tuesday, August 23. That’s when you’ll see more information about Dragon’s Cure and its party.

In the meantime, as a celebration, we’re having a sale all week long. Yes, you heard correctly. All the Dragon Courage books are on sale. Books 1-3 are available on Kindle for only 99 cents. That means you could pick them up, if you haven’t yet, and read them before purchasing Dragon’s Cure on Tuesday. Need to know more about them? Here you go:

Dragon’s Future, Book 1:

Find Dragon’s Future on Sale now.

Dragon’s Heir, Book 2:

You can find Dragon’s Heir on Sale all week.

Dragon’s Revenge, Book 3:

Dragon’s Revenge is on Sale now.

The One Who Sees Me:

I’m also teaming up with thirteen other Christian Fiction authors to offer you a wonderful sale. All of us will have our ebooks on sale for 99 cents this week only. So, check out the sale page here on my website and look into the wonderful books. They’re all great clean reads and will keep you coming back for more.

The One Who Sees Me is on sale this week.

How My Teen Years Inspired My Own Teen Series by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I grew up reading different teen series books about close-knit friends like in the Babysitters Club series, Sweet Valley High, etc. and I always wanted to be in that sort of group and have those friends who always had your back. So when I was in middle school, I created a story with a crew like that. Fast forward to college and a professor mentioned a quote about writing the book you want to read, and I thought back to that middle school idea. However, this time I decided to give the main character a realistic approach and have her feel like everyone around her has this, but soon she realizes no one has the perfect friends or the perfect life—no matter what books, magazines, and social media sites try to tell you with their happy, perky pictures.

My main character Landry Albright is a very loyal friend, maybe even too loyal at times. She doesn’t have the highest self-esteem, and she often backs down from arguing or standing up for herself for the sake of keeping the peace. She tries to keep other people from getting their feelings (or egos) hurt, and sometimes she hides her “light” a little bit because of that. She’s a definite “over-thinker” something she *may* have inherited from me. In the beginning, she only hangs around with her two best friends; and after they shut her out, she is forced to branch out and make new friends. She has to come out of her shell to try and meet people, and she often finds herself hiding her accomplishments to keep her friends from getting jealous. Landry assumes everyone else has it better than she does with their perfect lives and friendships. She begins to learn that isn’t the case and that everyone has their own insecurities and worries. There’s a part of the story where she tells Devon how she’s always wanted dark, curly hair like hers and felt that was the ideal, and Devon responds she always wanted hair like Landry’s. We always think the grass is greener on the other side, don’t we? As time goes on, she begins to learn what true friendship is and be a better friend herself.

The Landry’s True Colors Series deals with the friend drama, jealousy, insecurities that we’ve all dealt with as tweens/teens (and as adults, too!), but in a funny way through Landry’s eyes. We go through her dealing with frenemies, worrying about fitting in, and those modeling auditions that make her stress out (and hopefully make the reader laugh and cringe with her!). I hope people can enjoy the humor and feel a little less alone, realizing that everyone goes through periods of insecurity. I also hope the message that we each have something unique that makes us special comes through. I try to show that instead of trying to fit in, we should appreciate our differences.

Emerald’s book Entertaining Angels follows Chase and Madison through their senior year of high school. Madison struggles with self-worth and tries to diet to the point of harming herself. It’s a clean read that I’d recommend to anyone fourteen or older. She has a small novella Before We Say I Do, that retells the story from different characters’ points of view. It’s almost like the out-takes or never before seen footage of movies. Yesterday, the sequel to Entertaining Angels released. Delivered by Angels focuses on new characters while including the ones the reader has learned to love from Entertaining Angels.

Blurb:

Determined to escape her abusive father and drunken mother, Lexi Johnson turns to the blade to numb her pain, but it isn’t enough to end her misery. She’s convinced that not even God could save her now.

Roxy Taylor is the new girl in town, and Lexi doesn’t trust her, especially when she teams up with DJ Tucker to try and break down the barriers that Lexi has put in place.

Little does Lexi know, there are greater forces battling for her life, and as Lexi begins to open up to both Roxy and DJ, she’ll see that she isn’t alone in this world.

In the heart-pounding sequel to Entertaining Angels, everyone’s favorite angel, Zach Taylor, is back, and he’s there to make sure that Madison and Chase Sanders are on the path that God has chosen for them, a path that could deliver Lexi from the demons who want her soul.

Let’s see what Emerald has to say about Lexi.

What is your character’s name? Does she have a nickname?

Lexi Johnson, at times she’s called “Lex”.

What is your character’s hair color? Eye color?

Lexi has long, black hair, and her eyes are hazel in color.

Who are your character’s friends and family? Who does she surround herself with? Who are the people your character is closest to? Who does he wish he were closest to?

Unfortunately, my character doesn’t have many friends. She distances herself from people who even try to get close to her because of her family problems. She wishes she could make friends with DJ Tucker and Roxy Taylor, when they try, but she’s too scared to befriend them. She doesn’t want her secrets known.

Does she have a secret?

Lexi has a huge secret. She cuts herself to escape the pain of her abusive father and drunk mother.

When has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?

Yes, she has, but she didn’t realize it until it was almost too late! Her heart stayed broken but not from boys; her father and mother was the culprit of that.

***

Now that we’ve gotten an idea of who Lexi is, let’s talk directly to her.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

That’s tough. I’m not sure I’ll ever be happy, but if I had to choose, it would be if I were able to control my situation and say who gets to be in my life and who doesn’t.

What is your current state of mind?

Trust me, you don’t want to go there. Depressed comes to mind most…

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is becoming just like my mother. I don’t want to be her, but I can’t see any other path in front of me.

Which living person do you most despise?

My father.

Where would you like to live?

Anywhere but here. As long there is plenty of distance between my father and mother and me, then I’m happy.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

My life. It’s the epitome of the lowest depth of misery.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

All of them. I’m not worth much.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Busy bodies. I’m a private person, and the last thing I want is someone sticking their nose in my business.

What do you most value in your friends?

I don’t have friends, but if I did, honesty and empathy.

On what occasions do you lie?

On any occasion that would keep people from knowing my secrets. They’re my own, not others.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

That’s a loaded question. I would change just about everything, but I guess, my fear of losing control.

How would you like to die?

I don’t want to die, but if I had to choose, I’d just want to go peacefully.

***

I’d like to thank both Emerald and Lexi for being here today. If you’re wanting to know more about Lexi, I encourage you to check out the book, Delivered by Angels, available on amazon. I think from this information we could see where Lexi needs help. I know I understand the fear of losing control. I have a character in Dragon’s Cure that has that fear as well. What about you? Do you fear being out of control? If so, feel free to comment.