Monday, November 19, 2012

Monday's Beginnings (169)

And it's Monday, on a short week here in the US.  So that means rough week at work to get a weeks worth of crap off my desk in three days... *sigh*

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating this week.  Hope you enjoy your day and time with your friends and family.  And sorry to those who are stuck having to go to work because people feel they need that deal. (I only go on Friday.  You need the day off too!)

Okay, now to Nanowrimo...I wanted to break 40k Saturday, but didn't make it until Sunday night.  That's okay.  But, as it looks like I'm ahead of the race at this point, with Thanksgiving I'll lose some of that lead with our divided family functions, Black Friday shopping, dinner again, and Saturday dinner and oh so much more going on.  (I'll be glad to get back to work again.)

I've got surprising scenes I never thought about what would happen, even though they were slow I worked through them.  I've got scenes I don't much like, and others I rather enjoyed.  It'll all work out at some point...Right?  But I'm having fun with it, and making the mind twist in new ways too.

I do plan on finishing up a little early this month, which will be nice so I can schedule things on the blog for December.

As you'll see I started reading a book.  I figured at this point in my Nano project it wouldn't hurt.  It won't influence what I'm working on at this point, it's already down hill to the battle now. ;)

Current Read:
Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

Finished Last Week:
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White

Reviews to Come:
House of Grey Vol. 2 by Collin Earl
Endgame by Ann Aguirre
Curran POV Vol 1 by Gordon Andrews
Curran POV Vol 2 by Gordon Andrews
Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews
The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White - maybe? Do you want to hear about it?

Book Reviews Posted:
Nothing, sorry.  December I've got a list for you.

Podcast Reviews Posted:
I've not started a new one yet. Maybe in December, or January depending on how the holidays go.

Movie Review Posted:
No movie review, sorry, been running out of time.

Books and Covers Shared:
New Book!! ~~ Embers in a Dark Frost by Kelly Keaton -- I'l have to get this one with my Christmas money!

Special Posts:
Freebies and Deals, on Nook too (32)

I did not do a Flash Fiction Friday.  So Melissa (Books&Things) talked me into sharing a snippet of what I've written in this world.  It's sloppy as I'm rushing through the words.  I can do better than what's there, but it gives you an idea.  It's a short section of the Preface for you. :)

My WANT List...I've added 7 books. Um, I think that's more than some weeks when I am blog visiting. lol.  Some great new finds to add out there this past week, and I've not even seen all of them.

Received Last Week:
Free:
I found More freebies!! I really need to quit downloading these freebies...but they look so gooood...
Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand
Goodreads Synopsis:
I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.

Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.

Darkness Falls by Jessica Sorensen
Goodreads Synopsis:
When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across.
Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:
Rule #1—Never go out after dark.
Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.
Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.
But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply? 
The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires. 
No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure.

The Gatekeeper by Heather Graham
Harlequin Synopsis:

Elven detective Saxon Kirby is under pressure to find out who left a gnawed body at a Las Vegas tourist attraction. He already knows what is responsible: a werewolf. The Keeper of the Vegas werewolves is supposed to control his charges, just as Keepers have kept vampires, shifters and other paranormal races in check for over a century. But the local Keeper is weak and there is nothing to stop the murderous wolf--except Saxon.
Saxon's investigation leads him to Calleigh McGowan, a half-werewolf, half-Elven dancer who entrances him with her sensual moves and promise of carnal pleasure. She's a sexy distraction Saxon doesn't need--even if Calleigh has her own reasons for hunting down the rogue werewolf. But in order to catch the killer, they'll have to put their lives--and hearts--on the line.
Look for more stories in The Keepers: L.A. series coming soon from Harlequin Nocturne, starting with Keeper of the Night by New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.


Won:
I won all these ebooks from a giveaway at Bastard Books.
These three are a trilogy:
Dawn of War by Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
For hundreds of years, the bestial Grol have clawed at the walls of Lathah without success. Now armed with O'hra, mystical weapons of great power, they have returned, to conquer.

Witness to the Grol advance, Arrin can abide his exile no longer. He returns to Lathah, in defiance of death, with hopes to save his beloved princess and the child born of their illicit affair. He finds her unwilling to abandon her people. At her behest, Arrin searches for a sanctuary for them only to be confronted by the Sha'ree, a powerful race long thought gone from the world. Through them, he learns it is not just the Grol that threaten the land.

Empowered by a magic never before seen, the savage nations spread chaos and ruin across the realm. With Lathah under siege, and the world on the brink of cataclysmic war, Arrin must strike a deal with the Sha'ree to take the fight to the Grol, or forever lose his one true love: his family.

Embers of an Age by Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
Lathah has fallen.

Arrin leads a weary group of survivors from the ruins. He presses on in search of O'hra to take the fight to the Grol, but as he nears the Sha'ree homeland, an unexpected adversary bars the way.

With enemies massing on all sides, Arrin is forced to take his search deep inside the Funeral Sands. The survivors suffer the terrors of the desert as their lives and hopes dwindle by the moment. As the losses mount, Arrin wonders if the price of saving Ahreele might be more than he can bear.

Requiem bty Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
The true enemy of Ahreele has been revealed.

Caught in a storm of war, Arrin learns just how little hope remains as he's forced to make a choice between his family and the world that so desperately needs him.

These are of a series:
Resurrection by Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
Armageddon averted, the world returns to business as usual. Unfortunately for Frank "Triggaltheron" Trigg, business as usual sucks.

His night out interrupted by a horde of kidnapping zombies, what could possibly be worse? The resurrection of the Anti-Christ, that's what. Caught in the middle of a supernatural pissing match between the Devil's wife, a legion of undead, and an overachieving necromancer, Frank must survive long enough to stop Hell from being unleashed upon humanity; Again.

At the Gates by Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
A revolt in Heaven, angels fighting angels. Who better to mediate a peaceful resolution than the Devil's nephew, Frank "Triggaltheron" Trigg?

Don't answer that.

When Scarlett arrives at his door, beaten to within an inch of her life, Frank finds himself in the middle of a war as the Nephilim arrive to finish the job. With only Eden still standing, the battle for Heaven spills over and ravages the Earth with deadly storms. Amidst the chaos, Frank must find a way to end the war before the battling hordes of half-breed angels, vampires, and lycanthropes reach Eden and bring about the end of existence.

No pressure.

Echoes of the Past by Tim Marquitz
Goodreads Synopsis:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Not when you're the Devil's nephew.

An unexpected message gives Frank the answer he's sought for years--Where did God and Lucifer go?--but the knowledge brings its own dilemma as inter-dimensional war looms, threatening to engulf the Earth.

Tasked with the planet's defense, Frank scrounges for a plan and finds a piece of his past better left behind. If the aliens don't kill him, what he learns just might.

For Review:
Vampire Voyage by Kelly Lougheed
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Charity signs up for the Hawthorn School spring break trip to the St. Judas School for Boys in Romania, she has an inkling the trip won't just be all fun and romantic flings. Being constantly surrounded by exotic European boys would be great...if so many of the boys weren't homicidal vampires.

While trying not to succumb to the peer pressure of drinking human blood at one of the vampire parties, Charity and her BFF Louise get tangled up with a boy named Ivan, who may or may not plan on using them in a nefarious scheme to turn all the Hawthorn girls into vampires.

Louise refuses to believe Ivan capable of murder--he's far too handsome! But Charity sees evil in the way Ivan slicks his hair back with such unnecessary amounts of hair gel. Can Charity--in between seducing a past fling, Nicholae, and hiding her late-night wanderings from the trip chaperone, Ms. Van Tessel--save her classmates from becoming bloodsucking fiends?

So, hope you all are doing amazing and things are going well for you.  If you get the holiday off, enjoy it.

How did your week go, last week?  How does the new week look for you?

And I'm begging...Please let me know how you are doing and what I'm missing out there.  I can't wait to get back to visiting you all here in December.

Here's wishing you all the best in words and pages.

4 comments:

  1. 40! WoW! Ok next year..next year I will do better

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Blodeuedd, we'll have to get you planning this year so you can kick our butts at word count. :) Thank you!

      Delete
  2. Woo Hoo! Love that you are doing so well on the NaNo! And do blame me as much as you want for that snippet. :D

    Great freebies and great winnings!! Have a wonderful thanksgiving!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Melissa (B&T) Sorry I didn't get more teasers up for you of the nano project. It's such a mess, and I was not 100% happy with it.

      Thank you!!

      Delete

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