Sunday Post #26

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share new about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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This Sunday Post is for two weeks.  I didn't get much done the week before last, except collecting books in the mail.  I think things are starting to get tied up around here and maybe a routine surfacing.  I'm not sure though.

I've started waking early in the morning with kiddo and walking on treadmill along with 20 jackknives is making me feel better about the fitness I'm needing in my diet. ;) And the few beta reads and projects feel like they are getting somewhere, which helps feel like a weight is lifting (not done with the projects yet, but getting somewhere).

What's Happening in Books:

Current Read:
After finish beta read,
Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson (I'll be starting today)

Owners Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book, I'll start listening to while at work

Finished Last Week:
Twilight Hunter by Kait Ballenger
Into Chaos by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart
Vengeance Borne by Amanda Bonilla

Captain's Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book, I'll start listening to while at work

Finished Podcast Book Listen:
I haven't got to the Podcasts yet.  I will, they are lining up on me.

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Last Week on the Blog:

My Balticon experience.  Second year and I'm still loving it! Pictures too!

I also shared my WIP updates for August on The Challenged Writers.  Please, feel free to follow my posts there as well.  I have a few ideas and questions to post about over there as well.

Cover Reveals: (click titles to go to post & learn more)
None this week

Reviews:
Book Review:
Requiem by Ken Scholes

GIVEAWAYS:

None this week.

Weekly Posts:

***NEW*** Mythical Monday
Teaser Tuesday
Who? What? Where? Wend.
Throwback Thursday
Looking Forward To...
Freebies and Deals, on Nook too

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This Week to Come on the Blog:

I have the Review of TWILIGHT HUNTER coming up today, and I'll add another later this week.  Also, all my normal meme posts to share what I'm reading this week.

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Received Last Week:

Review:

The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan
Goodreads Synopsis:
TWO THIEVES WANT ANSWERS. RIYRIA IS BORN.
For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception --- Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn't realize is what the two are capable of --- but she's about to find out.

The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles are two separate, but related series, and you can start reading with either Theft of Swords(publication order) or The Crown Tower (chronological order).

The Riyria Chronicles
1. The Crown Tower (now available)
2. The Rose and the Thorn (September 17, 2013)

The Riyria Revelations
1. Theft of Swords (contains The Crown Conspiracy & Avempartha)
2. Rise of Empire (contains Nyphron Rising & The Emerald Storm)
3. Heir of Novron (contains Wintertide & Percepliquis)

Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn
Goodreads Synopsis:
As Denver adjusts to a new master vampire, Kitty gets word of an intruder in the Denver werewolf pack’s territory, and she investigates the challenge to her authority. She follows the scent of the lycanthrope through the mountains where she is lured into a trap, tranquilized, and captured. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a defunct silver mine: the perfect cage for a werewolf. Her captors are a mysterious cult seeking to induct Kitty into their ranks in a ritual they hope will put an end to Dux Bellorum. Though skeptical of their power, even Kitty finds herself struggling to resist joining their cause. Whatever she decides, they expect Kitty to join them in their plot . . . willingly or otherwise.

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
Goodreads Synopsis:
Enter an epic fantasy world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic....

Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.


Purchased/Winnings/Gifts:

I won these from Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers. Thank you!

Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas
Goodreads Synopsis:
“As original as The Hunger Games, set within the walls of a high school exactly like yours.” – Kami Garcia, New York Times best-selling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures novels

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.

A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school. 

In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

Quarantine: The Saints by Lex Thomas
Goodreads Synopsis:
A cross between the Gone series and Lord of the Flies, Quarantine #2: The Saints contunues this frenetically paced and scary young adult series that illustrates just how deadly high school can be.

Nothing was worse than being locked in—until they opened the door...

McKinley High has been a battle ground for eighteen months since a virus outbreak led to a military quarantine of the school. When the doors finally open, Will and Lucy will think their nightmare is finished. But they are gravely mistaken.

As a new group of teens enters the school and gains popularity, Will and Lucy join new gangs. An epic party on the quad full of real food and drinks, where kids hookup and actually interact with members of other gangs seemed to signal a new, easier existence. Soom after though, the world inside McKinley takes a startling turn for the worse, and Will and Lucy will have to fight harder than ever to survive.

I received the poster to go with Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan (Yes, I paid for it with being part of the Kickstarter for the book.) And signed bookmarks of Hollow World and Riyria series.

Free Ebooks:

Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Ambasadora-verse...a new futuristic romance series.

If everyone told you love wasn't real, would you still be willing to die for it?

Sara Mendoza and Sean Cryer are.

Sara is part of the Embassy's plan. Captured, tortured, and falsely accused of treason, she is given a chance to win back her freedom. She only needs to charm information from one of the fragger leaders, then kill him. But by the time she figures out the Embassy's intel is flawed and that Sean Cryer is her true mark, she's already in love with him.

Sean knows why Sara is on his ship from the start, but as a lonely, anti-social doser, he doesn't value his life, only his ideology within the fragger organization. Against his better judgment, he becomes her protector, each day caring more about a future he was always afraid to hope for.

The River of Dancing Gods by
Goodreads Synopsis:
Life had not been kind to Joe and Marge. Now, according to the stranger who met them on a road that wasn't there, they were due to die in nineteen minutes, eighteen seconds. But the ferryboat that waited to take them across the Sea of Dreams could bring them to a new and perhaps better life.

There lay a world where fairies still danced by moonlight and sorcery became real. Joe could become a mighty-thewed barbarian warrior. Marge could be beautiful and find her magical self.

And it was even as Throckmorton P. Ruddygore, the strange wizard, had promised. But there was a great deal more, as they soon learned.

This was a world where Hell still strove to win its ancient war and demon princes sent men into battles of dark magic. It was a world where Joe and Marge must somehow help prevent the coming of Armageddon.

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Reviews in the Works:

The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan
The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan

Dragonsoul by Philippa Ballantine
Into Darkness by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart

Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
Nemesis by S.A. Huchton

Half Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book

Full Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book
Double Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book

Twilight Hunter by Kait Ballenger

Captain's Share by Nathan Lowell - a podcast reading of the book, I'll start listening to while at work

Into Chaos by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart

Freebies and Deals, on Nook too (65)

The Barnes & Nobles Freebie Friday thread.

Deals:
Oooo, this is a start to a sweet romance.  I fell in love with these characters, and I think you will too.
It's on sale for 99c!!

Maven by S.A. Huchton
Amazon ~ Kindle  /   Barnes & Noble ~ Nook
Goodreads Synopsis:
How far would you go for love?

Since losing her parents at 14, young prodigy Dr. Lydia Ashley has focused on one thing: an appointment on the Deep Water Research Command Endure. Now 21, she’s about to realize that dream, but nothing is how she imagined it would be. Her transitional sponsor forgets her, her new lab is in complete chaos, and, as if that weren’t enough, she’s about to discover something so horrific it could potentially destroy all life on the planet. 

Daniel Brewer, a noted playboy and genius in his own right, may be exactly what she needs… Or he may make everything worse.

Has she finally found a puzzle she can’t solve?


Oh this Fantasy was one I realllllly enjoyed the magic and story of.
It's on sale for $1.99!!! (Don't know how long it'll last, so jump now!)

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
Amazon ~ Kindle  /  Barnes & Nobles ~ Nook
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it. 
It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces. 
It's up to a few...
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved...
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should...

Freebies:
Hmmm, I'm slacking again. Sorry.

Have you found anything good?

Looking Forward Too... (129)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down. Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

It's been a while since I've done one of these Friday Looking Forward posts.  And I miss doing them.

Next Book Is...

When the Stars Throw Down Their Spears

The Goblin Wars #3

By:  Kersten Hamilton

Due Out:  August 6, 2013

I've read, and really enjoyed, the first two books of this trilogy.  I really want to see how it all ends.

Goodreads Synopsis:

“People will die.”

Locked doors are opening, and uncanny creatures are tumbling through mysterious portals from Mag Mell, the world-between-worlds, into the streets of Chicago. The Dark Man has marked Aiden with a new song that’s scared him badly, and a frightening new group of sídhe is lurking nearby.

Teagan knows this is war, and she must protect her family. She leaves her flesh and bones behind to join Finn in hunting the evil beings across the city. Meanwhile, their relationship is heating up—almost faster than they can control. But he is still bound to fight goblins his entire life . . . and by blood she is one of them now.

Then the gateway to Mag Mell cracks open again, and the Wylltsons find themselves caught in a trap. As her loved ones begin to die, Teagan realizes that she must destroy the Dark Man and his minions once and for all in order to save those who remain . . .

. . . before it is too late.

My Visit to Balticon 47

This post is EXTREMELY late in going live.  Got to love live. *sigh*  Yes, life happens, and sometimes not for the best.  Things got rather crazy when I got home from Balticon.  All's good for me, and nothing to worry about!  Honest.

Where oh where do I even start?  I guess at the beginning...  First, I took a weighted down book back with me last year.  Full of books for the signing.  This year, I didn't.  I didn't have anything new to sign, which is part of the thing with ebooks.  But I made up for it on Sunday and came home with 10 books!  But, that is Sunday.  We need to get back to Friday, the first day...

Friday:
I could not wait to get going.  Finally left the house, picked my brother up, got gas, and was on the road somewhere around 10am.  By 1pm I was done.  I wanted to be there!  The excitement was kicked into overdrive.

We arrived around 2-ish.  The hotel had the room ready, so we checked in and headed to registration to retrieve our badges and see what trouble we could find.  (By trouble, I'm talking authors.)

First spotted...Doc Coleman, P.C. Haring, Jon Sprunk, and the lovely Starla Huchton.  Yes, all within feet and minutes of each other.  Okay, you caught me.  They were registering as well.

After saying hello and registering we went to the one central hot spot.  Yep, the bar.  Hey, I had to sit somewhere to look through my pocket program and see where I wanted to go.  And driving leaves a person parched too!

We meet a few bloggers, authors, and on we went to our first panel.

A reading from Jon Sprunk:
Jon had the floor all to himself.  There was a small trouble with the programs and the 4:00pm till 6:00pm panels weren't listed.  So it was great to talk with Jon and get little tidbits of this story/series to come our way.

From his new novel to be released March 2013 through Pyr:  Blood and Iron, first book of a four book series called Book of the Black Earth.  Oh this sounds good.  Definitely one to keep an eye out for next year.  Ships.  Fight at Sea.  Really, a good one.  There will be five POV's and first book is about 140k long (a little longer or so).  Wow!


We got to sit down and chat with Jon over dinner as well.  Wonderful to talk with him.


An Inside Look (for Writers) at Editing:

I wanted to go to this one for what I do to books and to hear what I can learn.  I've been thinking on a few things and want to learn more.

We had several on this panel:  Moderator: Danielle Ackley-McPhail; Panelists Lesley D. Conner (Of Apex, which I've chatted with on Twitter), Damien Walters Grintalis, S. Elektra Hammond, Neal Levin, and Christine Norris

I did learn a bit of what different editors are and what they do, but also that they do everything at the same time as well.  As we all find in every job, a man of many hats.

Reading from Starla Huchton and Stephanie Burke:

LMAO!!! Oh this one one of the funnest panels I was in.  (wait, there's another on Saturday).
Seriously, Starla and Stephanie did wonderful readings.  Starla from her new-to-release (June 3) science fiction romance, Maven, where we meet Daniel first.  Stephanie read from How to Not Date a Centaur, how her character gets to the land of Centaur.

Then, they stepped it up a notch with the encouragement of the crowd....romance.  Yep, Starla reddened at the mention of shaft.  Stephanie upped the ante.  Then!  To top it all off, Starla read from Stephanie's book. O.O I can't mention what she said in that reading!  By the time she was done...well, I didn't think anyone could turn that RED!  Bahahaha.  It was great!  Starla did an amazing job with her professional voice.  The crowd went WILD! LOL

Erotica a la Carte: Iron Chef Preliminary Round 3:
Moderator: Nobilis Reed; Panelists: P.J. Schnyder, Bernard D. Mojzes, Alicia Goranson

This is where the three panelists are given one item in common, this night - Lamp Shade.  And are to write 500 (or so) words of smut in fifteen minutes including the common item.

The panelists had their notebooks and one even did so by hand! to work away at their words.  They were teased and tormented as Nobilis talked to the crowd while they worked.  There was even one author (who won previous year) who taunted and teased them.  The three writers were determined to win their artichoke and worked away.  Devoted I tell ya!

The stories were hot, steamy, and amazing for the quick work.  This round, the winner went to Bernard.  But it was a blast learning about the creation of the panel and the fun of the crowd present.


Rounding off Friday Night...
We found ourselves back in the bar late.  Jon Sprunk was present along with a few others.  Oh the crew we met?  These people are hilarious.  Had me laughing talking with them.  Brian Koscienski, Chris Pisano, and Christine Czachur, and Jeff Young - all of Fortress Publishing, Inc.  Really this crew is a blast!  The stories they tell...the experiences they've had.  Oh, it can't be real.  Can it?  LOL!  I have the feeling it very well could be.  Marie V. Snyder found her way to our little end of the bar as well.

There were so many people in and out that I talked to I can't even tell you who all they were.  Starla Huchton found her way to us as well.  Doc Coleman again, and....Oh so many faces and names to mention!


Saturday:
We woke up at a decent time and had a nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  I got to meet Doc Coleman's lovely wife and we decided (by way of Twitter) that we need flags stationed so allies can find each other in the large lounge and sit with each other.

I hit the dealer room and headed off to the next panel.

Exploring the Magick and Lore of the Celtic/Norse Gods/Goddesses:
Presenters: T.J. Perkins and Maria V. Snyder
This was a great panel.  I went in because of my Mythical Monday posts, as I'm curious about twists to gods, and I have a few gods in a book (or two) I'm working on.  Always looking for new information to twist my way.

I came out with a few pages to help me create my characters and some ideas.  Oh, did you know Maria V. Snyder is pretty much a panters?  I think that is so cool!

Unfortunately, I cut this panel short to get to one at one.

Reading:  Renee Chambliss and Alex White:

Yes, I had to get to this reading.  I wanted to hear what Alex would read next.  If you are a follower for a while, you know I've loved Alex's Gearheart world.  To me this world is amazing, and I want to see anything he creates.  Well, he has a great one in store for us.  Alex read to us the beginning of his current work in progress, The Mythic South.  This is not of the Gearheart world, but wow.  Some great work to come.

And while in this reading I got to listen to Renee Chambliss read from her sequel to Dreaming of Deliverance, and also a work in progress.  This was interesting.  The story is of a woman who's now, five years later, out of prison and on parole.  But there is something with a parallel world and the people she meets there.


Afterward I ran over to the signing table.  I wanted to purchase Leona R. Wisoker's first book (yes, I've been wanting for far to long).  And she was just starting to pack up as her hour was coming to an end.  I did purchase her first book, Secrets of the Sands and got it autographed.  It was great to chat with her for a few minutes and she had great things to share.  I'll be stopping by her blog from time to time as she has a writing blog.

As I was getting ready to head to lunch I spotted an author who I had the great pleasure of listening to a reading of last year.  Gods, did my brother and I enjoy her reading.  It was a blast!  She was wonderful and the humor had us laughing.  I'll say when she gave the quick idea of the story I thought it'd be boring.  Well, she proved me wrong!  We learned a bit about the short story collection she is in, I WILL be keeping an eye out for this one, and picked up the first chapter sample of her first book, War of the Seasons, in her series The Human.  This author is Janine K. Spendlove, and I'll probably wind up ordering her full series as well based on what I've heard.

Then we headed to lunch at Noodle & Company with great company, the grocery store for a few small items.  Okay, I needed orange juice for my Captain.  Happy?  ;)

Back to the panels I went.

Broad Universe Readings
Wow.  This was one full panel of authors!  I didn't get any pictures of this one as I didn't know who all was reading.  There were authors lined up down the table and across the front row to read in this 50 minute panel.  Amazing!

Shelby Morgen, Leona R. Wisoker, Day Al-Mohamed, Jennifer R. Pover, Sarah Pinsker, Erica L. Satifky, Gail Z. Martin, Catherin Asaro, Stephanie Burke, and I know I'm missing ladies.  I'm sorry if I am.  This was a great group to hear from.  Some listed read, some didn't, then there were others to add to the reading.

It was great to hear from them all.  I was excited to hear from Leona and Gail.  I do enjoy hearing a snippet from all their books as I have found many new books and authors to keep an eye on.


We ate some dinner and I went back to the dealer room to spend my money...and it was closed.  My heart broke.  For some unknown reason, I thought the room was open until 8pm.  Boy was I wrong.  I kept kicking myself.

Disasterpiece Theatre Nights (Super Sexy Edition)

Presenters: Alex White, Nobilis Reed, Christiana M. Ellis, Stephen Granade

Oh my Goodness!  These guys are a hoot!  If you ever get a chance to check out their site and the amazing and fun videos they do.  Oh you will enjoy them!  And you can check them out now on their Site: Disasterpiece Theatre or Facebook.

Okay, this one was the super sexy edition and it was a complete hoot!  Remaking old movies with different stars and different happenings and all the crazy minds collaborating for this.  Too much fun to be had!  I was laughing so hard I couldn't help it.

MacGyver....I'll never think the same of MacGyver. LOL!  A blast!


Rounding off Saturday Night...
At the bar, visiting with many and saying hello to new faces and names.  It was great to get to talk with so many.  I did get to briefly sit down with Collin Earl, who was a bit on the ill side and chat about a few ideas.  And hopped around with Starla Huchton to meet new faces and have a blast.  I don't even know if I can tell you all the names of everyone I meet.

Sunday:
We woke up and packed up.  Yes, we had to come home a day early.  Family duties call.  But I got the days in I had and I'm THRILLED with those!

We made our way to...
Double Dragon Publishing Present
Publisher: Michael A. Ventrella and Authors: Bernard D. Majzes, Pete Prellwitz, Gail Z. Martin, and many more published through Double Dragon Publishing.

This was a wonderful session where we got to talk with the publishers and authors here.  Had donuts and coffee. (yes, coffeeeeee....) But we learned a good deal here with ebook publishing and meeting new authors.  A few that have been added to my WANT list.

Disasterpiece Theatre

Presenters: Alex White, Stephen Granade, Thomas Gideon

And yes, I didn't get enough of the fun with these guys the night before.  I had to come back for more, and had a blast!

They interview Thomas Gideon and on to creating a new movie.  And if you want to listen to this one you can find it on their Site Disasterpiece Theatre: Live at Balticon.  Pulling from old memories of shows and movies that I haven't heard or thought of for years...yea, totally fun.

Reading: KT Bryski, Gail Z. Martin, and Leona Wisoker

This panel caught my eye for all three of these ladies.  I've been wanting Gail's and Leona's books.  And I meet KT this year so I want to hear what she has.

Leona read from her first book in Children of the Desert series, Secrets of the Sands.  I have to say, I did pick up this book over the weekend too.

KT Bryski read from her first book and free podcast, Hapax. Very interesting story.  Made me curious to learn more about her creation here.

Gail read from two short stories, The Wild Hunt and Raiders Curse.  Yes, I do need to get to her books.

Game Time!
Yes, it's just as it sounds.  I heard from Alex White that he created a board game for his Gearheart world and he wanted to do a sample run of it.  So, I jumped at the chance.  I love the work created here, and thought this was my great chance to play in it as well.

When I walked up to the table I was greeted with a rushing Laura Nicole coming to tackle me.  Okay, not tackle, but a huge hug.  It was WONDERFUL to see her in person.  We coached each other along with NaNoWriMo in 2012 and she was happy to see and thank me.  Thank you Laura!! :D

Alex explained and hosted the game as my brother, Laura Nicole, her fiance, and myself got to play in the Gearheart world.  I'm not going to lie to you.  I was petrified.  I don't game much.  Okay, I don't game.  My brother does the gaming side of things.  I don't have enough time in the day to do everything I want, and gaming is one thing that is left out.  I was worried I'd look like a newbie, and stick out like a sore thumb.

I loved it!  Alex has created an amazing board game and one I easily understood and caught on too.  One thing that helped, we were all new to this game and Alex made it easy for us to understand and didn't jump to the thought we all knew what we were doing.  Thank you Alex!  I would totally love to play this game more often.  Here's hoping Alex gets it set in motion to create and sell.

Oh, and about looking like a complete idiot...brother (who would WILLINGLY tell me I looked completely dumb) told me I looked and sounded like I was aware of what I was doing.  *phew*


After the game, we said a few goodbyes and headed our way home...it was a hard thing to do.  We didn't want to leave, but all great things must come to an end.  And back to real life we went.



People I meet and pictures with... (it's smaller list as I was more caught up with chatting than taking pictures, sorry!)

P.C. Haring, Me, Scott Sigler

Gail Z. Martin, Me

Starla Huchton, Me

P.J. Schnyder, Me

Me, Maria V. Snyder

Books I purchased:

I was able to get most of these signed and the anthologies by signed by several of the authors in them.

Bad Ass Faeries edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Rum and Runestones edited by Valerie Griswold-Ford

The Golden Sword by  Janet E. Morris

In An Iron Cage The Magic of Steampunk edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elektra Hammond, and Neal Levin

Dragon's Lure ~Legends of a New Age ~ edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jennifer Ross, and Jeffrey Lyman

Brooklyn Knight by C.J. Henderson

Hot & Steamy: Tales of Stempunk Romance edited by Jean Rabe & Martin H. Greenberg

Three Chords of Chaos, a bad-ass faerie tale by James Chambers

Fairy With A Gun by Patrick Thomas

The Shattered Visage Lies by Koscienski & Pisano

Sky Lit Bargains by Kelly A. Harmon

Secrets of the Sands by Leona Wisoker

 Swag I picked up!

I TOTALLY CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!!!
Once again, I have to say, I've found a home in Balticon.  Amazing people here.  Here's hoping to see you there...one day. :)


If you'd like to help me return to Balticon, I'd love it if you purchase your next book through my Amazon Link.  The minimal money earned there goes to a saved fund for paying for Balticon for next year.

Throwback Thursday (126)

I found this picture of Trinity College Library, and thought it would work for this meme with a little play with lighting and adding the words.

Let's talk about those books already on the shelves, yours or the stores.

I have a post for books I'm looking forward to coming out;

Looking Forward To...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on the shelves.

Whether it be on your shelf waiting to be read or on the shelves in the stores waiting for you to give it a good home.

So, I thought I would share a book a week that is just waiting for me to travel through it's world.

Now... where do I start? Lets go by Published Date on the books...

This Week:

This was a free ebook...but I can't remember from where. I want to say the publisher made it and several others free on their site and this was one I jumped to pick up.  Now I need to get to reading it.  Therre are many great authors in this one.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Alyss of Wonderland?
Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon — these are our guides through the Wastelands...

From the Book of Revelation to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving eschatological tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. In doing so, these visionary authors have addressed one of the most challenging and enduring themes of imaginative fiction: the nature of life in the aftermath of total societal collapse.

Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today’s most renowned authors of speculative fiction — including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King — Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders.

Complete with introductions and an indispensable appendix of recommendations for further reading, Wastelands delves into this bleak landscape, uncovering the raw human emotion and heart-pounding thrills at the genre’s core.

Contains the following stories:

Introduction by John Joseph Adams
The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King
Salvage by Orson Scott Card
The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi
Bread and Bombs by M. Rickert
How We Got In Town and Out Again by Jonathan Lethem
Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. Martin
Waiting for the Zephyr by Tobias S. Buckell
Never Despair by Jack McDevitt
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory Doctorow
The Last of the O-Forms by James Van Pelt
Still Life With Apocalypse by Richard Kadrey
Artie’s Angels by Catherine Wells
Judgment Passed by Jerry Oltion
Mute by Gene Wolfe
Inertia by Nancy Kress
And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear
Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler
Killers by Carol Emshwiller
Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.
The End of the World as We Know It by Dale Bailey
A Song Before Sunset by David Grigg
Episode Seven... by John Langan
Appendix: For Further Reading

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Book Review: Requiem

Requiem

By:  Ken Scholes

Publisher:  Tor

Publish Date:  June 18, 2013

Format:  Hardback 366pgs

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  4th book in The Psalms of Isaak series; 1st Book ~ Lamentation, 2nd Book ~ Canticle, 3rd Book ~ Antiphon

Recommendation:  Oh good grief YES!! And if you have waited this look for book 4, you NEEEED IT!!

Synopsis:
When we left the Named Lands at the end of Antiphon, our main characters were scattered between earth, sea, and sky.

Jin Li Tam has left General Rudolfo, taking their son with her.  She has accepted the "invitation" of the Crimson Empress's regent, and has boarded his ship, steaming into unknown seas.  With her, secretly, is Rudolfo's Captain Aedric as guard.  She is playing a very dangerous game, more dangerous than usual, even for a daughter of Vlad Li Tam.

Rudolfo was left at the head of his army, only to discover her apparent betrayal when Winters and her people arrive on foot in the Ninefold Forest.  Winters has won exile for herself and her faithful people at the price of her own blood.  Her sister Ria is now in complete control of the Marshlands, under the rule of Empress's regent.

Vlad Li Tam has been cast up on a desert shore.  He followed his obsession with the ghost of Amal Y'Zir into the mouth of the Behemoth, and now she has led him to the shores of Espira, in search of her father's spellbook.  Whatever that might be.

Neb, now revealed to be the son of the Younger God Whym, is flying to the moon aboard the antiphone.  With him is Petronus, the last Pope of the Androfrancines, as well as the metal men who built the ship and carry the dream that Neb is to fulfill.  For Neb is both Homeseeker and Younger God, and only he can open the Moon Wizard's Tower.

And the metal man Isaak is lost.

Return to the Named Lands, and the greater world that is unfolding before us.

First Sentence:
A gibbous moon hung in the predawn sky, casting shades of blue and green over a blanket of snow.

Purchase At:
Amazon   /   Barnes & Nobles   /   Book Depository

**I requested a copy of this book for review from the publisher.

My Thoughts and Summary:
The world is in upheaval and seems on the axis of great change.  The feel all is falling further away from what everyone knows it to be.

Jin Li Tam is on an island with her son, the one the Y'Zirite's call the Child of Promise.  Being worshiped as she tries to come to grips with what she now knows her destiny is.  Vlad Li Tam travels the vast sea, following a ghost, to do what needs to be done with the Crimson Empress and the Child of Promise.  Neb finds himself on the Moon with Petronus, and no idea what he's to do now that he's lacking the tools he needs to do what he is called to do.  Lost as he tries to find his way in a new world, his world.  Winters is still searching the final piece of the Final Dream.  Hoping to help her people find their way home to their world.  Rudolfo is struggling with the unexpected leave of his wife with his one and only son.  The absence of his son weighs heavy on him, not knowing what his wife was thinking going into the center of danger as she did.  Rudolfo comes to learn his own pieces in the Y'Zirite plans and makes plans of his own.

We get a feel that the people struggling to stop the downward slide are losing.  Things are not going well and they are at opposite ends of the world trying to correct it on their own.  None know what the other is doing.  Secrets are crossing.  And the results are...amazing, heartbreaking, reviving, hopeful.  Everything all in one.

The beginning brings us quickly back to where we are after Antiphon.  The Prelude is a refresher of what's going on in this world, yet at the same time drawing curiosity, making me want more.  It's felt like ages for me since I finished Antiphon, and Ken draws me in quickly with refreshers of what happened and where we are now.  Perfect.  Flawless.

The connections to the world (and moon) all become clearer.  The further we follow Ken through his Whymr maze the closer we come to the truths of what is happening and why.  It seems now, as things come out, that it was tried very hard to replicate the culture lost on the moon.  But things were never quite right.  Things are still incomplete but starting to come in the open on how to fix them.  All that the Wizards and Younger Gods fought over, and the results becoming clearer with each page.

We have all our familiar characters Point Of Views.  And love seeing the troubles they get themselves into.  We also have a new POV, Marta.  Marta gives us a view of innocence and a connection to one we want to see more of and his connections to everything.  I found all the POV's intriguing.  I loved what I learned from all the views.  The history and workings of the Y'Zirite are heavy and well designed that you need all these POV's to get the feel for what is happening and why.  It's so easy to follow these POV's.  Ken writes them with a grace that makes you feel he's been doing this for lifetimes.  I really enjoyed getting to see more POV from Vlad Li Tam as well.  Wow, the Li Tam family has got serious connections through out the world and can influence just about anything it seems, but this still has them in a bind as well.

Oh my gods!  This series is amazing.  Out-of-the-box crazy-amazing read.  Love it!  A book to be savored by each word.  This read is not a light one.  When you pick it up be ready to be submersed and mentally mapping all that's happening.  This is a read to read over with an eyeglass and ponder over with a pipe  Yes, all that and more!

Absolute read for fantasy fans.

Who? What? Where? (125)

Who are you with? Where are you at? What's happening?

Share with us just a little bit of what is happening in the book you are reading, right where you are now.

Just a tiny taste of what's happening, remember try to not give spoilers of the book.

his is a new meme I'm going to try and will tweak as I go. And please don't laugh at my lame attempt at drawing. ;D )

This Week:

Trish just returned to the kitchen, where Micah has just bought us time with the Sentry, after checking in on Jacquelyn.  Things seem...not so good.  But I have faith in Jacquelyn like Micah and Trish. She'll find those furies and eliminate them. After what happened with Finn, yep.  She will!

Vengeance Borne
By:  Amanda Bonilla

Others have shown interest in joining in this post, and linking up.  So I've created a linky for that.
My only requests; copy the picture to use, and link back to My World...in words and pages.
Please visit any joining in.
Thank you!