Review of Seeking Neopolis by Elizabeth A Drysdale

 

THERE ARE MORE THAN SECRETS WAITING IN THE WATER.

Avi's life takes a surreal turn when a mysterious boy with captivating eyes claims to know her. Little does she know that her world, already shaken by her mother's unexplained disappearance, is about to unravel in ways she couldn't have imagined.
Avi discovers that the memories she holds dear aren't her own, but have been carefully manipulated by her own mother.
Her world shatters as she’s thrust into a dangerous and hidden war between a magical kingdom and a relentless organization set on its destruction. Both sides accuse her mother of stealing a powerful artifact known as the Trident, and they'll stop at nothing to recover it. With adversaries closing in and uncertain allies by her side, Avi embarks on a treacherous journey to the enigmatic sunken city of Neopolis.
There, in the city beneath the waves, she uncovers the startling truth about her mother's actions, and it's far more sinister than she could ever have imagined.

 

Amazon

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up because the cover and blurb just called to me and I thought that it might be an interesting read. It blew me away how quickly the story got its grip on me. I adored Avi, and learning all the secrets about her life, about who she was, and where she came from were delightful. The world is rich with lore and history and also enough to keep you hooked on wanting to know more about it. I loved Donovan and all the other characters, and that twist at the end left me desperate for more. This is a duology that I will want to read to the end. Very much recommended!

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#TeaserTuesday

Lana stands by her choices, but that doesn't make them hard...

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[ID: A smokey background with the title LIGHTS ON at the top and out now in ebook & paperback just below the title The except reads:

Of course, given what Maggie had just said, there would be no avoiding it. Lana would have to live with herself, but really, hadn't she just been following orders? How had she been in the wrong? She'd tried to save Lock, Lock had shunned her. No, Lana did everything she could. Lock would have to face the consequences for her actions.
If only, Lana thought as she walked along the empty corridor. If only I could feel less like I was signing her death warrant myself.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the top left corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

Keeping Your Eyes On The End - The Creative Process

KEEPING YOUR EYES ON THE END

I have now written forty-eight first drafts. I'm in the process of not drafting for a while so that I can focus instead on going back through past books and rewriting/revising them so that they have time to really shine. I've been planning to do this for a good couple of years now, and even with it here, at the time of writing, I've not actually jumped back in. It's nerve wracking for me because I don't think, in the last fifteen years of my career, I've not been writing something new!

But it's really important to me that I get these books in shape, and all going well, I plan to do the same next year for a period to deal with other books that I know need a lot of work, and input from other people. I did it this way so that I have more time and can spread out things like any sensitivity reads needed and the like. Of course that may change between now and next year, but for now, that's the plan.

Writing can be exceptionally isolating, and while there are things now, like Authortube and all the livestreams to join to have company while you write, it can also be hard to keep pushing yourself forward when all you can see is months and maybe even years of work ahead of you before you get to the published stage. I will say that there's no rush, but that's coming from me, who's been published almost nineteen years at this point. I feel like rushing to be published just leads to things like burnout and no one wants that.

I've always had a weird sleep schedule, and even now is no different in that I'm awake and writing this blog post at almost 4am, and my day is almost over when it comes to work. Because of that it's hard for me to have the energy to attend a lot of the lives on Authortube, and because of accessibility and such, it's hard for me to go and write in coffee shops or the like. So I've kinda got used to the isolation of writing.

That said, one thing that always, always helps perk me up when I'm struggling through a chapter or the like, is making sure that I keep my eyes on the end. Whether that's the end of the chapter, or end of the book, or end of this revision pass, or edits, etc, etc. You have to keep focused on the end of all of this. The day when you will eventually, hopefully, get to hold your book in your hands, and also get to see it in other people's hands too.

Setting your goals, and pushing yourself forward, that can help too, but it's the end result that we're all working had for. It's the end result that allows us to do what we do. Even when all might seem lost. Even when you're tired and ready to sleep, and even when the thought of writing makes you groan, keep your eyes on the end. Make sure you know that there is an end. Rest yes, take care of yourself, very much yes, but also remember that why, that reason that you wanted to do this, and focus on the end because you will be thanking yourself later when it comes to the first release day.

Writing is hard work. It's really hard work. But in my eyes? It's worth it. If it's not in yours, that's okay too, but if it is, keep going, you will get there.

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

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Review of Why The Sparrows Cry by Hope Bolinger

Harper hates crowds and has a strong distaste for humanity in general. A summer spent in the bustling city of London was not on her bucket list—especially not tagging along behind her nagging mother.

But when a teen from the Greek Dark Ages mysteriously appears in the very crowded British Museum, Harper decides to rescue the boy who’s even more out of place—and time—than she is. With the help of her uncle, they’ll need to keep Homer away from the British authorities, evade a tomb-robbing ex-archeologist, and figure out how to get this Palikari man back to his own time before he’s captured.

As they escape near-kidnappings, terrible yogurt drinks, and Harper's mother's lectures, Harper finds herself warming up to Homer. Something that hasn't happened with anyone since the incident with her father back in Arizona.

Will she learn to love again? Or will an ex-archeologist snag the historical find of the millennium—and the only person she’s felt safe around in years?

Amazon

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up because of the cover and blurb. It was a delightful read with mystery, intrigue, and a little bit of romance in there too. I adored Harper, she was so relatable and just so real. Homie was such an engaging character and the way things all came together at the end had me on the edge of my seat. Bolinger has a way of pulling you into her stories and making you want to live in them for as long as possible. This was a read I managed in one sitting and I adored it from start to finish. It’s definitely one that I very much recommend!

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Cover Reveal: Cramping Chronicles: The Third Ache [CC]

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#TeaserTuesday

Tara will do anything to save Mike

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[ID: A waterfall background with the title DYING THOUGHTS - EIGHTH ENDING at the top and out now in ebook & paperback just below the title The except reads:

My hand went to his stomach, trying to find where he was hurt, if he was. I could see smears of blood on the knife so I knew it had hit the mark somewhere.
“Mike? Mike, hang on, help’s coming!” I said, trying to keep myself from openly crying. I reached for my bag and got my phone, ignoring the blood spots falling on the screen as I called for an ambulance.
“Tara…,” he said, softly, struggling to get the words out.
“I’m here, Mike and help’s coming.”

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the top right corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

 

Uncovering The Story - The After Process

UNCOVERING THE STORY

As someone who has written a lot of first drafts, and someone who's also come back to those first drafts and had to change and rewrite a lot, I thought that today I would talk a little about what goes into discovering the underlying story during revisions and editing. Now I want to be clear that I do not think that you're not already aware of what story you've told. You go into drafting (as either a planner or not) knowing what story you want to tell, but sometimes that is not the only thing that ends up on the page.

For example, I went into writing the first Lights Out book with a completely different story in mind. I don't mean everything was wildly different, but I do mean that it was only going to be a standalone at the start. It wasn't until later, having written about two thirds of it, that I became aware of a deeper story buried underneath, and from that the trilogy was born.

The same can happen when you come back to revise or edit after having had some time away from your project. You're looking at it with fresh eyes and you're realising that there are maybe themes you didn't see before, or there's a subplot that you hadn't realised was there, and you can start to see the broader strokes, and also the tiny ones beneath the surface that might have passed you by while you were drafting.

It took me a long time of being a writer to be able to pick up on those finer points. While I was very aware of the plot, or the subplots and also of what story I was telling, sometimes there would be hints of something more, and then you have to make that conscious decision whether to lean into it more. One of my past editors was very good at letting me know when I'd hit a theme or a subplot that might work for the book overall and how to bring it all to the surface.

Not seeing themes doesn't mean you don't know your own work. Sometimes they are easy to see, sometimes they aren't, and other times, because you wrote the book, those themes won't have the same meaning to you as they might to a reader down the line.

So how do you go about doing it?

#1 SEARCH FOR COMMON THEMES
By this I mean things like tropes that might be subverted, or things like when a character is going through something that broadens their scope. For example in Lights Out, Lock is sure of one thing at the start, but as she grows and changes, as I uncovered more of her story, more of her sense of self, I realised that there was a theme of her standing up for what was right, no matter the consequences to her.

With Jessie, in Cramping Chronicles, there's a lot of talk about how she's not anything more than a teenager with an ability that puts her in the spotlight a lot. She has so many thoughts and feelings about what she's doing and how she does it, that she loses sight almost of all the good she does, because everything is wrapped up in pain for her.

So when it comes to your own story, search for those common themes, whether they be tropes that sound and seem like they're going to go one way, and actually go another, and lean into them. Whether that's making a character's voice stronger, or whether that's making different choices for them, it's completely up to you.

#2 CHARACTERS MATTER
I've been told over the years that my belief that my characters have more control over where my story goes than I do, is silly because they're not real. I agree they're not real, but that doesn't mean they're not shaped into a being and because of that, because of the time you spend writing them, you start to see that they, as a person, as a well formed character, would make completely different choices maybe than the ones you planned for them to make.

For me, I've been very big on making sure my characters are as fully fleshed out as possible. The story is about them. It's about what they're going through and how they react to any given thing. So for me it matters greatly if a character is telling me they wouldn't do this thing, because that means I've done my job well.

So keep in mind how any given character would react, and if you can, let them lead you through the story and out the other side. You might find that you learn something new, and your work can be all the better for it.

So there we go, two tips to get you started. As always, good luck, and if you have any questions, lemme know in the comments!

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Review of Smoke And Light by Kristin Ardis

 

A kingdom at war.
A search for missing memories.
And a tangled web of love, loss, loyalty, and lies.

After months of recovery, Khara Laveya is desperate to leave the medical wing and restore the memories she lost in a brutal rebel attack. Her responsibility to her kingdom as future Sovereigna is a looming distraction from reclaiming them.

Torn between duty and desperation, Khara is haunted by a mysterious grove that calls to her in her dreams. Finding the grove may lead to her missing memories, but venturing beyond the city walls is an act of treason. Worse, it risks another encounter with the ruthless rebel forces.

To enter the forest could mean death … or something far more sinister.

The secrets lurking in the shadows could destroy the life Khara has sacrificed so much to rebuild and unravel the kingdom itself.

 

Amazon 

 

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up even with fantasy not being a favourite of mine and this book blew me away. The missing memories, the doting partner, the whole set up was exceptionally crafted and it had me hooked from page one right through to the end. I loved Khara, loved Hayden and Ramsey and the way their characters were so very real and relatable. It was like we were there solving the mysteries along with Khara. I adored the whole book and it was an explosive start to a series that promises to leave you wanting more. Highly recommended!

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Life Of Joey & Bi-Monthly Goals - July 2024 [CC]

Letting you know what I've been up to in the past month, as well as reviewing and setting new goals! #Authortube

 
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