Friday, October 25, 2013

Advertising for a giveaway!

My awesome friend Faith is hosting a giveaway, right here:

http://faithblum.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/amazing-surprising-fun-exciting-giveaway/

It's part of a thing called the No Fear Indie Blog Hop. Basically, there are a ton of fun giveaways to enter, and Faith's is one of them. I encourage you to check it out!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Book Review: "The Missing Kitten"

I actually read this book (by the talented Jesse Rice) a while back; I was one of the people Jesse had help out with the editing. I’ve been meaning to write this review for quite a while, but I procrastinate terribly. *sheepish half-smile* 

However, I am writing it now. So, without further ado – the book review of The Missing Kitten.

The first thing I’m going to mention is that, though I believe the book was aimed towards a younger audience, it will be enjoyable to people of any age – I’m sixteen, and I enjoyed every single page of the book. So don’t let the age range you perceive the book to be aimed at deter you from checking it out, I beseech thee!

Here is the description of the book, as seen on Amazon:

Missing In Action!
When imaginative Rambo discovers his kitten friend Seabert has vanished, he isn’t immediately worried. However, once he starts looking, he finds himself drawn into a plot involving a catnapping and a scheme to destroy the farm. Can Rambo rescue his friend from the forest, or will Seabert be lost forever?


I don’t know about the rest of you, but that description alone would be enough to convince me to buy the book.

The Missing Kitten is a story of excitement, adventure, loyalty, and courage. You find yourself emotionally invested in the characters quite soon off; all of them are very third-dimensional and fun to read about. They all have quirks and flaws, just like real-life humans (and animals!) do.

Okay, all of my excited rambling aside, I’ll get on to the pros and cons. And don’t expect many cons, just as a heads-up.
~~
Pros:
- The characters were well-developed and extremely likeable. You find yourself mentally cheering them on and hoping the protagonists succeed in their mission. I believe that Jesse Rice did a very good job, however, of not making all of the antagonists completely unlikeable either; some of the antagonists have a side to them that make the reader sympathize somewhat—but not enough to stop rooting for the good guys. That is a hard balance to meet, but Jesse meets it perfectly.


- There is a well-kept balance between the excitement; there is plenty to keep a person turning the pages, but it’s not all action, all the time, which is always a good balance to have in a book.

- The writing style and choice of words are easy enough for younger readers to understand, but not so much so as to bore older readers. Somehow, Jesse managed to write it so that both older and younger readers could enjoy it.
~~
Cons:
- Uhhh… the only cons I could find were fixed in the last edit of the book, to be honest. *grins* I’m telling the truth, I really don’t have any cons for this book. It’s a wonderful story!
~~
So yes, I think that’s all there really is to say! If you get the chance, definitely check out this book; it’s well worth it. And, there will be more. A sequel is already in the works. If you like this first book, then you’ll get to read more!

If you have any questions about the book, let me know, and I’ll answer them!

God bless.

~ Theodora Ashcraft

Saturday, October 5, 2013

A Call For Beta-Readers

I'm actually rather nervous about this, because I've never had a beta-reader before. *smiles a bit*

My latest project - Tomorrow's Bones - has, in a way, seized hold of me and now has me trapped. In other words, I haven't felt this worked up over a story in quite a while. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm still very excited about the prospect of finally getting to work on my fantasy trilogy.

However, that is going to be a large undertaking, and something I have high hopes for; I want to take my time with working on it.

Tomorrow's Bones, on the other hand, is, in all likelihood, a standalone. Not only that, but it's going to be fairly less complex than the Songs of Old trilogy.

So, being this excited about it, I want to start writing it as soon as I have the plot at least mostly figured out. Except I have the tendency to either lose steam very quickly, or procrastinate horribly. As many of you probably know.

So, I was thinking perhaps beta-readers might help me get on track. :)

I've not written a logline yet, unfortunately, but I'm working on it. For now, here's a bit of a statement on what the story (or what I have of it planned out) is about.

Two years after someone killed Lenard Calderano and stole his starship, a ragtag group of people - the starship's navigator, his fiery young friend, an adventurous security guard, two ex-soldiers, and Calderano's own daughter - embark on a journey to find out who killed Calerano, and why.

I just realized that sounds pretty typical for sci-fi and/or mystery. Well, one thing that might play a part of the novel that could pique ya'll's interest - there are two rooms, the Future Room and the Past Room. Together, they're called the Time Rooms. And something went wrong while they were being invented that makes them quite dangerous...

Nope, I'm not telling you what that is, because I have to keep some mystery about it. *grins mischievously*

It is also told from two viewpoints, I probably should mention that. :)  I hope to keep it from being too confusing though.

That's about all I have to say on it at the minute; here's the Pinterest board for the novel if anyone's interested:

http://www.pinterest.com/homesickdreamer/tomorrows-bones/

And here are links to excerpts I wrote with some of the characters, if you want to see a bit of that:

http://whispersofwindandsong.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-random-scene.html
http://whispersofwindandsong.blogspot.com/2013/08/another-excerpt-from-tomorrows-bones.html

So yeah, if anyone is interested in beta-reading after that really boring summary, let me know. Then I can actually link you to the Google Docs where I do planning and character profiles, and you can see those to get more information before making a decision on if you want to beta-read or not. :)

God bless.

Theodora Ashcraft