Armchair BEA: Introduction

Armchair BEA is upon us. I totally wish I could go to NYC and get to see all the fabulous stuff there, but money is tight and I have elderly parents to care for, so it isn't happening here.

This Chick will be armchairing it as much as possible though.

Here's a bit about The Chick Who Reads

Me, in 140 characters or less : Animal lover, Music-Reviewer, Reader. Secretary by profession but not by choice. Lover of historical fiction and romance, chicklit, mysteries and YA. Oh and crazy cat lady extraordinaire.

If you could put one book in the hands of everyone you come in contact with, what would it be and why? 


That is easy, Gaston Leroux's The Phantom Of The Opera.  This is one of the easiest classic novels to read. I think it would almost qualify as a cozy mystery if it had been published more recently.

I really loved all the characters in this book, especially Erik, The Phantom.  I think everyone should read this book. When I was in high school, honors english, I actually wrote the reading test for this novel.

I wonder if anyone ever took the exam?.....hmmmm.

Do you host any special events or memes on your blog that you would like to share with us (outside of Armchair BEA)? Please explain.

Right now I'm trying to get a new meme on Thursdays started. I've had a few book tour commitments that have kept me from getting it done regularly though, but the meme is called TBR Thursday. In this meme, everyone shares a few books from their To Be Read piles.

The Bookish Snob Promotions Book Tour Guest Post: Dr. April Nyland

Today we are lucky enough to have Dr. Ann Nyland here to talk about her book Hedgeland, and there's a giveaway at the end. So be sure to check that out!!!

Here's a bit more about the book and Ann and I'll turn the blog over to Ann!

Hedgeland Blurb:

Hedgeland, an urban fantasy of time travel. Dr April Neuland, a Professor of Ancient Languages turned non-fiction writer, has been plagued by dreams all her life, dreams of her past life in the Otherworld. Meanwhile, in a parallel dimension of April's past and Caridwen's future, Worthing, a Future History Professor, has allied with the Military to access Future Internet communications and use new technology to influence April to write an ebook novel revealing where she, in her past life as Caridwen, hid the Kiste, a device to travel through time and space. Hedgeland weaves all three time/space frames: Caridwen, Worthing, and April. Hedgeland is the first in the Hedgecraft Sequence, but is a fully self contained novel with no cliff hangers.

Author Dr Ann Nyland was on Faculty at the University of New England, Australia. She is a grammar pedant, ancient languages translator, and best selling non-fiction author of such books as The Complete Books of Enoch; Angels, Archangels and Angel

Categories: What the Ancients Said; The Book of Jubilees; A Devil of a Job to Find Satan in the Bible, among others.

Guest Post:

The worlds in Hedgeland.

Ok, it might seem complicated at first, but bear with me! There are three worlds in Hedgeland.

The present world is our world, our time, and is about Dr. April Neuland, a former college professor of ancient languages. From her childhood, April has been plagued by dreams of her past life as Caridwen.

There are two past worlds, the first being the ancient Caer Sidi, Caridwen's world, a technologically advanced civilisation. To us this is

the "Otherworld." When Caridwen's people made their regular Crossings into our world, it was in our Neolithic times. The Caer Sidi residents call our world the "Otherworld" and we call their world the "Otherworld." Caer Sidi is in another dimension of time and space.

Caer Sidi is in fact the "Otherworld" in Celtic mythology. I have used actual academic research (as opposed to general internet stuff which is
usually inaccurate) as the historical background of the Hedgecraft series.

In Europe, hedges were considered a place to cross into the Otherworld. The 'hedgerider' was someone who could cross between worlds. In earlier European times, many of the villages were surrounded by a hedge, and so the hedge symbolised the barrier between this world and the Otherworld.

The term "hedgecraft" was also known as "hedge riding" and means crossing the "hedge" (boundary) between this world and the Otherworld.

Today, the term 'hedgerider' can refer to any witch, but traditionally, it was someone who could cross spiritual boundaries. The hedgewitch referred to in the recent book Hedge Witch - a guide to Solitary Witchcraft by Rae Beth is more of a Wiccan type of hedgewitch and does not encompass the traditional meaning of the world.

The third world is "modern" Caer Sidi, Worthing's world. To us this is, again, the "Otherworld." This equates to our Bronze Age times. Worthing is a Future History Professor. His civilization is able to access certain internet communications from centuries into the future, and their future is our time.

The Military in Worthing's world goes further, and uses new technology to influence April to write an ebook novel revealing where she, in her past life as Caridwen, hid the Kiste, a device to travel through time and space. April does write the ebook novel, the title of which is Hedgeland.

Hedgeland weaves all three time/space frames: Caridwen, Worthing and April. Hedgeland is the first book in the Hedgecraft Sequence. I am interested in parallel dimensions such as in String Theory, and explore this in the novel.

I am in fact April, and I have kept the present section largely autobiographical.

Many of the paranormal events I describe actually happened. April writes a novel called Hedgeland. I like this as a literary effect, and it fits with the parallel worlds in the book. This is art imitating life which is imitating art.

As a prize at the end of the blog tour I am giving away an appearance in the next book of the Hedgeland Sequence which will be out this year. You will be able to appear in the Present Section as yourself. Have a nasty ex bf? This is the ideal way to get revenge.


Buy: Amazon

The next stop on the tour: It's All About Books

The Bookish Snob Promotions Guest Post: Christine E. Shultze Author Of Bloodmaiden

Bloodmaiden Brought to Life: Schulze’s Original Art

One aspect of Bloodmaiden I really wanted to share was the artwork I created for it and which helped inspire the mood and motivation behind the story.


This is one talent I cannot claim sole resposibility--obviously, since I'm in most of the pictures. ^_^ All photography credit is due towards my excellent photographer and companion, Mr. J. A. Schulze. He is responsible for any posing, lighting, positioning, anything that looks really great about the photos.


My part comes in with tweaking the raw photos and enchancing them in Photo Explosion, my favorite photo editing software; I'm very biased, as it's very simple for me to use and I've done some pretty cool things with it thus far.

I also love composing music for my books; I have a collection of MP3s available for download at a site called Rmusic, under the collective title of "Stregoni Symphony." Many of these songs are those I carried in my head as a child or else found on the piano and there they rested, faithfully in my mind, until I could have the knowlegde and tools of how to put them on sheet music and release them to the world.

Here you'll find a sample of my work. Some of my favorites include Crisilin in the golden dress holding the red rose; the colors are so vibrant and so jarringly depict the what is happening in that moment. I also like the picture labeled "Quelda"; Crsilin's stare is so intense. The woodland scenes were fun too; they came out dreamy as they should be, for they depict Crisilin's short but pivotal dream scene. It was nippy on the day of the shooting, but I was quite determined, and I think most turned out wonderfully. ^_^

There is not much more to say; I will let the pictures speak for themselves and hope you enjoy. If you'd like to see--or hear--more of my artwork, consider checking out these links:

Bloodmaiden Trailer--One I made; it's ten minutes but shows much artwork and also includes the music I composed for Bloodmaiden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8s8HGXFPb4

Bloodmaiden site

http://bloodmaiden.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=7493489

Buy: Amazon/Smashwords

 

The next stop on the tour is May 23rd - Books Devoured 

 

 

Author Info: Christine E. Schulze has been creating books since she was too young to even write them in words. Her collection of YA fantasy books, The Amielian Legacy, is comprised of series and stand-alone books which can all be read separately but which weave together to create an amazing fantasy. Her fanatsies also incorporate many other genres, such as Christian fantasy, romance, and even a spark of horror at times. She hopes to inspire readers throughout the world with these books by publishing in both traditional and electronic formats to make them available to all readers.

Christine has published several stories with Calliope and Kalkion magazines and is an active member of the WEbook online writing community. She has also published several Christian/fantasy books which are available at various online retailers, as well as publishing several eBooks via Writers-Exchange.

Her latest and most exciting venture includes her publications with Old Line Publishing: Bloodmaiden and Tears of a Vampire Prince: the First Krystine. She also anticipates her upcoming publication with Old Line, Lily in the Snow, as well as releasing The Chronicles of the Mira with Writers-Exchange in both paperback and electronic forms.



Christine currently lives in Belleville, Illinois in her first and most thrilling apartment.

Book Review: Bloodmaiden

Author: Christine E. Schulze
Title: Bloodmaiden
Publisher: Old Line Publishing
Publish Date: May 12, 2010
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: The Bookish Snob Promotions & the author
Book Blurb: Zale. Gauthier. Varden. These three dynasties... They all sound like something out of an ancient, oriental myth or fairy tale. The concept of humans and dragons helping and living in harmony with one another, without fear. To me, that's exactly what they are. A distant dream only read of, whispered secretly, quietly yearned for. For, you see, I am the new Quelda of Tynan. These words echo the mystery, horror, and romance found within Schulze's fantasy novel. Along with her new husband, Chalom, Crislin must choose to embrace cruel tradition, run from it, or stand against it. The young couple's only hope is to rally the help of the three peaceful dragon dynasties of Sulaimon-but tradition is not on their side, even outside the realm of Tynan. The dragons outside Tynan's borders have been rumored as too stubborn and proud to believe their Tynanian brothers would commit such horrors as inflicted upon the Quelda. Gaining their aid is not a likely hope. Yet, any hope at all is valued in Tynan... If they are to stand a chance of bringing cruel tradition to a permanent end, Crisilin and Chalom must brave the constant, consuming blizzards of the Ever-white. They must brave the three dynasties and the challenges awaiting there. Together, they must convince the dragon emperors to allow them access to the shrines which house the sacred Aria - protective strands of music which may be able to disperse the evil from Tynan and unite the four dynasties of Sulaimon as a whole once again. Their only aid stems from a sprite whose moods are as unstable as her magic, a young minstrel, and a mysterious fox. Despite the odds, such plans are daring, dangerous, unprecedented, but fully possible - if they can escape the Wall first.

Review: For me, Bloodmaiden wasn't the easiest of reads. I'm not usually a fan of fantasy, but I loved the plot and wanted to try this one out.

Like I said, it wasn't the easiest of reads, but I really enjoyed the story. The secondary characters, like Pan seemed to carry the story which was told in the first person, by Crislin the Quelda. The writing was beautiful and descriptive.

The first chapters dealt with Crislin becoming the next Quelda and all that it entailed, which isn't pleasent. The dragons of Tynan aren't kind, and what happens to the Quelda is far from pretty. I would have liked to have learned what made these dragons turn bad. As you meet the other dragons as they travel to get the Arias, you see that they have very different personalities.

Bloodmaiden is YA but it is definitely a book that transcends age. I would definitely recommend it to people who enjoy reading fantasy.

Rating: 3 Stars

The Bookish Snob Promotions Guest Post: John G Hartness author of A Hard Day's Knight

Writing a Series

By John G. Hartness

I started writing a series because that’s what I read. I trace it all back to two things - The Lord of the Rings and comic books. I’ve been a huge comic nerd all my life, and I really fell in love with books like The X-Men early on. I love how you can become emotionally invested in what’s going on with the characters over a series, how things that happen in one books (or issue) lead into then next, how there are little hints in early books of things that happen later on that you don’t get until they hit you in the face two books later and then POW! you’re all surprised and shocked and awed and stuff.



So after I wrote my first book, The Chosen, I decided that I wanted to stretch out the lives of a set of characters. So I started with my leads. Jimmy and Greg are totally guys that I could hang out with, so I figured I wouldn’t mind living with them in my head for a few years. Then I added some other characters for balance, like Mike and Sabrina, and started to roll. A cameo here and there, but the core group was set at four players. That’s really as big a group as I can handle dialogue for anyway, so it works.



The things I love about writing the series are the characters. I really love seeing what these people get up to, and I love torturing them! I love putting them in awful situations, and seeing how they’ll get out of them. And being the writer, I can manipulate the laws of physics as I see fit, which helps a lot.



One of the other things I love is planting seeds early on about things that are going to happen later in the series. I already know who the “big bad” will be for Book 5 or 6, and they’re introduced by the midpoint of Book 3 (coming this summer!). And hopefully, when I pull that curtain aside and reveal the creature behind it, folks will say “that makes sense” instead of saying “what a copout!” There are other, little things that I plant in early books that will come to fruition later on, and a few cameos that will recur from book to book just to keep playing with my smaller characters that I like.



But the hard part is the continuity. I’m a scatterbrain in real life, so in my writing I have to keep copious notes. Fortunately I found a program called Scrivener, which helps me keep all my outlines and notes together in one place, and I can move them between documents whenever I start a new book. Without that my home office would be nothing but a pile of Post-Its! And I’ve found (or more precisely, had readers find) continuity errors that I’ve had to go back in and fix. That’s the benefit of being an indie author - my print runs are small enough that I can do that. It’s also the curse of being an indie author - fewer eyes to go across a manuscript before I upload it to Kindle or do a print run.



So writing a series lets me continue to spend time with characters that I enjoy, and to develop them more slowly, the way you can develop a character over multiple seasons of a TV show as opposed to in a two-hour movie. I hope my readers have as much fun hanging out with my characters as I do!

Author Info: John G. Hartness is a recovering theatre geek who likes loud music, fried pickles and cold beer. He’s been published or accepted online in several journals including The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, cc&d, Deuce Coupe and Truckin’.


His first novel, The Chosen, is an urban fantasy about saving the world, snotty archangels, gambling, tattooed street preachers, immortals with family issues, bar brawls and the consequences of our decisions.

He followed up The Chosen with Hard Day’s Knight, a new twist on the vampire detective novel and the first in a planned series of at least five books. The second book of The Black Knight Chronicles, Back in Black, landed in March 2011 and has enjoyed immediate success.

John has been called “the Kevin Smith of Charlotte,” and fans of Joss Whedon and Jim Butcher should enjoy his snarky slant on the fantasy genre. His next novel, Knight Moves (Black Knight Chronicles Vol. 3) is due out in the summer of 2011.

He can be found online at www.johnhartness.com and spends too much time on Twitter, especially after a few drinks.

Next stop on the tour: May 21- Paranormal Opinion
 
Buy The Book: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Book Review: Hard Day's Knight

Author: John G. Hartness
Title: Hard Day's Knight
Publisher: Createspace
Publish Date: Oct 21, 2010
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: The Bookish Snob Promotions and the author
Book Blurb: In the first volume of The Black Knight Chronicles, detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood investigate a series of mysterious disappearances with the help of the friend, Father Mike. The investigation is hampered by interference from the police, a dozen marauding zombies, a middle-aged necromancer, and the fact that our heroes can only look for clues by night. Because they're vampires. Vampire detectives kicking zombie butt all over town, what could be better?

Review: OMG! It only took a few minutes of reading this book to fall in love with it and all the characters. After a few chapters I was thinking, this would make a great tv show.

Why?

Two super geeks that just happen to be detectives as well as vampires? Oh c'mon now, who wouldn't watch that! They are like the anti-vampire. I love the not-so-subtle jabs Jimmy takes at popular vampires. Uh vampires do not sparkle! Woo hoo! Damn straight! They don't...or they shouldn't or Hell yeah! These geeks are awesome.

What I really love is the tone of the narrator. Jimmy is having a bad day...that keeps on getting worse. Who would have thought vampires had those! However with a demon on the loose and children disappearing too, it is no wonder Jimmy and Greg are having a bad day, especially since they fell right in the middle of the investigation, quite by accident.

But these geeky vamps are heros...and more to the point...they are heros that are friends with a priest and a fallen angel. Not what you'd expect from vampire fiction.

I really can't begin to say how much fun this book was. It had everything, a great plot, characters you really could love, even a bit of a romantic thing going with Jimmy and the Detective, even though nothing came of it...yet...and an interesting ending.  This book is definitely a must read. Seriously, why are you still reading this review, you should be buying this book!!

Rating: 5 flowers

Author Interview: Sandra Edwards Author Of Incredible Dreams w/Giveaway

Today we welcome author, Sandra Edwards to A Chick Who Reads. Sandra is the author of several books, including Incredible Dreams! Make sure you take note of the giveaway at the end of this post!



Sandra, you write in many different genres, do you have a favorite genre to write?

I don’t really have a favorite genre. I guess you could say, when I’m working on a book it’s genre is my favorite at the time. lol.

When it comes to your own reading, what genre do you prefer? Do you have a favorite author?

My reading tastes are as eclectic as my muse’s writing habits. Although I’m not much for inspirational or horror, I’m opening to anything so long as the story grabs my attention.


Time travel is such a big part of the entertainment industry. What do you think it is about the prospect of traveling through time that appeals to so many?

Well I can’t speak for others, but for me the thought of time travel brings with it a chance to magically step outside the bounds of reality as I know it.


What period of time would you travel to, if you had the opportunity? Is there a particular person you’d like to meet?

I’d love to travel back to the 1940s. I’ve always been fascinated by the era. I’ve never entertained the notion of “if I could go back in time is there anyone I’d like to meet?” Not sure why. It’s just not something that’s ever appealed to me.


Your heroine is a “ghost whisperer” do you believe in ghosts?

Yes, I do.


Tell us a little bit about Incredible Dreams.

Incredible Dreams is the story of a modern-day ghost whisperer who travels through time to save the life of a WWII fighter pilot and ends up jeopardizing her own existence.

Captain Jack is a fighter pilot in WWII, is there something particular that drew you to that time period?

Aside from my fascination with the era, a couple of ghost stories from the 40s are the inspiration for Incredible Dreams.


What is in the works for you next?

I’m currently working on a new time travel series called Time Brokers. The first book, Staked will be released this summer.



Giveaway!!!

Sandra’s giving away a new Kindle 3 and a nice starter library from some great authors at the end of this blog tour. For more info, please check her website at: http://www.sandrawrites.com


Followers of the “Incredible Dreams Kindle 3 Giveaway” here are your questions for this stop on the blog tour:


1.In Monique Martin's Out of Time, where is Elizabeth from? -- Find the answer at http://moniquemartin.weebly.com/sample-chapter.html


2. What time period does the heroine travel to in Incredible Dreams by Sandra Edwards? -- Find the answer at http://www.sandrawrites.com

** Please don’t post your answers in the comments section here. Detailed instructions for entering the giveaway are at Sandra’s website.

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