Archives for May 2014

Araina’s isolated teenage life is forever altered when she witnesses a man emerge through a rippling wall into the dark labyrinth she calls home. As a result of the stranger’s arrival, Araina’s Creators have unleashed a series of magical attacks using the labyrinth against its inhabitants. Now Araina must decide if she will trust potentially deceitful allies in order to reach safety on the other side of the labyrinth wall.

The Labyrinth Wall is the story of a young woman who discovers that although labyrinth walls confine her and her enemies try to repress her, the power of hope can set her free.

Will the walls that confine her be the walls that set her free?

Young Adult Fantasy Novel. Hit #2 on the Amazon Best Seller list in its category the day after release and hit #26 on the Top 100 Amazon Free Best Seller List.

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Meet the Author:

Though she was born in Germany and raised in Turkey until the age of five, Emilyann Girdner spent the majority of her grade school years in Tallahassee, Florida. She discovered early she had a love for stories. Reading books, watching movies and then acting them out with friends or toys gave living an extra flavor. This is likely why she spent the first part of her college career studying Creative Writing, before switching to Graphic Design and then graduating with a BFA in Digital Art from Missouri State University in 2011. Her writing has appeared on websites and blogs including Center for Work Life, Easter Seals Florida, MU Museum of Art & Archaeology’s Musings and Examiner.com. She is best known for her Amazon Best-Selling novel, The Labyrinth Wall. Emilyann is now living and working in Florida.

Given her three focus transitions as an undergraduate, it isn’t a shock that she is a multi-medium lover, exploring writing, digital art, photography and design. She finds that her creativity is most fluent when given the opportunity to bounce between artistic outlets.

To truly understand this Author, there are two things to know about her. Emilyann hopes to share a love for others and God in all she does. She believes that imagination sparks beauty in the soul.

Review:

Today, I have a guest reviewer, my daughter!  So, there will be no wine recommendation with this review 😉

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Labyrinth Wall is a story about a girl named Araina, who is trying to survive in a bleak, uncaring world where there is little food, and danger at every turn. She is a Mahk, and the Mahk are a race of people created by the Creators, and ever since creation, they are thrown into a dangerous world and are forced to collect obsidian for food. Araina discovers the possibility of a better life outside the walls of the labyrinth, when she sees a man fall through the wall, onto her side. I will try not to spoil the story for you, as it is good one.

The things I liked most about this book was that it was very fast paced, it never got dull or boring at any part of the book. The writing style of the author was clear and easy to follow. And the characters are interesting and well developed.

The things I didn’t like, was that I wish that the character Korun played a bigger part in the dialogue parts of the story. I felt he didn’t do much other than heal people and talk to Araina about her distrustful nature. I also didn’t care much for the character Darith. I thought his speech pattern could be hard to follow sometimes, but it did add a unique flair to his character.

My favorite character has to be Araina. She is just so cool and tough! She doesn’t let her emotions get in the way of her thinking. And she is a skilled fighter and survivor.

Overall I really liked this book and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

Follow Emilyann:

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In the second book in the Ramtalan Trilogy, Argus Dachel, a far-from-ordinary half-alien teen, finds himself mixed up in the battle between a hostile faction of Invaders and the peaceful Ramtalans he’s come to know as his friends. With his brother Tai held captive at the Citadel and disturbing news about his father, Argus has to come to grips with the truth about who he really is. Not only is the government agency, the Astronomical Urgent Recovery Administration, AURA, hot on his tail, but his relationship with his girlfriend Lola is in jeopardy. As his special abilities increase and become stronger, he risks exposure and capture. When the enemy closes in and the Citadel is attacked, it seems victory is impossible, but losing means certain death. He must find some way to protect everyone around him, but winning is impossible. Or is it?

Buy on Escargot | Amazon 

Excerpt:

Argus reacted instantly and thrashed out, hitting Todd’s arm. There was a snap and the baseball bat dropped to the ground. No mistaking that snapping sound. Argus knew he’d just broken Todd’s arm. But instead of running away, Todd yelped and his face reddened. He lunged again, only this time he managed to grab Lola’s wrist with his other hand. She screamed and Argus had a burst of energy surge up from down deep.

 “Get your hands off her!” Argus bellowed, his body was on fire and he was trembling. He knew his eyes had flipped, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wrapped his hand around Todd’s throat and lifted him off the ground a few inches until he let go of Lola. Argus could feel his hand squeezing and wanted to stop, but he couldn’t. He’d lost control. In that moment, he wanted Todd dead.

 “Argie! Your eyes. Stop it! Let him go!” Lola screamed. “Argus! What are you doing?”

 He wanted to stop, he really did, but the sight of Todd’s terrified expression excited him and actually made him feel good. He squeezed harder. Todd was dying right before his eyes, and he was happy about it.

 “Yes!” Gretchen shouted from across the field. “Anger triggers those creepy black eyes, doesn’t it, kid?”

 Argus turned and saw Gretchen running toward him, carrying the OEED, pointing it straight ahead. Max was beside her with a huge grin on his face.

 Max pointed at Argus. “Put him down, Argus. Now!”

Todd gurgled and Argus released his grip, letting the big super-senior drop to the ground. Max ran to Todd while Gretchen came up to Argus.

 “Welcome to Earth, Mr. Dachel,” she said with a smile.

About the Author:

Sofia Diana Gabel is a multi-genre fiction writer who was born in Sydney, Australia, but is now living in the United States with her family. With undergrad degrees in environmental science and archaeology, and currently attending graduate school in archaeology, she enjoys learning and being out in nature when she’s not glued to her desk writing or researching a new story idea. Writing is a true passion of hers, born from a love of the written word that can transport the reader to different places or worlds and deliver them back to reality, safe and sound.

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Abiding Flame Cover Reveal

Darkness can be overcome…

Terminally ill Lynette Lamb is forced to reunite her wayward son and grandson. Her options are as limited as her strength and mobility. Through a fateful series of events, the rejoined pair will leave Earth to become part of a colony orbiting a new planet. Sam Austin and his wife mourn the loss of their only child and decide to make a fresh start at the space station. The same ship holds the one who will fulfill the dark planet’s prophecy, but a demonic force boards to stop the vessel. The demon’s obedient but unwilling servant is sent on a suicide mission to keep the ship from reaching its destination.

Expected Release Date: June 24, 2014

Author Bio:

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine.

Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and is now available as an audiobook. #1 Bestseller on Amazon in Christian Sci/Fi and Fantasy (October 2013)

One of Pauline’s short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group.

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Excerpt:

“Freak,” a boy in green yelled, drawing Lynette Lamb’s attention from her second story window. Three boys caught up with her eleven-year-old grandson, Jeremy, and blocked his path. “Why you look so weird?”
“Do–” Jeremy clenched a pharmacy bag. “Why do I look so weird?”
The green one laughed. “That’s what I asked. See, he doesn’t even know.” Snickering, two of the boys punched each other in the shoulders.
Lynette could smell their bloodlust on the breeze. Like rough burlap, her tired lungs scratched against her rib cage, but she ignored the pain and watched the three boys who harassed her grandson. One wore red, one blue, and one green. Otherwise only a modicum of disparity existed among them. That was the problem with normalization. In an effort to make everyone look the same, society succeeded in taking away individuality. She could hardly tell the kids apart anymore. She coughed, and splatters of blood stained the washcloth she gripped in her weak fingers.
“Is your doctor blind or sumthin’? ’Cuz I can almost see through you, white boy.” Green smacked Jeremy in the chest to punctuate his words. “And what’s with those teeth? Was yo’ momma a horse?”
“No.” Jeremy attempted to cross the street.
The boy in red pushed him and knocked the pharmacy bag to the sidewalk. “You ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
The one in blue giggled like a hyena. “Yeah. Unless it’s to a doctor. It’s called normalizing. Ain’t you never heard of it?”
“Shut it.” The one in red smacked Blue in the back of the head. Blue cowered, nearly falling backwards as he stepped off the curb.
Jeremy focused on the bag at his feet and stood still. His tall, lanky frame and pale skin made him an anomaly to the normalized, olive-skinned children his age. Because of his recent growth spurt, he seemed to be more knees and elbows than his limbs accounted for. Next to the other children, he stood like an awkward, leafless cedar.
Lynette clenched her teeth, hoping none of the young brutes held a weapon. If only she had the strength and wind in her lungs to yell at them! Tears filled her eyes. It crushed her that she could no longer take care of her grandson like he needed.
Green poked Jeremy in the chest to emphasize each word. “Why. You. Look. So. Weird.”
“I look the way God made me.”
Lynette’s heart swelled. But the primary colors doubled over and slapped each other on the backs. Green barked laughter, but stopped, spit on the ground, and said, “You one of those religion freaks, ain’t you? I knew it.”
Blue giggled, hand over his mouth, and pointed at Jeremy. “My dad said you was extinct!”
Red gripped the front of Jeremy’s shirt and growled, “Well, I says we make you extinct.”
He rammed his fist into Jeremy’s stomach. The other two boys jumped into the fray, arms thumping in a wild rhythm.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Abiding Flame

by Pauline Creeden

Giveaway ends July 01, 2014.

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