Like a Flower in Bloom

I received a copy of LIKE A FLOWER IN BLOOM by Siri Mitchell from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.  I always love Siri Mitchell’s books, so I was thrilled to receive this.  I haven’t missed one of hers yet.

This time she takes the reader to Victorian-era England.  Bravo!  That’s a dear sport for me, for I once worked at a Victorian Fair.  Reading this novel was a bit like stepping back to that fun summer.

Siri Mitchell always rewards with an unusual plot – and a romance to make you coo.  In this novel, young Charlotte Withersby loves helping her botanist father, but then her pesky uncle insists it is high time she married.  Enter Edward Trimble, who is now going to help her father.  Of course Charlotte must hatch some schemes to continue on as her father’s assistant, and along the way she takes a liking to dear Edward Trimble.  This book includes plenty of humor, so be prepared if reading in it public.  It elicited many a chuckle from me.

Overall, this is another top-notch novel from a master of historical romance, Siri Mitchell.  I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next.  

The Singular Illusion

Hi, everyone.  I met a great author - Michael Wessels - on the Internet.  Not only did he send me a copy of his book, THE SINGULAR ILLUSION, for review, but he agreed to an author interview!

The review:

THE SINGULAR ILLUSION is the type of book that keeps you engaged.  Nothing felt forced or dragged out.  The characters are realistic, as is the dialogue.  I look forward to reading more in this series, as I see this is book one.

The interview:  

Kissed by Literature:  Tell us about your novel.

Michael Wessels: My novel, The Singular Illusion, is about a boy named Matt who discovers a world that is hidden in plain site. The general idea of the book is based on the old wives tale that we only use 10% of our brains. The other 90% in this case is taken up by another being in a sort of symbiotic relationship, but some people lose this other being and then gain access to their whole brain. These people are very smart and have abilities that allow them to communicate with people using their minds or manipulating the world around them.

KBL:  How did you decide on that cover?

MW: The cover is how I imagined a person mind to look like if they were in this world. Each person mind would be unique and reflective of their personality. I worked with Johann Wessels, who is a fine artist, to nail down the best way to represent a person mind visually.

KBL:  Which character was the most fun to write?

MW: The characters I enjoyed most were Fred and Bruce. In my head they are almost the same person and they allow me to have fun with the book. Any time I am getting to serious with a scene, or myself, I like to add something in for them. Small things like the race up the stairs shortly after Matt meets them for the first time.

KBL:  Tell us about your writing process.

MW: The first step to my writing is just about words on the page. I have a rough idea for what I want to get across and I just put as much down as possible. Then I leave the story alone for a few weeks to get my head away from it. Then I reread it and edit as I go. Once it is possible for other people to understand it, I send it to a few friends for opinions and some further editing. I repeat that process until I am happy with it.

KBL: What has been your happiest publishing/writing moment?

MW: I have a couple really great moments. The first was seeing the first printed copy of my rough draft. It was really satisfying to see such a thick volume of pages that showed the journey. Another was getting a message from someone who I didn’t know who had read my book and had questions about how they could go about writing their own. It felt really good to think that I helped someone else pursue something they were interested in.

Andi Under Pressure

I received a copy of ANDI UNDER PRESSURE by Amanda Flower from ZonderKids via BookLook Bloggers.  It is part of the Andi Boggs series, this being book two.  I often read juvenile fiction so that I can pass them on to a little cousin – I read them first to make sure they are appropriate – and I have my degree in elementary education, so I have a strong fondness for youth fiction.  This book is top-notch and I highly recommend it.  It would be perfect for reading aloud in a family setting or in a classroom.

Andi (Andora) is twelve and getting into fun adventures.  Best of all, she’s solving mysteries.  It reminded me of the Nancy Drew books my mother would read to me when I was younger, and it also reminded me of Veronica Mars, but of course in a more age-appropriate setting.  I found another strong resemblance to the Mandie Shaw mysteries, which were a major part of my childhood, in how God is revered.

Andi and her friend Colin go to Discovery Camp, where of course mysterious things are occurring and they decide to investigate.  I loved how the author is encouraging girls to get into science – and mysteries!

Secret of Pembrooke Park

I received a copy of THE SECRET OF PEMBROOKE PARK by Julie Klassen from Bethany House.  I must preface this by saying Julie Klassen is one of my favorite authors and Bethany House is one of my favorite publishers, so I was thrilled at this opportunity.  Of course, the fact that the novel is historical fiction, one of my favorite genres, also helped in my excitement.

This story centers around Abigail Foster, who is a strong female lead.  Her family is destitute after her father invests wrongly in a bank – at Abigail’s urging.  She and her father get the chance to move to a manor, and you can bet mystery ensues.  The Pembrooke family up and disappeared one day.  There is also a lost treasure.  I found the mystery intriguing and I swooned over the romance. 

My only nitpick is that I was confused about the historical aspects.  Some of the things didn’t feel right for me – Abigail is in her room alone with a male – but they didn’t deter from the storyline.  Overall, this was a great escape from day-today-life.  I recommend this to fan of inspirational historical fiction.  The writing reminded me of a classic.  Perhaps it isn’t quite Jane Austen, but it certainly reminded me of her work.  

Author Interview with Drake Collins

Time for something I haven't done before...I am interviewing the author of an erotic novel.  I am pleased to introduce Drake Collins and his novel HARDSHIP TROOPERS.

 

 

1. How did you become interested in writing?

I've been writing since I was very young. I was always interested in fiction in all mediums, from film, to animation, to comic books, to video games and books. I started writing my own stories in grade school. I read comics at an early age which boosted my vocabulary skills and gave me an urge to create my own worlds and characters, which I've done ever since.

 

2. Tell us about your novel.

Hardship Troopers is the story of a young human male named Cam who lives several centuries in the future. Cam works as an office manager and corporate liaison aboard a space station orbiting an Earth-like planet dozens of light-years from the human home world. After one of his co-workers get a promotion and is transferred out, a new hire comes aboard. She's a young human female named Maximillia just recently released from a correctional facility on a nearby planet. Cam is congenial and personable whereas Maximillia is brash, but undeniably effective at her job. He finds her fascinating and disturbingly alluring. Their seemingly improbable chemistry builds into an unlikely romance.

3.  Why did you choose to write an erotic novel?

I was actually motivated to write an erotic novel after playing through a video game. The game was a science fiction role-playing game and gave you the opportunity to spark a romance with a non-player character, which I did. I imagined a drawn-out romance under circumstances and in environments similar to the game and decided to embark upon an adventure to write a story!

I really wanted to explore the intricacies of intimate relationships, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically. But I also wanted to do all of this in front of the backdrop of a unique science fiction universe. I wanted to delve into how sexual relations might work between alien species and how the existence of aliens could potentially exponentially complicate sexual relationships.

In the end, though, it did narrow down to a simple story about a slightly timid, but loving and kind-hearted fellow whose heart is captured by an icy goddess. They end up learning from one another, growing as human beings and becoming closer, both physically and emotionally. 

4. The cover is great!  Who did the artwork?

The original photography was done by a Russian artist who went under a pen name that I unfortunately can't recall. After an exhaustive search to find a stock photo that I could use as the basis for my cover, I found the gallery of a talented photographer who lives in St. Petersburg, if I remember correctly. We spoke on and off for over a week about my project and she was happy to lend her photo to my work. I offered to compensate her for the license but, surprisingly, she turned down my offer, stating she was just happy that someone liked the photo.

5. What have you learned from becoming a published author?

I've learned that the book-buying public are fickle. I really did pour my heart and soul into the book and spent over a year writing it but the initial release was tepid at best and barely found an audience. I've written subsequent short stories that are fictional, but realistic in nature, which have sold far better, but were lazily written by my own admission. I think that erotic novel readers are more interested in action than ideas and Hardship Troopers was a hearty mix of science fiction concepts and torrid smut, which may have turned some off."

Discipleship

I received a copy of DISCIPLESHIP: LIVING FOR CHRIST IN THE DAILY GRIND by J. Heinrich Arnold from Plough.  It is the new expanded edition, including a foreword by Henri J. M. Nouwen. 

I read it, and then needed to ponder what I had read.  It was definitely good, very thought provoking, and I needed to digest the words.  I also took a look on GoodReads to see what others were saying, and I can understand why the book has earned such great rankings.  This book brings Jesus into a profound life and I can see it positively affecting those who are new in their beliefs.  I highly recommend this book.

Finding North (Compass series #1) by Allyson Gottlieb

Sometimes you have to lose everything to find what you’ve really been looking for

Katherine Zova spends her days patching up soldiers in the Alliance’s army while praying for time to heal the wounds on her own broken heart. Crushing loss numbs her waking hours and nightmares threaten her sanity when she closes her eyes. All she wants is to be free, but instead she’s forced to trade one cage for another.

Reynan Caverly wears his uniform only out of loyalty to his father, who in his quest to build a new America has little time to spend with his only son. Indifferent to his sensational Las Vegas lifestyle, all he wants is to feel a connection with someone. A seemingly impossible request—until the day he finds a girl with haunting eyes in a group of captured Alliance soldiers.

Some wounds cut too deep to deal with alone. Sometimes only love can heal. But in a country torn apart by civil war, nothing comes without a price. And for Kat and Reynan, falling in love may cost more than they’re willing to pay.

Isn’t it gorgeous? Marisa from "https://

www. http://covermedarling.com">Cover Me Darling did an amazing job. Just look at that full wrap!

And since it’s also #TeaserTuesday, here’s an exclusive excerpt from inside the book!

Reynan was smiling at me in a way that made me ever so slightly nervous again. “You sound so happy when you talk about home. I can tell you really love it there.”

My stomach muscles tensed involuntarily. This was skating dangerously close to subjects from last night’s interrogation.

These were Reynan’s kind eyes looking back at me, though, not the cold, cruel stare of his father. So I took another deep breath and said, “I have some pretty good memories, yes.”

“What was the school system like? I’ve been homeschooled all my life, for one reason or another, so I’ve never really seen a public school.”

I started to laugh, then covered it with a cough. “Public school sucks. Be thankful you didn’t have to deal with disgusting cafeteria food, lockers that stick, and butt-ugly PE uniforms.” He chuckled as I continued, “Homeschooled…I can’t imagine what that must be like.”

“Yeah, well, it was pretty nice. My father made me do a lot of physical training, but as far as book-learning, I got a lot of choice about what I studied, so I stopped doing math as soon as I could get away with it.”

“Nice.” I smirked. “My mom made me take it all through high school. Calculus was the bane of my existence.”

“That sucks.” He looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets as he added, “It was lonely, though. Homeschooling.”

There was a weight in my chest that felt a lot like sympathy. “Did you have a favorite subject?” I asked, trying to take my mind off that topic before I thought too long about it. “Mine was English.”

“I liked history, which is kind of a useless subject in some ways. If you really think about it, though, somebody had to write these books, which is kind of like playing God. Can you imagine trying to sum up all of human existence into a “greatest hits” reel? That’s some serious power right there. Then I wonder what the history books will look like in a hundred years, and how much of what’s important to me, what I lived through, will end up preserved for future generations to learn about.”

I sucked in a breath, the indirect reminder of the current state of the country—of the war, and our positions on opposite sides of it—like a bucket of freezing water over my head, a shock to my system. Moreover, there was the realization that until then, we’d been chatting away like a pair of actual friends.

I tried to put some space between us, but the passage was barely wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side by side. I was grateful when it widened out into a small chamber. More pictures and hieroglyphics covered the walls, and a gold sarcophagus lay in the center on a slightly raised platform.

I stroked my fingers over the top, shivering slightly at the cool metal. “This place is awesome,” I said, in an attempt to break the awkward silence that had settled in between us like an old friend. “I can’t imagine what kind of fun—and trouble—you must have gotten into as a kid with the Strip as your playground.”

Reynan forced a slight smile, though his expression was tense, almost pained. “I didn’t always live here.”

The tone of his voice, while not entirely standoffish, definitely seemed to shut down any further line of inquiry.

All these hints and scraps of information had me wondering about his childhood. It couldn’t have been traditional, given who his father was, and I startled myself with the realization that I actually wanted to know more about it—more about him.

Somehow, despite all my best attempts to stay detached, I’d started to care just a little bit about him. Even that little bit scared me, because I knew how easy it was for something like that to grow into more.

Intrigued yet? Add it to your Goodreads TBR "

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23570234-finding-north">here:

Growing up, Allyson was always the girl with a big imagination and even bigger dreams. A California girl by birth, she currently lives in Boston while attending Emerson College. She has a slight addiction to Stabucks, eyeliner, and chocolate—and, of course, books.

You can find Allyson in the following places:

"https://

www.allysongottlieb.com">Website

"

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cSwSrECiO5-broah-rDK6tZBqjRVvaUDD0nbkseTrSo/viewform">Newsletter

"

https://www.facebook.com/AllysonGottliebAuthor">Facebook

"

https://twitter.com/GottliebAllyson">Twitter

"

http://allysongottlieb.tumblr.com">Tumblr