Monday, October 26, 2015

Winners and Blog Tour Recap

And the blog tour comes to a close. It has been an interesting week (including an adventure with the plumbing), and this blog tour helped to make it great in spite of such...things. Thank you to all who participated! I loved seeing what was said about my book and interacting with you all in the comments. Thank you so much.

In case you missed anything, here's a recap of the tour.

Reviews

"I definitely give this book 5 stars! It was full of excitement and I was so curious to see what would happen next!" --Maddy

"I LOVED it. It is, in my opinion, even better than the first book!" --Sierra

"This book was captivating. I loved the new characters, I cried over the change of the old characters, over all, I loved it!" --R.J. Steele

"In short, this is a sweet little story that is another wonderful addition to the portal fantasy genre, and one that kept me up way past my bedtime reading multiple times" --Kendra

"Ships. (Yes, both meanings of the word…I just had to do that.) The Andaron is really cool, and for those of you who know what the term ‘shipping’ refers to when referring to characters, Weathersbard is heartbreaking and Jill/Adriel is adorable but they’re kids" --Amanda

"My 3rd youngest brother is a big fan of her books, and is waiting with baited breath for a copy." --Katelyn

"I really liked this book! It was even better then the first (and that one was pretty good!)! But man! Those endings!! Book 3 can’t come out soon enough!" --Alyssa

Author Interviews 


Character Interviews 


Character Spotlights 


Guest Posts 


Bonus Features Posts 


Giveaway Winners

1st Prize Winner (signed copy of The Crossways)--Rachael S.
2nd Prize Winner (eBook of The Crossways)--Emily K.

Congratulations! I've emailed you for the information I need to get you your prizes.

Many thanks to everyone who helped with this release! You guys are awesome.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

A Calhortean Character Quiz

I have a surprise for you today! Well, if you followed my last blog tour, you might have guessed what it is, since I was rather uncreative about it on the blog tour schedule, but I have another character quiz! This one is for Calhortean natives. The most prominent non-Time Captive characters are in it, so you can see which one of them you are most like. I'm Grant Weathersby, though I know I picked several Adriel answers as well. I was curious to see which one I was more like. And I like Grant, so I'm cool with that. After all, I know I'm not nearly as good as Rae. Without further ado, here's the quiz! Let me know in the comments who you got.



Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Crossways Inspirations

Last blog tour, I listed inspirations for Time Captives. However, I had to cut it off because I was running into stories that specifically inspired The Crossways. Now it’s time to list those inspirations.

Dragons of Starlight by Bryan Davis. This series is what convinced me that it would be okay to throw a little sci-fi into my fantasy. It’s primarily a fantasy story, but there are a few elements that have more of a science fiction feel. Also, the stardrops provided the visual inspiration for the Bremsi and the Redona. They have completely and totally different properties and purposes, though.

The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson. Good dragons. Previously, my experience with fantasy dragons had consisted primarily of dragon Eustace and Smaug, so I didn’t know how awesome it would be to have dragons who were actually good.

Ilyon Chronicles Facebook posts by Jaye L. Knight. The very awesome main guy of Ilyon Chronicles, Jace, is a former gladiator, so Jaye would often post things about gladiators on the series Facebook page. Seeing all that, I was inspired to throw a little Ancient Rome into my worldbuilding in the form of gladiators.

Doctor Who Series 2, most specifically “School Reunion.” Tuck Everlasting did a really good and thorough job of exploring the downside of immortality in this life, but still, certain implications didn’t hit me until the Doctor said to Rose, “You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend the rest of mine with you.” And since there are several couples in Time Captives that I shipped as soon as they met, this certainly came into play. And honestly, the outcome is worse than “Doomsday.” At least “Doomsday” had “Journey’s End” to come, for Rose, anyway. Poor Doctor. Now I want to cry for him, just thinking about it. :(

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. This is one I didn’t realize until later. Leah E. Good used a line from the book for her “Guess a Quote” game, and so I flipped through the book, reliving this awesome story. All of a sudden, it hit me that there are quite a few similarities in personality between Adriel and Daniel. They’re both stubborn and angry and rebellious and resentful, hating the oppressors of their people and struggling with doubts about their faith. There’s a pretty big difference between them, though. Daniel’s relationship with his sister Leah is strained at best, while Adriel’s sister Rae is the most important thing in the world to him.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. This is principally because I couldn’t really find any books on sailing. I looked to this exciting and mysterious book for tips on writing a sea story. The Crossways is completely different, but the shipboard scenes probably have a slight Charlotte Doyle flavor to them, that and Pirates & Faith.

So there you have the primary stories that influenced The Crossways. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway and check out the rest of the blog tour!



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Monday, October 19, 2015

Release Day for The Crossways!

The Crossways is here! At long last, I can introduce Adriel to the world. There's so much I love about this book. And it's available for you all today! Purchase links and all the special release stuff are below the cover and description.

“M’lady, it has been fairly well confirmed that the Redona was hidden away by the merfolk at the conclusion of the Great War instead of destroyed as was commanded. My brother has confirmed to me Joseph’s belief that it was concealed at the Crossways.”
 

Toarna pressed her fingertips together in thought. “It must be recovered and destroyed as was at first intended.”



Emily, Allan, Jill, and Joey have been reunited with their long lost ancestors. But with that reunion comes the true beginning of their quest: free the rightful king of Calhortz so that he may be restored to his throne. The Redona, the only object that can free him from his long imprisonment, is rumored to be concealed in The Crossways, a mountain across the sea which cannot be entered.


A slave since birth, Adriel’s resentment and hatred towards the strytes only grows as his family is continually ripped from him. He longs for the freedom the Time Captives are prophesied to bring, but he doubts their existence, just as he doubts God’s love. Circumstances in Calhortz are so dire. How could they ever improve?


Who can enter The Crossways? Will the king ever be freed? Or will the slaves of Calhortz lose all hope of freedom before it is even offered to them?

The Crossways is the second book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom. 

Buy Now 


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25990964-the-crossways

A bunch of awesome friends are helping to spread the word with a blog tour this week. The tour is full of reviews, interviews, and guest posts. And some of these character interviews came out quite interesting. You won't want to miss it! Here's the full tour schedule so you can visit their fantastic blogs. And don't forget to enter the giveaway, because you could win a free copy of The Crossways!

Monday, October 19

·        Tour Introduction at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke
·        Book Review at Girls Living For God’s Glory
·        Character Spotlight at Knitted by God’s Plan ~ Jaysen
·        Guest Post at Jaye L. Knight ~ Pirate Character Arcs


Tuesday, October 20

·        Book Review at Flights from the Aerie
·        Book Review at The Art of Writing For Him
·        Author Interview at Writing Anyone
·        Guest Post at Bring Your Own Books ~ Time Captives Writer’s Block
·        Character Spotlight at Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections ~ Eleanor
·        The Crossways Inspirations at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Wednesday, October 21

·        Book Review at O. Scarlett! Reviews
·        Author Interview at Flights from the Aerie
·        Author Interview at Leah’s Bookshelf
·        Character Interview at Reflections of theHeart ~ Jeremy Herb
·        Guest Post at Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections ~ An American/Medieval Fantasy Culture
·        Character Spotlight at Jaye L. Knight ~ Rae

Thursday, October 22

·        Book Review at Scattered Journal Pages
·        Character Interview at Bring Your Own Books ~ Eleanor
·        Guest Post at In the Character’s Shadow ~ Putting Yourself in Your Characters
·        Character Spotlight at Inklings Press ~ Adriel
·        Surprise Post at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Friday, October 23

·        Book Review at Bring Your Own Books
·        Author Interview at Scattered Journal Pages
·        Author Interview at The Art of Writing For Him
·        Character Interview at Flights From the Aerie ~ Adriel
·        Guest Post The Overactive Imagination ~ Choosing the Right Point of View

Saturday, October 24

·        Book Review at Writing Anyone
·        Author Interview at Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings
·        Character Interview at In the Character's Shadow ~ Joseph
·        Character Interview at Knitted by God’s Plan ~ Grant Weathersby

Monday, October 26

·        Tour Conclusion at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke


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Thursday, October 15, 2015

Lily of the Valley Cover Reveal Correction

Due to an error in the original blog posts about Faith's cover reveal, which I took part in earlier this week, the entry for the giveaway has been extended more than one full day! You have until noon Central time on Friday, October 16th to enter the giveaway. If you tried to email the cover before, please do so again, this time with the following, CORRECT email address: faith.blum.author[at]gmail.com. Thank you!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Six Days!

Just six days until The Crossways comes out! So soon! You can go ahead and preorder a Kindle copy, and get it delivered to your Kindle right at the release.

Today, I'm going to post all the quote graphics I've shared on Instagram. There's a lot more where they came from, a whole book, in fact. ;)





Monday will bring the book release and the start of the blog tour. There are a lot of awesome things coming, so come join me next week!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Lily of the Valley Cover Reveal


Today I'm participating in a cover reveal for a friend! But there’s a catch. The author, Faith Blum, has split her cover into 15 different pieces! In order to enter her giveaway, you need to put it together and email her your cover. Or, if you don’t want to enter the giveaway, but you’d still like to see the cover, stop by her blog on Thursday.

The Prize

The winner will have to be patient, but the prize for this cover reveal is a signed paperback copy of Lily of the Valley. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of shipping internationally, Faith won’t be sending a paperback outside of the U.S. If you are international and would like to participate and win, you will receive an ebook copy of any TWO of Faith's published books including Lily of the Valley.

To help you a little with putting together the cover, here is the description:

Howdy, Teacher! You don’t know me, but my kids talk bout you a lot. I been lookin fer a wife and mother fer a few years and was wonderin iffen we cood meet and get to no each other a bit. I’ll come after school to git yer answer. Grover Miller

Unruly schoolchildren, three suitors, and too many things to do. When Ruth Brookings rejects one of the suitors, he refuses to accept no for an answer.

To make matters worse, when she prays for guidance, she’s answered with a challenge instead: To encourage her friend to find a wife—whether he wants one or not.

Will she lose her friend just when she needs a friend the most? Will she be able to weather the storms she’s about to face?
 

Details

· Stop by each blog listed below to get their piece of the cover.

· Use a program like this website to put the cover together: https://www.befunky.com/features/collage-maker/. If you get a little extra space between each piece, your cover will still count toward the prize. It doesn’t have to be perfect as long is each piece is in the correct place.

· Email your completed cover to Faith at faith[dot]blum[dot]author@gmail[dot]com NO LATER THAN October 14th at 9:00 PM Central time. (If you have problems with time zones, shoot Faith an email and she’ll help you out).

· Stop by Faith’s blog to see the cover and who won. 

Piece of the Cover #3:


About the Author


Faith Blum is a 24 year old home school graduate who enjoys doing many right-brained activities such as reading, crafting, writing, and playing piano. Her favorite genre to read and write is Historical Fiction, more specifically, Westerns. In the Hymns of the West series, she has endeavored to create clean, fun, and challenging Western stories for the whole family. She currently has three novels and three novellas published. You can find her in various places online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Amazon

Bloggers


Find the other pieces of the cover on these blogs. If you are coming in late and would like direct links to each of the blog posts about the cover reveal, please go to Faith’s website link here. She will update each link to go directly to the blog post about her cover reveal.