Guest Post: Playlist for Taste of Death and Honey by Sharon Bayliss

Music is one of my greatest sources of inspiration. My characters always seem to spring to life when music is playing. Perhaps it's magic!

So when I create a story, I also create a playlist of the songs that inspired me most and I love getting the opportunity to share it with my readers. Often the lyrics fit with the story or the songs simply evoke the right feelings or images. For A Taste of Death and Honey, I have a folksy, mournful playlist with strong themes of life and death. Those of you who have read the book might understand my choices. And if not, I hope you just enjoy the music!

Here are some lyrics that really stood out to me:

We came for salvation
We came for family
We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away

Salvation Song, The Avett Brothers


It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

All My Tears, Emmylou Harris


When, my, time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her

Work Song, Hozier


Well I walked into black
Said I weren't coming back
Saw my angel in blue
She tell me "This life ain't for you"
Oh, this life
Tell it to me this life, ain't for me now

I woke up feeling new
'Cause now I know this life is for you
Yes, this life
Oh, this life ain't for me now
It's for you!

This Life, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

You can also enjoy playlists curated for Destruction and Watch Me Burn.
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Now that you've listened, try a taste (of death and honey)!

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This book will grab you by the throat, challenge your mind, and turn your heart inside out. Sharon Bayliss delivers a powerful, emotional punch with her third book in the December People series. - Amy Bearce, author of  The World of Aluvia Series

When Samantha’s parents died, she lost everything. Her home. Her friends. Her hope. Then a life-loving spring witch at the children’s shelter fills her life with light and joy once again.

But like the springtime, Samantha’s happiness doesn’t last forever. Her friend dies violently in front of her, the victim of a mysterious killing spell. Furious and grief-stricken, Samantha resents her own weak spring magic. She doesn’t need life and renewal. She wants revenge…and death.

Homeless and alone, Samantha seeks shelter with her old friends, the Vandergraff family, and finds an unexpected ally in the powerful winter solstice witch, Evangeline. The girls’ anger and eagerness lead them to cast a killing spell before knowing the truth behind Samantha’s friend’s death or the identity of her killer. 

Once the spell is cast, they can’t take it back, and they must fight to stop their own curse before it takes away everyone they love.

A New Book Deal with REUTS

That's right! I signed again with REUTS who published the Cadence Duology. I was so happy working with them, that I'm doing it again.

REUTS Press Release

Here is a rough description:

Adele grew up running wild around her family's property, but with the arrival of a finishing mistress from England, her wild days are over. Being the only daughter with five brothers, Adele learned to work hard, and being "finished" seems pointless in the convict colony of Sydney.

But Adele has a secret; she's in love with the handsome and mysterious drover. The problem is, he's not considered an option, especially against her older brother's stable farmer friend, Thomas, who wishes to pursue her. With the drover coming and going with the seasons, Adele struggles to maintain their romance, but when her oldest brother discovers them, he runs out the drover permanently.

Furious at her brother, Adele keeps Thomas at arms length, despite her feelings softening toward him. But there are secrets to be uncovered; who is the father of the mix raced aboriginal girl they keep hidden? And now, the father of the convict woman's unborn baby? When a note arrives hinting Thomas has fathered the children, Adele is torn and confused, and things only get worse when the drover returns to take her for himself.

It's a New Adult Historical Romance. I don't have a name for it, I'm currently calling it New South Wales, but hopefully it will be changed here soon. This should be another light, fun read here for you all soon! I'm excited!

Blog Tour: Beyond the Rising Tide by Sarah Beard

Beyond the Rising Tide
by Sarah Beard
Genre: YA Speculative Romance
Release Date: June 14th 2016
Sweetwater Books

Summary from Goodreads:

Kai met Avery only once--in the moment he died saving her life. Now when he's not using his new healing powers to help people, he watches helplessly as Avery's life is unraveled by his death. To help her, he risks everything by breaking the rules, dangerously blurring the barriers between life and death. 

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Guest Post: Facing my Fears in the Name of Book Research

I’m going to tell you something about myself: I love the ocean. And I’m terrified of it. I love strolling along the beach, watching and listening to the waves roll in. I love the feel of the water as it washes over my feet and then drags me, inch by inch, out to sea. I love stepping into the waves and then moving deeper, feeling the tug and pull of that majestic and powerful thing that is the sea. But as soon as I can’t feel the sand beneath my feet, I panic. My imagination offers up all kinds of terrifying suggestions of what creatures are lurking beneath me, or how far the sea floor is from my feet.

Despite this fear, I knew that if I was going to write a book about a surfer, I needed to try surfing. So one December afternoon when I was on vacation near Avila beach, I squeezed into a wetsuit (the Pacific is COLD in December), and carried my borrowed surfboard into the waves. I’d watched a bunch of YouTube surfing lessons beforehand and practiced “popping up” on the sand, so in theory, I knew the basics.

As I paddled out past the breakers though, I wasn’t thinking about how to choose the right wave or where to put my feet or how fun this would be. All I could think about was where the shark might be. Every time I dipped my arm in the water, I practically expected it to get chomped off by a three-foot-wide mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Sure, there was only a 1 in 3.7 million chance that I’d be attacked, but the sharks would smell my fear and single me out, right?

Well, I finally made it past the breakers, and that’s when I paused for a minute and told myself to chill out. I’d made it this far, and I was going to surf, and I was going to have fun. And if I got eaten by a shark, at least I would die knowing that I was brave enough to face my fears. I looked out to sea at the set of waves that was moving toward me. I studied their shape and paddled over to where the swell would be the fullest. Then I turned my board shoreward while recalling all those surfing tips. When I felt the wave begin to swell beneath me, I paddled as hard as I could, then popped up to my feet.

I was standing! I was SURFING!

And then a few seconds later I biffed it and learned what it was like to have my sinuses cleaned out with saltwater. But I didn’t care, because I had surfed. I knew what it felt like now, and it was AMAZING. But even more amazing was knowing that I’d overcome a fear so that I could experience something new.

About the Author

Sarah Beard is the author of YA novels PORCELAIN KEYS and BEYOND THE RISING TIDE. She earned a degree in communications from the University of Utah and is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing from VCFA. When she's not writing, she referees wrestling matches between her three boys and listens to audiobooks while folding self-replicating piles of laundry. She is a breast cancer survivor, a baker of sweets, a seeker of good love stories, a composer of melancholy music, and a traveler who wishes her travel budget was much bigger. She lives with her husband and children in the shadow of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. You can follow Sarah on twitter at @authorsarahb, or atfacebook.com/authorsarahbeard.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

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Review: Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty

From Goodreads:
Ella doesn't remember what it's like to be human; after all, she's lived as a doll for thirty years. She forgets what it's like to taste, to breathe...to love.

She watches the professor create other dolls, but they don't seem to hang around for long. His most recent creation is Lisa, a sly goth. Ella doesn't like Lisa. How could she, when Lisa keeps trying to destroy her?

Ella likes the professor's granddaughter though, even if she is dying. It's too bad the professor wants to turn Gabby into a doll, depriving her of an education...depriving her of life.

With time running out and mad dolls on the rampage, Ella questions her very existence as she unearths the secrets buried in her past; secrets that will decide whether Gabby will befall the same fate... 


My Thoughts:
It's fitting I'd finish reading Broken Dolls the day before the sequel releases (Shattered Girls is now available) It's kind of great because it means technically I don't need to wait for the sequel, except I have a massive line up of reading material I need to see to first.
But anyway, Broken Dolls follows Ella, a little ballerina doll who lives in "the professor's" attic. She's lived there for so long she can't remember anything else, and she certainly can't remember her human life. Until Lisa becomes a doll with her, and raises endless questions for her.
This story holds great mystery throughout, and I learned to love sweet little Gabby, and wanted to know what was going on as much as Ella. But the truth... it broke my heart. I can't say too much or it will spoil the story, but in the end I felt terrible for the professor and really resented Ella.
The story is very engaging and surprising, well written and easy to follow without being predictable. I highly recommend this book.

Blog Tour: Hair in All the Wrong Places by Andrew Buckley

Hair in All the Wrong Places by Andrew Buckley

Publication Date:  June 7, 2016

Publisher:  Month9Books

What has he done?

What’s happening to him?

And what on Earth is that smell?

For Colin Strauss, puberty stinks. Blackouts, hallucinations, and lapses in memory are the perils of growing up werewolf.

Worse than that, Colin worries he might have had something to do with the recent attacks on the townspeople. He may have eaten a person. It doesn’t matter that it’s someone he doesn’t particularly like. What kind of boy goes around eating people?

Foolishly, all Colin can think about is how Becca Emerson finally kissed him for the first time. Yep, hormones are afoot. Yikes!

But girls will have to wait. Collin better get himself under control before someone else ends up hurt or worse . . . dead.

Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Author's Favorite Scene:

There’s a scene around a third of the way through the book where the girl Colin has been crushing on breaks into his house in the middle of the night and wakes him up. Colin’s already started going through his changes and he’s having trouble adapting and doesn’t really know what’s going on but there’s one consistent thing in his life and that’s how he feels about Becca Emerson. I love this scene because a) Which of us didn’t have a crush in middle/high school? And b) how awesome would it have been if that crush suddenly turned up at your house in the middle of the night and wanted to hang out? (in this case it’s to visit a crime scene but still, how cool?!)

Colin’s always been convinced he’s a loser and Becca taking an interest in him is his first steps towards breaking out of his loser-dom. I know if 13 year old me had woken up to find the girl I’d been crushing on had broken into my house and wanted to go visit the scene of a recent violent murder, I’d have been ecstatic!

My other favourite scene occurs at the end of the book, which I can’t really talk about. We all had those teachers we hated in school. That one teacher who was a bully to all the students. Or the English teacher who seemed like he genuinely hated teaching. Imagine if you could get back at that teacher . . . just imagine . . . 

Andrew Buckley attended the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program. After pitching and developing several screenplay projects for film and television, he worked in marketing and public relations, before becoming a professional copy and content writer. During this time Andrew began writing his first adult novel, DEATH, THE DEVIL AND THE GOLDFISH, followed closely by his second novel, STILTSKIN. He works as an editor for Curiosity Quills Press.

Andrew also co-hosts a geek movie podcast, is working on his next novel, and has a stunning amount of other ideas. He now lives happily in the Okanagan Valley, BC with three kids, one cat, one needy dog, one beautiful wife, and a multitude of characters that live comfortably inside of his mind.

Andrew is represented by Mark Gottlieb at the Trident Media Group.

Website | Twitter | Facebook |Goodreads

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Yes, I've Been Quiet...

You may have noticed I haven't posted much lately. It's true, and here's why!

Things are pretty quiet on the publishing front. I have my second round of edits for Myths of Mish, but my writing and reading have come to a stand still. I've been dealing with personal stuff, like, as I've mentioned before, postpartum depression. Over the last few weeks it's hit me pretty hard and I've been struggling to function in many aspects. 
I talk about PPD a lot because I feel like it's not truly appreciated for how serious it can be. Because it's a short term condition, it's often brushed aside as "it will pass and you'll be fine." Yeah, it will, but right now I feel like I'm barely keeping afloat. I'm lucky in that I don't get aggressive feelings toward my children, where there are plenty of women who do, but I do find myself slipping into dark places in my mind.
I don't want pity of sympathy, I just want people to be aware, especially around new mothers within the first eighteen months, that sometimes these women are fighting a silent battle. From personal experience, they don't want people to know they cry every time the baby wakes them up, or if they have multiple kids that they just can't handle normal everyday things those children bring to them. These women try to be strong and wear a smile in public, and often face scorn when they're not living up to the expectations of others with home keeping and other day-to-day obligations. I know there are times when I just don't even want to get out of bed in the morning.
So, right now, yes, my writing has fallen dead. But that's okay. I'd prefer to wait it out and pick it up when I'm feeling better and not write something terrible. For now, editing will do, and binge watching every anime show on Netflix to keep the creative juices flowing.