Dear Author: a review

02 Dec 2019 4 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in book tours, Dive In Review Tags: , , , , ,

Do you remember this cute little book that I cover revealed a few weeks ago? Well the release date is tomorrow! I’m so happy for Laura and all of the book the love that she is sharing with her release.

About the Book

Think your words might not matter? Think again.

Words have the power to change lives, especially when they are used to create meaningful stories. In this collection of letters, bookish fangirl Laura A. Grace addresses topics related to every writer’s journey. From “character conversations,” to embracing one’s unique writing style, to celebrating a release day—there is a letter for every author no matter where they may be in sharing their story with others.

“Dear Author” includes six illustrations by Hannah S.J. Williams.

Amazon — Barnes & Noble — Book Depository — Goodreads

My Review:

Dear Author: Letters from a Bookish Fangirl, comes exactly as advertised. This short book lets you into the mind of a book loving fangirl as she seeks to encourage her favorite author to not give up. The author is never named allowing any writer to pick this book up and imagine that it was written to them by their very own fangirl.

As a bookish fangirl myself I have to say that this short little book hit home for me. It perfectly captured the feeling of falling so completely in love with a story. Reading this is also a great reminder that there is real human being on the other end of our favorite books. They are not machines churning out plots for our entertainment. Each book is crafted with love and long hours spent, not watching Netflix. These authors deserve our respect, our love, and our encouragement.

So yes even if you aren’t an author, I encourage you to read Dear Author: letters from a Bookish fangirl. Then maybe write a letter of your own, to an author you love.

And the illustrations included are super cute.

*I was given an electronic ARC of this title. My review is given freely and includes my honest opinion.* 

About the Author

Laura A. Grace had a lifelong dream of getting to know authors behind the covers of her favorite reads. Little did she know that one day she would become an author too! Now an avid book blogger at Unicorn Quester and writer of clean, Christian manga, Laura creatively balances her passions of supporting indie authors and feeding her readers new stories. In between, she wields plastic lightsabers with her children and binge-watches anime with her husband. Join her quest to find wandering unicorns for your favorite authors at unicornquester.com!

Website — Newsletter — Facebook — Twitter — Instagram — YouTube

 

 

Party Time!

Join in the celebration of Laura A. Grace’s debut motivational, Dear Author: Letters form a Bookish Fangirl, on December 5th from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM EST (5:30 PM PST and 6:30 PM MDT)!

Grab your favorite drink and snack and be prepared for a fun time of encouragement, games, and giveaways. (Possibly an exclusive sneak peek to upcoming projects!)

Special guests Janeen Ippolito and Katie Phillips will also be joining in the fun!

RSVP HERE

 

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, December 2nd

Tuesday, December 3rd

Wednesday, December 4th

Thursday, December 5th

Friday, December 6th

Saturday, December 7th

Monday, December 9th

Tuesday, December 10th

Wednesday, December 11th

  • Video Book Review: Janeen Ippolito
  • Book Review & Guest “Embrace Your Inner Fangirl: Three Easy Ways to Support Authors (That Don’t Require Reviewing or Purchasing Books)”: Wounded but Hopeful

Thursday, December 12th

Friday, December 13th

Saturday, December 14th

 

Driven to the hilt blog tour

02 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by C.O. Bonham in book tours Tags: , , , , , , ,

Today I’m just droping a quick spotlight to let everyone know that author D.G. Lamb is releasing the third book in his Driven to the Hilt series on November 1.

What’s this? You say you haven’t heard of the Driven to the Hilt series? Well it’s a good thing you’re here because I’m going to tell you all about it.

side by side(24)

About book one:

Young Joshua finds himself trapped outside the mining colony on the planet Cypress Driven to the Hilt Book 1 small copyGrove. He faces a dark rainforest infested with a creature so deadly, it has kept all humans confined to their only settlement for decades. If he can manage to survive there, he will then have to brave the even darker dangers of the colony’s criminal underworld.

It’s a fight for survival, a premature coming of age in an environment demanding resiliency, inventiveness, and self-reliance. But when teetering on the sharp edge of stark choices, can Joshua afford to consider right and wrong, or does expediency rule the day?

Debut author DG Lamb, a clinical neuropsychologist, uses his understanding of posttraumatic stress symptoms to inject psychological authenticity and complexity into Joshua’s personality, creating a damaged, but endearing character.

Buy it here.

About book two:

Driven to the Hilt Book 2 006 copyAn inscrutable stranger offers him a deal that seems too good to be true. And it is. Joshua soon faces new challenges to survive in a place he had not believed was even real.

Having successfully evaded the colony’s underworld and corrupt police, Joshua finds himself trapped alone in a sterile white room. But it is no ordinary room, changing and shifting in response to his reactions and behaviors. Ultimately, he will have to make a choice… one that will forever change the direction of his life.

DG Lamb creates a dynamic world full of new challenges and lessons for an endearing young hero. Lamb’s extensive experience as a clinical neuropsychologist and his understanding of posttraumatic stress symptoms injects psychological authenticity and complexity into Joshua and a host of engaging new characters.
Buy it here.

About book three:

Kidnapped and brought to an unknown planet, Joshua Vernon must lead a team of diverse teens in training for deeply covert missions.  As the strains of head-to-head competitions rise for the team, the risks become extreme, stretching his leadership skills to their limits.

All the while, mysterious antagonists maneuver from the shadows, some manipulating outcomes for their own sinister goals, others seeking to eliminate young Joshua altogether.  Even with the help of his new friends Drayev and Sawyer, and the support of Dr. Calyse and Hobo, can Joshua survive this new adventurous world and its perilous threats? The demands will eventually exact a heavy price.

The third book releases November first.

There is no Pre-Order.

But you can RSVP to the facebook party on Nov. 2nd so you can make sure you remember when it comes out.

About the Author:

D G Lamb is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist. His day job involves helping people to become more independent after some type of neurological injury. In addition to a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, he has a Master’s in Art Therapy. He has also worked with law enforcement officers to deal with PTSD after critical incidents. While recovering from prostate cancer surgery, his son suggested he try his hand at creative writing. Although his professional experiences certainly informed aspects of this story, he also drew upon his love of cooking and backpacking the mountain trails of Arizona (where unlike Cypress Grove, it rarely rains). The Deepest Cut was his debut novel and this followup Forging the Blade was published June 2018.

If you are interested in visiting the other stops on the tour you can click here to see them all.

You can also visit: https://www.driventothehilt.com.  Where  you can enter a giveaway for all three books.

 

I’m more beast than beauty

26 Sep 2018 18 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in book tours, Dive In Review Tags: , , , ,

Today I’m part of the blog tour for Kill the beast. A book I’ve waited a very long time to read. I just adore all things beauty and the beast. So when I heard about this retelling I just knew I had to have it.

From the back cover:

9781943788040-Perfect.inddRo remembers the castle before. Before the gates closed. Before silence overtook the kingdom. Before the castle disappeared. Now it shimmers to life one night a year, seen by her alone.
Once a lady, now a huntress, Ro does what it takes to survive—just like the rest of the kingdom plunged into despair never before known. But a beast has overtaken the castle. A beast that killed the prince and holds the castle and kingdom captive in his cruel power. A beast Ro has been hired to kill. Thankful the mystery of the prince’s disappearance has been solved, furious the magical creature has killed her hero, Ro eagerly accepts the job to end him. But things are not as they seem.
Trapped in the castle, a prisoner alongside the beast, Ro wonders what she should fear most: the beast, the magic that holds them both captive, or the one who hired her to kill the beast.
A Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Michele-Israel-Harper-HeadshotMichele Israel Harper spends her days as a work-at-home mom and her nights typing away furiously on her laptop. Sleep? Sometimes… She has her Bachelor of Arts in history, is slightly obsessed with all things French—including Jeanne d’Arc and La Belle et la Bête— and loves curling up with a good book more than just about anything else. Author of Wisdom & Folly: Sisters, Zombie Takeover, Beast Hunter, and Kill the Beast, Michele prays her involvement in writing, editing, and publishing will touch many lives in the

Why I Identify with the Beast: A Dive-in Review

Beauty and the beast is my favorite Disney movie for one reason. Belle is an introverted, book reading, brunette. I am an introverted, book reading, brunette. That is where the comparison ends.

 I am not patient and I am not kind. I lose my temper and get irrationally angry, I judge people by how they look. I would rather wallow in self pity bemoaning the unfairness of life, than take any responsibility for my own actions.

 I am much more Beast than Beauty.

Beast Hunter

Me and author Michele Israel Harper at the costume banquet during Realm Makers. I’m the beast.

 This is why a Beauty and the Beast retelling is made or broken by one thing. The Beast.

The beast gets the story ultimately he’s the one who changes. It is literally his character arch. He gets to grow up. He gets to make up for his selfish ways and because of that he is more relate-able. 

So why is the beast so overlooked? Why is he, so often, not even given a name? (I’m looking at you Disney.) You could go on about the patriarchy and their desire to make women conform to their ideals of demure servitude. You could cry Girl Power and write essays about how beauty is symbolic of wresting the power from the aforementioned patriarchy.

 Or you can do what Michele Israel Harper did. She gave us this amazingly flawed beast who learns his lesson and finds love and learns that action is always better than self pity. He has a name!

But she didn’t stop there.

 Michele wrote an amazingly flawed beauty too. Rosette is angry and hot tempered and believes rumors and judges the beast on his fierceness. She won’t listen. And she literally has murder in her heart. The book is called Kill the Beast after all.

 This isn’t just a Beauty who feels like a real person. She feels like me. I can relate to a beauty who makes mistakes and who isn’t held up as some unattainable example of what women should be. And yes she still likes books.

 Michele based her novel on the original french version but she also includes many Disney nods for those who can’t separate fairy tale from mouse tail.

 Finally a retelling about Beauty and the Beast, that makes me feel for both Beast and Beauty.

I just want to keep Gushing about the wonderfully twisted ending but I shouldn’t spoil it for you. At least you don’t have to wait four years to read it. Because it’s out now.

Buy it here:

http://www.love2readlove2writepublishing.com/books/kill-the-beast/

9781943788040-Perfect.inddThere is also a prequel novella set just before Kill the Beast. It’s called Beast Hunter and you can find it here: https://www.love2readlove2writepublishing.com/books/beast-hunter/

A curse has overtaken Ro’s kingdom, blackening the soil, wiping out crops, and bringing ruin. The only people who thrive are the huntsmen, brought in to stem the flow of ravenous creatures. When Ro kills a wolf, an idea begins to form. Could she become a huntress? Before she can act, her father trades her life for his—to a magical beast.

It provides a lot of back story and is just super fun in it’s own right.

I’m giving away a signed copy of the novella Beast Hunter (signed by the author not by me) to one of you lucky readers. Just click through and fill out the Raffle Copter form. (unfortunately this is a physical prize so I need to limit this to United States Only.)

Beast winner

What’s your favorite version of Beauty and the Beast?

Don’t like Beauty and the Beast, what’s your favorite fairy tale retelling?

 

The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove

12 Oct 2017 Leave a comment

by C.O. Bonham in book tours, Short Stories, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

So you may have noticed that I’ve been posting a lot of book releases on this blog. Well I hope you aren’t sick of them because I have another one for you. This time it’s a comedy/horror anthology.  Perfect for the Halloween season.

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Graves Grove isn’t your ordinary town…

Nestled within the folds of the Canadian Rockies, Graves Grove probably isn’t the picturesque place you’d like to stay for long. Peculiar things happen here. The citizens seem normal superficially–they function well enough. But each one is deeply disturbed, wrapped in secrets and neuroses which drive them to strange behaviors.

And then there are all the missing children. And why is everyone afraid of that sycamore tree?

The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove is an anthology of stories taking place throughout the history of this mysterious town, from its founding to its future. Read them…if you dare.

Here are the Graves Grove Amazon links: Kindle, Paperback, and even Hardcover.

Proceeds will benefit Reading is Fundamental. A non-profit that helps improve literacy skills and brings a love of reading to kids across America.

And wait until I tell you the best part.

Inside the Whispered Tales of Graves Grove you can find the short stories:

“The Canadian Cottingly” and “Fairy Troubled”

(I’ll give you one guess what those are about.)

Why are these two stories so special? Well, because they were both written by me.

Hooray for being published.

But don’t just read it for my stories. Graves Grove also contains stories from lots of other authors too.

If you are looking for a spooky collection of stories to entertain you and make you laugh, then purchase the Whispered Tales of Graves Grove and support a for a good cause.