Sarah Mäkelä's Blog
May 20, 2012
I can't wait for this new book from Kinley Baker. She's my critique partner and friend, and wow, look at that cover! Yum!DENIED
SHADOWED LOVE, BOOK TWO
By Kinley Baker
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.
Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.
When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other.
Add DENIED as To-Read on GoodReads!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13646204-denied
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May 3, 2012
Hey everyone! After a couple days off from blogging, I'm popping in with some news.
First off, I'm on Kindlegraph.com. All of my book except Captive Moonlight (which should be up on Amazon in the not far off future) are available to be kindlegraphed. To visit my page and request some, click here.
Recently, I was interviewed at Long and Short Reviews. It was a lot of fun. You can see what I had to say by clicking on the link. :-)
Captive Moonlight is now at Barnes & Noble! I hope Nook lovers will enjoy my addition to the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series! Also, I've had a couple new additions on Amazon. Jungle Fire and Stolen are now available with them. I'd love to hear from you guys and know what you think!
I also now have a fabulous new banner that I just had to share! Isn't it gorgeous? My webmistress Rae Monet created it.
Also, I'm blogging at Castles & Guns today about Deadlines today, as well as hanging out at Love Romances Cafe with the other Changeling Press authors.
That's all I can think of now. Hope to see you there!
First off, I'm on Kindlegraph.com. All of my book except Captive Moonlight (which should be up on Amazon in the not far off future) are available to be kindlegraphed. To visit my page and request some, click here.
Recently, I was interviewed at Long and Short Reviews. It was a lot of fun. You can see what I had to say by clicking on the link. :-)
Captive Moonlight is now at Barnes & Noble! I hope Nook lovers will enjoy my addition to the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series! Also, I've had a couple new additions on Amazon. Jungle Fire and Stolen are now available with them. I'd love to hear from you guys and know what you think!
I also now have a fabulous new banner that I just had to share! Isn't it gorgeous? My webmistress Rae Monet created it.
Also, I'm blogging at Castles & Guns today about Deadlines today, as well as hanging out at Love Romances Cafe with the other Changeling Press authors.
That's all I can think of now. Hope to see you there!
April 30, 2012
Wow! It's the last day of the A to Z Challenge. Can you believe April has flown by so quickly? Thank you all for stopping by for my posts. I wish I'd been able to check out more A to Z bloggers this year, but I've been in a deadline crunch with my publisher. See you all next year!
Name: Žaltys (means "grass snake")
Type: household spirit
Origin: Lithuanian mythology
Description: The žaltys is a non-venomous snake, sacred to the sun goddess Saulė. It represents fertility and is a guardian of the home. Some people kept it in special places of their home, believing it could bring good harvest and wealth. If someone killed the žaltys, it brought about great misfortune, but if people found one and gave it milk, they could befriend it and take it in their home.
What "Z" creatures have you heard of?
Name: Žaltys (means "grass snake")
Type: household spirit
Origin: Lithuanian mythology
Description: The žaltys is a non-venomous snake, sacred to the sun goddess Saulė. It represents fertility and is a guardian of the home. Some people kept it in special places of their home, believing it could bring good harvest and wealth. If someone killed the žaltys, it brought about great misfortune, but if people found one and gave it milk, they could befriend it and take it in their home.
What "Z" creatures have you heard of?
April 28, 2012
Name: Yeth hound (also called yell hound)
Type: black dog
Origin: Devon, England
Description: The yeth hound is a black headless dog, which they say is the spirit of an unbaptised child. It runs around in the woods at night crying and wailing.
Interesting Facts: The yeth hound is possibly one of the inspirations for the dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The headless dog is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts, which is a series of pamphlets on folklore published between 8146 and 1859.
What "Y" creatures do you know of?
Type: black dog
Origin: Devon, England
Description: The yeth hound is a black headless dog, which they say is the spirit of an unbaptised child. It runs around in the woods at night crying and wailing.
Interesting Facts: The yeth hound is possibly one of the inspirations for the dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles. The headless dog is also mentioned in The Denham Tracts, which is a series of pamphlets on folklore published between 8146 and 1859.
What "Y" creatures do you know of?
April 27, 2012
Name: Xing Tian (means "punished one" or "he who was punished by heaven"
Type: giant
Origin: Chinese mythology
Description: Basically, he's a headless giant punished by heaven. *grins* Here's a roughly translated excerpt from Shanhaijing I came across on Wikipedia:
Type: giant
Origin: Chinese mythology
Description: Basically, he's a headless giant punished by heaven. *grins* Here's a roughly translated excerpt from Shanhaijing I came across on Wikipedia:
Xingtian fought against [Huang] Di. Di cut off his head, and the head was buried in the Changyang Mountains. But Xingtian, with his breasts as eyes, and his navel as mouth, continued to fight with his axe and shield.Anyone know of any other "X" creatures? I'm very curious! lol
April 25, 2012
Name: Wolpertinger (also wolperdinger, poontinger, woiperdinger)
Type: chimera
Origin: Bavarian folklore
Description: Wolpertingers live in the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. It's body is a mish-mash of various parts. In general they have wings, antlers, tails, and fangs, all on a small animal like a rabbit or squirrel.
Interesting Fact: They can actually be bought as souvenirs at inns and tourist shops in Germany. Yeesh! Click here for a picture. These creatures would be considered almost like a cousin to the American Jackalope or a Swedish Skvader.
Do you know any of "W" creatures?
Type: chimera
Origin: Bavarian folklore
Description: Wolpertingers live in the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. It's body is a mish-mash of various parts. In general they have wings, antlers, tails, and fangs, all on a small animal like a rabbit or squirrel.
Interesting Fact: They can actually be bought as souvenirs at inns and tourist shops in Germany. Yeesh! Click here for a picture. These creatures would be considered almost like a cousin to the American Jackalope or a Swedish Skvader.
Do you know any of "W" creatures?
Sorry for the delay in getting this up. I'm in a deadline crunch! Better late than never, right?
Name: Vilkacis (means "Wolf-eye." Also known as Vilkatas and Vilkatis.)
Type: shapeshifter
Origin: Latvian mythology / Baltic mythology
Description: I'll let Wikipedia sum up today's creature:
"Vilkacis was a type of monster, similar to a werewolf, that was originally a person. In Latvian and Lithuanian mythology, the vilkacis was a good natured creature, who wanted to participate in the folk songs mentioned animal digging of Daugava river. But he failed in every task and upset Dievs. He is described as a clumsy creature, who can be easily fooled by a child or farmer. Occasionally, a vilkacis brought treasure or was otherwise beneficial."
What "V" creatures do you know of?
Name: Vilkacis (means "Wolf-eye." Also known as Vilkatas and Vilkatis.)
Type: shapeshifter
Origin: Latvian mythology / Baltic mythology
Description: I'll let Wikipedia sum up today's creature:
"Vilkacis was a type of monster, similar to a werewolf, that was originally a person. In Latvian and Lithuanian mythology, the vilkacis was a good natured creature, who wanted to participate in the folk songs mentioned animal digging of Daugava river. But he failed in every task and upset Dievs. He is described as a clumsy creature, who can be easily fooled by a child or farmer. Occasionally, a vilkacis brought treasure or was otherwise beneficial."
What "V" creatures do you know of?
April 23, 2012
Name: Urayuli (means "hairy men")
Type: hairy humanoid
Origin: Native American mythology of southwestern Alaska Description: The Urayuli reside in the forests of southwestern Alaska near Lake Iliamna. They supposedly stand 10 feet tall and have shaggy fur and glowing eyes. They're thought to make high pitch cries, resembling a loon's. They have very long arms, which reach their ankles. They behave peacefully.
Interesting Facts: They seem to be very Bigfoot/Yeti-like. It's fascinating how many cultures have these kinds of creatures. The Urayuli are thought to be children who were lost in the woods, particularly at night, and transformed into this kind of creature. Probably another tale to make children behave.
What other "U" beings do you know of?
Type: hairy humanoid
Origin: Native American mythology of southwestern Alaska Description: The Urayuli reside in the forests of southwestern Alaska near Lake Iliamna. They supposedly stand 10 feet tall and have shaggy fur and glowing eyes. They're thought to make high pitch cries, resembling a loon's. They have very long arms, which reach their ankles. They behave peacefully.
Interesting Facts: They seem to be very Bigfoot/Yeti-like. It's fascinating how many cultures have these kinds of creatures. The Urayuli are thought to be children who were lost in the woods, particularly at night, and transformed into this kind of creature. Probably another tale to make children behave.
What other "U" beings do you know of?
I had quite a busy weekend, but I'm all caught up with my A to Z Challenge posts now. Check out "S" here. Also, I had a fun interview that posted yesterday at Dawn's Reading Nook.
Finally, I have some news on the giveaway that had been going on this past week. Congratulations to Evita's Reads and Filia Oktarina! I chose two winners for the prize since I had such an amazing turnout of 245 entries! Thanks everyone for entering!
Name: Tizheruk (Also known as Pal-Rai-Yûk)
Type: sea creature
Origin: Inuit mythology
Description: Large snake-like sea creature, which lives near the coast of an Alaska island. It's approximately seven feet long with an alligator-like head, six legs, and a flipper on its tail. The Tizheruk snatches people off piers and boats.
Interesting Facts: Other sea monsters inhabit nearby Canadian waters, the Ogopogo (or Naitaka of the Okanakanes) and the Haietlik of the Nootka. The Ogopogo is believed to live in Okanagan Lake, and the Haietlik is a "Lightning Snake" that shoots lightning from its tongue.
What "T" beings or creatures do you know about?
Finally, I have some news on the giveaway that had been going on this past week. Congratulations to Evita's Reads and Filia Oktarina! I chose two winners for the prize since I had such an amazing turnout of 245 entries! Thanks everyone for entering!
Name: Tizheruk (Also known as Pal-Rai-Yûk)
Type: sea creature
Origin: Inuit mythology
Description: Large snake-like sea creature, which lives near the coast of an Alaska island. It's approximately seven feet long with an alligator-like head, six legs, and a flipper on its tail. The Tizheruk snatches people off piers and boats.
Interesting Facts: Other sea monsters inhabit nearby Canadian waters, the Ogopogo (or Naitaka of the Okanakanes) and the Haietlik of the Nootka. The Ogopogo is believed to live in Okanagan Lake, and the Haietlik is a "Lightning Snake" that shoots lightning from its tongue.
What "T" beings or creatures do you know about?
April 20, 2012
Name: Stymphalian birds
Type: birds
Origin: Greek mythology
Description: Man-eating birds who have bronze beaks and sharp metallic feathers, which they throw at their victims. Also, their feces is quite toxic. Their name comes from the fact that they live near Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia. They're sacred to the god of war, Ares.
Interesting Facts: The Stymphalian birds were Herucles's sixth task in The Twelve Labours of Herucles. He scared the birds by shaking a rattle made by Hephaestus for the purpose and given to him by Athena. He shot some with arrows to complete the Labour.
What "S" creatures or beings do you know about?
Type: birds
Origin: Greek mythology
Description: Man-eating birds who have bronze beaks and sharp metallic feathers, which they throw at their victims. Also, their feces is quite toxic. Their name comes from the fact that they live near Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia. They're sacred to the god of war, Ares.
Interesting Facts: The Stymphalian birds were Herucles's sixth task in The Twelve Labours of Herucles. He scared the birds by shaking a rattle made by Hephaestus for the purpose and given to him by Athena. He shot some with arrows to complete the Labour.
What "S" creatures or beings do you know about?
