Riley Amos Westbrook's Blog, page 47
March 28, 2016
Cruisin’ through books cause books make life worth living with Aly 3/28/2016 Part 2
The Cat in the Headlights by Jon Nikrich
This book was a very fun book for me. I enjoyed it very much. I laughed a little and I was entertained the whole time. I think this book is great!. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review* 5/5
Filed under: Musings, Riley Amos Reviews, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Book Review
Cruisin’ through books cause books make life worth living with Aly 3/28/2016 Part 1
This book was good. I loved the connections all the character seem to have together. I liked the idea of adding in something on the Illuminati. I can’t wait for book 2. I have only read this one for now and I will get the next one soon. I can’t wait to see what happens with everyone in the next book. 5/5
Filed under: Musings, Riley Amos Reviews, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Book Review
It’s time for the #SIAFBB to happen again! #SupportIndieAuthors #ASMSG #IARTG #Bookboost
For the book lovers out there, Christina McMullen has a wonderful message for you all…
It is once again time for a Support Indie Authors Free & Bargain Book event, previously known as the Book Blast. After a fantastic 2015, we’re looking forward to an even better 2016. Our first event of the year will be this Friday, April 1st and no, we are not fooling. We are offering more than 65 free and 99 cent books by forty plus talented authors. This year, you can find the books at events.supportindieauthors.com so mark your calendars and save the pranks for later!
As is our tradition, we have asked each of the authors to participate in a short interview so you can better get to know them. Below are just some of the featured authors as well as links to read the rest of the interviews. As always, thank you for continuing to #SupportIndieAuthors!
Now for a few of the interviews!
What is your name?
Ann Livi Andrews – Supreme Overlord https://www.goodreads.com/AnnLiviAndrews
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Butt of jokes
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
Superheroes deserve retirement benefits just as much as you and I do. Unfortunately, there’s come with some strings attached.
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
Uh. . .I once convinced about 5,000+ people to call me Supreme Overlord. . . Actually, in elementary school, I used to play a lot of pranks on my boyfriend at the time. I baked some chocolate chip cookies laced with hot sauce and peppers. He ate them. On a road trip. Oops.
Pick one of your characters to play a prank on. Who are they? What is the prank? And how do they react?
I prank Hannah/Lucy in Hollow Towns. The pranks won’t stop in the sequel. Sorry Lucy.. .you’re a sweetie. . .but your innocence must be corrupted.
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://www.annliviandrews.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnLiviAndrews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnLiviAndrews/
Other: www.supportindieauthors.com
What is your name?
Zoltán Pósfai https://www.goodreads.com/witchhunter
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Class clown
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
Concentrating on a single goal can be very effective, but also devastating. It sweeps everything in its way and builds tension. What if the hidden world the hunter knew about, had another layer?
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
I’m more into jokes than pranks, but here it goes: Many years ago we were on excursion with my class by bus in Italy. We had a short stop at a restaurant with the restrooms at the back. By some weird idea the flush was a not-so-visible button and there was a traditionally placed chain which in turn was an alarm. Leaving the place I saw someone from the bus just arriving and told him to pull the chain multiple times because it doesn’t seem to work well. About a minute later, the whole bus watched the restaurant owner going back showcasing a nice assortment of Italian curses and analyzing someones mental state.
Pick one of your characters to play a prank on. Who are they? What is the prank? And how do they react?
The target of the prank would definitely be Conley, the hunter who is able to act well during investigation, but never really jokes. On the other hand, Scarlet, the main protagonist witch, is a much livelier person even if a loner by fate. She actually does a little prank on him in the book. She asks this walking investigation and killing machine to write her a poem and presents it as a challenge to cut off the possibility of retreat. Pranks and jokes can be important to find someone’s hidden human side.
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://mentat.online
Twitter: Facebook:
Other: http://witchhunter.me
What is your name?
Shari Sakurai https://www.goodreads.com/Shari_Sakurai
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Class clown
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
After being discovered by vampire hunters, Taku Kokawa and his lover Thane Bremen are forced to flee their home in Japan to settle in Norfield, England. Thane is haunted by the events in Tokyo and suffers from reoccurring nightmares. Yet unknown to Thane there is more to those events than he is aware of and as a consequence Taku is struggling against something much darker, something that could ultimately destroy him.
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
I’m usually the one playing pranks so the time that comes to mind is when my sister got her own back. We were playing Mario Kart on the N64 and when I went to the bathroom, she switched the controllers around. When I came back and we resumed the race I was looking at what I thought was my screen but my character wasn’t reacting to the controls I was pressing! Then I started laughing at the other screen and what I thought was her character crashing into everything. It took me ages to figure out what she’d done!
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://www.sharisakurai.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ShariSakurai Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sharisakurai Other: http://sharisakurai.wordpress.com
What is your name?
Ellison Blackburn https://www.goodreads.com/EllisonBlackburn
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Ha-ha! You said butt!
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
Regeneration X, Progeny, and After Effect, the trilogy that makes up the Regeneration Chronicles, follow the lives of Charley and Emery through the trials and tribulations of consequence, spanning several centuries. Each book is a thoughtful science-fiction tale, beginning with Charley’s frame of mind and the inception of a medical procedure called Renovation or cellular regeneration. And you’ll just have to read the series for the adventures in between and to see how the story ends.
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
When I was very young, after tagging along the neighborhood kids much older than me for years I was finally asked to prove my worthiness in order to be a part of the “in” crowd. Promised an invitation to a pizza party from a popular girl four years older than me, I was asked to climb a very tall maple tree in my front yard, something all of them knew I couldn’t do. As the crew took off on their bikes I stared up at the tree and when they were out of sight I ran indoors and asked my dad to prop a ladder next to that tree. I climbed up and then asked him to take it away. I sat in that tree for over an hour until the group returned. I yelled out to draw attention to myself and my amazing feat, heard a single “Good Job!” as my short-lived reward. When each girl tossed her bike on the lawn in front of her house and ran inside for lunchtime I sat there perched on a limb unsure of what to do. For one, I had no way of getting down from that tree without calling for my dad. Two, what if someone saw him help me? And three, my adolescent brain told me I needed, at least, one other witness. After a long wait, I yelled for my father. I’d waited too long. Busted! And no pizza party invite for me. So, my prank reversed upon me.
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://EllisonBlackburn.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Ellis_Blackburn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllisonBlackburn
Other: https://google.com/+EllisonBlackburn-Author
What is your name?
L. Bynum https://www.goodreads.com/slbynum
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Ha-ha! You said butt!
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
It is the year 2007, and Abigail is writing a blog detailing her experience with nightmares that are premonitions of terrible accidents. While trying to determine the cause of the dreams, her life slowly unravels as tragedies befall her family and friends, despite how she tries to save them.
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
One time I put a rubberband around the sprayer near the kitchen sink. As soon as my mom turned on the faucet, she got soaking wet!
Pick one of your characters to play a prank on. Who are they? What is the prank? And how do they react?
Brendon, Abigail’s brother. He is always cracking jokes on people, so it would be fun to get him back. I would probably trick him into eating something crazy, like something smothered in hot sauce. His face would turn red and he would desperately search for something to drink, pissed at me the whole time. But afterwards we’d have a good laugh about it, and then I’d have to watch my back because he would be waiting to seek revenge!
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://slbynum.wix.com/author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterSLBynum Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorSLBynum
Other: amazon.com/author/slbynum
What is your name?
Amanda Siegrist https://www.goodreads.com/AmandaSiegrist
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Ha-ha! You said butt!
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
I’m offering two romance novels, one contemporary and one full of suspense. If you’re looking for a happily ever after, you will get it in both of these novels. I’m also offering a short story mystery novel that will send the chills up and down your spine!
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
I’m not really a prankster, but my husband enjoys a good laugh. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings one day with his parents and brought the food home. He always gets the blazin’ wings, while his dad got the mild wings. When we got home he switched one of his wings with his dads. We sat down to eat and waited on the edge of our seats for his dad to bite into the secret. When his dad finally started to eat the blazin’ wing, he made a comment how unusually spicy the wings were. My husband started to laugh when his dad showed signs of how spicy it truly was. When my husband confessed, his dad laughed with him, but his mom said not to do that again.
Pick one of your characters to play a prank on. Who are they? What is the prank? And how do they react?
I think I would pick Austin, from Trust In Love, to play a prank on his brother Zane. Austin’s full of fun and laughter, while his brother is more serious. I think it would be hilarious if Austin put manure in Zane’s boots. Zane would certainly be upset and probably throw the manure at Austin in retaliation. Those two, when they argue, tend to throw manure instead of punches.
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://amandasiegrist.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amanda_siegrist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramandasiegrist/
Other: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AmandaSiegrist
What is your name?
Quoleena Sbrocca https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10792088.Quoleena_Sbrocca
Are you typically the class clown or the butt of jokes?
Ha-ha! You said butt!
Tell us a little about the book(s) you are offering in three sentences or less.
The Crossing Hour #1 and #2 are past-to-present time travel books in which the traveler awakens in the future, unaware of what just happened to them. Rayne: Luminescence is a futuristic fantasy book in a world where an evolved species of humans all possess a mystical ability.
Since we’re holding the Free & Bargain Book event on April Fools day, tell us about the best prank you ever played or the best prank played on you.
There’s the old swapping salt for sugar (in my mom’s coffee when I was in high school), and tying a rubber band around the kitchen sink sprayer (again, for the benefit of my mom when I was in high school).
Pick one of your characters to play a prank on. Who are they? What is the prank? And how do they react?
I’m playing a prank on Rayne’s dad, Sir Roman. He’s a super tight-arse, pretentious SOB, so I don’t feel about about this at all. His ability is reading the emotions of others. I would channel only good and loving thoughts and invite him to read my emotions. After he goes on incessantly about how he just knew I thought how wise, handsome, and well-liked he is, I’d cackle and say, “Sorry, Sir Roman, but I was thinking of Rayne’s best friend, Rafe.” (It would sting ’cause Rayne’s dad pretty much hates Rafe.) Okay, so that’s more mean than a prank, but trust me, after everything he’s done, he deserves way more than that.
Where can readers find out more and connect with you?
Website: http://quoleenasbrocca.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/QJSbrocca
Filed under: book blast, Musings, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Blog Tour, Support Indie Authors, SupportIndieAuthors
March 27, 2016
Day 49 of 90: Hold your words close #ASMSG #IARTG #IAN1 #SupportIndieAuthors #Inspiration
We’re a little over halfway through this experiment, and I think it’s working. Not only have I written this, but I’m also halfway finished with a new novella, and caught up on editing two other works.
Everyday I start writing a bit here, then move on to my story. I feel like my writing flows easier when I’m not stuck on starting. Since I have already started, that first word doesn’t hold me back.
I don’t know why, but the first word of the day is usually the hardest for me. Maybe it’s a personal stress I put on myself that makes it more difficult than it needs to be.
All I know is writing this helps. Just a few words, to get the creative juices flowing.
It makes sense, if you think about it. As you get closer to someone, more intimate and comfortable with what you are doing, the conversations flow easier. You start to get on the same page as the other person. There starts to be an unspoken communication.
That’s how I feel about the written word. I don’t know them very well, but I want to. The more time I spend with them, the easier they are to understand. So get close to your words, hold them to your chest, and don’t be afraid to get cozy. Your story will flow easier for it.
Remember, one step at a time, one word at a time. You can complete this journey.
Filed under: Musings, My books, Resource, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Author, Book, musings, Resources, Riley Amos Westbrook, Support, Support Indie Authors, SupportIndieAuthors
March 26, 2016
Passion and Priority
I meditate, and my friends and family help keep me grounded.
pixabay image
Passion and Priorities may sound like a Jane Austin novel…but nope, nothing so restrained.
I’m talking about a circus act, a high-wire attempt at juggling while riding a unicycle with five bowling pins flipping through the air. It’s an act of balance.
Anyone possessed with an all-consuming passion, knows what I refer to. Whether it’s an artistic endeavor, a desire to race cars in the desert, to savor exotic foods, ban landmines, or never wear the same shoes twice, the need for balance occasionally sets that high-wire a-wiggling. Sometimes it’s the clown stomping around down there in the three rings, the one with the diapered terrier on a hip, pointing at the kiddie pool, demanding a reassessment of one’s priorities.
I walk that tightrope a lot, relishing the thrill, the single-minded concentration as I surrender to my passion for the written word. To immerse myself fully in my…
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Filed under: Musings
Day 48 of 90: Personal Demons #IARTG #ASMSG #IAN1 #SupportIndieAuthors #Inspiration
We all have our own personal demons. That voice within that taunts you to do wrong, and pulls you away from what you know is right.
In the past 3 years I have been making life changes. My diet, my habits, my thinking, all of them have been flipped a complete one hundred and eighty degrees. I’ve gone from smoking five cigars a day and drinking a two liter of soda, to not touching a cigar in years, and only drinking a soda occasionally.
It may not seem like a lot, but cutting sugar from my diet was much harder than quitting smoking.
Strange as that may sound it’s true. In order to cut down, I needed to switch to whole foods, quit eating just about anything in a box, and only eat sugar sources full of fiber.
I ended up dropping close to a hundred and fifty pounds in the year I ate that diet, but it is grueling mentally. I’m not advocating that diet, I’m just trying to show you how our perceptions shape our lives.
Because sugar matters to me, because the taste is pleasurable, and it’s prevalence in our society, I find it a particularly difficult addiction to master.
I don’t know what your demon is, and I don’t care. I know you struggle with it every day. I’m here to tell you that you can beat it. If you truly want to, you can conquer your demons. You just need to be willing to make the sacrifices that will get you where you want to be. For me, I pay attention to labels, and don’t buy white sugar. I hope your demons are as easy to conquer as mine.
Filed under: Musings, My books, Resource, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Author, Book, musings, Resources, Riley Amos Westbrook, Support, Support Indie Authors, SupportIndieAuthors
March 25, 2016
Day 47 of 90: I love critical reviews #ASMSG #IARTG #IAN1 #SupportIndieAuthors #Inspiration
I received a 2 star review last night. I’m not telling you to complain, but to explain why it’s my new favorite review.
It really looks like the person reading it enjoyed the story, and the journey. They went into detail about what they did and didn’t like about the work, but it wasn’t a bashing. As I said, he offered great praise with his criticism.
I know some people would probably be unhappy with that 2 star review. They would look at it, and cry for whatever reason. They won’t see the praise, and will be focused on the 2 stars.
I look at what he wrote, and see places where my writing may need to improve or adapt, something we as writers should be striving to do, and absorb the praise of what he feels I did well.
There’s even some good marketing points in his review, ones I will gladly use to help on my journey.
Thank you Mr./Mrs. Critical Reviewer. Thank you for helping me improve my writing skills one book at a time.
I know I’m improving with each and every day, making strides and inroads into learning a new tricks. Using characters in different ways.
I encourage you to seek out the positives in all of your reviews. And if there is no positive, then I hope you have the strength to move on(Hey, at least they read the book.). Keep being you, and keep persevering.
Filed under: Fun, Musings, My books, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Author, Book, musings, Resources, Riley Amos Westbrook, Support, Support Indie Authors, SupportIndieAuthors
March 24, 2016
Day 46 of 90: Success #ASMSG #IAN1 #IARTG #SupportIndieAuthors
I tend to not believe in things I can’t see. I don’t know why, but I prefer to have evidence for my beliefs.
That isn’t to say I don’t believe in things I can’t see, just that I need evidence that convinces me. I maintain an open mind, willing to absorb new information and learn from my mistakes.
Everyday I fail in this endeavor, and yet everyday I succeed. You will tend to get from life what you put into it. You are more likely to be surrounded by those who love you if you in turn give love.
You can’t be afraid to fail, you have to chance failure if you’re want to succeed. I have yet to meet a happy, successful person who didn’t fail at one point in their life.
We fail for a reason, even if that reason is to learn how not to fail. You can’t let fear grab a hold of your passion, and dampen your fire.
You have to be willing to sacrifice it all, the knifes edge of success and failure can be narrow. Sometimes that’s just how life is. It gives us adversity before it gives us success, and as we approach success, the adversity seems to grow all the sharper. If you have set your mind to a goal, and that goal is truly important to you, you’ll stick to it until you find a way to succeed.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a lot more before my life ends, if you have a story to tell then tell it. Don’t let fear, anxiety, or anything stop you from doing what you want to do. In today’s world of publishing the only limit is you.
Filed under: Musings, My books, Resource, Support Indie Authors Tagged: Author, Book, musings, Resources, Riley Amos Westbrook, Support, Support Indie Authors, SupportIndieAuthors
