Elysia Lumen Strife's Blog, page 10
December 27, 2019
Pre-order: A Promise in Ash
A Promise in Ash is Available for Pre-order on Amazon! [image error]
Publishes Valentine’s Day: $0.99 Pre-order Price
(eBook price will jump to $1.99 after publication.)
A romantic-suspense novel featuring: miscarriage, hot co-workers, cybersecurity threats, and the struggle of defining family.
With only an abusive mother-figure to guide her, Norah has learned everything the hard way. An unexpected pregnancy with her fiancé changed her career plans. But miscarriage and betrayal thrust everything in reverse again. Eerie things start happening at work, and Norah finds herself at the center of the investigation.
Secrets tumble forth from Norah’s father, her ex-fiancé, and the mystery around her adoption, breaking the walls she’s put up to protect her heart. Now, more than ever, she longs for trust, love, and a family of her own.
Bonding with her handsome co-worker, Evan, and his teenage daughter, Ashley, Norah gets a glimpse of cohesive family life. She finds herself falling for Evan and becoming an unlikely source of help and understanding for Ashley. Evan and Ashley have an empty seat at their table, one Norah wishes to fill. Yet the guilt of taking the previous woman’s place threatens to keep them apart.
Can Norah overcome the scars of her past and discover her inner strength? And will the private letter from her father answer her questions or destroy the family, and the man, she’s come to love?
A Note:
I always send out Advanced Review Copies to my subscribers as thanks for their loyalty. If you want early novels for free, subscribe to elstrife.com. Don’t worry, I don’t have the time, nor the desire, to send you spam or useless junk.
If you don’t want to subscribe here, you can usually find my books on Prolific Works a week or two before they publish (but the timeframe is short and you have to watch the page). Subscribers always get first dibs several weeks before books go live on PW.
If you like the books, I’d love to know! Your reviews and feedback make the difference!
December 24, 2019
Book Review: Edge of the Flame by James Aichinger
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4 Stars
“…A tense, intricately woven story challenging the ideas of freedom and fate.”
I love books that start off in media res. Edge of the Flame drops you right down into a source of trauma for our main character, Adonis. There are lots of great action sequences. Edge of the Flame features: cyber hacking, spaceships, magical powers, holographic weapons, mind games, mysterious yet justified villains, insane twists, and a main character who experiences a fate-altering transformation by the end. Tension builds and fades in dramatic crescendos while continuously building up to the last pages.
Aichinger does wonders in his descriptions with relatable similes and metaphors to explain new concepts to his readers. His first book tackles many intense concepts of psychological theory, primarily fear, but also the intricate—and often deliberated—concepts of reality, connection to the universe, and how humans are linked to other life forms.
It features some creative magical powers and traditional ones and delves into the development of them—everything from pyrotelekinesis to gravity manipulation. There are characters with controlled telepathy reminiscent of the dark force from Star Wars. I enjoyed the way magic’s expenditure is explained—how it is a limited force that must be regenerated, much akin to health. There are always stakes and obstacles and reminders of mortality.
There’s a steady amount of information on the species and historical battles without being too concentrated or lacking in description. Edge of the Flame includes tons of backstabbing alliances, personal agendas, and physical/mental/political battles for power, to the point where you can’t figure out what’s going to happen next. Aichinger then tops off the delightful madness by throwing in several mysterious conversations between the antagonist and others which adds a nice element of tension to the enigma of Adonis’s situation.
Edge of the Flame quickly becomes a tense, intricately woven story challenging the ideas of freedom and fate. At the end is an unpredictably sharp turn but leaves the reader with a balance of resolution and questions, calling us on to the second book.
It is definitely a unique read. There aren’t any chapters, more like phases/scenes of the story. Aichinger narrates from multiple character perspectives, which adds an element reminiscent of the big screen, but at times (for me) was distracting because some scenes are short-lived.
Edge of the Flame is dialogue heavy and full of formalities and explanations, which helps with understanding all of the wars and other past events. The story takes a bit of time to build speed, but when it kicks off, it doesn’t stop.
There are lots of characters in a wide variety of personalities and species from humans to lizard-like Hadraaks and feline sorts. My personal favorite was the robot, Op-Tech, because I’m a sucker for the comedian character and for adorable robots. Edge of the flame is a lot to read, but very rewarding in the end. I look forward to reading book 2 when it’s out!
Amazon:
$2.99 US eBook: Edge of the Flame
£1.99 UK eBook: Edge of the Flame
Website: https://www.edgeoftheflame.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesAichinger
December 18, 2019
Stellar Fusion is Getting Pumped!
[image error]I’m so excited to say this: Stellar Fusion is going to be featured on Pump up Your Book for the entire month of January! Whoo!
I’ll keep you updated on all the tour stops along the way! There are eighteen blog stops with a variety of content from book reviews to character interviews. I’ve written a few guest posts as well on topics like creating new languages to your fiction novel to advice for launching books.
I’m simultaneously excited and terrified. Dorothy has been patient and reassuring with my nervous self, for which I am grateful! I’ve never been featured like this before!
September 17, 2019
Copyediting Certified!
As a self-publisher, I’ve had to wear a lot of hats… Knowing how to edit helps me write more effectively. Writing helps me understand the struggles of working with authors from an editor’s perspective.
I’m only beginning my journey as a freelance editor, but I hope to help other indie authors like myself polish and prepare their stories for publication. I know how hard it is to receive feedback as a first-time author. It’s an intimidating process. Spending the money to have someone fix all of your developmental problems, walk you through line and copy edits, and coach you through the whole process can be extremely difficult when you have little income or no job at all. [image error]
I don’t want anyone to give up on their dream of being an author because of the struggle. I believe just about any book can become publishable material with appropriate editing. My goal is to help frustrated indie authors to achieve their dream.
This summer, I completed my first official course (From Writer’s Digest University) in my journey to acquire the professional know-how with editing. I’ve been swapping critiques with other authors for several years, and have begun to offer them for free to authors (as time permits). I took creative writing in college and a few other miscellaneous marketing and writing courses, but my Bachelor’s Degrees are in unrelated fields. So I’m aiming to step up my game.
This fall I am studying developmental editing, line editing, and book mapping through the Editorial Freelancers Association. I plan to have completed their courses of study by spring 2020.
[image error]And for those that are confused by the name on the certificate, Elysia Strife is a pseudonym. Like many authors of different genres, I go by multiple names.
If you’re an author interested in having someone look at your work but aren’t sure if you have the money for edits, stay in touch. I’ll be offering free novice feedback soon!
Hope you stick around! Best wishes!
-A/E
September 3, 2019
Book Delay
Wildfire should be published in time for Christmas.
After three moves since May, and one final one beginning this week (4 states away), all of my deadlines have had to be pushed back. I hate saying that. But as a self-publisher who does everything from writing and editing to cover design and formatting, sometimes I struggle to keep up with all the other demands in my life.
This year started with the snowpocalypse in Oregon. Two weeks without power. It’s not normal for the Pacific Northwest to get so much snow. We had to hand-haul sleds with jugs of water filled from the creek up the hill in the snow[image error]. Three families in one house. There might have been a bit of chaos.
We moved to North Dakota in the spring for my husband’s job and thought we were going to be there for awhile. So, naturally, since we’d been without a dog for a few years, have no children, and were feeling the emptiness, we adopted a puppy (my first). The poor baby had been rejected by his mother at 3 weeks. She’d bitten him in the face and back, so of course I couldn’t put him down after I knew that. Some peroxide, neosporin, and a lot of love… and now he won’t leave me alone! But I am so glad he feels safe with us.
Then I decided to take editing classes to help me make my books even better. Copyediting started and, a few weeks in, I found out we were moving to Wyoming.
A week later, Nebraska.
Now, California.
Gah!
Did I mention my Developmental Editing class starts soon? (This wanna-be overachiever is an idiot)
We live in a camper trailer to make moving easier. But it still requires setup and takedown. My husband works 12-14 hours a day so I’m responsible for everything not-work. Between moves, class, puppy training, and Murphy’s Law, I’ve tried to squeeze in my books. This year just hasn’t been good to us. I know some of it is my fault for taking on more than I can handle. But at the time, it didn’t seem like much.
The guilt of delaying my books is still destroying me.
But I can’t force things just because I planned them or want them. I work until I can’t keep my eyes open. But sometimes it isn’t enough.
I hope my fans will understand.
The plan is to stay in California. Life should smooth out, and I’ll be able to return to my regular writing schedule, completing my 2019 book to-do list.
Books in Order of Expected Publication:
Shadows of the Son, Book 3 of Infinite Spark (publishing soon)
A Promise in Ash (publishing soon)
Wildfire (almost finished)
The Kiss that Saved Christmas (almost finished)
-2020-
Redshift – Book 4 of Infinite Spark
Hibiscus Christmas
I love you guys and appreciate your patience. It’s important to me to always do what I say I will. And I will, just behind schedule. I can’t tell you how much being behind irks me. But my family must come first. I have to live with them after all. XD
My best wishes to all of you.
-E
August 25, 2019
Requiem Gets 5 Stars!
[image error]I am proud to say, Requiem just received three, 5 star reviews from Reader’s Favorite! I’m stoked! Requiem now gets to sport the silver badge of honor also bestowed upon Stellar Fusion!
“…A powerful, high-concept sci-fi series. Intense and driven from start to end, this is a rocketing narrative through (the) space-age, alien and humanoid storylines to reach another startling climactic moment in the Infinite Spark Series.” – K.C. Finn
“…An amazing future with alien races and combat abilities that will blow your mind. …Fans of good science fiction will love it.” – Ray Simmons
“Packed with action…impeccably good.” – Christian Sia
Find the reviews here: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/requiem/2
Infinite Spark Series Update
B[image error]ooks 1, Stellar Fusion, and 2, Requiem, of the series are published to Amazon.
You can check out my Amazon author page, with currently published works here: E. L. Strife.
Book 3, Shadows of the Son is in final edits right now, planning to have Advanced Review Copies up in the next month or so on Prolific Works. We’ve moved recently and will be again soon, so my writing engine has, unfortunately, acquired a bit of dust.
Book 4, Redshift, which I’m super excited about, is about 60,000 words at the moment. I’m hoping to have her ready at the beginning of the new year (2020).
I hope you’ll stick around! Be on the look out soon for Shadows of the Son!
Best wishes!
-E
Guest Post on Critique Partners
Just want to give a quick shout out to Rae at A New Look on Books and thank her for letting me guest post on her website: anewlookonbooks.com
She is a freelance editor and a very kind soul. Twitter: @anewlookonbooks
An important goal of critique swapping is getting constructive feedback. It’s critical to be open-minded about comments and reactions because they’re from real people, readers, potential customers.
For an overview of what you can expect with critique partners as a writer, check out the post on Rae’s website here:
For an example Critique Sheet to download and use, go here: Critique Sheet.
We have to look at our writing as a job, not a child. It’s very hard, yes. But if we want quality writing and happy customers, we have to put our opinions aside and look at the pieces with unbiased eyes. This is what critique partners are critical for… perspective.
If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way via the Contact Form. Or, you can find me on Twitter (@ElysiaLStrife). I’m most active there.
Best wishes!
-E
August 6, 2019
Book Review: Shattered Glass by Skip Schmidt
Five Stars
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On Amazon
An extraordinary blend of historical and science fiction…
Schmidt’s work delves into past and present day Germany with vivid descriptions and deeply woven political plots. Shattered Glass is full of unexpected twists and suspense that will keep you turning every page. Anyone that enjoys time travel and mysteries, will find this entertaining.
A dive into the Einstein-Rosen bridge theory, Shattered Glass introduces us to two time frames, 1938 Nazi-Germany and the year 2013. We follow Lieutenant Eugen Scheele in the past as he tries to uncover the truth about Captain Kreider’s disappearance, whilst his great-nephew, Inspector Willi Scheele, must ascertain the appearance of Kreider in near present day.
Shattered Glass is a trip back inside the world of Nazi-Germany and the struggle of all who suffered from and were opposed to their reign. The stakes are high with lives hanging on Eugen’s and Willi’s next moves. But anything can happen in war.
Schmidt spares no detail. It is a thrilling ride with murder investigations, dark humor, sex, and constant edge-of-your-seat political tension.
You won’t expect what happens at the end.
Schmidt’s written voice can be enjoyed by the average reader and appreciated by those who like a more… perspicacious approach. Shattered Glass is not a fast or disposable read. It is something you want to sit down and absorb. The characters are genuine—their actions unpredictable and their emotions and relationships as organic as any in real life.
I recommend this work to those who are fans of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.
Looking forward to reading more of his work in the future.
