K.A. Ashcomb's Blog, page 74

Book Review: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Another dip into the wonderful world of Discworld with my book club. Discworld is a place where my heart lies, but my mind thinks Crocodile Gods, Golems, and the Ankh-Morpork river might not be a good place to pony trek or watch TV. So, I’m left with this world and Pratchett’s books. In Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett tackles an easy issue of women’s rights. Simple inspiration for a novel or at least Pratchett makes it out to be.

Equal Rites is one of the earliest books in the series. Terry Prat...

Book Review: Drinking Water: A History by James Salzman

Read or listen to this book. It’s worth your time. The book goes over the importance of water, history and myths, current trends concerning bottled water, political and humanitarian issues with water, terror towards water sources, ponders if water should be free or should we pay more of it, and can it be privately owned. The book is informative which made me go over what I think and know about water (+ its health benefits.)

Here are my complaints and then we can move on to the juicy stuff, th...

Self-Publishing: Recap of the First Free Book Promo I Did and What I Learned from It

The promo was a success considering how I advertised it and what it did to my readership. 58 people downloaded my book, and I got to a ninth position on Amazon’s best sold free, humorous fantasy books, yay. The promo ran three days from Wednesday to Friday. But there is a twist. I will let you know about it after I have gone over what I did and what my sales were like before the promo and what now.

So I got 58 people to download my book and hopefully read it one sunny day or rainy, I’m not th...

Book Review: The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

With The Obstacle Is the Way you only have to say aloud the title, and the whole premise of the book is revealed. Ryan Holiday isn’t trying to hide his main argument which is this: we can’t control chance, luck, or the world, but what we can do is control how we react to them. The next bit is more complicated (not really), often enough we are the ones ourself who are the obstacles in our way. That our reaction might impair our ability to survive the hardship. When we think of hardship as an o...

Book Review: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

I’m revisiting my past love, Discworld books. I joined a book club which is reading the whole series. Last two weeks I have been reading the wonderful book of Guards! Guards!

I loved it. The review should stop here, but that is not how things go. I had forgotten so much of the book. Okay, I read it when I was still in high school, and that feels like an eternity ago both time- and personality-wise. Still, the love for the book remained. Pratchett’s writing skills are amazing. He can speak to...

Book Review: Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

Welcome to historical fantasy. To those who will skip this book because of those two words I pronounced, please wait. The book is not a boring recount of the past events. Yes, Guy Gavriel Kay draws his inspiration from the history, but what he does with it, is magical. He brings it alive through characters to its full glory and horror. He time again has shown what we as humans are like. This book was no different. He doesn’t settle for the bipolarity of good and bad. He always shows both side...

Book: Self-Publishing: Worth of Luck by K.A. Ashcomb for FREE

Hi everyone!

It is time for free promos, meaning I get to give my book away for free! Amazon lets you do five days in every 90 days. So here it goes my first one. It will run from Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 12:00 AM PDT to Friday, September 21, 2018, 11:59 PM PDT. Worth of Luck FOR FREE! Go and check out my action-packed humorous fantasy novel. Step into an adventure of friendship, injustice, and greed and let it tickle your nerves.

Before you go, I want to thank all of those who have alr...

Book Review: Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience by Michael S. Gazzaniga

Finally, a new book review. I have been swamped with publishing, writing, and marketing. To the book. I was so excited to get this book, having an opportunity to see/read about the life of a neuroscientist. But this is the first time I have to say I hate a book. It is a sad moment in my life, and I’m not proud of my reaction. Maybe while I write my review, I have a more positive view.

This book is snobbish, elitist, and constantly name dropping and describing the perks of being and coming fro...

Writing: Character Sheet: Cruxh

Here is another character sheet from my upcoming book. The working title is BON for now.

This is a raw version, so any mistakes and contradictions hopefully will be ironed out.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I more than happy to answer them.

So without further due, here is Cruxh:

 

Role in Story:

Important, main character. He also sheds light on the workings of the city and its history. Rest censored…

Occupation:

A Town Hall council member, love interest to… (yes, this i...

Book Review: Economics: The User’s Guide by Ha-Joon Chang

I have been reading books about economics, banks, 2008 near collapse, and other cheery subjects. It started as the research for my upcoming novel, and it turned into an obsession. I want to understand how humans, our transactions, and other behavior affects the world. How the economy along with politics (the book argues that the two can’t be separated, I agree,) influence how disruptive situations like depression and wars come to be.

Economics: The User’s Guide gives you the basic understandi...