Sydney Winward's Blog, page 8

Book Trailer for Bloodscourge

Here’s the book trailer for Bloodscourge! It’s now available at online retailers for pre-order.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TW5TGW4/
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/bloodsco…/1138678093…
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/bloodscourge/id1550787905

Book Review of The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars by Susan Hanniford Crowley

My Review

Despite this book being in the paranormal genre, it was very realistic to me. The way certain people acted in certain situations made sense, and the build up to the ending was done well. The author did a great job at pulling the reader inside the book with an interesting tale and great characters.

Although this is the first book I have read in this series, I was able to understand what was going on and how the other characters fit into the story. If you like historical mixed with modern traditional vampires, then you would love this book.

My rating: 4 stars

Favorite Quote

There was something about her, even with everything she’d been through, Saraina regarded him with an innocent expression like a child looking for approval.

Blurb

In 1938, Vampire Prince Răzvan and his companions on their way to see the king, take the snowy path into the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. In the deep woods, they find a gypsy encampment and take refuge with them for the night. His heart is lost gazing in the exotic pale blue eyes of a raven-haired beauty. Saraina and her people just want to be free and live peacefully. Meeting Prince Răzvan changes everything, first with his dire prediction and second, with his warm hands and gaze that tear of her heart.

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Book Review of A Tale of Ice and Ash by Katherine Macdonald

My Review

I really liked Katherine Macdonald’s take on the Snow White fairytale. The world building was truly unique and interesting. There was surprising depth to the characters, and I love the idea that people aren’t just born evil. They’re created. The author does a very good job at building that up and expanding on it throughout the story.

My absolute favorite part about this book was all the flirting. There was a lot of it, and the banter between the characters constantly had me cracking a smile. I also loved Onyx. He was the perfect grumpy but loving father dwarf.

A Tale of Ice and Ash is a great addition to the fairy tale retellings in this series, and I look forward to reading what’s next.

My rating: 4 stars

Favorite Quote

“Oh no, woman, I know what you’re like. First it’s ‘I’m just giving the stray cat a saucer of milk’ and the next thing you know, we have five cats.’”

“How was I to know she was expecting?”

“We have five cats, Garnet!”

Blurb

“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who will come to save us all?”

Five years after her stepmother tried to have her killed, Eirwen has built a new life in the woods. Far from the princess she was meant to be, she is now a skilled treasure hunter and master of the Dwarven underground.

Eirwen’s peaceful existence is shattered when she crosses paths with Cole, the son of her enemy, and a thorn in her side growing up. Eirwen learns that though she escaped the evil queen’s clutches, the kingdom she left behind has suffered. Together with her adoptive family, she raises an army to restore her rightful place on the throne.

But something is stirring Under the Mountain, a centuries-old secret begging to break free…

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Blurb Reveal: Bloodscourge

Coming March 1, 2021Bloodscourge Blurb

Fate has given her a second chance. The only things Elisabeta knows how to do is lie, cheat, and swindle. When her brother learns of a treasure worth kingdoms lying in the heart of Ichor Knell, the great vampire city, he sends her to steal it. However, the key to the treasury is safeguarded by the captain of the guard, a brute named Dracula.

Dracula cannot resist the beautiful and mysterious Elisabeta. As danger erupts in Ichor Knell, he is forced into a precarious position to resist the evil within the city and to protect his family and the woman he cares for immensely.

Despite the connection he feels for her, the secrets she hides could be deadly to them both. Will the truth tie them for eternity or set them on a path of destruction?

More About Bloodscourge

There are six books in The Bloodborn Series, though only two are currently published. Bloodscourge was the fifth book I wrote, and I loved it sooooooo much that I just couldn’t wait for two more books to be published before it made its debut.

Bloodscourge takes place 1000 years before Bloodborn, so it didn’t really matter if I published it out of order. Dracula is a bit different from the other protagonists in the series. He’s brash. He’s a little bit sadistic. And he’ll do ANYTHING for family. Doesn’t matter what it is. If his family is in danger, he’ll do it.

Despite his “captain persona”, he has a big heart, even if it’s sometimes made of stone.

But even stone hearts can crack…

If you want to get a feel for the story, here’s the perfect song for it. “I’d rather be the hunter than the prey…you’ve got to be so cold to make it in this world.”

I’m looking forward to March 1st! I’ll keep you guys updated of some awesome things I have planned ahead.

The Royal Mages Series Book Tour

How I published 16 books in one year

This one is not for everyone but one that you can always try, to find out if you can do this.

Early in my writing career, my mother came to visit me for a week or so and was ecstatic with the news that her favorite author Barbara Cartland would publish 13 books in one year. That means she wrote a book a month to do that, or that was what I was thinking.

I was dumbstruck and couldn’t comprehend how she could write so many books in a year.

But it can quickly be done.

In 2020 my goal was to publish….wait for it…24 books a year. I have four pen names and not all of them are published under Kristin Ping.

Halfway through the year, I got a nasty surprise with Deep venous thrombosis, also known as (DVT), and couldn’t finish this goal. I think I ended up publishing only 16.

So how did I do this?

First step. I have plenty of ideas about stories, and I sometimes develop 5 stories at once. I’m a dreamer, a pantser, and get ideas from every source there is, whether it’s music or music videos, T.V series or other books, something small would trigger a massive part in my brain, and a new idea is born. Then the development of that story happens, and usually, my books turn into a few and become a series.

Step two. Writing these stories.

You need to write daily. When I still had a day job, writing was the hardest thing to do, but I loved it so much that I made time for it. Either early in the morning or late, when my family was asleep. It was hard. But eventually, I could quit my day job and do this full time. And my writing time expands from two to three hours a day to sometimes 16 hours a day – hence I was diagnosed with DVT. So be careful of that, please.

So I could quickly write a few books a year.

Step 3. In 2020 I had eight books in a series getting released after the other. Now with that said, some of them were partially written through the years, and I basically just finished them off, so it’s essential if you want to do something like this and not get overwhelmed to have unfinished drafts to do this with. Books that are almost there, but not yet. You can easily fix them up, send them off to the editor, and wait for those books to come back before working on your release dates.

It was the only way to publish a few books each month to get to the 16 books a year goal. Follow the three steps above, and I promise you, what you put in is what you get out. Be consistent with your writing time, and try to get as much on paper as you can.

FIRST CHAPTER

Have you ever loved someone so much that they become the air you breathe?

I’m not talking about just being in love, I’m talking about real love, and then everything changes as the truth about who that person really is gets revealed.

You still love them, but now you are afraid because you don’t understand the things that are happening around you. You don’t understand his world and you wish that you had never discovered a thing about it. You wish you could just go back to all the secrets and the “trust me” answers rather than to know the truth. 

You don’t understand why you never could see it: all the signs were there, hidden.

Well, I can tell you this, the saying “the truth shall set you free” it isn’t entirely correct in my situation. The truth was the opposite. It came with shackles and worries about if we were really going to have a future, because it was forbidden for him to love me, a human. 

My name is Danielle Laurant. I’m twenty-four years old and about to become a mother. It doesn’t matter what decision I make since it isn’t mine to make. I’m not even sure if I am going to be able to hold my babies in my arms.

You see, they belong in his world, and it doesn’t matter that they are half-breeds. His people will never let me raise them, if that is their choice. But let me take you back to a year ago and maybe you will understand why all of this is so difficult. Why I would die for Marick Young.

A YEAR AGO

“Danny.” I heard Marick’s voice softly in my ear. “Sweetheart, you need to wake up.”

I opened my eyes and found his beautiful chiseled face, with his beach blond hair tinged with golden highlights reaching his shoulders, and green eyes staring lovingly at me. His beard tickled when he kissed my neck and I laughed.

He chuckled. “I would give anything to wake up to that laugh every day,” he said and touched my face softly.

He’d been saying things like that lately. It was like something bad was about to happen that would tear us apart. But what? He was Marick Young, a loner I met more than six months ago. He had told me that he had been disowned by his father.

He had been different when I first met him. Closed off, mean, and walls as big as the Empire State building around him, but somehow my kindness and his curiosity helped break those walls. Now the walls were protecting a kind and beautiful man. A man who I loved so much.

It took me a while to realize how much he loved me, but just as his curiosity about me in the beginning broke down his walls, my curiosity to figure out who Marick Young was made me fall in love with him. No, I crashed in love with him.

I touched his face softly and just stared at him. “What’s going on? Why do you keep saying things like that?” I asked.

His eyes shifted to the wall as a sad smile lingered on his lips. 

Tears welled up in his eyes. A look I’d never seen before tugged down at the corners of his lips. A slight frown formed between the furrow of his brows.

He was afraid. 

“Marick, talk to me. What is going on?” I asked and pushed myself up in bed.

He looked at me and wiped his face hard. “Danny, I have to make a decision and I’m scared,” he said.

“What decision?”

“One about you,” he said simply. 

My throat closed up. I couldn’t breathe.

“What about me?”

“Us, actually,” he said, got up and paced slowly to my window.

“Marick, what are you talking about?”

“My father wants me to come back, Danny.”

“Love, that is perfect, why are you so …”

“Because I can’t take you with me. It’s not perfect, it’s the opposite of perfect.”

I didn’t understand one bit. I shook my head.

“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.” He touched his face. “The past few months I’ve tried to figure out what to do, but nothing I can think of is fair to you. I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t understand. Why can’t you take me with you and why weren’t you supposed to fall in love?”

“He wants me to assume my position in the family. Kinda like taking over a family business. But I can’t.”

“So he phoned you?”

He shook his head. “Well actually I knew it from the beginning and I knew that this time would come. That’s why I tried so hard not to get sucked into your world.”

“You knew it from the beginning?”

“Danielle, I tried; it was hard. I know it was stupid of me, okay. But I never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I love you, very much. There’s no easy way out of this.”

“Out of this?” I felt like crying. “So, you have already made up your mind? Fine, just leave, leave me. That’s it.”

“Danny, you think this is easy for me. It’s not. I will always love you, always want you, always ache for you.”

“Then fight his ridiculous demand, Marick. Don’t leave.”

“He can’t be fought. If there was a single ounce of hope, sweetheart, I would fight it, but there is none.”

“So what? This is it?”

He looked at the ground.

“Speak to me! Is this it, Marick?” Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“There is another way, but I can’t ask you to do that.”

“What? Just tell me.”

“We can try hiding from my father.”

“Hiding?”

“Danielle, it’s me leaving, or giving up everything we have to be together.”

I couldn’t imagine my life without Marick. I loved him too much. I had worked so hard to peel away his layers, but I knew—it was evident now—that I still didn’t know who he really was.

“I know it’s not fair to you, but it’s the only way I can think of.”

“Run away? Marick, everything we have is in New York.”

“Danielle, in the next few days my father is going to come and get me, that much I know. We can stay here and enjoy our last few days together. Then you will see me get dragged back while you are left behind. Or we can leave now and be together. He will have to find me, which will take time. More than he expects, because he can’t find me the way he used to.”

I guessed he was talking about his credit cards. 

“He can’t trace me as easily as he used to.”

“Give everything up?” I asked as if that was the hardest thing for me to do. “Is that the only way?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but those are the only two options. I should’ve told you sooner, but the thought of losing you, to imagine not having you in my life…”

I grabbed his face and just kissed his lips. His kisses were still making me slightly dizzy; they were addictive. Everything about this man was addictive. Our kisses came to a halt. “I’ll go pack.”

He just looked at me. “Are you serious?”

“Marick, I trust you. I don’t understand this, but I trust you. And I don’t want to lose you. If giving everything up is the only way to be with you, then so be it.”

He kissed me hard again and then he helped me pack my bags. 

I left a note for Diane, my roommate. I told her that I was leaving with Marick, and wouldn’t be back. I would call her when I could and try to explain everything then.

When we got downstairs, I discovered Marick had sold his bike. He’d saved so hard for it, worked at the docks and did some construction on the side, but now he’d sold it and got a truck.

I jumped into the passenger’s seat and we took off. For the first half-hour we were silent, but then I needed some answers. I was giving up everything for him, so I deserved some answers. 

“Why is our love complicated?”

He sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it, Danielle.”

“Try.”

“I can’t. Just take my word for it. Where I am from, if I go back, I have to give you up.”

“So what, he disowns you? Marick, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know it doesn’t. You don’t know my father. He is set in his ways, and he won’t even listen to me. His order was simple: learn, that’s it. I should’ve stayed away from you. Then none of this would’ve happened. You would still be happy….”

“Don’t say that. My life would’ve been incomplete if I didn’t meet you.”

“Don’t.” He spoke softly.

I touched his face. “I know you will explain everything to me when you can. Just don’t say things like how I would have been happier if I had never met you. You’ve changed my entire life. I love you, Marick. Life without you would have been dull and boring.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed it. 

“I wish I could offer you everything, anything other than just a crappy life, hiding from my father.”

“It won’t be a crappy life. I know it.”

He let go of my hand and I rested my head against the window. 

A part of me didn’t want to leave. I wanted him to fight, even if he thought it was hopeless. When his father saw how much we loved each other, surely he would change his mind. But Marick didn’t believe our love would be enough. I had to make him see that it was.

If love wasn’t worth fighting for then nothing was.

I wanted him to fight for me the way I would fight for him. But I knew it was going to take time for him to change his mind. Marick was not the type of man to act on a whim. 

He needed time before making decisions.

What kind of family business did his father run that was so hard for him to take over, and what kind of business wouldn’t allow him to love me? 

None of it was making any sense.

My mind went back to when we first met.

He was a dishwasher at the hotel I worked at. I had gotten a transfer from the hotel in Paris, which was close to where I had lived and had grown up, to the one here in New York. I wanted to see the world. Marick was quiet, didn’t want anything to do with anyone, and I finally understood now. He was never supposed to fall in love; he’d just confessed it this morning. It was still a big shock to me.

He was guarded. Couldn’t figure out the ropes in New York so I helped him out. As I did, he started to let down some of those walls a little. Then he started following me in secret and protecting me. First there was the bus that almost ran me over, then a creep at a food cart late one night. I knew someone was watching over me after that, but I didn’t know it was Marick. Then I finally found out one night. He told me, he admitted, he felt a connection that he shouldn’t feel toward me. He said he just wanted to keep me safe and meant no harm. 

It was so weird then, and made no sense, but everything was finally falling into place now. 

He’d tried to keep his distance because he didn’t want this to happen. He didn’t want it to lead to the situation we were in.

But once the door was open, it was inevitable that we’d fall for each other, and we’d been inseparable ever since.

I always thought that he was broken, that he came from a broken family that wasn’t filled with love, that wasn’t filled with care. That he just needed someone to show him the kind of love he needed, the kind of love all humans deserve. I’d never thought in a million years that he was fighting against it all.

Kristin resides in South Africa, East side of Johannesburg with her husband and two beautiful little girls. Writing has always been a passion of hers and she’s living the dream, being able to write every day. ” I love life, cherish every special second of it and live my dream.” She has recently started her own Publishing company – Fire Quill Publishing in South Africa – http://www.firequillpublishing.com/

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Youtube * Amazon * Goodreads

Author Links

Website: http://www.kristinpingbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristingPing
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/authorKristinP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pingkristin
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU2h_FiCUX5xQEZk_1byFpg
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristin-ping 
Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Kristin-Ping/e/B074S9324Z
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16856092.Kristin_Ping

Giveaway

$10 Amazon

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/the-royal-mages-series-book-tour-and-giveaway

**Get it FREE!!**

Add to Goodreads

Firequill Publishing * Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51083357-first-sight

Buy Links
Firequill Publishing: https://shop.firequillpublishers.com/product/first-sight-a-forbidden-love-story-guardian-of-monsters-saga-royal-mages-book-1/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W4X1NQQ
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1476091042
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-sight-kristin-ping/1132888130?ean=2940163583607
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kristin_Ping_First_Sight?id=Kee-DwAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/za/en/ebook/first-sight-15

Something I Collected As a Child

Pokemon Cards!

What Millennial didn’t collect Pokemon cards? And then trade them during recess? My favorites were always the water Pokemon, and yes, Squirtle was my top favorite. So much, in fact, that I had a giant Squirtle plushie that I kept for years into my childhood. My dad HATED that ratty thing. I found it in the garbage can once, and of course, I rescued it.

Some of my other favorites from the original were Evie, Jolteon, Gengar, and Pidgeot. Have you ever played Pokemon Snap? That was such a fun game!

Thanks for stopping by! If you want to join in on the prompt or see what others have to say, follow this link.

Book Review of A Rancher’s Surprise Mail Order Bride by Blythe Carver

My Review

What happens when the pride of two people threatens their future together?

So far, I’ve really enjoyed Blythe Carver’s books. I like the town she sets this series in and the depths she adds to each character. A Rancher’s Surprise Mail Order Bride made me both laugh and tear up. This book was a great addition to the series, and I look forward to reading more.

My rating: 4 stars

Favorite Quote

Belinda’s mouth twitched at the corners. “You behave as though she’s throwing women in your path at every turn. As though you have to step over them simply to leave the house in the morning. It’s a wonder you made it here at all, having to ride over the bodies of these poor, hapless souls.”

Blurb

Though Abigail’s friends and neighbors are ladies of the night, that by no means is a life she wants for herself. One letter could change her life and her fate.

Rancher Ryan Belton’s looking forward to his sister’s nuptials. Poor Ryan has no idea that Abigail, the friend his sister’s invited to the wedding, is a mail order bride. When he finds out and pushes her out of his life, she has no option but to find a position wherever she can.

When he finds her walking into the saloon, he realizes she will be a fallen woman and it’s all his fault. How can he convince this hardheaded proud woman that she doesn’t belong in a saloon?

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Book Review of How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

My Review

At first I thought the book was missing a lot of information in between scenes, but then I realized this book is part of The Cruel Prince series, which I have not read. However, the characters and the world in this illustrated book has definitely intrigued me to start reading them.

Despite not having read the other books in the series, I loved this book. I loved the characters. The drawings were beautiful. There were some really great morals in each chapter. I enjoyed reading a book about the villain’s story, and how he comes to change overtime, and not change in some instances. I’m looking forward to reading the first in the series soon!

My rating: 5 stars

Favorite Quote

Heather glares at Cardan as though he bit the head off a sprite in the middle of a banquet.

“You can’t eat some of a dumpling and put it back,” Oak insists. “That’s revolting.”

Cardan considers that villainy takes many forms, and he is good at all of them.

Blurb

An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.

Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.

Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, tis tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Book Review of Rise for Me by Kristal Dawn Harris

My Review

Vampires. Modern-day gypsies. Two people destined for love. Rise for Me is the perfect blend of paranormal and romance, with a mix of vampires and darkness. I loved everything about this novella. It was perfectly paced, the details really pulled me into the story, and the stakes were high.

Kristal Dawn Harris excels at making exciting, sexy, and swoon-worthy heros. It was far too easy to love both Mariah and Roman, and effortless to immerse myself in the world the author created. If you love paranormal stories with a bit of darkness, you’ll love this novella like I did.

My rating: 5 stars

Blurb

Vampire and warlock, Roman Lee, spent centuries alone as ringmaster of the carnival. After befriending and healing a scarred, young woman, Roman realizes Mariah is his mate. He waits for her, but when she departs from his life, his torture knows no bounds. Now he’s risen, unforgiving and angry, forced from his grave by the one woman who captured his heart, but will another secret and the call of his mate change everything?

The steady call of Roman’s blood and the promise of peace brings Mariah Stone home to the carnival and the vampire she left behind. He ignores her until she forces him from the grave with her blood. His anger crushes her already broken spirit, but she is determined to win Roman’s forgiveness and free him from their bond. Denied passion leads them down a path of magic and desire, while a devastating secret threatens eternal love.

Goodreads ~ Amazon

Book Review of Finale by Stephanie Garber

My Review

Wow! This series has left me speechless. When I finished reading Finale, I wished it never had to end. I wanted the story to keep going and going and going. I was so caught up in all the twists and turns and surprises. Just when I thought the story was headed in one direction, it did a complete flip and managed to surprise me again.

This was a book where I fell in love with ALL the main characters, and then some. If I could live inside this series permanently, I definitely would.

If you like magic, secrets, loveable characters, and excitement that drags you along with no way to stop it, you would love this series. I highly recommend, and I definitely look forward to whatever Stephanie Garber writes next.

My rating: 5+ stars

Blurb

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

Goodreads ~ Amazon