Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 32

Beating the Post-Grad Burnout (AKA I Wrote a Novel!) (FTN)

I guess I’m just giving you guys some emotional videos lately. This is about the end of my four-year belief that I couldn’t write for fun anymore, and my awkward words of encouragement for anyone else who might be feeling this way!

Book Review: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

As promised in my August wrap up, my review of Yes, Please. I laughed out loud, but was also kind of confused. The best part was definitely the genuine human aspects of the audiobook. I really felt like Amy and her friends were including me in some intimate moments rather than just reading something they’d written and then edited heavily. The “plot” aspect of it, however, was missing entirely and caused for some disconnection. Either way, a great audiobook to listen to!

I Look “Ugly” on Booktube and That’s OK (FTN)

In which I talk about perceptions of female beauty and the struggles therein, especially when making YouTube videos. And also do a lot of ranting about the fact that everyone is just made to feel not confident in themselves all the damn time. A person’s cruelest judge can be themselves, and I am no exception to that. My viewers give me confidence, and I can’t thank you enough!

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas Review + Controversy Discussion

I finished this book the day it came out and … I was broken. In shock. All my emotions were SHATTERED. However, I pulled it together enough to create this review. I always wanted to discuss a bit of the controversy that cropped up around Empire of Storms, and why Sarah did what she did (in my opinion). It’s all spoiler free! Either way, I wish that my shock had kept me knocked out until the next book appeared because I don’t know how I’m going to live until the next one!

Betwixt the Books Reviews! The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

It’s finally here! I’ve been discussing this book since I released my reaction to it as my first audiobook, but the review was not live until TODAY. So, here it is. Michaela and I both listened to the audiobook, and had an opposite reaction that led to a similar rating … somehow. I liked it more than I thought I would, and Michaela liked it less, but we still both rated it about a 3.5. Find out why!

August 2016 Wrap Up

So, maybe August wasn’t as great as July. It still wasn’t bad! I listened to 2 audiobooks, read 4 books and ticked off two more categories for my PopSugar Challenge. It also includes more re-reading than usual, but I’ve already admitted to that so. There you have it. Somehow I am still 2 books behind in my Goodreads reading challenge (I want to read 100, I’ve read 65), but I hope to pick those up soon!

Depression + Anxiety = Re-Reading

So, today’s From the Notebook segment is a bit of real talk. It’s about one of my coping mechanisms for when I’m depressed and anxious, but why this doesn’t exactly mean that I’ll be reviewing a lot of stuff until I get some down time to myself. I also talk about some of my TV obsessions, though I will admit that by the time I got around to making this post, I finished Covert Affairs. Whoops? Enjoy, and hope y’all are doing well and happy.

Bibliomancy for Beginners Season 4: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Hey there guys! We’re back with another one of our follow up themed episodes for season 4. This is a follow up on our Imbibliomancy episode on Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which we all liked. I was hopeful we would all like this but, as usual, there are some split opinions. MOSTLY FROM TAYLOR BECAUSE HE HAS NO TASTE. Anyways. Here we go!

Some People Want to Read Your S**t: A Response to Better Than Food Book Reviews

Surprise Friday Betwixt the Books Discuss! content. A YouTube channel called Better Than Food Book Reviews posted a video a few days ago titled “Nobody Wants to Read Your S**t,” and we have some thoughts and feelings. Michaela and I really missed having these smart chats with you guys, and we’re pumped to talk about advertising, authenticity on YouTube, and unsolicited reviews. Enjoy!

10 Book Giveaway with author Dave Neuendorf! (INTL)

I get a lot of emails from authors who want to set up promo spots on my blog. Though, as you know, my life is currently imploding, I try to do the best I can with all of them. There’s never been anyone quite like Dave, though. When I suggested a giveaway for a free book, as I’m swamped with reviews, he said, “WHY NOT 10?” So here we are, with this great, internationally available giveaway with 10 chances to win! Let’s get to know Dave, shall we?

Writing fiction is a third career for Dave (David William Neuendorf). Trained as a chemist (BS, Valparaiso University) and metallurgist (MS, Purdue University), his first career was research and development in extractive metallurgy (developing processes for extracting metals from rocks). His second career, and current day job, is writing software as a contractor, using Java and its Swing user interface library. If you’re curious about that, his resume is available online. His third career as a fiction author officially began on February 7, 2016, when he published his first fantasy novel, The Summoned King, as a Kindle book on Amazon.

Dave’s hobbies include shooting, computer gaming, and of course, reading. He has loved fantasy and science fiction since the first grade, adding thrillers and westerns in later years. His favorite novel as a child was David and the Phoenix, a fantasy (now, we might call it children’s urban fantasy), by Edward Ormondroyd.

Over the years, every time Dave read a novel, his mind would wander on different paths that the story could take. Sometimes he would make notes about plot ideas inspired by something in those stories. After decades of collecting such notes, the dam burst and he began writing a political thriller about a CIA whistleblower’s assassination. About a third of the way through that story, the inspiration for a fantasy came out of nowhere. Postponing the thriller, he began work on The Summoned King. He plans to finish two more books in the series, The Kalymbrian Chronicles, before returning to the thriller.

Dave lives in southeast Indiana with his wife, Patti, and two of their three sons. They are all partial to northern dog breeds, and currently enjoy the company of a male Samoyed and a female Siberian Husky. Tired of the trend for so much modern fiction to be based in California or New York, he plans to have a connection to southeast Indiana in any of his Earth-based novels.

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The Summoned King: Book One of The Kalymbrian Chronicles

Indiana high school senior James Madison Young might best be described as a Renaissance man: intelligent, of good character, well educated, and full of passionate interests in everything from Krav Maga to robotics. One evening he falls asleep while studying at the library. He wakes to find himself in another world, filled with magic, danger, and romance. He has been summoned by court wizard Maynard to be the king of Kalymbria. Forced into marriage with the beautiful and magically powerful yet untrained Julia Roper for his queen, he must restore the lapsed Constitution in the face of opposition from a hostile Council of Advisors, and defend his new country from the evil machinations of the wizard Ruinga and her allied kingdom of Venicka. Rediscovering the lost art of enchantment may provide him with a powerful edge in his quest, if he can survive the assassins and conspiracies arrayed against him.

GIVEAWAY TIME

The rules are simple: go to the Rafflecopter to enter! This giveaway is open internationally, and will end on September 22nd.

a Rafflecopter giveaway