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Book Review- Salt In The Water by S. Cushaway and J Ray

Genre: Dark Science FantasySynopsis: There are a thousand ways to die in the desert—desperate outlaws, deadly predators, murderous elements, and betrayal...Kaitar Besh, a veteran scout as legendary for his cynicism as his skills, is ordered to brave the deadly Shy'war-Anquai desert one last time. Escorting Leigh Enderi—a greenhorn Enforcer with a reputation as shady as his own—he soon realizes the ghosts of his past have come to haunt more than his nightmares. When the mission breaks down in the wake of bitter hatred and mistrust, even Kaitar's fabled skills may not be enough to bring them home again. Stranded in the red wasteland without contact, food, or water, they uncover a betrayal that could bring all they hold dear crumbling to the dust. . . and tear down the wall of lies surrounding them.My take: I have never read a book quite like this. The creative characters and world building were amazing, and Kaitar Besh (that's him on the cover) was by far my favorite character, though Senqua stole my heart as well. She and Besh are the same species, and I love their grit and spit. I love the world. Each of the species in it make sense to a desert environment, and the authors seem to pull heavily from desert culture mythos without completely stealing their creations from any specific culture (that I could tell). The really fun bit about this book is that it could be science fiction, it could be fantasy. There's no clear explanation for where/ when it takes place. Although there are humans and a group of races referred to as enetics. It would seem that they were once human, and somehow devices called "Toros" created a "Bloom" which changed them. There is also a city environ that is operated by a group called the Syndacit, and the humans from that world all have "shelfs" in their brains which can be removed to wipe their memories/ personality. But there are also beings that seem to be robots, though never specifically called that. (See, there's this whole sci-vibe?) There is no reference to earth, or our world as we know it, and the bloom is never really described as being science, rather treated as something more mystical so a very fantasy feel as well. I would put a word of caution, there is a lot of "flopping breasts" in the beginning, which I don't know why as there wasn't such a focus placed on dangling penises. There was no sexual intent behind it, just a weird focus on it. The book, much like the world it creates, is one of harsh realities, violence, and has a Wild West feel of lawlessness and thugary. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I do look forward to reading the next book in the Lesser Dark series. Do you enjoy gritty new worlds with harrowing and winding plots? Then check it out on Goodreadstoday. Until next time, Keep Reading! 

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Book Review- The 13- Tales of Illusory By Stephanie Ayers

Genre: Horror/ Short Story CollectionSynopsis: *Can You Survive all 13?*13 enchanted horrors, 13 spine-chilling tales. Down, down in the depths they fell, bodies in the dark of a liquid hell. Can you survive all 13?My Take: The is a deliciously dark collection of 13 short stories, all with a super natural element. The first story, Soul Survivor, is actually a page long poem that sets the creep factor nicely. Next we enjoy a short story, "The Puppet Master" that dabbles in Romani myth and legend. "No Returns" is an unexpected short story with a dark twist at the end. "Wade, Haunted" is a longer short story/ cautionary tale with a dash of naughty."Season of Change" which is one of my favorites, takes a look at neighbors. "On the Ninth Day" is a clever piece based on the Norse God Odin. "Strike a Pose" is about the victim of a creative killer. Dark, twisted, and fun. "A Child Lost" looks at the world of Pixies. "The May Queen" plays on the ancient tradition of the May Pole. "The Chair" is a morbid look into the world of an electric chair. "Tears of a Sinner" is a dark look into arranged marriage. "What the Sign Saw" is one of the longest pieces, and is a dark love story that I also really enjoyed. "The 13th Year" wraps up the tales with a unique view into the lore of vampires. If you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, then I think you will enjoy this modern take on the dark, macabre, and supernatural. I know I certainly did. You can get your copy of The 13: Tales of Illusory on Amazon, or at any of these retailers.Until next time, Keep Reading!

Haunted by the Nameless Boy

It’s all in the name. One name can propel a story for me. One fantastic name can make or break it all. I have gotten lucky and created a few great names. Saykobar Hesh, Volacha Brinchay, Kolaster Vagan, Rayph Ivoryfist—all these names crafted the character for me. They all brought that character to life. But not like this one. I had a perfect dream. As a writer, I don’t dream about my books. Some do. I don’t. Never had it happen to me-- until this one dream came in a pretty box with a bow on it. In one night of restless sleep, I had dreamed a novel perfect and complete. When my wife came to wake me up, I looked at her and said, “His name is—” and I said it. The greatest name for a character I had ever heard. It gave me goosebumps just to say the name. It had power. It had mystique. It brought me awake and thrumming, and guys, it felt so good to say it.He was a young boy, an orphan, grubby and uneducated. He worked for change performing tricks on a train that traveled from the mainland out to an island where everyone worked. Tricks and flips and stories he told; jokes and tumbles and card games he played; and the people, entertained and in love with him brought food and candy. They brought him warm clothing and gave him fistfuls of change. They all loved this orphan with the perfect name. Until one day, on his twelfth birthday, he disappeared. The atmosphere of the train changed that day. What had been happy and light, filled with laughing and camaraderie, became sullen and petulant. The commuters stopped talking. An air of discontent rode the wind, and for long years, the train fell silent. Everyone hated the ride. Then the boy came back.He was sixteen now, tall and charismatic. He was the perfect image of a beautiful young man. The people grinned when they saw him and fell in around him to hug him and laugh. But he had not come alone.The boy with the inspiring name had brought others with him, darker folk, angry and quarrelsome. These people begged openly for money. When it was denied to them, they grew restless. They grew villainous, and they looked to their leader for aid.The boy was definitely their leader. He walked these gypsies with humor laced in rage. He led with a cruelty the riders of the train had never seen in him before. Because, see, the boy was furious. He had been living on the streets when the passengers had brought him scarves but he needed a home. They brought him gloves when what he wanted was a family. He had been abused by the life of the homeless, and now that he was powerful and smart, now that he had a crew and a voice, he was here for payment. Payment in misery.Violence. The boy wanted violence. He intimidated the people to get what he wanted. He stole from them and commanded them about. He pulled a knife on an old man one day when the man accidentally stepped on his foot. He reached out and plucked a woman’s purse out of her hands, rifled through it in front of her, and dropped it when he found what he wanted. His gypsies were worse. And the ride back and forth to the island was hell.One day, something sparked it. I know not what it was. It was a small thing, though, no punch to the gut, no taking of some innocent rider’s pride. One tiny little injustice provoked the commuters, and the train erupted with an uprising. People were beaten. Blood and horror, the darkest things a man can do to another man, broke out in the train. The gypsies pulled guns, and bedlam rode free on the speeding train. Someone started a fire, and within the flames, everyone died. The train crashed and the station shut down. For years, no train. But after nearly a decade had passed, the people of the mainland and the people of the island erected a new train. On a stormy day, on its maiden run, just when the cloudy skies parted for a bit of sunlight, the engineer looked out his window to the image of a train on fire shooting straight at him. Hundreds of faces hung out the windows, wailing, and on top of the train, wreathed in flames, sat the boy with the perfect name, screaming in horror and hate. But I never wrote that story. That one slipped past me. I was writing sword and sorcery. I was writing high adventure, and this story did not fit in my genre. It did not fit in my plans, and I shoved it away. I packed it up and put it somewhere. The name is gone. I have searched my mind for it for years. I would like to write that perfect dream novel. I would love to tell that little boy’s story. But for me, the name is everything. And without it, I cannot gain the momentum to put it all down. But every now and then, I will be sitting and thinking of a book or driving some street I have known for years. I will be on my deck, grilling pork steak, or in the shower, and I will see before me a flaming train filled with screaming death and a nameless boy riding the top, shrieking in my face.Jesse Teller fell in love with fantasy when he was five years old and played his first game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game gave him the ability to create stories and characters from a young age. He started consuming fantasy in every form and, by nine, was obsessed with the genre. As a young adult, he knew he wanted to make his life about fantasy. From exploring the relationship between man and woman, to studying the qualities of a leader or a tyrant, Jesse Teller uses his stories and settings to study real-world themes and issues.Want to learn more about Jesse? Check out his, follow him on,  and . Want to keep up with what books he is releasing, follow his 

Meet the Author with Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Hello Lovelies, Today we are meeting a lovely new author, Deanie Humphrys-Dunne. Deanie Humphrys-Dunne is an award-winning children’s author with six books published : My Life at Sweetbrier-A Life Changed by Horses, Charlie the Horse, Charlene the Star, Charlene the Star and Hattie’s Heroes, and Charlene the Star and Bentley Bulldog. All of her fictional books are beautifully illustrated by her sister, Holly Humphrys-Bajaj. Deanie’s true story, Tails of Sweetbrier, won the silver medal in the Feathered Quill Book Awards, a finalist in the CLIPPA, honorable mention in the Purple Dragonfly Awards, and the silver medal in the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards. Her new book, My Life at Sweetbrier-A Life Changed by Horses, won the gold medal in the New Apple Summer e-book awards, as well as the silver medal in the Reader’s Favorite contest. Deanie’s fictional stories are told by the animal characters. Note: Deanie’s first award-winning book, Tails of Sweetbrier, has been replaced by her new book: My Life at Sweetbrier-A Life Changed by Horses.Deanie believes the message that perseverance is the key to accomplishing amazing things is one that can benefit every child. Through her inspiring, real life and fictional works, children will learn that anything is possible if they refuse to give up on their dreams. We can attain much more than we ever imagine by never quitting.Children will be reminded that tenacity is the key to success. They will see proof that obstacles can be overcome and that quitting only guarantees failure.Deanie wants to be a positive influence to children. She loves to write entertaining stories that emphasize important values such as; never giving up, setting goals, and working together to realize great things. Her goal is to write books that build self-esteem and confidence in children. She works tirelessly to write books that would appeal to children and also teach them valuable lessons, presented in an engaging manner.Deanie is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature. She has been featured on several author websites including TheAuthorsShow.com, and blogtalkradio.com with authors JD Holiday and Annette Rochelle Aben. She has been honored with numerous blogging awards and nominations. Deanie was recently featured on WTNH.com/CT Style television program to discuss her books.What is the current book you are promoting?The title of the book is My Life at SweetbrierSubtitle: A Life Changed by HorsesOn a cold day: coffee, tea, cocoa or something a bit stronger, and why?Coffee, no matter what kind of day it was. I don’t think my brain would function well without it. It’s common in my family. My mom didn’t like to converse before her coffee.

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Why We Should Read Diverse Books a Guest Post By Helen Birk

People stop thinking critically when they give up reading. If you do not read, you stop enriching your vocabulary, knowledge and reduce total brain productivity. One of the best advantages of books is that they help to involve and develop the imagination and pitch the creativity. The author of the book depicted his own point of view with his own words and expressions. And a reader interprets this moment under his personal feelings, emotions, and experiences. Reading is the best habit in the world. If you get used to browsing diverse books, your brain will always function properly it will be easier for you to suss out the existing problems. Are you still hesitating whether you should or shouldn’t read diverse publications? Are you trying to start learning on a daily basis, but still cannot devote some time to reading? We have found 5 reasons to convince you why we need diversity in books.To Enrich the VocabularyThere are dozens of methods and approaches for children to make them want to read. Why do the parents do their best to inspiretheir children for reading? Why is it important to read since childhood? The reason for that is that by inspecting diverse publications, we enrich our vocabulary. We may transform the famous proverb into the next expression: tell me what you read, and I would tell you who you are. Do you notice that people who read sophisticated books always speak in this manner? They have exquisite language. Varied publications are the sources of knowledge – each new piece presents you some specifications and language peculiarities that are very helpful for your language.To Expand KnowledgeIt is essential to read as it broadens your horizons on various topics and fields of life. Any book is a separate story which shows advantages or disadvantages of this or that side of life. It teaches good manners and prevents from danger. It helps mentally travel around the world and visually visit the most distanced places on Earth.To get InspiredOne more reason for reading is that diverse books inspire us to be the authors of our own story, hence, we are the only ones who are responsible for our lives. We create our stories, our destinies, or even essay writing website that show different real examples, approaches and people’s experiences.To learn to Feel EmpathyWhile scanning different books, we get acquainted with new characters. Getting familiar with their stories helps to walk in a character’s shoes. This is how we learn to feel empathy since the very first pages until its ending.To Encourage Learning Foreign LanguagesMulticultural books, stories that describe unique foreign culture, encourage people to learn foreign languages to understand other nations and folks better. When we read a multicultural book, we dive into a foreign atmosphere, which broadens our horizons and helps realize the truth: the more languages you know, the more you experience as a human being.Helen Birk is a blogger and freelance writer. She enjoys writing about studying, motivation, travel, and adventure, her motto is: “Do what you love, love what you do, never give up and be always true.” Twitter: @HBirk12

Book Review- The Triplet's Curse- Hope's Story by Marsha Black

Genre: YA Urban FantasySynopsis: When the moon is fullHigh above the EarthThree daughters shall be bornOn their 16th birthday, their destiny will beginOne daughter, born with the knowledge of the future, yet blind of those closest to herAs Hope’s 16th birthday nears, weird things happen. Then on the night of her 16th birthday, she awakens with a scream. An unbelievable nightmare becomes her reality, and she questions her sanity.Bryce, a new guy in town, arrives to help.In order to survive, three must work as one, or all is lost.Will Hope learn to use her ability in time?My Take: I received an advanced reader copy for the purpose of review. And man, am I glad I did. This story is the first in a three-part series about three sisters who are cursed. Hope is definitely a character I can relate to. Grade oriented, not really part of the popular crowd, and with no desire to be, she is just a normal teenager struggling with getting along with her sisters, looking forward to getting her license... and having the joy of always being thrust into the spotlight she hates, because she is one of the only sets of triplets ever born in their small Wisconsin town. Then she meets Bryce. Oh, Bryce. I can't decide if I like him or not. I mean, he's ok. At least he's not the sullen brooding boy that seems to be the hot "it" thing in YA UF of late. But (and I think this is true to his character, as opposed to the bad writing I've seen from other authors) Without Hope, he is kind of nothing. I mean, literally, this kid has been raised in a cult society, his sole purpose of existence, to find the triplets from the curse and aid them in training and preparing to battle evil. We get a brief glimpse of this young man who doesn't really believe in his mission, and kind of isn't happy with his life, but then the spark happens (No, y'all it is a LITERAL spark, sounds SO cool. I want to see a movie version of this JUST to see the spark, lol) and suddenly he is a born again convert to his cult's beliefs. Which, is probably a good thing or poor Hope would've been screwed. But it would've been fun to see him maybe buck the system a little bit? I have hopes, thanks to someteasers for the next books, that one of the heroes/ heroines might, though. After all, Fate can only do so much, am I right? So, yeah, each book is about one of the sisters, and their coming into their power, as far as I can tell. I loved the baddie in this one, and the way it was revealed. I can't say I didn't see it coming, but at the same time, it was a surprise. The author did a great job balancing the readers knowledge and expectations. And holy crap, the teaser at the end for the next book!? As soon as it's available for preorder, I am ordering it! If you enjoy stories where the hero is fated to save the world, with a dash or romance, and a splash of snark, then The Triplet's curse is definitely for you. Grab it on Amazon today.  I think my boys will definitely enjoy this one! Until next time, Keep Reading!