Krys Fenner's Blog, page 7

Pirates like Johnny Depp, oh my!

Midnight Omen by Marti Melville took a while for me to truly get involved. There were a few scenes I felt were unnecessary to tell the story, but I still liked it. This is a tale of a girl who was a witch in a past life. As a witch she gave her life to save the life of a pirate Captain she fell in love with. In this life, the curse she’d been faced with back then has returned. She must learn about who she is and what exactly she’s dealing with.

The beginning of the novel flips back and forth between the present and past. Unfortunately it wasn’t until after the main character, Katherine, visits a shaman and undergoes regression to remember her past life that any of it makes sense. By this point, you’re a quarter of the way through the novel. The regression is perhaps the most interesting part of the story. It follows Katherine, then Kathryn, as she and a pirate Captain fall in love. She is kidnapped and initially forced to stay on the Revenge as the new surgeon due to her healing capacity. Soon, she finds one reason to stay aboard, Captain Phillips.

Aboard the Revenge (quite aptly named), Kathryn finds friends, love, and multitudes of enemies. She also discovers more about her gift of “healing” and her abilities as a “witch.” By the end of the story, I was certainly prepared to pick up the next book in the series. I’d love to tell you why, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. But I can tell you that Katherine wasn’t the only one dreaming of gorgeous pirate Captain Phillips.

I give it 3 stars.

Intimate Moment (Addicted)

SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! Do not continue unless you’re okay with a tiny spoiler. This is provided you have not yet read Punished. If you have, it isn’t much of a spoiler.

I’m working on Addicted. Earlier today I started this rather intimate scene with Bella and Jeremiah. No, I’m not going to share the whole scene. Just a teaser. Then I can pick up where I left off and give it a good ending.

READ AWAY.

Silence filled the bathroom across the hall. The water had been shut off. His body perked up at the image of his freshly showered girlfriend walking through the door any moment. Jeremiah frowned and adjusted his pajama pants. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to wait in the bed after all. He eyed the desk against the wall. That would probably be the best place for him to sit. He sat up in bed and the door opened.

“Miah, what’re you doing in here?” Bella whispered. She clung to the knot she’d made with the towel wrapped around her body.

No time to move. He swallowed and his gaze trailed from the towel on top of her head all the way down to her bare feet. Had it gotten hot in there? “I, uh, I… I wanted to talk.”

“Are you trying to get us caught?” She peeked around the corner of the door and eased it shut. Holding tight to the towel she tiptoed over to the dresser.

Oh boy! Jeremiah dragged his hand through his short hair and gripped the back of his neck. Obviously he hadn’t thought through this clearly. His hormones reared their sense of desire and his entire body flushed with heat. Man, he yearned to have every part of her. Question, she’d asked a question. What had she asked?

Bella opened a couple of drawers and pulled a few items out. She peered over her shoulder at him. “If you’re staying in here, then you need to face the door.”

“Um, okay.” Apparently she hadn’t expected an answer. Must’ve been rhetorical. Good thing too. He hadn’t remembered what she’d even asked. A small grin slipped to his lips. Jeremiah stood and turned toward the door.

“I can’t believe you waited.”

Unable to help himself, he glanced at her out of his periphery. The glimpse had granted him a beautiful view of her tugging on a pair of night shorts and the single tattoo on her lower back. Before she caught him, Jeremiah snapped his eyes away from her bare back. He’d always known she was gorgeous, but the sight of her skin blew his mind. Hadn’t he intended to talk to her about something?

“Why’d you sneak in here so early anyway?”

“Where were you this afternoon?”

Bella removed the towel from her head and picked up a brush for the dresser. “Is that why you came in here? To talk about today?”

“Yes. I’d like to know where you disappeared to and why you refused my calls.” His back still to her, Jeremiah crossed his arms. That’s right. He had a multitude of questions. And they deserved answers.

Brush in her hand, she sighed. “You can turn around now. I’m sorry I didn’t answer. Today was just… a learning experience.”

“What do you mean?” Slowly he spun around to face her. The look on her face said a lot. Her brows were creased with worry; her hazel brown eyes were filled with sadness, but a shred of hope existed. He walked over to her and took the brush in his hand. Lacing his fingers through her hand he guided her to the bed and together they sat. He climbed up first and pulled her up so she’d nestled between his legs.

“It kind of goes along with something I found out a few months back.”

Review of Tread Carefully on the Sea

When I first heard “Tread Carefully on the Sea” by David K. Bryant was about pirates, I thought of movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and of pirates like Jack Sparrow. Who wouldn’t want to read a book about the pirate life if a pirate like Johnny Depp’s rendition filled the pages? While I would love to say I got what I expected, I can’t. I was a tad disappointed, but perhaps that has more to do with the type of fiction I do tend to read verses what I don’t.

The basis of the story is that Jessica Trelawny is turning 21 and her uncle has orchestrated a massive ball in her honor. A loving suitor is expected to attend; the same man she hopes to receive a proposal from. Unfortunately, her party is crashed by some unruly visitors. The pirates kidnap Jessica and her maid Libby as well as her would-be suitor and his second in command. As an unexpected turn of events, the four must fight for their lives if they hope to survive.

Now, I was most certainly intrigued by the story. However, there are some parts I wish had been executed a little better and others that peeked my interest. It took a little bit for me to truly get involved in the goings on of the novel. Part of this I attributed to the omniscient point of view where I got a gander into everyone’s head of any consequence. A few I believe could have been left out. To me, the kidnapping of Jessica Trelawny had been a tad rushed. I would’ve liked to have seen more of this without so much of the history of the characters being told in the process. Truthfully, I believe the way the Trelawny’s came into power had been covered more in the middle of the novel when Jessica Trelawny, Libby, Captain Townsend, and Lieutenant O’Hara exchanged stories.

What I liked most was that despite the circumstances, Jessica and Libby were not portrayed as helpless women. Not only were they both educated, they both handled themselves quite well and offered a hand when push came to shove. I also liked how both the Captain and Lieutenant had their moments of idiocy. It showed they were men who could act on emotion and not just instinct or rational thought alone. I loved the way these four came together, hatched a plan and escaped while taking down a few pirates along the way.

As for the pirates, well… in the end they were true to their station. Even with mutiny afoot, they were all selfish and conniving creatures of habit. I’m not sure how I feel about the way their portion of the story concluded. Flint proved he had a heart of stone, but died in quite a fitting manner. Perhaps my favorite part of  pirate story is how the author contributed to the idea that the Pirate House in Savannah, Georgia is haunted. Then again, I love a good ghost story.

All in all, this was a decent novel. I give it 3.5 stars.

Upcoming Event – August 15, 2015

Save the date! Check out the information on Facebook! Let me know if you’ll be there.

I’ve got some great guest speakers scheduled. There will be some awesome door prizes! Not only will I be talking about my books, there will time for some Q&A and book signing. Plus both books and t-shirts will be available for purchase. You’ll even get a sneak peek at the third installment, Addicted. It’s going to be a great way to spend your Saturday night!

Come join me at Gojo Coffee House from 6pm to 8pm on August 15, 2015.

Winners of the Destroyed Blog Tour Giveaway!!

Congratulations to all the winners! Thank you everyone who participated and entered to win. For those of you who will have items shipped, I will be contacting you by the end of the week.

 

• 3 Grand Prize Giveaways: Each includes books from other authors, signed copy of Destroyed, plus swag.


Tracee Arftwo
Jenn Clift
Danielle Degis

5 paperback copies 
Juana Esparza
Dan Denman
Sabrina Taylor
Sheryl Pike
LeKeisha Thomas

• 5 e-book copies:
Kaitlyn Farmer
Tracy Upchurch
Kerry O’dea
Alisha Sienkiel
Amy Pollard Woolard

• 5 T-shirts
Elizabeth Chang
Angel Heaps
Janet Lee
Natalie Brown
Julia Cosgrove

 

Destroyed Blog Tour

The blog tour for Destroyed starts today! I’m so excited. Click here to visit the blog sites. I’ll be doing a giveaway all week long. You can see how to enter by visiting here. Below are just some of the things you can win.

Giveaway Preview for Blog Tour

In less than two weeks there is a blog tour scheduled for Destroyed.

From now until the end of the tour Destroyed will be discounted by 15%. Get your copy now.

Throughout the tour I will be doing several giveaways. Check out the tour link for the stops and see how you can enter to win.

Below is some of what you can win.

One of three Grande Prizes. Each Grande Prize includes a copy of Destroyed & Punished, a t-shirt for Destroyed (design preview shown), plus more.

 Tread Carefully on the Sea by David K. Bryant, signed copies of The Voices in My Head & The Voices in My Head II by Jerry Don Nicholes Sr. and an After bookmark.

 After by Andree Robinson Neal, Exodus Left by Kathleen Gafney, & a signed copy of Patches by Elizabeth Grace.

 Signed copy of Alter Ego by Tory Allyn, signed copy of Hands on Health by Paula M. Youmell, gift certificate for Early Morning Coffee & Donuts by Paula M. Youmell, Chemo on the Rocks by Becky Durkin, and an After bookmark.

 Preview of the Destroyed t-shirt design. (Share your favorite phrase or quote from the book and also be entered to win a free t-shirt.

The Duff

In most romantic movies it is usually seen as “the guy gets the girl.” Why can’t be it be seen as “the girl gets the guy?”

Tonight I got to see The Duff, the movie. Earlier this week I read The Duff, the book. While the chunk of the story is quite different, for the first time I can say I enjoyed the movie better than the book. Still I recommend both. And here’s why. Both the book and the movie present very interesting perspectives on this whole relationship thing. (Spoiler’s ahead) In the movie, Bianca and Wesley become friends by helping each other out and end up in a relationship because of it. In the book, Bianca and Wesley start sleeping together because it suits them both. They each are allowed to temporarily escape their problems by being with each other. And even though they deny it at first, they do end up together in a relationship. Now, I like the movie better because it triggers the idea that relationships work better when they start as friendships. I think back over my own relationships and this is true, even if those relationships don’t work in the end. The book on the other hand shows you how relationships can accidentally happen when you intend one thing and find another. What I mean is, Bianca and Wesley only intend to use each other (mutually of course), but soon enough they discover they have actual feelings for one another. And in both, it freaks them both out. Even Toby is made to look completely different in each version. In one, he’s sweet and kind and in the other, he’s kind of a tool. However, the message in the book and the movie is the same – hope. It gives single girls like me who haven’t had the best outcomes in relationships, hope. And that, my friends, is why I see it as “the girl gets the guy.” Because sometimes we all need a little hope, which is exactly what every kind of romantic novel gives us. Not unrealistic men, but hope.

To Market or Not to Market? That is the question.

Last night I was going through my e-mails and I saw this group discussion on LinkedIn. I check this out regularly because in some cases they have useful information. The topic of this particular discussion revolved around marketing. Every writer knows marketing can be difficult and a new skill each must learn to endeavor through. Now, the person who initiated the topic might have had a good thought, but it wasn’t a good idea. The topic regarded overloading audiences with information about your book/product. Here’s the problem with that and most people agreed. Throwing information about your book/product out there for everyone to see loses momentum. First of all, you don’t want to target everyone because your book/product is not made for everyone. There are a ton of books out there that talk about picking your target audience. In other words, who is the book/product made for? For example, my book series “Dark Road” is intended for Young Adults age 15/16 to adults in their mid to late twenties. This is only the start of my target audience. I would break this down further by altering my target to young adult women age 15/16 to adult women in their mid to late twenties. I could continue to break this down by including those who attend, are attending, or attended college. I could even go further by referencing race, ethnicity, or even financial status. Some of this I think isn’t necessary, but most of it is. It’s important to know who you are trying to sell to because that is going to determine your marketing strategy.

Let me give you another example. Just recently I hit over 500 likes on Facebook. This should be a momentous occasion, something I can offer a quick celebration to, but there is a reason why I didn’t automatically jump for joy. Over 300 of these are what we call paid-for-likes. This means that I paid Facebook to advertise for me and they generated likes. Unfortunately, I notice how well these paid-for-likes work when I post something on my page that no one or very few respond to. This might seem a little redundant, but think about it this way. These likes I got are not necessarily from my target audience because Facebook floods the market with my page information. As I get these likes, I wonder: Why do they like my page? What about my page attracted them? Some of my initial beliefs had to do with the fact that I openly displayed my tattoos. I thought better of this simply because tattoos are no longer as taboo as they used to be. So I changed my background picture. Now, I have done this a multitude of times. The picture I currently display is below (designed by Freaky Deaky Designs).

Long before this was placed, I turned off the advertisement part for Facebook and decided it was just time I depend on myself. I believe that it is the best way to generate real marketing as long as you know who your audience is and that is the most important factor.

A Debate For the Ages

https://krysfenner.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/nittygritty.mp4