Gloria Oliver's Blog, page 2

Virtual Tourist 03/22/24

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Jedi SurvivorStory Origin Swap 2Fascinating Places Group PromoMonstrous March Group PromoReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

I swear I tend to overbook my time. But then still feel like I am not getting enough done. LOL. 

However, in April, I’ll be giving you and me a break! Bwahahaha! 

More details about the hiatus on May 17th! (Assuming you still remember who I am by then. 😝)

News/Musings

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March is proving to be a handful. Boo! But I did skip catching a cold, so yay! 😁

I had an early birthday lunch with my Mom and others yesterday. This lands on my grandmother’s birthday, so she was there in spirit. The big joke for the day – we met at Gloria’s, an El Salvadoran/Tex-Mex restaurant, and I got Gloria’s Super Special. So Gloria ate at Gloria’s and had Gloria’s special. Three Glorias. Now say the sentence three times fast. LOL. 🤣 I think everyone had a good time. 🤞

​

 

Writing News

I’ve hit almost 65,000 words for The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero. I have 15,000 to go for my minimum word count threshold, so you get a full novel. (I’ve noticed a weird trend where books are getting shorter and shorter. I’m not going that route. I’d feel cheated as a reader so I won’t do it as a writer if I can at all help it.)

Feeding chapters to the writer’s group as I go, trying to get it as shiny as possible before hitting up my editor. I would love to get it to you by July, so wish me luck! (My hope is to jump straight to book 3 after that.) Eek!

Music of Death Blues has been well received so far, which is awesome! Thank you guys for your awesome support!

 

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Fascinating Places Group Promo

4) Monstrous March Group Promo

 

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

The Crimson Inkwell

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

Magic Exists Where We Cannot See.

Book 1 of the Luella Winthrop Trilogy

If someone gave you a pen that turned fiction into fact, how long would it take you to make a proper mess of things?

I’m Luella Winthrop. I live in Dawnhurst-on-Severn, a small English city that’s teeming with excitement over the print industry. After all, if education has been made available for even the working class, why not enjoy it?

Still, even if a woman can read, write, or reign as sovereign, my editor assures me that we don’t sell stories very well. Personally, I think he’s just protective. After all, he is also my fiancé. Why assign me exciting stories when he can tuck me into safe, non-controversial articles about table napkins?

But, I didn’t become a writer to write about table napkins. I dreamed of covering dashing detectives, murders on the cobbles, and unexplained phenomena.

So, when a strange carnival worker offered me a pen that could turn fiction to fact, I took him up on it. Before I knew it, I was suspended in between reality and magic.

Now I have no idea who to marry, what it takes to impress the critics, or how to put my world back together. But, I’d better hurry, because I think I woke up something dark and dangerous.

Jedi Survivor

Yep, still doing this one. I FINALLY figured out how to get the UI to disappear for the photos. But whether you’ll see those this time around is not yet determined. I try to upload 30 pics at a time, then try to pick the best ones to show, so you could get lucky? 😁

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

Such funky rock formations. The level of detail is awesome!

Signs of Imperial and other presences on Koboh close to the miner town.

Skoova, one of the many people you can recruit to the town during your travels. He’s a hoot! You will find him and his boat in the most unusual of places as he hunts for fish to add to the tank behind him, which is in the bar.  Every time you find him, he will catch a fish at that location and continue with the whopper of a tale of his adventures. 1 more fish to go!

This is a far view of one of the ancient temples scattered throughout the planet Jedah. Cal gets several unexpected surprises here.  (You can find a gardener for the roof of the bar on this planet.)

Entrance to one of the many temples on Jedah. 

View from the lab at the broken moon orbiting Koboh. The ship is the Mantis. Yu could change the colors in the first game, but we’re stuck with these this time around. The ship has seen better days. 😛

​

Still at the lab on the broken moon. The maintenance droid is still functional and is hundreds of years old. Bad things happened here.

Remains of ancient life on Koboh. There are a couple of giant species still alive there. (And some evil bugs that love to jump on you out of nowhere.)

Grace in the Wings

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

A ghost from her past. Her sister murdered. Is a Broadway star facing her final curtain call?

New York City, 1920. Grace Michelle has everything she wants: a home, a family, and a future career as a costume designer for the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Pretty good for a girl who once lived on the streets of New York City. But when her sister, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace’s sheltered life is shattered.

To catch the culprit, the junior designer is forced to give up her dreams and replace her dead sister as the Follies’ star. It’s not long before she realizes she’s a pawn in a series of publicity stunts that put her life at risk—and into the path of a dangerous man from her troubled past—a man she thought she’d left for dead.

If Grace doesn’t find the killer fast, it’s certain she’ll be taking her final bow.

Grace in the Wings is the gripping first book in the Grace Michelle Mystery series. If you like historical mysteries dripping with 1920s swagger, unfettered ambition, and plenty of murderous twists, you’ll love Kari Bovee’s riveting tale.

Buy Grace in the Wings to lose yourself in the glamorous, and sometimes dangerous, world of Broadway’s golden age!

​Fascinating Places Group Promo – Immerse yourself in real-world places!

Monstrous March Group Promo – monsters of all kinds at your fingertips

🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

​

Black Jade – Kerry

Jacques – Carol

The JOY of Murder – Est

Music of Death Blues – 
kerriem3, janelit43, Kuzlin, oldshortfatbroudonwh, geraldinelopez11, Teresa,, Kuzlin, TRL, Ana Luisa Santiago, Patty, Teresa Collins, Kerrie McLean, Eventplanr, WhiteQueen45, Shane Wreight, DVH, Geraldine Lopez, Est, Kat Taylor, Mrs LIR Linda, Patricia Wong, Teresa Collins, Sue Loncaric, Sandy, Tania, Jane Litherland, LizzyLa, Bekki’s Books, and Kerrie

The Prince and Dai – LizzyLa and P.D.R. Lindsay

The Secret Humankind – Dana Ferbrache-Darr and AVG9

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

They are calling for cold fronts and rain. Stay indoors! Stay warm! 

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Mind Sieve 03/08/24

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1Mini Movie/Show ReviewsStoryOrigin Swap 2Movie/TV Show PreviewsJust for Fun!Fascinating Places Group PromoMonstrous March Group PromoBookSiren’s Cozy Mystery ARCsStrong Women Strange Worlds

 

 

Happy Day, y’all! 

I’ve got all sorts of stuff to share today

 

News/Musings

Okay, weird weather, unhappy dogs, and I’ve been trying to get a sore throat. Nooo! If I stay on top of it, I can cut that off at the pass. Bwahahahaha! 

I didn’t participate at Fencon this year, but several of my author buds did. Two of them got the convention crud from other attendees. I know people paid to go, but it might be time to stay home if you’re coughing out a lung. Melanie said it knocked her out for four days after she caught it there. Poor thing!

​

Writing news

Music of Death Blues is LIVE!  The ebook, paperback, and hardback all went on sale 3/1/24. For those of you with a subscription, you’ll also find it in Kindle Unlimited.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Excellent in so many ways: characters, plot, atmosphere, historical detail.” – Book Bub Review

Reactions have been great so far! 

I just found out that one of my publishers is participating in Smashwords eBook Week from 3/4 to 3/9/24. All my Zumaya titles will be 25% off!  You can see the list of my books on special here.

Also, Amazon and Audible have started a new program for audiobooks with virtual voices – so just for fun, I experimented with doing Jacques for it since I got a beta invite. You can check out the sample at either Amazon or Audible.

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

3) Fascinating Places Group Promo

4) Monstrous March Group Promo

5) BookSiren’s Cozy Mystery ARCs

6) Strong Women Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Readings

 

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)Love and Hate

Lost Girl has nothing on this Demon

Tessa Damon is a modern demon with no plans to ever settle down. She loves her life. She has great friends, an amazing career and dating rules that keep her safe and her sexual appetite sated. Until she meets Devon that is. He’s sweet, funny and sexy. Just her type except he’s her friend brother which makes him off limits. Or does it?

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

 

Madam Web

There were some really great things about this film, but also some not-so-great things. One of the biggest mistakes was the fact the film was set in 2003. A lot of technology has changed since then, mainly mandatory GPS’s on Taxi cabs. But it was very easy to forget we were in 2003 and not in 2023. And keeping the Taxi’s license plate without dirtying it up or removing was stupid. Other bits like that really drew away from the enjoyment. (She’s lived in New York and been a paramedic for years—she should known things. Lol.)

One thing I really did like was how the protagonist’s power grew over time as she struggled to understand it and make it her own. 

For those expecting a lot of action from the three girls once they grow up, you only get glimpses of that future. I wasn’t expecting any, but seemingly other people were. 😛

Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better on Cable

Dune Part 2

Cool effects, great acting, and nice combat scenes, yet when it was over, we were oddly dissatisfied. What took three years in the book got squished into one, so a lot of things got changed to better fit the compressed timeline. 

One thing hubby had been unhappy about in part 1 was how they gave one line about how important spice was, and that was it—no explanations, no follow through. He’d hoped they’d make up for it in part 2, but they didn’t. Without sharing all the different ways spice affects the empire and most of the major guilds, a super important level of complexity in the situation is completely lost. (Worse was adding the scene showing a Bene Jesserit giving Fey the fear test! He would NOT have survived it, he has no training. Instead, it’s ‘oh, he likes pain’) 

Chani’s role was also modified. And making the Fremen religion split by north and south was not well thought out.) It’s like they drained the magic/wonder from the story. Oh well.

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to Admission!

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)Knights of the Crescent, Knights of the Cross

Something lurks beneath Jerusalem
A horror story alternate history of the Knights Templar

What evil hides amongst us?

A small band of Crusader knights finds themselves alone on the streets of Jerusalem during the bloody siege of 1099. They discover a mosque, tucked away at the corner of a deserted market. What they find inside changes history forever.

This reader magnet introduces readers to the world of The Other, a Lovecraftian cosmic horror series.

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

Inside Out 2 Movie Trailer – looks like utter teenage chaos! 

Fallout Movie Trailer​ – based on the PC game. Looks fun. Lots of actors I like in this one! Hubby’s played the game, so he’s pumped.

 

Wild Robot Movie Trailer – looks super cute!

Just for Fun!

If Harry Potter Was Southern – too funny! ROFL

 

 

AC/DC Thunderstruck but with Tesla coils – Too darn cool! LOL.

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The Avengers (All series openings) – no, not those Avengers, but the Patrick McNee ones!   I only remember seeing the ones with Diana Rigg. She’s awesome!

Fascinating Places​ Group Promo – books from all genres that concentrate on real-world locations.

Monstrous March Group Promo​ – vampires, creatures, and monsters, oh my!

 

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Strong Women Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Readings for 3/21/24.

Mar 2024 Cozy Mystery ARCs at BookSirens – free books for reviews.

Have an awesome week!

 

Till next time!

Gloria

Virtual Tourisy 02/23/24

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Jedi SurvivorStory Origin Swap 2Fabled February Group PromoThe Cost of Magic Group PromoReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

I hope you’ve been doing great! Sorry about the blog posts dropping off. Life’s been chaotic and software unhelpful so I was not able to repost the last new newsletters to the blog. 

The last two weeks have been super busy. I expected the week before to be, but not this week too! Aiiieeee!

I’ve been wrangling people, software, animals, and myself. Phew. The fun never ends 😝

News/Musings

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Wow, I’d been thinking of stuff to share in the newsletter and now that I am finally here, my mind just went BLANK. Nooo!

I’m pretty sure the last half-hour fighting with Outlook didn’t help. Boo! I’d imported mail from my old Outlook to the one in the new computer back in Oct and it’s not worked right since. I dislike the web utility used by my website provider, so I switched to using Microsoft Mail. Well, they’ve decided to discontinue it and force everyone into using Outlook. So when it moved me today, SLAM, same old problem, even though I sent a ticket months ago. (They answered in a chat in Outlook which I of course could not see since I was back to using Mail the last time they shunted me over without a choice. 

My life is so glamorous! 🤣 

Let’s see if they will email a solution or try to send it through Outlook’s chat again (which I won’t see.) 🤣

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might know that I am a HUGE Carole Nelson Douglas fan. One of my favorite series by her is the Irene Adler series. While Sherlock and Watson make the occasional appearance, they are NOT the main characters. Instead, the books are about Adler’s adventures, as seen from the point of view of Miss Huxliegh, who becomes Irene’s companion. They are awesome! 

I saw in her fan group, that the series has been added to Kindle Unlimited.  So if you subscribe to KU, make sure to check them out. 

The Chinese New Year has arrived and it is the Year of the Dragon! Booyah! Why my excitement? Because that’s my sign under the Chinese zodiac. 🐉 Woohoo! 

​

 

Writing News

I’m either trying to do too much or am just getting old. I’ve been reviewing the audio book files as the producers upload them to ACX each weekend or sooner. This past weekend, ACX never even entered my mind! 2AM Sunday night, I woke up and realized I’d 100% totally forgotten about them. DOH!

I’ll be playing catchup this weekend. Whee!

For those interested in such things – the five-day free promotion for Black Jade earned 1,600 downloads! Woot! (I did pay a couple of sites/services to spread the free book deal to their lists, so while free to readers, it wasn’t free for me to do, but if enough people actually read book 1, it might entice them to get books 2 and 3 and make up for it, at least that’s the marketing theory. I’ll have to wait and see if anything comes from it or not.

Nut one neat thing to come out of it, was this

 

Now if I could just get it to do that under the Paid section. 😝

That being said, we’re now mere DAYS away from the release of Music of Death Blues! Woot! 

I wanted to give a Special Shout-out to Linda K and Anne K (not related) for their invaluable typo and weirdness-hunting skills while reading their review copies. 

THANK YOU for helping to make the book as error-free as possible. 🥰🥰🥰🥰 You guys rock!

Reviews for Music of Death Blues are starting to trickle in! 

See what they saying about it on BookBub and Goodreads, 

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Fabled February Group Promo

4) The Cost of Magic Group Promo

 

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

Wild Wolves

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

The wolf shifter who broke my heart and his bad boy brother want to share me.

After the death of my mother, I’m a broken shell.
That’s when Hayden reappears.

Tall.
Handsome.
Covered in tattoos.
A player wolf shifter who broke my heart.

I try avoiding him.
But he and his Alpha brother Dante make that impossible.
Tempting me with their strong muscles, their dark eyes.
The intensity of my need scares me.

If I give myself to them wholly, what will be left of me?
How do I know Hayden won’t break my heart again?

When I become the target of a rival pack, the brothers are my only hope.
They got me in this mess.
They’re the only ones who can save me.
I’ve never wanted anyone as badly to rescue me to claim me…

Can the three of us stop fighting destiny, or will our stubbornness destroy us?

Wild Wolves is a standalone Paranormal Romance with a HEA and NO cheating!

Jedi Survivor

Pretty much all of my family knows I am a sucker for all things Star Wars. The last game I played in the universe was Jedi the Fallen Order which I loved!

Jedi Survivor picks up several years later and is centered around Cal Kestis. Cal was also the main character in Fallen Order. So I was very excited when I heard they were doing this sequel.

Unlike a lot of sequel games, they don’t take away everything the character learned in the prior game – YAY! BD-1 even kept some of his upgrades!  (BD-1 is one of the cutest droids EVER!)

I felt chills when the intro music played (they kept the intro music from Fallen Order, so it was like coming home!)

Since Cal kept a lot of his hard-earned movements, especially of the parkour variety, it might prove difficult for those who skipped Fallen Order. For me, it again felt like coming home. Awesome! 

Mind you, I always pick the story-rich option as I stink at combat, so I can’t say how good or bad that is, though they have made it easier, I think, for the story-rich level or difficulty. Is the satisfaction of drawing an enemy to you with the Force and giving them some lightsaber follow-up. Ah! 

To compensate for leaving you a lot of the powers of the last game, your skill points now go to (5 so far) stances – single lightsaber, double joined sabers, two sabers, great sword saber, and blaster with single saber combo. The one detriment is that you can only change your stance at the save points rather than whenever you want. I’m sticking with the double joined lightsabers and putting skill points to two sabers once double is full. 😛 

As for pics – F12 doesn’t work for screen pics but I eventually found the photo mode key. Took me longer to find the folder it was putting them in and the fact the Hide UI key meant the photo screen UI. DOH! 

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

Our story starts on Coruscant! Cal’s pulling a sting to try to get some info from a crooked senator for Saw.

Looking up at the higher levels of Coruscant

Cal looking at a televised advisory about himself. 😛

The Mantis takes a lot of damage leaving Coruscant, so Cal decides to visit his old friend Greez to repair it. Hints start getting peppered around as to why the group of four split up.
This is Cal’s first look at Koboh – a far off mining world.

Koboh has some trippy rock formations, old mining machinery, and even older Jedi ruins. (There are rolling mines that follow anything that moves. You’ll have to maneuver them to open up a few areas. Not easy! Whee!)

Neat pool formations on Koboh. 

Inside the ruins of an old forgotten Jedi temple. Crazy force puzzles will ensue. And the first hints of a world beyond the Empire’s reach

A new (old) droid! Zee! She’s got a funky personality, but if I had to be a droid, I’d like to look like her. 🙂

Counting Crows

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

On a fog-bound hill, the crows are feasting on the body of a dead man. Lorne Turner has seen more than his fair share of corpses, but never one like this. The markings on the body and the position all lead towards ritual sacrifice.

Just what Lorne doesn’t need, another lost soul keeping him company at night. But he can’t ignore the questions this dead man brings in his wake.

Why here, right on the highest point on Exmoor? What do the occult markings mean? And why do the authorities seem so intent on avoiding the obvious ceremonial element?

One thing he knows for sure is that someone in the police will stop at nothing to prevent him discovering the truth. When those in power are this corrupt, who can he turn to for help? Old friends step up, and new alliances are forged. Lorne and the vicar, Ella Morgan, begin their search for answers by plunging into the evil engulfing their lives.

Driven by the ghosts of his past, Lorne is forced to abandon his new-found peace and follow the trail into a world of occultism, corruption, and greed. Trained for war, he must now fight the darkness of a madman threatening all he holds dear.

What will break first, his mind, or the bodies of his enemies?

​Fabled February Group Promo – check out these mythical books before they’re gone!

The Cost of Magic – Group Promo – only a few more days for these magic system and sci-fi tech reads!

🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

Alien Redemption – bookwormbunny and shellyk51’s

Black Jade – Sara Caudell

Charity and Sacrifice – Linda and Kuzlin

Music of Death Blues – Linda, kavab12, my2doxie, ckurimbokus, Pamela Sewell, Anne Kavcic, Carol, and Delphia Von Heeder

The Prince and Dai – Linda and Kuzlin

Romeo’s Revenge – Linda and Kuzlin

The Secret Humankind – Jim Reader and Melissa C

Additional reviews that I forgot to make a note of the book (DOH!) – jennadb, tytanmom23, finnc99, kmturner86, samanthacleaver812, roxsannel, shannlynn, bilberrysweet, allycaat

​

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

Have fun y’all!

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Virtual Tourist 12/29/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – StarfieldStory Origin Swap 2Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group PromoLet it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! Group PromoReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

How was your Christmas? I hope you got everything you were hoping for! 😁 

I got a colonoscopy for mine! 😝 Not on the day of, mind you, but the week before. It came out clean (pun intended), though it won’t be official till the virtual visit next week. So it was a good present, indeed. 🎁 

News/Musings

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We were supposed to go to the in-laws last Saturday to celebrate Christmas, but whether from a delayed reaction to the colonoscopy or something I ate that didn’t agree with me, I had to bail from going at the last minute. My daughter delivered the gifts for the nephews and nieces under 18, and I gather they were well received. Yay! 

On the day of, we did the annual stockings, which hubby loves to do. He upped the game this year and bought bags to hold the gifts and candy. He was quite happy to have found “coal” candy as those had disappeared a couple of years ago. 

​

 

Writing News

The Music of Death Blues and the prequel short The Prince and Dai are still pending at the editor’s, so no new news there. 

I did finally finish working on the book trailer, though! Woot! I won’t upload it till the edits come back and the pre-order is set up. But I included a screen grab to give you a taste. 😄

The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero is now at 30,000 words! I’d been submitting chapters to the crit group, but with the holidays that has ground to a halt, but I am still putting words down. Oh yeah!
Alien Redemption (Wide Distribution) – my stand-alone science fiction novel is on tour. Some lovely new reviews have been trickling in.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the new reviews:

“Alien Redemption by Gloria Oliver is a great, twisty, sci-fi adventure story with plenty of suspense, tension, drama, action, secrets, mystery, agendas/plots, high stakes, blackmail, betrayal, intrigue, emotion, discovery, challenges, space travel, new beginnings, and aliens.
I was pulled into the story right from the beginning- reading the book in one sitting as I really needed to know how things would play out.”

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Review Copy)

3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo

4) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We’re Cozy Inside! Group Promo

 

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

Without A World

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

When Miranda learns her mother was right, Earth will fall into a black hole of their own making; she must find the strength to save her family.

 

A black hole is coming for Earth, but that is only the beginning of Miranda’s problems.

She thought life in the Trash Lands was bad, scraping for food and water, wishing she could blend into the sea of ash. But when she learns her mother was right, Earth will get sucked into a black hole, Miranda must trust in skills she never knew she had to get to a place she refused to believe existed. When she finds an idyllic new world, to Miranda’s surprise, she cannot turn her back on the suffering on Earth, but will she risk it all to save a doomed world?

Without A World, the first book in the Kirasu Rising series, delivers non-stop, action-packed adventure as we race alongside a strong female protagonist through space and alternate dimensions. If you like young adult, metaphysical, action-adventure you will love this series.

Click to jump into Miranda’s adventure today!

Starfield

The love/hate relationship continues. But I must like it more than not, or I would not keep playing it! LOL

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

With regards to the non-character-related details, they do a fabulous job. It makes me want to go eat there. How about you? 😁

 

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The Whetstone entrance in New Atlantis – I love the mirror image made with tiles.

New Atlantis at night. 

The UC and Vanguard have a history museum at New Atlantis. Here’s one of the mechs used during the war.

A stuffed terrormorph – they once tried to control these to use in warfare. They are somehow spreading across the galaxy—one of the mysteries you will be solving in the game.

Inside a posh restaurant in New Atlantis.

Inside the church of one of the religions in New Atlantis.

 

A monument to honor all those lost during the war.

Darkhaven

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Review cOPY)

What would you sacrifice for magic?

 

Gabby Whitehall is in her final year of high school and facing the Question: what does she want to do with her life? A shame ‘wizarding’ isn’t on the list of university courses.

Just as Gabby despairs that she’ll never find the answer, lightning strikes. She uncovers a conspiracy, meets a mysterious boy, and finds out that maybe, magic might just be real. But it comes at a cost, and now Gabby’s faced with a decision that makes choosing a university as easy as choosing a favourite kind of cake… and how is anyone meant to do that?

A coming-of-age, contemporary fantasy, Darkhaven is the first book in the Lightless Prophecy, a galaxy-spanning adventure of magic and gods, love and betrayal, and a quest to find out what holds the stars together in the dark.

​Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo –  last chance to grab these science fiction goodies.

Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – only a few more days before they’re gone!

🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

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Alien Redemption – bishopjenniferd, kbkeerybaker, skittell51, Angela Hayes, elishajohnson0528, Melissa Saxton, ttreadway1, Angela, Jennab, Tausha Treadway, Shelly Kittell, and tytanmom24

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

May 2024 bring happiness and good fortune for all!

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Virtual Tourist 12/01/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Sherlock Holmes The AwakenedStory Origin Swap 2Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group PromoLet it Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! Group PromoReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Did you eat too much turkey? 🦃🍗 😝 We tried to be good—and were moderately successful. 😁

This was the first time we got to see family from both sides in a while. Between Covid and my back issues, we’d had to restrain from visiting folks. So it was great to see them all again! All the kids have gotten so big! 😲

News/Musings

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You may have noticed the logo of the website has changed! I kept seeing deals on writer logos and decided mine needed a refresh. Something less busy. Did it myself. I shared some working models in FB. I thought I had mentioned it on the blog, too, but I was WRONG! 😱 I also forgot to update the newsletter logo header.
I’ve got everything so together. NOT. 😝

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Writing News

Haven’t heard from my editor, so no news to report on The Music of Death Blues and the prequel short The Prince and Dai. Unlike last time, I am not setting up anything related to them until I get those edits back, aside from general things. 

I cut things way too close last time and gave myself a ton of unnecessary stress. So, I am going to practice being patient this time around before setting stuff up. Lol. We’ll see how that goes.

Here’s the current blurb for The Music of Death Blues:

A suicide that wasn’t. Racial prejudice pushing a murder to be swept under the rug. Can Daiyu Wu throw back the covers to reveal the killer?

Dallas, TX, 1930. Daiyu Wu resigned herself to life inevitably returning to normal after having dipped her toes into pursuing justice. But a new case falls onto her lap when she hears screeching tires and a woman calling out in pain. The older lady is wary of her offer to help, but Daiyu knows people aren’t kidnapped off the street just to be set free again—something terrible is coming.

As Daiyu feared, things take a turn for the worse—the rescued woman’s youngest son committed suicide. But for a kidnapping and a suicide to occur to the same family on the same day smells of deviltry, but the police can’t be bothered to investigate—so Daiyu has no choice but to get involved or risk allowing a killer to run free.

Can Daiyu and her friends unravel what’s really going on before the murder is closed forever?

The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero is now at 20,000 words! That’s equal to about 1/4 of a book. Hoping to up the word count rate per week as I am still trying to meet my two books a-year goal. Whee!

I’m also trying a new marketing strategy using Teasers with neat backgrounds. Since most of my paid ad efforts always seem to bomb, I’m trying to find free/mostly free alternatives. 

Here’s a sample of one for In the Service of Samurai—my ya Japanese fantasy novel.

 

Make sure to follow me on FB, Instagram, or Pinterest if you’d like to see them as I roll them out. 🙂

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo

4) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We’re Cozy Inside! Group Promo

 

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

Wedding or the Torn Rose

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

As torn petals of a rose fall, a hero must rise in a race against destiny.

What starts as a fairy tale rescue spirals into an intricate web of dark fantasy laced with intrigue and magic. After the downtrodden merchant Kaine saves the runaway Princess Lydia from an unexpected monster, he feels inexplicably drawn to her. Lydia’s uncanny knowledge of his deepest secrets looms over him, suggesting she knows more about him than he has revealed.

However, there is little time to investigate this mystery. The princess is betrothed to the magic wielding Throatian Kingdom, and Lydia’s father has rewarded Kaine with a job offer he cannot refuse.

As the rehearsal dinner for Lydia’s arranged wedding unfolds, tension simmers amidst foreign customs and whispered conversations. The Throatian Royal family, draped in magic, is keen to forge an alliance with the Darian Kingdom. Meanwhile, Lydia, now fully aware of her royal responsibilities, summons Kaine for a private meeting in the chilling stillness of the graveyard. Her impending wedding signifies more than a pact of sword and sorcery, and something else—dark and twisted—stirs in the shadows.

With time dwindling short, and the ceremony happening the next day, will Kaine unshackle himself from his past to embrace the guardian he is destined to become? Or will the ties binding him to Lydia be torn apart like petals in the wind?

Journey with Kaine and Lydia as they attempt to prevent a war and save a kingdom in the first volume of the Symphony of Crowns and Gods series.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Sherlock meets Cthulu! Hadn’t shared pics on this one aside from the first time, so here’s some more. 

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

Young Sherlock has found an underground base where people have been brought and had their minds altered. Here is one of the disturbing images he finds in the cavern walls.

A large statue of those who live beyond.

The writing is literally on the walls. 😝 (I couldn’t help myself!) 

The Alps as Watson and Sherlock head toward the sanitorium.

Looks like a scene from a Hammer Film. 😁 Nice and creepy.

They do have the creepy atmosphere down pat! Lol. A place of hidden evil.

The sanitarium garden – a prison inside a prison for birds.

A mind-invading warning. 

Charmed and Dangerous

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

Welcome to Crystal Beach, an enchanting town with a dangerous secret.

Peril and uncertainty loom heavy over Crystal Beach as a cataclysmic event threatens to wipe out Mystic Dunes and its residents. Only one witch possesses the power to halt this impending disaster – psychic Sidney Grace. But is she ready to face such a powerful and deadly force?

As time ticks away, Sidney faces a daunting task—convincing the Crystal Beach police that magic and ghosts are real—and that’s not something they teach at Quipley’s School of Magic. Fortunately, Mojo, her magical feline, lends a paw in this battle to save their town.

Can Sidney harness her magical abilities and unravel the mysteries—a strange death, the enigmatic beach creature, and the ghost’s chilling prophecy—before it’s too late to avert disaster?

Join Sidney on her most perilous mission yet in Charmed and Dangerous. Don’t miss this electrifying installment in the Crystal Beach series.

Grab your copy today and immerse yourself in this spellbinding mystery adventure!

​Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo – science fiction of all kinds ready for the taking.

Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – exercise your little gray cells for Nov 2023.

🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

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The JOY of Murder – Louisesk

The Secret Humankind – Angela

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

They are calling for cold fronts and rain. Stay indoors! Stay warm! 

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Mind Sieve 11/17/23

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1Mini Movie/Show ReviewsStoryOrigin Swap 2Movie/TV Show PreviewsJust for Fun!Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group PromoIt’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo

 

 

The weather here can’t make up its mind. Hot, cold, hot, cold, and everything in between. We’ve had rain, we’ve had dry days, we’ve had pollen! (Ugh my poor head!) Should be thrilling to see what we get next. 😝

 

News/Musings

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Everyone at home has been feeling under the weather, off and on, for the last couple of weeks. 😱 I hope the weather settles down into a routine soon, but this time of year, it does tend to be a weather seesaw.

I think only hubby caught a slight cold. For the rest of us, it has been sinus/allergy-related misery. 🤧

Hope you and yours have been staying healthy!

Writing news

The Prince and Dai is complete! Sucker is in the editor’s queue. My poor editor has to have a minor procedure and is also going through some medicine changes, so keep her in your prayers (or send good vibes her way) so she can get through all that with minimal fuss.

I’ll keep you posted on the edits! (I’ll start sharing teasers then! Bwahahahaha!)

I am up to chapter six of Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – The Secret Aftermath. I look forward to all the trouble the characters will be getting into whether they want to or not. Being a writer is EVIL! Hee! 😈

Now, for your viewing pleasure… I thought I’d share the interior title pages for both Music of Death Blues and The Prince and Dai. And their Cover Reveals!

Guitar by Valter Bispo from TheNounProject

Yorkshire terrier by 장희 이 from TheNounProject

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo

4) It’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo

 

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)A Grave Mistake

Quirky characters. An enchanting town. A cat that talks. This bestselling magical mystery series has it all, like you’ve never read before!

Welcome to Crystal Beach, an enchanting town with a dangerous secret.

With another resident now six feet under and her dad’s neck on the line for murder, Sidney knows there’s been a grave mistake. Now, this witch must act quickly to clear his name and reveal the real danger lurking in this cozy beach town.

Guided by her grandmother’s wisdom, Sidney evokes the spirits to ask for guidance. But a surprise spectral figure joins the séance, and Sidney must convince this unlikely helper to aid them in solving the murder.

To complicate things, her father’s arrest strains her relationship with the chief of police, and navigating these murky waters won’t be easy. Though Sidney yearns to rekindle their romantic connection, family comes first, and Chief Reece isn’t going to budge for love.

Can this psychic witch find a way to peer into the past, revealing the clues she needs to locate the real killer? What secret does her magical feline unearth in the garden? And can they discover the evidence needed to free her father?

Join Sidney, her talking cat, and the unforgettable residents of Crystal Beach in A Grave Mistake, the eighth installment of the Crystal Beach Magic Mystery Series.

Get cozy, grab your copy, and immerse yourself in this spellbinding mystery adventure today!

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

 

The Marvels

Before you watch this, you should see Wanda Vision and the Miss Marvel limited series (And Hawkeye’s to get the end sequence snippet), or you will be lost as to where two (three) of the characters came from. Rather than show quick flashbacks to introduce Captain Rambeau’s powers origin or Kamala’s, you’re left to fend for yourselves. Worse, the continuity from Miss Marvel to The Marvels falls apart as well.

The Good – great special effects, fantastic acting from most of the cast, some innovative thinking, several hilarious moments, and decent fights.

The Bad – I am sorry to say that chunks of the script were pretty shallow, and things did not make cohesive sense regarding the bad guy, and no amount of awesome acting or special effects could save it. It didn’t help that a lot of the foundation put down in the Miss Marvel limited series was chucked out the window and changed to whatever they needed. It didn’t help that they had Kamala not only use powers when she didn’t have her bracelet, but later though she got both of them, they only showed her with one. Uhm…

Rating: ★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee

Freelancer

This film is a GEM! It’s disappeared from theaters already, which is horribly sad. Though it looks like it will be a typical comedy/action flick full of the usual devices, it isn’t! This sucker has some nice depth and layers to it, and also turns several misconceptions (or cliched items) on their heads. Some red herrings, too! Just when you think they’re about to pull the usual (insert item here), they don’t! So refreshing! It has poignant moments, good action, lots of craziness, fidelity (if you can believe it!), and more!

Definitely worth a watch!

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)The Fae Shifters Omnibus

A coming-of-age story filled with fantasy, adventure, and romance.

Liz thinks she is a typical woman working herself into the ground. After taking a leap of faith for a better life she moves to her grandmother’s old cabin. Things are going swell until she uncovers the family secret hidden in the woods.
As her world is turned upside down, she finds herself holding a position of power in the local mountain lion shifter clan and then as a princess of the Fae. Enemies seem to lurk in every corner from a jealous sibling to a power-hungry ancient being.

Follow along in the first four books of the Fae Shifters series as Liz, her mates, and her friends, fight to bring peace and balance to the realms.

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

​Beacon 23 Movie Trailer – a space thriller! Sweet!

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Movie Trailer – Ghostbusters back in NY! Sweet!

 

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The Beekeeper Movie Trailer – Stratham for the win!

Just for Fun!

One Night in Bankok rendition by Yoyomi – totally fun!

 

 

The Safety Dance – Wednesday – a fan-made film based on the Netflix series.

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Broken Peach – Tainted Love Halloween Special – Looks like the group did a number of other Halloween special songs, too. Nice!

Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books! Group Promo – there’s nothing more liberating than reading some science fiction! 

It’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo Group Promo – Mystery is all genres to fill your puzzle needs!

via GIPHY

May you and your family have a warm and happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

 

Till next time!

Gloria

Virtual Tourist 11/03/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – StarfieldStory Origin Swap 2Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group PromoIt’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group PromoReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

🥶🧊🥶🧊 It’s been cold lately! It’s no fun going from 80+ degrees, turn on a dime, and hit the low 30s! Eek! Summer worked overtime, and Fall decided to take a vacation and dump us straight into Winter. The forecast says Summer is about to get more overtime by this weekend. Sheesh!

News/Musings

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I hope everyone had a safe and spooky 👻 Halloween 🎃. We did our usual and hid in the dark so we’d get passed by. Hubby can’t be trusted with candy! 🍬🍭🍫 (For several years running he’d buy bags of it, then refuse to give it away, hoarding it all for himself. Bad hubby! So we no longer buy any to keep him out of trouble. 😝

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Writing News

The Daiyu Wu short story to go hand in hand with Book 3’s release is finished! It’s called “The Prince and Dai” (has nothing to do with “The King and I,” but once I realized it rhymed, it would not go away!) That, too, has been sent to the editor’s queue, and I will hopefully get it back in early December and share it with you before it goes up anywhere else.

Below is a teaser for the book cover for Music of Death Blues. In case you’d not noticed on the other Daiyu Covers, each always gets a related flower added to the background and a new cover icon to represent the novel.

The rest of it remains the same to tie all the series books and related shorts together.

For Book 3 – the icon is a steel string guitar, and the flowers are chrysanthemums. Since Blues music is integral to the plot, the cover is blue. (Lighter than the hue used for Jacques.)

For the Dai short (cover still pending), the icon will be a cloud and lightning bolt with poppies as the background flowers.

 

I’ve started back on Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero! Yay! I’m planning on keeping Julia super busy. Bwahahahahaha!

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (U)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo

4) It’s a Puzzling Mystery! Group Promo

 

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

Call of the Siren

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

The veil between worlds has kept us safe for untold eons. Magic and mundane. Fantasy and reality. Safe, separate, and secure. Now the veil is falling.

Thalia’s a bookworm… and a nobody. Except for her secret superpower.

Hiding from her fears – and from taking any chances – her job as a bookshop assistant is her refuge. Even her best friend and her kind, almost-like-a-father boss don’t know the truth about her loneliness and lack of purpose.

But her safe yet unfulfilling existence falls apart when her boss vanishes. A strange man breaks into her home, and a cult of bloodsuckers start hunting her down. Pulled into a world of witchcraft and mythological creatures, as her untapped gifts begin to emerge, it’s time for Thalia to face her self-worth complex. She must dig deep, learn how to stand proud in her freakish individuality, and figure out how to unlock her supernatural gifts of telepathy and empathy if she’s going to save herself – and stop the veil from falling.

Readers who loved the ancient magics and legend of Moonheart, and fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will enjoy joining Thalia and her band of misfits as they come together to save the world.

Starfield

I wasn’t planning on playing it, as I’d never heard of it, but hubby had preordered a copy for himself, and my daughter got it too, and he ended up gifting me a copy when I complained no one had told me anything about it when it sounded like my kind of game! 😝

I keep switching back and forth between liking it and not liking it. It’s pretty, has great voices, wonderful music, decent tech, craziness, and a wide quest variety, but almost ZERO in the way of tutorials or help! Some of the stuff you’re having to deal with is complex (shipbuilding, outposts, and more) and you’re just thrown out into the deep end without even knowing which way is up.

It seems to be a trend lately, too, as if game companies just leave it for the fans to do it for them instead of doing a proper job in-house. This makes for a lot of frustration, in my opinion, and I am not fond of it. My game time is limited, and I want to have a good time when I do!

Some of the errors are stupid. Broken quests, the fact three main children in three of the major storylines all look exactly the same! Dudes! While the creatures and plants you encounter during exploration are varied, they soon become duplicates after exploring just a few worlds. (There are some creatures that have reasons for being in multiple places – this complaint is only about the ones you need to scan that are supposed to be native just to those planets.)

But the good outweighs the bad (for the most part), so I’m still plugging along. 😁

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

The game’s title screen.

View of the Narion system. The left-hand side shows info on Kreet, and the planet is currently in resource view mode. This is very handy when looking for resources for your outposts.

The Frontier is about to land at the New Atlantis Starport. Loads of lovely details

Wind turbines to generate power. Like No Man’s Sky, there is evidence of ships, machinery, or buildings everywhere. You are never truly alone. 😝

A look at the city of New Atlantis.

New Atlantis is a gorgeous city! Though only citizens can live there. And to be a citizen, you have to prove your worth.

This is the headquarters for the group Constellation. Made up of private citizens, the group seeks to find and gain more information on some metal fragments made of an unknown metal.

The piece you bring sets off the ones already collected, and they form into this. Each time another is found and brought here, it will attach itself to the matrix. What its purpose is is but one of the mysteries you run across.

Conspiracy

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

When a signature has the power to start a galactic war….

Parv Zarinth learned early in life that if he wanted to defy his father, he’d have to do it from somewhere half-way across the galaxy. He does his best on Hettamir to represent his father’s interests. He steers away from any conflict that may threaten the family business which translates into galactic empire.

Hettamir is a world with no other than hospitality industry. It’s a pleasure to do business on Hettamir, in every sense of the word. And Parv has been mixing business with pleasure for five years now, flying under the radar of his tyrannical father. The business is to expand his father’s business empire. The pleasure has a name: Ahrun Dyem. She is as beautiful as she is crafty, having risen from the ranks of sex industry to lead her people in a ‘velvet’ revolt.

As the champion of her people’s rights and freedom, she is relentless in lobbying the Galactic Confederation for a treaty that will bring Hettamir protection. It is the last thing the warlords of New Hebrides want.

Parv watches the preparations for the grand event, even as he tries to shake off the feeling that something…or everything is going to go wrong. He finally has what he’s always wanted—a woman he loves and means to keep. She is his whole life, his destiny. And he will fight to his last breath to hold on to his future….

​Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo – science fiction of all kinds ready for the taking.

Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – exercise your little gray cells for Nov 2023.

🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

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Black Jade – Laura, F.M.M., Kevin Cannon, and rozedovel

The JOY of Murder – Missy, Kevin Cannon, and F.M.M.

The Secret Humankind – Kat Hilner, Terri McClean, June Wiszard, and tbrmorgans1

Willing Sacrifice – Cat Woman

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

Are you ready for the holidays? They are a coming! Heh heh.

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Mind Sieve 10/20/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsNewsletter Swap 1Mini Movie/Show ReviewsStoryOrigin Swap 1Movie/TV Show PreviewsJust for Fun!Solving Puzzles with My Fury Friend Group PromoInto the Void Group Promo

 

 

Salutations!

We’re almost to Halloween and then full tilt toward Thanksgiving and Christmas! Are you ready for it? I’m not! Eek! 

🎃👻👹

 

News/Musings

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We found out a few weeks ago that our puppy (if you can call a 70-pound dog a puppy, but she’s not a year old yet—so technically, she is one…), has NO hips! She literally has no hip sockets for her back legs. The vet has seen partial sockets before but not none. 

She does have the sexiest swing walk. Now we know why! 

We have to wait until she’s a year old to start looking at options. She’s not in pain, but it could become painful later. Pic of the x-ray and Xena Puppy Warrior Princess below.

 

 

Writing news

I’ve done a couple of passes to The Music of Death Blues, and it’s on the editor’s To Do List! Yay! I should have it back in December. 🤞 Then I’ll need to go through the edits, set the pre-order, get a book tour booked, ads, review copies, etc.

After much thought, rather than do a prequel short from Dai’s point-of-view or a story about Prince Razor’s origin, I decided to put the two together! (I should have thought of this in the first place! DOH!) Working on that sucker now and will hopefully send it to the editor about the time the official date for the book’s edit is due. 

The current tentative title for the short is “Dai and the Prince” or “The Prince and Dai” – I’m not married to either, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to send them along! The story will involve storms, in case that helps.  If I use your suggested title, you’ll get a mention in the ebook and also in the newsletter!

Once that’s done, I can go back to Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero. It is now tentatively titled Secret Aftermath. This means I’d be locking myself into all the titles in the series needing to have the word ‘secret’ in them. Hate it? Love it? Please, feel free to let me know! 

Back to schedule juggling! 🤹

 

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) Newsletter Swap 1 (UBL/Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Audio Freebie)

3) Solving Puzzles with My Furry Friend Group Promo

4) Into the Void: Dark Fantasy and SF for Halloween! Group Promo

 

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

Newsletter Swap 1 (UBL/Freebie)30 Flash Horror Stories

A mysterious sign only one man can see… trick-or-treaters getting more trick than a treat… and ghosts that never rest.

These are just a few of the thirty flash fiction horror and Halloween stories awaiting you within the pages of this book.

Read these stories at your own risk!

(Or sign up to The SPARREW Newsletter – a free monthly newsletter for self-publishers, authors, readers, reviewers, editors and writers. Each issue arrives with the latest industry news, interviews with some of today’s most prolific industry leaders, and a free ebook.)

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

 

Expendables 4

Hubby doesn’t typically care about the plot and details if it is a heavy action flick, but he was more critical of this one than I was! 😱 As far as the action and special effects, you get your money’s worth. This one is VERY Stratham-centric, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—though hubby was NOT pleased. What got me were some of the weird moments that made no sense whatsoever or were not in character. Like murdering a man who didn’t do anything worth being killed over just to fill a punchline on the script at the end. Or trying to teach people not to objectify women while showing it’s okay to beat someone half to death over words and innuendo. Almost like part of the script was written by AI or a four-year-old. Not to mention men thinking they can outdistance a nuclear explosion on a dinky boat. 

Rating: ★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee

The Creator

An interesting film with spectacular special effects, if not the best thought-out script. The acting was excellent. The film is emotionally moving and riveting, if not looked at closely. They had multiple details that made no sense. (More AI or 4-year-old input?) For example, having a giant, floating missile carrier that beams light down wherever it goes—while great for instilling fear, it is not optimal for carrying out covert ops missions! The division between the AIs on which got faces and which didn’t was never explained. Why would AIs housed in clunky bodies (and no genitalia) have a need to watch others of their kind doing strip teases? That has ZERO to do with intelligence and all to do with hormones and biological bodies, which they don’t have. Come on! This isn’t rocket science, guys!

Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

The Fall of the House of Usher

First things first – THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS! The warnings are real! That being said, we totally loved it. It’s dark, it’s poignant, a tiny bit preachy, and oh-so-good if you’re looking for a story of comeuppance and creepiness. You will recognize a ton of the actors, and they do fabulous work. Mark Hamil was a total hoot as Mr. Pym. For those who enjoy the works of Edgar Allen Poe, there is Poe lore and works woven throughout the entire 8-episode series. Even if you know the original story and know the ending, it’s like watching a train wreck, you’re too fascinated to dare look away. 

Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

One Piece

This is a live-action series rendition of the super popular manga and anime. They did a lovely job converting this to live action. All the jokes and weirdness of the original are there. They also do a great job on the emotional stories that underlie a ton of the adventures. I am totally looking forward to the next season. (I could never get hubby interested in the anime, but he loved the live-action!) The only thing I missed was the lack of Sanji’s eyebrow, though they included it in his intro episode pic. But they completely caught the flavor and craziness and that’s awesome!

Rating: ★★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth the Price of Admission

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Audio Freebie)The Blood Mage

Will Tom embrace his new destiny, and can he make it out unscathed?

On his sixteenth birthday, Tom is bestowed with strange new magical powers. And when his sister is kidnapped, he discovers he was actually the intended target. Now, a group of villains with terrifying superhuman powers is after him because he might be the Last Blood Mage. Will Tom embrace his new destiny, and can he make it out unscathed?

The Blood Mage is the first book in a spinoff series of the Best-Selling Evers Series. While fans of Lola Evers’ adventures will be especially excited about this new story, new readers do not need to have read the Evers Series to enjoy this book.

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

​American Fiction Movie Trailer – this looks hilarious!

Forever Young Movie Trailer – looks interesting. Though probably a tear-jerker!

 

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Retrieval Trailer – Sci-Fi Thriller – eek!

Just for Fun!

Haunted House by Simon’s Cat – always so cute!

 

 

Small Pizza Delivery Shop – Stop Motion Cooking by Tomosteen – super cute. So much work!

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Police Department Lip Sync Battle – Cops Do Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars – for charity. It’s so cute!

Into the Void Group Promo – chilly reads for Halloween!

Solving Puzzles with My Furry Friend Group Promo – Mystery is all genres to fill your puzzle needs!

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Till next time!

Gloria

Virtual Tourist 09/08/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Kena Bridge of SpiritsStory Origin Swap 2Great Detectives Form All Over Group PromoAwesome Audiobooks – FREE for Reviewers Group PromoStrong Women – Strange WorldsReviewer’s Corner

Greetings!

We had a heat reprieve for about a week, but now we’re back to 100+ degrees Fahrenheit. Whee! 🔥🔥🔥 🍳 Talk about being able to cook eggs on the sidewalk any time of the day and night! Whee!

News/Musings

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I don’t think I mentioned it, but I had a test to measure my leg bones to see if one was shorter than the other. Despite making progress with the chiropractor, I’d noticed I kept sliding back so it had to be something gumming up the works! And yep, one leg bone is slightly shorter. So they’ve added the height to one of the orthotics. So far, so good! (Thank goodness!) 🥰

I guess the older we get, the more little things like this have a bigger effect that youth is no longer compensating for. DOH! 

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Writing News

I’ve hit 63K words on the first draft of The Death of Music Blues – less than 10K to go! Then I can start the first draft of the Discoveries of Julia Xero Book 2! I’m pumped to get started!

Well, it seems the magic of 50 Amazon reviews is a myth, but still so awesome to get there! Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen! 🎇✨🎆

I even broke the highest ranking number for SH again! Woot! Check it out! 

I am back down into the 50,000 range, but it’s a miracle I caught it at just the right time to get that screenshot. 📷 I think Facebook Ads have been the difference this time around. Ad Cost vs. Revenue is coming out about even, but otherwise, it is definitely getting my name out there, so that’s awesome! I’m grateful for whatever I can get. 😍

As I’ve mentioned before, this business is NOT for the faint of heart. But I just keep plugging on. (I am rather stubborn.😱) 

Extra content today:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Free Review Copy)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

3) Great Detectives From All Over Group Promo

4) Awesome Audiobooks Group Promo

5) Strong Women – Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Readings

 

Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉

Wolf

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Free for Review)

True blood meets Bitten. Danger and love collide.

Raine has found her first mate Liam Grimm but in doing so she discovers that her Witch heritage isn’t her only surprise. When her first mate was attacked, she pushed her magic to the brink of exhaustion releasing the final seal that was containing her wolf. Now she is summoned to the wolf mating games or risk angering the Alpha of Alpha’s. Problem is since then she can’t duplicate the action.

To make matters worse the only wolf she knows hid who he truly was. Lucian is attractive and broody and until the battle she thought him nothing more than a man with a talent for fixing things. Finding out he was the black wolf/ dog she’d seen around town left her feeling deeply betrayed.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

I have to be careful when purchasing PC games, as more and more of them don’t take dizziness into account. If they have settings you can change (like motion blur) I can cope. But there have been some with no options whatsoever.

Happily, this game isn’t one of them! But even with motion blur at 0, I still can only play for an hour—if I am lucky! (One of the skills is controlling a compiled entity, and for whatever reason moving it around does things to me!)

It’s gorgeous and the premise and stories are great so far.

You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.

The game’s title screen.

This is Kena. She’s come to this forest for an unstated purpose. I am assuming we will get more on why she is here as other issues are solved.

There is an energy Kena can manipulate thanks to her staff’s stone and her innate skill. She can set things right and also free spirits.

One of the many power-enabled locks. Some are ready to open once she uses her spirit energy, others need fixing first.

It has a bit of an oriental feel. Different shaped stones and some with carvings that will glow with energy.

You find friends along the way called Rots. They will help guide you, fight with you, lift statues, and more. So cute! (You can even buy them little hats. Both Rots and hat styles have to be found to get added.

Since the village here was abandoned due to famine, some of the souls were trapped and won’t move on. This has caused a malicious type of energy to grow and spread. Part of Kena’s job is to get rid of it and restore areas.

Not all of the corrupted souls want to be healed and will fight to stop you! They will create things to get in your way.

Johara's Choice

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)

Locked in a tower with the fear of prophecy holding her parents back, Johara dreams of freedom.

However, her time in confinement is spent well, researching the true state of her country. When she realises her father has ignored the importance of ancient ritual, Johara must find a way to break free and avert the gathering catastrophe at the risk of being stamped a heretic, or face the annihilation of her people and their way of life.

Haunted by the horrors of war, Erik has given up hope of ever finding anything truly worth fighting for. With the guilt of his past weighing him down, he’s unable to shake off what has been or move forward to a better future. When a twist of fate allows his path to cross Johara’s, everything changes and he begins to hope there might yet be a chance at happiness. But can he embrace life and the spitfire princess who never does as she’s told, running headlong into danger at every turn? Or will he let that, too, slip through his fingers.

Embark on a magical high-stakes adventure in this standalone retelling of Andersen’s classic fairytale, The Tinderbox.

Great Detectives From All Over Group Promo – An all-genre diverse mysteries giveaway!

Awesome Audiobooks – FREE for Reviewers – Group Promo for fall!

Strong Women Strange Worlds Quick Reads for 09/21/23!

JO🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟

Thanks this month go to:

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Alien Redemption – Momio A

Cross-eyed Dragon Troubles – Startime

Jacques– Kuzlin and Linda

Pay It Forward – Kuzlin

The Secret Humankind – SV Fansworth, Arthistorygirl, Mary Winger, Kindle Customer, Kmitcham, Melanie Fletcher, Amber Keenan, Cheryl Ames, Laura J, Chrissy Spulak, Melissa Saxton, Heather Goodman, Lori Potter, Momio A, Barbara Harrison, Mandy M, Lajones, Katrina Evanochko, Jennifer Reimer, Heather Goodman, Kim, Laura, Sheri

 

A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!

(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)

​I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day holiday! 

​Until next time!

 

Gloria

Mind Sieve 08/25/23

 

Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1Mini Movie/Show ReviewsStoryOrigin Swap 2Movie/TV Show PreviewsJust for Fun!I Want To Go There! Group PromoUrban Fantasy Mysteries Group PromoStrong Women Strange Worlds

 

 

Greetings!

I’ve been freaking out a little bit this week but in a good way! 😉 More deets under the writing news section!

 

 

News/Musings

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It’s still so hot! 🔥 It’s bloody scary when you check the temperature at 10:30 PM and it’s still a 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.l7 Celsius) outside! 🤯

Our dogs must not have much in the survival skills set as I’ve seen them go outside to run around when it’s been 106! Crazy pooches!  🐕🐕 We do make sure to have plenty of water around. ⛲ Can’t have them getting too dehydrated.

 

Writing news

So I mentioned at the top how I’ve been freaking out a little this week. (Not that it takes a lot! 😋) But it’s a good kind of freakout—aside from having me on pins and needles and watching Amazon rankings and review counts every day. (It’s a great way to stress yourself out to an early grave! LOL. Who said being an author didn’t have its dangers? 🤣 )

Last time, I shared the highest rankings I’d ever seen for one of my books. Well, on 8/18 I got another surprise—after dropping down to around a 100,000, it perked up again and broke the previous record! Check it out!

It’s come down since then, but just seeing it was a blast. Then this week, I saw the number of reviews go up again. Now I have two titles close to the Amazon Magic Number of 50 Reviews!

Supposedly, magical things can happen if you can get past that hump. It’s taken two years to get Black Jade to 47 reviews—just shy of the magical 50. Now The Secret Humankind has caught up to 47 in a month! And now sits at 49! Oh yeah!

I could not have done this without YOU GUYS! And kudos, too, to the awesome folks at Itsy Bitsy Book Bits!

Will I reach the coveted number of 50 reviews for either book? Who knows! Will the nebulous magic of reaching 50 reviews actually do anything? Only one way to find out! Whee!

 

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (U)

3) I Want To Go There! Group Promo

4) Urban Fantasy Mysteries Group Promo

5) Strong Women Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Reading

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)Welcome to Fae Cafe

There are ten golden rules if you want to survive an encounter with a fae:

Don’t ask their name.If they ask you what your name is, lie.Avoid looking directly into their eyes.Don’t invite them to your book club.Don’t instigate a snowball fight.Never let them burn their mouth on coffee.Don’t ask them where they’re from.Don’t tell them where you live.Never mention their queen.Don’t try to kill them with an ordinary human gun.

If you fail to do any of these things, enslave them immediately.

On a cozy fall morning, Kate Kole is nestled in a coffee shop in the city of Toronto reading her favourite novel when she accidentally kills a guy who’s being rude to the coffee shop’s cashier. Unfortunately for Kate, the person she killed was a fae assassin of the North Corner of Ever, visiting the human realm in secret.

From there, four deadly fae assassins come to the human realm to hunt her down for breaking a fairy law and killing one of their own. Leading them is Prince Cressica Alabastian, the most feared and deadly fae assassin of the North and heir to the North Corner of Ever.

After the assassins arrive in the human realm, things go terribly wrong. To Prince Cressica’s horror, his assassins unwittingly get roped into running a cozy café on Kate Kole’s behalf. To blend in, the fae assassins are forced to learn how to do basic human activities like cleaning up after themselves, driving without road rage, reading popular fantasy books at book club without getting into alpha male fights over what they’re reading, and in general, be nice, all to blend into regular human society.

With a temper like no other, and deadly power that’s unmatched, Prince Cressica seeks to get revenge on Kate Kole. But as he aims to strike where it will hurt her the most, the Prince finds himself enchanted by his human target in more ways than one. And when the darkness of the Ever Corners comes knocking at the human realm’s door, he needs to make a choice that could cost him everything.

WELCOME TO FAE CAFÉ is like Holly Black’s tricky FOLK OF THE AIR schemes meeting your grandmother’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. With a sweet, comical romance and relatable slice-of-life moments colliding with manipulative fairy games and deathmatches, this book puts a spin on the typical fae stories readers know and love and aims to be the coziest rom-com fae book of all time.

This book may leave you with answers to questions you never know you wanted to ask, such as, “How many fae assassins does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”

With coziness for days, WELCOME TO FAE CAFÉ is a new spin on some of the most popular fae fantasy tropes, in a setting where fae most definitely don’t belong. If you liked LEGENDS AND LATTES by Travis Baldree this may just be your cup of tea. (Or coffee.)

Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

 

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

This was a super cute film. Sadly, most of the surprises were given away in the trailers. The animation was fantastic and they poked fun at people in general. Family issues, secrets, and trying to fit in were some of the major themes. Worth a watch just for the craziness. The sea captain’s crab was the bomb! Lol.

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!

Haunted Mansion

Eddie Murphy did the first Haunted Mansion movie back in 2003. Didn’t get to see it before watching the new incarnation though, so I can’t do a comparison. There were some deep themes explored in this new version as well as a lot of gags. The special effects were great, and the cast was fun, but it still somehow seemed to miss the mark. Perhaps it was trying to be too many things at once? It entertained, but didn’t really excite.

Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee

Blue Beetle

Though I enjoyed Blue Beetle, my hubby was not impressed. I was a fan of the comics eons ago, so the fan service was much appreciated. I’m also Latina (born and raised in Puerto Rico) so a lot of the cultural jokes were right up my alley. (My research into the Cristero War also helped, at least where the grandmother was concerned. 😋) I even cracked up at the animated version of El Chapulín Colorado (The Red Grasshopper), a live-action superhero comedy show from the 70s. The intro for him shown during the end credits goes something like this: “More agile than a turtle, stronger than a mouse, nobler than a lettuce, his shield is a heart…”

The movie was filmed in Puerto Rico, which was a nice surprise! (The city portrayed is not from PR.) Plot-wise, it pretty much ran the usual superhero gambit not really exploring or delving into new ground aside from the hero’s ethnic background and troubles.

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better For Matinee

MEG 2

Jason Statham is back! Nope, this is not a high-brow film, but all the action and high production value make for a great popcorn flick. And boy did they up the ante on this one. Megs, giant squids, and some nasty pack critters that can hunt on sea and land. Evil corporate heads, unscrupulous mercs, and all kinds of crazy action. They even brought back side characters from the first film back. Leave logic and believability at the door and you’ll have a good old time! 

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)Red Parade

It’s not yet time to exhale….

A child that should not have been born in the Rimworlds, is hidden behind the impenetrable wall that screens the dominion of frontier gods from the tribal factions. Shortly before they were slaughtered by New Hebrides pirates, baby’s parents named her Miranda. She is the hereditary princess of Bollidor, and a Duchess on her father’s side. But the little girl doesn’t know any of this. Her caretakers named her Kitaya. It is a name that fits the frontier—primitive, raw and savage. Yet it fits her far better than those other aristocratic titles of the DeWynter Dynasty.

The blockade of the passage to the Rimworlds lasts thirteen years. Then finally, the Confederation manages to push the pirates back to their region in New Hebrides. And Admiral DeWynter, who had buried the mother part of herself for many years, allows it to surface. She sends a single ship through the newly liberated passage. The captain has orders to ascertain what happened to Commander Daniel DeWynter and his wife. There is little hope that any of the Allied personnel stationed on Synoor at the time of the attack, survived.

Kitaya’s caretakers would prefer to keep her on Synoor. It’s the only home she’s ever known. However, something so extraordinary happens that the frontier gods have no choice but to return the child to those who came to look for her parents.

Keenly aware that they are releasing someone who should have never existed to join the human ranks, the frontier gods worry they may have doomed galactic humanity. The only consolation they have is that when risks seem to outweigh the benefits, the Universe seeks to re-balance itself. Because somewhere on the other end of the galaxy, another little girl stands on the lip of a horrendous crater, trying to understand the nature of the tragedy that orphaned her at such a young age. And this little girl understands the meaning of revenge only too well….

Movie/TV Previews 🎥

She Came To Me Trailer – loads of heavy hitters in this one. Looks whacky! Lol. 

REPTILE – not sure what to make of this one.

Freelance Movie Trailer – action, comedy, and romance?

Just for Fun!

El Chapulin Colorado – intro of the live-action series!

 

 

EDNORA​ – 2D animated short film (student thesis film) – too cute!

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Course of Nature – CGI 3D Animated Short by Lucy Xue & Paisley Manga.

I Want To Go There! Group Promo—An All-Genre Book Fair for Stories with a Strong Sense of Place —you’ve got less than a week to check these out! Better hurry!

Urban Fantasy Mysteries Group Promo – magic, mystery, detectives, oh my! Grab them before they’re gone!

Strong Women – Strange Worlds QuickReads for 9/21/23! 

​Stay cool and happy reading!

Till next time!

Gloria