Sunday, March 31, 2013

Review - The Berenstain Bears: Easter Magic

The Berenstain Bears: Easter Magic
By Stan & Jan Berenstain
Publisher: Open Road Young Readers
Pub. Date: October 16, 2012
ASIN: B009HICHAC
Pages: 9

Review:

When I was a kid, I was crazy for The Berenstain Bears book series. I collected every book, well until I got older and became interested in other things. Now as an adult, I occasionally buy one of these delightful paperback books at thrift stores.

Sadly the original authors have both passed away, but oldand new books are still being released after fifty-years since the first book was printed. These timeless characters have even made it into the eBook generation. The Berenstain Bears: Easter Magic was released last fall as an electronic release only. It was originally written in 1997. The plot involves Brother and Sister Bear noticing that the winter weather is leaving and signs of spring are all around. That can mean only one thing; the Easter Bunny is on his way.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Guest Post with author Rebecca Graf



Creating Suspense

Writing a suspense story is not something that comes just from putting words on paper. It entails much more than that. Creating suspense has to be crafted and done with just the right amount of subtlety.

Be Elusive

Suspense comes from never telling the reader everything up front. You don’t want to tell your readers that there is someone hiding in the attic. You want them to wonder what is going on in the house. You want to them to come up with their own wild explanations for strange things. You have to be elusive. Create strange things that happen in the story. The cook might accuse someone in the house of stealing food because some is missing. The gardener finds footprints walking to a wall and never returning. The vase of flowers keeps getting moved during the night. Make things out of place but don’t be obvious. It could be nothing. The explanation for it could be easily explained logically, but something makes the reader think otherwise. Add some nothings in the story. Don’t put a big neon sign pointing to the clue. If the reader misses it, okay. They’ll pick up on it later and be impressed that it got by them.

Using Dialogue

Many people forget that dialogue can be used to help set the scene. It only takes a word or a phrase to get the suspense intensified. If someone is being stalked, a friend could mention seeing someone by the door or ask why a window is open. Immediately, the target and the reader tense up. Sometimes peripheral characters are great for adding to the suspense. They see things the main characters don’t and can give the story a slightly new dimension.

My Revolt Journey Week 4

March is already over and so is the fourth week of Revolt with Nichole Huntsman with a whole new routine of workouts. The program reminds me of the P90X except for the Revolt workouts takes up less than half the time as Nichole Huntsman doesn't waste a single minute. I have had a pair of kettlebells for a few years. I didn't even know how to use them, but I do now as several of the Revolt workouts requite them.

I'm not sore from the workouts anymore, but I recently had a non-exercise (picking up a 30 pound box of cat litter) lower back injury about two weeks ago. It felt fine for a few days, then all of the sudden it came back. I was extra careful during my workouts, but I had to adjust a few routines. I ended up buying the Gold's Gym Waist Trimmer Support Belt and wore it during the rest of this week's workout. I had no back problems for the rest of the week. The belt also came with a lumbar support and a hot/cold pack. I'm happy to say that my back feels about 90% better today. I recommend everyone never to toss around a 30 pound box of cat litter.

Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out DVD

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.


There has been lots of excitement in the Star Wars universe since the announcement of the upcoming new sequel trilogy. I'm sure fans are excited about the LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out arriving on DVD. The twenty-two-minutes cartoon special aired on the Cartoon Network last year and is now out just in time for Easter.

I'm a fan of the original trilogy, but I missed out when the special aired on television and along with the prequel, The Padawan Menace. LEGO has been releasing Star Wars toys for years, so it was just a matter of time before an animated project was released.

The Empire Strikes Out takes place directly after Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star. He continues his quest, along with R2-D2, to stop the Empire's next move, but he is side barred by a swarm of female fans that call him the Death-Star-Blower-Upper. Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa are building up an army of Gungan Warrior, while C-3PO is stuck with Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Book Blogger Hop: March 29th - April 4th

Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!


Grab the Button!

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:


(This week's question submitted by Elizabeth)

Silver's Reviews


What are your thoughts on the verification codes? 



2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

My Answer:
Though verification codes can be really annoying, they do help in preventing unwanted spam. 

Linky List:

The Friday 56: The Very First Bite



Rules:
Grab a book, any book. 
Turn to page 56. 
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 
Post it. 
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/

Review - Unrivaled

Unrivaled
By Siri Mitchell
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0764207976
ASIN: B00AHY0T00
Pages: 400
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/jiUA3
Blog Tour Link: http://litfusegroup.com/author/smitchell

Review:


It is 1910 and Lucy Kendall has returned to her home town of St. Louis, Missouri after touring Europe. She was looking forward to spending time with her friends and family, but her friends are now married and father has become ill. To make things worse, she learns that her mother has put up the family candy business, City Confectionery, up for sale. Lucy is sadden by this as she had tried many different candies in Europe and was going to suggest her father to stock the store with them, so the City Confectionery could offer the St. Louis residents the best European candies.

Charlie Clarke has had a rocky life, leading him to be sent to live with his estranged father in St. Louis and to take a job at the Standard Manufacturing. He hates his father for abandoning him, but part of him wants to make his father proud. His life changes when he meets the lovely Lucy Kendall.

Lucy Kendall is not going to let the City Confectionery be sold, especially to the St. Louis biggest competitor, Standard Manufacturing, the company that stole her father's prize recipe. She will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery and to create a recipe that will save the candy business, but her plans may come to a halt when she starts to fall in love with the Standard Manufacturing's new promotions manager, Charlie Clarke.