Monday, January 8, 2018

Winter Reads: The Great Library: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine



New American Library; 374 pages; Amazon
Ink and Bone, book one in The Great Library series, has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for awhile now. I believe I had received the book through the Blogging for Books program. I knew nothing about the series prior to reading the book last Friday, well, except for the fact that's it's written by Rachel Caine, the author of the Morganville Vampires series.

The novel is set in a world where the Great Library is available in every city. While people can have access to the wide-range of books in the library, you cannot own any books. Alchemy (aka the government) wants to control what written knowledge is available to the people.

The main character is Jess Brightwell, who believes in the value that each book possesses in the library. However, most of his knowledge came from the illegal books owned by his family.  At the request of his father, Jess joins the Library training program, which is located in Alexandria. Of course his father has other reasons for why he wanted Jess to join, such as stealing books.

The training program is led by Scholar Christopher Wolfe, who doesn't want to teach a bunch of teenagers the way of the Great Library. One by one the students are kicked out the program, but Jess makes it to the final assignment, which involves searching for lost books in a war zone area.


Final Thoughts

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Winter Reads: Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton




Book Boss Publishing; 276 pages; $15.99; Amazon


I know I keep saying that I'll finally catch up on all my "needs-to-be-review pile, but I really mean it this time. Well, at least that was one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2018.

For my first review of the year, I'm reviewing the book Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton. I've had this book sitting around for awhile now. I've attempted to read it several times, but something always comes up and I have to set it aside.

Loosely inspired by the author's own life, the novel is more or less a series of short tales centering around Julia Karr, a used car lot owner. It's a hilarious look into the life of a business owner who must deal with rude, odd, and just downright weird customers. Then's there's Julia's quest to buy a toilet that can flush multiple golf balls.







Final Thoughts

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Saturday Mornings: Procrastinating, Blogging, and Lawyers

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


It's only the 6th day of the year and I've already gotten a several things I wanted to get done done! Yes, this is includes working on my procrastination issues, which I have talked about on this blog several times. Exercising - well, that's a completely different story. Originally, I wanted to begin a new workout program on the 1st, then I told myself to start on the 2nd, and well, as you can probably guess, I keep talking myself out of it. Now, my plans are to begin a new workout program tomorrow morning.

What program am I going to start?

Who knows!

I haven't made that decision yet. I still have a subscription on Beachbody On Demand, so I will probably start one of their programs.

Anyhow, the Book Blogger Hop landing page has been updated with new questions for the entire year. I've brought back the thumbnail link widget, which costs $2.99 per month. While I prefer to use the free widget, it only allowed me to schedule future hops a month in advanced. I went ahead I got the subscription, so I can schedule the hop for the entire year, as there has been a few times where I just had forgotten to post the weekly hop on time. This way I won't have that problem this year. I have all the hop's posts set up as a 'drafts,' but I have only three months completed so far. I hoping to finish scheduling the rest of the posts over the weekend.

By the way, if you haven't noticed, this is a new weekly post called "Saturday Mornings," where I'll talk about anything and everything. While I'm writing this I'm listening to Nelly Furtado's album "The Ride" and drinking a cup of Green Mountain Coffee: Pumpkin Spice. I love this brand of coffee, but their K-Cups are extremely expensive. Luckily for me, I found a 18-count box on clearance at Walmart for under $4 yesterday.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Interview with Loren Cooper, author or CrossTown


Now available to purchase on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, and Target is the fantasy novel CrossTown by Loren W. Cooper.




The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about his new novel CrossTown.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

As early as I can remember, I hung on family stories, I read voraciously, and I told myself stories in play or for relaxation. It took me until college to think about writing for publication.

What was your first book/story published?

First short story published was Eyes of Yesterday in 1995.

What inspired you to write CrossTown?

The initial scene with the Jigsaw Man came to me after seeing a horror movie done badly. It made me want to write a scene with similar elements where it was done well.

What character in CrossTown is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

The White Wolf is the most fun to write. He captures my smartass element. Unlike me, he feels little need to filter his acerbity.

What is your favorite part in CrossTown?

The setting itself. All the myriad Ways of Possibility branching out through time and space.

What was the hardest part to write?

The setting. CrossTown blurs character and setting. Capturing the breadth and depth of it is impossible. You can only shoot and hope to get close to the target.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

5 Tips For Starting A Book Blog!


This year will mark my ninth anniversary of blogging! Yes, I've been blogging for almost a decade. I guess time really does fly by quick when you keep yourself busy like me. For those of you who have followed me from the beginning, my blog started out strictly as a book review blog, but over the years I have expanded my reviews into other territories, such as movies and certain products that fall into my own personal niche. Additionally, I've worked with a few companies on several sponsored posts. (Yes, your blog earn money!)

#1. You Don't Need A Domain Right Away

While having your own blog domain is the right direction to go if you want to look professional, you don't have to start out with one at the beginning. I didn't have the budget to purchase a domain when I first started out, so I went the simple and cheap route by created a free blog on Blogger, which you'll be given a blogspot.com URL. There's also weebly.com, wix.com, squarespace.com, and many other free blog platforms you can choose from.

Once you get some content (aka - posts) and some followers/readers, then I would recommend getting a domain. Use your blog's own stats platform, an analytics website, or a consumer growth platform to determine how many followers/readers your blog is receiving.

#2. Blog About What You Know 

The biggest question on every newbie blogger's mind is, "What do I blog about?" Well, that's an easy question to answer, blog about what you know. If you like to read Stephen King novels, then you should review Stephen King novels! If you like to read romances, then you should review romance novels!

When I first started out, I reviewed the books that I already owned. My goal wasn't to the get the attention of publishers or authors; I just wanted to share my love of reading with others. However, my reviews caught the attention of authors and publishers, which lead to me reviewing Advanced Reader Copies.

If you want to receive free books to review on your blog, the only thing you have to do is review the books that you own or have checked out at the library! Eventually, you're blog will attract readers and loyal followers.

#3. Participate In Weekly Blog Memes

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Guarding Our Writing Time by David-Matthew Barnes



Today, I was cleaning up my email inbox and came across the guest post for author David-Matthew Barnes that was supposed to be posted back on December 14th. I guess I had overlook the email, as I had went ahead and posted a book spotlight for the author's novel Riding with James Dean on that date. Anyway, here I am posting the author's guest post a few weeks late.



Guarding Our Writing Time

by David-Matthew Barnes

Time. It is the most elusive thing. It is a luxury of which some of us are willing to beg, borrow, and steal for. People wish for more of it, convinced if they had just a few minutes more the results could be life-changing. 

It's true. We are busy people. Our schedules leave us exhausted, delirious, overwhelmed. To survive, we are constantly juggling, balancing, shifting, always dangling just above the edge of a looming deadline.

I loose count of how many times I hear the words, "There's just not enough time in the day to get everything done." It pains me most when it's my voice saying them.
We are a breed of our own: the busy.

To achieve this livable state of sleep deprivation, we make caffeine our favorite food group, existing in a jittery existence of the fear and consequences of nodding off. We are masters of the to-do list, the weekly calendar, the span of 24-hours.

This constant battle against the clock must be universal. Surely, others feel the tremble of the ticking constantly beating beneath every step they take through their mine field of a day. We constantly avert any possible social scenario that can pose a threat to our down-to-the-second agenda, knowing if we stop long enough to smell those ridiculous flowers the less-busy always talk about it, we're doomed. 

They say the early bird catches the worm, time waits for no one, time is money, and there's no time like the present. We are constantly bombarded by the 
insistence to do more, be more, live more. This is our fuel.

And then there's writing.

I recently had an online discussion with two fellow writers in which time was our topic, specifically how to find more of it. As creative people with unconventional lives and schedules, we are often time-shamed. Example A: "When you're done with your little writing thing, do you think you can actually spend time with your friends and family? We miss you."

To ask someone who is not a writer to understand how we work and why time is everything to us is asking for the impossible. Non-writers can view our desire for writing time as selfish; our writing – and the time we need for it – can inconvenience many people. We are expected to keep a more world-friendly schedule by only tapping into and channeling our creativity during business hours - and never on weekends.

Finding the time to write can become the most challenging aspect of a writer's life. It certainly is for mine. We can tape as many Do Not Disturb signs on our home office doors we want, but that tiny flicker of guilt still remains each time we sit down at our laptops and the world continues to happen without us, hopefully missing us. It is indeed a high price to pay.

Yet, the results can be life-changing - or, more specifically, career-changing. Many of us dream of one day writing for a living, of reaching a point in which our talent and creativity sustains us. But we cannot get there without time.

The discussion with my writer friends ended with the conclusion that each of us need to be more protective of our schedules, that we collectively have to guard our writing time. We are soldiers, protecting our own very precious turf. Because every second really does count, as much as every word we write. 

The struggle against the clock, our own lives, and the demands we must meet can be a difficult one to endure. Yet, in the end, those few moments in which the world around us slips away and nothing else matters but the words on the page - they make the pace worth it. It's usually then we feel like we won. And, as they say, even the smallest victory counts.


About the Author

Get Healthy With Bone Broth Protein!

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2018?

Like probably many other people, one my New Year's Resolutions is to lose weight . And like almost everyone that makes this resolution, I have failed each and every year. For 2018, my gain goal is get back into a daily exercise routine, get into shape, and feel better about myself, so basically next year will be all about me.

To begin my new "A New Me in 2018" posts, I'm featuring a review on two new protein products from Ancient Nutrition. The products are called Keto PROTEIN and Organic Bone Broth PROTEIN!

Getting the proper amount of protein is important if you want to gain strength and build muscles. While you can get extra protein from food, many people prefer to get it from a pre-workout or post-workout drink or shake. Sadly, many of the protein powders and mixes have way too much sugar in them.

Keto PROTEIN (retails for $54.95) is available in a variety of flavors, but I was sent the "chocolate" flavor. It was created for ketogenic dieters, students, gamers, and anyone looking to boost their mind and increase their strength. Each serving has 11g fat, 15g protein, 1g sugar and 3g carbs that all comes from high quality chicken bone broth and coconut MCTs. It also contains antioxidant and adaptogenic herbs. It's free of soy, grain, dairy, and gluten.

Ingredients include: Chicken Bone Broth Oil, Chicken Bone Broth Protein Concentrate, Organic Chicken Protein Concentrate, Medium Chain Triglycerides (coconut), Organic Ashwagandha Extract (root), Hydrolyzed Bovine Collagen Peptides, Cocoa, Organic Coffee Fruit Extract, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Fermented Organic Ginger (rhizome), Fermented Organic Black Pepper (fruit), Fermented Organic Long Pepper (fruit), and Fermented Organic Reishi Mushroom Mycelium (Ganodema Lucidum).

The tub sent to me is 19oz and contains 17 servings (1 heaping 32g scoop). It can be mixed with 12 ounces of water, plain almond milk, coffee, or tea. It's not meant to be a meal replacement, but it can be taken as a workout drink or as a snack.

The Keto PROTEIN Chocolate mixed with hot coffee.

Being the big coffee drinker that I am, I naturally added the chocolate protein to my morning cup of coffee. It blends really well with the hot coffee and it tasted great! I couldn't even tell it was made from bone broth! There's nothing better than drinking chocolate coffee on a cold winter day.

The Organic Bone Broth PROTEIN (retails for $57.95) is an organic superfood powder made from real bone broth. It's available in several different flavors, but the sample tub (16 oz) sent to me is the "Savory Herbs" flavor. There are 17 servings (one scoop) per container (tub). Each serving has 100 calories, 0 sugar, and 20g of protein!