Tess Roberts may live on Martha’s Vineyard, vacation spot for movie stars and presidents, but the Island feels anything but idyllic. Tess has had it with lousy dates, lying, cheating men, and the rules that forbid her from working on her family’s centuries-old schooner, Shenandoah. Lucky for Tess, she knows a secret—the Shenandoah has magical powers. Her best friend, Rebecca O’Neill, once stayed in Cabin 8 and discovered a time portal that transported her to 1775. A month after Rebecca’s “disappearance,” Tess’s father, brother, and Shenandoah’s annoying first mate, Hawk, plan to shut down the time travel for good by dismantling the cabin. But what if Rebecca might someday need to come home? What if Tess isn’t ready to say goodbye forever? Sneaking onto the ship late at night, Tess slips into Cabin 8 and drifts off to sleep. She wakes anchored off the New England coast amidst the American Revolution in 1776. The British frigate HMS Greyhound has seized Shenandoah and taken the crew, cargo, and all onboard hostage. To make matters worse, Hawk is relentlessly tracking her, determined to bring her back to the twenty-first century against her will. Sparks begin to fly, from more than cannonballs and gunpowder….
Lisa Belcastro Lisa Belcastro lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard. She was inspired to write the Winds of Change trilogy while chaperoning two Tisbury School summer sails aboard the schooner Shenandoah with her daughter, Kayla. The weeklong adventure, sans electricity, Game Boys, iPods and modern conveniences, kindled her imagination to dream of an altogether different voyage. Lisa currently writes the cuisine column for Vineyard Style magazine. She has worked as a staff and freelance reporter and photographer for The Chronicle of the Horse and as assistant editor at The Blue Ridge Leader. She has written articles for USA Today, Dressage (London), USA WEEKEND Magazine, The Blue Ridge Leader and Sidelines. Lisa co-authored and edited two non-fiction books, American Horses in Sport 1987 and American Horses in Sport 1988. When she’s not at her desk, Lisa is living in paradise, volunteering at her daughter’s school, serving in her church community, planting and weeding her numerous gardens, trying to run a marathon a month or walking the beach with her husband looking for sea glass.
This book blast is hosted by Crossreads. We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads book blast bloggers!
A couple of months ago I featured Goddess Tithe on my blog when Anne Elisabeth Stengl did a cover reveal. Click here to read that post, which includes an excerpt from the story.
Have you read any of the Tales of Goldstone Wood? I’d love to hear what you like about them, or which one is your favorite. Feel free to reply in the comments!
Today I’m featuring a guest post by author K.A. DaVur, author and founder of the publishing house Three Fates Press. Here she is to talk about her journey to publishing and what led her to start her own company.
I once heard a saying, “The best day of a boatowner’s life is the day he buys a boat. The second best is the day he sells it.” That always struck me as having more than a grain of truth. How many times do we dream about an item or an event, only to discover that the reality does not live up to the expectations? Sometimes, the “boat” is simply more work than we were expecting, or perhaps we aren’t able to use it as often as we thought. Sometimes, we discover that we don’t like “boats” as much as we’d anticipated. Other times, we discover to our dismay that we’d bought a broken boat.
To find our more about us, you can visit our publishing house pages at www.3fatespress.com and www.linebylion.com and read about my book at www.hunterthehorrible.com. We are on Facebook as well! Also, we could really use some help getting this house off of the ground. The expenses are astronomical and there wasn’t a lot of time to save for them, as we didn’t want the authors to suffer by having their books removed from the market. Also, we are still trying to promote our individual works while we transition. So, to help with this process, we have set up a groupfunding account through Indiegogo. The link is www.indiegogo.me/linebylion and I ask that you please visit, contribute if you can, and share. Also, we are open to submission, especially for children’s books. Those may be submitted to [email protected]. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story!
Julia is a Sary, the soul of a child who died before taking her first breath. Without this ‘breath of life’ she and others like her must help those on the verge of suicide. It’s a job Julia used to enjoy, until the accident that claimed her boyfriend’s life—an accident she knows was her fault. If living with the guilt weren’t enough, she’s now assigned to help a girl dealing with the loss of her mother, something Julia’s not exactly the best role model for. If she can’t figure out a way to help her, Julia’s going to lose her position in the Sary, something she swore to her boyfriend would never happen.
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Tom’s only distraction is Ari, the girl he studies with for their chemistry class.
Ari has one goal when she arrives in town: see how much Tom knows about the Sary and neutralize the situation. This isn’t a normal job, but protecting the secrecy of the Sary is vital. If Tom is a threat to exposing the Sary to the public, fate has a way of taking care of the situation, usually ending with the mortal’s death. While Ari spends time with Tom, he becomes more than just an assignment, but how far can a relationship go when she can’t tell him who she really is? When she finds out just how much Tom actually knows about the Sary, Ari is forced to choose between her wings, and her heart.
THE CHEMISTRY OF FATE is a companion to COLORS LIKE MEMORIES and is set before the latter takes place. It is geared toward an upper YA, or New Adult audience.
By Carlene Havel
Disappointed, dumped, divorced. Everything Casey Slaughter counted on is gone. While contemporaries start their families, Casey works two jobs to haul herself out of debt. Friends and family recommend a new husband to solve all her problems, but Casey resists their well-intentioned advice. Although she longs for a soul mate, the last thing her flattened self-esteem needs is more rejection—and comparisons to her beautiful, talented older sister do nothing to enhance Casey’s confidence. Unable to have children, she feels she has nothing to offer in marriage. Will bitterness and insecurity destroy her, or can renewed faith in God provide some measure of comfort for this wounded heart? Can Casey ever find love again, or will a string of disasters keep her forever on the run?
Carlene Havel has lived in numerous US states, the Philippines, and Turkey. Like most writers, Carlene has always loved to read, and her taste is eclectic. Her other hobbies include sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery. She especially enjoys Bible study, normally devoting one day each week delving into the scriptures with a small focus group. The Havels make their home in San Antonio, Texas, in the midst of a big, extended family.
Enter below to enter a $50 Amazon gift card, sponsored by author Carlene Havel!
This book blast is hosted by Crossreads. We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads book blast bloggers!
Country #1: the United States of America
I was born in the States and lived there for the first three and a half years of my life. I went back for college and spent the first five years of my married life there as well. Now Floyd and I sometimes return there to spend time with our families over Christmas vacations or summers.
Click here to read my blog post Impressions upon Returning to America from Taiwan.
Country #2: Kenya
This was home to me for my entire childhood. I lived in Kenya for fourteen years, and it will always be a part of who I am. Growing up, I felt more Kenyan than American. My family traveled to the States for 5-month furloughs every three years or so, but when we were there I always longed to return to Kenya.
Country #3: the Netherlands
I was only there for a brief layover on the way to one of our furloughs. I remember it, but barely.
Country #4: Spain
Ditto. Overnight layover, and my clearest memory is the complimentary wine at the restaurant that Daddy let Jimmy and me taste. Yuck! (I believe I was all of six years old.)
Country #5: Switzerland
We’ve had a number of separate layovers there, along with one actual vacation that my parents worked into our travel schedule. For some reason I don’t have any pictures with me in them, but I have lots of memories of mountains and trains, chocolate and cable cars, picnics and high prices.
Country #6: Israel
This was a wonderful vacation. We visited several different cities, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth, and toured many sites where important Biblical events took place. I have lots of pictures and special memories from the week or so my family spent in Israel.
Country #7: Great Britain
Unfortunately, my stay in Great Britain was limited to a few hours each in the Heathrow and Gatwick airports and an all-too-short predawn bus ride between them, with the same experience repeated in reverse on the way back from my real destination.
Country #8: Mexico
I’ve been to Mexico three times, all short day trips while I was in college. The first couple of times were mini-mission trips with a group from my church and with Biola University’s puppet ministry team. The third time was a fun little excursion with my family.
Country #9: Indonesia
I dreamed of traveling to Indonesia for six years before I finally had the chance to go. Right after finishing my senior year of high school, I spent a summer serving on Java with Teen Missions International. It was an unforgettable and life-changing experience and made me long to go back. I returned for a month-long visit a few years later, and eventually (after college) had the opportunity to spend a year there teaching in a one-room schoolhouse on the island of Papua. Also a life-changing experience, but that’s another story!
Country #10: the Philippines
After my summer mission trip to Indonesia, my team traveled to the Philippines for a week-long debrief, along with teams from various other nearby countries. There wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but I enjoyed what I saw of this beautiful country (mostly Manila).
Country #11: Singapore
I’ve had several layovers in Singapore, though I’ve never had the chance to leave the airport. (Yes, that DOES still count as being in the country!) It’s my favorite airport in the world; I’m always impressed at the wide variety of interesting things to do and see there. I’ve never been bored, even when spending eight hours alone there late at night.
Country #12: Canada
Since I don’t remember my visit to Canada with my parents when I was three months old, I’m counting my first visit as the cruise Floyd surprised me with on our honeymoon. Our time there was short – we only had one day to explore Ketchikan – but we were able to make some fun memories. Five years later we had the chance to visit Niagara Falls from New York, and we crossed over to spend a few hours on the Canadian side.
Click here to read my blog post A Day at Niagara Falls.
Country #13: Taiwan
Floyd and I have lived in Taiwan for the last ten years (not counting summers), and we love it here! It has truly become home for both of us.
I don’t think I could ever spend “too long” in Taiwan, but click here to read my blog post You Know You’ve Lived in Taiwan Too Long When…
Country #14: South Korea
I spent about three days in Seoul several years ago while attending a teaching conference. There wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but I used every spare moment in the evenings to walk around with friends and see as much of the city as possible.
Click here to read my blog post It’s All About Seoul.
Country #15: China
Another teaching conference brought me to Hong Kong, which immediately became one of my favorite cities. I especially loved the efficient subway system and the waterfront at night, and I hope I have the chance to go back sometime. More recently Floyd and I had layovers in the Shanghai and Beijing airports, though unfortunately we couldn’t leave the airports since we didn’t have visas.
Click here to read my blog post Four Days in Hong Kong!
Country #16: Malaysia
I’ve actually been to Malaysia twice, once to Kuala Lumpur (peninsular Malaysia) and once to Kota Kinabalu (on the island of Borneo). Both times were for conferences, and both times I was able to squeeze in some brief but memorable sightseeing experiences. Kuala Lumpur is another of my favorite cities – I love the blending of cultures I saw there, as evidenced by the food, clothing styles, etc.
Click here to read my blog posts My Trip to Malaysia and The Wilds of Borneo.
Country #17: Japan
Floyd and I have had a couple of brief layovers in Narita on our travels between California and Taiwan. On one occasion we were there just long enough to leave the airport and take a walk down some quiet streets to a large temple complex with beautiful gardens out back. The last time we were in Narita, our connecting flight was delayed due to a typhoon, and we were forced to make last-minute arrangements to stay overnight in a very expensive hotel at some distance from the airport (since all the close and reasonably-priced ones were already booked solid by other stranded travelers). Not the best memory – but still, I like Japan!
Click here to read my blog post Lost in Narita.
Country #18: Thailand
One November I had the opportunity to teach a workshop (about indie publishing) at a teachers’ conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was an awesome experience: the conference was great, my workshop was well received, and I loved what I saw of Thailand. Besides making the most of all my evening time, I had half a day free at the end, so I paid for a little tour package. It included visits to an orchid farm, an elephant camp, and Tiger Kingdom. The highlight of the trip for me was petting and lying down with three large female tigers!
Click here to read my blog post A Trip to Thailand.
Country #19: Vietnam
A friend and I spent several days in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam, on a brief vacation. (Later I visited a different part of the country with Floyd.) It was wonderful! One of the most interesting things for me was experiencing the blend of Asian and European cultures (Vietnam is a former French colony). That blend manifested itself in the food, clothing styles, art, and architecture. One of the highlights of the trip was watching a “water puppet” show. Another was taking a boat ride down the Mekong Delta, with lots of stops along the way to watch various traditional snacks being made in little local shops.
Click here to read my blog post Seeing the Sights in Saigon.
Country #20: Myanmar
This one of the most fascinating countries I’ve ever been to. Floyd and I enjoyed an amazing vacation there over Christmas one year. Highlights included delicious traditional foods and drinks (including inexpensive smoothies and lassis at every restaurant), a traditional marionette show, gorgeous temples and pagodas everywhere (and some very old ones), and a town whose buildings all stood on stilts in the middle of a lake.
Click here to read my blog post A Day on the Lake.
What’s Next?
Who knows? I can’t wait for my next opportunity to travel internationally! What’s your favorite city, country, or memory from an international trip? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? There’s a website (www.nanowrimo.org) that organizes a huge event every year for hundreds of thousands of professional and amateur writers across the world. Basically, writers compete against themselves to see if they can write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words entirely in the month of November. There are forums where you can link up with other participants for support and encouragement, writing resources to help you along with your story, and prizes for the winners. I also found out that they have a program for kids: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/ Some of my students are eager to try it! (There are some useful teacher resources on the site, too.)
I’m going to be participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year, and I’m really excited! Stay tuned; I plan to post brief weekly updates here on my blog about how my writing’s going. My goal is to write for at least two hours a day each weekday or until I come up with 1400 words, and four hours on each weekend day, or until I get to 2800 words. That will give me a bit of a buffer in case I fall behind.
Of course, nobody expects anyone to complete a GOOD novel in just one month. The idea isn’t that it will be complete and publishable by December 1st. Most people will probably only finish the rough draft in November, but the next eleven months (or however long it takes!) are for the revising, editing, and polishing. I certainly don’t plan to show anybody my November’s work until I’ve had a few more months to turn it into something I can be proud of.
What will my novel be about? Well, that’s a good question! I’m currently tossing around three main possibilities. My first choice would be to write another book in my Annals of Alasia series, but while I have lots of ideas for my characters’ futures, I don’t actually have a complete plot in mind yet. And I can’t start writing a book without a plot! (Yes, I know, some writers do it that way. It may work for them, but it doesn’t work for me!)
Another possibility would be to take a light-hearted short story I once wrote about the misadventures of a group of commandos and turn it into a book of related short stories. That might be the most fun option, as the writing style I use there is both silly and a little weird. It’s not my usual genre, but it’s fun to do something different once in a while, right?
But the choice I’m leaning toward most right now would be a piece of speculative fiction in a completely new series. It’s hard to classify its genre, since it would take place in a setting very similar to our own in almost every way. The characters are all human, and they have cars, phones, fast food, and workouts at the gym. The main difference would be that it’s set in a city that’s part of a large empire, and in this empire, slavery is not only legal but widely practiced. (It’s not based on race; people can be sold as slaves for breaking the law, being unable to pay off debt, getting involved in rebellion against the government, etc.) One of the two main characters would be a slave and the other his owner.
At this point I have the most ideas for the third option, so I have a feeling that’s what I’ll probably go with. I’ve already outlined the story, and I’m starting to plan out the characters’ personalities. Here are two very useful resources that I bought awhile ago and plan to bring out again to use now. Click here to go to my post that tells more about these books and why I think they’re so great. If you’re a writer, I strongly recommend them!
Are you thinking of participating in NaNoWriMo this year? I’d love to hear about your plans! In the comments, feel free to tell us what you’re thinking of writing about, and please share any helpful resources you’ve found to make the process go more smoothly!