Friday, 4 July 2014

Celebrate The Small Things - 4th July edition

Hello everybody - time to Celebrate The Small Things.

This blog hop is very easy - just post a celebration, however small or big, in your blog. Sign up on the linky, and hop around and celebrate with others.

I am hosting this as usual with my mighty fine co-hosts:

Diana Wilder
LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
Katie @ TheCyborg Mom
CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

Please say hello to them as it is VERY nice of them to help me!

Also, now that I have my fine co-hosts on board I am being much more on the ball re the linky list. Please don't be offended if you get 'cut off' :)

Remember to #CTST any celebrations on twitter if you're into that !:)

This week I am celebrating...


  • Wimbledon! Still. As I got to go on Monday and saw Andy Murray win (before he lost, sob). So that was lovely.
  • Weekend off. As I worked the last one (nice though that was to see people).
  • My colleague offering to go to the shop and buy me chocolate ;) It kept me going anyway!
  • Happy July 4th to my American friends!
How about you? Would love to hear about yours?

Hopefully the linky will appear below this (though as I write this, for some reason the preview keeps not showing it. I have zero clue why. Fingers crossed!)


Wednesday, 2 July 2014

IWSG - 2nd July edition

Today I am posting for Insecure Writers Support Group! The sign up for this is HERE & of course the wonderful Alex J Cavanaugh set this up.

I know he has some awesome co hosts this month and I wanted to give them a shout out (as I know how helpful my own co hosts for Celebrate on a Friday are!) They are:



This month I have been thinking about TENACITY. One of my critique partners complimented my TENACITY. It is funny because I think that just comes with being a writer, doesn't it? We have to finish that draft, then edit it and edit some more and more and query and query more and ... well you get the idea. If you weren't tenacious you wouldn't get very far.

It is hard though isn't it because one doesn't want to be the person on X Factor (or whatever - American Idol!) who tenaciously auditions over and over and doesn't realise they are, in fact, tone deaf.

But we have to assume that our kindly critique partners would politely point out what isn't good and not let us go forward until we are ready. & If they are not, if they are complementing our tenacity - maybe that means we're doing something right...

What do you think?

Friday, 27 June 2014

Celebrate The Small Things - 27 June #CTST

Greetings and Salutations, just to quote Heathers :)! 

It is time to Celebrate The Small Things.

This blog hop is very easy - just post a celebration, however small or big, in your blog. Sign up on the linky, and hop around and celebrate with others.

I am hosting this as usual with my mighty fine co-hosts:

Diana Wilder
LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
Katie @ TheCyborg Mom
CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

Please say hello to them as they are very kindly helping me and they are all awesome lovely souls!

Also, now that I have my fine co-hosts on board I am being much more on the ball re the linky list. I'm allowing a few weeks to not post, then I'm pruning. Please don't be offended if you get 'cut off' and just sign up again ;)

Remember to #CTST any celebrations on twitter if you're into that !:)

This week I am celebrating...


  • Wimbledon! I love tennis and I am cheering on Andy Murray all the way ;)
  • Buying some new trousers which are nice and summery so I don't have to boil in jeans.
  • Working this weekend as I'll get to see some old friends while I do it!


How about all of you? Would love to hear what you are celebrating...


Here's the linky...


Friday, 20 June 2014

Celebrate The Small Things - 20 June #CTST

Greetings! It is time to Celebrate The Small Things.

This blog hop is very easy - just post a celebration, however small or big, in your blog. Sign up on the linky, and hop around and celebrate with others.

I am hosting this as usual with my mighty fine co-hosts:

Diana Wilder
LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
Katie @ TheCyborg Mom
CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

Go visit them and say hi!

Also, now that I have my fine co-hosts on board I am being much more on the ball re the linky list. I'm allowing a few weeks to not post, then I'm pruning. Please don't be offended if you get 'cut off' and just sign up again ;)

Remember to #CTST any celebrations on twitter if you're into that !:)

This week I am celebrating...THE WEEKEND THAT IS ALL IT HAS BEEN THE LONGEST WEEK EVER! or not really. In any event: WEEKEND YAY.
How about you? What news?
Here's the linky...


Monday, 16 June 2014

Blog Tour: Broken Branch Falls by Tara Tyler: REVIEW

Hey guys!

I am so excited to be here, to review BROKEN BRANCH FALLS by my most awesome of critique partners, Tara Tyler!

Firstly, let me tell you all the details:

BROKEN BRANCH FALLS (MG Fantasy)


Release Date: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Gabe is an average fifteen-year-old goblin. He’s in the marching band, breezes through calculus, and gets picked on daily by the other kids at school, especially the ogres. He's tired of being a goblin – he’d like to try other things. And he has his eye on the new ogress at school. It’s against all beastly rules, but there’s just something about her.

When a prank goes wrong, Gabe is forced to join the football team as punishment, but finds a way to make it work. Soon the whole school is getting in on the fad of mingling with other species. Too bad the adults decide to step in and ruin things, threatening to destroy the school and split up Broken Branch Falls. And Gabe is their scapegoat. With help from other outcast friends, Gabe sets out on a quest hoping to saving Broken Branch Falls. After all this trouble, it better work.


Add it to your GOODREADS list!

REVIEW: 
I really enjoyed this MG Fantasy. The world is really well thought through, with lots of fun detail and imagination which I think Middle Graders will love. Gabe is a sympathetic main character and I love the band of friends he gets around him as he sets out to save Broken Branch Falls. Each of them is well drawn and I'd love to see more of them in the future. We see Goblins, Elves, Ogres, Centaurs, Vampires, Giants, Werewolves and more, and each of them are given specific characteristics and would stand up well on their own.

There's a fun ride around different places including a MAP so you can follow where everything is. (I love a book with a map.) 

There's a nice touch of humour running throughout this book as well, which gives it the vibe of a fun adventure! It's definitely a book Middle Graders would get into, and it has a good theme of appreciating others differences and working together, which is very suitable for the age group. I'd definitely recommend it, and it's a world I could see there being more books set in.

Here's about the author:



Tara Tyler has had a hand at everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After living up and down the Eastern US, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. Currently, she has two series, The Cooper Chronicles (techno-thriller detective capers) and Beast World (MG fantasy) She's an adventure writer who believes every good story should have action, a moral, and a few laughs!


Also by Tara Tyler, techno-thriller detective series,
The Cooper Chronicles, Book One: POP TRAVEL


Friday, 13 June 2014

Celebrate The Small Things - 13 June 2014 #CTST

Greetings! It is time to Celebrate The Small Things.

This blog hop is very easy - just post a celebration, however small or big, in your blog. Sign up on the linky, and hop around and celebrate with others.

I am hosting this as usual with my mighty fine co-hosts:

Diana Wilder
LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
Katie @ TheCyborg Mom
CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

Go visit them and say hi!

Also, now that I have my fine co-hosts on board I am being much more on the ball re the linky list. I'm allowing a few weeks to not post, then I'm pruning. Please don't be offended if you get 'cut off' and just sign up again ;)

Remember to #CTST any celebrations on twitter if you're into that !:)

This week I am celebrating...

- Colleagues inviting me to use their spare ticket on the London Eye (Champagne! Canapes! Sunny day!)
- Creating a bit of fun at work by running a World Cup Sweepstake. I got Uruguay.
- Catching up with a good friend tomorrow.

How about you? What news?
Here's the linky...


Monday, 9 June 2014

Cover Reveal: Catch Me When I Fall by Vicki Leigh



It’s cover reveal day for Vicki Leigh’s CATCH ME WHEN I FALL! I am especially excited to be part of this as Vicki is my Critique Partner and I had the privilege of reading a draft of this book. So I know how fabulous it is, and how lovely Vicki is and generally how this is madly exciting indeed :) 

So, there's a ton of awesome stuff going on, including a giveaway! But first, here’s a special message from Vicki: 


How cute is she? 

And here’s what CATCH ME WHEN I FALL is all about with the AMAZING COVER:

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

CATCH ME WHEN I FALL will be available on October 23, 2014 in both paperback and e-book formats from Curiosity Quills Press. For more information, visit the book’s Goodreads page.

I LOVE the cover!

Now, there can’t be a cover reveal without a giveaway, I am sure you will agree! And there's a great giveaway with a TON Of fantastic prizes- here’s what you can win:


  • ·         An e-copy of CATCH ME WHEN I FALL by Vicki Leigh
  • ·         A submission package critique (query+synopsis+first chap) from Vicki Leigh
  • ·         An e-copy of HEIRS OF WAR by Mara Valderran
  • ·         Two query+first chapter critiques from YA author Emily Stanford
  • ·         A full manuscript critique from YA author Emily Stanford
  • ·         An e-copy of WITHOUT BLOODSHED by Matthew Graybosch
  • ·         A paperback of DESTRUCTION by Sharon Bayliss
  • ·         An e-copy of KIYA: HOPE OF THE PHARAOH by Katie Teller
  • ·         One query+first chapter critique from YA author Katie Teller
  • ·         An e-copy of DARKNESS WATCHING by Emma Adams
  • ·         A copy of DESCENDANT by Nichole Giles
  • ·         Two signed copies of DIVIDE by Jessa Russo
  • ·         An e-copy set of EVER and EVADE by Jessa Russo
  • ·         A copy of UNHINGED by A.G. Howard

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win! All prizes will be accompanied by a Dreamcatcher swag package from Vicki Leigh. The giveaway is on this link HERE: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by!

About Vicki:
Adopted at three-days-old by a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, Vicki Leigh grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio where she learned to read by the age of four and considered being sent to her room for punishment as an opportunity to dive into another book. By the sixth grade, Vicki penned her first, full-length screenplay. If she couldn’t be a writer, Vicki would be a Hunter (think Dean and Sam Winchester) or a Jedi. Her favorite place on earth is Hogwarts (she refuses to believe it doesn’t exist), and her favorite dreams include solving cases alongside Sherlock Holmes.

Vicki is an editor for Curiosity Quills Press, a co-founder of The Writer Diaries, and is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

You can find Vicki at her website and blog and on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and Goodreads.