Book Review Spotlight - Refracted by Nicole Storey

Refracted (The Celadon Circle Book 2) by Nicole Storey is the much anticipated and thoroughly riveting sequel to Blind Sight (The Celadon Circle Book 1).

I had read Blind Sight a while back and could not wait for the next installment in this well-crafted and superbly written series. Ms. Storey has delivered a sequel that will keep you on the edge of your seat and carry you through every emotion you could possibly have as she spins this latest tale of Angels, Demons, Heaven and Hell.

When Blind Sight ended, Jordan was taken by her demon father, Aamon to live with him and Jordan's half-siblings. Jordan's brothers (Nathan and Quinn) and her uncle (Casen) will stop at nothing to get Jordan back from the clutches of evil. But, when their Guardian Angel, Gabriel is replaced by another (Illyria) to watch over them, Jordan's brothers and uncle face a difficult time in trying to rescue Jordan.

Jordan must come to grips with her newfound powers of good and evil along with reconciling the fact that her real father is a demon. Jordan is torn between her demon family, her human family and what the Celadon Circle wants from her. All the while, Jordan matures by leaps and bounds to save not only herself, but also those she loves - even if she must die trying.

I absolutely adored this book! Blind Sight was great, but the author has definitely knocked the ball out of the park with Refracted. It is one book that I will read again - which is something I seldom do, so that speaks volumes on how much I loved it.

I would recommend this to those who like fast-paced, no holds barred fantasy and coming of age stories.

Very well done, Ms. Storey!

Bonus Contest for July 2015

Enter for your chance to win a surprise gift and $10 in your pocket.

To enter, see the details on the I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak page on Facebook HERE.

Also, whether you enter the contest or not, please download the FREE e-book, "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak: Leaving High Tech for Greener Pastures" today through Sunday, August 2nd.

Description:

Have you ever wanted to ditch the nine-to-five job and move as far away as possible from the rat race?

Have you ever just wanted peace and quiet in a rural setting away from the sprawl of suburbia?

Have you found yourself daydreaming about pasture lands and farm animals on a daily basis?

That's exactly what the author found herself contemplating - more often then not - while working at a high tech job in Seattle.

With her husband 3,000 miles away in Florida and the passing of her father, she knew it was time to make some serious changes in her life. She was ready for an adventure, but little did she know what lay in store for her at the 'fixer upper' farmhouse she and her husband would soon become the owners of.

S.A. Molteni has spent over thirty years in the Information Technology field working for various Fortune 500 companies. During those years, she and her husband had always dreamed of living on a farm once they became retired from the rat race.

This collection of essays follows the author in her sometimes humorous transition from "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak" and depicts the lessons that are learned along the way once farm animals become a large part of her life.

New Cover Reveal - I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak

With the help of a very talented cover designer and author, Victorine Lieske, I am pleased to reveal the new cover for my latest e-book - "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak: Leaving High Tech for Greener Pastures".

Although the previous cover was well-received and many fans loved it, I felt the need for a new one to more completely portray what the book was truly about.  I feel this new one definitely depicts what the book contains.

Since the book was released back in April 2015, it has enjoyed several weeks as an Amazon #1 Best-seller in the Rural Sociology category of non-fiction works. It has also garnered a generous amount of positive reviews and many emails from like-minded people who want to do the same thing as I have done - leave the nine-to-five and live on a farm.

If you haven't read the book yet, I hope that you will give it a try.  If you already read it, I hope that you will leave a review.  Either way, I hope you enjoy it and share it with your friends and family.

Look for the sequel to be out in the spring of 2016.

Book Review Spotlight - Eve of the Beginning (Grimsley Hollow Book 2) by Nicole Storey

 

Grimsley Hollow: Eve of the Beginning by Nicole Storey is a wonderfully well-spun tale to be read along with the first book, The Chosen One. I read the The Chosen One a while back and also read Blind Sight by Ms. Storey. I am a huge fan of her work and will read anything that she publishes - her writing is that good!

Now to the review of this well-written and highly imaginative story ... Eve is a young witch, eleven years old to be exact. She is just coming into her own as a witch, but is also still a child. And being a child is a hindrance in that most of the townspeople and her parents will not listen to her when she senses that the newest witch (Inari) in town is up to no good.

Eve has all the issues that a human tween would have, but also carries the weight of the Grimsley Hollow world on her shoulders. Once the new witch, Inari proves to be the baddest apple in Opa, Eve must grow up fairly quickly if she is to save Grimsley Hollow from the clutches of this hateful and destructive witch. Eve must be brave and make contact with the only human that can help - Gage, the autistic child from the first book.

The characters in this story come alive in every page. Eve, the not-so-sure-of-herself witch and Puck the mischievous pixie are so well-developed and likable that the reader cannot help but love them both. The same for Inari - very well-developed as a character and so very easy to hate. Ms. Storey has such a great way of weaving a fascinating tale of a magical world that it makes the reader want to know every facet of the story and what happens next for Eve and Grimsley Hollow.

As I said in the beginning of this, I am a huge fan and will read anything that this particular author publishes. Eve of the Beginning has solidified that sentiment and I eagerly await to read more from this very talented and gifted author.

Goodreads Give-a-way!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak

by S.A. Molteni

Giveaway ends May 31, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to Win
 

How Important is YOUR Brand?

I remember the discussion like it was yesterday, even though it has been well over a year since the conversation took place.  It was my last annual review at the last job I had before I retired in March 2014.

I had met or exceeded expectations in all of the categories of my review and even received a very generous bonus for the projects completed on time and on budget.  But there was one glowing issue. I had not promoted "my brand" very well over the past year and well, not many people outside of my niche group of co-workers and internal customers knew me aside from seeing my name on various project documents.

Ah, this is what happens when you are an I.T. Geek who has her nose to the grindstone and does not spend much time hobnobbing or socializing with the powers that be.  My manager said that I would need to put some focused effort into making "my brand" shine and this would garner me much more recognition in the company, not only in name but in promotional opportunities and bonuses in the coming year.

So why am I telling you this ?

Glad you asked ...

I was not really in tune with "my brand" when I worked for Corporate America. I went to work, did my job (very well, thank you) and was paid handsomely for it.  No one ever told me that I had to have a "brand".  Now that I have been away from the mainstream of the work-a-day world for a bit, I have had some time to reflect on what "developing  my brand" really means and am very glad that the topic was brought up to me in that last review.

As a newly published author in 2013, no one knew who I was or what my writing was all about.  I failed miserably at marketing those first few short stories that I published, but somehow managed to get a few hundred fans of my writing over the past two years.

In the summer of 2014, I felt that more people would read my work if I could just get them to notice it. It was then that I realized that I needed better marketing skills if any of my books were going to be seen by anyone other than my family and friends. Aside from this, I thought I had a good product in the short stories and essays that I wrote, but I had nothing really that set me apart from the rest of the indie authors trying to sell their wares.

I then got a brilliant idea (or so I thought).

I went about trying to think of what phrase or label that best described me and the books I had written.  In a few months, "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak" was born.

In January 2015, I relabeled my Facebook page previously titled, "North Florida Farm and Garden" (how boring, right?) to "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak" (a bit more fun and exciting). Up to that point, I had a small number of followers on the page - about 400 or so.  Immediately when I changed the name on that page, there were hundreds of new followers within the first week.  Today, just a few months into the name change, the page has over 1,100 fans and continues to grow each day.

I also set up a blog for this new name as well as an email and Twitter account. I then went about providing content on Twitter, Facebook and Google + that related to my hobby farm and my decision to leave the I.T. sector of Corporate America.

So, what did all of this do for my "brand"?  Well, quite a bit.

People on social media now know me as the author who lives on a hobby farm, who used to be an I.T. Geek and has a memoirette out called "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak: Leaving High Tech for Greener Pastures" that just reached #1 this week on the Amazon Best Seller list for Rural Sociology.

I have noticed an amazing increase in readership and subsequently, sales of my various e-books as a direct result of having a better "brand".

For new indie authors starting out, I highly recommend that you develop your own "brand" - something that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd of other authors.  The time and effort in doing so should increase your visibility and that of your books as well.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

New Release Spotlight: Uncharted Inheritance by Keely Brooke Keith

 

New Release on May 5, 2015

Cover Image:
 

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Description: 

Bethany Colburn finally turns eighteen and Everett Foster is about to confess his love for her. When a new man arrives in the village of Good Springs, he brings charm Bethany has never encountered and illness the Land has never known. While the medicinal power of the gray leaf tree is put to the test and the Colburn family’s strength is stretched thin, Bethany must learn to protect her true inheritance. Uncharted Inheritance weaves heartbreak and hope while delivering long-awaited answers in this suspenseful story of life in a hidden land.

Links to the book online:

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Author Bio:
 
Keely is a bass guitarist and plays on worship teams and for solo artists. She is married to singer/songwriter John Martin Keith, and they frequently perform and tour together. When she isn’t writing stories or playing bass, Keely enjoys dancing, having coffee with friends, and sifting through vintage books at antique stores. Keely resides on a hilltop south of Nashville with her husband where they homeschool their daughter, Rachel.

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