Celebrating #Windsor Writers: Authors in the Limelight featuring Brittni Brinn…

Windsor author, Brittni Brinn had the awesome idea to cross-promote with four authors in the area, and graciously invited me to participate to be one of those guinea pigs…er authors. I jumped at the opportunity of course, so for the next three Thursdays I’ll be hosting Brittni, along with Ben Van Dongen and Justine Alley Dowsett. I’ll be the author featured on the fourth Thursday, sharing a ‘behind the scenes’ post about the process of writing the first book in my Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls teen psychic mystery series, Lost and Found. For Brittni’s post, I decided to resurrect my ‘Authors in the Limelight’ interview series, where I get to ask an author eight questions about their newest book, and how they deal with life as a writer. So, without further ado, let’s get this interview started…

 

Welcome, Brittni! How long have you been writing?

I've been writing since I was pretty young. I suppose I started writing because my parents gave me a journal when I was 7. It had a lock with a small key, and I loved it. But writing stories I think started more around grade five. I had a teacher who encouraged me to pursue writing and a classmate who wrote beautiful stories she would read aloud. I read a ton of books at that age too. A lot of those influences shaped my interest in storytelling. So, after I decided not to be a scientist, I decided to be a writer.

A scientist, eh? Makes sense that you followed your heart and wrote in the science fiction genre! Where did you get your idea and inspiration to write The Patch Project?

It started with a short story I wrote in my undergrad. Just a small piece about a married couple spending Christmas in the apocalypse. I took it to a Sci-Fi conference for writers and submitted it to an editor panel. One of the editors expressed interest in the story and asked to see a manuscript. So I started writing a novel. I'd been reading A Canticle for Leibowitz and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? around that time, and the post-apocalyptic genre appealed to me. But I wanted to do something different.

Okay, so what sets The Patch Project apart from other books in the same genre?

The aspect that most sets it apart from contemporary post-apocalyptic novels is that The Patch Project isn't about an exterior threat. There are no zombies, no monsters. No incurable epidemic. The event that wipes out most of the world is mysterious. It's the resulting isolation and character shifts that drive the story. Characters are dealing with new abilities as well as personal loss. The main questions become Who am I, now that this has happened? What should I do now?

Wait…no zombies? Now that’s refreshing! As an author, what is your writing process, Brittni?

I take naps? Those help, but I suppose writing just happens. When I'm on the bus or after watching a play. Sometimes I write something because I'm inspired. Sometimes out of boredom. But it usually starts with a specific image or a specific character. Once I have that in mind, I write how the first scene plays out. Then I leave it for awhile, think about it, come back to it. Usually it's a struggle to get myself back in the writing chair. Sometimes I use writing exercises like free-writing or following a character's stream of consciousness. I rarely map out my stories; I like to garden. Let the characters and story grow as I go along. Then go back afterwards, transplant, weed, and add some fertilizer where the growth is thin.

Well, I hope you harvest many stories that way, Brittni. How long did it take for you to start and finish The Patch Project?

From the original short story to the first draft of the novel was about two years. After the manuscript was rejected by a publisher, I put it away for awhile. When I went back to it in 2016, I did a full edit of the story and the following summer did three further rounds of editing with EDGE's house editor, the wonderful Heather Manuel. And here we are, a year later! Altogether, The Patch Project was about 6 years in the making!

Now that’s staying power! Do you have any advice for other writers, Brittni?

I don't know if I have any advice, but I would suggest finding writing friends. Having people to really talk to about writing has been invaluable to me. Plus, it's good to see that there's not just one way to be a writer. We all go about it differently, tell our stories in ways unique to us. And that's good! We all have so much to learn from each other.

Having a support system in this business is a must for sure. What’s next for Brittni Brinn the author?

Well, there's a sequel to The Patch Project in the works! (Hooray!) I'm also hoping to work on some collaborative film and graphic novel projects in the near future as well!

All the best with your future writing endeavors, Brittni! Okay, here’s one for me, since I’m writing a time travel series—If you could time travel anywhere into Earth’s past, where would you go and why?

Time travel is such a fascinating concept! Not too far back for me. The 1980s maybe? Could see some New Wave bands, have 80s hair, buy a walkman, it'd be fun.

About The Patch Project:

May and Isak live on what used to be Holly Street. But when a mysterious event wipes out most of the earth's surface, they find themselves the sole survivors of a once thriving neighbourhood. Another survivor, Ed, is stranded at a highway gas station. Pinot and Miller wander the wasteland, scrounging for supplies. Some of them have developed strange new abilities; some of them have experienced unthinkable loss. In this post-apocalyptic novella, each of them will have to come to terms with who they've become, and what they've done, in order to survive.

Book Info and Links:

You can find The Patch Project on Amazon.com, through EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, or locally at Juniper Books.

Meet the Author:

Brittni Brinn is a writer and playwright. She has a Masters degree in Creative Writing and Literature. Her interests include rocks kicked up by the ocean, books from friends, and comfortable sweaters. She currently lives in Windsor, along with her husband and two cats.

Connect with Brittni Brinn:

Website: www.brittnibrinn.com

Facebook: Brittni Brinn @brittniinink

Instagram: @brittni_in_ink

Twitter: @brittni_in_ink

Blog: brittniinink.wordpress.com 

The Power of Stories of Hope by Dianna Gunn...

The world today is awash in grim dark fantasy and dystopian science fiction, and we're sure to see an even bigger surge in both genres now that we've entered the era of Trump and Brexit. I personally know half a dozen authors who have been inspired to write new dystopian stories, including myself 

Keeper of the Dawn, my debut YA fantasy novella, is a different kind of story. It is a story of hope. There are many struggles along the way, even periods of hopelessness, but in the end hope always returns.

I don't believe that the timing of my publication is a coincidence. Hope is incredibly precious, and stories of hope are more important now than they have ever been. It is so easy to feel hopeless about everything going on in the world, with governments and corporations working together to destroy our planet and steal our rights. Stories of hope, even fictional ones, help us imagine a brighter future for ourselves.

My wish is that Keeper of the Dawn will remind you there is always hope, even after devastating failures.

All Lai has ever wanted is to become a priestess, like her mother and grandmother before her, in service to her beloved goddess. That's before the unthinkable happens, and Lai fails the trials she's trained for her entire life. She makes the only choice she believes she can: she runs away.

From her isolated desert homeland, Lai rides north to the colder, stranger kingdom of Alanum – a land where magic, and female warriors, are not commonplace.

Here, she hears tales about a mountain city of women guardians and steel forgers, worshipping goddesses who sound very similar to Lai's own. Determined to learn more about these women, these Keepers of the Dawn, Lai travels onward to find their temple. She is determined to make up for her past failure, and will do whatever it takes to join the sacred order.

Falling in love with another initiate wasn't part of the plan.

Keeper of the Dawn is a story of new beginnings, second chances, and the endurance of hope.

EXCERPT

Lai practiced until well after dark, ignoring the call for supper. She tore a massive hole into one of the dummies with a training sword in her rage, but it didn’t make her feel better. She had spent most of her life training for this day, and Kaiden ruined it with a few words about their father.

Eventually she gave up and collapsed in a heap on the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest so she could rest her chin on them. She forced herself to breathe deeply, using all her willpower to push the rage into the ground. Bit by bit it drained into the soil around her, dispersing harmlessly.

She sat like that in the clearing until clouds engulfed the stars and rain started pouring, one of the last rains before the dry weeks of summer. Lifting the hood of her robes to cover her head, she rose and hurried towards the temple.

Her left foot caught on something and Lai flew through the air, losing her grip on her sword and landing face first in a puddle. Her nose shattered when it smashed into the tough ground, and when she grabbed it to feel the damage her hand came away covered in equal parts mud and blood. Her stomach churned as she picked herself back up, her whole body aching.

Something sharp pierced her back, tearing into her skin and muscles like sharp fire. She screamed and fell face first to the ground. She caught herself on her forearms, avoiding bashing her head against the rocky path.

Lai's attacker pulled the knife out of her shoulder. She screamed as warm blood flowed freely down her back, mixing with the rain. Fiery agony filled her body, blurring her vision. She gritted her teeth and flipped over to face her attacker.

She froze at the familiar sight of white robes with golden cuffs. Another initiate. Her hood hid her face completely.

Lai gathered her strength with a deep, ragged breath and reached for her training sword. The initiate kicked Lai in the back then stomped on her wrist, grinding bone under her boot, sending sharp waves of pain up Lai’s arm.

“You understand, it has to be me.”

Lai knew that voice, but she couldn’t focus on it through the pain, couldn’t remember who it was. 

The initiate seized a clump of Lai’s hair and yanked her head backwards. She knelt and raised her knife towards Lai’s exposed throat.

Something knocked the initiate into Lai’s back. Black spots appeared at the edges of her vision as agony surged outward from her wound. The other initiate didn’t move, suffocating Lai with her weight. Lai tried to lift herself up with her elbows, but a fresh wave of pain knocked the wind out of her. She col¬lapsed onto her stomach and closed her eyes, willing her body to die quickly.

 AMAZON BUY LINK

Dianna L. Gunn is a young Canadian author who just release her debut novella Keeper of the Dawn. Passionate, hopeful, magical Keeper of the Dawn is a story of new beginnings, second chances, and the endurance of hope.

Dianna L. Gunn is a freelance writer by day and a fantasy author by night. She had known she wanted to be a writer since she was eight years old. Dianna wrote her first novel for Nanowrimo at the age of eleven years old, but quickly discovered that writing books is not an easy way to make a living. So she decided to broaden her horizons, seeking another career that still allowed her to work with words.

Her freelance writing career started when she became a marketing intern at Musa Publishing(now defunct) in September 2011 and quickly became a staff writer in charge of multiple imprint blogs. Since then she has worked with a variety of small businesses and non-profits to improve their online brands and create long term marketing strategies. Some of her most notable work has been for the tech education non-profit STEAMLabs and natural dog care company ProPooch. She is dedicated to helping her clients build successful brands and making their dreams come true.

Need help creating awesome content for your business? Send an email to diannalgunn@gmail.com explaining what your needs are, and she will help you.

When she isn’t helping her clients bring their dreams to life, Dianna can be found working on her own dream of being a successful fantasy author.

Dianna blogs about writing, creativity, and books at The Dabbler. Learn more about Dianna on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Book Tour: Starter Zone; The Revelation Chronicles, Book 1 by Chris Pavesic...

Starter Zone

The Revelation Chronicles, Book 1

Chris Pavesic

Print Length: 219 pages

Publication Date: September 25, 2017

ASIN: B074YZ9JKB

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, LitRPG

Follow the tour to read reviews guest posts, exclusive excerpts, and spotlight posts:

https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/09/book-tour-schedule-starter-zone.html

About the Book:


When hydrologists inscribe the consciousness of a human mind onto a single drop of water, a Revelation sweeps the land. The wealthy race to upload their minds into self-contained virtual realities nicknamed Aquariums. In these containers people achieve every hope, dream, and desire. But governments wage war for control of the technology. Terrorist attacks cause massive destruction. The Aquariums fail.  Inscribed human minds leech into the water cycle, wreaking havoc.

Street gangs rule the cities in the three years since the fall of civilization. Sixteen-year-old Cami and her younger sister Alby struggle to survive. Every drop of untreated water puts their lives in peril. Caught and imprisoned by soldiers who plan to sell them into slavery, Cami will do anything to escape and rescue her sister. Even if it means leaving the real word for a life in the realms, a new game-like reality created by the hydrologists for the chosen few.

But life in the realms isn’t as simple as it seems. Magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as the sisters navigate their new surroundings. And they encounter more dangerous enemies than any they faced in the real world.

Time to play the game.

Bonus Recipe by Chris Pavesic

Join author Chris Pavesic in the virtual kitchen with this healthy Couscous Salad recipe and a sneak peek into her new novel, Starter Zone.

This recipe is a family favorite. Some like it when I make it with goat cheese while others prefer feta. The choice is yours. (I think both are equally delicious!)

Ingredients:

•    1/2 cup orange juice

•    1 1/2 cups water

•    2 cups plain couscous

•    1 cup dried cranberries

•    1 cup cubed peeled cucumber

•    1/4 cup chopped parsley

•    1/2 cup chopped green onion (scallion)

•    1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

•    2 tablespoons distilled vinegar (balsamic vinegar works too)

•    2 tablespoons honey

•    1 clove garlic, minced

•    1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta cheese)

•    1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (or toasted almonds slivered)

•    salt and pepper to taste

Materials:

•    Measuring spoon

•    Measuring cup

•    Saucepan

•    Small bowl

•    Large bowl

•    Fork

•    Small skillet

1.  Pour pine nuts into skillet and cook on medium heat.  Toast about 2 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent burning.  Set aside to cool.

2.  In a saucepan, bring the orange juice and water to a boil.  Stir in the couscous, cover; remove from heat and let stand for 5-7 minutes.  

3.  Transfer to a large bowl, and fluff with a fork.

4.  Add the cranberries, cucumber, parsley, and green onion, mixing well.

5.  In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, honey, and garlic.  

6.  Pour the dressing over the couscous, mixing well, and stir in the goat cheese and pine nuts, carefully tossing together.  

7.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

While you are enjoying this healthy salad, please take a moment to enjoy a glimpse into my new novel, Starter Zone, the first book of my new YA/LitRPG series, The Revelation Chronicles...

PROLOGUE

I was born into a world where silicone still ruled. Where the products of the earth outshone those of the sea. Integrated circuits ran all electronic equipment and scientists strove to make the conducting lines smaller and smaller. Silicon Valley tried, and failed, to make chips fast enough to upload human consciousness.

The Revelation came a few years later from the hydrologists. They designed a system that did not use silicone, but instead worked with water molecules. The hydrologists managed to imprint the consciousness of a human mind on a single drop of water.

The water was to be kept in self-contained, sealed aquariums—pure, undiluted, eternal—where virtual realities were constructed to meet every need and desire. All of human knowledge encoded and stored in literal pools of data and integrated with the drops of human consciousness. It was, the hydrologists claimed, utopia achieved.

The obscenely rich were the hydrologist’s first clients, many taken near the end of their lives. The procedure did not always work, but there were enough successes to spur people’s interest. People suffering from terminal illnesses volunteered to be inscribed, and the hydrologists worked and refined their process. Private companies formed and competition forced price wars. Hundreds of customers grew to thousands, and then to millions. There were landmark court cases arguing whether or not health insurance should cover the cost of the inscription—whether or not this was a medical procedure designed to save lives or a form of physician assisted suicide. The law struggled to decide if life ended when the body was drained to a dry, leathery husk, or if life continued inside those glowing, sealed aquariums.

I was thirteen when the governments seized control of the laboratories, first in the Eastern European countries. Then the labs of Europe and the Middle East were swallowed up. Terrorist attacks soon followed and destroyed most of the civilized world over the next three years. The United States, Canada, and Greece, those bastions of democracy, did not fall until the very end. Of course, by then no one cared whether or not the government or the private companies ran the uploading programs. Many of the aquariums ruptured in the strife and the droplets, imbued with human consciousness, re-entered the water cycle of the planet.

CHAPTER ONE

As the sun hovers near the horizon, ready to dip below and plunge the world into darkness, the weather changes for the worse. Clouds gather. Peeking out my window and over the outline of rooftops in the distance is what looks like thunderheads moving toward me in the invisible polluted gusts of wind.

I try not to think about the coming storm as I methodically pull on my boots and zip up my jacket. It is supposed to be waterproof, but I would not risk going out in anything above a light drizzle. Water has a way of seeping through even the best defenses. There’s also a lining that’s overly warm for a summer evening. I’m already sweating and the discomfort adds to my nerves.

I check the hunting knife strapped to my left leg. It was one of the first weapons purchased for me by my dad back when the sporting goods stores were still open for business. He didn’t think I was ready to handle a handgun at thirteen, but he taught me to shoot a rifle in the open fields by our house, helping me hold the weapon steady until I grew strong enough to support the weight. Now, three years later, I have a handgun, a Ruger semi-automatic, but bullets are scarce and loud noises are problematic. My small ammo stash sits in the bottom of my backpack next to the gun.

Instead of the gun, I carry an extra-light crossbow as my go-to weapon. I can hand-make the bolts so I don’t worry about running out of ammunition and the shot is relatively silent. I carry the spare bolts in a quiver strapped to my right leg. It’s awkward when running, but I can draw the bolts fast when needed.

My little sister, Alby, has loaded her own backpack. I lift it to test the weight and then pull a few things out. I place them in my own pack without comment. I help her position the lighter pack over her shoulders, tightening the straps so that it will stay balanced. She always tries to do more than she should, but I don’t like the way her face has a perpetual pinched, strained look or the deep shadows under her eyes. She looks far older than her seven years. This scares me more than everything else and that fear threatens to register on my face. I force myself to stay calm.

I check her raincoat and boots, making sure everything fits snugly. I help Alby pull up the hood of her coat, tucking in a strand of dark hair that has escaped her ponytail. As frightened as she is, she manages to give me a smile. I smile back, trying to present a brave front. As my dad used to say, “fake it till you make it.”  Over the last few years, I’ve been faking confidence more and more often for Alby’s sake.

“Ready to go?” I ask with all the false cheer I can muster in my voice. I take one last glance over the motel room that had served as a temporary home for the last few days, looking for anything that we might have left behind. The room is swept clean. No trace whatsoever that we had ever been there.

Alby nods. “Ready, Cami.”

“If we get separated, remember to keep going north,” I say. “Follow the road till you get to the park, then take the walking paths. No matter what happens, keep going. Stop when you get to the Stone River. I’ll meet you at the bridge in the center of the park where we used to feed the ducks, okay?”

She nods again, looking up at me with those dark eyes so full of trust. I hug her, because if we do get separated, there isn’t much hope we will ever see each other again. I need to keep up the pretense of hope, though, because that’s all we have to keep us going.

Stone River Park is at the very limits of the city and the area surrounding it is relatively unpopulated. I figure that once we are out of the city, our chances of survival will dramatically increase. After reaching the park, we can follow the Stone River north. There’s bound to be deserted houses in the country and less chance that any of the gangs would be interested in the meager pickings outside of the city. We might even be able to find a place to stay before winter.

I crack open the door of our motel room. It is still light enough to stain everything with graying shades of color. The setting sun casts long shadows between the buildings, so I depend more upon my ears to find signs of other humans. I hear no motorcycle engines and no voices, only the wind, blowing and moaning, and the far-off call of a bird. The coming storm appears to have cleared the streets. They are deserted except for empty, crashed vehicles abandoned in every lane.

Alby and I had been lucky to reach the motel a few days ago. The single-story building is on the outskirts of the main town and catered to big rig truck drivers and other traffic from the interstate. I had found the skeleton key in the motel office after climbing in through the bathroom window. Alby and I spent the nights scouring every room for supplies.

No one had broken into it before we got there. Too many other rich targets to go around. But inside each room was a mini-fridge filled with snacks. Even though the electricity had been turned off, the chocolates and small bags of honey-coated nuts were edible. The tiny bottles of alcoholic beverages in each fridge did not seem useful, but I kept a few. They might be helpful in starting a fire someday when we made it outside the city. We even discovered coffee filters and a small bottle of chlorine bleach—a major score for treating our drinking water. 

If I hadn’t spent days secretly peering out the dark windows of the motel, I might believe my sister and I were the last two people left on earth. But I know that out there, behind the ruined buildings and boarded-up windows, there are at least a few pairs of eyes whose owners would kill us without a second thought. My eyes flick toward the two bodies hanging from the traffic lights in the nearby intersection. They hadn’t been moved. Good.

     The daytime usually belongs to looter-gangs, each with spray-can marked territories in bright displays of color that start on the buildings and drip down toward the pavement. The gangs wear something marked as well, usually a jacket or bandanna that will stand out from a distance. The snipers hole up in their nests and target anyone who encroaches on their gang’s territory. They particularly looked for members of other factions trying to increase their terrain.

Paint tags don’t show up well after dark, though, so the gangs have started leaving their victims as warnings to others not to encroach on their holding. These bodies have been hanging undisturbed in the intersection for several days, indicating a lack of activity in the area. I can only hope that the gangs have moved inward, toward the center of the city and more supply-rich targets.

No one is ever going to catch the murderers, or the ones who strung up the bodies like macabre trophies, and put them in jail. They’ll just go on and do it again and again. Like animals in the jungle—except that animals are not cruel.

We were lucky to go unmolested by the local gangs. Heaven knows we don’t look like we have much of anything, and we don’t look threatening, but that will only last for so long. Someday someone will try to kill us, possibly for no other reason than wanting to watch us die. The whole world, it seems, is at war, and no one is on my side except Alby. We only have each other.

A streak of lightning splits the sky almost directly overhead, making me wince. It is followed by a heavy clap of thunder. As frightening as it is, the bad weather is to our advantage. No one wants to be caught outside in the rain. Everyone is more afraid of fresh, untreated water and what it can do than they are of each other. But I believe we can make it out of the area and to shelter before the rain poses any danger.

In fact I’m betting our lives on it.

Purchase Links:

Amazon

http://amzn.to/2wyFos0

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/starter-zone-chris-pavesic/1127125956?ean=2940158707476

Meet the Author:

Chris Pavesic lives in the Midwestern United States and loves Kona coffee and all types of speculative fiction. Between writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening, working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with friends. She blogs on www.chrispavesic.com and Tweets @chrispavesic 

Book Blog Tour: STORMDANCER by Joshua Pantalleresco...

The Storm is here...

About Stormdancer:

Days after the events featured in The Watcher, the Watcher is taken hostage by a dragon, leaving Kristen, Will and Nicki alone in a strange new world. With no choice but to try and rescue their friend, Kristen and the others must travel through ancient cities, forgotten burial grounds, and eventually into the heart of the great storm.

Faced with the unknown, will they be able to traverse the storms that stand before them as well as ones within their own hearts?

Book Details:

Title: Stormdancer (Sequel to The Watcher)

Author Name:  JoshuaPantalleresco

Genre(s): Poetry, Sci-Fi, Dystopian

Tags: Poetry, Epic, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, science-fiction, dragons

Length: Approx. 104 pages

E-book:  978-0-9947490-4-8
Paperback:  978-0-9947490-3-1

Release Date: October 1, 2015

Publisher:  Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)

Appropriate for all ages from Young Adult to Adult.

Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, and Reviews:

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/blog-tour-schedule-stormdancer-sequel.html

Guest Post:Why Joshua Pantalleresco Writes

So before we begin, I want to thank Sharon for having me. She's secretly a unicorn, and that story will have to be told some other day, but she's a kind, sweet lady and it was a pleasure to be asked to come here and write. 

I am going to write about my books, why I wrote them, and the lessons you can learn from them.  Stormdancer is book two of the Watcher Saga. In it, the Watcher, the main character from book one is kidnapped leaving Kristin, Nicki, and Will to chase him down. The journey is improbable and fantastic and in my opinion the kind of magic a good story creates.

I want to talk about some of the themes of the story. In particular, dealing with grief and changes.  Because entering into this book, I was left in a quandry. The Watcher was the Watcher's story; about his journey to discovering who he was, and more importantly, what he wanted to be. This wasn't the Watcher's story anymore. It is the first line in book two. 

“This is not my story anymore.”

That was deliberate, conscious line that illustrated the problems I had starting book two. I wanted to flesh out the characters I introduced at the end of book one, yet I didn't want to lose the strong presence the Watcher had in book one.

So who were the three kids I rescued? I chose Kristin as the main character in book two. They had just gone through the loss of everything they knew. Kristin represented that tragedy. Losing a family.

It parallels my own story. Not that I lost my whole family, but my whole family situation collapsed at a very young age. My mom and dad fell apart and I remember that when I was younger it was like my fault. Why did two people I love have to do this? Why did things have to change? It messed me up. I tried to tell myself I was over this pain of not having this unit in my life. I ran away from home at one point because of the pain.

I was very fortunate. I had two teachers look after me. One of them a principal, and the other was my grade four teacher. I was her last class. We didn't make the greatest impression, but to my surprise, she was there for me when I least expected it.

That's Kristin in chapter three. She was happy in her life – it was all she knew. And that turmoil is expressed very much in all her actions for the first half of the book. She has become my favorite character to write in the saga so far. Watching her rise above her own stuff was a vicarious experience.

I had to learn at a young age that life was a struggle. A lot of kids have their childhoods end a lot sooner than maybe they should. I thought the three kids had been through hell, and it was just beginning.   Making them grow up happened to me.

The silver lining going through grief is that people come together. Family isn't just blood. It's the people you go through things with, that are there with you through thick and thin. Going back to the very beginning, it wasn't just the Watcher's story anymore. It was about the kids, and going through their own fires, and becoming closer for it.

So if you are a kid reading Sharon's blog, I hope this book teaches you to be brave. I'm not going to lie to you; life is hard. Chances are you have gone through some painful things and are probably stronger and braver than I was ever was. I'm not going to make you a promise that it'll get any easier. What I can tell you though, is that you can overcome. The big secret that most adults don't even know is that if you believe you can do it, you can. You are strong and powerful and can do anything.

But I'm also going to say that there are people who are there for you no matter what. People that believe in you. They will be there when you fall, and they will be there to help you rise. They are the people worth being with. 

Read an Excerpt:

STORMS WITHIN

he ran

disappearing into the night

leaving us all alone

we tried to follow him

but were unsure of the trees and trails

we went slowly

we knew something had happened

when we found his blades in the forest

blackened and alone

he had come

like a force of nature

wrecking our lives

in the name of freedom

freedom from what?

the hollow embers and ashes we found

I didn't build them

those ruins were his story

not mine

never mine

I...was happy

yeah, I was happy

is there something wrong with that?

my parents loved me

I didn't care about anything else

the dragons were bastards

but I understood the game

the moves that could be made

with one flick of a blade

he changed all that

shattered the illusion with a roar of rebellion

now my life is here

in this forest

now he had vanished into the night

leaving me abandoned

leaving everything in shambles!

Purchase Links:

Amazon
http://amzn.to/1jjBlnY

Mirror World Publishing
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/stormdancer-e-book

Meet the Author:

Joshua Pantalleresco writes stuff. It's even on his business card. This is a succinct way of saying that in addition to writing poetry, he also does interviews, columns, comics, prose and anything possible with the written word. When he isn't writing, he's playing with podcasts, filming stuff, fiddling with alternative medicine, travelling, talking to people and pretending he is a rockstar. Stormdancer is his second book through Mirror World Publishing. He lives in Calgary.