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Monday, January 30, 2017

Battlementals: Quest for the Harmonicon Review




Chase Freeman is a boy with a heart for adventure stuck living in dull Drifter Flats. The only exciting thing that ever happens in his small town is Eclipse Day and even that isn’t enough for Chase—until he sees the strange ball of light streaking across the sky. Enlisting his best friend Jordan, her little brother Luke, and Harlan the smartest boy in school, they follow the light to an American Indian medicine circle. Drawn into the middle of it, the four friends are suddenly teleported to the Battlementals dimension along with the school bully Brendan and his friend Lena. 

Once there, they find an elemental people desperate for them to accept the grand quest to save the universe. A deadly alliance has pulled it out of balance and, soon, everything will vanish altogether. Friends and enemies will have to find a way to work together to assemble the Harmonicon, defeat the Salt Giant, and find their own undiscovered abilities that will help them complete their quest. But when dark secrets are put in the wrong hands, their mission unravels and time is quickly running out. As the universe systematically starts to disappear, Chase and his friends race to put all the elements they’ve gathered together, but will it be too late to save it?






This book was a quick and enjoyable read. It was easy to get into and relate to the characters. The dynamic of relationships is what you would expect with a few fun and surprising twists. I was eager to see how each of the characters would work with their elements and what they would face because of them. I even wanted to kick a few when I realized how stupid they were being but they couldn't see it. When the book was over I was surprised at how quickly I had read it because it moves along as such a good pace it was easy to just keep turning pages. I definitely enjoyed it and I'm excited to see what is next from this author.





RANDY LINDSAY is a world traveler. Which sounds impressive until you realize the worlds he visits exist only in his mind and on the pages of his novels. He claims to prefer this method of sightseeing because he can stop at any time, go to the kitchen, and indulge his ice cream addiction. When he isn't busy making things up he likes going to movies with his wife to watch what other people have made up and plays board games with his children who are in the habit of making up the rules as they go along. 

Battlementals: Quest for the Harmonicon is Randy's third published book and the first in a series of stories that take place in the Battlemental universe. He switched to writing full time in 2011 and has had two novels published through Bonneville Books.

His journey as an author has been an exciting one, full of unexpected discoveries. One of those being the decision to focus more of his writing on middle-grade fantasy. The fact that the style feels more natural to Randy might be an indication that he is really just a kid at heart.


The second unexpected discovery was that he enjoyed marketing. Book signings, writing workshops, and podcasts about storytelling all gave him opportunities to discuss what he loves with others who share the same interest. This combined with the decision to write middle-grade stories led to his development of C.A.S.T. (a program intended to show children and teens how to incorporate storytelling into their everyday lives). 



Connect with the Author here: 



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Saturday, January 28, 2017

Stenibelle!



We are excited to welcome back author Ren Garcia and this installment of the League of Elder books!


THE 3rd TURN OF THE SHADOW TECH GODDESS

 The quest of Paymaster Stenstrom spans the planes, taking a bizarre turn in the 3rd universe, as there he is not an affluent man but a woman in desperate circumstances. Lady Stenibelle is imprisoned for her role in the Seeker Affair, is penniless, and her House of Belmont-South Tyrol is on the verge of extinction. Her spirit broken, Stenibelle is resigned to perform her sentence without fuss, do as she is told, and fade away in obscurity. However, fate is not yet finished with her. Stenibelle is in the gaze of hidden benefactors with ulterior motives. People claiming to be her dear friends come forward, yet she does not know them. The Quests of the Shadow tech Goddess proceed, and she must discover the hero that lies within or face total oblivion. The disgraced 30th daughter of the House of Belmont will either be the final stake driven into its dying heart, or the ray of light that comes to save it and all else that follows.






Let's take a look at some of the scenes from this book!!









Ren Garcia is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author and Texas native who grew up in western Ohio. He has been writing since before he could write, often scribbling alien lingo on any available wall or floor with assorted crayons. He attended The Ohio State University and majored in English Literature. Ren has been an avid lover of anything surreal since childhood, he also has a passion for caving, urban archeology and architecture. His highly imaginative "League of Elder" book series is published by Loconeal Publishing

  



Connect with the Author here: 

Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon ~



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



101 Ways to Stay Off the IRS Radar





Abby Eisenkraft is the CEO of Choice Tax Solutions Inc.   She is a federally licensed Enrolled Agent (EA), an Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA), Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP) and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC).

Abby started her career in tax as a preparer, and quickly gained a reputation for successfully dealing with difficult tax problems, including those previously unsolvable by other tax professionals.  She currently specializes in tax controversy cases such as federal and state tax audits, non-filer cases, residency audits, international matters, etc.

Abby is passionate about defending taxpayer’s rights before the IRS and State Taxing Authorities.  She is a speaker on various tax and financial topics, a consultant (specializing in the self-employed), and is often quoted in the press as a tax and financial expert.


Connect with the Author here: 


Abby Eisenkraft is one of America’s leading experts on IRS problems - and how to prevent them. Informative, slightly irreverent, and definitely not your typical IRS guide, this tax pro shares her experiences in the tax trenches, defending her clients against the IRS. Learn from the mistakes of others, and save time, money and grief.




Snippet: 

Abby says -- No need to fear the IRS!  Arm yourself with knowledge.  Tax Pro Abby Eisenkraft takes you through 101 mistakes NOT to make - save yourself time, money and grief.


To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Monday, January 16, 2017

Review and Book Tour for Hunt of the Fallen





Ralin is an outsider among outsiders. The dominant Users, who can manipulate their souls to create unique and powerful abilities, shun him for his lack of inborn talent. And even among his fellow exiles, he must hide his past. On the very day that he finds a lasting purpose for his life, everything is turned completely upside down.

Wanted by the government, pursued by monsters and mercenaries, and plagued by strange nightmares, the young man must travel beyond everything he has ever known to discover what is so important about him to cause such powerful people want him as an ally, or want him dead. To survive, Ralin and his allies will be pushed to the limit as they battle rock monsters, traitors, the undead, and even Ralin himself.







This Author did a great job of creating a world that is absolutely all his own. Creatures came to life from his imagination, to the page, and into my mind as I read. It was easy to get sucked in once the world building was set down, giving us a place to run into the adventure. I loved the twists and the ability of the author to keep us guessing. This was not a predictable plot and it was fun to discover along the way. I felt the characters were relate-able and easy to like.
I did find it interesting to discover this darkness in the main character - not in a bad way, but rather in the way that in all stories we know that there is good and bad inside people, and in stories like this - when you expect the character to come into their magic abilities -  you expect it to be good. In this story, we are not sure that his abilities will make him good. So there is that question of "do we want him to gain his abilities ... or don't we?" And I love that question. It's so unique.
I do love that the author tied up this stories but left the wider, overall story line open for the next installment of the book. And I am excited to read that next book too. I do recommend this. It is  probably more of a YA book - even though it starts tame it does get more detailed for battles & danger and it's not always pretty. But I really liked it!


R.A. Zaugg (1982-still kicking) was born in Ogden, Utah, to long-time Utahan parents as the first of their brood. His childhood was filled with fun, friends, and family values that have made him who he is today. His first novel "Hunt of the Fallen" began on sticky notes as he worked in a gas station, and was the spark that lit the fire of storytelling. With a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing, he is now working on his master's degree. He currently lives in Washington State with his wife and step-son.


Connect with the Author here: 



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page