Dragonspell Review

 Today I'm reviewing Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

 From the back cover:  One Dragon Egg Holds the Key to the Future.

Once a slave, Kale is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. Yet this young girl has much to learn about the difference between slavery and service.

A Desperate Search Begins…

A small band of Paladin’s servants rescue Kale from danger but turn her from her destination: The Hall, where she was to be trained. Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the meech dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto. First, she and her comrades must find Wizard Fenworth. But their journey is threatened when a key member of the party is captured, leaving the remaining companions to find Fenworth, attempt an impossible rescue, and recover the egg whose true value they have not begun to suspect…

 ~To be honest, when I first got this book I wasn't sure about it. I'm not a big fan of wizards, and a lot of magic stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised with Dragonspell. The action begins immediately, and draws you in. Mrs. Paul did an excellent job weaving in the story world's history, and helping the reader understand about the seven high races, and seven low.

 The plot was intriguing in itself, though there are many stories about dragons, and eggs and such. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the author gave each a distinct, unique personality. That said, Kale herself doesn't always seem to be the most interesting of characters at times, but her struggle, and where she came from help her along.

 So the plot was engaging, hardly slowed, the characters lovable, and at times hilarious, and the intertwining message about Jesus (Paladin in the book) and God's (Wulder) love for us, and greater plan make this book a worthy, and believable read. You will also be delighted by two small dragons, and their adorable antics. If you're looking for a good summer fantasy that has roots in the right place, check out Dragonspell. You won't be disappointed. I would rate this book **** four stars :)

 Don't believe me? Read the first chapter here, and join the adventure! http://www.scribd.com/doc/36423154/DragonSpell-by-Donita-K-Paul-Chapter-1

 and when you're ready to get the book, you can purchase it here: http://www.amazon.com/DragonSpell-Dragon-Keepers-Chronicles-Book/dp/1578568234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342731618&sr=8-1&keywords=Dragonspell

 I hope this review was helpful to you! God bless!

Blue Moon Promise Giveaway

Rachelle Rea is being very nice and hosting another book giveaway on her blog: Inspiring Daring! This time it's for Colleen Coble's book Blue Moon Promise. I really enjoy Mrs. Coble's books, and I'm sure you will too! Check out the giveaway here: http://www.rachellerea.com/2012/07/blue-moon-promise-by-colleen-coble-book.html

:D

Interview With Wayne Thomas Batson

 Today, I'm happy to announce an interview with Wayne Thomas Batson, the bestselling author of the Door Within Trilogy, Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire, The Berinfell Prophecies, The Sword in The Stars, and The Errant King. It's great to have you here today, Mr. Batson! Or Sir Batson! ;)

How long have you been writing? Since the 6th grade, but professionally since 2005.

Did you ever think you wanted to be a published author before you became one? Sure did. I even wrote in my high school yearbook dedication that my future plans were to be an author. BUT, I don't know if I ever really believed it could happen.

Can you tell us where you got the inspiration for some of your books?God. Seriously, He is the creator, and He's made us in His image. I thoroughly believe that my best ideas come from Him. I'll take credit for the lame ones! lol  God made me a curious fellow, and I'm always thinking about what would happen "IF"? And that often gets a story rolling in my mind.

What is your favorite part about the writing process? Two favorites: 1) I love the creative rush, that moment where all kinds of cool story ideas or scene ideas come flooding into my mind, and it's all I can do to get them down before I forget. 2) I absolutely LOVE reading my stories to readers. I get into it with strange accents and drama. Too much fun to see the expressions on kids' faces.

 Is the publishing process different then you first imagined? Wow. Yes. I could write a book on how different. And honestly, traditional publishing is broken. I am amazed at how poorly authors are compensated for their work. All that is changing now though with the advent of eBooks forcing publishers to adapt or disappear.

Can you tell us how long it took for your first book to be published? Thirteen years from idea to book. But a lot of living life happened during those years.

Why are you inspired to write the genre you write? Fantasy inspired my love of reading. It is the most creative of all fiction genres because the author gets to make up everything.

How does your belief in God help you in writing new novels, and how does it affect your writing? See above. God is the reason I am alive. By Him all things were created and all things are held together--including me. So, as I write, I am very mindful and purposeful to make sure the quality of my work will glorify God.

You've co-authored two books, and are working on a third with Christopher Hopper. How does it compare to writing on your own?It's quite a bit different. I love Sir Christopher, one of my best friends in the world. But the process is difficult. Just getting schedules to match up so we can talk, revise, outline...really makes for obstacles. We use iChat quite a bit and Scrivener, and those help quite a bit.

Of all the books you've written, which is  your personal favorite? Who is your favorite character? Ah, that is a tough one. I'd have to say The Errant King is my favorite right now, but that changes with each book that I write. Some of my favorite characters are: Captain Valithor, Mallik, Falon, Anne Ross, Jacques St. Pierre, Migmar, Sprye, and Alastair Coldhollow.

Is there anything you know about writing now, that you wished you knew when working on your first book? See above about the business aspects of being an author.

How do you deal with criticism about you books? (I love them! No criticism here :D) Better now than I used to. It's hard when someone blasts your book because you've poured so much time and energy into it. These days, I tend to take all reviews with a grain of salt. The best reviews are the ones that tell me one of my books has led someone closer to God in some way.

Lately, some of your books have been moving into the older teen/adult age range. Was this a conscious decision, or did you simply have a story adult audiences would enjoy more? And will you be writing more YA? Funny that you noticed that. I'm not sure if it was a conscious decision. But in some ways, I think I've just come to appreciate the freedom in writing for older audiences, the ability to explore deeper issues and not have to candy coat certain things. And yes, I will write for younger audiences again. I have tons of things coming soon, including Focus on the Family's Imagination Station books. 2 of those!

Can you tell us anything about upcoming projects?

1) Berinfell Prophecies #3: The Tide of Unmaking will be out in a couple of months.
2) GHOST: written for older teens and adults, a supernatural thriller
3) Dark Sea book #3 (not yet titled) due out in November
4) a whole assortment of short stories coming out on eBook format. Can't wait to let all my readers see these!

Most of the readers of this blog are young writers. What advice can you give us? Seriously? Read. But read like a scientist. Analyze everything. Did you like that last chapter? Why? What makes you want to know what will happen next? Why do you like that character? Did you smile at a certain bit of description? Why? What can you learn from each and every author?


Is there anything else you'd like to say? :)

There is one thing, and those who've read my Door Within books will know this already. But I remember how turbulent my teen years were. Emotions and experiences are so intense. But please, please remember, even when everything stinks; other kids are mean; parents don't make sense; life seems like it's just going into the toilet....remember, you are Never Alone.

Thanks so much for having me on!

 And we thank Mr. Batson for giving us some great answers! I hope his career continues. If you haven't heard of him, or his books, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? Go check him out! Blog: http://www.enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/

 God bless!

 Bethany 

~~~~~

 (I borrowed this photo from Mr. Batson.)







Comment below with your thoughts!

Character Interview - Elric

 Hello everyone! Today I've decided to introduce you to Elric, my  MC in my novel. Instead of going into a long history on this character (you'll get enough of that in the book :P) I've decided to just introduce ya'll the him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Me: Good afternoon Elric!

Elric: Hello

Me: You don't sound very excited, do you?

Elric: Did you expect anything different?

Me: Moving on... What are you doing today? And how old are you?

Elric: Currently I'm on a picnic, which you so rudely took me from. I'm seventeen years.

Me: Oh, and who were you picnicking with?

Elric: Just a girl from the village. Her name is Anya.

Me: Anya, eh? *grins* And just what is your opinion of Anya?

Elric: She's smart. She knows her poetry. She's very... lovely. But why am I telling you this?

Me: Because I told you to! So there!

Elric: That's not very nice.

Me: Deal with it, buddy.  So, why are you in the village of Redge?

Elric: *stares*

Me: Well???

Elric: It's a bit confidential

Me: Seriously? I wrote all about it! I know the confidential stuff! I know everything about you! I know the thoughts that go through your brain right when you think them! I CREATED YOU!

Elric: That was... disturbing. Fine. I'm here to find... a traitor.

Me: Really? How do you know the person you're looking for is a traitor?

Elric: *puts head in hands* I'm not sure! I don't know what to do!

Me: Well don't break down on me right now!

Elric: Ahem. Sorry about that. I'm just really confused. All these strange thoughts keep going through my mind, and I don't know where they're coming from!

Me: *snicker* I do.

Elric: Do you think it's part of the illness of...

Me: Hush up! That's not supposed to be revealed yet! And the answer is no, Elric. You're fine. Poor, tortured boy. But answer the question without breaking down.

Elric: I don't know what I believe. But I suppose I might as well do what I've been ordered. At least I won't be imprisoned, or killed. When I'm king I can change things.

Me: Isn't it better to try to change things now?

Elric: What? I mean, what can I do? I'm just a scrawny, unloved prince! No one respects me, nobody thinks I can do anything!

Me: What about your manservant, Winson.

Elric: Well, Winston is just one person. If no one else supports me, what can I do?

Me: I have a feeling that more people support you then you think. What about Anya?

Elric: *looks at me curiously* What about Anya?

Me: You said she was erm lovely?

Elric: Yes.

Me: *giggle* You like her don't you?!

Elric: Like? Well, yes she's a nice person.

Me: You LOVE her.

Elric: Excuse me. I don't wish to speak of this.

Me: *huff* Fine. Who's ordering you to find the "traitor"

Elric: Well, my father, the king.

Me: And what do you think of your father?

Elric: He's my father, he's the king! I have to do as he says.

Me: Or else?

Elric: Well yes. But you shouldn't say anything bad about him. He might hear you.

Me: Please. He can't do anything. So what are you going to do later?

Elric: I suppose I'll search for information regarding the traitor. Though I really don't want to...

Me: Oh you will. And a lot of other things will happen to you to, but we'll leave it for now. I might interview you again, later, when you're in different circumstances. Enjoy your picnic.

Elric: Thank you. I think... For all I know you might have someone attack us!

Me: *Laughs nervously* Well, have a good day! Goodbye!

Elric: Goodbye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 And that's all for Elric's interview, for now. I know, it doesn't tell you too much. But that's kinda the point. :D

 Ask any questions or just leave a reply in the comments!

 Thanks for reading!

~ Bethany

Something Exciting

Hi everyone! Just writing a short post here to let you know of something really exciting that will be happening in a couple days! Make sure to check every now and again to see who I'm interviewing. I'm really excited about it. I won't tell you anything else, cause I want to surprise everyone, but for me it's a big deal.

 I'm working away at my  novel, but haven't had much time in the past few days. Ah well, it's going to get done! Whoo!

 I still have to post about film camp day 2, but I don't think I have time to do that right now! Bummer!

 Coming soon are also character interviews, and some more exciting bits for you to be able to see into my story!

 I also signed up to review some books! Whoo hoo! Free books! :D

 Our youth camp is coming up, starting July 6, and going through the 10, so there won't be any movement from me during that time on here. I'm super excited to see what the Lord will do through camp!

 Thanks for reading this short, rambling post. God bless!

 Bethany

Beautiful People Evil Edition

Okay. I know I promised to write about Film Camp day 2, and I'm hoping to get to it, but since I believe I can get this up quicker... I'm going to post this. Even though it's way behind the date your supposed to stop, I've decided to take part in Kylie's at Further Up and Further In beautiful people project. It's where you answer questions about your characters. I've decided to try the "evil edition." Bwahahahaha. Since my book involves more then one evil character, (my poor MC!) I'm just going to do one for now. I'm going to choose Rath, Elric's father.

 1. What is their motive? King Rath's motive is to have the entire kingdom under his will, no one disagreeing in any form. He also sees those who worship the One as challenging him.

2. What are they prepared to do to get what they want? Anything. He has executed many people, including several of his top generals who he suspected were plotting against him.

3. Are they evil to the core, or simply misunderstood? Eh. This is a hard question. Villain's are usually villains because they're bad. Everyone has a choice in the actions they take. But Rath suffers from a mental illness that has been eating at him since the death of his oldest son. It makes him think that the entire world is against him, and he trusts no one.

4. What was their past like? What about their childhood? Was there one defining moment that made them embrace their evil ways? He grew up in the palace. Everyone knew he would be a strong king from the beginning. He married young, and had three sons, until the day his oldest boy was killed in a tragic accident which lit the fuse on his illness.

5. Now that they’re evil, have they turned their back on everyone, or is there still someone in their life that they care for? (Brother? Daughter? Love interest? Mother? Someone who is just as evil as they are?) King Rath has a special place in his heart for his youngest son, Arran, who is a lot like him in physical ability, and in some respects, his wife.

6. Do they like hugs? He does not trust anyone enough to hug them... usually.

7. Are they plagued by something? (Nightmares, terrible thoughts?) He is plagued by the illness which puts thoughts in his head that everyone is against him.

8. Who are they more similar to: Gollum or Maleficent? Maleficent

9. If your villain could have their choice of transportation what would it be? King's carriage

10. If you met your villain in the street, how afraid would you be? Are they evil enough to kill their creator?  Oh, I believe so!

 So what do ya'll think? Sound like someone you'd want to read about?

Giveaway

Inspiring Daring is giving away a book by Lisa T. Bergren on her blog. Check it out here: http://www.rachellerea.com/2012/06/tributary-by-lisa-t-bergren-review-and.html?spref=bl