Would you rather hear your parents do the deed or put up with Khloe hitting on the guys again?
Jason: What the actual f*#%? Why would you ask that? Asher: *retches* You’re triggering some serious shit here, I hope you know that. Cameron: No way, you heard them go at it? Asher: Dude, not cool! Jason: Seriously, can we move on? I just can’t…
Would you rather wake up and find you had three-inch-long eyelashes or go to bed without lips?
Asher: Oh my god, where are you getting these questions? *explodes with laughter*
I’m old enough for that to be romantic and adorable before reading Kelly Anne Blount’s and Lynn Rush’s In The Penalty Box.
After a horrendous injury, Willow Covington is home nursing her wounds. She’s doing what she can to work her way back to the Olympic Figure Skating Team she was on before getting hurt. It just isn’t going well. Going to open ice time at the local ice rinks is giving her practice and keeping her sane.
Title: House of Bastiion (The Haidren Legacy #1) Author: K.L. Kolarich Genre: YA/NA High Fantasy/ Adventure Release Date: 19 January 2021
Summary:
BEHIND THE MASK OF DUTY AND POWER, NO ONE IS WHO THEY SEEM…
Centuries after the Forgotten Wars ravaged the world and turned it to ash, the Houses of Pilar, Darakai, Boreal, and Bastiion forged an accord with the royal line of Thoarne, founding a Quadren of advisory to the throne of Orynthia. Every generation, a single Haidren from each of the four Houses is appointed to this coveted chair.
Upon her Ascension to adulthood, Luscia Tiergan takes her seat at court as al’Haidren to the House of Boreal and is quickly drawn into a maze of political traps and dark secrets. As she adjusts to her new life, Luscia uncovers a pattern of forgotten children, slain in the streets of Bastiion.
Raised on superstitious rumors about Boreal’s penchant for sorcery, Zaethan Kasim, al’Haidren to the House of Darakai, inevitably clashes with Lusica when she arrives in Bastiion. But when his position is threatened by an old rival, Zaethan is forced to set aside his hatred and form an uneasy alliance with the Boreali al’Haidren to secure his claim.
Following a disturbing stream of innocent bloodshed across Orynthia, Luscia and Zaethan discover their ideals are far more aligned than they might have imagined. But in a land of war and deceit, the path to peace should never be trusted.
Title: The Claires (An Ascenders Novel) Author: C.L. Gaber Genre: YA, Paranormal My rating: 5 of 5 stars
C.L. Gaber’s The Claires is probably not where I was supposed to start the Ascenders series. But I did start it here, and I’m not mad about it.
The Claires are four sisters who were first born in 1911. The quadruplets each have an extraordinary power: Claire V is clairvoyant; she is clear seeing of the future. Claire S is clairsentient; she has an exact feeling of others’ emotions, Clair A is clairaudient; she is clear hearing and can tap into the spirit realm, and Clair C is Claircognizant, which is clear all-knowing. Every lifetime they die on their seventeenth birthday only to be reborn two months later for the cycle to begin again.
In the year 2013, the girls are sixteen and pre-planning their upcoming seventeenth birthday. This time they are hoping to break the curse finally. They’ve lived this entire life differently and are hoping that it will make a difference.
I have read that you have received a good deal of negative feedback because you named a female main character after yourself. I think it’s brilliant, and haters gonna hate. What was your thinking there? Why did you want to name her after you? And how much of Janie, the character, is you? Ooh, those are loaded questions. This is going to be a lengthy response! To properly explain, I have to give a lot of background. I originally drafted this story on Wattpad a few years ago. I had no idea it would become so successful—it had over 24 million reads before I pulled the incomplete draft. So I was not prepared for the attacks that came from the instant Team Kylie readers. They didn’t care about the fact that Jane, Janie’s G&M form, was named after me because I was trying to heal myself. When I decided to write G&M, I was grieving my best friend’s death, my marriage was falling apart, and I was suffering from severe depression, anxiety, PTSD from sexual abuse and other traumatic stuff, and learning to cope with a Bipolar Disorder diagnosis. All they cared about was “this is Kylie’s story… get over yourself.” They didn’t care about anything I was actually doing—only that they wanted Kylie and Logan, and it was wrong of me to shove myself down their throats. Or to give myself the hottest guy. Lol.
Anyway, it was my late friend, Tifani, who told me on the day we found out she wasn’t going to survive that I needed to share my story. After writing the first chapter as a sort of memoir/horror story, I chickened out. Then I saw Jane in my mind. She was me, but also not. I gave her part of my soul, my name(Janie is a diminutive of Jane), and I gave her every bit of sorrow, fear, pain, but also happiness, my hopes, and my heart. I still almost changed her name, but it felt wrong to ask another to suffer what she would. Together, we pulled each other through the journeys we were on. She gave me strength and I made her fight harder to show me I could survive. When it came time to writing WAotBBW, she was meant to be there for reasons readers will find out. And on her first appearance in the book, I wrote Janie instead of Jane. I hit backspace, but she appeared in my mind, shaking her head at me. Her boys did the same, and I realized she was telling me to be braver, be greater. To truly not hide anymore and embrace myself. After all, the story I was telling with WAotBBW is my way of speaking to my daughter and the continued path of healing I was undertaking for myself. So even with the insults, the threats, and plagiarism I held strong. I couldn’t turn my back on my girl. So Janie is my acceptance that I’m a very flawed girl. I’m one that can be hated and admired. I can be broken and healed. I can be brave and I am always loved. Never forgotten.
For people who aren’t familiar with your book, what genre is Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Lol it’s all over the place. I mainly consider it A Coming of Age Fairy Tale Adaptation. But it has just about everything besides SciFi.
WAoTBBW is a spin-off from your previous series, Gods & Monsters. Could you explain where the characters of Kylie Hood and Logan Grimm come from and who they are? Ooh, you have to keep reading to find out. The big reveal comes in book 3 of the Big Bad Wolf Trilogy. It’s a huge twist when you read all of my books.
I have not read Gods & Monsters yet, but could you tell me what cross-over characters appear in WAoTBBW, and why should we know them? Gosh, there are too many to name. I’ll say every “soul” WAotBBW comes from G&M. Readers love finding out as they read. Some know right away who is who and others are stumped, but I do clarify in WAotBBW.
I am so pleased to have Fir’s story! What a story he has to tell!
Robin Kirk’s second book in The Bond Series, The Hive Queen, picks up with the Living Wood’s escape from Bounty. Fir and his nineteen brothers are heading east to the Master’s land. They’ve heard from the wildmen that he has a cure for the virus and that it’s a place for males–where men aren’t in the service of mothers.
Fir is against unbeatable odds from the start. He is full of self-doubt while trying to lead, and it tears him apart when anything goes sideways. And everything is going sideways. I liked that Robin Kirk builds Fir with such vivid internal struggle. It makes you understand his motivations and his actions better for it. It also helps that she highlights some of the Living Wood so you can see that his brothers pull him in all directions and muddle the pot often when he’s trying to do the right thing.
Title: The Bond (The Bond Trilogy #1) Author: Robin Kirk Genre: Dystopian Young Adult My rating:5 of 5 stars
I love these Dystopian/Sci-fi stories where I’m in a world where women control EVERYTHING. This sounds like it would be all good or super bad.
The Bond by Robin Kirk isn’t questionable at all; it’s all good.
Dinitra 584 KxA is a student struggling to pass her courses at the Collegium. It’s graduation day, and she has a dismal compendium with one weak merit. Truth be told, she spends most of the time she should be working on her studies drawing or painting. As she has to make and mix her paints–that takes up a lot of time. That’s how she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, with two Legion’s Commanders questioning her for her artwork.
Oh, this book is sheer brilliance and so twisty-turny. I had no idea where we were going. Robin Kirk lead me around by the proverbial ear, and I read like an addict because the story is pure joy. Well, not joy like it makes you happy because much of it makes your heart a little sore but joy in that it’s a damn good book.
If you could, please take a minute to introduce yourself to readers. I’m Janie Marie. I live near Austin, Texas, with my husband and our three children—plus four adopted fur babies. I’m the only girl of six children. My parents each had two sons before marrying and having me then my little brother was a surprise. I remind him all the time I was supposed to be the last. Lol. I’m totally winging this author thing, but I’m happy to constantly grow as I share my life and art.
And it will in no way affect the way I think about you as a person, but what are your thoughts on coffee? Keep in mind coffee drinkers are the best people in the world. Haha, I don’t like it. I love the smell and have had friends give me various types, and I just don’t like it. My morning drink is always Dr Pepper.
