The Key of Kilenya

When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon--evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn't know he possesses--powers they desire to control.

The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob's help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key--and Jacob's special abilities.

~By Andrea Pearson

I've been struggling for a while with what to say in this book review because, to be honest, I could not connect with this book. I felt like it was all tell and no show. I know how hard it is to write a book and get published, and for this reason, I hesitate to give a negative review, but I also don't believe in not being honest. Also, we all have different tastes. I seldom believe critics when they say a movie or book isn't that great. I like to see for myself, and I often find I loved something they didn't. I encourage you to do the same here.

Here, I believe, is one of the pitfalls of self publishing. Sometimes we think a book is ready when really, it isn't. That's one of the areas where I struggled with my old publisher. My editor wanted me make drastic changes in my book, and I wasn't ready to do that. For the most part, I thought my book was great the way it was. You want to know what's funny? Since I left that publisher, I've pretty much done what they asked. I say that with a sigh, because I still think I made the right choice in leaving, AND my book is better than ever. (mainly because my rockin' critique group wasn't afraid to tell me the truth) And who knows, if I can't sell that story to another publisher I might self publish too.

My point here is this. If you are going to self publish, you'd better be in a really awesome critique group that will be completely honest with you about your manuscript. You CAN NOT rely on friends and family to tell you the truth. They won't. They don't want to hurt you, or lose your friendship, and we writers are very sensitive about our babies. Plus, most of the time family and friends don't know what to tell you to fix. They aren't editors, they aren't writers, and they don't know the ins and outs of how to write. You need people who know what they're doing to critique your book. THEN . . . when you think it's perfect and ready to print, have those people read it one more time! You'll be glad you did. It is possible to over edit, but in the case of self publishing, it might be more of a plus than a minus.

Here is the purchase link if you'd like to buy The Key of Kilenya.

Book Review: Nia

When one kingdom conquers another, it's customary for the surrendering army to present a gift of some kind to their conquerors.  Sometimes it's land, or crops, or gold ... but in "Nia," a new fantasy novel by Mella Reese, the gift is a man.  That's right - the conquered kingdom offered up one of their own, a young man named Garreth, who will serve as Princess Nia's personal guard until her life, or his, comes to an end.

It doesn't work out so well.  Nia is not a typical princess, and she's not interested in being treated like one. She'd rather ride her horse than wear fancy dresses and sit at tea.  She'd rather travel around and administer to the sick and needy in her kingdom than stitch tapestries. The thought of being shadowed every minute of every day annoys her beyond belief, but if she doesn't accept Garreth as her guard, the other kingdom will be offended, and it would be a bad move, politically. She knows she must do her duty to her kingdom, so she grudgingly accepts, and finds herself with the constant presence of a man who will not even meet her in the eye.

As time goes on, she finds another reason to be angry. Garreth is a good man, one of kindness and talent, but he has committed himself to her service forever. He will never marry or have children, and he will never have a life of his own. Nia values human life and the individual's right to choose their own path, and she badly wants to free Garreth from his servitude, but he will not leave her. His honor is stronger than his own personal desires, and he refuses to break his oath.

Things I liked: I like the way the story built as it went along. I liked the romance that I knew was developing between the two main characters. I liked the twists and turns and the suspense of wanting to know what was about to happen.


Things I didn't like: I not like the ending. I felt like the story was building toward a certain culmination and then didn't deliver. I was disappointed in that. I did learn though, that there is a second book that will continue the story. I also noticed quite a few editing errors that were distracting to me, but I blame that on the editor and publisher of the book. They should catch those things before publication.


All in all, it was a very fun story to get lost in.


http://www.amazon.com/Nia-Mella-Reese/dp/1612960103/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307725985&sr=8-1

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Book Review!

I was sent, Journey of Honor, and asked to give it a review. I LOVE doing this, as reading and writing are my favorite past times. Thank you, Tristi, for giving me the opportunity.

 

Synopsis: From the back of Journey of Honor by Jaclyn M. Hawkes:

Disowned, she came to America anyway. Attacked and left pregnant by a vicious mob, she still pressed on. Finally, in spite of being accused of theft by the vilest of her attackers, Giselle tries to remain as upbeat and uncomplaining as a prairie wildflower as she travels on to Zion.

Thoroughly disillusioned with the ugliness and cruelty of slavery in the South, Trace Grayson leaves his young medical career to go west, hoping to leave bigotry and hatred behind. He begins taking goods by teamster train to sell in the territories. However, this fourth time across, in July of 1848, he’s stuck in St. Joseph, Missouri, waiting for enough wagons to join the train so that they can leave.

Knowing that if they don’t start west soon, they’ll be caught by snow in the mountains, Trace is thrilled when the final wagon signs on. Then, when the beautiful, young Dutch girl traveling with the last wagon is falsely accused of stealing and is detained, the whole trip is jeopardized. Thrown together by circumstance, Trace and Giselle team up to begin to figure out just how to make this epic journey across a continent a success.

With a deep sense of honor and an equally strong sense of humor, together they learn to deal with everything except the one trial that neither of them can overcome.

What I thought: This book was a quick, fun read. I enjoyed the story, and the twists and turns of the romance that developed between Trace and Giselle. I would have liked a bit more development with the characters and thought it strange that the two would sleep next to one another on the trail if they were only being married in name only. The plan was to have the marriage annulled once Giselle safely reached SLC. During that time period, propriety was everything, especially to a young LDS girl. But I still got caught up in the drama of it all.

The thing that bothered me was the poor editing. I don't blame this on the author AT ALL. An editor, or the publisher, at very least, should taken more pride in perfecting the manuscript before it published.

If you want a fun, clean romance though, this is a great story of triumph.

Bumpy Landings-five stars!

I have to say right up front, I LOVED this book. Donald Carey wrote a very fun story about a young man (Jordan) who falls for a cute little Hawaiian girl His over-controlling mother can't stand her. Jordan experiences one disaster after another and finds himself hiding facts about his life (like flying lessons) from said mother. The story zips along and I found myself turning page after page to find out what happens. I wanted to smack Jordan's mom the whole way through, and kept waiting for an all out confrontation between the two which never really happened in my opinion (or at least like I wanted). That would be the only thing I'd change. The character development was wonderful and the story was fast paced. I would definitely recommend this book.


Thank you, Don, for having me read your book. I LOVED it and the beautiful picture you painted of Hawaii, a place I have yet to visit. You brought it to life and I could picture it perfectly. Wonderfully done!

I stole this next section from Tristi Pinkston because . . . I want to! =)

This is Don's first published book. There was much in the book that he drew from in his own life. He worked in a flower shop, he was good friends with the women who worked there, he has lived in Hawaii and he does know how to make pani popo. For those of you that don't know what pani popo is you need to read the book. I have never tried it, but it sounds so good. I found these recipes for those of you that would like to try and make these.

Pani Popo (Samoan Sweet Bread)...Advanced Recipe

Prep Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 1/4 hr Servings: 10

About This Recipe

"Pani popo is a Samoan sweet roll that has coconut (and if you like, pineapple) on the bottom. It is very popular throughout the islands, as many islands make different variations of the dish. Keeping your hands moist, will help with kneading the dough."

Ingredients

5 3/4-6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 ounce yeast

2 1/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup sugar, plus

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon shortening or 1 tablespoon margarine or 1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon salt

2 (8 ounce) cans coconut

Directions

Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour and yeast.

In a saucepan heat and stir milk;.

sugar, shortening, margarine, or butter; and salt til warm and.

shortening almost melts.

Add to flour mixture.

Beat with an electric.

mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.

Using a spoon, stir in as much remaining flour as you can to make a moderately.

stiff dough that is smooth and easy to pull - 6-8 minutes.

Shape in a ball and put in a.

greased bowl.

Turn it on both sides to grease the whole ball of dough.

Cover and let rise in the oven on the top rack and below it in a pan put some hot water. (The steam from the hot water will help it to rise) about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down.

Roll 18 balls and cover for 10 minutes while you make the following milk mixture.

Mix 2 cans of coconut milk with 1 cup of sugar. (Add more sugar if.

you like it sweeter.).

In 2 13x9x2 pans, pour in half of the milk.

mixture in each pan, put in 9 bread rolls on top (or you can make the.

rolls smaller to make more rolls).

Bake at 375 degrees in the oven.

for 20 minutes or until bread tests done.

Easy Pani Popo, Samoan Coconut Bread

Prep Time: 1 hrTotal Time: 1 1/2 hrsServes: 18, Yield: 18 Rolls

About This Recipe

"I found this recipe off of the Rhodes website. I just love this bread, but don't want to go through the tedious task of making it from scratch. This is a faster way to enjoy this island favorite."

Ingredients

18 frozen dinner rolls

1 (13 1/2 ounce) cans coconut milk

water

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Line the 18 rolls (3 across and 6 down), and set aside to let rise according to package directions.

In a saucepan, add the coconut milk, fill the can with water and add to saucepan, add the sugar. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until all the clumps are gone, set aside. Bring the coconut sauce to a boil add the cornstarch mixture. Simmer for about 3 minutes (sauce will thicken a little), then remove sauce from heat.

Bake rolls. After 10 minutes take rolls out of oven and pour the coconut sauce over the rolls till 1/2 to 3/4 of each bun is covered in sauce. Place the rolls back in the oven and continue baking the rolls with the sauce until the tops of the rolls are golden brown.

Remove pan and allow a few minutes to cool. Serve warm.

Left over sauce can be used to smother rolls when served individually or just make a second pan of Pani Popo.

BIO:

When he was eleven years old, Don Carey moved with his family to the Hawaiian town of La’ie, where his father taught at BYU-Hawaii. Don is a graduate of Kahuku High School where, when he wasn’t in the band room, he could be found in the library with his nose in a book.

Don was awarded the David O. McKay scholarship to attend BYU-Hawaii, where he met his lovely wife, Kara. During college, he scratched his creative itch by participating in a number of musical organizations, including the Polynesian Cultural Center Brass Band, and added a music minor to his degree in Computer Science.

Once the responsibilities of work and family took over his life, Don found the creative itch was better handled through writing fiction, and has enjoyed working to develop this talent.

Don currently lives in a small town outside Fort Worth, Texas with his wife and two daughters. His day job involves writing computer programs, which is almost the same as writing fiction, but with a lot more semicolons.