Book Review: Fated Encounter by J.A. Belfield

Fated Encounter by J.A. Belfield


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


http://bexbooknook.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/fatedencounter/




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Six Sentence Sunday: The Pirate and the Selkie (WIP)

Here is this week's six for Six Sentence Sunday.  Comments always welcome. :)

Enjoy!


Ellie glanced over her shoulder, made a quick distance calculation. Her gaze swung up the rigging. She yanked on the steerage, eyes glued to the sails. Right on cue, the sheets of white canvas caught wind and snapped to attention. The ship sliced through the waves in a tight arc until The Surf Runner faced The Siren’s Call.

She steeled herself for another pass.

Acceptance News: Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction

I share the bad news when it comes, so I thought I should also share the good news as well. Only fair, right?

I received an email yesterday that one of my flash (less than 500 words) stories, Parades,  has been accepted for inclusion in Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction (Leap Year Edition) being published by Pill Hill Press. This is a "for the love" collection, so no monetary payment or free copy, but it will be released in paperback and ebook formats somewhere around Nov. 2011.

I will keep you all posted as things progress and let you all know where you can get copies when it is actually published.

Announcement: I've Launched a Book Review Blog

Many of you know I have a pen name that I use when writing more "adult oriented" stories. Since I have this blog, and what I consider a respectable following,  I thought a long time about how I would go about creating and marketing a platform for my alter ego. I didn't want a mirror of this site, and I definitely needed to do something to allow me to market those works without worrying over the possibility of offending someone of a more delicate nature on this site.

So, what I came up with is Bex Book Nook - a book review blog and resting place for Ms. R. Brennan (my more fun, more outrageous alter ego) I have done a few reviews on this site, and the first one I posted there is a re post of the review I did on this site, but that is where the commonalities will end.

My reviews will be posted there when I complete them. This site shall remain my WIP writing as a lifestyle/career site -- with the occasional story about what silly thing my family or friends did thrown in for good measure.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing some of my followers over there. Not only to see what sort of person lies behind the soft spoken, sweet persona I usually portray to the world, but also for some blunt reviews of all sorts of fantastic new books.  :P

Tuesday Teaser: The Pirate and the Selkie (WIP)

Today's Tuesday teaser is from my current WIP, The Pirate and the Selkie.

Enjoy :)

     Captain Harris frowned and shook his head. “That is the biggest pile of pig shit I have ever seen shoveled, boy.” He turned hard eyes on Nelson. “Get the hell to work.”

In Memory of Those We Lost: Never Forget, Never Surrender

I don't think words are needed...

So I'm a Terrible Person

As the summer draws to a close, I find that my time is ever so slowly, becoming my own once more. The girls started school this week, and despite the nasty beating we are taking in the Northeast from Mother Nature, all is right in the world.

Okay, maybe not so much.

Despite having a bit more "me" time, I have noticed that I'm still falling behind on my TO DO lists. My critique lists on my favorite writing site keeps getting longer and the stories in my notebook (the ideas for stories, that is) become more and more plentiful. I enjoy supporting my fellow writers and I definitely love writing, yet the lists still grow. I am reading more books in general, which is great, but I still feel like I am behind in everything. I feel like I am letting people down that count on me--people that need my support and encouragement. Coupling this with the daily life pressures of a depreciation on my lovely house to the point I don't have enough equity anymore to refinance it and drop 2% on my interest rate, and the flurry of recent story rejections... I am one depressed little puppy lately.

I know we all have funks and issues that take us from writing and the writing community sometimes, and I am sure I am being far too hard on myself, but it got me thinking.

What do you do to keep yourself focused and on track? What cheers you up when life is kicking your ass? What inspires you to stay with it and keep on trucking?

Inquiring minds -- like me -- are dying to know.  And, I could really use some ideas.

Book Review: Cutlass and Musket, Tales of Piratical Skullduggery

Cutlass and Musket, Tales of Piratical Skullduggery by Jessica A. Weiss



My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Welp... I have to be honest here, right? Even though I have a story (and a damned good one if I do say so myself) in this book, I really wasn't all that impressed with the anthology. While some stories were good and held my interest (and that shouldnt be hard since I LOVE PIRATES), for the most part, the stories read pretty flat to me.

I will try to go through and select the stories I really enjoyed -- like a winners and losers type of thing, but at this point I have downgraded my rating from a 4 to a 3. I mean I can't dislike a book that contains something I wrote...


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Tuesday Teaser: From WIP The Pirate and the Selkie

Things have been moving along nicely with my historical fantasy/romance I gave a working title of The Pirate and The Selkie.

To celebrate the completion of another chapter in Daniel and Ellie's saga, I decided to take this week's Tuesday Teaser from this novel/la in progress.  Enjoy :)


Her mother nodded. “We discussed it before he sailed. After you almost drowned.”

The hitch of emotion in her mother’s voice stabbed Ellie with guilt. “Do I have to go?”

“Yes, Ellie, you do.” Momma’s tone turned serious, telling her there would be no arguing.

Ellie’s shoulders slumped under the weight of resignation. She let out a sigh, lowered her head and gave the only response she could.

“Yes, Momma.”

Children and Technology: The Truth About Social Media?

I had a conversation with my 11 year old daughter, Shelby about Hurricane Irene last night at dinner. What she had to say made me giggle, and showed me that while the information age is great for spreading information, sometimes we need to make sure the info picked up by our children is accurate.

Here is a snipit of that informative chat:

Me: Wow, 10 inches of rain is no joke.

Shelby: They even had to evacuate New Jersey, the whole thing. That's alot of people.

Me: No sweetie, not all of New Jersey, just the Jersey Shore.

Shelby: (with a big smile): Oh, that's okay. They are all in Italy right now, anyway.

So there you have it. My daughter, the holder of all important news. *giggle*

Happy Monday!