Friday, April 20, 2012

TGIF: WoW







So what is world of warcraft?  Is it just for 30 year old men in their moms basements?  Is it for just teens? 

Nope its for everyone!  

I started playing this about a month ago and now have more than 10 characters also known as toons on the computer game.  

I never thought that I would EVER be interested in playing something like this.  How surprised I was when not myself, but my husband and now our 7 year daughter are also playing.  

World of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game(MMORPG) set in the Warcraft universe. It is developed by Blizzard Entertainment and contains 3expansion packs: TBC World of Warcraft: The Burning CrusadeWotLK World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich KingCataclysm World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. The initial release is now sometimes know as "vanilla WoW" or "classic WoW".
As of 2010, World of Warcraft has more than 12 million monthly subscribers,[1][citation needed] and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest and most popular MMORPG.[2] It also continues its further story development throughout its franchising, other than online media, such as Warcraft novelscomicsmangaRPG booksTCG, and board games.


It is very addictive and fun!  I am posting this today wondering if any of my readers play?  If so comment and let me  know. The following will be the items that I will be giving away!

First prize will be: 1 mount from the WoW store of your choice 
Second prize will be: 1 code for two months free service 
Third prize will be: 1 pet from WoW store of your choice. 

Just comment below on what you have and don't forget to follow!



If anyone wants to look me up I'm on Azuremyst server!  
My id is witchever82@gmail.com  

So add me and say you saw this post for more entries. 


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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thursday Thoughts: The Hunger Games




 
Ok so the Hunger Games movie has been in theaters for a while now.  I would like to know what you all liked and didn't like about the movie vs. the book!




Here is my list:



I loved that we got to see a little bit about the capital.  Things that in the book you didn't know.  As the book is set in the POV of nothing but Katniss it makes the movie much better.  I look at it this way.  In a book you are just that person but in a movie you are more like a goddess looking down on everyone seeing everything that is going on.  



The changes that they made didn't make the movie any less than the book.  I know they cut a lot out.  But as far as I'm concerned they did a wonderful job.  I think the movie people learned a lot when they did Harry Potter and Twilight.  They learned that there are things you HAVE to do to make the movie live up to the book.  


The one thing that I didn't like was the relationship with Katniss and Cinna.  I think all in all that it didn't feel like they gave them enough time to have one.  

The other thing I didn't like was Haymitch.  I don't think they started out with his charter the right way.  I mean ya he looked drunk but it didn't seem the same as in the book.  

So what did you like and not so much like. 

And were any of the actors not right for the part?

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Patch Tuesday: Whats on Sale?




So as ANY WoW player knows.  Tuesdays are patch days.  Its the days that you have a 50 50 chance to get to play. And if you are a HARD CORE player then it really puts a dampen on your day.  But like anything good you need to do it in moderation.  To much of a good thing can still be bad.  


So this Patch day I am giving you all a widget with sale kindle books!  Have fun!












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Monday, April 16, 2012

Monday Note!






So last week was BUSY!  I ended up kicking someone out of my life that I thought was a friend and finding out that they stole crap from me.  

My husband is now sick with a summer cold (my the Great Goddess I hope the kids don't get it) and it seems I might be catching it as well.  Yay me (cries) 

So all in all last week will be rated a 3 on the scale of bad weeks.  

I hope this one is better.  


So on with the list!

Last week I finished and posted reviews for the following!


The Girl in the Steel Corset and The Girl in the Clockwork Collar 

Both books are by Kady Cross
My review for these books will post in May.  









Started?  So what book did I start.  Well that would be non other than the NEW series from Julie Kagwa!  She is the author of the renowned Iron Fay (Which I LOVED) 



So far I'm a few chapters in as this book is over 400 pages and I'm LOVING IT!  It is such a new take on Vampires.

To Be Read?  What am I going to read next?

Well thats a toss up between these three book!

The first is Skylark by Meagan Spooner  Love that cover




The Next one is Ashen Winter (book two) by Mike Mullin But to read this one I need to track down a copy of Ashfall.  








The last book to finish is So Far Away by. Meg Mitchell Moore.  













All the books listed can be purchased or pre ordered here! 




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Friday, April 13, 2012

Friday Reads: Used Books




So I LOVE the used bookstore!  What about you?  Here in Florida we have a few where I live. But there is one!  That just go beyond what a used bookstore is.  They always seem to get the REALY REALY GOOD BOOKS!  Especially the Teen/YA books!  

In the past I have found so much stuff at used book stores and yard sales.  I have found ARC's (Advance Reading Copies) at yard sale as well.  




Recently I have found these book! 


Paid $.500 for this book and it just came out in March!  OF THIS YEAR!





The other one was out in 2010 but It a SIGNED COPY! So I almost never find those.


 






This one is signed by both the authors!  How cool is that? 

I paid $5.00 for this one to!  



So what is the coolest find that you have found at a used bookstore or a yardsale?  

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Guest Post with C. Bailey Sims





by C. Bailey Sims

                        




Title: Candlewax

About The Book: 384 pages

Expected publication: April 3rd 2012 

Published by: Terabyte Press

A medieval masterpiece of adventure, romance and horror, younger readers of Paolini and Cashore will gobble up this award-winning debut.

About The Book:
An Ancient Prophecy. A Powerful Relic. An Insatiable Evil. When all three converge, the fate of every living thing will be in peril.

All her life Catherine had hoped to see a fairrier cat. No book, no scroll provided to her by her tutors had ever mentioned this legend, much to her frustration, and now-at the worse possible time-she was getting her wish. Only, in her wish the cat wasn't about to kill her.

A 732-year-old fairrier cat the size of a horse has killed his fair share of hunters. Driven to the brink of extinction for the supernatural powers of his coat, is he indeed the last of his kind?

Sheltered, 16-year-old Catherine is about to find out. Unwitting heir to the Ancient Onyxes, she flees an arranged marriage only to stumble upon the cat's secrets, the force of the ancient relic she wears, and the dangerous mission they must undertake.

Hidden under a desert that was once a fertile land, millions of predators are waiting to feast again. Catherine must discover the secret of the Ancient Onyxes and stop the creatures known as trodliks before they consume everything in their path. A whispered prophecy becomes her only guide and a rejected suitor just might be the one warrior she desperately needs. 







Join The Hollow Tours for a MONTH LONG TOUR!
On April 3th The Hollow Tours will be doing a REVEAL of the art on the BACK COVER of Candlewax which no one has seen unless they have a trade paperback of the ARC.


Guest Post
By C. Bailey Sims
Author of Candlewax


Just for the heck of it, I thought I would share a recipe from Bessie Brine, a character from the story Candlewax. Bessie is a great cook, even though she’s only sixteen. The Brines (Bessie, her mother and father, younger sister and brother) live in the village of Swiggins at the heart of Lackanay and represent all that is good and right with the land.

Bessie uses her common sense and ingenuity to come up with delicious new recipes for her family’s day-to-day fare and feast days. Her ingredients are fresh and organic.

The village peasants and merchants are able to obtain rare and costly spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, for Swiggins is a prosperous rural community. Not only do the villagers have sufficient resources to supply their own needs, but they also trade the famed “Swiggins” apples throughout Lackanay.

Swiggins are bright red with yellow streaks and have juicy but firm flesh that is both sweet and mildly tart, rendering them excellent for both eating and cooking. For our purposes, we can substitute MacIntosh apples for Swiggins. For “dried rolled oats” any good, non-instant oatmeal will do. The recipe below is one I wish I could order at some little country diner. If you take the trouble to make it, I hope it comes out as good as Bessie’s.

Bessie Brine's Apple-Pie Oatmeal
(Serves Six Fairly Hungry People)

Needed:
Six medium Swiggins
1 T Ground cinnamon
¼ t Grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup honey or brown sugar (more if your apples are real tart)
4 cups of dried rolled oats
8 cups of water

Directions: Peel the apples and cut the flesh away from the core. (Save the peels and the core bits for your pig’s slop bucket). Cut the apples into real thin slices. Don’t fret if they turn brown, ‘cause they’re goin’ to taste just fine. Put the apple slices into a bowl and sprinkle them with the apple cider, cinnamon and nutmeg. (See, they’re already browner anyway). Stir the apple mixture up with the sugar or honey and let it sit overnight in a real cool place. The next mornin’, put the pot of water on the fire with a dash of salt and scrape in the apples. If you like your oatmeal smoother, put the oats in before the water boils. If you like your oatmeal grainier, don’t add it until after the apple-water mixture has been boilin’ for two or three minutes. Stir every now and then. Don’t forget to tend to it, ‘cause it will burn if you don’t and there’s nothing worse than cleanin’ out a burned-oatmeal pot. After about five minutes, when the oatmeal/apple mixture is nice and gloppy, ladle it into six bowls and put more brown sugar or honey on top. Add a little cold milk or cream to each bowl and serve.



About The Author
Photo Credit to Shannon Hicks





C. Bailey Sims was born in CA. and as a teenager moved to the Colorado Rockies where she attended a very small high school, learned how to ski race, ride a horse, mountain climb, and target shoot at tin cans.  She now lives with her family in the much tamer but equally beautiful hills of Connecticut in a very creative household of artists and musicians.  This book is a book that I had to write because Spelopokos wouldn't leave me alone. 






You can see the author via these links





If you are not a member of the Hollow Tours 
You can join by clicking here











Photobucket



March 

See the OTHER Stops on the tour! 
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
13
14
19
30
April




Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
9
10







Giveaway is for those who are NOT apart of the tour!  All winners will be notified via email and their name will be posted here on this page.  


8 Lucky winners will win Secret Prizes of Crystals from the book.  
PICTURES COMING SOON SO INTICE YOU!

Friday, April 06, 2012

Interview with Gwen Perkins Author of The Universal Mirror










Product Details

  • File Size: 811 KB
  • Print Length: 179 pages
  • Publisher: Hydra Publications (January 9, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services


Product Description

On the island of Cercia, the gods are dead, killed by their followers and replaced with the study of magic. Magicians are forbidden to leave their homeland. Laws bind these men that prevent them from casting spells on the living—whether to harm or to heal.


Quentin, a young nobleman, challenges these laws out of love for his wife. His best friend, Asahel, defies authority at his side, unaware that the search for this lost magic will bring them both to the edge of reason, threatening their very souls. The Universal Mirror shows how far two men are willing to go for the sake of knowledge and what they will destroy to obtain it.




Why write a book about magic?
Gwen Perkins, author of The Universal Mirror

"Not blood nor bone shall magic touch."

Those words are spoken in The Universal Mirror as part of one of the oaths that magicians in Cercia take when they finish their education.  All who practice magic on the island are educated in a series of laws known as the Heresies, prohibitions that keep magicians from using their abilities in certain ways.  Among these Heresies is that of healing or harming others through channeling magic—this forms the root of the conflict in this novel.  Quentin, a noble, develops an obsession with breaking the law in order to heal his wife and he pulls his best friend, Asahel, into this mad quest.

One of the reasons that I chose to use magic in the story was as a replacement for religion in terms of dictating the society's moral code.  Cercia is somewhat unusual among fantasy settings in that the people believe that God is dead and that they've killed him.  It's an interesting idea but I wanted to have a secondary overarching context within which to place what the people considered moral or appropriate behavior.  This is where the Heresies came in.

Another facet of magic is that it can be used to provide limitation as well as power.  In order for this plot to work, it was important to keep the characters close to home.  Magicians on Cercia are never allowed to leave the island.  Setting up this prohibition put Quentin and Asahel into a situation where the stakes were greatly increased.  The option of running away is simply not present for either of them and yet, they find that once they begin the work of learning to heal and thus breaking the law, they have to see it through.

Lastly, magic can be a tool for defining culture in more literal ways.  The Cercians draw their magic from the earth, channeling it through their own bodies.  Much of their society has been unwittingly defined by this—including simple things like the slang that they use (you'll hear a mutter of "Quiet Earth" here and there where others might say "Oh, my God").  Other societies in the Artifacts of Empire series utilize magic differently.  For instance, the magic in the Anjduri Empire is distorted simply because that society has seen so much war that they've literally burnt the magic from the earth.  I'm exploring those environmental and cultural themes further as the series goes on so readers can expect to discover more about how magic works while the characters themselves do.

Each book has its own definition of what magic is and because of this, there are as many reasons to use magic as there are books.  Next time you pick up a fantasy novel, think about the magic that's in it and how it's used.  Perhaps you'll be inspired to write a little magic of your own!



See the other stops on this tour!  

Tour Schedule:-


2nd April, 2012 - Sara @So Simply Sara
4th April, 2012 - Melanie @Not So Innocent
5th April, 2012 - Delia @Wolf Majick Reviews
8th April, 2012 - Ruty @Reading.... Dreaming




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Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Angel Evolution Tour - Blurb








Title: Angel Evolution

Author: David Estes
 Subjects in Angel Evolution:
Angels and demons and gargoyles, oh my!

Short Author Biography:
David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010. David is a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

Brief Summary:
Angel Evolution- the first book in the young adult fantasy trilogy: The Evolution Trilogy...

When Taylor meets Gabriel at college, she is in awe of the subtle glow that surrounds him. No one else, not even her best friend, seems to notice.

Something about him scares her.

Is all as it appears? While Taylor struggles for answers, she finds herself in the middle of a century old war centered on one miraculous revelation: evolution. 

Excerpt:

Gabriel watched Taylor from across the room while pretending to be interested in the conversation of the normal freshman boys he was sitting with. She would not be able to see him from this distance, although he kept her in his sight at all times. He was able to see her as if he was looking through binoculars—perfectly clear, like he was sitting next to her. The bright lights in the dining hall were devoured by his nearly fully-black eyes, and then streamed across the room with the focused power of a magnifying glass. Of all my abilities, this one is underrated, Gabriel thought.
He gazed thoughtfully at her as she sat with her friends. Earlier, he had been impressed with her ability to resist his charms, but wasn’t worried. He was versatile, which was one of the many reasons he had been selected by the Council for this job.
Not interested in food tonight, he excused himself from the table and strode purposefully out of the hall. Rounding a corner into a dark alleyway, he checked in front and behind himself, and seeing no one, leapt forcefully into the night sky. Reaching an altitude of a thousand feet in just over two seconds, he arched his back, extended his arms, and with a sharp pop! magnificent, white-feathered wings protracted from his neck, just below the hairline. The impossible, five-foot wings extended two feet past his fingertips, giving him mobility without limiting the use of his arms...
...Gabriel remembered back to when he was just a child being taught by the adults. He must have come so far that they would trust him with such an important mission. Growing up, he was never convinced that the legends were true, but now that he had seen the girl for himself, he was fast becoming a believer. Her aura was more brilliant than he thought possible. Licking his lips eagerly, Gabriel looked forward to testing it in battle. He was starting to hope she would survive.
The Great War had raged for decades, with neither side ever really gaining an advantage. Now the War was on the verge of being won, with the pitiful existence of humans resting in the hands of Taylor Kingston, and she didn’t have a clue. If only he could get her alone.




Link to the Schedule:

Here are the links where you can find Angel Evolution:




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