In celebration of Halloween, here is a spooky excerpt from my soon to be released YA Science Fiction novel, I AM SLEEPLESS: SIM 299.

This is the "scariest" thing I've written so far, but not reminiscent of the whole book, it's just a suspenseful scene fitting for Halloween.

You can download/read my spooky excerpt below as my Halloween treat to you. Enjoy...MUAHAHAHAHA!

​And remember to check your candy!
​(See video below)

(​You can also read the chapter 1-4 sampler.)

I saw this picture making the rounds on Facebook and had to share it.  Although Scorpion Petting sounds exciting, I don't suggest it.  

Image sources ​www.debbieohi.com and ​www.lianabrooks.com

Author Links--
Goodreads Author, Amazon Author, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Pinterest

I just finished reading The Magic Awakes and really enjoyed it. This was your debut novel, correct?
Yes, this was my first novel. Although, it isn't perfect, it's the story that saved my life. After a traumatic experience I battled years of depression. Talia's story is what helped me cope and eventually dig my way out. I figured if she could become a successful scientist, in spite of what I would consider debilitating nightmares, then I could get dressed each morning and live my life as well.

This is one of the first books I've read that really intertwines science, space opera, fantasy, magic and dragons all in one. Was it difficult finding a way to blend and balance those together?
Strangely, no. Before I was a writer, I was a reader. I love science fiction, space opera, dragons, and magic. When I write, every book I've ever loved comes through. Since I don't read one genre specifically, I find it hard to write strictly in one genre. My goal with this series is to continue to build on each of those elements. This first book is more about the magic. The next will bring in more science to balance the magic. Eventually, I'll add the third element of religion. Here's a quick blurb for the series as a whole.

Science, magic and religion--always at odds with one another. What if they originated at the same source?

The way The Magic Awakes ends, it leaves the door open for many more stories and books about Talia, Landry and the world of Sendek. Especially, the repercussions of magic coming back into a world that had long forgotten it existed. Are there more stories to come?
Yes! There are three more planned books in this series. The second is currently with my editor, slated to come out sometime in 2016. The working title is SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE, but that may change before it's released. The second book in the series will start to detail how the introduction of magic to their scientific society causes ripples that quickly create waves. 

And I know everyone wants to know more about Jewel and the other dragons. Never fear! They play a larger role in each new book. 

READING BOOKS MEME:
"Going to the grocery store just isn't a priority when the fate of a fictional character is hanging in the balance."

I saw this picture on the interweb today and a new book idea came to mind. The Adventures of Chuck Morris.  Oh, think of the parody potential and all of the Chuck Norrisisms put into awesome action-adventure comedies.  I'll add this as number 35 on my growing list of book ideas. If only I could write full-time. 

(SIDENOTE: Chuck Norris was actually born March 10, 1940 according to Wikipedia, but who knows, it could all be a conspiracy.)

The Magic Awakes, by Charity Bradford, is a world-builders dream set on a planet called Sendek, with two suns, three moons, alien invaders, futuristic science, magic, and did I mention there are dragons. Yes, dragons. 

She does a great job of blending all of these elements together to create an page-turning story and unique magic system. 
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CONTENT RATING: No real swearing, drugs, or sex. A war and battles do take place, acts of terrorism and many people die, some in very painful ways. But the violence is not overly grotesque or descriptive. There is a monster race of invading aliens and suspenseful situations. There is lots of magic-meets-tech and a budding romance story that is clean.
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The main characters, Talia and Landry, come from two different backgrounds, but their experiences, personalities and magical abilities compliment each other as they work to stop an alien invasion meant to destroy them. As you can imagine, this leads to some romance.

The magic system is unique, but what interested me more were the repercussions of magic coming back into a world that had long forgotten it existed. Especially one that had progressed scientifically. There's no order or rules for all of these new mages and how does that play out.

The history of the Sendek world is interesting and I'm curious to see what comes next in The Magic Awakes series. There are so many routes to go with uncontrolled magic, new baddies, space explorations, dragons disappearing, etc... 

The story did seem to have chunks missing in a few places as it jumped from scene and character without fully getting into the character's heads and motivations. I did hear that was partially due to the last-minute edits of the publisher and a number of scenes were cut to make the book shorter for print (i.e. almost all of the sections from the Dragon's point-of-view)  I wish there were deleted scenes so I could read the author's full story. Even if the ebook version had the full story we could read since who cares about page length in an ebook.

Maybe the author will be able to post the deleted scenes on her website. You can visit author Charity Bradford's site at  www.charitywrites.com and ask her.
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THE MAGIC AWAKES BOOK SUMMARY FROM AMAZON:
Since childhood, scientist Talia Zaryn has been haunted by recurring dreams, visions of an alien attack on her planet Sendek. Each time it ends abruptly with Talia’s death in the capital city Joharadin, a city that she has spent her life desperately avoiding. Talia keeps these dreams a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when she is unexpectedly transferred to Joharadin she is convinced that the conflict, and her own death, is at hand.

As Talia’s nightmares occur with increasing frequency, they reveal the imminent invasion of a half-dragon, half-human race called Dragumon, bent on the annihilation of her world.

In Sendek, magic is dead and science rules, forcing Talia to keep another secret, one that could cost her everything if it were known. Now, in order to save her planet, Talia must awaken the powers within her and rely at last on the magic that is her true inheritance.

Nice Dragons Finish Last, by Rachel Aaron, is a fun read that took be my surprise and kept me up way past my bedtime as I plowed through it. Having never read any of Rachel Aaron's books before, I downloaded Nice Dragons Finish Last on a whim while I was looking for something new to read through Kindle Unlimited. There were over 500 reviews for the book with 4.5 stars so I thought I would give it a chance.

I've had to stop reading the last 6 books I downloaded on Kindle Unlimited due to content (sex, swearing, etc...). Some of those took me by surprise because I was half-way through the book, without any content issues, and then BAHM, a tirade of bad language and erotica out of the blue. Luckily, this was NOT the case with Nice Dragons Finish Last.

I tentatively downloaded this story and was worried I would get more of the same, but she never crossed that line. There are a few "mild" swear words and innuendo, but they are all mild, pertinent to the character and story, and nothing is graphic, which I really liked.
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GRADE: 4.5 stars
CONTENT RATING: (PG-13) A few mentions of drugs, alcohol, mild sexual innuendo and a few mild swear words. There is violence and people are killed, kidnaped, and there is suspense with monsters and tense situations. There is lots of magic-meets-tech and a budding romance story.
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What captivated me with this story is the unique setting. It's a semi-post-apocalyptic world, in that magical elements are awake after a comet (or meteor, I can't remember which) passed, and this is a few years down the road and our modern society has accepted the magic around them. Think Angel and Buffy, but the whole world knows about the magic and monsters all around them. There are universities and schools for mages, science/magic tech firms, monsters, old gods, and of course, dragons. Rachel Aaron does a great job of weaving these all together in the background, especially the fun concepts of future tech and magic. This makes for an interesting setting with interesting situations, but I like that it's the background and setting, not the main concept pulling the story forward.

The main story revolves around characters, in particular, the youngest dragon of the Hearstriker clan. Unlike all of the other dragons in the world, he's not a greedy, manipulative and ruthless monster. He's actually a nice guy in his early twenties. Dragons are able to shape-shift into human form and, as a punishment by his mother for his unwillingness to act like a real dragon, she traps him in human form and leaves him in the only city where dragons are outlawed, hunted, and killed. Here he receives a deadly and nearly impossible task, being pulled into the manipulative plotting of dragons that he's tried to avoid his whole life.

A budding romance forms with a young female mage as they work together to complete the task, solve mysteries and discover new plots. 

I believe this was self-published and the editing is good, but there are a handful of misspelled words and incorrect sentences (i.e. two of the same words back-to-back- "the the"). It wasn't enough to deter from the story, but you do notice the errors. 

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series and I found out she has a ton of other books and series that are highly rated on Amazon. I guess that means I found another clean and entertaining author to read. YAY!

I recently finished reading The Master Magician, by Charlie N. Holmberg. This is the third book in her Paper Magician series, and it's a winner.
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GRADE: 4 stars
CONTENT RATING: (PG-11) It's a clean read with no sex, swearing or drugs. There is sweet and innocent romance, some violence, suspenseful situations, evil magicians, ruthless killers, magical fights, and people are killed. But spoiler alert, the hero and heroine save the day.
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I first came across The Paper Magician as one of the free books offered with the Kindle First promotion. I took a chance on the book, having been burned by bad reads before on Kindle First, and was pleasantly surprised by the unique magic system story line. Holmberg lost me a bit at the end of the first book (I don't want to spoil the ending, but it got kind of weird), but I was still hooked enough to read book two. The second book brought some new twists to the plot and magic system and the third book wrapped up the storyline nicely.  What I really liked about this third installment is that it went a bit deeper into the mystery/detective genre, while maintaining the growing romance and tension between the heroine and hero.  

All three of these books are fun, short, and entertaining reads. They are set during the British industrial revolution, where magic is fully accepted and taught as a profession, and Holmberg does a wonderful job of pulling you into this world and making it feel realistic. The books are full of interesting setting, romance, mystery and a fun magic system.  Of the three books in the series, (The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician), I think I liked The Glass Magician the best with the magic twists I was not expecting and the building of character and plot.


Book summary from Amazon-
Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she’s kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She’s discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own—an ability long thought impossible.

While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.

The whimsical and captivating follow-up to The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician, The Master Magician will enchant readers of all ages.


You can learn more about Charlie N. Holmberg and her books at www.charlienholmberg.com