Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: review

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The other day I received a message from a reader who is reading Beyond the Eyes. Here’s what she said:

I’m halfway through your book. I am loving it. I am in love with Nathan. I do have a question, though. Why is Paige so wimpy? She cries way too much. Is there a particular reason or is that just her personality?

I wanna tell you guys that I absolutely love it when my readers reach out to me, especially when they have a question about a character.

The reader is right. Paige does cry a lot, but there is a reason for it and here’s what I told the reader:

Paige is 17 and teenagers are emotional. But the main reason why she's like that is because ever since she was 4 and had the premonition before her father died, she felt like he didn't love her. In her mind, if he did, he would have stayed and not chose to die. She also thinks her mom doesn't love her, because her mom basically avoids her. Then, there's Brayden, who Paige loves. He left her and went to California with his mom. So she has these unresolved feelings of abandonment and on top of it all, she thinks she's a freak, because she gets premonitions from a ghostly voice. And even though she has awesome friends, she's very lonely and sad. That's why she cries a lot in this first book. But Nathan helps her through it and eventually Paige overcomes those feelings she's been harboring since her father died.

I wrote her character that way, because so many people have those same issues, and also to show her growth throughout the trilogy. In the next book, Dark Spirits, Paige is a much stronger person and becomes a kick ass fighter against malevolent beings, and in the third book, her character grows even more. So to answer your question: being wimpy is not her personality. She just has unresolved issues she needs to face. I mean, how can she deal with demons, when she hasn't dealt with her own? Does that make sense?

Thanks for asking me about Paige. Sometimes I wonder if I should rewrite parts of the book to make her less of a crybaby, but then I'm concerned with upsetting my fans. Plus, it would mess with the whole character growth thing. Ya know what I mean?

I know there are readers and future readers of Beyond the Eyes who have and will hate Paige because she’s so weak in a good portion of this book, and they might go as so far as to trash it. It has happened btw. Or they’ll understand why she’s that way at the beginning of her paranormal journey and will appreciate how much her character grows throughout the trilogy. Honestly, most people who have read Beyond the Eyes loves or likes it. However, there are a handful who don’t because of Paige. It is what it is, and it's a cool story.

Anyway, Beyond the Eyes is #FREE at the following links below. I would love for you to read and review it. Like I said, most readers either loves or likes it. The story is an unusual paranormal tale. One of the loglines I use is: Vampires and werewolves are cool, but what about a new mythology? Another one I use for Dark Spirits (book #2) is: Forget about zombies. What about dark spirits dwelling inside soulless humans?

Thanks, :)

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Eyes-Rebekkah-Ford-ebook/dp/B0088JF7HQ/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Eyes-Rebekkah-Ford-ebook/dp/B0088JF7HQ/

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-the-eyes-rebekkah-ford/1111446053?ean=2940045308588

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168857

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/mt/book/beyond-the-eyes/id536586967?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/beyond-the-eyes

#character, #free, #readers, authors, fans, message, review, trilogy, 0 Comments

Hey. I don’t know if y’all are aware of this, but I’m doing a giveaway on Goodreads.

That’s right.

I’m giving away a signed copy of The Devil’s Third and some swag from the entire trilogy.

Woot!

You can enter here:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/75656-the-devil-s-third

There’s more.

You can get a FREE ebook of Beyond the Eyes (the first book in my trilogy) on Amazon. Here’s the links:

U.S. http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Eyes-Rebekkah-Ford-ebook/dp/B0088JF7HQ/

UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Eyes-Rebekkah-Ford-ebook/dp/B0088JF7HQ/

Check it out and tell your friends.

You can read a review of all three books here:

http://joshuajstories.wordpress.com/2013/11/

Just scroll down the page to read them.

ebook, fantasy, free, giveaway, Paranormal, review, swag, trilogy, 0 Comments

Warning: There are a few spoilers in this review.

Devlin’s Descendant is book three in the White Aura series about a sorcerer family with an evil curse.

This book doesn’t disappoint, and I loved the new developments in this tale.

The story begins with Aiden’s capture. The Crimson Calamitous who is a wicked sorcerer kidnaps Aiden and had once used him as a vessel. He warns Aiden about using his body again to get what he wants. Aiden is surprised to discover Scott’s brother Sebastian is working with the Crimson Calamitous by allowing him to reside within his flesh.

Meanwhile, Scott and his younger sister Sadie tell their grandmother about Devlin’s descendant. Grams is just as shocked as they are on who it is, and she vows to help them find a solution to this heart wrenching problem.

Aiden’s captor releases him with the promise of coming back to possess his body. Everyone is happy when Aiden appears at Scott’s house–especially Sadie.

This is one of the developments that delighted me . . .

Sadie and Aiden.

The more I read this series, the more I’m loving Sadie’s character. She turns sixteen in this book, is becoming a powerful sorceress, and she’s sassy. I love how she is.

Aiden gives subtle hints about his feelings towards Sadie, but she keeps denying how he makes her feel. She even gets annoyed with how her body reacts when he’s nearby, like butterflies in her stomach. It’s cute, and I love Sadie’s demeanor in trying to brush off her growing attraction towards Aiden.

Towards the end of this story, Scott, Olivia, Sadie, and Aiden are forced to take a trip to the mountains where deep inside the Sorcery Council awaits their arrival. When they confront this group, they’re taken aback by one of the members and shocked by the information given to them. I loved this unexpected surprise and the other one that follows when the four of them are back home. This last one is freaky, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s going to happen next.

Felicia did a great job in keeping this story interesting and has the wonderful ability to keep surprising me along the way. :)

author, book, review, series, surprises, YA fantasy, 0 Comments

Warning: This review will have spoilers in it.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while now, and I’m glad I did. Stephenie’s writing was far better in The Host than in her Twilight books. I think she did a fine job and the story was great. Now, for the review . . .

Aliens take over our world because humans are brutish and destructive. In their truest form, the aliens look like a silver centipede. What they do is, they have a Seeker kidnap a human and have a Healer implant one of their own, which is called a “soul” into the human. The alien . . . er, soul, attaches itself inside the human brain. The soul than takes full control of the human, and most of the time the human’s spirit fades away–gets erased.

There are humans who manage to evade the Seekers, living in the shadows as bandits, going on raids to obtain a supply of food and all the necessities required to sustain their life. Melanie and her beloved younger brother Jamie are one of those people. For a while they’re on their own, until she runs into Jared. Jared is another human in hiding. When he realizes Melanie is the same as he–human, he’s beside himself with joy.

At first, Jared annoyed me. His bright, cheery, bubbly personality didn’t sit well with me. He reminded me of those overly happy, chatty, chicks, who is constantly bouncing in her seat where you just want to slap her.

Yeah, an-noying!

Jared, Melanie, and Jamie form their own little group. Of course, Melanie and Jared fall in love. Melanie’s character, though, is strong-willed, street smart, and a fighter.

I like her character.

One night when Melanie goes on a solo raid, a Seeker catches her. Melanie has the misfortune of being implanted with a soul called, “Wanderer.”

Wanderer is a great character.

Once she gets adjusted to this new life form, or tries to (she quickly discovers humans are one of the most complex species she’s ever encountered because of our emotions, our senses, and vivid memories), she realizes Melanie is still alive inside her and refuses to relinquish full possession of her mind. In fact, Melanie talks to her and bombards Wanderer with memories of Jared and Jamie. So much so, Wanderer finds herself in love with Jared and having maternal feelings for Jamie.

There’s a Seeker who keeps a constant eye on Wanderer. This Seeker wants Wanderer to extract information from Melanie’s memories on where the groups of bandits are hiding, including Jared and Jamie.

This Seeker is a pain-in-the-ass.

She’s rotten.

Both Wanderer and Melanie can’t stand her.

Wanderer manages to evade this Seeker when Melanie talks her into searching for uncle Jeb who once was considered an end-of-the-world alarmist before the extraterrestrial invasion. Melanie figures Jared and Jamie is with him, hiding out somewhere in the desert where Jeb has a secret bunker.

Wanderer manages to find Jeb in the scorching hot desert.

Jeb is the leader of his group and a great character.

I really like him.

Against everybody’s objection, Jeb takes Wanderer to their hidden compound. Nobody trusts her and wants Jeb to kill her. When Jared enters the cubby hole Wanderer is being confined in, Wanderer and Melanie are filled with joy–until they notice how cold and stone-faced he is. He becomes a total ass towards Wanderer because in his mind, she took Melanie away from him. Nobody knows at this point that Melanie is still alive and communicating with Wanderer.

Jared strikes her a few times, which makes me dislike him even more. But when Jamie discovers what’s going on, he becomes friends with Wanderer, and he’s the first person she opens up to.

When Wanderer first arrives, Ian and his brother Kyle wants her dead. However, eventually Ian sees Wanderer for whom she really is and winds up protecting her from Kyle and the others.

Ian is another favorite character of mine, and I kept secretly hoping he and Wanderer would fall in love.

In time, the group finds out about Melanie, and they start to refer Wanderer as Wanda. They fold Wanda into their family (well, most of them do), and Wanda finds herself loving them. She begins to realize and understand why humans are the way they are. But she’s keeping a secret from them and is willing to die in order to protect it. At least, for a while she is, until she’s in a sticky situation and realizes her secret can change lives and bring hope back to the human race.

This book is really good. If you haven’t read it you should. Just one thing, though, there are parts that drag on, but that’s my only gripe about this book. This story is well written, imaginative, and has great characterization.

Aliens, humans, review, Stephenie Meyer, The Host, 1 Comments

Vampires are one of my favorite paranormal creatures and honestly I would love to write a story about them. However, there are a gazillion books out there about vampires, and I didn’t want my book to be adrift in a sea of other similar tales. But then one day I came across Eternal Service, and I realized I was wrong. You can write a story about vampires that will out shine all the other ones, you just have to step outside the box, and that's what Regina did with Eternal Service. It’s about an elite group of vampires sworn to protect the President of the United States.

At first I wasn’t sure I’d get into the story because I’m not fond of cop/CSI, type stories, but what won me over was this fresh new idea: vampires secretly working for the government. I had to read it, and Regina’s creative mind did not disappoint me.

Vampires have been protecting the President of the United States since Lincoln was assassinated. They form a special op team known as The Colony. It’s funded through the President’s Black Budget, and Congress is not even aware of its existence. They work covertly with the Secret Service as the presidential security.

Raymond Metcalf is a head of The Colony which is like a clan. He’s tall, dark, and handsome and once was a soldier in the Civil War.

Some of the vampires have special abilities. Raymond can read thought patterns. Raymond is an honorable man who had lost his beloved wife in childbirth over a century ago. She was human and had a son. Sterling is his name. He’s a half-breed: half vampire and half human. Purebred vampires, frown upon Sterling’s kind, which is another story in itself. But anyway, Raymond loves his wife Wilma dearly and stays in mourning for over a hundred years, living a lonely life–until he meets Alex.

Alex Brennan has been going to a therapist for quite a while. She was attacked years ago and since then Alex has had a hard time dating. She desperately wants to be in a loving, passionate relationship, but the guys she goes out with turns out to be a bunch of losers. The only thing Alex feels secure in is her career. Alex is a Captain in the military and a top-level security specialist. Her credentials are impressive: martial arts, field training, and she's the highest ranking sharp shooter in the military. Because of her skills and outstanding record, Alex is offered a job as Colony Director. She’s thrilled. When she walks into Dixon’s (the Colony Director she’ll be replacing) office for the interview, she meets Raymond. They are both immediately attracted to each other, but Raymond struggles with his feelings towards her for a while because of his fear of dishonoring the memory of his deceased wife.

One of the things I like about this story is when Dixon tells Alex about The Colony, and that she’ll be working with vampires. Alex’s reaction is totally realistic. Regina did a wonderful job with that. I like that she didn’t dump Alex’s feelings about these paranormal creatures all in one scene. Instead, it spills out into other chapters, adding to the story in just the right places.

The emotional walls Alex and Raymond have put up, begin to crumble. They give into their feelings for each other, but I have to warn you . . . there is sexual tension. I won’t spoil it for you, but I was surprised at how personal some scenes were, and I found myself frustrated at few–not in a bad way. Those scenes were justifiable and added to the character’s development.

By the way, the vampires in this creative tale can adjust their age through the amount of blood they drink, that’s how they blend in with society.

How cool is that?

I give this book 5 stars *****

If you’re into vampires and paranormal romance, I recommend this book. Eternal Service gives a fresh, and new twist to the world of vampires.

paranormal romance, president, review, secret service, Vampires, white house, 2 Comments

I normally don’t read middle grade books, but I have to admit, when I saw this gorgeous cover, it captured my attention.

I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review, so lets get to it.

I give this book five stars because of the author's wonderful imagination and her character development.

The Tree of Mindala is about a soon-to-be twelve year old girl named Miranda Moon. I love her character. She has quite the imagination and is always up for an adventure. Her younger brother Marcus, on the other hand, is a goody-goody, tends to be pessimistic, and runs with the popular crowd. Miranda is the complete opposite. She always sees the brighter side of things, and she never holds back her overactive imagination, which gets her into trouble from time to time.

When Miranda’s parents decide to take them to their deceased grandparent’s cabin for a few days, Marcus is not a happy camper. It’s Halloween weekend, and he won’t be able to go to the Halloween party, hosted by the most popular guy in school. He blames Miranda because she got suspended from school. She had told her classmates she saw a mermaid in a nearby pond, which created quite a disruption in her class. Her teacher was not amused.

Marcus barks at Miranda after they arrive at the cabin: “When are you going to stop making up stories and realize life is not all tall tales and make-believe?”

Marcus changes his tune, though, when Miranda discovers a water globe, stowed away in the cabin. This unique globe houses a little stone house surrounded by large, healthy trees. The twinkling stars and brilliant moon, lights up the green leaves against the dark sky. Curious about Miranda’s discovery, Marcus crouches beside her on the floor to get a closer look. But when Miranda turns the globe upside down, something extraordinary happens. She and Marcus are no longer in the cabin. Instead, they somehow enter another realm called Wunderwood–a land where using magic is as common as brushing your teeth. The source of Wunderwood’s magic derives from an enchanting tree called Mindala. Without this tree, people of this land believe there would be no magic. Or, if somebody were to possess this tree’s entire essence, he or she will become all powerful and be able to rule Wunderwood. It so happens, one person tries to do just that. His name is Thornton Crow. He’s a warlock who is gifted in magic. He once was a good person, until he had the Kindred Dream.

When a child turns twelve in Wunderwood, the memories of the last deceased relative of the same gender are revealed to them while they’re asleep. Thornton’s misguided and power-hungry father died by the hands of a Wunderwoodian, who had no choice but to kill him. So when Thornton had his Kindred Dream, he experienced and felt what his father had experienced. From then on, as the years went by, Thornton secretly plotted a devious plan to be the most powerful warlock in Wunderwood and rule the land. But then one day, a nonmagical person entered the land and in the end, he imprisoned Mr. Crow for forty years. That is, until Miranda accidentally frees him with the water globe she finds.

To prevent any spoilers, I must be vague in the rest of this review. All I can say is Miranda and Marcus has a connection to this magical world. When Miranda realizes her mistake in releasing the binding spell that was placed on Thornton, she feels responsible. She then sets out on her own personal quest to stop this cunning warlock from carrying out his evil plan in finding the tree of Mindala and robbing it of its essence.

This debut novel by Elle Jacklee is an imaginative one. My favorite character is Skye. He’s a Morphiad, which means he can transform into any creature he has ever touched. Skye is loyal, trustworthy, and a bit ornery. He’s somebody you’d want to have on your side.

I recommend this book to readers who liked C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But I have to say, The Tree of Mindala, is a bigger book and encompass a lot more information than C.S. Lewis’ did. However, both stories reflect a magical land where animals talk and people are divided due to their beliefs and where their allegiance lies.

book, magic, middle grade, review, 0 Comments

Fledge is the second book in the I Am Just Junco series. I have to say, I like Clutch--the first book in this series; however, out of the two, I like Fledge the best. In my personal opinion, I think that's a good thing because each book should be better than the first one.

My husband Kevin always says when a person is hard on the outside, they’re soft in the inside (sounds like a Tootsie Pop). I don’t know if that holds true with every individual, but with Junco (the main character) it does. She may be a foul-mouth, bad-ass warrior who has been killing people since she was a young child, but she cares.

She has a heart.

I appreciate that about her character because if she didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to sympathize with her.

At the beginning of the book, Junco is put into hyper-sleep while she goes through morph. During that time her body grows wings and talons. It reminds me of a caterpillar in a cocoon, transforming into a butterfly. Basically, that’s what everybody does who goes through morph. Afterwards, you must go through Fledge.

Fledge is a test to see if you can fulfill your potential–to prove your worth. You have to go through a series of fights and fight to the death, to earn your place. Of course, Junco goes through those fights. I’m not going to tell you what happens, but there’s a lot of action in this book.

Before the first fight, Junco befriends a 10-year-old boy named Isec. He’s one of the fighters in Fledge. Junco takes him under her wing–no pun intended–and helps him through those fights. Here’s what she says to him before the first fight and after he tells her his age:

“Ten? Isec, when I was ten I had already assassinated two world leaders on Earth. I think I know what the fuck I’m doing. So relax, because if you get killed it will be because you panic and don’t do what I fucking tell you. Got it?”

Yup, she has a potty-mouth, but ya know what? People who cuss is the most trustworthy.

It's true.

Studies on the matter have proven it. And if you're in Junco's good graces, you can trust her with your life.

Besides going through Fledge, Junco secretly comes up with a plan to save Tier. Tier was one of the main characters in Clutch. He’s an avian and was supposed to have killed Junco. He didn’t, and now he’s on trial for treason. The reader doesn’t discover Junco’s plan on how she’s going to save Tier, until the tail end of the book. But her plan makes sense and completely dodges the “eye roll” which some books unfortunately receive with over-the-top, unrealistic scenes.

I recommend this book, and I will continue to read this series because I am now hooked on it. I give this book 5 *****

book, fight, fledge, morph, review, Sci-fi, 0 Comments

This is what it says inside the cover of Endlessly:

Evie’s paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie’s hands.

So much for normal.

I give this book 2 Stars **

Before I go into this review, I just want to say I respect every single author out there. The reason why is because so many people say they’re going to write a book and never do. Also, it takes a lot of hard work, persistence, and determination to complete a novel. I know because I’m an author myself. So even if a book sucks ass or is the greatest thing since peanut butter and chocolate, I still admire the writer, regardless if they’ve written a good or bad story.

Now with that being said, I’m going to point out the things I liked about this third and final book in this trilogy, then I’ll air out my grievances.

Paranormalcy is the first novel in this series. I really enjoyed it. I think Kiersten White is brilliant coming up with this concept–a teenage girl, who works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, can see through glamours, and humans working with and manipulating the Faerie realm in order to keep our world safe from paranormals–is totally thinking outside the box and nothing I’ve ever read before.

Supernaturally is the second one. I also enjoyed it as well and couldn’t wait to read Endlessly.

What I like most about Endlessly is Reth. He’s the beautiful Faerie . . . well, actually, all faeries are gorgeous. But he loves Evie and helps her out a lot. Sure he tricks her, but I think he has a valid reason. Then he gets sick, and we get to see that Reth can be vulnerable too.

I also like how Kiersten gets Arianna and Vivian involved in this tale and what she does with them in the end. It’s believable and the scenes they’re in add to the plot. They help propel the story and is a definite asset to it.

Jack is in this third book, and I have to say, I do like him. I don’t trust him, but he’s not a boring character, and you never know what might come out of his mouth or is up his sleeve. I’m glad Kiersten didn’t dispose of his character because he made me curious enough to wonder if he’s being genuine or not.

Oh. The faerie realm is really cool. I always enjoy reading about it.

Okay, now for what I didn’t like about Endlessly . . .

I really couldn't get into the story, and it took me a while to finish it because of how predictable it was. It seemed like this final installment in the series was rushed. There was no flavor, no color, no . . .

Evie basically only thinks about herself and what she wants. Also, her character hasn’t grown much, which is important to show in a series. And Lend . . .

I really liked Lend in the other two books, but in this one he’s 2 dimensional. I didn’t connect with him or Evie. Also, the spell Lend is put under is kinda lame.

Then there’s Evie’s good friend Carlee. I don’t want to do spoil it for those of you who haven’t read this book yet, so all I’ll say is . . . really?

Would you be nonchalant about the situation Carlee found herself in?

Ahhh, no.

At least, not right away.

You’d be asking some hard hitting questions about it if you were in her shoes. But when Kiersten wrote that scene, she didn’t take the time to have Carlee adjust to her situation or even had her ask Evie about what the hell was going on. That’s one of the reasons why I think this final story was written in a rush.

Anyway, I did like how it ended with the gate and what happened with Arianna, Vivian, and Reth. Kiersten did well with that. And although I’m disappointed in this book, I am looking forward to reading Kiersten White’s new novel coming out called Mind Games.

I suggest that if you have already read the first two books in this series to go ahead and read this one as well. I mean, just because I didn’t care for it, doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same way. Besides, don’t you want to know how it ends?
　
　