Hedgeland Winner!

Congrats to Birgit ~ she has won a copy of Hedgeland by A. Nyland.

Demon Kiss Winner!

Congrats to Meredith M!  She has won an ecopy of Demon Kiss by Lacey Weatherford!

Holy WOW!!!!! 800 Followers!

I just logged on and see that I have 800 followers!  WOW!!!

Thanks to all 800 of you!

Blood Maiden Blog Tour - - - Interview and giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Blood Maiden Blog Tour!

Please welcome author Christine Schulze!

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I want to say around the time I was four; that was when I composed my first book, Jonny to the Rescue. I was a flower girl for a friend’s wedding, and the bride wanted a story as a wedding present. This would be the start in a flood of fantasy stories and books that span from then until today; that first book itself spawned the later creation of my Legends of Surprisers series.  Also as a child, I remember watching painters on T.V. with grandma and wanting to be an artist; I think that fancy passed soon enough though, especially when I realized that, to this day, my painting has little merit. Thus, author it was.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer? Well, first of all, I must thank you for suggesting I am well-known enough to be solely an author, living entirely off my writing! That is my goal, someday, not so much for the pay but so that millions of people can enjoy  my books and get something from them. Unfortunately, though I have been called “prolific” by several, I am still fairly new in this world of publication.

But to answer the question: well, my first job was Quizno’s, which I started during my first year of college. I worked there all through getting my bachelor’s in elementary education, which was about a year ago, and up until recently. For the past several months, I’ve also been working full-time at a daycare. Not my usual age group, but I do love them! I’ve had the chance to teach an enrichment course on world cultures to elementary students and also plan to pick up some substitute teaching this fall.

? How long does it take you to write a book? Hard to say, really. IF I am very inspired to write something, and IF I have plenty of free time, not long at all. I am very proud of my four-book series, The Gailean Quartet, one of my favorites, and one which I call “the series written in a year-and-a-half.” Pretty amazing considering it contains the longest books I’ve ever written, most over four hundred pages; I amazed even myself when I saw how little time it took to write it. I’m also one of those people who won’t write anything I don’t feel like. I never try to “force” the writing, so if I am tired of something, I’ll set it aside a little while and start something else.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk? Perhaps the way in which I write a book or story. I only ever write what I am inspired to; I don’t have to start from the beginning and work straight through to the end. In fact, doing so would probably drive me nuts, and the writing would be consequently awful. I love gripping beginnings and beautiful and/or powerful endings and often have these written before all of the middle. Right now, I am working for a teen novel for Books By You, a company that specializes in personalized books. They want me to send them the first three or so chapters in the next couple of weeks, and while I am working on them, I actually have already finished the ending chapters.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write? Honestly, not really. If I feel it, I do, and if I don’t, I don’t. Sometimes, watching a new movie or reading a new book will trigger the right mood for a certain scene I am writing or will inspire a new work, but mostly, I write when I feel inspired.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters? Mostly from everyday life, people I know and love, or maybe an interesting person with an interesting name that I meet only once. The entirety of my Gailean Quartet was inspired by my favorite teacher and choir instructor, Dr. Gail Fleming. Other stories of mine, such as “Autumn Falls” from The Chronicles of the Mira, soon to be released by Writers-Exchange, was inspired by a very sweet girl whom I met in my college’s hallway one day. We talked maybe a couple times and then I never saw her again, save to share a smile in the ladies’ room. Still, she inspired me to write about an “Autumn”, and from there, many legends of the Scintillate and Mira peoples were born.

? How do you decide what you want to write about? As sort of said above, it just comes to me. I’ve always loved fantasy and can hardly write anything but; the real world limits my imagination. In fantasy worlds, I can make up all the rules, and this leads to not only unique fantasy worlds but deeper plots and characters for me.

I write largely though based on my characters, many inspired by real people I know. There are many times I’ve also been inspired by other books, movies, video games, something I saw in a store, etc. You name it, and you never know—it could inspire a story.

? What books have most influenced your life? Well, as a Christian, I must first say the Bible; though I am not a preachy writer—and a couple of my reviewers have attested to this—my books that are Christian fantasy often contain themes of forgiveness, love, and friendship, a few even focusing a little on salvation. I’m working on a Christian fantasy allegory right now as well.

Some authors who have made an impact on me are C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Rowling, Nancy Springer, Neil Gaiman, and especially the late Diana Wynne Jones; while I don’t claim to be as quirky and creative as she, I am quirky and have had such a humbling comparison made.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing? I love creating coverart for my books, composing music for my books, playing piano, singing, reading, and playing video games. Of course, I do none of these things very often, because many lead to new inspirations, and then I’m just writing all over again. I also like going on adventures, like walking on new trails and exploring new places. I’ve never traveled very far, but someday, perhaps. In the meantime, I am a writer, so I can go anywhere I please in my books.

? What is your favorite comfort food? Well, I have food allergies—milk and sugar—so my menu is somewhat limited. However, there are two things. First, a meal I like to call “hamburgury goodness”, which is similar to spaghetti; however, because of the sugar issue, I have to use a specific tomato sauce instead of spaghetti sauce—it contains some very yummy spices—and I mix hamburger into it. Also, for a quick snack, I love pineapple and also what I like to call “Choco Bunnies”. A company named Annie’s makes organic foods, and the bunnies taste like chocolate Teddy Grahams, even there is no milk and the sugar is organically processed.

? What do you think makes a good story? For me, I love intricacy. Intricacy of characters, back stories, side stories, and intertwining plots. Now, this is not to say each of my books is overly complicated. Some have a lot going on, while others, like The Legends of Surprisers  series, which is for a bit young of readers, contain simpler stories. However, even those stories all connect in some way or other. In fact, many of my books and series connect, so that while someone can read just one and understand it, the more they read, the more they are rewarded, like being let in on a secret.

I also like my stories to have a purpose, moral or otherwise, and always believed that the writing itself was important, even as a child, if not quite as much as now. I’ve been complimented for making my stories seem very visual, the emotions very real, as if the readers are right there in the story. This too is important to me and one of my aims; almost everyone who reads wants to feel like they are whisked off to another time and place.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

I named several above, but again, if I must choose, I shall say Diana Wynne Jones. Her fantasy worlds are so unique, with quirky characters and interesting stories. While I have many books that are definitely more serious than Jones’ or that contain more romance, a little horror, etc., she has been a major influence, especially in my writings for middle grade. The mere description of Dogsbody and the first few pages—I have yet to get my hands on a copy and devour it—inspired me to write The Last Star, a middle grade fantasy which I shall soon seek an agent for.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again? I can honestly say I’ve never read a book through twice, except for school. I don’t have the time, honestly, since I write so much lately. Plus, I have a pretty good memory, so a lot of time would have to have passed for me to feel an interest. But I have picked up The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter books, and other favorites just to re-read favorite scenes.

Fun random questions: 

• dogs or cats? Both! But as a child, I was allergic to cats, so though I really wanted one, I could never have one. I’ve had four wonderful dogs though, since my childhood, and I also wrote plenty of stories with dogs and cats as a child as well.
• Coffee or tea? Tea. Coffee smells good, but I am both picky and particular and know I won’t like it. Besides, I never drink or eat caffeine, so if I do, it makes me a little crazy. And green tea is very healthy for you.
• Dark or milk chocolate? Milk Chocolate. Unfortunately, I cannot consume much of this right now—I am allergic to milk and sugar; all us nerds have strange allergies, right?—but am at the point now where I can eat a little here and there. I don’t mind dark chocolate, but it’s not worth risking a sinus infection.
• Rocks or flowers? Rocks, believe it or not. I always have loved flowers and include gardens in many of my books; I live near St. Louis, and their Botanical Gardens is gorgeous, and I have dreams of someday going there without misery, but again—allergies. So, I must pick rocks. I’ve loved collecting different rocks and emeralds since I was a young child, and their influence also found their way into my books, such as the Thebaziles from my Legends of Surprisers series.
• Night or day? Day, because I have always been a morning person. Though, now that I live on my own, there is a thrill in being able to get so much writing and such done in the middle of the night. ^_^
• Favorite color? Ah, this answer actually has a long history. As a child, it was a vibrant neon hot pink; I even had a crayon color to match it. When I was around twelve, it became purple, in honor of my crush on Pokemon’s James from Team Rocket; wrote a book about adventures with him, though I don’t plan to publish that one ever. Then, my favorite color finally changed to green; it was the favorite color of my seven-plus-year crush, Aaron—whose various characters are found in many books, namely Aaryn from Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress, Aaron from The Hero Chronicles, and Phillip from The Legends of Surprisers. Even though his love was never reciprocated—though we are still good friends—and I finally moved on, this color remain my favorite. Others I enjoy are still purple, what I like to call “Zelda pink”, and aqua, for my favorite gemstone, phosphopherite.
• Crayons or markers? Crayons; as a kid, there were more color varieties, and they can’t dry out.
• Pens or pencils? Depends on my varying moods, actually; I seem to go in rounds. Right now it’s pens because they don’t smudge so terribly.

Christine Schulze has been creating books since she was too young to even write them in words. Her collection of YA fantasy books, The Amielian Legacy, is comprised of series and stand-alone books which can all be read separately but which weave together to create an amazing fantasy. Her fanatsies also incorporate many other genres, such as Christian fantasy, romance, and even a spark of horror at times. She hopes to inspire readers throughout the world with these books by publishing in both traditional and electronic formats to make them available to all readers.

Christine has published several stories with Calliope and Kalkion magazines and is an active member of the WEbook online writing community. She has also published several Christian/fantasy books which are available at various online retailers, as well as publishing several eBooks via Writers-Exchange.

Her latest and most exciting venture includes her publications with Old Line Publishing: Bloodmaiden and Tears of a Vampire Prince: the First Krystine. She also anticipates her upcoming publication with Old Line, Lily in the Snow, as well as releasing The Chronicles of the Mira with Writers-Exchange in both paperback and electronic forms.

Christine currently lives in Belleville, Illinois in her first and most thrilling apartment. 

***Want your own copy of Blood Maiden?  Fill out the form below***

You can buy your own copy of this book at Amazon or at Smashwords.  

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!

The next stop on the tour is:

May 20 – Paranormal Opinion  http://paranormalopinion.blogspot.com/

Review: No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe

No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe!


Amazon Product Description:

The new resident in 221A Baker Street is about to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his magnifying glass!

When Griffin is sent to stay with his detective uncle at 221A Baker Street for the summer, he is certain that his uncle must be the great Sherlock Holmes! But Griffin is disappointed to discover that Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street and his uncle lives unit 221A. His uncle is a detective, just not a very good one. But when Griffin meets a woman with a case that Holmes has turned away for being too ridiculous, he and his uncle team up to help her. Along the way, Griffin shows his uncle just what it means to have true faith in God, even when the case challenges that.  The woman claims that her husband was eaten by the Loch Ness Monster, but monsters aren't real-or are they?

My Thoughts:
This is a great mystery for YA readers!  This is a wonderful story for the "new to mystery" readers to 'cut their teeth' on.  It is well written, planned out from beginning to end, entertaining, and much more emotional than I had expected.  
The characters are fantastic!  I fell in love with Griffin - what a sweet, sad little boy.  I found myself close to tears many times.  I was thrilled to see that his demeanor influences that of his Uncle Snodgrass in a positive way.  
The villains are sooooo evil, Nigel - - - what a HORRID man - a larger version of the contemptible young man he had been as a child. 
All the characters stand out in some way.
The plot is not so complicated that the adult reader doesn't see the next move coming, but all the while it is complex enough to keep you turning the pages and wondering about the end.
I have to admit that I wasn't ready for the end!
I love that there is an element of steampunk thrown in!  The inventions are wonderful.  I would love to have read this aloud to middle schoolers, just so I could have seen their faces when Griffin gets to use Snodgrass's information finding machine.  Watts is amazing!


Overall a very worthwhile read!  Intriguing and entertaining from start to finish.  
I plan to impatiently await the next book in the series!

Hedgeland Blog Tour ~ Author interview and Giveaway!

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the Hedgeland Blog Tour!  

Hedgeland Blurb.

Hedgeland, an urban fantasy of time travel. Dr April Neuland, a Professor of Ancient Languages turned non-fiction writer, has been plagued by dreams all her life, dreams of her past life in the Otherworld. Meanwhile, in a parallel dimension of April's past and Caridwen's future, Worthing, a Future History Professor, has allied with the Military to access Future Internet communications and use new technology to influence April to write an ebook novel revealing where she, in her past life as Caridwen, hid the Kiste, a device to travel through time and space. Hedgeland weaves all three time/space frames: Caridwen, Worthing, and April. Hedgeland is the first in the Hedgecraft Sequence, but is a fully self contained novel with no cliff hangers.

Author Dr Ann Nyland was on Faculty at the University of New England, Australia. She is a grammar pedant, ancient languages translator, and best selling non-fiction author of such books as The Complete Books of Enoch; Angels, Archangels and Angel Categories: What the Ancients Said; The Book of Jubilees; A Devil of a Job to Find Satan in the Bible, among others.


Today we are hosting an interview with the author A. Nyland!  Thanks Ann for taking time to answer questions for us!!!

* When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I can't remember how old I was, but I was quite young. I wanted to be an artist and a writer. My parents insisted I needed a back-up plan in case I failed at art and writing. They were very practical. When I was five years old I saw a play at school and told my parents I wanted to be an actor. They were quite upset and spent literally an hour or so explaining to me that acting was not a solid career choice. I had to overcome a lot of head stuff to become a writer!

*How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

I had a few odd jobs but spent much of my life at university, first as a student, then again as postgrad student, and then on Faculty.

*How long does it take you to write a book?

This varies quite widely. My New Testament translation took six years, but that was due to the fact I had to do a lot of research into ancient Greek word meaning from first century Palestine. Otherwise it would have been quite fast. The translations of ancient texts always take an awfully long time. I did the first draft of Hedgeland in NaNoWriMo last November, but have had the idea for many years.

*What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Hmm, I don't know if I have one. When I go into "writing frenzy" I neglect everything else (except the horses of course) and write like a maniac. I write until the early hours of the morning, get up early, have two coffees, and then write. I also eat a horrible amount of food when in writing frenzy.

*Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

I don't have a routine as such but the house has to be spotless, and I like lavender oil in the oil burner and to have frankincense incense burning.

*Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

Hedgeland weaves three realms, past, present and future. The future is between the present and past - it makes sense when you read the book! The "Past" realm has an accurate background of Irish and Welsh mythology. Most of the characters in the "Present" realm are actual characters, and in fact I base the "Present" on my own reality. I base the character "April Neuland" on myself. I have based the "Past" realm on actual dreams I have had since I was a young child. It's quite uncanny how this ties in with Welsh and Irish mythology.

Worthing from the "Future" realm is a favorite character of mine. I based him loosely on a former colleague.

*How do you decide what you want to write about?

I don't actually decide - it just comes to me. This is why Hedgeland is cross genre - had I decided and been logical, I would have made it just one genre!

*What books have most influenced your life?

The ancient Hittite Kikkuli text, which I spent over a year translating. It was a seven month training regime to get war horses very fit, and surprisingly as it was written around 1345 BCE, it was Interval Training which supposedly was only "invented" a few decades ago. After I translated the text, I put ten Arabian horses through the seven month regime. I have also been influenced by the Greek playwrights - Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and the comedian Aristophanes. These guys were absolutely brilliant, and their ideas are just astounding.

*What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I spend most of the day writing - and at this time of the year in the part of Australia in which I live, chopping firewood, sad to say. When I have a break from writing, I read or do stuff with my horses.

*What is your favorite comfort food?

Ice cream, although I am dairy intolerant. It's a serious addiction. I like butterscotch ice cream, or ice cream full of little chocolate bits.

*What do you think makes a good story?

Just in my personal opinion - a variation of tone; showing not telling - such as describing the play of sunlight on a surface rather than a bald statement that the sun was shining; non-appallingly written dialogue - to that I would add a lack of adverbs; consistency of characterization; and being able to sum up the book in two to three short sentences.

*Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

Homer. I'll say "Homer" although we are fairly sure several people contributed to the Odyssey and the Iliad. The Odyssey is a work of sheer genius. These are works of oral epic poetry, and were recited to people, so people listened to them being recited, rather than read them. They are incredibly long, and the person reciting was able to remember the whole work which I find incredible. However, there is a static structure, an architectural structure, to these horribly long epic works, which provided tricks to help the memory. It's all so clever.

*What book, if any, do you read over and over again?

Homer's Odyssey, partly for the reasons I've just mentioned, and also because I love the language. I also love the epithets - "rosy-fingered Dawn," "flashing-eyed Athena."

Fun random questions: 

·                    dogs or cats? Dogs

·                    Coffee or tea? Coffee

·                    Dark or milk chocolate?  Dark

·                    Rocks or flowers? I love rocks, but I prefer flowers.

·                    Night or day? Night

·                    Favorite color? Blue

·                    Crayons or markers? Markers

·                    Pens or pencils? Pens

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole! 

The next stop is:

May 18th - The Bookish Snob - http://thebookishsnob.blogspot.com


You can buy your own copy at Amazon or at Smashwords!

******to win your own copy of this book - please leave a comment including your email address.  You must be a follower and over 13 years of age.  This is international! The contest ends on 5/20/11.