Showing posts with label sequel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sequel. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

PENNSYLVANIA PATCHWORK by KATE LLOYD ~ Litfuse Tour & Amish Quilt Giveaway

About Book

Seattle native Holly Fisher is smitten by Lancaster County, its simplicity and her long lost relatives. In the sequel to bestselling Leaving Lancaster, Holly embraces the Amish culture, learning to slow down to see what --- and who --- really matters.

Meeting the family that her mother had kept hidden from her, Holly comes face to face with her real life and blood legacy. She also falls for the charming Zach, a handsome Mennonite veterinarian who is everything she's ever wanted in a husband: confident, kind, successful, and authentic. And Zach proposes marriage. Is this too soon? Is this the right choice? Mother and Amish grandmother think she's rushing into too much of a lifestyle change. Holly is in love with Zach and that precludes everything. Until she meets an attractive Amish man. And an old suitor shows up.


Pennyslvania Patchwork is the moving, richly told story of one woman's heart, her faith and trust, and the choices she makes. Never easy, but one choice can change your destiny.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/lG7GU

Landing page: 

  
Meet Kate: 

Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her novels. She is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society. Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. Kate studied painting and sculpture in college. She's worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur.

Learn more about Kate at http://www.katelloyd.net


Kate Lloyd is celebrating the release of book two in her Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy, Pennsylvania Patchwork, by giving away an authentic Amish-made quilt!


PennsylvaniaPatchwork
 
One "grand" winner receive:
  • An authentic Amish-made Quilt
  • Pennsylvania Patchwork and Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 29th. Winner will be announced on July 1st at Kate's blog.


Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.


My Thoughts

Holly Fisher lives under the same roof with her mother who is soon to be baptized Amish and her grandmother whom she was just recently united with due to the fact Holly was told her   grandmother was not alive. 

In their home the drama level is at a very high level.

Holly is trying to decide if she still wants to marry a Zach, the Mennonite veterinarian or convert to Amish and marry an Amish man.  But wait!  There is also an Englischer friend that has decided he wants to be more than friends with Holly and presents with a proposition he thinks she will not resist.  

It appears Holly has enough drama just by herself but then her mother, Esther was suppose to be getting married to Nathaniel and now the Bishop has come up with a very good reason why she may not get to marry Nathaniel.

Holly's grandmother, Anna is having health problems and showing signs of dementia needing more care than a toddler.  Her cooking and dropping off to sleep at any given time is proof her memory and health are failing.  

I was under the impression that life among the Amish was plain and peaceful.  Evidently not! The author's imagination must have been working on triple time.  Having raised several daughters I know how drama can build.

I tried to think of who was my favorite character in this story and I have to say Anna the feisty grandmother.  She may have been in bad health but the author gave her a big personality.  Anna was one sneaky, persistent and sometime sweet old lady.  

What really got on my nerves was the constant friction between Holly's so called suitors.  They bickered so much I wanted to bop them upside their head.  The story could have done with less of their bickering.

I suggest you read book one to really appreciate book two. All said, I do recommend this book. 

Considering the positive over the negative of this story I have rated the book a 4 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group/David C. Cook for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here.




Monday, September 3, 2012

Author Q&A/Interview with Amber Argle: WITCH BORN (sequel) YA



About Book


Brusenna thought it was finished.

She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong.

She was wrong.

Haven is not the sanctuary it appears to be. Even love is in danger of slipping away like water through cupped hands.

Some things can't be saved.

A new threat merges with the old as the Witches’ dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything.

Including her life.

Will Brusenna be required to make the ultimate sacrifice?

First page:

1. Shadows

The night was so deep the shadows seemed to bleed darkness. Senna glanced toward the hidden sky, searching for the moon that would not come. Not tonight. Even the strongest starlight was strangled by the dense canopy of trees. The temporary blindness was frightening, but it ensured no one would notice her slipping away.

With each step she took, the roar of the waterfall grew louder. Finally, she reached the staircase carved into the side of the cliff. Mindful of the slippery steps, she climbed upward until her muscles burned and sweat broke across her skin despite the chill.

When she’d crested the top and crossed the bleak expanse, she glanced at the frothing sea far below. Sea spray misted her skin. She faced westward, towards the distant land of Tarten. Closing her eyes, she cast her senses across the vast ocean, searching and feeling the faraway echoes of the Four Sisters—Earth, Water, Plants, and Sunlight. She concentrated until she could hear their pain, an aching melody.

Senna’s tears started again, wetting the salty tracks already on her cheeks. At night, her dreams haunted her. Dreams of a withered land and a dying people. With all the strength she had, she sang.


Let not the curse of Witches
Destroy a land of natural riches.
Plants, preserve life in thy roots,
Seeds sleep in earth, send forth no shoots
Until the Witches shall disperse
This terrible and unjust curse.  

About Amber

I am the author of Witch Song and its sequel, Witch Born. I run because I like to eat chocolate and fit in my jeans. I have a thing for vintage inspired clothes, and I firmly believe one can never have enough jewelry, shoes, or books.


Q&A with Amber

1. What made you decide to write about Witches?
I wanted to take something that was often portrayed as dark and evil and twist it into something beautiful and natural. So instead of satanic chanting, my witches sing to control nature. I also wanted to use resonance with the Salem Witch Trials, so though my world is completely fictional, it has many similarities in landscape and technology with seventeenth century New England. 

2. How did you get your book published?
After years of hard work and rejection, I finally found an agent. Dropped him after a year. Had a book contract (for a different book), but the contract was awful so I couldn't sign it. Had another publisher and other agents nearly take it, but it was always nearly. Rhemalda published Witch Song. They did a good job, but when I received my first royalty statement, I realized if I wanted a chance to make any money at this, I was going to have to try something else, so I published Witch Born under my own publishing house.

3. What type of readers will be interested in this series/book?
Readers who enjoy clean fantasy with a touch of romance. 

4. What is special about this series/book?
It's very different from anything else out there. When I first started, there wasn't anyone else doing YA high fantasy except Kristin Cashore. I haven't really heard of other books that use singing as a medium for magic. There's a few more now, but still not many. Also, I'm clean and lyrical. 

5. What differentiates this book from others in this category?
My characters are flawed and make mistakes (read: screw up). Also, I have lots of young girls who relate to Brusenna because she's very shy and unsure in the beginning. 

6. Have you published any other books?
Just these two so far. 

7. Do you plan to publish more books?
I have two coming out next year. Witch Wars, which is a short prequel to Witch Song and follows the events that initiated the Witch wars. 

Winter Queen is the beginning of a whole new trilogy. 
Mortally wounded during a raid, seventeen-year-old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.

Unwilling to pay such a high price, Ilyenna is enslaved by the one of the invaders, Darrien. While in captivity, she learns the attack wasn’t just a simple raid but part of a larger plot to overthrow her entire nation. 

With the enemy stealing over the mountains and Darrien coming to take her to his bed, Ilyenna must decide whether to resurrect the power the fairies left behind. Doing so will allow her to defeat Darrien and the other invaders, but if she embraces winter, she will lose herself to that destroying power—forever.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15829917-winter-queen

Where to buy WITCH BORN:  Barnes&NobleAmazonIndieBoundBooks-A-Million

* * *

AMBER I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW/Q&A
 I AM SURE MY VIEWER/FRIENDS ENJOYED THIS AS MUCH AS I HAVE.  

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BOOK !
WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO READING WITCH BORN!