So this year has just absolutely been difficult, to say the least. 

If anyone is wondering: yes, bloggers do get writer's block even when they're just blogging or reviewing. 
I lost MAJOR interest this year in my blog, which absolutely tore at me every day. I kept up with my reading but I just could not, for the life of me, write a review without it being so difficult to do. Sigh, it's nice to be able to admit this finally. I think I reached burn out levels and writer's block. I finally feel that all lifting and I'm starting to gain interest in doing my blog again. 

I also faced some computer issues. 
I bought a new graphic's card (used, but new to me) in the summer. I am PC gamer, love my video games (thank you Sims 4 and other games for eating up my depression and writer's block). I had issues with the fans on this, but my computer savvy best friend figured out the issue. However, my case was just too small for the bigger card. I laid BlackBird case to rest (RIP 2014-2019) and have introduced Black Widow (because I like spiders). So far, it's been all happy. 

Then my hard drive died. 
Which was so stressful and terrifying. And expensive. Two SSD's later, and I'm up and running again. Saving for an exhaust fan and a hard drive now. 

Then all my blog stuff on my USB memory stick is gone because it up and died last night. Good thing I was feeling like my blog could use some new graphics. The loss of the banner is a bit sucky though :( but I might still be able to recover it if it hasn't corrupted. 

So there you have it, my year in a nutshell. 

Many apologies to the authors awaiting posts, I am going to do my best to work on those as much as I can. I won't burn myself out to do it but patience is greatly appreciated. My main focus now is reviews, to squish as many as I can into December and January as I can. No more of this falling behind deal!

2020 Blogging
I'm going to stick with the PopSugar Reading Challenges. It makes reading so much less of a task. I will still make time and room for reviews, never to worry. I will even squeeze a couple into the reading challenge prompts where I can. 

I will be cutting back author interviews to once a month. These spots are very limited. 

Featured Books will remain the same, twice a month (sometimes three if the month allows it.) 
The authors who I missed in my author interviews (Featured Author) and my Featured Books will get first spot. 

I will also be posting my favourite book(s) from the month, this will include review books and my reading prompts. And we'll throw updates and fun posts about as I feel up to it. 

Again, thank you to those who have been patiently waiting. I'm slow as turtle but I am determined too. 

​
Genre: Thriller, Short Story, Anthology
Publication Date: January 2018
Pages: 33
Format: Mobi
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Unfortunately, I was pretty torn about this book. While the stories are definitely decently written, I had a hard time distinguishing them as short stories because they seemed to skip and end too quickly. However, the first story was very heart breaking, so maybe I was hung up on that (book hangover situation), but even going back to it as a refresher, I still just did not connect with the story. 

Regardless, it's still written well and while it isn't my cuppa tea, doesn't mean it won't be a cuppa tea for others. 

Genre: Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publication Date: April 5, 2019
Pages: 324
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1. Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
While aliens, the weird and unexplained, tend to be our topics, we often inspire each other. Michelle has a love of science while Amanda heavily researches conspiracy theories. Then we put our heads together, bouncing our ideas back and forth until something sticks.

2. How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
Our characters are like real people in our heads. For Amanda, Riley was the first to appear. She popped up in her metaphysical shop and two very different men wanted a reading. Of course she fell for both of them. Even though this never made it to the final cut of the book - we've developed these characters from this inception.

3. Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
Michelle- I write when I can get a moment to breathe without the children using me as playground equipment, but typically when I am inspired and have a good jam playing. I'm NOT good at schedules.
Amanda- Both! I'm inspired all the time. I tend to have multiple manuscripts in different stages of development, but it's a matter of sitting down and scheduling. I try and clear big chunks of time to sit and write, even though having three kids makes that hard, I prioritize writing as a necessity in life.

4. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
Amanda's advice- I'm not big on giving other advice. Everything you do in life only works because you want to make it work. If you want it so bad, then what are you doing each day to build towards your goal. Writing is one of those things that has to have other elements around it other than the actual writing. For me, its eating healthy, making sure I get off the computer, finding new music, reading widely, and making sure I spend heaps of time with my family. If I neglect these things, then I find my writing falls short and flat. So having a balance lifts me up and the writing becomes rewarding.
Michelle- Keep writing. If it sucks. Write it again. The first draft is never great, and even the 30th will need polishing. Just. Keep. Writing.

5. Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
Amanda- I've always been an artist. Growing up I painted everything - bedroom walls, old furniture, whatever I could get my hands on. But when I became a mom, my art was too hard. A friend gave me a book to read - Twilight! By the end of the series, my dreams changed - I was dreaming of stories that I could write myself.
Michelle- I started out by doodling on every blank space of paper I could. Homework...doodled. Notebooks...doodled. I drew, colored, painted, and apparently (discovered recently) was writing stories even before I knew it was what I wanted to do 'when I grew up.' In my teens I wrote poetry, probably wouldn't want them to see the light of day now though, and still drew on every edge of paper I had in sight. I suppose I have always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn't until I sat down and wrote my first novel for a client as a ghostwriter that I realized I could actually do it.

6. How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
Amanda- that's a hard question. I tend to not put myself into a character. But is there clear separation? Hard to say. I find that I follow the characters in my head a clearly as I see them. Or perhaps they are just personas of my subconscious.
Michelle- The characters decide for themselves. I just write their stories. Do I sometimes see myself in my characters? Probably. I have one character that is a vegan...and I am a vegan...so there is that? lol.

7. What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
Amanda- Michelle! having someone by your side pointing out the good, the bad and the ugly parts of writing has made me jump from pretending to be a writer to an actual writer. And I'm just so lucky to be able to have a book out there with her.
Michelle- Amanda has been a great soundboard, cheerleader, and soul sister from across the planet. I think that just like language, writing is ever evolving. It's a living entity and I don't think I will ever stop working on improving my writing. And the only way to keep improving the writing is...writing. This book wouldn't even be if it wasn't for her pushing and motivating me to keep going and encouraging me when I wasn't at my best.

8. What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
Amanda- I recently just finished The Discovery of Witches. But generally I read lots of non-fiction. Currently I'm in the last chapter of Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken. Michelle- Oh jeebus. Okay. Asunder by Liz Steinworth. Always Darkest by Jessica Flaherty. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (second reading). And whatever new gems I find at the Library my next visit lol.

9. Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
Amanda- Not intentional. Michelle researches so much of science whereas I heavily research in conspiracy theories. I guess if the reader doesn't know these fields, they might take messages out from the book, although this is unintentional.
Michelle- I want to write novels that carry a message of my own devising, but I haven't decided on what message to send. Writing with Amanda, we definitely aren't sending a message intentionally, but it could be there. Writing on my own...well, I am a romance writer by nature, so I guess my message is love.

10. What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
Amanda- I tend to go back and forth between computer and long hand. Sitting on the computer for most of the day can be a drain, so I like to get out, into the sunshine and write by hand. All of my summaries, and research is done by hand, but if my brain goes into overdrive, then I have to be at a keyboard to keep up
Michelle- Definitely my Chromebook. My handwriting is atrocious. I can't even decipher that scratch. I would love a typewriter, but I feel my patience level wouldn't be able to stand it. Also, I love having the internet at the ready for anything I need to look up mid writing.

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Novella
Publisher: Black Hill Press
Publication Date: November 11, 2015
Pages: 120
Format: Mobi
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4.75 Stars

Don't let the synopsis of this story fool you, it's vague for a reason. Behind the vagueness is a really awesome story, but shh, I didn't tell you that! 

This is a dystopian world where meat is non-existent. However, a cult claims to be consuming meat. Howard, a detective and his partner Linda are sent to investigate the cult and its Leader, who calls himself "God", ironically. 

Howard has proven, in the past, not to have had the best track record. He's very reactive to what is around him, which isn't a bad thing per say. But he lets his emotions get out control. However Linda is definitely more level-headed, which evens out Howard's unpredictability. But even she falls for the excitement of the Cult and its claims, so Howard remains the most clear-headed throughout.
The other main character would be the cult leader, the aforementioned "God." Like most cult leaders, he is charismatic enough to pull a congregation of followers into the hundreds. But he's also crazy, cruel and very violent which makes him unpredictable. 

Eventually we learn the secrets of the church and it's mystery as to how it's obtaining meat. This story, no pun intended, is raw, visceral and yet it is very intriguing. Once it picks up, though. It was a bit of a slow start for me. But it takes you on one helluva Dystopian Carnival of Horrors ride. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Publication Date: February 2, 2019
Pages: 344
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Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: April 26, 2019
Pages: 260
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K.H. Kate is a University student, occasional painter and author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance books. She loves to venture into the world of action, dark romance, give happy endings with a little bit of tragedy and paint a world full of raw emotions. Born and raised AS A DREAMER, she has been writing for four years. She started writing to give life to her imaginary characters until they become stories themselves. ​​

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Riversong Books
Publication Date: November 15, 2017
Pages: 295
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​Sixteen-year-old Niena wants nothing more than to attend an elite bardic college, but when the dragon that shattered the empire awakens again she finds herself on the run, through the fey realm of Fairhome, to the city where she was born. On her trail are her army veteran grandfather, thrown into a commander's role he doesn't want, the lord of the fairies, trying to steer her to his own ends, and the husband she won't meet for fifteen years. If she kills the dragon, she'll save everyone she holds dear. But if she kills the dragon, she's cursed instead to become it.

Stephen Reeves was born in 1980 in Huntsville, Alabama, but grew up in a small community just on the edge called Madison. His writing career began during a boring math class in college and has blossomed over the last couple of decades into something decidedly not boring. His works have been published in numerous zines including The Blotter, Chantwood, Yellow Chair Review, and The Writers Drawer. Stephen has also reviewed books for Oxford University Press, including Micheal Newtons Victorian Fairy Tales.

Curses of Scale is his debut novel, written over the course of four years in the inspirational country of Switzerland, where he now resides with his wife, two cats, and an obsessive Pomeranian. ​

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
S.D.R: Seems to be rather a mishmash of things. Characters? Often are inspired by people that stand out to me. Locations? Moving to Switzerland has definitely helped with inspirational landscapes. The city of Shenan for instance, is loosely based off the Bellazona. As far as the plot, part of me wants to be silly here and say 'Alcohol,' but the reality is usually the development of the characters drive the creation of my plot.

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
S.D.R: It may sound a bit strange, but I tend to have conversations with my characters. Imagining them to be real, flesh and blood beings helps me to get to the meat of who they are. Thankfully my wife is around to keep me from being locked away. Beyond that, they have pieces pulled from regular folk I encounter, and my own madness. Marny for instance, was based off one of my wife's friends whom I met during a early Empire period (1805) re-enactment, his particular personality of the old-gruff-captain just struck me. The plot just, sort of develops along side. Sure, I often have a general idea of where I am going, but how I get there is a bit of a journey.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
S.D.R: Most of the time I write when I feel like it, however lately I've been writing a lot during my lunch breaks where I work.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
S.D.R: I have found when trying to market my book that while researching similar novels was helpful, it always came down to trial-and-error. So keep that in mind when you get emails promising to help you sell thousands of books, and what not.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
S.D.R: This is a bit harder to explain. I just feel a need to do it. Some writers will say that they have so many stories they want to tell. For me, it is a bit different. I have some many characters I would like to put to a story.

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
S.D.R: I try to keep myself separate, but there is always going to be some cross over.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
S.D.R: Reading critiques, not of my own writing, but of others. Beyond this I would say writing, has helped my writing.

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
S.D.R: Right now I am reading a piece of literature for another author. Can't say that I would recommend it yet, but I am very picky. Personally I would suggest "The Bear and the Nightingale," by Katherine Arden, if you like historical fantasy.

Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
S.D.R: My novels tend to not carry a specific, singular message. At least not intentionally.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
S.D.R: A laptop, with a mechanical keyboard if I can.

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Sci-fi, Thriller, Erotica
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Publication Date: December 1st, 2018
Pages: 82
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​"Sugar Plum'd" is Leon Mauvais' debut! He's a beret-wearing sprite who fell asleep in the cornfields of Pennsylvania. He dreams in the husks, hoping his tales taste like taffy, but help build crystallized armor. Once, he lingered in the corners of the last used bookstores searching for forbidden adventures on exotic worlds.

Genre: Legal Thriller
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Publication Date: February 22, 2019
Pages: 336
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Hi Book Dragons! 

I hope you're all well! 
This year has been a much better one for me. Although I am behind in my reviews (sorry! Working on those!) I am reading more this year and I've been putting a lot of work into my blog as well. 

After Drew @TheTattooedBookGeek had shared The Caffeinated Reader's post on How to E-mail a Book Blogger, I realized: holy crap, I don't have a Review Policy. Which might explain some of my e-mails lately involving books that I wouldn't ever read. 

I wrote up a Review Policy and I will be following that when I accept Reviews, Interviews and Featured Books. It's there as a guide for you, as authors/street teams/publishers/publicists and it's there for me, as well. 

You can also check out the genres I read as well, just as a reference if you do feel like you want to try tempting the Book Dragon. Anything outside of my genre list may not be considered, apologies. 

I do recommend you read my review policy before e-mailing me so that there isn't any confusion if I do not respond. If you're unsure, please just e-mail me and ask any question. 

I am hoping to work on some personal posts with book related questions or topics. I also hope to get back into Tease Tuesdays and also Best Book of the Month posts next year. 

But that's it, I think I've rambled on enough now. 

Have a great week!

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
DKH: I just enjoy writing.

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
DKH: No, they're fictional. I'm a story-line oriented writer.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
DKH: I'm retired so I write on no particular schedule.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
DKH: Don't give up when facing the challenges of publishing your work.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
DKH: Basically, I started writing after retirement when I had time at last. I have concerns about the sorry state of our country so those concerns tend to bleed into the stories to a certain extent. My characters aren't sanitized, but I try to humanize them with all the normal human frailties.

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
DKH: I don't try to relate any of my books to personal history other than a little of having been in the Vietnam War.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
DKH: Dealing with various editors from the publishers and attending a writers conference in New York.

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
DKH: Michele Obama's book. My favorite author has always been Michael Crichton.

Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
DKH: I tend to write possibilities. In many cases, I write in a way to allude to behaviors of characters where I leave it to the reader to choose. Did the woman do this, or not? All of us are flawed, so I write characters accordingly.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
​DKH: Computer.

Thank you to Dennis for providing us with this interview! Don't forget to stop by and check his book Echo Three Tango (links and synopsis below!).

Genre: Military, Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Co.
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 242
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​Echo Three Tango, E3T, is dropped into a war zone on a new planet facing a savage foe capable of destroying all life forms. Surviving the forced retreat of their E3T corps, Bret and a small band of his Federation soldiers are stranded and left behind to create a new society.

Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: KDP
Publishing Date: June 4, 2018
Pages: 465
Format: Paperback
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This has been one of my most favourite reads, ever. To say I devoured the book would be an understatement. I had to convince myself to slow down and live life outside of the book but it didn't stop me from thinking about it! 

I think that hardest part of reading this novel was knowing that the path that we, as a general population, and our political leaders are on the same path that those of the dead world of Panagea's world. A world dominated by men who make the rules and hold the reigns tightly, despite the obvious balance of the world being out and the citizens are dying. 

Nicholai
He broke all the rules to save the love of his life. Stopping the Southeastern division's time in order to find a way to save her. He clearly grew up not knowing really how to survive the outside world. But his knowledge of how division's work and the behaviour of the leaders came quite in handy for him. He was quite lucky to find Kazuaki Hidataka and his crew. A group absolutely willing to do what it takes to overthrow the leaders. 

What they find is the hope to restore Panagea to its former glory. 

This was a phenomenal epic fantasy full of monsters, myths, spells and the battle to restore a dying world. This, for sure, has become a favourite that I will recommend over and over!

​McKenzie Austin has always enjoyed her relationship with the creative arts. Like any whirlwind romance, she finds the ebbs and flows of the artistic process as challenging as they are rewarding. A tattoo artist by trade, McK is intimately familiar with the art world. Writing has always been the most ambitious undertaking, however, as her inherent demand for quality often keeps her from publishing her works. She resides with her family in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and hopes to publish a follow up to The Tree That Grew Through Iron in the future.

Genre: Satire, Thriller
Publisher: Something Something LLC
Publication Date: November 18, 2018
Pages: 268
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Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Publisher: Waterside Press
Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Pages: 200
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Rene DeFazio and Tamara Veitch are a husband and wife writing team. Rene is an actor, producer and author. Tamara studied English, History and General Arts at Simon Fraser University. The co-authors have been writing together for nearly a decade. In 2012 they received Honorable mention from the New York Book Festival and The London Book Festival. In 2014 they were each awarded an Empowered Writers Award at the World International Peace festival In Vancouver BC, Canada. Tamara and Rene continue creating The One Great Year Series and traveling the world researching with their children. They are grateful for the support of their faithful readers and hope you truly enjoy your journey into the world of The Emissary. ​

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: SeaMonkey Ink
Publication Date: August 14, 2012
Pages: 208
Format: ePub
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Oh how I love historical fiction!

Ida
I wasn't so sure about Ida at first. I knew she was meant to be a slave but she was pretty dang bossy for a slave. She was rough and harsh. She seemed very unwilling to be a slave girl born with nobility in her blood.

Eventually though, life tamed her a bit. She became head slave and a beloved friend of the Queen Ankhesenamun and childhood friend of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and eventually his forbidden and secret love. Quite an admirable feat for this woman to bear and live with.

The moment that Ida chose to be Tut's wife of his heart, her life was set for an entirely new path. All the supporting characters played their parts well for Ida's story to flourish. I enjoyed the happiness that Pharaoh Tutankhamun before his unfortunate death at such a young age, the secret that Ida carried to as much safety as she could muster, and the eventual just desserts for the scheming Queen Ankhe.

This is a short, sweet historical fiction with a lovely touch of romance with one of Ancient Egypt's most famous Pharaoh's.