Winners of Iron Pendulum and a Freebie

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have the winners from my Rafflecopter giveaway and announcement of a freebie for you all. Get strapped into that chair and let's get going!

First up, the winners!

Each of these lovelies win an e-copy of Iron Pendulum by Megan Curd.

Alana M.
Wendy P.

Bummed you didn't win? Well, you kind of did! Why?

Steel Lily, book one of the Periodic Series, is FREE right now!

Information about the book:

Title: Steel Lily
Author: Megan Curd
Genre: YA Dystopian with hints of Steampunk
Length (print): 314 pages
Links to Purchase: Amazon—FREE Kindle  B&N—$0.99 Nook

Synopsis:
AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She's a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued. But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn't any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.

...Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything...including the fate of your world.

Link to my review of Steel Lily: http://jomichaels.blogspot.com/2013/12/book-review-steel-lily.html

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend of reading! Go get that book now and start your journey into the future.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Guest Posting - Topic Turmoil

Yay! Only two days until the weekend gets here! It's a terrific Thursday here on the Jo Michaels blog, and I intend to give you a little something to think about in my post for the day. That's right, I'm talking about guest posts. How do you rock it like a star? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get crackin'!


Do you ever get invited to guest post on someone’s blog and stare at a blank screen for hours, wondering why in the world anyone would want to hear from little old you? Ever get a case of the heebie-jeebies when you go to write that post, thinking you’ll sound stupid or make crazy errors and look like a complete fool?

Yeah, we all do.

But, here are some tips and tricks to help you write the best guest post ever:

1. Don't be afraid. Yeah, that's my number one tip. Put your insecurities in a drawer and lock that bad boy until you're done writing your post.
2. Write on a topic you’re familiar with or something you’re an expert on (we all have an area of expertise—even if it’s just changing a diaper). Do some research on the blog your post will be appearing on. Find out what their readers want to see and learn about.
3. Be engaging but don't overdo it. Talk with the readers—not at them.
4. Include your bio and why you have the knowledge to write what you sent.
5. Don't be afraid to talk about yourself, your experiences, or what you've seen others doing (whether right or wrong).
6. Write the post in a linear (progressive) fashion. Don't meander around with your thoughts. Point A to point B to point C, please.
7. Give references to back up your words. Links are always fun.
8. Send your host some pictures to go along with your words. Pictures are fun to look at and can set the tone for your post.
9. Proofread (please) so you don't look nutso.

Now, if you follow these easy tips, you'll be well on your way to guest post Heaven. Maybe they'll even have a parade in your honor. *grin*

If you'd like to check out a couple of guest posts I've done, here's a little list (links will take you to the post I wrote on their blogs):
Chapter Book Challenge
Zombie Survival Crew
Rebel Writers

See? Those are all fun and informative, and are all something I know a lot (but not everything) about. Yeah, I schedule my own life and blog down to the day/minute. Remember that huge dry spell I went through the last couple of months? No schedule. It drove me insane. Why do I know about zombie novels? I'm a reader of them and the author of one for young people. I can write on editing before you send your MS to an editor because I am one and know what kinds of things I look for during evaluation.

You may think there's a lot you don't know. I'm not going to argue with you. There's a lot of information in the world; no one knows it all. Impossible! Instead, focus your topic on what you do know. Make a quick list of those and and choose one.

Still stuck?

Try writing down things you've accomplished in life:

• I've self-published a novel (formatted, uploaded, etc...)
• I'm an editor (grammar, plot, etc...)
• I schedule my life (why? what did I learn from it?)
• I read how-to books (which ones? why? how have they helped?)
• I'm a reader (what books? learned what?)

You can take a list like that and make it into something awesome. Again, go research that blog you've been asked to write for and see what they might like to learn more about.

If you follow this very basic outline, you'll be rocking the guest posting world in no time.

Why guest post? It expands your reach to many readers you may not have attracted before. Now that you know how, and what you can write about, go out there and find like-minded blogs. Ask them if you can write up a guest post for them. Easy!

How about you? Care to share some of your guest posts? Leave them in the comments so we can check them out!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Book Review - The Five Elements (The Alchemancer: Book One)

Dancing on Wednesday! How is everyone this fine morning? Happy Hump-day! Today, I'm bringing you all a book review from my overly massive list that goes hand-in-hand with the Indie Fever 2014 Reading Challenge. Yes, I'm finally back to the novels on that list. Yay! From now until I get caught unawares, every Wednesday will be a book review. Other days, watch out, because I have some awesome stuff planned! What's Indie Fever you ask? Well, allow me to enlighten you. IF2014 is a group of folks who got together and pledged different levels of support for the Indie author community. We promised to read a certain number of self-published books for the year by authors we've never read before. It's so much fun! You can join us here (it's never too late). Just click the link, grab the badge, add yourself to the linky thing with your level of pledge, and get to reading! I know I'm late, but I had to actually finish the book before writing a review. I'm not one of those that reads only part.

Here's my list for 2014 (something I curate during my 12 Days of Christmas event every year):

Rebecca Trogner The Last Keeper's Daughter Amazon Kindle $7.99
Scott Marlowe The Five Elements REVIEW BELOW
L.K. Evans Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 REVIEW HERE
Sarah Mäkelä The Witch Who Cried Wolf REVIEW HERE
Felicia Tatum Masked Encounters REVIEW HERE
Peprah Boasiako The Hitman Amazon Kindle $0.9
David T Griffith The Bestiarum Vocabulum REVIEW HERE
C. S. Janey Surrender To You Amazon Kindle $2.51
Thaddeus White Sir Edric's Temple REVIEW HERE
Gloria Piper Finnegan's Quest Amazon Kindle $4.99
Elle Todd The Elect Amazon Kindle $2.99
Heather Topham Wood The Memory Witch REVIEW HERE
N. L. Greene Illusions Begin REVIEW HERE
J. A. Huss Tragic REVIEW HERE
Morgan Wylie Silent Orchids Amazon Kindle **FREE**
Laura Howard The Forgotten Ones Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pauline Creeden Sanctuary REVIEW HERE
Casey Bond Reap REVIEW HERE 
Casey Bond Devil Creek REVIEW HERE
Skylar Hamilton Burris The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh Amazon Kindle $2.99
Christina Marie Morales Ambience Amazon Kindle $0.99
Tamar Hela Feast Island Amazon Kindle $2.99
Molly Taggart Off Target Amazon Kindle $2.99
S. G. Daniels The Druid's Doorway REVIEW HERE
Misty Provencher The Fly House Amazon Kindle $0.99

I threw all the titles in a hat and drew them out. Now, I have a tackling list order. No, I'm not gonna share it with you. *grin*

Let's get to what you all came here for, eh? Here's a little about the book up for review today:

Title: The Five Elements (The Alchemancer: Book One)
Author: Scott Marlowe
Genre: Young Adult Epic Fantasy
Length (print): 389 pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $0.99  ~  Paperback $14.16

Synopsis:
Aaron—scholar, alchemist, and sorcerer's apprentice—wants nothing more than to study his tomes, perform his experiments, and spend time with his best friend, Shanna. Except for the studying and the experiments, Shanna wants the same, though with the occasional romp about the city and plenty of games of crutchit thrown in, too.

Their routines—and their lives—are thrown into chaos when an elemental attack is launched against their home. Aaron thinks Shanna killed, while Aaron himself is forced to flee for his life. For Shanna, who survives that fateful night, the greatest adventure of her life is about to begin. Only the worst of nightmares awaits Aaron: pursued by dwarves, hell hounds, and a demon who will not stop until he is dead, the only thing keeping him alive is his own resourcefulness and an eslar mercenary whose reputation as a killer might make him the worst threat of all.

Though Aaron and Shanna travel different paths, their purpose is joined when they individually learn of the mysterious Fifth Element. Shanna sees it as the final piece in the puzzle that is her destiny. To Aaron's logical mind, it is an impossible ambiguity. Whatever the answer, the Fifth Element draws them back together and into a final confrontation not as allies, but as adversaries.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere! I have a little bit of an issue with the blurb for this title. It gives away some of the key plot points that kept me reading. I'm soooo glad I didn't read it before I started. I would've been very upset. That being said, I love the cover for this book. It's colorful and captivating in a great way.***

Okay, I'm getting to the story inside right now.

I snagged a copy of this book during an event on my blog where I allowed authors to pitch titles to me for consideration. The Five Elements got me from the sample and I happily purchased the novel and added it to my TBR list for 2014. I'm a fan of fantasy, so this was right up my breezeway. Let's move to the good stuff you really want to know about.

From a Reader's Perspective:
I've been reading on this book for a while, putting it down and picking it up again. In the beginning, the characters didn't click with me on a care level, and I had a difficult time worrying about what would happen to them next. Pacing was a bit slow at the start but picked up about halfway through. I'm glad I didn't give up on this title! Once the action started, it never stopped. I was dragged through a world of sorcery and alchemists that was well built and kept me guessing through a number of turns. There was an excellent plot and a sub-plot I rather enjoyed, because it tied in with the main story well. But, I had problems with the characters' names and kept getting them confused. Too many began with the same letter: E. Both girls had similar first names, too (both beginning with an S); and that threw me off at times. There are several POVs in this book, and a couple of head-hops resulted. Having to turn off my editor's brain while reading isn't easy, but this is one of those titles I had to do that with. While the story was good, there were errors in the writing mechanics. Let's move on to that.

From an Editor's Perspective:
Too many pronoun confusions left me wondering at times if one of the characters was inflicting harm upon him/herself or upon another. As I mentioned before, the characters' names were too similar and I kept having to flip back to see who the heck I was reading about. Also, homophones were confused here and there. One glaring error was in the use of the word brooch when it should've been broach. Small things a reader may not understand, but will know something is "off." That being said, all this had minimal impact on the story itself, but did play a part.

Rating:
1 Star for an awesome sub-plot that tied into the main plot seamlessly
1 Star for world building
1 Star for surprising me a couple of times
.5 Star for pacing after the first half of the book
-.5 Star for confusing me with the names
.25 Star for quality of story and sentence construction
-.75 Star for pronoun, character names, and homophone oopsies
Overall: 3.75 stars out of 5. But I round up, so this book gets a 4. Overall, a clean read suitable for teens with epic world building.

What do you think? Do you enjoy fantasy?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Otherworlds Blog Tour and Promo Blast

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! I had a little computer snafu this morning, but I've managed to drag myself from the quagmire and emerge only slightly irritated. *grin* Today, I'm sharing information about the Otherworlds blog tour. Fun stuff coming your way! Sit back, relax, grab a cup of Jo, and let's get going!

OTHERWORLDS: TWELVE YOUNG ADULT FANTASY BOOKS TO BENEFIT THE HUNGRY

How can a child focus on solving a math problem or memorizing a new word when she or he is trying to ignore the persistent pangs of hunger? 

Across the country, teachers and school nurses have found that in some instances, Monday morning comes and they are forced to compete against hunger for the attention of their students. More than 18 million children qualify for free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program, the fuel that they need to get them through the week. What happens to these children when they go home over the weekend?

For more than 15 years, the Feeding America BackPack Program has been helping children get the nutritious and easy-to-prepare food they need over the course of the weekend. Today, bags of food assembled at more than 150 local food banks are distributed at the end of the week to nearly 230,000 children every year. With your help, we can provide more.

Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Their mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. 

For less than one dollar, you can help. 

Twelve young adult authors have come together to form Otherworlds: Twelve Young Adult Fantasy Books to Benefit the Hungry. One hundred percent of the authors' proceeds from the sale of this charitable boxed set will be donated to Feeding America.

For ninety-nine cents, you can help feed America's hungry while feeding your imagination with twelve other worlds:
Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity, #1) by Angela Corbett  
Pawn (Nightmares Trilogy, #1) by Sophie Davis  
The Prophecy (Divinity Stone, #1), by Desiree DeOrto  
Through Glass Novella Series (#4, #5, #6), by Rebecca Ethington  
Final Life (The Transhuman Chronicles, #1), by Rose Garcia Reality 
(The Arie Chronicles, #1), by Dani Hart  
Hunted (Dark Secrets, #1), by Allie Juliette Mousseau  
The Amulet (Custodian Novel, #1), by Alison Pensy  
Betraying Innocence, by Airicka Phoenix  
The Gatekeeper’s Sons (Gatekeeper’s Saga, #1), by Eva Pohler  
Halo City, by Mary Ting  
Blood and Snow (Blood and Snow #1), by RaShelle Workman  

Pre-order date: September 1st Release Date: September 15

Otherworlds is available now for pre-order at Smashwords and Amazon (You may have to wait a few days for Amazon to price match the ninety-nine cents). It will soon be available at your other favorite ebook sellers, so stay tuned and thanks in advance for your support!

Here is a list of bloggers participating in the promo book tour. Please visit these other amazing blogs! Shooting Star Book Reviews 9/1
Platypire Reviews 9/1
Eva Pohler Books 9/1
Seeing Double In Neverland 9/1
Ashley's Bookshelf 9/1
A Little Bit of R&R 9/1
The Power of Three Readers 9/1
Sammie's Book Blog 9/1
Promoting Authors, Books & Reviews 9/2
S & N Books and More 9/2
Page Turners Book Blog 9/2
Paisley Reader 9/3
Dowie's Place 9/3
Escaping Life's Craziness With Books 9/3
cody pimps authors 9/3
Write Away Bliss 9/4
The Crazy Booksellers 9/5
Fairiechick's Fantasy Book Reader 9/5
Word Wenches Guilty Pleasure 9/6
Opinionated Cupcakes 9/6
GIFT 9/6
A Thousand Lives Lived 9/7
Shelves of Books 9/7
Reading For Fun 9/7
Write as Raine 9/8
Book Crazy Gals 9/10
Girls With Books 9/10
Short Side of Tall 9/10
EllieSewSweet 9/12
Eskimo Princess Book Reviews 9/13
Ang Corbett 9/14
Airicka Phoenix 9/15
CrossAngels 9/15
Pure Jonel 9/15

Have fun visiting these blogs and helping out a great cause!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo 

Book Review - Iron Pendulum

Happy Friday, everyone! Today, I'm bringing you a book review and a giveaway (because I loved this book that much). If you recall, I did a little giveaway of my five star reads for the year a couple of weeks ago on my birthday. Happy birthday to all of you! *grin* This time, I'm giving away two Kindle copies because I wanna. No special reason other than I think you'll enjoy this book immensely.

A little about the book up for review:

Title: Iron Pendulum (Book Two of The Periodic Series)
Author: Megan Curd
Genre: Young Adult Steampunk Dystopian
Length (print): about 335 pages

Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $2.99

Synopsis:
Six months ago, Avery thought the world ended outside Dome Four. Thought she was one of the few of her kind. Thought the war that brought the human race to the brink of extinction was over.

But six months can change everything.

After fighting to escape a tyranny she didn't even know existed, Avery has had to come to grips with all the secrets she's uncovered. But more secrets continue to come to light, revealing how little of her world she truly knew. When evidence starts to show that Dome Four might be under siege, Avery knows what she must do.

Returning to the dome she longed to escape is a challenge for Avery, but now she knows there’s corruption lurking in the shadows. A massive steam shortage leaves half the dome without power, and people are falling ill. Dying.

And they’re blaming Avery.

Six months can change everything. Another month could wipe out all of Dome Four. The clock is ticking.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere: Wow at the cover for this book. I love the monochromatic color scheme. It makes me want to squeal and happy dance. Love what the designer did with the cogs, too. Steel Lily was yellowish, and I imagine Copper Phoenix (book three) will be orange tinted. Keep an eye out for that one, too! If you're curious, I wrote a review for Steel Lily on the blog last year. You can check that review out here.***

Onward and upward!

If you read my review of Steel Lily, you'll know I had mixed feelings about it. There were some errors in the writing that threw me out of the story, and left me sad. But, I wanted to give the author, Megan Curd, another chance to win me over because I was very fond of the story, the characters, and the steampunk world she'd built. I bought Iron Pendulum the day after it went on sale because I was so eager to find out what happened next. Well, I wasn't disappointed! Let's get to the review.

From a Reader's Perspective:
Twists and turns and revelations, oh my! So much was explained in this story that was left dangling in the last one. I was caught by surprise a number of times as the tale unfolded on the page (not an easy thing to do with me because I can see most twists coming). Avery redeemed herself more with every page I turned. Middle of the trilogy blahs can't be found in this novel. You get action, reaction, and scenes that will leave you needing a hankie after you read them. Curd outdid herself with the emotion she threw into the story. Pacing is awesome, and I found myself totally engrossed in the story. If you don't like cliffhangers, beware! There's a big one at the end of this book. Of course, that leaves me frothing at the mouth to get hold of the next installment. If you haven't read Steel Lily, I suggest you do so before picking up this book. There are a few things that tell you the history, but you need to immerse yourself fully in the world so you have that connection with the characters that can only be built over time. Chills and thrills await you!

From an Editor's Perspective:
Nowhere near the issues of the first one. A misplaced pronoun here and there, but that's to be expected. Nothing that pulled me out of the story, and nothing that contradicted the first book. Nicely done.

Rating:
1 Star for clearing up the love triangle I hated in the first book
1 Star for world building
1 Star for ripping my heart out of my chest
1 Star for pacing
1 Star for lack of errors
Overall 5 out of 5 stars! You'll enjoy this book if you love clean young adult novels that keep you guessing.

See that five star rating? Yeah, now you know why I'm doing the giveaway. Get your fingers ready to do some clicking!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think? Will you check this book out?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo 

Two Days Left to Win

Happy Thursday, everyone! Because we had it a bit messed up the first time (what, you couldn't enter to win The Broken Destiny?) I'm posting the UtopYA Blog Hop giveaways again. Get your clickin' finger ready and let's get going!

Prize pack 1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize pack 2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize pack 3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize pack 4

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize pack 5

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope I got them all right this time! Let me know if you have any trouble.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Writing Exercise - Word Fun

Happy Hump-Day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm gonna give you a writing exercise. Don't worry, it'll be fun. This is to expand your writerly vocabulary and get you thinking about the words you use on the page to craft your prose. So, grab those pens and printers and let's get going!

Start by printing out the four pages linked to below.

We're gonna use some common cliches for this exercise:
Babe in the woods.
The whole ball of wax.
By the book.
Same old song and dance.

Got those? No? Well, print them. I made them just for you!

Now, take a look at what you have in front of you. Try coming up with alternate endings so your cliches aren't. Step outside the box. Think harder. Fill out column A.

Remember to be engaging, outrageous, and contradictory when filling out columns B and C.

When you're done, fill out the bottom.

I'd be willing to bet you can do it in less than fifteen minutes.

Can't come up with that many? Try using MS Word's synonym tool.

• Open MS Word.
• Type in woods.
• Right click.
• Go to synonyms and see what you have.
• Write them all down on your blanks.
• Choose another word you came up with and do that one, too!

Make your own sheets and do this exercise often. You can find a list of common cliches easily if you do a Google search.

What do you think? Was today fun?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo