+Blog Book Tour+ The Leland Dragon series by Jackie Gamber, a book blogger’s recollection of a beloved #dragonfiction trilogy!

Posted Sunday, 14 September, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , 9 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

 Trilogy Tour with Jackie Gamber & H. David Blalock via Tomorrow Comes Media

Featuring the Creative Works of Indie Authors from Seventh Star Press!

I’m focusing on Jackie Gamber’s the Leland Dragon series as I was given the amazing opportunity to discover the beauty within Gamber’s YA Fantasy series last Autumn; whereupon I received Redheart in exchange for an honest review ‘off-tour’. From the very first moment I broached the covers of this novel of #dragonfiction, I *knew!* I had stumbled across a writer who breathed her heart and spirit into her literary exploits. This was a special story for me to read, as I always wanted to read about dragons in fiction, inasmuch as I was a bonefide reader of Science Fiction & Fantasy since I was quite young until my reading wanderings took an abrupt stop in my late teens.

Author Biography: Jackie Gamber

Jackie Gamber

As an award winning author, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Dragons Composed, as well as numerous periodical publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, The Binnacle, Mindflights Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, and Shroud. She is the author of the fantasy novels Redheart, Sela, Reclamation and writing an alternate history time travel novel. She blogs professionally for English Tea Store.com, where she reviews classic science fiction and fantasy novels and pairs them with the ideal tea-sipping companion.

Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award, and received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author. She is the winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction for her story The Freak Museum, a post-apocalyptic tale that looks closely at perceptions and outward appearances and how they affect the way we see ourselves. Jackie Gamber was co-founder and Executive Editor of Meadowhawk Press, a speculative fiction publisher based in Memphis. One of their novels, Terminal Mind by David Walton, won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 2009. Jackie also edited the award winning benefit anthology, Touched By Wonder. She has been a guest lecturer at Memphis Options High Schools, and is a speaker at writers’ conferences from Michigan to Florida. Jackie is also the visionary behind the MidSouthCon Writers’ Conference, helping writers connect since 2008.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Wordsmiths are my favourites next to research enthusiasts:

Ms. Gamber has a way of weaving the opening bits of this tale in such a way that your hungry for each new sentence that alights in your mind! She has a way of showing the interactions between a freaked out of her skull human and a disgruntled and reclusive dragon as though this were an ordinary tale, set in an ordinary time, and one that would easily be taken as ‘written’ and ‘true’. Her ease of giving the reader the chance to soak into her narrative is brilliant when you consider this is an epic fantasy, with a world created fully unknown to the reader who picks up the book!

Next to (writers who are) research enthusiasts, my next favourite writer is the wordsmith! The one who uses a palette of words to paint the portraits of what evolves into the stories that light up our imaginations with such a vigorous intensity! They use words in a fashion that infuses emotion, heart, and observation in a way that is both poetic and brilliantly unique. And, being emotional beings (dragons), I would wager could lead to disappointments, misunderstandings, and grievously difficult emotional keels! She eclipses the depth of their personality with deft skill! Soulful! Dragons to me, have always come across as being ‘soulful’, filt to the brim with an ageless wisdom and a mission to seek out understanding in things that they do not always understand at first.

– quoted from my review of Redheart

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The Leland Dragon series :
A Book Blogger’s Retrospective on a Trilogy

Discovering a touring company (Tomorrow Comes Media) whilst browsing the book blogosphere last September and seeing this curiously purple & black logo winking at me in the sidebar of one of my click through visits changed my life as I couldn’t sign-up to be a Tour Hostess fast enough! My first blog tour to host for TCM (I always smile at the initials because I am always thinking of Turner Classic Movies when I use it!) was for “The Boxcar Baby” by J.L. Mulvihill where I tackled a Dystopian Steampunked world for the first time. My review for The Boxcar Baby posted on 29th of September whereas Redheart followed on 30th of October, making it my fourth novel from Seventh Star Press and my fourth Indie Science Fiction or Fantasy author to be read of all-time. As even though I always grativated towards Indie Press & Publishers as much as I did Self-Published authors — there was never an easy route to seek them out on a regular basis. By becoming a book blogger not only was I discovering how wide of a net the Indies encompass nowadays but I was able to cross paths with more writers like me who think outside the box of the traditional paradigm of the world of publishing. Being in a position to ‘host!’ the author and their stories was both an honour and an absolute incredible blessing!

Redheart had such a strong effect on me, as the world within where Kallon Redheart lives is such an intricately created world with layered dimensions at every turn. The fact that I *devoured!* this novel rather than slowly soaked into its heart, is an understatement!

I was so new to hosting for TCM when I posted my review for Redheart I didn’t have the official author’s biography for Gamber nor did I realise I could have posted the Book Synopsis! I was still in the opening months of understanding how I wanted to blog and share my reading adventures as much as defining myself as a Blog Book Tour Hostess. I’ve kept my archives as true to my posts as they were posted originally with only updating font, size of typography, and/or updating badges or post dividers. I wanted an honest recollection of my journey and of the materials I had at my disposal when I was blogging about the books as I met them. I still remain true to how I started, however, in that I am always seeking permission to use Press Kit Materials on behalf of novels & their authors. To me it is not only a courtesy but a rule of thumb as a book blogger.

I truly need to re-read and re-visit the entire trilogy of which I reflected recently and even included my ‘dream setting’ in which to do it:

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com
Book Synopsis : Redheart
Redheart by Jackie Gamber
Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry

Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side. Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land.

As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship. Riza Diantus is a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village, and when she finds herself in peril, Kallon is the only one with the power to save her. Yet to do so means he must confront his past, and embrace a future he stopped believing in.

A tale of friendship, courage, and ultimate destiny, Redheart invites readers to a wondrous journey through the Leland Dragon Series.

I opened Redheart to page 34 (as I was four and thirty when I read it for the first time) and re-read the sequence of where Orman Thistleby was attempting to get Kallon out of his funk and realise his legacy and heritage as a natural-bourne leader of the Dragons was more important than succumbing to his depression and isolation.

Kallon blew a puff of breath between his teeth, which hit Orman full-force in the back. It sent the wizard stumbling several steps out into the howling wind, forcing him to plant his walking stick into the rocky sand to keep from falling.

Orman spun to glare at Kallon, the sharpened crystal of the staff glowing white. “Still got plenty of breath for a dead dragon.”

Kallon just flopped his chin to the ground with a grumble, stirring up a cloud of dust that tempted his nostrils to sneeze. But he was too miserable to sneeze. He simply lay there, immersed in the darkness and silently cursed it.

– Orman talks to Kallon, page 35 from “Redheart”

It was through this exchange I could sense the bond and connection between the wizard and the dragon who was doing everything in his power to retreat into his scaly shell and refuse to find anything worth emerging out of the home he’d purported out of a darkened cave away from his kin and the world itself. This is every bit a coming-of age story and a story of transitioning through the fear of self-worth and the inability to have confidence in your own strength and the faith you have inside which had become repressed and blocked from believing you had nothing left to contribute. The Kallon Redheart in the opening of the series is a far cry from the Kallon Redheart in Reclamation; and that was half of the joy for me to discover, because it is very much a dragon coming into his own scales as it is about a family of dragons (Kallon, Sela, & Riza) who transcend the preconceived limits of DragonKind.

What I feel Redheart is truly about is that a single act of courage and sacrifice is what can separate you from a crowd of maddening prejudice. It can also be the spark of the last true gift a father can bestow to his son at the time of his death. The true miracle is not allowing yourself to turn cold-hearted, to where you can no longer see what your heart is hoping you can! Our eyes are only one vehicle of sight, and if we are blinded in our hearts, we experience true blindness by not being able to see what is right in front of us. We’re surrounded by little bits of fragmented knowledge that speaks to us in the ripples of life that bursts and simmers wherever we walk. It’s knowing how to acknowledge where our lifepath is leading us to venture is the true source of understanding the greater whole of our life.

– quoted from my review of Redheart

The depth of the story evolves through each installment of the series, as each individual novel in the trilogy highlights a pertinent sequence of events and consequences of actions which lead into the height of the growing climax – the war between dragons and the surge of distrust amongst humans of their dragon neighbours. As Redheart concludes on unstable ground and a wave of uncertainty for the fate of the characters you’ve grown to love, Sela picks up with a spitfire force of fortitude and a spirit of independence forged out of a heritage of free thinking dragons.

“Redheart” by Jackie Gamber Book Trailer by Seventh Star Press
{ featuring the interior illustrative panels by Matthew Perry }

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Synopsis: Sela

Artwork Credit: Matthew PerryPeace was fleeting. Vorham Riddess, Venur of Esra Province, covets the crystal ore buried deep in Leland’s mountains. His latest device to obtain it: land by marriage to a Leland maiden. But that’s not all.

Among Dragonkind, old threats haunt Mount Gore, and shadows loom in the thoughts of the Red who restored life to land and love. A dragon hunter, scarred from countless battles, discovers he can yet suffer more wounds.

In the midst of it all, Sela Redheart is lost, driven from her home with only her old uncle to watch over her. As the dragon-born child of Kallon, the leader of Leland’s Dragon Council, she is trapped in human form with no understanding of how she transformed, or how to turn back.

Wanderers seek a home, schemes begin to unfurl, and all is at risk as magic and murder, marriage and mystery strangle the heart of Esra. A struggle for power far older and deeper than anyone realizes will leave no human or dragon unaffected.

In a world where magic is born of feeling, where the love between a girl and a dragon was once transformative, what power dwells in the heart of young Sela?

Sela is the child of Kallon and Riza, the heir of Dragonkind’s strongest family within the Dragon Council, and a whippersnapper of a daughter who would not only challenge her father’s principles but learn that her wings were meant to challenge everything the dragons knew and understand about their world. I loved watching Sela grow into a maturity that was beyond her young shoulders as much as I loved the innocent ways in which she explored her surroundings. She is not the typical child who revered her father and mother’s advice to the point of not disagreeing with their logic, but rather she had a true independence about her that gave her father near panic attacks, as he could not understand where her moxie came from or how she could dare to be as defiant as she became. Stories of fathers and daughters are always unique in how they are approached, but as this relationship is rooted in dragon lore and dragon heritage as much as it is complimentary to human counterparts, it took on an unsuspecting twist and turn of narrative voice.

I appreciate the slow etching of the story to fill in the density of hours as I drink in the gaps between my last visit and now. So much has changed for the dragons and the humans, but a lot has remained the same. There is still a definitive disconnect between the two species, as much as there is an insurrection for containment and control of power. The words which are infused to bring us back into the natural raw beauty of the Leland mountains made me hungry for walking amongst my own natural environs. The longer one takes away from the bond they share with the natural world, the more one’s spirit needs rejuvenation! In this way, I could understand fully the aching Sela felt each time she was pulled quite forcibly to exit the mountains of her home.

– quoted from my review of Sela

I was thankful Gamber didn’t elect to rush through points of the story which were best left to be a slow moving arc of the core of where the Leland Dragon series excells; she gives you ample time to immerse into the landscape of its setting as much as the fabric of the time and world by which the lead characters and supporting cast give us such a vivid place to soak inside. Each novel remains true to the one before it, and although my heart was tethered to the Redheart family, I appreciated the secondary characters just as much; for one thing there is not a more cantankerous wizard in any other world (presumably!) who could endear himself to me if they tried! Orman Thistleby is such a hoot of a character to read about that your never sure if your going to root for his efforts or feel irked by his temper!

Returning to page 34 of Sela, I joyfully re-celebrated the beautiful freedom of flight and the ability to soar into the highest of the heavens on the wings of a dragon! One of my absolute wonderful memories of Redheart is when Riza was giving the honour of flying astride Kallon; the way in which they arched forward to reach higher clouds and higher altitudes was awe-inspiring! Then again, I’ve always appreciated flight and the ability to broach past the ground and seek a higher vantage point!

Sela thrust out her arms and closed her eyes. Wind rippled across her cheeks, sent stray hairs snapping like whips against her ears. “Faster, Mother!”

She felt the rumble of her mother’s laughter travel up through her legs. She squeezed them more tightly against her mother’s slender neck, nearly able to clasp her feet together beneath her ruby throat. She bucked a little with serpentine arch of her mother’s spine, but was unafraid. She was in the sky, where she meant to live. To breathe.

She flew, as she was born to.

– Riza and Sela fly, page 34 from “Sela”

The panels of artwork inside the novels by Matthew Perry bear mentioning again as I was completely over the moon in wicked happiness for their inclusion! I have always had a penchant for illustrative art, especially as it reflects the craft of the story I am seeing lit alive inside my mind’s eye; Perry has the talent for not only illuminating the stage of the story itself, but for bringing to life the dragons and the humans in the midst of the growing conflict. He even has a way of showing the emotions conveyed through their eyes and gives you a piece of the narrative in a way to help tether you to the story as you read.

Sela_ArtworkCollage

Left to Right:  Sela flees the raging storm of the Rage Desert; having been brought there to perish for a crime she didn’t commit; Sela being lifted by her father Kallon Redheart; whilst Drell hides below in the forest hidden from view; Orman Thistleby seeking an advantage of truth within the crystal as he makes his way to Riddess Castle; all captions were my own ideas on my review of “Sela”.

I think when I first saw Orman Thistleby for the very first time in Sela, I was knocked aghast a bit as my own inclination to visualise him was not quite as he is portrayed, and I thought it was best to have this as a guide to his true nature as my own mind lessoned his ‘essence’ so to speak than who he truly is! I find illustrations for stories most useful as they help me align with the vision of the writer as much as how their vision aligns inside the artist who is illustrating the story on their behalf. I love story-telling for the breadth of how it is not only altered through the reader’s heart who picks up the story to be read, but how it evolves as illustration is introduced as well.

Seventh Stress Press has a team of illustrators I am always giving credit on my reviews as their artistry is truly a benefit to the novels they are lending their art; I have been happily leafing through the novels as they arrive for review to find the panels; as although that might sound like a curious habit to have or a surefire way to spoilt the stories themselves, for me it is simply a curiosity I must quash if I want to enjoy the progression of the story itself! I get so giddy to see where the illustrator has taken the new set of characters and/or the next installment in a series such as the Leland Dragons!

The map for the Leland Dragon series is first introduced in the opening pages of Redheart, and the panels of illustrations in Redheart I didn’t have to use on this post, but they are included in the book trailer!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Synopsis : Reclamation

The exciting conclusion of the Leland Dragon Series!

Leland Province remains in danger. The sinister Fordon Blackclaw has returned from the

Reclaimation | Book 3 Leland Dragons by Jackie Gamber
Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry

shadows to strike at the heart of neighboring Esra, killing its Venur and making clear his intentions to retake what was once his: Mount Gore, seat of the Leland Dragon Council.

All around, the land grows weaker and weaker. Leland, once thought saved by Kallon Redheart, is without purpose, and within its borders, Murk Forest, a place of mystery and danger, has driven its inhabitants to seek aid. Esra is in flames, and the Rage Desert grows. Dragon and human alike struggle to find their way, and the wizard Orman can sense that there may be more at stake than the affairs of dragons.

Hope remains, yet it is not without obstacles. In Esra, Sela, the daughter of Kallon and Riza, found the well, a source of life, and made herself whole again. But her homecoming is not what she had imagined.

Old wounds buried deep must reopen if life is to continue. Dragons, humans, wizards, and shape shifters are all at risk as the peace between dragon and human has finally been broken.

War is here.

The stakes?

Perhaps the whole world.

I worked myself into such a fit prior to reading Reclamation, I daresay I am not even sure how I composed my nerves and dove into the story! I knew this was meant to be the very last installment for the Leland Dragon series, albeit hoping it were only the beginning of how the world within the trilogy had changed and evolved. What is unusual is that I was able for the very first time read an entire series I was interested in consuming within a short span of time (September – March) whereas previously it has taken me years to bridge the gap between the first book of a series and the last. Part of me realises the reason behind this hesitation,… I am akin to other readers in this one regard: I simply get attached to the world and the characters I’ve come to know inside and out. It is always difficult to close the novel on the conclusion of a series as although you can re-read the series as a whole, you cannot reclaim that moment of pure euphoria for meeting something wickedly new and refreshingly different. You might see things differently with each successive reading, but your mind and your heart will be in full understanding of where the events are ultimately leading.

From a writer’s perspective, I can understand and respect the closure of a series, especially one that has been with the writer for such a long expanse of time, as the Leland Dragons series has been with Jackie Gamber. The only reason I felt there could be a foothold into a next installment was how unresolved I felt Murk Forest was left by the time I turnt the last page of Reclamation; something I will discuss momentarily.

When I originally wrote my review of Reclamation, the novel had only just released and I felt I should hold back in one regard from revealing a particular character who had touched me the most in this section of the story. A character who clearly changed my opinion about shapeshifters and even led me to find a ‘werecat’ during a YA book blogosphere tour I’ll be highlighting soon as Autumn starts to shift into view and the Horror October event takes place the last fortnight of October. Mum’s the word until then how a girl like me is entreating into an event outside the throes of her interest, but suffice it to say, the hawk in Reclamation left a lasting impression on me!

Except to say, my memory of which type of bird Bannon is somehow transmorphed from the ‘eagle’ to the ‘hawk’! A realisation that baffled me and humbled me at the same time; as I’ve been chatting up the series to so many new potential readers, I’m wondering if any of them have now realised my goof!? Alas, my affection for Bannon still holds even if I switched out his pedigree accidentally!

I’ve thought out this a bit since I read the novel, and I think it was in part due to the fact its a ‘bird of prey’, as I have had the honour of photographing hawks in the wild for a few years now, but most especially between 2012 – 2013. Some of the best photographs I’ve taken of birds of prey were taken during that eclipse of time, as I’ve been able to stand less than a 100 feet from Red-Shouldered Hawks and capture their full essence on digital film. Hawks have a cunning intelligence. I always have had a deep respect for nature and the natural world, and developing my own path as a wildlife photographer has felt very organic in composition.

When Sela first met Bannon, I felt a hitching inside of me. I could not quite put my finger on what made myself twitch with anticipation but as the chapters shifted forward a beautiful surprise was awaiting me! – on my first reaction to finding the shifter in “Sela”

Prior to reading Sela & Reclamation, I never considered reading a story which had a ‘shapeshifter’ inside it (even though Odo was always one of my favourite characters on Deep Space Nine!), as I never had come across a shifter story that appealed to me to read. I suppose one could say this about any story, but I tend to be a bit selective in what I read for most of the genres I dance through in literature, and fantasy is not exclusively particular! Laughs. Of course, I could say that Gamber has convinced me the best way to tell a story about dragons is to etch them into view as dynamically complex and insightful as she has within the Leland Dragons series! Ha! I can see it now, each new novel I pick up I’ll be lamenting about the differences,… except to say, I did appreciate King’s Dragon by Kate Elliott prior to Leland!

Bannon’s strength is his sincere compassion and dedication to protecting whom he considers his charge, yet his feelings go deeper than that at the same time. He’s a bit different than the other Murkens, and what I found fascinating truly is the whole back-story of the Murkens themselves, how a lot of them are cats and others elected to choose other shapes and species. I most definitely need to write about Murk Forest, I see! Again this is a direct clue to how Gamber layers her stories and how your mind is allowed to travel to different sections of her worlds with such a distinctively unique allure to each of them.

“Did you feel that?”

Gladdis nodded, wide-eyed. “Like an earthquake?”

“That was no earthquake,” she said, feeling ice form in her stomach.

“That’s our magic. It’s cracking”.

“Just like Orman said it would. If we don’t hurry.”

“Hurry and do what?” asked Ela. “All I know is that Sela and Drell are trying to find places where the magic first erupted, in Murk Forest and Rage Desert.” Gladdis opened her hands.  “He says the scroll says ‘heal the rift, and heal the land. Heal the land, heal the rift’.”

– Ela & Gladdis conversing, page 215 from “Reclamation”

Reclamation_Collage
Left to Right: Leesa & Jastin attempting escape into Murk Forest & Jastin Armitage & Kallon Redheart. Again captions were my own ideas on the review for “Reclamation”.

I loved the exploration of Murkens within Murk Forest, because Gamber has such a gentle hand in giving you reason to draw a breath of pause whilst drinking in the more fantastical elements of her narrative! The Murkens by definition are shapeshifters, but it’s how they are presented that delighted me the most! They are as akin to the natural world as the dragons, living in a quandary of a balance that even they do not fully understand. There is always a hidden depth to the story, which I appreciate more than I may even let on! My mind is always rampant to explore the wholeness of the trilogy whilst caught up in one of the installments!

Gamber forces you to look internally and introspectively as you read her stories, especially in regards to prejudicial inclinations which can do the most harm if they are not seen for what they are. Jastin Armitage’s character goes through the most catalytic changes over the score of the saga. He is the classic hero whose soul was entrapped by rage and prejudice without the foundation of understanding what prompted his innermost hatred. She explores the depth of his character’s ability to emerge out of the darkness and back into a path towards the Light. For me, this is one of the quintessential elements she stitched into the fabric of the Leland Dragons series. To not only present war but to take the harder road as a writer to endeavour to uncover what provoked it from all sides, angles, and hearts. War doesn’t begin on the battlefield afterall, nor does war end in battle.

Peace is always obtainable through forgiveness and love, but it’s how we get to the bridge of acceptance that truly tests the measure of what we can evolve to embrace.

– quoted from my review of “Reclamation”

I might take time to discuss why I have a propensity for Rage Desert & Murk Forest as locales within a series during another event I’m participating this Autumn: Sci Fi November. I knew I’d have quite a heap to share and recollect on behalf of this trilogy, and I didn’t want this post to feel heavy or weighted down. And, of course, there are all the extraordinary secondary characters who are just as important to the story as the lead protagonists! I can only hope the bits I’ve chosen to recapture and draw a light on has inspired you to pick up the trilogy and entreat into a world that will encapsulate you wholly and true!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

I still stand by a thought I had whilst reading “Reclamation”:

The theory of time’s fragile fabric knitted together with the internal clockwork of their known world’s pulsebeat was refreshing as it insinuates that all action has its consequences on a higher plane. A bit how in our own realm of living within the sphere of Earth is jolted and disintegrated by industrialism and shifting powers. There is an internal balance to how a living sphere of a world can function and thrive. The more outside influences which disrupt the habitat and makeup of that sphere’s natural origins, the more precarious the situation can grow! We are meant to be caretakers and caregivers of the land bestowed to us, rather than the bullied force of brutality and harshness the land and environs flinch and shirk away from once our presence is known.

quoted from my review of “Reclamation”

The Leland Dragon series is a story which breathes a lifeblood of humanity into a story of dragons & humans. The breaches of peace and times of war are only a mere small token of what is found inside the trilogy as a whole. Enter the pages whilst ready to transcend through a portal into a world you will not wish to leave.
Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com
Author & Illustrator Connections:

Gamber on Twitter; Personal Site;
Author Page: @ Seventh Star Press
Leland Dragons Official Website
Artist Page: Matthew Perry @ Seventh Star Press; Portfolio

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com
Posts of Interest:

The Leland Dragon Series Reviews:

Redheart

Sela

Reclamation (& the Cover Reveal which includes Gamber’s BlogTalkRadio spot!)

Jackie Gamber Guest Features on Jorie Loves A Story:

Author Interview : On behalf of her Leland Dragon series

Author Interview : Returning on the footheels of Reclamation’s release

Character Guest Post : Gladdis

Top Ten Favourite Dragons in Fiction (novels, films, & video games)

Essay on Dragon Fiction by Jorie during #AtoZChallenge April 2014

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Blog Book Tour Stop, courtesy of Tomorrow Comes Media
Click-through to follow the tour:

Trilogy Tour with Jackie Gamber & H. David Blalock via Tomorrow Comes Media

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Check out my upcoming bookish events

to see what I will be hosting next for

Tomorrow Comes Media Tour Host

and mark your calendars!

I positively *love!* comments in the threads below each of my posts, and I have happily made sure that I could reacquire the WP Comments where you can leave me a comment by using: WP (WordPress), Twitter, Facebook, Google+, & Email! Kindly know that I appreciate each thought you want to share with me and all the posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary! Short or long, I appreciate the time you spent to leave behind a note of your visit! Return again soon! 

NOTE:

Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.

{SOURCES: Book Covers for “the Leland Dragon Trilogy”, “Redheart”, “Sela”, “Reclamation” and the interior panels of illustrations by Matthew Perry along with: Author Photograph of Jackie Gamber and the Author Biography were provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. All quoted excerpts from “Redheart”, “Sela”, and “Reclamation” were used with permission of Seventh Star Press. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. The book trailer by Seventh Star Press had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Tweets whilst I Blogged:

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

Divider

Posted Sunday, 14 September, 2014 by jorielov in #HorrorOctober, A to Z Challenge, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Cover | Original Illustration & Design, Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Cliffhanger Ending, Dragon Fiction, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Father-Daughter Relationships, Good vs. Evil, Indie Art, Indie Author, Light vs Dark, Nature & Wildlife Photography Antidotes of Jorie, Retrospective Memories of a Series, Sci-Fi November, Seventh Star Press, YA Fantasy




All posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary!
I try to visit your blog in return as I believe in ‘Bloggers Commenting Back
(which originated as a community via Readers Wonderland).


Comments are moderated. Once your comment is approved for the first time, your comments thereafter will be recognised and automatically approved. All comments are reviewed and continue to be moderated after automated approval. By using the comment form you are consenting with the storage and handling of your personal data by this website.

Once you use the comment form, if your comment receives a reply (this only applies to those who leave comments by email), there is a courtesy notification set to send you a reply ticket. It is at your discretion if you want to return to re-respond and/or to continue the conversation established. This is a courtesy for commenters to know when their comments have been replied by either the blog's owner or a visitor to the blog who wanted to add to the conversation. Your email address is hidden and never shared. Read my Privacy Policy.

9 responses to “+Blog Book Tour+ The Leland Dragon series by Jackie Gamber, a book blogger’s recollection of a beloved #dragonfiction trilogy!

  1. Jorie, thank you for educating me (us) on that. You would think publishers would all have something like this “out there” for reviewers. Some standard way to deal with excerpts. Anyway, I’m glad to understand that, so thank you! :)

    • I completely agree with you on this — however, for whichever reason there are time delays and certain procedures on Press Kit Materials being used. This is why I am always requesting direct permission for all the Press Materials seen on my blog! :) I even try to remember to tell authors to make sure there is a small note about how book bloggers & book reviewers can use their materials too; in order to cut down on repetitive permission requests.

  2. Well, I did put them on my “want to read” list on Goodreads :D I can only hope that happens eventually. I’m just not confident about seeing as the way my time has to be spent!

    And I find it sad AND surprising that short excerpts aren’t allowed for book reviews! To me, that’s a HUGE selling feature! Wow…

    • It truly depends on the publisher — I was able to select out a quotation for my review of “The Prayer Box” as there was a disclosure of how many words or length rather you were allowed to include in your review on the publisher’s website. Most Major Trade publishers need an outside window of weeks/months for approval of excerpts/quotes of novels, therefore, unless I find a publisher that says “this amount is allowed” I never post personal choices for excerpts. A lot of the publishers (Major Trade) are on Scribd, and I yield to using Scribd Excerpts and/or Sound excerpts via SoundCloud in lieu of choosing my own ‘sample’ from a novel I’m reading.

      I find working with Indie Press & Publishers is a bit easier in this one regard as you can get your questions answered a bit easier and you have a bit more flexibility with what you want to post. Having said that, I haven’t had any issues working with any publisher thus far, and I appreciate the opportunities I’ve been given to read all the books which are populating inside my “Story Vault”!

      I’m hoping to release the Index of Publishers I regularly read & review for in the next few weeks, as I’m still archiving all my posts through the UBB plug-in to give me this new way of sharing which Publishers I regularly read!

      I devour my ChocLit books so heartily, I never have the chance to query about ‘excerpts’ but it is something I am working on! Thanks for giving me your feedback, as I do appreciate knowing what my readers are enjoying! I know others have commented they appreciate the media I embed as well, which helps me gauge how everyone enjoys what I am doing! I blog what appeals to me, and hearing feedback which is positive from others is a blessing! Cheers!

  3. Jorie, I’m so glad that, along with your review comments, you included these few excerpts from the books. The “voice” in each are the type of writing I’m typically drawn to and wouldn’t know that otherwise. Excellent stuff! Thank you :D

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms. Donna! :)

      I am so *thankful!* I’ve resolved my comment issue on my book blog today — as I simply love hearing people’s reactions to my book reviews, spotlights, and other bits & bobbles I regularly like to share with my readers! I do apologise it took me a bit to sort it, but I reactivated CommentLuv and apparently the wonky java error is no longer an issue! Champion!

      I am very appreciative to Seventh Star Press for allowing me to pick & choose book excerpts to share with my readers — it is a bit of a luxury for me to be able to hand select ‘quotes’ from books I love to read, as it is not always able to be done. I personally *love!* sharing this little ‘something extra’ and will continue to do so as I’m allowed too! I have plans to share quotes for a few other stories,… I cannot remember if you saw my review for “Awesome Jones” also by Seventh Star Press? It was the first time I selected a quoted excerpt from their books!

      I am most esteemed and humbled my writings on behalf of the Leland Dragon series has you motivated to read them! Warms my heart truly, as this is my absolute TOP FAVOURITE in the genre! It is lovely to know I inspired a new reader to pick up the joy of reading about the dragons inside the pages! Ooh, I cannot wait to have you re-visit my individual review posts where we can carry-on full conversations after you have the chance to read them! Open ended — I know your plate is as full as mine; even if its not until next year, I will welcome the convos!

      Wow.

      This seriously made my year! :)

    • Thank you, Jess!

      I was truly grateful I could host the ‘showcase’ special of the Leland Dragons series! Talk about a series which attached itself directly to my heart & has never let me go! I’m so appreciative for being able to pull all my thoughts and memories together into one beautiful post like this one; which is already starting to inspire new readers! I appreciate your visit & thanks for the beautiful compliment! :)

  4. What a lovely tour stop, Jorie! I loved how you talked about finding TCM (your Turner Classics Movie comment gave me a chuckle!) and as I was reading your thoughts on – and experiences with Redheart – something clicked that made me decide to finally do something I had been thinking of doing for over six months now: I joined TCM as a tour host! It was such a lovely reminder of one of the reasons I started blogging – besides how much I love books – but to bring awareness to books others might not have heard of, especially those self-published or published with indie presses! With my one year blogiversary a week away, this seems like the perfect time to return to my blogging “roots!”

    Lots of hugs and thanks! <3

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)