[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!
Enter your link on the post-
Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
Are we ever ready to say “goodbye” to someone we love?
I never thought I’d be blogging about the loss of a cat
during the year I felt couldn’t surprise me anymore
with unexpected stress and a multitude of adversities.
In regards to my life behind the blog:
You might have already noticed my long absences online this Summer — some of which I’ve already addressed, and other notations of those absences were meant to be blogged about during #TheSundayPost but were never fully conceived nor written to be shared officially. I’ve done a lot of thinking this year about what I want to blog about but actually being able to sit down and BLOG those thoughts has been something else entirely. Sometimes our intentions to do something is more powerful than the ability to achieve them. In my defence, this is my second year of working full-time but my first year of working two full-time jobs; one by day, one by night. It has literally taken all the energy and stamina I never thought I could muster to maintain both and unfortunately hasn’t always lent a way for me to have downtime away from work.
Which of course only partially explains my absences this year, but for now, I want to focus on something else — something that has been weighing on my heart and soul for over a week now. As despite the adversely difficult September which presented two migraines and a sea of anxiety towards the end of the month where weather could have affected my life moreso than it did — I was not quite prepared for October to ring in a season of deep sorrow and soul-crushing grief.Read More
Acquired Book By: I had to re-arrange my plans during #WyrdAndWonder – as I was going to read all the lovely books by Edale Lane I had purchased either ahead or during of the event this year during May – except to say, my month held its own fair share of woes – from health, to work to all the little unexpected things that go wrong which add up to lost hours to read and blog! *le sigh* However, I chose to reveal my thoughts on behalf of “Heart of Sherwood” and “Walks With Spirits” during Wyrd And Wonder as I felt it was quite an interesting bookend: the first and the latest by Edale Lane. However, the hours did not yield to finishing of the second novel. I had begun to read the fourth novel of the Night Flyer series as well but realised the hours were limited and I wouldn’t get the chance to read the fifth – so I’ve pushed those readings into Summer which melted into Autumn readings.
As a small update: I’ll be listening to the audiobook for “Walks With Spirits” whilst continuing to read the novel, whilst shifting back into the Night Flyer series and diving into “Daring Duplicity” as well as Autumn starts to take hold. The joy of course, I was able to lengthen my time with Lane’s novels rather than to curate a readathon condensed into one singular month. All round, I am just thankful to have her stories with me to read and/or listen too.
I was not obligated to post a review on its behalf – as I purchased this novel ahead of Wyrd And Wonder Year 5 (May, 2022). I am sharing my thoughts on behalf of this novel for my own edification and a continued journey of sharing my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Note: I received the Press Materials from the author Edale Lane – of whom I have previously hosted during blog tours and have had her as a guest author several times on my blog. She was one of my @SatBookChat #WyrdAndWonder guest authors this year – on the 28th of May. And, she will be featured again within the next month – either on Jorie Loves A Story or @SatBookChat as those plans are still being finalised.
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
As I previously disclosed during my #RomanceTuesdays showcase for “Heart of Sherwood” (see also Review) I’ve been curating a long history of appreciating the stories writ by Edale Lane over the last few years! She is one of my mainstays in regard to which Self Pub novelists I regularly read and seek out to read on the regular. Others include the following: Jeannie Wycherley, Leanne Leeds, Jennifer Silverwood and Nicole Evelina. You can see a thread of connection too – as most of these authors are writing Speculative Fiction, with the exception of Evelina who writes in different genres of interest but did write a trilogy about Guinevere and King Arthur. You’ll find reviews of their stories throughout Jorie Loves A Story.
Over the years I’ve come to LOVE reading stories by Self Pub authors and storycrafters – ever since I first started blogging, I saw the doors open a bit wider to finding their stories via online routes of discovery and it has led me to having a healthy appreciation for reading self-published literature. Secondly to that pursuit is my love of Independently published (by Press or publisher) literature and for the most part, in both respects, my allegiances tend to lean on the Speculative even though I do read other genres through those publishing routes.
This is the first year I could join the event for #SelfPubFanMonth – which is why the final weeks of September will be happily highlighting the self-published authors I’ve read during #WyrdAndWonder whilst also delving into the works I’ve read this September with featured reviews. I am also going to be featuring a #ThrowbackThursday post highlighting one of my favourites from May. I love to find ways to shine a light on the writers who are writing the stories I desire to read most and to join the collective community online who are equally sharing their own joys as we all pursue the stories which excite us to be read. This is one reason why these events and niche communities are a lot of fun to participate inside as you just never know what you might find in regard to a new story, series or author — with the added bonus of finding new bloggers to follow, too.
There is one exception to this newfound joy — I haven’t been able to trace any activity on the Self Pub Fantasy Month website and my notes to the host this year went unanswered this month. I am not sure if there was an emergency or if plans shifted and the event is only running on blogs wherein some of us are still sharing content. If anyone knows any information – kindly leave a comment on this post and help solve the mystery because it is the first event I’ve joined that had an absent host and, erhm, event!?
When secrets and lies threaten the throne, can a fierce champion tame her passion in time to stop a cruel enemy’s ruthless march?
Viking Warrior Princess Lena craves revenge. Hunting a killer after her husband is brutally slain, she discovers a shadowy traitor is at play behind the scenes, working to disrupt the balance of power. Placing her need for vengeance on hold when the king falls gravely ill, Lena leads an expedition to locate a fabled healer across a treacherous sea.
Caitlin, snatched from her home in Eire and sold into slavery, prayed for a means of escape, and in storms Lena to her rescue. She is grateful, but realizes her feelings for Lena run far deeper.
Mighty warrior Gunnar is loyal to the core. But when his lord orders him to sabotage the princess’s royal mission, he’s plagued by doubt, uncertain he’s fighting for the right side.
Beset by foul weather and an uncharted island of trolls, Lena fears she’ll never avenge her husband’s death…. And now Gunnar must decide where his fealty rests as the tides turn to war.
Beset by a plethora of dangers and delays, Lena battles foes on every front, even as her heart softens towards the lovely Celt girl she longs to embrace. Gunnar must choose between honor and fealty, but in the end, will a traitor’s blade end all their lives?
Viking Quest is a breathtaking Historical Fantasy novel. If you like principled characters, battles of conscience, and tender F/F romance, then you’ll love Edale Lane’s action-packed epic.
Converse via: #VikingQuest or #SelfPubFanMonth and #SelfPubSept
as well as #WyrdAndWonder
About Ms Edale Lane
Edale Lane is the author of an award winning 2019 debut novel, Heart of Sherwood. She is the alter-ego of author Melodie Romeo, (Vlad a Novel, Terror in Time, and others) who founded Past and Prologue Press. Both identities are qualified to write historical fiction by virtue of an MA in History and 24 years spent as a teacher, along with skill and dedication in regard to research. She is a successful author who also currently drives a tractor-trailer across the United States. A native of Vicksburg, MS, Edale (or Melodie as the case may be) is also a musician who loves animals, gardening, and nature.
Acquired Book By: Quite happily, my path with Ms McGivens crossed in early July, 2021 wherein I messaged her via Twitter and we struck up a conversation which led me to booking her for @SatBookChat and I received her first novel for the Katie Porter Mysteries in the mail. I had fully intended to read and review this novel closer to the time in which I spoke with her during my chat but sadly, that simply wasn’t in the cards. This August I started to resume my readerly life after a difficult Summer wherein I had a complete disconnection with both my reading life and my blogging life. Mysteries, especially Cosy Mysteries have always been the backbone of my readerly interests – thus, I had a feeling that if I returnt to reading this lovely to jump-start my #CrimeFicFridays again alongside other selections I’ve been blogging about during #WWWednesdays, I might find myself in happy cycle of reading more Crime Fiction before year’s end.
I received a complimentary copy of “The Secret at Sunset Hill” direct from the author K.T. McGivens in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to read The Katie Porter Mysteries;
I was looking at the chapter sampler for the first Katie Porter Mystery “The Secret at Sunset Hill” and I was loving it. I have a soft spot for newspaper reporters… grew up on Lois Lane in one version or another and my fascination always stuck. Plus, like McGivens, I loved Nancy Drew as I cut my teeth on Mysteries quite young devouring the case files and reading the Hardy Boys too. By 8 or 9 I was given my first Miss Marple anthology of stories and I was literally in awe and set for life to be a Mystery, Suspense & Thriller reader. Although, I carry my Cosy sensibility with me as I don’t like anything too overtly violent or graphic, plus I’m not into overly peppered vulgarity in stories either.
And, then when I realised it was going to become a fully developed series with multiple installments, I knew I had to interview Ms McGivens on my chat as I felt this series and Katie Porter in particular would be a wicked good fit for @SatBookChat. As I have had the tendency of focusing on strong women & imploring narratives across genres which interest me most as a reader. There was something wicked clever, too, about Katie Porter – about how she’s quite the everywoman heroine and someone you can relate, too.
Similar in vein to how we all cross-identify with Nancy Drew but also with women like Anna Blanc but in a different capacity of course, as Ms Blanc’s life is a bit grittier than Katie & Nancy’s but evenso, there is a thread of connection between them in finding strong women set in historical eras who were choosing to live their lives on their own terms and just finding themselves able to solve mysteries as if they were bourne to it. Of course, this also brings to thought and mind the characters within Jennifer Lamont Leo’s novels & stories, too!
We could always use another wicked awesome heroine in our lives and for me, right now, that new heroine has arrived in the form of Katie Porter!
Set in year 1947, Katie Porter is a 21 year old newspaper reporter who finds herself caught up in various mysteries while researching and writing articles for her hometown paper, the Fairfield Gazette. Set before modern technology such as cellphones, computers, and the Internet, she must rely on her courage and wits to discover the truth and capture the culprits. She has a wide circle of friends who help her and her adventures are filled with friendship, loyalty, suspense, danger, tenacity, problem solving, and romance! Each book builds on the previous one as the reader helps Katie and her friends solve yet another case. Life in the town of Fairfield and Katie’s ancestral home, Rosegate, is never dull! And the mysteries continue...
1. The Secret at Sunset Hill 2. The Mystery at the Mystic Museum
3. The Plot at the Pearson Playhouse
4. The Ghost of Golden Joe
5. The Murder of Major Pennington
6. The Disappearance of Devlin Douglas
7. The Passing of Preston Peabody
8. The Case of the Casual Killer
9. The Mystery at Maplewood Hall
10. The Incident on Ivory Island 11. The Odd Appearance of Anneliese Abbott
12. The Crime at Covington Corner
13. The Body in Bounty Bay
Converse via: #HistoricalMystery or #CosyMystery
as well as #KatiePorterMysteries
Acquired Book By: Originally, I received this novel “The Living Waters” via a blog tour hosted by Storytellers on Tour which is now a closed blog touring company as they left our bookish community at the conclusion of 2021. This author and duology was my last chance to host for them and it was a pleasure of joy discovering stories, authors and worlds within their catalogue of blog tours. Let me share a bit of the backstory about how I found them and when they entered my bookish life:
During my 3rd Year of co-hosting @WyrdAndWonder, I was able to participate on my first blog tour with Storytellers on Tour which was featuring the author Brianna Sugalski on her “Disenchanted” blog tour. What I appreciated about Storytellers on Tour was their dedication to Indie Authors of Speculative Literature (whether they were independently published, self-published or sought hybrid publishing options) and their ability to have found authors who were telling stories in Fantasy which intrigued me to read. Fantasy has been a challenging genre for me to explore even a bit moreso than Science Fiction – which was why I felt blessed to be on their blogger team. Whilst some of their tours I sought out a book to consider for review, I actively enjoyed hosting creative content using book photography and/or featuring their authors in conversation (ie. interviews) or giving them the breadth of joy to write a guest post based on a topic of my choosing. Overall, Storytellers on Tour were dedicated to creating community and for championing those of us who are choosing to share our readerly lives each day we bring content to our book blogs.
Thereby, I received a complimentary copy of “The Living Waters” direct from the author Dan Fitzgerald in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
You won’t be surprised I’ve decided to join my first #SelfPubFanMonth this September, if you’ve been following along with my #WWWWeds posts! As I’ve announced my participation this past week. As I am re-approaching how I read and blog this Autumn, you’ll see that I’m taking the lighter load approach each week – whilst being mindful that if I cannot get to all the stories I want to be reading, just making progress into the stories is my new normal right now.
However, I need to clarify that this particular duology and release by Mr Fitzgerald is NOT a work of self-publication. Usually, I am the one to verify those kinds of details and this particular week, I thought I had double-checked myself before I wrote my #WWWeds post — however, to err is human as the saying goes and I’ve already amended my #WWWeds post to reflect the error as well as apologising to the author directly for mentioning this was self-published when in effect it wasn’t – as it was published via Shadow Spark Publishing.
I can announce other works which will be published by Fitzgerald will be self-published which made me feel a bit better as I moved into re-reading this story during #SelfPubFanMonth as you could consider this highlighting of what is coming next from him as a writer and as a published author.
I knew I wanted to re-connect to “The Living Waters” and this month felt like the right timing to do that as it is a duology which I first learnt about whilst hosting for Storytellers on Tour. I’ve been celebrating Indies & Self-Published authors since I first started book blogging in [2013] as nearly all my most beloved reads in #SpecFic are from those two categories of writers. Continuing to find new ways to send out a signal flare of joy on their behalf is something I am always happy to root out! Thereby, as I try to read as much as I can during #WyrdAndWonder (annually in May) and by extension during #SpooktasticReads (annually in October) — it is now with a bit of joy to finally join the community of Self Pub Fantasy Month which will be seen in other posts which populate onto my blog this September. And, no, I haven’t forgotten about #Mythothon and hope to bring some Mythological stories into my readerly queue as well.
After making my faux pas in claiming this duology was self-published, I decided to feature it during a showcasing of reviews during a newly designated heading of #WyrdAndWonder Wednesday wherein I will be sharing fantastical reads betwixt and between @WyrdAndWonder. It will give me a chance to read more Fantasy each year and during the months I find myself particularly drawn into a story of Fantasy outside of the month of May, I can celebrate finding it whilst helping new Fantasy nerds to find out about the event! Let’s all continue to #EnterTheFantastic, together.
Before I share my fuller ruminations – these were the thoughts I had whilst I concluded my previewing of the novel during the original blog tour in (2021):
It will be interesting to see what becomes of their time together – what they discover about themselves as individuals but also what personal growth is meant to be undertaken as well. I had a feeling that despite the fact they were both put together on this journey, they each had a different path to follow afterwards or at least, perhaps they both had a different destiny to put it that way instead!? I wasn’t entirely convinced they were meant to be together in the traditional sense because I felt this was one journey which would encourage self-awakening discoveries. And, of course the artwork eludes to another conclusion altogether, too!
When two painted-faced nobles take a guided raft trip on a muddy river, they expect to rough it for a few weeks before returning to their life of sheltered ease. But when mysterious swirls start appearing in the water, even their seasoned guides get rattled.
The mystery of the swirls lures them on to seek the mythical wetlands known as the Living Waters. They discover a world beyond their imagining, but stranger still are the worlds they find inside their own minds as they are drawn deep into the troubles of this hidden place.
The Living Waters is a sword-free fantasy novel featuring an ethereal love story, meditation magic, and an ancient book with cryptic marginalia.
Artwork from The Living Waters novel by Dan Fitzgerald featuring Gilea and Temi.
a duology featuring:
The Living Waters (Book One)
& The Isle of a Thousand Worlds (Book Two)
An aging alchemist seeks the key to the Universal Tincture said to unlock the Thousand Worlds of the mind, but she never expected to solve the riddle of her hermetic heart.
A meditation acolyte travels the mystical social media known as the Caravan and finds that the Thousand Worlds lie just below the surface, if she can only learn to see the space between the stars.
This steamy romantic fantasy explores the confluence of the physical and the metaphysical through the commingling of bodies and minds.
NOTE: It is independent from the Maer Cycle trilogy, but there are a few points of contact, and both are part of a planned larger universe called the Copper Circle, which will include a trilogy called the Time Before, set 2,000 years before the Maer Cycle. Found this sidenote about the duology from the author’s website and felt it was relevant to share in case others are keen on reading serial fiction with the foreknowledge of how different duologies, trilogies and universes in an author’s collective works interconnect.
Converse via: #Fantasy, #SpeculativeFiction and #FantasyRomance
as well as #WeirdWaterConfluence & #EnterTheFantastic as #JorieReads
About Dan Fitzgerald
Dan Fitzgerald is the fantasy author of the Maer Cycle trilogy (character-driven low-magic fantasy) and the upcoming Weirdwater Confluence duology (sword-free fantasy with unusual love stories). The Living Waters comes out October 15, 2021 and The Isle of a Thousand Worlds arrives January 15, 2022, both from Shadow Spark Publishing.
He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, twin boys, and two cats. When not writing he might be found doing yoga, gardening, cooking, or listening to French music.
I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!
After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!
Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday
And, it’s audiobooks for the WIN!
Find out why audio reads are luring Jorie back into reading!
Who knew the best way to JUMP START your readerly life which has been on an unexpected sabbatical for the Summer was to queue up some audiobooks!? You did? I did not. Until I started hearing narrators in my ears who were luring me back into reading in such a fantastic way! I might have had a few misses this week, as you’ll notice throughout this post but boy! Was I charmed and grateful for the narrators all the same! Just because I wasn’t able to fully anchour myself into each of their narrated stories – what did pull me through the week was the JOY of discovering their style of narration and the dexterity they had for giving us such a promising selection of voices, accents and characters to tuck close to as their voices reached my ears and imagination.
I’ve also been kinder to myself about the time I have to read and/or listen to audiobooks – rather than block out HOURS to devout to one story or audiobook, I’ve been selectively choosing which hour, half hour or afternoon/evening where I am off work and able to give attention to stories again. By breaking it down into smaller helpings of reading and listening to audiobooks, I’m finding my way forward and out of the drought that Summer gave me where I was unable to focus on reading and thus, found myself quite miserable because the lost hours between May and August almost felt like too deep of a chasm to climb out of and return back to my regular patterns of reading.
Even those short moments are improving my state of mind when it comes to resuming my visitations with stories and also, unlike months and years in the past before I worked two full-time jobs as I have been doing this year (er, wells, technically since mid-October, 2021 as I went back to work originally in February, 2021) — where I could devout more substantial time to reading, blogging and engaging – I am happy to announce I am finding my new rhythm and it is wonderful. It is hard when you have to take a pause on something you love and just get through the daily grind until something improves lateron. For me, I missed the discovery of characters, the immersion of story and the joy of seeing a writer’s vision come through their narrative and world. I ached to re-experience those moments again and finally, at long last I can say with confidence, I am back reading regularly — albeit with a bit of a different methodology of execution but all the same, I’m reading and listening to audiobooks and it FEELS GREAT!
What Jorie is currently reading:
A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver (*audiobook) via NetGalley
The Secret at Sunset Hill by K.T. McGivens (*re-read & continuation)
: guest of @SatBookChat from July, 2021
→ My first #WyrdAndWonder Wednesday selection:
The Living Waters by Dan Fitzgerald (*re-read & continuation) : (see also Post)
→ My first #SelfPubFanMonth selection:
Dead as a Dodo (Wonderland Detective Agency) by Jeannie Wycherley (*audiobook)
*the writer behind my beloved Wonky Inn series : (see also Reviews)
Back in May, I found out about the Wonderland Detective Agency novels which were released into audiobook by the author behind my beloved Wonky Inn series which is narrated by Kim Bretton. She has brought Alf to life so dearly brilliantly – her narration goes through til Book Five. I’ll be purchasing the following books ahead of #SpooktasticReads (in October, 2022): The Witch Who Killed Christmas (in paperback as it’s a special release), Fearful Fortunes & Terrible Tarot (Book Four) and The Mystery of the Marsh Malaise (Book Five) — which is why I’m shifting forward during #SelfPubFanMonth to start listening to another of her series – brought to life by Joanna Lee!
She fast became an autobuy/autolisten author of mine – due to the fact I dearly LOVE to DEVOUR her stories and I love her wickedly entertaining sense of wit and humour, too! I can’t wait to see what awaits me in the Wonderland Detective Agency and I am thoroughly blessed for the chance to listen to Dead as a Dodo during my first year participating in Self Pub Fantasy Month!Read More
Viking Quest
The Secret at Sunset Hill
The Living Waters
