Posted Saturday, 7 October, 2017 by jorielov A Thousand Words for Stranger, DAW Books, Julie E. Czerneda, The Clan Chronicles, Ties of Power, To Guard Against the Dark 10 Comments
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Today is a special day on Jorie Loves A Story, as I am hosting Ms Czerneda on the final leg of the FINALE tour for a beloved series The Clan Chronicles! When I was approached to feature a guest post this year, I could not even conceptionalise what I wanted her to write about as ‘how do you say ‘goodbye’ to a seriously wicked classic series?’ I haven’t even been able to address my own emotions about the series (as a whole) nor found a way to recognise there is soon a parting of spirit between me and the Clan!
Ergo, I simply said,
I’ll let you pick the Guest Post Topic — I wouldn’t even know where to start to think about a topic to culminate the ending of the Clan Chronicles — I’m so close to the story and the heart of the series, I’ll yield to a topic you’d love to write about and this will be a part of the tour to help celebrate the work you’ve passionately given all of us throughout the epic trilogies which have become so very beloved.
I cannot wait to see what you write!”
And, what you have before you now, is a post I think I might have telepathically inspired into being! Honestly, when I sat for a short spell after firming together this guest feature with the author, I started to muse about what she might potentially talk about – this post, is a full realisation of what I had hoped she might conceive for today’s post!
There is so much to celebrate – the memories of the stories themselves, of how the characters knitted themselves into our soul and curated so many different evocative emotions throughout their journeys to last a lifetime and of course, the community of readers – of whom, each of us in turn found the Clan and found the same breadth of depth Ms Czerneda knits into each of her collective works – she leaves something quite special for a reader to soak inside and discover insight into not only our humanity but the essence of life and the meaning behind why we’re all alive.
I hope you find this post a burst of joyfulness as I did – I am dearly wicked happy to share it with you and to open up the comment threads to celebrate the author & the Clan!
The Clan Chronicles is set in a far future where a mutual Trade Pact encourages peaceful commerce among a multitude of alien and Human worlds. The alien Clan, humanoid in appearance, have been living in secrecy and wealth on Human worlds, relying on their innate ability to move through the M’hir and bypass normal space. The Clan bred to increase that power, only to learn its terrible price: females who can’t help but kill prospective mates. Sira di Sarc is the first female of her kind facing that reality. With the help of a Human starship captain, Jason Morgan, himself a talented telepath, Sira must find a morally acceptable solution before it’s too late. But with the Clan exposed, her time is running out. The Stratification trilogy follows Sira’s ancestor, Aryl Sarc, and shows how their power first came to be as well as how the Clan came to live in the Trade Pact. The Trade Pact trilogy is the story of Sira and Morgan, and the trouble facing the Clan. Reunification concludes the series, answering these question at last.
Who are the Clan?
And what will be the fate of all?
The Unexpected
by Julie E. Czerneda
In my next and final blog post of this tour, I’ll talk about how it feels to end the Clan Chronicles, something I’d planned to do all along and, thus, expected.
This_GulfofTime_andStars_cover
To Guard Against the Dark by Julie E Czerneda
Czerneda - A THOUSAND WORDS FOR STRANGER
Czerneda - TO TRADE THE STARS
Czerneda - REAP THE WILD WIND
Czerneda - RIDERS OF THE STORM
Czerneda - RIFT IN THE SKY
Cover Art Credits: Reap the Wild Wind, Riders of the Storm, Rift in the Sky, A Thousand Words for Stranger, Ties of Power and To Trade the Stars is credited to Luis Royo. This Gulf of Time and Stars, The Gate to Futures Past and To Guard Against the Dark is credited to Matthew Stawicki.
In this post?
(Thanks, Jorie, for hosting.)(the honour is mine) Read More
Posted Saturday, 7 October, 2017 by jorielov in Author Guest Post (their topic), Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Science Fiction
Posted Thursday, 5 October, 2017 by jorielov Alysson Foti Bourque, Mascot Books, The Alycat series 2 Comments
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a part of the blog tour for the Alycat series hosted by iRead Book Tours. I have been showcasing Children’s Lit alongside my adult literature choices since I first started blogging. I appreciate finding new voices in Picture Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult selections as an Auntie and secondly as a future mother. Today’s Children’s Lit market is vastly different than when I was growing up as there is happily more diversity and more choices in stories. Whenever I get a chance to become introduced to one of today’s Children’s Lit series or stand-alone stories, I feel blessed for the chance to see what is newly emerging onto the scene for young readers! I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Alysson Foti Bourque in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Ahead of sharing my thoughts today about this delightfully colourful Picture Book, I have a Guest Post to share from the author. I wanted to tap into her inspiration behind creating ‘Alycat’ and how she made the choice to feature a spunky cat who has a lot of personality and life lessons to impart on the readers who find her stories.
How did the Alycat series percolate inside your imagination and develop into a cleverly illustrated series for young readers? Especially as cats have such cheeky personalities, it leads to a lot of life lessons which can be told through a character’s journey. What is your favourite aspect of Alycat’s personality?
I have always loved to write and read. It gives me peace and an outlet for my thoughts and imagination. Every night, my husband and I read a story to our children before bedtime as part of their routine. One night, after reading every single book in the bookshelf, the kids said it was time to buy more books. That is when I had my “ah-ha” moment. I simply told them that I would write a story for the next night and they believed in me.
I wrote and wrote that evening into the following day as the first Alycat story unfolded. Unfinished and unedited, I read it to the kids before bedtime. They loved it! They had ideas for the ending and gave me outrageous outcomes to choose from. The laughs and squeals made my heart full. It was then that I knew that this was a journey I needed to take in my life.
Why cats? Well, cats are very interesting animals. They have bold and mischievous personalities, coupled with a loving and nurturing nature. My favorite aspect of Alycat’s personality is her ability to solve her own problems with imagination and creativity. She is like most children where she has good days and bad days. She has such enthusiasm for what her heart wants and she is eager to work hard to obtain her hopes and dreams. It was important for me to develop her character to be self-motivated, hopeful, and fearless. I want readers to be inspired by Alycat to reach their goals, get themselves out of a slump, and demonstrate kindness even in tough situations.
Alycat and the Monday Blues
Source: Author via iRead Book Tours
Alycat wakes up with the dreaded Monday Blues and is certain that nothing will go right. But when a mishap sends her astray, she discovers that helping a friend will help her discover her own hidden talent—curing her Monday Blues.
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 978-1684012459
on 12th September, 2017
Pages: 38
Published By: Mascot Books (@MascotBooks)
Converse via: #KidsLit, #PictureBook
About Alysson Foti Bourque
Alysson Foti Bourque is the author of the Rhyme or Reason Travel series, and the multi-award winning Alycat series. Alysson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. She believes that there is an Alycat in all of us, encouraging our imaginations to guide us through new opportunities and adventures.
Website | Facebook
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Posted Thursday, 5 October, 2017 by jorielov in Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brothers and Sisters, Cats and Kittens, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Author, iRead Book Tours, Picture Book, School Life & Situations, Siblings
Posted Tuesday, 3 October, 2017 by jorielov (Editor) Molly Gould, Belle Reve Press, Dennis & Greer: A Love Story 2 Comments
Acquired Book By: I crossed paths with Ms Gould in 2015 in the twitterverse wherein we had a convo about the book she was writing which contained a series of letters & correspondences which would knit together a real-life love story about ‘Dennis & Greer’. At the time, I hadn’t realised Greer was her mother and how incredible of a story this would turn out to be! In July 2017, Ms Gould re-contacted me to see if I was still interested in reading the book – to which I happily replied I am! I received a complimentary ARC copy of “Dennis & Greer: A Love Story” direct from the editor Molly Gould in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On wanting to read ‘Dennis & Greer’:
In July of 2015, I had a conversation with the editor of this Epistolary Story: Molly Gould. She had found me on Twitter (where most of my readers find me as I am bookishly chatty!) whilst finding a post I had written about reading Epistolary stories – something which comes up every now and then as I blog my reading life here on Jorie Loves A Story. She was talking to me about how she was ‘writing about a love story in letters’ which truly captured me at the time, as I was still holding memories of ‘Letters from Skye’ within my heart.
She had mentioned to me ‘My book tells the story of 2 youth from the moment they lay eyes on each other until the boy is killed in the Vietnam War.’ To which I had replied ‘What an epic love story! quite sad too, but bet there is an uplifting twist because of the letters left behind, etc. *evoking!’
After this short exchange, we parted ways – her to finish editing the book itself and I left hoping to hear back from her once the book was drafted for publication. In July of this year, Ms Gould re-contacted me announcing her mother’s story was finalised and ready to be shared with the world: “Dennis and Greer: A Love Story” would be published this October. She asked me if I was still interested in reading their story and if she could send me an ARC; to which I happily agreed knowing the curiosity was going to stay with me until I finally did indeed read how Dennis & Greer connected before he died.
There is something to be said for ‘letters & correspondences’ – for all of us who have put our lives and heart into exchanging letters with those of whom live far away from where we are – we know the truth about how letters can transform our lives and enable us to make strong connections to those of whom we correspond. When you purport this outside of friendship directly, letters have a way of conveying an emotional bond far quicker than a traditional relationship because within letters you can share your innermost thoughts and soulful perspectives without the fear of misunderstandings. Letters operate on a different time scale than ordinary vocal conversations where a quickness is necessary to maintain the pacing – letters, of course, ebb and flow over time – where patience and thoughtfulness outweigh quantity of thought.
This is also my second book to read of this nature – as the first was “3,000 Miles to Eternity” which talks about the real-life love story of a modern couple who met through both traditional and non-conventional means to write their own story of love in the 21st Century. If you appreciated reading my review of their story, you will enjoy reading my takeaways about Dennis & Greer – as although the two couples are separated through war and times of peace (approx. four decades to boot!) – they each share one major thing in common: they connected to each other through the words they wrote and exchanged – drawing them closer to each other with each bit of correspondence they received.
Dennis & Greer: A Love Story
A true story that encapsulates the horrors of war and the innocence of young love.
Buried in a trunk for fifty years, this long-forgotten tale, told through letters and journals from the war-torn Vietnam era, has been resurrected.
College students, Dennis and Greer, met and felt a spark just before moving to different states. Their witty correspondence through letters conjured a desire to meet again, but Dennis tried to keep his distance; duty is more important than love.
Dennis joined the Marines against Greer's wishes, but he tried to win her heart before going to war. As the two embarked on their journey into adulthood and navigated their relationship against the backdrop of war, they were writing a love story that will span the test of time.
This nonfiction that reads like fiction is perfect for lovers of memoir, historical romance, and historical fiction.
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Find on Book Browse
ISBN: 978-0692919910
Pages: 324
About (Editor) Molly Gould
Molly Gould lived in the wilderness for 28 days when she was 16 years old (she’s your go-to-girl in the zombie apocalypse). She now confines herself indoors, AC full-blast in sunny AZ. Occasionally, she’ll brave the scorching heat with her husband and four children.
Molly is an ASU graduate and the editor of Dennis and Greer: A Love Story.
When Molly inherited a treasure of vintage journals and letters from the Vietnam era, she was swept away by the love story and coming-of-age tale contained within those writings. She couldn’t keep the story of Dennis and Greer to herself, so she began transcribing and Dennis and Greer was born.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram
Posted Tuesday, 3 October, 2017 by jorielov in 20th Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Based on an Actual Event &/or Court Case, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Mormonism, Non-Fiction, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Story in Diary-Style Format, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Sixties, Vignettes of Real Life
Posted Monday, 2 October, 2017 by jorielov AJ Eversley, Self Published, The Watcher Series, Watcher 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a part of the blog tour for the Watcher series hosted by iRead Book Tours. I have been trying to find a way to make enroads into Dystopian Lit for a number of years, specifically every year I’ve participated in Sci Fi November, whilst outside of the annual event as well. If anything, I have found my attempts of finding Dystopian stories I can sink my teeth into and appreciate to be a bit hit/miss or false starts. When I read about this series – I thought, it’s labelled a ‘clean YA Dystopian series’ and therefore decided to ‘try once more’ and see if I can alight into a world penned in this genre. I received a complimentary copy of CARBON direct from the author AJ Eversley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On where WATCHER leaves off and where I hoped CARBON would continue:
Where things get more interesting is what draws Kenzie to Sawyer like a moth to a flame. In one instance towards the latter quarter (or so) of the story, I started to see an insert of familiarity and in some ways a welcome explanation for a film I never could fully understand (the Matrix). Despite all the references I’ve been making – they are only minor references in both concept, idea or execution. As for me, I appreciate Eversley style and approach in telling this story far more than I appreciated the other films. In regards to the Borg, however, those were some of my favourite Next Generation episodes because it was exploring a non-traditional enemy similar to AI which was self-governing and self-evolving without human interference. My favourite episode of course was about Hugh – where Picard helped one Borg name himself and see things from ‘outside’ the collective; thereby giving him a slice of humanity he never felt he could feel. In many ways, I think Kenzie is Hugh in this story – he was set on a course he did not choose for reasons he did not fully accept as being right but followed through because it was his path to walk. It’s a complicated arc of story – of making choices in blinks of time, effecting lives outside your own and trying to sort your way through a quagmire of a future which works against every innate instinct of humanity.
-quoted from my review of WATCHER
As I left WATCHER, I was hoping CARBON would pick up close in a time-frame which would equal the momentum I had read in WATCHER; on that score, I was not disappointed. The hard part for me stepping back into this world was how much everything had ‘changed’ as soon as Sawyer had lost her humanity (she was now a Carbon) and how dearly altered Kenzie had become because in effect, the Kenzie I knew with Sawyer was dead – this was his truer state and his truer nature coming to the surface. It wasn’t easy to read from that angle because Kenzie was such a different person in WATCHER; wells, perhaps not entirely different but different enough not to be easily recognised in CARBON.
I suppose I had hoped somehow the tides would turn round for Sawyer in a way which wouldn’t feel so very oppressively dark and unbearingly brutal from the point of view, she had already lost so much in her young life – to lose more felt almost too much for her to shoulder. I was quite attached to the story within WATCHER but as you will see, as I went into the pages of CARBON, I found myself stepping ‘out’ of the story rather than feeling firmly locked inside it.
I was delayed getting back into the rhythm of the series – I was offline for a fortnight due to personal circumstances wherein I was not reading during that time period. By the time I returnt to the series, I must admit, my experiences whilst I was absent did effect my readings now, as those experiences had a profound effect on me overall. Sometimes despite trying to step outside our literary comfort zones, we find we are not able to make the leap – at least this is true in my case, as CARBON was simply not my cuppa for Sci Fi.
Carbon
Source: Author via iRead Book Tours
Sawyer has lost everything. Her family, the man she loves...her humanity. No longer a Watcher, Sawyer must now begin a journey to understand her new identity. Carbon.
With no where left to call home, and no one left to guide her, Sawyer must rely on the help of a stranger to learn who she really is now, and how to use it to her advantage. In a world where nothing is as it seems, and who to trust is a thin line between friend and foe, Sawyer will turn to the stars that have shaped her destiny long before she even knew she had one. And the man who fate has sent her.
Book two in this epic series, Carbon will answer questions you didn't even know you had. And strangers will become the only ones who can help her. Join Sawyer as the journey to save humanity continues.
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 978-1548927189
on 26th September, 2017
Pages: 312
The Watcher Series:
Converse via: #WatcherSeries, #Dystopian + #CleanReads + #YALit
About AJ Eversley
AJ Eversley is the author of the WATCHER series. A true north Canadian girl, AJ currently lives in Central Alberta with her husband and dog. When she’s not writing, she can be found binge watching Harry Potter, quoting various movies in every day conversation, and eating copious amounts of candy.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
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Posted Monday, 2 October, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Dystopian, Equality In Literature, Father-Daughter Relationships, Indie Author, iRead Book Tours, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Parapsychological Gifts, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Upper YA Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Posted Sunday, 1 October, 2017 by jorielov (TV Pilot) Rayden Valkyrie, Anne of Green Gables, Charton Minster, Jorie Loves A Story, The Sunday Post, The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds 5 Comments
My participation in this meme was directly inspired by my new bookish friends: Avalinah + Savanah via this post!
[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ 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)
- Link back to this post or this blog
- Visit others who have linked up
A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost: I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!
It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember! In regards to getting back into the groove with #WWWeds – I’m either going to make the meme bi-monthly or monthly which I’ll decide within the next fortnight.
Hallo, Hallo, dear hearts!
Jorie gets knitty during lightning storms,
acquires a knitting injury & devours audiobooks!
Whilst finding lightning storms to be a true consternation when attempting to B L O G!
[27 August, 2017]
IF anyone were to ask me what is my main bone of consternation during the [Summer] it would be simply L I G H T N I N G – the wicked awful curse of having MAJOR electrical storms which not only muddle my connectivity but they simply eradicate all HOPE of having a regular blogging and readerly life during the Summer, even if said blogger makes ill attempts to circumvent the insanity by pushing her blogging hours past the brink of what is healthy and upturnts her hours to where I think only midnight staff and truck drivers would understand her woes!
The key issue truly is how nauseatingly frequent they are now and how intense they are on arrival – these are not light storms with infrequent lightning – no! their the kind of storms where the electrical girth of electrical field is so wide and so boldly illuminating in the skies, you wonder if / where it strikes, how any living thing could survive the voltage!
Despite this – the week of [6th August] was the main week in which I felt the most productive as despite accruing an injury from ‘over-knitting’ (yes, this can happen if you consider I knitted about 15+ hours consecutively over 2 days!) and there were multiple lightning storms each day to where everything electronic was never plugged in except a few hours a day – you could say, it somehow became the best moments for me to KNIT! And, KNIT I did – dear hearts – to where one of my prayer shawls which was in the opening stages of being created is now nearly at the halfway mark of being ready to donate! Score! And, I knitted a new pattern, which is not only teaching me new techniques in the world of knitting but it is giving me a chance to create a different kind of shawl – one which I will be sending to a dear friend of mine once it’s complete. Meanwhile, I alternated between this prayer shawl and another one – which are the colours of sunshine – bold swatches of white and gold – stitched into a basket weave pattern! Read More
Posted Sunday, 1 October, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie the Writer, The Sunday Post
