Blog Tour Wrap-Up for A Dream Not Imagined: Winner Announced and Excerpt

     Hey all!! We've come to the last day of the tour for my new novella release, A Dream Not Imagined. I hope you guys have enjoyed the fun posts of the last few days, I know I definitely did!! :)

     A huge thank you to all those who participated!!! For the superb interviews, lovely reviews, and fun spotlights and whatnot. Thank you so much!! I so appreciate the support as I published my first book! I'm overwhelmed, humbled, and so very happy and excited by all the positive reviews I'm getting for my story! Yay!! <3

     A Dream Not Imagined (kindle copy) remains $.99 on Amazon, and I'm hoping to release the paperback version soon! Eep!! So exciting!! Stay tuned for more news of that in the days to come!

     If you read and enjoyed my fairy tale novella, do leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and the like! Every review is a blessing and helps tons!!! ^__^

Winner Announced:

     Now for the winner of a kindle copy of A Dream Not Imagined + a $5 Amazon giftcard!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
     Congratulations, Lena!!! I hope you enjoy!! :) Will send you your prize soon! :D

    Excerpt from A Dream Not Imagined:

     "Poor girl," one said in a stage-whisper, "that she doesn't get to share in her father's fortunate rise to nobility."

     The other woman fanned herself slowly and eyed Ellie with a speculating look. "You'd think she would be accepted in society, if not for Lady Abbington."

     Ellie turned away, cheeks burning.

     "Dear me," Lady Burch fretted. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. But why the purchases? Surely Dezmarie and Adelaide don't need more dresses!"

     Ellie fiddled with the frayed ends of her cuffs. There was a legitimate reason she didn't like going into the village.

     "Goodness! Has there been word of a ball?" Lady Burch grasped Ellie's arms, the jewels on her hat glinting in the sun and nearly blinding Ellie. "Do tell, girl!"

     Oh dear. Ellie opened her mouth to speak.

     A rumble of horses' hooves sounded in the distance. Lady Burch looked up, one hand dropping from Ellie's arm. Ellie looked up too, pressing a hand to the base of her throat. The rumble came nearer.

     "Make way!" the faint cry sounded.

(Taken from A Dream Not Imagined. Copyright by Shantelle Mary Hannu)

     So that's that! Once again, thanks to all who helped with this blog tour! :) And I hope those of you who decide to pick up A Dream Not Imagined will enjoy it!! Blessings, dear readers! :) :)

Blog Tour Schedule

Thursday, May 28th

Shantelle Mary Hannu at A Writer's Heart ~~ It’s published!!!

Cookielover at The Story Forest  ~~ Author Interview

Amanda Beguerie at Scattered Journal Pages ~~ Book Review

Kaycee Browning at The Pink Cave ~~ Author Interview

Natasha at Through My Lens ~~ Character Interview with Cinderella

Kendra Ardnek at Knitted by God's Plan ~~ Author Interview

Friday, May 29th

Deborah O'Carroll at The Road of a Writer ~~ Author Cinderella-themed Interview

Claire Banschbach at The Overactive Imagination ~~ Book Review

Ghost Ryter at Anything, Everything ~~ Author Interview

Skye Hoffert at Ink Castles ~~ Character Interview with The Stepsisters

Natacha at Mi Baile Perfecto ~~ Author Interview

Saturday, May 30th

Hannah Williams at The Writer's Window ~~ Author Interview

Raechel at God's Peculiar Treasure ~~ Book Review

C.B. Cook at The World of the Writer ~~ Character Interview with The Stepmother

Lena K. at Read, Write, Laugh, DANCE ~~ Character Spotlight (The Fairy Godmother)

Sierra at Flights from the Aerie ~~ Author Interview

Sunday, May 31st

Shantelle Mary Hannu at A Writer's Heart ~~ Tour Wrap-Up and Excerpt

Review Links:

http://scatteredjournalpages.com/2015/05/27/book-thursdays-blog-tour-a-dream-not-imagined-review/

https://clairembanschbach.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/a-dream-not-imagined-review-and-blogtour/

https://godspeculiartreasurerae.wordpress.com/

https://deborahocarroll.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/review-a-dream-not-imagined/

http://tashahphotography.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-dream-not-imagined-cover-reveal.html

http://poetreeandbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-dream-not-imagined-cover-reveal-review.html

http://skyehoffert.blogspot.ca/2015/04/cover-reveal-dream-not-imagined.html

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2SKHZXNITG7TB/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00Y1PUJH4&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1250871873?book_show_action=false&page=1

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1251179761?book_show_action=false&page=1

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1251934924?book_show_action=false&page=1

Blog Tour: A Dream Not Imagined by Shantelle Mary Hannu

Today marks a very exciting, happy, dream-like day for me. A day I've been waiting for for almost ten years. A day one of my dreams came true. Today this eighteen-year-old writer became a published author! ^_^

That's right! A Dream Not Imagined, my fairytale novella, is now available to the world on Amazon.com through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). I published a book!! Wahoo! *grins* Indie-publishing is no simple feat, guys. A lot goes into polishing and getting a story perfected for publication, and also figuring out all the things like cover art and formatting and whatnot. So now that publication day has come, I just can't tell you how thrilling and unreal it is! Sometimes I just sit here grinning like a fool! *grins and winks*

I hope this day is only the first of many release days for me!  Silver Rose shall be next, Lord willing! ^_^

So without further ado, let's take a peek at this new release and then delve into the fun! (Including a giveaway)! *smiles*

About the Book

A MAID, a PRINCE, and a DUKE. A GARDENER, a STEPMOTHER, and a secret ...

Ellie Abbington, a beautiful yet unassuming young woman, quietly longs for her life to change. Too privileged to associate with the servants—too underprivileged to associate with her own family; she dreams a dream of a prince and a happily ever after.

But it could be that her own stepsisters, conniving Dezmarie and easily-influenced Adelaide, are dreaming the same dream...of the same prince.

In the end, are dreams even all they're made out to be? Especially with deep and long-hidden secrets about to be unearthed?

A Dream Not Imagined is a non-magical fairytale novella based loosely on the classic tale of Cinderella.

Purchase as a kindle book on Amazon now!

Just wanted to clarify, even if you don't own an actual Kindle, you can still read kindle books, as long as you have an Amazon account. Simply download the free Kindle app to your computer and you will be able to buy and read A Dream Not Imagined! *grins*

Here’s a link . . . (since I usually have such a hard time figuring out things like this, haha!) Click the link below and it should start downloading the Kindle app to your PC right away!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/pc/download

And I am working on making a paperback form of A Dream Not Imagined. So if you prefer reading paperback (like I do) then be on the look-out for that! *smiles*

Character Introduction

Hop on over to Pinterest, and check out my A Dream Not Imagined board! There you can meet characters such as the Maid, the Prince, the Duke, the Stepmother, and even the Stepsisters! *grins*

Giveaway!

Enter the rafflecopter form for a chance to win a kindle copy of A Dream Not Imagined and a $5 Amazon gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One winner will be chosen May 31st, and the gift card and kindle book will be sent to their email.

Blog Tour Schedule

Thursday, May 28th

Shantelle Mary Hannu at A Writer's Heart ~~ It’s published!!!

Cookielover at The Story Forest  ~~ Author Interview

Amanda Beguerie at Scattered Journal Pages ~~ Book Review

Kaycee Browning at The Pink Cave ~~ Author Interview

Natasha at Through My Lens ~~ Character Interview with Cinderella

Kendra Ardnek at Knitted by God's Plan ~~ Author Interview

Friday, May 29th

Deborah O'Carroll at The Road of a Writer ~~ Author Cinderella-themed Interview

Claire Banschbach at The Overactive Imagination ~~ Book Review

Ghost Ryter at Anything, Everything ~~ Author Interview

Skye Hoffert at Ink Castles ~~ Character Interview with The Stepsisters

Natacha at Mi Baile Perfecto ~~ Author Interview

Saturday, May 30th

Hannah Williams at The Writer's Window ~~ Author Interview

Raechel at God's Peculiar Treasure ~~ Book Review

C.B. Cook at The World of the Writer ~~ Character Interview with The Stepmother

Lena K. at Read, Write, Laugh, DANCE ~~ Character Spotlight (The Fairy Godmother)

Sierra at Flights from the Aerie ~~ Author Interview

Sunday, May 31st

Shantelle Mary Hannu at A Writer's Heart ~~ Tour Wrap-Up and Excerpt

Cover Reveal: Half-Blood by Jaye L. Knight

     Cover reveal for the prequel novella of one of my favorite series ever . . . Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight!! ^__^ Epic Christian fantasy, guys!! <3

     Without further ado, take a look at Half-Blood . . .

About the Book

The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.

For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.

Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will not to become the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended yet again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?

See where Jace’s story all began . . .

Coming This Summer

About the Author

     Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

Giveaway

As part of a month long celebration for the one year publication anniversary of Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles - Book 1), Jaye is giving away several fun prizes! Enter for a chance to win using the form below! U.S. entries only please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogger Participating in Reveal

A Writer's Faith

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

A Writer's Heart

Thoughts and Rants

Written Rest

To Be A Person

Tialla's Tellings

The American Anglophile

Knitted By God's Plan

Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings

Pencils Can Change The World

Crafty Booksheeps

Zerina Blossom's Books

Ryebrynn's Random Ramblings

Through the Realm of Dreams

Red Lettering

Leah's Bookshelf

The Official Website of Brent King

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections

Shattered Fractals

Flights from the Aerie

E. Rawls

The Pen of a Ready Writer

Scattered Journal Pages

Sutori no Hana

The Art of Storytelling

poetree

Faithful Fridays: Psalm 108:1-5

     Quick Faithful Fridays post today . . . since I have a cover reveal scheduled for tomorrow! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing and make music with all

my soul.

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, O LORD, among the 

nations;

I will sing of you among the 

peoples.

For great is your love, higher than the

heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the 

heavens,

and let your glory be over all the

earth."

Psalm 108:1-5

     Praise the Lord!! He is good!! :) God is faithful through our dark times. Our long days of trial. Our seemingly insurmountable troubles.

     I'd had some darker days these past few months. Nothing huge. But still on-going little trials. Some things buried down so deep that I didn't really notice them; but they still affected me a lot!! O.O

     God has been so loving, forgiving, and faithful to stay by my side even when I didn't run to Him first. Even when I questioned Him. Even when I complained. Even when I remained stubbornly bitter.

     And now He has brought me to a season of rejoicing!! As a lot of you know, my first book is getting published very soon. This is one of my biggest dreams, and God has worked everything out to make that dream a reality!! I'm beyond excited!! ^__^

     And no, that doesn't fix everything. But I'm just really excited and joyful right now . . . kind of feeling on the top of the mountain today. I still have problems and trials and more struggling to come, I know. Yet God has really been teaching me these days. More about Him. More about myself. More about other people who love Him.

      And today I just want to sing!! :) :)

     Praise the Lord, you His people!! Whether you're in the midst of the storm, or emerging on a calmer side. He is here. Stay close beside Him, because He's the only one who will always be there, who will always lift us back up.

     Hoping to do a post on Insecurity in a week or two. And then on Condemnation/Forgiveness after that! So be on the look-out! :)

     Blessings! <3

Coming Soon ... A Blog Tour for A Dream Not Imagined

     Wahoo, guys!! I'm officially setting up a blog tour for my upcoming novella release, A Dream Not Imagined!! (A crazy, last-minute blog tour... um, hehe). 

     If you would like to be part of it, do email me at swordmaidenofthelight@gmail.com! Just need your blog name and URL, and also what day you can post on and what kind of post you'd like to do.

     The tour will run from the 28th-31st of this month. So you can either post the 28th, 29th, or 30th. (The 31st will be my wrap-up post).

     Author interview, character interview, character spotlight . . . if you have any suggestions for additional posts one could do for a book blog tour, do let me know! :D

     Also, I will be doing a giveaway, so yay! Come check out the blog tour even if you don't participate in it! :)

     Release date is set for May 28th. My first story is going to  be published, guys!! I've been waiting for that day for like ten years, haha! :D I'm so super excited! Working with KDP through Amazon to publish A Dream Not Imagined as a Kindle version. If you have any helpful tips or anything concerning that, do tell me before the 28th! XD

     Blessings all! <3 Hope to see you again in nine days for an exciting celebration! ^__^

(Found on Pinterest)

Book Review: By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

Purchase HERE

Title: By Darkness Hid

Author: Jill Williamson

Series: Blood of Kings #1

Genre: Fantasy

Audience: Young Adult

ABOUT THE BOOK

Given the chance to train as a squire, kitchen servant Achan Cham hopes to pull himself out of his pitiful life and become a Kingsguard Knight. When Achan's owner learns of his training, he forces Achan to spar with the Crown Prince - more of a death sentence than an honor. Meanwhile, strange voices in Achan's head cause him to fear he's going mad. While escorting the prince to a council presentation, their convoy is attacked. Achan is wounded and arrested, but escapes from prison - only to discover a secret about himself he never believed possible.

~ MY REVIEW ~

**5 stars**

By Darkness Hid ... a brilliant novel by Jill Williamson ... Why didn’t I dive into this epic fantasy world sooner?? *grins*

When I first started By Darkness Hid, it was interesting and all, but I was pretty deep in a reading slump and nothing much was really catching my interest. But, I forged on. And I’m so, so glad I did! This story soon mesmerized me, and now I sit here wishing I had the sequel! *winks*

Achan and Vrell are our main characters. I quite adore Achan and his interesting personality; though guy characters aren’t always my favorite to follow. It was a delight to be introduced to Vrell (Vrella, I believe, is her actual name), and know that we had a female protagonist as well!! *winks* She was a bit frustrating at first actually, but soon enough grew to be another character that I, yes, adored. Both of them are great!! Loved journeying and having intriguing and terrifying adventures with them!

Ooh, I really like Jax! ^_^ And there’s some others here and there that I quite liked as well.

The fantasy world of this story is really just ... wonderful. I love fantasy!! <3 We have a medieval sort of setting, but giants, a place called Darkness, and big, scary creatures lurk around. There’s also this ability that some people have called bloodvoicing. (It’s called bloodvoicing because it’s a trait passed down through blood—passed from one generation to the next. Just thought I’d clarify, *winks*). This ability is a gift from Arman (represents God) to ***SPOILER ALERT*** an ancient king, and yep, it’s been passed down to this king’s children, and children’s children, and so on. ***SPOILER ALERT ENDS*** So yes, they kind of talk to each other without talking. Talk inside each other’s heads almost, read people’s thoughts, and things like that. (I’ve read of an ability like this in other books too, such as Serena Chase’s). I never thought too much about it before; but it did occur to me recently that this is sort of a telepathic way of communicating ... I don’t really know much about telepathy in the real world, but reading about it, even in fantasy worlds, does kind of weird me out sometimes. I will say that, as the story went on, it was clearly shown that this was a gift from God—you know, no dark magic being learned or used or anything. But still, I thought I’d mention it in case anyone doesn’t feel comfortable reading about a telepathic sort of communication. Not sure what the Bible says about telepathy ... but I shall keep looking into it! *smiles*

So, besides that niggling uncertainty, By Darkness Hid was an incredible fantasy story!! And I just am so extremely excited to see what happens next!! I can see a wonderful Christian allegory unfolding, and not to mention, a romance? *winks* And it’s just too fantastic! *grins* After reading kind of slowly through the first 30% or so of By Darkness Hid, I suddenly was captivated and eagerly going back into Achan’s and Vrell’s world time and again.

Epic, epic, epic! Just writing this review has me wondering longingly what’s going to happen next ... How many times have I said that already? You guys know it’s a superb tale now! Lol!

Real quickly mention here that though the romances of this book were sweet and all, it does have a little more of a mature feel. I would say about sixteen and up. No graphic violence that I noticed. And yeah, little warning about the bloodvoicing, as I mentioned above.

Otherwise ... Epic adventure, shrouded identities, blossoming could-be romances, dangerous battles, darkness creeping in ... I’m very much looking forward to seeing how this story continues! Amazing!!

Book Review: As Love Blooms by Lorna Seilstad

Purchase HERE

Title: As Love Blooms

Author: Lorna Seilstad

Series: The Gregory Sisters #3

Genre: Historical

Audience: Adult

~ MY REVIEW ~

**3 stars**

As Love Blooms was kind of a cute, fun story; third book in the Gregory Sisters series by Lorna Seilstad.

It follows the life of youngest sister, Tessa Gregory, with her vivacious, slightly wild, nature; her love of gardens and growing things; her secrets; and dangerous escapades.

Though I didn’t like it as much as the first book in this series, As Love Blooms was interesting enough, and I enjoyed learning more about Tessa and seeing her story unfold. The gardening parts were fun, the sisters’ relationship sweet, and the faith theme poignant. There was bits here and there that I quite appreciated about this book.

But, unfortunately, I found a few negatives as well. I think my biggest thing would be the romance. It just felt kind of…shallow. Rushed. Superficial. They enjoyed working together and thought the other was oh so delightful; yet they used each other secretly and rather selfishly. They weren’t even serious about marriage in the future or even their romance really at all, and yet they were kissing to show each other that they weren’t “just friends”. I don’t know. It just doesn’t appeal to me.

Lorna Seilstad’s novels usually have something about woman’s suffrage in them. And while I think it was a worthy cause…sometimes I feel her characters just go too far and too deep. Hmm. Sometimes I just feel that it’s all about the women. And they just need their rights. And life simply can’t go on if they don’t get what they want. There’s this air of selfishness floating around. Tessa often does foolish things just because she feels like “disobeying” it seems. Well, maybe that’s just how I felt.

I’m not meaning to bash this book. I suppose you can decide for yourself if the romance and women’s rights issues are to your liking in As Love Blooms. Those are simply my opinions and feelings.

Overall, As Love Blooms by Lorna Seilstad was a pleasant read, and kept me interested. Also, there was an unexpected suspense twist to it, which was intriguing. *smiles* So…this book wasn’t really my preference. But it may be yours!

I received a copy of As Love Blooms from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest review.