Celebrating St. Valentine, giveaway hop: Caller of Light

Celebrating St. Valentine Giveaway Hop

 


I am honored to have a guest post by T.J. Shaw, author of Caller of Light, today.  I asked her to share her journey to becoming a fantasy author.  I think she has a wonderful voice and invite you to read her new book and fall in love with a new fantasy series.  My Amazon review is at this link.  My post about this entertaining story is at this link.  Make sure you scroll to the end where there is information about the giveaway to THREE lucky winners!



TJ, thanks for joining us today.  Please tell us about why you started writing fantasy:

I’ve always been a fan of fantasy, science fiction, and anything paranormal. I grew up watching the original Star Trek series and fell in love with Capt. James T. Kirk. As an avid reader of authors like Stephen King, Michael Crichton, and Mary Stewart, I didn’t actually discover romance until I met Ayla and Jondalar in Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series.

When my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she absorbed the news with a fighter’s spirit and spent the next several months undergoing chemotherapy. She never complained even though she lost all her hair and became very sick. Although she had a warrior’s heart and battled for over a year, she ultimately left this world to begin a new journey. 

So, why did I write Caller of Light? Because I wanted to immortalize my mom in some way, to let her know how much I loved and admired her. Because I was told I was being unrealistic. Because by combining my love of fantasy and romance, I could dedicate something that I worked so hard on to a woman who inspired me to strive to be a better person. That’s why. So, believe in yourself. Believe you can accomplish your dreams, and remember to tell those close to you how much you love them.

I wish you all the best,

TJ
 


TJ Shaw
www.TjShaw.com
www.amazon.com/author/tjshaw



As part of the Celebrating St. Valentine Giveaway Hop I am delighted to be able to offer an e-book version of T.J. Shaw's Caller of Light to THREE lucky winners, thanks to the author.  These will be available through Amazon and if you do not own a Kindle, please be advised that there are Kindle apps that can be downloaded for free to most computers or other electronic devices.

To enter the giveaway, please leave an comment with your e-mail address and let me know why you like fantasy books and what your favorite one is thus far.  The  contest will run until 12:00 midnight PST February 18, 2013 and the winner will be chosen by random selection.  If the winner does not respond to notification within 5 days, another name will be chosen so please check your e-mail.

An e-book giveaway, one now, one later plus another contest

     

A few days ago, I did a post about Kendall Grey's newest release, Just Breathe at this link.  I am delighted to be able to share that I have an e-book of this delightful story available for a giveaway.  Please click on the previous link and make sure that you leave a comment answering my question along with your E-maill adress!





I am also thrilled to announce that I am participating in the Reading Romances blog hop celebrating St. Valentine.  I will have a copy of the e-book version of TJ Shaw's enjoyable fantasy title, Caller of Light and will be accepting entries Feb. 11-18, 2013, please make sure you return to my blog during that time if you would like an opportunity to enter the contest.


I am back to juggling a few things so don't have time to make my contest list posting but I just noticed that the delightful Randi Alexander has a contest on Goodreads for her newest Cowboy Jackpot:  Valentine's Day at this link.  It was a fun read and continues the story started in Cowboy Jackpot:  Christmas.   The drawing will be held on Feb. 9, 2013 so don't procrastinate.  I will post about the two stories in a few days but I enjoyed them both.

Caller of Light and roasting nuts

Caller of Light  

by TJ Shaw is an intriguing fantasy that introduces a society that has creatures known as Critons and reminded me of how much I fell in love with the dragons that populated Anne McCaffrey's tales.  The author did a lovely job of introducing a charismatic young woman who seeks to be loved by her family but somehow is shunted aside because of her half-breed status and resorts to keeping company with the formidable flying creatures who are used in defense of various kingdoms.  This is a more adult fantasy that still manages to instill in the reader that sense of awe and fascination for the idea of bonding with a semi-wild creature that can fight and fly but allows special people to ride him or her.  There are naturally some sections of the story that could use a little polishing but nothing major that detracts from the overall tale.  I like my heroines with a little more spunk than she displays initially but she acts in a manner consistent with her background and, although I would like to shake a little sense into her hard-headed lover, he does seem to wise up over time, thank goodness.  I think this is a great start to a series that has a lot of possibility and I look forward to reading about more adventures in this universe.  My Amazon review is at this link.  The author's website is at this link.

******

On a personal note....

One of the most thoughtful things that my best friend does for me is to find treats for me to consume.  The previous Christmas she reminded me of how much I love pineapple Jelly Bellies.  It is amazing how you can forget about things that you used to really love although it is just as well that I stopped eating the addictive things since they were doing strange things to my jaw, not to mention what all that sugar did to my teeth, lol.  This past Christmas she provided trail mix from Trader Joe's.  Naturally, mine had dried pineapple chunks in it (yum) but I have found that I no longer appreciate raw nuts so much so we picked out the fruit and roasted the nuts.  Delicious!

We tend to eat a lot of pecans (yes, warehouse stores are dangerous) but I freeze the package and take out a quantity for the week and roast them.  It is pretty simple, just spread them out on a baking sheet and place them in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Bake for about 4 minutes and then stir (I usually have a piece of foil on the baking sheet so I carefully lift diagonal corners and use that to shuffle the nuts around), salt if so desired and bake another 3-5 minutes.  You have to watch them because they can burn fairly quickly but I have found that sniffing for the nice nutty aroma or watching for a darkening of the nuts usually indicates when to remove them from the oven.  Allow them to cool and then they are great to nibble on as a snack, add to hot or cold cereal, or use in cookies.  Yum.

Upcoming reviews and reads that I am looking forward to!

I have the great fortune to be ALMOST overwhelmed by a significant number of wonderful reads to look forward to.  I am a little stymied by the fact that I have a few projects that I am juggling and have not been able to keep track of what is being released as closely as I should so I have neglected to post some of my reviews in a timely manner.  I am trying to work on lessons through an online class even as I have had the opportunity to do several interesting editing and proofreading jobs and have accrued quite a few titles that I have read and greatly enjoyed and now have to do the reviews!  I refused to make resolutions for New Year's but did promise myself that I would try to catch up on some of the books that I have been sent for reviews so I am slowly trying to integrate them into my pile but I am afraid that it may almost be an insurmountable task so I am just going to do what I can, a little at a time.  My thought on this is...what a delightful problem to have!

   




Recently reviewed:

The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks  (fantasy, sequel to The Black Prism)
Heart of Danger by Lisa Marie Rice (romantic suspense with a paranormal twist), start of a new series
The Protector by N.L. Gassert (m/m, older/younger romantic suspense)


             


Reviews that are pending include:
Wait Until Dark by M.L. Buchman  (military romance)
Cat Bearing Gifts by Shirley Rousseau Murphy  (cozy mystery? with paranormal elements)
Caller of Light by T.J. Shaw  (fantasy)
Lady Eve's Indiscretion by Grace Burrowes (historical romance)
The Marine Next Door by Julie Miller  (Harlequin Intrigue)
A Lady's Pleasure by Robin Schone  (time travel romance)

    


 
Upcoming:
Cold Days  by Jim Butcher  (fantasy)
The Dog in the Dark by Barb and J.C. Hendee  (fantasy)
Dream Unchained by Kate Douglas  (erotica)