Review of Magical Miri by Debra Kristi

There are the witches of the Quarter, and then there is the unwanted magical bloodline. The family so secret, even its youngest members are unaware. That would be mine.

“Magick runs in your bloodstream.”

Grandma always told us we came from a powerful bloodline. A bloodline derived from one of the strongest witches in New Orleans past.

Mom disagrees. Had us believing it was nothing but lies.

Wanting to get us away from grandma and her fanciful ideas, Mom moves us in with her boyfriend. Sticks us in the French Quarter. A place where my family isn’t welcome.

My new status quo: life in shambles.

Everything is changing. Mom is always working to pay the new, higher bills, my sister is experimenting with magick, and my brother, I think, maybe drugs. Forced to start at a new school and attempt to make new friends, I’m now having nightmares, seeing ghosts, getting teased as a witch, and preyed on by vampires. Plus, there’s the creepy, stalker ancestor in my head.

But to all my crazy, there’s a silver lining. I’m seeing a new, amazing guy, named Phillip… if Mom’s overbearing boyfriend doesn’t chase him away. Phillip doesn’t know about the supernatural world crashing in around me and I’d like to keep it that way. He is the calm to my chaos.

And my mom’s boyfriend, just may be the triggering cause of my surrounding storm.

How do I straighten out my family and uncover my own personal truth, when the devil in the works might possibly be sleeping under the same roof?

Amazon

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up because of the cover, and the blurb sold me. I was super excited to dive into it, I loved Miri from the first word, loved the world around her and the characters along the way. The story was powerful, Kristi has a way with words that makes them weave a picture in your head of a vibrant world of fiction. I adored this book, Miri coming to terms with her abilities and all the hiccups along the way. Overall, a great read and one that I recommend!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

That's The Tea With Joey: Covers [CC]

Giving some advice on my own mistakes when it comes to covers! #Authortube

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#TeaserTuesday

Lock knows something serious is going on, but she hasn't yet joined the dots...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/LOUT

BUY LIGHTS ON: http://www.books2read.com/LON

[ID: A graphic with a blue background the header reads: LIGHTS OUT, with a small header underneath reading: out now in paperback & ebook. To the right of those is a New Apple award seal. The excerpt reads:

Connors didn't meet that criteria, at least she didn't from what I'd read. However, she had, supposedly, been working on exposing people who circumvented the sixty year law. Wouldn't that make her a threat? Someone who was working against the change these people were trying to exact?
Looking at it dispassionately, which I think was the only way I could look at it, you could see Connors as a threat that needed to be silenced. It wasn't right by any means it was, plain and simple, murder and to know I played a part in that almost made me lose my breakfast.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and her website www.joeypaulonline.com and in bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books.

END ID]

Breakling Down My Day: Release Day

BREAKING DOWN MY DAY: RELEASE DAY

I've talked before about my usual writing day (found here) and the days running up to release (found here) but I thought I would do the actual release day itself, and how my day usually goes. I've started this series simply because I feel like a lot of people don't realise just how much work goes on behind the scenes, and even though I won't be listing exact times nor exact things, I will give you some idea of how things go, for me, come release day.

06:00-09:00
I usually wake up around 6am, and will then do whatever work I need to that isn't linked to the release in this time, so either a chapter or some other piece of admin stuff that I've got in the planner to do. If I finish early, I'll watch some youtube videos and start checking things like ads and ARCs are all done. This is my pre-work stuff, even though I'm kinda working already at this point.

09:30-10:30
This hour is taken up by either scheduling or posting release day stuff on social media. I like to try and space it out so that it's seen by people at different times, and of course even though I'm in the UK, there's other parts of the world who I want to see my posts. This can take longer than an hour, I usually have the posts already done by that point, as in I've made the graphics and all of that so it's just the scheduling and cross-posting that take this time up.

11:00-12:30
I will chat with a friend, go over edits depending on whether I am in the process of preparing another book for release (in May release yes, in October release, no). I'll also try and take a bit of downtime here, and just monitor social media and emails and such with a bit of a hands off approach. Depending on how this time goes, I might even try and sneak a nap (yes releases take a lot of time, but I also have a chronic illness or two that doesn't like letting me actually sleep at night!) If I can nap, I'll only go for an hour or so, but if not, I'll push through.

13:00-15:00
This is the time I really struggle with. I'm checking posts, making more, and also checking ads in the US have gone through fine. I'm also usually already very very tired and it's hard to focus, but release day is all about pushing yourself a little further. I might try and set up in bed and do the work from there, but it really depends on how my body is acting. It can be a complete arse at times! If I am able to work, I'll be making sure reviews are posted, contacting other reviewers and setting up blog posts all over to make sure that the word is out. I'll also be following and reposting things from the hashtag for that book, either to my own feed, or just engaging with the posts themselves to make sure people know that I've seen it and appreciate it.

16:00 onwards
As early as this is for most people, by that point, I need my bed and nothing is going to keep me up. I'll unwind with a book, chat with a friend and crash out. Because I don't get a whole lot of time to do everything, I'll usually be carrying over stuff I didn't manage to the next day so that release week goes off without a hitch. It's a marathon not a sprint and sometimes you gotta let yourself rest.

So that's about it really for my release day. As I've said, a lot of this is estimates and will also take into account how I'm feeling that day. Sometimes I'm fine come release day, riding the adrenaline high and all okay, other times I'm in the midst of a flare and I can barely do anything. It's the joys of chronic illness!

Any questions or tips? Leave them in the comments!

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Review of Nervous Water by Tracy Korn

She’s not supposed to exist… They’re only stories.

But there’s something in the water.

In the time before man, there were others. Perfect beings of the earth, water, air, and fire. The world was theirs during the unrecorded time. And for a while, there was peace.

To Cora of The Shallows, Princess of the Undine Water Fae and Captain of The Queen’s Guard, humans have been the enemy ever since the Elementals were banished from The Garden of Eden. For centuries they’ve remained hidden, but now a war is brewing to reclaim what once was theirs, and staying hidden is no longer an option.

Without consent, the Lawless sirens and tritons of The Depths have struck a terrifying alliance with another former enemy, and like it or not, Cora's only choice is to navigate both politics and her pride to save two men from different worlds.

One, a loyal brother-in-arms, and the other, a human soldier destined to lead…if he survives following his heart.

Amazon

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up because the cover and blurb sounded like an intriguing story. I was hooked from the first page and read it all in one sitting. The author has a way with words that allows you to feel like you're right there with Cora, fighting the battle that no one else seems to care about. I adored Cora, Nicholas and even Reed, loved the fairytales woven in the words. It was an amazing read, and an author for me to read more from. I love her way of telling stories. Overall, a solid five stars!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

5 Facts About My Current MC

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#TeaserTuesday

Lock and Clara are running for their lives, will they make it?

OUT NOW!

BUY HERE: http://www.books2read.com/LON

[ID: A graphic with a smoky grey background and the header of: Lights On, with a small header underneath that reads: out now in ebook and paperback. The excerpt reads:

Shit, this is the quickest way to get caught, I thought to myself
Clara was right though, we had one chance, and my job was to make sure we were moving the second that guard was out of eye sight.
I just tapped her hand as a sign to move, feeling her speed my chair forward.

At the bottom is Joey Paul, her website of www.joeypaulonline.com and the logo of a green and purple bug in the far right corner.

END ID]

Starting A Brand New Series - The Creative Process

STARTING A BRAND NEW SERIES

I was really happy about finishing off my last two projects at the end of April, and with a new month started and almost done, you know I've been writing two new projects, and one of them is a series and I am SO excited about it! I won't give you details yet, there'll be another post in the coming months that talks about it, I won't leave you guys hanging, but it sparked an idea and made me think that since I've written a bunch of series, I would talk about what it's like, for me, to start a new series, and any tips I might have for anyone else looking to start one.

#1 THE IDEA
This is where it all starts for me. I have to have an idea, which might seem obvious, but I'm breaking it down for you and don't want to skip any steps. So once I have the idea, I need to know if it's actually going to be a series. Usually I won't know unless it's something like Dying Thoughts or Cramping Chronicles, which were both purposefully written to be series books, but like with I Wish I Could Save You, I wanted it to be a series, but I didn't know that it would be until I got started writing and unfurled every piece of the idea. Then I knew it was going to be at least three books, with my new series, the first book being Project: Witch Hunt, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a series, but I don't know for sure until I get deeper into the book itself.

#2 THE OVERARCHING PLOT (IF KNOWN)
Now not every series has to have an overarching plot, Dying Thoughts didn't, beyond getting Tara to the point where she was able to join the police. The first few books could be read as standalones, it was only later in the series that you needed to have read them all to be aware of everything going on. But if you do have an overarching plot, it's okay to not know it, I didn't for Cramping Chronicles, but I do for Project: Witch Hunt, should that go on for more than one book.

Now if you're a planner, you want to know this ahead of time, but I'm not, I'm more panster, but will be called a planster from time to time. I make sure that I finish the series before I start to get the first ready for publication, and that's how I make sure the overarching plot is included or at least alluded to in every book. This might not work for you and that's okay, but it's how I've done it with the Lights Out trilogy and Invisible series, as well as the others already mentioned.

#3 MAKE EACH BOOK HAVE A PLOT OF ITS OWN
Now this can be a little hard sometimes when it comes to individual books that are part of a much larger story, but it needs to happen. If you don't have a plot for a book, if it reads like Act two of a complete story, and only exists to move the series forward, where there's no climax or rising action or anything on its own, then you have a problem. It's one of the reasons I've struggled with books, because I don't want to have just one book read as exposition for another book. You have to make sure that every book has it's own plot and arc, as well as its own place in the series as a whole.

And finally, #4 WRITE TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT
This is the easiest part for me. I adore drafting, I love getting to tell myself the story and meeting the characters and getting to know them all, getting to see everything spring out onto the page delights me! I find it very easy to draft and to do it pretty quickly. I also love tying together the threads, while leaving some dangling for the next book in the series. It's just an amazing time for me!

So do you have any tips for starting a series? Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

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#Wordstock - Showing [CC]

Talking all about showing as part of #Wordstock! #Authortube

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Review of Magic Bound by Theresa Kay

Starting a new school is never easy and this time not fitting in could cost lives.

Despite being raised by shifters, my life was fairly ordinary . . . until I tried to break up a fight and got zapped with magic.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Power I didn’t know I had came surging out of me, revealing me as a witch and drawing unfavorable attention to my adoptive parents.

Now, as the witches attempt to use my concealment as an excuse to push an anti-shifter agenda, the only way to keep my parents—and myself—safe is to enroll in the elite Ravencrest Academy and prove I can control my newfound abilities.

Unfortunately, raw power doesn’t translate into competency and everything is way more difficult than I imagined.

Even with all the things working against me (like my complete ignorance of magic and witch society), I manage to make a few new friends and there's a spark of something more with the last person I expect.

But I can’t let that distract me from the ugly truth that many who walk the halls of Ravencrest are eager to see me fail. To keep the peace between shifters and witches I must succeed . . . no matter the cost.

Amazon 

My Review: 5 STARS

I picked this up based on the blurb and cover, and settled in to a magical read, I was not disappointed! The book follows Selene as she navigates a new world of magic, and how to use and control it. I adored the way the book started, pulling me in from the first word and taking me along for the right. Kay is an amazing story teller and someone who I will be watching in the future. It was a book with highs, lows, and impossible stakes. Overall, a solid five star read and one I very much enjoyed!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Life Of Joey & Bi-Monthly Goals - May 2020 [CC]

Talking about what I've been up to over the past month, and reviewing my goals from March & April! #Authortube

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Happy Release Day Lighs On!

The day is finally here and you can now buy Lights Out in paperback and ebook!

Paperback: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository | Indie Bound

Universal Link ebook: http://www.books2read.com/LON

1 day to #LightsOn

1 DAY TILL #LIGHTSON

 

PRE-ORDER HERE: http://www.books2read.com/LON

PRE-ORDER SWAG: https://forms.gle/58vdjcd6JYrveT6F7

I'll be sharing a fact about the book, a day until release day!

 

Today's fact: The King is determined to stamp out rebellion

Authortube: Celebrating Milestones

AUTHORTUBE: CELEBRATING MILESTONES

It's really only been the last year or so that my Authortube channel has gotten an audience that keeps building. Before when I hit milestones, I wasn't really engaging with the subscribers that I had, even though some would watch, usually on other sites like Goodreads or Tumblr, I didn't get many comments and I didn't do giveaways and such to celebrate hitting 100 subs and on like that.

It was only really watching other authortubers who were new to the scene do such giveaways and celebrate the small milestones (and the bigger ones) that I really woke up to the idea that it's good to give back to the people who tune in every week to watch. And so when I hit 400 subs, I did a giveaway. Now, I will say that there was a bit of a problem with someone claiming to be one of the winners in order to get a $10 Amazon giftcard, and I almost fell for it. It was only when the guy started trying to convince me that I should give him more because the US dollar was worth more than the Australian dollar, which was where I knew the winner actually lived. Then I checked his channel and sure enough he'd cloned it, and that was a headache and a half!

But today I wanted to give you some tips to both avoid that mess, and also make sure that you celebrate the milestones on Authortube. It's not just about wanting to give back, but also allowing yourself to also celebrate the hard work you've put into your channel. You don't have to do something massive, you can do things like Q&A sessions which are popular with the bigger milestones. Personally, I love those, and I've seen other people do them for the smaller gains as well. I do a regular video on my channel answering reader and writer questions often enough that I personally wouldn't really consider it special for me. That's not to say others can't though!

Thinking about it, I wonder if my channel growth would have carried on climbing if I'd celebrated the little steps it took me to get there. Since my 400 giveaway, I've already gotten a heap more of subs and that's led to me thinking ahead to the 500 milestone. As I've said numerous times before, I made a lot of mistakes on Authortube and I'm hoping that by showcasing those here on the blog and my channel, you guys won't go into it, doing the same thing!

So don't think you need to skip the smaller ones and put your eyes on the big 1K. It takes a long time to get there, though I'm told that once you do, the subs mount up quicker. It's something to keep in mind, something to remember that everyone who's watching you, they're gonna be happy to celebrate with you. So whether you go for a giveaway, or a Q&A or a livestream, or anything else that I've not thought of, or mentioned, then just be sure it's something that allows your followers to engage with you, get to know the person behind the lens and actually talk to you as a person.

One caveat to that, just because you're on Authortube, it doesn't mean that you have to share everything about your life. Only you can decide what you want people to know, and so long as you're genuine, then it's not a problem. I know of an amazing Authortuber, Dal Cecil Runo, who for a while didn't show their face, only in shadow, and has since switched to an animated avatar while she does voice over. You don't have to put your face out there if you choose not to, the wonders of technology is that you can show however much, or little, you want, and so long as you're comfortable, that's okay!

So how do you celebrate milestones? Whether that's on a blog, or Authortube, lemme know in the comments below!

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2 days to #LightsOn

2 DAYS TILL #LIGHTSON

 

PRE-ORDER HERE: http://www.books2read.com/LON

PRE-ORDER SWAG: https://forms.gle/58vdjcd6JYrveT6F7

I'll be sharing a fact about the book, a day until release day!

 

Today's fact: Lana's bump up the ranks comes at a cost.

3 days to #LightsOn

3 DAYS TILL #LIGHTSON

 

PRE-ORDER HERE: http://www.books2read.com/LON

PRE-ORDER SWAG: https://forms.gle/58vdjcd6JYrveT6F7

I'll be sharing a fact about the book, a day until release day!

 

Today's fact: The journey to Evendown is filled with peril.

4 days to #LightsOn

4 DAYS TILL #LIGHTSON

 

PRE-ORDER HERE: http://www.books2read.com/LON

PRE-ORDER SWAG: https://forms.gle/58vdjcd6JYrveT6F7

I'll be sharing a fact about the book, a day until release day!

 

Today's fact: The protesters are turning up the heat!

Review of Meet Me At Midnight by Jessica Pennington

They have a love-hate relationship with summer.

Sidney and Asher should have clicked. Two star swimmers forced to spend their summers on a lake together sounds like the perfect match. But it's the same every year--in between cookouts and boat rides and family-imposed bonfires, Sidney and Asher spend the dog days of summer finding the ultimate ways to prank each other. And now, after their senior year, they're determined to make it the most epic summer yet. 

But their plans are thrown in sudden jeopardy when their feud causes their families to be kicked out of their beloved lake houses. Once in their new accommodations, Sidney expects the prank war to continue as usual. But then she gets a note--Meet me at midnight. And Asher has a proposition for her: join forces for one last summer of epic pranks, against a shared enemy--the woman who kicked them out. 

Their truce should make things simpler, but six years of tormenting one another isn't so easy to ignore. Kind of like the undeniable attraction growing between them.

Amazon 

My Review: 5 STARS
I picked this up because I was in the mood for a nice summer romance, I was not disappointed, the characters were engaging from the first word, I adored the set up, and loved how the two complimented each other in characterisation, but also stood on their own with their own likes and dislikes. I ended up reading this in one sitting because I had to know how it all ended. I loved both Asher and Sidney and was rooting for them both to get together. Overall, a wonderfully written book and I highly recommend it!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.