Thursday, January 27, 2011

Book Review

I think I'm going to start doing book reviews on Thursday. That seems like a good day to do that. Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew!

The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror.

The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight.

But in a land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land.

This is the back cover of the book Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. I couldn't put this book down. It's a cute, fun read about a girl learning to be comfortable with who she is. I loved the characters and the lessons learned. Levine has a way with words that gets you wrapped into the story. I would recommend this to anyone of all ages. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Work In Progress Wednesday . . .

So I think this is going to be my query letter for Encoded Secrets. Let me know what you think!

Dear Agent,


Georgina Blackinsworth is not a typical eighteen-year-old girl. While other girls attend dance and piano lessons, she gets combat, weaponry, and assassination training. Not only that, but her dad puts her through “If this happens . . .” drills to make sure she is prepared for all possible scenarios. Now, as her classmates focus on high school graduation, Georgie finds herself locked in a family battle.


Kent Blackinsworth, Georgie’s dad, leaves town and fails to return. Georgie thinks it’s just another drill and blows off all signs indicating otherwise until she finds a letter which explains why she’ll never be typical and leaves her doubting if her dad is alive. Now she must discover the location of a family vault while avoiding her murderous aunt Edith.


With the help of her best friend Jake, Georgie begins a journey full of clues and discoveries. She finds she is falling in love with Jake and trusting him despite all evidence telling her she is making a mistake. As trust fights against her an ultimatum is set: find the vault she knows nothing about or Dad dies.


Encoded Secrets is my first young adult mystery, adventure novel complete at 77,000 words. I hold a Master Degree in Music and have taught in the public school systems. I am an active member of the American Night Writers Association and attend as many writing conferences as possible. If you are interested in Encoded Secrets I would be happy to forward you the complete manuscript. I have included the first fifty pages in the body of the email.


Thank you for your time and consideration.


Sincerely,



Bonnie Harris

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Work In Progress Wednesday . . .

Thanks for the comments and suggestions on the query letter for Encoded Secrets. The next thing I'm working on to get Encoded Secrets ready to send out is the synopsis. I've thought about asking for feedback on that . . . but I have to do a blow-by-blow account of the entire book. And where's the fun of knowing the ending without reading the whole book? So I won't be posting that until the book is published.

(The baby just started fussing. I'm waiting for the birds to join in. Hopefully they won't.)

And there they all go, a full blown cry and wait for it . . . wait for it . . . the added screaming from the birds. So much for finishing this post and writing! :) To be continued . . .

I'm back. We'll see how long this reprieve lasts. I haven't quite decided what to post yet. I'm finally getting back to work on the third book in this trilogy. That's pretty good information right there, but I have a feeling some of you would be sorely disappointed if that's all I did. So here's what I'm thinking. I'm taking into consideration everyone's comments, (I'll never tell anyone to not share their opinion. It's all valuable. Just don't be offended if I choose not to go the way you suggested.) and I should have that ready to post next week. For today I'll leave you with a teaser, the first little bit of Encoded Secrets. Feel free to let me know what you think and don't be afraid to be honest. If you hate it, tell me . . . please just tell me why! :) Enjoy!

Chapter 1


Two, three, seven, nine and twelve. Those were his favorite numbers, although I didn’t realize it until the night I received word of his untimely death. That’s a night ingrained in my head forever. My world came crashing down around me. Everything I knew was stripped away and I had to start from scratch, rebuild my entire view of my childhood, my parents, my very existence. Nothing was as it seemed and that was never more evident than the night I had to find his so called life insurance policy.

I’m a semi-typical-17-year-old girl, well, 18 tomorrow. In fact I’m supposed to graduate from high school in two weeks, but I don’t know if I’ll be around to walk across the field with all my friends. A police officer knocked on my door tonight and said my father had been killed in a car accident. I shrugged. Nothing I hadn’t heard before. Dad’s body had yet to be recovered, something about being too badly burned, which didn’t make too much sense since the officer had his wallet to hand me. I rolled my eyes. The officer even looked apologetic. He could tell I wasn’t buying it, but when I asked further questions he had no answers. Typical.

Then there was the issue of being underage. He wanted to put me in the care of an adult. Somehow, I managed to convince him that technically I was legal, since in two hours and thirty-seven minutes I would be eighteen. He let that go and left me with his card, telling me to call if I had any questions or needed help. I informed him I would be fine and not to worry. My neighbors knew me well and Grandma lived just down the way. That wasn’t entirely truthful. She’s a few states away, but he didn’t need to know that. After all, that was the plan if anything like this ever happened. I was just following instructions.

So after the police officer left, I was able to take Dad’s wallet and finally find the truth. That was part of the plan too. See, Dad’s a lawyer that works on high profile cases. He has had a lot of people out for his blood and for as long as I can remember, he’s been running me through the “if this happens” drills. “If this happens to me then you respond this way . . .”, “If that happens to me, then this is the way you act . . .”, “If someone says this to you, you say this . . .”, “If I don’t come home after a trip, then you do this . . . .” We would practice at least once a week if not more. So I assumed this was just another one of those times. I followed protocol like I was supposed to. Now I find out what’s really happening and when Dad would really come home.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that this would be the real deal. I just figured it was another “drill.” So when I found the note in his secret compartment, right where it was supposed to be I blew it off, threw his wallet on the couch and stuffed the note in my pocket before fixing something to eat. Then plopping down in the recliner I flipped on the TV to watch Dad’s and my favorite show, Jeopardy. We loved to see who could answer the most questions. I munched on the sandwich I had made, saying the answers between bites. When final Jeopardy hit, I glanced at the clock. 10:56. I froze mid-bite. The time was wrong. The “drills” never happened in that hour. My heart beat faster as realization hit home. Slowly I put down my sandwich and found Dad’s note. It didn’t say what they usually say. It didn’t tell me what time he would be home or where to meet him. There were no comforting words in this note. All it said was, “Find my life insurance policy and then you’ll understand.”

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Joan Sowards and the Star Prophecy


The adventure begins with the blog tour
for
The Star
Prophecy
by Joan
Sowards




I'm privileged enough to be a part of Joan Sowards blog tour and read her book The Star Prophecy. This being the case, my usual Work In Progress Wednesday will be a WIP Thursday this week. :)

I really enjoyed the story. It did not go where I expected it to and I like stories that do that. The characters are wonderful and I found myself pulled into their adventure anxious to find what would happen next. It got me thinking about the possibilities. I would highly recommend this book for anyone no matter what their age. Take a look at the book giveaway and where Joan will be next!


We will be giving
away
THREE copies of
The Star
Prophecy
.

It's easy to enter.
1. Visit the fabulous reviews and leave a comment letting us know why
you're excited to read The Star
Prophecy
. Remember to include your email address.
2. If you tweet about the blog tour, or post about it on your blog or
facebook, leave the link in the comments section and you'll receive an
additional entry.


Good Luck! Entries close at midnight (MST) on January 28.


*****
You are crazy. No Nephite has ever
returned.


Most people laugh when they hear of Enoch's dream of returning to
Jerusalem to find the infant Messiah. Even Enoch's future father-in-law
mocks him when he asks for a postponement of his long-awaited wedding to
his beloved Rebekah. A few take Enoch seriously - the shipbuilder Omnihah,
Enoch's teacher David, and the prophet Nephi.

Five years before, a Lamanite named Samuel had stood on the wall of
Zarahemla and prophesied that "five years more cometh" and the Christ
would be born in Jerusalem. Time is running out! Enoch knows he must set
sail across the great waters in search of his dream - to see the face of
the Messiah.

The Star Prophacy is a
surprising
story of courage and love, faith and fortitude. Sail with Enoch and his
friends across the sea through hardship and adventure in search of the
Christ child.


January 10
I Am A Reader, Not
A
Writer


January 11
Totally Tina

January 12
Peggy Urry

January 13
Tangled Words and
Dreams


January 14
Kaylee Baldwin

January 17
Of Writerly Things

January 18
Writers Mirror

January 19
Bonnie Gets a
Say


January 20
The Blessing of
Family
Life


January 21
Anna del C. Dye's Blog
Renee S. Clark

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Work In Progress Wednesday

This is going to be a quick one. I managed a shower and eating before the baby began to stir. Now I'm running to get this done. Should have done it last night when I thought about it. Oh well, we live and learn!

Anyway, I'm working hard on my query letter and synopsis for Encoded Secrets. I've had several different opinions on the query letter so I thought I'd ask you. Keep in mind, it's still a "work in progress" but I'd love to know what you think.

The purpose of a query letter is to catch the agent/editor's eye. Think of it as a back cover blurb. Which one do you think is more catchy and if you can explain why that would be great! If not, which one do you like better. Thanks so much!

1. Georgina Blackinsworth is not a typical eighteen-year-old girl. While other girls attend dance and piano lessons, she gets combat, weaponry, and assassination training. Not only that, but her dad puts her through “If this happens . . .” drills to make sure she is prepared for all possible scenarios. Now, as her classmates focus on high school graduation, Georgie finds herself locked in a family battle.


Kent Blackinsworth, Georgie’s dad, leaves town and fails to return. Georgie thinks it’s just another drill and blows off all signs indicating otherwise until she finds a letter which explains why she’ll never be typical and leaves her doubting if her dad is alive. Now she must discover the location of a family vault while avoiding her aunt Edith who will stop at nothing to gain access--including murdering her own sister.


With the help of her best friend Jake, Georgie begins a journey full of clues and discoveries. She finds she is falling in love with Jake and trusting him despite all evidence telling her she is making a mistake. As trust fights against her an ultimatum is set: find the vault she knows nothing about or Dad dies.


2. Georgina Blackinsworth just wants to be normal. She wants to do regular things like fall for a the hot boy in class, go to prom or even get to school without worrying about being attacked, but “It’s not practical for you.” says her dad, Kent Blackinsworth. Now as her classmates focus on high school graduation, Georgie finds herself locked in a family battle.


When Georgie’s dad leaves town on business and fails to return, she thinks it’s just another one of his wacky drills and blows off obvious signs he’s not coming back. It’s not until she finds a letter explaining why she will never be normal and leaves her questioning if her dad is still alive that she realizes it’s not a drill.


Now she must race against the clock, following clues to a family vault while being hunted by her murderous Aunt to save her dad. Not only that but she finds herself battling feelings for her best friend Jake, the hot boy in school who tags along, and trusting him--a big no-no in her family.


3. Georgina Blackinsworth just wants to be normal. Instead she gets weaponry, combat, assassination training and is run through “If this happens . . .” drills at the insistence of Kent Blackinsworth, her dad. Not what she wants to be doing while other girls attend dance and piano lessons.


When Georgie’s dad leaves town and fails to return, she blows it off thinking it’s just another one of his silly drills. Not until she discovers a letter explaining why she will never be normal and leaves her questioning if her dad’s alive does she realize he’s not coming home.


With the help of her best friend Jake, she begins down a path of clues, discoveries and danger while being hunted by her murderous aunt. Not only that, but she finds herself battling feelings for Jake and trusting him--a big no-no in her family. As trust works against her an ultimatum has been set: find the vault or dad dies.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

January and February Mary Kay Sale

January & February

It's a New Year and who doesn't like something new? Plus, Valentine's Day is around the corner. So here's the deal. There are two sales going on at once.

For January, all the new looks are 20% off. Hop on over to my website and see the new looks created by Mary Kay experts. Use the virtual makeover to make sure you like how your new look fits you! And if you don't like a certain color, change it! Make yourself look dazzling for the new year and have fun while you do it. Also, order by the end of the month--January 31st--and get an additional 5% off your purchase. To receive another 5% discount, for a grand total of 30% off--simply become a follower of my blog.



For February all the fragrances are 20% off. There are scents for her and for him. Get your order in by January 20th and receive an extra 5% off. Just like January, become a follower and get another 5% discount for a total of 30%. You can't beat that!



Then here's another sweet deal. On January 19th Mary Kay's new anti-age fighting foundations ($20) will become available. Give them a try and order yours by January 31st and I'll throw in the foundation brush in for FREE! ($10 value)

Click over to my website and place your order there or leave a comment for me to contact you (don't forget contact info if you do this!) or order there. Happy New Year!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Work In Progress Wednesday

Welcome to Work In Progress Wednesday. So this was supposed to be done last night so all I had to do today was post it. Obviously that happened. Ha, ha, ha. Well, I'm learning that with a new little one life has been completely altered. Everyone has said that nap time becomes precious writing time so I've been looking forward to that. Well . . . he's decided that he doesn't want to take very long naps during the day--half an hour here, ten minutes there. So that's leaving very little time to do important things like eat, take a shower, take out the garbage. Things like that. I'll have to adjust and figure out how to make it work.

Anyway, I figured I'd start out by telling you about what I've done and go from there. I complete one book that I've put on the back burner for a little while. It's a fantasy based on the Lost Dutchman Legend and the Superstition Mountains in Arizona called Superstitious Destiny. I will eventually get back to it since I think it's a fun storyline but I'm working to finish this latest one first.

For the past year I've been working on what has turned out to be a trilogy. It has been really fun to watch the characters evolve and the story take shape. The title of the first book is Encoded Secrets. It about a girl who's Dad disappears and it's her job to find him--even though he's told her not to--while searching for clues that lead to a family vault housing an incredible fortune. Next time I think I will post the query letter options that I have written and ask for opinions. I'm also thinking I'll put a link under my pages to read some of the chapters. We'll see. I have to think about it.

That's it for this week. We'll do more next and I will get it posted early. At least that's my goal. :)