Tag: paperback

Black Friday – Cyber Monday Book Sale

Posted on by Frances

Welcome! I wanted to tell you about a HUGE sale that is going on this weekend! There are over 150 titles available and they are all either $0.99 or FREE! There are also a long list of paperbacks for sale at incredibly discounted prices as well! And the good news is they are all clean reads! Be sure to go check out this amazing sale here.

 

There is also an amazing giveaway going on! Check this out:

Grand Prize Winner Receives 20 FREE Paperbacks:

Mythical Doorways by Jenelle Schmidt
Faith is the Victory by Faith Blum
Kiera by Kate Willis
Because Anonymous by Diana L. Sharples
After: Book One in The Neverway Chronicles by Savannah Jezowski
Specter: Book Two in The Neverway Chronicles by Savannah Jezowski
Leandra’s Enchanted Flute by Katy Huth Jones
Eagle Eyes by Tammy Lash
London in the Dark by Victoria Lynn
When Beauty Blooms by Victoria Lynn
Aerisia: Land Beyond the Sunset by Sarah Ashwood
Iced and Nailed by Avery Daniels
There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman
Bridgers: A Parable by Angie Thompson
Love Blind by Angie Thompson
Code by Angie Thompson
Christmas Eve at the Backdoor by Rebekah Morris
The Seven Drawers by Kendra E. Ardnek
He’s Making Diamonds: A Teen’s Thoughts on Faith Through Chronic Illness by Sara Willoughby

 

 

2nd Place Winner Receives 20 FREE E-books:

Gather Round the Fables by Erika Matthews
The Case of the Tabloid Tattler by Perry Kirkpatrick
The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Perry Kirkpatrick
Coffee Shop Christmas by Ryana Lynn Miller
The Land of Cotton by Ryana Lynn Miller
Entertaining Angels, Entertaining Angels Book 1 by Emerald Barnes
Secret’s Kept by Jennette Mbewe
The Firethorn Crown by Lea Doue
Beyond Broken Pencils by Julie C. Gilbert
Ashlynn’s Dreams by Julie C. Gilbert
Soldier On by Vanessa Rasanen
Burning Rose by Hope Ann
Iced and Nailed by Avery Daniels
Imani Earns Her Cape by Bokerah Brumley
October by J. Grace Pennington
Disowned by Sarah Addison Fox
My Compass Home by Michaela Bush
Summer Shadows and Necessary Evil by Killarney Traynor

 

Giveaway runs from Continue reading “Black Friday – Cyber Monday Book Sale” →

The Nameless Soldier – A Young Adult Fantasy

Posted on by Frances

 


 The Nameless Soldier is book 4 in the Annals of Alasia young adult fantasy series. Haven’t read all (or any) of the others? That’s okay! The books can be read in any order, and each one can stand on its own.


 Description:

 What do you do when you’re the only survivor?

 Nineteen-year-old Tarvic bears the name of a mighty hero from Alasia’s past. However, the young soldier feels anything but heroic when he regains consciousness to find himself the lone survivor of a brutal attack by invaders from the neighboring kingdom. 

 Forced to leave his identity behind, Tarvic is thrust into civilian life in the role of protector to three war orphans. When the four of them encounter a mysterious stranger, he must choose between keeping the young girls safe and taking on a mission that could help free his kingdom. Can Tarvic live up to his noble name and find a way to balance his duty and his dreams?


Where to Get a Copy:

Click here to buy the ebook or paperback from Amazon. (The ebook is $2.99 just $0.99 through June 6th!)

Not sure if you’ll like the story or not? Take a look at the first chapter and see!

 

 

The Nameless Soldier
Chapter One

 

      

Tarvic woke to the sound of a distant yell, abruptly silenced. He pushed his blankets aside and sat up, puzzled, but heard only the light patter of rain on the canvas. “What was that?”
Drevel, his roommate in the barracks and tentmate out on campaigns like this, stirred and rolled over. “What?”
“I heard something. Someone shouting.”
“It’s probably just another drill.” But Drevel sat up too, shoving his own blankets away, as Tarvic crawled over and untied the tent flap.
A blast of wintry air and raindrops greeted him as he leaned out, peering across the tent-studded hillside. Clouds hid the moon and stars, and on every side the thick dark of the forest leaned in from the edges of the large clearing. But the telltale flickering light of distant torches sent shadows leaping over tents and across the open spaces between them. Why would someone be using torches out here? Any soldier in camp had easy access to lanterns among the supplies.
Something was wrong. Very wrong. Tarvic pulled back into the tent and yanked on his breeches and jacket.
They both heard the next yell, closer this time, and then the unmistakable clash of swords. Both men snatched up their own swords, jamming their feet into their boots and fumbling for shields. From all around them, shouts of alarm erupted as men in their company woke up.
And then the enemy was upon them. Horses exploded through the camp, trampling tents and the soldiers just crawling out of them. Riders leaned low off their mounts’ backs, swinging swords and waving torches.
Halfway out of his tent, Tarvic threw himself flat on his face to avoid a slash that would probably have decapitated him. He scrambled to his feet, only to be knocked off them again by a blow that he barely caught on his shield.
Light, shadows, horses, blades, rain. Chaos raged through the clearing to the sound of crashing metal, pounding hooves, shouts of challenge and desperation. Tarvic regained his feet and fought as best he could from the ground while enemy riders thundered around him. Dodging and ducking, he aimed for the men’s legs and tried to keep out from under their horses’ hooves. With no idea who he was fighting or why, his only goal to stay alive for the next heartbeat, he dodged and darted through the tumult looking for spots where horses and enemy swords weren’t. All around him, men fought and ran and crumpled to lie as limply as the trampled tents.
Slipping and stumbling in the mud, Tarvic felt a surge of satisfaction as his sword met flesh and an enemy yelled in pain. And then the man wheeled his horse and charged back toward him, and Tarvic turned to flee.
He tripped on something soft that groaned. Pain shot through Tarvic’s wrist as he caught his fall, and only a quick roll saved him from being trampled as the man’s horse cantered over him.
Its rider wheeled again, and Tarvic rose to his knees, barely raising his shield in time to protect his face. The force of the blow threw him backward, jarring his already sore wrist.
Another horse leaped over him, and Tarvic cried out in pain as a hoof struck him on the shoulder. He stumbled to his feet, ducking low to present as small a target as possible, and ran through the melee.
He saw fewer people on foot now, more obstacles in the mud. Was it cowardly to flee from a battle you couldn’t win? Nothing in Tarvic’s eight months in the military had prepared him for this. Not counting occasional minor border skirmishes, the kingdom of Alasia hadn’t seen an actual war in six generations. Besides routine patrols, city peacekeeping, and the frequent drills and training, the military’s primary duties involved escorting merchant wagons through robber-frequented stretches of rural highway and keeping an eye on the sections of coastline where seafaring raiders were known to attack. Tarvic had never fought in a battle that involved more than a handful of opponents at a time, and none of those opponents had been anywhere near this organized — or this deadly.
If we escape, we can regroup somewhere safer and — A hard blow to the back knocked him to the ground again as another horse pounded over him. Giving up all pretense of courage, Tarvic scrambled to his feet once more and fled for the edge of the clearing and the relative safety of the trees beyond. I can’t do anything here. They’re going to slaughter us all!
He was practically there when another rider appeared in front of him, leaning low with sword outstretched. Tarvic almost impaled himself on the blade, raising his shield just in time. He fought back frantically as the man slashed, swinging his weapon again and again. I need my horse! Military training had included nothing about how to fight a mounted enemy from the ground. But Lightning was tethered in the row of makeshift stalls on the far side of the camp, probably prancing restlessly under his blanket and wondering why his rider didn’t come to spur him into battle.
Tarvic didn’t even see the blow that almost killed him. His ears barely registered the thudding of more galloping hooves from behind, nearly drowned out by the rain and the sounds of battle. But the world exploded in light and pain as something struck the back of his head harder than anything had ever hit him before.
He lurched forward, feeling his sword drop from limp fingers. Managing two steps before his legs buckled, he was just conscious enough to recognize the urgent need to crawl. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Or they’ll kill you out here. That was the only thought left in his mind as he pulled himself toward the concealing shadows behind the line of tree trunks. And then even that faded, giving way to darkness.
 

Want to know what happens to Tarvic? Click 

here

 to purchase the book and find out!

 

 

 
About the Author:
 

 

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published seventeen books (four YA action and adventure novels, five fantasies, a puppet script, six anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

 

 


 


Email:

AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

 

Blog:

http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/princeofalasia

Goodreads:

http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGoodreads

Google+:

http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGooglePlus

Amazon Author Page:

http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon

LinkedIn:

http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnLinkedIn

 

Best Kind of Broken – A New Adult Romance

Posted on by Frances

For Thanksgiving last year, my family and I were able to visit my sister in the Washington, D.C. area. While enjoying our time together, she had mentioned she had some books that I might be interested in. I took a look at them, and noticing they were romances, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to read them. They are both paperbacks, which I have to get used to again, but she was willing to give them to me for free so that works!

The first book that I chose to read of the two was a book by Chelsea Fine, called Best Kind of Broken. It’s a new adult romance, a genre I don’t have a lot of experience with. I do know that this genre tends to be filled with a little more passion/sex so I hoped the book wouldn’t be bombarded with it. Thankfully, it wasn’t!

Anyway, before I share with you all my thoughts/review, here are the basics of this book:

Best Kind of Broken

By: Chelsea Fine

 

SOMETIMES MOVING ON MEANS MOVING IN

Pixie Marshall wishes every day she could turn back time and fix the past. But she can’t. And the damage is done. She’s hoping that a summer of free room and board working with her aunt at the Willow Inn will help her forget. Except there’s a problem: the resident handyman is none other than Levi Andrews. The handsome quarterback was once her friend-and maybe more–until everything changed in a life-shattering instant. She was hoping to avoid him, possibly forever. Now he’s right down the hall and stirring up feelings Pixie thought she’d long buried . . .

Levi can’t believe he’s living with the one person who holds all his painful memories. More than anything he wants to make things right, but a simple “sorry” won’t suffice–not when the tragedy that scarred them was his fault. Levi knows Pixie’s better off without him, but every part of him screams to touch her, protect her, wrap her in his arms, and kiss away the pain. Yet even though she’s so close, Pixie’s heart seems more unreachable than ever. Seeing those stunning green eyes again has made one thing perfectly clear–he can’t live without her.

 

What did I think?

This is a tale of two broken souls finding home in one another. After a tragic accident, two people are left scarred, guilty, and feeling like they’re left to blame. When they open up, both find acceptance, forgiveness, and the love they had before their worlds were turned upside down.

What I think worked well was the author did a fantastic job alternating between the male and female point of view, each chapter switching from one to the next. Writing in first person really helped me engage with the characters, feeling what they would/did feel. The storyline was well-written. I really felt like I was a part of the story. And reading the novel this way, it’s making me love first person point of view more and more. I might even try to write a novel this way!

The thing I didn’t like, which is why I only rated it four stars instead of five, was some of the language and scenes of sexual nature. Although, I don’t feel any of it was overdone, it was still enough for me to knock it down from perfect. New adult novels are known for this, as mentioned above, so if you’re interested in reading this, please do keep that in mind. And again, it wasn’t as bad as other new adult stories that are out there (from what I’ve heard).

Overall, yes, I rated it just four stars. It really was a great novel by a talented author. For those who like to read new adult romance, this would be perfect!

If you are interested in reading this book, you can find a copy of it here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EHMG34E/

 

 

Unfortunate Events

Posted on by Frances

Introducing my newest release…

 

 

I am so excited to share this with you! In this collection of short stories, you’ll get a mixture of just about every genre out there. Plus, it’s a clean read! I like to think of this as our worst fears realized or perhaps even worst case scenarios because each story has a little bit of creepiness to it. This is NOT horror, though! Just entertaining 🙂

Let me share with you the book’s blurb…

Life is often unpredictable. Many times, bad things happen that no one would ever see coming, not even ourselves. And such is the case for the people in each of these stories. Some will be attacked by vicious animals, while others navigate through wild weather. The rest will find themselves in freak accidents, coming face to face with the supernatural, being a part of something out of this world, and many other situations that can only be described as unfortunate.

With traces of romance, adventure, humor, thrill, and mystery woven in, there is a story for anyone looking for an entertaining read while being short on time. And with just the right blend of horror and tragedy, this collection will leave you dreading the possible.

Unfortunate Events: 31 Short Stories is available in paperback and eBook format. Paperback can be found on Amazon or CreateSpace for just $9.99. The eBook can be found on Amazon for just $1.99 by clicking HERE! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited for FREE!

Great news, though!! To celebrate this release, it will be FREE for ALL for two days next week! Can’t beat FREE, right!?!? All you have to do is click HERE between Monday, September 11, and Tuesday, September 12!

Enjoy! Now on to my next novel….

What to Expect When You’re NOT Expecting

Posted on by Frances

I am so excited to announce today that my first non-fiction piece is now available! The writing process started in mid-January, and now six months later, my baby is published! What an exciting time! So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to the book…

This book provides information and inspiration for those going through infertility. But more specifically, here is what the back of the book says:

Have you been actively trying to conceive for the past 12 months or more to no avail? If you answered yes, then welcome to infertility. It’s a journey like no other. It’s one you never wanted to embark on, and it’s definitely one you don’t want to stay on for very long. But since you’re here, let this book be your traveling companion!

In What to Expect When You’re NOT Expecting: Navigating Infertility, Frances Hoelsema uses her own personal experiences, as well as those of many other women, to guide and inspire you on this ultra-frustrating, highly-emotional, and what feels like an extremely-lonely journey.

If you’ve got questions…there are answers!
If you need tips…plenty are provided!
If you need someone to understand…these women do!
If you’re feeling alone…be assured you’re not!

Whether you’ve just begun your infertility journey, or have been on it for quite some time, there is something for everyone. From astounding statistics, to real life examples, to concrete sources of hope, this is one book you won’t want to be without.

So sit tight and buckle up! The journey will be bumpy, but with What to Expect When You’re NOT Expecting: Navigating Infertility by your side, you’ve got this! 

Compared to other books in this market, it’s set at a great price, too! The book is available on paperback through Amazon or CreateSpace for just $12.99 OR in eBook format on Kindle for just $4.99!

Now that the basics are out of the way, let me give you some background. This all started, honestly, in June of 2006. This is when my husband and I believed we were ready to get pregnant. We had been married a few months, had stable income, loved babies. Why not, right? However, the process wasn’t easy. Through treatments and one miscarriage, we thought our baby would never come. Almost four years later, thankfully, God answered our prayers.

Since going through the heartache of trying to conceive, I’ve had a passion to come alongside women in the same shoes I was once in. Therefore, it was only natural for me to want to write something about it. First, however, I wanted to get done with my Neighbors series. The final book in that series was published in December, and immediately, I began formulating what I wanted this infertility book to be about. With the help of so many other women, it became what it is today.

Up above is the cover of my book. And if you go to one of the retailer sites you can get a glimpse of the inside. Here, however, is something you won’t see, but here…my notes!

This is only a couple pages of the many I scribbled all over. You probably wonder how in the world I could make anything out of all this mess, but this is just how my brain works! I must admit, though, I am grateful it all came together and now is ready to share with the world.

Please do me a favor and spread the word! I truly believe that this book will help those in the midst of this dark and oftentimes lonely tunnel. Thank you so much!

 

Introducing…

Posted on by Frances

I am so proud to announce that the third novel in my Neighbors Series, Long Lost Neighbors, has finally been released! And it became available on my birthday no less! What a great way to celebrate!

 

Long Lost Neighbors was so fun to write. There is actually quite a bit of truth about my life written within these pages so it was fun to relive some memories, as well as explore possibilities.

 

 

Here is what it’s all about: Continue reading “Introducing…” →

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Posted on by Frances Hoelsema - Author

Most of you know that I ran some giveaways last month. There was one giveaway through 5 Girls Book Reviews where three lucky people would win a signed paperback copy of Growing Up Neighbors. Then I also gave away one signed paperback copy of Growing Up Neighbors through the 12 Days of Giveaways blog tour.

The purpose of this post is to declare the winners! Continue reading “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner” →