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Author: Rachel

October 4, 2018

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Review – The Warrior’s Bride Prize

Posted in Book Blogger

The Warrior’s Bride Prize

by Jenni Fletcher

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Roman, Ancient World
Release Date: October 1, 2018
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | WHSmith
My Rating: ★★★★★

Daughter of a slave…

…wedded to the warrior!

Livia Valeria is furious when she’s ruthlessly gambled away by her intended bridegroom. Luckily, it’s tall, muscled and darkly handsome Roman centurion Marius Varro who wins her as his bride! She must hide her Caledonian roots, but when Marius faces a barbarian rebellion at Hadrian’s Wall, Livia must make a choice: her heritage or the husband she’s falling for…

September 21, 2018

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People with Pens: Rachel de la Fuente

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’ve always been a fan of hand writing. I can type almost as fast as I can think, so there’s nothing to slow me down. Sometimes, that can be a good thing. But when I want to devote some thought to what I’m writing, I switch to hand writing so I have to slow down.

This is especially useful when I’m writing books and/or blog posts. Writing “stream of consciousness” isn’t typically great when you want what you’re writing to make sense. It’s much better, for me, to slow down some and make sure that what I’m writing is cohesive and coherent.

The biggest downside to hand-writing, though, is hand fatigue. Over the years, I’ve developed several different grips for holding my writing implement to increase the amount I can write in one go.

But the pressure and effort required to write with pencils and ballpoint pens increases hand fatigue. Fountain pens help alleviate that with the lack of pressure needed to write. Something about not needing to press down to write makes it easier to hold the pen in a looser grip, which also helps with hand fatigue.

Fountain pens, perhaps because of their design, or our association of nibs with older things, also tend to make people want to write nicer. They certainly did for me and many of my pen friends. But, despite my great love of fountain pens today, it’s a relatively recent hobby for me.

September 20, 2018

Review – Awakened

Posted in Book Blogger

Awakened

by Dot Caffrey

Series: The Power Trilogy, Book 1
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Sorcery
Release Date: August 31, 2018 (Re-release)
Pages: 326
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★★

Power and Prophecy!

Seventeen-year-old Regnaryn grew up in an idyllic land among mythical beings. She believes she is the last surviving human.

Her world begins to shatter when Evil invades her dreams, demanding she relinquish unknown powers foretold by her long-deceased mother. When Graeden, a young human male, arrives, he further disrupts her once-orderly life. Her emotions in chaos, Regnaryn flees the only home she’s ever known, only to be captured by the servants of Evil from her dreams. Now she must take a stand, confronting her late mother’s prophecy while also attempting to survive and protect those she loves.

September 19, 2018

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Explaining Pens

Posted in Fountain Pens

“You spent HOW much on a pen?” Every pen person has heard it. I’ve found a way to avoid it. Find out how to explain pens (or anything) to non-pen people.

September 17, 2018

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The Story of Fate’s Kiss

Posted in Exalted Bloodlines

The history of Fate’s Kiss is much simpler than the history of The Most Special Chosen (Pt 1 | Pt 2). It was set in motion on February 21st when Sonya Jesus asked if I would be willing to join her and some of her author friends in writing for the Summer Heat anthology.

The goal was a novella-length story at around 20k words. I agreed to at least give it a try, and asked her to add me to the collaboration group. Once I joined, I found out it the story was due June 1st. In hindsight, I realize just how tight a deadline that is. But at the time, it didn’t seem too bad. Silly me.

I started out trying to write a contemporary romance story, but it didn’t go very well. After a couple of weeks, I realized that that story just wasn’t going to happen.

September 14, 2018

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Fountain Pen 201: Selling Pens

Posted in Fountain Pens

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! I originally intended to end Fountain Pen 201 last week, but it occurred to me that I haven’t really said anything about selling pens. The result of that brain blast is this final Fountain Pen 201 issue.

At some point, a pen you bought early on in your fountain pen journey is likely to no longer suit your needs or new preferences. Depending on how much you spent on it, you may choose to give it to a pen newbie friend, donate it (might I suggest looking into Pay it Forward?), or sell it.

Selling a fountain pen is easier than you may think. Once you’ve priced your pen, there are multiple avenues available to sell it, some better than others.

September 13, 2018

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The Most Special Chosen, Pt. 2

Posted in Exalted Bloodlines

Alright, here’s part two of the history of The Most Special Chosen (TMSC). This is another one of those posts I can’t explain why I haven’t written. But, finally, here is the story of how The Most Special Chosen got picked up by a publisher.

In 2016, Burning Willow Press (BWP) attended Paracon in Virginia Beach. Because it was only 4 (ish) hours away, we decided to attend. Jim wanted to meet the publishers in person. I was also interested in taking photos of Ferry Plantation because I’d only recently gotten my Canon Rebel T5.

We spent some time talking to Edd and Kindra and met another BWP author, Mark Reefe. After a bit, we went inside to take photos and get out of the heat. Unfortunately, my battery died after the second room.

So, once we finished going through the house, I took my camera back to the car. No sense in lugging around something basically useless.

September 12, 2018

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The Most Special Chosen, Pt. 1

Posted in Exalted Bloodlines

This is, admittedly, more than a little overdue. This is one of those posts that I can’t really explain why I haven’t written. There’s no real reason, I just haven’t gotten to it.

A favorite question when talking to or interviewing authors is “how long did it take you to write your book?” Sometimes, it’s an easy answer. Other times, like with The Most Special Chosen (TMSC), it’s complicated.

I’d like to explain why it’s complicated, so today, you’re getting the history of TMSC. As I said before, it’s long overdue, but better late than never, right?

September 7, 2018

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Fountain Pen 201: Secondhand and Vintage

Posted in Fountain Pens

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! In this issue, I’ll be discussing secondhand and vintage pens.

Secondhand and vintage pens are kind of like rectangles and squares. Almost without exception, vintage pens are secondhand, but certainly not all secondhand pens are vintage.

Because of this relationship, virtually everything you should know about buying secondhand pens applies to buying vintage pens. There are also some extra things to consider when buying vintage.

September 6, 2018

Stipula Etruria Prisma 88 Comparative Review

Posted in Fountain Pens

Last year I wrote about my Stipula Etruria Rainbow Prisma 88 and followed it up with an update. It’s one of my favorite pens, so when the Stipula Etruria Prisma 88 Magma was announced, I snapped one up.

Now that my Magma is back in action, I’m writing a comparative review of the two. I couldn’t find anything about the Rainbow when it first came out, and there doesn’t seem to be anything about the Magma, so hopefully, this will help anyone considering purchasing either of them.

Backstories

If you know the history behind these two pens in my collection, feel free to skip down to the main review.

September 4, 2018

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Regalia Writing Labs Sequel Nib Review

Posted in Fountain Pens

I’ve wanted one of Regalia Writing Labs‘ Sequel Nibs ever since Ralph shared the first photo of one. Part of my interest was based on the uniqueness of the nib, and part was a desire to support Ralph in his continued nib tinkering and modification. I’m very interested to see where his efforts take him.

Unfortunately, he teased us all for a while before making the nibs available, and then, only at shows. They’re still (to the best of my knowledge) only available at shows or via Instagram flash sales.

August 31, 2018

Fountain Pen 201: Community

Posted in Fountain Pens

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! This week, I’ll be discussing the fabulous fountain pen community.

I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before, but one of the best parts of the fountain pen hobby is the community. All of the pen users, makers, and retailers I’ve personally met have been lovely people, and I’ve formed good friendships with several of them.

The pen community has many iterations, including stores, shows, pen forums, and meet-ups. You’ll meet pen users and retailers by going to your local store(s). Some stores may even have events featuring indie makers. Shows are a great place to meet anyone associated with the pen community, as well as get your hands on pens to see how they feel.

As I’ve already discussed pen stores and pen shows, allow me to devote some time to online forums and meet-ups.

August 29, 2018

Review – An Unconventional Affair

Posted in Book Blogger

An Unconventional Affair

by Mollie Blake

Series: A Cheshire Love Story, Book 1
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Adult
Release Date: August 25, 2018
Pages: ~194
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Tranquility “Tee” Hammond is head of a law firm. Having escaped a violent husband, with a son she was really too young to have had, her life revolved around her work. There was little time for anything else and she didn’t need anything else. When she was inclined to treat herself to a little sexual pleasure, she engaged the services of Email Indulgence–an exclusive club–one email for one night of sex with a man she didn’t know and didn’t need to care about again. For her, it was enough. But her life was about to be changed by a friend of Tee’s son at university, Barrington Stone, fifteen years her junior who is determined to woo her into an unconventional affair.

August 28, 2018

Massive Milestone Extravaganza

Posted in Exalted Bloodlines, and News

I hit a bunch of milestones last week. To say thank you I’m hosting a massive giveaway! Check out this post to learn what I’m giving away and how to enter.

August 27, 2018

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Making Your Passion Your Job

Posted in Random Reflections

“Do what you love and never work a day in your life.” How many times have you heard that? I can’t even begin to count. But, I’ve learned over the years that it’s mostly, if not completely, BS.

I typically try to keep my posts positive, but today I want to provide a cautionary lesson. More and more, recently, I’ve seen examples of people making their passion into their work and finding that those passions fizzle and burn out.

The nice thing about a passion that remains a hobby is that you do it because you want to. And when you don’t want you, you have the freedom to take a break. The moment you turn it into a job, you do it because you have to, and breaks aren’t really an option. Having to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do is a quick way to lose interest.

August 24, 2018

Fountain Pen 201: Ink Swab Catalog

Posted in Ink

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! I’ve had multiple requests over the past few months to give lessons or write a post about how I created and maintain my ink swab notebook. So this week, I’ll be covering my ink swabbing methods.

A little history before I dive into the meat of my post. I used to use the Col-O-Ring system. But once you fill your first ring, it starts getting bulky. So I looked for a different method. I figured a notebook would be suitably contained and portable. Because I love the Maruman Mnemosyne paper, I decided to try the Hardcover Executive Notebook (N195A) for my new ink swab adventure. It did not disappoint.

August 23, 2018

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Review – The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

Posted in Book Blogger

The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

by Virginia Heath

Series: The King’s Elite, Book 1
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency, Espionage, Thriller
Release Date: September 1, 2018
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Life as a duchess…
Or something much more dangerous…?

Part of The King’s Elite. Constantly told her beauty and charm is all she has to offer, Lady Clarissa is intent on marrying a duke. And intriguing spy Sebastian Leatham will help her! Only first she’ll assist him with his new assignment—playing the part of confident aristocrat Lord Millcroft. Sebastian awakens a burning desire within Clarissa which leaves her questioning whether becoming a duchess is what she truly longs for…

August 22, 2018

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Franklin-Christoph Firma Flex Notebook

Posted in Paper

I’ve been searching for my “perfect notebook” almost since I started using fountain pens. Every notebook I tried had at least one problem (in my opinion, I’m sure people would disagree with me). I’d just about given up hope of finding my “perfect notebook” when I stumbled across the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex Journal Notebooks.

The Search

When I started using fountain pens, I realized I could no longer just pick up any notebook I wanted to. So began my notebook search. And, of course, the elements that make up my “perfect notebook” have changed over the course of my search.

August 21, 2018

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Review – The Good Sister

Posted in Book Blogger

The Good Sister

by Rachael Stewart

Genres: Erotica, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Pages: 205
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

HE WASN’T HERS TO LOVE … BUT HER HEART DOESN’T CARE…

When Isla Evans agrees to switch lives with her rising star of a twin for three weeks, she has no idea the move will thrust her into the same bed as her teenage celebrity heartthrob, Bradley King. Trapped there at her sister’s request, she gives her desire free reign and finds herself falling hard and fast.

And she’s not alone.

Bradley wants a wife to tick all the boxes, save for one: love. It’s not part of the deal, never was, never will be. But when he returns home early to find his hopeful-fiancée behaving all sorts of different, he likes it. A lot. Suddenly, he wants a real marriage, with all the trimmings, and he will stop at nothing until he gets it.

But this Hollywood HEA faces one big hurdle—she’s not who he thinks she is…

August 18, 2018

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Cover Reveal – Crossroads in the Dark IV: Ghosts

Posted in Book Blogger

Crossroads in the Dark IV: Ghosts

Series: Crossroads in the Dark Anthology, Volume 4
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Suspense
Release Date: December 1, 2018
Cover Design: Bachman Designs
Publisher: Burning Willow Press
Pre-Order: Pre-orders will be available soon, sign up to be notified.

You attend a funeral of a friend, one who decided that living was no longer an option. That night, you feel a slight tickle on the back of your neck. Shrugging it off as an overactive imagination, you try to ignore it, yet it persists. You turn to look for the menacing thing bothering you, and nothing is there. Not even a shadow. In the far reaches of your sight, you start to make out a familiar figure ascending from the darkest corner of your room. You reach for the lamp beside you, but hit it, knocking it to the floor. Your fear begins to rise, as do the hair on your neck. A familiar voice pleads with you… “Why didn’t you hear me…?

Welcome back to the Crossroads.

Crossroads in the Dark IV: GHOSTS is a collection of short stories developed in hopes of bringing awareness to suicide prevention around the world. While the stories do not tell of suicide, they do speak of GHOSTS. Who are the ghosts that haunt us daily? What are the remains of an otherwise perfect life ended far too soon? Which are the people who we find hardest to move forward from when we lose them? The easy answer is, the ones we failed to save.