consider me quenched

Quench is such a silly word. But that is our prompt for Sensational Haiku Wednesday this week...

My throat's a desert                                My heart is thirsty

I need water to survive                           Drying up, yearning for love

I'm not a camel                                       Quench my fiery soul

I also wanted to pass on the Inspirational Blogger award I received from Elizabeth Zguta. Thanks, Elizabeth!

Here are the Rules of the Award Blog:

• Display the award logo on your blog post. 
• Link back to the person who nominated you. 
• State 7 things about yourself. 
• Nominate 15 bloggers to the award. 
• Notify those bloggers of the nomination by linking to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.

Being a veteran of this award, I bent the rules a little. This time I want to be inspiring. I give you
7 encouraging tips I have learned while writing...

1. The only way to have a beautiful garden is to keep tending it. Keep writing!
2. If you get stuck on one thing, work on something else. It's like crop rotation for your brain - sometimes the soil needs a break from all that work to rebuild the nurturing nutrients and be fertile again!
3. Read books on the craft.
4. Read books in your genre.
5. Write your query like you are writing the back of your book blurb - you want to grab attention and sell your book! The tastiest pie at the fair wins the prize, but a sweet aroma will bring the judges to your table!
6. Submit! Submit! Submit!
7. Don't let rejection get you down. Curse at it, settle down, and move on. It's fertilizer - it will make you grow!

Pardon my farming references, feeling down homey today, I guess!

I'm passing this award on to bloggers with less than 250 followers - up and coming friends who inspire me to keep going by sticking with writing and blogging and to give them a boost of inspiration too! Visit them!

Kate O'Mara      Tracey Joseph      Kim Gabriel

M.L. Swift      M.J. Joachim      Krista McLaughlin

Emily Moir      Shelly Flower      Russo-Challenging the Gnome
Millie Burns      Jackie Felger     Tracy Jo

And I saved the best for last. Many of you already saw or promoted Mr. Captain Ninja Rockstar Alex's cover for the final book in his Cassa Trilogy, CassaStorm... This is how it will look on my desk...

And this is how it will look when someone reads it...

Have an inspirational Wednesday!

I've gone cuckoo for paranormal romance!

How fitting that I finished, not one, not two, but THREE! paranormal romances in February!!! Just don't ask when I started them... And here are my reviews, in the order completed.

WICKED APPETITE by Janet Evanovich

I dub this paranormal chick lit and I enjoyed the ride. Very fun, reminiscent of Stephanie Plum series. Quirky, hot characters, zany antics, and troublesome sidekicks, including a snarky broom. The reason Evanovich is such an easy read is she surprises us with unexpected, unthinkable, yet plausible situations (at least you wish they could happen), in addition to creating truly awesome tension-filled relationships. WICKED APPETITE is the perfect combo of sparks and spooks!

GIVIN' UP THE GHOST by Gwen Gardner

I am so happy I finally finished a book by one of my blogger buddies! This YA paranormal romance is a wonderful introduction to a new mystery series starring teen clairvoyant, Indigo Eady. Packed with cute, spunky characters, a hint of heat, and a dash of ghostly mayhem, Indigo's first case is full of fun and suspense.

I only had a couple of crits. Set in modern day London, the British vernacular was a bit out of date - I don't think "blimey" is something a teen would say these days. And though a mystery needs a bunch of suspects, I had a hard time keeping them straight sometimes, but that might just be me. Neither of these small stones hindered the story, just suggestions to watch for in the next one, which I look forward to reading!

My favorite parts involved the ghosts themselves. Indigo, and only Indigo, can communicate with them - and they each have entertaining personalities. And the names of the pubs cracked me up! Gwen did an excellent job developing all the characters and creating conflict and danger to keep the story moving right along. Keep 'em coming, Gwen!


But wait! I finished another one! This is a record for me.

1301 - THE MARQUIS by Christine Rains

Christine has woven an intriguing underground world of disturbed paranormal beings hiding their identities from humans and their own kind. They reside on the 13th Floor that doesn't exist in an old apartment building in the subdued, dark city of Carmine. In this first tale, we meet Marc, the Grand Marquis, a retired demon that Hell wants back. But he's grown attached to our world and in particular, a sweet barista named Mae. When an old nemesis comes to claim Marc for some recognition as a greater demon, a destructive battle ensues and Marc has to make a drastic choice. Thrilling, suspenseful, high tension and stakes! I'm hungry for more, especially looking forward to reading about that Dragonslayer in 1303!

What are you reading? Read any of these? I recommend them all!

servers dish it out!

A tale of strength and light defeating evil opposition is revealed in CHAMPION IN THE DARKNESS by Tyrean Martinson. To gain a glimpse, you are hereby invited to eavesdrop on two servers in the dining room at Triune Halls...

Breakfast has just concluded with a hubbub of laughter and chattiness. As the youthful crowd disperses to their three halls - shepherd students, sword students, and law students, Tyrean Tilly and Sara Syler clean up the mess left behind.

Sara Syler: *stacks a tower of plates and nods* That apprentice Clara, she thinks she's ready to be a sword master. I think she's got a lot more to learn, eh, Tyrean?

Tyrean Tilly: *wipes a spill* Well, she has been training here longer than most of these young ones, but I doubt she understands much about those swords of power. Seems all those masters get something they don't expect when they receive them.

background image

Sara: That's certainly true. *winks* I've heard rumors about how Master Dantor acted when he got his, but now he's been hanging out with that Stelia. She's so moody, moping around all the time. What's the deal with her?

Tyrean: *wrinkles nose at a stubborn stain* Well, I heard she was raised by that witch Kalidess and the Dark Sisterhood. I can't imagine that's something she's proud of. In fact I'm surprised the Triune Council let her serve at all with the things I've heard about her past. *leans in and whispers* I've heard she burned whole villages under Kalidess's command.

Sara: No, that's horrifying! I can't believe even Stelia would be so bad. She's probably thankful to be here, where she's safe. That Kalidess is evil, but I don't think she'll ever get a hold of our land. Septily is a fine place, a strong place made of seven united kingdoms. Kalidess and any Darkness she threatens . . . Well, I don't believe she or it will ever come here."

Tyrean: I don't know. Having Clara as an extra sword master would make me feel better.

*Clara rushes by the open door.*

Tyrean: There she is now, off to claim her sword.

Sara: We'll surely find out all about it at luncheon.

Tyrean: Oh, don't even mention luncheon! The students are even messier then.

And, scene!
Hope you enjoyed our play! Thank you Tyrean for telling us a little about CHAMPION IN THE DARKNESS! Here are a few more details...

Clara is younger than most trainees, but she is ready to hold a Sword Master's blade. While visions and ancient prophecies stand in her way, they also offer a destiny unlike any other. Clara is aided by a haunted mentor, Stelia, whose knowledge of their enemy Kalidess is both a bane and a blessing. As evil threatens their land, Clara and Stelia must find the strength to overcome the darkness.

Available at Amazon Kindle | Smashwords | Goodreads | iBookstore | Nook | Amazon Paperback

Tyrean Martinson lives and writes in the Northwest, encouraged by her loving husband and daughters, and reminded to exercise by her dogs and cat. Champion in the Darkness is her first book in the Champion Trilogy, but she has previously published short stories and poetry. She can be found online at Tyrean’s Writing Spot.

And here are a couple of giveaways where you can win CHAMPION IN THE DARKNESS!

Tyrean's & Brinda's