Book Synopsis:
It’s just gonna be one of those days…Empathic healer and business owner, Dora Alexander decided to celebrate her 25th birthday by exploring the stalagmites and stalactites in Kartchner Caverns. Kinda nerdy? Maybe, but you do you, right? Things take a nasty turn when an earthquake rocks the cave, leaving her alone in complete darkness. Searching for a way out, she accidently awakens an immortal warrior who’s kind of cranky after his 100-year nap. Wouldn’t you be? Philoctetes, one of Demeter’s immortal Gold warriors wakes up to the disturbing sound of a female sobbing. Thinking she’s one of the Silver demons he’s sworn to hunt down and destroy, he almost kills her before realizing she’s human. Correction. Turns out she’s not just human. She’s also the woman responsible for sending his kind to hell and causing woe and misery for the entire human race. Dora never asked to be Pandora reborn. And she certainly didn’t ask to be paired up with an insanely hot immortal demon hunter on a mission to save the world and redeem them both. But The Fates seem to have their own quirky ideas. One of them being if she and said hot demon hunter consummate the inferno like attraction blazing between them, they’ll simply cease to exist, with any memory of their time on earth erased forever. Oh goody, the day just got worse.
As the story starts, Pandora A.K.A. Dora meets Philoctetes A.K.A. Phil while inside a cavern she’s touring. Phil is an immortal warrior who has been sent to hunt her down. The two are instantly drawn to each other and as the story unfolds they realize they are connected.
Each of them has a reason why they can’t fall in love, which makes a relationship between the two seem impossible. I’ll leave it at that but I did enjoy the way the author adds this to the storyline.
As I mentioned, these two also have background that tie them together and much of the storyline revolves around Greek Mythology and the different gods and goddesses from myths. I found that author Eden Robins ties in Greek myths seamlessly. The storyline gets very steamy between Dora and Phil and I wanted these two to find a way to be together. I will mention that some of the scenes with Greek Gods such as Sisyphus take a bit of a dark turn.
I liked how the author places Phil into modern day society because he’s been asleep in the cavern for 100 years so current technology is new to him. Speaking of Phil, I love a scarred hero, that is one of my favorite tropes in romance.
“Unable to resist, she let her gaze once again skim over him. While his body was covered in scars, his face wasn’t. The marks stopped at his neck. The stunning contrast made it difficult to bring her focus back to his face.”-page 12, Heart of a Warrior by Eden Robins
Hello everyone. Please join me in welcoming author Eden Robins as she stops in today while on book tour for a wonderful guest post. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on her book called Gold: Heart of a Warrior later on this week. The guest post is below, I really enjoyed it and I think you will also.
Book Synopsis:
It’s just gonna be one of those days…Empathic healer and business owner, Dora Alexander decided to celebrate her 25th birthday by exploring the stalagmites and stalactites in Kartchner Caverns. Kinda nerdy? Maybe, but you do you, right? Things take a nasty turn when an earthquake rocks the cave, leaving her alone in complete darkness. Searching for a way out, she accidently awakens an immortal warrior who’s kind of cranky after his 100-year nap. Wouldn’t you be? Philoctetes, one of Demeter’s immortal Gold warriors wakes up to the disturbing sound of a female sobbing. Thinking she’s one of the Silver demons he’s sworn to hunt down and destroy, he almost kills her before realizing she’s human. Correction. Turns out she’s not just human. She’s also the woman responsible for sending his kind to hell and causing woe and misery for the entire human race. Dora never asked to be Pandora reborn. And she certainly didn’t ask to be paired up with an insanely hot immortal demon hunter on a mission to save the world and redeem them both. But The Fates seem to have their own quirky ideas. One of them being if she and said hot demon hunter consummate the inferno like attraction blazing between them, they’ll simply cease to exist, with any memory of their time on earth erased forever. Oh goody, the day just got worse.
Thanks for inviting me to The Bookworm! I’m grateful for the opportunity to share more about my writer’s journey, and my latest book, Gold: Heart of a Warrior…
Let me start by confessing that my writing and editing process is as straightforward as the famously crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco. That’s to say, not straightforward at all. It can vary depending on the project and my mood. The latter isn’t such a great compass to go by, but it truly does affect my creative and editing process. In other words, how I’m feeling about a project in a particular moment can alter how I approach it.
My futuristic sci-fi romance, All Our Tomorrows, took me four months to write and was nominated for the Golden Rose Readers Choice Award for best SF/Futuristic/Fantasy. My coming-of-age young adult novel, The Rest of Our Story, took four years to write and I’m still looking for a great publishing fit for that story. The whim and variability of the industry can be disconcerting, so the importance of making the writing and editing process my own with every book, regardless of external shifts, is vital.
As an indie author, I largely have the freedom to write and edit at my own pace. Of course, when collaborating with a publisher, their editing schedule factors into all of this. Yet I’ve found, even within those constraints, finding a flow that works best for me is mandatory for completing a book that I’m happy about putting out into the world.
Now to the nuts and bolts…
My book writing process roughly goes as follows:
• Inspiration
• Getting that inspiration on paper
• Research
• Character development
• Determining goal, motivation, and conflict
• Putting together a basic plot outline
• Begin writing
• Once the first draft is complete, step away from the book for at least a week, usually more
• Reread and review my book with fresh eyes
My editing process can vary, but often flows like this:
• Review, edit, and rewrite-then do it again until I feel the story is in a place where I want others to review
• Send it to Beta readers for feedback
• More edits and rewrites
• Once polished, create a synopsis and blurb for my publisher OR
• Create a synopsis, query letter, and blurb for pitch opportunities to agents and editors
The writing process for my new book, Gold: Heart of a Warrior, is a little trickier to pin down. I wrote this modern-day romp through Greek mythology over 10 years ago. I was experiencing a separation and divorce at the time, so the details are a bit fuzzy. It took me about a year to write, and I do recall thoroughly enjoying the research part of this process. The more I dug into Greek mythology, the more fascinated and excited I became. The characters in these ancient myths were so juicy and complex that I was practically salivating when thinking about retelling some of their stories with my own twist.
The editing process for this book was rigorous. I reviewed and edited the story while also updating it. There have been a lot of technological changes in the last decade or so that I needed to account for during rewrites. Once that was complete, I got feedback from others, did more editing, and then created my synopsis, query letter, and blurb before submitting the story directly to publishers and at pitch events. Champagne Book Group read my work and offered me a contract for all the books I had planned for this series.
After doing some research, I felt they were a good fit for me, and once I contracted with them, the formal editing process began. Despite struggling at times with my editors regarding my opinion (read ego) about how I thought the book should be written, I’m grateful for the thorough, dedicated, and meaningful editing team at Champagne. They were determined and committed to helping me create the best book possible. That support was incredibly valuable and left me feeling proud and excited about sharing this story with the world.
Lastly, as part of the writing and editing process, it’s important for me to:
• Commit to write Monday-Friday
• Don’t set limits or minimums on my daily writing; just write
• Strive to keep the creative process free and a bit playful
• Savor the process by thinking of my book as a magnificent piece of art I’m carefully and thoughtfully sculpting
• Keep in mind that I’m making magic as I weave together people’s stories and lives
• Remember that the blank page contains the story waiting just for me to write it
• Remind myself often that my artistic journey is uniquely my own, and comparing myself to other writers’ journeys never ends well
I hope you’ll dive into my latest novel, Gold: Heart of a Warrior, a modern-day shero’s journey into Greek mythology…
Dora Alexander never asked to be Pandora reborn. Reincarnated from the woman responsible for releasing misery and woe into the world? WTH? Dora’s goal as an empathic healer is to help people, not hurt them. Opening The Healing Garden wellness center was her plan to do just that. But as they say, when woman plans, the Gods laugh. Boy, were they laughing.
About the author:
Eden Robins believes in second chances. She’s been lucky enough to have a few in her life and knows there’s a magic in seizing the moment to try again. As a mentor and founder of A Wholehearted ME, her heart’s purpose is to guide people into living as their full, innate, creative potential. As a writer, Eden’s heart leads her to inspire joy, love, and hope in her readers through her tales. Creating stories about people courageously living, loving, and experiencing life true to themselves, no matter how messy it gets, are the ones she wants to write and will keep writing for you…and for her. Connect with Eden at https://linktr.ee/edenrobins and check out her blog, Living the Path at https://awholeheartedme.com/blog.
Special thanks to Poetic Book Tours for making this possible. Click here for the rest of the tour stops.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This week’s TTT is October 24: Atmospheric Books. (The Novelry explains this concept as: “A novel feels atmospheric when the setting and the narrative are deeply involved with one another; when characters and plot are physically embedded in their surroundings, and a near-tangible mood lifts from the pages and wraps itself around the reader.” Study.com explains that, “The atmosphere is how a writer constructs their piece to convey feelings, emotions, and mood to the reader. The atmosphere in literature might be tense, fast-paced, mysterious, spooky, whimsical, or joyful and can be found in poetry, stories, novels, and series.”)
What a fun topic this week. I love atmospheric books when the author almost makes the setting a character in itself and I feel transported as I read along. This makes for a great reading experience. Here are some of my favorite atmospheric books:
1. When I first read this week’s prompt, Wuthering Heights is the first book that came into my mind. This is one of my favorite classics. Emily Brontë uses the cold and gloomy English moors as the perfect backdrop to her dark and intense novel.
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin is another one of my favorite books. The author uses the sights and sounds of the ocean setting here to set the mood perfectly. I re-read this one every few years, always during the summer.
“The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude.”
― Kate Chopin, The Awakening
3. The Shining is one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and the Overlook Hotel is a character in its own right. They even revisit the hotel in the sequel, Doctor Sleep.
4. The Four Winds is how I discovered Kristin Hannah who became an instant favorite. She takes you into the Dustbowl right along with her characters. After I finished reading, I watched a documentary on the Dustbowl I just wanted to know more.
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy was a dark read and I remember easily being able to envision this harsh post-apocalyptic setting.
6. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice is deliciously atmospheric. I could easily imagine the New Orleans setting as I read along.
7. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks is another favorite that I like to re-read every few years or so. Set in a beautiful Inn on the beach this is my favorite Sparks novel. The beachside setting comes alive here while the romance is center stage.
8. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane is another great example of an author using the setting as a main character in the story and as I read I could easily imagine the scary hospital on Shutter Island.
9. I used to read alot of Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Express is a favorite. You feel like you’re on the Orient Express in the middle of nowhere as you read this murder mystery.
10. I love unreliable narrators and isolated settings and add a snowstorm and it can be magical.Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke was a very creepy read that had me guessing until the end as this mother and daughter are snowed in alone at home.
That covers some of my favorite atmospheric books. Have you read any of these? What books would be on your list?
Hi all. Today I’m taking part in a virtual book tour for Pretend With Me by Emily Mayer. The book sounds good and something about the cover caught my eye. Read on for more about the book and a nice guest post from the author…
about the book:
One phone call was all it took to upend my entire life in completely unexpected ways.
Whoever said that you can’t go home again was a lair. After the senior year from hell, I had spent a decade trying to avoid Beacon Hill and its residents. My luck came to a sudden end after daddy had an incident with a rotted floor. In and out, I promised myself. I was just there to help my parents for a week or two tops.
Things in Beacon Hill hadn’t changed much since I’d been home last. Mama still worked at the hub of gossip known as Trixie’s, Mrs. Thomas still made the best chicken salad in all of Georgia, and my sister was still the devil in a pushup bra. And of course, the St. James family was still local royalty. Our very own version of the Kennedys.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, not only is my sister back in town after a failed modeling career, she’s also engaged to Macon St. James. The golden boy of Beacon Hill, and the star of every single one of my teenage fantasies.
The biggest surprise of all was Holden St. James. I thought he would be one of the villains in this story, but I was learning that I had been wrong about a lot of things. And Holden just might be worth coming home for….
author guest post
Picture it. The year is 1994, and this family does not have cable television. There is one computer, three kids, and two adults. The math ain’t mathing. Your fifth-grade self is busy writing the next great American novel on the top of the swing set with nothing but some notebook paper tied together with string and a number 2 pencil. Not even the mechanical kind, because your mom thinks they’re bad for the environment. Don’t even get her started on gel pens. The story is about a group of female pirates. Reruns of Baywatch have just hit one of the local stations, so it’s obviously a romance. The story is never finished, because your sisters need you to compete in the balance beam event to secure a gold medal for team USA in the Olympics. We won gold.
Picture it. The year is 2004 and you have your favorite English teacher, Cheryl Huffer, for the second time. She hands you back an assignment with “I am so jealous of all the papers your college professors will get to read” in bold black ink at the top of the page. You think to yourself “I wish I could do this for the rest of my life.” Spoiler Alert. You’re about to make some big decisions about your future that will absolutely not work out. Also, your migraine disease is about to go from episodic to chronic and intractable. Best wishes.
Picture It. The year is 2014 and you’re a lawyer now. Feels like it kind of came out of left field, huh? Yeah, you’re not really sure how you got here either. The good news is that you met your future husband while you were in law school. The bad news is that being a lawyer is slowly crushing your soul, and you now have chronic migraine and chronic anxiety. #thriving. You spend a lot of time laying in a quiet, dark room making up stories in your head to pass the time. Your future husband says that you should start writing these stories down. A few weeks later, you jot down a scene about a lawyer who realizes she hates being a lawyer while your boss does push-ups in front of your desk. Again. You write almost 1000 words about how awful being a lawyer is, turns out you are very passionate about this subject. The lawyer you work for does 100 push-ups. It’s a new record.
Picture It. The year is 2023, and you’re sitting on a couch in a hotel room. Your husband has a lot of trade shows to attend this year, so you’ve been tagging along since you can write from anywhere. You’re spending the morning trying to organize all the book signing events you want to attend in 2024 as an author. There are three messages from readers asking when the next book in the Beacon Hill series will be released. Oh, and is Gabe from Everything Girl ever going to get his own book?! You’ve cried zero times today. It’s a new record.
If you made it to the end of this post and are wondering what the point is, I’m guessing that you’re not alone. The point is that life is crazy and will take you places that you wouldn’t even dare to imagine. So, keep daring; keep imagining; keep dreaming, and your own happily ever after might just surprise you!
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Giveaway details:
To enter to win a signed copy of Pretend With Me, along with a little guinea pig swag bag that will have a stress ball, stickers and a guinea pig notepad inside follow the link below. Emily has THREE sets to give away, US only.
about the author:
Emily Mayer is a part-time lawyer, full time storyteller, and an aspiring writer. She lives in Central Ohio with the two loves of her life; her husband and her dog. If she isn’t working, you can usually find her somewhere with a book in her hand.
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists…
Happy weekend, I hope this post finds you well. How is it that I blinked and October is more than halfway over? I love this time of year and I don’t want it to pass by so fast. This past week flew by and was mostly uneventful thankfully. I took Otis to the vet for an allergy shot on Tuesday because he keeps getting itchy and his face sometimes gets puffy so his vet thinks it may be seasonal allergies. Aside from that it’s been raining alot the past two days but finally we’re getting some sunshine now. I do like rainy fall days though; it’s raining as I’m typing this and I have the bedroom window cracked open for natural ambience.
onto my bookish updates…
recently:
I read 6 short stories this week! It was for Fraterfest.
I had been in a reading slump and these short stories were perfect to get back into reading. They are free on Amazon Prime reads. These totaled 203 pages read so that’s technically about one full book I read this week.
coming soon:
On Monday I’ve got a book spotlight/giveaway for Pretend with Me by Emily Mayer so I invite you back for that.
On Tuesday I’m talking about Atmospheric Books for TTT.
in my mailbox: C Lee McKenzie sent me an e-copy of her newest book called Rattlesnake. Very pretty cover.
watching
I finished re-watching Rose Red on Hulu. This one was wild. I thought this was based on a book but apparently it’s not, Stephen King wrote the script. I thought this storyline was kind of all over the place and the special effects were awesomely bad but it was only 3 episodes long.
I started watching The Essex Serpent with my daughter. It’s good so far.
That about covers it. No crochet to share this week because my clown was exhausting but I am in the mood to start another project and I’m aiming to organize my yarn this weekend. That always inspires me to crochet.
I’ll close with a few photos from last weekend. My son and I went for a walk at a state park we like. It’s very peaceful there, we go every Fall and we walk around the lake just the two of us. It’s about 2 mile walk and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to this year because I haven’t been feeling great but it was fine. I’ll close with a few pics. It was a great Fall day, the temps were high 50’s and it was breezy on and off and the sky was so blue.
I didn’t get pics of them but there were people fishing all along this brook.
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That wraps up my updates for now. What are you up to? Have a nice week ahead.
disclaimer: Nothing in this post is available for download. The photos here are my own and not be to be removed from this post.
the bookworm 