A Must See YA Boxset ~ Wielder's Storm Trilogy!

I've been less than a blogger over the past year, and that's being generous. But that's a post for another time. Today, I have exciting news for you. Our very own Lynda R. Young aka Elle Cardy just released the most gorgeous boxset of her trilogy Wielder's Storm! 

Let's take a peek . . .

FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Amazon | Website

Whoa . . . I normally don't include an image this large in my posts, but I had to. Doesn't the cover hold an urgency about it that makes you just have to read?!

Here's the description:

The Wielder's Storm Trilogy is an action-packed epic fantasy that will sweep you across the high seas on a thrilling adventure full of exciting twists.

 This complete box set contains Wielder’s Prize, Wielder’s Curse and Wielder’s Fire.

Wielder’s Prize

Snatched for what she isn’t. Hunted for what she is.

Despite having an abusive cook as a father, Jasmine wouldn’t change her life on the high seas for anything—until that life is shattered. When she’s snatched from the only home she’s ever known and forced to crew a different ship, she learns a terrible truth. She is an untrained magic wielder who is a threat to everyone if she can’t control her power. But she’s not the only out-of-control wielder on the high seas, and the secret of that wielder could change everything she thought she knew—if she can survive.

Wielder’s Curse

A dark vision. A dangerous curse. A fierce girl caught in between.

Jasmine thought her adventures were over, but terrifying visions continue to haunt her.  When a loved one’s life is threatened, she risks everything to hunt down the would-be assassin. What she finds is not what she expected. Too late, she realizes she’s endangered the ship and crew. On the run, she is pursued across the high seas to an unknown land. If she can’t master her power, she won’t be able to protect anyone. If she can’t accept help, then she could turn into something worse than the thing that hunts her.

Wielder’s Fire

Jasmine’s secrets have been laid bare, her magic stripped. All she has left is a fire in her soul to defeat the oncoming storm.

Shipwrecked on a forsaken island, Jasmine has nothing but her anger and determination to keep her warm at night. Without her magic, she must find a way to defeat a powerful enemy that can raze townships and summon sea monsters. When she discovers an ancient magic, she embraces it. But it may not be all it seems, and she could be exchanging one sword to the throat for another.

For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, who love exciting tales with dark secrets and unexpected twists. Lose yourself today in Elle Cardy’s epic fantasy adventure.

Elle Cardy is the pen name of Lynda R Young. She is a writer, editor, game developer, 3D artist, graphic designer, photographer, gamer and so much more.

She has a number of speculative short stories published in print and online. She has gone independent with her debut young adult fantasy adventure, Wielder's Prize, now available on Amazon. She’s a relative newcomer to sunny Brisbane and lives with her sweetheart of a husband who is also her best friend.

Under the name Lynda R Young, she has a Christian non-fiction out called Cling to God: A Daily Devotional.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Instagram | VIP Club

I hope you check out this Elle's website. It's beautiful! Congratulations to Elle.

Much success to Wielder's Storm Trilogy!

MMGM ~ BAD FAIRY with Author Elaine Kaye

Welcome to another edition of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday! #MMGM Super glad you're here because I've got the cuties new middle grade release that puts the sweet back in bad.

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Bad Fairy

Series: A Bad Fairy Adventure (Book One)

Author: Elaine Kaye

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Genre: Fantasy Middle Grade

Length: 66 pages

Age Range: 8-12

Description: Thistle Greenbud is not a bad fairy. She simply doesn't like rules, and it's just her luck that her homework is to create a new rule for the fairy handbook. But first, she has more important things to do. Like figure out how to get back at Dusty and Moss for playing tricks on her.

 

Before she can carry out her plan, though, disaster strikes and she finds herself working alongside the very fairies she wanted revenge on. Can they work together and trust each other, or will things go from bad to worse?

In Bad Fairy, we meet many different kinds of fairies, including pixies and brownies. Other magical creatures are mentioned as well, because many creatures (from fauns to boggarts) live in Pinecone Grove, where Thistle Greenbud, the main character of Bad Fairy, lives.

Check out this glossary of magical creatures and what they are:

Boggarts - evil spirits that cause mischief in houses, from spoiling milk to kidnapping children. They also live in marshes and fields.

Brownies - industrious fairies that help in farms and houses.

Fauns - half-human, half-goat. They protect wildlife of the woods and fields.

Flower Fairies - plant spirits that live and sleep in their own special flower. They even wear dresses to match the flowers they care for.

Gnomes - earth spirits that live underground.

Goblins - scary-looking, mischievous creatures that are greedy for gold, jewelry, and anything that sparkles.

Ogres - cannibalistic, brutish monsters with human features.

Troop - a group of fairies.

Trolls - unfriendly creatures that dwell in mountains and caves.

Pixies - house fairies that only wear green and love their pointed hats.

 

EXCERPT

I turn at the sound of talking behind me. Shock flits through me. There is a line of fairies at our back door—pixies, brownies, house elves, gnomes, even a few flower fairies. What in Fairy Land is going on? Well, at least there aren’t any goblins, boggarts, trolls, or ogres! I turn back to our kitchen.

The fairy Mom is interviewing now is a pixie, the most beloved of all fairies. They always wear green, and this pixie’s dress is a bright green, which matches her pointed hat. Pixies are never seen without their pointed hats.

Standing at the counter, I eat dried mushrooms with a glass of cold chamomile tea. After a few minutes, the young pixie walks out the front door, with her head hanging low.

“What’s all this about, Mom?”

“I knew you couldn’t wait to ask.” She gets up to stretch her legs and fluff out her wings. 

“Your dad and I have been doing a lot of talking lately about getting some help here at home.”

“But why?” I interrupt. “I help you all the time. Why do we need someone else in our little home?” I feel hurt that all the help I do doesn’t matter.

“My sweet bumblebee.” Mom puts her arm around me. “All this has happened so fast my head is in a bee buzz. Your dad found out from Mr. Thorn at the factory that they need someone to tie ribbon onto fairy dust bags. It’ll give us extra money.”

My mom working? I want her at home, with me. But one look at her and I can’t deny the twinkle in her eyes at the idea.

“Mom, that’s great, if you want to do it. You are so good at crafts, and I know how much you love creating with ribbons. You would be great at this new job. I’m so happy for you.” I give her a hug.

Love picture books? Here's a chance to WIN 3 Signed Paperback Picture Books!

Pea Soup Disaster, Doctor Mom, The Missing Alphabet

 

Giveaway deets: One winner, International, Ends - July 1, 2020 12:00am Eastern Standard Time

GIVEAWAY LINK

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster. Bad Fairy is her middle grade debut and the first of A Bad Fairy Adventure series.

 

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.

Amazon / Goodreads / BookBub / Instagram / Facebook Twitter / LinkedIn / Blog

Best of luck to Elaine and Fairy Thistle! Good luck with the giveaway to all who enter.

Interested in being part of Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays? Click HERE to join in and for the other participants.

IWSG ~ Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day & a Bookish Giveaway!

I'm foregoing this Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly question to share a cause that is dear to me and has, in the past, caused me some insecurity. I'd love it if you'd comment, sharing from your experiences or opinions, but I completely understand if you don't. A huge 'thank you' goes out to this month's co-hosts: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner! For more participants, go HERE.

The first annual Book Lover's Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day Tour will kick off on Sunday, September 1st and will culminate in a twelve-hour Facebook Live Event on World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th.
The purpose of this event is to spread mental health awareness among the book community, eradicate the stigmas associated with mental health, share our individual journeys in an accepting community, discuss books that effectively represent mental health issues, and raise money for the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

Mental illness is often misunderstood. Some believe it's feeling sad, while others think there's just something wrong with that person. And the biggest misconception is that the person suffering with mental illness can just think happy thoughts or maybe try smiling to make it all okay. We have a lot to learn about true clinical mental illness, but smiling more is definitely not a cure.
Without further blah-blah from me, here's the exciting author line-up for the Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day Tour:
                            LINK                                             LINK                                               LINK

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                         LINK                                             LINK                                        YOU ARE HERE!

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My Spotlight On September 4th
I talk about mental illness and depression from personal experience, one I RARELY expose. 
When I was around twelve years old, my mother was diagnosed as a severe or manic depressant. (Today, I believe it would be classified as bi-polar. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) For the remainder of my school-aged years, my father spent most of his time refereeing for her, while I shielded my younger brother of four years from any of the backlash. Yelling, throwing things, crying, complaining, grabbing my arms, being dissonant, and over-dosing on sleep. That's what I remember her doing all those years.
Growing up was tough. She threatened suicide sometimes, which made coming home from school kind of scary. I never knew what I might find. My mother wasn't a bad person. Frankly, she had a huge heart, always wanting to help others or be involved. But so often, her emotions (or so we thought) prevented her from doing so. She was sick, but nobody back then looked at it that way. She was moody or ornery or high maintenance. Other than taking her to therapist after therapist - that always failed - she never got any other help, partly her own doing. Everything was everyone else's fault. I even agreed to go to therapy with her in my later teen years to help her, and all she ended up doing was telling the therapist how wrong I was about everything. I don't think that's what she meant. It's just her view of reality was so eschewed that she didn't know any other way to act or communicate. 
Her behavior, attitudes, and roller coaster emotions were so confusing to grow up with, which made being the oldest extra rough. My dad tried everything, but nothing could ever make her happy, make her well. And that unhappiness needed an outlet. I've never, EVER said this out loud (Well, other than to my husband), but most of that unhappiness landed on me - the oldest child, a girl who was expected to grow up so fast. I feel like this is me crapping on my mom, but people have to realize that a family member with a mental illness is a family with mental illness. It affects every single member.
It wasn't until my mid-thirties that I realized how emotionally damaged I really was, the reason I had a hard time to show love, the reason I was terrified to accept love. I know this must sound seriously messed up to some of you, but I've never put my feelings about all of this into words. I've tried. I've just never been strong enough. I think I am now.
I've had a young adult story about a patient of mental illness and the affects it has on a child growing up within that perfect storm stewing within me for over fifteen years. I know I must write it. I think I'm finally ready. I want children/families with members suffering from mental illness to know that they can advocate for their loved one . . . but they also should advocate for themselves. 
Something I wish someone would have told me when I was younger.
Thank you for listening. <3 
Please scroll to the bottom of this post to enter for your chance to WIN the special giveaway I'm offering up. Facebook LIVE Event!

Join us for a twelve-hour Facebook LIVE event on September 10th - World Suicide Prevention Day!

Join the Event!

Want to lend some support?

Attend the Event!

Share the Event!

Buy a T-shirt for $20 to support the International Association for the Prevention of Suicide!

Enter my giveaway . . .

What you'll get:

• a Book Lovers Unite for Suicide Prevention day T-shirt
• a Meditation Sidekick Journal from Habit Nest
• some book swag from my books

 I'll be keeping this giveaway open until the Live Facebook Event on September 10th, so the more you spread the word the more chances you'll have to win!

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This is a safe zone. If you'd like to share an experience or feelings about mental illness and/or suicide, you are more than welcomed to do so. Thank you for stopping by to visit the Alleyway!

A Monday Alternative

I know Mondays are for Middle Grade Mania, but I have a very special treat for you today.

PICTURE BOOKS!!!

Please welcome picture book author Elaine Kaye and a few of her characters as they take you on a journey through her work.

Gregory the Boy: Hi everyone! My name is Gregory.

Sammy the Teddy Bear: *waves* Don't be scared, but I can talk, too. I'm Sammy.

Gregory: Sammy is my best friend in the whole wide world. We go on a lot of adventures together. Don't we, Sammy?

Sammy: Yup! Like the time when Gregory turned green at school.

Gregory: And you came to tell my friends and me about bulling.

Sammy: Someone had to.

Gregory: Then there was the time when you ripped your leg, Sammy, and Mom had to fix you up.

Sammy: *rubs leg* I don't want to talk about that.

Gregory: Let's not forget about what happened on Halloween night!

Sammy: We rode on a broom! *pretends to be an airplane*

Gregory: Now we have a brand new adventure to share with everyone.

Sammy: We do! But maybe we should let Elaine Kaye share the details about the story of The Missing Alphabet.

Elaine Kaye the Author: Thanks, boys!

OMGosh, Elaine. They are adorable. I'm so glad you asked them to join us. Now, let's take a look at your books.

NEW RELEASE FROM ELAINE KAYE:

The paper alphabet letters in Gregory Green’s classroom have gone missing, and it’s up to him and his friends to find those missing letters. They go on a hunt through the school, hoping to find them. They spot letters next to things that start with those letters, like B for Bananas in the cafeteria. But will they be able to find the entire alphabet?

The Missing Alphabet is a great story for children learning to associate letters with objects, and four activities throughout the book will further help children to get familiar with the alphabet.

General Age Range - Kids 5-8 (Story Picture Book)

EBOOK: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

PRINT: Amazon 

A GREGORY GREEN ADVENTURE SERIES:

“Bullying is not fun and, with colorful illustrations and interesting characters, the author handles the topic in a simple manner, giving a clear message about how the color of one's skin is not important." - Readers' Favorite (5-Star Review)

EBOOK: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

PRINT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble 

“Tutors and educators can use it in classrooms and school libraries for read aloud sessions.” – Readers’ Favorite (5-Star Review)

EBOOK: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

PRINT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble 

“This is a perfect story for children and it will make them imagine, dream, and become adventurous. The illustrations are whimsical and they bring out the spookiness and eeriness of the adventure.” – Readers’ Favorite (5-Star Review)

EBOOK: Amazon / Nook / Kobo

PRINT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher's assistant in elementary schools. She currently lives in Florida, but has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home.

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Instagram / Facebook

Congratulations, Elaine, on all your success! And a big thank you goes out to Gregory and Sammy for sharing your stories with us.

Did you have a favorite picture book as a child?

Wistful YA ~ Just Pretending by Leah & Kate Rooper & A Giveaway!

Welcome to another edition of Wistful YA!

Looking for a sweet YA contemporary? This one sounds so good . . . and there's ice hockey!

Amazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon UK 

Amazon Canada | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Goodreads 

Just Pretending

(The Chicago Falcons #3) 

by Leah & Kate Rooper

Publication Date:  November 5, 2018

Publisher:  Entangled Teen Crush

It's not easy being royal. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline wears her crown proudly, but between her duties and her overprotective big brother, the idea of romance is just a dream. But a chance encounter in Chicago changes all that…. 

Sure, seventeen-year-old Tyler Evans loves playing hockey, but he's more concerned about providing for his dad and little sister. Then he meets Eva--and falls head-over-heels in love—and he has two more problems. One, she's his best friend's little sister. Two, she wears a crown.

But then Eva accidentally mistakes Tyler for a visiting prince, and for the first time, Tyler doesn't feel like a nobody. He knows he has to tell her the truth…but not yet. 

His plan? To keep up the royal charade as long as it takes to convince Eva he’s the guy for her. Even if he’s lying to everyone…including himself.

Disclaimer: May cause disillusionment. Those girls looking to find their Prince Charming might consider scouting out hockey rinks.

Leah and Kate Rooper are sisters from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Growing up beside the Pacific Ocean and inside a temperate rainforest fed their sense of adventure as children, and nourished a curiosity for strange and distant lands. They fed this curiosity with books - lots and lots of books. After experiencing the magic of Middle-earth, they began creating their own worlds. When they're not writing, Leah and Kate spend their time blogging and vlogging about their travel adventures and their writing journey.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest  

Check out more of this book tour

by the awesome Chapter by Chapter!

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What's your favorite sport to read within a young adult story?

THE SPONSORED by Caroline T. Patti & a Giveaway!

Glad you're joining in for this installment of Wistful YA. Check out this next featured read!

Google Play| BAM | Chapters | Indies  

Amazon | B&N | TBD | iBooks

Goodreads

THE SPONSORED

by Caroline T. Patti

Release Date: September 12, 2018

Publisher: Month9Books

Description: Don’t break the rules…

Max Winter is a janitor at a ritzy boarding school. He’s supposed to keep to himself, mind his business, stay quiet about the things he sees, sweep the floors, and under no circumstances is he to have any contact with the residents. Now, Max will break every last one of those rules when he meets Ace Valentine.

Don’t follow your heart…

Ace Sloane finds out she’s on the wrong side of a war she no longer believes in fighting. Now, she’ll risk everything to get her life back from the people who stole it, including getting too close to exactly the wrong boy.

Don’t get caught…

Grey Winter lost both parents in a fire that should've killed her as well. A “miracle baby,” Grey is sent to live with her Nana who should have told her the truth about who and what she really is. Now she’s at the forefront of a cover-up, all-out manhunt, and the object of one boy’s interest she doesn’t want or need. It’s up to Grey to connect the dots and bring an end to the secrets and lies that have caused so much pain and suffering for so long.

I just love the sound of this one! Can't wait to read.

Caroline T Patti is the author of The World Spins Madly On and Too Late To Apologize. When she’s not writing, she’s a school librarian, mother of two, wife, avid reader and Green Bay Packer fan.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Want to own a digital copy or buy your own? Enter this giveaway for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

TOUR SCHEDULE

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Best of luck!

Video Game Adaptations! SOMNIA ONLINE ~ Initializing by KT Hanna

Hi Alleywalkers! Do I have a treat for you. From the moment I read about this story I knew sharing it with you was a must. Dudes, it's like a video game adaptation! Yeah, and it's got this dark fantasy, Scri-Fi vibe going on. It's just so different. At least, I think so. But read on to make that determination for yourself.

Enjoy!

SOMNIA ONLINE

INITIALIZING

by K.T. Hanna

Publisher: Amaranthine Press
Released Date: May 15, 2018

Discover the class you were born to play.

Wren, a seasoned healer, is dismayed when Somnia Online automatically assigns her character, Murmur, to the Enchanter class. Determined to overcome the unexpected setback, she assembles her guild, intent on the coveted #1 spot. Twelve keys stand between her and victory, but finding them is only part of the puzzle.

Armed with telepathic abilities, Murmur rises to the challenge. However, old rivals have followed her to Somnia Online desperate for revenge. Intricate quest lines become more dangerous as NPCs absorb powerful artifacts, and Murmur begins to wonder just what sort of AI controls the world.

Murmur questions her sanity as the real and virtual worlds mesh together. Everyone is keeping secrets from her, even the AI, and Murmur’s determined to uncover them.

Available through Amazon

Excerpt

A skeleton shambled to the left, its bones creaking softly as it jangled about. Straight ahead was a spider with ridiculously long legs, and off to the right was a cluster of so mething she couldn't make out. All of the mobs she could see were yellow, probably at least level three. But if she didn't try, she'd never know.

Feeling reckless , she cast minor suffocation and pulled the skeleton toward her. The fact that the spell manag ed to convince an undead creature it was being strangled was quite amazing. It let out a cackle and jangled over to her as she backed up, hoping to let a third tick hit before it reached her. This time her spell was hitting for five and four. A slight incr ease was at least something. The skeleton flailed a wooden staff in the air and Murmur hoped against hope her hit points would outlast it.

Then it was upon her, three ticks of her Damage Over Time down. The thing was tall and gangly and she realized these skeletons had to be locus , too. Even its empty sockets glowed, like some type of magic possessed it. Considering it was a walking skeleton, that probably wasn't far from the truth. It swung at her, and barely missed when she managed to dodge. She could fee l the heaviness of her body, and the unwillingness with which it made the movement. That was probably her one dodge for the next twenty. She'd better make it count.

Killing a skeleton was far more difficult than a beetle. For one thing, it was already bloo dy dead. That blasted staff hurt too, though not as much as the pincer claws had. It made Murmur wonder if locus could bruise. Finally, after what seemed like an age, she managed to hack its skull off. She leaned forward and looted the mob. It had twelve c opper on it. Maybe skeletons were a good idea for a while with or without her quest. Not only that, the staff it had been wielding was hers as well.

“Score," she muttered to herself, aware she was probably grinning like a loon. Sure, her staff skills were n't up to par but she was sure it wouldn't take too long. It's not like melee did most of her damage or anything.

KT Hanna has such a love for words, a single one can spark entire worlds. Born in Australia, she met her husband in a computer game, moved to the U.S.A. and went into culture shock. Bonus? Not as many creatures specifically designed to kill you. KT creates science-fiction, fantasy, and LitRPG like it’s going out of style, with a dash of horror for fun! She freelance edits for Chimera Editing, plays computer games, and chases her daughter, husband, corgis, cats, and snake.

No, she doesn’t sleep. She is entirely powered by the number 2, caffeine, Chipotle, and sarcasm.

K.T. can be found in the following places: Website Facebook Twitter Patreon Amazon

Thank you for sharing your work with us, KT! All the best to you!

Alleywalkers, what's your favorite video game adaptation story?