“The Garden of Calilily” written by the author Chrystie Keller is an interesting story book. Story features two fairy sisters: Marigold and Sweetpea. The two sisters live in The Garden of Calilily. One morning, the fairy sisters woke up feeling unlike their normal selves. To find their normal selves back, they followed the crystal path and visited different places in the Garden.
Will they be successful in finding their normal selves back? This is a beautiful story that the author has written nicely. Pretty illustrations made me enjoy the book more. Cover photo of the book looks lovely and the title is suitable. It’s a kinda story book that kids would love to read again and again. I like to highly recommend it for little readers.
Recently I got my hands on the book “Life In Hyderabad: A City of Tales” penned by the author Queeny Yalangi. This book is a collection of Anectodes, the stories of love, pain and optimism. I enjoyed reading these stories. My favourite from the collection is Girl On the Road.
Girl on the Road is about an introvert guy Vicky who saw a stranger girl on the road. He fell in love with her and one day he decided to talk to her. But will he get a chance to express his heart to her?
Another story Depressed Soul is about a girl whose heart has been broken long back and she is having a heavier heart now. But she faces the world by keeping a fake smile on her face.
The stories felt relatable. Language used in the book is lucid so even beginners could enjoy these stories. Cover photo showing Charminar looks amazing. The title is suitable and this book tempted me to visit Hyderabad. Narration is smooth and I was easily able to follow all the stories. Being a common man, one would definitely enjoy reading these stories.
If you love to read untold stories about the lives of common people, then grab this book.
Q1 – Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello! My name is Destiny Hawkins and I am the author of a dystopian fiction series called The Descendants. I live in Cleveland, Ohio where I work on my book cover designing business, Vibrant Designs LLC, and spend my spare time either walking around in nature, or with my family.
Q2 – What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Descendants’ book?
I would say my key challenges were writing the more violent scenes, and explaining the terminology. When writing the violent scenes, I wanted to really get across the reality of the Lytonians so that readers could understand the actions and motives of the characters.
When it came to the terminology, there felt like no clear way to explain something like a Level 1 Soma Bright, and I didn’t want to give it all at once so I explained the levels, social classes and ability types as basically as I could. Those are the things that help make up the identity of a Lighter. Right, what does Lighter Mean? That is a person. Think of saying Lighter as calling someone human. They cover the majority of the earth, while Lytonians, A type of Lighter, only live within the walls of Lytonia. Then you have your Wild-landers, Defects, Vessels, and Depleters…but I won’t get into all that right now.
I wrote The Descendants five years ago, and I can still remember struggling over this part. Don’t worry though, continue reading and there’s a bit of repetitiveness in different ways to help readers remember & catch on. Eventually, they should be able to come up with their own favorite type of Lighter.
Q3 – What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
For The Descendants Series, I would say that Jeff Wheeler & Jonathan Renshaw influenced the more in depth parts of the series. I started the Descendants before reading Jeff Wheelers Harbinger Series and Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw, so the series wasn’t inspired by their writing. It was just that I had begun to have a deeper understanding of the art of writing. Where I used to only read for entertainment, I now enjoy reading for small messages, writing style, clever plot twists, and so much more. Both authors were great in these areas, influencing me to write with words that the readers could feel. I enjoy giving hints, insight, small messages, and even important information that I sneak in between the lines so readers won’t think too much about it until its relevant to the scene.
Q4 – What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
My new favorite spot to visit is Colorado, somewhere where there’s mountains. Recently, I took a trip to visit my boyfriend while he was staying out in Colorado for MMA training. I didn’t pay attention to location, but he took me to the mountains he’d been out to climb and wanted to show me what he saw. The mountains were absolutely beautiful, some either being all rock or having trees poke out from them. I had never climbed a mountain before, so I was fascinated by everything. There was even a particular silence that just screamed peaceful. Accept for when I could hear how loud the bees actually were.
The Colorado mountains are now special to me because they brought back memories of running through the woods with my siblings and having adventures in nature the way that we did. I wasn’t aware of how much I appreciated nature when I was a child. Back then, I was just in it, listening to birds chirp and hearing the leaves rustle. I guess I appreciated it all without knowing, because the mountains were nostalgic. Being with my boyfriend and experiencing that with him made my first mountain hike a beautiful trip.
Q5 – Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
I take my time before starting a writing session. Usually, I do a bit of cleaning, meditation, and some exercise to get things moving. I need to be in a clean space, and meditation helps focus my thoughts after a little working out. Not too much, but not too little.
Q6 – How long did it take you to write ‘The Descendants’ book?
The Descendants took about a month. I just finished the third book, which took about two years.
Q7 – On what all platforms readers can find ‘The Descendants’ book to buy?
As of right now, you can find The Descendants on Amazon.
Q8 – Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Descendants’ ?
Honestly, I can’t remember how I came up with the title. I think it just came to me. When I was working at this awful boring debt collection agency, we weren’t allowed to use pens and paper for security reason. We had these dry erase boards, so in between calls I just started getting creative and thought up The Descendants plot. There was no title yet, but I believed that once I put everything together, a title had just come to me.
As for the book cover, I wanted to create something that represented the story in several different ways including, cover color, background, fantasy elements, and character. Even the sparkles around the border mean something…and it doesn’t mean anything nice. Keep in mind that sparkles don’t mean a good thing in The Descendants. I did, however, stick by my slogan: Where beauty can be found in darkness. The beautiful sparkles read about in The Descendants are called Diamond Ashes.
Q9 – When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
When writing, I like to keep things fresh by sneaking in a little information here and there. That way there are always rising questions waiting to be answered.
Q10 -Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
As far as secrets go, I would say that the description doesn’t give the exact feel of how dark the story could go. I don’t make anything in the world exactly ugly, but beautiful. It’s just that there are some crazy things that happen in those beautiful places. And some of those crazy things may pull at your heart strings. It can get emotional, so I’ve been told.
A Kind of Hush is an intriguing story penned by the author Jodee Neathery. Story is set in Buffalo, New York. This is the story of Mackie’s family, a family of five. Matt and Summer are the parents of their three kids: Willa, Griff and Gabriel aka Gabe. Once, Summer left Griff in Willa’s care just for fifteen minutes and the tragedy happened due to which the family lost Griff forever. Summer blamed Willa for Griff’s death.
As the story progresses, the parents resume their jobs. They planned a trip near Zoar Valley Gorge. The family didn’t know that the tragedy would strike again. Rescue team recovered Summer’s body and Matt was disoriented with brain trauma. The family was taken to the hospital for treatment and investigation kept on going side by side. Summer’s sister Starla Jordan was shocked to see the ashen face of her younger sister. Grab a copy of this book to know if the truth comes out.
The storyline is amazing. It kept me on the edge as I read it. I was curious to know what will happen next. Cover photo of the book is nice and the title is suitable. The author has written the characters well and narration is smooth. I appreciate the dialogs as they are clear and I was easily able to follow the story. The story is full of different emotions. Go ahead with this novel without thinking twice. I am sure you would love the story.
“Ollie the Ostrich: In the Great Race” written by the author Jitesh Hothi is an amazing Children’s Book. Story features Ollie the Ostrich as the main character. Ollie is big, round and fluffy. At school, his fellow classmates made fun of him, telling him that you are not cool. After getting laughed at by other birds at the school, Ollie was upset and didn’t want to go back to school.
Read this book to know whether Ollie’s parents will be able to help him to prove to everyone that it’s okay to be different. Story is well written. I loved the message given by the story. Cover photo is beautiful and the illustrations are pretty. It is a great bedtime story that I highly recommend to kids.
Devouring Darkness penned is the second book by the author Martyn Rhys Vaughan that I have read. This book is a collection of short stories. I loved the Flash Fictions from this collection.
It Happened Just As The Clock Struck Midnight is a flash fiction. In this, the narrator is a ghost and he can’t stand the fact that a family has moved into his house. Humans aren’t able to see the narrator but only a cat can see so the narrator finally gave up on haunting the newly moved people.
Another short story “A Room with a view” features Norton who was called by the Council Leader. Two guards took him to the Leader’s sanctum. The Leader was not in favour of whatever Norton had suggested earlier and he decided to give him a period of solitary confinement as a punishment.
Stories are interesting with the ending that were unexpected. I enjoy the humour that the author has in his writing. Cover photo of the book looks nice and the title is suitable for the collection. If you love reading short stories then go ahead with Martyn’s work. I am sure you will love his collection.
Share My Love penned by the author Jamal Roberson is a poetry book. This is the second book by Jamal that I have read. This book is a collection of many poems. The author has mentioned in this book how we need to share both our accomplishments and disappointments to share our love.
Recognize, Blind are some of the poems that I loved from the collection but my favorite is the titular poem “Share My Love”.
It’s been so real, It’s been hard
To get away from love
Wish you knew what this felt like
Visions of you finding me
Bringing me
To places of amazing destiny
My minds been set awry
Too concentrated on you
Wasn’t prepared for this
Love is not just showing your good side to your partner. We should share our ups and downs with the one we love. That is what makes the relationship stronger.
In To Me You See is a fantastic poem. It has touched my heart. Language used in the poems are lucid. Even if you are not a poetry reader, you would be able to understand what Jamal is trying to convey to the readers. Cover photo of the book is looking nice.
Written in 34 pages, this is a short and quick read that one could finish in single sitting. I enjoyed these poems with a cup of tea while sitting on my front porch. If you are a fan of poetry then you shouldn’t miss to give a shot to this poetry collection. I am sure you gonna enjoy it.
The Descendants penned by the author Destiny Hawkins is the first installment in The Descendants series. Story is set in Lytonia. Main character of the story is Rayah Bardeau. At Monroe Academy, she is a null meaning someone who couldn’t produce even a speck of light. Other students of the Monroe Academy are lighters, citizens of the Lighter Nation. They could produce light to protect their nation from outside enemies.
Years ago, Rayah’s parents requested Artemis and others on the council to give their daughter a second chance. Rayah was given time until the age of twenty to make level six. But only eight months are left and she is still level one. Grab a copy of this book and read it yourself to know will Rayah be able to produce light? Will she be successful in making her mother free?
This is a unique story and I enjoyed every bit of it. Plot of the story is super interesting. I was on the edge the whole time while reading this. Writing style of the author is nice. Cover photo looks amazing and the title is suitable.
If you love reading dark fantasies then don’t miss to grab this book.
“The Vicissitude of a Femme Fatale” is a captivating story written by the author Anthony Walker. Story features a 15 years old girl named Gloria. In three years, she was experiencing her fourth foster family. Recently her case worker Jessica Santiago took her to the new adoptive parents Buck and Patty. Buck and Patty are the parents of two boys: Dale and Jacob. Her adopted family doesn’t care much about her wellbeing. They are just interested in the extra monthly income that comes with Gloria.
Her earlier foster family has an abusive man Dan who after getting drunk physically abused Gloria or his wife. At Lincoln High, Gloria has two friends Jeremy and Malala. Grab a copy of this book to know for yourself what’s gonna happen next. It’s a story worth reading. Writing style of the author is nice. Storyline is interesting and the pace of the story is fast. I didn’t feel bored anytime while reading it. High school or college students are gonna enjoy it more. Anthony has written the characters well. I like to strongly recommend this to my fellow readers.
Project Onion penned by the author Karen Stensgaard is an intriguing suspense novel. Main character of the story is Kathryn Jensen aka Kat. She has recently joined at Melville Consulting as an internal auditor in New York. There are total four persons in that investigation company: Kat’s boss Jackson, a former CIA Spy, Anita, an ex-NYPD Detective and Shantelle, an in-house lawyer.
Kat has been assigned on Project Onion, a code word. She has tracked main bank account of a Puerto Rican drug Lord El Rey. The bank freezes the account of El and therefore, he threatened Jackson to kill him. Jackson and his employees stayed hidden under the office table and Kat decided that she will quit this job that involves so much danger.
I was amazed to know about Kat’s year off from work for a vacation and visiting family and friends. This is not something everybody can do. Reading about Nathan and Kat’s brother made me emotional. No matter how bad a situation is, nobody should even think about suicide. Read this book to know will Kat decide to continue her job. Language used in the book is lucid. Storyline is unique and interesting. The twists and turns in the story kept me on the edge and I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it.
I am highly impressed with Karen’s writing and I am curious to read more of her work.
Sassy Reviews 