Try your luck for a copy of Unelmoija: Paradox on Goodreads giveaway
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Trying out new book service
I’m trying out The Books Machine for the first time for a promo. In exchange for posting with a hyperlink (I posted the link address without the hyperlink and they insisted I add a hyperlink) about them here they have offered “1 blog post about a book of your choice with a button to buy that title on Amazon + 1 Tweet referring to the post about your book on our blog.”
They indicate that membership for readers is free and offers access to free Kindle books and deals at http://www.thebooksmachine.com
Reviewer: Dreamshifter is “well-developed and exciting”
Well-developed and exciting!
In Unelmoija: The Dreamshifter, one has the ability to focus on a wish and have it become a reality. As a young girl, I had dreamed of having super powers like this. With superpowers, I could go where I wanted and have anything I wanted at any time. My mom always told me to be careful what you wish for.
After reading this riveting story, I knew what my mom was talking about. Amy and her mom shared an apartment in Miami on the waterfront. A typical day for Amy started out with a jog. Although thin, with prominent cheekbones and a beautiful complexion, Amy was still self-conscious.
On one particular day, Amy was about 30 minutes into her jog when a distinguished, well-dressed older man approached her and introduced himself as her father. Amy had never met her father and wasn’t sure if she could trust this man. She agreed to have coffee with him out of curiosity. As her father told her how powerful she was because she possessed superhuman abilities, a young man joined them. After that, with Amy meeting her father and finding a new friend she could trust as her protector, the stage was set for a suspenseful story that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.
When reading a fantasy story, I feel it’s imperative for the author to make me believe. The author, Elle Boca, did not disappoint me. The twists and turns of power, trust, and revenge, kept me thirsty for more. The characters and their stories are so well developed that I could not decide who to trust and who to label a villain. A great read! I can’t wait to read the sequel.
Monica McDaniel, reviewer for eBook Review Gal. See the original review at http://ebookreviewgal.com/review-of-unelmoija-the-dreamshifter-by-elle-boca/
Unexpected, amazing use of detailed locale and strong characters, says reader about The Dreamshifter
Unexpected and amazing use of detailed locale and strong characters
I loved it!!! The characters are strong in their own roles Amy sticks out. I can’t wait to read more about her and how her abilities develops and what she is able to do. Also I enjoy being able to read about the area descriptions. Your imagination is fantastic !
Her review:
5 stars, must read! Unexpected and amazing use of detailed locale and strong characters. I couldn’t put it down!
Amy knows she has a power but as a novice, she really doesn’t understand it. Growing up, Amy’s mother, sister and she was always hiding out or moving. They have already been kidnapped, always warned to stay aware of their surroundings.
Amy has just moved to a new location and decides to go for a run. As she gets near a convenience store she notices a man keeps staring at her. Feeling nervous she decides to confront him, as per his suggestion they find a seat in doors. Already Amy can feel the distaste around this man and knows he wants something from her. What? He announces that he is her father, more questions…
As they raise to leave another man just suddenly appears in front of them. Where did he come from? Who is he and why is his father shielding her from him while having a heated discussion?
What’s going on? Will Amy receive answers to her questions or would that just lead to more questions? This is an on the edge of your seat mystery and well worth reading!!!!
Above is reader Lani Houston’s feedback and her recent five-star review of Unelmoija: The Dreamshifter published here with her permission. Thank you Lani!
Fantasy author shares her thoughts on the need for diversity in books
I liked fantasy author Madhuri Blaylock’s post about the need for diversity in books so I asked if I could share it here. She generously agreed.
Musings on #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Last week I received a Twitter DM from Young Adult author Ellen Oh, the brilliant woman behind the even more brilliant We Need Diverse Books campaign. If you don’t know about We Need Diverse Books, put very simply, it’s a grassroots campaign to diversify our bookshelves. Their mission statement provides more detail:
We Need Diverse Books is a grassroots organization created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature. We Need Diverse Books is committed to the ideal that embracing diversity will lead to acceptance, empathy, and ultimately equality.
We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Our mission is to promote or amplify diversification efforts and increase visibility for diverse books and authors, with a goal of empowering a wide range of readers in the process.
Awesome, non?
So you can imagine the thrill when I saw Ellen Oh – freaking Ellen Oh! – was DM’ing me. I was even more excited when I read her note, asking if I would be interested in writing something for WNDB’s Official Tumblr.
Would I????
Hell to the yes, I would!
We chatted a bit more about what WNDB was looking for with my post, deadlines, and other such details and then I was left to it. I worked on it over the weekend and it posted this past Monday. To say I’m feeling totally proud and excited would be the understatement of the year. For one thing, WNDB is an amazing organization doing brilliant work and I am totally floored to be writing something for them. But also, I kind of really love my post. Like really. I think it’s all kinds of awesome.
Check it out and decide for yourself:
Ellen Oh asked me to discuss why diversity is important to me. Almost instantly, I thought of my character, Ryker Morrison. Brilliant warrior, loyal friend, generous lover. Passionate, open-minded, giving. Charismatic, beautiful, funny. Conflicted, thoughtful, courageous. And Black.
Interestingly, many readers have assumed he is white.
Which strikes right to the core of the matter for me, screaming loud and clear why diversifying our bookshelves is so vital. Because really, there is no reason you should read my books and come away from them thinking Ryker is white.
Sure, I don’t spell it out for the reader, I don’t come out and say: RYKER MORRISON, FABULOUS WARRIOR, EVEN COOLER BLACK GUY. That’s not my writing style nor is it my goal when handling issues of race, but you know what? I give enough clues about him physically that you damn well know he ain’t white.
And yet, it keeps happening. People keep assuming he is precisely what he is not.
Which leads me to believe that many read about him, get to know him as a character – how wonderful he is as a friend, how skilled he is as a warrior, how giving he is as a lover – and since I don’t knock my readers over the head with race, they forget Ryker is Black, and automatically, almost knee-jerk like, attribute his qualities to a white character. This just happens, it is learned, it is ingrained; to be clear, I don’t believe it’s a conscious thought process by most readers.
You know why?
Part of it is a desire to see ourselves in a character with such admirable qualities, but I lay a big part of the blame on the lack of diversity in traditional publishing, in our bookstores, and on our bookshelves. When none of the hereos, the smarties, the cuties, and the badasses are diverse, when they don’t reflect our national melting pot, it can be difficult to see them when they’re right in front of our faces. It can be quite easy to forget Ryker is Black when a character like him is hardly prevalent, rarely seen in mainstream literature.
Ryker is why I keep writing and creating wonderful, strong, brilliant men and women of color. He is why I passionately support the efforts of #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Because one day, and it might not be in my lifetime, but I certainly hope it is during my son’s, there will be so many diverse characters out there – racially, LGBT, disabled, religiously – that assumptions such as those made about Ryker will be a thing of the past. Because one day, positive character traits will not automatically be attributed to non-diverse characters. Because one day, the stories out there will encompass ALL of our stories. Get ready folks. I feel it. It’s happening.
#WeNeedDiverseBooks.
Holla.
So? What do you think?
If you like it, click here —>Indie Author Spotlight and like the actual post, or even reblog it on your Tumblr. The more traffic, the better.
Me? I’m headed back to work on Book III.
Happy Friday, bitches.
Holla.
Madhuri first posted the note November 7, 2014 at http://madhuriblaylock.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/musings-on-weneeddiversebooks/. She is the fantasy author of The Girl and The Boy. Read about her at http://madhuriblaylock.wordpress.com/about/
Author gives Dreamshifter another five star review
“…a wonderfully written and engaging story…”
Unelmoija: The Dreamshifter by Elle Boca is a wonderfully written and engaging story that pulls you in from the very first chapter.
The book centers around Amy, a young woman with super human powers (dreamshifting). Amy is trying to stay under the radar in an affluent Miami suburb after her mother and sister are kidnapped. While jogging one morning, she encounters a man who reveals that he is her father. This is also where Duncan, who is Amy’s opposite enters the picture as her protector.
The story was suspenseful and kept my attention from start to finish. The characters were believable and well-developed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this debut novella and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
S.A. Molteni, author of several award-winning short stories including Fade to Gray, Her Name Was Half Calf and A Special Bull
http://samolteni.blogspot.com/
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