Music from Spazmodoc, The Voice of the Fray.
1. DANCE HALL DAYS (Wang Chung)
2. STAYIN’ ALIVE (BeeGees)
3. HANGIN’ TOUGH (New Kids on the Block)
4. MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME (Three Dog Night)
5. LOSING MY RELIGION (Scary Kids Scaring Kids)
6. SHOOT TO THRILL (AC/DC)
Sep 11, 2013 Bleumoon 5 of 5 stars
Victoria’s books get under your skin. They work their way into your heart and you fall in love…
Then before you know it they get into your head and make you think… This book has me thinking about honor and what it means to me and what I have passed on to my own sons… I believe if my sons were transported to this dimension they would be right at home with the Black Swans (especially my second son). And this is another reason I love these books, when I have read the last page I am no where near done…
Now I am going to go blow my nose and dry my eyes and meditate some more on honor and bravery and love. It’s an honor to be a beta reader for these books.
Twenty years ago I saw a Mexican movie (with subtitles) entitled Like Water for Chocolate. It is a story of unrequieted love, maternal malice, and the courage necessary to quietly endure. One of the things that made an impression on me was the folklore principle that the emotions of the cook are mystically transferred into the food she is cooking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pg_Mr4lIoY Like Water for Chocolate video clip
Beta readers for Gathering Storm are reporting that this installment has left them with emotion hanging on for some time after the last word is read and the book is closed . Nothing could be more pleasing to an author because, when all is distilled down to the core, writers should be aiming at one of two targets, the evocation of thought or emotion. While I confess to going for both, I see my principal task as drawing forth emotion. Isn’t the prospect of feeling our motivation for reading? That reminder of aliveness?
If you received an early readers’ copy of Gathering Storm and you are one of those who has mentioned tissues, be assured that the writer is in that with you. During the writing of this book, there were several times my spouse came in to find me red faced and wrecked because of a scene I was writing or had just written. These incidents weren’t always about sorrow. Some of them were simply an emotion so big and full my body couldn’t contain it and had to find release in some way. There were a couple of times during the writing of A Summoner’s Tale when I cried to the point of having to stop because I couldn’t see the monitor screen.
Five books into my latest job – writing fiction – I recognize this as part of my process. If something makes me laugh, it’s probably going to get that response from some of my readers. If I shed tears, chances are that emotion is going to transfer to the story, rise from the page and have a similar effect on my sensitive readers. (And I use the term “sensitive” in a totally good way.) All this is to say that I share more than words on a page with you; when reporting on events in Loti Dimension, I am a third party observer but not a dispassionate one.
– Victoria
9/19: Coffee Addicted Writer Blog Book Spotlight.
9/19: A Tale of Two Books Promo and Book Review.
9/19: Paranormal Romance Fans for Life Interview.
9/19: Nerd Girl Release Day Blitz.
9/20: Indy Book Fairy Promo with Interview.
9/20: Quill or Pill Interview.
9/23: Between the Bind Book Review.
9/24: The Seraphine Muse Interview.
9/25: Romance Book Junkies Interview.
9/26: Diane’s Book Blog Interview.
9/27: Paranormal Haven Promo.
9/27: The Simple Things in Life Interview.
9/28: Reviewing in Chaos Promo.
10/01: Books, Books, and More Books Book Review.
10/01: Eclipse Reviews Interview.
10/02: Roxanne’s Realm Interview.
10/03: Butterly-o-Meter Books Interview.
10/03: Paranormal Romance and Authors that Rock Promo.
10/04
10/04: The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom Interview.
10/05: Tiffy Fit Promo.
10/06: Books N’ Things Promo and Book Review.
10/07: All I Want and More Interview.
10/07: The Reading Cafe Feature and Book Review.
10/08: The Wormhole Book Blog Feature and Book Review.
10/10: Romance with Flavor Interview.
10/14: Bookworm Bridgette’s World Interview.
10/16: Bitten by Love Interview and Book Review.
10/17: Pembroke Sinclair Interview.
HUGE surprise in store – exclusive for ATTENDEES.
Online Facebook RELEASE PARTY.
RSVP HERE…
https://www.facebook.com/events/593015007408387/
GOODREADS FANS: Mark as “WANT TO READ” here… http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18336107-gathering-storm
If you love Black Swan and want to be reminded of your experience with these romances, you can find a hundred reminders in the store.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE STORE. You won’t believe what you can find!
COMING SEPTEMBER 2013
Black Swan 5- Gathering Storm
READING THIS SERIAL SAGA IN ORDER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
THE NEWSLETTER: Z Team is welcomed to Jefferson Unit. Well, not really. Jefferson Unit is being temporarily retired as an active hunter facility and converted to a research and training institution. Sol takes his first vacation – ever – leaving Glen in charge with Storm supervising. Rosie is proving to be an extraordinary little girl and Deliverance is in BIG trouble with her mother.
THE SURPRISE: Storm is just not himself. Former members of B Team must reunite to restore his image and reputation.
THE ADVENTURE: The rival clan from Elora’s home world renews their assassination mission with fervent determination..
Appropriate material for 17+.
BLACK SWAN FAN GROUP on GOODREADS IS MOVING!
The old page is going away. We hope you will move with us to our new Goodreads home. Please click here and join.
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/108735-victoria-danann-order-of-the-black-swan
On Tour with PARAJUNKEE and PARANORMAL CRAVINGS…
7/16: Books N’ Things http://www.mybooksnthings.com Promo Spot Re
7/17: Meredith’s Musings http://meredithraemusings.blogspot.com/ Character Spotlight
7/18: Bookaroo-Ju http://www.bookarooju.wordpress.com Character Spotlight
7/19: Moonlight Gleam http://www.moonlightgleam.com Guest Post
7/20: BBL Reviews http://www.bittenbylovereviews.com/ Promo
7/22: Total Eclipse Reviews http://totaleclipsereviews.blogspot.com Character Interview
7/23: Paranormal Book Club http://www.paranormal-bookclub.com Promo Spot
7/24: Jessica Loves Books http://www.jessicalovesbooks.com Guest Post
7/25: Books, Books, and More Books http://booksbooksmorebooks.blogspot.com/ Character Spotlight
7/26: Penny For Them http://pennyforthem1.blogspot.co.uk/ Promo Spot
7/26: Words of Wisdom from The Scarf http://wowfromthescarfprincess.blogspot.com promo
7/29: Rants and Scribbles http://rantsnscribbles.blogspot.ca/ Character Spotlight
7/29: Reader’s Edyn http://readersedyn.blogspot.com guest post
7/30: It’s Raining Books http://www.its-raining-books.blogspot.com Interview
7/30: Simply Infatuated http://www.simplyinfatuated.com guest post
7/31: Bea’s Book Nook http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com Character Spotlight
8/01: The Bookish Howl http://thebookishowl.wordpress.com/ Character Spotlight
8/01: From Meredith Allard www.meredithallard.com guest post
8/02: Fictional Candy http://www.fictionalcandy.com Character Spotlight
8/03: Andi’s Book Review. http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com interview
8/05: Books Things and More http://www.bookishthingsandmore.com Guest Post
IT’S A QUESTION THAT NEVER SEEMS TO GET OLD?
My author’s assistant posed this to my street team. “How did you find out about Victoria? Amazon? A friend’s recommendation?”
The answers were fun to read, some surprising, but the best part is that quite a few added their impressions of the first book or the first couple of books. That’s how the Storm vs. Ram thing came up. Again. It’s a question that never seem to get old.
About 7 months ago I took a poll on my FB page that asked, “Who did you want to get the girl?” That was referring to the first book of the saga, of course, My Familiar Stranger. (The number who answered Baka still shocks me. I think there may have been one who wrote in “Sol”.)
The overwhelming majority said Ram, but there were some die-hards who STILL thought Storm was her guy and that the author should be summarily executed at dawn. I recently read a review on Goodreads that said something like “quitting at 48% – she was going to end up with the wrong guy anyhow”. Every time I think about that, it makes me smile because, even though that person only read half the book, she was emotionally invested enough to care about the outcome. (Yay me.)
Someone on my street team recently told me that she had a conversation with a friend, who was so pissed about the outcome of the first book she refused to continue to Book 2. Fortunately she was persuaded, coaxed, urged and cajoled into giving the series another try, but it made me wonder how many other people are still out there fuming.
Here are a couple of anonymous quotes from my street teams answers:
1, Honestly, I can’t remember how I came across MFS first. Think it was recommended to me through Amazon. I read the sample and was hooked. Will be honest though.. At first was disappointed with the ending because I was a Storm fan. Once I found out AWD was coming out, I knew it was going to be ok.. Them 2nd book made 1st book better in my opinion. Now Ram and Elora are my favorite!
2. I love Ram but I was team Storm too I think that’s why it took book 2 and Litha to really hook me on the series.
As to the reason why it all seemed better after Book 2, it’s because the first book was (in my mind) Act 1 of a three act play. The first three books are like a trilogy within a saga. Just as I’m sure the artist in Peter Jackson would have liked to release The Lord of the Rings as one seven hour movie, I would have loved to release the first three books all at one time. Undoubtedly it would have saved both me and readers some grief. It’s the most wonderful thing to be far enough into the saga now to know that anyone who wants to continue the journey after Book 1 can do so without waiting.
http://www.amazon.com/Order-Black-COLLECTED-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00BH68UCG 313,000 words for $6.99
