Grayrider by Bruce Skye

About the Author:

A former technical writer, detail is important to Bruce Skye. His research for the Deathsong Chronicles included medieval armor and fortresses, as well as Celtic names and magic. "If you create a world, it must be consistent. And that's what I strive for Grayrider's world to be. I've built a database of material for each of the Deathsong Chronicles. Those databases aid me in keeping the world the same from book to book.

"When I wrote Grayrider, I followed the advice of Stephen King. I did not write the book following any sort of outline. I have no more idea than my readers do when I write a novel what will happen in the midst of the story. It makes it more exciting for both the readers and myself."

You can visit his website at www.bruceskye.com.

Guest Review by Tess of Fiction to Fruition:

This is a story set in medieval times about a young prince named Gabriel. Years ago, his parents were killed in the castle that they lived in, in the country of Boadhagh. They were poisoned along with some of their friends while eating there evening meal. Gabriel remember the sword "Deathsong" and retrieved it from his father's chambers. Deathsong had magical powers and he headed downstairs with it to the dining room while the enemies were still there. Who he didn't kill with the sword he made them eat the same food his parents ate and they also died.

Now it was time for more revenge. He grabbed his gray cloak, Deathsong, and his horse Windfire and headed to see King Airell, his father's friend. There he finds out that the citizens of Ansgar are fighting their way through the countryside to take over this King's country.

Gabriel, now called Grayrider, becomes the King's number one warrior. Along with the King's daughter, Deirdre, they try to stop the armies that keep approaching.

Deirdre is a sorceress with intense magical power and the enemy they are fighting is led by the Morrigan, the woman who took Deirdre under her wing as her apprentice.

This is a very intense novel full of fantasy and magic. There is also love, loyalty, betrayal, and redemption sprinkled throughout this book. The end is equally non-predictable and sobering. If you like this genre of books you will definitely love this one.

About the Book:

Gabriel, the exiled king of Rivalin, comes before King Airell to warn him the Ansgarian army will invade his kingdom before the night is over. Airell tells him he has no one to send. Gabriel wants revenge for the murder of his family by the Ansgarians. He decides to fight the incursion without help.

As this takes place, Deirdre (Airell’s daughter), flees the kingdom of Cynyr north of Boadhagh. She knows now her mentor, Morrigan, created the Ansgarian army her father has fought for years. She goes south to warn him of her. Because Deirdre does not believe in herself, the young sorceress has difficulty in performing magic.

Once she is reunited with her father, she tells both he and Grayrider about Morrigan. Her power is growing; only Gabriel’s magical sword may yet destroy her. He must go to Cynyr to fight her. He agrees if Deirdre attends him, seeking her counsel. On that journey they fall in love and foil many efforts by Morrigan to kill Gabriel by both armies and sorcerers.

Grayrider fights Morrigan and sees his beloved slain by the sorceress before he is finally able to kill her. He returns to Rivalin brokenhearted. The ending is a complete surprise the reader will not expect at all.

Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter

About the book:

He got the second home and the Porsche. She got the kids and a broken heart. Now Jackie, post-divorce and heading toward the big four-oh, is on vacation in sunny Hawaii and staring down her upcoming birthday-alone. But not for long. She's soon falling for Kai, her gorgeous, much younger surf instructor, and the wild passionate fling they have becomes the biggest surprise of Jackie's life.

Back home in Seattle, Jackie has to struggle with single parenthood...and memories of Kai. He hasn't forgotten her. Yet thousands of miles of ocean-not to mention an age difference that feels even wider-separate them. And, of course, her friends disapprove. When a choice must be made, can she, will she risk everything for her chance at happiness?

Interested in the reading guide? You can find it here.

Let me start out by saying that once again I owe a big thank you to Miriam Parker of The Hatchette Book Group for sending me this book (along with two others by Ms. Porter). Thanks really isn't enough - you're an angel!


This book was one of the best books I have read in the last year! Books like this used to sit on my shelf waiting to be read - I used to limit myself to mostly suspense and horror books and would try and fit in a book of this kind every once in awhile to prove that I wasn't a book snob.


The blogging community has truly been an eye opener and I am truly blessed to have found fantastic people like Miriam who are willing to let me review books of all kinds. This book revolves around the life of Jackie Lauren. She has had an extremely trying year and is struggling to overcome the emotional scars that are left by her divorce and coping with being a single parent. As her fortieth birthday nears, she sees constant reminders about the difference between being a single parent and married families. She isn't sure how she is going to make it through.


She decides to accept the invitation of a friend to a go all out to celebrate turning the big 4-0. Her friend backs out at the last minute, but Jackie decides to go anyway, and try to bring some sunshine into her dreary days, and if any place can do that it would have to be Hawaii.

And boy does the sun shine when Jackie meets Kai, a gorgeous surfing instructor. Sure, he's ten years younger, but he makes her feel the way every woman wants and brings back some of the spark and sass that had been missing for so long. The affair is short, but her feelings for Kai follow her home and she is forced to decide whether she is reading more into them, or if this is a relationship worth pursuing, and if she can do this without the approval of her family and friends.


I really enjoyed this book! Although I haven't reached this age my relationship with my husband was questioned due to the age difference between us. Thankfully my family and friends accepted it, but it did take awhile. I love Jane's writing style and will be sure to read her other books. I really recommend this book and think it is an easy read with some depth and situations that most women can relate to.


About the author:

A UCLA grad with an MA in Writing, I am one of those original book geeks, the girl with the coke bottle glasses that sat with a novel next to the classroom door rather than play during recess. I wrote my first story in first grade, my first picture book in second grade and my first novel in 4th, and I've just continued to write from there—bad poetry, passionate essays, romance rich novels and poignant, bittersweet contemporary fiction.

But writing doesn't always come easy to me. I have to work at it. To go below the surface and find the real story in each story, the heart of the novel, the one the reader will hopefully remember long after the story is through. Writing makes me a bit mad which is why I work very hard to have good hair.

When not writing, what do I do for fun? Travel. I don’t know if it's from growing up in a small Central California town, or living abroad with my family when I was 13, but I crave change, travel, adventure. Put me in a car, a ship, a plane and send me off. I subscribe to countless travel magazines, have a library of travel books, and am always interested in where people have been.

Then of course, there are my kids. Being the mom of two boys I watch a lot of sports, and do goofy boy things with them like create slug habitats and nurture baby geckos. It's not the life I expected—I was such a Barbie doll girl—but its full of Tom Sawyer moments that surprise, delight and absolutely exasperate me but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The boys and I live in Bellevue, Washington, six miles from downtown Seattle, and with the plethora of pro sport teams, rugged mountains, coffee houses and bookstores, it's the perfect place for a writer to call home.

You can find out more by visiting her website at http://www.janeporter.com/



Here's a little info about the origin of the book:



Yes, I'm dating a surfer, and yes, I got the idea for Flirting with Forty while staying at the luxurious Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, but two years ago when I had my brainstorm--and tracked down the sexy surfer for an interview--I never imagined we'd have one date, much less still be dating two years later. The fact that we're still seeing each other leads people to believe that Flirting with Forty is about me, us, but I sold the story to 5 Spot before there was an “us”.

I sold the story to 5 Spot when it was just a premise, a huge what if that teased me with lives unlived and paths untaken. The character Jackie is not me, but there is me in Jackie, just as there are memories and conversations that have become embedded, imprinted that demand in their own way to be shared. Spoken.

So which comes first? The writer or the story? The writer, yes, but the writer is made up of a lifetime of stories and everything that goes onto the page starts with an event, a word, a lost opportunity. Stories--books--are shaped by dreams, broken hearts, curiosity, wishes, accidental meetings. I went to Hawaii to finish a book for another publisher and left with a new novel idea. And even with the book finished, the idea lives on.

What if we could reinvent ourselves?

What if we changed our direction mid-stream?

What if wanted more than we had?

And thus (my) books are born.

I live and I write. I write and I live. And as I've tried to explain to my children and non-writer friends, I could not do one without the other. The two are so intertwined that I have been transformed by the writing. I am changed, just as my characters are changed. I write a new heroine now, one that asks questions and isn’t satisfied with a half portion of anything. Rather my heroines today demand happiness. They deserve fulfillment, satisfaction. And in the end, my readers are empowered, too, as the writer, the reader, and the character share one goal—to live more richly, to live with more love.

Copyright © 2006

Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: WINK'S INK (February 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 098004250X
ISBN-13: 978-0980042504

About the book:

Anything can look perfect…on paper. When her fiancé calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she thought it would…or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said. Perfect...on Paper is a humorous tale of Waverly’s efforts to cobble the pieces of a broken yesterday into a brand new tomorrow. What does the future have in store for her? Will she finally find what she’s looking for? *Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining *Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive *Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch *The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right.

Waverly Bryson seems to have the perfect life. She is about to marry the man of her dreams, and when he walks in on her dress fitting she warns him that it is bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. Little does she know that bad luck is already here, as he is there to call off the wedding, and their relationship.

Like anyone who has gone through a bad relationship she gets a serious case of the blues. But, with the help of her fantastic friends she learns that life is too short to sit there and mope - time to pick up the pieces and start living again.

She knows in order to start moving on she must get back to work...and back to dating. She begins to write down quirkly sayings from all the daily mishaps she has in hopes of using them in a greeting card line.

Waverly is the type of character I love to enjoy! She is so real - not some perfect Barbie but a real woman with real problems. I actually laughed out loud a few times because of the situations she gets herself in. And the dates she goes on...wow! I think we can all identify with at least one of the situations she finds herself in. And, even if you can't you will enjoy reading about it:)

A truly unforgettable read and one of the best books of the year. It is truly hard to believe that this is her first novel, but I for one am looking forward to many more!

About the author:

Maria is currently an independent business writer and works mostly with technology and financial services companies, but she did spend a few years in sports PR. One day she quit her job and ended up in Argentina for a year, where she played semi-pro soccer and also wrote the first draft of what would eventually become Perfect on Paper. She has dedicated the book to any woman who has ever been on a really bad date or realized halfway through the workday that her skirt is on backwards.

Maria graduated with high honors in English and Spanish from UC Berkeley and received a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She lives in San Francisco and can be reached at maria@mariamurnane.com. To learn more about her business writing services, click here.