Review: Freedom’s Just Another Word by Caroline Stellings

Freedom's Just Another WordFreedom’s Just Another Word
Caroline Stellings
Second Story Press
Available September 6, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

The year Louisiana – Easy for short – meets Janis Joplin is the year everything changes. Easy is a car mechanic in her dad’s shop, but she can sing the blues like someone twice her age. So when she hears that Janis Joplin is passing through her small town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Easy is there with her heart – and her voice – in hand. It’s 1970 and Janis Joplin is an electrifying blues-rock singer at the height of her fame – and of her addictions. Yet she recognizes Easy’s talent and asks her to meet her in Texas to sing. So Easy begins … Continue reading

Top Ten Inspirations for The Cat King of Havana by Tom Crosshill

Cat King Banner The Cat King of Havana CoverThe Cat King of Havana
By Tom Crosshill
Katherine Tegen Books
Available September 6, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | indiebound | ibooks

Rick Gutierrez is . . . the Cat King of Havana! A cat-video tycoon turned salsa-dancer extraordinaire, he’ll take Cuba by storm, romance the girl of his dreams, and ignite a lolcat revolution!

At least that’s the plan.

It all starts when his girlfriend dumps Rick on his sixteenth birthday for uploading cat videos from … Continue reading

Monthly Wrap-Up for August 2016

aug2016_wrapThe month of August screamed past, packed with the final days of summer, a last-minute vacation, and the start of a new school year. My family spent a long weekend in Hendersonville, NC, which was lovely! And I was able to attend Read Up Greenville and meet some awesome authors. You can read about my experience and see my book haul here.

Here at The Story Sanctuary, things were bustling, too, with lots of reviews and book news. Here’s a quick look at what you may have missed:

Dreadlands by Jaimie Engle

Dreadlands: Wolf Moon by Jaimie Engle

Review | Amazon | Continue reading

Ten Things I Learned at Read Up Greenville 2016

I haven’t been to a lot of book events, and I’m starting to regret it. As a pretty deep introvert, I much prefer the part of book blogging where I’m sitting quietly in bed or in a comfy chair with a book and possibly a snack, or, even better, a cat in my lap. But as I start to read multiple books by authors or hear about new authors with great new books, I’ve started wanting to get out there and meet authors and listen to what inspired them or how they write such amazing characters and stories. So… my first foray into the wild was a last-minute trip to Read Up! in Greenville, SC on August 6, 2016. I got some great books and had an awesome time listening to authors speak about writing and what inspired the stories they’ve written. Here are some of the things I learned.

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Spotlight: Fish Wielder by J. R. R. R. Hardison

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Fish Wielder CoverFish Wielder
J. R. R. R. Hardison
Fiery Seas Publishing
Available: August 23, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble  | Goodreads

Fish Wielder is kind of like Lord of the Rings, set in Narnia, if it was written by the guys who made Monty Python and the Holy Grail while they were listening to the music of They Might Be Giants.

In ancient times, the Dark Lord Mauron cooked the most powerful magic chocolate dessert ever made, the Pudding of Power. One thousand and two … Continue reading

Interview with Just a Few Inches Author Tara St Pierre

Tara St. Pierre, author of Just a Few Inches joines me today to talk about inspiration and some behind-the-scenes information about her book.

Hi Tara. Thanks for taking time to answer my questions about Just a Few Inches. 🙂
You’re welcome! It’s a pleasure to be here, Kasey.

I find that a story was often inspired by a question. Was there a question that inspired you to write Just a Few Inches?
What if one of those checkout-counter magazine headlines that claimed a diet could “shrink inches from your waist” caused a person to shrink in height instead? I realize that it’s a somewhat odd question to pose, but it’s the one that crossed my mind while I stood in line at a drugstore when I first came up with the idea for this story. The usage of the word “shrink” in that context is what really jumped … Continue reading