Friday, May 29, 2015

Blog Tour: Flintlock by Ashley Nixon





We are thrilled to be bringing back this amazing author! Her first book in the Cutlass Trilogy was absolutely loved by our followers and we know that this book will be to! So first lets get to know a bit more about this Author: 


Ashley was born and raised in Oklahoma, where the wind really does sweep down the plains, and horses and carriages aren't used as much as she'd like. She has a Bachelor's in English Writing and a Master's in Library Science and Information Technology. When she's not writing she's either working out or pretending she's Sherlock Holmes. Her obsession with writing began after reading the Lord of the Rings in the eighth grade. Since then, she's loved everything Fantasy--resulting in an unhealthy obsession with the 'geek' tab on Pinterest, where all things awesome go.

Links to social media: 

http://ashley-nixon.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5199530.Ashley_Nixon Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ashleynixonauthor
https://twitter.com/AshleymNixon 
http://ashley-nixon.blogspot.com


Flintlock is the second book in the Cutlass Trilogy. It continues Barren and his crew's story.


Barren Reed hopes to protect the Orient from his tyrant uncle, but his plans to make the King’s life a living hell aren’t supported by the Elders of the pirate community. As it stands, Barren has earned the Elders’ disdain for his carelessness, and they threaten him into exile if he makes one more mistake.

Barren’s not the only one feeling the Elders’ wrath—they don’t trust Larkin either. Worse, Barren can’t comprehend Larkin’s wish to have a relationship with her father, and the secrets she’s forced to keep create a tension that may pull them apart forever.

When the Pirates of Silver Crest begin to die, bullets laced with dark magic are to blame. With more and more of these weapons infiltrating the Underground, discovering who’s behind the dissemination is no easy feat. As fear and tension mount among the people of the Orient, Barren and his crew find themselves in a race against time to stop the spread of dark magic before the world of Mariana spirals into collapse.

Links to where book is sold:

 Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Flintlock-Cutlass-Ashley-Nixon-ebook/dp/B00XTH3XMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432517931&sr=8-1&keywords=flintlock+by+ashley+nixon




Author Top Ten


These are in no particular order. I tried to organize them, and well--no numerical order really fits. Just think of these things as things I love.


  1. Writing (of course!)

    This is obvious. One of my all-time favorite things is writing. I’ve been a writer all my life. It is my identity. When I'm having a bad day, I just go hang out with some characters. They don't always have bad days, but that's why I write--to get to the good ones. :)




  2. Books (Reading) - I'm being obvious again! This is part of my bookshelf. Sorry it's messy. I tend to just stack stuff. But yes, reading, reading, reading. It's for any day, all day, good and bad!


  3. My Aladdin (a.k.a my boyfriend) - Yes, he is my prince charming. And when I say Prince Charming, I totally mean it. He leaves sweet notes, and tells me I'm awesome very day.




  4. Pride and Prejudice - I know I said books earlier, but P&P has to have a category of its own. It is ridiculous how much I love this book, especially recently. I watch the 1995 and 2005 versions of P&P on a regular basis. Why do I love it so much? I guess in some form or fashion, we can all be Elizabeths (or Mr. Darcys). The pics below are from my own copy of P&P!






  5. Tea & Tea Cups - I LOVE tea. I drink it a lot when I write. I mean one cup after the other. I stopped drinking coffee about two years ago, and well...replaced it. I also love tea cups. The one below is one I got from Windsor Castle!




  6. Travel - I’ve been to Ireland, Peru, Italy, and London and France - in that order. I have always dreamed of traveling, and thankfully, I’ve gotten to do it! There are so many more places I want to go! In 2016, we are returning to London and France to explore more! We also would like to visit Greece!

    Ireland - Dingle Peninsula

    Peru - Machu Picchu

    Rome - The Colosseum
    England - Tower Bridge

    France  - Point Du Hoc



  7. Connecting with people who love my books! The feeling I get when I talk or chill with readers is just awesome. I mean, it's still a surreal feeling and I think it will always be, but I hope I can convey how grateful I am for every message, comment, and download of my book.




  8. Cooking & Working Out - I know, I’m probably in the minority here. BUT, let me just say, while I don't always love either of these things, I do them consistently and they always make me feel AMAZING about myself and about my day. Starting a day with a workout, and eating well throughout the day makes me have a better day, I'm convinced. Some of the things I cook are below!

    Vegan Shepard's Pie!

    Tofu Scramble with Hash browns!

    Delicata Squash Salad


  9. Music - I love to write with music, and certain sounds get me into a certain mind set so I can convey the feeling of what I'm writing better (or so I think). Here are some songs I've been listening to recently:





10. Purple - I love the color purple. I have purple in my hair, the curtains in my office are purple, I even plan to have purple as a color for my future wedding. 



Character Casting



Hi all!
So, you want to know about casting for CUTLASS and FLINTLOCK, yeah? 
Well, I'm terrible at this. There are a couple of people I've always seen as certain characters (I'll point them out below). Mostly, I don't know many actors, I guess, but I'm going to give this a shot!

First, my main character Barren Reed. What does he look like? Well, of course he's handsome in that rugged sort of way. His hair is probably light brown, but appears lighter because he's always in the sun, his skin is bronzed and scarred. He has brown eyes, and I've always imagined a charming smile. Oh, he's also half-elf. Basically what will follow are pictures of some attractive men who might look like Barren, or sort of convey what I'm trying to covey...maybe. Or they could just be hot men. 

Like this guy:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/99/2a/
a8/992aa8e60f83b4911e5e2f4e1e1ce7a5.jpg

And this ambiguous male who has muscles but could be Barren: 

http://anotherdaylightgallery.tumblr.com/post/
108432951901/http-anotherdaylightgallery-tumblr-com
Or this man standing in shadow at the head of his ship:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/
88/19/68/88196804203932180377e0c64ec78f3e.jpg
Okay, so Barren's love interest is a pretty girl named Larkin Lee. She's also half-elf. She's also beautiful--long dark hair, green eyes. What's even more awesome about here is that she knows how to fight, and she's equal, if not better, than most of Barren's crew (and, Barren himself, just don't tell him). This is how I imagine Larkin when she's about to defy some order Barren has thrown her way: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/timbo8184/4472122743/lightbox/

This is also a good picture that conveys her anger when someone tries to challenge her:


She might be a pirate, but Larkin was born of noble blood--also, it would be a book by me if there weren't pretty dresses involved. In FLINTLOCK, Larkin wears something that looks like this:

http://stellaresque42.tumblr.com/post/23411296405

Then, there's one of my favorites, Cove Rowell. Oh, Cove--you're so handsome and mysterious...those dark eyes and that dark hair...and all those secrets and stealth. There has been only one person I've ever wanted as Cove Rowell, and that is Ben Barnes, practically everyone's all-time-favorite-book-to-movie-cast-man! But he just looks so great in EVERY setting! *sigh*

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/98/
f1/f7/98f1f7f7a45f579bb327bb26a49da603.jpg


If not Mr. Ben Barnes, then this guy will do well as 2nd:

http://showbizgeek.com/meet-the-musketeers/

Also, in the books, I refer to Cove's ambassador uniform. It looks something like this:

http://shrinestore.com/store/catalog/product_info.
php?cPath=34&products_id=274


Then, there's Sara Rosamund who I also love. She's Cove's love interest, and while she doesn't have my sense of style, I truly adore hers! 

http://www.missmoss.co.za

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-
2012/ready-to-wear/marchesa

http://www.augusta-auction.com/list-of-upcoming-
sales?view=lot&id=13384&auction_file_id=29

http://kozmickitten.tumblr.com/post/4630853438

I'll move onto Em next--the assassin who once sailed with Barren's father. She's only ever been one person in my mind and that's Michelle Pfeiffer: 

http://indypendent-thinking.tumblr.com/post
/42671488259/michelle-pfeiffer

Then, the new girl-on-scene is Aethea Moore. She's fierce, angry, and sorta evil. She could easily be played by Gemma Arterton: 



Next, I found this guy--I guess his name is Mario Blanco, but this pic conveys the creepiness of Prince Datherious Reed. 

http://www.malemodelscene.net/fresh-faces/mario-blanco-arno-roca/

Then I found these cool pics and thought this one really looked like Leaf:

http://dakkun39.tumblr.com/post/69178069233/zevran

And this really conveyed the 'spirit' of the Elves of Aurum--ya know, basic bad asses:

http://jlbryanbooks.blogspot.com/2012/06/
midsummer-dream-fair-day-8-elven.html

Last, there's a masquerade in this novel, so I thought I'd share some inspirational pics:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anishpalekar/3391986470/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcocerbo/
12740898324/in/pool-2574099@N22

Want to view more inspiration?

Barren
Larkin
Cove
Sara
Flintlock (Cutlass #2)
Cannon (Cutlass #3)

Okay! That's my casting for FLINTLOCK. What do you guys think? 

Snippet






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Blog Tour: Hohenstein by Didi Lawson






Anything but a typical aristocrat, young Baroness Marie-Louise is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work, especially when it comes to saving her ancestral estate. Determined to shake loose the shackles of propriety and gain the warm family life her upbringing denied her, she has vowed to marry a man of lower rank. Blue-bloods need not apply.

But when she is forced to turn to a childhood friend for assistance, the handsome, debonair count may prove a temptation impossible to resist. Marie-Louise soon finds herself caught between the comfort of a middle-class doctor and the passion of a nobleman, with the future of her childhood home at stake.

Purchase here: http://www.amazon.com/Hohenstein-Didi-Lawson-ebook/dp/B00TXXJPHY



 Didi Lawson exchanged her town car for a pick-up truck and learned to operate a tractor when she and her husband moved from Arizona to a farm in Missouri where she now weaves her tales. Her love for writing started early in life when she entertained her friends with her stories, won prizes for her essays in high school, and wrote road shows and poems for the youth group in her church.

She enjoys the outdoors, her children and ten grandchildren, and keeps an active social calendar.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Didi-Lawson-Author/709526509180994?fref=ts
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13534876.Didi_Lawson



Hohenstein is an historic romance set in Germany about a young baroness who returns home to the ancestral castle, only to find it in a state of disrepair. Unable to secure funds to restore her beloved home to its original state, she is forced to get creative to come up with funds when she is unable to access her inheritance due to her father's qualifications that she either be married or reach 25 years of age. In her attempts to try and secure the means to support herself and her aunt, she comes across two handsome young men, a doctor and a count. Will love blossom during her quest to save her home? Read to find out.

I am going to give this book four stars. Author Did Lawson has done an excellent job of portraying not only her characters, but the locations her story is set in. Everything is believable. I give it only four stars because there is one character who made me so mad in the first quarter of the book that I was ready to burn it. But I got over it and finished the book, which turned out well. I still think that one character needed a HUGE slap in the face, that he didn't get, but I am glad he got what he did in the end.  And the twist near the end was also very unexpected. Not going to share what it is, but it was definitely unexpected.





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