Merchant of Menace Cover Reveal

The Bookania Quests are growing yet again! We saw the lovely release of Kendra's Rapunzel-inspired tale earlier in August (Hair We Go Again), and now we're getting close to the release of book #6 in this fun, fairytale series!

This is me, shamelessly stealing pics from Kendra's blog.

Believe me, if you're into any type of fun retellings that make you laugh out loud and squeal in delight with all the fairytale references, this is the series for you. Make no mistake about that.

Merchant of Menace is more than just a mere fairytale retelling, however. Do you like Cinderella? Well, that's in here. Do you like Shakespeare? Well, that's in here, too. And guess what? We've also got bits of the Odyssey AND pirates! I'm really excited to see how she combines all of that into one story. And that, really, is what I love so much about Kendra's books. You jump in, thinking you know everything there is to know, but she takes you on the adventure you never saw coming. I mean, throw pirates in with any fairytale and I'M TOTALLY THERE. We don't have enough of those stories.


Anyway, you're here for a cover reveal, aren't you? Well, I won't be one of those bloggers who makes you scroll for an eternity before showing you what you want. *winks*

Here we go.

About the book: Robin has promised Meg her aid in rescuing her lost father and sisters, but that's easier said than done...  

Eep!! Don't you love this cover? The blues, the SHIP, the mysterious tones.... AH! Can't wait. *grins* *and grins some more*

This book does not have an official release date as of yet, but you can still get prepped for it by adding it on Goodreads or checking it out on Kendra's blog!

And, as always, the first book in this series, Sew, It's a Quest, is available for free on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords!

About the author: Kendra E. Ardnek has been writing her own stories since she was a toddler. She fell in love with books, drama, and fairy tales at a very young age - and has been filling notebooks with her stories for years. Joining NaNoWriMo gave her an opportunity to be a published author at 16.

She writes her own blog (knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com), homeschools, cooks, knits, and crafts when she isn't writing stories and acting them out with her younger cousins and siblings.

Thirst Cover Reveal

Jill Williamson is soon to be releasing her next book! I've read several of her fantasy books over the years (namely the Kinsman Chronicles and the Blood of Kings Trilogy) and really enjoyed them. I've not read any of her contemporary/dystopian works, even though I think I may have one of them somewhere in my Kindle archives. Maybe getting into this cover reveal will inspire me to dig that out, eh?

In my experience, Jill has proven to be a masterful storyteller, a whiz with complex plotlines, and an author who isn't afraid to handle difficult topics. That sometimes makes her stories slightly less family-friendly than most people would want, but I've been impressed with how she handles those topics.

But let's get down to this cover reveal, shall we?

Book Summary: 

The end of the world is only the beginning. A waterborne disease has contaminated the world’s fresh water, decimating the human race. Seventeen-year-old Eli McShane and his friends flee the chaos and violence in Phoenix and journey north toward the rumored location of a safe water source. They add several to their number, including the mysterious Hannah, who is being hunted by a dangerous man. Desperation brings our the worst in many of the travelers, infecting even those closest to Eli. When division comes, will he be able to hold his group together or will each fall victim to their own thirst for survival?

Join some old friends from Glenrock and Jack's Peak in this thrilling first book of the Thirst Duology. Best-selling author Jill Williamson has brought back the breathtaking suspense of the The Safe Lands series in this chilling prequel that will leave readers panting for the next installment.

~*~

Thirst is the first book of a post-apocalyptic adventure that Jill will be independently publishing in November. As an indie publisher myself, I'm excited to see this book release take on the world; as a reader, I'm not generally drawn toward this sort of genre, but I'm excited to get out of my comfort zone and try something new by a familiar author.

You ready to see the cover for Thirst?

~*~

You can preorder the book on Jill's site here. If you're interested in learning more about this series or any of her other books, you can find Jill and her fabulous writings at any of the following links (purchase links to Amazon not included, because you know how to find those):

• Jill on Facebook
• Jill on Instagram
• Jill on Twitter

God bless!

How We Did It - Cover Design

(Today's quote is not necessarily connected to the following post, but Samson wanted more spotlight.)

Three years ago, when The Rose and the Balloon came out, my designer guy (shout out to Latitude 40!) put together a post on how he did the cover. I remember reading it with no small fascination, just feeling so grateful that that beautiful cover was mine and that I didn't have to try to design it myself.

Still in awe. It's just so purty.

This time around, my hubby was the hero of the story. While he didn't design the whole cover start to finish, he was a tremendous help in getting the background picture of the wheel to where it is today. I am beyond grateful for all his help. And then it was just up to me to tweak some things and finalize the text for the end result.

After all the headaches, I was at the point where I wanted to release the cover and forget about it. I was happy with how it turned out, but I realized how much more picky I was since I was the one in charge of how it looked. It's so much easier to trust someone else's artistic eye and judgment on jobs like these.

Anyway, I can't forget about the cover (for very obvious reasons), and since I enjoyed reading the post linked above on how The Rose and the Balloon's cover was created, I figured you all would enjoy seeing how we created the cover for Spindle Dreams.

This was my original mock cover that I put together for inspiration as I worked on the book.

I did not own the copyright to the photo, so I knew I couldn't use that. Besides, the mock cover just looked too dark to me. I wanted something with more color, something that really matched the cover for The Rose and the Balloon.

So -- to start from scratch. I needed a new photo.

I knew I wanted a spinning wheel. I also knew it would be a lot more difficult to get a photo of a spinning wheel than it was to get a photo of a rose. For some reason, people enjoy their roses a lot more than they enjoy their spinning wheels. I began a long and pretty much fruitless search. Even when I found pictures of wheels, they were at awkward angles or looked too modern or had too much going on in the picture besides the wheel.

It was frustrating.

Until I saw a Facebook friend post a bunch of pictures of her new spinning wheel. It's almost impossible to describe how excited I was at that point. Immediately, I contacted her and asked if she'd mind if I used a picture of her wheel for my book cover. She didn't, and quickly sent me tons of pictures of the wheel from a million different angles.

This was the photo we settled on.

My husband has some experience in using GIMP to edit photos. I, on the other hand, had never heard of GIMP before he brought it up. I still don't know all that it does, so I'm not giving you guys a run-down now.

Obviously, the first step was to remove the background stuffs, since we wanted to try fire with the wheel.

Once all of that was blocked out and colored over with a nice, neutral, all-purpose slate color/texture/thing, my husband cleverly added the fire. I don't know if you can tell, but there's actually two layers of fire: one in front of the wheel, and another behind the wheel.

Once the wheel and fire were set, the next step was to adjust the color to best set off the text. This fell to me, and of course, I got super picky and couldn't decide on the exact brightness of the thing for... well, days. I'm really good at procrastinating when I don't like the job I have to do.

After that, it was just a matter of getting the text done. And voila! We had ourselves a book cover.

~*~

What do you think about Spindle Dreams's cover? Fellow authors out there, how do you design your book covers? Let me know below!

Important links to remember today:

• Add Spindle Dreams on Goodreads
• Follow me on Facebook

Don't forget that Spindle Dreams releases TOMORROW!

God bless!

Featuring Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rose Red, and Rapunzel

Inspiration cover; not the real deal. 

The days are slowly creeping closer to Spindle Dreams's release! I'd like to remind anyone who'd like to participate to sign up for the cover reveal (August 1st) and blog tour (August 2nd-9th). Links are below!

Cover Reveal (sign up closes on July 30th).

Blog Tour (sign up closes on July 31st).

~*~

ALSO, I'm very excited to announce that my very first post just went live on Fairy Tale Central! As part of the month celebrating the fairytale Snow White and Rose Red, I completed a book review on Patricia Wrede's version of the tale. Be sure to pop over there to check it out!

This was a super fun month to jump into Fairy Tale Central. Snow White and Rose Red is a lesser known fairytale, but by no means less exciting or fun. Sometimes, I believe it loses too much of its spotlight to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, just because of the name similarities. However, it is NOT the same tale.

~*~

And by the by, if you're not already aware of the fact, FIVE new Rapunzel retellings will be hitting Amazon in early August! In fact, the release dates for those coincide (unintentionally) with Spindle Dreams's release. If you'd like more information the Golden Braids tour and release dates, Kendra's heading things up (her main blog is here). Sign up for the tour is now closed, I believe, but there's still time to preorder books and get your hands on these lovely tales!

Aren't fairytales and retellings just the coolest thing? *grins*

God bless!

DETAILS: Spindle Dreams Cover and Release

At long last, Spindle Dreams is making its way into the published ranks of Amazon! Although this book, overall, didn't take that long to write, it has taken many, many moons to get to this stage. I am so happy, and I cannot wait to share this Once Upon a Twist Tale with you all. I can't say it out loud that SD holds a spot closer to my heart than The Rose and the Balloon did (mainly in fear of what Nicolas and Nicoline would do to me if they found out), but I'm still so excited to see this project FINALLY to completion.

Here's what you want to know...

I will be releasing Spindle Dreams's cover LIVE here on my blog and my other social media sites on August 1st. I intend to run a blog tour from the 1st all the way to the 9th of August, upon which date I shall be publishing Spindle Dreams LIVE ON AMAZON.

Do ya hear that, folks? OUR PUBLICATION DATE IS AUGUST 9TH! 

Below are two Google forms available for sign-up. You do not need to feel any obligation to sign up for either, but I would appreciate any publicity you can give me concerning my newest release. One form is ONLY for the cover reveal happening August 1st. The other is for the blog tour. Please sign up as you wish.

Sign Up for the Cover Reveal!

For the cover reveal, all posts must be on public blogs anytime during the 24 hours of August 1st. After the cover is live on your blog, you may share it across the interwebs as you wish. I will be sending cover, book info, and author info in an email for bloggers to post as they wish. Please sign up soon if you'd like to participate in the cover reveal, but I should be able to send the reveal information to bloggers up until July 30th. 

Anyone who doesn't have a blog and would like to share it may do so once they see it live on others' blogs and social media sites. I just don't want the cover sneaking out before it's meant to.

Sign Up for the Blog Tour!

For the blog tour, I'm offering several options for posts: a character interview with either Marita or Felix, an author interview, or a guest post by the author. No limit on interview questions, but all questions must be submitted through the form above by July 31st. 

I will also be offering a few PDF copies of Spindle Dreams for review; the catch on that is, your review MUST be published during the blog tour. Once you sign up for a review, you should have the PDF in your email within a day or so. Again, the deadline on that is July 31st. I won't be able to send out the PDF after that day. Spindle Dreams runs around 26,000 words and is easily read in an afternoon or two.

Any questions/concerns/fangirling? Please comment below!

God bless!

The Worth of a King Cover Reveal

Kendra's next book, The Worth of a King will be coming out SOON! And today I have the great pleasure of sharing the brand-new, never-before-seen, gorgeous cover. Lemme tell you, folks... you're gonna love this one. 

But first: all ze details. 

About the Book

Princess Obsidia’s father was killed the night she was born. Since there was no male heir, the crown went to the man who killed him, by Dialcian law. This never bothered her, growing up, and when it comes time for Obsidia to choose her husband, she chooses Prince Delaney, the son of that man, with little hesitation. Only then does her life start crumbling around her.

Adrian expected to live a normal life, taking his father’s place at the print shop when his father retired. But, on his eighteenth birthday, when the princess’ engagement is announced, his world is ripped out from under him when he learns that his life was a ruse, and he is the twin brother to the princess – and expected to take back his father’s throne.

Delaney knows that his country is hovering on the brink of war – and that his father may harbor murderous intentions towards his intended bride due to her Zovordian blood. He wants nothing more than to protect Obsidia and his people, but as merely prince, he has little power against his father.

The ancient war between the Dragons and the Immortal King and Queen is nearing its climax, and the three are already caught in it.

~*~

And now, for ze big reveal:

I think I've been following this story on Kendra's blog and Pinterest page for a while now. Ever since she first posted about it, my brain's been going nuts wanting to get my hands on a copy. 

The Worth of a King will be released on August 27th, but if you simply can't wait that long to get another taste of it, check out the link below. 

Read the Opening Chapter HERE. 

And don't forget to add the book on Goodreads.

And Kendra also sent me some special things that I now have the privilege to share with all of you. 

This is a picture of Delaney and Adrian (via Pinterest). While Kendra lamented that this scene doesn't actually happen in the book, she and Jack had quite a smashing conversation that resulted from the image. 

AND... a juicy snippet. 

“There’s no time like the present,” said Father. “In my opinion, we should have told him years ago. Celeste, can you get the letter?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Mother, distractedly.

“But right now?” Jerolin repeated, voice rising. “He’s still asleep!”

“It’s nearly noon,” Father replied. “It’s high time the boy woke up. We can give him cake to soften the blow.”

Jerolin snorted. “Like cake will make up for finding out that his entire life has been a lie.”

~*~

This book is making a grand tour of lots of fabulous blogs today, so let me encourage you to visit around and check out more fun posts! Who knows? There may be more special secrets to discover to whet your appetite even more. 

Savannahjaysworkshop

Dreams and Dragons

Unicorn Quester

Kiri Liz

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Read, Write, Laugh, Dance

Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings

Books, Baking, and Cowgirl Boots

Jenelle Schmidt

Reality Reflected

Jessica Greyson

The Music of a Story

The Flowering Vales

The Rambling Rose

Written Rest

The Labyrinth

Bible and Books

Jaye L. Knight

~*~

Author Bio

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years. "Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.

Find her online at:

Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon 

Cover Reveal for Lady Dragon, Tela Du

Kiri is busy with family things going on...

So, the royal twins are here again. You can read more about us here. Nicolas, scoot over. I can't comfortably reach the keyboard.

Nicoline, stop it. You have plenty of room. And you'll have to excuse us, random people. We've taken it upon ourselves to put together this cover reveal post for Kiri.

Only we've never done a cover reveal before.

We've never done much of anything before on the internet.

Anyway, this is for Kendra Ardnek's newest book, a wonder of a thing called Lady Dragon, Tela Du. 

Kiri got to read the first one, and I think she rather enjoyed it.

Enjoyed it? Didn't you hear her squealing about it? If I could figure out how to use her Kindle, I'd read it. 

Wait, so is that what an ebook is?

I guess. I'm slowly figuring these things out.

Ha! Slow is the right word for you. Ouch!

You deserved that slap, you little wretch. Now let's do this cover reveal thing. I don't think we're doing it right just yet.

No. First, we need to post a summary of the book. Do you have it?

Two girls with one face

Two girls with twisted fate

One in purple, one in red

One shall speak the other’s death

Who shall win their final war?

Lady Dragon or Tela Du?

Amber, the Lady Dragon, has been promised a fifty-year reign over Rizkaland and nothing can stop her from claiming it. But when you've lived six thousand years, fifty is such a pitiful number. Only one person can keep her from making this reign permanent - the Tela Du, a girl who shall share Amber's face.

The last thing Petra wants is a magical world interrupting her plans for a normal life, let alone an ultimate battle against the Lady Dragon with only one prophesied survivor. She has her childhood best friend, Reuben, at her side, but she's not sure if he's more of a help or a hindrance right now. Though she'd much prefer to just return home and forget about this whole crazy affair, things change when she discovers that the world has surprising connections to her own family - including her sister who disappeared without a trace two years before. Still, Rizkaland can't possibly expect her to risk her very life, can it?

Annnd then, about the author.

No, we're supposed to post Kiri's interview first.

No. Author biography!

Interview!

Nicolas!

Kendra E. Ardnek is a homeschool graduate who picked up a pen at an early age and never put it down. The eldest of four, she makes her home in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her parents, younger siblings, giant herd of giraffes, and honor guard of nutcrackers. 

You really are a pest, you know that, right?

Oh, of course, sister dear. Otherwise you wouldn't love me like you do. Hey, look, she likes giraffes and nutcrackers! 

I'd like a nutcracker!

You are a nut without a cracker. Ouch!

Time for the interview. Kiri was pretty excited to post this one. She told me so. Ready?

1. Just because I'm fascinated with editing right now *cough*noreason*cough*, what was one of the hardest scenes to edit in this book?

I do this thing while I'm editing that I just delete all memory of struggling as soon as it's done, so ... I'm having trouble calling something to mind. However, the scene I'm working on now has been a bit difficult. It was a lot of action and description, and I had left it clunky while writing, so it's been difficult to clean it up.


2. What one (or two or three) Pinterest pins did you find yourself most inspired by when working on this book?

Since Petra had two sisters who disappeared only to be forgotten by all of her family, it’d be understandable if she’s a bit wary of the same happening to her. This pin represents a touching scene between her and Reuben on that note.

Reuben and Petra gain telepathic powers over the course of the book, and I blame this pin for some of the finer details of their mental link. It may not be immediately obvious what those details might be, but you’ll find out over the course of the book.

The chapter that this pin inspired happens to be one of my favorites in the entire book. I had found a whole bunch of romantic pins that day, involving different degrees of hugging and handholding. This one I put the caption, "Reuben, go put on a shirt." "You need a hug." on it because I don’t normally post pictures of shirtless guys … and I probably would have left it alone and pretty much forgot about it, but one of my readers posted the comment, “Fine, I’ve been hugged, now go put on a shirt.” and I knew I had to include the scene in the book.


3. And I'm shamelessly stealing this question from some of your recent interviews, but it's an epic question, and I'm *really* curious now. Please tell us a little bit about your MBTI personality type and how it affects your writing?

I'm an ENFP, one of those rare extroverted writers. The most obvious effect is that there are a lot of ENFP's among my characters. (Petra, remarkably, isn't one - she proved to be an INTJ instead ... but her love interest, Reuben, is an ENFP.)

I've always had a huge imagination and have thrown myself into my stories. When I played with my dolls, I became them, I didn't just direct the story. I never had an imaginary friend, because I was my imaginary friends. The same is true of my writing today. My characters aren't people I watch, I live their stories with them, which is why I write deep POV, usually Limited Third or First. The few times that I've attempted Omniscient ... usually end up predominately in one character's head by the time I'm done with a scene.

I'm not afraid of risks and going against the tried and true. I write the stories I want to write because those are the stories I want to write. I don't like writing rules, and I don't like people telling me that something's cliched. In fact "cliche" to me just means "this has lost all meaning, time to infuse new life into it!" It's also why I love world building - I get to create so many brilliant what-ifs and watch them work.

I'm a social writer. Writing is a way for me to connect to people and I love talking to and engaging with my readers. I'm also very open with my writing and I'm not afraid to let people read my rough drafts.

I don't outline. As a P, I like to keep my options open. This doesn't mean that I don't have the story planned (because if I don't, it ends up a mess), but I never write any plans down beyond what I call "snippeting" - or in other words, writing scenes ahead of time to get a feel for the story and characters. I want to be able to change the story based on the nuances of the characters, and I want the characters to surprise me.


And, finally, it means I'm easily distracted and terrible with - oh look, a squirrel!

Now can we post the cover?

Sure, let's post it now. I think we've managed to cover everything else.

And make sure you put it in really big. 

I like that! Now Kiri's gonna have to get it, so I can read that one, too.

Hey, look Kendra sent a snippet! Let's post that!

She navigated through the bookshelves and got turned around a few times, but she finally found a corner with a number of large, fluffy chairs. Reuben was sprawled in one, nose buried in one of the books, the other three on a small table beside him.

She hesitated a moment, reluctant to interrupt him as he looked like he was enjoying the book so much. But since she knew that he would never forgive her if there was food involved and she didn’t offer it to him, she marched over, pulled the glasses off of his face, and deftly tucked them into his shirt pocket. She had long ago discovered this to be the quickest, most efficient method to bring him back from the realm of story.

He blinked and looked up at her, though his mind was clearly still miles away. “Have you any idea how to get through the Mountain?”

“No. I don’t. Are you hungry?”

He blinked twice, and this time she saw him pop back to the here and now. “I am, now that you mention it.” He snapped the book shut – allowing Petra to see that the title was Water Princess, Fire Prince – and stood up. “What is there to eat?” he asked, setting the book on the top of the stack.

And important links. Can't forget about those. 

Kendra's Blog | Kendra's Website | LDTD on Goodreads

Preorder LDTD on Amazon

Get the first book free today!

The Rose and the Balloon Cover Reveal

The countdown is on and we are so close to the release of The Rose and the Balloon! 9 days! I still can't believe that I'm that close to having my first work in print.

Am I excited? Yes.

Am I nervous? Yes.

Is everything in me going everywhere all at the same time? Oh, yeah. 

And... in preparation of that great event in NINE DAYS' TIME, I have the great privilege of sharing with you the anticipated cover. 

But before I do that, let me tell you a little bit of how this little bit of graphic awesomeness came about. 

~*~

Once upon a time, there lived a young girl who desperately wanted to become an author. That girl was me, but I prefer to talk about this in third person. 

Anyway, this girl wrote a Beauty and the Beast story, and was hoping to get it published very soon. On August 1st of 2016, to be exact. But she had no cover to put on the book. She could format all the content, battle CreateSpace, struggle through all the tiny little details, but she couldn't do anything drawing/graphics/artsy to save her life.

So, she set out an SOS (or an SMB -- "save my book") to a good friend of hers. Now, this friend was very clever with things like cameras and films and graphics and images. If anyone could help her with this impossible cover problem, HE could. After all, he was Latitude 40 Photography. 

Now this friend got right down to work when he got the SMB. He braved the dangers of the wilds, blew up bridges, fought off alligators, and crawled through the depths of Tartarus itself (maybe -- I'm actually a little fuzzy on these details, but it all sounds nice) to get the perfect picture. 

But was the Latitude 40 man done there? Of course not. There was still much to do.

He edited the photo and sent it to the girl. She was so delighted with it, but she still wasn't sure what to do with it. She was so worried that she would mess it up and make it look like some cheap, self-published cover art. So, again, Latitude 40 jumped to the rescue. He did more editing, searched for all the perfect fonts, and sent back an absolute perfection of a photo for the book's cover.

And then she realized she'd sent him the wrong text for the cover. She was so upset with herself. 

But he fixed it. And then it was even more amazing than ever.

The End

~*~ 

So, that's more or less how it went. Maybe less than more, but anywhoz. It was my fault that the cover reveal was delayed like it was, but now we're all back on schedule. I am thoroughly indebted to Latitude 40 Photography (which you can "like" via this link to Facebook) and all the other friends who were so good to help me out with this. 

And, without further adieu... 

In a kingdom where fauna and flora are held in higher esteem than breakfast, Dmitri is a prince who yearns for change and plans it in a single daring act that will alter his life forever. However, when his demented mother accidentally causes the destruction of a prized garden of roses, Dmitri is horrified when she proposes his hand in marriage to make up for it. Not only will a wife hamper his glorious plans, he doesn't even want one. 

Janelle has spent her whole life on her father's rose farm, tending the roses and staying simple. But she really yearns for something greater than the flower beds. But now there's a wrench thrown in the works – the crazy Queen Maeva wants her to marry the prince, and all for ruining her father's beloved roses.

This is Beauty and the Beast with a twist like you've never seen it before.

~*~

The Rose and the Balloon will be available on Amazon August 1st! Be sure to add it to your bookshelf on Goodreads or, if you feel so inclined, check out the Pinterest board!

God bless! 

Kirsten Fichter is a twenty-something Christian writer who is trying to find the balance between being one of six kids, a church pianist, a college student, a movie buff, a disaster in the kitchen, and a writing INFP. If you know what the secret is to balancing all of that, she’d be grateful to hear from you. Otherwise, don’t contact her unless you want to send her homemade gingerbread. Or a new piano book. Or an autographed Charles Dickens novel. In the meantime, she’ll be somewhere under a maple tree – trying very hard to finish the seventeen and half other stories she unwisely started all at once.  

Brothers-in-Arms Cover Reveal

My friend Jack is publishing another book! And I have the great pleasure of participating in her cover reveal! 

About the Book: Can a Jew and a Nazi survive Hitler's Germany?

Franz Kappel and Japhet Buchanan never expected their friendship to be tested by the Third Reich. Friends from early childhood, the boys form an inseparable, brotherly bond. Growing up in a little German village, they escape most of the struggles of war until the day Japhet is banished from school for being a Jew, and later has a rib broken when other village boys beat him up. Franz learns he is putting himself in danger for spending so much time with Japhet but continues to stand up for his Jewish friend even at the risk to himself. Then one day their lives are shattered when they see first­hand that the price of being a Jew is dangerously high.

With the war now on their doorsteps, Franz and Japhet come up with a desperate plan to save their families and get them out of Germany alive. Leaving behind the lives they've always known, they move into Berlin with nothing to protect them but forged papers and each other. Convinced their friendship can keep them going, the boys try and make a new life for themselves while trying to keep their true identities and Japhet's heritage a secret. Taking his best friend's safety upon himself, Franz joins the Nazis in an attempt to get valuable information. At the same time, Japhet joins the Jewish Resistance, neither friend telling the other of their new occupations.

With everyone in their world telling them a Nazi and a Jew can't be friends, it is only a matter of time before they believe all the lies themselves, until neither is certain if they are fighting against a race of people or fighting for their homeland. Somehow they have to survive the horrors of World War II, even when all of Germany seems to be against them.

~*~*~*~

I know this is one book you will not want to miss. Jack is an amazing author, and I've absolutely loved any book of hers that I can get my hands on. *no joke* 

You can find more about this book at the following links:

Jack on Facebook

Jack on Twitter

Jack on Goodreads

Jack's Blog

Brothers-in-Arms on Goodreads

Brothers‐in‐Arms on Pinterest

~*~*~*~

About the Author:
Jack is one of those strange people who calls herself an Author. She spends a lot of her time writing and even less time editing. She likes to write about friendships which is partly how Brothers‐in‐Arms came to be. More than ten years in the making, this is the book she dreaded the most writing, but which also has the most meaning for her. When Jack isn't writing, which doesn't happen too often, she keeps busy with various other hobbies – such as reading, playing the bagpipes to the dread of her neighbors, and drinking tea – which might not be considered a hobby by most but which should be. She lives in a cabin in the woods with her dog and a library which isn't quite equal to Prince Adam's but will be given enough time and a secret doorway.

Water Princess, Fire Prince - Interview and Cover Reveal

My good friend Kendra is publishing another book! How that wonderful girl manages to give us so many books so quickly I'll never know, but she is an amazing authoress. 

Today, I have the great pleasure of participating in Kendra's cover reveal for Water Princess, Fire Prince. I know you all are eager to see the cover, but I must needs post an interview first. Just be patient, folks. *winks*

Ready?

Ah, my dear Kendra, what originally gave you the inspiration for this story? Any specific pictures that spurred the plot onward?

The story first came to me in the shower, in the form of the random thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I were to blink and suddenly find myself under a waterfall? I could be a Waterfall Princess!"

As for visual inspiration, this book was mostly plotted by the time that I discovered Pinterest, and skimming down my Rizkaland Pinterest board, I'm not seeing anything that really influenced the plot. Well, there's this pin ... 

{source} Clara likes rewording this quote.

Now, let's ask her brilliant characters (Clara and Andrew) a question. What's the most important thing you've learned on this journey? The most practical thing?

Clara: I'd say the most important thing I've learned is that I don't have to do it on my own. It's not the end of the world to have people relying on me, because I can rely on them right back, most of the time.

Andrew: I'd say the most practical thing I've learned is how to defend myself. It was rather useful, what with the war and all that.

This question is for Kendra, Clara, and Andrew: What is the best way to spend an evening after a long day of adventuring?

Clara: Curled up with a good book.

Andrew: With a good, homecooked meal.

Me: Good book and good food.

I really like how the common thread in that last question was food and books. I approve immensely. 

And now on to the cover reveal...

Ta-dah!

Ain't it purty? *grins* I won't gush.

About the book:

When the Lady Dragon does come,

Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.

Your Water Princess will fight,

Fire Prince will set all to right.

Each shall come from a Fall,

Their union will save you all.

Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.

All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost. 

What is to come will change their lives forever.

Where can you go to learn more about this book? I'm so glad you asked!

Check out Kendra's blog for more information on the blog tour for Water Princess, Fire Prince. Also, be sure to browse the following links! Water Princess, Fire Prince is all over the place! 

~ Available for kindle preorder: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Princess-Prince-Rizkaland-Legends-ebook/dp/B00YTQBTDI/  $2.99 the 19th and 20th ONLY (at which point I’ll put it up to its official price of 3.99)

~ Add it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24022364-water-princess-fire-prince

~ Part 1’s first chapter: http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2014/12/water-princess-chapter-1.html 

~ Part 2’s first chapter: http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2014/12/fire-prince-chapter-1.html 

About the lovely authoress:

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways.  She's been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, "Finish your story, Kendra", is frequently heard at family gatherings.  Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children's tales that also glorify God and his Word. You can read more about her on her blog, knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.