Bleeding Heart by Elizabeth Rawls and Rachel Rawls

Alright everyone! Here's my first book review. I'm not promising anything fancy here. All I can say is that all my reviews are 100% honest and I read purely for entertainment. I'm just a reader, a fan in the stand, and a  cheerleader. Although I've never held pom-poms before... 

The point is, these reviews may not be extensive and majorly in depth but they're Lily-Style! I'm thankful for those who read my work and for those who request that I read theirs. I'm a big indie supporter! With little introduction, here's my review of the first book on my reading list. 

Bleeding Heart, by Elizabeth and Rachel Rawls:

 Synopsis: 
A collection of heartfelt and intriguing poems, short stories and riddles broadening your view on life and dealing in a wide range of topics: faith and hope, the realm of fantasy and imagination, dreams, silliness, and the hardships of life. If you feel like reading something short with a strong message behind it to get you through the day, browse a wide variety of poem titles. If you want funny, the "hump day" poems will make you laugh! If you want to delve into something more, a story that touches your heart and makes you think, there are short stories to peruse. If you want to challenge your mind, the riddles are like a fun puzzle for all ages to enjoy! Everything you need can be found here in this inspiring and thought-provoking collection!

Let me start by saying that I give this book 5/5 stars. I loved it. It was a very endearing and satisfying read. There was nothing about this book that I didn't like. I'm not even sure where to begin, my mind is swarming around like a bunch of buzzing bees!

The book has a lot of personality. It's very outside the box and quirky and just fantastic. What do I mean by outside of the box? For each poem and short story in this book, there is a different font, size, and layout. The poem "A Fairy's Longing" looks much different than the poem "A Dragon's Treasure" and so on. My impression was that each story in this book had its own unique design and that's something I'm very pleased with. 

As for the actual stories inside of the book, they did not disappoint. Both authors, Elizabeth and Rachel, have great story telling talent.They know their way with words and I look forward to future works of Rawls.

Some of my favorite poems were Mirror World, Night Forest of Lights, and the very powerful Mankind's Downfall. It was hard choosing my favorite, though. Asking me to pick my favorite poem is like asking me to pick a favorite My Little Pony character. One doesn't simply just pick a favorite when the book (er, pony?) is so good! I swear, I'm better at analogies than that. 

This book would also make a great gift for anyone who reads/writes poetry. I would definitely recommend it for a Christmas gift.

A solid 5/5 stars for this book!

For all the information on Bleeding Heart and Elizabeth Rawls, follow these swag links and connect with her online! Go on, get creepin'!

Elizabeth Rawls:
Goodreads
Wordpress
Amazon


With one review down, I'll have more to come in the future! Stay tuned! :D

Book Reviews, Updates On My Life, Art Flops

 Hello lovelies. You all look great. I'm really liking that face thing you've got going on. Ya know, if I could peer through the computer screen and see you, of course. 

((Whoa Lily, you just got super creepy...))

I know, I know... 

butyoukindalikeitright? 

HAHAHAHA! 

Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I don't know what that was. That was me playing around with an intro and I'm just like, "Whatever, I'll go the creepy route." Heh heh. This blog post has a purpose, don't be alarmed. 

First things first, here's a little update on my life. I'm sick. As in sneezing, coughing, and breathing from my mouth sick. It stinks. I had to miss karate class on Tuesday and I can't go out on my usual runs or walks. 

((We didn't come to this blog to hear you whine about your life, Lily))

I know, I know. 

There is a silver lining in my sickness! Because I've been stuck at home, I've also been able to catch up on my reading. I've even got more to add to my book review list. So far, I haven't posted my first review yet but I plan to post my first book review on Sunday. Then I'll get a routine going and post all of my reviews on Sunday. If you would like me to review one of your books, please visit the Contact Me page of this blog. Here's my current reading so far:
1. BakaKaiser: Book of Heroes by Rowan Lake Jr.
2. Eyes Like Blue Fire by Amanda M. Lyons
3.Water Like Crimson Sorrow by Amanda M. Lyons 
4. Mayonnaise Murders Part 1 & 2 by Keith A. Owens 
The review to BakaKaiser: Book of Heroes will be posted this Sunday. 

Other than the books I have yet to review, in other author news, I'll be hosting my own book signing on December 13th of this year. I'm very excited for it because it will be the signing I sell my second book for the very first time. Poisoned Battleground, Shinobi 7's official sequel, will be released on Amazon on December 6th, 2014!

Now for the part of the blog that I was most excited about... the artwork! Since I've been home sick, I've had some time to get artwork done of my characters. Below are two pictures, the first one of Black Rose and Rengoku, the two main antagonists that make up the evil shinobi clan Blackthorn. The second picture is Akira Miyamoto, the second-in-command of the Kitsune Clan, as well as Blackthorn's most hated enemy. 

Soon (very soon....) I'll be posting some Shinobi 7 prompts and fictions for you readers as well. As always, thank you for reading this blog post! Post in the comments and if you have an author page, blog, or Goodreads page, let me know and I'll follow you back! :D

Poisoned Battleground: Cover Reveal!

The time has come...

Shinobi 7's official sequel Poisoned Battleground will be released Saturday, December 6th, on Amazon.com... ONLY ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! To get you lovely folks pumped for the event, here's the cover reveal to look forward to.

The cover features the only shinobi woman of the Kitsune Clan, Akira Miyamoto! She, along with Sector 7, find themselves locked in another battle and a lot more trouble than they can handle. Here's the summary of the book that can be read on the back cover:

Ready for round two, Sector 7?

Shaaku Den's six unlikely heroes have just survived their first battle and defended Swan Bara from the evil Blackthorn Clan. Although a battle has been won, the war is still upon them, and Black Rose has other tricks up her kimono sleeve. The fate of Shaaku Den must still be fought for, and the Kitsune Clan will give it everything they've got!

Led by the shinobi woman Akira Miyamoto, Sector 7 accompanies their sensei to Viper Country, where they encounter a long surviving shinobi clan known as Tiger Rage. It doesn't take long for the night in the Viper Mountains to turn dangerous, and once again the fight is on for the Kitsune Clan. Friendships will be tested, good intentions will turn bad, and nothing is what it seems. All a part of the trials Sector 7 must face to become true warriors.

Will Sector 7 be able to remain a team, even with fate trying to split them apart? They may have unknowingly stepped into the Tiger's Den...

To get ready for the Shinobi 7 release, enter to win the goodreads giveaway for the first book Trials of a Warrior (Shinobi 7 #1). Giveaway ends November 29th, so feel free to join!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Shinobi 7

by L. Benitez

Giveaway ends November 29, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The First Post!

O-heyo! Alright, so this is my first ever blog post. So begins my adventure of a blogger. Welcome! 

For my first post, I'll talk about the intention and direction of this blog. This is a place where readers can get to know me, my Shinobi 7 Series universe, and other fellow writers. I'm in the indie author community. I publish all my books through CreateSpace and I'm always learning and growing as an author. I've met a lot of great people in my career so far as a writer and I'm excited to meet many more. So please, don't be shy, leave a comment and link me to your blog, I'll follow you back.

Alas, the launch of this post is on November 1st, the start of the NanoWrimo month. I'm participating this year and I'm going to try to meet 50k words. Thing is, the book I'm writing will probably end up being between 100-125k, so I'm using the month of November to put a dent into the story considerably. I participated in NanoWrimo last year and made 50k on the 3rd Shinobi 7 book I was writing at the time. 

For this go around, however, I'll be focusing on a standalone novel that's titled Cold Scales. Unless I change the title, that is. I can be fickle about the most peculiar things. It's one of my goals to be more involved in NanoWrimo this year. Last year was quite pathetic. I made one friend and only logged in to update my word count. That's all. I was about as social as a rock and didn't bother to search the site or get familiar with it. 

But this year will be different! I'm gonna make friends, derp around the site, and hopefully come out in the end with 50k words! With that said, if you would like to be my friend, here's my profile link. At least, I think it's my profile link. That site hates me, I'm tellin' ya. My page! 

Are there any of you participating in NanoWrimo? It's great if you are, I'm always encouraging others to write. The site sends me emails all the time about writing tips.

On this very first blog post, to make it slightly more special than all the others I plan to write, I will list my eBook giveaway! Enter the giveaway below (free to enter) and you could win an eBook of Clash of the Clans, the Shinobi 7 Companion Book. Clash of the Clans is a great book for those of you who have never read anything by me before. It's a short story (around 24,000 words) and it will give you a great example of my writing style, give you a glimpse into the characters of Shinobi 7, and hopefully you'll want to read more! :) 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway    

Please leave a comment, like, share, keep the swag going! Hahaha! I think this will conclude my very first blog post. The Clash of the Clans raffle is going on for one week, so there's plenty of time to share. Also note, if you're an author who's hosting a giveaway (or planning to) please see my "contact me" page and email me if you'd like me to help you promote your book! I'd be happy to do so!