Shinobi 7 Character Insight: Hanran Nigaru

Heyo, readers! I hope you're all doing fantastic. The first month of the new year is almost at its end and hopefully you have gotten one step closer to your resolution. Or you can be like me, who was like "My resolution is to do nothing" and then you went off and did nothing, thus completing your resolution. 

Lol. 

Actually my resolution was to be a better me. A better daughter, sister, student, author, and ninja. So there are some feels for ya. Revel in them feels. 

I'm pleased to present my first character insight in the Shinobi 7 Series. Fans of the S7 Series, get ready, because I'm starting off with one of my most popular characters. The silent, skilled, and apathetic Hanran Nigaru! 

The feedback on Hanran's character is really amazing to hear. Thank you to every fan who has gone out of their way to tell me your favorite characters and give me feedback, it's truly appreciated.

In the initial conception of Hanran, I wanted to create a character that emulated the stereotype ninja. A character that was quiet, observant, and very deadly with a weapon. Hanran is the ninja with the mental focus and heightened senses, even if he's still considered a student and not yet acknowledged as a full shinobi. Although, Hanran is the type of guy who wouldn't care if he were recognized as a full shinobi or a fresh meat student. So long as he is stronger than his enemies, he is content. He is a character that is not easily distracted with details. He always focuses on the bottom line.

Hanran (反乱) means "rebellion", "revolt". Nigaru means (苦る) "to feel bitter", "to scowl".

As skilled as he is, it was also important for me to emphasize the void that he has emotionally. Why is he so guarded? Why does he always feel like he must have his weapon on him? What is the true reason he trains as hard as he does?

Most importantly, who is he training to fight? 

I've never really felt safe, I've never really felt at ease. I know that we're in a time of war, and I've immersed myself as a soldier in battle. There is no safety, there is no peace. There's just war.

Chaos.

~Hanran's POV, Shinobi 7: Trials of a Warrior (book #1) 

One important note about him is that he absolutely-positively-undeniably-without-question wants to be alone. Which is great, yeah, except for the fact that Hanran Nigaru is on Sector 7 with five other teammates, three of them being younger children, the team leader a complete ego-maniac, and a girl who's bound and determined to talk to him, no matter how awkward she is. The disgruntled lone wolf now has a pack. Whether he likes it or not, he must learn how to work with his new teammates. 

“H-hi I’m Teruko Cassie."

“I never asked for an introduction."

~Cassie and Hanran, their first meeting 

The reader will get to know more of Hanran's character as the Shinobi 7 Series goes on. They'll understand his struggles and motivations. His character will grow with his teammates as he learns that he is a vital part of the Sector 7 team. They rely on him as much as he relies on them. 

And yes, Hanran will have to learn how to deal with his teammate, Luna. 

Get Shinobi 7: Trials of a Warrior (Book #1) on paperback and on Kindle for $2.99. If you've read the first book, the sequel Poisoned Battleground is also available in print and Kindle editions HERE 

My Review-- The Mayonnaise Murders Part One by Keith A. Owens

Hello readers! I'm happy to share my review of The Mayonnaise Murders by Keith A. Owens. 

Synopsis:

Whoever killed Johnny Beardy ruined a perfectly good sandwich in the process. I was hungry when I found him, so that's the first thing came to my mind. For the record, my name is Vid. It's short for a name you don't wanna bother trying to pronounce if you're from Earth. Anyway, I solve problems. It's not what I always did, but things change and here I am. Stuck up to my gills in other critters' problems on good ole Planet 10. Once again, if you're an Earthling reading this, I meant that literally. You folks have a habit of making up cute little sayings and whatnot. Working your tail off. Sweatin’ like a pig. Up to your neck in. This ain't one of those. I have gills. Deal with it. On Planet 10, pork is fine but mayonnaise is illegal. Used as an essential ingredient in the highly addictive drug MayoMadd, mayonnaise has long been banned for the safety of the colonies which has been free of the MayoMadd craze for years. So then where did the mayonnaise come from? And who has enough pull to get it delivered to Planet 10? Or is somebody manufacturing it, and if so where are they getting the ingredients? Is sandwich spread really that important to a critter, and where does a dead rock star fit into all this? That’s what Vid has to find out, with more than a little help from Vee, a shapely news reporter with no shortage of attitude and an arsenal of quick comebacks wrapped in as much barbed wire as humor. What they eventually uncover is the biggest story of Vee’s career, but it could also pose one of the biggest threats to Earth’s teenagers – especially those with a taste for chemical thrills. The whole twisted affair could turn both Vid and Vee into wanted criminals just for playing too close to the fire.

My review:

This sci-fi adventure was a fun ride to strap on for. It was insane, filled with great quotes, wacky characters, and a plotline that kept getting better and better. 
 
The author Owens has his own voice and writing style that is very definable and enjoyable for me. He wrote to entertain and he succeeded.The book is fast-paced and the main character, Vid, was a well-developed lead to guide the reader through the plot. I saw some similarities in Owens writing as I did my own. To me, it seems that Mr. Owens writes to the beat of his own drum. This book may not be for everyone, but whoever wants to be entertained by a sci-fi novel should definitely have this book on their bookshelf.

Oh, and it's a detective/crime novel too. There's also that element of mystery. The character kinetics are great. 

All in all, this was a fantastically zany book and I look forward to reading more. 

Follow these links so you can get a copy of the Mayonnaise Murders for yourself! 

Goodreads 
Amazon 
Author's Goodreads Profile 

No Harm Will Come— Shinobi 7 Series Fiction #1

Author's Note: 

Heyo everyone! This is the first exclusive Shinobi 7 fiction for this blog. There will be many more to come. This blog is where readers and fans of the S7 Series can read more in-depth stories and behind-the-scenes fictions that happen in the universe of my books. You'll get to know the characters more and find out certain events that happen in the book series that wasn't told or gone into detail. These fictions are like the missing puzzle pieces, like a cherry on top. 

For this first fiction, I wrote about the two strong leaders of the Kitsune Clan. The grandmaster himself, Master Kitsune, and his right-hand-woman and second-in-command, Akira Miyamoto. Both characters are in Trials of a Warrior, Clash of the Clans, and Poisoned Battleground. 

Master Kitsune is one of the oldest and most powerful shinobi warriors. It was his call to open the school doors to accept new students, which is how Sector 7 came together. Akira Miyamoto is one of the teachers of the school and a very hardened woman. She did not agree with the decision to allow new students to train, no matter how outnumbered the Kitsune Clan is in the time of war. 

Just like the members of Sector 7, Akira had her start in the shinobi clan as a student, nothing more than a fresh meat member. How did she make her climb from a student to a full-fledged shinobi? How did she first meet the great grandmaster? The answer is uncovered below...


She lay there in a crumpled heap, with her limbs strewn across the dying grass field. An unsteady flow of crimson blood guzzled out of her side, for there was a sharp tanto blade buried inside of her flesh. Her unfocused eyes stared out into a nothing that only those on the brink of death would see. Her lips were slightly parted, with her chest heaving up and down in forced breaths. She had survived the attack on her village, but the life inside of her body was dissipating.
 
A tall man closed in on her. He moved silently through the long uncut grass. He approached her languidly, as if she were an old friend that he was visiting on a whim. There was no urgency in his actions, that is, until he saw the darkened grass that was stained with her blood.
 
He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the fallen girl before him. The tanto that was heartlessly left inside of her was no lighthearted matter. He squatted down and examined the intricate design of the deadly instrument. “Bandits,” he uttered in gruff tone of voice.
 
It was when the man spoke that the girl's jade-colored eyes found his own golden pair. The young girl stared at the man for only moment, but the connection that passed between them seemed three times as long.
 
“Augh!”

A pained shriek tore from her lips when he pulled the steel right out of her side. He did so without warning, and with precision she was too disoriented to comprehend.

 
The man threw the weapon away. He reached into a hidden compartment of his gi top sleeve and took out a small bottle, uncapped the lid, and poured it on her raw wound. She screamed once more with what strength was left in her body.
 
"It's alright," he assured. "No harm will come." He put the cap back on the bottle and stood up, never breaking his gaze on her. The sun rays reflected tear stains on her cheeks. Whether she cried from loss or pain, it was a mystery. It was probably both. "It'd go against my conscious to leave you here to die, young lady," he stated, to more himself than her.
 
With that said, he scooped the girl up so her head was rested against his chest, and he held her like a baby while her arms and legs dangled.
 
She was delirious, slipping out of her last grip of consciousness. But before her world went completely black, she managed to murmur in the softest whisper, "Thank you."
 
So concluded the first meeting between the shinobi clan master Kitsune Golden Tail, and his future second-in-command, Akira Miyamoto.

Thank you for reading! For the full line up of the Shinobi 7 Series books, please check out my Amazon page HERE. Trials of a Warrior (Book #1) and Poisoned Battleground (Book #2) are available on Kindle for only $2.99.  

P.S. I hope you like the drawing I did! Not my best, but I like the red color splash :)

Merry Christmas, yo!

Hello! Merry Christmas, everybody! 

Wow, I love the month of December. It's the month of my birthday, my grandma's birthday, Christmas, and the month I can wear all of my awful/amazing sweaters. Fun fact, I love wearing sweaters. The more ridiculous they are, the more I love them. I'm wearing one now as I type up this blog post. 

This has also been the month of releases! Shinobi 7's official sequel Poisoned Battleground is now available and I'm very pleased to see it set on my bookshelf. All three of my books are now available on Kindle and I plan to have some Kindle Countdown and promotional deals reaaaaaally soon! 

Poisoned Battleground's Kindle 
Shinobi 7's Kindle

I'd like to take the time to tell you, dear reader, that I am very blessed to be where I'm at today. I'm a writer, a daughter, a sister, and a friend and I'm happy if I'm a friend to you. I'm very grateful to anyone who has picked up my book or skimmed the free preview online. The support that I've been given is wonderful. And I'm only going to get better! I always strive to work harder and improve. There has been definite improvement already, in my writing and in the way I carry myself. 

The plan for this author ninja (me, I'm referring to myself) is to spend Christmas with the family and friends, try not to trip on things, and still find time for myself. I've got a holiday themed story for Shinobi 7 that I'll have posted (hopefully!) soon. Procrastination. It's all year round, baby. >:D

As an update on my month so far, I've had two book signings and one Christmas party. I was at the Main Street Books Author Extravaganza signing on December 1st. I met some new authors and caught up with some friend I had met before. These writers include Janet Taylor-Perry, the author of the Raiford Chronicles, Marie Castle, the author of the Dark Mirror Series, Wynne Huddleston, author of From the Depths of Red Bluff, and Amber Mills, author of Of Lonely Hearts. Here's a few pictures of me and these awesomesauce ladies! :D

The links to these writers' pages will be listed at the bottom. Also as an update, here's my current reading/reviewing list for those requesting reviews. I'm currently on the book The Mayonnaise Murders Part One by Keith A. Owens. I'm sorry for the wait, all I can say is that I will get to these books when I can and I will let you know before as well! :) 


The Mayonnaise Murders Part One by Keith A. Owens
Looking Over Your Shoulder By P. Workman
Song of the Sea by Jade Varden
Water Like Crimson Sorrow by Amanda M. Lyons
The Mayonnaise Murders Part Two by Keith A. Owens.

In other words.... asdfghjkl; I have a lot to read. But hey, I'm an author! It's the business. It's my business to be in the business. Know what I'm saying? Ya gotta be in the know to know, ya know? No? Well that's why you don't know. 

Haha :D

As my final part to this blog post, let me tell you a funny story about my Christmas party. It was the Xmas party for my karate class and there was a total of twenty-one of us playing Dirty Santa. I was #4 and the first gift I got was a remote controlled helicopter. Which is cool, I suppose, if you're into remote controlled things. I'm not, personally. Luckily, a little six-year-old boy took my gift. I was like, "YESSSS. THANK YOU." 

So, now I was without a gift, and I walked up to the table to take another one. I could have stolen a gift from the others but I was interested in opening a new gift. I pick up a small present wrapped in puppy dog wrapping paper. I tear it open quickly. Low and behold... my gift... was.... A SWAG BELT.

"Eat your heart out, Audrey!" I say to my classmate, a thirteen-year-old girl who constantly says swag. I happily put on the belt and latch the swag in place. I was overjoyed and amused. I, Lily Benitez, just opened up the swag. 

"I'm stealing that," my friend Tyler tells me. By all means, he's free to take the belt because this is Dirty Santa and anything goes. 

"You're gonna have to take it from me!" I yell back at him.

"In other words, he'll have to take your pants off?" another classmate of mine asked in amusement. 

I remembered that I had put the swag belt on and it was looped through my jeans. "Er, that's not what I meant," I answer with embarrassment. 

As the night went on, several of my classmates threatened to take my swag because they knew how much I loved my belt. However, at the end of the night, when all was said and done.......

MY SWAG MAINTAINED!!!

 And that was something to be happy about :D Because if someone really did want to try and take my swag, I really would have fought them for it. Heh heh heh. 

Anyway, that concludes this rambling blog post! Thank you, reader, for doing what you do best. Which is reading. Hence why you're the reader. That's how this works ;) 

Some links I encourage you to follow! Some great writers to check out!

Janet Taylor-Perry: Amazon
Marie Castle: Amazon (Also check out her website where she's got a 10% holiday discount on her books, promo code HHOLIDAY14 click HERE)
Wynne Huddleston: Amazon 
Amber Mills: Amazon

My Shinobi 7: Holiday Story will be posted later this week. Hopefully the day before/after/on/around/near Christmas. There. 

~Lily

Midday: 'Shinobi 7: Poisoned Battleground' - WDAM - TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports

WDAM - TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports



Well, that happened! I was on the WDAM Midday
news to talk about my new book release "Poisoned Battleground". The
official Shinobi 7 sequel is now available on Kindle and paperback on Amazon.com! 

Poisoned Battleground is HERE!

Hello hello! I can't tell you how excited I am to share all of my feels with you today! December 6th is not only my dear grandma's birthday (she's 78 and just as mean as ever, lol) but today is also the release of my second novel Poisoned Battleground! 

Shinobi 7's official sequel is here. The characters you got to know and love are back for more adventures. Follow Sector 7 as they face new challenges in the epic ninja saga! 

Synopsis:

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...

The book is available now on Amazon.com. Click here to get your copy! The first installment of the series Trials of a Warrior has a 4.13 rating on Goodreads and 4.4 rating on Amazon. 

 The advanced reader copy reviewers are loving it so far. Check back for Kindle deals that will go on all this month and thank you very much for your support!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Swag links (cause I'm so swag lololol)

Amazon 
Goodreads 
Facebook 

 

Review: Eyes Like Blue Fire by Amanda M. Lyons

Heyo! It's December 2nd and my blog's one month anniversary was yesterday. I completely forgot. So happy belated birthday to, well, me! Today I'm reviewing the gothic vampire novel Eyes Like Blue Fire by the author Amanda M. Lyons.

Synopsis:

Katja has long spent her life buried in the pain and sorrow of her past, a vampire abandoned to her fate for over 300 years, she never expects to meet another who could help her reclaim her existence. Raven, a poet and fellow lost soul, could be the one to spur her on, but in order to have the future she has only begun to grasp, she must uncover the truth about her origins and the awful event which left her alone centuries before. If she cannot face her past and reclaim her strength, she will lose everything.

 

That's a great looking front cover, just saying. 

This book was a fantastic read. I'll give it 5 stars easily. Gothic vampire is definitely not a genre I read a lot in, perhaps ever at all. But Amanda's synopsis sounded interesting and I thought I'd give the genre a try. I must say, I'm a fan now. So kudos to Lyons because I'll be reading in this genre much more. I'm gonna read her sequel soon, in fact! 

What I liked best about this book was the main character, Katja. I've read other reviews of this book and most readers liked the character Zero. Well, he was my second favorite character. I found myself pulling for the protagonist, the auburn-haired vampiress Katja. The first half of the book was understanding her past and how she came to be a vampire in the modern day. I thought her back story was handled very well. It felt like I was on Katja's team, everything that happened to her was page-turning. 

The book had many flashbacks throughout it. While sometimes this can be confusing, the author did a great job of keeping the timeline simple and understandable.

The big finale was definitely great to read as well! All in all, this book has my 5-star rating and I'm very happy to have read it. 

To follow Amanda and find out more about her books, follow these swag links and get to know her! :D

Website: http://amandamlyons.weebly.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaMLyons

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-M-Lyons-Author-and-Editor