Friday, May 16, 2014

Celebrate the Small Things and Cherie Reich's Reborn Release


It is time to Celebrate The Small Things.

This blog hop is very easy - just post a celebration, however small or big, in your blog. Visit the original host, Viklit, and sign up on the linky to join in the fun!









Yikes, my post turned out long, so skip along the bold print if you are in a hurry!

1. Viklit has four new co-hosts to help with Celebrate the Small Things:
Diana Wilder
LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge
Cyborg Mom (Katie)
CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

Thank you, ladies!!!

2. I broke through a mental and physical barrier last week and rode 47 miles (75.6K) last Saturday at the Lewis County Historical Ride! I had a asthma/breathing problem at mile 45, walked a mile, rode really slow for another mile, and sent my husband ahead for the car since the course was actually 49 miles. However, I rode a farther distance than I had ever ridden before, and I think I learned some of the wisdom of "butt in seat" for long distances. In other words, it doesn't matter how fast you ride, but how long you can keep your butt on the bike seat. (sound familiar to novel writing? it did to me.) It was glorious and agonizing, and afterwards I felt both triumph and defeat (Yay - I biked really far!, Boo - I didn't quite make the course. My husband drove me to the finish line, just so I could get there.)

3. Because I broke through that barrier, I found I could ride a base 20 mile ride in the mornings. By base, I mean that this is my new standard ride.

4. New handlebars are being put on my bike because I'm being held back from long rides by pain in my hands, arms, and shoulders. I get my bike back from the bike shop this morning!

5. Homeschool Co-operative classes are done for the year! Woohoo!!! (For those that don't know, a homeschool co-operative meets one day a week, and while there are several types of co-ops, usually parents combined talents to teach each other's kids different courses. I teach writing and literature. Other parents teach science, performing arts, math, etc. With just one day of teaching, we assign the students homework for the other four days and each parent supervises their own kid's homework. My kids don't do all their classes at co-op, so they each have some homeschool work to do before we take a "full" summer holiday. At this point, with the sunshine blazing this week, we are schooling half-time hours - which is all we really need to do to be done by mid-June).

6. The Homeschool Formal is this weekend and my oldest is super excited to go again this year with a group of friends. (Yes, homeschoolers have dances too. We don't all live like the characters depicted in Footloose - which sadly means, there is no Kevin Bacon dancing around - although maybe my kids are thankful for that.)

7.  Had a great Writer's Workshop group this week. At the same time, I'm kind of sad because one of our group is going to move away. She's a super talented writer. You can read her work at figment. I keep after her to submit her work, or publish it, so if you can, please encourage her. 

8. My cover reveal went well last week! and I am super thankful for all those who helped with posts, tweets, and facebook shout outs! Thank you!

9. Yesterday, I purchased Reborn by Cherie Reich and read it last night, it is so good. I didn't sleep as many hours as usual, but that's ok. Full review coming at Goodreads and Amazon later this weekend. I'm giving it five stars! So, I am super happy to Celebrate and Present:

Are you ready to challenge Fate?


To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.


On the day of Yssa’s death and rebirth, the god Apenth chose her as the Phoenix Prophetess.


Sea serpents and gods endanger the young prophetess’s journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget Tym, the boy back home. But the annoying yet gorgeous ferryman’s son Liam proves to be a distraction she can’t predict, even though he rarely leaves her alone for two sand grains.
 

Her boring temple life screeches to a halt when visions of her parents’ murders consume her. Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can’t change Fate, she’ll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.


Yssa must either accept her destiny or fight to change Fate.


Available in Ebook and Print!


 
Click here to add on Goodreads.

A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror collection Nightmare, a space fantasy novella collection titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles and The Fate Challenges. Reborn is her debut novel. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms. For more information, please visit her website.

For a quick review, let's just say, that this novel is well-crafted with beautiful writing and has characters that pull you into their world and their story from beginning to end. I highly recommend Reborn if you like Fantasy with a sweet touch of romance.

What are you celebrating this week?
 









36 comments:

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

So much to be thankful for! Well done on the bike ride - you're inspiring me to get back out there. :)

Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

Cherie Reich said...

Wow! That is awesome about the bike ride. And it makes my day you enjoyed Reborn so much. Thanks for reading, promoting, and reviewing!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks, Madeline!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks and You're Welcome! It's a great novel!

debi o'neille said...

I won't humiliate myself telling you how long my bike ride was not. :-) But congratulations on yours. And a book with sea serpents and gods gets my vote. I'll bet it's good!
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com

Suzanne Furness said...

Well done on the bike ride, a real achievement. Sadly I'm pretty useless on a bike myself!

Have a happy weekend :)

SK Anthony said...

Okay, now you're just showing off with your bike rides . . . hahahaha KIDDING! You're awesome! And I'm glad you're getting new handlebars, woot! And thanks for recommending Reborn, it looks and sounds fantastic! :D

TheCyborgMom said...

You had me at Kevin Bacon :) Congrats on your bike ride! That is a long way to go!
~Katie

Laura Clipson said...

That's a lot to celebrate! 20 miles, that's a long way! I spent a lot of time cycling this week, it was great.

L.G. Keltner said...

47 miles? Yikes that's impressive! Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

You have to be really proud of yourself for how much you've accomplished - both riding and writing/promoting! Cherie's awesome, and her book is next on my TBR. (Thanks very much for mentioning "rich backstory" on my good girl vs bad girl post. That makes a lot of sense to me.)

Tyrean Martinson said...

No worries about the length of your bike ride. At this time last year, I was struggling with 5-10 mile rides.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks! Happy Weekend!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Well . . . I'm just amazed I did it. If we met, you would not look at me and think "bike rider" . . . it's an accomplishment to get my hobbit-like body moving in the right direction.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Love that I had you at Kevin Bacon! And Thanks!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks! I hope you get to have some more fun this week too!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks! Happy Weekend!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thank you, Lexa! Cherie's book is awesome too! And I'm glad you liked my comment. :)

Maurice Mitchell said...

It's great that you're riding again Tyrean and you're right. It's all about hanging on.

Diana Wilder said...

How wonderful that you broke 'the barrier' and find 9 miles in the morning deliciously do-able. Odd how the doing of something very hard suddenly makes the other things bearable and even enjoyable.
...now I have a new book to read and enjoy. Thanks!
Diana at About Myself By Myself

Leandra Wallace said...

That bike ride was quite an achievement, congrats! I certainly couldn't do it. (so Miss Out of Shape here!) =)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Very true!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks!

Tyrean Martinson said...

I am too . . . but somehow I rode that far.

Nick Wilford said...

You made a personal goal with the bike ride and that's what counts! I haven't had a bike for years, I miss it!

Yay for Cherie - sounds like another winner. There's so many books of hers I want to read. Picked up her Nightmare Collection last night and already hooked, so I'm catching up slowly! :)

Stephanie Faris said...

Wow--47 miles! I don't even want to drive that far!!! Very impressive.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks, Nick! And yes, Cherie is an excellent writer!

Anonymous said...

That's an impressive ride, Tyrean. I did a 30mi a while back, and my left knee nearly gave out on me during the return trip. I had to pedal one-legged for a while, but I managed to get home. Stinkin' old skateboard injury.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks, Milo. I'm just amazed that I made it that far - my hobbit shape doesn't go places fast . . .
I'm sorry about your skateboard injury. Pedaling one-legged is no fun.

Heather R. Holden said...

Wow, you have heaps to celebrate this week! I'm so impressed that you managed to ride 47 miles. (I could never do something like that!) And hurray for Reborn! That's awesome how it's 5-star good! :)

Michelle Wallace said...

Tyrean, I'm super-impressed!
I've NEVER ridden a bike... (well, it's now public knowledge... *sighs*)
Maybe... one day... (I don't think I have good balance and will probably fall off...)
Cherie's cover is really captivating!

cleemckenzie said...

That was quite a list of things to celebrate. And, yes, butt in chair for length of time is definitely a writerly thing.

Christine Rains said...

Congratulations! That's awesome. You have lots of great things to celebrate. And yay for Cherie! Her novel is amazing.

Karen Lange said...

Congrats on breaking the barrier! That, along with everything else, are wonderful things to celebrate! :)

Tammy Theriault said...

Congrats to Cherie and holy cow that mile barrier breaking is amazing girl!!!!! Amazing!

Crystal Collier said...

Oh man! It's so sad when people move away who are amazing. I'm stoked for Cherie. I love her cover!