Geeking Out About Fantasy (Er, I Mean, Guest Posting) at WriteOnSisters Today

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 / saraletourneau / 3 Comments

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m SO EXCITED about this!!! 😀

Today I’m over at WriteOnSisters, one of my favorite writing craft blogs, to talk about the literary genre I love most: FANTASY. (Bet that doesn’t surprise you, right?) This isn’t an episode of me fangirling, though. Instead, I explain the differences between high fantasy and epic fantasy, as well as the common ground they share in some stories.

Click here to read “When Wands and Swords Collide: Distinguishing High Fantasy from Epic Fantasy.”

Feel free to comment directly on the post at WriteOnSisters. I’ll be over there periodically to respond! 😉

Submit Your Questions for Eva’s Character Interview!

June 20, 2015June 19, 2015 / saraletourneau / 24 Comments

Recently I asked for suggestions about how to celebrate the site’s upcoming 6th blogoversary. Since then, I’ve come up with not one, but TWO ideas that I’m going ahead with. One will wait until after the Writer’s Digest Conference in July / August. But we can get started on the other today!

Why “we”? Well, the “day-of” blogoversary post will be a character interview with Eva, the protagonist for my YA fantasy novel The Keeper’s Curse. This means you get to ask the questions, and Eva will answer them! (Or, rather, I’ll answer for her. *lol*)

Instructions will follow after the jump. First, for your convenience, here’s a summary about Eva from her updated character profile: Continue reading →

Recent Reads: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor

June 8, 2015June 4, 2015 / saraletourneau / 43 Comments

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, Book #1)
Laini Taylor
Fantasy / Young Adult
418 pages (paperback)

Synopsis:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grow dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself? Continue reading →

Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 11: Of Fairies And A Female Knight

April 25, 2015April 19, 2015 / saraletourneau / 28 Comments

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga’s Reviews that shares the books (both physical and virtual) that you recently purchased, borrowed from a fellow reader or the library, won from a giveaway, or received as gifts. Stacking The Shelves will post on Saturdays as new books are added to my shelves.

*Please note that, starting with today’s edition, Stacking The Shelves will feature links to each book’s Goodreads page instead of their Amazon pages. That way, if you’re on Goodreads, you can any of the featured books to your Goodreads shelves.*

Some of you might remember that last fall, I was looking for recommendations for fantasy novels with fairy characters. I’ve been meaning to do some “market research” on such books because the protagonist and other characters from my WIP, The Keeper’s Curse, are Faeries. Something I should have done a lot sooner than Draft #2, but better late than never, right?

So, I finally bought my first batch of fairy novels for market research, as well as another YA fantasy classic I’ve been meaning to get a hold of. And they are…

Continue reading →

Stacking The Shelves, Vol. 9: Giveaways, Purchases, & Perks – Oh My!

March 7, 2015March 5, 2015 / saraletourneau / 26 Comments

I’m starting to think I have a book-buying problem. Any time I go into a bookstore, I see something that’s on my wishlist, and I must buy it then and there. For example, I went with a friend to Barnes & Noble recently because she was looking for a particular book. Guess who left with the larger purchase? *points to herself*

This edition of Stacking The Shelves contains the books I bought at B&N, plus a recent giveaway win (yay!) and some perks from a self-published author’s Kickstarter campaign. Take a look!

Continue reading →

Playing Harry Potter Spell Book Tag!

October 5, 2014 / saraletourneau / 2 Comments

Sumaira at Hyper About Books recently shared her Harry Potter Spell Book Tag list and challenged anyone who read it to take part in the game. Well, I couldn’t resist – I mean, we’re talking about Harry Potter, folks! So, here are the ten books I’ve chosen for my round of Harry Potter Spell Book Tag.

1. Expecto Patronum — A childhood book connected to good memories

Elizabeth Koda-Callan’s Magic Charm Books: Each story tells of a little girl’s struggle to believe in herself using examples such as learning to dance, being cast in the lead role of a school play, and coping with the birth of a new sibling. As a child, I felt connected to the main characters because they were about my age and I could relate to their experiences. What made the Magic Charm Books so special, though, were the necklaces that came with each book. Koda-Callan obviously knew that children often need something tangible to help them apply the lessons they learn. What better – and prettier! – way to help little girls remember the Magic Charm Books’ messages of courage and self-confidence than by offering a necklace with a charm that symbolizes each book’s unique story? Continue reading →

Stacking The Shelves: Volume 2 – Post-Birthday Fantasy Haul

September 20, 2014September 21, 2014 / saraletourneau / 10 Comments

Welcome to the latest volume of Stacking the Shelves! This meme is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may those books be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and e-books.

Volume 2 of Stacking The Shelves includes one gift (yay!) and three book purchases since Volume 1. Here they are! Continue reading →

“Light” Update: Write, Rewrite,… and the Quest to “Get It Right”

November 22, 2009 / saraletourneau / Leave a comment

I finally started working on Chapter 5 of “Light” a couple weeks ago. When I opened up the Word doc and read what was then the first couple paragraphs of that chapter, … well, I didn’t like them very much. *lol* So I started rewriting the beginning of Chapter 5.

Yes, I said “rewrite.” Younger writers consider this a “dirty” word sometimes, but – in all honesty – if you are serious about your writing and want your work to improve to the point that it’s ready for publication consideration, then it’s a necessary evil. Continue reading →

“Light” Update: Inventing Languages

October 4, 2009November 22, 2009 / saraletourneau / 2 Comments

Now that my website is almost completed, I think it’s finally time to start giving updates on the book I’m writing, “Light in the Barrenlands” (which I often call “Light” in short). And what’s a good topic to start with? How about… inventing languages? 😮 Continue reading →