Tuesday, March 9, 2021

New Website!!!

It's finally done, I have a fresh website, with official pictures and a blog posting plan!

Here is a link:

https://marlenesimonette.wixsite.com/outofmywritemind

I'm going to keep this site up for a bit while I see what I can salvage from it. Once I take what I need/want, I'm probably going to mark it as a private site. That way I can always come back and look through it. Or I'll keep this one just for reblogs. I haven't yet decided.

Also, I've started a book review site with the Treehouse of Writers:

https://treehousetales.godaddysites.com/

Right now, Robyn and I are the most active reviewers; she posts on Mondays, I post on Fridays. She takes amazing book photos, and has inspired me to give it a shot. So far I've only taken a photo of one book (I'm happy with how it turned out!), but I'm trying to set aside some time on the weekends so I can do it with all of my reviews.

If anyone has fairy tale retelling recommendations, let me know! It could be featured in the future, or one of our team members can review it!

That's all for now,

~Marlene


Thursday, October 15, 2020

Blog Tour: Come Marching Home, Pt. 2

 

Welcome back to the Come Marching Home blog tour! Today, we have an interview with two sets of siblings from the book; Ernst and Alfonse, and Franz and Ada! Don't forget to check out the official lineup and schedule! While you're doing that, be sure to take a look at the pre-order goodies!

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1. What’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did together?

Alfonse: *runs hand over face* You should probably take this.

Ernst: Well…there was that time when you were climbing a tree to impress a girl. I was supposed to stop her on the road and keep her occupied until you got ‘into position’ but instead you fell out of the tree and broke your arm.

Alfonse: Mom was mad.

Ernst: Secretly, she thought it was funny though.

2. If you had more funds/means than you do now, what would be the most extravagant thing you would buy/do?

Alfonse: I want my own car. But like, one of the speedsters. Sleek and maybe red.

Ernst: I’d like to travel. Kind of hard when a war is going on, but maybe someday I will. I’d love to take Ada to see some different places.

Alfonse: Of course you would.

3. What are some of your favorite holiday memories?

Ernst: The Midwinter Festival is always the best time of year. I remember how much fun we used to have as kids. The food, the parties, and the gifts.

Alfonse: I remember one year where we ate so much we fell asleep at the festival and had to be carried home. That was the year we got wooden swords.

Ernst: Which also injured you.

Alfonse: I’m just lucky to have a brother who is a healer, that’s all.

4. Thank you, Ernst and Alfonse. On to Franz and Ada! What is one bad habit you have that you think the other doesn't know about?

Franz: Ada chews her nails.

Ada: I do not!

Franz: You only say that because you thought I didn’t know about it!

Ada: Well, you never clean your room. It’s a disaster! And you always leave your socks in the bathroom.

Franz: I can’t take a bath with them on.

Ada: They smell terrible!

5. What is your favorite holiday food?


Ada: Apple torte. Really anything with apples. Our village has some of the best apples that the Seidels grow in their orchard.

Franz: Agreed. Though nothing really beats apple cider and caramel popcorn. We only ever really get that on the Midwinter Festival so it’s really special.

6. How would you describe your appearance? How about the appearance of your sibling?

Franz: *sighs* Ada is too pretty, I am always having to beat the village boys away to save my precious sister.

Ada: That is a lie, I would say I’m moderate. And I am only interested in Ernst anyway. The other boys know that. *Blushes*

Franz: Well, how would you describe me, then? Ruggedly handsome? A real catch?

Ada: Frogface.

Franz: -_-

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Monday, October 12, 2020

Blog Tour: Come Marching Home


Welcome to the Come Marching Home blog tour! Be sure to check out the giveaway goodies, the live release stream, and all the other blog tour stops! Find the full official post here.

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Cover


 

Review

 Slight spoilers ahead

*******

As always, Hazel has given us epic, gut-wrenchingly difficult brotherly bonds, and an intriguing pseudo-historical fantasy world. This very much has WWII vibes, and does a great job of capturing the disjointedness of returning to the home front after being at the front lines.

One thing that contributed to my enjoyment was the cinematic pacing. All of the beats were in the right place, I had music going on in the back of my head the entire time, and the ending tied everything together. Books that follow this pacing normally annoy me, since I can see where everything is going. In this, however, I spent a majority of my time hurriedly swiping right and biting my nails (I'm surprised I have any left). There were a couple scenes that were reminiscent of the a Hallmark film, but they were well-done rather than...overabundant and...saccharine.

The triggering content, in my opinion, was balanced; enough detail to get a sense of the horrors of war, but not enough to be considered gory or over-descriptive for the average reader. It is likely stressful/detailed enough to turn off sensitive readers, however. So a forewarning there. There are flashbacks to battles, mentions of blood and dead bodies, and broken bones/other wounds are mentioned.

Hazel has a knack for writing stubborn characters. Very very stubborn characters. It made for a delightful clash of interests throughout. Also: no angst in regards to the love life of one of the main characters. Just. I was so happy. Sure there were problems, but they tackled them together and they didn't waste what time they had. Also, only one of the main characters had a love life to deal with, and it was a nice side-arc that didn't overshadow the entire story.

I feel like I have so much more to say...but this review is late in being posted and I WILL keep major spoilers out of my reviews! Though I may stop doing that soon, because everyone views different aspects of the story as spoilers and it is exhausting trying to write about a book without mentioning character-specific things...

Author Bio

Hazel B. West is the author of several novels including historical titles like On a Foreign Field, By Blood or By Bond; Wolfsblood, a book about werewolves in Roman Britain and the Modern Tales of Na Fianna series, which feature modern Irish warriors with swords and fast sports cars and lots of faeries.
Hailing from Purgatory (aka, Florida) Hazel is an indie author, book wyrm, and coffee connoisseur. She typically enjoys writing books with an unconventional flair, probably with a bit of folklore and mythology, most definitely with a lot of siblings or brothers-in-arms. When she’s not writing, she manages an Etsy shop, drinks a lot of coffee, listens to music, haunts conventions, or just holes up like an eldritch horror and binges her favorite shows—for inspiration. If you meet this rare creature on the street, she has been known to respond to the offer of coffee and old bookstores. But it’s probably best you try to contact her online first.

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Come back on Thursday for a character interview! Also, don't forget to check out the pre-order swag pack!

Friday, October 2, 2020

Cover Reveal: Come Marching Home

 I could have sworn I had this on auto-post, but nope...I did not even have it drafted...

One would think that quitting retail would help me not be so scatterbrained, but nope. Nope nope nope. I shall be coming back to fix the formatting and such, make it look more streamlined. Later. Even though the synopsis photo is making me chew at my hair and scream internally (IT NEEDS TO BE INSIDE THE MARGINS. But if it's smaller it's harder to read. 😫). (Plus reading the blurb is giving me a resurgence of feels from the book. 😭)

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Release Date: October 13th

Pre-Order Info

If you pre-order Come Marching Home or just order a copy of it by the end of October (extending because the paperback won’t be available for preorder), you can email the receipt of your purchase to sirwilliamssquire@gmail.com with your address and Hazel will send you a goodie pack!




Goodies: 

-A bookmark
-A sticker with art by H.S.J. Williams @h.s.j._williams
-A playlist curated by Hazel
-And if you order the paperback, you will get a signed bookplate

Synopsis



Cover




Author Bio

Hazel B. West is the author of several novels including historical titles like On a Foreign FieldBy Blood or By BondWolfsblood, a book about werewolves in Roman Britain and the Modern Tales of Na Fianna series, which feature modern Irish warriors with swords and fast sports cars and lots of faeries.

Hailing from Purgatory (aka, Florida) Hazel is an indie author, book wyrm, and coffee connoisseur. She typically enjoys writing books with an unconventional flair, probably with a bit of folklore and mythology, most definitely with a lot of siblings or brothers-in-arms. When she’s not writing, she manages an Etsy shop, drinks a lot of coffee, listens to music, haunts conventions, or just holes up like an eldritch horror and binges her favorite shows—for inspiration. If you meet this rare creature on the street, she has been known to respond to the offer of coffee and old bookstores. But it’s probably best you try to contact her online first.

Blog: http://hazelwest.blogspot.com 
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5289626.Hazel_B_West
Twitter: https://twitter.com/artfulscribbler
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modern_bard67/
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/hazelwest



Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Be Wary of Strangers, Part 13

Guess what?! I finally wrote a thing. It’s been done for almost a month. But let’s say I waited until Fall weather made an appearance, and just ignore my terrible life-juggling skills, ‘kay? (Crud I just now realized I still have my winter theme from last year.)

I am also working on designing and monetizing a website for fairy tale retelling, so keep an eye out for that. (See? More specific than “I’m working on another blog”, so I’m making progress. :P) And writing for a Deadzone group, I might be doing that soon. Totally unrelated to the aforementioned website, but my brain is melting and I feel the need to jam everything I’m doing/going to be doing in one section.

Hurry, read the thing before I start rambling about my knitting projects!

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Part Thirteen


A day and a half later, Loki is well enough to attempt cleaning the house. Painstakingly, he goes through the rooms, one by one. He doesn’t leave, to try and find the woman or his brother. One reason was that, despite his rapid healing, and even with the aid of a few spells, he was still weak. He shudders to think of what would have happened had Thor not still retained a modicum of control. The other was that the woman had left her jacket. It had an inter dimensional pocket, and should she survive her encounter, she would likely return for it.

Stopping to rest every few hours, he manages to clean the house. Out of habit, he heads down into the basement. With a torch in hand [check previous parts, can’t recall if they use electricity or fire], he navigates the maze. At first, he goes along with his head lowered, eyes half closed.

As he nears the room, his head jerks up.

Is that...breathing?

He whispers a spell to enhance his hearing, lowers to a half-crouch, and readies a dagger. Both Thor and the woman Delilah are in the room; Delilah lay sprawled on the bed face-down, Thor is on the floor at the foot of the bed in a heap.

Loki scowls at the woman. While Thor undoubtedly gave her trouble, there was no need for her to toss him aside like that. He holds his fingers together and aims a spell at the air above the woman’s head.

An explosion sounds, and a few lights flicker about the room. Thor makes no move, though Delilah stirs.

She blearily looks around, then stalks over to Loki’s side, ignoring the illusion that he placed in the doorway.

In an instant, she’s at his side, hissing into his ear: “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“You’ll have to be specific.”

Delilah’s fingers close around his throat. “That you’re from another @!#*& world.”

“Does that change anything?”

“Everything.” She winces and lowers herself to the floor—without relinquishing her hold on Loki’s neck. He awkwardly lowers himself to sit beside her. “Oh.” She releases her hold and runs her hands through her hair. “The rules of your world, the rules of this world—they’re fighting. I can neither cleanse nor kill your brother. Your magic won’t work much longer if you stay. I could help—provided you choose to remain here. Permanently. If you relinquish whatever—”

“Done.”

Delilah raises her brows.

A rueful smile tugs at his mouth. “Our family is dead, our home destroyed, and the universe is on track to be obliterated.”

“And you tried to drag that bedlam here.” She shakes her head. “I don’t like you.”

“Get in line.”

With a sigh, she leans back. “I need to rest. Maybe eat.”

“What blood do you require?” Loki stands and rubs his neck briefly.

She eyes him with disgust. “None. Do you have coconut water?”

“I could acquire some.” Before he leaves, he asks, “What artifacts are needed for the ritual?”

“What ritual?”

“Do you not need to perform a ritual to sever ties from my previous home?”

Delilah snorts. “I’m a vampire, not a Fae.” She yawns and uses the unconscious Thor as a pillow. Before he can object, Delilah raises a hand and points towards the ceiling. “My friend is upstairs. Go check on her.”

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Fairest Son: Cover Reveal

Yes, this book is released already, but the ebook is getting a new cover! And a hardcover!! Aaaaaaahhh look at it!

If you're a lover of fantasy, retellings, and heart-wrenching character development, give this book a read! Since I no longer know how to link to images or add text beneath an image with this new setup, here is the link.

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

IDIA Cover Reveal



I am happy to announce that there's finally a blurb and a cover for book three of the IDIA series! And also that I am hoping to be moving to a new blog; I'm getting tired of Google in general, and Blogger's various...let's call them quirks...are frustrating me to no end (I haven't looked at my old posts since the new update; I'm scared to see what's been done to them). Several times in the making of this post alone, I had to fight the urge to punch the computer screen.
Back to what you came here for:
You don't have to scroll to far down to see the cover, because I don't want to make you wait any longer than you already have. Drum-roll please, and then we shall commence.

Blurb

Albany and Brooklyn York are taking a much-deserved break from IDIA work and visiting their grandfather’s farm. But even far from the city, they find that they can’t quite escape their lives with IDIA—or FOE. When the twins find out that someone from FOE has set up shop in their neighborhood, they decide they need to find out what’s going on with FOE, once and for all. But when they learn of secrets that rock their world, will they still know who to trust?

Cover


Author

                                                 

Just a college student trying to find out where her King is guiding her, while writing the stories of the people she creates, the worlds she wants to live in, and the adventures she dreams about. Also known as a mythical creature called an “author.”
Find her at:
Writing Blog