Summer Sun Poem

Great is the sun, and wide he goes 

Through empty heaven with repose; 

And in the blue and glowing days 

More thick than rain he showers his rays. 

Though closer still the blinds we pull 

To keep the shady parlour cool, 

Yet he will find a chink or two 

To slip his golden fingers through. 

The dusty attic spider-clad 

He, through the keyhole, maketh glad; 

And through the broken edge of tiles 

Into the laddered hay-loft smiles. 

Meantime his golden face around 

He bares to all the garden ground, 

And sheds a warm and glittering look 

Among the ivy's inmost nook. 

Above the hills, along the blue, 

Round the bright air with footing true, 

To please the child, to paint the rose, 

The gardener of the World, he goes. 

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Rebel Queen Book Review

Title: Rebel Queen.

Author: Michelle Moran.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Romance, India.

Plot: Sita grew up in a tiny peaceful village in the small kingdom of Jhansi - one of many little kingdoms that made up the mysterious land of India. With heartbreak in her past at a young age and the prospect of a horrifying future if her wicked grandmother has her way, Sita takes the only option left open to her and trains for years to become a Durgavasi. Sworn to protect their queen at all costs, the Durgavasi are Rani Lakshmi's personal bodyguards and competition to become one is stiff. Not surprisingly, Sita succeeds and becomes the newest member, only to quickly learn that life in the palace isn't at all what she'd thought it would be.

Tension from within and without begins to slowly build and trouble brews on the horizon. The raja is more interested in his plays than in ruling his kingdom, while his young wife nurtures the life growing inside her. But when tragedy strikes, the gates are opened and the storm bursts in painful waves of sorrow, defeat and death. But through it all, Sita bends but never breaks - like bamboo.

Likes/Dislikes: I won a copy of this book in a giveaway {which is something that never happens to me}, and I was really excited to start reading it. The story began beautifully and hit a sad bump almost right off the bat. But that bit factored into the story, giving motivation to our quiet heroine Sita. I loved how she loved reading books and bonded with people through exchanging books. I really wanted to learn more about this part of history since it was an era I don't know much about, and in the beginning of the book were lots of delightful little historical blurbs and explanations that were skillfully woven into the story. They stopped after awhile though and more than halfway through the story, there still wasn't much action going on. I'd expected lots of exciting battles and such, not confusing court intrigues. The book was wonderfully written; it was a joy to read, but the story itself started to fizzle out a little for me about halfway through and then the actual battle bits I was hoping for were a let down. They were basically reports of brutal awful things happening to other people; it felt rushed. I'm sincerely grateful none of it was in more graphic detail but it still jarred me. I loved the cover. One of my biggest disappointments was when the characters were getting etiquette lessons from an English woman; this would've been the perfect opportunity to learn more about day to day customs and practices in both cultures yet it didn't happen.

Rating: PG-16 and up, mainly for reading level and content {suggestive content, descriptions of temple prostitutes, descriptions of brutal massacres of women and children, reports of rape and kidnappenings of girls, etc. Nothing overly graphic but it's still there so sensitive people should be aware}.

Date Review Written: June 10th, 2015.

Princess Joy Book Review

Title:  Princess Joy Stick and Activity Book

Author: Jeanna Young and Jacqueline Johnson

Illustrator: Omar Aranda

Genre: Christian, Children’s, Interactive

Plot: Its Princess Joy’s birthday! Surrounded by her loving father, her four sisters and her adorable puppy, Rosebud, Princess Joy is having the time of her life and needs you to help her with her birthday activities! So grab some brightly colored crayons and a set of stickers and let’s go!

Filled with brilliantly colored pictures and a gentle story, this little activity book is perfect for your Princess Joy to enjoy on her birthday! There are lots of stickers to stick everywhere, a word puzzle, and several other fun easy activities that are sure to occupy your little one.

Likes/Dislikes: This book is geared toward 4-6 year olds, so my little Princess Joy {whose name is actually Joy and she has blonde hair and blue eyes too – hence why I decided to review this book} won’t be able to fully enjoy it for a few more years. I’ll save it for her birthday. In the meantime, I did read the storyline to her and she seemed to enjoy all the brightly colored pictures. To me personally, I thought the artwork was beautiful but busy with an odd blend of modern activities and old fashioned scenery. But that’s just me. I wish I had a little book like this when I was a child!

Rating: G- all ages. Recommended for 4-6 year olds in particular.

Date Review Written: June 4th, 2015.

I received a copy of this book free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Supermarket Healthy Book Review

Title: Supermarket Healthy

Author: Melissa D’Arabian

Genre: Cookbook, Health Food, Modern, Celebrity Author

Plot: With healthy eating a popular trend right now, you’d think there would be a simple inexpensive way to serve healthy meals for your family. But with tight budgets and picky eaters, this can be tricky for any mom or dad. This is where Supermarket Healthy comes in handy. There are tons of easy to follow recipes in this book that lay out a good basic groundwork for how to serve healthy meals to your family. With a section on breakfast, lunch, snacks, beef, poultry, vegetarian and dessert, there’s something in here for everyone. There are also tips for converting regular recipes into gluten-free and vegetarian, tips for long-term storage and time-savers in the kitchen.

So grab your appetite and get ready to try a whole new adventure in your kitchen! Your body, family and wallet will thank you later.

Likes/Dislikes: I’ve never reviewed a cookbook before so I really wanted to try at least one recipe out of this book before writing my review. However, due to budgeting, time constraints and quite honestly forgetting to pick out a recipe, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve been eying some delicious looking ones such as Almond Waffles with Raspberry-Basil Sauce, Smashed Sardines on Crackers, Chocolate Dipped Popcorn and Tilapia in Caper-Tomato Sauce. I’m not a vegetarian or a participant in the popular gluten-free bandwagon {I also have my own opinions about that but that’s for another post}, so I skipped most of the veggie main dishes and mentally added more meat to other dishes. One thing that really bothered me was that the author uses a lot of canola oil which is a very unhealthy oil for you. I’d go with olive oil instead. I really enjoyed the photos and recipe blueprints.

Rating:  PG-all ages. Recommended for everyone.

Date Review Written: June 4^th, 2015.

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Anna King Interview!

So if you all saw my promo post for Dorothy's Story then you're in for a treat because we're interviewing the author today!!!!

Welcome, Mrs. King, to my library! How are you on this lovely Spring day? I'm great, thank you.

Do tell us a little about your latest writing project! Right now I'm working on my second short story in the Amish Romance series I'm writing. It's called "Miriam's Story", and it's based on a character introduced in my first book, "Dorothy's Story".

What made you want to become a writer? I have always loved to read and I have a big imagination, so writing is a good fit for me.

How do you get inspiration for your stories? My stories are inspired by ideas that have been sparked in my imagination from things I observe in the world around me.

Are your characters inspired by real-life people, your imagination, or a mix of both? A mix of both. If I imagine a character, I will often pull traits into my character profile of people I know in real life that are similar.

Which area would you say you’re strongest in as a writer? {Plot, dialog, description, action, characterization, showing vs. telling, etc.} Characterization.

Which area are you weaker in? Plotting. I know where my main character starts out and ends up, but sometimes it takes me a while to figure out the journey in between.

What do you do when you hit writer’s block? Make myself a coffee and grab an Oreo cookie.

Do you have a favorite spot to write? My kitchen table.

Do you work best in peace and quiet or surrounded with background noise and action? I would probably work best in peace and quiet, unfortunately that's hard to come by at my house.

How do you decide which story to work on next? When I'm inspired by an idea, I develop it to the point of being a series of 3-5 books. Then I start at book one and write my way through to the last one.

Which genre do you prefer to work with? Romance, namely Christian romance. I love a good, clean love story.

Who has influenced your writing the most? I read books from a wide array of genres and author’s, and I think the stories that excel at bringing the characters to life are the ones I strive to emulate in my writing.

Who are your favorite authors? There are too many to list. I’m a reading fanatic.

I understand you’re a mother; how do you balance writing and motherhood? Some days better than others. I try to stick to a schedule to ensure nothing gets neglected. If I could just cut out a few hours of sleep at night, I would have it made. :)
What is your advice for other aspiring authors out there? Production and persistence. Keep writing and don’t get discouraged. Hard work pays off.

Where can my readers go to find out more about your books? I welcome everyone to join me on Facebook. Readers can also join my mailing list for sneak peeks of upcoming releases and other book related updates.

And for a random question, how many different types of cookies have you made? Not very many. I have a number of talents, and baking is not one of them. Now, as far as how many cookies I have tried, well that’s a different story altogether!

Thank you so much Mrs. King for visiting my library! Do come again; it was a pleasure working with you.

Two Contests and A Challenge!

Well, after a quick scroll through my blog feed, I found some exciting new posts to share with you all! Enjoy!

Amber at Seasons of Humility shared a fun annual Fairy Tale Retelling contest. This year's theme is an exciting one, though I do regret not being able to finish my entry in time for last year's contest.

Sarah at Homeschooled Authors is hosting a fun reading/reviewing contest with a very enticing prize.

Tarissa at In the Bookcase is hosting her annual Louisa May Alcott Challenege! Check it out!

See ya later!