The Blood Moon and a Linky

These are my photos of the full moon the day after the blood moon eclipse. It wasn't that hard to capture these images. With my little Canon PowerShot, I kept my settings on automatic, didn't use the flash, rested the camera against a support, and zoomed in a bit on the first pics and zoomed in a bit more on the last one. And yes, it really was that orange-red color!

This blog is best viewed in Google Chrome.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

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Here's a peek at
my latest post

on 1camera1mom:

Fiesta and Casa De Reyes in Old Town

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My Latest Blog Posts:


Indie Fantasy Addicts Reading Challenge

The Green Princess Trilogy




Dragon School Books 13 and 14

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Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

<center> <a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitS14XLc-z2uSUW00dIvyZc7lEfLP2tkPgO3qmU3NWi_UObDs_d7XqpYhjp0BBeROyZot-8YlEFU9rguELrZYu3arN1qHHNpB4_ezrb-TlBlfHRSOvP7pBA0VI-j1RkUkF77wJxUc7M7ye/s150/Picture%2520Perfect%2520Party%2520Linky.jpg"/></a></center>

This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

How to use the linky widget:

Type in the name of your blog or blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see the hops that I often link up to.

Dragon School Books 13 and 14

Dragon School:

Dire Quest

About the Book:

Title: Dragon School: Dire Quest | Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson | Genre: Fantasy Adventure | Pages: 87 | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

Can the Dominion find allies?

A new story from USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson

With the Dominion so divided that no easy peace can come, Amel is sent on a dire mission to find outside allies. But Amel doesn’t speak the language and her powerful allies are far away. Can she do the impossible on her own?

Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon will love Dragon School.

DIRE QUEST is episode thirteen of Dragon School – expect a new episode every eighteen days!

Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Purchase on Amazon

My Review:

Dragon School: Dire Quest is Book 13 in this new and exciting young adult fantasy series. I'm having so much fun reading this page-turner fantasy series! The title of the 13th book is apt. Amel's quest certainly is dire! While her friends are busy saving the kingdom on their own missions, she's headed into unknown territory along with her faithful dragon to raise up an army to help fight the terrible Ifrits, but she must follow the path that is left to legend with only clues to guide them. Will they make it across? And once they get there, will she manage to convince them to help when she doesn't even speak the language?

Dragon School:

Ancient Allies

About the Book:

Title: Dragon School: Ancient Allies | Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson | Genre: Fantasy Adventure | Pages: 81 | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

Does an ancient artifact hold the key to defeating the Ifrit invasion?

A new story from USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson

When Prince Rakturan asks Amel to help him find allies in the war against the Ifrit invasion, Amel agrees to help. But when Amel’s companion puts her in an awkward debt bond and an ancient artifact seems to hold the key to success, can she do what it takes to overcome these new obstacles?

Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon will love Dragon School.

ANCIENT ALLIES is episode fourteen of Dragon School – expect a new episode every eighteen days!

Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Pre-Order on Amazon

My Review:

Dragon School: Ancient Allies is Book 14 in this new and exciting young adult fantasy series. Amel and Raolcan are tasked with delivering a message, but end up way over their heads. Nothing goes as planned and Amel gets herself into a difficult situation (which was not completely her own fault) with really no way out. Raolcan doesn't seem too bothered by her predicament, but even he can't anticipate how bad things are going to get! The adventure continues with Book 15, Pipe of Wings!

More Dragon School Books:

First Flight (Book 1)

Initiate (Book 2)

The Dark Prince (Book 3)

The Ruby Isles (Book 4)

Dragon School Books 5 and 6

Dragon School Books 7 and 8

Dragon School Books 9 and 10

Dragon School Books 11 and 12

More Books by Sarah Wilson:

Unweaving Chronicles

The Ex-Pacifist

The Splitting

The Matsumoto

About the Author:

Sarah K. L. Wilson

USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson, hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario where she lives with her husband and two small boys. Her interests include the outdoors, history, and philosophy. Her books are always about fantastical adventures in other worlds.

Website | Twitter

Disclosure: I received an ARC for both books . These are my honest and voluntary reviews.

Indie Fantasy Addicts Reading Challenge and Giveaway

Indie Fantasy Addicts
Reading Challenge and Giveaway

Do you enjoy reading fantasy novels by indie authors? I certainly do and for this reason I'd like to let you know about a great summer reading challenge (open internationally) with some fun prizes to be won! The goal is for members to discover more nail-biting, edge of your seat, take-you-for-a-wild-ride-and-leave-you-breathless books.

Some of the authors who graciously donated signed copies and ebooks to this challenge are USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors, including JT Williams, Alexia Purdy, Sarah K.L. Wilson, JC Kang, Mike Shelton, Eric T. Knight, JA Andrews and tons more.

#IFASummerChallenge Details:

The purpose of this is just to have fun and discover more amazing indie fantasy authors! We are going to make this simple. There is no set reading list. Audiobooks also apply. Read whatever you want as long as it’s indie fantasy.

All you have to do is post what you're reading and your thoughts on the book (without spoilers!) so the rest of us can discover more amazing adventures!

The Challenge will go until September 20, 2018—last day of summer! We will be doing a tiered winning system since not all readers read at the same rate. Eg. A tier for the winner for whoever reads the most indie fantasy books, and a couple tiers for those who read eg. 0-3 and 4-7.

Draws will be done to choose winners from the two lower tiers.

Grand Prize: Multiple signed books and swag
Tier Two: Chance to win a signed book
Tier Three: Chance to win ebooks from some amazing authors.

Let the adventures begin!!

Indie Fantasy Addicts on Facebook 

The Green Princess Trilogy and a Linky

The Green Princess Trilogy:

Flower (Book 1)

About the Book:

Title: The Green Princess Trilogy: Flower (Book 1) | Author: H.L. Burke | Pages: 225 | Genre: Fantasy | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

Kitrin always assumed her overprotective parents were just paranoid—until the trees started talking to her.

For sixteen years, Kitrin has longed for freedom from her parents' secluded manor. However, one day her emotions trigger flowers to bloom, roots to grasp, and trees to bend. Unable to control her unexplained abilities, she finds an anchor in a young man with sad eyes and his own secrets. A man who sends sparks through her, but who might be tied to her destruction.

Palace outcast and nephew of the king, Prince Bryce lives under the shadow of his father's execution for treason. To escape the toxic court, he takes comfort in the company of the kindhearted Kitrin. However, as the mysteries in both their pasts are revealed, he realizes the girl he loves is someone his family wants dead.

Purchase on Amazon:

Kindle | Paperback

My Review:

Flower, Book 1 in The Green Princess Trilogy, is a coming-of-age romantic fantasy adventure by H.L. Burke. It reads like epic fantasy without being an overly long book. The characters are well-rounded, the chemistry between the hero and heroine is strong, the magical elements are interesting, and the enemy is close at hand. The story will keep you riveted as bad things happen to the people you will come to care about, leaving you wondering if the love between hero and heroine will survive through all the turmoil. It's perfect for romantics of all ages!

Check out my blog post,

Meeting Author H.L. Burke!

Heidi Burke and Christina Morley

Check out H.L. Burke's Cover Reveal

of her latest book project!

Check out the author interview of Heidi that
I did in 2013 on A Tale in Two Parts!

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book. This is an honest and voluntary review.


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Want More from H.L. Burke?
Check Out My Reviews!

Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon

Cora and the Nurse Dragon

A Tale in Two Parts
with Author Interview

Dragon's Curse - Book 1

Dragon's Debt - Book 2

Dragon's Rival - Book 3

Dragon's Bride - Book 4

Beggar Magic

Steampunk Fiction

Nyssa Glass and the House of Mirrors

Steampunk Fiction

Lands of Ash

Apocalyptic Fiction

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About the Author:

H.L. Burke

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

For information about H. L. Burke's latest novels, author news and events, or to contact the writer, go to the H.L. Burke author website.

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Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #275

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

<center> <a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.co.za/" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaX10yWr7xxEQ5BBMhOqdZxobJ0omJBq-v8ENFn3YNNebsnsYBHwcGyje-XzSlHSJOIlZ1rEOp89LyNI97XrPFZtdeH_AvaNV3F8hOvHfsuwe29ALNQw75ibK34buYq7nhpGGZJ8UTnoB/s150/Make+My+Saturday+Sweet.jpg"/></a></center>

Weekend Linky

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.

My Oma's 90th Birthday and a Linky

The restaurant in La Jolla where we had the birthday dinner

My hubby and I flew to the States to visit my Oma (German for grandma) for her 90th birthday. Today's photos are of the pre-dinner party we had at the rental home in La Jolla, San Diego, where family and friends gathered and also a couple of photos at the restaurant. There were about 15 people who came to celebrate the day with her. I also wrote a short poem for my Oma that morning, which I read at the dinner.

This blog is best viewed in Google Chrome.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Pre-dinner snacks

Pre-dinner snacks

My brother and dad

My hubby and step-dad

My dad and brother and me
(My dad flew from Singapore, my brother from China,
and Hubby and I from South Africa)

My cousin, aunt, and mom

My Oma (German for grandma)

My poem

My brother and I with Oma at the restaurant

Oma with her tiramisu birthday cake

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Here's a peek at
my latest post

on 1camera1mom:

Old Town, San Diego

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My Latest Blog Post:

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Links

*********************

Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

<center> <a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitS14XLc-z2uSUW00dIvyZc7lEfLP2tkPgO3qmU3NWi_UObDs_d7XqpYhjp0BBeROyZot-8YlEFU9rguELrZYu3arN1qHHNpB4_ezrb-TlBlfHRSOvP7pBA0VI-j1RkUkF77wJxUc7M7ye/s150/Picture%2520Perfect%2520Party%2520Linky.jpg"/></a></center>

This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

Visit my Blog Hops page to see the hops that I often link up to.

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Links!

Author Heidi Lyn Burke has an exciting new project on the go! I'm delighted to share with you her cover reveal and pre-order book links for Spice Bringer. Be sure to check out my weekend post, Meeting Author H.L. Burke, if you missed it!

Book Blurb:

A deadly disease. A vanishing remedy. A breathless journey.

All her life, Niya's known she will die young from the fatal rasp. She survives only with the aid of vitrisar spice and a magical, curmudgeonly fire salamander named Alk. Then an ambitious princess burns down the vitrisar grove in an effort to steal Alk so she can claim her rightful throne. Joined by Jayesh, a disgraced monk, Niya and Alk must flee to the faraway Hidden Temple with the last vitrisar plant, or all who suffer from the rasp will perish.

But even as Niya’s frustration and banter with Jayesh deepen to affection, the rasp is stealing away her breath and life.

For a girl with limited time and a crippling quest, love may be more painful than death.

Preorder Links:

Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Kobo | Apple iBooks

Autographed Paperback Pre-Order:

Uncommon Universes Press

Regularly $17.99, autographed paperback pre-orders are $14.99 with free shipping discount (free shipping to US locations only)

About the Author:

H.L. Burke

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

Facebook Page | Facebook Reader Group

Twitter | Instagram | Website

Disclosure: This post is done entirely voluntarily by me and is not sponsored in any way.

Meeting Author H.L. Burke and Weekend Linky!

Heidi Burke and Christina Morley

I was in San Diego for my grandmother's 90th birthday. I knew that one of my favorite indie authors lived there, Heidi Burke, so I asked if we could meet. I've read and reviewed many of her books over the years on this blog. Amanda also read and reviewed one of her books with me, Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon.

She brought gifts, specifically two books that I haven't yet read, which she signed! I also gave her a few goodies from South Africa and my own self-published book, Happy Moms, Happy Homes. 

Below are photos of the gifts that I received from Heidi. The large dragon belongs to her and goes wherever she goes. 😄

Check out the author interview of Heidi that
I did in 2013 on A Tale in Two Parts!

*********************

Want More from H.L. Burke?
Check Out My Reviews!

Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon

recommended for ages 9 - 12

Cora and the Nurse Dragon

A Tale in Two Parts
with Author Interview

Dragon's Curse - Book 1

Dragon's Debt - Book 2

Dragon's Rival - Book 3

Dragon's Bride - Book 4

Beggar Magic

Steampunk Fiction

Nyssa Glass and the House of Mirrors

Steampunk Fiction

Lands of Ash

Apocalyptic Fiction

*********************

About the Author:

H.L. Burke

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

For information about H. L. Burke's latest novels, author news and events, or to contact the writer, go to the H.L. Burke author website.

*********************

Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #274

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

<center><a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.co.za/" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaX10yWr7xxEQ5BBMhOqdZxobJ0omJBq-v8ENFn3YNNebsnsYBHwcGyje-XzSlHSJOIlZ1rEOp89LyNI97XrPFZtdeH_AvaNV3F8hOvHfsuwe29ALNQw75ibK34buYq7nhpGGZJ8UTnoB/s150/Make+My+Saturday+Sweet.jpg"/></a></center>

Weekend Linky

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.