July 2020 ~ Amanda's Books and More

Friday, July 31, 2020

Dragon's Reach

Dragon's Reach

About the Book:

Title: Dragon's Reach | Author: JA Andrews | Pages: 614 | Genre: Epic Fantasy

Book Description:

The truth is neither plain, nor simple.

Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss she's indebted to.

Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions:
-a dwarf running from the past,
-an actor with a magical, glowing tree
-a too-helpful kobold,
-a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and
-a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers.

But Sable’s freedom is short lived.

On the edges of civilization, they discover hidden, terrifying lies in the offers of peace from the brutal Kalesh Empire.

Now, she must return to the city she fled, and along with her companions, attempt an impossible task—convince everyone, including the powerful Dragon Prioress, of the truth.

Except the Kalesh web of lies has ensnared everyone.
With her land, her people, and everything she loves hanging in the balance, Sable is the only one standing between freedom, and certain death.

Purchase on Amazon:

Paperback | Kindle

My Review:

Dragon's Reach is Epic Fantasy with a hint of romance. It's a page-turner of a story that's unique and unpredictable. There's danger at every turn. J.A. Andrews creates colorful characters, brilliant world building, and witty dialogue. This is the first book in a new series and will leave you hanging. I can’t wait to find out what happens to Sable and the others!

3 Favorite Quotes from
Dragon's Reach:

“I think we become better people when we spend time imagining what other people are living through."

“She prayed for your safety and that your heart wouldn’t be broken by the world. That it would stay generous and kind.”

“Only the same law everything else is under. That our own actions shape and change us, even the small ones.” Cintis paused. “Especially the small ones.”

Related Reviews:

A Keeper's Tale and
A Threat of Shadows

How JA Andrews began writing her first book:

My husband was out of town for an entire month and bored every evening. So I made it my goal to send him a chapter a night, just for pure entertainment. I think I ended up writing only about 10 chapters, but I liked them so much that even though I let them sit on a computer neglected for years, the characters and the story kept calling me back. Eventually I pulled them out again and decided to finish the story. It turned into my first novel, A Threat of Shadows. And those early chapters are still some of my favorites.

About the Author:

JA Andrews

JA Andrews is a writer, wife, mother, and unemployed rocket scientist. She doesn't regret the rocket science degree, but finds it generally inapplicable in daily life. Except for the rare occurrence of her being able to definitively state, "That's not rocket science." She does, however, love the stars.

She began writing stories and creating coloring books because these sorts of things need an outlet. And now good markers are a deductible business expense.

She spends an inordinate amount of time at home, with her family, who she adores, and lives deep in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, where she can see more stars than she ever imagined.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Married 25 Years and a Linky

Last week we celebrated our 25th Anniversary! Hubby surprised me with flowers, red wine, Lindt chocolates, and a dainty necklace with pearls on a silver chain. He made sure to give me something silver for our silver anniversary! I'm wearing the necklace in the photo below. He also wanted to buy traditional roses and went to a couple of stores, but none of them looked all that fresh. I’m glad he bought the proteas instead. They’re stunning and they last longer. There are different varieties of proteas and you can see 2 types in the bouquets below.

Our kids also spoiled us! Jessica made savory crêpes for breakfast with Samantha's help. They were filled with spinach, mushrooms, chopped hardboiled eggs, and a little bit of sour cream. There were some cinnamon and sugar filled ones too.

Amanda baked us an Oreo cheesecake all by herself! She used Preppy Kitchen's recipe. It was her first time trying her hand at piping and she did really well. She also made us the creative card that I featured below.

Our main meal was an afternoon braai (BBQ). We had steak, lamb chops, and pork ribs, enough meat to last us a few days! If you're wondering, that's sweet potato wrapped in the aluminum foil. We had great weather, a sunny winter day with no wind. We’re still on lockdown here in South Africa, so we made the most of it at home.

What did I do for our anniversary? I made a card for Hubby and we’re sharing the wine and chocolates. 😄

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Here's a peek at
my latest post

on 1camera1mom:

Snow-Capped Mountains and Other Photos

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My Latest Book Post:

Elphie Meets the End of the World
A tender story for parents with fearful kids.

Elphie Meets the End of The World (Elphie's Books Book 4) by [Hagit R. Oron, Or Oron Misgav]

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Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
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Friday, July 24, 2020

Elphie Meets the End of The World

Elphie Meets the End of The World

About the Book:

Title: Elphie Meets the End of The World | Author: Hagit R. Oron | Illustrator: Or Oron | Genre: Picture Book | Pages: 17

Book Description:

The end of the world is coming. Today. They said so on TV!

When Elphie overhears an older boy talking about the end of the world, he runs home to find a better place to hide. Luckily, Mom and Dad are there and the three of them manage to deal with the dreadful news.

Elphie books is a series of funny and sweet stories featuring a timid young elephant named Elphie. Each story is a different exciting adventure inspired by the daily life of young children. The books address kids and adult alike, and can be read without a specific order.

A free parent's guide with every purchase.

Purchase on Amazon

My Review:

Elphie Meets the End of The World is a tender story about a young elephant named Elphie who hears some scary news and how this affects him. Elphie’s parents realize that he’s scared and try to alleviate his fears by speaking truthfully and putting his thoughts and energy on creating a party instead. There’s an interesting little “fake news” speech bubble toward the end that would make for a good discussion topic for parents and their children. The authors also provide a free resource if you sign up with your first name and email address.

by Hagit R. and Or Oron

Elphie and Dad go on an Epic adventure (Elphie's books Book 1) by [Oron, Hagit R.]

Bravo and Elphie

by Hagit R. and Or Oron

Elphie Goes Trick or Treating

by Hagit R. and Or Oron

Bear with Bear
by Hagit R. Oron

About the Mother-Daughter Team:

Hagit R. and Or Oron

Hagit R. and Or Oron are a mother and daughter who love to create, imagine, laugh and have fun together. Their mission is to bring joy and happiness to kids and parents all around the world. How? One picture book at a time.

More About the Author:

Hagit R. Oron, an award winning author, became an avid reader the minute she learned to read.

During her teens, she worked as a librarian in a public library just to be close to books, where she soon found out that she has book-matchmaking skills, that is connecting the right book to the right reader.

Surrounded by all those great titles inspired her to start writing. She daydreamed her first stories while commuting to the library.

Everything changed when she discovered computer programming and realized that she’s an excellent coder. So, for many years, she wrote tens of thousands of code lines. Most of them began with an if.

But fiction was bubbling inside her and after two decades of coding, it suddenly erupted in the form of picture books. She had to give in.

Now she devotes her days to writing adorable stories for kids. She utilizes her coding experience to bury little Easter eggs in her books, by telling parts of the story with illustrations and by hiding messages aimed at the adult reader inside the text.

It’s her book matchmaking skills that make her stories appeal to a broad audience.

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Friday, July 10, 2020

Indescribable by Louie Giglio

Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids

About God and Science

About the Book:

Book Description:

Discover the Wonders of the Universe with the Creator. Based on Louie Giglio's popular messages "Indescribable" and "How Great Is Our God," Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God & Science will help kids discover the incredible creation of our indescribable God.

Indescribable displays the majesty of creation with scientific findings, photography, and original illustrations. These 100 devotions encourage awe at God's creativity with an in-depth look at:

Space, galaxies, planets, and stars
Earth, geology, oceans, and weather
Animals: from hummingbirds to dinosaurs
Our minds, bodies, and imaginations

Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God & Science has sold over 100,000 copies! This book is perfect for children, ages 6-10 years old, and each devotional features a:

"Be Amazed" section with fascinating scientific facts
Easy-to-follow, hands-on STEM activity
Closing prayer

Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens tell the glory of God. And the skies announce what his hands have made." It's impossible to out-imagine God. He orchestrates time, creates light, and speaks things into existence--from the largest stars to the smallest starfish. God is the powerful, purposeful, personal, unparalleled Creator.

Purchase on Amazon

Our Review:

Amanda (age 12) received Indescribable as a gift from her grandma a couple of years ago. It became a well-loved book that she has read about 4 times.

Amanda keeps the book by her bed. She likes that every new chapter is a new topic about natural science and God. She has learned a lot and thinks it’s very interesting.

I like the way the book is laid out with text and illustrations. It’s easy to follow with cool facts for kids. Louie Giglio helps kids to see God in science and makes learning fun.

About the Author:

Louie Giglio

Louie Giglio is Pastor of Passion City Church and the Original Visionary of the Passion movement, which exists to call a generation to leverage their lives for the fame of Jesus.

Since 1997, Passion has gathered collegiate-aged young people in events across the US and around the world, and continues to see 18-25 year olds fill venues across the nation in pursuit of lives lived for God's glory. Most recently, Passion hosted 40,000 college students and their leaders in four venues linked together across three cities at Passion 2019.

In addition to the collegiate gatherings of Passion Conferences, Louie and his wife Shelley lead the teams at Passion City Church, sixstepsrecords, Passion Publishing and the Passion Global Institute.

Louie is the national-bestselling author of Not Forsaken, Goliath Must Fall, Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God & Science, The Comeback, The Air I Breathe, and I Am Not But I Know I Am.

Louie and Shelley make their home in Atlanta, Georgia.