IFA Summer Reading Challenge

#IFASUMMERCHALLENGE21 DETAILS!

Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook Group

Break out the kegs and the summer wine, the reading challenge starts June 21! (Read any indie fantasy, any subgenre so long as it’s primarily fantasy (ARCs, audiobooks, and shorts included) and have a chance at winning some amazing prizes such as signed books, hardbacks, ebooks, audiobooks, and swag from some Amazon Bestselling and USA Today Bestselling authors! 

HOW TO PLAY: All you have to do is post about what you're reading, tag them with #IFASummerChallenge21 and share your thoughts on the books (without spoilers) so the rest of us can discover more amazing adventures! All reads must be numbered so make it easier to count. (Eg. #43 Booktitle by Killer Author) And if you can also tag your team, that would be awesome. There is no list, but all group reads are worth bonus points! (#IFASummerChallenge21Bonus) 

Every team member will be responsible for reporting your points to your captain in a spreadsheet or a weekly thread (however the team chooses to do it) just so no one is chasing after anyone. 

Group Reads: All optional reads and can be read at anytime during the challenge. Eg. If you read June’s group read in July, it’s all good! If you've read the group reads BEFORE the challenge, you do not have to reread the book to collect the points. Just share your review and collect your bonus points. (Group reads will be announced at the beginning of each month) 

The goal of the challenge? For members to discover more nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat, take-you-for-a-wild-ride-and-leave-you-breathless books! 

The Challenge will go from June 21 to September 21, 2021—the last day of summer! For the solo challenge (everyone is included in this regardless of what team you’re on), your individual scores will be posted on a scoreboard and prizes will be given in order of your rank. 

TEAMS: In addition to the regular individual scoreboard, both authors and readers have the opportunity to join a team for even more fun, and more chances to win! There will also be prizes awarded to the winning team, the team with the best team spirit, the team who listened to the most audiobooks, etc. 

You can choose what team you’d like to join or if you'd like to be randomly assigned, we can do that too! (Team scores are the number of books read divided by the number of active team members so if one team has 20 members, and another 15, it doesn’t put the bigger team at an automatic advantage.) We'll post the team scores each week Harry Potter style! This is going to be a blast!!!! Start getting your Challenge TBR lists ready!!!!

Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook Group

THE IFA SUMMER READING ADVENTURER BONUS! 

In addition to all the usual PHENOMENAL prizes given at the end of the #IFASummerChallenge21, this year we're offering a seriously awesome bonus to those brave literary adventurers who read one book from each of the below categories: 

Sword and Sorcery 

Grimdark/Dark 

High/Epic 

Contemporary/Urban 

Medieval/Historical 

Portal/LitRPG 

Futuristic 

Low Fantasy/Magical Realism 

Comedy/Humor 

Diverse/BIPOC 

Coming of Age/YA 

Wildcard (Choose a genre of your choice - either unlisted or a duplicate) 

The rules are simple! 

1. Find and read one book that falls under each category. Just make sure that Humor, for example, is one of the main genres of the book if you're counting it as Humorous Fantasy. (Side note: these individual books count as regular points for the challenge: 2 pts for books with less that 100 pages, 3 pts for 100+ pages, etc.) 

2. All books must be INDIE and FANTASY. Duh 😉 

3. Once you've succeeded in reading a book from every category, make a post in IFA with the hashtag #AdventurerBonus and list the books you've read! Voila and congratulations!! You've now earned 25 BONUS POINTS for the Summer Reading Challenge! PLUS... 

4. So long as you use the proper hashtag, I'll enter your name into a raffle to win a prize at the end of the contest that can best be described as "a legendary treasure of riches and glory!" 💰 Spoiler alert: it's money. And a lot of it. 💰 

If you have any questions about the contest itself, please DM me (Rachel Kullman). If you have questions about specific book genres, please ask your Team Heads / Captain. In the meantime, I've created a partial list of indie fantasy books from each category to help you get started: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cONmQhUlUfJnbsnsM59t9EuXjQBY8T6E/view 

Remember: The challenge starts JUNE 21st! Only books read from that day forward count - but this list will certainly help you plan ahead! 

Happy adventuring, everyone!

Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook Group

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Indie Fantasy Addicts Summer Reading Challenge

Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook Group

Summer Reading Challenge 2020

#IFASummerChallenge20 Details!
The reading challenge starts June 1! Read ANY indie fantasy, and subgenre of fantasy (ARCs, audiobooks, and shorts included) and have a chance at winning some amazing prizes such as signed books, ebooks, audiobooks, and swag from some Amazon Bestselling and USA Today Bestselling authors!

HOW TO PLAY:
All you have to do is post about what you're reading, tag them with #IFASummerChallenge20 and share your thoughts on the books (without spoilers) so the rest of us can discover more amazing adventures! All reads must be numbered to make it easier to count. (Eg. #43 Book by Author) And, if you can also tag your team, that would be awesome. There is no list, but all group reads are worth bonus points! (#IFASummerChallenge20Bonus)

If you are on a team, you are responsible for reporting your points to your captain in a spreadsheet or a weekly thread (however the team chooses to do it) just so no one is chasing after anyone. :)

POINTS:
We're doing the points a little different this year.

Short Stories: under 15k words or under 50 pages = 1 point

Novels = 2 points

Group Reads: Add 1 bonus point

If you've read the group reads BEFORE the challenge, you do not have to reread the book. Just share your review to collect your points.

The goal? For members to discover more nail-biting, edge of your seat, take-you-for-a-wild-ride-and-leave-you-breathless books!

The Challenge will go from June 1 to September 21, 2020—the last day of summer! For the solo challenge (everyone is included in this regardless if you’re on a team or not), your individual scores will be posted on a scoreboard and prizes will be given in order of your rank.

TEAMS:
In addition to the regular individual scoreboard, both authors and readers have the opportunity to join a team for even more fun, and more chances to win! There will also be prizes awarded to the winning team, the team with the best team spirit, the team who listened to the most audiobooks, etc.

Join the Facebook group here: Indie Fantasy Addicts

If you haven't signed up for a team or you'd like to be randomly assigned, the teams are posted here: Summer Reading Teams

We'll post the team scores each week Harry Potter style!

This is going to be a blast!!!! Start getting your Challenge TBR lists ready!!!!

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Fate of Dragons and Windsworn

My June Summer Reads:

Fate of Dragons by Alisha Klapheke and

Windsworn by Derek Alan Siddoway

Every month two books are chosen to be read in the Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook group. The idea is to introduce us to new books and to get us discussing them. I might not always read the two books chosen every month, but I happened to own both of these and so I made sure to fit time into reading them! They are also worth bonus points for the Summer Reading Challenge that I'm participating in. I will keep you posted on what I'm reading and don't forget to follow me on Instagram!

Fate of Dragons

Purchase Fate of Dragons on Amazon

My Review:

Enter an exciting world where those living on land are at risk from those in the sea. Meet Vahly, the Earth Queen and the last remaining human, living among the dragon shifters. She must find her magic before it's too late. The Sea Queen wants to drown the whole world with only one island left to go and dragons and elves standing in her way, unless Vahly can find her magic in time to help turn the tide. The dragons have given her a home, but they don't know how to tap into her earth magic. Dragons don't trust elves, but Vahly is desperate. When she stumbles upon an elf who is close to death and missing some of his memories, she's willing to risk her life to help him.

This book has a lot of fabulous elements to it including wonderful characters and great chemistry between Vahly and her new ally. The pace keeps moving, although there were a couple of slower scenes, and the plot is interesting. The descriptions are usually good, but a few times they felt forced. I also felt that the dialogue between Vahly and Amona toward the end was too thorough, and to keep so many dragons fed on one large island didn't seem possible. I would be happy to read more in the series as Vahly continues her search for unleashing her magic with the swoonworthy elf at her side!

Windsworn

Purchase Windsworn on Amazon

My Review:

This is a gripping story about a reluctant heroine who is thrust into a life-changing adventure and faced with tough decisions. The characters are interesting and you never know exactly who is behind the attacks at the gryphon mountain barracks. There are certainly some unexpected moments. Most of the time it's fast paced and only slows down when three of our heroes are faced with challenges inside the catacombs. That was the only part that made it feel like it was for younger readers. I also came across a number of little typos, but they're easily overlooked. I enjoyed Windsworn so much that I read it in two days!

Rules for the Summer Reading Challenge

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IFA Summer Reading Challenge

IFA Summer Reading Challenge 2019
June 21 to September 22

June 21, the first day of summer marks the first day of the Summer Reading Challenge in the Indie Fantasy Addicts Facebook group. Read ANY indie fantasy, and subgenre of fantasy (ARCs, audiobooks, and shorts included) and have a chance at winning some amazing prizes such as signed books, ebooks, audiobooks, and swag from some Amazon Bestselling and USA Today Bestselling authors! All readers have to do is post about their reads in the group and tag them with #IFASummerChallenge19.

Details about our current Summer Reading Challenge are listed at the bottom of this blog post. The goal? For members to discover more nail-biting, edge of your seat, take-you-for-a-wild-ride-and-leave-you-breathless books!

Here are some of the authors who graciously donated signed copies and ebooks to this challenge (many of them being USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors): ML Spencer, JT Williams, Mike Shelton, JA Andrews and tons more.

#IFASummerChallenge19 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. ARCS and audiobooks also apply. Read whatever you want as long as it’s indie fantasy. If you're not sure if it's indie, just ask in the group and someone will let you know.

All you have to do is post what you're reading, tag it with #IFASummerChallenge19, and your thoughts on the book (without spoilers!) so the rest of us can discover more amazing adventures!

The Challenge will go from June 21 to September 22, 2019—the last day of summer! For the solo challenge (everyone is included in this regardless if you’re on a team or not), 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 few other tiers. eg. 20+, 16-20, 11-15, 5-9. 0-4.

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

Grand Prize: Multiple signed books and swag

The other tiers will have chances to win a signed book, ebook, audiobook, swag, etc.

TEAMS: There will also be prizes awarded to the winning team, the team with the best team spirit, the team who listened to the most audiobooks, etc.

Let the adventures begin!!

Indie Fantasy Addicts on Facebook

Indie Books I Want to Read

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Indie Fantasy Addicts Holiday Reading Challenge

Indie Fantasy Addicts

Holiday Reading Challenge

November 19 – January 1

Indie Fantasy Addicts is a Facebook group of over 800 members. I participated in their summer reading challenge and had a blast. Anyone is welcome to join and the prizes are fabulous. The best part is that everyone who participates receives free eBooks!

Tell Me More!

Because you guys just rocked the last one with 800 books, we’re going to do this again—only a little differently. It’s a mini holiday challenge that will last from Nov. 19 - Jan. 1. Just like before, the purpose of this is just to have fun and discover more amazing indie fantasy authors! There is no set reading list. Audiobooks also apply. And ARCs. Read whatever you want as long as it’s indie fantasy.

All you have to do is create posts about what you're reading, tell us your thoughts on the book (without spoilers!) and link to your review so the rest of us can discover more amazing adventures! The review can be on your favorite retailer, whether it’s Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub... whatever! Tag it with #IFAHolidayChallenge so we can find it later! And if we can number them this time that would be greatly appreciated since counting hundreds of entries at the end starts to cross the eyes!!

⭐ BONUS: Because it’s #NovemBARR, all of Brandon Barr’s books read and reviewed during this challenge will count as TWO!! (And this also includes any of his books read and reviewed since the beginning of Nov when he launched Rise of the Seer) #IFAHolidayChallengeBonus

🏆 As before, we’ll do a tiered winning system since not all readers read at the same rate. Draws will be done to choose winners from the lower tiers.

Let the adventures begin at Indie Fantasy Addicts on Facebook!

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Stories Through Photos and More with #LinkyParty

Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #169!

This blog is best viewed in Google Chrome.

Click on the images to see them at their best!

I want to thank everyone who sent a prayer our way for rain. We had a lovely night of rain over the Easter weekend, but nothing since then. The photos I'm sharing today are of the view from our home. You can see that things are dry and our region's dam water just keeps getting lower. South Africa has been experiencing its worst drought in 20 years, so please keep praying!

On another note, who has been following the story about Facebook using artificial intelligence to describe photos for blind users? I think it's brilliant! I'm a volunteer at the Blind Institute and it's my 6th year there, so I was quite excited to hear the news.

Did you know that Facebook has millions of blind and visually impaired people using their site? For over a decade, they have been left out of the biggest part of the site's conversations - the stories that are told through photographs. Well, that is changing with people like Matt King, a Facebook engineer who is blind.

King says, "The impact of doing something like this is really telling people who are blind, your ability to participate in the social conversation that’s going on around the world is really important to us. It’s saying as a person, you matter, and we care about you. We want to include everybody — and we’ll do what it takes to include everybody."

You can find out more on The Verge.

If you would like to see what the Blind Institute in our town in South Africa is doing to improve the lives of the visually impaired and disabled, then check out my post on 1camera1mom!

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My Latest Book Review:

Bugaboo-Bee's Bop

Here's a gorgeous peek at the story on YouTube:

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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!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to

link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest 

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:

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Weekend Linky

This is a blog hop!

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

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Picture Perfect Party Linky #19

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week. There were a total of 44 links. That's a lot more than several months ago when I first started the Picture Perfect Party Linky blog hop. I originally wanted to have a themed picture blog hop, but that was not a popular concept, so I scrapped the idea. Anyway, I enjoy linking up with you all every week, so I don't want anyone to feel like they can't be a part of it. All family friendly blogs with picture posts are welcome here!

Also, I got a lot of meaningful comments on my last P.P.P.L. post and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate every one of them. If you didn't hear from me, it's just that I've been extremely busy. Last weekend was my son's 16th birthday. I did a beautiful post on Inspirational Quotes on Sons in his honor.

These are Christmas decorations from our home.

This is my Christmas Facebook cover photo.

These are Christmas decorations from the
Cosecha Restaurant, where my in-laws invited us
to celebrate Jeremiah's 16th birthday.

Linking with:

Now on to my blog hop...

Here's your chance to link up your Wordless Wednesday (with or without words) or any picture post at this Picture Perfect Party Linky (P.P.P.L.)! Come join me (Tina @ Amanda's Books and More) on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

Also, I'm looking for bloggers who would like to be guest co-hosts on my Wednesday hop and on my Saturday hop. If you're interested, then please send an email to: morleychristina[at]gmail[dot]com

If you are already following me with Google Friend Connect, then how about following me on Google+, Pinterest and Twitter or liking me on Facebook too. Thanks!

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me. Please leave a comment so that I can follow back (as long as your blog is family friendly).
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like. Make sure you let them know that you’re following through this P.P.P.L. hop, tell them how you are following them and add your URL to the message, so they can follow back.
• Grab the button below and add it on your post or on your side-bar, so that we can spread the word and get more people to the party.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

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This is a blog hop.

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What’s in a Name?

My first name is Christina. It means a follower of Christ. While growing up, I was sometimes asked to give my full name along with its spelling. I would say that it's Christ and then add ina. I always got a surprised reaction by that. Since Christ was never spelled with a K (at least not in English) I figured that was a clear enough explanation. I later found another way to say my full name. My maiden name is Littlefield, so I would tell people that it’s Christ in a Little field.

My middle name is Allison. It means truthful. One day, while looking up the meanings of names, I came across a more intriguing meaning, truthful warrior maid, like Joan of Arc. My favorite quote that I put on my Facebook profile states: In the movie The Return of the King, Eowyn is facing the Lord of the Nazgul in battle and says (as she takes her helmet off), "I'm not a man, I'm a woman!"

I wrote a bit more about my warrior side on my post 7 Things about Me.

Do you have a name with an interesting meaning? If you do, I would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below and I will reply.

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Why We Don't Have a Cat

I took my dog for a walk this evening. It wasn’t late, but it was already dark outside. I was walking in my neighborhood where the street lights are scattered along the way, leaving patches of darkness between them. At one of these dark sections, we nearly walked into a dead cat. It gave me such a fright.

Nothing seemed wrong with it, except that it was stiff. Since the dead cat was lying next to the road, I figured that it must have been hit by a car. This reminded me of another incident that happened last year. The details were no longer clear in my mind, so I went to my Facebook to find the proper wording. This is what I had written:

Yesterday morning we were driving to school and I saw a beautiful dead cat on the road. I took the opportunity to tell Samantha that this was another reason why we didn't want to get a cat (she's been begging us for a kitten) and then Amanda replied, "But we don't want to get the dying kind. We want another kind."


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Thrown Away – Part 1 and 2

Amanda playing in the laundry basket with
her sister, Samantha, and stuffed toys

A few years back, my kids were given a gift of brand new books. One of the books was called, Throwaway Bear by Sandy Nightingale. As the title suggests, a little bear gets thrown away. He doesn’t get thrown away because he’s old and thread-bare. In fact, he’s brand new, but he’s unwanted by the girl who receives him.

The little teddy has one traumatic experience after the next. Being stuffed in the trash is only the beginning of his troubles. Just when you think things can’t get worse, little teddy gets rescued and “adopted” by a young boy.

I’ve heard of desperate mothers throwing their babies away. Hearing is one thing, but actually seeing a photo of a flesh-and-blood newborn in the garbage is another thing entirely. Recently I saw such a photo on Facebook. A photo speaks louder than words.

There is a house of safety in our town for moms with children escaping from abusive homes. Often they have no time to pack or plan, but leave in haste as they fear for their lives and for the lives of their children. Soon after receiving the gift of brand new books, I heard of a mom with a young daughter and baby in such a plight.

While I was putting together a gift bag of essentials for this family, I thought about this mother’s daughter and how she had escaped an abusive father and then I thought of the book, Throwaway Bear by Sandy Nightingale. I decided if anyone could relate to the story of an unwanted and mistreated teddy bear, then she could. I packed the new book into the bag along with the other items and prayed that this book would help the girl through the process of emotional healing.

I think this book would make a wonderful Christmas present for children. It can open up meaningful discussions between parent or teacher and child.

The views expressed here are entirely my own and I am not receiving any pay or gift for having posted this.

God has blessed you and me so that we can be a blessing to others.

Another post you might like to read from this blog is, “Broken, but Precious.”

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More than a Prince

Amanda said the funniest thing to me the other day. "Mom, you're supposed to marry a prince not a daddy!"

I shared this on Facebook and two replies in particular carried a lot of wisdom.

“Your daddy is a prince,” said a friend.

“Great Daddies are much better,” said another friend.

Amanda’s daddy might not be the princely package, but he’s so much more. He has his rough edges at times, he can shout and be grumpy, but he also often goes the extra mile for me and for our kids. More recently, Amanda has been saying that her daddy is her favorite.

This story continues in "Happily Ever After."

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