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The Prescience 

By Lorilyn Roberts

Inspirational Young Adult Fantasy

Print: $14.95

EBook: $.99

November, 2017

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About the book:

Seventh Dimension – The Prescience, A Young Adult Fantasy, is the fifth book in the Seventh Dimension Series that combines contemporary, historical, and fantasy elements into a Christian “coming-of-age” story. When bombs fall on Jerusalem, Shale and Daniel rescue an orphan and return to the first century. Amid supernatural tribulation, they hope to unravel the mysterious disappearance of Daniel’s father and the goal of the New World Order. When multiple realities collide, God reveals once again time is an illusion until the appointed times.

Lisa Lickel's review:

This is so far my favorite of the series. Although you do want to know what went before, it’s not necessary in order to immerse yourself in this story’s possibly real near future—the big one, where no one survives. The series takes a contemporary young lady, Shale, on journeys back in time, mostly to the biblical time of Christ where she experiences life in the first century AD. She meets and falls in love with a young man whose family is involved in the time portals responsible for these adventures. Shale and Daniel are on an ever-increasingly amazing rush toward the biblical end times.

Daniel knows he’s one of the special chosen, the 144,000 Jews of the book of Revelation, who will make the final stand against evil. He’s in love and wants to marry Shale. Problem, besides needing to find his father who may or may not be part of the events, is that the chosen are men who have not been with a woman—unmarried, or virgins. He needs to respect his calling, as well as Shale. This leads to a new phase in their relationship as they travel back to biblical times and other traumatic eras to unravel family secrets.

Temptation, more chariot racing, supernatural powers, good guys, bad guys, scary guys, and time dancing all make this thrilling next-to-last edition of The Seventh Dimension series a great inspirational read.

Told through multiple viewpoints, The Seventh Dimension series is geared for Young Adult readers, but anyone will enjoy the books. The Prescience is part of a series.

An interview with Lorilyn Roberts:

Question:  You’re near the end of the Seventh Dimension Series. Share with us some of the challenges and joys of writing a series.

Lorilyn:  The joys far outweigh the challenges. I’ve enjoyed spending the last five years with these characters talking to me in my head. The overarching story compelled me to search for answers to questions that arose as the series progressed. I wanted everything to be as historically accurate as possible. Many afternoons and evenings were spent reading the Bible and Christian nonfiction books, and I’ve watched dozens of YouTube videos about hard-to-understand topics like the Book of Revelation. Young people who read a lot have probably read scores of books about vampires, dragon slayers, and witches. I wanted to raise the bar. I wanted realism in my series, but I also wanted a taste of fantasy because that opens possibilities.

Writing the Seventh Dimension Series has allowed me to explore far more than could be covered in just one book. With only The Howling left to complete the six-book series, I’m looking especially forward to finishing it. I believe the ending will capture the reader’s heart, mind, and imagination. I never thought when I wrote the first book, Seventh Dimension – The Door, that I would end up writing six in the series. God kept showing me insights and great plotlines, so I just kept writing.

Probably the biggest challenge has been keeping track of what the two protagonists knew and when they learned it. Three books have been written from Shale’s POV and three will have been written from Daniel’s POV when the sixth book is finished. So they learned different things at different times and interpreted things differently from each other. So I’ve had to go back and re-read chapters along the way to make sure my memory was accurate. When I do that, I’ll find something that I think could have been written better. So I never quit editing my own work, even after the book is published, and that drives me crazy. I want my writing to be perfect, but there probably has never been a perfect book written except the Bible.

Question: Do you have a favorite scene in The Prescience?

Lorilyn:  I have one scene that’s particularly special to me. It’s a garden scene where Shale and Daniel are waiting in the train. The scene comes from something in my own life. When I was seven, my adoptive father wanted to take me on a train trip to see the fall colors in the North Georgia Mountains, but the train never left the station because of a broken coupler. Through the years, from time to time, I would think about that train trip that we never finished, wistfully longing that someday we would. Then, when I was thirty-seven, Gene was diagnosed with a brain tumor that we knew he wouldn’t survive. Through a series of events God orchestrated, we had the opportunity to make that train trip shortly before he went to heaven.

While the scene in the book has no direct correlation to that, the broken coupler happens in the story, and what Shale learns through waiting is something God has been trying to teach me my whole life. I’m just a slow learner. Because it’s such an unusual scene, I think readers will remember it long after they read the book. At least I hope so.

Question:  You’ve been through a life challenge while working on this story. Has your experience changed your writing style?

Lorilyn:  Absolutely. I wrote the first couple of chapters at the end of December 2016 and was diagnosed with breast cancer the first week in January. I wrote like crazy through January and February to get the first draft completed before my surgery on February 22. All I could think about was if I didn’t survive the surgery, I wanted the story to “live on.” I was still consumed with it after my surgery because I didn’t quite get the first draft completed, and then when I got to ninety thousand words, I realized I couldn’t complete the story in one book. It would have to be stretched into two. So I slowed down and began editing, editing, and editing—and finally relaxed. I began to realize God wasn’t in a hurry for me to complete it. He wanted me to make the most of each day, rest in His arms, so to speak, through my treatment, and give Him the glory for every trial I encountered along the way.

I remember many, many years ago, when I was about ten, I read a book that I’ve never forgotten. I can’t remember the title or the author, but the plotline was about a young girl who was in a hurry to grow up. She got her wish and grew up really, really fast, but she regretted it in the end because she missed out on so many things.

As I’ve gone through this last year, I found I couldn’t rush the treatments. I had to take each day as it came, and make the most of it. If I wasn’t up to writing, I didn’t feel guilty. If I couldn’t blog as much, which I definitely couldn’t, it was okay. So I’ve learned, I think, to be more patient, to take my time, not work as much, get more sleep, and spend more time with friends and family. I love to write, and it draws me near to God when I do, but God wants me to find my joy in Him completely. I can’t do that if I’m in a hurry all the time. That means taking the time and not living under compulsion to accomplish something every single minute of the day. Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still and know that I am God.” God made me slow down, and to be honest, I think it’s made me a better person. I have more defined boundaries.

Instead of captioning seven days a week, I now caption only five and a half. I’m on a daily reading schedule to read through the Bible in a year. I went to see a movie with my prayer group, the first one I’ve been to in at least five years. My daughters and I have gone to three theme parks in the last couple of months. I’m learning how to live again and not work all the time. How does that translate into writing? I think it makes me more productive when I do write. I’m not so tired and not so drained. It’s hard to be creative when you’re working night and day, seven days a week.

Question:  Can you share a hint about what we might expect for the next book in the Seventh Dimension Series?

Lorilyn:  The final book, Seventh Dimension – The Howling, is written from Daniel’s POV and takes place in the future. All the characters that have been introduced in the previous books will make an appearance, including the animals. The fate of all the main players will be revealed, and the reader will be left with much to ponder as he contemplates his own future. I also promise this:  The ending will be glorious!

Question:  What are you reading now?

Lorilyn:  Currently I’m reading Gone Missing from Emma Right’s Dead Dreams Series, and when I finish that, I want to read The Landlord by Cheryl Colwell. I’ve read books by both Indy authors and like their style of writing. If readers have authors they love who write suspense, mystery, or fantasy, I hope they will leave their recommendations in the comments section below. If I see one I decide to pick up on Amazon, I’ll send him or her a free coupon for a Kindle copy of Seventh Dimension - The Prescience as a thank you. 

About the author:

Lorilyn Roberts graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Alabama in 1993 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities/Social Sciences. She won an award for "Outstanding Senior Project" upon graduation for her coursework that was done at the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem. Ms. Roberts received her Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Perelandra College and is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature. Follow her Facebook Fan Page, https://www.facebook.com/LorilynFanPage/, and visit her website, http://www.lorilynroberts.com

Book Review the Ballad of Allyn-a-Dale

About The Ballad of Allyn-a-Dale (Outlaws of Avalon 1)
Danielle E. Shipley

Welcome to Avalon, a Renaissance Faire where heroes of legend never die. Where the Robin Hood walking the streets is truly the noble outlaw himself. Where the knightly and wizardly players of King Arthur’s court are in fact who they profess to be. Where the sense of enchantment in the air is not mere feeling, but the Fey magic of a paradise hidden in plain sight.

Enter Allyn-a-Dale. The grief of his father’s death still fresh and the doom of his own world looming, swirling realities leave the young minstrel marooned in an immortal Sherwood Forest, where he is recruited as a member of Robin Hood’s infamous outlaw band. But Allyn’s new life may reach its end before it’s scarcely begun. Their existence under threat, the Merry Men are called upon to embark on a journey to the dangerous world Outside – ours – on a quest which must be achieved without delay, or eternity in Avalon will not amount to very long at all.

My Review:

I wanted to read this book ever since the words "Renaissance Faire" hit me. Add Robin Hood to it, and you hooked me. Shipley's Ren Faire happens to be the one I've visited several times, so the added bonus of physically being with the characters when they weren't out figuring out how to maneuver in the modern world, was extra fun.

Shipley's fantastical tale is a combination fan fiction meets Neil Gaiman fantasy as her characters are borne of other worlds, times, and places. They live, love, and die (or sometimes not) in worlds they visit through mysterious portals and contend with those who dwell there.

What would it be like to meet Merlin the magician, and play online games with Guinevere, who fancies herself quite a racer? Or know Maid Marian and the secrets of her heart? If these characters transcended time and came to live at a Renaissance Faire, and were tasked with saving the faire and all the Fey folk who make it their magical home, what would you give to meet and interact with them? Young Loren and Janey, visitors to the realm, can only guess as medieval times fantasy meets twenty-first century reality and the Merry Men do indeed make merry while they chase after the stolen Excalibur's sheath, which holds their fate. Who better to find a stolen object than a thief?

Told from multiple viewpoints, though mostly from Allyn's perspective, readers who don't mind mixing their folk tales with fantasy and a romp through the current era, will enjoy this fun tale. Shipley uses "Stanzas" for chapters, creating a wonderful frame for a minstrel's story. Action, adventure, and a twist of fun.

So it was arranged long ago for the Isle of

Avalon to continue to exist in safety by hiding in

the one place it would not be remarked upon: Years

into the distant future, in the middle of a

Renaissance Faire. And if the only way the Fey folk

can occupy this place is to share it on summer three-

day weekends and Labor Day with a great lot of

Outsiders…” Robin shrugged. “It is a price they are

willing to pay.”

Buy the Books:

Behold, the author’s Outlaws of Avalon page for access to all available books in the series

For the full Danielle E. Shipley catalog, look here

Danielle's Amazon Author page

Danielle's Barnes and Noble page

Read the Interview with the Author here.

           

Coming!!

 

Outlaws of Avalon 2 (The Marriage of Allyn-a-Dale) released this past March; Outlaws 2.5 – a flash fiction collection right up a word nerd’s alley – is scheduled to launch in July; and the trilogy proper concludes this fall. I’ve saved the most emotional ride for last, so hold onto your hankies, readers!

And if anybody wants to talk books with me in the meantime, feel free to hit me up on my website, deshipley.com.

About the Author:

 

Danielle E. Shipley is the author of the Wilderhark Tales novellas ("Tales of magic. Tales of adventure. Most of all, tales of true love. Once upon a time, you knew them as fairytales. Know them now as Wilderhark's"), the novel Inspired, and several other expressions of wishful thinking. She has spent most of her life in the Chicago area and increasing amounts of time in Germany. She hopes to ultimately retire to a private immortal forest. But first, there are stories to make.

Susan Royal

Xander’s Tangled Web
Fantasy
Available April 26

About the Book

After a late night visit to Battington’s marketplace, Princess Mena vanishes without a trace. Merchants are frantic, because King Leander has called for a curfew and postponed the Spring Festival until further notice. Certain his former constable is the man for the job, the mayor hires Xander to investigate, hoping he can solve the mystery in a hurry so things can go back to normal.

But Xander’s not so sure that’s possible, because there’s romance involved, and he knows when that happens folks who are normally very sensible seem to lose all reason. In addition to sorting out truths, half-truths and outright lies, he must deal with gypsies, love potions and an illegal moonshine operation before he gets to the bottom of things.

All books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads



About the Author

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town. She shares it with a ghost who harmonizes with her son when he plays guitar. 

      She is married and the mother of six (she counts her children’s spouses as her own) and five unique grandchildren. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. Her grandmother shared stories of life with three sisters and three brothers on a farm in Oklahoma Territory and working as a telephone operator in the early 20^th century.  She heard about growing up in San Antonio in the depression from her father, and experienced being a teenager during WWII through her mother’s eyes.When Susan isn’t writing, she works as a secretary in education and does her best to keep up with her grandchildren. Music and painting are two of her passions. She also loves to bargain shop anywhere there’s a sale and began repurposing long before it was popular. She is a firm believer in getting what you want without breaking the bank.  She paints, crafts and sews. Her office/craft/sewing room is littered with her latest projects.

     She loves to take her readers through all kinds of adventures with liberal doses of romance. So far, she’s written two books in her It’s About Time series, Not Long Ago and From Now On. They are time travel adventures with romance about two people who fall in love despite the fact they come from very different worlds. In My Own Shadow is a Fantasy adventure/romance. Xander’s Tangled Web is a fantasy. Look for her books at MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. You can also find Odin’s Spear, one of her short stories featured in a Quests, Curses, and Vengeance anthology, Martinus Publishing, available on Amazon.

     Want to know more? Visit susanaroyal.wordpress.com or susanaroyal.moonfruit.com for a peek inside this writer’s mind and see what she’s up to. You never know what world she’s going to visit next.

In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance) 
Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)

Not Long Ago book trailer

And pop on over to Susan's blog where she's interviewing me about my new upcoming book, Everything About You, due out March 25 from Prism Book Group.

children's fantasy author Teresa Schapansky

September 2015

Amazon
$4.99
12.99

Children's Fantasy
for advanced readers ages 9-12

From the author:

Imogene is only five years old when her parents suddenly and mysteriously disappear. Left with no choice but to live with an abrasive relative, she finds comfort in the alliance she's forged with an unlikely friend. She secretly holds dear, her mother's last words. "Five years, Imogene. I shall come for you in five years." Imogene sadly soon learns, that things are not always as they seem. Upon reaching the age of ten, she has new confidence, and eagerly awaits her parents' return. Under the encouragement of her friend, Imogene embarks on a journey to an incredible world, learns who she really is, and where her true destiny lies.

My review:

Imogene of the Pacific Kingdom is a mix of other wildly popular adventures for younger readers, without the gore and murder situations found in stories for slightly older readers. The story is lengthy, with a vocabulary that may require occasional explanation.

A daughter is left in the care of an uncompassionate relative during her youth, and learns at age ten that she is no ordinary child. Imogene’s strange and compelling love of water nearly gets her in trouble with the relative who thinks perhaps soccer is more suitable. When the time is right, Imogene’s parents do not return…Imogene is drawn to them in their fantastic world. Imogene quickly adjusts to her new life with her quirky new gifts, until the Pacific Kingdom is in danger once more.

As the author notes, it’s up to Imogene to not only learn, but follow her true destiny. I tried to read the story through the eyes of a fourth or fifth grader and enjoyed Imogene’s spunk. As a parent and grandparent, however, I was sometimes dismayed at an occasional lapse of respect for adults, even if Imogene’s cantankerous aunt was quite over the top, Lemony Snicket-style. Although I imagine young readers won’t notice the healthy amount of exclamation points on a page, they really weren’t necessary as the dialog and action moved along just fine. I think the story would have been much stronger if the author had chosen only one or two characters to narrate, at least at one time, instead of an occasionally confusing multiple point of view style. That would have allowed Imogene to carry the story with her own heroism. Imogene of the Pacific Kingdom is aimed at older elementary school female readers, though boys would certainly find much to like as well.

The next book in the series, Dager of the Tasman Empire, releases February 24.

Book review: Sarah and the Widow's Mate by Gay N. Lewis

Sarah and the Widow’sMate

Gay N. Lewis 

Prism Book Group

November 2013

ISBN: 978-1940099279

$3.99 ebook; $14.99 print book

Inspirational fantasy

 

From the publisher:

Widow Beth Marsh is not only beautiful, but wealthy enough to buy a third-world country. When she enters the dating arena to find companionship, two men profess an interest in her...but is it Beth they want, or are they out to get her money? Watching from the Heavenlies, the Superiors dispatch Heaven’s Little Love Angel to Houston during the Christmas holidays. Sarah’s mission is to help the lady determine which of her suitors is the genuine article. Is black-haired Bryan Wingate the real deal? Or is good-looking Charles Chadwick the more earnest suitor? When Beth invites human-disguised Sarah to attend a wedding, the delighted angel looks forward to an opportunity to wear a beautiful formal gown, and maybe—at long last—red stilettos! But Sarah’s mission becomes deadly serious when she discovers Beth’s life is in danger. If Sarah fails in her mission, Tomas, the Warrior Angel, will intercede. Determined to keep her human charge safe from gold diggers and save Tomas the trouble, the little love angel steps up her efforts. But Sarah wouldn’t be Sarah without a few bungles along the way...

 

My review:

The adorable love angel, Sarah, is on her next assignment. After successfully running interference in encouraging Laney and Cannon’s romance and marriage in Sarah: Laney’s Angel, Sarah, aka Annie Wingspand, is tasked next with guiding Beth Marsh. Beth has been widowed a few years, and is being courted by three different gentlemen, one of whom means her harm. Sarah is charged with helping Beth choose the right one.

Who couldn’t love angel who adores food, high heels, whose favorite exclamation is poopty doopty, and giving lost people a little help, even when those sidetracks aren’t part of her mission. I appreciated that about Lewis’s story; even her description of heavenly messengers with different missions.

Told from Sarah’s point of view, those who enjoy fantasy stories about what angels might be doing, hanging around us, will find much to love in this story. Those who enjoy Mignon Ballard’s August Ballard will love Sarah. One of my favorite parts was those rumbles from above whenever Sarah entertained less than charitable thoughts. I tried to practice that on myself—imagining those rumbles. I’ll report back later when I don’t end up soaking everyone around me with thunderstorms.

 

Note: The first book, Sarah: A Mission of Love, is on sale for Kindle, .99

Announcing exciting new book: Swept Up by the Sea

SWEPT UP BY THE SEA….. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride

 

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

ISBN	978-1-60907-661-0

Children's Fantasy

17.99 Print

9.99 E-book

 

Determined to seek his fortune, Percival Taylor leaves behind his sleepy hometown and sets out to become a legendary pirate—only no one at the roguish seaport of Blackshore will allow him any- where near a ship!

Percival must find other means to win the heart of the beautiful Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock, who has mistaken him for a pirate rogue out of one of her romantic tales. She is entirely willing to swoon into his arms if he can prove his buccaneer soul—and she is willing to arrange her own kidnapping to prove it.

Percival eventually finds himself captain of a broken-down ship, complete with a crew of pirates who make their living selling fake treasure maps, a jilted fiancee, a reclusive Master Shipwright, and an old professor with a secret that could kill them all. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride as this motley group of characters sets sail for treasure and romance.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORSTracy Hickman is a New York Times best-selling fantasy author who has published more than 40 novels, many of the co-authored with Margaret Weis. He published the first of his solo novels in 1995. Laura and her husband, Tracy have been collaborating on fantastic works of fiction since their marriage in 1977. Together, Laura and Tracy have written role-playing games, screenplays, and works of fiction, including their first co-authored novel in 2004.

 

 

My review will be coming later.....Lisa