Book Review: Nikki McCormack's Dissident

Ms. McCormack was a guest on my blog while promoting her book tour for Dissident.  I liked the book's blurb.  
Dissident is a fantasy novel that primarily takes place in two kingdoms, Lyra and Caithin.  Indigo, the book's heroine, lives in Caithin and is engaged to Jayce.  Her fiancee is a wife beater and a jealous brute.  She lives with him while going to school.  Their coming marriage is an arranged one.  Indigo is from a noble family and expected to marry into nobility.  Despite her birthright, she is basically on her own.  Her father died when trying to start a revolution and her uncle is now her benefactor.  
Indigo has strong powers in healing.  Soon she comes to realize that she can also read other people's minds, cast spells, block information, and many other mystical things.  One night after a fight with her fiancee, she walks through town and meets a Lyran named Yiloch.  He doesn't tell her his real name at first because she would instantly recognize him as the son of the Emperor of Lyra.  His father had him locked up because he was a threat to the crown.  The Lyrians believe in slavery and oppression.  Yiloch wants to reform the country.  
The first night that they meet, Yiloch takes her into his prison cell that he frequently escapes from and makes love to her.  Their tryst seems like a dream one-night stand.  Later on she realizes who he is when she meets him at a state dinner.  At this point, Indigo's powers stand out among her class.  She has private lessons with the school's headmaster who shows her more magic.  Some of Caithin's leaders decide to ally themselves with Yiloch with the goal of overthrowing Yiloch's father from the throne.  Indigo volunteers herself as a healer and goes to war.
My Review: McCormack's writing is descriptive, clear, and exciting.  I enjoyed the story immensely.  The book was definitely original, but there were parts that reminded me of Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.  I loved Indigo and Yiloch.  McCormack did a tremendous job developing these very unique characters.  The story was a love story, but also a political story where good triumphs over evil.  
I don't want to spoil the ending, but it's not predictable.  McCormack sets it up for a sequel, but it also works as is.  Great book for fantasy and romance fans.  I plan on reading her other book as well.  Instant fan!  5/5 Stars

Nikki's other novel, Girl and the Clockwork Cat (Steampunk)

Goddess Fish Presents: Madison's Song by Christine Amsden

MADISON'S SONG

by Christine Amsden

Leave a comment and enter to win GC below!

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BLURB:

Her voice is enchanting; his soul is black…

Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the night he saved her from an evil sorcerer – then melted into a man-eating monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison’s nightmares are not.

Despite her fears, when Madison’s brother, Clinton, is bitten by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help. A man who frightens her all the more because even in her nightmares, he also thrills her.

Together for the first time since that terrible night, Scott and Madison drive to Clinton’s home only to discover that he’s vanished. Frantic now, Madison must overcome her fears and uncover hidden strengths if she hopes to save him. And she’s not the only one fighting inner demons. Scott’s are literal, and they have him convinced that he will never deserve the woman he loves.

*Stand-alone companion to the Cassie Scot series

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Excerpt:

The first police car screamed into the lot, skidding to a halt so close to the front of the truck that it was a miracle it hadn't hit. They were caught. Madison glanced at Scott for instructions, but his eyes were closed and he was muttering something under his breath – casting a spell.

Two uniformed officers spilled from their car, but they didn't come towards them. Instead, they went for Mick and his dad, cutting them off before they could pile into a rusty Toyota. Then another squad car screamed into the lot, ejecting two more officers who went into the building.

“Go,” Scott murmured.

She barely heard him, but she obeyed. She put the truck in reverse, carefully backed away from the police car trying to kiss their bumper, then threw the truck into drive and peeled away. Madison kept glancing at the mirrors, even though the angles were wrong, looking behind them for the cars that would surely give chase. They didn't. The police officers acted as if they couldn't even see them.

It wasn't just the policemen who couldn't see them, as Madison discovered when she pulled into traffic. She screamed and slammed on the brakes, barely missing a collision when a car changed lines directly into their side.

“Are we invisible?” Madison asked.

http://www.amazon.com/Madisons-Song-Christine-Amsden-ebook/dp/B010RIJA46/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1435794487&sr=8-7&keywords=Christine+Amsden

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/madisons-song-christine-amsden/1122235072?ean=2940151110457

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Website: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/

Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/christineamsden

Blog: http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/?page_id=200

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1030664.Christine_Amsden

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117845642477854934607/posts

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Amsden/e/B001JOXSIW/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1434059504&sr=8-1

BN Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/christine-amsden?store=allproducts&keyword=christine+amsden

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

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Goddess Fish Presents: Center of Gravity Tour

Center of Gravity

by Laura McNeill

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Leave a comment and enter to win $10 GC from Amazon or BN!

BLURB:

Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come true.

In the blink of an eye, she’s married, has a new baby, and life is grand.

Or is it?

When her picture-perfect marriage begins unraveling at the seams, Ava convinces herself she can fix it. It's temporary. It’s the stress. It’s Mitchell’s tragic history of loss.

If only Ava could believe her own excuses.

Mitchell is no longer the charming, thoughtful man she married. He grows more controlling by the day, revealing a violent jealous streak. His behavior is recklessly erratic, and the unanswered questions about his past now hint at something far more sinister than Ava can stomach. Before she can fit the pieces together, Mitchell files for divorce and demands full custody of their boys.

Fueled by fierce love for her children and aided by Graham Thomas, a new attorney in town —Ava takes matters into her own hands, digging deep into the past. But will finding the truth be enough to beat Mitchell at his own game?

Center of Gravity weaves a chilling tale, revealing the unfailing and dangerous truth that things—and people—are not always what they seem. 

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Excerpt:

When your children are stolen, the pain swallows you whole. Logic fades, reason retreats. Desperation permeates the tiniest crevices of your mind. Nothing soothes the ache in your wounded soul.

Right in front of me, my sweet, charmed life fell to pieces. Everything destroyed; a hailstorm’s wrath on a field of wildflowers. All I’d known—gone. Foolish me, I’d believed in magic, clung tight to false promises. The lies, spoken from tender lips, haunt me now, follow me, and whisper into my ear like a scorned lover.

What’s left is emptiness.

Give up, a voice urges. Let go.

No! I argue back. My children aren’t gone. Not yet. Precious and delicate, tiny fossils, they exist in glass-boxed isolation. Hidden. Protected.

And so tonight, I run. Blood pulses through my legs, my muscles protest; my lungs scream for more oxygen. Thick storm clouds brew in the distance. The rain falls in blinding sheets. The force of it pricks my skin like needles, but the pain only makes me push harder.

I will rescue them.

Lightning flashes across the wet driveway. The bulk of his truck looms large in the black night. I skid to a stop and catch my breath, pressing a hand to my heaving chest.

They’re here. My children are here.

Thunder booms and crashes, nearer now, the wind whips my hair. A gust tosses tree branches to the ground. Birds cry and flutter to safety. An escaped sandbox bucket spins, clattering on the blacktop.

I grasp the railing and pull myself up the steps. At the top, the door’s shiny-slick with water and humidity. Mother Nature howls and drowns out my knocking.

“Hello! Can you hear me?” With my palm open wide, I slap at the barrier, willing it to open. I will rescue my children. I will rescue them . . . or I will die trying.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

After six years behind the anchor desk at two CBS affiliates, Laura moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast to raise her family. Her accolades in broadcasting include awards from the Associated Press, including Best News Anchor and Best Specialized Reporter.

Laura works at Spring Hill College as the school’s web content and social media manager and​ is active in her community—participating in fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, and Providence Hospital’s Festival of Flowers.

Laura was recently awarded a 2-book deal with Thomas Nelson Publishing, a division of HarperCollins. Her novel, Center of Gravity, set in Mobile, Ala., will be published in July of 2015. Laura is represented by Elizabeth Winick Rubenstein, president of McIntosh and Otis literary agency in New York.​ Her writing awards include those from William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, Writer’s Digest, RWA, and the Eric Hoffer competition.

She holds a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in interactive technology from the University of Alabama. She is a native of Upstate New York and currently resides near the Alabama Gulf Coast with her two children.

Author's Website: http://lauramcneill.com/

Author's Blog: http://lauramcneill.com/layouts/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauramcneillauthor?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraMcNeillBks

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lauram052

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5280308.Lauren_Clark

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dixiegirlwriter/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Laura McNeill will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn host.

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Southwestern Politics and New World Order

One of my favorite books of all time is Dina Rae's The Last Degree.  Back in 2012 when the book came out she wrote about a fictional Americo or Mexico and America combined into one country.  This made sense to me on why our elected officials allow open borders and encourage illegals to enter the country.  Now I wonder if the book was fiction or prophecy.

It's .99 on Kindle!
 http://www.amazon.com/Last-Degree-Dina-Rae-ebook/dp/B008GWI754/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1436552657&sr=8-5&keywords=dina+rae

The Trump/illegal debate along with the beautiful woman who was gunned down in San Francisco resparked an anti-illegal immigrant movement in the United States.  The majority of Americans want some kind of system that keeps track of who enters the country.  They also want a secure border.  The free handouts provided by the government through taxes also causes resentment. The government defends the illegals by reminding us all that we (with exception to Native Americans) were once illegal and we all need to stop being racist.  All of this doesn't hold a lot of water.  So why does the government want them here?  Some say that Democrats want them for votes and some say that Republicans want them for cheap labor.  I say that it is nothing more than a smoke screen to what is really going on.
United States and Mexico seem to be in embroiled in some kind of merger which contributes to New World Order conspiracy.  Let me connect all of the dots.

1.) La Reconquista (Mexico): This is an academic theory that believes Mexico unjustly lost the Mexican American War and has legitimate claims on the American Southwest.  Mexicans as high as former President Vicente Fox have touted this idea and encourage Mexicans within America not to assimilate and hang onto their Mexican/Spanish culture.  Professor Charles Truxillo of the University of New Mexico believes the Southwest should be a sovereign country called Republica Del Norte which would encompass northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas.  Another group, MECha or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (fake name for Aztec Mexico), has had many Latin American members such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
2.) La Raza (the race): This is perhaps the most successful and largest group pertaining to illegals.  They have been on the news several times in protest to any U.S. law pertaining to immigration.  They demand open borders, amnesty, and full blown Reconquista.  They are anti-American yet have no problems with taking the American dollar.  Let me clarify-the American TAX dollar.  How stupid are we?  Our hard working tax dollars are going for a group who wants to take away our land!!!
So how much money does our government give La Raza?  They've been giving the group money for several years.  The Obama administration keeps jacking up the contributions.  La Raza, a public charity, was conservatively worth $200,000,000 back in 2013.  Bill  Gates, George Soros, Kellogg's, Carnegie Corp., GM, Pepsico, Ford, and Verizon are just some of the group's regular multi-million dollar contributors.  Note that these companies and individuals are public globalists.
Then there is the Munoz connection-Cecilia Munoz who used to be La Raza's vice president is now Obama's domestic policy director.  BTW-She also used to be on the board of George Soro's Open Society Institute.  
In 2009 La Raza received $11,000,000 in tax dollars, a 300% increase from the following year.  In 2010 the group received a piece-meal sum from various sects of government that tallied up to $18.3 million.  In 2012 a Los Angeles La Raza spin-off group received $30 million from the Obama administration.  They have a ten year deal that sings to the tune of 500,000,000!!!!!  And that's just L.A.!  
Rumors continue to circle on how money funneled to La Raza was extorted from Citigroup and Bank of America by Obama and Holder.  Please don't think I am Democrat bashing.  Republicans dating back to George W. have also been in bed with La Raza.  Congress holds the purse strings, so it's a mutual scam.

Jade Helm Exercises

3. Connection to New World Order: So why is it so important to get the illegals here?  We know ICE has their hands tied.  Why is the government funding anti-American groups who want to take our southwestern states?  Again, I can only think of one reason.  In the very near future borders will NOT matter.  On a side note-Jade Helm is almost here.  Dina has blogged away on this subject.  To summarize, Jade Helm is a military exercise scheduled to go off this July in several Southwestern states.  Many believe it's a dress rehearsal for martial law.  Southwestern states...., La Reconquista....., government encouraging anti-American sentiment....., illegals invited to come here......  Am I crazy or could I be right?  Leave a comment!  Thanks for having me, Dina.
Frank Fontaine, Proud Affiliate

Goddess Fish Presents: Dark Horse by Michelle Diener

DARK HORSE

by Michelle Diener

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Leave a comment for Michelle and enter $25 Raffle below!

BLURB:

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn't know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he's not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5's owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn't the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he's going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

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Excerpt:

Her jump surprised them as much as their jump surprised her, she guessed, from the way they reacted to the sight of her suddenly crouched on the roof of her little spaceship.

With a hand signal and a barked command, the big guy whoʼd been standing in the middle, the one sheʼd exchanged a look with earlier, had them all letting the cords on their fancy automatic grappling hooks winch them back to the top again, weapons trained on the gryak. He stayed behind, though, eyes never leaving the gryak, and walked carefully to her ship.

He was going to climb up to her.

The gryak had stopped when sheʼd jumped, and gone very watchful when the soldiers had dropped into its cave, but now it prowled up and down in front of her craft, confused and distressed.

The black helmet and then the enormous shoulders of the Grih whoʼd stayed below with her rose up, her rescuer easily pulling himself onto the roof with her.

They stared at each other again, not that Rose could see much of his face through the helmet, and she mentally called up the Grih sheʼd learned over the last eight weeks.

“Iʼm Rose McKenzie. Pleased to meet you.” Grih informal greetings required her to touch her nose to his left cheek, and he to hers, but they were on more of a formal footing, she was guessing, and his helmet was in the way anyway, so she extended her hands palms facing each other, waiting for him to either cover hers or let her cover his. She couldnʼt remember who should do what, right at that minute.

There was a moment of silence, and then the thin, gray-tinted glass on his helmet retracted, and she looked directly into startled pale blue eyes with a dark outer-rim of navy blue. “You speak Grih.”

“Iʼve been studying it.” She looked at him, and tears pricked her eyes.

Sazo had said the Grih were as close to being like her as it got in this part of the universe. But sheʼd thought heʼd been talking in general terms. Bi-pedal, with two eyes, a nose and a mouth. That was the most sheʼd hoped for.

She even thought it didnʼt matter. She would be happy to be alive, and wouldnʼt care if she looked completely different to the people who would hopefully take her in.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

http://www.michellediener.com/

http://www.magicalmusings.com/

http://twitter.com/michellediener

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MichelleDiener/posts

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Diener/196593580366013

BUY Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Horse-Michelle-Diener-ebook/dp/B00Z9R1W9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434370128&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+horse+michelle+diener

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-horse-michelle-diener/1122089042?ean=2940152186161

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

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Book Review: Our Occulted History by Jim Marrs

Our Occulted History is a nonfiction book about conspiracy.  Jim Marrs writes about the alien connection with ancient history, DNA of other creatures, the Annunaki, New World Order, remote viewing, and many more conspiracy theories.  As a conspiracy buff, I knew somewhere between one-third to one-half of the information, but a "layman" would be blown away, as I once was when first learning about the Watchers, Annunaki, and Sumerian culture.  He uses all kinds of references, including the Bible, Hebrew texts, Sumerian tablets, the Indian Vedas, and more.

My Review: I've purchased many books from conspiracy writers and must say that Jim Marrs is one of the best at laying out the information and then making a case that almost proves the theory.  His writing is very clear and lawyer-like, making his views easy to follow.  He is truly a gifted writer which is not surprising since he used to be a journalist.  

I love the book's content.  For instance, one of the fascinating conspiracies that I was not aware of is the familial relationship between world leaders.  For example, Obama is related to Cheney and Hitler was related to the Rothschild family.  Thirteen or fourteen families have always been in power.  Marrs goes into depth about the global banking situation.  I didn't know that the Middle East is one of the few regions not controlled by the Rothschilds and a few other banking giants.  Is it just a coincidence that region is so unstable?  Maybe Marrs will write another book on that very subject.  I, for one, would be one of the first to buy it.

Our Occulted History is tailor-made for anyone who questions the world's history and existence.  This is the first Jim Marrs book I've read, but won't be the last.  He has quickly moved up to my top ten favorite authors.  

5/5 Stars.  Leave a comment!

Are We the Next Greece? New World Order Begins

Greece has been in the news this week as a country on the verge of bankruptcy.  Many feel that Greece deserves their financial woes due to irresponsible social programs and unsustainable pension plans.  Sound familiar, Americans?  Greeks made themselves the perfect victims to set off New World Order.

How much does Greece owe?  278-315 billion Euros or 307-348.1 billion US dollars as of today (as interest grows, so does debt). 

FYI: 1 Euro is $1.10 US dollar.  

Who does Greece need to pay back?  (These figures slightly differ on various websites.  They are approximations)

Private Investors (48.8 billion Euros)

Foreign Banks (2.4 billion Euros)

Eurozone (34 billion Euros)

Germany (57.23 billion Euros)

France (About 43 billion Euros)

Italy (37.76 billion Euros)

Spain (25.1 billion Euros)

European Central Bank (20 billion Euros) ***Controlled by Rothschild Family-more to follow

IMF (32 billion Euros)

Bank of Greece and other Greek Banks (15.3 billion Euros)

Miscellaneous (10.5 billions)

What happens to Greece if they don't make their loan payments?

Well, so far assets such as banks are frozen.  Many banks are closed and the ones that remain open only allow bank customers to withdraw 60 Euro a day.  Eventually the bank will run out of money and bank customers who couldn't get their savings out in time will be out of luck.  

Greece would have to withdraw from the European Union.
If Greece is forced to print her own money, then major inflation would occur because there is nothing left to back up the paper.

Government will not pay employees their wages or retirees their pensions.

What else would happen?
Crime, riots.

Major civil unrest and an eventual takeover by a potential threat to Europe.  They have a ton of illegals from the Middle East.

Recession across Europe that could ripple to U.S.

Has Greece been in trouble before?  

Cyprus banks confiscated their rich customers' money back in 2013.  Many Greeks were unsympathetic because the banks were used by tax-cheats and money launderers. Whether intentional or convenient, the confiscation of other people's money turned out to be a successful and easy experiment.  Two years later an entire country and her banks are being confiscated.   

So who is next?

Here are a few countries who might be following Greece's lead.

Spain-146 billion in Euros

United Kingdom-4.8 trillion in Euros

India-172 billion in U.S. dollars

Brazil-476 billion in U.S. dollars

State of California-617 billion in US dollars

State of New York-300 billion in US dollars

State of Texas-287 billion in US dollars

State of New Jersey-282 billion in US dollars

State of Illinois-271 billion US dollars

U.S. has a total of 18.2 trillion US dollars in debt.  Dang!  Greece looks like a fiscal genius next to America!

This could be the dress rehearsal to our own funeral.  Economics could be the way in which New World Order is achieved.

Leave a comment!  Love to hear from you!