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Read the first 350 words of Dark Rose, one of the seven stories to be published in One More Day this December

8/29/2013

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A boom shook the classroom. Scarlett shrieked, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Heart slamming in her chest, she lifted her eyes and scanned the room. In one corner, Matthew stared straight ahead of him. Behind him, Bailey leaned so far over her desk, Scarlett thought she would fall headfirst off the table.

A few desks in front of Scarlett, Jed pushed his exam away from him, his glasses sliding halfway off his nose. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. Leah tapped her pen against the desk without rhythm, fluttering her eyes at Toby.

The rumble didn’t seem to affect anyone.
How did they miss that? There had been a noise. Hadn’t there? The stress of the test must have been getting to Scarlett.

She shook her head, as if to rid herself of the confusion, and forced her gaze back to the paper in front of her. The instruc- tions at the top read: In no less than 500 words, persuade a fellow student to part with his or her most valuable possession or deepest desire for the greater good.

With pencil to page, she began to write, only to glance at her watch—twenty minutes left in the exam, and half her essay remained undone. No wonder she was nervous.

A second boom rocked the schoolroom, and she gripped the shaking desk.

Nobody else did the same.

This can’t be real. I’m going crazy, or something. Maybe I’m dreaming. She squeezed her eyes shut, inhaled, exhaled, and returned to her paper. She pressed her pencil against the page and stifled a curse when the lead broke. Reaching for her sharp- ener, she clutched the writing utensil as the classroom shook for the third time. The essay vibrated off her desk, the nearly blank composition fluttering in a breeze to the ground.

What the hell? Her imagination had not pushed her test off the table. It was capable of a lot of things but not that.

Scarlett waited for the rumble to happen again. The clock ticked behind her. Fifteen minutes. Twelve. Ten. She’d never finish the assessment. How could she focus when the room kept shaking? Scarlett retrieved and set her paper on the desk, and leaned back in her chair, staring at the mostly blank page.

The boom came right then.
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Review: The Stone Kingdom, by Danielle E. Shipley

8/28/2013

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Okay, where to start, where to start...I think I'll start by telling you what I didn't like, and then I'll move on to the good stuff, because, well, nobody wants to end on a bad note. But before I start all that, I'll give it my rating:

And I give it....





Keep Scrolling!





Almost There!

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So here's the ins and outs of it. The beginning was a little dry, I had to push myself to keep reading, and when I did, I found it was quite fast-paced, which, of course, you'd expect from a novella, however, it went from background information to adventure in three seconds flat with no time in between for me to truly get to know any of the characters or the setting. Even for a novella, the pace was a little too fast for me. And there was lots of narration--which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but during the narration of the story of the Stone Kingdom, there was very little of what Rosalba felt and thought during that time, leaving me only to use Rosalba's actions to characterize her in the beginning. That, of course, changed quite quickly when the story took off.

Upon saying all those bad, or rather, criticizing, items, The Stone Kingdom had by far the most eloquent, quirky and one of a kind voice I've ever heard. The author, while focusing more on narration than dialogue, description than character feelings, makes up for everything she lacks in the very voice she speaks with. While I did say previously that the beginning was rather dry, I pushed through not necessarily because I felt I had to, but because I was so intrigued by her writing that I couldn't help it! And her characters! Once I got to know them, which took only a short while, I fell in love with them. Without saying too much, of course, I can honestly tell you that Rosalba is the most interesting young woman I've ever read about in a story like this. The tales such a story is based on are about young women who need saving or who must become nice, respectable princesses. Rosalba, on the other hand, is a strong young woman who will become a nice, respectable princess...but not until after she's made sure her opinion on any subject is very clear and also made everyone in the room understand that while she may ask for help, she is a strong, independent woman. She stands out from the story because of this strength. And I think I've already said too much, but here's my take on Edgwyn, the tailor who she travels with: he is the kindest and most unselfish character I've ever met. And can I just add in, here, that if Edgwyn were a real person, I'd have dibs because I've been searching for a guy like that all my life. 



So while The Stone Kingdom had its outs, the ins of it were so much stronger that it had me hooked. Did I mention I read it in a night? Its fast pace and its quirky voice make it hard to put down once you've picked it up. I highly recommend picking up your copy of The Stone Kingdom, book two of the Wilderhark Tales by Danielle E. Shipley when it releases on September 20, 2013! 
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Cover Reveal: The Stone Kingdom (Book Two of the Wilderhark Tales by Danielle E. Shipley

8/10/2013

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“Love and prince,

Both true, wed rose of white in realm of stone;

For blood begins,

But naught can be put right by blood alone.”

 

One thoughtless act is all it takes to bring the curse threatened

on Rosalba’s christening day to pass. Now the princess must combine

her desperate determination with the service of benevolent tailor Edgwyn Wyle

to find the second half of the key to her kingdom’s restoration.

The Stone Kingdom

Book Two of The Wilderhark Tales

<> ~ <> ~ <>

An enchantress’s curse turns a spoiled royal into a beast;

A princess’s pricked finger places her under a hundred-year spell;

Bales of straw are spun as golden as the singing harp whisked down a giant beanstalk –

All within sight of Wilderhark, the forest that’s seen it all.

You’ve heard the stories –

of young men scaling rope-like braids to assist

the tower-bound damsel; of gorgeous gowns

appearing just in time for a midnight ball;

of frog princes, and swan princes,

and princes saved from drowning by maidens of the sea.

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.


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About Danielle:


Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it at www.EverOnWord.wordpress.com.

And here are the details of when and where you can get The Stone Kingdom (Book Two of the Wilderhark Tales):

Release Date: September 20, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fairytale
Length: Novella (179 pages)
Future availability: Paperback (Amazon.com) and eBook (Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com) Add “The Stone Kingdom” to your Goodreads shelf today!
ISBN: 978-0-9891846-1-8
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