Trusted (Dragons' Trust Book One) - A Review

I was super lucky to read an earlier version of this novel from my name twin, Krista Wayment, and I'm so excited about how amazing it turned out! :) This is definitely a really good book and a great debut novel!

Title: Trusted (Dragons' Trust Book One)
Author: Krista Wayment
Publisher: Amazon Kindle Publishing
Publication Date: March 27, 2014 

Genre: MG Fantasy

Plot: First, here is the summary of "Trusted" from Goodreads - Renick, the fifth son of a dragon breeder, crashes into an unexpected adventure that challenges everything he thought he knew about dragons, history, and himself. Stranded in the massive Helath forest, Renick meets two other passengers: Thane, a noble training to be a dragon knight, and Lainey, the orphaned niece of a healer. Together they survive an attack by vicious wolves, rescue a baby dragon with a broken wing, and escape from a band of dragon hunters as they make a perilous climb into the mountains. What they discover there will change everything.

Renick’s new adventure is about to begin, an apprenticeship to get him away from his family and to increase his knowledge of dragons. The last obstacle is traveling to stay with his uncle. When the dragon carrying the travelers is knocked out of the sky and killed, Renick is stuck with a highborn named Thane, who thinks himself greater than the others, and Lainey, an orphan healer who talks too much. Together they have to brave the forest and try to make it home. But when they stumble upon a little dragon, he changes everything they’ve ever been taught about dragons and they will have to learn to work together to protect him.

The writing in this book is flawless! I love the language used to describe the different dragons and their culture. It was very interesting to learn about them! I admit I want my own little dragon now. The story has a fast-pace and flows well. Each individual character grows throughout the story and I really enjoyed reading about them! Even Thane, though he’s a bit stiff, I still liked him at the end. I look forward to reading more stories about these characters!

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Side note, tomorrow is my book birthday for BREATHLESS and the first day of "The Romantic Flop Blog Hop", so be sure to check it out and you can still join! :)  You won't want to miss out on the awesome giveaway with prizes from an Amazon giftcard, Trusted by Krista Wayment, and much more! :)

My Writing Process

I've been tagged by the lovely Isabella Leigh and Rena Olsen to write a blog post, answering a few questions about my writing process.

What am I working on?

Tuesday begins the first day of the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo, which is similar to the one that happens in November, but you can pick your word count and there's a few more bugs at the campsite. I'm going to be working on a YA Contemporary Romance, tentatively called Cursed.

Alanna never meant to interact with anyone, let alone stand up for the biggest geek in school. But Jared is different, he doesn't make fun of her scars or mock her hearing aid. He's kind and she finds herself interested in someone, when she thought humanity was all evil. Because if Alanna doesn't break the curse by the time she turns eighteen, she'll be dead.

It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a hearing impaired girl and a geek. I'm super excited about it! :) I'm learning quite a bit about deaf culture and it's really interesting! I'm hoping the story will come across correctly.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I'm awesome. Err, I'm amazing? Well, I think my work is different because I'm a different person. Okay, it is different because it comes from me. My characters are usually a bit awkward, just like me and somewhat nerdy. I like to think my books have a lot of myself in them, but they uniquely have their own characterizations and a personality created for each individual character. I feel like some writers have characters that are all very similar, but mine are very diverse!

Why do I write what I do?

I'm currently working on different contemporary romances with a fairy tale twist. I've always been interested, okay I admit it, I love fairy tales and things outside of our realm like faeries and dragons. Everything I write has a fantasy twist. I love writing romance for young adults because it is such a fun time for love and romance! They experience their first kisses, first dance dates, and first real heartbreak.

How does my writing process work?

Coffee, lots of coffee and blueberry muffins. I've found that I write the best when I'm not in my apartment. I drive to my favorite local coffee shop, order my favorite iced caramel latte and one of their delicious blueberry muffins.

But my process itself is write and edit later. If I have an idea, I have a tendency to plot out a few things on the notebook I keep in my purse and then that day or the next, I will write those scenes. Writing is much easier if I have some plots written down, but I'm not a complete plotter. I do enjoy writing by the seat of my pants. :) I love finding inspiration in daily things and weaving them into my stories. :)

I'm tagging anyone who would like to participate and hasn't been tagged yet! :) Are you participating in the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo or in the Blogging A to Z Challenge? Good luck to everyone!

One more week!

One more week until my debut novella, BREATHLESS, releases and you can all read it!

I'm getting a little nervous with the date coming up, but I'm still very excited! Really, what do I have to worry about though?

 (Benedict, stop it. I'm trying to concentrate.)

Anyway, I keep finding myself opening it to make sure I didn't miss anything and then wanting to mentally smack myself. But the book is ready and I'm ready... okay, I'm lying - I will be ready in one week!

(Benedict... what was I... give me another minute to finish... or something.)

I'm now having trouble focusing, but... there's still plenty of time to sign up to join my bloghop to celebrate the release. I've got 10 people signed up, which is incredibly exciting! You are all welcome to join! I'll be sharing a completely embarrassing romantic flop of my own. I haven't decided if I want to talk about how I'm Taylor Swift (yes, I am - just ask my best friend) or if I want to tell about the time I de-pantsed myself in front of my crush. You don't want to miss out! Prizes. Yes, there's also a fun giveaway!!

Anyway, I wanted to share a little teaser with you today to celebrate!

Jon might be your new book boyfriend. He's a sweet romantic and cute! One more week and BREATHLESS will be available to read on Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook! Thanks for visiting... I think I have plans for the next week...

Yep, anyway - feel free to add Breathless to your Goodreads list or stalk me later! I have to go re-watch episodes of "Sherlock". :)

Interview from Krista Wayment - Trusted Blog Tour!

Today I would like to share an interview with Krista Wayment! Her debut novel, TRUSTED, Dragon's Trust Book 1 releases on March 27th!

Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to “sit” down for an interview with me. Sorry about the mess. I ate an entire bag of jellybeans earlier and they went flying, but let’s not talk about that. We are here to talk about you! This is really exciting for me because I get to interview my name twin! Krista is interviewing Krista! We also have two characters named Lainey in our books that release within days of each other. Sometimes I wonder if we really are the same person.

 

Okay, let’s start with an easy first question! What was your inspiration for Dragons' Trust?

Krista W:  I've always love dragons. And of course, loved reading about them. When I realized that I had NO stories with dragons in them—I decided to fix that. So I started thinking about what kind of dragons I wanted to write about. After answering the questions “What if?” and “Why” several times—The Dragons' Trust world was born.

I agree, there are not a lot of dragon books and dragons are awesome! What made you decide to independently publish your novel?

Krista W:  I am not a patient person. Seriously. Two day shipping isn't even fast enough for me :) I to get an agent but only got a long stream of no's. Sigh. The thought of doing this over and over and over and over—well, you get the idea. I was getting frustrated. One day my husband asked me--”Why don't you just publish it yourself.” And—rather than give up or stay frustrated—I decided I would.

Two day shipping gets me too!! I love that your husband gave pushed you not to give up! If your characters were sitting down in a coffee place, what would they order? Or how would they respond to things like skinny lattes and mochas?

Krista W:  (Giggle). Oh my gosh now I have to write a scene where they sit down in a coffee shop! Let's see … Thane would order his black and hate it. Because he's tough on the outside and sweet on the inside. Lainey would want something sweet and frothy. Renick would probably get something with a flavor that reminded him of home. Then Plyth (the baby dragon) would get a sip of espresso and would fly and jump around with all the excess energy. Final image: Renick, Thane, and Lainey drenched in coffee a foam on the verge of laughing.

An adorable baby dragon on a caffeine high, yes please! I understand that Dragons' Trust is the first in the series. What’s your favorite thing we have to look forward to after the first book? (Without giving away anything!)

Krista W:  I'm working on book two right now, and I'm excited to see Thane's character develop a little more. Beyond that—you can look forward to the scene when Renick's father finally comes for a visit and a lot of little things fall in place and some surprising things are revealed. That's all I'm going to say for now.

Sounds exciting! And one final question… it’s the question we’ve all been dying to know. What special treat do you give yourself while writing?

Krista W:  Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Seriously, it is my favorite food. I occasionally also have chips with ranch dip or a nice mug of hot chocolate with a fist full of marshmallows—mmmm!

Because chocolate is amazing! Thank you so much for taking some time to sit down with me! I’ll let you get back to preparing the finishing touches for your book release! I'm very excited about your release. Congratulations!

Goodreads

Renick, the fifth son of a dragon breeder, crashes into an unexpected adventure that challenges everything he thought he knew about dragons, history, and himself.

Stranded in the massive Helath forest, Renick meets two other passengers: Thane, a noble training to be a dragon knight, and Lainey, the orphaned niece of a healer. Together they survive an attack by vicious wolves, rescue a baby dragon with a broken wing, and escape from a band of dragon hunters as they make a perilous climb into the mountains. What they discover there will change everything.

Release Date: March 27, 2014

 

Krista Wayment has been making up stories since she learned to talk. Writing naturally grew out of that. Krista is an avid Fantasy and Science Fiction fan, and a total nerd. She is also a software engineer and loves playing video games. Although, curling up with a good book is still one of her favorite past times.

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The Real Thing - Cover Reveal!

I'm super excited to be sharing the cover reveal of one of my favorite author's books! Cassie Mae. Seriously, she's incredible and I am super lucky to know her and to be able to send her emails and she actually responds! Take it away, Cassie!!

So, this book... it's about this girl.

And she loves her online time.

Her phone is her buddy.

And her favorite app is her Kindle, because she also LOVES to read.

Read a lot.

Then there's this boy.

He's best friends with this bookworm girl.

He sort of has a thing for her.

But, he's also got major anxiety.

And isn't sure how to make a move.

So when they end up rooming together for the summer, this guy tries to get this girl to put the screen away long enough for him to win her over.

But of course, it's not easy to unplug. Especially for an internet junkie.

Hmm... that girl sounds pretty familiar ;)

And here's the hawt cover for it! 

And here's the actual blurb, and not my picture version :)

Eric Matua has one friend—his best friend and childhood sweetheart, who needs a place to stay for the summer. Mia Johnson has thousands of friends—who live in her computer. Along with her email chats and Facebook notifications, Mia also devours romance novels, spending countless hours with fictional characters, dreaming of her own Romeo to sweep her off her feet. When she starts receiving supersweet messages from a stranger who thinks she’s someone else, Mia begins to believe that real love is possible outside her virtual world.
When the two friends become roommates, Mia finds herself falling harder than she ever thought she could. But Eric keeps his desires locked away, unsure of himself and his ability to give his best friend what she deserves in a boyfriend. As her advances are continually spurned, Mia splits her time between Eric and her computer. But she soon realizes she’s about to lose the only real thing she’s ever had.

About Cassie Mae :)

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. She’s the author of the Amazon Bestsellers REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND and HOW TO DATE A NERD, and is the debut author for the Random House FLIRT line with her New Adult novels FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI and SWITCHED. She spends time with her angel children and perfect husband who fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

Congratulations Cassie! I can't wait until I can get my grubby little hands on this one too! :)