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William L. Stuart

author of The Gemstone Chronicles Series

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The Last Descendant (Sanyare Chronicles #1) by Megan Haskell – My Review!!

October 22, 2018 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

The Last Descendant – My Review!!

Sanyare The Last Descendant by Megan Haskell Cover

I found The Last Descendant (Sanyare Chronicles #1) on Indie Brag, a site that showcases the best of Indie Authors. After reading the blurb, I added it to the TBR list. Here’s my review!

Synopsis (from the author):

Raised in a realm where humans are no better than slaves, Rie Lhethannien has struggled for decades to earn a meager post in the High Court messenger service. Even training as an elite fighter isn’t enough to earn the respect she craves. Scorned by the high elves who rely on her loyalty, Rie’s closest allies are the fierce carnivorous pixies who travel by her side.

When she’s attacked on a routine delivery by assassins from the enemy Shadow Realm, Rie’s martial prowess keeps her alive…and frames her as a traitor. Facing execution at the hand of an unmerciful high elf king, Rie must forsake her oaths and flee into enemy lands to prove her innocence. The secrets she uncovers may threaten more than her honor or even her life…for war is looming in the nine faerie realms. 

What I liked about The Last Descendant:

The Last Descendant has all the great fantasy elements. Rie, a human coming into unknown powers, intrigue, battles, magic, elves, a forbidden realm, and a quest to uncover the truth. What more can a fantasy reader ask for? In addition, it’s a well-written and well-paced book. For fantasy lovers, it’s a series to keep them occupied. Well done, Megan Haskell!

What I didn’t like about The Last Descendant:

I’m not asking for an info dump, but more background on the Shadow Realm would help. I’m sure it comes out in the subsequent books, though, so I’ll have to wait.

Overall impression:

As with all the books I’ve read with Indie Brag Medallions, The Last Descendant (Sanyare Chronicles #1) is well-written and entertaining! Good characters, nice battles scenes, intrigue, and a touch of romance make it a book worth reading! I recommend this one to anyone who likes fantasy!

My rating:

5 Stars

Connect with Megan Haskell:

Find out more about Megan Haskell and her books on her website or her Amazon Author page! While you’re there, please consider leaving a review or a comment (and maybe buy a book or two)!

Connect with me:

I’m always interested in meeting new friends. Find me on the socials on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Say hi and let’s start a conversation!

Filed Under: Recommendations and Reviews Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, author, book, books, BRAG medallion, ebook, ebooks, elves, fantasy, fiction, Indie Brag, magic, Megan Haskell, review, reviewing, reviews, self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, The Last Descendant, The Sanyare Chonicles, william l stuart, young adult

Book Two: The Amethyst – The Paperback!!

January 9, 2013 by Bill Stuart 2 Comments

The Paperback has Arrived!

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst – The Paperback!!

Book Two: The Amethyst - The Paperback

 

 

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst – the paperback!! I just approved the author’s proof today and it’s now available on CreateSpace! It will soon be available on Amazon and through other outlets, joining The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian!

If you get a chance, check it out at: https://tsw.createspace.com/title/4109277!! I’d love to know what you think of the cover, the blurb, and, of course, the book itself!

And, remember, both books are available in ebook format through Amazon and Book One: The Carnelian is also available through Smashwords! Book Two: The Amethyst will also be available through Smashwords, too! That means that you can get the ebook through outlets like iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Kobo, and many others.

Have you read Book One: The Carnelian? If so, leave me a comment here, or better yet, leave a review at Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes & Noble!! I would be remiss if I didn’t thank those who have already purchased my books, read them, and left me reviews. I’ve said it before, but it’s still true: reviews help me become a better author. Help me do a better job for all readers and give me feedback. I truly appreciate it!

Connect with me on social media, too! I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or just send me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

Filed Under: Book Posts, Self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amethyst, author, books, CreateSpace, ebook, ebooks, elves, emerald, fantasy, fiction, gems, gemstone rough, gemstones, KDP, Kindle, magic, middle grade, middle grades, rock hunting, self-publishing, The Amethyst, The Carnelian, The Gemstone Chronicles, william stuart, young adult

New Toys!!!!!

December 30, 2012 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

New Toys!!

I know I have been away for a while. I have been working on the paperback version of The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst, enjoying Christmas with the grands, traveling to see family in South Georgia, and just generally enjoying some time off. In light of all that, look what I got for Christmas!! Yes, I had asked for a metal detector and a two drum rock tumbler and look what showed up Christmas morning!! I can now work three steps of the tumbling process as the same time. How cool is that? And, I can also take my new metal detector with me when I rock hunt. You never know what you might find. Since I live near a lake, I can explore the shoreline and see what I can find. I am excited to get these new toys for me to play with! Here are a couple of pictures I took of the new equipment.

New Toys Garrett Metal Detector

My new Garret 150 Metal Detector!! Not the most powerful detector, but a good start to a new hobby!

New Toys Two Drum Rock Tumbler

And my new two drum rock tumbler!! I can hardly wait until the next opportunity to go rock hunting!! I can tumble six pounds of gemstones at one time in this tumbler, so it’s time to find more rocks! Now if I can just convince Lana to let me buy a Bobcat….

What did you get for Christmas? Anything fun that you can use for your hobbies? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Connect with me:

If you use Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads, find me and let’s connect. You can tell me about your hobbies (maybe I’ll find a new one from your stories) and let me know what you think of my books and my blog!

Filed Under: Book Posts, Gemstone Posts Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amethyst, author, bobcat, books, cabochons, ebook, ebooks, elves, emerald, fantasy, gem mining, gems, gemstone rough, gemstones, KDP, Kindle, magic, metal detector, middle grade, middle grades, rock hunting, rock tumbler, rock tumbling, tumbled gemstones, william stuart, young adult

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013!!

December 24, 2012 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

Happy Holidays!!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to say thanks for making 2012 a truly memorable year for me and The Gemstone Chronicles. I published The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian in August, followed by the paperback version in November. Just this past week, I published The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst for Kindle, and I submitted the files to CreateSpace for the paperback. I still have to review the file before releasing the paperback of The Amethyst, but that will happen soon and it should be available by New Year’s Day!

Merry Christmas The Carnelian

Merry Christmas The Amethyst

Thank you Readers!

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for taking my books into your hearts, homes, and minds. You readers make them so much more successful than I ever dreamed possible. Now, I hope you will all enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate! I wish you all the happiest and most prosperous New Year! And, if you happen to get a Kindle or other ereader, add The Gemstone Chronicles to your TBR list!! Once you finish reading one (or all of them) please consider leaving a review. I enjoy discovering what my readers think of the books!

If you want to connect with me, I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. You can also drop me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013!!

Filed Under: Book Posts, Happy New year, Merry Christmas, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amethyst, author, books, ebook, ebooks, elves, emerald, facets, fantasy, fiction, gem mining, gems, gemstone rough, gemstones, Happy 2013, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, KDP, Kindle, magic, Merry Christmas, middle grade, middle grades, rock hunting, rock tumbling, self publishing, Smashwords, The Gemstone Chronicles, william stuart, young adult

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst is launched!!

December 21, 2012 by Bill Stuart 1 Comment

Mayan Apocalypse (or not)!

I launched the second book my my series The Gemstone Chronicles to celebrate the Mayan Apocalypse non-event! Entitled The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst, the book builds on the adventure begun in The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian. Below is a brief description!

In Celahir, the magical land where the Light Elves and the Dark Elves live, the Dark Elves have stolen the four gemstones of the Elven Bow. Without those gemstones, the barrier between the human world and Celahir is deteriorating and threatens the balance between good and evil in both worlds.

Aidan, Maggie, Nana, and Beebop, with help from their Light Elf friends during their first trip to Celahir, recovered the Carnelian – the first of the stolen gemstones. Now, the stakes are even higher when the elves return to the human world to ask for help recovering the second gemstone, the Amethyst, and the humans discover that Mike – Aidan and Maggie’s father – has been kidnapped by the evil elf Naesse!

The humans, accompanied by Aidan and Maggie’s mother, Laura, return to Celahir to rescue Mike and recover the Amethyst. All they have to do is defeat the giant that guards the gemstone…

I launched the ebook on Kindle and Smashwords. The CreateSpace submission for the paperback should happen this weekend, so the paperback should be available in the next few days. Here is the cover:

The Gemstone Chronicles The Amethyst Cover Launched

Links:

Here is the link to the ebook on Amazon:

Since you’re headed that way, take a minute to leave a review for my books or any other books you’ve read! It helps authors to know what the readers think!

I will post the link to the paperback as soon as it is available!

And, just in case you missed it, I had my first interview as an author. Becky Day did a great interview with me. Here is the link to that post on Becky’s amazing blog!

Author Interview with William L. Stuart: Talking Elves & Magical Gemstones!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks for making 2012 such a memorable year for me and The Gemstone Chronicles!!

Have you read The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian? If you have, leave me a comment and tell me what you thought! Better yet, go to Amazon or Goodreads and leave a review! If you haven’t, why not take a look? You might just be amazed!!

Filed Under: author, Book Posts, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amethyst, author, books, ebook, ebooks, elves, emerald, facets, fantasy, fiction, gem mining, gems, gemstone rough, gemstones, KDP, Kindle, magic, middle grade, middle grades, rock hunting, rock tumbling, self publishing, The Amethyst. The Carnelian, The Gemstone Chronicles, tumbled gemstones, william stuart, young adult

Tumbled Emeralds – The Final Chapter!!

December 15, 2012 by Bill Stuart 2 Comments

Tumbled Emeralds – The Final Chapter!! I finally finished tumbling the emeralds that I started over a month ago. Sometimes the tumbling process takes a while and the harder the stone, the longer it can take. In retrospect, I probably should have tumbled them longer with the coarse grit before moving on, but, live and learn. I will do it next time I start a bunch from scratch! So, here is the final chapter of tumbled emeralds!

Anyway, to refresh (unless, of course, you want to go back and read all the previous tumbling posts), I placed a number of rough emeralds in my tumbler and began the process with coarse grit silicon carbide. See the Tumbled Emeralds post for details!

 

https://www.williamlstuart.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/editDSCF00071.jpg

 

After a week or so, I took the stones from the tumbler, cleaned them, and this is what they looked like.

 

Tumbled Emeralds - The Final Chapter Emeralds after 1 week of tumbling with coarse grit silicon carbide
Emeralds after 1 week of tumbling with coarse grit silicon carbide

Back in the tumbler they went, but this time with a medium/fine grit silicon carbide. Another week of grinding and polishing before we see the next results!

 

Tumbled Emeralds - The Final Chapter Emeralds tumbled using the med/fine silicon carbide grit
Emeralds tumbled using the med/fine silicon carbide grit

 

Once again, the emeralds go back into the tumbler. I add the pre-polishing compound for this step. This compound is aluminum oxide. After a week of constant tumbling, this is what I have. Note how the shine is really beginning to show now.

 

Tumbled Emeralds - The Final Chapter Pre-Polished Emeralds

 

Finally, we arrive at the polishing step! It has been a long grind (yes, bad pun intended). The results are worth waiting for, though, as you can see from the pictures below. One of the cool things that tumbling does is create different shapes like those below. One of the emeralds ended up in a wedge shape and another in a sort of oval shape. I just love the way they turned out! What will I do with them? I don’t know. Maybe figure out a way to put them in a bracelet or a pendant, but I may just put them away and enjoy them just as they are!

Emeralds are one of my favorite gemstones and the Emerald is one of the gemstones stolen from the Elven Bow in The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald. What is your favorite gemstone? Do you prefer cabochons or faceted gems? Leave me a comment and let me know!

 

6 Tumbled Emeralds

 

All tumbled emeralds

 

 

Wedge Shaped Emerald

 

Tumbled Emeralds - The Final Chapter Oval Emerald

 

I will continue to look for stones to tumble (and I asked for another tumbler for Christmas) and I hope to buy a cabochon machine soon. Maybe if I can sell enough books, I will buy myself a faceting machine! That could lead to a whole bunch of interesting posts!!!

Don’t want to miss a post? Please subscribe to the blog! If you want to connect with me on social media, I can be found of Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to connecting!

 

Filed Under: Book Posts, Gemstone Posts, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, author, books, cabochons, ebook, ebooks, elves, emerald, facets, gem mining, gems, gemstone rough, gemstones, magic, rock hunting, The Gemstone Chronicles, tumbled gemstones, william stuart

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