William L. Stuart

author of The Gemstone Chronicles Series

self publishing

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

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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!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013!!

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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!!

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

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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!!

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst (an update)…

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Big news and an update! Last night I finished the edits and revisions for The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst! Now, I have to do the proofreading (to find the typos I made while doing revisions and edits) and formatting in preparation for publishing it in the very near future (maybe next weekend???)!!

Update The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst by William L Stuart Cover

I will be publishing in both paperback and ebook. You can read an excerpt (unedited, of course) of the novel on the Sneak Peeks tab and see the cover on the home page and above. I hope you enjoy the excerpt and will leave me a comment after you read it!

Remember that you can also find The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian at Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/214281) and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/The-Gemstone-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B008WV90JQ

.

The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian by William L Stuart Cover

If you’ve read The Carnelian, please take a moment to leave a review! I always love to hear what my readers think about the books!! It doesn’t have to be a long analysis of the book (although that would be cool). Just a few lines about your thoughts is great!

You can also visit my author page at: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ugak9s911 or

http://www.amazon.com/William-Stuart/e/B008XB7K74/

Connect with me:

I’m also on social media! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or just drop me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. And if you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to the blog! Either way, you’ll never miss an update to The Gemstone Chronicles as the series grows!

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst

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Book Two; The Amethyst!

Exciting news here at The Gemstone Chronicles! I finalized the cover for
The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst. I have to thank my lovely and adorable bride, Lana, for helping with the color and final formatting! She is the best!! For those who want to visit her blog and see her photography and amazing, tasty recipes, visit www.lanascooking.com! She also designed this website for me!! I am one lucky, blessed man!

The Amethyst, the second book of The Gemstone Chronicles series will be released in ebook and paperback in early December (just in time for Christmas or as a book to add to your new Kindle, Nook, or iPad), but for now enjoy the sneak peek of the cover and read an excerpt of the novel on the Sneak Peeks page!!

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst by William L Stuart Cover

Have you read The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian? If you have, please leave me a comment or write a review on Amazon, Smashwords, or Barnes and Noble!! I love to hear what people think about the book!!

Connect with me:

I would also love to connect with you on social media. I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or just email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. In addition, if you don’t want to miss a post, please subscribe to the blog. You’ll always know what I’m up to!

Donna Erickson and her book “No Hassle Publishing: An Author’s Guide to Today’s Changing Industry”

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Donna Erickson!

One of the best things about the writing world, in general, and into self-publishing, in particular, is you  meet some really cool people. You also learn all sorts of new things.For example, I found so many different genres I knew nothing about. However, as I noted in some of my earlier posts about my adventures in self-publishing, it is a somewhat difficult world to navigate through. So, when you find a reference like the one I am promoting today from Donna Erickson, it can make a world of difference in your experience! I plan to use it for my own education. Since I have only a little knowledge to start with, it will help!

Donna Cover

BEFORE YOU PUBLISH YOUR BOOK, READ MINE.

For the past few years, I have been on a mission to help new authors avoid getting scammed in this industry. I wrote my short book, “No-Hassle Publishing: An Author’s Guide to Today’s Changing Industry” to help them avoid the pitfalls. I also use it as a marketing tool for our self-publishing division. It lets authors know they have another option besides the BIG name POD publishers that so many authors have complained about.

No-Hassle Publishing: An Author’s Guide to Today’s Changing Industry.  A must-have guide for the novice writer, which contains a wealth of information not found elsewhere. Authors will learn everything about publishing–from choosing a publisher, signing contracts, and purchasing an ISBN, to insider advice on what to avoid.

For the small price of this booklet, you will save money in the long run by eliminating hours and hours of research and preventing costly mistakes.

     “Donna is a writing whiz and has a great book on self-publishing.” 

From: Gail McMeekin

Founder/President, Creative Success

Author Bio

Donna J. Erickson has owned A Flair For Writing (www.aflairforwriting.com), a professional writing/editing service, for more than 25 years. She is listed in the Marquis Who’s Who of American Woman, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World. She received an Award for Excellence from Riverside Publishing, and an Over the Top Blog Award from Creative Chronicles. Articles about her company have been featured in The Patriot Ledger, The Enterprise, and Mariner Newspapers. She has been a radio guest on the nationally syndicated program, Dresser After Dark with Mike Dresser, blogtalkradio’s Conversations Live! and on WMSX-AM and WATD-FM.

She edited thirteen published books. Donna Erickson is the author of No-Hassle Publishing: An Author’s Guide to Today’s Changing Industry. She launched a subsidiary, A Flair For Writing – Publishing Services, for self-publishing authors worldwide who want an alternative to vanity presses. The publishing division offers exceptional support and customer service. It provides free promotion to authors; quality services that are in-house, rather than outsourced to foreign countries. The division supports a full array of adjunct services and value pricing.

Connect with Donna at the following:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AFlairForWriting

Good Reads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8041121-no-hassle-publishing

Twitter: www.twitter.com/aflair4writing

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/donnaerickson123

Internet: www.aflairforwriting.com

Blog:  http://wwwaflairforwriting.blogspot.com/

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/No-Hassle-Publishing

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-hassle-publishing-donna-erickson/1019513932

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch

Before you publish, check out Donna’s book and take advantage of all the tips she offers. Visit her site, check out the connection links above, and buy and like her book! Hopefully, you’ll benefit from her knowledge. When you finish, please consider leaving a review. In addition, it could possibly make your own publishing journey easier!

Happy No Hassle Publishing!!!

Connect with me:

Since this is the era of social media, let’s connect! I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, so find me and say hi. Start a conversation about books, gemstones, reviews, or just about anything else!I enjoy meeting new friends!