Spotlight: Season of the Witch by April Wood

Looking for a magical series for all your YA needs? Author April Wood joins me today to talk about her series, Season of the Witch! Find out all about it below and where you can get your hands on these books 🙂

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Hey, bookworms! I am so excited to share the news that both Winter’s Curse and Spring in Summerland, of my YA, paranormal fantasy series, Season of the Witch, both have gorgeous new covers and are now free on Kindle Unlimited! Here are the details:

Winter’s Curse: Season of the Witch Book One by April Wood
Genre: YA / Paranormal Romance / Fantasy / Mystery

Before the light is reborn within the womb of darkness and the Sun returns, will Winter reverse the curse?

When High Priestess Iris Rose-Thorne bets her granddaughter’s womb in a broom flying contest and loses, Winter wonders where the real danger lies: from the Witch Hunters she fled from the far North or her shady godmother.

She finds safety with Turmeric of the Wormwood clan. His eagerness to protect her warms her frozen heart. But her love for him defies the Segregation Curse of Old, cast by the Elders to preserve ancient clan bloodlines.

Can they find a way around the Segregation Curse of Old to be together? And with time running out as the Winter Solstice nears, will Winter be able to reverse the curse on her womb? Or will she agree to her fate and remain barren?

Get it here: FREE on Kindle Unlimited (or $2.99) | $12.99 Paperback  on Amazon

310 Pages
Published by Bellatrix Press, October 2016
Themes: Teen Witch, Fertility, Teen in Peril, Love and Romance, Witchcraft, Spells and Curses, Coming of Age

Author Interview: Ted Galdi

Last author interview for the foreseeable future! I’m hoping to do a bit of a wrap up later this month so keep your eyes peeled for that, but right now let’s meet one more author!

Today, I’m joined by author Ted Galdi with his new thriller, An American Cage, coming out next month! Check out our interview below!

An American Cage by Ted Galdi
Genre: Thriller

Three inmates break out of a maximum-security prison in Texas, one of them Danny Marsh, a suburban kid in his twenties who landed in jail because of a crime he never intended to commit. An American Cage follows Danny and his two escape partners over a twenty-four-hour period as they struggle to cross Texas to freedom in Mexico. On this dangerous journey, Danny has to evade the rabid Texas authorities, and even worse, the schemes of one of his closest allies, who isn’t who he seems.

Watch this page for purchase links: An American Cage

Sam/Spines: Let’s start off with a little game to learn more about you: what are two truths and a lie about yourself?

Ted Galdi: I like to tell the truth. I like to lie. One of these answers is a lie.

S: How did you get started in writing? Have you always wanted to be a writer?

TG: It started when I was really young. As a little kid, I would draw out cartoons in crayon and make these mini stories. It was always a passion of mine, and took form in one way or another through my life. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would act out these goofy skits I would write, and film them in my parents’ basement. A little later I took a shot at my first screenplay. I was always really into movies, and the screenplay format (at least to me) is much more accessible to a beginning writer than the novel one. I took some time off from writing after college to pursue a software career. Once I got that off the ground, and I was able to really focus on writing, I decided to take a shot at a book, which turned into my debut, Elixir.

S: Can you tell us a little about your latest book? 

TG: My new book is called An American Cage. It’s a fast-paced, gritty crime thriller set in Texas, about three prison escapees trying to dodge the police on their way to freedom in Mexico. Danny, the protagonist, is far from a hardened criminal. He’s a suburban kid who wound up in jail due to bad luck. Needless to say, he’s way out of his comfort zone during this adventure, where things keep getting worse and worse. Soon, he’s fighting for way more than his freedom. His own life, and those of his family, become at stake. It’s got a lot of suspense and adrenaline-filled scenes, but touches on some major philosophical ideas as well. Hopefully it can keep readers entertained and make them think at the same time.

Review: The Mayor of Mogadishu by Andrew Harding

         

This is my first nonfiction read of the year! Honestly this probably wouldn’t have been something I’d have picked up on my own if I wasn’t approached first, but I’m glad I did because I knew very little of the history of Somalia, or current affairs, before I read this book. While the author presents all this as honestly as he can, he’s also sure to include a more human side of the story, focusing his book on the former mayor but also many others he’s met during his travels.

The Mayor of Mogadishu: A Story of Chaos and Redemption in the Ruins of Somalia by Andrew Harding
Genre: Nonfiction / Biography

In The Mayor of Mogadishu, one of the BBC’s most experienced foreign correspondents, Andrew Harding, reveals the tumultuous life of Mohamoud “Tarzan” Nur – an impoverished nomad who was abandoned in a state orphanage in newly independent Somalia, and became a street brawler and activist. When the country collapsed into civil war and anarchy, Tarzan and his young family became part of an exodus, eventually spending twenty years in north London.

But in 2010 Tarzan returned, as Mayor, to the unrecognizable ruins of a city now almost entirely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al Shabab. For many in Mogadishu, and in the diaspora, Tarzan became a galvanizing symbol of courage and hope for Somalia. But for others, he was a divisive thug, who sank beneath the corruption and clan rivalries that continue, today, to threaten the country’s revival.

The Mayor of Mogadishu is a rare an insider’s account of Somalia’s unraveling, and an intimate portrayal of one family’s extraordinary journey.

Get it here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | St. Martin’s Press | Indiebound

I tend to avoid nonfiction because I’m afraid I’ll find it boring. I’d really like to push myself to explore this genre more but for now I’ve been keeping it safe by staying with fiction reads.

However, this book was far from boring and I think that’s due to two reasons: 1) this isn’t a topic I was familiar with so I had a lot to learn and 2) the author’s writing style is incredibly captivating, which makes learning about a new subject so entertaining!

The author writes like a journalist (which he is) but it translates well to book form, and it’s obvious that the he’s in his element. As a journalist, Harding is perhaps best suited to be sharing this story, as he does so honestly while always maintaining respect for those people whose lives he covers.

This is largely a biography of former mayor, Mohamoud Nur, but the author uses his story to tell the story of Somalia, and it’s through learning about his life and those around him that we’re able to see a more human side of this country. Like the nicknames that are such a huge part of Somalian culture – for the mayor, he gains his nickname Tarzan as a young boy. Or President Siad Barre’s attempts to establish a Somali alphabet, which increased the literacy in the rural areas of the country exponentially. These aspects are rarely covered in popular media but here they allow us to see a fuller picture of life in Somalia.