Spirit Fighter

Spirit Fighter

by Jerel Law

   What if the Nephilim from the Bible were still among us today?  Jonah Stone discovers he descended from the ancient half-angels, and with that comes powers, and danger.  When his mother is kidnapped by fallen angels, he and his sister head out on a perilous journey to rescue her.

 

   The concept of this is very intriguing.  The Nephilim have always held a wonderful mystery in my mind, with their vague lineage and relation to angels.  Although Jerel Law's interpretation creates a Percy Jackson-esque world of hidden creatures and beings to adventure through, I didn't love it in the end.  I think a lot of people will, but something didn't click for me.

 

   To be honest, the spiritual warfare of it actually creeped me out a little.  Not because it was too over the top or demented, but because it was pretty accurate.  Of my experience with spiritual warfare, this was all very familiar, and reading about the kids being on a train platform, alone late at night, and a regular bystander turns out to be a demon pursuing them... yeah, it was a bit freaky.  That's probably just me.  I don't do scary very well.

   Are you a fan of the supernatural?  Do you love fantasy journeys through ever-changing landscapes full of monsters and heroes?  How about a suspense that leaves you wishing you weren't reading at night?  

 

There's a good chance that Spirit Fighter is for you!  Check it out.

 

I received this book free from the publisher for an honest review.

True Mythology Book Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Tales of True Mythology - Discovery

by Ethan Long

Giveaway ends September 03, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

North of Hope

North of Hope

by Shannon Polson

I must be honest.

I'm not a fan of non-fiction. Which is a weird thing to say since non-fiction is real life so in essence you're saying, "I don't like real life." But, what makes non-fiction difficult for me is how it's usually told. North of Hope is a perfect example of that.

The author had a legitimately traumatic experience, and I was intrigued with the book because of how she went about coping. To go to Alaska, which is an adventure by itself, and walk the footsteps that your parents walked right before they died, in my mind, is one of the most fascinating and practical healing ventures I think someone could do. That being said, North of Hope was difficult for me to read.

It was fairly drawn out, and when it comes to grief and sorrow, that can drain a reader. She is also very, VERY detailed about what a chair looks like, what a smell did to her, how the sky or river compared to the pain in her heart, and for me that also was a struggle to get through. Not trying to mock her pain, I'm just saying, the prose in this book was a little too poetry for me, which garbled up the story.

In the end, I commend the author for her revealing and painful journey towards healing in such a horrible accident. I really love the idea of this book, but I just had too much trouble actually reading about it.

But that's just me. You can see that many other people were really touched by her story, and that is the goal of a memoir like this in the end.

I received this book free from the publisher for an honest review.

ITSN, Way Behind

WELL! I know it's almost April, and I never did finish my ITSN thing from last year, but I found the last few things I did and wanted to post them, for anyone who still reads this blog and/or cares.

• I went to the Circleville Pumpkin Show last year and had for the first time, Pumpkin Hot Chocolate.  Delicious.  You might think it sounds weird, even gross, but trust me it is NOT.  My favorite thing from the whole show.
• I learned how to sew buttons!  If you go back a few posts to October you can see my costume for Halloween.  The leg spats were made by a friend of mine, and she taught me how to sew on the antique gold buttons running up the side.  I really have to hand it to people who can sew.  My mind just does not work like that...
• And for Christmas we made Gingerbread Houses... out of Graham Crackers!  It's much better that way, I think we should do away with the GB houses altogether and just stick with the grahams.       

   

 It's a little hard to see since mine was under construction but... you get the idea.

So I got 15 out of 25 New Things in one year, not the goal but... I had fun doing it!  I think I'll just continue to try new things, and if one is really exciting, I'll slap the sticker on a post and tell you all about it.
   

Family is the Best

   
My cousin, Rebekah, just wrote a post on her blog about my book project up on Kickstarter.com.

I was so flattered, and humbled, by it that I just had to share with everybody!

Check it out here!
    

Kickstarter Has Kickstarted!

Hey everyone!  Big news!

I have just launched my Kickstarter campaign to help fund the self-publishing of my book!  Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website that allows people like me to post a project so that people like you can join in and help fund it.  For me, I am going to have my book published by WestBow Press, the self-publishing division of Thomas Nelson.

I'm so excited!  And you can join me in all of this!

Check it out here!

Kickstarter is very legitimate, I have actually backed a previous project which was successful.  I had no problems with them whatsoever.

So now's your chance.  If you follow the link above to the project site, you can view my promo video and go through the rewards list to see what can be in store for you should you decide to help.

I've been waiting for this day for a while and I'm surprised it finally arrived.  Thanks for any help or prayers you are willing to give.  This is really going to happen!

Why People Like to Play MMOs

An MMO, for those that don't know, is a Massive Multiplayer Online game.  Your game logs itself onto a server with hundreds of other players, into a world that you all are apart of at the same time.  You can interact with other players, team up, fight, anything!  Most gaming companies have started leaning heavily on the MMO because of its ability to be huge without taking up your entire hardrive, the player interactions, and the ability to update and change portions whenever they want (like for holidays!).

One thing that is universally known among gamers is that MMOs consume your life...You are a character and through missions or quests you level up.  That means you hone your skills, you obtain new abilities, you open up new portions of the map, you gain new vehicles or steeds, you become... awesomer.

In this constant progress with no clear cut endings or episodes, it is easy for a player to become immersed in the gaming world.  To the point of thinking of it when not playing.  Some people even pay money for online content... in essence buying digital objects that don't really exist.  I personally almost lost a friend to World of Warcraft.  He would be in the room with us, but he wasn't actually with us.

So in all that, why would people like MMOs?  They sound kind of like you're wasting your time away.  Well, here's my take.

The reason people like these games is because that character that they are playing has a purpose.  They are the person called on when help is needed.  When someone needs a specific item crafted, or a dragon slayed, or an overbearing tyrant taken out, they are called.  They are needed.  AND they have the abilities to achieve them!  People like MMOs because in that world... they have meaning.  Bills, deadlines, insurance, loans, car problems, they don't exist! 

For me, I have been playing Star Trek Online.  Right now I am the captain of a starship, in charge of dozens of people, and managing their duties and missions.  I have built up a reputation in the Starfleet for being someone they can rely on because of all my past successes and thwarting of evil.  I have a loyal band of  bridge officers that go with me everywhere and who I carefully cultivate.  I've developed a fairly extensive skill in engineering and diplomacy.  In that world, my character is special.  He's important, he's needed and has a purpose.

Geeky, huh?  But at the same time, you can see that in a world where most people are ignored, where finding meaning in all the bustle is like trying to find a star on a cloudy night, a game where you are noticed, appreciated, and able is very enticing.

And that's why people like playing MMOs.