32 Signs You're a Star Wars Super Fan

    AKA Signs you're a huge Star Wars nerd.

1. You know the difference between an AT-AT and an AT-ST.

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2. You will correct anyone who confuses the two.

3. You know who Sy Snootles is.

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4. You know who Sy Snootle's ex-boyfriend is.

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5. You really wish you didn't know that Sy Snootles ever had a boyfriend.

6. You know who Maximilian Veers is.

7. You can pick him out in The Empire Strikes Back.

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8. You know he has a son named Zevulon Veers that joined the Rebels.

9. You know that Jar-Jar Binks has a girlfriend.

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10. Not only do you know who Mara Jade is, you know what year she was born, the color of her eyes, and the manner of her death. And her employer. And the colors of her various lightsabers.

11. You can trace the path Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber took through its life. In both Star Wars universes.

12. You're afraid to know how many times you've watched Star Wars.

13. You know who Bib Fortuna is the instant you hear his name.

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14. You've heard of Tatooine, Klatooine, and Dantooine and know the differences between each planet.

15. You know Obi-Wan Kenobi's home planet's name.

16. You know who Porkins is.

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17. You know the band "Figran Dan and the Modal Nodes." And you enjoy their music.

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18. You can hear any Star Wars quote and instantly know what movie it's from, who said it, and what's happening in the scene it's in.

19. The Star Wars music from any part of any of the first six (or the only) movies is instantly recognizable to you, even though you don't listen to the soundtrack that often.

20. You know who Yaddle is and where she came from.

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21. You know every change George Lucas made to every Star Wars movie. And you don't actually hate all of them.

22. You know who Captain Panaka and Captain Typho are, and that Typho is Panaka's nephew.

23. You know what model of freighter the Millennium Falcon is...though of course it's heavily modified.

24. You know the names of the seven different lightsaber forms.

25. You know that while he was a padawan, Obi-Wan favored Ataru, but after Qui-Gon's death, he switched to Soresu.

26. You know that Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't all that great of a master.

27. You know that he only accepted Obi-Wan as his apprentice after Obi-Wan threatened to blow himself up to save Qui-Gon's life.

28. You know what an ysalamiri is and can recognize it in the background of any scene.

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29. You know that Jan Dodonna and Crix Madine both used to be Imperials.

30. You know that in Legends, Thrawn could not have disappeared into Wild Space with Ezra Bridger before the Battle of Yavin because he was briefly mentioned as Captain Thrawn meeting with the emperor after the Death Star blew up in Rebel Force with Crix Madine.

31. You know that Sebulba bought Anakin's pod when Qui-Gon sold it.

32. You know that Luke Skywalker once podraced.

I can't believe I know all that. What obscure Star Wars facts do you know?

Poison's Dance Review

 

What are the Tattered Slippers?

The Tattered Slippers are six retellings of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by six different authors, each one fantastic and magical. You don’t want to miss any of them!

View the rest of the blog tour here: https://kendrasgiraffecrafts.blogspot.com/p/tattered-slippers-blog-tour.html

If he falls to the lure of the curse, the dance might trap him forever.

Alex has survived his first year as high king. The new counsel has improved cooperation between the kingdoms, and peace seems achievable. When the Tuckawassee queen sends him an invitation he can’t refuse, Alex must once again face his greatest threat for the sake of peace.

Princess Tamya of Tuckawassee, along with her eleven sisters, has danced from sunset until sunrise every night of her life. It is her gift and her curse. When Queen Valinda wishes to use the power their cursed dance gives them to rule all of Tallahatchia, Tamya must decide if she will do what is right even if it betrays her own sister.

Daemyn Rand has survived a hundred years' worth of battles. All he wants to do now is safely marry his princess. Will he be forced to choose between the love of his life and the high king he has loyally served for years?

They have faced certain death before. This time, they might not make it out alive.

Don’t miss this re-envisioning of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale.

My Review:

All right. This book clinched it. Alex is basically King Arthur (a la BBC). Not saying why until the end under a spoiler tag, but...yup. He's Arthur.

Alex has friends! Actual friends! I'm so proud of him! He's not lonely anymore! This book is definitely my favorite so far. So much Alex!

Gah! I'm not sure how much I can talk about this book without spoilers. My favorite part was at the end!

Alex is growing so much. He's earning his people's respect and working hard and pulling the nation together...

Daemyn's actually starting to grow pretty close to Alex, which makes me happy. Friendships are give and take, after all.

Was there more to this book than Alex? Yes. Do I care? No.

I really loved the portrayal of love in this book. Not saying much because spoilers, but single lady representation, people. It's super rare in books. I really appreciate that it's here in this book.

SPOILERS

Gah, so the part where Alex drank the hemlock? EPIC. Such an Arthur thing to do. Remember that episode with the unicorn where there's a glass of "poison" and Merlin tries to tell Arthur to let him drink it, but Arthur says, "You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you," and drinks it anyway? Yeah. Basically this. Daemyn's like, "I knew the other shoe would drop, I've died multiple times, it's better that I die anyway, I'm not the High King, just give me the poison," and Alex goes, "Nope," and downs it all. I'm so proud of him and that is definitely my favorite part, but AAA! He came so close to dying, y'all! I once read a Dear America book where a bunch of little kids got poisoned by water hemlock, so I knew the potency of the poison and that there's NO FREAKING ANTIDOTE. NONE. And yet this guy drank the poison. Wow.

END SPOILER

Just read this book. You won't regret it.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Poisons-Dance-Dancing-Princesses-Retelling-ebook/dp/B0873YZKZS/

Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53251983-poison-s-dance?

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.
Find her online at: Website ||  Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Amazon 

 

 

The Biggest Lie About Disney Women

   There are some people out there that claim Disney princesses are not good role models for women because they are apparently all flat, boring pushovers that rely on men to save them. To which I have to say, they must never have watched a Disney movie before. Flat, boring pushovers? Waiting around for men to save them? Let me introduce you to the Disney princesses I know.

Rapunzel

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  True, Rapunzel didn't physically leave her tower until Flynn Rider climbed up there. But he didn't exactly sweep her off her feet and carry her from her undesirable circumstances. He was simply fleeing pursuit by the authorities. Rapunzel hit him on the head with a frying pan, tied him to a chair, and forced him to escort her to see the one thing she'd always dreamed of. She simply seized opportunity when it came knocking at her, well, window. Would she have left if Flynn Rider hadn't ever climbed into her tower? Maybe not that year, but eventually, she probably would have gotten fed up and left to go fulfill her dream. Rapunzel is a very determined, though naive, woman who doesn't seem to take no for an answer. And let's examine what she did in the rest of the movie: she convinced an entire tavern of terrifying thugs to forgo money and not turn Flynn in to the authorities and not take advantage of a naive sweet girl, but instead help her on her way to her goals. Her winning ways change the heart of Flynn, and, ultimately, she's brave enough to make a huge show of trust in giving him his incentive to escort her safely there and back while waiting to see the lights. She convinces Javert in horse form to leave the desperate criminal he's been hunting alone. Once she sees through her "mother's" lies, she turns her back on her and tries to leave her abusive situation. She is willing to give up her freedom to save Flynn's life. Indeed, in the end, Flynn doesn't save Rapunzel from much at all. She saves his life and changes his heart. (This is not to negate the awesome sweetness of Flynn's sacrificing his life for Rapunzel's freedom. That's still one of the greatest moments in Disney history.) Flat boring pushover? Not here.

Tiana

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   Tiana kind of got the short end of the stick when it came to movies, but that doesn't detract from what an awesome character she is. In fact, I think she may be my favorite of all Disney princesses. Unfortunately, the theme of her movie seemed to be, "You're not fulfilled unless you have a guy-any guy, but preferably a rich one that can fund your goals." Nevertheless, Tiana is a hardworking goal-driven woman who won't let anything hold her back from what she wants; not the Great Depression, not racism, not a lack of money. She held down several jobs and sacrificed to achieve her dream of opening a Cajun restaurant. She certainly didn't wait around for anyone else to do things for her. I think what Disney meant for her movie to say theme-wise was something like, "Don't let life pass you by," but that's certainly not what the movie portrayed. She didn't give up her morals for the man she married, but definitely deserved better than what she got. Naveen is certainly no role model extraordinaire, but Tiana is pretty great.

Mulan

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   Although she's technically not a princess any way you cut it, somehow, Mulan wound up on the list of official Disney princesses. Which is nice, because she's pretty great. She doesn't fit in with the expectations of her country's culture for females, and even though she tries to fill them, she always fails. Then her father is called to war, but he's too old and too injured from the last war he fought in, so Mulan sacrifices her own life to save her father's. She masquerades as a man because women aren't allowed in the army, becomes a soldier, defeats the Hun army with her ingenuity, saves her commanding officer's life, then follows her unit after being thrown out for being a female and defeats the remaining Huns, saving the emperor of China and her entire country. She returns to civilian life bringing home honor to her family name and a pretty great guy to boot. Sign me up for the next war!

Pocahontas

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   Setting aside the fact that the real Pocahontas was eleven and none of the events this movie is based on probably actually happened because John Smith was a serial liar, there's no getting around the fact that this whole story is based on the premise of Pocahontas standing up to her father and saving John Smith's life. This is another story about a young woman standing against what her culture demands of her to do what is right. Never mind the fact that the history is all wrong and the love story was created out of thin air and the animators clearly never set foot in Jamestown in their lives before. Seriously. There are no tall cliffs or waterfalls anywhere in the vicinity. It's a freaking swamp, for crying out loud!

Jasmine

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   "I am not just some prize to be won!" Jasmine, in the animated movie, is a feisty princess that refuses to marry a stuffed shirt and instead insists on marrying for love. Outrageous demands, right? Well, they seem to be too hard for her father at first, but Jasmine isn't budged. She just sends her tiger after any undesirable suitors. She even tries to send Aladdin packing when he's bungling his words so much he makes it seem like all he cares about with Jasmine is her money. She's brave enough to kiss (gross) Jafar to distract him from Aladdin stealing the lamp back, and is super understanding when Aladdin is revealed to be a street rat, not a prince. She's a brave woman who won't stand for injustice, and that's definitely something we should strive after in this world. Also, she's from one of my very favorite Disney movies, so...

Belle

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   She's sweet but spunky. She doesn't fit in in her town and longs for more than what her life consists of. She loves books, doesn't care for the handsome jerk, and craves adventure. When her father goes missing, she tracks him down, then trades her freedom for his. Her curiosity gets her in a bit of trouble, which causes the Beast to blow up at her. She storms off, unable to take it anymore, and fights valiantly against a pack of angry wolves. Unfortunately, she's almost unable to fight them off. Thankfully, the Beast comes to her rescue, then collapses. Ignoring the call to freedom, Belle drags him back to his home and her prison, takes care of his wounds, and yells at him for losing his temper. The Beast starts to change, and Belle starts to fall in love with him, but when she sees her father is sick, she leaves to go tend him. She defends her father and the Beast to an angry mob, then races across snowy, wolf-infested woods at night to try and save the Beast from her townspeople. She doesn't arrive in time to participate in the final fight, but she comforts the Beast as he dies. (Spoiler: it doesn't last.) Belle is strong and spunky and feisty. I have a formal Belle dress, and it's amazing. She's amazing. (And so is my sister, who made the dress.)

Ariel

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   Heheheh...heheheh...yeah...I can't defend her. She sells herself into slavery to a sea witch for a chance to woo a man she met once. Eric is a great guy, but Ariel is a spoiled brat. Definitely not a great role model. Grow up, girl.

Aurora

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   ...   She seems pretty nice. She can sing and dance and probably cook. But honestly, she spends most of the movie asleep. The fairies and Phillip are the heroes of this movie. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are pretty great. They save the entire kingdom, with the help of Phillip, because it was a bit hard for them to fight a dragon by themselves. Sorry, but this one's probably where all the accusations have their birth. There's really not much to her.

Cinderella

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   I don't care what anyone says, she's much prettier in this than in her ball gown. Cinderella is kind to everyone, even the animals most people consider vermin, and even the evil cat (I'm convinced Walt Disney hated cats). She doesn't complain about becoming a servant to her step family, and doesn't even consider leaving. All she wants is to go to a party, which, considering her depressing life, is quite understandable. When her stepsisters rip up the dress she and her mice friends worked very hard on, she's upset and storms out. After her fairy godmother salvages the evening, she goes to the party and meets a nice young man, whom she doesn't realize is the prince. She goes home after midnight, content to enjoy the memory of her nice evening at the ball. Prince Charming coming to propose to her is just a cherry on top for her, and a victory for her future father-in-law, who had set up the entire ball just so he could have grandchildren. I think she would have been pretty happy without a man coming to "rescue" her. I may be biased, though, since I grew up on this movie.

Snow White

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   Yes, she literally gets saved by the prince at the end of the movie. I don't care. She's just a kid. She does her best, despite being enslaved by her stepmother just because she's good looking. Then her stepmother sends an assassin after her. Naturally, when the hunter tells her to run, she runs. She always tries to be brave and always tries to be cheerful. After she stops running, she says, "I'm so ashamed of the fuss I made!" As if she should be ashamed of freaking out when someone tells her they were sent to kill her. Then she manages to take care of seven bachelors while in hiding for her life. So she's also a hopeless romantic and a little naive. So what? Girls could learn to be that cheerful.

Then of course there's Merida and Moana, but they don't even have romantic interests.

So what do you think? Are Disney princesses just flat characters only saved by men that would make terrible role models or much more? Who's your favorite Disney princess?

Midnight's Curse is Here!!!

Welcome to the blog tour for Midnight's Curse, book two in the Beyond the Tales series by Tricia Mingerink. Beyond the Tales is a series of fairy tale retellings with hints of allegorical elements set in a world based on the Appalachian Mountains. Don't miss the giveaway at the end of this blog post nor the invite to the Facebook party for more giveaways!

About the Book

   The glass slippers might be her dreams come true...or her worst nightmare. 

   High King Alexander rules the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia—a divided nation on the brink of yet another war. When an invitation arrives from the king of Pohatomie, Alex knows it must be a trap, but could it also be his opportunity to unite the kingdoms? 

   Daemyn Rand has lived a hundred years, served an arrogant prince, fallen in love with a princess, and lost himself somewhere along the way. He has already died for his loyalty. Will standing at the high king’s side cost him his last chance to truly live? 

   Elara Ashen is a lowly, miserable servant. All she wants is to spend even one night in a fancy dress dancing with the high king. When she is offered a pair of glass slippers, it seems that all her dreams have come true. 

   But dreams have a price, and gifts can be curses in disguise. What will it cost to stop this curse from tearing Tallahatchia apart yet again? 

   Fairy tales meet the Appalachian Mountains in this adventurous fantasy retelling of the classic Cinderella story.

Add to Goodreads - Buy on Amazon

My Review

Probable spoilery, sorry, I'm too emotional about this book to keep it all in.

   This book wins the prize of the first book to genuinely make me cry. Plenty of books have made me tear up, especially ones I read when I'm hormonal, but this one genuinely made me cry! Nobody died either, that I can remember. Alex was just so lonely! It was awful. This whole mess could have been avoided if anybody around him had reached out and been his friend. For Pete's sake, he's just slept through a hundred years and lost almost everyone he ever knew, not to mention he's just had his heart broken by a women that wasn't good enough for him (yeah, that was technically a hundred years ago, but still). Surely somebody should have realized how much he was hurting, but no, the only person in his life in a real position to see his pain, Daemyn, was too afraid of what their relationship used to be like to be the bigger person and reach out to Alex. Poor Alex suffered because of it.

   Daemyn has grown on me from the first book when I didn't like him because he destroyed my ship, but gosh. Why did it take him an entire book for him to realize he needed to be a friend to Alex? The poor guy's never actually had a friend before. What makes Daemyn think Alex is going to know how to reach out in friendship to the people around him? And Zeke certainly didn't help with his "Feels just like old times. Well, almost," as they all sat around the campfire, then his pointed look at Alex. Way to make a guy feel welcome.

   I can really see the Merlin parallels. Alex and Daemyn's relationship is like Arthur and Merlin in season one, if Merlin had ever accepted the quiet servant role instead of constantly mouthing off to Arthur. Merlin certainly never struggled with his role quite like Daemyn does. And Alex, poor Alex reminds me so much of Arthur, especially with his seeming propensity to be enchanted. The scene with the fountain was definitely something that could have happened in Merlin. Daemyn and Rosanna is like if the Merthian (Merlin/Mithian) ship had ever sailed. We just need to find a nice servant girl for Alex.

   I admit, I did ship the wrong ship a little bit again, but in the end, I'm glad. Alex deserves a better girl than Elara. Sheesh. It shouldn't be that hard of a decision not to curse someone forever.

   Even though Alex's loneliness drove me to tears, it did lead him to learn an important lesson that relieves me a lot. And the people around him finally realized he needed friends and didn't know how to get them. So there's a happy ending, at least. And now I want the next book, provided it has Alex in it. I ship Alex/happiness, after all. Dude needs a happy ending. After all, he's the Once and Future King of Native American fantasy Albion. He needs his Guinevere, now that he's got his Merlin to keep him on the straight and narrow.

The first book in the series Dagger's Sleep, a Sleeping Beauty retelling where the prince is cursed to sleep and the princess must wake him, is on sale for $.99 on Kindle! Follow this link to snag this deal while it lasts!

About the Author

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country. You can connect with Tricia on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Facebook Party!

The Facebook party should be a blast with giveaways of Midnight's Curse, Dagger's Sleep, and over ten other Cinderella retellings by indie authors! Follow this link to join the Facebook party.

Giveaway!

Enter to win signed copies of Dagger's Sleep and Midnight's Curse (it will be the actual copy, not a proof copy as shown) as well as a Currently Reading 4oz candle from Novelly Yours Candles. Due to shipping, the giveaway is open to the US only. Void where prohibited.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday – August 5

• The Florid Sword – Author Interview & Book Review
• Scribeheart – Author Interview

Tuesday – August 6 – Release Day!

• The Music of a Story – Book Review
• Jaye L. Knight – Author Interview
• Perfectly Quirky in Every Way – Book Review

Wednesday – August 7

• Liv K. Fisher – Author Interview
• Blooming with Books – Author Interview & Book Review
• TJ’s Musing – Book Review

Thursday – August 8

• Imperial Scribis – Author Interview
• Dream Write Now – Author Interview & Book Review
• Morgan Huneke – Author Interview

Friday – August 9

• The Page Dreamer – Book Spotlight
• Elizabeth Koetsier – Book Spotlight
• Brie Donning – Book Review
• Facebook Party 8-10PM EST

Saturday – August 10

• Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors – Book Review
• M.H. Elrich – Book Review

Spider-Man, Spider-Man...

   Because after Endgame, that's pretty much the only thing on my mind. I can't wait until Far From Home comes out.

   Prepare for fangirling. You've been warned...

   I watched Spider-Man for the first time when I was really young, in 2006, or about there. I don't think I saw the whole thing, but I really liked it, even though I was firmly against anything I considered a "boy movie", only because my oldest sister hated boys and "boy movies", and as the youngest I naturally followed in her footsteps (it didn't last; Star Wars and The Incredible Hulk TV show boosted all of us out of the "no boy stuff" phase forever). My dad turned it on one day, my sister and I watched at least some of it, and we loved it. I somehow missed the whole "genetically engineered spider" (a la Tobey Maguire version), and thought the idea of getting spider powers from an ordinary spider bite was ridiculous, but fell in love nonetheless.

   Fast forward to us getting Netflix (2009 to 2011ish). Not long after we got the streaming service, we watched Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (Spider-Man 3 was, sadly, not available for streaming). And I loved it. The quintessential superhero movie, basically. I don't care how predictable it is. That's my Spidey you're watching right there.

   And then 2012 hit. And all the The Amazing Spider-Man commercials dropped. They showed his face in the commercials and I was lowkey furious. That was not my Spidey. They already had a Spidey and he was a pretty new Spidey, too. There was no reason to reboot a franchise that had just come out. (It had only been five years since Spider-Man 3!) Thankfully, most of the world agreed with me, though I didn't know it at the time. Even Andrew Garfield said making the movies "broke his heart", because they were nothing like his dreams of being Spider-Man were. I resolved to myself never to watch the movie (or its subsequent sequel) if I could help it.

   Eventually, we found Spider-Man 3 somewhere really cheap, so my family bought it for me and we watched it. One of my sisters absolutely hated it, but I still loved it. It's not quite as good as the first two, but still really good.

   Right around that time, I met someone who really liked the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and, while she is my friend, I just don't understand it. Because of her, I decided to finally watch The Amazing Spider-Man one Sunday when I was sick and it was on TV. And let me tell you (sorry, Danielle), WHAT THE J JONAH JAMESON. I mean, Peter Parker, uber-nerd, certified loser, and possessor of the Parker LuckTM , should not be skateboarding down school hallways. Losers don't skateboard down school hallways. Also, Andrew Garfield is not small enough to be Peter Parker. He doesn't look like a loser, he looks like a cool kid. His version of Peter Parker is not sweet, but instead, arrogant, rude, cocky, and a certified stalker (who the heck has a picture of the girl they don't even talk to as their LAPTOP BACKGROUND???). And you could sneeze at all of his nerdiness. Tobey Maguire's Peter is sweet and supportive, even if a little self-absorbed at times. Okay, angry rant over.

   Then the Marvel craziness won out over the rest of the entertainment world, and Sony finally agreed to let the most popular Marvel superhero join the MCU. The Marvel overlords decided not to rehash the Spider-Man origin story again, and so, when my sisters and I went to see Captain America: Civil War in theaters, we were treated to our first glimpse of the new and improved Spider-ManTM . 

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   I walked out and said, "I think I like him better than the Tobey Maguire version."

   Okay, first of all, he actually looks fourteen! You look at him and you really think he could be in high school. A++ casting just on that aspect. And second, they nailed him as a nerd and certified fanboy like no one else did. The other Spider-Mans were just really smart, but this one is so relatable nerdy. 

   And then he died and my heart did too.

   Ugh, the new Spider-Man movie was just so good! (See me fangirling more about it here.) Even Flash Thompson was a cool and refreshing take on the character. I was so excited for Infinity War and then at the end he turned into dust and do you know how traumatizing it is to see your childhood hero die before your very eyes? 

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   Yeah... Waiting for Endgame was agonizing, even though I knew Spidey had to come back because of the sequel. And I saw it recently and

Do Not Read Any Further Or Risk Endgame Spoilers

   oh my word. The fact that we aren't going to get any more Iron Dad and Spider Son? I live for Iron Dad and Spider Son! How is Peter going to cope without Tony Stark? He already lost two father figures and now he's lost another, probably forever? I'm gonna cry, guys, because it's just not fair. Peter saying hi to Tony was great, and then he said, "Mr. Stark, we won, Mr. Stark, we won, I'm sorry, Tony." And I'm just over here crying, don't pay any attention to me. The whole reason Tony decided to help the Avengers bring the Vanished back was because he saw a picture of him with Peter and realized he couldn't not help bring his son back and Tony died because of it and no I'm not okay!

Okay, you can read again, no more Endgame

   I also started reading the comics recently and they're as good as I thought they'd be. A lot like the MCU in that literally everything is connected. Peter Parker's parents were double agents in HYDRA and Red Skull ordered them assassinated by the Finisher when he found out they were undercover for the CIA and Daredevil helped Spider-Man when he was temporarily blinded by a bad guy and Tony Stark designed special glass and knock-out gas for the NYC police that helped them keep Maggia members from escaping after capture by Spider-Man. There was an issue where Pietro and Wanda Maximoff came to NYC and Pietro tried to capture Spidey because he thought he was a bad guy and thought capturing a bad guy would help alleviate some of the bad press on Pietro and Wanda. My hands down favorite story, though, was when Peter got the flu, and he didn't realize he could still get sick because he was Spider-Man, and so he thought he was losing his Spider powers, and so he told all of his friends he was Spider-Man (and I mean ALL of his friends, Harry, MJ, Gwen, Flash, everyone), and then he went to the doctor and found out he just had the flu and had to ask a boy whose life he had saved to wear his costume so he could convince his friends he was just delirious and he wasn't really Spider-Man. Classic Parker Luck right there. And now I want more and I'm not sure I have access to any more.

   To finish off, I will leave you with some Iron Dad and Spider Son, because this is SPOILERS all we're gonna get now. END SPOILERS

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Who's your favorite superhero? Did Batman die in Infinity War? TELL ME I NEED ANSWERS!!!

Dagger's Sleep Review and Interview of Tricia Mingerink

About the Book

A prince cursed to sleep.

A princess destined to wake him.

A kingdom determined to stop them.

High Prince Alexander has been cursed to a sleep like unto death, a curse that will end the line of the high kings and send the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia into chaos. With his manservant to carry his luggage and his own superior intelligence to aid him, Alex sets off to find one of the Fae and end his curse one way or another.

A hundred years later, Princess Rosanna learns she is the princess destined by the Highest King to wake the legendary sleeping prince. With the help of the mysterious Daemyn Rand, can she find the courage to finish the quest as Tallahatchia wavers on the edge of war?

One curse connects them. A hundred years separate them. From the rushing rivers of Tallahatchia’s mountains to the hall of the Highest King himself, their quests will demand sacrifices neither of them could imagine.

Dagger’s Sleep is available for preorder on Amazon Kindle.

   My review  
 This book is so amazing! First of all, what a refresher to find a fantasy world not based on medieval Europe! I absolutely loved the native American feel to it and the settings. Seriously, all the canoes and stuff...wow. And when I say the princess can paddle her own canoe, I mean it quite literally. :)

   The characters, of course, are amazing, though since I couldn't spend as much time with them as with the Acktarian characters, I didn't fall quite as much in love with them. Daemyn and Alexander are both lovable, but they're not as adorable as Leith.

   I just loved the way the fairies were done. There's something about the way most fairies are done in stories that I just don't like, and that wasn't present here. It seemed so believable and real and like it actually fit in with the world.

   Even more amazing was the allegory. Seriously, I don't know if I've seen a more beautiful allegory. I can't go into details, but it was so beautiful.

   This book was seriously amazing and everyone needs to read it. The lessons and the themes, the characters, the settings, and of course, the amazing allegory all make it so worth it. I can't wait to spend more time in this world. (Of course, I will always be a little peeved I shipped the wrong ship, but oh well. I can't have everything, I guess.)

I also had the privilege of asking Tricia a couple questions. Check it out!

Who is your favorite fictional character (your own don’t count)?

This is a really hard question! It is really, really hard to choose. There are SO many characters that I’ve loved throughout the years. I think it might be Halt from Ranger's Apprentice. Or maybe Will's horse Tug. Really, why do I only have to pick one favorite character????

Ha, I get your struggle. I do love Tug. 

What is your favorite fairy tale?

Beauty and the Beast. I was obsessed with that fairy tale when I was growing up. I rewatched the Disney cartoon all the time and read all the different picture books and fairy tale versions of it I could get my hands on. My grandparents gave me an illustrated fairy tale book and I was so excited when not only was Beauty and the Beast the first story, it was also the one they used for the cover art.

That's one of my favorites, too! 

Marvel or DC (and please don’t say “neither” or “both”)?

Marvel. I tend to like action movies that are balanced out with a good deal of witty humor and not too dark, so that’s why I’ve always liked Marvel better. Though I’m really hoping they aren’t starting to go darker with the latest couple of movies…

 I'm not sure it's possible for Marvel to go completely dark, given their obsessive love of quips.

What piece of writing advice has helped you the most?

That would probably be the advice I got from my 7^th through 9^th grade English teacher who told me writing was a series of baby steps. You don’t have to worry about trying to master it all at once. Start slow and work on mastering the next step.
That's really great advice!

How does it feel to be known as an evil author?

Ha, ha. As long as that is always said fondly, I don’t mind. 

And we couldn't say it any other way but fondly. Though I'll never completely forgive you for the cliffhanger at the end of Deny.

About the Author

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.

You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog.

About the Book:

Freedom begins with finding the truth.

Amidst the turmoil caused by Smyth’s arrest, Celeste is stuck in limbo, stripped of her citizenship, with no choice but to flee to a peaceful Kyraenean hideaway with the tumultuous Amaya Mason.

When bounty hunters threaten the local orphanage, Celeste and Amaya must work together and fight. Even if it means risking what they cherish the most.

His plans in tatters, his career in jeopardy, Mick Haynes is forced to leave Kyraenea with the enigmatic Torrance Kyle, the agent he still can’t trust.

Torrance is good at lying, and even better at hiding his pain, but is he strong enough to deal with the consequences of betraying his own father?

Can Celeste accept the truth, accept her place in the Haynes family or will lies chain her to the past and destroy her chance at a new life?

Dissociate is available for sale on Amazon here. The first two books in the series Disowned and Dissemble are also available on Amazon.

About the Author:

Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born home-schooling mother of two who loves action-packed fantasy with strong heroines. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 27 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on her Christian YA fantasy series',  she can be found fangirling on Goodreads or sending GIFs on Twitter.

To celebrate the release of Dissociate and Dagger’s Sleep, Sarah Addison-Fox and Tricia Mingerink are hosting a day-long Facebook Festival. There will be plenty of games and giveaways, not to mention Serena Chase, author of the Eyes of E’veria series, will be the guest of honor. It’s a party you won’t want to miss! You’ll be able to stop by any time during the day to join the fun, no matter what time zone you live in!

Link to the Facebook Festival: https://www.facebook.com/events/244246872802075/


Sarah Addison-Fox and Tricia Mingerink are each hosting a giveaway for their books for the blog tour.

Sarah Addison-Fox is giving away a paperback set of the first three books in the Allegiance Series. The giveaway is open internationally where such giveaways are permitted and where Createspace ships. The books may or may not be signed depending on where the winner lives.

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Tricia Mingerink is giving away a paperback of Dagger’s Sleep. The giveaway is open internationally where such giveaways are permitted and where Createspace or the Book Depository ships. The book may or may not be signed depending on where the winner lives.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday – May 22

Laura Grace – Author Interview

Reading Anyone – Book Review

Jaye L Knight – Book Spotlight

Quirky Faith – Book Reviews and Author Interview

Wednesday – May 23

Allyson Kennedy – Author Interview

Sam H. – Book Review

Addyson Huneke - Book Review and Author Interview

Ivie Brooks - Book Reviews

Thursday – May 24

Shantelle Mary - Book Review and Book Spotlight

Brie Donning - Book Review and Multi-Character Interview

Blooming with Books - Book Review and Author Interview

Julian Daventry - Book Review and Author Interview

Friday – May 25

Faith Thompson - Book Reviews and Author Interview

Hannah Gaudette - Author Interview

CM Williams - Book Review

Chloe Parker - Book Reviews

Saturday – May 26

JM Christian - Book Review and Multi-Character Interview

Abigail McKenna - Book Reviews

Liv Fisher - Author Interview

Book Wolf - Book Reviews and Author Interview

Liz Koetsier – Book Spotlight

Monday – May 28

Jessica Dowell - Book Review and Author Interview

Lila Kims - Book Reviews

Marie Elrich - Book Reviews

Faith Potts - Book Review and Book Spotlight

Facebook Festival – begins 5PM EST May 24th through 9PM EST May 25th with special guest Serena Chase