Tag: metaphysical

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Fiction Author Virtual Book Tours

Spellbound by @TriciaDrammeh Virtual Book Tour Interview by #thetoiboxofwords via @diversebktours #fantasy #amreading

Greetings readers, bloggers, geeks, and authors and welcome to The ToiBox of Words. I’m your host Toi Thomas, author of Eternal Curse, and today I have a treat to share. A while back, I had the pleasure to interview a wonderful author named, Tricia Drammeh. A good time was truly had by all, and here’s how it went down.

Toi Thomas: Hi there Tricia! It’s so awesome to have you here at the ToiBox Blog. I’m excited to learn more about you and your work.

Tricia: Hi Toi. I’m happy to be here and excited to share.

Toi Thomas: So tell me, who is Tricia Drammeh?

Tricia: I’m a wife, mother of four, and author. I live in New Hampshire with my husband, kids, and a lot of crazy animals. I write anything from young adult multicultural fantasy (The Spellbringers Series) to YA paranormal (The Seance) to contemporary (Better than Perfect).

Toi Thomas: Wow. Yes, after looking through your bibliography I feel like I need to play catch up. You books have such acclaim and the sheer volume is inspiring to young-in-the-industry authors like me.

Toi Thomas: Well before we dive into your special message today, let’s get to know you, the person inside the author.

Toi Thomas: Who is so you and why?

Tricia: I hate to say this, but Bella Swan from Twilight. I really am that clumsy, unfortunately. One of the many criticisms about that series is the way Bella was portrayed. “No one is that clumsy and awkward.” Well, I am.

Toi Thomas: Yeah, whenever someone mentions Twilight, there’s either a sigh of regret or a yelp  of cheer, but every character is relatable to someone in some way, otherwise they wouldn’t have been written. All fiction stems from reality.

Toi Thomas: What makes you geek out?

Tricia: I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. I know it’s a YA series and I’m not quite a young adult anymore (haha), but I am in love with that series and am anxiously waiting for my Hogwarts letter.

Toi Thomas: Don’t you know YA is the new black- or something like that. I don’t think there are any age requirements on fiction anymore. Sure somethings may not be appropriate for certain readers, but as I said before, everything is relatable on some level. People read what they like, and as long as they are reading, I’m happy.

Toi Thomas: What was your favorite book or story, pre-teen years?

Tricia: As a pre-teen I read and re-read The Outsiders. Actually, I did that with all the S.E. Hinton books, but The Outsiders was my favorite.

Toi Thomas: Yeah, for me that book was a bit tough because of the time I read it. Being from the 80s and getting caught up in the hype of the movie, I don’t think I ever really gave it full attention. But it is a truly great story.

Toi Thomas: In terms of interviews, whose brain are you just itching to scratch?

Tricia: J.K. Rowling. I absolutely idolize her. She’s a genius.

Toi Thomas: Yes, she is probably one of the best writer success stories you’ll ever here- so inspiring.

Toi Thomas: Now that we know a little more about you, the person, let’s learn about you, the author, and dive into your special message.

Toi Thomas: So whacha got for me today?

Tricia: Spellbound is the first book in the Spellbringers series. It’s a multicultural fantasy series for young adults that is based in a small Georgia town.

Toi Thomas: Something about books and stories set in small towns- you just know it’s going to be good. I must admit the cultural diversity of the book caught me off guard, not in a bad way, though. None of the characters were superimposed stereotypes, and I liked that. (See my review here.)

Toi Thomas: So who’s starring is this 2 dimensional script read of Spellbound?

Tricia: My main characters are Rachel and Alisa, two high school girls who have known each other all their lives, but have never been friends. Alisa is shy and shunned by her peers, while Rachel is one of the most popular girls in school. Even though Rachel seems to have an easy life, she feels isolated and different from everyone around her. When Jace and his family move to town, both girls are plunged headfirst into a world they never knew existed.

Toi Thomas: That’s a pretty good premise. If I hadn’t read the book I would assume that at some point, themes of friendship and love triangles might clash because of the two girls and the mention of Jace. I won’t give anything away, but the way it all plays out is refreshing and not at all typical.

Toi Thomas: What’s so special about this story that’s going to reel in the readers?

Tricia: Spellbound combines magic, danger, and romance. It also features a multicultural cast of characters where diversity is the norm.

Toi Thomas: Yes, I like the fact that your story has a diverse cast but doesn’t go out of the way to say “hey look at the races mixing and getting along together.” It’s very natural and encouraging.

Toi Thomas: Past, present, future, is there a rhyme or reason to your writing?

Tricia: When I began writing, it was nose to the grindstone. I completed my first book in less than three months. Oh, how times have changed. I bounce back and forth between two or three different projects. There is no sense of organization. I write in the middle of the living room with the dog sitting next to me. I’ve got Law & Order SVU blaring on the TV and constant noise and interruptions. And coffee. So much coffee.

Toi Thomas: In this day and age, I don’t see how people stick to such organized writing regimes. I admit that I plan and make every effort to be organized, but life happens. You gotta write when you can.

Toi Thomas: What author(s) has most influenced your writing? Why or how?

Tricia: There are so many, but I would have to say it’s a tossup between Anne Rice, J.K. Rowling, and Stephen King.

Toi Thomas: Those influences make perfect sense considering that material you write. After having read your work. I think they would be proud to count you amongst them, for I’m sure your work has and will influence someone else along with these guys.

Toi Thomas: Thank you so much Tricia for spending time with me today.

Tricia: Thanks for having me Toi. It was fun.

Okay readers, bloggers, geeks, and authors, that’s all for today. Be sure to follow this blog to see who will be visiting next time. For more from Tricia Drammeh, check out these great links:

Website: TRICIA DRAMMEH.com

Facebook: Author Tricia Drammeh

Twitter: @TriciaDrammeh

Amazon Author Central: Tricia Drammeh

Purchase links for Spellbound & other Drammeh books:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

This has been a

interviewpic-toibox

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Books

Review: Spellbound

Spellbound (Spellbringers #1) by Tricia Drammeh

I give this book a 5.

This is one of those books that sat on my TBR list for so long, not because I wasn’t interested, but because I had a feeling once I started I wouldn’t want to stop, and I was right. I’m so glad the summer afforded me the opportunity to read this book without the constant interruptions I’m used to.

Spellbound tells the story of two girls who seem to live in completely different worlds, though they reside in the same town and go to the same school. The thing that draws these to ladies together is the pleasantly invading presence of the Alexander family. One of the girls could be “the one” this magical family has been looking for while the other will alter and change their lives in ways they hadn’t expected from a mere human.

Before I go into the why I loved this book, and I totally did, I just want to say that this author is amazing. I’d read her blog a bit before, but never really followed her writing; what a mistake. Her attention to detail and her respect for the diversity of her characters empowers me to be bolder in my own writing. She’s now one of my favorite authors and I’ll probably start stalking her a bit…Now back to the book.

Obviously from my last statement, you can surmise that the characters of this book are well-developed and likable. If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know that YA is a struggle for me in general because of all the teen antics. This book was no different, but for some reason, I grew to like these characters and quickly got over there teen drama, especially when they started to face real physical and life-altering threats.

I like the way the setting aids the story. It takes place in a small town, but the world travels of the Alexander family plays a role in their daily lives. It’s sometimes easy to think that whatever is happening in the story will only affect their little town, but when characters star “popping up” out of the blue from around the world, it really puts matters into a global perspective.

I don’t usually go into too much detail about specific characters in my reviews, but I knew from the start I’d like Bryce, even if he didn’t start out in the best light and wasn’t around much. The descriptions of all the pretty people in this book had me shaking my head and remembering a few good times from high school when I dated basketball players. Ah, youth.

Then there’s the magical element of the story that goes beyond the surface. In this story, magic isn’t a separate entity that affects the character’s world; it’s part of their culture. There is a gray matter that I have been unable to clarify in the use of magic within this story, but I’m hoping the next two books (which I’ve already purchased) will straighten it all up. There are clear good guys and bad guys in the first story, but there’s foreshadowing that implies some characters and events will be more about picking sides than being right and wrong. Plus the ancestors of those with magic all seem to come from the same “people” but are dark and some are light…I can wait to read more.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes YA and or Fantasy and even a few who don’t. Anyone who appreciates cultural diversity in fiction will also appreciate this book, even if they’re not big into fantasy.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion, which has in no way affected the rating of this piece.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Excerpts Videos Virtual Book Tours

The Bridge of Deaths by @M_C_V_Egan Promo & #Free eBook Tour by @MoBPromos via #thetoiboxofwords #amreading

The Bridge of Deaths
1st ed. published June 9, 2011- 50,000 words, 372 Pages

 

2nd. revised ed. published on August 15, 2014

 

Historical Fiction based on real events
with Metaphysical, Mystery, and Romance influences
Follow Bill and Maggie as they cross THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS into 1939 to uncover the mystery behind the plane crash of the G-AESY. A blend of historical fact and fiction takes the reader through well-known and little-known accounts leading up to WWII.

 

In the winter of 2009-2010 a young executive, Bill is promoted and transferred to London for a major International firm. He has struggled for the better part of his life with nightmares and phobias, which only seem to worsen in London. As he seeks the help of a therapist he accepts that his issues may well be related to a ‘past-life trauma’.

 

Through love, curiosity, archives and the information superhighway of the 21st century Bill travels through knowledge and time to uncover the story of the 1939 plane crash.

The Bridge of Deaths

 

Maggie liked Foyles at Charing Cross Road and shopped there often. She had been raised with all that is unlikely, unconventional, and supernatural (perhaps even magical). When she was a child, her world was that of fairies, ghosts, wishes, and the power of crystals and planets. She was taught that answers were to be found in round circles called astrology charts and that there were many people in the world who were psychic and could foretell the future. Although that world was an appealing world, it was inevitable that Maggie, as so many teenagers do, would rebel against the beliefs she was raised with and seek other philosophies.

 

She experimented with various traditional religions and belief systems that existed to fill in the voids felt by those lacking any sort of faith. She found that although she liked many traditional religions and appreciated what they stood for, it was indeed Buddhism that made her feel the most complete. Maggie was for all intents and purposes an illogical, whimsical, adventuresome, and happy young woman. She slept soundly and lived a very complete life.

 

The philosophies of acceptance by which she lived her life made her compatible with most people. She had a nice relationship with her mother, a Danish astrologer, and her father, a successful English businessman who was happy to receive a little guidance from the planets. (If anyone objected to this, he happily pointed out that it had worked for Ronald Reagan.) Maggie often read the books her mother spoke about, and every once in a while, she even joined her mother in some new age ritual or other.

 

It was the excuse of searching for the perfect birthday gift for her mother that placed her at the same book section and store. From the moment she saw the tall, slender man walking down the street, she felt that she needed to follow him. This is not something she remembered ever having done before. She was pretty, and more often than not, men approached her. Experience had taught her that many men worth talking to could be shy and sometimes needed to be approached. With the confidence that is often exhibited by very pretty women, she was not deterred in the least by his surprised reaction to her smile, and so she spoke.

 

“So, which of the women in your life recommended that book to you? Was it your mum or your girlfriend?”

 

She was indeed pretty, and inasmuch as he was instantly attracted to her, it was not in a purely physical way. Someday, as their love story flourished, she would explain to him that when two souls from the past meet, they recognize each other. This happens in love stories, to parents when they first encounter the eyes of their newborn, and to friends as well as enemies.

 

As so many lovers do, when they first met, neither one of them spoke the absolute truth. Like so many lovers starting out a new love story, if they had known where this would lead, both of them might have run out of the bookstore. But they both chose to stay, and so on a cold winter day in January of 2010, when the world was mourning the passing of so many souls in Haiti, their love story began. He smiled back and answered her question.

 

“Why would it have to be a woman? Why couldn’t a man recommend it?”

 

“Oh I see. You are an American.”

 

“No, Canadian actually.”

 

“Same difference. Perhaps in America or Canada, a man other than the author would recommend Many Lives, Many Masters. But here in England, well, it would have to be a girlfriend probably on her grand quest as to how you are soul mates eternally destined to be together, or maybe it would be a middle-aged mum who just discovered Brian Weiss, the author. So, it is that, or you have some sort of existential crisis that led you to find the book on your own. So, mum or girlfriend?”

 

“Hmmm, let me see. My mother prefers to pray and attend church. I don’t have a girlfriend, and it was the medical background of the guy who wrote the book, Dr. Weiss, that impressed me. So, maybe I do fall into the existential crisis category”

 

Her beautiful eyes widened.

 

“Existential crisis it is then, but if you seek impressive credentials in past-life therapy, you might want to read this book, Other Lives, Other Selves. Tell me, what triggered your belief in past lives?”

 

“Belief! I would not call it belief … possibility. I’ve come to realize that strange things happen.”

 

“You know, once you read that book, you will believe. In life there are certain doorways that once you cross them, they will forever change you. And you might also resolve your existential crisis. What you will definitely find is that women love to sleep with men who search for depth through such beliefs.”

 

So in that cold European winter when some in the world denied global warming, he lay in bed, holding her. He could not imagine a less likely place to have encountered the perfect girl, the self-help section at a bookstore. She was, by all accounts, very beautiful. Her laughter and smiley eyes were completely contagious. He was ready to settle down, and she might be the one, even if that involved accepting some very unlikely ideas that she held. There was the most extraordinary feeling of comfort in simply being with her.

 

Maggie had to laugh; she thought he’d be a quick and fun adventure, one that she would soon get out of her system. But this yuppie geek, as it turned out, was surprisingly special from the very first moment. This could be far more than a casual adventure.

 

Bill had not spoken to anyone about his problems. Not anyone other than doctors or therapists. Maggie worked counseling young kids. She was trained to ask just the right questions to make people talk. Bill was used to carefully giving only the information he wanted to give in business and in his private life. He sometimes caught himself telling Maggie much more than what he expected was safe. She thought that she knew just how to pry and could tell he was holding back; this, of course, made him all the more interesting.

 

Their love story grew and developed as some do. Maggie usually led and Bill followed. They enjoyed the typical things new couples enjoy, such as going to restaurants, the cinema, shops, and museums. Sometimes, if the winter weather allowed, they went for nice long walks. Before Bill met Maggie, he had spent all his time in London buried in his work, with his colleagues at the gym, or finding ways to run away from the dreams and thoughts that haunted him. He did this by playing any distracting “brain game” that helped him to forget the letters, the same five letters, on the wings and on the side of the aircraft in his nightmares.

 

He liked to remember how it had been the day they met there in the bookstore by the self-help and philosophy section while he had been holding the book Many Lives, Many Masters, a book that seemed sensible enough to explain past lives. (He had also noticed one discussing future lives. That seemed ridiculous, and he was wondering if in spite of Dr. Weiss’s credentials, this was the right way to learn more about past-life regression therapy.) It was right at that moment that she had smiled and spoken. He liked the thought of how later that day, before they left the bookstore together, they each had purchased a book; he bought Many Lives, Many Masters, and Maggie chose the one about future lives, Same Soul, Many Bodies, the ridiculous one. They often visited Foyles on rainy days.

 

Maggie loved that bookstore, so it could not exactly be said that she had followed him inside. That would have been completely out of character for her. She had not only felt attracted to his physique, but also the way he moved as he walked seemed so familiar; there was a very strong force there, and there had been something she recognized.

 

Then he absolutely surprised her; he went to the section she had least expected “his type”—the cute, yuppie geek type—to choose: he went to her mother’s favorite section, the self-help and new age philosophies section, and in his hand was one of the new age beliefs’ basic books, Many Lives, Many Masters.

 

This was good; it could only mean that he was new to such ideas. That was an old book. It was from the 1980s. Maybe even older. It had to be that old; she remembered a copy or two in her parents’ house for as long as she could remember. This guy, this conquest—Maggie, as many pretty young women do, conquered the hearts of men for sport—this conquest would be a breeze. It was then that he felt different, when he spoke and she heard his accent, an accent so familiar to her from the cinema and the telly, the accent of all the handsome men of her fantasies, an accent that made him even more appealing. Unlike the man she had just met, Maggie was very aware that she was a hopeless romantic.
The Bridge of Deaths **** Revised Edition
Amazon US KINDLE ~ AmazonUS PAPERBACK
 
Amazon UK KINDLE ~ Amazon UK PAPERBACK
 
 
The Bridge of Deaths **** Original Edition
Amazon US KINDLE ~ Amazon US PAPERBACK
 
Amazon UK KINDLE ~ Amazon UK PAPERBACK
 
Barnesand noble ~ authorHOUSE

 

Rated 4.7 Stars on AmazonREVISED EDITION

Experience this incredible quest, through the eyes of the author, and also the fictional characters of Maggie and Bill, who discover their connection to this event through a series of past life regressions. Mystery, love, reincarnation, discovery, and life abound. ~ 5 star review by RE

 

This has elements for the romantic, the mystery buff, and the history buff that will keep you reading until the end. ~ 5 star review by Teresa Watson

 

M C V Egan catches you in the first chapter and doesn’t let you go. You are sucked into both the historical story as well as the personal and paranormal stories that are intertwined through the book. You are wrapped up in the three main characters in both this life and their immediately previous life and enthralled in the winding trail of research that they follow together and separately to join the two together. Recommended. ~ 5 star review by FBTR

 

This is an EXCELLENT book! If you have been passing up Bridge of Deaths by Mcv Egan, well, cut it out! This book is VERY well researched. Excellent story with a blend of romance and mystery. I almost passed it by because I’m not a big history buff, BUT I started going thru the reviews and decided I had to go for it! This is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in awhile. From the first few chapters, I was invested in seeing where the story would take me. I was interested in the characters and completely captivated by the plot. ~ 5 star VERIFIED PURCHASE review by Tina “UF and PNR Romance fan”

 

The story is simple. Reincarnation and real research works in tandem to bring two lovers destined and the past together. The real story is that this book is not close to fiction. Little of this novel is fiction and that adds some wonderful spice to the story. ~ 5 star VERIFIED PURCHASE review by Wanda “Wandah Panda”

 

M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family. From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo–mostly the story of how he died.

 

She spent her childhood in Mexico. When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class. In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977.

 

She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople. She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.

 

Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother. Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject M.C.V. Egan’s new series DEFINING WAYS uses Astrology and other Metaphysical tools www.thebridgeofdeaths.com

 

Amazon Author Page ~ Website ~ Facebook fan page 
Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Google+ ~ LinkedIN
 
Shelfari ~ Book Blogs
 
BLOGS
 
THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS
 
4covert2overt A Day In The Spotlight
 
Is History The Agreed Upon Lie?
 
Defining Ways

MoB Promos

magicofbookspromo@gmail.com

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords