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December 29, 2012

More Story: Shadow Mage

Shadow Mage (Blacklight Chronicles #3) by John Forrester
ebook
Published: September 2012 by Amber Muse
Source: Author
Read: December 2012
Goodreads, Amazon, IndieBound

In the third book of the Blacklight Chronicles, John Forrester has shown a lot of growth as a writer and storyteller. I felt that the plot in Shadow Mage was more fleshed out. We get more of an understanding of the universe John has created.

My niece reviewed Shadow Mage in October and at that time she told me that if someone hadn't read the first two books, they would be totally lost. I have to agree with her. Very little time is given to bringing a reader "up to speed". I recommend reading the first two books again right before reading this one, especially if it's been a while.

 Talis, after having brought the black crystal to Naru, is an outcast from the Order of the Dawn. They allow his magical training to continue, but only with the most obscure (read very old) teachers. The rift between royal families grows deeper and some dark alliances have been made. Talis, Mara, and Nikulo have maintained a friendship (there might be more than friendship between Talis and Mara).

While always an action packed adventure, John Forrester slows the pace slightly in Shadow Mage in order to provide more of a back story and fill in some missing gaps in the reader's understanding of this universe - something I had been hoping for since Fire Mage (read my review). For this reason, I think I enjoyed Shadow Mage more than the other two. While it is still a dark tale, it wasn't quite as dark as Sun Mage (read my review) and there is more of a message about the power of friendship and love.

A free book was obtained from the source mentioned above in order to provide an honest and free review. Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links.



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December 28, 2012

Friday Fun: Year in Review






It is the last Friday of 2012. Where did the year go? Time seems to be passing faster and faster with each year.

By December 31, I will have posted 435 times this year. I read 82 books, novellas, and short stories (27 more than my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal). I might finish 1 more book before December 31, but I will say I'm very proud of how much I've read this year. Of the 82 books read, I reviewed 72. Sixty-two authors appeared on Girl Who Reads this year.

Top 10 Most Viewed Posts of 2012:

Number 8:     Agents of the Reaper Tour
Number 6:     Ann Pearlman - How I Write

Guest Authors: (thank you for your contribution!)

Jean Pierre Alaux (appearing 12/31)
 

Books Reviewed in 2012:

Shadow Mage by John Forrester (appearing 12/29)

Odds 'n' Ends

I changed the look of my blog this year and while I miss the "journal" look some, I love the clean design and functionality of this one. 
I learned to make spiffy graphics! 

I almost shared a tip a week for Tips on Thursday. (I need ideas for 2013, so if you want to know something about blogging send me your questions!)

I'm now averaging 600 page views a day, which is awesome. I've also picked up a number of new followers on Twitter (I'm currently at about 1937) and a ton of new fans on Facebook (currently 1982 fans).

I started GWR Publicity and organized 3 blog tours (I have a third one starting January 7) plus several ongoing clients. 2013 is looking good on that front. I'm always looking for great bloggers to join me in supporting the authors. Join our Facebook group to get notified first about new authors, books, and events.

Overall 2012 was a good year and 2013 is looking bright. I'm looking forward to reading more great books and getting to meet awesome authors and of course, share my love of reading with all my followers. I would love to get to know you more in 2013, please consider leaving a few comments every now and then.

Happy New Year!
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December 27, 2012

Tips on Thursday: Reflection

It is the end of the year; a time for people to reflect on the past year and begin preparing for the new year. Your blog should not be an overlooked component in your reflection. Now is a great time to see what worked well and what didn't go so well, what took a lot of time and what was easy to do, and look at changes or updates that need to be made.

What are your top viewed posts this year? For me, guest posts are always on top of the list. It is one of the reasons I started 3 weekly features for authors. My readers seem more interested in hearing from authors, than me. And I'm all about keeping my readers interested.

What kinds of post got few page views? For me, it's my reviews. But not all my reviews are poorly read. There is presentation differences in the least viewed and the most viewed reviews. Clearly, I need to work on how I present my reviews. Posting reviews can be a lot of pressure as it means I have to find time to read a book. Even only posting 2 reviews a week can be stressful. In the new year, I think I will only shoot for 1 review a week. If I can get more done (as I now have several books read, but not reviewed) great, but I'm not going to stress about it.

I tried posting multiple times a day for a couple of months. It was time consuming creating the content and finding time to post they content. While there was a bit more traffic to my blog with the multiple daily posts, not significantly enough to continue doing so as my time becomes more limited this winter (more freelance projects and Upward Cheerleading doesn't leave a lot of evening time for blogging).

I will be posting a "Year in Review" round up tomorrow. It's a great opportunity to take a closer look at the blog. Even if you don't do a round up post, I encourage you to spend a little time reviewing your past year of blogging.

Happy New Year!

PS. I'm looking for new topics for my Tips series in the new year. Let me know if there is something you would like me to cover.

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December 26, 2012

Bloggers Wanted: $50 Amazon Gift Card Give Away



Participate in the "Beat the Winter Time Blues $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway" sponsored by author Terri Morgan.

Giveaway: January 16 - February 6
One winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card from Terri Morgan. 

All you need to do is to make an announcement about the FREE sign-up on your blog by grabbing the code under the graphic (you can post the whole message, if you want) and then on January 16 post the giveaway (html post will be provided). This is a great way to gain more followers on your Facebook page. There will not be a "host page", each blogger's Facebook page will be listed individually on the Rafflecopter.
 Sign up here:

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Books Under the Tree

As a family of readers there were a number of books under our tree this year. Did you find any under your tree? Or did you get a gift card so you can buy your own?

 For My Dad:


For My Niece:



For My Nephew:




Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links.

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December 25, 2012

Christmas Short: Christmas Windows


Christmas Windows by Elysa Hendricks
ebook
Published: September 2012

Source: Smashwords
Read: December 2012
Amazon
 
A short story about a little girl who is neglected at home and mourning the death of her grandmother, the only person who ever really cared about her.

It made me wonder why Christmas stories are always so sad. There is a happy ending of sorts. I felt Christmas Windows read more like an excerpt than a full short story. I think there could have been a little more back story added and the ending felt rushed.

As an introduction to Elysa Hendricks's writing, it was excellent. I look forward to reading the other book I picked up from here while it was free at Smashwords.

If you are looking for a little quick story about the magic of Christmas, then Christmas Windows fits the bill.

Girl Who Reads is an advertising affiliate with Amazon and IndieBound; a small fee is earned when purchases are made using the above links. A free book was obtained from the source mentioned above in order to provide an honest and free review.




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