​Finding Feral
A Spacious Reclaiming of Life
By Andrea Pardue
Genre: Memoir
 
Finding Feral will be released on August 20, 2021!
 
Book Description
 
After the death of my mother, I started to take stock of my life.  I was in midlife and it had been a hard, traumatic road.  This is my story of finding hope and myself in the tiny green of a sprout, the soaring austere of an eagle, color dripping from a paintbrush, and the possibility of a loving Creator.  This is a journey into my willfulness to embrace life at its essence and feel very much on purpose in this world.
 
"I love the emotion you have when you speak.  You have such a melodious way of communicating.  It is flowing, calming, and infused with warmth." - Amber Murphy
 
"I love feeling the desire you have to live in immense ways.  You inspire me." - Julianna Ehlert

Some books find you when you need them - even when you made the choice to pick it up. That's how I felt when reading Finding Feral by Andrea Pardue. 

I had lost my sister, and this book hit a very deep spot in my heart when I read about Pardue's experience in losing her mother. We had two very different experiences, but the pain and the loss - well, some things can be universal at their core. 

Pardue's writing was easy to absorb while also being emotive and heart-wrenching. Finding Feral was effortless in pulling me in and kept the pages turning until the last one. Pardue explains her life circumstances while also giving us a look into her feelings surrounding losing her mom and then the state of her life after. If there is one thing I learned about losing someone is that you can distinctly feel and separate the experiences - there is the before the loss and after the loss. Pardue's writing made me feel less alone because her writing was able express some of what I was feeling. And how very loss one can feel when in grief. 

Regardless whether or not someone is going through grief, Pardue's story is set to let the reader in on her life experiences while maintaining the reader's attention through her intricate and emotional writing. 

About the Author
 
Andrea Pardue is a simple soul who has meekly braved each step of her life’s joys and hardships. She discovered the expressive arts as therapy in her darkest moment, studied her guts and soul out to find her way to a liberating, feral freedom to participate in life again. This is her first book.  She lives with her husband and three boys in Texas. A piece of her heart remains on Whidbey Island.  She leads small groups in expressive arts and loves to hear the soul stories of others. You can contact her at andreapardue44@gmail.com.
 
Follow the author for updates on her upcoming release:
 
Website: https://www.strongwhisperer.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finding_feral
​

Review

Charm Wars by Dan Lutts is a young adult fantasy book about political intrigue and two young protagonists stuck on two very different sides of a coin. Rill and Alyse each have their roles in life: one is a commoner who hopes for more in life and the other is a noble who wants the simple life. 

Charm Wars is.a good start up to what is setting out to be an intriguing fantasy series. I find that first books in series are perceived to be long and heavy on the information. This definitely isn’t wrong, but it is so for a good reason. In order to create a detailed and worthwhile story, it is necessary for the first book to set this up for the reader. This is what Lutts has given us in Charm Wars, a story that is rich with an intricate magic system and two main characters that grow to know and enjoy. 

One thing is for sure, Lutts knows how to write an intriguing book and I for one am looking forward to the next book!

 
 
About the Author
Dan Lutts, the author of Charm Wars, was brought up in Quincy, Massachusetts, and began addictively reading Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman comic books at an early age, much to his mother's distress. In junior high school, he switched to reading science fiction novels. While in high school and college, he wrote science fiction short stories.
 
Dan taught history and archaeology in high school for ten years. After being laid off because of budget cuts, he used his love of writing to retrain and became a software technical editor and writer. He worked for several computer companies, taught technical writing at the college level, and worked as a freelance writer. Now, combining his love of history and writing, he works at a World War II museum doing research and writing.
 
Dan loves to read and has varied tastes, including Young Adult, historical fiction, mysteries, 18th-century sea epics, and history. He especially enjoys Young Adult fiction and decided to try his hand at it. Charm Wars, Dan’s first novel, is the result.
 
Dan lives in rural Maine with his wife, Lisa. When he’s not working or writing, Dan can be found reading, making and shooting medieval arrows with his longbow, or playing with his two dogs and two cats—all rescue animals.
 
Book Links
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/GoodreadsCharmWars
Amazon: https://bit.ly/CharmWarsKindle
https://twitter.com/DanLuttsAuthor
https://www.facebook.com/DanLuttsAuthor
 ​

Excerpt from Charm Wars

Chapter 1
​
Cougar’s Lair
“If a charm seeker did open this tomb, why did she take the charm from that one Old Mage but not his staff? And why did she leave all the other charms and staffs behind? I wonder—” 
“How fortunate for me she did,” a voice said behind them. “And how unfortunate for you.” 
Rill and Jedd whirled around. 

Just inside the entrance stood a skinny, middle-aged man of medium height. His gray tunic and tan pants were dirty and patched and his boots old and scuffed. Oily, unkempt hair framed his pockmarked face. In his right hand, he held a staff. The light from Rill's and Jedd’s torches danced shadows across his face, making his malevolent grin appear even more evil. 

A blacksmith’s vise clamped Rill’s chest making it hard for him to breathe. A rohan! A backwatcher or protector—either a mage or a bladeswoman or bladesman—who had been expelled by a noblesse matriarch for breaking her oath to serve and protect the matriarch’s family. An outcast from society no other noblesse First or Lesser Family would touch. A woman or man who was lower even than the criminals, dagger women, and prostitutes living in Caldon’s most dangerous neighborhood, The Slums. 

Rill’s gaze fastened on the rohan’s left hand that clutched something beneath his grimy tunic. 

A charm. 

“Actus,” the rohan mage said, his sinister smile showing he’d deliberately spoken the word loud enough for Rill and Jedd to hear. 

Rill eyed the staff, his stomach paining him. The rohan had activated his charm. All he had to do now was point the staff at a target and cast a spell. Rill’s gaze slid to Jedd, who appeared as rigid as a marble statue. 

With exaggerated slowness, the rohan aimed the staff at the gap between Rill and Jedd, then deliberately moved it from one to the other. His lips drew up into a cruel smile, making Rill feel like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. 

Rill choked on a lump of regret. Why didn’t I listen to Jedd and leave the coffins alone? We could of been partway home by now. I could of been a mage. But now I never will be.

Slowly and deliberately, the rohan inhaled a mouthful of air and said, “Luco!” 

Rill’s frightened breath blended with Jedd’s when the crystal burst into life, and white mage light flooded the tomb. 

The rohan laughed as if he’d just watched a first-rate comedy routine as he stepped several paces forward. “Scared of a little light, boys?” 

Rill’s gaze jumped to Jedd. His cousin was glowering at the man, his hands balled into fists. 
The rohan smirked at Jedd. 

Slowly, keeping his eyes on the rohan, Rill moved his hand toward his sword’s brown leather grip. 

The rohan must have had invisible eyes in the side of his head. With a chuckle, he casually pointed the staff at Rill. “Foolish boy. I can kill you before your sword’s half out of its scabbard.” 
Rill let his hand drop to his side. 

“Tsk-tsk,” the rohan said, drawing closer. “Naughty boys charm seeking. That’s a death offense. Unless you’re mages, of course. Are you mages, naughty boys?” 

“You know we ain’t,” Rill said through clenched teeth. 

The rohan stepped forward a few more paces until only a staff’s length separated them. “When I came across your well-fed and groomed horses a while ago, I thought that maybe their owners came from good families. Families with money. So I went looking for you. My goodness, you weren’t hard to find. Not with all that racket you made in here with the cougar. Boys with horses and swords. And purses hanging from their belts.” His gaze riveted itself to Rill. “And with such interesting things inside.” 

Rill’s heart froze into a lump of ice as he forced himself to return the rohan’s stare. He saw me take the charm.

The rohan flashed them both an evil smile. “So I said to myself, ‘Self, I bet those naughty little boys are carrying some nice shiny gildas in their purses. Or maybe even a goldie.’ You got any?” 
“Why don’t you come closer and find out?” Rill said. He’d tried to sound cocky, but his voice broke halfway through the question. 

The rohan grinned, obviously enjoying himself. He pointed the staff at Rill. “Naughty boy. I hope you don’t melt.” 

Terror ripped through Rill like a barbed arrowhead. 
​
He had only moments to live. 

The Seekers’ Garden
By Isa Pearl Ritchie
Genre: Women’s Fiction
 
 
Book Description
 
If you stand still for long enough, the past catches up with you…
Leaving behind the fragments of her old life, Marcia Reed-Wilton crosses the world to return to her dilapidated childhood home and dig up the weeds of the past.
Next door, Mrs Everglade struggles to maintain her independence in spite of her increasing frailty.
Sixteen-year-old Lea escapes into her poetry to cope with depression until meeting Alex, a much more potent distraction.
Meanwhile, Iris leaves her career on a whim to embark on an adventure of an entirely different kind, moving to a sleepy seaside town to write a book.
On the other side of the world in opposite seasons, Zane, vocalist for a popular band is haunted by cryptic dreams that lead him home.
A few twists of fate and a buried secret leave these individuals deeply and unexpectedly connected.
The Seekers' Garden is a lush and captivating exploration of loss, growth and spirituality, revealing the way connections form in unlikely places.

About the Author
 
Isa Pearl Ritchie is a New Zealand writer with a PhD in social science. She writes novels for adults and for young people. Her novel Fishing for Māui was named one of the best books of 2018 in The Listener Magazine and was a finalist in the NZ Booklovers awards2019. She has also written articles for The Spinoff, Pantograph Punch and Organic NZ. Isa lives in Wellington.
 




​
​Website: http://www.isaritchie.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isapearlritchie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/isapearlritchie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isapearlritchie/
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B1DV5SG/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724256-the-seekers-garden
 
 
EXCERPT:
 
If you stand still for long enough, the past catches up with you. The phrase came back to Marcia Reed-Wilton as inevitable as the sun rising. She took one final look around her home. Her eyes came to rest on the wall clock, its antiqued second hand obscuring the view of the first as it struck VII. She listened to its grandfather in the hall chime seven times as she assessed the things that were left in the room, relics from the past twenty years of her life: her mahogany furniture and beautiful hand-sculpted pottery in bright turquoise, olive, tamarillo, butternut, all of these familiar, comforting things.
​
William’s possessions were still scattered deceptively here and there: car magazines on the coffee table, overcoat hung next to the door. She was afraid to touch them. Anyone looking at the scene would assume it was a home in which a man and a woman lived. How wrong they’d be; he hadn’t lived here for months, and she hadn’t felt alive since his death.

She said goodbye to the Impressionist paintings she loved and that he had gently mocked although he had surreptitiously relegated his grandmother's flowery watercolours to the guest room and hung her bolder tastes on the proudest walls in the main living spaces. She focused her attention down at the suitcase at her feet, packed with bare essentials, tools and trinkets small enough to carry halfway around the world. Something stirred in the back of her mind.
Marcia had dyed her long, dark hair with bright red henna, leaving the grey streaks a striking garnet. She brushed it away from her tear-stained face, walked towards the cherry-wood hallway table, pulled open the lowest drawer, and extracted a small wooden box. She opened the lid, revealing beautifully painted cards. She cut the deck and stared for a moment at the picture: a young, vibrant being playing a pipe and walking merrily off a cliff over a ravine, a dog following happily behind. The card was numbered 0, the Fool.

An obviousness dawned on her, painted lavishly over the calm façade she had been wearing these past months. At some point, fear becomes irrelevant. You have no choice but to trust the universe and take the leap: surrender. It was something she had been telling herself for years, but at that moment, it was real. She looked back down at the printed card in her hand. This is the first step in a journey. She spilt the cards out on the floor and selected the twenty-two major arcana. Then she quickly put them in order, back in the box, and into her bag as she heard the horn of her taxi sound outside. She hurried out into the thick London summer night, all sentimentality forgotten.

Marcia clutched her boarding pass tightly as she walked through the terminal. She distracted herself by gazing at the horizon out of the wall-to-wall airport windows where she was confronted by a ghost. Every time she recognised his jacket, his cologne, his hair cut, she was faced with the impossible reality of William’s presence. For the first few months, she had seen him everywhere, as if her mind was reaching out for the familiar, trying to fill the space that he used to occupy, which was now a bottomless pit, a black hole that destroyed and consumed everything around it until she felt it was all she was. The figure stood at the airport window, silhouetted in a posture that was as familiar to her as breathing. Something irrational stirred in the back of her consciousness, hope that was buttery and light, but as he moved, the glitch in her mind vanished, and she was empty again. How long will it take…? She wondered, before all the pieces of me realise he’s gone forever?

She felt her nervousness building as she boarded the plane, flanked by blank-faced flight attendants. As she took her seat, the anxiety was unbearable. What about her herbs? What about the mail? She comforted herself in the knowledge that she had good friends who she could call upon, understanding friends who knew the importance of her leaving even if they could not understand her motive. They thought she was running away from her grief, and indeed, this did feel a bit like running away, but where she was going, she had no friends or comfort, nothing. She was not escaping the past but following her intuition, and, holding tightly to the last shred of sanity she had left, she was going to face her past head-on.
 ​

​Finding Feral
A Spacious Reclaiming of Life
By Andrea Pardue
Genre: Memoir
 
Finding Feral will be released on August 20, 2021!
 
Book Description
 
After the death of my mother, I started to take stock of my life.  I was in midlife and it had been a hard, traumatic road.  This is my story of finding hope and myself in the tiny green of a sprout, the soaring austere of an eagle, color dripping from a paintbrush, and the possibility of a loving Creator.  This is a journey into my willfulness to embrace life at its essence and feel very much on purpose in this world.
 
"I love the emotion you have when you speak.  You have such a melodious way of communicating.  It is flowing, calming, and infused with warmth." - Amber Murphy
 
"I love feeling the desire you have to live in immense ways.  You inspire me." - Julianna Ehlert
 
 

About the Author
 
Andrea Pardue is a simple soul who has meekly braved each step of her life’s joys and hardships. She discovered the expressive arts as therapy in her darkest moment, studied her guts and soul out to find her way to a liberating, feral freedom to participate in life again. This is her first book.  She lives with her husband and three boys in Texas. A piece of her heart remains on Whidbey Island.  She leads small groups in expressive arts and loves to hear the soul stories of others. You can contact her at andreapardue44@gmail.com.
 
Follow the author for updates on her upcoming release:
 
Website: https://www.strongwhisperer.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finding_feral
​