Off the Bookshelf: ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG, by Ally Carter

Audiobook
Narrated by Renee Raudman

Aauugghh!
I've run out of Gallagher Girls books in my library, and I can't justify buying the next 2 with so many other books waiting to be read. At least, not for a while ...

In this latest installment, Cammie has a lot of growing up to do, and fast. Her winter break visit to England with Becks and her spy parents turns into a whirlwind of moving from one safe house to another. The ancient enemy of Jillian Gallagher is after Cammie, but nobody is sure why. Even worse, there is a traitor among the family of the Gallagher Academy. Cammie and her friends refuse to believe it, but the evidence is overwhelming. As they try to find out the truth, they are stymied and blocked at every turn. While the girls are a brilliant team, gifted with beating the odds, they ARE at a school created to train spies, so yes, every action they try to take is anticipated and blocked. Heartbreak and death threaten, and the price of vindication and truth might just be too high to pay.

The big question is how long I can hold out before buying the next book and finding out what Cammie did, if she succeeded, what answers she uncovered.

Major fun series. *sigh* I want to write like Ally Carter when I grow up ....

Coming title: CONFESSIONS OF A LOST KID

May 1, the Neighborlee, Ohio fantasy series re-launches.

You may have read the books when they originally were released by Uncial Press.

I'm going back through, fixing little holes in the storyline, adding some new sub-plots and details, and the stories are now being released in chronological order of events.

There were originally 8 books -- when the series is finished, there will be 13.
New titles.
New cover art.
A lot more intense.

So you may have read some of the Neighborlee, Ohio books before, but I can guarantee there's something new to discover and some changes even in books you've read before.

The schedule is a new PRINT book coming out every other month, starting in May.

The ebook version will be released through Kindle/Amazon and Kindle Unlimited (as soon as I figure out HOW) for the first 3 months, then we'll go wide, if you prefer other reading formats. Ebooks will be released before the print versions.

Audiobooks are far on the horizon, so if you prefer to listen to stories instead of reading them, STAY TUNED!!

And check in with Ye Olde Dragon Books as we build the website and release information. You'll be able to buy print copies directly through us, as well as ebooks when we go into wide distribution, and hopefully audiobooks as well!

www.YeOldeDragonBooks.com

Off the Bookshelf: DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER, by Ally Carter

Audiobook
Narrated by Renee Raudman

The third book in the Gallagher Girls series.

This time Macy, the newest member of Cammie Morgan's team, seems to be the one in danger. Her father is running for Vice President, and the press corps and paparazzi descend on the Gallagher Academy to keep watch on the girl who could be First Daughter. It means the school for spies has to maintain a cover as a snooty prep school. How do they deal with an invasion of Secret Service to guard Macy? Fortunately, or maybe not, someone very dear to Cammie returns to take that job. But life is nowhere near normal at the Gallagher Academy, when threats to Macy's safety and life become real -- as in a kidnapping attempt that Macy and Cammie manage to fight off, earning a broken arm and concussion between them.

Macy is forced to live under a mask for the sake of her father's campaign. And of course, Cammie, Becks and Liz take risks and break rules to make sure their friend stays safe. It's a hectic first term at the Gallagher Academy, especially when it turns out Macy isn't the only one who's in growing danger.

Yeah, and with an ending that felt like a cliffhanger, I had to start the next book right away!

A New Venture: YE OLDE DRAGON BOOKS

Just what is Ye Olde Dragon Books?
We're still under construction, but we're aiming to have fun.

Our tagline is: TWO OLDE DRAGONS WRITING WYRD STORIES

If that's not enough of a hint of what you can look forward to .... keep checking back.
You'll see the covers of upcoming books, just to whet your appetite.

Off the Bookshelf: CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, by Ally Carter

Audiobook
Narrated by Renee Raudman

Guilty pleasure time!
I love the Gallagher Girls books, and I'm especially glad that the same narrator keeps voicing the many characters in the private school for girls-who-will-grow-up-to-be-spies.

Another school term for Cammie Morgan and her roommates, Liz, Becks and Macy. A field trip for Covert Ops class turns into humiliation leading to a mystery that takes up the rest of the school year. It turns out that the gossip columnist classmate is right -- there IS a school for boys-who-will-grow-up-to-be-spies. And like  the 4th Harry Potter book, some reps of the school come to visit the Gallagher Academy.

Cammie has her hands full trying to figure out if Zach is friend or foe, or just trying to drive her crazy. Why has he targeted her, out of all the girls in the school? When she and her roommates apply their lessons to stake out the boys' living quarters and figure out what's going on, things don't quite go as they had hoped. Plus she keeps running into her ex-boyfriend in town, and Zach's presence just makes things more complicated.

Fun, but way too short. Another instance of finding excuses to be walking or in the car, so I can keep listening.

Coming Title: THE INN OF THE HEALER, Sarai's Journey Book 2

Inn of the Healer

Sarai's Journey, Book 2

Sarai refuses to renounce her faith in Jesus, and her husband, Simon divorces her. She finds shelter with other followers of Jesus amid the turmoil after the crucifixion and news of the resurrection. When her friends decide to journey to Damascus for safety and to establish an inn, she joins them.

Discovering she carries Simon's child leads to painful decisions. She claims to be a widow, and prays Simon will not hear the news and take her child from her. Within the safety of the inn family, she builds a new life for herself as a healer.

The Inn of the Three Sisters becomes the gathering place for the slowly growing fellowship of Christ's followers. Sarai puts her education to good use, recording the memories of those who walked with Jesus and heard Him teach.

Then her old life in Jerusalem reaches out to claim her, calling on old loyalties and friendship. Returning to her former home to help those she still loves means risking discovery, possibly condemnation. Her duty as a healer, and as a follower of Christ, requires a step of faith and courage that seems beyond her. The consequences of her decision will change her life, and the life of her daughter, forever

Off the Bookshelf: SIPHON, A Touch of Power, by Jay Boyce

Audible Books
Available only on Audible
Lit RPG

Narrated by Samura Naeymi

(I assume this is what they mean by Lit RPG ...?)

Terminally ill Jade wakes up one morning freed from her hospital ward, and all the machines and wires and tubes keeping her alive. When she concentrates, she gets a screen in her vision with her stats, just like in computer games. Among her skills are walking and eating -- things she has never been able to do freely before.

The story, first in a series, only covers her first week in the magical kingdom of Andara, where she learns to use her special skill: Siphon. The ability to touch and borrow/learn other people's skills and magical powers. This is not just helpful, but necessary to survive, because anyone touched with magic becomes the target of horrid creatures who feed on their blood. At first she learns by trial and error and a lot of pain. Things don't get much easier when she is accepted into Dracona, the school for the magically endowed.

Jade just wants a peaceful life to enjoy all the things denied her in her hospital-bound life: sunshine, fresh air, friends, walking, eating. She has big plans to recreate all the conveniences of the modern world, such as sunglasses and wristwatches and bobby pins, but those might have to be put aside to fight threats and dangers, not just to her, personally, but the country of Andara, and maybe the whole world.

New Series: SARAI'S JOURNEY

Heretic's Daughter

Sarai's Journey, Book 1

Sarai knew her life's path from childhood.

Daughter of a wealthy, respected rabbi, she prepared herself for marriage to a man of equal wealth and status. Her father indulged her curiosity, and provided her an education rare among women of those times. She used the healing talents Adonai had given her, to serve others.

However, her father's teachings about the Messiah were in conflict with the high priest, and many in the Sanhedrin. He believed the Messiah would first come as the Suffering Servant, not as a triumphant warrior to rescue Judea from the tyranny of Rome. He was labeled a heretic, ostracized from the Temple. When he died, Sarai's world disintegrated. Her suitor vanished, along with all his sweet promises.

Reduced to nothing, Sarai devoted herself to the man who kept his promises when everyone else abandoned her.

Then she encountered a rabbi named Jesus, from Nazareth, who fulfilled everything her father had taught about the Messiah. As Jerusalem was split by the question of who Jesus was, Sarai faced the most painful decision of her life.

The man who risked everything to rescue her, or the duty she owed to Adonai?

Break her promises and lose everything she had regained, or destroy her soul?

Off the Bookshelf: HIDDEN CURRENT, by Sharon Hinck

The Dancing Realms, Book 1

A new series by the author of the Sword of Lyric series.

I'm just in awe over the amount of worldbuilding that went into creating this world where dancers and dance have the power to move the world and heal, change the weather and cause plants to grow.

The Order is in the center of what turns out to be a massive floating island, moved by the currents of a world of sweet water. The problem is that the Order uses its dancers and the power of dance to essentially keep the world anchored in one place.

This is against the Maker's plans and intentions ... but the Order says the Maker is just a fable.

Enter our heroine, a novitiate of the Order, who is on the verge of graduating to become a dancer and serve in the never-ending task of guiding and protecting the world. If she doesn't become a dancer, she will be hobbled forever, forbidden to dance -- and for her, dance is everything.

The first time she sets foot on the dancing grounds and begins the task she has prepared for her whole life, she hears a voice ... and soon everything she believes in disintegrates. She must flee for her life and her sanity, and her only ally is the last person in the world she wants to trust.

Lovely and heart-racing and aching. And there were times I just wanted to throttle ... *sigh*

Hey, Sharon, write faster? I need to find out what happens next!
From Enclave Publishing.