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sambart93 · 6 years ago

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2018.08.21-22 Sengoku Night Blood, SenBura Stage [Review]

Official Site here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Video Coverage 1, 2 DVD PreOrder here and here and here

CAST and CHARACTERS

ODA CLAN Kubota Hidetoshi as Oda Nobunaga Matsumoto Hinata as Akechi Mitsuhide Yokoda Ryugi as Mori Ranmaru Hagio Keishi as Niwa Nagahide Kishimoto Takuya as Shibata Katsuie

UESUGI CLAN Maeyama Takahisa as Uesugi Kenshin Jinnai Sho as Naoe Kanetsugu Aramaki Yoshihiko as Uesugi Kagekatsu

TOYOTOMI CLAN Akazawa Tomoru as Toyotomi Hideyoshi Sadamoto Fuuma as Takenaka Hanbei TAKA as Kuroda Kanbei Yamamoto Ikkei as Maeda Toshiie

Mizukoshi Ayumi as Yuzuki Fujiwara Natsumi as Imari (voice only) Sasaki Yoshihide as Ishida Mitsunari (voice only)

Ensemble: Ando Keisuke, Izumi Shintaro, Ichinose Yoshihito, Terada Yohei, Matsumoto Naoya, Shinozaki Atsushi

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: This was not as bad as I was expecting (Pre-Thoughts under the cut) but it wasn’t that much good to be honest. The story was pretty boring (it’s a carbon copy of the anime, I was hoping they’d spice something up) but the characters (in terms of personality) were different to what they are in the anime/game; the songs were cringey - especially where they placed them - and honestly were totally unnecessary -- keeping it as a straight stage would’ve been best. The action choreography was very boring, very repetitive, and none of them have unique fighting styles at all; except MakiChan who was obviously given the ‘OK’ to incorporate the choreography he’s learnt from TouStage into this stage. Some parts of this story just DRAGGED OUT while other parts of the story, that should’ve been longer, were short as fuck. The balance, and what they chose to extend, and what they chose to skim over were just all poor choices. The comedy in this IS good; huge kudos to KishiTaku, Ikkei, Tomorun and Taka for the comedic moments because they were very funny and got huge laughs from me and from almost all the audience every time. But the comedy is stretched out with no real rhythm; the entire middle section is just serious whereas the beginning and end is comedy; would’ve been better if they had spread it out more evenly rather than at either end. The costumes looked GREAT! I do give huge kudos to the stylist team because those outfits were very detailed and very well made, I really enjoyed spending time looking over them all. There ARE chunks of this stage that I did enjoy: Kagekatsu’s entrance, Shibata&Niwa’s banter, the higawaris, Tomorun as Toyotomi was perfect etc., but there was so much more that annoyed me or that I wish was different or that I wish had been added that my overall feeling for this stage is meh. And I just felt sorry for the actress in all honesty. I watched her during the curtain call everytime and she just didn't seem happy. When everyone was walking off stage, being stupidly and waving in the crowd, she just kept this small smile on her face with her hands behind her back and walked off quietly; she obviously knows the fans outrage but I wanted her to join in somewhat too. She was already there, she might as well enjoy it. I did feel bad for her. To be honest, the best part of this whole stage? The curtain call! The curtain call was absolutely hilarious! I watched 3 times so I got curtain calls from Sadamoto, Kubota, Hagio, MakiChan, MaeChan and Jinnai-kun. And their curtain call speeches were absolutely hilarious and so much fun! The three from Uesugi clan; Mae, Maki and Jinnai were absolutely hysterical! They were sooooo funny in curtain call! There was no point giving them individual curtain calls because they all ended up talking together and messing around and doing some skits with each other; they were so funny! Absolutely hilarious! But it is technically really sad that the best part about this stage was the damn curtain call and when they were all able to be themselves again... Rating: 4/10. If we include the curtain calls then 5/10 because they really were worth the 2 hour struggle.

SPOILER REVIEW

I had enough time, shhh we're ignoring the fact of how far behind I am on my OTHER reviews, to write down some PRE-thoughts and predictions and stuff. I like remembering what I was thinking and feeling beforehand too... So for the stuff this month (ie. in August), each one has this written.

Pre-Thoughts: I am so worried about this play! I was SUPER excited at first but then they announced it was going to be a MUSICAL and not just a stage... THAT'S a terrible choice in my opinion. I think this would be a lot stronger as a normal stage. Next worry I have, in particular, is Sadamoto Fuma and Yokoda Ryugi. Not because of the actors themselves, but because both of them are playing characters I ABSOLUTELY love and adore in the game and I really, really don't want them to fuck it up... Then we have Hagio who, from my previous things I've seen him in, I just don't understand his acting, I just don't like him. So that's another I'm not hopeful about. Then we have MaeChan and Jinnai... while I trust them as actors... for some reason I'm worried about them playing Uesugie and Naoe... especially because Uesugi is really popular and important and is a fan favourite, and Naoe... I just have a connection to him because he's a character in Honoo no Mirage so I already have MakiChan and Hiramaki Jin as my Naoe. Then my finally worry is the damn story... the only COMPLETE clan in this stage is Oda-gumi, so that means it'll be Oda-history-central. So does that mean we're getting ANOTHER stage about Honoouji no Hen? TouStage already covered Oda's history. We already have Hakuouki and TouMyu for historical musicals. So WHY is SenBura a musical and focusing on Oda?! Finally, the other story worry is... they announced the female character’s actress the Sunday two weeks before the damn show started... hmmmm.... ALSO the damn Arasuji-Synopsis hasn't even been put up yet! It STARTS in two weeks! ARGH!!! So yes I am completely filled with worry BUT that isn't going to stop me going and watching it three times...

Real spoilers start now...

If you’ve seen the anime or played the game then you know the story so I won’t bother writing it out. Also we’ll be sign coded: ☆ for neutral or positives and ★ for negative comments.

General Comments:

★ The amount of empty seats at each show. Especially in the front rows just made me sad. The first show, the entire third balcony was empty. The second show, the third floor was half empty. And I think again for the third show, I went to, the entire 3 balcony was empty. There was almost no one for touji every time. And think their only sold out show was the first Sunday night show and that's it. Just hurts. And I always had at least 2 seats on one side of me all to myself; I had a 9th and 10th first floor seat. When I was on the 3rd balcony, I had the ENTIRE row to myself. Just hurts my heart...

★ The story is a carbon copy of the anime/game story which really bummed me out. I kind of wanted some of it to be different, especially with how great all the guys (personality wise) are in this, I wanted some more. I especially wanted more historical aspects and their relationships between each other to be more detailed and in-depth.

★ There isn’t so much of a plot.... I really felt like ‘why is she here?’ because even the romance plot-line was non-existent besides the one or two scenes she has with Toyotomi and the only reason Toyotomi has this plot line is because Tomoru is one of the lesser actors so fans won't get as pissy about it if it’s him with the plotline -- you can obviously tell who the bigger stars are by the way their stories are written and their relationship with Yuzuki (very much non-existent so the fans of theirs don't get pissy) and the fact that only THEY got SOLO SONGS. And even with her in, they don’t really explain WHY she is there. The mention Meguhime ONCE and that's all! And then we spend the rest of the play looking for her stupid phone -- why would she need it?! Why does she need it here?! It ain't gonna work! So why look for it?! Ugh... And they don't explain her at all. They very quickly go 'oh we know you have magical blood but none of us will use it as a weapon of war' and that's it! So why is she there?! Just ughhh.... you could've very easily taken her out of it and just kept it between the boys and their stories and their dynamic. She really was unnecessary. There’s literally nothing about her that is explained that’s linked to the main plot and there isn’t really a plot at all. But I guess that matches the games plot... sorry, I stopped reading the stories after the first Uesugi chapter xD

★ But going ALL against that, I feel like almost all their personalities in this are different to what they’re like in the game - or at least how I’ve imagined it. And this caused problems for me. But this also goes back to my non-spoiler comment of 'they spent more time on stuff that wasn't important and didn't flesh out the parts that would've been good' and one of these parts is the boys' personalities and histories and relationships etc. I wanted ALL that! I wanted more! AND the very short time we do spent with, say, Niwa...Hanbee...Kuroda...Ranmaru... I felt like ALL their personalities were SO different to what we've become accustomed to in the game. Especially Hanbei and Ranmaru. I LOVE these two in the game! Hanbei is CRAZY as shit in the game! He's so damn creepy and he's so risky and loves putting Yuzuki in danger, but in this stage? He is literally her BFF and just acts like a child. WHAT? That's not Hanbei! And with Ranmaru?! Where's his creepy as voice?! Where's his constant threaten to steal Yuzuki's blood in this?! There was none of it! Give me my creepy boys back! So yeah, safe to say I didn't like Fuuma or Yokoda as my favourite boys. BUT again, I blame this on the script, and the fact they didn’t want to piss fans off. If they had spent more time, especially with the Ranmaru x Hanbee fighting scene, then maybe we could've seen their personalities more, we could've heard their voices more, they would've had more time to show me the characters that I love. But no -___- Oh and MakiChan's character?! He changed him COMPLETELY! First of all his voice was no where near as soft and he very quickly changes all because of Yuzuki! Which pissed me off! Kagekatsu is supposed to be this shy, quiet, timid, I'm worried about what my father will do and what he thinks, type of guy but in the stage, MakiChan basically goes to Yuzuki straight away, he opens up STRAIGHT away, he goes against his father STRAIGHT away, he goes to save her rather than his father STRAIGHT AWAY. It really rubbed me the wrong way. Again, if we had spent MORE time with the transition of this character then maybe it would've been more justified but he literally changes within a day.

Sigh... let's get some good in here...

☆ KishiTaku, Ikkei and Tomorun were the funniest! They were absolutely hilarious! Their parts during the higawaris were genius and even when it was scripted comedy their timing and their performance of those comedic moments were spot on and perfect and had me laughing hard (and most of the audience) every time! They were so good as the comedic ones and I wish they had been given more time to be funny. TAKA and Hagio had a very funny moments too! They both were good but were a little bit inconsistent compared to the three above, but that could just be down to their personality/their acting style/their stage experience.

☆ TAKA looked very pretty as Kanbei and he did a really good job as Kanbei too!

☆ The costumes looked much better and more fitted in person than it does in the visuals and everything. Their costumes were so gorgeous and so detailed! I spent just as much time looking and googling all over their costumes as I did watching the play. They were seriously well made and looked so gorgeous!

☆ I realised afterwards just how many damn PuriStage actors there are in this! We have KishiTaku, Hinata and Ayumi -- okay maybe not so many but when I realised, it made me think that maybe the casting director had been to PuriStage and dediced to take a few from there. But PuriStage was a big project so maybe it's just a coincidence xD

Okay back to a few more bad points...

★ I wish...I really wish... I REALLY wish... I really, REALLY wish they hadn’t put the songs in this. They felt so unnecessary. And the parts where they did put them in felt so awkward and out of place and just didn't fit in my opinion. And the dances in them were so cringey too. Everything to do with the songs were cringey. They really were not needed. And the favouritism in the songs too! Only MakiChan, MaeChan and Ikkei got solo songs. Why? Because they're the most popular actors? Because they sold you the most tickets? Because they're getting the biggest salary? Because (2 of them) they did the game as well as the stage? Just what was the stupid logic against giving them solo songs? Their characters aren't even that important -- as in they aren't the main characters! Why give Oda a group song, then Maki and Mae solo songs, then a Toyotomi group song and finally an Ikkei solo song? Seriously, what was the fucking point besides 'cos their fans are the ones that'll be coming the most' such bullshit. And the songs... just why put them in.... and oh god the dancing during the songs.. especially Jinnai's dance during MaeChan's song... that was weird as fuck. I cringed so much in my seat.

★ There’s not enough comedy spread evenly. There's comedy with Oda Clan and Toyotomi clan but smack in the middle where we have this huge Uesugi plot line, there is no comedy and it really drags the story and the stage. Spreading the comedy out more evenly would've been best.

★ The fighting choreography wasn’t good. None of them were unique. They literally all had the same exact style, except for MakiChan who obviously was allowed to use his TouStage skills. It was bland, uninteresting, you couldn't tell any uniqueness between any of them, it was all very repetitive skills. Maybe I've just been spoiled by the magnificence that is TouStage's choreography but... even Shinobi no Saga (review still to come), every single character had a unique way of fighting and you could easily see the difference between them all! And that's supposed to be from a production company that's way below Marv and Kadokawa's level and even they managed! I seriously tried to find something different about each of their fighting styles but it was all the same...

★ The final point is me being nitpicky but I really hated how they did ‘Oda’s Castle’ and ‘Later that Night’ and ‘The Night Day’ signs in the background. I understand it’s because ‘ooohh just like the game!’ but it just felt condescending and pointless to me. We KNOW we’re at Oda’s castle, and it really doesn’t matter how much time passes or whether it’s the same night or not; it really does not matter for this story.

Back to the final few neutrals/positives!

☆ I noticed MakiChan is still favouring his left leg when he runs and fights and spins and stuff but it’s understandable. We don't want him going completely back onto his right leg and fucking it up again.

☆ I really, really enjoyed that for a lot of the play there is a lack of music and it's just the characters talking. I noticed it straight away and at first it was odd but I grew to love it very quickly.

☆ Imari is cute as all hell okay. I will fight anymore who thinks any different. And I absolutely love HOW they animated him and the different situations they put him in in this!

☆ Related to the costumes but, the wigs in this also are very well done! They looked very well made and they flopped around properly and looked really good!

Now for specific parts; I’ll split this into the order in which the story flows:

1. Yuzuki going from her world to the introduction of SenBura’s world:

☆ The show opens with her. The introduction of her is very quick and they establish her transportation to the SenBura world very quickly too which was nice. Within the first 2 or 3 minutes we go into Senbura’s world and we get thrown right into a fight scene where all the members are individually introduced.

☆ I like how quick the opening is.

☆ I like how they introduce each character. They each come in and then they pause as their name and title pops up on the screen behind, and a spotlight is on them. A very quick and efficient way of introducing everyone.

☆ The yakuma/bad guys/creatures’ first entrance is really good and the stunts they do here is great! One of them does a back flip and such.

★ The Yakuma picks Yuzuki up but then immediately puts her back down. Why?? You successfully captured her at that point? I really don't understand, besides plot-armour, why they grabbed her and then put her back down...

2. With Oda Clan:

Yuzuki is very quickly snatched by Oda while Toyotomi and Uesugi bicker as to who should take her. So she goes to Oda's castle first.

☆ I really, really, really loved KishiTaku's comedy in this. He was so funny and so perfect as Shibata! He had so many good moments! A few to mention is just after Yuzuki gets comfortable there and Shibata decides to bring Niwa and Yuzuki along to go boar hunting with them, but before they leave, he wants to get some stuff so he's like 'You should come (with us on the trip). But wait here (while I get the goods)' but she doesn't understand if he just changed his mind about her joining and she goes 'well which one?' and his reply 'どっち？どっちでも笑 // Which one? Both! *laughs*' and it was very well timed and delivered.

☆ So they go boar hunting but they spot Imari who they think is a regular tanuki, so Shibata declares 'change of plans! We chase the tanuki instead!' so they run on and off stage about 3 times chasing Imari (it's very funny) and eventually get more tired every time. It gets to sunset and they're exhausted with no boar or tanuki in hand. But they completely forget to check that Yuzuki stayed with them so Shibata turns around, sees her and goes 'yup... いるな / she's there!' and continues chasing the tanuki xD I really love the Tanuki chase scene so much. It’s very funny seeing them getting more and more out of breath as they keep going past.

☆ After chasing the boar, Shibata tries to hug Niwa but Niwa is like 'don't touch me! You're covered in sweat' but Shibata continues to try and hug him and jokes 'well from now on you can be... not Nagahide, but Asehide! (ase means 'sweat')'.

☆ Later, Shibata and Niwa manage to get the boar and bring back it's meat but they start arguing over who actually got it. 'I was the one who suggested we go' 'But I was the one who captured it!' 'But I was the one who brought the meat here!' And when they argue amongst themselves, Yuzuki laughs and says something like 'you both did well! That's so cool!' and they turn to her and immediately their faces soften and they go 'な！！！な〜〜 // I did it, RIGHT!! *Yuzuki talks* ...riiiight' all happily. It was very funny.

☆ Akechi gets injured and has to rest at one point and so all the boys want him to feel better. Ranmaru is on his way with food for Akechi when Yuzuki spots him and he gets all embarrased and lies who the food is for. Then Shibata and Niwa come back with the meat and try to give it to Akechi and Ranmaru is like 'at least cook it before you give it to him!', and then Niwa takes out these Obako leaves (= the English is 'Plantago asiatica'.) and tries to give them to Akechi but Ranmaru slaps them out of his hands and they fall to the floor. Immediately Niwa gets all quiet and depressed and is like '....洗ったのに / I even washed them.... I washed them.... even though I washed them...' and Ranmaru feels very upset so picks them up, cleans them and puts them in the rice porridge for Akechi. It was a very cute moment! The next moment was great too! So they're all in Akechi's room and they get super upclose to him as he goes to eat the rice porridge, in anticipation of what he thinks about it, but they get too close and so Akechi feels uncomfortable and stops, then tries again, then stops again, and tries again. Finally he does eat it and says it's good and they all smile and are relieved. It was cute. Also, because Akechi is okay and is enjoying the rice porridge, Shibata starts crying and Niwa looks up to the sky to try and stop himself crying.

☆ Shibata cries about two or three times while we're in this first section and it was adorable and really cute.

★ I was a little sad to find out just how much of the comedy was scripted. I really wanted the AseHide to be higawari, and I really wanted the 'どっち？どっちでも笑 // Which one? Both!' to be higawari and/or ad-lib too but it wasn't. So I was a little disappointed, BUT kudos to KishiTaku who made it feel so natural every time and the timing was always so good!

★ The Oda group song is right at the end of their story arc and it just felt really sudden and out of place. It's not a bad song but the placing is really awkward and the dancing is pretty cringey. I think for the group songs they just used the anime clan ones, but the solo songs seem original for the play.

★ I wish we had been allowed penlights and audience participation because penlights would've been perfect for this Oda group song.

★ As predicted in my pre-thoughts, I didn't warm up to Yokoda's Ranmaru. First, his voice is too low, in comparison to the characters visuals and the seiyuu's voice in the game, and he just wasn't creepy enough and he didn't seem as innocent.

★ Oda just 10000% reminded me of Hakuouki's Hijikata in this. I know both of them were similar in real like; both are pretty disliked, both are stern, both are strict, but I didn't like how Kubota's Oda just reminded me of Hakuouki's Hijikata completely (FYI I HATE Hakuouki's Hijikata).

★ Hagio did well in some parts, like he got a giggle out of me from the Obako scene (his delivery was inconsistent for it though. The second show I saw, he did the best delivery of this scene), and I liked Nagahide and Shibata arguing at each other, but for the most part he was very.... forgettable. Outside of those two scenes, I don't remember him in this stage at all. He's just so forgettable to me. And one of these scenes, he's only good in it because he's got KishiTaku to work with who's really good at these angry but comedic scenes; he had someone to work with so it wasn't even with his own acting skills that I enjoyed those scenes. And Niwa is very much the same as every other character I've ever seen him play so he wasn't memorable to me in this. I know he has a LOT of fans so,

DEAR HAGIO FANS: is there a stage of his you recommend I see? What was his best performance? I'm open to changing my mind!

★ At the end of this story arc, they end up fighting the Yakuma again and this is when Toyotomi shows up again to fight Oda, and Kagekatsu saves her while they fight amongst themselves. During this battle scene, I wanted more Ranmaru x Hanbei fighting so I could get a better opinion on the actors and their performance. But in this scene, they just clash swords and then run off stage, so all their fighting is done OFF STAGE. Which really annoyed me! Why not spend more time showing me the boys fighting and their dynamics? I don't need to see Yuzuki getting saved; you can do that off stage! Show me the boys fighting each other, give me interesting dialogue between them, show me their rivalry! ESPECIALLY show me a long fight between Ranmaru and Hanbei because they're my two favourite characters!!!! Ugh...

3. With Uesugi Clan:

So during the last battle, Kagekatsu shows up, almost like a spy because he's all covered up, and saves Yuzuki from the battle field and takes her to Uesugi's castle. Here Kenshin explains that Oda wants to use her blood as a weapon, but here they swear never to use it for such use and that she should just relax here for the time being, especially because she got injured during that battle so it'll take some time to heal.

☆ Kagekatsu gets attacked during that Oda-arc-ending battle pretty badly by the Yakuma and he ends up on the floor in a lot of pain, but being close to Yuzuki, who's leg was cut open, he can sense her blood and I really liked how here we had Kagekatsu's heartbeat as the main sound and every time his heart beat, Maki would jolt to the sound, it was very well done. I really liked this small moment.

☆ Also during this battle, Kagekatsu first comes on stage with a hood on, so as to hide his face, but when the Yakuma attack, his hood naturally falls down and it's really nice. In the third show actually, the hood even fell of his shoulders but he caught it very smoothly and just kept it in his hand as he pulls Yuzuki away from the battle.

☆ Again, staying with this battle at the end of Oda's arc, you can tell MakiChan got to choose and do his own choreography, because it was far advanced compared to everyone else's, and it at least looked unique compared to everyone else too. It's really obvious that it's his choreography from TouStage.

☆ I really, really liked the practise/keiko scene between Kagekatsu and Naoe. It was a small scene but I really appreciated and enjoyed it.

☆ Prior to MaeChan’s solo, there is a scene between him and Naoe where they talk about Kagekatsu and how he has changed as well as how Kenshin plans to keep Uesugi's clan alive and Naoe is like ‘I will protect you no matter what, I will always be by your side’. I really liked this scene between them.

☆ So we have MakiChan's solo... I'm on the fence about this one. It IS a good song and you can tell he was really putting his all into the song, and he's not necessarily a bad singer. BUT again, it just feels out of place to randomly have a song put here and there.

☆ At the end of this arc we have a battle between Uesugi and Toyotomi, Toyotomi's clan essentially ambushes Kagekatsu and Naoe so they can steal Yuzuki. Once Yuzuki has been taken, Kagekatsu and Naoe are to the front-right of the stage with a single spotlight on them and you just know that on the DVD/BR that is going to be a great two shot on it! Also you can clearly see the chemistry between MakiChan and Jinnai in this!

★ I feel MakiChan’s Kagekatsu was much different in this compared to him in the anime and game itself. It felt like he very quickly changed from being this shy and timid and worried character to suddenly defying his father and being stong and outspoken. It was all a bit strange and sudden. And it was even weirder when at the end he goes to save Yuzuki rather than his father which is also strange because he would never abandon his father, especially when you see how he is in the game.

★ MaeChan's solo song. It was awkwardly placed, it's not a good song and oh god the worse part is Jinnai in this song. Jinnai's dancing during MaeChan’s solo is weird. Weird as all hell. I hate the projection mapping visuals in this song too.

★ It was strange that MakiChan and MaeChan got solo songs in this rather than an group Uesugi song... Favouritism much?

★ This middle section arc with Uesugi has no comedy in it so while it is intersting to an extent, it felt like it dragged towards the end of this arc. Even though, I think, it's the smallest arc out of the 3 clans, it drags compared to the other two arcs because they have stupidity and silliness in them.

4. With Toyotomi Clan:

So Toyotomi ambush Naoe and Kagekatsu while they are in the forest looking for Yuzuki's phone (apparently a main plot of this stage, ugh. Why would you need your phone?! You cannot use it here! Dumbass.)

☆During the ambush, Ikkei came on stage with a kimono wrapped around his body and head and he was pretending to be a girl and stealing Yuzuki xD

☆ Obviously Yuzuki is pissed when she's first taken to Toyotomi so she pushes him away and Toyotomi is just like 'chinmoku // you won't respond'. I really like the end of this scene when Toyotomi goes 'Ki ga Kawatta == I've changed my mind' and everyone think he's pissed because Yuzuki pushes him away but instead he's like 'let's go find your SumaBo'.

☆ I love how they call it a SumaBo instead of a SumaHo (for Smartphone). And after she's explained it they're like 'So you press it and then... do this. So thiiisss then thiiis / こうでおう〜' which got a lot of good laughs.

☆ The higawaris were gold in this! I'll try and break it down by each performance. The set-up for the higawari is that they get a letter and a stone from Ishida Mitsunari and he says it looks like something every time so then they have to improvise and each time a different member was chosen too. Tuesday Night: The rock was balancable so Ikkei tried to balance it on his purlicue but he kept dropping it and we all died of laughter. Wednesday Afternoon: The rock was omanjuu so Kanbei tried to eat it, but it didn't work so then he tried to cut it with his sword. And Ikkei was at the other side of the stage yelling 'Mada Kanbei Ikeru! // It's still alive Kanbei!' so Kanbei kept trying to break it. Wednesday Night: The rock was a yakizakana (fried fish) and Sadamoto had to do the improve for it this time so he put the rock down and pretend to fry it and cover it in salt and everything. It was pretty funny.

☆ Toyotomi gets drunk one night and ends up running out of the castle. Eventually he comes back, claiming he's found Yuzuki's SumaBo and when she opens the box, inside is a まつぼくり/Matsubokuri/Pine Cone. At first she's like 'what is this?' and Toyotomi replies 'well you said it was something with lots of buttons and you press it and then you put it to your ear. Well, that's it!' and she's like 'this isn't it'. So in horror Toyotomi slowly turns to Kanbei for confidence and Kanbei just nods so Toyotomi turns back to Yuzuki, 'no, this is a Sumabo!'. But she replies 'but... what can I do with this?' and again he turns to Kanbei, but this time Kanbei turns away from Toyotomi's stare. There's a moment of silence before Toyotomi yells out in anger, picks up the pine cone and throws it off stage. Kanbei goes running for it and when he comes back (at least in the second show,) he jumps down the stairs and lands perfectly in front of Yuzuki and gives it back to her. The comedic timing in this scene is very well done and had me giggling everything time. During the Wednesday afternoon show when I saw this, part of Taka's outfit actually broke off and fell next to Toyotomi, and Tomorun picked it up so confused which got everyone laughing. It was almost like he was thinking 'why you giving me this?!' xD and then Tomorun smoothly gave it back to TAKA who was also confused, so he hadn't realised it'd come off xD

☆ Drunk Tomorun/Toyotomi was great!! He really knew how to act, and he would stumble about and the boys would try and keep him upright and such.

☆ TAKA's Kanbei was actually very good too! He looked very pretty too!

☆ There are scenes where MakiChan and Tomorun both fall to the ground and I thought both of them did very well at it. It looked realistic enough.

☆ Also Tomorun is really great with the big jumps he had to do.

☆ One thing I've always loved about Tomorun's acting is how fluidly he can switch between temperaments. There's some scenes in this where he goes from really happy and then suddenly gets really dark; or the other way around, and I love it when he switches between two. It really worked well for Toyotomi's character!

☆ There is actually a proposal scene from Toyotomi in this arc and it was really sweet; It's when they're going through the streets of his town and I really enjoyed it. It was super cute that he was like 'after this war, please be my wife.' and she replies 'are you proposing to me?' and, with a nice detail, he replies 'what's a propose?'.

★ For the Toyotomi group song, I really wish there had been audience participation for it because of how fun it is! The boys clearly were singing about and making it look like they were celebrating and having a party while singing, so it would've been nice if the audience had been allowed to clap and cheer along with them.

★ There is one part of this play that really irked me. So there is a scene where Hanbei explains, to make her feel welcome, that he'll make whatever she wants to eat, so she replies 'Pasta'. Naturally the boys don't know what pasta is, given the time period, so they ask her what it is and she replies 'oh that's difficult to explain'. Now the first time around, this didn't bother me, BUT upon my second and third viewing, my brain immediately thought 'hold up bitch, they fucking know what noodles are! Why not just explain that pasta is HARD, straight noodles?! Stupid idiot.' Seriously, noodles were brought to Japan from China about 800AD in the Heian Period, which is WAY before the Sengoku period! It really, really, really, really, really has gotten to me that she was too dumb to liken pasta to noodles!! THEY HAD NOODLES!!!! JUST EXPLAIN PASTA IS LIKE NOODLES!!! Can you tell how much this little skip-over in the script and the fact she didn't even both explaining what pasta is, has gotten to me?! Is Yuzuki supposed to be this stupid, ignorant 21st century adult who never paid attention to history class? Because I'm pretty sure IN THE GAME she realises who she's with and she realises 'oh I can't say what'll happen to them in case I change history' or was I making that part of the game up for myself? ALSO the freaking production company is MARV; they KNOW their audience knows and likes history, they KNOW this audience has seen Hakouki, TouStage, TouMyu, so WHY skip over this nice little tidbit of history that would've been a nice little addition to the script. But NOOOO she was too lazy to even bother to explain WHAT PASTA IS!!! I need to go breathe somewhere...

★Linking to this argument. There are two times in fact where she says '説��は難しい = this is difficult to explain' rather than actually explaining. That is SLOPPY, POOR writing. You could've easily just explained away the pasta thing. The other scene where she sloppily says this is when she's with them and she says 'Oh this place is much like my own world, yet it's different too' and they asks her 'why?' and she just replies '説明は難しい = this is difficult to explain'. But to me this is again just sloppy writing! You could've easily had her say 'oh the sakura trees and the architecture is the same but where I'm from we have these huge buildings and giant lights that stay on all night' or something like that. It just sparks laziness to me that the script writer couldn't be bothered to have her say even this much. Did they just want her to be dumb as fuck or something? Just *sigh*...

****Or maybe it's just me; maybe people usually just go to enjoy and to be entertained and don't think so logically about things. Maybe it's just me and my personality; I really love looking into such details, I really love thinking over such things; this is why my reviews will always have a negative to them. I don't go just to be entertained: I want to be entertained, but I also want to be made to think, I enjoy thinking things over. So yes, this really got to me! I can’t even think of pasta the same way anymore...

★ At the end of this scene, Toyotomi clan finds out that Uesugi have gone missing and that Oda have been ambushed by the Yakuma. It's at this moment that the boys are like 'lets take over their castles while they're gone!' but Yuzuki is against it and starts yelling that they should go and help them. Now I understand she had good intentions, but my god, her screaming and yelling is the worst ugh. It was really difficult to understand what she was saying because it just wasn't clear when she was yelling and screaming.

5. Final Battle:

So the final battle is when Toyotomi is finally convinced he should help Uesugi clan, who have gone missing, and Oda clan who are ambushed by the yakuma, and there is a giant yakuma roaming the land.

☆ There was slow-motion during Ikkei's solo as they were battling which I thought was really cool!

★ But why Ikkei got a solo song (besides favouritism and fan-service) I have no idea, because he isn't exactly a main character. But it wasn't a bad song.

☆ I really, really liked the duo fight scene with Kenshin and Naoe in this final battle.

★ But the choreography in this final scene was very obviously the same for everyone else and repetitive.

☆ Towards the end when Toyotomi swoops in and save Naoe and Kagekatsu, Kagekatsu tries to help Toyotomi out but he's like 'go to your father! Go and help him!' and Tomorun's final 'Ikeeeee / LEAVE NOW!' to Kagekatsu was so cool and so great!

★ I hated the synced fight-dancing from the rest of the cast during Ikkei’s solo song. At first they were fighting the yakuma but the second half of the song, they all just faced forward and did a fighting-dance thing and I hated it. I wanted to see them actually fight. Why not during this point do solo fighting scenes and switch in and out between them? Seriously, this stage is just LAZY.

☆ I loved when Oda demands he uses Yuzuki's blood so he can get his strength back and fight the final boss, and Toyotomi is just begging Yuzuki not to. But Toyo's also on the ground very weak so he drags himself over to her and when he tries to grab her hand, she's just far enough away that he misses and flops down onto the floor. I super loved this hand grab moment! You could see and feel the desperation in Tomorun's eye and voice. It was VERY well done. Also when he's like 'please don't make me take your blood (so I can fight too)' and you can tell he really doesn't want to and he’s on the ground yelling ‘fucks sake / kuso!!!’ because he’s too weak to help and save Yuzuki without her blood’s assistance. It was great acting on Tomorun's part.

★ There is NO henshin! They (3 of them) take her blood but none of them change their forms! I wanted to see their henshins!!

6. Ending Scenes:

☆ The ending was satisfactory because it ends with them all swearing they'll never use her blood as a weapon or for their own gain. They also swear that they won't get angry if she doesn't choose them. But it perfectly ends with her not explicitly choosing any of them, and suddenly it goes into the final song with all the boys singing as she walks off stage. It was the best choice for the ending they could've made without pissing any of the audience off.

Curtain Call Goodness

NOW FOR THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE PLAY! THE CURTAIN CALLS!!!

☆ TUESDAY NIGHT: Curtain Call Speeches from Oda/Kobuta and Naoe/Jinnai. Kubota talked about how much he sweats in his costume and that he's managed to lose 5 kilos so far just from all the sweating and he said he hopes to lose 5 more before the end of the run. Jinnai talked about how he and MaeChan have been working together and have been debuted for 8 years now and have worked together on a lot of projects and that it was his first time with MakiChan but he was enjoying it and having so much fun. To this point MakiChan replied and continued the conversation and talking about how fun their dressing room is with the three of them. It was very clear and very obvious how much Jinnai and MakiChan get along. It was very obvious how well all three of them get along which made me very happy! And at one point MakiChan burst out ‘Why am I talking during your speech?!’ and Jinnai hit him on the shoulder xD They also talked about they love playing the game 'UesugiGokkou' in the dressing room so they did an example of it for us all: It is/was Maki and Jinnai pretending to argue with MaeChan trying to get in the middle and being the mediator but the both end up hitting him on either side of his arms. It is/was very funny!

☆ WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: MakiChan/Kagekatsu curtain call greeting (sorry, I don't remember who else..) and when Tomorun said 'Kagekatsu!' Jinnai replied instead and everyone burst out laughing. As MakiChan spoke about his usual 'this is super fun, I love working with MaeChan again. We work together a lot actually. And it's so fun in the dressing room. I hope we can finish this run without any injuries' but then Jinnai suddenly complained 'your sword keeps hitting me every time you move!' so then MakiChan started doing it on purpose xD

☆ WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Fuuma and MaeChan's curtain call (I am so bloody lucky I got all three of theirs!). As MaeChan was talking and thanking people, MakiChan and jinnai slowly went around the back of MaeChan, and then came up in front so they were blocking his view of the audience, and then they started aruging between the two of them who Kenshin prides better/more. So then Maechan tried to break it up but of course, at the same time on either side of him, they hit him on the shoulders. MaeChan said they had been practsiing all day for this moment xD and Tomorun was like ‘we ALL do it you know! It's not just your group who does this in the dressing room!’ xD Fuuma's speech was just about how he had to do the rock higawari today and he hoped everyone could understand what he was doing and if it was fun. We all applauded so he understood we enjoyed it and understood it.

Seriously, the curtain call was the best part and so funny and it was so great being able to see just how well Mae, Maki and Jinnai get along ^_^ it made me very happy in my heart xD

And there we go! There’s a lot of negative but I think I gave enough positives so that people who aren’t as logical or critical as me will enjoy this stage. There is a lot to like about this stage.

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johncenan00dz · 6 years ago

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WRESTLING DIARY

August 28, 2018

I haven’t been excited for a video game in years. The last few times I really was excited about a game coming out was for Final Fantasy XV and Metal Gear Solid 5, both of which I barely even played despite preordering. I haven’t even been playing video games at all in the last year or 2, but I ordered Fire Pro Wrestling World for PS4 and was really excited to come home and play it tonight and start downloading every custom made wrestler possible. To my dismay the Amazon Prime preorder delivery was delayed and it is now scheduled for delivery tomorrow or Wednesday. I wonder who I should download first. The possibilities excite me. I think I will try to find Andy Kaufman first. There is some sort of childhood feeling stirring in me thinking about a customizable wrestling simulation where I can have wrestlers from every era and every company all together. It reminds me of when I played with my action figures and unbeknownst to me at the time was the booker of my made up wrestling federation consisting of wrestling figures from different generations and companies, teenage mutant ninja turtles figures, he-man characters I got from garage sales, among other toys. I remember playing/booking a Royal Rumble match where a legless dinosaur action figure that was in like one episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won. He was one of the longer reigning champions as he was a favorite of mine even after his legs broke off. I even created finishing moves for each character. Coincidentally, another of my favorites and long reigning champ was a Bee-man Master of the Universe figure that I got at a garage sale and he also lost his legs at some point, but I didn’t discriminate. I think I always favored the underdog characters. I had babyface and heel turn story lines before I knew those terms or really understood what they meant. I remember one of my favorite tag-teams was The Million Dollar mad and some weird rubber stretchy red kangeroo with blue eyes. I remember The Million Dollar Man starting out as a heel in my fake wrestling world, but at some point I started to develop sympathy for his fake character created in my mind that lives separately from the real world of wrestling. In the real world Hulk Hogan and Sting were the main guys, but in my wrestling federation Sting was a heel and I didn’t even have a Hulk Hogan toy. I never really liked Hulk Hogan. They were like the equivalent of the Yankees or Lakers to me. What is the fun in cheering for them? Unfortunately the alternative is that I have been repeatedly disappointed cheering for and identifying with losers. I didn’t even have a lot of my favorite wrestling action figures so I made due with what I had. I don’t even think I had all 4 of the Ninja Turtles. I had a lot of the bastard toys. The ones left over on the shelves at Toys R Us or Walmart. The ones that people didn’t buy. It was a misfit collection of unpopular, broken, and abandoned toys and I favored the heels and broken mutants that weren’t even wrestlers. The more I think about it, the more I think I should have been a wrestling booker. I remember writing a book as like an 8 year old. The book was about an animal kingdom death match tournament. I think I had been introduced to March Madness for the first time that same year and I was really into the Wrestlemania IV tournament format as well. So I wrote down 64 of my favorite animals and then randomly paired them up to fight each other and freeform wrote a page for each match so as I wrote it I was discovering the results myself. I really wish I had that book. Not sure what happened to it. It was hand written on notebook pages and then staples together and hidden if my closet, because I didn’t want my parents to see it for some reason, but they must have. They probably threw it out and worried if I was autistic or something. Maybe I am? haha. I made up a lot of weird games to do alone as a kid that seem fixated on a certain form of competition. I don’t want to go more in depth to it right now. Maybe I will circle back to this later. Going to watch Raw now sandwiched between the 2 hour Jordan Peterson/Sam Harris debate and Paul Schrader’s Cat People lol. Happy Birthday to Vince McMahon also.

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opheliakeeauthor · 5 years ago

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The Saga in the dream Continues!

In the summer of 2016, a gryphon knight is sent on the wrong mission, to kidnap an elemental in order to save the castle’s gargoyles. Only she is fire, and she has some very serious backup in the form of dragons and a direwolf pack leader intent on protecting his pack. He quickly finds himself sentenced to a life of service with no hope in sight. Set adrift by his own people as the criminal he admits to being, Marchand begins to fade. But The woman he wronged comes to his rescue with an offer of friendship. Luke has plans for the gryphon if he can convince the gryphon that he still has worth. Marchand is all too aware that the end seems to be fast approaching him even for all that he is invincible. When the bear Spark has been waiting for and the woman that March has been searching for his entire life arrives at Draoithe, things get very confusing very fast. He must help the bear who views him as a rival for Spark’s affection and keep Spark’s friendship in order to help him save the only woman that could ever possibly matter. The only way to do all of that is to turn his back on everything he ever believed he wanted, alienate the man he viewed as his father, and accept Luke’s offer to work for the Druid pack.

Project Publish is Still Rolling!

As you can see, I finally got all 13 parts of the Fire and A Gryphon miniseries uploaded to Amazon. I am still uploading the ten part Dream Therapy miniseries. It might be finished as soon as tomorrow. I will definitely let you in on it when it is live. If you are new to the dream and just stumbled over my author walk blog, allow me to fill you in. I am publishing my stories as one hour short reads, then collecting the parts into a complete volume miniseries building the saga of stories in the dream.

I began writing back in 2016, but it took me a while to get the hang of self publishing. That translates to, man do I have a lot of stories. But that is cool because, I learned to self publish and have been steadily publishing everything for a while now. I made the decision to publish as short reads just because it is easier on me and less expensive for the reader. If you pick up on of my stories, please let me know what you think. If you have questions don't be afraid to ask. I love to hear what other people think about my stories.

The Library Cover Reveal!

The Library will begin publishing on July 10th. I have set it up as a preorder miniseries and I am currently polishing the last of the parts. The complete miniseries is 10 parts, each part will be only $.99 or FREE with Kindle Unlimited! So look for it. If you have been following my journey and waiting on the next book. I promise you don't have to wait too much longer. Thank you for reading my stories. It means the world to me.

Social Media

If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, thank you for your support. I have been running a daily campaign featuring an excerpt from Midnight Madness. I can't wait to publish that story for you as well. It will begin publishing as soon as The Library is complete. I would like for it to hit Kindle by the end of August. If you have not checked out the website recently, pop over and take a look. It has been updated. If you never got your free book, The Thread is waiting for you to simply type in your e-mail and download the pdf. I don't bother with spam, so no worries.

I have to get to work. Thanks you for taking the time to join me again on my author walk. Y'all enjoy the stories while I am still able to continually publish. As always if you read, please be kind and leave your reviews. Indie authors will love you for it. I know I will. Be Careful! Happy reading, Ophelia Kee

#booklover bookmarketing books reading library

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years ago

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This past weekend I have been on my travels again. After a fairly sedate week at work, where I spent most of if trying to work out what day it was thanks to the Bank Holiday, Mandie and I have headed oop north, very far up North as it happens, to Stirling in readiness for the launch of Bloody Scotland 2018, which takes place today at the Golden Lion Hotel. Excited muchly? Yes. Yes I am.

As if this wondrous happening wasn’t enough, we also booked out trains, hotels and accommodation for Bute Noir in August. this is the first time I have been off mainland Scotland and while it may not be the furthest away island I am still a touch excited and totally looking forward to it. Much of my holiday time is being spent exploring parts of the British Isles that I have either not experienced before or not visited in years. You would think with my job I’d be bored with travelling the UK by now but you’d be wrong. Have you actually stopped and taken time to look around you lately, or perhaps a little further afield. Our island, small, waterlogged and generally poo on the weather front as it may be. is actually a pretty bloody fantastic place to visit and there are so many parts I have yet to explore. Bring it on. Despite this being the fifth time in a smidge over two years that I have been to Stirling, this is the first time I’ve been to the Wallace Monument so there is always the chance to do something new, no matter how many times you go somewhere.

On the bookish front, it was all rather quiet again until mid week when I received a package from the lovely Karen at Orenda Books. Copies of Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen, The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech and Overkill by Vanda Symon. I also received a copy of the next Leigh Russell Geraldine Steel title, Death Rope from publishers No Exit and How Far We Fall by Jane Shemilt from Penguin. I also received a digital arc of A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni from Thomas and Mercer. Super tidy book week for me then 🙂

One Netgalley ARC this week which is one I have been looking forward to. I picked up The Thieftaker’s Trek by debut author Joan S. Sumner. I met Joan on the Crime and Publishment course in March and we had a really good talk about her writing. It turns out I have a little knowledge of the area in which Joan has set her books, if not of the era in which she has written them, but I’m really excited to read it and find out more.

So … last week I was on a bit of buying slump. Yeah … that’s over. 😀 I bought the following: The Defence, The Plea, and The Liar (also on audible) by Steve Cavanagh, The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech, After He Died by Michael J Malone, The Girl With No Name and Her Mother’s Grave by Lisa Regan. I also took the liberty of ordering the US cover of Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh as it is very pretty (Not out until 2019 but I can wait …) and Death Rope by Leigh Russell.

Normal service has resumed. Yay. (For Amazon anyway).

Books I have Read

Ultima – LS Hilton,

The shockingly audacious conclusion to the international bestselling phenomenon that began with Maestra. If you can’t beat them – kill them

First there was Maestra. Then there was Domina. Now – there is Ultima.

Glamorous international art-dealer Elizabeth Teerlinc knows a thing or two about fakes. After all, she is one herself. Her real identity, Judith Rashleigh, is buried under a layer of lies. Not to mention the corpses of the men foolish enough to get in her way.

But now, caught in the murderous crossfire between a Russian Mafia boss and a corrupt Italian police detective, Judith is forced to create an even more daring work of art – a fake masterpiece she must take to the world-famous auction house where she used to be a lowly assistant and sell for $150 million.

For Judith the prospect of putting one over her loathsome former employer and the world’s art establishment is almost as thrilling as the extreme sex she’s addicted to – especially when the price of failure is a bullet in the back of the head.

But exposing her new identity to the glare of the spotlight puts her at risk of an even greater danger. Like a beautiful painting stripped of its layers of varnish, something altogether different could be revealed.

A truth about her past even Judith might find shocking.

Yes. I know. I surprised me too. But you know what? I actually enjoyed this. Slightly steamier than your average thriller, there was a great story and really strong characterisation behind this book and as this was the final part in the series, I’m actually looking forward to going back and reading the first two. You can read my review here and purchase a copy of the book here.

…

Follow Me Home – DK Hood

‘Don’t you agree Detective? That some people deserve to die? I’ve killed the first. I’ve killed the second. Now will you catch the others, or do I have to kill them too?’

The body of Amos Price lies in a pool of blood on the polished floor of an otherwise empty house. With no signs of a break in, and no clues left at the scene, Detective Jenna Alton is at a loss.

But as the team begins to unpick the life of the reclusive victim, they discover a disturbing link between Amos and the disappearance of several young girls in the county going back years.

Days later, another brutally murdered body is found, in a remote motel on the outskirts of town. Ely Dorsey was killed in a frenzied attack and Jenna fears not only that the murders are connected to the missing girls, but that the killer hasn’t finished yet.

As Jenna tries to work out who will be next, the killer suddenly starts sending her deputy, David Kane, messages. Is she being taunted? Or does the murderer want to be caught? And will Jenna discover who’s behind these killings before more people die?

An absolutely nail-biting thriller with plenty of twists, Follow Me Home is perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, Karin Slaughter and Rachel Abbott.

The third part in the Kane and Alton series sees them on the hunt for a vicious killer who seems to be extracting their own kind of justice for truly heinous crimes. The subject matter is tough to read but carefully handled. The murders are brutal and varied. You’ll be able to read my review as part of the tour and can order a copy of the book here.

…

First to Die – Alex Caan

A DARK AND EDGY CRIME THRILLER FOR FANS OF SARAH HILARY, KATERINA DIAMOND, ANGELA MARSONS AND ROBERT BRYNDZA.

SOMEWHERE IN THE CROWD IS A KILLER

Bonfire Night and St James’s Park is filled with thousands of Anonymous protesters in a stand-off with the police. When a cloaked, Guido Fawkes mask-wearing body is discovered the following morning, Kate Riley and Zain Harris from the Police Crime Commissioner’s office are called in.

The corpse has been eaten away by a potentially lethal and highly contagious virus. The autopsy reveals the victim was a senior civil servant, whose work in international development involved saving lives. Why would anyone want him dead?

THEY WILL STRIKE AGAIN

As the research team looking into the origins of the deadly virus scramble to discover an antidote, first one, then another pharmacist goes missing. Meanwhile, a dark truth starts to emerge about the murder victim: he was an aggressive man, whose bullying behaviour resulted in the suicide attempt of one of his former staff members.

AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT . . .

With thirty lives potentially at stake, Kate and Zain have their work cut out for them. Can they find the two missing pharmacists in time, or will they too end up dead?

Gah. You have no idea how long I have wanted to read this book. I have had several false starts, plus some emergency blog tour reads which demanded my attention but have finally been able to finish what I started and boy am I a happy bunny. Uncannily topical this book had me hooked from start to finish. Oh how I have missed Zain. You’ll be able to read my review around publication day (not long now – 14th June) but can preorder a copy here.

…

Three books. Not bad considering I got distracted by Bute Noir and spent half a day driving to Stirling. I am actually half way through another audio book as well so I am still being productive if not effective. Blog wise, I have no idea but here is a recap.

Ultima by LS Hilton

Guest Review: Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty

Summer at the Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies

When the Waters Recede by Graham Smith

Okay. So not so busy, Well I did say i was slowing down … This week I have blog tours today for Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh and on Friday for Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen. If you stop by on Sunday, I may have a bit of a surprise for you all too.

Funny old week this week. I’m only actually in the office for two days (yippee) because I have a two day leadership conference to attend at Alton Towers of all places (less yippee) and of course today I am in Stirling. Then I am off work for a whole week so no office for me. Cannot wait. I may even remember to put my out of office on the email this time as well. Whoops.

Have a fabulously bookish time this week folks. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me again very soon as I let you know all about this year’s Bloody Scotland line up. I am so excited.

If anyone wants to know why I blog and why I travel the country so much then this … this is why. I am super privileged to be in a position where I can do this kind of thing, where I am offered the chance to be part of something really special and where I am trusted enough to help to spread the word. You can keep the free ARCs, I am lucky enough to be able to afford my own books (as this weeks purchases will confirm). I appreciate being trusted with the books, I truly do, but they are not why I do this. What drives me, what I love about blogging, is being given the opportunity to support, champion and shout out about the bookish community that I love. What a gift.

Speak soon.

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 03/06/18 This past weekend I have been on my travels again. After a fairly sedate week at work, where I spent most of if trying to work out what day it was thanks to the Bank Holiday, Mandie and I have headed oop north, very far up North as it happens, to Stirling in readiness for the launch of Bloody Scotland 2018, which takes place today at the Golden Lion Hotel.

#Bloody Scotland #Rewind Recap #Stirling #Weekly Round UP

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momscookingthebooks · 7 years ago

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Chapter Reveal

Title: In The Crease

Series: The Assassins #11

Author: Toni Aleo

Publication Date: August 22, 2017

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2umvuXH

#ChapterReveal #InTheCrease #Assassins #ToniAleo #ComingSoon #SportsRomance #PreOrder

Synopsis:

Jensen Monroe is a unicorn. As handsome as any model, as polite as can be, a goalie of unmatched skill, and the best friend anyone could ask for. But he longs for a particular special someone to make his life complete. He’s been in love with Wren since he was a teenager, but as his best friend’s sister, she’s always been off-limits. Wren Lemiere has prided herself on being a love ’em and leave ’em girl her whole life. She’s all about equal opportunity in the battle of the sexes. Why should guys like her brother and his best friends get to be the only ones allowed to play the dating game? One wrong move, however, and she finds herself in violation of her own rules. In need of a fake husband and baby daddy for her unexpected bundle of joy, Wren finally accepts Jensen is the logical one to ask for help. Except he has a counteroffer…one with so many strings attached, they may just find themselves wrapped up in ties that bind. Forever.

Purchase Links:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/2umfo00

Nook: http://bit.ly/2tAFeP2

iBook’s: http://bit.ly/2uN6SYr

Chapter Prologue

Five months earlier… Wren Lemiere felt awful.

The kind of awful where you felt like you were dying.

Not that she had ever been the victim of an almost-death, but she was pretty sure it felt like what she was feeling.

Why she came back home to Colorado when she was this godforsakenly sick was beyond her, but then she hadn’t felt like death when she got on the plane. It was once she got off and for the following three days that the death hit her. She didn’t know what was going on, but she just wanted some drugs to make the excruciating nausea go away. That was all. Just some drugs.

Holding her face in her hands, she inhaled a deep breath before letting it out in a whoosh, begging the turning of her gut to stop. She wasn’t sure what she ate or what bacteria she picked up, but when she found out whatever did this to her, they would suffer. Slowly and painfully. It was probably Vaughn, her brother’s best friend. He was a walking cesspool. Ugh. She had never been so sick in her life, she swore it, but then again, that time she had the flu, she was sure she’d thought the same.

Either way, she was dying.

Plain and simple.

“Ugh,” she moaned as she swallowed back the bile that was threatening to come up her throat. When the door opened and the doctor stepped in, she cried out in relief. “Please, give me something. Anything. Knock me out if you have to.”

Ryan Churner laughed. They had gone to school together, dated briefly, but they’d been just kids. Now, he was married and happy—with lots of kids of his own. Wren, though, was living the single, carefree life. Much to her mother’s dismay. Her mother wanted grandbabies, and since her brother, Wells, was gay, it was easy to say it was Wren’s job to give her mother babies. Which was not going to happen. Wren would suck as a mom. Plus, she couldn’t find a decent guy to love her large ass. So that left her brother, and Wells could adopt. Yeah, he should do that. Take some of the pressure off her. She needed to call him about that.

“I’m afraid there are no drugs for what you have.”

Wren threw up her hands. “It’s a virus?”

He laughed. She didn’t like the sound of that laugh. Or the way he said, “Um, no.”

Her face wrinkled in confusion. “Then, what?”

He grimaced a bit before looking up at her. His dark blue eyes held her gaze as a grin pulled at his lips. “When was your last period?”

She shrugged. “Like six months ago. I have polycystic ovary syndrome, though.” She added while pointing at him, “Not sure that’s in my chart.”

He nodded. “It is, but I hadn’t realized it had been that long.”

“Yeah.” She had maybe two periods a year, possibly three. It was a problem, but her problem. One she was blessed with when she was younger. Her PCOS kept her a little on the thicker side and also wreaked havoc on her hormones, but she managed. She wasn’t going to let it bring her down or dwell on it. She already did that enough.

“Okay, well, are you in a relationship right now?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Are you sexually active?”

“Always,” she said with an exaggerated wink. Then she paused. “Wait, I’m not hitting on you.”

“I know.” He laughed and she grinned, though, it was brief before she felt a wave of queasiness. “But your pregnancy test came up positive.”

Wren could only blink as her body went cold. She started laughing because surely, she’d heard him wrong. “You weren’t this funny when we were younger.”

“I’m not joking.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your pregnancy test came up positive, but sometimes with PCOS, you can get a positive result. So I want to do an ultrasound.”

“For what?”

“To see if you’re pregnant.”

“Pregnant? Me?”

“Yes.”

“But…really?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile before he stood, walking to the door. “Well, usually when you have sex, a baby can be made as a byproduct of all that passion.”

“But…” She trailed off, her heart jumping into her throat. Surely that wasn’t the case. She couldn’t be pregnant. They’d used protection. “I have sex with condoms, and I’m on birth control.”

“Are you consistent with your birth control?

She shrugged. “Sure.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not believable, Wren.”

Her face wrinkled more as he called out to the nurse. Sitting there, she tried to remember when this could have happened. She was home last month and had seen him…a lot and all of him, but they’d used condoms. Hadn’t they? Shit.

Soon a cart was brought in, and she was asked to take off her pants. It was all a blur, lying there with a drape over her bottom half and Ryan shoving some damn probe up inside her. Staring at the ceiling, she didn’t know what to think. She hadn’t even thought this was a possibility. With her PCOS, it was supposed to be hard for her to get pregnant. Not to mention, she didn’t want to be a mom. She would suck as a mom. And he would suck as a dad. They were selfish.

“Yup, there it is.”

Turning her head, she looked at the screen to see a little peanut. Seriously, a peanut, or at least, that’s what she assumed it was. But in the middle of the peanut was a little flicker. It was so small, almost undetectable, but she was sure she could see it. Was that the heartbeat?

“That’s it? I’m pregnant?”

“You’re pregnant.”

Blinking hard, she gasped. “Oh, fuck.” ~*~ “I’m pregnant.”

The words felt funky.

“I am pregnant,” she said to her reflection in the rental car’s visor mirror. “We’re having a baby.” She tried saying it while waving her hands. But that felt weird too.

Holy shit, she was pregnant.

She was almost thirty. She had a good job, and she was in a good place. It was not even the least bit expected, nor was it good timing since she wasn’t thirty yet, nor was she married. But it was fine. They would get a quickie marriage, and bam, they’d be good. No one would have to know she was pregnant before they decided to elope. It would be fine. Everything would be fine; her inheritance wasn’t in jeopardy.

But, shit, she didn’t want to move back to Colorado. She would have to because he wouldn’t be able to leave his job. He owned the damn firm, while she was contracted by the Nashville Assassins, the professional hockey team back in Nashville, Tennessee. Her gig was awesome, so damn awesome, and she loved it, but it wouldn’t work. She’d have to be the one to move. Damn it. She’d finish out the season for sure, but that meant she couldn’t sign the five-year extension that was sitting on her desk back home. With the lovely bonus that was going to pay off her car early. Damn it.

She wasn’t sure how he was going to take it, but they were good. They had known each other their whole lives. Been fucking for years, so it was time. She loved him. Ish. Kinda. Well, obviously a little since she continued to sleep with him, but he was a cool dude. And even if marriage was the last thing she wanted, she knew she had to do it.

She needed the money from her inheritance that her dad was holding, which had been passed down from her grandfather. When she turned thirty in October, it would be hers. The only catch was she couldn’t have a baby out of wedlock before she was thirty. It was stupid, and it was barbaric in her opinion. But it was what her grandfather had written up, and her father was standing behind it. It was annoying, to say the least, but if she wanted to pay off all her debt and live pretty damn comfortably for the rest of her life, along with providing a comfortable life for Wells, she had to do what she had to do. She just hoped he didn’t let her down.

Getting out of the car, she swallowed hard as she walked toward the doors that read Washington, Fieldsman, and Barnes. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the receptionist, and Wren shot her a quick, curt smile. She was nervous. Why was she nervous? Crap, was she going to puke?

Yup.

Dipping into the bathroom before his office, she threw up the rest of her guts and sat there shaking her head. “You’re lucky I love you, kid.”

Wow, that was quick.

Wren had never seen herself as a mother. She’d thought she was going to grow old with lots of money and dogs. She hadn’t seen love or babies in her future. She’d seen lots of fucking, but that was about it. She didn’t have the best luck in love and really hadn’t imagined this coming, but now, she saw herself holding a baby.

Problem was, she still didn’t see him in her picture.

But that would change…right?

Surely.

Crap.

Washing her mouth out and then popping some gum, she walked out of the bathroom and right into another person. “Ah!”

“Crap! I’m sorry, Wren.”

Wren clammed up. Shit. “Hey, Shanna. What you doing here?”

“I had to see Bradley. What are you doing?” her best friend for her whole life asked.

Dammit, Wren hated lying to her.

“I have a meeting with him. He has to go over my contract for the Assassins.”

Shanna lit up. “Cool! Are you still coming for dinner tonight?”

Wren was shaking. Why was she shaking? Shit. “Shan, I texted you. I had to move my flight up, remember?”

“Oh, yes. My bad. Next time.”

“Of course,” she said before Shanna embraced her. Squeezing her eyes shut, Wren knew she would have to tell her. But Bradley had wanted to keep them under wraps. Plus, Wren knew how overprotective Shanna was of her baby brother. Wren had known better, but the dude was hung like a horse and hot to boot. She just hoped she wouldn’t lose a friendship over this. But Shanna would be excited. They’d be sisters like they’d always wanted, and there’d be a new baby. Shanna would love that.

Right?

Right.

Don’t freak out. This is fine.

Saying goodbye, Wren waved as she walked toward his office before knocking on the door. “Come in.” As she opened the door to the huge, posh office, he stood behind his desk, looking every bit as gorgeous as the day was long. His suit was pressed and clung to him. His blond-brown hair was brushed to the side, while a bit of stubble dusted his jaw. She only saw it because the sun was kissing it, shining on it ever so sweetly. He was a good-looking man, beautiful even, but still, she couldn’t see herself married to him. Shit.

Wren smiled though, and when Bradley looked up, heat filled his gaze. “Hey, you.”

“Hey,” she said, shutting the door as he came around the desk to her. Gathering her in his arms, he kissed her hard on the lips, dipping her back slightly as she clung to him. This had to work. He was a great guy.

Pulling back, he kissed her nose. “You look hot.”

She laughed, waving him off. “I look and feel like death.”

“Still?” he asked, concern filling his handsome face. He was a year younger than her, and growing up, they’d called him the baby. Though, he didn’t look like a baby. When he had first kissed her, eons ago, she hadn’t expected it. And even though they had both been with other people over the years, they somehow always gravitated back to each other.

Always.

But that was about to change.

“Yeah. I went to the doctor today.”

Moving his thumb along the inside of her palm, he smiled. “Is it contagious?”

She shook her head, her face filling with heat. “No.”

“Oh, good,” he said, gathering her in his arms and pressing his lips to hers. “So we can take this discussion to the couch.”

She stopped him as he tried to pull her to where she knew they would likely have all kinds of hot sex, but she needed to get this out. “Not yet.”

His brows pulled together. “What’s wrong? Don’t feel up to it?”

She swallowed hard. “It’s not that. It’s…um…” Inhaling deeply, she met his gaze. The gaze she had known her whole life. Though right now, she felt like she was going to puke, her nerves were so bad. “I’m pregnant.”

She watched as his eyes widened, his jaw dropping before he dropped her hands.

“Pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

He only blinked. “Is it mine?”

She nodded. “You’re the only guy I’ve been with for the last six months.”

He blinked once more, his eyes burning into hers. “Are you sure?”

She gave him a deadpan look. “I think I’d remember if I happen to fall, pussy first, on a cock other than yours.”

He didn’t laugh like she wanted, nor did he look her in the eye. Instead, he chewed his lip, looking anywhere but at her. “So, no other chance it isn’t mine?”

Her brows drew in. “It’s yours, Bradley.”

Turning his back to her, he walked away, going to the windows as he looked out of them, his hands folded across his chest. “I didn’t expect this. We used condoms.”

“I know.”

“And you’re on birth control, I thought.”

“I am, though I don’t take it as often as I should.”

He looked over at her. “So you trapped me?”

She glared. “You’d better be joking.”

He didn’t answer; he just looked away as her heart started to speed up. This didn’t feel right.

As he started to pace, she watched him, her blood beginning to boil. She didn’t like his comment, nor did she like the way he wouldn’t look at her. Clearing her throat, she watched him as she said, “Okay, well, I know this is a lot at once, and it’s a lot for me too. But we have something that could pose an issue—my inheritance.”

His face wrinkled up as he snapped, “How does that have anything to do with me?”

She glared at the side of his face. “It has to do with you because your baby is inside of me, and I’m not thirty yet. So if I have this baby before I turn thirty and I’m not married, I’m fucked.”

“Then don’t have the baby.”

Her jaw dropped. Actually dropped, almost catching flies. “Excuse me?”

Still looking out the window, he shrugged. “Go get an abortion.”

“What?”

“Listen, I don’t want this. I don’t want a kid, and fuck, this is going to mess everything up.”

Her heart was in her throat. “Mess up what?

Turning to her, he yelled, “I’m marrying fucking Fieldsman’s daughter.”

It was as if he’d hit her. Reaching out, she braced her hand on the window. He had been seeing the girl, but he swore it wasn’t serious. They were just cool; it was business as he said. But marriage? “What? You said you didn’t want to get married.”

“I know, but I have no choice.”

“You do. You can marry me and help out the mother of your child.”

“No, I can’t. I was going to tell you tonight, that we had to break this off. For good.”

Drawing in a breath through her nose, she shook her head. “Wow.”

“Yeah. So listen,” he said, walking around her and to his desk, but she didn’t move as the tears gathered in her eyes. “Go get an abortion. It’s for the best. Here, this should cover it.”

When she opened her eyes, he was filling out a check before holding it out to her. Shaking her head hard, she muttered, “I don’t want your money.”

“Take it, Wren. Please. I can’t have this fuck up what I’ve got going for me. I’ll have more stock in this firm once I marry her.”

Her lip started to tremble. “But I’m having your baby.”

“I don’t want it,” he said simply. “I don’t want any of it. She will get pissed. She’s already so jealous and thinks I’m fucking around.”

“You are!”

“I know, but not anymore. So, please, get rid of it.”

“I can’t.”

“Wren, come on!”

“You can’t do this. We’ve known each other our whole life.”

“I understand that. So please do it.”

“No.”

“Don’t be stupid, because I’ll deny it. You fuck around. Everyone knows it, and I’ll deny the kid is mine. You’ll have to take me to court to prove it. But by the time that happens, you’ll already have it before your thirtieth birthday, so you’ll be fucked anyway. Just do the right thing. Get rid of it, Wren.”

She wouldn’t let her tears fall. Not for this fucking douche. “I thought I knew you, you selfish asshole.”

The words didn’t even faze him. He glared at her. “I thought I knew you. How could you let this happen? We were never serious. We were just fucking.”

Looking down at the ground, she bit into her lip to keep the tears from falling. Yeah, he was right, but she thought she’d meant more to him than just a fuck. “Just fucking, huh?”

“Yeah, it isn’t like we love each other. I mean, come on. You’re not even my type.”

“Your type?”

“Wren, come on,” he said simply, holding his hands out. “You’re not trophy wife material.”

She was going to deck him. “I can’t believe this.”

“Just take the check.”

He held it out once more, and her eyes landed on it through her tears. She should take it. It really was the only option, yet she knew she couldn’t.

Meeting his gaze, she swallowed hard as she shook her head slowly from side to side.

“No.”

“Wren, don’t be an idiot.”

“No.”

“You’re being fucking stupid—”

Standing erect, she stepped over to him, her eyes burning into his and completely cutting off his words. She was sure her eyes were full of heat, full of rage because his words shook her. To the core. She wasn’t sure who this man was, but he sure as hell wouldn’t be the father of her child. Over her dead fucking body. “Fuck you, Bradley. I don’t need your money or even you. So. Fuck. You.”

And with that, she walked away.

With no clue what she was going to do now.

Except for the certainty that she wasn’t killing her baby.

About the Author:

My name is Toni Aleo and I’m a total dork.

I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.

I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!

When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.

I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life… probably Belle.

… and did I mention I love hockey?

Author Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonialeo1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonialeo1

Web: http://tonialeo.com/

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5255580.Toni_Aleo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Toni-Aleo/e/B005SSZGTY

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/toni_aleo/

#chapter reveal #sports romance #In The Crease #Toni Aleo #Assassigns #Hosted by Ardent Prose PR

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afoolsingenuity · 7 years ago

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Mid Year Freakout Tag (A Month Late)

So, I saw this tag about and knew I had to do it. Only, it turns out it took me a month to actually complete this tag. Tags are meant to be quick but for some reason it can take weeks for me to finish them. It’s only August, it’s past mid year but I can still freakout. I have only included books I’ve read up to the end of June, though.

Best book(s) I’ve read so far in 2017?

I can’t pick just one so here is a selection of favourites from the first six months of the year.

Best sequel you’ve read in 2017?

I’ve read a few so here are my absolute favourites. I am still not over The Dark Days Pact, I still get angry about certain things and just… I’m not over the Duke. Shattered Minds is more a companion novel than a sequel but I do not care. Same goes for Pretty Face. White Hot was amazing (as was Wildfire but that now classes as the second half of the year) and Kelley Armstrong proved her brilliance with A Darkness Absolute.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to?

There are so many but here are three I know I want to read and simply don’t own yet. They are on my to buy list. I may treat myself for my holiday, always need good holiday books, right?

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2017?

This was a no brainer. This book I have been waiting for ever since I began the first book in the Cainsville series. It is utterly fantastic and I cannot wait! My preorder is in and I am counting down the days until it’s out. You would not believe how excited I am. I;m just upset I won’t be able to start reading until after work!

Also… yes I am aware the UK cover is pretty hideous.

Biggest disappointment?

I had such high hopes of Labyrinth Lost. I mean, Danya raved and really wanted to like it but by 50% I had to DNF. The MC just frustrated the living hell out of me. I may go back to it and hopefully I’ll be more willing to put up with her.

Biggest surprise?

Letters to the Lost was a book I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was surprised at how much I ended up loving it. I had been going off YA and it proved that it’s all down to the book. Geekerella was another surprise because I thought I would enjoy it but I didn’t know how much, I actually hate the fairytale Cinderella so the fact it was a retelling put me off a little but it was such a good read. And finally two London Hale books. I read them because Nick loved them and I thought, why not? They are ridiculous but so damn enjoyable, who knew books with such terrible names could be fun?

Favourite New Author?

I only recently discovered Ruthie Knox (because of Nick, I notice a trend with books I love) and I have to say, why didn’t I discover books by her sooner? They are fantastic, unfortunately it seems some of her books haven’t been released here in the UK so I may never get to read it (why? Just why?) and she is author Robin York so that’s a whole other set of books to read. Yay!

Newest Favourite character?

Erm? I don’t know. I mean, can I say The Baylors as a whole? They just exploded into awesome in that second book. They got character and depth and I fell in love with all of them (even more so in the third book). I don’t really do the whole loving a character thing too much because once a book is over I forget but The Baylors were definitely a favourite.

Books that made you cry?

There probably are a lot more books which made me cry because I do cry so very easily but these were the ones which sprang to mind straight away. Before I Fall surprised me with how upset I got whilst reading. I thought I’d feel very disconnected from it all as the characters weren’t always the nicest but I was teary at the end. Goodbye Days has me randomly crying all over the place it was ridiculous. And The Forever House was another surprise emotional read. I thought it would be touching but I was in tears towards the end. I’d grown so attached to the characters.

Book that made you happy?

I mean, most books make me happy. I know a lot more than are on this list would qualify but these are a few. Pretty Face made me insanely happy as it was both a good second book and a good book in itself. The Upside of Unrequited made me happy because I didn’t expect to love the characters and connect with them as much as I did. And Agnes and the Hitman? Well, any Jennifer Crusie book makes me happy but this one was extra good because I hadn’t read it before!

Favourite Book to movie adaptation?

I admit, I’ve not seen many book to movie adaptations so this was difficult. I did see Hidden Figures, though, so I’m going with that. I realise that certain aspects of the film are inaccurate but I really loved seeing the women of NASA own that place.

Most beautiful book you bought so far this year?

I love this cover and this book. I loved that there was artwork throughout the book and that it connected with the story I only wish it had been in colour! And the writing was fantastic and the story brilliant and I cannot believe I read a YA book with no romance and enjoyed it!

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

All of them. I won’t even bother listing, I have so many and I can’t prioritise one over the other because that would be so mean!

I know you’ve all probably done this by now but how has the first half of your year gone?

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#a fool's ingenuity #books

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lawsonwrites · 8 years ago

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From Fail to Success or Something Like That #selfpublishing #author

Most of my followers know that I’ve always been transparent with my book journey. I’ve blogged about it in the past (wah, my old blog is gone. I don’t want to talk about it) and I plan to keep doing it.

I’ve been vocal about my success with Kindle Unlimited (although controversial it’s still a net positive for me—majorly so.) But I wanted to write up a little history of my last year. The good news is that 2016 was by far my best selling year yet. In fact, I made a goal with myself and I hit it. It was a BIG jump from anything I’d done in the past but I’ll tell you the truth; it was hard work.

A couple of things helped me jump tiers in the book world. Now understand me, I’m not making full time money. I’m not even sure if I’m making consistent money (we’ll see.) Not yet, anyway, but I hope I’m headed in the right direction. Here’s a little breakdown of what I did and my process.

July of 2015: I was part of a book collection release called Secret Worlds. I was able to put a backlist book in this collection (Vigilant) which was great for me because it had been out for several years and not selling much. Now, I had been part of several book collections prior to this, each with varying success. This one I stumbled on by chance when a friend suggested I submit. I didn’t even remember applying for it when I got the notice a few months later that I had been accepted.

The good news is that Secret Worlds published RIGHT when Kindle Unlimited 2.0 started. This was perfect for our book collection because there were not many other sets on KU at the time and people were looking for things in the program to read. Amazon had also not set page caps either which meant we were paid for every page whereas now there’s a limit to the number of pages in a book. To be honest, we did very well financially but it also trickled down into other book sales as well.

September 2015: Release Creature of Habit Book 1

I didn’t realize it at the time (Because I live in a cave and only recently started picking up on the realities of book selling) but between Secret World and COH 1, I did a good thing. I released two books within 90 days. Amazon apparently likes this. Then I did something else…

October 2015: Release Zocopalypse

I released a second book a little over 30 days later. Not in the same series and it wasn’t a big hit (because again, I didn’t know what I know now) but still Amazon smiles on frequent releases and my author rank in particular boosted much higher than it had in the past. And stayed there. Around this point I listed all my books in the KU program and started seeing good returns. Particularly on COH and my Wraith Series.

December 2015: Release Creature of Habit Book 2

Now this was planned. I knew to a degree that releasing a series close together would be helpful. I made sure in COH 1 and COH2 that my preorder links were in the back. All three books had pretty good pre-orders and that helped kick off the books well too.

January 2016: Release Box Set collection Happy Ever Alpha (make USA Today Best Seller List) Now, at this point I wasn’t making much money but things were rolling. It was better than before and I was still getting royalties on that first box set. The big kick came when I released the final book in the COH series.

March 2016: Release Creature of Habit Book 3

April 2016: Release Box Set Collection (Novella Collection-Seriously, I can’t remember the name)

This one in particular worked well for me. It was for novellas and I put the first novella in a book series I had released a year before. Those books had good reviews but not a lot of readers. It allowed me to breathe a little life in these books, particularly in KU.

July 2016: Release For the Win

This was a passion project. It actually sold well and I’m very glad I wrote it (with co-author Rochelle Allison) The only problem is that it’s not in my preferred genre and didn’t really help boost my Amazon profile.

August 2016: Release Box Set Collection 21 Shades of Night

November 2016: Release Box Set Collection Fall into Magic (make USA Today Best Seller List)

(*The release dates on the box sets are the live release—NOT the preorder date)

I haven’t had a new personal new release since August of 2016. It’s not ideal but I was exhausted from the release schedule the year before. And although I made more money than ever before, when I look back on that list I know I didn’t do everything right and definitely could have done better.

I did work (SLOWLY) on the second novel in my Zocopalypse series during the fall of 2016. I finished up the first draft at the end of the year, knowing I needed to turn what I had planned to be a 2 book series into at least three. I knew it was the best thing for the story and the best thing for me as a publishing author.

But I was tired. I was aimless. For months I had been lamenting that I just didn’t know what direction to go in. Keep with the zombies? Move forward with this other passion project I wanted to do some day? Work on a WIP I had in a drawer? I had zero focus and it was going to catch up to me. I knew it.

I needed a plan. Desperately.

Then the best thing happened to me. A friend from the box sets suggested a Facebook group. It’s called 20 Books to 50K. For some reason I clicked on the link (I’m notorious for not wanting *more* notifications and *more* information.) It was like a lightning bolt. It was the first of January, I was pumped for a New Year change and within days of immersing in the ideas, success stories and concepts behind Michael Anderle’s publishing theory I had a plan.

I had a big plan.

It took me 4 months to write the second Z book. Within weeks I had a third written. A week later I am halfway through my fourth and have two more planned. I already had new covers commissioned and was thinking of a reboot. Something didn’t fit and the group helped me realize I was in the wrong genre—selling to the wrong people. I got my head on straight, my design idea refined, my marketing and release strategy together and now I’m in the final technical stages (covers/edits) of rebooting that book and releasing the second.

Plans. I have plans and I feel so much better.

Here’s to making 2017 the next step in a better, more focused career.

Sl<螑"�

#self publishing #Angel Lawson #amazon #authors #writing

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jenmedsbookreviews · 8 years ago

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Man. Where to even begin this week. Well. I will start by saying my reading achievements were next to none. Not quite none. But near enough. Work has been very demanding, I have been very tired and my heart just was not in it. No reflection on the books, more a reflection on my weary and rapidly ageing bones and brain telling me to take a break. In fact I am writing this post in stages as I know where my head is currently at so it if makes no sense come the end … well nowt new there really but this time there is an excuse at least 🙂

So, anyway. Aside from being generally ancient (turned 42 this past week don’t you know) I was preoccupied with something else. Lordy 42. Do you remember being a kid and thinking that people in their forties were ancient? Well I’ll let you into a secret – when you finally reach your forties you bloody feel it too. Just kidding. Age is just a number. Like my chest, mine is just larger than some, that’s all. But back to my point (wandering mind comes with age too…) I was away from home from Thursday until Sunday this week because I took the plunge, packed my backbone in a small holdall and made my way to Harrogate for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Festival.

It’s an interesting festival, very different in tone to Crimefest, geared very much to a social atmosphere but encouraging and enticing readers with a healthy and steady supply of books. I say healthy with my tongue in my cheek (not easy to do without biting said tongue – don’t believe me try it), as carrying around the dang things all day has knackered my shoulder but hey ho.

As book hauls go, this week was mega. It was also rather big in terms of meeting people. I met a whole host of bloggers this weekend who I’m not going to try and name for fear of missing someone and causing great upset, but it was a pleasure to meet you all either finally or again (and you super lovely ones already know who you are 😉 ). I also met quite a few authors that I admire, including Robert Byrndza and the lovely Jan, Caroline Mitchell and Mel Sherratt, Graham Smith, Sarah Wray, Claire Seeber and also got to meet Keshini Naidoo (yes – a small Bookouture bias in this post I think).

It was also lovely to catch up with Kim Nash, Karen Sullivan, Steph Broadribb, Amanda Jennings, Lucy V Hay, Amer Anwar, Felicia Yap, Patricia Gibney, Bernie Steadman and Fiona Cummins again, and to get to say hi to Paul Burston as I absolutely loved his book The Black Path. I even remembered to take pictures of some of them (but not many as I suck at that). Oh yes, and it was nice to see Rod Reynolds again even if he did show Jo and Emma the terrible selfie he took at Crimefest (terrible because I was in it). And lovely to finally meet Graeme Cumming and have a catch up chat with Gabriela Harding in the quiet times. I’m just hoping I haven’t missed anyone and if I have I’m sorry and I do love you too. (Well at least like and admire – love is such a strong word 😉 ).

Have to give credit to Abbie Osborne for the selfies as I would totally not take those 😀

As well as generally milling about I did attend a couple of panels, though not as many as I perhaps would have liked so I’ll try better next time. The Friday night panel chaired by Sarah Millican and featuring Lee Child, Mark Billingham and Val McDermid was hilarious as you would expect. And I totally agree with Sarah Hilary’s shout out for Chris Whitaker as a totally brilliant writing talent. I also went to a blogger/author event organised by Orion where we met Mari Hannah, Emma Kavanagh, Stephanie Marland (aka Steph Broadribb, aka Crime Thriller Girl) and Lara Dearman, a forensics talk in which I learned many important things to include in ‘Killer’, and a quick start talk on writing crime fiction with Isabel Ashdown and Sam Eades.

And I had two lovely evenings out, firstly with Abigail Osborne, Leah and Jill of Jills Book Cafe, and then with Tracy Fenton and the guy and gals from TBC. Thanks for the company all.

And then there were the books… So. Many. Books.

I got the following:

The Devils Claw by Lara Dearman (Kindle pre order 7/9/17);

My Little Eye by Stephanie Marland (Kindle pre order 2/11/17) Happy dance moment :D;

The Wrong Child by Barry Gornell (Kindle pre order 2/11/17);

The Lost by Mari Hannah (Kindle preorder 2/3/18);

Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw (Kindle pre order 30/11/17);

Shadow Man by Margaret Kirk (Kindle pre order 2/11/17);

Beautiful Liars by Isabel Ashdown (Kindle pre order 19/4/18);

I Found You by Lisa Jewell;

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves (Kindle pre order 7/9/17) – The only book I actually purchased all weekend.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo;

If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch (Kindle pre order 11/1/18);

Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath;

Eyes Like Mine by Sheena Kamal;

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell (Kindle pre order 5/10/17);

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (Kindle pre order 29/8/17);

The Mountain by Luca D’Andrea;

The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes (Kindle pre order 14/9/17);

The Collector by Fiona Cummins; (soooooooooooo excited about this one and so new there are no Amazon links yet!!! :D) If you don’t know why I’m excited and haven’t yet read Rattle (and if not why not?) then you can order it here and get yourself ready for next year. Did I mention I love that book? I do. I was so excited I may have actually started reading this in bed instead of the books I should have been reading. Oops. (Sorry – not sorry). All the eeeeeeeeeks and squeeeeeeeeals.

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (pre order January 2018);

Consent by Leo Benedictus (pre order 1/2/18);

Perfect Remains by Helen Fields;

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn (Kindle pre order 11/1/18);

Strange Magic by Syd Moore

So all in all a great book haul of a weekend. And I visited Betty’s and treated myself to a belated birthday cake. Go me.

Now the weekend wasn’t without it’s down moments too but least said, soonest mended so lets move on.

Now as if all that wasn’t brilliant enough, before I left for Harrogate I received some absolutely stonkingly fantabulous book post from the wonderful Louise Ross (LJ Ross). Now I knew I’d be getting the signed book as I won it in a charity auction, as well as the chance to be a named character. But I wasn’t expecting to receive a DCI Ryan series mug as well. I actually collect mugs as well as books so this couldn’t have been a better gift for me and will take pride of place in the collection.

And, totally not book related but my new cushions and mugs turned up. How fab are these?

The McMoos by Jennifer Hogwood – You totally need to check out the website.

Just the one book order this week (just as well) which was Bad Sister by Sam Carrington. It’s due out on 5th October and I can’t wait to get my mitts on a copy.

Just the one Netgalley this week too (just as well) which was The Good Sister by Jess Ryder. It’s due for release on 16th August.

I see a theme here. Kind of reminiscent of my life. I have one of each. I’ll let them fight over which is which 😉

I also received an ARC of I Know A Secret by Tess Gerritsen, the brand new Rizzoli and Isles novel which is due out on 10th August.

Now I am hoping that all of these exciting things I’ve been rambling about above will distract you from my reading tally which stands at the grand total of 2. Lorraine at The Book Review Cafe will be laughing at me this week given her mammoth reading achievements and rightly so. If only I’d saved the bloody Mr Men books… When I say reading tally it was one read, one listen as I only completed one book and then listened to an audio on the way too and from Harrogate. Failed blogger I am then (this is not news but now we have evidence).

Books I have read

Red Is The Colour by Mark L. Fowler

A GRIPPING NEW POLICE THRILLER Bullying. Corruption. Murder.

It is the summer of 2002. The corpse of a 15 year old boy, who has been missing for thirty years, is discovered in Stoke-on-Trent. The city is on the cusp of change and Chief Superintendent Berkins wants the case solved quickly.

DCI Jim Tyler has arrived from London under a cloud, moving to Staffordshire to escape his past. He is teamed up with DS Danny Mills to investigate the case, but there is tension between the detectives.

When the dead boy’s sister comes forward, describing a bright, solitary child, she points a finger at the school bullies, which puts important careers at stake.

Then one of the bullies is found brutally murdered and when Tyler and Mills dig deeper they start to suspect a cover-up.

What is the connection between the death of a schoolboy in 1972 and this latest killing?

With the pressure building, and the past catching up with DCI Tyler, will he and DS Mills be able to put aside their differences in order to catch a cold-blooded killer?

I’m reviewing this for the blog tour next Monday but I have to be honest and say that this was a really well observed look at childhood bullying an the people who were involved, both directly and indirectly. With a thirty year old victim it is a tough ask for newly transferred DCI Jim Tyler to bring the killer to justice in this new police procedural from Mark L. Fowler and Bloodhound Books. It is released tomorrow, 25th July, and you can buy a copy here.

…

You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood

It’s easy to judge between right and wrong – isn’t it?

Not until you hear a convincing truth.

Now it’s up to you to decide…

An unnamed defendant stands accused of murder. Just before the Closing Speeches, the young man sacks his lawyer, and decides to give his own defence speech.

He tells us that his barrister told him to leave some things out. Sometimes, the truth can be too difficult to explain, or believe. But he thinks that if he’s going to go down for life, he might as well go down telling the truth.

There are eight pieces of evidence against him. As he talks us through them one by one, his life is in our hands. We, the reader – member of the jury – must keep an open mind till we hear the end of his story. His defence raises many questions… but at the end of the speeches, only one matters:

Did he do it?

Oh my life. What an intriguing novel. Taking courtroom drama to brand new heights this is a story which will not only challenge your idea of right and wrong but also the whole idea of how courtroom dramas should be. Set as a series of court transcripts and told in the defendants voice the author takes you on a journey and you as reader are set to act as jury. I listened to the Audio book of this and I have to say it was absolutely perfect in this format. My review will follow but you can order a copy of the book here.

…

That is all. Thankfully I was fully prepared on the blogging front so I had posts everyday.

#BlogTour Guest Post: Dying Art by Malcolm Hollingdrake

#Booklove: Katherine Sunderland

#BlogTour Review: The Other Twin by Lucy V Hay

Review: Blind Justice by M.A. Comley

#BlogTour Review: Her Deadly Secret by Chris Curran

#BookLove: Jane Cable

#GuestReview: Another You by Jane Cable

…

The week ahead is a bit of a mixture. I start with a review, then some #Booklove with Helena Fairfax, followed by blog tours for The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, and then The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan with a very special Author Q&A in between, rounding out the week with more #Booklove with Jack Steele and another blog tour, this time The Lost Wife by Anna Mansell.

Hope you have a brilliant week all. I’m reading all day today before going back to work and some more training tomorrow. Boo hiss to that one but someone has to do it. Going to Chester Zoo on Saturday so think of all the animal/nature pics I can share with you next week. You can’t wait can you? Hope they still have the Pudu’s and the Kimodo Dragon. I love them!!!

See you next Monday.

P.S. since penning this post Sunday evening I have been online and preordered three books from Goldsboro (it’s now Sunday bedtime). We’ll just ignore those, pretend I ordered them after midnight and I’ll fill you all in next week 😂

Rewind, recap: weekly update w/e 23/07/17 Man. Where to even begin this week. Well. I will start by saying my reading achievements were next to none.

#BookLove #Rewind Recap #Weekly Round UP

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