A Note:

6/2/13

I once told myself: IF I am accepted into grad school, this blog would no longer be updated. As it turns out, in April, I received news of my acceptance for the Fall 2013 semester, where I will attain a Master's degree of Science in Nutrition.

Running a blog, as many of you may already know, is a demanding side job once the excitement wears off. And once I fell out of the blogging community's loop (have you SEEN how many blogs there are now? Wow!), it was like the kiss of death. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get into a blogging routine once this happened due to the disconnect I felt from the community.

So I took a break. I struggled with the loss and with missing my blog. And then I realized I didn't have to run Book Faery to still be a book reviewer; I could read my books and post reviews online. I'm still a book review blogger, just not in the traditional sense.

I'll still be online. You can chat with me on Twitter, where I'll be posting links to my reviews and talking books. I'll also be posting links to nutrition articles. And if you'd like to connect with me where I guarantee I will post reviews, just add me as a friend on Goodreads.

So that's all, folks! It's been a fun and amazing journey, and I thank you all for listening to my thoughts about books. I hope we all can keep in touch elsewhere :)

Tori

Friday, August 5, 2011

BOTS 2: Sandy Williams




THE UNRELIABLE SIDEKICK 
by Sandy Williams


When Tori asked me to stop by to talk about my favorite secondary characters, several contenders leapt to mind. Surprisingly, almost every one of them is from epic fantasies, not from urban fantasies. There’s Durzo Blint from Brent Week’s Night Angel Trilogy. I never knew if he was going to kill my favorite characters or if he was going to help them.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the sword from Brandon Sanderson’s novel, WARBREAKER. A sword might not be your typical sidekick, but this one had a great, bloodthirsty personality that made me laugh out loud more than once.


And my most recent favorite: Tyrion Lannister. I loved him when I read the first two books of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, but the HBO series reminded me of just how awesome the character is. And, again, Tyrion is someone whose allegiance you aren’t quite sure about. He might aid you, or he might stab you in the back. Or rather, have someone else stab you in the back because doing it himself would be way too much work.

I didn’t realize just how much epic fantasy influences my writing until these characters shoved their way to the top of my favorite list. Of course, my writing is also influenced by urban fantasy and paranormal romance, so when I create my sidekicks, sexy is definitely an added attribute. There’s one particular character in my debut, The Shadow Reader, whom I absolutely love. His name is Lorn, and he shoved his way into my story about halfway into it.

Literally, shoved. I had no clue he existed until he popped up on the page.

The Shadow Reader doesn’t hit shelves until October 25th, but I think you guys will love Lorn as much as I do. To convince you that he could be the sexiest sidekick of them all, I present:


Five Reasons Why You’re Going to Love Lorn  
1. Lorn is a charmer. Think Trent Kalamack from Kim Harrison’s Hollows Series. Sure, Rachel might despise him most of the series, but the rest of society kind of loves him, and I’ve always had more than a small crush on him.

2. Lorn is powerful. At one point, my heroine, McKenzie, questions: “Who is he? The Godfather of the Realm?" It's a good comparison.



3. Lorn is hot. He reminds me of Balthier from Final Fantasy XII, and his personality only makes him more attractive. (I’m a total sucker for a good personality.)

4. Lorn is his own man. He has his own objectives in life which may or may not coincide with the heroine’s, so you never quite know what side he’s on. If you love that kind of suspense, you’ll love him.

5. Lorn would totally resent being called a sidekick. In his oh-so-humble opinion, he’s always the most important person in the room.


Lorn is an awesome character to hang out with. I hope you guys adore him as much as I do. What kind of sidekicks do you usually fall in love with? Do you like a character who plays with your expectations? Or do you like knowing exactly where his or her loyalties lie?




Giveaway

Win a galley of...


A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn't her only secret. She's in love with Kyol, the King's sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.


Giveaway Guidelines:
* Open US only
* Leave a comment with your email address
* This giveaway ends September 7th
* IMPORTANT: I will not be contacting winners! Be sure to check back after September 7th to see if you've won this or any of the other giveaways! 

Extra Entries:
* Link back to this giveaway on some social networking site or on your blog. Be sure to include the link to your post in your giveaway entry--and make sure that I can view it! (For every site you do this on, you'll receive one extra entry)

26 comments:

  1. Wonderful interview! Thanks for the giveaway.

    carpenyx@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lorn sounds like a great side kick. A quite attractive one. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good interview. thanks for the giveaway.

    sgiden at verizon.net

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Great interview. I can't wait to see how much the book has changed since I read it a couple of years ago!
    Good luck, Sandy.
    Now if I could only figure out how to link my FB post to this comment to prove I linked it!
    law.carolynpatrick@gmail.com

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  6. I would love to read this book! I like reading about faerie and human relationships. And Lorn sounds really cool

    angeldream3[AT]gmail[DOT]com

    ReplyDelete
  7. what a great interview. :3 The story is so interesting. I am glad I found this book out will check it out no matter what.
    neoterragoddess@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the wonderful interview! I really want to read about Lorn.

    musicalfrog@ comcast dot net

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  9. I am sooooo looking forward to reading this book...now more than ever. Thank you for the giveaway!

    Tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/ClockworkRevery/status/100015606367141888

    I also linked this contest on my blog (bottom of right sidebar): http://clockworkreverie.blogspot.com/

    gosia727(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've added The Shadow Reader to my TBR list. I love your reason #5 for Lorn; a healthy dose of self-respect is a plus. Thanks for the giveaway. (Email in profile.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Shadow Reader sounds like a fantastic book, I'm definitely going to add it to my wish list.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow..this is new to me. Sounds great! I love the fey. Count me in please.
    +1 tweeted at https://twitter.com/#!/Tanya1224/status/100329410451881985
    Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Just added this to my wish list, sounds like a great read. :D

    Thank you for the giveaway!

    ashley.mckinsey(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lorn sounds fantastic, and the more I read about this book the more I want to read this book. Thanks for the opportunity!

    ntelhiard at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for the interesting blog post and the wonderful giveaway!

    sjhkitten at gmail dot com

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  16. Thanks for the giveaway! My friend and I are really looking forward to reading this book! :)

    aldiss87@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds like a must read cant wait to get my hands on a copy .thanks for the chance to win it .
    flanagan@mebtel.net

    ReplyDelete
  18. This sounds so good look forward to reading this one! Thank you for the great giveaway!
    shared on facebook
    https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=208228609230488&id=1337268497
    tishajean@ charter.net

    ReplyDelete
  19. Awesome interview, can't wait to read this when it comes out!!

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the cover art and the interview was so entertaining.

    OBoyledBooks [at] gmail [dot] com

    Michelle (@OBoyledBooks)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Looking forward to read, it sounds really awesome. Lorn..hmmm..sounds like he may be my new literary crush!

    pink_gyrl@hotmail.com

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  22. Hi everyone! So happy to hear there's so much interest in Lorn. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. And sorry for my delayed response here. I had twins about a month ago and am just now catching up on everything!

    Good luck to all in the giveaway!

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  23. I have added this to my ever growing wish list. Thanks for the giveaway.

    rachaelmccully@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I've been very excited about this book for a while. I found it listed on GoodReads and it looks like it will be a great read. My fingers are crossed that I'll win cause October 25th is a long ways away.

    csolomon25 (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  25. OOohhhhh! Please let me be lucky this time! I am dying to read this book! I mean seriously! Thanks for the giveaway =DDDDDDDD

    mystifyingparanormalreviews[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete