J.M. NORTHUP's BLOG

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Meet Mikhail from T.M. Lakomy's Debut Novel

MEET MY CHARACTER

1.      Who are you? 
o   What is your name?
·    Mikhail.
·   I am a Templar, a knight in God’s service, one of His most loyal servants, chosen to crush the blind god’s plans to enslave humanity.
o   Are you a fictional or historical character?
·   I am fictional
o   What should we know about you?
·   That I envied the sight of Seers and wished that I could bring them to the path of god, away from the trickery from Lucifer, but everything I believed in has crumbled and fallen apart. 
·   Estella the Seer has pulled back the veil from my eyes and I am astonished and afraid.  What I deemed to be true is false, and the true extend of the cruel game between the Throne and the blind god horrifies me.
·   I will defy all the legions of hell and bring back His lost sheep, even those who reject him the most; that they not become pawns of Samael (the blind god).
2.      Tell us about your story:
o   When and where is your tale set? 
·   My tale is set in Medieval London.
o   What is your personal goal?  I mean, what do you ultimately want?
·   I wanted to reconcile the Twilit world with the church of God. The gifted people with sight and magic ought to be united in our efforts to usher in the messianic age. They dwell on the fringes of society having access to the veil and see beyond it, often used as tools for the blind one, and I have been led by God to find this Seer and with her help, we shall unveil Samael’s abhorrent plans, the lucrative trade of human souls. By entreating, I intend to force the twilit touched people, take them back from their false gods.
o   What is standing in your way?  What conflict(s) do you face?  
·   Lucifer is my adversary, and the old pagan deities who stand in my way, offering the Twilit folk a pathway to elude the war between darkness and light.
·   Antariel, the fallen angel who watches over Estella, thwarts me, and if not for his cruel machinations, I would have prevailed upon her.
3.      How do I get a copy of your book?
o   What is the title or working title for this piece?
o   Is it available now or when can we expect to see it released?
·   It is set to be released the 25th of April 2017 worldwide, but is available for pre-order now.

My Book Review of MAZY by Marnie Cate

MAZY
Book 3 in Protectors of the Elemental Magic series

Mazy (Protectors of the Elemental Magic Book 3)Mazy by Marnie Cate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book CAN be read as a stand alone from the series!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I hadn't read the first books in the series when I picked this one up. However, that didn't matter. The book was well written and I had no trouble falling into the story and characters. It can definitely hold its own as a stand alone. And yes, I do plan to read the entire series, as it was that good!
I really enjoyed the characters and their dynamic relationships. I think my favorite character was Meg, and the bond between her and her sister, Mara really resonated with me. I, also, enjoyed the romance between Cole and Mara. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I will say I felt badly for Cole. He is definitely a victim and I was rooting for him all the way. I think Elliot is very noble!
I enjoyed the magic and how it was integrated into the story and characters. The other worlds depicted are amazing and I think the author did a great job with descriptions. I was fascinated by the way she made the actual elements beings. It reminded me of old legends and myths. Very cool!
If you enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, magic, or myths, then this is the book and series for you! I definitely recommend it, and feel it is appropriate for teens and adults alike!

View all my reviews

GET ALL THREE (3) BOOKS IN THE SERIES
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Ways to Connect with Marnie Cate

Follow her on Twitter: @ Marnie_Cate
Friend her on Facebook
Find her on Amazon
Find her on Goodreads

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Texas Homeschooling Information

LAWS & REGULATIONS
Texas Homeschooling Made Easy

*Disclaimer*
This information is valid for the date of the post.
Laws and regulations are constantly changing, so be sure to verify data using the links provided.

FEDERAL LAW
REGARDING HOMESCHOOL
In Meyer v. Nebraska and Farrington v. Tokushige, U.S. Supreme Court cases of the 1920s, the fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children was established.
Ninth Amendment
The Ninth Amendment says that the rights of the citizens of each state are not limited by those listed in the Constitution. The contention by parents that a right to home school is implied by this provision has only been agreed with by Perchemlides v. Frizzle, the case mentioned under the right of privacy.

"Home Schooling and the U.S. Constitution." Findlaw. Thomson Reuters, 2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. http://education.findlaw.com/education-options/home-schooling-and-the-u-s-constitution.html.

TEXAS STATE LAWS REGARDING HOMESCHOOLING
CURRENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Texas Education Code § 25.085 and §25.086 
Sec. 40.002.  DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES;  GENERAL DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT.  (a)  The Department of Family and Protective Services is composed of the council, the commissioner, an administrative staff, and other employees necessary to efficiently carry out the purposes of this chapter.
Text of subsection effective until September 01, 2017
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall:
(2) provide family support and family preservation services that respect the fundamental right of parents to control the education and upbringing of their children;  
Sec. 151.003.  LIMITATION ON STATE AGENCY ACTION.  A state agency may not adopt rules or policies or take any other action that violates the fundamental right and duty of a parent to direct the upbringing of the parent's child
***Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 6.18(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.  Renumbered from Sec. 151.005 by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 821, Sec. 2.13, eff. June 14, 2001.***

MILITARY REGULATIONS
REGARDING HOMESCHOOL GRADUATES
In accordance with December2013’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) H.R. 3304, Sec 573, which states, according to Public Law 112-81, Sec 532, military recruits enlisting as a graduate of a secondary school that is “in compliance with the education laws of the State in which the person resides” must be treated equally.
Sec. 532. Policy on military recruitment and enlistment of graduates of secondary schools.
SEC. <<NOTE: 10 USC 503 note.>> 532. POLICY ON MILITARY
                        RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF GRADUATES OF
                        SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
    (a) Equal Treatment for Secondary School Graduates.--
            (1) Equal treatment.--For the purposes of recruitment and
        enlistment in the Armed Forces, the Secretary of a military
        department shall treat a graduate described in paragraph (2) in
        the same manner as a graduate of a secondary school (as defined
        in section 9101(38) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
            (2) <<NOTE: Applicability.>>  Covered graduates.--Paragraph
        (1) applies with respect to person who--
                    (A) receives a diploma from a secondary school that
                is legally operating; or
                    (B) otherwise completes a program of secondary
                education in compliance with the education laws of the 

                State in which the person resides.
According to Michael Farris of HSLDA, a "transcript or diploma prepared by the parent. . . satisfies the law's intent. No additional educational documentation is required." [http://www.dovelink.com/HomeSchool/HSArticle003.htm].”
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES:

Saturday, February 25, 2017

MARNIE CATE's New Release - MAZY

AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER

Though this book is a part of a series,
it CAN be read as a stand alone novel.
Pre-order Mazy Today!
Click on title to be redirected to Amazon
Official Release: 28 FEB 2017
***MY BOOK REVIEW!***

GET ALL THREE (3) BOOKS IN THE SERIES
Click on photo to be redirected to Amazon page

Ways to Connect with Marnie Cate

Follow her on Twitter: @ Marnie_Cate
Friend her on Facebook
Find her on Amazon
Find her on Goodreads

Meet DAHLIA from C.L. Schneider's NITE FIRE: Flash Point!

MEET MY CHARACTER

1.      Who are you?
o   What is your name?
·   Dahlia Nite
o   Are you a fictional or historical character?
·   Fictional
o   What should we know about you?
·   I’m not human. Nor am I from this world. I’m a lyrriken, a shapeshifter; the product of a human female and a male dragon in human form. 
·   Lyrriken can shift into human as well as a dragon-hybrid form. The latter is more human-like in shape than dragon, but with scales, increased strength and senses, as well as wings, tails, horns, ridges, and other physical dragon attributes. We are graced with the longevity, slow aging, and the rapid healing of our dragon fathers. Other more ‘magical’, yet diluted, traits are passed down to us as well. I’ve been given the ability to generate and control fire. I’m also empathic. I can see and feel the trauma others have suffered, as well as the impression that great suffering has left upon the land. It’s a handy skill when solving a murder, but it can be far from pleasant.
·   The existence of parallel worlds has been hidden from humans since the first tear in the veil between worlds was discovered by the dragons eons ago. Myths and legends were spun to cover up the incursions of different species into the human realm. Some worlds are aware, others are not. Keeping the secret from those more advanced and formidable is paramount to the future of all.
·   I do my part by traveling the human world, hunting the creatures that slip in from other worlds and cover up the mess they leave behind. But I wasn’t always a supernatural crime scene cleaner. Ninety-seven years ago, I was a high-ranking member of the Guild on Drimera. I was an executioner for the dragon-queen, Naalish.  Then one, fateful night, it all changed, and here I am.

2.      Tell us about your story:
o   When and where is your tale set?
·   Most of my story is set in the present day in Sentinel City, a fictitious, riverside city somewhere on the East Coast of America.
·   Sentinel City is an urban sprawl, challenged by crime, a deep division between rich and poor, and incidents of unexplained supernatural activity.
·   I will also be visiting other, parallel worlds throughout this story and the series, including my home world of Drimera.
o   What is your personal goal?  I mean, what do you ultimately want?
·   Since coming to the human world, I have lived a life of deception. I’ve traveled the country, assuming one false identity after another; lying about myself for so long, I’m not sure who I am anymore. Have I become too human? Have I lost my edge, my identity? I want to settle down, live a normal life, and be accepted for who I am. I want to stop the lies.
·   And I need to understand what brought me to this place. Why did my empathic gifts emerge out of nowhere and force me to flee Drimera? Why am I the only lyrriken to see the rips in the veils between worlds?
·   I want to protect the fragile balance of peace the humans don’t even know exists. For if they discovered Drimera and the other worlds, rich with resources and potential, it would lead to nothing but death and destruction. Few would survive on any world.

o   What is standing in your way?  What conflict(s) do you face?
·   If what I am, and what we are, becomes known, it will threaten the existence of my home and many others. What do humans do when faced with something they can’t explain or understand? What does fear make them do? How would they feel if they knew the dragons had been using human woman to produce my kind for countless years? And without them, lyrriken would cease to exist.
·   Unfortunately, the more time passes and the more civilizations advance, the harder it is to pass facts off as fantasy. One day, sooner than any of us are ready for, it will be impossible.  Until then, while I don’t always agree with the dragon’s methods or beliefs, I have no choice but to uphold the secrets they keep.

3.      How do I get a copy of your book?
o   What is the title or working title for this piece?
o   Is it available now or when can we except to see it released?
·   Flash Point is available now for pre-order – the eBook will follow in early March.

·   As always, you can purchase signed copies by contacting C. L. Schneider through her website.

New Release COVER REVEAL - Flash Point (Book 1 in The Nite Fire Series)

COVER REVEAL FOR C.L. SCHNEIDER

FROM THE AUTHOR:
I’m excited to share with you the cover for my new release! 
After completing the Crown of Stones Trilogy last year, I wanted to do something different. And this series is it! 
Flash Point is the 1st book in The Nite Fire Series, a fast-paced, entertaining urban fantasy full of action and mystery. 
Nite Fire centers on the character of Dahlia Nite, a shapeshifting creature-hunter from a parallel world—ruled by dragons.
Slated for execution, shapeshifting assassin, DahliaNite, flees her world to hide in the human realm. As payment for the shelter they unknowingly provide, Dahlia dedicates herself to protecting humans from what truly lives in the shadows. Moving from town to town, she hunts the creatures that threaten an unsuspecting human race; burying the truth that could destroy them all.
But the shadows are shifting. The lies are adding up. And when Sentinel City is threatened by a series of bizarre brutal murders, light is shed on what should never be seen. The secrets that have kept humanity in the dark for centuries are in danger of being exposed.
Wrestling with a lifetime of her own deceptions, Dahlia investigates the killings while simultaneously working to conceal their circumstances. But with each new murder, the little bit of peace she has found in this world begins to crumble. Each new clue leads her to the one place she thought to never go again. Home. 
EXCERPT:
His roar blew the hair back from my face. His oddly pliable jaw opened with a wet crack of cartilage. Dropping, extending past throat, then chest, the square edge of his jaw came to rest even with the center of his abdomen. Outlined by fleshy lips, the dark maw within held an inner ring of uneven teeth, all stained with a deep red grime. Pushing out from their center, the del-yun’s gray tongue ejected like a whip. A heavy discharge of green followed. Hitting the floor in front of me with a moist splat, the glop of saliva gurgled and smoked as it devoured the concrete. A smaller rivulet of smoke curled up from the front of my left boot, where tiny beads of the creature’s spit were eating through the laces.
“Come on,” I groaned, “not the boots…” Bending, I slid my knife in behind the black crisscross. In the corner of my eye, I saw his tongue emerging again.
I broke the lace with a quick yank.
Flinging off the still-bubbling piece as I straightened, I flung the knife next. My throw was directed at his tongue, hoping to sever the bit wagging down over his teeth. But at the last second, he moved. My weapon sailed past his tongue, in through his wide mouth, and impaled his left cheek. The tip of the blade pushed out with a spill of yellowish blood and sliced tissue.
I raised a finger. Fire trickled from my nail. It slid off the side of my hand and onto the floor. Watching its journey, the del-yun knew: one little touch was all it would take. His blood would catch like kindling, and my fire would follow it down inside him like a flame on a fuse.
AUTHOR BIO:
C. L. Schneider is a New York-based author of adult epic and urban fantasy. Born in a small Kansas town, she grew up in a house of avid readers and overflowing bookshelves. Her first full-length novel took shape in high school, on a typewriter in her parent’s living room. Schneider’s epic trilogy, The Crown of Stones, tells the story of Ian Troy, a man born with an addiction to magic. Nite Fire: Flash Point is the first book in a fast-paced urban fantasy series with shapeshifters, dragons, and parallel worlds. 
Learn more about C.L. Schneider and her work at clschneiderauthor.com where you can read reviews, excerpts and sneak peeks, and subscribe to her newsletter. An active part of the indie author online community, you can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+, where she is often found chatting about books, zombies, coffee, and the daily ups and downs of writing.

Friday, February 24, 2017

T.M. LAKOMY's NEW RELEASE!

WIPs and New Releases

1)      Tell us about your New Release…
Ø  What is the story about?
·   In a world where angels, demons, and gods fight over the possession of mortal souls, two conflicted pawns are ensnared in a cruel game. The enigmatic seer, Estella, finds herself thrown together with Count Mikhail, a dogmatic Templar dedicated to subjugating her kind. But when a corrupted cardinal and puppet king begin a systematic genocide of her people, the two become unlikely allies.
·   Taking humanity back to their primordial beliefs and fears, Estella confronts Mikhail’s faith by revealing the true horror of the lucrative trade in human souls. All organized religions are shops orchestrated to consume mankind. Every deity, religion, and spiritual guide has been corrupted, and each claims to have the monopoly on truth and salvation.
·   In a perilous game, where the truth is distorted and meddling ancient deities converge to partake of the unseen battle, Estella unwittingly finds herself hunted by Lucifer. Traversing the edge of hell’s precipice, Estella and Mikhail are reduced to mere instruments. Their only means to overcome is through courting the Threefold Death, the ancient ritual of apotheosis—of man becoming God.
Ø  Who is the main character?
·   Estella, the enigmatic seer, and after her, Mikhail, the Templar.
2)     What inspired this tale?
Ø  How did the story come to you?
·   Gnostic Christianity always fascinated me, especially the Nag Hammadi Scrolls, and I always had these characters germinating in my mind. As I was enamoured with shamanism through my studies at university, I began to weave these themes into a tale that bridges the gap between these two seemingly disparate topics. There were many compelling narratives and theories of how man transformed into god through apotheosis; the most common one is the story of Christ.
Ø  Did you have to research for this novel and if so, why?
·   I was heavily influenced by Mircea Eliade’s books on shamanism, especially the worlds in between where beings angelic or demonic, through often cruel initiations, reconstructed you afresh, thus upon your return, you are something different.
·   I was following a trail of thought of whether this is applicable to legendary or historical characters who went through drastic spiritual transformations, from ancient mythical heroes/demiurges to religious figures.
Ø  If you did research, what do you think surprised you most to learn and why?
·   I was very intrigued by the notion that death or near death is the gateway to life, that one must die and be reborn in order to transform and attain a higher self. That is apparent with Odin and Christ, and the shamans who tread that dangerous fine line.
3)     Do you relate to your character?
Ø  Is your protagonist anything like you personally?
·   Yes.
Ø  If yes, then how?
·   I used to see things as a young child; I was a very sickly, and my earliest memory of such a spiritual encounter was when I was three.
·   Like Estella, I am very much my own person, I am not good with figures of authority and I do not particularly care about social norms and conventions. Anything that tries to curtail my freedom is thoroughly rejected by me.
Ø  If no, how do you differ from one another?
·   Well, what is different is that I am slightly more attached to the world than she is, although if a portal did open into another dimension, I would be the first to pack up and leave.
Ø  What made you write this character; what made them important to you or made you want to tell their story?
·   She was another facet of my character.  There is naturally a lot of me in her, but she developed over the years.
·   I wanted to tell her story because seers throughout the ages have been mistreated, either treated like witches to be burned at the stake or shunned and deemed demonic, when it is a gift they are born with and could offer much if treated the right way.
·   I believe spirituality plays a bigger role in our lives than we believe and we only acknowledge it rarely as it often reveals the shallowness of what’s around us.
4)    Is there anything you specific want readers to know about this piece of work?
Yes, that it a spiritual voyage for the characters as they encounter old deities and biblical figures who try to alter their core beliefs and shine a different light on the unseen.
That the truth is often complex and multifaceted and that what is handed down to us most of the time is seldom the full image.
5)    When will the novel be available for purchase?
The 25th of April 2017.  However, it is available NOW for pre-order.
Ø  Has the book already been published?
·   The paperback is available NOW for pre-order.
·   The ebook will be available for purchase on the release date.
Ø  If yes, do you have a link available for buying it?

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