The Realms of a Fantastical Mind

Living in the city, I have very little outdoor space. What I do have is normally used as a parking lot. I do, however, have a wide and long deck in the back and a strip of land in the front. I've been toying with the idea of a garden for over 5 years and I'm embarrassed to say it took that long for me to finally get my hands dirty. The good news is, as soon as I started digging up the ground, the kids wanted in. They didn't want to keep digging and pulling out the rocks and weeds. They wanted to get in the dirt and start planting seeds. So I had them wait till I was done. (It took an hour for each section of my garden.) When I was ready, they were hands out and ready to take those precious new seeds and plant them. My mind kept thinking there was a better way of doing this. For the kids and myself. There is and I ended up setting it up on the porch. A planter, better yet, a kids planter. Granted right now, since this is me starting this endeavor, it's a group of p...

Under the Trees  **Cover Reveal** Author- Ashley Maker Genre- YA Historical Romance  -Synopsis- Desperate to prevent an abusive arranged marriage, Princess Araya flees to a neighboring kingdom, only to land at the mercy of the impulsive Crown Prince Thoredmund, who provides refuge in a secluded forest and teaches her survival skills. Her surprise at the unexpected hold the price has on her heart mirrors his shock at falling for the one girl he can’t have.  As the young couple’s feelings for each other grow, the fragile alliance between the two kingdoms threatens to break apart. With a vengeful duke and an enraged king fast on their trail, Thor and Araya must decide how much they’re willing to risk for love.  Even if staying together means starting a war.   Excerpts: THOR quote: The dark horse tore through the underbrush, bringing h...

Joyce Alton, the group leader for AQC 's Speculative Fiction forum, has her first book coming out in September. Trefury is the first of a  trilogy .  Check it out.  An ancient legend is remade. Meet the oddest, most-likely-to-fail partnership the planet Niyhel has ever known. He's cunning, intelligent, and dangerous. She's slow to trust, reckless, and loyal. And both of them have their own ideas about how to do things. Thssk, a six-thousand-year old norhendra, has unwittingly caused the near extinction of his kind. Then he abandoned his handler , momentarily forgetting that she was an astral. She curses him as he flees the battlefield: the next handler he chooses will avenge her. Hunted by his past, it takes a divine summons and a volcanic eruption to rekindle Thssk's competitive spirit after a long hibernation. Racing against his enemies to rescue a boy from another planet ? —he's the only one capable of pulling it off. But there's a catc...