What would you do if the most important person to you had been kidnapped?
One minute your daughter is there, and the next she has been bundled into a van right under your nose. They want something of your father’s. You don’t know what that is, and your father mysteriously disappeared over 7 years ago. Going to the police is not an option. And the answers will slowly appear in the most unlikely of places.
As single-parent Eddie’s world falls apart, an unlikely alliance forms between friends and neighbours who put their differences aside, to help get his daughter Daisy back. As the mystery unfolds a huge secret is uncovered that not only will affect Eddie and his family, but the whole of mankind.
Jim was first published in an English School Textbook in 1987. He won a competition to draw a dog-walking machine. Having won an art competition the year before, he felt that at the age of eleven he had peaked and consequently retired from art.
For 10 years Jim wrote for a number of websites reviewing and interviewing bands in his own unique way, as well as contributing dark poems and comedic features.
Jim likes to write psychological/thrillers that have endings that you won’t see coming. He also favours stories packed with wit.
He has a very strange sense of humour and is often considered a little odd. When not writing he will be found playing the drums, watching football and eating chocolate. He lives with his long-suffering wife and three beautiful children in Swindon, Wiltshire.
As her fingers move across the strings of her family's heirloom harp, 16-year-old Clarion can forget. She doesn't dwell on the recent passing of her beloved father or the fact that her mother has just sold everything they owned, including that very same instrument that gives Clarion life. She doesn't think about how her friends treat her like a feeble, brittle thing to be protected. She doesn't worry about how to tell the elegant Elena, her best friend and first love, that she doesn't want to be her sweetheart anymore. She becomes the melody and loses herself in the song.
When Mack, a lord's dashing young son, rides into town so his father and Elena's can arrange a marriage between the two youth, Clarion finds herself falling in love with a boy for the first time. Drawn to Clarion's music, Mack puts Clarion and Elena's relationship to the test, but he soon vanishes by climbing up a giant beanstalk that only Clarion has seen. When even the town witch won't help, Clarion is determined to rescue Mack herself and prove once and for all that she doesn't need protecting. But while she fancied herself a savior, she couldn't have imagined the enormous world of danger that awaits her in the kingdom of the clouds.
A prequel to the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk that reveals the true story behind the magical singing harp.
Amy McNulty is a freelance writer and editor from Wisconsin with an honors degree in English. She was first published in a national scholarly journal (The Concord Review) while in high school and currently writes professionally about everything from business marketing to anime. In her down time, you can find her crafting stories with dastardly villains and antiheroes set in fantastical medieval settings.
In 2010, I graduated from California University....of Pennsylvania (yes, you read that correctly) with a BA in Theatre and Dance. I have been a professional actress for 7 years in Columbus, OH working in both Musical Theatre shows and Dramatic plays ranging from Classic, Rock & Roll, Modern, British, American Southern, etc. I work as a Children's Theatre teacher as well as a Commercial Actress where I specialize in voice acting, photo, commercial and tutorial video work. I am interested in new projects and pursuing new opportunities.
I am a big, avid reader, and listen to audio books more than the radio in my car. My favorite genres are historical fiction, fiction, nonfiction and biographies/ memoirs. This is a new endeavor for me, and I am thrilled to explore different characters through storytelling. Reading is a big passion of mine. Bring on the books!
I absolutely loved what Amy McNulty did with Ballad of The Beanstalk. At first I wasn't quite sure what to expect but WOW did she do an excellent job. Amy was able to take a children's story and turn it into an adult book, the way it twist and turned throughout the story. It made it so much better! I also really liked how there were two separate worlds but yet they were both connected to each other.
The narrator, Kaitlin Descutner did a wonderful job. The flow of the story was smooth with no mistakes. No background noises that I could hear at least. Also, the singing was phenomenal and I especially loved the harp.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Amy McNulty. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Q&A with Author Amy McNulty
Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
I work with a platform called ACX, which matches book rights holders with narrators/producers. I posted my book and Kaitlin Descutner was one of the narrators who auditioned. She’s a professional actress and she brought such life to the story! I loved working with her. She even sings! I sent her the book, we touched base on a few notes, and she produced the whole audiobook from start to finish. I checked it, we tweaked it together, and then it was ready to go!
Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
Sometimes. Descriptive writing really helps bring a story to life. At the same time, though, I know some people who prefer listening to audiobooks to reading, and it would be a shame if they couldn’t read all sorts of books because some books lend themselves better to audiobooks than others.
Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
I wasn’t thinking about it when writing (which I discovered was an issue during the recording/editing phase, as I didn’t make who was speaking in a scene or two clear to the narrator), but I always try to get my books made into audiobooks once they’re finished just to get them in front of another audience that might have otherwise passed by them.
How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process?
Kaitlin did most of it on her own. After she finished the first recording, I got back to her with notes and we tweaked it together. But as far as recording and editing goes, it was all her.
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
I’ve always wanted to write a fairy tale YA book, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it in a way that’s never been done before. Strangely, when I was watching the Rifftrax Live performance of Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny (it had a Jack and the Beanstalk segment in there—don’t ask, ha), I was struck with the idea of doing a prequel explaining where the magic harp came from. (Since it seems to have a human figure/face in some versions.) Jack and the Beanstalk has never even been one of my favorite fairy tales, but I ran with my idea.
How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
I’m actually increasing my writing pace starting this year, so it’s odd that I’m getting less burnt out the more I work. It helped that I transition to editing more than business writing this year as a freelancer, so my creative energy doesn’t get zapped by my work before I can turn around and write. I discovered the joys of writing on a word processor this year, too. I get more words done by working on a non-glowing screen without internet access, so I’m not distracted. Still, it’s important to take breaks and not force myself to write too much every day.
Is there a particular part of this story that you feel is more resonating in the audiobook performance than in the book format?
The songs! Music is essential to the story and Kaitlin made up a tune for the lyrics I wrote for a song.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
I love period dramas and classic romance books, and I’m a huge fan of fantasy and the medieval and Elizabethan eras. It’d be hard for me to choose, although I know actually living in those eras would be difficult. More likely than not, I’d be a servant or peasant, not the aristocracy that have such compelling romances in these stories!
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
Hmm, I’m not sure! My favorite actors and actresses are probably too old to take on the roles. I think I pictured Ezra Miller for Mack, though.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
It’s absolutely not! Any way people can enjoy stories is legit. Audiobooks make books more accessible to both people with reading disabilities and busy people.
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
I usually post a GIF of Kermit the frog waving his arms on social media. That’s how I feel when I finish a book.
In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
Standalones allow you to move on to the next project, but with series, you’ve already done some work establishing characters and the world. Series tend to sell more books because you may have hooked people with the first book, but on the other hand, if that first book didn’t hook many people, there’s almost no point in writing more books. Most of my books have sequel/series potential. Writing standalone is actually hard for me! Ballad of the Beanstalk is probably my first standalone where I really have no intention at all of writing a sequel to or series for.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on my romance series (written under Joy Penny) and then I have a paranormal YA series I want to publish next year.
Amy McNulty's Top 10 Books Read in 2016
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Spinning Thorns by Anna Sheehan
Winter by Marissa Meyer
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne
Title: Reign of Crowns Series: Dupree Heights #1 Author: Dani Hart Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Release Date: April 6, 2017
One hundred years ago cyber technology evolved rapidly. Human interaction diminished as the need to leave home became obsolete. Doors closed and cities shut down, causing a tsunami of destruction. Humans were replaced with computers, the homeless rate increased exponentially, and families starved in the abandoned streets. The weak and poor died, the middle working class fell to the lower class, and the wealthy rose above everyone. The world was imploding from the inside out with no reprieve in sight.
My story begins on the fiftieth anniversary of a city raised from the ashes of a revolution and a name forged in the decay of innocent lives. With my heart pulled in two different directions, I am forced to make a choice to either walk in my mother’s footsteps to a scripted future and a perfect life, leaving my first love behind, or complete my father’s unfinished journey of redeeming the Dupree name.
My Review
Dani
Hart did an amazing job in Reign of Crowns. It's just like your fairytale except
it has a dystopian twist added on to it. I’m a huge fan of the hunger games so I
really loved this book and that’s what it reminded me of. However, I did feel
that the writing was well thought out and the dystopian part was descriptive
enough. I really enjoyed the character Josephine and how she enjoyed to read so
much. Overall, Hart did a wonderful job!
When Sterling shifted his body to mine, I didn’t flinch or scoot away from him. And when his hand reached for my face, I didn’t refuse it. I needed to know what there was between us. I wanted to know, and when his hand cupped my cheek, I leaned into it, soaking in his soft hands and noting the difference between Gray’s calloused overworked fingertips. And when Sterling’s eyes fixed on mine, pleading for permission, I didn’t say a word. As he inched closer, I closed my eyes and let his lips brush lightly over mine, catching my breath, but I didn’t dare move. An enchantment had fallen over us. I could see it beneath the darkness of my lids, and when his lips brushed lightly over mine again, I could feel it take hold of me. My lips parted slightly as I struggled to breathe through it, giving him the permission he was waiting patiently for to push his lips against mine. Slowly, he kissed my lips, taking care for my guilty heart and my broken promises. My first chance at love had turned into a battle, and if I didn’t choose a side soon, the ground would be soaked with blood and the sky filled with tears.
He kept his hand on my face when he pulled away, watching me as if I would either break or run away. He shook his head, and his deepened dimple appeared when a smile crept onto his face.
“What?” I asked in response.
“You. I can’t figure out if this is real. If you are real. I’m afraid if I blink that you might disappear like an angel taken by the wind. You have freed my heart.”
My words were lost, taken by the same breeze that stole his angel. His hand slid off my cheek. “I’m not a fool to think there haven’t been others that have filled your heart with joy, but I’m asking that you consider me to be one of them.”
His hair had fallen over his lashes, and when he peered up from his lap, my heart cracked open enough to let him sneak in. “I will consider it,” I said softly, holding back tears. What had I just done?
The drive home with Gray by my side was the worst kind of torture to befallen a guilty soul. And worse, he knew something had changed. His shoulders slouched in a way I had never seen before, and the light in his eyes had dulled. The power I had over him had given me a glance into a window I never wanted to enter, and I now understood how that kind of drunken power over people could destroy not only a single person but a whole city.
I wanted to reach out and touch him. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was, but I couldn’t with the driver watching me suspiciously through the rearview mirror. It was as though everyone knew of my treachery, and judgment had been placed.
I'm a...
Mom
Firefighter Wife
Sister
Sister-In-Law
Daughter
Aunt
Friend
Writer
Reader
and so many other things.
I love my life and am so grateful for all of the support and have the courage to live a dream.
Jim was first published in an English School Textbook in 1987. He won a competition to draw a dog-walking machine. Having won an art competition the year before, he felt that at the age of eleven he had peaked and consequently retired from art.
