Showing posts with label #SandraFernandezRhoads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #SandraFernandezRhoads. Show all posts

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Fantasy and Sci-Fi for Christmas and Giveaway: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

On tour with Prism Book Tours

Realms of Light
(The Colliding Line, #1)
By Sandra Fernandez Rhoads
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Hardcover, Paperback & ebook, 320 Pages
April 13, 2021 by Enclave Escape

From the Ashes, Spring Will Rise

On the run from the brutal Sage and his army of Legions and Cormorants, seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe knows the only place strong enough to protect her is the Alliance Council Estate.

Cera’s introduction to the Estate is far from welcoming. As a Blight, her dueling powers of light and darkness make her a half-breed threat to the Alliance’s sacred powers. Cera’s ability to decipher hidden messages in classical artwork buys her shelter temporarily, but the clock is ticking as she’s faced with a daunting choice that could cost her everything.

(Affiliate link included.)

Excerpt

Chapter One - Uriel’s Sunbeam

I bounce my foot as Devon drives us deeper into the forest at a crawling pace. Maddox sits beside me, tapping a restless beat on his knee as the rumbling engine fills the growing silence. Autumn leaves blanket our path, and the bleak horizon blocks out the rising sun, but I know it’s there, hiding behind the clouds, waiting to break through.

“Is the wound bothering you?” Harper flattens the edge of the bandage wrapped around my burnt calf. “The serum will probably wear off soon.”

“It’s fine, really.” I’m far from fine. But it’s not the wound that troubles me. With every passing minute, I get closer to the Alliance Council Estate—the one place Mom has spent the last ten years keeping me safe from. And I’m terrified.

“Keep watch for any creatures. We’re not in the clear yet.” Devon’s weary eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror.

I’ve been watching and listening for hours, sandwiched in the back, caught next to Harper, who keeps shooting Maddox a side-eyed stare, making him shift uncomfortably. Every now and then he glances at me, tightening his lips, holding back words his eyes are fighting to say. But words can’t erase the awkwardness between us.

I look out the window. No violent wind signals beastly Cormorants overhead, and no misted Legions creep along the prickly underbrush, tracking our path. “We’ve set good distance. Nothing’s in sight.”

Excerpted from Realms of Light by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads. Copyright © 2021 by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads. Published by Enclave Escape.

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to an Amazon affiliate link.)

About the Author


Sandra Fernandez Rhoads is the young adult fantasy author of the Colliding Line Series: MORTAL SIGHT and REALMS OF LIGHT. She was born in Queens, New York to Cuban-Colombian parents, but grew up in Texas with a love for classical art and literature, specifically Renaissance artists and Late Romantic poets. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a degree in English, and then went on to earn an MA in her “seventeenth century crush,” John Milton. Sandra’s past experience also includes a background in acting, directing, as well as script writing for stage and short film. She has a deep love for the artist community and the arts, and enjoys venturing out and trying new art forms. Currently, she is learning to play the cello she’s named Lysander, and one day hopes to play the theme to Jurassic Park.
Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

November 28th: Launch
November 29th: Elayne Audrey Becker - Forestborn
November 30th: Michelle Diener - The Turncoat King
December 1st: Jes Drew - Agents Adam and Eve
December 2nd: Sharon Hinck - Windward Shore
December 3rd: Kara Linaburg - The Broken Prince
December 4th: Cathy McCrumb - Recorder
December 5th: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads - Realms of Light
December 6th: Chawna Schroeder - The Vault Between Spaces
December 7th: Melissa Wright - Beneath Stone and Sacrifice
December 8th: Kristen Young - Elite
December 9th: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway


One winner will receive a $50 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open internationally
Ends December 13, 2021

ENTER HERE
Grab Our Button!

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Realms of Light by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

About the Book


Book:  Realms of Light

Author: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

Genre: Christian YA Contemporary Fantasy

Release date: April 13, 2021

From the Ashes, Spring Will Rise

On the run from the brutal Sage and his army of Legions and Cormorants, seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe knows the only place strong enough to protect her is the Alliance Council Estate.

Cera’s introduction to the Estate is far from welcoming. As a Blight, her dueling powers of light and darkness make her a half-breed threat to the Alliance’s sacred powers. Cera’s ability to decipher hidden messages in classical artwork buys her shelter temporarily, but the clock is ticking as she’s faced with a daunting choice that could cost her everything.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Sandra Fernandez Rhoads is the author of Mortal Sight. She is a Cuban-Colombian living in Dallas, Texas with her husband and four children. She has a deep love for the artist community, and is an active part of Art House Dallas and the Fort Worth Writer’s group. She holds an M.A. in English with a focus on John Milton and has an insatiable love for coffee, laughter, and adventure. And dinosaurs.

More from Sandra

What if there was an unseen war affecting our everyday world, but only a few could see the battle? And what if the secrets to this other realm and winning the war were embedded in classical art and literature?

These questions led me to the ideas that formed the Colliding Line duology, and final installment in the series, Realms of Light—the story about a select group of emerging artists called the Awakened that are given unique powers to help combat the forces of evil.

The protagonist, a young girl named Cera Marlowe, quickly took the lead in the first draft of the story. On a quest for her identity, she steps into her destiny by joining a community of unlikely warriors who would need to overcome great odds, learn to work together, and battle their past in order to defeat the enemy.

The story took more than five years to write and the first draft was over 180k words. The use of classical art emerged slowly over that time. But the verses from John Milton’s Paradise Lost fit seamlessly from the start, paralleling the fight for truth, identity, and war in our fallen world.

At its core, the story is about embracing the past to help shape our future. My hope is that readers see classical art and literature in a new way, and find their own creativity as a much-needed gift to the world.

Blog Stops

Rebecca Tews, April 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 29

Texas Book-aholic, April 30

Inklings and notions, May 1

Woven by Words, May 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 2

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 3

Genesis 5020, May 3

For the Love of Literature, May 4

For Him and My Family, May 5

Wishful Endings, May 6

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 7

Through the Fire Blogs, May 7

deb’s Book Review, May 8

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 9

Blogging With Carol, May 10

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, May 10

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 11

April Hayman, Author, May 11

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, May 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize package of $40 Christianbook.com gift card, custom Bookmark, custom signed bookplate, custom Realms of Light notebook, and library book pattern book / tablet sleeve!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10b5d/realms-of-light-celebration-tour-giveaway


My Review: 

Realms of Light is the second book from The Colliding Line series, as well as, my first introduction to the talents of Sandra Fernandez Rhoads. Since I have not read book one of the series, Mortal Sight, I believe it would be best to start with it first. This will help avoid some confusion to earlier events. I was a little lost in the beginning of reading this one but once I was able to catch on to what I had missed, I was hooked. I thought it was pretty good. 

I will be giving Realms of Light four stars. I would love to read the other books from The Colliding Line series so I can catch up as to wat happened previously. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading clean fantasy. 

I received a digital copy of Realms of Light from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Fantasy & Sci-Fi For Christmas and Giveaway: Mortal Sight by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

On tour with Prism Book Tours

Mortal Sight
(The Colliding Line #1)
By Sandra Fernandez Rhoads
YA Contemporary Fantasy, Paranormal
Paperback & ebook, 270 Pages
April 14, 2020 by Enclave Escape

When Worlds Collide, Shadow Wrestles Light

Seventeen-year-old Cera Marlowe wants a normal life; one where she and her mom can stop skipping town every time a disturbing vision strikes. But when a girl she knows is murdered by a monster she can't explain, Cera's world turns upside down.

Suddenly thrown into an ancient supernatural battle, Cera discovers she's not alone in her gifting and vows to use her visions to save lives. But why does John Milton's poem Paradise Lost keep interrupting her thoughts?

In a race against time and a war against unearthly creatures, will decoding messages embedded in the works of classic literature be enough to stop the bloodshed and protect those she loves?

(Affiliate links included.)

Excerpt

I slip the copy of Paradise Lost out of my bag. The poem helps me feel . . . well, not so crazy and alone. Sure, it’s archaic, written roughly five hundred years ago and isn’t some scientific article or case study, but strangely enough, the words describe exactly what I’m going through.

Flipping through a few pages, I imagine John Milton standing with quiet authority, patiently waiting for me to pick up on the meaning, the same way my old English teacher would do when I’d stare out the window. I stop on a page where I’ve circled and highlighted the verses:

Shine inward and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate; there plant eyes; all mist from thence
Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight.


No doubt, Milton, you describe what happens in my panic attacks in a way that no one else seems to understand…I see misty shadows out of the corner of my eye every now and then, but I’ve only had a hallucination one time…

Then, like a slap in the back of the head, Milton hurls a random verse through my brain, as he often does. “Thou hast seen one world begin and end . . .” Yes, my world always begins and ends every year when I move to a new town, I know. I flip through the poem to match his voice with the words on the page. I read on, hoping there’s something to quell the lingering rawness in my gut. “Much thou hast yet to see . . .”

The wind howls through the cracked glass as heavy raindrops splatter on the roof. I peer out the window through the sheets of rain. Seeing. That’s the answer isn’t it, Milton? My heart races with certainty. But what am I supposed to see?

Excerpted from Mortal Sight by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads. Copyright © Sandra Fernandez Rhoads. Published by Enclave Escape.

About the Author


Sandra Fernandez Rhoads is the author of the Young Adult contemporary fantasy, MORTAL SIGHT. She lives near Dallas, Texas with her husband, 4 kiddos, and a pup named Ellie. She's a Cuban-Colombian born in Queens, NY and has a deep love for art & artist community, adventure, coffee, Jurassic Park, and empanadas. MORTAL SIGHT is her debut novel, but she has past experience writing for the stage, live performance pieces, short film, and poetry.


Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

November 29th: Launch
November 30th: R.J. Anderson – Swift
December 1st: Ralene Burke – Armor of Aletheia
December 2nd: Michelle Diener – Breakaway
December 3rd: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads – Mortal Sight
December 4th: J.M. Hackman – Burn
December 5th: Sharon Hinck – Forsaken Island
December 6th: Ronie Kendig – Dawn of Vengeance
December 7th: Carla Laureano – Oath of the Brotherhood
December 8th: Belle Malory – Deviant Descendants
December 9th: Sara Schaller – The Genesis of Seven
December 10th: Jennifer Silverwood – Stay
December 11th: Anne Wheeler – Treason’s Crown
December 12th: Melissa Wright – Between Ink and Shadows
December 13th: Morgan Wylie –  Silent Orchids
December 14th: Kristen Young – Apprentice
December 15th: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway


One winner will receive a $75 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open internationally
Ends December 19, 2020

ENTER HERE
Grab Our Button!