Book Spotlight: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein Series by Kenneth Oppel

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Good Evening, Beardies,

Call me indecisive if you will, but making “Best of the Best” lists is my own personal brand of librarian kryptonite. I just can’t decide! Usually, the best book I’ve read this year is the one I’m reading right now. So, instead of making my own list, most of the time I read the books that are on everyone else’s lists. This Dark Endeavor, the first book of Kenneth Oppel’s The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein Series, was on a 2011 list from one of my librarian idols, Lynn Rutan. Along with colleague Cindy Dobrez, Lynn writes a blog called Bookends that I follow religiously. She called This Dark Endeavor “a steampunky Frankenstein retelling,” and from that description alone, I was hooked. Everything Lynn promised, the book delivered, and when the second book came out in August, the series skyrocketed to the top of my “Books to Spotlight” pile.

Saving Mars Giveaway: Winner Announced!!

And we have a WINNER!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to Stephanie Erickson, the winner of the Saving Mars Giveaway!!

Book Spotlight: Enemy Mine by Barry Longyear & David Gerrold

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Guten Tag, Beardies!

My name is Kelsey J. Mills and I come to you all the way from Canada. I am The Bearded Scribe's youngest Guest Scribe—a Science Fiction reader and writer, a sucker for aliens or robots, and a lover of social commentary. I’m so honoured to be here on The Bearded Scribe, and I hope that I manage to entertain you.

The book—technically novella—I will be spotlighting today is Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear and David Gerrold. Please note that this is not the original version—the copy that I have was based on the screen play written by Edward Khmara, which was based on the story written by Barry B. Longyear. Also note that I have not yet seen the movie for which the aforementioned screenplay was written.

New Guest Scribe: Kelsey J. Mills

Good Morning, Beardies,

As many of you who follow the blog on Twitter already know, it is no secret that I have been seeking new talent to add to my already wonderful and dedicated team of reviewers. Because of their dedication and support, and perhaps without them even realizing it, I have found yet another talented writer to join The Bearded Scribe Team.

Book Spotlight: The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Book 1) by Michael Scott

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Good Evening, Beardies,

Back in May, we did an Author Spotlight and giveaway with Michael Scott, author of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series. The contest, and his subsequent interview, were very successful, so it didn't take us long to decide to do a collaborative series of Book Spotlights featuring each of the Flamel books. Unfortunately, finding time to collaboratively write the posts took much longer, but we finally did, and we couldn't be more excited to bring you the first in this series of Book Spotlights.

Dragon*Con 2012 Photos

Good Evening Beardies!!

To follow-up with my Dragon*Con series, as promised, I uploaded an Album to The Bearded Scribe's Facebook Page.

As I was not able to make any of the Dragon*Con events--due to a combination of scheduling conflicts and being under the weather--my friend Josh Kirk was kind enough to share his photos with me so that I could post them for all of you to see.

So, without further ado, click on the photo below to be directed to the Dragon*Con Album :)

Enjoy & Happy Scribing!

Saving Mars Giveaway!!

Morning Beardies!!

So, in addition to surprising me with a guest post, Cidney also donated a [eBook] copy of Saving Mars, her latest title which released mid-August, as a giveaway for the blog.  She also pointed me in the direction of Rafflecopter, a free website to organize and launch giveaways!

Below, at the bottom of the blog, you will find the Rafflecopter Widget in order to enter the contest.  There are several ways you can earn points for the giveaway--some mandatory and some not--such as "Liking" both of our Facebook Pages, Following both of us on Twitter, Tweeting about the Giveaway, Following The Bearded Scribe on Google Friend Connect, and more.

The Giveaway will run from September 12th at 12:01am to September 26th at 12:01am.  Both times are Eastern Standard Time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is my first time using Rafflecopter, so bear with me while I figure it out in more detail :)

***UPDATE!!!
Some entries have come through without the task having actually been completed.  Make sure when it says "Like" this Facebook Page, you are actually doing so before clicking the button at the bottom.  If there are any questions regarding the contest, please feel free to click on the TERMS & CONDITIONS at the bottom of the contest widget to access the email address in order to send your questions.  Or feel free to leave your question in a comment below.

Also, because I have been having issues with continuing to use Google Friend Connect as a basis of The Bearded Scribe's membership, I've decided to remove it as an entry option for the contest.  I've also decided to remove GFC from the Blog entirely because of the same glitches.

Again, this is my first time using Rafflecopter, so bear with me while I figure it out in more detail :)


Good Luck to All!

Writing What You Love

Hello Beardies, 

When I did an Author Spotlight on Cidney Swanson--complete with an interview--back in June, I thought I'd take a chance and ask her if she would be willing to do a guest post on the blog from time to time.  I was thrilled and honored when she agreed!

Much to my surprise, I opened my inbox the other evening to find an email from Cidney, who was curious as to what type of guest post I would like her to write for The Bearded Scribe.  After a couple of emails back and forth, I received an email from her saying that she had already completed and scheduled a post.  And I must say, it's a doozie of a guest post!  I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did!

Book Spotlight: Bitterblue (The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, Book 3) by Kristin Cashore

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Welcome back, Beardies!

Thank you for sticking with me through a week of posts about the Seven Kingdoms Trilogy!  I hope you have enjoyed the posts as much as I enjoyed reading the books—and then dissecting them from a writer's standpoint!

Today we reach the end of Seven Kingdoms—the final installment, Bitterblue.  Bitterblue is the sequel to Graceling, set eight years after the conclusion of that book and forty-eight years after the end of Fire.

Book Spotlight: Fire (The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, Book 2) by Kristin Cashore

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Welcome back, Beardies!

Thanks for joining me for the second installment in my series of posts on Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms Trilogy. Today, we’re discussing Fire, the second book in the trilogy. First published in 2009, Fire is a prequel set forty years before the events of Graceling, in a neighboring kingdom called the Dells. Fire has only one character in common with Graceling, but as unorthodox as this may seem, it is a stroke of genius for the trilogy as a whole.

Book Spotlight: Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, Book 1) by Kristin Cashore

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Welcome back, Beardies!

Back at the beginning of May, Joshua asked me for a list of titles I’d like to feature for Book Spotlight. Bitterblue, the final installment in Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, had just come out, and the trilogy as a whole topped the list. I even owned all the books and had already read the first two. Because of all the reading I have to do for my job, though, often the books that I own fall to the bottom of the pile because I have all the time in the world, rather than the three weeks allowed by a library checkout, to read them. Thus, months passed, and a Spotlight on Seven Kingdoms never came. Then, one night, I asked Joshua for my weekly assignment, and he specifically asked me to read Bitterblue. Turns out, in his words, he’d “been waiting for that Spotlight with white knuckles.” Well, what could I do but oblige him?

Originally, I set out to do just one post on The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, but quickly realized that the trilogy simply had too many strong points and too much depth for one post to do it justice. So, at Joshua’s encouragement, I have decided to cover this trilogy in three separate posts. The first installment of the trilogy, Graceling, hit shelves in 2008 with immediate success, bagging tons of literary hardware. It was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association; was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award for best young adult debut novel that year; and also snagged the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature.

Book Spotlight: Kiss of Pride by Sandra Hill

Hello Beardies!

This is Sara and I’m excited to write a book review for The Bearded Scribe. Joshua was correct in my introduction post—I am usually not far from a book. The fact that my Nook is about 85% full and I’m still surrounded by paper books is proof. My reading specialty is romance—specifically paranormal. There are so many series I want to write about, but I figured I’d start small.

Vikings. (Not very small, are they?) The word conjures images of giant blonde warriors traversing the European waterways to plunder, pillage and explore. This was a race that scared their time period with just their name, so how could they simply be absorbed into other cultures? Sandra Hill offers and explanation for this in her series, The Deadly Angels.