YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the PINK TEAM--but there is also a teal team, a purple team, an orange team, a green team, a gold team, a blue team, and a red team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the pink team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by DATE, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting Cidney Swanson on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Cidney Swanson is an award-winning writer of Young Adult Sci-Fi and Fantasy including The Ripple Trilogy and The Saving Mars Series. SAVING MARS (Kirkus, starred) was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012 and was an honor book for the SCBWI Spark Award 2014. When she’s not writing, Cidney is distracted by shiny things such as books with raised foil covers, macarons in jars, and stars set against an inky night sky. She is conversant in the following geekdoms: Star Trek, Shakespeare, and Ballet. Cidney lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, three kids, two cats, and entirely too much rain.

Find out more information by checking out the her website or find more about the Saving Mars here!

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

Jessamyn, a young pilot living on Mars, yearns to fly a ship to Earth, bringing food back as a heroic Mars Raider. When disaster decimates the colony's food supply, she gets the chance. Breaking rules of secrecy and no contact between the estranged Mars colony and Earth, Jess finds an ally in Pavel, nephew to a government official on Earth, but their mutual attraction only makes the choice before her more agonizing: stay and rescue her brother or return and save her planet?

The Bonus Content for Cidney's Mars series is a sneak peak Cover Reveal for Book Five in the SAVING MARS series, STRIKING MARS.

Amazing cover, isn't it? I'm so thrilled to be the one to share it with you all.

I'm also having a special giveaway just for the Scavenger Hunt. Be sure to enter!

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And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Cidney Swanson, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 3, for my three boys. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the pink team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, T.H. Hernandez!

Tweet #YASH

Ch-ch-changes YA Hop with Nicole Zoltack

Welcome to the Ch-ch-changes blog hop!

WOMAN OF HONOR, the first book in my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, deals with a lot of changes in the main character's life. Aislinn grows up from a young girl at seven, with a big dream of becoming a lady knight, to becoming a squire and falling in love, to even more. To say she goes through changes is an understatement!

Here's an excerpt for you to enjoy:

"Is there anyone else that you have feelings for, Aislinn? Is that why you don't want to be with Geoffrey?"

Aislinn blinked, thinking about his question. "I haven't thought about such things. I'm too focused on becoming a knight. That's all I'm worried about."

Caelan pushed back his chair and stood. With him on his feet, Aislinn had to tip back her chin to look him in the face, he had grown so much in the years since they'd first met. "There is no one else?"


She shook her head.


Caelan took a step closer to her, stepping so close he only had to whisper for her to hear him. "What if I told you that Geoffrey isn't the only one who favors your company?"


His closeness overwhelmed Aislinn and she tried to take a step back. Her shoulders bumped the bookshelf behind her and several books shifted, but none made enough noise to draw the attention of anyone else in the library. Caelan lay a hand against her cheek, his thumb beneath her chin, and with a gentle touched, forced her to look at him.


Her heart pounded hard in her chest like a caged bird and Aislinn caught her breath.


"Caelan," she whispered softly, but before she could say more, his lips covered hers.


Aislinn froze for a second as he held his mouth against hers, then heard herself sigh when he pressed closer and moved his lips. Aislinn's eyes fluttered closed and she raised her hands to lay them on his chest, feeling his heart pound as hard as her own. Then reality snapped at her and she shoved him away.


"Stop it!"


She pushed past the prince and rushed from the library, with several squires and younger pages turning at her escape. Aislinn ran to her room and slammed the door shut. She leaned against it and slid to the floor, her head in her hands.


How dare he kiss me!


But the worst realization was that she'd kissed him back. Even the memory now made her insides tremble and her hands shake.

I can't take part in a hop and not have a giveaway!

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To continue the Hop and don’t forget to download the free e-book of excerpts ….http://mfrw.hopwith.me/

Blogger Book Fair Giveaway

As part of Blogger Book Fair, I'm having a giveaway! Be sure to enter!

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Also, I would be so appreciative if you could vote for Woman of Honor in the Reader's Choice Awards! It's listed under Fantasy-Mature (2) Not sure why since it should be YA but votes are greatly appreciated!

Finally, if you have some time, head over to Lauren Grimley's site for a character interview with Aislinn, the heroine in Woman of Honor.

Win a Print Copy of Woman of Honor

First ever Goodreads giveaway! Want to enter to win a print copy of Woman of Honor? Here's your chance! Good for those in the US and Canada. If it goes well, I'll probably do an international one too. So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and enter!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Woman of Honor

by Nicole Zoltack

Giveaway ends May 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Spooktacular G*veaway Hop - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, Champion of Valor

Welcome to Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! This hop is organized by The Diary of a Bookworm and by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. There are more than 270 blogs participating, and it runs from 6 - 12 April!

I'm giving away winner's choice of an ebook in any format from my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish and she begins her long years of training.

Despite the mockery of the other pages, and the disdain of Prince Caelan who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her dreams and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelan grow from sparring classmates to good friends. They both know that someday Caelan will marry for the sake of the kingdom, but even that cannot keep them from falling in love. 

The threat of war with the Speicans is a constant threat, and one that grows more frightening as she and Caelan train toward their eventual knighthood. Aislinn has committed herself to serving Arnhem, and has promised herself as King's Champion when Caelan claims the throne. She is willing to give up everything... her childhood, her life, even her heart for Arnhem. No matter the pain it brings.

 

Sir Geoffrey, along with some companions, has been sent away from Arnhem, entrusted by Queen Aislinn for a special mission, and has to leave behind the mysterious lady Celestia. On his journey, he uncovers seeds of a sinister plot, learns a horrible secret, and makes a new friend in exile Jenanna.

Their mission completed, Geoffrey and his companions rush to two different kingdoms to ask for aid. Danger and betrayal lurks around every corner, and even allies have secrets that could prove deadly. Geoffrey's feelings for Celestia grow and wane. After learning some of Celestia's secrets, he begins to have second thoughts about his love for her and is even drawn to Jenanna.

Rumors abound that the Speicans have enlisted a mage of their own, to work unspeakable, forbidden magic. The war between Speica and Arnhem has just begun. Will Geoffrey survive the battle to live another day and discover which woman he truly loves?

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is. 

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pictures of Me Holding Woman of Honor!

I promised pictures so here they are!

So awesome to hold my book!

Not that ebooks aren't books, they are, but to be able to flip the pages...

And see my name on the cover...

And hubby is finally going to read it! (It's about time, dontcha think? It was only published back in 2009!)


Btw, you can't really tell but the shirt I'm wearing says My Heart belongs to books. It sure does!


Want a copy of your own? Email me at Nicole.Zoltack AT gmail.com The distributor is still working on getting the books available on Amazon and other places so currently you can only purchase through me.


Or you can try to win a copy over at one of my CP's blogs. Mary's having a 100 follower contest and the prize is a signed copy of Woman of Honor!

Want to W*n a Print Copy of Woman of Honor?

I'm stoked about receiving my author copies of Woman of Honor in the mail this past Friday! (Don't worry, I'll post pics tomorrow!) Want to win a copy? Head on over to one of my CP's blogs. Mary's hosting a 100 follower contest and the prize is a signed print copy of Woman of Honor!

Weekly Progress Report - Started a New Story and News about Woman of Honor

As always, I'm editing for various client's. Hubby watched the boys on Sunday again so I went to B&N and wrote the first two chapters of a new story - a superhero romance! I figured out his superhero name. Now to figure out which superpowers he'll acquire....

And I've seen pictures of the proof copy of Woman of Honor in print!! I should be receiving my author copies soon!! Can't wait to have hubby take a picture of my holding a copy! And I've already have some requests to autograph copies!!!! *swoons*

Sorry, it appears I can't stop using exclamation points today! (<--- case in point! Argh, I can't stop! LOL There, that's better.)

How goes your writing? Your reading? Seen any good movies lately? Are you going on vacation this summer? Where to?

Check out some other great progress reports this week:

http://www.writersally.blogspot.com/
http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/
http://waibelworld.blogspot.com
http://susanfieldswriter.blogspot.com
http://skmayhew.blogspot.com/p/tuesday-wip-status.html
http://margoberendsen.blogspot.com
http://www.sherryauger.blogspot.com
http://www.susanoloier.blogspot.com
http://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com/
http://lynneawest.blogspot.com

Question of the Week - Strengths

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

What do you consider to be your greatest strength? The greatest strength of your favorite literary character? The greatest strength of one of your characters?

My greatest strength? Probably my willingness to help others. (that can sometimes lead to my inability to say no - which just might be one of my bigger weaknesses). Greatest strength of my favorite literary character? First - my favorite literary character is Snape. His greatest strength was his love for Lily Potter. The greatest strength of one of my characters? Aislinn - the heroine in Woman of Honor - her drive and determination to achieve her goal despite it being against society's normal standards.

Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash

Welcome to the Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash Tour. Tomorrow the tour ends at the Desert Breeze blog. On May 1st, Stephanie Burkhart will pick the lucky winner of a GC from Amazon.

My giveaway as a part of the tour is a copy of one of my books from the Kingdom of Arnhem series - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, or Champion of Valor. All you need to do to win is to make a comment on the blog today. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Why I Love Desert Breeze Publishing

I first learned about Desert Breeze through a publisher chat on a yahoo group. As the chat was winding down, Gail Delaney (the EIC) mentioned that she loved series, especially for fantasy and a few other genres. I mentioned to her that I had an unfinished manuscript that would be part of a series and briefly described it to her. She said to send it to her when it was finished.

The story I had mentioned was a Nano story (National Novel Writing Month when authors around the world try to write a 50K in November). I abanonded all other side projects and focused on the novel until I completed it. After finishing it, I submitted to Gail and waited. Shortly thereafter, she emailed me an acceptance for Woman of Honor.

Desert Breeze is a non-erotic romance publisher, which is perfect for me. My novels tend to have crossover appeal. Woman of Honor is a coming-of-age fantasy romance, so it's definitely for YA and adults.

Anyhow, I had mentioned to Gail about the series during the yahoo chat, and we worked together to figure out the direction that the series could take so that the entire series was fantasy romance, each book centering on a different couple.

Woman of Honor is the tale of young Aislinn, a girl who wants to become a knight and finds love along the way.

Knight of Glory is about Geoffrey as he travels across the continent to find allies for Arnhem, while he tries to decide between two very different, mysterious ladies.

Champion of Valor focuses on Selliki the selkie and Gabrael the mage amidst the finals battles between Arnhem and Speica.

I am so happy to be with Desert Breeze the past two years. My covers are gorgeous - Jenifer Ranieri is masterful. My favorite cover of the three is Champion of Valor. The contrast of the dark clouds with the glimmer of light - and the awesome castle - pure genius.

I already mentioned Champion of Valor. It releases May 1st, and I'm so excited for its release! I'm organizing a huge blog tour for it, and I hope you join me. At the end of the tour, I'm going to give away a copy of the entire series to one lucky winner, as well as small prizes at each stop. I'll post more about the blog tour tomorrow.

Champion of Valor blurb:

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is.

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.

Nano Wrap Up and December Goals

I was originally going to update you all on my Nano story yesterday, considering it was December 1st, but Talli overtook the blog world in a huge way, and my blog was part of the splash.

But today is all me again.

I wrote just over 50k of Champion of Valor in November, making me a winner! Although I still have a lot of words to add - roughly 40-50k - before the story is completely finished. Then it'll need to be edited and sent to beta readers and edited again. I already wrote the ending but I'm sure some of the details will need to be adjusted/fixed. A lot of scenes were glossed over *insert battle between X and Y* *insert battle between Z and A* lol This book is full of action scenes, which is to be expected, after all, it's about a war.

I really like how CoV is shaping up. I don't want to go into too many details but here's the basic gist:

The final war between Speica and Arnhem draws to an end as allies are gained, lines are crossed, people die, and a mage and selkie struggle to make their love work as Lucifer attempts to bring about the Apocalypse before its time.


I've mentioned this before but book I in the series, Woman of Honor has a mostly historical feel to it, with some fantasy thrown in. Knight of Glory focuses more on the fantasy. Champion of Valor has both fantasy and religious undertones. High fantasy - meaning a medieval type world. In the Middle Ages, religion was a huge part of their everyday lives so I had to include religion.

I've created a lot of problems and dilemmas for my characters. It'll be interesting to see how they fix everything and restore order, and who's let standing to see things through til the very end.

Hubby was a big help, watching the boys in order to let me get some writing in when our sons refused to nap at the same time. Wouldn't have won without him!

I also was a PiBoIdMo winner. I came up with 32 ideas for picture books. Some are better than others but it was a lot of fun to sit and think up picture book ideas. Can't wait until I have some free time that I can devote to picture books.

I guest blogged at Loraine's about previous Nano experiences. Feel free to check it out and leave a comment!

So for the rest of December, I'm going to finish Champion of Valor. If I have time there are a couple of short stories I would like to write. Prime books is publishing an anthology of urban fantasy werewolf stories. Pill Hill Press has a romantic suspense anthology. And Fangtales, the next in the Tales anthologies from Wyvern Publications, scary YA stories about vampires. So December is going to be busy, busy, busy. If I don't get to the short stories, I don't get to them, but I'm going to try. Might as well set the bar high and strive to do all I can.

How productive was your November? Did you do Nano? What was your story about? Did you win? Have you read any good books lately? What are your reading/writing goals for December?

Guest Blog

I'm the guest blog today at Lyn Cote's blog and would love some comment love! I'm talking about Aislinn, the female knight from Woman of Honor and how she's like Ester.

Cherie Interviews Me

Cherie Reich, a very talented author whose flash fiction pieces are wonderful, has interviewed me here. I would love it if you hop on over and leave me a comment! Also, she reviewed both of the Kingdom of Arnhem books here.

Woman of Honor review:

Review: Nicole Zoltack's Woman of Honor weaves the tale of the first lady knight of Arnhem. Sprinkled with historical facts, bullies, and a good dose of love and honor, Woman of Honor is a coming of age novel set in the fantastical medieval world of Arnhem Kingdom. Aislinn is brave and truly grows to be a woman of honor. The characters are likeable and realistic. We feel Aislinn's pains while she tries to prove herself. She overcomes tradition and the growing threat of Speica. This novel has history, knights, and mythological creatures and is filled with intrigue, mystery, horror, and, most important of all, love. In this first book of the Kingdom of Arnhem series, I feel like we touch upon their lives and a conflict looming in their future. By the end, I craved more from this fantastical world, and I'm glad Ms. Zoltack supplied it in her next book.

Knight of Glory review:

Review: Nicole Zoltack's Knight of Glory follows Sir Geoffrey's quest for love and honor. With the growing threat of Speica and a dangerous Villaimage, the Kingdom of Arnhem may have met its match. Whereas in Woman of Honor, we see the historical aspects of knighthood, in Knight of Glory, Ms. Zoltack builds upon her fantastical world. We learn of new kingdoms, including the dwarven kingdom in the south and the troll kingdom in the north. New mythological creatures come into play, and we get our first real doses of magic. Despite battle brewing, love conquers all bounds. Filled with bitter foes, magical displays, a quest for true love in many cases, and a dash of enigma, Knight of Glory is a true delight. By the end, we understand that a brewing war of good and evil is afoot, but unfortunately, we must wait until May 2011 for the third book of the Kingdom of Arnhem series, Champion of Valor. I look forward to this third book and more from Ms. Zoltack.

Featured author!

I'm the featured author at Inspirational ebooks! Be sure to leave a comment (with your email addy) to be entered into the weekly drawing for PDF copies of all the ebooks featured this week, including my Woman of Honor.

Sale at ARe!

ARe is teaming up with the Smart B*tches Trashy Books blog to give readers 50% off their purchase this weekend. To read the entire post, visit here. The code is SBTBARe1

The discount will only appear once the code is entered in the shopping cart and the “Calculate Discount” button is selected. This offer expires at midnight 31 January 2010, 11:59 PM Mountain Standard Time.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to purchase Woman of Honor before Knight of Glory is released in March.

Go shop, my friends!

Writing Update

I know, I know, it's been a little while since I updated. I'm sorry but I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that everyone has a prosperous and delightful new year! I'm hoping that 2010 will be a huge year for me, writing wise.

Speaking of writing, I recently submitted a short story, The Last Raid Against Lushfield, to Pill Hill Press for their Four Horsemen Anthology. Unfortunately, they rejected it, but the rejection letter was rather nice:

Thank you for your recent submission to Pill Hill Press' The Four Horsemen: An Anthology of Conquest, War, Famine & Death. Unfortunately, I have decided to pass on your story. This is not reflective of the quality of your writing, I just didn't feel it was a good fit for this anthology.

I carefully considered "The Last Raid Against Lushfield" -- it was shortlisted. Great story and I hope you find a home for it in a different market.

I hope you will continue to submit your work to Pill Hill Press (see the "Open Submissions" page of our website - www.pillhillpress.com), and wish you the best of luck in all of your writing endeavors.


As far as rejection letters go, that is pretty much the best you're gonna get. Now I'm off to find another home for it. I do think this one will find a home quickly, it is one of my better shorts. It's also set in the same world as my Kingdom of Arnhem series.

Which leads me to the P&E 2009 polls. Woman of Honor is nominated in the annual Preditors & Editors Readers Poll. If you read and enjoyed Woman of Honor, please cast your vote for me here.

You'll have to enter your name, e-mail address, and type two verification words. Click the link in the confirmation e-mail, and your vote is counted!

Woman of Honor is also up for Romance Novels and me under authors.

Thanks! And I promise it won't be so long before I post again.

Update: Nano, Knight of Glory, Bonus Excerpt, and Dreams

November is always a crazy month for me because of Nano so I'm sorry that I haven't been posting much lately.

I changed my mind about Nano. Instead of doing two stories, I rewrote my fantasy YA novel. It had been roughly 69K, now it's just over 80K and (hopefully) ready for an agent's desk. In addition to that story, I wrote another combined 19K from other stories so I almost wrote 100K anyhow. A wild success if you ask me!

Now I've been doing my final revisions of Knight of Glory before I send it off to my Beta Reader. I hope to send it sometime next week. I'm really excited for some feedback on it.

And a bonus for you all, I decided to post another excerpt from Woman of Honor for you to enjoy:


This day, the last class was riding. After setting the saddle on Dream Rider’s back and tightening the girth to keep it in place, Aislinn adjusted the stirrup length and set her foot in the stirrup, swinging onto Dream Rider’s back. Again, the horse refused to cooperate. “Come on, go straight,” Aislinn muttered, trying to spurn the horse onward with a touch of her heels to his side. Dream Rider turned right. Aislinn pulled up on the reins, trying to get the horse to halt but the horse continued to go right and made circle after circle until Aislinn wondered why he didn’t stumble from dizziness.

“What is going on here?” Baron Benedict came over, riding his own steed, Moonshine.

“I’m sorry, Lord Benedict. The horse won’t stop spinning.”

“I thought you told me you knew how to ride a horse?”

“I did, my lord. And I do.”

“Evidently not.” The baron wrinkled his crooked nose in disgust. “But since you think you know how to handle a horse, then, by all means, go ahead. You don’t need my help then.”

Aislinn watched the Baron’s backside as he rode up to another page. The dark baron was a formidable instructor and his contempt wounded her more than she liked to admit. Refusing to let him see how much his lack of faith hurt her, Aislinn kicked her heels hard into Dream Rider’s formidable sides. But no matter how hard she dug in her heels or tried to coax the horse to the right or left, the horse refused to listen and did the opposite.

Finally, class finished. Aislinn swung herself free of the saddle to walk the horse back to his stall. “You listen well enough when I guide you and walk beside you, why can’t you listen when I use a rein?” she grumbled.

“I told you ‘fore, that horse don’t listen well,” Tomas said, limping over to her.

“What happened to your leg?”

“A knight brought me a wild horse the other day. I was tryin’ to break it in but it’s got a vicious mean streak and it kicked me. I’ll be fine.” He brushed her concern away with a wave of his hand. “The better question is what are you goin’ to be doin’ with that yon horse?”

“I don’t know.” Aislinn sighed. “The baron was not pleased with me.”

“Well, can’t say that I blame ‘im. There aren’t any more horses to offer either, not that the horses can be reassigned anyways. But, as if said ‘fore, I’ll help in any way that I can. I just don’t know how.” He grinned broadly at her and Aislinn wondered if the few missing teeth was from a well aimed kick by a horse.

“If I come back tonight, after I finish my work, will you still be around?”

“Not tonight, lass. But you can come ‘ron if you be wantin’. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you, Tomas, I might do that.” Aislinn untacked the horse and brushed the dirt and dust from him. If only she could figure out how to force the horse to listen!


Aislinn faces many difficulties on her journey to fulfilling her dreams. What are your dreams? What obstacles are you facing or might you face? Me? I would love to be a best selling author. But I'm also a mom and that comes first. What about you?

All About Eve Anthology

Yesterday was the deadline for WolfSinger Publications' All About Eve Anthology. They wanted a story about the first female, whether you wrote about Eve or Pandora.

I wrote a short story about Pandora and her box in two days, just under 5k. It was really fun to write. I've always been interested in mythology. I choose to use the Roman gods instead of their Greek counterparts and how to do search and replace because I kept typing Zeus instead of Jupiter! So I submitted Breaking Hope and hopefully I'll hear back soon.

Tomorrow's my birthday and since I love Italian cuisine, we're going to Bravo, an Italian restaurant. I'll be turning 25, a quarter of a century. Wow, does time fly. After my birthday celebration, I'll resume working on Knight of Glory, Book 2 in the Kingdom of Arnhem series.

Speaking of my fantasy romance series, you can now purchase Woman of Honor at another location: Books on Board. I'm very excited about this!

Yet Another Review for Woman of Honor

Title: Woman of Honor (The Kingdom of Arnhem Book 1 )
Author: Nicole Zoltack
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing Inc.
Copyright: 2009
ISBN : 978-1-936000-03-6
Genre: Fantasy; Romance
RATED: 4
Reviewed By: Lynn 7/29/09

Arnhem 1155 AD

Aislinn of Bairdhe wants to honor her brothers death by becoming a lady knight and maintaining her family’s prestige in the knighthood. At the age of 7 years Aislinn is at the right age when one starts the training as a page. As she makes her journey to the castle to consult the King to let her train as a knight. King Patrick grants her wish to begin her training. With many years of training looming ahead of her, she has to put up with the ridicule of the other pages just because she is a girl, and the worst one being Prince Caelan who also is training to become a knight.

As the years slowly go by Aislinn and Caelan go from being antagonistic to each other to becoming close friends to falling in love . As their training continues towards their upcoming knighthood, the underlying threat of war with the Speicans is always close at hand. Aislinn is committed to serve Arnhem and become ths Kings Champion. When its time for Caelan to take over the occupancy of the throne, can Aislinn who now is a Lady Knight stay committed to Arnhem or will she give her heart and her life to love.
This then is the story of a young girl who has a dream and embarks on the journey to bring her dreams to realization. It always amazes me how Authors of fantasy books can come up with the names of their characters. This was such a interesting read to watch the characters mature from children to young adults. This book kept be interested from the very beginning . For a fantasy book to hold my interest it has to grab me at the very beginning and this book did just that as in my mind I kept urging Aislinn on to make her dream come true.

Five Delightful Divas and a Recommended Read for Woman of Honor!

Woman of Honor by Nicole Zoltack

Woman of Honor by Nicole Zoltack
Publisher: Desert Breeze
Genre: Fantasy


Summary: Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish and she begins her long years of training.

Despite the mockery of the other pages, and the disdain of Prince Caelan who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her dreams and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelan grow from sparing classmates to good friends. They both know that someday Caelan will marry for the sake of the kingdom, but even that cannot keep them from falling in love.

The threat of war with the Speicans is a constant threat, and one that grows more frightening as she and Caelan train toward their eventual knighthood. Aislinn has committed herself to serving Arnhem, and has promised herself as King's Champion when Caelan claims the throne. She is willing to give up everything... her childhood, her life, even her heart for Arnhem. No matter the pain, it brings.

My Review: Woman of Honor by Nicole Zoltack is a beautiful sweet romance with a touch of fantasy. The author uses a lyrical cadence in her descriptions. At first, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy reading about a young girl, but to my delight, I did! Ms. Zoltack created a story that allowed me, the reader, to experience a different world through a seven year olds eye all the way through womanhood. The depiction of the surroundings, as well as the struggles Aislinn has in her travel to knighthood is well done. Tender moments sprinkled throughout kept the story warm and inviting. Aislinn is a heroine worthy of her ambitions. I was reluctant to stop reading for sleep because I wanted to know how the story progressed and if Aislinn succeeded. The supporting characters and accurate details gave a lovely view of life in medieval times. Ms. Zoltack took the time to build, layer by layer, a magnetic plot. Woman of Honor concludes nicely with the commitment of Aislinn and Caelan. The behind closed door intimacies seem very appropriate for this coming of age love story.

Ms. Zoltack did an excellent job giving a personality to Caelan through Aislinn’s eyes but as a reader, I want and expect a little of the hero’s point of view. What I missed was the thoughts and narrative of the hero, Caelan. Even with that said, I still found their journey to be wonderfully romantic.

With the exception of wanting a little more insight to the hero’s thoughts, I would recommend this book. Nicole Zoltack provides a well crafted story that focuses on emotion and anticipation. Not only a book that a young adult would enjoy, but a woman of any age who wants to enjoy romance and a strong heroine and how she gained her strength. In the future, we will see Nicole Zoltack ranking with many of the top authors we have come to love over the years. We will have a section of our bookcases or hard drives waiting for her newest release. I will certainly read the second installment in this series, Knight of Glory, due out in April 2010 because I enjoyed Ms. Zoltack’s writing and Woman of Honor that much.

Rated 5 Delightful Divas and a Recommended Read by Em Epe!