Forbidden: Better Wear Your Flak Jacket

by F. Stone

on Tour June 19 – July 7, 2017

Tabitha currently lives in Rhode Island. She is married, has four great kids, two spoiled cats, and lovable lab mix. Her degree is in Classics from College of the Holy Cross and she taught Latin for years at an independent Waldorf school, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees.

Tabitha’s debut novel, Horizon, won the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Fiction in 2016, and was named finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and National Indie Excellence Awards. Infinity, the second book in the Horizon series, will be released in June 2017. Her short story “Homecoming” appears in the anthology Sirens, edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press, and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also a senior editor for www.BookClubBabble.com.

Visit her blog at www.tabithalordauthor.com where she discusses favorite topics including parenting, teaching, and her writing journey.

Connect with Tabitha: Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram

Guest Post

On Writing a Sequel

People have asked whether it was easier or harder to write the second book in my series, and my honest answer is – it was both! I’ve grown so much as a writer in the time between the first book and second that, from a craft standpoint, it was easier. I’ve learned to recognize my own bad habits and correct them. I know the places where the plot might be dragging and I can add tension before my editor hits the scene with a red pen. I’m able to dive deeper into character development, and I’m willing to take more risks, knowing that if something doesn’t work, I’ll have the time and opportunity to fix it. With writing the second book, I had confidence in the process.

On the other hand, my first book, HORIZON, received some prestigious awards including the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Fiction in 2016. While it was gratifying to win that award, I definitely felt like I had a lot to live up to, and I felt the stress of it when writing INFINITY. But even without the award, I’d left the first book with an ending that promised a sequel. My newfound readers and fans had an expectation that the story would continue, and I didn’t want to disappoint them. When the early reviews for INFINITY started coming in, and they were actually better than HORIZON’s, I was filled with relief!

As I begin writing the third installment in the series, I’m still working to improve. I’m writing some short fiction, which I find helps hone my skill at creating tension and crafting tight, crisp scenes. I’m guest blogging and writing material for my own web site, because any kind of writing helps keep my creative energy flowing. And I’m reading a lot. My goal as a writer is first and foremost to tell a good story. But I also hope that each book I write will be better than the last!

My Review

4 stars

Caeli Crys is surviving after her people were slaughtered by another alien race. Caeli is an empathy and while hiding she hears that thoughts of a pilot in a ship that is crashing. Although she knows she shouldn’t she goes to the crash site and saves Derek. Derek Markham is surprised by the young woman that saved him and the more time they spend together the more he hears about her past. When he is rescued, Derek takes Caeli with him on the Horizon since he is still trying to keep the Drokaran from conquering planets.

I have to say that Caeli’s story is easy to get into as she is relaying it to Derek. You can’t help but feel for her and her people. They have abilities of empathy, healing and such and are killed by another alien race for that difference. Sadly we don’t learn much about Derek so I have no idea if he is the good guy, going to use and dump Caeli, or whatever else his plan could be.

But once they leave Caeli’s planet things seem to go south. There is the spies and political issues along with a species trying to conquer planets. Although this sounds like a thrill ride getting everything handled it is left lacking. There is no real urgency to anything. And you would think if the crew picked up this person with special abilities they would want to verify or test this out.

Over this was not a bad book. I think there could have been some changes to make it flow better and make the characters more believable. I am going to read the next book to see what happens.

I received Horizon from iRead Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:

May 22 – Working Mommy Journal – review of Horizon / giveaway
May 22 – To Be Read – review of Horizon
May 23 – Working Mommy Journal – review of Infinity / giveaway
May 24 – 411 on Books, Authors and Publishing News – spotlight / guest post/giveaway
May 25 – Bound 4 Escape – review of Horizon / giveaway
May 26 – Cheryl’ Book Nook – review of Horizon / author interview / giveaway
May 29 – Book review nature photos and everything in between – review of Horizon
May 30 – Library of Clean Reads – review of Horizon / giveaway
May 31 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Horizon / giveaway
May 31 – Lisa Loves Literature – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 1   – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review on Horizon
June 2   – A Mama’s Corner of the World – review on Infinity
June 5   – Haddie’s Haven – review of Horizon / guest post / giveaway
June 6   – The Autistic Gamer – review of Horizon
June 7   – The Autistic Gamer – review of Infinity
June 8   – Library of Clean Reads – review of Horizon / giveaway
June 9   – Cheryl’ Book Nook – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 12 – To Be Read – review of Infinity
June 12 – Deal Sharing Aunt – review of Horizon / giveaway
June 13 – Haddie’s Haven – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 14 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – review of Horizon
June 15 – Bound 4 Escape – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 16 – 100 Pages A Day – review of Horizon / guest post / giveaway
June 19 – Elsie’s Audiobook Digest – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 20 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 21 – Deal Sharing Aunt – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 22 – Books, Dreams, Life – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 26 – Nighttime Reading Center – review of Horizon / giveaway
June 27 – Crossroad Reviews – review of Horizon
June 28 – Baker Kella – review of Horizon / author interview / giveaway
June 29 – Baker Kella – review of Infinity / giveaway
June 30 – Svetlana’s Reads and Views – review of Horizon
July 3   – Book review nature photos and everything in between – review of Infinity
July 4   – Sharing Stories – review of Horizon
July 4   – Books for Books – review of Horizon
July 5   – Lukten av trykksverte – review of Horizon / giveaway
July 6   – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Horizon / guest post
July 7   – JBronder Book Reviews – review of Infinity
July 7   – A Book Geek – review of Horizon
July 10 – Nighttime Reading Center – review of Infinity / giveaway
July 11 – Books for Books – review of Infinity
July 11 – Crossroad Reviews – review of Infinity
July 12 – Lukten av trykksverte – review of Infinity / giveaway
July 13 – A Book Geek – review of Infinity
July 13 – Reviews in the City – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
July 14 – Sharing Stories – review of Infinity
July 14 – Svetlana’s Reads and Views – review of Infinity

 Prizes: ​

Win one of 5 prize packages that contains: Horizon (Book #1) and Infinity (Book #2) by Tabitha Lord and a $10 Amazon gift card (open to USA only – 5 winners)

Ends July 22

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