It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means all sorts of goodness on Bookworm for Kids. And yes, the daily read is below, too, so don't forget to scroll down and take a peek.
First off, it's IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). Every month, writers and authors open up, express their fears or concerns, and offer support or advice. This wonderful group was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh and has grown in leaps and bounds over the years to include so much more than this monthly sharing. If you'd like to learn more, head on over here. Special thanks goes to this month's co-hosts:
This month's question: Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?
Yes, I have! My middle grade fantasy/mystery, Music Boxes, is available as an audio book, and it was done by the amazing Nance Weber (you can find it here on audible). My publisher, Dancing Lemur Press, took care of everything. All I had to do was choose my favorite voice from three. It was tons of fun...and I love how it turned out!
I also had a novella, A Glowworm, turned into an audio version by a publisher several years ago, which is no longer available (which reminds me that I should do something with that one, too). Since I didn't do much but check and approve, it was a super easy experience and enjoyable.
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Next, I wanted to make another shout-out to the newest addition in the amazing science fiction series from Alex J Cavanaugh:
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And now, to today's read!
This one came out a few months ago and caught my attention with it's promise of two interesting characters. Plus, I was itching to get my hands on an exciting scifi read.
Let's see if this jets through the galaxy like I hoped it would.
KIYA AND THE MORIAN TREASURE
by R.S. Mellette
YA Science Fiction
288 pages
How do you fight a myth? … You create another one.
Kiya is a former space pirate with a fast ship trying to make a legit living when she accepts a commission from diplomat Janus Alotus. He's got a price on his head and space plague wracking his body. Kiya’s task: Use her unique skills to bring Janus’s daughter, Nadir, home safely so he can sacrifice himself to Admiral Ghan, ruler of the Pirate Council. Janus’s public execution will be a last, desperate, attempt to bring peace to the galaxy, even if it takes a war to accomplish it.
Great plan, until Kiya’s ship is attacked by fellow pirate and ex, Derek, who’s looking to collect the bounty on Janus for himself. With Janus captured, Nadir and Kiya are left to fend for themselves while Kiya seeks to recover the memories erased by her father — which she’s convinced hold the key to finding the mysterious Morian Treasure.
The two young women must resist multiple attacks, reclaim Kiya’s lost memories, and survive Ticking in space and time in a journey through the galaxy the likes of which have never been seen before.
Kiya is a former space pirate with a fast ship trying to make a legit living when she accepts a commission from diplomat Janus Alotus. He's got a price on his head and space plague wracking his body. Kiya’s task: Use her unique skills to bring Janus’s daughter, Nadir, home safely so he can sacrifice himself to Admiral Ghan, ruler of the Pirate Council. Janus’s public execution will be a last, desperate, attempt to bring peace to the galaxy, even if it takes a war to accomplish it.
Great plan, until Kiya’s ship is attacked by fellow pirate and ex, Derek, who’s looking to collect the bounty on Janus for himself. With Janus captured, Nadir and Kiya are left to fend for themselves while Kiya seeks to recover the memories erased by her father — which she’s convinced hold the key to finding the mysterious Morian Treasure.
The two young women must resist multiple attacks, reclaim Kiya’s lost memories, and survive Ticking in space and time in a journey through the galaxy the likes of which have never been seen before.
MY TIDBITS
Quick-paced and short, at around 280 pages, this is an exciting read, packed with action and heart.
After the death of her mother, Nadir's father, a diplomat whose being hunted, hires a pilot to take them back to their home planet, but underway, they are attacked. In an attempt to pave the way for a rejoined galaxy, Nadir's father allows himself to be captured and executed. The pilot, Kiya, is more than she seems to be. Tough and raw, she's a true pirate with her own rough history, and she's determined to get Nadir safely home. But soon, both are caught up in a mystery surrounding a lost, huge treasure and find themselves on a dangerous adventure.
It was fun to speed through space with two very different, young women. Nadir is a stiff, diplomat's daughter with a lot to learn, while Kiya is a rough pirate through and through. They pack humor, grit, determination, and tons of character growth. Especially Nadir has quite a bit to work through thanks to her father's sacrifice and, now, finds herself facing the world alone. They make quite the duo and are what makes this read.
Action does remain high in these pages as the two heroines are thrown from one situation into the next. It's smooth, well-woven, and hard to put down...and it's a short read despite all of this. So, boredom never comes into play. The world-building, however, never hits home, leaving the galaxy as more of a blur on the sidelines. This, however, doesn't really cause an issue, since it's so easy to get lost in the two characters, both who have tons of heart. I was a bit hesitant when I discovered that the action is often laid-out after the fact, rather than at the moment. But it worked...maybe because the characters are so much fun and the read does speed along the whole way through.
It's definitely a unique adventure and packs quite a bit of goodness. I do hope there are books from these two to come.
And here he is...
R.S. MELLETTE, originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, now lives in San Clemente, California, where he toils away at turning his imaginary friends into real ones. While working on “Xena: Warrior Princess,” he created and wrote “The Xena Scrolls'' for Universal's New Media department and was part of the team that won a Golden Reel Award for ADR editing. When an episode aired based on his “Xena Scrolls’” characters, it became the first intellectual property to move from the internet to television. Mellette has worked and blogged for the film festival Dances With Films as well as the novelist collective, From The Write Angle, and he is on the board of the L.A. region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators.
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