A perfect Square is about a group of friends. That group of friends seems to bring Mysteries to an English friend that become an owner of Daisy Quilt Shop. When a dead girl is found and an Amish young man is the center of it.

Callie and her friend Deborah need to find out who killed her or what happened to her. Who is Ruben Fisher covering for? Why will he not clear his name? There seem to be more going on than anything when and Old elderly man shows up at Daisy Quilt Shop, claiming to find his long-lost daughter? Will, it seems that this long lost daughter is really a clue to the dead young girl they find in a pond?

Vannetta Chapman does a wonderful job of giving the readers something to hang on to. Will God grace help and mend. There seems to be a family that thinks that their daughter is running and living in the English world? What happens when the parents find out the truth about their daughter? What about the young man that on the run? What happens on Palm Sunday in 1965 with the Tornadoes?

A young man seems to be watching a young woman walking down his street or lane. When she is wabbling or weaving across the road and then falls. He springs into action. What happens to her. She has no coat on or hat?

How did she get to where she is? Caleb is worried about her once she falls into the snow. When she wakes up does not know how she got where is? All she remembers is Caleb holding her to him. He does take her to his parent home. They welcome her and try and help her. Who is she? The only thing that she has that tell anything about her is that of a book. Her name is in the book. Well her first name.


Things are hard for her and she want to remember? It will take some time, in the meantime, she gets to know Caleb and his family. As they get to know her. Will Caleb learn change is good as well as bad? Rachel seems to want to get Caleb to understand her. Will they find love together? It seems that Rachel really wants her memories back. Will she get them for Christmas?


Vannetta Chapman does a sweet and wonderfully good job of pulling you along for the journey. She takes your heart for a ride. Will they receive what they need and will god provide where they are to belong. Vannetta seems to be able to bring new illnesses through the eyes of Amish. This book about love but also learning to deal with amnesia. We can sometimes forget that our brains and Amish family deal with the same kind of injuries as everyone else. Will Caleb and Rachel both get what they need?

’THE DISASTERS’ RELEASES TODAY, 12.18.18!

It has been a long time coming because I have been on the launch crew waiting for this book to be released and FINALLY, we have LIFT OFF!! ‘The Disasters’ is a super-fun YA space adventure about a bunch of misfits who end up saving the galaxy.

I was able to give M.K. England some interview questions about her debut book, about growing up on the Space Coast of Florida, and her love of Star Wars, so check out the Q&A and about the book below!

Thank you to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having ME yet again!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, M.K. ENGLAND

M.K. England is an author and YA librarian who grew up on the Space Coast of Florida and now calls the mountains of Virginia home. When she’s not writing or 'librarianing,' MK can be found drowning in fandom, going to conventions, rolling dice at the gaming table, climbing on things in the woods, or feeding her video game addiction. She loves Star Wars with a desperate, heedless passion. It’s best if you never speak of Sherlock Holmes in her presence. You’ll regret it. 

The Disasters

by M.K. England
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: December 18th, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi

 

Synopsis:

 

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

 

 

Q&A WITH AUTHOR M.K. ENGLAND

 

I'm so excited to be able to do Q&A with you, as I've been on the 'Launch Crew' for your book 'The Disasters' for MONTHS! Finally, it's hitting shelves TODAY, so there are some questions that must be asked. I already know you're a Ravenclaw (me too), and born under the sign of Cancer, so you're a Crab (me too, so let's ask some more important stuff).

 

 

1 First of all, the blurb on your book has to be one of the best I've ever read, 'The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of The Galaxy', not just because those are two movies that I absolutely love, but because I'm total movie buff myself (with a film degree and background) and I have an inkling that movies have inspired 'The Disasters' big time.

What are your 5 top movies (*you can't include Star Wars here!)?

 

I’m honestly more of a TV person than a movie person, so I’ll include TV and movies here. There’s are in no particular order because narrowing down to five is already cruel enough without ranking them!

• Babylon 5
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Stargate SG-1
• The Fifth Element (problematic fave)
• The Great British Baking Show (“one of these things is not like the otherssss…”)
• Brooklyn 99 (YEAH I PUT SIX. I’M A REBEL)

2 Without spoiling too much about 'The Disasters' you have made the distinct choice of keeping humans very human, despite it being 2194, and there being advancements so that people may live on other planets. In contrast to a lot of other science-fiction about the future of the human race, why did decide to keep us that way?

A combination of complicated reasons. In this world, the A-drive technology

that lets humans travel quickly between the stars was sort of a lightning

strike discovery in 2050ish, which isn’t really that far away. As soon as that

happened, you know there’d be a big political upheaval and a second space

race, which I obliquely reference in the book. That kind of stuff always sets

us back as humans, even as it brings us forward in technology.

With humanity establishing new homes out among the stars, something that

would require a lot of hands-in-the-dirt work, I think our base humanity

would stay largely intact, at least in the early days. I didn’t want to portray a

future where we’ve totally disappeared into the cloud just as we’ve opened

up this whole vast galaxy to explore. I imagine this book set during a very

outward-facing time in humanity’s history, stretching out, focusing

technological development on those goals, rather than necessarily turning it

inward on the human body and mind. Not that these things can’t happen

concurrently, but it wasn’t really the kind of story I wanted to tell.

Ultimately, though, there are some core things about humanity that I hope

will always exist. A need to laugh, to love, to build connections, to explore.

Those are the fundamentals of being human, to me, and I hope we never

lose them.

 

3 I was drawn to 'The Disasters' not just because of the amazing purple cover (props to your cover designer, Jenna Stempel-Lobell) but because I'm drawn to storylines where I have to root for the underdog. This is a common theme in YA but this really is a story about a bunch of rejects.

What was it that drew you to writing a story about this bunch of hapless teens-turned-heroes?

 

Lovelovelove the cover, and so grateful for the design team at HarperTeen! The basic seed of the idea of this book was “a hotshot pilot fails out of a space academy on his first day,” so that underdog sense was baked in from the very earliest glimmers. From there, I think the concept naturally developed into a way for me to explore a lot of my own angry thoughts about how people get labeled as rejects or failures or whatever just for making one mistake, or being different, or responding to the way society has shaped them. Our cultural idea of who gets to be a hero is so narrow. I’ve also spent most of my life obsessed with success and validation, which is totally unhealthy, and I think I’ll have a lot more to say on it in future books.  

 

4 There are some interesting relationships in 'The Disasters' including a pair of brothers who have spent a good deal of their teen years apart, with one of them, the main character Nax, believing his brother hates him. It's refreshing to read a book with male teens who end up having to actually talk to each other and be emotionally vulnerable; do you feel like there's a gap in YA lit when it comes to this?

 

I didn’t actually set out to fill any sort of gap with it, but yes, I do think all aspects of our society are lacking in good emotional models for teens who are socialized as male. I hope we can continue to expand the range of emotions we allow all characters to experience: angry, emotionally-constipated girls (hello, my next book), sensitive and vulnerable boys, non-binary characters period—we need it all!

 

5 Many people know you are a YA librarian (shout out to librarians everywhere!): What would you say is the number one key to encouraging a reluctant reader of any age?

 

Please, for the love of cupcakes, LET THEM READ WHAT THEY WANT. I want to scream every time a parent takes a book out of a kid’s hand because “it’s a graphic novel and that’s not real reading” or “that book is for girls” or “Twilight/The Hunger Games/etc. is garbage” or whatever else. The same thing applies to adults—can we not shame each other for loving romance, or cozy mysteries, or the latest James Patterson, or whatever else. Let people love whatever books speak to them and celebrate that love.

 

6 I know you grew up on the Space Coast of Florida, but you now call the mountains of Virginia home. Do you feel as though your childhood environment encouraged your love of all things space? How so?

 

Definitely. I feel like I would have come around to space eventually anyway, because it was really stuff like Star Wars and Issac Asimov’s nonfiction that dragged me into the deep end, and there are tons of people who grew up in my town who couldn’t care less about space. But being able to watch space shuttles and rockets launch from my backyard absolutely had an impact. Same with my parents always taking me to work and talking about the boring-but-necessary logistics side of the aerospace industry. It was part of the soundtrack of my early life and I’m grateful for it.

 

7 Okay, here comes the big question, since I know the whole Star Wars universe has been a big influence in your life AND it has inspired your writing. What is your favorite Star Wars movie, AND who is your favorite character?

 

ARG YOU ARE CRUEL INDEED. From the original trilogy, I think Empire Strikes Back is objectively the best movie, but A New Hope is the one I like to re-watch the most. It’s where it all started! Of the new stuff, I like The Force Awakens best. I love seeing the Star Wars Universe diversified and with a female lead. I can’t even imagine what the impact would have been on my childhood, having those movies. I had a seriously emotional moment at Disney recently, walking around the Star Wars area and seeing little kids of all genders dressed up and wearing SW shirts. MY HEART!

Favorite character… so hard. SO HARD. HOW DARE YOU.

Old trilogy: Han Solo
New trilogy: Poe Dameron

Extended Universe: Wedge Antilles & Tycho Celchu

(Honestly, the Force is my least favorite part of the SWU. Give me alllllll the pilots!)

 

8 Any hints about your second book you'd like to share?

 

I just turned in the final draft, huzzah! On to copyedits we go! It’ll be out in early 2020, maybe January. I can’t say much about it yet, but I can’t wait to reveal the title. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy mashup with similar pacing and humor to THE DISASTERS, but more emotionally intense, in my opinion. It’s very Final Fantasy 7 meets Six of Crows. Angry girl MC, nonbinary love interest, sass, and #friendshipgoals!

 

 

Good luck with the book, and thanks for answering my questions! It has been a lot of fun being on the 'Launch Crew'.

I'll be happily telling everyone to read your book; I already plan to buy a few copies for people!

 

 

 

*BOOK LINKS to buy THE DISASTERS!*

 

Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Kobo, Indiebound 

 

 I hope you decide to grab a copy of the book; it will make a great read for the holidays or for a plane ride!!! 

ENJOY!

 

 

 

*Last but not least click here for the full DISASTERS BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE!*

 

 

 

 

 

Ever feel like god let you down? Well Hannah seem to think this a little bit when a tragedy take away her husband and her son ability to walk. Hannah not only has to deal with her loss but also her son’s disability.

It really like the way Vanetta Chapman did this. Not a lot of books talk and deal with disability including the Amish. I really do like that. We see how it is with Hannah and we go along for a ride with Hannah as she learn to deal with the emotionally and physical disability.

We see that Amish got to deal with the same problems as those that were Englishers. You should be able to fall back and see the that family and friends will be there to help. We also meet Jacob. Will there be love once again for Hannah and Jacob?

Jakob has to deal with tragedy of his own and his own scars. Will he realise that god loves him as he is. The scars and what he was doing is not his fault. He not only have to deal with his loss and mistakes but leaning on family may help. He seems to hide himself from others. Will Hannah and her son help him find love along with Hannah.

Before I fully launch into my review (which I've saved up for release day), I have to first say how totally excited I am that this book is going to finally going out into the world. I got to be on the ‘Street Team’, one of the 'Relay Riders', for 'Onyx and Ivory', which meant I helped get the word out for it on social media. BUT that does not play into my review of the book.

Happily though, I fell in love with Mindee Arnett's book. I've not read her other books but I have a feeling she is putting something different out here and pouring something of herself into this one. O&I is an epic fantasy that started off (I believe) as a germ of an idea for Mindee some 6 years ago now, and it became a novel that opens up a world of dark monsters, forbidden magic, and brings us characters that feel complex and vibrant.

The main character of the novel is Kate, otherwise known as ‘Traitor Kate’, named as such for her father’s actions, for trying to assassinate the high king of Rime many years ago. Her father had been master of horse to the king, but he was executed for his crime, one that Kate can’t believe he would have knowingly committed.
Now she hides the gift of wilder magic that allows her to touch the minds of animals that makes her so in tune with horses as her father was, but wilder magic is forbidden and punishable by death. Because of her father’s treachery, she has been relegated to being a Relay rider for Farhold, the imperial courier service, but there are these nasty monsters out there called ‘nightdrakes’ (deadly flightless dragons), that make her job intensely dangerous, and soon these drakes are attacking in the daylight, massacring whole caravans of people.

Now, beyond this basic plot of Kate and her forbidden magic, and the drakes, as a reader you are quickly immersed in a world where there is a lot going on. This is a book that is not fast-paced but it is totally absorbing: when I took my time to read it, I felt like I was settling in to fully entrench myself in the world of several sub-plots that weave together and a number of fascinating characters. They are key to enjoying this book.
To name some, there’s Corwin (Kate’s first love, and heir to the throne), Signe (her spunky best friend), Edwin (Corwin’s nasty brother and competition for the crown), and Bonner (long-time friend who knows her magical secret). Kate reunites with her first love Corwin, after saving him from an attack by drakes, and she and her counterparts must embark on a full-on quest to not only understand who tried to kill the king, but also who is controlling the daydrakes. Corwin must also prove he is more worthy to be the heir to the throne than his brother. Something that I particularly think that is important for a novel of this length, is that the characters felt fully realized and fleshed-out, so much so that I could imagine them all throughout the book like companions. While there seem to be a number of subplots going on in the book, Arnett proves she is a skilled writer because I never felt lost. When one part of the story wasn’t being written about, it was fine to just leave it for a while, and continue with another part, and then go back to the other one. I don’t want to say too much about the plot lines of the book because it is jam-packed, but somehow Mindee has threaded them all together, and they’ve culminated in an ending that begs for another epic book. As long as O&I is, I didn’t want the journey and the book to end!

There is so much great imagery and vivid world-building woven into the book, such as the different types of magic, the descriptions of clothing, and landscape; on Mindee Arnett’s Website, there is some beautiful artwork and images to represent the Land of Rime, maps that show political regions, all the magic descriptions, and way back to her original conceptual beginnings for the book; it’s all there if you want to see it in detail.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fantasy they can really dig into, not rush through; there’s action, complex subplots, strong friendships, magic AND monsters(!), depictions of females as positive, independent characters, and there’s also the questioning of judgement of others/hypocrisy with respect to the laws regarding use of magic. There may seem to be, at first glance, the usual tropes of ‘fighting for the throne’, and ‘childhood friend likes girl now she’s grown up’, but I didn’t feel like the book was covering old ground, particularly as I got further and further into it.

‘Onyx and Ivory’ really is an amazing book, and it’s already on my ‘best-of’ list for 2018. I definitely want to be there for the Relay Ride for Book 2!