Fantasy & Faith, by Dona Watson » Donita K. Paul

Jeffrey Overstreet and Donita K. Paul E-Book Sale

Dona Watson — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:19:16 +0000

In some ways, I’m very surprised at all the deals available for e-books right now. That is, it’s possible to get some really good deals on e-books if you keep your eyes open. In that vein, publisher WaterBrook Multnomah is offering three great fantasy e-books: Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet, and two of Donita K. Paul’s YA books are available: Dragonspell and The Vanishing Sculptor.

E-book editions of these three novels are available for purchase from various vendors, including Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble/Nook, Sony, and Kobo. You might want to check the various sellers as prices vary among them. For instance, Auralia’s Colors is 99 cents at Amazon, B&N, and Sony. Kobo has discounted it further to 89 cents. Dragonspell is $1.59 at Amazon and B&N, $1.99 at Sony, $1.79 at Kobo. The Vanishing Sculptor is 99 cents at B&N and Sony, 89 cents at Kobo (Amazon lists the Kindle version at $9.99).

The sales ends August 31.

For more info on the e-book sale, click on this link: WaterBrook Multnomah E-Book Deals

For additional info and to purchase the paperback versions on Amazon (at standard Amazon paperback prices), click on the individual book covers below:

To visit the author’s websites, click here:

Donita K. Paul: http://www.donitakpaul.com/

Jeffrey Overstreet: http://lookingcloser.org/

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Vanishing Sculptor Blog Tour, Day 3

Dona Watson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:11:57 +0000

It’s now the third and final day of this month’s Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour, which features Donita K. Paul’s new book, The Vanishing Sculptor.

Today I’d like to talk a little bit about the author. I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. Paul on the Motiv8 Book Tour in October 2008. What a wonderful and charming lady!

Mrs. Paul, a former school teacher, found herself bored when she retired early, thus leading her to begin again with a new career writing Christian Romance and Fantasy novels. I understand her DragonKeeper books have now sold more than 300,000 copies! I know my kids and I have read all five of them and they are simply wonderful. And yet, she has not completely left behind her teaching skills. She has built quite a reputation mentoring teenagers and leading weekly adult writing workshops–a reputation that, I might add, brought her this year’s Mentor of the Year Award from the American Christian Fiction Writers’ guild. Congratulations, Mrs. Paul!

From the looks of her website (and her interaction with my daughter and her friend who made her a couple of little clay dragons), Mrs. Paul loves her fans and makes them all feel welcome.

Another of my favorite little things Mrs. Paul has accomplished is she was instrumental in establishing a national Appreciate A Dragon Day and, best of all, it falls on my birthday (January 16)! Now there’s a holiday I don’t mind sharing my birthday with.

Last but not least, Mrs. Paul is sponsoring a contest with the goal to get the DragonKeeper Chronicles and The Vanishing Sculptor into as many libraries as possible. The winner will receive a prize package of books from Waterbrook Press. The contest ends soon, so you’d better hurry if you want to enter. Details are here:
http://www.donitakpaul.com/fun/contest.html

Well, it’s been a fun tour. Make sure to check out all the other bloggers:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Rachel Briard
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Crista Richey
Cheryl Russell
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

For more info on The Vanishing Sculptor, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073391

Information on the author:
Donita Paul’s Web site - http://www.donitakpaul.com/
Donita Paul’s blog - http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/

The Vanishing Sculptor, Day 2 of CSFF Tour

Dona Watson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:06:30 +0000

The Vanishing Sculptor Art by Rachael Selk

Here we are, Day 2 of the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour. (My post for Day 1 can be found here.) Today I’d like to talk about the primary characters in The Vanishing Sculptor.

Tipper: Tipper is a young emerlindian woman, emerlindians being one of the seven high races. In her glossary, Mrs. Paul describes emerlindians as being “born with white hair and pale gray eyes. As they age, they darken. One group of emerlindians are slight in stature, the tallest being five feet. Another distinct group are between six and six and a half feet tall.” This race plays a very important role in the previous DragonKeeper Series, as it does in The Vanishing Sculptor. While emerlindians often seem to develop into very wise people (especially in the DragonKeeper books), Tipper is too young to exhibit such. However, this is perfect for the young adult audience this book seeks to reach. Like many young people, Tipper is trying to puzzle her way through life, seeking to understand why her father left and then, later in the story, what role she can play to help accomplish the goal of their quest. Because she has been alone and in charge for so long, Tipper has become very self-sufficient, a quality that tends to get her into trouble frequently.

Becaroon: Sir Beccaroon is a grand parrot who is magistrate over his district and Tipper’s guardian. At times, particularly at first, I found it odd to have a grand parrot play the role of protector and magistrate as he didn’t seem to be extremely authoritative. However, if he were, it would have diminished Tipper’s role as an independent young woman, which would have ruined much of the premise of the story. From time to time, however, I thought it might have been better to have chosen a different race to play this part. Nonetheless, Sir Beccaroon projects enough of an aristocratic air and a sense of being in charge to help balance his faults.

Verrin Schope: Verrin Schope is Tipper’s father and an artist, sculptor, scientist, explorer, and wizard. Early on in the book, I wasn’t sure if he would ever appear, but he did as the story progressed. The reason Tipper’s father disappeared was not due to irresponsibility, as Tipper feared, but due to him falling into a gateway that became distorted, thus altering his physical substantiality. However, it is finally discovered that he is somehow connected to a particular piece of wood that must be cut out of the closet floor so Verrin Schope can take it with him and move around outside the house. I did find it quite humorous to see him tote this piece of wood around as he disappeared and reappeared from time to time.

Graddapotmorphit Bealomondore: Bealmondore is a tumanhofer artist and fan of Verrin Schope who admires the artist’s work so much that he seeks to become an apprentice to the master sculptor. When Tipper’s mother desires a particular painting, Tipper deceives Bealmondore into creating the painting so that she might present it to her mother as a work of her father’s. However, in the process, she angers the tumanhofer, who leaves in a huff, forcing Tipper to later seek the artist out in order to solicit his help. It seems he is the one who holds the knowledge as to where the statues are that need to be reassembled as a single work of art. I found Bealmondore to be a humorous character and one who lent some warmth to the story. He turns out to not be all he seemed to be and eventually becomes a reluctant member of the quest.

Wizard Fenworth: I was glad to see Wizard Fenworth become part of the story as I truly enjoyed his role in the DragonKeeper books. He is simply a charming character–a blend of a curmudgeon, very capable wizard, and eccentric old man. He often doesn’t make sense to the others, but when necessary, his wisdom prevails, giving him a critical role in guiding the quest in the direction it needs to go. Another humorous aspect of Fenworth is that bugs, small creatures, and sometimes snakes often crawl out of the bog wizard’s robes, much to the delight of the minor dragons who are always ready for a quick snack.

Librettowit: Librettowit, Wizard Fenworth’s tumanhofer librarian, is also a character first introduced in the DragonKeeper books. I found it surprising and pleasantly not stereotypical for Librettowit to actually be more than just a librarian. He is also a wise companion of the wizard’s and a character that sometimes plays a critical role in guiding the questing companions in the direction they need to go, a role he falls into especially when Fenworth mentally drifts away somewhere else. It seems to me that Librettowit’s character is stronger in The Vanishing Sculptor than in the DragonKeeper books, a development that I’m not sure fits with his character and something I would be interested in knowing more about.

Prince Jayrus: I found the appearance of Prince Jayrus (a new character) a surprising development. He is a DragonKeeper and prince of the Mercigon Mountain Range. I won’t say much about how his character develops as it would be a major spoiler for anyone wanting to read The Vanishing Sculptor, but suffice it to say that his role becomes critical to the development of the story. I also enjoyed his sometimes comical actions as he sought to move about in a world he had not previously experienced in great measure.

Lady Peg Schope: Tipper’s emerlindian mother, Lady Peg Schope, eventually plays a significant part in the back half of the book, something I had not anticipated early in the story. Lady Peg is, in many ways, out of touch with reality and drifts through her days in a fog of cluelessness. Again, I won’t say much about her character for fear of spoiling the story for future readers.

Come back tomorrow for a peek at Mrs. Paul, a charming woman and award-winning author. Meanwhile, lets see what the other reviewers have to say:

For more info on The Vanishing Sculptor, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073391

Information on the author:
Donita Paul’s Web site - http://www.donitakpaul.com/
Donita Paul’s blog - http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/

The Vanishing Sculptor, by Donita K. Paul

Dona Watson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:43:06 +0000

With The Vanishing Sculptor, Donita K. Paul begins a new series set in the same universe as her DragonKeeper Chronicles, with the exception that this newest novel is set in an earlier time period.

The book centers around Tipper, a young emerlindian woman who has been trying to manage her family’s estate in her father’s absence. Unfortunately, she has no idea where her father went when he disappeared years earlier. In addition, her mother has become confused and befuddled as she has gotten older, thus leaving Tipper even more alone. Fortunately, she has Beccaroon to rely on, a giant parrot her father asked to watch over her if something should happen to him.

To make ends meet in her father’s absence, Tipper has been selling off her father’s artwork without realizing her actions have placed the world at risk of collapse. The only way disaster can be averted is to reunite some of the statues. But Tipper cannot brave the trip alone and a group of companions is formed to undertake the quest.

As this is Day 1 of the three-day Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour, I will continue my review of The Vanishing Sculptor tomorrow. Let’s see what the others have to say:

For more info on The Vanishing Sculptor, see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073391

Information on the author:
Donita Paul’s Web site – http://www.donitakpaul.com/
Donita Paul’s blog – http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/

DragonLight, by Donita K. Paul

Dona Watson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:02:47 +0000

It’s taken me a while to get to DragonLight, which was published in 2008, not for lack of interest but because I was reading it with my daughter and we were having a hard time finishing it together. You know how it is, life happens. When I found out the next book on the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour was Mrs. Paul’s recently published new book, Vanishing Sculptor, I figured I’d better get with it and finish DragonLight. From the preliminary information, the two books are set in the same universe but different timelines. As such, I suppose I didn’t have to finish DragonLight, but the perfectionist in me protested. My kids and I had already read the other four books in the series and it just didn’t seem right not to finish.

Here is the summary that appears on the back of the book:

The fantastic land of Amara is recovering from years of war as well as from the spiritual apathy corroding the Amarans’ hearts. With Kale and her father serving as dragon keepers for Paladin, the dragon populace has exploded. It’s a peaceful, exciting time of rebuilding. And yet, an insidious, unseen evil lurks just beneath the surface of the idyllic countryside.

As Kale and her father are busy hatching, bonding, and releasing the younger generation of dragons, the light wizard has little time to develop her skills. Her husband, Sir Bardon – despite physical limitations – has become a leader, serving under Paladin. When Kale and Bardon join the dragons on a quest to find a hidden colony, they encounter sinister forces. Their world is under attack by a secret enemy…can they overcome the ominous peril they can’t even see?

DragonLight, the final book in Mrs. Paul’s DragonKeeper series, did answer several questions posed in the previous books, which was good for me because I really don’t like loose ends not resolved at the end of a book/series. In fact, I think that if you are interested in reading the series, you definitely should start at the beginning or you will miss quite a bit.

Overall, DragonLight is an excellent YA book and I would definitely recommend the entire DragonKeeper series to any young lover of fantasy, particularly those ages 9–12. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to revisiting Amara in Vanishing Sculptor. Stay tuned for that review in a few weeks.

The DragonKeeper series was published by Waterbrook Press. The previous books are (in order): DragonSpell, DragonQuest, DragonKnight, DragonFire

Donita K. Paul’s website: http://www.donitakpaul.com