Valley Reads, The Lost Train Zoom program is tonight!! Feel free to join us 6:30 – 8pm PST, Wednesday, December 1st to hear readings by Pacific NW Authors and Chats by PNW Artists about their works that appear in this Special Co-op Anthology. Click this link to join from anywhere: https://kcls.zoom.us/j/87899556649?pwd=VHdMVFJNK2kvNnRlTW5UdGxmWlZtZz09
Old Tree – by Pepper Allphin
THE LOST TRAIN Anthology is coming soon. Release is September 1st. And here’s more about the Authors and Artists that were paired to create works for the project.
Rachel Barnard is a FVP Featured Author, and she was paired with Stefanie Allison. Stefanie’s drawing concept was an abandoned train car grown over by Pacific NW plants. Rachel’s story featured a repurposed train car turned Airbnb that mysteriously disappeared from a woodsy Pacific NW property. It was easy and fun to add in some of the plant names that Stefanie was drawing and tie the two creations together more fully. Both their works will be in the Anthology, but here’s a peek at some of Stefanie’s other work and a snippet of Rachel’s Anthology story. Be sure to follow their links to more…
Stefanie Allison:
Find more of Stefanie’s work at CherryAwesomeDesigns on Instagram and on Etsy
STORY DESCRIPTION:
Mystery – The theft of an Airbnb train car triggers feelings of lost stability, financial independence, and freedom. It takes a village to solve the mystery and SAVOUR the moment. By Rachel Barnard * Paired Artist: Stefanie Allison
Snippet of “SAVOUR” by Rachel Barnard:
On their first anniversary they’d sourced an abandoned train car and built the converted tiny house, placing it on roughly the same spot they’d found the antlers. On Airbnb they listed it as the Stunning Accommodation with a View, Off-grid, Unique, and Relaxing converted train car. SAVOUR for short.
Jackson dragged himself back to the forlorn train tracks laying lonely without purpose. He bent down to inspect the tracks. Up close he noticed visible scuffs from the theft. Shoved behind one of the railroad ties, he spotted a piece of wood. He carefully pulled it free from the dirt that loosely covered one corner. The cheery teal paint on the reclaimed wood had faded from five years’ use. He turned it around with a sigh, knowing the words he’d see before he could read them. Savour the little things.
His knees dropped to the ground and the welcome board slid back into the dirt. Jackson stared up at the trees. The wind whispered questions through the leaves. Who took SAVOUR and why? How could he tell Marcie?
The trudge from the empty tracks back to the house, just an acre, felt like an eternity...Read more…
Find more from Rachel at rachelauthorbarnard.com and her blog, at rachelbarnardauthor on Facebook, under Rachel Barnard on Amazon, and on her FVP Author Page
All Proceeds from the Anthology benefit non-profit Arts organization North Bend Art & Industry. Thanks for supporting the Arts!
GET THE LOST TRAIN ANTHOLOGY HERE
FVP won’t officially be at Norwescon, but being Independent Authors… several of our Authors will be at an FVP branded table on Writer’s Row and at the Clockwork Dragon branded table in the Dealer’s Room. Come and see us April 18th-21st!
What can you do at Norwescon? They briefly describe it like this: No matter your age or interest, Norwescon strives to make sure there is always something appealing to do over the four days of the convention. Our programming department schedules hundreds of hours of panel programming covering a myriad of subjects. Whether you’re looking for writer’s workshops, costuming tips, artistic creativity, musical concerts, or deep dives into any number of science fiction, fantasy and science topics, you’ll find it here! Learn more HERE!
Here’s a sneak peek at the conference Writer’s Row offerings from Rachel Barnard, Kennedy J Quinn, Victoria Bastedo and Sheri J Kennedy.
And stop by the Dealer’s Room to see Jeffrey Cook with Clockwork Dragon.
You can pre-order For the Love of Donuts Book 2 – Seize the Donut now! Release of FVP Featured Author, Rachel Barnard’s latest book is June 2nd. You can also get Book I, Donuts in an Empty Field at the sale price of 2.99 now through June 2nd.
Catch up on this great story of best friends in high school and then follow their ups and downs as they head off to college and life beyond. More details…
The first Capital Indie Book Con or CIBC presented by Clockwork Dragon was a fun and eclectic event. We met tons of other authors, the amazing and friendly readers who braved checking out a first year event, and everyone left with mass quantities of excellent books to read. FVP plans to return next year…Watch for info, readers, and definitely put this next one on your calendar to attend!
Note from Editor: I’m sorry I was so busy meeting cool authors and checking out the books that I failed to get more than half of the booths in photos…I even missed Clockwork Dragon and our fabulous guest author: Jennifer Brozek ! Sincere apologies for my poor reporting. -sjk
Don’t miss this combo of two of life’s most delicious things…Books and Donuts. Rachel Barnard’s Book Launch for DONUTS IN AN EMPTY FIELD in Bothell, WA tomorrow! CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS
We met lots of readers and a few writer’s at the community festival in Maple Valley again this year. Thanks to those of you who came by, and if you missed us, be sure to catch FVP and tons of other amazing Indie Authors at Capital Indie BookCon at Evergreen State College’s Longhouse on July 16th. This is a DON’T MISS! for avid readers and those who love to see local authors’ new works. See you there!
This will be FVP’s third year with a booth at Maple Valley Days in…well, Maple Valley, WA. Here’s a couple photos from past years… Come and see us this weekend. We’d love to meet you!
It’s HERE! ODD MALL Everett is this Saturday and Sunday, June 4th-5th. FreeValley has a booth, so come down and see us and check out our unique indie-published books!
It’s our pleasure to host a blog spotlight on Author, Rachel Barnard to celebrate her new release Donuts in an Empty Field on June 3rd.
This is Rachel’s third novel. You can find her others HERE. FreeValley Publishing is proud to have Rachel as one of our Featured Authors. She’s an avid reader, book reviewer and great supporter of other authors and her community. You can learn more on HER BLOG. And SPOILER ALERT there are giveaways, fulfillment of Rachel’s special request, and other great links at the very end of this post. If you skip stuff, don’t miss out on those! And don’t miss your chance to meet Rachel this weekend at the FreeValley booth at OddMall in Everett, WA.
Without further ado, let’s find out more about the book:
DONUTS IN AN EMPTY FIELD Available June 3rd, 2016 (aka National Donut Day).
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s son from a burning building. Nessa blames the boy, but her best friend Nichole thinks it’s time to let go of the past. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge will bust her out of her shell. A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
And let’s also find out more about Rachel. First, the basic stuff – her bio. Then I’m going to ask her several categories of questions. We’ll do three of each category.
Biography:
Rachel Barnard
“Author, Reviewer, and Donut Enthusiast”
My greatest accomplishments have been eating an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting, winning a boot toss, and writing a fictional novel based on my high school years. The first book in my For the Love of Donuts Books, Donuts in an Empty Field, is available June of 2016. My other YA novels include Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams and At One’s Beast. For more information and to see what I’m up to, visit my website: rachelauthorbarnard.com
Find the author: Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon
Simple Questions for Rachel:
3 random Facts about Rachel:
Harder questions for Rachel:
Simple Questions for Rachel about books and writing:
Harder Questions for Rachel about books and writing:
Simple Questions about Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1):
And here are the links to contests and other cool stuff related to Rachel Barnard, the For the Love of Donuts series and the upcoming release:
Big Donuts Giveaway (you could win this prize too!)
June 3rd Online Release Party:
Rachel Barnard Newsletter Signup
Important upcoming Dates/Events:
Event: Oddmall Emporium of the Weird
Location: Holiday Inn Everett, WA (Booth 8 with FreeValley Publishing)
Date/Time: 06/04/16 – 06/05/16
Location: Lake Wilderness Park, Maple Valley, WA (near the Info booth with FreeValley Publishing)
Date/Time: 06/10/16 – 06/12/16
Event: Neverending Bookshop Reading with Donuts and Books
Location: Bothell, WA (10123 Main Place St. 2)
Date/Time: 06/25/16, 3:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Local author Rachel Barnard will read from her most recent publication, Donuts in an Empty Field. Bring your used books for store credit and to get more entries into the free raffle. This event features a blind donut tasting of several local donut shops. Come try some local donuts and vote on your favorites. Got something cool to say about donuts? Don’t forget to add it to the “All about the Donuts” comment/quote box. First five purchases after 3:00 P.M. will receive a FREE mini donuts swag pack.
Event: Third Place Books Dual Author ReadingLocation:
Third Place Books in Bothell, WA (17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park)
Date/Time: 06/25/16, 6:30 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.
Come listen to Ksenia Anske and Rachel Barnard as they read from their new books The Badlings and Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) respectively. There will be challenges, a raffle, and other fun stuff.
Last but not least, the fulfillment of Rachel’s special request. I (Sheri J. Kennedy) was asked to blog about my favorite donut:
I’m a fan of cinnamon-sugar cake donuts. I like to take a satisfying bite of the firm but moist deliciousness and then let the gritty cinnamon-sugar melt away before chewing up the yellowy cake. Yum! …Best with an excellent Americano or double-shot of espresso of course. -SJK
Raising awareness for mental health disorders through a shared passion of video games, poetry and more.
Novelist, Poet, Wordsmith
LESBIAN SF & FANTASY WRITER, & ADVENTURER
Stories and photos from Scotland
Philosophy is all about being curious, asking basic questions. And it can be fun!
Simple observations, analysis, and common sense comments
Life is make believe, fantasy given form
by Jane Cairns - book reviews and other literary musings
GAME DESIGNER
Writings, prose poetry, writings, and poems for unity, community, love, soul, awakening, #WeAreONE
Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision.— Denis Waitley
Smile! You’re at the best WordPress.com site ever
A collection of beautiful things and thoughts
An exploration of writing and reading
Exploring What Captivates, Inspires, and Intrigues.
Tales of humour, whimsy and courgettes
Once lost
FreeValley Publishing 