From Under the Mountain by Cait Spivey - COVER REVEAL!!!!

I met Cait via Twitter and instantly followed her author page on Facebook (she's just that cool). Her posts about her photo shoot and her theatrical fashion show centered on the premise of From Under the Mountain have me so excited to read this novel!

Dark fantasy fans…this is going to be a must read book! I’m excited to share with you the beautiful cover of From Under the Mountain!

What is this amazing book about?

About From Under The Mountain:

As the second child of the Aridan imperial family, nineteen-year-old Guerline knows exactly what is expected of her: be unobtrusive, be compliant, and do not fall in love with her low-born companion, Eva. She has succeeded at only two of those.

But before her feelings for Eva can become a point of contention for the royal house, Guerline's calm and narrow life is ripped away from her—in the course of a single night—and she is abruptly cast in the role of empress.

Faced with a council that aggressively fears the four witch clans charged with protecting Arido and believes they are, in fact, waging war against the humans, Guerline struggles to maintain order. As her control over the land crumbles, she learns that the war is rooted in a conflict much older than she realized—one centuries in the making, which is now crawling from under the mountain and into the light. With the fate of Arido hanging in the balance, Guerline must decide who to trust when even her closest councilors seem to have an agenda.

Darkly cinematic, From Under the Mountain pairs the sweeping landscape of epic fantasy with the personal journey of finding one’s voice in the world, posing the question: how do you define evil, when everything society tells you is a lie? | Add to Goodreads

Doesn’t that last part just get you!?

About Cait Spivey:
Cait Spivey is a speculative fiction writer, author of high fantasy FROM UNDER THE MOUNTAIN and the horror novella series, “The Web“. Her enduring love of fantasy started young, thanks to authors like Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Diane Duane, Tamora Pierce, and many more. Now, she explores the rules and ramifications of magic in her own works—and as a panromantic asexual, she’s committed to queering her favorite genres. In her spare time, she plans her next tattoo (there will always be a next tattoo) and watches too much Netflix. Anything left over is devoted to her tireless quest to make America read more. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her darling husband Matt and adorable dog Jay.

Check out more from YA fantasy author Cait Spivey online or on twitter.  

From Under the Mountain is due to release from Reuts Publications January 26, 2016.

Caleb Archer Kozel - Newborn - Houston, TX

Last week I had the joy of visiting my sweet cousin Kendall and meeting her son, Caleb, for the first time. Though modeling really isn't Caleb's thing (sleeping and eating is what he prefers!), we had a good time.

I can't wait to watch this adorable guy grow up - he is precious!

Walker County Heart Walk 2015

I believe this is my fourth year photographing the Walker County Heart Walk and it is such a priviledge to be apart of it!

I love seeing familiar faces (and some new ones too!) and having everyone in the community come together for such an important cause.

A cold front blew in that morning, but it didn't stop everyone from coming out! Thanks to everyone who comes to these events and help raise awareness!

Author Blog Post - The Results of my FIRST NaNoWriMo...

A month ago I was in my home office, updating my dry erase board calendar. I drew small black rectangles in the box of each day and convinced myself I could do it.

By it, I mean participate in my first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). November was National Novel Writing Month and the goal is get 50,000 words written (average of 1700 words a day).

I made my own personal goal of just trying to write every day (even if I didn’t reach the 1700 word mark) and attempt to reach 50,000 words by the end of the month. I started off pretty good, and had some fantastic days (hello 4000+ words in one day!)

Midway through the month the weather changed and I got ill...

And missed one day. I’m not going to lie, I felt like a complete and utter failure. But I told myself, you know you made this goal to reach 50,000 and you are going to do it (let's just say wine was involved). 

I persevered. I pushed myself. I drank more wine.

And I met the goal! 

This month I worked on book three of my series The Halves of Us (THOU). I figured it was a good way to dive into writing the last book, and boy was it! But I also had some inspiration from dreams and worked on little side projects.

All in all I had 50,914 words written for THOU and 7,717 written on the side projects for a total of 58,631 during my first NaNoWriMo! 

Was it hard? YES. There were some days were I would look toward my home office and cringe knowing I had to go in there. (I know that sounds awful). But some days are hard...lets be real. 

But other days, I couldn't stop...maybe the lack of sleep and wine helped with creativity...who knows! 

Will I participate next year?  Eh, I won't decide that just yet. While this pushed me creatively, I don't know where I will be at this time next year (editing wise/writing wise). But that being said, I do recommend it...even if you set your own goals to just try and write every day.

I’m really proud of myself for sticking with it and writing almost every day (two days missed, one being sick and the other was Thanksgiving). 

Congrats to everyone who participated…now comes the hard part…editing!