Fabulous Indie Friday: Tawdra Kandle

Welcome to the first edition of Fabulous Indie Friday!! Today we're featuring the always amazing Tawdra Kandle!! We're reviewing her King series, and I persuaded her to do an interview :)

Tasmyn Vaughn didn't expect much when her dad’s job moved them to a small town in Florida; it was just another new school. But there is more to King than meets the eye, and soon Tasmyn’s ability to hear other’s thoughts is the least of her worries. Entangled in a web of first love, quirky and secretive townsfolk, magic and blood rituals, she discovers the town’s secrets aren’t just bizarre, they’re deadly.

Amazon

Our thoughts:

Tasmyn Vaugh is starting a new school for the hundredth or so time in her high school career. King, Florida is just the latest in her families long line of moves. For once she hopes that she can just stay long enough maybe to make a friend. Little did she know just how much her lonely, boring life was about to change.
 The first day of school brought yummy Michael Sawyer into Tasmyn's life. Not only is he nice and saves her from a horrible incident with a very unwelcoming female named Nell, but he only has eyes for Tasmyn. Michael is amazing ...he invites Tasmyn into his world. For once she is making friends and enjoying the teenage dream. This whole new life, even the possibility of having her first boyfriend may all come crashing down if anyone finds out her secret. Tasmyn can hear thoughts.
. Forced to hide her gift all of her life. Fearing that people would use her for their own good, her parents have sheltered her from society. Now all of that seems to be ending. For once, Tasmyn has friends and even her first real boyfriend. Now if only Nell would leave her alone. Why does she seem to hate Tasmyn so bad, and what secret is she protecting with blood?

.Tazmyn is such an awesome girl. who wouldn't love to be able to read minds? Her and Michael's relationship is so sweet. Finding your soulmate at 17 is amazing. I loved how the author developed these characters! As much as you fall in love with Michael and Tasmyn, I hated Nell just as much. I am telling you no matter how great things are going there is always someone waiting to try and steal your sunshine. The plot flows well keeping the reader drawn into the story. My only complaint here is the back story about the town of King. The mention of the carnie families and mysterious supernatural gifts was really awesome. I found myself going back to it often throughout the book. I would really have loved to see a detailed recount of each family, what their gifts were, and which family the group of friends belonged to. Overall this is a really entertaining novel. It has great editing. I didn't find any grammatical errors of misspellings. I would recommend this book for ages 12+ as a good solid novel. 4 stars

~Michelle

Great YA book about young love. Michael and Tasmyn come together in a time in their lives when they are least expecting it. Fearless is about the struggle growing up in a world that you feel you are alone in. Besides typical teenage problems Tasmyn has to deal with the gift of being able to hear other people's thoughts. Her parents treat it more as a disability than a gift lets not talk about it and keep it a secret. But then they have to deal with a disturbed girl who bully's people with magic to sin more power it puts the lives of Tasmyn, Michael, and Amber on the lie and they come together to unite against the town bully and find friendship along the way. Very well written I would recommend this to everyone to get and read. Just because you are different doesn't mean you have to be alone. I couldn't put down once I started. Deserves more than 5 stars. Maybe Tasmyn can help a teenage girl deal with life struggles for acceptance

~Lisa

Tasmyn Vaughn is not having the senior year she expected. Her boyfriend Michael leaves for college, she's being stalked by a suspicious preacher, pursued by the hot new boy at school and blackmailed by her chemistry teacher--who just might be a witch. Tas needs all of her many talents--and a little help from unexpected sources--just to keep her head above water. . .literally.

Amazon

Our thoughts:

My thoughts on the book Breathless by Tawdra T. Kandle can be summed up by saying this title is perfect because it did in fact leave me breathless. Thisis book 2 of the King series following Fearless. Tawdra effortlessly brings us back into the lives of Tas and Michael like we have never been parted. Tas is forced to let Michael go away to college although she will be left in King to finish out her senior year of high school. Also she must part from her best friend Anne who goes away to college with her boyfriend. She feels so lonely cause she is left with Cara the crazy Reverend Pryce's daughter who is saying things in her mind that gets her upset. She has a friend in Amber who knows her secrets and that she can trust. She finds that her old science teacher Ms. Lacusta is back with a agenda that forces Tas to lie to everyone she loves the most, but will it ultimately hurt her in the end. Could the manipulation change who she is. Also starting school this year she must start school with Rafe Brooks who is a newly planted replant to King he is from the original King carnie people. What is Rafe's intentions will he help or harm Tas? I won't tell you, but you must run out and get your copy and I can tell you that you won't be disappointed. Tawdra givesa great ending to the story much like they do on a tv series. She walks you over to the cliffs edge then tells you to look down and gives you a vision of book 3 Restless, the whole time you are screaming NO, NO don't let me go I can't stop now. I for one am going to have a very hard time with the wait for Restless to see what decisions Tas will make concerning Ms. Lacosta and how that will affect her and Michael. Thank you Tawdra for giving the privilege of continuing along with you and Tas.

~Lisa

When she agrees to allow Ms. Lacusta to help develop her powers, Tasmyn has no idea how deep and dark the journey will become. Trapped between fascination and fear, she moves farther away from friends and family, even her boyfriend Michael. Leading a double life forces Tas into decisions that will threaten her sanity and her future… and the very lives of those she loves.

Amazon
Our thoughts:

I received a copy of Restless by Tawdra T. Kandle in exchange for an honest review. I have one word SPECTACULAR. Again Tawdra did not disappoint me. This is a very great series about a girl by the name if Tasmyn who as the ability to read people's thoughts. Now I know personally I think this would be a great gift to possess but sometimes it could be a curse. Tasmyn is going through some troubles with a teacher she has been working with. Her family, boyfriend Michael, and friends distrust her so she is forced to lie to everyone. Feeling guilty for this lie she feels the need to change some things in her life, but is this going to help her or make things possibly worse in this situation. Tasmyn develops greatly in her gifts but warning after warning she may find out the reasons for it too late. I can't wait for next book in the series I have grown to love all the main characters like Tasmyn, Michael, Rafe, and Amber, and even loved Nell. I couldn't put the book down read it in 1 1/2 hours it was so good. Thank you Tawdra for an excellent book and remaining true to the story through each and every book. Must read on all three books so far in this series. 5 stars
~Lisa

Tasmyn has gotten herself into quite the jam. With Michael still away at school Marica has managed to work her way in as a mentor to Tasmyn. In doing so, she has created huge rifts with everyone in Tasmyn's life. Rifts that have grown so large they may never be healed. Between the drama at school and the recurring nightmares Tasmyn has one heck of a senior year at hand......
This book I think is my favorite of the series. You watch this young girl seriously bloom over the rough teenage years if a young girls life. Learning to accept that she is different and to embrace that is so beautifully portrayed here. And guess what? Tasmyn isn't perfect! She screws up...a lot actually, just like normal average girls. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to see such well developed characters!!!!! The plot flows well and the dreams are seriously creepy, but still good.
This is one of those series you read and reread over and over. I would highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a truly entertaining series 5 stars
~Michelle

Here's my interview with Tawdra!!! Enjoy :)

1      If you only had one author you could read for the rest of your life, who would you pick and why? That is a very cruel question, like asking me what one kind of food I would eat. . .hmm. Well, I supposed I should say something literary like Dickens or Shakespeare, but the fact is, I’ve already read most of their work, so I guess I’m safe there. I love Diana Gabaldon, but I’d be waiting a long time between books with her. Nora Roberts is a pretty good choice, because I read all of her work and she writes thrillers, romance, paranormal and crime. She’s an excellent writer and her research is impeccable and never fails to amaze me.

      

2    Your King series is YA, do you have any plans to write Adult fiction in the future? Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I do! While I have enjoyed writing YA, my next few books will be adult. The first is a contemporary romance called The Posse. After that, I’ll be releasing the first in an adult paranormal romance series; it doesn’t have a formal series name yet, but I call it the Jackie and Lucas series. I’ll be revisiting some of the characters from The King Series in an upcoming duet called the Serendipity Series, but those will probably be New Adult.

3      Who designed your covers? My covers were all designed by the fabulously talented Christine Powell Gomez. She is the owner of The Book Swag Shop, and while she has no plans to launch into book cover design, I think she’s pretty amazing!

4      You recently opened a publishing company, tell us a little about what you offer the authors you represent. Hayson began accepting submissions in December, and we are now preparing to publish 15-20 books within the next year. We offer authors personal service along with the advantage of our promotional experience, which is, I think, what makes us different from some other small publishing houses.  We’re really excited about what we’ll be publishing. Our authors are truly the cream of the crop.

5      How on earth do you find time to write, and co-run a blog tour company, and edit, and be  a mom and wife?? I don’t sleep much. No, really, I have a lot of help, and I try to keep to a good schedule. My kids are older, and they are extremely helpful. Mandie Stevens, who is the founder and co-owner of Promotional Book Tours, and I have a good system; we balance each other! We work with the best bloggers around, which also helps. My husband is so wonderful about my crazy schedule; he’s gotten used to me wandering into bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, and he brings me coffee in bed so that I can work and write. Spare time does not really exist in my world anymore, but I do love every aspect of what I do.

6      What’s next for you?  Sleep. . .well, a girl can dream. Promotional Book Tours is continuing to expand our services. We will be further developing our radio programs and media services this year. I’m editing the first books for release through Hayson. I’m working on beefing up my own media presence and promotion. And of course, writing is the reason for it all. In addition to the books I mentioned above, I’m hoping to release an apocalyptic adult novel this year. I’m really excited about it! Nothing matches the high of seeing that story come to life. So that’s what is next, as far as I can see. Of course, every day is an adventure, and life has a funny way of throwing you curves. Stay tuned.

A huge thank you to Tawdra Kandle for being our very first person to be featured on Fabulous Indie Friday!!! If you would like to stalk her, here are her links

www.tawdrakandle.com

@tawdra

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tawdra-Thompson-Kandle/289985431023178?fref=ts