New Release: Sightwitch

 Sightwitch  by Susan Dennard

Here’s everything your heart needs while waiting for Bloodwitch! I thought that I couldn’t possibly be more excited for Bloodwitch, but then I read Sightwitch and oh my!! The ending!!! Be sure to get your hands on a copy from Barnes and Noble so you can get a little piece of Aeduan!

Here’s what you get to find in SIGHTWITCH.... 

Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch...
Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight―and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain. On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

Author Bio

A little bit about Sooz...If she's ever doing an event near you, be sure to stop by and visit!!  If not, that's okay! Be sure to connect with her online.  Check out links below!

I’ve come a long way from small-town Georgia. Working in marine biology, I got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (I’ll get to you yet, Asia!)—before I settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.

I’m the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series as well as the New York Times bestselling Witchlands books, Truthwitch and Windwitch, and if I’m not writing, then I’m busy slaying darkspawn or earning bruises at the dojo.

I live in the Midwestern US with my French husband, two spoiled dogs, and two grouchy cats. Learn more about me and my cookie-addiction on the blog, newsletter, twitter, instagram, or pinterest.

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books A Million

Book Depository

Summer Book Clubs

Summer Book Clubs at WMS!

This week, students, parents, and teachers flooded our quiet school hallways to chat about my favorite topic: books! It was thrilling to see SO many middle school students leaving the beaches and their swimming pools to join us for an hour or two in July!! We are always looking for new ideas to have fun with reading, so I was so excited when our principal wanted to bring summer book clubs to our school.  Thankfully, we had teachers from ALL subject areas volunteering their time to allow a wide-range of book club choices for our students!

Getting Started...

May: Participating teachers selected one or two books to share over the summer. This task was not an easy one for me.  I have so many books that I love to share with students.  Only choosing two?? Impossible!

June: Students were given the option to use our traditional method of discussing their books online in our forum OR they could try something new and join one of the book clubs.  Two sessions were created (one in July and one in August) to allow for more choices and flexibility.  They could attend both or just one!

Ready, Set, READ....

July: Our first session was held!  Each book was assigned a classroom for the students and teachers to discuss their reading and participate in activities.  In both July and August, I created a bonus session to allow more options for the students AND to allow me the chance to do two books on each date.

July Bonus Session: Students came in early to discuss Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. (Also check out Dennard's first trilogy Something Strange and Deadly.  Newly released covers are now available here!)

Step One: 

As students entered the room, they found their favorite Truthwitch quote to add to our quote banner.

Step Two:

We sat and discussed our reading. Some students had even already read the sequel Windwitch!

Step Three:

Not much time left! We quickly designed cookies to match one of the elements found in the Witchlands.  

  

Step Four:

On the way to their next session, students grabbed some bookworms and Truthwitch coloring page to create their own covers.  Visit Life Writings of a Reader Blog page to find a copy of the coloring page and for more Truthwitch and Windwitch reviews.  Thanks, Adriyanna!

Click here to buy Truthwitch and Windwitch.  Look for her upcoming Bloodwitch!  You can also find a short fractured Sherlock Holmes tale by Susan (and more authors and booktubers!) in the newly released Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy.  

July Regular Session: We followed a similar session as above with the newly released Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson.  (Also check out her first trilogy Defy!)

Step One: 

Added our favorite quotes!

Step Two:

Lots of chatting and discussing Dark Breaks the Dawn (and Swan Lake!)

Step Three:

Checking out the goodie table!

With Light vs Dark Draiolon Cookies...

Dark Breaks the Dawn brownie cake... 

(I haven't designed in a while, so I was pretty proud of myself!!)

AND of course... Bookworms!!

Click here to buy your copy of Dark Breaks the Dawn.  Look for the sequel Bright Burns the Night coming next year! Also available is her first trilogy Defy!

Coming Up...

I can't wait until our next book club date!! On August 17th I'll get to meet up with more students to discuss The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (to prepare ourselves for the incredible upcoming movie release) AND When We Were the Greatest by Jason Reynolds (to get ready to meet the award-winning author via Skype in October)!

Susan Dennard Skype Chat

After reading the Something Strange and Deadly series, chatting with Susan Dennard was an exciting experience! Our Academic 2 ELA class talked to Susan on November 12, 2015, during the month of NaNoWriMo, and she gave us some helpful tips for our writing. After asking what inspired her books, Susan said that music inspired her writing and some of her characters. Other words of advice included ways to conquer writer's block, and how to kill off a character. Her advice helped me write, and helped others as well. I decided to use the music advice because I am a music lover myself. Definitely listening to different genres and artists help you find ideas because of lyrics and sound.

Talking to an author also inspired me to write more. It showed me that someone could be successful with the career and made me want to maybe head down that path in the future.

Susan Dennard is the author of a best-selling book, so chatting with her is everyone's dream! Talking to the bestselling author was the experience of a lifetime because not a lot of people get to experience something like that.  I would like to thank Susan Dennard and Mrs. Kelly for giving our class such an amazing experience!  

By: Natalie S.

Truthwitch ARC Review

Truthwitch ARC Review

by Riley M.

Susan Dennard has done it once again! If you guys thought that the Something Strange And Deadly series was amazing, then you're definitely going to want to go read her new book entitled, Truthwitch which comes out January 2016. Instead having zombies like in her last series, Truthwitch has witches in it. You will meet different types of witches: earth, water, fire, air, thread, and of course, a truthwitch. Thread witches can see the emotions that a person is feeling by the color of the thread that is inside them. For the other powers, the witches can control the element that they possess. Some of the powers that witches possess, are uncommon, and even not believed in since they're so rare. These powers belong to the legendary truthwitch, which is being able to tell if someone is telling the truth, and the void witch, which is being able to control and smell everyone else's blood.

Unlike most books, Truthwitch isn't in just one of the main character's perspective, but is in four of the main characters’ perspectives. These four characters are Safiya, Iseult, Merik, Aeduan. Safiya and Iseult are thread sisters who are traveling together to get back into the city, when they encounter an army blocking their way. Knowing that it was going to be hard to get through the soldiers, the girls disguised themselves as peasants and tried to get to safety without getting caught. However, before they could get to safety, a monk named Aeudan figures out a really big secret about one of the girls which could put them into a lot of danger.

Look forward to meeting a prince/captain named Merik, who is trying to help save his starving kingdom. All of these characters end up colliding and make a whole new story of their own. Susan definitely makes sure that there was lots of action throughout the book, from karate kicks and punches, to epic power brawls! It definitely will keep you up reading until the late hours of the night, and will keep you at the edge of your seat wanting to find out what happens next. You won't want to leave the magical world that she created. You should definitely go pick this book up when it comes into stores. It is really worth it if you want a amazing book to read!! Be one of the first to own it!! Click below to preorder Truthwitch now!!

Barnes and Noble Amazon

Sneak peak at the map!

Thank you, Susan for sharing Truthwitch with us!!!