Video Book Review of Martina Boone’s Lake of Destiny + #Giveaway

by S.P. Sipal

Hi All, Susan Sipal here.

As many of you know, Martina Boone, our founder and leader of this awesome blog, celebrated a book birthday this week! Her newest release, Lake of Destiny: A Celtic Legends Novel, is an adult contemporary romance set in the Scottish Highlands with just a touch of magic. It’s written with warmth and humor, which is the combination I love best.

I was fortunate enough to be a beta-reader for Martina, and since I loved the novel so much, I decided to create a new playlist on my YouTube channel and start A Touch of Magic BookTube Reviews.

Here’s a snippet:

Anna Cameron is healing from wounds of the past while courageously forging a fresh path for herself by starting a new career in a foreign country. Connal MacGregor is a man who could have had it all, but turned his back on the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to protect his most prized treasure – his young daughter. The two come together to not only help a small town in need of economic revival, but to push each other in their own personal recoveries.

Please check out my full review of Martina’s novel in the video below and
subscribe to my channel if you’d like to see more. If you’re a Wizarding
World fan, I hope you’ll also check out my playlist for Fantastic Secrets Behind Fantastic Beasts.

You can also enter to win a paperback copy of Lake of Destiny by clicking the link toward the end of the video.

About the Book:

What if you met the person you knew you were destined to love? Would you tell them?

Lake of Destiny is a magical Highland romance about men in kilts, destiny, family, healing, and the sometimes twisted path to love . . .

“Delightful, charming, and heart-warming.”
—New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins

Helping her aunt organize a Beltane Festival in a picturesque Highland village seems like the perfect escape from Anna’s second broken engagement and the meltdown that wrecked her legal career. But to succeed, she’ll need to wrangle kilt-wearing villagers, dangerous sheep, a disaster of a dog, and the reclusive laird who refuses to open his property to the public for the ancient tradition of “Sighting.”

For centuries, Loch Fàil in Balwhither has been known to locals as a “thin” place, one where the veil between worlds peels back on Beltane morning to show the face of a person’s one true love. The tradition could draw tourists by the busload, but that’s exactly what Connal MacGregor fears will reveal the secrets he’s been desperate to keep hidden.

While Anna struggles to mediate between the needs of the village and Connal’s need to protect his identity and his daughter, she finds herself falling in love with all of them: Connal and his child, the magical glen, the villagers. But day by day, opening herself to love exposes deeper scars from Anna’s childhood, and confronting those wounds could finally set her free–or endanger her every chance of happiness.

Order Now

Available in hardcover, paperback, and digital. The e-book is $1.99 until Monday, so hurry and get your copy at any retailer.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

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S.P. Sipal

Published in fiction and non-fiction through essays, short stories and a novel, Susan Sipal lives in rural North Carolina with her husband, two children, one dog, three cats, and too many squirrels for the dog to keep up with. She has presented multiple workshops, both at home and abroad, to help writers develop their craft as well as analyze the mysteries of Harry Potter. You can follow her on Twitter @HP4Writers, or on her blog at HarryPotterforWriters.blogspot.com.

Post © S.P. Sipal and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Apr 28, 2017

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Lake of Destiny | Martina Boone

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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