I always loved the movie and didn’t know it was based on a book. Once I discovered this, I borrowed the audio version from Borrowbox with my library card.
This was one of the best audio books I have ever listened to. There was a main narrator, and every character had their own voice. The story was as magical as I remember. It is a perfect modern fairy tale that will be loved for many years to come.
If you enjoyed this, you might like:
For fun, I created a mini trailer for Sky Heart.
Wow! September has not been my best month.
It started with the kids going back to school and myself back to work full time. I was exited for normalcy and routine and was feeling great as we’d made some great memories over the summer.
But, my son managed to split his lip open and had to be rushed to A&E. after having sutures he needed a week off school due to the pain and swelling. So, his attendance is already looking bad – eek!
Then my husband and I got really ill with colds. The kids thankfully (fingers crossed) dodged that one. I managed to get through work but when I got home I had to do everything as he was really poorly. Needless to say I was too shattered to work on Sky Heart.
Then, I get the notification that my website hosting is about to expire and they want to charge me £168 to stay with them. So on Tuesday, I worked on moving my website to another host for £35. Everything was going great but my domain (with another provider) needed to point to my new website and this can take anywhere between 48h and 72h to know if it worked. 😱. I figured out how to put a maintenance page up whilst it moved, but after several days it was still showing the maintenance page. I started to panic. It turns out, the magic happened in the background and this morning I turned the staging page off. Every year, I learn a little more.
I discovered a new printer for my books. I ordered one copy and was impressed with the quality so I ordered 10 for my next event, WAM Fest. But, the books were delivered on Friday bashed and wet. I’ve emailed the printer to try to resolve this but they don’t work weekends so I have to wait until next week to fix this. I doubt I will be able to get more stock in time, and currently only have five books left.
The low stock is due to the highlight of this month, which was the fabulous YA Lit Fest at Stowmarket Library, part of @forewordfestivaluk . 🥰
My website is back, my son’s lip is healing nicely, and I’m feeling much better. Things are on the up, so I’ll get back to finishing Sky Heart.
This post contains affiliate links. Please check out my affiliate disclosure page for more information.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought this was a siren romance but it turned out to be the opposite. Brigit is a Fae that takes her culture very seriously. She finds herself in a position where she owes a debt to Logan.
Brigit decides to help him overcome the curse placed on him by his ex, a siren. In this short story, we learn the Fae ways and meet many of their kind. This book is a great introduction to this Fae series.
[kofi]
If you like this, you will like:
Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!
Sky Heart – Briefed my cover designer
Taking those next steps towards publishing book two is very exciting. It’s still a way off, but I’ve reached out to my cover designer to discuss ideas and book in.
An update on what I was doing in July. Originally I’d toyed with the idea of doing a project for Camp NaNo.
Instead, I was busy planning my husband’s secret party, and attending all the end of school/nursery events for my kids.
In the end, I was working on remaining present on social media by developing content. This included opportunities to feature in Felixstowe Magazine and interviews with other bloggers.
Smashwords Summer Sale (July)
I posted at the start and end of July to make people aware that Ocean Heart was in the Smashwords sale at 50% off. This needed some prompting and content to spread the word.
Coming Soon – Author Diaries
I’ve also been busy working on this collaborative project, and developing content to start promoting.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and stay tuned for more info coming soon.
It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.
[Kofi]
This post contains affiliate links. Please check out my affiliate disclosure page for more information.
This book held so much promise as it has everything I love. So, I was surprised when I struggled to enjoy it.
I had the audio version, and this was my first audio book. The story was very dialogue heavy, it was hard to know who was speaking at times.
For the first third of the book, the main character was confused and had no idea what was going on. The other characters would talk in riddles about what they couldn’t tell her. I found this annoying.
Eventually they started sharing with her about the worlds she never knew existed, and training her to control her powers. There was a lot of telling rather than showing.
The main character still had a lot of questions and towards the end of the book, everything she’d been told came into question. Then she was confused again. Everything she’d been told was a lie and turned out she still had no clue.
Sadly, I got to a point where I was determined to finish the book just to get it over with. I wonder if I’d have enjoyed this more if it hadn’t been an audio book. I don’t think audio is my thing. Sad to say, this book wasn’t for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I was surprised I didn’t love this book as it had all the ingredients I usually go crazy for. This leads me to believe the issue might have been that I had an audio version. My first ever audio book.
I found the narration very slow. A top tip I got from TheBrightSideGirl on Instagram was to increase the speed. This faster pace of narration was much more appealing for me. I hadn’t realised before that I could do this.
I know a lot of people love audio books and I’ve had requests for Ocean Heart to be made into an audio book. It’s expensive to do but one day I’d love an audio version of Ocean Heart for people that prefer it.
I feel it is important to have books available in different formats. People have different learning styles and this affects their preference for divulging information.
So, although audio books don’t work for me, I know they do for others. You can try audible for free, sample an audible chapter to see if you like it, and many libraries will lend out audio books.
NB: I am only posting my review here & on Goodreads (for my reading history). I think part of my disconnect with this book was the audio format. Usually I blast my reviews everywhere to help readers find and buy the book. But, I don’t feel it’s fair to the author due to this not being for me. I feel bad for not loving it as I really thought I would.
Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!
Another draft chapter on Ko-Fi. I wonder how this will compare to final version once Sky Heart is edited, formatted, and published.
I can’t wait for the holidays and to relax. My best friends wedding was a busy weekend but the lead up to finishing school has been crazy. I’m literally taking one day at a time.
Sky Heart – Sent off to the editor
This is a HUGE milestone. I can’t wait to see what my editor has to say. She is fabulous at slapping me with the truth in a way that doesn’t hurt and helps me make my story better. I know there will be a lot of work but I’m ready for it.
Summer Sale
Just a quick reminder that Ocean Heart is half price in the Smashwords Summer Sale. Grab a copy on discount before the end of July.
It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.
[Kofi]
Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!
This month I posted another chapter of Sky Heart. Now you can read two chapters on Ko-Fi.
I realised I hadn’t shared how my website update went so finally did this.
I’m getting close to finishing my self edit and shared where I’m up to with the plot hole fixes.
It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.
[Kofi]
The Indigo
Heather Siegel
Publication date: June 1st 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Jett Hart, a 16-year-old girl from New Jersey, refuses to accept the diagnosis that her mother is brain-dead. Yes, Mom’s long-comatose body seems like an empty shell. But there was that split-second, weird time Jett swears she lifted out from her own body and travelled to an indigo-colored, starry space, where she felt Mom’s presence.
Now, as Jett’s caretaking Aunt threatens to pull Mom’s life support, Jett must find this mysterious indigo place again and return her mother to her body before it’s too late. The bad news is that only her schoolmate Farold — who may or may not give off a more-than-friends vibe — believes she can do this. The good news is that he’s an amateur quantum physicist in training and has some ideas about how to help Jett get back “up there.”
Even if Jett manages to find Mom in the “indigo,” can she bring her back to her body? While also staying connected to her own “empty shell” below? And, what if . . . someone is trying to stop her?
A teen thriller offering astral projection cosmology, life cords, parallel universes, and wormholes, THE INDIGO is a wild trip through one person’s consciousness “above,” her interconnected reality “below,” and the psychological and potentially fatal dangers of being disconnected from both.
—
EXCERPT:
Quantum Club Meeting. 2:30. Cafeteria.
“I didn’t know the school had a Quantum Club,” says a girl passing by. Popular. A junior, in black Lululemon leggings.
“What the hell’s ‘quantum’?” a familiar voice says. “Oh . . . that explains it.” I turn to see my cousin Meghan looking in my direction. Hair highlighted blond. Glossy pink lips. We are nearly the same age, and worlds apart.
“Don’t know and don’t care,” a beefy senior guy says. “Let’s go eat.”
“Oh, Matty, all you care about is food.” Meghan giggles as they continue walking.
Truthfully, I don’t know what quantum is either, but a quick Google search gives me the answer:
The study of physics that allows for particles to be in two states at the same time.
“That’s weird,” I say out loud to no one.
I head for the cafeteria, intrigued…
There are three people seated in the sea-foam-green cabbage-smelling room. No surprise Mickey Mizner and Brian Leonard are two of them.
“My problem is I’ve got everything prepped for ampage past 27MHz,” Mickey says, blowing dark bangs off square-framed glasses. “I just need to hit ionosphere at the right angle—” He taps a black box on the table, the size of a breadbox, with knobs and buttons. From here, I make out the words Galaxy Torchlighter 825.
“—Sweet, isn’t she?”
“Sweet and illegal to jack up,” Brian replies.
The new guy swigs from an Orangina and scribbles in his notebook, his white braided bracelets scratching against the Formica tabletop. He’s wearing an MIT sweatshirt, and peeking out from the neckline is a black rope necklace. At the ends of his hair, gold beads catch the fluorescent light.
“It’s not a bad start,” he says, looking up and taking a swig of orange soda. “But can you get someone on the other end of the world to receive the signal? The antipode must be, what, Australia?”
“That’s what I told you,” Brian says. He’s wearing a uniform from the ice cream store Sunset Scoops: a brown wavy smock made to resemble dripping hot fudge, and a maraschino cherry hat.
“Wait, the what is Australia?” Mickey asks.
“It means ‘opposite,’ ” I say, reaching the table. “Geographically, right?”
The new guy grins at me, his eyes twinkling with approval. And I’m not going to lie: I can’t help but grin back. I slide into the end seat.
“Farold,” he says.
“Jett.”
“Well, now that we got that out of the way,” Brian cuts in. “I’m thinking Electromagnetic Induction. The hypothesis is that a current can create a magnetic field.”
“Also not bad.” Farold scribbles again and glances up. “But you’d have to check if it’s already been done.” He has a singsong quality to his words. I like the way “realize” is “real’izze.”
Mickey shoulders Brian. “That’s what I told you.” He turns to Farold. “Anyway, if I find someone across the world, in an antipode” — he glances to me — “think it’s worth seeing if my radio’s skip is capable?”
Brian shoves back. “Mine may be done, but there’s nothing yet on what can and cannot escape the said magnetic field. . . .”
“They’re both solid starts.” Farold draws his fist to rest beneath his sculpted jaw line, looking suddenly like the art room’s knockoff sculpture of Michelangelo’s “The Thinker.” “But since this is going to be a competition for MIT, the best science institution in the country, we’ll have to shoot beyond the rudimentary. . . . Any other ideas?”
Three faces turn to me. One cute as hell. But I’m here to listen. Besides, I can’t take the rejection again.
“Every idea has merit,” Farold says.
“He’s dope, Jett,” Mickey says, which coming from him sounds anything but dope.
“If she doesn’t have any ideas . . . ” Brian says.
“I don’t . . . I mean, I thought . . . I don’t know, maybe we were going to talk about quantum physics or whatever, not enter a competition.”
“You study quantum physics?” Farold asks.
“No . . . but it sounds interesting.”
“Which part?”
I could feel defensive, but there’s something about the way he asks, earnestly, and the way he looks at me, so open and curious. “I . . . guess . . . I liked what your flier said. It made me think. Wonder, really. Something I’ve been thinking about. The idea of things being in two separate places at the same time?”
He smiles again, right through me, sending a tingle along my neck. “I’m actually working on something that poses that exact question. But it’s hard to prove. I mean, so far, no one has . . . supported it.”
“I hear that.”
“I had a feeling you might.”
“How would you have a feeling about that?”
“Your hesitation.” Our eyes affix. Is it my imagination or is there something palpable between us?
“Tell me your idea,” he says.
“Tell me yours.”
“You guys know we’re in the room, right?” Brian says.
Farold turns to him. “Two particles in separate boxes.”
“Following,” Mickey says.
He waves his hand, drawing us all in. “It’s proven they can communicate with one another and influence each other’s physical spin. Well, I propose they relate to one another in a nonscientific way. In a way we can’t really yet name. That they can speak to one another . . . by sensing one another.”
His eyes meet mine, alight, full of possibility. “Your turn.”
And like that, I find myself blurting the story I promised I’d stop telling people:
“There was an accident. . . . I could tell my mother wasn’t there. . . . And then this thing happened at the hospital. . . . But I’ve tried everything and can’t get back. . . .”
“What have you tried?” Farold asks.
“You name it. Re-creating the events. Dreaming and setting an alarm. I’ve tried something called the rope technique, and the ladder technique. Also, rolling out, driving out, rotating, and yo-yo’ing, which is basically trying to climb, drive, or shimmy out of my body. I’ve tried the point-shift method and the picture technique, in which I’m supposed to envision myself hovering at the ceiling, looking down at my bed. I’ve even sent away for this—”
I pluck the envelope from my bag and tear it open.
That’s when Mickey and Brian call it a day.
“Next Thursday?” Mickey asks, gathering his CB radio.
“Yeah, I gotta split too,” Brian adds. “You’re awesome, man. . . . Uh, good luck, Jett.” Brian tips his ice cream cone hat and exits the cafeteria, leaving me alone with Farold, my heart sinking at the sight of the DVD on the table between us.
It’s not the cheesy clouds against sky on the circular sticker adhered to the DVD that rushes blood to my cheeks, but the airbrushed, ethereal angel flying through those clouds.
At $39.99, this cost me more than four hours of librarian work. Why did I think this was a good idea to share — or buy?
Farold slides the disc into his laptop, turning the device for both of us to see. Even the digital quality is pathetic. Two women wearing flowing garb and seeming to float on a cloud discuss how they came to learn under the tutelage of the Dr. Reflexology guy, the art of soul travel by aligning their chakras — what they can help me do for the next hour. Though if I want to learn the nine secrets to launching myself, I will need to send away for the DVD package. For a mere $69.99 more.
I want to crawl under the table.
“I didn’t know it would be this—”
“—cheapjack.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s what we say in Trinidad. Or in English, ‘cringe-y.’ ”
And that’s my cue.
I stand, slinging my backpack on, and extend my palm for the DVD, even knowing as pathetic as it is, I am going to watch it — a thought that makes my cheeks even hotter. Because that’s how desperate I’ve become, and I hate myself for it. “Anyway . . . if you can just keep everything I said earlier to yourself.”
He pops out the DVD and walks around the table to stand before me, a foot taller. “What happens in Quantum Club stays in Quantum Club.” He edges close enough for me to smell a delicious vanilla scent wafting from his sweatshirt, to feel those tingles again, and to see in his pupils gold flecks that look like stars.
“Could be a multiverse, you know. That Indigo place?” His hand grazes my wrist as he places the plastic disc back in my palm. “Alternate realities are always taking place. The name for it in quantum mechanics is the Many Interacting Worlds.”
Prickles down my neck. “Are you saying . . . you believe me?”
“There are no absolute proofs in quantum theory. It’s about what we can measure, and to what precision.” He seems to have an idea, darts back to his notebook, and scribbles.
“We’re going to need to know what’s been documented on the theory so far, and under what conditions.” More scribbling. “Oh, and what laws govern these . . . phenomena. So . . . maybe that’s not a total waste?” He nods to the DVD.
I place it on the table, suppressing tears, and take a seat.
Author Bio:
Heather Siegel is the author of THE KING & THE QUIRKY, and OUT FROM THE UNDERWORLD. She teaches academic and creative writing, holds an MFA from The New School University, and lives with her family in Southern Florida.
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