R.F. Gammon Author: Nicki Chapelway

MY MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF 2019: Or my take on the Bookish Meltdown Tag!

by R.F. Gammon - April 01, 2019

GIVEAWAY for my Blogoversary!

by R.F. Gammon - March 25, 2019

A Heart-Shaped Box of OTPs Linkup: HOW ABOUT SOME MORE VALENTINE'S DAY STUFF

by R.F. Gammon - February 25, 2019

Greetings one and all! I originally had a different post planned for today, but after seeing this one over on my favorite Christine's blog, I decided that I was going to do this challenge.

It originates over at the blog of Lianne Taimenlore <-----(follow this link for the original post), and I LOVED it! Who doesn't love a chance to squeal over all their favorite fictional couples, after all?

So with that...let's jump right into this!

(Book covers in this post credit to Goodreads; gifs are from Giphy. The fanart was found on pinterest. I own none of the art shown here; all credit to the owners.)

1. Original Chocolate Heart--The OTP that started it all

My mum says she has no idea what this would be for me, but I'm thinking maaaaaybe Duchess and Thomas O'Malley from The Aristocats? I feel like I remember being very, very angry that they had so much standing in the way of their happiness. But basically, old Disney animated couples. Beauty and the Beast and Lady and the Tramp rank pretty high here too.

Tell me this isn't sweet

2. Dark Chocolate--the OTP with the most drama

Oh, goodness, that's a hard one, now isn't it?

We're going to go with Eanrin and Imraldera from Tales of Goldstone Wood. If only they weren't both so obstinately stubborn! That moment in Shadow Hand was far from sufficient. *glowers*

3. Caramel filled--the OTP that's simple and sweet

I know, I know, it's not necessarily canon, but we're going to go with Rey and Finn in The Force Awakens. They're just so little and cute and that forehead kiss at the end--ADORABLE. I squeal.

My babies

4. Raspberry chocolate: The Forbidden Love OTP

Honestly, I'm not really a fan of this trope? It irritates me. xD But...I can make a case for a couple of such ships, and so...let's go with Winter and Jacin from The Lunar Chronicles.

are they not precious?!

5. White Chocolate: The odd OTP you still manage to love

Ummm...we're going to go with Fiyero and Elphaba from Wicked (the musical, thank you very much. I haven't read the book and I have heard Things Regarding the Book that make me hesitant to do so.) But they're my FAVORITES, and their love duet is one of the pinnacles of musical theater, imo.

Not the best gif, sorry...but this is a musical, remember...xD

6. Peanut Butter Chocolate - The OTP everybody and their sisters ship

Is this even a question? Obviously Jude and Cardan of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince. Jude is literally my favorite and I adore her so very much. And Cardan, while he's a TRAIN WRECK of epic proportions, is also awesome. Normally I'd be all over this for toxicity, but I think the story itself is very much aware of that, and oh well. xD

This one made me laugh SO HARD

7. Cherry-filled: The OTP you fear no one knows about

My precious Inkheart babies, Mo and Resa. Yes, I know they're the parents. No, their ship is no less important just because they're already, ya know, married. I know a lot of people who were all in for Meggie and Farid in Inkheart; the only real ship I had in the whole series was Moresa. Please and thanks. XD

Mo and Resa- didn't think I could hate Mortola more until here---- but Resa gets her voice back!! :)

This was literally the only picture of them I could find...whoops. But THE BABIES THE BAAAABBIIIIESSSSS

8. Chocolate with almonds: the fun and nutty OTP

Nick and (Lady) Cordelia from The Beast of Talesend! These children! I've still only read the first 2 and I desperately want more, but I already ship these fools with all my heart. I will slam their faces together if I have to. They need to get. Their. Act. Together. Now, preferably. xD

I love them SO MUCH

9. Chocolate with Coconut: the OTP who came from different backgrounds

Sarai and Lazlo Strange from Strange the Dreamer are the definition of different backgrounds. She's a hated, blue-skinned girl living in secret inside a floating stone statue (yeah, really) with the ability to inflict nightmares on anybody she wants. And then Lazlo is the sweetest cinnamon roll librarian in the world--one of my favorite things is that he wants SO BADLY to hold a grudge against the guy he hates, he just can't. So presh. So refresh. <3

*quietly squeals*

10. Mint Chocolate: The OTP you'll love til you die

I agonized over this one forever, but I think the only answer could be Leo/Lionheart and Rose Red/Varvare in Veiled Rose and Moonblood. The babies! They're so precious! I adore them with all my heart, and I'm still salty that we got cheated at the end of Moonblood. There had better be another book where they get their closure, the way Shadow Hand hinted (and if you think I was reading that last one solely for the Leo cameos and brief mentions of Rosie, you are 100% correct.)

11. Orange Creme: The OTP you never expected to love

This position definitely goes to Luka and Yael in Wolf by Wolf. She's a spy and basically shapeshifter who's out trying to save the world from Hitler and the Nazis (oh, and she's a Jewish concentration camp survivor). And then there's Luka, who's the Reich's golden child and a professional motorcyclisst (I'm 90% sure.) I don't usually dig star-crossed bad-boy romance, but oh, this one was SO MUCH GOOD. <3

12. Salted caramel: the OTP that worked the most on their relationship

Leith and Renna from Blades of Acktar! I mean, think of all those two had to go through in order to be together. They're such mature people about it, but THEY SUFFER SO MUCH MY WORD. *hugs the poor babies tightly*

13. Chocolate covered raisins: The young OTP you know will work out someday

I have several of these, actually? But I'm going with Lucky and Lincoln from the Hard Pan Trilogy. I used to hate that they were crushing like that when they were eleven. But now that I'm old and jaded (hee hee), I just see them as such sweet innocent little babies and they BETTER get married someday <3

LOOK IT'S EVEN ON THE COVER

14. Chocolate jalapeno: the OTP that can't be together but you ship it anyway

I promised myself going into this that I would NOT ship my own characters on this tag, because JUST TOO MANY SPOILERS OKAY?! And also, that's not fair to the other characters I know and love. But I have to mention my own babies Derek and Kariana here. There's so many times when I'm writing and I just want to bang their heads together and scream "What is wrong with you two?!" at them until they get together. UGH UGH UGH.

But, since that's cheating...we'll go with my other massive non-canon ship, which would be Aragorn and Eowyn! I mean, I'm glad they both ended up happy, but...I STILL SHIP THEM SOOOOO MUUUUUCH okay?!

are they not cute? She was good for Aragorn, man, and he was good for her. You will not and cannot convince me otherwise.

15. Ferrero Rocher: the best dressed/best-looking OTP

Sir Percy Blakeney and Marguerite, of course! (ala The Scarlet Pimpernel) No one can call them out for their fashion choices, and Sir Percy is perfectly qualified to do so to others. Oh, that scene in the movie makes me cry tears of joyous laughter.

ALSO THE CUTEST AND HE'S FANTASTIC OKAY

16. Chocolate covered coffee bean: the energetic OTP that keeps you on your toes

Dante and Alicia from A Certain Sort of Madness! I mean, Alicia's the energetic one who just sort of drags everyone else, including Dante, along, but...SHE HAS THE ENERGY OF TWENTY MEN. *dies of exhaustion*

17. Chocolate dipped strawberry: The OTP that's just absolutely adorable

*raises lighted match*

*holds it above head, lifted over a huge pile of dynamite labelled "opinions of angry fangirls"*

*takes a deep breath*

*this is why I hate love triangles*

SOKEEFE!!!!!!!!

*drops the match and flees*

We Sokeefe shippers at this point: LOOKIT THEY'RE HOLDING HAAAAAAANDS SUCCESS

18. Chocolate with nougat: The OTP that's full of fluff and nonsense

What is this "fluff" you speak of? I do not read "fluff". *sighs* But, since I'm expected to provide one of these... we'll go with Elle and Darien from Geekerella. That book was cute, okay? I don't read contemporary and I don't like romance books but I still gave it four stars. So...yeah.

or insert any Gail Carson Levine characters here because they're usually pretty cute without baggage

19. Chocolate with walnuts: the OTP with the bumpiest relationship

YES, I KNOW WE ONLY HAVE ONE OF THEIR BOOKS IN OUR HANDS SO FAR (but the second one comes out TOMOORRRRRROOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW! *squeals*), but even so, I think I can easily give this award to Kestra and Simon from The Traitor's Game. I ship them so hard it's not even funny. MY CHILDREN. If Jennifer Nielsen hurts them, so help me...

*screams forever because THIS BOOK*

20. Chocolate butterscotch: the OTP with the best banter

This one is going to have to be a tie between two because I simply must work Howl and Sophie in here someplace--whatever would we do without them? But I also have to mention Cedric and Elisabeth, one of my favorite ships of ever, from Nicki Chapelway's Winter Cursed and A Winter Dark and Deadly. Their sass is legit the best thing of ever. Cedric could win the Sarcasm Olympics (and probably has).

going with the movie because easier to find stuff from the movie

also look the new cover has both of them!!!!! much excite!!!!!

So anyway...THESE ARE MY SHIPS! Are you shocked? Are you bewildered? And remember, this linkup is still going for a little while longer, so be sure and join it during February! It's SO fun :D (also torture but we can't have everything)

Chat with me! Who are some of your favorite OTPs? Which of mine were the most surprising vs. least surprising in your opinion? Do you agree with me that Aragorn and Eowyn were made for each other? Let me know in the comments!

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BLOG TOUR: A Certain Sort of Madness by Nicki Chapelway (with Interview!)

by R.F. Gammon - October 12, 2018

Hello, my dear friends! Today I want to introduce to you once again my dear critique partner and friend Nicki Chapelway! She's about to publish her next book, A Certain Sort of Madness (you can find my post from the cover reveal here), and has given me the honor of interviewing her for her blog tour. So, let's dive in!

Insanity is catching…

Alicia Hareton is crazy. But that’s nothing new. Her insanity is inherited from her mother, just like her magical abilities and her blood ties to the strange and alluring world of Amar. She’s spent her life on Earth and yet Amar has always called to her, an intoxicating melody that she cannot ignore. Returning to Amar would put her life in danger, but Alicia has never let such technicalities stop her before.

However, when her mother is captured due to her reckless actions, Alicia will do anything to rescue her. That includes trusting her grumpy, sarcastic imaginary friend, who claims he doesn’t know her and doesn’t seem that imaginary anymore. Or that trustworthy. Together, with the help of her cousin and a band of misfits, they partake in an extremely ill-advised heist on the faerie court in order to find a way to defeat the most powerful mage in all Amar, who also happens to be Alicia’s grandfather. But not everything in the faerie court is as it seems, and soon this unlikely group find themselves fighting for their lives as well as the lives of those they love.

In a world of madness and magic, the lines between lies and loyalty are blurred and sometimes the only option you have left is to let the insanity loose.

About the Author:

Nicki has been writing since she was eleven years old. She published her first book A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses at the age of fifteen, one year after she finished writing it. She enjoys reading, writing, swimming when she can, and fan-girling (in other words: obsessing over other peoples' stories almost as much as her own). She also enjoys watching TV, her favorite movies and TV shows include: Doctor Who, Avengers, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Nicki currently resides in Ohio with her family of eight and two dogs, Rylie and Zoey. She is now working on the next books in the My Time in Amar series- when she's not distracted by other stories (both hers and others'). You can contact her at http://pausefortales.blogspot.com

I'm lucky enough to be good friends with Nicki herself, and she was wonderfully gracious to me with my lateness on sending her questions for this interview. I tried to come up with some more unique questions, so we'll see how this goes. Read on for the interview!

Interview with Nicki Chapelway

Faith: What is your favorite thing to do outside of writing (and no cheating and saying reading)?

Nicki: Dang it, I was totally going to say reading. Um... I'm going to have to say watching TV, because I love movies almost as much as books. I also enjoy coloring but that's more of an off and on kind of hobby.

FT: If you could play a musical instrument which one would it be and why?

NC: Probably piano, because it's so elegant. Plus, it's the instrument we actually have at our house and it just sits there. Mocking. Me. Always asking the question, "Why can't you play me?"

FT: Laptop stickers: yay or nay?

NC: Considering I had to Google it to even figure out what it was I would say probably nay... but I'm a big enough fangirl that I'm tempted now. I am severely tempted.

FT: Which of your characters is the swooniest? (I'm cruel, I know).

NC: Okay, wow, you are cruel. Yeesh, this is so hard right now. I love all of my male characters for different reasons, Easton is so sweet and kind and generous, Dante is a sarcastic cinnamon roll, and out of my male characters Cedric is the most like me in a cute little anti-hero way- but I'm going to have to go with Dirk, who is a character that I have yet to finish the story of, but he's always been my favorite. And I long ago decided that if I could bring any of my characters to life and marry them, it would be him.

FT: Favorite genre to write besides portal fantasy?

NC: Eh... can I say high fantasy? Or is that too close? If so, I also love writing retellings (fairy tales, classics, etc.) and Sci-Fi is fun, though I haven't written a full book in that genre.

FT: If you had a thousand dollars what would you spend it on?

NC: I would probably save it the best I can, cracking it out to buy the occasional soundtrack or book that I want, but the majority would probably go toward publishing expenses: book covers, actually hiring a professional editor, marketing... etc.

FT: Favorite Bible verse and why?

NC: I've always been a fan of Psalm 23, especially the fourth verse because I was a fearful little girl, scared of pretty much everything and then some and that verse always comforted me.

FT: What's something you would say to all the aspiring indie authors out there?

NC: Know your options, I self-published because I thought that was my only option to getting my book out there, and while I don't regret doing it, I still would have liked to have known what was I was doing. Which leads into my next point, learn your trade. Just because you're not traditionally publishing doesn't mean that your book can't be as good as any traditionally published book.

Thank you so much for joining me today, Nicki! And I hope you're all interested in reading A Certain Sort of Madness--give Nicki a follow on Goodreads to keep up with its upcoming release!

Have you read any of Nicki's books yet? If not, YOU BETTER. XD

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