Fairy Metal Thunder Read Along: Week 3

Welcome to week three of the

Fairy Metal Thunder Read-Along and Scavenger Hunt

This week's read-along is hosted by

Tina's Book Reviews

Questions for Chapters 14-20

1. In the beginning of chapter 14, poor Jason is having a tough time at work. Its busy, people are rude, there are hot girls talking to him, big lady's are about to starve, all in all bad work day. So tell us about a time when you had to deal with a pushy customer or rude behavior, did you freak, keep it together, throw a slawburger?

I've never worked anywhere that really required me to deal with any kinds of customers, which is probably a really good thing. Ya see, I have severe social anxiety and I'm a pretty shy person, so usually I don't like confrontation. BUT I do have a temper when provoked. One time when my inner Hulk broke through my shyness was about a year ago at the local Wal-Mart. I was shopping with my cousin, little sister (who was about 15) and her two friends. We were having a pleasant time (or at least as pleasant a time as one can have in Wal-Mart) when these two rather loud, pushy and totally redneck (I do live in NC after all) women ruined it all.

My sister was pushing the shopping cart and these two women were parked right in the middle of an aisle, not moving, so my sister proceeded to push our cart past them. Then these "ladies" gave my sister the stink eye and said loudly "Ughh, I hate when insert not nice name are rude! I can't go anywhere cause they *they glare at my sister and friends* just don't know how to move!". Now, I usually walk away from situations like this, but not when somebody messes with MY little sister. So I was all...

Oh no she didn't!!!

Then a little of this happened...

Needless to say, words were spoken, profanities may have been exchanged and my inner Hulk felt like smashing some heads. I definitely did not keep my head and I probably should have...but honestly, and felt really good to let those women have a piece of my mind ;P

2. In chapter 16 Jason is getting ready to shoot his rocking music video and perform for a crowd. Have you ever made a rock video, been in a play or anything that shows you doing something with musical talent? Extra points if you want to show us.

So, even though I lurve music, I have like NO musical talent AT ALL...seriously, I can't sing, I can't dance and I wasn't even invited to join the middle school band *sigh*. But I was in the fifth grade Christmas musical show- I was a dancing, singing  Blitzen the reindeer. I mostly just moved my lips and tried not to trip anyone. Then later that year in fifth grade we made music videos and my best friend and I used the song Hakuna Matata from The Lion King. I was dressed up like a zebra and sang Timon's part while my BFF dressed up in leopard print and sang Pumbaa's part. We even had tree props and everything. It was, well, not good, but we had fun. And after everyone made their music videos the entire fifth grade got together and watched them...yeah, that was humiliating! I don't have a video of it and I actually really wish I did!

3. Speaking of videos, the boys have a little chat about Steven Spielberg in chapter 17, what is your favorite Spielberg movie? Can't think of one...well then tell us about one of your favorite Sci-fi movies.

I have to pick just one?! Not sure I can, but let's see...well, if we're talking specifically about Spielberg directed movies, then I love:

Whenever this movie is on I will drop everything and watch it

I remember the summer of Jurassic Park clearly: I was about 7 years old and my whole family went to see this and I was BLOWN away. My little brother and I spent all that summer learning everything we could about dinosaurs. This movie still rocks my socks off!

And this next movie Spielberg  did NOT direct but he was an executive producer and writer on the film:

I watched this movie SO many times as a kid! My little brother, his friends and I used to play Goonies and go on "adventures". My brother always got to be Mikey or Mouth and since I was the only girl in our group I always had to be one of the female characters...when I actually always wanted to be Sloth just so I could scream 

"Heyy you guyyyyss!!!"

4. At the end of Chapter 17 the guys say bye to Dred who is getting ready to move, did you ever have to start over in a new school or new place when you were in highschool? Was it good, bad...horrible?

I left highschool after the ninth grade to be homeschooled and the adjustment wasn't hard at all. I was always a loner and never really "hung out" with my peers (I'm not a people person) so I never missed that aspect of school. Going away to college was a really hard adjustment though. I wasn't a big fan of living on my own and was constantly homesick. I actually ended up switching to a college closer to home and enjoyed it much more.

5. If you had a pet Unicorn what would you name it?

Like many people, I've spent many hours pondering this question and I do believe that I would name my pet unicorn either:

Princess Cupcake Sparklepants Moonbeam Sunshineface Fluffy-Wuffy

OR

Sir Winchester III

And just for fun: Would you rather be pecked to death by a vulture or eat a Goblins toenails???

Hmm, depends. Can I get the Goblin toenails covered in cheese and/or chocolate?!

Leave links to your read-along posts and I'll stop by!

And come back next Friday for week four!

A rock & roll fairy tale.

Jason plays guitar in a teenage garage band called the Assorted Zebras, but they have no fans, no gigs, and they're going nowhere. Even worse, Jason has a crush on their lead singer, but she doesn't seem interested in him at all.
Then Jason steals instruments from the fairy world. Soon the band is enchanting crowds, and Jason is a step closer to the girl of his dreams, but the new gear is brimming with dangerous and destructive magic they can't control.
Their shortcut to success has cost a troupe of innocent fairies their livelihood and turned Jason and his band into enemies of the powerful Queen Mab, who sends supernatural bounty hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie...a small unicorn named Buttercake.

Fairy Metal Thunder is free on  Amazon, Smashwords, and Apple, and just 99 cents on Nook, so you can play along for free! (Nook users can get a free ePub at Smashwords.) 

Fairy Metal Thunder Read Along: Week 2

Welcome to week two of the

Fairy Metal Thunder Read-Along and Scavenger Hunt

This week's read-along is hosted by

Reading the Paranormal

Questions for Chapters 7-13 of Fairy Metal Thunder:

1. Unfairly grounded by his parents, Jason decides to lie to them so he can go to the audition in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, not only does the audition end poorly but his parents discover his lie and things go downhill from there. Tell us the most outrageous lie you've ever been caught in. Bonus points if you can provide pictorial proof. Reenactments eagerly accepted.

So, I've been thinking over this question for days and I honestly cannot think of any outrageous lies I've been caught in. Now, that's not to say that I haven't ever told any whoppers, because of course I have, I've just never been called out on them. Maybe I'm just a reaaallly good liar...or maybe I just hang out with reaallly gullible people....OR maybe I'm lying right now *eyebrow waggle*

2. In Faerie, Aoide is summoned to see the Faerie Queen. Have you ever met someone important like the Faerie Queen? Someone famous? Tell us the story behind how it happened. Once again, pictures are a plus!

Ok, so if you know me or talk to me for any real length of time chances are my obsession  love for the television show Supernatural will eventually be talked about. I've been a total Supernatural fangirl for eight years; seriously, I love this show more than almost everything else in the world. Well, like a lot of sci-fi/paranormal shows, there are Supernatural Conventions where the fans can meet the stars and other fans and I went to one of these awesome (and OMG so expensive) cons a few years ago. And I met the stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki!!! 

I also met many of the other awesome recurring guest stars and got to chat with them and get autographs, but I'd be lying (ha!) if I said the highlight wasn't meeting the two J's. And yes ladies, they are even hotter in person! But, I kind of made a wee bit of a fool out of myself when I met them. You see the line for the picture op with the two of them was realllly long and I realllly had to pee. Now I wasn't getting out of that line and missing my pic for anything! So, there I am standing in line doing the peepee dance (y'all know what I'm talking about) and it's my turn next and there they are, two gorgeous hunky guys who smell fabulous and they turn to me and what pops out of my mouth- "I reallllly have to go to the bathroom!"

Doh! Yes, I actually said that *hangs head*. But I made them laugh and after we took our pic, Jensen said to me "Now run run run to the bathroom!". At least I was memorable right? And here's that pic:

3. Caught lying to his father about his non-existent job at the car wash, Jason has now found gainful employment at Buddy McSlawburger's - where he's forced to wear "the funny hat" as part of his uniform. What's the worst job you've ever had? Did it involve a particularly noxious uniform? Tell us about it - in riveting, full-color detail!

Occasionally I help my parents out at their job which is a custodial business. They clean schools and churches and doctors offices. Well, for a few months we cleaned a private school, including the gym and locker rooms and oh my gawd that was the nastiest job ever! It was during basketball season so we had to go in, late at night after the games and I was in charge of cleaning the bleachers. Let me tell you, people at suck at not throwing their trash away! I found all kinds of leftover food, open and spilled drinks and other odd ickiness. And then there were the locker rooms which were always stinky and had dirty socks and undies on the floor. But the worst was the boy's bathroom with the clogged toilet that boys continued to go number two in even though it was clearly clogged and not flushing *shudders*. I really felt sorry for that toilet.

4. In an effort to regain their stolen instruments, Aoide and Rhodia travel to the sugar swamp to hire a hunter. Wouldn't you love to live somewhere where the water is sweet and the grass is made of sugar cane? Show us a picture of you enjoying your favorite sweet treat. Or, rewrite history and tell us how your version of the sugar swamp would differ from the one in the book.

If you couldn't tell by my blog design, I LURVE cupcakes! I love baking them and I love eating them. They are most definitely my favorite sweet treat. I looked, but I don't actually have any pics of me enjoying my fave sweet treat, but I do have some pics of cupcakes I've made. So, lets drool a bit shall we?

Fruity Tie-Dyed Spring Cupcakes

Giant Red-Velvet Valentines Day Cupcake

Black and White Oreo Crunch Candor Cupcakes 

(for Divergent Nation)

Leave links to your read-along posts and I'll stop by!

And come back next Friday for week three

A rock & roll fairy tale.

Jason plays guitar in a teenage garage band called the Assorted Zebras, but they have no fans, no gigs, and they're going nowhere. Even worse, Jason has a crush on their lead singer, but she doesn't seem interested in him at all.
Then Jason steals instruments from the fairy world. Soon the band is enchanting crowds, and Jason is a step closer to the girl of his dreams, but the new gear is brimming with dangerous and destructive magic they can't control.
Their shortcut to success has cost a troupe of innocent fairies their livelihood and turned Jason and his band into enemies of the powerful Queen Mab, who sends supernatural bounty hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie...a small unicorn named Buttercake.

Fairy Metal Thunder is free on  Amazon, Smashwords, and Apple, and just 99 cents on Nook, so you can play along for free! (Nook users can get a free ePub at Smashwords.) 

Fairy Metal Thunder Read Along: Week 1

Hey Cupcakes! 

For the next four Fridays I'll be participating in the

Fairy Metal Thunder Read-Along and Scavenger Hunt!!!

The Songs of Magic Series by J.L. Bryan is one of my fave YA series and I look forward to joining in this fun read-along and scavenger hunt and hopefully meeting some other fans of this series.

This week's read-along and hunt is hosted by 

Missie of the The Unread Reader

Questions for Chapter 1-6 of Fairy Metal Thunder:

1. At the beginning of the story, the Assorted Zebras are just a garage band, but they are expecting to make it big. Who knows, you just might find yourself at one of their concerts someday. Until then, show me your favorite concert t-shirt. It could be a picture of a concert you actually attended or a pic of a vintage tee of your favorite band. Be sure to tell me the story behind the tee.

Ok, so I haven't actually gone to that many concerts. Not that I don't love music, because I do, but most of the bands I REALLY LOVE either don't tour anymore or I've just never been able to see them live...But, my parents, who were apparently MUCH cooler than me when they were younger, have gone to many awesome concerts. Many of which I'd give anything to go back in time and attend myself. So, I'll showcase a few vintage concert tees (found online) from some of the shows they attended and I wish I could have....

(I actually have the Bob Seger tshirt!)

2. Jason’s mom forces him to agree to do some yard work for Mrs. Dullahan, which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t rumored to be a witch. Tell me about the worst chore you were ever forced to do. Who make you do it? Bonus points if you have a picture to share of you doing the dirty work.

Uggh, chores! The bane of my existence. Hmm, but the worst? When I was about ten years old my family, along with our church, volunteered to clean up a section of Lowe's Motor Speedway (in my hometown) after a big race. Now for those who don't know, that speedway is HUGE and NASCAR (yuck!) is also HUGE in NC, therefore the place was packed and there was a ton of trash left behind. Gross, nasty, icky trash that we had to pick up. NOT FUN at all. I also got a sunburn that day >.<

I don't have a picture of that day, but here's a pic of the speedway:

3. Uh oh! There seems to be a jewelry thief in the neighborhood. Have you have had anything stolen from you? Or have you ever lost something precious? Did you ever find it? Make a Reward if Found poster for the stolen or lost item. Convince us to find it for you. Make the reward good!

*sigh* A few years ago I lost my Harry Potter Book Charm bracelet, which was a handmade bracelet with the cutest little charm replicas of all seven Harry Potter books. It wasn't worth a lot of money, but I ADORED that bracelet and was very sad when I lost it. It was found eventually, but several of the charms had been destroyed beyond repair :(

Here's my Lost/Reward poster:

4. In Faerie, Jason declares himself as Jason the Guy Who Wants That Necklace Back. Weird, but then again every name has a meaning. What does your name mean? What is the origin? Do you go by any kind of nicknames? How did you get that nickname?

I'm named after my maternal grandmother who is from Korea. My name, Aeicha, is a variation of the Korean Ae Cha, which means "love daughter" or "love child". My grandma and mom say my name could even mean "child of love". 

In Korea, Ae Cha is pronounced like "eh chah", which is how we say my grandma's name, while we pronounce my name as "AY-sha". My middle name is Lin, which means "beautiful jade". My big brothers and dad have always called me Linsonboo because of my middle name and our Asian heritage ;D

5. When Jason gets home from his all night adventures through Fairy, his parents unfairly ground him for a month! Care to share a time you were grounded by your parents for no good reason?

Ya know, I was really a boring child and teen. Well, at least when it came to misbehaving and acting out. I was a nerd and geek (before it was cool to be those things!) and I didn't get into too much trouble and was never really grounded. I suppose my mom did often have to tell me to shut my light off and stop reading at 2am and go to sleep, for goodness sakes it's a school night! lol, but other than that my parents were pretty reasonable when it came to doling out reprimands and punishment. 

Come back next Friday to play along again!!!

A rock & roll fairy tale.

Jason plays guitar in a teenage garage band called the Assorted Zebras, but they have no fans, no gigs, and they're going nowhere. Even worse, Jason has a crush on their lead singer, but she doesn't seem interested in him at all.
Then Jason steals instruments from the fairy world. Soon the band is enchanting crowds, and Jason is a step closer to the girl of his dreams, but the new gear is brimming with dangerous and destructive magic they can't control.
Their shortcut to success has cost a troupe of innocent fairies their livelihood and turned Jason and his band into enemies of the powerful Queen Mab, who sends supernatural bounty hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie...a small unicorn named Buttercake.

Fairy Metal Thunder is free on  Amazon, Smashwords, and Apple, and just 99 cents onNook, so you can play along for free! (Nook users can get a free ePub at Smashwords.) 

Guest Post and Giveaway: J.L. Bryan- Fairystruck Book Launch

Happy Monday, Cupcakes! I'm very excited to have author J.L. Bryan here today to celebrate the launch of the newest book in his Songs of Magic Series- Fairystruck! Both book one, Fairy Metal Thunder, and book two, Fairy Blues, are awesome reads and you have the chance to win a copy of both, below. But first let's learn more about some of the fun research that has gone into writing this music filled series...

Fairystruck (Songs of Magic, Book 3) Book Launch & Giveaway!

J.L. Bryan

Today, Aeicha was kind enough to host the book launch for Fairystruck, the third book in my Songs of Magic series (thanks, Aeicha!).


I thought it would be fun to give some background on the research that went into these books, which follow a teenage garage band who acquire enchanted instruments from the fairy world and go on to become international rock stars, as well as enemies of Queen Mab of Faerie.

Part of the research has included reading lots of autobiographies of actual rock stars so that I could accurately portray the experiences involved.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Life by Keith Richards.  This was the first one I read and still possibly my favorite of them all.  The guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Rolling Stones relates all aspects of his life with amazing honesty.  It was fascinating to read how they started as a dirt-poor blues cover band, spending every waking second listening to American blues albums and taking the songs apart in order to learn how to play the blues.  Another aspect of this story that impressed me was how his experiences as a rock musician and numerous run-ins with the law led to a kind of political enlightenment, in which he decided that political power is an illusion.  Politicians in the 1960s were terrified of the huge, wild, young crowds at rock concerts, and the Rolling Stones and other major bands were carefully monitored by the Nixon administration as threats to national security, which Richards finds hilarious.

Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny by Nile Rodgers.  Rodgers is most famous as a producer who seemed to touch every major act in the 1970s and 1980s, producing hit records for David Bowie, Madonna, Prince, and other huge stars.  This book was very educational about the process of making songs, and hit songs in particular.  

I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne.  This was a really funny and wild book!  Ozzy and Keith Richards had very similar childhoods, growing up in bleak, bombed-out industrial areas still wrecked from World War II.  

I Slept with Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh and Legs McNeil.  Mickey Leigh tells the life story of his brother Joey Ramone from childhood to his death, a fascinating and tragic story.  The book offers rich insights into the history of the Ramones and the early days of punk rock in the United States.  It was interesting to read about a band that was far more influential than they were successful in the traditional sense.  While the Ramones didn’t have hit records, the importance of their music to the history of continues to grow.

Currently reading: Bit of a Blur, by Alex James, the bassist for Blur.  So far, I’m just at the teenager-learning-to-play phase of the book, but I’m enjoying it so far!

These are just a few of the books I’ve enjoyed along the way.  Reading all of these autobiographies has gone a long way to enrich the Songs of Magic series while making their characters’ experiences as realistic as possible.  It’s also pretty fun research!

Thanks for reading!  And thanks again to Aeicha for hosting me today!

You are very welcome! It's been awesome having you here today :)

J.L. Bryan is the author of The Paranormals series (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, Alexander Death) and the Songs of Magic series.

Website  / Twitter  / Facebook  / Goodreads

The Songs of Magic series on Amazon:

Fairy Metal Thunder / Fairy Blues / Fairystruck

My Reviews:

Fairy Metal Thunder / Fairy Blues

Win Fairy Metal Thunder & Fairy Blues!

In celebration of the launch of the third book, Fairystruck, in his Songs of Magic Series, author J.L. Bryan is giving away a copy of the first two books in the series- Fairy Metal Thunder and Fairy Blues!

Giveaway will run from 3/19 - 3/24

There will be one winner.

Open Internationally:

             If the winner is a US resident they will receive paperback copies

            If the winner is an international resident they will receive ebook copies

Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter

• Must be 13+ to enter
• One main entry per person
• Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours
• I am NOT responsible for lost or damaged prizes in the mail

REVIEW: FAIRY METAL THUNDER

Title: Fairy Metal Thunder        Series: Songs of Magic, Book 1 Author: J.L. Bryan                      Pub. Date: Sept. 2011 Format: ebook                             Source: from author for review

Fairy Metal Thunder

Jason, Erin, Mitch and Mildred (“Dred”) are the Assorted Zebras, a teenage garage band in Wisconsin with no fans and no gigs. Then Jason sneaks into the fairy world and steals four magic-fueled musical instruments, the kind fairies use to enchant and trick humans. The new instruments make the band a huge overnight success, on their way to rock stardom. But the band members aren’t exactly ready for fame, fortune, or the supernatural creatures sent by the fairies to track them down.

Fierce fairies, rocking music, magical instruments, complicated romance, badass unicorns, and one grumpy goblin…Fairy Metal Thunder has all this and more!

The Assorted Zebras is made up of Jason, Erin, Mitch, and Dred, four teenagers who are passionate about their music. Unfortunately no one else seems to be. They have no fans, no gigs, and possibly no future as a band…until Jason chases a goblin into the magical world of Faerie and steals four magical instruments. With these magical instruments the Assorted Zebras literally become an overnight sensation and all their dreams seem to quickly come true. But the band soon realizes that they aren’t quite as prepared for their overwhelming fame as they thought they were…not to mention the beings that are sent after them in hopes of retrieving the stolen instruments. Fairy Metal Thunder really reflects the sentiment ‘Be careful what you wish for’.

This is a really fun, lighthearted read and its fantasy elements are more delightful than edgy or dark, which makes it appropriate for even younger readers. It has a great mix of humor, fantasy, romance, and intrigue. The characters are charming, the story is refreshing and entertaining, and the fantasy elements are enchanting.

Fairy Metal Thunder takes place in two worlds- our world and the magical word of Faerie- so there’s a lot going on in the space of one book. But I never found the story overwhelming or too confusing to follow; the story flows at really nice pace that’s not too slow or too fast. The quartet of Jason, Erin, Mitch, and Dred in our world and the quartet of Aoide, Rhodia, Neus, and Skezg- the magical musicians whose instruments Jason steals- in Faerie, both make for two quirky, eclectic and merry bands of misfits. Grizlemor the Goblin is very reminiscent of Dobby the House-Elf from the Harry Potter series, although the goblin is far crankier…but still delightful with his whimsical sarcasm and mischief. There’s a certain absurd silliness that surrounds most of the adult characters, especially Jason’s parents, which I found quite hilarious and fun. All the characters are quite likable.

I was really drawn to the creative idea of a teenage band playing with magical instruments. It’s such a refreshing and fantastical idea that makes for a captivating story. The two distinct worlds in this book-our world and Faerie- add equal parts realism and fantasy, which creates a nice layered storyline. And I found that I genuinely enjoyed and found myself invested in the different plotlines going on in each world, and I really look forward to seeing the ways in which the separate, yet connected, stories and worlds continue to collide and intertwine in the rest of the series.

I really like Bryan’s unique fantasy elements and the way he added his own twists and spins on classic fantasy beings. I especially like Bryan’s fairies, who definitely aren’t your cute Tinkerbell’s. The fairies in this book are fierce, potentially dangerous, and kind of hip. And since this book is about a band, the musical elements have to be cool of course…and they definitely are. I love that the Assorted Zebras aren’t your average, as one non-cool adult in the book would call them, “teenyboppers at a disco”. They listen to classic rock (my kind of people!) and aren’t all about the “rock glam”, they actually care about the music. And the music is pretty sweet! I love that fact that there are actual lyrics and songs included in the book…and I would totally listen to the Assorted Zebras, even without the enchanting magical instruments. Although, the way Bryan describes the band’s music and its effects on people when played with those instruments makes for vivid and sensational scenes.

However, I did find the way that most of the characters were so quick to simply believe in and be ok with the concept of magical instruments and beings to be bit unbelievable. I think I would have liked a little more disbelief, or at least a bit more wariness and/or confusion, coming from people who witnessed what the band could do with the magical instruments. But this certainly didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of this book.

Overall, I found this to be a fun, delightful first volume in a promising new series. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series and learning more about the world of Faerie, seeing if a real romance between Jason and Erin ever blossoms, and finding out just what the heck is up with Buddy McSlawburger’s slaw. You should definitely give this book a read!

My Rating

4 Cupcakes

You can learn more about and connect with J.L. Bryan here:

Website I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads

This book can be purchased here:

Amazon I Nook I Smashwords