Hiya MySpace peeps,

I write reviews from time to time on movies, books, or cds that I really like (if I don't like something, I don't post a review, that's just my personal policy - other creative people don't need me knocking them, it's a hard enough road, and there's lots of other people who do that). I recently finished Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol, and since I loved it & the subject matter is right up my alley, I thought I would share my review here:


5-stars

Fascinating, Illuminating, Totally Entertaining

I was already a Dan Brown fan and so was eagerly awaiting The Lost Symbol. This book absolutely does not disappoint. It takes place over the course of about twelve hours, and through its pages, unfolds deep mystery after deep mystery. It has some great twists and turns, and keeps the suspense high the entire way through. I like that it also has an unusual format - there is the climax of the main story, but then the book allows you to keep unwrapping mysterious treasure after mysterious treasure for some time afterwards. I was truly sorry the book was finished. I felt like I had been given passage into a world of revelations that I wanted to continue, until I knew all there was to know. But that is not this book's job, that is now my own personal journey - to continue along the path that has been laid before me. And do so, I shall.

I actually found the story very inspirational and illuminating in its message and it presented some concepts, chief amongst them Noetic science, that I intend to keep studying. It is one of those books that can and does change the way you see and interact with the world around you. Dan Brown, in my opinion, is a master at telling compelling stories and teaching you all manner of incredibly fascinating things along the way. His books, The Lost Symbol, included, are loaded with information about some of the most mysterious and enigmatic parts of our history and culture. He presents ancient knowledge and myth in a new light and gets you thinking. He ignites interest in the past, in art, books, secret societies, scientific concepts and weaves all of those aspects into thrilling stories that are truly `unputdownable'. His tales tap into our imaginations and curiosity about the world around us. He says he writes stories that he finds personally entertaining and if the author is captivated and enchanted with what they are writing, that will come through in their work, as it does in The Lost Symbol.

There is nothing disappointing about this book, it is well paced, has great characters that are truly alive, and a mystery at its core that kept me completely enthralled. The Lost Symbol is highly engaging, thoroughly entertaining, and is most certainly time well spent. Let yourself be entertained and enlightened by this exciting novel. I hope it will grace the big screen in the not-too-distant future!

Rai Aren, co-author of the adventure novel Secret of the Sands

Secret of the Sands adventure novel trailer #2 from Rai Aren on Vimeo.

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

Rai

Hi friends,

I was recently encouraged to set up shop on LibraryThing, a very cool site for people who read books & those who write them (I fall into both categories). My profile is brand-spankin' new, so I will be updating it over time with more activity & books. I have, of course, added our adventure novel, SECRET OF THE SANDS to my profile. If you haven't already read it, I would be honored if you would check it out...

In the shadow of the Great Sphinx of Giza, two young archaeologists unearth extremely unusual artifacts over 12,000 years old, but the find is wrong - very wrong. The artifacts shouldn’t be there…they shouldn’t exist at all. The greatest discovery in human history may turn out to be the deadliest…


Here's the link to my profile, if you are a member of LibraryThing, do look me up & let's connect!

Rai Aren's LibraryThing profile







Cheers,

Rai Aren

Author

Secret of the Sands

Read Now - http://bit.ly/15WZUp

Twitter - @raiaren

Yippee!! Thanks to our awesome readers (we love yooooooouuuu!!!!), our adventure novel, SECRET OF THE SANDS is once again an Amazon kindle BESTSELLER!! Currently we are #77 for Historical Fiction - awesome!

Doin' my happy dance....




Like a proud mamma, I'm showin' off a picture:



Here's the link to our kindle edition:

Secret of the Sands adventure novel kindle edition

And the link to our trade paperback:

Secret of the Sands adventure novel paperback edition


Happy reading always, my friends!!










P.S. We ended up back on the BESTSELLER list at least a couple of more times after this blog was posted, yippee!! Here's some pix of it:

Secret of the Sands adventure novel In the shadow of the Great Sphinx of Giza, two young archaeologists unearth extremely unusual artifacts over 12,000 years old, but the find is wrong - very wrong. The artifacts shouldn’t be there…they shouldn’t exist at all. The greatest discovery in human history may turn out to be the deadliest…

Heya MySpace peeps,

I am soooo excited to share our brand-spankin' new trailer for our adventure novel, SECRET OF THE SANDS!! I made it myself using Animoto (a very cool, fun to use, FREE tool!). Hope you like it!!


Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

http://animoto.com/play/4Hab1jZ4UHNHd4zORZ0IgA?utm...

I am so honored & delighted to see that Secret of the Sands, a mystery novel, is once again an Amazon.com kindle BESTSELLER in the category of Historical Fiction. Currently, we are at #92 on this fabulous list. I included a screenshot below :)

Here is the link to the kindle edition of Secret of the Sands:

Secret of the Sands kindle

And here is the link to our trade paperback version:

Secret of the Sands paperback





Thank-you to all of our readers, we greatly value you!!

Happy reading always!

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

For 12,000 years a dark and deadly secret has been hidden deep below the Great Sphinx of Giza. In present day Egypt, a frightening, yet awe-inspiring story unravels as archaeologists race against time to decipher an ancient truth...


"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion." -McNally Robinson

"Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction." -- Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy




P.S. I thought I would share our video trailer with you:




Created by Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands, with help from her friend Tommy Taylor, author of The Second Virgin Birth.

Hi fellow readers & authors,

I wanted to pass the word along about a great initiative – Operation eBook Drop. It provides donated eBooks to soldiers serving overseas. I am always inspired to hear about how books can help bring some light into someone’s life. I signed up to donate copies of Secret of the Sands – our title, published by Bristlecone Pine Press, was recently listed in the OmniLit catalogue, which made this possible. Here’s the link to our book there:

 

Secret of the Sands on OmniLit

 

 

Here is an article, which explains more about Operation eBook Drop by Holly Christine in the Pittsburgh Book Examiner. You can find Holly on Twitter: Holly on Twitter  and here is the link to the article, which I have copied in below:

 

Link to Pittsburgh Book Examiner article about Operation eBook Drop

 

The issue sparked an idea in Patterson, a frequent poster and respected member of the Kindle forums. After discovering that Kindle authors expressed an interest in making their work available for free to overseas soldiers, he concocted a plan to use Smashwords, utilizing the site’s coupon feature for free eBooks to soldiers.

 

Since the conception of Operation eBook Drop only a few days ago, over thirty-five independent authors have offered their work(s) for free to overseas U.S. soldiers. Smashwords quickly responded with Patterson in further developing the project, notifying nearly 1300 authors.

 

For now, authors interested in participating in the program are encouraged to email Patterson. Works must available through Smashwords with a 100% off coupon code. Soldiers interested in particular works will express their interest through Patterson. Patterson then notifies the author, who will then email the soldier links and coupon codes. Smashwords is currently working on an automated system to further the project development.

 

For more information or to get involved with the program, visit Smashwords for complete program details."

*******

 

If you are an author, I hope you will join us in this very worthy effort!

 

Happy reading, always, wherever you may be…

 

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands
....

 

 

 

For 12,000 years a dark and deadly secret has been hidden deep below the Great Sphinx of Giza. In present day Egypt, a frightening, yet awe-inspiring story unravels as archaeologists race against time to decipher an ancient truth...

 

"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion." -McNally Robinson...

 

"Rai Aren and Tavius E. have crafted a fast-paced, exciting novel overflowing with mystery and intrigue. The tension is constant. The characters fully developed. And the plot gripping. Ancient history and present day relevance are so expertly intertwined, that you might forget you are reading a work of fiction." -- Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy...

 

 

 

 

P.S. I thought I would share our video trailer with you:

 

 

 

Created by Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands, with help from her friend Tommy Taylor, author of The Second Virgin Birth.

Good day my friends in the MySpace world,

Since it was recently the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, I have been thinking a lot about animals and how I long for their well-being and protection. Ok, well I always think about those things, just lately even more than usual. In fact, I am brainstorming an upcoming novel (it will be a horror-thriller) that is going to explore this idea. It is going to be intense! It will be carrying a very powerful message delivered in an unforgettable way. I will share more about it as it comes to life...

Anyhoo, I often share quotes about life in general, and animal rights support (down with speciesism!), so I thought it was time that I wrote my own. It is something I have continuously shared over the years, I just decided to formalize it in a quote. Hopefully, long after I'm gone (& while I'm still here!) it will continue to be shared...


"Know that the same spark of life that is within you, is within all of our animal friends, the desire to live is the same within all of us..." - Rai Aren


Please feel free to share it far & wide...it is my hope that our world will continue to evolve in its caring and compassion for all of the life forms that we share this beautiful, amazing planet with...


In peace & friendship, always...

Rai

Hi fellow readers,

I wanted to pass along some cool news - the eBook version of Secret of the Sands is now also available on OmniLit! We were honored that they added our book to their site.




Here is the link to our listing:

Secret of the Sands on OmniLit

Secret of the Sands By: Rai Aren and Tavius E. | Other books by Rai Aren and Tavius E. Published By: Bristlecone Pine Press ISBN # 978-0-9817464-5-6 Word Count: 100532 Available in: Adobe Acrobat, HTML, Mobipocket, Epub

Secret of the Sands book trailer