Book Cover Reveal! "Faith Spiritwolfe - Aria Towards Destruction" is releasing on August 18th in Paperback and Kindle. https://amazon.com/dp/B086T46G9F Pre-Order the Kindle Version to be entered to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!!! *Or in the currency of your choice*
Enter Here http://rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3837a1ae0/…? #YAFantasy #TeenFantasy The pre- order is also available in the UK, Japan, Canada and Australia. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B086T46G9F https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/uk/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B086T46G9F https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/ca/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B086T46G9F https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/au/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B086T46G9F Blurb - Faith thought finding out about her true origins and battling a revenge-seeking demon Queen would be the most shocking thing she'd face in her junior year of high school. But the year is not over yet and Alexander Prep has more surprises in store for the young firestarter. Winter term starts with a bang when her ex-boyfriend Mitch shows up for a visit just when her relationship with Lex is starting to get serious and dangerous. They both have difficult tasks ahead of them; they are each trying to bring down the demon coven GARGOYLE from within while pretending to be other people. As if Faith didn't have enough on her plate, Mitch can't seem to let go and Lex's pull to his demon side is bringing out the worst in him. But unbeknownst to any of Lex, Faith has another more risky task, getting to know her real father. Meanwhile, her real half-sister is hell-bent on destroying her for everything Faith represents. After being embraced by a family of demons, Faith must decide whether she wants to be one herself or help destroy them in the second installment of the Sisters Affinity Series.
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Welcome to K-Pop Encounters Series 2, a series or articles and stories from my adventures in the K-pop world since I became an active fan in 2008. This will include fan meetings, in person encounters at events, back stage, concerts, K-cons, trips to South Korea, K-pop events in Japan and fan cafe events. Disclaimer' I have an excellent memory which is why I can recall these events but if I make a mistake, it is human nature and please do not take offence. I write accurately and honestly about my encounters with the K-pop world but please be mindful that sense these things actual happened to me. This series is for entertainment purposes only. How the K-pop Group 2ne1 got me into Korean Beauty. 2NE1×Etude House 100821 In 2010, I moved from Daegu in the southern region of Korea to Sinchon located right in the heart of Seoul. I lived in an Oficetel which is a Koreaan studio apartment. It was tiny with just one room and a bathroom where I had to shower over the toilet. Me and my cat Baby had to get used to our new abode. Daegu and Sinchon were huge contrast from each other. My home in Deagu was in the suburbs with not much around but a few restaurants and one major supermarket. Most of my time was spent at home in my apartment playing with my cat or watching anime. Sinchon was a big city and the playground for three major Universities, Ehwa Womens University, Hongik University and Yonsei University were all within walking distance or one stop on a train ride away of my apartment, so this place had everything. Shopping, entertainment, night clubs, restaurants and make up shops. It even had a store that sold American groceries so I was never far away from Flaming Hot Cheetos or Captain Crunch. Needless to say, I loved living there. But makeup stores had very little appeal to me back then. Prior to moving to Korea in 2008, I did not wear make up. I wore lip gloss and eye liner and that was it. Occasionally for cosplay, I wore full on make up but it was not a part of my daily life. But Korea had very strong beauty standards and I tried hard to fit in with hair trends, fashion trends and make up. Most of the make up I owned was from luxury brands and pharmacy brands from America. I did not think Korean make up would suit me much. But then the group 2ne1 debuted with their over the top fashion and make up and I was mesmerized. Here was a more urban type of make up I had never seen prior. The girls were so cool and cute I thought, I became a fan instantly. Thanks to hits like Lollipop and Fire, 2ne1 was a household name very quickly. They landed the sponsorship of the road house brand, Etude House. Now, I knew of Etude House back when I lived in Changwon but I had only ever purchased lip gloss from them. But 2ne1 had a clever scheme to make me buy more products. Being the big fan that I was, when I saw online that you could get exclusive merchandise from spending a certain amount of money at Etude House, I rushed to the store. Luckily for me, it was only a 6 minute walk away from my apartment. The store front was so eyecatching, a pink doll house surrounded by grey and glass buildings in the middle of a busy shopping street. The store was packed that day with many girls clamoring to get items to qualify for the gift. Not surprisingly, Lip Gloss was not enough to get me the free 2ne1 bag that I wanted so badly, so I got a couple of more items. Eyeliner, mascara, lip stick and a make up brush. I left the store with what I came for and some cute pink make up. I even got to see 2ne1 perform which was a huge honor and a memory that will always stay with me. Etude House set me up for what would become a 8 year love affair with the brand gifting me free things every time I shopped there. I was hooked. the make up was cute, packaged well and smelled great. I went back to that Etude House for every event they had. By the time I left Korea in 2011, I had accumulated a myriad of Etude House themed bags, purses, make up cases, mirrors and about half a dozen pink pins all extremely cute. One was huge with a plastic heart on top with a mirror on the back. Etude House would go on to collaborate with the visual of the group Dara who modeled for them for a long time. Including her they have worked with the group Shinee, Krystal from Fx, Sohee from Produce 48, the actor Lee Min Ho, the make up artist Pony and countless other hallyu stars. each collaboration featured exclusive gifts with purchases. I even won a signed CD from the group Shinee that I still have and treasure. But it was not just the free extras that kept me coming back, Korean make up and skincare offered me something that no other make up brand had before, an entire lifestyle. As a lover of pink their products appealed to me aesthetically but they also worked really well. There were some misses now and then but overall, I had few complaints with the brand. I also did not bother with skincare before Etude House, now I have a full on make up and skin care routine that really suits me when Western brands have never really appealed to me to that extent. Some of these items I still have til the this day. When I left Korea for the States, I tried to find a place to buy Korean make up but I was unsuccessful. This was all pre BB Cream craze, so Korean Make up was difficult to find except in Korean neighborhoods like Ktown in Los Angeles. Since 2011, I have gone back and forth between Korea and my current home in Japan to buy K Beauty items and get all those free gifts and make up and skin care samples. Today, Etude House exist in many parts of the world including Japan. In Harajuku alone there are 2 locations. Not to mention two other Korean make up brands (Innisfree and Stylenanda) Nowadays, make my make up and skin care routine is mostly Korean with my base make up being from Western brands. Til this day, Etude House remains my favourite make up brand. They keep the brand fresh by coming up with new and innovative make up and skin care and of course the event items. My home is full of Etude service gifts including a huge make up tower, a tiny locker, slippers, head bands and loads of tissue packs. No other brand in Korea does events quite like Etude House. They won me other with a cute pink and black bag but kept my interest with their great merchandise, their events and quality which after many years, has never waned. Thanks for joining me. See you next time. Enjoy the slide show of cute items and collaborations. VIPWelcome to K-Pop Encounters Series 1, a series or articles and stories from my adventures in the K-pop world since I became an active fan in 2008. This will include fan meetings, in person encounters at events, back stage, concerts, K-cons, trips to South Korea, K-pop events in Japan and fan cafe events. Disclaimer' I have an excellent memory which is why I can recall these events but if I make a mistake, it is human nature and please do not take offence. I write accurately and honestly about my encounters with the K-pop world but please be mindful that sense these things actual happened to me. This series is for entertainment purposes only. Not to spread false information or to disrespect any of the K-pop idols I met. For safety reasons, I will not be posting 2 shots of me with K-pop idols here *pictures I have taken with idols* I post those on my personal Instagram. Big bang debuted and was already a big thing in South Korea when I moved there in 2007. They were all over the tv and, their hit songs could be heard on the streets of my city Changwon and they were in tv adverts for drinks, food and even mobile phones. I became a fan of Big Big during the Haru Haru, I'm So Sorry and Sunset Glow era. But it was the Lollipop song they did with 2ne1 for the LG phone Lollipop. This was the height of the K-Pop idol advertising special editions of the generation of smart phones, I was so into this craze myself that I got the LG Chocolate phone because Girls Generation was the brand ambassadors and did a very lovely song for it that I still listen to to this day. It was around this time that I also became acquainted with a back up dancer for Big Bang through nothing but chance I must say. My good friend, lets call him Ji Soon *not real name* worked at YG as an intern at the time we knew each other. I never really pried into his work, all I knew is that he worked behind the scenes, not closely with artist. I was still a causal fan at this point but one day while shopping at E-Mart, I saw an advert for a Big Bang concert near me. Now I stress, I lived way far away from Seoul, the thought of seeing a big group like Big Bang near me was crazy. I had to go. It was the Global Warming Tour in 2008. Unfortunately for me, the way to get tickets complicated and all in Korean. I had only been living in Korea 7 months so I needed help. Thankfully my co-worker had connections too and spoke English well enough to help me get the ticket online and print out the info I needed to pick up the ticket at the ticket booth at the venue. It was a lucky chance because that concert sold out not long after I got my ticket. I told Ji Soon but he informed me he would not be in attendance. Lowly interns did not accompany big artist to concerts tours unless their work had to do with technical support or things related to the concert set up like clothing or hair. Ji Soon was in school for music production. He did tell me that a friend of his who was a dancer would be there and that he would look out for me. Now I am a pretty skeptic person. I know there was a chance my friend who I had only contacted online, might not be entirely truthful about his work. He might have been bragging or exaggerating things for me so I did not get my hopes up. The day of the concert, I wore a bought a white bandana *The official goods one. Pictures in the gallery* in honor for my bias Taeyang that I tied around my face., blue jeans and my hair was in braids. This was my first ever K-pop concert so I was really excited. Lots of fans were outside the venue and I took this opportunity to talk to some people. There was a lovely girl there who spoke English and we talked animatedly about Big Bang. The other tour goods were out my price range, the ticket itself cost 70,000 won or 70 USD but I was happy with the bandana. I took a picture with the fan I met that day and we exchanged phone numbers. I did not see her in the venue or after sadly as our seats were very far from each other and by the time the show was over it was dark and impossible to see anyone. I still have that picture but for privacy reasons, I cannot post it here. The concert itself was so good. They did all their hits and a few songs I did not know. the fans were lovely and my seat was not bad. The stage was elevated so I could see everything and everyone without squinting or anything. I had a seated seat in the arena and was not far from the side of the stage where the tech things were. Remembering what Ji Soon said, I kept an eye out for his friend but no one stood out to me or approached me until the end of the concert when one rather sweaty guy came up to me as I was packing up my things and asked if I was Ji Soon's friend. My face lit up and I said yes. I couldn't believe it, he had sought me out. He couldn't chat long for he had to get back quickly, there was only time to exchange pleasantries and tell him I thought he did a great job. I did not prepare anything cause I did not want to get my hopes up. I am sorry I did not. A few days later, Ji Soon told me his friend met me and thought I was nice. I was flustered and embarrassed but happy just the same. Ji helped us keep in touch and from then on, I was always informed of YG events I could attend. Mostly free ones like public appearances but it was still cool and we became really close. But our friendship ended abruptly when I left South Korea very sudden like in the summer of 2008. Ji Soon and kept in touch though and he had finished school to become a lyricist and was dating a female dancer. His internship ended and he moved back to the states. We stayed friends as best we could with our busy schedules. technology moved on and our only means of communication *MSN Messenger* disappeared. We e-mailed but my Hotmail account was hacked and I lost all access to it. I did get his Kakao talk but my phone changed and I lost his info for good. Ji Soon and I bonded over our love for YG, writing, making music and hot guys, We even wrote a story together and would exchange stories to read to each other. He was my first real writer friend and I am sad we lost contact with each other. He left one thing I still have access to, a song he worked on when he worked at YG. Its a fun dance track he produced himself and it was really good. I'd like to think he is still making music and working behind the scenes somewhere be it YG or elsewhere. I am still a K-Pop fan even after all these years. The Fandom is so different from when Ji Soon and I were first friends but I love K-Pop and I do not see that changing anytime soon. Thanks for reading. Next K-Pop Encounter - U-KISS Faith Spiritwolfe - Pain and KnowledgeFaith Spiritwolfe - Pain and Knowledge (The Sisters Affinity Series Book 1) #AfricanAmericanfiction #YaFantasy is a magical family saga filled with #mystery #romance and #danger #DiverseBooks Get yours Free on Amazon: #KindleUnlimited: http://amazon.com/dp/1710414413
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