Friday, December 2, 2022

Blurb Blitz and Giveaway: Sophia Freeman Series by T.X. Troan

Welcome to my stop on the blurb blitz for the Sophia Freeman series by T.X. Troan. This blitz was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the first book in the series. There's also the blitz wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the blitz for more content. Enjoy!
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Title: Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain
Series: Sophia Freeman #1
Author: T.X. Troan
Publisher: Rise Publishers
Publication Date: January 7th 2019
Print Length: 150 pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure
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EARTH AWAKENED ... SEED PLANTED ... PATH REVEALED.

What begins as a special trip for eleven-year-old Sophia Freeman and her father, leaves her trapped on a mysterious island with a tree boy and fantastical creatures. Later, she learns she is dying from an eternal curse and the only way to prolong her life is to drink the island’s sacred water. Can Sophia and her companions reach the fountain and defeat the guardian before time runs out?

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EXCERPT:
Another flaming whip slashed between Sophia and Tim, and they swiftly dodged it. Who could possibly be using Dark Art spells? They looked over and saw Allen’s smoking wand in one hand and Sophia’s scroll in the other.

“S-sorry, guys—I got curious,” said Allen, trembling.

Tim roared, “Curious? You’re not supposed to—”

Sophia raised her hand like Dad did to her, to silence him.

“Allen, can I have my scroll back?” she asked calmly, easing toward him.

Staring at it, he said, “Um … yeah,” and handed it to her.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Sophia asked. “Do you feel any different?”

“I’m fine—actually, I feel good,” said Allen, with a tiny grin.

“Interesting—could you show us how you did that spell?”

Allen gave her a puzzled look. “You mean I’m not in deep trouble? Uh … sure.” He shifted into the attack position and shut his eyes.

“Sophia, I don’t understand—why are you wasting our time?” Tim demanded.

“Shh … Mona was right—you should really work on your temper.” She kept staring at Allen without blinking. “Just watch.”

A moment later, a strong gust howled past them as his wand lit up.

“Allen, break that tall boulder with roots wrapped around it!” Sophia shouted.

He struck with an aggressive roar. “HELLFIRE LASH!” The third flaming whip was unleashed, and it was much bigger than the previous two. It struck directly at the target.
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Title: Sophia Freeman and the Gate of Jade
Series: Sophia Freeman #2
Author: T.X. Troan
Publisher: Rise Publishers
Publication Date: May 7th 2021
Print Length: 186 pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure
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THEY MUST RISK IT ALL TO REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM ... OR BE SEALED AWAY FOREVER.

Sophia Freeman and her best friend, Tim Charnal, must beat all contestants in a three-round Beyond Event organized by the mighty arbiters to free him from the penalty of murder and gain the islanders' trust. Entering the hologram and surviving environments filled with everything from hammer-throwing cave giants to a slimy tentacled sea monster, they will need all their courage, wits, and skills. But how are they going to win when magic is forbidden?

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Title: Sophia Freeman and the Era of Darkness
Series: Sophia Freeman #3
Author: T.X. Troan
Publisher: Rise Publishers
Publication Date: July 1st 2022
Print Length: 172 pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure
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EVIL RISING ... ISLANDERS MISSING ... AND FRIENDS BETRAYING.

With the increase in deaths of Pandilone Islanders, the arbiters devise a strategy to free the god demon within five days to lift the Eternal Curse. All goes as planned until iron-masked creatures kidnap magic users, weakening the army. To gain reinforcements, Sophia Freeman, Tim Charnal, and rescued Allen Chan must gather all six items to cast the Dream Spell, connecting them with Sophia’s father and his air force. But how can the trio succeed in time while surrounded by enemies and traitors aiming to stop them at any cost?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Thuan Doan was born in Indonesia, and grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Thuan has been fascinated by art from a young age, especially fantasy. He would wake up hours before school, sit outside the classroom, and scribble in his sketch book.

After college, he worked on a series of jobs, including: an advergaming association as a storyboard/concept artist, gaming company as lead concept artist, and graphic designer for various clients.

Thuan conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town of Enderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet. 4 years later, the story is complete. While book 1, 2 and 3 are being shared with the world, he's writing and illustrating book 4 of the Sophia Freeman series.

Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands for Xu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of his parents' names.

“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful journey.”

T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in 2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs and school of fish!

AWARDS
★ Entrada Publishing Incipere Award, 2020
★ Readers' Favorite 5 star Badge, 2019, 2021 and 2022
★ Literary Titan Badge, 2020

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GIVEAWAY:
T.X. Troan will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

237 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting! I will be outside most of the day, but all questions will be answered. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy the Sophia Freeman series. Visit my website to explore all the book illustrations, games, trailers and much more. Appreciate all the readers who stopped by 🙂

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  2. nice cover, this sounds like a wonderful book

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  3. This sounds like a fun series. Thank you so much for sharing the excerpt! :)

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  4. The book sounds really good and I like the cover.

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    1. Thank you so much. Hope you're enjoying this book tour!

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  5. My grand daughter wants to read this book after she read the excerpt- Thanks

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    1. That sounds wonderful, Satkins! Hope she enjoys the storyline and illustrations :)

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    1. That sounds great, Thomas! I hope he enjoys the illustrations, too :)

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  7. Happy Friday! Thank you for sharing your bio and books' details, this sounds like an awesome series to share with my grandchildren and I am looking forward to reading the stories with them. Do you have any reading or writing plans for the weekend?

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    1. Thank you so much! I hope they enjoy the storyline and illustrations. Lots of writing this weekend. Book 4 will be coming out sometime in 2023!!!

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  8. The book sounds wonderful. My eldest granddaughter would love it.

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  9. Replies
    1. Thank you, Deb. Book 4 will be coming out in 2023!

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  10. are you a morning person or a night owl

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    1. I can be a night owl, but I prefer to be a morning person :)

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  12. This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

    abfantom at yahoo dot com

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  13. We have grand kids who would love this!
    Thank you for sharing this.

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    1. That sounds wonderful, Barbara! Enjoy the storyline and illustrations

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  14. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

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  15. Energize! Have a wonderful day, Barbara :)

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  16. Who or what is your biggest inspiration for writing?

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    1. Get to share my own stories that will empower children to chase after their dreams. The people who inspires me the most is Walt Disney and J.K. Rowling.

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  17. Sounds like a great read and I love the cover.
    heather hgtempaddy

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    1. Thank you so much, Heather. Book 4 will be out sometime in 2023!

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  18. I enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for the giveaway!

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  19. Will you be hosting a holiday party?

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  20. No holiday party. My holidays are usually pretty quiet.

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  21. Replies
    1. I have written 3 books. Book 4 will be coming out sometime in 2023!

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  22. The series sound fantastic, my granddaughter would love reading these books.

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    1. Thank you, Linda. Hope your granddaughter enjoys the illustrations, too!

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  23. Do you have any advice for new writers?

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    Replies
    1. Enjoy the journey more than the destination :)

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  24. how cold does it get where you live> its -35 here right now

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  25. Holy crap! It's only -4 at the moment where I live. Stay warm!

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  26. What is your favorite book to re-read?

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    Replies
    1. It's been a while, but I would love to go back to the goosebumps series!

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  27. do you have any other books started

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    1. I'm working on book 4 of the Sophia Freeman series!

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  28. Replies
    1. The Sophia Freeman series will have 5 books in total.

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  29. do you have any big plans for the holidays

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    1. Nope, it's going to be a quiet one. Hope you have a great holiday!

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  30. This sounds like a fantastic series!

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  31. Thank you, Debbie. Have a wonderful night!

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  32. What was your favourite toy as a kid?

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  33. Do you listen to music when you write?

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  34. Only my youngest brother who reads and he loves it!

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  35. have you finished your christmas shopping

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it's all done! Don't need to buy for a lot of people this year.

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  36. Have you ever used a typewriter to write?

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  37. On average, how long does it take you to write a book?

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  38. Takes about 1 year to write and illustrate one of my books.

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  39. What is your favorite book of all time?

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  40. This might surprise you, but I don't really have a favorite book. There's a lot of great books!

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  41. hope you are having a wonderful week

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  42. Do you ever get discouraged in your writing?

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  43. How do you celebrate finishing writing a book?

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  44. My family and I would go out for dinner!

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  45. I don't do it much. But when I do, I do enjoy it!

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  46. What is the first book that made you cry?

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  47. Replies
    1. We used to drive a 2018 black Kia Soul. My wife and I will have to pick a new car once she's recover from her accident.

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  48. Where are you spending the holidays?

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    1. This holiday probably staying at home for the most part. What about you?

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  49. how old were you when you starting writing

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  50. The age I took seriously in writing was 30.

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  51. What advice do you have for writers?

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  52. wow 1 wk til Christmas time is going fast

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  53. How did you decide on the cover for this book?

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    Replies
    1. I made a few cover designs and decided to go with this one.

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  54. Who is your favourite mystery author?

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  55. What do you have planned for the holidays?

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    1. Not much planned. Trying to keep it quiet and peaceful.

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  56. Have you ever considered doing an extreme sport?

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  57. I'm quite active, but no extreme sport for me :)

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  58. do you tend to write more in winter or summer

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    Replies
    1. Equal for all seasons. I have a very strict routine to get a certain amount of work done :)

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  59. This looks like an excellent read for my niece, I'll recommend it to her.

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    1. Thank you so much, Chrysalis. Hope your niece enjoy the illustrations, too!

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  60. What do you do when you hit a writer's block?

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    1. I rarely do. But when I do, I switch my media to illustrations or graphic designs.

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  61. Would you rather have adopt a pet or a pet rock?

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  62. how long have you worked with the cover designer

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    Replies
    1. I am the cover designer. I have been an illustrator/graphic design most of my life.

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  63. What is your biggest challenge in writing?

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  64. To transfer my visions to words. Most of my life I have been an illustrator/graphic designer. It took me 5 years to write book 1 and that was my biggest challenge, but I pulled through and my passion for writing is growing everyday!

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  65. What was your favourite toy as a kid?

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  66. Movies, books and life experience!

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  67. What was your favorite subject in school?

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  68. My favourite subject in school was art!

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  69. I wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday!

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  70. What's your favourite Christmas movie?



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    1. Oh man, that's a hard one. Um ... I'm going to say Rise of the Guardian and Polar Express!

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  71. Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays

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    1. Thank you so much, Katrina. Right back at ya! :)

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  72. What was the best gift you gave over the holiday?

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  73. do you like watching christmas movies

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  74. I don't like, I love watching Christmas movies!!!

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  75. How many people look over your book before it's published?

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  76. did you have a busy Christmas or a quiet one

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    1. It was a nice and quiet one. Hope you had a great Christmas!

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  77. How many Books do you have planned for 2023?

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  78. Just one: book 4 of the Sophia Freeman series. It's going to be a great one!

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  79. What advice do you have for struggling authors?

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    Replies
    1. Be stubborn with your dream, but be flexible with your method.

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  80. This looks like a fun fantasy book for young readers. What made you decide to write for this audience?

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    1. To strengthen kids' grit, so they will have the greatest chance to succeed with their dreams.

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