My book

Today is a little different, mostly because I want to plug my debut novel.  Now, one person I spoke to said that it being a romance novel put them off.  I've written a lot of what I call 'mush', which is what I'm guessing is assumed by 'romance'.  To me, romance isn't always mushy, and this isn't all that mushy.  Someone else found it funny because they know me well and because where they came from romance meant something like 'sloppy erotica', which my book is certainly not.  There's no passionate ripping of clothing or rampant bedroom antics, it's just romance and love.

There's a lot more to it than the romance side of things.  It's more than just boy/girl meets girl/boy, tries to woo, succeeds.  It's also not girl/boy meets wrong boy/girl but ends up with right boy/girl.  There's a lot of that already and I wanted my book to be different, so it is!

This is the cover:

This is the blurb:

Kate is having the worst day of her life.  Nothing is going right and her life is falling to pieces around her.  With the help of a friend, she manages to pick herself up before life send her through another loop and a whole lot more crazy.

Set in the titular cathedral city of Salisbury, England, this is a romance novel with a twist, and a few surprises along the way.  Featuring cats, coffee, zombies, and ferrets, Salisbury has something for everyone to enjoy, including real locations that can be visited.

Full details can be found here: Salisbury by Rachel James

Got any questions?  Just ask!

Rachel Unboxes: Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition

I know this is a huge break from the norm and that this is a video game blog, but I'm excited about this and it is a limited edition.  Also, it's my blog and I can do what I want, so nyer!  Seriously though, this is still a game and it's a popular game too.  I have an army somewhere but as I don't live close enough to anyone else who plays it it has been gathering dust in the loft.  Hopefully I'll move soon and the army will see the light of day again!  In the mean time, I have the Ork Codex and new rulebook to peruse.

ZOMG!  It's a box!!

This was the box I got in the post.  I removed the UPS sticker for security reasons but it looked just like any other bland box I've received.  Certainly nothing special about it, though I was expecting what's inside so I kind of guessed what it was.

Yay!  It's the Gamers' Edition of the new Warhammer 40,000 rules!

Was not dissapointed!  Inside the box is the Gamers' Edition of the Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition rule book.  What a mouthful of wonderful words.  On top is the bag, on the right is my limited edition die set, and under the bag is the rulebook itself.

Never did figure out how servo-skulls fly, but fly they do.

 This is the die set.  Ten red die, six servo-skull markers, and the lasgun power pack carrying tin.  The top of the tin slides off and everything fits nicely inside.  The tin then fits into the pockets of the bag.  On the tin, which I'm not sure is easily visible is this text:

LASGUN POWER PACK

CAPACITY: 135 DISCHARGES

RANGE RATING: 19 MEGATHULE*

DEPARTMENTO MUNITORUM ISSUE

ORIGIN: ARMAGEDDON

At the bottom is the tiny writing:

*CONFIRM COMPATIBILITY WITH TECHPRIEST PRIOR TO USING THIS POWER PACK

So there's some really nice details on the tin.  This is available to buy separately from Games Workshop, but only those bought with the two limited editions of the rule book contain red die.  The regular die are white, but they still look nifty.

Chaos or Imperial?  Either way, both badges look great!

And the bag.  It's a fake leather material which is this lovely brown colour.  The strap is a thick canvas with a buckle to adjust the length.  The big hole is where the toggle to close it goes through.  Above that is two small holes for attaching the badges, the one on the left being the Chaos star and the one on the left being the Imperial Aquila.  I've not yet worked out how to put them on properly though but I do like that there is the option.  I'm an Ork player so I would have preferred an Ork badge, but Chaos is good too.  Bah, Space Marines! *hock*spit*

Ammunition pouches, useful for carrying ammunition, or something.

Under the flap are the three pouches.  These are useful for putting the power pack tin of die or the psychic power cards or anything else that might be useful.  Inside is a main compartment for the rule book and there's a smaller one which can be used for a Codex or any errata sheets or army lists.

Departmento Munitorum, eh?  From Cadia, eh?  Never been there myself, but I hear it's nice this time of year.

On the back of the bag is this messages stamped into the material.  I didn't notice it at first but it's another nice little detail that really makes this special.  It reads:

OFFICER SIGNAL SATCHEL

DEPARTMENTO MUNITORIUM

ORIGIN: CADIA
PATTERN: DELTA
MARK: P3C

It's only a little thing in that it could have been left blank, but I really like that it's there.

These are rules you cannot break! (That's called cheating)

And finally, the rule book.  Gorgeous art outside and in, this is the core of the Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition game.  Not only does it contain art but it also has highly detailed photographs to help illustrate rules, show off big battle scenes, and provide examples of models and how to paint them.

Overall, this is a really nice edition.  Not quite as fancy as the more expensive edition which came with a lot more, but it's certainly very good.  The bag is well made and it's the kind of thing I'd actually use on a day to day basis, or would if I actually left the house.  I'm very pleased with the whole thing and I look forward to kicking some butt with the new rules.

Hope you liked this unboxing.  I know it's not a video game, but it's still awesome, right?