Fabulous and Brunette: #LaurenSevier

Showing posts with label #LaurenSevier. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2022

Leather & Lace by Lauren Sevier & Abbie Lynn Smith - Book Tour - TWO Guest Posts - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Lauren Sevier and Abbie Lynn Smith and their new book, “Leather & Lace,” here on FAB!! For other stops on their Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Lauren and Abbie and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Leather & Lace

The Fool’s Adventure Book Series

Book Two

by Lauren Sevier

Abbie Lynn Smith

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GENRE: Dystopian / Western Romance

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BOOK BLURB:

Three years wandering the desert is enough to drive anyone insane, and the limits of Bonnie and Jesse’s minds and hearts will be put to the ultimate test.

A deadly showdown with a murderous outlaw ripped Bonnie away from the relative peace and ragtag family she’d built at the end of Guns & Smoke. In the thrilling next chapter in The Fool’s Adventure series, we finally get the answer to the biggest question: What happened to Bonnie?

After three years of fighting to get her back, literally, Jesse James finds her in the most unlikely of places-- New Orleans high society. With the help of his rival-turned-friend Will Ellis, and a sassy staff member, Jesse’s tasked with infiltrating the house of the man he believes was responsible for killing his parents in order to get her back. Jesse’s biggest challenge yet will be learning to fight for Bonnie in a way he never expected before: by fitting in.

Mired in high society politics and scheming, Bonnie is at the epicenter of one of the most ruthless gangs in the world. Years trapped in a gilded cage of wealth and lies has irrevocably changed her from a crass outlaw into a southern debutante. Gone is the dangerous glint in her eyes, replaced with suspicion when the devilishly handsome street fighter named Montana suddenly joins her father’s staff.

Can Jesse remind Bonnie of who she really is in time to keep her from giving her heart and hand away or will he discover that the wild, beautiful outlaw he fell in love with is truly gone?

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EXCERPT ONE:

Staring at her now, knowing that I’d desperately fallen for her all over again sent a stark jolt through me. This feeling between us wasn’t some average infatuation. Most people could live a lifetime and never experience the raging, all-consuming need to be close to another person, no matter whether you knew why.

My soul called out, and hers answered.

Everything that I’d lost three years ago was suddenly before me. In the span of a breath, I closed the distance. I clutched her hips, a smile curling over my lips at the little gasp she let out as her back met the steel door and my mouth covered hers. I reached behind her, flicking the lock. Too many times we’d been interrupted. I’d be damned if I let it happen now. Not when she loved me again.

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TWO GUEST POSTS:

Check out this intriguing guest post that both authors, Abbie and Lauren wrote exclusively for FAB to promote their new book, Leather & Lace!!!

Describe Your Book Cover and How It Came About:

From Abbie:

Once we had the official cover done for the prior novel, Guns & Smoke, I knew exactly what I wanted for Leather & Lace. There are a lot of symbols in The Fool's Adventure Series and one of them in a fleur-de-lis, the French symbol of royalty. When we wrote the initial draft of this novel, we knew we wanted to keep the fleur-de-lis as a symbol of the main villain in the series. So I did a mock up to give to our cover artist of a fleur-de-lis set against a textured backdrop with draping lace. Our cover artist, Stef, did a fantastic job taking my concept and bringing it to life! I already have concepts for the remainder of the series, and I can't wait to see what she does!

**********************

From Lauren:

The symbolism behind the book covers has always been one of my favorite parts of developing this series. With the first novel, Guns & Smoke, it’s literally a gun with a blue ribbon and smoke… a symbol for what starts both Bonnie and Jesse’s journeys throughout the series as well as representing their greatest trauma/fear that they have to overcome. Similarly the Fleur-de-lis on the cover of Leather & Lace is also more closely related to the theme of the novel within. Firstly, you’ll notice the Fleur-de-lis (though yes a symbol of French royalty as well as a symbol for the city of New Orleans where the novel takes place) isn’t shiny and pristine. It’s actually pretty grungy and pockmarked. It’s a symbolic representation of something ornate and beautiful that is starting to decay. Like the city of New Orleans, as well as some of the important relationships within the book. Everything that is supposed to be a symbol of wealth and luxury is tainted by the way in which those things were obtained. Additionally, the lace border almost looks like a pretty gate on either edge of the novel, as if the Fleur-de-lis is imprisoned within. Which throughout the novel each of the perspective characters feel at least once if not several times.

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AUTHOR BIOS:

Lauren Sevier & A. Smith are long time friends and co-authors from southern Louisiana. Guns and Smoke, their first joint publication, began as a “short” story after having too much wine on girl’s night. Nine years later it is now the first novel in a Dystopian/Western Romance series. The duo has plans to publish several series together in the future. A. Smith spends her time with her two rescue dogs and rescue cat surrounding herself with books and Labyrinth paraphernalia. Lauren Sevier collects antique tea cups and tries to stay sane, though as the mother of a toddler she fails brilliantly most days. She also has a growing collection of crowns and tiaras and likes to act silly on Tiktok. Look for more thrilling novels from The Fools Adventure series in the future!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH LAUREN SEVIER:

Website:

http://www.laurensevier.com

Newsletter:

https://www.laurensevier.com/newsletter

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/authorlaurensevier

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/laurensevier

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/laurensevier1

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/laurensevier

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/c/laurensevier

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lsevier

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19812178.Lauren_Sevier

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58767973-leather-lace

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3z9ZLZ9

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CONNECT WITH ABBIE LYNN SMITH:

Website:

http://abbielynnsmith.com

Newsletter:

http://abbielynnsmith.com/newsletter

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/abbielynnsmith

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/abbiewritesx

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/abbiewritesx

TikTok:

http://www.tiktok.com/@abbiewritesx

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21041264.A_Smith

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58767973-leather-lace

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/34WthU5

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3E9BWUD

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Leather-Lace-Fools-Adventure-Book-ebook/dp/B09X1ZRYMS

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leather-lace-lauren-sevier/1139384773?ean=2940165133336

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leather-lace-lauren-sevier/1139384773?ean=9781734402360

Kobo US eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/leather-lace-11

Kobo CA eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/leather-lace-11

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Lauren and Abbie Lynn will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Guns & Smoke by Lauren Sevier and A. Smith - Book Tour - TWO Guest Posts!! - Giveaway - Enter Daily!!

Hey, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Lauren Sevier and A. Smith aka Abbie Smith and their new book, “Guns & Smoke,” here on FAB!! For other stops on their Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Lauren and Abbie and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Guns & Smoke

by Lauren Sevier and A. Smith

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Dystopian/Western Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

In a world where safety is a luxury and honor is found only among outlaws, two people attempt to outrun danger lurking around each corner and the tragedies that define them.

Bonnie is an outlaw on the run. Beautiful but dangerous; her dark past stalks her like the crater beasts that roam the desert. As the notoriously cruel outlaw Jones sends his henchmen to track her down and retrieve the gun she stole from him, Bonnie hopes she can stay one step ahead. Because if he catches her, a fate worse than death awaits.

Jesse always dreamed of leaving the farm to explore the ruins of the big cities. He just never imagined he’d be forced to flee after strange men burned down his rural mountain town and murdered everyone he loved. Responsible for his kid brother and searching for an uncle he’s never met before, he isn’t sure he can navigate the perils of life among con artists and thieves long enough to find him.

Their two paths collide as they find themselves thrown together on the adventure of a lifetime.

Together, they may just discover that life is about more than just surviving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

One small change in position and now each of my soft curves was pressed intimately against the tall, hard length of his unyielding body. His blue eyes blazed in the dim light of the alley, reading something on my face that urged him on. This was supposed to be my trap.

His hands were buried in my hair now, a thumb tracing over my cheek to land on my bottom lip. I knew what he wanted. Parting my mouth, I wrapped my lips around the pad of his thumb, my tongue flicking against it before sucking softly. A deep thunderous sound rumbled through his chest to shake me down to my bones. His hand in my hair slid to the back of my head, pulling my mouth closer to his. He wanted me to kiss him. He wanted this to be more than a transaction. He wanted me to want him back.

I brushed my nose against his, and he stilled. All other motion and sensation forgotten as his eyes landed on my mouth, inching closer to his. I drank in the taste of his breath, a faint echo of the taste of his lips from before. My head tilted to the side, and he brushed the hair away from my face to see me more clearly as I angled toward him. He swallowed down whatever desperate words were on the tip of his tongue, and I took his chin in my hand, mouths open and millimeters apart.

Click.

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TWO GUEST POSTS:

Check out these intriguing guest posts that both authors, A. Smith aka Abbie and Lauren wrote exclusively for FAB to promote their new book, Guns & Smoke!!!

Making It Believable: Writing Romantic and Intimate Scenes

From Abbie:

Writing romantic and intimate scenes can be a very tricky thing to do. Because I am a woman writing a male character, I wanted to spend a lot of time developing Jesse into the type of man I think a majority of women would be able to relate to. When writing Guns & Smoke, one of the biggest things I pushed to have was consent. I have read a lot of romance novels where consent is not always clear and given. I wanted Jesse to be a character that women wanted to be romantically involved with, sure, but I also wanted to be clear that he respected the boundaries of those women. That unless there is an explicit yes given, the answer is always no. Jesse was taught to be respectful by his parents. Given the astronomical number of women who have been victims of abuse and sexual assault, I always want to ensure that consent is freely given between the characters that I write. I also try not to focus on all the minute details of the action between the characters during intimate scenes. I feel that focusing on the emotions, and what the character is feeling, is far more important and impactful than writing detailed love scenes.

**********************

From Lauren:

For Bonnie, a victim of sexual abuse, it was really important for me to portray her correctly in intimate scenes. When we first meet her, she’s confident, sexually promiscuous, and pretty clear that she doesn’t get attached to sexual partners. This, at least for her, is a coping mechanism. Due to trauma from her past that she’s never really gotten over, she’s afraid to get emotionally close to anyone. That if she gets close to them, they have the potential to hurt her. And even though she’s a very strong-willed, independent character, she’s afraid that she won’t know how to handle that kind of hurt. For Bonnie, it was about the little moments. The moments where Jesse shows that she can trust him, the way he listens to her and makes her feel heard, challenging her worldview time and again, how he’s willing to stick his neck out for her even when she feels she doesn’t deserve it. Until she feels safe with him in a way she’d never allowed herself to feel safe with anyone else. So, when they finally do have intimate scenes it was about capturing those moments, not about the graphic nature of sex. But of human connection, the breaking down of barriers, making promises to each other. Things that last much longer than just one night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIOS:

Lauren Sevier & A. Smith are long time friends and co-authors from southern Louisiana. Guns & Smoke, their first joint publication, began as a “short” story after having too much wine on girl’s night. Nine years later it is now the first novel in a Dystopian/Western Romance series. The duo has plans to publish several series together in the future. A. Smith spends her time with her two rescue dogs and rescue cat surrounding herself with books and Labyrinth paraphernalia. Lauren Sevier collects antique tea cups and tries to stay sane, though as the mother of a toddler she fails brilliantly most days. She also has a growing collection of crowns and tiaras and likes to act silly on TikTok. Look for more thrilling novels from The Fools Adventure series in the future!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH LAUREN SEVIER:

Website:

http://www.laurensevier.com

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/authorlaurensevier

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/laurensevier

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/laurensevier1

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/laurensevier

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/c/laurensevier

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19812178.Lauren_Sevier

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56506612-guns-smoke

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3z9ZLZ9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH ABBIE:

Website:

http://abbielynnsmith.com

Newsletter:

http://abbielynnsmith.com/newsletter

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/abbiewritesx

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/abbiewritesx

TikTok:

https://t.co/30D6MREJxk

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21041264.A_Smith

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56506612-guns-smoke

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/34WthU5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3uWL8VB

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2S71RZ9

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/guns-smoke-lauren-sevier/1138730963?ean=2940165393686

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/guns-smoke-lauren-sevier/1138730963?ean=9781734402346

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Guns--Smoke-Lauren-Sevier-Smith/9781734402346

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Guns-Smoke/Lauren-Sevier/9781734402346

Kobo eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/guns-smoke

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Lauren and Abbie will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Songs Of Autumn by Lauren Sevier - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Lauren Sevier and her new book, “Songs Of Autumn”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Lauren and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Songs Of Autumn

by Lauren Sevier

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GENRE: YA Fantasy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

What if your entire life you knew the exact day you were going to die?

Liz does.

Magick in the Kingdom of Aegis has almost run out. When that happens, the seasons will stop changing, the tides will cease to turn, and the sun will no longer be able to rise and set. The only way to save the lives of her people is if Liz agrees to be a blood sacrifice in a brutal ceremony that will take her life.

The problem is… Liz isn't ready to go.

With the help of a mischievous wanna-be soldier, Matioch Steele, Liz dares to take her fate into her own hands. Defying a blood-thirsty sorcerer, her desperate flight teaches her how to truly live while Mat finds out what's worth dying for. Each other.

Love, Death, Magick, and Mystery come together to weave one girl's epic tale of self-discovery.

Her song will echo within us all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

The sunset over the bay was the most beautiful Liz had ever seen, but perhaps it's because she knew it would be the last. It set the sky aflame, burning deep into her memory. She wore pearls in her hair and a crown adorned with so many shimmering diamonds it appeared to be made from seawater and starlight itself. Every inch of her porcelain skin had been cleansed and massaged with lavender oil. An extravagant lamb, headed for slaughter.

The silk and lace of her wedding gown clung to the curves of her body and flowed like water around her as she moved. Her figure, too curvy to be considered fashionable, was squeezed into an acceptable shape by a corset inlaid with whale bones. Never had she been more radiant, her flame-like hair mirroring the sunset outside.

A woman at the peak of her life, never more ready to begin, and it was her ending.

“Tell me again,” She said firmly, adjusting the pins near her left ear.

“Your highness, it doesn’t matter how-

“Tell me again.” She snapped, turning piercing blue eyes on Priestess Elba whose words fell away in an instant. Her breath hitched and her eyes fell to the mosaic beneath her feet.

“You’ll walk down the front steps of the palace to a boat waiting at the edge of the water. Your parents will walk behind you and all the people of Silver City will be there to witness your descent.”

Liz closed her eyes tight, imagining it in her mind, biting her lower lip hard enough that she worried she would break the skin. If she prepared herself now, perhaps she could retain some dignity in these final moments.

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GUEST POST:

What’s in A Cover?

Don’t judge a book by its cover… but isn’t that what we all do? Those of us readers who are fully sighted tend to be attracted first by the cover, then turn the book over or scroll down to read the back cover copy to see if the premise is something that we want to invest time in reading. The cover of a book is your first impression, and it’s proven that first impressions are usually formed in the first 8 seconds and last for years.

As an indie published author I worked hand in hand with my cover design artist to develop the cover for my debut YA Fantasy novel ‘Songs of Autumn’. We first began working together after I’d already completed developmental edits for the book, so the most important pieces of the manuscript were firmly cemented. The theme, symbols important throughout the work, colors important through the book, the title, and the characters were well-grounded in their motivations. In my humble opinion, these factors should be the very least that you know before you begin the development process.

My cover for Songs Of Autumn is a symbolic cover, instead of a character driven one. When we tried a character driven approach, it left little to be desired. Though my main character, Liz, is the main protagonist, part of the charm of the book is how much you grow to love and care for all the characters, not just those with perspectives in the book. Everything we tried felt cluttered or too simplistic. I also didn’t like the idea of having the characters on the cover because I wanted to allow room for the reader’s imagination of their appearances.

When we decided to go with a symbolic approach to the cover design, the real work began. Asha, my designer, really delved into the themes of the book and tried to capture an aesthetic that could also stretch along all the books in the series which is currently sitting at an outlined six books. The white background was a bit of a contentious choice as most YA Fantasy novels on the bestseller list favored dark or jewel tone backgrounds. This was an intentional choice as I felt it would stand out beautifully on a shelf against those covers and attract readers' gaze while also having a dual purpose to fit in with the impending threat of winter which is part of the main conflict in the book.

The thistle on the front cover is a dark purple, purple representing royalty but also acting as a dark ominous presence right in the middle of the cover. The thistle is a symbol in the book that is attached to the antagonist, who serves as a dark ominous presence throughout Liz’s journey and was chosen because of influences from 17th century Scottish Highland culture that was a foundation for the worldbuilding I did in the novel.

Songs Of Autumn is also very lyrical and romantic in tone so there are several elements of the cover design that reflect that. From the romantic font for the cover to the intricate designs on the background. The thistle, most people notice on closer inspection, is actually tangled with the designs on the background. This was my favorite part of the cover, as the attention to detail really drives home how trapped Liz feels by her circumstances and fate.

All in all, it was an incredible experience to work with Asha and I can’t wait to reveal the cover for the second book in the series as I feel it’s just as astounding. Being able to have so much control over the creative elements of publishing this book has taught me so much, and working with a gifted professional who was able to take the words I wrote and translate it into such stunning art was a real honor. One of the greatest marketing tools I have as an indie author is to package my book well, to give myself the opportunity to get potential readers to the cover copy and hopefully interest them in buying and reading my book. I think Asha gave me a great head start and she also taught me a lot about marketing in the process. I couldn’t be happier to have my name on that cover.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Lauren Sevier lives a simple life in small town Walker, Louisiana with her family and two mischievous dogs. She’s a proud firefighter wife and mother to her miracle son, born through IVF after an eight-year battle with infertility. She works full-time for a non-profit hospital in Cardiology caring for the elderly and low-income families all over the state of Louisiana in satellite and outreach clinics. Writing and being in the service of helping others are her two passions in life.

She started writing song lyrics and poems on the front porch swing of her family home nestled amidst a 200-year-old pecan tree orchard that was once part of a Civil War plantation. She’s inspired the most by Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, and JK Rowling. Her background in Theatre introduced her to classic British literature, playwrights, and poets from a very young age. This helped her to understand story concepts, dramatization, and character development the way Shakespeare once did, as an actor.

Now her biggest inspiration for writing is her son who, like all children, learns by example. Lauren is determined to set a specific example for him; to live simply, work hard, and to never stop chasing her dreams. Because, one day, you just might catch them.

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CONNECT WITH LAUREN:

Website:

www.laurensevier.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/authorlaurensevier

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/laurensevier

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/laurensevier

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/laurensevier