This is going to be short and sweet post because I'm just dropping in. (I'm taking care of a sickie in my house with the flu). I'll be back to commenting on Friday's comments and checking out everyone's blogs really soon :)
But, before I go, I want to tell y'all some awesome news. You all have a another chance to win Glittering Ashes !!! Misty at Book Rat (an awesome possum review blog) was nice enough to let me do a guest post on her blog today, and everyone who fills out a form on the post is entered in a chance to win my book. I'm excited, and you tooootally should be too lol. Tell all of your friends, neighbors, passers-by, bosses, family, acquaintances, and complete strangers all about it! (newspaper boy style, "Extra! Extra!" is what I recommend.) Ha.
So be sure to stop by, seeing Misty's awesome blog, and fill out the form to enter for a chance to win Glittering Ashes here.
And I have to leave you with a song to write by, "Lighthouse" by The Hush Sound. <3, it's a creepy little lovely sounding story, no?
Happy reading and writing!!!
Oh, and don't forget, Glittering Ashes is available on Amazon in paperback now as well :)
Hi, everyone! Happy Friday. Hope yours (and mine) is amazeballs. Every weekend should be amazing, in my opinion. It should be a requirement of the weekends to make the week stuff worth it. Okay, just a thought.
Today, I want to happily announce that I've won the Liebster Blog Award very recently from Megan who is a new campaign friend, has an awesome bio, and a cute blog. Check it out!
Here's the award in all of its amazingness:
Because I am not good at juggling so many things, I almost missed that I received this award a little bit ago from E.R.King at her amazing blog, so belated thanks to her and a Thank you to Megan for thinking of me.
My job now is to give it to 5 people made of extra awesome who have under 200 followers...which is hard for me because I have so many amazing blogger friends on here. SO, I'm picking 5 of many people who deserve it. Here goes!
Carrie Butler: she has a super cool blog, and even made an awesome vlog like thing the other day. I recommend it and her :)
Marlena Cassidy: Because she's a sweetheart; I <3 her posts; AND she puts up excerpts of her work, and they're oh-so entertaining.
Jeff King: He has a writing focused blog, and he puts up bits of his work for critique. Really constructive site, and it makes you think about the craft of writing more :)
Michelle Porth: This isn't a writing blog, but it's adorable, and I learn a lot of crafty things from it. She also has amazing taste on Pinterest too :)
Laura + the Voices: She writes about all kinds of things, from going to college to writing to everything else. I <3 the way she words things.
Also: the aforementioned Jeff gave me and a bunch of incredible blogs a nod for being read-worthy. I highly suggest you checking out his list, because I am :) Thanks, Jeff!
Happy, happy Friday!
Now to leave you with a song to write by, "I Want You" by Kelly Clarkson. <3 this song. Has a 50s vibe to me, in fringe way, but it's a good Friday song :)
ALSO, because I can't stop adding things to my posts, Glittering Ashes is available for order as a paperback here. SO, if you were Kindle, Nook, iPod or iPad challenged, or hated looking at a computer all day (toootally understandable), you can now have Glittering Ashes minus batteries. (and if you still want it from Amazon:
Photo taken from Goodreads for review purposes only (http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1304810997l/9182478.jpg). I do not own this picture.
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Source: Library
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication Date: June 14, 2011
Blurb from Goodreads (I do not own this blurb. Used for review purposes only):
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?
Genre: YA paranormal, no vamps, werewolves, or demons. It's a YA Time Travel novel. I've never read a time travel novel, YA or otherwise, so this smacked of originality. I'm semi-resistant to a lot of fantasy sounding books, but this wasn't anything like I expected.
The Cover: Really intriguing. I don't know if I would have been dying to read it based on the cover alone, but it does have an "Hmm, let's see what that's about" element. The girl's hair on the cover makes you know something will be off about the book, in a good way. I do like simplistic covers with a new element, and this book cover definitely applies.
The Plot: Emerson (love the name) is going through a lot, namely her parents' deaths and her unwelcome ability to see people from other time periods at inopportune moments. She's fed up with dealing with them, and her brother decides to help by bringing in Michael to give her ways to deal with what she's seeing. The plot was original to me. I hadn't read anything like it. It had enough plot movement to keep you from being bored with the sciency bits and to keep the pages moving almost by themselves. When one thing may have gotten burned out, something new happened between Emerson and Michael, or to them, rather, and that kept things really interesting. I love when a book can keep my attention.
The Romantic Element: Huge props to McEntire for her romantic prowess. She manages to make an awesome MMC (main male character), while having, you guessed it, a love triangle. Color me pleased. The love triangle really didn't feel contrived at all like some novels fall in danger of having, and she even had a gut-wrenching tension-y moment. I live for them, almost literally, when I read YA. I re-read that section like three times. Not going to lie about that.
Carry-on Factor: Hourglass will stick with you. Emerson was perfect-y enough to make you want to be like her but real enough to make you not hate her while you're reading about her. You get invested in her story, and Michael, and another character who will remain nameless but makes it worth looking forward to read Hourglass #2…
Overall: McEntire's spin on making YA paranormal romances new again is definitely appreciated by me. I'm looking forward to reading the next one as she did leave some things undone in the typical YA fashion. BUT, don't be afraid to start this book for fear of a cliff-hanger. McEntire did not leave us saying WTH, I promise. She just left some things to be resolved. That's all.
Have you read this book? If you did, what'd you think? If you haven't, do you want to? Let me know below! :)
Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Who Knew " by Pink. I was hooked on this song something crazy when it came out, still am. I <3 Pink.
I'm SUPER encouraging y'all to check it out and enter to win (all you need to do to enter is comment on my interview post, and the drawing will be done on Friday).
Tell all of your friends, family, and strangers you pass on the street, won't you? lol.
Thanks, everyone! Have an awesome writing day.
And because I can and want to, I'm still leaving you with a song to write by, "Impossible" by Shontelle because I <3 this song, and writing can sometimes seem impossible (to do, to be successful at), but it doesn't mean it ain't worth while, right?
Earlier this week, I saw an amazing movie. I want to watch it again because it has so many quotables in it. <3 I love quotable bits. The movie is called The Apartment:
It came out in 1960, and it's in black and white. I know, some of you out there will be like me, very judgy, and might want to back away now. BUT, it was amazing.
Here's a sloppy blurb by me: A man decides to pimp out his apartment to the higher up men at work that have all these mistresses but no where to take them. The plan works to help him get ahead, but he falls for the elevator girl in the mean time, only to find out that she has an affiliation with his apartment already. Hilarity, romance, innuendos, and issues ensue.
I really liked it, and you should check it out if you have the chance. Funny side-note story, I told my mother about it, and she told me she had just picked up that movie that very day at the library, but had put it back because it was black and white. Weird huh? She then got it from there, watched, and loved it. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled blog post…
This movie got me thinking about what it is about romance that makes me clamor to read it. With very few exceptions, I'm not a big romance movie person. I have to want to watch something predictable to get into them, and I have to be forced by other parties to watch them at all (mostly). But, with books? You all know by now that romance is a must for me. A big must (also mostly).
I like:
Non-traditional
Hard to attain
Complicated but sweet
All worth it for their first moments
Love.
And I've read love stories in all kinds of their variations (chick-lit to Ya to horror with some lovey bits), and I never get tired of it. Seeing how people make a connection and come together in all kinds of circumstances just is the bee's knees for me.
So, now I ask you, because I really want to know, do you have to have romance in the books that you read? What makes you like that element (or hate it)? OO, and if you have examples, then, you're awesome. Let me know below.
Now to leave you with a song to write by, which is perfect for this occasion, "Nicest Thing" by Kate Nash. If you never listen to any other song I list on here, listen to this one. It's worth it. ---Ã strong words for an AMAZING song.
Also: I really want to get the word out about my book, Glittering Ashes (The Dark Artist Series), and I have some things in the works already (VERY excited about that). So, if you're interested in receiving a free ebook copy in exchange for a bookie blog review, let me know (below or by email). Also, I'm more than game for author interviews if you want something to fill in one of the days on your blog :)
Hey, everyone. Today, I want to write about success. On Friday, I wrote a review of Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth, which I consider to be a huge success in the YA world.
It has:
A huge readership (every YA book blog I've seen)
295 amount of reviews on Amazon (226 of which are 5 star)
To me, success is about people liking your book and being passionate about it once they read it and having a large readership because people want to pass that magic on. The movie rights being sold is amazing, but having tons of people read it and like it will always be the most important factor of success, in my book.
What about you? What do you think constitutes success in the reading world? Can you name a showstopper book of success? I'm thinking Twilight [Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)] (love it or hate it) and The Hunger Games (awesome). Let me know below.
Now, to leave you with a song to write by, "Imma Star" by Jeremih, where he explains success in a different arena :)
Hey, everyone! First, thanks for all the comments on my last post. Really amazing turnout. And big hi's to all of my new followers :)
Today, I want to do a book review, which may or may not be necessary because the book I'm reviewing is practically an addiction for the YA community/blog world. Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth.
Blurb (Taken from Goodreads--Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Divergent by Veronica Roth. This description was taken from Goodreads to promote the book. No compensation was given in return for this review, and I got this book from the library.)
"Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances."
I tried avoiding this book for a while. I first saw it in Wally World; I noticed it because the cover was different than something I'd seen before. I picked it up, got the dystopian vibe, and I put it down.
Then it exploded on every blog I've seen for months. Everyone <3s it something ridiculous, and when I read it, I really liked it too.
It was dystopian, but instead of making the girl a "less than smart" person who has to figure out x, y , or z about her Society that ain't quite right, Tris, the MFC (main female character), in this book was normal, kick arse, and strong. You have to love that. I'm not saying some of the stereotypical elements of the new dystopian thread of YA weren't there, but they were handled in an original way that didn't make me want to vomit.
So here's a roundup of some of the key elements:
The Cover: Major points for being different. Wasn't something that looked like something I had to read, but the cover made me pick it up. I was hypnotized by it, I suppose. Good overall.
The Plot: Good stuff. Really good. I wanted to read it to see what would happen. Roth crammed action, tattoos, friendship dynamics, and romance, along with a maybe-not-so-attainable goal of becoming part of a rather intense group. It may have started a little slow with explaining all of the faction dynamics (you'll see what I mean), but it definitely made up for it after about 2.5 chapters in. The beginning is necessary, and the rest of the plot--intriguing enough to keep the pages turning at an alarming rate.
The Romantic Element: Because, come on, if I'm reading it, there has to be one. Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) was good in this aspect. Four was a great MMC (main male character), and the romance was a slow burn--pretty much the best kind (which I posted about here). You wanted to read the action-y bits to get to see the romantic bits, BUT the action bits were just as good, if not better. The plot made the romantic bits that much more exciting.
Carry-on Factor: Do I want to read it again OR do I want to read the follow-up? In this case, the latter applies, and yes, I will read it. I really want to. Can we arrange for that to be sooner than later? AND, it’s already a buzz online that it's being made into a movie, so jump on the bandwagon, people, so you can say you read the book before you watched the film and blah blah blah.
Overall: Completely worth reading. It was more original than a lot of the options that YA is getting these days. I support the purchase/library checkout. If for nothing else, it'll definitely keep you entertained for the x amount of pages (without lag time in the middle--HUGE plus)
What did you all think of Divergent (Divergent Trilogy)? If you've read it, do you agree with my take on it or what would you change/add to what I've said above? Let me know below!
Note: I decided to change up how I review books. I'm always going to be honest, but the star rating system seems a little harsh (example: Stolen by Lucy Christopher is COMPLETELY worth a read, but my review here may or may not have gotten that across in the best way).
Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Bye Bye Boyfriend" by FeFe Dobson. I <3 the beginning, and I've been known to listen to the first 30, and then start the song over…and over…and over…sorry to all of my friends who have had to deal with me :)
P.S. I'm now looking for book bloggers to review my book, Glittering Ashes (The Dark Artist Series) (write-up in "My Books" tab above and by clicking on link). If you're interested in getting a free ebook copy in return for a review, please let me know below or by email (writtled @ gmail . com---minus the spaces). Also, I really, really (really) want to do author interviews. They seem amazing to me, so also contact me if you want to do something to that ends for your blog post one day. Thank you! And I look forward to hearing from all you wonderful people :)
This is something that's been coming up a lot for me lately since I've recently published my first book through Amazon and Smashwords. People want to know how to get their name out there, where they should go to do that, and how to market themselves and their name as a brand.
I'm not the first person to be an authority on the subject, but seeing as it's something I've been seeing everywhere, I wanted to know your thoughts on it, and I wanted to leave a few of my own.
I don't think about who the author is or what other books the author has written until I finish the first book. If I like the book, and especially if I love the book, I then scour the internet to find out everything about that person. This may be because I want to emulate their awesomeness, but I also suspect that many other do something similar.
When I know an author is the bee's knees, I want to know what else they've written and what they're like. BUT that's not something I care about if I didn't like the book first.
I would say that unless the author is scandalous (for typically bad reasons), I don't care who they are until I get to the end of whatever I'm reading. Branding for me is something that happens AFTER they've kept my attention for 200+ pages.
I'll go so far as to say that for me, I do not want to know anything about the author until I've made my own decisions about the book. I won't even look at what they look like, not that that would make a difference, but I want the book to be it's own entity, completely devoid of everything but what I see in front of me, until I finish it.
When I do end up looking them up, I always want to read the "how I did it" story. It's the story where they say, "I got this idea and blah blah blah." I love those. If I really like them, I'll search them out on Twitter to see if they say anything interesting (beyond just responding to people), and then I'll follow them if they are interesting. I'll almost always follow a blog if they have them, and I'll look around the blog to see what else is brewing for them.
That's my typical M.O. So as far as branding goes for authors, it IS important, but it shouldn't precede the book's importance to me. But if the author ends up being rockstar, I'd love to more about them AFTER I read the book.
What about you? Do you like to know about the author up front? Would it bother you if they didn't have a blog/Twitter/internet presence? Let me know below!
Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Breakdown" by Plain White T's. Intense, but still catchy like all of their stuff.
P.S. Here's where you can find me online, if you're curious :)
Yes, bloggers, lurkers, causal passers by on the internet highways, I have officially clicked the publish buttons on Amazon, Smashwords, and PubIt!
I'm really excited about it. VERY "yelling over the internet in caps" excited about it. I just want people to read it and maybe even talk about it. I won't even say anything if that were to occur. I'd just sit back and giggle like a crazy.
Here's the blurb and cover art for my new book, Glittering Ashes:
At seventeen, Roe Daniels didn’t need to believe in fairy tales, she knew they didn’t exist. But when Roe moves to Gaudium Falls to be with her aunt, she finds the elusive friend, a love triangle turned square, and the magic that she would have bet six bucks never existed.
Within a new town Roe doesn’t trust enough to call home, she’ll find a place she knows is too good to get used to and too perfect to trust, and a boy also too close to that description to fall for. She’ll survive the contact with the world that feels so foreign to her and the boy who is big enough to shake that world and her life to its core, or she’ll watch everything she’s just beginning to know and to love burn to glittering ashes at her feet.
AHH! Did I mention I was excited? Hopefully one (or lots more) of you will take a chance on me and give it a buy, and if you do, I'd love if you could review it. It would really mean a lot. I'm spreading the word by word of mouth, and I'm hoping you all will work your mouths too! (Weird. I know that sounded very weird, but the sentiment is real...)
Right now, it's available for purchase on Smashwords here. It'll be live on Amazon in the next 24-72 hours, or so they tell me. And PubIt! hates me, so we'll see when that one shows up. But if you did want a copy for your Nook, you can get that at Smashwords now. I also put together the paperback of the book, but I have to get the proof before that one goes live. I'm sure I'll tell y'all the second that it does. Or very shortly thereafter (I like that word).
Thanks, everyone for reading this, and I hope you all check it out!
For a song to write by, I want something happy. Hmmm...."Electric Boogie" by Marcia Griffiths. Raaandom, but I might be doing various forms of this tonight in celebration. Please top me by giving me a better celebration song. I want a track list full, so let me know below!
