Tag Archives: reading

The Big Deal

Guys. GUYS. This is so exciting. A bunch of Spencer Hill Press Teen and Young Adult ebooks are discounted via Amazon’s The Big Deal NOW through May 24 AND The Zodiac Collector is one of them!

Please check it out if you haven’t already purchased The Zodiac Collector, and please share the news!

If you’ve read The Zodiac Collector, please consider writing a review–it’s SO important for authors to get reviews because it helps improve visibility and outreach.

Thanks so much!

THE BIG DEAL

The Zodiac Collector ebook for $2.99 

Zodiac-collector (2)

Things I’m Addicted To

We all have addictions. Some are healthier than others. Some have horrible consequences. Some we say are benign but really aren’t.

Here are some of mine:

  • Food. This has been my most challenging addiction. It’s hard for folks to understand if they’ve never fought with the scale, but even after losing almost 90 pounds, I still struggle with it. I love sweet (ice cream!!!!) and salty (French fries) things–a double whammy in my book.
  • Books. My wish list is well in the dozens. I buy a stack of books whenever I visit a bookstore. I’m tempted to one click on Amazon daily. I had to build bookshelves in two rooms to carry my collection…this is in addition to my library upstairs.
  • Sleep. It’s my favorite hobby. Yes, even above reading. Gasp! If given a chance, I can sleep 10-11 hours a day. How horrible is that?!
  • Coffee. You might lump this in with food, but my addiction is so strong I have to count it separately. I like hot coffee, iced coffee, coffee ice cream, lattes, flavored, unflavored…it doesn’t matter, I like it all!

My addictions could be a lot worse, of course, and I’m thankful they’re not, but they do remind me that too much of anything, even if it’s good, can be bad.

How about you? What addictions do you have?

Reading Jag

I’m a book binger. Stick a pile of books in front of me and I’ll binge on them like a food addict at an all you can eat buffet. I can’t help it. I can’t stop myself.

This past week has been a particularly productive binge. (Doesn’t help that I’ve shopped at the bookstore like three times in the past couple of weeks!) 

So what have I read?

SOLD by Patricia McCormack. Soon to be a film, it captures the life of a Nepali girl sold into sex slavery in India. A tragic story; an excellent book.



FIRE AND FLOOD by Victoria Scott. The first book in the series, it shows how far someone will go to save a loved one. I picked up the sequel straight away because I enjoyed it so much!





THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir. I’d give this a hundred thousand stars if I could. It’s about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and how he struggles to survive. This one is also going to be a movie and I can’t wait to see it!!!



HOLLOW CITY by Ransom Riggs. This is book two in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. I love how the author includes old, strange pictures and weaves them into the plot. 



A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by VE Schwab. Magic, intrigue, & multiple Londons–AWESOME! I just started this one & I’m in love! 





What are you reading these days?

The Creeping Crud

Two weeks ago, I got home from work (around 11 pm) and all was well (because Face Off was on and I love that show!) until my whole body started shivering and all my muscles started aching. I tried to shrug it off since it has been so cold. I tried to convince myself I’d gotten a chill from the sub-zero temps. But the chills and aches lasted all night. And then the congestion came. And then the cough.

Yep, the creeping crud attacked.

And I lost the battle.

Fast forward to today. I’m still tired. (14 hours of sleep a night isn’t enough rest.) I’m still coughing. I’m still stuffing myself with cold medicine.

The doc said it could take a month to get over this. Yay. In the meantime, I’m supposed to rest, drink lots of fluids, and eat healthy.

I’m ok with that. I’m NOT ok with the fatigue, however. For me fatigue not only includes physical sleepiness, but also brain fog. I’m able to read a bit (for the first time in almost two weeks, thank goodness), but I can’t for the life of me muster enough brain power to write. (This blog post is a slight miracle, actually.) So it looks like my little novella rewrite is going to take even longer than planned. Bummer!

But I’d rather draft something with a clear mind than not.

How about you? Are you able to write when you’re sick? (If so, I take my hat off to you!)

NEW PRIDE Book Trailer Premier!

Hey gang! I don’t usually post on Sundays, but Theresa McClinton (author extraordinaire and book trailer master!) and I have been feverishly working on book trailers for New Pride (Amazon purchase link 😉 ) and Shifting Pride, and dangitall, I can’t wait any longer to share with you!

Without further ado, the Official Book Trailer for NEW PRIDE:

THANK YOU, THERESA, FOR SUCH A FABULOUS JOB!!!!! 

Stay tuned for my blog tour for SHIFTING PRIDE, starting December 3, 2012, where you can read reviews of SHIFTING PRIDE, read interviews with yours truly, watch the Official Book Trailer for SHIFTING PRIDE, and WIN PRIZES!!!!!

***Now, be sure to check out Theresa’s giveaway–her book, THE STONE GUARDIAN launches December 14! (Click on the button below.)***

I totally can’t wait!!!!

Flake-out Friday–Show and Tell

There’s a ton of books out there, people. (I know, I know, understatement of the century, right?) It can be hard to know which books to read and in what order. I rely, in part, on recommendations from my writerly buddies.

Lately, I’ve been reading a combination of traditionally pubbed novels and indie pubbed novels. Most recently, I’ve read TRANSCEND, by Christine Fonseca, THE NAME OF THE STAR, by Maureen Johnson, TO RIDE A PUCA, by Heather McCorkle, and TIMEPIECE, by Myra McEntire.

ALL FABULOUS BOOKS! I’d recommend each and every one of them.

How about you, friends? What books have you read recently that you’d recommend? Please list them in the comments!

Happy reading!

Flake-out Friday–Publicity Opportunity

As authors, we have to market ourselves. Lots of authors have readings and signings at bookstores, libraries, schools, etc.

Ever thought about having a reading for animals? Well, here you go:

(from LOL cats)

 And if you ever do a reading at an open mic night, make sure this guy isn’t there cuz he’ll just steal your thunder. 😉

(also from LOL cat)

Writer Wednesday–How Do You Review?

So, I’ve been watching my writer friend, Kendall Gray, on her journey of self-publishing. I’ve been lucky enough to read an ARC of INHALE, the first novel in her JUST BREATHE trilogy and, man, I just want to shout it out to the world how AWESOME Kendall’s writing is.

If you don’t believe me, check out the book trailer HERE.

Awesome, right? Seriously, you need to pre-order the entire series NOW. *waits while you go to Amazon*

*squints at screen to make sure you’re at Amazon’s website*

Okay. Glad you’re back.

What makes me love INHALE so much?

The characters are clear. They are goal-directed (sorry, that’s a psych term, but you’d be surprised how many characters are just wandering around their novels like post-lobotomy schizophrenics). They have faults. There’s great smexy scenes. There’s a TON of action and conflict.

All those things keep me reading on. It keeps me thinking about the characters when I’m not reading. I even picture myself hanging out with the main characters, Gavin and Zoe. In Australia. On the beach. Yeah. And heck, if I can picture myself hanging out with the characters, that means their writer has made it into my inner circle of favorite authors.

(Pssst, that includes YOU, KENDALL!!!!!!)

We know books sell based on word of mouth (yes, there are other things, but go with me on this one). So, I wanted to review INHALE. I wanted to support Kendall.

I wanted to really capture how I felt and why it was important for me to recommend INHALE to other people.

…And then I realized I kind of suck at writing reviews.

Why?

I worry about writing spoilers. I worry about sounding trite or saccharine. I worry about rambling aimlessly (sort of like what I’m doing now). I worry about not conveying the essence of my reaction.

So, I wrote about what I liked (as I just did above) and left it at that. Better to be short and sweet, than ambling and confusing, no?

Still, I feel like my review fell short.

*sigh*

Now I open the forum to you.

How do you review? Is there a certain template you follow? Do you only write positive reviews? Or do you “tell it like it is?”

Check out Lydia’s response to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog topic of the uses (or misuses) of Prologues!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog–To Prologue Or Not To Prologue

This month, I ask:

The Prologue: Love It or Hate It? Are there times when it’s necessary to have a prologue?
 
Before I started writing for realz, I actually LOVED prologues. I didn’t care if they were directly connected to chapter 1 or note. It didn’t bother me if the narrator was completely different from the main character. Hell, I didn’t even mind if the prologue captured a different century, planet, or plane of existence!
 
Then I learned about the RULES.
 
And The Prologue (to me) died.
 
They weren’t allowed. Agents didn’t want to see them. Writing forum members swayed newbies away from them.
 
I was like, “Okay, no prologue. No harm, no foul.”
 
(I try to go with the flow.)
 
Then I saw newly published books (touted by the writing world as AWESOME! FANTASTIC! MUST READ!) WITH prologues!!!
 
I was like, “HUH? I thought they were a no-no!”
 
Listen, when I read a book for enjoyment, I still like prologues. I don’t skip over them. I don’t “tut-tut” them.
 
But I don’t include them in my stories. And I don’t really know why.
 
What about you? Prologues: Love ‘Em Or Hate ‘Em?
 
Tune in next week for Lydia’s take on Prologues.