Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Waiting On Wednesday



Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My Pick Of The Week:

Touched
by: Cyn Balog
Pages: 320
Publication Date: August 14, 2012


Summary:

 Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn't? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn't work.

But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something's about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there's no way to stop things from happening. Or is there? 

In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he's about to discover--or the choice he will be forced to make. . . .

Monday, July 16, 2012

Blog Tour: Guest Post


No Good Deed
Author: Bill Blais
Published: March 9, 2012
Synopsis: Kelly McGinnis has spent her adult life trying to do the right thing, but as a newly down-sized mother of twins and the wife of a man living with Muscular Sclerosis, she also knows that trying isn’t always enough.

While interrupting a scene of police brutality, Kelly unwittingly releases a real, live demon. After she manages to kill the creature through gut instinct and blind luck, she is approached to join a secret group of demon hunters who reveal an underworld of monsters and magic. Kelly’s mill town upbringing proves an unexpected asset and the pay more than covers her husband’s treatments, but the work begins to undermine her sense of right and wrong as she struggles to maintain her ‘normal’ life.

When she encounters Umber, a compelling incubus with an unexpectedly human story, Kelly learns that the truth is far stranger and more terrifying than she imagined.




Listening to the Voices in Your Head

Author Bill Blais explains how he approaches characterization and where the inspiration for the characters in the Kelly and Umber Series came from.

In a word? Listening.
For the longest time, I wrote plots to which I added characters, resulting in a whole lot of cardboard cutouts having expository conversations with one another. It took an embarrassingly long time to get over this (mostly, anyway), but the realization came during the writing of my first book, Witness.
Up to then, I had stuck with (and floundered in) short fiction, but the long form of a novel meant I was spending far longer with the characters and it quickly became apparent that they had to come first. Even in the outlining stage, I found myself stuck when I couldn't answer basic questions like what a character is afraid of, much less what he or she was motivated by.
It was about that time that I remembered something I had read years before, where Maya Angelou described part of her writing process (for the record, I may have this wrong, but it's how I remembered it and how it impacted me, so my apologies to Dr. Angelou for any inaccuracies). Before writing a word of the 'story' itself, she wrote every last thing she could think of about her characters, page after page of character traits, fears, likes, heroes, favorite foods, whatever came to her about the character in question. It was only after she did this that she felt she could properly write a story with those characters that treated them 'honestly'.
While I didn't fully follow this fabulous advice (I was still hasty and painfully over-confident in my own fledgling abilities), I did take much more time with the characters than I ever had before, and the result was stronger, more honest depictions of these characters as real people.
With the Kelly & Umber Series, I spent even more time on finding out exactly who the various characters were. For No Good Deed, Kelly was the obvious focus for this work, in order to make her voice as believable as possible, followed by Denis & team, but I found myself drawn into the lives of each of the characters in the story, regardless of how prominent they were (I still have a soft spot for Linwood, for example, and he's 'on-screen' for a single scene).
I'd be lying if I said the characters I write aren't based on people I know, but they are amalgamations rather than reproductions. As I 'listened' to the stories of these characters, I found myself referencing the gestures of this former co-worker of mine, the slang of that uncle or the hair style of the shift leader of my local supermarket. When it came to hopes, fears and motivations, though, I was finally in tune enough with the unique qualities of these individuals to hear what they themselves felt, rather than me giving them these things.
Umber was the only odd-ball in this process for me, but that itself made sense, given who and what he is. He took much longer to get a grip on, to accurately hear, than the others, because I repeatedly found myself trying to take the easy way out with him, but it never fit. In the end, he is the least 'believable' but I believe that's part of the point, providing as much draw as frustration for me as an author (and for Kelly in her interactions with him).


Sunday, July 15, 2012

No Good Deed


No Good Deed
Author: Bill Blais
Published: March 9, 2012
Rating: 
 
Synopsis: Kelly McGinnis has spent her adult life trying to do the right thing, but as a newly down-sized mother of twins and the wife of a man living with Muscular Sclerosis, she also knows that trying isn’t always enough.

While interrupting a scene of police brutality, Kelly unwittingly releases a real, live demon. After she manages to kill the creature through gut instinct and blind luck, she is approached to join a secret group of demon hunters who reveal an underworld of monsters and magic. Kelly’s mill town upbringing proves an unexpected asset and the pay more than covers her husband’s treatments, but the work begins to undermine her sense of right and wrong as she struggles to maintain her ‘normal’ life.

When she encounters Umber, a compelling incubus with an unexpectedly human story, Kelly learns that the truth is far stranger and more terrifying than she imagined.

Review: 

   After looking at the cover of No Good Deed, i was a little scared i wouldn't like it, but i was wrong! After reading the Prologue i was completely hooked! Bill Blais has created a truly interesting and creative novel.

  I was so happy that the romance is this book wasn't over the top, i mean the romance isnt suppose to be the main focus, I have read a couple of novels where the romance turns into the main focus when its not suppose to be. 
  
   No Good Deed would have gotten a 5 star rating, but i did have a couple problems along the way, so i did take away one star, but I would still recommend this book!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Stacking the Shelves-8



Rules
  • Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
  • You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, blog, sky is the limit!
  • I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
  • Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you!
  • Visit other participants link to find out what they added to their shelves!
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that showcases the books that you got last week


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Cover Love Thursday-3



Isnt Cover Love Thursday Button amazing??? My blogger buddy Eileen made it for me! Check out her blog ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***

Cover Love Thursday! It's super easy and super fun!
  • Every Thursday, highlight the prettiest cover you have seen for that week. It can be from a cover reveal, a book you've started reading, or a book you recently added to your TBR list.
  • Add your name to the Linky list below.
  • Write your own Cover Love Thursday post! :)

The cover I picked this week is.....

Title: Dark Star
Author: Bethany  
Publication Date: October 23, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 368


Summary:

Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it’s hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she’s lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human—something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn’t fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers—livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person’s memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers’ next move. But Leon, her mother’s bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won’t let Audrey out of his sight.
When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything—and everyone—she loves. -Goodreads

Why I picked it:

 The background is really neat, and so is the blue they used. I also like the green on the front of the cover. The font for Dark Star is really pretty, and I like that its at an angle.  






Monday, July 9, 2012

Impulse

Impulse 
By: Ellen Hopkins
Published: January 23, 2007
Pages: 666
Rating: 



Summary:
Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place. Goodreads
Review:
   I put "Impulse" last on my list thinking I wouldn't like it. I have proved myself wrong. the swirl of emotions and the raw, bitter thoughts that travel thought these 3 characters minds are truly amazing. I kept thinking to myself I don't want it to end. I fell deep in love with this book, for it has took me on an amazing journey to somewhere I never expected to go. The pain that Connor, Tony and Vanessa all share is truly hard to imagine, that's the one thing that ties them together. What sets them apart is the difference in what pain they have.
   Connor wants to feel loved from his mom, the mom that never kissed him, the one who always compared him to his "Perfect" sister Cara. Connor feels that he will never impress his parents, that he will never be better than Cara. For this Connor pulled the trigger. Will he try again? Time will tell. 
   For Tony his secrets come out, deep dark over powering, mind blowing hidden secrets. Tony was neglected as a child, when he did what was "right" he spent most of his childhood years behind bars. For Tony being gay is what he thought he knew, being raped a 8, by Larry made him believe that. Is he really gay? you wonder, you will see. 
   Vanessa loves the control of where she can bleed, she loves the thrill. When her mom is Bipolar, and Daddy isn't around Vanessa sinks down to a hue of blue. She wants someone to care about someone to love and feel the warmth of their skin. When she loses that she cuts a little deep almost deep enough, but not quite. 
   These lives were saved, but will their minds be after they being brought to "Aspen Springs" ? one will never be home again,and that's why they did it, because they couldn't bare the thought of dealing with "home"

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Stacking the Shelves-7



Rules
  • Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
  • You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, blog, sky is the limit!
  • I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
  • Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you!
  • Visit other participants link to find out what they added to their shelves!
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that showcases the books that you got last week


All the books I got this week:



Pictures:

Bloggers Mentioned:

Friday, July 6, 2012

Identical


Identical 
By: Ellen Hopkins
Published: Aug. 26, 2008
Pages: 565
 Rating:

Summary: 

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place? 
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin. For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex. Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?- GR

Review:

"1 egg 1 sperm, but how many souls?"  Once I read the first couple of pages there wasn't any going back, only forward. Raeanne and Kaeleigh were brought into this world by monsters. Their Mother and Father are to blame, ever since this horrible car wreck their family was never the same. At first it seems that Raeanne is the bad one of the family, but no matter what she does it will never compare to what her mother and father did.  Kaeleigh was just a child, she was to young, but did that stop her father from doing things we all know is wrong , NO! He took advantage of his own daughter, used her. Kaeleigh just wanted to make her dad happy, that's what he told her, that she was making daddy happy. You see daddy plays a game of favorites, and Kaeleigh doesn't have to cheat to win. Kaeleigh is more like her mother and Raeanne is more like her father, I'm still trying to figure out who is worse. 

Bruises. That's what Kaeleigh showed her mom, bruises that daddy gave her. Kaeleigh tried to reach out to her mom, only to be shut down. Her mother turned the other cheek, she looked away and let a monster run wild. Its not her fault what her husband did, but it is her fault that he wasn't stopped right then and there. But stopping her husband would lead gossip and a smear of the Gardella name. 

Raeanne was always second in her fathers eyes, she was never good enough for him. All she wanted was his affection, the affection that he gave Kaeleigh. The problems she has wont go away, they follow her everywhere she goes. Not only does mom and dad know about the abuse but so does someone else. We all have secrets and problems but the ones theses two girls carry on their backs is to much for anyone to handle. Their lives with rip at the seems, but the question is who will be left standing and who will just fade away. 


Thursday, July 5, 2012

Author Interview and Giveaway!



Don't You Wish By: Roxanne St. Claire
Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Pages: 368
Summary:
When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.  
In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?
The choice isn't as simple as you think

Author Interview:
1. What's your favorite color?
I think this will be carved on my gravestone:  "You can never have too many pink sweaters."  So, I guess that answers the question.
2. Where do you do most of your writing at?
I write primarily in my office at home, but I also have three writer friends who gather about twice a week at various homes and we write in a group.  We call it "Writer's Camp" and we have pretty strict rules: we don't chat (much) about anything that isn't related to our stories (we range from erotica to urban fantasies to sweet romance to young adult) and we don't stop for lunch until we all have over 1,000 words on paper on our individual manuscripts.  Obviously, we're all working on different books, some rough drafting, some revising, some editing.  During lunch, we brainstorm.  Or gossip.  After lunch, we try to write 2,000 more words.  Not only is this a great way to be accountable, we've discovered a fantastic synergy and a way to cure the lonely writer blues. Also, we keep each other from online shopping or obsessive tweeting, thus increasing every one's productivity.
3. How come you decided to write a YA novel?
I read YA more than any other genre, and have for many years.  Pre-TWILIGHT, it was a secret guilty pleasure; post-TWILIGHT I was just another adult who loved teen novels.  But I never thought I had the voice for the genre...until my kids were teens and I became fully immersed in all things high school.  I think if you're not around teenagers a lot, it can be hard to really understand them well enough to climb into a character's head and make the story realistic and contemporary.  One day, my daughter asked me a question that really got me thinking and wham! I knew I had a story idea.  Once I started writing it -- purely for fun (we writers are crazy like that) -- I just couldn't stop.  After I'd written a synopsis and a few chapters, I sent it to my agent and expected her to ask and say, now,Roxanne, stick with what you've been writing.  Au contraire!  She sold it to Random House/Delacorte!
4. What was the hardest thing about writing Don't You wish?
Honestly, it was the present tense.  First person was the ONLY way to write that story, but for some reason, every time I tried to write in past tense, my fingers refused to cooperate.  First person present tense just felt so right for Annie's story.  So once I got used to it, I had no problems.  The first draft was accepted without revision, I'm happy to say, but then the book was optioned for film (I'm even happier to say).  When the producer began adapting the manuscript for film, he mentioned some things he wanted to change and I thought they were brilliant suggestions.  So I asked my editor if I could write another draft, just to ensure that the book was as close as possible to the screenplay.  That was a challenge, but I'm certain those changes made WISH a stronger story.
5. If Don't You Wish became a movie, who would you want to play Annie?
I certainly hope it does!  I can say that the script has been read by Selena Gomez and she is pretty much my number one choice.  But that's not in my hands! *drops to knees and prays*
6. Are you a dog or cat person?
Oh, I am a big, fat, gooey, unabashed, crazy dog person!  I am amused by cats but reduced to a baby-talking pile of mush around dogs.  I have two: a moody little Australian terrier named Pepper and a brand new (out of control) Shih Tzu named Ginger. We call them the Spice Girls.
7. Do you have a favorite author? If so then who?
I have sooooo many.  I will say that as I write this,I'm reading an early copy of Gena Showalter's next young adult novel, ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND and yowzers!  This is a great book!  So, Gena's my favorite du jour.  But I have many, many, many auto buys since I love to read as much as I love to write!
8. Did you have any say in the cover? Its beautiful :)
Thank you!  My say was pretty much limited to "Oh,I like that."  Actually, there were many, many versions, but from the beginning the Delacorte art department loved the girl with the heart-shaped glasses.  Only about two months ago, there was a late-in-the-game decision to change the cover to better reflect the parallel universe aspect of the story, so the reflection was added at the bottom, the font was changed, and the tag line was included.  I love the final cover so much!
9. How long did you think Don't You Wish was going to be from the start?
I thought it would be a bit shorter, honestly. I thought I could tell that story in about 60 - 65,000 words.  It's closer to 85,000, and I'm very happy that my publisher didn't cap me at any particular length.  In the outline of the book, I had no idea Charlie had a sister and what an incredibly important role she'd play in Annie's journey.  With the discovery of that character (and I do discover them sometimes -- as surprised as the reader!) I had to layer in quite a bit more emotion and action, and the book had legs.  But I feel like it's exactly the right length now and I hope readers do, too!
Giveaway(US only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Cover Reveal- ReAwakened


ReAwakened
By: Ada Adams
Expected Publication: Fall 2012

Summary: (For ReVamped) 
A simple mission turned deadly.
Nineteen-year-old vampire Dawn has led a sheltered life within the confines of her father’s presidential headquarters. Upon being sent on a mission to revamp four goofy misfits into guardians of a peaceful little town of Angel Creek, Dawn believes that all her dreams have finally come true. What starts off as a simple task, turns into something unexpected, changing Dawn’s life forever and leading the action-loving, thrill-seeking vampire teen on a path of mystery, danger and intrigue.
When a human girl is kidnapped by a group of rogue vamps, Dawn discovers that there is more going on in Angel Creek than meets the eye. And it all connects to Ethan, the cute newcomer who seems too perfect to be true, Sebastian, the mysterious vampire with a turbulent past, and even Dawn herself. Dawn must not only succeed in revamping the troubled recruits, but must also prevent the vampire race from being overtaken by a malevolent villain who has a strange and obsessive fascination with her. As threat escalates, romance blooms, and ghosts from her past begin to surface, Dawn is sure of only one thing: her life will never be the same  -GR 

My thoughts: 
The first word that pops into my mind is.....WOW! I loved ReVampeds' cover, but I have to say, I love ReAwakeneds even MORE! Both of theses stunning covers were made by Juliana Kolesova @ www.julianakolesova.com so go check out some of her of work! :D 
Links:
ReVamped Website 
ReVamped Facebook Page 
ReVamped on Goodreads 
Ada Adams On Twitter 
ReVamped On Amazon 
ReVamped On B&N 


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Random Act Of Kindness

Book Soulmates


COMPLETE RULES RE-CAP:
Please read carefully & follow all rules! Thank you!
  • Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
  • Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button (code is in the right sidebar).
  • Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog, etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
  • If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
  • Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
  • E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble with Nook as well.
  • At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post. This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from :)
OPEN TO EVERYONE including all our International brethren!
Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!


Wishlist:


172 Hours On the Moon
Until I die
Revived
Shade
Anna and the french kiss

THANKS! ;)