Monday Reads: 4 Amazing Books!

These past couple weeks of reading have been GOOD. First, I read LADY MIDNIGHT by Cassandra Clare. 

To be honest, I wasn't enthused to read this book. It's almost 700 pages, and I didn't know if I wanted to enter the world of Shadowhunters AGAIN. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I was, I was hooked. Cassandra Clare does such a good job of angsty relationships, and well-rounded cast of characters. I'm glad I read this book and I'll definitely read the next. (Though she could still cut down on the length, IMO.)

Next I read THE RAVEN KING by Maggie Stiefvater, the final book in the Raven Cycle. So I have this thing where I flip through the book I'm reading and read random sentences. I usually end up spoilering myself on SOMETHING, even if it's something small. But with this book, and the prediction that Gansey is supposed to die, I had to keep telling myself NOT TO FLIP THROUGH. Luckily, I made it to the end without spoilering myself. It was a satisfying end to the series, and I love her writing like crazy. My fave book in the series still remains the first one though.

Then I read another series' final book, THE WINNER'S KISS by Marie Rutkoski. Ohmygosh this book. It was perfect. The whole series is perfect. It had me from page one all the way until the end. I can't even describe why I love these books so much, except there is not one thing wrong with them. Everything is perfection. A definite must-read trilogy.

Finally, I read SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys. I was really worried about the book that came after TWK- I mean, how could anything live up? But this book. Oh, it lived up, alright. Ruta Sepetys is one of my fave historical authors and she did it once again with this book. She wrote of an event where approx nine thousand people die- an event I had never heard of! Not only do I like learning about history, her characters completely pull me in, in a way that makes it real- like I'm living it with them. This is the kind of book that stays with you, that you just can't shake, nor should you. It was definitely one of my fave reads so far this year. And I really hope they make it into a movie. (BTW, can't wait for the movie adaptation of her other WWII book- BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY.)

After these amazing books, I almost feel sorry for the books I'm reading next. 

A Taste of Local Authors

I'm taking part in this fabulous event this evening and I'm so excited! I read once at my local writers group, and once on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever done an event like this. I'll be joined by eight other local authors, plus a musician. If you live in the Calgary area, come on out for some readings, music, and refreshments. OR, come on out to see me try not to stutter and/or barf from nerves. ;) 

It's going to be a great night!

Monday Reads: SEE HOW THEY RUN and THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE

My reading has slowed down a bit, as it does from time to time, so this past couple of weeks I only read two books. 

First, SEE HOW THEY RUN by Ally Carter. This is a sequel to Carter's ALL FALL DOWN, and part of her Embassy Row series. Ally Carter is one of my fave YA authors. Her Gallagher Girls series is so fun, and I also enjoyed the Heist Society trilogy. Ally Carter writes suspense/thrillers. GG is about girl spies, HS is about thieves. The ER books have the same feel in that way, but I feel they're a lot more serious than her other books. For that reason, they're probably my least favourite out of everything she's written, but the books are still good. Always fast paced, with well-drawn characters and settings, and exciting plots. I wasn't disappointed by this sequel at all.

Then I read THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig. The premise to this book is so cool: about a girl living on a ship that can travel anywhere, anytime, even mythical places, as long as they have a map. I did wonder, about a quarter of the way through, where the book was going, and actually wished they might have travelled a bit more rather than staying most of the book in Hawaii. But otherwise, there wasn't anything wrong with this book. It was a solid read, I loved the Hawaii setting and time period, and I'll definitely pick up a sequel.

Wednesday Writes: Guest Post With Author/Editor Noah Chinn

One of my biggest fears before I got published was what it would be like to work with an editor. Would we get along? Would he want to take away my voice? Would we agree on changes? Turned out, working with Noah Chinn, my editor at Samhain on SWAY was a not only a joy, but a learning experience. I'm truly sad that we won't be working on future books together, unless I decide to hire him on the side- he does freelance editing. He's also an author and recently had his own book release, a mystery called THE PLUTUS PARADOX. Here he is to talk about why he decided to set his series in the 1980s.

The Living Past: Writing Mysteries in the '80s

Being an editor means the time you spend as a writer tends to suffer, but it's all the sweeter when you finally have a new release out.  In my case, it's the second James & Lettice Cote mystery, The Plutus Paradox.

Set in Vancouver in 1985, it revolves around the sudden kidnapping of Lettice’s father, Harold–a man she thought had been dead for fifteen years. If that wasn’t strange enough, the couple is left to care for the missing man’s six-year-old daughter, Lettice’s sister, also named Lettice.

I have a fondness for 80’s era mystery shows, but why is it a good setting for a mystery novel series? It’s not like the books are chalk full of self-aware jokes from the era. There wasn’t a single Miami Vice joke in Getting Rid of Gary, despite the first couple chapters taking place in Florida (to be fair, though, that show didn’t start until 1987).

That’s because the books aren’t about making fun of the era. Before starting I thought about one of the most influential mystery writers – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

You may know that Sherlock Holmes was so popular that some people believed him to be real, or at least as real as a fiction person could be. Maybe they just thought him real in a Santa Claus kind of way, but we all know 221B Baker Street still gets letters for the great detective to this day.

But what was odd about this reaction was that Doyle’s mysteries were never written in the present day, it was always in past, years or even decades earlier. It struck me as odd that people would think about Holmes in a present tense even though the events being recounted were firmly in the past. As time leapt forward for Doyle, it crawled along for Holmes as he became more and more popular.

And I think the reason for that is because of the age Doyle lived in. Gaslight London was giving way to Electric London. Victorian England was rapidly changing, perhaps more rapidly than some would like.  The horse-drawn carriage was slowly to be supplanted by the automobile.

In this time of flux, there must have been something nostalgic and reliable about Holmes, a touchstone to a past that was increasingly romanticized even within the reader’s own lifetimes.

I think we live a similar age now. Only now the obsolescence of tech is sometimes measured in months rather than years, much less decades. I’m sure it’s hard for some people to imagine using a phone that isn't also a portable computer with touch screen.

And then there are things that have changed our lives so much just imagining a time before can be difficult. Think about how ubiquitous YouTube or Facebook is and remember that they only came about 11 and 12 years ago, respectively. Trying to imagine that you could be in the 21st century and NOT see these things around is mind-boggling.

And yet many of us grew up in a time before all this was (waves at the Internet) all this. And we got along just fine.

I think, much like Gaslight London of the 1880s and 1890s was for Doyle’s readers, the 1980s and 1990s are a similarly nostalgic touchstone, and will be for the foreseeable future. It’s a different time. It’s history. But one we can still touch before it slips away forever.

If you're interested in checking out THE PLUTUS PARADOX, you can find it on Amazon or better yet, start with the first book in the series GETTING RID OF GARY.

Friday Loves: Team Cap!

I'm so excited to see Captain America: Civil War this weekend! All I gotta say is, TEAM CAP! When it comes to a choice between Captain America and Iron Man, I'm Team Cap all the way! Not only that, but a girl's gotta have her fave, and again... Team Cap. I know people like their heroes flawed, and Captain America isn't perfect, but I just can't resist a really good guy. A guy who is a true hero. Sounds cheeseballs, but it's true. Team Cap all the way.

Who are you rooting for?

Monday Reads: STARFLIGHT, STILL LIFE, and LIFE AND DEATH

STARFLIGHT by Melissa Landers was a great YA sci-fi. I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but I've been loving some of the YA stuff I've read lately. This book was fun, fast-paced, and exciting. I loved the slow burn relationship between the two MCs especially. They didn't hate each other just for the sake of some sexual tension, there was a real reason behind it, and then how they gradually become friends, then something more developed naturally and was really believable. I also really liked the secondary characters in this book. It was a great read and I'll definitely pick up the next book.

STILL LIFE by D.B. Kennison is an adult suspense/romance. I don't usually pick up this kind of book- the kind with the dead bodies piling up- I shiver just thinking about it. But I really enjoyed it. The female MC was my favorite kind- strong and feisty but with a vulnerable side- and the male MC wasn't this domineering jerk who we're supposed to love, he also had a vulnerable side which didn't take away from his strong male personality. There was a great mix between the romance and the suspense, but the suspense is really what made the book for me. I was on the edge of my seat, sick to my stomach as the tension built, and then the twist at the end... wow. Really well done.

LIFE AND DEATH by Stephenie Meyer is the gender-swap TWILIGHT. I kinda knew what to expect coming in, and the book met those expectations. I did have a bit of a hard time with the gender swap, I think because the book is so similar to the original. Every time I would pick it up to continue reading, I would have to remind myself that Bella is now a boy, and Edward is a girl. I never could quite lose myself in the story because of that. I did enjoy the book though, because it was interesting to see the story play out with all the gender-swapping. I also really loved the end, which I had no idea was going to happen. So yay for that.

What did you read this week? 

Wednesday Writes: Query Tips

A few months ago I signed on to be a team member for a new writing contest called #FicFest. I've been on the entering side of contests before- sometimes chosen, sometimes not- but this is my first time on this side of the line. I really wanted to give back, after all the contests I've taken part in. So far I've gotten to know some great new writers, and it's been fun interacting with them and reading their submissions.

I'm a team member for the adult team and we received 120 submissions! That's a lot of slush reading I've done in the past two days. I've managed to narrow it down to fourteen, but I can't imagine cutting that all the way down to one.

I've noticed some common querying mistakes. I'm no expert on queries- far from it in fact. I suck at them so bad and always need my CPs to take a look at them for me. (Ugh, queries.) But there are a few "rookie mistakes" I've seen among a lot of these queries.

The biggest one is SHOW, DON'T TELL. As writers, we've all heard this rule, and it's easier said than done. But quite a few of the queries TOLD me the themes of the book. They told me it was an adventure, a wild ride, a story of loss, or heartbreak, or humor, etc etc etc, without actually telling me what the book is about! A query should be, WHO IS YOUR MAIN CHARACTER, WHAT DOES HE/SHE WANT, and WHAT /WHO IS STOPPING THEM FROM GETTING IT? Most importantly, the STAKES: what happens when he/she doesn't get what she wants? Don't be vague, and don't use cliches. 

Another mistake I saw, on the other side of this spectrum, was a sentence by sentence run-down of what I assumed was an early scene of the book. Ex: "Melanie gets a phone call warning her to stay home. Then the postman comes to the door and gives her the mail. She opens a letter with another warning inside. Melanie is scared and knows she has to stay home." While details are important in a query, this is too much, and also reads very dry.

Another thing I saw was a paragraph about the writer where he/she is saying stuff like, "I've worked on this book for a year and it's finally done," or, "I've always wondered why mermaids are beautiful so I started writing and it's evolved into a story of loss and secrets and friendship..." These are made up examples of course, but NOT NECESSARY. Get straight to your story. Don't talk about yourself at all unless you have writing credits to your name or can give a LEGIT reason why you wrote the story (not, I'm fascinated by mermaids so I decided to write about mermaids- more along the lines of I have a major in underwater basket weaving like so I'm qualified to talk about it). 

A few small things I noticed: LOTS of rhetorical questions. I think I did this in one of my very first queries, until I learned that agents DO NOT like them. So don't do it. Trust me, just don't. They'll roll their eyes and then delete your query. Also, high word counts, passive voice, repetitive phrases, sentences in the query that made no sense to everything else in the query... some of these are easy fixes, which is why it's IMPERATIVE to have another writer critique your query for you. 

As I said before, I am no expert on queries. I find them supremely difficult. That's why we writers need to do our research. Read Query Shark, or the "Successful Queries" series on the Writer's Digest Blog. Workshop your query, get someone to critique it, revise it, then workshop it some more. Put yourself out there and be prepared to learn. It will only help you in the end.

Friday Loves: UTAH

No really. Utah. 

I went to Brigham Young University  in Provo, Utah for one year (plus an extra summer semester) and it was definitely the funnest (I don't care if funnest isn't a word) year of my life. I had great roommates, excellent classes (except  8 am biology... what was I thinking???), and I loved the whole atmosphere. Most of all though, Provo felt like home.

I've lived a lot of places in my life so I'm of the attitude now that home is wherever you make it. It doesn't really matter to me where I live- I could move anywhere (except somewhere cold- Alberta is cold enough thankyouverymuch). But there's something about Utah... every time I go it just feels like home.

Me in front of the new Provo temple

I took a short trip with my four kids and my parents to Utah last week. Mainly, I went to help my parents, who are getting on in years (don't tell them I said that), drive. I attended a cousin's wedding, and got to see two of my brothers and one sister. It was really great to be there and I wish I could've stayed longer. The entire time I was there I was devising ways to convince my husband we should move there. I didn't bother trying when I got home though, he'd never go for it. Besides, the grass is always greener, right? Just because I loved it when I was 18, doesn't mean it would be the same now. But it's still a place I'd love to live, and definitely a place I like to visit. 

So my Friday Love goes to Utah, that beautifully Mormon state.  

Monday Reads: Two YA and Two PERSUASION retellings

It was another full couple of weeks of reading. First came THIEF OF LIES by Brenda Drake.

I've "known" Brenda online for a few years now- she's an amazing help for writers with her contests and Twitter pitch parties- so I was excited to pick up her book THIEF OF LIES. The premise of library jumping is so cool and of course I love me some romance. So... the book was good, but it had a little too much packed in it for my taste. It was fast-paced, that's for sure, but there was so much going on that I found myself not connecting with the characters like I wanted to. I wish she would have focused more on the library jumping and left out all of the other prophecy, demons, creatures, fairies, dopplegangers, love triangles, etc etc etc. I really really wanted to love this book a lot more than I did. :(

LOVE these covers!

Next, THEIR FRACTURED LIGHT by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. This is the last book of a trilogy and I have LOVED every single one. I'm not even a sci-fi fan but these books... *gush gush gush* I just love everything about them.

Next came THE PERSUASION OF MISS JANE AUSTEN by Shannon Winslow. This book is by a fellow member of Austen Variations, and I adored it (and I'm not just saying that because we're in the same group). It was like a mash-up of BECOMING JANE and PERSUASION. Instead of Tom Lefroy, Jane's love interest is a naval Captain. The story parallels a lot of Persuasion but with a much different ending- the kind of ending I wish were true for my favorite classical author.

And finally I read FIND WONDER IN ALL THINGS by Karen M. Cox. I'm not enamored of the cover, but the book was really good. Almost five stars for me, the only thing that brought it down was a few little nitpicky things. I loved how she made the story of Persuasion her own- especially how she changed the family dynamic, and the format where we got to see the Anne and Wentworth characters whole relationship from start to finish instead of starting off at 8 years later. I was worried a little that this book would feel really similar to SWAY because James (AKA Wentworth) was a musician, but it wasn't like mine at all... except, yanno for the whole Persuasion thing. ;) Great book!

Friday Loves: AGENT CARTER

I'm so happy AGENT CARTER came back for a second season and I really hope it's back for a third. I LOVE this show. Love the time period, love the twists, love the characters, but mostly I love Peggy Carter. She's such an amazing character. I love how not only is she strong and smart, but she still retains characteristics that make women women. As much as I love a kick-butt girl, it saddens me when they're always snarky/mean, or when they never show emotion or have tender moments or can't like a guy because OH NO NOW SHE'S SACRIFICING HER STRENGTH FOR A GUY. No. She likes a guy. She's still strong. The end. For me, all this doesn't take away from a female character, it only adds. It makes them real and believable and layered. 

I also love how Peggy isn't the only powerhouse female on this show. Dottie is back in the second season, and the antagonist is a super genius woman who tells the dudes where to go and how to get there. (Although, sort of going against what I said above, I don't get why she married the politician... not sure about the motivation behind that.) 

It's not just the women that make this show great though. Jarvis is charmingly dorky as usual (loved the line about not wanting to be a disembodied voice forever *snort*), and I completely heart Agent Sousa. I've got two episodes left but I really hope those two get together already. 

Preeeeetty sure I just spoilered myself since I don't think I've seen this kiss yet!

Anyway, AGENT CARTER is an awesome show. Give it a try if you haven't yet.

Wednesday Writes: RELEASE DAY for THE PASSAGE, A DANCE, & A LITTLE WHITE DRESS

Last year I read THE GUARDIAN, A SWORD, & STILETTOS by Kristin D. Van Risseghem. This year I'm excited to take part in the release day for the sequel THE PASSAGE, A DANCE, & A LITTLE WHITE DRESS. Here's what it's all about. 

It's been a week since 17-year old Zoe Jabril found out her best friend is a Guardian Angel, her boyfriend is a Nephilim, and a fellow classmate is a Fairy. What makes Zoe so special? She’s destined to unify Enlightens to battle evil—that is, if Demons don’t kill her first.

With ‘Project: Enlightens Unite’ underway, Zoe learns the history of the area wolf pack and realizes she's in a race against time to get her newly discovered talents under control. Despite struggling to fight a mysterious attraction to her new neighbor, rescue her boyfriend from Demons, and travel into Fairyland to convince the Summer King to join the fight, Zoe must still attend high school classes so her nosy parents don’t suspect anything is out of the ordinary before Demons can mount another attack.

Zoe will need all the help she can get, from the most unlikely of sources, if she’s to save her boyfriend's life and prevent the Devil from escaping Hell on her eighteenth birthday.

Chapter 1 Excerpt:
ZOE

Last night, a friend of mine rose from the dead—and I was the one who brought her back. So I guess . . . I’m an angel. Or, at least most of my friends think I am.
     Even wrapped tightly in the arms of my favorite oversized PINK hoodie, I shivered. It was chilly for mid-April while sitting on my front porch with the sun just coming over the horizon, but that wasn’t where the tremor had come from.
     I glanced up, startled by the high-pitched squealing of truck brakes that rang above the music playing from my iPod. The truck turned into the cul-de-sac and careened straight into the next door neighbors’ driveway. What made it really strange was the house had been empty since last October. I could still see the top of the “For Sale” sign on the manicured front lawn. I pulled out my cell phone to text my boyfriend, Shay.
 
     Me: Good morning!
 
     As I waited for a response, a gray uniformed driver open his door and climbed down. He walked to the back of the truck; then multiple doors slammed.
     “This furniture goes into the living room on the main level,” a man said.
     I didn’t particularly want to be a nosy neighbor, but I couldn’t help myself. I eased higher on the top step, hoping to get a look at the man who seemed to be in charge. His back was to me, so all I could tell was he had short blond hair. He glanced down at something then looked back up, turned, and pointed toward a number of other, smaller trucks in the cul-de-sac parking. More uniformed men jumped out of the smaller trucks and gathered around their boss, waiting for instructions. I had no interest in watching a bunch of people move boxes, so I just stayed on the step and waited for my best friend, Kieran, and Shay.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Author Bio:

Kristin D. Van Risseghem grew up in a small town along the Mississippi River with her parents and older sister. And after receiving a double Bachelor of Science degree from Winona State University in Paralegal and Corrections, she worked as a Paralegal for various law firms around the Twin Cities for 14 years. Then she left the legal field and is now a Senior Buyer for a technology company.

Currently, Kristin lives in Minnesota with her husband and two Calico cats. She also loves attending book clubs, going shopping, and hanging out with friends. She has come to realize that she absolutely has an addiction to purses and shoes. They are her weakness and probably has way too many of both.

In the summer months, Kristin can usually be found lounging on her boat, drinking an ice cold something. Being an avid reader of YA and Women’s Literature stories, she still finds time to read a ton of books in-between writing. And in the winter months, her main goal is to stay warm from the Minnesota cold!

Kristin’s books are published by Kasian Publishing. You can find her at her website, on Twitter, and on Facebook. You can find the Enlighten Series on Amazon, Nook, and on Smashwords.

Kristin is holding a huge giveaway. Enter to win a Kindle Fire, a $50 Amazon gift card, & 10 books! Enter here

Monday Reads: WOLF BY WOLF and some PERSUASION retellings

I read eleven books in March, which is A LOT. Seriously. I don't usually read this much. This past couple of weeks I read another four books. The first one was WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin. The concept to this book is so cool, and it totally delivered. It's an alternate history where Hitler wins (ICK) and it's a world where the axis powers are the rulers and the US is neutral (nothing said about Canada though...what's up with that?). This story is about a Jewish girl who was experimented on in a concentration camp as a kid and ends up with the ability to change her appearance. She eventually escapes and works for the resistance, then joining a motorcycle race in the hopes of winning so she can meet Hitler and assassinate him. The book was really well done, the race was exciting (kind of Iron Will but on motorcycles instead of sleds), the prose was exquisite. Best of all was this fully realized and totally scary world. Even with the "magical" element put in, I believed it. It was easy to see what the world might have been like if the Allies hadn't won the war. I'm definitely picking up the sequel.

After WOLF BY WOLF, I read three PERSUASION retellings in a row (all in the name of article research...and it's fun, too). The first one was PERSUADE ME by Juliet Archer. First of all, it's hard for me now to read other modern-day retellings when I've written my own because obviously I'm going to compare. And not in a "mine is better than yours" kind of way, but... okay, an example. In PERSUADE ME, the author stuck like glue to the original story. I don't think one character or tiny plot point was left out. I sorta did that too in my early drafts of SWAY, until I had beta readers and CPs tell me to step away from the original a bit. I'm so glad I did, but it makes it a bit strange, or makes me a bit biased, against stories that are the exact same as the original. There were things I really liked about PERSUADE ME though. Rick Wentworth is a biologist who wrote a book called Sex in the Sea (lol!), and Anna is a professor of Russian lit- love both of these jobs! I also loved the way the author portrayed Mrs. Clay and William Elliot. It was all around a fun read and definitely one for PERSUASION lovers. 

Next came CAPTAIN WENTWORTH'S PERSUASION by Regina Jeffers. This is a Regency retelling told from Wentworth's POV. It was awesome to see the story through Wentworth's eyes and I really loved seeing the after... scenes were interspersed throughout the book from after Anne and Wentworth get married. I did feel the book carried on a bit long though once the marriage happened and then ended abruptly though. Personally I would have preferred a straight up retelling from his POV, and then a completely separate book of their life after marriage, but a four-star read all the same.

The last retelling I read was another modern called PERSUASION, CAPTAIN WENTWORTH, AND CRACKLIN' CORNBREAD by Mary Jane Hathaway. First up, LOVE that this takes place in the south. Also love that Wentworth and Anne are a mixed-race couple. And REALLY love how Anne (called Lucy Crawford in the book) is a curator at a civil war museum. The author made the story her own in a lot of ways that I really enjoyed. There were some characters thrown in that I thought could've been either cut or developed more, and again this was another book that ended very abruptly (after all the dancing around each other they do I wanted a bit more of them together), but otherwise, a fun read.

Stay tuned if you like PERSUASION, I've got more retellings coming up on my reading list...

Wednesday Writes: Patience Through Troubles

Writing can be hard, but the business of writing is even harder. 

If you haven't heard, my writing journey hit a snag last month when the owner of Samhain Publishing announced her decision to close down. SWAY had only been out two months. It felt like, just when I was getting started, everything was coming to an end.

Since then, we've heard from the owner that she has something in the works, and that we should hold off from moving forward with other publishers or self-publishing. Of course she can't tell us what this venture might be, because people will blab, but it gave me hope. Unfortunately, it's a waiting game right now, and I've never been very patient. I've always been the type to look ahead and plan, and I can't do that right now. Not only with SWAY, but with my second book COLLIDE. COLLIDE is under contract with Samhain, but I received the closure announcement only a few days before I was due to hand it in to my editor. I'd prefer to keep working with Samhain, or whatever this new thing might be, but if it doesn't work out, or if it's not in my best interest, I'd like to move forward on making a decision about the fate of COLLIDE. I can't do that right now, but that doesn't stop the many questions from swirling around in my head.

For example: do I submit COLLIDE to other small publishers, or do I self-publish it? I'm a little wary of small pubs now because of this whole thing, but at the same time, I loved working with the people at Samhain and I really like have the backing of a publishing house behind me. But, if I get my rights back for SWAY, then I think I'll have to self-publish that, so why not self-pub COLLIDE too? But, if SWAY gets tied up in its contract for a long time, COLLIDE might be on its own, and it might be better to try other publishers... 

There's a lot of ifs and buts, the future of both of these books is uncertain, and this makes me anxious. All I can do is remind myself to have patience, and meanwhile, keep working.

Like I said, the business of writing is hard. You can take these decisions seriously, do your research, and make your best informed decision, but you still have no clue what the future holds. Even with self-publishing, there are things you can't control. Like I told an author friend recently, you just have to go with your gut, then deal with the consequences. My gut is telling me to be patient. And while I'd kinda like to tell my gut to shove it, I know that's the only thing I can do.

Friday Loves: EASTER

Happy Easter everyone! It's the time for egg dying, chocolate bunnies, and pastel colours. It's also the time to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I know I don't post about religious things much. I'm not comfortable flaunting my beliefs, I prefer to keep them close, and sacred. But I thought this video was really beautiful and perfect for the Easter season. I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend. Hallelujah.

COVER REVEAL for SIGNS OF ATTRACTION!

I'm psyched to get to take part in this cover reveal from author Laura Brown. First, a little bit about the book.

Do you know what hearing loss sounds like? I do.

All my life I've tried to be like you. I've failed.

So I keep it hidden.

But on the day my world crashed down around me, Reed was there.

He showed me just how loud and vibrant silence can be, even when I struggled to understand.

He's unlike anyone I've ever known. His soulful eyes and strong hands pulled me in before I knew what was happening.

And as I saw those hands sign, felt them sparking on me, I knew: imperfect could be perfect.

Reed makes me feel things I've never felt. It's exciting...and terrifying.

Because he sees me like no one else has, and I'm afraid of what he'll find if he looks too closely.

The only thing that scares me more than being with him? Letting him go.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher Available for pre-order!

Wow. Sounds amazing and swoony right? And the cover is too. Here it is:

And now, a bit about the author, the fab Laura Brown: 

About the Author

Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband’s put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her three cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own Hard of Hearing ears, to the characters she creates.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Monday Reads: VICE, LONGBOURN, EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH, and NIMONA

Another full and great couple of reading weeks. 

VICE by Rosanna Leo. Rosanna is a fellow Samhain author and this is the first book I've read by her. I read VICE in two days because it was a page-turner. It had the perfect amount of tension and spot-on pacing. What I love most about it is that it's a story of addictions. Not only does Kate struggle with her father's gambling addiction, she latches on to Liam and creates an addiction of her own (while he gets addicted to her as well). It was a struggle to read how she tries to stop enabling her father but then just gets in deep with her own vice. There were times when Kate was telling herself to run from Liam and I really wanted her to do the same. While Liam has a tortured past, he felt more controlling and scary to me than like a sexy hero. Luckily, without giving away spoilers, both of them eventually get their act together, in a realistic way too- without it being too easy. I was very happy with both of their character arcs and how the book ended. My favourite line: "They enabled each other. Their love was like a Vegas casino, bright and lively on the outside, but cloaked in darkness, heedless of time and responsibility." Not only is the imagery here perfect, but this line came at exactly the right time. I have to admit it was a bit too much on the erotic side for me- those aren't really my type of books, but I loved the story.

LONGBOURN by Jo Baker. This book is pitched as PRIDE & PREJUDICDE meets DOWNTON ABBEY, which, HELLO, yes please! It wasn't really like that though. The great thing about DA is the number of characters, both servants and the family, which really makes for all the intrigues and scandals. In LONGBOURN, there are only a handful of servants- obviously because the Bennet's aren't rich- but because of that, there wasn't intrigue I thought there'd be. I did enjoy the book though. The story went along with timeline of P&P but it was about the servant Sarah wanting her own life and love story. The book was full of details (though sometimes too many for my taste) and I loved the love story. Unfortunately, though the book was long, the climax felt rushed at the end. I gave the book four stars though because I was totally into it.

EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH was a cute and fun read by Mandy Hubbard. It's a mistaken identity kind of book which was fun, although it took the MC a loooong time to finally tell the love interest the truth. I get why, but this made the love interest seem a little dumb- like catch on already dude, this girl is shady! It was a fun and fast read though, and I loved the retirement home setting and the fact that the LI was a rich socialite.

NIMONA  by Noelle Stevenson. So aside from Archie, Garfield, and Calvin & Hobbes, I've never read comics, and never a graphic novel like NIMONA. I didn't know if I'd like it or not but I loved it. The story was excellent, I read it in pretty much one sitting, I loved the characters, it was funny, and the drawings were great. I loved the mash-up of science and magic, modern and medieval. Graphic novels probably aren't my favorite type of book, but I loved every bit of this one and I'm so glad I picked it up. My son is now reading it, and my daughter wants it after him. For a graphic novel first-timer, I think this was a good one to start with.  

Wednesday Writes: For Love Or Money

I had a conversation with my husband awhile back about whether writing was "worth it." Being the practical guy that he is, he had to *try* and break down the hours I spend writing and compare that to the possible money I might make. (He didn't even factor in time spent blogging, marketing, researching, or social media-ing.) At the time, I was yet unpublished, but even once I signed my contract, he asked me multiple times how much money I expected to make. 

I understand where he's coming from. He has a 9-5 job, he works hard, he's our breadwinner. If I was the breadwinner, I'd probably have to think a lot more along these lines of HOW MUCH? Or to put it his way, is it worth it? 

I received a royalty statement this week, my third one so far. Every time I get one of these I'm reminded that I'm not in this for the money. Sure, all writers want to be a bestseller and make the big bucks. But I think all writers (or at least most, otherwise what delusions are you living under?) know that's not realistic. Over ten years ago I took a writing course at university and was told that the average Canadian writer makes $20,000 a year. Despite the cost of everything going up since then, I highly doubt that average has. Writers just don't make a lot of money. I can dream big, and my husband can too (he's still holding out hope that he'll be able to retire early thanks to me... hahahahahahaha). But what he doesn't understand, what anyone who isn't in the arts doesn't understand, is that it's not about the money. It CAN'T be about the money, otherwise we'd all quit before we really started.

We write because we love it. We write because we have to. We write because it's the ONE THING we want to do more than anything. And if that means I won't be able to buy Manolo's or trade up my mini-van for an Escalade, so be it. When my husband asked how much I expected to make, I couldn't answer him. I really couldn't. I didn't/don't have expectations- especially since it's my first book because maybe no one will like it, who's to know? I can't put a money value on this work of art that I made or estimate how many copies will be sold.

I write this post as much for me as anyone because it is a little disappointing opening that royalty statement and realizing... nope, I haven't hit it big. This is a good reminder to me that I don't do this to get paid. That was never my end goal. I do it because I love it. End of story.

Friday Loves: PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES & MATT SMITH

I'm not into zombies- never have been. The movie I AM LEGEND gave me nightmares, I totally didn't get the love story in WARM BODIES, and I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that someone wrote a book called PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES. Like, would Jane Austen laugh at this or turn over in her grave (like a zombie...)?

Once I saw the trailer for P&P&Z though, I knew I had to give the movie a shot. I watched it this week and was surprised by how funny it was. I mean, the whole thing was really weird. When you know and love a story so much and to see it changed like that (ex: Darcy's proposal going from- let's talk angrily about this to- let's beat the crap out of each other) is just strange. But it was so strange that it worked, it was FUNNY. I never thought the movie would be funny. (Although there were a few things that didn't work for me, but I won't get into those.)

The best part, aside from seeing Elizabeth Bennett kick some major behind- which also kinda works with her character, was Matt Smith playing Mr. Collins. Sorry, PARSON Collins. He was so good! And I loved seeing him in something other than Doctor Who. He stole the movie, IMO. This was the first time in any P&P of any kind where I actually liked Mr. Collins! This was also the first time where I thought Bingley was hotter than Darcy. (I don't think I've seen Sam Riley in anything else so... is that really his voice?)

Anyway, it was fun movie and I'm glad I gave it a shot. Still not going to read the book though. 

Monday Reads: CARRY ON, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE, ME BEFORE YOU, and ORIGIN

It was another great couple of weeks of reading. First, I read CARRY ON by Rainbow Rowell. If you haven't read FANGIRL, I suggest reading that first before CARRY ON. In FANGIRL, the MC Cath writes Simon Snow fanfiction. CARRY ON is an actual Simon Snow book- so it's nice to get a bit of a starting off point. 

CARRY ON started a bit slow and weird for me. I kept thinking I was reading some strange and twisted version of Harry Potter. Once I got into the story though (probably 100 pages in or so), it became its own thing and I forgot about HP. I ended up loving the book. I gave it five stars, though really it was more of a 4 and a half kind of book, just because of the beginning. 

Then I read Gina Ciocca's LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE. Another great book. It was angsty, it was full of feelings, and I loved it. It was kinda hard to watch the MC take forever to realize what she needed to realize (trying to be spoiler-free here), but that was the whole point of the book. It wasn't an easy journey for her. The only thing that left me a little disappointed is due to the format of the book- alternating flashback chapters and present day chapters- I felt like the big secret hinted at through the first half was bigger than it turned out to be. Otherwise, a great contemporary YA read.

Then I read ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes. And I don't even know what to say. Wow. Just wow. Loved it. Like crazy. Such a good book, a feels book, an ugly cry book, a funny book. A definite must-read. And I can't wait for the movie to come out. And I'm going to buy this book ASAP because I must own it. Yeah. It was amazingly good. Just trust me.

I thought that it would be it before Monday, but I ended up reading Jennifer L. Armentrout's ORIGIN over the weekend. I read the first three books in the series awhile ago, so I totally had to hit up the Recaptains blog to remember what was going on. The book was a fast read, and good. I gave it four stars. But honestly, I feel sorta sorry for it after ME BEFORE YOU. I don't think any book could quite live up.

Wednesday Writes: First Ever Book Signing!

I did my first ever book signing at the end of January, and never posted about it! What the fudge? I think this deserves it's own post. Heck, it deserves a monument. Why? Because I survived.

Just kidding. But not really. It actually went really great. Lots of people came (mostly people I knew, a few I didn't), I wasn't sitting around doing nothing (except for the first five minutes) and I sold out of books! 

The survival part comes with the amount of anxiety I had leading up to it. Some days I would be fine, all breezy and "it is what it is." But anytime I really thought about it... BAM! ANXIETY! Like an explosion. In my stomach. Like where I wanted to curl up in bed and never leave.

But I survived. It was a great experience. And the best part: now I know I can do it. Not that there won't be times when no one shows- I know there will. And I'll still get anxiety every time. But still. I KNOW I CAN DO IT.