In Which We Celebrate!

Today is the day! The day Elemental is available!

WOO HOO!!!!


I was lucky enough to snag an arc (courtesy of Yvie's hairless tummy and a temporary tattoo) and let me tell you, the book is awesome! So many great characters, and I loved them all!

You will too!

What are you waiting for? Grab your copy today!!

In Which I Recommend A Book

So, I usually don't talk about books that much on my blog. Not because I don't love books (because clearly I do) but just because I don't really have much to say about them, other than "ooh I loved this book!" or "Ooh, I don't really care for that book".

For the books I don't love, I can usually articulate why. But this isn't a book blog, and I'm not a reviewer, so I don't feel it's my place to post why I don't like a book. I'm certainly willing to talk to you about it if you ask, I'm just not going to post it on my blog, or write a review on amazon or Goodreads. It's just not my thing, yeah?

And for the books I love, I often times have a hard time expressing what it is about the book that makes me love it so much. Sometimes I can speak to a certain character or scene, but sometimes I can't. Which is why when I do occasionally talk about books I love on my blog, usually it's just a sentence that says something like "I've read this book tons. I love it. You will too" and that's it.

But even with that, sometimes I feel the need to give it a shot.

I have a local NaNoWriMo pal. His name is David John Wellman. We've never actually met, due totally to my own fault at really not making much of an effort to hit up many NaNo write ins over the years. Also he lives in the southern half of the cities and us northerners disdain the south. It's just not as cool and this is a fact.

ANYWAY. He self-pubbed his 2005 NaNo novel back in December and I told him when I got a kindle I would buy it. And I did and it was the first book I bought after the lovely Anne Gallagher's Lady's Fate.

And here I am now, to tell you all about it. Not just because he's a pal, but because I really enjoyed his book and I think you might too.

Awakened (Blue Night #1) is awesome. Straight up. I knew next to nothing about it (because I was lazy and didn't bother reading the Goodreads info) but I couldn't put it down.

Here's the Goodread info for you, in case you're as lazy as me:

Not long from now, a meteor the size of Lower Manhattan slams into the Atlantic Ocean. Tsunamis spread across the globe, killing tens of millions and crushing great cities into rubble. Rain falls everywhere for weeks. Crops fail. Governments topple. Society hangs by a thread.

Scientists had predicted it would happen someday, but they could not have predicted what happened next. For the meteor brought something with it, something neither science nor religion could possibly explain. Something that awakened a part of the human race that had lain dormant for millions of years. Some call it witchcraft. Others call it divine power. Most do not believe, until it happens to them.

Now an unlikely band of heroes must struggle, not only to survive, but to understand what they have become. Only then can they survive the day when all of humanity will become Awakened

Things I like about it:

1. Multiple character POVs. Think Stephen King. This is a style that's kind of gone out of vogue. Mostly just because the types of books that shine with this style are not as popular anymore (Horror ala Koontz, Crichton (RIP) etc)

2. Apocalypse. A meteor impact apocalypse. I mean, if you don't know that I love pocys, then you don't really know me at all.

3. Likable characters. There's not a single character I don't like in the novel. Even the ones who do terrible things to main characters only earned my sympathy.

4. Set in MN. I know I've written in the past about how this sometimes freaks me out, but in this case it didn't. 

5. An immediate desire to read the sequel (which is not yet published BOO-URNS)



So. If this sounds up your alley, I would highly recommend getting your copy asap!

In Which I List My Top 4 Fav Books

So the other day on Adam Heine's blog he mentioned his current top 5 books. Which were pretty awesome, I have to say.

I also keep a list of my top books, though for me, I can really only keep a top 4, because after that things devolve pretty quickly into chaos (especially with Harry Potter 3 and 5 both in the running).

But my top 4? Yeah, they're pretty static and have been for years.

I base this list more or less on a few things. How many times I've reread the books (because, yes, I am a person who rereads my favorite books), how many times I plan to/want to reread them again in the near future, and a vague notion of how they make me feel when I'm done reading them or while I'm reading them (short answer, extremely happy)

So, for your viewing pleasure and in no particular order, here is Sarah Ahiers's list of her favorite 4 books OF ALL TIME:


Stephen King's THE STAND

From Goodreads:

This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death.

And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abigail -- and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.
For starters, I clearly love the apocalypse, and a plague pocy is in my top 3 pocy's of choice (zombpoc naturally being number one, followed by the inexplicable loss of technology poc at number 2)

Not only do I love this book, I also love the made for TV movie as well, which I own on DVD. I love me some Mr. King, and to me, this is his best work. I will read about Stu and Larry and Nick and Tom (M O O N, that spells Moon!) any day of the week.


Jean Auel's THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR

From Goodreads:

A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly--she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge

I don't know if you know this about me, but i really love ancient history. So a fiction book with Neanderthals? Yeah. I'm there.

I've read this book so many times. I've read all of the sequels (except for the most recent one, yet) multiple times as well, but this is the best one, hands down.

I love to read about Ayla learning how to use the sling in secret, learning about herbs and plants and winning over her entire family, even though she's so completely different than the rest of them. Even the villains in this are not without compassion, and it's hard to hate them when they're just people too, though people very different from Ayla, and therefore us.

And every time i get to the end, I leave heartbroken, wishing things could be different and I want to open to page one and begin reading it all over again.

Man. I wish I was reading this book Right Now.


Marion Zimmer Bradley's THE MISTS OF AVALON

From Wikipedia:

The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine a priestess fighting to save her matriarchal celtic culture in a country where patriarchal Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Gwenhwyfar, Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women who are often marginalized in Arthurian retellings. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are supporting rather than main characters.
The Mists of Avalon is in stark contrast to other retellings of the Arthurian tales, which consistently paint Morgaine as a distant, one-dimensional evil witch or sorceress, with no real explanation given (or required) for her antipathy. In this case Morgaine is cast as a strong woman who has unique gifts and responsibilities at a time of enormous political and spiritual upheaval as she is called upon to defend her indigenous matriarchal heritage against impossible odds

Another thing you may not know about me is that I LOVE Arthurian mythology. I took a crap load of classes on it in college (and in the most awesome one of all, we got to read this book as part of the syllabus. BONUS!)

I love this retelling. Because, again, there are no villains, just people. And though some of the people, even the heroes, make terrible and heartbreaking decisions, you can't fault them for it.

Another one where we own the made for TV miniseries, though it really barely touches the awesomeness of the book (mostly, it just has a nicely cast group of attractive men playing Arthur, Lancelot and the knights. MMMM)


Monica Hughes INVITATION TO THE GAME

From Goodreads:

It's the future, and most jobs are done by machines. Now that school is over, Lisse and her friends are consigned to a bleak neighborhood for the permanently unemployed. Then they receive an invitation to the Game, which transports them to a paradise. Is it a dream or a computer simulation? Each time they play the Game, the new world seems more and more real...

Remember when you were in school and they used to have book fairs? Which was more or less bringing a bookstore to your school library so you could buy books? I bought this book at a middle school book fair and have read it so many times I've literally worn out two copies and am now on a third. I'd classify this as MG sci-fi dystopian. It's not straight up dystopian because it has an awesome and uplifting ending.
I totally need to read this again ASAP.



So there we have it! My top 4 books.

How about you?

Tell me your favorite books and why - maybe I'll add some of them to my TBR list.
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In Which I Read Books

Well, I finished my goal of reading 55 books in 2011. For awhile there I thought for sure I wouldn’t make it, but I read like 10 books in November which helped a lot. Natch.

I actually finished out the year with 58 books read. Which is pretty awesome. And I thought I’d share my top picks from the year.

In no particular order, here are my top 5 books of the year (I could’ve easily spread this to 10, but I wanted to keep this list succinct)

Divergent

Have you read this book yet? No? Why not? Because it’s excellent. I’m pretty particular about the dystopian I like, but throw in a lot of action and badassery and I was hooked from page one. I was lucky enough to snag an arc of this and have passed it on to other members of the fam to read.

Soulless

Steampunk, Victorian paranormal?  Yeah, sign me up. LOVE these books! It’s such a refreshing take on the same old Vampires and Werewolves paranormal we’re all used to. I mean, I love Sookie as much as the next person (though I’ve officially give up on Anita Blake) but these books made me fall in love with the idea all over again.

The Liar Society

I used to read mystery when I was in middle school. Then I moved onto horror, then SFF and the rest is history. If not for “knowing” L and L through the blogosphere, I don’t know that I would’ve picked this book up if I’d seen it in a bookstore. Just because it’s not my usual cup of tea. And that would’ve been a travesty. I LOVED this book. Could not put it down. Who knew YA mystery could entertain me so much? I cannot wait for the sequel(s)

A Companion to Wolves

Sometimes I read YA to the detriment of everything else. I forget that I love adult SFF. This book reminded me, hard, how much I love it. And I don’t know why. Lot’s of guy on guy action, giant wolves, Vikings, etc. Loved this book. I made Twin read it right away and she also loved it. Can’t wait to read the sequel (it’s in the mail, shipping from B and N as I write this)

Blood Red Road

I picked up this book at a Border’s closing sale. It was the last weekend and I though I’d pop in to see what they had for extra cheap. They had a whole stack of these books and though it sounded kinda meh, it was only a few dollars so I thought I’d give it a shot. Great decision. Completely different that the back cover made it seem and I loved it. Love the voice of the MC, loved the plot, loved everything about it. Will definitely be buying the sequel.

So, that’s the top 5. Many were close to making the list. What about you? Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What was your favorite book you read last year?
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In Which I Got Books

How was your holiday? Was it fun? Did you spend time with your fam? I hope it was rockin.

Mine was good, but too short, as always. It’s great getting time off from work, but it sucks when you then have to go back to work. Luckily this week and next week is a short week for me because of New Year’s. Yay!

I got a lot of books for Christmas. Which is awesome. It was especially timely because I had pretty much read everything on my TBR pile and was forced to scrounge around a bit to find something to read before Christmas.

Now, though, the TBR pile has been refreshed with 8 new books. And I LOVE it when you have brand new books and you want to read them all RIGHT NOW. Then you have to make a tough decision. Which great book should you read first?

But, that’s the type of problem I like to have.

Also, besides the gifts from the fam, I was also gifted with a brand new shiny idea. And I already LUUUURVE it. Seriously. Cannot wait to write it. But it’s get to sit and ferment for awhile while I’m working on edits for both Glimpse AND Break Free. I also haven’t given up on All That Remains either.

So, yay for good gifts from the fam and the muse!

What about you? Did you get any books you’re excited to read?

In Which I Stop Reading

If you're reading the title of this post, no, I don't mean in general. I mean, stop reading a specific book.

No, I'm not going to say which book it is, though possibly you could figure it out with some clever googling. Also I never got around to putting it on my sidebar either, which ended up being a stroke of luck. I've met the author and she's super awesome and nice and smart and I've read another of her books and loved it, so it's not her or her writing, it's just this specific book.

I was reading the book, got 100 pages in, and just decided I didn't want to bother finishing the book. The book, which was urban fantasy, more or less, was filled with obscure historical and literary references I couldn't follow. It seemed like I needed to have an MFA in history AND literature to even follow the conversations the MCs were having with each other. It was like listening to inside jokes. You know it's supposed to be funny, but are missing some historical understanding - an "in" so to speak.

An example from the book:

"It was then I thought of Rudolph Rassendyll and shook free the shroud of emotions, of questions I could not ask. Shades of Prisoner Of Zenda!"

OK, I've never read Prisoner of Zenda, which is an adventure novel written in 1894, so I don't follow either of these references. Yes, this line fits with the MC and her experiences, but how can I understand the MC and her motivations if I can't even follow her references? And this is just one example in a book FULL of them.
Still, I'd wade through stuff like this if the plot was exciting or something, but I was 100 pages in and it was just barely hinting at excitement to come.

I think giving a novel 100 pages is plenty to decide if I want to keep going with it.

I never used to do this. There used to be a day, and it wasn't that long ago, where, if I started a book, I finished it no matter what.

Now, not so much. There are just so many great books out there that I want to read, I just can't really waste time on reading something I'm not enjoying. Also, because, if I'm not enjoying the book, I take a lot longer to read it, so it takes even MORE time away from reading something I might enjoy, or even love.

So what about you? Do you finish everything you start? Or do you ever stop? And how long do you give the book before you give up on it?
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In Which I List My Favorites

Anne McCaffrey, over her career, won both a Hugo award AND a Nebula award. She has been inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and she did more for women in sci-fi (both characters, AND writers) than almost anyone else. For all of us women who write genre fiction, a large part of our success is owed to Anne McCaffrey. Without her and her stories, there may not have been room for the strong female heroines we love, or for us, their writers.

The overall plot of the Pern series has to do with the dragons and Thread. Thread is a living organism that falls from space every 250 years. The fall lasts for four hours at a time over different parts of the planet and lasts for 50 years. Thread devours anything organic (except rock, and metal) and the only thing that kills it is fire or water.
The dragons were created to fight Thread in the sky before it can land on the ground and destroy crops, animals and people. The dragons can breathe fire and also possess the ability to teleport, so they can destroy Thread in the air and pop in and out before Thread manages to touch and devour them or their riders.
That's Pern in a nutshell.

All right. Let's talk about my favorite Pern books. For my list, I'm only considering books written purely by Anne McCaffrey. Of course, that still leaves 18 books to choose from. Not an easy task, but one I dove into.

Here we go, my top 5 Dragonriders of Pern books, in no particular order.

DRAGONSINGER (published 1977)


Plot: Menolly travels to the Harper Hall, a music conservatory for harpers (minstrels/educators). Menolly finds life in the Harper Hall challenging. She must at first live with a group of paying female students who are catty and mean and also finds herself torn between master musicians who want her to specialize in their techniques. The situation is complicated by her nine fire lizards, small dragon-like creatures recently rediscovered in Pern.

The Harper Hall trilogy is the YA part of Pern Saga. It's an easy starting place for anyone who wants to give Pern a try. It's certainly where both myself and Twin started. Of the three books, Dragonsigner, the middle one, is my favorite. I love Menolly as a character. She's both self-effacing and humble but also strong and not afraid to punch a boy in the face. The best part about this book is the life at the Harper Hall. I love books that center around schools. I could read about Menolly going to her music classes any day of the week. The only thing I don't like about this book is that it's too short. I wish there was more.

DRAGONSDAWN (1988)




Plot: The planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists—seeking to return to an agrarian-based simpler way of life. Shortly after arriving on the planet, however, a new threat appeared – Thread, an organism that falls from the sky and devours anything organic. With time running out, the colonists set out to bio-engineer Pernese lifeforms that appear to instinctively react to the Thread – the dragonets that colonists have adopted as pets.

This book is firmly in the science-fiction category, with space travel and technology that is not present in most other pern books. It's also the first, chronologically, in the series (barring a short story or two). I love this book because it's the beginning of everything. We get to see the dragons genetically engineered. We get to see the tragic first threadfall when so many colonists were killed. I also love colonization stories, so that helps a lot with my love of this novel.

THE WHITE DRAGON (1987)



Plot: The White Dragon follows the coming of age story of Jaxom the young Lord of Ruatha, who had accidentally impressed the white dragon, Ruth. As Jaxom grows up, he has to deal with the difficulty of being both a Lord Holder and a dragonrider. While fighting Thread, Jaxom falls ill with a potentially deadly sickness. This leads him to recuperate in Cove Hold, where he discovers some of the mysteries that the Ancients, the ancestors of the Pernese, left behind.

Ruth, is, hands-down, my favorite dragon. He has more personality than a lot of the larger dragons, due to his runt-like nature. Jaxom is also a very likeable character and it's fun to watch both he and Ruth grow up to become leaders of Pern

DOLPHINS OF PERN (1994)


Plot: Readis, the Paradise River Lord Holder's son, is saved by talking dolphins ("shipfish") as a young boy after falling into the sea and subsequently develops a strong fascination with the dolphins. T'lion, dragonrider of Bronze Gadareth, also develops an interest after being involved in an early dolphin encounter. The two befriend each other due to their shared interest and, in their own ways, defy family, Hold and Weyr to maintain their friendships with dolphins and convince others of the dolphins' intelligence and ability to speak.

This book is just a lot of fun, because the dolphins are adorable. They're funny and entertaining and their interactions with the dragons is worth a book alone. I always feel like this book is too short, though. Right when it ends is when I want to read more, even if it's just boring technical stuff. I'd read it, because I want to know how all of Pern deals with the reintroduction of dolphins into their society.

ALL THE WYERS OF PERN (1991)


Plot: AIVIS, the AI machine left behind by the original colonists, is re-discovered and sets about on his original task, to discover a way to use the dragons to stop Thread once and for all. But not everyone trusts the talking machine and its new technology, and factions of people seek to destroy it, even if it means Threadfall and Pern's dependence on the dragons and their riders must continue forever.

This is, more or less, the final book in the overall plot of the pern series. The dragons were bred to fight thread in the sky, but they were only supposed to be a temporary solution. What I love about this book is all the characters learning about their history, especially the people and events that take place in Dragonsdawn. It's like a super crossover. But it's also sad for many different reasons, so I both love picking it up, and loathe it, because I know what happens at the end.

BONUS BOOK
THE MASTERHARPER OF PERN (1998)


Plot: The story of Robinton's life as he grows from a boy, choosing whether to be a harper or a dragonrider, and his subsequent position of Masterharper of Pern and the most important man on the planet.

Yes, I cheated a bit. This is a sixth book. I couldn't put it above any of my other favorites, but it felt wrong to leave it off. Robinton is the heart of most the Pern books. He is kind and funny and plays a main character is almost all the ninth-pass books. I love this book because we get to focus on Robinton and his life, even though it's a life full of sadness and tinged with regret.


So that's it! Those are my top Pern books. If you're a fan, do you agree or disagree with any of my choices? And if you've never read the Pern series before, I really hope you one day decide to take the plunge. You won't regret it, I promise.
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In Which I Remember Anne McCaffrey

I've been a long time fan of Anne McCaffrey. I can honestly say she's one of the main authors who steered me towards my love of fantasy. I probably would've gotten there without her, but certainly not as quickly. It would have been a different path, and one not as happy, or exciting.

I knew she was old. Even as a kid I knew one day she would die, and there would be no more Pern books written by her. And though, yes, Todd McCaffrey has taken on the mantle, he's just not as good of a writer as his mom.

If you asked me if I'd rather be a jedi, go to school at Hogwarts and become a witch, or impress a dragon on Pern and be a dragonrider, I would pick dragonrider every time. There's seriously no competition.







my favorite picture of Ruth and Jaxom



When I'd heard that she died, it was extra sad because I had, quite literally, just finished a re-read of most the Pern series, something I used to do every winter, but had taken a long break from. I read 12 books in less than two months. That's how much I love the Pern series. I could not put them down, even though I had read them all countless times before. Even though I knew what would happen. That, to me, is firm evidence of her skill as a writer.




Lessa, bringing the oldtimers 400 years into the future


Anne McCaffrey offered this nugget of wisdom to inspiring writers:

“First — keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can’t not write. Second, follow Heinlein’s rules for getting published: 1. Write it. 2. Finish it. 3. Send it out. 4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check. There are variations on that, but that’s basically what works.”


Wednesday I'll have a quick list of my favorite Pern books and why. Though it will be hard to choose.
I've read many of her other series, as well, but Pern's the only one I come back to, over and over again.

I know there was one final book planned for the ninth pass story arc, tentatively titled "After the Pass is Over". I wait for it eagerly, because I never felt like their story was done, even though the main plot had closed. I didn't care about that. I wanted more of Jaxom and Ruth, and F'nor and F'lar and Lessa. I could read about Menolly writing songs at the Harper Hall for the rest of my life and never be bored of it. I laugh out loud at the adorableness of the Pern dolphins and their intentional puns. Every time I read a dragon impression story I want to be there.

But now, that's all done.

Dear Anne McCaffrey. You changed my life for the better. Though the Red Star has passed and thread has gone, Pern seems emptier without you in it.

Thank you for the books you leave behind. I will always dream of dragons in the sky.

In Which I Provide An Update

So it's been awhile since I've given an update on my goals and junk and today seemed like a good day to do so.



see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!



I'm still querying Glimpse, though I've decided to take a bit of a break to make a change in the MS, then get back on the query horse. I'm hoping things will be back on track by the end of august (assuming amazing things don't happen before then and I get an offer or something. ohmygodcouldyouimagine?!)

I'm in the midst of my first draft of Break Free, and I'm totally loving it. I had a bit of a rough time with it the last week and a half, a combination of a tough couple of scenes to organize and write combined with a ticking personal deadline and a busy dayjob, but I think I've managed to power through the worst of it. I hit 50k earlier this week and suspect I may have hit or passed the half way point of the story. I won't know for sure, though, until its done. Just because I'm a plotter, doesn't mean there's no mystery. There's tons of mystery!

My current goals are to try and finish the first draft of Break Free by August. I don't know if I'll hit this goal (part of the reason I was having troubles with the writing) but I'm still going to try. Once I do finish the first draft, I plan to put it aside and make the change on Glimpse. Once that's done I'll send Glimpse back into query waters and start to revise Break Free. I was really hoping to be able to finish revisions on Break Free before NaNo, but the clock is ticking and I don't think that will be possible. I still have plans to participate in NaNo, at least right now I do, but we'll see how things are going closer to November.

I'm behind on my goal to read 55 books this year. Not too far behind, (by the end of July I should have 32 read and I'm at about 28, 29) but still. It's no big deal if I don't make this goal. It's just for fun.

So how about you? I want to know where you're at with your writing goals? TELL ME!

In Which I'm Behind

I've been working really hard lately (as evidenced by last Wednesday's post) on all things writerly. Which is great, I love having the feeling that I'm accomplishing things.

One thing, though, that writing tends to get in the way of, is reading.
Normally I'm a pretty fast reader, but lately I've been chugging through books at a ridiculously slow rate, well for me anyway.

I've been reading Behemoth for over two weeks now, and even though I'm loving it, I'm still only on like chapter thirteen.

Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but I set that goal to read 55 books in 2011. So far, I've read 13, which is a little over 3 a month. That is not even close to cutting it.




I think what I need to do is get some more of the Ranger's Apprentice series (LOVE IT). Those are short and fast, so I could read some of those, update my list and feel like I'm moving in the right direction.

The only problem with that plan, though, is I already have a huge TBR pile with some great books I'm excited to read (an ARC of divergent, as example) so I don't think it would be fair to get some new books and move them to the top of the pile, just to inflate my numbers a bit and make me feel better.

Sigh. Ah well. Clearly I just need to get down to it.

How's your TBR pile coming?

In Which I Read A Book

Guess what I finished up during my short hiatus?

That's right! Elana Johnson's Possession!

I don't want to get into details too much, because I know not everyone has access to an arc, but I will say it was fun and sassy and filled with cool tech that I want. Like a cube that makes food you wish to eat.

Who doesn't want that?

No one, that's who.

Also, there's been a lot of talk on the blogsphere about how great bad boy Jag is in the book, and yeah, I like him OK. But know who I really like? Jag's brother Pace. MMMM, much more to my taste.

Good times. Good times.

In Which I Get An Exciting Package In The Mail

So, the other night, Twin comes home from work and gets the mail (which she typically does).
She comes inside with her arms full of packages. One of them was for her, but two of them were for me.

Now, one, I was expecting. I won a Divergent arc from the lovely Rachel Alpine.
BUT, the other package... the other package was a mystery. I wasn't expecting anything else. So, needless to say, I was super excited, because who doesn't like mystery packages sent through the mail?

I scoured the return address, hoping to get a clue.
Simon and Schuster. What? That made it even more mysterious than before! What would Simon and Schuster be sending me?

So I tore into it. And what I found inside was shocking, completely unexpected, and beautiful...







BAM! I couldn't believe that S&S sent me an arc of Elana's book Possession! I was immediately elated. But then, I got to worrying, afraid I had promised to do something with it and forgotten. So I emailed the lovely author herself. She reminded me that way back in October, she had a list where you could enter your name if you were interested in an arc. She then took that list and sent it to her publisher and they decided who to send arcs to. I guess I was just one of the lucky people!

I'm reading it as we speak, so once I'm done I'm sure I'll have a lot of wonderful, glowing things to say about it, so there will definitely be blog post in the near future. Man, I can only hope that Simon & Shuster decides to send me even more arcs in the future!

In Which I'm Back

Here I am, back from my week long blog hiatus. It was quite awesome, let me tell you and I accomplished a lot of stuff.





Things I got done last week:

1. Read 2 books (Ship Breaker was excellent)
2. Finished watching Veronica Mars (sadface that it's over.)
3. Got a good chunk of reading done on the two manuscripts I'm beta reading
4. Cleaned the house a bit.
5. Heard back from almost all my Beta Readers about Glimpse and have some good ideas for some changes.
6. Drew a picture (it's not done yet)


And that's about it, but that's not bad for a week away from blogging.

I also have to continue working on my "agents to query" list. I've gone through all the agents on agent query that rep both Fantasy and YA, (about 70) and now I'm working my way through the agents that have their genres just listed as YA. There's like another 250 of those.
Needless to say, it's a lot of agents to wade through.

So, how are things with you? Did I miss anything super exciting while I was away?

In Which I Turn A Year Older

Well today at 4:32 PM I will turn a year older. At 4:34 PM Twin will turn a year older.

Yep, we've reached 30.

Good times!

We had the last few days off from work and played a lot of racquetball, ate at delicious restaurants (probably too much) and played a lot of Halo: Reach.

We also got new tattoos!

We decided to get nerdy twin ones, cuz we're nerds like that.

Here's Twin's:




Here's mine:





And by our tattoos combined, we make a heart!







We got most of our birthday presents from the fam, though a few are still on their way. Check out all these awesome books I've gotten so far!





It was actually really hard to pick which one to read next. I can't wait to get through them all.

What about you, do you do anything fun on your birthday?

In Which There Is Too Much Conflict?

So a few months ago I wrote about how, though I loved The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, I felt the pace was just a bit too fast. I mean, I understood why it was effective. I literally could not put them down. But I like my stories to let me enjoy them a bit and a manic pace takes much of the leisurely love out of the equation.

Still, as a writer, better to have a manic pace than a slow one.

I think I've found a book that has the same issue, but in regards to conflict instead of pace.

I'm reading A Game of Thrones and there is so so much conflict I actually want to hide a bit.

Too much conflict you say? No such thing!

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up (HA! I love you Inigo Montoya)

I love the characters in this book. Love them so much. I want things to go well for them and I want them to be happy and smiling etc.

I most certainly don't want bad things to happen to them.

And they do, ohhh yes they do.

It got to a point the other night where something HORRIBLE happened (not that I didn't see it coming, but there were a few betrayals that were shocking) and I actually had to close the book and set it aside (much like I did with HP 7 when (HARRY POTTER SPOILER ALERT!!) Fred died. Of course, I could only put that down for like 5 minutes. But still...)

I'm still upset about that...

It was just too much horribleness happening to the characters. And to make it worse, this is book 1 of 4 so I know NOTHING will be resolved until I read 3 more novels.

Sigh. Just too much conflict.

Of course, I picked it back up after a bit and continued on. Still a lot of bad stuff happening but I can take a breath now.

So this is why I don't like too much conflict. Even if there was just one little nice thing that happened for the characters it would carry me through the rest of the trouble. But over the top conflict makes me have to set the book down.

But not forever. Just for a moment. Then I continue on.

In Which We Have A Ghost...?

So typically myself, Twin and I (and our Mom if we're around her) like to partake in April Fool's Day festivities. Many a shirt has been soaked by the sink's spray nozzle being rubber banded and no one will forget the "short sheeting incident of 2009" in which a new prank combined with Brother's exhaustion resulted in hilarity.

But this year we all forgot about pranks. Brother had just gotten back from visiting Youngest Sister in Oprahland and Twin was in San Diego for work. I was busy with work tasks and just didn't have the energy to come up with any pranks.

On my lunch break I was feeling stressed and wanted to read something, but not Manuscript Makeover. I decided I would take a break on that and read one of my YA or MG book sitting on my TBR pile.

In fact, I wanted to read Incarceron, which has been sitting on the top of my pile since it arrived in the mail.

So I walked to my room to get the book. Except it wasn't there.
I checked every single book in that pile (even though I had seen it on the top of that pile the night before) and none of them were Incarceron.

So first I was confused. Perhaps I had already had the plan to read Incarceron and had carried it somewhere? (this was highly unlikely as my memory skills are pretty great. My memory for events is almost a lame super power) So I checked the kitchen, the dining room (where things accrue) the living room, even the bathroom, in case I had had it in my head to take a bath and read it.

Nothing.

So then I started to wonder if perhaps Brother had not forgotten about April Fool's Day like the rest of us.
I texted our mom and asked her if Brother had mentioned playing any pranks on us to her. She texted back that she hadn't heard anything and that she, too, had forgotten all about it.

I texted Twin in San Diego, wondering if perhaps she had borrowed it, even though I knew she was reading Under the Dome because it took up so much space in her carryon.

Nope.

So then I went downstairs and poked around Brother's room, looking for anywhere he might have stashed it.

Nothing.

I finally broke down and sent him a text. I thought about asking him if he had it, but I knew that if he had, indeed, hidden it, he could deny actually "having" it if it wasn't in his possession.

Instead, I asked if he had hidden it.

I didn't expect a response since he was at work, but I had done everything I could. I went back to work, a bit miffed and frustrated.

That night, Twin came home and Brother denied that he had hidden the book.

I argued with him, there was no other explanation. I certainly didn't hide my own book and Twin was hours away.

He pointed out that he revelled in his pranks and certainly would have taken credit for any prank he pulled. Instead, he began to think that I was pulling a prank on him, by hiding my own book and blaming him.

I don't like to play mind games like that.

So I was left with a mystery - I didn't want to believe brother, but he seemed sincere and he would certainly want to claim his prank victory if he had hidden the book.

That night when I was fixing the sheets on my bed, I found the book stuffed underneath Yvie's dog bed. Underneath my own pillow I found my pedegg - it had apparently been missing as well, though I had seen it the night before right next to Incarceron on my nightstand.

I was completely flummoxed.

I mean maybe, MAYBE, I had grabbed Incarceron that morning, planning to read it, and suddenly decided to fluff Yvie's dog bed and set the book on the bed and accidentally put Yvie's dog bed on top of the book, and then forgot all about it. But all those events seem a bit ludicrous.
Also, I certainly wouldn't have stashed a pedegg under my pillow.

So what happened? I have no idea.

If I truly believed we had a ghost in the house, I'd be a bit freaked to sleep at night. And really nothing else has happened in the almost 3 years we've lived here (not counting a time I saw a ghost Yvie...). But I have no explanation as to how the book and the pedegg were "stashed away" amongst my pillows and bed.

hello brown lady of raynham hall

So - anyone have any unexplainable things happen to them? Even though I'm terrified of ghosts, I'm also extremely fascinated by them. So spill!

In Which I Read About Revising

So I (finally) finished reading Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. I actually had to take a break in the middle of it and read something else for a bit (Hunger Games and Catching Fire, which of course only gave me a 3 day break).

Overall the book was fantastic. But it was very heavy and not really for light reading.
Still I dog eared many a page to read again regarding Foxfire revisions. I also liked that she had a copy-editing section and also a section on how to write a synopsis and query.

Though she did say in the query section that you should tell how the book ends, which I don't agree with at all. As far as I know, you want to tantalize the agent to read more. If you tell them all of what happens, then they don't need to.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a no-holds-bar book and what to look for when revising. It covers everything from POV to voice to line edits and chapter breaks. It was exactly what I was looking for, especially when the last revision book I read just glossed over things I already knew how to do.

I think I need a break from writing books for awhile. I'm going to tackle all the fiction on my TBR pile first, before I hit another writing book (and I have a few more of those on my TBR pile as well.)

Anyone else read any good revision or writing books lately?

In Which I'm Hungry For Some Games

I finished reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (I'm team Peeta, if anyone is wondering).
After so much hype spread their way, I have to say that I was not disappointed.
I took about 2 days to read The Hunger Games and 1 day for Catching Fire. I think Catching Fire was my favorite, just by a smidgen.

I mean, a dystopian series where children fight to the death? Yeah count me in for that book.

Look at this awesome pic! Credit goes to Clio Chiang

The only thing I had a "problem" with (and I use quotes because I'm not quite sure this is a problem) was the pace.

It was so super duper fast.

Which of course led to me reading them both in 3 days. That's not overly a big deal, I have a lot of books to read and I had set aside Manuscript Makeover to take a crack at these, so the fast pace let me get back to that book quickly.

The fast pace gave the books a "can't put this down" quality, which is certainly good for the author. I actually had to debate how late I should stay up and continue reading The Hunger Games - was 11pm too late when I have to get up at 6:20 to work out? No it wasn't, even though I regretted it in the morning.

What I don't like with such a fast pace is that the story is done almost before you get a chance to really get into it. Because I'm reading it so fast, because I just cannot put it down, I feel like it's over too soon. With a good book, I want time to savor it, not be forced to finish it as fast as possible.

Also, because of their fast pace, they really interfered with other things I needed to do. Like editing my WIP.
Who has time to edit while reading the Hunger Games? Not me, apparently.

So is the fast pace a problem? Yes and no. No because it worked successfully in the books and I could not put them down. Yes because I read the books too quickly and they interfered with other things.

Either way, they were very enjoyable and I look forward to Mocking Jay coming out in August. Where I'm sure I'll read it in one day.

What about you? Have you read The Hunger Games or another book that you wish wasn't so fast paced?

In Which I Receive Books

So I had been hoarding a various assortment of gift cards I had won on different blogs in contests. Once I got them all together I went on a bit of a book splurge online.

Know what's awesome? Getting books in the mail, is what.

Here are the books that came all pretty and shiny and new.

I've added them to my pile of books TBR on my nightstand. Said pile still contains at least one book from X-Mas, not to mention a few specific books that came to me in the mail after winning a few other blog contests.

I have to say, blog contests may be the best thing ever invented.

Speaking of which - I've reached the amazing amount of 100 followers. CRAZY!

Next week (Monday) I will post about my first ever writing contest! Get your pens ready.

I can promise you one thing about that contest, the prizes will be Many and AWESOME!

Yvie will be in tomorrow for the usual Friday Fun Words. See you there!

PS: Check out Palindrome's blog post relating to frequent (and briefly missing) commenter Joan Crawford. HILARIOUS

PPS: Dear spell check - when I write "hte" please know that what I really mean is "the". It would really help if you could correct that. kai thx? bye

In Which I Am Delayed

I'm behind on editing.

I know, I know, I was so excited to get started and I'm already behind? But I have some pretty good reasons as to why.

I'm still not done with reading the manuscript. I'm about half way there. It's one thing to read a mass market paperback. That is easy to carry around. But lugging around 300 pages of printer paper is not as easy, even if I've broken it up into four parts.

Also, Sundays are typically my day to do writerly things, but this last weekend we hit the Home and Garden Show. After hours of walking I came away with a new pillow, a garden gopher, a new set of earrings and a cute little owl statue.

my earrings

Twin's earrings

I've wanted an owl like this since I saw a similar one on Things I Yell At You

I was also reading a book on editing, which I hoped would get me in the mood. But the book was OK, and 98% of the stuff they suggested you do to edit your fiction novel was stuff that I already knew to do. So, meh.

So these are the foremost reasons as to why I'm behind on my revision process. Still, no rush I guess.

Anyone else behind on their goals?


Also, Al from Publish or Perish awarded me The Sunshine Award, which was awfully nice of him.

I'll be passing this on to Sonshine Thoughts (because it's fitting, right?)
And AchingHope (who is hilarious)