TinasBookReviews: July 2011

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Saturday Spotlight with Jamie Buckley and a Crazy Giveaway !!

Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature hosted by yours truly and celebrates authors. Focusing on Indie, self-published and debut authors, we love them all. This week I have the pleasure of introducing readers to:

JAIME BUCKLEY
~ya author of Wanted: Hero: Prelude to a Hero~

Creating accidental heroes on purpose.

by Jaime Buckley- July 2011

People have been asking why I decided to become a YA author.

The truth? I converted to writing when a car accident ended my cartooning career. I never intended to be a writer of novels. Writers were the ones with clever things to say, PhD’s or mental instabilities. Ok, maybe I could have been a writer after all…but it was never planned. My dream was always to be a cartoonist. It was my love, my talent and my passion. Wanted Hero—was my second self-published story which took off faster than I thought possible. 750,000 visitors our first year online which grew into 12 comics, 2 graphic novels and readers in 60+ countries. I even got to talk with and encourage 15,000 kids a week online, teaching them how to make comics just like me. It was my own personal heaven, which supported my family of 10 at the time (yup, 8 kids—have 11 now).

…it was incredible.

Then the universe said ‘time to take a detour’…and in less than 30 seconds my life changed as a Ford LTD hit me head on and ripped my body (and hands) apart.

In 2009 my oldest daughter and sweet wife encouraged me to go back to Wanted Hero and write the story as a novel series instead.

An author? Me? HAHAHA!! Nooooo. Dumb idea. I still use my kids to change the channels on the TV for crying out loud…but those girls were persistent, pushing and prodding for the better part of a year before I gave in. The thought of writing a book was painful to me. A picture is worth a thousands words. Crap, that was easy (or at least it was). Now they were telling me I had to come up with 1000 !%$@#! words to create a flippin picture!?! That’s not so easy. But there was something eating at me. Something big.

So once my wife and daughter converted me to the idea, I made two specific goals to work towards with a frenzied passion: My first goal as a writer was critical: Don’t suck (still crossing my fingers on that one).

My second goal as a writer was a bit more complicated: create heroes by accident. Yeah, I know—the first one obviously makes sense, but the second?

Let me try to explain.

My life growing up was ‘less than perfect’. Filled with extreme violence, embarrassment and ridicule. Unique and sometimes terrifying challenges that I did finally conquer over time…but as I got older, got married and had kids of my own—I saw others struggling with the exact same challenges. It tormented me to see youth gasping for breath in an environment unwilling to help them. Amazing youth, who weren’t being offered assistance, guidance or true hope for a better future. Known as ‘the comic book dad’, I naturally started thinking of stories or characters youth could relate to. Someone who would face near impossible odds, but work through each challenge in such a way as to be a guide…while the reader was having a total blast.

An average person who would become a ‘hero’, by accident.

The story started creating itself…and I started sharing my ideas with others. Modeling characters in the story after real people I admired—those who fought against the painful aspects of life and won. Kids started quoting the story, the characters and sharing their experiences with others. Having conversations with their parents and friends…and over time, I received fan mail from youth and parents with amazing news:

They started believing in possibilities.

They started believing in probabilities.

They started believing in their potential.

…and they started believing in themselves.

It’s my hope that through a good story, good characters and great experiences…Wanted Hero might be able to help someone, somewhere, find that hero inside them and give them encouragement to set it free. To be amazing. To be themselves and shine. To realize at some point in their lives that they can affect those around them in a positive, magnificent way…and actually become a hero to those in need.

My definition of a hero is simple:

A ‘hero’ is anyone willing to do for another, that which they cannot do for themselves. In the end, I decided to become a YA author because I believe in the potential of the human soul.

…and I wanted to create heroes by accident.

God knows this world needs them.

Find out more about Jaime at www.wantedhero.com

~ Thanks Jaime for stopping by, your story is so inspiring and I wish you all the best and success in your YA writing career. I hope others read this and spread the word about Hero.......

MEGA GIVEAWAY

So from that post you all know Jaime is kind of full of awesome and today he is giving away 20 (TWENTY!!) E-book copies of Wanted: Hero- Prelude to a Hero away to my readers. This is open to everyone......is all you need to do is leave a comment and a way to reach you either by email or your info page! Winners will be drawn August 13, 2011.....Thanks and good-luck!!!!

Wanted- Hero: Prelude to a Hero

by Jaime Buckley

May 2011 by On the Fly Pub

Wendell is a young man who learns what his potential is while on a strange, enchanted world with a funny old wizard and ugly troll to mentor and guide him. Prelude to a Hero, the debut book about how Wendell came to be the one expected to save an entire world. . . by accident.

**Photo courtesy of Weheartit

Friday, July 29, 2011

Tgif {6}- Character Envy

Tgif is a great weekly meme hosted and created by Ginger at Greads! This feature lets us wind up the week and poses a weekly question pertaining to books, blogging and what have you. This weeks question is:

Character Envy: If you could be one character from a book, who would you choose & why?

Oh that's easy...... I would be Gabriela Bentarrini from The River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren.

Waterfall, Cascade and Torrent to date are by far my favorite YA's of 2011 and have taken a coveted spot in my all time favorite reads. I admired Gabi's character so much, due to the fact that not only was she young but she was smart and had enough bravery in her heart to impress William Wallace.

She fought for her family, she fought for justice and she fought for true love. The girl was all around kick-butt with a sword and had inner and outer beauty to capture a wealthy handsome medieval Lord, as well as bring hope to an entire nation. Of course while honor and courage made Gabi who she was, just having Marcello would be worth diving in and being Gabi for awhile. I have a picture of who Gabi is my mind but its really hard to try and find a human face that matches what my imagination has conjured up. I think the closest that comes to my mind is actress Kate Mara with darker hair. ~I love this picture of Kate Mara, its posted at IMDb.

If you haven't read this time-travel series yet, its truly a gem in a string of YA's.

Saturday Spoltlight- Win The Family That Wasn't

Mondays Bite- Twilight Discussion #4

Review- Dracula in Love

Fairy Tale Day with Heather Dixon

Book Spotlights/ Wholesale Costumes Giveaway

Tgif

Have a Fantastic Weekend Everyone!!!

and go meet Marcello...

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Faeries, Fairytales & Sparkles- Giveaway- Wholesale Costumes

Faeries, Fairytales & Sparkles- First Giveaway.

Today's giveaway is coming from the folks at Wholesale Costumes who are giving two of my readers free memberships to the websites. Membership will give you: Get deals, discounts, and chances to review costumes. This is open to everyone including international readers. Following is not necessary but appreciated. Please just leave a comment for an entry.

I myself choose to review the Plum Pixie Costume for my little princess at home.

(Photo is from website) This was a beautiful little set. My Chloe has adored every minute playing in it and I can tell from the wear since we received it has held up amazing. The wings are detachable, so she has worn those more around the house, out to the store and has used the head-piece for fake weddings and princess stuff. Needless to say, I was impressed with the quality of the costume and will use Wholesale for Halloween this year.

Check out all the costumes at:

http://www.wholesalecostumeclub.com/girls-costumes/fairytale/plum-pixie-child-R18088.html

http://www.wholesalecostumeclub.com/girls-costumes
http://www.wholesalecostumeclub.com/kids-costumes

This Weeks CFBA- Book Spotlights!!

Canary Island Song by Robin Jones Gunn

July 5, 2011 by Howard Books

When Carolyn’s grown daughter tells her she needs to “get a life,” Carolyn decides it’s time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother’s home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn’s mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn’s visit makes for a perfect surprise. The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It’s been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan’s intense blue-gray eyes. Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night? Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?

Love Finds You in Amana Iowa

by Melanie Dodson

June 1, 2011 by Summerside Press

With a backdrop of the community of The Amana Colonies, the Civil War, and a great love story, Melanie Dobson’s new historical fiction title LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA both enlightening and entertaining. The novel is set in the United States during the turmoil of the 1860s. As the rest of the nation is embroiled in the Civil War, the Amana Colonies have remained at peace with a strong faith in God and pursuit of community, intertwined with hard work, family life and the building of their colony.Amalie Wiese is travelling to the newly built village of Amana in 1863. When she arrives in the colonies she finds that her fiancée, Friedrich has left to fight with the Union Army. Amalie fears for his safety as she also struggles with his decision to abandon the colony’s beliefs. Matthias, Frederick’s friend, stays back in Amana to work in the colonies. But there is something wrong with Matthias; he always seems angry at Amalie when there is no simple explanation for him to act that way. The goods that colonies manufacture are much needed supplies for the war effort and Matthias decides to deliver the goods to the soldiers. When he leaves, Amalie realizes that her fear for Matthias’s safety is equally as strong. What will become of Friedrich, will Matthias return safely, and will Amalie marry Friedrich? LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is a richly told story of life in the Amana Society and the people who live and love there.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Faeries, Fairytales & Sparkles- Featuring Author Heather Dixon

Celebrating Everything fun in fairy tales, the world of faeries and anything that sparkles!! With some great giveaways and fun stops from fabulous authors, this next month will randomly feature everything I love about this wonderful genre.....

So Today begins a month long event called Faeries, fairy tales and Sparkles.....I have a few things planned and cant wait to share some of the wonderful interviews authors have participated in. To kick off the event I have the pleasure of welcoming Heather Dixon author of Entwined to the blog...

Hi Heather!! Welcome to the blog, to begin please tell us about yourself!

I am pretty boring. Mostly I sit inside all day with the blinds drawn and draw in the dark or stare at the wall.

Sometimes I talk to the lampshade. Sometimes he talks back.

TBR- Wow I would like to meet that Lampshade...does he do any laundry on the side? Probably not...anyways... Im dying to know, What Inspired you to write Entwined?

HD- When I started Entwined, I was in my junior year of college and working towards my animation degree (I work as a storyboard artist). At the time I was also taking a bunch of ballroom dance classes.

So being fully entrenched in the world of art and dance, when the beautifully visual, motion-oriented story of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" came to me, I couldn't get it out of my head. I'd never written before--notreally written (I'd mostly stuck to screenplays and short stories)--so I had to learn quite a bit within the next four years.

TBR- So besides ballroom dancing, storyboarding and screenplays.....Have any author or books inspired your work?

HD- My number 1 influence would be Terry Pratchett. I remember picking up "Going Postal" in the first few months of writing, and being stunned. He broke rules in his writing, teased and twisted words, and was funny as heck. I think reading his stuff gave me the courage to push the envelope in my own writing, and not be afraid to be different. I still look to his books for inspiration.

TBR- If you could cast Entwined as a movie who would play the lead roles?

Ooo fun! Ok!

For the King, Charles Dance. This is EXACTLY how I imagined the King. Exactly.

TBR- Ohhh that is a great pick for the KING.........

HD- Jeremy Northam is a lot how I think Mr. Bradford looks like. He might be a bit too old in real life, though.

I think Claire Foy would be a very cute Bramble! And...someone mentioned they imagined Johnny Depp as Keeper, which seems right to me, so ok :)

TBR- Oh Claire would be a great Bramble- you pick great pics!!!

After that, I don't know. It would be cool to have Alan Rickman play the rest of the parts--Minister Fairweller, Lord Teddy, Azalea, Clover, all the younger princesses...etc. He's pretty much the best actor ever so I'm ok with this.

TBR- Coke or Pepsi?

HD- Hot cocoa!

TBR- What are reading right now?

HD- "Maurice and His Educated Rodents," by Terry Pratchett. It's a very clever retelling of the Pied Piper story.

TBR- What do you like doing outside of writing?

I really enjoy digital painting. I do some piano playing too and like sketching at the zoo. Besides that, I like to think of ways to take over Canada.

TBR- That is awesome...when you take over Canada, call me Ill be your second in command and we will order people around and make them bring us trays of delectable cheeses and wines......HA....So after you take over the world any future projects coming our way?

HD-Right now I'm working on a story called "Illusionarium." It's a steampunk with evil clowns and bizarre illusion-drugged sequences. I hope it becomes a cult classic!

TBR- ohhhh a classic just like The Rocky Horror Picture Show!!!

~ Well Heather thank you so much for stopping by and answering all my prattling questions...you are awesome and Entwined was fabulous. If you haven't had the chance to read this fun magical story be sure to grab a copy today!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex- Review

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

July 12, 2011 (Paperback) by Doubleday

Paperback, 372 Pages

Review/Finished Copy

From the shadowy banks of the river Thames to the wild and windswept Yorkshire coast, Dracula’s eternal muse, Mina Murray, vividly recounts the intimate details of what really transpired between her and the Count the joys and terrors of a passionate affair that has linked them through the centuries, and her rebellion against her own frightening preternatural powers.
Mina’s version of this gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into Victorian England’s dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and asylum chambers, revealing the dark secrets and mysteries locked within. Time falls away as she is swept into a mythical journey far beyond mortal comprehension, where she must finally make the decision she has been avoiding for almost a millennium. Bram Stoker’s classic novel offered one side of the story, in which Mina had no past and bore no responsibility for the unfolding events. Now, for the first time, the truth of Mina’s personal voyage, and of vampirism itself, is revealed. What this flesh and blood woman has to say is more sensual, more devious, and more enthralling than the Victorians could have expressed or perhaps even have imagined.

Review

It’s a dark and dreary Victorian England and Mina Murray, a beautiful and quiet girl seems to have a knack for bringing out the worst in people. Those who mistake her quiet beauty for weakness want to destroy her, ravage her or make her submit as a good girl does. Since childhood Mina has suffered abuses and is haunted by a dark figure in her dreams, as a child she shares those dreams and thoughts with her parents who are equally terrified and disgusted by her. The solution: throw her away. Mina gets sent to an all girls school where life continues normal for a time, until the night she begins sleepwalking again.

Her dark stranger returns once again to haunt her dreams, only this time as a much older Mina, her shadowed man comes to seduce and fill her with unexplainable passions. Unable to fight him or her feelings, Mina finally discovers she is madly in-love with her dream man who is actually Dracula coming to claim his bride. Dripping with mystery and sensuality, Mina slowly pulls back the layers of her mind to discover that she is not the innocent maiden of Dracula’s desire, yet is a part of a story spanning across 700 years of forbidden romance….

I read the original story of Dracula in high school and later watched the popular movie with Gary Oldman (which was excellent) and have always had an idea of what Mina's character was like. Essex’s version brought a whole new dimension to Mina that I liked and disliked at the same time. The dislike and something that I’ve always struggled with regarding Mina, was how mousy she seemed, her female character always seemed to be at war with her physical self. In the beginning Dracula in Love is no different, the story opens with an attempted rape scene and pretty much carries out that weak female vibe until the last half of the book. Mina being the very dominated always taken advantage of woman, was at points very hard to relate to because I wanted her to be stronger, or just make a choice in her life and go with it. As a child she is mistreated and punished, as a young woman she is controlled in every aspect of her life and even on the cusp of adulthood she chooses Jonathan, a mousy man to marry who as well, wants to dominate her. The scariest aspect to Minas story wasn’t Dracula or that the creature in him wanted to devour her soul, it was all the human men in her life and what they were doing to her. The asylum scenes, which were a short part the story, were the most awful things Mina went through and the fact that Jonathan made her go through all those treatments to cure her visions/dreams was the most disturbing.

What I did like though, is that Essex created in that weak character, a perfect scenario for Mina to finally come into her strength, by the time Mina gets to a point to accept Dracula and her life, I was so frustrated with all the men in the novel controlling the story, that I wanted her to just stake them all and move to Africa, where she could live out her days in the hot sun and see elephants or something…. I mean even Dracula dominated Mina from early childhood, always in the shadows watching over her, protecting her only when the point of death or violation was the only outcome, yet always keeping himself distant. He even decided when it was the right time for a passionate relationship. Dracula got on my nerves big time with his let me get you all riled up and then beg for it macho garbage. In that sense, looking at the men this story offered, you could certainly see the feminist mind frame and values being put forth, as not one male character, not even Dracula are strong or redeeming men. At first Dracula seems to be the one who is control, but the twist in this novel will surprise you...as a powerful and convincing woman emerges to outdo them all...

The sex scenes were a bit out of my comfort zone when it comes to reading, yet I couldn’t help but get lost in its intoxication. I think at the end even though Mina and I never connected and I disagreed with so many things her character did, I have a new refreshing take on a much bolder character to coincide with Dracula.

This is defiantly a mood book, one that begs to be read at nighttime, better yet during a storm. As you slip into the pages and grace the halls of Mina's asylum be weary of the haunting fingers that will pull you under. An intriguing, dark Gothic romance.

Rating

Recommended to adult readers. Contains: Violence, attempted rape, sexuality, scary/freighting themes, mild-language, graphic sex scenes, domination, control, murder and legend/folklore.

4/5- Historical-Gothic
Thanks to Publisher and HFVirtualbooktours for review copy

Congrats to the Winners of Dracula in Love:

Missie-Bee (The Unread Reader)
Jenny (Supernatural Snark)
Jessica (Peace, Love Books)
Mrs. Laura
Susiebookworm

Monday, July 25, 2011

Twilight Reread- Discussion #4

Twilight Re-Read #4

Chapters 16-20

16. Carlisle

17. The Game

18. The Hunt

19. Goodbyes

20. Impatience

Discussion Questions
Provided by Yani@Secret Life of an Avid Reader

If you where in Carlisle position, do you think you would have been able to fight off your vampiric urges? Would you ever bring someone into that life, as he did with Edward and Esme?

Ok so just being honest- I tend to have an addictive personality. I smoked cigarettes for years, quitting was one of the hardest things I've ever done...BUTTTT the most rewarding too. Im addicted to coffee, diet coke, vampires, lip gloss and mascara, so Im pretty smart when I say I don't drink, smoke, do drugs or anything that could become an addiction...I even try to avoid brownies, needless to say had I been Carlisle I would of ate the first person who stopped by.

For part two of the question, I think I would have turned Edward and Esme considering they were dying and excuse me but Edward would have never needed Bella had I turned him, he would of been all in- Tina-rapture, soooo I guess its a good thing that Carlisle found him and not me.(lol)

We are introduced to Edward's playful side in these chapters, before he gets all manic about the new vampires, I think we have a better picture of who he is. If you had to describe him in 5 words, what would they be? Good and Bad qualities, whatever you like!

Intense, Sarcastic, Overboard, Romantic and Gentlemanly

While re-reading I have been taking notes: observations that I have come across re-reading and comparisons to the movie. One of my notes deals with page 383, in which Edward screams at Alice there is no other option. The first time around I didn't get that he meant the future that Alice saw for Bella as a vampire (because we obviously hadn't gotten to that part), but now that I know the whole story I see that is what he meant... Has this happened to you? Do you have any examples of things that are clearer now or things that you have realized while re-reading?

Well...the one thing that I have noticed because I read Midnight Sun, it kind of seems like SM left certain things vague because she knew Edward was going to have his own story to share. I guess the biggest thing in the book is how intense and crazy freaking out Edward is in the book about James coming after Bella, he is like a crazy man and I don't think I really saw that in the first time reading.

We haven't talked about this yet, but I think the idea of your human gifts amplifying in your vampire life is interesting (Jasper's control of emotions, Edward's mind reading), what do you think your gifts would be?

Ohh I love this question!! Well Im naturally a very guarded person, one that doesn't give to much information until you know me, of course I just admitted to the dangers of addictive personality but Im normally a very private person. I think I would have the ability similar to Bella's to block people from having any control over me and just because it would awesome, I would make people do things...like bring me a soda and give me a foot massage!! Oh yes Im loving the thought of that superpower!!

We are coming to the end of the book, what has been your opinion on this re-read? First, when was the last time you read it? Second, do you feel you like it more, the same, or less this time around?

I feel I like it the same, of course the magic of reading Twilight is no longer there I do enjoy and remember how much this book meant to me while I was reading it the first time. Right after I finished Twilight I re-read it so this is my third time through the book since a few years ago. Reading it this time has not been the same but its still a great story that I will always love.

Source

Link up your answers at The Reading Housewives of Indiana

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Saturday Spotlight with Gene Twaronite & Giveaway!

Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature at TBR's highlighting Indie, self-published and debut authors. This week I have the pleasure of introducing readers to:

GENE TWARONITE

~Q&A~

Hi Gene and welcome to the blog. So what inspired you to write The Family That Wasn't?

Much of my inspiration came from James Thurber, especially his semi-autobiographical book, My Life and Hard Times, in which he wrote about family members who were so wacky that you knew he had to be making some of it up. I began thinking about my own family (which was perfectly normal and stable, at least most of the time) and wondered what it would be like to grow up in a truly crazy family. This led me to the idea for a story about a boy whose family is so impossibly crazy that he can’t stand to live with them another moment. So what does he do? He escapes into a fantasy of his own creation – his new and improved family.

Did you grow up always wanting to be a writer?

No, it wasn’t until my early 30’s that I started to keep a journal and dream of becoming a writer. I self-published a short collection of essays from my journal about my relationship to a local “mountain” (more of a hill actually) where I grew up. Later I started writing a weekly nature column about the White Mountains of New Hampshire, which became another book of essays. I really caught the bug, however, when I sold my first short story to Highlights for Children, followed by two more sales. The rest is history.

What authors or books have inspired your work, or inspired you personally?

In addition to James Thurber, I have also been inspired by Mark Twain, E.B. White, Kurt Vonnegut, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Roald Dahl, J.R.R. Tolkien, Steven Millhauser, and Magnus Mills, to name a few.

What are you reading right now?

As usual, I’m reading three books at once (for different reasons). I am laughing out loud as I reread The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I am also savoring the early novels of Kurt Vonnegut in the new Library of America volume of his Novels & Stories 1963-1973. And because I recently started experimenting with poetry, I am trying to educate myself with a new book entitled Beautiful & Pointless {A Guide to Modern Poetry} by David Orr.

Can you share any future work with us?

While it was not a major theme of the book, there is one part in the story where John is sexually abused by his fake “Uncle” Vinnie. I felt that I just couldn’t leave John or my readers hanging there with this unresolved issue. Though I have never experienced such abuse, I still tried to imagine some of what John must have felt, including the rage, powerlessness, and self-hatred of abuse victims. And I wondered how he might try to deal with it. The result is a much longer novel, My Vacation in Hell, in which John embarks on yet another journey of the imagination through the hell he has created within himself. And, yes, Vinnie does play a major role.

I am currently on the third draft and hope to finish it this year. Because of its darker theme and the fact that John is now 15, this will definitely be a young adult novel. Hopefully it will be published by the end of this year. I also write adult short stories and my latest one, “The Woman Who Came for Lunch,” has just been published by the online literary journal Avatar Review. You can read it at the following link:

http://avatarreview.net/AV13/category/prose/gene-twaronite

Thanks Gene for stopping by and best of luck to the hopeful success of The Family that Wasn't. Learn more about Gene his book and read the first chapter HERE!

GIVEAWAY

Today Gene is offering one of my readers an e-book copy of his book The Family that Wasn't. Open to everyone, just please leave a comment. Winner will be drawn July 30, 2011.

The Family That Wasn't by Gene Twaronite

August 24, 2010 by i-universe.com

A humorous fable of how our families live inside us. Geared for middle grades (ages 8-12), it will also appeal to readers of all ages. The 13-year-old narrator, John Boggle (whose real name is John Bazukas-O'Reilly-Geronimo-Giovanni-Li Choy-Echeverria), finds his family so impossibly crazy that he cannot stand living with them another moment. He invents a new perfect family so convincing that he suddenly finds himself living inside this imaginary world. But John finds that he too has changed. He sees his too perfect image in the mirror and begins to wonder if it is all some kind of mistake. Only trouble is, now he can't remember who he is. He only knows that he must leave this family at once. His sole clue is the name, John Boggle.To find his true family he embarks on a cross country quest. Along the way he encounters other characters who have also lost touch with their families. Together they must find a way to reconstruct the connections to bring back the family that once was......

Friday, July 22, 2011

Tgif {5}- Bookshelf Tour

Welcome to Tgif- a weekly meme hosted and created by Ginger at Greads! Tgif lets us wind up the week and also asks a weekly question pertaining to books, blogging or what have you. This weeks question:

Bookshelf Tour: Where do you keep your books at home?
Are they organized?

Most of my books are organized on bookshelf's, I have one in my bedroom, a built in one in my living room, a couple in the basement and my closet in the bedroom has built in shelves that I have made into extra book space. The book shelf in my bedroom is mainly my blogging books, the second shelf is strictly review titles only and the book basket in there is for the tour books for the month. I also have a fun basket labeled Library Loot- (the one on floor in picture) in which I have a ready supply for any book I might need.

I like my books very organized, as a reader and reviewer books tend to pile up very fast, so Im constantly reorganizing and getting books boxed up for giveaways, library donations and my recent love of giving to our local women's shelter. What better way to say cheer up than a basket with some Bath and Body Works, some new socks and hair accessories accompanied by gently used books!!

Saturday Spotlight- Win Winterborne by Augusta Blythe
Twilight Re-Read Discussion #3
Guest Spot with Karen Essex- Win- Dracula in Love
Review- Divergent
Mini-Reviews
Tgif

Have a Super Weekend!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Mini-Reviews {5}

In where I get out a few thoughts on a bundle of books I have read!!

Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper

July 19, 2011 by DoubleDay

Paperback, 320 Pages

Review Copy/Cfba

She serves him breakfast at her café every morning … but he never seems to notice her. Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin. When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink. Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

Thoughts

Do you like a cozy mystery? Then Shadows on the Sand is probably a great one for you! Full of suspense and lovable characters and even a very unpredictable plotline!! Shadows on the Sand was well written and to break up the suspense and who done it feel, Roper added a very passionate, clean and sweet romance. There was plenty of spiritual undertones in the book but not anything that bogged the story down with preaching so its defiantly religion-friendly. Just your overall morals and life lessons of not forgiving and not letting go of your past.

3.5/5- Inspy Mystery
Thanks to CFBA and Multnomath

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

August 31, 2010 by HarperTeen

This was just super cute and fun, nothing like a good ol' slayer type who kicks butt in her pink boots and pink taser gun...!!

I laughed throughout most of this and while the romance angle didn't work well for me I still loved the simple story White created in her almost Buffy-like character. Taking on issues of slavery, prejudices and true friendship, not everything is a laughing matter. This was clean, fun and Im sure teens will love it.

4/5- YA-Paranormal
Library-Borrow

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn

Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga by Sandra Gravett
April 2010 by Chalice

So I read this on a whim....one of those freebies at my library for ereader downloads and frankly I really don’t know what to think. It certainly explained A LOT of Mormon symbolism in the series, I don't know very much about the religion but this book points out many things.

Gravett brings parallels to Edward as a Christ figure...(UGH-Weird) and parallels between Eve and Bella that were pretty interesting and the whole breakdown of the control Edward had in the relationship that took the story from teenage love to creepy old man dominating a woman vibe. Overall interesting outlook with very reaching conclusions. Id say "Dont read it, read Twilight instead"...

1.5/5- Nonfiction
Library E-Read

Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between

Sexuality And Spirituality by Rob Bell

March, 2007 by Zondervan

Ok first let me say, Mr. Bell is a highly popular pastor where I live. His church Mars Hill, is around the corner from my neighborhood and meets weekly in an old converted mall. Last time I heard it gained mega-church status as it hit its 10,000 member mark. I have friends and family who attend his church so needless to say, hes a hot topic. I try and be careful due to so many believers loving him and while I never want to come across disrespectful to friends and family, after reading this book Im left thinking...."What the Bleep was that Crap"?

Rob and I just don't see eye to eye. Hes one of those here's what were going to talk about and never gets around to talking about what he wants to talk about. He answers questions with questions, but never tells you what he is truly thinking. Certainly the man can give a speech and talk a sermon into the ground but I can neither listen to him preach nor can I read his books. For me Sex God represented information we already know and basically was just a money making maneuver to wet the whistle of awe-struck Christians salivating at Bell's intellectual lamenting.

2/5- Inspy-Nonfiction
Library Copy

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

May 3, 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books

Hardcover, 487 Pages

Borrowed/Library

Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. .

Review

A dystopian Chicago sets the scene for Beatrice’s (Tris) story, where she has lived a quiet upbringing with her parents and brother in a faction called Abnegation. They are selfless and quiet and control most of the food supply for the remaining factions. They wear dull colors and keep things simple. Although Beatrice loves her family, being humble is a daily commitment and craving the freedom she sees the Dauntless children enjoying has always been in the forefront of her mind. Every teenager in Tris’s world faces a day of testing and sorting for their future placement in life. After evaluation is done, each teen is giving a recommendation of what factions would best suit them. Being able to pick from five- Abnegation (selfless)- Dauntless (Brave)- Candor (Honest)- Amity (Peaceful)- or Erudite (Smart)- they can choose to stay with their family’s in the faction they were raised in or they can pick another, which will separate them from their parents for good. So when the big day comes for Tris, longing outweighs her parents and she chooses to become Dauntless.

Being Dauntless will test her physically, mentally and emotionally. As the training will separate the new recruits from the ones who stay and the ones who become the factionless, a fear worse than death to most of the teens entering new factions- the competition will be brutal and some of the teens will do whatever it takes to become number one. As Tris pushes herself to become brave (an inner mental ability she’s always had) and learns to live life as a dauntless she will also struggle against those who are trying to hurt her and to hide a secret that could get her killed. As bonds are formed and enemies are made, Tris will have to be on top in order to survive.

So who hasn’t heard of or read Divergent this year? I normally wait until hype dies down for a book to read and review it, but after seeing my 15 year old do cartwheels (not really) and telling me I HAVVVEEEE to read it, I went ahead and devoured the book in one day. By far the best dystopian I’ve read this year, I think Roth brought excitement to a genre so overdone in the YA market and rose above the many dystopians and apocalyptic books flooding the book-scene. The biggest and most important aspect I took from Divergent was its main characters integrity, nothing can compare to a character who can overcome atrocities or life threatening obstacles with courage and bravery. Tris earns a spot in the strong female department, one who risked everything to gain everything without cheating or hurting another and came out stronger than she was before, putting her in leagues with characters like Katniss (Hunger Games) and Gabi (Waterfall). Females who not only bring the story to life for the readers but also display rare role-models in an endless cycle of booty shaking skanks influencing young girls today. I think a girl who can use her brain, her strength, her determination and courage can be much more respected than a girl who uses her breasts, her sexuality or her tight clothing. Sometimes the girl who can fight, read and keep her sexuality in the bedroom wins the guy and might even save the world in the end.

Intense action, sometimes disturbing violence and a brutal ending, left me shocked, spinning and anticipating for the next one. If you read any dystopian this year make it Divergent!!

Rating

Divergent can be read by mature teens and adults (14-up) and contains: Violence-including- war, gang violence, training combat, death-murder, mild sensuality, facing fears such as claustrophobia, heights and adrenaline type aspects.

5/5- YA-Dystopian

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Q&A with Karen Essex and Huge Giveaway of Dracula in Love

So today Im thrilled to have author Karen Essex on the blog interviewed by Julianna Baggott, also today I have a fabulous giveaway to my readers thanks to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.

Novelist Julianna Baggott, author of The Provence Cure for the Broken-Hearted under the name Bridget Asher, chats with Karen Essex about obsession, criticism, vampires, and Dracula in Love.

Welcome Ladies and thanks for stopping by...with a fun Q&A!

JB: Current obsessions -- literary or otherwise?

KE: London! I moved here temporarily to research Dracula in Love because I wanted to breathe in the atmosphere of late Victorian England, which is very much alive in this city, and I never left! After so many years of living in Los Angeles, which represents everything new, I am having a great awakening living at the intersection of history, of which London has an immense amount, and the very multi-cultural, vital present. I am having the time of my life simply immersing myself in London's many aspects and hope to write about my personal experience here too.

JB: I despise the pervasive myth of inspiration – the idea that an entire book can exist simply because of an accumulation of inspired ideas – but I don’t deny that inspiration exists. There are things that have no other explanation. Was there a singular moment of inspiration for this book?

KE: I'd read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was fifteen years old, and even at that time, I was sure that the character Mina Harker was dissatisfied with her role as the passive, cooperative Victorian virgin. Then, several decades later, strangely—inexplicably—I was sitting at my computer one night staring into space and the thought popped into my brain: What if I retell the original Dracula myth from Mina Harker's perspective The idea just descended on me. Now that said, I had my "vampire epiphany" long ago. I used to race home from grade school on my bike to catch "Dark Shadows" on TV. I grew up in a family of spooky women in New Orleans, which is a haunted city. I adored Anne Rice's books, and then later, as a screenwriter, adapted Rice's The Mummy or Ramses the Damned for James Cameron and 20th Century Fox (sadly, the film remains unmade!).

So while the idea seemingly just "occurred" to me, I have loved vampire lore for a very long time, and moreover, my novels retell the stories of women in history in an empowering way. So empowering the vampire's "victim" was a natural for me.

JB: Criticism. It’s part of the territory. How do you handle it? Is this the way you’ve always handled it?

KE: This will sound childish and hubristic but when I read a horrible review, I always picture the person who wrote it as morbidly obese and sexually frustrated. I also tell myself that this poor creature, who is generally lambasting me on some point on which they are entirely wrong, usually an historical detail, is not smart enough to understand the complexity of my book or its higher themes! The truth is—and every writer no matter how successful will attest to this—criticism always hurts. It's important to revel in the good comments and minimize thinking on the bad. This actually does not get easier as time goes on, but it is necessary to develop thick skin in order to remain in any sector of the public eye. Now that anyone with access to a computer has a portal for their opinions, we are inundated with criticism. If it doesn’t kill us, it WILL make us stronger.

As far as criticism from the people who support me, such as my agent and my editor, I put my faith in these folks, and I try very hard to listen carefully to their comments. I don't blindly take every suggestion, but I do put my ego aside and try to objectively consider and address everything they bring up. Writers are buried so deeply in the minutia of our stories that we often cannot see the big picture.

JB: What kind of child were you, inside of what kind of childhood, and how did it shape you as a writer?

KE: Like almost every writer throughout history, I was a child who loved to read. My parents used to call me for dinner 100 times before I actually heard their voices because I was so engrossed in a book. "She's come back from the planet Venus," they'd say when I finally showed up at the table. Also, my early years were spent in my grandmother's kitchen, where she, her sister, and their mother, my amazing great-grandmother, told stories all day long while they cooked for the family and for the men who worked in my grandfather's barbershop. They did not censor for the ears of a child, so it was a very rich experience, and I believe, the reason I am a writer today. The Dracula in Love video tells the whole story of how my childhood influenced my tastes and the writing of the novel, so please take a look!

JB: Research. We all have to do it. Sometimes it’s delicious, sometimes brutal. Tell us a tale from the research trenches.

KE: I love research almost as much as I love writing, which is a good thing because research and historical fiction are symbiotic. The most harrowing research I have done was in the archives of Victorian mental hospitals, reading the accounts of the really bizarre treatments given to women in the early days of psychiatry to help "settle them down." A good chunk of Bram Stoker's Dracula takes place in an insane asylum. I wanted to use the same setting in my novel but portray the asylum as it actually was at the time—full of women incarcerated for having what we today would consider normal sexual activity. My conceit for Dracula in Love was that women in the 1890s had a lot more to fear from their own culture than from vampires! I am told that the scariest parts of the book take place in the asylum scenes, which were recreated from painstaking research. People always say to me, "You must have made that stuff up!" But no, everything that happened in those scenes is based on reality. Research will always demonstrate that truth is greater than fiction.

JB: What other jobs have you had -- other than writing or teaching writing? Did one of these help shape you as a writer?

KE: My first career was as a film executive in Hollywood. I am ever grateful that I worked in a real business, albeit a creative one, before I quit and dedicated myself entirely to writing. I write literary novels and have never written anything "for the money," but from day one, I approached writing with an eye to publishing and to earning my income through the endeavor.

Publishing is a business and many writers fail to understand that, which is why many writers fail to publish, or fail to maintain a career as a writer once they are published. I took my "career" as a writer as seriously as I took my career as an executive, which meant learning the mechanics of the industry along with learning the mechanics of the craft. I knew that I had to invest in my writing on every level, including the financial. I made great financial sacrifices for my writing but I considered it an investment in my future, or my "business." Anyone who thinks that publishing is not a business, or that good writers do not think of it that way, is very naive.

To learn more about Karen: http://www.karenessex.com

To learn more about Julianna: http://juliannabaggott.com/books.htm

GIVEAWAY

Today thanks to Historical Book Tours and Anchor Books I have five new paperback novels of Dracula in Love to give to my readers. This giveaway is only open to US residents. To enter please leave a comment and link to info page or email. Thanks and Goodluck!

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

July 12, 2011 by Anchor Books

From the shadowy banks of the River Thames to the wild and windswept coast of Yorkshire, the quintessential Victorian virgin Mina Murray vividly recounts in the pages of her private diary the intimate details of what transpired between her and Count Dracula—the joys and terrors of a passionate affair and her rebellion against a force of evil that has pursued her through time.

Mina’s version of this timeless Gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into the dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and locked asylum chambers where she led a secret life, far from the chaste and polite lifestyle the defenders of her purity, and even her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, expected of her.

Bram Stoker’s classic novel was only one side of the story. Now, for the first time, Dracula’s eternal muse reveals all. What she has to say is more sensual, more devious, and more enthralling than ever imagined. The result is a scintillating Gothic novel that reinvents the tragic heroine Mina as a modern woman tortured by desire.

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