Stacking the Shelves - December 22, 2013

I love Christmas. I really do, but I love it more when everything is done. We finally got the outside lights up today and finally finished Christmas shopping. Hurray!!! Does that mean for the next day and a half I can read? No it does not.

Tomorrow is cookie baking day and any other baking I need to do for the holidays. And I have to clean the kitchen, finish laundry and go food shopping. Everything else is done. Well, except I never got any Christmas cards out again this year. I feel 2014's my year, though. I feel confident those cards will get sent.

The package deliveries are winding down as Christmas is only three days away now.

I am going to have an after Christmas project and that will be reorganizing my books. Not the ones on the book shelves. All the stacks on the bedroom floor and my nightstand. They are getting so high on my nightstand I almost can't see the floor lamp.

Does it stop me from looking at books? No, but it will. My current project is that I downloaded samples of about 10 books that are available as bargain books. The books are in my Amazon cart, but I am trying to read samples to make sure I like the writing style and the story. If it doesn't grab me in the first few pages, I'm going to have to throw it back in the water.

Christmas is coming and I did put some books on my wish list, so we'll visit those books next week, but for now, here's my haul for the week.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Review.


Books Purchased:
Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion) by Aimee Carter

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern – Purchased used

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

The Boy From France by Hilary Freeman - Purchased used

 
Kindle Books Purchased:
Bitter Frost and The Wolf Fey (2 Books in 1) (Bitter Frost #1: Frost Series) - The Epic Journey by Kailin Gow – Kindle Match

Forever Frost (Bitter Frost, #2) (A YA Fantasy about the Fey) (Frost Series) by Kailin Gow – Kindle Match

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi – December Kindle Monthly Deal

Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky) by Veronica Rossi – Kindle Daily Deal

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams – Kindle Daily Deal
The Pledge by Kimberly Derting - Kindle Daily Deal



That's it for now.  I hope you've all been on the Nice list this year so Santa will bring lots of books.  Enjoy and Happy Holidays!!!

Stacking the Shelves - December 15, 2013

The holidays are indeed a hectic time. I have had so much to try to take care and have Christmas shopping on the brain. Seriously. I'm having nightmares about not being able to find presents for people. Ordinarily, I would alleviate the stress by opening up a good book and reading for a while, but even that has been hard to do.

We got dumped with quite a bit of snow. (Don't worry, Terri. I took pictures so you can see just what you're not missing.) Hubby's back is out, so I would not let him pick up a shovel. That took time as well as trying to finish the Christmas decorating. I gave myself a goal of today to finish by and for once, I actually made it. Now I just have to get up the outside lights.

While I am coming to understand that it is always something and I won't have time unless I make time, and even though I still have some Christmas presents still to buy, a heavy burdened has been lifted off my shoulders having gotten the tree up and done.

Still have cookies to bake and a kitchen to tidy, but I feel much less pressured.

I may not have had time to read and was really hoping to have been able to write a couple more posts this week, it didn't stop me from ordering some Kindle books. Still trying to clean up the wish list and get my downloaded samples all read. Ah well, I guess I'll just have to read another day.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Review.


Books Purchased:
Definitely Not Mr Darcy by Karen Doornebos
Westminster Abbey (S.A.S.S.) by Micol Ostow
Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Volume 2 by David Petersen
Amber House by Kelly Moore
Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
One or Two Things I Learned About Love by Dyan Sheldon
Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally
A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies
A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies
Piper Day’s Ultimate Guide to Avoiding George Clooney by Vanessa Fewings
In The Forest Of Forgetting by Theodora Goss
When Irish Eyes are Smiling (S.A.S.S.) by Suzanne Supplee
When the World Was Flat (and we were in love) (Strange Chemistry) by Ingrid Jonach

Most of the books purchased were either from Amazon Marketplace or a bargain book.  Or if new were at a hefty enough discount to make it worth my while.  It's one of the things I love and hate about Christmas.  There are so many things on sale, but I can't resist a bargain, so, Merry Christmas to me!



Kindle Books Purchased:
Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia
Tempestuous (Twisted Lit) by Kim Askew, Amy Helmes, Jacquelyn Mitchard
Exposure (Twisted Lit) by Kim Askew, Amy Helmes, Jacquelyn Mitchard
Charm and Consequence (Snark and Circumstance) by Stephanie Wardrop
Pride and Prep School (Snark and Circumstance) by Stephanie Wardrop
Last Day of Love: A Teardrop Story (Teardrop Trilogy) by Lauren Kate
Mind Games by Kiersten White
Windows by Emily Minton
Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen by K.D. Peters – Free eBook
The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton – Free eBook
Rua (Rua, book 1) by Miranda Kavi, Natscha Jaffa – Free eBook
Awakening (The Watchers Trilogy) by Karice Bolton – Free eBook
Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series #1) by GJ Walker-Smith – Free eBook

That's it for now.  If I try real hard, I might be able to read a little before I have to go to bed.  Wouldn't that be awesome? 

Stacking the Shelves - December 08, 2013

Well, once again I find I am needing to make excuses. It has been a very hectic couple of weeks for me and I have had no time to write.

While I had a wonderful time in Germany visiting my nephew, brother and sister in law, coming back home with less than a week to prepare for Thanksgiving was hectic as I had to food shop (we had about 17 people over), clean the house and take down some of the Halloween stuff. I never had the opportunity to fight the jet lag, which I did do the weekend after Thanksgiving. I slept a lot mixed with intermittent cyber shopping.

Come Monday, it was time to completely take down all the Halloween things and put them away and get the Christmas stuff down. So, all week, I've been working on the Christmas decorations except for the tree. And also food shopping, Christmas shopping, vet appointments, car service appointments, cleaning up after Thanksgiving dinner (which is a multi day event)and any number of other chores and errands that needed to be run.

I've been on vacation this past week, but don't feel like I have been on vacation at all.

Anyway, I've finally been able to sit for a spell and compile all the acquisitions I've made since November 17. I warn you, there are a lot of Kindle titles. I've been trying to clean up my Kindle wish list and my Kindle samples on my iPad, so I've actually been purchasing a lot of the samples I have been reading for the past couple of months. I still have quite a few more samples to go.

With black Friday deals and cyber Monday, I also can't help ordering things I have had on my wish list that are severely discounted. Some of the books I have received are all discount finds I found while shopping for others. Now I just need to find time to start reading it all. There's always vacation after Christmas.

So, here we are...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Review.


Books Purchased:
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin by Dark Horse Publishing
Shadowlands by Kate Brian
Demonosity by Amanda Ashby
Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
A Stark and Wormy Knight by Tad Williams
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos
Fairest in all the Land by Bill Willingham

Kindle Books Purchased:
Stained (YA Paranormal Romance) (Stained Series) by Ella James – Free Kindle Book
Meant to Be (The Saving Angels book 1) by Tiffany King – Free Kindle Book
Finnikin of the Rock (The Lumatere Chronicles) by Melina Marchetta – Kindle Daily Deal
The Glassheart Chronicles by Various – Free Kindle Book
Collide (A Collide Novel) by Shelly Crane – Free Kindle Book
Sign of the Throne (The Solas Beir Trilogy) by Melissa Eskue Ousley, Laura Meehan, S. C. Moore, C. E. – Free Kindle Book
My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White
Romancing the Bookworm by Kate Evangelista
Stardust by Neil Gaiman – Kindle December Deal
Ink My Heart (Luminescent Juliet, Book Two) by Jean Haus – Kindle Daily Deal
In The Band (Luminescent Juliet, Book One) by Jean Haus – Kindle Daily Deal
Breakfast At Darcy's by Ali McNamara
Step Back in Time by Ali McNamara
Skid Out (#0.5 Heavy Influence) by Ann Marie Frohoff, Shaun Barger, Patrick Tatusko, Sharla Bafia – Kindle Free Book
Eternal Echoes (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) by Angela Corbett
Creepy Christmas by Jaimie Admans – Kindle Free Book
The Ever After of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen
Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3) by P.T. Michelle, Patrice Michelle
Lucid, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #2) by P.T. Michelle, Patrice Michelle
Ethan, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series Prequel, Novella #0.5) by P.T. Michelle, Patrice Michelle
Goddess in Time: An Oh.My.Gods. Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) by Tera Lynn Childs
Crashing Into You by B.D. Rowe
Another Little Piece of My Heart by Tracey Martin
Definitely, Maybe in Love (Entangled Embrace) by Ophelia London
Grounded By You by Ivy Sinclair
Tangled Beauty by K.L. Middleton, C.J. Pinard – Kindle Free Book
Cinderella Screwed Me Over (Entangled Select) by Cindi Madsen
Where You Are (Between the Lines #2) by Tammara Webber
Twist of Fate by Kelly Mooney
Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 2) by Chanda Hahn
Stay by Kelly Mooney
Fallen Eden (Eden Trilogy, Book Two) by Nicole Williams
Accordance (A Significance Series Novel - Volume 2) by Shelly Crane
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson) by Louise Rennison – Kindle December Deal
Bitter Sweet Love (The Dark Elements) by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Prequel
Snark and Circumstance (Novella) by Stephanie Wardrop
Unreap My Heart (The Reaper Series) by Kate Evangelista
Reaping Me Softly by Kate Evangelista
Levitating Las Vegas by Jennifer Echols
Dark Angel (Entangled Edge) by TJ Bennett
Savor You by Emily Snow
Absorbed (Devoured) by Emily Snow
All Over You: A Devoured Novella by Emily Snow
Devoured: A Novel by Emily Snow
A Desire So Deadly (HarperTeen Impulse) by Suzanne Young
United Eden (Eden Trilogy (Book Three)) by Nicole Williams
Forever Fredless by Suzy Turner
The Naughty List by L.A. Kelley

Giveaway Won:
The Accidental Werewolf 2: Something About Harry (Accidentally Friends #8) by Dakota Cassidy

Manga Purchased:
Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz 7
Devil and Her Love Song 12
Dengeki Daisy 13
Happy Marriage?! 3
Skip Beat! 32
Demon Love Spell 5
Voice Over! Seiyu Academy 2
Arata 16
Alice Loves Fables: Toy Box


Well, that's it for now.  We'll see what the postman brings this coming week.

Stacking the Shelves - November 17,2013

It's time to stack the shelves again. Since I missed last week, this list is for the past two weeks.

Other than this post, I will be of line until next Saturday as I am actually in Germany now visiting my brother and his family. (I posted this ahead of time. I just didn't have to prepare any other posts before I had to leave for the airport. It's been a hectic day.)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Review.


Books Purchased:
Accidentally Catty by (Accidental Series Book 5) by Dakota Cassidy
Hellboy: The Midnight Circus by Mike Mignola
The Last Dark (Final Volume of Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen Donaldson
Teardrop by Lauren Kate
Across a Star Swept Sea by Diana Petefreund
The First Dragon (Chronicles of the Imaginarium) by James A. Owen
Cold Spell (Fairy Tale Retelling by Jackson Pearce
Moonlight and Ashes by Sophie Masson
Notable by Marni Bates

For Review:
Getting a Life Even if You’re Dead by Beth Watson – courtesy of the author

Kindle Books Purchased:
Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Manga Purchased:
Bride of the Water God 14
Goong 13
Happy Marriage?! 2
Rin-Ne 13
Voice Over! Seiyu Academy 1
Dawn of the Arcana 11
Sakura Hime: The Legend of the Princess Sakura 11
Devil and Her Love Song 11
Black Bird 17
Vampire Knight 17
Oresama Teacher 15
Sweet Rein 1
Midnight Secretary 2
Strobe Edge 7
Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party 1

That's it for this week!  See you when I get back.  TTFN!!!

Book Review: Beautiful Decay by Sylvia Lewis

They do say you can't judge a book by its cover. I don't necessarily agree with that. I have found sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. So, I was in the store looking for something new to read and this cover just caught my eye. I sat at the café and read the first chapter of Beautiful Decay by Sylvia Lewis. It was enough to sell me on the story. I figured it was a good story to read for Halloween as it seemed kind of creepy.

Book Description (From GoodReads):
Ellie Miller has always needed her space. Literally. With a touch that rots whatever she encounters, Ellie must keep people at a distance for their own good. Not that her classmates are itching to be best friends with the "freak" of the high school.

So when newcomer Nate MacPherson makes it his mission to get close to her, Ellie has her suspicions. But when he identifies her as a viviomancer who can work the forces of life and reveals himself to be a necromancer who can manipulate death, Ellie finds herself trusting Nate and the romance that is blossoming between them. Unfortunately for the two, family secrets can kill, and they will need more than their abilities to keep a zombie mom and a conglomerate of evil-doing supernaturals under control.

After spending her life pushing everyone away, Ellie's realization of the full extent of her power and willingness to let people get close to her may be the only way to save the ones she loves.

Paperback, 304 pages

Published April 9th 2013 by Running Press Kids (first published April 2nd 2013)


My Review:
The book opens with Ellie talking to a spider through her window. From the very beginning of the book, I got a sense of her loneliness and longing to be normal, to be able to touch, well, anything.

The story is an intriguing one. Ellie has a "condition", for lack of a better word. Whatever she touches rots away. Fungus and bacteria are drawn to her and by touching them, they grow out of control. She has to wear gloves to avoid touching anything. She can't touch any person without the gloves because she can cause sickness by touching and even death.

In order to cover up the real story, her parents told the school she has a condition and she can't come into contact with other students. So, she does attend class, but no one sits in the seats around her. Her fellow students think she's a freak. They have even given her the nickname of Typhoid Mary. She thinks she's a freak. What's worse, her parents think she's a freak. Her parents are conveniently never home when she is home and her mother routinely scrubs the entire house with ammonia just to ensure there is no fungus or bacteria in the house that Ellie could touch.

Her one source of comfort is talking to her online friend, Mackenzie. She can't tell Mackenzie what is really up with her, but she tells her as much as she can. I had suspicions about Mackenzie all throughout the book, but I was way off base. I won't reveal her role in the book as that would be a spoiler.

So, Ellie goes to school at the opening of the book to find a new kid in class. His name is Nate and he tried to sit next to Ellie She basically gave him the cold shoulder. I realize that part of her response was a defense mechanism, but she was pretty bitchy, to put it bluntly. He tried to extend his hand to make a friend and she just totally shut him down. Although, he did ask, " You have an...ability?" He seems to know something about her. Something intriguing.

She pushes Nate away and he seems to make his way to the cool crowd. It really gets under her skin and she can't stop thinking about him. Then, the unthinkable happens. Nate sits down with Ellie at lunch after one of the popular boys throws a grape at her head. He sits with her for several days, which draw the attention of the popular kids. When one of them says nasty things about Ellie, Nate stands up for her. After they have words, Nate makes to shake the other boys hand, but he goes all white, looking like he was in pain or having some sort of attack. So, Nate's been keeping some secrets of his own.

Ellie confides to Nate that she is basically a plague bearer, but he doesn't act surprised. Instead, he tells her that he could tell she has an ability and he does as well, although his ability is the opposite of hers. She can manipulate life. He shows her what he can do by bringing an insect back from the dead.

Then there is a zombie, a wraith, an evil business man who is hunting Nate, life, death, decay, broken bones, a car chase and maybe, just maybe a little romance.

While I enjoyed the book enough, it is not an instant favorite. The story was actually pretty slow paced for most of the book. A lot of the story also took place inside Ellie's head. She felt sorry for herself a lot. Heck, I felt sorry for her. She had parents who seemed to be afraid of her because they were never home while she was awake, but they somehow held onto their conviction that she was a normal girl that could do normal things like go to college. I can't imagine what it would be like to never be able to reach out and touch someone.

Nate, at first, seems like a normal guy, good looking, makes friends fast, but we do find out that he has a lot of secrets he's hiding. Secrets that wouldn't get him elected as prom king. Sitting with Ellie and sticking up for her has basically caused him to commit social suicide, but it doesn't seem to phase him. He has an ability and he tries to help Ellie understand what she is. I really felt bad for Nate. He had a lot going on, a lot to handle for one so young. He had his own reasons for needing to keep people at a distance, all of which slowly unfolds and is too horrifying to imagine.

All in all, though, it was an okay Halloween read.

Blog Tour Extracted by Sherry Ficklin and Tyler Jolley

Welcome to my stop on the Extracted Book Blog Tour!!! I had the pleasure of meeting the authors and the folks at Spencer Hill Press at BEA this year and I am very excited to be a part of the Extracted Blog Tour.

For my leg of the tour, I chose to interview the authors.  For me, this book was thought provoking and I had a lot of fun coming up with questions for Sherry and Tyler.  I want to thank them for being such good sports.  I really enjoyed their answers.  I hope you have as much fun reading the interview as I did!

Book Blurb:
Welcome to the war. The Tesla Institute is a premier academy that trains young time travelers called Rifters. Created by Nicola Tesla, the Institute seeks special individuals who can help preserve the time stream against those who try to alter it. The Hollows is a rogue band of Rifters who tear through time with little care for the consequences. Armed with their own group of lost teens--their only desire to find Tesla and put an end to his corruption of the time stream. Torn between them are Lex and Ember, two Rifters with no memories of their life before joining the time war. When Lex's girlfriend dies during a mission, the only way he can save her is to retrieve the Dox, a piece of tech which allows Rifters to re-enter their own timeline without collapsing the time stream. But the Dox is hidden deep within the Telsa Institute, which means Lex must go into the enemy camp. It's there he meets Ember, and the past that was stolen from them both comes flooding back. Now armed with the truth of who they are, Lex and Ember must work together to save the future before the battle for time destroys them both again.

Check out my review:
Extracted Book Review


Author Bios:
Tyler H. Jolley is a sci-fi/fantasy author and full-time orthodontist, periodontist (see: Overachiever). He divides his spare time between writing, reading, mountain biking, and camping with his family.
Sherry D. Ficklin is a full-time writer and internet radio show host with more mouth then good sense. She has a serious book addiction, but continually refuses treatment, much to her husband’s chagrin.
Tyler and Sherry met one fateful day and bonded over their love for books, science fiction, and donuts. Their first co-written novel came shortly after. Now, they still do all those other things, but also go to various steampunk conventions and events under the guise of ‘research’. They can often be found lurking on the Lost Imperials Facebook page or over on the official website, www.thelostimperials.com.

Pre-Order US Amazon

Pre-Order UK Amazon

Pre-Order Barnes and Noble


Interview with Sherry and Tyler

1. I really loved the book, and I have to know. What was your inspiration for bringing such an eclectic cast of characters together?


Sherry - I’m glad you liked it! The cast sort of built itself, at least on my end. It was sort of a matter of getting into Tesla’s head and figuring out what he wanted, and who would help him achieve that goal. Who would he recruit and why? Once I knew that, the cast just fell into place.

Tyler – The cast was built around people I would like to hang out with. I could see myself sitting across from the dinner table from Lex, Stein and Nobel or playing foosball with Ethan and Ember. 


2. What led to your interpretation of these historical figures, your take not being the typical imagining of these characters? For instance, Rasputin was presented in a positive light which goes against popular opinion.


Sherry - I found a bunch of letters the girls wrote to him, and it was pretty obvious that the family, at least, loved him dearly. I sort of thought about the time and what was going on in the country, and I felt like most of what people said about him was probably slander for political reasons. With the characters, I really tried to go in with a sense of what their lives would have been like, both before and after being recruited, and how that would have changed them. It’s interesting to think what kind of person you might be if you had no memories of your past. Everything we do in life shapes us, so what happens when that identity is gone? That was what we explored.

Tyler – We tried to take Lex and Ember and make them somebody that any high school kid would want to meet or be bff’s with. These characters have to got be people you’d want to friend on facebook or follow on twitter. We made them as interesting and fun as possible even though they already have a historical background.


3. Why Tesla? And why do you think he is gaining in popularity? This year marks his 157th birthday which is not a significant number, yet he has been turning up everywhere.


Sherry - I think we look at the technology we have now, and to people in his time, it would have been considered magic. What intrigues people about Tesla, is that he saw all this happening. He had a great vision for the future, and he wasn’t afraid to tell people about it. For that, people in his time thought he was crazy. But we have the ability to look back and go, wow. He was right on. It’s sort of a post-modern vindication happening.

Tyler – You know after Tupac died, a bunch of albums came out, and people thought he was still producing music. We are seeing the same thing happen with Tesla. A lot of things like remote control, cellular technology and electricity in general are being utilized more and more. As we start researching a lot of the inspiration for new technology, lately, we are seeing it be linked to some of Tesla’s “crazy” ideas. Never has anyone been more crazy but as interesting as Tesla.


4. A subject of discussion is the relationship between Tesla and Edison. Was there animosity between them or were they just rivals? Is there any chance that we might meet Edison in the series and if so, will the nature of their relationship and rivalry be explored?


Sherry - I pretty seriously doubt it. Edison, I feel like he wasn’t all that interesting as a person. He had a knack for taking someone else’s ideas and making them work, which is important, but I don’t think his own ideas were that original. I don’t think Tesla really had animosity with anyone. He had this arrogant sort of pity for people he thought were ‘beneath’ him intellectually. He was a “Sheldon”.

Tyler – That’s an interesting concept, who knows there might be an AC/DC feud in the next books.


5. Will we be seeing new historical figures in the next installment? If so, any clues as to whom we might meet?


Sherry - Yes, a few actually. We don’t give a lot of clues in book one as to who the other Tesla kids were before, but I can say that the title “The Lost Imperials” is very apt for all three books.

Tyler – In Prodigal, there will be a few more reveals of historical ancestry with a handful of characters.


6. Why the Romanovs? What inspired you to bring them into the story? There has always been an air of mystery and magic surrounding the missing Romanovs. Perhaps it is that they were a symbol of hope. Now that the remains have seemingly been found, so you see their significance waning? Is the mystery and magic truly gone?


Sherry - The Romanovs were the core of the story from day one. I knew it was Ember. I wanted to sort of explain what happened to her. Her story is so intriguing to me, not because of her disappearance, but because of her situation. I mean, here’s a young girl, a princess, who is brutalized, imprisoned, and eventually watches her family be slaughtered. As soon as I sat down to outline it, I knew It was Lex’s story too. I wanted them to survive, to be able to face this terrible thing and move on.
And for the record, I don’t think the remains they found were legitimate (neither does the Church). In a political climate like Russia, even the faintest whisper of hope for restoration had to be destroyed. And it was. Convenient.

Tyler – What allured me to having the Romanov’s in the book was all the historical urban fantasy that surrounded them. For example, the Amber Room is also in Extracted. I think Sherry and I both have gravitated towards adding unsolved mysteries to The Lost Imperial series. 



7. Do you think the human race will ever gain mastery over time? And should we?


Sherry - I really hope not. We haven’t exactly proven ourselves a responsible species, now have we? If so, I like to think that I keep going back to moments before time travel is invented and screw it up somehow. You’re welcome!

Tyler – Sure we deserve to, but only a few, select, intensely screened people should be able to. 


8. What authors have influenced you the most?


Sherry - So many I can’t even begin to tell you. I will say David Farland’s daily writing tips are hugely helpful. I met him at a conference once, he’s an amazing person.

Tyler – Dan Brown and Michael Crichton, the orthodontist part of me loves and appreciates how much research is put into their novels to make it as believe able as passible. James Dashner, Renee Collins, Jeff Savage have inspired me by how creative their stories are for the YA audience.


9. I always find the idea of co-authoring a book to be an intriguing process. What did each of you bring to this project? What are your unique experiences and knowledge that helped make this a stronger story? How did you settle creative differences? Was this a vision you both shared from the beginning or was it more one than the other?


Sherry - Haha, that’s a lot of questions all balled into one! Let’s see. Tyler is strong with tech and world building and he writes a MEAN fight scene. I’m better at subtle, emotional stuff and character building. I have ‘the feelings” as Ty calls it.
We didn’t have many creative differences. We really are on the same page most of the time. The few times that we did disagree we both presented our ideas and let each other sleep on them. Usually by the next day those ideas had triggered something that suited us both.
I think from the very beginning it was a team effort. We essentially took the experiences of two survivors living in very different worlds and brought them together in one book.

Tyler - What I brought to the project was Diet Coke and donuts. I agree with Sherry, I’m tying to get better at the emotional side of things. But I’m always worried it makes my guys characters wussy without me even realizing it. But, having Sherry on board helps me realize it can be done in a way that the characters are still strong.
I think when you write a YA novel, a lot of experiences and imagination goes into your writing. I feel like I have a wild, running-out-of-control imagination. And that really helps with world creation to make the story have more depth.
We settled creative differences with light sabers or sumo wrestling suits. They’re equally effective.
Epilogue: Sherry came up with the infrastructure for the story, then she was gracious to work along side with me to build the story on top of the infrastructure. Sherry trusted me enough to create a world that is fun, fast paced and interesting.


10. What titles or authors would you recommend to readers that would be in the same vein?


Sherry - Wow, I don’t know. I know that my friend just told me our book reminds her of the Haddix series? But I have no clue what that is. All Our Tomorrows was recommended to me also. Ah, time travel. It’s kind of funny because I don’t actually like time travel books, in general. It’s like, I went on a trip once and brought back these two rubber ducks as mementos. When my friends saw them on my shelf, they started buying them for me because they thought I really liked rubber ducks. Now I have a whole collection. Once I wrote Extracted, everyone was like, “Have you read such and such time travel book?” and I’m like, “Nope.”

Tyler – Like Sherry, I don’t read a lot of time travel novels. That’s the beauty of The Lost Imperials series, because I can’t think of anything like it. There are a lot of dystopian novels that I like and would recommended, The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth and Maze Runner by James Dashner. In terms of steampunk, time travel novels, I can’t think of any offhand. 



11. What are you reading now?


Sherry - I just read Relic by Renee Collins, and I’m about to start Origin by Jen Armentrout.

Tyler - Sherry, did you hack my kindle account, because I just finished those two, lol. As of right now I’m reading Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky.


12. I realize the first book is just coming out. Any target date as to when we might see the next installment?


Sherry - I am really hoping for a 12.13.14 release, but I doubt I’ll get it.  Probably early 2015. Publishing is fast like that.

Tyler – Agreed, we were both really hoping for 12.13.14, but who knows? It’s out of our hands.


13. Last question. Tesla or Edison? Who would win in a fist fight?


Sherry - In a fist fight? Probably Edison. But he’d cheat.

Tyler – Tesla, because he’d probably use brass knuckles laced with static electricity.

Blog Tour Dates

Monday, November 4

Interview

www.leighhershkovich.com

Wednesday, November 6

Interveiw

http://www.thecovercontessa.com

Friday, November 8

Review and Interview

http://www.booklovingme.com

Monday, November 11

Interview

http://www.shereadsalot.com

Tuesday, November 12

Interview

http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com

Wednesday , November 13

Guest Post

http://judithgraves.com

Monday, November 18

Interview

http://www.shadow-libros.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 19

Interview

http://www.yael-itamar.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 21

Guest Post

http://www.frankiesbookshelf.com/

Wednesday, November 27

Review and Spotlight

http://www.zephyrbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Ever, Jane - MMOR game based on the works of Jane Austen

The Jane Austen Book Club is so last year.  What could be better than a Jane Austen themed retreat in Merry Old England?  A Jane Austen themed retreat from the comfort of your sofa.

That's right.  Now you can immerse yourself in the world of Jane Austen.  Play online against other players.  Your chief weapon is surprise, fear and surprise; two chief weapons, fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency! Er, among your chief weapons are: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and near fanatical devotion to the Pope! Um, I'll start again in again...”. (Graham Chapman, Monty Python)

Your objective is to demolish your enemy.  Your weapon is gossip.  You strengthen your position by bolstering your reputation.


Taken from buzzfeed.com.

Jane Austen: The Massive Online RPG Game

Yes, an Austen-themed video game. “In the virtual world of Jane Austen, it is not about kill or be killed, but invite and be invited with gossip our weapon of choice.”


“Try to win the sympathy of Lizzie Bennet by telling lies about your rival,” urges Ever, Jane’s Kickstarter page. As you can probably guess, this Jane Austen-themed video game is not about smashing monsters with magic and swords, but about demolishing your enemies with gossip and bolstering your reputation by dancing with the elite.


What we know about the game:

1.

This dude thinks your bodice is rubbish and your sister is a slattern who eats boiled cabbages.

2.

It’s set either in Regency England or your worst middle school nightmare. You can spread lies about your enemies, but they can also do detective work to trace the rumors back to you and destroy your reputation.

3.

Think of it as interactive online Austen fan-fiction rather than a linear retelling of “Sense and Sensibility.” You can choose your character’s traits — if you want to be like Marianne Dashwood, for example, you can prize happiness over duty. But duty-bound characters like Mr. Knightly will find you offensive.

4.

Send dinner invitations to the social elite with caution: if they reject your invitation, your reputation suffers. If they accept grudgingly, you best not step on their shoes in the ballroom dance. If they accept happily, you can DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES.

5.

Mini-games include: dancing, piano, fishing, sewing, card games, and weeping under the willows as your beloved accepts some baseborn rapscallion’s hand in marriage.

6.

You can download and play an early version of the game and help the developers expand this MMORPG Austen universe by funding their Kickstarter.

Information on the Kickstarter program can be found at kickstarter projects/ever-jane.

Thanks to hubby for finding the article!

It's Just Another Manga Monday - Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden Vol 10 by Yuu Watase

It's been a while since I posted a manga review, but then I guess it's been a while since I read one. Hopefully I can make this a habit.

Alison Can Read started a weekly Manga Monday meme which I have jumped on. I've been reviewing manga from the start, but it is nice to have a place were like minded Otaku can meet and share our favorites.

I picked up where I left off in Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase. I believe Fushigi Yugi was the first series I picked up by Yuu Watase and she immediately became one of my favorite manga ka, right along with Rumiko Takahashi. Genbu Kaiden is a prequel to the the first series, following the very first priestess to enter the Universe of the Four Gods.

Book Description (From Amazon):
Publication Date: September 4, 2012

When schoolgirl Takiko Okuda attempts to destroy her father's translation of The Universe of the Four Gods, she is instead sucked into the story, becoming the
Priestess of Genbu in an epic journey to find the seven Celestial Warriors!

My Review:
Things are really starting to heat up. This volume opens with Uruki (Limdo) in bed with Takiko, our Priestess of Genbu. Limdo proposes to Takiko and is trying to consummate the marriage before it takes place. He's not a perv, though. He found out that if Takiko summons Genbu to protect Bei Jia, she will be sacrificed and he has fallen in love with her.

Takiko turns him down and tells him she plans to sacrifice herself in order to save the people and the land. In order for the Priestess to summon Genbu, she must remain pure, so marriage would be out of the question if she were to follow through on her promise.
Limdo has no choice but to respect her wishes. What he doesn't know, though, is that Takiko is sick and already dying of tuberculosis. She plans on keeping it a secret.

They wait in Tewulan for the other Celestial Warriors to meet them, all by Hagus (Urumiya). Takiko plans to try to find his twin brother Teg and free him in the hopes that the two brothers will join her cause. It is a dangerous time for them to be in Tewulan, though. The King, King Temdan, has been banished and his throne was taken from him by his brother, Emperor Tegil.

There was a prophecy told to King Temdan that when the Priestess of Genbu gathers all the Celestial Warriors together, his son would kill him. As a result, the king tried to have his only son murdered. That son is Limdo. He seeks revenge against the father that abandoned him and tried to have him slain. Takiko is determined to prevent that from happening, so while in Tewulan, she decides to go have a talk with King Temdan.

There are rebel factions rioting in the city, fighting to restore King Temdan to power. King Temdan, who is also sick from a wasting disease, has sold out his country to neighboring Qu Dong and plans to turn over the city to the invading forces on their doorstep.

While Takiko is trying to sneak in to see King Temdan, Limdo and some of the other Celestial Warriors seek out a way into the underground labyrinth hoping to be able to locate Teg and free him.

With King Temda's forces trying to kill her and the Celestial Warriors as well as dodging Emperor Tegil's troops, will she manage to find Teg, keep her promise to Hagus and unite all the Celestial Warriors before the invading army reaches the city?

This volume is full of action and kept me on the edge of my seat.  I just had to plunge into Vol 11, but that is a story for another day.

Stacking the Shelves - November 3, 2013

I just had the most spectacular day!!

I have been so busy working, getting ready for Halloween and doing Halloweeny things that I finally had a weekend free and what did I do?  I vegged.  Yesterday I was a total slug, but today!  Ah!  Today was a spectacular day!!

I actually spent the day reading a book!!  That's right!!  You heard it.  A book.  A real honest to goodness book!  I started it last evening and finished it today.  My  trusty sidekick, Egg, was laying on my lap the whole time, effectively pinning me under the covers.  Can't say I mind.  It was glorious!!  But now the day is shot.

Ah.  Who am I kidding?  I wasn't going to do much of anything anyway.  Hubby was away this weekend playing in the woods in his new satyr costume having a blast.

The mailman was unkind to me this week, but I don't care.  I read a book!

It's been a while.  You can understand my excitement.

Anyway, to make up for the lack of physical mail, I was busy ordering Kindle books.  I saw a link on Amazon called Kindle Match.  I had heard that Amazon was going to be doing this, but didn't realize they already had the website updated.

For those of you that don't know, Amazon is making available a Kindle edition of the physical copies purchased.  The prices range from $0.00 to $2.99.  Awesome!  There are a lot of books I bought that I haven't gotten to.  I love converting to Kindle.

There is a button on the KindleMatch page that will actually pull up your available copies.  Beware, though.  I believed that this would apply to all the books I bought as long as there was a Kindle edition.  That is not the case.  It only applies to some books.  So the button showing me my available books was time saving and it was a much shorter list than I anticipated.

So, that mixed in with my other Kindle purchases made up for being shunned by my mailman.

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Review.



Books Purchased:
Desert Tales: A Wicked Lovely Novel by Marr, Melissa

Tandem: The Many-Worlds Trilogy, Book I by Jarzab, Anna

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales by Marr, Melissa

A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly) by Dennard, Susan

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

Endure (Need) by Jones, Carrie 

The Fuzzy Bunch: A Get Fuzzy Collection by Conley, Darby

Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) by Crompton, Laurie Boyle

Kindle Books Purchased:
The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble - October Monthly Kindle deal

The Moth in the Mirror (Splintered) by A. G. Howard - Novella

The Morrow Secrets Trilogy - Book 1 (ebook edition) by Susan McNally - Free eBook on Halloween

Brightest Kind of Darkness, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #1) by P.T. Michelle - Free eBook

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber- October Monthly Kindle deal

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young- October Monthly Kindle deal

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin- October Monthly Kindle deal

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - KindleMatch edition

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman - KindleMatch edition

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - KindleMatch edition

The Dark Huntsman: A Fantasy Romance of The Black Court (Tales of The Black Court) by Jessica Aspen - Free eBook

Doctor Who: The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery by Justin Richards

Doctor Who: Summer Falls by Amelia Williams

Shatter Me (Enhanced Edition) by Tahereh Mafi- October Monthly Kindle deal

Unravel Me (Shatter Me) by Tahereh Mafi - November Monthly Kindle Deal

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan (Ella and Micha) by Jessica Sorensen

The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

All Hallow's Read - Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!!

At BEA this year, I learned of Neil Gaiman's Halloween reading promotion called All Hallow's Read. The idea is to give a scary book for Halloween.

Here is the link to the webpage.  You can watch Neil Gaiman talk about it.:
http://www.allhallowsread.com/

I have decided to make this a tradition and gave hubby a CD of Harlan Ellison. It's called On the Road With Ellison Vol 6. These are live recordings of him, well, on the road.

I also received a book today. Sweet Cherry on GoodReads sent me a note telling me that a book I had on my To Read shelf is available today on Amazon at $0.00 charge!!! So now I also share the link with you.

http://www.amazon.com/Morrow-Secrets-Trilogy-ebook-ebook/dp/B00FDT0RAG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1383213888

The Morrow Secrets (Tallitha Mouldson #1) by Susan McNally

It is a story of the heroine’s fight against the evil forces that have shaped the past and still surround her present. Tallitha is determined to unearth the family secret and so begins her breath-taking adventure, exploring the forbidden floors of the bizarre old house and discovering a number of intriguing clues which lead her ever further into the heart of the mystery. During her quest, Tallitha discovers she has inherited strange paranormal powers, passed down the female line of the Morrow clan. With the help of her eccentric cousin Esmerelda, Tallitha escapes the clutches of her suffocating family and makes her way across the dangerous terrain of Wycham Elva into the wilderness and the dark world of Breedoor. Accompanied by her brother and cousins she learns more about the mysterious past of the Morrow family, she forges new allegiances, endures terrifying challenges and encounters the strange creatures of the underground kingdom. Eventually she reaches the haunting castle of Hellstone Tors and the awesome truth about her family is laid bare........

I did buy some candy, but probably not nearly enough for the no kids we get every year. I like to be prepared...and hopeful. I'd hate to have a rush and no candy to hand out. Tonight, we are going to a Halloween Costume Contest at my favorite Tavern, The Cloverleaf, and hubby is going to see if his satyr costume is good enough to win an iPad.

However you plan to spend your Halloween, make the most of it and enjoy the day!

So give a scary book and get the word out!!!

Happy Screams!!!!!!!!!!

New York Comic Con 2013 Recap - Part Two

I should tell you that there was a booth for Knight Realms. What is Knight Realms, you ask? It just so happens to be the LARPing group hubby belongs to. No, I wouldn't say he had an ulterior motive. He wanted to go anyway. Though, the booth was generally our meet up point and he spent a lot of time there. And I had absolutely no problem with that. We had our phones. So if we were over at the KR booth and I wanted to go check the publishers, I just told him I'd be back in a few. I believe it was all very equitable, although I may have spent more time in the publishers aisles than anywhere else.

But again, I just want to put it out there. Hubby was the picture of forbearance. He was patient, understanding and quite a good sport. He kept asking if he could pick up things for me to give away. The dear. He may not have realized I have not yet learned the art of give-away jitsu. I promise I am working on it. Then every time we were at a publisher's booth or meeting an author, he kept saying, "Tell them you have a blog. Want me to say it? I'm going to mention it." Way to put the pressure on. I am not yet confident in that area and while I did bring business cards, I did not hand any of them out.

We went by the Spencer Hill booth and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sherry Ficklin and Tyler Jolley were going to be at the show promoting their Extracted comic. Sadly, like so many other things, the soiree was going to be on Saturday, so I was going to miss it. However, I was told they were at the show and on Friday, the entire booth was supposed to dress in Steampunk Star Wars. I promised to be back as I wanted to say hi. Unfortunately, every time I swung by it was to find I had missed them. It would have been a good picture for my leg of the tour blog. Please stop by on November 7th and check out my interview with them. (Shameless plug)

Most of the autographings I wanted to go to were on Friday. I had booth autographings and table autographings. I was very excited as there were authors there that I missed at BEA and I had hoped to pick up their books. Most of the signings were at tables after a panel by the authors. It was great because I could catch them all at once. Note to self: Skip the table signings next year. The publisher did not supply books. You had to purchase or bring your own. I had forgotten about that. As a result, I missed an early morning booth signing because the author was going to be at a table later. Once I realized my mistake, though, I ensured I made the rest of the booth signings for the day.


I managed to pick up Vicious signed by V.E Schwab that I missed at BEA, a steampunk ARC of The Inventor's secret signed by Andrea Cremer and a signed copy of God Save the Queen by Kate Locke. I forgot to bring a Scary Godmother book again for Jill Thompson to sign and I forgot to bring any of the Mice Templar comics I have. Both of the artist's were in Artist's Alley. So, it seems as much as I was trying real hard to be prepared, I wasn't really. Although I did bring my suitcase. The funny thing was that I was walking around with a heavy tote bag or two for about half the day and didn't think to drop the books off at the baggage check. There were some books from early morning, but I never made another drop off after I checked my suitcase. Also as an FYI, unlike BEA, apparently you can walk the floor of comic con toting luggage. Many people were doing it.

Regarding the Star Wars ornament, hubby's friends at the KR booth had mentioned they could pick it up for me, but we made no definite plans. We got up late Friday due to the aching feet and shoulders of the prior day and so were not going to make it at opening. We decided to see how much the ornament was and then would ask the KR people to pick it up on Saturday or Sunday. However, when we stopped by the booth, they made no mention of the previous day's offer, so I let it go. After all, they were there to drum up business for their group. So, no Rancor ornament.

So, the panels. I had added panels to my planner as well as signings, but let's be honest here. Am I really going to wait in line for eons when there are books to be had? I keep thinking if I was there for the whole four days I might, but I probably wouldn't. Hubby tried to get in for a Night Vale panel. He got there 45 minutes early and was already too late. To get into a panel, especially a popular panel, you need to line up at least an hour early or more. I would have liked to get into the Venture Bros panel, but that is always wildly popular. There was also a panel called Whedonversity (Buffy and Serenity in comics), Beer and Comics and a Starz panel where you could meet the cast and creators of the new Starz mini series. Diana Gabaldon was on hand for Outlander. Yeah. I missed them all. I could have made the Starz panel as it was at 6:45, but it was late in the day and my feet were killing me. Apparently the sneakers weren't all that much better than the DMs, but at least I could feel my toes at day's end.




















The NYCC is now almost as big as San Diego and is very nearly outgrowing the Jacob Javits Center. It is a fantastic event to indulge in whatever geek-type interests you have, whether it be books, comics, toys, gaming, costumes, celebrity stalking, panels, anime, screenings of all varieties, and last but not least, cosplay.

The con is becoming quite the preening ground for every cosplayer within the metropolitan area and even beyond. I do love looking at the costumes and I have to applaud them all for their courage to dress up and walk about, but I do have a couple of issues. I know we all have a very different idea in our head of what we look like than what we actually do look like. I know I sure do. But some people need to take stock of their physicality before donning some of these costumes. They are not always size or gender compatible. Some things you see can't be unseen. There were a lot of amazing costumes I saw and a lot that were not quite so professional looking.

The other issue I have is that people stop the cosplayers to snap their picture, but neither the photographer or the subject take into consideration where they are or how crowded it may be around them. Unfortunately, more often than not, they bung up the flow of foot traffic, especially in the heavily trafficked areas, like the video gaming area. In that respect, they are a menace. There should be a spot set up specifically for cosplayers to present photo ops. Heavily trafficked areas is not the place to bring out your Blue Steel.

There are always a lot of superheroes and a lot of Dr Who's running around. Not as many Amy Ponds this year, but a couple of Clara's. I actually saw more women dressed as the Tardis or a Dalek. Steampunk is still thriving as well based on the numbers of costumes I saw. There were Star Wars steampunk, Superhero Steam Punk and other franchises in addition to Steampunk as it's own genre. There was a guy dressed as the 10th doctor who had a zip up Tardis tent that he had over his head. He would walk around the con inside the Tardis so only his feet were visible and he would stop periodically and pop out. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures at the show, but I will share some of the good costumes I found on line.

 All in all, as exhausting as it was and as much as my feet hurt, I am so glad I got to go. I kept telling myself, though, that next year I need to get a four day pass whether hubby wants to go or not. Next year, I won't forget the suitcase on day one. Of course, it's a whole year away, so I'll probably forget by then.