Waiting on Wednesday (34)

   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

 


 Title: Ruins

Author: Dan Wells
Realease Date:March 11,,2014
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray

Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment of the blockbuster Partials Sequence.

Our time is almost up.

As the clock ticks closer and closer to the final Partial expiration date, humans and Partials stand on the brink of war. Caught in the middle, thousands of miles apart, are Samm and Kira: Samm, who is trapped on the far side of the continent beyond the vast toxic wasteland of the American Midwest; and Kira, now in the hands of Dr. Morgan, who is hell-bent on saving what's left of the Partials, even if she has to destroy Kira to do it.

The only hope lies in the hands of the scattered people of both races who seek a way to prevent the rapidly escalating conflict. But in their midst appears a mysterious figure, neither human nor Partial, with solemn warnings of the new apocalypse-one that none of them may be able to avert.

  So that's what I'm waiting.So how about you? Leave a link and let me know. :)

Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read (19)

Check out how Top Ten Tuesday works & the future schedule of topics HERE.The Top Ten Tuesday, is hosted by the ever-fabulous The Broke and the Bookish   This  meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish.

 Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read

  (either by teachers, friends, other bloggers, book club) -- doesn't necessarily have to be a BAD thing. Could be required reading, yes, but also book club, or just super enthusiastic friends "making" you read something)

1)The Alchemist My senior year this was required for class and I ended up loving the book and The Alchemist lead me to other Palo Cohelo
2)Satan Says Is a weird poetry book that I was required to read after a few reread the book grew on me.
3)The Bloody Chamber Retelling of fairy-tales and adaptions I loved this book,it was required for a class.
4)Tiger Lily Me and a friend were browsing the book store and my friend decided on buying this book,after she read it she forced me to read it because she loved it.
5)Not A Drop To Drink I was never all that interested in this book but I kept seeing great reviews on it so I felt forced to check it out.I'm glad I did.
6) Under The Never Blue I saw a bunch of reviews and post about this book and eventually gave in and read it.I can't wait for the third book.

Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition

5th Annual YA Novel Discovery Contest

SerendipityLiterary Agency in conjunction with Sourcebooks Inc. is hosting their fifth annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition.

No query? No pitch? No problem!

 Get in Front of Top YA Editors and Agents with ONLY the First 250 Words of Your YA Novel.

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win exposure to editors and a review of your manuscript from one of New York’s TOP young adult literary agents, Regina Brooks.

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo 

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

Great Prizes

The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop, plus a collection of gourmet teas from Possibiliteas.co!
The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions with editors from Scholastic, Feiwel and Friends, Random House, Little Brown, Kensington, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, and Sourcebooks. In addition, they will receive a year’s subscription to The Writer magazine! 

First 50 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.

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So if your wondering how it works it's easy:The rules of the contest are simple and entering is easy. Submit entries of ONLY the first 250 words of your manuscript and the title via the contest website at http://tinyurl.com/YAContest1

.One entry per person; anyone age 14+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1^st, 2013 until 11:59pm November 30^th, 2013 (ET)

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by:

 Deidre Jones Little Brown, Nicole Raymond Candlewick, Aubrey Poole Sourcebooks, Kendra Levin Viking Penguin, Mercedes Fernandez Kensington, Annie Nybo Simon and Schuster, Erica Finkel Abrams Books, Monica Jean Random House, Catherine Laudone Simon and Schuster, Stacey Friedberg Penguin Group, Paula Sadlet Random House, Laura Whitaker Bloomsbury, Anna Roberts Feiwel and Friends. 

These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions. PREVIOUS WINNERS: Previous winners are being published by major houses and many have received representation.

So if your interested in becoming an author go for it and ENTER NOW! http://tinyurl.com/YAContest13

Guitar Girl

 Title: Guitar Girl
Author: Sarra Manning
Published: April 21,2005
 
Seventeen-year-old Molly Montgomery never planned on becoming famous. Molly's band, The Hormones, was just supposed to be about mucking around with her best mates, Jane and Tara, and having fun. But when the deliciously dangerous Dean and his friend T join the band, things start happening fast.

 Soon The Hormones are front-page news, and their debut album is rocketing up the charts. Molly is the force behind the band, but the hazards of fame, first love, screaming fans, and sleazy managers are forcing the newly crowned teen queen of grrl angst close to the edge. Fame never comes for free, and Molly's about to find out what it costs.

***********************

Guitar Girl is the story of Molly, a girl who is inspired by rock queen Ruby X. Molly's intrigued by the idea of girl power and what it means for a rock band, so she grabs her two best friends and starts a band.It happened not because of the desire to become famous or for loads of cash.Molly started the band to just have some fun and become interesting.For this fact alone I love Molly's story

Then comes Dean and T they want the fortune and fame and help shape The Hormones become a legit rocking band.That's when the problems an angst starts.

The story is told in flash back and thought the story readers pick up clues that Molly and the rest of the bad just keep missing.Yes, our heroine is in over her head almost from the get-go.It's kinda why I kept reading,even though I wanted to put the book down I had to keep reading.I was rooting for Molly I wanted her to come out of everything okay and a bit wiser.She did but being famous came with a price.No one is famous for free and Guitar Girl is a story that makes that loud and clear. It's really the ending and the encounter with Ruby X that was sad but beautiful that makes this book touching.

I'm a sucker for books about bands and thoroughly enjoyed Guitar Girl.This book has a lot of drama, love and friendship.4/5

I heard a song but Taylor Swift called The Lucky Ones that reminded me about Ruby X and Molly.I feel like if things had been different for both of them then Molly could have sang Taylor's song to Ruby.

This Song Will Save Your Life

 Title: This Song Will Save Your Life
Author: Leila Sales
Publised: Sept 17,201


Elise Dembowski is not afraid of a little hard work. In fact, she embraces it. All her life, she’s taken on big, all-encompassing projects. When she was eight years old, she built her own dollhouse. When she was thirteen, she taught herself stop-motion animation. And when she’s fifteen, she embarks on the biggest, and most important, project of them all: becoming cool. Except she fails. Miserably. And everything falls to pieces.

Now, if possible, Elise’s social life is even worse than it was before. Until she stumbles into an underground dance club, and opens the door to a world she never knew existed. An inside-out world where, seemingly overnight, a previously uncool high school sophomore can become the hottest new DJ sensation. Elise finally has what she always wanted: acceptance, friendship, maybe even love. Until the real world threatens to steal it all away.

*************************************

I just finished This Song Will Save Your Life … Just finished. Normally I wait a bit, let the book feels and message soak in and then write a review, but I wanted to get these down now. I'm not going to lie Elise bothered me throughout the whole book.I'm not saying that I don't empathize with her I do.Being bullied is rough I know and I get that feeling like a outsider just wanting to belong feels like drowning but I just couldn't connect with the book.

Elise is a hard working quirky girl that just doesn't get people all she wants is to have friends,After a disastrous attempt at becoming popular and dealing with self harm in the beginning Elise is just living the life shes always known.Then on a late night walk she stumbles on to Start an underground dance club. Then she truly begins to come into her own.  This Song Will Save Your Life seems so real there's no love triangle or instalove, just young naive kinda awkward barley even love love. Elise could be a real teen somewhere trying to find her place living life.Sales's charecter are so well written that you want to just get to know them:Char,Pippa,Vicky,and the rest they all have there own story to tell and our a big part of  Elise's story.So while I didn't get lost in the book I can't deny that it was a pretty good book.

This Song Will Save Your Life is the type of book that I wanted to love I really did but it left me feeling Meh..

I've read so many reviews about it so maybe it's just me missing something because it seems like a good number of people are head over heel in love with This Song Will Save Your Life.I did enjoy it though just not all that much.Don't let my thoughts cloud yours judgement though Go grab a copy of This Song Will Save Your Life and form your own thoughts on the book. 3/5

Waiting on Wednesday(33)

            Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

 Title: Lady Theif
Author: A.C. Gaughen 
Realease Date:Feb 11,2014
Publisher:  Walker Childrens

Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of.

Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again 

 I can't wait I mean whats not to love about Robin Hood and a kick ass women Scarlet

  So that's what I'm waiting.So how about you? Leave a link and let me know. :)

Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta

Author Interview- J.D. Thompson

 J.D. Thompson is a photographer by day and closet writer by night. She views writing in much of the same manner in which she views art: it’s all about creation. J.D. has a love for words in general and is fascinated by the way a few simple sentences combined with one’s imagination can build a whole new universe on a single sheet of paper.

 In 2003 she attended the University of Moncton, where she majored in Visual Arts Studies and minored in English Literature. She is currently living a quaint rural town in the chilly northern peak of New-Brunswick, with her husband and young children. 


 The lovely author of the Blood lines series answered a few questions and to learn more about her and her books check out her website HERE



Where do you turn for instruction and inspiration?
I really haven’t had anyone to turn to for instruction seeing as I don’t have any inner connections to the publishing world however many women writers inspire me. Intelligent, kick-ass female novelists with a good voice and strong leading characters are my favorites. I just finished Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments and I loved the series.

There's a lot controversy about self-publishing versus traditional publishing, though self-publishing is becoming more widely accepted. Why did you choose to self-publish Silver and Stone?
I won’t lie, self-publishing isn’t exactly how I had planned on releasing my novel. Like most writers, I forwarded query upon query of my manuscript to agents hoping someone would take me under their literary wing. I had never written anything longer than an essay and the publishing world was much unknown to me. Although many agents showed interest, in the end I was left with a large pile of nos. So after nearly a year of shopping Silver and Stone around I lost patience and went at it alone. Self-publishing requires an enormous amount of work however it can also be extremely gratifying and you have the advantage of having full control over your work.  

How did you choose the genre you write in?
YA is the genre I enjoy the most reading, so I think it’s only natural that I write it as well. I’m basically an adult that refuses to grow up book-wise.

 If you could be any paranormal creature what would you be? Why?
Tough one. I'm tempted to say mermaid but I’m not the best swimmer and the ocean is too cold. I guess I would go with vampire (cliche, I know) because they are immortal, beautiful and in some recent cases, they sparkle.

 Would you rather be a villain or hero?
Villain, hands down. Villains always get a bad wrap but let's face it; it looks so much more fun to be bad.

Which way are you going with Bloodlines Novels? What can we expect from you after the series?

The last installment, Feathers and Lace, will conclude the trilogy. I am planning a spin off novel however the project is still very much in the developmental stages so we will see what comes of it!

Five Minute Friday(1)-Write

 Five Minute Friday. 

Hey there fellow people!

Here's the deal. Five Minute Friday. You go find the little prompt at the wonderful Lisa-Jo's blog, set the time and write for five minutes, and then just stop. Where you are, no edits, just publish raw words. 

START

 WRITE..

So five minutes to write.To write whatever comes to mind to just let go and type away...Is five minutes enough,
Enough time to just let go to just be free.The fact that people just time these beutiful, awkward,silly or moving posts is so sureal to me.

The fact that i decided to join in on this madness is insane but awesome.I start to type than stop so many thoughts I could share anytime but this feels differeent.I see mistakes and I might just leave them I wonder if others truly just write and leave there mistakes.

The red line daring me to change it.My five minutes coming to a close I had so much to say but it happens.Am I being silly.I wonder if I'll will do the FMF thing again.
Maybe.

STOP 

Leave your comments and thoughts I'll return the favor :)

Silver and Stone

Title: Silver and Stone: The Bloodlines Series
Author: J.D. Thompson
Publisher: Self
Publication Date: 2011
Source:Author (ebook)

 Welcome to high school high society hell, where last season’s slingbacks can warrant a lunch table demotion, the wrong date will knock you off the it-list and behind every pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses lies a secret people are dying to keep.

As if senior year at Weatherford Preparatory School wasn’t hard enough, sixteen year old Alexis Bardolph had to add school outcast to the curriculum.

A new found notoriety following a family scandal, her lacrosse star boy-friend dumping her for a former BFF and a string of perpetually bad hair days were among the many things going wrong in her already turbulent teenage life.

But when the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood begin to take an eerily tangible form and several Holler Creek residents are reported missing, Alexis can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more to her hellish dreams than meets the eye.

The unexpected arrival of a mysterious and dangerously handsome new student ultimately leads Alexis to troubling truths that not even her wildest imagination could have conjured

******************************

So even after reading the synopsis I had my doubts about the book.I really had no clue id I'd like it. The main chareter Alexis is definitely in need of a break,in the beginning going from top of the class miss popular to a social pariah.She's a acussed killer,her sister has turned against her, and her father has abandoned her; choosing to practically live at the office avioding his family.To top it off she thinks she's going crazy..All in all her shallow but caring friends are there for her.Then insert a new  attractive-cliche- and mysterious new student Lucas. Alexis’s and Lucas’s relationship, I admit, started off  with a little too much insta-love quality but it's well done and seriously makes sense in retrospect when you're finished with the book.The cover is pretty gorgeous and eye catching and I think fits with the tone of the book.

I read a bit of every thing but for the most part I definitely enjoy a well written paranormal romance.Silver and Stone sucked me in right fro the get go but at the end of the story I had no idea what I just read.Now this isn't a bad thing it's just that the author leaves the paranormal aspect of the story lurking subtlety in the shadows and at the end I had to go back and see what I missed not that I knew what was coming.An awesome start to a new supernatural series by author JD Thompson. 3/5

The sequel Blood and Champaine just came out Oct 1,2013

 

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

  
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Better Off Friends

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Realease Date:Feb 25,2014
Publisher:  Point

 

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?

Top Ten Book Turn-Offs(18)

Check out how Top Ten Tuesday works & the future schedule of topics HERE.The Top Ten Tuesday, is hosted by the ever-fabulous The Broke and the Bookish   This  meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish.

 Top Ten Book Turn-Offs

You know..you are reading and then SOMETHING happens to completely turn you off -- cheating, absent parents, multiple POVS etc.) 

1)  Smut-I'll read some new adult but if it's overly done then I'm out.

2) Overly religious undertones-Now i'm not against religion or anything but if a book feels heavly relious then I just cant get into it.Some books with slight religious undertone I really enjoy but if I start to feel like reliogn is being over done I just stop reading.

3)The time old love triangle -I feel like if you've seen one you've seen them all.If done right the love triangle can be salvage and enjoyed though.

4) Main charecters that are weak-.If a main character is weak and just talks  down one his/herself 24/7 then in some cases i'll just put the book down and maybe come back later.

5) Mass amounts of POVS- This is a hit or miss sometimes it makes reading a certain story more captivating other time I have a head ache trying to keep up.

6) A cliche plot-If I feel like a story is sometime that i've read a thousand times before.
7) Teacher and Student sexual relations Ugh the mention of a student hooking up with a student makes me cringe.
8) Possessive or clingy girls It's not attractive when a guy demands control in the book world or real life.Reading about an overly controlling guy just makes me mad.Or reading about a clingy possessive girl.

So that's my list I could only think of eight maybe if I can come more I'll update the list.