The Anne Books

When I was a teen, I watched the Anne of Green Gables series staring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie and fell in love with the story. I then read the first five books in the eight book series and enjoyed all of them. For some reason, I stopped at that point and moved onto other stories.

Now, more than a decade later, I've decided to revisit this series and continue to its conclusion. I've been listening to the audiobooks and am currently listening to book four, Anne of Windy Poplars.

I am in love with this series. The writing is excellent, the characters are refreshing, and everything is vivid. I love how Montgomery is able to have time pass quickly and smoothly, without anything seeming rushed. They may lose a little steam in the later half of the series, but I appreciate that the stories follow Anne into adulthood, into her life as a wife and mother, and doesn't just end with her a happy teacher or engaged and in love. More of her life is explored and I think that can be a good thing to have sometimes, because it shows depth to the world and characters and also shows that the end of the story isn't when you've found love or earned a degree or finished a quest. That is only a step on the journey, not the end.

Have you ever revisited an old favorite or gone back to a series you didn't finish? What was it like for you?

My Thoughts for Your Thursday

I've decided that Thursday will be the day that I post some form of a discussion each week. Tuesdays are typically the day that new books release, so I will save that for reviews. I will no longer be sharing all of my reviews here since I do a majority of my reviewing on goodreads now. I will continue posting reviews for books that I receive for review here on my blog (as well as a review on goodreads) and others that I feel like sharing. But I want this blog to be more about discussions than reviews. 

Buddy Reading

Today I want to discuss buddy reading. If you don't know what buddy reading is, it's basically when you and another person decide to read a book together and discuss it as you go. There are many ways of doing buddy reads and a lot of groups on goodreads have a bunch of these going on at a time. 

Sometimes the buddy reads within a group can get little big, which can kind of defeat the purpose of a buddy read for me. Everyone will kind of read at their own pace in these reads and then comment as they go. The discussions can be a lot of fun, but I find myself being drawn to these reads less and less these days. 

My favorite kind of buddy read is with one or two individuals where we decide a set number of pages or chapters to read within a given amount of time and then come back to discuss that section before moving on. These reads tend to be a little deeper in discussion since everyone is at the same point and you don't have to worry as much about accidentally spoiling someone. 

Do you buddy read? If so, what type of buddy reading do you prefer?

 

May 2018 Reading and Life Recap

Favorite Read of May (excluding rereads)

Dark Life by Kat Falls was a random pick for me. I was participating in a reading challenge that needed a book that was set under water and found the audiobook on my library Overdrive account so decided to give it a listen. And I ended up really enjoying it.

It's a post-apocalyptic story that involves the colonization of the ocean, which in itself is a really interesting concept. It was also well written, attention grabbing, and had a cast of fun characters. I'm definitely planning to pick up the sequel in the not too distant future.








Bucket List Item 
Maybe that is a bit of an extreme discription for this, but I have been wanting to go to a Drive-In movie for a long time. And I finally did in May. The first weekend in May I saw Avengers: Infinity War at a drive-in and it was really fun. I wish that I lived even closer to one than I do so I could go regularly. It has great prices, the staff is fun, and it's a laid back venue. I will definitely be going back again. I shared a picture on instagram that incorporates some bookish fun into the movie experience: Books & Movies

Being Bold
For the past nine or so months I have worked full time doing something that I was not really enjoying. Yes, it was a job, but I want something that will give me more satisfaction than just getting a pay check. In May I decided to take a risk and give some of my other plans a try. I'm at the point in my life where it's kind of a now or never type of thing. It's scary, I'm not always great at it, and I don't know how it will pan out yet, but I'm taking a shot at following some of my dreams and I'm excited to do so.

Writing
I have been working on a fantasy novel for several months now and finally decided to push myself. I moved up my first draft goal from January 2019 to September 2018. If I don't quite meet this goal that's fine, but I think that I can make it work. If I don't push myself to grow then I will never be able to develop as a writer and share all of my work with the world. Fingers crossed that I have big news in regards to this project next year. That's the goal at this point.

These are just a few of the highlights of my month. I'm trying to motivate myself to reach farther and try harder. Some days I feel like an utter failure and others I'm on top of the world. I'm hoping that means I can fall somewhere in the middle most of the time and keep a steady pace that moves me forward.

I would love to hear about some of your weekly/monthly/yearly highlights. Let me know what things are making you happy or challenging you to be the best you you can be.

Kathryn Bywaters | Interview

Kathryn Bywaters is the author of The Past is Rising, which you can buy now. The sequel will be hitting shelves later this year, so now is the perfect time to give book one a try. You can read the first chapter on Kathryn's blog.

Before we get into the interview, here is a little more about the book:

The Past Is Rising is a compelling fantasy epic that revolves around the uprising of dark forces bent on wresting a kingdom from its rightful rulers. Several warriors will discover that their true destinies are to salvage their kingdom and defeat the rising evil.

At fourteen, Erik dreams of past glories. He was not alive when the False Kings marched against their nephew and laid siege to the city of Meraview. Now, perched on the outer wall, Erik imagines the two great armies battling on the plains outside the city. His excitement mounts as he spies a horse and rider racing to reach Meraview.

This lone messenger is Eve, cousin to the High King—and she brings troubling news. The False Kings, once again, are gaining power. When Eve leaves to spy on the False Kings, Erik and his friend Hobble follow her. Along the way, they will learn about lost regal bloodlines, battle against ancient magical forces, and make new allies in the fight against evil.

Sinister forces closely watch Erik and his new companions. Are these young people ready to face the return of the False Kings? Or will they simply be anonymous casualties in the coming war?

Interview

When did you first know you wanted to write a book?

One night when I was 10 years old, trying to sleep but being kept awake by a storm, I started to compose a poem in my head. When I finally had it right I jumped out of bed because I had to share it with my father. I loved the way it felt, making something that was mine. After that I wrote other poems and short stories. Then I started writing my first book, the prequel to The Past Is Rising, at age 12; I finished it at 17. My family had moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia and I think being exposed to a very foreign environment helped push my imagination to dream of new worlds.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a pantser for sure! I have no idea where the story is going until my fingers are typing the words. However, in life I would have to say I’m a little of both. I love lists and planning but would also never let a spur of the moment opportunity go to waste. I believe the Yiddish have it right with their adage, “Man plans, and God laughs.”

Have any of your characters been inspired by people that you know?

Aspects of some of the characters most definitely have been inspired by people I know. For example, the fiery strength of my sister can be seen in Ann. Situations and places in my life have also inspired moments throughout the book.

Do you have any favorite books you would recommend to other readers?

Lord of the Rings, I think, will always be my favorite. Umberto Eco’s Baudolino, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream are all masterpieces. If you are looking for a fun, easy read: Hunger Games, Harry Potter and lately I’ve really been liking Sarah Maas.

What is one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?

If it is what you truly love doing, do it. It’s hard work and very time consuming but so are most things worth doing in life. So, do what you love and it will all seem worth it.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?

I’m more of a go to the park and lie on the grass or turn off the lights and light candles type of writer. As I write it’s like a movie starts playing in my head and sometimes I can’t write fast enough to keep up. Even if I had music on, once I started writing I don’t think I’d even hear it.

What inspired you to write fantasy?

Lord of the Rings and visiting palaces in Russia and castles in the South of France. The idea of kings and queens became real to me. I started imagining what it would be like if that was how the world was still governed. In the South of France there are legends of the Knights Templar and each castle has its own story. I think hearing about the tales of the Knights Templar and the Albigensian Crusade illuminated the good versus evil dichotomy – the struggle is real!

What type of research is involved in your writing?

At this point none, just imagination and inspiration but I do have some ideas for historical fiction that I would like to write.

If your book was being adapted for the screen, who would you want to play the leading role(s)?

Oh that’s a hard one! I’m not really an actor buff and don’t follow what’s going on in Hollywoord but I’ll give this a try…

Keira Knightley - Eve

Kristin Kreuk – Sarah

Emma Watson– Ann

Christopher Hemsworth – Aeron

Jesse Williams – Reddoc

A young Josh Hutcherson - Erik

Karen Richardson~Interview

Karen Richardson is the author of The Ordinary Series which currently consists of The Ordinary and The Heir. You can (and should!) follow Karen on all of her social media (linked below):

The Ordinary Blog

Goodreads

Instagram

Facebook

Here is a little more information about The Ordinary: 

Natalie, a recent college graduate, has waited her entire life to spread her proverbial wings to teach those with actual wings how to blend in with the Ordinary world they have been well hidden from most of their lives. Her father, a Historian, who stumbled upon the Essential world and somehow managed to insert himself into the fairy-like Kingdom, gave her the opportunity to merge her love of teaching with her interest in the magical, energy wielding group. However, her quiet days of teaching do not last long and she finds herself in the midst of surrounding Kingdoms’ conflicts and smack dab in the middle of a violent search for the Ordinary heir to the Kingdom of Kapleton’s throne. Haunted by a recurring dream and caught between Chris, the man she thought she would marry, and Jordan, an Essential she is unexplainably drawn to, Natalie tries to manage this new, tumultuous world she has become a part of. Natalie may have gone to Kambrasia to teach Essentials how to live in the Ordinary world, but will she survive in theirs?

You can find The Ordinary and The Heir in both physical and ebook formats on Amazon. I highly recommend you give the series a try if you enjoy Young Adult fantasy. And consider leaving a review on goodreads and/or Amazon if you do give it a read.

Now onto the interview! 

Interview

Are any of your characters inspired by living people?

One of the best parts of writing this series has been intertwining my real life with this fantasy world. I think most of my characters are inspired by living people. Natalie has a lot of the fears and anxiety issues that I have. Natalie’s father is a history professor…I’m married to one! Gage fathers Natalie in a way I see my husband fathering our children. Ky’s personality is definitely inspired by my daughter, Kyleigh. There are anecdotes throughout that really happened in our family or in my childhood. I could go on and on. Definitely a yes to this question!

What is one message you hope readers take away from reading The Ordinary?

This was meant to be a fun read—an escape from life for a few of hours before you have to settle back into reality. However, there is an underlying message. I think many of us go through times in our lives where we feel absolutely ordinary. We compare our worst to someone’s best and intensify those ordinary feelings even more. What I wanted readers (and my kids!)  to pick up when they read this is that there is some extraordinary in all of us. It may look differently than the person next to you, but it’s there. You are anything but ordinary!

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?

I do not listen to music but in fairness, I haven’t tried. I’m pretty happy in my head and tune out much of what’s happening around me when I write. I doubt I’d hear much of it if I did play it while I wrote! Although, love songs inspire my writing!

Are you a plotter or an pantser?

Definitely a pantser. I have a loose plot in my head but can’t imagine plotting out the entire story. I know that is so much work and when I came to a place where the story wanted to take me somewhere else, I would definitely rethink that, knowing I would have to do all the work to redo the plot outline! Ha! Besides, for me, that’s what makes writing so fun and so therapeutic. Those parts that surprise me? I live for those moments! I write for those moments.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. I never thought of myself as a writer, though. I’ve always had stories running through my head and really enjoyed the writing I did, but never thought myself good enough to be considered a writer. Remember, Natalie gets her ordinary complex from me! My husband has been telling me for years what a great writer I am and that I needed to write a book. I finally listened. It’s still such a vulnerable place for me to be. I wrote the entire first book, The Ordinary, and only my husband and kids knew. Putting my writing out for the world is terrifying for me. Doing so has shown me how long I’ve sat in the shadows of my fear. Now I’m standing smack dab in the center of that fear and pushing myself every day. It’s so hard and so good! Looking back, yes, I always wanted to be a writer. I just didn’t have the confidence to tell anyone else until now!

What books have you loved that you would recommend to readers?

Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner taught me to love reading. I loved that series. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery will always be favorites. I loved The Help by Kathryn Stockett and aside from Nicholas Sparks’ pages of details I could live without, I really like his love stories and plot twists. I’m a sucker for a good fantasy. I want magic and wonder mixed with a good love story. I enjoyed Cassandra Claire’s series. I recently listened to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn and while it was sometimes hard to follow (could have been we were on a cross country drive and kids interrupted a lot!) I fell in love with his storytelling abilities. I know there are more…I’m wishing I kept up on Goodreads better and had a good record of my reading ventures.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you want to play the leading role(s)?

I was just thinking about this! I need to explain something before I answer, though.

My daughter asked to read The Ordinary when I was deep in the editing process, so I handed her my marked up manuscript pages and told her to have fun. She came back ten minutes later and said she couldn’t understand it through all my editing. Ha! So, I began reading it to her. It was so awesome on so many levels. We literally began reading to our kids when they were tiny infants but eventually they became good enough readers they didn’t want to read with us any longer. It was really fun to share the magic of a story with her again…it was beyond amazing to share my story with her and see the characters come to life through her eyes. She would stop me as we read and give detailed descriptions of what she thought each character looked like (and lots of advice like Ordinaries and Essentials should definitely be able to have Essential babies!). It was so, so interesting for me to compare how I saw my characters to the way she saw them. Fascinating!

Now, to the question! I envision Natalie looking along the lines of Victoria Justice. I think one of the best parts of having your book made into a movie would be seeing your story through other creative minds. I don’t know…maybe that would backfire and it would end up nothing how I imagined! I want it to be a springboard for more awesome. That’s not too much to ask…right?

What is one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring writers?

Keep detailed notes of all your characters. Even if they seem minor. You’d be surprised how often you need to remember what you named a character you thought you’d never “see” again! And, keep your notes organized. It takes me forever to find pieces of information I need and know I wrote down. Where was that again?

Is there anything you wish you had done differently in your writing career up to this point?

I wish I would have gotten serious about writing sooner. I always wrote. I always enjoyed twisting and changing words until they expressed how I was feeling on paper. It’s therapeutic for me. I just wish I would have been more purposeful about it sooner.

Are you currently working on any writing projects? If so, what can you tell us about them?

Yes! Right now I’m almost finished with the first draft of the third book in The Ordinary Series. It’s currently nameless but hopefully won’t be for long. My mind is in a bit of a creative struggle right now because I have an idea for another series that would really like some of the attention I’m giving The Ordinary Series. I’m excited because it will be the story of a minor character in the third book of The Ordinary Series. She kind of came out of nowhere and I can’t wait to tell her story.

Paul McAvoy's "So... I Met" Series | Guest Post

Today's post is brought to you from Paul McAvoy, the author of the "So... I Met" series. You can find all of his novels on Paul's Amazon Page.

Taking a look at the “So… I Met” series….

By Paul McAvoy

The series of books was not actually planned… I don’t think I sat down and thought, I will do a series: I guess it just happened. I actually wrote the first few for my children: So… I Met a Ghost and So… I Met an Alien were written around the same time. So… I Met a Ghost, is the darker of the two, and it features a strange boy called Cal who likes to draw pictures of graves near to his dad’s house. He is from a broken home and has a sister: he sees his Dad a few times a week, staying over. I suppose ‘Ghost’ deals a lot with how it is for kids when their parents split up, the sense of loss and confusion a child must feel when both his parents no longer want to be together, and perhaps his trips to a local graveyard to draw gravestones helps him deal with it. But it is during such a visit he first sees a ghost…

In ‘Alien,’ things are a bit lighter. There is a darkness, however, as the main character Danny’s mother passed away a year or so earlier and him, his sister and father moved away from the hustle and bustle of life in London to sleepy Somerset. The book deals with his loss, but there is also a couple of bullies at his school, who he is finding it hard to deal with. Unable to take the bullying anymore, he skips school, but just so happens to save the life of an alien in doing so. His interaction with the alien is quite light-hearted and in a race against time book, he tries to get the alien to safety from the Men in Dark (more of them later).

The third book is So… I Met a Demon. In this one I wanted to chronical a child’s life over a series of years, watching him grow a year old in each chapter. Every May Day (1^st of May), Ben sees the same girl in the gardens of the local Spook House, which everyone thinks is haunted. No one can see her but him. The question is who is she and why does she not seem to age?

The forth book in all about the Vampire. It is the first in my series to feature a girl as the main character. (Like Doctor Who casting a female doctor, maybe this was long overdue). Jesse wakes in woods in Scotland, having no memory of how she got there. The book at one point was going to be about a reaper, but it seemed to evolve into more of a story about a vampire. Jesse meets a man in dark at a local police station and her memories come back and she tells her story of how she died and was given a chance to live again by a reaper – she had to perform three tasks: one of which was to obtain blood from a vampire…

Although the main characters in the books are always different to the previous ones, there is a recurring man in dark, called ‘Bobby,’ and as each book passes, we learn a little bit more about him and the Department of Paranormal Investigations (DPI), where he works.

Bobby features a lot in the latest book, So… I Met a Werewolf and I guess we have two main characters here: We have Ollie who is saved by a mysterious teenage girl (Leah) in a Scottish glen, having tumbled off a mountain and injuring his leg. We have Ollie’s story, and also Leah’s as she tells him how she became a werewolf while they sit in the middle of nowhere in an old building at the side of the mountain, Ollie’s leg too badly damaged for him to walk anywhere, the full moon rising quickly…

I am interested how people will take So... I Met a Werewolf. The previous four were more YA horror/adventure type of reads, but this is all about the story. I have tried to create a slow build YA horror here in the hope that the reader spends their time with their breath held until the last page is turned. Is Leah a werewolf? Is she deluded?

But what of the future? Well, there are plenty of supernatural beings out there to meet and there are warlocks and witches as well… I have also got plans to tell Bobby’s tale one day -  how did he become involved in the DPI? I wish to re-visit some of the previous characters as well, see how they are progressing in life. I did not think this series would go on to five books, but I actually think that there are more to come… many more…

The books are all available in both paperback and on Kindle.

https://paulmcavoywriting.blogspot.co.uk/

The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan is probably the longest series I have ever read. Over the course of 2016 (and a few months of 2017) I completed the fifteen book series (this includes the prequel). With the shortest book falling somewhere around 600 pages, this was no easy task. But I made it.

There are many things about this series that have me conflicted. I'm going to try and touch on some of the things that I liked best, and the things I didn't like at all, while avoiding spoilers. This is going to be less a review and more general thoughts and impressions about the series.

Let's start off with the positives, so that I don't go into a rant and forget all the things I do appreciate about the series.

1) It's readable, almost compulsively so. After finishing each book, particularly those near the beginning of the series, I would have a hard time pinpointing anything that really made the book special for me and yet, I needed to read the next book. They were also a lot of fun to read, for the most part.

2) The worldbuilding was quite spectacular. These don't have my favorite fantasy world, but the world is fascinating. This really started becoming apparent to me in books four and five (which were both quite excellent). The expansion and exploration of new societies--the Aiel, in particular--was fascinating to me. I loved the exploration and contrast between the various cultures.

2a) While the Aes Sedai often drove me insane, the White Tower was such an interesting place. And the Warders--I want to know more about these bonds.

2b) The Forsaken, our main villains in the series, had some really interesting stories that were sprinkled throughout. There are several of them that I would like to know more about. How did they get where they are?

2c) Throughout the series there were various instances of slavery brought up and explored (to an extent). I thought this was handled in a very interesting way because we got to see it from almost every angle. We were in the heads of people forced to be slaves, those who were raised slaves, those who were freed, those who were absolutely opposed to the idea, those who inflicted this on others. I don't know how to explain this, but it was just really interesting to have this piece of the world, that is so dark and depressing, explored so fully. I don't think I've seen that done in quite the same way anywhere else.

3) The wolves. I'm not going to go deeply into this because it would be very spoilery, but I found the wolf aspect and connection in the series fascinating.

4) Androl, who was only introduced once Sanderson took over the series. I have no idea (because I haven't sought out an answer) if he was a creation of Sanderson, or a character that Jordan planned to introduce. Either way, I adored his character and wish there had been more through the entire series with this guy.

5) Lan and Nynaeve. A lot of people don't seem to like these two. And while I never loved any of the characters (except maybe Androl) these were early favorites. In fact, I think a lot of the series would have been more interesting if they had been worked in more. There was a lot of potential that I felt like was ignored. But anyway, for positives, I did enjoy these two. Lan's portions in the last few books were particularly great.

6) The overall conclusion was very satisfying to me. There were a few characters I would have liked to visit again, a few more answers that could have been revealed, but overall I was very happy with how things ended. There was enough closure to leave me satisfied, with enough left open to keep the world alive in my mind. Which is the perfect ending, in my eyes. 


Alright, now let's get to the things I wasn't so fond of. Very few of these are things that I outright hated. It's more just things that bothered me in some way.

1) The Trakand family. I'm putting them at the top of my list because I want to get them out of the way. I will talk about the rest of the characters in a minute. This family was the worst part of the books for me. Elayne became progressively worse with every book and Gawyn and Morgase (her brother and mother) were no better. Each of them may have had a few moments where I could stand them, but they were few and far between. The only one connected to their family that I liked was Galad, and he didn't show up nearly enough.

2) The writing. It's not that I hated the writing or anything, because I didn't, I just found it rather clunky. It was really repetitive at times and there were certain things that just didn't need to be written. I would read a paragraph and feel like two or three sentences could be cut entirely, because the other sentences explained everything well enough.

3) This goes along with my last point with writing, but I wanted to mention it separately. Removing the line "she folded her arms under her breasts" and other variations of this could have easily cut out a hundred pages from almost every book. No, really, I don't think that's much of an exaggeration. In the beginning I didn't notice this all that much, but then it started nagging at me. We get it! Women have breasts and, if they fold their arms, it's usually under their breasts. We don't need reminding every five seconds! Along those same lines, Nynaeve's braid tugging got pretty old.

4) The characters. Just like with the writing, I didn't hate the characters, but there were very few that I ever actually liked. In the beginning, Perrin was my favorite, then the middle books happened and he fell apart for me. Mat was my least favorite to start, then the later books happened and I found myself wanting to be in his head more and more. I've already mentioned the Trakand's, so I won't go there again. Egwene...She had her moments, but still, overall I disliked her. I was never a fan of Rand either. Don't hate me.

5) The complete lack of understanding between women and men drove me insane. Yes, we are different from each other. Yes we see things in the other that we don't see in ourselves (despite the fact that it's there), but that doesn't mean we are always at odds, completely unable to understand each other. This is a slight exaggeration, but not by much. The highlighting of the differences in thought was good in theory, but the execution of how these differences would play out did not go well.

6) I was never that into the magic system in these books. I thought it was interesting, with the various weaves and how different Ajah's in the White Tower focused on different things, but it never made sense to me. I couldn't envision it well and that prevented me from being able to really appreciate the portions of the narrative that relied on the magic. 

7) The passage of time in this was frustrating to me. I know that time does not work exactly the same way in this world as it does on earth, but I found it very unrealistic for only around two years to have passed from beginning to end. Too much happened for that to be a reasonable time frame. I constantly found myself wondering how much time had passed, only to be reminded that it had been mere months (that felt like years) since the beginning of the journey. 

In Conclusion
This series is far from being my favorite series of all time, but I am very glad that I read it. It's easy to see how this was influenced by previous works and how more recent works have been influenced by this, which is really neat to me. It's difficult to be completely original, but you can put your own spin on things, so I think this getting so much hate for being a "Tolkien copy" is very unreasonable, personally, because it does add its own spin to the story. 

Will I ever read these again? I really don't know. I may revisit them in the future, to see what I think about them after becoming more widely read. In some ways I think a reread would be a good thing because I can try to catch some of the little details that I missed the first time around. Only the future can say whether I will get back into these again. 

Despite the many things that annoyed me about this series, I did enjoy reading it. It's not for everyone, but I would urge fantasy fans to give it a try. You may not stick with it, but maybe you will love it. 

If I left out something (or even got some details wrong) I would love to know. Feel free to chat with me about your own experience with this series in the comments. 

Note: This is not a particularly thorough analysis of the series, just my overall impressions. When I read I tend to read for enjoyment, hoping to pick up things along the way, but not extremely concerned about keep track of every detail. I didn't write this as a deep look at the overall story, just my general impressions and what I enjoyed or did not. 

Writing | Tuesday Talks

Tuesday Talks is a goodreads group designed to foster discussion on various book related topics. You can join in or follow the discussions through the group.

Are you a writer?

Writing is probably the one thing that comes naturally to me. Am I perfect in my writing? No, not by any means. Am I a good writer? I like to think so. Do I enjoy writing? Yes. It's one of my greatest passions. So let's talk about this a little more. 

I have been creating stories for as long as I can remember. I loved drawing and art as a child (I still do, I just didn't develop the skill) and would carry around notebooks and drawing supplies everywhere I went. It was a long time before I was much of a reader, but I would write all the time using invented spelling and chronicling the adventures of my heroes and heroines. Some of the ideas weren't even that bad, they just need a lot of polish. 

In my teens I wrote a few novels but never edited them or did much with them after that first drafting stage. Since then, I've stared developing my skills more. I write regularly, have joined online writing communities (which can be really helpful), and completed NaNoWriMo once. The writing is the easy part for me; it's the editing that pulls me down. 

My writing journey continues and I finally released a story this year. I am hoping for many more to come. It's short, it's sweet (ish), and I had a blast writing it. Short stories and novellas have become a writing obsession for me, but I still enjoy poetry and novels. Writing is in my blood. 

If you're curious, my story is Worlds with Ruby. 

Are you a writer? I would love to hear about your writing journey. 

Surprised by an Author | Tuesday Talks

Tuesday Talks is a book discussion group that you can find on goodreads. There is a new topic each Tuesday and it's always fun to jump in and have discussion with other book lovers.

What Authors Surprised You With Their Writing Skills?

One author that immediately comes to mind for this is Sara Ella. I knew Sara through booktube for quite a while before her first book was released, which was really the first time I had read her writing. I was really excited to read her book, but I never know what to expect from new authors, so I was pleasantly surprised by her skill. Her novel Unblemished is not a genre that I tend to love (I prefer high fantasy to urban), I found her writing very compelling and descriptive. I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy, Unraveling, which releases July 11th.

What authors have surprised you? 

Interview with Janie Chodosh, author of the Faith Flores Science Mysteries

Janie Chodosh is author of the Faith Flores Science Mysteries series which follow titular character Faith as she uses her love of science to solve mysteries that others have written off as closed.

You can find out more about Janie and the Faith Flores series by visiting her website: Janie Chodosh

Today I bring you an interview with Janie where she opens up about her stories, her life, and the writing process. Come back tomorrow for my review of Code Red, the second book in the Faith Flores series.

Interview

      Describe Faith Flores in 5 to 10 sentences. 

In the start of the series Faith has major trust issues. Her mother died of a supposed heroine overdose and she never met her father, so she feels quite alone and abandoned. Faith is vulnerable. She wants to be close to people, but she is terrified. Faith is also smart and curious, and like many teens I have met, she has a great sense of humor with a strong dose of sarcasm.

 Who or what first inspired you to write?

I have always loved to write. I don’t think anyone or anything inspired me as much as writing is just a part of who I am. In first grade I remember writing my teacher a song and then singing it to her! (I am a terrible singer.) In sixth grade I wrote a play and got together a cast of elementary school actors and performed it for my school. I have always kept journals and when people still wrote letters, I would write long expressive letters to anyone who would read them! Recently a former high school friend told me she still had a five-page note I wrote to her!

Was there a fictional character that you identified with most as a child or teen?

I loved Dorothy from the Oz series. I loved her adventures in fictional lands and all the characters she met. I loved the fantasy world created by Frank Baum—not just in the “Wizard of Oz,” but throughout the whole series. I loved books that transport me and I still do. Dorothy is an intrepid explorer and she is unafraid of taking risks and standing up for her friends. I’m not sure if anyone still reads those books, but in my opinion, they should.

What is one thing you hope readers learn/remember from reading your books?

Great question. I hope they remember my characters. I love writing character, and Faith is close to my heart. She is real and damaged and in many ways the odds are stacked against her, but she does not give up. She does not take no for an answer. She does not let a dead end stop her. I also hope readers will connect with her love of science and the fascinating world of genetics and the idea of pursuing your passion.

Are any characters based on real people?

No characters are based on any one person, though I guess I could say that in some ways, since they come from my mind and my understanding of the world, they are all based on me! But that would be really boring to have a book of  “Janie’s” so I love taking what I know and think about and fictionalizing and imagining the world for the character. I love creating and dreaming and imaging who these people are, giving them voice and making them real.

What inspired the locations for your stories?

I wanted “Death Spiral” to be an urban story and I needed an urban center close to big pharmaceutical companies. I also wanted there to be a university. I came up with Philadelphia for these reasons, but also because half of my family is from the Philadelphia area and I had spent time there as a child. It was a place I was familiar with, and met all the requirements for the setting. However, authenticity is important to me, so since I am not there, I did tons of research. I decided to set book two, “Code Red” in Santa Fe, where I have lived for the past seventeen years, and which I know intimately. I wanted to capture subtleties of place I could not capture in book one. Plus, Santa Fe is a pretty unique place, and I thought Faith, coming from a big east coast city, would have a strong reaction to the high western desert. It was fun seeing Santa Fe through her eyes and imagining her experience of it.

Do you listen to music while writing?

I am so easily distracted that music would just be too much of a distraction. I really do prefer it to be quiet while I write. Listening to music works for some people, but for me, I have enough going on in my head. I need to stay one hundred percent focused on that.

Do you enjoy book to movie adaptations?

I do enjoy movie adaptations, especially when they are done well. However, I do love it when I have read the book of a movie first, because I like to understand the author’s vision and understand all the nuances that don’t necessarily make it onto screen. Seeing a character come to life and seeing a filmmaker’s interpretation of a book is very exciting. I would love to see Faith Flores brought to film. Many people have told me the books should be made into films or an Amazon series. I have no idea how to do this, and there is so much competition out there, so I am not sure this will ever happen. However, I think Faith is a character so many people can relate to and the plots of both books are pretty fun, so I do think they would make great films.

 Favorite books?

I have so many favorite books, and I tend to say whatever I am reading at the time is my favorite book. However, “To Kill A Mockingbird” has always stayed with me as a favorite and I have never stopped loving Scout. I love “The House of Spirits” by Isabel Allende, which I am currently trying to read in Spanish. That will take me about ten years. My Spanish is not that great!

If you could visit anyplace in the world where would it be?

I love to travel, and I have been fortunate to so far travel quite a bit. I love adventure. I love culture. I love learning. And I love nature, so a lot of my travel has been nature based. I was recently in Chile and I really want to go back there, especially to the southern part of the country. But gosh, one place? I have a big list of places I would like to see. I also love staying at home and getting to deeply know the place where I live. I spend a lot of time taking walks and learning about the local natural history of my home, and while I love traveling and seeing the world, I love being grounded in a place.

Bookish Resolutions | Tuesday Talks

Tuesday Talks is a goodreads group designed for booktubers and bloggers to discuss book related topics. You can visit the goodreads group here.

Bookish Resolutions

I've set myself various reading goals for 2017, so let me share some of those with you. These are in no particular order.

• Read books from my TBR-2017 shelf on goodreads. You can find that shelf here if you want to see what books are on there. This is a list of ten books that I came up with to read throughout the year. 
• Read Le Petit Prince, in the original language of French. The Little Prince is widely read, though I have never read any translation of it. I've been wanting to read a book in a language other than English and since I've started studying French again I thought this would be a good one to try.
• Read at least one nonfiction book on politics. I have some ideas of what books I might read for this one, but nothing completely set yet. 
• Finish the Wheel of Time series. I'm already in the process of reading Towers of Midnight, the 13th book in the series. After that I just have the final book and the prequel to read. 
• Read 50 books. This is the same goal I set last year and doubled. I don't know that I will get to that many this year, and many of the books I plan to read are quite long, so I think 50 is the perfect number. 
• And finally, I want to read more of the books that I already own. I have nearly 100 of these on my shelf and it's about time I get around to them.

What are your bookish resolutions for 2017? I would love to hear about them and discuss them with you!

Tuesday Talks | Halloween Reads

Tuesday Talks is a goodreads discussion group created by Janie and Janelle for booktubers and bloggers to discuss book related topics.

This week's topic is all about books to read for Halloween. Personally I am not really into horror books nor do I have certain books that I read for specific holidays every year, but I would like to recommend a trilogy that I think would be perfect Halloween reads.

The Jasper Dent trilogy by Barry Lyga is a trilogy of young adult novels that I read in 2014. It surrounds Jazz, our titular main character, as he struggles to determine if his upbringing will determine his future, or if that's in his control.

It's a somewhat dark read, but not overly gory or anything. Jazz's father is a serial killer and in an effort to distance himself from that image and use his knowledge for good, Jazz starts investigating a string of murders and aiding the police. Things get twisty and crazy along the way and it spirals into a longer connection with people that Jazz never expected.

This has a great cast of characters and an interesting concept. It would be perfect for someone to read over Halloween, particularly if they want something with a bit of suspense and horror without it being terrifying.

Favorite Reads | July-September 2016

Here are some of the books that were my favorite during the third quarter of 2016. I was able to get quite a lot of reading done and read some great books. I would love to know what your favorites were during this quarter.

Graphic novels can be difficult for me to read, including one adapted from the writing of Brandon Sanderson. There's a lot of sensory input and it often gives me headaches. Once I figured out what worked best for me while read, however, I was hooked. White Sand introduces a new magic system and a fascinating cast of characters into Sanderson's Cosmere universe. It lacks some of the development that his full novels have, but for a graphic novel I thought it was excellent.

Emery Lord and The Start of Me and You took me completely by surprise. I absolutely adored it. It has excellent familial relationships, stellar friendships, and the cutest slow burn romance. It's one of my absolute favorite books of the year thus far and I look forward to reading it again and again.

This follow up to Stay the Distance was excellent. It has all of the horsey goodness I've come to expect from Mara as well as complicated family dynamics, unsteady romances, and some solid friendships. All Heart has more of everything you love about Stay the Distance and leaves enough open for the next installment. If you like horse related books, Thoroughbred racing, or young adult contemporary/romances in general, this is a series for you.

S J Kincaid has been an author on my reading list for years now. And I can finally say that I have read one of her novels and it was great. The Diabolic was different than I expected, but in all the best ways. Nemesis was learning to feel and accept emotions that she never thought she could have. It's set in space. Tyrus was a genius. This is a fast-paced exciting young adult novel and I am exited to read more from Kincaid in the future.

This conclusion to Sanderson's middle grade series is fast-paced, humorous, and exciting. The Dark Talent is darker than the previous books in the series, but has a fair amount of humor as well. And what an ending. Have we seen the last of Alcatraz and company? Only time will tell.

 If you want an honest look at mental illness that doesn't sugar coat but also doesn't shove things in your face, Challenger Deep is the book for you. It's a stunning look at what mental illness looks like, how its treated, what happens when love and medicine aren't enough, and has a realistic ending that is often shied away from in young adult literature. This was an extremely powerful read and I know I will be adding it to my collection.

While not as powerful as Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom was a solid follow up to that book. And also an excellent conclusion to the duology. There was further exploration of the characters, new developments in relationships, insane odds and impossible feats, and hints at what may still be to come in the Grishaverse. Leigh Bardugo has such a beautiful writing style and it comes alive through Kaz and his crew of misfit thieves.

This is a novel that I read after a recommendation from my mother. Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture deals with a mathematician who became obsessed with proving the conjecture mentioned in the title. The narrative style was so cleverly used and compelling. It blends these fictional characters in seamlessly with real mathematicians during their time among the greats.

Horses | Monthly Feature

Being an avid horse lover and owner, I've decided that I want to read more horse related books. This could be non-fiction, history, novels, anything where horses play some central role in the story. In order to get myself fully behind this desire to broaden my horse related reading, I've decided that I am going to read at least one horse related book per month and have it as a "Monthly Feature" series here on my blog.

My first horsey read for this feature will be The One Dollar Horse by Lauren St John. I picked up a copy while I was in London earlier this year and have been wanting to give it a read.

After October, things are not yet planned. That's where you all come in!

Recommendations

If you've read any horse related books, no matter the genre, please feel free to suggest them to me. I would love for you to tell me about the horse related books that you've enjoyed. 

Author Requests/Reccommendations

If you're an author and have published a horse related book, please feel free to recommend it to me. I also take review requests, so feel free to check out my guidelines if you're interesting in sending me a copy in exchange for review. I am also open to posting interviews and guests posts here on my blog, so please let me know if that is something you are interested in. 

The Selection Process

I already have several horse books in my possession, so those will automatically go on my list (but not necessarily at the top). Once I have some recommendations, I will select books based on how readily available they are to me. Once I have selected a book it will be moved to my Horse-Feature-TBR shelf on goodreads, so feel free to check there for new books. And of course I will be posting here and on social media about my choices. 

Let the suggestions begin!       

Favorite Reads | April-June 2016

This list is going up somewhat later than I had originally planned, but here are my favorite reads for the second quarter of 2016. My reading during May was almost non existent due to constant headaches as well as my trip to London, but I still read some great books throughout these three months.

In his first full length novel The Dragon Hunter and the Mage, V. R. Cardoso created a world and characters that I could see following for a long time. It had all of the elements expected of a good fantasy series as well as some new additions. One of my favorite things was the relationship between the brothers Aric and Fadan. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2016 and while The Unexpected Everything is not my favorite of Matson's novels, it still held some special magic of its own. I appreciated the fact that Andie had a group of friends to rely on, that her relationship with her dad was being strengthened and not weakened, that she made mistakes and grew from them. I would have liked the romance aspect to be a little more slow burn, but Clark was still very much a likable guy and their relationship was very cute.

In the past year I have become a big fan of Sarah Dessen's novels and The Truth About Forever might possible be my favorite. There is a lot happening in this novel and how it all plays out was such a pleasure to read. Macy is brokenhearted over losing her father and watching her finally come to terms with that when she meets the caterers of Wish was inspiring. One thing that I appreciated was that this one kept the drama to a minimum. And although the relationship between Macy and Wes was adorable, I really appreciated that it was kept slow and simple. They both had other people they were waiting for, trying to hold onto something they thought they should want. And I really loved that they didn't break that trust of commitment to themselves. They weren't pining away for each other. They were genuinely friends. 

Tiffany McDaniel Author of The Summer that Melted Everything | Interview

An Ohio native, Tiffany McDaniel’s writing is inspired by the rolling hills and buckeye woods of the land she knows.  She is also a poet, playwright, screenwriter, and artist.  The Summer that Melted Everything is her debut novel.

You can find out more about Tiffany McDaniel as well as links to purchase her novel on her website: Tiffany McDaniel

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

Sal seems to appear out of nowhere - a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he's welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he's a runaway from a nearby farm town.

When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.

Interview

Could you tell us a little bit about The Summer that Melted Everything? 

The story is narrated by eighty-four-old year old Fielding Bliss looking back on his life and the summer of 1984 when he was thirteen-years-old and his father had put an invitation in the newspaper inviting the devil to their town of Breathed, Ohio.  The one come to answer the invitation is a boy in overalls and with bruises.  The summer unfolds in the flames of a hell-hot heat wave.  It’s a story about the things that melt in our lives and how that very melting can haunt us without an end to the ghosts. 

Who/what first inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid.  When I first could hold a crayon and scribble what was in my head.  Story has always been what I’ve loved to be around.  Reading it, creating it, living with it.  So nothing really inspired me to write.  It was much more an innate desire to do so.  I’m lost without writing in my life.  It’s my compass.  My lighthouse, safely guiding my ship to shore. 

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Writing is the easy part.  I have eight completed novels, and am currently working on my ninth.  The hard part is getting published.  I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen-years-old and didn’t get a publishing contract until I was twenty-nine.  So it was eleven years of rejection and fear I’d never be published.  I really did not believe I would be published.  I know I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am, about to see my book on the shelf for the first time when there are so many writers out there still struggling on their own journey to publication.  To them I say never give up.  It will happen for you.  Believe it.

What are your thoughts on film adaptations of books? Would you ever like to see your work as a film? 

I love film.  And I write screenplays, so I’d definitely love to see my novels turned into screen adaptations.  It adds that extra layer to the characters and their stories.  Brings them to life in a way that adds additional essence to them.  But I will say I always read the book before I watch the adaptation.  I don’t like the visuals of the film competing with the imagery in my head as I’m reading a book.  And sometimes film adaptations don’t get it right.  Sometimes they do.  To Kill a Mockingbird film with Gregory Peck comes to mind.  It was a beautiful book and a beautiful film.  That’s what I hope for.  That readers can read one of my novels, go see the film, and find beauty in both those art forms.  

  

What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors? 

Again, to never give up.  The road to publication is difficult.  Especially when you write the genre I write, which is literary fiction.  Publishers are not jumping at the chance to take a risk on literary fiction because it’s harder to sell than genre or commercial fiction and it generally doesn’t have that big financial return.  Getting a book published is definitely the hardest thing I’ve done.  So to all writers still struggling to get that foot in the door, I say you owe it to yourself to not turn your back on your dreams.  Never lose that hope that you too will be published one day.

Do you have a favorite book? If so, what is it?  

I love Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.   Bradbury’s verse is beautiful, first of all.  And the story he’s telling has that balance between joy and a melancholy so subtle, you’re being rippled as you read, with the ultimate wave coming at the end of the novel.  I’ve read it several times.  I want to be buried with the book so I have it by my side in the afterlife, or you know, in case I get lonely in the coffin.  

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise (music, other people around, etc)? 

I prefer to write alone.  Mostly in silence.  Just go into the cave and listen to the bats squeak.  I sometimes listen to music.  But nothing with lyrics unless they’re lyrics that would make me want to paint my walls black.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

I love gardening.  I hope to have my own greenhouse one day containing its own special jungle I can stalk like a jaguar.  I find baking relaxing.  The mixing of flour and sugar and butter.  The simplicity of creating something for others to enjoy.  I love reading.  Taking that story inside me and allowing myself to slip into the reader role.  And watching movies.  Sometimes there’s nothing better than to lean back and just watch something unfold in its own good time.

Without spoiling the novel, is there any one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

That we are only as godly as the love we spread.  We are only as devilish as the hate we spew.  And that the things which melt are oftentimes done so by our own infinite flame.

What is one question you’ve always wanted to be ask (writing/book related or not)? Answer that question.

What would I do if I ever met Ray Bradbury (his ghost at this point)?  I’d share a glass of Dandelion Wine and share a ride on a rocket ship to Mars where hopefully Shirley Jackson is waiting for us both in a house on a hill. 

Here is the book trailer, for anyone interested.