June 28, 2011

Tune In Tuesday {3}

Photobucket This meme is hosted by Ginger at Greads and showcases music that you love. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest. So if you are a music buff like I am you should definitely head on over to her site and link up.


So this week I chose Sweet Pea by Amos Lee, I really love the soulful sound of his voice and the song is just beautiful. He currently has two albums and each song on there are just as great as this one. What song did you choose this week?





June 27, 2011

Raven's Kiss Blog Stop Tour Interview



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Today I am hosting an interview with the author of Raven's Kiss Toni LoTempio. If you haven't read this book you definitely need to check it out.



PhotobucketRaven Grace was a college senior with ambitions of a career in law enforcement when she met the demon Aega, whose bite turned her from mortal to Shapeshifter. Now a member of the Recovery Organization, Raven keeps the peace between humans and errant Hellhounds, trolls, wizards and the like while trying to track down Aega and bring him to justice. After a particularly dicey encounter one night with a Hellhound, she goes to the aid of a girl who’s been attacked and near death—and is amazed to find Aega’s bite mark on the girl’s arm. Determined to get to the bottom of this, she revisits the victim’s apartment and there discovers her closet is a portal to a parallel universe, where people she knows lead vastly different lives. She also gets a glimpse of the Recovery Captain there—a six foot, redheaded Scotsman named Finn McPhee, whose sexy accent and even sexier bod sets her senses aflame. Seeking answers, Finn takes Raven to the magickal underworld, where an ancient fae informs them the demon’s quest is rooted in Scottish mythology and magick. As they delve deeper into legend, the truth comes to light—Aega is only a pawn, subservient to another, darker demon…a being who knows the truth about Raven’s heritage, and who orchestrated her return to this parallel universe for the ultimate showdown. Now, Finn and Raven find their passion for one another must take a backseat to Raven’s battle with a dark force who won’t be satisfied until he’s claimed her soul for his very own.- Goodreads Synopsis
You can purchase Raven's Kiss: Amazon or Barnes & Noble.



The Interview:



Since I love twitter, I think it would be fun to see how you would describe your book Twitter-style. How would you describe it in 140 characters or less?
Shapeshifter with issues and Hot Scot track down the demon who turned her.

When did you know you wanted to become a writer or have you always known?
I think I knew the first time I rewrote the ending of a story I didn’t’ like LOL.  And that was when I was about five.

What was the hardest part of the writing process?
The actual plotting, making sure everything fits and dovetails and makes sense.   I start with an outline which changes a gazillion times during the actual writing.  Nine times out of ten the finished book looks nothing like the original outline.

What inspired the concept for Raven’s Kiss?
I wanted to do a non-vampire book, and I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of parallel time, ever since I saw it on Dark Shadows years ago. So I thought up the idea of a shifter who wanted to hunt down the demon who turned her, but to complicate matters, I put them in a universe where she’d be  surrounded by people who were both familiar and different at the same time. Does that make sense, I hope? J

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing environment and/or and rituals you go through before sitting down to write? 
I have a room set aside as my den, so I go in there, and usually I’ll arrange my notes, set up the CD player, just procrastinate in general J  Then I’ll pull Rocco (my tuxedo cat) up on my lap and just start writing.  Somedays I’m really fired up and others I just sit there and stare at my blinking cursor. J I find music definitely helps my writing juices flow.

What is your favorite Book or Series?
Wow, that’s tough – I have a lot. Two weeks ago I would have picked the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, but right now I’d have to say the Immortality Bites series by Michelle Rowen. I just finished them all and that woman rocks!  I worship at her altar – I love her writing style!  Can’t wait for her new series starring those characters which is coming out next year.

If you could be a character from one of your favorite books, who would you be?  
Hands down, Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. She had it all, brains, snarky comebacks, attitude – Scarlett was the original kick ass heroine.

Do you listen to music while you write, if so what’s on your playlist?
It alternates between Michael Buble and the soundtrack from Phantom of the Opera, depending on my mood.  Right now I have the soundtrack from MUSIC AND LYRICS on my CD.  Who knew Hugh Grant could sing?

If there was one thought or feeling you would want readers to take away from reading Raven’s Kiss, what would it be?

“Hey – this girl can write.  I didn’t waste my .99. Wonder what else she’s written?”


Thank you Toni for stopping by, it was a pleasure having you on here today. :)


About the Author:



PhotobucketHello! I’m Toni LoTempio, author of Paranormal Romance/Romantic Suspense/YA Fantasy! I’ve been writing ever since I was old enough to read, when I didn’t like the endings of the stories my mother read me I simply rewrote them  Even though I write mainly in the paranormal genre, I have also written straight horror, as well as contemporary romance/suspense.
In 1995, I joined the staff of SUSABELLA PASSENGERS AND FRIENDS, a pulp magazine for collectors of antique children’s literature (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, etc.) Currently I’ve written over 300 articles for that magazine, and I was the first recipient of their Margaret Sutton Award for Distinguished Writing in 1998. I joined the staff of NIGHT OWL REVIEWS IN January 2011 as the suspense reviewer/columnist. My column, DARK STREETS, which features articles on suspense authors and their novels, is featured on a monthly basis. I love to spotlight new talent, so if you’re a suspense author, please contact me!


In 2007, Whiskey Creek Press published BOUND BY BLOOD, a tale of possession, and EBONY, which deals with zombies and the dark side of man. EBONY was #2 on the Fictionwise bestseller list for e-books for the month of July 2007, beating out Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. (and no one was more shocked than I, LOL) In 2010, after countless attempts to land another agent, I took the advice of a fellow author HP Mallory, and self published NO REST FOR THE WICCA, which has been on Amazon’s list of top one hundred in Occult since March 2011. My short story, THE SACRIFICE, appears in the e-published anthology KISS ME KILL ME, and I also have a YA fantasy, MY SUPERHERO SISTER on B&N and Amazon. A complete listing of my books appears at the end of this bio.


Currently single, I work full time and live in Clifton, NJ, with my muses: Rocco, Maxx, Gata and Trixie. (Rocco is also known as Rocco the SciFi Blogging Cat and has appeared on the SciFi Saturday Night website and radio show, and also on the Kids Need To Read website where he holds the distinction of being the first (and possibly only!) blogging cat to support this charity!)


I love hearing from fans, so please feel free to friend me on FACEBOOK, and visit my website, www.tonilotempio.webs.com Rocco and I post daily M-F on his blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com




Toni LoTempio Books:


Bound by Blood – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, Feb. 2007 (paranormal suspense)
Ebony – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, July 2007 (paranormal suspense)
Witch’s Pawn – Echelon Press, trade paperback & e-book, December 2008 (horror)
Nom de Plume – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, November 2008 (contemporary romance)
It’s in the Cards – Whiskey Creek Press, e-book, February 2010 – (paranormal romance)
Out of the Ashes – Whiskey Creek Press, e-book, May 2010 – Fantasy
No Rest for the Wicca – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, September 2010 – paranormal suspense
My Superhero Sister – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, Trade Paperback - January 2011 – YA Fantasy


Kiss Me, Kill Me – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book anthology –February 2011 – Short Story, “The Sacrifice”


Raven’s Kiss – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, & Trade Paperback April, 2011 – Paranormal Romance


The Next Stop on the Tour is: Reality Bites

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June 23, 2011

Where I've been...

The last few days I have been absent from the blog world. I was in Miami last weekend for a baby shower.



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On Monday- Tuesday I was running around like a mad person with my daughters getting them ready for their dance recital. Monday was dress rehearsal and Tuesday was their dance recital.


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Tomorrow around 3 or 4am I will be driving to New Orleans to attend ALA. Hopefully the weather will clear up.




I'll be back to blogging regularly on Monday. Hope you guys have a great weekend!



 

June 22, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday {13}

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Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcase upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.
This week I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Tris & Izzie. This is a modern retelling of the fairytale. I haven't read the fairytale before but, I'm excited to read this book. This weekend I'll be attending ALA and I'm hoping that I would be lucky enough to grab a signed copy from the author. We'll see. This book will be released on October 11th. Isn't the cover gorgeous?


Tris & Izzie
A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school. -Goodreads Synopsis








What books are you anxiously awaiting the release of? Leave a link and I'll check it out this evening.

Happy Wednesday!

June 19, 2011

Save My Soul Blog Stop




Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the book trailer for Save My Soul by Zoe Winters. This book is definitely one that you should check out. The story is full of evil, sexiness, hot incubus, snark, and a cursed house. What more can you ask for?




Save My Soul (Preternaturals, #2)All he’s asking for is her soul.
After buying the antebellum home she’s fantasized about since childhood, Anna Worthington discovers Luc, a dangerously seductive incubus who has been trapped in the house by a fifty-year-old curse. To rid herself of her problem house guest she’ll call on a priest, gypsies, ghost hungers, and the coven of witches from lust bunny hell. All she has to do is resist him long enough to break the spell so they can go their separate ways If she doesn’t she could die. And that would be the best case scenario. -Goodreads Synopsis






The Trailer:


Book Trailer: Save My Soul by: Zoe Winters from Zoe Winters on Vimeo.


Where you can find the book (clickable links):

Amazon
Barnes & Noble



About the Author:

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. She lives with her husband and two cats, and her favorite colors are rainbow and clear. To learn more, please visit http://www.zoewinters.org or her blog at: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com



Don't forget to enter the great giveaway- details below:



Next Stop:


The Fiction Enthusiast

June 18, 2011

Blogger Meet & Greet at ALA


Next Friday I will be heading to New Orleans for my first conference. I was hoping that while i'm there that I could meet up with a few other bloggers. We will be meeting after the conference on Saturday, June 25th and I would love to meet everyone. If you are attending the conference and would like to meet up, use the linky thing below and let us know you will be joining us.

Can't wait to meet everyone :)

When:  Saturday, June 25th
Where:
Acme Oyster House
When:  5:30 pm


June 17, 2011

Follow Friday{6}

 
 

Every Friday Parajunkee host Follow Friday, this is your chance to meet new friends and visit old ones.
This is your chance to learn a little bit more about your favorite/new bloggers.
Here's the rules:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - rhiannonpaille.blogspot.com/
  3. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  4. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers

 

Genre Wars! What's your favorite genre and which book in that genre made it your favorite?

I don't know if I can say I have a favorite specifically. I read a little bit of everything Contemporary Romance, YA, UF, PNR, thrillers. I actually haven't read a dystopian novel yet and I can't wait to read one, once i've cleared through my tbr pile I think I'll start Hunger Games (shocking I know!) I think i'm the only person who hasn't read it.
I would have to say that in the series that sucked me in and made me want to read everything I could get my hands on was the Shifter Series by Rachel Vincent after that I found books like the Georgia Kincaid Series by Richelle Mead and Allie Beckstrom Series by Devon Monk. All this was before I found the blogging world where I've found a thousand more books to read :)

June 16, 2011

30 Books 30 Day Challenge Update



Cait at The Cait Files is hosting the 30 books in 30 days for the month of June. I've decided to participate but there's no way I could actually read one book per day since I work full time. My goal was set at 15 books for the month. I usually average 4-8 books so this was a big goal for me.

So far I am not doing great at all. It's been 16 days and I've read 5 books which means I'm really far behind and I still have reviews to write :(

I'm not sure if i'm going to make my goal by the end of the month considering that I will be going away this weekend and next :(



1. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park
2. Between by Cyndi Tefft
3. Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout
4. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5. Dead Iron by Devon Monk
6. Bone Dressing by Michelle I. Brook
7. Raven's Kiss by Toni LoTempio
8. Save My Soul by Zoe Winters
9. StarCrossed by Josie Angelini
10. Disturbed by Kevin  O'Brien
11. Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa
12. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
13. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
14. Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
15. Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
16. A Life That Fits by Heather Wardell

Did you join in the challenge? How are you doing?

June 15, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday{12}

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Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcase upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

So I recently found out about this book and I am anxiously waiting to read it. It has prophecy, war, and romance. Yeah it definitely sounds like my type of book. This book will be released on September 20th.



Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.


Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.


Most of the chosen do. -Goodreads Synopsis


What books are you anxiously awaiting release? I'm always looking for more books to add to my TBR list :)

Leave a link and I'll stop by to check it out.

June 14, 2011

Teaser Tuesday{14}

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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

This week I am reading Save My Soul by Zoe Winters. This book has me hooked, so I am sharing a teaser from the book. Hope you enjoy it :)



Save My Soul (Preternaturals, #2) “She didn’t have a comforting abstraction when dealing with his dark past. She had vivid, Technicolor dreams.”
















Goodreads Synopsis:

All he's asking for is her soul.
After buying the antebellum home she's fantasized about since childhood, Anna Worthington discovers Luc, a dangerously seductive incubus who has been trapped in the house by a fifty-year-old curse. To rid herself of her problem house guest she'll call on a priest, gypsies, ghost hunters, and the coven of witches from lust bunny hell. All she has to do is resist him long enough to break the spell so they can go their separate ways. If she doesn't, she could die. And that would be the best case scenario.

So what are your teasers, reading anything exciting? Leave a link and I'll check it out. Happy Tuesday!

June 9, 2011

Author Spotlight: Flat-Out Love author Jessica Park

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Today, I was lucky enough to score an interview with the awesome Jessica Park, Author of Flat-Out Love. If you have visited my blog in the last few days you've noticed that I kind of Love this story. You can check out my review here.


Now on to the interview:


Since I love twitter, I think it would be fun to see how you would describe FLAT-OUT LOVE Twitter-style. How would you describe it in 140 characters or less?

Majorly deep romance, biting humor, witty banter, earth-shattering heartache, and moving, complex, dysfunctional characters. All for $2.99!


What was the hardest part of writing the book?

With any book, it’s the first twenty to thirty pages. It is dreadful for me. Every word hurts to write. I like to write cleanly, with the intention of keeping those pages and not just throwing words out as a placeholder. Which is stupid. I could go back later and just delete early chapters and rewrite them… But I don’t. The early chapters are when I get to know my characters and how they behave, and it’s really slow going for me at that stage. Yes, I have a general idea of who they are when I finish an outline, but the details don’t become clear until I actually start writing.

With FLAT-OUT LOVE in particular, though, the really hard part was balancing what to tell and show with what was best left unsaid. There is a chapter at the end of the book that takes place on Julie’s last day of school. I don’t want to say too much here for those who haven’t read the book yet… but the first half of that chapter is more about what isn’t said between her and other characters, and what the reader doesn’t see. I hate when I’m reading a great story and then every damn stupid thought and detail is spread out and beaten to death. Readers are not dumb. They can fill in the blanks. And missing information is often much more telling and meaningful. What’s fun is when you react to a story with your heart, your emotions… not when you feel something because the author has told you what to feel.

I have a number of those types of scenes in the book, when one thing might be happening action-wise, but another thing entirely is happening to the characters (and the reader) internally.

I loved all of the characters in your book. Which one did you find yourself relating to the most?

It’s really a three-way tie between the leads: Julie, Celeste, and Matt. In many ways, Julie is so much like me. We’re both moody, and silly, and romantic, and driven to connect with and “fix” those around us. We’re better at taking care of others than we are ourselves. But even though I might technically have more in common with her, I know Matt and Celeste almost eerily well. They were so easy for me to write.

Celeste is extremely unusual (I mean, as far as I know, not many 13-year-old girls cart around cardboard cutouts of their older brothers, right? Or speak like an Oxford professor?), but her totally distinct and bizarre personality made her one of my favorite characters. As much as she and I are different, I know her better than Julie, I think. Same for Matt. He’s highly academic, totally geeked out, and socially pretty difficult… and he’s very guarded and evasive, while still being appealingly sweet. So, nothing like me. But again with this character, I know everything about him.
I could tell you exactly what Matt and Celeste would say in any given situation. It’s a strange experience to understand your characters deeply that they almost feel like real people, separate from the fictional world in my head. So although I may not relate to Matt and Celeste in terms of commonality, that distance between us made me need to understand them even better.


I love the Facebook status updates! Can you tell us more about these? And when did you decide that this was something that should be added to the book?

This was one of the first things that I knew I wanted in the book, for a few reasons. It fits in well considering that Julie and Finn’s relationship is an online one, and it’s also a way to add humor while showing different sides of the characters. Sometimes FB status updates say more about a person than what he/she can tell you themselves, and sometimes they’re just for fun. And then sometimes we try to read between the lines and see what we can figure out about someone… wondering if we can read a mood or a feeling, if that person is talking to us specifically... There’s a certain cryptic and quirky quality to witnessing someone’s online personality.

So I thought that it would be fun to start a bunch of chapters with Matt, Finn, and Julie’s status updates. The hitch was that it was much easier in theory than it was in practice. Anyone who follows me on Facebook knows that most of my updates have to do with current celebrity scandals (ie: senators soliciting sexy by tapping their feet in bathrooms, Levi Johnston posing for Playgirl), weird things that my kid says, and any in-the-moment-hideously-un-thought-out thing that pops into my head.

For the book, though, I needed status updates that were not grounded in a certain event or year or person; they would have to stand the test of time and be funny ten years from now. And I suck at that. I knew exactly what type of updates I wanted; I just couldn’t come up with ones that were right, especially for Matt and Finn (because boys are, you know, weird). Julie’s were easier. So I went around Facebook and pilfered a whole bunch of good updates from people I hardly knew. No, I didn’t do anything of the sort. I asked permission.
My friend Dave was nice enough to give me about 90% of the updates for the book. He is both alarmingly smart and acerbically funny, and his status updates will still be brilliant years from now (whereas mine have the shelf life of an already over-ripe banana). So I spent hours scrolling through two years of his updates, gave myself a vicious case of eye strain, and yanked out my favorites. Half of them I had to toss because they were either too political for this book, or readers would be expected to look up half the obscure references. But the other half were perfect, and it killed me that I couldn’t use all of them.  The ones that made the final copy of FLAT-OUT LOVE all still make me laugh, which is a good thing.

Here are a few of ‘em:

In order for this status update to make any sense, I need you assume I'm covered in some sort of spray-based cheese product.
See? I TOLD you that was fun! Now let's go find your eye.
You may call it "plagiarizing from the classics," but I call it "collaborating with the dead."
I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. It's the way I take them OFF that makes me better than you.

Dave is on Twitter if you want to follow (or try to follow) him @whatdoiknow.  Ask him to tell you how much he loves vampire romance stories. And then order him to write his own book and quit glomming on to my astronomical fame. 


I noticed that you love listening to music while you write; if I picked up your IPod, what music would I find on your playlist?

A nonsensical mix. I’m not someone who listens to only one genre of music, and I will freely admit that I thoroughly enjoy a good pile of cr*p songs. I’m just not all that cool. I like to mix up older songs that I never get sick of with newer stuff, and I usually have two playlists in heavy rotation at one time: a slower, more mellow one, and then a faster list that I listen to when I’m on the stupid, loathsome treadmill.

Here’s some stuff from my current playlists:

“King of Anything” by Sarah Bareilles
“The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga
“Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks
“Shock the Monkey” by Peter Gabriel
“Gone” by Matt Nathanson (my pretend boyfriend)
“Everything’ll Be Alright” by Joshua Radin
“You Send Me” by Aretha Franklin
“I Don’t Need A Man” by the Pussycat Dolls
“Nothing Ever Hurt Like You” by James Morrison
“Circus” by Britney Spears (I can’t help it. I love Brit. I loved her better when she was a total nutcase, but not all crazy lasts forever. Unfortunately.)
“If Anybody Had a Heart” by Matchbox Twenty
“All Eyes On Me” by The Goo Goo Dolls
“Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman
“Fighter” Christina Aguilera (no song in the world makes you refuse to get off the treadmill more than this one)
See? I don’t really make any sense.

Did your music choices evolve throughout the writing process?

Definitely. Music is a huge part of writing for me. (Although that hasn’t always been true. I used to want TOTAL silence.) When I was writing FLAT-OUT LOVE, I spent a lot of time sitting outside on a lounge chair, eyes shut, iPod in hand, listening to music while picturing scenes. I’d flip through song after song until one of them hit the right mood for me. And then it would be on repeat while I imagined who would say and do what.

The right song can totally pull a scene together for me. I ended up with about ten songs or so that I listened to nearly incessantly while writing. All of the “big” scenes were written with music blaring through my earphones. It’s kind of that extra boost, a way to get myself into the right kind of mood to write what needs to happen. It’s the same way that music strong affects a movie scene… it can make or break what’s happening on screen.



Are you currently working on your next book? If so, what is the story about?

I am the slowest writer ever, I think. I’ve been mulling over an idea for a paranormal romance type book for months now, but I can’t get a handle on it. I really want the story to be about the characters and their relationships and not primarily about some “hook” just for the sake of a “hook.” The actual story needs to be the focus. I think a lot of the vampire and other paranormal books that are selling these days are more about the details of fabricated worlds. Those elements are fun, but as a series progresses, the ante gets upped, and some authors keep adding more and more implausible plot lines and fantastical components to feed the monster. And that bores me and belittles the quality of a solid story.

For me, a slower building story with complex characters is what really drives good fiction, and the paranormal elements need to play into that well, not be the driving force behind a story. (But that being said, I’m not saying what my paranormal elements are. Because they’re secret! And good!)


So, I’m working on it. I’d like to turn my idea into a series, possibly three or more shorter novellas. If I can get myself in gear, that is… *cough, cough*

Quick Fun Facts

Favorite Flower? Blue delphiniums. My mom adores true-blue flowers, and so I’ve planted a few in my garden for her.

Favorite Dessert? Ciao Bella Cabernet Blackberry sorbet. It’s insanely good. Luscious… and kind of sexy. If sorbet can be sexy, which I’ve decided it can.

Pets? A three-year-old Elkhound-mix dog named Fritzy, and two obnoxious cats named Gato and Inga.

Favorite City? Dude, what are ya f*ckin’ kiddin’ me? Baaaah-ston.  (Although, if I say “Paris,” do I get to go there?)

Meet The Author:



Jessica Park is the author of the young adult novel Flat-Out Love, RELATIVELY FAMOUS, five Gourmet Girl mysteries (written as Jessica Conant-Park) and the e-shorts FACEBOOKING RICK SPRINGFIELD and WHAT THE KID SAYS (Parts 1 & 2). You can find Jessica on Facebook,TwitterBlog, or Goodreads. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, & Smashwords.



June 8, 2011

Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park




Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Published: April 2011
Available for purchase via Amazon, Barnes & Noble



Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.


Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.


When Julie’s off-campus housing falls through, her mother’s old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side … and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.


And there’s that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That’s because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie’s suddenly lonesome soul.


To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that … well … doesn’t quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer. {Synopsis from Goodreads}


Let me just get this out there, I LOVED this book. This is one of those books that captures your attention and pulls you through the book at an alarming speed. I didn’t want to put the book down; I stayed up to obscene hours of the night reading just because it was that good.
Julie Seagle has always tried to fit in but hasn’t really found her place in the world. She believes that college is the new start for her, so she embarks on this journey in Boston miles away from everyone she knows. She finds herself a victim of a craigslist scam and with no home or money; she does the only thing an eighteen year can she calls home. Out of pure desperation she finds herself staying a couple of days with her mom’s college friend. This is where the journey begins for Julie.
This story was about finding yourself and helping others in the process. You also get a look into the lives of a very dysfunctional family. Julie finds herself tangled in the mix of what makes this family run and how they deal with some of the issues that they are faced. The romance in the story wasn’t rushed but perfectly paced and the timing of the events was on point. I didn’t’ feel like I was being rushed through the story at all. Usually when you read a book you connect with the main character and don’t always connect with the secondary characters, this isn’t the case in this book. I connected with all of the characters, Julie, Celeste, Matt, Finn and Erin they each brought something to the story with their unique traits. The story was intricately woven to pull you through this emotional rollercoaster ride with Julie.
I loved the Facebook updates in the beginning of each chapter, I thought they were genius. There was also a sky diving scene that I loved, the description had me mesmerized and ready to jump out of a plane.
This is one of the few books that actually stole my heart and I was sad to see it end. This book had me enchanted well after I turned the last page.
I am not a very big fan of YA contemporary but this story was the exception. If you haven’t read it, you definitely need to. You would be so glad you did.
I give this book 5 stars!












June 7, 2011

Teaser Tuesday {13}

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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!





“Julie Seagle stared straight ahead and promised herself one thing: She would never again rent an apartment via Craigslist. The strap of her overstuffed suitcase dug into her shoulder, and she let it drop onto the two suitcases that sat on the sidewalk. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to carry them now. Julie squinted in disbelief at the flashing neon sign that touted the best burritos in Boston. She read the printout of the email again. Yup, this was the correct address.”








Synopsis from the Author's Site:


Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.


Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.


When Julie’s off-campus housing falls through, her mother’s old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side … and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.


And there’s that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That’s because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie’s suddenly lonesome soul.


To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that … well … doesn’t quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.


I LOVED this book! My review will be posted tomorrow and my Interview with the author will be posted on Thursday.


Leave a link with your Tuesday Teasers and I'll stop by to check them out :)

June 6, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wondeful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.
 
This month I am participating in the 30 days 30 books challenge hosted by Cait at The Cait Files. Since I work full time I know that I won't be able to read one book per day so I am trying hard to meet my 15 book goal.
 
 
Read:
 
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park (Review & Interview will be posted on Thursday)
Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Review will be posted soon)
 
Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)Product DetailsDeadly Intentions
 
 
 
Current Read:
 
 
 
BetweenBone Dressing
 
 
Reading Next:
 
 
DisturbedDead Iron (Age of Steam #1)
 
 
What Are You Reading? Anything interesting? Leave a link and I'll check out your post.


Happy Monday!

June 3, 2011

Review: Deadly Intentions by Candace Poach

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Goodreads Synopsis: When Lisa Claxton starts her own cleaning business on Paradise Island, she may finally profit from her talent for whipping a house into shape--in more ways than one. A valuable Claxton heirloom, a golden bowl, is missing, and Lisa has tracked it down to a local home, which she quickly gets herself hired to clean. But when she arrives she finds a dead body--and flees right into the safe arms of an irresistibly handsome man. . .
But She's About To Find So Much More. . .
Injured Navy SEAL Brian Knight came to his grandfather's house to recuperate. He didn't expect to be greeted by a frightened beauty--or to get mixed up in her scheme. But Brian has to pursue the killer who invaded the house--and he's determined to pursue Lisa as well. Soon, the two are up against ruthless thieves whose intentions are more than deadly.


Publisher:           Kensington Books
Release Date:     5/1/2011
Purchase:           Amazon
                        Barnes & Noble   



My Thoughts:



I wasn’t sure how I would like this book, but once I picked it up the story flowed really well and I found myself hooked. Lisa is a woman on a mission to find a stolen heirloom and somehow she always finds herself in some kind of danger. Lisa lives in a small island where everyone around her either knows her or is related to her. Lisa is dealing with a lot of emotional baggage and believes by returning the bowl that this may be the way to redeem herself in her families eyes. Her family has roots that are deeply rooted in the island and their family history means everything to them. 
With the help of her sister, Lisa starts her own cleaning service and that’s when the trouble starts. Through some conniving and scheming she gets the contract to clean the house of the person she believes currently has the bowl in their possession. On her first day of the jobs she stumbles upon a murder scene and then things spiral down from there.

This story is full of suspense, mystery and romance. Some of the plots I figured out early on and knew where the writer was going with the story but it still kept my interest and the writing was engaging enough that I kept turning the pages.
The switching of narrators was a little confusing at times but after the first few switches, I got the hang of it and it didn’t really stop the reading flow.
Overall I enjoyed the story and would definitely read more books by this author.
If you like mystery and suspense you should try it out.
I give this book 3.5 stars.

*This book does have mature themes, so it isn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

 
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