November 23, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (20)



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


I haven't read any of Lisa McMann's books but I want to. I have heard some great things about her books. I found this book when I was searching through Goodreads doesn't it sound intriguing? 

Dead to You Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable... ~ Goodreads






What books are you anxiously waiting to read?

November 22, 2011

Tune in Tuesday (11)

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This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads & showcases music that you love and would love to share with everyone. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So if your a music buff like I am you should head on over to her site and link up.



On Saturday night I took my girls to the local mall for the lighting of the Christmas tree. It was really a nice event they had live music, games, and tons of things for the girls to do.

One of the bands that was performing was The Charlie Walker Band they are local band in Jacksonville and he has a beautiful voice. I can't believe they perform live every week at the local area bars and I've never heard them before. Must remedy this immediately-lol.

But, anyways enjoy.




What music did you pick this week? Leave a link and I'll stop by and check it out.

November 17, 2011

CLP Blog Tour: Interview with Author Denise Grover Swank



Chosen (The Chosen #1)
Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma’s never needed help before. And even though she’s learned to trust her son, it doesn’t mean she trusts Will.

Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma’s freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake’s proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has.

Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Wills overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late. ~ Goodreads


Thanks Denise for taking the time out of your busy day to stop by the blog. I am definitely going to check out the Chosen playlist. Denise's books are pretty awesome and I'm a huge fan, check out my review of Chosen here and Twenty-Eight and a Half-Wishes here.
Now on to 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?
Fast paced thriller about a mother protecting her son with the help of a reluctant mercenary. All are CHOSEN for a supernatural purpose.


What inspired the concept for Chosen?
My son's girl friend told me that my then four year old son could count to five, but only if he touched her fingers. I said, "Maybe he needs to touch you, then he can see the numbers in your head." The concept changed a lot-- Jake could see the future-- but it all stemmed from Cody's remark. I can honestly say that I never would have come up with Chosen if she hadn't said that.

Which character from your book did you find you could relate to the most?
I related to Emma the most. When I started the book, I really tried to put myself in her head. How would *I* feel if someone was after my child? What lengths would I go to to protect him or her? The hardest scene of the book for me to write was in the middle. I can't say what it was, because it's a major spoiler, but I originally wrote it from Emma's point of view. I literally locked myself in my closet to write it and sobbed my eyes out. (I don't typically write in my closet, but my kids were home and I was trying to minimize the interruptions.)
What was the hardest part of the writing process?
The hardest part of writing for me is the editing, editing, editing. After so many passes you begin to think it's the stupidest thing ever written. But my first drafts are messy affairs. I write them as though I'm in a sprint. That means that I often have to rework many of the sentences not to mention fixing plot and character development. Still, I love editing because that's where I can take a good story and make it great. (At least, I hope readers think they're great!) I'm forever amazed how the additions of a few sentences here and there can make a huge difference.


Can you tell us a little bit about your writing environment and/or and rituals you go through before sitting down to write?
I used to write on a laptop and was a writing gypsy. Lately, I've tethered myself to my office with a desk top computer with a 22' monitor. And for the record, my office is my dining room. I bought an office chair, took out half the dining room chairs, turned the table at an angle, stuck a lamp and a desk top computer on my dining room table and called it good. I find that I write most of my words at night after I put the kids to bed. But I tend to get distracted easily so it takes me about a half an hour of playing around on the internet (Twitter and Facebook, anyone???) before I can settle down and get to work. But once I'm focused, I'm hyper focused and can usually write a lot of words. My first drafts always have completion date goals and I know the amount of words I have to write each day to achieve that goal. I always strive to go over, to bank up words for the days I slack. ;) My usual daily word goal is around 2500 words.


Do you listen to music while you write, if so what’s on your playlist?
Music is a MUST for me! Partly to block out the background noise in my house when my kids are up and about. My four year old is watching Peppa Pig on my iPad at this very moment, demonstrating the need for headphones.
Every book I write has a playlist, with the exception of my humorous southern mystery, Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. I did create one, but not during the writing process. (I was a woman possessed writing that book.) The playlist usually has themes that work for the book and/or scenes. Chosen has a lot of Linkin Park and hard driving songs. In fact, "Papercut" is the song that I relate to the first chapter, In the bridge-- The sun goes down, I feel the light betray me-- I ALWAYS see Emma driving down the two lane country lane, racing from the men after her, the windows of her car down and her hair flying around her face. And it gives me chills. (Yes, I just admitted that I'm a dork.)


The book has a theme song, which applies to Emma, Jake and Will, but I most attribute to Will. "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters. You can see the complete play list
here.


What is your favorite Book or Series?
Wow. That's really hard. The book I'm most excited to read when it comes out is the third book in the Hex Hall series, Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins. It's a YA paranormal.

If there was one thought or feeling you would want readers to take away from reading Chosen what would it be?
It's my hope that the characters worm their way into your heart and mind so that days later you're still thinking about them. I think that makes me narcissistic. LOL




You can find the author at the following places: 
 
Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Website

You can purchase Chosen on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.


Review: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank- CLP Blog Tour

Chosen (The Chosen #1)Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma’s never needed help before. And even though she’s learned to trust her son, it doesn’t mean she trusts Will.

Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma’s freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake’s proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has.

Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Wills overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late. ~ Goodreads



Chosen (The Chosen #1)
Published: September 13, 2011
Source: I received this book from the author/CLP Book Tour in exchange for an honest and thoughful review.
Purchase:
Amazon, Barnes and Nobles


My Thoughts:


I have been a fan of Ms. Grover’s books since I read Twenty-Eight and a Half-wishes. So when I was given the opportunity to read her new paranormal book Chosen I was ecstatic.

Her writing style is compelling and has a way of submerging you completely into the story. Chosen was no exception; it was everything I could hope for plus more. It was action packed and full of suspense. The first few pages give way to an explosive start that will have you holding on to the edge of your seat.

The pace of the story was perfect; every time I thought that I might have figured something out in the story the author threw me through a loop. The twist and turns in the story line only added to my anticipation to know what would happen next. I couldn’t put the book down.

The paranormal aspect of this book wasn’t overwhelming, it was subtle and it added to the mystery of the story.

As the story developed so did the characters and I actually spent the perfect amount of time with each of them to become attached. I loved that I was able to see the story from both Will and Emma’s perspective. They were complicated and unique characters that I could relate to, and I must say this for being only five, Jake completely freaked me out at times.

This was a totally mind-blowing beginning to a trilogy. I am dying to read book 2 which I just found out will be released on Tuesday, November 22nd. (Super excited because I hate to wait ).

This is one book you definitely don’t want to miss out on.





You can find the author at the following places: 
 Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Website



November 9, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (19)


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

I was roaming through Barnes and Noble last night looking for more books to buy, like I need any more :) Anyways, I found this book on an upcoming release list. It definitely sounds like a good book, and I can't wait to read it. 
Have you read this book or any other book by Eileen Cook?


Unraveling IsobelIsobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.
But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. ~Goodreads


What's your WOW? Leave a link and I'll stop by and check it out.

November 8, 2011

Tune In Tuesday (10)

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This meme is hosted by Ginger at GReads & showcases music that you love and would love to share with everyone. Each week you can post an old or new song so that it gains more interest! So if your a music buff like I am you should head on over to her site and link up.



October was a crazy month for me and I wasn't able to post as much as I would of liked to. I missed Tune in Tuesday, I missed browsing post and finding new music to fall in love with.

This week I picked Jose Gonzalez's Heartbeats, this song is just beautiful. I love everything about it. By the way his album is pretty awesome.


 
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