What's Next? (2)

What's Next? is a weekly event hosted by Icey Books where you guys get to suggest what book I should read next from a list that I provide.

Am I the only one who gets a case of the winter blah's the moment I have to push back the clock? Doubtful. The time shift and shortening days can do a real number on me, and I know the last few weeks my brain has been about as attentive as a piece of ground up hamburger. Everything has screeched to a halt--writing, editing, reading, blogging. Everything. And I'm tired of it. 

So this week, my picks for What's Next are a bunch of books I'm dying to read, because I know I really need a pick-me-up. Wanna help me choose? 

Finding It  (Losing It #3)

by Cora Carmack

Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong...

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life . . . or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

I've read and loved Cora Carmack's first two books, Losing It and Faking It. So I've been looking forward to Finding It for a while. 

The Art of Wishing 

by Lindsay Ribar 

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie -- he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.

This was my #1 pick for most anticipated book by a debut author at the start of the year and I still haven't read it yet. I downloaded and loved the sample on my Kindle, so I really should fix that, right?

Wild Cards

by Simone Elkeles

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry trilogy is one of my favorite series ever and I've been waiting a very long time for her to release something new. I've very eager to check Wild Cards out. 

This Is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

This was another of my top picks for this year, and I was super fortunate to swap for a copy of it earlier this month at the Ontario Blogger Meetup in Toronto. 

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

This book looks like it will be super cute, and I can totally relate to feeling awkward while starting college (university) and dealing with professors who are authors who have certain ideas of their own. It was a while ago, but I've been there. 

So, now I leave this in your capable hands. Tell me, people ... What's Next? :D

Review: Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

I did a lot of trading at this year's Ontario Blogger Meet Up, and Wherever You Go was one of the books I was most excited to read when I got back from the event. Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows I'm intrigued with the concept of death--both what happens when we die, and how those who remain living can seek and find the strength to keep going when they are left behind. I'm also not one to shy away from books that feature illness, and Alzheimer's is something I'm not terribly familiar with, so I was curious to see how it would get tied into the story. Ready to see what I thought of Wherever You Go? Well, read on and find out. :)

(Summary from GoodReads)

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

Told not only in three distinctive voices, but also in three distinctive writing styles, Wherever You Go grabbed my attention from page one and never let go. As a writer, I was immediately intrigued by Heather Davis' choice to have Rob's POV in 2nd person, Holly's POV in first person, and Jason's POV in third person. Sounds like a mess right? Well, it totally wasn't. It created an immediate distinguishing factor for each of these characters, helping me know immediately whose head we were in. 

Wherever You Go is a genre blender, mixing a mostly contemporary plot with a cool ghost-fueled paranormal undertone. The plot is slow moving in an elegant, character driven way. It made me want to know more about each of the major characters and the people in their lives, and then it slowly pieced things together in such a way that all three of the major characters interconnect in ways I might not have expected at the novel's beginning. 

Of course, that type of storytelling only works if the characters are interesting and likable, which was the case all the way around with the main cast of this book. Holly has so much she needs to deal with and so much expected of her that I just wanted to hug her. Jason came across as a genuinely nice guy and I loved how my perspective of him changed as I read the book, rather than being formed at the beginning and kept in one place all the way through. 

Rob was a believable ghost--he made sense to me. He wasn't all high and preachy about how awesome it is to be dead (as we often see creatures in more PNR-centric fiction.) Instead, he kinda reminded me of "The Happy Phantom" by Tori Amos, where she sings: 

Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back
You found a girl that you could truly love again
WIll you still call for me when she falls asleep
Or do we soond forget the things we cannot see

A lot of Rob's plot deals with the fact that Holly and Jason are growing close, while Rob is stuck watching this rather than moving toward "The Light". (Which, for anyone who doesn't like religion shoved down their throat, remains very neutral. I know that kinda thing can bug some people.) 

I only had two issues with this book. One was the way that Heather Davis constructed the black moment for her romance. It relied very much on he said / she said and involved a bit of slut shaming (it was a rumor, but still--not cool), which tends to make me mad. The other problem is that while it was alluded to why Rob's friends had issues with Holly, it was never properly addressed (which is a big problem since it effected the black moment in Holly and Jason's relationship.) Considering that we get both Rob and Jason's POVs, I felt there was no logic to keeping the reader in the dark from start to finish. 

Despite any complaints, Wherever You Go is a novel that I truly enjoyed and that I had absolutely no trouble completing. It has a fairly original concept and for the most part it carries that off well. If you like stories where real contemporary issues take a turn for the paranormal or semi-magical, this is a book that I would strongly recommend. 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

2014 Challenge #1: Reading Outside The Box

Every year I sign up for a ton of challenges, and then every year I forget about 'em a week after New Years hits. For 2014 I'm striving to do this (and a lot of things...) different. I'm choosing ONLY challenges that I think will strengthen me as a reader and writer, and I want to choose ones that will actually require some thought on my part.

With all of that said, I'd like to introduce you to my first Challenge of choice...

Reading Outside The Box

This challenge is being hosted by The Cheap Reader. The goal of this challenge is to broaden reading habits by exploring new genres and mediums within literature. The challenge requires the completion of 25 books, one for each box on this grid.

My Reading List: 

I've spent the past few days deciding what books I want to read for the various categories. I'm going to share the books, links to their GoodReads pages, and why I'm reading them below. Where there might need to be an explanation of the category, I'll give that too.

1. Read A Clunker (This must be a book of at least 600 pages.)

The Firebrand
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Date Finished: (waiting)

Most of the books I've chosen are completely new to me series and / or authors. This is a little different. I found a copy of The Firebrand at a second hand shop when I was about fourteen and became completely obsessed with it. It was shortly after I got into Breek Mythology, and although the thing is HUGE I spent days reading it. But I never read *all* of it. I would read chunks of it, the way I might go and find favorite sections of one of my normal mythology books. Now that I'm older (and *slightly* less scared of a big book?) I want to read this from start to finish and see if I love it as much in its entirety as I recall loving the pieces I read when I was younger. 

2. Read A Graphic Novel 

Hades: Lord of the Dead
by George O'Connor
Date Finished: (waiting)

Graphic novels are not my forte, so when I went on GoodReads to choose one for this challenge, my goal was to find something that really sparked my interest. Some people who've followed my blog for a while may know that the story of Hades and Persephone is what got me into Greek Mythology (which in turn is one of my biggest influences as a writer). So when I looked up Graphic Novels 2013 and saw this, my mind was made up pretty quickly. The great thing about choosing this book is that not only will I get to enjoy it, I'll also get to share it with my niece. 

3. Read A Mystery

Naked In Death (In Death #1)
by J.D. Robb
Date Finished: (waiting)

I may have taken a little liberty with this selection. I'm not 100% sure whether this challenge calls for a strict Sherlock Holmes / Agatha Christie type mystery, or whether anything under the more general mystery / suspense heading will be fine. However, I am pretty excited about my book choice and this is something I didn't even know existed until I went to look up a book for the challenge, so I consider that a win. I like the fact that the book seems to have a pretty strong female lead, and the idea that it takes place in the future. The idea that she is interested in one of the suspects should also keep my attention. We'll have to see once I read it. :)

4. Read A Middle Grade Book 

The Swift Boys & Me
by Kody Keplinger
Date Finished: (waiting)

This is probably one of the quickest, easiest choices I made for this challenge. Kody Keplinger is one of my favorite authors, and someone whose stuff I would consider "auto-buy". So picking her first foray into middle grade fiction for my middle grade book is a no-thought-required decision. The plot for this sounds interesting and is definitely different than other stuff on my list, which will allow it to both stand out and provide me with further variety (which is the goal of this challenge). I also want to take a moment to say that I think this cover is super cute. I hadn't realized the book had a cover yet until I went to get the info needed for this post. 

5. Read A Self Published Novel

If Only We
by Jessica Sankiewicz
Date Finished: (Waiting)

The fact that this is on the list shows just how far behind I am right now. Between weather, stress, and procrastination a book I should have had read weeks ago is getting listed for 2014. But enough of that. I've read the sample for If Only We and I have extremely high hopes that it will be able to stand next to the rest of the books on this list no problem. Blending contemporary and time travel elements, it seems to have some unique ideas, an interesting premise and a ton of potential. 

6. Listen To An Audio Book

A Game Of Thrones
by George R.R. Martin
Date Finished: (waiting)

My brother has been bugging me about A Game of Thrones for MONTHS. He wants me to watch the series, but I *hate* watching stuff before I've read it. So that means I'm going to read the book first. But this book is a freaking behemoth, so I'm going to do something fairly new for me. I'm going to listen to it! I'm both excited and nervous about this because this year will be the first where I am adding any audio books to my reading and it could either totally work for me, or it could fall flat on its face. The other major reason I've picked to get this in audio book form is because if it's good I can share it with my dad, who will probably love it but who is not a big reader. Should be interesting. :) 

7. Read A Novel In Verse 

To Be Perfectly Honest
by Sonya Sones
Date Finished: (waiting)

I've never read anything modern written in verse, so I'm pretty excited about this part of the challenge. This book looks like it should be interesting and fun. I didn't want to pick something really heavy or serious for this. I studied poetry in university and loved that, but as much as I adore T.S. Elliott and W.B. Yeats, I'm not sure how well talking about them here would really go over. Besides, I think that something like this will have a different structure still from a volume of unrelated poems. Who hasn't lied about something at some point in their life? It's a mistake most people make at some point. It should be interesting to see how reading this turns out.

8. I Accidentally Watched The Movie First

The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
Date Finished: (waiting)

This is another of the reading opportunities that lead to me deciding to do this challenge. Every year since I started this blog I have meant to read and review The Princess Bride. And every year I wind up not doing that. Well, no more! The movie is totally fabulous and I wanna know if the book can measure up. It actually feels kinda weird typing that. So often people feel that a movie can't hold a candle to a book, and most of the time I'm kinda neurotic about reading something before I watch it. I'm curious to see how much of an influence having seen the movie a zillion times will have when I start reading. 

9. Read A Fantasy Novel 

Seraphina (Seraphina #1)
by Rachel Hartman
Date Finished: (waiting)

I am on a dragon kick. I really, really want to read stories that have dragons in them--preferably as major characters and done in such a way that they are sentient creatures with feelings, motives and real characterization. I don't actually remember where I found out about this book. But when I saw fantasy listed for this challenge I immediately knew Seraphina would be the book I picked for this category. Dragons? Singing? A prince? Sounds right up my alley, doesn't it? I have a feeling this will be one of the easier reads I will have to complete the gameboard at the top of this post. 

10. Relive the Magic (Re-read a book you loved during childhood)

The BFG
by Roald Dahl
Date Finished: (waiting)

This one was close. The other book I thought of reading was C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But I've read that book several times, whereas I've only had the BFG read to me once and that was back in grade 4. I recall really loving the story, but the memory is a fuzzy, hazy thing. So I figure it's time to grab a copy off Amazon and read it for myself. I'm pretty excited about this. I wanted to read it last year (and this year) and never got to it. That changes in 2014. 

11. Gathering Dust (A book that's been on your shelves a long time)

Catching Jordan (Catching Jordan #1)
by Miranda Kenneally
Date Finished: (waiting)

I started reading this back in fall 2012 but I ended up injuring my wrist and I couldn't hold a book. My wrist finally did quit acting up, thank goodness, but I never did get back to Catching Jordan, even though I had been enjoying it. Losing my spot in a book like that was just as frustrating as losing a chapter in a book I'm writing, or having the power go out when I'm playing an RPG. But I think I'm finally far enough past it that I feel reading from the beginning again will be worth it, so I just had to list this as my Gathering Dust read. I've heard a lot of good things about this book and this series, so I'm excited to jump in. 

12. Read A Young Adult Novel 

Scorched (Scorched #1)
by Mari Mancusi
Date Finished: (waiting)

This was one of the easiest and hardest books I had to pick for the challenge. My blog is mostly focused on YA and NA since that is a lot of what I read and write. But picking a book to represent my love of YA? Eek! I wanted to pick something unique and something I feel should get a moment in the spotlight, so I went back to that Dragon obsession I mentioned earlier. Scorched is out, but I don't get it til Christmas because Jay is buying it for me to be read on my new Kindle Paperwhite. I have extremely high hopes for this book, which is a blessing and a curse. I guess we'll soon find out how well it measures up. 

13. Try A Classic 

Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Date Finished: (waiting)

No free spot on this bingo card! Nope-nope. Instead we have "Try a classic" staring me in the face. Eep. Can I read them? Yes. Do I like them in theory? Yes. But have I touched even one since I left uni? Hell no. However, I've heard it said that any romance author worth her ink has to read Pride and Prejudice, so I'll give this a go. This is probably going to be one of the hardest books I've chosen for the challenge because reading a classic requires a certain mindset and while I can *understand* and *like* them in theory, I've only ever enjoyed reading one. (Wuthering Heights. Big surprise there, right?) I've always associated classics with an assignment due date or my aunt offering me $10 to finish them. (I'm looking at you, David Copperfield. And the answer's still no.) Of all the books on my list, this is the most likely to make me fail. 

14. Read An Award Winner

Outlander (Outlander #1)
by Diana Gabaldon
Date Finished: (waiting)

I can't even remember how long ago I decided I wanted to read this book. I've heard such totally fabulous things about it, and it really seems like it could be my thing. (It also potentially has one of my biggest reading peeves, so we'll have to see how that is handled. Claire is married... *is concerned*) I have a tendency to get a little angry at characters who cheat. I'm HOPING I can deal with that here, since Claire (I'm hoping...) does not know how to get home and must get on with her life / deal with the world she's been thrown into. This is going to be a unique experience for me. (Kyden and Kesyl are already arguing about the book and I haven't read it yet. Damn I love those two.) 

15. Read A Biography or Memoir

Until I Say Good-Bye: A Book About Living
by Susan Spencer-Wendel
Date Finished: (waiting)

I can already hear some of you going "Wait a minute! What the hell is the queen of happily ever after doing reading a book like this?". Next to Pride and Prejudice this will likely be my biggest hurdle for this reading challenge. I've read the intro on my kindle already (wanted to make sure this will work for me) and while I think there will be a remarkable and uplifting message here, I don't think there's any way to skate around how much courage and strength it had to take to decide to live this way, or to write this book. I do not envy myself the task of reviewing this when I finish, because it's not the type of thing i'd normally read and it's not fiction. Admittedly, though, that is part of the allure. 

16. Read A Science Fiction Novel

Ready Player One
by Earnest Cline
Date Finished: (waiting)

The gamer geek in me took one look at "Science Fiction", one look at the blurb for this book--a story I meant to read ages ago--and pretty much screamed "Hell yeah!". I met my boyfriend, Jay, playing an MMO and to this day that is one of the other things I do just as much as I read or write. So a book about someone using a virtual game to literally change their fortune is both a bit of a geeky dream of mine, and also something that hits very close to home. It's also another male POV, something I'm pretty sure is a little lacking on this list so far. One thing's for sure: Ready Player One sounds different than anything else on the list, and different from other stuff I've reviewed on the blog. That's good enough for me. 

17. Something Loved By Others 

Pushing The Limits (Pushing the Limits #1)
by Katie McGarry
Date Finished: (waiting)

Oh my God, this one was an absolute no brainer! There are probably some of you looking at this and blinking like you're hallucinating. ("Wait. Kat really hasn't read that yet? Really? I remember she bought it the week it came out. What the heck, Kat?") I loaned it to a friend, got it back a few months(!!) later and by that point had totally forgotten about it. Not only that, I have Dare You To sitting on my shelves as well, because I had somehow forgotten I hadn't read Pushing The Limits. (Yikes. That says so much about my library..err, bookshelves.) In a way I'm kinda glad I've held off. It means I got to escape the hype, and it also means that if I love this book, too, I can move on to the other books in the series which have released. 

18. Read A Piece Of Historical Fiction

The White Queen (The Cousins War #1)
by Philippa Gregory
Date Finished: (waiting)

Some of you may have noticed that a lot of my choices for this challenge have been GoodReads Choice Award nominees. Well, this started there, too. I was drawn to The White Princess, but when I saw that it was part of a series, being me, I just had to find out how to start from the beginning. I love history, but it's been a damn long time since I sat down and read a historical novel. I actually can't begin to express how eager I am to read this book. I want to do the 1-click on Amazon and start. right. now. I also think it will make for a really neat contrast to A Game Of Thrones, since (if memory serves me) George R.R. Martin's series was inspired by the War of the Roses, too. 

19. Lost In Translation (A book originally written in another language)

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb
Date Finished: (waiting)

The book's original title is Gadis Kecil di Tembus Peluru Demi Sekolah. I chose this book for several reasons. (1) I write a blog aimed largely at reviewing books intended for teen girls. Imagine if we lived in a country where those girls could not get the education required to be able to read them? (2) I want to read a bit more non fiction than I have been reading and this really grabbed my attention when I looked at the GoodReads Choice Awards list. (3) I think this will be a little more manageable than my other strong draw for Lost in Translation, The Count of Monte Cristo. (C'mon, guys, it's 1276 pages long. Eek!) A potentially weird choice for this blog, but that's part of why I'm excited to read it. (Although saddened that we live in a world where this can happen.) 

20. Read A Romance Novel 

Tangled (Tangled #1)
by Emma Chase
Date Finished: (waiting)

Are you surprised to hear that this was one of the hardest categories for me to choose a book in? I read, and have read, a ton of romance. No doubt I'll read a ton more in 2014. But I wanted to make sure that my pick for this challenge would be a book that would truly stand out. I tried using Listopia to find something, but that just brought up a ton of YA and NA stuff. Then I went to check out the nominees for the GoodReads choice awards (yes, *again*) and Tangled immediately jumped out at me. A romance novel from the "hero"'s POV? Sounds just quirky enough to draw my attention. After reading a few quotes in the reviews I was pretty much sold. I don't know if I'll LOVE this book, but it shouldn't be boring. 

21. "Read" A Picture Book

My Dog The Paradox
by Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal
Date Finished: (waiting)

This category totally made me go "huh?" when I saw it. And I'm still not sure if the challenge meant for me to pick a *childrens'* picture book, because if so, this is not it. But it does focus on a topic I love--dogs--so I think it will (hopefully) fill the requirement nicely for me. I'm honestly still not sure what I'm suppose to get from a 32 page booklet of comics. It's a format that is totally Greek to me. But that is part of the point, so I guess I'll roll with it. 

22. Give A Book A Second Chance

Keturah and Lord Death
by Martine Leavitt
Date Finished: (waiting)

This is the last time I'll feature this book before I actually read and review it. I swear. I've meant to fully read Keturah and Lord Death since 2011. I bought it in my first bunch of books I purchased to review on this blog. And I think I read five pages before going "Nope." because I was not in the mood for it at that time. The decision has bothered me a great deal since. This is one of *those* books, the kind of book that sounds like I should feel like it was written for me. So I think it's fitting that I give it the Second Chance opportunity that it deserves. One way or another, I will find out whether or not I love this story. It's time to quit worrying about that and read the darn thing. 

23. Read A Piece of Contemporary Fiction

The Husband's Secret
by Liane Moriarty
Date Finished: (waiting)

What, no contemporary YA or NA? Nope. I already have several YA novels on my reading list and the goal of this particular challenge is to branch out, not just to give myself a cookie for reading stuff I would have read anyway. It's gonna be a little weird reading about older women, or maybe what I should be saying is women who are at a different stage of life than I am? I'm in my thirties, but the idea of stuff like kids, marriage, etc. is almost like a laughable parody to me. It's so far from my own experience that fighting villains or using magic powers actually seems more believable and real. The Husband's Secret will likely be one of the harder reads here for me--it's not a book I would normally choose, but it did catch my eye on the GoodReads choice list, so I guess I'll give it a try. 

24. Read A Non-Fiction Book 

Adulting: How To Become A Grown Up In 468 Easy(ish) Steps
by Kelly Williams Brown
Date Finished: (waiting)

I'm 31 and I still live with my parents. This is not where I envisioned myself when I sat across from guidance counselors back in high school. I cannot cook. I don't know the first thing about banking. And, to put it bluntly, my two dogs and the plants at our house are all equally fortunate not to be dead. I am extremely well educated in everything absurd and impractical, but the moment real life tries to intrude on my self designed reality, everything goes straight to hell. When I write I spend more time researching how to cook a stir fry or drive a car than I do how to wield a sword or the finer workings of some third century magical system I want to borrow from. I thought I was alone in my cluelessness, but now I'm not so sure. Will "Adulting" be enlightening, amusing, or insulting? We shall soon see. 

25. Read An Adult Novel 

First Grave On The Right (Charlie Davidson #1)
by Darynda Jones
Date Finished: (waiting)

I totally love it when paranormal and humor meet, and I've been wanting to read this book for ages, so here it is. Paranormal is a genre of fiction I return to time and again and I like it in all--YA, NA and Adult--flavors. I was torn between this or Halfway To The Grave, but considering how heavy some of the stuff I picked for this challenge is, First Grave On The Right won out thanks to the humor angle. Plus I'm about to write Carita and Lucian's book, so I'm trying to read as much grim reaper inspired fiction as possible--I don't want to do something that's been done, and I won't be able to touch it once I start writing. I think this makes a nice wrap for the challenge.

So, are you thinking of taking part in Reading Outside The Box? Have you decided what you're reading yet? Feel free to link me to your post or to share whatever reading challenges you are hoping to complete in 2014. 

NaNoWriMo 2014: What I'm Writing!

Yeah, I know: as if I'm not busy enough. :D But I can't help it! For years I've wanted to take part in National Novel Writing Month, but something--life, health, etc.--has always come up. Not so this year. *knocks on wood* This year I'm finally going to do it.

So, what's my project? Glad you asked!

In her first Sealer Saga anthology, SEALED WITH A KISS, Kathy Coleman tells the story of Lucian Veradayne, Lord of the Underworld.

BY DARKNESS DECEIVED...

For centuries one thing alone has eluded Ruby Grendell, Goddess of the Moon: to have a child of her own, to raise as she sees fit. Her consort, the Sun Lord Darius, has denied her this each time she has questioned him about it. And now she has discovered his mortal lover...and their son.

Two can play at that game. Ruby decides to host a contest among her followers. The man who proves himself most worthy will have the honor of fathering her child. But when Lucian, Lord of the Undrerworld, disguises himself and ends up in her bed, Ruby will stop at nothing to seek vengeance on the man who wronged her a thousand years ago. Even if it means destroying the very being she sought to create.

TO WED A DARK LORD...

Carita Veradayne has been given an unthinkable task. She must murder the infant son of her Goddess. But while Lucian fought to win Ruby's heart, Carita unwittingly gave him hers. Unable to kill her only surviving link to him, she returns to the Moon Temple with the baby and begins to raise him in secret. She knows she will not be able to hide him forever. And that when Ruby discovers this betrayal, her wrath will be severe.

Lucian has spent ten years searching for his son. When he finds the boy standing over Carita's body and calling her "mother" he offers to grant her immortality--if she agrees to become his Queen. But Lucian's heart is shattered and he has no desire to repair it or have it broken again. Will Carita find a way to win his love or has she sentenced herself to an eternity of solitude?

I am so hyped to start work on this! Since I'm working on outline and characters and this book is totally on my mind right now, I thought I'd share five facts about it with you guys.

1. Yes, this was inspired by Hades and Persephone. 

I was really happy to see people on the NaNoWriMo forums catch on to this. :D There are a lot of differences between my work and the actual myth, but a lot of my Sealer Saga stuff references, borrows from or alludes to different stories within several mythologies. Kesyl and Sarena's story didn't have a specific myth tied to it, but SEALED WITH A KISS is a nod to Hades and Persephone, while SEALER'S QUERST (which I should be writing next) has its roots in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

2. Readers will get to explore New Haven, the capital of the Underworld.

I work very hard in this series to integrate my divine realms (The Underworld and the Sky Realm) in with my two living realms (Earth and Zynedia). We got a few scenes from The Underworld in SEALER'S PROMISE, but I'm really excited to expand on that further in this anthology. We'll also get to see Carita and Kesyl's reactions to Earth, and the reader will get to see Zynedia before it's destruction since this is a prequel. 

3. Readers will get to witness the birth of a Hell Hound puppy! 

From artists to betas, facebook fanpage members to people on twitter, people seem to love the mini hell hounds. :D And who can blame them--they're cute! (And I totally credit Katling on Facebook for them--it never occurred to me to do them this way when I commissioned her for this art.) We got a couple scenes with the minis in SEALER'S PROMISE, but in SEALED WITH A KISS readers will get to witness the birth of Cujo! (Can you see glimpses of Zakariah's sense of humor in this? :D I figure a deity who can inflict people with fear would HAVE to love / respect Stephen King's books.) 

4. Readers will get to witness Kesyl's first trip to Earth and see the first time he encountered a car. (Something referenced in Sealer's Promise)

When I initially planned out a few novellas to go between the main four Sealer Saga novels the decision was inspired by my friend Robert Bevan's Caverns and Creatures mini-adventures. I'm so glad I ended up planning these (and that I eventually listened and did the re-write for SEALER'S PROMISE before releasing any of them.) The ideas for the novellas have added richness to my plans for the books, and as I work on the books they add things I want to explore to the novellas. It's totally win-win. One of the most crucial scenes in my NaNoWriMo project is inspired from something Kesyl tells Sarena about while they are at the Sterling Community Theater. I love getting to see Kesyl as a little boy (he's so freaking cute!) and showing how much he has grown as a character (by showing where he came from) will be an interesting writing challenge. 

5. Readers will get to see how Zakariah deals with the idea of a "new mom" and a baby brother. 

Writing the family dynamics for the Veradaynes is one of the toughest challenges I will face this November. I'm NOT from any form of a blended family; my home is about as 'nuclear' as you can get. I've had lots of close friends who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, though, and I'm hoping that will be helpful in not botching this up. There's also the fact that the Veradaynes are Sealers (basically Gods / Immortals), which can be a blessing and a curse when writing them. I want them to seem as zanny as the characters from the Greek and Norse myths I love, but I also strive to have them deal with character issues that feel real to today's world--not our world the way it was centuries ago. 

Zakariah is a 1,000 year old Sealer who has never lived. He's kind of a sand in for, say, an 18 year old brother who is looking after a baby sibling. I like this about him. It means I can make him responsible, but I can also make him emotional and have him make mistakes. This story takes place before SEALER'S PROMISE and part of my goal is to show how far Zakariah has come from here to where he is in that book. Zakariah, as a character, is pretty close to my heart. He has kind of evolved with each of my three drafts of SEALER'S PROMISE, getting (I hope!) better with each one. Getting to explore him further is something I'm really looking forward to. 

Are YOU writing something this year for NaNoWriMo? Feel free to link me to a post about it, or to it's page on the NaNoWriMo website. Good luck! 

Blog Tour: The Devil's Tattoo by Nicole R. Taylor

Hey guys! Today I have an excerpt for The Devil's Tattoo by Nicole R. Taylor. I'll also be sharing the book summary, showing you where you can buy it, and posting a rafflecopter to the grand prize giveaway. Well, let's get this started. :)

(Summary provided by Xpresso Book Tours)

Zoe Granger picked up her first guitar the day her heart was smashed into a billion pieces. It was a way to keep her mind off her inevitable downward spiral, but music soon became her escape. She's been burned too many times to tell and is just happy to coast through life, never putting herself out there. That's until her best friend Dee suggests they start a band and suddenly she finds herself not just a part of it, but fronting the whole outfit.

They call themselves The Devil's Tattoo and when they release their debut EP, it rockets to the top of the charts and it's like an overnight fairytale. Contracts, photo shoots, royalties and interviews are heaped onto the shy Zoe and it's like she's finally found her place. Then comes the phone call that changes everything. They've been asked to co-headline a tour with one of the hottest bands of the moment, The Stabs and Zoe will never be the same again.

Will Strickland is one fourth of the hottest indie rock band to ever grace the airwaves. He's the bass player in The Stabs, hot as hell and could have his pick of any girl that flings herself at him. But he's only got eyes for Zoe and she has no idea why he'd bother. She's got one hell of a trust issue and an attitude to boot and Will seems to be the one who wants to tame her, but is he game enough?

The Devil's Tattoo and The Stabs go on the road and it's either going to be a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven. Only time will tell who will come out on top and Zoe's determined to do it without getting her heart broken… again.

Intrigued? Add it on GoodReads!

"Nice threads, Hot Legs," Dee said dripping water all over the place. He grabbed a towel and sat next to me. "I heard something went down with you last night."

"What are you on about?" I wondered who had talked, but if Simone had noticed, then Dee definitely would have.

"What's his face is more worked up than usual. And phwor, did you see his face when you walked out?"

My head sunk to my knees and I groaned.

"Hey," he said loudly. "Wanna give me a haircut?"

"What? No. I don't have any scissors." Until three years ago, I'd been employed as a hairdresser. For some reason that was now lost on me, I wanted to cut hair for a living. As a career. I now saw that I was ill suited for it. The reason being, that you have to like people and after the break up, people and I didn't get along. I'd cut ties with almost every aspect of that old life. I'd thrown away my scissors and equipment and every other reminder of that time that now seemed fake and empty.

"When you threw them out, I bin scabbed 'em when you weren't looking," Dee shrugged.

"You're so annoying." I wondered what his game was. He had to have one, because this was coming out of nowhere. Besides, he didn't need a haircut.

"I thought they might come in handy one day."

"Yeah, when you want a free haircut."

"Yeah," he said like I was stupid, which only made me more annoyed and he knew it.

"I don't want to go back to that shitty job."

"I wasn't thinking about that," he laughed. "I don't trust anyone outside of you and that bloke at the barber shop."

"That bloke has been cutting you hair for three years and you still don't know his name?"

"Nope."

"You two fight like an old married couple," Louie said, and I realised that everyone had fallen silent and were listening to us. I felt my face redden.

"You're cute when you blush, Zo," Frank declared loudly and I almost got up to drown him in the pool, but Dee made a bold statement on my behalf.

"Who needs a haircut? She's an artist, our Zoe. Slices and dices like Rembrandt."

"Dee," I hissed.

"What? Some of us might want to take advantage of your skills."

So, that’s how I found myself in the bathroom of my hotel room, Will sitting on a chair in front of me, a fluffy white towel around his shoulders, hair dripping wet. Dee's game was revealed and right now I wanted to give him a black eye.

Brandishing my scissors, I said, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

It’s do or die, so I chose to do.

I tried not to be awkward about it, but I found myself thinking almost instantaneously about how I was touching Will's hair. Hell, I’d been a hairdresser for five years straight out of school for some unknown reason, and I’d touched plenty of hot guy’s heads. I’d shampooed and conditioned a ton of them. Scalp massages and all. And in all that time, I’d never felt so uncomfortably turned on as I did right now.

I pushed his head forward so I could cut in at the nape of his neck and was able to study one of his tattoos without him noticing. It was a small hourglass with grey wings. I had something similar and felt myself blush was suddenly grateful that he couldn’t see me in the mirror. I was red as a beetroot.

“Thanks,” he said as I began to cut. "It was gettin' a bit outta control."

“No problem,” I said as evenly as I could. “What’s the use of having a qualified hairdresser around if you can’t take advantage, right?”

“Right.”

I focused on what I was doing. I couldn't give him a shit haircut. After Dee talked me up like I was some kind of DaVinci with scissors, it had to be perfect. But, I couldn't quite get past the fact that I was touching him. It took all my strength not to straddle him then and there.

When it was time to do the top, I came around and stood in front of him, pulling the comb through his wet curls and for the first time I could see his eyes clearly. I did my best to look away, but he was staring up at me like he'd never seen a girl cut his hair before. I'm frozen to the spot, my heart thumping a million miles an hour.

He reached up and took the comb and scissors from my hands and set them on the counter. When he stood, the towel dropped and he grasped both sides of my face, pushing me back up against the mirror, and kissed me. It took me by surprise, so when I hit the glass, I opened my mouth with a gasp and he plunged his tongue right in and I can’t stop myself. I kissed him back, my hands raking up his back as I pulled him harder into me. He claimed me with a hunger that I didn't know he possessed and I wanted him just as much. Suddenly, I was alive.

Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the University of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser.

She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!), traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.

The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th 2013.

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As always, thanks very much to Xpresso Book Tours for having me along. :)