October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kevin and the old-school creepies...

It's the last Wednesday in October (already?? how??) and our Featured Author Kevin Hearne is here to talk about Halloween and creepy stuff... Read on!

For Halloween, I am posting a sign on my door that says KNOCK AND I WILL CHEERFULLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR TOOTH ENAMEL. I may or may not append a postscript with the season’s greetings, “Muah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!” Because there is nothing so terrifying as a visit to the dentist.

There is some debate in my house as to whether this celebrates the spirit of Halloween or not.

I may retort that we honestly don’t want to celebrate the spirit of every holiday—look closely at what Christopher Columbus did, for example, once he got to the New World, and you won’t want to celebrate that man anymore. But fine: let us celebrate an ill-defined spirit of Halloween. Creepy stuff! Yeah!

Hollywood has its own definition, but I don’t mean creepy in the modern sense—someone stalking you or sociopathic serial killers who were abused as children and now must abuse everyone else—I mean old-school creepy. Dread. A pants-crapping fear of the unknown. My stomach can’t handle modern horror: it basically turns people into victims, knocks them down on the food chain somehow, and that’s it. But Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft—those dudes knew how to crawl inside your head and mess with it a while. They created tension with mere words, not camera tricks and close-ups on the victim’s face and loud noises to startle you. So in the spirit of Halloween, why not visit (or revisit) their stories? The horror genre owes much to them. Heck, every Scooby-Doo episode with a creepy mansion in it should give credit to Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

If you have a Kindle or other electronic reader, you can get the complete works of Poe and Lovecraft either for free or for less than a dollar. But if you want to kick it old school with these old-school masters of horror and turn actual pages, there are plenty of collections out there, often with critical essays lumped in, that would look quite lovely on your shelf—after you’ve read them, of course.

My bestest recommendation: participate in All Hallow’s Read. Give someone (an age-appropriate) scary book to read. Used or new. It’s better for them than a visit to the dentist.

And in completely other, non-Halloween related news, I’d like to thank Drey for featuring me on her blog this month. I appreciate the love and I’m very grateful to you all for reading my (completely non-scary) books!

Actually, there is nothing quite so terrifying as a visit to the dentist when in need of dental work... Just visiting isn't so bad, but I hate that drill... All Hallow's Read sounds interesting, I've got it bookmarked to check later--thank you for sharing! And you can come back anytime. I love your books, and your sense of humor, and your letting me make you work! *grin* Thank you for taking the time to visit!

October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kevin's favorite books...

It's Wednesday! And that means it's time for another visit from our Featured Author of the  month, Kevin Hearne! Today, Kevin tells us what his (current) favorite books are, and some are totally delish, while others have been added to my want-to-read pile... Check this out!

(Note: I couldn't help myself. Please excuse the interruptions...)

In general, my favorite book is whatever I’m reading at the moment. But these days I read anywhere from five to ten books at a time: They’re scattered around the house with bookmarks in them, and I pick them up whenever I walk by and read a few pages at a time. It’s like literary snacking. So it’s rare that a book will snag me and not let go; most books I can put down and savor over time, but there are a few that are NOM NOM NOM and I can’t stop reading. Here are my top ten faves, but in no particular order, mind you:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I think he’s the best storyteller walkin’ the planet right now. Told him so, too. I completely geeked out on him. Sorry, Pat.

Heh. I'd completely geek out on him, too, so you're so NOT alone... *grin* 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. If you’re over 35, read this! If you’re under 35, you might want to read it just to find out what all the old people are talking about. This is the latest book to grab me and I’m still grinning about it.

I will have to check this one out. When an author who tickles your funny bone says he's grinning about a book, you take note of said book...
 

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Aside from being a cyberpunk masterpiece, it’s turned out to be scarily prophetic about economics—the privatization of formerly public services and corporations running the show is darn close to the truth.

The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman. This is the last big story arc in his comic series, The Sandman. It’s a masterpiece.

I am embarrassed to admit to not having read The Sandman... I shall have to rectify that oversight... *cringes in shame*
 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. This is the book that made me want to be a writer. Incredible voice.

The I Inside by Alan Dean Foster. This is out of print now, but you can find it online at various used vendors. Here’s the thing: I could have picked almost any title by Mr. Foster. I’m always entertained by his stories. His Spellsinger series was my first introduction into fantasy—which may explain quite a bit of my approach to writing it. Prior to that, I read sci-fi almost exclusively. Have you ever read his books? He’s prolific and still writing today.

Yet another to add to my oversight list... I don't know, Kevin, you keep growing my TBR pile, and where will I find time to read Tricked??
 

The Caves of Steel by Issac Asimov remains one of my favorite science fiction books and holds up pretty well. They speak of recording data on tapes rather than silicon chips, but aside from that bit of dating, the story still holds up well today.

Dune by Frank Herbert. Don’t watch the movies. The richness of the world is lost.

Shai-Hulud! The spice melange! House Atreides! Mentats! Bene Gesserits! Who hasn't read Dune? If you haven't, get thee to a bookstore and pick it up!

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. One of the coolest monsters ever in science fiction, the Shrike, doesn’t even show up until near the end of the book, and you don’t know who he’s going to kill next. Wonderful storytelling.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. I’m not sure how to explain this one. Look: Tom Robbins has a way with words matched by very few. Check him out!

Well. what's there left to do but go shopping? *grin* What about y'all? Have you read any (or ALL) of these? What do you think of Kevin's list?

Reviews: Janet Gurtler's (142.) If I Tell and (143.) I'm Not Her

I have two reviews for you today--and both are contemporary YA fiction from Janet Gurtler. I also have a guest post from Janet! Now, how to fit it all into one post...

I'm Not Her was released in May, and tells the story of a girl whose sudden rise in popularity unfortunately coincides with her sister's cancer diagnosis.

"For the first time in my life, I didn't feel envy..."

Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that's okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. But, the smiles of her picture perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn't hold it together, who will?

Janet Gurtler tests the bonds of sisterhood in this moving debut that readers of Jodi Picoult and Sarah Dessen will savor.

Title: I'm Not Her
Author: Janet Gurtler
ISBN-13: 9781402256363
Paperback: 285 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Sourcebooks

drey's thoughts:
Janet Gurtler's I'm Not Her is a moving story about a fifteen-year-old dealing with her older sister's cancer. And if dealing with a life-changing (and potentially life-threatening) illness isn't enough, Tess also has to deal with her parents acting like completely delusional dorks about it. (I totally understand that they were having a hard time with the diagnosis; however in my eyes it doesn't excuse their leaving everything in the hands of a fifteen-year-old because they "couldn't handle it"--they're the adults.)

And then there's school. School, where every one of Kristina's friends keep asking Tess where Kristina is and why she isn't in school (delusional parents didn't want anyone to know). School, where Tess has to skip class to accompany her mother to the hospital for Kristina's treatments (again, without being able to tell why). School, where Tess is now noticed (see above); and the other kids are making up stories about her and Kristina because they aren't getting any information. Not easy for a freshman to deal with, that's for sure.

I liked Janet's portrayal of Tess. She's resentful of all the negatives affecting her, and feels guilty for that resentment. She wants her life to stay the way it was, but she knows it's most likely temporary, whereas her sister's life is irrevocably changed. There's nowhere for her to go with this, without feeling like she's selfish. This is YA drama and angst as it should be.

drey's rating: Excellent!

If I Tell explores the ramifications of keeping secrets--your best friend's, your mother's, her boyfriend's--and the mess it can make of your own life...

Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Title: If I Tell
Author: Janet Gurtler
ISBN-13: 9781402261039
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Sourcebooks

drey's thoughts:
Jaz is seventeen, and the only biracial kid in her small town. At least, as far as she knows. She doesn't have any friends in school, and is thrown into a whirlpool of emotions when she sees her best friend Lacey making out with her mom's boyfriend. And that whirlpool gets deeper and wider when she finds out her mom's pregnant. What a mess!

Jaz can't confide in anyone--the only two people she's ever felt comfortable talking to have betrayed her. So she keeps things bottled up, only to find out that she has too many emotions fizzing inside her all at the same time. And her anger leaks out in spurts and splashes as she lashes out at her (former) best friend, at Simon, and even at her mom.

The emotional roller-coaster Jaz is on pulls you along as it goes up (new boy) and down (facing Simon or Lacey) and up (new friend at school) and down (her mom's emotional state), so much so that you wonder when she's going to let it all out. Which will happen, of course. The only question is when. And where. And who's going to get hurt in the process... (ok, that's more than one question)

This is an addictive read--you can't put it down until you find out how Jaz fares. Excellent teen read covering topics far and wide, including racism, bullying, depression, self-identity, and trust.

drey's rating: Excellent!

Have you read either books? What did you think?

September's FEATURED AUTHOR: Cathy Holton and family ghosts...

Is it really the end of September already? How fast time flies... BUT. It's still September and it's a Wednesday, so here's Cathy Holton with a guest post on Family Ghosts...

Family Ghosts

I’m often asked about the paranormal elements in Summer in the South. Readers generally fall into two categories: those who think I should have expanded the paranormal theme, and those who think the ghostly “presences” were simply manifestations of Ava’s sleep disorder.

One of my favorite novellas is Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. I have always loved the story is because it can be read in either of two ways: (1) It is the story of a sexually repressed Victorian governess sent to care for two orphans on an isolated English estate who, through a mental breakdown, begins to “see” the ghosts of two dead servants; or (2) it is the story of a brave young governess determined to save her two charges from demonic possession by two very real and very evil, dead servants. Depending on the reader’s own beliefs and background, the story can be read from either viewpoint. (It’s fun to try and read it both ways.)

I knew when I wrote Summer in the South that it would be a tribute to the Gothic literature I grew up reading and loving. Mr. Lockwood’s dream of the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw knocking on the window at the farmhouse in the opening chapter of Wuthering Heights, not only sent a chill up my spine but also imbued the story with an “otherworldly” quality that deepened the tragic love story of Catherine and Heathcliff.

Is Woodburn Hall truly haunted by the ghost of Charlie Woodburn? I’ve never known an old Southern home lived in for generations by the same family that didn’t boast at least one family ghost. Or is the ghostly presence simply a manifestation of Ava’s growing obsession with Charlie, an obsession that intensifies as she begins to write her version of what happened to Charlie on that tragic evening nearly sixty years ago.

In the end, dear Reader, I suppose you’ll have to decide that for yourself.

So, what do you think? Do you believe in ghosts? Or was Ava's Charlie just a figment of her imagination and surroundings?

Thank you, Cathy, for visiting us this month! I wish you continued success with your writing!

Blog Tour: Katrina Kittle's (134.) Reasons to be Happy...

Today's tour is for Katrina Kittle's Reasons to be Happy, a book about the heart-breaking and impossible standards of body image.

About the author:
Katrina Kittle taught middle and high school English for 11 years. She is the author of four other novels and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University in Louisville.

Find Katrina online at her website katrinakittle.com, the Reasons to be Happy blog, on facebook, and on twitter.

I asked Katrina for a guest post on what prompted her to write this particular book. Here's what she says...

Do you remember middle school? Was your experience pretty horrible? Mine was. Such a crazy, miserable time of insecurity. My life had been great leading up to sixth grade…and suddenly it was a trainwreck. Most memories of that time seem all fuzzy with self-doubt, humiliation, unbearable shyness. Ugh. I would no more want to re-live that time that I would want to chop off one of my own hands!

When I became a middle school teacher myself, I kept a photo of my seventh grade self in my desk drawer. This awful photo—of me with a hideous perm (I'd had a friend give it to me so that I could have curls like the popular girls), goofy glasses (how I longed for the contact lenses I would finally get in high school), and wearing outrageous, ridiculous high heels (were they comfortable? no! did I look natural in them? no! did I do much that made sense then? no!)—was my reminder on the days the students were making me to want to go drink vodka in the teacher's bathroom! That photo gave me compassion and patience for my students. That photo reminded me: they can't help it. I mean, I could walk into my classroom and feel the hormones and anxiety in the air.

But then I started thinking: why can't they help it? Remembering my own experience, I grew so disheartened by a particular phenomenon I saw unfold over and over again: bright, bold, curious girls—strong and confident in their abilities—would hit the wall of self-doubt around seventh grade. They'd lose all sense of their own unique identity, stop taking any risks, and retreat into approval-seeking behaviors that made them all seem like watered-down clones of each other. Every single one of my novels has begun with a social issue I'm passionate about, and one day I realized this concern and obsession I had with “keeping girls brave and confident” was my new story. I began to seek the cast of characters who could inhabit this story, and Hannah Anne Carlisle came into existence.

As a writer, I'm fascinated with how story ideas will simmer a long, long time before they take shape. I'll often have several different story “threads” and suddenly one day it will finally become clear which threads I might be able to braid together to make a book. That certainly happened with Reasons to Be Happy. Hannah's “list” was something I did in my own classroom—putting a reason to be happy on the whiteboard every day. I already had the drama of the middle school pecking order playing out in front of me on a daily basis. I knew that body image was still a huge part of the middle school girl identity crisis. I could pull specific knowledge of the particular workings of bulimia and anorexia from my years as a serious ballet student, and, sadly, from some experiences with my own students. (Instead of improving the situation with our awareness and understanding of body image and eating disorders, these issues seem more pervasive than ever before—40 percent of nine-year-olds have already dieted!) Add to this my own secret obsession with celebrity gossip (friends are sometimes horrified to discover this about me. I guess they all think I'm much more lofty-minded than I really am!), which led me to make Hannah's parents into A-list actors. I also have local friends who are twice-Academy-Award-nominated documentary film makers (hence, the creation of Hannah's Aunt Izzy). And I had the amazing privilege of traveling to Ghana once with a group of students, and had long been looking for the right place to use some of my experiences from that life-altering trip. (I actually had a goat under my bed one night in Tafi Atome, just like Hannah does).

What I hope readers take away from the book is that our authentic selves are so much more interesting and beautiful (and less maintenance!) than anything we “manufacture” to please others. It took Hannah being plunked down in a culture where she had no idea what was even considered beautiful, for her to be kind to herself and accept her own body. We all spend so much time comparing ourselves, judging ourselves against that teensy percentage of women who are supermodels (airbrushed supermodels, thank you very much) instead of accepting our imperfections and embracing our own unique beauty. Hannah discovers that what she perceived as an imperfection is actually one of her strengths.

That's the real beauty of the writing life to me: we use everything. Anything I see or experience, no matter how random or trivial, might just become a piece of “the story behind the story.”

About the book:
Title: Reasons to be Happy
Author: Katrina Kittle
ISBN-13: 9781402260209
ARC: 277 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Sourcebooks

What Happens When You’re Not So Perfect?
How could so much change so fast?
Let’s see, you could be a plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people; move to a new school; have no real friends; your mom could get sick; and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world. Yep, that about does it.

Hannah is an eighth grader trying her hardest to cling to what she knows and loves while her world shatters around her. Her parents are glamorous Hollywood royalty, and sometimes she feels like the ugly duckling in a family of swans. Faced with her mother’s death and her father’s withdrawal into grief, Hannah turns to the one thing she can control: her weight.

Hannah’s self-destructive secret takes over her life, but the new Beverly Hills clique she’s befriended at school only reinforces her desire to be beautiful, and not even the quirky misfit Jasper—the only one who seems to notice or care—can help. It will take a journey unlike any other to remind Hannah of who she really is, and to begin to get that girl back. Reasons to Be Happy is about standing up for all the things you love—including yourself.

drey's thoughts:
Hannah Carlisle should be on top of the world. Her parents are movie stars. She herself is an artist and an athlete. Her life is good…

Then she starts at a new school, and all at once everything changes. Why? Because she can’t seem to get herself—her real self—unstuck from the person she becomes with the group she hangs out with at school… Seems like an easy solution: stop hanging out with that group! But Hannah’s bravery has deserted her, and she can’t. So she finds another way to deal with that stress.

I couldn’t believe that such a lovely and talented girl would fall prey to the clutches of the mean girls at school, right from the get-go. Then again, I was never in that situation, so I’m not in any position to say what could be real or not… I wanted to read this book to see how an author addresses one of the many problems that our young girls and women face as they battle their own body image. And see how a young girl's own self-image could become so skewed.

What happened to Hannah can happen to any other eighth-grader, or any other young girl or woman you know. We are too often bombarded with negativity--we're too fat, too tall, to short, too flat, etc. Even when we do well at school or other pursuits, even to those who love us best, it seems our looks are still our most-used measuring stick--and we never seem to measure up. Why is that?

Who defines beautiful? Is it the media? The entertainment industry? Our families? Friends? Acquaintances we barely know? Whose opinion carries the most weight? Why? And most importantly (to me at least): Why do we give control of our own selves over to those who certainly (usually?) don’t give a rat’s behind what happens to us? And what can we do about it? Ok, so maybe I'm being a little harsh--after all, we expect that our parents and loved ones do give a rat's patootie. And we're all just a bit (hah!) too sensitive...

Hannah's being "outed" by her aunt is one step towards recognition, and possible recovery. And when she has to go to Ghana for four weeks, that's four weeks dedicated to something other--other than thinking and stressing about her self, her weight, her insecurities... Can she keep up the progress once she's back in the USA though? You'll have to read Reasons to be Happy to find out.

drey's rating: Pick it up! We need more books like this to reinforce a healthier self-image for our young girls and women! And not just books and messages; we also need to follow through with action. What we say and do is definitely worth more than what we say to do!

Have you read Reasons to be Happy? What did you think? And if you haven't, here's your chance to win a copy!

Giveaway!
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of Reasons to be Happy for you, if you live in the US (no PO Boxes, please). To enter, fill out the form below. Good luck!
 

September's FEATURED AUTHOR: Cathy's favorite books...

You've met our Featured Author of the month, Cathy Holton. And checked out her bibliography. Now she's back, to share with us her current favorite books... 

It’s always difficult to narrow my favorite books down to a manageable list. I’m a voracious reader. There are always stacks of books on my bedside table, beside my tub, on my coffee table. I usually read two or three at a time; a biography or non-fiction book, and a novel. I have a tendency to go through “periods”; my Southern writers period, my English writers period, my Australian writers period, etc.

So, bearing in mind that my list of favorite books and authors constantly changes, depending on what I’m reading at any given moment, the following are some of my favorite most recent reads.

Parrot and Olivier in America – I’ve been a Peter Carey admirer since I read Oscar and Lucinda many years ago. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and Carey does it best. Parrot and Olivier is the story of a French nobleman and his hapless servant, Parrot, exploring the New World in the years following the Revolutionary War. Carey manages to capture the feel and flavor of a raw new country undergoing some of the same conflicts and social concerns that we’re still dealing with today. The novel is based on the true-life 1831 travels of Alexis deTocqueville.

Lives of Girls and Women - How is it that I have only recently discovered Alice Munro? This Canadian short story writer has been heralded as one of the greatest living fiction writers. She writes stories about ordinary people; mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, lovers and friends, living lives of quiet desperation. The stories are engaging and deceptively simple, yet filled with a surprising emotional intensity. Everything I’ve learned about good writing in the last few years, I’ve learned from reading Alice Munro.

Case Histories – I’ve read everything Kate Atkinson has ever written, starting with Behind the Scenes at the Museum. There’s something about combining satirical humor with good, clean writing that I find engaging and inspiring. Case Histories is the first of her Jackson Brodie series, the story of a Scottish ex-cop on the trail of several seemingly unconnected murder mysteries that all wind up having a surprise connection. It was the way she handled this novel, which is not really a classic mystery novel, that gave me the inspiration to attempt my own mystery, Summer in the South.

The Monsters of Templeton – I was amazed that this was a first novel, given the skill, confidence, and youth (damn her) of this writer. Lauren Groff tells the story of a young graduate student, Willie Upton, who returns in disgrace to her small hometown in Upstate New York on the same day a mysterious sea creature washes up on the shore of Lake Glimmerglass. The descendant of some of the founders of Templeton, New York, Willie must sort out not only her own troubled life, but also the elusive past of her illustrious family, including the mystery of her own parentage. Great story, great writing style, great novel.

These look wonderful, Cathy! I am embarrassed I haven't read any of them (yet!)...  I do have Case Histories on my TBR shelves, I should pull it out to sneak it in between some of these other books I need to get to...

What about you guys? Have you read these?

Blog Tour: Heather Lynn Rigaud & (126.) Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star...

Today's tour is for Heather Lynn Rigaud's Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star... How can any Austen fan turn down a title like that? 

About the author:
Debut author Heather Lynn Rigaud is fascinated by the comparisons between life in earlier times and modern times. She spends much of her time thinking about how Regency-era characters would exist now. She is a professional writer with degrees in Music Therapy and Teaching who lives with her husband and two sons in Kingston, NY.

Find Heather online at her blog Austen Nights, on facebook, and twitter.

Heather wrote a guest post for us... How lucky are we? *grin* Actually she wrote two. I had a couple suggestions for topics, and she's sooooooooooo cool she did both. So enjoy!

The first is on re-imagining the classics: the good, the bad, and the ugly. How do you decide what to do with which characters? How much do you stay true to the original character and story?

Well, I'm a plotter and I view the plot as the landmarks on where my story should go. My thought process goes something like: I know Elizabeth and Darcy fight here--how will that work? Here's where they meet at Pemberley--what can I do with that? In working those points out early, I can stay close to Austen's work, and I get a feel for what would be 'right' for each character. Would Elizabeth say this, would Charles do that?

Sir Laurence Olivier 1940

Once I have that framework plotted, I'm able to focus on the characters and really develop them. I spend an insane amount of time thinking about how each one will feel, and then act in each situation--what is Elizabeth like when she gets mad? What is Darcy like when he's uneasy? And then, when everything is in place and I know my characters, I just write. (And sometimes they hijack my story anyway--Richard and Charlotte were terrorists when it came to that.)

David Rintoul 1980

I was committed to keeping Darcy and Elizabeth as true to Austen as possible. The other characters I tried to keep their roles in place--Charles is Darcy's friend and he feels protective of him, Jane is Elizabeth's closest sister and confidant. The roles remained the same, but I was somewhat free in playing with their personalities. For example, Charles got a bit of a spine (but not too much). And then there are clear places where I just went my own way, like Caroline Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam. In those cases, I developed the characters to fit what I needed in the story--Caroline shows how Darcy acts with most women, and so by contrast the reader can see how differently he treats Elizabeth. Richard is everything Darcy won't allow himself to be--he drinks, he sleeps around, he's somewhat lazy. In contrast, we can see how driven Darcy is.

The second guest post thrills the geek in me. I asked her to compare video game heroes (*cough* Alistair) to paperback heroes. Which format works better (& when)? If you play video games, you'd know exactly who Alistair is. *grin*

This is a cool question. It all comes down to what makes a fictional man attractive. Darcy is very sexy in Austen--even at Hunsford where he's insulting Elizabeth to her face (worst marriage proposal ever!) he is still able to make it swoon-worthy. How does that work? Taking this sexy character, and then amp'ing that up by making him a Rock Star? Well, there you go. It's no surprise that this is a very sexual book.

Colin Firth 1995

I'm a big fan of a video game, Dragon Age, in that your character works very closely with this Knight-type character who is amazingly good at pulling at your heart while also turning you on. And while I was enjoying that, my writer side was wondering how does this work?

So, what makes a guy loveable and hot? And what make him not hot? Universally, Charles Bingley is seen as not hot. (Except to me-because I'm a freak.) Another example is Dr. John Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series. Now, Charles is nice, he's friendly, he's somewhat funny (well, you can laugh at him). He's wealthy and generous--so what doesn't work for him? Watson is brave (war veteran who's the one always carrying the gun, handsome, tough, smart (but not as smart as Holmes, of course) and yet, he's never the hot one.

Matthew Macfadyen 2005

So what is it? The only thing Darcy and Alistair share is a reluctance to admit their feelings at first, and a great intensity when they finally do. So, is that it? Is it the 'still waters run deep' thing? Or is it the way we as a reader/player travel on an emotional journey with them? We start with them in a bad place, and watch them/help them move to a stronger, better place. Darcy goes through, well, a lot--first he falls for Elizabeth and gets flat out rejected (and you know that hurt) then he mends his ways and reconnects with her at Pemberley, only to have that bastard Wickham pull the rug out from under him. Again. (I hate Wickham with the heat of a thousand suns.) So Darcy's a hurtin' boy.

Alistair

Alistair is in a terrible war against the demon-types who are mounting an attack, and in the middle of that, he loses his mentor/father figure through a terrible betrayal, that incites a civil war among the people. On top of that, he's the bastard child of the former King and next in line for the throne, so he's got some issues there that he's in denial about. He's emotionally a wreck, and the player takes charge of the war effort, and slowly draws Alistair out of his grief. (Plus, he was raised by monks, so he's a virgin.)

Both these men are very passionate, but they've had to keep a tight reign on that passion, because it's dangerous when it breaks out. Now, if I can pull on an anthropologist hat for a moment--the idea of 'passion that is dangerous if let run free' is exactly the way many, many cultures view women's sexuality--that it has to be kept bound by strict social mores, otherwise, its as destructive as a wildfire. Now, I'm not saying that either of these characters are women, but it's possible that as women we recognize something familiar about them. They remind us of our sexual side, and we can relate to them in a very deep way. And that's important, because how many times have you looked at a man who's just done something typically male and just "Wha????"

Elliott Cowan 2008

So, we have characters who've suffered, (and boy, we loves us some suffering) and who trust us with something very private and important to them. (Letting Elizabeth stand in for us, of course...) They are familiar in that they don't have those annoying man-traits that we don't understand, but at the same time, they're hyper-manly physically and in their actions. And they're leaders of men.

Clearly, I don't have a good answer here and I'm not sure I could explain it if I did. But, it's really interesting. I'd love to hear what makes a man really 'Work' for them. What makes him hot, sexy and loveable? Thanks for having me here today and for those interesting questions.

About the book:

Darcy's as hot as he is talented...

Fast music, powerful beats, and wild reputations-on and off stage-have made virtuoso guitarist Fitzwilliam Darcy's band into rock's newest bad boys. But they've lost their latest opening act, and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster. Now Darcy and bandmates Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam are about to meet their match...

But she's about to rock his world...

Enter Elizabeth Bennet, fiercely independent star of girl-band Long Borne Suffering. Elizabeth, her sister Jane, and friend Charlotte Lucas have talent to spare and jump at the opening band slot. Elizabeth is sure she's seen the worst the music industry has to offer. But as the days and nights heat up, it becomes clear that everyone is in for a summer to remember.

ISBN-13: 9781402257810
ARC: 566 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Sourcebooks

drey's thoughts:
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite classics, and I jumped at the chance to read a re-imagining of it that doesn't have zombies, vampires, or other other-worldly creatures.

Anyway. Darcy as a rock star. Yum. (Yes, even if I can't really imagine Colin Firth as a rock star... Can you?) He's still arrogant and aloof. He still doesn't know how to talk to Elizabeth without pushing all the wrong buttons. Some things shouldn't ever change...

I enjoyed Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star. It's a bit long at almost 600 pages, and I got a bit annoyed at Richard and Charlotte--way too much angst. Darcy and Elizabeth had the sparks going like crazy, and Jane and Charles were totally mushy. The boy-band meets girl-band plot is almost too convenient, and the creepy Mr. Collins was almost creepier than George Wickham. Ugh.

All in all, this is a pretty fun read for Darcy fans, not least because it's fun imagining the Darcy-rock-star strut... *wink*

drey's rating: Pick it up! 

Have you read Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star? What did you think? And if you haven't, here's your opportunity to win a copy...

Giveaway!
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star for you! This one's open to US/Canada residents only. To enter, fill out the form before September 30th. Good luck!

Blog Tour: Review of (115.) Snapped by Laura Griffin, a guest post, and a giveaway!...

Boy oh boy, wait till you see what we have here for you today... A guest post from Laura Griffin AND a giveaway!

About the author:
New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin started her career in journalism before venturing into the world of romantic suspense. Her books have won numerous awards, including a 2010 RITA (Whisper of Warning) and a 2010 Daphne du Maurier Award (Untraceable). Visit her online at her website www.lauragriffin.com or on Facebook.

The Story Behind the Story

I started my career as a newspaper reporter, so I’m a big believer in doing some legwork before sitting down to write a word. Some people call this “research” or “procrastination.” For me, it’s a little of both and an important part of my writing process.

One of the best parts of being a writer is that it gives me an excuse to do interviews. Over the years I’ve had a chance to interview all sorts of people who later became characters in my books: Navy SEALs, FBI agents, artists, crime scene techs, anthropologists. Once I actually interviewed a fingerprint expert, which would have been a fairly routine, except that the guy was standing there holding a glove made of human skin as we talked. I found this to be a bit distracting. But as with all good interviews, I learned something. (In this case, it was that once a body reaches a certain stage of decomp, the skin slips off like a glove and can be used by a skilled technician to recover prints for identification purposes.)

Not all of the research I do has such a high gross-out factor. Some of it is really fun. There was the time I jumped out of an airplane in Tennessee. This experience inspired the skydiving scene in my second book, One Wrong Step. One of my most memorable research excursions was visiting the FBI Academy at Quantico. There, I had a chance to meet dozens of interesting people who would later answer my pesky story questions. I also got to tromp around the grounds and visit Hogan’s Alley, where special agent trainees practice making arrests. The highlight of the trip was learning to shoot a Glock on the FBI firearms range.

My latest book Snapped opens with a sniper scene, so I interviewed an array of law enforcement experts before writing the story. A police sniper gave me some tips on SWAT tactics that helped me pack the opening pages with as much tension as possible. This book is a romantic suspense--a mystery intertwined with a love story. This book is especially close to my heart, and I hope readers will connect with it, too.

About the book

SOPHIE BARRETT THINKS SHE’S LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. SHE MAY BE DEAD WRONG.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, Sophie Barrett walks into a nightmare. A sniper has opened fire on a college campus. When the carnage is over, three people—plus the shooter—are dead and dozens more are injured. Sophie escapes virtually unscathed. Yet as details emerge from the investigation, she becomes convinced that this wasn’t the random, senseless act it appeared to be. No one wants to believe her—not the cops, not her colleagues at the Delphi Center crime lab, and definitely not Jonah Macon, the homicide detective who’s already saved her life once.

Jonah has all kinds of reasons for hoping Sophie is mistaken. Involving himself with a key witness could derail an already messy investigation, not to mention jeopardize his career. But Sophie is as determined and fearless as she is sexy. If he can’t resist her, he can at least swear to protect her. Because if Sophie is right, she’s made herself the target of a killer without a conscience. And the real terror is only just beginning. . . .

Title: Snapped (Tracers #4)
Author: Laura Griffin
ISBN-13: 9781451617368
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Pocket Books

drey's thoughts:
Laura Griffin's Snapped is fast and tightly-paced, and will have you at the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down--from the first shot to the very last page, because I just had to find out who the bad guys are and what the deal was.

I really liked Sophie--she doesn't make excuses for herself or her past, and she's not going to sit back and wait for someone else to fix the problem. She charges in with her charm and her brains, and actually manages to dig up stuff that the cops hadn't looked into. Now to get the cops to pay attention to that...

Jonah is a good guy--and true to typical romance-novel hero typecasting. He's gorgeous (of course), stubborn (*rolls eyes*), and does his utmost to keep Sophie safe--including from herself. Which means that he'll take her information and then tuck her back under lock and key until he has time to get answers. Which is so not how Sophie works.

Of course, that means that their interactions come with lots of sparks, which means this book is not only suspenseful, but fun to read as well. Fans of romantic suspense will love Snapped.

drey's rating: Excellent!

Have you read Snapped? What did you think? And if you haven't, here's your chance to win a copy!

Giveaway!
Boy oh boy, do I have a giveaway for you to enter! Laura has very graciously offered up a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky duck. And thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of Snapped for you, too! This one's for US residents only. To enter, fill out the form below. Good luck!

August's FEATURED AUTHOR: Balance 101...

It's almost the end of the month (*gasp*), and today our Featured Author Ann Wertz Garvin is here to share a lil' something on balance...

Balance 101: Shutting off the Bachelor and Getting the Life You Want.

Occasionally, when I’m playing Trivial Pursuit, I’m thrilled that I know that John Philip Sousa wrote the Stars and Stripes Forever. There are times when knowing the difference between mean, median, and mode gets me a look of appreciation from my children during homework time and nobody can rock a dinner party like I do when the lyrics are needed for Funky Cold Medina. During these times I give credit to traditional education and America’s Top Forty Countdown. But where is the love when I need to know how to choose between sleeping, writing, or feeding my children? Where is the class Balance 101: Shutting off the Bachelor and Getting the Life You Want?

I get a lot of questions about balance. I have a career unrelated to my creative life of writing and I’m a parent of two teen girls. I have, essentially three full time jobs. I think based on this information alone, people should be asking me-- Have you heard about balance? You should try it some time. Do you want the enamel on your teeth when you’re seventy?

On the days when I am successful in balancing life I might offer the following advice (but would then deny it as I believe the universe is listening and has a wicked payback system for advice givers):

1. Get a handle on what you value and hold every decision up to those values. I value my health, my family, my job, my relationships and my writing. Oh, and GoodWill (both the store and the concept). I do not value the Bachelor(ette). I do not value Solitaire, Tetris, or Angry Birds. I do not value season tickets to Wisconsin Badger Hockey. If you love nothing better than to dress in your alma mater’s colors and watch your team throttle another, rock on. If that is part of your balance formula, I’m on board with it. Just make it an active decision and not a passive one.

a. Example I: The phone rings and there is an offer to make some money teaching a quick nutrition course to twenty Physical Therapy Students. Does it further or hinder my values? Does it cost or buy me time. Do the positive results outweigh the negatives…and so on. In this case the answer no and to take a pass.

b. Example II: Should I stare into space or write a chapter in my book. Again with the checklist and in this case the answer was to go with the staring. I needed the space-staring for balance in my day.

2. There is no number two. I was going to put time management here. But, time management is just another way to say value management. If you know your values then you know what is worth your time. It’s a twofer.

I think often we need to remind ourselves where we are in the life process. Many times when a beautiful temptation or otherwise irresistible distraction crosses my path I have to review my value system and remind myself, Ann, you are in the parenting part of your life. Jetting off to party with Brad Paisley just isn’t an option right now. You did that before (no I didn’t) or you can do that in a few years (well…probably not).

It’s old advice I’m doling out here. Advice my mother used to give to me in her usual no-nonsense fashion. “Oh for God’s sake Ann. Shut the TV off and get on with your life.”

Well, I guess Ann's mother says it clearly enough! I agree that we all need to better prioritize, and what better way to do so than with a value system. But I am glad that you point out that what may be a negative on one day might be a positive on another. We just need to know what works for our individual selves.

Reading is one of my priorities, and I will freely confess that sometimes I read to the point of ignoring my family. Other times though, everything else sucks up all the reading time I've planned for--and then I binge-read to make up for it. I have definitely worked on balancing reading with all the other things I like to do (note that I reviewed 237 books in '09, 159 in '10, and I'll be hitting around 150 this year--I think!), and yet I still think I could cut back a bit more. But how? There are soooo many books out there just waiting to be read!

What do you do to prioritize reading with everything else going on in your life?

Review of 111. Fallen and a visit from Traci Slatton...

Whew! Do we have a treat for you today. Traci Slatton swings by to talk about the path from inspiration to novel!


About the author:
Traci L. Slatton is a graduate of Yale and Columbia, and she also attended the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, sculptor Sabin Howard, whose classical figures and love for Renaissance Italy inspired her historical novel Immortal and her contemporary vampire art history mystery The Botticelli Affair. Fallen is the first in a romantic trilogy set during the end times.

Find her online at www.tracilslatton.com, on Facebook, and Twitter.

And now, may I present a guest post from Traci...

How I Get From Inspiration to Ideas to Research to Novel
By Traci L. Slatton,
Author of Fallen

This topic fascinates me, because I wrestle with it every day. I am a creative person and I have a lot of ideas for stories. I'm also hungry. I'm starving to write 100 books before they peel my cold, dead fingers off my keyboard and lay me in a plain pine box. Then there's another consideration: writing is misery. Every page is agony.

Ideas come and I take notes. If I'm walking, I'll make a voice memo. Usually characters stuck in tense situations, and bits of their dialogue, come to me first. Sometimes I'll get a palpable feeling-sense of a relationship: the tenderness and eroticism and playfulness and fierceness of it. I also see my main characters in my mind's eye. With FALLEN, my recent post-apocalyptic romance, I had a vision of Europe in shambles, and a man and a woman who were both very strong and very tormented. She was willing to do anything to keep some children alive, but she was strongly connected to an absent husband. So the premise came to me first. I had a clear sense of the man as good and bad, a leader, a striated human soul. I could feel his essence.

Usually I won't start writing until the idea threatens to shove bamboo shoots up my fingernails if I don't write it. That's when compulsion has set in. The beginning is great fun. It's a rush. I've never been interested in drugs but I always think that the rush of creative energy when I finally surrender to a story must be like the rush of some potent chemical. It's intense, it's alchemical, it consumes me. It's like falling in love, because it's all I can think about. I walk down the street with scenes scrolling through my brain. I feel alive in a new way.

After that initial rush, the work sets in. Maybe it's like a marriage at this point. You know, when the honeymoon has worn off and you're sick of picking up your spouse's toenail clippings from the coffee table and you just want to throw a heavy wrench at his head. It's a lot of unglamorous work. Here's when I mock up an outline of the story, the main turning points, and the character arc. I grapple with the nuts and bolts of story, and the fundamentals of what I aim to do with this particular one.

Best I've figured out, and this is an on-going inquiry for me, story is what your main character wants and how they DON'T get it. All story has a common source: it's an argument for a specific value. And all good fiction has two qualities: 1, it's about truth but not necessarily about fact, and 2, it is structured around conflict and obstacle.

So I have scenes, obstacles, disasters, bits of dialogue, and the faces of my characters all jumbled up in my brain, and I sit down and start writing the first few chapters. Then I pause to write an outline. I also figure out what value I am arguing for. I am opinionated and I have strong values, which helps. I write out my value on a sticky note and tape it to the side of my iMac.
  
I also almost always have a clear sense of the ending of the story. With FALLEN, I saw my heroine riding off without her man. I saw her heart-broken and determined. I enjoy writing stories where the stakes are high, so I tweak the plot points to up the ante. How can I push a scene? How can I turn up the volume on a character's breaking point?

Writing is an arachnoid process: it's like weaving an intricate web from the silk in my gut. That weaving happens in the back and forth between the vast, oceanic creative flow and the careful structuring of analytical thought. Both are crucial.

I usually do research as I am writing. I'll pause in the middle of a page and read six chapters in a book, or google around the internet, or send emails to people I know who might have answers. A small plane flies from Edmonton to Le Havre in Fallen, so I emailed my friend Geoffrey, who's a pilot, to ask him how that would be done. He had some ideas and he emailed some of his friends, too. When I have my answers, I resume writing. If I need to do further research, then, after a day or so, I'll keep writing and start reading the necessary texts at night.

The end is another rush, because I get excited to torture my main characters more intensely, and so finish the story. Finally I have a first draft. Here's where I ask a few trusted friends to read and critique. I've also found a free-lance editor who is scary smart, and I have her read the draft. Then I go back and revise, revise, revise . . .

Title: Fallen
Author: Traci Slatton
eBook: 180 pages
Publisher: Telemachus Press, 2011
Purchase at Amazon
Source: FSB Associates

drey's thoughts: Fallen starts off with a bang, capturing your attention right away...

I was flattened against a brick wall, watching in terror as she struggled not to inhale the killing mist that pulsed a few centimeters from her face. If she breathed it in, it would kill her. If she moved into it, or if it moved to engulf her, it would kill her. Dissolve her from within, filling her mind with madness before blistering her cells with heat until she ruptured into steam and water droplets. All that would be left of her would be a splatter of water on the ground and a fine beige powder sifting down from the air.

Yikes!!  This is so not a world I want to live in--a mysterious mist that kills, rogue bands of survivors who round up women and children for far more nefarious purposes than you could imagine, dwindling food supplies...

It is in this world that Emma Anderson finds herself in charge of her five-year-old daughter Mandy, and seven other children; trying to survive and keep them safe and alive. When she meets a band of men who are seemingly able to keep the mists away, Emma barters for protection for herself and the children. Before she knows it, she's healing the camp's sick and making friends. Well, except for a few of the men...

I like Emma. She's strong, she's resolute, and she's fearless in standing up for those who can't help themselves--almost to the point of getting herself killed. I like that some of the survivors have acquired a new skill, like Emma's healing.

The plot is simple (survive), the story is moving. I enjoyed reading Fallen, and the realization at the end makes me antsy to find out what happens in the sequel to this first-in-a-trilogy.

drey's rating: Excellent!

Have you read Fallen? What did you think?

August's FEATURED AUTHOR: Ann and books...

It's Wednesday, and with that our Featured Author Ann Wertz Garvin is sharing some of her favorite authors...

Readers Know How to Party

If I had anything that resembles a memory I might be able to list my favorite books. I think that’s probably why I’ve become a writer in this late stage of the game. My memory is toast and if I don’t write life down in some kind of organized fashion my thoughts will go to the place where all my eyeglasses and earrings are.

Having said that, I’m the Labrador retriever of readers--loyal to authors until the end of time. If you write a book I love, I will read every last verb you publish. If, while I was reading I could call the author and have them over for a thank you facial, I would. I would be a friendly stalker--happy to sit at their feet and watch them craft a sentence with my only interruption being to offer a cup of coffee or a Jolly Rancher.

I don’t have a bucket list but if life was winding down and I won the lottery I would throw a party and invite authors living and dead to eat hummus and drink mojitos.

I’d choose authors for sparkling character if not party dynamics. Tennessee Williams, Erma Bombeck, and Oscar Wilde for their posthumous wit and edgy drama.

Nora Ephron, Elizabeth Berg, and Elizabeth Strout for their love, humor and unflinching honesty.




JK Rowling would have to be wrangled from buying up all property in the northern hemisphere, but I’d get her there. I’d promise to supply her a cocktail napkin so she can plot out her next dynasty.

If Anna Quindlen was available I’d eavesdrop on her conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert and I’d really appreciate it if Thomas Cook could stop to chat with Gregory Maguire and Michael Perry.

It wouldn’t be a quiet party. Not one for the conflict avoidant, that’s for certain. I’d have to be ready to break up debates, smooth ruffled feathers and mediate during the inevitable debate over the difference between literary vs. commercial fiction. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if a Kindle or Nook dropped out of someone’s purse. But, wine would get drunk, conversation would sparkle and this Labrador would wag her tail all the way to her grave.

Those are some fabulous authors on your list, Ann! Can I come be a fly on the wall? I promise not to drink all the mojitos...

What about you guys? Who would be on your invite list for a party like this?

July's FEATURED AUTHOR: Something a Little Different...

Our Featured Author for July, Kelly Meding, stops by this lovely Wednesday to share a lil' something with us... Read on!

And Now For Something A Little Different…

First, I just wanted to extend another thank you to drey for inviting me to the blog this month. It's been a blast, and I hope everyone reading has enjoyed my ramblings. I have one more for you, in the form of this post.

Since the majority of my blogging this month has been about my Dreg City series and the 8/2 release of ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD (#3), I wanted to use this time to chat a little bit about my brand-spanking new series coming out in the fall.

The MetaWars series is a combination of sexy urban fantasy and superhero fiction. The first book, TRANCE, finds the now-adult children of the world's last superheroes living powerless and alone—until all of their powers suddenly return. And it's not just the heroes who get their powers back, it's the villains, as well. These newly-activated heroes must come together again to find out who stole their powers in the first place, why they were given back, and thwart the plans of an old enemy who seeks to destroy them. Plus, they are dealing with an un-trusting public, feds who don't always tell the whole truth, and more than their fair share of repressed emotional baggage.

Instead of rambling on about the series and how I came up with it (I did that in a post on my own blog back in June), I thought I'd offer a nice little snippet of the book, instead. The selection is from Chapter Five. Our heroine, Teresa, and hero, Gage, have made their way to the old hero headquarters in Los Angeles, where everyone is beginning to assemble. On the journey to L.A., they survived their first run-in with a super-villain named Specter, and the fight landed Teresa in the Medical Unit.

In the scene, Teresa and Gage are talking with another old classmate named William, who was already at the HQ when they arrived.

*#*

I asked, "Who is Dr. Seward?"

"He's on the MHC's payroll." [William replied]

Figures. MetaHuman Control was a self-contained subdivision of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, specializing in (according to them) monitoring the most dangerous "firearms" in the world. Currently defunct, MHC had been organized over a century ago, in the 1960s, and had bankrolled the Rangers for decades, providing us with the finances to police the Banes, information on their whereabouts, and a pretty nifty HQ. Throughout the Meta War, they stood by the Rangers. After the war and the loss of our powers, they hid us to protect us from an angry public. Or so they said.

William continued. "After what happened on Wednesday night, ATF called in some of the people who used to work for MHC. The ones not retired or transferred out of ATF, anyway, which is only a handful. They're also working on locating the rest of the us."

Us. The others were alive. Or suspected to be alive. So far, we had three out of the twelve of us who'd survived the massacre in Central Park. My mind swirled with the new information, trying to store the important bits away for later scrutiny. I was too hungry to concentrate right now. And I still didn't recognize the name Seward.

"I don't suppose this Dr. Seward has a theory on why I've got different powers?" I asked.

"I'm sure he has a theory," William said. "He won't say anything until he's certain, and in this business—"

"It's hard to be certain of anything." Great, I got the dubious honor of being the group oddball. "Is anyone else here?"

"Renee Duvall and Marco Mendoza have found their way," William said. "We're having trouble finding the other seven."

Okay, five out of twelve. And Renee was one of them. I couldn't help a small smile and a pang of curiosity about my old friend. How had she managed for fifteen years? Blue skin is a lot harder to hide than purple hair.

"How about a theory on why we all reactivated in the first place? Does Dr. Seward have one?" I didn't have one of my own, so I wanted to hear what the eggheads thought. They were paid to analyze, not me. I wasn't being paid at all, and after missing three days of work, I was certainly fired from my two remaining jobs.

William and Gage looked at each other. I couldn't read their expressions, just that they'd had this conversation before. "No one is sure," William said. "Right now it's all theory, since we don't know why we lost our powers in the first place."

"Lost implies that they were misplaced, or that we were somehow active in their removal, which we weren't. They were taken, not lost."

William nodded, but didn't reply. An awkward silence fell over the room, interrupted only by the bleep of the pulse monitor.

"Are you hungry?" Gage asked.

"Famished. How's the room service around here?"

"It's decent," William said. "I'll go see what I can scare up for you. Just try not to get out of bed until Dr. Seward comes to see you. Okay?"

I snapped off a mock salute. He departed, pulling the door shut behind him. Gage perched on the edge of the bed near my knees. "Thank you, Teresa."

"For what?"

"For saving my life."

*#*

I hope you enjoyed the snippet! It was hard deciding on one particular scene, but I liked this one because it gives you a bit of background information on the world and its history. TRANCE releases October 25 from Pocket.

Thank you so much for visiting us this month, Kelly!!  I hope you've had a good month here...  Y'all, I hope you enjoyed the snippet from Kelly's Trance!

July's FEATURED AUTHOR: Kelly's top 5 books...

Today, our Featured Author Kelly Meding stops in to share some of her favorite reads with us...

Trying to narrow down a list of favorite books is like trying to choose between Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough as my favorite ice cream.  I can't pick between them!  The list is also ever-evolving, I think, as my tastes change and I read new things.

However, in the interest of brevity, I think I've managed to narrow it down to five books.  And at least one reason why it's a favorite (plus some additional rambling).

5. WATCHMEN, by Alan Moore.  This is a new addition to the list, because I only read it last year for the first time (I know, I know).   And I can see why this graphic novel has earned its place on various Best Novel lists.  Anyone who dismisses it as just a comic book is an idiot, because it is so much more.  It's more than a book about superheroes, too.  It's a lot of things, and "amazing" is definitely one of those things.

4. DIFFERENT SEASONS, by Stephen King.  This collection of four novellas include the stories that eventually became the acclaimed films "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me."  Trust me when I say the stories are even better, and the other two offerings ("Apt Pupil" and "The Breathing Method") are worthy reads, as well.  Of all of King's work (and I've read a good chunk), it's this collection that I always return to as my all-time favorite.  The novellas display King's ability to showcase human nature and tell enthralling stories, minus the blood and horror that he's regularly known for, and I think this shorter format is where he really shines.

3. THE STORY GIRL/THE GOLDEN ROAD, by LM Montgomery.  I always put these books together, because they are a duology that just have to be read as a unit.  More than the Anne Shirley books, I adore these stories about Sara Stanley and her friends/family in the small town of Carlisle, Prince Edward Island.  They are full of love, laughter, drama and heartache.  They inspired me to keep my own dream journal, and to try and see the story in every situation.  My copies are so worn the covers are flaking off, and it's about time I gave them both another reread.

2. THE OUTSIDERS, by SE Hinton.  Like many kids, I first read this in English class.  This was one of the first books to make me want to be a writer.  I was enthralled not just by Ponyboy and his friends, but also by the fact that the author wrote this book when she was sixteen.  Sixteen!  While my own thinly-veiled attempt to write my own version of this book is forever hidden away in my office, never to see the light of day again, I'll never forget the feeling I got reading that book for the first time.  Or how much it made me want to be like SE Hinton and publish that young.  It's another book I reread on occasion, and has one of the few movie adaptations that does the book justice.

1. WATERSHIP DOWN, by Richard Adams.  Okay, so maybe choosing one all-time favorite book isn't impossible, because if I had to pick one book to take with me to a desert island, it would be this one.  I read it for the first time in seventh grade.  Then I read it again right away.  I must have read it at least twice a year through high school.  It's been a few years since I've reread the whole book, but it's one that has always stuck with me.  And I don't care that it's basically a quest novel featuring rabbits.  It's an amazing novel, full of drama and hope and love and mythology and terrific characters (and any novel that can make me like a seagull gets extra
points).

So there they are.  My five favorite books (six, if you want to get technical about number three).  If you haven't read them yet, then get thee to the library and check them out.  I can't promise that you'll love them just because I love them, but you never know until you try, right?

I won't get technical about number three... *grin* I have to admit that none of these are on my read list, but that's something I'll rectify as soon as I can! What about y'all? Have you read Kelly's top five?