Waiting on Wednesday (#2)

"Waiting On" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Here's what I'm waiting on this week:

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Book #2 in Nightshade series)

Expected publication: July 26th 2011 by Philomel

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended–Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer–one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack–and the man–she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

Doesn't the cover look beautiful?
Actually, I just received the ARC of this book in mail today, and I'm dying to start reading it! Stay tuned for my review of Nightshade and Wolfsbane, coming up soon! :)

What are you waiting on this week?

Leave me a linky, I'll drop by!

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz + David Hayward

Genre:	Mystery, Crime
Publication.Date	April 5th 2011
Pages:	302
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
Published By:	Putnam Adult (Penguin)
Website	Lisa Lutz, David Hayward
	Heads You Lose
My review copy:	Received from the publisher (Thank you!)

     New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Lutz conspires with-or should we say against?-coauthor David Hayward to write an original and hilarious tag-team crime novel. 
 
     Meet Paul and Lacey Hansen: orphaned, pot-growing twentysomething siblings eking out a living in rural Northern California. When a headless corpse appears on their property, they can't exactly dial 911, so they move the body and wait for the police to find it. Instead, the corpse reappears, a few days riper . . . and an amateur sleuth is born. Make that two.

     When collaborators Lutz and Hayward (former romantic partners) start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop surprising characteristics (meet Brandy Chester, the stripper with the Mensa IQ), and sibling rivalry reaches homicidal intensity. Think Adaptation crossed with Weeds. Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first?

(goodreads.com)

"Well, he's definitely dead," Paul said.
"Thanks for confirming my diagnosis," Lacey replied. "Now what?"
"I'm thinking."
"That could take forever."
"Do you know him?" Paul asked.
"He's missing a head!" Lacey shouted. "How the fuck do I know if I know him or not?"
"Good point."

He pulled off his gloves and told his sister to do the same.
"What will we do with all this plastic?" Lacey asked.
"Burn it," Paul replied.
"We can't burn plastic. Do you know how bad that is for the ozone layer?"
"Our DNA is all over the gloves, Lacey. The ozone layer can suck it."

Walter looked at him for a while. Then said, "Look, Paul, I'd say you should probably just let it go, but that's what everyone says. The part they leave out is that it doesn't mean shit if the thing you let go of isn't ready to let go of you"

     Dangerously witty and deliciously captivating, Heads You Lose is a true must-read for anyone who enjoys reading well written and witty crime novels.

     Let me start off by explaining how this book came to existence. Sometime in Spring of 2009, Lisa Lutz --the bestselling author of crime series, the Spellman Files-- decided to try something different. She thought it would be fun to collaborate on her next novel with another writer. But then it turned out that all the writers she asked were either truly busy or claiming to be busy, so she ended up working together with David Hayward,  a freelance editor and poet, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
They agreed to write alternating chapters - Lisa got the first one and all the odd numbered chapters, and David got the rest. They were not to outline or discuss the plot, but to go with the flow and construct the plot chapter by chapter, as it goes.
Are you intrigued yet? Well, it gets even better! Not only we get a brilliant plot filled with twists and turns, but we also get a great insight into the whole writing/creating the storyline process. In between the chapters we get the back and forth notes between the writers, containing snarky comments and mean (but hilarious!) jokes. All that often on a very personal note. There are also the footnotes in which the authors comment on each other's work. These, too, will crack you up!

     And then there's the craziness of the plot...
It's undeniably a big part of what makes it so fun to read this novel.
Imagine detective Poirot from Agata Christie's novels trying to solve a murder mystery. Got it? Now instead of the dignified, elderly detective imagine two siblings, Paul and Lacey, whose main income comes from growing pot in their basement. Yup, these are our protagonists!

     The story kicks off with Lacey discovering a beheaded corpse in their front yard while taking out the trash. Not wanting the police poking around their pot-growing haven, Lacey and Paul decide to dispose of the body on their own. They pick a good spot to drop off the headless corpse - far enough from their house not to be connected to the murder, but at the same time frequently visited by hikers, to ensure the body will eventually be found by someone.

     Imagine their shock when the corpse shows up on their property again few days later! And like that wasn't enough, having a "second look", Lacey recognizes it as her former fiance! It soon becomes clear to Paul and Lacey that there's no easy way out of this. With people dropping dead all around them and the number of suspects growing every hour, Paul and Lacey will have a hard time solving the murder case and staying alive.

*

     Phew! What a crazy ride that was! I didn't really know what to expect from this book, as I haven't read any of Lisa's previous novels and wasn't at all familiar with her writing style. Neither did I know the collaborator, David Hayward. Needless to say, I wasn't in the least prepared for what I was about to be served!

     Brilliant in so many ways, Heads You Lose is a witty, snarky, unpredictable and absolutely fascinating novel. The plot turned out to be fantastic, full of twists and turns, gripping from the very first pages. Both authors are phenomenal at building up the tension. The conclusion of the story will leave you totally dumb-founded. I didn't see it coming at all, and trust me when I say, neither will you!

     As much as I loved the plot, I think what I enjoyed the most was the insight into the writing process that Lisa and David's correspondence provided. I loved the back and forth between them. A lot. Even though, at times, it seemed a little bit overdone or perhaps staged, nevertheless they had great negative chemistry (is there even such a thing as negative chemistry? oh well, now there is!). Their comments where hilarious, I was laughing out loud many times (much to my husband's bafflement!).

     In conclusion, Heads You Lose is no doubt a prodigious and highly entertaining read. And a memorable one, too. I do hope Lisa and David will decide to collaborate again. Would love to see it turned into a series of books!

 

(GPT) Why Write YA Lit with a Male Lead? by Tamara Rose Blodgett

I'm very excited to welcome Tamara Rose Blodgett to Bookish today!

Tamara is the author of The Death Series - a true sparkling gem among YA series told from a male protagonist's perspective! Book One in the series, Death Whispers, was published March 30th 2011 and it's now available in both paperback and ebook edition! 

Guys, please give a warm welcome to Tamara...

About Tamara:

Tamara Rose Blodgett is a 'thinking-out-of-the box' paranormal enthusiast who believes there's a 95% chance zombies do not exist; but loves to write as if they do... I'm from the Seattle area originally and have worked as an online journalist in the past. I enjoyed writing, Death Whispers, and am already hard at work on book two, Death Speaks, (pub. Aug. 2011), while also wrapping up my paranormal romance, The Pearl Savage, due to publish in mid-June. In my spare time I'm a [reluctant] serial-re-modeler, project-slave and big time, in-my-pants reader (surprise!). I do a great deal of day-dreaming about impossible scenarios and events, writing books to capture them in stories for you~ Side note: Gnomes should be exterminated. 

Tamara's Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Why Write YA Lit with a Male Lead?

A Guest Post by

Tamara Rose Blodgett

     Writing Death Whispers from a teenage boy's perspective wasn't difficult ( my four sons and all their friends were fodder for the novel!). I fell in love with the idea of a fresh premise told from the male POV as soon as I had the story in my head.
     Caleb Hart has the same problems all teens have except the pesky zombie-raising that rears its ugly head at the worst possible times. Just like everything in teen-dom it's about finesse, and that is a learning experience that he suffers through along with all the other fun puberty stuff. This is a novel about real teens in extraordinary circumstances. Many of the events that take place in this book challenge Caleb...morally. I like putting my protagonist(s) under pressure from the beginning...all the way to the end. Action and crisis are part of the reading pleasure (for me). I've heard other authors describe that they write books they'd want to read and when others love them too; bonus. That's what I did here: writing a book with real dialogue that teens actually use, lots of action and romance that unfolds naturally.
     I don't write a “clean,” or sanitized story...where, everybody comes from perfect families that robotic-ally interact in an expected way, hence: my main character falls for a girl he's hopelessly attracted to that hails from a nightmare family. This strife is part of what makes the story's heartbeat tick-tock along. Caleb matures during the story, his experiences begin to shape him, he begins the journey of self-discovery, making decisions that will shape him into the man he will become.

****

     I love genetics, but am far from expert. I did do enough research for the premise (DW) to be plausible. All three series' I'm working on and will work on have their basis in the “what-if” factor. [The] human potential is intriguing to me.
     In Death Whispers we have a group of teens that are given a “booster” inoculation before high school that sends them down a slippery slope of power and choice. The Pearl Savage, (paranormal romance, publishing in June) addresses what happens when genes are tampered with and a group of humans become...other: bred to protect. Bloodsingers (Publishing in fall 2011) deals with a sub-species of human beings that balance the “food load” for the vamps and give the Were's a chance to become moonless changers. This rare group, Bloodsingers, are but a fraction of the human population and have a skill set that makes them as dangerous as the vamps and shifters. Finally, a group of humans that can fight against them on equal-footing because of evolutionary circumstance.
     My hope [for you] while reading Death Whispers is (besides being wildly entertaining!) is some of the stereotypes will be debunked about boys. There are some things that will be stereotypical because they're simply true. Conversely, there will also be the moments when the reader's mental light bulb goes off with an “Ah-huh!” The girls are clever as well and not diminished one bit in their respective roles in the book. All the characters have flaws which makes the reading of it more real; that was the goal for me, a unique read that was entertaining, imaginative and resonated with all who read it. (And encouraging teenage boys to read feels pretty snazzy!)
Thanks for reading my stories...

Wasn't that a fantastic guest post? I really love stories told from male character's perspective (need an example? Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness - fab!). How about you guys? Male lead or female lead?
Both Tamara and I would love to see your comments!

Tamara, thank you so much  for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here today! I'm so looking forward to Death Whispers!

Published March 30th 2011

Caleb can't seem to stop the accidental zombie raisings, the science experiments are murder, and road kill has taken on a whole new meaning; add in the two dudes dogging him at school and he's about to explode.

When he finally gets the courage to ask Jade out, things start going his way...until her dad starts stalking her and the government starts stalking Caleb. How does he defeat them, protect Jade, and shake the jerks that are making him miserable?

Death Whispers, a Futuristic Paranormal tale of friendship, romance and government intrigue, explores the life of fourteen year-old, Caleb Hart, "normal" teen and corpse-raiser...

Caleb has the most rare of the paranormal powers, Cadaver-Manipulation (aka corpse-raiser). In this world of the future, with Brain Impulse "pulse" Technology's wide-spread use and influence keenly realized, routine school inoculation has expanded to include a pharmaceutical cocktail, which once administered, unlocks the genetic potential for paranormal abilities. Using this small window of puberty, teens who have the genetic propensity find themselves manifesting extraordinary gifts; some of which garner the full attention of our government. Caleb must camouflage his new "talent" during the mandatory eighth grade Aptitude Test so that he remains undiscovered while establishing choice for his future. However, events beyond his control systematically reveal Caleb and his friends, which force them to fight for their freedom. In the midst of this struggle, his girlfriend's father battles to reassert his abusive dominance in her life while a couple of "peer enemies" thwart his efforts of secrecy at every turn. In the explosive climax, Caleb must protect his friends, and Jade, the one he loves...at all costs.

Other books by Tamara Rose Blodgett: 
* The Pearl Savage (Savage Series, Book 1) Publishing June 2011
* Death Speaks (The Death Series, Book 2)

And now, for the GIVEAWAY!!!

Tamara generously provided us with an ebook copy of her awesome book, Death Whispers!

Giveaway ends on Tuesday, June 7th and is open to everyone!

All you have to do to Enter is  be a GFC follower of my blog and fill out the form below.

For extra entries:
+1 follow me on Twitter @SeoEvie
+1 be my friends on Goodreads
+5 be Tamara's fan on Goodreads
+5 follow Tamara on Twitter @troseblodgett
+5 follow Tamara's blog HERE
+5 leave a comment on this post
The winner will be picked with Random.org and emailed by Tamara.

Thanks Tamara! And good luck everyone :)

The Giveaway is now closed.

Interview + Giveaway! Rusty Fischer, author of Zombies Don't Cry

I'm very happy to be joined today by a new fantastic Young Adult writer! His unique and amazingly captivating book will take you on a crazy zombie-coaster ride!
So hold on tight and please welcome Rusty Fisher, author of  a new kick-ass zombie novel, Zombies Don't Cry!

E: Evie
RF: Rusty Fischer

E: Welcome to Bookish Rusty! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

RF: I am a garden variety geek who has a second life as a normal guy husband who tries not to bore his family and friends with the latest vampire, werewolf or zombie movie I rented the night before!

E: Who or what inspired you to write a book about zombies?

RF: Vampires! Vampires inspired me to write about zombies because there were too darn many of them and not enough zombies. Seriously, though, I wanted to write a book about what it might feel like to be dead, but not have any “superpowers” like vampires and werewolves and ghouls and demons do.

E: Do you mind telling us how long did it take for you to write it?

RF:  It took awhile, maybe a year all told because there was an agent involved and several rewrites, and then no agent involved and several more rewrites – and even a title change thrown in there for good measure!

E: Which of your characters do you feel is most like you?

RF: I would have to say Chloe! (Ha; bet you thought I was going to say Maddy!) She’s kind of in the background, watching things, observing, a little grim because she knows what’s going to happen and not shy about saying something when she feels strongly enough about it.

E: If your book was made into a movie who would you cast for it?

RF: I have been asked this a few times and I’m glad because I keep changing my mind.

I just saw Thor so, for Maddy, definitely Kat Williams! (No, wait; he’s the comedian!) Kat DENNINGS!

And now I’m thinking Hazel has a LOT of Natalie Portman in her; not looks so much, but definitely that perky and fun but also tough sensibility.

Okay, moving away from Thor, Chloe would definitely be an Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) type, just more Goth. Maybe not so much in stature, I picture Chloe as generally bigger but definitely in the smartass attitude I would have to go with Ellen.

Now, for the guys.

Stamp is definitely more your white bread, high school yearbook cover model dude. You may not know his name but there is a guy who is perfect for him called Matthew Davis. He’s in Vampire Diaries but was also in Legally Blonde and, more recently, the awesome and underrated Ahhh! Zombies. (So, see, he’s already got the zombie cred!)

For Dane, I said in an earlier interview that he’s kind of a younger Paul Walker from Fast and the Furious and I still go by that, but now that I’ve seen Tron: Legacy and Country Strong I would add a little Garrett Hedlund thrown in. How’s that for a dream cast, huh?

E: Where is your favorite place for writing? Do you have any special writing rituals? 

RF: I pretty much stick to my home office, which isn’t very glamorous I know but for me it’s not the place so much as just staring at the screen and grunting through the pages. I don’t mean to make it sound mercenary but when I’m writing, really writing, where I am tends to fade away and I’m right there in what I’m writing about, so… I’m not very big on the trappings or rituals. Sorry for such a boring answer, but… if you could see my lame home office, you’d understand!

E: What genres do you like to read in your free time?

RF: I go through phases. Right now I’m on a Biography fix! I’m reading Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Rick Springfield, Wes Craven and Rob Lowe at the same time; whichever floats my boat when I turn off the TV at night. Other times I dig true crime or murder mysteries. I also just got into Harry Potter over Christmas for the first time and really, really enjoyed that, so… the short answer is, whatever I’m feeling like at the time!

E: Which of your favorite books would you recommend everybody to read?

RF: This is one of those “If you were trapped on a deserted island, what ____ would you bring?” questions. There are three books I think everybody should read at some point and that I recommend to everyone if/when they ask: The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and Carrie by Stephen King; that is all!

E: Do you have any other hobbies that you enjoy?

RF:  Movies, bike rides, going out to dinner… all with my wife, Martha. I don’t have a ton of free time and most of what I do have I spend writing, or thinking about writing, or reading for ideas or watching movies for ideas, so when I have “true” free time – i.e. away from a computer screen – I like to spend it with Martha and/or my friends and family. Writer spend so much time alone, so when I’m not writing I like to be with people!

E: If you could have a paranormal power, what power would you want and why?   

RF: I think what drew me to zombies was that they have no real “power” per se, other than not feeling pain or having to deal with potty issues or annual physicals! I like that kind of “slow and steady” groove they have and, of course, I made them super strong to be able to compete with the other “monsters” out there, but if I could have one power it would be immortality because I really like life and want to live it for as long as possible.

E: What are your biggest pet peeves?   

RF: Rude, ill-mannered, self-centered, don’t care about the rest of the world individuals; that is all – and you KNOW who you are you little….

E: Tell us five random facts about yourself.   

RF:

         Has a serious Little Debbie addiction
Doesn’t own a single bookshelf
Listens to Christmas music all year round
Goes through a gallon of hand sanitizer per day
Just bought a stand-up desk and boy, are my legs tired…

Random Questions:

- white or dark chocolate? Definitely dark!

- coffee or tea? Does Coke Zero count?!?! If not, how about iced coffee?

- favorite fictional character? Shaggy, from Scooby-Doo (especially if you turn the sound off!)

- favorite movie? The Verdict starring Paul Newman

- favorite song? The Last Thing I Needed (First Thing This Morning) by Willie Nelson

- favorite TV show? Rockford Files!!!

- Spring or Autumn? Autumn!

- printed copy or eBook? Why you gotta go starting trouble?!?!?

Rusty, thank you so much for joining us today!  

I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing your next books!

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview, for more information about Rusty and his books, please visit his website: Zombies Don't Cry  or/and read my review of Rusty's book.

If you're wondering where to get Zombies Don't Cry, here are the links:
*Barnes and Noble
*Book Depository
*Amazon

And now, for the GIVEAWAY!!!

Rusty generously provided us with a printed copy of his wonderful book, Zombies Don't Cry! Trust me when I say YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THAT!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, June 11th and is open INTERNATIONALLY! (yay~!)

All you have to do to Enter is  be a GFC follower of my blog and fill out the form below.

For extra entries:
+1 follow me on Twitter @SeoEvie
+1 be my friends on Goodreads
+5 be Rusty's fan on Goodreads
+5 Follow Rusty on Twitter @Ruswriteszombie
+5 follow Rusty's blog HERE
+5 leave a comment on this post
The winner will be picked with Random.org and emailed by me.

Thanks Rusty! And good luck everyone :)

Winners, winners, winners.. :)

 

A few of my recent giveaways have ended and I figured it's high time to finally announce the winners! Yay~ Excited? Ok. here we go!

The winner of an eBook copy of Circle City by Alisha Paige is:

Heather from Book Savvy Babe

The winner of a signed copy of Endlessly by C.V. Hunt is:

Anna from Bookworm and Proud of It

The winner of an eBook copy of Wasteland by Patricia Williams is:

Frinda F.

The winners of two ebook sets by Jason McIntyre are:

Evk

My Life. One Story at a Time

Cean

Big thanks to everyone who entered the above giveaways and to our wonderful authors for offering their great books! You're all awesome!  

Didn't win? No worries! There are some other great giveaways I'm hosting right now and even more to come! Make sure to check out the "Giveaways~" tab!

Follow Friday (#6)

Follow Friday is a weekly blog HOP, hosted by Parajunkee

Q. How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

Ha! Great question :)

To be perfectly honest, before I started blogging I used to read about 2-3 books per MONTH (I know, I know, it's a crime to even admit that!). Ever since I got into blogging I'm reading about 2-3 books per week. If I have enough time I can read 4-5, depending on the length.
Isn't that a huge improvement? :D

I prefer printed copies over ebooks, but to tell ya the truth, my reading speed is exactly the same, whether I'm reading on my Kindle or enjoying a printed copy.


How many books per week do you guys read? Don't forget to leave me the link to your answer!
If you follow, I'll follow back!

And since you're here..

Please check out my 500 Followers Celebration Giveaway~ It's International and there will be three winners! 

And check out other giveaways on the "Giveaways~" page!

Redheart by Jackie Gamber (Book One of The Leland Dragon Series) (Review)

Genre:	YA Fantasy
Publication.Date	April 6th 2011
Pages:	294
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble, Amazon,
Published By:	Seventh Star Press
Website	Jackie Gamber
	Redheart - Goodreads
My review copy:	Received from the publisher (Thank you!)

Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side. Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land.

As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship. Riza Diantus is a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village, and when she finds herself in peril, Kallon is the only one with the power to save her. Yet to do so means he must confront his past, and embrace a future he stopped believing in.

A tale of friendship, courage, and ultimate destiny, Redheart invites readers to a wondrous journey through the Leland Dragon Series.

(goodreads.com)

"First I'm a beggar, then I'm a field mouse. I'm skinny. I'm trouble. You don't know anything about me, but you're always angry with me. You watch me as through I'm going to do something criminal-"

"You believe that taking risks in life will lead to sorrow. You believe that death is a bitter end to a bitter existence." 

"Hawk spit! I'm no spy, you pale runt!"

     Redheart is the first book in Jackie Gamber's Leland Dragon Series published by Seventh Star Press. It's an excellent YA fantasy adventure, full of magic, intrigue, excitement, love and fast-paced action. This beautiful and heart-warming story will no doubt enthrall readers of all ages!

     Kallon Redheart is a red dragon, last in the line of reds and a rightful leader of the Leland province. He's a loner, who long given up on dragons and humans alike. After witnessing his parents being murdered, he decided he's better off on his own, far away from any human villages or dragon communities. He does not wish to be bothered by anyone, he enjoys his self-imposed solitude and the sense of peaceful emptiness his secluded cave provides.

     Riza Diantus is in many ways Kallon's opposite. She's a young female on a quest to find meaning in life. She always felt that life was more than just getting married at young age and bearing children. Her mind was constantly wandering beyond the borders of the village she lived in. Her father often scolded her for not thinking like a normal girl should. He wanted her to marry, have children and lead an ordinary life. Refusing to consent to her father's wishes, aching to explore the world beyond her hometown and experience some unforgettable adventures, Riza escaped from home and set out on a journey that would change her life forever. She's brave and strong-willed, but her uncontrollable curiosity often gets her into all sorts of trouble and so she frequently needs to be rescued. Needless to say, she's in trouble when she first meets Kallon and she becomes the sole reason for our red dragon to finally leave his cave and face the world.

     Kallon and Riza develop a strange, but wonderful bond. Annoyed with Riza's noisy and nosy attitude at first, Kallon soon realizes that he's enchanted by her genuine and caring character. As the story progresses, these two get more and more attached to each other and they find their strange and unique friendship oddly comforting.

     But of course, it would all be too easy without the bad guys throwing obstacles in their way, right? And so we're introduced to Jastin Armitage, a vicious dragon hunter, who has some serious beef with the dragon kind. He, too, lost his family when he was a child. His family was mercilessly killed by a dragon, and since then Jastin is a sworn dragon hater, set on killing every last one of them. And if he gets payed for that? Well, that's even better! As bad to the bone as he might sound, Armitage is in truth a very complicated and hard to read character, who at times shows a great capacity for affection and love. He's not your typical black character, who is evil for the sake of being evil. Quite to the contrary, he's the kind of character that often makes you wonder which path would he have chosen to follow, if his parents haven't been brutally killed in front of his eyes.

     Things get even more complicated when Jastin meets Riza and seems to be smitten with her from the very first moment that he lays his eyes upon her. Being dark and evil as he is, he doesn't let his feelings show easily, but he does a great deal to help Riza every time our damsel fins herself in distress.

     Tension rises between dragons and humans, the province is on the verge of war. The Dragon Council Leader, Blackclaw, is using the situation to strengthen his leadership and fulfill his self-seeking ambitions. Riza finds herself thrown into the chaos of the human-dragon conflict. Accused of being a spy, she's held captive in the Wing Valley, the oldest of all dragon communities. Not only her freedom, but also her life is in great danger. To free her, Kallon has to get out of his comfort zone and find in himself how to be the leader he's destined to be.

*

     Redheart is a captivating and enthralling book. A lot of things were done right; the language is beautiful, the writing is solid, the pacing is great, the characters, while sometimes their actions were a little haphazard and unpredictable, are fully fleshed out with their own unique complexities. That's especially true in Jastin's case. What a brilliant character he is! He's not 100% bad, nor 100% good. Just when you think you have him all figured out, he does something so unpredictable that you find yourself gasping or pulling your hair out. I think Jastin is one of the main reasons I thoroughly enjoyed this book, he turned an already wonderful fantasy story, into a total page-turner. I just had to keep on reading to find out what will happen to him! I do hope there will be plenty of Jastin in the second installment of the Leland Dragon Series.

Jackie Gamber has a fantastic way with words. She doesn't just tell the story, she paints it with her words. The scenes, the characters, the places.. they're so vivid and real, you can almost taste the fresh lake water, feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin! It's like she was born to write fantasy stories!

     It truly is a great and enjoyable piece of YA fiction that promises a lot from future books in the series. Jackie built a wonderful world filled with colorful dragons, magic, interesting characters and intriguing places. Her book, even though intended for younger readers, can easily be enjoyed by adults of all ages. In my opinion Leland Dragon Series has a huge potential and if Jackie keeps up the great work I'm pretty sure that the next books in the series will be even better. I'm so looking forward to reading them!

 

Interview + Giveaway: Sarah Stonich, author of Shelter

My dear readers, I'm honored to be joined today by a very special guest, who has the ability of painting with words. Her memoir is a wonderfully descriptive and evocative work of art and I am totally in love with it.

Please welcome Sarah Stonich, author of  an absolutely breath-taking novel, Shelter!

E: Evie
SS: Sarah Stonich

E: Welcome to Bookish Sarah! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

SS: I’m a full-time fiction writer, and an editor and founding member of WordStalkers.com, a freelance editing and publishing services consortium. I’ve worked in and around publishing for 20 years.

E: Who or what inspired you to start writing?

SS: I had a job that required me to read the best books submitted to a program by small and mid-sized literary presses across the US and Canada. In that role, I was really surprised to see that half of what was considered the ‘best of’ didn’t really grab me – not necessarily anything I wanted to read. So I sat down to write something I would really like to read, just to see if I could – in the process I realized I could be a writer.

E: Do you mind telling us how long did it take for you to write your memoir, “Shelter”?

SS:  About a year. It was a book I wrote during the paralyisis in big publishing, when I had no agent and was writing two big novels but was unable to publish them. I turned to small publishing and deliberately wrote what feels like a small, intimate book, hoping it would at least appeal to regional readers. Turns out it’s a bigger book than I thought it would ever be.

E: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?   

SS: As Tom Waits says, you’ve got to get behind the mule and plow. Writing is work. It’s trial and error and perseverance and determination. Get behind the mule.

E: Where is your favorite place for writing? Do you have any special writing rituals?

SS: I believe rituals and ‘places’ can limit one as a writer. There is no right time or place - if you’re really a writer you write and it shouldn’t matter where the mule is standing. I work from 7am to early afternoon, five days a week. If I didn’t treat my career seriously, my work would reflect that lack of commitment.

E: What genres do you like to read in your free time? 

SS: Mostly fiction – I work my way down the lists of winners and finalists and long-list authors on the Booker Prize, The Orange Prize, Whitbread… Those alone could keep me reading indefinitely.

E: Which of your favorite novels would you recommend everybody to read?

SS: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

E: Do you have any other hobbies that you enjoy?

SS: Training my aussie shepherd/border collie. Hiking, Asian cooking.

E: What are your biggest pet peeves?

SS:  Women that change their names when they get married (and this has nothing to do with my knowledge that you have) The decision to do so baffles me. My generation worked hard to make it okay to have hyphenated names, or children with different last names. Our names are our identities – why do we so blythly disregard them? Imagine a woman named Vivienne Robichaud becoming “Mrs. David Johnson” So sad. My other pet peeve are opinionated people that don’t back their stances with knowledge, facts, honesty or reality (ie., Michelle Bachman, George Bush).

E: Tell us five random facts about yourself.   

SS: I’m left handed. Keep birdfeeders just outside my office window.  Am afraid of dying in a fiery car crash.  Like cheap candy. Living in coastal BC is on my bucket list.

Random Questions:

- white or dark chocolate? Dark

- coffee or tea? Tea

- favorite fictional character? Scout Finch

- favorite movie? Babette’s Feast

- favorite song?  Barber’s Adagio for strings, or, It’s Raining Men.

- favorite TV show? Six Feet Under, Mad Men, Big Love – whatever has smart writing.

- Spring or Autumn? Autumn!

- printed copy or eBook?  Both – it can no longer be either/or.  I hate to think of the appreciation of books becoming a bi-partisan arena.

Sarah, thank you so much for joining us today!  

I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing your next books!

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview, for more information about Sarah and her books, please visit her website: Sarah Stonich or/and read my review of Shelter.



If you're wondering where to get Shelter, here are the links:
*Barnes and Noble
*Book Depository
*Amazon

And now, for the GIVEAWAY!!!

Sarah generously provided us with a printed copy of her wonderful book, Shelter! This beautiful and evocative memoir is something you simply HAVE TO read!

Giveaway ends on Friday, June 3rd and is open to US/Canada addresses only (sorry Internationals!).

All you have to do to Enter is  be a GFC follower of my blog and fill out the form below.

For extra entries:
+1 follow me on Twitter @SeoEvie
+1 be my friends on Goodreads
+5 be Sarah's fan on Goodreads
+5 leave a comment on this post
The winner will be picked with Random.org and emailed by me.

Thanks Sarah! And good luck everyone :)

Splash Into Summer Blog Hop May 25th to 31st, 2011

Splash Into Summer Blog Hop

May 25th to 31st, 2011

hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Page Turners!

So! The summer is almost here, let's start it with a bookish splash, shall we?

I'm going to keep it simple this time, as I am pretty swamped and don't have much time to come up with something super complicated for ya guys! (consider yourself lucky!^^)

The giveaway is International

Everyone can enter - all you have to do is be a GFC follower of my blog.

No extra entries.

Just leave a comment on this post with your email address :) 

What can you win?

A book of your choice from Book Depository up to 15$ value. 

Easy? Alrighty then, let's have fun! ^___^

Highway to Vengeance by Brian Springer (Review)

Genre:	Action Thriller
Publication.Date	March 29th 2011
Pages:	286
Where to get:	Smashwords, Amazon,
Published By:	Ann Egan Publishers
Website	Brian Springer on Goodreads
	Highway to Vengeance - Goodreads
My review copy:	Received from the author (Thank you!)

          For fans of Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, and George Pelecanos: When ex-Navy SEAL Thomas Highway's wife is murdered right in front of his eyes, he sets out to find the men responsible. His investigation leads to Ferdinand Montoya, the former kingpin of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, but before he can exact justice, the Department of Homeland Security steps in and orders him to back off. Despite the threats from the Homeland Security, Highway presses on, and soon finds himself caught up in a conspiracy involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, underground cross-border tunnels, and a shady government agency intent on using Highway to execute their own agenda. From the sun-drenched beaches of San Diego to the crime-ridden streets of Tijuana, HIGHWAY TO VENGEANCE combines a hard-boiled first-person Point Of View with modern thriller elements and a dash of real-life SEAL training to create a novel that explores the darkness within us all, the lengths one man will go to avenge his lost love, and the very nature of vengeance itself.

(goodreads.com)

Listen to you, going all Dirty Harry and shit.

Now, if you talk to me, the people that you're in bed with might find out, and they might catch up with you, and they might do some terrible things to you. I understand. But let me make something very clear. If you don't give me some information that I can use, I'll kill you. Right here. Right now. And it won't be quick.

     Highway to Vengeance by Brian Springer is a fast-paced and gripping action thriller. Well written and with a solid plot, it's a perfect read for long summer evenings with a cuppa coffee!

     The protagonist of this story, Thomas Highway is an ex-Navy SEAL. He decided to join the Navy ranks after the 911 attacks, but was forced to drop out not long after finishing his training, due to a life-threatening health issue. The story starts with Thomas and his wife, Josie, having their weekly lunch at a BBQ place in San Diego. It's a beautiful, sunny day, the food was fantastic and everyone is in a great mood, especially Tom and Josie, who seem to be as in love with each other as ever. Everything is just perfect. After the meal they separate, as Josie has an important meeting at her office. She leaves first and Tom, still sitting at the restaurant's patio, is watching her cross the street. That's when everything comes tumbling down. From where he sits, Tom witnesses Josie being hit by a speeding car. She dies in his arms few minutes later. Highway is convinced that the so-called car accident wasn't an accident at all, but a deliberate murder. Devastated and desperate for vengeance, he's set on doing everything he can to find the person behind Josie's murder. With help from his best friend, Willis (who owns a Security and Investigations Company), Thomas will do whatever it takes to avenge his wife's death.

     As he goes deeper into his investigation, he realizes that the murder of his wife is actually a conspiracy on a much bigger scale than he ever expected. Before he knows it, he's caught up in a situation involving Homeland Security, Mexican drug cartels, Weapons of Mass Destruction and a suspicious government agency intent on using him as a pawn in their conspiracy game. Not knowing who to trust, Highway is going to have to make some tough choices. It will take everything he learned during his Navy SEAL training to get out of this alive.

     Highway to Vengeance is a quick and pleasant read, which I enjoyed a lot, but would have enjoyed even more if it was a bit longer. I loved how gripping the story was and I definitely had a lot of fun with all the twists and turns in the plot, but at the same time I found myself wishing that the author would give us a little bit more insight into what was going on in Highway's head. It lacked the emotional depth. Don't get me wrong, the book really is a great piece of action thriller, packed with kick-ass adventures and life-threatening situations that will keep you on the edge of your chair, but I just couldn't get emotionally involved with it, as it didn't offer much of anything else but action. Nonetheless, Highway to Vengeance is no doubt a well-written and believable action thriller, with no loose ends. I liked the BUD/S training interludes, they made the whole thing a whole lot more interesting and dynamic.

     Final verdict: It's a bad-ass story, that slams into you at full speed from the very start and takes you on a wild thrill ride. It tears along at breakneck speed, has plenty of obstacles, and the bad guys get what they deserve in the end. It might not be the most original story ever, after all vengeance is quite a popular subject in both movies and books, but it's definitely worth reading!

 

(GPT) Pants-ing Yourself, Or: The Joys of (Not) Plotting! by Rusty Fischer

I'm very excited to welcome Rusty Fischer to Bookish today!

Rusty is a phenomenal new YA writer, author of absolutely fantastic novel, Zombies Don't Cry.  To read my review of Rusty's book, please go here: Zombies Don't Cry review.

My interview with Rusty combined with a giveaway of a printed copy of his book is coming up soon! Stay tuned!

Guys, please give a warm welcome to Rusty...

About Rusty:

Rusty Fischer is the author of Zombies Don’t Cry: A Living Dead Love Story (Medallion Press, 2011).
Visit his blog, www.zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com, for news, reviews, cover leaks, writing and publishing advice, book excerpts and more! And look for his next book, Vamplayers, due out from Medallion next year!

Pants-ing Yourself, Or: The Joys of (Not) Plotting!

A Guest Post by

Rusty Fischer

When it comes to writing YA, are you a plotter – or a pants-er?

In other words, do you write it all down ahead of time and then follow that plot to the end of your story (a plotter)?

Or do you just sit down with a blank Word document, ala Carrie Bradshaw on Sex & the City, and wait for inspiration to strike and then write the whole thing by the seat of your pants (a pants-er)?

I like to think I’m a little bit of both.

Case in point: almost nothing that appears in the published version of my new YA supernatural romance, Zombies Don’t Cry, was there in the original plot!

Even the title was different for the very first draft. (It was originally called Have a Nice Afterlife.)

The original outline for Zombies Don’t Cry-slash-Have a Nice Afterlife called for Maddy to already be a zombie when the story started.

There was a brief Prologue that explained how she became a zombie – Ferris wheel, broken chair, electric pole, fade out – and then, boom, you go into this story where this badass zombie chick is hunting down other zombies in a graveyard.

There was still a football kicker named “Stamp” involved, but he died way in the beginning and, not to give too much away, there was no love triangle because the zombie character who would eventually come to be Dane started out as Maddy’s ZFF (Zombie Friend Forever), a chill, slacker zombie dude named Phil.

There was no Bones, no Hazel, no Dahlia, no Chloe, and the bad guy was this reanimated serial killer who… okay, okay, enough. Now, you don’t have to have read Zombies Don’t Cry to get my point: plotting is really, really important – but so is flying by the seat of your pants.

I absolutely need a plot – a beginning, a middle and an end – to complete the first draft of ANY story. I even plot my short stories because I always like there to be some “twist” at the end and, well, planning ahead makes for better twists.

Part of that plot is the central cast of characters – I like to keep this list down to around 6-8 people if humanly possible – and a central setting with various minor settings, i.e. Barracuda Bay High School, the locker room, the Fall Formal, Dane and Chloe’s trailer, etc.

Lastly, I have a bullet list of about 15-20 loosely organized “chapters” that tell me how I’m going to get from Point A (the beginning) to Point B (the end). Sometimes they’re a sentence, sometimes a paragraph, sometimes simply a phrase or mental reminder.

I might say something like, “Maddy waiting for Stamp by his graveside.” Or it might even be simpler if I’ve already dreamed up the scene in my head, “Maddy + graveside.” Or it might be ornate to remind me of various details, like, “Maddy waits at Stamp’s graveside; she has a picnic basket with ‘zombie treats’ for when he wakes up a ‘good’ zombie and weapons if he wakes up bad…”

And I list these “scenes,” one after the other, until I’ve fleshed out the story in my mind.

Once I get these variables locked in, I can start writing. The problem is, every inspiration, every “aha!” moment I have along the way makes me change course. Okay, so that’s not really a “problem” for me because instinctively if I give into a temptation to fiddle with the original plot/outline, I know – I just “know” – it’s going to be better for the story.

I’ve tried it both ways. Several times I’ve started with a very strict plot and followed it to the letter. I even get all the way to the end of the book that way. The problem is that usually after I’ve had a few great ideas that would have helped the story but didn’t follow them because I was “sticking to the plot,” I’m uninspired by the way the story develops and generally the books don’t turn out so hot.

On the other hand, I’ve sat down with a blank Word document and just gone to town and, inevitably about 20-pages in I give up because I just don’t know where the story is going.

I have no character list so I don’t know who’s who or what they look like to describe them or why she is meeting him or what his exit strategy is or her end game.

I have no “bad” guy so there is no tension, and I have no three or four fight scenes or twists and turns or betrayals so there is no conflict.

So what do I do? Write an entire book according to a plot that’s no longer fun, relevant or engaging, or get really excited about the first 20 pages and then… move onto the next 20 page no-plot, half-start?

So over time I’ve learned to plot like crazy and give into the “pants-ing” when it happens. To trust my gut when it comes to plotting AND pants-ing and really enjoy both. That way I can finish every book AND be excited about what I’ve just finished.

So, how about YOU? The secret, I think, is to find what works for you. I know many of my writer friends who hate outlining, who never do it and are far more creative than I about plotting, pants-ing and everything in between. The lack of an outline does little to hamper the twists, turns, drama, conflict and characters that inform their stories.

Likewise, I know other writers who plot down to every detail and create wonderful stories thanks to their forethought and careful planning. I can’t imagine writing a mystery, for that matter, without knowing who the killer is first, right? Then again, sometimes it’s nice to be surprised; even as the writer!

Bottom line, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer; what works for you works, and that’s the secret to plotting, pants-ing… and everything in between!

What do you guys think? Are you plotters or pants-ers?
Both Rusty and I would love to see your comments!

Rusty, thank you so much  for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here today! I'm so looking forward to reading your next book~!

Published May 1st 2011 by Medallion Press

Maddy Swift is just a normal girl—a high school junior surviving class with her best friend and hoping the yummy new kid, Stamp, will ask her out. When he finally does, her whole life changes.

Sneaking out to meet Stamp at a party one rainy night, Maddy is struck by lightning. After awakening, she feels lucky to be alive. Over time, however, Maddy realizes that she’s become the thing she and everyone else fear most: the living dead. With no heartbeat and no breath in her lungs, Maddy must learn how to survive as a zombie. Turns out there’s a lot more to it than shuffling around 24/7 growling, “Brains.” Needing an afterlife makeover is only the beginning of her problems. As Barracuda Bay High faces zombie Armageddon, Maddy must summon all of her strength to protect what matters most—just as soon as she figures out exactly what that is.