Monday, January 28, 2013

The Triple Threat Blog Tour - Guest Post by Myra McEntire + Giveaway



Welcome to Stop #5 on the Triple Threat Blog Tour featuring Myra McEntire, Kate Ellison and Jennifer Lynn Barnes! Today we welcome Myra McEntire author of Hourglass series. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for a great giveaway I am hosting and for details on the Triple Threat Blog Tour grand prize giveaway!

First, we have a great and insightful guest post from Myra McEntire!

Kaleb’s Playlist 


Author Myra McEntire gives us some insight into Kaleb – the rebellious, gorgeous, complicated “badboy” in the Hourglass series – through music.  Go ahead – read below, hit play and check it out for yourself.

From Myra: 
“I tried to keep it spoiler free, by using code names and so forth. If you’ve read the book, you’ll get them. Links are to iTunes!”

I listened to the Black Keys for the majority of the time I wrote Timepiece. I could make every single one of their songs into a story.

Kaleb has some unhealthy vices …

I never thought I'd end up here
Never thought I'd be standing where I am
I guess I kind of thought it would be easier than this
I guess I was wrong now one more time”

… as well as a strained relationship with his dad.

“Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface … every step that I make is another mistake to you”

Kaleb connects with Em for a solid reason. Broken recognizes broken.

An angry song, the kind you’d listen to while driving to the gym.

Sadly, at the beginning of Timepiece, a life motto.

When Kaleb realizes Em isn’t his …

“I close up my mouth
When you’re around now
Suffocating in doubt
I can’t make a sound”

I actually have a playlist called “Angry Songs” thanks to Kaleb. Here’s another.

Can’t exactly put lyrics here, but it sums up Kaleb’s opinion of himself pretty accurately.

Kaleb meets a certain waitress …

… and realizes he might be in trouble.  

Oh yeah. He’s in trouble.

This is a teasing, playful song, and it references Nashville. Tiger Girl brings light and life to Kaleb, and here’s a hint of it.

It’s about the Mississippi. I grew up singing this!
                                               
“Whenever I’m alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again”

In the truck in the rain.

A song so sexy it possibly set a whole town on fire.

(I suggest you buy the acoustic version, as well as the Vampire Diaries Remix. Yes, I love the Vampire Diaries. No, this is not why I used this song.)






About the author:
Myra McEntire knows the words to every R&B hit of the last decade, but since she lives in Nashville, the country music capital of America, her lyrical talents go sadly unappreciated. She’s chosen, instead, to channel her “mad word skills” into creating stories.
She’s an avid Doctor Who fan and will argue passionately about which incarnation is the best. (taken from Myra McEntire's website)
Connect with Myra:







Hourglass (Hourglass #1)
One hour to rewrite the past . . . 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?
Buy: HERE




Timepiece (Hourglass #2)
A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...
Kaleb Ballard was never supposed to be able to see ripples - cracks in time. Are his powers expanding, or is something very wrong? Before he can find out, Jonathan landers, the man who tried to murder is father, reappears. Why is he back, and what, or whom, does he want?
In the wake of Landers' return, the Hourglass organization is given an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the people who might carry the time gene, or time will be altered - with devastating results for the people Kaleb loves most. 
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Landers. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...
Buy: HERE



Are you as excited as I am for the third book in Hourglass Trilogy?! :) I hope you are, because thanks to the wonderful people at Egmont USA, we have a very delicious prize pack to give away to one lucky reader today! :)

You can win a copy of Hourglass and a copy of Timepiece! Giveaway is open to US/Canada only! Please enter via Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt and GAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY!!!


Great news! We also have an exciting scavenger hunt to celebrate the cover reveal of Myra McEntire's third book in the Hourglass Trilogy, Infinityglass!

And (drumroll, please) there is a GRAND PRIZE that you can win if you complete the hunt and submit your answer on time! :D And trust me, it's super exciting!!! 

HERE's HOW IT WORKS:

* There are a total of 15 pieces to the puzzle - one for each stop on the tour. 

* Collect all 15 pieces to reveal the cover of Infinityglass by Myra McEntire (pubbing in July)

* Submit the assembled cover via the following link  by no later than 2/12 at 10pm ET. You will be entered to win the 6 book Grand Prize Giveaway of: Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Nobody and Every Other Day, Kate Ellison's Butterfly Clues and Notes from Ghost Town and Myra McEntire's Hourglass and Timepiece


* The puzzle can either be assembled electronically or a picture of the assembled printed pieces is also acceptable

* The winner and completed cover will be posted on Myra McEntire's blog www.myramcentire.com on 2/13.

My piece:



Blog Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, January 22nd – Read for Your Future http://www.readforyourfuture.blogspot.com/
· Wednesday, January 23rd – I Am a Reader, Not a Writer http://www.iamareader.com/
· Thursday, January 24th – Pageturners http://www.pageturnersblog.com/
· Friday, January 25th – Read, Breathe Relax http://www.readbreatherelax.com/
· Monday, January 28th – Evie Bookish http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/
· Tuesday, January 29th – Reading Teen http://www.readingteen.net/
· Wednesday, January 30th – Cari’s Book Blog http://cariblogs.blogspot.com/
· Thursday, January 31st – YA Books Central http://www.yabookscentral.com/
· Friday, February 1st – Once Upon a Twilight http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/
· Monday, February 4th – Bookhounds http://foreveryoungadult.blogspot.com/
· Tuesday, February 5th – Luxury Reading http://luxuryreading.com/
· Wednesday, February 6th – Good Choice Reading http://www.goodchoicereading.com/
· Thursday, February 7th – I Read Banned Books http://www.jenbigheart.com/
· Friday, February 8th – All Things Urban Fantasy http://AllThingsUF.com
· Monday, February 11th - Supernatural Snark http://supernaturalsnark.blogspot.com/
· Tuesday, February 12th – 8-10 pm ET LIVE book chat on Mundie Moms http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Blog Design: Phantasmic Reads + Giveaway!

Hello lovelies, I'm here to announce a new blog design created by me! It's a super special project, as it is my very first official FULL blog design kicking off my designing carrier. 

The blog design (note: it's not a re-design, as my client only just started her - hopefully long and successful - blogging carrier!) was for Reanna from Phantasmic Reads, who proved to be an absolute delight to work with. She had a very good idea what she wanted her blog to look like and we were able to brainstorm some great options and work out all the details quickly! Most of all, I had so much fun designing all the witchy vectors and putting the layout together! This was a BLAST :) Thanks so much for trusting me with designing your very first book blog, Reanna! I hope you'll enjoy blogging, I'm sure the book blogging community will welcome you with open arms :) 

Now, let me show you the goodies!

Here's how Reanna's blog looks like:


Phantasmic Reads <-- click here to visit and see it IRL! 

All the graphics were designed by me (including the girl in the chair, books, broom, cat, social media icons, etc..). 

Reanna decided to go with the FULL PACKAGE, which included:

- custom designed vectors (no stock images were used)
- custom fonts (post header, sidebar headers, post body, blog title)
- custom designed navigation bar, with roll-over and social media buttons incorporated.
- custom designed sidebar and post header
- custom designed post divider
- 3+1 banners
- blog button with a grab code
- facebook cover image
- twitter header and background
- featured post slider
- personalized blockquote (coded in html)
- custom designed post breakers (i.e: Synposis, Quotes, etc)
- custom designed rating system 
- custom designed favicon

Here, take a look at some of the graphics I designed for Reanna:

Blog button:


Banners:

Page breakers (sample):


Rating system (sample):


What do you guys think?! :) Would love to hear your thoughts and I'm sure Reanna would, too! :)

If you're interested in a blog design or re-design, please feel free to contact me at evieseo@gmail.com!
I'm currently putting together an official website for my designing business and it will be up soon! :)

Meanwhile, to celebrate the official kick-off of my business and to make up for the one recently cancelled on my blog (I'm sure you all know which one I'm talking about), here's a chance to win a book of choice from Book Depository




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

When being nice comes back to kick you in the butt...

So.. I so SO didn't want to get involved in this mess, as I generally try very hard to stay away from any sort of drama and the two people involved in this particular one are both people that I know and like. However, I feel that since my own reputation as a graphic/blog designer has been compromised, my hands are tied. As much as I don't want to.. I feel that I have to. These kind of things are sticky and a bad reputation can hurt a rookie designer plenty. 

So here it goes.

This morning I have received an email from Rachel from Fiktshun, who I'm sure many (if not all) of you know and love. She sounded angry, heartbroken and desperate for answer, and the general gist of the email was that someone stole some of her custom designed graphics and used it on a blog that just happened to be designed by me. 

I won't go into details, nor will I try to recap the whole story for you here - that would take forever. You can read all about it here:

http://www.fiktshuns-ramblings.com/2013/01/when-staying-silent-isnt-answer.html?spref=tw

We exchanged some emails and I assured Rachel that I had nothing to do with the image theft or the hotlinked images, or stolen blockquotes.

The design I did for Lady Reader's Bookstuff was a friendly freebie consisting of: the header, the background, the social media icons, blog button, a couple of banners for her blog tours, the favicon and post and sidebar header images. I had nothing to do with the images she later added and that were "lifted" off of Rachel's website. 

I didn't even want to get any deeper into this issue, but as Rachel pointed out, her first thought was: her designer did it (since it appeared that Amy didn't have sufficient html skills to incorporate the blockquote herself), and her unfortunate designer at that time was no one else but me. Having my own reputation on the line, I decided to email Amy and ask her about the situation. She said she didn't intentionally steal any images and that she'll make sure to remove the graphics in questions immediately. Well, if you read Rachel's post (linked above), you know how that went. Rachel then decided to go public with the whole matter, which left me no choice but to follow suit. 

I do not want my name or my reputation as a blog designer to be tarnished by this unfortunate turn of events, and so I feel that I have to make a statement here. Let's make this clear: I was not in any way involved in this situation. I did not steal or help steal any images. And I did not help install any blockquotes featuring images that were hotlinked on Rachel's site (or any other site for that matter). 

It hurts me to have my name dragged into this mess, as all I was trying to do was help out a friend by designing a free web layout and graphics. Well, consider it lesson learned. 

I'm sorry that Rachel was faced with this situation, especially since she is one of the people I asked to co-host the 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge with me. A person I admire and respect, both as a blogger and a human being. 

I do not stand for plagiarism. In any way or form. 

That's all I have to say on this subject. The rest is silence... 

______________________________________________________________________________

Below are the images designed by me for Amy. These are the only parts that I had anything to do with. 





Monday, January 21, 2013

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge January Wrap-Up + Giveaway


Hi guys and welcome to January WRAP-UP post for out 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge! I'm sorry this post is one day late, please don't hate me! Technical problems occurred, but I'm here now and ready to roll! :) Hope you had a great January (or rather the first 21 days of it!) filled with awesome reads! I hope you managed to read some books for the challenge - I know I did! :)

Before we move on to the WRAP-UP, I'd like to mention TWO things:

1) We now have TBR Pile Read-a-Longs to complete our challenge! :) The Read-a-Longs are hosted by Rachelia from Bookish Comforts and yours, truly and every month we're picking one book that is long-overdue! This month we're reading Divergent. Next we have: DELIRIUM and after that Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Each month we have 4 discussion posts and a giveaway to sweeten the deal. Oh, and don't forget to tweet with the #TBRRaL hashtag! :)

Click on the banner to be directed to the announcement post and read more about the read-a-longs!


2) The amazing Bonnie from Words At Home has created a Goodreads Group for our challenge! You can now keep better track of your TBR Reads and discuss the books with fellow readers! Join it here: CLICK


Now, the wrap-up!

Books I've read for the challenge this month:

- Gone by Michael Grant
- Hunger by Michael Grant
- Skid Out by Ann Marie Frohoff
- The Lost Order by Livka Galchen
- Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King (still reading, actually)
- Divergent by Veronica Roth (still reading for read-a-long)

So there you have it, I've read 7 of 50 books for my challenge already, am I proud or what?! But yeah, haven't reviewed any of them yet, but no worries, I am planning to!

How did you do?

Make sure to link up your reviews in the linky and then enter them into the giveaway! 

Now, the extra challenge for this month is:

MAKE A BOOK SPINE POEM (take a picture and link it up in the comments!)
Example:

CREDIT: http://winfieldya.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/book-spine-poems/

The funniest/most creative/interesting poems will be spotlighted here, on Bookish, after the giveaway is over!

You have until February 20th to link up all your reviews for the books read and reviewed in JANUARY!

And don't forget, next wrap-up post is hosted by Racheal from Fiktshun!

Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY but only to TBR PILE CHallenge participants!
ENDS: February 20th!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, January 17, 2013

BLOG Re-Design: A Glass of Wine + Blog Design Business LAUNCH + Giveaway!!!

Hello lovelies! :) Today I have another blog re-design news to share with you! It's a design that I did for a friend of mine, the lovely Kathy from A Glass Of Wine blog! It's been up for a while now, but I didn't get a chance to make the announcement yet, as I was busy working on another blog design (for the equally lovely Reanna).

If you don't follow Kathy's blog yet, you are missing out, so be sure to click over right now and follow her! She is the kindest and sweetest person, and a truly fabulous reviewer!

Here's a link to Kathy's blog: A Glass Of Wine

Here's Kathy's old look (which, BTW, was my design, too):



Here's A Glass OF Wine's new look:


Kathy wanted a pink and black theme for her blog that would look girlish! Every graphic is custom designed (I designed the vectors in Adobe Illustrator especially for Kathy! I also made custom social media buttons, which you can see on the right - in the wine glasses).

Post headers and sidebar widget headers were designed and put together by me, too.
Kathy's header is clickable (you can click on the social media buttons), and the navigation bar is a custom one, too.

Here's Kathy's button!




How do you like it? :)

AND NOW AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

I have decided to open my own blog designing business! :) I am already working on my first project (which is going to be AWESOME, here's a sneak peak of the graphics I designed so far!)


and the custom designed potion vials that I am turning into social media buttons! 


BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE FULL DESIGN ANNOUNCEMENT SOON!!!


I am NOW accepting design requests for blogger blogs and wesbites (no WORDPRESS themes at the moment, still figuring them out). 

As for my pricing, until I get around to desgining my own website for that, here it is:

Full Blog Re-DESIGN package: $150 

- custom made vector for your header (which you will get in a resizeable EPS file and can use in other projects).
- custom designed blog post header (an image or color + custom font)
- custom designed sidebar header (an image or color + custom font)
- clickable header + custom designed navbar
- a set of 5 custom designed social media buttons (every additional one is + $2)
- up to three meme banners / other promotional graphics
- blog button
- custom blog + post background
- custom designed page breaker
- SOCIAL MEDIA PUMP-UP (Facebook cover page, Twitter background)
- featured post slider (optional)
- custom blockquote coding in html of your blog that can be applied with one click (optional)
- signature (optional)
- installation and up to one week of technical support

MEDIUM Blog Re-Design package: $120

- custom made vector for your header (which you will get in a resizeable EPS file and can use in other projects).
- custom designed blog post header (an image or color + custom font)
- custom designed sidebar header (an image or color + custom font)
- simple header
- a set of 5 custom designed social media buttons (every additional one is + $2)
- blog button
- background
- installation and up to 2 days of technical support

BASIC Blog Re-Design package: $80

- header made with images provided by you (you can purchase vectors on sites that sell stock images, draw it or.. well, look for a free one on the web!)
- background
- post header (with an image and font provided by you or available on-line for free)
-sidebar header (with an image and font provided by you or available on-line for free)
- simple header
- background
- blog button
- installation and up to 24h of technical support

Custom vector only (provided to you as EPS file): $40 (this can be anything you want)

If you're interested in getting a blog/website deign, please email me at: evieseo@gmail.com

We're celebrating the kick off of my design business with a giveaway of a book of choice from Book Depository!

Enter via Raffl below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Friday, January 11, 2013

DIVERGENT Read-a-Long DISCUSSION POST #1 [Chapters 1-10]



Hello and WELCOME to DIVERGENT READ-A-LONG's FIRST DISCUSSION POST!

Thank you to all who have signed up for our first Read-A-Long this year, I hope you guys enjoyed reading the first 10 chapters of the amazing Divergent by Veronica Roth! I know I did!

I'm sorry that this discussion post is one day late, but I had to switch things around on the blog a bit, due to the exlusive cover reveal of Robin Bridge's third book in KATERINA Trilogy (which BTW has a giveaway, too, so be sure to check it out!).

Before we move on to the discussion questions Rachelia and I have prepared for you, I'd like to post a quick recap of chapters 1-10. Please be advised that if you haven't read Divergent yet (at least the first 1-10 chapters), you shouldn't read any further, as there will be spoilers!

Chapters 1-10 RECAP:

- We meet Beatrice, a sixteen-year old girl who was born into Abnegation Faction. She lives with her brother, mother and father. They lead a quiet and selfless life, always putting others before themselves.

- The story kicks off with Beatrice getting a haircut from her mother on the Aptitute Tests day. The aptitute test is a yearly assessment taken by all the kids ready for initiation and it determines disposition towards one of the five traits of the five factions. Beatrice takes the test and learns that the results are inconclusive. She is Divergent, she could be Dauntless, Abnegation or Erudite. She also learns that being Divergent is dangerous and she should never talk about it.

- On her way back home from the testing facility, Beatrice runs into one of the Factionless, a person who does not belong into any of the five factions. Factionless are outcasts, they live in poverty, they partake in the worst jobs and are separated from the society.

- Choosing Ceremony. Caleb switches factions, he is Erudite. Beatrice switches factions. "[She is] selfish. [She is] brave." Beatrice leaves with the Dauntless. As part of the initiation process, she has to jump on and off the train. She meets Christina (a Candor girl) and together they manage to jump off the train and land safely on the rooftop. Beatrice hears a girl's scream and sees that not everyone made it. She does not let herself fall apart, she counts to three and moves on.

- Beatrice jumps several stories down (as part of the initiation) and enters the Dauntless compound. She is the first one to jump. She is welcomed by Four and when asked what her name is, she says it's Tris.

- In the dining hall, Tris meets Eric (one of the five leaders of the Dauntless). She immediately dislikes him. "I don't understand why, but I don't want Eric to look at me any longer than he already has. I don't want him to look at me ever again" (67). She senses tension between Four and Eric.

- Eric explains the rules to the initiates. They are told about the training and evaluation. They also learn that only the top 10 of them will be made members, the others will leave the Dauntless compound and live factionless.

- At night, Tris hears Al (a transfer from Candor, who is also the largest and broadest boy from all the initiates) sob in his bed. She knows that she should comfort him, because she was raised to help others, but her reaction is quite the opposite. She is annoyed and disgusted. She turns around and ignores Al's sobs.

-  The initiates begin their training. First they learn how to shoot, then the combat training begins. They are paired up and forced to fight against each other. They are told that they are to fight until one of them is unable to anymore (knocked unconscious, badly hurt). There is no backing down.

- Christina is paired up with Molly. She gets beaten so badly, she screams "I'm done". Eric gives her a choice: climb over the railing and hang over the chasm for five minutes or leave and live factionless. Christina hangs from the railing, though she comes really close to falling down.

- Tris is paired up with Peter. She gets beaten unconscious and lands in the hospital. 


Now, onto the discussion!


1) What were your first impressions of the factions? If you had to choose, which faction would you pick to join? 

2) There are five factions, do you think there should be more? If so, what kind of factions would you add and why?

3) Beatrice/Tris is told that it is dangerous to be Divergent and that she is to keep her status a secret. Why do you think this is? What part do you think her Divergent status will play in the story?

4) At the end of the Choosing Ceremony, when the sixteen-year-olds are about to leave with their new factions, Beatrice looks back to see her parents one last time. Her father looks at her accusingly, clearly hurt by her "betrayal". Her mother, on the other hand, smiles. What do you make of that? Do you think Beatrice's parents will come see her on the Visiting Day? 

5) Both Beatrice and Caleb end up switching factions, leaving their family behind. If you were born into one faction, but felt that you belong somewhere else, would you make the decision to switch, too? Would you be able to leave your family behind? 

6) So far, who is your favorite character and why? 

7) The aptitute test seems to be based on the idea that we are our choices. Do you agree with that? How do you think our choices shape our futures? Do you think the aptitute test is a good way to determine which faction should you belong to?  

These are all the questions I have for you today! Please leave your answers in the comments below. Feel free to break them apart (1 comment per 1 answer!), or omit the questions you do not feel like answering! I am looking forward to discussing Divergent with you guys! 

Meanwhile, happy reading and remember Discussion Post for CHAPTERS 11-20 will be posted over @Bookish Comforts! 

TBR Pile Read-a-Long

Discussion Schedule for JanuaryDivergent by Veronica Roth

Thursday, January 3, 2013

BLOG TOUR: EMPTY by K.M. Walton (Review, Interview, Giveaway)

Genre:Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction,  
Publication.Date  January 1st 2013
Pages:256
Published By:  Simon Pulse | 
WebsiteK.M. Walton

EMPTY on Goodreads
My review copy:Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Where to get:



Dell is used to disappointment. Ever since her dad left, it’s been one let down after another. But no one—not even her best friend—gets all the pain she’s going through. So Dell hides behind self-deprecating jokes and forced smiles.

Then the one person she trusts betrays her. Dell is beyond devastated. Without anyone to turn to for comfort, her depression and self-loathing spin out of control. But just how far will she go to make all of the heartbreak and name-calling stop?


(Goodreads)





There are things I’d like to vanish from my life—maybe even a person or two. I’m not talking about killing anyone, but having them gone would be sweet.
Dreams of my future have shriveled into tiny bits of pain. The rest of my walk to school I pretend each pebble I kick is one of my dried-up dreams. It ends up being stupidly unsatisfying because the pebbles are too small. I need stones - solid and strong enough to break windows. My withered-pebble dreams are useless. Empty and weak.
Like me.
I want to feel the surge of pride that comes with hard work and success. How could I have let myself fall apart like this?
I may be a dreamer, but I am not an idiot.




I LIKE THE IDEA OF MAKING THINGS DISAPPEAR. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.


     Harrowing, powerful and dark, Empty is, quite simply, an unforgettable read. It's a story of a girl who founds herself in a downward spiral of depression. A bleak and disturbing tale of desperation, bullying, rejection, self-loathing, betrayal, abuse and negligence. An irrefutably authentic, utterly engrossing and supremely readable novel that will leave you tear-streaked and emotionally drained. You absolutely can't afford to miss it.

     Dell is overweight. Since last summer she has gained over 70 pounds. Her life is a big mess. When her father checked out on her and her mom, Dell's "emotional eating" started. She turned to food for comfort and stress relief. Unsurprisingly, this has only made matters worse. Her weight quickly became an out-of-control problem, resulting in even more stress. Her plans for the future and carrier dreams were shattered when she got cut from the school's softball team. The only thing that's keeping her alive is her best friend, Cara, but she, too, seems to be getting more and more distant. Between problems at home and being ostracised at school, Dell finds herself in a very dark place. She is a tough girl. She puts on a brave face and pretends all the cruel jokes, mean remarks, stares and name-calling don't bother her, but on the inside she is crumbling.

     Wow, what an incredibly affecting novel! I feel like my heart has been wrung out like a Shamwow! This one here is going on my-top-favorite shelf and I can definitely see myself coming back to it over and over again.

     Dell's narrative voice is raw, realistic and infused with real emotions. She makes witty jokes and hides behind a mask of confidence and cynicism, but if you look closely you can easily see through her act. You can practically taste the sadness, the fear and the pain this girl is experiencing. You can hear her silent screams. You can feel her desperation and just how lost she is. And you end up genuinely caring for her. K.M. Walton's character development is masterful. All her characters - especially Dell - are convincing, complex and well-drawn. It's virtually impossible not to get emotionally involved in the unfolding events. This book sucks you right in and keeps you hooked on until the very end. I absolutely loved it.

     It's not a secret that I appreciate well-written issue books that explore meaningful (and often difficult) subjects. And Empty is one of the best issue books I have ever read. It's poignant, thoughtful, intelligent and brutally honest. K.M. Walton does not hold back. This book is not for the faint hearted or overly sensitive people. It contains scenes of violence, abuse and some coarse language. And while it's a thought-provoking and eye-opening read, because of it's overpowering darkness I would not recommend it to people struggling with depression or eating disorders. It's just too depressing to stomach when being in a difficult place yourself.

     Overall, Empty was a truly breathtaking and memorable read that will stay with me for a very long time. K.M Walton is undoubtedly a supremely gifted writer and I'll be sure to follow her writing carrier closely !



Interview with K.M. Walton


1. Welcome to Bookish Kate, I'm honored to have you with us today! Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself? 

Thank you very much for hosting me today, Evie. I taught for twelve years and made the transition to full-time author a year ago. I’m married to an incredible guy who I met when I was nineteen, and we have two sons, who are equally as incredible.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind Empty

EMPTY took a long time to brew, because it was a culmination of my life’s experiences. Back when I was teaching middle school my mission was to make the invisible and forgotten students feel special and seen. Actually I wanted each and every one of my students to feel that way, but I put extra effort into the students no one else seemed to care about. My main character, Dell, is one of those students.

A hideous story in the news shocked me to my core, adding more to the “story brew”: a teenaged girl was bullied to the point that she took her own life. One of her bullies typed in “Mission Accomplished” on the victim’s facebook wall. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around that kind of evil, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. In EMPTY, I wanted to explore the power of negative words. I also wanted to give a voice to the bullied (I did that in CRACKED as well—it alternates POV between the victim and the bully.).

3. Have you always wanted to be a writer? At what point in your life did you decide that writing is something you want to do? 

My answer to this question has morphed over the past year. I used to say that reading certain books inspired me to become a writer. While that will always be part of the recipe, I’ve had some time to dig deeper and really identify the moment I became a writer. It all goes back to an organization I had the privilege to become involved with when I was in the classroom: The Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project (PAWLP). PAWLP is part of the National Writing Project, which is an organization dedicated to educating teachers of language arts to become powerful/effective teachers of language arts. I was lucky enough to take many, many classes through PAWLP, and I became intimately familiar with the power of the written word (both in writing and reading it). PAWLP believes that in order for language arts teachers to be truly effective they must read and write along with their students (it was that belief that changed me forever). When I started writing in my PAWLP classes, and along with my students, a writer was born.

4. What was the most difficult part of the book for you to write? 

The ending. I can’t really go into detail as to why because I don’t want to give anything away.

5. What do you hope readers will take away from reading Empty

I hope readers will see the power of words, hateful words in particular. If a reader has been cruel to anyone in their life, I hope Dell’s story moves to the forefront of their consciousness and they choose kindness instead. There is tremendous power in human kindness (I gave a TEDx talk on the subject of human kindness, which can be seen here: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/KMWalton-at-TEDxYouthWilsonHigh;search%3AK.%20M.%20Walton). 

Here is a quote from my author’s note at the back of EMPTY: I intended Dell’s story to serve as a window into her soul—the soul of a broken human being. I wanted you, precious reader, to feel the pain of the bullied, the neglected, the heartbroken, and the humiliated. I wanted you to experience the absolute power of hateful words – whether said or typed online. Words count.

6. What's next in line for you? Are you working on a new book now? 

I’m currently revising a new contemporary YA about a sixteen-year-old girl whose family and personal life implode. She’s angry, bitter, and a bully. But it’s ultimately a story about growth, self-discovery, and redemption.





K.M. Walton

Bio: K. M. Walton is the author of Cracked (Simon Pulse ~ Simon & Schuster 2012), Empty (Simon Pulse ~ Simon & Schuster 1-1-2013) and the co-author of Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking (Corwin Press 2011 - lead author Margie Pearse) for mathematics teachers K - 8. As a former middle-school language-arts teacher she's passionate about education and ending peer bullying. She gives school presentations on the topic "The Power of Human Kindness." She lives in PA with her husband, two sons, cat, and turtle.

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Dates: January 1st – January 6

January 1st – Release Day Blast including – Review, Playlist, Excerpt, Info and Giveaway http://ladysbookstuff.blogspot.com

January 2nd – Review and Author Interview at Libby Blog with Ange Schmelzer http://marmaladelibby.blogspot.com/

January 3rd – Review and Author Interview at Bookish with Evie Seo http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/

January 4th – Review and Author Interview at Kaidan’s Seduction with Taneesha http://kaidansseduction.blogspot.com/

January 5th – Review at Uniquely Moi Books with Jodie Baker http://www.uniquelymoibooks.com/

January 6 – Review at Novel Thoughts Blog with Jennifer Dee http://www.novelthoughtsblog.com/

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