Contest!

I have been quiet lately over the summer and into the fall, but that's only because I've been hard at work on my novel. I always think about posting here, and I'll even begin writing a new entry now and again, but then the pull of my novel begins to become more and more insistent and my unfinished posts are left to languish in my draft folder.

If you want to know the truth, I think my novel is a little jealous of my blog.

And that's ok. Because I'm the mother and my novel is still breast-feeding (forgive the metaphor, but it's what I'm dealing with here) so my world revolves around her right now. It's very exhausting, but also rather exciting - seeing her really begin to take shape. (Yes, my novel has a female gender. Just like boats and cars and the Starship Enterprise.)

This past September I even traveled to New York with her. Baby's first outing. I attended the New York Pitch conference had had the opportunity to discuss my book with five big time editors in the Big Apple.

In the next few weeks I'll discuss everything at length with you and tell you about my trip in detail. It was really life-changing - in regards to my novel.

In the meantime, I also went to the Decatur Book Festival this past September with fellow writer Dale Spencer and we stood in long lines in the heat and the rain just to get author signatures on three major titles. And now we are offering them to you!

The titles up for grabs are:

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy

Reboot by Amy Tintera

And
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 You can also find the contest on Dale Spencer's website.
Enter the contest below and Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writing Vacation

You know you are a struggling writer when you look forward to vacation because you know you'll finally have time to actually write.

 The trappings of everyday life usually suck all of the motivation and creativity right out of me. But vacations, specifically beach vacations, are a really revitalizing time.

They are usually so low-key and relaxing - no agendas or schedules to adhere to - so I can just read, write, and relax to my heart's content.

 I'm planning to write some new chapters, revise some old ones, and do a massive overhaul on a major character while I'm enjoying the sun, sand, and surf.

Of course, I'll be reading as well. I always feel like vacation time is catching up on my reading time and I love going to the bookstore that first day and browsing the shelves for the perfect beach reads.

I may have been a bit ambitious with my stack of books this year, but I know I'll get to them eventually.I'm starting with Shadow of Night and Life After Life.

Do you write more or less when you are on vacation?

ARC Giveaway's

The lovely book muses over at The Midnight Garden are holding ARC giveaways of two amazing summer books.

The first is of Siege and Storm, the second book in author Leigh Bardugo's wildly popular Grisha Trilogy. Enter to win.

 The second is The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy, an edge of your seat post-apocalyptic novel that some are already touting as the next Hunger Games.

Head on over and enter to win, and give them some much deserved praise, not only for their generous offer, but for being such a wonderful literary source to all of us book lovers.

Good luck!

Book Review ~ Grave Mercy

I read a lot of books, and I have yet to review a single one here on my blog. Here is a post to remedy that oversight.

I recently finished a wonderful book called Grave Mercy, the first in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I would share it with you.

I absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The b...moreI absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The book follows Ismae, a seventeen year old novice living in a convent of trained nun assassins. Yes, you read that correctly. After being sold off into marriage at 14 by her heartless father, Ismae escapes to a convent off the coast of Brittany, where she learns that her real father is actually Mortaine, the god of death. Blessed with special powers, Ismae begins her training to fulfill her duty as a handmaiden of death. After three years of being trained in the arts of combat and killing (she excels in the poison department), Ismae is sent outside of the convent on her first big assignment. She must infiltrate the court of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, find out who Anne's enemies are, and dispatch them. But Anne's court is a nest of vipers, and any one of them could be a spy for France, including Duval, Anne's half-brother and the man Ismae is slowly losing her heart to. The book sets fictional characters like Ismae and her convent co-conspirators smack dab in the middle of real life historical figures and events and does so with an air of authenticity that helps to build a world that is both intriguing as well as believable. It's clear that author Robin LaFevers did her research and the result is a seamless integration of reality and fantasy. I very highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exceptionally strong female characters, historical fiction with just a dash of paranormal influence, and steamy romances that don't overpower the story. I'm looking forward to the sequel Dark Triumph. I give Grave Mercy four out of five stars.

To Read or Not to Read

Apologies for allowing so many weeks to pass between posts. I have been furiously trying to complete the first draft of my novel that, according to my book resolutions, is woefully behind. I've also been reading some fantastic books.

Which brings me to a question that I've been asking myself quite a bit lately.

As a writer, I've often wondered if one should forgo reading as they are working on a novel, especially when writing a first draft.

Now I love reading, I always have, but I worry that as I'm reading a particular author or genre of books, if it will influence my own writing. And for the record, I think influencing and inspiring are two very different things.

I know this is a very short entry - but what do you think? Any thoughts?

Guilty Pleasures ~ A Valentine's Day Post

So it would appear that the most "romantic" day of the year is upon us.

Valentine's Day.

The holiday, also known as the Feast of St. Valentine, has been around for over five hundred years now and is varyingly viewed as a celebration of love (women), or an elaborate conspiracy of the greeting card and candy companies (men).

Some look forward to showing that special person or the people in their lives just how much they care. Some dread the day, feeling an overwhelming sense of inadequacy at living up to their partner's expectations. Others loathe it as the lemon juice to the paper cut of their "unattached" state of being.

No matter how you look at it though, Valentine's Day is a holiday. And what is a holiday without a few traditions? Cards, chocolates, flowers, dinner reservations, wine, champagne, or for those of you who hate the day ~ dressing in all black. I've spent V-Day with sweet boyfriends (and some not-so-sweet ones), and on my single years, I've gone out with groups of girlfriends in similar situations to celebrate ourselves with good food, romantic movies, and fun company.  No matter what my romantic status is, I've never hated Valentine's Day. Even if I don't have a significant other, I still see it as a day to celebrate all of the ones that I love in my life ~ especially family and friends.

This year I'm single and looking forward to a quiet night in with one of my Valentine traditions ~ a good meal, a glass of wine, and a great piece of literature (i.e. a romance novel).

Now, I'm really not one to read very many romance novels. I only crack one open two, maybe three times a year (February 14th being one of them), and I usually keep them a secret. They are my guilty pleasure and something about this day makes me want to get lost in one of those extremely sappy bodice-ripping regency sagas with awful dialogue, laughably heightened emotions, and highly improbable yet exceedingly satisfying scenarios usually involving a rakish duke, a villainous lord, an innocent yet sensual lady, and a horse.

There is always a horse (not in a nasty way ~ I'm not into those kinds of novels).

They always employ predictable formulas and there's always a happy ending (usually several of them, if you catch my drift), but they always put a smile on my face and I suppose that's all that matters.

So, my wish is that you may enjoy this day, whether you're single, attached, hopeful, jaded, or cynical. Love is a wonderful thing, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to have one day a year to celebrate it indeed.

And now I'm off to choose my guilty pleasure.

Some of these Scottish Highland novels look pretty interesting...

Happy Valentine's Day