Harry Potter: Books that made me love reading challenge

When I was younger...

Are you kidding me? When I was younger, Harry Potter was essentially a god. Okay, fine, he wasn't really, but I grew up with him. I'm the generation that was just young enough to grow up with him and fall in love with every single character. I thought it was fantastic. The idea that someone could knock down your door and say, "Hey, I'm coming to whisk you away to a world of magic and mayhem - and on one of the greatest adventure you will ever see."

Now...
Because I read the book so many years ago, and have seen the movie much more recently, I remembered the movie better than the book. And although the book is still fantastic, I noticed some things. First, there are a lot more summaries than I remember, of conversations, of small side plots that don't need a huge explanation. I remember the dragon hatching scene being much more epic than it was (because I imagine the movie, not how it's described in the book). But J.K.Rowling was writing for Children - and she does some things flawlessly. Spoilers! Be warned! For example, setting Hagrid up to love dragons in the first chapter, when it doesn't even matter -- then. Setting up Professor Quirrell at every single location throughout. It was, and still is, brilliant. Though I remember my heart beating out of my chest when I was younger.

It's fast-paced, it's fun, and I still enjoyed it even though I am much older now than I was then. Oh - and Dumbledore provides necessary insight throughout, he actually says some very poignant things, that I don't think I really understood when I was younger.

YA Sex and Other Things

Author and friend, Brooke Johnson, has this lovely blog and asked me to do a guest post.  I talk about the subtle side of YA sex, and also have an excerpt from one of my works in progress, A Good Criminal Heart.  I know that I wrote it, but I still say that it provides some insight to how to write YA sex, especially if you are going for a subtle feel and don't want to be so overt.

I submitted my story to the contest on a blog - and I'm sad to say that I didn't make it in... again.

I've decided to change my way of thinking of rejection.  Instead of a "no," I think of it as a "No from us."  Which, in a way, is healthy, but I worry that it's impeding the growth of my piece.

The intro probably isn't as strong as it could be.  I liked my old intro better, but a lot of people told me that it felt too promotional.

Which gives me the idea to incorporate the old intro into my query letter.  Right?

I really need to work on my query letter and get it out there again.  While this piece has received a few "No"s, it doesn't guarantee a no from everyone.  Making runner-up is a "mostly yes," and I did receive a partial request once.

In conclusion:  My piece is worth it.  I need to start submitting to other places and stop getting so hung up on the "No."  I need to stop expecting different results from the same people and circumstances (isn't that what they call insanity anyway?)

And as far as I can tell, I haven't gone insane (yet).

Monthly Book Recommendations

Goodness, guys and gals!  Where did the summer go?  Who knows, who cares, but it's time to get back in the swing of things and bring you more Monthly Book Recommendations!  Click on the photos to go to goodreads.com and read more about the books.

The Between by LJ Cohen
Fae, Faerie, and magic - honestly, it's not my usual cup of tea, but LJ Cohen did a great job with characters here.  Lydia doesn't like her stalker, in fact, she wishes he would just go away.  But he isn't the strangest thing to happen in her life.  Her fate has always been tied to the world of Fae, and she has to make hard choices in order to save her family.

You can purchase The Between from amazon.  You can read my full review on examiner here.

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
This is such a great coming-of-age story with zombies.  I loved how even though the zombies are a big part of the piece, it was more about the humans and how they dealt with being in this world.  Benny is growing up in a town where the people are more scary than the undead, and it's done almost flawlessly.

You can purchase Rot & Ruin from amazon.  You can read my full review on examiner here.



Run by Patti Larsen
I've read this whole series - The Hunted - and it's quite good.  It's dark for YA, but done really well, and super action packed.  If you prefer slower-paced novels, this series is not for you.  They are always trying to get away from something, and things never quite seem to pane out for the best with Reid.  Highly recommended for a fun, fast, and action-packed read.

You can purchase Run from amazon.  You can read my full review on examiner here.




Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The re-telling of Cinderella... with steam punk and dystopian elements?  Okay, I bit hard.  I loved this book, absolutely adored it even though I was very well aware of how it was going to end.  It was a quick read, fun, and who doesn't love fairy tales?  Well, if you don't love fairy tales, this probably isn't the book for you - but I promise you, it's good.  Well written too!

You can purchase Cinder from amazon.  You can read my full review on examiner here.

Self-Publishing

I am working on a marvelously long short story.  So far, I haven't really finished a short story that I'm proud of, and technically, this one isn't finished either... but I'm proud of it - and that stands for something.

Over the next month, I hope to finish the short story, get beta readers, line edits, and critiques back from people.  By the end of the month, I hope to have the editing completely, with a perfectly polished (or to the best of my capability) piece in my hands.

Sometime in October, I want to publish it.

It's going to sit a little over 10k, or so I imagine with the number of words I have and how much of the plot I have yet to write.  And I'm going to publish it for a small fee of .99.  I figure I'll go by the standard of .99 for every 10k.  It seems reasonable.

Now, I'm still seeking the traditional publishing route for the rest of my novels, and I still have to get them polished and send them out there into the world.  This isn't a novel, and I feel like it will be a steal for .99, but we'll see how that goes.

Over the next two months, I hope to keep my blog updated with specifics about self-publishing.  I understand the concepts, but I have yet to put them into practice.

And the lovely cover is above - and probably isn't changing (unless someone has some super awesome amazing idea that I haven't thought of yet).

Stay tuned for more information on "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade" by RADesilets (I know, it's a total mouthful).

My TBR Pile is Growing

I started receiving request for reviews (woohoo!)  I love reading, beta reading, and being part of critique groups.  I think it only makes my own writing stronger, but I also love helping other people.  And when I like a book, I love to spread the word about it.

But I think I really outdid myself.  I swear, I have to make a syllabus for my life or something - with due dates and the whole messy lot.

I'm behind on examiner.com posts (I still have to post my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Hunt by Patti Larsen - but at least I just got The Between review up!).  Which were all fun books, and recommended...  And to top it all off - September approaches!  Meaning that I have to read the next book in the "Books that made me love reading" challenge.

And I'm completely behind on my TBR Pile Challenge.  Okay, not behind really.  I set out to read 10 books on my TBR list.  I've definitely done that, but I haven't actually submitted any posts about them (I'm super lame, I know!)

You can see the picture for the list of books.  They were all sitting on the shelves.  Which, let me tell you something:  My library is awesome.  If they don't have a book, they can get it for me - they can order it on loan from another library in the Los Angeles county area, and poof!  Like magic, I get an e-mail saying it's in.  How's that for awesome?

Here's the thing I hate:  They never really have books that I want on their shelves.

Not today!  The library got a total YA revamping - and these four books that have been on my to-be-read list for entirely too long magically appeared on the shelves!  I couldn't believe it!

So, I'll be reading/reviewing for the next few weeks... and hopefully I'll find some time to finish my third draft of RUHE so that my beta readers can finish beta reading.

Also, I should mention how much I adore Patrick Ness's interview on YA books getting age ratings (he's against, for various reasons).  And I agree with him, but he's very articulate about it.  You should check it out!  I already loved his writing, but now I also like his style.