I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I hope all your resolutions last for at least a week (like mine usually do).
I never considered New Years a holiday. It's a time when people get together in large crowds and drink. Yeah, that sounds more like a recipe for disaster. But despite my opinions, I have had some wonderful New Year celebrations. But my favorites are the ones in which my friends and I do something special, something odd that helps us remember what we did each year. Then we can get together and laugh about our crazy antics. So it's no longer a silly holiday but a time that me and my friends get to reminisce about for the year to come.
I'd like to share one story with all of you out there in Internet Land. My friend and I wanted to make New Years 2000 into something special. So we devised a plan. At the stroke of midnight we decided to do a series of tasks that in no way could ever be repeated. Something we could say no one else was doing at that exact same moment. So here are our tasks in order as the big ball told us it was 2000.
- Right at midnight we sprayed each other with silly string. - Then popped New Year's Poppers at each other, which was probably dangerous but we were young and stupid. - Then we threw pie tins full of whipped cream at each other's faces. - Then, to make it even funnier, we ran to my piano and played Heart and Soul together, with whipped cream running down our faces and our bodies covered in silly string. Yeah, we pretty much played by memory because we couldn't see a thing.
And that was one of my crazy New Year adventures. It was fun and goofy and it was the most memorable New Years of my life. Plus, it brought joy to all those around us because they got to laugh at the two nutty people all night and for the rest of the year. And yes, they took pictures, so we never lived it down. I would share but we didn't have a digital camera back then.
Sure, kissing right at midnight is cool and all, but it's not as memorable. Well, unless you get to kiss Brad Pitt, but that's a discussion for another day.
For this New Years, try to do something special, something you will remember the rest of your life.
And if you happen to be as odd as my friends and I, share some of your crazy New Years memories with us by commenting on this post.
New Year's Quotes:
"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to." - Bill Vaughn
"The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to." - P.J. O'Roruke "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." - Anonymous
Dean Murray, author of the Young Adult Paranormal Romance Brokenand it's companion book Torn, as well as the soon to be released sequel Splintered, was kind enough to spend some time with me and answer a few probing questions. And I'm happy to report that he made it out of the interview alive. Yay, Dean. Resilient to the end.
Jennifer: Before I read any book, I always research the
author thoroughly. I have to say, Dean, your story behind writing Torn and
Broken really fascinated me. Can you please share the inspiration for both
books to the rest of the readers out there?
Dean: Hi, Jennifer. I actually started Broken after several months
where I’d pretty much stopped writing completely. I went to the midnight
release of the seventh Harry Potter book, devoured it, and was left craving
another good read to put off going back to the real world.
Someone had recommended Twilight to me previously, and for
whatever reason that is what I picked up as my next read. I loved it, so in my
usual obsessive compulsive fashion, I dove right in to all things Twilight. I found
that while I loved the story itself, I was absolutely inspired by the account
of how the story had come to be. The idea that Stephenie Meyer had a dream,
wrote it down, and then a few months later, all without really starting out
with the intention of writing a book, had the first $1,000,000 YA advance
completely blew my mind.
I think when you hear about that kind of ‘overnight’
success, in an area that you’ve been pursuing, human nature is to respond in
one of two ways. You either become insanely jealous and dismissive of the
accomplishment as a way of trying to rationalize why you haven’t seen that kind
of success, or it gives you hope that you too can achieve your dreams.
I went down the second route. I studied Twilight, trying to
pick out the elements that had spoken so strongly to me, and the elements that
I thought had made it so successful with teens in general. Then I sat down and
started playing with story concepts that I thought would tell my kind of story
while still keeping some of that same appeal.
I re-read Pride and Prejudice while I was still playing
around with concepts, and was really impressed this time around with just how
deftly Jane Austen managed to create a story in which we all start out hating
Mr. Darcy, and then by the end, think he’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Ultimately I ended up with something told from Adri’s point
of view that I hope resonates with my readers in some of the same ways as
Twilight and Pride and Prejudice while still keeping a bit of my own flair to it.
Interestingly, this was my first real foray into first
person narrative. I picked it because it would feel familiar to Twilight fans,
and at the same time by focusing exclusively on Adri’s point of view it helped
limit the reader’s knowledge of certain things which I needed if we were going
to change our opinion of one of the characters in a big way and have it still
be believable. What I found as I was writing was that there were all kinds of
interesting things going on in the background that Adri didn’t know about. I
finished Broken, from Adri’s point of view, and soon found myself writing a
companion novel from Alec’s point of view.
Jennifer: Okay, you are just too dang intelligent and
talented for me. I LOVE how much research and analysis you did to write these
two books. I admire your dedication and tenacity towards your craft. Since we
now know your dirty little secret of being a true twihard, and an Austen fan to
boot, what other books do you enjoy reading? What kind of reader are you at heart?
Dean: I’m not sure you can call it research, intelligence, or
talent. It was more like just an obsession that was only barely this side of
unhealthy.
I’m a certified story junkie, so I like a pretty wide
variety of stuff. All through high school I devoured epic fantasy, and The
Wheel of Time is one of my favorite series of all time. I occasionally venture
into hard science fiction, but tend more to the media tie in stuff in that
area. Lately my interests have branched out into some Paranormal (YA and
occasionally adult), Dystopian, and urban fantasy.
Some actual examples would be the Honor Harrington books
(incredible breadth there and I love the way the technology impacts the ongoing
war) for sci-fi. I finally got around to starting the Hunger Games, loved the
Mortal Instruments series, and although I skip all of the steamy parts, which
are most definitely not YA, I’ve spent some time in the Dark Hunter and Anita
Blake series. I love the way Sherrilyn Kenyon tells a much broader story by way
of a number of books, each of which focus on different characters. Ultimately
I’m planning on doing a bit of the same thing with Alec and Adri’s stories in
some of the later books. I’ve grown very attached to some of the characters and
feel like they need their own books, but I’ll want to make sure that it doesn’t
get in the way of the larger series of events that I’ve got planned out.
With the Anita Blake books, I love the depiction of shape
shifter life. I tried to bring some of that energy and conflict into Torn
especially, but in a way that still kept everything YA appropriate.
As I said above, I’m really just interested in the story. I
tend not to be overly focused on grammar or prose, and sometimes I can even be
pretty forgiving of pacing things as long as the underlying story pulls me
along on the kind of incredible journey that got me started reading in the
first place.
Jennifer: Wow, those are some amazing authors and books. I
think it's great how diverse you are as a reader. I've heard the best writers
are those who are readers first. So can you tell us a little about your current
project(s)?
Dean: Careful, you’ll get me started and have to edit my response
down to something that will all fit on one post. I’m currently working in four
different areas. I’ve got an epic fantasy series that has two novels and a
novelette. Those are all live in all of the usual locations, and it’s the
series that my wife keeps asking for the next installment in. I’ve also done a
few short stories in an urban fantasy/modern sci-fi setting. They are a bit
more edgy, but the basic premise is that there is a secret quasi-governmental
organization which is trying to suppress the knowledge of a series of
individuals who are able to harness unique abilities to accomplish things that
we would view as being miraculous.
The third area I’ve done a bit in lately is some
quasi-romance short stories. I say quasi-romance because they don’t really hit
the same spot as most of the romance stories I read. Instead they are set in
the real world and deal with a slightly less-idealized version of love and
romance. I enjoy an over-the-top kind of story as much as anyone, but I also
think there is plenty of power in the kind of simple, sweet romances that we
actually all see in real life.
The last world, the one that I’ve spent the most time in
lately is the urban fantasy/paranormal romance world that Broken and Torn take
place in. We’ve talked a little bit about Broken and Torn already. Torn went
live back in Oct if I remember correctly, and Broken just went live on Dec 28th.
In addition, I’ve got a short story live that deals with one of the minor
characters that I plan to weave more fully into the larger series.
Splintered, the sequel to Broken and Torn is all but done,
and will go on sale sometime first or second quarter of 2012, to be followed by
another short story that will help bridge the gap between Splintered and the
next chapter in Alec and Adri’s story.
Sorry, that was quite the laundry list there, but I have one
more bit, and frankly it’s the piece that I’m most excited about. As I continue
Alec and Adri’s story (what I’m starting to call my Reflections Series) I plan
on simultaneously releasing my Dark Reflections series of stories. It’s all set
in Alec and Adri’s world, with mostly the same cast of characters, but it
represents an alternate timeline, so the characters will often find themselves
on different sides of the conflicts, or in other situations that I could never
play out in the main storyline.
There is one strand of story that I can’t wait to play out where
a touching relationship will be developed over several Dark Reflections books
which will make events in Reflections all the more powerful because the two
characters will be bitter enemies in the primary timeline.
So far I’ve got two Dark Reflections short stories nearly
ready to go live and I’m excited to see what else develops there as I push on
with the two series.
Jennifer: I knew it. I knew you would be just as diverse
in your writing as your reading. Personally, Dark Reflections sounds like an amazing
concept. I can't wait to read those books. So let's talk a little more about
writing in general. What have you found to be the easiest, hardest, and best
parts of being a writer? Any advice for new writers out there?
Dean: I'm glad you're excited about Dark Reflections-I'm really
hopeful that they will hit a chord with my readers, and that I'll be able to
deliver on the potential that's inherent in the idea.
Writing…more often than not, I still feel like it's too
early in the process for me to have much of a view of most aspects of writing.
I think the easiest, and most enjoyable thing for me has always been the
creation of the rules and environment of the world. The magic system in the
Guadel Chronicles world, the various shape shifter types and abilities in
Broken and Torn, that stuff all came pretty easy. Likewise, I really love the
way that strands from earlier books turn out to be exactly what you need for
later books and the plot lines in them. It never ceases to amaze me at the way
my subconscious will come up with interesting ways to fit things together.
The hardest part for me is generally trying to find the
right balance between flying by the seat of my pants, and over plotting
everything that happens in the book. It seems like there is always a moment or
two in each story where I feel like I’m writing complete trash, and I have to
just throw all of that to the wind and see what happens. Generally when I get
done and go back to read back through what I've done, I find that there were
all kinds of neat things in there that I wasn't properly appreciating at the
time.
The best part is always the response from fans. You always
have to be careful not to take any reviews too much to heart. If you base your
value on the good reviews, then how do you ignore the bad ones? That being
said, I love it when someone reads one of my books and then contacts me and
lets me know how much they loved it. I've spend so much time lost in other
peoples' worlds, it feels good to be able to return the favor to others.
Jennifer: I can only imagine the great things your fans
have to say about your books. So let's talk about the man behind the book. Have
you always wanted to be a writer? Do you have other passions? What does your
family think of your writing career?
Dean: One of my sisters used to say that she couldn't wait for
summer to arrive so that she could see what new obsession I picked up that
year. She had a point. I've done a little bit of a lot of things over the last
decade and a half or so. Kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, martial arts, video
games, running. Most of those passions have come and gone over time, with
varying degrees of success. My biggest non-professional, non-family,
non-writing achievement was probably the day I cycled 140 miles. That being said,
the only thing that had really stuck for quite some time out of all those
hobbies was reading. Now, writing has been added into the mix and I've been
doing it for nearly a decade, so all signs are that it's here to stay.
Looking back, I always thought that being a writer would be
really neat, but I just never really saw how I would ever get to that point.
Now having done several novels, the first couple almost by accident, I'm
realizing how lucky I've been to have started realizing a dream that I wasn't even
sure I had.
I would have to say that my friends and family have been
fairly supportive of my writing. I think that whenever someone says that they
want to make a living in the arts/entertainment industry, there is a bit of
skepticism as far as whether or not it will ever come to pass. I think that has
mostly to do with the fact that there is an element of luck to those kinds of
things. There are so many really talented and hard-working individuals pursuing
those kinds of dreams that it's understandable that nearly everyone gives you
the 'don't quit your day job' response.
That being said, my family has been more than willing to
pitch in as advance readers and reviewers, and my wife Katie has been a real
star. The time I take away to write or promote tends to come after a long day
at the job that actually pays most of the bills right now, which means it comes
out of the time I'd otherwise be spending with her and my daughter. Even with
that consideration, she's been great to serve as my cover designer, and first
editor, and I have to say that I don't know how we'd have made it this far
without working as a team.
Jennifer: Your wife and family sound wonderful. And jeeze,
140 miles of cycling. Good for you. I would like to delve a little into that
brain of yours with an odd type of question if you don't mind. If you could
choose one character that you have created to sit down and have dinner with,
who would it be and why? What would the two of you eat and talk about?
Dean: Thanks, they are great, my wife especially. As for the
cycling, I’m afraid I couldn’t do 140 miles in one day right now, but hopefully
things will slow down a bit and I can get back to a bit more cycling.
Picking just one character to have a meal with is a tough
decision. I think right now it would have to be Alec Graves that I’d choose. I
reserve the right to change my mind as I get to know some other characters
better though.
Thinking about it, I can’t see any circumstance where I’d
get a chance to talk to Alec short of a job interview. He’s pretty busy, and
isn’t really given to a lot of idle conversation. If he has a free moment, he’d
generally be found in his studio painting rather than socializing with a random
writer/accountant. Managing the family money though is one of the things that
does draw him out to meet with people like me from time to time. Generally
Donovan takes the lead in that kind of stuff, but if there was an important
hire, or if Donovan was recommending that one of their existing staff be
promoted to a critical position, that might do it.
If I was already employed by Alec, I expect that I’d offer
to have him come over to my house, but he’d decline because he didn’t want to
put my family in that kind of danger. (This would be the Alec from a few years
after Broken and Torn, and he’s not always the safest kind of person to be
around). He’d insist on buying, but request that I choose the place to eat.
Anywhere would be fine for him, despite coming from a long line of very moneyed
individuals, he’s not any kind of food snob.
I expect that we’d talk about business to start off with. I
love picking the brains of people who’ve got lots of business experience, and
despite his relative youth, Alec’s had some pretty extensive experience playing
in some pretty big leagues. Hopefully I’d get him to talk about something that
he was a real expert about in some aspect of business. I love listening to
someone who’s been doing something or studying something for long enough that
they’ve started to synthesize a comprehensive view of how their niche works.
It’s even better if it happens to be something I know a little bit about
because sometimes that sends my mind running in new and interesting directions.
Hopefully, we’d get to the point where he was relaxed enough
that he’d open up about some of the tough decisions he’s had to make over the
last little while. Alec isn’t necessarily thrilled about how certain things
have ended up, and he’s sometimes given to second guessing past decisions.
Hopefully I’d be able to provide some degree of reassurance to him. There is a
lot riding on Alec’s ability to hold things together in the near future…
Jennifer: I truly did admire Alec's savvy business sense,
a great talent to have for a pack leader. Speaking of your characters, did you
create your many characters from scratch and pure imagination or were they
based off real people? If any, which characters were inspired by you or someone
you know?
Dean: I think you’ve just asked me the most difficult question yet.
I think the answer to that question comes down a lot to how you define ‘scratch’.
I think that any new ideas or neat creations ultimately are a combination of
the imagination of the creator combined with the framework available to them at
the time they started creating.
I think the idea is probably best embodied in Sir Isaac
Newton’s quote: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the
shoulders of giants."
I didn’t base any of my characters on anyone I knew.
Sometimes I pulled certain attributes that I think I have, or wish I had and
fold a character around them, but largely I just draw on the rich variety of
characters I’ve read about over the last couple of decades and wrap bits of different
characters into a new person that hopefully helps pull the reader along in the
story.
I know that’s not quite what you’re after…I think some of my
difficulty in answering this particular question is that at this point I’ve
known most of these characters for so long that I have a hard time going back
to some of their origins. It’s a bit like having someone ask you to analyze
your best friend. In some ways it should be the easiest thing ever because you
know them so well. In other ways you develop a complete blind spot where they
are concerned. They just are who they are and you’ve adjusted to that.
If I had to pick a character apart, I’d probably start with
Alec. Anytime I think of Alec there are two characteristics that tend to come
to the fore for me. First is his desire to do the right thing. This was
evidenced in Broken and Torn, but really gets air time in Splintered. I would
say that Alec tends to stick to his guns better than I do, but just like me,
sometimes he looks back and wonders which decisions were actually the right
ones, and which ones were mistakes.
The second quality that I really associate with Alec is his
dogged determination to see things through to the end. My wife has started
saying that I don’t know when to quit, which is truer than I like to admit
sometimes. As long as you’re focused on the right stuff, that kind of
determination is invaluable. If your priorities get out of kilter though, it
can result in a lot of wasted effort achieving the wrong sets of things while
the important things languish undone.
You’ve indicated this is the last question, so I just wanted
to pause and say thanks for taking the time to sit down and do this interview.
I know it’s been a bit of a protracted affair, but I think you asked a lot of
really insightful questions, and I hope your readers and my readers are
satisfied with the results. We haven’t talked air dates, but if it goes live
between the 28th of Dec and the 1st of Jan, Broken will be free on Amazon, so
I’d encourage everyone to go ‘buy’ it before it goes back to full price.
Jennifer: I just wanted to thank Dean for taking the time to answer my questions. And as he mentioned, Broken will be free until January 1st so hurry and grab a copy. I have provided the link to purchase his book on my left sidebar. Just in case you missed out, just enter my giveaway.
Dean has been kind enough to offer up three of his books for this giveaway. One person will win Broken, Torn, and the ARC Splintered.
Rafflecopter is being mean to me right now by not announcing the winner of this Giveaway so let me do it manually (though the choosing of the winner was done randomly by Rafflecopter). Congrats to Shawn M. for winning this lovely prize. Hope you enjoy.
This Weeks Question: The New Year is here — and everyone wants to know your New Years Blogging Resolution! What are you going to try to revise, revamp and redo for 2012 on your blog?
Answer: I am going to try to make my blog load time faster. I am still learning all the ways to limit load time, but I'm not very techy so I'm still confused. I am going to try to format all my posts the same because I keep changing my mind and now all my posts are becoming inconsistent. I'm going to try to find the best ways to gain traffic because I still don't have many people visiting my site yet. I might change my blog header but I'm still not sure. I like it most days then others I don't. I like the crow theme but I'm thinking the picture it too dark. Then again, urban fantasy and paranormal romance is pretty dark in and of itself.
TGIF at GReads is a Friday Feature hosted by Ginger at GReadsBooks.com! The point of TGIF is to re-cap on this week’s posts and answer the question of the week!
This Friday's Question:First & Last: What was the first book you read in 2011 and the last you finished in 2011? How do you feel about these books? Would you recommend them to other readers?
Answer: The first book I read in 2011 was Ill Wind, the first book of the Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine. I was blown away with Caine's originality and amazing action. Her urban fantasy is so different from most. There's no vampires or werewolves. Her books are about elementals and djinn. I was captivated by the first book and I bought the rest of the series straight away. There are nine books in all. The Weather Warden Series is part of my top five favorite series of all time.
The last book I've read for this year is One Grave at a Time, the latest book in the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost. I am not quite done with it yet, but I will be finished by the turn of the new year. So far I am really enjoying it. Much better than the last book. The new characters are really interesting and Bones and Cat seem to be in a good place right now in their relationship.
I would recommend both these books to all my readers in Internet land.
Please follow my blog and leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog and I will follow back. Also check out my Giveaway if you get a chance.
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It's an
opportunity to share the books we've bought or received in the last week!
This is my first IMM. So bare with me. I wanted to share the new books I got this week.
Though I haven't had the chance to write a review for the whole series yet (something I plan to do soon) I just can't get enough of The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost. The most recent installment is One Grave at a Time. I just started reading it but it has already grabbed my attention to the point that it's hard to put down.
I have been putting off reading Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 5) by Chloe Neill. I've heard some controversial things about the book. Many of the fans are upset about the turn of events in Hard Bitten (the fourth book) and I guess Drink Deep didn't really placate the many fans of the series. But I knew I had to read it no matter what happens because I love the series
Recently, I was asked by Victoria Foyt's publisher to review her new novel, Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls Part One). I literally read it one day, the first day I got it. I can't wait to publish the review. I want to thank Foyt for signing my book and for writing such an empowering young adult fantasy romance novel.
Publisher: ROC (August 2010) Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 303 (paperback) Source: Personal Library
Purchase at:
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Summary Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin, her husband, the djinn David, and the Earth herself have been poisoned by a substance that destroys the magic that keeps the world alive. The poison is destabilizing the entire balance of power, bestowing magic upon those who have never had it, and removing it from those who need it. It's just a matter of time before the delicate balance of nature explodes into chaos-and doom.
The Good Total Eclipse, the last installment of the Weather Warden series, starts off where Cape Storm left off. Mother Earth is pissed and is waking up. With her power over the djinn race, there is nothing to stop her destruction of humanity. Except, maybe, Joanne Baldwin. But first Joanne and her djinn husband David have to get their powers back after the last atrocity that took them away. And once Joanne and David are back at full strength, even their worst nightmares can't stop them from saving the world...again.
The book starts out a little slow but after page 100 or so we get back into the same action packed book we expect from Caine. And boy do we get action. Not only will you fear the awesome power of the Earth possessed djinn but new creatures you can't and won't want to imagine make an appearance. Every time I think there is no way Joanne is going to get out of another impossible situation, Caine finds a believable and interesting way for Jo to once again persevere.
Joanne is the same smart-ass, extremely powerful heroine we all have come to love. She's compassionate in a world where compassion will get you killed. She's loyal to her friends, the few she has, but is also willing to make the hard decisions that a weather warden must make while the world is crumbling around itself. And she still has that same hilarious orgasmic reaction when driving her brand of classic car. David is almost always by her side. His unwavering faith and passion for Jo is simply heart warming. They're one of my favorite couples in the urban fantasy genre.
The secondary characters are one of the best parts of Weather Warden books. We have Cherise, Jo's best friend, the human who is almost always upbeat. Kevin, the kid who has had a horrible life but is trying to better himself. Rahel, the funniest djinn ever, even when she doesn't mean to be. Venna, our little Alice in Wonderland djinn. Someone who will kill you with a snap of her fingers as you pinch her cheeks because she's just too damn adorable. And Lewis. The strongest weather warden. The second love of Joanne's life. The man who might just be the key to the whole series.
I was quite blown away with the ups and downs in this book. Let's put it this way, not everyone makes it out alive. I wanted to cry half the time because this book has numerous sad scenes. Which is understandable since the the world was ending and not everyone can make it out alive and kicking. I think the drama added to the whole story, made it more realistic, as much as fantasy can be realistic.
Caine had me cringing in fear, gasping in surprise, and cheering for the good guys. It's hard to say goodbye to these cast of characters, but Caine wrapped everything up in a satisfying way. I have read some pretty annoying finales to series that leave me wanting and asking more questions than answering them. Caine actually gives us something that makes us smile and sigh in contentment. I'm happy she didn't drag out this series. She ended it when it was well, and truly done. I am thrilled I found the Weather Warden series and have enjoyed the journey it took me on.
The Bad To be a hundred percent honest, I put his book down after seventy pages and didn't pick it back up for months. I don't know why. Yeah, I was a little bored. But to shelve the book for months seems excessive. I guess Total Eclipse just didn't hit me right from the beginning. But once I did start reading it again, I couldn't put it down.
The Snuggly No sex. Just passionate kisses and such.
Overall I'm sad it's the end but happy with how Caine decided to end it. The series was leading up to this point and I wasn't disappointed with the fun and frightening adventures Joanne faced during another one of her road trips. I thought the ending was going to be predictable, but I was genuinely surprised by most of the book. I would definitely suggest reading Total Eclipse and the whole series. This is a great series for those who love urban fantasy but want to read about something other than vampires and werewolves.
I started reading Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine a couple months back. Then I put it down and for some reason haven't picked it up for a long time. I love the book and the Weather Warden Series but this book lost me half way through. Well, I picked it up two days ago and I am obsessed again. So here are a couple teasers:
Cherise said crisply, "I cannot wait for a shower. They want to go all Psycho on me, fine. At least I'll die clean."
"I'm not in a share-y mood right now, what with all the venom and throwing up and you being a giant pr!ck"
Title: Total Eclipse
Series: Weather Warden, Book 9
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: ROC, August 2010
Leave me a link to your teaser so I can take a look.
Christmas is here again. Please, someone save me. I can't help but feel that every Christmas my wallet gets smaller and my waist line gets bigger. So no, Christmas is not my favorite time of year, for it seems like it's out to get me. But, nonetheless, I do enjoy the small traditions my family and I do on every Christmas. Stupid little things that make the holiday a tiny bit more special, more enjoyable.
Every Christmas morning my family and I have our orange rolls and Eggs Benedict. My waist is getting bigger just thinking about it. I don't know why we started this tradition but these foods say Christmas to me now.
Every Christmas we buy our dog, CJ, toys and snacks and wrap them up in doggie Christmas paper and watch while CJ rips into them. Over the years he has learned how to open up presents with great proficiency. Unfortunately, this will be the first Christmas without CJ.
We also like to watch a movie together every Christmas. Surround sound blaring, dad snoring because he fell asleep once again while watching a movie. He's just to plain old to stay awake for more than a few hours at a time. (Sorry, dad, you know I kid. And you also know that it's a hundred percent true.)
Then we sit down for Christmas dinner, prime rib this year, and talk about how we swear next year we won't buy so much and eat so much. (Yeah, like that's going to happen.)
See, nothing special, just small traditions that mean something to us no matter how much we grumble that we hate Christmas.
Now I would like to share some funny Christmas poems. The first one I wrote for my Inland Empires California Writer's Club Christmas party. You have to read a piece of your work if you want to get a present. It's not very good, since poetry is not my thing, but it's kinda funny at least.
My Christmas Hell
The family is coming again this year Have to decorate every square inch of our home I look at the tree and grab some gear. What the hell is Christmas foam?
Oh well, I think, while I spray
I guess it has a likeness to fallen snow. The torture will end soon I pray The fumes begin to grow.
I pass out for a bit
Decorate some more Pass out again The pattern becomes a bore.
But finally the tree is bedazzled
With every trinket and ball known to man I come away only mildly frazzled But mom caught me before I ran
“Not so fast my baby boo.”
A kind of nickname only a mother can give a daughter “Don’t forget to
decorate the front and back of the house too” Apparently I was just Christmas fodder
At this point I was on the verge of tears
Truly hating to decorate with every bodily cell But once again I began the same journey as every year To my very own personal Christmas hell.
- Jennifer Bielman
Twas the Month After Christmas Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste. All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number! When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared; The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt And prepared once again to do battle with dirt --
I said to myself, as I only can "You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip, Get rid of the fruitcake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick. I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie, I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore -- But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot. Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
- Anonymous
Christmas Dog
Tonight's my first night as a watchdog, And here it is Christmas Eve. The children are sleeping all cozy upstairs, While I'm guardin' the stockin's and tree.
What's that now---footsteps on the rooftop? Could it be a cat or a mouse? Who's this down the chimney? A thief with a beard--- And a big sack for robbin' the house?
I'm barkin', I'm growlin', I'm bitin' his butt. He howls and jumps back in his sleigh. I scare his strange horses, they leap in the air. I've frightened the whole bunch away.
Now the house is all peaceful and quiet again. The stockin's are safe as can be. Won't the kiddies be glad when they wake up tomorrow And see how I've guarded the tree.
- Shel Silverstein
A Politically Correct Christmas Story
T’was the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves". "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labour conditions at the North Pole were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!
The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their rooftops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."
And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd never had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion; Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.
Happy Holidays. I hope you have a wonderful day. If your feeling generous, please feel free to leave a comment, telling us about your Christmas traditions.
Summary Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor's edge of surrender.
Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can't afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible...
The Good Poor Kaia. After years of being banned from the Harpy Games from an incident she caused that resulted in the death of a good chunk of the harpy population, Kaia has finally been asked to compete in the Games once again. But the past is definitely going to bite her on the butt, for her enemy is in charge of the Harpy Games. So pretty much Kaia is screwed. And to make matters worse, her destined consort denies her at every turn. If they can just work together and admit their love for each other, then maybe they can make it out of the Games alive.
I was trying figure out why I loved this book so much. I mean, the plot is interesting, the action is almost the best in the series, and the love story was adorable. But what really made me smile while reading this book was Kaia and Strider. Not just because their the most awesomist (oh yeah, totally made up a word) characters ever, but because their humor is almost identical to mine. I actually felt a kinship with these characters and couldn't help but crack up constantly at their snarky banter and dry wit. (Ergo, I crack myself up).
Strider annoyed me as first. It was heartbreaking to watch him shoot down Kaia's advances over and over again. I wanted to slap him. But he definitely grew on me. He's sarcastic, loyal, and up for a fight morning, noon, and night (WIN!). His demon, Defeat, was just plain fun. Poor Stridey probably doesn't like him so much as he doubles over in pain for three days if he loses a challenge, but I can't help but love a demon that hates to lose and pretty much makes everything a challenge. I'm totally with you, Defeat, I hate to lose, too.
Kaia is just freakin' hilarious. Her and her sister Bianka are pretty much the best duo ever. They love to cause trouble and look good doing it. But Kaia has a past that has haunted her for years. Her confidence has been ripped to shreds and Strider's constant denial of their mutual attraction only drags her confidence further through the dirt. But she hides behind a huge wall of awesomeness, as she would put it. To look at her, you would never know that on the inside she's a huge ball of sad. But she's also sassy, cute, and knows her way around a fight. Pretty much the perfect match for Strider.
The Harpy Games was the best part of this book. It made everything else that much more exciting. Watching a whole bunch of vicious harpies going at it with pretty much no rules to hold them back was just exhilarating. Harpies have no limits. Now that's my kind of species.
As always we get snippets of what's to come in future books. Sometimes this irritates me because I like to focus on the main couple, but this time it actually made the book better. I know I, along with every other Lords of the Underworld fan, can't wait for Paris's story. The little sneak peeks of his adventures has done a great job of preparing us for his story and book, which is coming out very soon. I'm so excited!
The Bad I was sitting here, getting ready to write my review, and for some reason I was trying to find something wrong with the book. I don't know why. I guess I assume there is almost always something a novel can improve on. But The Darkest Surrender truthfully had no bad parts. Was it the best book of all time, no. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I rarely put it down. I was actually so anxious to see how everything turned out that I did the unthinkable. I skipped ahead to the end. I know, I know. I'm a bad, bad reader for doing so, but I couldn't take the stress another minute. I always take this as a sign of a great book.
The Snuggly We get a couple hot sex scenes.
Overall The Darkest Surrender was a whirlwind of fun, action, and blood. The superb action that cannot be denied and the amazing dialogue made this book a five star success. Kaia and Strider are close to being my favorite characters of the paranormal romance genre. Showalter has done a great job at keeping this series fresh and interesting. Can't wait for the next book. Highly recommended.
This Weeks Question:If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why?
Answer:
I would love to spend an eternity in the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. The first book is called Angel's Blood, and it introduces a world full of vampires, angels, and arch-angels. I am a sucker for angels, especially Singh's brand of angel: all-powerful, ridiculously hot, and deathly dangerous. Oh, Boy. If I could just touch one of their wings, I would be a happy woman. I have a fondness for Blue Bell. He just does it for me.
TGIF at GReads is a Friday Feature hosted by Ginger at GReadsBooks.com! The point of TGIF is to re-cap on this week’s posts and answer the question of the week!
This Friday's Question:Dear Santa: Which books made it to your Christmas wish list this year?
Answer: I know this is very sad and anal of me but I don't ask for books on Christmas because I don't want someone messing up on the order. I have to buy my own books. It's a weird thing of mine. I want to make sure I get the right one, in the right format, for the right price (I have my ways of getting books pretty cheap). But the books I am buying for myself this Christmas is Drink Deep, book 5 of the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill and One Grave at a Time, book 6 of the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost.
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Summary Nineteen years after being viciously attacked, Layla is leading a fairly normal life.
She is in college and is about to graduate and start her new life. That is until
she meets her new mentee who is more than he seems, an old guy who may know what
happened to her mother 19 years ago and the werewolf who tried to kill her. With
the Blue Moon only a few months away, will she be able to channel her powers and
fight or will she succumb to the darkness within her?
The Good I have to say, this is one of the better plots I have read in a little while. I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed this story. But before I get into that, let's do a little recap.
All Layla wants to do is finish college, get through each work day without slapping her horrible boss, and try to live a normal life. But that is not her fate. She has a much more dangerous and much more dramatic destiny ahead of her. But the question is, who can she trust? She has werewolves coming after her at every turn and friends who might not have her best interests in mind.
To be a hundred percent honest, the story didn't grab me in the beginning. But once it got going, I was quite captivated till the end. Layla was a fun character that acted a little younger than her age. I loved that. Not every almost thirty year old is all sophisticated and well put together. Layla talks like she's in high school. I think it made her more approachable and likable. But she also has this inner strength. I couldn't imagine keeping it together while the world was crumbling around my ears. But Layla pulls it off. She puts on her big girl pants and faces her problems straight on.
Brett was also an all around appealing character. Sexy as hell, frisky and fun like Layla, and somewhat mysterious. He isn't perfect, his past is anything but uncomplicated, and his secrets tend to add up. Then we have Suzette. Can anyone say B I T C H? A great villain that you will truly hate. Truthfully, these were the only characters that interested me. The rest kind of fade into the background because all your attention is on Layla and her life unfolding.
I have to give Morgan props on creating a well thought out plot and tantalizing story. I stayed up well into the morning hours reading, not willing to put the book down until there was a break in action and drama. Yeah, that never happened. The action was fast-paced and the mystery was intriguing. You will definitely be on an emotional roller-coaster when reading Tala.
The Bad There are two reasons why Tala lost two stars. The writing was a bit amateur. Nothing majorly noticeable but obvious enough that I wanted to mention it. It lacked the finished (fully edited) feel of most published books. Occasionally, sentence structure was a little off and the dialogue could use some work. This bugged me more as a writer than a reader.
The ending left me dissatisfied. Again, this was something of a personal dislike, my own opinion that many may not agree with. I felt nothing was wrapped up or settled. I know in a series you have to leave a couple things open-ended for the next book, but at least a few things from the main plot need to be settled. I felt this book was about fighting for something that never came to be. It simply was not satisfying.
The Snuggly One sex scene. Well written. I think this book had a more urban fantasy feel than paranormal romance.
Overall I have to say I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I can't wait to read the rest of the series as well. I can easily see Morgan losing that novice writing style in time and producing some great pieces of work in the future. If anyone wants to read an interesting story that's hard to put down, then this is the book for you.
There has been some debate on whether the first or last chapter of your novel is the most important. I say they are both important for different reasons. But let's talk about your novel's first chapter, for it is the chapter that will sell your book (or not, for that matter).
Literary agents and publishers today can be swamped with up to a hundred submissions per day. That's a lot of competition, people. So the question is: How are you going to get your novel out of the slush pile?
Though I'd love to tell you that agents or publishers (or publisher assistants) actually read your whole first chapter, it simply isn't true (most of the time). Especially if your manuscript or query letter is unsolicited. Your future publication can all come down to the first few paragraphs. Yup, that's it. More often than not the assistants to the editor are the ones to decide if your novel is worthy enough to garner the attention of a senior editor. Then the senior editor reads the first few paragraphs and either trashes it or continues reading.
Hey, put away that rope, your life isn't over yet. It may be extremely difficult to get traditionally published, but it's not impossible. Here are some tips I have learned that will help your novel catch the attention of almost any reader (and when I say reader, I also mean publishers and agents). This also applies to self-publishers because if your book doesn't hook the reader from the get-go, it probably won't sell very well.
~ The opening scene of your novel needs to intrigue the reader, make them curious enough to keep reading. Give your character a goal, then provide an obstacle that threatens that goal, then the dilemma of how to solve the problem.
~ Don't start out with too much description. That's boring. Action, drama, problems, suspense. That's where the money is.
~ Don't fill your first chapter with backstory. To be honest, I'm guilty of this. I actually had to rewrite my first chapter after I found this out. What can I say, I was once a newbie writer. The reader wants to know what's happening now, not the main character's whole backstory. That can be weaved throughout the novel. Start your novel where the action begins, not with a lot of who, where, why type of explanation. But it is important to introduce an interesting main character in the first chapter. Give the reader just enough to find the protagonist enticing, but not to the point where we know his childhood fears, mother's maiden name, and shoe size. (Okay, that was kind of a joke, because if you're writing about your character's shoe size, then you have more problems than just banging out an awesome first chapter, but you get the idea.)
~ If your having trouble figuring out how to open up your novel, read books from your genre. I think one of the most important ways to become a proficient writer is be a reader before a writer. Read as much as you can in your genre before writing your book. It helps give you insights on what sells, what's popular, and what publishers are looking for.
~ Remember: The first chapter sets the tone, voice, and atmosphere of the story. This is where diction becomes most important. Find the appropriate wording that creates the kind of tension, mood, or emotion you want to portray.
~ One excellent way to start a novel is with a point of conflict, like at a place where the protagonist is in immediate danger. In my novel, Devoured by Affliction, my protagonist wakes up chained to a surgical table. Discovery of a dead body is another awesome start to a novel. But try to be orginal, too.
~ What a writer needs to provide is a hook. The hook can be an awesome character that the reader wants to learn more about, it can be a conflict within the story, which I mentioned before, or it can be an action that excites the reader from the get-go.
~ End the first chapter with that same excitement as the beginning. The last couple of lines should pose a question to the reader that leads them to rush to the second chapter instead of putting the book down. By the end of the chapter, the reader should have a basic introduction of the protagonist, know the atmosphere of the novel, know where the story takes place, know the main conflict, and especially have experienced excitement or some deep emotion that makes them want to read more.
