I've Got PRIDE.....

As most of you know, on Tuesday, my novel Pride will be released.

And it's such an important book to me. (Yes I'm attached to all of my books, but there are two coming out this year that just really go much deeper than an author MS attachment.)

We live a cruel world. Most of the time it breaks my heart. I don't like hate. And my mother raised me not to judge anyone or be disrespectful to any person unless I have to stand up for myself.

Anymore, it seems like every time you turn your back your faced with ten times the hate and ten times the ridicule.

More than anything, Pride is a book about self-discovery. And finding that what's on the inside definitely counts more than what's on the outside.

Now for a little back story on Pride.

I got the idea for the book from a girl I used to work with. We were friends. Were being the key word. We aren't now. We we probably never will be ever again.

On the outside she was beautiful, but on the inside she was so sick and twisted with hate and nastiness that it made her an ugly person.

There were points where I felt sorry for her. Points where I felt like maybe, just maybe, if I hung in there and kept trying, some of my positivity would rub off on her.

Then reality smacked me the face.

She wasn't going to change. Because nobody can change anybody.

And in the end, you can't change how others view you. You can only change how YOU view yourself.

I'm proud to post the the book trailer for Pride, today. Because I've got Pride in myself, this story, and I truly believe that beauty is..... no matter what anybody else says.... only skin deep.

Enjoy!

Cheers!

Sometimes Love...Can Be Deadly!

Happy Friday Everyone!

I've got some awesome things to share with you today!

First.... Check out the book cover for my YA/horror/suspense novel!!

Secondly, if you wanted to order a paperback copy of Famished or you want to pre-order Pride & A Whisper To A Scream you can do that here.
Lastly,I hope you all enjoy what's left of summer. :( It always goes by way too fast. And I hope you all have a great weekend!

Cheers!

Well, I'll Be Shattered....

Today we have all kinds of awesomeness going on!

First if you'd like to win a paperback copy of Famished and see what my favorite things to do during the summer are.....Check out my guest post on Jessica's awesome blog, here.

Secondly, if you missed my interview with the lovely Adrienne over at Paper Hangover. Where I talk about all my upcoming releases and agenting...... You can check it out here.

And lastly...... The book of the week..... Ta Da.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel. (summary from goodreads)

Now, I won't be posting my review for a while since the book doesn't come out until November, but I will say this.....

Amazing is an understatement when it comes to Shatter Me. And also, it's one of the most unique and beautiful books I've ever read.

Now what are you waiting for... Add it here.

I promise you, you'll regret it if you don't.

Cheers!

Have a little Pride..... Teaser from my new novel... and Vlog post!

Hey Everyone!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Check out the teaser from novel, Pride, releasing 9-6-2011 and be sure to check out the Pride giveaway on goodreads!

Enjoy the weekend!

I Tend To Be Overly Enthusiastic....

Okay. So some people are humdrum. Some are cool. Some are snarky. The list goes on and on. Me, I tend to be bursting at the seams with enthusiasm,(more often than not)but that's a good thing, right?

The literary world is exciting, so why not be excited about it, right?

This week has been an awesome week. And I'm going to take a moment to praise my talented and amazing clients... You know who you are ;)

Each one of them is unique, brilliant, and they all have one important quality... They're positive. And positivity is infectious.

I'll admit, we all have our down days... Believe me I have them, but.... Then I'll get an email from one of my awesome girls and it makes me feel so much better!

Also.... the book bloggers in the world. So many are amazing, sweet, and love to read. And this one right here made my day a few days ago....

Book bloggers. You rock. And all of us in literary land should be thankful that we have you.

Okay. My positive rant is done. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Cheers!

Does Your Novel Have The 'IT' Factor?

More books are published every year than Hollywood movies that are made. If you think about it, that's a heck of a lot of books. But, how do those books make it from the writer's computer screen to a paperback in a readers hands? That's what we're going to talk about today.

Everybody knows that getting a book published is a long lengthy process. First you write the novel, second you revise, and after you've revised a dozen times more, you write a good query(which you probably rewrite ten times as well) and then you do what I like to call, 'throwing yourself to the sharks'.

I use that analogy because sometimes get a bite, sometimes you won't, and sometimes your WIP will get chewed up and spit out.

For the ones whose novels get picked up right away or the ones who don't have a hard time finding an agent at all, they've all got something I like to call the 'it' factor.

What exactly is the 'it' factor? I'm going to tell you.

Do you know how many queries most agents receive a week? Hundreds. For some maybe thousands. But what do you think makes an agent go, hmmmm, I think I'd like to see more?

Me personally, I don't read queries. The minute I receive a query letter, I'll scroll down to the bottom of the email and read the first couple pages that accompanies that letter. I'm not concerned about how well a writer can compose a query letter. I know plenty of great writers that can't write them at all. What I really want to know is if they can write a novel, make it appealing, and make it flow. And I may be different from a lot of agents, but I know I'm not going to be able to tell that just by reading their query.

After I've read the first few pages, I'll ask myself a few questions; Does the voice grab me? What are the descriptions like? Has the writer created an authentic world? Then, I'll scroll back up and skim through the query. Shortly after that, I'll either reject or request.

Then comes the partial or full.

When I read a manuscript, I know after the first chapter whether I want it or not. And sometimes I go a little further and read to chapter three. For me, chapter three is the breaking point. If I can't read past chapter three it's a done deal, I'm probably going to reject.

So what leads to that point?

If the story doesn't build much in the first couple chaps and the pacing is slow. I like to be so involved in what I'm reading that I don't want to do anything else. And if the story is blah and I'm there yawning instead of saying Omigosh, it's just not the type of book for me.

If each chapter you finish ends with a wow, I just have to read more. The end of your chapters should leave the reader on the edge of their seats, wanting to plow through the whole novel in record time.

Does it lead up to something? Is there something big that's going to happen? And in the meantime are there good subplots throughout? I think subplots are important. They distract the reader. They keep you wondering until they're hit with the big bang at the end of the book. Who doesn't like a book that goes out with a bang, huh?

In the end, all you can do is your best, and I admire that quality in writers. Most have this will to keep going and that's so important. It's that will that'll eventually get you somewhere, so don't give up!

Cheers!

When To Shelf Your WIP....

I can across an interesting article yesterday that I'd like to share... I've pasted the link here.

We all know that sometimes the writing world can be brutal. Sometimes you feel like you're never going to get there. You question yourself and your skills. You might even think about throwing in the towel.

And what if you believe in your project? Should you toss it to the side?

Not necessarily. The article above proves that self-belief and determination is better than giving up. Especially when you're in search of an agent.

I know it's frustrating sometimes, and you might feel like you're never going to accomplish what you've set out to do. The important thing is to hang in there and keep pushing forward.

Whether it takes you years or months to get where you want to be, you will get there. Take it from the words of the Best Selling author featured in the article.

When is the right time to shelf your WIP?

The answer is....

Never.

Cheers!

XVI .... Book Of The Week.

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world-even the most predatory of men-that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past-one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer. (summary from goodreads)

I've been on giant dystopian binge lately. I can't help it really. There are so many awesome books in this genre.

This book intrigued me. I'd heard about it awhile ago and when I was at borders, I saw it on the shelf and had to have it.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of books that push boundaries. And I have a feeling that XVI isn't going to disappoint!

Cheers!

Never Judge A Book By It's Cover.

So I visited my local Borders again yesterday. (*tear*)

And while sorting through the stacks of awesome books I came across one and the cover looked interesting. The blurb on the back made it sound like it would be the kind of book I'd love.

I assume most people are enticed by a great book cover. I know most of the time I am.

But that's not what makes me rave about a book. I'm sure that's the same for most people. It's what's on the inside that counts. I don't care who blurbed it or how many other people like it. Every body is different and that's what makes everybody unique.

So, after I bought the book, I came home and who can guess what I did next?

You're right. I looked it up on goodreads.

Then I saw that it got some pretty bad reviews. Is that going to stop me from reading it? Probably not. I never base my opinion on what someone else says. Most times, if someone suggests a book that sounds good, I'll buy it and form my own opinion after I've read it.

Everybody gets bad reviews. Everybody. Even J.K Rowling.(Even though in my opinion, she shouldn't because HP is amazing.)

Two things to think about...

Bad reviews are like a stomach ache, everybody gets them. I know sometimes it's hard when you get them. I always get a little upset at first and then shrug it off.
You can't assume everyone in the entire world is going to like your book. (Even though we wish it was like that.)

The meat is inside the book and the cover is just added decor.


Have a good weekend!

Cheers!

Love & Immortality... Book Review of The Goddess Test.

Hi Everyone!!! Today I'm super excited to share with you my book review of The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter!

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. (Summary from goodreads.)

I'm very picky when it comes to mythological re-tellings. Maybe it's because I'm obsessed with it and sort of a mythology buff. And in my opinion, only a few books have really done The Immortal Olympians justice. Destined by Jessie Harrell, The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordian, and now I can add The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter to that list.

At the beginning, I didn't think I was going to like this book. Now, I can honestly say, I am sooooo glad that I kept on reading. Because it was awesome.

My favorite part. The way Carter depicted Hades. (Hades is my favorite God out of the Olympians BTW.)He has evolved over the years and no longer goes by Hades, and he goes by Henry instead. And Henry has this mysterious, yet haunting appeal to his persona. Inside, he is just and genuine and cares for Kate deeply.

Every time I turned the page, I felt like I was receiving a gift. Carter did an excellent job of unraveling Henry's layers. There is so much more to a character than what they appear to be on the outside. I was deeply engrossed from chapter two on and I mentally pulled for Kate and Henry the whole way through.

The Goddess Test was a fascinating, thrilling, and romantic re-telling of the Hades and Persephone myth. In the end, I adored it.

If you are a mythology lover, like me. You NEED to read this. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!

Pride Book Cover!!!!

I'm so excited that I get to share my new YA Contemp. Book cover today!!!!!

This books means a lot to me. It was a very emotional project for me. Then again, I'm usually emotional when I write.

I feel like bullying is such a severe problem anymore. Somehow, even though it's always been around, I feel like it's escalated in the last ten years.

I think it's important people take a stand against it. A human beings life is far too precious to be wasted on someone's else mean spirited nature.

If you want to check out Pride, you can add it on goodreads.

Beauty is only skin deep.


At age fifteen, Angela Dunne was plucked out of the crowd at her local mall by modeling agent, Olivia Lennox.

After fighting her way to the top, Angela is catapulted into the world of magazine covers, photo shoots, and runway shows. She’s traveling the globe, modeling for the best designers, and living the life most girls her age could only dream of.

And it doesn’t take long for Angela’s rising stardom to go to her head. Being beautiful has become her obsession and her image is all she ever thinks about. Her family is ashamed of her. Friends don’t know her anymore. People in general can’t stand to be in the same room with her. The new Angela, finds pleasure in belittling those who aren’t as fortunate as her in the beauty department and treats those who aren’t up to her standards like they are insignificant.

Suddenly, Angela’s modeling career comes to a halt after an accident backstage at a runway show. Now, Angela has to come to terms with the fact that she’s no longer beautiful on the outside. She’s a freak, a monster with a disfigured face. For someone who was once so beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside, it’s up to Angela to dig deep down within herself and discover what the real meaning of beauty is.