Excellent Reads

As some of my Twitter followers may have noticed (with all of my #amwriting and #amediting Tweets) I've been trying my hand at writing the last year or so. "Trying" being the operative word- I have struggled with my writing so much during that time, especially in the first drafts. However, I've found a lot of comfort in perhaps one of the most unlikely places- Twitter. How so? Through reading some of my favorite authors writing experiences- namely in their similar struggles. Reading their Tweets really helps put things into perspective for me, reminding me that even the most successful authors struggle every now and again, but that they've been able to overcome it and, that if they can, we can too! Some are funny, some are sad, but I think that we will all be able to relate to one or two!

LOOK INTO MY EYES Ruby Redfort Book 1 by Lauren Child 432 pp. HarperCollins. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up) ISBN 9780007334070 Rating: 5 Stars      This book is especially interesting because it is all about codes, and Ruby Redfort (the main character) even makes up her own code which I am still trying to figure out! Really, besides this book being brilliant to read it is also really fun to stop reading for a bit, try to solve the code, then go back to reading and find out if you were right. I personally want to become a secret agent or spy when I grow up and wish that I had the chance to practice some of the amazing things Ruby Redfort does.      This book is about a very smart girl called Ruby Redfort who was asked by a secret agency to become their secret code cracker. She had to find out a secret that their old code cracker Lopez found out just before she died. At first Ruby had trouble with the code and didn't attempt to become an action agen...

NOAH'S ARK By Georgie Adams 
Illustrated by Anna C. Leplar 64 pp. Orion. £4.99. (Ages 4 and up) ISBN 9781444007893 Rating: 5 Stars The book is called Noahs Ark I like it because Noah listens to God. I will tell you about the story. Things have gone very wrong in the world he said to Noah I’m going to send the biggest flood ever. I will keep you family safe. When the flood is over I’ll start. I will tell you more about the story. so Noah got a girl and a boy firm each animals so he put the animals in the Ark. 5 out of 5 stars.

Today on the blog, I have Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons which you may have seen hit the shelves about a month ago. Sometimes you have to fiddle around with a book before it starts working, before you find the right approach to the story, the right voice for the narrator. In this instance, it took all of about three sentences. I knew, when I started writing A Natural History of Dragons that it was going to be a Victorian-style memoir. When I started writing, I immediately discovered the delights of that approach. My protagonist is, especially in this first book, a headstrong and slightly naive young woman -- but the woman who is telling the story is decades older. The result is the best of both worlds: I get to play with her youthful enthusiasm and foolishness, but also the perspective and bulletproof audacity that comes with age. Older women in many times and places have been allowed leeway not given to their younger selves, and Isabella is exploiting that to ...

Today I am excited to be a part of the cover reveal of the second book in Ron C. Nieto's "Ghost Rhapsody" series, "Shattered Silence"!  Keith never believed in Happily Ever After, at least not for someone like him. However, that’s exactly what it feels like when he has the love of his life by his side. Alice fought everything she was, everything she thought she wanted to be, just to save him.When the nightmare blew over and the both of them were left standing, she thought she’d get her shot at happiness. But how long can bliss last when everything they hold dear starts to crumble around them?Can they truly be free of a hatred that’s been alive for centuries? The song has been played and, in its wake, the silence shatters… About the Author:  Ron C. Nieto is a fantasy and romance author who has been writing in her secluded fortress for the longest time. Recently, she had a talk with her cat and decided that she should share her creations, because it was selfish to...

Release Date: February 25, 2013 Publisher: Self-Pub From Goodreads:  "He had held a secret that destroyed her world.   Everything she had known was no longer true. Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.  Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again. What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately? You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out." *Please note that while I have made all attempts to shield them, this book does contain a few spoilers. If you do intend to read this book do not read any further (unless you aren't bothered by them)* I am divided about this book- due to a number of seemingly contradictory elements that it possesses. On the one hand I loved how independent Blaire was, not only more than willing to raise her child on her own, but letting Rush go...

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title: "Wait For You"  Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Publisher: Self-Pub Release Date: Get it now!  From Goodreads: "Some things are worth waiting for… Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself. Some things are worth experienci...