2/21/14 2/21/14

The One Where Jolene Perry Guest Blogs & We SHOULD Be Buds!

I love when authors come to visit! Please welcome Jolene Perry! So. When I'm on blogs that I don't visit often, I feel the need to skim them over and check them out, and the longer I was on Nicole's blog, the more I was like - WE MUST BE FRIENDS! WE HAVE LOTS AND LOTS IN COMMON.FIRST - PROJECT RUNWAY. I love this show. LOVE. This is the only bit of reality TV that I watch. I have not missed an episode. Ever.SECOND - There are a lot of Twilight posts on this blog. I will readily admit that I don't have TV and when I want it on just to have it on... I usually toss in a Twilight movie.THIRD - I Have a board on Pinterest labeled - STUFF THAT MADE ME SMILE.For real.SO, there.Anyway. Since I gave you three reasons why me and Nicole should be friends, I thought I'd also give you three reasons to read my book ;-)ONE -Writing a guy with one arm who is falling for a girl and is trying to figure out how to be with her, how to get closer to her, when he's used to having two arms... It was fun.TWO -Kate is a scattered mess who rarely does the right thing the first time - very much like me.THREE -The hair cutting scene, the scene where Kate helps him drive his stick shift car before he has to sell it, the scene where he kisses her in the back of said car, the night she sleeps over and where I wrote my fav sex-scene EVAH :-)So. Thank you SO much for letting me "invade" for a day!!!!~ Jolene

"All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction."

Scoop up The Summer I Found You on AMAZON/BARNES & NOBLEFind Jolene Perry Online: Blog • Twitter • Website • Facebook • Tumblr Jolene Perry is a YA Author of:Out of Play The Summer I Found You (March 1, 2014)Stronger Than You Know (September 1, 2014)Love Blind (2015)Other Books By Jolene Perry Thanks Jolene!Can't wait to read The Summer I Found You!xo nicole

2/21/14 2/21/14

The One Where Jolene Perry Guest Blogs & We SHOULD Be Buds!

"All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction."

2/20/14 2/20/14

Book Review: "And We Stay" by Jenny Hubbard

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard the author of Paper Covers Rock is a story of overcoming tragedy and is full of good prose and in a few instances poetry which caused me do that thing, where you inhale and hold it for a second…because you want to pause for a moment to give yourself enough time to really absorb the words.Though I enjoyed the story overall, I felt disconnected from the main character Emily Beam, as she tried to deal with her guilt over the role she played in the events that transpired in her school's library. Events, which ultimately led her to be in Amerherst, the home town of her favorite poet Emily Dickinson. I have to wonder if the author didn't choose to write in third person so that the reader would feel a separation from Emily, much like she felt from the world as she struggled to face the pivotal moments that shattered her life. It is through her poetry the reader really begins to feel for Emily, and I suppose that is the point.If I had one issue with the plot it's with regards to Emily Beam's character mirroring to perfectly in a lot of ways that of Emily Dickinson. I however enjoyed some of the history regarding Emily Dickinson and the treat of both her poems and those written by her namesake.And We Stay by Jenny HubbardPublished by Random House LLC on 28 Jan 2014Genre: Young AdultStand Alone or Series: It's a loner.Source: NetGalleyFormat: eARCBuy on Amazon • Goodreads

2/20/14 2/20/14

Book Review: "And We Stay" by Jenny Hubbard

1/19/14 1/19/14

The Fault in Our Stars - By John Green Gutted Me (Book Review)

If you're a reader you have a list of books you want to read. Some you can't wait to open. Some you put off, because you know in your gut, the story is either going to disappoint you or change you.This was true for me with John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.Of course I knew it was widely acclaimed. I've avoided reviews, or even reading the synopsis except that it was a story about cancer, a boy and a girl, and love.This book gutted me. It totally slayed me. It changed me. It made me, want to write better.This book is a love story yes, but not in a sappy, way. It's heartbreaking, tragic, it made me laugh out loud (literally) and cry. I cried a lot. It's witty and intelligent and alive.Alive?This book is about kids who are dying... Yes. But it is more about living and not in a cheesy post card "live your best life" way, but in a real, gritty, perk-less way that is true.If you've been waiting to read this book as I was. Don't wait. Seize the day and this book.xo

11/9/13 11/9/13

List of Books I Read In 2013

So much happened in twenty-thirteenfor weeks at a time a book in my hand went unseen!It's all now a blurand I'm left with this list,and a life as a voyager.[Err, there's my cheesy attempt at rhyme.]And here is my list of the books I read.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) by Cassandra Clare
Inferno by Dan Brown
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
The Novelist by L.L. Barkat
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky
The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie with B.K. Evenson (couldn't finish this one.)
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff
Havisham by Ronald Frame
The Selection by Kiera Kass
The Prince A Selection Novella by Kiera Kass
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1) by Libba Bray
Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle, #2) by Libba Bray
The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, #3) by Libba Bray
When Stars Die by Amber Skye Forbes (in the middle of this one as of 11/9/13)
Interview with a Vampire: A Novel by Anne Rice
Memnock The Devil by Anne Rice
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice
The Queen of the Dammed by Anne Rice
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Illuminata by Marianne Williamson

Over the summer I reread the Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series as well as Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being A Wallflower. I wanted to see if I'd still like them as an adult as opposed to a teen. I still do.I don't want to finish out this year with out having read at least two more. We'll see how that goes.

Of course all of these books can be found on Amazon.

11/3/13 11/3/13

NaNoWriMo, An "Illuminata" Prayer & Earl Grey "London Fog Latte" Recipe

Whew! The last two weeks of October feel like a daze! My husband was tasked for a surprise deployment and so he's off doing Air Force things and I was swamped with volunteer obligations, and making my boys Halloween costumes. I also had to help my younger son transform a cardboard box into a Police Car for his Kindergarten's Transportation parade that conveniently took place on Halloween. Last night my boys actually got to celebrate Halloween and show off their Minecraft costumes. They had a great time and their costumes garnered a lot of attention from kids and grownups a like so I was happy they were happy.I can not believe we're already three days into November and I've not written a single word for NaNoWriMo! My friend Michelle challenged me to write the 50,000 word goal in five days, yes it's absolutely insane but apparently there are a lot of us who are keen for the challenge, all you need do is Google, Five Day Novel (#50K5DAYS). I'm going to start that on Tuesday or Wednesday, but today I will be jumping into NaNoWriMo today! Yay!I cleared off my desk of all the crafting stuff that had accumulated and tidied up my office and I'm ready to go! I made myself a homemade London Fog Latte ( at Starbucks ask for the London Fog Latte, if you get a blank stare from your barista, simply ask for an Earl Grey Latte with a shot of vanilla syrup.) I've got my playlist cued and just recited this prayer I love by Marianne Williamson who in my opinion is a profound writer of prayers, via her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer. This prayer speaks to me and I like to recite it before I begin writing as I've found it helps me relax and clear my mind of all the clutter. I thought I'd share it with you just in case you were feeling stressed out over the 50K word count goal!This prayer is listed as a "deliverance" prayer in Illuminata if you've got a copy and want to look it up for yourself.It reads:

Dear God,

Deliver me to my passion.Deliver me to my brilliance. Deliver me to my intelligence. Deliver me to my depth. Deliver me to my nobility. Deliver me to my beauty. Deliver me to my power to heal.Deliver me to You. Amen.

~Marriane Williamson

Happy Writing!