Friday, June 27, 2014

Celebrate the small things and The Rose Master blog tour





Celebrate The Small Things is the weekly celebration, hosted by Viklit. Thanks, Vik, for the wonderful meme to celebrate the happenings of the week, no matter how small or big the celebration. 






Celebrations for the week:


  • I get to see Dani on Saturday! Woot!
  • I think I'm finally over my writing slump! In fact, I'm working on two things, and it's hard to stop.
  • The Rose Master blog tour is underway! This book sounds so good! I can't WAIT to read it! See below for details:




Blurb:
The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that's hardly the most upsetting news. She's being dismissed from the home she's served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she's never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:
There's something wrong with Rosewood Manor.
Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.
As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them--some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.
When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn't prepared for. The creature is very real, and she's the only one who can help him stop it.
Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she's grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.



Bio:
Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. She also watches over a veritable army of pets, including her five, very spoiled, snakes. Her works have appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web. She lives in Miami, Florida.




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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Express Yourself and Star Struck Review

Express Yourself is a weekly meme where Dani and I ask a question or discuss a topic for other bloggers to share and learn more about each other.

Please join us HERE


Topic for this week:  What's the last book you read? If you'd like, please give a small review for us, how many stars, etc.

The book I chose to review is Star Struck by Laurelin Paige...



Title: Star Struck
Series: Lights, Camera Book 2 (Companion)
Author: Laurelin Paige
Publisher: Samhain
Publication Date: June 17, 2014



We were introduced to Heather in Ms. Paige’s first book in the Lights, Camera series, when she was with Micah in Take Two.
Now, Heather gets to shine in a book of her own. And shine she does! Sure, she acts like a spoiled brat, but deep down, she’s wounded. We all handle stress, and the things of our past, differently, so being snippy is her defense mechanism.
Seth, a carpenter on the set she’s acting on (or so Heather assumes) is determined to break through her walls and squash that bratty behavior, even though he has secrets of his own, and has a hard time trusting, too.
Can these two stop their “acts” long enough to see what’s really in front of them?
Ms. Paige’s writing style, and her ability to keep you guessing what will happen next, is spot on! Can't wait to read what Ms. Paige has in store in future books!



About the author: Laurelin Paige is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She's a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there's kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn't seem to complain, however. When she isn't reading or writing sexy stories, she's probably singing, watching Mad Men and the Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine.

LINKS:
B&N 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Express Yourself


EYM is a weekly meme where Dani and I ask a question or discuss a topic for other bloggers to share and learn more about each other.

Please join us HERE

Topic for the week:  What's the scariest movie you've watched or book you've read that made you unable to sleep?





Paranormal Activity
 movies - All of these correlate with one another in some way, so it’s really cool in that aspect, but the presence in this series is scary, and the things that happen made me watch the movies with my hand over my eyes most of the time!



Seed (book by Ania Ahlborn) 
Blurb: In the vine-twisted swamps of Louisiana, the shadows have teeth.
Jack Winter has spent his entire life running from something no one else can see. His childhood is his darkest secret, but after a near fatal accident along a deserted road, the darkness he was sure he’d escaped rears its ugly head… and smiles.
But this time, he isn’t the only one who sees the soulless eyes of his past. This time, his six-year-old daughter Charlie leans into his ear and whispers: Daddy, I saw it too.
And then she begins to change.
Faced with reliving the nightmares of his childhood, Jack watches his daughter spiral into the shadows that had nearly consumed him twenty years before. 
But Charlie isn’t the only one who’s changing. 
Jack never outran the darkness. It’s been with him all along. 
And it’s hungrier than ever. 


This book is so creepy good, but I can’t finish it. Yes, it’s that scary to me. I hope to one day. There’s one part where someone's wrestling around under a sheet, but then there’s nothing there. **shivers** The way the author describes it is amazing. That’s great writing!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Express Yourself and Celebrate the Small Things



EYM is a weekly meme where Dani and I ask a question or discuss a topic for other bloggers to share and learn more about each other.

Please join us HERE

Topic for the week:  Any favorite video games? Not a gamer, then what are your top board games, cards, etc that you enjoy?

Years ago, I loved Crash Bandicoot. I so wish they'd come out with an updated version of this game! I used to play the Resident Evils, but the more games that came out in the series, the more I started to NOT like the game. Weird.

Right now, my favorite video games are:
  • CSI - it's fun solving the cases!
  • Thief - this game is SCARY so I can't play or watch others play for very long, but I still love it. LOL
  • Uncharted - this is a treasure hunt type game, but with bad guys chasing you and trying to mess up your mission. The puzzles are fun to solve. 
  • The Last of Us - This one, my hubby has played. I want to play it, but this game is one that I KNOW if I started it, I wouldn't want to stop playing. 

As for board games, I love:
Monopoly, Taboo, Apples to Apples, Yahtzee, and Scrabble



Celebrate The Small Things is the weekly celebration, hosted by Viklit. Thanks, Vik, for the wonderful meme to celebrate the happenings of the week, no matter how small or big the celebration. 

Celebrations for the week:


  • My two middle sons received citizenship awards for the school year! So blessed!
  • My 16 yr old had his track banquet. :) 
  • To keep my 1st grader occupied at track banquet, I packed books and an ipod. He chose to read the books! This melted my heart. 
       
What celebrations would you like to share?




Wednesday, June 4, 2014

IWSG


Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh is a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. 

To join, click on the name links above and post on your blog the first Wednesday of every month. 
Sign up and meet some awesome people!



I've been in a bit of a slump, stemming from some promises that were made several months ago, and weren't followed through. It stung. Big time. And while I know that's the nature of this business, I can't seem to climb out of this ... whatever this is. 

I've tried taking a break, I've vented to two close friends, I've even tried delving back into my projects... those things help, but I just can't shake this "blah" feeling.

Sorry I'm not chipper in the IWSG world today. I almost didn't post, but I know that I'm in good company and that you would understand. I hope to be back on track soon. 



I hope you all are doing great!
Happy writing, my blogging friends!



Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday


Dani over at Entertaining Interests told me about a fun weekly meme -- Top Ten Tuesday. Each week, the girls at The Broke and the Bookish, will post a topic for a top ten list. 
To learn more about this and to view the list of future topics click here.

Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week:  
Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag or That Will Be In your Beach Bag This Summer....

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines
Landry Park by Bethany Hagen
The Art of Falling by Jenny Kaczorowski
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Paper Towns by John Green

(On a side note, I'm adding The Fault in our Stars by John Green to the list - I've read this already and loved it, even though it crushed my soul, but I will read it again, because it's that amazing.)

What books will be in your bag this summer? Any books you're dying to get your hands on?