Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The book starts out with sixteen-year-old Jacob losing his grandfather in a mysterious attack. He saw some kind of monster kill Abe, but no one believes him. Jacob starts to see a shrink and begins to accept that he just had a stress reaction. His therapist encourages him to visit the island where his grandfather lived while hiding from Nazis. Jacob convinces his father to go to the small island south of Wales for a few weeks.

Read More

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

I loved The Martian by Andy Weir. I thought it was thrilling, funny, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I read it on Kindle so that I could read a few pages whenever I got a chance. I actually read it in about two days. I’ve read a lot of other reviews for this book and most of them reminded me of how many trolls there are out there. So many people want everything to be accurate, feasible, and set firmly in the realm of reality, while not being too technical. Where’s the fun in that?!?

Read More

Mark July 8th on your calendars

OUR NEW HOPE is officially set to be released on July 8th, 2017. Only two more months and you can join Hope once again on her journey of self-discovery and in her mission of protecting her people from annihilation. Are you excited? I know I am! Want to know what's going to happen? Check back next week for a synopsis!

...

Read More

Sprouting Wings: a Hope origin story

The following is a short story that takes place before the events of Our Only Hope. In the novel, Hope already has her wings. But how did she get them? How did she learn that this was a secret that must be kept? Read on to find out.

My brother was being completely unreasonable. All I wanted him to do was help cut off my deformations. But, no! He just kept refusing. We stood in his small, empty dining room, which was nothing more than an open area adjacent to the tiny kitchen. I toed a pealing strip of linoleum on the floor.

Read More

Book Review: The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mostly, the books follow Luke, the third child of his family, in a country where people are only allowed to have two children. He has hidden his whole life, but he can't hide any longer.

Luke gets a fake ID and becomes Lee, then we lose him for a while as we follow other third children through their tumultuous journeys in a suddenly changing world. We catch up with Luke a few times through the eyes of the others, but then we get to be in his mind again for the final book.

I won't spoil anything, so I'll keep this pretty general...

Read More

First Sight of Otep

I was standing off to the left side of the stage that was set up in what was normally a parking lot, except that the boundaries of Sandstone Amphitheater would be expanded for Ozzfest, Warped Tour, and other such festivals to make room for third, fourth, or fifth stages. I remember the tent nearby behind me was a man selling hats for dreads and I’d bought one for mine. I watched the stage being set up for the next band. The schedule said OTEP. I’d never heard of them, but that was why I was there—to find new bands to listen to. I saw a petite blonde woman in a red bandana cross the stage. I remember thinking how cool it was that this band had a female roadie. She set out some props and adjusted the mic stand. I assumed it was for sound check, but then the band started to play.

Read More

Book Review: Jennifer Government by Max Barry

The premise lies in the not-too-distant future, where the USA has mostly taken over the world, but not by government—they’ve done it with corporations. The “government” has very little power, and executives run the world. Every man and woman takes the name of their employer as their last name. Every child takes the last name of their school, which are all run by corporations. Unemployed persons have no last name.

Read More

Easter and Alzheimer's

It was six years ago that my brothers and I went to our grandparents' house for Easter. I had insisted on cooking all of the sides, but Grandpa insisted on buying the ham from Honey Baked Ham Co. Since those are quite expensive, I wasn't going to object. I don't remember every dish I made, though I can assume it was the usual foods I make for holidays. Deviled eggs, twice baked potatoes, green beans, croissants, etc. etc.

Read More

Possible Delays For OUR NEW HOPE

I am extremely regretful to have to announce that the release of Our New Hope, the second installment in the Hope Trilogy, may not be released in time for ThrillerFest. I should have received my first and second round edits back several months ago. My cover should already be designed. I should already have ARCs out for reviews. I should have a release date in hand, and really, should have had one months ago. But here it is, a mere three months before the conference. I have no ISBN number, no books to sell, pre-sell, or even a cover with which to tease people. 

I don't blame my publisher. I know that shit happens. Sometimes, like in this case, really bad shit happens. The acquisitions editor's daughter fell deathly ill. She was in the ICU for a very long time. I'm relieved to say that she is now on the mend, but it will be a long road to recovery. So now, the main contact at the publishing house for hundreds of authors is out of commission. Her email is on auto-reply that she's out of the office. It was posted on our private message board that she is over 5k emails behind, and that was weeks ago. I have no hope of hearing back from her in a timely manner about Our New Hope. Every other editor is scrambling to take on the excessive workload she carried, as well as do their own jobs. I know I'm not the only author who is in a panic over the delay in their release.

So, I've emailed my main editor from my last book. I have no idea if she is the editor of my current book, but I certainly hope she is. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll hear back from her soon and she'll say she just finished it. And here's some covers for you to peruse. Then I can read it at least seven more times, make some more changes, and send it to formatting. I hope.

In fact, let's all hope. Hope that Our New Hope is here in time for ThrillerFest. Last time, it was only three weeks from "here's your galley copy" to "here's your book for sale." Maybe, just maybe, there's still time to wiggle in for a timely release. 

April 15 UPDATE: I've heard back from my editor. I will not be getting first round edits. She said my novel is polished enough that I'll only need the second round, where they fix any grammar issues and look for inconsistencies. I don't need spelling or punctuation fixed, so that should make it go a bit faster. My book has been slated for a September release, due to delays throughout the company. My editor is going to take my plea to the board to see if they will change my release date and put my book on rush to try to have it out by July. I hope to hear back soon and that I'll have some good news!

April 17 UPDATE: The board of directors agreed to move up my book and have granted me a July 8th release date! It'll be cutting it pretty close, since I'm leaving for NYC and ThrillerFest on the 10th, but I think we can make this happen. I'm so excited!

Easily Distracted

When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher had a parent-teacher conference with my dad. My parents were already separated at the time, so my mom wasn’t there. I guess they took turns or something. I was staring up at the high-ceilinged corner above the front door of the classroom. I did not watch them or give any indication whatsoever that I was listening to them, though of course I was. I was always listening to those around me—I was still struggling to understand the actions and reactions of my fellow human beings. I suppose, in many ways, I continue to struggle with it today.

Read More

Book Review: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

The synopsis of Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay intrigued me, so it was my next choice from my stack of physical books. A young teen begins to show signs of schizophrenia, but is she actually possessed? A TV show called The Possession is made about her and her family. Madness ensues.

The book is not written in a conventional narration throughout. It is split up into three ways. Modern day, told in present tense and first person. Then there is the blog format, my most disliked in the book. The most abundant is a past tense, first person narration of the eight year old sister of the possessed girl. All are necessary for the book to be as great as it is.

Read More

Book Review: You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt

The cover was what caught my eye. 

A brown, hardcover book with a pristine, matte dust jacket that showed a woman on the subway. It looked like a photo that had been through a fire, with most of her face burned out of the image. Within the blackened hole, lay the book’s title—YOU ARE ONE OF THEM a novel by Elliott Holt. It was a beautiful cover that really grabbed my attention. The description grabbed me even more. It’s about two girls, Sarah and Jenny, who grew up during the end of the Cold War. They write letters to the leader of Russia asking for peace, and Jenny becomes famous for it before she dies under mysterious circumstances. Ten years later, Sarah travels to Russia in search of answers to the question as to whether Jenny is really even dead or not.

Sold and sold! I buy a copy for myself, as well as one for my nephew. As a child of the 80’s, I’m eager to read some historical fiction that isn’t set centuries ago, but within my own lifetime.

Read More

Fifty Shades of Fucked Up

The following is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent, as well as the guilty. I recently went on a short-notice road trip to help out a friend. It wound up being far from what I had expected. Upon hearing highlights from my day trip, in which I spent almost sixteen of my twenty-six hours of absence from my home either sitting in or driving my car, a coworker told me, “That’s fifty shades of fucked up.” I decided he was right, and told him that he just named my blog. Thanks, Chupi.

Read More

My View of the Train Wreck

I’ve been staying away from the news as much as I can, but it’s hard not to slow down and examine a train wreck sometimes. So, in the first week, I spent considerably more time on Facebook than I usually do, reading peoples rants, opinions, and vitriol. It broke my heart that some people are behaving the way they are. I commented minimally. Usually, just to be funny when others were making jokes. I mean, a person still has to smile and laugh. Everything can’t always be serious or terrifying or outrageous. When I read the news, I made sure it was from sources I know and trust, not new or unknown sites.

It has been a terrifying ten days. I’ve cried more times than I’d like to admit, though only once has been for myself. I’m white, middle class, and born in America. My only downfall is that I’m female, and really have always been more of a lower middle class. But I have my rights as an American citizen and they can’t be taken away from me unless I do bad things.

Read More

Why I Don't Look at My Amazon Reviews

It was months ago, but the pain of his viciousness still strikes deep. He was harsh and cruel. He was mean just to be mean. In fact, everything he said was false. Except that he called me an amateur. On my debut novel. Yes, dumbass. I'm an amateur. That's why it's my DEBUT NOVEL. It doesn't conclude because it's the first book in a trilogy and the main story arc crosses all three books. It is not a series with a different adversary in each book. 

Read More

Sailor Moon Crystal

I can’t help but love Sailor Moon. It is just so fabulous in an astounding number of ways. Now, as a matter of full disclosure, I am not well studied on the original series, but I have seen a few random episodes back in the day. I remember being quite interested. I totally wanted to get into that show, but didn’t really have the time or funds to access it at the time. Over the years I sort of forgot about it. I didn’t ever really try to look it up anymore. 

Oh, but now… Now I have my own computer and wireless internet. I have a device that lets me watch internet videos on my TV. And I have Crunchyroll. After re-watching Attack on Titan (yet again) I decided to scroll through for anything that caught my eye. Lo and behold! There is Sailor Moon Crystal! Click, start, and connect, thank you. 

Read More