July TBR Pile Link-Up, Challenge, Giveaway

 

Challenge:

Take any two international covers and compare them. Chose your favorite out of the two.

*For a bonus tell me what Olympics event is your favorite.

Link Up:


Please follow this format (Name): Title for every title that you've reviewed in July that applies to the challenge.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More

Top Ten (7) Tuesday: 24 Hour Life Swap

I’m gonna go into this top 10 with two premises (1) I can sleep with anyone I want and it’s not cheating on my hubs or slutty. (2) I am invincible. I cannot in anyway be killed or have injuries sustaining after the 24 hours is up.

Also, I totally couldn’t come up with more than 7 people I’d like to swap lives or go into their world for a day. So much scary drama!

Mainly I want to go into this world as me and punch Cole in the face. I’ve always wondered what it felt like to break someone’s nose and he is a prime candidate for the service.

I would like to die and see if and how my death would affect others. I would like to be able to go inside other’s heads and see how I affect them. Morbid much, but I’d love to see if I am helping people or harming them.

I would love to run with this pack and maybe get a bit of mothering love from the receptionist (ugh I cannot remember name even though she’s one of my favorite characters!). Play in the snow and be in the middle of nowhere. Yep, this sounds like heaven!

I so don’t want to be Gin. That is one complicated girl, but I would love to sit down and eat some great barbeque while hanging out with her.

I would adore being able to run as a coyote and getting cozy with one Mr. Wolf – Sam. I totally love both male characters, but Sam is more my speed. I would have to investigate more about the fae while I was there.

I would love to go hiking with Tucker. Swing across a running river. Go for a run beside Miss Chlo (my dog). Basically everything I get to do if I convince the hubs to move to Colorado. I love the outdoors and hiking with Tucker, sweet knowledgeable Tucker, would be amazing!

Cat’s world post marriage. I could shag Bones or Vlad, drink a bit of blood, and end the day playing with a bit of fire.

Read More

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling

November 1st 2011, Crown Archetype
222 pages, E-book
Borrowed from the Library
Adult Fiction

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Cover Review:

This cover captures her incredibly well! I mean incredibly. It’s a bit too girly, but I adore it.

Opinion:

This book was recommended on Britney’s blog as one to read for humor and one to give your vajay-jay a rest from all the smexy books. Britney is my go to blog when I need a laugh, so if it makes her laugh than it’s going to make me end up peeing myself. Did I ever mention…oh yeah, sorry getting off track.

From the very first page I was waking up the hubs with my snorts of laughter. I don’t like The Office. Shh… but I don’t. It bores me, so yeah I wasn’t actually expecting this to be as fall down humorous as it was. It was a bit dry in parts and I was like why do I care about this a couple of times, but overall it was a great way to get out of an incredibly bad mood and was such a quick read at half of my normal reading length. It is broken up into essays, which makes it an even quicker read.

She is incredibly relatable to me. Overweight kid, boys are a mystery, and she has no problem arguing her boss to the point he ends up kicking her out of the session. She’s been drilled with certain principles and I love how she clearly states repeatedly no one has the right to be douche nugget. Okay,she doesn’t say douche nugget, but you get my gist. She certainly has the right idea about marriage, and that had to my favorite of all the essays she wrote.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me is a great, quick read that is different from the norm that could get you out of reading rut!

Rating:

Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

Rie’s Fave Five: The First

Rie’s Fave Five is a new feature loosely based off Felicia Day’s Flog and many other such features. Every fortnight, I will be listing my current favorite 5 from the geekdom community. Most weeks will have a theme, many weeks will not (like this one).

By the way, if you have a preference for me to vlog or do them in text format please let me know!

5. Wil Wheaton’s Blog- This world stresses me out in ways I cannot even explain. I watch WAY too much political news and it seems like everyone around me is of one mind and I’m completely the opposite. When I go onto to Wil Wheaton’s blog it’s like the world finally makes sense. Heavy, but actually he’s incredibly insightful in a completely humorous way.

Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning (Photo credit: csullens)

4. Kingdom of Amalur (video game)- This game is amazing! It’s over 150 hours long and has such rich details from the various ways you can customize your character to quests that are varied and don’t get boring even after a marathon play session. This was the perfect fix for my Mass Effect 3 withdrawal even if the dialogue is nowhere near as good. Sadly, the company (38 Studios) went under, so I’m not sure if we will see a sequel.

Sevenly

3. Sevenly- Sevenly is a t-shirt company that sells shirts in order to raise money for various charities. Each week a bunch of t-shirts, hoodies, etc. come out with a slogan for that charity and for every piece bought $7 is donated. Not only is the graphic design amazing, but I get to do something that is incredibly important to me. Vote with my money. This week’s charity is Autism Speaks.

2. Newsroom (HBO show)- The main thing this show does is make me think. From the first speech the anchor gave about America no longer being the greatest nation to the same blogger raving about Big Foot being real this show makes me slow down and stop with all my bias and really actually think. News has become a if you are a Democrat you watch MSNBC and if you are a Republican you watch Fox News. There is very little news without a rating bias and it can color the world in the way you already see it. In effect, reinforcing negatives where you need to learn more compassion and understanding. I really like having to slow down and think about the information coming at me and the agenda behind it. Critical thinking is a key to republican (govt. type not party) nation.

The Ricky Gervais Show (animated series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Ricky Gervais Show (HBO show)- I’ve adored Ricky Gervais, the comedian, for awhile now, but had never watched his animated series. OMG! I am in love with Karl! He has to be the funniest man alive. I love his little bald head and the way he doesn’t think he’s funny and will assert “I’m not kidding.” in a completely serious way. I watched the first 3 seasons in like a month.






Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

TGIF: Christmas in July

TGIF is  a Friday meme hosted by Ginger at Greads. She always has the best questions.

Today’s Question:

If Santa were to come down your chimney in the middle of summer, which books would you want him to leave for you under the tree?

Answer:

I have a secret. I’m likely to be the cheapest girl on earth. I don’t believe in having tons of materialistic goods just for the sake of having them. Books that I read once end up being useless paper taking up prime real estate for books I will read a million times.

This is to say I do not buy books unless they meet this criteria. A) I will likely read this book so often that the cover falls off. B) My library doesn’t have it or I don’t want to wait ages to get it. C) A *Slacker didn’t write it.

It usually shapes up to me still buying around 20 books a year.  Still bad blogger I know.

So I have wanted Venom for I think 2 months now. It became available at my library when I was out of town and I couldn’t pick it up. I bought the fourth one because weirdly it’s the only one my library does not have and it glares up at me every time I get into bed. It’s like it’s screaming, “Why haven’t you read me yet?”

So yeah, dying for it. Maybe I’ll just go ahead and Amazon it.

What kind of assassin works pro bono?

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most.

To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists.

At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life…

* A Slacker is a group of writerly friends that I have known for ages. This consists of Liana Brooks, Amy Laurens, and about five other writers that haven’t published yet.

Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

Guest Post: Kate Hinderer (The Emerald Isle)

Buy: Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

To escape a bad break-up Audyn takes a job at Fascination Island. The resort lives up to its name in every way, including the strange rules the owner has about entering the water at night. It isn’t long before the shy, endearing Levi and the mysterious, tattooed Tristan begin vying for her attention. Suddenly, Audyn’s forced to acknowledge a reality she’d never considered and pick a side..

Hey, I’m author Kate Hinderer and I’m lucky enough to be guest posting for the day as part of the blog book tour for The Emerald Isle. This book is part paranormal, part contemporary fiction and has adventure, romance, suspense, and a whole lot of water and sand.

I have a confession to make… I’m a sucker for movies and books that feature a strong female lead. I wasn’t really aware of this preference until my Netflix account started suggesting other movies that featured strong female characters. Now, that category won’t go away and it has begun to expand to include comedies, dramas, British films, romantic comedies, etc…

I think that fascination with movies like North & South, Jodhaa Akbar, Bleak House, Emma, 10 Things I Hate Abut You, Jane Eyre, Penelope, etc… had a strong impact on The Emerald Isle. (Not to mention books like The Hunger Games, which also feature a totally amazing female character.) When I was beginning to construct this book, before any writing began, I knew I wanted a take-charge main character. I wanted Audyn to be independent and strong willed. I envisioned her as a heroine, even if she was to be surrounded by strong men.

I wanted her to shape her own destiny and not fall prey to the concept that girls are only supposed to fall in love. And while there certainly is romance in the book, and Audyn does fall hard for Mr. Right; she still maintains her sense of who she is. She grows, she changes, and she steps up when needed, even when others try to hold her back. I can’t stand books and movies that seem to sweep the girl aside while the guy steps in and handles all the problems for her as she cowers in the corner. I like backbone and Audyn’s got it!
I like to think that if this were ever a movie, The Emerald Isle would fall into the category of movies that feature a strong female lead.

Kate Hinderer: Blog | Twitter

I've been writing stories since 7th grade. I'm a song lyric connoisseur - especially pop, oldies and country. 80's music is gross. I'm blog obsessed and a Twitter fiend. My dad thought I should be an accountant.

Read More

This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

February 22nd 2011, Avon
357 pages, E-book
Borrowed from the Library
Fifth in Night Huntress series
Adult Fiction
Amazon | Book Depository | Indie Bound

Danger waits on both sides of the grave.
Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they've triumphed over the latest battle, Cat's new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance . . .
With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally"; the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war . . . to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

Favorite Quote:

“No matter what happens, you will never lose me,” he whispered. “I am forever yours, Kitten. In this life or the next.”

Cover Review:
This scene is beautiful, but sadly it is NOT in the book. I wish they would have depicted the bridge scene. Now that would make one powerful cover!

Opinion:

I bought this pre-order, read a few chapters, got annoyed, put it down, when I was cleaning out my hoard of books to send to the sis I sent her this one as well without me reading it. More than a year later I borrowed it late at night from my library and I finished it at about 5 hours later. I don’t know what my issue was the first time around. This is amazing 5th book in an amazing series. The passion levels are so incredibly high, the plot is slow but incredible, and Cat is forever the heroine that I wish I could be.

Okay, so if you’ve read my reviews on the first 4 you know I am a bit obsessed (to put it mildly) with Vlad. I would totally let him suck my blood all day long. He is so present in this book which makes this girl incredibly happy!

Bones and Cat are in that comfortable. We both love one another, so we are completely secure in our relationship. I think the experts call it the “attachment” phase. This makes for a solid base behind the amount of assaults thrown in their direction. It brings such fun, emotional, passionate adoration to a book full of evils.

I’m just gonna sum it up with. Read this series. Like now. It’s one that would be at the top of my list for books you must read!

Rating:

Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

On the Island Blog Tour & Giveaway

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves hit bookshelves on July 10th. You should definitely go pick up a copy. It was my pleasure to review her widely successful book first published in ebook form. Thanks to AToMR Book Tours and Plume for hosting the tour.

July 17th 2012, Plume
319 pages, Paperback
Bought
Contemporary Romance
Amazon | The Book Depository

Goodreads:
When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island.

Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Opinion:

On the Island was an amazing read. It went beyond my expectations, especially for such a popular bestseller. I was so emotionally invested in Tracey’s debut.

T.J. and his tutor, Anna, are deserted on an island after the plane that was supposed to bring them both to T.J.’s family to spend the summer crashes into the sea.  Finding food, water, and shelter involves working together and pooling resources. 16 year-old T.J. matures into a man as the months turn into years. As rescue seems to become hopeless, Anna and T.J. develop reluctant romantic interests from their comfortable relationship. This was a compelling story about what really matters when it comes to love.

I fell in love with the characters. T.J. sounded like a real teen. Tracey created a great voice for someone approaching their adulthood. I felt their ups and downs. From the bats to the crabs and chicken, the friendly dolphin visits to recounting stories from home and about cancer. They learn to lean on each other and find humor in their sad situation. Anna is a smart and sweet woman. She knows how to listen and what to say. Even with her personal issues, Anna continues to be a courageous woman throughout the book. Told in alternating point-of-views, Tracey writes a very realistic and believable book.

I had always been reluctant to read because of the consequences the characters must face from their relationship, not just from the judgment from the readers, but also from T.J’s parents. I’m so happy I took the plunge and read the book. Tracey Garvis-Graves deserves her new book deal with Plume and I will happily read any more of her future books. I recommend this to any fans of contemporary romance or New Adult.

Rating: 5 stars

Thank you for participating in the ON THE ISLAND Event! This week in addition to reviews and posts, select blogs are hosting a word from the author's favorite quotes in the book as a Scavenger Hunt! There is one quote from Anna and one from T.J. Visit each stop this week to find the hidden words (they will be numbered for order) and after July 22nd, submit your answer to the quotes here! Random winners for books and swag will be chosen and notified by July 29th.

Also, next week July 23-27, there will be even more events and chances to win the book and swag!

• Monday, July 23 at 8:00 pm CST - Chat with the author Tracey Garvis Graves! We will be chatting with the author on Savor Chat: http://www.savorchat.com/chat/on-the-island-chat Come join us! (You can sign in with twitter or facebook)
• Each day look at #ontheisland on twitter for random shout outs to win books and swag! @Tale_of_Reviews
• ON THE ISLAND released in bookstores Tuesday, July 10th! If you see the book in stores or 'in the wild' take a picture. Please tweet it and use hashtag #ontheisland. Or you can post it to facebook! Please submit twitter and facebook links of your post/tweet here!  All entries need to be submitted by July 29th.

You can find the rest of blogs participating in the tour here: http://wp.me/p20ttU-oN




Author’s website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you so much for stopping by today for the blog tour! On the Island is a fantastic read. Plume Books is giving away ten signed print copies. You can enter in the Rafflecopter.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

The elusive Linda-saurus:

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.

Read More

Pleasure Unbound by Larrisa Ione

July 1st 2008, Grand Central Publishing
391 pages, Paperback
Bought from Amazon
First in Demonica series
Adult Fiction

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life . . .


She's a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure-but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his quest to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable-and let Tayla possess him, body and soul . . .

Favorite Quote:

“You can't truly hate someone you've loved. You can only hurt.”

Cover Review:
Have I mentioned how much I detest covers with a color overlay? Why do this? I don’t get it. It doesn’t make it more attractive or less creepy to be seen with a cover with half naked people on it. Yep, hate it.

Opinion:

OMG!!! Sexy good! This is not my usual type of paranormal read. It’s sex content is way higher and demons that are of satan and are usually evil being sexy is a bit implausible to me, but I found myself loving every moment of this deceptively fast read. It’s not a short book, but I finished it in a little under 3 hours simply because I could not look away. The plot was so well done that I had absolutely no clue what was going to lay behind that next page.

This has to be one of the steamiest books I have ever read. I’ve read books where there is more sex, but none that have merged the emotional with the physical quite as well. The first love scene is one that I would find appalling in most books.  Any love scene where the male sleeps with an unconscious female makes me want to scream rape, but the explanation actually settled most of my discomfort with it.

I love when I connect more strongly to the male character than the female and that certainly was the case with Eidolon. He is so family orientated that he is willing to undergo intense pain in order to protect people he isn’t even sure care the same way about him.

Recently, it seems I’m on a kick of books about women being indoctrinated into one set of beliefs and then finding out there are vast shades of grey. Making them rethink everything they’ve been taught to believe. Tayla is a byproduct of intense damage and strong hatred for demons has been her rock. A horrible steadying place, but a rock all the same. She has to overcome this not only to fall in love, but in order to reconcile herself to herself. I didn’t question Eidolon and Tayla’s love in the slightest.

Sadly, I did not connect with any of the side characters. Perhaps it was because there was simply too much going on with the main characters for to devote much time in caring what happened to them. Although, if you have read previous review you know I love pack books and Eidolon certainly has a pack.

Overall, I adored this book! This is a deep book with lots of naughty fun parts, an intense love story, a plot that keeps you guessing!

Rating:

Rie (@missiontoread)

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

Review: Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

June 12th 2012, Razorbill
418 pages, Hardback
Borrowed from the Library
Second in Bloodlines series
Young Adult Fiction
Amazon

The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series.

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

Favorite Quote:

“You need me? You yell. You want to leave? We go. I'll get you out of here, no matter what.”- Adrian

Cover Review:

The covers somewhat confuse me. Is the other girl Jill? If so she has such a small role in this book as to be non-existant. If it’s like showing two sides of Sydney than it’s an amazing cover because this book is all about duality.

Opinion:

I was so ultra excited to get my hands on this book! I could not wait to see more of Adrian and Sydney.  I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. There were definitely things that annoyed me, and there were things I adored. Like so much.

The plot was incredible and the morale of what has been indoctrinated into you from birth versus what you believe and see around you was so poignantly done.  The constant foreshadowing to the point that I was utterly annoyed with Sydney for not getting it and completely knew what was going to happen made it not only predictable, but boring. Foreshadowing should be done in a way that there are hints here and there, but it’s not screaming at you “Look over there!”

The duality of it was something that I found incredibly intriguing as a writer. Not only the duality of belief systems, but of plot points. From beginning to end it seemed like there was a mirror there reflecting life into Sydney’s view so that she could not get it wrong.

Characterization although weaker than other books by Mead was still impeccable. Sydney is always so well defined. Those around her seemed to endorse and enable her eating disorder, which made me a bit insane. I love that Mead includes real issues in her books from cutting to eating disorders, but there was so little to tell Sydney that what she is doing to herself is unhealthy. If food dictates your life it has become a disorder.

Overall, I left with an impression of adoration with a slight mixture of disappointment. I can’t wait to see more of Sydney’s world, which is still one of my favorites.

Rating:

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

Waiting on Wednesday- Indigo Spell

Button from Bewitched Bookworms

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme by Breaking the Spine that allows us bloggers a chance to spotlight upcoming books that we are dying to read!

February 12th 2013, Razorbill

First paragraph- from Bloodlines Facebook page
This wasn’t the first time I’d been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I’d been subjected to such a personal line of questioning.

“Are you a virgin?”

Why I can’t wait:

I just finished Golden Lily and want to get my hands on this like NOW!!! So excited to see more of Sydney and Adrian.

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

Read More

Jane Kindred Interview

Can you tell me about your book in 20 words or less?

Shacking up with demons in Russia, an exiled celestial heiress discovers the hard way that she can’t hide from destiny. Yep; I milked every last word out of that one. ;)

How has getting a degree in creative writing changed the way you approach publishing?

I wouldn’t say it’s had any effect on the way I approach publishing. Creative writing programs teach you to hone your craft, not how to get your writing published. It was a long, hard road from that BA 24 years ago to figuring out that one did not necessarily lead to the other. I had to learn the business of writing through trial and error.

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read? 

I’ll write anywhere, but I like to sit at my desk in the sunroom with a window open onto my deck garden so I can smell the flowers and listen to the birds and wind chimes, and then watch the fog roll in in the evening. (I live in San Francisco, which is a little slice of Heaven.) Unfortunately, I also have a cockatiel who shares that room with me, and he prefers to “chat.”

And it’s not actually my favorite place to read, but just about the only place I don’t feel guilty reading is on a commute via bus, train, or plane.

If your house was on fire (everyone was safe), what one book would you rescue?

That’s a tough call between the vintage volume of the complete works of Shakespeare I received from my high school drama instructor as a graduation gift and the Roget’s Thesaurus (not dictionary-style, but the full classification-system-style thesaurus) that was the last birthday present my mother gave me before she died, when I was fourteen.

As a reader do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal creature obsession? 

Definitely. I write fantasy because I love reading it. There are other genres I’ll read—horror, romance, mystery, classic literature—but fantasy is always my go-to genre for comfort and pleasure. I’d have to say my current paranormal creature obsession is demons, since I’m knee-deep in them at the moment with my series. I’m also a big fan of vampires, but nothing beats a demon for a tortured anti-hero.

Thanks so much for having me on Mission to Read!

About the book:
Against the pristine ice of Heaven, spilled blood and a demon’s fire will spark celestial war.

The exiled heir to the throne of Heaven, Grand Duchess Anazakia and her demon companions, Belphagor and Vasily, have made a comfortable home in the Russian city of Arkhangel’sk, but their domestic bliss is short lived. When their daughter Ola is taken as a pawn in Heaven’s demon revolution, the delicate fabric of their unorthodox family is torn apart—threatening to separate Belphagor and Vasily for good.

Anazakia is prepared to move Heaven and Earth to get her daughter back from Queen Aeval, risen in Elysium from the ashes of temporary defeat. But Aeval isn’t the only one seeking Ola’s strange power.

To conquer the forces amassing against them, Anazakia is prophesied to spill the blood of one close to her heart, while Vasily’s fire will prove more potent than anyone suspected. In the battle for supremacy over Heaven’s empire, loyalties will be tested and secrets will be revealed, but love will reign supernal.

Pre-order The Midnight Court, available August 14, at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Powell’s Books.

About the author:

Jane Kindred began writing fantasy at age 12 in the wayback of a Plymouth Fury—which, as far as she recalls, never killed anyone…who didn’t have it coming. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. Although she was repeatedly urged to learn a marketable skill, she received a B.A. in Creative Writing anyway from the University of Arizona.

She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.

You can find Jane on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and on her website.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More

A Discussion with Linda: Book Clubs

Let’s talk about book clubs. I recently signed up for a book club at my local library. We got our books and scheduled in the two meetings for Mary E. Pearson’s The Miles Between.

First of all, I was very surprised and happy to find out that most of the readers were teens. It makes me that much happier that our next generation is still obsessed over the written word.

I’ve never been much of a talker. I usually just nod, smile, and murmur words of agreement. Luckily, it was pretty easy to relate and chat with everyone. They grab onto the black sheep like superglue. I realized that here, opinions really matter. We could go in depth or just point out the quirky things we liked. It’s such a welcome atmosphere.

The negative comes from the fact that at times, I felt uncomfortable. I’m a book blogger, although I hadn’t mentioned that to everyone. I know my way around the Young Adult market. I was utterly shocked that even some of the teachers or dedicated teens didn’t catch onto the lingo. Someone said the book was realistic fiction. That term is so foreign to me! Contemporary just rolls off the tongue for me. A teen pointed out that she preferred fantasy like their last read. If anything, that was actually paranormal or urban fantasy. Plus, they weren’t aware of the Pearson’s other book series, one that I haven’t had a chance to read.

Here I am, the most “in the know” person in the group and it’s the strangest feeling. They don’t know that they’re the odd one out! But I could never go back to my ignorant days as a person who didn’t love reading blogs. For this instance, ignorance is not bliss. This experience has been an eye-opener. Let me know if you have your own story to share about book clubs.


The elusive Linda-saurus: 

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.

Read More

Why have I been gone?

*This is probably my most personal post to date so if you'd rather just skip it come back tomorrow for more bookish news.

I've been very absent from the blogging world for the past two weeks and I just wanted to let you know that I'm still around and very much in love with blogging.

A) I took this summer off from uni to be more accessible to my doctors. I have two health issues that have been a bit out of control all year. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which has since May been under control, but it can make me incredibly sick between the pills and everything else that goes along with it. I also have a blood disorder where my red blood cells are destroyed. This causes me to get incredibly weak and incredibly sick when I am in need of a blood transfusion.

B) We moved this past week and as you know that is always time draining.

So that's why I haven't been as around on Twitter and on the blog, but hopefully within the next two weeks life will normalize and I will be back blogging full-time.

Though the schedule has changed. The schedule will be adhered to unless I have a tour post or simply cannot post for a day.

Monday: Review
Tuesday or Wednesday: Top Ten Tuesday or Waiting on Wednesday
Thursday: Review or Rie's Bookish Discussion
Friday: TGIF
Saturday: Discussion with Linda or Rie's 5 Fave
Sunday: Once a month Stacking the Shelves

Thanks for sticking around even though I've been such an unreliable blogger lately!

Read More