New Year's Resolution!

For 2011, my New Year's Resolution was to write three novels. I wrote two and a fourth. Or two and two sevenths, but I think the former sounds better.

This year, I plan on doing a few more things (which is probably silly, considering I'll be entering Junior year of high school) like...

• Complete three novels OR finish writing a series/trilogy (Nightland is a four-book series; Rush is the first in a trilogy)
• Edit one of my completed projects until I'm happy with it
• Read 100 books
• Be nicer to people

And those are my resolutions for 2012. I hope to get a jump start, considering how I have a whole week for break. Plus, I'll have a three day week in the middle of January. Then comes the two semester projects I'll receive... Oh what fun comes with this new year.

So, what are your New Year Resolutions?

Writing Hell Preparations?

As we grow closer to the new year, another Writing Hell will commence. How much you want to write every day is optional, but please try to stick the amount of days for that month (5 for January).


I think I might start calling this a meme, but I'm not certain.


If you are participating in Writing Hell, I'd love to at least be able to visit your blog (if you have one). Just leave the link in the comments.

The layout for your posts should be something like this:

Excerpt for whatever project you're doing


Starting count: (insert word count started with)
Ending count: (insert word count ended with for that day)

And I think that's simple enough. Why not start off the New Year with a little challenge? I already know that it'll help out with my New Year's Resolution.

So, if you're participating, post your blog's link in the comments!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern review

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

I'm going to start off by saying that the pitch is a lie. It isn't a duel; it is a super long ... game, really.  The pace is slow, and really, I'd suggest not reading the pitches.  I didn't, or, at least, I don't remember them. Consider me lucky: my expectations weren't so high.

I did enjoy reading this. My only complaint is that the pace was way too slow.  It dragged a lot of the time, and there were scenes that I wanted to skip.  A lot of the chapters, though, do tie in to everything.  But I have a strong feeling that there are chapters that could be skipped, and the reader would still understand the ending.

Oh, and speaking of the ending: have you heard of The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?  Well, the ending is similar to that.  I found a lot of things I could compare this to, like an anime I've been watching, and a movie I recently watched.  They were little aspects of the stories.

And now I go back to the story.  The main characters' father figures were rather ... odd.  I did, however, love Celia's relationship with her father.  Rather inspiring to my writer's side.  All of the relationships were well crafted, and the characters all distinct and interesting. The backgrounds to a good majority of the major characters were pretty cool, too.

The plot was very, very slow.  The writing weighed it down a lot; the descriptions were elaborate.  All of the pictures painted were beautiful, and a lot of the scenes were great.  But when those dull scenes popped up every few chapters, I would end up thinking about other things.  Which happened quite a lot.

Then there's the ending (actually talking about it now). It tied up everything rather nicely, in my opinion. Kind of sweet, too, at some places.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to other people, but warn them about the slow pace. I'd give this a 4.0 rating. The pace was too slow for me, and some scenes were too boring, but I'd say everything else was great.

In My Mailbox (3)

It has been a while...

Anyways, In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

On November 30th, I actually received books in the mail. (Granted, I bought them with a year old Amazon gift-thingy I found while cleaning my room a week prior, but I still got 'free' books.)

And what I got was:


I am so excited to read these, even though I have about a gazillion books I need to read before I read these. (Like this week: I plan to finish all of the books I'm reading so my friend can read them over winter break.)

As I go off to read, let me know what your IMM is!

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?

So, last year I wanted to enter, but I didn't have a completed manuscript. This year, I have two (Nightland and Rush). The problem is not only deciding between the two, but they both need editing. One doesn't even have a second draft. The other's second draft is far from completion. So what will I do?

Work my butt off one the one without a second draft. I don't want to enter the other one just because I really really want to work on that one more. And it has been, oh, at least six months since I've gone through it.

The first thing I should do is probably read through and fix stuff. A lot of stuff, like the opening. It doesn't really have a good one. Good thing I've got over a month, and winter break starts in a week. I hope I have the time. The other thing will be the motivation.

And, another thing would be some peer critics. (I don't really know what to do to find people.) I have a feeling I'll have to resort to inkpoppers to get some critiques, which is the opposite of a plan of mine. *sigh*

If you don't know what the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is, click here. And if anyone would like to work with me, I'd love to help out with your manuscripts! My critiques on inkpop are rather in-depth, and I won't be afraid to point out things, or help with grammar. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you're interest!

What are your opinions on the ABNA?

Updating y'all?

So, ten days later, I've finally decided to return to my blog.

This past week, and the next week, was/will be interesting. At the beginning of the week, I finally got into contact with my brother who lives a couple hundred miles away. That brought up my week. Thursday, I had to play at my school's concert. And, I have learned that I barely have an A in my History class, and a low A in HP Chem. Today, I'm going to watch Sherlock Holmes 2 with family friends and my mom. Awesome way to end the week.

Next week starts finals, and then Winter Break. I want to achieve straight A's this semester (Yes, I'm a nerd) which means I need to study. Which is the first, because studying isn't in my nature. At all. Which means I'll probably just write out this outline for my Chem test (my teacher won't give us a review) and read over the first chapters in my History book.

As for reading and writing, I am almost done with The Night Circus, and am going to finish another one or two books. Along with doing my homework. Writing wise, I'm at a block, even though I just came up with an idea based around a tree. Yeah, that's got to say something.

So, what are you guys reading? Those of you who are in school: has your break started yet?

Woohoo! I'm an epic failure!

As you know, I should be nearing 50,000 words tomorrow in Smolder. So let's say that I'm really past 18,000 words right now.

Yeah, real big difference there. For the majority of the weekend, I was watching Yu Yu Hakusho. And I'll end up watching Sailor Moon and Rurouni Kenshin in the upcoming weeks. Anime seems like really like me during the winter; last year, my friend got me to watch almost all of the DeathNote series. But ... yeah, I didn't finish it.

Let's see if I can get this writing done! On Thursday, I have community service because of my history class. On Friday, I have to play for the football game, because we've made it to championships for the first time in the history of my school. And we're undefeated. So, I must suffer in 30 degree weather (I'm a Californian used to 90-100 degree weather, of course I'm going to die!) and then thaw out at home that night.

At least I don't have homework. Not with finals coming up. I just need to pull up my history grade a little to maintain straight A's. (Yeah, I'm a nerd, too.)

So, those of you who're participating in Writing Hell: Are you failing as badly as I am, or have you stayed on track?

Writing Hell 1.2

Week one, day two.

Today, I need to catch up. So I'm making this post quick.

Starting word count: 15535
Ending word count: 16189

I give up. Pulling my attention from the road, I ask, “Papa, why are we going to Moscow?”
Papa glances back at me through the rearview mirror. “There’s a lot of history in the city. I thought it might help explain some things. You can do some research.” He pauses, fingers tapping the steering wheel. “Meet up with some people, hopefully.”
“People? Like who?”
He doesn’t answer, peeving me. I fold my arms over my chest, dip my chin down, and glare at Mama’s seat. Levin’s hand rattles my knee. I look up into a smiling face as he scoots over, now sitting right beside me.
“Do you know what he’s talking about?” I ask, peering up at Levin.
His lips form a tight line. He taps his right picky finger, the joint bouncing on my knee. Finally, he says, “I might have an idea, but I’m not certain. There are many things to do in Moscow.” He laughs. “I could teach you a lot, if Marco doesn’t plan on it.”
I'll post an excerpt in a little bit. In the mean time, leave a link in the comments of your Writing Hells, guys! I'd love to read your works.

Writing Hell 1.1

First day of the first week of Writing Hell.

How many of you have met your 2.5-5k goal yet? I for sure haven't! I've been at school, reading and doing school like things. And tonight, I can't write much, because I have a wonderful Christmas Parade to march in. Oh the joys of being in my high school's marching band.

So, Writing Hell participants, here's how posts will go (I meant to do this yesterday, but Yu Yu Hakusho distracted me):

Make a post for your first day of Writing Hell. It will contain your starting word count (example: Starting word count: 100) and beneath that, your ending word count (at the end of the day, or the next day, fill it in; follow previous example) and then you could post an excerpt. I will most likely be doing this tomorrow, and will be catching up on my 5k goal over the weekend.

For now, I will post the summary, as I don't have a whole lot of time to get stuff done.


Starting word count: 15535
Ending word count: 15535

And the summary:

Having to actually save something is the last thing on Milo’s mind. Being a demigod is a close second. Yet now she’s forced to take on these two foreign paths in hopes of keeping some sort of world order. But Milo couldn’t care less about things that don’t involve her.

Levin refuses to let her go down the wrong path. As her Guardian, he guides her as best he can. He’s able to solve many of her mistakes, until she upsets Them—the ones who granted mortals the chances for immortality in the first places. Milo should listen to them no matter what, unless she wants to lose the powers that come with being a demigod.

When it comes to change, Milo’s chances of staying a demigod smolder to dust.

I hope to near completion for Smolder by the end of these ten days.

So, how's your Writing Hell going? If you're participating, feel free to leave a comment with your day's excerpt. I'd love to check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The book I can't wait for is Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. It comes out on May 1st next year. So long to wait. ;-; I got to read the first chapter before it was on inkpop.

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen
angels in Sweet Evil.

Anna, a tender-hearted southern girl, was born with the sixth
sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of
a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger,
but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring
Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her
will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned
you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip forces Anna and Kai to face the reality
that hope and love are not options for their kind. When it's
time for Anna to confront her demons, will she choose to embrace
her halo or her horns?

Pitch from goodreads. What's your WoW this week?

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand review

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has apurpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Pitch from goodreads.

I just finished this moments ago, so bare with my rather short review.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. A lot. Which is rather surprising. I always heard that this would be a horrible book (maybe because one friend who didn't like it doesn't like love triangles (yes, there is a love triangle)).

The writing's right up my alley: first person present tense. It was easy for me to slip into it. And the setting, I'm both familiar with: I'm a born-and-raised Californian, been to the San Francisco area, and have been to Jackson, Wyoming, and to the Grand Tetons. But some aspects I liked were the facts that it took place during the winter, the originality of the angel ordeal, how Clara was flawed (which was pointed out), and other things. (Like who she ends up with.)

(Make sure you don't skip to the ending like I do; I kind of regret it. But I'll end up doing it to another book.)

There's also how the characters' react. 90% of the time, I was happy/satisfied with everything. The characters were all real. I actually noticed that there were quirks to the characters. That's some major bonus points in my opinion.

I hated, though, Clara's views on cliques. Yes, people automatically form their cliques, but they aren't always labeled. She labels everyone, thinks about popularity, etc. That part really irked me and makes her feel shallow, because she thinks about how different angels are and their aspects every hundred pages.

But, that's my only complaint. I was absorbed in this book. The past two days, I read over half of the book. Which is surprising for me. I don't have any rants, nor will I rave too much. I recommend it to those who enjoy love triangles, angels, and ... yeah, that's basically it. The book's not too mushy for me to gag, and it isn't too slow. One of the best books I've read this year (which isn't saying much; I haven't read a whole lot this year).

I'd give this five stars.

Writer's Tip #1: How to Avoid Info-dumps

Writers love words, but sometimes, words don't like writers. Especially when it comes to info dumps.

What is an info dump? Well, it is when you drop a load of information onto the reader. They are boring chunks that are generally found in dialogue, or at the beginning of the story. And are generally found in more paranormal/fantasy stories.

How do you avoid info dumps? The answer varies. When it comes to explanations of mythology, it may be best to have a prologue to show a bit of the mythology, or intersperse the information. Never drop a load of info at once, because the reader with a) forget everything by the end of the chapter or b) get seriously confused.

Another way would be the main character has visions that connect with whatever information is being given. Or tiny bits are revealed throughout the story, as I've stated before. People learn may different ways, so applying learning techniques may help, like providing information and then explaining the information later on.

Also, try to avoid info dumps at the beginning of a story. It will slow down the story, and its always best to start where the plot is. Info dumps are back story.

Fixing info dumps always requires a lot of though. Sometimes they aren't avoidable, but if they aren't, make sure to give little bits throughout the story. We don't need the reader developing a headache or throwing the book around when they're not even halfway through the book.

The TBR reading challenge

This a challenge held at Bookish starting January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2012.  And I've got tons of books that I need to read.  Check it out if you're interesting.

Some of the books I plan to read are...
~Jealousy by Lily St. Crow
~Defiance by Lily St. Crow
~Paranormalcy by Kierstan White
~Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund
~Torment by Lauren Kate
~Passion by Lauren Kate
~Captivate by Carrie Jones
~Entice by Carrie Jones
~The Host by Stephenie Meyer
~The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

And many more! I'm already setting up plans for next year, and getting these series read is part of it all.

Have I mentioned I have a new idea?

Well, two actually, but only one of them has pitches and more than one chapter written. Do you know what inspired it? Some commercial where a sword goes crashing into the room. I think it might've been a video game commercial, but I don't really remember.

The story's current title is Smolder, but it is most likely going to change, because I don't like it. And here are the  pitches (I, personally, think they're getting better):

It all started with a sword. Crashing through the roof.
Not a nice way to wake up in the middle of the night.

Having to actually save something is the last thing on Milo’s mind. Being a demigod is a close second. Yet now she’s forced to take on these two foreign paths in hopes of keeping some sort of world order. But Milo couldn’t care less about things that don’t involve her.

Levin refuses to let her go down the wrong path. As her Guardian, he guides her as best he can. He’s able to solve many of her mistakes, until she upsets Them—the ones who granted mortals the chances for immortality in the first places. Milo should listen to them no matter what, unless she wants to lose the powers that come with being a demigod.

When it comes to change, Milo’s chances of staying a demigod smolder to dust.

I plan to post it on inkpop next month, on the 21st. And as soon as I have a decent pitch for my latest idea, I'll post it here. This is also one of two/three projects I plan to write for Writing Hell (more info about this will be posted on Wednesday).

Reading update: Currently on page 68 of The Night Circus and loving it!

How's your reading/writing coming along?

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at the Breaking the Spine.

After cleaning part of my room today, I found a $26 giftcard for Amazon. So I'm getting two books. One of them is the following, which I've wanted for quite a while.

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Pitch found here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429045-shatter-me

I can't wait to get it!

So what's your WoW?

Writing Hell?

You may have noticed the badge on the side of my blog. What is Writing Hell?

Well, Writing Hell will be a 5-10 day thing where you write 5k every day. Or 2.5k, to be a little easier. This will be to get some writing done, for those of you who didn't and/or couldn't do NaNoWriMo. And I plan for this to go on throughout the year.

If you do this, make sure to post on your blog how much your wrote the day before, and a little excerpt of writing. You don't have to work on a single project, but its recommended to get that novel completed.

If you want to participate, leave me a comment or contact me via one of the sites provided below. Or email me. I will gladly word war with you, or just chat whenever you'd like.

Spread the word, and have fun!

Do you think this is a good idea you'd participate in?

You poor little thing

It's been a while, if you hadn't noticed. But school, band, and writing have all overcome me. Kind of.

On Monday, I have an essay on Macbeth due. On Saturday, I'm going to be out of town for our last marching competition. And then I'm trying to get lots of writing done for Rush and my new idea, Smolder.

But, come Monday, I won't have to be at school until the regular time, and will start posting Writing Tips. The book I just finished and the book I'm currently reading have sparked a series of tips that I believe will help aspiring authors.

And that's my little update. See y'all on Monday!

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Their love was meant to be.
When Megan Rosenburg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place.  After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself felling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRis.
But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago--and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

(Back of cover pitch.)




My review:
This was a hyped up read. I was excited to finally get this book because of two things: the fact it was published after inkpop (which I am on) and it sounded really cool. But after reading only the first page, I was weary of my good thoughts. I will say now that I only enjoyed two things: the setting and the idea.

Let me start by talking about the characters. For me, they were all 'meh.' Megan was developed, but she felt inconsistent in some places. She fears water, yet her first choice for somewhere to sit by herself is on a dock, with her feet dangling over water. Even I can freak out when it comes to walking on docks, because they move so easily because of the water. And then her thoughts about Adam and how she treated her friends were rather sad. She ignores nearly everyone and only thinks about Adam. All the time. Usually, I notice when my friends space out; not that hard to notice. And the fact that she's spacing out to think about Adam just doesn't make me like her. I hate how she treated her friends.

Then there's loverboy Adam. Nothing about him hooked me. I preferred Rian over Adam, but even then, I didn't know who Rian really is (which is bad because he's one of the more important characters (or at least that's what I would think)). Adam wasn't all too developed, and I didn't even know Rian. And Aine came off as an Alice. How she (and Rian) joked Adam and Meg's relationship annoyed me. They did the same thing every time.

Another thing that happened with the characters is that I would forget who's speaking, when it came to some info dumps. At one point, I thought Fionn was talking to Meg, yet it was Adam. These two boys are the ones who do the most info dumping, and it doesn't surprise me that I mixed them up.

Now for those info dumps. As I writer, I've learned to avoid info dumps. And this book is riddled with them. I wanted to skip them (and I don't remember if I did or not). There's also the fact that they were confusing. What I've learned as a student is to provide info and then explain it (like on a pretest). If Fallon had replaced the Prologue with something to do with the background to how Meg and the DeRises got their powers, it would remove some info dumping. That, or take one of them many topics later explained in one of the chapters, and use the Prologue to explain it, no matter how cliche it may have seemed. The Prologue barely caught me when I read it, which is where I should have been hooked.

Motives were also unclear for me. I didn't understand why Meg couldn't just do things; I believe I didn't understand because I didn't get what all the info dumps were trying to explain. There was just too much info that needed to get across, which is the problem with books like these.

And, now that I've gotten all the bad out, I'll talk about what I liked. I loved the setting, and I loved the idea of the book. Got to learn some mythology out of it. I love the elements, I loved the Marks, and I believe the setting was rather interesting. The whole idea, though, is what just might make me buy the next book. I'd like to see the plot (because, in reality, it didn't get interesting until the last 50 pages).

All in all, I'd rate this a two. The characters need development and I'd have liked to see more of the story, not the info.

Awesome giveaway!

So, my friend, Zoey, is giving away these books:

ARC of Shatter Me by Tahereh Maji

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Touch by Jus Addardo

The Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong

Enter to win these books (US citizens can get most; The Pledge is the only international one) here:

http://zoeysuncreativelytitledblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/300-follower-giveaway.html

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Have I mentioned I'm broke? I just managed to convince my mom to by me three paper back books because two have more than one book in them.

And, because it seems like I can't find the cover for this one book online, I took a picture:

So, I got the paperback edition of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, Fearless (including Fearless, Sam, and Run) by Francine Pascal, and The Dark Elite (including Firespell and Hexbound) by Chloe Neill.

What did you get this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill here.
Pitch from goodreads.

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.
Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.
Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

 Pretty awesome, huh? It comes out on February 28th, 2012. Hopefully I a) when the ARC giveaway currently being hosted or b) get a whole lot of money for Christmas and from recycling. Can't wait to check it out.

What're you waiting on?

Wanderslust (excerpt 1)

I'm kind of ahead in NaNoWriMo for this, and almost done with the first chapter.  So, here's the excerpt:

  James pops up beside Benjamin, slinging an arm over Ben’s shoulder.  “You mean you don’t enjoy the time you spend with her?  How could you ever say such a thing?” he asks, mock horror lining his face for a second.  He bursts into laughter seconds later, forcing Ben to rock from side to side. 

     “What are you, drunk?”  Ben shakes his head at James and steps away, standing in the road for a moment.

     “Knowing him, he has some scotch somewhere in his coat,” I mutter, turning on my heels.  Ben appears at my side, the two of us abandoning James.  I try hard not to smile at the close proximity and instead focus on the carriages as they move forward, the Minister’s car gone.

     “You know, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”  James slings his arms around our necks, his head hanging between us.

     I stop walking and glare at him through a lock of auburn hair.  “Go hifreann leat!”

     He steps back, hand covering his mouth.  “Such words spout from such a proper young lady.”  He closes his eyes and shakes his head, dark blond hairs shaking into his eyes.  “Benjy, you really should be a hold on your lassie.”

The phrase is an Irish phrase in the Gaelic language (so says the website where I found the phrase).  (I kind of screwed up the formatting.  Need to fix that soon.)

So, how's your writing coming along?  Do you know any phrases in foreign languages?

Wanderlust!

The title of this steampunk (at least, I plan to be a steampunk) was inspired by my marching band's show, the Gypsy Life. The last song (out of three) is Wanderlust. I absolutely love our show this year, so I don't find it surprising that I've "adopted" the title.

Anyways, I have yet to post the pitches for Wanderlust, so I'll post them now.  Tomorrow, there will be a 300 word excerpt. Wanderlust excerpts will be on Wednesdays for this month.

When right and wrong collide, there’s a mess. 

She doesn’t like messes. 

The Minister ignores the poor. There is no such thing. 

The poor work and starve. They need food now. 

The Resistance is ready for change. But they don’t exist. 

~*~

Johanna grew up with the Minster’s daughter, America—her playmate for years. She learned how to act like a proper woman, yet hung out with more young men than women. And she grew up at her father’s side, following in his footsteps. 

1800s Ireland is a time where one can hear word about the Resistance on the street. Just the utterance of the word and hope springs within all people. Except for the Minister. This group appears to be after him, and he fears for his life. These horrible men won’t stop terrorizing the rich—the Minster’s most helpful people. Which means he needs body guards. 

For years, the Minister has looked for Johanna’s father as a guard and adviser. He’s heard of what Johanna can do, and he needs her help to keep his precious America alive. 

But everyone always has different incentives.

This is my NaNoWriMo project. I hope to reach 60000 words out of the expected/planned 80-90 thousand words. My first attempt at a steampunk.

Are you participating in NaNo? If you do write, but aren't participating in NaNo, how's the writing coming along? 

Starting tomorrow!

The last few days have been busy. And the next month will be busier.
Last Friday was a football game. (My school won, by the way. Off to playoffs.) And then Saturday, my school hosted a marching competition. Where I was sunburned, marched twice in heat that I'm not used to (we usually march during the evenings) and had only 6 hours of sleep. Then I got 12 hours of sleep Saturday night. And now I have a whole bunch of history homework plus some reading to do.

Anyways, I plan to start posting excerpts from the novels I plan to work on throughout November for NaNoWriMo. I hope to get the 1.7k for my NaNo, Wanderlust, every day. Which might be achievable when I only have one more Monday night rehearsal for band. And early outs. And two three day weekends (even though Saturdays are for band.)

I might aim for a schedule. I've got four different projects I'm working on, all of different genres. (With the help of Write or Die, of course.) I'll try to think of a good schedule today.

And, as for my reading, I'm halfway through Carrier of the Mark. Still have a lot more to read, and I hope to get a lot of reading done this month. I'm getting myself busy, which isn't very smart of me.

So, what are you reading or writing this month?
Oh, and Happy Halloween for those of you on the Western side of the world.

NaNoWriMo, here we come!

Thus begins the last few days of the month. Which is really not good for me.

Why, you ask? Well, let's see...
My novel, Deception, is in inkpop's Top 5. Which means I need to make sure it is as close to how I want perfect as I can make it. And I'm only on chapter seven of twenty-five plus chapters. Not good, being that I'm adding scenes and rewriting things.

It doesn't help that I have to play at a football game this Friday, and then my school's hosting a marching competition Saturday. So I have the rest of tonight, Thursday, some of Friday and Saturday, hopefully all of Sunday, and then Monday night (yay for no rehearsal for marching band!). Not a whole lot of time. So, I'm partially freaking out.

And then NaNoWriMo begins a week from today. I've already planned the first three chapters for my steampunk, Wanderlust, which is good. I should be able to survive the first day or two. Then I have to plan. A lot. That's between marching band, football games, and competitions. Next month is going to be chaotic.

So, anything big coming up for you? Are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo? If so, let me know a bit about your novel.

Have a good day/evening!
-Dylan

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin review

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Pitch from here.

(I’m going to start working on my reviews’ structures next time around. Sorry if it’s too hard to follow.)

I loved the cover, and the promotional stuff I’d seen/read all really caught my attention. But, I was a little let down.

To break down what parts I liked and dislike:

First two chapters: liked

Next fifty chapters: blah

Last seven chapters: loved

So, out of fifty-nine chapters, I only liked nine of them. Doesn’t sound real good, does it? Well, let me explain.

The beginning, I really liked how present Mara’s voice is, and what happened in the first two chapters. Having ‘fun’ with friends, and then what happened months later. But Mara’s voice didn’t appeal to me after a while. Too much of ‘blah blah blah’ and not enough of what was going on.  It was at the end that I really started liking the writing, due to the fact that something actually happened.

And, being the Grammar Nazi/writer, my opinions on a few of the grammar bother me. Like all caps with someone’s yelling. This is a place that calls for italics. At least, that’s what I’ve been taught. This appears much more professional in my opinion. And then there were quite a few places where I found run-on sentences (which I tend to write myself) and lack of proper dialogue formatting. There were a few times where I felt like writing in my book, which I never have done nor what to ever do.

There were a lot of things that annoyed/confused me.  The first little annoyance was the love interest: Noah. He is a British boy who doesn’t really play by the rules. He is rich, and he can speak two other languages fluently. He carried around thousands of dollars at one point. And he’s beautiful.  Many times, the word beautiful was used to describe little aspects of Noah, which got real annoying. Then he acts like a real jerk at some points. Oh, and Mara has to hate him for some reason. AND she thinks she’s the slut when she starts dating him. That utterly confused me, being that sluts are thought to be girls who go out with multitudes of guys, instead of one. Unless I and hundreds of other teens at my school are wrong.

Another thing was plot holes. Or what appeared to be plot holes. There were many times where I had no clue how much time had passed, and then points where I was pretty sure that it was one time, only to find out it was another time.  That irked me a lot. Time consistency was not real present.

There were quite a few predictable places. Like when Mara envisions a person’s death. After the first one, I could predict that the next death would happen. The only thing that took me by surprise was one little fact toward the end of the story. Not the huge one at the very end of the story, but a chapter or two before that. I was rarely surprised by anything which bothered me. I want to be taken by surprise, rather than know what happens next. (I guess I could come up with an excuse for this, but I’m not too sure it’d be reasonable.)

At the beginning of the story, I liked a lot of characters. By the end, I only liked two: Jamie and Joseph. Mara’s brother got annoying halfway through the story with the rude things he said to Mara. Mara was annoying for being so idiotic when it came to so many things. Noah got real rude too, but I started to warm up to his sweetness toward the end. Mara, though, still annoyed me. I might check out the next book just because of Noah.

Then there’s the mean girl that comes with every private school. I have friends in private schools, and I’m pretty sure they don’t have the classic high school movie’s mean girl clique. But that’s what Anna is.  I hate this stereotype, especially since I’ve grown up in one of those places where one would think that this stereotype would be present, and it isn’t.

Now, the beginning of the story was all info. No plot—at least, not really. Not until the last few chapters where things picked up. I guess it was good to actually ‘build’ Noah and Mara’s relationship (which still wasn’t too good at the beginning), but it was otherwise blah. The most character changes were in the last chapters, which were the few good ones.

What I’d tell me to do is read the first two chapters, maybe ask me about the middle part about how Noah and Mara get closer, Mara thinks she’s insane, and … that’s really it. Well, after that, then read chapter 52 on, because that’s how much of the story seemed really necessary. If this were to be just a contemporary mystery/romance, I’d say the story was good. But because this has a paranormal aspect, it goes down in my opinion.

To tell you the truth, something compelled me to keep reading after the first 100 pages, and I’m kind of glad. The good part of the story was at the end, and I really enjoyed it.

Overall, I’d recommend this, but warn readers (depending on what genre they like) about the middle section. It bothered me, and I’m pretty sure you could skip that section after receiving a brief summary (if that’s even necessary) and still understand the last bit of the story.

The fact that this somehow kept me reading probably makes me want to give it 3 out of 5. Some characters were good/okay, the good ideas were hidden between the bad, and the end of the story really hooked me. 

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme run by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My pick would be ...



The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Pitch from Goodreads.

In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom….




Do you see that awesome cover? It's supposed to come out on November 15. I can't wait, even though I'll have no money when it comes out. And I already have enough books to read.


I know what's on my Christmas list!


What can't you wait to see published?

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Today, I went to a real bookstore (Barnes and Noble, being that Borders is gone and we only have one family-owned bookstore across town (all of the bookstores here are across town)) and bought four books.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
(recently released)

new cover, paperback edition
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
(recently released)

new cover, hardback edition of
Delirium by Lauren Oliver

 

I'm already on page 20 of Carrier of the Mark. It feels perfect for the season, because I picture Ireland as a rainy sort of place. Can't wait to read the rest of these, along with my gazillion other books.

What books have you gotten recently? Any opinions on these books?

I have an idea.

No, not a new story idea. An idea that involves reviewing published books. Because I'm not too good at it. I think I'll just write a post about the one book I like from the month. Might let you peoples know about the book I read and whether or not I'd recommend it, but that might be it.

Of course, these thoughts may change it a little while. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do about this whole blogging thing. I might just start more random posts, even though I'd really like to write more tips. There's only so much that a writer can think of to write tips about....

Oh, I started reading Wither by Lauren DeStefano, and I really like it so far. The writing's good and the plot's interesting so far. I hope this is a good read.

Well, that's all I've got today. I hope you all have a nice day/evening. Get reading/writing done for me! (I'm a bad procrastinator.)

-Dylan

To plan, or not to plan?

In writing, there comes a time where planning can be good or bad. It depends on the person. Some people can freely write, while others need to write down everything for the story. I tend to do both.

Most of my projects are planned out, just because most of them end up in the "To work on" file on my laptop. There's only one project I'm writing that isn't planned out, but that's because it seems to work the best for the story.

Otherwise, I plan out the character, plot, and chapter events.

Character
What do I do for characters? I write down their full name. Then the age. Then appearance. And finally a summary of their life. The latter generally helps plan out the story, which is why I plan out the characters first.

Here's an example:

• Everette 'Ever'
• Age
• 16
• Appearance
• Light brunette, pale green eyes due to experiments, pale skin, 5'2", 
• Summary of life
• Ever lived with her parents until she was 10, which was when Mr. Richards came to her family, offering her a better education. Her family thought this would be a good idea, even though Ever didn't like it, and she went to the lab. After two weeks, Mr. Richards lied to her parents and ...

That's just an brief example. Just getting the first two things also help so you know the general age and what they look like so Suzy don't have brown hair in the first paragraph and blond hair in the third paragraph in the next chapter.

Plot

This one is basically: write a paragraph for the plot, or do a detailed gazillion pages that describe every major event along with back story and other things. I do both. The first is what I do (with pitches instead of a paragraph), while the other ends up being over a thousand pages due to the back story and major events detailed, and a little summary of the beginning of the story.

There are also ways that include a very detailed paragraph-by-paragraph thing. I have never attempted this one, due to the fact that it takes a long time and can get really boring.

Chapter Events

Instead of a plot paragraph-type thing, this can be used to replace it. It's just brief notes on every chapter, from 4 (for me) to 8 lines. Real easy.

An example:

• Ch1
• wakes up to music
• gets ready for school
• brief chat with mom
• almost late to school
• takes test in English
• ditches after class and hangs out with friends a beach

Pretty silly example (in my opinion), but it gives you the gist of what to do. 

I hope this helps those of you who don't really know what to do when it comes to planning!

What's next?

Many things are coming up for me. Today I plan to buy Carrier of the Mark at Wal-mart. Tomorrow I have a usually Monday night rehearsal for band (we're learning the rest of our third song). Then I have to study for the PSAT on Wednesday. It's the end of the quarter this Friday, I've got a weird presentation for English, a test in Chemistry, and this year's first marching competition on Saturday. I get to spend more of my Saturday at school, on a bus, at another school, and on the bus again. Oh, and I get to listen to my lovely iPod while trying to ignore people and get some sleep. And might read on the trip to the other school. And wear my super awesome, super warm jacket.

Writing and reading wise, I plan to have all rewrites for Deception done by next Sunday. And I plan to get Shiver done sometime this week, too. That, or The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Depends on what I decide to pick up tomorrow morning.

Yes, short little post on a Sunday. Not very important, since I still need to figure out some writing tips. I might explain my ways of planning and how I motivate myself to get a whole bunch of writing done in a little bit of time.

So, until then, go listen to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It is my favorite Queen song.

And that is all.
-Dylan

Blood Red Road by Moira Young review

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization. 

Let me start off with the writing. It took me about twenty pages to get into the Western-type style. Then, there were some areas where the “Carin fer somebody that much means you cain’t think straight”-type writing dropped. Everything’s written in this way—or at least should be—but there were a few long-ish sentences that were written “properly.” But, everything was really easy to follow. There’s a lack of dialogue quotations, but, again, real easy to follow. I applaud Young for that.

Otherwise, the story sucked me in. Everything’s short—the sentences and sentences—which definitely kept my pushing through the story. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

The beginning of the story was amazing. Saba and her family live in the middle of nowhere, a storm comes, and Lugh is kidnapped. Took a few pages to get that bit rolling, but it helped show the characters’ relationships. Saba and her brother? Closer than anything. Saba and her little sister? Not so much. What I liked was that, after their brother was kidnapped and Emmi (Saba’s sister) disobeyed Saba and decided to tag along, the relationship between Emmi and Saba grew. Saba wasn’t so mean, and they became more like sisters.

But their relationship seemed to change a lot. At least, that’s what happened when Jack came in. He caused a lot of problems with Saba and Emmi’s relationship, along with his own relationship with Saba. I won’t go into my Jack ordeal just yet.

One of my favorite places was when Saba was change fighting. Best part of the book. Saba’s the best of the change fighters and needs to find a way out so she can continue on her journey to find Lugh. Then Jack comes along, which I believe is where the story starts to fall.

There’s something about Jack that draws Saba. She obviously is in love with him just after a few sentences. A lot of the scenes with Jack and Saba reminded me of a lot of paranormal romances. The main character is in love with the hot guy, yet she doesn’t want to admit it. Then there’s the dialogue between the characters. Again, reminded me a lot of paranormal romances. This killed my joy of reading the book.

Then there’s the whole Lugh-prophecy type thing. Yeah, he’s part of a prophecy—that was before my Jack problem, which probably started my not-so-happy-with-this-book thing. But, the prophecy thing was real small. The start of the quest cage fighting took up a good majority of the beginning, then Saba and the other fighters’ freedom took up another chunk, and the last chunk was some development of Saba and Jack’s relationship while off to go save Lugh.

The ending, though, is redeeming. Characters' relationships get a lot better, and except for the large amounts of predictable dialogue and events, closes the story rather well.

Overall, I enjoyed the beginning, which is really saving the book for me. I’ll probably look into the next book, but otherwise, I’m disappointed. I thought it’d be a lot better. Loved the beginning. The ending went downhill, a bit. One thing I would have liked to see, though, was the background history of this dystopia and where exactly this takes place. As an American, I’m guessing some form of the US in the mid-west.

After some contemplation, I’d say this is 4.0 in rating. I'd still recommend this, but warn people of the not-so-good character relationship.

All right, guys! I have a plan.

At least, I have a plan today.

Today, I will finish reading Blood Red Road (I've got about 150 pages left), write that review, and then work on rewrites for Deception. Simple plan really, but I have a feeling it won't go as well as I'd like.

And tomorrow has some plans (I believe). Tomorrow, I'm going to Wal-Mart and will hopefully buy Carrier of the Mark. Unless they don't have it, because I'll be rather sad then. But it'd be for the best when I keep reading the books I plan to buy, while roaming the story. That's something I look forward to, especially when I have no homework.

I have a question for you guys. What writing aspects would you like me to blog about? Like how to do *insertthinghere*. I'm at a loss, because I haven't written any helpful blog posts (writing-wise) in a while. Would you guys mind helping me?

-Dylan

Reviews to come in October.

That's right, I'm going to start reviewing novels this month. I will hopefully have a review up once a week.

These include...

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Most likely in that order, too. I believe I've posted my opinions before, but I have to say that so far, I don't have any complaints for Blood Red Road. Divergent is okay, but I don't find it the greatest of writing. Glow is blagh (it is my least favorite), and Shiver is pretty good, though the start kind of confused me.

They're all so different, that's for sure.

-Dylan

Inspiration!

Some people find it hard to come up with a new plot for a new book. Others are super creative who can pop out a new idea in seconds and start writing.

I, however, am in the middle. Some days, I just can't think of a good plot. Other days, I find an idea I really like and manage to write 2000 words in an hour.

For those of you who can never find inspiration, might I give a list? Over the past few years (okay, that's a lie. For the past year) I've found quite a few things that inspire me to write. They include:

• Music
• Reading
• TV shows
• Anime
• Movies
• Pictures
• History

I have had at least one idea sprout from one of those things. Anime inspired Deception and X-Men: First Class helped me get ideas for the story; World History inspired Day One; a picture inspired Transparency and Burns; music inspired an older work, Dusty Skies. Find your favorite song and really listen to it. You just might come up with an idea. Heck, even countries have inspired me.

What inspires you? I really believe I can be inspired by anything: I came up with an idea because of roadkill on the side of the road, in front of a field. How sad it that?

-Dylan

You know, it's awesome what you can find on other blogs.

What I found is the following:

There's a contest going on with these amazing prizes found here.

Stuff for everyone, really. Writers have a chance to have their query letter critiqued by agent Sara LaPolla (I actually found her blog and found it quite interesting) or receive a five-paged critique from Vickie Motter.

(Note to self: it is very hard to type and sneeze at the same time. Darn allergies.)

Then, for the readers, there are four ARCs (advanced reader copies) and two finished books. They are as follows:

Shatter Me by Tahera Mafi (ARC)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (ARC)
Legend by Marie Lu (ARC)
Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie (ARC)
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (I, personally, can't wait until for this book to come out.)
and Fateful by Claudia Gray (Love a lot of her works.)

Check out YA Confidential to see about entering. This giveaway is pretty awesome. I don't see why you'd not want to enter!

-Dylan

I am crazy. Just a little, though.

Since reading five books at one time plus writing five different stories at once isn't at all strange. But it is the truth.  And I can most likely tell you a little bit about each of the five books I'm reading without getting them mixed up. I think this fact makes up for the fact that I'm a super slow reader. (Nice little random fact there.)

So far, I'm a forth of the way through Blood Red Road by Moira Young. (Which you need to read. I have yet to find any big problems besides the odd style and some grammar stuff.) Almost a forth of the way through Lord of the Flies by William Golding. (For school. Not too great, since the main characters are evil little boys. Besides Piggy. Poor Piggy.) And barely into Divergent by Veronica Roth (it isn't that bad, except the writing needs improvement. Passive voice present tense irks me, and then the lack of contractions plus the whole bunch of telling makes me think of a beginning writer (inkpop status)), Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (the first chapter is rather pointless and filled with telling, but I'm going to read past it anyways), and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (which I started at the end of the school year last year. Been a while, but I'm pretty sure of what's going on in the story). (Have I mentioned I'm rather good with remembering books? That's a bit of a lie, though.)

And then I'm mostly working on rewrites for Deception, which will be in inkpop's Top 5 at the beginning of next month (at the moment, it'll be #1). Then I'm posting Day One at the end of this month/beginning of next month.

I'm keeping myself rather busy with school and all, but still managing to get a full night's sleep. I just need to make sure I don't get injured at band.

Are you good with reading multiple books at once? How about writing? Or am I the only crazy out there?

-Dylan

(P.S. Be expecting some reviews some time in the middle of next month, if not sooner.)

Now I'm just being annoying

Well, I could be.  You see, I have another dear friend (one I need to start emailing again) who is giving away her ARC copy of Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon.  Those on inkpop may know who Leigh is, being that she "originated" from the site. And to those who don't: she's the first author to be published through HarperTeen due to inkpop.

You can enter to win this ARC at Zoey's blog here.  Good luck, and I hope you guys are just excited about Carrier as I am!

Surprise, surprise, guys!

I finally have books I'll be reviewing. (Well, more like I'm finally reading books to review.)

What I'm currently reading:
Glow by Mary Kathleen Ryan
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (reading it for school)
Blood Red Roads by Moira Young
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

And then there's a gazillion and four books I plan to reread and review. I could make a list, but I'd rather take a pictures. (I apologize for the crappy pictures.)

First shelf:

 Not in pic: Gone.

Hunger; The Lost Hero; rereading Meridian; Dark Vision; The Red Pyramid; Infinity; Paranormalcy; Clockwork Angel; Ascendant; The Vampire Diaries: (may reread all of series) The Return: Shadow Souls; The Night Circus

Second shelf:

Strange Angels series; The Uglies series; Balefire; Echoes trilogy; Harvest Moon; The Vampire's Assistant; The Morganville Vampires: Carpe Corpus; Red Riding Hood; Thirst; The Vampire Academy: Marked

Third shelf:

Raven; The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd: Twelfth Grade Kills (may reread whole series); The Host; Swoon; The Hunger Games Trilogy; Need series; Evernight series; Fallen Series

Little bookcase, huh? And to think that there's so many more books I plan to buy and read. I forgot to add 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell.

So, except reviews on those books in the months to come!

It's been quite a while...

Marching band + school + history homework + writing = busy Kelly

My blog is being neglected, which isn't surprising when I get up at 5:50 in the morning  (Monday-Friday), then come home around 4pm, do my homework until 5pm, (on Mondays) go back to school from 6-9pm, and then try to get some sort of writing done before my self-set bedtime of 9pm. Lots of things for me to do during the week. I even have homework on the weekends.

But enough about the majority of that equation, let's talking about my latest projects!

The first thing would be that Rush is now titled Deception. I find that this new title fits much better. Another fact about Deception is that it's being completely rewritten and is currently ranked at 7 on inkpop. Unless it goes up two more ranks this month, it'll be hitting the Top 5 in October, which means I need to finish my rewrites for the story. So far, only the first chapter is rewritten, and I'm finding that I like this version better.

Next is the two ideas I've written pitches to. The first is a dystopia set during the events that lead to the dystopic world. The other is a paranormal that might have some romance.

Day One

The world will fall, but God will save it.

Olive is blamed for the end of the world after reading a single sentence.   No one knows she did it, except for a group of teens following a young man calling himself “God”.  His plans for the United States involve Olive, leaving her to choose between the chaotic streets or his side.

Around her, she watches the world crumble, not knowing what to do.  Only one solution comes to mind: do whatever God tells her.  She fears her position in this new monarchy, believing that the divine right excuse won’t last long.

A few weeks pass before her threat appears—a single man who leads a group of rioters, ones who know the lies for what they are.   

Hitting inkpop on October 1st, 2011

Fright Nights

Once the night sets in, the real games begin.

Alex and her friends are the jokesters in Amity Heights.  But when their recent joke results with an outbreak between human and monster, there reason something’s wrong.

 

The humans and monsters lived years with each other, the humans always knowing that the man they walk alongside could be a werewolf when the full moon comes out. A peace once rested among these people, but when outbreaks of dead humans rattle the city, attention lands on the creatures of the night.

 

Alex, her distant cousin Troy, and her five-hundred-year-old vampire friend, James, are only three pawns in the wars to come.  Both humans and creatures turn against each other, waiting for the others to fall.

 

With no one to trust, the trio of friends relies on the help of each other more than ever. Until one of them changes sides.

Might hit inkpop on January 15th, 2012

I've also got another idea, but it doesn't have a pitch just yet. It's mostly likely that this project (entitled Trapped) will be my NaNoWriMo project. 

And now that I've typed this up, I believe I shall return to rewriting Deception. I want it completely rewritten before the end of the month, just in case it slips into the Top 5 and stays there. Plus, it'd be nice to just be able to edit for next month, instead of rewrite and then edit.

Hope you all have a lovely day!

A Giveaway

Why not kick off the month with a giveaway? (No, I'm not giving away anything, sadly enough.)

But my dear friends at Imaginary Reads are. They've got an ARC of Seers by Heather Frost.

So I decided to check said book out at Goodreads. (You can find it here.) And based on some of the reviews, it could be a good read. Reminds me of Evermore (a book that I say puts all paranormal romances to shame) and many other YA fiction, but it's always nice to read about this:


For Kate Bennet, surviving the car wreck that killed her parents means big changes and even bigger problems. As she begins to see auras and invisible people, Kate must learn to trust Patrick O'Donnell, a handsome Guardian, or risk her life being overrun with Demons. She soon realizes that both she and her heart are in big-time trouble.

(Summary provided by Goodreads.)

So, check out the giveaway here. Hope you all find it interesting!

-Dylan