Sep 28, 2011

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

Sep 27, 2011

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.)

Sep 18, 2011

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!


Sep 10, 2011

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!

Sep 4, 2011

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