Me and couples and my double stand…in GIF

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couples, fangirl, gif, just for fun, reading, romance

Me reading about fictional couples:

Me meeting real couples:

Me reading a kissing scene:

Me seeing people kiss:

Me when people talk about book couples:

Me when people talk about real couples:

Me when book couples do PDA’s:

Me when real couples do PDA’s:

So behind…

Tags

blogger, blogging, book review, books, fantasy, indie author, indie book review, indies, just for fun, procrastination, reading, review, self-published, ya, young adult

I am so very behind on my reviews that it isn’t even humorous. I’m going to have to do a whole post just to show you how very behind I am. but until then, this is what I am currently reading! (It’s pretty flipping awesome so far!)

As the last of the Incenaga Witches, Emmeline has been tortured and forced to use her power to kill. But unlike the Incenagas before her, she has survived. With her freedom restored, she should feel safe, invincible even. After all, she has the protection of Prince Erick’s army and a power strong enough to obliterate any enemy. Yet Emmeline lives in fear for the next person who will try to control her, and no one can seem to find the tyrant threatening to claim her.

Until it’s too late.

With everything on the line, and the enemy at her throat, will Emmeline be able to use her power like never before? Even if it kills her?

In The Underground Witch, the second novel of the Incenaga Trilogy, Debbie Dee delivers enough adventure, heartbreak, and suspense to captivate readers at every turn.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

{Author Interview + Giveaway} Janeal Falor

Tags

eBook, fantasy, Giveaway, indie author, indies, janeal falor, just for fun, magic, mine series, paranormal, self-published, series, ya, you are mine, young adult

Today the very awesome Janeal Falor has taken the time to drop by and talk a little about her YA fantasy series and herself! Take a peek at her answers to my wildly creative (okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating) questions and don’t forget to check out her links and the giveaway below!

Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.

What was the first book that made you want to write one?

Ooohhh. Good question! It’s been so long it’s hard to remember for certain, but it was probably A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. It transported me to another world in a way I could relate to and then made me want to figure out how to make that type of magic happen.

Where did you get the idea to write You Are Mine?
I had been reading a lot of marriage of convenience/arranged marriage-type books. Then I thought: What if these girls weren’t being sold off for money? What if they were being sold for something they had of great value, but something they couldn’t control. Something like–Magic! And You Are Mine took over my life.

Is there a particular character in the Mine series you consider to be the head villain? Who is it and why?

For the series it would be a toss up between the Grand Chancellor and the Chardonian society as a whole. Society’s ideals and expectations are what the heroines have to face and over come, but those ideals and expectations have been set, in large part, by the Grand Chancellor.

Do you have any writing rituals? What are they?

Being a homeschooling mother of three kids it’s hard just to find time to write. Because of that, I really don’t have any rituals. I have to write whenever, wherever, however I can. One thing I do have to have, though, is quiet. Noise distracts me to no end. Thank the stars children sleep and that libraries exist!

What do you think is the key ingredient to a good heroine?

Being relatable. If I can connect with a heroine, whether or not their circumstances are something I’ve been through, I can feel what they are feeling and cheer them on through whatever task they must overcome.

If you could have afternoon tea with any author, living or dead, who would it be?

Eep! So hard to choose just one. I don’t drink tea, but I’d love to have a cup of hot chocolate with Gail Carson Levine. Her stories are magic.

Thor or Ironman?

That’s like asking chocolate or caramel. Why both of course! Put them in the same movie, even better. Better yet, they can both come to my house. Wait, on second thought, I’d rather my house stay in one piece…

What’s a question you’ve wanted to be asked in an interview? What’s your answer?

I’ve wanted to be asked: Do you believe in happily ever after endings?

Why this is what I’ve wanted to be asked, no idea, but: Yes! Most definitely. Except… I believe very strongly in realistic happily ever afters. If there’s not a dose of realism, it’s hard not to roll my eyes and then not want to think about the story again. A touch of reality to endings makes the happiness more believable and usually gives me more to think about.

Find Janeal on her website

Find Janeal on Facebook

Find Janeal on Twitter

Find Janeal on Amazon

Find Janeal on Goodreads

My Review of You Are Mine

Giveaway

For an eBook copy of You Are Mine, leave a comment answering this question: Is fighting for your freedom worth it, even if someone you care about might get hurt?

Author Interview: A.M. Hargrove

Tags

aliens, contemporary romance, indie author, indies, just for fun, paranormal romance, romance, self-published

Today I am very excited to be hosting A.M. Hargrove, one of my favorite authors! Take a look at her great answers to my questions, check out her links, and don’t forget to take a peak at my reviews of her Guardians of Vesturon series!

A.M. Hargrove resides in the south, dividing her time between the upstate of South Carolina and the mountains of North Carolina. She truly believes that chocolate, coffee and ice cream should be added to the USDA food groups.

Her books include the Young Adult/New Adult series, The Guardians of Vesturon (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent and the novella Beginnings); the Adult novels Dark Waltz (A Praestani Novel) and Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge, and Kissing Fire. Her Mature New Adult novel, Tragically Flawed debuts on 9/25/13

What made you decide to become a writer? What was the first project you decided to take to publication?

I’ve always wanted to write, but sometimes life takes you in a different direction. Mine went the way of a job with a pharmaceutical company after college, and one promotion led to another. Before I knew it I was knee deep as a sales manager, and I loved what I did. However, as things go in the corporate world, my company got taken over by a larger one, namely Pfizer, and my entire division was slaughtered. So I took that as my opportunity to do a complete career change and here I am.

You have delved into Young Adult Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance, but have also penned a number of well-received Adult Contemporary Romances. What do you think the biggest difference is between the two genres? Was there anything particularly challenging about one versus the other? They’re both challenging in their own right–paranormal/sci-fi particularly so in trying to make the make believe believable to a certain degree. But then in contemporary romance, you don’t have that truly fantastical element to rely upon to give your story that extra umph, so you have to focus on other things…perhaps some added suspense, drama or what have you. In either case, I find them both to be quite fun and thought provoking.

What made you decide to go indie with your stories?

When I started researching the whole process of the query letter and then the time it takes to get from acceptance to publication…or in most cases, NOT, I decided I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for things to happen. I’m a doer so I just did! I’m also impatient so that probably made 50% of my decision!

Of all your published works, do you have a favorite? Which one is it?

Ooooh, you never ask me that because it’s always the book I’m currently writing! Haha. But I have to admit, one of my most favorite characters ever is Jurek from the Guardians, and then Dark Waltz. He’s so freakin’ complex with issues on top of issues, but then deep down he’s a softie but you have to peel all his layers to get to him and believe me it takes for-effin-ever! I also loved writing Kissing Fire because it was a romantic comedy with some suspense thrown in, but the comedy part was so much fun for me!

What for you has been the most difficult part of being an author?

Turning it off! I love to write and have so many ideas brewing in my brain that I could write all the time.

What do you think makes a good love story?

I think one of the characters needs to have issues or be somewhat broken. There has to be conflict, of course, I usually like a bit of suspense and a curve ball and then some steam factor thrown in!

If you could have a dinner party with five guests—living or dead, real or fictional—who would they be?

Chris Hemsworth, Henry Cavill, Gerard Butler, Paul Newman, James Dean. Are you getting any ideas here? Chris Hemsworth is perfect in every way. Well, darn so are Henry and Gerard. I love all three of those men. Paul Newman had the most incredible blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Have you seen him in that old movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? If you haven’t, rent it now. You’ll be amazed at the color of his blue eyes. And James Dean… I’ve never seen any movie he was in because I don’t really care for old movies, but the black and white pictures I’ve seen of him look positively scrumptious.

James Bond or Jason Bourne?

Jason Bourne…Bada**! Broken and needs fixing! Smart and quick thinking. And of course, suspense!

What’s a question you’ve wanted to be asked in an interview? What’s your answer? How old were were when you learned to ride a bike? Answer–3 years old. I was the youngest in the family our of four so I was pushed to do everything because I wanted to keep up. So I bugged my sisters to death one day and they put me on one of their bikes and just yelled, “Pedal, pedal, pedal.” And I did. I couldn’t steer for anything and ended up crashing into the bumpers of cars a dozen times, but I learned that day. I told my kids because they were like six and seven when they learned and they swore I was telling a tall tale. My sisters had to tell them the story before they’d believe it.

Find A.M. Hargrove on her website

Find A.M. Hargrove on Facebook

Find A.M. Hargrove on Amazon

Find A.M. Hargrove on Twitter

Find A.M. Hargrove on Goodreads

My review of Beginnings

My review of Survival

My review of Resurrection

My review of Determinant

My review of ReEmergent

How I know I will love TWILIGHT

Tags

humor, just for fun, murphy's law, paranormal, paranormal romance, stephanie meyer, twilight saga, Vampire, ya, young adult

I am proof God has a sense of humor. For as long as I can remember, things I mocked as ridiculous, particularly in entertainment, inevitably became my obsessions once I actually tried them.

For years I snubbed the Harry Potter books, certain that the feeble-minded masses who formed cults around J.K. Rowling’s saga must be sad little people indeed. Then about a year ago I gave the first one a shot and I suddenly understood why the series is so dear to so many even long after the end credits of the final movie ended. I now have a full appreciation for the originality, humor, wisdom, and emotion of the series and am now taking home the seventh one from the library!

Other things I have snubbed include cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, social media in general, books, romance novels, The Chronicles of Narnia, vampire stories, The Lord of the Rings, iTunes, the opera, independently-published books—the list goes on. Each of those things that I formerly mocked has since greatly enriched my life in some way or other (social media perhaps a little too greatly) and I am being forced to eat crow pie for all the times I laughed at them.

An inverse example for me is veterinary medicine. Since I was little I thought it would be wonderful to work with animals in a clinic. Then I had the opportunity through 4-H to try it. At first, I had a lot of fun. Then on December 23, 2009 (I remember the exact date, what does that tell you?), I had a fainting episode during a surgery that resulted in an ambulance ride and hospitalization. The traumatic ordeal lasted all of six hours, but to this day I cringe at the sight of needles. After that, between my inconvenient tendency to imagine just how scared, confused, and in pain an animal is and a few cleanliness issues, I was effectively burned out.

So how do I know I will love Twilight? Easy. I have been laughing at it since the first movie came out. I have participated in mocking it and pointing the proverbial derisive finger for far too long and the laws of the universe have thus decreed that I shall adore the whole flipping series once I do try it.

But my conclusion is not based on Murphy’s Law alone. From what I have heard of it, Twilight does sound interesting. Sparkling vampires are actually quite creative if one thinks about it and I am drawn to the idea of a non-self-righteous, non-bad-boy love interest who stipulates that he and his significant other be bound in wedlock prior to consummation. (Yes, shoot me, I am that old fashioned.)

This is not to say that I will stop my ridicule. In fact, that will probably not occur until after I’ve fallen head-over-heels for the books (which I am sure will happen). But I still think it perfectly plausible that Twilight will become one of my obsessions.

But first I have got to finish Harry Potter…

For my fellow Whovians

Tags

borrow, doctor who, fez, just for fun, TARDIS

Senseless humor of the day

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humor, just for fun, senseless, writer's block

I usually lie around whining, but the sentiment is the same.

Fanged Mania #5 Categories of Vampires

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categories, Fanged mania, funny, humor, just for fun, vampire types, vampires

To join in, copy and paste these rules and the above banner into your Fanged Mania post and add your link to this week’s Fanged Mania post at Elisabeth Wheatley’s Blog. Fanged Mania is a Friday meme counting down to the release of Fanged Princess and displaying all things vampire and awesome. Fanged Mania posts can be a review of a vampire book, a quote from the latest Vampire Diaries episode, a showcase of a cool vampire book’s cover, or whatever you like so long as it is vampire related. Don’t forget, participants will be entered in the drawing to win a fanged-abulous prize pack!

So today I’m sharing with you something I found on Facebook: a rundown of the basic vampire types. (My favorite is “The Knockoff”) Enjoy!

Post your thoughts and links to your Fanged Mania posts below!

Christmas is cancelled!

Tags

cancelled, christmas, just for fun, not really, santa

Christmas is cancelled and it’s all your fault because you told Santa you’d been good this year.

He died laughing.

Senseless humor of the day

Tags

beware, just for fun, true, zombies