Bad decisions make GREAT fiction. I know it’s tough to not write about fully evolved/self-actualized characters, but those guys are B-O-R-I-N-G. We like to watch people grow, probably so we might glean some hint of how to grow, ourselves. The more messed up a character is? The more INTERESTING they become.
Come on! You know it.
If you were at a restaurant and had a choice of where to eavesdrop, would it be the couple talking about their plans for the week as a team baking cookies for the school? Or would it be the nasty breakup on Table 6?
If we don’t have conflict, the story falls flat. Everything comes too easily and that is a formula for a Snooze-Fest. I am SO HUMBLED and honored to be friends with THE LEGEND Les Edgerton. In his mind? NOTHING comes easily. Even if your protagonist just wants directions, she should…
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
My Answers: Unfortunately, I am still reading the same book as last week, only because I had to take a break to finish writing my book. Which I am happy to say I just finished yesterday….yayyyy for me! Now on to the dreaded editing phase. So my answers are the same as last week.
Recently Finished: The Program (Program #1) by Suzanne Young. Awesome book! I posted a review here.
Currently Reading: Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer Armentrout. OMG I love love love this book! I am about half way done and it is amazing so far.
Next for me? With my schedule, who knows but these are on my watch list still:
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh mafi
SpellCaster (Spellcaster #1) by Claudia Grey
Touch of Power (Healer #1) by Maria Snyder
First Grave on the Right(Charlie Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!
It is finally release day! Lets give a warm welcome to Amber Skye Forbes and her debut novel!!!
WHEN STARS DIE is an insightful examination of human suffering and the first installment of The Stars Trilogy.
When Stars die by Amber Skye Forbes. Release date Oct 22. Price $12.79
Shadowy figures haunt Amelia’s days in Cathedral Reims, and they are waiting for her to join them. Redemption isn’t possible for a witch, but she’s committed her life to trying, as long as she can still protect her younger brother, Nathaniel. What she doesn’t realize is that Nathaniel’s been seeing the figures too, and that both of them are about to be submerged into a much different – and more dangerous – world than they ever knew existed. They unite with the dangerously attractive priest, Oliver Cromwell, in hop
HERE IS A UTUBE TRAILER IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A PEEK!
Meet the author
Amber Skye Forbes’s first publication was a short story titled “Dead Poet’s Pendulum” published in The Oddville Press when she was nineteen. Since then she has had a few editorial stints: slush pile reader for The Oddville Press, Executive Editor for Sorean: A Gothic Magazine, where she had two installation fiction pieces published, a few articles, and some photography,Editorial and Communications Intern for YALITCHAT, and Founder and Managing Editor of The Corner Club Press. Outside of her writerly life, Amber loves painting, doing photography, playing video games, and mothering her cat. She lives in Grovetown, Georgia where she attends Augusta State University with a track in English middle education.
If you want to reach out to Amber here is where you will find her:
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser:
Thirty-one hours, forty-two minutes, and twenty seconds had passed since the doors had closed, separating Kat from me. Thirty-one hours, forty-two minutes, and ten seconds since I last saw her. For thirty-one hours and forty-one minutes Kat had been in the hands of the Daedalus.
Each second, every minute and hour that ticked by had driven me fucking insane.
(2% of Kindle)
Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer Armentrout
So far I am really enjoying this fourth book of the series. I love the Lux series. Jennifer Armentrout doesn’t disappoint.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!
Just a reminder that When Stars Die by Amber Sky Forbes is being released on OCT 22, 2013. I’m very excited!
WHEN STARS DIE is an insightful examination of human suffering and the first installment of The Stars Trilogy.
When Stars die by Amber Skye Forbes. Release date Oct 22. by ACE Publishing. Price $12.79
Shadowy figures haunt Amelia’s days in Cathedral Reims, and they are waiting for her to join them. Redemption isn’t possible for a witch, but she’s committed her life to trying, as long as she can still protect her younger brother, Nathaniel. What she doesn’t realize is that Nathaniel’s been seeing the figures too, and that both of them are about to be submerged into a much different – and more dangerous – world than they ever knew existed. They unite with the dangerously attractive priest, Oliver Cromwell, in hop
HERE IS A UTUBE TRAILER IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A PEEK!
Meet the author
Amber Skye Forbes’s first publication was a short story titled “Dead Poet’s Pendulum” published in The Oddville Press when she was nineteen. Since then she has had a few editorial stints: slush pile reader for The Oddville Press, Executive Editor for Sorean: A Gothic Magazine, where she had two installation fiction pieces published, a few articles, and some photography,Editorial and Communications Intern for YALITCHAT, and Founder and Managing Editor of The Corner Club Press. Outside of her writerly life, Amber loves painting, doing photography, playing video games, and mothering her cat. She lives in Grovetown, Georgia where she attends Augusta State University with a track in English middle education.
If you want to reach out to Amber here is where you will find her:
SORIN SUCIU, author of the contemporary fantasy, The Scriptlings:
“Amber’s writing is dark, marked by suffering and a deep understanding of what makes us tick, not to mention tock. Her devastating first-person narrative and present tense combo makes it hard not to be drawn into the story. While “When Stars Die” is categorized under Romance, there is so much more to it than that. Indeed, I would even argue that romance is not even the main dish, but rather the subtle spice that takes the whole plate up a notch.”
CL MANNARINO, avid reader of Young Adult Romance:
“This is a fascinating and thoughtfully plotted debut, and well-written in the technical sense. As my first Christian book, or any book with heavy overtones of spirituality or religiousness, When Stars Die has certainly been an entertaining read.”
The Program (The Program #1) by Suzanne Young. Published April 30, 2013 by Simon Pulse. CDN $11.99 Kindle edition.
Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.
Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them. (Goodreads excerpt)
Well, I read this book on the advice of my 15 year old daughter. She told me I absolutely had to read it. I was a little wary at first, but I am really glad I took the plunge. The book is broken into three parts dealing with different aspects of the book- the epidemic of suicide-the program-and after the program.
Throughout the book I went through different emotions of sympathy, anger, rage, hope and a few others thrown in. My daughter kept asking if I was angry yet as I was reading so she obviously felt the same way. I don’t want to give anything away but how or why a government or parent would want a child to have their entire memories erased is beyond me. I understand the desire to not want to lose a child to suicide, but would you opt for them to be just a shell of themselves instead? To me that isn’t living. The story is told exceptionally well and you really get into the emotionally heart wrenching state that the participants of the program find themselves.
One of the best things about this book is the characterization of Sloan. You truly get a sense of who she is as a person, her fears, her hopes and her need to cling to her past at all costs. She is defiant, courageous and loyal to the end. You find yourself cheering for her throughout the book.
The interaction between James and Sloan is awesome. They are cute and sweet and truly believe they are ‘soul mates’. James is Sloan’s rock and the one person who keeps her all together. Their love is tested when tragedy strikes and I won’t say what happens to them but part of the story line is the question of ‘can love conquer all’. The chemistry between the two is realistic and amazing and you really get a sense of who they are as a couple and what they mean to each other. I’m rooting for them all the way.
This is a hard review to write without giving anything away so I will leave it at this: I really enjoyed the book, much more than I thought I would. It isn’t depressing, but is more like a future dystopian novel where the repressed need to fight the government in order to survive. (With a love story thrown in for good measure.) The book gives you much to think about. All in all, an enjoyable read.
I give it 5 stars. I can’t wait for the release of the second book.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
My Answers:
Recently Finished: I read this on the advice of my 15 year old daughter. I was a little skeptical at first but it was surprisingly good. I will post a review soon. My only issue is that the next book is not going to be available till may 2014 😦
Currently Reading: Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer Armentrout. I have just barely started but love the series.
Next for me?
Not really sure but still have Unravel me on my TBR list. And these others have been in my TBR list for a while. Who knows what else might pop up between now and then.
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh mafi
SpellCaster (Spellcaster #1) by Claudia Grey
Touch of Power (Healer #1) by Maria Snyder
First Grave on the Right(Charlie Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser:
“I don’t care how many drugs you and the doctors give me,” I say. “i’ll never let you take my memories,”
The handler leans in, his breath warm on my ear. “You stupid girl,” he whispers. “We already have.”
And then I sleep.
Page 139
The Program (program #1) by Suzanne young
I just finished this book and decided to use it again for this week’s teaser. It was fantastic, very emotional and gripping. I have to give my daughter credit for this one. I will post a review soon.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!
Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!
I have never done a movie review before and I am certainly no critic. However I decided to share my thoughts on the latest Sandra Bullock Movie – Gravity.
I must say I went into this show thinking “It is about an astronaut stranded in space by herself, how good can it be?” I love Sandra Bullock though and I am a big fan of sci fi so I decided to give it a shot. HOLY SMOKES! There was non stop drama/action for pretty much the whole movie.
“Gravity” begins with Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical engineer, who is busy fixing a technical problem on the exterior of the spacecraft. This is her first mission and she seems to be having physical difficulty adjusting to space. She is accompanied by (George Clooney), a veteran astronaut on his final mission before retirement and a third astronaut.
The three astronauts are joking around and enjoying their day when Clooney makes a comment about beating a spacewalk record on his final mission. The fun is ended when they are told that when the Russians shot down one of their own satellites the resulting debris from this space station is hurtling towards them.
There is no time for them to get inside the shuttle, when the debris from the destroyed spacecraft hits them, tossing them about and damaging their shuttle. Thrown into oblivion, the astronauts struggle to survive which forms the basic premise of the story. Sandra is thrown into space by herself spiraling out of control. This starts the beginning of the intense dramatic scenes of Gravity.
I watched the movie in 2D because I get massive headaches watching 3D. I can totally see how the effects would have been spectacular for some in 3D with the cinematography and special effects. Even in 2D, the movie was in my opinion fantastic. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole movie. I am the kind of person who can suspend my disbelief for the time I am watching a movie. I believe that is why I love science fiction and fantasy. I have no idea if all of the things that happen in the movie are realistic, but it was certainly believable while watching it. That is the whole point of watching a movie for me. It is real at the time. After you walk away you might think…hmmm maybe a little far fetched? How do I know? I don’t so I enjoy it for what it is.
Sandra Bullock does a fantastic job in the film. She is totally believable. You see her through her fears, doubts and pain and moments when she considers just giving up. It is very emotional and real. She is a fantastic actress. Clooney is not my favorite actor but he does give some comic relief and a contrast to Bullocks stoic character. Together they work well.
I don’t want to give anything else away so I will end with this. The movie was very dramatic and full of action and suspense. I loved the entire thing. I give it 5 stars.
Recently Finished: The Program (Program #1) by Suzanne Young. Awesome book! I posted a review here.
Currently Reading
photo by 
When Stars die by Amber Skye Forbes. Release date Oct 22. Price $12.79
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
photo by 
photo by dreamstime.com
Photo taken from quickbrownfox.com
Cynthia Stacey 