#it's like my tbr pile(s) but online

[random-bean-allie]

i stg i need to stop bookmarking fics on ao3

i literally have like a fucking billion of them just there chilling in my bookmarks. but do i even look at them when i want to read something??

NO I OPEN A NEW TAB TO SEARCH FOR NEW FICS AND READ THOSE INSTEAD

Like c'mon man

[mygeekcorner]

For the book ask

8 13 16 23 25 38 52 53 90 and 135 :)

8 a book you finished in one sitting

It wasn't the first time I read it so if that's how we're counting this isn't the right answer but:

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. Growing up my mum would read us Narnia and when I was old enough to read myself it was the first series I devoured so I have a very nostalgic glow about the whole thing. When I was somewhere in my mid-20s my parents asked me to house- and dog-sit for them when they went abroad for a week. Which was all well and good until I got the flu halfway through. I remember going into their library and finding The Horse and His Boy, mums favourite from all seven books, and then just laying in their bed reading it as I waited for my fever to go down, and with a blizzard howling outside the windows. I finished the book before I finished my coughing fits, but it was a very comforting night thanks to all the memories attached to the book.

13 your favorite romance novel

Oh god. So here's the thing, right? Here is The. Thing. I read a lot of books that Have romance in them - are they very good books? Yes. Are they romance novels? No. Do I read romance novels too? Yes. Do I like them as much as Stories? No.

But I guess if I had to pick one I like that has romance as the focus I enjoyed Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen when I read it in school. Even if I was more interested in the family dynamics than the romance. Sorry.

16 a book you’d recommend to your younger self

There are quite a few I think baby Geeky would have liked, but also many of them weren't out when I was the perfectly intended age so I don't know if it disqualifies them?

Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist was a very good book I got in a gift-exchange with an online friend and I think I would have liked it just as much if I had read it in school as I did in my 20s. And back then I might have had the energy to get my hands on the whole rest of the series and not just one more book rip.

23 a book that is currently on your TBR

We do not speak of my to-be-read pile.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone is the most recent buy to be added to it after I happened upon it earlier this summer. Trigun twitter tells me to go in blind though so I still have no idea what awaits me.

25 a book by your favourite author

Ok so I haven't actually had a favourite author since I was a preteen. Not because there aren't good authors out there, I just haven't been like Dedicated(TM) to reading all of their books like that. But the last time I had a favourite it was Eva Ibbotson because she had so many .. I want to use Finurlig but there's no proper translation for it .. clever in the tingly exciting way that makes you want to poke it? delightfully innocent yet clever stories and I just reveled in them as a child. Especially Not Just a Witch, the one where the two witch besties broke up because they both wore the same hat made of snakes to graduation, but then they came together to defeat the man who was two-timing them for capitalistic reasons.

38 your favourite series

I don't have favourites as such. Anymore. But I always have a blast reading The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger, there is just something about a supernatural Victorian London with romance and queer rep that just tickles me. I love watching Alexia have tea with the most flamboyant vampire ever, admiring her werewolf husband´s behind, and hitting evil scientists with her umbrella. All while her ditzy bestie is trying to tell her all about the latest fashion in hats. Who wouldn't love to read about chaos like that?

52 a popular book/series that you love

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a brilliant trilogy and we are all correct for saying it.

The themes! The brutality! The way I was bawling on the bus and couldn't stop for hours after finishing Mockingjay? Fucking superb you funky little YA-book.

53 a popular book/series that you hate

Is it cheating to say Twilight here? ^^;

It really wasn't for me, sorry to anyone who hoped differently. I did finish it for research (fanwar) purposes though. That's a week I'll never get back.

90 the longest book you’ve read

So I said when I got this ask before that it was probably Gone with the Wind (418,053 words) or one of the A Song of Ice and Fire books and apparently A Storm of Swords (424,000 words) and A Dance with Dragons (422,000 words) would all look very promising for longest novel I've read. And they were all worth the pages they took.

135 recommend any book you like!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, listen I know none of us tumblrinas actually miss anything that Neil puts out, and this was a big one at that. But it really was so good and scary and inventive and I had a really good time being creeped out by the coins showing up in peoples mouths over night.

[lavender-laney]

Do you need another pair of eyes on your writing?

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As a writer who will, without fail, notice a dozen typos, inconsistencies, and structure issues the second I post my work online or decide I'm finished with it, I know this struggle like a dear friend. Asking someone to read over my work and point out issues I haven't noticed always helps, but asking someone with a trained eye for this work is especially beneficial. I am a reporter for a statewide, well-respected newspaper, which gives me experience with quick turnaround times, effective communication, research, and, of course, writing and editing. When I'm not interviewing doctors on the latest developments in pancreatic cancer treatments or researching the history of newly designated landmarks, I spend time working on my own projects or making my way through my endless TBR pile. If you think I can help you on your own writing project(s), let's talk about it!

My rate, which includes copyediting (grammar, spelling, sentence structure), an evaluation of the overall concept and characters, as well as in-depth discussion (either via message or voice chat) of my feedback and any questions you may have. I currently charge $0.015 per word, which translates to $15 per 1,000 words. For larger projects (exceeding 20,000 words) a more exact quote will be provided.

I'm also happy to adjust to whatever you're looking for in an editor! If you want me to be super blunt and rip apart each word of your story? I can totally do that. But if you want someone who can give more empathetic advice, (something I can understand seeking, as someone who prefers criticism in the form of a compliment sandwich lol), I am happy to do that instead! I've been told I'm good at being honest without acting as though my advice is the only correct option.

If you're interested in chatting with me about this, please reach out! My DMs are always open. You can also contact me on Discord, at laneybug.

Thanks for reading, and reblogs/shares are appreciated! :)

PS this felt so painfully advertise-y to write but I'm just trying to sound professional ... I promise I'm actually a chill person <3

[thesummerstorms]

TBH, shit like Asimov and Brave New World, etc, etc combined with the HAlf-Price Sci-Fi section largely just being really terrible and often very sexist or... suggestive pulp is the reason I didn’t read science fiction outside of Star Wars for years and years.

Eventually, I found Ann Leckie, and Ann Leckie lead me to Becky Chambers and Yoon Ha Lee. From there, I finally figured out that, blessedly, we’re in somewhat of a science fiction publishing renaissance. Fantasy, too, but the sci-fi is... so exciting?

Since then I’ve added (mixed sci-fi and fantasy here): Ken Liu, Zen Cho, Seth Dickinson, Arkady Martine, Tamsyn Muir, Rebecca Roanhorse, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant (same author with different pen names), Linda Nagata, James S.A. Corey (actually two authors writing under one pen name but I don’t know either of their real names), S. A. Chakraborty, Samantha Shannon, Jonathan Strahan (as an editor), Alix E. Harrow, Sarah Gailey, Fonda Lee, Kameron Hurley, Nnendi Okorafor, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Aliette de Bodard, C. A. Higgins, Jeanette Ng, Katherine Arden, and G. Willow Wilson.

And that’s not even counting the authors I technically haven’t read yet but have purchased or bookmarked books by and have in the TBR pile on the strength of recommendations from the above: N.K. Jemisin (although I’ve read MANY of her short stories haven’t read her novels yet),  JY Neon Yang, Amal El-Mohtar, Naomi Novik, Max Gladstone, Catherynne M. Valente, Annalee Newitz, Nghi Vho, Tade Thompson, Kai Ashante Wilson, Tasha Suri, P. Djèlí Clark, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kate Elliott,  Charlie Jane Anders, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. 

I mean...

A good 85% of the writers above are women or nonbinary or trans men writers. I was raised under the misconception that mostly only cis white men wrote sci-fi and fantasy, but the sci-fi especially.  I hadn’t even heard of Octavia Butler until after college, but people sure were eager to recommend Bradbury and Asimov to me. But now I have found SO MANY authors who are not cis-men that I’m almost a little leary of ready spec. fic. by cis men because I’ve gotten used to women being written as ... people. 

(Which is not to say that cis men can’t write women as people or that cis women can’t write deeply misogynistic stories discounting women’s agency and worth.  Karen Traviss is an example of the latter, etc. But you know... in general...)

And I keep thinking that if I hadn’t seen a random tumblr post recommending the Leckie novel and been intrigued despite myself...

If I had kept holding online listicles and “traditional” sci-fi fans and the Half Price Sci-Fi section full of weird fetishy or nonsensical paperbacks be my perception of the Spec Fic scene... I would have missed out on so much.

And holy fuck this post got away from me, but tldr: I hate the people who are “real sci-fi fans” because they read these “classic” male authors from forever ago and rant about what is or isn’t real spec fic... when there are SO MANY BETTER modern authors/books to read that won’t turn new readers off the entire genre.

[thiswomanshouldbewriting]

Book meme

Thans to @still-searching47 for tagging me!

1. Favourite book of all time? Argh, how am I supposed to answer this? How can you ask me to compare the HP series with detective stories or dystopias and ask me to pick one? It’s cruel. If I have to judge my favorite from the number of times I re-read it, though, I guess it’s one of the HP books, probably HP1, HP4 or HP7.

2. What are you currently reading? I have to admit that these days I’m only reading fics. Plus, when I read a book I’m generally so anxious to finish it that I’m only “currently reading it” for a few days at most. I can go 7 months without reading a book, and then read an entire series in a week. 

3. Have you ever considered writing a book? Yes, ever since I was a kid. No luck with that so far, but I’m having a lot of fun with fics.

4. Favourite series? Definitely the HP books, but there are so many other series I love, like Percy Jackson, and the Cormoran Strikes series. 

5. Book you’d like to read? I never got to read the last book of a series I read as a kid. I tried looking for it in bookshops, but I guess it’s too old to be found there now. I really need to look for it on amazon, eBay or something like that, but I always procrastinate because I have an instinctive aversion for online shopping. Btw, the book is “Lily Quench and the Search for King Dragon”.

6. What’s on your TBR pile? Too many things to count. I have countless books to read in my house, and countless fics on my “marked for later” list. At this point, I’ve given up on the idea of keeping up with my TBR pile. 

7. Favourite fictional character(s)? I love all of my children equally, but talk shit of Neville Longbttom, Harry Potter or Hermione Granger and I’ll punch you in the face.

8. Favourite ship of all time? If we’re only speaking of books, then it’s Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. I’m still not over them, and I never will be. THEY DESERVED HAPPINESS FOR FUCK’S SAKE. 

9. Pick up the book closest to you, open page one and write down the first paragraph. The book closer to me is my molecular biology textbook, and I don’t want to bore you all to death with my nerdy stuff. 

10. What’s the 1st fandom you were in? Harry Potter. It all started from there. 

I’m feeling too lazy to tag people, but if you see this and want to do this, consider yourself tagged. 

[jihoonscafe]

✌︎ Get to Know Me

Tagged by these lovely angels: @fluffyshua, @fluffyyeollie & @jindongdongie, thank you very much !!

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 10 people.

THE LAST:

1. Drink: water, because I can’t have anything nice as i am sick. 2. Phone call: my cranky professor in the US. 3. Text message: “if u say so” to my best friend. 4. Song you listened to: rain by taeyeon, because i love her and she is my angel wow.

5. Time you cried: a few minutes ago actually because of the sickness which had my eyes watering in heat.

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: nope, not even once, so what twice.

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: nope. never kissed anyone.

8. Been cheated on: never dated, so nope. 9. Lost someone special: yes. 10. Been depressed: yes, for a lot of my life. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: thrown up yes, got drunk no.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14: Black, White, Light brown.

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: changed my school, and became more active on here, so quite a lot actually. 16. Fallen out of love: never fallen in, so no. 17. Laughed until you cried: yes, many a time. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: yes, quite a lot, often in different languages.

19. Met someone who changed you: yes, this is true 20. Found out who your friends are: yes, true friends were found. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: no kisses and no facebook so ..

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: no facebook for this child. 23. Do you have any pets: i used to have a chameleon then it got crushed, and i never had one after. 24. Do you want to change your name: so many times in my life before i discovered exid lmao. 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: went for a movie with my friends, ate good food, and got loads of books which made me happy af. 26. What time did you wake up: six in the morning ! i didn’t sleep, so actually i did not wake up. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: writing the next part to scripted. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: to post the next part to scripted honestly i am whipped for jun!! 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: today morning when she pushed me in a room with my art teacher. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: my skills for ones which would make me happier. 31. What are you listening right now: Smile Flower by Seventeen 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes, my second classmate online, his name is tom, i just talked to him five minutes ago. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: how slowly i type. 34. Most visited Website: tumblr & grammarly

LOST QUESTIONS.

35. Mole/s: nope ! 36. Mark/s: not really honestly 37. Childhood dream: an astronomer, i loved the stars, still do, physics? not so much.

38. Hair Colour: Black, completely black. 39. Long or short hair: long as hell, i used to have the nickname rapunzel in my old school 40. Do you have a crush on someone: other than lee jihoon and wen junhui, none.

41. What do you like about yourself: i am quite smart when it comes to things i like, and i sometimes write good one liners 42. Piercings: none, i don’t even have holes for earrings 43. Bloodtype: B i am pretty sure 44. Nickname: han, smartypants, lettuce lover [it is jihoon’s fault honestly], tbh same. 45. Relationship status: single, and that will remain for some time now 46. Zodiac: saggitarius 47. Pronouns: she/her

48. Favorite TV Show: tv show, sherlock. kdrama, weightlifting forever and always. 49. Tattoos: nope, i am a smol child. 50. Right or left hand: slightly ambidextrous, but i prefer right. 51. Surgery: none.

52. Hair dyed in different color: nope, not at all 53. Sport: cricket! 55. Vacation: japan, and korea. 56. Pair of trainers: converse idk

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating Currently: biscuits 58. Drinking currently: tea

59. I’m about to: write more for scripted

61. Waiting for: death 62. Want: more books to read even if my tbr pile if flowing with books 63. Get married: not really, i actually don’t want to. 64. Career: international relations, law.

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: for me kisses, because they imply many things. 66. Lips or eyes: eyes, they are the gateways to the soul 67. Shorter or taller: i don’t care honestly 68. Older or younger: once again i don’t care 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: nice stomach in what definition, cause i would like a soft boy? 71. Sensitive or loud: loud honestly i am real loud 72. Hook up or relationship: relationship 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: nope 75. Drank hard liquor: once, by mistake 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: nope, i am blind without my glasses so i can’t really afford losing them. 77. Turned someone down: once, it was not pleasant. 78. Sex in the first date: i am too young for all this 79. Broken someone’s heart: um .. not that i know of? 80. Had your heart broken: um no thank you

81. Been arrested: nope 82. Cried when someone died: yes, a lot. 83. Fallen for a friend: um .. yeah once, but it wasn’t really a crush, a temporary admiration lmao.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: sometimes 85. Miracles: no, those things don’t happen 86. Love at first sight: nope not at all. 87. Santa Claus: nuh uh 88. Kiss in the first date: nope too weird 89. Angels: no.

OTHER:

90. Current best friends’ names: si min, akshara & nadia. 91. Eyecolor: brown, but mostly black. 92. Favorite movie: hmm.. train to busan

Tagging : @aceangel-official, @m1nhks, @mans-ayyye, @wonchance, @deleallis, @heonseoks, @8boo, @changgudforyou, @soon-shine, @verhoons & @sseokkminn & anybody else who would like to!

it is optional so if you would not like to, just let it be!

[courtwhee]

5 things tag

@heretherebebooks did a thing & I felt like doing it too. :) 

5 things you’ll find in my bag

a book

my current fave notebook

fine-tipped markers for writing because i hate pens (?)

earbuds

chapstick 

5 things in my bedroom

an old 50′s desk i salvaged/fixed up (my pride and joy)

my husband’s paintings

my computer (sometimes, others on the couch)

my second bookshelf

makeup/hair stuff (because i watch tv while getting ready)

5 things I’ve always wanted to do in my life

finish writing a book

swim with the whales 

travel outside of the US

make it through my ever-growing TBR stack of books

graduate and be in a career i’m proud of

5 things that make me happy

books

thunderstorms/rain

finding the perfect reading music (hozier RELEASE ANOTHER ALBUM)

italian pastries

good coffee

5 things that I’m currently into

ACOTAR (help me. i’m trash)

tumblr (well, for a while now)

netflix original series

local women’s marches (go tennessee for having so many)

sketching

5 things on my to-do list

FINISH MY TBR PILE 

study and graduate on time (online college breeds procrastination) 

prepare for day 1 of work on monday :) 

study

study

5 things you may not know about me

i’m adopted - i’ve mentioned it once but yeah. i was asked infinity times as a child why i don’t look chinese. 

i went to the young authors convention - a writing convention that allowed one student, elected by their teachers, to attend. i went twice, which was kind of a big deal back then. 

i ghost-wrote a children’s fantasy novel and it was published on amazon. 

i grew up in nj, but my mom and i spent one weekend a month in nyc where my grandpa was in a nursing home and where my uncle lived. china town was like a second home. (stationary shops i miss youuuu)

i have poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which means a lot of things most people don’t care about except that i can’t have children. so my husband and i (really me... he just accepted it) adopted a dog and cat. anyone that says animals aren’t like babies have never raised a puppy or kitten. thomas, my cat, still acts like a toddler. (RIP to my breakable items)

[hmmille]

My Review:

I’m always blown away by how quickly I get immersed in the worlds that Susan Mallery creates. Within just a few pages, I felt right at home with the characters and Pacific Northwest setting, and it was no different with her latest stand alone novel, When We Found Home.

Focusing on three half-siblings who share a father and don’t know each other exist, When We Found Home explores the meshing of strangers who are brought together by blood but must overcome distrust, broken hearts, abandonment to finally find common ground and become a true family.

Grandfather Alberto Carlesso knew that his son wasn’t the most upstanding man when a woman showed up with his twelve-year-old grandson. After DNA testing proved paternity, Alberto invites the mother and young Malcolm to live in their large house where he becomes a surrogate father to Malcolm after the sudden death of his mother.

Having taken over the family mail order food delivery business and made it more upscale and prosperous, Malcolm lives with his grandfather in their large house on Lake Washington after a disastrous break up. While he’s smart, powerful, handsome, and generally content with his life, he doesn’t trust easily and doesn’t give his heart freely anymore. Being a bachelor in his thirties isn’t ideal, but it’s his situation right now, so he’s dealing by immersing himself in work.  

After Malcolm’s dad died, Alberto discovered that there are two more children out there, and now he won’t rest until his two granddaughters are located. And more importantly, Alberto wants them to move into the mansion with them where they can be taken care of like the family they are.

Twelve-year-old Keira was plucked from foster care in California after the overdose death of her mother. She doesn’t feel safe in the large house, and she’s having a hard time adjusting to having money, a family, and people to take care of her. She has an especially hard time connecting with her brother Malcolm. The only person she seems to like is the nice barista in Malcolm’s office building, and she’s not the only one that enjoys Delaney’s company.

Callie has had it especially rough. Her mother died of cancer while Callie was in jail for a very stupid mistake when she was eighteen, and she’ll pay for that felony for the rest of her life. When she finds out she has family and that they are rich, she’s reluctant to move in with them or spend their money. She’s been on her own for so long she doesn’t think she can truly count on anyone but herself. She and Malcolm butt heads right away while she finds herself connecting with Keira and Alberto. Romance is also in the air for Callie from one of the most unexpected of people.

I give When We Found Home a 4.5 out of 5. This contemporary womens fiction focuses heavily on the struggles the three siblings have as they adapt to each other and their situations, as well as on their day-to-day struggles with putting their past behind them. Malcolm ignites a romance with barista Delaney, who has a complicated past of her own that she needs to overcome before she can move forward. Along with a few troubles in the family business and with Callie’s love interest, there’s enough conflict in this book for the plots to move along nicely. Susan Mallery brings the engaging story lines, humor, realistic dialogue and situations, as well as the emotional hits—and I enjoyed every minute spent reading this one. The characters were distinct and interesting, and you get the story from Callie, Malcolm, and Delaney’s points of view. I would have liked to have seen more of Grandpa Alberto, though. He was quite the impressive character.

About When We Found Home:

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (July 10, 2018)

Life is meant to be savored, but that’s not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you’d rather not talk about. Still, Callie Smith doesn’t know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister–Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Callie doesn’t love being alone, but at least it’s safe. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.

But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. He was clever enough to turn a sleepy Seattle mail-order food catalog into an online gourmet powerhouse, yet he can’t figure out how to help his new sisters feel secure. Becoming a family will take patience, humor, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of love. But love isn’t Malcolm’s strong suit…until a beautiful barista teaches him that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.

In this emotional, funny and heartfelt story, Susan Mallery masterfully explores the definition of a modern family—blended by surprise, not by choice—and how those complicated relationships can add unexpected richness to life.

 Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Susan Mallery

#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives-family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages.Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

Connect with Susan

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter  for your chance to win The Taste of Seattle Gift Bag which includes:

An “I [Heart] Happy Books” tote bag

Starbucks Pike’s Place ground coffee

Seattle Chocolates gift set (3 truffle jars)

Cucina Fresca marinara sauce

Sahale Snacks (6 packs)

Maury Island Farms jam (2 jars)

 Rafflecopter Link

 Susan Mallery’s TLC Book Tours Stops for WHEN WE FOUND HOME:

Excerpt Tour:

Monday, June 18th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, June 19th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Wednesday, June 20th: Books & Spoons

Thursday, June 21st: Palmer’s Page Turners

Friday, June 22nd: The Sassy Bookster

Monday, June 25th: Reading Reality

Tuesday, June 26th: A Holland Reads

Wednesday, June 27th: Drey’s Library

Thursday, June 28th: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Monday, July 2nd: The Sketchy Reader

Tuesday, July 3rd: Satisfaction for Insatiable Reader

Friday, July 6th: What is That Book About

TBD: Mama Reads Blog

TBD: OMG Reads

Instagram Tour:

Monday, July 9th: @read.write.coffee

Tuesday, July 10th: @worldswithinpages

Wednesday, July 11th: @thepagesinbetween

Thursday, July 12th: @utcbookblog

Thursday, July 12th: @mwladieswholit

Friday, July 13th: @brookesbooksandbrews

Saturday, July 14th: @pretty_little_library

Sunday, July 15th: @createexploreread

Sunday, July 15th: @basicbsguide

Review Tour

Monday, July 9th:Satisfaction for Insatiable Reader

Monday, July 9th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, July 10th: Books & Bindings

Tuesday, July 10th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Wednesday, July 11th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, July 12th: Reading Reality

Friday, July 13th: Not in Jersey

Monday, July 16th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Tuesday, July 17th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Wednesday, July 18th: Bewitched Bookworms

Thursday, July 19th: Into the Hall of Books

Friday, July 20th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, July 23rd: Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, July 23rd: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Tuesday, July 24th: Becky on Books

Wednesday, July 25th:OMG Reads

Thursday, July 26th: Why Girls Are Weird

Friday, July 27th: Moonlight Rendezvous

Monday, July 30th: The Romance Dish

Monday, July 30th: Stranded in Chaos

Tuesday, July 31st: Romantic Reads and Such

Wednesday, August 1st:Mama Reads Blog

Thursday, August 2nd: A Chick Who Reads

[jamjamwriting-blog]

And so 2017 draws to a close. I for one can not be more relieved.

This year has been a tumultuous one indeed: I moved countries, got married, began a new day-job, bought my first car, and moved again (domestically this time); I said goodbye to my Grandmother, a second mother who raised me alongside my own; and lost two public figures (Chester Bennington and Kim Jonghyun), who have been a source of love, comfort and inspiration, to this terrible illness called depression, of which I also chronically suffer. It really has been all over the place–I have been all over the place. Personal rollercoaster aside, though, and my writing career(?) has been a pleasantly stable fixture. Let’s take a look.

  Chester Bennington: A musician who understood me…

Kim Jonghyun: And one who comforted me.

  THE YEAR THAT WAS

What I Read:

Admittedly, I fell short of my reading goals for this year. Twenty-five titles in 12 months for a snail who averages one book every three was perhaps a little lofty. I’d like to blame my lack of reading on all the reasons previously mentioned but a great deal of my free time (that which doesn’t go to writing) is lost to video games and tumblr. I am human after all.

Of the twenty-three titles I actively attempted, seventeen were completed; four were started then chucked into the read-again-at-a-later-date (maybe) pile; and two were straight-up DNF–John Gwynne’s tediously written mantasy epic Malice, and Lian Hearn’s bitterly disappointing The Tale of Shikanoko. I do hope to finish Interview with the Vampire in the future–I was listening to an audio version–but am not 100% committed to The Bane Chronicles, Prince of Thorns or Left Hand of Darkness. I have a feeling Ursula leGuin and I are not going to be the best of friends and, while there was nothing wrong with Prince of Thorns, I didn’t like any of the characters so I wasn’t overly compelled to find out what happens to them. As for The Bane Chronicles … what can I say? My love for Harry Shum Jr as Magnus Bane in the horridly trashy yet strangely addictive Shadowhunters TV show does not transcend into the written word. I don’t particularly care for Cassandra Clare‘s prose nor does the character shine as much as he does on screen. Disappointing.

Moving on to the books I did stick with to completion and I’m pleased to say it was a fairly decent year, averaging a respectable 3.5 stars, made of up some truly wonderful reads and some far less ones. I’m actually struggling to pick a favourite title this year because when the books were good they were good. To make things easier for myself by excluding books part of a series I’m yet to complete, I am left with three: Uprooted, the Golem and the Djinni and the Darkest Part of the Forest. All written by female authors, I might add–go girls, go! I can honestly say I adored each and every one of these books and the stories and their characters are still with me now at year’s end. But, gun to my head, and I’d have to say the Darkest Part of the Forest takes home the accolade due to the outrageous speed my slow-arse devoured it. Holly Black has been a great discovery for me in 2017 and, having received Coldest Girl in Coldtown for Christmas and eagerly awaiting her soon-to-be-released Cruel Prince, I feel this relationship is only going to heat up in the year to come.

I finished 2017 in the middle of three titles:

His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire) – Naomi Novik 62%

Puppet Master, Vol 4 – Miyuki Miyabe 46%

The Obelisk Gate – N K Jemisin 45%

Technically, I have also started Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) and Kings Rising (Captive Prince #3) but haven’t touched those for months and will no doubt restart from the beginning once I conquer my current reads.

You can see My Year in Books over on my Goodreads page.

What I Wrote:

As of December 31st, the second draft of Garden of the Gods sits at 46 563 words, which is approximately half-way through the rewritten manuscript. Despite my initial plans to have had this draft with beta readers in November, I’m not entirely disappointed with my progress. The major plot and structural changes I had to make to Book One, now tentatively titled Torn Sky, are finally coming together and I’m really getting excited for beta readers to jump in and shoot off some external feedback. The prose is tighter across the board compared to the first draft, which I had been working on for three years prior to completing it November 16 2016. So things are moving slowly. But they are moving.

In addition to the progress made on Garden of the Gods I published a handful of book reviews and the following short stories:

[teaser 01] the morning of

[teaser 02] the collector’s lost things

[short story] the cottage on peppercorn tree hill

A number of other short stories and additional teasers are in the works and should be published here throughout the course of 2018.

  THE YEAR THAT WILL BE

I’m not one for making goals as I hate failing and my own expectations are often hard to meet. One of the big changes I hope to implement in 2018 is to make myself accountable for my own achievements. I’m going to set deadlines for my work and I’m going to reach them, not shrug them off because I only have myself to answer to. In my personal life, I hope to live by a simple More/Less structure:

move more/eat less

read more/watch less

write more/play less

smile more/worry less

Career-wise I have given myself far less ambiguous goals as I have mapped out the entire year and where I want to be with my writing. Because life happens, I didn’t want to be so rigid in setting specific dates and times for things to happen so have instead broken the year into quarters and assigned actions I wish to take place in them:

Q1

Finish Torn Sky

Build online presence (that means more content for this bad boy!)

Decide between traditional and indie publishing options

Q2

Send Torn Sky to beta readers (now seeking volunteers)

Begin work on Book Two: Blood of Demons

Continue rolling out blog content

Q3

Consolidate returned beta comments

Address feedback and complete final edits of Torn Sky

Begin querying/approaching graphic designers

Q4

Continue Book Two–aiming for 80% completion of first draft

Publish Torn Sky teasers on blog

All of this is building to my ultimate goal of being a published author–however that may occur–before November 2019, when I will turn dirty thirty. If everything flows smoothly along my desired trajectory, then books two and three will be released in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

In addition to all this writing and work on making myself known I have pledged to read 20 books in 2018, most of which I intend to be finishing series I started in 2017. This includes but not limited to Shades of Magic (VE Schwab), Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson), The Witcher (Andrzej Sapkowski), The Raven Cycle (Maggic Steifvater), Puppet Master (Miyuki Miyabe) and The Broken Earth (N.K Jeminsin). Stand alone titles on the TBR this year include They Both Die at the End (Adam Silvera), Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell) and The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood).

It’s going to be a busy year. But (currently) I am positive! I’m not going to have the same issues with books two and three of Garden of the Gods as I have had with Torn Sky. I don’t intend on rewriting entire manuscripts from scratch after completing the first draft, as I have done with the first installment. There were serious plot and character issues that came to light the more I worked on Torn Sky and so rather than start again again (again-again-again: this story has been with me since 2004) I pushed through just to get to the end. I am confident this time (I hope) I now have everything where I want it to be and have set up the through-line to carry the rest of the series.

Having taken the effort to put a timeline in place (albeit a rough one) I hope I can stay motivated enough to actually follow it through. With everything that happened in 2017, I’ve learned nothing if not life is short; that passion can drive you anywhere; and that just because my mental illness tells me I’m a untalented piece of rubbish, doesn’t mean the world will agree with it.

Come at me, twenty-eighteen.

  j.a.m

    So long, 2017! [blog] The year that was & the year that will be #amwriting #writer #fantasy And so 2017 draws to a close. I for one can not be more relieved. This year has been a tumultuous one indeed: I moved countries, got married, began a new day-job, bought my first car, and moved again (domestically this time); I said goodbye to my Grandmother, a second mother who raised me alongside my own; and lost two public figures (

[ugh-jolras]

tagged by @missmonty​ Ahh yes, I love myself a book tag~ Thanks~

1. What is your favorite book of all time? I…don’t know? I guess two books that will always very much stay with me are The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe. But depending on the genre, there are many more favorites

2. What are you currently reading? Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. Not too sure about it yet, but maybe I’m also just getting older and more critical with the books I read. It’s definitely not bad so far.

3. Have you ever thought about writing a book? I always have. I’ve also already finished writing some books, but none of them would be good enough to publish. So yeah...I’m still working on that. I’m actually currently writing a book that I intend to update at least weekly online for free. So lets the how that will go.

4. What’s your favorite series? Uuhm...I’ve also got an few there. The Hitchhiker’s Series, for sure. The Mortal Instruments used to be my fav, but honestly...probably not anymore. I liked The Infernal Devices better. Also The Selection Series.

5. What is a book you want to read? All of them

6. What’s in your Tbr pile? It’s huge...but that’s because I’m reading so much, but I’m also buying so much. So yeah...prepare: Blood Of My Blood - Barry Lyga (tho the second book of the series is not in my pile and I haven’t even read it yet...) The Hypnotist - Laurence Anholt How To Repair A Mechanical Heart - J.C. Lillis A Little Book Of Language - David Crystal Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams (I’ve read it in German years ago, so I wanna reread it in English) Frankenstein - Mary Shelly Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver The Beautiful And The Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare The Power Of Six - Pittacus Lore The First Phone Call From Heaven - Mitch Albom The United States Of Absurdity - Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds Luke Skywalker Can’t Read - Ryan Britt The Demon’s Lexicon - Sarah Rees Brennan Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You - Peter Cameron Twelve Doctors Of Christmas Hero - Perry Moore I s2g I also read a lot, I don’t just buy. My pile is always that big and every time I finish a book, I’ve already added at least one more

7. Who are your favorite fictional characters? I guess I need to pass on this one...I always have my fav in each book, but none I’m really obsessed with...none I’ve known from books. I mean you could count Enjolras, but that’s not where I know him from.

8. Favourite Ship?  The same goes for this question :/

9. Open the first page of the book closest to you and write down the first paragraph. To whom it may concern: The Parks Department of the state of Oregon was on a routine moose-tagging mission when we located this item, a strange dust-covered book, lying in the center of a mossy clearing. Quick perusal reveals paranoid ramblings, demonic sketches, descriptions of nonsensical creatures, and uncrackable ciphers. That was from the Gravity Falls Journal

10. What was the first fandom you were in? Uuuuh...I never know what point to call it a fandom...so...idk?

[nikihawkes]

My Blog Snapshot!

I tagged myself for this feature after enjoying it on the awesome Bookstooge‘s website (it was originally created by Stuart from Always Trust In Books).

I’m using this tag to express my blogging philosophies (and status quo), and found it very interesting to see how my style has evolved over the years. I wont be tagging anyone, but if you complete it, I’d love it if you’d leave me a link in the comments so I can come check it out. 🙂 You may want to reference the original, as I made a lot of changes.

The Last 5 books you read:

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Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

[June 27, 2017] Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan

Naamah’s Curse by Jacqueline Carey

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Steeplejack by A.J. Hartley

All excellent titles. 🙂

Spoilers or Spoiler free?

I really, really hate spoilers. Even a minor one can wreck my enjoyment of a book. As a bookseller for all those years, I can’t tell you how many books were ruined for me by inconsiderate customers (things as blatant as – “oh, you’ll love this book! Although I was a total wreck at the end when the dragon died…”). My aversion is so bad, I won’t even read overviews if I can help it. They always seem to include major plot points I’d rather discover on my own. So it goes without saying, I keep my reviews spoiler free.

How long have you been book blogging?

I started blogging in 2012 to give myself a platform for the novels I was writing. However, by 2013 book blogging became a passion in itself and has brought me a lot more joy than writing ever did.

Your favorite genre?

Anything under the Speculative Fiction umbrella:

A broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements. -dictionary.com

Preferred book size? (novella, tome…etc).

It’s not the size that matters. ;P

Number of books on your TBR pile?

A million. Okay, not that many, but Goodreads tells me I have almost 1500 titles on my to-read shelf, and most are just first in series.

Books you have recently DNFed?

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Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Firstlife by Gena Showalter

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Gilded by Christina Farley

I gave myself permission to be picky lately – best decision I ever made! Life’s too short to read books you’re not enjoying.

Recent awards or milestones?

Reaching my 4th year blogging was a big milestone for me. I noticed most of the bloggers I started out with petered out after about 2 years (I miss all of you). Sustaining my blog for 4 years and to still be having a ball with it feels noteworthy.

Best interaction with an author?

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Dan Wells

Patricia Briggs

Brandon Mull

Mindy McGinnis

Best: Easily my best author interaction was meeting Patricia Briggs. She was so nice – answering all of my questions and signing every hardback I brought along. She definitely made me feel like a valued fan. 🙂

Mindy McGinnis was another awesome experience. She’s such a funny gal, and I loved the answers she gave me for what lay beyond her “Not a Drop to Drink” duology.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes I met while working the Vegas Valley Book Festival a few years ago. I had fangirled to my DM about how much I loved “The Naturals” and she made a point to snag me when Barnes stopped by. I was so excited – I embarrassed myself a bit haha.

Brandon Mull is a Utah native, and it was a total delight to host him at the BN I used to work for. He did a fun Q&A beforehand and, despite having seen a couple hundred people before me, was every bit as enthusiastic about my comments as he was to the first in line. This was when I got the first hint of the now recently released “Dragonwatch.” Awesome!

I’d been wanting to meet Dan Wells for ages – having totally love his Partials Sequence. It was a delight to get to meet him and pick his brain a little bit about his writing process (I had done an e-interview with him before, but still had some questions). The only awkward this was that he was signing with a couple of family members (his wife and brother I think, but don’t quote me) who are also published authors. They made me feel a bit guilty about not being interested in their books at the time, as I’d traveled 4 hours just to see Dan Wells. Oh well, lol.

DJ Machale was also a delight to meet – we got lost on the way to the Vegas bookstore where he was signing, so I missed the Q&A, but we snuck in at the last moment and had a great one-on-one Q&A, so it worked out haha. He signed all of my Pendragon hardcovers and geeked out about that series in general. 🙂

Worst: Richelle Mead, and not because of anything she did. I was battling a huge headache, my row was near the last to meet her, even though I had been one of the first to arrive (poor moderating), and I was so nervous that I kept repeating myself. Overall, not a good impression lol.

For the record, I would still love to meet Brandon Sanderson, Robin Hobb, Anthony Ryan, Ray Carson, Glenda Larke, Scott Lynch, and Kim Harrison, just to name a few in a very long line of favorites. 🙂

Average number of books you read per month?

7. And no matter what I do, that number seldom changes.

Top three publishers?

TOR, Shadow Mountain, and Berkley!

They always have the best ARCs on Netgalley, but beyond that, they’re also the ones I’m considering sending my manuscripts to (I’m not even close yet).

Social media sites your blog uses?

I think my blog is linked to most social media sites, but I’m only active on Goodreads (are we friends on there yet? If not we should be – find me here).

Average amount of time you spend networking?

All f*cking day. Although I don’t look at it as “networking” so much as just spending time with my online reading friends. I was recently made a moderator for my favorite Goodreads group – Fantasy Buddy Reads – and I noticed my time spent on social media didn’t have to increase to accommodate it lol.

Sum up your blogging style in 5 words?

Recommending Brilliant Speculative Fiction Books.

Next time I’ll try for a Haiku.

18). A blog you looked up to starting out?

I had a few that dazzled me when I was just getting started, but I don’t follow them anymore. One I looked up to because she was a brilliant writer, had an amazing blogging concept, and had over 20,000 followers. She help me find my blogging “identity” as The Obsessive Bookseller because I appreciated how well branded her site was. However, due to infrequent posting and the fact that her and I did not enjoy the same type of books, I’ve since stopped following.

The other blog I’ll admit to unashamed blog-envy. She obviously spent a lot of time and money beyond what I was able to afford, and because of that her blog looks sooo professional. She also attended all of the big book conventions and was practically swimming in ARCs. I was jealous, lol. I eventually stopped following because her reviews always had a lot of negative undertones and I found her somewhat unfriendly.

The best book you have reviewed so far?

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The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan

Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb

Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Just a few of my favorites from the last few months. Some awesome titles!  

Best piece of blogging advice?

Don’t try to limit yourself by what bloggers “should” and “shouldn’t” do. This is your creative space to express yourself however you please. Blog when it’s fun too. Stop when it’s not. Above all: make your own rules! You’ll gain and lose followers no matter what you do, so you might as well produce content that gives you joy. If I had stuck to what I thought should/shouldn’t be posted on a book blog, I never would have created my Simplifies Life series, which is definitely one of my favorite features I’ve ever done and it’s only partially book-related. I also never would have started doing mini book reviews… as stupid as it sounds, I thought anything short of a full review was against the “rules.” 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my blogging snapshot. 🙂

by Niki Hawkes

Chronicles of an Obsessive Bookseller: My Blog Snapshot! My Blog Snapshot! I tagged myself for this feature after enjoying it on the awesome Bookstooge…

[lovesgreatreads-blog]

GIVEAWAY FACEBOOK EVENT

About the Author

Tracy Millosovich lives and writes in Wisconsin with the love of her life, three cats, and a pile of signed books by her favorite authors. With her witty words, gentle hands, and wisdom, she weaves together a world of colorful hope bringing love into the darkest places. An advocate against domestic violence and online abuse, Tracy paves the way for everyone to live their lives free of violence.

Become friends with Tracy online where she joins forces with fellow authors, and readers against abuse, and bullying. Tracy’s Facebook! http://Facebook.com/authorTracyMillosovich

Tweet Tracy! http://Twitter.com/TMillosovich

Follow Tracy in photos! http://Instagram.com/TMillosovich

Where you can add Tracy’s novels to your “To Be Read” pile on Goodreads! http://Goodreads.com/TMillosovich

Amazon http://Amazon.com/authorTracyMillosovich

Tracy’s Treasures Blog http://TracyMillosovich.Wordpress.com

Tracy’s Crystal Dreamers Book Group of never ending wine and fun!! http://tinyurl.com/TracysCrystalDreamers

Nominated for the 2016 Summer Indie Book Awards and a finalist in the Best of the Best of 2016 in Debut Books and in Fantasy! Crystal Dreams Book 1 http://amzn.com/B01EMTG1M0

Add Crystal Dreams to your TBR today! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29754516-crystal-dreams

Check out the brand new Crystal Dreams book trailer!! https://youtu.be/DyZQ-0b-TAQ

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BLURB: Crystal Dreams, a vivid world of dreams come true!!

King (Mita) Thomas of the magical planet Tartan has ruled the world, and his kingdom, Crysalis, with his beloved Queen (Mifa) Tara Rosa for four peaceful centuries. When the cruel, greedy humans of the nearby Earth planet come ascending on Tartan, his Queen sacrifices her life to protect the planet. With the Queen’s powers gone and their planet on a collision course towards a bloody war with Earth, Mita Thomas sends his trusted general through time to bring Mifa’s reincarnation back to his kingdom where she can hopefully rule at his side as his queen…or be sacrificed to bring his beloved queen back from the dead. With little time and an incoming hell, no one has time to pick sides.

Crystal Rose, a human raised on Earth in the early 21st century, is currently finishing up college until she’s unwillingly thrust into a war between a planet full of magical creatures who hate the human race, and the human race, now full of hellish hate.

Between learning what’s truly going on and who to trust, Crystal must also take the reigns to be a queen in a world that hates her. Will Crystal side with her fellow humans or fight against her own kind, on the team that might just kill her before she gets the Queen’s crown? In a planetary war between humans and magic, whose side are you on?

In this original young adult fantasy romance, Crystal Dreams is book one of the action packed Dreams Series that will test your faith in humanity.

Killer Dreams Book 2 http://amzn.com/B01KC7DYWQ

Add Killer Dreams to your TBR today! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30642795-killer-dreams

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BLURB:

After surviving a war between Earth and Tartan, the royal family tries to start over on a new planet. But the terrain is treacherous and the kingdom is in unrest with the threat of revolt high in the air, but adding to the misery, the royal princess of the new world has been kidnapped!

In a time of civil discord with the threat of upheaval high, Crystal must either find a way to unite her kingdom, or abdicate the throne, while she is in hot pursuit of the lost princess.

Where do you turn when your own race rejects you, and the world you’ve sworn to protect is now trying to kill you?

Continue the adventure with Crystal, King Thomas, and Jason as they begin a new battle in an unfamiliar world.

Welcome to Killer Dreams!

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