Category Archives: The Writer Diaries

The Writer Diaries Giveaway

Posted in Misc., The Writer Diaries by

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Hello everyone! I don’t want to take too much of your time, I just wanted to make sure you all knew that the group writer blog I started (The Writer Diaries) is doing a huge giveaway for our 1 year anniversary! Yippee! The grand prize is a KINDLE FIRE along with other great goodies like signed books and critiques of queries and first pages! If you have any interest in winning any (or all) of these prizes, head on over to the Anniversary post here and enter to win!

Okay, done with my promotion. Good luck! 🙂

Book Review: SHADOWLARK by Meagan Spooner

Posted in Book Review, The Writer Diaries by
11558256Shadowlark
By Meagan Spooner
Published Oct. 1, 2013 by Carolrhoda Lab
336 Pages
 
I have been intrigued with the SKYLARK series for awhile now but, alas, never picked it up until recently. You know how it goes. You see a book that seems to have a sweet concept and the author sounds awesome and everything points to a great read but …life gets in the way or you want to read books more aligned with what you’re own writing or ….you get the picture. That’s what happened with this series. I have been wanting to read it for a long time but the stars never aligned…until I scored a Digital Reader’s Copy from NetGalley of SHADOWLARK, the second book in the series. Then I was like CRAP, I need to read the first one FIRST.So I read SKYLARK in, like, a day and was ready to GO. Continue reading →

Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

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dare-you-to-katie-mcgarrySo I’ve been reading a lot of dual-narrative books in YA contemporary because that is what my current WIP is – trying to do my homework since I’ve 1) never really been drawn a lot to contemporary and 2) also never really read a lot of multiple POV stories except maybe Game of Thrones…but come on, George R.R. Martin is a genius so of course that was good.

Anyway, in my research, Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits kept coming up as a good dual narrative YA contemporary. When I saw her latest novel Dare You To on NetGalley for free to review, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to test out her writing style since it was also a dual narrative (and pulled characters from Pushing the Limits so I guess it’s considered part of a series). Now I had just finished reading The Sea of Tranquility which I am still reeling about how amazing it was so I wasn’t sure how much this book was going to show me anything more about dual narrative that I didn’t already acquire from TSoT.

Here’s the book summary:

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.

So my review? Wow. It was pretty damn good. Continue reading →

Review of The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Posted in Book Review, Inspiration, The Writer Diaries by

the-sea-of-tranquility

Um. Seriously. Wow. No words. Blown away. Can’t stop thinking about it. Incredible. Unbelievable. Wow.

So if you couldn’t tell already, I just cannot find the words to express how much I loved LOVED LURRRRVED The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. Like honestly, new favorite book of ALL TIME.

Maybe it’s mostly because it’s the kind of book that I want to write myself. It’s lyrical, it’s powerful, it’s got deep and dark themes, it made me ball my eyes out, it has characters that were so real they walked out of the pages and said hello to me…all that good stuff.

But seriously. Wow.

I never wanted it to end and I was so sad when it was over, I started reading it again. This is a super big deal since my TBR list is growing uncontrollably long.

I guess you are ready for the official description of the book then? Ok, here it is: Continue reading →

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff Book Review

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paper-valentine-coverPaper Valentine
By Brenna Yovanoff
Published January 8, 2013 by Razorbill
306 Pages

I cannot express enough how much I loved this book. If you like ghosts, if you like dark themes that have real, yet heartbreaking truths about human nature, then this book is for you. And guess what, if you don’t like ghosts and dark books, this is still a book for you because I wouldn’t necessarily put myself in that category either.

Here is the official book description:

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls. Continue reading →

Pop the Champagne! We’re LIVE

Posted in Inspiration, Misc., The Writer Diaries by

Hello all my fantastic, adorable, wonderful readers. I am in an amazing mood because my group writer blog THE WRITER DIARIES has gone live today!

Yep yep – so go on over the The Writer Diaries and say hi!! We have a lot planned for this year and some exciting surprises. Look around, check out the contributors’ bios, and see the first Song for a Scene post! Our schedule for the future is going to look something like this: Continue reading →

Surviving as a Writer: Community is Key

Posted in Inspiration, Misc., The Writer Diaries by

I have learned a very important lesson this past week while I was pursuing an idea that had been floating around in my head for awhile. I had this idea where I asked the few writers that I have met through Twitter, forums, CP exchanges, etc. if they wanted to start a group writing blog with me. I know that I already pretty much document my every move of this writing journey on my own blog here but I had this itch to share it with others, to work alongside my fellow aspiring writers and learn more about it than I could from just pondering things over by myself.

To my surprise, the idea spread like wildfire and I got 11 other writers involved on this project with me. Continue reading →