What's to Come...

Hello everyone!
Today is my 21st birthday, and I was going to have a review ready, but I don't. So I apologize for my slacker self and promise you a week of awesomeness starting Monday. (And beg you to forgive me... it is my birthday afterall!)

Here's what we have in store for you...
Monday: Aurora Lightbourne, author of Brass Hearts, is doing a guest post with us talking about indie writing. The pros, the cons, the idea of why readers do or don't choose to read them.
Wednesday: Review of Alexander Death by J.L. Bryan. I have it, I'm reading it and it is AWESOME!
Friday: David Beem will be with us, and M will be doing a review on his book Abyss of Chaos. From what she's saying, if you like Game of Thrones, you'll enjoy this. David's post will also centered around the indie book industry.

Since we cover so many indie books, I thought it would be great to talk about it, see what they say, maybe get some thoughts out of you guys. So next week is the week for that. We will also have mini posts along the way, including how to make notes/ highlight passages on your e-reader, new Nook Color information (I know we've been so focused on the Kindle recently- they just have all these cool updates! But it's still not fair to you Nook lovers.) And of course, anything else book related that pops up that we feel you need to know.

Just a reminder about our current giveaway going on right now. If we can get 50 followers by Halloween then we will have a drawing for 2 $10.00 Barnes and Nobles or Amazon gift cards. We have 29, so only 21 left to go! To be entered all you have to do is simply follow us (Not sure how? Click here.), if you aren't already, and make sure you make comments on posts that interests you. To see the full details of this giveaway, click here. Just remember, if we don't reach 50 followers, we won't have any prizes. So invite your friends, fellow bloggers, family members and anyone you know who might be interested in what we have to offer.

Did I mention we've surpassed 2,000 views? Heck yes. We can have 50 followers in no time!

Thanks and have a great weekend!
- J

Just Curious...

For those of you who are dying (like me) to get the Kindle Fire, do you think you'll still use your old Kindle or abandon it forever?

I was talking about this subject last night with my brother and I know where I stand, but I'm curious as to what all of you think!

-J

The Skinny: Kindle Touch & Kindle Fire

Today Amazon announced not just 1 but 2 new versions of the Kindle. Both are due to be released in November, just in time for the holiday season and you can already pre-order these items from Amazon's website. 

Kindle Touch

Kindle touch is pretty much the Kindle we already know and love, simply without the keyboard! To turn pages, simply tap the screen. A new feature Amazon has added to this device is the X-Ray.

"Amazon invented X-Ray, a new feature that lets customers explore the “bones of the book.” With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. " -Amazon.com

Prices:
Kindle Touch Wi-Fi with Ads $99.00. Without Ads $139.00.
Touch with Wi-Fi/ 3G with Ads $149.00.  Without Ads $189.00.

Kindle Fire

Now THIS is something completely new. Amazon is officially taking on the Nook Color with this colored Android powered reading tablet. Here you have can read, browse the web, watch movies, listen to music or play Angry Birds. Not only can you read books, but you can now have childrens books with beautifully colored pictures and magazines with print and photos. I have to be honest, I am super excited for this.

The screen is gorilla glass and the device itself is an inch bigger than the Kindle 3 or Kindle Touch. It has 8 GB of internal memory, or enough for 80 apps plus 10 movies, 800 songs or 6,000 books. The Kindle Fire runs off of Android 2.1 and a duel-core processor. Amazon has its own App market where you find and purchase Apps. They also use their own web browsing service called Amazon Silk that's supposed to not only be super fast, but have a pretty good memory of where you usually go when you're on the web to get you where you want to go faster. Battery life lasts for about 8 active hours, give or take depending on what you're using it for.

The Kindle Fire has no 3G. Only Wi-Fi that you can use from any hotspot area with the exception of peer to peer hotspots (like creating it from your cell phone).

Price: $199.00 and comes with 1 month free of Amazon Prime.

________________________

So has Amazon just made your Christmas list for you? I'm thinking they may have created mine. There's just a couple little things I want to throw out there. With the research I've done, I'm hearing buzz that there may be something even better in the works than the Amazon Fire sometime after Christmas. And even cooler than Amazon Fire? I'm wondering what the heck that could be.

Also, maybe you or a family member don't like touch screens and you'd rather stick with the Kindle 3. Those prices have gone down to.
Amazon Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi and Ads $99.00. Without Ads $139.
Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi and 3G with Ads  $139.00. Without Ads $189.00.
(Prices seem off to me, I'll check back later to make sure that Amazon hasn't changed them...)

What do you think about these developments?
Talk to me!

Review: The Named by Marianne Curley

“Ethan lives a secret life as a Guardian of the Named. Under the guidance of Arkarian, his mentor, and with the help of Isabel, his unlikely but highly capable apprentice, Ethan has become a valued member of this other-worldly corps. As the only defense against the evil Order of Chaos, the Named travel through time to prevent the Order from altering history and thereby gaining power in the present and the future.

As the threat from the Order intensifies, secrets of the past are revealed and villains and heroes are exposed. This gripping fantasy is set in modern times, but is infused with intrigue from the past, super-natural characters and surprising plot twists. Curley has written a winner through to the end.”

I read The Guardians of Time Trilogy five years ago and wanted to share it with you guys because it is a story unique to itself and although it isn’t the most popular series, it is one of the best I’ve ever read.  And my boyfriend refuses to read anything else because nothing else can compare. 

After Ethan witnesses his sisters death as a child he quickly learns things aren’t quite how they seem.  It turns out his family is a part of a war that has gone on forever between The Named and The Order and Ethan is a part of the Named.  Teenage Ethan wants his wings almost more than anything in the entire world.  But to get them her must first successfully train his new apprentice, Isabel to become a part of the Named, which may be a problem since her brother hates him.  Before school one morning while Isabel was trying to slice an apple she accidentally slices her finger.  While howling in pain her brother overhears and demands to see her injury but when she goes to show him, it’s gone.  With the training from Ethan, Isabel can learn to the protect the innocents hurt by the Order and keep the bad guys from altering history.

What I really like about this book, and the rest of the books in the series for that matter, is that it changes points of view.  In the first book you get to read the point of view of both Matt and Isabel and different characters in the last two books.  I  also like that the setting is in Australia because most of the books that I read are based in America or England.   I also really enjoy Marianne’s unique take on time travel. The only thing that's stinks is that they're unavailable in e-reader format.

My rating for this book:

Marianne Curley grew up in Australia where she has traveled, taught, raised a family, wrote awarded books, and beat Myelofibrosis.  To learn more about Marianne, visit www.mariannecurley.com.

Banned Books Week

Every September in the United States we have Banned Books week, this is a week for national awareness towards censorship and banned or challenged books. Since 1982, more than 11,000 books have been challenged from the classics we all grew up reading and loving like The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, Catcher and the Rye and ironically enough, Fahrenheit 451; to more recent books like Twilight and The Hunger Games. Books are challenged for a number of reasons including racial issues, sexual situations, profanity, religious differences or controversial matters like abortion and the list could go on forever.

Throughout this week, many schools, libraries, bookstores and blogs will do events to promote our First Amendment and the strength literature can bring to people. So make sure you check out your local area to see if anything is going on that you can attend this week.

Where do you stand? Do you believe that schools have a right to keep their students from reading certain things?

I can see how that’s a hard subject. We all want to protect our children and not expose them to the real world too early. But as children, that’s also how we grow up: we read, we learn, we develop who we are with our own unique personalities. So when you take away books due to not agreeing with something that’s in them, aren’t you basically telling them what to think without giving them a chance to make up their own minds and form their own opinions on a subject? How can we encourage problem solving minds like that?

Well, that’s just a little tidbit from me... What are your opinions on the subject?

To find out more information about Banned Books Week you can visit bannedbooksweek.org and ala.org.

-J

Renting Kindle Books from the Library

If you haven't heard yet, late last week Amazon broke the exciting news that libraries could now lend Kindle books.

Some high points from their announcement included books being sent to your device through Whispernet, Facebook and Twitter abilities to share favorite passages or quotes, real page numbers so you can follow along in book clubs and what I thought was probably the most cool, through Whispernet, Kindle has the ability to remember your highlights and notes within the margins so that next time you rent, lend or buy the book, they're there for you to see! (Don't know how to leave notes in your Kindle book? Don't worry, I'll show you how later this week.)

So now that we know that we can do it, how do we go about getting the books? How do we know if our library even has this feature? The best way to find out all of this information is to go to overdrive.com. This is the website that even the libraries use. Now from the link here is where you need to go...

1) Find the box that says "New to downloads?" and put in your zip code.
2) This will lead you to a page where you find the closest libraries to you, click on the one you typically go to.
3) Now click on the link it provides for you. For instance mine is:http://kyunbound.lib.overdrive.com/

From there you are able to browse books that are available for lending. If a book is there but isn't currently available you can choose to be put on the wait list. If your book isn't there at all, be patient, with this being a new thing for Kindle, more and more books are being added but with time. Back to the point- when you find a book you want, click on the title, then click on "Use on Kindle and Free Kindle Apps". You will then be directed to Amazon's website where you can log in, put in your library card information (You are required to have a library card.) and you can then have the title transferred to your device.

A few things that you should know is that the length of a loan is determined by the library. Also, to download a book you must be on a wi-fi connection. Even though some Kindles can download books from the store using 3G, library books cannot be transferred this way. To see the status of the library book you're waiting on, you can go to Amazon's webpage, click on "Your Account" in the top right corner, scroll down to the "Digital Content" box and click on "Manage Your Kindle."

Got a Nook and not a Kindle? Don't fret! We didn't forget about you. :) Next week we'll have a post explaining your process step by step as well.

So what questions do you have? Have you tried to get a Kindle book from your library yet? How well do you think this process works? What would you like to see happen to make things more efficient?

Can't wait to hear from you guys,
J

Halloween Giveaway Reminder!

Just a little post to remind you of our Halloween Giveaway! 50 followers here on The Ink Puddle could mean a $10 gift card for you. So invite your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, dogs, cats and alien buddies to join us. To get all the details on this event, click here.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Be sure to check back in with us on Monday to get the steps on how to get library books onto your Kindle.

Stay snazzy,
J

Spooky Stories with Liz Schulte

Today we are very lucky to have Liz Schulte with us in wonderful embrace of her book Dark Corners. Here's a small summary of the book provided by Amazon to get us started.

"Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband's homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well."

Throughout the beginning of the book we question if Ella is being haunted by a ghost or if someone is messing with her head. So today we ask Liz if she had any ghost stories of her own to tell.

Liz: 

I want to start with thanking you for having me on your blog and reading my book. I was asked to share a ghostly experience of mine with you guys today. Let me first start off with saying I, unlike my character, am an open-minded skeptic. I do not have a lot of ghostly experiences, but I have one that is up in the air. I, honestly, don’t know what happened. Maybe it was a ghost (that’s the more comforting thought) or maybe it wasn’t. Some who have already read the books may recognize this experience, but here I go!

Was home from college doing what college students do best, napping, and all of my family was out of the house. Our family’s one dog was sleeping next to me. The dog and I heard the kitchen door open, and the dog hopped up and ran out barking. I heard someone greet the dog and our dog stopped barking. A few seconds later I heard footsteps coming down the hallway towards the room I was in. I assumed it was my dad or one of my brothers, but I didn’t open my eyes because I didn’t want to get caught in conversation and ruin a perfectly good nap. The footsteps went past the room and to our library. I heard something like a paper bag crumpling, but I didn’t really think anything of it.

About an hour later my mom came home and woke me up. She told me to get ready because we were going to meet the rest of the family for dinner. I told her dad was already home. She argued with me then I searched the house and couldn’t find anyone. I told her what happened and she told me I hadn’t locked the front door. So here is my dilemma, either someone randomly came into my parent’s house to throw away a paper stack in the library or it wasn’t a person at all. I have no idea, but I was thoroughly creeped out for a few days after that, and I never again forgot to lock the front door. There were always other things that happened around our house normal bumps and noises that could be excused as settling, but never anything quite that blatant. 

That is pretty spooky.. Thanks Liz for joining us here at The Ink Puddle! You can click here to see our review on Dark Corners.
So do you guys have any ghost stories to share? Any creepy occurrences or haunted houses we should know of?

Review: Dark Corners by Liz Schulte

"Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband's homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well"

When we meet Ella, she's a mess. Drinking and throwing her life away to anger and self pity, we find ourselves feeling sad and sorry for her as she reveals to us her story through flashbacks and dreams. Ella is convinced her house is haunted by a ghost, but being an author of horror books, the small town goes from considering her a local celebrity to simply a crazy nut job. But there's one person who keeps coming around despite Ella's rude, broken nature, and that person is Detective Troy. But is he friend or foe?

Though this book is slightly different from the paranormal/ supernatural feel we usually review here at The Ink Puddle, I was not disappointed. Liz takes us through character by character and keeps us questioning who has the best intentions for Ella. You will cheer, cry and scream as you fight for her to move through her pain and find some normalcy to life again. The book takes a very legit, real life approach and is a storyline that could unfortunately, happen to anyone (there are some crazies out there...). Needless to say, there isn't a dull moment in Dark Corners, you won't want to put the book down. And if you're like me, you'll have to leave the lights on for this one.

My rating for this book:

About the Author:

Many authors claim to have known their calling from a young age. Liz Schulte, however, didn't always want to be an author. In fact, she had no clue. Liz wanted to be a veterinarian, then she wanted to be a lawyer, then she wanted to be a criminal profiler. In a valiant effort to keep from becoming Walter Mitty, Liz put pen to paper and began writing her first novel. It was at that moment she realized this is what she was meant to do. As a scribe she could be all of those things and so much more. When Liz isn’t writing or on social networks she is inflicting movie quotes and trivia on people, reading, traveling, and hanging out with friends and family. Liz is a Midwest girl through and through, though she would be perfectly happy never having to shovel her driveway again. She has a love for all things spooky, supernatural, and snarky. Her favorite authors range from Edgar Allen Poe to Joseph Heller to Jane Austen to Jim Butcher and everything in between.
You can follow Liz's blog here.

Also! Be sure to check out our small interview with Liz where she sits down to tell us about a ghost story of her own.

A copy of the book, Dark Corners was provided to The Ink Puddle by Liz Schulte. 

 

Kindle Books Now Availible to Libraries!

Yesterday Amazon announced this exciting information that so many Kindle owners have been anxiously awaiting for! Click here to see the official release via Kindle Post.

As I figure out more and do the process myself I'll make a post more in depth. But what do you guys think? Is this it, is this what we all have been wanting? Are your libraries offering Kindle books in your area? I'm still checking around to see about mine but I'm pretty pumped.

-J

Review: Tithe by Holly Black

“Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms — a struggle that could very well mean her death.

After returning home from a tour with her mother's rock band, sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.” 

I first read Tithe about four or five years ago and although I really enjoyed it, I found it a bit dark for my taste.  Now that I’m older I can appreciate the story for what it is, a modern faerie tale.  Kaye is a teenager that has been transplanted from life on the move to smack dab in the middle of the lamest state in the country, New Jersey.  When she tries to find her friends, Loutie-Loo, Spike, and Gristle but doesn’t spot them anywhere she realizes that maybe they weren’t really after all.  That is until she meets and saves Roiben.  Once she saves his lives he allows her three truths from him which she saves for later.  And it turns out that Louti-Loo, Spike, and Gristle were real and that Roiben killed Gristle and Kaye revenges Gristle by getting Roiben to tell her his full name, little does Kaye know that she now has full control over him.  Loutie-Loo and Gristle inform Kaye that there is a faerie war occurring and that the sacrifice of Kaye is essential to end it.  Oh yea, and she’s a changeling.  

Although, like I mentioned above, I found Tithe to be a little dark the first time I read it, something that I thought was really cool was how Holly Black set up the series.  The first book, Tithe, is in Kaye’s point of view but then when you read Valient, the second book, it is in the point of view of a new character, Val.  Then Ironside is from Kaye’s point of view again and it’s not until this book that Val and Kaye cross paths.  All three books are worth the read.

My rating for this book:

Holly Black is the bestselling author of multiple books for children and teens.  She is one of the authors of the popular series the Spiderwick Chronicles that were made into a movie.  She is good friends with Cassie Clare, author of the TMI and ID series is often spotted on books tours with her.  To learn more about Holly Black and her work visit www.blackholl.com

If you’re in the mood for war, death, romance, secrets, and magic Tithe is your book.  Are you guys going to check it out?  Maybe you’ve already read it?  Have any good faerie book recommendations?  Let us know.

Smashwords

Did you know that you can purchase books for your e-reader at more places than just the Kindle or Nook store? You can! In fact Smashwords is one of those fantastic websites that lets you do it.

All you have you to do is go their the website, www.smashwords.com, create your personal account, find the book you are looking for and go to the checkout line. After purchasing your book, there are all kinds of formats you can get your for whether that be Nook, Kindle, Sony E-reader, PC, Apple... the list goes on and on. So the coolest thing about this is that if you decide someday that you have a Nook and you now want a Kindle (or vise-versa, I'm not showing favoritism!)  all you have to do is redownload those books in the format that you need for your new device. No extra charge. Cool, right?!

Now to get your book from the computer on to your e-reader, you have to use a USB cord, plug in your e-reader device and bring up the folder with all of it's contents. (Go to your My Computer folder and bring up your e-reader contents folder from there.) All you have to do is place your purchased, downloaded book into the e-reader folder using the drag and drop method.

Also, if you didn't know, Smashwords also has a great Facebook page. They give great tips and tidbits and sometimes even free books.

Have you guys used Smashwords before? I'll be honest, I don't use it too often unless I have a coupon for a book just because Amazon's Whispernet rocks to me, but it's still a great system. You may not be able to find every author you're looking for, but many of them are up there, plus a bunch of indies that aren't necessarily posted on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. So what do you think of this way of getting books?

-J

Thanks and Giveaway Opportunity!

Happy Monday everyone!
I want you guys, my readers, to know how much you mean to me, how much this blog means to me. Your support and comments always brighten my day and I love the idea that someone reads and appreciates something I write. I am constantly looking for new ideas, giveaways, and joining different blog communities to expand The Ink Puddle and find ways to give you the best reading experience I possibly can.

I know there are weeks where I post everyday and some weeks when there's only a couple, but with being a college student, some weeks are heavier than others. But that's the number one priority in my life right now and luckily, I know there isn't one of you who isn't understanding to that.

So, I want to take the time to remind you that if there is anything you want to say, have questions about (books, e-readers, misc), or books you want to discuss/ review. Let me know. You guys drive this thing just as much as I do and I want to give you what you want to hear about.

In appreciation to you guys, here is what I'm going to do. Right now, The Ink Puddle has 20 followers, but I know due to our over 1600 views in the past 2 months and 8 days that there are many more people who check us out, but don't necessarily follow. My goal is to have 50 followers by Halloween. If I can get 30 more followers who actively participate or read through The Ink Puddle, I will giveaway of 2 $10.00 Amazon giftcards (or if you have a Nook, a Barnes and Nobles gift card if you choose).

Here's how to sign up:
1) Follow us on our blog. (If you aren't sure how, click here.)
2) Follow us on Facebook.
3) Over the next month and 11 days, make at least a couple of comments on posts with your e-mail address or your blogger ID.

All of the people who join and do this will be entered into the giveaway that will take place on November 1st assuming we make it to our 50 follower goal. (Note: if you're already a follower, you aren't excluded, just skip straight to the active involvement stage of the process.) If this goes over well, we may just have another one just in time for Christmas...

My goal isn't to get to gather more people here who aren't ever going to pay attention but to reach more friends who are interested and will get something out of what The Ink Puddle does. So spread the word and help us make our goal.

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!
-J

Review: To Kill A Warlock by H.P. Mallory

"The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She's a Regulator-a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she's either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie's got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals."

One of my favorite things about To Kill A Warlock were the characters. Duclie O'Neal is a kick ass Regulator who also writes books on the side. But not just any kind of book, the one she's focusing on has to do particularly with a bit of frisky and pirates.Then you have Bram, Knight and Quill, all 3 extremely sexy men with a different purpose and a beautiful depth that not just anyone could pull off, but H.P. does. You will find yourself drooling over each of them at one point or the other but you don't get lost in it.

The beginning was one of the funniest starts to a book that I've ever read. This is actually a picture of a comic that H.P. would like to complete, I found this on her website which is linked to below.

 And the ending is one that will leave your heart racing, wrenching and spinning all confused and misjumbled.

Overall, I felt the book was enjoyable though felt really slow at times. To Kill A Warlock had nice new way to express law enforcement and H.P. does a fantastic job of creating a world that you will keep wanting more of.

My rating for this book:

H.P. Mallory is a writer for urban fantasy and paranormal romance books. She is a writer, a friend and an inspiration to many people. You can reach her at:

E-mail                           Facebook                           Website                             Blog

 

Following on Blogger

I've had a few people confused on the concept of "following" someone on Blogger. So I thought I'd take a couple of minutes today and hopefully clear some things up for those of you wondering. We'll start out simple...

What is following?
Say you really love The Ink Puddle and you want to tell me and all of your friends that you love The Ink Puddle. This is one way to do that.

How do I follow a blog?
In the top left hand corner of every blogger blog there is a link that says "Follow", click that and a pop up will come up with your Google ID, and the options to follow publicly or privately. I generally choose to follow publicly.
The other way to do that is to go to Blogger's site and right under your reading pane there will be a "Add" or "Manage" button, click "Add" and place the URL of the site you want to follow in that area and press "Next".

So what now?
Now you are added as a follower to that blog. Which means that every post that they do, it'll come up in your reading pane.

Reading pane?
If you go to Blogger's website and log in using your Google account, you can view all of the blogs you follow in their most recent posts. Cool thing is, you can follow more than just blogger blogs here. You can follow anyone from any site. Personal, wordpress or anything.

Why follow?
Following is a bit encouraging for the writers of the blog itself. I can say this from personal experience with The Ink Puddle. Like it's great to know that I have 1500+ views in a little over 2 months, but it's even more fantastic to know that you have fans who are dedicated and truly want to hear about what we're doing next, other than just people dropping by. (Don't get me wrong, any number of views in a day make me jump for joy.)
It's also easier for you to view the posts that you want to see.

I know that's not too much information for the day but since I'd had a few questions I wanted to take some time to answer that question. So does that help? Is there anything more you guys want to know?

Fill us in and we'll get back to you. :)
Have a great Sunday guys,
J

Review: The Secret Circle, Book 1 by L.J. Smith

“The Circle's Power has Lured Her Home. Cassie must confront a shattering challenge: an ordeal that could cost her life or gain her more than she's ever imagined...
Charmed by the Secret Circle, she's initiated into the mysterious "in crowd," a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for three hundred years.
Hopelessly in love with the coven leader's boyfriend, Cassie risks falling prey to dark powers in order to have him. But if she does, her endless love could destroy the coven, New Salem, and her!
...And She Will Emerge the Leader or Perish!”

With the premier of The Secret Circle being this past week, I knew that I should hurry and read the books beforehand. I have to say I really enjoyed them.  In fact I haven’t read a really good witch series since the Harry Potter books and these were published at least five years prior.  

When Cassie Blake’s mom drops the new that they’re not going to return to her home in California, she's devastated.  After she sees her grandmother’s house in New Salem that they’ll be living in, she gets infuriated.  Just before school starts she finally gets used to the idea and gets excited but on the first day she has a terrible encounter with Faye, who, and her club, for some reason gets away with all of her nonsense.  When Cassie sticks up for a girl Faye is bullying she decides to make Cassie her personal humiliator.  As the pranks get worse and worse her mother gets sicker so Cassie can’t even talk to her about her problems.  Finally, when she thinks that Faye might actually kill her, Dianna, the beautiful girl from down the street, saves and befriends her.  But Dianna is in the club too.  Is she really good?  Can Cassie really be friends with all of these “Club People”?      

This was a very nicely written, young adult novel. As the book get deeper, we also find Cassie progressing as she not only realizes her own potential but accepts it and chooses to thrive. Each and every character is richly developed, especially Fay. And if you've seen the show yet on the CW, you know that they hit that character spot on.  Needless to say, The Secret Circle was a very quick and thrilling read.

I rate this book:

L.J. Smith is the author of several best selling books including The Vampire Diaries that has also been adapted into a CW TV show.  To learn more visit ljsmith.net

Giveaway Winners!!

Today we have our winners for the Natural Selection Giveaway with Elizabeth Sharp! For those who are curious as to how I came up with the 3 winners, I used random.org to put all the names of those of you who signed up and the website picked the names at random. So they were chosen fair and square.
Those lucky people are...

For the e-book copy... Sara R and Elizabeth M!
For the signed paperback.... Kathleen H!

Congratulations! I will contact you this weekend on how to get your prize. :)

Thank you everyone who participated in our giveaway, we'll have many more in the future!

TV Week: The Secret Circle

This week we’re telling you guys about new supernatural TV shows and last night on the CW one of our highly anticipated choices premiered: The Secret Circle. I thought today would be the right day to tell you guys about it and do a review for its first book.
When Cassie Blake’s mother dies in a mysterious fire, she is sent to live with her grandmother in New Salem.  But weird things occur.  Her car spontaneously starts fire and won’t unlock, and then the fire goes out and unlocks when ever Adam approaches it.  But fires just don’t start and stop by themselves, do they?  It turns out she’s a witch and the sixth person to complete the coven.  Without Cassie, the circle doesn’t function to its full capacity.

The Secret Circle plays on the CW on Thursday night's at 9/8 central.


-M

Did you guys watch this last night? I tell you what, I'm pretty excited to see what can come from this show. Although I think it has the potential to be pretty dark and potentially gory, I'll definitely be hanging by to see where this goes. M and I were texting throughout The Secret Circle last night and she said that although she prefers the book, but seemed enticed enough.

-J

TV Week: Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries Season 3: Season of the Originals starts tomorrow and I AM PUMPED!!  It is my favorite T.V. show and with the vote as the 2010 sexiest cast by Victoria’s Secret there’s more to look at than just the T.V  screen.  

Season two ended with a bang.   Elijah betrayed  Elana and now Klause’s curse is broke and he is the ultimate monster.  Bonnie was able to save Jeremy but there was vast consequences, she brought Vikki and Anna back as some type of ghost as well.  Elana’s aunt and father were both killed leaving her and Jeremy officially orphans. Stefan was able to save Damon from the final death but at a high price; he is at Klause’s command at any given time and can no longer control his blood lust.  On top of that he’s stuck with Kathrine.  As for Caroline, her and Matt broke up and he knows what she and Tyler are.  But before they  made up, Matt told her mom that she’s and vampire and now Caroline’s mom is planning to hunt her.  The maker’s definitely managed to top the epic ending of season one.

 

The Vampire Diaries: Season Three “The Season of the Originals” is definitely going to be has crazy and jaw dropping as the past two.  You can view it on the CW, Thursday nights at 8/7 central. So are you guys fans already?  Maybe considering watching the new season? What do you think is going to happen next?

-M

Review: Tommy Nightmare by J.L. Bryan

Spoiler Alert!! If you haven’t read Jenny Pox, the first book in The Paranormals Trilogy, I would hold off on reading this review.

“While Fallen Oak recovers from the Jenny pox, someone new is hunting Jenny. Like Jenny, Ashleigh Goodling belonged to a pair of opposites with powers that mirror each other. Now Jenny and Seth must face the opposite of love...”

In Tommy Nightmare, we discover that Jenny, Seth and Ashleigh aren’t the only people with powers. In fact, there are quite a few more people. When we’re introduced to Tommy in the first chapter of the book, he’s an innocent foster child, unaware of his abilities when an awful accident occurs. As traumatizing as this is for Tommy, J.L. Bryan makes this scene and many others just as cringing as he did in Jenny Pox. Growing older, Tommy sees a T.V. interview of Ashleigh Goodling, Jenny’s arch enemy, and suddenly he’s feeling this pull to Ashleigh that he cannot get enough of.

On the other spectrum of things, Fallen Oak is a mess and forensics are everywhere trying to figure out what the heck happened to all these people. Meanwhile, Jenny is having constant flashbacks of her past lives as she continues to fight, accept and understand her abilities as more than hopefully a destructive weapon.

I was impressed once again with all of the unexpected places that J.L. Bryan took Tommy Nightmare. My only disappointment with this book was Jenny’s relationship with her father. You see throughout Jenny Pox that they’re close, not only due to being  father/ daughter but because that’s the only real human contact she has, but it’s as if that connection is disengaged. It’s sad, because I feel like much more could have been done with that bond. I was also surprised how small of a roll that Tommy actually played in the book. The beginning opens up with him and he is the start of a huge chain of events, but he isn’t the main storyline. This isn't noted as bad thing about the book, just simply an observation.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book as J.L. Bryan is definitely not afraid to put his characters through hell and back all for our pleasure and reading excitement. Tommy Nightmare proved to be a very worthy sequel to Jenny Pox.

My rating for this book:

Tommy Nightmare is the second book in The Paranormals Trilogy.

Note: J.L. Bryan recommends readers be 18 years or older.

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period.  He also studied screenwriting at UCLA.  He is the author of five novels and one short-story collection.  He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories.  His goal is to provide highly original fiction like you won’t find anywhere else.  He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, as well as some dogs, cats, and domestic plants. You can follow him here:
Blog       Facebook       Twitter          Website

TV Week: Ringer

Now I know this show isn’t much on the supernatural side and there is no book affiliation, but Sarah Michelle Gellar is BACK; Our beloved Buffy from Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer! And that my friends, is something we all should be excited about.

 CW Synopsis:
“Twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan (both played by Gellar) have been at odds for the last eight years and find that their lives are both unraveling at the same rate. Bridget, a recovering alcoholic, is on the run from the mob after witnessing a murder. She flees to her twin sister Siobhan's home. The sisters seem to be repairing their broken relationship until Siobhan mysteriously disappears overboard during a boat trip the sisters take together. Bridget soon discovers her sister's seemingly perfect life is full of secrets after she is attacked in Siobhan's home.”

This is the show that I'm anticipating most for the season. The previews ooze with suspense and mystery and I think the CW can do a whole lot with it. Hopefully they can even expand themselves off their mostly teen audience with shows like Gossip Girl, 90210 and Vampire Diaries. Not that I'm dissing those shows, I've followed them all at one time or another, but I'm thinking this may be on a more mature level. Either way, as a die hard Buffy addict, I will be tuned in every week for this show.

Actors include Nester Carbonell, Ioan Gruffudd, Mike Coulter, Jason Dohring (Logan!) and Nichole Anderson.

Below we included a trailer, in this trailer you even have a Nine Inch Nails song. Yeah, so I'm not sure this can get any better. Be sure to tune in and let us know what you think.
Ringer will premier on Tuesdays at 8/9 central on the CW.  

-J
All information was found from CW or IMDb and video is posted from YouTube.

TV Week: Terra Nova

Paradise doesn’t come without sacrifice.

What’s one of the great things about fall?  New prime time TV shows or the start up of old favorites.  This fall, Fox is presenting a new show Monday, September 26th (8/7 central) called Terra Nova, produced by Steven Spielberg.  Terra Nova is based in year 2149 A.D. and the human race and earth as we know it is depleting fast.  It’s overpopulated and overdeveloped and the only way to save the human race is to start over; starting over, meaning go back in time to prehistoric days.  But it’s not all clear blue skies and sunshine for the Shannon family.  On top of man eating dinosaurs there is also a renegades and some people are dead set on destroying this new world before it has a chance to begin.

So what do you guys think of this new show?  Something you might want to check out?  I for one am going to.

Stay tuned this week for posts on up and coming shows!
-M

Review: Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast

“One minute, sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress. The next, she’s Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint with Heath, who just doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: when she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends."

In the House of Night series book 1: Marked, people don’t become vampires by being bitten.  When one goes through puberty their body can either go on to become a normal human adult or it can go in a different direction. From there you either reject the change and die or grow up to be a full vampire.  The day Zoey Redbird was marked her entire world fell apart: She had to move to a new home, go to a new school, learn completely new things, and make new friends.  Her mother and Step loser made it clear that she was going to go straight to hell for whatever she had done to cause God to punish her (and them).  Her best friend Kayla was repelled from her like she was the pague and turned out to be a real slut face by trying to get with Zoey’s exboyfriend Heath.  On top of it all her mark was different from all the other fledglings and it has caused her to be singled out by the top fledgling bitch, Aphrodite.  Things weren’t all bad though, she had a great roommate, Stevie Rae, a countrified bumpkin but super sweet and good hearted who introduced her to some new friends.  Her grandma and Heath, although not so welcomed on the later, have stuck by her side despite everything that is happening.  She had the approval of the smartest, most powerful, and beautiful vamp at the school, Neferet.  On top of it all she caught the attention of the hottest guy at school, Eric Night.  

Marked is a new interesting take on vampires with a dash of Harry Potter.  The chapters are written in Zoey’s view only during the first book but you get more perspective throughout the series.  I love that the different characters still come completely to life even through just the main characters point of view.

I rate this book:

The House of Night Series is written by P.C. and Kristen Cast.  P.C. cast has written several series and she has receive several awards for them.  Kristin Cast is P.C.’s daughter and has wrote a few other series herself.  She currently goes to college in Oklahoma, where they both live.  To learn more visit www.pccast.net.

9/11 Remembrance

Ten years ago I was sitting in my 5th grade classroom when my teacher got the call to turn on the TV from her husband. I didn't understand what was happening as I see the first trade center falling to the ground in slow motion and a shitload of smoke enveloping the entire city. I remember distinctly the concern and worry on Mrs. Foster's face as she struggled with the idea to leave the TV on and see what was happening, or if we were much to young for what we were viewing. So for about 5 minutes, or long enough to see the plane hit the second tower, the room fell silent and we all watched in heartbreak, in awe, in complete shock as history happened in front of us.

Now I'm not sure where you were that day, or where you are now, but please, take a minute or two today to remember the families who lost loved ones, the firefighters and policemen who gave their lives to respond bravely to this disaster, and the ones who are sick today because of responding. While there are many things with this country that I would love to see changed, I know that I at least have the freedom to voice my opinions aloud. Due to that and so many other reasons, I will always say that I am proud to be an American. 

So where were you when the world stopped turning?

Kindle Game Sale

So I know we generally post all about books, but it's still along the lines the Kindle, which is book related!

Anyway, a TON of Kindle games are on sale for super cheap this weekend until Monday, September 12th. So click here to check that coolness out. :)

Also! Don't forget we still have that Elizabeth Sharp giveaway going on for her book Natural Selection. Spread the word.

I hope you guys are having a fantastic weekend!
-J

Interview with Elizabeth Sharp

Today is our last day with Elizabeth Sharp and she has provided us with a fantastic interview about her and her book Natural Selection. Don't forget to at least answer the question at the bottom to be apart of our giveaway!

What was the inspiration behind your story, Natural Selection?
Natural Selection was actually a perfect storm of ideas. Three separate ideas came together one day. The first was a young adult novel about a teenage girl discovering she was more than human. The second was about a teenage girl and her unique family structure that focused on issues teen dealt. Many of the people who read it felt it was too dark and depressing, but I loved the characters and their relationship. The final idea dealt with a society filled with hatred and mistrust, though this one isn’t quite as dominant in Natural Selection as it is in the sequels.

How did you go about deciding what age Amelia would be?
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times Amelia’s age changed I the course of writing this story. I had her as old as seventeen at one point and as young as twelve. In the end I decided to start her at fourteen simply because I liked showing her dealing with these deeper issues at the same time she is struggling with the very normal teen issue of starting high school. It just seemed like a good place to start.

I LOVED how you followed Amelia and her mother’s reading selections! (Who doesn’t love H.P. Mallory after all?) What gave you that idea to subtly bring up other books and authors instead of just saying that she was reading a book about a sparkly vampire?
It started off as my attempt to give some depth to Amelia, showing her tastes. I also liked the idea that if the reader liked the idea of something she is reading they can go look for it and actually find it.

Will there be more to Amelia’s story?
Oh, definitely. There is a second novel already being edited and a third being ploted. Some of the other characters introduced will also be getting their own stories. So you haven’t seen the last of Amelia.
Who is your greatest influence in the writing world?

When is the best time to write? Where is it that you do your magic?
First thing in the morning is the best time for me. I am most productive then. I usually start at my desk in my office, but often migrate to stretching out on my bed with either my Live Scribe pen or my laptop.

If you were one of the species you mention in your books, which would you be?
I’d want to be a djinn. At least the half-breed kind.

I feel like I’m constantly saying, “this book took unusual yet fascinating turn” when it comes to reading indie paranormal books, but its true! It seems like most of the traditionally published books I find end up being about faeries or vampires and occasionally witches, but indie books exceed those limitations, truly creating new worlds and characters never thought of before. Do you agree? Why do you think that is?
I think the traditional publishing world is limited by their constant market analysis and bureaucracies. They have a line of people to answer to and are so concerned with the bottom line that they can’t take the chances that independents can.

Thanks Elizabeth for coming by! It's been fantastic having you here this week!

Natural Selection Excerpt

The detective’s brow furrowed, and he glanced at the female officer. She shrugged picked up the folder in front of him, walking around the table towards me. “I want to show you a photo taken of the victim’s room. I'll warn you the image is graphic and might be alarming. If you don’t think you can handle it, we’ll understand. I know Garret can be kind of awkward, but I assure you he’s a good detective. He just wants to figure out what happened to your friend.” She gave the detective a hard glance, and he grimaced and looked away. “Once you see the pictures you’ll understand...” She paused, shooting a disapproving frown at the detective. “…unorthodox behavior.” She glanced at Mrs. Soberlo and waited for her nod, then turned back to me.

After that build up there was no way I could say no. I owed it to Mariah to give whatever help I could. I nodded, and she set a black and white 8x10 in front of me. A lump filled my throat, and I tried not to see the blood. The body wasn’t in the photo, but I could tell something horribly violent had been done to my friend. It could have been a still from a horror movie.  It took a moment before I was able to see past the blood. Lead settled in my stomach as I realized why they’d been asking about the occult. A strange symbol had been painted on the floor.

I recognized the ankh at the top, but the other symbols I didn’t know. There were remnants of a black candle in each point. I felt sick to my stomach and light headed. My hand shook as I shoved my hair out of my face. Officer Simms gripped my shoulder trying to comfort me, but I had to get out of that room. Iciness pulsed through me, and I tried to push the horrible picture away. When my hand got near it, it felt as if I was attempting to reach into a fire. I had no idea how a simple photograph was making me ill and weak, but it was. I looked away, however my eyes kept skittering back. I couldn’t understand what I was sensing. I tried to glance at other things in the picture, but my eyes were repeatedly drawn to the black lines. No matter how much I wanted to look away, that symbol was all I could focus on.  Whatever it was had power. I wondered if someone was harnessing that power for their own sick purposes.

             I licked my lips nervously, unable to meet the detective eyes. A thick, waxy feeling settled into my belly, and I struggled not to retch.  I placed my hand over my mouth and tried to breathe deeply. “That’s not the Mariah I knew.”  Mrs. Soberlo placed her hand over mine, and I tried to smile. I wanted out of that tiny room and away from the terrible picture. Instead, I fidgeted and pressed my lips tight, fighting the oily surge in my stomach.

“I don’t think Miss Hoffman has any information for you, do you Amelia?” Mrs. Soberlo met my eyes, her brown ones soft and kind giving me a little strength.

“We were kind of friends, but we rarely hung out except at school. I wish I could help you, but I really don’t know anything about this.”

“Thank you, Miss Hoffman,” the detective said, eyeing me oddly. I wasn’t certain he entirely believed me, but I think he was afraid to push me with Mrs. Soberlo there—which probably made him a smart man.

As I opened the door I turned back to him. “Should I be worried, Detective? Is there a psychopath out there stalking teenage girls or did Mariah get caught up in something awful?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Miss Hoffman.”

-Elizabeth Sharpe