Confessions of a Twenty Something Fiction Writer

My Moo Cards!

2012-02-20T13:17:00.000-06:00

So I'm very excited because my moo cards came in!

You're probably thinking what the heck is a moo card? Well it's a little company that makes business cards and not just business cards, but cute as hell business cards.

I first heard about this company on Getting Personal with Carrie blog when she ordered her moo cards. Check her out she's got a great site!

And since I am going to Chicago's Spring Fling Writer's Conference I knew I would need some cards to market myself when I hob knob with the big wigs. So here's mine:

How very exciting ;D

What do you think? I themed them a little bit after my blog and I think they turned out well! Just wanted to share with ya'll lovelies and click the moo pic to go to the site. I got 100 for 19.99 with free shipping so not too bad at all!

Don't forget about my Hunger Games Trilogy Giveaway!

The Hunger Games Trilogy Giveaway!

2012-02-18T19:30:00.000-06:00

The Hunger Games Trilogy Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of the movie on March 23, 2012 I am hosting a giveaway in which the prize is the entire Hunger Games Trilogy!

Watch the Trailer!!!

Ah!!! I'm so freaking excited can you tell??? This book series changed my life last year and it is a great YA series for 20 somethings! So I want to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy these books as much as I have :D

Here's the Details

One Person Will Receive:

(1) Paperback Copy

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister Primrose, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.(Goodreads.com)

(1) Hardback Copy

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.(Goodreads.com)

(1) Hardback Copy

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost. (Goodreads.com)

The Rules

You Must:

Be a follower of mine on GFC or Network Blogs

The Book Depository must be able to ship to you.

(To check if your county is on the list click here)

Be 13 years old or older

Enter the Form Below

And that's it! Happy Entering and Happy Hunger Games!

Winner will be chosen on release day March 23, 2012 :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Conversion by S.C. Stephens

2012-02-16T22:45:00.002-06:00

The Blurb:
Emma is happy. She's got a promising career in front of her, great friends, and a pretty amazing family. But her social life has been a little lacking lately. That's when fate stepped in, and crashed her into a tall, dark and handsome man. Sure, he has his secrets...don't we all, and, yeah, maybe his secrets are a little more unusual than most - like he's a partial vampire who can walk around during the day, but also enjoys a little plasma nightcap now and again - but to Emma, he's single, successful, and an extraordinary gentleman. That makes up for a lot. Of course, his condition is a bit more serious than he first lets on, and living a life with him will require some sacrifices that most just aren't willing to make. Will she? Is love enough to compensate for a life that will never be anywhere near the realm of normalcy? But then again...what's normal anyway? (Goodreads.com)

Whoa! Okay, so I am still recuperating from this book about vampy vamps! You heard right...vampire! So before you click off my page and never visit my blog again, lol, stick with me for a moment because this book was fierce, sexy, hot, whatever you want to call it this book is outstanding!

So here we have some more S.C. Stephens goodness. Like her other work Thoughtless, this book does not disappoint!

Here we have 25! year old Emma Taylor. Now Emma has a normal life. She works for a dumpy secretary (Yes, she is a secretary's secretary :D), lives in a nice little home that belonged to her grandmother, has a pretty good bestie, and a wonderful family. But Emma is bored, my friends, so of course she is just elated when she runs, literally, into a gorgeous raven haired, ice blue eyed Teren Adams.

She spills her coffee all over this poor guy and the next thing you know these two are dating. But what she doesn't know, but quickly finds out, is his vampy ways.

Now you may be thinking: "Okay, V, this is just Twilight with 20 somethings!" NOT! Because you see, my friends, Teren is only "a little" vampire. He's like 5th generation. He doesn't die in the sun, he has a heartbeat, he's warm, and he eats food (and a little bit of blood now and then). He's more human than vamp and the two quickly become involved in a hot and heavy relationship, that is until disaster strikes and Emma has to make a HUGE choice on if Teren is worth the trouble.

This book is not just about love. You see, the first chapter starts off with them together already and Stephens summarizes how it happens. This is a book about what happens after the love bug "bites" you, tehe. This is a book about the reality of how two very different people have to overcome the differences they have and if their love is worth it to stay together, in other words, it's REAL LIFE PEOPLE!

This book was so refreshing. I had never seen this take on vamps before and I swore after reading Twilight I would never pick up another vampy book because its all been done before, but I am so glad I did. Stephens did this in a way I had never seen before and she does it damn good.

On to my likes and didn't likes!

What I liked:

Our witty saracstic heroine! Stephens definitely got me back after that cheating Kiera disaster that was in Thoughtless (Though I loved me some Thoughtless, the heroine was just ridiculous). Emma is so likable and so funny! What I loved about this was even through the really scary tense parts of the book (and believe me there is a crap load) I still found myself snickering in some parts and that's hard to do. There are dangerous times and Emma handles them like a champ!
Our hero Teren Adams! He is so dreamy and I am a sucker for a cute not-afraid-to-display-his-emotions male and Teren is not afraid to cry when he's scared, but don't let that get you thinking he's weak. This man is badass and takes care of his lady and I loved it. He actually blushed (you heard me right) at one point in the book and it was the cutest thing I had ever read in my life.
The Adams Family! *snap, snap* Teren's relatives are a hoot. His "great gran" as he calls her is a little firecracker. She reads like a 20 something! and is so hilarious.
The story world is great. It's set in the real world and Stephens shows it really well.
The dialogue is funny, scary, tense, and amazingly done.
The bad guy was so random . . . but it worked and I loved it!
This book was FREE! You heard me, completely free and it was the best book I have read in a while. I liked it better than Thoughtless, *gasp* And as you can see on the "What's on my Kindle" section on the right side of my page, I am still trying to get through Fifty Shades Freed and this book made me stop that and read this, haha.
The smexy! OMG I was fanning myself so much I thought my Kindle would set ablaze. Teren has some interesting fetishes and I almost swooned to the floor from the intensity.
Holy hell the finale was amazing! So surprising. I warn it is a little graphic, but it is so good and intense.

What I didn't like:

This was indie pub so with that you get the random grammatical errors and splices, but they're not too bad so it was okay.
Some words and phrases were a little overused.
A problem Stephens had with me in Thoughtless was the narrative. She does use a lot of narrative to push the story forward which I wish she didn't do so much. It slows the story down and makes it hard to keep going.
Sometimes Emma would laugh at things I thought were kind of inappropriate and found myself shifting my eyes in awkwardness when I was reading it. I was like "umm, that's not supposed to be funny why are you laughing at that?" But there wasn't much of that so I got over it.
Though the smexy was good, she could have pushed it just a little bit farther. I was satisfied, but she definitely could have tipped it over the edge just a wee bit more and it would have been on fire!

And that's it! This book was so good I am not even lying. Drop what you're doing now and get it, because you won't be disappointed, haha. This is serious top 10 end of the year material for me. Go get it here for FREE! And when you're done with that there are two more :D I am starting number 2 tonight!

This book also counts towards:

Check out the challenge!

Later Peeps!

The Fire That Fueled Me to Write!

2012-02-13T16:43:00.006-06:00

Hello, Hello! I just found out about this and was super excited to take part! Today is the Origins Blogfest hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and several others. If you would like to participate click here.

We are supposed to state how we started writing and as most of you know from my title I am very new at my writing, but my story did start somewhere so here it goes.

It was dark and stormy night . . .

Not really,

It was actually mostly likely a clear Fall Monday in the Midwest, and Victoria was reading a YA novel, not stating which one, and was seriously let down because she couldn't relate to the characters at all.

In 2010, I was a 23 year old first semester grad student who was about to get married in 2011 with problems such as how am I going to be able to get all this homework done and plan my wedding and honeymoon at the same time? Will I be able to pay this bill on time if my student refund doesn't come in soon? Can I get all this paper work done on time so my wedding vendors will be at the big day on time?

I was then attempting to read about a high schooler who was mad and angsty and who's biggest problem was what she was going to do if so and so didn't call her.

I was tired, annoyed, but most of all, I couldn't relate. I started to think about the books that were out and why I hadn't read a full book that wasn't a textbook since 2008 (Yeah it had been that long) and started to realize it was because A) I couldn't connect with the characters and B) Everything that was out at the time was about Vamps and Wolves and I was totally over it.

So the research began! I started looking for books about 20 somethings!

I was pumped, excited, and then . . .

. . . depressed as hell. I literally couldn't find one. I researched and researched and couldn't find one in print. I didn't have an eReader at the time and was really against those in the first place (call me a late bloomer). And after weeks of online clicking, I think I found only 5 digital books about 20 somethings!

I was mad, infuriated, but most of all, lit by fire! I started thinking about what I wanted to see in books (More action, dialogue driven, smexy, romantic tension, drama, bloody CURSE WORDS for Pete's Sake!) and compiled a mental list of what I wanted to focus on.

And then I came up with a storyline and bought a journal. I filled that journal with character names and traits, adventure, dialogue, and all kinds of things.

Fast forward to Fall 2011 a year later. I was married, had more time, and thought "I have this journal filled with random crap now what?"

I bought a how to write fiction book in September 2011 and now . . . I've written 3 books!

So there you have it friends. A little lengthy but that was how it happened. Since then, I have indeed purchased an eReader (Also known as the other love of my life), joined twitter, and started a blog which allowed me to find many others like myself and discovered the NEW ADULT genre! I have found over 60 books about 20 somethings! (Mostly digital and self-pub, but it's okay 'cuz I got an eReader, baby!) and now I am happy as a clam and on the journey to publication!

How Much Smexy Is Too Smexy???

2012-02-12T17:42:00.002-06:00

So I went to my local RWA meeting yesterday (shout out to the Prairie Hearts! :D) and the topic of the appropriate amount of smexy that one should use in their writing came up during a presentation by one of my Prairie sisters, Robyn. It was a great presentation and it got me thinking . . . what is the acceptable level and how often should the smexy, smexy occur?

I write New Adult of course and this may come as a surprise to some, but college students-- now pull in really close so you can hear this---have sex *whispers* I know it's insane! This fact is indeed true. Some more than others, but it is occurring just the same.

Now when I think about the high level romance YA novels I have read, basically anything by Simone Elkeles or Jennifer Echols, they have STEAMY scenes and these kids are in high school, so what's good for a New Adult?

I want to be conscious of the reader, but at the same time put the level that I enjoy reading as well. You would think that when writing a novel about 20 somethings! there are no rules for this, but there really are. You don't want to offend anyone, but at the same time you don't want to be unrealistic.

New Adult is not Adult fiction writing. These 20 somethings! have different worries and responsibilities and graphic sex is not necessarily what people want to read or see, but sweet "close door" isn't necessarily it either.

I enjoy Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster and S.C. Stephens' Thoughtless as far as a good example for our New Adults, but some might think it's a little too smexy.

I guess it's all subjective, but I am curious about all you readers and writers out there. What's your "smexy" level? Do you enjoy "close door," Euphemism City smexy scenes, partially descriptive smexy, no holds barred, or do you just breeze over them entirely?

Blog Awards!

2012-02-03T23:16:00.001-06:00

Now, I have to admit that I should have gotten around to this a while ago, but I just finished the novella and now I can pass on the smile! I was awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award by Kelley from the amazing writing blog Between the Bookends. She has a great blog that shows her journey as a writer so check out her stuff it's great!

I was also awarded the Versatile Blogger award by both Kelley and S.E. Lane from her stellar blog Writing Belle.

Now some of you may remember S.E. Lane from my Liebster Blog award post where I awarded that to her. She has a great review/ writing blog so check her out too!

Thanks to both of these ladies for the awards and now I get to pass on the awards myself!

The Rules!

For the Kreativ Blogger Award I am suppose to post 10 random facts about myself and pass on the award to 6 others.

For the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
2. Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

So what I am going to do is right in the middle. I am going to pass on the award to 10 others and give 8 random facts about myself!

More than you ever wanted to know about your Twenty Something Fiction Writer!

1. Though I enjoyed Twilight, I have hated vampires since I was a child. They're just so creepy, lol

2. I honeymooned in Disney World and have a serious like for the mouse :)

3. I have been playing violin for 14 years!

4. Though I took French for 5 years . . . I suck at it.

Parlez vous Francais? . . . yeah me either, lol!

5. I have an unhealthy obsession with Sprite . . .

6. . . . and Mariah Carey's music

7. I extreme coupon. "Yes, I will purchase my clothes for .99 with a coupon at Target, Mr. Cashier!"

8. I met these guys this one time, lol.

I award both of these awards to the following blogs:

Leigh Covington

So, You're a Writer . . .

Writing on the Wall

Jaycee Delorenzo

The Writing Hour

Dreaming in the Pages

Tater's Tall Tails

Yael Itamar

Reading, Writing, and Loving It!

A Tapestry of Words

Thanks again for the awards ladies and check out these great blogs!

We Have a Winner!

2012-02-03T01:41:00.001-06:00

Winner Announced Below!

You will Receive:

Congratulations to the winner!

Thanks everyone again for supporting me and my blog :)

Check me out at the end of the month for . . .

A Special Hunger Games Giveaway to celebrate the movie release!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Wrote a Novella!

2012-02-02T21:07:00.002-06:00

I joined these guys, because I wrote one! *grins*

Well everyone I did it! I started my novella last Thursday, a short 40,000 word work based on two of my characters to the sequel of my manuscript The Crimson Hunt, and I wrote the last word on the page today! I laughed, I cried, but most of all--I finished!

I didn't know how easy this would be for me to do. I was used to writing 90,000 word count books with the handy Snowflake Method that I use and wasn't quite sure if I could trim, trim, trim enough to write a book at 40,000 words and it still make sense and be well written...well I did it!

I'm so excited and when I finally get these books out the door for "Crimson" I would like to send off the novella as a companion. And it is super funny, if I do say so myself :) It actually ended up being a Romantic Comedy and "Crimson" is more of an action/adventure love story, so I was surprised by the direction of where this one went, but it turned out well!

I wrote from 4 POV's and OMG writing as a 23-year-old male...I thought 20 something! females were crazy! Who says men aren't emotional??? Because they are! lol. Just wanted to let everyone know. I'm so excited :)

Laterz!

Hello, my name is Victoria and I am amongst the Insecure Writers.

2012-02-02T01:12:00.005-06:00

Well, at the first of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group members all post a fear of theirs on their blog so here is mine:

Sometimes I wonder if there is a point to pursuing traditional publishing. I feel as if I have boxed myself in with my love for 20 somethings/ the New Adult genre and just want to forgo the traditional way of publishing aka finding an agent, finding a traditional publisher, and just do indie publishing and the sad thing is--I haven't even started the process yet! I am so downtrodden that I am like "FORGET IT! THERE'S NO HOPE! NO HOPE AT ALL! NO, NO DON'T TRY TO CONVINCE ME, THERE'S NO HOPE! NO HOPE AT ALL!" *sighs with hand to the back of my brow*/*cries in the fetal position.*

So that's my insecurity. To support other's like myself click the link or the pic above. Thanks for listening ya'll.

This Week is: "Besties" Friday!

2012-01-26T22:23:00.000-06:00

Calling All Writers and Readers

It's that time again. Time to post a line or paragraph from your favorite written work or if you're a writer post a line from your own work! Last week was Funny Friday and it's not too late to post so if you want to go back and submit something click the link.

This Week's Theme:

"Besties" Friday!

Every Hero/Heroine has to have a best friend right?

Post a line featuring a best friend of a hero/heroine from your written work or a favorite line from a book you are currently reading (or just read). It can be any kind of line, funny, warm and fuzzy with friendly love, whatever tickles your fancy!

My Post for the Week:

“Where the hell do they live China?” asked Piper, painting her toenails while still in her stiletto, her foot pretty much out of the window.

I couldn’t be sure, but I think I just saw a pink elephant on roller skates blow me a kiss on his way to a poker game. “Would you stop that? You should have done that when we were at home, it’s making me hallucinate.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s just a touch up. I’m almost done.” - Ariel and her best friend Piper. (From my novel: The Crimson Hunt)

Ah...gotta love a good bestie.

Feel free to comment on myself and others :)

What do you have to share this week?

Liebster Blog Award!

2012-01-25T20:20:00.005-06:00

So this wonderfully awesome chick named Rachel over at this stellar bloggity blog Writing on the Wall nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award.

Thanks Lady! I am so honored to be amongst your chosen 6 :)

And now that I have been chosen I get to pick 5 blogs of my own with less than 200 followers...hmm, teh, heh, heh. There's so many great blogs, but I did find 5 of my favorites and now I am going to share them with you awesome ladies and gents!

Drum Roll Please!!!!!

First we have...

Ms. Aubree over at The Writing Hour. Let me tell you why I loves this girl's blog. She is a writer like myself who has dreams of making it big and doing what she loves to do best--writing! She's knows what it's like to juggle school and write and offers great advice during her journey :)

Second up...

S.E. Lane at Writing Belle She is another stellar chick who hosts both a writing blog combined book review blog like myself. She has a novel coming out too ya'll. Follow her journey, she has a great voice!

And...

Ilima at ka'ao: tell a fanciful tale. I love her blog. Another writer of course and I read a line from her work and seriously it warmed my heart with her wonderful characters.

Can't forget this one...

My girl ShawnaLeAnn at Dreaming in the Pages OMG this girl's book blog is amazing. I follow her every week. If you want some stellar recommendations for books go to this awesome chick. And she reads+reviews about 20 somethings! like myself. Who doesn't love that?

And of course...

My stellar critque partner Jaycee Delorenzo at her author blog. Now, her blog is fairly new, but she is just too kickass not to list. She writes about 20 somethings! like myself and she has a novel coming out this spring. Check her out!

Whew . . . *wipes sweat from brow* That was a toughy, but these ladies deserve it. Thanks again Rachel and everyone check out these crazy awesome blogs!

You Wonderful People Did It!--AGAIN!

2012-01-25T19:42:00.003-06:00

Why do I love thee? Because all you beautiful people have helped me reach a milestone of...

VIA combined GFC/Network blogs

Yeah!!!! WE DID IT!

Now, one person will win all three of these pretty babies!

Throw out the balloons and party favors, woot!!!

I want to thank you all so much for your participation in the giveaway and following me!

Keep entering, you still have quite a few more days to win the stellar merch!

*Remember you have to follow me through GFC, Network Blogs, or Twitter to win.

Giveaway ends 2/3!

Enter in the form below or click on my Giveway button to the right!

Loves Y'all!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens

2012-01-22T23:03:00.004-06:00

The Blurb

For almost two years now, Kiera's boyfriend, Denny, has been everything she's ever wanted: loving, tender and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together, Denny at his dream job and Kiera at a top-notch university, everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart.

Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Kiera turns to an unexpected source – a local rock star named Kellan Kyle. At first, he's purely a friend that she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes...and none of them will ever be the same. (Goodreads.com)

Okay, my friends, so today is another review and this one screams 20 somethings! For fans of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire and even some of you Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James fans you will love this book. I was hooked and addicted to this novel and as you can see from the side I am now reading Effortless which is the sequel by the same author.

So, let's get right into it. We have 21! year old Kiera who moves across country to be with her hot Aussie boyfriend Denny as he takes a job in Seattle.

Keira is not at all upset by this move and jumps at the chance to transfer college universities to be with her man on the next step of their journey as a couple. Well, everything is going fine and dandy until we meet rockstar Kellan Kyle, another 20 something!, who is too swoon worthy for our heroine to ignore.

Well some stuff goes down and Kiera is left vulnerable and becomes infatuated with Kellan and his charms and the two start a scandalously hot affair right under poor Denny's nose! This is the tale of a girl battling her emotions between two hottie hots as she struggles to decide which is the correct guy for her.

Okay, so I was totally unsure about this book because I by no means condone cheating, but boy do I love drama and this book has it. I found myself happy, wanting to cry, frustrated to no end, and then happy again.

Kiera is all over the place in this book. She is a walking basket of unstable hormones and takes us with her during every choice she makes. My head was spinning and my heart was rolling the whole time! I was like who is this girl going to pick and would she just pick already!

This is a stellar college contemporary romance and the setting is very much a part of the story which I love since I am in college and I love the rockstar element that is thrown in there. It made for a very interesting ride.

ON to the likes and dislikes!

What I liked:

1. Holy hell Kellen Kyle! He is make-you-want-to-lick your eReader hot. I was like there is just too much deliciousness to go around. He is so stinkin' hot it's insane and he is such a good guy. He has lots of problems yes, but he is so passionate. He reminded me a lot of Christian Grey from "Fifty Shades", a gorgeous tortured soul.

2. The college setting was great. I felt as if I was really there.

3. The rockstar element was great. Kellan's group played at one club in particular and these boys are serious rockstars.

4. Drama! Oh my goodness there was so much drama. The reader is constantly wondering what's going to happen next to Kiera and you don't know how it ends until literally the last couple of pages.

5. Did I mention Kellen Kyle????

6. Very good dialogue. I am a fan of the sarcastic witty heroine and though Kiera is not that, I still stuck with her and didn't find her boring at all.

7. Umm...Kellan Kyle. Teh. Heh.

8. Whoa, the sex! Crazy, steamy, hot and loved it. Kellan knows what he's doing...and Denny isn't bad either I guess, haha.

What I didn't like:

1. I hate to say it, but Kiera our heroine. She is so wishy washy. One minute the other guy and the next the former. It's like just pick one already! I felt the author was just BSing us half the time. I really felt for Kiera at first. The situation in which she becomes involved with Kellan, I was like okay I get it, but after that she just got ridiculous. Constantly changing her mind every two seconds and I found myself liking her less and less.

2. Denny, the actual boyfriend. Well besides the fact that he's not Kellan Kyle, lol, I found it hard to connect with him. Not to mention, I didn't like what he did to Kiera in the first quarter of the book (you'll see) and he just never redeemed himself for past offenses with me.

3. Too much narrative summary. The author is constantly just talking without dialogue to get us to the next section. It was just too much and I got bored sometimes and OMG that last quarter was dry after the finale. But, it did pick up at end well.

4. Many repeated words. This is an indie pub, though the book is done well, the vocabulary was a bit overused sometimes.

I think that's it! It was seriously a great read and I can't wait to finish the second, though I am putting it on hold until I finish Fifty Shades Freed! You will indeed get a review on both that and Effortless when I finished so stay tuned!

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway!

This also counts towards:

Check out the challenge!

This Week is: Funny Friday!

2012-01-20T13:23:00.004-06:00

Calling All Writers and Readers

It's that time again. Time to post a line or paragraph from your favorite written work or if you're a writer post a line from your own work! Last week was Steamy Friday and it's not too late to post so if you want to go back and submit something click the link.

This Week's Theme:

Funny Friday!

HaHa!

Post a funny line from your written work or a favorite line from a book you are currently reading (or just read). It can be any kind of funny whether it's a one liner or just something funny that happened to character!

My Post for the Week:

(Since this is still a new thing I will post from both my work and a work from another author to give you all an example. Choose to do one or the other!)

“Have you been avoiding me?” he asked.

Dammit. Did he notice when I dodged into a pack of music majors playing through the quad yesterday to avoid directly crossing his path? “What makes you think I have been avoiding you,” I giggled, pretty much giving myself away.

He raised his eyebrows cleverly and looked into me. “That trombone player looked pretty put off the other day. It did not seem as if you were part of the repertoire,” he smiled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied, but I couldn’t help but smile at how silly I had been acting . . . - Luca & Ariel (From my novel The Crimson Hunt for the rest of the scene click here)

. . . “Kellan, wait . . . just a min—” I said tentatively.

“Kiera . . .” He stopped tugging at my jeans and groaned heavily. His entire body sagged against mine, his head resting on my shoulder. “Oh . . . my . . . God. Are you serious?” He rocked his head back and forth on my shoulder. “Please don’t do this again. I can’t take it.”

“No, I’m not . . . but—”

“But?” He pulled back to look at me breathlessly, his blue eyes blazing with desire and, now, irritation. “You do realize, that if you keep doing this to my body I will never be able to have children?” he snipped.

I laughed at his unintentionally amusing remark. He pulled back more and frowned at me. “I’m glad you find that funny . . .”

Still chuckling, I ran a finger down his cheek, eventually making him smile. (From Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens)

*Snicker* Feel free to comment on posts by myself and others :) What do you have to show us this week?

I Joined the RWA!

2012-01-16T12:27:00.000-06:00

Well, it's not official yet, but I just mailed out my forms to be a part of the Romance Writers of America!

For those that don't know, the RWA is a great resource for published and unpublished writers to connect with one another and aid each other on the road to publication! There are many associations out there depending on what genre one is in and I can't wait to start using my resources to help my little series get out the door and to you lovely readers!

I attended my second local chapter meeting, The Prairie Hearts, on Saturday and it was a blast. They are all planning a trip to Chicago to go to Spring Fling!, a writer's conference where there will be agents at the ready to pitch to and Simone Elkeles will be there. For those who don't know she is the writer of this amazing book:

She's also a Midwestern girl like myself and we both went to the same undergrad, so yeah! I will definitely be posting about the conference. It's in April so I have a while, but I know it's going to be a blast! I am also giving away said book above in my giveaway so check out my giveaway button to the right of the page.

-V (My Giveaway)

You Wonderful People Did It!

2012-01-14T11:58:00.000-06:00

Why do I love thee? Because all you beautiful people have helped me reach a milestone of...

Yeah!!!! I didn't think we'd reach it so quickly, but we did and now there will be a winner of the giveaway to have one book of their choosing from the three!

Throw out the balloons and party favors, whoot!!!

I want to thank you all so much for your participation in the giveaway and following me!

But...

We still have one more goal, my friends. The Hunger Games, Perfect Chemistry, and Love Story are sitting here...

...And they all want a good home.

So what can you lovelies do to make sure they all get a good home? Help me reach 100 Followers on GFC/ Network Blogs or 200 Followers on Twitter and the winner gets all three!

You can't adopt one and not the others right? lol. So make sure these books get a good home and keep spreading the word about the giveaway. There's still so much time and I know we can do it!

Giveaway ends 2/3!

Enter in the form below or click on my Giveway button to the right!

Loves Y'all!!!

-V :)

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This Week is: Steamy Friday!

2012-01-12T23:00:00.000-06:00

Calling All Writers and Readers!

So . . . depending on how many of you lovely followers out there participate. I would love to get into the habit of every Friday posting a line from a written work whether it be your own or your favorite author! There are many writers who are my followers and there are also many book bloggers and general readers. I would love for us all to connect by posting a line from either (A) Your own written work, or (B) A written work that you would love to share with everyone!

By doing this, we all can see the material of new writers out there as well as getting some awesome teasers from books that we are reading!

So here's how it will work. Each Friday I will have a theme. During that theme, you can share either your own material or a piece from your favorite book that fits that week's theme. If it's your own written work specify (feel free to leave a link so we can learn more!) and if it is from another novel state the book and author name so we can find the book if we are interested!

So join in and share your favorite books and awesome samples. Length: Just try to keep it at a short paragraph or two. So nothing too long and nothing too short. We all want to get a good feel for what you're showing us!

This Week's Theme:

Steamy Friday!

Yum... Yum...

Post a line from your written work or a favorite line from a book you are currently reading (or just read) featuring steaminess, but . . . keep it semi-clean. So no graphic stuff, but feel free to get us "bothered!"

My Post for the Week:

(Since this is the first week I will post from both my work and a work from another author to give you all an example. Choose to do one or the other!)

. . . I slid my hands down his chest and leaned in, my kiss stroking his exposed body. I drank in both his heat and wonderful scent. His cool, handsome aroma was like sunshine after a gentle spring shower, when the flowers came out and the sun peaked from behind the clouds and the world was beautiful again. He smelled just that damn good. His smooth, slightly tanned skin embedded electric sensations into my lips as I slowly made my way up to his neck. My heart was trying to stop as I continued, but my need for his body pushed it to continue its beat. - Ariel (From my novel: The Bringer's Quest)

His strong arms encircled my waist, dragging me closer. His mouth moved with mine and twice our teeth clinked, but it didn't matter. When Alex first kissed me, our teeth banged together. It made my skin crawl. Kale's hands were everywhere--my neck, my face, under the back of my tank top--anywhere he could make skin-to-skin contact.

I drew his bottom lip in and nibbled. God, he tasted good. - Dez (From Touch by Jus Accardo)

Ah! So much steam so little time. So now you get the idea! Feel free to comment on posts by myself and others :) What do you have to show us this week?

-V (My Giveaway)

My Giveaway, My Critique Partner, and The Sequel

2012-01-10T23:49:00.010-06:00

So Many Updates Today!

First Up: My Giveaway!

You all are so freakin' awesome! The giveaway has been going great so far and I want to thank everyone who has entered and welcome to my new followers! There's still three weeks left to enter and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be a winner. Remember I'm giving out a choice of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Love Story by Jennifer Echols. And I fixed the link on the comment (Thanks Shawna!) of my excerpt from The Crimson Hunt and you get 10 entries if you comment so go for it, but be constructive or it won't count! So keep spreading the word. The Giveaway ends 2/3!

Click Here to enter!

Second Up: My New Critique Partner

So I have been stressing about this for a while now, but I finally have a critque partner for my novel! Everything is going great and she is a New Adult writer like me! It's fate. She found me on the forum Romancedivas.com which I highly recommend to anyone who is writing any kind of romance whether it be YA, Adult, New Adult, or Erotica. It's an awesome resource. Her story is awesome and I am having a blast editing her work and she really likes my story as well. Oh, for those of you who don't know your critque partner is your lifeline as a writer. You may have a story, but your partner finds what's wrong with your story before you contact agents and go through all the crap to get published. So I am so relieved to have found one!

Third Up: The Sequel

I have been blogging about my sequel for a while and with the last 100 pages to put into the computer to edit I finally decided to post a line from the book. I was going to do a full scene, but since you haven't read the first that would just be spoiling wouldn't it??? So here's a sample:

From The Bringer's Quest:

Luca was jogging in a tight black tank shirt and matching running pants, a similarly dressed Gemini running along side him in gray sweatpants and a white tank shirt.

I turned my head to the side, trying to get another angle of his ridiculously ripped body as the muscles expanded and contracted themselves during his movements. Oh, how the sun loved that boy with the way its shine lit up and defined every striation. Melt. He always seemed to move in slow motion, making my efforts just the more grander.

Wow . . . fan's self. Hot boys, gotta love them! This is from the point of view of my heroine Ariel. The series is Upper YA/New Adult Sci-Fi Romance. Check out "The Crimson Hunt" tab for more details on the first book!

-V (My Giveaway)

The 2012 New Adult Challenge!

2012-01-10T19:45:00.004-06:00

Hello Friends! I am so happy to post this today, because this is what I do and this is what this blog is about - 20 Somethings and the "New Adult" genre. My novel The Crimson Hunt is about 20 somethings and I am so proud to share this challenge with everyone!

For all of you that don't know the term "New Adult" is a marketing strategy created my St. Martin's Press. It's the time period for young people between high school and adult life. JJ. From St. Martin's Press states that,

"'Similarly, New Adult is about young adulthood, when you are an adult but have not established your life as one (career, family, what-have-you).'"

Kristan Hoffman, the winner of the New Adult contest by St. Martin's Press states this about the genre,

"New Adult fiction is, ‘…abouttransition. The transformation from child to adult doesn’t happen overnight—just ask as anyone who is or has been (or is a parent to) a teenager. But the transition from teen to adult doesn’t happen overnight either. There’s a period of time where adulthood feels like a new pair of shoes. The expectations of independence and self-sufficiency are still new, still being broken in. New Adults are the people who have just begun to walk in those shoes; New Adult fiction is about their blisters and aches." (callyjackson.com)

These books are far a few between and writer's like myself are trying to bulk it up and this challenge, which is being hosted by the blog A Tapestry of Words, is helping with just that. Getting readers to read these books about people between the ages of 18 - 30.

The Challenge!

The Details

The book must feature a protagonist who is past the average age for graduation from high school (18 in most places). If they're sitting on the fence at precisely age 18, then you can make the judgment call on whether it is more YA or New Adult. (If the majority of it is set in high school, I'd classify it as YA.) The protag should be younger than 30, just to give a maximum limit as well (otherwise we're getting into Not-So-New Adult literature!)
This does *not* mean the book must be of the contemporary genre. If it's a fantasy or dystopian or something and there *is* no concept of "graduation" in that world, then just go by our world's standards in deciding if it counts.
The levels:

Just Graduated: read a minimum of 3 New Adult books
Moving Out: read a minimum of 6 New Adult books
Living On Your Own: read a minimum of 9 New Adult books
Fully Independent: read every single New Adult book you can get your hands on

(Rules provided by: A Tapestry of Words Blog)

I have chosen Fully Independent! Choose yours and play along. Check out my Book Reviews! tab because all of those books qualify (but Obsidian) for this contest. Also check out this list from Goodreads.com for a jump on your reads about Romances set in College.

Follow the challenge here or click my New Adult Challenge blog button on the right . . . and yeah for 20 somethings!

Also check The Crimson Hunt, my novel about about my 20 somethings!

-V (My Giveaway)

Twenty Something Fiction Writer's Book Giveaway!

2012-01-06T04:33:00.002-06:00

As promised earlier this week during my Fifty Shades review , I will be hosting my first giveaway! Because I heart my followers, I want to give you some free stuff to thank you for following my journey as a new writer in this YA and Adult World. So, if I get 100 Twitter Followers or 50 GFC combined with Network Blog Followers I will be giving out one free book that I feel fits that 20 something feel. All of these books were featured on my Top Books of 2011 list last week and they are all great reads!

Here's the Merch!

Option 1: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

The Blurb:

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart. (goodreads.com)

Option 2: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Blurb:

Option 3: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

The Blurb:

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true. (Goodreads)

Here's how it will work.

All you have to do is enter the form below. The more options you choose the more entries you get. You have to follow me either or GFC/Network Blogs or Twitter to win so no cheating friends or it won't count. You get more entries if you follow the blog itself. And you get more entries if you comment on my excerpt from The Crimson Hunt, my first work of fiction, but the comments must be constructive. So, no spamming otherwise it won't count. (click on "The Crimson Hunt" tab or click the link to comment)

Little Details:

You Must be 13 years or older to participate

At this time I do not ship internationally so only U.S. entries please

*More details in the form

Extra Incentive!

As an extra incentive for everyone. If I make 100 followers on GFC/Network Blogs or 200 Twitter followers . . .

You get all three books!

So spread the word because the giveaway ends 2/03/12

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Fifty Shades of Grey + Fifty Shades Darker Review! (Bonus: Special Annoucement)

2012-01-04T19:52:00.006-06:00

Hello friends!

Today is another review, as you can see from the title of today's post, about Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James. Now I technically read these before Christmas, but I just never got around to do this review because of the holiday so now here it is!

Dislaimer - These novels are classified as erotica because there are some BDSM elements and graphic sexual content, but don't let that deter you because it is tastefully done and the love story involved is amazing. Without further ado here is goes!

The Blurb:

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever. (Goodreads.com)

Now, I stewed and debated about reading this book over the course of several days for a couple of reasons:

I never read erotica
My knowledge about BDSM goes about as far as the song "S&M" by Rihanna
This book series was originally fan fiction about Twilight, in which the characters of Ana and Christian are Bella and Edward

But, after several days of reading reviews and reading the sample chapters on Amazon.com I came to the conclusion, well why not. And let me tell you. I am so glad I did.

Ana is a 20 something! college student who takes over an interview for her sick friend featuring the powerful CEO Christian Grey. (Who is also 20 something!, sorry had to put that out there!)

She quickly finds out that he's a crazy control freak, but he is seriously hot and she is intrigued by him. They get involved and over time he lets her into his secret world that he doesn't tell too many people about for obvious reasons.

She is put off at first by his lifestyle, but is open to the madness that is Christian Grey and they develop an "interesting" relationship to say the least.

Okay, so enough summary. This story was seriously the best series I read last year, not counting The Hunger Games. There is an awesome love story, the characters are hilarious, and the tension is super high. Christian Grey has a reason for his lifestyle and it's so interesting to see Ana pull down the layers and see the man "behind the mask" so to speak. He's more complicated than he seems and it makes her care for him even more.

I found myself laughing one page and crying the next, literally the next page. This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you are open to it you are in for a hell of a ride.

What I liked:

1. Ana and Christian's frickin' hilarious emails. I almost dropped my Kindle about a dozen times reading them.

2. Christian is funny as all get out with the outlandish things he says.

3. Ana has an awesome character voice. She's a strong lady and challenges Christian.

4. Other than the fact that Christian is rich and controlling I didn't find really any similarities to Twilight so don't let the fan fic thing get you, because you won't even be thinking about Bella and Edward.

5. The tension is so high it's insane. There's drama, drama, drama and I loved it.

6. The BDSM and sex scenes are tastefully done and not scary at all. I breezed passed them unscathed and came out on the other end okay. (The sexy scenes are super hot by the way!)

7. Ana's "inner goddess" monologuing alone is reason enough to read this book and you will see what I mean. It's hilarious.

What I didn't like:

1. There were a lot of repeated words and phrases. I get it, you can only use so many words when explaining sexy, sexy stuff but there was a lot of repetition.

2. The ending. You will see what I mean, but once you get to the second book it's okay.

And that's it! I seriously loved this book and couldn't find much I didn't like. Jump in and get this book for 7.99 on Amazon If your still unsure, read the sample pages. That alone was reason enough for me!

WARNING! Don't read on if you don't want to know how the first book turned out because now I'm reviewing the seconddddddddddd.....NOW! (Skip to the bottom for the Special Announcement)

The Blurb:

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life. (Goodreads.com)

All I can say is, wow! Just as good as the first if not better and definitely made up for the ending of the first.

Here we have Ana who just graduated college and is starting her new life in her new job. She's depressed and only Christian holds the key to their happiness. The two continue their relationship, but under different terms this time and I was quite satisfied with the "terms."

We see Christian become more and more open throughout this entire book. All of his skeletons come out of the closet and he becomes more and more playful throughout it's entirety, which is so delightful to see.

Ana becomes an even stronger person in this book and the two form an amazing relationship that is both fun to watch develop and makes you all giddy inside as you watch it take place.

What I liked:

1. Those frickin' emails again. OMG. They are so funny.

2. More of Ana's "inner goddess" interior monologuing, ah! So hilarious!

3. More Christian antics which is always fun.

4. The tension is even higher and there are some serious dangers involved in this one which makes for an awesome read.

5. It was such an awesome love story and heart warming all the way through.

6. The sexy, sexy was sooooo much better in this book and that's saying something because it was pretty stellar in the first.

What I didn't like:

1. Ana had some of those "dumb heroine" moments where the reader knows that what's she's doing isn't a good idea, but the character inner monologues to convince themselves that what they're doing is the right decision when we all know no one in their right mind would make that decision.

And that's it! Seriously a good read. You will not be able to put these two down. I read both in about 48 hours. Get this one for 9.99 on Amazon for your Kindle.

Oh, and you won't have to wait for long for the next and final book of the trilogy.

It comes out January 19th! Goodreads blurb here.

Without further ado I have an announcement! I will be holding my first giveaway within the next week to celebrate this new blog and the New Year so stay tuned for some freebies some time in the near future, friends!

-V

First Draft Edit Complete!

2012-01-03T17:17:00.001-06:00

So I was up until . . . umm about 4:00 am this morning because I finished the first draft edits of The Bringer's Quest, the sequel to my novel The Crimson Hunt (Check out the tab for more info) . So Laurel and Hardy are doing my Happy Dance as you can see.

So what's next? I will on doing one more proofread before I give it to the hubby to read and then on to the next project. I plan on doing a major edit of my first novel. I really need to get serious about getting it ready for a critique partner if I want to start querying in July so . . . this would be my, I think, 12 draft of "Crimson" give or take a few structural edits. I know right? Completely and utterly insane. 'Tis the life of a writer unfortunately. But it's fun so I can't complain.

Once I get through this next edit I will post an excerpt so everyone can see that. And as always I love feedback so please share your opinions when I post.

I am going to be doing a review of Fifty Shades of Grey tomorrow by E.L. James so look out for it!

-V

Beautiful Disaster Review! + Update on "Bringer!"

2012-01-02T16:10:00.002-06:00

Hey all! Welcome to the new year! I thought I'd start this first post of the new year with an update and another review. Last week was a total whirlwind for me. I got like 100 pages views from some of my posts for the "Best of 2011" posts. So thanks all for supporting me!

A small update on The Bringer's Quest my sequel. Everything is still going well. I am trucking along, though I am getting really antsy to move on to the next project. I always get like this as I get toward the end of editing. I've got about 30 pages to get through and then I will be doing one final edit and moving on. I will be doing another draft of the first book and then working on my novella on two characters from "Bringer" so I can't wait.

Now for the review.

Today I will be doing a review on Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. This book is perfect for 20 somethings and it's set in COLLEGE!

Here's the blurb:

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend America, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the charming college co-ed. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his charms, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’ apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match. (Goodreads.com)

So this book is complete awesomeness! I loved the characters and I had actually never read a book about a "bad boy" before so it was quite an interesting read.

Abby Abernathy is our heroine. She starts at a new school and all she wants to do is forget about her past and start over, until she runs in Travis, who is the epitome of what she wants to avoid.

She starts off trying to avoid him, but that's made difficult when her best friend is dating his cousin and the fact that Travis likes to "bang" anything that walks so he's constantly all over her. That is until the BET, which you can see in the blurb.

These two just can't seem to stay away from each other and end up a complete beautiful disaster just like the song from Kelly Clarkson.

This book was exciting, thrilling, and there was a lot of drama which is always fun. I found myself intrigued by all fights, since Travis is a fighter, and not put off in any way. And OMG the sex was steamy and there was lots of it.

What I liked:

1. College setting!

2. Travis wasn't a dick. Which was common in the last several books I read. He's rough around the edges, but he doesn't direct that negativity to Abby. She's the one who never receives his attitude problem which I loved.

3. Our heroine has some dark secrets of her own and it was a complete surprise to me what she was running from. It kept me on my toes.

4. All the drama! There was constant drama, constant conflict which makes for some great reading.

5. Steamy scenes and lots of real people speak. They use real cuss words ;)

What I didn't like:

1. I 'm assuming this was self-published so there were quite a few typos in the ebook version I purchased.

2. The author uses a lot of narrative summary to push us through the school year. You don't have to do that just for the sake of doing it. I would prefer the story to be over a couple of months if that's what it is. Don't push the story through time just for the sake of doing.

3. The ending was a bit lackluster for me and you will see what I mean. I liked the end result, but not the ending. It was still okay though so don't let that be the reason you stay away.

4. Travis was sometimes over the top with his anger issues and I found myself wondering why Abby wanted to be with such a loose cannon. Maybe it was his rockin' bod I don't know whatever.

So that's it friends. This was a very good read and very cheap. It was only 2.99 for my copy on Amazon.
I plan on doing a review of the Fifty Shades of Grey series soon so check me out later!

-V

Top 10 Anticipated Books of 2012

2011-12-30T15:03:00.000-06:00

So today I had to figure out what books that are coming out next year that I wanted to read. Well . . . I couldn't find 10 so I will post what I got! Not all of them have book covers so bear with me. But, I hope you all enjoy what you see :)

Along With These Six:

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

So that's my list. It's been a crazy week of looking back and I look forward to 2012 with these new books and hopefully my own! I'm still working very hard on my series and hopefully I will start querying agents by July. So wish me luck. If all goes well you might see The Crimson Hunt by 2013! (check out "The Crimson Hunt" tab if you would like to know more)

-V

Top 10 Awesome Book Chicks of 2011!

2011-12-29T01:34:00.004-06:00

Okay. So today's post is the Top 10 Characters of 2011 so I decided to theme mine and make it the Top 10 Awesome Book Chicks of 2011! So to start, check out this video and just keep it playing while you read :) (And yes I will admit I did. I could not help myself, haha!)

Thank you Beyonce. Yes, girls do run the world and my post is about to show it. This list contains both leading ladies and side kicks from across the board. These chicks are, yes, badass and they know it. They are fighters, contenders, and underdogs. I love them so and hope you do too! So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

10. Aech

This chick is so awesome that she is one of the top virtual fighters in Oasis, a program that has now taken over a post apocalyptic United States where everyone now lives their lives online instead of in the miserable real world. She rules the online world. She's got the money, the fame, the power, and the respect. She literally runs the world :)

9. Erin Blackwell

Erin got stripped of her inheritance, put herself through college, all while battling the ass who took her inheritance from her in her creative writing class. She's tough, independent, and isn't afraid of a challenge. She literally looses like a million jobs while trying to put herself through school, but she keeps going and never stops fighting.

8. Kate

All around "bestie" of the leading lady Anastasia Steele. Kate is the epitome of the best friend. She's the shoulder to cry on, which believe me is severely needed for Anastasia in this book. She's intelligent, funny, and isn't afraid to tell off leading male "Fifty Shades" himself Christian Grey.

7. Johanna Mason

Johanna doesn't even like Katniss yet she's willing to die to keep her safe for the cause. Nothing is braver than that. She fights for the greater good despite how she feels about the situation.

6. Meg

Meg has seen some stuff. I mean she's been through some serious crap and she deals with it. She doesn't let it get her down. Sure, she's got some issues, but she figures them out and stands up to her Officer After and gets him to fall for her. She's a criminal and gets a cop to fall for her. That's saying something.

5. Kira

Kira is as plain and boring as you could possibly be. She's your normal average, "wears leg warmers" girl, but do you see who's she's kissing in that photo? That is Carlos Fuentes, a gun holding, gang affiliated tough man's, man. And guess what? Kira got him to change his ugly ways and fall for her. That's some serious awesomeness.

4. Evie

Evie has not one, but two awesome men fighting over her. She's the one who comes out fighting in the end and she's doesn't fit the stereotypical super model beauty. She's completely normal. She's 5'9" and averages between a size 12-14 and rocks what she's got and does it damn well.

3. Art3mis

If Aech got the award for top contender of the Oasis then Art3mis gets the award for owner of the Oasis. This chick annihilates her online competition and has all the virtual guys fawning for her and they have never even seen her face. She's just that good. She fights with the best of them and kills at it. She leaves the guys in the dust and our poor hero Wade Watts at her feet.

2. Rue

Oh, Rue. How I love this little girl. She is completely stellar. The girl is only 12 years old and proves herself to be a serious contender in the games, more so than some of the best of them. And she gets the all around award for "bestie" of all time to our leading lady Katniss Everdeen. This girl has got skills!

1. Anastasia Steele

Remember earlier when I said that Meg from Going too Far had "seen some stuff"? Well, that is an understatement for Miss Steele. You have to read the book to find out what I'm talking about, but Ana has literally got nerves of "Steele." Do read at your own risk, but believe me she's been through some stuff and comes out fighting. She deals with the most destructive, powerful man in history, our leading male Christian Grey. She's a normal senior in college, no one particularly special, but she holds all the cards and keeps her man on his toes. She's the strongest chick I read this year and I can't wait to follow her journey into 2012 with Fifty Shades Freed.

So, that's the list. The Top Awesome Book Chicks I read of 2011. It was hard to choose because there were so great ladies and if I could have made my list longer I would have. It was seriously awesome to see so many awesome ladies in books this year and I can't wait to see what next year holds. We wrap up tomorrow with Most Anticipated Books of 2012 and as you can see from my previous post some of these ladies will be showing up again!

-V

Top 5 Book Boyfriends of 2011

2011-12-28T04:52:00.012-06:00

Okay. So, I know today's post is supposed to be the Top 10 Boyfriends of 2011, but if I'm being honest with myself most of the guy characters I read this year were complete tool bags and that's being nice. So I decided to do only 5. These book men are completely worthy of this nod and I'm happy to share them with all of you beautiful people! So, I will be posting the book covers with each one and if the book covers don't have a picture of the wonderful men on the cover, I will choose an actor to go with it that I think looks like them, yeah! So here we go.

5. Daemon Black

Daemon is on this list because well...look at him. His chosen human skin has done him well. He's funny, smart, and knows how to save a girl just in the nick of time. Why is he at number 5? Well, he's a bit of an asshole and doesn't really stop being one, but I looked past that and he made my list :)

4. Alex Fuentes

Alex isn't on here because of his dashing good looks, (though they don't hurt) he is here because he is a badass. He literally risked his life for his lady and fought hard for her. I would be safer with no one else, but this Romeo. And he knows how to handle a gun and what girl wouldn't love that?

3. Alex Night

Actor Ben Barnes is my inspiration for Alex Night from Eternal Starling, just without the facial hair. So why is Alex Night here and not the other love triangle member of "Starling"? Well, Alex feels like the real deal. He is Evie's protector quite literally and well...Emil Stone belongs to a society that is trying to kill Evie and that was kind of a downer for me.

2. Christian Grey

My inspiration actor is Chris Pine. So this one was a little tricky because Christian is "Fifty Shades of F** up" and those are his words not mine. He's a poor tortured soul with a lot of issues, but in the end he's just so freaking hot! He's passionate and exhilarating and if he could leave his issues at the door, count me in!

1. Peeta Mellark

Ah...Peeta, Peeta, Peeta. Need I say more? Peeta is so sweet and kind. He risks it all for Katniss and had been looking out for her since they were kids. I mean the boy took a beating just to feed her so she wouldn't starve. He's such a sweet heart and deserves the top spot in my heart. I can't wait for the movie.

So those are my Top 5 folks. Until tomorrow!

-V

2011-12-27T17:32:00.006-06:00

Again in no particular order. Here are my Top 10 Favorite Book Covers that I read in 2011.

2011-12-27T15:59:00.004-06:00

So I just heard about this so I'm a little late. But apparently other book blogs are doing these lists and I'm not a book blog by any means, but I have started to do reviews so I figured I would play along too. The point is to list your top 10 books of whatever the topic is for that day. Yesterday was your top 10 favorite books of 2011. So since I missed yesterday, I will be posting that right now and the next topic later today which is your top 10 book covers. All of these books are definitely perfect for 20 somethings by the way! They range from YA to Adult. In fact 4 out of the 10 are set in college! So here it goes in no specific order because I couldn't choose :) If you want to play along too, just click on the Top 10 of 2011 banner at the top and it will give you the details so here I go.

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

A love so strong, even eternity can’t separate them.

Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang. All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men.

For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie—but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she’s not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society—the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance—the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn’t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren’t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.

But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them?

Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her.

Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol...

"Bringer" Edit Update! and the Brilliance that is Goodreads.com

2011-12-23T02:44:00.000-06:00

Hello, Hello!

So more updates on the book and my progress. As of right now I halted the edits at about 30 pages from the end on "Bringer," because it will take so much energy to finish those battle scenes that I am completely and utterly overwhelmed to tackle it yet. Not to mention I plan on adding some major supernatural powers to the end so I am going to be spent, but...I have started putting in the edits into my Mac from the first round I did. So I guess technically I am editing at "both ends" so to speak.

I'm really starting to think about the next project seriously now though. I only plan on doing two more drafts of edits on "Bringer" before I move on to the next. I plan on doing another edit of "Crimson" and then starting on my novella featuring two of my characters from "Bringer" while at the same research for the third and final book of the trilogy. Whoa! I am so overwhelmed can you tell? Haha.

Since break has started I plan on getting some good reading in for new words to use and enjoyment of course. For all of you that don't know, you become a better writer by writing of course and reading! By reading you get inspiration and find new words to put into your vocabulary as well. So my goal is to get through about 10 books before school starts up again in January. My progress so far...3 BOOKS! I know and break just started, can you tell I am super happy about this :)

I also want to share how I am getting new books to read. A big reason why I never read was because I was so scared to spend money on a book and then not like it. Well, now that problem is pretty much solved with a little world I have been introduced to known as GOODREADS. This site is amazing! You put in books that you like and it gives you recommendations off of them and from there you can go to Amazon.com and read the first four chapters or so to see if you like it and put it on your eReader within minutes. Because of this little resource I found like 70 New Adult books about 20 somethings and finished those 3 books I told you about within a week because Goodreads.com is boss and knows what I like. So check it out, it's an excellent resource.

That's all for this evening. It's like 3:00 am I must retire.

-V

Eternal Starling Review!

2011-12-20T23:12:00.002-06:00

Hello all!

I know it's been a whole week since I posted! Well you were forewarned it was finals week, but now they are over so I can have my writing life back :)

Editing is going well on "Bringer." I'm about 30 double spaced pages away from the first round and started putting in the edits into my Mac today so more on that in later posts.

Now, I know I said I wasn't going to be doing reviews here, but I decided what the heck. This is about 20 something writing, so why not share books that I feel fit that 20 something style for readers like me who are also having a hard time finding books suitable for their own age? So I added a tab for reviews as you can see at the top. As I read books I feel fit that type of reading style for 20 somethings like myself I will post them there. These books will be romance based, full of action, adventure, some awesome fight scenes, and some profanity, yeah! I will try to find as many books based in college as I can, but we all know I'm writing my book because I couldn't find many so there will be the high school setting there too, but I promise they are good!

The book today. Eternal Starling by Angela Corbett And guess what? It's set in college and the heros, yes I said heros as in two, are in their twenty's!

Here's the blurb:

A love so strong, even eternity can t separate them. Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang. All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men. For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she's not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war. (Amazon.com)

Okay, Okay. Now the disclaimer. I NEVER read books like this. I usually stay away from anything that has to do with immortals, demons, or reincarnation. But this book was good. There are NO demons, but there are immortals and reincarnation, but if you're like me don't let that deter you because there is nothing weird or creepy about this book. Like my last review, this book reads contemporary with supernatural elements. No cheese at all just straight goodness.

This is the story about 18 year old Evie. A new freshmen in a new state trying to start school without too much drama, but little does she know that she's in the middle of a age old war with two men fighting for her affection and this war has been going on for centuries.

Evie is approached by two different guys, sexy Alex and sexy Emil, both guys seem to know quirks about her that she's never told anyone, because they do know her. This is the story of love across time, soul mates and its beautiful.

Evie goes most of the book trying to figure out why she feels drawn to these two guys and quickly realizes the history she has with each of them as the story develops.

She gets to know each of them and can't seem to figure out who her true mate is and the reader is just as confused because they both seem great for her and they are both very likable, but completely different. She battles this the whole book and some amazing action happens at the end when she figures out her history with the guys and the two societies that are battling for her that the guys belong to.

The book ends on a very high note and I can't wait for the sequel which comes out next year.

So, What I liked:

1. It's in college!
2. The heros are twenty....ONE!
3. There is crazy romantic tension between Evie and both guys as the story progresses.
4. We have another strong heroine who likes taking care of herself even though she has two strong guys fawning over her.
5. Evie doesn't fit the norm. She is between a size 12 - 14 and 5'9" which insane. You usually don't see things like this for heroines.
6. Evie's character voice is awesome. She had me laughing a lot though she wasn't crazy sarcastic either.
7. There is diversity amongst the side characters. Different ethnicities represented.
8. Awesome writing style. It's very light on inner monologuing.

What I didn't like:

1. There was only one steamy scene and it didn't really go as far as I thought for a college novel.
2. Though there are 20 somethings in this book it does read like YA sometimes with the subject matter.
3. I wanted to see a little more fighting at the end between the bad guys. I'm not saying I love blood and gore, but something a little more intense.

And that's it! Not bad right? I loved a lot more than I hated so that's good, haha! But seriously, this is a really good read. I finished it in about 48 hours and that's saying something because I do have a life. Go out and get this book here on your eReader for 9.99. It's worth it!

-V

3/4 of the Way Through!

2011-12-12T00:32:00.001-06:00

Alright peeps,

Since, I posted on the first quarter and second quarter updates of The Bringer's Quest edits I thought I blog this one too!

Today, is a tiring day. I got about four hours of sleep last night because it's FINALS WEEK this week and I am literally dead inside, but I happened to find a little time to edit "Bringer" go figure? And by a little I mean about 6 hours today while I was procrastinating my classwork, heh, heh.

So, things are absolutely going well for my band of fictional characters and I actually have been working on "Crimson" edits as well. I got totally inspired by my Obsidian review (check it out here) and started revising the first book again. After reading Obsidian, I realized that I needed to give more backstory about the characters and reveal some more things so thanks Ms. Armentrout!

For my characters during this edit it has been long and hard. The the third quarter is the saddest part in my book so it has been a bit depressing to stay with it. I just wanted to get it over with! But, now it's done and I can move on.

Time to set up for the big finale! I can't wait to revise these scenes and work the mystical elements a bit more. I kind of undershot those the first round. I really got to amp up the battle scenes and get those plot holes filled up even further.

I just ended tonight right before the most passionate scene of the book so wish me luck. It's got to be hot, heavy, and full of lovey dovey goodness.

Alright my friends time for me to go pass out from sleep deprivation. Until after finals most likely. My character Ariel totally feels my pain right now :(

-V

So, Self Publishing Can Actually Be a Good Thing???

2011-12-09T16:23:00.000-06:00

Meet Darcie Chan a lawyer, New York Times Bestseller author, and...Self Published Author??

So, I got a quite interesting surprise today when I went to my Yahoo inbox today. Right there on the front page was the woman you see above and guess what she has sold over 400,000 copies of her novel and is SELF PUBLISHED! My jaw almost dropped to the floor.

For all of you that do not know it is taboo to do the self publishing thing in the big bad world of the publishing industry. There is this stigma that no one will take you seriously and that it will never lead anywhere and that no serious bookseller well touch it. Well, this lady did and now she's got movie deals and dozen's a publishers wanting her work.

Apparently she tried to go the normal route by finding an agent and getting published through a publishing house, but she got over a 100 rejections for agents and over a dozen rejections from publishers so she decided to publish herself on Amazon. She priced her book at .99, bought ad space on e-book websites, and paid for a review to be done of it by a serious review website and volia! Success!

She put the book out last May and now it's gone gold. You might be asking, "Hey Vicki, why didn't her book get represented if it is clearly good enough to get all this attention?" and you might be also wondering "Hey Vicki, why in the heck are you posting about this on your blog when you are suppose to be talking about your book about 20 somethings?" Well, my friends the answer to that question is the same because myself and Ms. Chan have the same problem and it's in the title of my blog. We are both IN BETWEEN GENRES! That's right, her book did not fit anywhere so no one would touch it which is the same problem as I, accept I have not tried to get published yet, but I know what is awaiting me the minute I start sending out query letters to agents.

They are going to tell me one of three things right off the bat before they even read my sample.

1. All Agents: We rejected you because you don't fit in YA or Adult
2. YA Agent: We rejected you because we like your concept, but it would be better if you de-aged your characters.
3. Adult Agent: We rejected you because your book doesn't read like an adult novel.

Now mind you that's saying that my stuff is good, but the fact that even if it was the best novel on the planet worthy of millions of dollars and book deals they would still pass over it because they think that they can't sell it.

So, maybe self publishing is a possibility??? We'll see. I won't go and say I am jumping at the chance, but you never know. There could be light headed that way in the future. Laterz!

(Here for full article on Darcie Chan's success story)

Obsidian Review

2011-12-08T17:21:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I'm not going to get into the habit of reviewing books on here, but this one needed to be done because it is totally similar to my concept and I was so excited I wanted to share. Meet Obsidian by what I now deem the fabulous Jennifer L. Armentrout. Now, before I get started this is a YA novel, but it totally fits the concept that I was going for when I wrote The Crimson Hunt and it just came out December 6th and is totally a refresher to the world of what seems like nothing, but vamps and wolves out there. There is steam, romance, action, adventure, and you guessed it ALIENS! Can you tell I love aliens, hence why they are featured in my work so I literally almost cried when I read about this on the publisher's blog the other day (which is www.entangledpublishing.com by the way. Check them out they actually have a New Adult section, featuring books about you guessed it 20 somethings! I also plan to submit to them next summer when I start querying so hopefully I will be on there line up one day, oh a girl can dream) any who here is the blurb.

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

Now that you got the blurb, now the dets...This book sizzles. It gives both a fresh and realistic perspective to extraterrestrials. It is basically a contemporary romance with sci fi elements none of the crazy, cheesy, "Take me to your leader" crap, and actually if you took the elements of that out of there, there still might actually be a story there, you'd have to fill in the blanks obviously but you get the picture.

Now when I first started the book I was so relieved by the writing style. I don't know if you saw my post about my DREAD of inner monologuing, but what's great about this book is that it cuts right to the point, no BS, just straight facts. The monologuing is there when it needs to be and that's it, nothing but action for then on....But it does tend to have more narrative summary than I am used to and I did not like that, but overall it's pretty good.

So the main characters. We have Katy the girl who thinks she is the lamest "boringest" girl on the face of the Earth...and then we have Daemon Black the absolute hottest alien on Earth (outside of my character Luca Grinaldi of course, but I may be a bit bias) who also happens to be the biggest tool on the planet and those aren't my words their Katy's, but I also happen to think he's a dick.

Katy moves into a Podunk town in West Virginia and expects life to be Snoresville, but she quickly realizes how exciting things get when she meets the Black twins Daemon and Dee, who are ALIENS! No spoiler there as you can see by the blurb that fact isn't all of the twists.

Katy and Daemon quickly begin to butt heads and are doing so the entire book, so much so that you're thinking okay, when will this tool loosen up and confess his love by being nice to the chick and well (Spoiler close your eyes until the next paragraph, go!) ...he doesn't. The whole book they continue to be at odds and only get along when they are near death about a half a dozen times, but when he lets that guard down during those scenes "fans self" + happy dance, he is smokin' and a complete charmer. But, as a reader I felt this was not enough. I expect my hero to have insecurities, but what's nice is that the heroine figures out how to peal away those layers by the end, but literally until the last page he's a dick...sigh. But, I am guessing the author is doing this because there will be two more books (another similarity to my series can you tell I am plugging here?) and he will probably remain a complete and utter ass until the last page of book three.

So, Katy does some stupid things and is saved a bunch of times and finds out about Daemon and they have a 1 - 2 chapters Q&A about all things alien. Now, the backstory is really good of the "beings" and I won't spoil it, but gosh are there some cop outs that I noticed. The author clearly did her research behind their powers and story, but she did take some easy outs for example stuff (Close your eyes, mini spoiler now!) some Superman type stuff "cough, cough" but that's all I'm saying.

By the end the two work it out enough to at least ban together against the evil aliens that are after the Blacks so our readers are left pretty content again I won't spoil the ending, but it's really good.

So good things.

1. Alien powers are boss, like seriously good. They are elaborate detailed and very good for the story.

2. Katy doesn't take Daemon's crap and I love a strong heroine (though I didn't find it believable for her character to be this way because she does say that she doesn't stand up for herself so it was weird that she chose to do so whenever he attacked, but whatever)

3. Bad guys, I totally liked. Seriously killer guys. They are good tricksters and know how to fight dirty.

4. Writing is very well written and as I said before I love how she sticks to the real story.

5. The first part of the book before Katy started school was great and it read like something for a you guessed it a...20 something! There are sizzle words and profanity that you would speak with your buds other than the word "hell" so yeah!

6. Down and dirty scene factor was definitely satisfying. It was hot, it moved me, it created a "stir" whatever you want to call it. It was good. But it did there was a little let down (you'll see when you read).

7. Uh hot alien guy = amazing!

So...bad things.

1. The hero's name I hated. I just didn't like it and I kept feeling like my eyes were crossed every time I saw that blasted "ae" combination.

2. Daemon's ("shudders at name") sister Dee is a little like Alice from Twilight. Not a bad thing I guess, but I kept seeing that damn Ashely Green who plays her in the movies when I read and that got annoying.

3. Too many Katy attack scenes when you knew she was just getting beat up enough to get saved in time by Daemon. I could tell every time when it was going to happen because she decided to make a dumb blonde decision so look out for those because what you think is going to happen..is going to happen.

4. Random side characters. Sometimes a character would appear to just push the story forward and then fade off the novel. I went the whole book and then all the sudden a character would show and do something to push the story forward and then never heard from again.

5. Too much narrative sometimes (but I already mentioned this)

6. There were a few similarities to Twilight, again not a bad thing, because I love Twilight I do, but there were some just saying.

7. Oh and one last thing. The high school thing is where this started to lose me a little, not much, but a little, when Katy first moved to West Virginia the book totally read like a older novel and I felt that the high school thing was kind of just thrown in there. These kids don't act like "kids" they read like college students (maybe I'm bias) and the random blurb about football games, the occasion scene of math class, and cliche of ugh...homecoming I was like uh...what happened to the beginning of the book? I felt I was the most entertained by the story world when they were just going back and forth from each others houses chewing the fat.

So, all in all absolutely delish book. Go support Ms. Armenstrout and pick up her badass book because she is seriously doing it and opening the door to the new world of aliens in contemporary. No cheese, just solid goodness. I recommend the digital copy which you can get here. $5.99 will get you an awesome book for your eReader and you get TWO not one, but TWO scenes at the end of the book from Daemon's point of view which the last one is pretty juicy. So go out and get it folks and like I said if you love that then definitely stick around with me, because I am going that route too. Loves some aliens!

-V

1/2 Way There and Still Trucking Along!

2011-12-05T23:13:00.000-06:00

So bare with me, it's finals week next week and this could get messy...haha! I might be MIA for a bit and I thought I'd post an update.

So as you can see by the title this 20 something is half way through the 2nd draft of edits my friends! AND...might I add that I just made the steamiest Ariel and Luca scene of my career (which I guess isn't saying much considering I have only been writing since September, but whatever) it was great and now I think I might have to take it down a notch, it was so hot! Did I mention that I cannot keep my character's of off each other enough yet? lol.

Also, my hubbie just got me this mad software that will help me when I start the third part of the book series featuring the godsend that is the snowflake method that I spoke about in an early post by the For Dummies author himself Randy Ingermanson, which I should be able to start using right around next month when I start the third book if all goes well on these edits. I plan on making about two drafts of "Bringer" on top of this one before going back to revise the first book so we shall see.

Also...I am writing a novella! For all who don't know a novella is shorter than a novel, but longer than a short story at around 12,000 to 50,000 words. I actually am writing it about an absolutely scandalous hook up between two side characters in the sequel The Bringer's Quest. I was just writing and then all the sudden these characters had hooked up and I was like WTF? How did that happen? So, I thought about it and as I did it completely made sense and now? They are getting their own story. The timeline starts rights in the middle of "Bringer" over the course of a week and it will be S.T.eamy! I can't wait to write it. Did I say steamy enough tonight? Oops, well what I can say I warned this could get messy I got finals on the brain I guess.

Until next time!

1/4 of the Way through the First Round of Edits Baby!

2011-12-01T01:52:00.000-06:00

So this is a small, but at the same time very large feat for me. I have made it through the first quarter of the beast that is the sequel and my characters are very happy that their sexy scenes are loads better. Ariel's "voice" is way more prevalent in the text and now the manuscript is starting to get a little body to it instead of just straight dialogue.

A big problem I unfortunately do have is that I am not good at the "talking head" or interior monologuing, which is when your character starts off talking about something completely relevant to the story and then end up talking about how pretty the sun is for 20 pages. Can you tell I hate that stuff? Hence, why I am not good at writing it. My eyes tend to breeze over the crap and stick to the story when I read, so in order to stay true to myself I keep monologuing very, very light because I DON'T PUT WORDS IN MY STORY THAT DON'T PUSH THE STORY FORWARD! Sorry, but I felt that the all caps was definitely necessary for the point to me made.

I am sorry but talking about the sun does nothing for a story. Yes, some monologuing is needed, but some authors go out of their way and into La La land very quickly. I am forcing myself to read a story in my New Adult genre right now (and no I won't name, names) that is boring as all get out for research purposes and I am dying every time the author goes off on a 30 page interior monologue.

Stories should be like scripts. If you can't act it out, why put it in? Any who enough with the rant. In other news I started research for the third book of the trilogy today, not on purpose I just got inspired and it kind of just happened. So I have some of the storyworld created and cultural attire started. I even got the bio of a very influential character started so go me! That's it for today. More for later, I promise!

About to Attack the Demon!

2011-11-26T20:51:00.000-06:00

This is where, contrary to popular belief, writing starts to suck...the editing phase. I technically started last night on the sequel and my structure or framework for the story worked out really well since I used the snowflake method I discussed a week ago, so now I get to rip apart my dialogue and fill in those plot holes, yeah!!! Yes, that was sarcasm. Another reason why this is so hard for me is that I am so new at this still that I am still unclear if I'm doing it right. All I can really do is the best I can and when I feel its as good as it gets move on to the next project.

I recently attended a meeting for a local chapter of the RWA or Romance Writers Association to see about getting a critique partner, but I am not joining until January so I guess until then my edits will have to do.

I also plan on going to Spring Fling! in April. It's a writer's conference where I can get tips and tricks on how to write better. Also one of my new favorite author's Simone Elkeles will be there, so I can get my books signed as well.

My focus for this edit is to fix, fix, and fix some more the Ariel and Luca sex and lovey dovey scenes. I am totally horrible at this since I am so new and it needs some major help. Also it seems that Luca has gotten a bit sensitive which I don't like. He needs to be strong enough to tackle the beast known as Ariel Richmond my heroine! {Oh and I meant figuratively not literally, when it comes to the sex Luca's got some major game ;)} So wish me luck, more on this later.

-V

Thought I Post my first Winner's Badge!

2011-11-26T00:43:00.000-06:00

So, it's official...I am a NaNoWriMo Winner! Since I completely my word count I got this fancy badge! I am so excited it's been a great experience and if I happen to be starting another book around next November I will definitely do it again. Good luck to all who are still doing it, the finish line is definitely in sight for you all!

-V

I finished!

2011-11-23T16:38:00.000-06:00

So the sequel is DONE! I finished it last night and almost cried the whole time, mostly because the whole process was over. The end results ended up being about 94,000 words so not bad for the first draft and not bad for my first NaNoWriMo experience! I can't wait to submit the bad boy to the contest :) I am going to wait until I edit the sucker a bit before I start on the final book of the series which I have a working title so hopefully the ending with be epic for Ariel and Luca are two star-crossed lovers.

Oh, NaNoWriMo. I guess I never really went into detail about that. Well, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month which is all of November. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel, which is I guess considered a novella, starting on November 1 and finishing by November 30. You can write more which I did or just stop at the 50,000 words which is what most people do. So I finished and its been an excellent ride and might I just add the ending was just a tiny bit EPIC if I do say so myself.

By the end, I finally got my characters to keep their hands off each other enough to focus on the task at hand and that is to fight the evil that has been coming after them so thank you to my characters for their focus and determination! I also created a surprising love twist between a couple different sets of couples this time and I am happy it ended up working out for all of them in the end as well. As for what's next, a full read through for enjoyment and then the edits begin! After that I plan on going back to The Crimson Hunt and doing another edit. Eventually I shall get to the third book, but it's going to take so much research that its going to be put on the back burner for at least a couple of months.

Other than finishing the novel I just joined Romance Diva's forum which is an excellent community and I very happy I found it. The people there offer a lot of advice on publishing and writing so if you're writing a romance I recommend checking it out.

Well, that's all for today folks. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a plentiful Black Friday. I plan on blogging about both.

Laterz!

-V

The Crimson Hunt and my continued adventures in writing!

2011-11-19T01:28:00.000-06:00

Hello, hello! Today has been a pretty good day in my writing of the sequel. I just finished a scene and decided to take a break and post. So without further or do, The Crimson Hunt.

This is the story of twenty one year old Ariel Richmond. Ariel is living a fairly normal life. She just started her junior year by moving into a rental house with her best friend Piper Lovelace and things have been going well, that is until Luca Grinaldi the new hottie transfers into her Biology class and next thing you know things for Ariel start to get a little crazy to say the least. You might be asking what's the problem with a new hottie in your class well nothing except that fact that in their initial meeting he was a complete an utter asshole to her in every way shape and form. It isn't until a freak accident in which Luca begins to show his lighter side that Ariel begins to warm up to him, but as she gets closer to the mysterious fellow her world becomes chaotic. Suddenly disaster strikes and she is forced to trust Luca completely and leave her normal life behind. Can Ariel figure out the complexities of Luca's secrets in time to save not only her life, but the only world she knows of as well?

It was very fun book to write and I think it would translate well to many. I can't wait to see where in goes from here. Oh and just to answer one the obvious questions. There are no vampires in this book and no werewolves whatsoever. I do not write about any of those things, though I don't knock people who do. This is a futuristic romance, with supernatural powers, conspiracy theories, action, suspense, and the battle for self discovery. Now that you know the subject matter I can tell you how it came to be.

I bought the book, in which I highly recommend, How to Write a Fiction Novel for dummies, in which I plan to do an extensive review for you in the future :), that taught me all that know. The basic premise for writing a book using the snowflake method, which is what I use, is to come up with a storyline or tagline for the story. Mine is: A collegiate youth falls in love with a mysterious space traveler. (No, I didn't spoil the novel there are definitely bigger twists that that). After the storyline we come up with what is the called the three act structure. Every novel, every script of every movie you have probably ever read or seen has what is called three disasters. The premise is to create a three disaster structure spread evenly throughout the novel, each disaster being worst than the one previous for your hero or heroine. These disasters keep your readers happy and intrigued to continue reading your novel. The worst the disaster the better. From there you create a two page synopsis outline of the goods of your story and finally you create the scene list, the meat of your story. This little beauty acts as a complete road map for your story keeping you on track along the way.

By following this method I came up with a 68,000 word first draft in about 3 weeks, which is about 240 pages of an actual book. Mind you the first draft was crap, which it always is, but after about 9 drafts my book became the 90,000 word novel that it is today. It still needs a lot of work, but I did it and I am closer than ever to making it polished.

So that's how I did it friends. Anyone can do it. I had never written a book before and I did it. If you have an idea go for it, because you have something to say and don't ever think you don't. I didn't think I had anything to say, but now for some reason I have a 90,000 word novel and another 90,000 almost completed first draft sequel in the wings in about week or so. So go for it!

As for this evening I just finished an awesome scene in which a very detrimental ally has been discovered as the evilest of enemies and I can't seem to keep my heroine and hero from keeping their hands off of each other...aww characters. Anywho, more later and I hope everyone has a great weekend. Talk to me if you have any questions or if you just want to talk!

-Vicki

First Blog Post Ever!

2011-11-17T01:05:00.000-06:00

So pardon moi, but I am super excited because as you can all see by the title this is my first blog post ever! Welcome, welcome one and all into the crazy world of this twenty something fiction writer. Why blog you may ask? Well for starters I would love to share my story with all of you "Happy, Peppy, People" (sorry for I Love Lucy reference I am a major fan) as a new writer in the big bad world of YA and Adult Fiction. Let me introduce myself. I'm Vicki, I'm a 24 grad student, and I love YA novels. There it's done, I said it, I love YA and I will shout it from the roof tops! I love the paranormal, I love the romance, I love the fantasy, but I don't love that they are usually 16 year old kids, they don't use swear words half the time and I do (sporadically of course :}) and most of all they don't have romance that is deep enough for me to enjoy. Why I don't read adult: A. It can be boring B. I can't buy a romance novel without a half naked man on the cover and C. It can be just down right boring sometimes. So jump back in time to September 2010, Vicki has a dream and in that dream the characters of the book were 21 years of age, in COLLEGE, and they were in a sci-fi romance that wasn't a blouse ripper, go figure! I woke up and tried to look for that book, but to no avail. The characters were either 16 not having sex or 30 - 45 having waaaaaay too much sex. So fast forward to September 2011. I just got married a few months prior and finally had the time to try to explore this venture of writing a book I had never read, not to mention the fact that I had never written a book. So, what do you do in this situation? Research baby! I bought How to Write Fiction for Dummies and it changed my life my friends! Next thing you know, I finished my first novel 3 weeks later, a week before September ended. I ate, slept, and lived that book for those 3 weeks and I'm proud of my work dammit! I got all the way through and then realized something...where in the heck do I fit in now? I pretty much ostracized my work because my characters were in there twenties, so now I am at a standstill. For most people they would say well what the heck Vicki? Why write a book if you can't sell it? Well my answer is: because it needed to be done! It was fun, it was exciting, and was worth it to say that I did it. As for me now? The Sequel! I started the sequel to my novel The Crimson Hunt on the first of November for NaNoWriMo (www.nanowrimo.org) or National Novel Writing Month and I'm about 3/4 quarters of the way through it and on my journey to the third novel! Well that about covers it. I'm here to let you into my big bad world, my struggles as a new writer, and how to keep my characters from driving me crazy as I continued to finish their love story. Up next - Details of my first novel - The Crimson Hunt and how I spent those crazy three weeks writing it. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride fellow time travelers and if you're out there like me and writing a book, give me a shout out we can share ~~horror~~ I mean fun stories!

Later peeps!

-Vicki :)