The Best of Books Bloghop, Peeps

The Top Five (I chose six) Best Books of 2013 For Teens and Young Adults, Peeps. I'm going to name mine and then you can follow the hop to see the books that others chose. It's all happening over at Diane Estrella's house, y'all! So without further adieu, here are my picks. (My reviews are limited to one sentence. I have had an awful earache.) But I LOVED all of these.


 CassaStorm by Alex J. Cavanaugh

Sci-fi at its best. I rate this entire series A+. Alex teaches writers about world building. (I actually forgot to add this one and it is my favorite book.) Maybe my brains fell out my ear and that's why it's hurting. 

 



Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Can anyone holler full of suspense? You HAVE to read this. Especially teen boys. Talk about well written. This is Cal's debut. WOWOWOW!!!!!!!!

A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury

Historical fiction, y'all! I loved it.

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

A disabled teen in future earth. Recommended for sci-fi peeps.

Fireborn From the "Dragonborn" series, volume 1 by Toby Forward This is the prequel to Dragonborn.  

Haunting. I do mean that too! Excellent fantasy about magic. (This one just came out in Dec.) I could NOT put it down. 

 

Moonless by Crystal Collier

 Talk about power packed and intriguing. For my review, click here. Must read. Crystal is a writing pal of mine. But that in no way influenced my decision for the top five pick. You have to read it!

 

 

 

  

Every Charm Has a Story Y'all!

Let's talk charms, okay? This past summer a bunch of writers got together, for the love of writing, thanks to Sally Odgers. She's the sweet angel who brought us all together to do this project. Can you imagine what happens when writers write for the sheer absolute fun of it (and they are not worried about time constraints, will the editor/agent love my baby)? The stories are so well done. Sally is an amazing person/editor/all around sweetheart.I love being associated with my pals, Theresa Milstein, Mia Milstein (Theresa's daughter and quite a writer in her own right) Sharon Mayhew, Lenny Lee (Yay Lenny!), Susanna Hill, Cheryl Secomb,  illustration by Ellen Injerd (Cheryl's daughter),and Clarike Bowman-Jahn.

PREMISE:
Imogen, Ashton, Joshua and Hannah,  aged five, eight, eleven and thirteen, find a china crock in the attic of a house being renovated as a boutique hotel. Since the crock has no identifiable owners, they open it. Inside is a hoard of metal charms.

I chose the cowboy boots charm. Each of these charms has an associated story or poem, which will be written by contributing authors. The charms come in a wide variety of anything from anchors to dinosaurs, elephants, hats, shoes, roses, clocks and so on. Each contributor received a charm by post or email, and the charm inspired a story or poem.

The stories stand alone, each having its own characters, theme, setting and period. The four children above do NOT appear in the stories. Neither does the attic setting. The linking text joins them so each story will address something of interest to one of the bracket-story children.

These anthologies are filled with the stories, poems, and illustrations of authors you know. The anthologies together make a fantasy novel but each can stand on their own. They are beautiful. You have to order through the contributors. I'll be glad to order for you at cost + shipping. You'll be glad you did.

Just shoot me an email. They make great Christmas presents. :-)

Sharon Mayhew is having a giveaway for volume 2.

Count 1, 2, 3, With Me

Everyone will love learning how to count to ten with this bright, rhythmic picture book written by Connie Arnold and illustrated by Ginger Nielson. I had fun and I already know how to count to ten. The rhyme is beautiful and fun to say out loud. I even made a little song up using Connie's words.

One little turtle crawls on the ground.
He slowly, slowly creeps around.

At night, the turtle pulls in his head.
The shell that protects him becomes his bed.

The illustrations of the turtle creeping around and then pulling in his head are vivid and colorful.  Just like all of Ginger's art in this beautiful story. The pictures just jump out at you and come alive.

There are boys wrestling and girls shopping. Race cars racing and puppies playing. All the things that little ones love are in this delightfully engaging tale. The ending concludes in just the right place and no one could have written it better.

Published by 4RV Publishing, this story is meant to be read over and over again as little eyes twinkle, little hands stroke the art, and little voices learn to count amidst the giggling and maybe even singing to Connie's beautiful rhymes.

You can learn more about the author/poet or buy any of her books by visiting Connie Arnold's cyber house.

Please visit the illustrator at Ginger Nielson.com.

You can also buy this charming book at Amazon or  at 4RV Publishing.

Know any little ones who might want this adorable picture book for Christmas? I can tell you they will not be disappointed! :-)

 I received a free PDF of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

THE ADVENTURES OF TOMATO AND PEA BOOK 1: A BAD IDEA

I am going to tell you about a book that I want all of you folks to go and buy. It's written by my very cool pal over at THIS KID REVIEWS BOOKS, Erik Weibel. His blog should be titled, THIS KID WRITES AND REVIEWS BOOKS. He can write!

< Like his picture? :-) I won his chapter book because chocolate is my favorite veggie. :-) I am buying a copy for my library this week. (This is something I forgot to do and so I have a note beside my computer to do this today!) I want to take a picture of his book on the shelf at the library. So if you see that picture suddenly appear here on the blog you'll have a heads-up on the situation. I'm also going to buy a copy for another writer/teen pal of mine for Christmas. I know he'll love it as much as I have.

The book is dedicated to Erik's uncle Dave. It's all because his uncle brought the stuffed Tomato and Pea to Erik and told him to write a story around them that the book was born.

The blurb:

“For years the evil villain Wintergreen had tried to destroy super crime-stopper, Tomato and his sidekick, Pea, and take over planet Oarg. In a plan gone wrong, Wintergreen traps himself along with his arch-nemesis in a runaway rocket ship that crashes on a strange planet called “EAR-TH”. Now these perennial enemies must learn to work together to survive the dangers on this strange world. Hungry birds, enormous snakes and the giant inhabitants of EAR-TH stand between this brawling bunch of aliens and finding a way home.”

My review:

Erik has done such a wonderful job of writing and bringing me on the journey, that I cannot wait for the next book.  It made me giggle, it has suspense, and it's just a fun afternoon of reading. I read it while hubby drove us all to Christopher's hospital visit. (We live 4 1/2 hours away.) I could NOT put it down. It has a prologue and nine chapters of pure delight! There's a Smidge glossary at the end. You'll need it. I didn't. *wink* (Really I did.) The smidges live on the planet Oarg. They're only 3-4 inches tall. Honestly, y'all must read this story. If you're too old for some space ship fun, then buy a copy for your library. (Be careful of the Wardoes (pronounced: war-doze) though.) They're HUMONGOUS aliens (10 inches tall). I love Tomato, Pea, Wintergreen, Skew, Pye, Poppy, (They all end up on EAR-TH.) and all the characters that Erik dreamed up in his imagination. His imagination SOARS! I can't tell you how the story ends. Let me just say that I'm worried sick! So get that next book ready Erik!

Linkage to buy the book, y'all:

Createspace

Amazon US

Amazon Canada

Amazon UK

It's Time For The MOONLESS Blog Tour, Y'all!

Please welcome my Write On To Build On (our facebook writing group) pal Crystal Collier who is here to share her journey into becoming a published author. *applause* Crystal is a special writing friend who also homeschools too! *applause* She loves cheese and chocolate which makes her super bodacious in my book! I’m chuffed she’s visiting today. So without further ado, heeere’s Crystal. 

Head over to Crystal's place and you can be entered to win. Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Yay! I’m chuffed to be here, Robyn. *setting cheese platter down* Have some Muenster, eh? 

I didn't know you were bringing snacks. RAD! 

What inspired you to begin writing for teens?

I have always written. Always. And, I’ll never age a day beyond 16, in my head at least. The goal has always been to write books I wish I’d had at that age: adult worthy plotting/writing with PG content.

I know your hubby has started his own publishing company called Raybourne Publishing and is using MOONLESS as his model. Tell us about this path to publication.

I planned to be published by the age of 16. Which I was, in a few literary magazines. (Not quite what I’d expected.) While branching into theater, film and music composition, it was hard to focus. I had several of my skits performed and took awards for amateur film and acting, but in 2001 I finally realized my dream of a completed novel. And queried. And got rejected. Fast forward twelve years, writing a musical, seven novels, and three kids later… I was receiving requests like crazy. After much research, my husband formulated a unique social media-based publishing model, and forced me to sign with him. Yes, forced. He’s learning with my material. *gulp*

How did your novel change during the various drafts? What did you learn from this?

Some people write dozens of books as they learn. I rewrote MOONLESS. Again. And again. And again. It’s seriously been through about 200 drafts, so can we leave it at that?

I feel your pain, pal. *ahem*

If you gave one of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?

STOP TORTURING US. *wink*

What books have influenced your writing?

…This is a very unfair question. Do you know how much I read? My Friend the Monster, Dealing with Dragons, Odd Thomas, The Silicone Mage Trilogy, Another Fine Myth, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, The Mortal Instruments, Twilight, Harry Potter, The Tiger’s Curse series, Indian in the Cupboard, Maniac Magee, The Magician’s Nephew, Unenchanted, Another Fine Myth, Castle in the Attic…and innumerable others.

Is there an Author that you would really like to meet? (Besides me, that is.) *wink* *wink*

Robyn, meeting you would be a dream come true! (What more do I need?) I would love to come face to face with Chanda Hahn, Dean Koontz, and ANY of the hosts from WriteOnCon. (I love the way you think!)

Who designed the cover of your book?

My amazing husband. He’s a tech geek of a hundred backgrounds. One of them just happens to be graphic design. And business. And marketing.

WOWOW! He’s gotta be made of coolness!

An early childhood memory.

How about my first story dream? I was 3. A giant fiery ball had been sweeping across the USA. We knew it was coming, but didn’t have much time to act. It engulfed the field across from our house as we fled out the back door, hiked up and crossed the Rocky Mountains, and found ourselves safely in China.

WOW, you dream big girlfriend! :-)

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Always.

Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream?

Yes. And cheese on the side. =)

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

Anytime, anywhere, as long as I have a computer.

Your thoughts on receiving book reviews - the good and the bad.

A good book review is like Christmas morning, every time. Who wouldn’t love that? I haven’t had a bad one yet. *gulp* But I’ve had those responses from critique partners or beta readers. They’re hard to take, but I think we have to see them as motivation to grow. Better yet, we have to extrapolate the good, and leave the rest behind.

Crystal, thank you for stopping by on your whirlwind (I love saying that) tour. I hope it’s everything you want it to be and more! Have some cheese while you read my review of your book. :-)

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Title: Moonless

Author: Crystal Collier

Publisher: Raybourne Publishing

Series: Maiden of Time #1

Publication: November 13th, 2013

Category: Young Adult (YA)

Genre: Historical Paranormal

Log Line: Alexia must choose safety and an arranged marriage, or true love and being hunted by the Soulless every moonless night.

Do I have your attention with that logline? I thought so! 

 Now it’s time for my review peeps!

 

 I thoroughly enjoyed Moonless. It was at times gut wrenching and at other times mysterious. That's the makings of a great story. I fell in love with Crystals characters. All of them! She made me believe I knew them. She made me believe I was right beside them as the story unfolded. That's what it's all about folks! As I was pulled into the story world, I felt myself wanting to learn more and more about Alexia's life. In other words, YOU CANNOT PUT IT DOWN. I tried. But I just kept coming back for more. Until the family had to make do without me for a time. :-)

Crystal does a great job of characterization (deep people, deep) and she also is an expert at subplots. The story wouldn't be the same without her descriptions either. They were powerful and vibrant. She understands the art of painting pictures with her words. You'll worry about Alexia (trying not to be a spoiler here) and you'll smile too. You will feel as though you're watching the story unfold from a window. It's that real, y'all. You want action? It's here. You want a little romance? It's here! I'm so proud of Crystal and the writer she's become. (I sound like her mommy) I'll be there to read the next one for sure. I'm a card carrying member of the Crystal Collier fan club. Go buy the book. You will not be disappointed. You know you can trust me. :-) Oh, and watch out for the soulless on those moonless nights!

 Here's the rest of the tour y'all.

November 18

            Laurel Garver: How Crystal develops Characters

Gwen Gardner: Truth or Lie

Carrie Butler: Truth or Lie

Natalie Aguirre: Author Interview & Giveaway

November 19

            Christine Rains: Excerpt #4

Mary Waibel: Character Interview with Kiren

Bethany Kaczmarek: Character Interview with Miles

November 20

Scribbleweed: Showing VS Telling 

            Ellie Garratt: Character Interview with Kiren

            Aldrea Alien: Top Ten Reasons to Eat Cheese

November 21

            Meradeth Houston: Character Interview with Kiren

Mary Pax: Guest Post

C. Lee McKenzie: Truth or Lie

Ashley Nixon: Excerpt #6

November 22

Elizabeth Seckman: Truth or Lie

Melanie Crouse: Review

Medeia Sharif: Excerpt #5

Nicole Zoltack: Truth or Lie

November 23

            Jessie Harrell: Excerpt #6

Hart Johnson: The Naked Cheese

November 24

TC Mckee: Review

E.J. Wesley: Five Things to Be Grateful For—Debut Author Edition

November 25

Michelle Wallace: Excerpt #2

Clare Dugmore: Excerpt #7 & Truth or Lie

November 26

Elise Fallson: Excerpt #7

Larissa Hardesty: Top Ten—You Know You Live in Florida When

November 27

            Julie Musil: Author Interview

November 28

            Suzanne Furness: Excerpt #8

Sharon Johnston: Review

Katharina Gerlach: Author Interview

November 29

            Julie Flanders: Excerpt #5

Misha Gericke: Where Moonless Came From

November 30

            Sherry Auger: Review

            Chrys Fey: Excerpt #8