Feature and Follow Friday: It's not you, it's me

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: Have you broken up with a series? If so which one and why?

The House of Night and I broke up in a very amicable way. We still keep in touch, for example, I know that book #12 will be out in 2014. Do I think that's too long a series? Heck, yeah! 

I'd rather not be in such a committed relationship when we don't have that much in common. 

Get your head in the game with Mary E. Sutton

Time for an Author Spotlight. Today, Mary E. Sutton, is with us today to promote her latest novel, Storm Clouds: Hero's Sword vol. 2

Eighth-grader Jaycee Hiller is beginning to fear she only imagined her trip to Mallory. But when a rainy afternoon leaves her with hours of playing Hero's Sword, her favorite video game, she finds herself drawn back into the game - literally.

                   Find it on Amazon                                               Find it on Goodreads 

Welcome Mary, thank you for being with us. Please do tell, what inspired you to write this book?

I guess a little of my own memories of middle-school, as well as seeing my daughter. Middle-school is such a turbulent time for kids. They're often trying to find their "place" in a new social pecking order and dealing with physical changes of adolescence. I wanted to write a story that told them, "It's okay to be you. Find your place and claim it. Don't change just because 'they' say you aren't cool or whatever."

Did you listen to specific songs while writing?

Sometimes, yes. If I'm writing a fight scene, I might pop in the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean to get in the mood. Or if I'm feeling a little sluggish, I'll find some really high-energy rock. A scene in the school cafeteria might need some of my daughter's pop. But sometimes the music is distracting, so I work in the quiet (well, as quiet as the house gets with two kids).

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Just write! Find the story that won't let go and write it. A little bit every day if you can. The only way you'll get better is to sit down in the chair and write. Don't worry that it's not brilliant. I wrote some really horrible stories when I was 13. But you keep working on it. And while you're writing, keep reading, in as many genres as you can (even if it's not something you usually enjoy). Take notes on what worked for you and what didn't. Exposure to other writing through reading is going to help you with your own writing.

What are you working on now -- or would you rather surprise us?

Oh, I don't mind sharing. Of course, I'm working on the final polish to the third book in the Hero's Sword series, called Wedding Bells. I'm not sure when that will be released, this summer maybe? And then I have book 4 to start drafting. That one's titled Lightening Strike. I also write crime fiction under the name Liz Milliron. I'm just finishing a Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe inspired novella for a contest and I have some new short story ideas for my Laurel Highlands Mysteries series, a police procedural, percolating - the first in that series should be published this summer. So lots to keep me busy!

Thanks so much for the opportunity. These were great questions! 

You are free to connect with Mary E. Sutton on:

Website

Facebook

Twitter


Thank you for being with us Mary, and good luck on all your future projects.

Review: Anastasia's Secret

On July 1918, the Romanov family was executed, but Anastasia's remains were only found in 2007. For years her popularity grew, as people wondered if she escaped from a terrible death. And of course, Susanne Dunlap focused the climax of Anastasia's Secret on that.

Anastasia, Mashka, Tatiana. Pic taken from Alexanderpalace.org

If like me, you read Historical Fiction only for the history lesson, you will not be disappointed. The author really stuck with the original story of their captivity. Since Anastasia had no influence with the political aspect, she gives us in details what it was like for her and her siblings to be stuck in a house not knowing what is going on.


Rasputin is mentioned a couple of times, and of course, her brother's illness. But it's the love story that holds this book together and that provides us with a surprising twist.

Top Ten Tuesday: Jump on It

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

TOP FAVORITE INNOVATIVE WAYS TO TRAVEL

Last week I did a piece on airplane travels, so to spice things up, today I will discuss innovative ways to travel.

The Floo Network

Oh, yeah. Although not always precise, this mode of transportation will get you to there fast and in one piece. However, if you are claustrophobic, I would suggest...

Wings 

Just look up at the sky and bat your eyelashes for a sweet angel to come and lift you away to -- well not paradise -- but somewhere nice. 

Arms

Give a new meaning to getting carried away by succombing to Jacob Blacks arms. He is strong and able to run very very fast. No pun intended when I say that this will be a bumpy ride.

Water Horses

Don't you dare snuggle with this horse, because it will bite you. The fun part is getting it to bite someone else. Like annoying neighbors and that lady in the supermarket that gives you the evil eye for buying frozen pizzas. What does she care what you eat?!? 

Tour Stop: Holding On and Letting Go by Lucy Kelly

I signed up for the tour for one reason: The premise.A good contemporary book provides us with real issues that make great lessons to prepare us for our own hardships. Holding On and Letting Go fits perfectly in that category. 

Is there a way to describe the ties that bind us together? What happens when one of those ties is unexpectedly severed? Can everything else remain the same? Will the other ties hold strong?

Two years after her little brother's death, sixteen year old Emerson Caulfield returns to a home that she spent the last two years missing. In theory, everything should be the same. Her best friend, Matt, still lives next door. Her house is in the exact same condition as they left it. The scenery and hallways haven't changed, yet for Emerson, everything is completely different. The place may be the same, but Emerson is most certainly not. She returns home hurt, angry, and miles away from the girl she once was.

The 60,000 word novel alternates between the perspectives of Emerson, who is struggling to keep breathing on a daily basis, and Matt, who wants to have his old best friend back so badly that he is willing to overlook the fact that she has completely changed. Though their friendship and relationship is a major part of the story, it takes backseat to the unique bonds between siblings, what happens when your worst enemy is in fact yourself, and the hardships that come with growing up and changing.

Find it

Amazon  Barnes and Noble   Goodreads

What Makes Lucy Kelly Real

1) I like making lists. It's weird, and I never actually scratch things off of the list.
2) I sing and dance in the car like a maniac.

3) For the first six years of my life, I truly believed a shark lived under my bed. I watched Jaws at too young of an age.
4) Without a doubt, I am a night person. I am enormously grumpy when first woken up in the morning.

5) When I was younger, I read almost every Nancy Drew book, both new and old. I had a notebook, and I would take notes to see if I could figure out who the "bad guy" was before Nancy did. We probably tied.

You can find her on:   Facebook     Twitter   and    Goodreads

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Tour organized by Irresistible Reads Book tour