Category: What I'm Reading

Sunday’s Super Seven

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Lately, I’ve needed lists to organize my thoughts. That might be because I’m smack in the middle of an epic WIP rewrite (WIP’s scenes, characters, GCMs and all the other tiny details are sorted into lists, might I add) so my head is sort of jumbled. In that spirit, what better day to post a list of super things than boring old Sunday?

1) Words With Friends – Last weekend, my sister-in-law oh-so-innocently asked, “Hey, Katy, have you bought Words With Friends yet?” To which I replied, “No, I sure haven’t. What is it?” She went on to explain that it’s like Scrabble, only you can play on your phone with real friends who play on their phones, or you can start games with random strangers.

SOLD! Scrabble is my very favorite game, and let’s be honest: I’m all about procrastination tools that suck up huge amounts of time before you ever even realize it. Long story short, I bought the app and now I’m in the midst of about eight different games–some with real friends and some with strangers I’ll never meet. I couldn’t be more joyful.

2) Borders – Speaking of joyful, last week I went to Borders and got four new books! (Elizabeth Scott’s The Unwritten Rule, Sarah Ockler’s Fixing Delilah, Deb Caletti’s Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, and Courtney Summer’s Fall For Anything, in case you’re wondering. I’m on a contemporary kick.) As I was perusing, my husband kept our daughter busy, so tolerant and sweet. Mid-browse, I suddenly  realized something: Borders is my happy place.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I find great delight in my family, friends and (most of my) daily activities. But there’s something about walking into Borders with the goal of buying new books that makes me particularly blissful. Do you know what DOESN’T make me blissful? All this talk of Borders going under. I’m not sure if they make 12-Step programs for obsessive book-buyers like me, but I’ll tell you what–if the Borders in my city closes down, things might get ugly.  *Edited February 17th: While Borders has officially filed for bankruptcy, the store in my town is NOT among those listed as closing. What a relief!

3) Craft Quickies – My talented CP, Heather Howland, has started a new series on her blog: Craft Quickies. They’re short posts covering craft issues (obviously) that can trip some (all?) writers up. So far she’s covered dialogue tag abuse (I went through my manuscript with a fine-tooth comb after reading this one) and the stress-inducing possible sequel. Rumor has it she’ll be tackling verb modifiers soon. I highly recommend you check Craft Quickies out.  

4) The Walking Dead – Have you seen this AMC show? From what I’ve heard, it’s an adaptation of a graphic novel and it is the epitome of ridiculousness. Still, I kind of love it.

Hey, girl with the baseball bat: Good luck to you.

We’ve had all seven Season One episodes sitting in our DVR for months and just recently got around to watching them. (I freely admit that we watched with our three-year-old daughter present. She loved it. “Mommy, why are all those zombies eating that horse?” Our status as Parents of the Year may be in question…) Anyway, I love watching The Walking Dead for the very same reason I love watching Dexter and The Vampire Diaries: Something major happens in every. Single. Episode. There are no lags, no weeks and weeks of I know where they’re going with this and I wish they’d just hurry up and get there. Nope. It’s fast paced and exciting and I can’t wait to find out what happens to those crazy zombie fighters next season.

My daughter pretending to be a zombie. In a Princess shirt.

5) Phrase Frequency Counter – The perfect writing tool for closet OCDers like me. Much like Wordle, you can paste in as much or as little text as you want, choose the number of words-in-phrases you’d like the Frequency Counter to check (two-word phrases, three-word phrases, and so on), and then sit back and let the magic happen. The most common phrases in my WIP were things like “I said” and “he said,” but I also noticed that I used “took a long swallow” and “took a long sip” and “took a long drink” three times each. That’s nine times. Clearly, I’m writing about a couple of lushes.

6) Across the Universe  by Beth Revis – As a rule, I don’t read science fiction. I know, I know… I shouldn’t wall myself off completely from any one genre. The thing is, aliens, space travel, cryogenics, and otherworldly futures just don’t interest me. Then Twitter went abuzz about Across the Universe. I became curious. Rave reviews started pouring in. I became intrigued. Some of my CPs read it and couldn’t stop gushing. I knew I had to check it out. So I bought Across the Universe (See  #2 above… I have a problem.), and I am SO glad I did. It’s sci-fi, but it’s accessible. Relatable. Really cool. I’m somewhere around half-way through and I’m totally into it. But now I’m starting to love it so much that I’m stressing about the ending being a disappointment. Ugh. Please, Beth Revis. Please make the end of your book stand up to the fabulous beginning! 

I love this cover...

7) That’s YAmore – In case you haven’t heard: I’m a participant in Oasis for YA’s “That’s YAmore” blogfest. It has been so much fun reading all of the sweet, romantic, steamy entries. If you’re interested in reading my contribution, you can find it HERE. And please visit the That’s YAmore Blogfest page to check out the other participants. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂

Echoes and Imprints

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I recently read two fabulous books: The Body Finder (out now) and Desires of the Dead (out February 15th), both by Kimberly Derting.


From Goodreads: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

From Goodreads:  The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found. Violet can sense the echoes of those who’ve been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life. As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she’d turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike’s tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

First let me say, I’ve seen Kimberly Derting’s books referred to as both fantasy and paranormal romance. Personally, I’d classify them as magical realism: fiction set firmly in reality, but with a fantastical element. In this case, Violet’s “talent.”   

I’ve been familiar with The Body Finder for many months now, but all I knew was the basic premise: Girl has weird ability to locate murdered bodies. While it sounded interesting, I didn’t feel a strong urge to pick it up because, frankly, I like a little (better yet–a lot!) of romance in my books. WELL… good news! Both The Body Finder and  Desires of the Dead are intensely romantic! In fact, Violet and Jay’s relationship is  one of my new favorites. It’s natural, sweet, and steamy. Jay is exactly the kind of guy I wanted to date when I was in high school (in fact, his personality is a lot like my husband’s). He’s protective, funny, apparently hot and, best of all, a really good friend to Violet. And Violet herself is a very likeable protagonist. She’s no damsel in distress and she’s honest, for better or worse. 

I have to admit that before reading, I was skeptical about the serial killer terrorizing a small town bit in The Body Finder. It seemed very likely that in a YA novel a serial killer plot could come off as cheesy or… I don’t know… too fluffy? Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Kimberly Derting handles the crimes in both books realistically, yet with restraint. She very courageously delves into the mind of a serial killer (The Body Finder) and a stalker (Desires of the Dead), even devoting short chapters to their (disturbing) points of view. Seriously, I read these book over a few nights before bed and was totally creeped out when I turned off my light. The mysteries in both plots are equally riveting. I imagine Violet’s gift for seeing the echoes of the dead and their imprints left on killers made it difficult to drop a lot of red herrings into these stories. Violet can very clearly see who has killed and who hasn’t, and yet some pretty crazy plot twists kept me guessing throughout both novels.

I love Kimberly Derting’s writing style. That’s saying a lot since I rarely fall for books done in third-person. It’s lyrical, but not overdone to the point of distracting. And I was totally in Violet’s head. I could clearly picture everything described, from Jay’s dorky, crooked smile to the strange oil-on-water echo left behind by a murdered body.  

One more plus for these books, at least for me: they take place in Buckley, Washington, a small town that’s located just a few miles from MY small town. It was fun to read books set nearby. I’ve seen White River High School. I take my daughter swimming at Lake Tapps. I look out my window at Mount Rainier every morning. And I shop at the same Nordstrom as Violet and her friends. So cool to see how an author views places that are a part of my every day life. I definitely recommend you check out The Body Finder if you haven’t already. Its follow-up, Desires of the Dead, is out February 15th.

Big thank you to The Body Finder Novels and Kimberly Derting for the signed ARC. 🙂

Off the Shelf

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I’ve finally found a reading challenge that seems to be tailored specifically for people like me: Obsessive Book Buyers. Officially, it’s the Off the Shelf Challenge hosted by BA Reading Challenges. The parameters for the challenge are simple. Read books you already own, the ones that have been sitting in your To-Read pile for weeks or months (or, in my case, YEARS!). Reviews are optional.

I’ve got fifteen books total, which puts me in the TRYING category. Here’s my To-Read list:

1. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss
2. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
3. Transgression by James W. Nichol
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5. The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
6. Teach Me by R.A. Nelson
7. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
8. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
9. Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
10. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
11. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
12. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
13. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
14. Waiting for You by Susan Colasanti
15. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Stacked all pretty on my nightstand. 🙂

What about you? Participating in any reading challenges this year? What’s on your T0-Read list?

Friday Five: What’s Up This Week

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1) Queries – I’ve sent out several. Two (at least) every day this week. It’s tedious business, but exciting too. I found a great database of middle grade and young adult publishers and agents over at Jay Eckert’s Sharpened Pen blog. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the querying trenches like me. I found some agents on his list that, while they don’t have a huge web presence (Twitter, blog, etc.), seem to be pretty amazing. Here’s to some positive responses in the coming weeks!

2) Six Feet Under – Best. Show. Ever. (With the only exception being, possibly, Dexter.) My husband and I started watching Six Feet Under sometime around July. We started with Season One (thank you, NetFlix!) and have been plowing through the series ever since. I LOVE IT. Fully realized, terribly flawed characters. Completely unpredictable. It’s heartbreaking and funny and pushes all sorts of envelopes. Plus, it’s got Michael C. Hall, who is nothing short of fabulous. You know what cemented my Six Feet Under love, though? The series finale. The strongest of any series I’ve ever watched. Total and complete closure, which I appreciate because I’m the kind of crazy that wonders what happens to characters I love in the future. Seriously. I can’t sing the praises of this show enough. 

3) Authors vs. Writers – I read a lot about this debate… What makes you an author? What makes you a writer? When do you get to call yourself either? I’ve always gone with this: You’re an author when you manage to get a book traditionally published. You’re a writer until then. In other words, writers are the people who haven’t quite made it yet. Well, today I read literary agent Sarah LaPolla’s wise blog post, Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off, and completely changed my tune. Here’s what Sarah said: To me, a writer is a person who is serious about his or her craft and has the drive, knowledge, and skill to someday get published. An author is someone who has been published. See? I like her take so much better, and therefore I am officially adopting it. You should check out the rest of her post as well.

4) Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott – I finished this book the other day and I’m still thinking about it, though I struggle with words to describe it. Horrifying, definitely. Beautifully written, yes. Also courageous, heartbreaking, graphic and important. And the ending… Though it was a quick read, this book kept me up most of the night because I could not get “Alice” and her story out of my head. Do I recommend it? Yes… but perhaps not if you are easily disturbed.

  
5) Tangled – Rapunzel’s story might be my new favorite Disney movie (and I’m a Disney fanatic!). It is amazingly well done. My three-year-old daughter has seen it twice and is completely obsessed. The other day we bought the soundtrack and have been listening to it CONSTANTLY in the car. And you know… I don’t even mind. In fact, I’d venture to say that I enjoy the songs just as much as my Munchkin does. They are that cute. That clever. If you haven’t seen Tangled, you should. Even if you don’t have little ones. 🙂 

Limbo and Literature

The query wait continues. Two partials and one full (requested from a partial) still out with agents. While I am a firm follower of the a PENDING RESPONSE is better than a NO! school of thought, I am desperate to know what these fabulous agents are thinking about my manuscript. Nervous, too. And excited. Also, I get a very dreadful, anxious, I-can-barely-see-straight feeling every time I get a new email in my professional inbox. That’s normal, right?  What do I do when I’m in limbo? Read! This week I read Beautiful Creatures and The Chosen One, two books that couldn’t be more different. While I didn’t fall head-over-heels for Beautiful Creatures, I did enjoy the setting and mythology behind the characters’ story. The Chosen One, however, I adored, in a disturbing, thank-God-this-isn’t-my-life sort of way. I’m fascinated with the idea of polygamy and its background in our country, so right away I was intrigued, and Kyra’s story is so intense and heartbreaking and haunting. Hard to believe her fictional challenges are a reality for some girls. If you haven’t read The Chosen One and have any interest in polygamy or the Mormon fundamentalists’ way of life, I highly recommend it, along with Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer and The Nineteenth Wife by David Ebershoff (neither happen to be YA, but they’re both excellent). 

 

The other day I got one of those rare and totally awesome 25% Off Your Entire Purchase coupons from Borders. Of course, I stocked up…

 

Now I just have to decide which to dive into first!

Oh, and my daughter turned three this week! She and my husband are the only things that come before writing in my life, so of course this was a HUGE deal! Here we are celebrating…

Odds and Ends

Here’s my To-Read pile:

Here’s what I picked up today:

Seriously. I think I have a problem. Surely there must be a 12 Step program for people like me: people who buy books compulsively even though they have plenty to read. But really, I couldn’t pass these up. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a contemporary YA romance, probably because I’ve been heavily immersed in writing my own, but now that I’m in the final edits stage, I feel my favorite genre calling me back. Still, I’m going to start with Faithful by Janet Fox, a historical YA romance. Honestly, I totally judge a book by its cover and this one is gorgeous.    

In other news, last night I stayed up super late finishing Catching Fire. Oh my gosh, that book is amazing. I had a hard time falling asleep after. I was on total emotional overload thanks to the insane cliffhanger ending. Thank goodness I don’t have to wait long for Mockingjay because I can’t stop thinking about Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. And speaking of my new favorite love triangle, how talented is Suzanne Collins? To create these two possible love interests for Katniss, both of who are completely wonderful in their own very distinct ways, and to give her a logical and compelling reason NOT to pick one or the other… Really. These books blow my mind. How will Katniss ever choose?

And finally, I sent queries to three highly respected agents last week, my first round of queries for WIP! Two agents I’ve yet to hear from, but one requested a partial! I’m thrilled! First, because it would be nothing short of amazing to work with this particular agent and her agency, and second, because I have some confidence in my query now! Who knows how things will pan out, but I’m definitely praying she’ll love it and ask to see more. Stay tuned… 🙂       

Hooks & The Hunger Games

**There are mild spoilers in this post. If you haven’t read The Hunger Games and don’t wish to have the book spoiled, you might want to stop reading here.**

This morning I started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I don’t read much dystopian, but I’ve heard the hype about this almost-trilogy and had to see what it’s all about. I’m currently about halfway through and completely blown away. Ms. Collins has created a world that’s unique—brutal, disturbing, vivid, frightening, and totally fascinating. Her imagery (setting, food, clothing, etc…) is colorfully stunning. Her descriptions of fear, betrayal, pride, and love are spot-on and pull at all the right strings. Her weaving of back story throughout the novel is seamless.

What I love most, though—what’s stuck out among all of Ms. Collin’s literary talents—are her end-of-chapter hooks.

Three different times today I’ve been reading along and thought I’ll stop at the end of this chapter and get something productive done. On all three of those occasions, I’ve reached the end of the chapter, gasped with surprise, and flipped the page filled with anticipation and (usually) dread. The first time it happened: the end of Chapter One, at the reaping when Primrose Everdeen is called forward to participate in the Hunger Games. The second: the end of Chapter Nine when Peeta declares his love for Katniss at the pre-Game interviews. The third: the end of Chapter Eleven when Katniss realizes that Peeta has joined up with the Career tributes. Each time I’ve read on, gripped with anxiety, dying to find out what happens next, all the while shaking my head in awe at how successful Ms. Collin has been at writing a literal page turner.

Now, I’m inspired to go through WIP and ensure that I’ve got amazing end-of-chapter hooks of my own. Isn’t it incredible how with each book you read (good, bad, or otherwise) you absorb something new?

Friday Five

A very random Friday Five:

1)      My To-Read shelf is officially out of control again. I’m smack in the middle of Ken Follett’s World Without End, which is nothing short of AMAZING, but I’m looking forward to finishing because I’ve got three YA books I’ve already bought that I’m dying to read:

  

2)      So, I know I’m majorly late in jumping on the Six Feet Under bandwagon, (yes, I’m aware that it’s been off the air for years!) but it’s so amazing that I feel compelled to mention it here. If you like dark, dry, humorous, and thought-provoking (and are not easily offended), you simply must watch this show. I was a huge Michael C. Hall fan going in (Dexter, anyone?!), but I officially worship him now. Six Feet Under is my newest guilty pleasure.

  

3)      Thanks to Savvy Boot Camp and my amazing team, ANGST ARMY, I have finished the first draft of WIP (as I will continue to refer to it until I come up with a title I adore). I have written somewhere around 40,000 words this month and have started into Revisions: Phase One. I know I’m crazy and probably in the minority, but I love revising and editing and polishing! Also in Savvy Authors news—I have discovered that with almost constant camaraderie, writing is even more enjoyable. Loving the Savvy chat rooms! Don’t ever want to write alone again!

   

4)      My husband is coming home from a two-week work trip today! Though I did manage to write more than half of WIP during his absence, I have missed him greatly (as does my Munchkin). As an Army captain, he has deployed to some of the most despicable places on the planet, but this trip was to a tiny tropical island chain in the Indian Ocean. I’m slightly envious and wish I could have gone too, but he definitely deserved this trip. He got to Jet Ski and snorkel with sea turtles and got a wicked sunburn… lucky! Here’s a picture of where he was (emailed to me the other day):

 

5)      I don’t watch a lot of TV, but when I do, it’s almost always Bravo. Their newest show is called Work of Art and it’s very cool. Think the aesthetics of Project Runway mixed with competitiveness of Top Chef, plus paints, eccentric people, screen-printing, “found art,” and Sarah Jessica Parker producing. What’s not to love?

Friday Five: What’s hot today…

ONE ~ I’m going to see Tim McGraw perform tonight! I can’t express how excited I am about this concert; I’ve wanted to see him perform for years. The icing on the cake: Lady Antebellum is opening! I’ve already gushed about how much I love them HERE. The cherry on top of the icing on the cake: My husband and I are spending a childless night together in Seattle. Hoping to relive my college days. 🙂

TWO ~ I started reading Ken Follett’s World Without End this morning. It’s been awhile since I read an “adult” book, but I’m a big fan of the epically fascinating Pillars of the Earth, and World Without End is a follow-up of sorts. It takes place in the 1300s and even though I’m only on page seven, I’ve already read about a thieving eight-year-old girl and her father, whose hand was chopped off because of his own stealing. What’s not to like?

THREE ~ I have a new nephew! Gabriel was born May 19th and weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces. My husband, daughter and I are making the ten-hour drive to Mountain Home, Idaho (you’re jealous, I know!) next weekend to visit the little munchkin. Look at those chubby cheeks!

FOUR ~ I’m obsessed with Savvy Authors. If you haven’t checked it out, you need to. Right now. There are too many features to name here, but I’ll try to list a few: workshops, word count/page number trackers, pitch fests, forums, chat rooms, expert resources, critique groups, agent listings, an auto critter… seriously. It’s an amazing resource with supportive and generous people. There’s a $30 a year membership fee to access all the good stuff, but I assure you, it’s well worth the money!

FIVE ~ One of my all time favorite TV shows is Sex and the City. I’ve seen every episode at least once and the movie more times than I care to admit. If you’ve never watched it (and aren’t easily offended), I definitely recommend it. Rent season one at Blockbuster or from Netflix and I promise you’ll be hooked. The movie’s sequel comes out May 27th and I’ll be there (with my mom, SATC’s second biggest fan!) to see it. Can’t wait to be reunited with Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda! **Plus, did you hear Aidan’s back?!

To Read:

I’m not really sure how–or even when–this happened. I’ve always been the type to buy a book, read it, buy another book, read it, and so on. Now, though, I have a daunting pile of books and I’m not even sure where to start! I try to alternate between YA and “grown-up” books, if only so that I can participate in conversations with friends and family when they’re discussing the best sellers they’re reading, but lately all I want to read is YA. I just finished Looking For Alaska  (I know, you’re probably wondering how it is that I’ve JUST NOW read Looking For Alaska… really, I have no idea what took me so long, but I loved it!) so now I’m due to read something in line with my actual age group, but my heart’s just not in it. I’m thinking I’m going to ignore my own rules and dive into Rules of Attraction instead. 

I should take a moment to note: lately it’s been taking me weeks to get through a novel. In addition to the time my real life–husband, daughter, housework (I can’t write if my house isn’t clean!), etc– take up, I’ve been busy adding the finishing touches to my manuscript Forget Me Not and dealing with this:


Cute, isn’t he? His name is Toby. He belongs to my parents, who travel often and allow me the privilege of puppy sitting whenever they’re out of town.  I’ve been told he looks like Marley from Marley and Me, (a book I refuse to read because I heard how it ends). From what I’ve been able to deduce from the Marley and Me movie trailer, it seems Marley and Toby are cut from the same mold.

I have two dogs of my own. Quiet, well-behaved dogs who go lay down when they’re told to do so. Toby… not so much. He’s adorable, but he’s like a newborn. If you’re planning to write, research, outline, revise, read, or do anything else even semi-productive, please take my advice: Don’t get a puppy!