In Mists mailbox (30)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The story siren.

It's a regular meme where we share the books we have gotten.

16th Jan - 22nd Jan

As you can see I cut out some bits where I just rambled on to make the video shorter lol

Books mentioned

Bought

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

A witch in winter by Ruth Warburton

Gifted

The complete Harry Potter collection box set (HB) - from my husband.

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz - from Alice @ Best books.

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari - from Natalie.

Divergent by Veronica Roth - from HarperCollins

Swapped

As I wake by Elizabeth Scott

Wake by Lisa McMann

For review

Legend by Marie Lu

Trieste by Daša Drndić

eBooks

Kindle freebie

Glimpse by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Bought

The boyfriend thief by Shana Norris

So over you by Gwen Hayes

This week in review

(There seemed to be a bit of confusion last week, 'this week in review' is the reviews that have been posted this week on the blog, in case your interested in reading them, not books I have gotten)

This is not forgiveness by Celia Rees

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Guest post - Anne Elizabeth and a giveaway

THE PENDULUM: From Dream to Reality

by Anne Elizabeth

“Every project begins with a dream and a desire to succeed.” This is one of my father’s favorite sayings. When I was a child he’d sit me on his knee and we’d read the Sunday comics from the newspaper. We’d laugh together, and I can still hear his distinct laughter echoing in my head and see his broad grin. As the years passed, the meaning of these words has grown in value. He was right; an individual’s determination to reach a goal depends on their will to achieve. Thus, I filled my heart with courage and went for my goal over five years ago, and the PULSE graphic novel and comic world was born.

High school was the vetting ground and birthing place for my brain child. Beginning when my high school English teacher asked the class to write a creative short story, I created a brand new supernatural world. (Of course, this was before Harry Potter, Twilight, and many of the now-popular paranormal series.) I was so intrigued by my creatures – ones that came out of imagination, frustration, and a fondness for justice and romance – that I found myself compelled to keep writing. Pretty soon, I had completed a full-length novel and many, many short stories. Plastic purple binders held my treasured manuscripts. Though there was interest in the storylines and characters, none of the publishing houses could figure out how to market it or fit it into their current collections. That is, until Dabel Brothers LLC read the first manuscript – PULSE OF POWER – and offered a contract for my first graphic novel.

After publication, my email was suddenly flooded with letters from reviewers and fans who liked this brand new superhero – someone who spoke of empowerment, decision-making, and standing up for the little guy. There was something special about Tia that connected with readers and so I opened the treasure box further to release the rest of her stories as well as those of her friends. Suddenly, I was editing the stories and my notes, indentifying the overall arc and themes and crafting them into script form. FYI, you need scripts for each participant in the process: One for the editor, one for the artist, one for the colorist, and another for the letterer.

Working with award-winning writer and former DC Editor Alisa Kwitney, who also edited Neil Gaiman for his Sandman series, is the ‘Experience of a Lifetime!’ Alisa is BRILLIANT! I look forward to each interaction, and she has gifted me with an amazing education in comic form, structure, and Haiku snappiness.

After the writing process is complete, the art critique begins. This is where the images and panels are honed into the sharpest and most compelling visual presentation. I worked with Artist Siya Oum, whose creations are intensely beautiful! She’s AMAZING in terms of her knowledge, ability to create captivating nuances, and depict the heart of an emotional climax. When the pages are complete, they are sent to Colorist Mauro Salgado who changes the black and white into complex layers of colors and detail. Lastly, the pages are lettered by Bill Tortolini, who is fantastically gifted at complementing the art and coloring with captions, speech balloons, exclamations and so much more!

The completed high resolution files are then approved by the publishers. Keep in mind, oftentimes both the author and/or the editor are guiding the steps in the pre-production art process. When everything is final, then the book goes to print. Diamond Distributors works with independent bookstores, Amazon and many others to make sure the comic or graphic novel arrives on time and is forwarded to customers.

Please note, this process is not just one person’s work. It is a collaboration of dedication, harmonious agreement, and perseverance. This is a “we” process and it is not an industry for the weak of heart or those with mediocre resolutions. Critiques can be tough. Roadblocks such as illness, change of artistic talent, or delays in production – as well as a multitude of other traumas and dramas – can test the resolve to continue on. But, the outcome is worth it!

Holding a book that you were a part of can bring a wellspring of emotion. The smell of the ink and sleek pages as they slide – silky smooth – along your fingertips. Very memorable!

As you guessed, I admit again that my father was right – that it takes ‘a dream and a desire to succeed’ – and as my mother would add, “Holding your ground and then climbing the next great hill matters, too. So, keeping going and keep challenging yourself.”

My words of wisdom are: If you have a story swimming around in your brain, teasing your spirit, then it is important to write it, speak it, or share it in some way. “Lively boldly, my friends! Live your greatest wish as if it were your last moment on earth.”

Power up with Anne Elizabeth’s graphic novels: PULSE OF POWER and THE PENDULUM available now; or catch her next short comic – ZOMBIE LOVE – releasing Spring 2012 and her full length graphic – POWER PLAY – the third book in the PULSE series releasing early at the New York Comic Con in October 2012. For more information, check her Website.

Want to win yourself a copy of 'The Pendulum'?

Just fill in the form, your free entry is the only one mandatory, the rest are optional and it's International :)

This is not forgiveness - Review

This is not forgiveness by Celia Rees

Available Feb 2nd 2012

http://www.bloomsbury.com/

What's it about?

Everyone says that Caro is bad ...but Jamie can't help himself. He thinks of her night and day and can't believe that she wants to be his girlfriend. Gorgeous, impulsive and unconventional, she is totally different to all the other girls he knows. His sister, Martha, hates her. Jamie doesn't know why, but there's no way he's going to take any notice of her warnings to stay away from Caro. But as Jamie falls deeper and deeper under her spell, he realises there is more to Caro - much more. There are the times when she disappears and doesn't get in touch, the small scars on her wrists, her talk about revolutions and taking action, not to mention the rumours he hears about the other men in her life. And then always in the background there is Rob, Jamie's older brother, back from Afghanistan and traumatised after having his leg smashed to bits there. Jamie wants to help him, but Rob seems to be living in a world of his own and is increasingly difficult to reach. With Caro, the summer should have been perfect ...but that isn't how things work out in real life, and Jamie is going to find out the hard way. This taut psychological drama is the brilliant new novel from acclaimed Celia Rees.

My review:

This book really is exciting as it sounds! Whilst the first few chapters started off confusing and it was probably fifty pages before I really got into it I loved the way it constantly picked up the pace until a nail biting ending. The book mostly follows Jamie but there are chapters that follow Rob and Caro, out of the three I definitely preferred Jamie but I did enjoy the crazy insights into the minds of Rob and Caro, it really gave me an idea of what was going on and everyones motives.
Once I was hooked into the story I was gripped until the conclusion but I have to say, personally, I felt it would've been better without the first chapter which took away some of the surprise from the ending but I still enjoyed it a lot and will definitely be searching out more books by this author in the near future to try.
I found the characters to be really well drawn out and complex, getting to know them was one of the things that made the book interesting, along with the exciting plot and fast paced writing. There well timed mystery reveals and a brilliant ending, though I'd like to have seen a bit of an epilogue to round it up.
I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of the genre and even some who aren't because I don't tend to read psychological dramas but this has most certainly turned my head to them and I'll be checking out more in the future.

My thoughts on the cover:
I'm really not a fan of this cover, it's just to plain and boring for me. The broken glass effect is interesting but personally I like pretty, colourful covers but perhaps the real thing will be textured to add a extra depth and this is just a bad picture lol.

Sorry, no favourite quotes because I read an ARC copy and don't have a final copy to compare them with :)

Find the author:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Goodreads

UK vs. THE WORLD! (8)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

Also I'm thinking of adding a linky list in case others would like to participate on their blogs so let me know if you would if I did that :)



UK                           vs.             Thailand

Beastly by Alex Flinn

('ตามหาหัวใจของนายอสูร' translates to 'By heart of the beast' - According to Google translate)

Mist: Both these covers are nice but I think I like the Thai cover a little bit more because of the lighter colours and also because I don't like that big red circle about the movie on the UK version. I do really like the font on the UK version though and both flowers are pretty.

Ninfa: I really like the UK version. Not very keen on the Thai one, it's just a little boring and the white rose gets lost in the pale blue background, whilst it stands out in the black of the UK cover.
I also like the title font on the UK one, so yep, UK win.




UK                               vs.                Indonesia



Fairy bad day by Amanda Ashby

Mist: These covers are also both very pretty and similar, I think it's interesting that the girl in the Indonesian cover is covered up more. I definitely prefer the Uk cover though, the girl just seems a lot more kick-ass and I prefer her stance to the girl on the other cover.

 Ninfa: The UK cover is a winner again! It's just really cute and I love the outfit of the model and the big sword and the kick ass pose. The Indonesian cover is the same concept really, just not as well excuted. The model's clothes are a little too conventional and there's too much pink and blue in my opinion.

Which do you prefer?

New button

<a href="http://bookaholicsbkcl.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb343/Misty_Price/button.jpg"/></a>

Hi guys!

You might notice I've been a busy bee today! i've made a new header, signatures and profile picture for Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else we are. I've also, finally, made a ratings thingum and I've now made a brand spanking new button!

If you already have my button your blog then a huge THANK YOU! but if you'd like to switch to the new one that would be awesome! but I think the old one will still work, if you don't have my button on your blog but would like to, then that's awesome to, here's the code Ta-da

Wow that's lots of awesomes, I might have to get out the awesomesauce!!

Also, I'd looooooove to hear what you think on all the new little bits I've added today.

I'm likely gonna be fiddling about with the layout and some new social buttons this week to, so stayed tuned!

The butterfly and the flower on the header and such are for Spring and will be interchangeable through the year as the seasons and holidays change :)

formspring.me

Ask me questions about Books http://www.formspring.me/BookaholicsBkCl

Guest post - Melanie Cusick-Jones and a giveaway

From Reader to Writer

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O'Brien

When you tell people you know that you’ve written a book, it’s interesting how many of them say “I always thought I’d write a book one day.”
If I were being honest, I think when I first started writing it was just to see if I could do it. I had graduated uni with an English degree – that’s a lot of reading – and was doing temp work to pay the bills, leaving a lot of free space in my brain. That’s when I thought: “I’ll write a book.” That was the easy part.
My original book idea – a first stab at writing – is still sitting neatly in the bottom of my half-finished drafts pile decidedly ignored. (I actually cringe to read it now). The character and plot I still like and may go back to – I just need to be a lot better than I was! The hardest thing isn’t the idea – there are fantastic concepts for novels I believe most people would come up with – it is the actual creation of a person…a world…a story that is so much harder than I ever thought it would be.

Practice. It might not make you perfect, but it definitely helps you get better. Although Hope’s Daughter is my first published novel, I’ve completed four others prior to that, a couple of which I would consider releasing after a lot of revision. Hope’s Daughter is the first piece that I felt comfortable putting out for review, ridicule and whatever else may come – lol. But writing the other full novels really helped me.


Questions. When you’re writing – especially editing – you answer a lot of questions: would the character do that? How would they react to this? Should we see more of this person, less of another? If you have some twists or mystery the most difficult thing is ‘drip feeding’ the clues in exactly the right way to let a reader understand where things might go, without giving the game away. I definitely didn’t have that skill down when I first tried writing – I was trying to get every piece of the story down in chapter one, just because I knew where things would end up going. Hopefully I’m better at that now.


Support. Taking a creative writing course definitely helped me. You develop techniques for making you look more creatively at the world than I think I did originally. Feedback is undoubtedly the best way to improve, but you need to be able to take it for what it is. No one should have something they’ve lovingly crafted ripped apart, but if you can find helpful, constructive reviewers, friends and beta readers (the last is absolutely vital I have discovered) then they will help you write what you want to.


Reading. I imagine most writers are bookaholics at heart. Reading widely and what you like cannot be beaten. Although Hope’s Daughter is my story, it has probably been influenced by every book I’ve ever read and draws in elements from those that I love and stayed with me after I closed the cover (or switched off the kindle!) and steers clear of those I don’t!


Just do it. If you love to read and want to write, then do it! There may be natural writing geniuses out there, although I doubt it. Writing is a skill – some parts you can make better with practice, other parts will be absolutely individual to you because of what you love, what you read and how you look at the world. If it’s something you want to do, then you should. I love my characters – I like seeing how they grow and change from who I thought they were when I first met them. I love the giddy little rush I feel when I solve a problem in the narrative to get me from one scene to another – or more so when I think of a sneaky twist to hopefully make everything more interesting. For me writing and reading go hand-in-hand now, sometimes I have to drag myself away from one to do the other, but I love both.

Hope’s Daughter.

Life should be simple for Cassie.

For the small population of Earth survivors who live on the Space Station Hope everything they do is planned and scheduled, down to the cyclical food menus, their roles in the station, even how many children they have.

Despite rigid controls directing her life, Cassie feels more out of synch than ever and worries she won’t find a place for herself within the station community. Perhaps that’s because she’s hearing things inside her head that can’t possibly be real. Or maybe it’s the regular elopements of her peers, heading off to a romantic future in the Married Quarter of the space station, whilst she’s never even been attracted to a boy – no matter how hard her best friend Ami pushes them at her. Then there are the odd questions her work placement partner Balik keeps raising. His questions are just as troubling for her as his distracting smiles and eyes that seem to see inside her.

As Cassie draws closer to Balik she finds that everything else in her life begins to shift. He tells her things that call into question the system they live within. She can't believe he is right, but at the same time she finds it hard to deny the sincerity of his ideas. Could there be a connection between Cassie’s problems and Balik’s questions? The truth will drag them both to a terrifying and deadly conclusion beyond anything they could have imagined.

Find the author:

Blog

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Buy the book:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Apple iBooks

Barnes and Noble

Win one of three ebooks in your preferred format.

International and ends 23rd Jan

Please enter with an email address you check regurlarly as this is where you'll be contacted should you win.

In Mists mailbox (29)

In my mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The story siren where we share the books we have gotten.

9th Jan - 15th Jan

Books mentiond

Bought:

A million suns by Beth Revis

Gifted:

Tiger eyes by Judy Blume

Fracture by Megan Miranda

For review:

If I die by Rachel Vincent

Juggernaut by Adam Baker

Here's The interview I mentioned if you wanna read it.

This week in review

Dark parties by Sara Grant

Touch of power by Maria V. Snyder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Never mind the botox: Rachel by Penny Avis and Joanna Berry

A need so beautiful by Suzanne Young - Audio review

Gastien parts one and two by Caddy Rowland - Guest review by Jenny

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Guest post - Caddy Rowland and a Giveaway

Gastien Beauchamp and I (The Story of How I Wrote Gastien) by Caddy Rowland

I have read all kinds of blogs and stories about how people get their story ideas and how they develop their characters. Many are very disciplined, using story boards and writing out every detail of each major character before they even start to write the first page. Some are more seat of the pants. There is no “right” way. An author writes a story in whatever way works for them.


I have a secret to tell you about Gastien Beauchamp, though. I did not choose him. He chose me. He also wrote the story; I was just the conduit. Sound strange? Yeah. Well, I have been called worse. Here is how Gastien happened:


In March of 2010 I found out I had breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation. Chemo was not needed. I was very lucky, in that it was a Stage 0 cancer. It is completely gone and my doctor says to plan on eventually dying from something other than breast cancer.


Being told you have cancer is awful. It does, however, teach you to live in “now” and for that I am very grateful. Life is a lot more precious when you live in the “now”. Until you come face to face with possibly dying, I don’t think you fully understand that “now” is all any of us have. Even after having cancer, I sometimes have to remind myself.


Another thing it did was make me question life after death. I always had spirituality in my life, but it now became even more important. I had done a past life regression several years ago, so I definitely believed that we don’t just live once and then die, or live once and then “go to heaven” or “hell”. Still, facing cancer makes you think about the afterlife and what it means.


I read a book that July or August called Journey of Souls by Michel Newton PhD. In it he talks about cases of taking people back to the place we go between lives here…where we eventually will stay once we have become as advanced as we as an individual can. It fascinated me. I searched online to find his institute and then looked for a past life regressionist who had taken his courses.


I found a well-qualified psychologist who had several years experience and went to do a life between lives regression. In order to get to the life between lives you must first be regressed into some past life and then be taken to that life’s death, so that you can see what it is like when you leave this world and go there. It is done through hypnosis.


When I went back to a past life, the first thing I saw was a candle burning on a table. Then I saw a very handsome man with long, dark hair past his shoulders. He was leaning against a table with paints on it, and he had on a satin shirt. The shirt was cream colored and had full, billowing sleeves with large cuffs. He was looking at someone and smiling.


That was the first time I met Gastien Beauchamp.


Now, I am not going to say if I think I was Gastien, or if I think creative possibilities were opened to me that day. That is for me alone to cherish. What I will say is that for several weeks afterwards I would get “downloads” of information about this man. When I would check online to see if the things I was told could have happened in the time period I would find that, yes; indeed they could. The downloads became stronger and more frequent. Finally, I called the psychologist and made an appointment to just do a more in depth regression to Gastien.


We did a couple of two hour sessions. From this, the story of Gastien was born. It took four months to write over 1,000 pages. I decided to divide it into two books. I set aside part two and edited part one for four and ½ months. From that Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream was born. It came out in August of 2011. Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny then took another four and ½ months to edit. It was released in mid-December o 2011. There will be another two or three books in the series.


When I decided to write this story, I only had the “downloads” I had been given in my head. I did not know a lot of what I would write. So, I simply committed to writing one hour a day, five days a week. No excuses. The first day, I sat down, put my hands on the keyboard and asked Gastien to tell me. Really, I just asked him to tell me his story. Either how it was or, if it was way too dark, how he wished it could have been….without taking away the gist of his life.


Boy, did he tell it. Some days I could not type fast enough. Most days I did not know what I would be typing until I started. The writing was easy. The research after typing was harder. Since the story takes place in the nineteenth century, I had to make sure that the things Gastien said happened could be true for that era. I also had to make sure that I called items their correct names. For instance, men did not call pants by that name yet. They were trousers. Those little things that make it nineteenth century needed to be there.


I also used some French words and phrases and I don’t speak French at all. I wanted them in there to give readers a feel for him as a French man. So, I had to look those phrases up and I had to ask people from France how to use a word, because the conjugations of a word are very difficult in French. One word has so many spellings for first, second or third person and for past, present or future.


But it was fun! I was surprised many times by what I wrote. I loved the humor between Mic and Gastien. It was definitely a type of humor between two males; as a female it was very interesting to see it coming from my fingers! It was also a blast writing from male point of view.


The story is very dark, no question. It is also hilarious at times and gut wrenching. Just like life. Various books in the series are coming of age, drama, romance and historical. The first book, while it does have graphic sex, does not have a major romance. I needed to get a romance audience; however, because the second book is the love story. If readers were not romance readers they would be confused! It is not a typical romance, but then Gastien was anything but typical. He was a nonconformist through and through. An artist with a dream with a women who loved him, in spite of his terms.


To me, Gastien was real and continues to be. I have a deep love for him. It is my hope that you will take the time to read his story; that he will find a home in your heart, too. He is not always what you would like him to be, but he is always true to himself. That is all we can each hope for and what each of us should strive for in every life.


Now I must go. Book three is waiting to be finished in time for a spring 2012 release. Au revoir.

Buy links:

For kindle readers (Part 1)

For nook readers (Part 1)

To order paperback (Part 1)

For kindle readers (Part 2)

For nook readers (Part 2)

To order paperback (Part 2)

Gastien's fanpage

My blog

My email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

__________________________________

Win an eBook copy of Gastien Part one: The cost of the dream.

International

Gastien Parts one and two - Double review by Jenny Needham

The cost of the dream by Caddy Rowland

About the book:

Stunningly handsome Gastien has two dreams that burn relentlessly inside of him. First, he wants to become a great artist. Nineteenth century France is a hotbed of new ideas in art; unfortunately, naïve young men, hoping to achieve impossible dreams, die in the gutters of Paris every day.
Gastien also wants to become a great lover. That will not be so difficult. So far, nineteenth century women can only dream of a man who cares if he actually satisfies them!
He has no training, no money, and no connections. And, he is a virgin…so far.
What does he have? Raw, natural talent, a willingness to learn, and a face and body no woman will be able to resist. He vows to stop at nothing to make his dreams come true.
Gastien Beauchamp, Paris is yours for the taking.
Sometimes, the "impossible" is possible. But the cost can be extremely high.

My Review:
4/5

First I will say this is definitely a book for adult readers, with lots to keep the adult reader entertained with explicit sex scenes, violence and adult topics.
The character of Gastien in this book is intriguing, and with him being very different from the rest of his family, causing many problems as he is growing up. Following Gastien through his life you find that as you learn more about his character you grow to love and live the life that he does. The life lessons learned as you follow Gastien though all of his troubles are well wrote and believable.
The background story in this book is amazing and really brings to life Gastien’s life as he grew up in France in the 19th century when everything is very different to living life today in France. I found that the use of French terms was an amazing asset and well thought out by the author, really bringing you into the story, as well as adding that little extra, and I found that this really did make the book more enjoyable.
The author has helpfully put a full glossary at the front of the book with all the French terms and what they mean, as well as added the translation in the book at the first point it is used, so I would recommend reading this book even if the French within it would normally put you off it is definitely worth reading.
I found that I was absorbed into this book from the very first chapter, loving and feeling along with the characters. It is a testament to the author that the storyline flows so well, with well placed and in depth sex scenes that are not for the faint hearted. There are also many other adult topics that are covered within this book that are well wrote and really compelling to read. In all I really enjoyed the flow and story within this book following along with the life lessons learned. I will be heading over to the next instalment of this book very soon to find out what else life has in store for Gastien as he goes through his life.

From dream to destiny by Caddy Rowland
 
About the book:

I am Gastien Beauchamp, artist and lover. Any Frenchman would tell you that a peasant could never own property in nineteenth century France. Yet here I am, in my very own studio.
The personal cost was horrendous. I barely survived the choices I made, and my sanity was pushed to its limits.
Still, I finally now have security, peace, and freedom. For the rest of my life I can spend time “making love to the colour”, making love to beautiful women, and enjoying the wild nightlife of bohemian Montmartre. What more could a man need or want?
Then, one night, I see her. One look at Sophie, and my heart wants to betray me! I try to tell myself that I know better. Who needs love, anyway? I am already married-to my art!
No woman would ever understand and accept my lifestyle; nor am I about to give that lifestyle up! Not when I paid so dearly for it. Besides, I am too badly damaged to ever open up my heart…

My Review:
4/5

This book definitely continues on from the first book in the series.
Gastien continues to grow into an adult, with many challenges being presented both personally and in his art work. I love that Gastien continues to grow making him such a loveable character that at time you empathize with him, but at others you detest him just as much.
The author continues with the amazing story of Gastien being an artist in 19th century France, bringing to life the struggles that artist's faced when they started out. I found that I was even more captivated by Gastien and all the other characters in this book than I was in the first. I was so engrossed in everything going on that I read the whole book in a day, laughing, crying and feeling compassion for all of the characters especially Gastien himself. I must admit throughout this whole book I found that I experienced every emotion there was and I was emotionally drained by the end, but emotionally drained in a good way.
Again the author helpfully gave a glossary at the front of the book with all the French translations to both words used in the first book as well as new words and phrases used within this book. She managed to integrate both languages so well that most of the time you did not notice that both French and English were being used.
I would definitely love to continue on in this series and read book three, in order to find out how everything pans out for the rest of the characters. Although I can’t giveaway why, as I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending for those adults out there that want to discover Gastien and his travels through 18th Century France.

Check out Jenny's blog Madsheep reading