Three Days!!

Guys. it's only three days until The Spirit of Christmas comes out!! It features awesome authors like David Powers King, Becca Ann, Kelley Lynn, and Jessica Salyer! How come you're not as excited as I am???

Could that be becasue it's almost NaNo?

Worry no more becasue we're combining the awesomeness of NaNo with awesomeness of the Spirit of Christmas with our bloghop, All I Want for NaNo.

Christmas has come early folks becasue there's also some cool prizes -

Jennie's giving away a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Jessica's also giving a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Kelley's giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

David's also giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Cassie's giving a choice of any of her ebooks + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Don't be grinch, sigh up now!

Interview with Theresa Paolo!!

Today I have the privilege of interviewing Theresa  Paolo who’s releasing her debut novel  (Never) Again today! Happy book birthday!

 
Hello! First I want to say thank you Jennie for having me on your blog! 

You are very welcome, it's a pleasure :)

Let’s start with a couple of serious questions:  

Sure!
 
1. Tell us how you came up with the idea for (Never) Again. How to do this without giving away the whole story? Hmm. In 2007 I was home when a news story came on and I couldn’t turn away. It was something that I couldn’t get off my mind for days. I thought about all the stories I had read/seen that dealt with the situation, but I had never read one about the people on the outside. The people who weren’t there, but knew someone who was. I couldn’t stop wondering what they were going through, knowing something was wrong but not knowing all the details. I wanted to know their story. So that’s when I decided to write (Never) Again. Hope that wasn’t too vague.

You've peeked my interest ^_^

2. Care to share a snippet with us? Absolutely! I would love to. 

"Nothing seemed off. The halls were filled with people, their voices no louder than usual, but as we closed in on my Principles of Writing class, I realized there was someone who didn’t belong.

At least not anymore. 

He was taller, his arms bigger, his hair not as messy as I remembered, but those dark brown eyes were exactly the same. He was standing against the wall, his t-shirt hugging biceps that were nonexistent last time I saw him, and he was talking to my friends. Some of the same friends we’d shared before he left. 

My stomach twisted in knots when over the din of the hallway chaos, I heard his voice. I kept my head up and tried to ignore the fact he was back, but when his head turned towards me, I panicked. Without a single word to either Sadie or Joe, I dove into the girls’ bathroom."

Love it! Can't wait to read more!

Now let’s get down to the fun, give me the first answer that pops into your head

I love fun!

Ryan Gosling or Channing Tatum? Both. Please Seriously both.  
                                                             Haha :)

Real book or eReader? Even though my book is releasing as an e-book I have to go with a real book. There's nothing like holding it in your hand and being able to turn the page. 
And let's not forget the smell ;)

Morning writing or Night Writing? Definitely a night writer 

Twitter or Facebook? I’m a tweeter 

Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate! Unless I’m having chocolate cake or a brownie then I want it with vanilla ice cream. 

Ummm... brownies.

And last, but not least, give us a picture of your favorite reading nook –

This is it, my parents deck.

Beautiful! Thanks for coming Theresa! It was a blast!

All I Want For NaNo

I first heard about NaNo WriMo three years ago shortly after I started blogging. I thought people were nuts for even attempting to write 50k in a month. Yet, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try it out for myself. Since then, I’ve done NaNo (including camp NaNo) 4 times--this November will make 5.

Because of this, I’ve spent a considerable about of time on NaNoWriMo.org, and they’re doing some amazing stuff for people. I have a 14 yr old cousin who went to LTUE last year because NaNo came to his school, and he decided he really liked writing. If that isn’t awesome, I don’t know what is.

In these past three years I’ve felt awful for not giving back when NaNo has been doing so much for writers everywhere. That’s why I decided to write an anthology with a few awesome friends and donate all the proceeds to NaNoWriMo.

But I need your help to get the word out! Presenting, All I Want for NaNo:

Here's the rules: on November 1st post what you want for you NaNo and put a buy link to The Spirit of Christmas Anthology, as well as the blog hop code---  <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=6a0a61b2-8e5b-4acc-bb60-db0e8f46255f" ></script> . That's it. Get as creative as you like, pictures--flash fiction--video, think outside the box.

Of course, the bloghop wouldn't be complete without prizes! Since they're five of us, they're five excellent prizes.

Jennie's giving away a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Jessica's also giving a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Kelley's giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

David's also giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Cassie's giving a choice of any of her ebooks + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Pretty cool, eh? You can sign up even if you're not doing NaNo. What are you waiting for? Sign up below!

IWSG: Waiting

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh!

The waiting is the hardest part, right? Someone please tell me the waiting is the hardest part. It sure feels that way. It seems like everything in writing basically equates to this never-ending waiting game and sometimes I wonder if it's ever going to end.

Who am I kidding? I know it's never going to end. That's the publishing business. A least right now waiting is my biggest problem. It could be a lot worse (it has been a lot worse in the past). Guess I'll just have to suck it up and try to stay busy while I do all that waiting.

Are you waiting for anything?

A Heart So Broken - Review

Welcome to another lovely Tuesday, readers! Today I'm excited to review A Heart So Broken by Christine Houston.

Goodreads Blurb:

When Jenna Tucker loses her father, the world held so neatly together crumbles without warning beneath her feet. Finding it impossible to regain her balance, she stumbles into a full throttle downward spiral. The result is exile to tiny West Junction under the care of compassionate Aunt Lilly.

A vivid dream awakens her to the hope of healing and an electric attraction to football hero Cooper Turnage invites her to believe that happiness is more than a possibility. Yet her resentment for the sole survivor of the explosion that claimed her father’s life continues to haunt her.

When she discovers a devastating secret, her still tender heart will suffer another blow. Jenna must decide between the comfort of bitterness and letting it go to embrace a new life without guarantees. With so much at stake can she heal a heart so broken?

My Review:

What I liked -

This is a contemporary romance which happens to be my favorite genre, so the all the lovely romantic tingly things were a plus in my book. Cooper and Jenna had a really cute playful relationship that wasn't too touchy-feely or too rushed (which is always my biggest complaints with romances). Beautiful writing and really strong voice.

What I didn't like -

There came one point in the book when Jenna was telling herself that Cooper just wanted to be friends when it was really obvious he thought a lot more about her. He was like, dying to spend time with her. Not to mention dancing bear hug style. After a really long good hug she'd go away thinking he didn't like her. If he was more hesitant it would've made for a higher stakes believe-ability, but it wasn't so bad that I wanted to put the book down. Honestly, that's just a nitpicky thing that I noticed.  

Overall - 
I thought I had this book all figured out from the onset, but I was really surprised when Cooper's secret was revealed. I had an idea of what might happen, but I didn't see it coming like that. It was awesome! What an amazing plot. I really like the characters and the banter, everything was great. I give this four stars!

Congrats on your debut Christine! I can't wait to read more :)