March Challenges Update

I have been sitting here this evening feeling like I have been forgetting something.  Then I ran across a couple of new challenges that are just starting and realized that I haven't updated any of my challenges for the last couple of weeks in March - and hadn't done a March Challenge Update page!


So - here is the monthly update for all my reading challenges - completed challenges are in red.

Miscellaneous Challenges:
Excellence in Reading  - 3 books (off of list of 60)
Speculative Fiction Challenge - 4/6
New Author Challenge - 19/15
Read to Me Picture Book challenge  -28/400

Library Centered Challenges:
Dewey Decimal Challenge 2/5
Non-Fiction (Non-Memoir) Challenge 2/5
Library Challenge 3/12
Around the Stacks Challenge 2/20 Genres

Location Specific Challenges:
Reading the Winter Olympics 3/15
Southern Literature Challenge 2/4
Where Are You Reading Challenge 10/50 states

Title and Cover Specific Challenges:
Antonym Reading Challenge
Find the Cover/Coversuch 10/17
Read Your Name Challenge 0/8
What's in a Name Challenge 2/6
Color Coded Reading Challenge 1/9
Rainbow Reading Challenge 3/12
A to Z Reading Challenge 16/26

Prizewinners or Lists Reading Challenges:
1001 Books to Read 1/5
Alex Awards Challenge 0/3
Reading the Awards 0/5
That's What You Think Challenge 1/6

Cozy, Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenges:
Cruisin Thru the Cozies 3/6
Cozy Mystery Challenge 3/6
Mystery and Suspense challenge 9/12

YA Reading Challenges:
YA Reading Challenge 4/12
YA Contemporary Challenge 1/?
YA Audiobook Challenge 0/12
Just Contemporary Reading Challenge 1/6
Completely Contemp Challenge 1/3

Dystopian and Paranormal challenges:
Vampire Reading Challenge 0/5
Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 2/5
Paranormal (No Vamps) Reading Challenge 4/5
Witches and Witchcraft 1/5
Immortal Challenge 1/?
Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic 0/12
Read Dystopia Challenge 0/3
The Dystopia Challenge 0/5

Series Reading Challenges:
TV Addict Reading Challenge 0/4
1st in a Series Challenge 5/6
Welcome to Cedar Cove Challenge 0/12
The Dark Tower Reading Challenge 0/8
Stephani Plum Reading Challenge 1/?
Sookie Stackhouse Challenge 0/4
Rizzoli and Isles Reading Challenge 0/9
Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge 0/?
Dean Koontz Reading Challenge 0/3

TBR Reading Challenges:
Mount TBR Challenge 1/12
Unread Book Challenge 2/?
TBR Pile Challenge 2/10
Read Your Own Books Challenge 1/5
Off the Shelf Challenge 2/5
Free Reads Challenge 19/5
Ebook Challenge 10/10
Ebook Reading Challenge 10/10
Books Won Challenge 0/3
ARC Reading Challenge (The Eclectic Bookshelf) 18/21
ARC Reading Challenge (So Many Precious Books) 18/24

Romance Reading Challenges:
Speculative Romance Challenge 2/6
Romantic Suspense Challenge 1/4
Romance Reading Challenge (Eclectic Bookshelf) 5/?
Romance Reading Challenge (the bookworm) 7/5
Reading Romances Challenge 6/?
Harlequin Silhoutte Reading Challenge 1/6

Sykosa by Justin Ordonez (Book Review) along with an author interview

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom to check out the Giveaway details!!!

Title: Sykosa  -- Part 1: Junior Year
Author: Justin Ordonez
Publisher: TDS


About the book: Sykosa (that’s “sy”-as-in-“my” ko-sa) is the story of a sixteen year old girl who is trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. A year removed from this act, Sykosa's struggles are complicated by her meddling best friend, Niko, who has started to war with other girls for social supremacy in their school, and by her first love, a boy named Tom, who also happens to have saved her in the violent act. Using the backdrop of the biggest party of the year, the book places Sykosa and Tom at Niko's high-class cottage in Coeur d'Alene for a weekend of unsupervised badness. During such, Sykosa will have to confront her lingering pain, resolve her feelings for Tom, and decide if this is the weekend they should have sex for the first time.




My thoughts:  Well, if you read my post yesterday, you will remember that I said this was not a book that I would normally pick up, but that it had hooked me in and now I couldn't wait for the second book.  I will try to tell you a little more about it now.


Sykosa was pretty messed up from the act of violence that she had experienced her sophomore year.  It overshadows pretty much everything she does every day.  When she is having a bad day, she can feel the blackness overtaking her -- a blackness that she really hasn't shared with anyone.  Nobody really talks about what happened, and if they try, she always manages to avoid it. 


Niko is her best friend, and while you don't really know yet what role she played in this traumatic past, other than she was Sykosa best friend then as well, she has a pretty messed up home life that she has had to deal with.  She is pretty much unsupervised at home and this has enabled her to become a wild child, hosting pretty radical and much talked about parties.  


I wasn't sure about Tom in the beginning - I thought he was just another lust-filled teenage boy - but he is more than that.  He really seems to care about Sykosa, but is having a hard time expressing it.  He is also dealing with the violence of the previous year -- violence that left scars on his physical body, but I believe there are other scars there as well, and these are why he has a hard time expressing himself to Sykosa.  She hasn't been willing to talk with him about it either, so while they seem to care about each other, there also is a partial wall between them that they can't seem to cross.  


I do need to note though that this book is targeted at an 18+ audience.  It is strongly propelled along by talk of sex and masturbation -- though not a lot of action -- just a lot of talk.  After talking with my own 17 year old daughter today about the book, she leads me to believe that this is pretty typical for teens these days -- especially the guys -- though in this book it is usually Sykosa talking or thinking about it. 


This isn't one of those books that leaves you with a good feeling at the end of it.  I was left feeling a little disturbed that this is what kids were dealing with today -- but was also intrigued and very curious as to what the "Part 2"  might bring.  

~I was provided an ecopy of this book by Novel Publicity Blog Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Please enjoy this interview with Justin Ordoñez, author of the YA novel (for 18+ readers), Sykosa. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

 

1. Who or What is a Sykosa?

Sykosa is a sixteen year old junior in high school. She’s the main character of a novel I’ve written by the same name. For a quick rundown, she attends a prestigious preparatory academy, is part of the school’s coolest clique, “the Queens,” and she has started dating the boy she’s secretly been crushing on for a year, Tom. It’s taken a year to start dating him because A) there was this SUPER HUGE thing that happened during her sophomore year, and it delayed things and made being intimate with Tom difficult, and B) she kinda starts seeing stars around him and loses the ability to behave in any type of serious manner.

2. Why is Sykosa different from other novels?

It’s different because youth driven literature has become full of metaphors for danger that seem to have split into either science fiction or fantasy. (Before I go any further, I like both genres, so I’m not being a snob!) Sometimes, it feels like instead of dealing with real problems, it’s easier to have kids use magic. And instead of facing real contemporary issues, kids should fight aliens or something. These metaphors are meant to represent real life, but I fear they’ve slightly crossed over into a bit of denial about contemporary Americanism, which is a hard topic to write about since our country is in an identity crisis, and has been for about 11 years. Sykosa is an attempt to counter-act this trend. When I was young, I read books about young people that blew me away like One Fat Summer and The Outsiders. These books felt real, and it felt like I could slip into them at any moment. The writing was gritty, it was unapologetic, it was brilliant. I just don’t see many of those around, and I wanted to write one, and I wanted to write one with a female protagonist.

3. Why did you chose cross-gender writing?

Toward the end of the my high school education, I was allowed to split my school day from my normal, traditional education and a newer style, self-directed educational program. I took an English class where my English teacher, someone who I’m still friends with to this day, gave me only one assignment for an entire semester, and it was, “Perform a deep self-evaluation of yourself and your writing and come up with one goal for what you’re going to improve on.” At the time, I was seriously into writing, and had taken to writing a few books per year, but most of them were in the first person, and they were just me talking about myself. The issue was that I had been in a serious car accident the year prior and I had injured a friend in it. (He fully recovered, but never forgave me). I had tried to write a first person story about myself many times since the accident, but I was constantly failing because I was dealing with some lingering self-loathing and guilt. As a way to get away from it, I decided I wanted to work on a story I had been thinking about for a while, but that I never started writing for one super scary reason.

The main character was a teenage girl.

Odd as it might sound, I was intimidated by the fact that the main character was a woman. So I faced my fear and said my goal would be to write women better, and I proceeded to work with several teachers and several female students to help me craft a female character that was realistic, yet met my vision of her as well. This challenge stuck with me into my adult life, and it eventually found its ultimate form in Sykosa.

4. How will I know I’m a fan of Sykosa?

I’m glad you asked! Sykosa.com has tons of stuff to help you determine if this book is right for you. Below you’ll see some humorous diagrams I’ve made, but at the website you can read an excerpt of the book, watch the book trailer, read character profiles and really get a solid understanding of Sykosa’s world.

5. What kind of stuff influenced you to write Sykosa?

The primary motivators for Sykosa were Buffy The Vampire Slayer and It by Stephen King. It so happened, in 2001, I moved in with a woman I was dating. She was a fan of Buffy, so I had to watch it and became a fan myself. While most people were probably drawn to the vampire killing, it was the last thing I was interested in. I thought Whedon created an interesting cast of personalities and analyzing them was something I enjoyed. At the time, I was reading It. What I liked about It was the small town, insular feel to the novel, and how the inhabitants of this town were able to show a “front” of values, but were secretly hiding and allowing evil to proliferate all around them. From these two things came Sykosa, a girl who does not have any super powers, nor does she kill any vampires, but she did have a traumatic event happen in her life, and she’s struggling to deal with it, and its made no easier by the fact that her small, insular parochial school has decided to ignore the incident.

6. What is your most favorite and least favorite part of Sykosa?

The most favorite part is easy. It’s Sykosa’s best friend Niko, who just gets my blood pumping every time I have to write her. I love Sykosa, she’s definitely the main character and the story would never work without her, but I could sing Niko’s praises all day and all night. She’s such an interesting young woman and to see how she’s developed over the years as I’ve written the story has been a real treat. When someone first reads Sykosa and then decides to talk to me about it, I’m secretly waiting to hear them mention Niko. It’s never the first thing they say, it’s never the last, it’s always sandwiched somewhere in the middle, “By the way, this Niko—I love her!”

My least favorite part… Wow, that’s hard to answer, isn’t it? In the middle of the book, there’s a section called an Interlude, which is a story structure that Stephen King used in It, and that I borrowed as an homage to it. There’s a section where Sykosa, Niko and her mother are driving in a car together. I swear, I rewrote it fifty times—maybe more—and it’s never read right to me. It just never has.

7. What kind of writing schedule do you keep?

Let’s put it this way: I recently heard a story that there are “cat writers” and “ox writers.” I’m an ox writer. I put in the time, every day, whether I’m feeling it or not, whether its terrible or not, even if I know I’ll just end up deleting it, I push through it and I do it anyway, and somewhere along the way, it ends up coming together as a story.

8. What’s the coolest story you have from writing Sykosa?

Sykosa is interesting in the sense that it took me a long time to finish it. The first couple years I was writing it, I was really just writing stories about the characters, feeling everyone out, figuring out how they fit together, but there was no plot holding it together or pushing anything forward. In 2003, I seriously debated quitting, as it had been the hardest piece of writing I had ever taken on, and to be honest, I was somewhat used to overcoming challenges easily and without a lot of adversity. And while I usually worked on the book on my bus ride to and from work, this one beautiful, sunny day, I decided not to. I sat on the bus and kept the binder of writing closed on my lap. When the bus stopped at Pioneer Square, a homeless black woman sat next to me. She noticed the book, then said to me, “So you’re writing a novel?” I couldn’t tell how she knew that, but I said, “Yes, I am.” She asked me what it was about, but I’m terrible at talking about my work, so I gave her the gist, “teenage girl” “high school” “likes her boyfriend” etc, etc. The conversation lasted one stop, when the bus opened its doors, the woman reached out with her hand, put it on my own (which was clinging to the book like I was protecting it or something) and she said, “Justin, I want you to know, God blesses this book. He blesses it, and you can’t quit.”

I had never mentioned to her that I was quitting it.

I started working on it after she left the bus, and I never spoke or saw her again.

True story.

9. Do you have any tips for people who are struggling with writing or want to take it up?

I do. First off, keep struggling. It’s a worthwhile struggle. There’s a lot of be gained from writing. And for those who want to take it up and for those who are already writing, I can’t stress this enough: Draft. And by the I mean, write in drafts, don’t sit in a chair and challenge yourself to make it perfect now, write it perfect now, but instead write in drafts. If something only gets 5% better, that’s fine, cause it’s just one draft of what will be many, and eventually, that 5%, that 3%, that 7%—it adds up and you end up with a really good story. But, if you try to knock it out of the park every time you step up to the plate, you’ll swing the bat a whole lot, and you’ll be tired and exhausted when you’re done, but you won’t have a ton to show for it. That’s when most people quit. They think, “I can’t do this” or, “I don’t have the talent.” They don’t understand they’re doing it wrong, that’s all.

10. When you’re not writing, you’re…

Singing karaoke. I go once a week with some close friends of mine. It’s a fantastic release, also you get feedback from an audience, which you sometimes miss from writing, and you can forget how exciting it is to share your work with others. My favorite song to sing right now is Gaga’s “You and I.” Gaga has got a great voice that she can make raspy if she needs to, and I’ve got a voice that can match the raspier songs, so I think I do her proud. Otherwise I’m singing the Killers, Kings of Leon, Oasis or Lauryn Hill.

 

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Sykosa eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Sykosa for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event
4. BONUS: Leave a comment on this post*

Leave a comment, win $100:

One random tour commenter will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just leave a comment on this post, and you'll be entered to win. For a full list of participating blogs, check out the official tour page. You can enter on just my blog or on all of them. Get out there and network!

About the book: YA fiction for the 18+ crowd. Sykosa is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. Set at her best friend’s cottage, for what will be a weekend of unsupervised badness, Sykosa will have to finally confront the major players and issues from this event, as well as decide if she wants to lose her virginity to Tom, her first boyfriend, and the boy who saved her from danger. Get it on Amazon.

About the author: Sykosa is Justin Ordoñez's life's work. He hopes to one day settle down with a nerdy, somewhat introverted woman and own 1 to 4 dogs. Visit Justin on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway! (Apr 6 - Apr 12)

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop 

April 6th to 12th

 Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Yara @ Once Upon A Twilight

A new website has come to my attention called Gone Reading International.  It markets a line of great products for book lovers and readers, and donates 100% of the after-tax profits to fund new libraries in the developing world.  How cool is that! So I have decided to offer up a prize, winner's choice, of one item worth up to $20 from Gone Reading International!  You can check them out and leave a comment if you see something you like for an extra entry in the giveaway.  

They have also allowed me to pass on to my readers the opportunity to purchase something for yourself at a 25% discount through the end of April - just use the coupon code BANP25!  They have everything from T-shirts to bookends to car window decals and posters about books and reading!  Come to think of it, I should leave some hints laying around for my family to find - they always tell me I am so hard to buy for!  This website would be a gold mine for them (and for me!)

It is easy to enter - just leave your name and email address in the rafflecopter entry below.  You can also follow me through GFC, linky, or email for another entry.  You can follow me on Twitter and tweet as well.  

This giveaway is open internationally and will end on April 12th at midnight CST.

Don't forget to check out the list of all the other giveaways going on during the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway!  Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gods and Fathers by James LePore (Book Review)

Title: Gods and Fathers
Author: James LePore
Publisher: The Story Plant


About the book: Matt DeMarco is an accomplished Manhattan attorney with more than his share of emotional baggage.  His marriage ended disastrously, his ex-wife has pulled their son away from him, and her remarriage to a hugely successful Arab businessman has created complications for Matt on multiple levels.  However, his life shifts from troubled to imperiled when two cops -- men he's known for a long time -- come into his home and arrest his son as the prime suspect in the murder of the boy's girlfriend.


Suddenly, the enmity between Matt and his only child is no longer relevant.  Matt must do everything he can to clear his son, who he fully believes is innocent.  Doing so will require him to quit his job and make enemies of former friends -- and it will throw him up against forces he barely knew exited and can only begin to comprehend how to battle. 

My thoughts:  Initial reaction on reading the first few pages - I couldn't wait to keep going!  It was one of those books that the minute you have any free time you want to pick it up because you have to know what is going on.  I liked that it was fast paced, meaning there was always some action going on, but that the passage of time seemed likely.  It didn't all happen in a week but was spread out from January to March.

I liked Matt right from the start, even though he had anger management issues that flared into some bad consequences.  I think it was because he didn't accept things that he felt were wrong, was loyal even when it wasn't deserved, and he wasn't afraid to take a hard stand against things that could even get him killed.

I think Mr. LePore did a great job of delineating the good guys from the bad guys without actually telling you who they were.  He let you come along for the ride as Matt started to figure out on which side everyone stood.

There were so many different ways that the story could have played out, just depending on what choice the players would make in each situation.  I will be surprised if anyone can predict the ending to this one!  If you have read it and did, or do read it and figure it out before the end - then my hat's off to you!  I loved the ending.

This was my second book that I have read by James LePore, the first being a short book called Anyone Can Die, that contained three short stories.  I enjoyed that one as well and am looking forward to what Mr. LePore will be writing in the future.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Partners in Crime and The Story Plant in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Gods and Fathers

Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, Feb 7, 2012

ISBN: 978-161188029-8

300 pages

Sykosa by Justin Ordoñez (book excerpt and giveaway)

I just finished this book yesterday. Though the main characters are juniors in high school, this is definitely an 18+ book. I would be putting it mildly to say there are a lot of references to sex in it. Though it is not something that I would usually pick up, it hooked me and now I have to wait for the second book to come out! I will be reviewing it tonight or tomorrow.

  Warning: Excerpt below contains adult subject matter and some profanity.

Sykosa

by Justin Ordonez

Please enjoy this excerpt from Sykosa, a YA novel (for 18+ readers), by Justin Ordoñez. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

 First period. American history.

Who knows which is worse. At this hour, it’s too early to care. Luckily, it’s never too early to bitch and moan. And she would do so, save her teacher is already on it. He’s up at the board—in shock that not a pupil noticed how his cuff smudged all his bullet points. Like wrist trajectory were her problem. That’s a math problem. And math problems aren’t her problem for another two hours. Yawn. He’s still going on—something about full attention being on…

Her fingernails.

Fingernails, you see, are better than lectures.

Particularly these lectures. Particularly this class.

She wishes nail polish didn’t break the Academy’s Personal Code, then her fingernails could be pretty colors, and she’d feel like a pretty girl. They should let her do her nails in class. It’s no different from doodling. It also increases hygiene, and in high school, that’s nothing to scoff at. She may paint her fingernails this afternoon, just for fun, then remove it and—

Hang on. Her teacher said something will be on a test.

Never mind, she already knows it.

Anyhow, if she does do her nails, she has a problem. She doesn’t know what to do. However, she does know she doesn’t want to do something she’s already done. If she’s gonna do her nails for one night, then it’d be nice if it were a departure of some type. Alas, her brain has no ideas. Being pretty is hard! Yet, she likes it so very much. That does it. She needs to talk to Niko. For one, Niko’s her best friend. Two, Niko’s gifted in the department of being glamorous. And luckily, Niko’s her neighbor, so she drafts a note that she passes across the table.

What should I do with my fingernails?

Niko reads the note in delight, then dies of boredom.

I thought you were gonna share good gossip or something.

No, I want to do my fingernails.

Do something slutty. That’s always good for a thrill.

That’s a good idea.

Niko always has good ideas. Niko’s brilliant!

She wishes she were Niko.

And Niko wishes she were Sykosa’s breasts. That’s me, Sykosa! Well, technically, it’s my breasts. Breasts are an urgent topic for Niko, seeing as her prime puberty years have passed, and to Niko’s horror, she’s all As in the bra and all Ds on her report card. That’s harder on a girl than people think. And it’s why Niko collapses her cheek on her hand, then inconspicuously stares at those far-bigger boobs. Niko thinks she does it for a second or two. In reality, it’s seven or eight. Now, before anyone makes any assumptions, Niko’s not gay. She’s about as boy-crazy as a girl gets. To the point that she collects boyfriends as if they were Girl Scout badges.

And to be fair, this breast-staring is harmless.

Though every girl has her limits.

Hers have been exceeded. Not by Niko, but by Tom. He also has his cheek in hand, his eyes overcome by her chest—for what is maybe ten or eleven seconds.

Unlike Niko, he’s thinking of her as if she were some toy.

He may be right.

In the only snowstorm of the year, as the Academy froze under the sickly sweet smell of a dysfunctional oil furnace, she retreated behind the two bell towers of the Academy chapel. And on that very day, this very boy—in his ski jacket laden with those sticky tags they put on bags at airports—stumbled onto her smoking self and put his tongue in her mouth. It was a bold move. And it impressed her. They didn’t need to “talk.” Besides, it woulda fucked up the moment. I get shy fast. Accordingly, she kissed him until her heart beat so hard she became faint. It meant something. This feeling. She caught her breath. They sat beside each other. Seconds later, she wished they hadn’t stopped, so they restarted, then kept at it.

This time without the tongue.

Niko steals the note, then writes a new one.

Why is he looking at you like that? Only I’m supposed to look at you like that!

Niko’s the type who admits her faults shamelessly. While it’s slightly backward, Niko does so not as a deterrent from such behaviors, but to enable them. She rarely complains. Because that’s Niko. And somehow that excuses everything Niko does. That said, she supposes she’s predisposed to Niko’s jealously over her body, perhaps to the point of flattery. You see, this Tom-thing is nothing. Or if it is something, it’s certainly not enough of something. Not enough for her to buy a prom dress.

Why do you think he is looking at me like that?

Because you * him.

Not to delve too far into the well of note-passing dynamics, but she—and the Queens—use secret codes in case of confiscation. “*” means fuck, in all forms and conjugations. She has not * Tom. She has not * anybody. Her lips quiver at the *. It feels like something she’ll put off until she is thirty. Simultaneously, she also feels like it could happen in the immediate future.

Sometimes she just “knows.”

Gross.

Afraid?

No!

But, she is afraid. Everything is too complicated. It should not have to be. She goes behind the chapel. He goes behind the chapel. They make out. Simple, right? It’s not. Regardless, if even that must be complicated, then certainly the concept that she wants to go to Prom, thus he should ask her to Prom and then they should go to Prom is simple, right? It’s not. You see, he has this best friend, this confidante, this main focus, this everything—and her name is not Sykosa, but Mackenzie.

Or as you will soon find out: “M.” That’s what he calls her.

 

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Sykosa eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Sykosa for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event
4. BONUS: Leave a comment on this post*

Leave a comment, win $100:

One random tour commenter will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just leave a comment on this post, and you'll be entered to win. For a full list of participating blogs, check out the official tour page. You can enter on just my blog or on all of them. Get out there and network!

About the book: YA fiction for the 18+ crowd. Sykosa is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. Set at her best friend’s cottage, for what will be a weekend of unsupervised badness, Sykosa will have to finally confront the major players and issues from this event, as well as decide if she wants to lose her virginity to Tom, her first boyfriend, and the boy who saved her from danger. Get it on Amazon.

About the author: Sykosa is Justin Ordoñez's life's work. He hopes to one day settle down with a nerdy, somewhat introverted woman and own 1 to 4 dogs. Visit Justin on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

The Story That Made Me Smile (Guest Post) by Julie Anne Lindsey

The Story that Made Me Smile

I’m an author. Writing is a business. A smart author examines the market carefully, looking for where there’s room for a fresh voice. I do this now. I look at what I love to read and ask myself where it fits into the current marketplace. Is it too crowded? Can I finally write that story about the sparkly vampire I have in my heart? No? Hmm. *taps chin* Then where can I slide in and fill a need? I even have a spreadsheet now. No joke. It’s serious business over here. Now.

This is now.

Then wasn’t like Now. At all.

Then was the time when I wrote a crazy story about an angel-faced suburban woman who killed people with her cupcakes. By day she volunteered for local charities. By night, she bumbled haplessly, fudging her every attempt to teach anyone a lesson, give them a touch of a tummy “thing” or just show off her mad skills. Quite the contrary.  She is a mess.

I liked Then a lot. I wasn’t encased in the business of it all. I was free to try anything. My one and only goal: make someone smile. Mischief makes me smile, so I added several healthy doses of that, tossed in enough irony to make me drop my chin and sprinkled it all with wine. In the end, I’d created a snowball of a story. One I love all the more today for its confidence to be unique in an overcrowded book world.

Ruby and Charlotte are the best of friends, and they accept each other – body count and all. They stand together. Work together. Plot together : ) In the end, I hope they get the heck out of Dodge because, let’s face it, they aren’t criminals. What they are is endlessly inept and the dearest of characters I hope to never meet, or at least never cross.

If you’re in the mood to let loose and smile at the inconceivable, try my sweet ladies. But don’t try their goodies. You have been warned. LOL Death by Chocolate is available now on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. I hope it will make you smile : )

Death by Chocolate

Ruby Russell has reached her limit. When she discovers her hipster husband has a dirty little secret, she whips him up a Viagra-infused-chocolate mousse punishment, but in the morning, her husband's a stiff. Armed with a lifetime of crime show reruns and Arsenic and Old Lace on DVD, Ruby and her best friend Charlotte try to lay low until after Ruby's son's wedding, but a nosy therapist, meddling minister and local news reporter are making it very difficult to get away with murder.

About Julie:

I am a mother of three, wife to a sane person and Ring Master at the Lindsey Circus. Most days you'll find me online, amped up on caffeine & wielding a book.

You can find my blogging about the writer life at Musings from the Slush Pile

Tweeting my crazy at @JulieALindsey

Reading to soothe my obsession on GoodReads

And other books by me on Amazon

It's Monday! What are you reading? (April 2, 2012)

What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 

Okay - so the only thing I finished last week was The Thirteen (and some other stuff that wasn't even on my list!)  It was Spring Break here and while in my mind that translated into lots of reading - the translation didn't seem to come out the same in the mind of my family!  In addition I had extra family here all week.  I feel like I spent the whole week in the kitchen!

Currently reading: 

Sykosa by Justin Ordonez

Books I need to finish:  (I decided to add a new category for those books that seem to languish from week to week!)

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Books up this week:
Gods and Fathers by James LePore
The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch

Bathroom Book:

The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper

Books read and reviewed since last week:

The Thirteen by Susie Moloney

Aquamarine by Carol Anshaw

Samplers and Samplermaking by Mary Jaene Edwards

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!

Mailbox Monday (April 2, 2012)

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in April by Cindy at Cindy's Love of  Books.  In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren.  Hopefully you will find some must reads in the variety that I received this week.  There are a couple that I can't wait to dive into!

Bloom
by Kelle Hampton


From the outside looking in, Kelle Hampton had the perfect life: a beautiful two-year-old daughter, a loving husband, a thriving photography career, and great friends.  When she learned she was pregnant with her second child, she and her husband, Brett, were ecstatic.  Her pregnancy went smoothly and the ultrasounds showed a beautiful, healthy, high-kicking baby girl.


But when her new daughter was placed in her arms in the delivery room, Kelle knew instantly that something was wrong.  Nella looked different than her two-year-old sister, Lainey, had at birth.  As she watched her friends and family celebrate with champagne toasts and endless photographs, a terrified Kelle was certain that Nella had Down syndrome -- a fear her pediatrician soon confirmed.  Yet gradually Kelle's fear and pain were vanquished by joy, as she embraced the realization that she had been chosen to experience an extraordinary and special gift.


Bloom takes readers on a wondrous journey through Nella's first year of life -- a gripping, hilarious, and intensely poignant trip of transformation in which a mother learns that perfection comes in all different shapes.  It is a story about embracing life and really living it, of being fearless and accepting difference, of going beyond constricting definitions of beauty, and of the awesome power of persepctive.  As Kelle writes, "There is us.  Our Family.  We will embrace this beauty and make something of it.  We will hold our precious gift and know that we are lucky."

A Land More Kind Than Home

by Wiley Cash

For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups.  Adventurous and precocious.  Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump.  Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can't help sneaking a look at something he's not supposed to -- an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess's.  It's a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he's not prepared.  While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil -- but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.

Told by three resonant and evocative characters -- Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past -- A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all.  These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable first novel. 

Oklahoma City:

What the Investigation Missed -- and Why It Still Matters

by Andrew Gumbel & Roger G. Charles

In the early morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove into downtown Oklahoma City in a rented Ryder truck containing a deadly fertilizer bomb that he and his army buddy Terry Nichols had made the previous day.  He parked in a handicapped-parking zone, hopped out of the truck, and walked away into a series of alleys and streets.  Shortly after 9:00 A.M., the bomb obliterated one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, including 19 infants and toddlers.  McVeigh claimed he'd worked only with Nichols, and at least officially, the government believed him. But McVeigh's was just one version of events.  And much of it was wrong.

In Oklahoma City, veteran investigative journalists Andrew Gumbel and Roger G. Charles puncture the myth about what happened on that day -- one that has persisted in the minds of the American public for nearly two decades.  Working with unprecedented access to government documents, a voluminous correspondence with Terry Nichols, and more than 150 interviews with those immediately involved, Gumbel and Charles demonstrate how much was missed beyond the guilt of the two principal defendants: in particular, the dysfunction within the country's law enforcement agencies, which squandered opportunities to penetrate the radical right and prevent the bombing, and the unanswered question of who inspired the plot and who else might have been involved.

To this day, the FBI heralds the Oklahoma City investigation as one of its great triumphs.  In reality, though, its handling of the bombing foreshadowed many of the problems that made the country vulnerable to attach again on 9/11.  Law enforcement agencies could not see past their own rivalries and underestimated the seriousness of the deadly rhetoric coming from the radical far right.  In Oklahoma City, Gumbel and Charles give the fullest, most honest account to date of both the plot and the investigation, drawing a vivid portrait of the unfailingly compelling -- driven, eccentric, fractious, funny, and wildly paranoid -- characters involved. 

More Like Her

by Liza Palmer

In Frances's mind, beautiful, successful, ecstatically married Emma Dunham is the height of female perfection.  Frances, recently dumped with spectacular drama by her boyfriend, aspires to be just like Emma.  So do her close friends and fellow teachers, Lisa and Jill.  But Lisa's too career-focused to find time for a family.  And Jill's recent unexpected pregnancy could have devastating consequences for her less-than-perfect marriage.

Yet sometimes the golden dream you fervently wish for turns out to be not at all what it seems -- like Emma's enviable suburban postcard life, which is about to be brutally cut short by a perfect husband turned killer.  And in the shocking aftermath, three devastated friends are going to have to come to terms with their own secrets. . .l and somehow learn to move forward after their dream is exposed as a lie. 

Secret Heroes:

Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World

by Paul Martin

Not all American heroes appear in the standard history texts.  Their achievements aren't celebrated like the monumental exploits of presidents, generals, and founding fathers.  But for as long as this great nation has existed, ordinary citizens have done extraordinary things.  In Secret Heroes, author Paul Martin spotlights thirty overlooked Americans, all of whom had an impact on their world and ours, including:

Hercules Mulligan, the New York tailor and spy who saved George Washington's life. . . twice!

Jimmie Angel, the gold seeking bush pilot who, in 1933, discovered the world's highest waterfall in Venezuela.

Carl Akeley, a pioneering taxidermist who killed a leopard with his bare hands and inspired Africa's first national park.

Eliza Scidmore, who convinced the government to plant cherry trees in Washington, D.C. . . . after twenty-four years of lobbying!

The Bond:

Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them

by Wayne Pacelle

In countless fascinating ways, our relationship with animals is an essential part of the human experience.  Now, one of the world's leading champions of animal welfare offers a dramatic examination of our age-old bond to all creatures.  Wayne Pacelle explores the many ways animals contribute to our happiness and well-being, and he reveals scientists' newfound understanding of their remarkable emotional and cognitive capacities.  Pacelle also takes on animal cruelty in its many varieties, as well as stubborn opponents of animal protection -- from multinational agribusiness corporations to the National Rifle Association and even our own government.  An instant classic, The Bond reminds us that animals are at the center of our lives, not just a backdrop, and how we treat them is one of the great themes of the human story.

Winged Obsession:

The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler

by Jessica Speart

One of the world's most beautiful endangered species, butterflies are as lucrative as gorillas, pandas, and rhinos on the black market.  In this cutthroat $200 million business, no one was more successful -- or posed a greater ecological danger -- than Yoshi Kojima, the kingpin of butterfly smugglers.

In Winged Obsession, author Jessica Speart tells the riveting true story of rookie U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Ed Newcomer's determined crusade to halt the career of a brazen and ingenious criminal with an almost supernatural sixth sense of survival.  But the story doesn't end there.  Speart chronicles her own attempts, while researching the book, to befriend Kojima before betraying him -- unaware that the cagey smuggler had his own plans to make the writer a player in his illegal butterfly trade. 

Fated (The Soul Seekers, #1)

by Alyson Noel

At the center of it all is Daire Santos, a 16-year-old girl whose life has taken a bizarre turn -- animals follow her, crows mock her, glowing people appear out of nowhere -- and the disturbing visions are getting worse.  Sent to stay with her grandmother in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, it is there that Daire learns of her true calling as a Soul Seeker -- one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead.  Now she must embrace her fate and find out if Dace, the boy in her dreams, is her one true love. . . or if he is allied with the enemy she is destined to destroy. 

 

An Unexpected Guest

by Anne Korkeakivi

Clare Moorhouse is an American in Paris who has been leading a graceful life abroad.  There are pleasures to being married to a high-ranking diplomat, but there are also appearances to be upheld and responsibilities to be executed -- like tonight's unexpected dinner party, one crucial to her husband's career.  As Clare navigates the spring-green streets of Paris, shopping for fresh stalks of asparagus, the right cheeses, and flowers for the table, she is haunted by a brief period of violence in her past that threatens to resurface and crack the immaculate veneer she's worked so hard to achieve.  At tonight's dinner, her husband hopes to receive a new posting.  But to Clare, the potential move means wrestling with a secret that has been deeply and carefully buried for twenty-five years -- or so she thought.

The myriad preparations for dinner are only the beginning of her day's complications.  Clare's son appears on her doorstep, absent without permission from his boarding school.  But much more unsettling is a face in the crowd that she glimpses again and again.  A face that belongs to that other, darker era of her life, and one she never expected to see again.

Like Virginia Woolf did in Mrs. Dalloway, Annd Korkeakivi brilliantly weaves the complexities of an age into an act as deceptively simple as hosting a dinner party in this alluring and timely debut. 

Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells

by Lisa Cach

When Grace Cavanaugh agrees to be a summer companion to her elderly, wealthy Great-Aunt Sophia, she envisions plenty of time to finish her dissertation on sexual politics.  But Sophia has other plans.  With a tart tongue that would put Bette Davis to shame, she sets about transforming her frumpy great-niece into a modern version of the B-movie bombshell Sophia once was, teaching her about men, sexual liberation, and power.  Two very different men provide opportunities for Grace to practice her new skills, but can she truly be both seriously bookish and seriously sexy?  and what does she do when she's attracted to both men?

Wife 22

by Melanie Gideon

Maybe it was my droopy eyelids.

Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her.

Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called "Marriage in the 21st Century" showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life.  It wasn't long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).  And, just like that, I found myself answering questions. . .

7.  Sometimes I tell him he's snoring when he's not snoring so he'll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.

61.  He was cutting peppers for the salad.  I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man's children.

32.  That if we weren't careful, it was possible to forget one another.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor's appointments, family dinners and budgets.  I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I'm also Wife 22.  And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpected turn.  Soon, I'll have to make a decision -- one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life.  But at this moment, I'm too busy answering questons.

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac. 

What books came home to you last week?

Samplers & Samplermakers by Mary Jaene Edmonds (Book Review)

Title: Samplers & Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art 1700 - 1850
Author: Mary Jaene Edwards


About the Book: The history of samplermaking in this country is inextricably tied to the history of women's education, for samplers were made in classrooms and were often the first -- and sometimes only -- step in a young woman's education.

Samplers, which are oblong pieces of linen embellished with patterns embroidered in silk threads, were first brought to America in the seventeenth century by settlers from England and northern Europe.  Their very existence is evidence of early schooling for women in this country.

The first samplers stitched in America were nearly identical in style to their Old World counterparts, but within a few decades they began to take on distinctively American characteristics.  The traditional long, narrow format became larger and wider; brilliant colors were employed with abandon; patterns grew more elaborate; and gradually, the staid vignettes of European embroidery gave way to lively, whimsical scenes of great charm and enormous originality.  By 1776, the formally patterned, exquisitely stitched British sampler had disappeared from the colonies, leaving in its place the most delightful sampler embroideries the world has ever seen.

For over two hundred years, a multitude of remarkable women teachers guided the development of this art form in America, carefully composing the beautiful sampler designs and supervising their execution by young female pupils.  Despite the domestic nature of the craft, samplers were not made at home but were taught and made exclusively in private schools for girls.  As school mistresses and the locations of their early American classrooms have gone largely unrecorded, these astonishing embroideries - which are usually signed, dated, and even sometimes inscribed with the names of the towns in which they were worked and the names of the embroiderers' teachers - serve as historic documents, attesting to the existence of colonial education for women.

My thoughts: As you may have guessed by the name of my blog, I enjoy many forms of needlepoint and samplers have always interested me.  I was very naive in what I knew about samplers though and never realized the importance they played in documenting a young girl's education.  I thought they were taught at home, to teach a girl the alphabet and numbers and also sewing skills at the same time. I never considered they were taught in schools.

It was interesting to learn that you can tell what area of the country as well as when a sampler was stitched based on the patterns and symbols used in the design. This book contains more information that can possibly be absorbed in one reading.  It also contains pages upon pages of beautiful samplers, many of them over a hundred years old.

I have a feeling that this will be a book I revisit as I continue to explore different forms of needlepoint and begin to experiment with making my own samplers.

Samplers & Samplermaking
Publisher/Publication Date: Rizzoli International, 1991
ISBN: 978-0-8478-1396-7
168 pages