Enter to Win Deus by Nely Cab!

Nely Cab, the author of the incredible book Creatura, has a new book out, and you can win it in various ways! The best way to enter is to check out her website here.

You can also enter to win the book on Goodreads.

Another option is to buy the book on Amazon.

Check out Upcoming book A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper

I can't wait for this book, and it comes out later this month!

You can buy the book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. Be sure to check out what is sure to be an incredibly funny and touching romance! Learn more about the book on Goodreads.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

Win Creatura from Author Nely Cab

Check out this awesome contest for a signed copy of Nely Cab's book Creatura! I've already entered to win; are you going to do the same?

Click here to go to Nely's site and enter!

'Elemental Reality' by Cesya MaRae Cuono — A Review

I came into 'Elemental Reality' with no idea what to think of it. However, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! What a phenomenal book! From the first page to the last, I wanted to know more about Callie and everything she's going through. I loved seeing her reactions to gaining her powers as well as falling in love with Oli (her soul mate/next door neighbor). They're such an adorable couple and their UST had me turning on the fans in my room to cool off!

A lot happens in Elemental Reality, especially since it's the introductory book to a series. After we meet Callie and her friends and family, the plot is slowly revealed. It's Callie's birthday and she's somewhat depressed, since on her birthday many years previously, her mother left the family for no apparent reason. We soon learn that all is not as it seems, and Callie's mother left to protect her two daughters. We also learn that Callie is more than human and has special powers. Quickly after learning about her powers and the truth of her mother's disappearance, Callie goes out to try and save her mother with the help of her family and several new friends, and discovers that she has some powerful new enemies...

Overall, I really enjoyed 'Elemental Reality' and could not put it down! However, I don't like where the book left off and really wish the cliff-hanger hadn't been such a harsh tone to end on. It was jarring and discomfiting to have a somewhat nice ending suddenly turn into something very dark. I feel like that was done in the style of a television show and didn't work in the medium of text.

I really enjoyed seeing Callie come into her powers, as well as her awkward first attempts to use them. It's made ever better by her two best friends who are there for her throughout the entire book. I also really loved seeing how Callie met Oli (short for Oliver) and seeing their relationship begin and strengthen. Not many writers pull off the building relationship as well as Cesya did!

As I stated above, the only thing that threw me as a reader was the jarring end to the story. It felt awkward and uncomfortable.

However, this was such an excellent read and I was so involved with this story, I easily and confidently have to give 'Elemental Reality' 5 stars. It's a fantastic story!

Elizabeth Naughton's New Book Contest

Ray Bradbury's 89th Birthday!

I WENT TO RAY BRADBURY'S 89TH BIRTHDAY!!! It was AWESOME! Basically, it was a signing at a bookstore in Glendale, CA, and I went with my awesome godmom Wendy! It was fun, and I saw a few other writers besides Ray. Plus, it was Wendy and Wendy time, and that's always a great thing! My godmom ROCKS! She's one of the most interesting people I know (same goes for her friends), and the way she shares experiences like the signings I've gone to with her are incredibly special to me. I treasure each one!

That being said, I do have a few pics to share. Some come from my camera, others come from my godmom and her friends, which I got and share here (with permission) via facebook.

Here are mine:


Me and Ray as he signs my copy of Fahrenheit 451...


Me and Ray again, just after he'd finished signing my book...


My Godmom Wendy and Earl Hamner, Jr.

As for the pics I didn't take:


Earl Hamner, Jr., My Godmom Wendy, Me, George Clayton Johnson, & Jackie Estrada...

Another Sherrilyn Kenyon Signing!

Today was the third stop on Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Bad Moon Rising" book tour (and by the way, an EXCELLENT read for fans of the series!), and today's stop was the only signing I'm able to attend. This year, instead of being at my favorite bookstore Dark Delicacies, the signing was held at the Buena Vista Library. VERY nice place! There were a lot of people there! I ran into a ton of old friends/fellow Kenyon Minions while there, and had a ball discussing Sherri's books and more recent plot points with them!

I got there around 4 pm, about an hour after most of my friends had arrived, looking forward to great seats and seeing everyone else. I immediately looked for my friend Seri, since I see her very rarely, and luckily for me, there was a seat in the row in front of hers which I was able to take so that we could chat while awaiting Sherri's arrival.

Luckily for everyone present, Sherri was early, along with her friend and fellow writer Dianna Love (another very talented woman), so the "chat" prior to the signing started early. (And even with that, I lucked out. I was #36 in line for the signing, and there were at least 115 people in the audience who were getting books signed!) Sherri made everyone in the audience laugh with her comments about the books, the stories she told, etc. Plus, her back-and-forth with Dianna was pretty hysterical too! Sherri talked a little about upcoming books (mostly to the effect of "Well, such-and-such thing WILL happen... EVENTUALLY!"), a little about a couple of her other series, and then just "sparred" verbally with the audience! Let's just say that there's a reason people "heckle" Sherri, and it's NOT to be negative! It's to promote open, easy, REAL conversation between the fans and their favorite author. In fact, the heckling ended up leading to some pretty amusing stories!

Yes, it was great fun, and even better because I got to see Sherri so quickly after Comic-Con! This is now the second year where I've gone to Comic-Con, hung out with Sherri there, and then less than a month later seen Sherri again! Last time, it was for the end of arc 1 of the Dark-Hunter series, and the book for the main character, Acheron. This time, it was for a book that travels throughout previous books, only from a point of view that wasn't available then. Fang Kattalakis is QUITE the hero in the book! It was so worth buying the book on Tuesday (the release date aka 8/4/09), then returning it and buying it again for my place in line at the signing!

Of course, now I won't see Sherri again for another year, but somehow, I think I'll survive, seeing as Sherri is such a wonderful woman, and I had so much fun when I saw her today at the signing, and a couple weeks ago at Comic-Con. Plus, I can keep in touch with her via my Akri Erin!

Update to Yesterday Night's Michele Lang Post...

All right, I've gotten an email back from Michele Lang, in which she offered me a .pdf of her book, "Mists of Manhattan." Of course, I'm happily taking her up on her her offer, but I also wish to help her in return. I hope that she takes my advice about offering the two books, "Ms. Pendragon" and "Mists of Manhattan" as free egifts to people, then uses that offer to promote an enhanced version of both books as Print On Demand books. I think that's a good way to get more fans to her books and promote herself well. I know that if Michele follows my suggestion, I'll be right there on various messageboards and promoting the hell out of the books, since I believe in them and the sheer enjoyment just reading "Ms. Pendragon" has given me. I really do believe that one good turn deserves another, and as I'm one of those "obsessive" people who is quite literally addicted to a good story enough that I'll read it hundreds of times over just to get every nuance I can from a story, I really want to help share the love of a good book.

I Hate Not Being Able to Find What I'm Searching For...

Well, here's a fact about me: I'm a huge reader, especially of romance novels. So long as they're not types that I've (mostly) outgrown *cough*Harlequin*cough,* I'll happily sit down and devour or redevour several of them a day. However, there can be a negative aspect to being so addicted to romances...

The complete down you get when you search for a book only to realize that it's out of print (OOP) and you can't even find a copy of it on Amazon.com or eBay. Well, that's what's happened to me over the last rereading of a book I really enjoyed.

First, the book that I do have, which is also the first book of the two. It is by Michele Lang, who is quite the talented author. The book is "Ms. Pendragon," and tells the story of Gwen, a modern woman who is the reincarnation of the Guinevere of Arthurian legend. She is being haunted by Mordred, the son of Arthur Pendragon and his half-sister Morgana. After putting a holding spell on Mordred (by sheer luck), Gwen runs down to the business of her dearest friend, who is a Wiccan priestess. While there, the one and only fabulous Merlin shows up. Basically, Gwen is sent back in time to prevent something bad from happening. There is a lot of action, and heaps of adventure, but the ending is one that simply satisfies, yet still leaves the reader wanting more. To top it off, the first chapter or two of the sequel is also included.

And THAT, is where my problems begin. I had brought the book to my Sociology 101 class the other day, to quote a line that went along with the topics being discussed that day. When I got home, I searched for the sequel, "Mists of Manhattan," only to discover that Amazon did not have any copies for sale, even used. After that, I went and searched eBay, once again with no luck, and then finally giving up and using google to do yet another search. Yet none of my searches yielded any fruit, and now I'm left hungry for more and unsatisfied. I even went to the length of going on Michele Lang's site and searching for more information, only to discover that the company that had published and owned the rights to the books had gone under, which leaves Michele with the rights to her stories. I wonder why she won't at least be her own publisher, since many authors can now go that route with POD (print on demand). It seems to me that this would be a good way to both satisfy fans and still make a profit off of older books....

But oh man oh man do I want a copy of "Mists of Manhattan!" That first "Ms. Pendragon" just got me hooked, and I'm just going crazy trying to find more about the world that Lang created!