F is for Funny, G is for Gritty: Books that keep it light, and books that keep it real

Today I'm celebrating books that keep it light (funny), and books that keep it real (gritty)! 

the challenge

F is for... funny.

My favorite books for laughing:

the challenge

G is for... Gritty

My favorite books that don't sugar-coat it:

C is for Chasers (by James Phelan)

the challenge

C is for Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan

on goodreads

This is my current quick read.

I read the first half in a few hours last night and had trouble sleeping. Yay for prayer! It was only after some hardcore praying that I was able to go to sleep. I think I'll try to read the rest of it during the day and then wash it down with some My Little Pony or something. It's just scary and way too realistic-feeling. There are slow parts, which I appreciate in a zombie-esque post-apocalyptic book, and those real survivor parts make it feel a little like Castaway. Castaway with zombies. So yeah. I gotta say, though, the writing is surprising in a good way. The beginning bit has normal dialogue just like any other book, but after the event happens, the quotation marks all disappear and you get this feeling like it's all happening in Jesse's head, almost. Very interesting mechanism there. I'd say it makes the dialogue feel more urgent, and like it's being processed through the fog of trauma. As a writer myself, I always love to see the ways authors pull off something like that. James Phelan has done a fantastic job on his first YA novel. I'll be reading the whole trilogy. The books are shortish, and take place over only a matter of weeks. I'll keep you updated.

Here's the blurb:

The trip of a lifetime just turned into the end of the world. 

When Jesse crawls out of the wreckage of a subway car and emerges into daylight, he’s greeted by a living nightmare. An unexplained force has destroyed New York City, turning skyscrapers into ash, cutting off all power and communication. Jesse and his new friends, Dave, Anna and Mini are dazed but unhurt. The other survivors are not so lucky. Every human being they encounter is infected, gripped by an unquenchable thirst that drives them to monstrous acts of violence. 

Somehow, Jesse has to escape. But first, he has to stay alive.

What are you reading?

Other current (taking my time) reads are:

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu (fantastic!!)
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Pisher (adorable)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madaleine L'Engle

After the ALONE series by James Phelan, I'll be reading PAS DE DEATH by Amanda Brice (also through NetGalley)

A is for Afterglow, B is for Blog Blitz

I'm a little late to the A to Z blog challenge (and not officially linked or anything) but I liked the idea, so here goes two in one day:

The challenge

First up:



A is for Afterglow Book Reviews where today I reviewed A Bandit's Stolen Heart.

Blurb: 

Under the persona of the bandit Blood Blade, Cilla Richardson robs from the corrupt and gives to the poor. When an accidental kidnapping leaves her with a handsome captive named Leo Forrester, Cilla finds she has the perfect ally at her side to aid in the fight against the town’s corrupt sheriff. 

Leo reluctantly agrees to help by marrying Cilla’s older sister but the more time he spends with Cilla, the more determined Leo is to steal her stubborn bandit’s heart. However, Cilla is just as determined to keep her heart to herself. Then innocent people are murdered, and the sheriff blames Blood Blade. With their allies now their enemies, Leo and Cilla must convince the town of her innocence before she ends up on the wrong end of a hangman’s noose.

It was written by one of my favorite authors/writerly people, Michelle McLean. Get to know her at these places: 

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | like on Facebook | follow on Goodreads | Email | 

Next up:

Today's blog blitz is here. Don't know what a blog blitz is? Read up on it before joining.

A word on my own writing:

I'm partway through a fresh pass on an old manuscript, surprising myself with how much better I can make it by a few calculated insertions of interior monologue, setting details, or clarification of a fuzzy plot hole. It's, dare I say it, fun! Breathing new life into something I thought was long dead has renewed my faith in myself a little bit, which is imperative if I'm going to keep writing. And I have to keep writing.

What are you working on today?

A Valentine-ish Blog Hop: Entangled in Love

(Click here to check out what the other authors are giving away during the Entangled In Love blog hop!)

Michelle McLean, author of TO TRUST A THIEF (which I just reviewed today on Afterglow Book Reviews) is giving away a copy of her brand new book on her blog.

Enter to win here: Entangled in Love Blog Hop

Here's the trailer, as seen on usatoday.com:

Also, join the Entangled authors for a Twitter Party February 8th at 9pm EST.

The deets:
Date : February 8th, 2013.
Time : 9pm EST.
Hashtag : #EntangledInLove
What : We’ll be asking Valentine’s day related questions and each question has prizes to be won! Answer right for a chance to win some of the many awesome prizes!
Where : Follow the instructions below!
1. Go to http://tweetgrid.com/party2. Fill in the hash-tag as #EntangledInLove
3. Fill in the hosts
@entangledpub@totalbookaholic@babsbookbistro@anjanavasan
4. Enter your twitter handle, follow the tweets, answer the questions and you may just get lucky!
Don’t forget to mention the #EntangledInLove hashtag in your replies!
Good Luck!!

It's the Holiday Blog Hop!!

Hosted by Megan Dolan-from This Post Will Self Destruct 

and Jenny Morris from Jenny's Imaginary World

Goal: Write a 250-word story about your favorite holiday. 

I picked Christmas because a) it's the best holiday ever and b) it's so filled with mythology, nobody will mind the addition of one more mythological Christmas creature.

Christmas Star

The strange thing about this Christmas morning isn't my bare feet in the snow.

It's the extra moon lingering in a pale gray sky.

The tiny crescent shape hangs below the actual moon, like a child's crib mobile. I even think I see it dangle a bit in the wind. But that can't be. There's no wind in space. My feet go numb as I stare. I should start moving again, finish my trek from the woodpile before breakfast. But I can't.

The crescent shape turns, its shape changing. Where the second moon once hung, a blob-shaped figure with a pointed head floats, staring back. The alien thing has noticed me noticing it. I stand still, reminded of my run-in with a bobcat last winter. On instinct, I let out a low, guttural growl.

The shape grows, zooms downward. I drop my firewood just as its translucent silver body halts five feet away. This is no bobcat. Its five points tremble: arms, legs, and a head where its face grins, dimpled like a baby.

It whistles. Logs fly through the air, zip through the open front door of my house. I watch in wonder, my feet burning in the snow.

I look back. The chubby star is gone from my porch, from the sky. The sun claws its way over the frozen mountains, and the moon fades away.

I look to the empty spot where my alien friend once floated. A smile breaks my chapped lips.

"Farewell, Christmas Star." 

Check out other 250-word stories about holidays, and get into the spirit:

1.	E.R. King	2.	Untroubled Kingdom
3.	Annalise Green	4.	Abby Fowers
5.	Angie Cothran	6.	Jolene Perry
7.	Jennifer Young	8.	Readin, Writing, and Lovin' It!
9.	An Author's Ramblings	10.	The Ubiquitous Perspective
11.	Deana Barnhart	12.	A Book, A Girl, A Journey
13.	Katrina Lantz -Author