Kate Kaynak Giveaway Winner!

This post comes terribly late - but the winner has already been notified and Kate Kaynak has already sent out the prize - signed copy of Minder - and who is getting this amazing treat?

Sophia L.

Congrats - I hope this post finds the book already at your house!

Thanks to all who entered!

Review: The Ways of Khrem by D. Nathan Hilliard

The Ways of Khrem by D. Nathan Hilliard

Amazon Product Description:
The Ways of Khrem, D. Nathan Hilliard's debut single-author collection, features three interconnected novellas: The Reach of Talanturos, The Cistern, & The Ghost of Candlewalk Lane. Cargill the Bookseller lives a quiet life, in a modest house, overlooking the vast city of Khrem...a magical metropolis of cavernous streets, lofty spires, and dark secrets. His life is turned upside down when Captain Wilhelm Drayton of the City Watch arrives at Cargill's doorstep and confronts him with his criminal past. Now Cargill must assist the Captain in solving mysteries in a city where the villain may not even be human, bringing all of his skills to bear as he finds himself at odds with gods, monsters, and psychopaths alike.






My thoughts: Overall - the whole book was amazing! I truly fell in love with Cargill!  He is the most interesting character!  Of course I love the fact that he has gone from a man with an unsavory profession to being a book seller is so very fun!  The growth of Cargill throughout the three parts is fantastic - I enjoyed every page of this book.  I would recommend this book to both teens and adults.  The book is well written, the characters are wonderful, the language and vocabulary can be tricky at times, but truly makes the story.


The author creates wonderful multifaceted characters.  Each of the main people in the book is so much more than they appear to be at the first meeting.  I was thrilled by the friendships that were created as a result of the first initial meeting in part one.  


The Reach of Talanturos - Part One
In this first part we are introduced to many of the characters that we continue to see throughout the book.  The story is about the captain of the guard of Khrem trying to find a killer - he goes to Cargill for help and so the story begins....I don't want to give away the story so I won't say more about the plot.  As I have already said, the characters and the character development is fantastic.  You can't help but keep turning the pages because of the interactions of the people, even the butler is great.  I would have a hard time picking my favorite in this part of the story because I enjoyed them all for different reasons.  


The Cistern - Part Two
The story continues in part two with many of the same characters while we meet a number of new people, the new people are only in this one part of the book.  This part gives the reader more  of the personalty behind both Cargill and his butler - Grabel.   In this part Cargill and Grabel go to a neighbor's house for an event and a boy falls into a Cistern.  Cargill has to choose to somewhat expose himself and help the family or allow the boy to die to keep his past hidden and his current status intact.  


The Ghost of Candlewalk Lane - Part Three
In part three we are still working with the same main characters, but are allowed to know a bit more about them than before.  The ghost of Candlewalk Lane is the ghost of someone that Cargill used to know and was a good friend of a girl who he loved.  We are introduced to the Cordwood Killer and find out about the victims and their circumstances.  We find ourselves watching Captain Drayton and Cargill working together to find a killer again.  This story shows us a darker side of Cargill, the side he has worked so hard to get away from.  We have the opportunity to learn a bit more about Heinryk and Poole in this last part too - which I enjoyed. 

Thanks followers!

I just wanted to send out a really fast thanks to all my followers - I have been slacking lately and haven't been posting much, so thanks for not giving up on me!

I have been both busy and stressed - I am sure we all are - but over Thanksgiving break my daughter announced that she would be moving out - she is 21, but has been living at home still - so the announcement would have been less shocking if she wasn't moving to Kentucky!!!  Louisville, Kentucky - where she knows NO ONE and plans to find a job (hopefully) working with horses.  So if anyone knows of someone looking for a barn/stable hand or anything of the kind, I would love some feedback.  She dreams of working with horses and has one year of Equine Business Management classes behind her and is working through an Equine Massage program.  Here in southeastern Minnesota there isn't a lot of call for that kind of work - but apparently you need to know someone in the business and so far she doesn't, but she is now in the right place!  I would love any advice available- Thanks.

Anyway - thanks again for hanging in there - I have been working hard to finish up reading all the books I have taken on for review and to get those reviews written.  Stay tuned for them in the next few days!

Review: Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Amazon Product Description:

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run.

Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

Publisher Release Date:  December 28, 2010

My thoughts:

Fantastic story!  I got this story from Net Galley as an ARC.  The story is a fast read, the characters are great!  This was my first Ellen Schreiber read even though I have a number of her books and the students at my school LOVE her stuff.  I am so pleased to have finally read her because now I plan to read more!!!

The author creates characters you can connect with and puts them in situations that you find believable.  I was immediately invested in the story and couldn't put it down.  

I love the relationships between all the characters, especially the growing/changing relationship between Celeste and Brandon.  The author does a nice job of creating an authentic feel to them.  Celeste's relationship with Mr. Worthington is wonderful.  I like how he seems to know her so well.

The author does a great job of portraying typical high school relationships - between both the girls and the boys.  She also is right on with her descriptions of high school life.  

The psychic is a twisting part of the story - didn't expect the way that whole piece turned out.  

The werewolf legend in the story is different from the typical, which is refreshing.  I enjoyed the historical background on the legend.

My favorite characters: 

Celeste -- because she is such a high school girl, but still manages to try to do the right things.  I love that she is open to being a part of Brandon's life even if it's scary - so not the typical high school girl thing to do!

Mr. Worthington - - I picture this little man as similar to the actor telling the story in The Green Mile, if you have seen it.  I love that he becomes a bigger piece of the story as we read.  I won't say more for fear of spoilers.

Brandon - - - who doesn't immediately fall for this one?  As early as his introduction I knew he would be one of my favorites.  He is the hero at the start and remains as such in ways throughout the story.  The scene where the wolves show up at the school is a great one!

My non-favorite characters: 

Nash- because he is such a typical high school jerk boy!  Likes himself entirely too much and thinks of others last, and seems to think of Celeste only in reference to himself.  Of course this is the way he is supposed to be - the way the author built him and she did a fantastic job!!! As a reader, I disliked him from the start!

Dr. Meadows - I thought at the beginning of the story that she would be someone I would love - but no...reasons would be spoilers - but I wanted her to be a friend to Celeste, someone who would help her and be her confidant.  I loved her predictions, but wanted more from her.

What I didn't like:  

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the way that the chapter dividers loaded onto my kindle.  I am guessing that each chapter is divided by a full page picture that just didn't transfer well onto the kindle because it wasn't a finished book.  

My most unfavorite thing: that I read this book as an ARC and now I have to wait even longer for the next book, wishing it were published already!

2011 TBR Challenge

Here is my list of 12 books that have been on my TBR for at least one full year:

1. Marked:  House of Night series - - PC Cast & Kristin Cast - - 1/16/11- reviewed here
2. Betrayed: House of Night series - - PC Cast & Kristin Cast
3. Chosen: House of Night series - - PC Cast & Kristin Cast
4. Untamed: House of Night series - - PC Cast & Kristin Cast
5. Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - - Rick Riordan
6. Titan's Curse: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - - Rick Riordan
7. The Battle of the Labyrinth: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - - Rick Riordan
8. The Last Olympian: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - - Rick Riordan
9. The Hunger Games - - Suzanne Collins
10. Catching Fire - - Suzanne Collins
11. City of Bones - - Cassandra Clare
12. City of Ashes - - Cassandra Clare

Kathi Appelt Blog Tour and Interview!!!

Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath and Keeper (newly released) is on a blog tour and has graciously agreed to allow me to interview her her at The Wormhole.  

Amazon Product Description:

To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed -- in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain.

When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe -- Oh, no..."Maybe" is just too difficult to bear. Kathi Appelt follows up to herNew York Times bestseller, The Underneath, with a tale that will pull right at your very core -- stronger than moon currents -- capturing the crash and echo of the waves and the dark magic of the ocean.

Author Interview:

Q. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A.  It’s been such a long time that I truly can’t remember, but I do remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Beal, who told me that she thought that I’d grow up to be a writer.  So being a writer has been in the fabric of who I am for a very long time. 

Q. How long does it take you to write a book?

A.  Each book seems to have its own time-span.  Both The Underneath and Keeper took about three years from start to finish.  One of the things that might be surprising however, is that the length of the book is not necessarily relative to the length of time it takes to write it.  My picture biography of Lady Bird Johnson, Miss Lady Bird’s Wild Flowers, took six years from beginning to end.  There were many reasons that it took that long, some of which revolved around research, some of which had to do with personal things, but it still took six long years.  Some of my other picture books only took a few weeks.  So, there’s really not one answer. 

Q. How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

A.  I’ve had many, many day jobs, including waitress, book store clerk, seamstress, secretary, etc., but even when I was working at those jobs, I still thought of myself as a writer.  So for instance, I was a “writer who waited tables.”

Q. Always cats or do you like dogs too?

A.  I love dogs, but I don’t want to own one.  I grew up with some wonderful dogs, and they tend to show up in my work.  But I don’t know much about caring for them, plus we have four cats and somehow I’m having a hard time imagining how they would respond to a dog in the mix…okay, I’m not having a hard time.  I know that the poor dog would be total mincemeat at the end of the day.  So for now anyways, no dogs.  When I need a dog fix, I go visit my friend Rose who has the wonderful Stella and Bear. 

Q. What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

A.  Hmmm…a quirk?  I’m not sure I have any kinds of quirks that would be interesting.  I drink a lot of coffee.  I tend to brainstorm in the shower—something about the flow of water gets the flow of ideas going. I’m also a big cat-napper.  If I’m stuck, I can often turn it over to my subconscious brain and take a quick 15-minute nap, and sometimes get unstuck.  I’ve also found that chocolate helps.

Q. Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

A.  I like to clear my desk off, get any filing or correspondence done, before I plunge in.  Otherwise, I go sit on the sofa to write. A messy desk is a huge distraction.  Then again, so is a messy living room.  So, I guess I find the least messy place in the house, and that’s where I work.  But I do feel most productive when I’m at my desk.

Q. What books have most influenced your life?

A.  Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell; the poetry of Rudyard Kipling; just about anything by Cynthia Rylant.

Q. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

A.  I enjoy walking, having dinner with friends, movies and plays.

Q. What is your favorite comfort food?

A.  Mac and cheese.  No question.

Q. What do you think makes a good story?

A.  Authentic characters and an ending that seems inevitable.  When those two things are in place, there’s nothing more satisfying.

Q. Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

A.  Oh boy, I have so many favorites . . . Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver, Shakespeare . . . I think it would take all day to list them, and it seems like they change from time to time.  Basically, I appreciate any author who works hard and writes something that sings to me. 

Thanks so much Kathi for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions and give us all a little bit of insight into what makes you tick!  I was especially thrilled to hear that you were influenced by Black Beauty, as it was this book that fueled my love of reading.  My third grade teacher gave it to me to read and I have loved both that story and reading ever since!!!

Kathi's next stop on her blog tour is The O.W.L. so be sure to swing by there tomorrow!