Saturday, October 31, 2015

Stacking the Shelves #17

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks.
 
Books I Got From the Library:
The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett
 
Books I Plan to Finish:
The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
 
Books I Plan to Start:
The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano
 
Books I Finished:
Hourglass by Claudia Gray
Air Awakens by Elise Kova
Fall With Me by J. Lynn
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
 
Books I Reviewed:
Ensnared (Splintered, #3)Siege and Storm (The Grisha, #2)Opal (Lux, #3)Hallowed (Unearthly, #2)Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)Be with Me (Wait for You, #2)Air Awakens (Air Awakens, #1)Infinite (Newsoul, #3)

Books I Plan to Review:
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
 
I finally wrote my post talking about going to Grand Rapids Comic Con and meeting Susan Dennard, to see that go here!


School is getting more intense, so I haven't had too much time recently. I also have a pretty important project to work on, and that will require a lot of reading. I'm just hoping I can organize my time well. It's something I REALLY need to work on!


What have you gotten recently?


Grand Rapid Comic Con and Meeting Susan Dennard

(Banner from website)

A few weeks ago I went to my very first Comic Con. Yeah, it's just the Grand Rapids one, which is pretty small when compared to others. But it was still super huge for me. This was my first Comic Con, any type of Con in general, and my first time meeting an author. What can I say? Authors rarely visit the MidWest, Michigan especially. I think we're pretty cool for looking like a mitten, but I guess you can't please everyone. This was just so cool because Susan Dennard, one of my all-time favorite authors was there!

*BEWARE: Be prepared for mass amounts of fangirling*

Susan was there giving a presentation about writing, publishing, and being an author. Her advice on her website is amazing, so being able to see a presentation in person was really helpful. By the way, if you haven't read any of her advice, go do it now. It's fantastic and she has advice for pretty much anything and everything. Her advice made me feel like I could actually do this writing thing! She's just so encouraging and will break everything down so it doesn't look so big and scary. Many authors tell people to just write when they ask for advice; Susan gives in depth how-tos. You can tell she puts so much effort into it.

Anyway, her presentation was super helpful and funny and she answered so many questions. She used her experience as an example and emphasized that the process is different for everyone and how the process of writing, getting an agent, editing, finding a publisher, and finally getting published is long. It's not immediate. It takes years. Yeah, that doesn't sound super positive, but it's worth it in the end! I learned so much during the presentation, and have a lot of extra advice to look back on while writing.

Afterwards, she had a signing and that was definitely the highlight, I'm not saying her presentation wasn't great, but I was super excited for this part. I was like second in line or something and the line got long pretty quickly. I just have to say how incredibly nervous I was. I was super excited and was shaking like a chihuahua. And I can't blame it on too much coffee, which I'm actually happy I didn't have any. But I met her and I was super awkward and I was embarrassed and felt terrible for it. I feel like I need to apologize for the rest of my life.

I got a picture with her! (Look at me in all my awkward glory)

She signed my books! (But I guess that's what the purpose of a signing is)

And I got swag!(I've been eyeing those character cards for a while)

And I got the Truthwitch poster!

And I finally got to use the tote I won from Bookiemoji! (Isn't it cute!?)

I actually didn't get many pictures of the Con itself, but it was so cool. There were a couple other YA authors who did panels, Kody Keplinger and Mindy Arnett, but those were on different days, so I didn't attend them. I'd love to go back next year, and hopefully more authors can come!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday #23: "Assassin's Heart" by Sarah Ahiers

 
 
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Assassin's Heart

Title: "Assassin's Heart" 
Author: Sarah Ahiers 
Expected Publication: February 2, 2016

Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahAhiers
 
In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

I'm not a fan of Romeo and Juliet, I mean overdramatic teenagers? Ew. But this sounds basass. This Juliet isn't gonna go down without a fight, even if that fight is with her Romeo! You better watch out for her!

Preorder

What are you waiting on?

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday #37: Halloween: Horror and Other Creepy Books on My TBR

 
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
 
This Week's Topic: 
Halloween: Horror and Other Creepy Books on My TBR
 
1.
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1) 
"Anna Dressed in Blood" by Kendare Blake
 
2.
Every Other Day 
"Every Other Day" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
 
3.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)
"The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" by Michelle Hodkin
 
4.
Blood and Salt (Blood and Salt, #1) 
"Blood and Salt" by Kim Liggett
 
5.
A Madness So Discreet 
"A Madness So Discreet" by Mindy McGinnis
 
6.
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys 
"Slasher Girls & Monster Boys" by Various Authors
 
7.
The Forbidden Game (The Forbidden Game, #1-3)
"The Forbidden Game" by L.J. Smith
 
8.
Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice (Thirst, #1) 
"Thirst" by Christopher Pike
 
9.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1)
"The Forest of Hands and Teeth" by Carrie Ryan
 
10.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown 
"The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black 
 
I haven't read too many books that I think would be considered Horror, probably just creepy. Maybe I'll read "Slasher Girls and Monster Boys during" Halloween!


Sunday, October 25, 2015

NaNoWriMo 2016



As I'm sure many bloggers know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It's when the entire month of November is dedicated to finally writing that book that you've been dreaming about, but keep thinking will never happen. The end goal being a 50,000 word rough draft.
 
Last year, I decided that I'd give this thing a try. I didn't think much would come from it. I had always wanted to write a book since I was little, but didn't think it'd ever happen. Plus, I was (and still am) a college student who spends most of her time either in class, studying, or working. Hey, college ain't cheap. But I thought that signing up may finally kick my butt in gear. I was also following Susan Dennard's newsletter (follow here), and she was talking about NaNo. She also had all of these worksheets and printables for your progress, which was super encouraging. I'd also seen other authors talk about how they'd written their amazing books during these month-long writing sprints. With those printables (I'm not sure if she'll have them again this year), those authors' successes, and Susan Dennard's website dedicated to helping budding authors (here), I set out on my journey.
 
I didn't expect much, but to my surprise I got around 33K done during that time and part of December. Sure, it's pretty crappy right now and I would NEVER dream of anyone looking at it right now, but I got started. I actually set out to do something I had dreaming about for most of my life. After that, I continued to write a little bit more, but then life got crazy, so that Word Doc has been collected dust for a couple months.
 
I've decided that I'm going to do it again this year and try to not aim too high, since I know I'll be pretty easy. All I really have to do is decide if I want to go back to my current WIP or maybe start a new one. My other ideas are really just ideas, only one or two have a little bit of an outline, so if I chose one of them, the month would likely be dedicated to outlining.
 
So if you're going to be participating, let me know! We can go on this journey together! Here is my profile! Sadly, you cannot change your name. I wish I could, but I'd have to delete my account and create a new one... after 30 days. You need to fix this NaNo. It can't be that hard. But anyways, if you're joining and you want someone to talk to while doing it, just let me know!
 
Good luck and happy writing!