27.9.12

The Time Will Come #80

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The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
Sorry haven't done one for today but wanted to put up linky in case anyone joined in this week! =)

26.9.12

Waiting on Wednesday #75

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

The Different Girl The Different Girl - Gordon Dahlouist
Published : 1st February 2013
Publisher : Dutton Juvenile 
I really like the sound of this. It sounds as unique as the cover makes it look! I am really interested to see the relationships between these girls and their different personalities. I love seeing how different characters come together. 
This is a male author also which I find strange because the book is focused on females which will be interesting to see how he portrays them. Most male authors tend to write books which have a male main character. Anyway, it sounds really good! =)
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The Blurb :
Four nearly identical girls on a desert island. An unexpected new arrival. A gently warped near future where nothing is quite as it seems.
Veronika. Caroline. Isobel. Eleanor. One blond, one brunette, one redhead, one with hair black as tar. Four otherwise identical girls who spend their days in sync, tasked to learn. But when May, a very different kind of girl—the lone survivor of a recent shipwreck—suddenly and mysteriously arrives on the island, an unsettling mirror is about to be held up to the life the girls have never before questioned.
Sly and unsettling, Gordon Dahlquist’s timeless and evocative storytelling blurs the lines between contemporary and sci-fi with a story that is sure to linger in readers’ minds long after the final page has been turned.

24.9.12

*Review* Coveted by Shawntelle Madison

Coveted (Coveted, #1)   Coveted - Shawntelle Madison
Series : #1 Coveted
Released : 24th April 2012
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Format : Paperback
Source : Author (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you)
Buy : Amazon Paperback (UK/USA)/Book Depository 
Overall rating
Photobucket

 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................
SOMETIMES WHAT YOU COVET IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP.
For werewolf Natalya Stravinsky, the supernatural is nothing extraordinary. What does seem strange is that she’s stuck in her hometown of South Toms River, New Jersey, the outcast of her pack, selling antiques to finicky magical creatures. Restless and recovering from her split with gorgeous ex-boyfriend, Thorn, Nat finds comfort in an unusual place: her obsessively collected stash of holiday trinkets. But complications pile up faster than her ornaments when Thorn returns home—and the two discover that the spark between them remains intense.
Before Nat can sort out their relationship, she must face a more immediate and dangerous problem. Her pack is under attack from the savage Long Island werewolves—and Nat is their first target in a turf war. Toss in a handsome wizard vying for her affection, a therapy group for the anxious and enchanted, and the South Toms River pack leader ready to throw her to the wolves, and it’s enough to give anybody a panic attack. With the stakes as high as the full moon, Nat must summon all of her strength to save her pack and, ultimately, herself.



 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................
In Short
- I straight away became enthralled in Coveted. 
- I really liked the main character, Nat. She is a strong character but is also sensitive and takes things to heart.
- The storyline is fast paced. 
- There are many different characters who are different sorts of paranormal creatures in this book. It really made Coveted unique.  

In Long
I haven’t read a werewolf book for ages so when I was asked whether I would like to review Coveted, I jumped at the chance. It sounded perfect for my werewolf ‘fix’ which was very much needed. Before I started Coveted I had started a few other books which I hadn't been able to get into, Coveted was the total opposite. I straight away found myself enthralled in the story which was a pleasant surprise.

The storyline is really easy to get into because it’s all quite fast paced. I really liked how I was thrown into the story but in a way which still enables you to get to know the characters and what’s going on without jumping into anything too quickly. Everything was gradual, like how I knew that Nat was an outcast but I didn’t know the reason for this and the details involved. It gave me something else to hold out for and to keep me interested in the book as well as the main storyline.

The characters really compliment the storyline, there are all types of characters, some which I loved and others which I disliked. The characters are all different paranormal creatures which was great because I loved seeing them together it made the whole book feel unique and different. I am not always a big fan of the creatures which seem too far retched, luckily I never felt that with Coveted and these creatures actually add to the book.

Nat, the main character, is definitely a character I liked. She is very strong but also has her weakness which made her feel very much real to me. I straight away really liked how kind and sweet she was, she always means well but ends up getting herself into some sort of ‘bother’.

Final Thoughts
Coveted is a great read, I found myself really getting into the whole story as well as involved with the characters, especially Nat who I felt like I befriended. There is so much going on with the relationships developing, the storyline going in different directions as well as the aspects of the pack with their ranking and dynamics.

20.9.12

The Time Will Come #79

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The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
I was a big fan of the first in the series, Forgive my Fins. It was such a fun read but also had an emotional side to the story. I was so excited to read Fins are Forever and had all the intentions to read it straight away. Sadly it hasn't yet happened, I have heard that it's a good read and it nearly has an average rating of 4.00 on goodreads which is quite good! I was hoping to read this in the summer as it's a good summer book but it didn't happen. I am sure I will still enjoy it this winter as I definitely plan to read it this year as soon as possible! 
I believe the third, Just for Fins has been released so if I read this one at least I can start this one straight away! 

The Blurb
On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mer girl, true, but signing the renunciation paperwork will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being human thing once and for all.
Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer-bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form, when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?
The seafoam on the surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up. Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her dreams?

17.9.12

Cover Crazy #76

Hosted by The Book Worms
Arcadia Burns - Kai Meyer 
This cover has me feeling and thinking mixed things with how creepy but also how awesome it is. Just like how Arcadia Awakens made me feel. 
I love this cover because :
- I love how the snake is a nice bright colour and the rest of the cover is black and white. Makes the snake the centre of the cover and stand out. 
- I like how it goes well with the first cover in the series and that they both stand out so much. 
- The orange and black look awesome together!
- I like that it's a simple cover which isn't too crammed with stuff.
Dislike :
- I don't hate the font of the authors name but not that fussed about it either, it's a bit plain and boring. 


Unguarded - Ashley Robertson
WOW!!! The more I look at this cover the more I love it! I have to admit I probably wouldn't love it as much if the main colour wasn't purple but it is so I am in love with it!
I love/like this cover because :
- LOVE all the purple! Beautiful <3
- The whole feel about this cover is magical and so girly and pretty.  
- Really like the scene and how along with the girl it makes a great cover.
- I like how the girl stands out but doesn't dominate the picture. 
Dislike
- Not a big fan of the random curly lines under the title, would look so much better without it!

13.9.12

*Review* Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)  Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry
Released : 31st July 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (USA)/Mira Ink (UK)
Format : Hardback
Source : Publisher (Harlequin)
Buy : Amazon (UK/USA)/Book Depository
Overall rating
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 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.



 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................
In Short
- I became so much more emotional involved in this book than I thought I would. 
- Pushing the Limits has both a great storyline and characters.  
- I fell in love with the main male character very easily. 
- Pushing the Limits is heart warming and heart wrenching. 

In Long
Pushing The Limits really blew my mind away, I have to admit that when I started it I really didn’t expect to become so emotionally involved with this book. It’s the first book to make me cry in a few years and although it may sound stupid I always think a book which makes me cry is a special and well written book!

Pushing The Limits has it all including a great storyline with two characters who are both going through a difficult and tough time in their life. I think this made the book that more intense because both characters were trying to appear strong but anything could ‘break’ them. What I loved even more was having the book from both point of views, one chapters was from Echo’s point of view and the next was Noah’s. This was a massive plus for me and really enabled me to get to know both Echo and Noah enough that I became attached to them and started to care for them as characters.

Noah’s character has so many sides to it which made him feel so real, everyone has different sides to them right? Katie wrote his character in the way where I was able to fall in love with every part of his character; I definitely couldn’t help falling even more for the side of Noah who loved his brothers. His emotions were so raw and he so badly wanted to do good for them.

Echo’s character took a bit more time for me to connect with because she is a hard character who tries to hide her emotions. This wasn’t a negative for me though as I feel it felt more real. As Echo and Noah come together and many different feelings start to arise the book becomes even more emotionally charged.

The storyline isn’t one with massive twists or turns in but yet it still managed to keep me on the ‘edge of my seat’. I was constantly biting my nails while wishing I could read faster to see what was going to happen/develop next. I wished numerous times that I was there at the sides of the characters so I could give them advice.


Final Thoughts
Pushing The Limits is both a heart warming but heart wrenching book at the same time. So many emotions are ‘flying’ around at the same time I found myself feeling the emotions that the characters were feeling and even crying at a certain scene. Such a beautiful story about two well developed characters whose stories will have you feeling so many different feelings.

The Time Will Come #78

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The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
When I received another of Mary Hoopers books called Fallen Grace I read it and really enjoyed it. However I hadn't realised I would enjoy it so much as I don't often like historical books. I then vowed to read more books which I wouldn't normal. When I got Velvet in the post I was really excited to have the chance to read another book by Mary to see whether I enjoyed this was as much (and hoping I did!). 
The blurb never grabbed me as much as the blurb for Fallen Grace did and therefore still haven't got to this one. I will definitely read it one day though as I am pretty sure I will love it! 


The Blurb
Velvet is an orphan. She struggles to make ends meet by working in a steam, laundry, where the work is back-breaking and exhausting. So when she attracts the attention of the glamorous clairvoyant Madame Savoya, she cannot believe her good fortune.

Raised to the status of lady's maid, Velvet is given elegant clothes to wear and is brought to live in a grand house in London. But the longer she works for Madame Savoya, the more she discovers about the mysterious world of a spiritual medium. Velvet soon realises that her employer is not quite what she seems and that this knowledge could put her very life in danger.

12.9.12

Waiting on Wednesday #75

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

Me, Him, Them and It Me,Him, Them and it - Caela Carter
Published : 5th February 2013
Publisher : Bloomsbury
It's kind of strange but just seeing the title to this book I felt like I already wanted to read it. The title tells you a lot and I kind of already guessed what the blurb tells you.
It sounds like a really good read with lots of different things going on including different relationships including child and parents as well as girl and boy and an unplanned pregnancy. Lots of drama going on in this book by the sounds of it.
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The Blurb :
When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow

10.9.12

This or That with Julie Cross

Please welcome Julie Cross to Books for Company. 
Julie is the author of the very popular Tempest with the second in the series, Vortex to be released in 2013. 
Tempest (Tempest, #1)

Where Would You Rather Write?
House or Garden? HOUSE--bugs make me itchy

Cafe or While on the Go? (Car, Bus, Train) TRAIN--more leg room

Park or Library? LIBRARY

Beach or Park? BEACH

Random
Sun or Snow? SUN

Jeans or Leggings? JEANS

Bath or Shower? SHOWER

Chocolate or Wine? NEITHER--I know I'm weird...not a big chocolate fan and I only like fruity dessert wine which I'm usually too embarrassed to order with dinner.

Horror or Comedy? (Movie) COMEDY

Train or Plane? PLANE!

Past or Future? PAST

Tempest is now out in paperback and Vortex will be out in January 2013! =)

Find Julie

Buy Tempest
Amazon (UK/USA)

Cover Crazy #75

Hosted by The Book Worms
Breathe - Abbi Glines
Oh I love romantic covers and this one is so very sweet! So simple but I would definitely pick this one up, I will always be in the mood for a romance!
I love this cover because :
- I love the colour of the sky and clouds, so many different colours, really pretty and makes the cover stand out so much.  
- It's a really cute and romantic cover.
- Love the colour of the title and authors name and how it uses the colours of the clouds and sky.
- It's so simple yet I really think it would stand out on a bookshelf in a shop or library. 
- Well the guy looks rather handsome if I say so myself ;)

Because of Low (Sea Breeze, #2)Because of Low - Abbi Glines
So this cover is the second in the series to Breathe. I honestly don't understand how this can be the same series yet so different. So strange, don't go AT ALL! However as a stand alone I love this cover. 
I love/like this cover because :
- Love how you can't actually see the girls face but the girl is in the cover. 
- Love how the title is arranged, very different and stands out. 
- The cover is actually pretty unique, haven't seen many covers like this. 
- I like the authors name being on the suitcase. 
Dislike
- Not sure about the girls red hair, doesn't seem to go with the theme of the cover. 

8.9.12

*Review * Stitch by Samantha Durante

Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, #1)  Stitch - Samantha Durante
Series : Stitch Trilogy 
Released : 1st August 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Format : Paperback
Source : Author (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you)
Buy : Amazon Paperback (UK/USA)/Amazon Kindle (UK/USA)
Overall rating
Photobucket

 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................
Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.
Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.
Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...



 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................
In Short
- Stitch is an addictive read.
- I loved how I was able to leave the real world for one which Samantha has created. 
- Stitch has great main characters who I warmed to quickly. 
- I loved the twists throughout Stitch. 

In Long
Stitch was a read which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would, after reading the blurb I knew it was my sort of book and I couldn’t wait to read it. However I was pleasantly surprised the further I got into the book with how much was going on and all the twists throughout the book.

Samantha has written Stitch in a way which makes it so easy to get into. Within the first few pages I was engrossed in the storyline and found the book hard to put down. Stitch gave me an impression that it was a totally different sort of book from what it turned out to be and I loved this. I found myself getting so excited when the big twist came; it was totally unexpected for me. I can imagine even if someone had guessed it then it would still be a great twist in the book because from there the storyline moved quickly, taking the characters into a whole new world.

When the real world came back into focus and I had to put Stitch down I found myself just sitting there trying to work it all out in my head, it definitely got me thinking in a great way to get my head around it all. Samantha must have spent so long going over all the big and small details because there is so much more to this book than you can imagine.

Stitch is backed up by great characters that all have their own unique personalities which I was able to connect with. Alessa is the main female character who I liked straight away; she is an easy person to like who has a lot going on in her life but fights back through it all. I found it interesting to see how she coped and faced things head on. Isaac is the main male character who I also really liked. I found myself connecting with him even more when it switched to and from his point of view.


Final Thoughts
 Stitch is a great book which creates a world you will quickly become adsorbed in. I found it hard to put Stitch down as there is constantly so much going on I just wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I look forward to the next two books in this trilogy.

Make sure you check out my interview with Samantha HERE for your chance to win a paperback or e book copy of Stitch!!!

6.9.12

The Time Will Come #77


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The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
I was emailed by the publishers a few times about this was and I could never make my mind up on whether it was for me. People with the same sort of taste as me was saying that it's great and they really enjoyed it so I decided it was definitely worth a go. 
Since I got it, obviously, the time hasn't come yet, I hope it will soon and when it does I really enjoy it like my reviewer friends. I had a flick through it and it seems so strange, being honest I can't imagine liking it myself but I won't know till I try. I hope I do get to it soon, something new and different is never bad!

The Blurb
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. Fiction is based on real black and white photographs. The death of grandfather Abe sends sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and explores abandoned bedrooms and hallways. The children may still live.

5.9.12

Guest Post - Yannis Karatsioris

Please welcome Yannis Karatsioris to Books for Company.
Yannis is the author of The Books of the Forsaken which won the gold medal on authonomy.com's HarperCollins UK hosted competition
The Book of the Forsaken (The Game, #1)
Yannis has written a guest post to tell us how he came to write in English when he is Greek.
Thank you Yannis 

"I was invited by X to talk about my experience on Authonomy, the online platform for writers sponsored by HarperCollins UK.

This invite came as a result of me being and Editor’s Desk winner on Authonomy, the latter meaning I get an award –a review from one of HC’s editors (unofficial consideration for publication too). But before I get into how I made it, and what happened along the way, I’d like to mention that I’m a non-native, I’m Greek actually. And a young one at that, as I just turned 29.

This is the main reason I signed up for the authonomy experience. I wanted to see how good I am in respect to producing literature in a second language. I have already published a fantasy novel in Greece, have already staged a play and have won a national award for a fantasy novelette. But I wasn’t sure I had it in me to compete with English native-plus-talented authors, aspiring as the case may be.

The second reason I chose authonomy and not another site for writers is that I’m a goal-oriented person and knew that I would do my best if there were something tangible at the end of the road. Being reviewed by HC felt tangible enough. So I registered and uploaded the 10k words that is the minimum for one to take part and go public.

The response to the story from the community was immediate and I hit #40 (out of six or seven thousand books at the moment) within two months. The shinning reviews made me doubt my earlier doubts and I thought I actually had a chance. I won the gold medal this February, after six months of being reviewed by the members of the site.

I learned a good deal of things regarding the editing and/or revising my manuscripts, I met great people, made a handful of friends and I answered the question whether as a non-native writer I’m good enough to be read out of Greece.

Yes, I am.

After submitting the manuscript to thirty agents, (a low number for those who know how this works) only because I chose who to submit to carefully, I got the known polite response twenty something times and two positive comments. I chose not to contact indie and other small publishers and just go with it on my own.

“The Book of the Forsaken” is available for less than a month now after being proofread and edited, both in Kindle format and as a paperback. And all one has to do is read the opening pages to see how different and engaging the book is.

It has a long way to go, but as I said, I’m goal-oriented…"


Author’s Short Bio:
Yannis Karatsioris, Greek born and raised, is 29 years old and lives in Athens, Greece. He has already staged a play, published a fantasy novel in Greek and, after winning with The Book of the Forsaken the gold medal on HarperCollins' competition on authonomy.com, is now making his first steps in the publishing world out of Greece. It is the first of a series called “The Game” series.
His tastes, dark and sarcastic, guide him to a style reminiscent of Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Jonathon Stroud and Mikhail Bulghakoff.
More about Yannis and his writing? www.yanniskarats.com


Find Yannis
Facebook

Buy The Book of The Forsaken
Amazon (UK/USA)

Blog Tour - Author Interview with Samantha Durante

Samantha Durante
Please welcome Samantha to Books for Company. I really appreciate you stopping by Books for Company, I'm very excited to put this interview up as I loved reading it myself. Knowing there is more to come after Stitch has got me so excited, especially knowing there is so much more to come.

Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, #1)
Samantha is the author of the recently released book called 'Stitch'. I have read Stitch and absolutely loved it (My review will be up VERY soon!)

Please describe Stitch in three words?
Oooh, this is hard!  If there’s one thing I’m NOT, it’s succinct, haha.  Okay, here goes: Surprising.  Twisty.  Different.

When did the idea for Stitch first arise and how long from having the idea till you finished the book?
I got the idea just a few weeks before I started writing it, and I was so excited about it that I started planning the book and writing it pretty much immediately.  I finished the first draft about four and a half months after first thinking of the idea.

Who designed the cover for Stitch? (I love it btw!)
Thank you!  All the credit goes to Damon at Damonza.com.  I had some ideas about the general look and feel and some elements I wanted to incorporate, but he really brought everything to life.  I’ve been getting SO many compliments about the cover, I can’t even tell you – Damon, you are amazing.  (Read more about the cover design process in my
 
September 13th guest post at Darlene’s Book Nook).

How did you choose the names for your main characters?
They honestly just came to me – I don’t know how else to describe it.  I tried to think of names that were a little less common, but still familiar, and that just sounded right for the character I was picturing in my head, and these are the ones that popped into my head.  Alessa, Isaac, Janie, and Joe were just how I thought of these people.  I struggled with Joe a bit since I think that name is a little more boring compared to the others – I think we all know about a million Joes – but when I tried to call him something else, it just didn’t feel right, so I stuck with it.

Once I thought of those names, I did the online baby book thing to look up the names and see if the meanings had anything to do with the characters I was envisioning.  Alessa turned out to mean “defender” which is perfect for her and really solidified that I’d picked the right one for my main character.  Her last name, Khole, means “victory of the people” which is also awesome for a heroine, don’t you think?

The meanings associated with Isaac Mason were less spot-on.  Isaac means “he who laughs” which is appropriate since he’s a bit of a jokester, but that’s not something I would say is a huge part of his personality or his defining trait in any way.  And his last name, Mason, just means bricklayer, or more broadly “one who makes” which I guess is somewhat relevant but again not really so perfect (like it happened to be in Alessa’s case).  So really I just picked Isaac’s name because I liked it.  And that was how it went with most of the others in general!

Did you have the whole series planned out before starting the books or did you go along with the characters?
Planned, totally.  I figured out the whole backstory, the timeline, the major plot points in each chapter – all before I wrote a word.  I’m pretty much a compulsive planner when it comes to any area of my life, and my writing is no exception.  If I made any mistake with Stitch, it was not planning enough!  There were a couple areas of the book where I wasn’t sure what to do at first, so I thought I would try out the going-with-the-characters thing, and those ended up being the most boring spots or needing the most rewriting.  From now on, I will plan every detail of every scene and make sure it’s awesome before I write it.

What's the main three things you need when you are writing?
1. To be in the right mood.  If I’m distracted or just can’t lose myself in the story for whatever reason, it’s hard for me.  I find it’s better to just put it aside and come back at another time when I’m feeling it.  Usually, if I opt not to write one evening I’ll wake up the next morning raring to go, so that works pretty well for me.

2. Quiet, or at least no songs/TV with words.  I’m most productive in silence, with no TV or music on, and my cat napping next to (or on) me, so that’s how I prefer to work.  I’m pretty flexible, though, since I’m also pretty good at tuning things out.  So if my fiancé is home and watching sports or something, I can generally still get a lot done.  But if he starts playing music I know the words to or TV shows where people are talking to each other, it’s over.  Which is why I usually write in the mornings when he’s still asleep!  It’s hard to get any peace and quiet in a 600 square foot apartment (thank you, Manhattan)... I’m REALLY looking forward to having a dedicated office in the house we’re buying!

3. My laptop.  I’m useless without this thing.  I could never write so much by hand, and even on other people’s computers, I just can’t type quickly enough to keep up with words flowing out of my brain.

What is the main feeling you want readers to come away with after reading your book?
I want them excited for the next book!  There’s nothing I love more than finishing a great book and knowing there’s more yet to come.  As frustrating as it is to wait for the next installment, that’s my favorite way to end a book – just craving the next in the series.  I also hope that readers come away from Stitch feeling like they’ve read something a little a different and feeling curious about the details of the world that Alessa lives in and her background and that of the other characters.  There’s still so much more to reveal, so many different facets of these characters to explore – I just hope readers are as excited for the next one as I am.  



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A book blog featuring Romance, Dark Romance and New Adult