In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by amazing Kristi @ The Story Siren.
Last week, I told you guys that I won't add too much books on my Review shelf since my midterm is near. Now, it's practically banging on my door, screaming to me to start studying, and haunting me when I'm sleeping. No, I'm not being melodramatic. Well, okay... a little.
I received this as a gift from an Aussie friend. Yay! I can't wait to see what happens to Violet. Hopefully she has more fun in this book (and less grumpy)! :)
I can't wait to dive in and start reading the books! They all look like awesome read! Enticed's Aussie cover is really enticing, I love the model in the cover! And it has been so long since I read MG titles, so hopefully Jake and Lily would be a fun read! :)
Happy reading and have a wonderful week! I hope everyone has great books in their mailbox!
Sophie was never interested in guys and she think that would change
when she got in college. However, she never dreamed that her dream guy
would show up in the strangest way possible. A psychic tells her that
there is a spirit beside her, and much to Sophie’s shock, the spirit is
the guy whose face keep haunting her since she was little. The guy whom
Sophie always draws in her sketchbook. The guy who must be the reason
why she had never attracted to other guys.
Charming is a really cute story that will make you smile and giggle
along the story. Charlie definitely earns his nickname, and he keeps
saying sweet things that make you can’t help but wish for a guy like
him. Sophie is a lovely character and I like it that she accepts all the
recent things happening around her really well. I like the secondary
characters in this book. There is a little plot about Rylee in the story
when she finds her own soulmate, and it’s really cute. I find the whole
storyline is fairly easy to predict.
I found this book unintentionally and finished it in really short
time. I read too much books with twisted plots and conspiracy at that
time so it feels nice to read something light, simple, and romantic. I
think this book is perfect for Friday night when there have been too
many things going on in life, and you need something light to cheer your
day. Preferably with the company of a cup of hot chocolate.
Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to welcome Susie Kaye Lopez in my blog. I read Susie's debut book, Charming, last year and completely hooked! The story is simple yet very romantic and engaging. Full review will be posted on Saturday!
The
interview
Charming is your debut novel (YAY!). Tell us, how did it feel when you read the first book review on Charming?
Reviews are interesting. My very first review was very positive, and
it made me smile all day long! Luckily, nearly all my reviews have been
good ones. It makes me so happy when readers take the time to let me
know they enjoyed Charming and Sophie's story.
Where and how did you get the muse to write Charming?
Hard as it may be to believe, Charming was inspired by a real life
experience. My daughter Morgan was having brunch with friends in San
Francisco when a woman approached her and told her she had a spirit
guide beside her. Thinking the lady was making it up, she forgot all
about it until two weeks later. She was out in Los Angeles when another
woman came up to her with the same message, there was a spirit present
by her side. I decided it would make a great plot for a novel!
That's super cool! I think the answer is obvious, but which character gets the most of your soul?
That would definitely be Sophie. I spent a year telling a story
through her, and it would be impossible for me not to have given her a
piece of my heart and soul.
In Charming, we get to see Sophie meeting psychics that give her
valuable information along the book. Have you ever meet a psychic and
get your future read?
No, but I would love to visit a psychic one day
What book has made you wish you were the one who wrote it?
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. I'm sure this isn't an original
answer, but those books inspired me to write my own paranormal romance
tale.
Twilight sure has its magic! What has been your best moment being an author so far?
My best moment as an author has to be when I saw the finished cover.
It finally sunk in that I was a published author, and made it all feel
real!
Imagination-escape round!
If you were a Greek Goddess, who do you think you would be?
I would be Psyche, Goddess of the Soul. She married Eros, the God of
Love, and their myth is how the soul and love came together. I write
about and believe in soul mates, so it's perfect!
You could ask for one thing in life, and it’s ANYTHING. What would you like to ask?
To have one of my books made into a movie!
It’s a beautiful and pleasant day like every day. Suddenly, your
parents tell you that you’re not human (surprise!). What creature would
you be?
Witch, but a good witch who uses her powers for good.
If you could live in a different time in history, what time would you pick?
I'd like to have been a teenager in the 1950s, complete with a poodle skirt and saddle shoes.
GOSH, that's Robert Pattinson in your picture!! Yes, REAL Rob! Wow, how did you get to meet him?? *me trying to find a way to stalk him*
How
did I meet Rob? My daughter Megan knows him. Megan's boyfriend is the Bass
guitarist for the Sam Bradley band. Sam Bradley and Rob are childhood best
friends. The night I met him he was backstage after one of their LA concerts.
He was really friendly and very gracious about taking this picture. I had
finished Charming a day or two before so it was quite an amazing week for me! When I met him I was thrilled! I just said hello and "I'm going to
embarrass my kids right now" and made my entire family take a photo with
him! My daughter looked at Rob and said, "sorry about my mom" and he
smiled and said that's okay! That picture was our Christmas card that
year!
Oh wow, that's super lucky of you! Maybe we can picture Rob as Charming now! Thank you so much for taking your time doing the interview, Susie! Susie's next book, The Saddest Song, will come out this Summer! It is the story of a girl who loses her boyfriend in an accident and how
she and his family learn to live without him. While it is not a sequel,
all the characters from Charming are in it and we get to see Sophie
and Charming in some special moments. Don't worry, you can still read the book even though you haven't read Charming yet!
A little bit
about Susie:
Susie Kaye Lopez lives in San
Diego, Ca. with her husband, three children, two chihuahuas, and her
fifteen year old cat. Susie's interests include reading, music,
shopping, and a healthy obsession with all things "Twilight". "Charming"
is her first novel.
Grab your
copy of Charming! from Goodreads: Three psychics in two countries with the same message can't be wrong, can they? Sophie Lancaster is about to find out.
Going off to college is stressful enough without throwing in the
revelation that someone has been watching you your entire life. This is
Sophie's reality when she is informed that her soul mate from a former
lifetime is by her side. A practical skeptic when it comes to love,
Sophie refuses to believe this could be true. However, as the pieces of
the puzzle fall into place, she finds it is becoming impossible to deny.
It is not until Sophie meets her soul mate in a dream and recognizes
him immediately that she surrenders to the truth. He is the boy she has
been sketching her entire life, the one she calls Charming. Suddenly in
the midst of her own fairytale, Sophie soon finds herself in an
impossible love that she'd do anything to keep. But are the soul mates
destined to live their life together only in dreams?
And now, super amazing Susie is giving away three ecopies of her book, Charming! It's international so everyone can enter for a chance to win her amazing book!
This is my fist time doing the giveaway with Rafflecopter, so if there's something that doesn't work, please let me know! :)
Opens until March 31. Winners will be notified via email. Good luck to all of you! :)
Have you registered yourself as Panem Citizen and received your identity card?
Yes, you heard me right. Now you can register yourself as Panem citizen!
Citizens of Panem: your Capitol would like to
remind you to keep your District Identification Press up-to-date. If you
have not yet registered, continue through the link below to complete the
Citizen application process. May the odds be ever in your favor!
You will have the option to
identify yourself via Facebook or Twitter. You also get to choose your own
photo in the ID card. In the end, you should receive a card like this:
I know, I was really EXCITED when I saw the awesome ID cards too!
Just for head up, you CAN'T choose your district. And I get... *no, I don't need drumroll for this quiet announcement*
District 3. Technology.
*sniff*
It's not like I hate District 3... I mean, Beetee and Wiress are from District 3! As we all know, Beetee plays a really important part in Catching Fire, and he's the one who makes Katniss' super cool bow later. So it's not like I despise District 3. If only, if only I get...
If only I get District 4.
I love Finnick too much. Yay.
This is my identity card. I slightly *cough* edit it:
At least I'm a Technical Support and the job sounds really cool. My friend tried this too and she got District 11. She becomes gardener. :P
Seriously, it feels a lot like sorted into different houses by Sorting Hat. Well, despite my rambling, I still think that the website is awesome! You really should check it out. So what are you guys waiting for? Go toour new government site and get your identity card! Then tell me what district and assigned occupation you got! :)
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by amazing Kristi @ The Story Siren.
Since I don't do this meme last week, this edition is a wrap up for two weeks. My mid-term is getting closer (horror!), so I'm determined to limit my books until mid April. Finger crossed I'll still be able to finish at least two books a week! :)
Krista
contacted me and I've never read any book about selkie, so I think I
have to try this out! Can't resist the idea of forbidden love! Watch out
for review + GIVEAWAY next month! :)
I've
been wanting this book since the moment I saw it on my Goodreads
recommendation. The idea of this book reminds me of Thirteen Reasons Why
(which is amazing!).
It
has been such a long time since I read novel in verse. The story is
very simple yet sad. I finished this book yesterday, and it only took me
about two hours to finish it! Review will be posted tomorrow. :)
I
read so many Contemporary titles lately... now I'm in desperate need
for Dystopian fix. So many good review on this book, hopefully I'm going
to like this book too!
Brie’s life ends even before she has a taste of sweet sixteen. Her
boyfriend, Jason, said the deadly words, “I don’t love you.” The shock
in his words breaks Brie’s heart literally. Now Brie is a ghost, unable
to rewind anything. She is determined to make Jason pay for his fault.
Along with his new ghost partner-in-crime Patrick, Brie goes to visit
Jason and take revenge on him. But things on Earth have been different
after her death. Her family is torn apart, and Jason seems to have a
special relationship with Brie’s best friend, Sadie.
Brie has to go through five stages before she can go to Heaven for
real. She has to learn about forgiving… before it is too late and she
can’t save people she loves anymore.
Even though The Catastrophic History of You and Me sounds like an
incredibly funny and hilarious read (just take a look at the cover!),
this book turns out emotional. Brie’s death, however surprising the
cause is, is a shocking and sorrowful thing. Her father can’t accept her
death and he’s obsessed to find the cause of her daughter’s death, even
if it means abandoning his family. Jason is confused and lost, and I
can tell that he’s feeling guilty of Brie’s death. I can’t hate any of
the characters in this book, however wrong their decisions.
Sure, there were times when I frowned at Brie’s vengeful acts. It’s
not easy for her to accept that she’s dead now, especially when
everything around her world was perfect before her death. I can
understand her confusion and anger perfectly. If you have a great life
with all possibility in your future, wouldn’t you feel sad if you have
to die in such young age? Brie is a completely relatable character.
She’s only fifteen when she’s dead, so it makes sense that sometimes,
she can be really egoistical and full of herself.
Other than the tearful part in this book, there are many funny lines
and witty remarks thrown in the book. Patrick, Brie’s ghost
partner-in-crime, is such an adorable and swoon-worthy character. He’s
incredibly funny and he also plays really important part in the story.
This book also got to surprise me in some parts, and the ending is
really beautiful. I personally think that it’s a little too perfect for
my taste, but I assure you, the ending really suits the story.
This is a lovely book and I’ll recommend this even for people who
are no fan of sad story. The Catastrophic History of You and Me
definitely crosses the line between fun and heartbreaking.
Hello everyone! I'm so glad to have Sean, one of the co-authors of The Dawn of Angels, doing the special guest post in this book tour presented by Hollow Tours!
Why did I become an Indie author?
Let’s face it, every author dreams of
seeing their book in Barnes and Noble on a large display at the front or at
least sitting somewhat conspicuously on the shelf in the right section. I know
I have. So why would one throw away a chance at that recognition to become an
indie author. The easy answer is that I’m not good enough to be published by the
big publishers, so why try. While I
admit this may be the case (the jury is still out), to use it as the only
reason for a person to write indie, is not a fair representation of a growing
sector of artists.
I was the ghost writer for a book that was published—a
memoir. We even got a popular local publisher to publish it. For three months,
they marketed it fairly well and we sold about 8,000 copies. Not bad for a small
area publisher. For each book we got about a dollar, nothing to complain about
until you see how much the customer had to pay. For every dollar we got, the
customer paid at least twelve dollars, often more. This seemed ludicrous. Did
it really take that much to put the book out? The really outrageous thing was
the ebook prices, which were just as high. No one can argue printing costs for
an ebook.
As an independent author, I can post my book at a price much
lower. In my case, I will not sell a book above $2.99. I still get double the
amount I would going through a publisher, but at a far reduced cost to the
customer. Even with print on demand, I can provide a far greater savings.
Granted the publishers do market the books and this can be costly. But this marketing
last on average three months and then the book is thrown by the way side and
forgotten in the avalanche of new books coming. It still does not justify the
costs.
There is also a deeper consequence of mainstream publishing.
Mainstream publishers tend to gravitate toward gimmicks and trends. They
inhibit true creative expression that exists in other art forms by only
forwarding those books that will make them a buck. For years this has been a
detriment to writing as authors are forced to conform their styles of writing
to that which publishers will accept. A similar affect has affected music,
driving out true talent for the counterfeit kind found in the modern pop star.
The beauty of the internet and digital books is that it
opens a new gateway of expression that circumvents that corporate skittishness
that prevents them taking a risk on a new style of writing. Now an author can
take those creative risks. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won’t. I know that
I have not explored the ends of this open space with my writing, but I hope to
in the future. My true hope is that others will take hold of the vision and
explore its bounds.
Sure there will be a lot junk out there, but hopefully in
the mix will emerge something truly amazing. That is the magnificence of the
internet, out of its seeming chaos comes the most awe-inspiring innovations and
creations. Who would have guessed that through social networks revolutions
would be plotted and executed to take down dictatorships? Who would have
guessed that an encyclopedia or learning resource could emerge completely on
volunteer contributions? That is the nature of human interaction. It is both
unpredictable and remarkable. It is the essence of art and the essence of what
makes us human. It is the reason that I am an Indie author.
Left by her mother at a
young age, Kyra has grown-up in the foster system, leaving her angry
and hateful towards the world. The only person she can trust is Hammond,
her case worker who has watched over her since the time her mother
left. When Hammond places Kyra in a foster home located in a small town,
strange things begin happening and Kyra starts unraveling the mystery
of her past. When Kyra’s life is threatened, she is saved by an angel,
her guardian angel, Ashur, who falls from heaven to save her. Together,
Ashur and Kyra must figure out why her life is in danger and stop a
strange cult from bringing about the end of days.
Thank you very much for taking your time writing for this guest post, Sean! Your view of technology and social network is amazing! I'm really speechless after reading this guest post. :)
PS: There is really cool giveaway going on, so you should check it on this Hollow Tours post!
