Archives for 2012

RTW: Best Book of July

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This week’s topic:

What was the best book you read in July?

Easy. The answer is easy.

A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex’s frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night–but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he’s hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

Guys, this is NEW ADULT! And a great one, I must say!

Do you like contemporary? Do you like romance and sexual tension? Do you like a drama that makes you cry with the heroine? Then Easy is for you!

What was the best book you read in July?

Cheers,

Categories: #ROW80, NTS

#ROW80 and NTS checkin 07/29

Source: flickr.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Hello all!

You probably heard about Roni Loren being sued for using an image out of the internet, right? I started thinking I was doomed and that my ROW80 and NTS updates would be picture-less from now on.

However, it’s lovely to see how the writing community get together and come up with something. Three friends of mine created boards on Pinterest with creative-commons images that they created or shot and are willing to share. There are Cait’s board, Jenny’s board and LeighAnn’s board. Isn’t this amazing?

Now I want to take a photography workshop and create a board like these ones too!

Anyway …

Recapping my goals for the week and how it went:

Write: every weekday from 12:30 to 5pm and get LOTS of words down. This week I reread my manuscript, then started revising it with lots of adding and cutting, but I felt like it was good progress. I know I added at least 1500 words each day, and on Friday I wrote a synopsis too 93pages). It’s a bad synopsis and needs revising, but it’s a start ;)
Read: book #38 (goodreads challenge). I’m actually reading book #38 and #39 and halfway on both. One is craft, the other is fiction and both are loooong.
Social media: blog at least twice and hop on Twitter from time to time. Done.
Exercise: 3x at least. Four times.

My goals for next week:

Writing: continue revising my manuscript.
Reading: finish books #38 and #39 (goodreads challenge)
Social media: blog at least twice and hop on Twitter from time to time.
Exercise: 3x at least.

Hope you can support the other ROWers too! Have a great week!

Cheers,

Categories: Authors, Blog Tour, Young Adult

The Syrenka Series

ARISE

Book three of the Syrenka Series

With power comes the responsibility to accept its consequences.

After the betrayal of those closest to her, Eviana Dumahl struggles to cope with her new reality. Kidnapped, broken, and confused, she is forced to engage in a war that will alter merfolk politics forever. With her estranged father leading the charge, Eviana has no choice but to stand by his side. Her continued existence hinges on the acceptance of the power growing inside her, even when that means embracing the family’s dark lineage.

Kain Matthew will sacrifice the world for Eviana. And he is not alone. As time runs out, her friends fight to save her life and theirs. An unlikely alliance gives them the edge they need to take a stand, although it keeps Eviana’s heart trapped in the past. A new discovery explains some of her previous mistakes, but it may not be enough to stop her father’s plans. Merfolk, selkies, and water sprites work together to save their kind, only in this final battle, not everyone will survive.

In the striking series conclusion, Eviana will learn the true meaning of power, sacrifice, and love.

Amazon – Smashwords – Barnes and Noble

BETRAYAL

Book Two of The Syrenka Series

Life as a mermaid can be suffocating.

Eviana Dumahl has returned home as a clan leader, an orphan, and a heartbroken teenage girl. Her parents are dead and her boyfriend, Brendan, has decided that he needs some time away. While battling her inner turmoil, Eviana is forced into the war that Lucian Sutherland has incited amongst her own kind. With the help of Kain, her friend and formally betrothed, the two work together to prove that they deserve their birthrights as young merfolk leaders.

When The Council requests a demonstration of Eviana’s mermaid powers, she finds herself with an opportunity to win back Brendan’s heart. But her orders to train with a repulsive merman and the presence of an attractive new suitor challenges Eviana to embrace her leadership and resist temptation. Lucian is after her, and no one seems to understand why. Loyalties are tested as the casualties increase, showing Eviana that sometimes it is impossible to delineate between friends and enemies.

Amazon – Smashwords – Barnes and Noble

PROMISES

Book One of the Syrenka Series

Sometimes following your heart can end up destroying the ones you love.

When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiancé, would make a wonderful husband except that she’s been in love with Brendan, a shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids. Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined.

A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind. With Brendan’s life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those she once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her friends, but also on her acceptance of a life she so adamantly tried to escape.

Amazon – Smashwords – Barnes and Noble

About the author:

Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.

Website – Blog – Facebook – Goodreads – Email: amber@ambergarr.com

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Cheers,

Categories: RTW

RTW: My Next Life …

This week’s topic:

If you could be reincarnated as any fictional character, which would it be?

The answer to this question is a hard one. I want to be so many of the characters I read and watch, and the ones I write … I know I was supposed to choose only one, but I’m cheating, because there’s no way I could choose only one. Even five was hard.

In no particular order:

Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy
Katsa from Graceling
Dez from Touch
Korra from Legend of Korra (Hey, nobody specified it had to be from books!)
Nikita from Nikita (the new one from CW)

Noticing a pattern? Yes, all of them are STRONG protagonists. I love a kickass girl who isn’t afraid of showing it and who isn’t defined by her love interest, nor needs love to survive. Sure, they suffered through their stories and I would love to skip those parts when I reincarnate into them ;)

Coincidence or not, if you check out my bio, I have a list of strong heroines I would love to be =P

Your turn. Tell me who would you choose to be?

Cheers,

Categories: Beatsheet, Craft, Movies

Legend of the Guardians in 15 Beats

Sometime ago, I became a huge fan of Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder and his beatsheet method.

While blogging, I can across Laura Pauling’s use of the 15 beats in movies or books she read, and Lydia Sharp‘s post at Writers Unboxed about to benefit from watching TV shows and movies.

That got me thinking I should use the time I spend watching movies with my kid, by having a beatsheet with me and filling in the spaces.

Then, I thought, why not to share my notes?

So here it is. I’ll try to have this as a every-two-weeks feature on the blog, Name of movie or book in 15 Beats, and I hope this helps you too.

Two things to keep in mind: I watch most of these with my kid and that means most of the movies will be kids’ movies and I’m not paying 100% attention to the movie. Second, I’m sorta new to the method and still struggle with the Theme, the All is Lost and Dark Night of the Soul beats. In case you have better suggestions, please do so on the comments. We can discuss the points and, if I end up agreeing with you, I’ll change my beats. Deal?

*Warning: contain SPOILERS!

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole in 15 Beats

1. Opening Image: Owl family telling stories about the Guardians. Kludd thinks it’s all dumb, while Soren loves the stories and hopes it’s all true.

2. Theme Stated (4.5%): Their parents want them to be prepared for the future.

3. Set-Up (1-9%): Meeting the family, Soren and Kludd learning how to fly, Eglantine’s first pellet.

4. Catalyst (10%): Soren and Kludd flying alone when they shouldn’t—they are taken away by other owls.

5. Debate (10-22.5%): Soren and Kludd are given a choice to turn into soldiers for the Pure Ones.

6. Break Into Two (22.5%): Soren and Gylfie escape from the Pure Ones. Kludd stays and becomes a soldier.

7. B Story (27%): Soren meets Gylfie, Digger, and Twilight, and they become the Band.

8. Fun and Games (27-50%): They find Soren’s nursemaid, a snake called Mrs. Plithiver, they play music, shoo crows and find a porcupine who knows how to find the Gaurdians.

9. Midpoint (50%): Soren and the Band find the real Guardians at Ga’hoole.

10. Bad Guys Close In (50-68%): At the guardians, Allomere doesn’t want to believe Soren about the Pure Ones’ plans. The Pure Ones are planning more attacks.

11. All Is Lost (68%): When some Guardians go spy on the Pure Ones to find out if it’s true, there’s an ambush, and they bring back Eglantine’s (Soren’s younger sister) moonbliked (like in coma).

12. Dark Night of the Soul (68-77%): The Guardians go to battle—another ambush! The Guardians are caught.

13. Break Into Three (77%): Even though they were supposed to stay behind, Soren and the Band go to battle because they know something is wrong.

14: Finale (77-100%): The battle. Confroting the Pure Ones and Kludd. How Soren and his friends save the day.

15. Final Image (100%): At Ga’hoole, Soren’s family is there, and he’s recognized for what he did. Then, he’s telling a story to the young ones about the Guardians.

*Note that the percentages are approximate.

Cheers,

Categories: #ROW80, NTS

#ROW80 and NTS check-in 07/22

Hello everyone!

If you’re here and don’t know what ROW80 or NTS are, check the links ;)

So, here are my goals for the past week and how it went:

Write: see below.
FastDraft: write every weekday from 12:30 to 5pm and get LOTS of words down. Well, I was uninspired on Monday, don’t even remember what I did. Tuesday, I wrote about 3000 words. Then on Wed, my daughter woke up throwing up, so she stayed at home with me, demanding my attention and I got no words down (though I wrote about 8 blog posts and scheduled them). Thankfully it was nothing major—she probably just ate something that didn’t sit well. Thursday I wrote 3000 words and Friday I wrote 3000 words. A good count, yes, but for the time I have, I should have gotten more. By the way, FastDraft is done.
Read: book #37 (goodreads challenge) and CP’s manuscript. Read book #37.
Social media: blog at least once (besides check-in) and hop on Twitter from time to time. Done.
Exercise: 3x at least.Went to the gym 4x.

My goals for next week:

Write: every weekday from 12:30 to 5pm and get LOTS of words down.
Read: book #38 (goodreads challenge) and CP’s manuscript.
Social media: blog at least twice and hop on Twitter from time to time.
Exercise: 3x at least.

My husband is traveling to Brazil today, to help a client with a machine that isn’t working the way it should. Apparently, the project is huge. He’s spending 3 weeks there, coming back to the US for two, then more two weeks down there. He’s pretty upset about it, since it’s not his responsibility, but he can’t say no when the president of the company asked for him specifically, can he? I’m pretty upset about it too. I hate it when he travels, but, in his line of work, there’s no way to avoid a trip every now and then. At least his mother is going to spend the weekends with him, so bonus for seeing our family ;)

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to check the other ROWers!

Have a great week!

Cheers,

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