tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38181938485189487392024-03-05T14:34:24.524-08:00Across the BookiverseCaroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-41897694882617762582019-05-16T14:53:00.002-07:002019-05-16T14:53:50.321-07:00ACROSS THE BOOKIVERSE IS MOVINGAfter some deep deliberation, I've decided to move Across the Bookiverse to <a href="http://acrossthebookiverse.home.blog/" target="_blank">Wordpress</a>.<br />
<br />
All future posts will go up on there. I will continue to leave up this content up here for now while I'm making the move over.<br />
<br />
Thank you for joining me on Blogger and hope you join me on Wordpress now.<br />
<br />
CarolineCaroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-6730812728514909182019-05-15T11:03:00.000-07:002019-05-15T11:03:38.962-07:00Blog Tour - Cursing Excerpt + Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7zvMJU1b9DgGojMtjj8tDnun3sSEql3auioJQqdVgzX54cwRhSOurJl2zfjhtz_rzlGU8OfgYoD7ZqhIUrsfTaW8hOk06feGubMOAQj08aqzsXvcCWSwuGnF6R72XOQOhvlyl_6Z4qA/s1600/cursing+banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="851" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7zvMJU1b9DgGojMtjj8tDnun3sSEql3auioJQqdVgzX54cwRhSOurJl2zfjhtz_rzlGU8OfgYoD7ZqhIUrsfTaW8hOk06feGubMOAQj08aqzsXvcCWSwuGnF6R72XOQOhvlyl_6Z4qA/s400/cursing+banner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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FOLLOW THE TOUR <a href="https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/cursing-book-tour-and-giveaway" target="_blank">HERE</a><br />
<br />
Title: <b><i>Cursing </i></b><br />
Author: Lynne Murray<br />
Series: Cursing #1<br />
<br />
The day she killed her boss...<br />
<br />
Everything changed.<br />
<br />
She never laid a hand on him to take his life. She didn’t have to.<br />
<br />
As her boss lies on the floor with a dozen witnesses staring and paramedics working in a futile effort to save him, a mysterious stranger approaches Angie with a bizarre offer.<br />
<br />
It’s a job with the ExtraTerrestrial Protection Agency, a secret organization. Can Angie trust a group whose very existence is ultra classified?<br />
<br />
She has to decide in a hurry because her newly released power starts drawing attention from life-draining, telepathic, Mindworms and alien scientists obsessed with abducting humans. Most terrifying of all, she’s stalked by one of the most fearsome predators in the galaxy.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Excerpt</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 1</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Things changed the day I killed my boss. I was trying so hard not to. </div>
<div>
He died quickly from cardiac arrest in front of a dozen witnesses in the glassed-in fishbowl of a conference room at Wolfe, Savage and Steele, the law firm where we worked. I never touched him physically. I didn’t have to. His name was Carroll Caine. </div>
<div>
The Office Manager’s death interrupted an extended yelling session aimed at me. Caine was a short, square-built man with small bulging, blue eyes, a permanently red face and silver hair, cut brush short. For some reason, he had singled me out for verbal abuse almost from his first day on the job. He retired from the Navy as a Warrant Officer. Law firms like to hire former non-coms on the theory that they work well with a formal chain of command. But for Caine, taking orders from civilian lawyers he didn’t respect chafed him like a sandpaper jockstrap. </div>
<div>
He took it out on his subordinates. I was a favorite target.</div>
<div>
Understanding why Caine attacked me so often didn’t protect me when he did.</div>
<div>
My other co-workers looked away in embarrassment or relief that, at least for the moment, Caine wasn’t singling them out. Not Francine, the woman sitting next to me in the conference room. She was petite, blonde and eager to score points with Caine by digging up the slightest hint of an error on my part.</div>
<div>
Caine picked a bad day to stand over me and settle in for an extended rant. My Aunt Bess had simply disappeared six months earlier and without her, I had no one. The pain of her loss had retreated to a dull ache most days, but sometimes it flared up into a sharp pain of grief and confusion. </div>
<div>
I focused all my attention on breathing slowly and letting his word roll over me. </div>
<div>
I huddled in my chair, trying to make myself invisible, staring down at the pad of paper in front of me, a pencil gripped in my hand.</div>
<div>
Caine paused for breath as if savoring looking down at me. He leaned in close. “You’d already be out of here if I didn’t suspect you might have a hidden disability and you’d sue all our asses. Is that it, Angie?”</div>
<div>
“Look at me!”</div>
<div>
I slowly looked up and met his eyes. Bad idea. The urge to let loose the anger that built in every cell of my body. I blinked when a cloud of black dots like a swarm of tiny insects filled my vision, swirling between Caine and Francine. I glanced around. Most people stared at the table or Caine. No one else gave any sign of seeing the whirling dots. </div>
<div>
Great Angie, you’re hallucinating, just what I need. </div>
<div>
“Keeping something up your sleeve, Angie? Maybe you lied on your employment application?” His spit landed on my face. Droplets hit my glasses. I wanted to wipe them off, but I didn’t move a muscle. </div>
<div>
I could smell Caine’s rage under the Bay Rum aftershave and lingering cigar smoke on his breath. </div>
<div>
Something inside me settled. Everything seemed sharper, clearer and despite the black cloud of dots passing between Francine and Caine. It couldn’t be real. A voice somewhere in the mists of early life echoed in my head.</div>
<div>
Stop the heart. </div>
<div>
Deadly calm washed over me. I felt myself starting to shake as if there was an earthquake. There was not. Yet an inner vibration shook me physically like the roars I heard when my aunt took me to the Lion House at the San Francisco Zoo at feeding time. </div>
<div>
I focused on Caine. Not on his face, on his chest. Every sound in the room fell away. I found his heart. I raised my hand to point at him, still holding the pencil.</div>
<div>
He straightened up. A slow smile on his face told me he was hoping he had made me mad enough to do something stupid. He had.</div>
<div>
“Ya gonna hit me, Angie?” he asked.</div>
<div>
“No.” I couldn’t remember ever feeling so calm.</div>
<div>
Now. </div>
<div>
I snapped my arm a few inches back as if I meant to throw the pencil at him. Caine instinctively rocked back on his heels, but there was no escape for him. Energy tore through me. My fingers tingled as I completed the short gesture toward his chest. I sensed the familiar but unknown force piercing him like a tool. It reached for his heart and grabbed it. And squeezed. </div>
<div>
The pencil broke in half. The eraser end bounced off the table and fell on the rug. I lowered my arm, feeling his heart, frozen in a spasm as if my hand really was squeezing it. The inner shaking stopped and I took a deep breath, suddenly, oddly at peace.</div>
<div>
Caine’s knees gave way and he crumpled to the floor. He twitched a few times. I don’t know how, but I could feel his life leave his body. He wasn’t coming back. </div>
<div>
I stood up and backed away as two co-workers rushed past me to attempt CPR. They knelt beside him, but I knew they wouldn’t be able to revive him. I jammed my hands into my pockets and finally let go of the top half of the pencil. I kept my head down because I couldn’t help myself from smiling. The roaring inside me was gone. The swarm of black particles was gone too.</div>
<div>
I took my hands out of my pockets and saw a couple of wood slivers had pierced my skin. I was bleeding. It didn’t even hurt. I didn’t feel anything but relief at the sudden quiet when Caine shut up. </div>
<div>
Then the fear hit. </div>
<div>
Everything I learned growing up told me I should go home, grab my getaway pack and leave town. It would be hard to run without my aunt organizing our escape. </div>
<div>
I didn’t want to move again. I loved San Francisco. The rent-controlled apartment was my true refuge with my grandfather’s books lining almost every wall. </div>
<div>
Maybe I wouldn’t have to run. Maybe no one noticed how Caine had died. People drew back to the edges of the room while efforts to revive him got more frantic. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to me. It wasn’t as if I’d physically touched the old man. Maybe no one would blame me.</div>
<div>
Scratch that. </div>
<div>
As I surreptitiously dabbed Caine’s saliva off my face and glasses with the cuff of my long-sleeved blouse, I raised my head and looked straight into the eyes of the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. He twirled a pair of sunglasses in his hand and continued to stare right at me. </div>
<div>
He had a tousled mop of sun-streaked light brown hair. He wore a tan suit about the same shade as his hair and a light blue shirt and gold and darker blue striped tie. His angelic face, even features and sensual lips seemed familiar. Maybe I’d seen him in one of those semi-porn underwear ads—the kind where you don’t look closely at the model’s face because you’re too busy checking out that impossibly lithe and muscular body. He leaned against the receptionist’s desk as if he owned it, as if he owned any place he stood simply by standing there. </div>
<div>
He stowed his glasses in his jacket pocket and raised a blond eyebrow at me as if asking a question with luminous blue eyes. </div>
<div>
The receptionist, a sixty-something retired airline stewardess with a British accent, had already called 911. Now she leaned over her counter at the perfect angle to check out Underwear Model Man’s ass at the same time that she watched the drama around our co-workers struggling to revive Caine.</div>
<div>
Underwear Model Man held my gaze and nodded at me. I flinched in surprise. He didn’t quite smile, but his eyes crinkled as if we had a secret understanding. A deep feeling of dread settled like lead in my gut. This couldn’t be good.</div>
<div>
I made it past the reception desk and nearly to the elevator when Underwear Model Man fell into step beside me. He was taller than me. I’m five ten, he must have been around six feet. </div>
<div>
“Meet me for coffee after work,” he whispered, leaning close. He smelled of Irish Spring soap. “There’s someone you need to talk to. Someone you have a lot in common with. You won’t regret it.”</div>
<div>
I kept moving without answering. Every woman in the place stared at this guy. He was that magnetic. The last thing I wanted at this particular moment was anyone paying attention to me.</div>
<div>
But the stranger followed me and held the elevator door while I got in. “Seriously, you owe it to yourself to listen to an offer that would get you out of this...place.” He didn’t have to say “This hellhole,” it was implicit in his tone. I couldn’t disagree with him. The only thing I liked about Wolfe, Savage and Steele was the paycheck.</div>
<div>
“An offer I can’t refuse, huh?” I snapped at him. “That turned out so well for the guy who found the horse’s head in his bed.”</div>
<div>
The man chuckled. “No dead horses, I promise. But your skills deserve better.”</div>
<div>
“You know nothing about my skills,” I kept my voice low.</div>
<div>
“Don’t I?” </div>
<div>
Francine and three other women slipped past Underwear Model Man into the elevator with me. They all stared at and me, then back at him again.</div>
<div>
He let go of the door and it closed before I could say another word. </div>
<div>
An older woman whose name I didn’t know commented on how fine that young man was. Then the elevator bell dinged for our floor and we all filed out in silence. No one mentioned Caine.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Underwear Model Man was leaning against the building waiting for me when I went out the front door. He’d taken off his tie and it was hard not to look at the tanned skin and a curl of golden chest hair showing where the top button of his shirt was open.</div>
<div>
“Hi, I’m Chad Falconer.”</div>
<div>
At least I didn’t have to keep calling him Underwear Model Man. Automatically, I responded, “Angie Faust.” I instantly regretted that. Now he knew my name. </div>
<div>
I needed to get away fast. Men like him don’t follow women like me home from work without some agenda. Whatever his reason it didn’t involve flowers, dinner dates and happy endings. Maybe he sensed how desperately I missed my aunt. Predators can read body language and track wounded animals. </div>
<div>
“Whatever it is you’re selling, I can’t afford it.”</div>
<div>
He grinned as if I’d said something terribly witty. “Fair enough,” he said, falling into an easy pace beside me. Chad persisted, walking closer and tilting his head down to get my attention.</div>
<div>
“Whoever you are and whatever you want, I don’t trust you,” I said.</div>
<div>
“The only reason you should listen to me at all is that you and I seem to be the only two people who understood what was going on this morning.”</div>
<div>
I stopped so fast he almost ran into me. </div>
<div>
“My boss had a stroke or heart attack while he was yelling at me. He was an old man. He had a strenuous day of verbally abusing people. His heart just gave out.”</div>
<div>
“It doesn’t usually happen that way though, does it?” Chad said. “I don’t know about you, but the people I want to see die usually go on to live a disgustingly healthy life of making everyone miserable and die peacefully in bed at 95.”</div>
<div>
“You can’t blame me for what happened,” I concluded, my voice wavering a little.</div>
<div>
He seemed to understand because he stepped away a foot or so. “Believe me, Angie, blame is the last word I would use to describe you or anything you do.” He stepped in front of me to stop for a moment but he held out his hands out with palms up. “Would you do me a favor?”</div>
<div>
“Maybe. Will you let me alone if I do?” </div>
<div>
“Absolutely. The only thing I ask is that you come with me to a coffee shop and meet someone who understands your great gift.”</div>
<div>
“Gift?” I snorted a small burst of laughter at that thought.</div>
<div>
“Seriously, it’s a public place, a café not far from here. No pressure.”</div>
<div>
I stared at him. I never admitted that I was responsible for the violent things that happened around me. My aunt and I rarely spoke about it. “Where is this place?”</div>
<div>
“It’s an easy walk. Come on, it will only take half an hour of your time.”</div>
<div>
I admit I was curious and absurdly relieved that he didn’t seem to be selling anything or whipping out a chloroformed rag and forcing me into a car. But mainly I agreed because of a vain hope that there might actually be a way to cope with whatever the hell it was that I had been fighting my whole life.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Giveaway</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
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<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-60865007113287434742019-05-08T07:39:00.000-07:002019-05-08T07:39:31.865-07:00Blog Tour - The Rule of Many Excerpt + Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAF32l9H9ttoPoNuUUvfsIFYsSqjSiLjVIAfKX_TvxQQCE8iOsrK5o-aA61W7KjONSpNwKX2puXM2_65sl6a-iUI_ULO5YFjUPRyhZj_4_SIVNgaDb6joAYVYjk0Anz6nMpMxqIhEX4g/s1600/TheRuleOfManyTourBanner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAF32l9H9ttoPoNuUUvfsIFYsSqjSiLjVIAfKX_TvxQQCE8iOsrK5o-aA61W7KjONSpNwKX2puXM2_65sl6a-iUI_ULO5YFjUPRyhZj_4_SIVNgaDb6joAYVYjk0Anz6nMpMxqIhEX4g/s400/TheRuleOfManyTourBanner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1540745040l/39685533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="39685533" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1540745040l/39685533.jpg" width="211" /></a>Title: <b><i>The Rule of Many</i></b><br />
Authors: Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders<br />
Series: The Rule of One #2<br />
<br />
Born to a death sentence in a near-future America, rebellious sisters herald a revolution—if they can survive.<br />
<br />
Twins Ava and Mira Goodwin defy the Rule of One simply by existing. The single-child law, ruthlessly enforced by Texas’s Governor Roth, has made the sisters famous fugitives and inspirations for the resurgent rebellion known as the Common.<br />
<br />
But the relentless governor and his implacable Texas State Guard threaten that fragile hope, as Roth consolidates his power in a bid for ultimate authority.<br />
<br />
As Ava and Mira relinquish the relative safety of their Canadian haven to stand against Roth, new allies arise: Owen, a gifted young programmer, impulsively abandons his comfortable life in a moment of compassion, while Zee, an abused labor camp escapee, finds new purpose in resistance.<br />
<br />
The four will converge on Dallas for a reckoning with Roth, with nothing less than their destinies—and the promise of a future free from oppression—on the line.<br />
<br />
Disobedience means death. But a life worth living demands rebellion.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Excerpt</h4>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
AVA</div>
<div>
“You’re back,” I say, rising from my bed. Everyone in the room stands, acknowledging Emery as leader of the Common.</div>
<div>
She wears her signature look: an unstructured, slightly oversized yellow coat that ends at her knees. Her rich nut-brown hair is short and wild like Einstein’s, and she’s taller than everyone in her small entourage. The more I’ve studied Emery—my mother’s childhood best friend—during my stay here at the Paramount, the more I’ve discovered she’s not the perfectly straitlaced leader I’d expected her to be. Looking closely, I can see the rough edges that hint at the woman she was before having to bear the weight of being the rebellion’s leader. The leftover holes from a double eyebrow piercing above her left eye, the way she bites the inside of her cheeks when she’s angry, as if withholding a fiery reaction. A poorly healed scar just below her collarbone. It all makes me like her even more.</div>
<div>
Emery studies the room, her intent gaze passing over all the young faces eager and willing to carry out her orders, however small. We’re all unified in the reason we’re here with the Common, so far from our homes, and I find an unhappy comfort in the shared white-hot pain of loss. And the anger that comes with it.</div>
<div>
“It’s good to see you all again,” Emery says. She nods to each of us in greeting. “May I have the room? I need to speak with Ava and Mira.”</div>
<div>
The Games Club immediately disassembles, Barend directing everyone out into the hall. He shuts the door and turns on his heel, returning to his post inside our room.</div>
<div>
Three members of Emery’s inner circle remain at her side. They’re all Elders, members who’ve been a part of the Common the longest. Their faces are hardened with world-weariness, and although I’ve never spoken to any of them personally, Pawel tells me they’ve each seen the inside of a prison cell more than once.</div>
<div>
The door opens, and a young woman who looks a few years over twenty strides with pure confidence into the room. She stands a short distance from the group, unchallenged by Barend. She must be a new recruit, and an important one if she’s included in Emery’s close circle. The young woman’s jet-black hair is pulled back tightly into two French braids, highlighting her dark eyes with their long, intense lashes. If the eyes truly are a window to the soul, hers has taken more than a few beatings.</div>
<div>
Mira clasps Emery’s shoulder in welcome before asking, “Did you find him this time? You’re back early—did something go wrong?”</div>
<div>
Countless missions to rescue my father have led to nothing but disappointment. Wherever Roth is hiding his former Family Planning Director, he’s making damn sure he’ll never be found.</div>
<div>
All four Common Elders lower their heads. Something did go wrong. Horribly wrong.</div>
<div>
My stomach drops like a heavy anchor cut loose into the sea.</div>
<div>
“What happened?” I demand, stepping forward. His execution date has been moved up. The Guard caught wind of our extraction plans and changed his location . . .</div>
<div>
Emery raises her head, biting the inside of her cheeks, hard. “It’s with great sorrow that I have to inform you of your father’s murder,” she tells us straight. “I am sorry that we could not get to Darren in time.”</div>
<div>
He’s dead. My father’s dead. I’ve learned to always prepare for bad news, but I wasn’t prepared for this.</div>
<div>
Through a haze of salted tears, I lurch backward. Mira catches me, and I hold on to my sister tight—our combined strength the only thing that keeps me from shattering against the floor.</div>
<div>
“No, no, no . . . you said Roth wouldn’t kill him!” I cry. “You said he wouldn’t risk turning the people to our side!”</div>
<div>
“What about the stay of execution!” Mira says in disbelief.</div>
<div>
“The official statement from the Governor’s Mansion is that it was a suicide,” Emery says. “Roth made a speech, weaving a story that Darren hanged himself with his bedsheets during the night, leaving behind a note detailing his great regret for his traitorous crimes against his country and its people.”</div>
<div>
A cold panic rushes through my body, and I feel faint. Mira shakes uncontrollably beside me. I turn to my sister, and both our green eyes scream, Lies!</div>
<div>
Father would never, never take his own life. He would fight until the bitter end to get back to us.</div>
<div>
“The note said his greatest shame of all was raising illegal twin daughters who turned into dangerous traitors themselves.”</div>
<div>
Roth is using our own father against us. Bile rises to my throat, and my knees falter.</div>
<div>
Emery seizes both our shoulders, pulling us close, making sure we listen.</div>
<div>
“We know both the suicide and the note are bullshit. We know just before sunrise, Roth entered Darren’s cell and shot your father in cold blood.”</div>
<div>
I try to break free of Emery and my sister. I can’t breathe. I need space for my heartache, but Emery grips my shoulder harder.</div>
<div>
“Listen to me. We have the surveillance video. Your father’s killing will not be buried. Roth’s corruption will be exposed—another link in his chain of lies. Your father will continue to help the cause even in death, as your mother did.”</div>
<div>
“The video could be fake, too, just like the suicide note. He could still be alive!” I find myself pleading.</div>
<div>
The new recruit with the French braids steps forward, shaking her head. Her eyes soften with sympathy. “I wish that were true.”</div>
<div>
She pulls something from her jacket’s inner pocket and carefully opens her palm: a metal capsule the size of my fingernail.</div>
<div>
Father’s microchip.</div>
<div>
“I was held in the same prison as your father,” the young woman explains, her steady voice struggling to break through the fog of despair that separates me from everything else in the room. “While the Common arrived too late to rescue your father, they were able to rescue me.”</div>
<div>
Who is this person? Why was she imprisoned, and how did she gain access to my father’s chip? It’s always a never-ending maze of questions.</div>
<div>
“Scan the chip,” Mira says, her voice hollow.</div>
<div>
Barend produces a microchip scanner from his duty belt—he always seems to have the necessary tool or weapon—and hands the device to Emery to scan.</div>
<div>
Ping.</div>
<div>
A death record pops up on the chip scanner’s screen:</div>
<div>
Name: DR. DARREN JAMES GOODWIN</div>
<div>
Status: DECEASED</div>
<div>
Cause of death: SUICIDE</div>
<div>
Burial location: UNKNOWN</div>
<div>
The only thing I have left of my father is this tiny scrap of metal with his blood still on it. Where is his body?</div>
<div>
I want to scream.</div>
<div>
“It’s Darren’s chip. It has been authenticated,” Emery declares with full conviction. “Skye Lin has been fighting for the Common’s cause for half her life. She turned a Guard at the prison, who gave her the chip and surveillance video in the midst of our rescue mission.”</div>
<div>
Skye Lin. The assassin who poisoned two states’ Family Planning Directors and made an unsuccessful attempt on my own father’s life. I’ve never seen her face; after she was arrested in Dallas five years ago, Roth banned images of the teenage murderer across all media outlets. Before Mira and me, criminals were not lionized in Texas; they did not become famous. They were thrown in dark cells and never heard from again.</div>
<div>
“I didn’t know your dad was a member of the Common,” Skye insists. “I wasn’t trying to kill him. I was trying to kill his office.” The Family Planning Division.</div>
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With that, she turns and walks out, leaving Mira and me drowning in confusion.</div>
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“I want to see the surveillance video,” Mira says from beside me.</div>
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Taken aback, I turn to face my sister. “You want to watch our father’s murder?”</div>
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“I have to see it for myself.” She looks up at me, her eyes red and glassy with anguish. “We were raised on so many secrets, Ava. I just have to see.”</div>
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I shake my head. “I can’t.”</div>
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As I move to leave the room—I need the open air; the hurt inside me suddenly seems too large for this crowded space—Emery holds up her hand to stop me.</div>
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“We leave for the Common’s headquarters in the morning—Paramount Point Lodge. You both are needed there. I can explain more tomorrow, but for now take the time to grieve.” She lowers her head in a respectful bow. “Your father was a brave man.”</div>
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Chills run through my body. Rayla had said those same words.</div>
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He wants a better future for you both.</div>
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I close my eyes and remember Father’s greatest lesson: it takes iron to sharpen iron. Metal bullets forged my father’s death into a cast-iron weight that sits at the bottom of my heart. To be brave like my father, I must endure the painful process of honing. I must become so sharp that no one can touch me or mine again.</div>
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“Show me the surveillance video,” Mira demands once more.</div>
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“It will not be easy to watch, but the choice is yours to make,” Emery says.</div>
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Visions of my father tied helplessly to a chair, Roth standing over him with a gun, a smug smile on his lips . . .</div>
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No! I rip open my eyes and push past Emery, away from my sister. Barend gets out of my path, allowing me to throw open the door, and I stumble into the hall alone. Without any clear direction in mind, I head toward the stairwell. Anger clouds my vision; my knees are shaky, and I lean on the wall to stay standing. My entire world feels upside down, spinning out of control.</div>
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Bam. My shoulder slams into someone, jolting my body back upright.</div>
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“I’m sorry,” I say automatically.</div>
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But sharp-edged things don’t apologize. They just cut right through. I steel myself and keep going, not looking back, continuing to drag my wobbly legs down the hallway to the exit.</div>
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“No, I’m sorry,” a tentative voice says behind me. Pawel. “I’m sorry about your dad. I just heard the news.” Intensity seeps into his words. “At least he died for a reason. You can be proud.”</div>
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His words shoot at me like bullets, a gut shot with no exit wound, and I stop short. I wrap my arms around my waist—like that could stop the bleeding—and peer inside the room Pawel just exited.</div>
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A group of kids, no older than eleven or twelve, huddle on the floor around a tablet screen. Barend would be livid if he caught them with this smuggled technology. As I wonder fleetingly what their punishment would be for risking the Common’s safety, one of the kids’ heads tilts to the side, giving me a full view of the screen.</div>
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My father’s face is splashed across an underground virtual newscast. The kids watch, enraptured as a computer-generated anchor with blue hair and violet eyes gives a breathless account of how the disgraced Family Planning Director shockingly took his own life out of shame.</div>
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“My brother says it’s all a conspiracy,” a girl with a high ponytail says. It’s Ellie, Pawel’s adopted sister. “A Goodwin would never give up.”</div>
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Another girl spies me standing in the doorway, her breath catching in her throat. She nudges the boy sitting beside her, and the entire group turns to stare at me, their mouths slightly open in reverence.</div>
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“Our parents sacrificed themselves for Ellie and me too,” Pawel says quietly. A crushing sadness marks his face at the memory. Pawel’s four-person family was illegal, even if Ellie wasn’t related by blood. Whatever hardships he experienced that led him to the Common will haunt him the rest of his life.</div>
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All at once my sharp edges soften with empathy.</div>
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I flick my gaze back to my own father on the newscast. They chose a photograph of him in his stately dress uniform. He looks strong and proud and so violently alive it hurts.</div>
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I scan the youthful faces of my unexpected audience. Ellie rises and holds out her forearm, fist curled into a tight ball, like Mira and I did at the end of our hijacked newscast. She’s petite but fierce, her oval-shaped hazel eyes reflecting her tremendous appetite for defiance at such a young age.</div>
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Everyone around her stands and does the same.</div>
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Tattoos, drawn with identical dark ink, cover their right wrists, each one a unique emblem of their own resistance: a charging bull, two thick parallel lines, a scorpion ready to strike, a beautifully patterned sun with a face inside.</div>
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Next to me Pawel lifts his shirtsleeve, revealing his own tattoo of a tree with thick roots sheltering the letter E.</div>
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Our spark worked. The flame of revolution spread like wildfire just as Rayla said it would, and now even the next generation can feel its burn.</div>
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My heart races wild inside my chest. I hold down my wrist, fist clenched.</div>
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“Resist much,” I say.</div>
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“Obey little,” their voices answer in unison.<br />
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Hailing from the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders are award-winning filmmakers and twin sisters who honed their love of storytelling at The University of Texas at Austin. While researching The Rule of One, they fell in love with America’s national parks, traveling the path of Ava and Mira. The sisters can currently be found with their Boston terriers in sunny Los Angeles, exploring hiking trails and drinking entirely too much yerba mate.</div>
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Giveaway</h4>
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<br />Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-42431649816867911712019-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:002019-05-06T09:55:45.942-07:00Book Blitz - The Temple Twins by Emily Shore<h2 style="text-align: center;">
THE TEMPLE TWINS by Emily Shore</h2>
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<strong>GRAB YOUR COPY! <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3J1DK1">AMAZON</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1131065210?ean=2940156031382">NOOK</a> / <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-temple-twins/id1458173680?mt=11">iBOOKS</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-temple-twins">KOBO</a></strong></div>
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Our team at CTP is excited to share the official release of <strong>THE TEMPLE TWINS by Emily Shore,</strong> which released in all online retailers today, <strong>May 6, 2019</strong>. THE TEMPLE TWINS is the fourth novel in Emily Shore's <strong>UNCAGED SERIES</strong>. Readers can dive further into this captivating and dynamic Young Adult fiction series today! If you haven't had a chance to start this series, today's the day since the first book—THE AVIARY—is <strong>FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME.</strong> <strong>Also, as a reminder, a portion of the sales from the first 30-days of each of the UNCAGED SERIES releases will be donated to an organization that helps survivors of human trafficking.</strong><br />
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START READING BOOK 4 TODAY!</h4>
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<strong>BUY YOUR COPY: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3J1DK1">AMAZON</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1131065210?ean=2940156031382">NOOK</a> / <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-temple-twins/id1458173680?mt=11">iBOOKS</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-temple-twins">KOBO</a></strong><br />
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The Temple twins must unite as sisters or risk losing everything—including their own hearts.<br />
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PLUS...</h2>
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<a href="http://www.cleanteenpublishing.com/books/the-aviary/" rel="the aviary by emily shore clean teen publishing page noopener noreferrer" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="wp-image-242" height="308" src="https://www.changingtidespublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/57178321_2114967105277629_8846101319300153344_n-1024x791.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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THE FIRST BOOK IS FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME!</h2>
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<strong>THE AVIARY by Emily Shore</strong><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40175097-the-aviary?from_search=true" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Goodreads</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://books2read.com/u/31OY2l?store=amazon" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Amazon</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-aviary-emily-shore/1128813124" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Barnes & Noble</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/the-aviary/id1393138378?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>iBooks</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-aviary-4" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Kobo</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=u2J-DwAAQBAJ" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Google Play</strong></a></div>
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<em>“Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you today. Feast your eyes on this pure-blooded beauty!”</em><br />
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Serenity wakes to find she's been sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.<br />
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ALSO...</h2>
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BUY A BOOK AND HELP US DONATE TO A WORTHY CAUSE.</h4>
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A percentage of the first 30-days worth of sales for each novel in THE UNCAGED SERIES will be donated to <a href="https://warinternational.org/"><em>Women At Risk, International</em></a>—a nonprofit organization, established to create circles of protection around those at risk. Through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects and partnerships, they provide safe places to heal from abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and more. Their passion is to empower survivors to live and work with dignity and hope. </div>
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<strong>Author Bio:</strong><br />
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Emily Shore is a MN author with a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and was a grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which led her to working with professionals in the publishing industry. She is signed with Clean Teen Publishing for her anti-trafficking dystopian The Aviary, first in the Uncaged Series. For every sale, proceeds return to trafficking rescue and to Emily and her husband's international adoption fund.<br />
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Throughout the years, Emily has connected with rescue organizations and survivors of sex-trafficking and injects the truths she's learned into her books for youth. She loves motivational speaking on the issue of sex-trafficking and always hopes for more speaking events in schools, churches, and libraries. Please contact her on her website if you are interested in hearing her speak.<br />
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Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. They are currently in the process of adopting a little girl from India.<br />
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<strong>MORE ABOUT EMILY SHORE:</strong><a href="https://emilybethshore.info/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong> Website</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6454711.Emily_Shore" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Goodreads</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/authoremilyshore/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Facebook</strong></a><strong> / </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/emilybethshore" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><br />
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Please consider sharing this announcement. A simple forward, Facebook share, Tweet, etc. can help us bring awareness to both this series and the important cause that a portion of the series sales will be donated to. <br />
<cite>~Thank you from Emily Shore and the CTP</cite></blockquote>
<br />Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-53339892690264489412019-05-03T10:00:00.000-07:002019-05-03T10:44:29.767-07:00Author Interview - L.E. DeLano<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473691089l/27242803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="27242803" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473691089l/27242803.jpg" width="212" /></a><br />
Jessa has spent her life dreaming of other worlds and writing down stories more interesting than her own, until the day her favorite character, Finn, suddenly shows up and invites her out for coffee. After the requisite nervous breakdown, Jessa learns that she and Finn are Travelers, born with the ability to slide through reflections and dreams into alternate realities. But it’s not all steampunk pirates and fantasy lifestyles—Jessa is dying over and over again, in every reality, and Finn is determined that this time, he’s going to stop it…This Jessa is going to live.<br />
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Check out my <a href="https://acrossthebookiverse.blogspot.com/2017/02/traveler-by-le-delano-review.html" target="_blank">review for <i>TRAVELER</i> here!</a><br />
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Interview</h4>
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<b>What authors and/or books inspired your writing? </b> </div>
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I love love love Cassandra Clare and the way she weaves her storylines (and her amazing, richly detailed characters). So often in her stories, she makes you revisit scenes and look at them from another perspective. I can't get enough of her, J.K. Rowling, or Sarah J. Maas.</div>
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<b>What is your ideal writing setting (outside, at a desk, etc.)?</b></div>
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I always kind of laugh at this question. I have no “writer’s nook”, no “writing rituals”- none of that sacred writing space sort of stuff. I’m a single mom with a full time day job and two kids - one of whom is special-needs. I write whenever and wherever I get a chance, with a laptop on my lap, my kitchen table, or a café table, if I’m lucky enough to get away. I can write with the TV and dishwasher on, while one kid is singing and the other is yelling at him to shut up. I think it’s made me a better writer.</div>
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<b>How do you deal with writer's block?</b></div>
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The trick with writer's block is to just write. Badly, if you have to, but keep writing. One thing that's been a tremendous help to me is using Google Voice Typing ( In the Tools menu on Google Docs - you need a headset with a microphone). I write a scene by talking it through, and the great thing here is all voice typing programs suck in various ways. They don't put in quotation marks, they randomly capitalize words, they sometimes mis-hear you. So you know that whatever you get down will be flawed. You accept that. And it frees you up so much to just keep going no matter what--no second guessing, no going back and fixing it once each line is down (thereby stopping your train of thought). You plan to go back and fix it all once the scene is finished, and it works. For me it really works.</div>
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<b>In<i> TRAVELER</i>, do you have a special connection to any of your characters?</b></div>
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That would be Danny, and to a lesser degree, Jessa. I am an autism parent – my son is on the spectrum – and his relationship with his sister features heavily in some of Danny and Jessa’s scenes. Danny is every inch my son on paper. I wanted very much to show not just a person with autism in a positive way, but also to shine a light on what it’s like to be a sibling of a special needs person. Jessa has had to grow up very differently than some people because of that – and not in a bad way.</div>
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<b>What are some of your favorite writing tropes that most people usually hate (I.e. love triangles, etc.)?</b></div>
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I absolutely LOVE a good love triangle! So much great tension and heartache, when it's done right (but soooo annoying when it's not).</div>
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<b><i>TRAVELER</i> is about taking portals into other universes. Are there any ideas for universes that didn't make it into the books? Will we ever get to see them?</b></div>
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I had a whole list of alternate realities--and a few historical realities (in the original draft of the story, Jessa also time traveled). I had a reality where everything was bubbles! People living in bubbles, driving floating bubble cars, dancing on bubble clouds. I had a great reality that Jessa and Finn traveled to, only to discover that he had a boyfriend in that reality. And Jessa was going to visit the Aztecs and nearly get her heart ripped out. I'd love to write ten more books in the series, but I guess we just have to hope it gets picked up by Netflix Originals.</div>
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I have a few different irons in the fire right now. One is a YA fantasy based on Irish mythology, another is a YA Sci-fi thriller, and the third is a contemporary YA. We'll have to see which one gets to the bookshelf first!</div>
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First, finish your book. You will never be a published author without a finished book. Second, as you're shopping for agents and publishers, remember how subjective the process is. You can have a great book that still gets rejected (See: Harry Potter). Perseverance is a grueling waiting game, so keep writing while you wait for your book to find its home. Most of all, believe that it will.</div>
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L.E. DeLano is a novelist rep’d by Barry Goldblatt Literary agency, author of the YA fantasy novel “Traveler” (Swoon Reads/MacMillan) and lifelong writer. Her work has been featured on various online outlets and she lives in Pennsylvania with two very adventurous kids and two very ridiculous cats. In her spare time, she writes (of course) and binge-watches way too much Netflix.</div>
<br />Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-71731257986184402192019-05-01T07:23:00.000-07:002019-05-01T21:23:39.465-07:00Mini Reviews - April 2019<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548349704l/34992959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="34992959" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548349704l/34992959.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <b><i>Defy Me</i></b><br />
Author: Tahereh Mafi<br />
Series: Shatter Me #5<br />
Rating: 4/5<br />
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I actually did a full review for this one, <a href="https://acrossthebookiverse.blogspot.com/2019/04/defy-me-by-tahereh-mafi-review.html" target="_blank">right here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530196870l/40358551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="40358551" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530196870l/40358551.jpg" width="125" /></a>Title: <b><i>One?</i></b><br />
Author: Jennifer L. Cahill<br />
Rating: 4/5<br />
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**I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review**<br />
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This took me a while to get through, but I thoroughly enjoyed every word. It's the perfect book to just take time to relax and read, which is exactly what I needed. The main characters all had different things to deal with and I found myself genuinely interested to see where each character ends up. I especially liked Penelope's storyline, because she keeps getting guys thrown at her and she doesn't want to end up with someone completely plain and boring. Which makes sense! The ending was a plot twist that I didn't see coming and ended in a way that was basically a cliff hanger, so I can't wait to read the next one. I'm team Alyx.Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-81775341523240542172019-04-24T12:34:00.001-07:002019-04-24T14:32:10.031-07:00Top 10 - Sci-fi Books<div>
Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, so while I was busy studying for finals, I threw together this list of 10 Sci-fi books that I absolutely adore in no particular order!</div>
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1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis<br />
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2. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner</div>
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3. <a href="https://acrossthebookiverse.blogspot.com/2016/04/alienated-by-melissa-landers-review.html" target="_blank">Alienated</a> by Melissa Landers</div>
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4. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card</div>
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5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer</div>
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6. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch</div>
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7. <a href="https://acrossthebookiverse.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-body-electric-review.html" target="_blank">The Body Electric</a> by Beth Revis</div>
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8. 1984 by George Orwell</div>
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9. Divergent by Veronica Roth</div>
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10. The Host by Stephanie Meyer</div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-8006760416667651042019-04-17T17:48:00.002-07:002019-04-17T17:49:42.646-07:00Blog Tour - Don't Lie to Me + Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKtzIOSmTGErwum-Jo8eQ7qNpoRgC-yVPubfASAMolpLwR60SttMEJ-9BKwtQ8rF1ChrOuw1GIbjJl3L_OMZVogAjY4zNTCKtYreV77_6p1ZzXDXNCzYT3wI9WqZsWtoxTywllwAXkTw/s1600/dont+lie+to+me+banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="851" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKtzIOSmTGErwum-Jo8eQ7qNpoRgC-yVPubfASAMolpLwR60SttMEJ-9BKwtQ8rF1ChrOuw1GIbjJl3L_OMZVogAjY4zNTCKtYreV77_6p1ZzXDXNCzYT3wI9WqZsWtoxTywllwAXkTw/s400/dont+lie+to+me+banner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9Yr9c5KtPTAdu_20mtWNOKXk0TIeBa6eA-o7dyldY-ekrejsqkXiBgdtKN5oCEzTdE_VwdBvPgFaG7WfyDQ8RGUG82JVK310-RVKjp-Cf3V5nfne1DLF7NbtldLklZL-Ufggmx64u34/s1600/Don%2527t+lie+3D+paperback.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="653" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9Yr9c5KtPTAdu_20mtWNOKXk0TIeBa6eA-o7dyldY-ekrejsqkXiBgdtKN5oCEzTdE_VwdBvPgFaG7WfyDQ8RGUG82JVK310-RVKjp-Cf3V5nfne1DLF7NbtldLklZL-Ufggmx64u34/s320/Don%2527t+lie+3D+paperback.png" width="270" /></a><br />
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Title: <b><i>Don't Lie to Me</i></b><br />
Author: Willow Rose<br />
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When twelve-year-old Sophie Williams went on a Girl Scout summer camp, she never returned home.<br />
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Three months later, her body is found inside her sleeping bag in the most frequented area of Cocoa Beach, and the town is outraged.<br />
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The girl isn't just any child. She's the town's most beloved surf idol, and it was believed that she could be the next Kelly Slater.<br />
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As another child, the son of a well-known senator is kidnapped, and the parents receive a disturbing video, FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas — who has just returned to her hometown, divorced and out of a job — plunges into the investigation, breaking her promise to her children not to do police work again.<br />
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Local law enforcement, with her old flame Matt Miller in charge, are the ones who ask for her help in a case so unsettling that only she can solve it. But the deeper they dig, the deadlier it becomes for Matt and Eva Rae. Soon, everyone she holds dear is in grave danger as this case hits a little too close to home.<br />
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<h4>
Giveaway</h4>
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<div>
Follow the tour <a href="https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/dont-lie-to-me-book-tour-and-giveaway" target="_blank">HERE</a> for exclusive content and a giveaway!</div>
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https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/dont-lie-to-me-book-tour-and-giveaway</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="23d974a91326" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/23d974a91326/" id="rcwidget_x7wpa8ww" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></div>
</div>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-74790905724715548352019-04-13T12:33:00.000-07:002019-04-13T12:33:57.056-07:00Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi - Review<div>
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548349704l/34992959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="34992959" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548349704l/34992959.jpg" width="212" /></a>Title: <b><i>Defy Me</i></b></div>
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Author: Tahereh Mafi</div>
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Series: Shatter Me #5</div>
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Rating: 4/5</div>
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Plot: </h4>
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Shatter Me has been one of my favourite series for as long as I can remember, but this might be my least favourite. For some reason, Kenji is a fan favourite, so he got a big POV for a good portion of this book. Reading his perspective just felt overdone and like it was pandering to the fans, but I found myself skimming his parts just to find the 1-2 pages of Warner or Juliette (I mean Ella). Even the parts with Warner and Julitette seemed disappointing though. There was very little action and when there was action it went so fast I could feel myself getting hyped up about it. And it was always the kind of action where I never felt like the characters were in danger. </div>
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<h4>
Characters:</h4>
<h3>
Juliette/Ella:</h3>
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I get the idea behind the name change, really, but Juliette is such a beautiful name and basically erasing that and throwing a generic name like Ella (sorry to the Ellas out there) into the mix just makes me kind of sad. It’s like all that history of the first three books is just gone or it gives me a whole new perspective on it that I don’t like. I used to love the first three books and now I feel like everything in them was a lie. </div>
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Warner:</h3>
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Sweet boy. After<i> Ignite Me</i> his character started going downhill. Now he’s the kind of character where his only purpose is to argue with other characters, come off as the I-never-had-a-good-childhood-and-now-I-don’t-know-pop-culture character, and serve as Juliella’s (I’m using that as a coping mechanism) protector/worry about her all the time. It makes me sad. I still love him and I think he had some great character development in this book regarding his relationship with his father and learning about his past with Juliella, but I can’t help but feel like a part of that character I loved is missing.</div>
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Kenji:</h3>
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Y’all already know how I feel about this boy. As far as I’m concerned, he’s there for comic relief and to be a friend to Juliella but other than that I can’t figure out why he is so overhyped. I can understand a small POV to get the perspective of the sector since Juliella and Warner weren’t available to come to the phone, but he had some thick chapters.</div>
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Overall:</h4>
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There were some good parts to this. I particularly liked Juliella’s POV when she was being held, because it felt so intense and raw. </div>
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I’m at that point where I kind of wish they just hadn’t come out with three more books and just left it at <i>Ignite Me</i>. <i>Restore Me</i> was okay, but now I’m just not in it anymore. This doesn’t even feel like the same series. And even though I love Warner and Juli…Ella together, their relationship just seemed off kilter and awkward in this book. Of course, that won’t stop me from reading the last book and it won’t stop me from preordering it and reading it as soon as I get it, but I already feel the disappointment on the horizon. I just hope it has the same satisfactory end as <i>Ignite Me</i>. </div>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-80768911921907514942019-04-10T10:09:00.000-07:002019-04-17T17:48:58.217-07:00Blog Tour - The Liberty Box Trilogy Excerpt + Giveaway<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdMVppgLwN0Cd8EmircQeE6jt2icRj9HUbEGwqzJ3QY1lbsxKZUEVLSxbHwyzWMpL1bXxpuDXS1-mhbUIYYayneCG5U3dU292D1MaPQe2iuzjkon6ubEqeXZ30d90bylR2F-XXKz5SLE/s1600/the+liberty+box+trilogy+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="851" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdMVppgLwN0Cd8EmircQeE6jt2icRj9HUbEGwqzJ3QY1lbsxKZUEVLSxbHwyzWMpL1bXxpuDXS1-mhbUIYYayneCG5U3dU292D1MaPQe2iuzjkon6ubEqeXZ30d90bylR2F-XXKz5SLE/s400/the+liberty+box+trilogy+banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21xuH6MGJR0P7gjLs1A78frTOpBlkxBsvRmz7A_CZ46mNXu6Kn7vb6aSU6vAH9MMAPOCnr18xQFm_MydqKlCanBbtjqX7ASuiAWE_iIVlbjLtVIIWJpPTIO8gFSn_z1BvX0Bk7qVcnGE/s1600/1-+The+Liberty+Box_392x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="392" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21xuH6MGJR0P7gjLs1A78frTOpBlkxBsvRmz7A_CZ46mNXu6Kn7vb6aSU6vAH9MMAPOCnr18xQFm_MydqKlCanBbtjqX7ASuiAWE_iIVlbjLtVIIWJpPTIO8gFSn_z1BvX0Bk7qVcnGE/s320/1-+The+Liberty+Box_392x600.jpg" width="209" /></a>Title: <b><i>The Liberty Box</i></b></div>
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Author: C.A. Gray</div>
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Series: The Liberty Box #1</div>
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Kate <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brandeis has it all: a famous reporter at the age of
twenty-four, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">she’s the face of the Republic of the Americas. She has a
loving</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">fiancé and all the success she could wish for. But when she learns of</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the death of a long-forgotten friend, her investigations unravel her</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> perfect memories, forcing her to face the fact that she’s been living</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> a lie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Jackson <span style="font-size: 12pt;">MacNamera, trained from a young age in the art of mind
control </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">returns to the Republic for his mother’s funeral. Within a
few </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">hours of his arrival, authorities collect Jackson and take
him by </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">force to a room ironically called The Liberty Box, where he
must </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">choose between surrendering his thoughts to the new Republic,
or </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">fleeing for his freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Kate, <span style="font-size: 12pt;">bereaved and confused, finds her way to a cave community of
refugees, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">where Jackson seems to offer her an escape from her grief.
The two </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">forge an uneasy bond, and in the process, Jackson learns that
Kate has </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">some insight which may help the hunters in their attempt to
free </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">other citizens from the tyranny of the Potentate. Against the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">expressed wishes of the Council, the hunters plot a series of
daring </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">raids, attempting to prove that not only is freedom possible,
but </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">that the citizens are not too far gone to desire it. But with
the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">odds so stacked against them, can the refugees succeed in
their </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rescue missions right under the Potentate’s
nose?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Excerpt</span></h4>
<br />
<div>
Prologue: Twenty Four Years Ago</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Smoke billowed up into the sky as far as the eye could see. Benjamin Voltolini took a step back as a looter dashed in front of him with a torch, lobbing it at the vacant bank not ten feet away. Within minutes, it went up in flames. The other looters cheered, throwing rocks to shatter the windows, or lobbing more torches for good measure. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The banks had gotten the worst of it from the start. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Calmly, Ben weaved his way through the crowd, head up, his expression vacant, but with a hint of amusement that he could not quite erase. He’d intentionally ripped his clothes and caked them in mud to blend in, so that he could steal a large container of gasoline from one of the few remaining gas stations. He paused every so often to change his grip or wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, keeping as far away from the flames as he could. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He’d left his Mazerati well outside the city limits. He had a long way to go. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By the time Ben drove up to the fortress built into the side of the mountain, the sun dipped low behind it. Two armed guards stood by a high chain link gate, and they leveled their machine guns at him as he slowed to approach. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Whatever happened to a simple greeting?” Ben muttered to himself, but raised his hands in the air behind the windshield. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the guards pulled some sort of device to his mouth and spoke rapidly as he jogged to Ben’s window. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Identify yourself and state your business!”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Benjamin Voltolini, Venture Capitalist.” Ben’s teeth gleamed in perfect rows. “Here to present to the former Congress of the United States of America the answer to all of their problems.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Do you know any members of the Tribunal personally? Have they summoned you?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I guarantee they all know me by reputation.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Get lost,” the guard ordered. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Oh, I don’t think you want to do that, Sergeant—” Ben read the young man’s lapel, “—Branson, and I’ll tell you why. Pretty soon I will be the dictator of this country. And I never forget a favor. Nor a slight.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I tell you what, you arrogant bastard,” Sergeant Branson snarled, moving the safety off of his weapon. “I’ll give you to the count of ten, and by the end of it if your tires aren’t screaming on this pavement,” he pointed out into the wasteland, raising his gun, “I’ll give you exactly what you deserve.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben looked Sergeant Branson up and down, as if committing him to memory. “Go on, then.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The sergeant’s mouth fell open for a moment, unsure how to respond to this. “One!” he shouted, “Two!” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben watched him as the sergeant’s face turned various shades of red and finally puce by the time he reached number nine. Then, just as he leveled the weapon with Ben’s face and was about to pronounce the number ten, Ben punched the accelerator as hard as he could—not in reverse, toward of the wasteland behind him, but toward the locked gate up ahead. The other armed guard scarcely had time to leap out of the way before Ben plowed through. The gate itself snapped open and huge sections of the fence clattered to the ground in its wake. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He saw the commotion behind him from the rearview mirror, but didn’t slow down until he reached the courtyard, skidding to a stop just before he crushed a fountain in the shape of an eagle. The burnt rubber smell assaulted him even before he opened his car door. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He stepped out, opened his arms wide, and held up his hands in a gesture of both surrender and welcome as most of what remained of the Congress filed out of the meeting hall in disbelief.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“So this is the secret lair of the last vestiges of Congress!” he declared. </div>
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<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Who the hell do you think you are?” snapped an old man with a shiny pate. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben gave a little bow. “Forgive my rather dramatic entrance, gentlemen. It was the only way I could get past your guards. Excellent young men. You should give them both a raise.” He chuckled at his own joke.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Nobody gets paid anymore,” snapped one of them unnecessarily. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Oh?” Ben raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Well, that’s a shame. I can help you fix that.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“You can help us pay our guards?” cried one, incredulous.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I can help you get paid again yourselves,” Ben clarified, “you and everyone else in this country. Well…” he chuckled again, “more or less.” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“That’s Ben Voltolini,” he heard one of them whisper to another, and then the whispers swept throughout the crowd. “The billionaire?” and “Where did he get gas for that car from, anyway?”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben gestured inside the fortress, adding, “May I?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the hoary members of the Tribunal stepped aside one by one, exchanging glances with one another that suggested they knew this was against their better judgment—but really, what harm could there be in hearing him out? </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The entrance led to a long hall lit by torches, the light from the sky growing dimmer and dimmer as they walked. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Torches, everywhere torches, Ben thought with disgust. It was like the Dark Ages all over again. But not for long. Everything is about to change. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At last the hall opened up to a wide, irregularly shaped room looking like it had been hewn out of the side of a mountain—which, in fact, it had. The men filed in behind him to their seats, and Ben walked to the white boards at the front and grabbed a marker. He wouldn’t need to draw much, but this established to all that he had the floor, which was his intention. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Gentlemen,” he grinned. “Indulge me just for a few moments whilst I remind you all where we are. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“The United States is no more. For one hundred and twelve days now, there has been rioting in the streets. You, the remnant of the Congress who were not killed in those first few days after the collapse, now fashioning yourselves the Tribunal, emerged, and have attempted—badly, I might add—to maintain order as a police state. You haven’t the manpower to arrest all the rioters, of course, so instead you have resorted to gunning down citizens at will. I am not judging you.” He held up his hands as the protests began, the mocking smirk never leaving his face. “I understand that there is a greater good at stake. You are doing all you can to maintain order. But you and I both know that it is not enough. Creating order, and maintaining it, requires money.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“As if we don’t already know that,” someone grumbled from the front row.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Ah, yes,” Ben said calmly. “But where does the government get its money from?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The question was patronizing, and the Tribunal glowered at him collectively, refusing to play along.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Undaunted, Ben answered his own question. “Taxes,” he said.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“There’s nothing for us to tax, idiot!” shouted one. “There’s nothing left!”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Of course there is not. The people have to get back to work first so that you can garnish their wages. But I understand your conundrum—how can you create jobs for them when there is no industry left, when the few functional businesses left are being razed to the ground as we speak by angry citizens needing to feed their starving families?</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“This is where I come in.” One hand fluttered to his chest, an affected gesture he’d perfected. “In the last ten years, I’ve funded two projects in particular that have the potential to turn this nation around, from absolute destitution and anarchy to a thriving Republic.” He paused. “Yes, that’s right, I said Republic, not Democracy.” He waited to be asked. When nobody did, he continued, unfazed, “The first of these projects is a genetically engineered version of the Epstein Barr Virus, distributed by an airborne vaccinia vector.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Epstein Barr has been around for many generations now. This particular strain is highly virulent—much more so than the original strain, primarily causing anemia and severe fatigue.” He uncapped his marker and drew a squiggly line on the white board, and an incomplete squiggly circle next to it. Then he drew an arrow, where the first squiggly line fit inside the circle. “This,” he pointed to the circle, “represents the vaccinia vector. It is a version of smallpox, minus the portion that makes it smallpox. Now it’s just a shell, a perfect delivery system for other genetic information. It has been engineered to cover hundreds of miles at a time once it is released. In this case, it is a delivery system for the Epstein Barr virus.” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben read confusion and disgust on their faces. One said, “So you want to make us all sick?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Not sick,” Ben held up one finger, “exhausted. You see, anemia slows people down. Takes the fire out of them. Takes the fight out of them. But it will not last forever—eventually people’s immune systems will be strong enough to fight it off. This baby will buy you—oh, about six months. Oh, and not us, mind you. I have vaccines against the virus for a—ehem—select few.” He cleared his throat with a contrived little cough. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Six months to do what?” someone shouted.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I’m so glad you asked.” Ben said graciously. “This brings me to the second brilliant invention I’ve funded in the last decade or so: the common carrier brainwave.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Blank stares met him. Ben turned to the white board again, erased the vaccinia vector and its contents, and instead drew something he only just remembered from gradeschool: a sine wave. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Pretend for a moment, gentlemen, that this is a brainwave. Everyone, every human being, has a brainwave that corresponds to this carrier wave. Now, yours, or yours, or yours,” he pointed to a few in the front row, “all have slight variations unique to you, but they all have a form more or less like this one. Just like we all have an idea what fingerprints look like, but each person’s fingerprint is slightly different, variations on a theme. Yes?”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Get to the point,” someone shouted in the back.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“This is the point,” he said. “In broadcasting, all information gets transmitted via a common carrier wave, right? Brainwaves work the same way. The variations upon the carrier are what transmit information. Your thoughts are like that. Variations on your specific carrier wave get interpreted by your brain as information.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Now. What if we, the government, the Tribunal, could create a broadcasting center that would broadcast a version of the common human carrier brainwave that was slightly altered, to suit our purposes? Once the citizens of this new Republic are fatigued and a bit addled, they’ll be highly suggestible.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“You want to brainwash the public?” cried one.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“That is an ugly way to put it,” Ben retorted in an injured manner. “I prefer to think of it as reprogramming the way they think—for their own good, of course. What we must do in order to create a productive, healthy society is to alter human nature.” There was a cry of outrage, and Ben shouted over them, “Come now! Which of you can refute the fact that the U.S. collapsed because the rich refused to share their wealth for the common good? That they were motivated by selfishness and greed?”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“This from you, the greediest of them all!” someone snarled. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben raised his eyebrows in mock offense. “On the contrary, I am proving right now that I’ve invested my wealth in the ultimate good of the people! But as I was saying, it was because of the greed of the rich that eventually all of the government programs to support the needy ran out of funds, requiring us to borrow from overseas to keep our government afloat. But in that process, we buried ourselves in such a deep hole that eventually no other nation was willing to lend to us anymore. And then, as you know all too well, the United States eked out a few last years by printing more and more money, leading to such massive inflation that a loaf of bread cost thirty dollars—and then the whole system collapsed on itself. U.S. dollars are worth about as much as toilet paper. Businesses collapsed, people lost their jobs and subsequently their homes, and they can’t afford to buy anything—so they started stealing what they needed, causing even the few remaining businesses to go under until resources were consumed and nobody has anything. That’s where we are now.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“But all of this happened because of the greed of the wealthy!” Ben declared. “If they would simply think of the greater good, as you fine gentlemen have been trying to do all along, if they would do their part in helping society, then all of us could rebuild a nation much stronger than the U.S. ever was!”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After a long pause, during which Ben could tell that the Tribunal considered his words, someone asked skeptically, “And you propose to do this how?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben was waiting for this question. “By fundamentally changing human nature,” he replied again, his eyes twinkling. “You all recognize, of course, that what I propose is a socialist system. And of course you all know that socialism does not work, in most cases, because men are too busy looking out for themselves, and never for the good of their fellow men. They protest. They rebel against their lot.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“This is why the common carrier brainwave is so important!” he declared. “Don’t you see? We must change the way men think.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was a long pause, and then someone shouted, “And this will work on—everyone?”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“It has worked on about ninety-seven percent of our test subjects,” Ben returned, “but that extra three percent would require us to collect an imprint of each citizen’s individual brainwaves. Once the population has been infected, we will set up stations around the nation where citizens can be scanned, and make the scanning mandatory. That way, we will be able to find and eliminate the rebels before they can become a problem.” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“What if they don’t come?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Easy enough. We’ll offer rations of food to those who come, and a threat of jail to those who don’t. Still, not everyone will show—but it’ll be easy enough for us to track down the remnant, since my technology can detect and locate undocumented brain waves.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“So you’ll just—kill the dissenters?” cried someone. “Anyone who doesn’t do what you want them to? That’s murder!” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben raised his eyebrows. “Is it so much worse than shooting rioters to protect the rest of the people? What I propose is no different than that, and much more effective. In both cases you will eliminate the few for the good of the many.” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was silence, then a slight murmur rippled through the crowd. Someone from the back shouted, “So you infect them and brainwash them. What then? What exactly do you envision for the future of this socialist nation, Voltolini?” </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben’s face took on a bit of a glow. “Picture this,” he declared. “There will be no private businesses. All of them will be government-run. Everyone will be a government employee, and will be placed in a position that best suits his abilities. Higher education will exist, but only for those who score high enough on placement exams; everyone else will be funneled into trades or physical labor. The education programs will be selected for the individual, based upon aptitude. And because there will be no market to determine value of a given skill, everyone will make the same hourly wage—but all of it will go into government coffers. Then the government will dole out what each person needs for survival, and no more than that: a standard ration of food, health care, housing, and etcetera.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“The primary difference between this new Republic and other socialist systems is that the people will have a mindset of true selflessness and altruism. They will adore their government. They will see the government as a loving parent, meeting their needs with abundance—because that is what they will be programmed to believe. Anyone who resists will first receive another injection of the virus to see if they can be rehabilitated. In the event that the second attempt also does not work, they must be swiftly eliminated. This is absolutely necessary, or we risk rebels who might start a revolution.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The irregular room burst into murmurs at this. They were excited murmurs, as Ben knew they would have to be—he had thought of everything. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“But!” he cried out, his voice ringing over the chatter of the crowd, and he waited for their voices to die down enough before he declared, “in order for this vision to become a reality, you will need a strong leader!”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“You, I suppose?” cried one. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Of course,” Ben grinned. “I am the one who knows more about both of these measures than anyone. I will, of course, require your complete allegiance. This will be no easy task. The time for dissension and such antiquated ideas as checks and balances has come and gone.”</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“What will you call yourself? The President?” shouted one, scornfully. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Oh, no no no,” Ben said, softly. “The title of President implies a democracy, and I do not wish to be misleading. I will call myself—the Potentate.” Yes, he thought, sighing with pleasure. What an appropriate title. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Speaker for the Tribunal put it to a vote. Ben Voltolini was elected Potentate with an eighty-five percent majority in the last democratic act of the former Congress of the United States of America. </div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As his first act as Potentate, Voltolini declared that the nation would henceforth be known as the Republic of the Americas.</div>
<div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Gentlemen of the Tribunal,” he declared, “we are making history. Together, we shall create the world’s very first utopia.” </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Giveaway</span></h4>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-68935634057181326572019-04-03T13:39:00.000-07:002019-05-06T14:05:05.324-07:00Mini Reviews - February/March 2019<div>
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535299447l/41464181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="41464181" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535299447l/41464181.jpg" width="130" /></a>Title: <i><b>The Boy from the Snow</b></i></div>
<div>
Author: Maria Johnson</div>
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Rating: 3/5</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
While I actually enjoyed the characters in this story, I had to put this one down when I was 53% of the way done with it. After four months of consistently picking it up and putting it down, I realized that I just don't have it in me to finish this book. Historical fiction is not my cup of tea in the slightest and regardless of the characters and my general interest in the storyline, I could not picture myself reading another 47% of this book without pitching some kind of fit about having to re-immerse myself in the story and once again learning how to juggle not only the characters but the historical context that I have a rough time grasping. While this wasn't for me, I entirely recommend this to lovers of historical fiction, because the writing itself is quite good.</div>
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534049248l/39320556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="39320556" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534049248l/39320556.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <b><i>They Both Die at the End</i></b><br />
Author: Adam Silvera<br />
Rating 4/5<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div>
For this one, I actually did a <a href="https://acrossthebookiverse.blogspot.com/2019/03/they-both-die-at-end-by-adam-silvera.html" target="_blank">full review</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503003629l/33641244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="33641244" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503003629l/33641244.jpg" width="126" /></a>Title: <b><i>The Power</i></b><br />
Author: Naomi Alderman<br />
Rating: 3/5<br />
<br />
I have weird feelings on this one. While I appreciate the idea behind it and, in actuality, it has a really good message about toxicity, masculinity, and what power really means in different hands, I just couldn't get past a few things that felt off to me. For starters, I am not big on the religious aspect in <i>The Power </i>and it really took away from the bigger part of the story. This story really shows how power affects people and not for the better. Power in anyone's hands can lead to destruction, but I don't like the idea of how hard it seems to backfire. If anything, I think that women getting so carried away made the world worse and more war-torn which might have been the intended reaction. Essentially, power corrupts. I liked the concept of the skein and all the side effects of it being removed or the situations where it was an anomaly in a male body in particular, since it is so realistic. But the whole Mother Eve plotline felt short and left a sour taste in my mouth.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451082469l/28345530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="28345530" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451082469l/28345530.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <b><i>Mimadamos: The Eden of Choice</i></b><br />
Author: Chadi B. Ghaith<br />
Rating: 2/5<br />
<br />
**I received an e-copy of this in exchange for an honest review**<br />
<br />
<i>Mimadamos</i> is a fantastical story of belief and the power of the divine. Despite my 2 star rating on this, I don't necessarily dislike it. The style of writing that Ghaith uses is something akin to biblical texts or old writings that you have to read in history class. The writing itself isn't bad, I just felt like it was weighted down and I had to really focus on everything to feel part of the story to the point where I knew I was reading, so I never got immersed in the world. It would be best described as historical fiction except that it isn't historical, but that's what it felt like. I also don't know a lot about Gnosticism and that felt like a disadvantage throughout. If I was Gnostic or even if I knew a little background knowledge about it this probably would have been better, but I just couldn't get into this like I hoped.</div>
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</div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-75042256585655580872019-03-27T11:39:00.000-07:002019-03-27T11:50:04.743-07:00Blog Tour - Author Interview - M.D. Neu<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgsLgwym2wBv1ShZVVLOqgtxKBnxDWiRLNDSDvdUebOdBprvJZu_q7nnCNETqJHxhkSLMLKBENUGQOBujYAC10X3yq8Nt2bv_VGaXHgnxnGhT2FocJh02HMith4HZJUAbW4UXAd0LQsY/s1600/ANewWorldContactTourBanner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgsLgwym2wBv1ShZVVLOqgtxKBnxDWiRLNDSDvdUebOdBprvJZu_q7nnCNETqJHxhkSLMLKBENUGQOBujYAC10X3yq8Nt2bv_VGaXHgnxnGhT2FocJh02HMith4HZJUAbW4UXAd0LQsY/s320/ANewWorldContactTourBanner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940161442821_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Contact" border="0" height="320" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940161442821_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg" width="211" /></a>A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to 7 billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who will soon be told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice. Todd Landon is one of these people, living and working in a section of the world called the United States of America. His life is similar to those around him: home, family, work, friends and a husband.<br />
<br />
On the cusp of the greatest announcement humankind has ever witnessed, Todd’s personal world is thrown into turmoil when his estranged brother shows up on his front porch with news of ships heading for Earth’s orbit. The ships are holding the Nentraee, a humanoid race who have come to Earth in need of help after fleeing the destruction of their homeworld. How will one man bridge the gap for both the Humans and Nentraee, amongst mistrust, terrorist attacks and personal loss? Will this be the start of a new age of man or will bigotry and miscommunication bring this small world to its knees and final end?<br />
<br />
<h4>
Interview</h4>
<b>Do you have any writing exercises or habits?</b><br />
<br />
This is a tough one, because I don’t think I do. However, I tend to read a lot of my fellow authors works. I will read genres that are not my own to help broaden my horizons and to teach me other ways of telling a story. Also, I do a lot of social media at work, which helps me to develop getting a point across in short bursts. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it isn’t. Where I find that it’s helpful is for when I’m putting together my first draft, because once I have the bones of the story laid out I can go in a flesh out the rest of the story from there.<br />
<br />
<b>How do you deal with writer’s block?</b><br />
<br />
If I get stuck, I will work on story research or read, that usually inspires me to get back to my writing.<br />
<br />
<b>What authors/books inspired your writing?</b><br />
<br />
Oh gosh, there are so many. I read many Star Trek books (which tend to have different authors), contemporary literature, Stephen King, Kim Stanley Robinson, Anne Rice, and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.<br />
<br />
<b>Do you have a special connection to any of your characters?</b><br />
<br />
All my characters are a part of me, and I enjoy writing each of them. The first one that jumps out at me is Kati, I love her, because she says and does things that are so outrageous, but she’s a good person and I like that. We, people in general, get too hung up in what and how we speak. It’s gotten to the point where we don’t see what’s behind it. A person can say crass things and still be a good person who you would want to be around and who you love and adore and I think that sums up Kati to a tea, if you are easily offended then Kati will definitely say things that will make your eyes bleed.<br />
<br />
<b>What is your go-to book that never lets you down?</b><br />
<br />
I don’t really have a go to book. Typically, I don’t re-read books. I’ll read them once and I’m done. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them, because I do.<br />
<br />
<b>What can we hope to see from you in the future?</b><br />
<br />
In the immediate future, I have two more books coming out;<i> A New World-Conviction</i>, and <i>T.A.D-The Angle of Death</i>. After that, I’ve finished writing <i>A New World-Conspiracy</i> and that is with the Editor and I’m wrapping up the first draft of the sequel to my vampire series The Calling, which is tentatively titled <i>The Called</i>. From there I have more stories simmering but nothing fleshed out yet.<br />
<br />
<b>Any advice for aspiring authors?</b><br />
<br />
Keep writing and don’t give up. Write what you love to read and people will find you. Also, learn what you can about marketing and PR, because you’re going to need it. Writing the story is hard, but getting the story into people’s hands is even harder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcLwJA_9wPpfpT7vPYkLPg42rPC-qDdh2zeRrMyPUKWov6ZE3IbmTCGwIOKX5xKXQVLhZhjofdomXYlvWhdV6ApIMEpVC3vov_kCRzrCkDEx5udePQE3IZYTleqX4pjLvSGm7WrlRzI/s1600/MD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcLwJA_9wPpfpT7vPYkLPg42rPC-qDdh2zeRrMyPUKWov6ZE3IbmTCGwIOKX5xKXQVLhZhjofdomXYlvWhdV6ApIMEpVC3vov_kCRzrCkDEx5udePQE3IZYTleqX4pjLvSGm7WrlRzI/s1600/MD.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he's always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.</div>
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Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.</div>
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When M.D. Neu isn't writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of eighteen plus years.</div>
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Giveaway</h4>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-20344908436155671582019-03-14T10:10:00.000-07:002019-03-20T07:02:03.244-07:00Blog Tour - Author Interview - Aileen Erin + Giveaway<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OoJPMbeTqpsO6hPnvdtSouIRPmd4wdxCxTlL104Qpxv3cy7sQbhLJ4fJQa5Za1dazfbZGIPaFhpT9u7OPJUBNyXWJnBP5kUSvz1dBJBlDLGsN3FxoxdqOjI0lYbO_5ngGTOiR7-0Vgk/s1600/OffPlanetTourBannerNew.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OoJPMbeTqpsO6hPnvdtSouIRPmd4wdxCxTlL104Qpxv3cy7sQbhLJ4fJQa5Za1dazfbZGIPaFhpT9u7OPJUBNyXWJnBP5kUSvz1dBJBlDLGsN3FxoxdqOjI0lYbO_5ngGTOiR7-0Vgk/s320/OffPlanetTourBannerNew.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781943858729_p0_v6_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Off Planet" border="0" height="320" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781943858729_p0_v6_s550x406.jpg" width="211" /></a><br />
<b><i>From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin</i></b><br />
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Maite Martinez has always yearned for more than waitressing in a greasy diner on the polluted ruins of planet Earth. Hiding her special abilities is a full-time job on its own, even with the government distracted by the mysterious alien race – the Aunare.<br />
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When a SpaceTech officer gets handsy with her, she reacts without thinking. Breaking his nose might not have been her smartest move. Now she’s faced with a choice: serious jail time working in a chain gang on a volcano planet or join the corporate army to fight against the impending war with the Aunare. It’s really no choice at all.<br />
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As with everything in her life, Maite quickly realizes that the war with the Aurnare isn’t what it seems. And Lorne, the Aunare prince, keeps popping up everywhere she goes. Being seen with him could get her in even deeper trouble with her commanders, but he’s the first person who sees through the wall she’s built around herself and she can’t bring herself to send him away.<br />
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When the situation between SpaceTech and the Aunare escalates, Maite has a way to end the war before it even begins. There’s only one question: Can she stop the total annihilation of humanity without getting herself killed in the process?<br />
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Interview</h4>
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<b>What is your ideal writing setting (outside, at a desk, etc.)?</b></div>
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I love to write in a comfy, quiet spot. Usually, that’s in my office. I have a writing chair and a couch that I use. Although if I’m really having trouble getting focused, I’ve been known to write in bed. The more comfortable I am, the easier it is to sink into the story and into my characters’ heads. I also need music. I can’t write without my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. They’re the best. When I’m listening to music and in a comfortable spot, the real world melts away, and I can get totally immersed in my imagination.</div>
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<b><i>Off Planet</i> is a sci-fi novel, what inspired you to write sci-fi and not another genre? What gave you your inspiration?</b></div>
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I wrote Becoming Alpha, the first book in the Alpha Girls series, when I was working on my MFA, but I finished it early and still had another writing term to complete. So, I needed another idea. I was living in Albuquerque, NM at the time while my husband was producing the first Avengers movie, and learned about Spaceport America, “the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport.” I blew my mind that something like that already existed in New Mexico. I started to imagine a world where Albuquerque became the center for space travel and where corporations took over the government. I dreamed about an alien race and what might happen if tensions arose between them and the human Earthers. I had so much fun working on the world-building. I didn’t necessarily set out to write a sci-fi, but that’s where the muse lead me.</div>
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<b>Do you have any writing exercises or habits?</b></div>
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I love to do morning pages as described in The Artist’s Way—you free write for 15-20min in a journal. Not working on a book, just stream of consciousness. In The Artist’s Way, Julie Cameron says to do them when you first wake up, but I don’t necessarily need them to be done in the morning. But before I write, they’re extremely helpful. I find that doing them clears my head of any little things—my to do list or worries and stresses—so that I can focus on writing.</div>
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I also don’t end my day’s writing at the end of a chapter or scene. Even if I’m at the end, I’ll write just a few sentences more into the next chapter or scene. That way, I’m stopping in the middle of whatever I’m working on, and when I start writing the next day, I can just continue the thought. I’m never really left staring at a blank page.</div>
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<b>How do you deal with writer’s block?</b></div>
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For me, not stopping my day’s work at the end of a chapter or scene really helps prevent writer’s block. Also, the morning pages help. But sometimes, even with those two things, it happens. I’ve learned that when I have writer’s block, it means that I’ve gone a direction with the story that isn’t working. So, I usually take a day or two off, and then go back and re-read what I have and then plot to make sure that I’m still heading in the right direction. </div>
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<b>What does literary success mean to you?</b></div>
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Literary success is more than a financial thing to me. It means that my stories are resonating with readers on some level, and that is the whole reason why I write. </div>
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<b>What are some of your favorite writing tropes that people usually hate?</b></div>
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I really love the romance trope where the heroine meets the hero pretty quickly in the book. I really love knowing who should get together, and I love seeing the journey of how the two characters get there. I don’t know if people hate that, but I know that some might fight against the way that romance can be a little formulaic. I personally love it. I love knowing what I’m getting into right away, and love seeing the Happily Ever After.</div>
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<b>What can we hope to see from you in the future?</b></div>
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The Aunare Chronicles will either be 3 or 4 books before it’s completed. So, I’ll be working on that. I’m also working on the Alpha Girls series, and then a spin-off series based on Samantha, a girl that the Alpha Girls gang ran into during Being Alpha. It’s a little darker than the Alpha Girls series, and a little more horror than paranormal. I’ve been wanting to write that one for a long time, and I was so excited that I got to introduce Samantha in Being Alpha.</div>
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<b>Any advice for aspiring authors?</b></div>
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Write every day. The only way to learn to write is to write all the time until you finish your book. Don’t worry about if it’s perfect. Give yourself the space to write a shitty first draft.</div>
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Then, find someone you trust to read your book and give you feedback. So much of writing is rewriting and revising and rewriting until it shines. You have to be able to take feedback and learn to edit your writing. So many aspiring authors either don’t finish their book or don’t listen to and apply feedback. Both are crucial in becoming an author.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrP1DRona9XHJYRpkKQxvwtU1bDViffJZwu0pqRpz3u01az5s2H0mno-yfJBTQh3Bn3-zLjqXuhSZe3OIBhRMpZqFIEYaFkNxZ1RvOBg8w3sOWMOfs10f3o1P0rgy1ptxdzel-VtflQ9E/s1600/Aileen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrP1DRona9XHJYRpkKQxvwtU1bDViffJZwu0pqRpz3u01az5s2H0mno-yfJBTQh3Bn3-zLjqXuhSZe3OIBhRMpZqFIEYaFkNxZ1RvOBg8w3sOWMOfs10f3o1P0rgy1ptxdzel-VtflQ9E/s200/Aileen.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.</div>
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Giveaway</h4>
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<br />Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-85712920883286172112019-03-08T10:36:00.000-08:002019-04-09T08:15:45.951-07:00Top 10 - Books by Female Authors<br />
Happy International Women's Day! This year, to celebrate, I'm going to give my top 10 books written by female authors (in no particular order). Enjoy!<br />
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1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller<br />
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2. Traveler by L.E. DeLano<br />
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3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi<br />
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4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo<br />
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5. The Body Electric by Beth Revis<br />
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6. Legend by Marie Lu<br />
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7. Angelfall by Susan Ee<br />
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8. The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross<br />
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9. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes<br />
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10. Control by Lydia Kang<br />
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All of these lovely books at one point or another (many of them continuously) have reminded me why I love to read so much. They push me forward and, to a degree, have helped me become the person I am today. These lovely ladies not only brought such wonderful books into my life, but they have also pushed me into my career of book-loving and blogging. So thank you to all of you, and many others, that inspire me to keep doing what I do!</div>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-69623995810025040672019-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:002019-03-06T07:15:36.404-08:00They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera - Review<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534049248l/39320556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="39320556" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534049248l/39320556.jpg" width="212" /></a>Title: They Both Die at the End<br />
Author: Adam Silvera<br />
Rating: 4/5<br />
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<b>Themes:</b><br />
death, friendship, love, celebrating life, courage<br />
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There's something beautiful about death. When I picked this book up, I didn't even bother to read the synopsis because I had heard good things about it and I just wanted to charge right in. I would say spoiler alert, but the book itself is a spoiler.<br />
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<b>Plot and World-Building:</b><br />
Conceptually, the idea of Death-Cast is intriguing. The idea is that you get a call on the day you're supposed to die. No one knows how Death-Cast knows when you're going to die, but they are never wrong. The idea of knowing when you're dying has to be a heavy weight. Sure, some people get told they have a month, 6-months, a year, but these people get <i>24 hours </i><b style="font-style: italic;">maximum</b>. And it's all via a phone call from people that their entire job is calling these will-be-dead people called Deckers. I could probably read a handful of books from this world because I have so many questions about it. Does this make people do more reckless things on days they don't get a call? Are people more outgoing? More violent? More loving? I think if we lived in this world I would get a panic attack in the middle of the night, just staring at my phone waiting for the inevitable and that just isn't healthy.<br />
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I need someone to talk to me about this because I find it very interesting and I want more details. Even though this story is told from the perspective of Mateo and Rufus, I like that Silvera added some snippets from other characters here and there. Not only did it show that effects of "the call" on other people, but it also showed how many paths crossed with Mateo and Rufus along the way.<br />
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<b>Characters:</b><br />
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters. Rufus doesn't necessarily have the best taste in friends, but they're loyal and they have his back until the end and I think that's really good. And yes, Peck, I would be extremely pissed off if my girlfriend's ex came out of nowhere and beat me up, but I don't think I would be so extremely pissed as to try and get him arrested or maimed on a day he is supposed to die. Just doesn't feel very worth it.<br />
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The characters in this were very diverse, which was a pleasant surprise. I particularly liked that Lidia was a single teenage mother that works hard to sustain them both. It shows a healthier side as opposed to what reality TV says about teen moms.<br />
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<b><i>Mateo:</i></b><br />
In all honesty, I thought Mateo was a recluse from the beginning and for the first half of the book I just wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him yelling "Live a little". Meeting Rufus was really good for him and watching that relationship grow and develop from the start isn't something easy to do in a 24 hour period of time.<br />
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The one thing I don't agree with is his initial feeling to not tell Lidia he's dying. It just isn't fair to her and that took precious hours that could have meant a lot.<br />
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<b><i>Rufus:</i></b><br />
Their contrasting personalities were interesting. Unlike Mateo, Rufus is tough and outgoing. But he has had a hard life, so I think meeting Mateo did him as much good. He needed someone to push the boundaries with him, emotionally, to help him open up a little.<br />
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<b>Last Thoughts:</b><br />
The fact that this is a YA book is earth-shattering. Usually, death is too real for people to handle, especially when it's set in a world so similar to ours and the characters so similar to people we know. I think that breaks a boundary and really drives home that life is short and we should take advantage of the time we have. Counting the minute and seconds won't get us anywhere. So, take the jump off the cliff, run around in the rain, tell that person you love them.<br />
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<br />Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-40146648090375758312019-02-27T13:16:00.001-08:002019-02-27T13:18:05.705-08:00Publishing 101 #2 - Visual AppealWhen it comes to publishing, visual appeal of graphics, book covers, and advertisements are what can make or break a book's impact on readers. Here are some important things to consider when it comes to making your book a success.<br />
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Graphics are everywhere. They're on advertisements, websites, labels, magazines, and all over social media. Creating them, making them intriguing, is a big step in making your graphics.<br />
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Color</h4>
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Color is a very important thing to consider when making your graphics. Cooler colors are more likely to sooth the reader and your audience while bright, warm colors are more likely to set the viewer on edge. </div>
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For example, blue is meant to be calming and purple is supposed to invoke the feeling of wisdom, while red and orange are exciting and drag attention.</div>
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Fonts</h4>
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The most important thing, especially for such an image-focused industry, is to have content that the viewer can read and understand. That means using fonts like Ariel, Sans, and Times New Roman that are easy to make out and legible. Being conscious of the size of your text is important as well. If you are viewing from a distance, you want the text to be big enough to read, but not overwhelming and if the viewer is close up, you don't want the text to be screaming into their face. Using curly, fancy fonts is less likely to appeal to a general audience, because they take a minute to read fully or, in some cases, they might not be legible at all.</div>
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Message</h4>
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The message is the heart of your graphic or advertisement. When you know the message you're trying to get across, you can expose it better to people that might be interested in your book. You wouldn't be making adult ads for a book that is predominantly for children or YA and you wouldn't be making big flowery posts for a book that is for a serious adult book. </div>
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Know the genre you're advertising for to make your graphics and posts more appropriate to the book you're talking about.</div>
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The main problem with images is knowing what is too much and what isn't enough. You don't want to yell at your audience but you don't want them to be underwhelmed, so make them interesting but don't scare them with your flamboyant color swirls and big images that overlap. This can end up obscuring your text. </div>
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Contrasting colors catch the eye, so if you want to use color keep it to 2-4 that either go together very well or don't go together at all. It drags attention to what you're trying to say. </div>
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Visuals can make or break your message, so make sure that everything you're doing is coherent and easy to understand so that the viewer doesn't get confused. This leads to happy viewers and a happy you!</div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-10258055176530351722019-02-20T08:27:00.000-08:002019-02-20T08:27:46.875-08:00Author Interview - Joshua David Bellin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>What kind of research goes into developing a sci-fi world?</b><br />
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It varies depending on the project. For example, for the Ecosystem Trilogy, I had to learn a lot about (big surprise) ecosystems so I could create my own, sci-fi version of one. But for Freefall, which is set on an exoplanet, I had to research space exploration and colonization. I don’t write “hard” sci-fi, so I always end up taking liberties with the facts, but at the same time, I want the world I’ve created to be plausible enough that readers can lose themselves in it and not say, “hey, wait a minute!” on every other page.<br />
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<b>Do you draw on other fantasy worlds to help develop your own?</b><br />
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Oh, for sure! The Ecosystem books have little parts of Dune, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Thomas Covenant series, and other stories I’ve loved over the years. I don’t think it’s possible to avoid being influenced in that way, and I don’t think it would be a good thing even if you could avoid it. Each imagined world gains depth and complexity from its points of contact with other imagined worlds, so as long as you’re not outright plagiarizing—setting your novel in a magical school called Warthogs with a wizard main character named Perry Hotter—I think you’re enriching your story-world by paying tribute to others.<br />
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<b>What authors/books inspired your writing? Do you read the same genre that you write?</b><br />
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I’ve been a voracious reader my whole life, starting with books that would have been called YA if the category existed when I was a kid—such as the novels of Judy Blume and S. E. Hinton—then graduating to “adult” fantasy and sci-fi, along with the “classic” literature I read in college and grad school (and still read today). To give you an idea of how wide-ranging my reading is, this past month I read the historical novel Giants in the Earth, the contemporary YA thriller Following, and the nonfiction book on baseball analytics, Moneyball. Next up is Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, which I’m re-reading for a class I teach. Everything I read is inspirational, because everything I read goes into my brain and comes out in odd and unexpected forms. That’s why writers have to be readers: not because any particular book or genre teaches you “how to write,” but because every story you read adds to your ability to tell your own.<br />
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<b>What is your ideal writing setting (outside, at a desk, etc.)?</b><br />
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Sadly, I find myself desk-bound most of the time when I’m writing. I wish I could venture into the great outdoors, or take my laptop to some cool, funky bookstore and type away while soaking up the book-vibes, but the truth is, I can’t write unless I cut out every possible distraction. That means no music, no social media, no food or drink or other people while I’m writing. The only problem is that I write at home, so occasionally I do have to interact with my wife and kids!<br />
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<b>Do you have any writing exercises or habits?</b><br />
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I’m not much of a planner, because I find that I make my best discoveries as a writer when I don’t know what’s coming next. Setting is very important to each of my stories, so I do like to draw a rough map of my imagined world before I start. I also jot down brief chapter summaries, but usually only after I’m midway through a manuscript and want to make sure I tie up all the loose ends. What this approach means is that I tend to produce really messy drafts, which is okay since I’m a good reviser. I think every writer has to find the habits that work for them, with the only requirement being that if you want to be a writer, you have to write.<br />
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<b>Any advice for aspiring authors?</b><br />
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The best advice I can give—and I learned this the hard way—is to focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. Look, there is ultimately nothing you can do to assure yourself of commercial success as a writer: you can write the best book you’re capable of, and you can market it all you want (or all you can afford), but there’s still no guarantee it’ll hit the bestseller lists. The publishers have a formula, which involves pouring most of their promotional dollars into a few “big” books each year (usually the ones written by the already established authors who least need the support), but even that formula doesn’t always pan out, while occasionally, a book no one expected to hit it big goes viral. The one and only thing you can control as a writer is your writing. So write, and dream, and have fun, and maybe you’ll make a splash. But even if you don’t, you’ll still have written. And dreamed. And had fun. Which is what the whole thing should be about.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-gFAkFNglp3ff2QrRTvbhqXbHlcV0ILCF8fbD-Qf4ecC0nxO8A_jipOKPf31eHlw9c-D7v13C0YJ8TzTlt47l_wBlRgFg8y1DSsFt6FaE_8YKdkDQSFFYuoXRO5691HYAoc0TPP8wO0/s1600/Author-photo-2018-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1007" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-gFAkFNglp3ff2QrRTvbhqXbHlcV0ILCF8fbD-Qf4ecC0nxO8A_jipOKPf31eHlw9c-D7v13C0YJ8TzTlt47l_wBlRgFg8y1DSsFt6FaE_8YKdkDQSFFYuoXRO5691HYAoc0TPP8wO0/s200/Author-photo-2018-cropped.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). A college teacher by day, he has published numerous works of fantasy and science fiction, including the two-part Survival Colony series (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18457362-survival-colony-nine" target="_blank">Survival Colony 9</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27206580-scavenger-of-souls" target="_blank">Scavenger of Souls</a>), the deep-space adventure <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29838368-freefall" target="_blank">Freefall</a>, and the short story collection <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40543590-ten-tales-of-terror-and-terra" target="_blank">Ten Tales of Terror and Terra</a>. The Ecosystem series—<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39663460-ecosystem" target="_blank">Ecosystem</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42098572-the-devouring-land" target="_blank">The Devouring Land</a>, and House of Earth, House of Stone—is his latest work of speculative fiction. In his free time, Josh likes to read, watch movies, and take long nature hikes with his kids. Oh, yeah, and he likes monsters. Really scary monsters.<br />
<br />
You can find him on his <a href="https://joshuadavidbellin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="http://theyaguy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/TheYAGuy" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/joshuadavidbellin" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-84583417339201639152019-02-13T15:42:00.000-08:002019-02-13T15:42:51.264-08:00Book Blitz - The Ruins by T.H. Hernandez + Giveaway<div class="Body">
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<strong>The Ruins
</strong><br /><strong>T.H. Hernandez
</strong><br />(The Union #2)<br />Publication date: June 16th
2015<br />Genres: Adventure, Dystopian, Romance, Young
Adult<br />
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Heartbroken, grief-stricken, and
wracked with guilt, seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor returned to the Union,
leaving behind the boy she loved.<br />
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Now, she and her friends must find a way to do the
impossible – warn the citizens of the Union about an impending rebel attack
without alerting the government and risking retaliation against her friends in
the Ruins.<br />
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When every move Evan makes is thwarted, it soon becomes
clear she’s being watched. Faced with a daily fight to stay one step ahead of
her pursuers, she returns to the Ruins. But life in the Ruins has its own
dangers, and soon she’s fighting a different battle – to stay alive long enough
to discover the truth.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25952759-the-ruins?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://books2read.com/u/mg20xK?store=amazon" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ruins-th-hernandez/1122676398" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> / <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1315178133" target="_blank">iBooks</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-ruins-14" target="_blank">Kobo</a> / <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=zpY-DwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">Google Play</a></div>
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<strong>EXCERPT:</strong></div>
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Grief, guilt, heartbreak, fear, loss, and abandonment
all swirl in my head, creating a vortex of pain and confusion keeping me
awake.<br />
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Three days ago I was planning a future with the boy I
love. Cyrus was going to come back to the Union with me. We were going to
figure out a way to warn the citizens here or stop the attack. Together. Now
his brother is dead and Cyrus stayed behind, unwilling to abandon the rest of
his family.<br />
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The scents of honeysuckle and fresh-cut grass float on a
late summer night breeze. I stare up at the clouds from the chaise lounge on the
balcony. A thick marine layer inched its way in from the coast hours ago,
blanketing the sky and obscuring the stars I was hoping to see. With the moon
hidden and the Union lights off for the night, darkness envelopes me.<br />
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Over the soft murmuring of desalinated ocean water
burbling through the aqueduct, I hear the door slide open behind me and sit up.
My bio-dad, Eddie, walks out and takes the spot beside me.<br />
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“Can’t sleep?”<br />
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I shift to my right, giving him more room. “No. You?”<br />
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He shakes his head, his cinnamon-colored wavy hair
sweeping across his shoulders. “My grandmother used to say if you can’t sleep,
it means you’re awake in someone else’s dreams.”<br />
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That’s a comforting sentiment. Is Cyrus dreaming about
me right now? Or is he like me, too afraid of the nightmares to close his
eyes?<br />
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Eddie presses his lips together and studies me for
several long seconds. “Are you ready to tell me where you’ve really been all
summer?”<br />
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His question catches me off guard. I thought he bought
my story, the one I told him when I came back. The one Lisa fed him while I was
in the Ruins. Posing as me, she texted my mom and Eddie from my tablet with
regular updates on our fake adventures sailing off the southeastern coast. When
I first showed up here yesterday afternoon, he didn’t seem to care where I’d
been or what I’d been up to, only that I was here at all. I’m definitely not
ready to have this conversation with him.<br />
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“I don’t know, are you ready to tell me where you were
for the first twelve years of my life?”<br />
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He shifts his weight on the chaise next to me and sighs.
“I don’t know how many times I can apologize.”<br />
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“You think another ‘I’m sorry’ is going to fix
everything?”<br />
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He rubs his palms on his thighs and stands. “You’re
welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, but you might want to ratchet the
anger down a few notches.” He moves toward the door before turning back. “You’re
going to have to forgive me some day.”<br />
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I raise my head and turn toward his dark silhouette. “Why?
You think sending me a ticket and letting me hang out with your new kids makes
up for everything?”<br />
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“No,” he says quietly, “because hanging on to all that
anger and resentment isn’t healthy.” He walks back into the house, sliding the
door closed behind him.<br />
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With a heavy sigh, I fall on my back and stare back up
into the blackness. Seriously? After being nothing to me for three-quarters of
my life, where does he get off being all parental right now?<br />
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<a href="http://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/The-Ruins-Ad.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/The-Ruins-Ad.jpg" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></a></div>
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Author Bio:<br />
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T.H. Hernandez is the author of young adult books. The
Union, a futuristic dystopian adventure, was a finalist in the 2015 San Diego
book awards in the Young Adult Fiction category.<br />
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She loves pumpkin spice lattes, Game of Thrones,
Comic-Con, Star Wars, Doctor Who marathons, Bad Lip Reading videos, and all
things young adult, especially the three young adults who share her
home.<br />
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When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside her head,
T.H. Hernandez lives in usually sunny San Diego, California with her husband
and three children, a couple of cats, and a dog who thinks he's a cat,
affectionately referred to as "the puppycat."<br />
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<a href="http://thhernandez.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8592671.T_H_Hernandez" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thhernandezSD" target="_blank">Facebook</a>
/ <a href="https://twitter.com/TheresaHernandz" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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<strong>GIVEAWAY!</strong><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="d04251232883" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251232883/" id="rcwidget_ihikphhh" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></div>
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Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-35041799250617467492019-02-06T07:44:00.000-08:002019-02-06T07:44:04.486-08:00Book Writing #3 - Starting OverPerhaps the worst part of writing is starting over. It is when you wake up one day and realize that what you're writing is not what you originally set out to write and it no longer has the same hold and direction that you wanted it to take. This can be heartbreaking and recently is something that has nagged at me, personally.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">My Personal Experience</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">For the past year or so, I have been working with my co-author to create a fantasy series. We worked hard and created dozens of documents detailing every character, their backstories, their interactions, and the place they have in the world. We created an entire world with five main characters and we had a rough outline that would span <i>5 </i>books - not just one. There was a beginning, a middle, and an end. We had characters we loved and characters we hated and a plotline that was solidly there, following our characters through their weaving stories. We even, in fact, finished the first book and had gone through editing it once <i>and </i>we started drafting the second book. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">It was at that point that I realized I no longer was in love with the story I was writing. While we were writing our fantasy series, I had gotten an epiphany. I had the idea for an entirely new story and I was excited about it and, better yet, it was a standalone. Suddenly, I began to notice the cracks and the faults in my 5-piece fantasy series. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Solutions</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Unfortunately, only you know what you want to do when you come to this realization, but here are some general pathways I've noticed that people tend to take.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b>1. Keep pushing</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - accept the fact that your writing didn't go where you wanted it to go and go back through it. Take out parts you didn't want and add parts that you feel are needed to make it the story you love again.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b>2. Start </b><b>over</b> - take your story and completely rework what you have. Since you know what you didn't like the first time around, you know what to look for. With this, you don't even necessarily have to start from complete scratch, just edit the crap out of it and cut it to bits. The story you originally wanted to write is in there somewhere.</div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b>3. Find a new story</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - put aside your manuscript and, literally, start over. New characters, new world, new genre, new feel. This can come naturally, like it did for me, or you can discover one. If your old story doesn't speak to you creatively, maybe a new one will.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, this is entirely subjective and I have no room to tell people that these are their only options. You make your own story and no one can tell you what to do about it, but I've noticed that this is generally the roads the people take when they wake up and realize they don't love their story. I've heard many published authors say they feel this way about books they eventually got published. They pushed through the bad thoughts and found a way to love their writing again, but that can't be the case for everyone. Don't give up on your creativity and know that there is always a solution.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-472075939502780892019-01-30T12:22:00.000-08:002019-01-31T10:54:39.125-08:00Mini Reviews - January 2019<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456744693l/29236298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="29236298" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456744693l/29236298.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
Title: <i><b>Gemina</b></i><br />
Series: The Illuminae Files #2<br />
Authors: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<br />
Rating: 3/5<br />
<br />
I'm not the biggest fan of the Illuminae series in general. I liked the first book enough to read the rest of the series, but there's just something that this lacks that I can't put my finger on. The formatting is phenomenal and unique and the story is fascinating and, at times, keeps me on the edge of my seat. But there's so much unnecessary tech talk and background information that it takes away from the main story. <i>Illuminae</i> was certainly better, this just seemed like a forced sequel with new characters that I had to decide whether or not I cared about them. Overall, I found Hanna to be the stereotypical "tough girl" where she puts herself in gradually more dangerous scenarios to make herself seem more strong and independent (almost like Kady...hmm).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539182444l/42271288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="42271288" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539182444l/42271288.jpg" width="141" /></a><br />
Title: <i><b>The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm</b></i><br />
Series: Tales from Alagaësia #1<br />
Author: Christopher Paolini<br />
Rating: 3.5/5<br />
<br />
<i>Eragon</i> is not only one of my favourite series, but it's also a very beloved book of mine that I hold close, so when this popped up in my inbox I just knew I had to buy it. The relief of being in this world again was amazing. The first portion, the Fork, was probably my favourite of the three stories. It showed where some of my most loved characters ended up after <i>Inheritance </i>so long after its release. The Witch was almost equally as good but dragged enough that I felt I was just going through the motion of flipping through pages, not really immersing me in the story. I could have done without the story of the Worm simply because it felt like a fairytale, which it essentially was. With this book, I had hoped for more actual stories of Eragon and Saphira, but I'll settle for these short stories just to relive the experience and be inside the world of Alagaësia one more time.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472119680l/27833670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="27833670" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472119680l/27833670.jpg" width="131" /></a><br />
Title: <b><i>Dark Matter</i> (ARC)</b><br />
Author: Blake Crouch<br />
Rating: 5/5<br />
<br />
Sci-fi is one of my favourite genres and every time I read a book like this I remember why. <i>Dark Matter </i>is exactly the book I was looking for. From interesting main characters to heart-stopping thrills to scientific concepts that blow the reader's mind, it has everything a sci-fi reader is looking for and more. Crouch shows that, with the advances of modern technology, the amount of possibilities we have at our fingertips is infinite, but that we need to exercise caution as well. With great power comes great responsibility, as they say, and the main character Jason can relate to that completely. After being torn away from his wife and the life he has always known, Jason enters the world of the multiverse theory. For those of you that don't know, essentially this is the belief that every action we make splits us off into another, alternate universe that is completely or only slightly different from our own. This is the story of fighting the possibilities to find the life he loves more than any other, no matter what it takes.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524322945l/34499221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="34499221" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524322945l/34499221.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
Title: <i><b>To Kill a Kingdom</b></i><br />
Author: Alexandra Christo<br />
Rating: 4/5<br />
<br />
I have always had this fascination with sirens. There's not really a reason behind it, I just think they're cool and remind me of Greek mythology. I've heard that this is supposed to be a sort of retelling of The Little Mermaid but darker, which I can certainly see, but also kind of an insult considering how unique this whole concept is. The dynamic between narrators Lira and Elian (love the name) is refreshing and really helps build their relationship from the bottom up. The look at what a bad ruler/overlord/queen can do to their kingdom is quite frankly earth-shattering and almost disturbing to look at, but it's the reality. Lira is sassy and doesn't just take no for an answer, she goes and gets what she wants but without having the cliche tough girl act that drives me up the wall making her easily my favourite character in the book. Elian, while a somewhat typical prince that just wants to escape his duties, manages to add his own twist to the world by being a pirate! A pirate prince! That's cool guys, come on. I'm so glad this was a standalone, though. So many books these days get dragged out into series and having this one story tightly bound and finished in just around 350 pages is exactly what I needed for an interesting, fast read.Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-47613004809993527772019-01-23T21:19:00.000-08:002019-01-23T21:19:13.441-08:00Vortex Visions (ARC) by Elise Kova - Review<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1542062244l/41834791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="41834791" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1542062244l/41834791.jpg" width="200" /></a>Title: Vortex Visions (ARC)<br />
Author: Elise Kova<br />
Series: Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles<br />
Release Date: February 4th, 2019<br />
Rating: 3/5<br />
<br />
**Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Edition of this book in exchange for an honest review**<br />
<br />
For those of you that don't know, <i>Vortex Visions</i> is the first book in a new series in the same world as its sister series, <i>Air Awakens</i>. If you haven't read <i>Air Awakens </i>or finished the series, there is bound to be some spoilers in here, but, as the author Elise Kova has openly stated, you don't have to read <i>Air Awakens </i>before reading <i>Vortex Visions. </i><br />
<i><br /></i> Also, my reviews tend to be a bit spoilery, so if you're not a fan of that I suggest going forward with caution. I do, however, try to keep plot spoilers and big events out so not to ruin the book for anyone.<br />
<br />
For this review, I've decided to split this into a few categories; plot, world-building, and characters.<br />
<br />
<b>Plot: </b><br />
I picked this book up excited not only because I got to revisit the Solaris Empire, but because I would get to see some of my favourite characters all grown up and meet a whole bunch of new characters to accompany them. Instead, I got a lot of Vi complaining about her life, going to her lessons, and learning a bunch of new stuff that seems completely woven from scratch and not at all like the original series. Perhaps this is what Elise Kova meant when she said you don't have to read <i>Air Awakens.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Quite honestly, and here's a spoiler so don't get mad when I say that the most interesting parts of this book were when Vi had run-ins with death. It's like with some fantasy series when the characters take long walks to get from place to place except there's no walking and it is all in the same general area but with a lot of thinking, extremely fake girl gossip, and complaining about how life isn't all that fair. You're not 13, Vi, it's time to grow up a little.<br />
<br />
The disease, the White Death, was probably the best plot aspect of the whole book and something I hope to hear more about in future books.<br />
<br />
The ending was okay. It was much like I expected given the rest of the novel, but at that point, I reached a point where I didn't really care about most of the characters involved, which is not great. I think it'll be a great way to push into book two. A lot of loose ends that make me want to pick up the next book.<br />
<br />
<b>World-Building:</b><br />
Of course, Elise never disappoints with her world-building. I absolutely can't complain about it. And for those of you that read <i>Air Awakens</i>, were probably surprised about the inclusion of even more world-building in this! I must admit, part of me is very upset that there is a bigger world than what we previously thought. To me, it seems like that just makes the plights of the characters seem less worth it. In other words, why would a bigger kingdom in a bigger part of the world not matter more?<br />
<br />
The magic aspect of <i>Air Awakens </i>was one of my favourite parts and by essentially belittling the powers of those in Solaris, it made me sad that Vhalla, who was seemingly so important, doesn't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of the world. I'm really picky when it comes to magic systems and I happened to like how the magic system was in the first series, so the fact that that was all basically thrown out and replaced with the formulaic "words are power and are what drive power" idea is kind of irritating. It's how most magic systems are in a lot of other YA fantasy, so I expect something different because I kept thinking about <i>Eragon </i>by Christopher Paolini the whole time. Now <i>that </i>is a magic system with words that works.<br />
<br />
Since J.R.R. Tolkien wrote <i>The Hobbit</i>, I think it has become a cliche that fantasy writers feel like they have to have elves in their writing. 5 books written in the exact same universe before <i>Vortex Visions </i>and there is no mention of "elfin" until this book. I understand that the world has expanded and that we are still learning about it, but this feels a little forced and I'm not for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Characters</b>:<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Vi</i>:<br />
As far as main characters go, I found her...bland. She came off as the typical character that was separated from the life she should have lived with very little freedom. And <i>of course</i>, she likes to go out and hunt. How very original. I found her less individual and more like a watered-down version of her mother, Vhalla. It's no wonder the Senate was unsure about her taking the throne seeing as she never set foot in their capital city, no one knew much about her, and her younger brother Romulin was living the life she essentially should have. I feel very little sympathy for her cause.<br />
<br />
I think she did a lot of growing up throughout the book, though and I'm genuinely interested to see where the next book takes the rest of her journey.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Taavin:</i></b><br />
He might have been my favourite part of the book. He was mysterious and intriguing, so I can't wait to dig into his character more. Especially with how this one ended *wink wink*.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Andru:</i></b><br />
Poor, beautiful, misunderstood Andru is too pure for this world and deserves to be showered with love and attention. He was made out as a bad guy almost the entire book, but he has so much more to him.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Ellene:</i></b><br />
Perhaps my least favourite character. Acts like the worst teenage stereotype I've ever seen. Quite disappointing, really.<br />
<br />
<b>Last Thoughts:</b><br />
I can't lie, I liked <i>Air Awakens </i>far more than this and, for those of you that are reading this to decide where to start, I have to recommend you start there. This series can wait for you, but I also think, despite the deep flaws in this story, it is truly worth the read. There are enough characters that I care about, mainly from the original series, but a few in this as well, that I'm quite attached to and would like to see how they end up.Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-67321296344726906192019-01-15T09:20:00.000-08:002019-02-05T23:25:44.844-08:00Publishing 101 #1 - What is Book Marketing?<u>**Disclaimer: I am not an industry professional. I do, however, major in publishing marketing and publicity and have taken some classes on the subject matter enough that I feel I can make generalized statements for better understanding**</u><br />
<br />
So, what is book marketing?<br />
The other day I was perusing the Twitterverse when a post caught my eye that said something along the lines of "Is it just me or are publishers doing a really bad job at publicity? I feel like I have no idea what's coming out." Followed by a poll to which I answer that I felt publishers were doing a fine job. Apparently, I am in the minority. I proceeded to read through the comments of people claiming that they only hear about one or two books over and over again.<br />
<br />
Essentially, the moral of this blog post is going to be <b>publishers have to make money</b>.<br />
How many different forms of social media are there? Let's do a head count. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (which is more on the individual and less the company), Goodreads, Amazon (to a degree). Then you have booksellers themselves like Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and a great deal many independent stores. Oh! Let's not forget to mention the <i>quite literally thousands of book newsletters</i>. In one branch of a publishing company alone there might as well be 10 or more different kinds of newsletters that could be broken up by genre, imprint, and sometimes even a select author. Following this is places like Shelf Awareness and Bookriot. If it's a book coming from an already known author, most have their own newsletter as well. And how could I forget the hard work of the bloggers out in the community? So let's say the approx. total of places you could advertise a book is about <u style="font-weight: bold;">16</u> if I'm holding back.<br />
<br />
Of course, this isn't including the cost of promotional things like pre-order incentives and ARCs that are <b>paid for by the publisher and given out </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">for free</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> specifically for publicity</span>. That means the publisher makes <b>ZERO MONEY </b>on ARC distribution. Their only hope is that, by giving ARCs out, the bloggers and booksellers of the world will spread the word.<br />
<br />
About 1 million books are published in the US every year. There is no exact number, so for the heck of it, let's take away 200k. That's 800k books in the US alone. Now, there's also some no-name titles and genre differences and then independent titles that most won't hear about, so let's say about...200k books are published a year that you might be interested in. That's <b>200,000 </b>books. It isn't an exact science, but I don't want to hear about 200k books every year.<br />
<br />
Publicity costs money. Weird right? Now, going back to one of those numbers above, there are approx. <u style="font-weight: bold;">16</u> social media outlets/bookstores/newsletters/websites that you can advertise from. But, really, unless people are actively searching the publisher or the author, there is a very small chance that a non-paid promotional ad will be seen. That would be like posting a picture on your Instagram with hashtags and hoping that 5 people will see and dig deeper. So, you go ahead and pay for Instagram to promote you and reach a bigger audience. And then you do that on the 15 other outlets. This is for one book. With our generous number of 200k books that people might care about in a year, it is literally impossible to give all books the same kind of recognition. Not to mention it clogs up feeds and could cause a bunch of angry readers wondering why they can't find that one book they saw an ad for in the sea of book ads.<br />
<br />
This is mainly me pointing a finger at the big 5 publishers that everyone hears from and I haven't even touched the foundation of Amazon. <b>Smaller publishers have no way to do this kind of publicity.</b><br />
<br />
The point of this is that, if you want to find more books, you need to ask around, subscribe to everything about books that interest you, and read some ARC reviews. Heck, some publishers have catalogues for the books they will be publishing that season, so try flipping through one of those PDFs. You can't wait for the books to come to you, because it is literally impossible to do so.<br />
<br />
Feel free to argue with me down in the comments, shoot me a message, etc. If this interests some of you out in the void and you want to learn more about stuff like this or if you want me to do a "What is Book Marketing?" part 2, I have a bunch of content, this post is just getting long. Remember, respect industry professionals, look around (there is book stuff posted <b>everywhere</b>), and try not to complain about things you don't have control over. It really isn't worth your time.Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-85449435647894456912019-01-02T16:27:00.000-08:002019-01-02T16:27:49.362-08:00Best Books of 2018!It's that time of year again! 2018 is almost over and this year I'll be doing my top 8s from 2018! These are all in my opinion!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Top "Need-to-Read" Books from 2018</h4>
<div>
1. Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi</div>
<div>
2. Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes</div>
<div>
3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black</div>
<div>
4. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo</div>
<div>
5. The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross</div>
<div>
6. These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch</div>
<div>
7. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare</div>
<div>
8. Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Best Covers of 2018</h4>
<div>
1. Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi</div>
<div>
2. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo</div>
<div>
3. The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross</div>
<div>
4. The Traitor Prince by C.J. Redwine</div>
<div>
5. The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke </div>
<div>
6. Iron Gold by Pierce Brown</div>
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7. Furyborn by Clare Legrand</div>
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8. Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young</div>
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<h4>
Best Songs that Reminded Me of Books/Characters*</h4>
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1. "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen - Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi</div>
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2. "Burn Out" by Imagine Dragons - Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes</div>
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3. "Bad Liar" by Imagine Dragons - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
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4. "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys - Another Day by David Levithan</div>
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5. "Love of the Game" by Welshly Arms - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller</div>
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6. "Locked" by Welshly Arms - Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat</div>
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7. "Miracle - Stripped" by The Score - Champion by Marie Lu</div>
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8. "Natural" by Imagine Dragons - Circe by Madeline Miller</div>
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*I'm aware that this is cheating, but I heard a lot of good music this year! Also, this is in no particular order</div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
Top 18 Overall Books of 2018</h4>
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1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller* </div>
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2. Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi</div>
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3. Another Day by David Levithan</div>
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4. Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes</div>
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5. The Iliad by Homer</div>
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6. Circe by Madeline Miller</div>
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7. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman</div>
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8. The Metamorphoses by Ovid</div>
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9. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
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10. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien</div>
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11. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur</div>
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12. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat</div>
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13. Champion by Marie Lu</div>
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14. Hamlet by William Shakespeare</div>
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15. Crystal Crowned by Elise Kova</div>
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16. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare </div>
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17. Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking</div>
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18. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas</div>
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<br /></div>
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*I know this was my #1 last year, but, guys, I'm telling you it's my favourite.<br />
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In total, I read 60 books this year. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I'm still proud of that number! Next year, I plan to read 65.<br />
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What were some of your favourite reads of 2018? Comment below to share your favourites!</div>
Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-53748252591892111392018-12-26T21:02:00.001-08:002018-12-26T21:02:22.514-08:00Author Interview - Maria Johnson<br />
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516712454l/38145700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="38145700" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516712454l/38145700.jpg" width="210" /></a><br />
Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38145700-the-boy-from-the-snow">The Boy from the Snow</a>, Maria Johnson, was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions I had for her about her book and writing style!<br />
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<b>What caused you to write a historical fiction novel? Particularly one set in Northwest Celtic England? </b><br />
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My novel ‘The Boy from the Snow’ is really all about my main character Daniel and telling his story, which I’ve had in my head since I was a child. I knew Daniel would’ve lived hundreds of years ago, so that’s what drew me to historical fiction. After that, it was about finding out where he would fit best into history. After looking up a few different historical periods, I decided on Celtic England, specifically 590 AD. In that period of history there are warring kings and rival kingdoms, which is an important aspect of the story.<br />
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As for the location, I’m based in the North West and have spent several happy holidays in the Lake District, so I knew it would be a wonderful place to set Daniel’s story and fits well with the plot. Whilst the smaller kingdoms of Klumeck and Gaeson are fictional, the wider kingdom of Rheged, spanning most of what we know now as Cumbria in NW England, really existed.<br />
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<b>Do you have a special connection with any of the characters? </b><br />
<br />
Yes! My connection with Daniel, the main character, began years ago when I was a child. When I was about 7, my brother had Lego. While he was would be building all sorts of things, I used to take the little yellow people and make up stories about them. One of them was a soldier character who used to be a stable boy when he was growing up- that’s when the character of Daniel was born. I also came up with the characters of Princess Evelyn and King Cedric, who feature heavily in the book.<br />
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<b>As a female, did you find it more difficult to put yourself in Daniel's shoes?</b><br />
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Not really, no! Perhaps it’s because I feel like I’ve known Daniel since I was 7, so I didn’t find that aspects of him were particularly difficult to write.<br />
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<b>How long did you research and what things did you discover in your research?</b><br />
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The research process took quite a while! It was quite a long time before I started writing, then also I kept dipping back into research as I went along. I absolutely loved researching, as it really helped put colours onto the word I’d been building and imagining. I’ve really loved the idea of having Daniel be a stepping board into a wider world of history. I’ve learned things about the period, especially battles of the time and King Urien, who was the supreme king of Rheged (the bigger Northwest Celtic Kingdom where the book is based) that I never would’ve discovered otherwise.<br />
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<b>Princess Evelyn is a strong-willed character. Did you draw inspiration on someone to help build her independent personality?</b><br />
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As far as I’m aware I wasn’t drawing on anyone specific at the time, but thinking about it in recent years I probably subconsciously based Evelyn on the characters of Arwen and Eowyn from ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Both are strong, royal characters who have independent wills.<br />
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Another character I definitely know I drew my own inspiration from was the character of Aife, one of Daniel’s oldest friends and one of the foremost warriors in Gaeson’s army. She’s been one of my favourite characters to write and is especially gifted with a bow and arrow, so you wouldn’t want to mess with her! In my head Aife is a mix between the character of Tauriel from the Hobbit films and Katniss from The Hunger Games.<br />
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<b>What kind of books do you generally read? Are there any books (or authors) that you feel inspired by when you're writing?</b><br />
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Writing historical fiction has definitely awakened a passion in me for reading that genre, which I’m thrilled about. I absolutely love the balance between it being our own world that I’m reading about, but so different from the one we know today that it feels like fantasy. I’m currently loving reading Annie Whitehead’s novel ‘To Be a Queen’, telling the story of Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great. This year I’ve also read the novel ‘Osbert’ by RA Currier, telling the story of a shepherd in Medieval England which was absolutely magnificent.<br />
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As I’ve mentioned Lord of the Rings has definitely inspired my writing and remains one of my favourite novels.<br />
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<b>What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?</b><br />
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In September I signed a contract with my publishers, Olympia, to publish ‘The Veiled Wolf’, the sequel to ‘The Boy from the Snow’. Hopefully it will be published maybe in the autumn next year, but there isn’t a confirmed publication date yet.<br />
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The sequel is set a little over a year after the end of my first book. When their plans to retake a kingdom now in the hands of the enemy go awry, Daniel discovers there may be a spy in Gaeson, known only as ‘the Wolf’. The more Daniel attempts to solve the identity of this veiled agent, the more he starts do doubt those closest to him. After the Veiled Wolf threatens to destroy those he loves, however, Daniel must act quickly before all he cares for is lost.<br />
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I’m also about 2/3 way through my first draft of a 3rd novel continuing Daniel’s story, set four years after the end of ‘The Veiled Wolf’ so hopefully this too might be published in future years.<br />
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<b>Any advice for aspiring writers?</b><br />
<br />
This may sound like a cliché, but don’t give up on your writing. It’s just over two years since I opened up the email from Olympia offering publication and it really has changed my life! I can still remember pressing the submit button on their online form, probably already believing it would already be a no… but it wasn’t. It’s so easy not to have any confidence in your writing or think that publication can never be an option, but there might come a day when you find an acceptance email in your inbox, too. One of the things I’ve learned as a writer is to develop the ‘author’s voice’ which allows a writer to tell their story in a voice that is uniquely yours. So never give up writing, writers- because nobody can tell a story quite the way you can!Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818193848518948739.post-27105451698324531852018-08-20T16:52:00.000-07:002018-08-22T14:40:24.705-07:00Another Day by David Levithan - Review<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474552417l/29429383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="29429383" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474552417l/29429383.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
Title: Another Day<br />
Author: David Levithan<br />
Series: Every Day #2<br />
Release date: August 25th, 2015<br />
Rating: 5/5<br />
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**SPOILERS Y'ALL**<br />
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It has been a hot minute since I read a book that I genuinely thought I should write a review about, so here we go.<br />
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As a refresh of book one, <i>Every Day </i>is told from the perspective of A. A wakes up every morning in the body of a different person. It's all they have ever known. Then, Rhiannon comes along. And for all of my Fleetwood Mac lovers out there, you know it changes everything.<br />
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Book two is <i>Every Day </i>but from Rhiannon's perspective. Now, it has been a good long while since I read the first book, but 4 pages in I was already caught up and hooked.<br />
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Let's just take a second to put yourself in A's shoes. A new body, new life? Sure, why not? Then you start to realize "Well then who do I talk to every day? My family? My friends?" This is exactly why my heart twists for poor A and Rhiannon just doesn't make it any better.<br />
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Right away, we are thrown into her relationship with her boyfriend, Justin, and he is just...so unlikable. It's one of those moments where you wish you could reach through the pages and grab Rhiannon by the shoulders, shaking her, and yelling "You cannot fix this!" Professionally, I don't think it is technically considered domestic abuse, but it's clear that she's grasping at straws to be with him.<br />
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The concept of a person like A is my favourite aspect of this series. The part that keeps echoing in my mind is when A finally tells Rhiannon that he jumps from body to body every day and she asked: "Are you a boy or a girl?" And A just kind of frowns: "I don't see myself as either." Don't mind my completely paraphrased quotes, but it's such a forward way of thinking that, as a reader, also causes me to think about how <i>I </i>would respond in that situation. A new body every day means different genders, different nationalities, different races, different body types, and poor A, who seriously deserves a break at this point, just can't seem to grasp why it matters to her what the body looks like when it's just A on the inside. That is heavy and poetic.<br />
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But it does matter, doesn't it? We all just see the outer surface, never looking past the shell and looking at the person on the inside. Be careful, a book like this might actually make you a better person! And seeing Rhiannon's preferences actually have an effect on A and how he/she feels about the body he/she is in is earth-shattering.<br />
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The ending is where this all gets a little iffy. Rhiannon can't be with A, because it's too complicated (too cliche?) and because she can't connect with some of the bodies A has (wears?). And A is such a delicate being that needs to be guarded and protected, because no matter how heartbroken and torn down he/she feels about their "breakup", he/she goes completely out of their way to find a guy he/she finds suitable for Rhiannon.<br />
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This book is just so good. Seriously, it left me thinking so much and I have no one to talk to about it. Someone, please talk to me about it.<br />
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<i>Another Day </i>is all about being better/caring more about yourself and accepting those around you for who they are. In reality, personality is all that should really matter to ANY of us! And it is all about breaking free from those people that are holding you back from being the best you you can be.<br />
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*casually adds book to Goodreads "favourite" shelf*Caroline Vaughthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05049715767911932571noreply@blogger.com0