L.M. Preston's Blog, page 56

DRUGS? TEENS? And YA BOOKS

Drugs and teens are a typical satire for many movies, shows and books. As a teen I dealt with the issues of drugs, sex, race issues, crime, gangs, teen pregnancy and diet issues. Those were real and difficult issues for me. Truth is, I really didn't need a book to tell me about gangs – I lived where gangs were. I didn't need a book to tell me about drugs, I lived around tons of drug addicts and acohol. But you know what I needed books for? To show me that I wasn't alone, that there were other kids that handled these same issues differently. Some kids did it better, some kids suffered and failed, others succeeded. Books gave me that resource, and a safe haven to experience the things I'd seen an to process them.

YEAH, BUT REAL LIFE IS DIFFERENT

Real life is different. No book yet that I have read can really depict the things I experienced and have seen firsthand growing up. Truthfully, living it hurts. But reading it gives us insight without the pain.


I'm talking about this now since I have a young family member going through the effects of drug experimentation. The effects are being placed in a controlled environment in hopes of rehabilitation. The kid didn't grow up seeing firsthand the effects of drugs. Bypassing crack heads as he walked to the corner store like I did. Maybe, just maybe if he'd seen that reality, he would have thought twice before he opened pandora's box.


HERE are SOME BOOKS that open up conversation about teen issues like drugs, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and more. Please add to the list. I plan on sending some of these books to my teenage relative battling some of these issues.

SNITCH by Allison Van Diepen

TYRELL by Coe Booth

THE FIRST PART LAST by Angela Johnson

CRANK by Ellen Hopkins

CUT by Patricia McCormick

MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers

BAD BOY by Walter Dean Myers

TWEAK by Nic Sheff


SHARE SOME OTHER BOOKS you've liked. LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

Book Launch Announcement! Never Say Never by Kelly Moody

Please give a hooray! To Yalitchat author Kelley Mooney's who's YA book Never Say Never released this month.


Check out interview here: http://adayintothewriter.blogspot.com...

Book Blurb: Ebook Description
For seventeen-year old, Kat Harper her life in Savannah, Georgia is perfect, but it all changed with one note. Her mother's sudden departure forces her father to move Kat to the suburbs of Chicago. Cameron Tate is on every girls list of who they'd want to date. When he sees Kat, he's instantly drawn to her. Kat realizes she needs to let love in again, but is he the one? Purchase here for just $3.99 ebook!

Go check out the free sample read by clicking above.

About Kelly:
Kelly grew up in Southern New Jersey. She currently resides in Pitsford, NY with her husband and two kids. She developed a love for writing teen romances over the last few years. She has now completed three teen romances in hopes of getting them published. There really is nothing like falling in love for the first time, so this is what she writes. Her second book Never Say Never is the second book she wrote and is now available on Smashwords and Amazon.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

HUSH, HUSH and CRESCENDO by Becca FitzPatrick

Please welcome our TEEN BOOK reviewer, NYIA! NYIA's in the house. She's bringing you one of her most favored bad boy love stories.




HUSH, HUSH by Becca FitzPatrick

Amazon blurb:

Nora Grey, a dedicated student striving for a college scholarship, lives with her widowed mother in a country farmhouse outside Portland, ME. When Patch, her new biology partner, is suddenly thrust into her life, Nora is both attracted to his charm and put off by his inexplicable awareness of her thoughts. Eventually, she learns that he is a fallen angel who wants to become human. She is susceptible to his control, but other forces are at work as well, and Nora finds herself caught in the middle of dangerous situations and unexplainable events. The premise of Hush, Hush—that fallen angels exist and interact with humans on Earth—is worthy of contemplation and appealing to teens. But stories with such supernatural themes require that the details of day-to-day life be realistic and believable. Unfortunately, most readers won't be convinced that a mother whose husband has recently been murdered would leave her daughter alone overnight in their home far from the nearest neighbor or that a school counselor would be replaced by someone whose credentials were not checked. While teens may enjoy the scenes of tension and terror, most will be disappointed by characters without dimension and the illogical sequence of events.

NYIA's review:

In this book Nora Gray meets this guy that she knows is no good for her. But of course, she can't stay away from Patch. Turns out he's not only bad, but is a fallen angel with a lot of drama. There is someone that hates Patch, and they want to kill Nora. Then another girl who's in love with Patch wants to kill Nora also. I really liked this one, but it has some really slow parts. If you get past the slow parts its worth it. Because poor Nora is the target only because some angel that fell from heaven loves her. I give this 3 out of 5 icicles because of the many slow parts.




CRESCENDO by Becca FitzPatrick

Amazon blurb:

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

NYIA's review:

Patch and Nora get together, but now Patch is a Guardian Angel. Now everyone is watching him, bad people. Unfortunately, Patch ditches Nora for like I think a stupid reason. Then he becomes Nora's enemy's Guardian Angel and stops being hers, which really sucks! Nora starts snooping into places where she shouldn't. It was rather exciting and suspenseful. It's got more of a mystery element in it. I give it 3 out 5 icicles because Nora went on and on about how she felt about the break up and the slow parts.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

DIVERSE BOOKS WHERE RACE IS NOT AN ISSUE

It wasn't until recently that I realized what the meaning of POC (person of color) meant. I admit it, I've been hiding away writing, creating my imaginary worlds without any thought about the type of Author I would be considered.

I create worlds in my books where race really isn't an issue. The worlds I create are much like the one I have lived in for most of my life. I grew up in Washington , DC . I was the product of a bi-racial mother and a family that consisted of African Americans, American Indians, Cubans, and Caucasians. Now the majority of my family was African American, but I was always engulfed and attracted to the diversity of living in a city that crammed every one of all races together.

When I started to write my books, I just depicted all of the different races of kids that I had played with or that my own kids befriended throughout my life. In that I realize that I have been lucky. Also, I may add, my husband is bi-racial, so maybe, just maybe, my main character in this book was created from the influence he has in my imagination.

In EXPLORER X – ALPHA my MG novel, the main character Aadi is bi-racial and there is Scott who is African American and Raiko who is Asian. Truth be told, I didn't plan it that way at all. My characters are created in my imagination just as they are, and I don't plan how they look.

Creating these diverse characters in a Science Fiction novel is the best experience ever for me. Science Fiction allows me to break through boundaries and create a world uniquely my own. I twist and shape these worlds based on the foundation that I have in my reality.

In all of my books I tend to spice it up with diversity. I mean hey, I live in a culturally diverse area so why not share our beautiful differences in the stories I create. The kids look past physical characteristics and band together to fight against a larger foe.

I write diverse characters, and place them in situations where race is probably the furthest things from their minds. Usually in situations of life and death, people easily mend their differences.


Lastly, as a POC author, I wanted to write something that my kids and their friends could identify with, and learn from. I believe that my exposure to different cultures naturally reveals itself in my writing, and I hope my readers enjoy the experience of getting to know my characters.

So I ask that you check out some diverse characters in your reading. Some books I liked in YA were:

Sherri L. Smith author of Fly Girl, Click here

Cindy Pon is the author of Silver Phoenix, click here

Malinda Lo the author of ASH, click here

These are just a few. Do you have some to share with us?LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

You Know...There are more than 1 Way to get Published

I attended the Annapolis Book Festival as a guest author and got a little star struck at the wonderful authors present. I was on the YA Author Panel. Check out thier books in the photo.

Here's the YA Author Panel List:

Paula Chase-Hyman—That's What's Up
Caroline Hickey—Isabelle's Boyfriend
Maggie Mei Lewis—Moonlight Memoirs - Remembering That Family and Friends are Forever
Diana Peterfreund— Tap & Gown: An Ivy League Novel; Rampant
Fish Stark - Our Budding new author on the road to publication
L.M. Preston—Explorer X—Alpha (your's truly)


So many of the different author's I met at the conference and networking at author events had different roads to publication, some had unconventional ways to publication that only impressed the readership and myself even more.

I'm a staunch proponent of figuring out your plan A, B and C to your goals. Some of the authors I've met there and as a member of Maryland Writer's Association, had creative ways mixed with luck and tenacity that I'd like to share. Maybe, just maybe it can be an avenue that others can use.

Pick up a Lit Agent At a Conference:

Several authors I met had networked to find their agent at Writer's Conferences. Some had even set up appointments/pitch sessions with agents in search of their type of work. Even though I'm coordinating the Editor/Agent sessions at the MWA Writer's Conference, I didn't realize what a powerful tool/opportunity this could be for writers.

Hire a Writing Coach:

One author I met had approached her writing career as an investment in herself. She'd never written a book before and knew that she wanted hands on help throughout the process. She hired a Writing Coach that helped her through the writing process, critiqued her work as she went, and gave her tips on getting a Lit Agent. After she landed her agent at a conference, she also hired her own publicist to get the word out for her and set up her events. I was so impressed with her that I had to write about her unconventional journey to publication.

Form your own publishing company:

One sixteen year old children's book author, Maggie, researched the road to publication and decided that she wanted to keep control of her book. She wrote the book, Moonlight Memoirs, found her own illustrator and helped her mother form a publishing company for her first book. She's done an awesome job at promoting and I was tremendously impressed with her book and efforts. Moonlight Memoirs Remembering That Family and Friends Are Forever, is a children's book that's beautifully illustrated. She'll be signing books at Borders as well as kicking off her virtual tour soon.

Serialized Novel:

I met another inventive author that snagged a lit agent with their serialized diary for a novel that they submitted in book form. They did follow the conventional path of querying agents, but invited the agent to peek at the diary of the main character of their novel. They posted their character's serialized diary on their blog. The book however was different, but the character's diary piqued the interest of the agent and resulted in them snagging a contract.

All of these wonderful, yet unique, roads to publication affirm my belief that doing things your own way is quite alright. Changing a "no" from a road block to a detour can pave your way to publication.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

Yippee! CREATING BOOK TRAILER FOR BANDITS

My artist, Shoshana Epsilon, is busily creating a masterpiece that will become my book trailer for my coming book BANDITS, that comes out JUNE 1st, 2011.

WHY BOOK TRAILERS ARE GREAT

Book trailers are awesome compliments for book promotion. I simply love them and watch at least for to five a week. My artist actually creates each shot, then builds a mini-movie with snips of sentences to capture the plot of my books. Quite frankly, she spoils me. Usually we pick out the music just before she puts all of the frames together for me and my pub to review.

For a writer, this is a great topping to advertising because when posted to the internet... it sticks around for-ever :-D

A TEASE of the wording for BANDITS

Coming up with the short, snappy words that describe the book is probably the hardest. We go through several iterations to get it right. Here's what we have for BANDITS. Tell me what you think - there's still time for changes :-D

-The greatest heist in the universe
-Leads to Murder
-The key to the ultimate treasure sought with betrayal
-Daniel, a trained thief
-Races to retrieve it
-Before an unknown killer captures the prize
-Betrayal, Adventure, Love and Death
-Daniel, his cousin Faulk and Jade
-Have to uncover the secret
-That changed his father's life
-That will change his destiny and theirs
-Forever

SO, if you want a quick read of BANDITS click here - also check out FREE Short Story from F. RAUSHAWN our debut writer and author of SPECTRUM.

Also, if you want to feed your BOOK TRAILER ADDICTION check out BLAZING TRAILERS...you'll get hooked.

IF YOU ARE NOT PUBLISHED YET - CREATE A BOOK TRAILER, it's a nice way to get the word out about your work in progress. I know lots of SOON TO BE PUBLISHED authors that have created a booktrailer. HERE's one from GEORGIA MCBRIDE for PRAEFATIO! She just got an agent and her book should be coming out hopefully by next year!LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

I DON'T WANT TO BE FULL-TIME WRITER

I DON'T WANT TO BE FULL-TIME WRITER

I know you've heard it. I have from tons of would be writers and experienced writers. The insatiable desire to be able to stay at home and write all day drives them to create the next best-selling masterpiece.


IS THAT ACHIEVABLE?

Yes, I believe it is, although it's not something someone can 'make' happen. It's rather like winning the lotto. I've been around and met several best selling and well sold authors. They do stay home and only write. Sometimes they love it, sometimes they hate it. Why? Because now it's like any job. The core job you love, but the crap that goes with it, you don't love.


However, because you are now a 'business' entity, you have a responsibility to produce a saleable product or – your livelihood diminishes. With the changes in the publishing world, publishers are lowering the amount offered for most works, are being more picky about what they buy – even from best –selling authors. So yes, if you keep your bills at a reasonable amount (low as possible), if you have family support (a spouse who works), if you have established yourself with a good agent/publisher that is selling your stuff. It can happen – realistically. Yet, if by chance (I second by chance) you get a movie deal and all that goes with it – you've hit the big time baby!


WHY I DON'T WANT IT?

I love writing, but it's like a secret treat for me. Thing is – I love my day job. I do amazing things on my day job. Does my day job get on my nerves? Absolutely! Some days I want to throw in the towel and tell my husband I've decided to be a 'stay at home mom' (he laughs at me because we both know I would go stir crazy at home – even with the writing/promotion/marketing that goes with building a writing career).

There's the rub, for me, I'm a better writer because of the things I do, I see, I experience outside of writing. Besides I'm such a multi-faceted person that doing just one thing would never keep me excited about all the other possible things I can do with this short life of mine. Lastly, if writing became my main job – I personally wouldn't love it quite so much.


ARE YOU AN OUT OF THE NORM WRITER?

Do you also go against the typical grain of a writer and don't want the job full-time (even though I must admit that doing it part-time sometimes seem like full-time to me, lol!)? Is your writing a complement to your already great career? Is your writing a way of taking a mini-vacation from your stresses? Is it something that you think you would fall out of love with if it included the 'need' for a viable income in order to pay your bills with the added pressure of success or getting dropped?LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

Vampyre Kisses by Elizabeth Kolodziej

Blurb from Amazon:
Vampyre Kisses is an enthralling story about a young woman named Faith, who seems content with her life, but deep down craves more excitement. Then a mysterious man named Trent enters her world and everything changes. Surprising to Faith, Trent is a green-eyed vampire from Ireland. She is even more amazed to find out that she is a witch, and the last of her kind. Faith learns that she is destined to restore her witch line and becomes more powerful as she gains confidence and knowledge, but danger lurks everywhere -- especially when unknown assailants steal the most important gems from the vampire master and werewolf royalty. Now surrounded by a world filled with mystifying vampires and werewolves, can Faith gain enough power to help her friends and rescue the stolen gems? "A welcome addition to the vampire/werewolf corpus. Building on traditional legends, Kolodziej creates a world both vast in its sweep and compelling in its details." Stephen Delaney -- Writer, Teacher & Editor Elizabeth J Kolodziej, a young fiction writer originally from Torrance California, is a smart and original thinker who has researched the origins of vampires, werewolves, and witches for many years. She writes her books from the knowledge she has gained while trying to be as original and inspiring as possible. Her books encompass both true folklore facts along with innovative ideas motivated by the great writers around her. This book is her first, but not her last, in a new series entitled Vampyre Kisses.

My Review:

I read this book during a vampire/paranormal book marathon over the holidays. It was an enjoyable fast read. The main character was likeable and I enjoyed how she kind of got swept up into the whirlwind of the vampire and paranormal beings around her. It starts off with a foretelling of sorts (that's in the prologue), and then you delve into the first person dialogue of the main character named, Faith. Faith's voice was perky and entertaining and I must say I enjoyed reading her dialogue more than Trent. The book is told from the point of view of both Trent, and love interest and Faith. Trent's voice came off rather stilted and old fashioned which may have been on purpose since he was an older vampire. That did a great job of making Faith appear newer, younger and fresher than Trent. There is a retelling of scenes from each character's point of view that give insight into what each character felt about the event which was interesting. This isn't too gory that a teen couldn't or wouldn't enjoy it and my teen thought it was enjoyable. It also had a bit of mystery revealed throughout which kept me reading in order to figure out how Faith got mixed up in this intricate dark world. I give Vampyre Kisses 3.5 stars.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

SHADOW WALKER review by teen reviewer NYIA

Please come out to YALITCHAT (www.yalitchat.ning.com) twitter chat this Wed. (Jan. 5th) 9pm and follow the hashtag #yalitchat to meet, LA Banks, Best Selling author of SHAWDOW WALKER.

SHADOW WALKER Synopsis from Goodreads:

Set in a post-apocalyptic world following the Armageddon, in Shadow Walker, Sarah and the teenage children of the world's Guardians of the Light must learn to hone their extra-sensory talents to one day join in the battle with their parents.

While they are secreted away in the Temt Tchaas Academy, (aka Neteru Academy), these students must learn to fight evil as well as learn to resist the temptation of fighting with each other. Although these young people have super powers, they still struggle with the same dramas and insecurities like any other high school student – and just because their parents may be superhuman doesn't mean their parents are perfect. Far from it. That only makes life more confusing, as peer pressure, budding romances, decisions about whether or not to snitch, or whether or not to use one's supernatural gifts for personal gain must be sorted out.

In this coming of age story, Sarah Rivera and her twin brother, Alejandro, must figure out when to use their wings or fangs, how to get along with their compound siblings, how to fit in with others in a huge new school, and perhaps most importantly, how to pick their battles to always fight for what is right.

NYIA's REVIEW:

I've never read anything like this before. And I loved it! My mom got this on ebook for just $3.99 (she told me to tell you to pick it up on smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/b/33128) and started reading it and loved Sarah. The kids talk in slang, which made the book really unique to me, and made the kids sound realistic. Sarah scares easy but doesn't realize she is a Shadow Walker, one of the most strongest guardians there is to fight the evil ones. This world is filled with vampires, zombies, demons, werewolves and angelic mixes with magical creatures. It was very original and interesting enough to keep me reading. There was a little bit of romance, but it wasn't really a serious one like in most of the teen books. I would have liked to see more of that, but there was so much other exciting stuff going on in the book that I didn't miss it not having the love triangle that most books have. I liked how Sarah grew into the hero even though she was scared so I gave this book 5 out of 5 FIREWORKS.LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAME SYSTEMS (IPOD, PS3, WII, PSP and XBOX)

Things I bet you didn't know about game systems
With the holiday's over and tons of kids getting an IPOD Touch, PS3, XBOX-360, and PSPs parents should realize what these games gives their kids access to.


DID YOU KNOW THAT WITH INTERNET ACCESS YOUR KID CAN SURF PORN SITES

Yep, word is that kids are using these devices to go to naughty websites – right under their parents noses. Due to these possibilities our game systems are located in places where everyone is able to see what is being played and how. Although, honestly I don't have access to my son's IPOD touch, but there are also free naughty downloads parents should watch out for on those devices and I do a spot check on my son's device to make sure he hasn't added anything inappropriate.

HOURS of PLAYING ONLINE

Now with many of these devices my kid can play online gaming. He doesn't even hang out at friends houses as much anymore because he can play games with them online. Even speak to them via his head piece while they are playing. These games are highly addictive, even my daughter and son were logged in (and PS3 does a great screen split for multiple players).


TEACH YOUR KIDS SAFE GAMING HABITS – THEY ARE ON THE WEB

When playing online gaming kids meet other people all over the world. Make sure you let them realize that PREDATORS hang out online in all forms, and meeting someone through gaming is a high possibility. Most boys can be approached in this manner and let them know that if someone wants to chat off the game website, don't follow up with them. It could be a form of manipulation from a predator.


BEST WAYS TO GET IN ON THE KNOW

Play with them. Yep, I said it, play video games with your kids. Even though you are not that good, they will still enjoy it, and you will learn all this great stuff about gaming that you would never learn without spending quality time hanging out in your kid's haunts. Besides that, they love it when you watch them play too! So grab a joystick and get to practicing your gaming.
LM Preston (www.lmpreston.com) , author of THE PACK, EXPLORER X-Alpha and BANDITS