T.R. Graves's Blog: T. R. Graves, Author, page 14

Down to You by M. Leighton

Down to You (The Bad Boys Series #1) by M. Leighton  
★★★★★
Let me start this review by disclaiming that I consider M. Leighton  to be an author friend of mine. I know from personal experiencethat she's an amazing mentor because she was one of the very first authors to reach out to me when I began this indie author journey. The fact that she does not embrace the 'eat your young mentality' instantly turned me into a life-long fan of hers. Despite her New York...

Giveaway Winner Announced

The Building a Following Giveaway winner is Cindy Perez. (Congrats, Cindy!) The contest was as fun as it was successful. There were 263 entries and a 10% increase in the number of people following my blog. I'd like to thank everyone who participated and all of my fans, friends, and followers. Their support is critical to what I do. I'll be returning on 1/4/13 with Welcome Back: 2013 Resolution. Until then, Happy Holidays to you and yours.      

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica Sorensen
★★★★★

Ella and Micha... could two young people be more messed up yet compliment each other more perfectly? I think not.

Jessica Sorensen has a rare talent when it comes to building sexual tension between characters, and The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) perfectly exemplifies her ability. She hooks you at the beginning by creating characters you instantly adore. Then, she builds a world filled with...

YA Indie Carnival - Givaway + Bonus

It's that time of year again, when the YA Author Sponsors host a giveaway meant to build a following. Anyone interested in participating will have from 12/14 to 12/21 to visit our blogs, read/respond to our questions, AND join any or all of our sites in order to be entered for the giveaway (see Rafflecopter below or on the individual sponsors' sites). The winner will receive seventeen wonderfully, exciting books (plus a few other prizes) by some amazing authors. The grand prize winner will be...

YA Indie Carnival - Famous Character's Personal Ad

This week, the sponsors of the YA Author Club are having a little fun. We are creating the personal ad for a book's famous character. Below is my take on a personal ad as written by Kelsey Hayes from Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1) by Colleen Houck:

Young orphaned college student seeking an older Indian prince who is willing to become Indiana Jones-like in order to hunt, find, and retrieve priceless trinkets. A tolerance for tigers, brothers, and goddesses required. The enjoyment of poetry...

Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck

Tiger's Destiny (The Tiger Saga #4) by Colleen Houck
 
★★★★★
 
Colleen Houck  has done an incredible job of maintaining The Tiger Saga's excitement, adventure, tenderness, and passion with Tiger's Destiny (The Tiger Saga #4). I've said before that this is one of my all-time favorite series, and with its final book, that statement still holds true. 
 
Colleen Houck's  ability to tell a great story that is unbelievable—yet believable—is one of her many...

YA Indie Carnival - Vote... Vote... Vote

This week, the YA Indie Carnival  sponsors are posting topics on voting. For me, this is going to be short and sweet (NaNoWriMo waits for no man). In the spirit of elections, voting, and may the best man (ah-hum... woman) win mentality, I'm posting a link. With it, you can go and vote in Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 .

Important Notes & Special Pleas:

In the Nominees for Best Romance and Nominees for   Best Goodreads Author categories, you will find On Dublin Street by Samantha Young....

YA Indie Carnival - Work In Progress

This week, the YA Indie Carnival sponsors are sharing their current work in progress. This is an extremely timely topic for me because I'm taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge. I plan to write 50,000 words in November.
In order to keep myself excited about the project, I invested in a book cover (last week), formulated a story (last weekend), and began the story (yesterday). I'll be sharing all of that with you and asking for forgiveness because this is a draft so rough I would normally not...

YA Indie Carnival - Spooky, Scary, & Eerie

It's that time of year when the sponsors of the YA Indie Carnival post stories or excerpts that will have you biting your nails and begging for people to sleep with you for the next few days. This post is timely for me. I'm writing a scene for Dark Angels of the Cross, and it has had such an unexpected impact on me that my sleep has become fitful and restless because my dreams are so deadly... foretelling... and--worst of all--real! 
Anyone who has read The Warrior Series knows...

13 on Halloween (Shadow #1) by Laura A.H. Elliott

13 on Halloween (Shadow #1) by Laura A.H. Elliott  - ★★★★★

Within the covers of 13 on Halloween (Shadow #1) Laura A.H. Elliott has brilliantly exemplified the narcissism and the varying levels of maturity that sometimes plagues tweens. Twelve year-old Roxie still loves jumping on the trampoline, but those types of juvenile tendencies take second place to her discovery of boys (especially Hayden, the cutest guy in the eighth grade), make-up, and the changes...