T.R. Graves's Blog: T. R. Graves, Author, page 21

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) - by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater ✯✯✯✯✯ (5 Stars)There are many things to keep you interested while you are reading Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1). 

First, you are constantly reminded of the temperature.  By the end of the book, you are conditioned to need that 'clue' to help you know if the chapter is going to be a good one or a struggle for life. I will forever remember 15 degrees.  

Second, the chapters are so short that you don't have time to become bored.  It also makes everything seem very fast paced.  

Third, the way Maggie Stiefvater describes smells is incredible.  It reminded me of the way Erin Morgenstern visually described everything in The Night Circus (one of my favorite books).  

Fourth, Maggie Stiefvater instantly bonds Grace to Sam by frequently reminding us that Sam is Grace's 'wolf'...solidifying our desire for them to beat the odds. 

After coming off the Hunger Games Series, this book was perfect.  There is nothing too serious (i.e. no famine, war, or brutal murder).  This book allows you to read for the pure and simple joy of reading...vegging...enjoying a great story created by a phenomenal author. 

I should also mention that I love the book's cover. 

Unfurl (Ripple #3) - by Cidney Swanson

I want everyone to join me in welcoming Cidney Swanson to my blog.  Cidney and I are members of the YA Author Club .  I'm a fan of hers, her books, and her books' cover designer.  As part of Unfurl's Tour, Cidney is my guest host today, and I'm using some of her time to make sure everyone knows Unfurl is available.  

For me, it's exciting to let Cidney host my blog and do a Ripple Trilogy giveaway.  In order to win the giveaway, you will need to follow her via Google Friends Connect on her website http://cidneyswanson.blogspot.com/.  At the bottom of this post, you will be able to enter for the giveaway (click on read more).

To each of you, best of luck!  To Cidney, congratulations on your series and thanks for giving me the opportunity to support you!


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Higuys! I'm so happy to be here today as part of my UNFURL blog tour. I thoughtI'd address an issue that I get a lot of questions about: Writer's Block. So,here are my thoughts. I hope you find them useful! 


Writer'sblock can cover a host of issues that stem from a number of sources rangingfrom something as simple as fatigue to something as complex as clinicaldepression. Most of the time though, it doesn't come from anything quite sodramatic. Most of the time, writer's block crops up when we're afraid to commitour words to paper or when we have "run out" of things to say.  
Althoughthese causes are really dissimilar, the solution for both is the same. B-I-C.Butt in chair. As in: you need to sit down and just write. Haveyou ever primed a pump? There's a campground I visit every summer where we haveto do that. You pull that handle up and down a few times and it seems likenothing is happening, but then all the sudden you're jumping backwards to avoidbeing drenched in icy fresh water.  

Yourbrain is like that pump. It needs to be primed, and often it will look likenothing is happening for the first little bit of B-I-C time. Inspiration reallydoes follow perspiration though, and as you get your mind to recognize that youare going to go through with this activity right now, your mind willusually supply you with a few things to jot down. And then a few more.  

Stillfeeling stuck? Here are my two favorite ways to get unstuck. 

1:Interview your characters. You can ask them anything, really. Sit at your[writing instrument of choice] to do this, and actually write out the Q's andthe A's. I find out all kinds of amazing stuff when I start asking mycharacters questions. 

2:If you've truly tried, truly done your B-I-C time and you're still stuck, go takea walk. Sometimes a little change in scenery will loosen things up. Or maybeit's the physical motion that does it. I'm not sure. But before you take yourwalk, ask your brain, "So, what happens next?" and see what comes up! 

Thanks so much, everyone, for the chance to stop by and visittoday! Come say hi anytime! 

Links (click on them):
Cidney Swanson's Blog
Cidney Swanson's Facebook
Cidney Swanson's TwitterBuy Books on AmazonGoodreads Author ProfileLibrarything Author PageEmail cidneyswanson at gmail dot coma Rafflecopter giveaway<a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js">You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

YA Indie Carnival - To Trailer or Not to Trailer...

This week, the sponsors of the  YA Indie Carnival are offering their opinions regarding the importance of a book trailer.  As an indie author, I'm exciting to hear other author's opinions regarding the investment of their time/effort/energy in creating trailers.
Here's what I've learned.  Book trailers can be simple...or they can be difficult.  I spent lots of time (time I could have been writing) trying to develop a great book trailer.  No matter how long or hard I worked, I was never successful in creating one I liked.  At least, that was the case until I discovered Animoto.  Animoto allowed me to quickly and easily make book trailers.  All I had to do was provide a few pictures with some accompanying captions after picking a design and a song.  Suddenly, making a book trailer was simple.

Here's what I know.  While the absence of a book trailer will not prevent the book from being successful, the existence of a quality trailer opens the author up to new and inventive marketing techniques for their book.  In the end, that edge will lead to a more popular release and additional sales.

Below are the trailers for Warriors of the Cross & Guardians of the Cross:  



1.Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series2.Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series3.Heather Self4.T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series5.Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga6.Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy7.Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog 8.K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed9.Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series10.Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy11.Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews 12.Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey13.M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 14.Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind15.Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls16.Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler17.Gwenn Wright, author of Filter18.TG Ayer19.Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy20.Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga21.Roots in Myth, PJ Hoover22.Courtney Cole Writes

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

✯✯✯✯✯ (5 Stars)

This powerful book should come with a warning:  May cause depression

Somehow, Suzanne Collins described Katniss' unbearably bleak situation from the beginning of Mockingjay until the end in such a manner that I began feeling sad myself.  No.  Not sad.  My emotions would best be described as depressed, dejected, disenchanted, and frustrated.  Anything but happy, cheerful, idealistic, or satisfied.

While the writing was phenomenal (or why else would I feel so many emotions), my mental health is not worth reading this book...ever again.  I'm sure that the point of this series was to portray war as horrific.  We all know - in our hearts even if we've never been in a real battle for our lives - how horrible it would be to see our family and friends tortured, murder, mutilated, burned, mentally raped, etc.  I never want to live through any of that.  With Mockingjay, I feel like I have.   

If I had one wish for this series, it would have been for it to end on a high note rather than the anticlimactic 'it is what it is' ending I was met with after enduring the mental trauma I was made to suffer throughout the entire book.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
✯✯✯✯✯ (5 Stars)Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) is a phenomenal follow-up to The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1).  Now that it's finished, I feel like I'm suffering from a strange compulsion...one pushing me to read Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) as soon as possible in order to find out what happens to people who have - for all practical purposes - become friends:  Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Cinna, and Prim.  I was extremely glad to see the introduction of a great new character:  Finnick.  More than anything, I'm glad to find the traits I loved most about The Hunger Games were constants within Catching Fire. 

The evolution from a game impacting a few people to a game impacting an entire universe of people was perfect.  The need - soul-deep yearning - for Katniss to save this world of people who are mentally and physically abused by the District (and President Snow) is so real that even I, the reader, am overwhelmed with the task.  Somehow, Katnis does what I'm not sure I could ever do.

I've said it before, and I'll say again when I review Mockingjay, but Suzanne Collins is an AMAZING, GIFTED, and EXTRAORDINARY writer!  If you haven't begun to read this series, I would strongly recommend that you stop what you are doing, proceed to the nearest bookstore (online or down the road), and get all three.  Trust me...you will not be able to stop once you start.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games#1) by Suzanne Collins
✯✯✯✯✯ (5 Stars)
TheHunger Games is one of those timeless books that will stay with you forever. Insome ways, it is reminiscent of The Lottery combined with a modern-dayreality show similar to Survivor. It's an talented author who candescribe starvation in such a way the reader feels like they have endured famine...whocan build life-threatening events with such reality the reader's heart poundswhile hormones of anxiety course through their veins...who can make the readerfall into heartwarming love at the same moment the book's characters do...whocan make you mourn - with real tears -when great characters die.  SuzanneCollins is just such author.  Amazing.  Inspiring. One of the greatest. 

Katniss' selflessness and willingness to give her life for others along with hermorals/ethics make her the perfect heroine. Katniss' tales describing her friendship with Gale and their likenessesmeans there is no way to ignore the strength of their bond and makes you wonderif she unknowingly loves him.  Peeta's tendershow of unrequited love makes the reader's heart squeeze, and they cheer forhim as emphatically as they pull for Katniss to be the winner of the HungerGames.

The Hunger Games and the Capital and the Districts.  The world which was created within the coversof this book is very real, making this unbelievable story suddenly plausibleand horrific.   

I would highly recommend this book for people of all ages.  In fact, I'm dying to tackle CatchingFire (The Hunger Games, #2), which will be one of my nextbooks.  Stayed tuned for that review.

Kindle Giveaway & Amazon Exclusive Debut

In honor of my most-recent agreement with Amazon, I'm celebrating with a Kindle Touch giveaway.  Before I summarize the details associated with the giveaway, I want to explain the reasons I, an indie author, made the decision to offer The Warrior Series' e-books exclusively on Amazon and apologize to those who will be unable to buy my books for the next 90 days.

I'm fast approaching my one-year blogger/indie author anniversary.  With that amount of time behind me, I have facts and data to help support my decisions (things I didn't have before).  For example, I know I sell more books on Amazon than all other outlets combined (at least ten times more).  That is because Amazon does a fantastic job at engaging independent authors and making their books available to readers who may never have known about the author's non-traditional published books without Amazon. 

Because Amazon is the site where the majority of my books are sold, I'm comfortable my choice will not isolate me - too terribly much - from the people most interested in reading my books.  The agreement I've made is to make my books available exclusively on Amazon for the next 90 days.  My decision makes me eligible for a share of the Kindle Owners' Lending Library Fund, which is calculated based on a share of the total number of qualified borrows of all participating KDP titles.  In the end, I'm considering this endeavor to be one more phase of my indie author education. 

Wish me luck by participating in my giveaway...and telling others.  THANKS!  THANKS!   

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The Warrior Series Giveaway 

I'm not going to make this too difficult, but there will be a simple hurdle (or three) to cross before you can become eligible to win a great new Kindle Touch and some fabulous books by some inspiring Indie Authors.  It goes without saying that Warriors of the Cross and Guardians of the Cross will be two of the books included in the package.

The contest will go on indifinitely until all three of the following goals are met and the winning contestant must have contributed to the success by LIKE'ing or Following in all three places.  Click on each link below and LIKE or FOLLOW:
✣ T. R. Graves Facebook Fan Page has 1,500 LIKES
✣ T. R. Graves' Blog has 500 Followers
✣ WARRIORSSERIES  has 1,500 Twitter Followers
✣ BONUS: You'll get 3 extra indie author ebooks if you've become a T.R. Graves Goodreads Fan. 

Yes, you will have to move your mouse and click your finger a half-dozen times (oh the work) in order to be eligible to win this contest, but I'm absolutely sure you have done more for less.

Rules:
✣ Above goals must be met (1,500 LIKES on T.R. Graves Facebook, 500 followers on T.R. Graves Blog, & 1,500 WARRIORSERIES twitter followers).
✣ Once the milestones are achieved, the person who is number X,XXX (the preselected number can't be disclosed...yet) to LIKE my Facebook Fan Page will be the winner of:
     ✦ 1 - Kindle Touch (& Prime Member 30-day free trial = Kindle Owners' Lending Library )
     ✦ 1 - Warriors of the Cross e-book
     ✦ 1 - Guardians of the Cross e-book
✣  The final winner has to have LIKE'ed the T.R. Graves Facebook Fan Page, followed the T.R. Graves blog, AND followed WARRIORSSERIES on Twitter. 
     ✦ If not, I will go backwards until I find someone meeting the eligibility requirements.

YA Indie Carnival - Reading's Lessons for Authors

This week, the  YA Indie Carnival sponsors are talking about the things they learn when reading.  Without a doubt, the lessons I've learned are as vast as the sea of books within the largest library.  Every book's hundreds of pages and thousands of words hold power and knowledge - for those searching - deeply embedded within its character development, excitement, adventure, and romance.  
Through resilient lead characters, I've learned no man is an island.  No matter how strong, independent, or powerful, the main character must have a team of people supporting his/her efforts and at least one adversary trying to prevent him/her from reaching their goals.  Think Marked (House of Night #1), Zoey, and her gang.
The most awesome hero(ine) will not take you far if the reader does not fall in love with him/her...have a vested interest in their outcome...feel completely horrible when they lose...and beyond happy when they win.  For this to be the case, I've learned the importance of portraying passion, devotion, commitment, and friendship in ways so real the readers experience the characters' emotions.  Think Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1), Rose, Dimitri, and Lissa.
Through books, I learned the setting is as much of a character as anything else described between the covers.  Because of this, I make sure to write about places I know well, describing the look, feel, and smell in ways that produces images in the reader's mind, pangs in their heart, and scents in the air around them.  Think Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) and Bon Temps.
Through great authors, I've come to understand how powerful a book can be if the reader suffers alongside the characters in  a manner that makes them feel like they would know what it's like to be in the character's shoes...even if they've never taken one step in them.  Think The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) and Katniss' starvation and survival.
I love to read.  Studying the characters and the way the authors write sentences - ones that can be structured dozens of ways - and noticing how the writer's version is truly the best because it flowed from them during their writing trance or while they pounded through their writer's block.
Now, join me in finding what my fellow authors/blogger have learned while reading:
1.Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series2.Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series3.Heather Self4.T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series5.Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga6.Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy7.Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog 8.K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed9.Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series10.Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy11.Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews 12.Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey13.M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 14.Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind15.Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls16.Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler17.Gwenn Wright, author of Filter18.TG Ayer19.Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy20.Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga21.Roots in Myth, PJ Hoover22.Courtney Cole Writes

Clockwork Prince - by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare
✮✮✮✮✮ - 5 stars
Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) is a fantastic follow-up to the Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1).  Of course, I would expect nothing more from Cassandra Clare.  What a phenomenal author, writer, and story-teller. 

This is one of those books that will make you want to stop the rest of the world so you can devote your undivided attention to Tess, Will, Jem, and the vivid world Ms. Clare has created.  If you do just that, you will not be disappointed.  Once finished, you will endure withdrawals and anxiously await Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3).

I love the way Tess is torn between Will and Jem.  I find myself pulled in exactly the same way...like the one she is with is the one I think she should be with.  Then, I feel guilty for it later.  In fact, I really, really want to see who Tess ends up with and how Ms. Clare does it in a manner whereby the parabatai relationship between the two men remains strong and powerful since their demon-hunting success is dependent on it.

Making this book's characters real is the disappointment I feel anytime the Shadowhunters are betrayed...especially when that disloyalty comes from people who are deep within the Institutes circle of trust. 

In the end, I would say this series, its characters, its excitement, its world is absolutely comparable to The Mortal Instruments, one of my all-time favorite series.  


YA Indie Carnival - Books Worth Giving Thanks For

 
Welcome back to the first YA Indie Carnival post of 2012.  Today, the blogger/authors sponsoring this collaboration are sharing books they are thankful for.  I could easily let this post get out of control.  There are millions of great books to read, hundreds of authors who have impassioned me, and just as many new authors to discover.  In fact, if I don't concentrate on one book at a time, I become completely overwhelmed with my to-be-read list.

As an author, I'd be lying if I said my books were not the first ones on my Thankful List.  It never occurred to me that I could write a book when I was a young child.  In my mind, becoming an author was an unattainable goal.  At no point did it occur to me that one day I would be one of 'those' people who wrote exciting and addicting stories. 

With all that said, I'm thankful for Warriors of the Cross because it gave me and my readers the opportunity to get to know Allison La Crosse and her entourage.  I'm thankful for Guardians of the Cross because it allowed me to continue Allison's journey toward learning who she is and what God's preordained plan for her is.  I'm also grateful for Guardians of the Cross because it gave me the chance to introduce two books from my next series, Worth Living For, Underwater Series #1 & Worth Dying For, Underwater Series #2.  Finally, I'm in the middle of writing Enemies of the Cross.  I'm thankful for the fresh direction of this series...the chance to introduce greater characters, new villains who are so evil they put the others to shame, and a magical setting that will be unlike anything anyone has ever created.

Now, I'm going to include other books which have inspired me with their words, their characters, and their storyline (first in the series when applicable).  I should mention that none of these are indie books for two very simple reasons:  1) I'd never heard of indie books until I became an indie author - an opportunity I will forever be grateful for - and 2) I have to do a lot of my 'reading' through audio books which generally lends itself to traditional publishers.

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) byCassandra Clare
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) byCharlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.





The Night Circus byErin Morgenstern  AMAZING! Really, I'm not sure I've ever read a book where every sense is completely satisfied. Erin Morgenstern's descriptions are so flawless you know exactly how foods you've never eaten taste. She details fragrances in such a manner that - while they are nowhere near - they waft around you and awaken your senses. She makes places, which are absolutely foreign, feel like home and complete strangers seem like trusted friends. In other words, she is one of the rare authors who can perform magic with her words...similar to the way her characters perform their illusions within The Night Circus.

Twilight (Twilight #1) byStephenie Meyer
Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) byRichelle Mead
Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever...

Marked (House of Night #1) byP.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

I could really, really go on for days, and I'm sure that later today I will remember dozens more authors/books that make me want to be a better writer and story-teller.  Until I have time to blog about others, join me in finding out which books my fellow indie authors are thankful for.

1.Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series2.Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series3.Heather Self4.T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series5.Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga6.Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy7.Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog 8.K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed9.Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series10.Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy11.Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews 12.Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey13.M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 14.Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind15.Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls16.Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler17.Gwenn Wright, author of Filter18.TG Ayer19.Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy20.Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga21.Roots in Myth, PJ Hoover22.Courtney Cole Writes