Clare C. Marshall's Blog, page 24
January 23, 2012
Musing Monday #11
Musing Monday time again! Hosted by Should Be Reading.
Why do you think that the Young Adult genre is so popular with even the adult readers? Do you read YA books, yourself?
It's the idea that one person–someone you can identify with, in the prime of their life (teens or early 20s)–can make a difference in the world. Everyone wants to think that they matter. In a way, our society has a fixation with every person being important, that anyone can be a hero, even if they don't want to be (the anti-hero). Facebook and Twitter and reality TV are outlets for this idea. Anyone can be famous, if they shout loud enough, and if they are good at the shouting (or, if they are really bad at it). The idea that you or someone like you can save the world just doesn't get old because some would just like it to be true.
I read YA because that's what I like to write. It's not the only thing I like to read, but it is attractive to imagine that your teen life could be filled with you doing something important, instead of just going to school.
What do you guys think?
January 21, 2012
Lucy Maud Montgomery & I
My last dream last night was about Road to Avonlea, about an episode which I am convinced didn't actually exist. As I was looking up the different episodes to confirm this, I remembered how much I admired Lucy Maud Montgomery as a child. For those new to Canadian literature…L.M. Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables and several other novels/stories featuring young girls growing up on Prince Edward Island.
I have all the Anne books upstairs, but I've only read the first four. I've read the first two Emily books as well, but I don't believe I've read the third. I also have one of her published journals. It's been a long time since I've looked at them.
I wanted to share a story with you that my mom likes to tell about me. In grade 6, we had to create a presentation about someone we admired; it had to be a real person, and we could dress up as that person if we liked for bonus points. The girls all chose the Spice Girls (who were popular at the time) or some other singer-actress. (Except Brittney–didn't you do Sean Connery, and you dressed as a man? Or did you do Terri Clark? I do seem to remember you being Sean Connery as he is the best Bond).
Anyway, I picked Lucy Maud Montgomery. And no one knew who she was. No one! People knew Anne of Green Gables, but not the author behind it. This was unfathomable to my eleven-year-old self, as I had grown up with her stories. I dressed up as her too, appearing quite out of place as a lady from the early 20th century among modern stars.
Actually, Brittney, your mom videotaped everyone's presentation and my mom still has the tape around here somewhere. Once she pulled it out to show one of my old boyfriends. Yeah, that's how much she likes to tell this story.
Lucy Maud was one of my heroes when I was young. She was so prolific and created such memorable characters–and she will be remembered forever. Who was your hero? How was your hero different from what your peers idolized, if at all?
January 20, 2012
Friday Finds #1
Found this book meme at Should be Reading. Well, I actually thought of it and then looked it up to see if it existed or not. Turns out, it does. Yay!
Here are some books I discovered this week!
Grounding Quinn, by Stephanie Campbell<?a>
Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi
Those were the two that stuck with me, in any case! What were yours?
January 18, 2012
eBook Giveaway of Within!
As part of the blog tour, Book Shark spotlighted me, and is doing an eBook giveaway.
Go to her site for more details of how you can win! ^_^ I believe it involves reading the sample. 
WWW Wednesdays #9
Haven't done one of these in a while. Here's what I'm reading and planning on reading this new year.
What are you currently reading?
Blue Sky Days, by Marie Landry. I'm just getting into it now. I'm excited to see where the story is going to take me. On January 29, I'll be posting my review as part of the blog tour!
What did you finish reading?
Forgotten, by Cat Patrick. I was going to do a review, but I kind of forgot about it to be honest, haha. The premise was interesting: girl who only "remembers" future events, and forgets the past. But it was just poorly executed. Boo.
What will you read next?
Mayfair Moon, by J.A. Redmerski. Looks interesting, and I'm looking forward to getting into it!
Now…I just have to find time to read…
January 16, 2012
Reading at the Economy Shoe Shop Tomorrow EDIT: Cancelled!
**EDIT: MY READING HAS BEEN CANCELLED!**
Due to circumstances beyond my control, the reading has been cancelled. 
I know a lot of you were excited, and I was excited too, and I hate disappointing people. It may be rescheduled at a different venue in a few weeks, but I can't say for certain.
Sorry everyone
****
Hey everyone,
Don't forget that I'm reading at the Economy Shoe Shop pub tomorrow, 7pm! The Economy Shoe Shop is on Argyle St, in Halifax. Can't miss it, really.
You can come early, if you'd like, as I hear there's going to be a cocktail/mingling hour.
Other authors reading are: Heather MacKenzie-Carey, author of Sweet Shack and Bach Bar, Stephanie Holmes, author of Spent, and Susan MacDonald, author of Balance.
Hope to see you there! ^_^
Reading at the Economy Shoe Shop Tomorrow
Hey everyone,
Don't forget that I'm reading at the Economy Shoe Shop pub tomorrow, 7pm! The Economy Shoe Shop is on Argyle St, in Halifax. Can't miss it, really.
You can come early, if you'd like, as I hear there's going to be a cocktail/mingling hour.
Other authors reading are: Heather MacKenzie-Carey, author of Sweet Shack and Bach Bar, Stephanie Holmes, author of Spent, and Susan MacDonald, author of Balance.
Hope to see you there! ^_^
January 13, 2012
Review Request!
Got a review request today from J.A. Redmerski, who is the author of The Mayfair Moon. Turns out, it's free on Kindle today and tomorrow–it looks really interesting, and I'll hopefully have a chance to read and review it within the next month or two! I'll be adding this one to my self-publishing reading challenge page.
After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.
Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable 'illness' and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.
As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.
Looks like it's just newly published—maybe we could all give it some love?
January 9, 2012
Blog Tour Starts Today!
So excited! After 3 months of planning…a wild blog tour appears.
First up is Book Addicted Girl with a character interview. I've never done one of these prior to this, so I put a bit of a twist to it.
January 5, 2012
New Year's Resolutions
These are more goals than resolutions. I'm not just going to promise that they will happen, I'm already making them happen.
1. Publish two books this year. I already talked about this here, but this is well underway! The Violet Fox just needs another 5 or 8K words, and then certain parts need to be re-written, and certain people need names. The plan is to have all this done by the end of the month, and then the editing begins. Hopefully, it will be published on May 13. The second book of the year, currently undecided, will be published November or December 13.
2. Complete my book challenges. I kind of forgot about them until yesterday, actually. Need to get on that! Fortunately it's only 10 books, which is totally doable.
3. Get fit. Okay, this is the stereotypical one. But I've actually been doing hundreds of crunches every night since Dave left. Looking good for when we reunite = motivation. Currently, I'm following this video program on youtube. I'll post the video below. The first level of this workout is here. I've been doing some pushups as well, I'm slowly increasing that number every few days. I've seen some change in the last four weeks, but I know that doing only crunches with very little cardio will show very little difference. I would like to start running, but it's pretty cold around here! Maybe when it's a little warmer.
