M.B. Mulhall's Blog, page 12

Book Review – White Trash Beautiful

Beautiful cover. Typical story.

Title: White Trash Beautiful

Author: Teresa Mummert

Genre: Young Adult (Possibly New Adult)

Source: Net Galley

Goodreads Rating: 3.76 stars

My Rating: 3 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Cass Daniels isn’t waiting for her knight in shining armor. She knows that girls like her don’t get a happily ever after. Not if you live in a trailer with your mom, work at a greasy spoon diner, and get leered at by old men. Maybe that’s why she puts up with Jackson—her poor excuse for a boyfriend, who treats her like dirt. Cass has learned to accept her lot in life. That is, until he walks into her diner. . . .

His name is Tucker White, and he’s different from any man Cass has ever known. Tall, tattooed, and bad-ass gorgeous, he’s the lead singer of the rock band Damaged. From the moment they meet, Tucker sees something in Cass he just can’t shake. Something beautiful. Something haunted. Something special. And he’s determined to find out what it is—if only he can get her to open up and let him in. . . .

Reaction:

Typical kind of love story. Down and out girl meets famous guy and doesn’t think she’s good enough for him. He goes out of his way to show her she is more than good enough.

It was an enjoyable enough read but certain aspects annoyed me. The love interest isn’t developed enough for my liking. We know he ended up in a foster home and was taken in by the woman who is now his manager, but that’s all we really get. I might have enjoyed this more if we had alternating chapters to see from his and her points of view.

Also, Cass is kind of a glutton for punishment. She seems smart in some aspects but then just keeps going back for the abuse. I suppose that’s typical behavior for someone who’s abused but it didn’t sit well with me.

Good for a quick beach read but may have triggers for others who have been in abusive relationships/situations.

Teaser Tuesday – Errand Girl of the Undead

When things calm down, I’ll be back to writing posts, but for now, another teaser!

You can find previous chapters by following these links:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Remember, these are unedited, so be kind!

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Chapter Four

The card weighed heavy in my pocket the whole day, making time move at molasses’ pace. I probably should have gone home and waited for Josiah to get up, to ask him his thoughts on the whole thing, but I had other errands to run.  As I pulled into the parking lot of a rundown strip mall, a smile grew on my face. I loved my shop, my own little personal haven in this weird world. Shame not everyone could see its awesomeness.

The shopping plaza was constructed in the early nineties when businesses were booming and everyone had the idea to open some amazing store and live by their own rules rather than under the thumb of a misunderstanding boss. Sadly, most ventures didn’t last more than a year.  Only a few stragglers were left in the plaza; a liquor store, a Chinese place that made the best lo-mein and a head shop that I think kept the Chinese place in business as all the stoners went there  when they had the munchies.

There were several empty stores with “For Lease” signs on the windows between my shop and the others in the strip.  If anyone walked by mine, it was only because they knew it was there. Oddly enough, no one ever really questioned why I was always parked in the lot, but I suspected, by the heaping portions given to me, that the folks who run the Chinese place think I’m homeless. I ain’t complaining.

Whistling, I dug around in my purse for the shop keys. I stopped for what must have been the millionth time to wonder what people must think when they see me suddenly disappear as I stepped into a place they couldn’t see. I figured with the kind of people that frequent the plaza, they’re either drunk or high so they must shrug it off and forget about it a moment later. Anyone who did catch me must think I walked into a brick wall, much like Harry’s 9 3/4 platform.

Finally successful in unearthing my keys, I flipped through the ring to find the one I painted blue that opened the shop’s door. Of course they slipped between my “nimble” fingers and I ended up dropping them. I expected to hear the familiar jangling sound as they hit the pavement, but it never came. Instead I found them being dangled in front of my eyes, shaking slightly as if I were a cat and someone was taunting me to bat at them. I grabbed the bundle, annoyed that I let someone sneak up on me. I’m normally more on my guard. Then again, Samson seemed to have made it his mission in life to show me I’m not equipped enough to work with down unders.

“Don’t pout, Sweets. I’m just trying to teach you an important lesson.” His voice curled around me like smoke.  I swatted the air, as if that would make him and the deep rich sound of his words disappear.  Instead he laughed and plucked the keys from my hand, opening the door before I could even object.

“After you.” With a grand sweeping gesture, he ushered me in.  I glared at him with all the venom I could muster, stomping on his tail as I passed.  He hissed in surprise, the smile slipping from his handsome face. My own smile itched to make an appearance, but I knew that would probably make things worse, so I froze my expression into one of boredom and distain.

“What do you want Samson?” I asked, plunking my purse and bag down behind the counter.  He didn’t answer immediately, instead taking it upon himself to flip the lights on, making sure the door closed fully behind him. His actions surprised me. The door had a habit of getting caught in the wind and flinging open.  I’ve had to get Siobhan to fix the glass several times already.

“Do I need a reason to visit, Ellie?” he finally asked, his hands rubbing at the sore spot I created on his tail.

“Yes.”

Samson rolled his yellow eyes and leaned against one of the bar stools I had set up in front of the counter. “Must we always argue?”

“You’re the one who started it!”

Where was he going with this? When I was younger Samson was a friend, often keeping me company while Josiah was “working.”  When I decided I wanted to go out into the real world, he turned sarcastic and bitter, disagreeing with my every desire, putting me down, as if my choice was a slight against him and his way of living.

His silence spread throughout the small shop, making me regret my childish outburst. While it was true, he did start it, bringing it up made me sound like a sullen kid. I decided to let it go and be the bigger man, so to speak.

“Seriously Samson, did you need something?” I looked over the counter, my gaze catching his glowing yellow one.  Again there was something there in his eyes, hinting to me that he was holding back.  I opened my mouth to question again–I was growing concerned–but he broke the connection, looking away and shrugging his shoulders. He let his tail drop and looked around the shop. I felt like he was examining it for hidden cameras or something.

“No, I suppose I don’t,” he eventually said, leaving in a cloud of sulfur before I could stop him. I stood staring at the spot he had been in. Was Samson in some kind of trouble? Did he need my help but was afraid to ask? The thought of him in need caused a sharp stabbing sensation in my chest. He was a pain in my ass and I never knew if I could trust him these days, but he had been a friend once and that was hard to forget. I rubbed at the smarting spot, as if that would make the worry go away.

The sudden ringing of the phone woke me from my concerns, causing me to jump a bit–good thing no one was around to witness that–and thoughts of Samson were pushed to the back of my mind as Business Ellie took over and started her day.

How Often Should You Frequent Writing Groups

You may do your initial writing alone, but unless you’re planning on not sharing your work with anyone else, it’ll take a small army to finish writing your book.  We’ve talked about the importance of beta readers and critique partners before, but today’s post is going to focus more on the writing group and how often you should  meet to get the most out of the group experience.

I’ve belonged to my writing group for two years now (roughly) and we’ve always met on a monthly basis. Which was fine but I often found I’d have forgotten some of the parts of the stories the others were reading because it had been a month since I had heard them. Not to mention people would often read chapters out of order, which would make it hard to follow the continuity of the story.

Recently the group decided to try and meet more often, on a weekly basis.  It has made a huge difference. Not only was it easier to follow the stories of my peers, it helped motivate most of us to write more during the week knowing we would have to share. It also gave me a better idea of others’ writing styles and their possible quirks as I’m hearing more of their writing.

I understand it’s just not possible for some people to make a group on a weekly basis. Meeting once a month will still have its benefits. If it’s possible for you to meet on a more regular basis I think you’d find it really helps push you to write as well as better dissect the writing of your peers, which is going to help everyone to become a better writer.

Do you belong to a writing group? How often do you meet?

Book Review: Falling Hard

Title: Falling Hard (Roller Girls)

Author: Megan Sparks

Genre: Young Adult

Source: Net Galley

Goodreads Rating:  4.20 stars

My Rating: 3 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Annie moves from London to a small town in the midwest, she struggles to fit in. She gets off to a bad start when she makes an enemy of her school’s queen bee, Kelsey. But she discovers a new passion, the exciting sport of roller derby, and makes friends with the cool and quirky girls on her team, the Liberty Belles. She also meets Jesse, the friendly boy who works at the roller rink, and Tyler, a cute, all-American sports star.

Reaction:

A fun light read that’s suitable for a younger crowd (perfect for your Middle Grade aged readers who are reading on a YA level).  There’s no swearing, no risque situations and a very present parent figure (uncommon in a lot of YA stuff).

It’s definitely a coming of age kind of story where Annie is learning to fit in with a new school, new friends and a new culture.  Readers get a taste of the kind of culture shock a British teen might get if they come to live in the states.  There’s fun  Brit slang and references (even a Doctor Who mention!).

I love the introduction to roller derby.  There’s definitely a resurgence of the sport here and I think it’s a good one to introduce to girls, especially when there’s an uptick in girls wanting to show they’re not dainty flowers and can play as hard as the boys do.  Lots of lingo is thrown out in the story but it’s well explained and readers will get a decent idea of how the sport is played.

The only downside to the story, for me,  is that it seemed to end a bit abruptly.  We don’t find out what happens with the two possible love interests or the annoying catty cheerleader chick.  I’m guessing this is the first in a series so those things will be addressed in following books.

All in all, a cute, quick read about fitting in and being yourself.

Plotting Your Story Arc

Many of the writers I know and regularly talk to are pantsers, refusing to plot or outline their stories, opting to let it come as they go. It’s typically my go-to plan as well, although I admit to doing some very basic outline plotting lately, more to get down ideas that come to me while I’m working on other projects.

Regardless, I think both pantsers and plotters need to take the time to plot out your basic story arc. It could be as simple as: This is my character in the beginning. This is what’s going to happen to them. This is how it’s resolved. This is how it all ends.

Obviously you’d be better off making it a bit more detailed, but even basic will be helpful so you know what you’re working towards.   It could help keep the dreaded writer’s block at bay if you at least know the direction the story is headed.

There are a lot of diagrams out there that can help you to plot things as well. If you Google you can find them for specific kinds of stories as well, but I did some for you to save time.

Do you use a diagram to plot? Do you have one you’d recommend to others?

This is the typical Disney story arc.

Basic romance story arc

Typical Hero Arc

Staircase diagram.

Basic story arc

Book Review – True

I’ve decided I ought to get back to reviewing more, especially since I’ve found Net Galley and picked up a bunch of ARCs from BEA. While I typically review still on Goodreads and Amazon, I’ve gotten away from it here on the blog a bit. I think it’s time to bring it back and share with you folks. I always *ALWAYS* love to hear what others are reading and I love to share my recommendations too.  If you’re new to the blog and haven’t seen my ‘reviews’ before, know that they are more reactions than reviews. I like to let readers discover what happens in the story on their own (boo spoilers!) so I try to be careful with the information I give.

Title: True

Author: Erin McCarthy

Genre: New Adult

Source: Net Galley

Goodreads rating: 3.69 stars

My Rating: 3 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost.

Reaction:

I’m always a sucker for a good romance, but admittedly, it seems as if I’ve read this story before.

I felt like Rory, the main character, was a bit of a contradiction. She was this super smart girl who was very logical and mature in many aspects of her life (studying, checking on partying friends, trying to help out Tyler’s family, etc.) but her inner dialog makes her comes off as a naive,self-loathing, somewhat immature teen. As the book progresses she does loose some of that and I grew to like her better.

The story was fairly predictable but there were occasional surprises thrown in that kept me reading. I enjoyed the family dynamic of the brothers although I’m left wondering what was going on with the youngest and school, something touched upon but never really explained/explored.

Even though the story wasn’t a new one, it hooked me enough to have me finishing the book in one sitting. It got me invested enough that I’d pick up the sequel about the roommate as well.

All in all, a quick, easy read perfect for a day at the beach or lounging around the pool.

Power Reader Experience @ BEA2013- Part 3

Hey, I made a vlog!  Woah, look at that bad half eye closed shot they use. How annoying. Sorry you have to look at me, hehe.  Enjoy!

Leave questions and/or comments here or on Youtube!

 

Power Reader Experience @BEA2013 – Part 2

The experience continues…

Before the Neil Gaiman talk started, my friend heard some chatter about a Book Club Speed Dating event being held in the hall after the talk.  I looked it up on my BEA phone app and it said you needed to register prior to attending.  We did it on the fly and were lucky they still had spots open.  I’m sure glad they did! It ended up being one of the best experiences of the day.

 

Some of these are from the Speed Dating experience.

We were split up at different tables and representatives from different publishing houses would rotate to the tables, at the sound of a gong, talking about new releases they had coming out. Many of the books they discussed were spread out around the table for us to take. It was nice to hear them so excited about what they were discussing. They definitely convinced me to pick up some books I probably wouldn’t have bothered with otherwise.

After Book Club Speed Dating my suit case was almost full!

There were discussions on reading guides for the releases and where to find them as well as networking between bloggers and other book group folks at the table. They also talked a bit about Net Galley and how if we review it’s a good place to get Advanced Reading Copies.

The Speed Dating event was probably my biggest grab of the day for books and information. I would most definitely do it again.

Here’s a list of the books I walked away with from that part of the day:

Lord of Opium – Nancy Farmer

Tell the Wolves I’m Home - Carol Rifka Brunt

The Silver Star - Jeanette Walls

The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon (Super psyched to read this one!)

Huuuuge children’s book.

Invasion -  Walter Dean Meyers

The Book of Someday -  Dianne Dixon

Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson (my 2nd Sanderson of the day! This one is YA.)

Love & Lament - John Milliken Thompson

Mrs. Poe -  Lynn Cullen (Excited for this one as well)

Gold -  Chris Cleave

If You Could Be Mine - Sara Farizan (GLBT YA romance. I’m reading this one now. Super interesting.)

This Song Will Save Your Life – Leila Sales (Already read this one since I got home & reviewed on Goodreads

Little Owl - Children’s puppet board book

In My Ocean - Sara Gillingham & Lorena Siminovich (Another children’s puppet book)

Lift flaps to learn interesting trivia about the animal pictured.

Out of Sight - Pittau & Gervais (A giant hardcover popup kind of children’s book. Awesome!)

 

To be continued. Next time: Bewildered on the Exhibitor Floor

Power Reader Experience @ BEA2013 – Part 1

Firstly, sorry for missing Thursday’s post! Not sure how that happened…

I’m going to break this up into two possibly three posts so you’re not crushed with info and images.

Now, onto the experience! My partner in crime for the day and I drove into the city and parked near the Javits Center (best decision of all! To lug all our bootie home on public transportation would have been beyond torturous) and got there shortly before 8am.  Check in was super easy and we were early enough to get a bag of goodies from Macmillan. Since my buddy, John, wanted a list of everything I got, I figured these posts would be good spots for that.

Our bag of macmillan goodies we got at check in.

The bag from Macmillan included the following:

Her Last Breath – Linda Castillo

Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes – Betsy Woodman

Lincoln’s Last Days – Bill O’Reilly (audio book)

Miss Havisham - Ronald Frame (prelude to Dicken’s Great Expectations)

The Nightmare - Lars Kepler

Stolen - Allison Brennan

The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson (like the Wheel of Time books, this one is HUGE & took up a lot of space! Haha)

Tiffany is browsing the BEA booklet we got while waiting to get in to see Neil.

After checking in, we went downstairs to wait for the Neil Gaiman talk on why Fiction is Dangerous.  While waiting in line we got chatty with the folks around us and found they were from all over like California and Portland. Many of them were bloggers and library science students.

This was waiting on each seat.

When we were let into the meeting room, a bio on Mr. Gaiman was waiting on each chair as well as an index card.  We were told to write a question for him on the card and they would collect them so he could answer as many as he could.

The wait was interesting. There was a gal with bright pink hair in front of me (annoying for photos as her hair was…high) and a younger girl next to me took out a small sketch book and was drawing other people in the crowd. She was pretty good. I wish I could have sneaked a pic of some of her work.

He was introduced by his editor and talked about his family, how he came up with ideas for his two most recent books (one children’s one

A goofy looking Neil Gaiman throwing buttons into the crowd.

adult).  To help promote his children’s book Fortunately, the Milk, he threw out fun buttons with other titles they put milk in such as: The Milk Never Sets, and Animal Milk. Sadly, I didn’t get one.  Once bounced off of me and the girl behind me grab it. *Le sigh*

Neil was incredibly down to earth and quite a bit funnier than I expected him to be. He’s

Funny man!

definitely on  my list of famous people (dead or alive) to have dinner with! Haha.  I was able to take a short (well 6 min.) video of some of the Q&A he did at the end of the talk.

You can watch that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl1RnKUKXWs

We were lucky enough to leave with not one but TWO  (pre)signed books: Fortunately, the Milk  and Make Good Art the commencement speech he gave at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts graduation last year.

My friend and I both agreed that his talk alone was worth the price of admission (and I’m not sure she’s even read anything of his!). If you ever have the opportunity to see him give a talk or do a reading, I suggest you go!

To be continued! Next post: Publisher Speed Date.

The font inside is very interesting…

Explaining how he came up with the ideas for his newest books

My signed copy.

BEA, Here I Come!

I’m super excited I get to go to a day of the Book Expo America conference this Saturday! A lovely friend is paying my way as I watched her pup for a weekend while she traveled, so we have Power Reader passes.  There’s so much going on that I’m not sure what we’ll see or do but BEA has an app for Smartphones to help plan and prepare, so you know I downloaded that!  If nothing else it has a GPS kind of mapping system so we can find our way around the convention center.

Now I have to decide if I’m going to look dorky and bring a little rolling suitcase for all the goodies I plan on snagging, or just go with tote bags so I can look like  bag lady. Neither look is especially chic, but I’m hardly a fashionista so it’s not like it *really* matters, right? I do think a suitcase will be easier to handle on the train home than three or four bags of stuff. We shall see.

Is anyone else attending or have attended in the past? Suggestions, tips or recommendations?  I’ll do a post next week about the experience.  I have a feeling it will be kind of overwhelming, but a good time!