Laura McNeill's Blog, page 31
November 1, 2011
Top 5 Ways to Kill Your Love of Reading
Did you resolve to read more this year? Maybe you've dubbed this year as the year you finally start your own book club. To be successful with either of these goals, you'll need to keep that all-consuming passion for reading alive. Here are five examples of what NOT to do.
I have been guilty of each and every one of these bibliophile misdeeds. To avoid making these mistakes, it helps to be cognizant of what they are and how they may put-off your love of reading. My list is, of course, not exhaustive. Please feel free to add other ways in which your enthusiasm for the written word has been destroyed or derailed.
1. By taking too long to finish reading a particular book – many a decent book have been utterly destroyed for me simply because I took too long to get through them. Sometimes this is because of a busy work or personal life that interferes with my time that is generally allotted to reading; others it is because I am reading the wrong book.
2. Because of reading the wrong book—what makes a book wrong? Some people say that if a book does not grab you in the first 50 pages that you should give up reading it. I don't know if I, however, subscribe to an exact number of pages that must be read before giving up. Sometimes books get started a bit late. Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything is Illuminated" for example takes a while to get heated up, but once it's there, this is one of the most incredible books.
3. Through turning your leisure activity into a chore—if reading as a hobby is very important to you, it's best not to subject yourself to reading materials that can be deemed more as work than pleasure. A classic example of this phenomenon is graduate school. I am not suggesting that you forego higher education to maintain your zeal for the written word; rather i'd like you to understand that you may undergo a 2-, 3- or even 5- year hiatus in this instance.
4. In choosing to miss out on other activities to sit at home and read—so you're a book-worm that probably means you, like many others who share your passion, are an introvert. That's great, but don't use reading as an excuse to miss out on some of the other things life has to offer, like a social life. Don't get too caught up in the fictional realm that you forget that life exists outside of the pages of a novel!
5. Upon assigning too much meaning to fictional characters—Loved 'Twilight' and now find yourself pining for a boyfriend just like Edward Cullen? No man even comes close? Surprise, surprise. Never measure real people up to invented ones, everybody loses. Similarly, if you find a glimmer of someone you know in a villainous character, you may start subconsciously assigning some of the fictional player's deeds to your real-life loved one. Don't do it!
Blog Tour Notes
THE BOOK: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still "see" things others can't. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com's Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author's birthday).
THE GIVEAWAYS: Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you'd like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.
THE AUTHOR: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don't forget to say "hi" to her sun conure Ducky!
MORE FUN: There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!
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October 27, 2011
Danger, Romance, & Magick
This week, I interviewed the talented and wonderful Sally Dubats, author of The Grimoire Chronicles: A Veil Between Worlds. The novel is a fascinating look at the world of Wicca through a young teenager's eyes. Although the book is classified YA, readers of all ages will enjoy The Grimoire Chronicles.
First of all, for people who might not know, what is a Grimoire?
Great question! A Grimoire is a Book of Magick. (Spelling magick with a "k" differentiates it from slight-of-hand tricks performed by magicians.) Grimoires can range from herbals to a book of simple spells to complex magickal explanations and instructions. Wikipedia has a great article about Grimoires and their rich history.
What was your inspiration for writing the Grimoire Chronicles?
I had three! I wanted to create a super fun, fast-paced read, create a strong female character, and stay true to Wicca and witchcraft to help break down stereotypes about Witches.
How did you create your heroine, Cassie?
I love Cassie! She is SO real to me! Again – I wanted to create a strong female lead who takes action. It might not always be the RIGHT action, but she's proactive. I love reading supernatural stories, and had a big "What If" question: "What if a REAL Witch came across supernatural circumstances. What would he or she do?" So, Cassie does rituals and/or casts spells. I also pull a lot from what's going on in our nation. Cassie has a lot of preconceived ideas about what people are thinking about her because she's a Witch, and she has a bad habit of labeling people she doesn't even know.
Talk a little about the race of people she discovers and what impact this has on her life.
Okay, but don't tell anyone! These people are highly evolved and have been around since before the ancient civilization of Atlantis and have influenced our music, art, and culture throughout the ages. This is the first book, and Cassie has a long road ahead. Suffice it to say that so far her world view has changed dramatically, and she is completely bewildered and enchanted by them!
Tell me about Wicca, the misconceptions about the craft, and what practicing the art really means.
Wicca is an earth-based religion. Our holidays are called Sabbats, and they are celebrated on the seasons – Equinoxes, Solstices, and cross-quarters (mid-points between the seasons). We also celebrate full moons and new moons. There are many types of Wicca. Some honor both a God and a Goddess. I'll give you a quote from Cassie. It's an early passage she's written: "I'm tired of defending or explaining myself, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm not evil. I don't worship the Devil or poison people. I also don't levitate or make things fly through the air or read people's minds. Well, not directly, but I am pretty intuitive. Wicca is my religion. We celebrate the changes of the seasons and use things like Tarot cards and visualization and magick to help us navigate through life and help others. We learn about herbs and natural healing. Oh, and intelligence. Wicca has been called the Craft of the Wise. We rely on our own intelligence and intuition, not someone else's. It's great to get advice, but when it comes right down to it, no one can tell you what is right for you, and it's a good idea to go through life assuming that everything you think you know could be wrong."
Finish this sentence: If you really enjoyed ______ and ______, you'll love The Grimoire Chronicles!
The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. (Okay, that's three, but that's what readers have said.)
What's next for Cassie?
There will be eight books, one for each Sabbat. The next book in the series is "The Grimoire Chronicles: Winter Solstice". The first book is about Halloween, the thinning of the Veil Between Worlds. "Winter Solstice" will focus (symbolically) on the traditional Pagan conflict between the Holly King and the Oak King and will mirror two male characters in the book. Cassie has a front row seat.
How can readers find out more about you and The Grimoire Chronicles?
I love hearing from readers! I'm also the author of a non-fiction compendium on the practice of witchcraft and was the editor of a metaphysical newspaper for several years. Visit my website at www.sallydubats.com. The Grimoire Chronicles is available in a variety of ebook formats, including the Kindle, Nook, & iPad.
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 407 KB
Publisher: Sally Dubats (July 4, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Service
ASIN: B005AHM5A6
October 25, 2011
October 22, 2011
A Harrowing Journey through Mao's Red China
Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
Author Lisa See demonstrates a skillful ability to carry readers away with her thoughtful prose and fascinating storylines. Her New York Times bestsellers include Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls.
Her latest novel, Dreams of Joy, explores the theme of love: A mother's love, a daughter's love, romantic love, and love of country. Dreams of Joy follows the lives of sisters Pearl and May, as well as Pearl's nineteen year-old daughter, Joy. Although this book is a sequel to Shanghai Girls, it can be read as a stand-alone novel.
Told in alternating first person accounts from Pearl and Joy, the story begins with a furious and heartbroken Joy leaving her Los Angeles home after hurtful family secrets are revealed. On impulse, she flees to Shanghai to find her birth father, the artist Z.G. Li. Upon arrival, Joy must surrender her passport and money; undeterred, she immerses herself in 1957's Red China and Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward. She is enthralled with communist ideals and the grandiose propaganda of the new regime.
Fearful for her daughter's life, Pearl follows Joy to China. She puts her own safety aside, takes a menial job as a paper collector in Shanghai, and must live with feuding strangers while she searches for Joy and hopes for reconciliation.
Meanwhile, Joy finds her father, Z.G., who, despite his shock and initial reluctance, takes her in. Joy accompanies Z.G. on a journey to Green Dragon village, a commune in the far reaches of the country, where she meets and falls in love with a young man named Tao.
The novel is harrowing and fascinating, filled with facts: Maoists believed bras were oppressive and confiscated them. Chinese scientists signed confessions that Chinese moon was larger than the American moon. Chinese citizens—even highly skilled educators and scientists—were made to farm six days a week, only to have government leaders confiscate the harvest. Metal pots, pans, and silverware were collected and melted in local furnaces, leaving citizens with no means to cook. Across the county, people were reported for not being "red" enough and were subjected to public humiliation and harsh punishment. Suicide became so rampant in large cities that netting was placed around the windows to prevent people from jumping to their deaths. By the end of the Great Leap Forward's second winter, entire communities died of starvation.
The author offers readers a distinct, emotional glimpse of this brutal time in China's history. Though parts of the novel were difficult to read, and Joy was often frustratingly naive, Dreams of Joy is a treasure trove of information about China's culture and people. Learn more at www.lisasee.com.
Print Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Random House (May 31, 2011)
Language: English
ASIN: B004J4WKXS
September 28, 2011
In Leah's Wake
Today, I'd like to spotlight an indie author who's been able to achieve a great deal of commercial success. She's just crossed the 10,000 copies sold mark and is approaching the book's one-year anniversary on October 1. Please enjoy this synopsis and excerpt and consider purchasing this literary fiction novel – just 99 cents for your eReader.
About In Leah's Wake: The Tyler family had the perfect life – until sixteen-year-old Leah decided she didn't want to be perfect anymore. While Zoe and Will fight to save their daughter from destroying her brilliant future, Leah's younger sister, Justine, must cope with the damage her out-of-control sibling leaves in her wake. Will this family survive? What happens when love just isn't enough? Jodi Picoult fans will love this beautifully written and absorbing novel.
Purchase links: In Leah's Wake is available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound.
An excerpt from In Leah's Wake: The Prologue
". . . little heart of mine, believe me, everyone is really responsible to all men for all men and for everything. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I feel it is so, painfully even. And how is it we went on living, getting angry and not knowing?"
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Grand Inquisitor
Prologue
March
Justine strikes a pose before the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door. Chin up, hands by her sides. She draws a breath. "My dear. . ." she begins, and stops mid-sentence. Wrinkles her nose. She's got it all wrong. She's too—Too stiff. Too grownup. Toosomething.
She rakes her fingers over her short dark hair, sweeping the bangs out of her eyes, tugs at the hem of her pink baby-doll pajamas. She's scheduled to deliver the candidates' address at her Confirmation Mass this afternoon. When she learned, six months ago, that she had been selected speaker, Justine was ecstatic. Now, the very idea of standing in front of the whole congregation, telling hundreds, maybe thousands, of people how she's learned from her own family what it means to be part of God's larger family makes her sick to her stomach.
She has no choice. She made a commitment.
She folds her hands primly, setting them at chest height on her imaginary podium, glances at her cheat sheet, rolls her lower face into a smile, and begins again. "My fellow Confirmation candidates," she says this time. Justine crumples the paper, tosses it onto her bed. My fellow Confirmation candidates. What a dork. She sounds about twenty, instead of thirteen.
She screws up her face. "I can't do this," she says, wagging a finger at the girl watching her from the mirror. She would feel like a hypocrite.
Justine plods to the bathroom, pees, pads back to her bedroom. The forecasters are predicting snow, starting later today. A dismal gray stratus hangs over her skylight. Her room is dark, the air raw. Her sister's blue and gold Cortland High sweatshirt lies in a heap at the foot of her bed. Justine pulls the sweatshirt over her head, retrieves the balled-up paper. With the back of her hand, she flattens it out, and returns to the mirror to practice.
As always, on first glance, the girl in the mirror takes Justine by surprise. She's grown two inches since Christmas, isn't chubby anymore, her belly flat, the clavicle bones visible now at the base of her throat. She pushes her bangs out of her pale, darkly fringed eyes. With her fingertips, she touches her cheeks. Her features have matured, her nose long and straight, like her mother's, her cheekbones defined. She curls and uncurls her toes. She wears a size six shoe, a size and a half smaller than Leah. Her toes are long and slim, the nails painted blue.
Justine crushes the sheet of paper, tosses it in the trash, strolls to her window, raises the honeycomb shade. Spring feels a long way away, the yard empty, the trees bare. A rush of cold air streams in, under the sash. The air smells of snow. Justine presses her hand against the cool glass, the way she and her sister used to do on the windshield of their father's car, when they were small. Stop, their father would scold. You're making a mess. She smiles, remembering how Leah loved egging him on. She pulls her hand away from the glass, watches her prints disappear.
Justine wishes, sometimes, that she could disappear, too. Poof, just like the handprint.
Poof, just like her sister.
August 27, 2011
Complex Characters & Dark Secrets
Close Your Eyes by Amanda Eyre Ward
If you love complex characters, vivid imagery, and dark, haunting secrets, Close Your Eyes will not disappoint. The book is Austin, Texas-based author Amanda Eyre Ward's fifth. I've been a fan since her first novel, Sleep Toward Heaven, was released in 2003.
On her website, Ward shares that the idea behind Close Your Eyes began to form in 1989 after terror struck near her sleepy, idyllic hometown: a husband and wife had been stabbed to death in their own bedroom one New Year's Eve. The crime went unsolved for nearly five years until a local teenage boy confessed to the killings. During his trial, he cited no concrete memories of the incident, blaming his actions on an alcoholic stupor.
In the author's own words, "I thought about the murder from time to time, trying to understand how a stranger had broken the spell of Rye, smashed through the safety we had all thought money could buy … I wanted not only to understand what happened … but also to create a world where this wrong was righted, and a broken town was sewn back together."
Close Your Eyes begins with a neighborhood celebration ruined by senseless tragedy. Six-year old Lauren and eight-year old Alex Mahdian wake up to discover their mother has been murdered; the brother and sister soon find out their father is the prime suspect.
When the children's father is convicted of the murder, Lauren and Alex move in with their grandparents. Years later, Alex goes to Harvard and becomes a physician, while Lauren pursues a career as a real estate agent. When Alex volunteers for a Doctors without Borders assignment in Iraq, Lauren's tenuous coping mechanisms splinter apart. While attempting to ignore her incarcerated father's existence, she avoids commitment to her long-time boyfriend, and spirals into greater depths of anxiety, anger, and grief over her family's tragedy.
Ward introduces two new characters, Sylvia and Victoria, in Part 2. Though it isn't apparent at first, the girls are linked to Lauren and Alex's lives in unimaginable ways. With deft expertise, Ward weaves the four lives together throughout the rest of the story, sewing together bits of connection with every chapter of this complicated, heart wrenching novel of loss and redemption.
For more on Amanda Eyre Ward, visit her website: www.amandaward.com.
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Random House (July 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345494482
June 28, 2011
A Wholly Engaging Memoir
Half A Life by Darin StraussHalf A Life is not your typical 'near-death experience' book or miracle 'come back' from major illness story.
It's a memoir for real people who've experienced the unthinkable – a bottomless tragedy, the loss no fault of their own. For those readers, Strauss's story is an honest, raw-knuckled street fight: before the accident vs. after.
It's a battle that has no winners, only survivors.
As the author says, "Half my life ago, I killed a girl."
The book begins with 18-year old Darin Strauss describes driving along a four-lane road with his high school friends on a spring day. The weather is gorgeous and sunny; there are bicyclists ahead on the right shoulder, traveling in the same direction. Strauss, in the far left lane, recalls a bicyclist wobbling from the shoulder onto the highway. Moments later, the same girl swerves into his car's path.
Emergency vehicles and police officers swarm the scene. Strauss and his friends watch as the badly injured Celine Zilke, a 16-year old classmate, is taken to the hospital. The next morning, the Strauss family is notified that the bicyclist, Celine, is dead.
Shaken and haunted by memories of the accident he can't erase, the last days of the author's senior year are filled with crushing guilt and anxiety. Life doesn't wait for him to bounce back. Strauss is tossed back into the fray, left to survive vicious gossip, a bizarre therapy visit, and a heart-wrenching school memorial for Celine.
Meanwhile, the police and eyewitnesses go on the record for Strauss in a newspaper article, making him "officially" not to blame for his classmate's death. It's a comfort to his family, but little relief for Strauss.
At the funeral, Celine's mother tells Strauss she understands he is not at fault. She asks him live his life "…twice as well" because he has to live for Celine, too – then makes him promise to do so.
Already full of self-loathing, Strauss reels from the request.
He escapes to college, thinking it will serve as a safe, convenient "witness protection program," but Strauss finds a change in environment does little to change the past. The death of Celine Zilke becomes a vortex, sucking Strauss into deep depression, poor choices, and self-destructive behavior.
He eventually meets and marries his wife, who helps him find the strength to face the tragedy: "It's not that I outran Celine, or that half of my life. It's the reverse. The accident taught me this. Things don't go away. They become you."
Half A Life is not a memoir about self-pity. Strauss doesn't glorify his innocence; he suffers, even when Celine's parents lose a multi-million dollar lawsuit against him. Through everything, he honors Celine's memory and her parents' immeasurable grief.
Read more about the author and his works of fiction at www.darinstrauss.com.
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (May 31, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812982533
April 19, 2011
Ambition, Seduction & Betrayal
The Paris Wife by Paula McLainAt its most basic level, The Paris Wife is a delicate balance of lovely details and sharp realities, truth and lies, love and loss. Paula McLain meshes heady romance with bitter betrayal, bright beginnings with heart-twisting endings. The novel combines all that is bitter and sweet – like pairing shortbread cookies with a shot of whiskey.
The author introduces readers to Chicago in the 1920's, where a young, ambitious Ernest Hemingway saunters into 28-year old Hadley Richardson's plain vanilla life. His undeniable charm and passion infect Hadley, who has all but given up on true love. She finds herself smitten with Hemingway, and deeply intrigued by his wounded soul.
After a brief courtship and wedding, newlyweds Ernest and Hadley settle in Paris, where they meet and mingle with fellow expatriates Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, as well as F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The couple scrapes together a modest existence from Ernest's various reporting jobs and Hadley's meager inheritance. The two then spend almost every penny keeping up with wealthy friends, drinking until dawn, and traveling across Europe.
Within a short time, it becomes obvious that Hemingway values his journalism assignments, personal writing, and alcohol above all else. Though he has a few tender moments, Ernest remains painfully insecure and becomes increasingly insensitive to Hadley's needs. He belittles colleagues, insults friends, and whines about paltry assignments. His wife, ever patient, strokes his ego, supports his work, and rationalizes away his manic highs and almost-bottomless lows.
For Hadley, the glamour of their hard-drinking and fast-living Paris life soon begins to tarnish and fade. The drama of open marriage, blatant affairs, and wild excess often leave Hadley at a loss, while Ernest embraces and accepts all of the indulgences that surround them, no matter how damaging or poisonous they are to friends or their own relationship.
When Hadley broaches the subject of children, Ernest voices his disapproval with firm resolve. He insists a child would only stand in the way of his writing, a terrible distraction sure to sink his career. Against his will, Hadley eventually becomes pregnant, and Ernest embraces the arrival of their child with little more than detached ambivalence.
While The Paris Wife is a work of fiction, much of it is based on Paula McLain's extensive research into Ernest and Hadley's relationship, which was Hemingway's first marriage. While it is fascinating to read about life for the wealthy and powerful in 1920's Paris, the picture drawn by McLain is less than ideal. Hemingway and colleagues focus the majority of their time on self- gratification, whether it is writing, drinking, or women. Perhaps the most neglected of all is the Hemingway's son, Jack. Nicknamed "Bumby," the little boy spends the first few years of his life with a nanny, while Hadley follows her husband on trips or stays home and worries about Ernest leaving her for other women.
Overall, Paula McLain's novel is well written and descriptive. Knowing the certain demise of the Hemingway's marriage, The Paris Wife felt a bit too long, somewhat repetitive (how much alcohol can one couple drink?), and drawn-out at times.
If you adore Ernest Hemingway's writing, fair warning: the novel deftly describes McLain's understanding of what the author had in his life, what he lost, and precisely how he destroyed it.
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345521307
