Meradeth Houston's Blog, page 85

Quotes from Colors Like Memories

I've been wanting to mess around with this a little for a while now, and yesterday evening (while baking some incredible tasty peanut butter cookies) I threw a few together. (Images are from http://www.sxc.hu/home--lovely site with lots of royalty free pics!)








Click to make bigger :)

So, yeah, it was a lot of fun! Hoping to share these around a bit!

What were you up to this weekend?

Interview with Michelle K. Pickett, author of CONCILIUM (and a giveaway!!)

Hi everyone! I'm super stoked to bring to you all today, Michelle Pickett, fellow MuseItUp author and all around awesome writer! Her novel, Concilium, is available now!!


(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from? Is there
any place online you’d like to direct us to learn more about you? 

I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. Now I live in a small city just outside Houston, Texas.
Michigan and Texas are like two totally different worlds!

Yes, there are a few places you can find me on the web and I'd love to hear from you! I love
comments on my blog and emails in my inbox. Whether you have good things to say, or
constructive (that means nice) criticism, or even if you just want to say "Hi," I want to hear from
you. Here's where you can find me on the web:

Website: www.michelle-pickett.com
Blog: www.michelle-pickett.com/blog
Email: michelle@michelle-pickett.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Michelle_kp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellepickettauthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/michelle-pickett
Book Webpage: www.conciliumbooks.com
PODs Webpage: http://www.site.spencerhillpress.com/PODs.html
KindleGraph: http://www.kindlegraph.com/

(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in
on how you got the idea for Concilium.

I wish I could. I've heard some authors say their ideas came to them in a dream (Stephenie
Meyer of Twilight fame…wish I had that dream!). Some authors can pinpoint the exact moment
the lightbulb went off in their head and the idea was born. I can't. Concilium just came to me
slowly.

One day while I was cleaning up files on my computer, I found a chapter of Concilium—it was
called Moon then—I had written a year or so before. I didn't even remember writing it until I
came across it that afternoon. I read it and filed it away in a junk folder I keep on my computer
for things I don't want to delete but really should. I thought I'd just stick it away and that'd bethe end of it. But I couldn't stop thinking about it and wondering what I had intended to write
next. It became a guessing game of what if this happened…then this…and then this could
happen…and then I could kill this guy off…and then this would have to happen…and on and on
until the plot was rolling around in my brain.

(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?

You know, this is a really hard question to answer and it shouldn't be because I'm a huge reader.
But I write in a different genre than I read. In fact, I write in a genre I never read. Strange, I
know. But Sandra Brown, Tami Hoag, Lisa Jackson, Wendy Corsi-Staub are just a few of the
authors I read regularly. I'm sure they've influenced my writing style regardless of the difference
in genre.

(Q) What do you do for fun other than writing?

Oh, I have the most amazing family. I love spending time with them. My husband is the most
wonderful man—he's the peanut butter to my jelly. We have four kids, three girls and a boy.
They keep us busy and we enjoy (almost) every minute of it. We play board games, cards, swim,
take day trips exploring our new home state of Texas.

I also love photography. I don't get to spend as much time playing around with it as I'd like, but I
get my fair share of torture in with my family. My favorite thing to shoot are close-ups of faces,
especially eyes.

(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be? What music would you
listen to (if at all)? What treats would you have on hand?

On a white sandy beach with a hot cabana boy bringing me fruity drinks with tiny umbrellas
in them. Okay, maybe not. My ideal writing spot is at home. Sometimes I go to the library,
but generally I write at home where I can curl up on the couch with my cat and my laptop. My
music player is filled with everything from Mozart to Linkin Park – it depends on my mood and
the scene I'm writing what I listen to.

Treats…oh, that's a sore subject. I used to eat Reese's peanut butter cups but I wasn't limiting
my intake very well and my pants started to shrink. So I switched to Twizzlers. They're low-
fat, right? They have to be better than chocolate. Well, low-fat does not mean low calorie so my
pants shrunk some more.

I had to quit the Twizzlers. Withdrawal was brutal, but I've been off the Twizzlers for three
months now. Now my writing time is snack free, other than some fruit now and then. I still
crave Twizzlers.

(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?

A little of both, I think. I don't sit down and write out a plot, but I do have an outline laid out in
my head. I know where I want to start and where I want to end and I just let the characters guide
me through the journey from beginning to end.

(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share? 

I'm editing the sequel to Concilium. Concilium: The Departure is scheduled to release in
November. It will answer the questions readers might have after reading Concilium. It will also
tie up some loose ends between Leslee and Miller.

I also have a young adult science/fiction romance titled, PODs. It is scheduled to release in
paperback June 4, 2013 – my son's 12th birthday.

(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/
book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)

Oh, gosh, I wish I had a magic formula for marketing. I think marketing is the hardest part of
this business. First, know your audience. You can't market effectively until you know who to
market to. Then find your target audience. Goodreads is a good place to get a lot of attention.
Blog tours like this one is another way. Nothing beats word of mouth and with the Internet, word
of mouth travels faster than ever before.

(Q) If you'd like to add anything, please do so. 

Be sure to enter to win a copy of Concilium and a gift card to Amazon. I promise you don't have
to jump through a lot of hoops to enter.

(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers? 

Concilium is an Urban Fantasy with a big dose of romance and little touch of horror. But rather than tell you what the book is about, I'm going to give you a small glimpse at one of my favorite scenes. Leslee is, for the first time, realizing she may not survive the obstacle facing her:

The rain made dusk fall earlier. I watched as the team grabbed their equipment. I knew they weren't as confident as they wanted me to believe. They expected a bad night. “I want a gun.”

Miller looked at me and nodded. “It’s there in the hall. I want you to stay there. With the front windows covered and the bedroom doors closed, they won’t be able to see you. Stay on the floor. Here, put this in your pocket.” He handed me his car key. “If anything happens, Leslee, if any window breaks, if any of us tells you to go, get in the car and drive to the lake. Don’t think. Don’t ask questions. Just go. One of us will be there to get you as soon as it’s safe.”

“And if you aren't?” I asked.

“We will,” he said, his eyes intense. “We will,” he repeated emphatically.

“Okay.” I tried to manage a smile, tried to look as self-assured as he seemed. I couldn’t.

“Les, if you need to use the gun, shoot them in the neck. Right here where a man’s Adam’s apple is. Don’t waste a shot on the head or anywhere on the body. Just aim for the throat.”

“Okay. Why?”

“Their bodies aren’t built like ours. Their brains and spinal columns are in slightly different spots because of their, um, different look,” Brooks said, looking at Miller. “The throat is the kill shot. Like a shot to the back of the head would be for a human.”

“Okay, the throat,” I said, my voice wavering. My hands were already shaking. I prayed I could aim the gun if the time came. I hoped I’d be able to control my fear if I had to face one of the Imbibo alone.

One by one, the guys hugged me before they left, the same way they had every night at my house. Why did it feel so different? Why was I more worried than before? I didn’t have any answers, but the air felt ominous, the house felt threatening, and a thought slammed into me.

I could die here.

Doesn't that totally suck you in!?! Here's some more info on the author and Concilium, as well as ways to enter the giveaway for a copy of Michelle's book and a $10 giftcard!!



Leslee hit a strange animal with her car. Now she’s marked for death.


It was a simple car accident – the animal didn’t even die – but it drew the attention of the Cruor Imbibo. Driven by their insatiable need to feed, the secret society of Imbibo has devoured the dregs of civilization for centuries. Afraid Leslee will expose them, and put an end to their meal ticket, the Imbibo want her dead.


The Concilium is Leslee's only protection. Guardian of the ancient secret and the protector of humans, the Concilium fights to control the Imbibo and end their feeding frenzy. Miller works for the Concilium. Keeping Leslee alive is his next assignment.


Now Leslee is on the run, and the only thing between her flesh and the snapping jaws of the Imbibo is Miller. He and Leslee quickly form a bond, but will falling in love make Miller’s job more difficult? Because if he fails, Leslee will be next on the Imbibo menu.


Available from MuseItUp bookstore, and Amazon!



Michelle's Bio:


Michelle has been an avid reader since a young child. She began writing for personal enjoyment in college, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting. Deciding
sitting in a cubical all day was her form of cruel and unusual punishment, she decided to do what she really wanted to—share her passion for reading and writing with others.


She wrote her debut novel Concilium in 2010. The sequel, Concilium: The Departure soon followed. Both will be published by Muse It Up Publishing with scheduled released dates of July
27th and November 2012 respectively. Her Debut young adult novel, PODs, will be published by
Spencer Hill Press and is scheduled for release in paperback June 4th, 2013.


Michelle was born and raised in Michigan. She now resides in a small community outside Houston, Texas with her husband, four children, a 125-pound lap dog, a very grumpy cockatiel and a cat that thinks she's queen.


Michelle writes adult and young adult Sci/Fi and urban fantasy romance.






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Guest Post by Hildred Billings, author of DAISUKI

I have a seriously fun guest post today! The hilarious Hildred Billings is here to talk to us about writing in foreign places (and Japan, which is making me miss being over there sooo much!). Take it away, Hildred!

Trains, Plains, and Rising Suns: Adapting the Writing Life to Foreign Lands

When I was a kid I prided myself on my ability to do my homework anywhere. This usually meant on the school bus, since I had an hour ride both to and from school each day. And as somebody who always claimed that tiny one person seat in the back, where every bump in the road meant a literal lift, I had to learn how to keep handwriting legible while writing on the back of my history textbook. (Huh. Maybe this is why I failed math a few times.)
This ability to adapt to my work environments meant I learned a crucial skill at an early age:  how to block out distracting sounds and feelings in order to plow through my work. I had no idea at the time how beneficial this would become in my later years, such as when I went to college and was surrounded by neighbors who didn’t know stereo volume could go below “11”. Or how to sit in the campus bistro and study Japanese kanji while a surprise open mic night exploded a few feet away. Or, my personal favorite, how to adapt to a literally foreign environment when those times came.
Thus far in my life I have lived in Japan on a total of three occasions:  for a summer in high school, a semester in university, and a year after graduation. Each time I’ve lived in a different place as well, from the low-paced life of Shikoku Island, to the Tokyo suburbs of Saitama, and the Japanese Alps cutting through the Heart of Gifu. But whenever you live abroad like that, you’re going to get hit by the same bouts of homesickness, culture shock (which for me was always blessedly minimal), and a sheer sense of “when will I have the time for writing?”
Pretty rural, right?My first time in Japan, in high school, was in the times before netbooks and even cell phones in my literal neck of the woods. The only time I had for writing was when I sat in a stifling classroom, and instead of writing down the notes I could not understand for the life of me (note: I wasn’t a student. I was technically just a “cultural visitor”, so I wasn’t actually expected to do anything in the class other than sit there and be a foreigner) I wrote scenes and character bios. The teacher, who didn’t know any English besides “nice to meet you”, praised me in front of the class as somebody working hard in a foreign environment. Joke was completely on him, of course.
The second time I lived in Japan I was a student. A university student, to be exact. I had host family and real friend woes, the usual 20yo angst, mountains of homework I didn’t understand, and the budding blooms of a bout of depression that would haunt me for years to come. This time, however, I did have a laptop. Two, in fact! I would hole myself up in my room on Sundays when I had a little breathing time and just type. Type type type. Woefully angsty stuff. I’m the type of person who makes her characters suffer as much as she is. Real suffering!
The third time was a different story (ha!), however. This time I lived completely on my own in Japan, with a (legally) part-time job to cover the expenses and save on the side. I had free time in which I could do anything I wanted. No homework! No host family squabbles! Just me and embittered loneliness out in the middle of Nowhere, Japan. So I returned to my writing again to fill that void, and it was amazing.
I was very fortunate to live in the Nagoya City area, which was home to a thriving (foreigner) writing life. While I never joined any of the actual writing circles or critique groups (Nagoya was over an hour away from where I lived, so not exactly time or economically feasible), I did have the great privilege of discovering the local NaNoWriMo group when that time came. The ML was even from Nagoya! For the first time ever I had a support group of some kind in Japan – well, for writing, anyway! I became casual friends with many of the people in that group, and even took up the ML’s hospitality on one occasion. Progress!
Of course, I’m ignoring one of the big question-elephants in the room. I mean, I lived in Japan! There are distractions living in a foreign country you’re just not going to have in your own home. Worrying about a cultural faux pas, wondering if that weird thing you ate is what’s making you sick or if it’s that kid in your class hocking up death…oh! And of course wanting to travel and see concerts and convince yourself everyone loves you and isn’t just being polite…well, you see. It’s easy to think “No, I’m just too stressed here in this foreign environment! There’s just too much to do! No, I need to wallow in my homesickness today!” but I just thought back to all those times I did (crappy, incorrect) proofs in the back of a school bus, or when I read The Scarlet Letter while careening from seat to seat, or curling up in that little tiny seat sleeping because I stayed up all night writing. If I could write a term paper in the back of a school bus, I could write anywhere in the world.
Well, maybe not on the top of Mt. Everest. But I’d be lucky to survive to the top so writing would be moot, anyway!
Have you ever lived abroad for extended periods of time? How has it affected your writing habits and drive?
A bit about Hildred: Hildred Billings is a full-time author and freelancer from the southern Oregon coast. Although she has a degree in Japanese Studies and has lived and worked in Japan on numerous occasions, her true home is Oregon and her true career is writing. She makes up for the lack of Japan in her current life by writing about it whenever she can. Her debut F/F romance novella, "DAISUKI", will release this September! 
You can also find her on her website, blog, twitter, or facebook!

It's Tuesday and I really don't have a blog title.

Hi! A break from the boxes to say that I have a interview up on Mindy Hardwick's blog (author of Weaving Magic), which if you want to stop by and leave some comment love, that would be awesome :)

Also, I want to share this, because it totally cracks me up:
Which one is your favorite??This is all!

Interview with Margay Leah Justice, author of SLOANE WOLF

I'm pleased to bring you Margay Leah Justice today, talking about her books and other fun things! 
(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from? Is there any place online you’d like to direct us to learn more about you? 
Born and bred in Massachusetts! You can read more about me and my writing here: http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com
(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for Sloane Wolf.
It actually started out as just some scenes that popped into my head while reading (then watching the movie version) of a popular paranormal series a couple of years ago. I never intended to do anything with it until I saw a contest with the theme of wolves and I thought, why not? I had those scenes kicking around in my head and then I happened across some news stories about gray wolves returning to Massachusetts after a 150-year absence and before I knew it, I had a story. Problem was, the guidelines called for a novella and, well, I’m not very good at writing short! I over shot the word count, but I loved the story so much as it was, I couldn’t conceive of cutting it down to fit the word count. Instead, I shopped it elsewhere.
(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?
I think every author I read has some influence on my writing or, more precisely, on my ideas of what it means to be a writer. I learn by example and there are so many good ones out there, I don’t think I could whittle it down to just one.
(Q) What do you do for fun other than writing?
Lots of reading and knitting. I am a knitting fanatic! As a matter of fact, I am so far gone in the knitting realm, I am actually designing my own patterns now.
(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be? What music would you listen to (if at all)? What treats would you have on hand?
My ideal writing spot is anywhere that allows the words to flow. Music isn’t really a necessity for me while writing, but it’s always nice to have some chocolate on hand.

(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?

I’m a little bit of both. Sometimes, I go to great lengths to plot out a story (especially if it has an intricate plot), so much so that I refer to this outline as my first draft! Other times, the story just flows from the fingers as if of its own volition. Sloane Wolf was more the latter than the former. I sketched out a few ideas, but most of the story just flowed organically from my mind to the keyboard.
(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share?
I always have way too many things in the works! I am working on a sequel to Sloane Wolf right now, among other things.
(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)
I’m always looking for that answer myself! I think one thing that I tried out that seems to be successful is participating in blog hops.
(Q) If you'd like to add anything, please do so. 
I would love to give away one e-copy of Sloane Wolf to a reader!

(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers? 
           A slight shift in the wind was Shiloh Beck’s only indication that something was out of the ordinary. So slight, in fact, it was nearly indiscernible. A whisper of air across her cheek, fanning over the skin in a manner that scarcely ruffled the loose tendril resting there. Nor did it elicit a reaction from the people who milled about in front of the country store, she noticed upon casting a surreptitious glance their way. Oh, no, only she would notice something monumental had just happened. Shiloh Beck. The sensitive.            Lifting a hand to her right cheek under the guise of brushing the hair from her face, Shiloh scanned the surrounding area with a critical eye. The place had its charm with the abundant woodlands as far as the eye could see in either direction, the "highway" cutting a swathe through it and running parallel to a river that snaked behind the house—store. Quaint. A welcoming sight with the porch that wrapped around it like a warm embrace, dotted with strategically placed loveseats and rockers. Intentional? It worked.            But that wasn't the origin of the shift. 
For more than a hundred and fifty years, the gray wolf has failed to roam the hills of Massachusetts, leading to the belief that they are extinct. But with a spattering of sightings across the Berkshires, the legend of the gray wolf comes to fruition. The product of that legend, Micah Sloane will go to great lengths to protect his kind from the threat of outsiders, who seek to exploit the legend for their own interests. One thing he didn’t count on, however, was finding his soul mate in the company of such men.

From the first time she predicted a stranger’s imminent death when she was little more than a child, Shiloh Beck knew she was different. Wishing to cultivate her gift, her parents made the fateful decision to enroll her in a private school for paranormally gifted children. Unbeknownst to them, the school was just a front for a research facility simply called the Institute, whose secret board members weaned gifted children from their families to exploit their gifts. Shiloh has spent the better part of her life trying to escape the Institute and reunite with the family she was told had abandoned her.

From their first meeting, Micah and Shiloh share a connection that goes beyond the normal to bond them in a way that love alone cannot. But before they can build a life together, they must deal with the fall-out when the legend of the wolves collides with the men behind the Institute. 
You can find out more, or purchase a copy on Amazon!
Descended from the same bloodline that spawned the likes of James Russell, Amy and Robert Lowell, Margay Leah Justice was fated to be a writer herself from a young age. But even before she knew that there was a name for what she was doing, she knew one thing: She had a deep and unconditional love for the written word. A love that would challenge her in times of need, abandon her in times of distress, and rediscover her in times of hope. Through her writing, Margay has learned to cope with every curve ball life has thrown her, including the challenges of single parenting, the harsh realities of living in a shelter, coping with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, and the roller coaster ride of dealing with a child who suffers from bipolar disorder. But along the way she has rediscovered the amazing power of words. 
Margay currently lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, two cats, and a myriad of characters who vie for her attention and demand that their own stories be told. In her spare time, she is an avid knitter, knitting her way through a stash of yarn that almost rivals her tbr pile!

A Little Sunday Fun

Hello from the land of unpacked boxes! How is everyone doing? Hubby and I are busy attempting to settle into life in Big Sky Country (it's been a bit more Smoky Sky Country though...). It's been quite a shift from Cali, and I'm not sure I'll ever get used to there being deer wandering around in my neighborhood. But, it's been great being here so far, and I can see the end of the boxes, though I still have lots to do!

Anyhow, there have been some awesome guest posts this past week, and I'm looking forward to more in the coming couple of weeks :) I was also tagged by Elise (check out her blog here) and I thought her questions were so fun that I can't resist answering them. I'm not going to tag as I'm a little swamped still, but feel free to shout out in the comments!

1) If you had to become an insect, which would it be.
-Praying Mantis. For obvious reasons :)

2) What is your least favorite word.
-Tinkle. Honestly, who thought that one up? It's what you do when you pee, and what stars do in the nursery rhyme...something about that association is just wrong.

3) If you could organize any kind of party (money is not an issue), what would it be like and what would it be for?
-Me + Parties = infinite awkwardness. I'm usually the one who would rather not go to a party. But, if I really could, maybe I'd take all my lab buddies out for an awesome evening someplace really fun (umm, does anyone know of such a place?). I think we'd have a good time at least!

4) If you could be any fictional character who would you be.
-Does wanting to be one of my own fictional characters count? Because I'd like to be Gabby (who's book isn't finished yet). If not my own, then probably either Amelia Peabody from the Peabody mysteries (archaeology + Emerson + mysteries!), or Claire from the Outlander series (Jamie. That is all.).

5) Where is Waldo right now?
-Hiding in my unpacked boxes in my basement. I think he kind of likes it there.

6) If you could add one new gadget to the Swiss Army knife, what would it be, describe it.
This just about gives me hives looking at it!-Bah! Love this question! How about something that would always remove sticky labels from anything without scratching stuff or leaving sticky goo? I would pay good money for anything handy that did this well!

7) If you had to change your first name, what would it be?
-Honestly, I don't know! My name is kind of random, but it suites me for random reasons :) But, honestly, something simpler would probably work: Jane, maybe?

8) If you could have one superpower what would it be?
-Flight. No questions asked. I would love, love, love that. And just think: no more sitting in traffic!

9) Biggest pet peeve while watching a movie or reading a book.
-Someone bugging me! Honestly, hubby has a knack for showing up at just the last two or three pages and doing something to distract me. It's an evil talent of his & drives me batty!

10) What was your favorite childhood toy.
-Books. My nerd-ness started young.

11) Have you ever owned sea monkeys? If so, were you able to train them to do tricks? Please TELL ME how to train sea monkeys!
-Hah! I never have had sea monkeys, but some serious synchronized swimming sea monkeys would be epic!

Guest Post by SYKOSA author Justin's Ordoñez

I'm super happy to introduce to you all Justin's Ordoñez, author of Sykosa, published by Tribute Books. He's discussing a really important topic, and one near & dear to my heart (and one I spend hours trying to hit home to my students!). Please give him a warm welcome!


Social Issues in Sykosa
In writing Sykosa, I knew I wanted a story that, for lack of a proper way to phrase it, peeled itself like an orange. So that its outside appeared rather ordinary, but upon examination, the reader comes to view the story as being not what s/he first suspected it of being. A review of Sykosa at Libby’s Book Blog (http://libbysbookblog.blogspot.com/20...), stated it better than I currently am.

I start reading Sykosa, and at first, I just think its this nice little book about this nice little Japanese-American girl sitting in class at this nice little school thinking about painting her fingernails. Seriously - that is how the book starts,” followed by, “And, then... And, then author Justin Ordonez, starts dropping subtle hints that something is wrong. Something happened to Sykosa - but, what? This book really snuck up on me. Because during the time that I was reading it, I would find myself thinking about it when I was driving or doing other things. I would be mulling it over, trying to put the pieces together.

During Sykosa, we first get the overview of Sykosa, her friends, her parochial school, her parents, her boyfriend Tom, and that they were all involved in a mysterious incident that happened “last year.” As we progress, we come to see that the construction of Sykosa’s world is no incident. It’s been derived by sets of values and the various institutions who propegate those values. In such, the social construct of Sykosa’s life is a driving factor in the novel’s events.

First and foremost is probably race.

High schools are places of intense racial segregation, and I mean this beyond its obvious manifestations.  Sure, black kids tend to sit with black kids, white kids with white kids, and Asian kids with Asian kids, but the issues of race go far deeper. Legal battles for equal education opportunity in America are part of everyday history classes—from “separate but equal,” to Brown vs Board of Education, to inter-district busing, to white flight, to vouchers, the American education system is a good measure of how racially equal we are as a country. This pretains to Sykosa as she is a Japanese-America women who attends a mostly white school in an affluent part of Washington. At her school, there’re a large amount of white kids, a few packs of Asian kids, and very few black kids. This dynamic has created an unspoken superiority for the white kids. (It’d be hard to create an atmopshere where this wasn’t true—they’re 90+% of the school. It’s almost unnatural for a superioty-complex not to emerge). For years, this balance was uninterrupted, but that changes during Sykosa’s sophomore year when Niko, Sykosa’s best friend, attempts to oust the social establishment, a group of white girls known as the “Bitches.”

I want to avoid spoilers, so the general takeaway is that an undercurrent of racism becomes fueled when Niko and another girl named Donna, leader of the Bitches, being to squabble. It leads to a tragic event endagering Sykosa’s life and leaves her permanently affected. During the tragic event, she was saved from danger by a boy named Tom, and he was physically injured in doing so.

For these part, the novel discusses the mental aspects driving Sykosa over the societal aspects. Sykosa was always sort of a moody, introverted personality, which is not the majority personality for a female, and probably explains why certain women don’t like Sykosa as a person. (Though, it explains how Sykosa and Niko, a type-A dominator, have kept such a close friendship). Yet, while Sykosa’s is not the majority personality type for a woman, hers is not uncommon. Where Sykosa is most conventionally female is how, for most of her life, she has expierenced bouts of depression. (Women expierence depression 50% more frequently than men, and something like 90% of women expierence one long bout of it in their lives). Sykosa’s poor management of her moods and her anxiety tranforms into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following the events of “last year.” PTSD is characterized by either continually re-imaginaing the traumatic event or feeling numb to it and, by extension, the totality of life. Either way, the traumatic event is predominate in a victim’s thoughts and actions.

This condition is a source of frustration and shame for Sykosa. Her community, as well her friends and family, wants to move past “last year,” yet she cannot let it go, nor can she stop herself from fearing its second occurance. In short, she’s lost her trust in the institutions she thought would protect her, and now she is uncertain what to feel or think.

Sykosa, Part I: Junior Year establishes these two concepts in simultanity, each working in the background of her life and her decisions. In that way, it’s a very human book. There’re no superheros to save these characters from themselves. This is because, unfortuantely, there’re no innocent characters in Sykosa. Everyone is guilty. That is partially what Libby refers to when she says, “I would be mulling it over, trying to put the pieces together.” In Part I, the reader sees how institutional racism, Niko’s ambition, Sykosa’s mental illness, Tom’s sexism, and the school’s isolationist politices lead to rape, addiction, and assault, yet the reader cannot fully figure out what happened, “last year,” since the characters themselves cannot figure it out. None of the ideological constructs (religious, political or philosphical) are answering the question of “why.” They only offer a refuge, a place to explain away what happened, a mechanism for blame, which allows for the superficial sensation of justice.

For anyone who is interested in these aspects, or you’ve expierenced or known someone who suffered of mental illness, Sykosa will probably be a reading expierence that rings true. Certainly, for a reader interested in a decisive plot developing alongside the story itself, Sykosa is definitely be a book that meets the mental puzzle you’re seeking out.

Hey! Justin Ordoñez wrote a book called Sykosa. It’s about a sixteen year old girl who’s trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence destroys her life and the lives of her friends. You can find out more about Justin at his blog. You can also find Sykosa, the novel on Amazon. 



Sykosa Book Summary
Sykosa (that's "sy"-as-in-"my" ko-sa) is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the life of her friends. This process is complicated by her best friend, Niko, a hyper-ambitious, type-A personality who has started to war with other girls for social supremacy of their school, a prestigious preparatory academy in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. To compensate, Sykosa has decided to fall in love with her new boyfriend, Tom, who was involved in the act of violence. Propelled by survivor guilt, an anxiety disorder, and her hunger for Tom and his charms, Sykosa attends a weekend-long, unchaperoned party at Niko's posh vacation cottage, where she will finally confront Niko on their friendship, her indecision about her friends and their involvement in the act of violence, and she will make the biggest decision of her life — whether or not she wants to lose her virginity to Tom.
Justin's Ordoñez's FacebookJustin's Ordoñez's TwitterJustin's Ordoñez's GoodreadsSykosa GoodreadsTribute Books Blog Tours FacebookSykosa blog tour siteAmazon paperback buy linkBarnes and Noble paperback buy linkKindle buy link

Spotlight on BACK TO BAATAN by Jerome Charyn

I'm happy to bring you all an interview with Back To Bataan's author, Jerome Charyn! There's more information on his book below!


1.      What are your thoughts on the explosion of popularity concerning the YA genre?
I think it might very well be that it started with Harry Potter, that young adult writers are trying to tell good stories and adults have moved into that kind of dream.
2.      You are the master of writing across a realm of different genres, what excites you about connecting with different audiences?
I’m not so sure that these are different audiences, I think we all love stories, whether we’re children or great-grandfathers and when you move from genre to genre you are still telling a story like Scheherazade and the king is always waiting for the next tale.
3.      Your writing is so precise, yet evocative - how do you work at crafting your unique style of prose?
Everything begins and ends with the word, with the music of the sentence and as Tolstoy once said, “I’m always composing.”
4.      Being a published author for nearly 50 years, what do you think of eBooks?
I think that this is a kind of logical step as we move from the internet into eBooks. 
Publishing is changing even as we speak. I think there now will be a more complicated dance between the eBook and the printed book, and as we’ve seen recently, successes in eBooks allow the author to move into print.
5.       What would be your advice to young people who aspire to a literary career?
It’s not worth the money – only write if you’re absolutely in love with it.
6.      How much of your life is in Back to Bataan? How did you personally experience New York during World War II?I think so much of the source of my writing comes from my childhood, I grew up during the War  - so many of the terrors and the magic of certain films have remained with me.  And all of this appears in the character of Jack.
7.      Your older brother was a detective. Did your experiences with him influence the plot?
Not really, I think all writing is crime writing. And Back to Bataan is a crime novel with a very original twist.
8.      Why did you decide to include the fascination with the famous as a theme - Gary Cooper, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.?
These people were heroes to me as a child, particularly Eleanor Roosevelt, who was one of the most extraordinary women who ever lived, and of course as a child I fell in love with Gary Cooper’s face and with his very slow drawl, that seemed so exotic to me. (I totally love Eleanor Roosevelt, too--she was an amazing lady!)
9.      Jack finds acclaim through his writing, yet feels guilty for exploiting other people (Mrs. Fink). How does a writer starting out work to bridge this gap?
You’re always cannibalizing other people and writers when you start to write, so it’s natural that Jack should be a young cannibal.
1.   How important is the New York Times in your own life? Why did you decide to make it a form of connection between Jack and the Leader?
As a child, I didn’t even know that the Times existed – I grew up in a neighborhood without newspapers and books, so that when I first fell upon the New York Times, I was very very greedy, and wanted to include it in Jack’s middle-class life.
New York City, 1943. War is raging in Europe and the Pacific, while Jack Dalton is stuck attending Dutch Masters Day School. What Jack really wants is to enlist in the army, to fight...

Everything changes when Coco, Jack's "fiancee," throws him over for one of his classmates. Jack sees red and does something drastic. Then he runs away. Hiding out in a nearby park, Jack joins ranks with a group of vagrants and is soon under the sway of a man called the Leader, an ex-convict who is as articulate and charismatic as he is dangerous. The Leader turns Jack's world upside down. To put things right, Jack must prove himself a braver soldier than he ever imagined.
Jerome Charyn (born May 13, 1937) is an award-winning American author. With nearly 50 published works, Charyn has earned a long-standing reputation as an inventive and prolific chronicler of real and imagined American life. Michael Chabon calls him “one of the most important writers in American literature.”

New York Newsday hailed Charyn as “a contemporary American Balzac,” and the Los Angeles Times described him as “absolutely unique among American writers.”

Since 1964, he has published 30 novels, three memoirs, eight graphic novels, two books about film, short stories, plays and works of non-fiction. Two of his memoirs were named New York Times Book of the Year. Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and has been named Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture.

Charyn lives in Paris and New York City.
eBook
ISBN: 9780985792206
ISBN: 9781476119076
Pages: 98
Release: July 1, 2012
Kindle buy link - $2.99
Nook buy link - $4.95 iBookstore buy link - $4.99 Google buy link - $3.79
Smashwords buy link - $4.99
PDF buy link - $4.95

Guest Post by Sue Perkins, author of Dragon Clans

I'm pleased to bring you all Sue Perkins today, author of Dragon Clans! She's going to share a little more about her books :)
Thank you Meradeth for inviting me to your blog. 
My favorite books are about dragons, specifically Anne McCaffrey's 'Dragons of Pern' series. It's a natural progression for me to write about dragons myself. 
I wanted something different so my dragons have their own society, morals, families and way of life. To them their clan means everything, although they are willing to interact with the  other clans.
The first book of the dragon series 'Dragon Flame', told how the humans came to an understanding with the dragons. 'Dragon Clans' the second book, visits an outlaw group of dragons who are not part of the clans peace treaty.
Sie is drowning in the middle of the ocean when a huge red dragon swoops down, plucks her out of the water and takes her to the dragon home in the southern mountains. She joins the clan and learns to fight, hunt and help around the home caverns. The red dragons long to be part of the dragon treaty and Sie agrees to help them, but their approach is considered aggressive and the other dragons attack.
I've included an excerpt of 'Dragon Clans' below and hope you enjoy it. Dont' forget to leave a comment and be in to win an ebook of 'Dragon Clan's randomly drawn at the end of the blog tour.
Buy link: http://tinyurl.com/dragonclansWebpage: http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com
AVAILABLE – August 1, 2012 
Plucked from the sea by a red dragon, the human woman Sie joins the Valdra Clan. Her red friends wish to join the dragon Treaty Alliance, but the other clans consider the Valdra wild and aggressive. Byron, a human friend of the Mondra Clan, works with Sie to overcome the many obstacles in their path. Will the other clans be able to forget the Valdra's past betrayals and present day destructive behavior? They believe they have succeeded but the planet has its own way of disrupting their carefully laid plans. 
Excerpt:
Someone help us, please! We're in the middle of an ocean in a terrible storm. The boat will sink soon. Please, if you can hear me, I need your help!
Sie knew no one would hear her mental scream. If they did, who would care enough to rescue them? A clap of thunder shook the sky, followed by a lightning flash into the sea. Huge waves crashed across the boat. Her younger brother lost his grip, and Sie heard him cry out as he disappeared overboard. 
"No!" Gorva lunged to the side, but his movement made the boat lurch and dip lower, curtseying to the waves. Sie grabbed the sides as the vessel overturned and threw her into the water.
Her cloak tried to keep her beneath the surface, but Sie fought against the drag and rose up for air. Nearby, the upside down boat tossed in the waves, and she swam toward it, grabbing hold of the ridge along the upturned bottom. Once secure, Sie looked round for her brothers, but could see no sign of them. The tumultuous sea and the dark clouds scudding across the sky filled her view.
I'm going to die. A sob caught in her throat as an icy cold wave blinded her. No one knows where I am, and no one will know I'm dead. I might as well let go and drown quickly. I don't want a slow, horrible death.A small part of her refused to give up, but time passed and her strength ebbed away. Her fingers began to slip and her cold fingers tightened their grip. How much longer could she hold on?
A shadow darkened the sky.
More storm clouds. How much more are you going to throw at me Mother Nature?
A wind beat down on her, and Sie looked up. Huge red talons reached for her and plucked her from the water. The scream died in her throat as the owner of the claws curled the talons around her. The loss of her brothers, death stalking her, and now this. Darkness crowded in and unable to take anymore, Sie fainted.
Also by Sue:

Five on a Friday (with giveaway links to boot!)

Honestly, I'm really sorry I've been so MIA on the blog--life's a little nuts at the moment, ya know? And I move on Monday! (I still have guest-blog openings if anyone's interested!).

Also, if you're interested in winning a copy of Colors Like Memories, there's a contest going on now with low entries here. Swing by--the entries are super simple!

Okay, my random Friday Five:

1. I haven't been able to write for over a week. And it's killing me! I do hope this makes someone feel better about life :)

2. I'm still sick of goodbyes, in case you're wondering if anything's changed from my last post. The worst are yet to come--my family. Urg. Can't even think about that without welling up.

3. I'm finished with grading papers! Trust me, this is cause for celebration!

4. I'm addicted to this song:

[image error] 5. I used to have a pet donkey. His name was Harry, and I loved him :)