Heather McCubbin's Blog, page 38

One of the best e-books I have read!

There is a group on Goodreads that work together and help writers' stories get out into the world. I have read a few and found that these people really do want feedback and do work hard to write the best story they can.

I came across "Breaking Ties" by Jo Grafford and the synopsis had me hooked. I emailed her, asking if I could read it and in return I'd leave reviews.

I was so happy that I contacted her.

The story is rich in detail from the late 1500's, as a group of English men and women set sail for the New World. You can tell this area of history is a passion of Jo's and that she researched her you-know-what off to get the facts and details right. From the first paragraph, I had a vivid scene building in my head of what was happening. The writing was rich and vibrant and even though there were alot of characters to keep track of, I enjoyed almost every one of them.

If you like colonial American History, strong-willed women, clean romance, action and sailors then I recommend downloading her story Breaking Ties.

Flowers, Thorns, Seeds...Oh, My!

Who remembers "Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews? Who remembers taking that book and devouring it in just a few days while you were in middle school or junior high? Whispering about it to girlfriends? I remember, somehow, finding the book and reading it when I was about 13. I read all subsequent books in the Dollanganger series and then moving on to a few of Andrews other books, but not being able to quite get into those as much as the Dollanganer series.

I remember when the movie came out in 1987 and begging my mother to let me go. If my memory serves me correctly, a friend of mine and her mother took me. I had to look up the year on IMDB, and next to the year it says it was PG-13; luckily we were 14 so we didn't feel like we were being "bad" by going to see it. Although, you know THAT scene with Christoper and Cathy was a bit embarrassing with a friend's mother sitting behind you.

 Anyway... 2014. Lifetime Movies. I saw an ad that they had made another "Flowers in the Attic" movie, so I recorded it. When the kids were at school, I turned it on and found I had to fast forward through many of the scenes. The ones I did watch? The acting was, well, mediocre. Except for the evil Grandmother, played by Ellen Burstyn. She was a force to be reckoned with! The twins were cute and had some great lines/emotions. However, as I watched bits and pieces, I felt the need to reread the book. The first place I looked was our local library. They didn't have any of them. It wasn't that they were checked out, they didn't have them at all in their library and I'd have to place a hold on one from another library. I thought to myself, "Well, I think I want to own them. Again." Naturally, that led me to the used bookstore up the street. I had to ask where the V.C. Andrews books were and the cashier mentioned there was a huge run on them in the last few days and all she had were other series. I didn't want any of them.

Now, I was able to justify playing full price and went to Barnes and Noble. (It seems to me, every time I want a book from there and I look on their computer it says, "ORDER ONLINE".) They only had Andrews' other series as well. Sigh. Now what? I wanted them now (instant gratification!) so I could begin reading while I had the time waiting for my son at a trombone lesson. I used my smartphone to find other "Used Book Stores" and I found a small one in the town next to mine, so I checked it out. They had the third one and when I asked about the others, the cashier laughed and said in the last five days, there has been a run on the "Flowers in the Attic" series. But, would I like Andrews' newest book? (Andrews is dead, but I guess her estate is still publishing them.) Nope, I didn't want any other series, so I paid $2 for the used copy of "If There Be Thorns" and came home.

My last ditch effort was to look on Amazon. I didn't need anything fancy, just the paperback copy. But, guess what? TEMPORARILY SOLD OUT. The only other avenue I had was to buy used copies--for the same price, or just a bit less than the mass-market paperback copy. Which is what I did. So, the other four books that I do not own will be arriving in drabs and droves over the next 7-14 days.

Still in the zone of being 13 and 14 years old, I went into my Goodreads account to make sure I added these books to my shelf "Books-I-Loved-As-A-Teen" and then I read some of the reviews of "Flowers in the Attic" just for fun. It seems many others had the same idea as me, to reread what they loved back in the 80s when they were a teen. The reviews now, written as adults, are hilarious. If you have a chance, go over to the GOODREADS site and type in "Flowers in the Attic" and if you've read the book, read some of the reviews and see if you agree with the comments.

Why oh why did I get rid of the series when I had it back in the 1980s?

The perfect song...

I am in cahoots with my long time (30 years!) friend Cindy. We've come up with an outstanding idea for a new story. Well, she came up with it and after numerous phone conversations--where that idea came up again and again--we decided that we'd put it down on paper.
However, after 18 pages into it I hit that dreaded writer's block. The characters were just beginning to blossom, the story was on it's way to one of the first pivotal events and then I got stuck. Cindy and I have so many ideas on who, what, where for this story that I had too many avenues to follow so I stopped and gave myself two weeks off. Then, the other afternoon, we were talking and yet another fantastic idea came out of our conversation. It was the bridge I needed from Point A to Point B, so I sat down today to at least write a scene with her idea in it.
Rewind: 30 minutes earlier I had finally updated my iPod to include some new music like the goup "Imagine Dragons." I put it in my iHome and was updating my computer when their song "Demons" came on and from the first two lines I knew this was the story's theme song. I mean, this story doesn't even have a title yet beyond "Cindy's Story" but the theme song hit me. When that happens--at least over the last four fan-fiction stories,  three unpublished novels and one short story--it means that the writer's block is over. The perfect song! Here it is if you'd like to listen to it. The video doesn't really represent that idea, but the words do. Now, off to try and crank out another page or two before the kids get home from school!
Imagine Dragons "Demons"

Long Time, No Write!

It's been awhile since I've posted and, to be honest, I felt I didn't have much that was of interest. I hurt my ankle on December 21st and didn't find out until three months later that I actually broke it. Of course, I broke it right after I began a new job at Target and ended up having to quit in March because it was hindering the healing of my ankle.

We had friends from Rome come visit over Christmas so they got to see the American-materialistic Christmas we've become, but it was so awesome to have them here. Her two children got to play in the snow for the first time in years and had the chance to put their English lessons to work.

Transcendent is doing pretty well, thanks to Rita Webb's hard work! I had my first, "If I send you two copies of your book, can you sign it and send it back?" And, of course, I did! Rita Webb has released her own book, Tears, which you can find on Amazon.com. (You will also find some other stories by her on Amazon.) I had the privilege of reading Tears prior to being published and if you like dystopian fiction, then this one should be on your list!

Onto the present... I recently talked to my friend, Lani Woodland, author of the Intrinsical series. We have the kind of friendship where you don't need to talk for a few months and when you do, you pick up where you left off. With both of us being busy, we kept playing phone and text-tag. However, once we connected it was wonderful to hear her voice; it makes me want to go back out to California and visit her! She had so much news that it spurred me to write on my blog and share in some of my author friends good news.

First: Erica Cameron, Author. A fun-loving person I met years ago, has landed a four-book deal for her story Sing, Sweet Nightingale. I knew the moment I read the very early copy of this story she would get an agent. Her writing is vivid, her story line is unique and I am so happy to see her hard work get the attention it deserves. You can see a summary of it, and mark it to read here: Goodreads . On top of that, she and Lani have co-written a book that is currently being marketed by an agent. For more information on them: Erica Cameron's Blog and Lani Woodland's Blog.

So, with all this writing going on, I am spurred back into action to continue writing on my own. Rita graciously edited a work of fiction I completed and I am in the process of applying her suggestions to it and will then look at sending out queries. I also talked to a childhood friend about a dream she had and it was so unique, and so interesting we decided to put it down on paper. So, we are in the VERY early stages of working that dream onto paper.

Stay tuned, pass this blog onto your friends and have a great week!

THE NIGHT CIRCUS

I finished a book by Erin Morgenstern called The Night Circus (Yes! No Clowns in this book) earlier this week. I decided to let it settle before I said too much about it. Unfortunately, that doesn't really matter because I STILL can't come up with a better way to sum up this book. In a world full of copycat plot lines, stale story lines and horribly written books, The Night Circus was a breath of fresh air, to be cliche. My "Goodreads" review was as follows: 
One of the strangest most unique pieces of fiction I have read in a long time. Or, is it fantasy? Science Fiction? It seemed to contain all genres of literature. If I had to say, "this book was like ___" I think I would have to say it's like Harry Potter, The Eight and Water for Elephants all rolled into one, but it only accounts for maybe 60% of the theme of the book. The other 40% I can't put my finger on just yet.(I would now change this to the other 40% is truly unique, Morgenstern's own creation.) I can't imagine how hard it may have been for Morgenstern to keep every character straight and to keep the timeline consistent. I am very intrigued on how the idea came to her and how she made it flourish beneath her pen (or laptop). 
This is a book you should own, so you can re read it again and catch everything you didn't catch the first time. It's one you should loan out to people but ask for it to be returned. It's a book to read with your book club so you can talk about the theme and what you would do if presented with the opportunities the characters had bestowed, or forced, upon them.
If you want a more succinct summary, look up the blurb one any of the numerous book websites as I can't describe it any better than they can!
After I finished this book, I read two more in a new series. They are your typical young-woman-finds-out-she-has-a-power-and-uses-it-for-good-while-meeting-an-attractive-new-cop-in-her-small-town. The jacket caught my eye, then I noticed that the second book in this new series was on a stand alone display in B&N under the title "Cooking Mysteries". There must have been 10 books that fit this bill (this one doesn't) and I began thinking, how many books are copy cats of others? I know this has been the case in the past. Now, because ANYONE can write ANYTHING and put it up on Amazon for ANYONE to buy, the ideas which flow out of many an authors hand just aren't  unique anymore. Another book I am interested in is called Every Day by David Levithan. When I read the summary, I immediately thought, "This sounds like one of my favorite books A Certain Slant of Light." To see if this is the case, I will be reading Levithan's new book as soon as I can get my hands on it at my local library. I have chosen not to read anything beyond the author's blurb so nothing is given away.
In sum, plot lines that sounds the same, or are similar in nature, is why The Night Circus stands alone. It kept my attention, had me up late a night trying to get in just one more chapter and is unlike anything that I have ever read. I'm wondering how long until the movie comes out? If you've read it, who would you cast as the main characters?

KIRKUS Review of Transcendent

It's been awhile since I posted. I've moved from Maryland to Massachusetts, took a month to get the house in order (and we still have boxes in the basement), registered children, found new doctors, orthodontists etc. I haven't had time to write at all. However, I have been buying bookshelves and getting those books that were in boxes for so long out into my office! I am hoping once the school year starts, I can begin a schedule of writing (revising, editing current works) that will work around volunteering and adjusting to a new environment.
When I woke up this morning, I found an email from Robot Publishing with the Kirkus Review of Transcendent. I thought we did pretty well as a group of new authors. You can read the review HERE.
Look for more posts in the future. Thank you to everyone who has read and to everyone who has reviewed on any of the various sites (Goodreads, B&N, Amazon.) Have a wonderful summer!

On Hold Until I Move...But I Did Get My First Royalty Check!

The last contest didn't have any participants--officially anyway! It created a host of conversations on my personal Facebook page though, which was great! I will be getting ready to move from MD to MA at the end of the month and once our office & internet are set up at the new house I will resume blogging, and writing! Thanks to everyone who has supported me. Yesterday, my first royalty check came. I cashed it, took my son out to lunch and the rest is waiting for me to buy something for the new house! ~Heather

A host of thoughts from spring to book fairs to appropriate clothing plus a contest!

It's been a month since I last posted, which is about three weeks too long. I have my excuses: we moved my husband up to Boston to settle him into his new job (the rest of the family is following in the summer), I work part time and I began writing up 15 preschool assessments (I made sure I wrote a paragraph about each and every kid because having your 3 yo attend school for the first time is a huge step and a typical "he's doing great" ain't gonna cut it). Earlier this month, I ran an elementary school Scholastic Book Fair and worked it for 7 days...but now I have settled down and found time to write.

I love books. Working the book fair was fun, rewarding, time consuming and made me realize how awesome my kids are when I wasn't home as much as I usually am. I found many new books to read like Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper which you can buy here, got to know many of the teachers that I only knew by sight before this and loved watching childrens' faces light up when they'd walk through the bookfair to use the restroom or go outside. I only had two small issues with Scholastic. One: I asked for Hunger Games because children and adults were requesting it. I was told it's too adult for that grade level so it wasn't going to come. However (this being my second issue) they found it appropriate to send stickers that said, "What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook" and "Does this sticker make my notebook look fat?" Um, hello? "Legally" you have to be a teenager to use Facebook and these kids are 11 at the oldest. And the fat comment was uncalled for, makers-of-that-sticker. You have girls entering puberty in 4th and 5th grade and who may already feel they are fat or are uncomfortable with their changing bodies, and you want to call MORE attention to that? But, being the avoid-conflict type of person I am I just didn't put the stickers out and left the email about Hunger Games alone.
Then I read the following blog, I "like" their FB page, and am now going to write my Scholastic representative an email, a nice and courteous one, about how they contradicted themselves. I urge you to read Pigtail Pals blog about Sears. Especially if you have a daughter and are having issues buying her clothing that isn't revealing or has inappropriate sayings on the shirts. This leads me into the next item of business...

Since winter just up and left and late spring took it's place, I saved a bit of money as I didn't  need to buy my children spring jackets. We went from winter coats, to no jackets at all at the bus stop in the morning. This also means allergies, mowing in March but I'll take it even though I love and miss the snow.With spring and having three children going through growth spurts I have to buy new clothes for each of them! Boys are relatively easy. Dark shorts, plain/sport/college t-shirts, a few golf-like shirts for special events, church etc but my daughter was harder.

First, I went to a local consignment shop and scored there. I found some nice comfy shorts, cotton Land's End dresses, t-shirts with butterflies on them that weren't too tight or revealing but she needed some more. My second clothing trip, I went to my standby, KOHL'S, where I found zero--for me and her. The adult styles are all flowers or large print shirts--some have a cropped 1980s look about them--and others were just plain busy, for me, in their pattern. My daughter's clothing however was a disaster. If it didn't have sequins, low neck lines or was cropped, it was tight fitting, had pictures of stars she doesn't even like or wasn't her simple, comfortable, sporty style. I scored a pack of 3 undershirts and that was it.

Next was our local store, BOSCOV'S (kind of like a JC Penney's with a furniture and toy section). Same issue there on the clothing although they had a nice, but expensive, selection of Adidas shorts and Levi tshirts. I bought two t-shirts and a pair of shorts because she needed stuff ASAP. However, some of the shorts were short-shorts. VERY short shorts. This was in the size 7-14 area.

I ranted a bit on my FB page about it then during one soccer practice I had an hour, so I went to KMart. Usually, I stay away for reasons I won't get into on here, BUT I scored on clothing. $80 worth of clothing! They had bermuda shorts, comfy, stylish shirts that had a simple tie in the back, capris without all the bling or ripped look...you get the point.

As hard as it is to find clothing that I feel is appropriate for my children, I know it can be hard to find books that appeal to younger boys and girls. The most often asked question at the book fair was "what do you recommend for my son? He's 13." Well, we weren't selling Transcendent: Tales of the Paranormal there so I recommended Maze Runner, Out of My Mind, some James Patterson Young Adult novels and a few others that our book fair didn't have.

So, my message is this. Take the time to search for what you think is appropriate, because what you do now will take root and influence them in the future.

Those of you who took the time to read the title will notice I didn't mention a contest yet :-) Well, here we go. It's odd. I have something that pertains to my book that was hand made, a necklace, but I didn't want the usual "be first to comment here" or "if you can prove you bought two copies you win" type of contests. Instead, I would love for you to do some research. Look for a book, card or item of clothing (in a store or online) that you'd never buy your child. By child I mean something you'd see in the "young adult" section in a book store or the size babies-juniors section of a retail store. Take a picture and send it to me or post it here, on my Facebook page here or provide the link in the comments section and tell us why you wouldn't purchase the item.

How will I pick a winner? Well, I have someone lined up who is well versed on this issue. Melissa, founder of Pigtail Pals, has graciously accepted the challenge to find the worst example of advertising/clothing etc for children so she will be seeing the links/pictures you post. This contest starts now and will run for about two weeks! Take this time to do some online shopping, use your new iPhone to take a photo of that horrible book or card or t-shirt at the store.

Thanks for reading!

The hard work of our publisher...

...has paid off immensely! A copy of the email that she sent us:


The Kindle Fire giveaway & St Jude Donation that I'm hosting on my blog
has been featured on ENT. [E-Reader News Today}

Because of this, we sold about 450 books in the last 24 hours, and as a
result, our rankings shot up. In the Love & Romance, we are #7, right
after the Twilight books. In Fantasy & Magic, we are #6, right after the
Rick Riordan books...

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in
Kindle Store)
#6 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy & Magic
#7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Children's Fiction >
Literature > Love & Romance
#12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Children's eBooks > Science Fiction,
Fantasy & Horror > Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic


Do you know someone who would enjoy a new book to read? Would you like to donate to a wonderful cause, St. Jude's, and be entered to win a Kindle Fire? Then visit here to enter

Thanks everyone! And with the new month approaching, there shall be a new contest on my site where you can win a one of a kind necklace/bracelet that represents TRANSCENDENT and a copy of TRANSCENDENT.

Want to win a Kindle Fire? You know you want one!

Support St. Jude's Hospital and TRANSCENDENT! Details for the giveaway can be found here: http://afantasyfiction.blogspot.com/2...