Michelle Flick's Blog, page 9

DIrty Girl Run

I recently participated in the Dirty Girl Run held at Kissingbridge Ski Resort. IT WAS AWESOME and muddy. I wanted to share with you some hilarious pictures.




I thought I was awesome. 
I thought I was awesome. My team's name WTF. AKA Witness the Fitness :) You should have seen the looks people were giving us because of our names and then we would turn around and people would laugh.


See those three white shirts in the front? That's us charging up the hill! Mind you the "hill" was a mile and a half of ski mountain. I was not impressed at this point. It's so blurry because it was also down pouring at this time. It made it muddier!






That's us, sliding in the final mud pit!



Some people were relatively clean when they finished the course. Clearly, we are not those types of people. 









This event was so awesome because there were over 8,000 women climbing this mountain. There were fairies, tutus, wigs, and a slew of team names that would have you laughing.

Goals by thirty

Goals, goals, goals!
There was a study done at one of those Ivy League school where they interviewed 100 people who were graduating. I know for sure they asked them this question: Do you write down your goals? Out of the 100 people, 10 said yes. 
Ten years later, the same 100 people were interviewed. They asked how much they were making. As individuals, each of those ten people, were making more than the other 90 COMBINED. 
I ask you this: Does writing down your goals have an impact on your life? 
My answer is yes. 
I have a bunch of goals I want to accomplish by the time I am thirty and I am going to write them down and share them with people. If I share my goals with all of you, that will definitely put the pressure on me to do my goals. 
All this is by the time I am thirty on June 7, 2014
Writing goals: I will have finished editing and will have published The Owens Legacy: Redemption. I have have finished writing, editing, and will have published The Owens Legacy: R-something.I will have finished writing and editing the dream walking novel and start to Q. 
Blogging goals:A Dash of YA will be up and going, running smoothly.My blog will have transitioned into a writer's blog
Personal goals: I will have competed in a triathlon I will have participated in another Dirty Girl Run I will have pursued opening my own bed and breakfast - as long as it doesn't break my bankEach year I will do the five dollar savings plan (Found this on pintrest. You never spend your five dollar bills, you only save them. Ends of being a boat load at the end of each year.)
What are your goals?

Back on the horse giveaway

Hey everyone!

I have been caught up in work and going back to work that I haven't done much with reading or writing. I need to change this. So in honor of me getting myself back on book train I'm going to do a giveaway for writers and readers.

So up for grabs is a twenty page critique of your manuscript and an e-copy of my book The Owens Legacy: Revelations. So why these prizes? One I'm an English teacher's job is to critique and fix writing. It's my job and I'm good at it. Plus, I have that teacher thing where I want everyone to be successful. So that includes you. My book's summary is:

When telepathic twins, Piper and Ryder Owens are dumped at Evermore Academy, they thought that the only thing they’d have to worry about was Piper staying out of trouble long enough for them to graduate. They will not, for any reason, be separated. But someone at Evermore knows about their secret and wants to separate them permanently.

But then Piper’s Achilles Heel shows up: a good looking guy. Victor Mira is everything Piper is supposed to avoid, yet she feels drawn to him in a way she never imagined. But Victor is hiding a dangerous secret too, and what he knows could be the one thing that could divide the sisters. Forever.

So fill out the rafflecopter. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dearly, Belove by Lia Habel

Can the living coexist with the living dead? 

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.


I read Dearly, Departed when it was first released and had the great opportunity to meet Lia Habel in May at a Reading Association Banquet. I got a copy of Dearly, Beloved through netgalley and devoured it immediately, and then I had to sit on my review for a few months.

Finally I get to tell you about it.

The story picks up a little after the dust has settled from volume 1. Everyone is holed up together and Nora is struggling with the fact that she is confined and that she is not out there helping. She sees her father and Bram (swoon) helping the zombie movement. I agree with her on this. Nora is the perfect spokeswoman for the good zombies. But, Dr. Dearly and Bram love Nora and the world, the laz, some rogue thinkers are out there and Nora could easily end up dead, and not coming back as a zombie.

I'm a sucker for lost causes. I love a story that has more of a tragic ending then sunshine and butterflies and Nora and Bram's relationship, fits both for me. I mean - they are in love - but yeah - he's a zombie with only a few years left. You can tell that Bram is more aware of the ticking clock of their relationship, and while Nora says she is, I don't believe her. She's in love for the first time and with the first time, you never think it's going to end. I find that really relateable.

There were a lot of POV's in this volume again and by the end they all tie together. I had to be on my toes to make sure I kept track of all the different paths. But what's that saying? All roads lead to Rome. This is how the plot moves. Don't skip. Don't think any character's opinion is irrelevant.

Lia Habel again creates a thrilling, captivating steampunk story, one where I would be willing to brave the Laz.

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped—and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible.

Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie’s whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way.Books that are linked to hell in some way are very fascinating to me, whether its the hot, firey place, a place for lost souls, Hades's underworld, Lucifer's playground, whatever the case may be. Did you ever notice that not many people touch on Heaven and what it's like in YA. If you know of a book - send it my way. 
Anyway - Daphne is a character that just doesn't fit in with Lilith and Daphne's soul sucking sisters. She's not a temptress and the only person who gets this about her is Obie. And while she doesn't understand the women of her family, Obie's ways and feelings are very strange to her. She doesn't understand how he could turn his back on the underworld to stay above ground with a human. 
But then Obie disappears, Lilith freaks, and Daphne finally goes above in search of Truman, a guy who has dreamed of Daphne. Truman is Daphne's ticket to Obie. 
Truman is my favorite character in this. He's not your typical leading male protagonist. In fact, he's kind of broken. He's a fixer upper and Daphne can't stay away from his problems which side track her from her mission. 

That-itis

Hello. My name is Michelle Flick. I have had That-itis since I was about 20 years old. It all started when I decided to put the word "that" in as a filler in every sentence that I could. Sadly, it didn't stop there, eventually my that-itis leaked into my writing. I am assuming that the texting didn't help. But as my writing grew and developed, sadly I could never get over my addiction with the word 'that'.

So why am I pouring my heart out about this? I just got my first draft back from Nadine. I insert the word that ALL the time. I think one third of my edits are taking out the word 'that'. So I am acknowledging my problem publicly.

So this is my vow bloggers and writers. I will go through my next manuscript, circle every 'that' that appears, and I will delete them (obviously if they serve no purpose other than to fill). This is my pledge.

OK - so what are you guilty of?

Rapture by Lauren Kate

The sky is dark with wings . . . .

Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.

Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.

For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

I have been reading the Fallen series since they first started way back when. It seems like I have been patiently waiting for Luce's and Daniel's story to be wrapped up, to see if they have to wait another life time to be together.

The third installment for me, dragged it out. It was where Luce and Bill (AKA Lucifer) went through all of Luce's past lives with Daniel. I feel it could have been done in a .5 version. I did like that it got across how eternal their love was.

OK - So - Book Four. I wanted some steamy scenes. You know, come on, this is the first time in thousands of years that the two actually get to touch and Luce not burst into flames. I got to see Daniel's really sweet side. And looking back, I kind of miss his tough guy attitude that was first scene in Fallen. Daniel this book asserts leadership among the demons, the Outcasts, the fallen, and just about anyone else who gets in his way.

For the plot, everyone has to get three relics that have been scattered and unseen in 9 days before Lucifer gets to re-write history and wipe out everything. His ultimate goal is to make some changes, and one of the results is Daniel and Luce are no more. Which makes one wonder: why does the king of hell care for some slip of a girl? All is revealed.

I thought Luce was a bit weaker in this story. She "suffered" from leaning on her boyfriend too much. Daniel had to push her farther and convince her she was capable of stopping Lucifer. I like female characters like Rose from the Vampire Academy and Charlie from The Pledge. Confident women.

Now that I know the ending, I want to re-read Fallen. That was my favorite in the series.

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

This is what went through my head when I got done reading Onyx: Wow. How do I write a review for this? OMG. Wow.

Second - I can finally start reading other people's reviews. Awesome.

OK - On to the actual review.

It picks up right after Obsidian. Daemon is out to prove to Katy that he wants her. Katy has a big problem with this because she thinks it is because of the alien connection thing. I will say she holds out for a really long time and I don't think I would have been able to, not with all his kittens, pen poking, intense green gaze, and alien mojo. I did get annoyed with Katy for not believing him sooner. I mean, come on, he's proving himself, again, and again.

I didn't like Blake from the beginning. Glad he's charming. Glad he gave Katy some normalcy, but see ya. I was really happy to see this not turn into an Edward/Jacob/Bella triangle. I would really like to tell you my opinion of Blake but I don't want to be too spoilerish.

Ash is such a bi-yatch. But in such a good way. She's the girl that you hated in school, but you knew her which is why I like that she's in this story.

Dee and Adam - no words.

Matthew - pretty good guy not such a d-bag any more.

As for the plot, you get to one climax which is pretty huge and then you still have forty more pages until the end. I mean I would have been happy with JLA's sexually frustrating scenes, but no, she throws in a second climax, with an ending where I was just dumbfounded with. I immediately looked up when the third one comes out. Intense. Intense. The DOD - you sneaky, sneaky government operation. Good villain.

I thought it was great. You know who sometimes the sequel is the set up for the third? Not the case.

Shadows by Jennifer Armentrout

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.

Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in.

Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself
Shadows was my extra for the JLA-Read-A-Thon. 
I am typically not a fan of a short prequel. Not because I think they are bad, I just get used to a full story, and when an author does a .5, I don't feel complete. Shadows was good. Much better than any other .5 that I have read. 
I actually think I like Bethany better than Katy - No one throw anything at me. Don't get me wrong, I like Katy, but Bethany I think had a little more bad ass in her than Katy. 
When it came to Dawson - I kept picturing Daemon as a nice, non-smart ass and it was weird in the beginning. It took me a little bit to really connect that though I was still imagining the same person, but JLA did a great job distinguishing the personalities. It's one of those things, someone who is loud and obviously tough is scary, but the quiet ones are the ones you have to watch out for and I feel that is what Dawson is. Everyone expects Daemon to make bad choices, they expect him to be wayward, and they expect him to be a fighter. I got the feeling that no one expected Dawson to go balls to the wall for Bethany.  Dawson was so warm, and open with Bethany. He liked her. He was going to show her. That was it. No games. I don't like games.
Damn you DOD. Damn you. 

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

There is need. And then there is Fate...

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone

I was part of the JLA READ A THON this past weekend. I knocked out Half-Blood again, which was good because reading these two novels sets me up for the Deity release.  Some things I forgot - the chemistry between Alex and Aiden, that there is a Breed order, and Seth - in general. Because this is a second in the series, it is slightly spoilerish for Half-Blood.

Pure - starts off pretty close to where Half-Blood ends. This book was a surprise because I thought Aiden would be unable to stay away from her, and he does but he doesn't, kind of like a Dimitri thing. I thought his surprise day off of covenant was incredibly sweet, but cruel at the same time. I was heart broken for Alex. I don't think Aiden was cruel, I just think he was doing something nice for Alex and they both got caught up in it. I think this is the scene I got to imagine them as a couple, out in the open. His choices after Alex's "big reveal" were for the right reasons, especially when Seth took Alex to see the couple that got caught being a pure and a half-blood. He's making the right choice.

Which leads me to Seth - He's a jerk right? So why was he being so nice - well that gets explained, doesn't it?  I think it's sweet that Seth stays with Alex because of her nightmares - but it is slightly selfish because he feels what she feels and vice versa. I did really start to see his emotions for Alex, when that terrible situation with Caleb happens. Seth becomes downright protective barring anyone who wanted to come see Alex.

Then they have to go meet the obnoxious Telly. I don't like him. Two words: Red Dress. Man does that send Aiden and Seth for a loop. But while they are away from the Covenant, it becomes clear that someone, faction, whoever is trying to eliminate Alex from the Apollyon like sending her into servitude, however this person or people are unaware the length Aiden and Seth will go for her.