Lauryn April's Blog: April Books, page 11

Cover Reveal: Unearthed after Sunset

Last month I posted that I had a new novel I planned to release this fall. It's called Unearthed after Sunset, and is an Urban Fantasy novel about vampires. I've included a little info about it below, as well as the cover.
   About the Book:When Greg Erickson is killed by sultry and seductive vampire Lila, he wakes up cold and alone in a wooden box. After clawing his way out he finds himself thrust into a vampire turf war, unsure of exactly what he’s fighting for. Greg discovers that it’s not easy to be human one day and hunting humans the next, and while his new vampire cohorts try to get him to accept his newfound existence there’s one girl from his human life he’s unable to forget.
 

Excerpt:
“Who are you?” I asked.

Her full lips, painted in bright red, twisted into a grin. I watched as she stood and circled me, unable to help eyeing her milky white legs. I traced their lines to the hem of her black floral dress, dark red flowers folded around her slim frame, as did a short, black leather jacket.

She ignored my question. “What are you doing here?” She asked instead. “Alone in the graveyard that is?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” I said, remembering how I’d said the same words to Caroline. I never realized how popular of a hangout the cemetery was until then.

She smiled again. “It wouldn’t make much sense to ask me such a thing…be like asking a chicken why she’s in the henhouse. I belong here; you’re the one that’s out of place.” She had a sultry voice, sensuous like a jazz singer. It slinked through the air and sent shivers across my skin.

I remembered that I should be scared of her, and I did feel the fear deep in my gut, but on the surface it was hard to be scared of something so beautiful. I still hadn’t learned that looks can be deceiving.

 
And now, the book cover reveal...   
What do you think?

Into the Deep is FREE today!

Download for Free APRIL 26th - 28th

Awarded a 2012 IndieBRAG Medallion by the Book Readers Appreciation Group.

5 STARS “Well-written and emotionally charged, I found this book to be a total gem.” – Jen Naumann, author of Shymers

5 STARS “This starts off as interesting, and gets more and more so.” – Lucinda Elliot, author of That Scoundrel Emile Dubois

4 STARS “…an interesting storyline, an original spin on the paranormal, and well-written.” – Jen Minkman author of Shadow of Time

Ivy Daniels is a high school junior still learning who she is. After an accident, Ivy finds herself with an ability she doesn’t want, an ability to uncover secrets which quickly begins to redefine what she thinks about the people around her as well as herself. Because of this ability, Ivy becomes the one thing that stands between an angry teen and the death of every student on campus. The only problem is she doesn’t know who wants everyone dead. Will she figure out who has this dark secret, or will she fail to find him in time?

Through her search to do the right thing, Ivy discovers that knowing the thoughts and secrets of those around her may just tear her apart.

Into the Deep is a paranormal romance for mature young adults, that looks at how we define who we are, and what it means to feel alone. It contains minimal use of strong language and mild sensuality. Amazon US Amazon UK  

Thoughts on Translating Novels: Idioms and Pop-Culture Refrences

I was looking a book up on Goodreads the other day, and noticed how the book had different covers for the versions that were printed in different languages. This got me thinking about translating my books into other languages. I’ve never had any of my novels translated before, but this is something I’d love to do. However, every time I think about doing it, I worry that something will get lost in translation.  For example, below is a quote from one of my new favorite book series, Shatter Me. "Sticks and stones keep breaking my bones but these words, these words will kill me."
— Tahereh Mafi (Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2))  It's a twist on a phrase, and idiom, most American's know well. But, how well would that idiom translate into another language. Now, "Sticks and Stones" is a fairly literal idiom, which may not cause too much trouble in translation, but there are other's that aren't so straight forward.  

For example, I was watching an episode of Archer the other day, where Archer is marooned on an island full of pirates who don’t speak any English. Archer is trying to talk to a group of pirates via a translator, but his translator keeps getting frustrated with him because Archer keeps using idioms.

 

“That won’t translate. That’s like last week when you said ‘lend me your ears.”

Most English-speaking people would understand the phrase “lend me your ears,” as meaning “listen,” but taken literally it doesn’t make any sense. (Can you just picture people going all Van-Gogh and throwing their ears at you?)

Idioms have a way of creeping into our conversations, and you might use them more than you think. Have you ever offered someone a penny for their thoughts, ever felt under the weather, or had someone pull the wool over your eyes? These strange little saying have become a part of our everyday conversations. If I were to ever have any of my books translated it would have to be by someone who understood both English and whatever language I was translating my book into well enough to get the meaning of any idioms I was using across, and not just the literal words.

Idioms aren’t my only concern when I think about translating my books into other languages. I wonder about things like Pop-culture references. If one of my characters make a pop-culture reference of a popular movie or a particular pop-star, will people reading my book in another country even know what I'm talking about, or even if they do would there be something or someone else from their country who’d be a better fit for the statement my character is making?
 For example, check out this quote from Jennifer Armentrout's Obsidian. "My palms itched to have a close encounter of the bitch-slap kind with his face."
— Jennifer L. Armentrout (Obsidian (Lux, #1))  Now, I know this book has been translated into a number of other languages including Spanish and Italian, and I'm curious if it still has that teen-speak sound to it. Is the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," reference lost?
Things like idioms and pop-culture references are important in a story. Having a character, or narrator, use an idiom or pop-culture reference helps define that person’s voice. It adds to the story’s style and overall feel.

At the end of the day I wouldn’t care if one of my pop-culture references or idioms got switched out for something more culturally relevant to the language it’s being translated into. It’s not the exact words that are important, it’s the meaning they convey. What would be awful is if a pop-culture reference was removed completely because it didn’t translate well.
  
What do you think? Have you read any books that were originally written in another language? Did you feel like something was missing?

3 Books I'm Funding on KICKSTARTER and Why

A while ago I talked about the Morganville Vampires Kickstarter campaign, a project that I helped fund which turned one of my favorite books, "Glass House" into a web series. Since funding this project I've continued to browse through various Kickstarter campaigns and have continued to fund various projects, particularly those involving books.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is a crowd-funding platform where people can acquire donations from friends, family, and complete strangers to help fund their projects. It's a great place for indie authors to acquire the funds needed to self-publish their books.

Below are three projects that I've pledged money to (if the authors meet their goal amounts Kickstarter will take the money out of my account and I'll get a few prizes from the authors). For each project I mention what the book is about, and why I decided to give the author money to help publish it.

I hope this post introduces more people to Kickstarter, and maybe generates a few more pledges for the following books.




Project #1: Switch: The Witches of Armour Hill

About the Book: Margaret May Reis knows how strange she is; people have been telling her for years. At sixteen years old, though, Maggie begins to realize that strangeness is only half the story. Maggie isn’t just strange – she’s a witch. READ MORE

Why I chose to help fund it: First I love anything paranormal, and this story sounds like a lot of fun. Second, the author has an organized Kickstarter page, and mentions that she's familiar with the self-publishing process. Third, she explains where the money she raises will go and seems to be asking for a fair amount. And, finally, the author talks about www.kickingitforward.org, which is all about helping others do the same thing that she's doing. With all that, I had to pledge a few bucks.


Project #2: Among the Shadows

About the Book: Experience the darker side of YA as 13 authors explore the places others prefer to leave among the shadows. READ MORE

Why I chose to help fund it: First I like that this is YA, and that it's an anthology. With my pledge I'll get a copy of the book and get to read stories from some new authors. Second, I like that this project is nearly completely funded. It's exciting to know that a project you're funding will come to life.


Project #3: The Border

About the Book: Eva Lockhart, vampire of the Kairi tribe, never even dreamed of crossing the border, a river that seperates her tribe from the Theon tribe. READ MORE

Why I chose to help fund it: When I pledged a donation to this book it had zero backers, which would normally make me a little wary about the project, but as I read on the author seemed truly passionate about writing. Her story sounds interesting, I love anything about vampires, and I like that I'll be inspiring another young writer to keep with it.


Books take a lot of time and money to publish. As a self-published author myself, I know how difficult the task can be. For the three books above, my contributions are merely a drop in the bucket. If any of the projects I've mentioned sound interesting, check out their Kickstarter campaigns. I'm always urging people to support indies, and pledging money to a Kickstarter campaign is a great way to do that.

How do you fell about Kickstarter? Have you ever helped fund a project, or ran a campaign of your own?

The 7 Most Influential Books in My Life

This list may surprise you. It's not filled with the most philosophical of reads, or hard to swallow literary-works. It's simply a list of the books that changed my life. It's a personal list. What I find most interesting about it is that (most of) the following books are not actually my favorite books. But they are the books that changed the way I read, that changed what I read, and ultimately what and how I write as well.

Books can immerse us in brand new worlds, they can provide an escape, they can teach us about the world, and they can teach us about ourselves.

The following books helped me discover not only what I truly love to read, but who I am as a writer as well.


Salem's Lot by Stephen King- I owe much of my love of reading to Stephen King. I ate his books up when I was growing up and they both terrified and amazed me. But, it was reading Salem's Lot in particular that made me realize how much scarier the written word can be than any other form of media. It was reading this book that I realized how much power the written word had. It also sparked my interest in the paranormal, the love of which has only grown since.



The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare- This play showed me that the best stories are eternal. Even though The Merchant of Venice was written over 400 years ago, the story was just as relatable as the more modern books I'd been reading. The push and pull of mercy and justice, portrayed through a colorful array of characters showed me that the things that best fuel a novel are the most basic of human emotions - like love and greed, and if you can write a story and keep one of those basic emotions at the core of it, then it will last forever.



The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- This is one of the few books I read in school that I read for pleasure as much as for the grade. This is the book that made me realize how much I appreciated reading a story through the perspective of a young adult, of someone trying to find their way in the world, someone like me. I was immersed in Holden's journey. After I was done reading this I went back to the horror novels I normally enjoyed in my spare time, but I found myself gravitating to ones with younger protagonists. I think the very next book I read was The Talisman by Stephen King, which managed to combine my love of monsters with this new interest of seeing the world through a young person's eyes.


Twilight by Stephanie Meyer- When Twilight first came out I refused to read it. Sparkling Vampires, I heard people say and I shook my head. Note the first book on this list. I didn't want to read about watered-down vampires. And, having read it, I will admit the writing isn't the greatest. But, this book opened my eyes to a genre I'd previously been ignoring- Romance. For all of Twilight's flaws it is a captivating love story that I hungrily consumed. From the moment I finished this book I craved love stories.



Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte-Yes, I did read this partly because Bella reads it in Twilight, I can admit that, and I'm glad I did because it quickly became one of my favorite books. What I loved about this story was the emotional drama. I'd read books with drama in the past, I'd read books that kept me on the edge of my seat, but Wuthering Height was different. The angst between Cathy and Heathcliff, the tension, the way their unhappiness was caused by their own stubbornness and vengeance. It showed that love can be beautiful and tragic at the same time; and that the most interesting thing about a love story is not the love but the journey it takes the characters to find it.



Smokeless Fire by Samantha Young- This is one of the first self-published novels I ever read, and though it had moments where it felt unpolished, it fascinated me. It was a story I easily fell into and it opened my eyes to a new world. This book taught me two things. First, there is a wealth of fabulous self-published stories out their waiting to be discovered. Second, publishing my stories was something that was entirely possible.



Into the Deep by Lauryn April- Yes, my book, and no this isn't shameless self-promotion. This is truly one of the most influential books in my life. Writing Into the Deep, creating that story and publishing it, changed my life. I love that story and being able to share it with people opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Reading the reviews on it helped me become a better writer, and every experience with it pushed me to do more, to write more, to pursue my passion.


Looking at this list I see books from various genre's, written in different styles, different time periods, and published in different ways. If writing this has taught me anything, it's that there's value in reading a variety of books. So, I urge you. Read something different. Go out of your comfort zone. You just might discover something new about yourself.

What books changed your life?

6 Ways to Follow your Favorite Bloggers

Depending on your source, there are over 152,000,000 blogs in existence (as of 2014), and a new blog is being created every half a second. I currently follow 116 blogs, and I've heard others following anywhere from a few to a few hundred blogs.

With so many fascinating blogs out there, and everyone posting on different schedules, it can be easy to lose track of your favorite blogs.

If you stay connected to your favorite bloggers by just occasionally popping over to their page, you're probably missing a lot.

Whether you only follow one blog or a few hundred the following tips will help you find the best way to stay up to date with their posts and keep them organized.


1. Look for quick follow icons. Most bloggers will include on their main page icons that show you the social networking sites they belong to where you can follow them. At the top of my page, you can find my links where you can follow me on twitter, pinterest, facebook, goodreads, ect...

 2. Join Bloglovin. Bloglovin is a social networking site dedicated to helping you find new blogs and keeping their posts organized in one place. Follow me on Bloglovin.

 3. Get your favorite blogs to send their posts directly to your e-mail. Many bloggers will  have a Follow by E-mail submission box, like I do on the right hand side of my page. Enter your e-mail address in it and every time I publish a new post you'll get a notification in your inbox. (Note, you might want to see how often that particular blog posts, or your inbox might be filling up quickly. This option is best for a blog like mine that only posts a day a week.)
  4. Use Google+, Twitter, or Yahoo to join the blog. This is a great option if you are a blogger yourself. When I join a blog via Google+ all the posts for that blog appear on my Reading List on my Blogger Dashboard. So, every time I log on to write a new blog post of my own I can easily scroll through the feed of blogs I follow.

5. Join Networked Blogs. Networked Blogs is similar to Bloglovin, but uses Facebook and Twitter to help you share the posts you're reading.


6. Follow your blogs via a Feed Reader. If you see a blog with a subscribe icon like the one below you can get that blog's RSS feed and follow it on a feed reader like Feedly, Curata, or Digg. If you like to read blog posts on multiple devices, particularly your smartphone, this might be the best option for you.

  I hope these suggestions make it easier for you to stay connected to your favorite blogs, and remember, if you read a post you like, please share it! 

Review for The One by Kiera Cass (The Selection #3)

Kept me hanging on every word, but the ending didn’t meet my expectations.

4 Stars. I couldn’t put this down. Cass sucked me in just like she did with the first two books. As usual there’s some beautiful imagery, some interesting tasks for the contestants to compete in, and a wonderful love story.
America is still stubborn and holds true to her values. I loved that even though she faced some hard choices she never wavered or compromised her beliefs. However, unlike the second book, she was smarter in the way she dealt with the things she felt passionately about that she knew the king would dislike.
I loved seeing America and the final contestants grow close. There’s a shift in this book where they stop competing and actually get to know one another. And, I loved seeing America and Maxon working together. They have a few experiences together outside the constraints of the selection contest, where it’s just the two of them, and I loved those moments.
However, I was a little annoyed that it took America so long to just tell Maxon how she felt about him. It seemed obvious that all he wanted was to hear that she loved him. I could understand that she was worried about putting herself out there, but it felt like Maxon had given her more than enough to know how he felt about her. However, when they finally do say their “I love you’s” it’s done in a way that’s really believable, and you know each of them mean it.
My only complaint was with the ending. It felt a little rushed and I wished America had had a more active role in it. She spent a good amount of time hidden in a safe room, and even though her earlier actions had led to a positive outcome, I wished she’d been able to contribute more in the moment.
I also wish the ending had been different overall. I feel like there was still more story to tell. There are a few secrets we discover at the end, including a big one with Kriss, that aren’t really explored as deeply as they could have been.
Spoiler: There were too many plot points left hanging, and I feel if the King and Queen hadn’t been killed off at the end that those points could have come up in a fourth book. For example, the power play going on between America and King Clarkson was a really interesting point of the story. I loved watching America defy him. I feared for her when she made him angry, and I was excited to see what he would throw at her next. I would have loved to have read a fourth book seeing America find her place within the castle as the princess, trying to support Maxon, and dealing with conflict between her and the king. Also, I disliked that the king and queen died off camera. I would have liked it better if we had seen those deaths. It would have made them more meaningful and poignant.
Overall, I loved this series and highly recommend it. Read my Review for The SelectionRead my Review for The Elite (The Selection #2)
 
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Four Book Genre's you've Probably been Confusing

It seems to me that there are a lot more book genres these days than there used to be. Self-publishing has allowed for more niche genre's to develop and grow and because of that labeling a book has gotten a little more complicated.

Sometimes figuring out what a book is about based on its genre isn't that hard. For example anything labeled as a "Romance" whether it's "Contemporary Romance," or "Romantic Horror" will have romance as a key part of the plot. Others however aren't as easy to distinguish. For example, what's the difference between "Paranormal Romance" and "Urban Fantasy"?

So, I wanted to take a moment to talk about some of the new genre's that have emerged and what I think they mean.


Paranormal Romance (PNR) - A story with paranormal elements that has romance as the central plot. Note this may sometimes get confused with "Romantic Suspense" however, there are no paranormal elements in Romantic Suspense, even though there may be suspense in a Paranormal Romance. In a PNR the overarching theme is "Love conquers all."
-EXAMPLES: Twilight Series, Warm Bodies




Urban Fantasy (UF) - A story often set in modern times, in a city or urban environment that has fantasy or supernatural elements. Note the word "romance" is not in the title. Many Urban Fantasies have romantic subplots, but romance is not a driving force of the story. In a UF the overarching theme is "Good vs Evil."
EXAMPLES: Morganville Vampires Series, Mercy Thompson Series



For more clarification between PNR and UF check out this website.


Urban Fantasy Romance (UFR) - A story set in an urban setting with romance as a central theme and fantasy elements. While romance is a key element in these books, they tend to focus on the action more than a PNR story would.
EXAMPLES: Night Huntress Series, Mortal Instruments Series




Dark Fantasy (DF) - A fantasy novel with elements of horror. Also sometimes known as "Supernatural Horror." Sometimes these books will have a hero/heroine that may come across as more antagonistic.
EXAMPLES: The Darkest Part of the Forest, Red Queen




Along with genre there's also been more emphasis placed on point of view. Check out this blog post that take about what it means for a book to be labeled YA or NA.

What are some of your favorite books in these categories? Or, what books have you mistaken their genre. Share your thoughts below.

Review of Mark of Defiance (Defiance Gray #2) by Adrianne Brooks

3.5 Stars. A Scary Journey. I enjoyed the dark imagery and scary moments of this book. There were also some interesting philosophical questions that the book raised about religion and being open minded, which I liked. And, most of all I enjoyed seeing Defiance’s character grow and watching her start to open her mind and question all the things her “church” had taught her.

However, there were places where the plot dragged a bit, and the pacing felt off. I think if the first book had been combined with this one, and the author had cut a few things that it would have had a better flow.
Like in the first book there were a few contradictions that took me out of the story. For example they’re taught to lie in school, but lying to a high priest is a bad thing. Also Defiance seemed to have never seen windows before, but I thought I remembered her climbing back into her orphanage through a window in the first book. Also there’s a mention of using gas from old cars in the desert, but considering this is supposed to take place hundreds of years after the apocalypse, the gas shouldn’t be good anymore. They were just little annoyances, but they pulled me out of the story.
The biggest problem I had, was that I just didn’t feel drawn in to the budding romance between Defiance and Uriel. I could kind of understand Defiance having a bit of a crush on Uriel, but there’s so little we actually know about him that I had a hard time connecting to him as a love interest for her. As a protector and an Angel, he’s written perfectly, but I think he maybe didn’t seem human enough for me to believe that there could be a relationship between the two of them.
That said, I did love the ending, and how much Defiance was actually involved in saving the day. It felt like her learning about her gift was building up to that moment, and it finished the story off in a great way.

Read my Review for Act of Defiance (Defiance Gray #1)

Join my Street Team

Do you like free stuff? Then you might like being a part of my street team. Join for free, and participate as much or as little as you want. Help me promote my books and get free stuff like books and swag in return.

What You'll Get:Members of my street team will have access to...
Free Books (Mine, and those of other authors)ARC copies for reviewSwag like bookmarks and stickersExclusive content related to my booksAmazon gift cards
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Tweeting about my promotionSharing my content on FacebookHanding out swag like stickers and bookmarksHosting a giveawayPosting content on your blog like cover reveals, interviews, ect...
And, if you're ever unable to help, or choose not to promote a particular project for me, you don't have to do anything. The more you participate the more prizes you have access to.

Join my team today and receive a free kindle copy of one of my books, your choice. All members will receive an e-mail within a few days of applying asking which book they would like.

 What Will Your Street Team be Promoting Next?Within the following months my street team members will have access to ARC copies of my next book Unearthed After Sunset, a NA Vampire Suspense novel. They will have the opportunity to be a part of my cover reveal, blog tour, and release party this fall.   JOIN MY STREET TEAM