Mikey Brooks's Blog, page 4

A Reading Adrenaline Rush

I love books that have a fitting title. Adrenaline Rush , by Cindy M. Hogan, is one of those books whose title screams exactly what the book is about: exciting-heart-pounding-thrill-seeking-RUSH. This book will put you on the edge of your seat and you won’t sit back until the very last sentence is read. Seriously, it’s that good! It had me staying up late, forgetting about the time, and just reading. Cindy Hogan is a master at creating suspense and that longing for a happy ending. I think her best talent, especially with this book, is the voice of Christy (aka Misha). There are few authors that can pull off a voice so real you forget what you’re reading is fiction. You become swallowed up into the world of spies and freaky criminals (I say freaky because what Christy goes through in this book is CRAZY—the Circus of Feats…um never EVER sign me up for that). I thoroughly enjoyed the underlining theme in the book that hinted at faith and one’s trial of faith. I can’t say too much on the subject because it will spoil most of the book but I believe it was the most powerful element in the book. There comes a time in every hero’s journey that the hero (or in our case heroine) break—too much causes them to lose their faith in themselves and their belief in God and so they stop. Christy is no different. But it’s her unique struggle with her faith will make you sit up and take notice. Yes, this book is a super rush of adrenaline as you read, but you also come away with a better sense of about yourself because you’ve connected with Christy and she’s made you take a long look in the mirror evaluating what makes you so strong. Few books can accomplish both. Yes, I have already started the next book!
Synopsis: A madman with a mission is kidnapping groups of thrill-seeking high school seniors across the country, and it's up to Christy to stop him. To do so, she must take on a fearless alter ego and infiltrate a group of adrenaline junkies bent on pushing life to the limit. Death-defying stunts are only the beginning: two groups fit the profile, and Christy must discover the real target before it's too late. If she chooses the wrong group, more people will disappear. But choosing right puts her as the prime target—with no guarantee that she'll get out alive. Full of action and adventure, mystery, and suspense that is guaranteed to thrill teens and adults alike.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Adrenaline-Rush-Cindy-M-Hogan/dp/0985131853/
Other books by Cindy M. Hogan:

Even More Summer Reading

Everyone knows how much I love audiobooks. If you don’t, you do now. I think audiobooks are better than just plain old reading. It’s almost like going and seeing a theatrical production of the book. If the narrator is good you get different voices for all the characters and soon forget you are listening to a book at all. It’s quite the experience. So why not throw in some audiobooks into your mix? I listen to them while working, driving, or cleaning. Give it a try. You can start with this insightful read about a girl’s struggle to overcome racists-prejudice in this pre-Civil War story, The Candle Star, written by Michelle Isenhoff and narrated by Fred Wolinsky.

Here are my answers to the questions ask by Audible when I reviewed this book:

If you could sum up The Candle Star in three words, what would they be?Thought-provoking, entertaining, well-written
Who was your favorite character and why?Emily Preston is the main character in this book and for the first few pages you want to pull her over your knee and give her a sound whooping (note: I do not condone spanking but this girl really needs one). She is one of those characters that you just down right hate. She is spoiled, selfish, and very set in her ways. You don’t expect that she will ever change and just when you are about to give up hope on her your see another quality; Emily cares for others. She has compassion and it soon grows into something strong enough to help her change for the better.
Which character – as performed by Fred Wolinsky – was your favorite?There were several he did a wonderful job with. I liked his impression of Emily. Her southern bell accent was spot on. I also enjoyed all the black folks. He really brought a "real" aspect to the book. His best overall voice I think was the wicked Mr. Burrows, which he did so well.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?This book really made me think and think hard. Are we all sometime like Emily Preston? Do we ignore bad things because that’s the way things have always been? Do we put ourselves above others because we feel more entitled to things? The one thing that stood out above anything else is that our prejudices are not limited to race; at least not for Emily. She not only sees the colored folks as beneath her, but those with a lower class than herself. She sees servants, white or black, as nobodies; even the people in the north because they do not see things as she. This prejudice is so extreme she is willing to destroy someone else’s happiness to see the classes don’t mix. How often do we ourselves do this? Michelle Isenhoff makes you sit back and take stock of the type of person Emily is and how to avoid becoming this way.
Any additional comments?Overall I believe this is a book that every kid should read. I love the nods at actual things that transpired during this time in history: the mention of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the slave trade, and the underground railroad. The way these were written really show the author did her homework. I am anxious to read the rest of the books in this series. 

Summary: After a tantrum, Emily Preston is shipped from her plantation home to her inn-keeping uncle in Detroit. There she meets Malachi, son of freed slaves, who challenges many ideas she grew up believing. But when Emily stumbles upon two runaways hidden in her uncle's barn, she finds that old ways die hard. And Mr. Burrows, the charming Southern slave catcher, is only yards away, lodged in the hotel.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Candle-Star-Divided-Decade-Collection/dp/149745025X/

Swashbuckling Summer Reading

Who doesn’t love a good story about the sea with swashbuckling tales of pirates, sword fights, and treasure? I think with the popularity of films like The Pirates of the Caribbean (now onto its 5 movie!) it’s safe to say, everyone loves these kinds of stories! The book I just finished reading you won’t find Captain Jack Sparrow or Captain Barbossa, it’s not a tale of stolen Aztec treasure, or even a quest to claim a mermaid’s tears, but it is just as moving, gripping, and much, much more real. The Swift, by Alex Banks, is a story about loss, family, friendships, and above all hope. Yes, there is plenty of fighting, adventure, sea-talk, and pirates, but all that is just the icing on the cake.
What I loved most about this book was how real the characters are. The main character, Pete, has such raw emotions throughout the book you can’t help but feel them yourself. I rarely read a middle-grade book where the characters have such power in their emotions, such realness. I found myself angry when Pete was angry, sad when he was sad, and I choked up plenty of times when Pete cried. This book had me flipping the pages and consuming the tale in no time at all. Normally I’m a slow reader, with work, kids, sleeping; I take days and days to finish a book. This one I had read in two days because it hooks you in with mystery and gives you adventure. I will be adding this to my collection beloved pirate books; it will rest alongside Treasure Island and Peter and the Starcatchers.
Summary: The night eleven-year-old Pete planned to shoot the winning goal in the championship hockey game was the same night his dad was lost at sea. Now, eight months later, his mom still cries all the time, his beloved grandfather, stricken with Alzheimer’s, can’t even remember him, and they’re about to lose their crappy old house to the bank. To make matters worse, his twin brother Henry blames Pete for all of it. After all, they were a family of fishermen—if Pete had gone to help on the boat instead of to the game, their dad might still be alive. While searching the attic for stuff they can sell, Pete finds a battle-torn ship-in-a-bottle. When he and Henry show the bottle to their grandpa, the three of them are transported back in time—on board the very ship that’s going down.  Battling pirates and the raging sea, the boys must learn to work together to help their grandpa save his past. If they don’t, they won’t have a future to return to.  Link: http://www.amazon.com/Swift-Alex-Banks/dp/1927847052/
Another great read by Alex Banks is SOS BOYS. Which I read last summer and loved! This one is a story in space and it's just as fun and gripping as this one!
A Little about Alex Banks: Alex Banks likes to say she holds a black belt in awesome since the only kind of kicking-butt she does is on paper. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, one samurai dog and four zen turtles. Alex writes Young Adult and New Adult fiction (suitable for readers over fourteen) under the name Ali Cross.

Summer Suspense Finale

I don’t think I have ever read a book as fast I read CREATED , the final book in the Watched series. It was both enthralling and thought provoking. I am so glad to hear that author Cindy M. Hogan has even more books featuring this amazing heroine. It reminds me so much of the hit TV series Alias, which gave Jennifer Gardner her fame in Hollywood, and fans of that show will want to read these books!

I don’t want to say too much about the book because I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Some of the same themes addressed in the first two books resonate in this one, once again driving the point that we are the ones in control of our own lives and that we have the choice to become what and who we are. This book is filled with nail biting suspense that will have you staying up all night and abandoning everything to finish. Seriously, do we know any film producers that could make this into a movie? We need more books like this, featuring strong female leads that are morally clean and inspire goodness. Well done, Cindy M. Hogan!

Synopsis: A new school. A choice. A destiny discovered. With The Witness Protection Program failing to keep Christy safe, she is sent to Belgium to hide in a new school. While there, test scores reveal her true abilities. Discover her fate in this action-packed final installment of the heart-pounding Watched trilogy.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Created-Watched-Book-Cindy-Hogan/dp/0985131829/


Other books by Cindy M. Hogan: 

The Summer Suspense Continues...

Summer reading is great. There’s nothing better than diving into a book and losing yourself in the pages. However some books come with terrible consequences. Consequences that leave you extremely tired and grumpy the next morning. Like a hangover but not for drinking, it’s a hangover for staying up too late reading because you couldn’t, for the life of you, put the book down.  So WARNING: this book will give you a book-hangover. You’ve been warned. Now about the book…So Cindy M Hogan, the amazing author of PROTECTED, book two in the WATCHED TRILOGY, does pretty bang-up job rehashing the first book without being too overly drawn out. You could probably even start on this book and pick up what’s happened, but why do that, right? Go ahead and read the first book then come back and read the rest of my post. Don’t worry. I’ll wait…

Read it? Wasn’t it awesome?! 
The second one is even better! PROTECTED is filled to the brim with tension and page flipping suspense. You don’t know when or if the bad guys are going to show up and take out this poor girl. What I really liked about this book was the theme behind it, which I believe is accepting who you are and holding on to that. Without spoiling the book too much (this happens in the first few chapters), Christy gets put into witness protection and has to become another person, a person, who normally wouldn’t have great values or moral strengths. Christy is confronted with the opportunity to forget all the beliefs she has grown up with and truly change…for the better or worse? What the author does is show us that we must be true to ourselves at our center. Even if we are playing a part we have to remain true to our core beliefs. This book is very self-rewarding to read. 
Yes! I have already started on book three, CREATED, which I spent my entire day off reading. I am a slow reader but I am ¾ of the way through it already! The next book gets even better. I won’t spoil my thoughts on it yet—I haven’t finished. I will tell you I am all geared up with Cindy M Hogan’s new series featuring the same main character in the WATCHED TRILOGY. If you haven’t added this amazing series to your read list, now is the time! I’m serious when I say this series needs to be made into a movie!!
Summary: Christy has the guy. The terrorists have been taken care of, and she has a shot at becoming popular. Life is GREAT! Until they find her. Now she must run and leave behind everything she knows, including herself. When Christy returns home, she discovers that not much has changed. Not only is she still an outcast, but the bullies are even more persistent than before. When the guy that sends her pulse racing shows up, everything changes. Unfortunately, her feeling of triumph is short lived when the terrorists from DC come calling. Now, Christy and her boyfriend need to find a way to escape and hide.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Protected-Watched-Book-Cindy-Hogan/dp/0985131802/

Spooky Summer Reading

I am really amazed at how much summer reading I have been able to get done this year. Normally it's just a few books here and there but I am seriously cruising through them. It helps that I listen to most of them on audiobook as I illustrate. Something I believe everyone should try at least once—audiobooks are so full of imagery and can really heighten the emotions. I'm still blazing through Protected, by Cindy M. Hogan, book 2 in the Watched series, and I just started reading The Hidden Kingdom, by R.K. Hinrichsen, with my girls. I'll let you know what I think of those soon.

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees, by J.A. White, is just as creepy-crawly as its predecessor, hands down! When Kara’s father becomes possessed by some deranged witch hunter from long ago she and her brother Taff are driven out of the village into the Thickety itself. There Kara comes face to face with Mary Kettle, a dark witch who used to boil children for magic, and if that’s not spooky enough, she meets the forest demon and his coven of followers. Some of the themes discussed in this book I believe are a little too dark for younger middle-grade readers but I think older tweens and teens would get a kick out of these creepy pages. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first book and I can hardly wait for book three to be released. YES! This book ends on a HUGE cliff hanger like in book 1. What I especially liked about this book was the redemptive qualities explored. This book begs the question: even if someone has committed the worst of crimes, can they find forgiveness from others? Can they be redeemed? It’s a very hopeful thought. Over all a super fun and spooky read!
Summary: After Kara Westfall's village turns on her for practicing witchcraft, she and her brother, Taff, flee to the one place they know they won't be followed: the Thickety. Only this time the Forest Demon, Sordyr, is intent on keeping them there. Sordyr is not the Thickety's only danger: unknown magic lurks behind every twist and shadow of the path. And then they discover Mary Kettle, an infamous witch with a horrifying past. She offers to lead them out of the Thickety while teaching Kara how to cast spells without a grimoire. The children are hesitant to trust her . . . but this could be their only chance to escape. Or the first step down a dark and wicked path.

Book three, The Thickety: Well of Witches, is expected for publication February 2016.Make sure you add it to your list on Goodreads so you don;t miss it when it hits the shelves.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Thickety-Whispering-Trees-J-White/dp/0062257293/

Query Process Update

So it’s been 4 weeks since I started sending out query letters again (note the ‘again’ since this is the fifth run of queries). This is the time when I start to get antsy. I really want to know what’s going to happen. Will they ask for a full? Will they even read it? Will they even bother to reply (since that seems to be the norm for agents now a day, which I find very rude since I took the time to research them and personalize each query)? Will they offer me representation? All of these questions I wanted answered yesterday. Patience for me doesn’t come easily.
Currently I’m shopping two books: the first is a chapter book about two kids that have to save their grandfather’s museum from closing by traveling through time to collect ancient artifacts (think of it as A Night at the Museum meets The Magic Tree House); the second is a middle-grade book about two kids that discover their parents are witch hunters at the same time witches invade their school disgusted as glamorous lunch ladies (a Spy Kids meets The Witches kind of book).
Before I share my results I wanted to share how I go about sending queries. I use awesome websites like www.querytracker.com to find potential agents. I make a long list of those that are open to submissions and actually accept what I write. My goal is to find an agent that reps picture books up to YA. If they rep artists too, all the better. After my list is formed I begin to weed out the ones that wouldn’t be a good fit, this happens by researching each agent. I Google them and read what I find: interviews, blog posts, rants on Twitter and Facebook (all of it good info). It takes about a week of researching to form my list of 15-20 agents I want to send to. Once I got my list, I divide it half and start submitting.Results from this round (so far): 
The Chapter book: 2 full requests followed by 2 “great story, fun characters, but not for me.” One agent, whom I really feel would be a good fit did ask for my next submission after rejecting this one. I’ve also gotten a handful of “thanks, but no thanks”.The Middle-Grade book: 1 full request (by agent mentioned above) and 3 rejections (all of them very nice replies complementing the characters, storyline, ect, but not finding it the right fit).
Not bad for 4 weeks. I’ll give this round two more weeks and send out another wave of ten. Most of the agents that say, “I’m too busy to reply” are rejecting me by week 6 anyway. Really I don’t understand the “I’m too busy.” Clicking reply, typing “no”, and clicking send takes less than 10 seconds. At least then I would know they looked at it, right? Wish me luck. This is the worst part about being an author.  

Summer Reading Suspense

I love to mix things up a bit in my reading so after reading a MG fantasy I picked up a YA suspense. This particular book my wife had been begging me to read forever. I’m not even sure why I hadn’t read it to begin with since I know and adore the author, Cindy M Hogan. Cindy is the spunkiest, most energetic, positive person I know. In fact, if the super optimistic Olaf from Disney’s Frozen had a sister it would be Cindy. She just makes you feel a live and feel great. You would not think a sweet, outgoing, loving person would be able to write clench-your-teeth-suspense but SHE DOES!! And she does it very well.
Okay…embarrassing moment for me: I started reading this book on my kindle after my wife decided to turn in early. So I’m lying in bed and the tension in this books is high (hello, this man gets his head chopped in the first chapter and these kids might be next—no that’s not a spoiler, that’s the premise). It’s dark around me and all I have is the light from the kindle. I hear a creek and I’m like, what was that?! I continue reading; once again I am sucked into the tension. Then my wife scoots her leg over and it touches my foot!! I jumped too high I about threw the kindle across the bedroom. My wife thought this was the funniest thing ever and spent the next ten minutes laughing at me. So yes! This book will grab hold of you and not let you go. While it’s not that terrifying of a book (it is definitely NOT a horror story), it has this voice that just makes your heart race and you find yourself reading page after page.
Another thing that ready resonated well with this book is the voice of the main character, Christy. She sounds so real! I love that this is written in first person and we get to listen to all that internal dialogue. She feels, sounds, and thinks like a normal 15 year-old girl (at least what I believe would be so, since I have never been a 15 year-old girl). I particularly like that Christy has an internal struggle with choosing to do the right and wrong thing. I like that we see her will sometimes falter when placed against desiring temptations. I really think teens would benefit from reading this book!! They would see they’re not alone when it comes to peer pressure and the need to feel wanted and befriended. When I spoke to my wife about the book (after she had stopped teasing me of course) she told me the same thing: that she really connected with Christy and she felt like she was her in high school. So bravo, Cindy!
Watched, by Cindy M Hogan, is the first book in the Watched Trilogy. Lucky for me my wife is a huge fan of Cindy’s and we own all the books. I can’t wait to start reading book two, Protected. So if you are looking for a great-keep-you-up-at-night book. This is one for you.
Synopsis:
Change.
She longs for it.
A murder.
She will never be the same.

It takes more than a school trip to Washington, D.C. to change Christy's life. It takes murder.
A witness to the brutal slaying of a senator's aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot guys. She discovers that if she can't help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.  
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Watched-Murder-was-Just-Beginning/dp/0615493386/

My Take On Self-Publishing

I belong to a wonderful group of authors on Facebook called The Authors Think Tank. This group is filled with writers in all stages of their career. We help motivate each other, respect each other, and help each other succeed. I love this group! Today I saw a request for everyone to share their feelings on self-publishing and whether or not it was right for them. It really got me thinking about my own personal path in publishing and how I feel about things now that I’ve been a self-publishing author for several years. Here’s my own response:
I shopped my first book around agents and publishers for almost 3 years because it has ALWAYS been my goal to be traditionally published. When I finally got a publishing contract offered by a small but competitive house, I declined it after not being able to resolve an issue with giving up my audio rights (the refused to produce an audiobook but wouldn't allow me to create my own). I had other concerns with the distribution as well. Like most small presses they use Createspace (an Amazon owned company to distribute paperbacks). This was something I could do on my own and have done for other self-published authors (I'm a cover designer, formatter, and project manager; basically I get paid to help others self-publish). So I already knew the ins and outs to create and publish a book. The only thing this publisher was really offering me was a hand in the marketing. So I did the hardest thing EVER and declined the contract, sent the book to another freelance editor and self-published it. Was that the right path? At the time, yes.
After self-publishing 5 novels, 3 picture books, and illustrating 6 more picture books that were also self-published, I began seeing that I was only self-publishing because it was the easy thing to do. The more books I released the less effort I put into the marketing of them and slowly my sales began to drop. As long as I was out there, day and night, pushing my books the sales were there. The moment I stopped, the sales dropped. How nice it would be if I didn't have to handle ALL the marketing. So I am once again trying the path of traditional publishing. I want this to be a lifelong career and I need help to do that. I need a great agent to find me some awesome publishing houses to make my books their priority.

I believe self-publishing is a great place to start. I've learned so much I could teach a full course on the ins and outs of it. I'm not against self-publishing—if it's done right. If the author gets a flawless cover, hires a detailed editor, and writes a great story. So many hurry-to-publish-authors  muddy the water with crap that makes it harder for the rest of the awesome self-published books to be seen. So, yes, self-publishing CAN be good. It was for me.

But is it for everyone? Is it for you?

What are your goals, dreams, and aspirations when it comes to your book? Will you feel comfortable being the only author selling your own books at a mass author signing (yes, I've been there and felt really awkward and out of place)? Will you be comfortable doing all the work (for a while I was but now I'm burnt out)? Will you feel comfortable when your own public library declines to carry your book because it's self-published (even after I donated my books they didn't shelf them, they sold them for 25 cents)? Will you feel comfortable feeling like you're the only supporter of your book (at times you'll have to because you don't have a publisher qualifying your book)? Will you feel comfortable being in charge of everything (which I liked A LOT)? Will you be comfortable claiming you are a self-published author?

Ask yourself all these questions and more. Then weigh if you truly want all that. For me, I'm ready to climb a different mountain. Is it hard for me to do this? Yes! I have emails from kids asking and begging me to get another book out for them to read. I’ve written three more books that I have not released so I can shop them traditionally. It hurts, it really does, to tell these kids I won’t be releasing anything soon. But I have come to the realization that for the market in which I write, traditional publishing is the best path for me. It’s the path that is going to stabilize my writing career. Maybe when I’ve arrived on that summit I’ll discover it’s not all chocolates and roses (I know deep down that it’s not) and I’ll move on. First I have to get there.

The Best Read of the Summer!!

I have to start out by staying that I am a HUGE fan of Jennifer A Nielsen. Not only because she is a fantastic author (which she is!), but she IS also a compassionate, kind, and humble person. She is real! You can tell when she interacts with you. Jennifer has taken the time to discuss with me my own path in publishing. She knows my goals and my dreams and she doesn’t hesitate to encourage me onward up the mountain. A little over a month ago I saw her at a signing. She looked at me right in the eye and asked, “You feel how close you are, don’t you? Please don’t give up.” She didn’t know but I needed that. At times I feel I am so close to my dreams I can almost touch them, at other times it feels galaxies away. I am grateful for Jennifer to take the time and say that to me. It really boosted my confidence and helped me to move forward. I started querying again and I am very optimistic. I now know that if this book doesn’t get me an agent the next one will. Jennifer, I DO feel how close I am. I am ready to grab hold of that dream and stand firm on my summit. Thank you for spurring me along!
Another fantastic read that I have the opportunity to dive into this summer is The Mark of the Thief . If you’ve read Jennifer Nielsen’s Ascendance Trilogy and were blown away by the gripping-suspenseful-action-packed story as I was, then you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into with this one. I found myself flipping through page after page devouring the compelling words that told of Nicolas Calva’s heroic life. I really liked this book because it speaks to everyone’s heart. Many people are born into different situations, some worse than others, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay there. This book is a rite of passage for Nic, but it’s also one for the reader. You will feel better about yourself when you finish this book because you will be determined to choose to be the person YOU want to be and not the person circumstance placed you. I also feel this is a great book for a reluctant reader. They will immediately identify with the main character and his struggles. Because the chapters are short and page-turny, they will find themselves taken away to ancient Rome, bulla in hand, as Nic enters the arena to fight for his life.
Summary: A fantastical alternate history set in ancient Rome. Nicolas Calva and his sister are slaves in the mines outside of Rome. When Nic is forced to retrieve treasure from Julius Caesar's cave, he assumes he is going to his death. But inside the cave he finds a bulla, a magical amulet thought to have given Caesar great power, and takes it for himself. Suddenly, Nic is the most wanted fugitive in Rome. The emperor and a powerful general are after the amulet and they will kill Nic to get it. His only help is Aurelia, a plebian girl who is searching for her own family. With no one to trust and nowhere to hide, the protagonist must decide how he is going to save his sister and get out with his life. He doesn't want the bulla or the responsibility of the magic it contains, but if the magical object gets into the wrong hands, Rome will be at war and Nic will be at the center of it all.
Book 2, The Rise of the Wolf will hit bookstores February 2016 according to Jennifer's website: http://www.jennielsen.com/archives/1452  
Link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Thief-1/dp/0545561558/
The next book I am reading is The Thickety: The Whispering Tree, by J.A. White. I am sure this one will be just as creepy as the first book. Wish me luck that I don’t get nightmares!!