Kacey Vanderkarr's Blog, page 8

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Hello readers and friends! There are a lot of exciting things going on right now, and just in case you’re out of the loop, living under a rock, or disinclined to social media, I have a new book coming April 1st! Reflection Pond is a young adult fantasy and I can’t wait for you to read it.

In preparation for the release, I’ve started a newsletter. People who subscribe will receive advance knowledge of book releases, cover reveals, information, and FREEBIES.

I’m giving away 10 ARCs (advance reader copies) to the first ten people to sign up for the newsletter, but this is only the beginning. My subscribers will be at the forefront of my readership, in other words, I will love you and lavish you with things that others won’t see.

So fill up the form below. I can’t wait to hear from you!

[contact-form]

All the best,

Kacey

REFLECTION POND ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi there. Come closer…closer.

 

I have a secret that I would like to make not secret anymore. Technically, I let it slip last night on Twitter, but this is The Official Announcement.

 

My YA Fantasy, Reflection Pond, will be published this spring. The date is still up in the air, but most likely late April/early May. I have been a hard working girl between rewrites and editing, and I can’t wait to share this story with you.

 

I’ll let you in on another secret. I’ve seen a mockup of the cover and it is INCREDIBLE. It’s going to be everything I’ve dreamed of and I promise the cover will WOW you.

 

Can’t wait to read Reflection Pond? Here’s a blurb to tempt you.

 

Sometimes you find home, sometimes it comes looking for you. 

 

Callie knows a lot more about pain than she does about family. She’s never belonged, at least, not until she falls through a portal into her true home. The beautiful faerie city of Eirensae doesn’t come free. Callie must find her amulet and bind herself to the city, and most importantly, avoid the Fallen fae who seek her life. Seems like a small price to pay for the family she’s always wanted.

 

Then she meets cynical and gorgeous Rowan, who reads the darkness of her past in her eyes. He becomes Callie’s part-time protector and full-time pain in the ass. He has secrets of his own for Callie to unravel. What they don’t know is that the future of Eirensae lies with them, and the once peaceful city is about to become a battleground for power.

 

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be posting tidbits from the story, character bios and interviews, and you can expect beautiful cover reveal to happen in March.

 

Interested in getting on board? I’m looking for people to review ARC’s of Reflection Pond and participate in the cover reveal and release day celebration. Leave your info below or shoot me an email: Kacey.Vanderkarr (at) gmail.com.

 

All the best,

Kacey

REVIEW: TEN TINY BREATHS BY K.A. TUCKER

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

I really, really wanted to like this book so I’m going to try to be as constructive as possible. Ten Tiny Breaths is the very first “new adult” book I’ve read. I’ve kind of avoided the genre since it became a thing because I was worried I’d be disappointed. Sadly, I was right. Now, I know that’s a lot of pressure to put on a book, and I’m not going to judge the entire genre based on one book, however, if every new adult book focuses on sex so much, I’m probably out.

Also, the main character and I share a name, “Kacey.” This book is in first person present tense. Let me just tell you how awkward that was to read. But, overall, I guess the book did its job, because I was incensed enough to write a review.

So, here we go.

Ten Tiny Breaths focuses on the lives of Kacey and Livie Cleary as they recover from their broken past. They move from Grand Rapids to Miami to start a new life for themselves. Kacey is 20, with a hard exterior and a broken heart. Livie is the opposite of Kacey, at 15, she’s warm and outgoing. They complement each other as much as they contradict one another.

Kacey takes a job as a waitress at a local strip joint while Livie goes to high school.

Enter the bad boy next door, Trent. He’s sexy, he rides a motorcycle, he’s basically the hero you want to see shirtless on every page of the twelve month calendar. I liked Trent a whole lot. He was the ideal mix of sensitivity and sexuality that you want to see in a male protagonist (but you never seem to find in real life!).

As the story unfolds, we learn the Kacey lost her family, her boyfriend, and her best friend in a horrific car crash. Kacey was in the middle in the back seat, and was forced to listen to her mother take her last breath and hold her dead boyfriend’s hand until the cops could cut her out of the vehicle hours later. The author did really well painting the picture of horror that Kacey experienced as well as the PTSD she suffered afterward. Kacey dabbled in drugs and alcohol and sex, seeking to numb herself from all the pain.

Here’s where I started not liking the story.

As soon as the reader finds out that someone in the drunk driver’s car lived, (spoiler) I knew it was Trent. I suspected it was Trent in the first few chapters when the landlord muses about how he got two rentals by email back to back. It was so glaringly obvious that I spent 90% of the book just waiting for him to be outed. Of course, the author did lots of things to divert attention away from him. His name is changed. He questions Kacey about the accident, about the guy who survived. His parents live in Rochester, New York, not Grand Rapids, Michigan. Still, I caught on way too quickly to be satisfied by the explosive ending I was promised. Maybe it’s the author in me.

There was too much sex for me, and not enough story. I know that sounds…wrong, since I think they only technically have sex twice in the book. However, Kacey spends an enormous amount of time pondering how much Trent turns her on. There’s a lot of dry humping and groping. I just…I wasn’t impressed. I felt like it took away from the story instead of adding to it. It made the story about sex, when it was supposed to be a sweet story about empathy and forgiveness. There’s a particular scene that really bothered me. When they have sex for the first time, Kacey says that Trent completes her as he enters her (or makes her whole, or something like that). Seriously? I want to throw up. I would’ve been so much more impressed if Kacey had found another way to be complete…which she does by the end of the book. Her dependence on Trent to make her whole made me sad. I wish she could’ve found a way to face her PTSD that didn’t involve fucking her neighbor. That’s right. I said it.

There were a LOT of things I really liked in this book. Kacey is a badass. She’s trained hardcore as a kick boxer and spends a lot of the book running around hitting guys. She doesn’t take any shit. From anyone. She’s fiercely loyal to her sister and the new friends they make in Miami. As a character, I think she’s well rounded and believable. (Even if her guy dependence makes me sad for her.) I think the author did a good job of fighting stereotypes, with the strip club providing an interesting backdrop for Kacey to make her new start. I like that there’s room for characters to surprise you, especially when they come off a little rough around the edges at the beginning.

I think this book had the potential to be very sweet and heartwarming. There seems to be a “bar” set for new adult. It’s young adult, except with pages and pages of sex (which apparently isn’t allowed in YA). I think I could grow to like this genre, once it realizes that it doesn’t have to prove anything by pushing sex in the reader’s face. I would’ve been tons more satisfied if there had been a build up to the sex, instead of having hormones raging on almost every page. I don’t want porn. I want a story. Ten Tiny Breaths was almost there, but just fell short of hitting me in the feels.

3 Stars

IS HAPPILY EVER AFTER NECESSARY?

I’m up to my neck in my latest rewrite and it’s got me thinking. What do readers REALLY think about happily ever after (HEA)? What are the rules of the classic HEA? What about a happy for now (HFN)? How do readers feel about an unhappy ending?

 

I did a quick poll of my Facebook and Twitter followers, and the answers may surprise you. (Or not, that was my blatantly obvious attempt at suspense.) The HEA may not be as necessary as we think, and readers want, what’s this? An ending that makes them think? Who knew?!

 

Warning! There are spoilers from Allegiant in the next paragraphs.

 

Sara says, “I don’t like when it feels unnecessary to the story. Romeo and Juliet needed that ending… I just finished the divergent series… And I was not a fan of the ending…”

 

Me neither, Sara. What is it about killing off a main character that makes us so angry? Especially when we spent three books growing to love the absolutely kick ass Tris. While Veronica Roth promises she wrote the ending she saw for the story, I have to wonder, how could she put her characters through all that turmoil just to let her die? It hardly seems fair or necessary. Sorry, Ms. Roth. I think you’re fantastic, but we’ll never see eye to eye on this.

 

Jacci says, “I don’t like them because they ARE like real life. Some people read to escape to a “happier place” than what their life is about.”

 

I’m down with this, but it kind of limits the genre of books you can read. And…what about that dreaded, unexpected unhappy ending? Sometimes they take you by surprise (see previous rant about Allegiant). Sometimes you go into a book expecting a character to die, why hello, every John Green book ever written. Sometimes the author gives you the heads up, thanks Cassandra Clare. And sometimes, you know EVERYONE’S gonna die.

 

Lana says, “If it’s an unhappy ending in the first book, then it’s really not necessarily an unhappy ending. So long as you don’t continue these unhappy endings in all of the books! Because then you would be Game of Thrones.”

 

I’m about a quarter of the way through A Clash of Kings by good old George RR Martin and I already know not to get attached to anyone. Spoiler alert: Everyone dies. Don’t believe me? Behold the series, with every death tabbed.

 

It seems closure is important:

 

Angela says, “I would prefer happy endings, but if they are not necessarily happy but at the end I feel like I had closure, then I’m okay with it. If it’s for the best, you must do what is needed!”

 

Leah says, “First book, ok, overall, not a fan. There’s Harry Potter where everything was resolved, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it happy. We lost a lot of good characters in the fight for peace. I was good with the closure.”

 

Of course, we had to bring up Harry Potter. I’ll admit, while it was a semi-happy ending, half of the characters died. Damn, there’s another spoiler. Sorry. I’m fifty-fifty on the end of Harry Potter, only because I didn’t even care about any of the characters until the end of the fourth book. I wasn’t ready for them to die yet. And, she didn’t kill any of the main three characters, so, can we really count it as unhappy? Harry got Ginny. Ron got Hermione. Good won. Sounds pretty darn happy to me.

 

Jeff says, “If the ending is unhappy because that’s just the way the story was going to go, that’s fine. If the ending is unhappy because the author just decided to be mean spirited, then no. I’ve seen stories end where everything went to crap at the last minute for no discernible reason, and I hate it.”

 

A mean spirited author? Well…I’ve never! I have to agree with Jeff on this point. Some writers employ the “I’m God, therefore, this can happen,” approach. Need your character to fly? Suddenly they have powers. Need them to turn invisible? They amazingly discover this ability. Same thing goes for endings. If you can’t give me a legitimate reason…I’m probably not going to buy it. (Want an example of this? Read anything by Alyson Noel.)

 

Kristin says, “First of the series = good story telling. You’ve sucked the reader into an unhappy ending and now you HAVE to read the next book, because naturally we secretly want resolution.

And in the case of a single novel with an unhappy or uncomfortable ending…… Sometimes the moral of the story is the hard lesson we take away from the book. Maybe the death or catastrophe needs to happen so that the character learns something, or the reader learns something. I like a variety. Some happy, some not.”

 

Yes. Yes to this so much. Want a perfect example of this? Read The Fault in our Stars by John Green. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. If something makes you uncomfortable, then we’re probably headed in the right direction.

 

Pat says, “I’m thinking of Grapes of Wrath . . . a happy ending would negate the whole premise of the novel. Some people read for entertainment only – they read the same romance novel a hundred times (only the names and a few details are changed) – they know how it will end, and like it that way. I want the ‘end’ of a novel to work – it’s great when it’s happy, but not always necessary or ‘good’ for the reader.”

 

You mean it’s not okay to be oblivious to things like pain and suffering? This is a novel idea (pun intended).

 

Lastly, we go to Twitter for my favorite response.

 

Kevin Moore says, “I feel happy endings are the end for characters. Endings with a bit of disarray let characters live on in the mind”

 

Right on, Kevin, right on. I mean, who watched Inception? Who is still wondering if that damn top is still spinning?

 

So, what’s the verdict?

 

It seems to me that it comes down to planning, plotting, and weaving the perfect story. The ending may be awful, but if it’s necessary, go for it. Now, hold on a minute, don’t be killing off characters for sport (also don’t randomly give them magical powers), you must have reasons. And these reasons the reader must understand.

 

What say you, readership? Do you like HEA, HFN, or the necessary unhappy ending? Sound off below!

 

All the best,

Kacey

REVIEW AND GUEST POST: TWISTED BY HOLLY HOOK

Sixteen-year-old Allie has always been fascinated by storms. So instead of spending her summer break sitting around on the beach, she takes the vacation she’s always wanted.

Tornado chasing.

Allie meets her dream of seeing a tornado. But her dream turns to a nightmare, and she winds up in the middle of a strange ritual that leaves her shocked. When she returns home, something’s different…and it’s her. Allie’s become something powerful, dangerous, and terrifying—and there’s no way to stop it or protect the ones she loves.

With her best friend, Tommy, Allie must return to the plains, find her tormentors, and figure out a cure. But others have their own plans for her and her new abilities. Allie becomes a pawn in a battle to save others from her fate…or to destroy them.

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW! There’s something to be said for an original idea, and that thing is: WOOHOO!! Just when you thought the fantasy genre was full up with the vampires and the werewolves and the fairies…we get a girl who turns into a tornado. Yes, you read that correctly. She literally turns into a tornado. Talk about a bad hair day, am I right?

Allie’s dream vacation goes from awesome to oh-my-god in the matter of a few minutes. One second, she’s tornado chasing, the next she’s part of some bizarre ritual where a tornado embeds itself into her chest. Just when she thinks the worst is over, a storm blows in and Allie blows away with it, in the form of a monster tornado.

And she’s not alone.

What ensues is a horrible mystery of epic proportions. Allie, along with her best friend Tommy, are thrust into a world where turning into a tornado is the norm. However, there’s a new force in town, and Allie’s transformation is only the beginning. If Allie and Tommy can’t stop the Deathwind, soon the entire town will be tornadoes.

Filled with more turns than an eighties perm, Twisted will take you on a wild, windy ride that doesn’t let up until the very last page.

My favorite thing about Holly’s writing is her spot on teenage dialogue.It seems these days that all stories are “aging” their teenagers to sound like adults. Holly’s dialogue is refreshingly on point and hilarious.

My review? 5 Stars for the originality, dialogue, and downright fun of this story.

Because I have those writerly connections, I caught up with Holly and asked her what is the most difficult thing about writing teenage fantasy. Here’s Holly’s response:

I’ve written young adult fantasy for several years now.  I think the biggest challenge about writing young adult fantasy isn’t so much the fantasy part, which I’ve never really struggled with, but with writing believable young adults.  There are just so many things you have to nail: are their emotions accurate for the situations they’re in?  Do they sound exactly their age?  Does their dialogue sound like that of 16-year-olds?  I think the hardest thing for me to get down is the characters’ relationships with each other, since during the teen years they’re so dynamic and subject to change.  If you don’t make your characters believable, then the fantasy part of your story won’t be believable, either.  And not to mention, you have to make sure you keep your slang modern and up-to-date.  Using slang from the eighties simply isn’t going to work unless your story takes place in that time period.

That’s all for today, kids. Take a look at Twisted by Holly Hook. While you’re at it, visit Holly’s blog. She’s all about freebies and sneak peeks, which I know we all appreciate. You can also catch up with her on Goodreads and Twitter.

All the best,
Kacey

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2014

I tried to write a witty introduction to this post. Maybe my brain is fried from the manuscript I just finished (literally five minutes ago) or maybe I used up all my wit in 2013. Perhaps it’s best if we just get to the point!

2014!

What is happening?

Drum roll please. Here is the Officially Unofficial List of THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2014. (In no particular order.) It’s a YA list. I know this doesn’t shock any of you.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

May 2014

Everyone who knows ANYTHING about me knows that I’m obsessed with Cassandra Clare. Coming up in 2014, we will finally find out WHICH MAIN CHARACTER WILL DIE. Thanks for that hint, Cassie. It’s given me an ulcer for a year and half now.

Erchomai, Sebastian had said. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

Want my guesses? Magnus, no, Alec, no…Simon? For the love of glitter, let’s just kill Jocelyn. Luke can do better, anyway.

Divergent

The Movie, March 21, 2014

Holy muscles, Batman. Have you seen Theo James as Four? HOLY MUSCLES. (Wow. I think I just had a fangirl moment.) This book rocked my world when it came out. I might have been quoted saying, “This may be the best book I’ve ever read.”

Since then, I’ve had a bipolor relationship with Veronica Roth, the author. While I still love her for creating this beautifully tragic world, I still have sleepless night over Allegiant. This is one of those times that I hope the movie industry takes artistic license and changes the story line. I’ll keep it spoiler free, folks. Just for you.

Divergent is an emotional roller coaster that I can’t wait to experience in theaters!

Beatrice Prior, a teenager with a special mind, finds her life threatened when an authoritarian leader seeks to exterminate her kind in her effort to seize control of their divided society.

 

The Fault in Our Stars

The Movie, June 6, 2014

Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort must’ve won the lottery to not only get to be in Divergent (as brother and sister) but also appear in The Fault in Our Stars as the tragically doomed Hazel and Augustus.

This book. Where do I even begin?

I reviewed it. (There are spoilers in that review, by the way.) Oh thank goodness I don’t have to go over it again. This book TORE me to SHREDS like I’LL NEVER EVER EVER EVER BE THE SAME.

Thanks, John Green. (I seriously love you. Call me.)

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel’s other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

The Maze Runner

The Movie, September 19, 2014

This is going to be awesome. This series is unique, from beginning to end. I can’t wait to see how they pull it off.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, young Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they’re all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow “runners” for a shot at escape.

 

Extraction by Stephanie Diaz

July 22, 2014

WAAHHHHH! The cover for this book hasn’t released yet. Suffice it to say that I’ve read some of Steph’s work and she is FANTASTIC. Look out YA, you don’t know what’s coming!

Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves Promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life.

What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon’s lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet’s leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too.

Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don’t want her running—they want her subdued.

With urgent writing, fluid dialogue, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Extraction is a page-turning, gripping read, sure to entertain lovers of Hunger Games and Ender’s Game and leave them breathless for more.

Well, that’s it guys. The Completely Incomplete List of THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2014.

IT’S READ TUESDAY!

My good friend RLL is participating in an exciting event called READ TUESDAY, which is taking place today, December 10th. Basically, this event is a HUGE SALE on our favorite thing: BOOKS! Go ahead and click on the image above to be taken to the READ TUESDAY site. You don’t want to miss out on this HUGE EVENT!

In honor of the event, RLL has been circling blogs, answering some very personal questions in that alluring Scottish accent of his. And while I haven’t had time to reciprocate and answer these questions myself (yet…*cough* work *cough* Nano *cough* winterguard *cough* Christmas), I’m happy to host him on my blog. And let’s be honest, since Antithesis came out, I’ve kind of gone into radio silence (*cough* Nano), it’s something I plan on working on in the near future…if I have time.

So here’s RLL. Feel free to read the following in your BEST Scottish accent. And be sure to check out READ TUESDAY and RLL’s sale books (they’re FREE today!): Neon Gods Brought Down by Swords and WITCHES.

**

In support of READ TUESDAY, I’ve been answering twenty questions on other people’s blogs. Writers chatting to each other on writing. I’ve given different answers to my own questions here:

   STEPHANIE STAMM.

   MISHA BURNETT.

   CHARLES YALLOWITZ.

   LISA CAPEHART.

   MARGO BOND COLLINS.

   THE RANTING PAPIZILLA.

   SUZANNA WILLIAMS.

   R.B. AUSTIN.

   ANASTASIA POLLACK.

   The next set of answers will go up here shortly: E.B. BLACK.

 

READ TUESDAY is a winter book sale taking place on the 10th of December 2013 – the inaugural sale. Get out there and find some bargains on the day. Spread the joy of reading and writing.

 

Time for some alternative answers…where possible. It’s getting tougher to answer these same questions…

 

1. Fire rages in your house. Everyone is safe, but you. You decide to smash through the window, shielding your face with a book. What is the book?

 

Unreliable Memoirs, by Clive James. If you are going to die, die laughing.

 

2. Asleep in your rebuilt house, you dream of meeting a dead author. But not in a creepy stalkerish way, so you shoo Mr Poe out of the kitchen. Instead, you sit down and have cake with which dead author?

 

Rather unsporting of me I know, but I feel like naming a writer yet-living – just to move that writer over to the dead list for the purposes of this answer. And then I’d have words.

 

3. Would you name six essential items for writers? If, you know, cornered and threatened with torture.

 

In no particular order. A weak floor. Untied shoelace. Shark in a bathtub. A pen, filched from my breast-pocket and held in my mouth. That old stand-by, a blown fuse. A woman with acute hearing.

   As the torturer enters the room, the fuse blows. I spy my chance and expel the pen from my mouth. It clatters to the edge of the weak floor. My torturer slips on the pen and then trips on his untied shoelace. The torturer’s impact with the weak-spot sends him falling into the waiting bathtub.

   A woman with acute hearing notices the crash and that scream, and it is she who rushed to my rescue. Shark and bathtub constitute one item for the purposes of this narrative. The water is thrown in, free.

 

4. Who’d win in a fight between Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster? If, you know, you were writing that scene.

 

Fiction is the real winner here. That’s a rubbish answer. Hulk SMASH!

 

5. It’s the end of a long and tiring day. You are still writing a scene. Do you see it through to the end, even though matchsticks prop your eyelids open, or do you sleep on it and return, refreshed, to slay that literary dragon another day?

 

I press the big red button that does all my writing.

 

6. You must introduce a plot-twist. Evil twin or luggage mix-up?

 

My plot-twist is…that there is no plot-twist. People speak of it for years.

 

7. Let’s say you write a bunch of books featuring an amazing recurring villain. At the end of your latest story you have definitely absitively posolutely killed off the villain for all time and then some. Did you pepper your narrative with clues hinting at the chance of a villainous return in the next book?

 

Given that the villain succeeds in destroying existence…

 

8. You are at sea in a lifeboat, with the barest chance of surviving the raging storm. There’s one opportunity to save a character, drifting by this scene. Do you save the idealistic hero or the tragic villain?

 

In an appalling mix-up, I save the idealistic tragic.

 

9. It’s time to kill a much-loved character – that pesky plot intrudes. Do you just type it up, heartlessly, or are there any strange rituals to be performed before the deed is done?

 

Spaghetti, always the spaghetti. I feel that’s twice I’ve used this answer. Raspberry sauce, always the raspberry sauce…

 

10. Embarrassing typo time. I’m always typing thongs instead of things. One day, that’ll land me in trouble. Care to share any wildly embarrassing typing anecdotes? If, you know, the wrong word suddenly made something so much funnier. (My last crime against typing lay in omitting the u from Superman.)

 

Another bogus question – presumably, we type ALONE and somehow KILL the typo before that witty error reaches the pubic.

 

11. I’ve fallen out of my chair laughing at all sorts of thongs I’ve typed. Have you?

 

Well, it’s saner than falling out of a thong laughing at all sorts of chairs I’ve typed.

 

12. You take a classic literary work and update it by throwing in rocket ships. Dare you name that story? Pride and Prejudice on Mars. That kind of thing.

 

Double Indemnity: The Clone Wars.

 

13. Seen the movie. Read the book. And your preference was for?

 

Brunettes over redheads and redheads over blondes. That’s not a recipe for an orgy.

 

14. Occupational hazard of being a writer. Has a book ever fallen on your head? This may occasionally happen to non-writers, it must be said.

 

I once saw a book stalk and kill a tiger in the foothills of Fictionlandia.

 

15. Did you ever read a series of books out of sequence?

 

I read a book facing the wrong way. That came back to haunt me.

 

16. You encounter a story just as you are writing the same type of tale. Do you abandon your work, or keep going with the other one to ensure there won’t be endless similarities?

 

I’ve answered this question too often and need to lie down. Think I got away with that. Oh. Have I used this excuse twice? Damn.

 

17. Have you ever stumbled across a Much-Loved Children’s Classic™ that you’ve never heard of?

 

That unpronounceable story. If I could say it, I’d know how to spell it. No, I’ll give a proper answer. There’s that Harry Potter book sitting on my shelf, unread. You know the one. Hanging in Judgement: Religion and the Death Penalty in England from the Bloody Code to Abolition. By the Reverend Harry Potter.

 

18. You build a secret passage into your story. Where?

 

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese.

 

19. Facing the prospect of writing erotica, you decide on a racy pen-name. And that would be…

 

Margarine Loube.

 

20. On a train a fan praises your work, mistaking you for another author. What happens next?

 

I spend twenty minutes discussing his favourite book – a treatise on stained-glass windows – about which I skilfully ad-lib. He leaves the train none-the-wiser. My knowledge-base is increased.

 

 

 

Here’s a blog post on READ TUESDAY. And here’s a funny one on CONTACTING PEOPLE FOR READ TUESDAY.

 

Featured in the READ TUESDAY sale on December the 10th, 2013 – Neon Gods Brought Down by Swords and WITCHES. Both will be free on the day. Pick up copies and READ them – please don’t just store endless free books on an electronic device. If you want to support me or any of the writers mentioned above, please leave reviews. We appreciate the effort made, whether one-star or five-star.

 

Note that Margo Bond Collins won’t have a sale on the day, but she will run a December sale. R.B. Austin and E.B. Black couldn’t make the sale day either – but check out their books anyway. And Papizilla hopes to publish one day. Thanks for your time.

 

MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE.

@RLL_author.

Signpost blog, RLL AUTHOR.

Blog, REPORT FROM A FUGITIVE. (THOUGHTS ON PUBLISHING BY AN AUTHOR ON THE RUN.)

REVIEW – HOSTAGE THREE BY NICK LAKE

Hostage Three by Nick Lake

Available November 12, 2013 from Bloomsbury USA Childrens.

As Amy sets out to sea with her family on a yacht, she’s only thinking about the peaceful waters and the warm sun. But she doesn’t get either after a group of pirates seize the boat and its human cargo, and the family becomes a commodity in a highly sophisticated transaction. Hostage One is Amy’s father–the most valuable. Hostage Three is Amy, who can’t believe the nightmare she’s in. But something even stranger happens as she builds a bond with one of her captors, making it brutally clear that the price of life and its value are two very different things.

*****

Hostage Three will take you for a wild, emotional ride. Nick Lake mixes the perfect combination of desperation, love, and heartache. It’s definitely a case of someone doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

With their lives on hold, Amy, her father, and step-mother set sail for the world on their yacht. Amy is the reluctant passenger, content to listen to music and forget where she is and who she’s with. When Amy and her family become hostages, all of that changes.

As the bargaining chip of pirates from Somalia, the yacht and all of its human cargo will fetch a high price, a price, which for one of the pirates, will allow him to buy his brother’s way out of prison.

The back story of Amy and Farouz unfolds between the action scenes. There’s plenty of guns and intensity to go around. It’s such an unlikely romance between captor and hostage, innocent in a unexpected and beautiful way.

Amy is a very unlikeable character at the start. She’s bratty, she’s spoiled, but mostly, she’s unhappy. She has a lot of ghosts following her around and her father’s inattentiveness leaves her cold and lonely.

Farouz became a pirate because he had no other choice. Somalia is not a forgiving place. After his parents are killed and his brother is imprisoned, he turns to piracy to raise the money to free his brother. Farouz’s story is heartbreaking, and even though he’s a pirate and he does terrible things, I can understand why Amy would sympathize with him. I found myself rooting for the bad guys.

Amy and Farouz’s romance develops slowly and is filled with uncertainty. Though it’s clear Farouz cares for Amy, he’s also a pirate who has sworn to do his job. Refusing could mean his execution.

I found Hostage Three unique and heartbreaking. It tests the limits of trust and love. It shows that even good people do bad things, but that doesn’t necessarily make them bad people. What I loved about this book was that it was unapologetic. Hard situations are described, nothing horrible is skirted.

The action and suspense make Hostage Three unputdownable. The carefully crafted relationships make it unforgettable.

This book will haunt me well into the future.

Rating: 5 GIANT Stars

ANTITHESIS REVIEWS

Did you pick up a copy of Antithesis yet? There’s been tons of feedback and lots of discussion over the “mysterious” blurb. Not sure if Antithesis is for you? The blog tour just wrapped up and here’s what other people are saying:

http://www.supportivebusinessmums.co.uk/best-seller-in-the-making-young-adult-paranormal-romance-by-kacimari-win-books/

Ces: “This book grabbed my interest at the start and kept tight hold tugging me along for a hard to put down read.”

“…it’s an emotional blast till the very end with lots of twists and turns. Tick for steamy scenes, Tick for emotional scenes, Tick for action, Tick for drama, lots of Ticks and Stars for Antithesis.”

http://distancebookclub.blogspot.com/2013/08/antithesis-book-tour-review-giveaway.html?spref=tw

Josie: “Gavyn is such a sassy-pants, strong but cynical girl with a major chip on her shoulder…”

“Filled with unexpected twists and turns and swoon-worthy moments, Antithesis is unlike the other “YA sci-fi romances” you will find out there.”

http://caughtinasnyderwebb.blogspot.com/2013/08/antithesis-review-giveaway-heroine-with.html

Ryan: “Gavyn is dorky and not very confident. She was born with only one arm which is a little hard on her sometimes. Her personality was pretty cute. Liam is sort of a cocky mess. He made me laugh sometimes and for that, he is okay with me.” 

http://we-do-write.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-antithesis-by-kacey-vanderkarr.html?spref=tw

Sandra:  “Vanderkarr’s novel demonstrates a surprising layering of the intimately familiar and mundane with advanced technologies, surreal landscapes, and the clinically macabre, in a story which has left me waking from dreams wondering for a moment if maybe I really am just glimpsing other realities, just as real as this one.”

http://cicistheories.com/2013/08/antithesis/

Cici: ”I really liked how Gavyn embraced herself.  She was who she was, no limits, no excuses.  I believe it really sends a strong message about what it really takes to be a true ‘hero’.  I also really appreciated how right from the start, Liam was not afraid nor intimidated by her.  I don’t recall a story that had such a strong main character like Gavyn.  Truly a first read for me.”

“If you are looking for a captivating, unique read, ANTITHESIS should definitely be on the top of your list.”

http://mylibraryinthemaking.blogspot.com/2013/08/blog-tour-book-review-giveaway_20.html

Kazhy: “It’s easy to find swoon-worthy boys in books, but swoon-worthy couples? Nuh-uh. These two were so hilarious and awkward yet still sexy and sweet together. I may have snorted and giggled a lot.Gavyn and Liam’s crazy adventure made for a fast-paced, unputdownable read.”

http://thebookbabesreads.blogspot.com/2013/08/blog-tour-review-giveaway-antithesis-by.html?spref=tw

Megan: “…she [Gavyn] deserves to be seen for who she is, because she totally kicks ass. Even if she does puke afterwards.”

“All in all, Antithesis was a fun, philosophically challenging read for me.”

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the tour and took the time to read and review Antithesis. If you would like to pick up Antithesis, you can get it on Amazon in both paperback and digital format. Add it on Goodreads.

Questions or comments? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an email: kacey.vanderkarr (at) gmail (dot) com.

All the best,

Kacey

MIRA E. by RLL

Today I’m featuring my good friend RLL and his recently published, Mira E. Take a look!

*

REPORT FROM A FUGITIVE. Welcome to my mini-self-publishing imprint for collected blog posts. These posts are bundled with fiction. Each volume contains a novel running to at least 75,000 words. Blog material runs to at least 30,000 words.

*

 VOLUME 1. MIRA E.

 I am known for my pyrotechnic ways. Fire is my friend. Though I have a long history of fire-raising, flame-creation, incinerating behaviour, and combustible mischievousness, I admit to being shielded by the fascist pig cop conspiracy at the heart of organised cop-robber crime in the parish.

  

This collusion with the law was my shield. If you wanted a place torched for the insurance, no questions asked, I was the man. And if you wanted a place torched so the owners were under no illusions over the solid wisdom of coughing up folding green, hell, that could be arranged for a fee also.

   Outside the police jurisdiction in which I operated as a state-sanctioned arsonist, I murdered men and women who fell into my clutches. Acid was my stock-in-trade. I like to burn, whether by fiery means or foul – and acid is most definitely foul.

   Lately I’ve killed too many. An orgy of destruction could never sate my flame-filled lust.

 *

 Marisol waited for the cruisers to finish their wheel-spinning display in the small field next door.

   This pointless chase was on again.

   Grass-stained white sneakers faced the country cop cars. Marisol sensed a greening of her clothes in the immediate future. Hands on hips, breathless, she looked to her ankles for comfort. No luck. Grass and mud danced a tango across her socks. And over the lower half of her faded blue jeans. Her white short-sleeved T-shirt was in for a beating, then. Should have bought the green one, after all.

   She tossed her head, a retort to the approaching bulls, and wondered how much of her elbow-length black hair would stain green. The not-iron symbol at her throat jiggled on its leather thong. Two of the five points said hello to her skin as the starfish began a pirouette.

 *

 Zeke, slumping, pasted another body-dump story into his scrapbook with the loving care of someone who felt deeply for dead strangers. He sat back and popped the last square of white chocolate into his teeth. The ration rebounded and landed on the story of a woman found in shrubbery. Woman. Girl, really. Not much older than the crime-obsessed Zeke.

   He placed the chocolate inside his mouth, on his dry tongue, and let the food melt as he read the incomplete jigsaw. Detectives had high hopes. There were strong leads. High hopes wouldn’t bring the woman back to life. Girl, really.

   “Zeke.”

   This was his informal mother, who detested all maternal appellations with the sideswipe that appellation is not a mountain range.

   “We’re doing the cheese thing.”

   “Not fondue.”

   “Hell no. Scrapbook?”

   “The latest news. They think she might be Miriam, two towns over. The one who ran off.”

   “Surely they’d know.”

   “Yeah, I guess. They’ll want to let her parents know for sure, before it’s splashed all over the papers. Though if you read between the lines of what this journalist says…”

   “It’s pretty obvious. Well, don’t get too caught up in it.”

   “You said that about the President.”

   “He’s gone now, Zeke. We have a new President.”

   “Don’t get too caught up in the new President’s business either?”

   “After he just pardoned the last guy? I don’t see that leading to an election result worth mentioning.”

   “Okay. I’ll do the cheese thing. And I’ll still go around saying I like President Nixon.”

   “Not my favourite cake on the stand. Still, you have different tastes.”

 *

 An inquisitive young guy stumbles on an entirely different conspiracy in post-Watergate America. No one can find Mira E. Everyone wants to. As the decades unfurl, the real truth about aliens never quite comes out. Too many competing parties with conflicting interests see to that.

 190,000 words, plus notes. Previously-published blog posts account for 41,000 words, and the novel runs to 149,000 words.

SEE THE FIRST CHAPTER HERE.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON  KINDLE HERE.

 @RLL_author.

 Signpost blog, RLL AUTHOR.

 Blog, REPORT FROM A FUGITIVE. (THOUGHTS ON PUBLISHING BY AN AUTHOR ON THE RUN.) See the HALLOWE’EN INAUGURATION page for a free story – The Chalice in the Snow. Also available – TWICE AROUND THE LIGHTHOUSE. A complete Doctor Who novel, released as fan fiction on my blog.

 Author of…

 Neon Gods Brought Down by Swords.

 INCOMPLETE UNCOLLECTED SHORT WORKS.

 LYGHTNYNG STRYKES.

 REPORT FROM A FUGITIVE SERIES…

 REPORT FROM A FUGITIVE. VOLUME 1. MIRA E.

 And in the FICTION FACTORY line…

 THE MADONNA GAMBIT.

 WITCHES.

 WEREWOLVES.

 INSANITY.

 VAMPIRES.

 All for Amazon Kindle.