Margo Kelly's Blog, page 44

Cover Reveal: Shawna Romkey's THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

I'm happy to help author, Shawna Romkey, share her brand new cover for:

The Devil Made Me Do ItBook Two: Speak of the Devil seriesBy Shawna Romkey



 
Coming July 1  
Lily is working with the angels to stifle the last of the demon outbreaks and to figure out how to stop the Silence of God, so life can get back to boring normality. But all hell breaks loose when she’s stolen from school and brought face to face with the devil himself. Lily has to find her way back home to Luc, crack the prophecy that breaks the curse silencing God, and figure out how she and Luc can ever really be together; but Lucifer has other plans for her that don’t include her ever getting out of Hell in tact.
 
   
Shawna Romkey, teacher by day, writer by night (or day or whenever anyone leaves her alone long enough to get some work done). Bestselling YA / NA paranormal author of Speak of the Devil. The second in the series, The Devil Made Me Do It, will release July 1.
 
Shawna is from Kansas City, Missouri, but resides in Nova Scotia in a house by the sea with her husband, two sons, and currently two dogs but that’s subject to change depending on the local homeless dog population.
 
For more info, check out her website at www.shawnaromkey.com. 
 

Cover Reveal & Giveaway!

   To celebrate the cover reveal for Who R U Really? I'm giving away TWO Advance Reader Copies of the book! Scroll down to fill out the entry form; contest ends Sunday, May 11, 2014, and winners will be announced Monday, May 12, 2014. 
WHO R U REALLY?by Margo KellyMerit Press -- September 18, 2014
 Description: 
Thea's overprotective parents are driving her insane. They invade her privacy, ask too many questions, and restrict her online time so severely that Thea feels she has no life at all. When she discovers a new role-playing game online, Thea breaks the rules by staying up late to play. She's living a double life: on one hand, the obedient daughter; on the other, a girl slipping deeper into darkness. In the world of the game, Thea falls under the spell of Kit, an older boy whose smarts and savvy can't defeat his loneliness and near-suicidal despair. As Kit draws soft-hearted Thea into his drama, she creates a full plate of cover stories for her parents and then even her friends. 
Soon, Thea is all alone in the dark world with Kit, who worries her more and more, but also seems to be the only person who really "gets" her. Is he frightening, the way he seems sometimes, or only terribly sad? Should Thea fear Kit, or pity him? And now, Kit wants to come out of the screen and bring Thea into his real-life world. As much as she suspects that this is wrong, Thea is powerless to resist Kit's allure, and hurtles toward the same dark fate her parents feared most. Ripped from a true-life story of Internet stalking, Who R U Really? will excite you and scare you, as Thea's life spins out of her control. 
About the Author: 
Margo Kelly is a native of the Northwest and currently resides in Idaho. A veteran public speaker, Margo is now actively pursuing her love of writing. Who R U Really? is her debut novel and will be published by Merit Press in September 2014. Margo welcomes opportunities to speak to youth groups, library groups, and book clubs. 
Links:GoodreadsTwitterFacebook
 Available for Pre-Order:Barnes& Noble Amazon

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Book Review: THE ARCHIVED

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I LOVED this book! I kept thinking about it for days after I'd finished it. Usually, I struggle with books written in present tense, but this one was so well constructed that I forgot about the grammar and just fell into the story. I enjoyed the originality of the plot ... which is saying a lot because I picked this book up right after reading THE GIVER which was also about keeping the histories of people. However, THE ARCHIVED was unique and intriguing in its own original way. If you are a fan of young adult books, you'll most likely enjoy this one. I don't recall any harsh language or sex scenes, but there is definitely violence in this story ... girl-kicking-butt kind of violence ... and I always love it when a girl can fight for herself. ;)



View all my reviews

Book Review: HOW TO WRITE ANYTHING

How to Write Anything: A Complete Guide by Laura Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


WOW! What an amazing reference book! This book is huge with quality information on writing everything from a note to leave on a windshield to a business speech. And there are examples of what NOT to write ... "To the Moron in the Mazda -- Nice alliteration but not likely to encourage cooperation" (page 173).

There are helpful lists of things to do and not to do. There are tips for writing in high school, college, the work force, and everyday life.

This would make an excellent gift for a graduating high school senior or a gift for anyone who enjoys writing.

I highly recommend it.



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Book Review: HOW TO WRITE A MEMOIR IN 30 DAYS

How to Write a Memoir in 30 Days: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating and Publishing Your Personal Story by Roberta PHD Temes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a great book for beginning writers. It includes daily prompts, examples, and grammar tips.

However ... while there are many excellent exercises in this book to help you process your ideas, I'm quite skeptical about the concept of writing an entire memoir in thirty days. Maybe you could finish a rough draft, but it's misleading to suggest that in a mere thirty days you'll be ready to pursue publication.

Temes writes on page 11, "Do not worry about your ability as a writer. Later on, toward the end of the thirty days, you will quickly and easily learn how to polish your writing."

I agree that for a first draft you should not worry about the quality of your writing, but I disagree that polishing is quick or easy. Learning to polish your writing is a time consuming and often challenging task. It's one I love, and I hope to do it for the rest of my life, but it is not quick or necessarily easy ... for me at least.

If you take into account that you most likely will NOT finish your memoir in thirty days, you can use this book as a guide to brainstorm through your life stories. This would make an excellent gift book for someone who loves journaling or someone who is ready to document their life for their children.

As Temes writes in the introduction, "They may not yet realize it, but your children and their children and grandchildren may one day want to know about you -- your opinions, your ideas."

If this describes you and your purpose behind writing, then this would be a great book for you!







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BLOOD OF A MERMAID by Katie O'Sullivan

BLOOD OF A MERMAID
By Katie O’Sullivan
Coming from Crescent Moon Press, May 2014


About the Book:


Mermaid blood.

When Shea MacNamara fell into the ocean for the first time, he found he could breathe underwater. The son of a mermaid, the sea is in his blood. Literally. The best part of Shea’s new life? His girlfriend Kae, who also happens to be a beautiful mermaid.
But darkness lurks under the sea. When evil mermen kidnap Kae, the king reminds Shea that having royal blood means making tough choices.
An Arctic dungeon, a fiery plane crash, the legendary halls of Atlantis…and narwhals?
Having mermaid blood just got a lot more complicated. 
 
 

About the Author:
Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and writes romance for young adults and the young at heart. Her editing column, “The Write Way,” appears in the Literary Women section of CapeWomenOnline magazine.
Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes. Her YA mermaid series begins in Nantucket Sound with SON OF A MERMAID, and continues the undersea adventures with BLOOD OF A MERMAID, coming from Crescent Moon Press in May 2014. Her latest contemporary romance from The Wild Rose Press is MY KIND OF CRAZY, a Cape Cod story of second chances and starting over.

Website: www.katie-osullivan.comBlog: http://katieosullivan.blogspot.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatieOSullivanTwitter: https://twitter.com/OkatieOGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3326303.Katie_O_SullivanAmazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/katieosullivan

Z is for Zone

  
So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


Z is for ZONE

No, I'm not talking about the "zone" writer's get into when they're on a roll, and no, I'm not talking about that famous diet. Instead, I want to share with you another awesome blog resource: Kill ZONE

From the website, "The Kill Zone is the musings of 11 top authors covering topics that inspire, anger, amuse, and entertain us. Each day, we’ll share what goes on inside our heads as we observe and write about the world around us. The Kill Zone is a doorway into the thriller and mystery writer’s mind."

And on that happy note ... we've made it to the end of the A to Z Challenge. I hope you've found the resources from this month's postings helpful. I plan to catch a few ZZZZZzzzzz's tomorrow. ;)

Happy writing.

Y is for YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES

 
So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


Y is for YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES by Deborah Halverson

Yeah, yeah, the title of the book is actually: WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES, but I needed to make it fit in my A to Z list. ;)

If you are writing for the YA market, this is a definite must have. Plus, regardless of the market or genre you are writing for, this book has the best section on VOICE that I've ever read anywhere. "Voice" is such an elusive concept, but Deborah Halverson gives you concrete steps to take to improve the "voice" in your writing. I highly recommend this book.

X is for eXactly write

 
So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


X is for eXactly write (uh, yeah, pun intended)

Okay, we're coming down the final stretch, and OH. MY. Gosh. This is freaking hilarious ... CLICK HERE - trust me - YOU WON'T REGRET IT ... This awesome link gets the whole writing eXperience eXactly write. ;)

  

W is for Writer Unboxed

 
So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


W is for Writer Unboxed

Go now:  http://writerunboxed.com/    
Come back and let me know what you think in the comments. (Please do come back.)