C.J. Hart's Blog, page 3

Meet Cassie Spencer part 1

Cassandra Louise Spencer Main character of The Hunted . While Cassie is a wolf fanatic to a tee (no thanks to her favourite spearmint-eyed wolfie, Seb), it's not the only thing she's obsessed with. She's mastered the art of photography and apple pie baking, and has an affinity for hazelnut lattes. She does 95% of the cooking for her and her dad (the other 5% being take-out) and still manages to have a social life and maintain straight As. Her tastes in books, movies, and music range from popular to eclectic. Her favourite band is Florence and The Machine, closely followed by Blue October; fave book series would be The Hunger Games trilogy (likes too many movies to name). And though she tries, sometimes her curiosity gets the best of her, driving her to seek out the truth. This time, it not only gets her in trouble with her father, but the Taylor, Arizona skinwalker pack as well. The pack is lethal, and when they learn that their alpha (leader) has fallen for her, they stop at nothing to make her life a living hell.
Cassie's Mum passed away from brain cancer when her daughter was just three years old. She left behind a family that never quite recovered from the loss, and a daughter who would grow up just like her--kind, insanely curious, and with the ability to bake flawlessly. The memories Cass has of her mum helps guide her as she grows up to be the strong, independent teen she becomes. While Cassie reflects on the passing of her mother and her father's betrayal, wishing she could reverse their effects, she knows that her life would be vastly different had her mum still been alive. Would she have the same friends? Would she have grown up around her godparents, the Adlers? Would she have met Seb? All she knows is that a world without Seb isn't a world she wishes to endure. >>Next week: Meet Seb part 1
>>Last week's post: Meet the cast of The Hunted

Meet the cast of The Hunted

(All photos except logos are from Pinterest) While outlining or writing a book, authors will often cast actors as their characters. It takes me a painfully long time to cast my characters, since I'm matching what they look like in my head to actors/actresses I know (and I don't know a lot of Native American actors, so casting the skinwalker pack was HARD).

I usually collect photos on a Pinterest board for each book, and when the end of March was just around the corner (and the release of The Hunted), I started to think, "If there was a movie, who would I cast as Cassie?" And, well, you know what happens when you get stuck on Pinterest...

So without further ado, here's who I cast for The Hunted!

From left to right, here's a rundown of the characters and images:
1. Seb-Martin Sensmeier
2. Logo for Roadrunner Records, where Seb works (designed by Strong Image Editing)
3. Wolf in forest--reminded me of a scene in the book where Seb is watching Cassie from the edge of the forest.
4. Kat-Kiowa Gordon
5. Couple dancing in kitchen--also reminded me of a scene from The Hunted, where Seb and Cassie are dancing in the kitchen to a Blue October song ("You Make Me Smile")
6. Ash-Eddie Spears
7. Cassie-Shailene Woodley (one of my favourite actresses!!)
8. Logo for Java Joes, where Cassie works (designed by Strong Image Editing)
9. Camera, because Cassie loves photography!

So, what do you think? Do the actors/actresses match up with your image of the characters? Let me know in the comments! :)
Follow me on Pinterest.
See where you can purchase The Hunted here.

YouTube Habits

How many of you have a favourite YouTuber that you love to watch? That you freak out over if you miss a video?

*raises hand*

Yeah, that would be me. I watch a lot of videos about books mainly (BookTubers), but in the last few months have discovered some awesome non-book related channels. I am often seen leaping out of bed in the morning to see if Alfie (PointlessBlogTV) has uploaded his daily vlog yet. Most times there's a new one up, and I will have my coffee "with him." It's something I look forward to...I don't know why. Possibly that's a strange habit. But it's something I enjoy, so it can't be that bad, right?

Anyway, here are some of my favourite YouTubers. Be sure to tell me yours in the comments! :)
PointlessBlogTV (Alfie Deyes) MoreMarcus (Marcus Butler) BookTubers: KatyTastic (Kat) Mandi Lynn Little Book Owl (Catriona)

The Hunted Release Day!

Just a quick note to say YAY!! The Hunted is now available on all platforms! :)

I'm excited, and I hope you are too. This day seemed so far off when I first signed with my publisher, Clean Teen Publishing (CTP). And even further when I finished writing the book at the end of November 2013. A lot has happened since then--including changes to the story that I feel makes the world of Cassie and Seb that much more real--and when I look back on that November, I think I'm glad I was brave enough to write it. At times, it intimidated me, because I felt the plot was so massive and intricately woven. Since I write romances for adults (under another name), this was my toughest book yet. Getting my head around all of these characters was something else--and sometimes, as writers, we're afraid we don't do a story justice. All I can say is: I really hope you enjoy The Hunted, but I know it's not for everyone.

Thanks to CTP, the street team, my friends and family, for believing in me and for helping to spread the word about my latest release! Buy Now From: E-book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Smashwords
Paperback: Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Amazon I'm doing a giveaway on my Facebook author page, so make sure you hop on over there and join in on the fun :) lots of cool swag up for grabs!

My Top Five Least Favourite Series

>>See my top ten favourite series here.

Okay, first things first, I love a good story--and even better, an AWESOME story. But you know those over-hyped books that you pick up and want to love, then just end up thinking "Eh...nothing special"? I often wonder whether it's me that's the problem--am I too picky? Or is it the mood I'm in? Everyone has differing tastes, so not everyone will love this book or that. But what is it about these books that leave me unsatisfied and cheated? (If you come up with an answer, I'd like to know...)

I seem to be collecting these "nothing special" books lately; books where the premise seems amazing, before falling flat. The disappointment is major and lasting, and may even effect the next book you read if you're thinking, "What if this one sucks, too?"

Sometimes it's the writing, the story, the characters, or everything that's off and the following list is a mixture of these. Buckle up, you may be surprised...

1) the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu
2) Anna duology (Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares) by Kendare Blake
3) the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking
4) the Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner
5) the Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver

Other Least Favourite Books (incomplete series):
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Books/Series I DNF'd (Did Not Finish):
These Broken Stars (the Starbound trilogy) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (the Mara Dyer trilogy) by Michelle Hodkin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
>>Next post: The Hunted release.

My Top Ten Favourite Series

There are a LOT of fiction books I love, though there are some super-hyped books that I thought...eh, not really living up to the buzz...
"Favourite series" was a difficult post to write, in terms of remembering--which series have I finished? Which of them did I love? Seeing as I read 105 books last year, I had to turn to my bookshelves for help. (Keep in mind, 95% of books I own are YA!)

Here they are, ordered as best as I could: 
1. The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
3. Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
4. Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
5. Slated trilogy by Teri Terry
6. The Woodlands series by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
7. Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi
8. Matched trilogy by Ally Condie
9, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Okay...so that's only nine. But there're a handful of series that I really enjoy and haven't finished quite yet.

Favourite (Currently-)Unfinished Series:
(in no order)

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
Arclight trilogy by Josin L. McQuein
The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken
Books of Faerie trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
Heirs of Chrior (trilogy?) by Cayla Kluver
Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green
The Legion series by Kami Garcia
The Raphaim series by Paula Weston
What do you think? Are any of these books your favourites, too?

>>Next week: My least favourite series (some of these may surprise you!)

My Top Ten Favourite Authors

I get asked A LOT during Facebook page takeovers who my favourite authors are, so I thought I'd write a post about them! :)

First off, this is an extremely tough thing for me to narrow down! I love a lot of authors, but which ones are my favourite? It's like trying to pick between one adorable puppy and another...but I'll give it my best shot! Okay, here we go:

1) Jack Kerouac
2) Leigh Bardugo
3) Maggie Stiefvater
4) Josin L. McQuein
5) Paula Weston
6) Kami Garcia
7) Veronica Roth
8) Michelle Paver
9) Lauren Nicolle Taylor
10) Alexandra Bracken

Honourable Mentions:
Stephenie Meyer
Teri Terry
Kelley York
John Green
Ally Condie
Sally Green (another talented Green!)
Kristin Cashore
(wow, that could go on forever ...)

Okay, I'm stopping now...
Thanks for dropping by, and I hope to see you soon!

>>Next week: My favourite fiction series!

Welcome!

Hi everyone! With the upcoming release of my YA paranormal book The Hunted, I thought it was about time I got a website! I'll be adding to it over the next few weeks, so please excuse the mess.

But there are some awesome things coming to this site very soon, I promise :)
If you'd like to know more about the book, click here.