Po(sey) Sessions

I just finished my tenth book of the year and I really loved it. While I have been enjoying a lot of what I have been reading, lately it has been all serious stuff. It was a nice change to jump into something totally fun. The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren was cute and funny from page one. Author Wendy Tolive r has filled her book with a stream of pop culture references; usually this can be touchy. But she managed finding topics that are both trendy and classic. Definitely not people of the minute who will fade in a few years. This book doesn't just rely on trends and pop culture to carry it. It is also entrenched deeply into a mythological idea. It creates the perfect blend of contemporary and classical. Allowing the storyline to be both far fetched and believable at the same time.

Young adult author Suzanne Selfors is hosting a contest. I found out about it through her website. _____________________ FORTUNE'S MAGIC FARM Two contests -- Suzanne will select four winners from Bainbridge Island and two non-Island winners IMPORTANT NOTE : Thank you for your interest in my writing contest. If you are 13 years old or older, you may freely enter the contest. Please know that I will never share personal information. It is collected only for this contest. If you are under the age of 13, you must have your parent's permission to enter my writing contest. Once you have written your essay, your parent must be the one to send the essay, with his/her contact information, not yours. Names/addresses, etc. will never be sold or shared. In Fortune's Magic Farm (coming March 1, 2009), Isabelle Fortune discovers that she has a magical power. Your writing challenge is to describe the moment when...

Tina Ferraro recently launched her 3rd young adult novel. Earlier this month I profiled her as an exemplary specimen of young adult story creator. The cover of her current book, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys , can be seen various places around her office. Also you can see just above one of the printers a shrine to herself. No, just kidding. (Or am I?) Although we later learned that Mandy Hubbard (the first Writer’s Studio participant) is not as much of a neat freak as her space implied, how is this space different from what we saw in the first Writer’s Studio ? Is there anything about this writing space that surprises you? Anything that catches your interest? Is there anything you can tell about this writer just by looking at the space? ______________________________ Tina Ferraro believes in the adage that it is never too late to have a happy childhood. Tina started writing at the age of seven, and sold her first short story following college. With three babies arr...

Perfect on Paper was a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy. Maria Murnane provides us with a light and fun read.  Honestly, it did drag a bit in the middle for me, I felt like the book couldn’t decide where it wanted to go, so there were some superfluous chapters in the middle of it for me.  But the ending more than made up for it.  I am happy to have gotten a chance to read this book. Welcome to the life of Waverly Bryson : Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right In some ways Waverly Bryson leads a dream life, though she would be quick to disagree.  One of the results reading this book had on me was making sure to appreciate the things around me, even when you just feel like complaining about them. In case you missed it , I was able to interview Ma...

After looking at the humorous Perfect Chemistry trailer , the great design of the Braless in Wonderland trailer , and the personal style of The Professors’ Wives’ Club trailer , I was curious to see what other varieties of successful trailers were out there. I found the trailer of The Dust of 100 Dogs and I found something I had never seen before. At least, not in a book trailer. The technique used in this video is called kinetic typography and I have seen them floating around YouTube, mostly using movie quotes. I think the result for a book trailer creates quite a dynamic affect. What do you think? What do you like or dislike about the trailer? __________________ Want to earn extra entries in my contest ? Email me with a link to a great trailer explaining why you like it. (Limit 3)

So. You may have heard. I am old now. One of the disadvantages of being old is that I have to buy my own gifts now. One of the advantages of getting my own gifts is that I always get what I want. And I always want books . So here they are, a selection of the books I got for myself for my birthday. (If you are reading this in a feed reader I am not sure you can actually see the awesome little widgety thing. So if you are dying of curiosity you will have to stop by the post to see.) Plus a few others Amazon wouldn’t let me add. I got 11 in total. ________________________ Despite it being my birthday, it was a slow book week for me as far as the mail goes. I only got one other book but I am excited to read it. I met this author, M.J. Sullivan through facebook and he was kind enough to send me a copy of his book when I asked for it. Technically this is a prize for being his best facebook friend. Which, clearly I am. Because generally there is no one better than me. ...

  Well, it isn’t technically morning anymore, but I have had a wonderful lazy morning.  I love that slow and easy feeling that Sunday’s bring.  Even if you are rushing around at some point, there is always a moment when you have permission to just do nothing. So far this weekend I have finished 2 books.  It is such a nice feeling because I feel like I am just in the middle of so many books. I was able to finish two young adult novels.  Unwind , which was a spectacularly written science fiction novel by Neal Shusterman.  And the very creepy audio book of Thirteen Reasons Why .  Both the book and audio format make wonderful of a dual narrator, telling the story in tandem. It is between their words and their stories that the real story emerges.  While the plot is very dark Jay Asher accomplished a genius in storytelling that some how makes everything more potable. As I sip on my coffee I am grateful to have an extra day on my weekend....