I'll Have the Usual

Ever feel like you're in a rut? Like you're eating the same thing daily? Or reading the same thing? Or writing the same thing? Sometimes "the usual" -- whatever is usual for you -- can feel very comfortable. Sometimes though, it's good for you to break out of that cycle, to do something different, to read something new...you get the drift.

As a reader, I'm in a rut. Of the 3 books I've picked up to read, I've put all 3 of them back (for one reason or another). So help me out. I'll read anything except horror.

Book #2 -- Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

Eve Levine — half-demon, black witch and devoted mother — has been dead for three years. She has a great house, an interesting love life and can't be killed again — which comes in handy when you've made as many enemies as Eve. Yes, the afterlife isn't too bad — all she needs to do is find a way to communicate with her daughter, Savannah, and she'll be happy.

But fate — or more exactly, the Fates — have other plans. Eve owes them a favor, and they've just called it in. An evil spirit called the Nix has escaped from hell. She feeds on chaos and death, and is very good at persuading people to kill for her. The Fates want Eve to hunt her down before she does any more damage, but the Nix is a dangerous enemy — previous hunters have been driven insane in the process. As if that's not problem enough, the only way to stop her is with an angel's sword. And Eve is no angel. . . .

The Book Geek Says: Of this series thus far, my favorite books have been Bitten (the first in the series) and Dime Store Magic (the third). The writing in Haunted was sharp -- something I've come to expect from Ms. Armstrong -- but as the storyline wore on, I felt certain aspects were created simply to add word count. I haven't read any books in this series in several months as I was also disappointed with Industrial Magic, so I will be once again taking a break before picking up the next series book.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

NASCAR is back! I'm not sure why I'm so thrilled by this news or why it's been on my brain since yesterday.

I come from a line of race car drivers, strictly short track (or dirt track...or bootleggers...you get the idea). My dad (God love him) bought me a cherry red 1987 special edition Trans Am (with t-tops) for my 16th birthday. I wrecked it 4 months later, but that's not the point.

Once upon a time, I was obsessed with racing, with speed, with driving to my grandmother's house through a series of curves as fast as I possibly could. Facts, minute details, qualifying speeds, towns where races were held -- I knew it. I had a favorite driver (and a couple of back-ups). I taped the races. But my favorite driver died (no, his name wasn't Earnhardt) and I moved on to other things.

For some reason, I tuned in to Fox yesterday afternoon. My mother-in-law and I watched Kelly Clarkson almost flash everyone. Then something amazing happened: my m-i-l asked me about racing. My heartbeat accelerated, my brain clicked, and I started talking. I kept talking, mentioning names and facts that had sat long unused in the recesses of my mind. It. Was. Awesome.

Now, I'm itching to write, to pull out that Earnhardt-ish book idea I told my younger brother about one evening in my driveway almost 6 years ago (the one that still makes me cry), to finish this dirt track romance currently brewing, but most importantly, I want to feel my heart pump.

With Love From Me to You

My Monday is a bit crazy, but crazy is always nice. This Monday, however, I wanted to give some advice for those of you making your way through the world of e-publishing.

Submission guidelines are your friends.

Every publishing house is different. It's true! Each has their own style guide; each has their own system that works. These differences are implimented for a reason. Same goes for submission guidelines.

I know you may be anxious. Believe me, I may have the patience of Job in real life, but when I have a submission floating around, I'm checking my email every 5.8 seconds. If such-and-such e-publisher does not accept simultaneous submissions, you should follow their rules. It's tough, yes, but waiting is the name of the game. If such-and-such publisher asks you to disclose if another publisher is considering your manuscript, do it.

Submission guidelines are posted for your convenience -- to help YOU. This is your career and it's great if a couple of publishing houses are "fighting" over you, but e-publishing is also a small world. Word (particularly negative word) spreads like wildfire.

Read the guidelines. Know the guidelines. Follow the guidelines.

Better Start Saving My $$$

After quick trips to Larissa Ione's blog then to Jaci Burton's blog then to Gena Showalter's blog then to Lara Adrian's blog then to Colleen Gleason's blog with one final stop at Meljean Brook's blog, I've discovered that May and June will be HUGE for me as a book geek. Seriously, there's a lot of books I'm jonesing for that will be released in May and June, and I'm LOVIN' every minute!!!

Anyone read this?

Edited to Add: I LOVE my public library! A copy finally came in and I snagged it. Larissa, I'll let you know what I think of it. :)


I pulled the ad from RT late last year, and have been toting it around with me. I'd like to read it but my library doesn't have it, and I'm wary of paying for trade paperbacks by authors I've never read before!

Help a book geek out, y'all!

Book #1 -- Cassandra, Lost

In my quest to read 50 books in 2007, I started with an EXCELLENT book -- Cassandra, Lost by Joanna Catherine Scott.

Based on a true story, an enchanting tale of an American woman who flees to France during the revolution, to be with the man she loved In the late 1800s Cassandra Van Pradelles, a headstrong seventeen-year-old, elopes with Benedict, a lieutenant from General Rochambeaus French army and flees from her familys plantation in Maryland to Revolutionary France. Once there they hide in his familys ruined mansion, nurse his deathly ill mother and plan their escape from the dangerous city. A chance meeting grows into a clandestine relationship for Cassandra with the young pirate Jean Lafitte, who helps them get out of war-torn Paris. After a harsh rejection by her father, they run again, this time to New Orleans. After Benedicts mysterious death, Cassandra embarks for her familys home hoping for a reunion, but the meeting never takes place. Her ship is taken by the notorious Lafitte and she disappears without a trace. Cassandra, Lost is an exploration of actions and their consequences, as well as the joys and perils of following ones heart.

This book has everything I love: romance, danger and excitement, New Orleans, and an amazing historical narrative. I cannot recommend this one enough. I wish whomever has The Road to Chapel Hill (Ms. Scott's newest, and an RT TopPick!) checked out from the library would return it already!!