Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.





This was a book I had been so anxious to get my hands on, and I was very impressed with this witch book compared to the others I have been reading. It's like a historical paranormal romance.  I LOVE to read books that take place during another time in history. Cate is filled with so much conflict. The characters were just so captivating I can't stop thinking about them. I was upset at the end of the book. I really hope it continues as a full series (and maybe 2 novellas). Plus the new paperback release in in this pretty pink color!

NaNoWriMo Letter From Marissa Meyer

In my email, this is soemthing that New York Times author Marissa Meyer who in 2008 wrote her novel Cinder during NaNoWriMo and got it published.

Stars above, Fellow Novelist, you did it!

Whether you tackled the 50K challenge last November or have spent the past five years plugging away at your first draft, you now stand among the few, the proud, the somewhat mad. You wrote anovel.

If you harbor dreams of seeing that novel on the shelves of your local bookstore, then writing "The End" is the first step toward making that dream a reality. In fact, it's the most important step, and you might be surprised at how few aspiring writers ever get there.

But not you. You set out to write a novel, and that's just what you did. You toiled, you struggled, you laughed, you cried, and when it was all done, you cheered and celebrated this awesome achievement.*

Now you're ready to tackle whatever comes next. Which is, naturally, the process of revision.

There is a lot that can be said about revision. Countless magazine articles and blog posts and even entire books** have been written on this very topic. Some writers loathe revisions, while others love them. Some writers find them tedious and agonizing, while others think they hold more magic than the first draft. (I fall into the latter group, myself.) Whichever camp you belong to, the fact is that revisions are necessary. Revisions eradicate inconsistencies and fill plot holes. They increase tension and deepen characters. They bring worlds to life and make your writing sing.

So here's my advice as you embark on this exciting second leg of your noveling quest:

Take your time.

I mean it. Don't rush the revision process. Yes, I know it can be painful to pace yourself now, when you seem so very close to a finished product. Maybe you've already bookmarked the websites of your preferred literary agents, drafted your query letter, and made a list of famous authors you think might be interested in writing a blurb for your jacket. Maybe you're ready to jump in—right now!

But rushing through the revision process can not only result in a manuscript that may not be as finished as you think it is, it can also cheat you out of some of the most euphoric discoveries about your own novel. Remember when you were writing that first draft and you got an out-of-nowhere idea for such a brilliant plot twist you actually squealed out loud—prompting everyone on the bus to slooowly shift away from you?

Well, guess what. Those lightning-strike moments happen during revision, too! And they have the potential to take your novel to an entirely new place. To raise it above all those other manuscripts that cross an agent's or editor's desk every day.

So take this time to re-explore your story from the beginning. Experience every plot twist anew and ask if you can make it even more exciting, even more surprising, even more intense. Delve into the backstories and motivations of every character and question if they can be more intriguing and more insightful. Consider foreshadowing, sensory details, underlying themes, character quirks, building suspense, and subplots that tie up nice and neat at just the right time. I don't know about you, but I certainly can't keep all these things in my brain at once, which is why I work them into the story gradually, one draft at a time. Layer upon layer upon layer.

Take your time. Be patient. Experience the thrill of falling in love with your book all over again. Eventually you'll reach a point where there's nothing else you can do for your novel. You'll have written the best book you're capable of, and it will finally be ready to be sent out into the world.

Trust me, it will be worth the wait. Happy Revising, Novelists!

Marissa 

Beautiful Creatures Movie

I saw Beautiful Creatures and OMG, I think the movie is better than the book. Here's what I liked about the movie, unlike the book which was such a drag just getting through the pages and the poor characterization of the main character that we are inside their head a majority of the time, the movie gets right to the point of the story, and doesn't lag. I literally fell asleep reading the first book in the series which read like a carbon copy of Twilight. The actual novel series just really lacked characterization. I look forward to when Beautiful Creatures is going to be released on DVD.

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan's return, vowing to do whatever it takes -- even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect.  Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.





 

This is the last book in the Castor Chronicles following the love story of Ethan and Lena. At the beginning we find out The book was written in dual point of view, and I was glad that the books finally put Lena's character. It felt nice to actually read what she was thinking most of the time. I think the writing of the dual point of view would have worked out fine if the authors didn't have the point of views switched after every every one hundred pages, and if it was apparent that we were actually in different POVs the views were too similar lacking characterization. It didn't have that dynamic feel to the beginning. The beginning tends to be a little depressing. The plot became to predictable for the ending. It really takes four books just to find out who Lena's parents really are? The series really just lagged on just to keep the books going. If you are someone who has been following the series from the start you may be happy with the book, and you may or may not be happy with the series ending.