Monday, January 20, 2014

Cover Reveal: Model Position by Kitsy Clare



BLURB:
For Sienna, love and art are perilous games. Is she ready to take that gamble?

Sienna is a beautiful, talented artist poised on the precipice of soaring into the glamorous, yet cutthroat Manhattan art scene.

Dave Hightower is a hooked-up, handsome heir to the hippest gallery in NYC, Gallery Hightower.
Erik is the live drawing model with his sizzling green eyes fixed only on Sienna.

Three’s a crowd, so Sienna must make a choice: date Dave and ride the fast track to landing a show at Gallery Hightower and hobnobbing with the art glitterati, or follow her heart and take a chance with Erik, the stunning male model who’s stealing her heart. But Erik has some worrisome secrets, and who in their right mind would make live modeling their career?

Dare Sienna throw away her chances of hitting it big to follow her heart?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
When Kitsy Clare isn’t creating stories on her favorite Mac Air, she teaches speculative fiction and creative writing workshops. She also loves to draw, travel, read spicy romance, sci-fi and all kinds of thrillers. She divides her time between New York City and her studio in the Catskills, where she enjoys the sounds of birds, bullfrogs and the random coyote. 
Kitsy Clare is the pen name for her new adult romance. She also writes young adult fiction using her real name, Catherine Stine. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One won finalist spots in both YA and Science Fiction in the 2013 USA Book News International Book Awards. It was also granted an Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Ruby’s Fire, the new companion novel to Fireseed One, is receiving high praise from reviewers. She’s a member of SFWA, SCBWI and CBIG. She can be found on www.catherinestine.com, www.catherinestine.blogspot.com, and https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter

Friday, January 17, 2014

Savoring Book Series as Whole

I was talking to some of my friends and they were telling me about books they have been reading. I told them I haven't read it yet, and they were stunned.

"Why haven't you read it yet?" she asked me.

"Because I like to wait until the whole series is out so I can read it straight through."

Yeah that's me. I like to wait until the whole book series is out so that I can read it straight through. Now it does sound weird, but I have been doing it for a while and it works really well for me.

Part of the reason I do that is because it takes a long time for the next book to be released and I get too anxious with all the waiting. The first time I experience that sort of impatient waiting was growing up and waiting for the next Harry Potter book to come out. Then the next book series I fell in love with was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and I also hated having to wait for the next book in the series to come out.

As I started seeking agents to query, and learn more about the business of publishing I learned why it would take about two years for a book to get published. SO now I do order the books, and pre-order the rest of the books in the series leaving them sitting on my shelves until I have all the books then I start reading the whole series. Sometimes depending on the publisher I will buy the boxed set, or I will buy the first two books in the series in paperback with the final book in hardcover.

So when my friends tell me I am behind in the books that are really good that everyone is reading, I really don't care.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Supporting Authors

A lot of people view supporting authors from a variety of ways. A lot would go to book signings, ordering bulk of their books at once, chatting with the authors on Facebook about how much they really enjoyed their book.

Here are the ways I support an author

1. Pre-Order Books
I like to pre-order books. Now I may buy the book but then I wait until I have the last book in my hands so I can read the series straight through. Some authors even have it as to where if you forward them the receipt of their book you ordered online they'll mail you autographed bookmarks, or some swag buttons.

2. Order the Hardcover or Paperback
I'm a college student so naturally my money is sucked up by the price of textbooks. Hardcover books tend to be expensive. So I end up just waiting for the paperback version to be released. Don't forget sales are everything. There have been times where the publisher has cancelled a book series because there wasn't enough sales, and they thought people weren't interested in the series.

3. Write Reviews
Review the books you've read. Now don't go on a long rampage on why you hated the book and thought it was the worst book you've ever read (believe me I've seen plenty of those) just keep your review simple, and professional as you possibly can. What you liked about the book, what you didn't like, then rate it.

4. Contact the author
Most authors are on Twitter, and really like it when a reader tells them they just bought the book, and really enjoy hearing compliments from their readers.

5. Recommend books to friends
When I read a book I really, really like I recommend it around. I love trading books with my friends which is why I like having paperback books. I swap books with my friends for the weekend.



Also in support of authors they have to do book signings. In order for them to do a book signing the bookstores have to stay open. Help keep bookstores open. For every book you order online through Amazon go buy a book at Barnes and Noble.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 




Le Cirque de Rêves is a magical circus draped in shades of black, white, and gray. It was conceived as being more refined than most circuses and was built to be housed in many rambling tents, awaiting each attendee's personal discovery of them, instead of one large tent for everything. The circus only opens at night, and it comes and goes without any announcement traveling all over the world. The main characters, Celia and Marco have been in a decades-long game of a magical duel. 

I would walk into a bookstore and see this book, especially at the book store at target. A lot of people on goodreads have read this book and really liked it so I bought it from Target. It took me a year to finish this book. Not because I thought the plot was boring, but I just loved the story so much I didn't want to finish it in a hurry because the book was truly beautiful. There are moments when the plot was just gut wrenching, while the couple who falls in love when they shouldn't. I want books like this that just make me appreciate the book. i looked at the authors website and saw that it was a series of NaNoWriMo projects. This read is amazing and I highly recommend it. This is one amazing NaNoWriMo published book. And it's been optioned for film! YAY!

Next on the Reading List

After sending out queries, and revising my work for the next #DVpit. I have been reading. Finally after weeks on my library e-book holds. I...