Hickville Confessions, by Mary Karlik

(I do not own this image. Image belongs to GPK Publication LLC.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to GPK Publication LLC.)

Mary Karlik is a native Texan with an MFA. Though she lives in New Mexico now, her heart still belongs to Texas. Her book Hickville Confessions is the second book in the Hickville High series.

Ryan Quinn is new to small town life. She wants a fresh start, far from the darkness of her past, and will do anything to get it. Including joining the conservative Purity Club, a far cry from her “old” self. However, when the members of the Purity Club discover her secret, their vicious attack leaves Ryan helpless.

Good thing Justin is there to rescue her. But Justin is everything Ryan thinks she needs to avoid, harboring secrets of his own. Justin is the only one who understands Ryan, and she needs that, as the secrets of her past threaten to surface. Justin’s own secrets terrorize him, and he’s not sure he can trust Ryan with them. Will the two of them be able to overcome the shame of their past to heal for the future?

Hickville Confessions is filled with difficult issues, but the characters face them with courage and strength, becoming an example to others. The book is not light reading, but the relationships between all of the characters make it a worthwhile experience. The setting captures all the good—as well as the bad—things about living in a small town.

Is It Nap Time?

I swear, lately, my brain just seems like it’s shut down.  I’m not even asking very much of it mentally, and it’s still like “Nope.  I’m done.”  The basic desire is for sleep.  Not mental exertion.  This is not a positive thing when classes start in just under two weeks.I barely watch TV, so that isn’t distracting me. Making myself read is even a challenge, sometimes.

Any suggestions for combating a mental slump?

Left to Darkness, by Craig Saunders

(I do not own this image. Image belongs to DarkFuse.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to DarkFuse.)

Craig Saunders is an English author who writes dark fiction and horror. His latest novel, Left to Darkness, hits shelves today.

“Death by meteor” is an epitaph that only a few people ever imagined, but now it is the future for the entire planet. A meteor is coming. Large enough for catastrophic, world-ending destruction. And even knowing about it in advance doesn’t give humanity any chance of escape. But the end of the world takes an unexpected turn. Darkness holds sway, with cannibalistic cult members wearing barbed wire crowns, led by their king, James Finley. Not to mention sadistic siblings Sid and Silvia.

Paul Deacon is a long-time police officer who ends up blind after the meteor hits. Dawn Graves is a very pregnant woman whose husband was recently murdered. And Frank Liebowicz is a hit man out for revenge. Dawn is desperate to find a safe place to have her baby. Paul needs help to survive. Frank is gravely injured but still looking to defeat his enemy. The three must survive the end of the world and avoid the Little Kings if they are to reach safety and security. But they don’t realize that the cult is after Dawn’s baby, and will allow nothing—or no one—to stand in their way.

Left to Darkness is a dark, disturbing novel about the end of the world and the evil that results. Graphic violence shares space with a fight for survival in this novel filled with unexpected heroes facing a menace with a thirst for cruelty.

(Galley provided by DarkFuse via NetGalley.)

Wild in the Hollow, by Amber C. Haines

(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Revell.)
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Revell.)

Amber C. Haines is a Southern girl, mother to four sons, and a Christian writer who isn’t afraid to speak the truth about her life, the good and the bad. Her book, Wild in the Hollow, is now on sale.

Growing up in a Southern country family, Amber spent time in church, with people who believed in God, yet she always felt a yearning for something more in her life. Desperate to find what she was seeking, Amber looked for it in all the wrong places, and ended up broken and hurting. In the blackest of moments, she sought God, and found Him. But even knowing God doesn’t mean life will be perfect. After Amber meets Seth, her husband, her life takes a turn she never expected and she becomes a mother to four boys, still searching for more.

Wild in the Hollow is a painfully honest, raw accounting of one woman’s search for fulfillment. Ms. Haines is brutally honest about her life and her choices, but this honesty shines brightly when she meets God and shifts the focus of her life. The compelling truths in this book will have the reader drawn into the pages and unable to put it down.

A beautiful book.

(Galley provided by Revell via NetGalley.)

Results

I started the switch from third-person to first-person on Witches yesterday.  Have you ever paid attention to how many times you use some version of a pronoun in your writing?  No?  I hadn’t either.  Trust me, the answer is: a LOT.  Sometimes, it felt like I was changing every other word.  At others, I wouldn’t touch two or three paragraphs at a time.  I like how the switch to first person lets me deeper into the characters.  I like it a lot.  Two chapters down yesterday, three on the agenda for today.

Plus some writing.  I wrote about 1,500 words Sunday. That’s not an extreme amount, but it’s a very solid chunk for me currently.  I’m pretty happy with that productivity level (Which, BTW, is actually 3-days’ worth of words that I didn’t get in last week.  500 words four times a week is my–admittedly small–writing goal these days.  I can remember doing 10,000+ word-days during NaNo years ago.  Sigh…)

So, writing and revising, before school starts in a few weeks.  What’s on the agenda for you?

Awake, by Natasha Preston

(I do not own this image. Image courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire.)
(I do not own this image. Image courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire.)

Natasha Preston is the English author of Silence and The Cellar. Her newest book, Awake, hits shelves today.

Scarlett has a normal life: parents, brother, school, friends. But she doesn’t remember anything before the age of five. Her parents have told her of the fire that took her memory and almost took her life, and she accepts their tales of her childhood. Until a car accident causes unexplainable memories to re-surface, and Scarlett starts asking questions her parents won’t answer.

Noah, her new boyfriend, supports Scarlett in everything. He’s polite, respectful, and everything that other boys her age are not. He’s also determined to shelter Scarlett from the horrors of her past, because Noah knows the truth of what happened. And he’s been sent to bring Scarlett home.

Awake is a young adult novel with an intriguing premise: a girl, raised in a cult, who has no memory of her early life amidst fanatics. Everyone around her has lied to Scarlet for years, and when she starts sensing that, her confusion is merited. The relationship between Noah and Scarlett isn’t a typical teenage romance. These two characters are too different for that, but their loyalty and love will be tested to the limits.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

Admission of Guilt

Okay. I admit it:  I’m not happy with Witches because it’s written in third-person POV, not first-person (which is what I’ve been writing in for years now).  I admit it.  Happy?  It actually doesn’t make me happy (and yet it does. Both at the same time. I may have some identity issues.).  Changing third-person to first-person is not the hardest thing I can imagine revision-wise. (I’m not saying it’s easy, just “not the hardest”.) However…doing alternating first-person view points well (and clearly) can be tricky. And I need about six POV characters to tell this story fully.

Six.

That’s a lot of character voices to keep straight. Not to mention, formatting the manuscript so as not to confuse readers. Because, like juggling six viewpoint characters isn’t enough, they’re also going to be in different countries, which will be need-to-know info. That won’t be difficult at all.

Ha. Ha.

To be fair, most of the book will be in Kahleena’s or Bali’s POV, a good chunk will be in either Casimir’s or Julien’s POV, and the rest will be in Siobhan’s and Eodin’s. So, I need to make it clear at the beginning of each chapter where we are and whose head we’re in.  I’m going to re-start this revision with that in mind and keep on keeping-on.

Suggestions are welcome.

Avoiding Alpha, by Aileen Erin

(I do not own this image. Image property of Ink Monster, LLC.)
(I do not own this image. Image property of Ink Monster, LLC.)

Aileen Erin is a self-professed nerd—from Star Wars to Star Trek—and all things elvish, courtesy of J.R.R. Tolkien. She writes the Alpha Girls series. The second book is Avoiding Alpha.

Tessa McCaide’s life has changed dramatically in a short time. In California, she was “freaky Tessa” who saw visions and had no friends. In Texas, after one brief encounter with a cute guy, she is now a werewolf at St. Alibe’s, learning about things she never knew existed. Witches aren’t news to her, since her mother’s family are all powerful brujas, but vampires? And what’s this whole thing about magic, mates, and curses? Thankfully, she has her new best friend Meredith at her side to help her navigate the dangerous waters of her new world.

But when Meredith suddenly falls ill, Tessa realizes she can no longer just dabble in her new reality. The curse that suppresses Meredith’s wolf is now killing her, and Tessa will have to defy her pack leader and tradition, as well as make a deal with her black-magic-wielding aunt if she’s to save Meredith’s life. But returning to the family circle means Tessa will lose even more of herself than she already has. Can Tessa break the curse without turning her back on her werewolf side?

Avoiding Alpha is full of conflict, both internal, as Tessa wars with herself and her fears, and external, as she fights everyone around her in her efforts to save Meredith. Her relationship with her mate, Dastien, deepens, but Tessa’s fears stand in the way of her fully embracing her werewolf side. Through this book, Tessa battles the fears that threaten to trap her in a circle of doubts and worry, as she tries to beat an unbreakable curse to save her best friend’s life.

Searching for Words Beyond Emotion

I haven’t done any writing or revisions in the past week. Mentally, I just wasn’t up to it. Before I experienced depression for myself, I never realized how much my emotions could affect my brain.  Does that make sense?  Okay, before depression, I never realized that I just kept plowing through, no matter my mental state.  Now however…I’m pretty susceptible to my emotions throwing me off my game.  Stress. Exhaustion. Tension.  Anger.  Not just depression. And no, I’m not depressed. But one of my patients died last week unexpectedly, someone I took care of for four years and chatted and joked with. I didn’t realize how much he lifted my spirits at 5 a.m., and I’m feeling his loss. That sadness makes it hard to focus on the words.

But I’m working on it. Words have power, after all, and strength is a positive thing.

Dragon Fall, by Katie MacAlister

(I do not own this image. Image property of Hodder & Stoughton).
(I do not own this image. Image property of Hodder & Stoughton).

Katie MacAlister has over thirty books to her credit, mostly romances, but paranormals and young adult books as well (as Katie Maxwell). Her newest release, Dragon Fall, is the first book in the steamy Dragon Falls series. It hits shelves today.

Aoife Dakar thinks an outdoor fair will be a fun change of pace. Little does she know that meeting a cute stranger, witnessing a supernatural murder, and having everyone think she’s crazy are really on the agenda. After recovering from her “mental breakdown,” Aoife returns to the scene of the murder looking for proof that she’s not crazy. Instead, she finds a smart-mouthed dog who’s really a demon, and a hot, naked man with an attitude.

Kostya is very attracted to Aoife, but he doesn’t have time for romance. He has bigger fish to fry, namely the curse that has put the dragon clans at war and is slowly killing them off. Breaking the curse is his only concern…until he realizes there may be more to her than meets the eye,

Dragon Fall is a light-hearted story about a woman who discovers that sanity is relative and that the world is a far different place then she ever imagined. The relationship that grows between Aoife and Kostya is charged with tension and marked by sparks of attraction that everyone around them can see, even if they themselves refuse to admit it. The demon-dog will have the reader laughing, even as his antics get on the nerves of Aoife and Kostya.

(Galley provided by Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley.)