Thought for the Week
via Pinterest
Reader Recommendation of the Week
I’ve had a bit of a talk with myself this week. It wasn’t pretty.
Part of the talk was driven by the fact that Google Reader is going away as of Monday, and part of it is because, post-book-deal, I’m realizing that I am going to need to juggle a few more things that I have been.
Even now, it’s impossible to discover and leave comments on other blogs as often as I would like, and my solution to that has been to post a huge list of links on Saturdays.
I’ve decided I’m going to have to stop doing that. I will still tweet what I can, but I won’t post the list of links anymore.
Instead, I will pick a reader each week from among those who leave comments on the previous Thursday Character Bucket List or the Friday New YALit Releases post. I’ll include a link to the reader’s blog, if they have one, and I will ask them for a book recommendation, which I will spotlight here. The chosen reader will also get DOUBLE ENTRIES for the following Friday giveaway, provided they leave a comment and enter the giveaway.
Here we go. Are you ready?
Joni’s Book Pick and Why She Loves It:
Choosing only one book is hard, but my go-to recommendation would have to be CINDER by Marissa Meyer. I’m sure that everyone has by this point at least heard of the LUNAR CHRONICLES, but I can’t help but add my compliments. It’s becoming an obsession, really. ^.^ Aside from some dystopian reads, I’m not really a big sci-fi reader. Still, this futuristic story managed to capture me completely. The skill with which the writing pulls you into the world is masterful and awe-worthy. The plot plays out with strong visuals that make it easy to see- as though watching an action-packed movie. (Really, where is my theatre release date?- because I’d be camping out opening night!) It’s almost hard to call the books “fairytale retellings” because they read so original, real, and freshly sleek. However, the elements of our favorite Grimm and Andersen tales are put in in clever ways. I would recommend anyone and everyone give this series a try. Even those who aren’t into science fiction or fairytales. As long as you like layered storytelling, a colorful cast of characters, and some epic action, these books are for you.
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| Buy at Amazon | Buy from IndieBound | View on Goodreads |
Martina’s Read of the Week:
I actually read this last week, but I’m going to choose Corrine Jackson’s If I Lie.
We don’t talk a lot about honor these days, not nearly enough. If I Lie is all about honor and the hard choices that come with sacrificing for honor’s sake. It’s also a great example of an author letting the reader live the story instead of telling a story to the reader. It packs an emotional whallop, and I highly recommend it!
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| Buy on Amazon | Order from IndieBound | View on Goodreads |
Quote of the Week:
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| via Pinterest |
“Books are a weird collaboration between author and reader: You trust me to tell a good story and I trust you to bring it to good life in your mind. I can only hope I held up my end of the bargain.”
That’s lovely, isn’t it? Do you ever think about the relationship between the reader and writer as you write? As you read?
How much of what you bring to the book creates your reading experience?
Giveaways This Week
We have two giveaways from among the books coming out next week, THIS IS W.A.R. by Lisa and Laura Roecker, and FOREVERMORE by Cindy Miles. Plus as always, the post includes book covers and blurbs for all the titles. Many of the authors also share what they love about their books. Looking for a great new read? You’ll find it here!
http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-yalit-releases-in-stores-629-75-and.html
Candace at Candace’s Book Blog and Lori at Pure Imagination hosts a weekly Linky of Giveaways. Here’s this week’s:
http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/2013/06/saturday-situation-link-up-your-reviews-giveaways-75.html
Blogger of the Week
Similar to the Reader of the Week, I will pick a blogger to profile each week, with preference given to those who leave comments here on the blog any day but Thursdays and Fridays. The profile will include links to great content on their blog and a bit of something about the writer. I will also link to the profile in the sidebar here the rest of the week.
This week’s pick is Stacey Brewer from Brewer’s Cauldron
Stacey Haggard Brewer writes fantasy, historical fantasy, and modern fantasy, but she also suffers from the occasional steampunk and sci-fi ambition. Stacey loves reading, herb gardening, drawing, and all manner of geekery and spends a good deal of the time she should spend writing dedicated to these pursuits.
She lives in southwest Missouri with her husband and her funny little dog whom she calls “Rabbit”.
Here are a few wonderful recent posts from Brewer’s Cauldron:
Peek Inside the Industry
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| TAKE ME TO YOUR READER Via Wordpainting |
- Jeff Bercovici over at Forbes gives a great overview of the importance of big book franchises in the publishing industry. Lots of great info, plus something that promises to be a fantastic read: Is 21-Year-Old Samantha Shannon The Next J.K. Rowling?
- Author Shannon Messenger had an insightful post about reasons an author we approach at a conference or other venue might not seem as friendly as we’d hoped and offered compelling reasons to give that author, any author, the Benefit of the Doubt.
- Assistant Editor at Putnam and Grosset Jordan Hamelsey had a post Pub[lishing] Crawl explaining what goes into a book launch.
- The School Library Journal reported that a Pew Study found Teens Still Love Print Media and ‘Traditional’ Library Services.
Tip of the Week
If you’re a Scrivener user, Justin Swapp offers 7 free templates to help you structure your novel or short story. These include:
- The Seven Plot Point Structure
- The Hero’s Journey Template
- Two Snowflake Method Templates
- A Beat Sheet Template
- A Mystery Novel Template
- and more…
Writing Life and Inspiration
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| via WritersWrite |
- Author Kat Zhang, also at Pub[lishing] Crawl, had one of the best descriptions I’ve ever seen about developing and defining writing voice.
- Whitson Gordon from Lifehacker provided the Best Alternatives now that Google Reader is shutting down.
- Literary Agent Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary suggested the only reason you can call yourself a writer is because you write.
- Thorin Klosowski from Lifehacker suggested we should commit a set amount of time to learning any new skill before we start. This would include any aspect of writing.
- Larry Brooks from @StoryFix by Larry Brooks asked if you are one writer out of ten who actually has a premise founded on solid story physics and structure.
Just for Fun
More Great Round-Ups
- Cynsational News & Giveaways from Cynsations
- The Week in Writing: My Favorite Posts & Tips 5/17/13 from Kami Garcia
- Field Trip Friday: May 17, 2013 from YA Highway
- Twitterific 5/12/13 from Mystery Writing is Murder
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| via Jessica Saunders |
What About You?
What have you been up to this week? What are you writing? What are you reading? Books? Blog posts you want to share? Sound off! I’d love to know. 🙂
Happy writing,
Martina
