Currently Reading...

Hey Blogger Buds,
I'm pressed for time today (not sure if I'm going to be able to post on Tuesday, though I may be online Tuesday night...) so here is the loooong list of books I'm in middle of:

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynn Jones

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What do all of these have in common? A lot of double-named authors. I'm on vacation, so here's to hoping that I finish at least two or three of them in the next few days.

You know what? Who cares about two or three? Let's hope I can just finish that monstrous tome, A Game of Thrones!

Read any of them? What'd you think? What are y'all currently reading? And why do I sound like a Texan?

Peace,

Riv

Character Comparisons

Hey Blogger Buds,
It's a writing post today. Or at least an attempt at one. As you guys may know, I give out the occasional tip on writing, but I'm pretty useless at it, which is why I usually try to keep my mouth shut. But, just a few minutes ago, I started a chart, comparing two characters. They grew up together, long-standing rivals that hate each others' guts. One is a "good guy" the other is a "bad guy." And I decided they were a bit too black-and-white, good-and-evil, for my tastes.

This is what happens when you have a Chromebook. You
spend obscene amounts of time on sketchy websites to blot
out things.

Hence the chart.

As you can see by my...lovely...work of art, I tried to cover as many bases as possible without getting insanely specific. (This chart is still a work in progress, bt dubs)

I want these characters to be incredibly similar, except for the small things, like habits, and the important ones, their cores. The only real difference, in my eyes, is that one of them has more of a capacity for "change for the good" than the other. I'll explain.
"A" (that's purple, if you're curious and can't see) maintains the core belief that the one should be sacrificed for the all. This is not in any way a good, redeemable quality, because we want our heroes to be good and care about people, but A, at least, believes in sacrifice, in the greater good.
On the other hand, E (Mr. Blue up there) lacks a [normal] moral compass and believes that it's each man for himself.
Both of these men will be driven to kill. But someone who doesn't care about anyone but himself can't turn into a hero.


What am I driving at? Good question. I'm just saying that I strongly believe in the shades-of-grey characters (not to be confused with the Fifty Shades of Grey characters), and making your bad guy and your good guy mirror each other, not in a cliche way, but in a "look what Mr. Antihero* could have been" way.

I'd really love to hear your opinions on this. Thoughts, anyone?

Peace,
Riv

*No, that's not what the A stands for.

The Iron Legends Review

Hey Blogger Buds,
As you know, from this post last week, I obtained a book. And I would have happy-danced when I obtained it, if not for the face that there were people around. You know, real people. The normal kind. But I've finished this book and, as expected, loved it. In case the title of this blog post didn't tip you off, I'm talking about The Iron Legends by Julie Kagawa.
My review is split up a bit differently today, since The Iron Legends is an anthology.
I don't have time to get the "Add it on Goodreads" picture, so ADD ON GOODREADS.

Blurby (based on Goodreads summary, slightly chopped up):

Enter the world of the internationally bestselling Iron Fey series. Dangerous faeries. Heartbreaking romance. Thrilling action and limitless adventure. The world of the fey has never been so powerful. This collection includes three novellas set in the world of the Iron Fey plus the Guide to the Iron Fey with exclusive information about Julie Kagawa's unforgettable world of Faery.

Winter's Passage
Summer's Crossing
Iron's Prophecy
Three Iron Fey novellas for the first time in print!

Review:

tl;dr review: Two of these stories were a reread for me, and it was so sweet to revisit characters, especially to see Meghan how she was after only one book.

Who Done It?

Hey Blogger Buds,
Just wanted to let the writerly amongst you know that Figment, SoHo Teen, and New Leaf Literary have put together something epic: An alibi contest. You've been accused of murdering Herman Mildew, one of the nastiest people alive and the quintessential example of an editor.
You claim you didn't do it?
Prove it.

Write Right here. Right now.


Peace and love blood,
Riv


*note, only for peeps 13-18. And sorry, maturity level doesn't count, my adult writerly friends.

Croak Review

Hey Blogger Buds,
Today (*ahem* tonight) I'm reviewing Croak by Gina Damico! Gina is made of win (and she's one of those lucky people with a url that fits her name: check her out at ginadami.co)

Blurby:

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape.

But Uncle Mort's true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business.

She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice - or is it vengeance? - whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again.

Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

Review:

tl;dr version: Hysterical with a super unique voice and original plotline, Croak is an #epicwin

Now Where Do I Put These? / My Visit to S&S

Hey Blogger Buds,
So I don't usually do those features/memes about weekly book hauls, since I don't get books too often (I still have a huge stack to read) but this week I ended up with seven new books, so I figured I would share.

First, I got this book, Daughter of the Centaurs, in the mail:

Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo

And you can add it on Goodreads.

Afterwards, I went to the bookstore. And found this gem, which I was super excited about. I was super excited, because I've been looking forward to The Iron Legends for a long time, and I can add it to my collection.

You can add The Iron Legends on Goodreads. And you really should.

Lastly, and this is even more exciting than getting The Iron Legends, I have a friend who has a relative who has a client that is the cover designer at this place:

Not at the website. At the building

And my friend and I headed to the Manhattan building, got a tour and saw his office. Oh yeah, and we got free books. It was like Christmas and my birthday, because I got this:

I know it's not super clear, and I did this into my webcam, without knowing how the program works. So I couldn't reverse the pictures. Here are the titles. (I don't have time to add Goodreads links, so sorry!)

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues (ARC, even though it's apparently out already)

White Cat by Holly Black (read it before, but now I own it!)

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh (SO excited to own this. I didn't see Nevermore anywhere, unfortunately)

What did you guys get this week? Leave a comment so I can check out your haul!

Peace and books,

Riv

Remembering Eleven Years

Hey Blogger Buds,
I don't know why, but there's been surprisingly little mention of 9/11 around the blogosphere today. Yeah, it's not exactly "one decade," but stil.
Maybe it affects me more, living in New York, than all of you in the mid-west because of the proximity?

I don't know.

Source

I was going to take an inspiring picture of the twin columns of light, but my camera ran off, and I don't have a fancy iPhone (good thing, too, or I might spend all of my time on instagram*), so here's a picture I stole** from the internet.

So. No review today. Only a thought on what I just discovered is called the Tribute in Light.


Peace and love,
Riv


*Aw, who am I kidding? I want an iPhone, if only to nerd out about the iOS6.
**Kidding, of course. Creative Commons FTW! *cough*

Cover Unveiling: Canary by Rachele Alpine

Hey Blogger Buds,
I'm a tad sick, and I have my first gigantic load of homework to do, so I'm just going to through a really pwetty cover at you. Don't forget to add on  Goodreads!
Here's the summary:

If she stays quiet, it will destroy her. If she speaks out, it will destroy everyone.
Kate Franklin’s life changes for the better when her dad lands a job at Beacon Prep, an elite private school with one of the best basketball teams in the state. She begins to date a player on the team and quickly gets caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, learning that there are perks to being an athlete.
But those perks also come with a price. Another player takes his power too far and Kate is assaulted at a party. She knows she should speak out, but her dad tries to silence her in order to protect the team. The world that Kate was once welcomed into is now her worst enemy, and she must decide whether to stay silent or expose the corruption, destroying her father’s career and bringing down a town’s heroes.
Similar to Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Elsewhere, Canary is told in a mix of prose and verse.

Not my usual genre, but I'm intrigued.

Aaaaaaannnnd the cover:

Gorgeous, right? Very retro.

I love the colors. It's not something you see on the shelves very often--it sticks out.

There's a birdy! And it's crying! The only bit of blue on the cover, too.

The basketball is a nice touch, telling you what the deal is--a basketball team--without making you think that it's a book about a basketball team. Which it obviously isn't.

What do y'all think of it?

Peace and birds,

Riv

Cursed with Power: Behind The Magic (Guest Post)

(That title sounds like those featurettes you can get for free on iTunes, doesn't it? Like Harry Potter: Behind the Magic or Percy Jackson. I should really do featurettes. That's an easy business to break into, isn't it?)
Hey guys! Today I've got a guest post from one of my awesome online friends, Lindsey Sablowski, whose book Cursed With Power released today through Old Line Publishing! Check Lindsey out. (Not in that way! Minds OUT of the gutter!)

Hi everyone! My name is Lindsey Sablowski, and Riv has agreed to let me stop by today at her blog. For those of you who don't know me, I've recently become a published author. Today I'd like to tell you a little more about my new released book, Cursed With Power, and the story behind the magic.

(You can click to embiggen the prettiness.)

The Summary:

Celestria Hale learns that she is one of the last living Dark magicians. Upon leaving her hometown, she searches for others like herself to find out what has happened to her kind. She meets Alaire, another Dark magician with a dangerously sinister past. Through their travels, Celestria and Alaire come face to face with their enemies. The White magicians plot against them, developing a conspiracy that will overtake the last of them. While struggling for survival, Celestria must also come to terms with her sister's death. But is her sister dead?
There's no way out. The battle's already begun, and only the most powerful force will prevail. Everyone shows a longing hunger in their eyes, but their greed for power is only the beginning of a war raging between darkness and light. With the war approaching to determine the fate of magicians, Celestria fears for her and Alaire's existence. Destiny may find them, but will it be enough?

Today is a very exciting day for the book because though originally we were expecting it to release on September 7th, it released a day early -today!
But where did the story begin?

I actually started writing Cursed With Power two years ago. The idea came along when I decided I was tired of writing stories where the "good" magicians always won. I was tired of this idea that it was always good vs. evil, "black" magic or good magic....
It started with Celestria Hale, the narrator of this story, who was also the first name I decided on. Interestingly enough the name Celestria usually means "heavenly," though I'll leave that to you to decide if a word that defines a name actually defines the person.
Two years ago CWP was on inkpop (a writing site that recently was partnered with Figment.com), and writing for an audience made all of the hard work seem like it "paid off."

Now here we are, and at last the book has a home. Old Line Publishing may not be one of the "major six" publishing companies, but they definitely do know how to make you feel at home. The communication, the timing, the work effort... You and the publisher work hand in hand through everything. But please don't misunderstand; Old Line is a traditional publisher.

And now you can enter into Celestria's world...
This book has been a journey -for the characters, the author, the fanbase, the potential readers, etc. Now that the book is finally published I want to share Celestria's story with the world. Do you think you're ready for it?
Here's a short excerpt from the book:

I don't want to over-stay my welcome, but before I go I'll tell you how you can go about purchasing a copy of Cursed With Power if you're interested. It's available on my publisher's website, in 2-4 days the e-book format will be available (on Amazon and Barnes & Noble), in the next 5-6 days it will become available on Amazon (worldwide!), and in about 3-4 weeks it will be available on Barnes & Noble. Those links -as well as much more exciting news-will be posted on my personal blog. If you're interested in tweeting about the release hashtag #CursedWithPowerRelease and join in with the others who have already done so!

So a huge welcome to Riv for letting me stop by! Who knows... Maybe she'll review the book here on her blog and tell you what she thinks!

(Thanks for coming by, Lindsey!)

ETA 9/07: Cursed with Power just went up on Amazon! Checkit!
CWP paperback US
CWP kindle US
CWP UK kindle
CWP UK paperback

I Am the Messenger Review

Hey Blogger Buds,

I recently read I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. You may or may not know be aware I have a major author-crush on this man. So: review!

Blurby (via Goodreads):

Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?

Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

Review:

tl;dr version: I am in love with this man, and this book. Shall I compare thee to it? Shall I compare it to a midsummer's day? (Shall I shut up?)

I Am a Whovian

Hey Blogger Buds,

I've briefly mentioned my Merlin obsession, as well as my Sherlock obsession.  This time: Doctor Who.

I'm only on the second season, but I'm in love. And I want a TARDIS backpack, so I can put all of my books in it and people can ask me how I fit everything.

Doctor Who is awesome. I love BBC.

British television is so much better than American.

Peace and Daleks,

Riv