Blog Tour: 'Split' Video and Giveaway! Swati Avasthi

Please welcome Swati Avasthi, author of Split!

Techno-God

Making an animated scene is hard work. I ought to know. This is how it got made:

Me (while watching a vid and munching on popcorn): Hey, honey, can we do something like this for the blog tour?

Hubby: Probably. What software are they using?

Me: …

Him: Oh, I see. It’s moviestorm. Is it free?

Me: (munch, munch, munch) …

Him: (working on his computer) Yeah, I can download it. Do you know what scene to animate?

Me: (munch, munch) …

Him: I’ll poke around.

A week later…

Him: It would be great if we could use a real voice over. Like from the audio book.

Me: (writing an email) I’ll see if we can get permission.

Him: How long do you want it?

Me: …

Him: I can’t figure out the camera angles

Me: …

A week later:

Him: See?

Impressive, huh? Clearly, I’m a techno-God.

The scene that “we” chose to animate is about 2/3 of the way through the book right. Jace comes into this scene after hitting a white-hot point of fury with everything that has been building up. He rages about, just barely on the edge of control. In response, Christian tells him to get dressed in running shorts and drags him out the door.

Audio: courtesy of Listening Library.

As read by: Joshua Swanson.
All rights reserved.

Also, check out some of the really awesome auctions (for charity) that she has going on right now with signed books, queries and more... right here!

**Giveaway**

I have one brand new hardcover copy of Split to give away to one lucky follower in the US! Please just leave a comment with your e-mail address. Winner will be announced November 6th!

I Met Allie Larkin!

So, have you heard of the new novel Stay by Allie Larkin? Yessss? Good! Well, luckily enough, Allie happens to be from my hometown and I got to meet her the other night!

She did a really cool talk at one of the local colleges, and told us about how the book got started and about her earlier versions of the story. She then did a reading from the book... it's so cool to hear a book read from the author themselves, then she did a Q and A session. She was very inspiring, funny, and completely down to earth.

Afterward, she signed books, and when I approached her, she remembered me from winning her book in Allison Winn Scotch's huge contest this summer and I was so flattered and happy! Then she took her picture with me and my best friend, Taylor, to show Allison! It was such a great night, and Allie is incredible! READ STAY!!!


Left to right: Me, Allie Larkin, Taylor

Review: Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Title: Love in the Present Tense
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Genre: Adult, fiction
Publication: 2006
Source: For review, Teen Book Scene

Summary: Pearl has lived a rough life, and at age 13, gets pregnant, giving birth to a sweet and bright boy, Leonard. She loves him very much and tries her hardest to give him a good life, but one day, when Leonard is just five years old, she drops him off to be watched by their neighbor Mitch, as usual... but this day, she never returns. This story is about what happens both before and after, involving secrets of the past and "forever love."

My Thoughts: Beautiful, stunning, and deeply moving are all words that come to mind when I think of this novel and the experience I had while reading it. The chapters are told by alternating narrators during a variety of different times in a non-linear fashion. The myriad voices are incredibly distinct, unique, and real, enabling us to see many sides of the story.

This story of love, family and identity is both haunting and unforgettable with characters who will speak to you and capture your heart. It is impossible not to fall in love with the majority of them, especially Leonard, and even Pearl. I felt many emotions while reading and felt close to the characters even though they tend to be distant and complex.

There are many different layers to this novel and you will uncover many different emotions and feelings with each layer. If you are looking for a deep and moving novel that will invoke feelings of both sadness and hope, love and joy, pick up a copy of Love in the Present Tense. I highly recommend it and will not soon forget it.

My Rating: 5/5

Audiobooks?

Since starting my job at the library, I've seen MANY audiobooks in circulation and wanted to see what the buzz was all about. I figured they would be useful for me since I have a long commute to school everyday... so I decided to try one.

I... didn't like it! I listened for about 15 minutes in my car then took it out. While the story was something I was interested in, I could NOT get into being read to. It was hard to concentrate and I thought it was boring.

I guess audiobooks seem like cheating to me in a way since I am perfectly capable of reading books myself. I know they are just complete wonders to some people and they serve an excellent purpose, but maybe they are just not right for me. I get satisfaction only from actually physically reading myself, I guess. It's really a shame because I know I could go through a lot more books if I listened in the car on my 30 minute drive to school... but I just don't know! And when I think about the books I am dying to read, I can only imagine actually reading them myself, and not listening to them.

What are your thoughts on audiobooks? Do you have any pointers or tips for people like myself who are trying to get into them?

Review: The Cougar Club by Susan McBride

Title: The Cougar Club
Author: Susan McBride
Genre: Women's fiction, chick-lit
Publication: 2010
Source: Crazy Book Tours

Summary: Three lifelong friends, now in their 40's, come together and support each other through life's difficulties. Kat moves back home after her boyfriend is caught cheating on her on the same day she gets fired from her high powered advertising job, and rejoins Carla and Elise. Carla, the popular and beautiful local news anchor fears she may be losing her job to the youngest member of the news staff, Amber Sue. Elise fears her husband may be cheating on her after spending many nights alone wondering. During these hard times, they all get involved with younger men, but more importantly, support each other through the hard times showing the true meaning of lifelong friendship.

My Thoughts: I had a very different impression of what this book was going to be like based on the title. I was happy to find that this book was more about friendship than being "cougars," and was pleasantly surprised by this bit of substance that I wasn't anticipating. The cougar part seemed insignificant compared to everything else - they were just good friends, going through hard times together, that happened to be dating younger guys - no biggie. The women all felt like they were being pushed down or held back by their age, but each of them had bigger problems as well, as highlighted above. The women each had their own distinct personality, making the book more easy to relate to. Carla was the feisty, sexy one. Elise was the quiet, sweet good girl. Kat was the lost one, searching for meaning. Though distinctly different, the women meshed well together, and their personalities complemented one another. I enjoyed this book and found that it was both fun and meaningful. I always enjoy women's fiction that centers on friendship.

My Rating: 3.5/5

I can't believe you haven't read that!

There are a lot of super popular books and series that I have yet to read for various reasons, mainly time restraints or other books. Please note the key word: YET. Most people are surprised to hear it when I say I haven't read one of them, and quite frankly, so am I. BUT, rest assured, I have read many obscure and/or strange and/or less popular/unknown books that many of those people haven't even heard of... so I can always give a good book rec! ;)

Anyways, the following are some of the very popular books I haven't read, but that I do want to read at some point, so don't maim me just yet!

The Twilight Series (I've read a number of vampire novels... just not this one!)












The Hunger Games Trilogy (I felt so left out on Mockingjay's release date :-( )












The Help (Doesn't sound like my cup of tea... but I WILL read it)












Eat, Pray, Love (and I REFUSE to see the movie until I've read it!)













The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (I hope it's all it's cracked up to be...)













...and here comes the big one. I'm already hiding my head in shame...

The LAST three Harry Potter books. Yes, I know, this is a travesty. Here's the deal. I love Harry Potter, I do! I always went to get the books the morning they were released, but in the years that the last three were released life got hectic and I want to really be able to INVEST myself in these final books when I read them, so hopefully, when I'm done with college (which is so soon I can almost taste it!), you bet your ass I'll be reading them. In fact, I'll be starting from the beginning of the series. When I finally finish, it will be magical.




Please tell me I'm not the only one who has committed any of these book atrocities?! Now it's your turn to fess up while I go hide in the corner...

Review: Fangland by John Marks

Title: Fangland

Author: John Marks
Genre: Vampire, horror, suspense
Age Level: Adult
Publication: 2007
Source: Crazy Book Tours

Summary: Evangeline Harker, producer for a popular news show, The Hour, is sent to Transylvania to investigate a renowned crime boss, Torgu. She discovers that Torgu is not who... or what... he seems, and she is in grave danger. Back home in New York, months have gone by with no word from Evangeline who has mysteriously disappeared. Then she shows up, wandering in Transylvania with total memory loss. Once she returns, very strange things start happening at the office of The Hour, including strange sounds on their recordings, the appearance of large mysterious crates at the office, and very odd and frightening behavior from several of the employees. Evangeline, though frightened, knows that the dangerous Torgu must be involved, and that he's in New York. This has been hailed as a modern retelling of Dracula.

My Thoughts: Okay... how to begin. Well, this story was quite disorienting for me... not from fear though, like is intended, but from total confusion. This book was a bit of a jumbled, dragging mess and very strange, though not in a good way, because believe me, I LOVE strange and different novels, just not this one. The characters were not well drawn out, and I felt no connection to, or understanding of, any of them. So much happened in this story, and much of it made no sense and left me with a feeling of "wtf?!", such as Evangeline's strange striptease/seduction of Torgu in order to save her life in a moment of danger which made him run off for some unknown reason. The vampires didn't really seem like typical vampires, more like some random combination of vampire/monster/creature of some sort. Anyways, this book was really quite slow and took me far too long to read, as I never really wanted to read more than a few pages at a time. Much as this book didn't capture my attention, and confused the heck out of me, I did want to know the ending. I do give the author props for stepping out of the norm, and shooting for something different; it just didn't work for me, and mostly left me with a feeling of "hmm?!"

Rating: 1.5/5

Review: Fairview Felines by Michele Corriel

Title: Fairview Felines

Author: Michele Corriel
Genre: Msyery
Age Level: Middle Grade
Publication: October 2010
Source: For review, Teen Book Scene

Summary: Thomas Weston was born to be a reporter. He's practically grown up in the newsroom of the local paper where his mother is editor. So when he suggests a school paper for his middle school, he's disappointed to learn the principal isn't going to give him the editor position without holding a contest... whoever submits the best article will be named editor. The perfect idea for an article arises when all of the cats go missing in Fairview, including his own cat, Web, and his best friend's cat. Now Thomas is determined to find all of the cats... and write the best article.

My Thoughts: What a charming little mystery this was! I must admit, I don't read middle grade often, but when I do, I'm usually a bit wary, but this book was not a disappointment at all. In fact, it was delightful! It was adorable and fun, perfect for the middle grade mystery reader. I liked Thomas a lot, and loved his determination and amateur sleuthing. Another fun aspect were the humorous newspaper headlines sprinkled throughout the book that Thomas thinks of randomly for almost every situation. My only real issue with the book was that there were quite a few typos, but if you can look past that, this was a real treat to read!

My Rating: 4/5

Guest Post: Author Michele Corriel

Today I am so pleased to have Michele Corriel here, author of Fairview Felines, a middle grade newspaper mystery. First, I must say I am very sorry because my review was supposed to already be up, but, being insanely stressed over school and work, it slipped my mind. Right now, I am about halfway through the book, and absolutely loving it, so look for a review this week. I asked Michele to talk about her favorite books and inspirations. So, without further ado, here is Michele!

"Going to library was always a big treat for me. My mom and I would walk to the local library and come home with stacks of books. We used to have these cheesy crackers and it’s hard not to remember sitting in my room, reading picture books and being careful not to get my orange-tinted fingerprints all over the books.

I can remember there was one book I took out every time. (It seemed like I took it out every time I went, but I don’t suppose that’s possible!) It was The Best Loved Doll. There was something about that book that just touched my three, four, five year-old heart. I’m sure I had it memorized but I still wanted my mom to read it to me. Maybe I was teaching myself what it meant to be loved.

When I was a bit older I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries. There were other books, Alice in Wonderland, the Phantom Tollbooth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Wrinkle in Time, The Catcher in the Rye, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, but I always had a soft spot for the mysteries. In fact, I can remember keeping the books in my desk, and secretly reading during subjects I didn’t like (ahem, like math).

As I got into high school I read everything that wasn’t nailed down. I loved Henry Miller, Williams Burroughs, James Joyce, (I never got into Jane Austen, the way a lot of my friends did), and I think I read the Tibetan Book of the Dead a few times, and of course I love the Harry Potter books, the Hunger Games, and the Golden Compass books.

I think every time I read a book by Tana French or Jess Walter I want to write just like them. But I can’t. I can only write the books that I can write. Which, I think, is a good thing.

I love the books that you can devour in one sitting, and the ones you don’t because then it would be over.

Books have always been one thing in my life that I could depend on, that didn’t let me down. You can open a book and fall into a story and stay there. I can only hope that my books do that for readers, just so I can pay it forward. "

My Favorite Banned Books

So, I know that technically Banned Books Week ended yesterday, but as I was insanely busy all week with school and work, I am now getting the time to talk a bit about it, though everyone else has as well. Here are some of MY favorite "banned books:"

Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - this has been my favorite series for YEARS! I've grown up with it and started reading it when I was around 8 or 9. Alice has always been around the same age as me and she continues to be as new books are still released.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - this has long been one of my all time favorite books. It's so haunting and memorable.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger -because what introvert can't relate to Holden in some form? I read this one in high school English.

Forever by Judy Blume - a beautiful and classic teenage romance of first love and sexual awakening. I loved this book as a teen. Judy Blume rocks!

Animal Farm by George Orwell- come on now, satire in the form of talking animals?! I read this one in high school English and even wrote a poem about it for a class project.

TTYL by Lauren Myracle - I devoured this series when I was younger. It's so much FUN!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - one of the most profound and touching books I have EVER read.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - umm HELLO?! This series got SO many people into reading which, last I checked, is a GOOD thing. I, like billions of others, LOVE this series.

Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume - the quintessential growing-up book for girls, I loved this one when I was a kid, and so have millions of other young girls throughout the years.


Anyways, like I say, be badass and read! What are some of your favorites?