Thursday, March 7, 2013

Sheer Brilliance

This is pure genius and this kid is beyond talented. I'm in love - his words, his rhythm, his emotions, his talent ... wow. Watch this. Watch this now. His voice ... in awe.

15 Year Old Brilliance

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Need a new series!

Hello Everyone!

So I just finished reading a really addictive series -- which is to say, I got through everything that's been published so far and am now waiting on the next one, not due until July.

If you're curious - It's the Lux Novels, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
 - Obsidian, Onyx and Opal - and they were a truly addictive and enjoyable read.


Really. Awesome. The chemistry of the romance is smoking, the characters are super-cool and fairly real, people fight, break-up, get hurt, don't always make good amends and not everything works out perfectly. And somehow it's all amazing human and vibrant and raw, while providing excellent escapism ... I'm fighting the urge to gush here, so I may have to think about actually doing a review post, which I don't normally do. But these books got under my skin in a serious way.

Anyhoo ...

Back to my point, which I left around her somewhere -- I use books as my motivation to write. Not in a "Oh, I'm going to write something EXACTLY LIKE THAT sort of way, but in a reward sort of way. As in - finish a scene, you can read a chapter. Finish a revision list - you can read five, etc.

And I am (cringe) revising my MS again. I'm getting close guys, I swear! But, I am now out of brain candy to work as my cerebral scooby snacks. And I need more! My (saintly) parents got me a kindle for Christmas and some amazon mad cash (who loves their daughter even though she's thirty and lives 5,000 miles away? My parents - made of awesome). So here's what I'm looking for and I'm hoping (1) y'all got some good recs and (2)  you might tell me what you're looking for so I can expand my horizons?

(Also - should I start reviewing my brain candy? What do you think?)

So - what I'm looking for.

1. SERIES. I'm in it for the long-haul, baby. Yeah, I know debut novels have to stand on their own, and not everything needs to be stretched out over multiple novels - but forget that! I want a marathon reading list. No less than a trilogy! Give me characters, evolving plots and excellent foreshadowing. (And yes, I am the sort of person who watches whole seasons of TV shows on DVDs rather than tune in every week. Sue me.)

2. PARANORMAL/FANTASY etc. NO contemporary. Maybe contemp is just too non-escapism for me? I don't know, I could never really get into 'em. The last contemp I read - and it was FABULOUS - was Cracked, K.M. Walton. Amazing. But that book broke all my what I'm looking for rules, so ... unless any of you have some really "MUST READ" contemps?

3. STEAMY ROMANCE. Give me romantic tension! I love those scenes where the two MCs are arguing so fiercely, tempers running so hot that everything explodes with passion. That's what I'm looking for. Forget the Ooey-gooey, love you so much since the second I saw you, devoted my being to your existence crap. It can come later. Give me characters with fireworks. Give me hurtful words and tough arguments and snappy comebacks. Maybe this is because that's how my relationship with the hubby started out once upon a middle school cafeteria, but I crave it.

4. FUNNY. Witty. Quippy. Snippy. Snarky. Funny. Please?

5. DANGER. High stakes, real potential for pain - physical and emotional. Jeopardize the crap out of those characters. Gimme!

So - the ball's in your court, y'all - what should I read next?