Happy 4th!

Just wanted to say Happy Independence Day, USA! 

And to everyone else, Happy Thursday!

Oh, and next Thursday, July 11th, at 8pm EST, I'll be joining the other authors of Pendrell Publishing for a live chat via Twitter. Make sure you follow #PendrellChat because you can ask anything about publishing or writing or books or whatever, and we'll be giving away prizes, too!

Waiting on Wednesday: SHELF LIFE by Stephanie Lawton!

The lovely Jill (a fellow Alabamian!) over at Breaking the Spine created the Waiting on Wednesday meme for us bloggers to showcase books we're waiting on. 

There's no cover for me to drool over yet, but I don't really need it to know that I WANT--ney, NEED to read this book. The author is someone I would consider a friend, and someone I definitely would consider a superb talent. If you haven't read any of her previous work, stop reading right now and go buy her books. Or, well, after checking out...

SHELF LIFE

by Stephanie Lawton

pub date: December 2013

There's also no description available yet, but trust me when I say this book is gonna rock your socks off!

Be sure to check out Stephanie online!

Website      Goodreads      Twitter

Top Ten Tuesdays: Most Intimidating Books

I'm super excited to join in the Top Ten Tuesday weekly feature meme created by the fabulous The Broke and the Bookish! It looks to be a fun time on Tuesdays now!

This week: 

TOP TEN MOST INTIMIDATING BOOKS

Ooh, a good tough one for my first run. Excellent!

1. THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin --This one intimidates me because of its size. I mean, look at it. Oddly reminiscent of a Stephen King novel (which I'm never intimidated by due to size--I'll read anything by The Master), The Passage freaks me out because I'm afraid of investing so much time into a book that could leave me thinking "Eh" by the end. Although, it is about vampires, so I may just have to dive in.

2. FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury -- My reluctance to read this one is a bit different. Simply put, I'm afraid I won't get what the genius that is Bradbury is conveying with this masterpiece, and will therefore feel dumber than I did going in.

3. GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn -- I love Gillian Flynn. Seriously. Her writing is amazing

beyond compare. But I've heard that this one has a MAJOR twist in the middle that will leave you feeling torn completely apart, and frankly that scares the crap out of me because I know how gut-wrenching her other novels have been. That's the only reason why this one is still sitting on my shelf, glaring at me.

4. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak -- Really, this one needs no reasoning. Something this powerful, this world-changing, holds intimidation like a whip, ready to strike any who dare enter its path. I think I'll stay away til the movie comes out. Yep.

5. THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury -- I'm starting to think I have a fear of Mr. Bradbury himself, lol. This is another of those huge classic masterpieces by Bradbury that I'm just too dang scared to read. And like No. 2, fear of not getting it is at the root of my trepidation.

6. ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card -- I really want to read this one before the movie is made, but I just can't seem to bring myself to. The reason being, I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, and I've heard so many great things about this one that I"m afraid it just won't live up to the hype in my eyes. I know, I'm so weird it's scary.

7. A SEPARATE PEACE by John Knowles -- This one sounds right up my alley when it comes to sweeping tales, but something is holding me back from picking it up and reading it. I think it may be the fact that I just don't feel worthy to read such beauty. 

8. NIGHT by Elie Wiesel -- I'm super intimidated by this one because it's a true account of the author's horror experienced during the holocaust. Those types of novels do me in, lemme tell ya. But I really wanna read it. A lot. 

9. THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini -- This one intimidates me because I just feel that, even though I'm sure the writing is amazing, I just won't like the story. I'm not a big fan of the setting of this one, so I keep putting off reading it, regardless of the praise it receives. Or maybe because of it.

10. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen -- Though I know this one is probably a

must-read on many lists, I'm intimidated because I hear it has animal cruelty in it. And even though it's just a book, I know in the back of my mind that cruelty to elephants really happens, and I just don't think I'm ready for that. Yep, I'm weird and a scaredy cat. Go figure.

Any books you guys are intimidated to read? Any of yours on my list? Jump on the hop and join the fun! 

     

Monday Must Reads: LIGHT OF THE MOON by David James!

Not familiar with this little feature? It's simple, really. Monday Must Reads! is a feature I created to showcase books that I think you, well, Must Read (ha!).

This week's selection is one that I absolutely loved. Filled with amazing prose, fervent action, and loveable characters, it's a novel that holds you till the end. If you haven't already, trust me when I say that you simply Must Read...

LIGHT OF THE MOON
by David James
pub date: November 6, 2012

product description from goodreads.com

One night long ago, a constellation disappeared and fell from the sky in the form of a boy.

Secrets are being kept in the sleepy town of Lakewood Hollow, Colorado. Nothing but pools of blood and dripping words are left where bodies once were, and no one but Calum Wade seems to be worried. Life unfolds in shades of red for Calum, until a mysterious girl named Kate Black enrolls at his school and everything changes. Suddenly a dangerous world of dream demons, elemental enchanters, and blood witches unfurls before Calum. He learns that the stars have forever held his destiny, and that the constellations above are much more than what they seem. As Kate and Calum sink deep into a paranormal war, they realize that an ancient prophecy might hold the answers they seek. But life is not so easy for Calum, and he can feel his heart beat faster whenever Kate is close. Worse, Kate's blood holds a dark secret even more dangerous than the war between the demons and enchanters. Soon the two find that there are worse things than loving someone you shouldn't. For Calum and Kate, even love and the fiery power of stars may not be enough to break a curse as dark as the blood that binds their destiny.

A romantic story of true love and dark curses, LIGHT OF THE MOON will leave you breathless.

*Paperback edition includes exclusive extras.

That awesome blurb really doesn't convey how great this book is. And that cover ROCKS. Hurry and grab a copy today!

Any "Must Reads" I should know about? Tell me in the comments!

Just a reminder that I have books out!

Lame-o title aside, I just wanted to post a reminder that the first two books in my Blood Prophecy trilogy are out now, in case you might wanna read 'em. If you don't, maybe you have a table or bed that's a bit lopsided and you're in desperate need of a good sturdy hunk of paper to put underneath for stability? Either way, go grab a copy of...

BLOOD BORN

Book One in The Blood Prophecy trilogy

Amazon     B&N     Pendrell Publishing

BLOOD AWAKENING

Book Two in The Blood Prophecy trilogy

Amazon     Pendrell Publishing

Note: If you order from the Pendrell site, I'll be able to sign them for you! :-)

And coming soon...

BLOOD REVELATION

Book Three in The Blood Prophecy trilogy

And in case you might've missed them, here are the trailers for the first two books, done by the absolutely amazing Brian L. Butler. Seriously, he's superb.

BLOOD BORN trailer

BLOOD AWAKENING trailer

Oh, and I also happen to have another book scheduled for release. It's a YA dystopian (yep, just call me Mr. Behind-the-Times) and you can add it to your TBR lists on Goodreads if you'd like. Check out GENERATION Z right here. And I promise I'll have a cover and description up soon. Hopefully. Fingers crossed on that one. ;-)