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Binge Reading

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I hear a lot of people about binge watching t.v. shows or movies, but have you ever binge read books?  I haven’t heard anyone talk about this, but I have to admit that recently, I have been binge reading.

Sometimes my brain just craves good books, and I need to feed this craving.  That’s why you’ve been seeing all of the book reviews here on my blog.  I like to write a review for every book I read, whether old or new, and whether I am doing it for BookLook Blogger or just for my own reading record.

I’m still writing too, but I believe I need to continue to read to feed my writing as well.  When I read, I can see what works and what doesn’t as I read books that I think are okay and books that I think are really good.

In my opinion, the very best books make me laugh and cry. (Incidentally, my opinion is the same for movies.)  I must say that none of the books I’ve read during my recent binge have ranked that high.

So, in my opinion, good books are the books that hold my attention, make me care about and route for the main character(s), and keep me turning pages past my bedtime.  Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina, Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble, and The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson fall into this category.

Then there are the books that are okay.  These would be the books that interest me either in the character(s) or the plot, but not necessarily both.  It could be the plot is too slow or the characters don’t really make me care about them, but some aspect of the story keeps me reading.  Maybe I care enough about the character to see how things will turn out for that character, or maybe the plot line includes something like a murder and I want to know whodunit.  These books may keep me reading, but I will not read through a book like this nearly as quickly.

Finally, there are the books that are not very good.  These lack both characters that I care about and a good plot line.  I trudge through these books, and only if I am reading them for a BookLook Blogger book review because I have agreed to read a book in its entirety before writing the review for them.  If it’s just a book I have picked up, I will lay it aside and most likely never pick it up again.

 

The following books are on my current list of books I want to read as I continue binge reading:

Dauntless by Dina Sleiman

Chivalrous by Dina Sleiman

Rose Madder by Steven King

Fear Mountain by Mike Dellosso

Darlington Woods by Mike Dellosso

I’m sure there will be many more added, as I continue to binge.  There will also be more added for book reviews for BookLook Blogger.  The next one of those that is up is Inspirational Reflections by Ian J. Roberts.

So, do you binge read?  What’s on your binge reading list?

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble

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I received a free copy of this eBook to write a review (my personal opinion) for BookLook Blogger.

This is the first romantic suspense novel I have read by Colleen Coble.  I read her “Journey of the Heart” series last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.  You can read my reviews of each of those by searching for “Book Reviews” under Categories on the right sidebar of this blog.  They were western romance stories.  They had a bit of suspense, but not like Mermaid Moon.

Mermaid Moon is a Sunset Cove novel by Colleen Coble.  I have not read Inn at Ocean’s Edge which is the first book of this series.  But that is one thing I really like about Ms. Coble’s writing.  Even when she writes a series, you can read them out of order, or read one from the series and not the rest, and because of the information she includes in each book of the series, you do not feel lost or confused about the characters or the plot line.

Mallory Davis left her home on Mermaid Point in Maine years ago and never looked back. But when she receives a mysterious call from her father and later is informed of his death, she heads back to Mermaid Point immediately.

She suspects that her father was murdered, and a Downeast Maine game warden, Kevin O’Connor, confirms her suspicions.  Mallory doesn’t want to spend too much time with Kevin, but he wants to help her find out what happened to her father.  Mallory broke Kevin’s heart when she left Maine 15 years ago, and the history between them is something she believes cannot be repaired.

Mallory’s friend and neighbor, Carol brings her daughter, Haylie to Mermaid Point much sooner than planned and informs Mallory that someone showed up at her house in Bangor, Maine looking for her; someone who seemed quite threatening.

As the story continues, more questions arise and more suspicious characters emerge.  Whenever I thought I knew who was guilty, something else would show me I was wrong.  The story kept me guessing almost to the end.

Colleen Coble did a great job creating deep characters that made me care for them and cheer for them right for the start.  The plot line was suspenseful and kept me guessing.   The plot line kept me turning pages.  I look forward to reading more romantic suspense by Colleen Coble.

I recommend this book to all Colleen Coble fans, to anyone who enjoys a real page turner, to anyone who enjoys romantic suspense, and to anyone who likes a story with rich characters and a fast-moving plot line.

 

 

A Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

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Lady of Devices

I finally got to read one of Shelley Adina’s steampunk adventure novels!  I am not reviewing this book for any particular group.  I am reviewing it simply because I read it, and I like to write reviews for books I read.  This isn’t even the newest book in the series.  There are actually seven more after this one.

Lady of Devices is the first book in Shelley Adina’s “Magnificent Devices” steampunk adventure series.  It is the first steampunk novel I have ever read, and I must say that in the beginning I wasn’t sure I was going to like this genre, but as I read and began to care more and more about the main character, Lady Claire, I couldn’t put it down.  I finished the book in four evenings.  (I only have time to read for two or three hours an evening, and not every single evening either.)

In Lady of Devices, Lady Claire comes from a well-to-do family, but Lady Claire is more interested in science, chemistry to be exact, and inventions than she is in having her “coming out” party to find a husband.  Well, that gets put on the back burner anyway, when tragedy strikes her family, and her mother and little brother move to their other house some distance away.  Lady Claire is to follow after packing up the current house and wrapping up some loose ends.  However, other things happen to keep Lady Claire in London longer.

Lady Claire ends up in one adventure after another, and becomes of some interest to two young men, but one behaves quite oddly toward her.  I do really like the other young man and believe he is the type of young man that Lady Claire would find appealing, which she might if she weren’t distracted by other circumstances.

Shelley Adina did a wonderful job creating Lady Claire and the other characters in the book.  It is easy to like some of the characters and dislike a few of the others.  I also found myself reminiscing about Dickens’ Oliver Twist during certain scenes.

I liked this book very much and was a bit taken aback when Ms. Adina left me hanging at the end.  Smart marketing, leaving the reader wanting more when you’re writing a series.  🙂     Therefore, I cannot wait to get Her Devices and continue to follow Lady Claire on her further adventures.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventure, and to anyone who likes steampunk.  Also, anyone who likes a quick, easy read, and anyone with a love for Dickens will find reminiscences here, but this story definitely has much more action.

Three Books Every Writer Should Have

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If you are a writer and you don’t have these three books:  The Emotion Thesaurus:  A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, The Negative Trait Thesaurus:  A Writer’s Guide to  Character Flaws, and The Positive Trait Thesaurus:  A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes all by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, I highly recommend that you get them.

I bought the Emotion Thesaurus almost a year ago and have been using it a lot.  I keep it beside me as I write a novel, and I refer to it often.  I bought The Negative Trait Thesaurus and The Positive Trait Thesaurus with Christmas money and I am so glad I did.  They were my resources for helping to create the three main characters in my new WIP (work in progress).

If you find yourself overusing tags or struggling with how to “show” instead of “tell”, or are having problems creating characters with different personalities and having them express themselves appropriately for their personality, these books can lessen or take away the struggle.

The Negative and Positive Trait Thesaurus give you a personality trait with its definition, similar traits, the possible causes for that trait, behaviors associated with the trait, associated thoughts or emotions, positive and negative aspects, examples from film or literature, how your character can overcome a negative trait, traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict with this character, and challenging scenarios for a specific positive trait.

The Emotion Thesaurus gives you an emotion, its definition, physical signals that show that emotion, internal sensations caused by that emotion, mental responses to that emotion, cues of acute or long-term emotion with other things it could escalate to, as well as cues of suppressed emotion, and a writer’s tip.

I find these books helping me create richer, deeper characters, as well as better written stories that “show, don’t tell” what is going on in the story  — stories that will draw my readers in.

What are some of your favorite writing resources?  Please tell me in the comments, as I am always looking for great writing resources to learn from.  I believe it’s important to never stop learning our craft.

The Evolution of a Writer

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It’s been a little over three years since I re-entered the writing world.  The first year, I simply studied — reading books and magazine articles and blogs about the writing craft and what’s been happening in the writing world, as well as attending as many affordable, one-day writers’ conferences I could, and I joined a local writers’ group that meets once a month and I have been attending faithfully, for the most part, for these three plus years.

The second year, I began to write again, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be writing.  I couldn’t decide on a genre.  I prayed for God to reveal his will for my writing.  Then, I got an idea and I started writing, but I wasn’t excited about it.  However, I wrote a bit, received some critiques, and then spoke with a writer and marketer at a conference, who offered me some great ideas/advice.  That gave me some excitement.  Unfortunately, the excitement was fleeting, and then I thought I’d finish the story and enter it into a contest.  Long story short, due to technical difficulties, I missed the contest deadline.  Being frustrated about missing the deadline and really just feeling “done” with the story, I let it sit for a month before picking it up and doing a read-through.  Ugh!  So glad I missed that deadline!  The ending is rushed.  The ending isn’t at all what I wanted it to be, and my timeline is a mess!  Some friends have/are read/reading it and offering me feedback, which I will read through carefully and make notes of the things they suggest that I think should be changed.  I will eventually edit, rework, and revise this story to create a, hopefully, better-than-good story.  I may even publish it someday.

However, I have evolved!  What do I mean by that? you may ask.  Well, I have finally found my genre — historical romantic fiction!  I’ve had a story brewing in my brain, even while working on the above-mentioned story, and I recently sat down to begin working on it.  What I first knew I must do, was to research the time period and the place.  I researched to choose appropriate names for my main characters, and as my plot line began to form in my brain, I researched a few other important details.  What do you think I found, in addition to what I was looking for, in all of this researching?  More great circumstances to add to my plot line!  I have completely fallen in love with this genre!

I know what you’re thinking, “So does this mean you’re not a pantser anymore?”  Well, let me just say, “I’m not a plotter, but I’m not a pantser either.”  I now fall somewhere in between, but I have found that while researching and building my plot line, then by creating my characters and their backstories, I have found a place that will allow me to plan enough for historical romantic fiction that gives me the historical facts I need but doesn’t require so much time and drudgery that it kills my creativity and my desire to write the story.  As a matter of fact, it has simply fueled my excitement and eagerness to write the story, and I am sure with the bit of research and planning I put in before beginning the actual story, I will write a much better first draft than the last one.

How about you?  How long have you been writing and how has what you have learned helped you to evolve into a better writer?  I’d love for you to leave a comment and share your story.

A Just Man by Helen Daniel

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I received a free copy of A Just Man by Helen Daniel in eBook form to write an honest review for BookLook Blogger.

A Just Man follows several generations of the Matthews family through farming, shipbuilding, the Civil War and other circumstances.  I enjoyed the characters, though I think they could have been a bit more developed, as stories with well developed characters who face sad issues never fail to make me cry, and the sad issues in this story tugged at my heart but brought no tears.

I liked the story and the characters.  I found the book very simply written and easy to read. The story was sweet and enjoyable, although I found it a bit unrealistic.

A Just Man is also very clearly written in third person with a narrator.  The story is mostly told by the narrator rather than shown by the characters’ thoughts, dialogues, and actions.  After reading for a while, however, this became less noticeable to me, as I enjoyed the story.

It was mentioned either on the back cover or in a Preface that Helen Daniel had written stories to illustrate Sunday School lessons, and that is exactly what the chapters of this story reminded me of.  They are sweet stories of generations of one family and their struggles, as well as their faith.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something about faith in God that is easy to understand.  I would recommend this to parents who want a good, faith building, encouraging  story to read and discuss with their elementary age children.  I would also recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good, family friendly, easy-to-read book.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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Today, I simply want to share some quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was a strong, intelligent man, whose dream lives on.  He was an inspiration.  I hope you enjoy the following photos and quotes.  I found them all on the internet and arranged them here for my own tribute to a great man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introverted Me

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Many writers and artists, as well as other people, are introverts.  Are you an introvert?  I am, though some people do not believe me.

Webster’s Dictionary defines introvert as:  to turn inward or in upon itself;  to concentrate or direct upon oneself; a reserved or shy person; a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.

I find these definitions a bit simplistic and, to a degree, they miss the mark.  I agree that an introvert is a person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.  However, what this definition neglects to explain is that it takes effort and great energy for an introvert to be around people and to have to interact with them, and after spending time putting forth the effort and energy to interact with others, an introvert needs quiet time alone to regain energy.

Why do some people not believe me when I tell them that I am an introvert?  Because when I am comfortable with a person or small group of people, I enjoy talking to them and sharing thoughts and ideas that we have in common.  Most people seem to assume that introverts are always quiet and don’t like to talk, and so the fact that I, as well as other introverts, actually enjoy conversations with people we are comfortable with seems to puzzle them.

As a homeschool mom, I have stepped out of my introverted comfort zone many times to do things for my children’s benefit and/or education.  I have spoken in front of groups of people — for me, this doesn’t bother me too much if the group consists of children and teenagers, but if the group includes adults, it ranges from being scary to terrifying, and sometimes I don’t even know what the level of fear will be; like the time I had collected monetary gifts from the parents of the homeschool high school soccer team and had to stand before a group of both teens and adults to express our gratitude and present the gift to the coach.  I still do not know why I became so terrified doing this that my hands shook, my voice and lip trembled and I was nearly in tears before I was finished.  I was never so glad to sit down and hide in the crowd as I was after presenting that gift.

However, people see me standing before these groups and talking or loudly cheering for my boys at their sports events or introducing myself to new homeschool moms or new couples and/or families visiting our church and think I have to be an extrovert, when, in fact, I have simply learned how to force myself out of my introverted comfort zone when it seems necessary to do so.  All of the things listed in this paragraph and those above require a lot of effort and energy for me, but I also find that all of these things can be blessings as I reach out to welcome or encourage others, and as they are blessed by my actions, it becomes a blessing to me, but it still requires a lot of effort and energy for me to do so.

Even as much as I love my husband and three children, I sometimes need some quiet time by myself to recharge my battery to prevent myself from becoming impatient and easily frustrated with them because of being so tired of having to deal with people and the energy it requires to be with them and to do things for them.

As I find myself getting older and my children growing up, I am finding that I am craving more quiet time to recharge my energy and regain my peace of mind than I used to.  I feel a stronger need, maybe because I am writing again and writing requires a lot of mental time and energy, for more solitude — yes, solitude is what I really need.  You see, as an introvert, I am not bored when I am alone and I do not become lonely within a day or two.  On the contrary, being alone allows me to revel in the quiet, spend time reflecting and thinking, and, even more importantly, speaking to and seeking my Lord, and this refreshes me and renews my spirit and energizes me so that I can enjoy my loved ones and they will find my company more enjoyable than after an entire week of having to be with people.

Also, I remember as a teen, not really minding doing things with friends that required being in a large crowd.  However, as I get older, I prefer to avoid large crowds, except on rare occasions, like when I have the opportunity to go to a Toby Mac concert.  But, being in a large crowd doesn’t necessarily take a lot of effort and energy from me because a person can be alone in a crowd.  As an introvert, I can easily blend into the background and not be noticed and, therefore, not have to interact with other people in the crowd.

So, what are my favorite activities?  Yes, they are all introvert, things people do alone, activities:  reading, listening to music without interruptions with earbuds in place, writing, or coloring in those new artist coloring books, although I enjoy having others color in coloring books around the same table with me as well.

How about you?  Are you an introvert?  What are your introvert tendencies? I know even we introverts are not all the same.

How Do I Know Who to Listen To?

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Have you ever shared the same piece of your writing with more than one critique group?  If so, what happened?

I shared the first chapter of my last manuscript with three different critique groups, and this was after sharing with a one-on-one consult with a writer/marketing person.  I changed the first chapter three times.

I also became frustrated because I didn’t know if making all those changes was really necessary.  Who were the right people or voices to listen to?  That’s what I asked the head of the local writers’ group that I am a part of, and this is what she told me.  “If the advice sounds like an opinion, ignore it.  This happens when the person reading the piece isn’t a fan of your particular genre or writing style.

If the advice is specific and the advice or changes make sense, and more than one person is offering that same advice, take it into consideration.  Those are probably the people who are really interested in what you are writing and want to help you improve it.”

This has been helpful, valuable advice, and has taken the frustration out of critique groups for me.

Maybe you haven’t shared the same piece of writing with multiple critique groups, but I like to get a lot of input and feedback on my writing because I want a lot of readers to want to read it when it is completed.

What do you think?  How much input and feedback do you seek for your writing?

The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

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I received a free eBook copy of this book to write a review for BookLook Blogger.

This is the first story I have ever read by Melanie Dickerson.  I have never been familiar with the story of Rapunzel, so I do not know if Ms. Dickerson’s story is too much like the original or not.  What I do know is that Ms. Dickerson captured my attention and held it throughout the book.  She created rich, deep characters.  Good characters that I fell in love with and cheered for, and bad characters that I wanted to see get their comeuppance.

Ms. Dickerson’s descriptions were brief but clear.  I could easily picture both characters and places in my head.  The story takes place in Medieval times complete with knights and castles.  I’ve always enjoyed romance stories from Medieval times, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Melanie Dickerson.

The fact that the story is a spin off of a fairy tale was intriguing to me.  I have only read one other such story by a different author.  I really liked that though Ms. Dickerson’s story ended happily, it was not presented as “happily ever after”.  That’s the one thing about fairy tales and Disney that I find quite frustrating, because when you grow up with those stories, you expect to find and experience that kind of romance and love, which is not true to life.  True to life love/marriage requires a lot of work and give and take, communication and understanding on the part of both people involved.  Therefore, I loved that Ms. Dickerson hinted that not every day would be “happily ever after” because of the personality differences of the characters and their past hurts.  Thank you, Ms. Dickerson for that.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a fairy tale type story that’s a  bit more realistic, and to anyone who loves historical fiction novels, Medieval times, knights and castles, and romance stories, or anyone who just wants to read a good book.