Book Plugging

I just realized how out of the loop I was today. I went and visited PBW's blog, and her post reminded me of several books I've been looking forward to reading. So today, to make up for that, I'm just gonna give you guys a little bump and some info about some books that have come out that you should check out.

First on the list is the one that reminded me of the others. Lynn Viehl has a new Darkyn book out -- Twilight Fall. It just came out today. This is the 6th novel of the Darkyn series chronicling the tribe of vampires. The last two Darkyn books released -- Evermore and Night Lost -- appeared at the 12 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. Lynn has announced that there will only be one more book in the series, and then it will be finished. From what I hear, these books keep getting better and better. If you're into dark fantasy/romance, go check these books out.

Next on the list is a new release by Holly Lisle -- The Ruby Key. This was released on May 1st, and it's the first in her new YA series Moon and Sun. I've been looking forward to this release for a long time. Snippets from her blog have made me foam at the mouth in anticipation, and as soon as I can get my hands on some money (which, sadly, may be a few months) I will buy this and revel in its awesomeness. Definitely pick this one up.

Third on the list is yet another release by Holly Lisle -- Hawkspar. This is the anticipated sequal to the amazing Talyn, and it is #2 in what will hopefully become a series following in the world of Korre. If you remember the splash that Talyn made, you know you can't miss out on this one. Another one that I will pick up as soon as I can, since I devoured Talyn.

And finally, Odd Thomas is back in his quircky, beautifully tragic adventures in two released -- Odd Hours and In Odd We Trust. If you haven't started reading the Odd Thomas series yet, I recommend that you go out and get them now. They are spectacular. Odd has such a sad/hilarious view on the world: to see the tragedy and the comedy in most situations. And he's up to his usual wise-cracking. For a while, the story seems unlike the other Odd books, but by the middle, Dean Koontz cracks open and you see the quick, hilarious, odd ball (ha ha) conversations that you expect from Odd. In Odd We Trust is trying something new. This one is a prequal to the amazing Odd Thomas, but that's not all it does differently. This book is done in a graphic novel manga style, which I can say only makes me want to read it more.


Sorry that the post isn't anything special, but I'm kinda out of it today, and I've got a lot to do to get prepared for the play. I hope you enjoy these recommendations and remember that none of the author's tell me to do this. This is on my own and because I like spreading the word of fellow writers. I remember some contraversy about that a while back and I just want to remind everyone.

When You Don't Know What You're Doing...

I've been trying my hand at writing a bit over the past couple of days. Not much, but a little. It feels good to get back into writing again, although it feels strange. I make a lot more typing errors than I used to for some reason, and it takes me a little bit to get started. Today, however, I wrote a scene I'm very happy with, based on a dream I had last night. I rarely ever have dreams so when I do, it's usually pretty vivid. The last time I had a very vivid dream was when I worked at Sonic and I dreamed that tiny demonic clowns and zombies were attacking me.

These scenes have mostly just been practice so that I can eventually write something. I may or may not decide to post these little snippit scenes on here. I'm still thinking about it, and I'm not sure anyone would be interested in my random little scribblings as I try to get back into the swing of writing. Anyway, it's something I'll think on over the next couple of days.

Christmas time is in full swing here at the house. We got the tree up, the lights up, and all the presents wrapped and put under the tree. Now I'm just counting the days, the agonizing...waiting...until...the best...day...ever...the clock...ticking...IT'S MOCKING ME!! ...sorry... Anyway, we've been making cookies and drinking cocoa and listening to my new Christmas cd I bought, "Let It Snow, Baby, Let It Reindeer" by Relient K. Good stuff, and one of the only Christmas cd's I can find in the Alternative Rock genre.

Also, I've been reading a lot. I finished Holly Lisle's Secret Text trilogy (two words: Freakin' Awesome!) and now I'm reading Sherman Oak and the Magic Potato by S. William Shaw and The Husband by Dean Koontz. Once I'm done with those two I'll start on Vincalic the Agitator by Holly Lisle, cause the world of Matrin is just awesome, and it will keep me occupied until Hawkspar comes out.

And, because I haven't scared you guys with enough odd ramblings yet, I've been watching an anime called Death Note. It's absolutely fantastic. It's about a boy who finds a Death Note, which is what Shinigami (japanese "death gods") use to kill humans. Because he found it, it now belongs to him, but he also gets to basically keep the Shinigami who originally owned it, as a pet...sorta. Anyway, the boy, Light, decides to kill all the evil people of the world and create a perfect world where he will rule as a god, while evading a detective aliased L who is just as smart and freaky as Light. It's a very exciting and intriguing series, and it makes you ask yourself, if you had the ability to kill anyone you wanted just by writing it down in a book would you? If you did, who would you kill and why? Very dark, but very interesting.

The Pre-Semi-Mid-Week Finals Report

Well gang, they’re here. The dreaded finals are in full swing, and I’m already feeling the effects of them. They’re taking my strength with them like some kind of…strength…taking…thing… I can’t even come up with decent metaphors anymore. I’ve had two finals so far, and I have two tomorrow, which I’m NOT looking forward to. Tomorrow is that devil’s spawn Biology. The sooner I get done with these the better.

On the plus side, I read a lot before I had to get sucked into the finals studying frenzy. Right now I’m almost halfway through with the final book in Holly Lisle’s Secret Text trilogy. They’re absolutely fantastic! Very rarely do I read a book with so much depth and originality, but Holly Lisle does it every single time. I have a whole bunch of her books that are on my “To be read when things return to a safe level of insanity” shelf, and I can’t wait to get started on them. If you can find them, and you get the chance, I definitely recommend Holly’s Secret Text trilogy.

Also, I’m reading Sherman Oak and the Magic Potato, by S. William Shaw. They’re kids novels, but Shaw has a great, quirky way of telling the story that I absolutely love. The story itself is very original, and Shaw proves just how crazy he is with the different wacky monsters that Sherman meets in his quest. This is another one that I recommend if you want a good read. Definitely pick this up for your kids, parents. It’s totally worth it (you might even want to read it yourself).

Well, I’m going back to the grindstone. Three more finals and I’ll be out of school for a month! Then comes Christmas!! Before too long I hope to have some writing news to give you, but as many of you know, a bug at all my stories, and all my notes, and I haven’t had time to get anything back with College poking its nose in my business all the time. Well, wish me luck, and for those of you who are going on trips for the holidays, good luck, and travel safely.

Writing Update

I'm still plodding along. I finally got inspired last night, and typed like a mad banshee for several hours. I didn't go to bed until about 2:30 in the morning. I was exhausted, and I wasn't finished with the plotting yet, but I felt like I understood the characters a whole lot more. I gotta give some nice ladies some credit though. The method of plotting I'm trying I've really never heard of before. It's kinda a mash up of what I learned from Rosina Lippi's workshop and Lynn Viehl's workshop. If I finish this thing this time I'll owe them big.

I just finished reading Diplomacy of Wolves, which was fantastic, by the way. I really like the way Holly Lisle designs her worlds. There always so rich and distinct and original. Everytime I read her I get big green goosebumps of envy. I've started on Vengeance of Dragons and I'm enjoying it immensley too. Of course, if I don't finish it before the seventh Harry Potter book comes out, I'll lock myself in my room like I did when book 6 came out and go on a marathon reading spree until it's finished. Ever since I saw a video on the internet where a guy ran down the street shouting the end of Harry Potter 6 while people were still reading it, I've been extremely paranoid. If anyone did that to me, I'd make sure that no one ever found their remains, mwahahahaha!

Anyway, that's all the updates I have for now. Not much going on in my point on the world right now.

Saying Goodbye and Update on School

One of my best friends is moving to Alaska. I know that as people grow up, friends grow up and move away, but she was supposed to go to a college that was only a few hours away. She was still in driving distance. Alaska is all the way across the country. Her flight was this morning. Still, she's really excited to go, where she'll have a great job and be living with her aunt, so I'm happy for her, but I'll still miss her, and I hope she stays in touch, but even if she doesn't, I'm glad that this happened, and I wish her luck.

Now, onto school. It's school. Is there really anything left to say? I'm up to my eyeballs in work, so I'm writing this quick and then I have to get back to work. Not much to report. I pulled my grade up from a D to a C. (For those of you that don't live in the states, an A is excellent, a B is good, a C is average, a D is poor, and a F is failing.) What does that mean? That if I can keep my good grades up than my credit will transfer, I won't lose my scholarship to my college and I won't have a math in my Freshman year. (Can someone say, "Booyah!"?)

So what's going on in the blogosphere?

Holly Lisle's having troubles, so she'll be offline for a week. If you have the time, send your good wishes to her, she sounds like she needs them.

PBW is still having trouble with blogger. Apparently she can't save any drafts, so most of her entries will be improved until it can be fixed. She's also having a give away of what she's read this week. (She reads more in a week than I have in two months. She's like the bionic woman or something!) So that's worth a look as well.

Jean is having a Summer Bookpack Giveaway.

PJ is waiting on news for her Viable Paradise submission.

Meryl just got a really great job, so head on over to her job and congratulate her.

Well,that's all for now. Back to work. Ugh, math...

Later!

OpenOffice and other news.

I had a pretty good weekend. I got to hang out around the house, enjoy my family's company, and I didn't have to worry about school. But I didn't get any writing done--I either had to fill out the ACT registration forms, or I was having fun with my family, or I was working. No matter, because I'm gonna fix that. I wrote a very tiny bit today, but nothing that would register.
On another note, I'm reading a lot. I'm a good chunk of the way through To Light a Candle: Book Two of the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. It's way better than the first one, and I'm finding it hard to put down when I'm just trying to read to pass the time.
More news: I got paid today!
Even more news...that's not really new news...and still hasn't happened: I plan on getting the other two books in Holly Lisle's Secret Text trilogy as soon I as I can get my tax money check cashed. Speaking of Holly Lisle, she's having a sale on her clinic books on her site for the rest of the week. I recommend them--Holly could write a book about watching grass grow and make it interesting. And if that doesn't tantalize you enough, she also has Hunting the Corrigan's Blood, one of her sci-fi novels on sale for only $3.00. If that's not a good deal, I don't know what is...but then again, I once traded all my Michael Jordan basketball cards because this kid told me that the colorful, shiney cards were worth more. I had to get my mom to undo the trade, ha ha.
And more on the tax money front: I got a new radio and new speakers for my car, which means much better sound, and I can play cd's in it now!
And apparently, Freewebs is gonna take a dump for the day, so I'll hurry up and finish:
My final piece of news is that I downloaded OpenOffice, which is supposed to be pretty much the same thing as Microsoft Office, but free. So far, it is pretty much the same thing, whistles, bells, and all. And it has a free .PDF exporter, which means I can put stories on here, one in particular, so people can read them and such. That'll be fun. Anyway, I haven't really used it a lot, so I'll be posting some updates on that as I find its flaws and its good, but so far I like it better than what I was using.

Long Time No Speak

Sorry I haven't been on in a while guys. New Years Eve was crazy fun. I went to a friends house to watch movies all night. First, we had to go to pick up a new TV, and then we only watched about half or a little over of Phantom of the Opera before pausing it and we never got back around to watching it. We stayed up until about 5 in the morning, and then we slept until noon.
In honor of the New Year, I've decided to plan out this year's writing projects. I've never done this, which might have been a contributing factor to my never finishing a project, but I'm going to plan this weekend. After I've got my plan all laid out, I'm going to write a lot. Okay, I don't know for how long but for as long as I can.
On other fronts, I finished Brother Odd today. It is as fantastic as the first book--Odd Thomas. The second--Forever Odd--was pretty good, but I felt it had something missing. I still loved it, but it didn't have quite the feel that the first one had. Whatever it was, Brother Odd has it, and it left me regretting that the story ended. I wanted to read more about Odd Thomas and his new dog Boo.
The Odd Thomas novels are about Odd Thomas--obviously--a young man who can see the dead. Each book is a new adventure that Odd goes through in his quest to aid the dead on to the Other Side. Each book is also packed with excentric and lovable characters. There is sharp wit that will make you laugh out loud, but also there is depth to the stories that will touch your heart.
And just to clarify, I've been seeing some blogs where people have been posting a disclaimer to prevent from getting in trouble and I will too: All of the authors I endorse, I endorse only because I love the book. I'm not paid, they don't bribe me, and I don't receive any kind of reconciliation for my endorsements. If Dean Koontz needed to pay a high schooler to endorse his books, I'd be worried about his career.
Anyway, back on topic, I urge you all to pick up the three Odd Thomas novels and read them. They're all worth it.
In other news, I've just won a contest on the blog Rantings and Ravings of an Insane Writer for a free copy of Holly Lisle's new paperback Talyn. I'll be telling you what I think about it after I get it and read it, but I've heard only wonderful things and I don't think I'll be disappointed.
So there should be more news on writing in the future, but I'm just glad to leave behind the chaos of relatives and gatherings and the mandatory facial-muscle-straining-false-smile as you pull out that horrible knitted sweater you get every year from your grandma made out of color patterns a blind person would balk at.
Jason