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So, yesterday I went to my first book signing and had a great time, despite having a migraine. It was Book Fest in Brenham, TX (I only liveÌý an hour and a half away.) It was the second year they were having the fest and the first year they opened it to more authors. In the past, they only had authors who contributed work to the local art gallery, but this year all authors were welcome.Ìý

I had never been to Brenham before, despite the Blue Bell factory being there (it’s the towns local attraction.) If you don’t know what Blue Bell ice cream is you are missing out!Ìý The town reminded me of the one I grew up in. It’s small with a lot of charm.

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(My hair looks a little weird, but you can tell I’m excited)

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I got to meet some pretty neat authors while there and sold 6 copies of my books (three of each in my two-part series.) I think besides selling books a great part of the experience was getting to know the other authors.Ìý

So, of course, I had to buy a few books myself! I got by Shirley Nolan and by Dawn Husted. I also got a surprise when my back was turned around. Scott Hill poped his book into my take home box when I wasn’t looking of his children’s book . I had told him that my daughter’s name was Lily and she looked just like the girl in the pictures.Ìý

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Can’t wait for my next book signing in Oct!

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*Warning* this is probably going to be an unpopular opinion review, but at least it’s honest.Ìý

When I broke into this book I was just like wow! This love story between Catherine and Heathcliff is amazing. (hopefully, that wasn’t a spoiler) I just fell in love with the intensity of their love story. From childhood to teens and young adults, they just got each other, even when Catherine is being taught how to act properly and they are separated for a time Heathcliff is still the person who understands her.

Heathcliff is an orphan who is adopted by Catherine’s father and love ensues.ÌýBut there are major setbacks (at least for them) Heathcliff has none of his own money and Catherine is a rich spoiled brat, so she can’t go down in the society pole, instead, to keep them together Heathcliff decides to go and make his own fortune.Ìý

*Possible spoilers*

This is where things go downhill as you can imagine. Three years later Heathcliff finally returns. But Catherine didn’t wait that long for the boy she loved as herself but was too arrogant to agree to marriage so she married someone of her own economic standing.Ìý

She still wants him to love her as much as he did before he left, but keeps him at arm’s length because she is married. One of those, “If I can’t have you no one can.� mentalities. Heathcliff keeps waiting for the Catherine he knew and love to come back, but she never shows up.

Instead, this becomes a book of Heathcliff’s revenge. He has no interest in Catherine’s husband’s sister but starts flirting with her to make Catherine jealous. Also to piss off Edgar, Catherine’s husband. This is where the book turns into a love triangle of sorts. I stopped reading somewhere around here because the book turned pretty petty and these people were no longer the people I fell in love with at the beginning of the book. The way Catherine treats Heathcliff when he returns is appalling. At one point she even tells him that even if he had returned earlier that she would have still married Edgar because Heathcliff was born in the wrong family (that was pretty much when I started hating her, I’m sure that’s when Heathcliff started seeking revenge as well).Ìý

If this book had ended differently, or there were more redeeming qualities about these people I’m sure I would have liked this book, but instead it was depressing and disappointing to me.Ìý

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This book by Rudyard Kipling is one of my favorites!! I actually saw the movie first with Spencer Tracy. The movie really captured me (probably middle school) with the relationship between Manuel and Harvey. My dad wasn’t exactly affectionate and I was just enamored that a father figure could be so caring and cultivate a positive personal growth.Ìý

Therefore, in high school when we had to bring a book to read, of course, I chose Captian’s Courageous (well one of many).Ìý I ended up loving the book as well, although, I think I liked the movie just a little more than the book.Ìý

There are some significant differences. For example, in the movie he’s like 12 and in the book he’s 15, that’s a huge difference and it changes the aspect of the relationships on the boat. Instead of Harvey being besties with Manuel he is besties with Dan the Captian’s son, who is the same age as Harvey. The father figure switches from Manuel to Captian Disko.Ìý

Harvey’s story is great in either aspect because his character arc is so significant. He starts off as a billionaire brat who is hard to stand and ends up a young man with a stand-up personality. He falls off his luxury cruise ship and Manuel picks him up floating in the water. Captian Disko doesn’t believe Harvey’s dad is as rich as he says and they are in the middle of fishing season, so he refuses to let down his crew and the money they will make by taking a detour bringing Harvey back. Harvey is forced to work with the crew to earn food and other luxuries on the boat (along with respect of the crew of course.)

Of all the books I have ever read I feel that in this one the character arc could be studied in writing classes it is so strong. This book is definitely a character-driven book and those are my favorites! If you too like character-driven books with adventure and no romance, this book is for you.

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Guys I have been so busy…school started this week for teachers, so I’m probably just going to be on my blog and yours on the weekends again. I really enjoyed being more active on my blog over the summer and can’t wait to be more active during breaks.

Anyhow, I’m on my finishing touches of the next book in the Vermilion series and Vermilion Whispers is now on Amazon for pre-sale!!! Only .99 for now and on release day I’m going to up it to 3.99.

I realize I put The Circle in a lot of book tags, but I’ve never actually reviewed the book, so here goes. The thing is, I really wanted to like this book I really did. I mean the premise is so intriguing. A powerful company like Facebook and it’s working environment become a sort of dystopian atmosphere for its employees. The companies motto is no secrets and wants everyone to put every last thing they did or ate on social media (sounds familiar) The main character Mae is a smart girl and begins to unravel some of the mysteries of the company. But that’s, unfortunately, where the exciting part ends for me and the boring part begins.Ìý

ÌýI thought Mae, the main character, was very flat and boring, and she really disappointed me in the end. The conversations between the characters were very strange as well as the sex scenes. There was way too much info-dumping going on, which consisted of pretty much the entire book. I guess I’m not a numbers person because the numbers in the book got old really fast. This could have been just really great but wasn’t executed correctly.Ìý

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GUYYYSSSS!!! I finally got my computer back! It wouldn’t turn on and had to bring it to GeekSquad. That was ten days ago! I thought I was going to lose it waiting so long, but finally got it back! Turns out the LED lights in the screen went out…probably because I’m on it too much, but anyway its back and fixed and I’m just soooo happy!

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AND here is the cover reveal for my book #2 in the Vermilion Series. It follows Edgar and Alva (in case you’ve read the first one)

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Quote: “Of all the things that go bump in the night, Edgar was sure ghosts were one of the myths.�

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I’m so excited because I think this one is even better than the first! I wanted to have it self-published by Sept. 1, but it’s looking more like Oct 1.

Patriotism is a short story by Yukio Mishima.Ìý I kind of ended up reading this by accident, and I’m so glad I did! I read this in college because I swore it was on the syllabus. Either I missed class the day the proff said we didn’t have to read it or I read the wrong story because dyslexia. Anyhow, I ended up loving this story.

Right at the beginning, Michima tells you the ending. This is the third paragraph in the story, but I think it captures the story well:

“After the suicide, people would take out this photograph and examine it, and sadly reflect that too often there was a curse on these seemingly flawless unions. Perhaps it was no more than imagination, but looking at the picture after the tragedy it almost seemed as if the two young people before the gold-lacquered screen were gazing, each with equal clarity, at the deaths which lay before them.�

This is a story about a Patriotic man Japan who takes his position seriously. So much that he decides suicide was his only answer to an uprising that was taking place under his watch.

The main focus of this story is the love betweenÌýLieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his wife, Reiko. It tells of their love and their last night together, because if Reiko’s husband is committing suicide so is she because her patriotism belongs to him.

The way the story is written is very poetic and sensual. It’s what drew me in. This love story is much better than Romeo and Juliette and much more tragic.

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Tomorrow is my bookiversary of Vermilion Tears! To celebrate I’m making the book free starting today and ending Sunday.Ìý So if you want a free copy get one while you can because I don’t think I’ll ever make it free again. And if you do buy it and love it don’t forget to leave a review!

Blurb: In VictorianÌý New Haven, Lydia Chester eagerly expects a new beginning in New York City. Instead, on the train bound for her new home, life as she knows it is ripped away by an attack from supernatural creatures she never realized existed. Now with the gifts of the supernatural, Lydia finds herself fleeing a sadistic captor and relentless bounty hunter to reunite with her family. Even if she is not caught, will her husband and daughter accept her still, though she has transformed into something terrifying?

A big thank you to for nominating me!
The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you by linking their blog
Answer the questions
Nominate 11 blogs with 11 questions
List the rules as well as display the Sunshine Award Logo on your post

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The Questions:

Show me a picture of your bookshelf!

I also have another bookshelf, but it has only photo albums. And we are working on another bookshelf, but half the size of these.

2.Name two books that you would/do recommend to everyone?

Elenor and Park and The Giver, those are my favorites so I want everyone to love them too, especially the Giver because that one has a valuable lesson to tell.

3.Are there any songs that you associate with a particular story or characters?

Yes, I also associate songs with my characters as I’m writing. I often think of Friends by Marshmellow and Anne-Marie, also with that story, I had Wake-up Call from Maroon Five going through my head.

4.Where is your favorite place to read?

Either my bed or the lazy-boy in the living room. Particularly when the kids are asleep!

5.Do your friends/family know that you have a blog?

Yes, but I only have a few friends who follow me and no family lol. I love the blogging community though!

6.How do you decide which book to read next?

I am really a mood reader so it just depends. Sometimes I read books for people to ask me to give them a review, I normally read those books first, but I also have to throw in books I’ve been aching to read for a long time. I really like dystopian books so I tend to gravitate to those first.

7.Do you have a favorite word? If so, what is it?

You know what I don’t really have one. I have a few I don’t like though. I hate the words panties and tits, not sure why just don’t like the way they sound.

8.Is there one particular blog post that you’re really proud of?

I think more and more I’m liking my most recent posts because I think I’m getting better at reviewing books.

9.Do you have any tattoos? If so, what?

Yes! Three. I’m the big sister in the last picture.

10.What book gave you the worst book hangover?

I think Game of Thrones mostly because I don’t think Martin is ever going to finish his series

So I was looking into Insafreebie and Bookfunnel (let me know if you have tried these, I haven’t yet). They are websites that help get your books out to readers by mailing lists and book downloads. Anyhow, I found this great blog post and wanted to share it you can read about it here:Ìýh