Feature and Follow Friday 2/3

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to one of their blogs to find out how you can join in the following fun!

This week's question:

Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kickass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

Answer:

I don't want to sound too cliche, but I simply love a good love triangle. The key word in that sentence being 'good'. Scratch that. Love triangles must be great for me to like them. They have to be totally believeable and explainable (don't forget delectable), otherwise it just feels like the author is trying to ride the triangular bandwagon.

I also love a good alpha male as well . . . with a hint of possessiveness thrown in. But not abusive weirdo posessive. More of the I-sexily-don't-like-guys-edging-in-on-my-girl-and-I-will-protect-her-at-all-costs variety. I don't know that I've ever seen this achieved in an attractive way in real life, but I love it in my fiction!

What's your bookish fav?

Feature and Follow Friday 1/13

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to one of their blogs to see how you can join in!

This week:

Many readers/bloggers are also big music fans. Tell us about a few of your favorite bands/singers that we should listen to in 2012.

Answer: I've only really developed a music taste in the last few years. Here are a few bands/songs that are played pretty heavily on my ipod.

Civil Twilight: Check out 'Letters From the Sky'

Katie Costello: Check out 'Stranger'

Blitzen Trapper: Check out 'Furr'

Fleet Foxes: Pick a song...all amazing

Bon Iver: Ditto

Deer Tick: Check out 'Baltimore Blues, No. 1'

Metric: Check out 'Help I'm Alive'

Mumford & Sons

Muse

Iron & Wine

Coldplay

Obviously this isn't stuff on my workout playlist (LMFAO, Kesha, Pitbull, Katie Perry, Lady GaGa, 3OH!3, etc.), but this is my 'listening to music' music. It inspires my writing and makes me feel good. I'm sure there are some other ones I forgot. Oh, like Adele, but everyone knows she's amazing. That's a given :-)

Who are you listening to?

Feature and Follow Friday 1/6

Feature & Follow Friday is a fun meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over and see how you can join in!

This week:
Question of the Week: Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

Answer: Oh no....*gets up to go count books* Alright, there are 59 'to be read' books on my shelf (and stacked by my bed). But if we are counting eBooks, that number is closer to 9o-ish.

That just sounds daunting. Or really awesome :-) Eye of the beholder, so to speak.

How many unread books are lounging around your house?

Feature and Follow Friday 12/30

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. It's a fun way to gain followers and meet other bloggers.

This week:

Question of the Week: The New Year is here -- and everyone wants to know your New Years Blogging Resolution! What are you going to try to revise, revamp and redo for 2012 on your blog?

A. I really love this question because I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have been very fortunate to have a steady (overflowing) stream of review requests. While I enjoy reading these books, I have had a hard time keeping up with all the requests and still finding time to focus on my main goal: writing my novel.

I know I'm not the only blogger/writer out there. There are tons of us. It's a natural progression from voracious book reader to aspiring writer. The problem occurs when my free time is factored in. I have about 3-4 hours after my kids have gone to bed to read/write/blog/social network/think about doing housework but never actually do it. And that's if I'm staying up waaaay later than I should be. When I've told someone that I will review their book I feel like that takes priority. Which means writing doesn't always happen for me.

So finally to my Resolution: Accept fewer requests (ouch...this is hurting already), have a wider variety of posts on the blog, and *stands proud, gazing into the distance* write my novel.

:-)

Any other writers out there struggling to find that perfect balance?

Feature and Follow Friday 12/23

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Head over to their blogs to join in the following fun.

This week:

Q: If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why?

A: I have to go with the world from the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. There are some very obvious down sides to being forever within the pages of these books but . . . Bones . . .

Ahem! Hrrrm! I decided the perks outweigh the danger and whatnot.

;-)

What book do you want to jump into (and never come back)?

Feature and Follow Friday 12/16

Feature & Follow Friday is a fun meme found at Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to one of their blogs and check out how to join in.

This week:

Question of the Week: When you've read a book, what do you do with it? (Keep it, give it away, donate it, sell it, swap it..?)

Answer: I really enjoy giving books away. It's really fun to read a great book and then be able to give it to someone else. Once they've read it and know how awesome it is, you can have amazingly nerdfully great talks about it. Everybody wins ;-)

It had never even crossed my mind to sell a book to someone. If it's a series I want to proudly display on my bookshelves (or, more realistically, display in a haphazard pile on the side of my bed) then I will lend them out and hope they come back to me one day.

Where do your books end up?

Follow Friday 12/9

Feature & Follow Friday is a fun meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to their blogs to find out how you can join in the fun.

This Week:

Question: Keeping with the Spirit of Giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read and if you could, you would buy it for all of your family and friends?

Answer: Without a doubt I would want everyone to read Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I guess buying them the book would be a good way to get them to read it :-) It might be the most beautiful book I've read. I more than loved it! If you haven't read it, buy it for yourself for Christmas.

What book would you like to put under the tree for all your friends this year?

Follow Friday 12/2

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Both great blogs. Head over to one of them and find out how to join in!

This week:
Question: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

Answer: This will probably be a popular answer, but I get really annoyed when the plot is revealed in a very clumsy way. Especially when it's mainly through the dialogue. Basically it boils down to the basic writing rule of 'show, don't tell'. Show me! Don't spell it all out for me from the beginning. I ain't no dummy :-)

What gets on your nerves most??

Follow Friday 11/18

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to their blogs and see how you can join in!

This week:

Question: Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!

A. Bookstore giftcards are always a safe bet with me, but if Santa were to bring me an actual book I would have to ask for Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson! I love everything he has written, and he just keeps getting better. I can't wait to read this one :-D

What book(s) do you want Santa to put under your tree?

Feature and Follow Friday 11/11

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Head over to one of their websites to find out how you can join in.

This week:

Question: In light of 11.11.11 and Veteran's Day tell us about your favorite soldier and how he or she is saving the world. Fictional or real life.

Answer: I don't have any soldiers in my immediate family, but I -of course- know of so many friends that have their loved ones overseas right now. They do a great, GREAT service for us, and I can't say how much I appreciate that.

As far as fictional soldiers, my first thought was of Steven Erickson's series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Holy crap, those are some awesome books!! The series is filled with some crazy soldier characters, and I would have a hard time thinking of all the ones I loved. I'll stick with my top three :-) 1. Fiddler 2. Whiskeyjack 3. Quick Ben and 4. Karsa.

Ok, that was four, but that series is filled with some of the most kick-A, cool characters I have ever read. I think if you've read those books then you probably agree with some of my choices. I'll leave my answer at that :-)

Who is your favorite soldier?

Follow Friday 11/4

Feature and Follow Friday is a hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to connect with other bloggers. Check it out and join in!

Today's Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

That's me with my current read: The Summer of Hammers & Angels by Shannon Wiersbitzky.

So that's what I look like . . . and although I felt like a weirdo taking a self-portrait with a book, I am excited to see everyone's pictures this week :-)

Feature and Follow Friday 10/28

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet other bloggers!

This week:

Q: If you could have dinner with your favorite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

A. I would want to have dinner with Lan from Wheel of Time. I would do my best to steal him from Nynaeve over the course of our meal . . . Sorry, Nynaeve! I don't much care what we'd be eating. Maybe some sort of manly meat and potatoes meal, haha.

What's your answer?

Follow Friday!!

Follow Friday is a fun way to meet new bloggers. Check out how to join in on Parajunkee's View or Alison Can Read!

This week:

Q.What superhero is your alter-ego?

A. I don't know if this superhero is my alter-ego, but I would love to have Hiro's powers from the show Heroes. I loved that show and always thought that time travel would be a pretty awesome ability to have.

Of course, if I could be Catwoman . . . would that mean I got to hang out with Christian Bale as Batman?? Just wondering!

What's your answer?

Follow Friday 10/14

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Head over to one of their blogs, check it out and join in!

This week:

Q. If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why?

A. I had a hard time answering this. The only thing I came up with is kind of stupid. Definitely not epic. Oh well! I thought, what if Edward Cullen (Twilight) and Jim Halpert (The Office) met? In my head it went something like this . . .

Edward is being all broody and vampirey.

. . . and there is good old Jim in the background looking at him like 'Dude, really??'


Haha! I told you it was kind of stupid :-) And I actually really like the Twilight movies, btw!



What was your answer?

Follow Friday 9/30

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View. Check it out and join in!

This Week:
Q. What book that hasn't been turned into a movie (yet) would you most like to see make it to the big screen, and who would you like cast as your favorite character?

A. The first book that came to mind was The Mephisto Covenant. I recently read this and loved (LOVED) it. Strange that this should be the question this week because I kept thinking I had the perfect person to cast as Jax. Jax and Sasha are the main characters in the book. He is dark-haired, manly and hot. Sasha is blonde-haired, pure and beautiful.

I had fun casting these roles :-) Here we go

Sasha: AnnaSophia Robb

Reason: She has such an innocent, ethereal beauty. I also like the idea of casting someone that isn't already a household name.

Jax: Tyler Hoechlin

Reason: Well for one, he is exactly how I pictured Jax in the book, stubble and all. He would have to wear dark contacts, but that's easy. He is currently on the MTV show Teen Wolf . . . which I don't watch . . . it just happened to be on TV, and I just happened to not turn the channel while it was on. *sheepish grin* Just take a look at that picture! Do I need another reason?

This was just an extra picture I found while browsing. Your welcome :-)

Follow Friday and Hop 9/23

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Check it out and join in!

This week's question:

Q. Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it?

A. Well, I've read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series an ungodly number of times, especially considering how many books there are (still not quite complete). It's an adult fantasy series (minus the elves and dwarves) that is pure genius, and the characters are just awesome.

Then there are the Sookie Stackhouse books that I love reading over and over. I love this series for so many different reasons (Eric) and never get tired of reading them. While I'm talking about vampie books...I also love re-reading the Night Huntress series by Jeanine Frost. Talk about some steamy stuff :-) Bones rocks my world, haha!

...And....Twilight. Whatever, you know you've read them a billion times too :-)

Follow Friday 9/16

Follow Friday can be found at Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Check it out and join in!

This Week:

Q. It's that pesky magic book fairy again! She has another wish: What imaginary book world would you like to make a reality?

A. This will probably be a very popular answer, but I don't care! I would want to make the world of Harry Potter a reality. Well, as long as I'm not a boring muggle in this world. I think it would be so exciting to take classes at Hogwarts, use magic, fly on broomsticks, chat up Hermione Granger, and drink me some Butterbeer! I have to add that I'd like this to be the HP world after the whole Voldemort fiasco :-)

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop 9/9

Follow Friday can be found at Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Check it out and join in!

This Week:

Q. Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of a story? If so, which one?

A. Hrrrm. I don't know if I necessarily root for the bad guys, but sometimes they can be so bad that they're good. You know what I mean? Especially hottie type bad guys :-)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Crazy For Books. Join in the fun!

This week:

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

My answer:

I normally like to read YA or Adult Paranormal. I would never stop reading completely. I have no idea what I would do if I didn't read! I would probably just read contemporary fiction in YA and Adult.

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop 9/2

Feature and Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Check it out and join in!

Q. If you could change the ending of any book (or series), which book would you choose? Why and to what?

A. I'm actually having a hard time answering this. The only time I think I'd like to change the ending of a book is if it's a book I didn't really like at all. And in that case I'd really be wanting to change more than the ending! If it's a book I really like or even love then I'm pretty accepting of whatever the author chose for the ending.

Of course, Romeo and Juliet did pop into my head. I wouldn't actually want the ending changed, but it's just so cruel! On one hand, the plot of this story is so tragically genius that it would be worthless if it were changed . But on the other hand...what would have happened if Romeo DID get that message and knew that Juliet wasn't really dead? What then, I ask? It would be a more pleasant way to end this tale, albeit less buzzworthy.

Stop over at Crazy for Books to find out more about this fun meme! Then join in!

This week: “What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation? (If your next season is other than fall/autumn, tell us about it and what you are most looking forward to in your part of the world!)”

Answer: I am looking foward to two big things this Fall. First, cooler weather. Actually, I would settle for weather that isn't straight from the bowels of Hades. I live in Texas, and have been here for more than a decade, and this summer has been the worst I can remember (and I was hugely, enormously pregnant last summer...and it just doesn't compare to this year). It's like being snowed in but in reverse. Plus, I'm ready to start wearing jeans, sweaters, boots and scarves again!

Second, for some reason I am ridiculously excited about Bath and Body works starting to put out their fall scents. I am like a junkie at that store from fall through Christmas. I like getting all the little mini lotions in all the scents, and then I line them up on my dresser and admire them. I love being able to pick and choose which yummy smell I'm going to wear each day.
What are you looking forward to?

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday 8/26

This fun, weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

This week:

Q. In books like the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series the paranormal creature in question "comes out of the closet" and makes itself known to the world. Which mythical creature do you wish would come out of the closet, for real?

A. Shapeshifters. It would make a lot of sense to find out that some people can shift into certain animals. How many times in your life have you described somebody by their animal-like features or tendencies? I'm not the only one to nickname their neighbors in this way, right? For example, I live near Fish-guy and Wolf-man, and that's just naming a few ;-)

This fun meme is hosted at Crazy For Books. Check it out and join in!

“Non-book-related this week!! Do you have pets?”

Answer: I always thought I would have a dog once I was married and had kids. Then I actually had the kids....and after 4 1/2 years of changing one or two kids' diapers at a time, I decided that pets could wait until everybody could take care of their own hind ends :-) We're getting closer. Just one more to go, haha!

What about you??