tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34595899638928569442024-03-14T13:50:01.121-05:00Heather AnastasiuYA Sci-Fi/Dystopian AuthorHeather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.comBlogger286125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-23388140826137739782016-02-19T14:08:00.000-06:002016-02-19T14:11:57.553-06:00Book Trailer for GIRL LAST SEEN<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/woPldvy1qAo" width="500"></iframe></div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-50887539305522717952015-11-03T13:21:00.001-06:002015-11-03T13:35:35.329-06:00ESTHER by Rebecca Kanner - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1QxSIFcMVD5neD7qAKRxzTL9UHNQd45UzjN8mxaqSSmhAQYo3OZiI3s7zpCB1BUIrzP40e6c30XDVLmmzzZXHwPA_xu3HzwMXt5k4kCE-0eLzAq2v7aQRYwlTilSaXXDVHx_MG5E3Dw/s1600/Esther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1QxSIFcMVD5neD7qAKRxzTL9UHNQd45UzjN8mxaqSSmhAQYo3OZiI3s7zpCB1BUIrzP40e6c30XDVLmmzzZXHwPA_xu3HzwMXt5k4kCE-0eLzAq2v7aQRYwlTilSaXXDVHx_MG5E3Dw/s320/Esther.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b>SYNOPSIS:</b></div>
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From the award-winning author of Sinners and the Sea comes a
breathtaking new look into the timeless tale of Queen Esther.</div>
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A glittering Persian king has a vast empire that reaches
farther than where the sun meets the horizon. He is bathed in riches and
commands a frightening military force. He possesses power beyond any other
mortal man and rules his kingdom as a god. Anything he desires, he has. Any
woman he wants, he possesses. Thousands of them. Young virgins from all across
his many lands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A Jewish girl is ripped from her hut by the king’s brutish
warriors and forced to march across blistering, scorched earth to the capitol
city. Trapped for months in the splendid cage of the king’s palace, she must
avoid the ire of the king’s concubines and eunuchs all while preparing for her
one night with the king. Soon the fated night arrives, and she does everything
in her power to captivate the king and become his queen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But wearing the crown brings with it a new set of dangers.
When a ruthless man plies the king’s ear with whispers of genocide, it is up to
the young queen to prevent the extermination of the Jews. She must find the
strength within to violate the king’s law, risk her life, and save her people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a story of finding hidden depths of courage within
one’s self. Of risking it all to stand up for what is right.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the story of Queen Esther.</div>
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<b>MY REVIEW:</b></div>
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Wow. Wow wow wow. This book, holy crap, this book, you guys!
This is Queen Esther like you’ve never heard it told before—i.e., what it might
have REALLY been like. When you hear Bible stories, they’re always wrapped up
so prettily. Oh sure, there’s mention of how all these virgins are grabbed up
and all the concubines of the king, but that’s all brushed over because… GOD.
God was doing His stuff, yo! God saves His people again! Oh yeah, through this chick called Esther, but...God! It’s all so nice and sanitized, just like our
pretty Sunday School dresses.</div>
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So you know, little details of what it must have been like
living among the backstabbing harem and all the politics of palace life and the
positioning that must have been necessary to keep Esther alive, not to mention
the sex that was happening, cause you know—harem of concubines!—none of that
was ever part of the story. But Kanner brings Esther-the-woman alive. From a
terrified (but always strong) girl being stolen from her bed to the wise and
canny queen, Esther always feels <i>real</i>.
Getting to take the journey from her perspective is thrilling. I couldn’t put
the book down, as in literally, I read it in a single day. </div>
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What I didn’t expect going in was the almost Game of
Thrones-esque palace intrigues. Esther has her team of insiders and informants,
but Haman is an insidious adversary as good as any Lannister. Sometimes Esther
outsmarts Haman, sometimes she doesn’t and the battle between them for the
easily swayed King can get bloody. All in all, a thrilling novel that’s by
turns heart-breaking, hopeful, and one that will ultimately change the way you
think about this legendary woman forever. Five stars.<br />
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Available Now!<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1501108662?tag=simonsayscom" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/esther-rebecca-kanner/1120678731?ean=9781501108662&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-PwUJvmDcu1U-_-10:1" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a><br />
<a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781501108662" target="_blank">Books a Million</a><br />
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Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-12035479418023895762015-08-28T14:28:00.003-05:002015-08-31T14:11:50.270-05:00Cover Reveal & $50 Amazon Gift Card GIVEAWAY!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My new complete series is now LIVE! Here's the cover reveal for book II, House of Stone, the conclusion of my epic wartime romantic historical fiction series, for fans of Outlander and The Bronze Horseman. </span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><i>In WWII Romania, Tsura, a young Roma (gypsy) woman, has no choice but to leave her lover, Andrei, behind and marry the grandson of the man whose basement she and Andrei have been hiding in. An epic WWII saga, for fans of The Bronze Horseman and Outlander. </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">“It won’t be a real marriage.” Tsura put her hands to Andrei’s shirt and pulled him in close. “I’ll never share a bed with him. I love you. I only do what I have to do to keep us all safe. Once the war ends, it’ll be as if it never was.” She caught his face in her hands. “I am only yours, Andrei.” </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">“Yes, you’re only <i>mine</i>,” Andrei bent over and growled in her ear. “When you put on that dress for him and walk down the aisle in that ugly <i>goy</i> church,” he kissed her hard before putting a strong hand to the back of her neck, pulling her forehead to his, “you think of me, here. When you say your vows to <i>that man</i>, you remember that it’s <i>me</i> who has owned and claimed your body tonight.” He again pressed his lips to hers.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tsura-World-War-II-Romance-ebook/dp/B0145LASYM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">$0.99 or FREE </a></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tsura-World-War-II-Romance-ebook/dp/B0145LASYM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">with Kindle Unlimited!</a></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tsura-World-War-II-Romance-ebook/dp/B0145LASYM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWjAv9uyVHAHhtayrifvF8s9jy3uCfQCCVO538m1H87eoz-1warxxmpiJsCxOJVhCNxyFeeV-GCwuhkXLD8K21p2HBnvLhHyume5OK6SpetJvlKBs6g-gxtIKOWgdSoS7OpvBzMtk9oI/s1600/TSURA+3D+Book.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Stone-Tsura-Heather-Anastasiu-ebook/dp/B01463UGJ6/ref=la_B006G3K5O6_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440789943&sr=1-6" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib5cD2ogmGJvUGIYJKRPXNiW_8U8UEF1XZqkCC4PIRmXMd6H1WszxHWBeaoZS2ePPMEMgmvxQ2Y_Zej8Pref8xFZHruYcuJEaiVgLa0rrl0i0JWIL4bkkAWhliy9Ggbeazae_ns6cCkQ/s1600/HOUSE+OF+STONE+3D+Book.png" /></a></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="157d1c579" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/157d1c579/" id="rcwidget_szc3ydci" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-3700551192912152532015-08-10T17:16:00.000-05:002015-08-24T00:58:32.936-05:00What is Literary Voice? How Does a Writer Find Voice?<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Proxima Nova', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
As writers we hear a LOT about this word: <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">voice</em>. So much so, it almost begins to take on magical connotations. Agents demand it. Editors reject piles and piles of manuscripts for not having it. We’re told to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">discover it</em>, like it’s a hidden jewel in our soul, and if we mine deep enough, we’ll find it!</div>
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*insert discordant scratch on record player*</div>
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It took me a long time to realize that the words of the all-wise Inigo Montoya apply here: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”</div>
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When people talk about ‘voice’ like the hidden jewel to discover in themselves, they mean it in the poetic, stylistic sense, like on <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Project Runway </em>when the judges are say, that designer has a distinctive point of view or ‘voice.’ They mean, there is a sense of visual and artistic cohesion to their pieces, in the way that you can tell an impressionist is different from Picasso is different from Jackson Pollack. Or in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Project Runway</em> terms, Seth Aaron’s in-your-face dramatic sensibilities are very different from Anya’s flowing, feminine, wearable drapey dresses are different from Mondo’s style. This use of the term ‘voice’ is very useful for the visual arts and for writing poetry.</div>
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However, it’s NOT AT ALL USEFUL in the practical sense for fiction writers, because, unless you’re writing literary fiction (and even then, only <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">rarely</em>), voice is meant to be about the voice of your CHARACTER, not about your authorial stylistic voice. When agents and editors reject manuscripts for voice, it’s because the voice of the<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">character’s personality</em> isn’t coming through. Ironically, because of this false idea of what voice is, authors are over-writing with their prose styles and not letting character’s voices speak.</div>
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Because here’s the kicker: readers rarely care about how pretty or well constructed your sentences are. All readers (and agents and editors) want is to get pulled emotionally into a story. Which is accomplished through your character feeling like a fully-realized, complex human—via voice. Voice is merely the term to encompass all the ways this full character realization is translated onto the page (in every single line of text) through:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Internal Thought and Reflection</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Observation and Description</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">External Dialogue</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Movement (as in, blocking the movement of the characters within the setting, like actors on a stage)</li>
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How does your character see the world? What are they like? Down to earth? Snobby? Intellectual and detached? Overly empathetic? You as the writer have to be in their heads, whether you’re writing in first person or third. That’s where you discover voice—not in yourself, but in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">your character</em>. It’s not how you see the world that matters, it’s how <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">they</em> see it.</div>
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Do they have a penchant for gambling or drugs? They’ll always want to align themselves with the person in the room likeliest to give them their next fix. Every thought in their head, observation they make, thing they say, and movement they make is to get them closer to this goal. Through this, the reader should feel their personality because the reader is in their heads. As the writer, it’s your duty to see and write through the lens of the character. It’s up to you to get in their minds. Remember, you’re telling <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">their</em> story, not yours. Get as close to them as you can, even down to the language level—this is where their personality can shine through.</div>
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When I began to shift my paradigm to think this way, writing began to feel like an entirely different animal. And that’s when my (pile of) rejection slips started turning into acceptance notices.</div>
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Here’s my nice and fancy definition of voice to hang your hat on:</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The manner of language by which an author expresses personality to narrate a story. Voice is used to close the distance between narrator and reader so that the reader is immersed in the ‘feel’ and personality of the story that the author intentionally means to convey. All language—every line of text—including internal thought, observation, movement, and external dialogue should be filtered through voice.</em></div>
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I'll be teaching a class online this Fall on this topic if anyone's interested, here's a little intro video below.</div>
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Open to anyone, anywhere. For more deets, click here: <a href="https://www.loft.org/classes/detail/?loft_product_id=147467" target="_blank">The Loft Literary Center</a></div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-5568316621115675922015-05-04T17:13:00.000-05:002015-08-24T00:58:20.907-05:00Big News - I have a new book coming out!I was updating my website to include the new book I have coming out next year and realized I hadn't even mentioned it here yet! Gah, it's been a crazy busy month! So yes! I have a new book coming out next spring, a dark, twisty mystery with a little bit of sexy thrown in. It's called Girl Last Seen and I co-wrote it with the always fabulous Anne Greenwood Brown. She wrote one of the big main characters (Lauren) and I wrote the other (Jude). Here's the deets:<br />
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<i><span id="freeText4255182426922256276" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Lauren DeSanto never cared about the fame. The same could not be said for her best friend and bandmate Cadence Mulligan, who spent all her time promoting their music on YouTube. Even when their videos went viral, all Lauren cared about was their lyrics and their friendship. But when an infection paralyzed Lauren’s vocal cords and she could no longer sing, Cadence had no choice but to go solo.<br /><br />Cadence’s star is rising. That is, until she goes missing after playing a small show at the local coffee shop where Lauren works. All eyes turn to Lauren and suspicion turns to accusations when blood evidence is discovered on Lauren’s work shirt and motive is found in a terrible fight between the two former friends over Cadence’s boyfriend.<br /><br />And then there’s Jude Williams. He’s recently moved back to town with a vendetta against both girls. The problem is, as much as he tries to hate Lauren, he finds himself feeling sympathetic when the town and then the national media condemn her. After all, he knows what it’s like to be accused. It was Lauren’s false accusations that ruined his life.<br /><br />As Lauren and Jude work together to reveal the twisted life of Cadence Mulligan, neither knows if the other is indeed searching for the truth or playing an elaborate game to cover his or her own sins. They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But it’s hard to know what to do when you don’t know which is which.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;"> </span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Add it to your Goodreads, I can't wait to share this one with you guys. It comes out Spring of next year. And stay tuned here and at my FB page - we'll be doing giveaways and other fun things when we've got a cover to reveal :D </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24735745-the-twisted-life" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryMzoF98m6T0FMywZquVk5nS5V-45a-i5Tq8WOkA803L0sN9fSsBPuhSF04NtnfmbBgRYlsBgy5F4t9mFbXAZO5_HVHFlZHpoThZj2BDKT8YafT0sjhZ-Kypxr_1BwZ6ZhREMrcXuWfc/s1600/goodreads.png" /></a></span></div>
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Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-48379890239072469632015-04-11T13:28:00.001-05:002015-04-11T13:28:19.751-05:00Review - Love on the Ledge by Zoraida Córdova<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqS60yrZoQbkY7l3QnEGtwnuBSEedxdJDjYA1MqGhKIuCrzeqZAWXGDPcVlp12Jy8UqjdfQGho8wU6JYkX70BHZQUUev3Z5G_yw9zeNZYTuAzErpiff5OSB_uNxfb6JFVztU2kGd_OWI/s1600/love+on+the+ledge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqS60yrZoQbkY7l3QnEGtwnuBSEedxdJDjYA1MqGhKIuCrzeqZAWXGDPcVlp12Jy8UqjdfQGho8wU6JYkX70BHZQUUev3Z5G_yw9zeNZYTuAzErpiff5OSB_uNxfb6JFVztU2kGd_OWI/s1600/love+on+the+ledge.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;"><b>Book Summary:</b></span></i></div>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Sky Lopez thought she had it all—the perfect job, the perfect relationship, the perfect life…until she discovers her not-so-perfect boyfriend has been cheating on her. So when her uncle asks her to help plan his Hamptons wedding, Sky jumps at the chance, leaving all of her “perfect” future plans in the rearview mirror.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">The wedding doesn’t prove as good a distraction as she’d hoped, because when her relatives and friends find out she’s single, they put Sky in their match-making sights. Never mind that she’s only twenty four. Never mind that she doesn’t want to settle for anyone other than Mr. Right. Seemingly everyone in Sky’s life wants her to get married and have babies. Like, yesterday.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">So when Hayden—a sweet, sexy roofer—plummets through the ceiling and practically falls into her lap, she can’t help but think that maybe nice guys do just fall from the sky.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Soon Sky finds herself juggling crumbling wedding plans, the cheating ex who’s trying to win her back, the cute plastic surgeon her family thinks is perfect for her, and the hot roofer she can’t seem to get off her mind.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">As the wedding date draws closer, Sky will need to choose one—or none—to keep herself from falling off the ledge, and maybe into love.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">So much fun! You just get to step into this huge, crazy family (and friends so close they feel like family) and are swept in from the first chapter. The book takes place as Sky prepares for her uncle’s wedding and it has all the antics of a big family wedding. But it’s more than that, too. Sky has been burned bad by her ex and the last thing in the world she is look for is love. Until a hunky roofer literally falls through the ceiling and into her path.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Their romance is so real. Sky is wary of starting anything. She’s not looking for a rebound guy, and Hayden has hurts from his own past. But they are continually drawn to one another. Watching them spend more and more time together was such a pleasure to read. It was so genuine. That was the best part about this book. The realness of it in the family dynamics, the relationship, the conversations. Gah. I just downed this book. If you're into books with heart that make you laugh your butt off, I highly recommend Love on the Ledge.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Publish Date: May 5, 2015</span>Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-54257233695217045482015-02-03T21:27:00.000-06:002015-02-03T21:27:15.239-06:00Review: Samantha Young's HERO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGxKgnO5OxrSQ4gX-1w8mhm4_7xaOP7GHBUmh9Uu4gpjQkue2CbdH90s96rNkInKnnquZ42NUcEPkMh0ve86XjmWOLyLgGA6PS4o36Mi-rzHM8mHHybhhmYbyYSD0ycX8nrMVbwURAEo/s1600/Hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGxKgnO5OxrSQ4gX-1w8mhm4_7xaOP7GHBUmh9Uu4gpjQkue2CbdH90s96rNkInKnnquZ42NUcEPkMh0ve86XjmWOLyLgGA6PS4o36Mi-rzHM8mHHybhhmYbyYSD0ycX8nrMVbwURAEo/s1600/Hero.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
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<b><i>SYNOPSIS:</i></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that she and her mother weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets,. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again…</span><br />
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<b><i>MY REVIEW:</i></b></div>
This was my favorite Samantha Young book since On Dublin Street. We’re so familiar with the hot CEO trend (and my fear going into this book was that it would feel like the same old, same old). Instead, Young brings a fresh take on CEOs because none Alexa and Caine, yes, but none of that insta-love or even insta-lust crap that drives me so crazy. Neither was there a point somewhere in the novel where Caine stops being a real person and turns into a two-dimensional ‘alpha male’ stereotype like so many authors are writing these days.<br />
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Alexa too escapes a common trap of being a weak female lead. All of her choices throughout the novel feel realistic and really hit you gut emotionally. She fights hard but is able to be vulnerable too and it’s this combination as she tries to tear down Caine’s walls that keeps you flipping pages. Gah, such a great book. Five star read for me.<br />
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Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-36916285363516360952015-01-21T22:20:00.000-06:002015-01-21T22:20:11.932-06:00Big-Boned. It's Not Just a Euphemism.I was wearing women's size 12 pants when I was in fourth and fifth grade and in 16's by 8th grade. None of that Junior's section crap for me either. Nope, it was Ladies 16's. And I felt fat. These were in EXTRA LARGE territory after all.<br />
<br />
Because everywhere I am hearing about how we should be a size 6 or 4 or of course, a size freaking zero. Because those are the sample sizes they are making for models! So the theory is that if I could lose enough weight, I could one day be a size six or four. I could get to be a SMALL. If I worked hard enough. If I just lost enough weight!<br />
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Like a lot of teenagers, I became obsessed with my weight. I stopped just short of developing a full blown eating disorder, but the obsession of counting calories consumed most waking moments for a couple years there... and I only ever made it to a size 8. Which at the time seemed like failure. Why not 6 or 4?<br />
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I haven't thought about all this kind of crap in a long time. Went to college, met a dude, got married, got secure in my body, myself. Have gone up and down in body size. Last year I dropped a bunch of weight due to a migraine med I went on, I know, you all want to punch me. All this to say, randomly, I haven't weighed so little since high school. I haven't tried on jeans to size myself (I abandoned pants with like, buttons, a couple years ago, I just wear jeggings, yay, pajamas you can wear outside!), but I did decide to try a new style, so I bought a bunch of dresses off ModCloth.<br />
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I figured, hey, I'm skinny now! I'm probably a Medium.<br />
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Picture me: aglow to get my new coat from Modcloth. I have not purchased new clothing (other than aforementioned jeggings) in two or three years. I take the glorious garment from the box and slip it on one arm. And then try to slip it on the other arm.<br />
<br />
Except it doesn't go.<br />
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I mean, it sort of goes. I can jab the arm in there, but trying to button the damn thing, well let's just say that sucker's not going in. It <i>almost</i> gets there. But even if I suck in really, <i>really hard</i>, it's not making it. Because there are these things called RIBS. And they're in the way. Because even though I'm randomly so skinny that my waist is basically just my f'ing RIBS, I'm STILL not getting into a Medium.<br />
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<b>That's right kids, I'm STILL A LARGE. At the smallest size I should healthily be, I'm a LARGE. </b><br />
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There was never EVER hope of me fitting into a size 4 or 6. Because my BONES wouldn't have fit. I'm only now realizing this at age 32. The bones of my hips would literally split the seams and not get into those motherf'ers. It wasn't the 'thunder thighs.' There are bones involved!<br />
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So I start looking around at my friends. Like the one who fit into size 4's. Like, measuring the width of her hip bones to the width of mine. I'm so skinny now my hip bones freaking stick out! And there's no way these suckers are fitting in anything smaller than like a size 10 or 12 pants now that I'm an adult!<br />
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Yet when we say we're big-boned, people laugh under their breath. Yeah, okay, they think. Just a nice way of saying overweight. And then I want to punch them in the face. Now I have proof! I'm skinny enough to see these damn big bones poking out, and they're just mother'fing bigger than all the tiny size 4's out there!<br />
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I wish we could all rearrange our ideas of SMALL and LARGE or somehow do away with all this shit! GAH! Because these size idealizations screwed me up so much as a teenage girl. I was only ever gonna fit into Large or Extra-Large clothes, and not because I was fat. This is such an f'ing revelation to me, now all these years later. I want to go hug teenage Heather.<br />
<br />
Long story short, I reordered the dresses and coat in Large.<br />
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THIS IS WHAT LARGE LOOKS LIKE! OR SKINNY! OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT! I feel f'ing gorgeous, so that's what I'll call it ;)<br />
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<br />Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-72762843334369250272014-12-28T21:49:00.002-06:002014-12-28T21:57:50.884-06:00Heather's Best Reads of 2014<div class="MsoNormal">
My reading lists each year are generally nothing to brag
about to because I don’t read the kind of books that the intellectual cool kats are reading. Let's just say that few of the books I like ever make it onto the New York Times
Book Review section.</div>
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I read trashy romance. There! I said it.</div>
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I love it. It’s my bread and butter. After a long day of
writing and hanging out with the kiddo and husband, I just want… Well, what I
want in a book kind of changes all the time. Because what I really want is for
my socks to be blown off. I don’t want cheap escapism. I don’t want a cookie
cutout of a hero and heroine. I really want psychological complexity and depth
and to be put through the ringer and an ending that feels earned. Basically,
I wish I could have Outlander or The Bronze Horsemen or… hmm, what are my other
gold standards for amazing? Haha, I’m too knee-deep in historical fiction to
have any other reference points of books that ripped out my guts like those two
(both of which I read <i>last</i> year,
funnily enough). </div>
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In the meantime, I read everything else, and I try to be
pretty unabashed and unashamed about it, because f*** that s*** about shaming
smart chicks even when we like to read books that don’t *seem* intellectual
enough or whatever crap people like to label ‘romance’ book readers with (to all of
those people, I want to say, hey a-hole, I read Derrida and I understood him!...
okay, well, I *mostly* understood him...!). The books I will list below may have
their problems and I’m sure my fellow feminists and I could get into some
heated arguments about them, but it can’t be denied that the authors want to f*** with your emotions, in some cases exploring the dark and taboo,
which I think secretly fascinates us all. And they sure took me on one hell of
a ride. </div>
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Also note, books on the first 3/4ths of this list are pretty much exclusively self-published books, which I went on a tear with this year. It wasn't me trying to say FU to the publishing industry or anything. These books were just telling some crazy a** interesting stories. They aren't the self-pub of even 5 years ago. These are well edited and stories the mainstream publishers aren't touching, probably why I was like, wow, this isn't anything I've ever read before (often very dark reads).</div>
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Pepper Winters: Tears of Tess; Quintessentially Q; Destroyed<br />
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Pam Godwin: Deliver; Beneath the Burn<br />
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Tabitha McGowan: The Tied Man<br />
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Tillie Cole: It Ain't Me Babe; Sweet Home; Sweet Rome; Sweet Fall</div>
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Laurelin Paige: Fixed On You Trilogy<br />
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Mia Sheridan: Archer's Voice; Leo; Stinger (<i>especially Archer's Voice)</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc7fSd9-ncfm9a5TN0ev-ZcUq6cpqRZme27BXvdXufERBhDiie-BPEl15YHWizFNJh6RNeHoufR6XzUvpy1yX-jZyv4s2T8dmmLrVpt0ytvjB72j7eC8aMWpcz0BVn0H_rxoV00uPIVg/s1600/Archer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc7fSd9-ncfm9a5TN0ev-ZcUq6cpqRZme27BXvdXufERBhDiie-BPEl15YHWizFNJh6RNeHoufR6XzUvpy1yX-jZyv4s2T8dmmLrVpt0ytvjB72j7eC8aMWpcz0BVn0H_rxoV00uPIVg/s1600/Archer.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0NIGy3ygyL_va7WNAq2Tar645eCnW5s4whMfcIGROY5OWBUxy_Ov8UxxvyIyHlFaO91f8vdH0hXp5_rHzxrkml82LDJpVjER_xLP-jxy4QUabq1TBsRIN12oIf_QIPE3_6Lz6iEYiLs/s1600/Leo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0NIGy3ygyL_va7WNAq2Tar645eCnW5s4whMfcIGROY5OWBUxy_Ov8UxxvyIyHlFaO91f8vdH0hXp5_rHzxrkml82LDJpVjER_xLP-jxy4QUabq1TBsRIN12oIf_QIPE3_6Lz6iEYiLs/s1600/Leo.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmHlIBCF-d4i1BexEdTZpUY6DYhez1KsPX4mSGsY7r-wLbGgpfrRfyXrnQONl5sk5z4cdBgWzC4reFhyphenhyphenz86yIfCBHGbA4wuWxMHT6E165azP3rxf6L9OXkL6X9-qWNpbi6UDMjRWlzLI/s1600/Stinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmHlIBCF-d4i1BexEdTZpUY6DYhez1KsPX4mSGsY7r-wLbGgpfrRfyXrnQONl5sk5z4cdBgWzC4reFhyphenhyphenz86yIfCBHGbA4wuWxMHT6E165azP3rxf6L9OXkL6X9-qWNpbi6UDMjRWlzLI/s1600/Stinger.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a></div>
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A. E. Muphy: Broken; Connected<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloLzgxIaZq4jlup6che1Du6JkdgwGIUW8jGwOnkIftmoAByQIouXjwy7EOhx0a9nHA5kjygFKj-LNmDfh7V0IMBzye0ZGJfxTf12lwLUGDEo_P7xeX7p51HHoh4BTNe8ZSTbUwbZ1MVg/s1600/broken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloLzgxIaZq4jlup6che1Du6JkdgwGIUW8jGwOnkIftmoAByQIouXjwy7EOhx0a9nHA5kjygFKj-LNmDfh7V0IMBzye0ZGJfxTf12lwLUGDEo_P7xeX7p51HHoh4BTNe8ZSTbUwbZ1MVg/s1600/broken.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w31j9yrjdkW9MF7nW2Ss91mu9izGpp6PQWC25_wxPv9ek7aweGifdXQXGjJ8Yy1q0XMy9HLtTfgFWYG4D1FHgJ9s7CUtKFkn15FR6DxiQnr1CZLxv4FOik_zt1lzGlve8SB6OnlmqVc/s1600/Connected.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w31j9yrjdkW9MF7nW2Ss91mu9izGpp6PQWC25_wxPv9ek7aweGifdXQXGjJ8Yy1q0XMy9HLtTfgFWYG4D1FHgJ9s7CUtKFkn15FR6DxiQnr1CZLxv4FOik_zt1lzGlve8SB6OnlmqVc/s1600/Connected.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
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Shay Savage: Surviving Raine; Transcendence<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBECA3cYCa2IN9PGjlR0d13IYdzx9rcO0WKgOapSDfXPnyLGFDNBxikD1I6aNk7r2t0ZNkr1MzGKDx-n56Z_G3PNGrra3YWNJtqWVTXbKlHcaCPYjsFml1fIqiSA-3PISxRv5-4xz4UA/s1600/Surviving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBECA3cYCa2IN9PGjlR0d13IYdzx9rcO0WKgOapSDfXPnyLGFDNBxikD1I6aNk7r2t0ZNkr1MzGKDx-n56Z_G3PNGrra3YWNJtqWVTXbKlHcaCPYjsFml1fIqiSA-3PISxRv5-4xz4UA/s1600/Surviving.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXn6FvuESv0jq40ERbcqmaBm3bDh7dzoyWwHhsp1-l3WkdsNFdv27hA3vyCTghnhd24WPBnrse19CfaQH0RhXYgm6Llu67LQZcs8a5s9TeEMZ9Q88hx2sYYhMAjR1_BpCbZCNgDU_BNo/s1600/Transc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXn6FvuESv0jq40ERbcqmaBm3bDh7dzoyWwHhsp1-l3WkdsNFdv27hA3vyCTghnhd24WPBnrse19CfaQH0RhXYgm6Llu67LQZcs8a5s9TeEMZ9Q88hx2sYYhMAjR1_BpCbZCNgDU_BNo/s1600/Transc.jpg" height="200" width="134" /></a></div>
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Also, I barely read anything in YA, and mostly just friends' or acquaintances' books, but of what I did, there were a few stand outs, this amazing series:</div>
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Juliann Rich: Caught in the Crossfire; Searching for Grace<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd3IRmzmKh0WjObRFbDyXpNaPjYZFg1_EXfJXACJVypP_Yt9k61m8JojGJq0BWp73G-OfOCqjp2CY7YNx4MZzVoHmKLXpPy2waZx8lZ-BwYe42jjRBeWmv4cOVUV7mRr3odqmnpCh7oE/s1600/Crossfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd3IRmzmKh0WjObRFbDyXpNaPjYZFg1_EXfJXACJVypP_Yt9k61m8JojGJq0BWp73G-OfOCqjp2CY7YNx4MZzVoHmKLXpPy2waZx8lZ-BwYe42jjRBeWmv4cOVUV7mRr3odqmnpCh7oE/s1600/Crossfire.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMP853smvUsYvQJhIV6-2uSsjaWX3ioittvd0L4ZXdAZ5Ww4eDod5y4c5g5AcV9KJ_T7hD2aZrGY8rpl34UTBNEwBhyrh06H7mRXJOQv1rvhxynQc7pzwtuBZcV8fTgIdyBk4RhSTQ2J4/s1600/searching+for+grace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMP853smvUsYvQJhIV6-2uSsjaWX3ioittvd0L4ZXdAZ5Ww4eDod5y4c5g5AcV9KJ_T7hD2aZrGY8rpl34UTBNEwBhyrh06H7mRXJOQv1rvhxynQc7pzwtuBZcV8fTgIdyBk4RhSTQ2J4/s1600/searching+for+grace.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a></div>
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and this book was great too, I feel like I want to suck out the author's brains to figure out and understand how she wrote a dude's voice so naturally since I'm trying to write from a guy's POV in my newest book. Men are an alien race of unfathomable shallows and crannies. Her book illustrates this perfectly.<br />
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Carrie Mesrobian: Sex & Violence<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltC1snq3gLD7Xr7QqVtguJGOqJSZrKMWkUhmieQ5eaBRLb0g3ylRd0w6ogS18eZnA7OCBJwLGH0fPW79F5wiFF0CxVt-UibS-HyjzqoVWsVI8z-ukEgO4Eke53Ur9EBURTRriQpX9_2M/s1600/sex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltC1snq3gLD7Xr7QqVtguJGOqJSZrKMWkUhmieQ5eaBRLb0g3ylRd0w6ogS18eZnA7OCBJwLGH0fPW79F5wiFF0CxVt-UibS-HyjzqoVWsVI8z-ukEgO4Eke53Ur9EBURTRriQpX9_2M/s1600/sex.jpg" height="200" width="142" /></a></div>
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Then the later part of the year, I got into the genre I swore
would never interest me, literary fiction. Stop the presses, I'm as shocked as you. Because GUYS, I found some that was
readable and had PLOT! And characters I could dig into! And that hit me in the
guts, which is all I really want from a book. Please, just please, books, cut me up inside but then put me back together a little bit at the end!!! I'm not sure how long this will last or if I just stumbled onto a few really good ones.<br />
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So here are some of the more literary finds, probably more of the upmarket variety and not deep into the heavy folds of literary fiction, but I dig what I dig.<br />
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Carson McCullers: The Member of the Wedding<br />
Anthony Marra: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena<br />
Chris Bohjalian: The Light in the Ruins<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNr6sg6wqqSZ32zPTFZvZAp5K2tYr9FmX7xd2ZYY6EAS7LwJ19VHySBL8XVrOPXpbgmDl9PZ1Xuf1ihYxdwjd4nAmD7UQxJ0kWtS3DiFQ4hLS9ldGX9X43E1QJEWoRoFpDzyx_HMwnSMk/s1600/member.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNr6sg6wqqSZ32zPTFZvZAp5K2tYr9FmX7xd2ZYY6EAS7LwJ19VHySBL8XVrOPXpbgmDl9PZ1Xuf1ihYxdwjd4nAmD7UQxJ0kWtS3DiFQ4hLS9ldGX9X43E1QJEWoRoFpDzyx_HMwnSMk/s1600/member.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDTCwmsEaRVzPdwv2Fmksg8M9VNHXZTzllxO8urE0HGEuP1CTDp79Td347ahnVirjRDcmixwdwbMroYv0aZOD_M7sNvcfeELd6LUn63jY6oxfUZo97NAYlyGKxKrFxZlKTlMYzhCTPxg/s1600/constellation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDTCwmsEaRVzPdwv2Fmksg8M9VNHXZTzllxO8urE0HGEuP1CTDp79Td347ahnVirjRDcmixwdwbMroYv0aZOD_M7sNvcfeELd6LUn63jY6oxfUZo97NAYlyGKxKrFxZlKTlMYzhCTPxg/s1600/constellation.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECBai6nsLi40Xg-6RD2SdQAYO7wBdwNymWRpgttpiwllL4AfHqmeUWyBaNMsc8LRl_fT3IaZoKNF6VqCGEPb-3GwSD4JkLpdaf0kAGuFdP5N7-EUMKs03RhOcPmN2soqQmN8_Ue5sAyA/s1600/ruins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECBai6nsLi40Xg-6RD2SdQAYO7wBdwNymWRpgttpiwllL4AfHqmeUWyBaNMsc8LRl_fT3IaZoKNF6VqCGEPb-3GwSD4JkLpdaf0kAGuFdP5N7-EUMKs03RhOcPmN2soqQmN8_Ue5sAyA/s1600/ruins.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
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Then there were these two installments, where I met Karl Ove in deep and intimate detail and couldn't look away for about a thousand pages. Like anyone who reads them, I can't imagine them leaving my thoughts any time soon.<br />
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Karl Ove Knausgård: My Struggle Book 1 & 2<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JnVtCBTbbSfzXuWA5TIyyjMEG84X0t2txYh2vUCmDBnqonw3_oNtCbTglM2MquSeC13JIcSbcc6Gl9zg-_n8pW3SpsI80QIvRZSUqM8DDpCD2ZPjHvURvwmTIT28g-qc0IxUQfYKElo/s1600/My+struggle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JnVtCBTbbSfzXuWA5TIyyjMEG84X0t2txYh2vUCmDBnqonw3_oNtCbTglM2MquSeC13JIcSbcc6Gl9zg-_n8pW3SpsI80QIvRZSUqM8DDpCD2ZPjHvURvwmTIT28g-qc0IxUQfYKElo/s1600/My+struggle+1.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_QQwP5UTUdSsulluSamKuIjp7wxwBW0OpIrlKeCsriG_KbA_xLzQSvF7EpbF2JO1LcmbE67wHAhHem7cewCmmwZjkftHMyMYwWgFKuWZ8fBUnpbyv5bILkPCoaiXOn6YsF7Gr4fTGPc/s1600/My+struggle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_QQwP5UTUdSsulluSamKuIjp7wxwBW0OpIrlKeCsriG_KbA_xLzQSvF7EpbF2JO1LcmbE67wHAhHem7cewCmmwZjkftHMyMYwWgFKuWZ8fBUnpbyv5bILkPCoaiXOn6YsF7Gr4fTGPc/s1600/My+struggle+2.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
And to end with, the book that blew me to pieces, and not just because of the 'choice' which I kinda knew about from pop culture, and not even because of the language usage in the writing, but because of the VOICE Styron masterfully captures-- through which there are all the things the reader can see in the immensely complex Sophie and Nathan that the 22-year-old Stingo is too young and naive to comprehend (yet with overtones of his older self seeing as he retells the story). To show your reader something your protagonist isn't seeing, when your protagonist is sort of the narrator (though occasionally his much older self jumps in with foreshadowy things) - are you getting how difficult that is to do as a writer? Wicked hard, but Styron navigates it so naturally.<br />
<br />
God, there's just a mastery to the writing in that way. It's not about beautiful language, but it's the epitome of what they're talking about when the say <i>voice</i>. It was like a master class. So I'm watching all of that happen with a writer's eye and then being drawn into the tragedy of the narrative, which is almost Shakespearean as it unfolds. I felt like any keen reader can see where it's heading long before it arrives and like Romeo and Juliet, you are on the ride for the headlong rush toward disaster and you Cannot. Look. Away.<br />
<br />
William Styron: Sophie's Choice<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeiJcBmCZzV6QIlvebvvJc79MfuUS6EW5Sx-u0h_MfTxRbFS1qnUzTmFC6LyrRdGARIzPqeoCuYUTR3CG3LVMfH8Et30Fdux8VAzaDENvPKPkQ0-w9IsJwxDfYLT349gfZwf3SEXoUVo/s1600/sophie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeiJcBmCZzV6QIlvebvvJc79MfuUS6EW5Sx-u0h_MfTxRbFS1qnUzTmFC6LyrRdGARIzPqeoCuYUTR3CG3LVMfH8Et30Fdux8VAzaDENvPKPkQ0-w9IsJwxDfYLT349gfZwf3SEXoUVo/s1600/sophie.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
So, 2014, another year down, nice knowing you. 288 books read. It's strange as hell where the rabbit trails of reading interests lead. Lets see where 2015 takes us.Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-36857888138766836152014-12-23T13:36:00.003-06:002014-12-23T13:37:49.867-06:00Review: Bad Romeo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPilxA-_AcEk3g1n6yczpztbBzMqcgYw5AIx-GQUHX-eBRYYev7REcOHP2svOBsBg5PpoSxD0B4Zog8W6GlDm_rHr2Orrw2sDiX_XkFUvk0PKEU8UFCgD11RioE_ESOix6SKm2_e8on0/s1600/Bad+Romeo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPilxA-_AcEk3g1n6yczpztbBzMqcgYw5AIx-GQUHX-eBRYYev7REcOHP2svOBsBg5PpoSxD0B4Zog8W6GlDm_rHr2Orrw2sDiX_XkFUvk0PKEU8UFCgD11RioE_ESOix6SKm2_e8on0/s1600/Bad+Romeo.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Bad Romeo</i> by Leisa Rayven</b></div>
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<b>St. Martin's Press</b></div>
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<b>Now Available</b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Plot Summary from Goodreads:</i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.6000003814697px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">When Cassie Taylor met Ethan Holt at acting school, sparks flew. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy about campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing, Cassie and Ethan's romance seemed destined. Until he broke her heart and betrayed her trust. Now the A-list heartthrob is back in her life and turning her world around. One touch at a time. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.6000003814697px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.6000003814697px; line-height: 15.4559993743896px;">Cast as romantic leads once again, they're forced to confront raw memories of the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their secret college affair. But they'll also discover that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks.</span></div>
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<b><i>My Review:</i></b></div>
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This story unfolds, both present and past, in a way that
won't let you stop flipping pages. The characters are so well drawn, you are
just IN the story from the first page. Ethan is so screwed up, but not in your
typical asshole alpha guy way. I think that's what felt so fresh about this
book. The drama and difficulties in the relationship between Ethan and Cassie
felt new and different from all the other NA books we're reading out there. And
seeing the change from past Cassie to present Cassie is so dramatic, gah, there
just a ton of mysteries wrapped up in the past that are desperate to know WHAT
HAPPENED and HOW it happened and also wanting in your guts for things to work
out between these two! Amazing writing, amazing book, can't wait for the next
installment!</div>
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<i>Thanks to NetGalley for a free review copy. Available now, everywhere books are sold.</i></div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-77223017740820979272014-12-03T00:32:00.001-06:002014-12-04T13:03:50.057-06:00The Great Experiment: Parenting<div class="MsoNormal">
After coming back from holiday vacation, I find it’s
difficult to transition my headspace back into real life. My mind is still lost
in the place I visited. We drove eight hours to <st1:city w:st="on">Chicago</st1:city> and stayed with college friends and
their four children, all under eleven, for three days over Thanksgiving
weekend. Today was my first full day at home trying to work and write again,
but all I could think about was being back there, all the thoughts and
revelations and conversations and observations of their family and family life.
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I was very impressed by our friends' parenting style (also
it’s been so interesting to see friends you met in college develop over a
decade into responsible parent types). Naturally, my friend L has to be at the
top of her game all the time with so many kids running around. She homeschools
them too, and I don’t know, has this bearing of order even though it
understandably gets chaotic at times. Anyway, ha ha, it’s a different parenting
style from at our house with my own son which ends up being very laissez faire
out of necessity because of my health conditions and my husband being in a PhD
program. L has to have a military lineup in order to feed them all, whereas
we’re like, kid, go find yourself some dinner in the fridge! Um, yeah. Her kids
eat better.</div>
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But more than that, it’s just the different cultures of
families. We think a lot about multiculturalism and the differences in cultures
and the difficulty this creates in communications between ethnicities (I’m not
just talking language wise), but this weekend made me think about the vast
differences in the home lives of families, which affects how the kids will see
the world their whole lives (whether they retain the views or rebel against
them). Her children are growing up copying out Bible verses and with a
religious lens to everything in their world. Because L homeschools them, she’s
able to discuss world events and history and science and economics influenced
by their family's sense of morality. My son is a lot more influenced by forces
outside the home since he spends the majority of his time at school and an
afterschool program. He’s in fourth grade, out in the world of social strata
and bullies and the drama and trauma of all that and then he comes home to our
little haven, an only child, where we all spend two hours a night together,
eating and maybe watching a show.</div>
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I’m not saying one way is better or the other, but it was
startling to me for some reason to witness such a different way of doing
things. Which is an obvious thing, I know. But how often do you get to get a
close-up view of another family, sleeping in their living room and observing
them morning to night for half a week? And while parents might be on best
behavior, children under ten don’t quite get the concept, so it all tends to
hang out. You see it as it is. I felt like there were a lot of things I could
learn from L. Other things I felt I was contented about at home. Other things
that make me feel intensely curious about the true home lives of other people,
which you rarely get an honest picture of even in a memoir because few people
are willing to be so honest (unless your name is Karl Ove Knausgård).<br />
<br />
So my overall thoughts were ultimately about the quandary of
marriage, when you get two people together who come from these opposite little
orbits, these mini-cultures of their families growing up who then meld into
their own new orbit trying to come up with their own new customs and laws and
language and how strange and awkward and rocky it is at first trying to
navigate together. Just ask anyone in their first year of marriage! Especially
if they haven’t lived together beforehand. I think about my son’s future
partner and wonder about all these strange little habits we are forming in him both
good and bad and then I just laugh and hope I’m just not screwing him up too
badly. The rest I leave to his future therapist.</div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-46668395012170156242014-08-07T11:16:00.000-05:002014-08-07T11:16:43.457-05:00Picture Post: What It Feels Like To Finish Writing a 700 Page Novel<div style="text-align: center;">
I did it!!!! I just typed the last word of the Epic World War II Saga I have been toiling on for about a year now!!! It's 700 pages! 230,000 words! Oh my God, I can't believe it! </div>
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This is the most insane, amazing feeling! I want to quote Titanic. </div>
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Screw it, I'm GOING to quote Titanic! </div>
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I'm the King of the Woooooooooooooorld!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw92jx7HbpBk_Kj4b0WG836lruZc5MH6rNsIN6QoMu57EVQS-j3BYL23oeMmqVSSFpY6u0Y2fUww6pPpdLhObt2tpv_ZwAj4O0ooN80_O0fRsoH_pZ6Skz575XGeKxzeKxqoHvd90QsS8/s1600/Heather+Anastasiu+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw92jx7HbpBk_Kj4b0WG836lruZc5MH6rNsIN6QoMu57EVQS-j3BYL23oeMmqVSSFpY6u0Y2fUww6pPpdLhObt2tpv_ZwAj4O0ooN80_O0fRsoH_pZ6Skz575XGeKxzeKxqoHvd90QsS8/s1600/Heather+Anastasiu+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Okay, Heather, time for some long giddy breaths in and out. Whew. Wow. That was intense. *looks at calender* Dang, I wrote that last 50,000 words in two and a half weeks! If this was YA, that'd be like a first draft a book! </div>
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Sheesh, this historical fiction stuff is crazy! I'm not sure I ever want to do that again. It's so many pages!</div>
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...</div>
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Wait a second...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHU0jjpVfxWm2birO2-OVevoTPiTqUgZ5yvUgJryKkdZ7RA8DCE0rWBRRa-rJwlCM9sno8hUrTxxRrOTQOt2GcCx8lWhp5wvrrXhHcPtx7t-6Rtnikjer3hdSqTZ9nXNCRyZBCmhNdjY/s1600/Anastasiu+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHU0jjpVfxWm2birO2-OVevoTPiTqUgZ5yvUgJryKkdZ7RA8DCE0rWBRRa-rJwlCM9sno8hUrTxxRrOTQOt2GcCx8lWhp5wvrrXhHcPtx7t-6Rtnikjer3hdSqTZ9nXNCRyZBCmhNdjY/s1600/Anastasiu+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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That's really a LOT of pages...</div>
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Quite a lot of pages, actually.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLsk5r9qtlbG6j6FcBKlA96tH1Eq1Y0hZcRDgDbkfXDfxHgQDaGyvVR5WTgs_RVckEvFIqd-aH6oKMqsMCGYhswAHNdu5ghY8385Ta9ZatzR-Rfnvh705kRq7NhuDRriV3Kc8Mk7Gdsw/s1600/Anastasiu+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLsk5r9qtlbG6j6FcBKlA96tH1Eq1Y0hZcRDgDbkfXDfxHgQDaGyvVR5WTgs_RVckEvFIqd-aH6oKMqsMCGYhswAHNdu5ghY8385Ta9ZatzR-Rfnvh705kRq7NhuDRriV3Kc8Mk7Gdsw/s1600/Anastasiu+3.jpg" /></a></div>
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That I now have to edit and do rewrites on.</div>
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Umm... why did I think this whole epic war saga </div>
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historical fiction thing was a good idea again? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe9Lym_lES5LPBVHyxJbc5DK19eAgEX1aIcapm7yZPRB0HIMtLq2YYrIugd12cOE4PWEUX-UKUf0nh3QBLLjqm6FLLkpItShTvEBVwRcsB6BHqqwaQkQfHFMvwHdqgD1anaNXB456gH4/s1600/Anastasiu+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe9Lym_lES5LPBVHyxJbc5DK19eAgEX1aIcapm7yZPRB0HIMtLq2YYrIugd12cOE4PWEUX-UKUf0nh3QBLLjqm6FLLkpItShTvEBVwRcsB6BHqqwaQkQfHFMvwHdqgD1anaNXB456gH4/s1600/Anastasiu+4.jpg" /></a></div>
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Oh right. The art. The emotion. The characters. Blood and chaos and kingdoms rising and falling within the span of just a couple of years and a love story and my two main characters just trying to survive and it's all so deep and meaningful. And all that.</div>
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Yeah. I think I'm going to go take a nap now.</div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-17005150845323556752014-07-20T17:19:00.000-05:002014-07-20T17:57:56.024-05:00Recent Reads I've Loved! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMtc8WZmGyMtB6fAI-2ks887vkVJ51bjci6S7zMmV4baCUGP261-4u8TBLKYOFjOaoAiFRpRcagvsW81DNtqzaF6hHyIV2-PcinUcAbOuz6kxCK0U-gG0utxEU0F_MP_cvqc-pE7DEB8/s1600/Truly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMtc8WZmGyMtB6fAI-2ks887vkVJ51bjci6S7zMmV4baCUGP261-4u8TBLKYOFjOaoAiFRpRcagvsW81DNtqzaF6hHyIV2-PcinUcAbOuz6kxCK0U-gG0utxEU0F_MP_cvqc-pE7DEB8/s1600/Truly.jpg" /></a></div>
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Summary:<br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">May Fredericks hates New York. Which is fair enough, since New York seems to hate her back. Just weeks after moving from Wisconsin to Manhattan, she receives the world's worst marriage proposal, stabs her boyfriend with a shrimp fork in a very public venue, and accidentally becomes notorious. And that’s before she gets mugged.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">At her wit's end, May washes up at a Packers bar in Greenwich Village, where she meets a surly, unhelpful guy who hates her shoes and calls her ex a douche.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">His name is Ben. He used to be a chef. Now he's a rooftop beekeeper with anger management issues. She wouldn't even like him, but he reminds her of home … and he knows where to find all the best food in the Village.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">She makes him laugh. He buys her tacos and cowboy boots. The longer they’re stuck together, the better May and Ben get along … and the harder they fall. TRULY is a quirky, modern New York love story unlike any you've read before.</span></i><br />
<br />
My Review:<br />
Ruthie Knox does it again! I’ve loved her ever since I read <i>About Last Night</i> and she’s won her place
again in my heart as one of my top favorite contemporary writers with her new
novel, <i>Truly</i>. </div>
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There’s something about Knox’ writing. I mean, there’s a lot
of contemporary romance writers out there right now. But Knox takes it several
shades deeper—both emotionally and at a simple craft level. She just an
incredibly gifted writer. The way she works metaphor. The way she makes an art
out of sentences. With other contemporary writers, you might get an occasional
burst of beauty at the artistic level once or twice in an entire book, but with
Knox’s writing, it’s the entire way through. But she’s sneaky about it also.
She does it in such a way that it doesn’t detract from the voice of the
characters or the story.</div>
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Speaking of characters! They are so deep and nuanced that
you as the reader are just immediately <i>in
it</i> with them. I was sucked into this story from page one and spit out on
the other end totally dazed and emotionally sated by May and Ben’s journey.
That’s another thing. This story was unique! Which yeah. I read a ton. The
stories run together. This one sticks out in my head. Because Ruthie Knox is just
awesome like that. Five gazillion stars.<br />
<br />
Um, we’re on the gazillion star rating system, right? Yep, when
it comes to Ruthie Knox we are ;)<br />
<br />
Comes out August 5th<br />
Price: $3.99 e-book, worth it folks, IMO!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSLjyhgGDtOifAg9pUypWMItyzoeS73YFIqqOiKCGng99iuFjI7Q9xSVDobo_zP9rsrzx7__-N-VYGKLkc0WLyrP9_7HXqVwhqvXZYwY0l1dFFTuw5PEChTTO6qXDF9GK5ZzZKXUn2TU/s1600/Broken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSLjyhgGDtOifAg9pUypWMItyzoeS73YFIqqOiKCGng99iuFjI7Q9xSVDobo_zP9rsrzx7__-N-VYGKLkc0WLyrP9_7HXqVwhqvXZYwY0l1dFFTuw5PEChTTO6qXDF9GK5ZzZKXUn2TU/s1600/Broken.jpg" /></a></div>
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Summary:</div>
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<i><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">Lauren Layne’s New Adult novel tells the story of a girl with secrets, a guy with scars, and a love that could save them both... or destroy them.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she’s being the kind do-gooder she’s always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn’t about charity—it’s about penance. Only, Olivia’s client isn’t the grateful elderly man she’s expecting. Instead, he’s a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia’s path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">Paul Langdon doesn’t need a mirror to show him he’s no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he’s ugly—inside and out. He’ll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father’s ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn’t count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; line-height: 15.455999374389648px;">Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?</span></i></div>
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My Review:</div>
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Guys. GUYS! The synopsis doesn’t let you in on the secret,
but I will: this is a modern day beauty and the beast story!</div>
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Which is only Heather’s secret Achilles’ heel of favorite
story tropes of all time. FAVORITE. Yeah. I was about halfway through before I
realized. That should’ve been obvious to me from the beginning. And then I was
like, oh my gosh, Lauren Layne, you have won my heart forever if you don’t
screw this up.</div>
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And guess what? She didn’t screw it up!</div>
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In fact, the book was freaking awesome. I loved it. Girl
moves to mysterious hidden away mansion with disfigured beast-like veteran. They’ve
both got their damage, and maybe, just maybe, each is just what the other needs
to heal. That this wasn’t any, awww, you poor wounded soldier, let me Florence
Nightingale you kind of thing. Ha ha, no, this was more, he shouts and is an
ass hole and she gives it right back with a whole ton of sass and then it gets
hot as hell with sexual tension and you have to start fanning yourself with
your e-reader!</div>
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Oh <i>yeah</i>. My kind of updated Beauty and the Beast story ;)</div>
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Anyway, this was an amazing read! Yes, it had its super sexy
moments, but not at the expense of the deeper emotional themes too. At the same
time, you didn’t feel like the author was using PTSD as just a surface plot
device. It felt real and complex and humanized in the person of Paul Langdon. Olivia
was a super strong heroine too—none of that wimpy, whiny heroine nonsense here—and
their love story, obstacles, and growth felt both very real and very natural. These
are characters, that in spite of their many flaws, you are rooting for. </div>
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An excellent read. This is not an author that I’ve
heard a lot about before--haha, maybe everyone else has and I'm just behind the bandwagon!--but now I want to go and read her backlist of books because
this one really stands above a lot of the usual fare that I read!<br />
<br />
Comes out: September 2nd<br />
Price: $2.99<br />
<br />
*I got these books as advanced readers copies. I get to read a bunch of advanced readers copies, perks of being an author :) I usually only pimp the ones on my blog that I really loved :)</div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-85194146720673789472014-06-24T21:46:00.001-05:002014-06-25T14:53:27.614-05:00Which Cover? YOU CHOOSE!!!<div style="text-align: left;">
So my amazing new writing BFF, A.E. Murphy, is redesigning the covers for her first series and it came down to two covers that she couldn't make up her mind about. And I was like, Alex, why don't we let the fans decide? Her response: Super cool idea! So here we are, for your voting pleasure!</div>
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And for your trouble A.E. Murphy is also giving away TEN copies of ALL OF HER BOOKS (that's SIX BOOKS, including her Amazon Top 100 Ranked BROKEN series).</div>
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Have you read the Broken series, because oh my gosh, these books are amazing. So amazing, that's how I met Alex in the first place, I just contacted her on Twitter out of the blue and was like, I'm in love with your books, I'd love to blurb you!!!!! The first one in her Broken serious, BROKEN, is FREE on Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, so even if you don't win the giveaway, go grab it now!</div>
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So here are the options of cover for the first book of her previous series, A Little Bit of Crazy. And make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below the poll!<br />
<br />
Here's the summary of the book:<br />
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<i>An arranged marriage. Unconventional? Hell yeah. A
little medieval? Sure. </i></div>
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<i>But when it's my dying father's last wish for me to marry
his right hand man, someone he knows will treat me well, what's a girl to do?
Well... I'll say yes obviously. I've always had a little bit of crazy in me.
Everyone who knows me knows this fact.</i></div>
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<i>Sure I don't love James, but love was never part of the
bargain and we both knew that going into this. I think. He's a little bit
charming and completely gorgeous, and I'm a little bit selfish, self-centered
and definitely shallow. It's doomed to fail, but that's never stopped me
before.</i></div>
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<i><br />
This is our story, it has: a Channing Tatum poster, a long lost brother, a bony
blonde and a promiscuous female friend, plus a hot shot star and the one and
only sinus blocker Sylvia. Now throw in a crazy lady and a man who would do
anything for her (meaning myself and James) and you have our story. Or the
first part of it. </i></div>
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<i>Part one of two. Part two is now released. A Little Bit of
Us. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Little Bits is a character series. After book two you will be introduced to a
new character and story.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, without further ado, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">which cover do you think best fits this story? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Help Alex choose!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyZq6Aj04bbK6-bRaXJVyby7MbVIuwOEB-QyDEpOA643nz9DBGK5GPqWUt2Ptl_62ZgMH1QEbOkJP45d_tGC5Grl8mP00KjDuBJ6DalbiKA4j3b7sg_bxJptafC7qNv1V4IU2RjI_8Ww/s1600/A+Little+Bit+of+Crazy+Cover+Vote+Off.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyZq6Aj04bbK6-bRaXJVyby7MbVIuwOEB-QyDEpOA643nz9DBGK5GPqWUt2Ptl_62ZgMH1QEbOkJP45d_tGC5Grl8mP00KjDuBJ6DalbiKA4j3b7sg_bxJptafC7qNv1V4IU2RjI_8Ww/s1600/A+Little+Bit+of+Crazy+Cover+Vote+Off.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></div>
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<form action="http://poll.pollcode.com/55713467" method="post">
<table bgcolor="0A0A0A" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 393px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>Which Is Your Favorite Cover?</b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input id="55713467answer1" name="answer" type="radio" value="1" /></td><td><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><label for="55713467answer1">Cover #1: BACKSIDE</label></span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input id="55713467answer2" name="answer" type="radio" value="2" /></td><td><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><label for="55713467answer2">Cover #2: LEGS </label></span></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><center>
<input type="submit" value=" Vote " /> <input name="view" type="submit" value=" View " /></center>
</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">pollcode.com <a href="http://pollcode.com/"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">free polls</span></a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</form>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are the SIX E-Books of A.E. Murphy's we're giving away today!</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The BROKEN SERIES</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">(Amazon Top 100 Ranked Series!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21951119-broken?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0A3hC2NZcNl0JQGwUpdfJsH1oL06CkfLAUt28kmzaQCmYzoxW2b9I423btIDeqPAgi9pINDcfs0SGOH5lhVNO7_MH0EFAIyp0B9-OBc-RPzFkT3snBV-cQDRSQ2fwFce6skS5mlyTx0/s1600/BROKEN.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22079377-connected" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bip3lDGc24xZWmLXVyONGZLd4_dyVTeEXu1_9WHVjOqyN9TDmi4o8GAnlGy79nQqWcmid5z_auqW-bI66rZrw0BAMp5JG_3IjxDt_yMDLI-u2-eVGcwrl48bCa9bzZWyf8ZZvNnLUpY/s1600/CONNECTED2.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">THE LITTLE BITS SERIES</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtPU5KDW-kxNTmL7bm2W2TqJdNh4TVYVTusZOrZkdFQkpQsFfohdEzAoz5LtfcIuVd1GuargaXRQMKPizJM5Y2EJ1H7cFHkbDHmaaxrQO3WX242JlvGO3FsgNPps-2E0dxPnHu7BMdDE/s1600/ALL+of+LITTLE+Bits+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtPU5KDW-kxNTmL7bm2W2TqJdNh4TVYVTusZOrZkdFQkpQsFfohdEzAoz5LtfcIuVd1GuargaXRQMKPizJM5Y2EJ1H7cFHkbDHmaaxrQO3WX242JlvGO3FsgNPps-2E0dxPnHu7BMdDE/s1600/ALL+of+LITTLE+Bits+Series.jpg" height="117" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/157d1c8/" id="rc-157d1c8" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-11001042871301010482014-05-05T23:19:00.001-05:002014-06-25T14:53:04.136-05:00Fly A Little Higher Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JISRLQPMq-WS8ZoHCmuF-UoQN43zkJqxzDP0_R4f9uyySk2-UpsErwCd4hGu0PsJCDFwodXL_DU22YKn6bfuGrh5l56U4pSdmy30NTvKqW4MxAY16F25ESt54oFy6TFjmBCfmCT_cpE/s1600/original(7).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JISRLQPMq-WS8ZoHCmuF-UoQN43zkJqxzDP0_R4f9uyySk2-UpsErwCd4hGu0PsJCDFwodXL_DU22YKn6bfuGrh5l56U4pSdmy30NTvKqW4MxAY16F25ESt54oFy6TFjmBCfmCT_cpE/s1600/original(7).jpg" height="100" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>This post is part of the Fly a Little Higher Blog Tour
which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of bloggers raising awareness
and giving hope to those </i>with cancer. </div>
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To learn more and join us, <a href="http://flyalittlehigher.com/blogtour" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18804105-fly-a-little-higher?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuP_DkTWTKOqeP3YwBbuXGNoOP3P1ZOeTHlaZerV5pQVC6d8eUbCGkzDndAARj-XKkm7sdt2ASDQmI-Igoswu2BlWmFgBki0hX6-QhxckfssbDLfTxlb7FK90kK42-tkw6_y-EUVfRmI4/s1600/Fly+a+Little+Higher.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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Hi all, I’m reposting a blog I wrote last March, because I
think it says the most about how I connected personally to Zach and his story
and the light that was shining through him and just the difficulty of finding
meaning in suffering. I’ll post a review of Laura’s amazing book soon, because I
was immeasurably moved by reading it, but for the blog tour I thought this was
appropriate.</div>
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--- Post from March 6, 2013 ----</div>
<br />
It’s hard to read about sad things. I’ve been sick for twelve years, and lately, life has ground to a halt as the illness hits a new all-time low. Yet while I lie here struggling so much with being too sick to even be on the computer or watch TV, spending weeks doing nothing else except lying quietly in bed listening to audiobooks in the dark or simply lying still without anything to distract me for hours, I think often of my friend’s daughter’s best friend, Zach Sobiech, who is dying of cancer with only a few months left to live (his amazing song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDC97j6lfyc">Clouds</a> has gone viral in recent months).<br />
<br />
I’ve never met Zach personally, so maybe it’s not my place to talk about him, but I’ll say a little anyway. When I’m this sick, it’s all a little groggy and the days pass in a kind of fog, which feels like a blessing. Then I think, these months which I want to pass quickly so I can start feeling better again, Zach must want so badly to pass slowly.<br />
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Through this protracted downturn in my own illness, I’ve come back to God after half a decade away. It’s a fairly quiet affair, coming back to faith. I’m tender-stepped and unsure. I’m not sure if I can believe that there is purpose in this, in my being bedbound or Zach dying. I’m sure there will be lots of people trying to come up with suggestions of how there is God’s purpose in it all. I have no clue if there is purpose in suffering or if that it is simply the way life works—some prospering and others sick and dying, apparently with no direction or design. I get mad at least when people talk confidently about God’s purpose in situations of suffering not their own.<br />
<br />
So being with God in these long months of enforced quietness and solitude is less about finding any purpose in it all, and more about feeling the blanket of peace that comes occasionally in spite of all the hurt and anger and pain. Over and over in the Bible, God promises that, “I am with you.” I also like that Jesus’ path on earth was one of great suffering. It makes him more relatable. It makes me think that even down here in the shadows and depths, there is hope. For me at least, being with God is that joy that comes sometimes in the silence. Seemingly out of nowhere, when by all accounts I should be miserable, comes peace and even more strange, a strong sense of thanksgiving. No clear voice or sense of divine interaction or direction, just peace and joy where, according to circumstances, there should be none.<br />
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In Buddhism, there is a practice where, instead of breathing in peace and breathing out all the negative feelings to cleanse yourself, you do the opposite. You breathe in all the pain and suffering, both your own and that of others, holding it in for a moment, and then breathing out peace and loving-kindness to all who are connected by suffering. Sometimes when you hold it all inside, it’s such an overwhelming flood of hurt you think you can’t bear it. But then breathing out grace and peace and loving-kindness to the afflicted, to others and myself, feels like it changes something. Even if it’s only me that’s transformed. It’s where compassion is born.<br />
<br />
I think this is the same principle when praying for others. I don’t know if prayers for others do anything other than help us grow in compassion and connect to God. I don’t know if they change anything externally, or actually affect the person we are praying for. Still, I think of Zach and everyone who loves him and I pray for them. I pray they have long moments of peace amid everything else in the upcoming months, and afterwards.<br />
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I think of the angels supposedly in heaven who do nothing but pray and praise God all day long without ceasing. I think of the centuries of monks and nuns from many faiths spending their lives in silence and prayer, and then I think, maybe <i>that </i>is the purpose of my own sickness— so that I can live a life of prayer and meditation. I remember I used to think that sounded terribly BORING, but now it begins to make more sense to me. Because as much as I might get angry of other people trying to deduce God’s purpose in suffering, I guess deep inside, I still want there to be one.<br />
<br />
Anyway, listen to this amazing song by Zach and my friend’s daughter, Sammy. Every time I watch it, compassion wells up and spills over into tears.<br />
<br />
Sometimes the video doesn't show up, so here's the link directly to YouTube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvSYZHmhIAM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvSYZHmhIAM</a><br />
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<i>Fly a Little Higher</i>
is written by Laura Sobiech, the mother of Zach Sobiech. Laura spent the last
three years walking the road of cancer with her teenage son, Zach, and blogging
about their battle with the disease. Zach wrote the song “Clouds” which hit #1
on iTunes the same week he passed away in May 2013.</div>
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Grab your copy <a href="http://flyalittlehigher.com/">HERE</a>. </div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-5319206405462397972014-03-27T17:20:00.000-05:002014-03-27T17:20:10.095-05:00Heather's Got Her Mother Effing ZING BackBabes, I've got the ZING back.<br />
ZING, I tell you. Mother <i>EFFING</i><span style="color: blue;"><i> </i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">ZING</span></b></span>.<br />
<br />
Ahem. Let me tell you where the zing went. The zing went down the rabbit hole of crazy ass migraine associated vertigo-ville of foggy fogs-land where I lived for a couple years until, like Alice, I took some magic effing pills (in my case, migraine medicine), and suddenly, like mother EFFING MAGIC---<br />
<br />
------MAGIC, I'm telling you my babies, <i>MAGIC</i>, I feel like my old self again.<br />
<br />
See the thing I hadn't realized down in rabbit hole fogsville was that in addition to the crazy ass vertigo and then oh yeah the crazy ass migraines that were a new addition this year was that there was some side effects of cognitive funk going on that was fogging up me old brain space so that I was this foggy narrow ass shell of the cool punk chick I used to be.<br />
<br />
I mean, sure, I was still occasionally hella cool, but the ZING, the sparky creative kick, the up all night dreamin' of wicked, wicked things I wanted to do to my characters, all the happy sparkly dreaming in the shower and THINKING about stuff and nothing in particular, the letting my mind day-dream and niggle over thoughts and catty-wompus over this and that and all the things in between and back and forth to my characters and their situations and then back again to the wicked, heart-breaking things I wanted to put them through---that had been gone. And it's back. Oh my God, it's back. I didn't even realize it was gone and now it's back! And it's not just the writing, kids. It's life I feel the ZING for again. Oh God, it's like a rush of fresh air breathing back into my lungs again. It's like I'm back in my own skin again.<br />
<br />
Um, moral of this story? Praise the heavens for a good neurologist.<br />
<br />
And look forward, my babies, because I've got one freaking good mother effin' book in the burners for ya'll!Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-29191841087204770482013-10-06T23:18:00.000-05:002013-10-06T23:18:55.454-05:00Love AffairI'm sorry YA lit, I've been cheating on you. It's been going on for awhile now. Almost six months. You know I love you, but then I spent a few nights with this book:<br />
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The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons</div>
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And it blew my socks off. I can think of few other books that have rocked me as much as this did--a book that's so unique you are immediately inspired to think and write in a new way, to tell new kinds of stories. It's historical fiction, but it's based around a heart-rending romance, without descending quite into the 'historical romance' genre of bodice ripping and so forth. It was a romance that felt <em>real</em> instead of idealized and the author let bad things happen to the characters and the ending feels fought for (it's a trilogy, so it takes awhile to get there, but it's there all the same!).</div>
<br />
Which then led me to dally with another series I heard was awesome in similar ways and I'm shocked that I never read until now:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QdTE9uOoooYT13A8mWdety0U4gt5XlxYiboU7TLk6RKzOJHWAH0xnEopXJWcVseKP4qQ95_ourgD7Kcb7-97-B8cAm39Q52ixSy0dKQh8XcM7Yki0z-ZQivF7DMwvO4x1gQRmdoBWCs/s1600/Outlander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QdTE9uOoooYT13A8mWdety0U4gt5XlxYiboU7TLk6RKzOJHWAH0xnEopXJWcVseKP4qQ95_ourgD7Kcb7-97-B8cAm39Q52ixSy0dKQh8XcM7Yki0z-ZQivF7DMwvO4x1gQRmdoBWCs/s320/Outlander.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
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Outlander by Diana Gabaldon</div>
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More giantly epic romance, and horrible things happening to the characters, and intense struggles and love that both surprises and redeems. I'm so stoked to hear this is being made into a TV series, because, YES. Seeing Jaime Fraser for hours and hours on the small screen spells out a whole lot of YAY. Cannot wait. So then after I read a few of these books I was in the mood to just devour absolutely every amazing book like this I could find.</div>
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Which led me to the fabulous Jennifer Donnelly and the trilogy below. I'd read her YA books, but I really enjoyed these.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGm03lExzeScXq6YflmZlzyb29Kj3XO0kMOBGeehDWppStj5m4y5KBhGRj6gz33pPswnUKDej4KCzbtug3fxSri31r2JqJ9a4gHHBH5Pl5ERdwXp3zxgpAgWXZ3UZT3Cq5bSZOqL5h59Q/s1600/Donnelly+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGm03lExzeScXq6YflmZlzyb29Kj3XO0kMOBGeehDWppStj5m4y5KBhGRj6gz33pPswnUKDej4KCzbtug3fxSri31r2JqJ9a4gHHBH5Pl5ERdwXp3zxgpAgWXZ3UZT3Cq5bSZOqL5h59Q/s200/Donnelly+1.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXlvYxCD8xHx3zNZh4HPVMArPadbb_n4u1_axf0s_3G40pwx7vcV6fgiM1ky_qI9xWIo2r7WetHylgnZh716lHquGY09-uRq1E8p4clzyoi14NlC3ydWUIBkINVY3z_nthQRFA0QuuaY/s1600/Donnelly+2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXlvYxCD8xHx3zNZh4HPVMArPadbb_n4u1_axf0s_3G40pwx7vcV6fgiM1ky_qI9xWIo2r7WetHylgnZh716lHquGY09-uRq1E8p4clzyoi14NlC3ydWUIBkINVY3z_nthQRFA0QuuaY/s200/Donnelly+2a.jpg" width="128" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFSnWfJm-MM74W4VXOlmROGuO5CbYccEp-BU3pvemb2iWyS7gUNJ0865fgLDQnty8JKawzkpxHbyFYsUe7UyvJAcZEA_dwH4K2PoG0Z4KocLgnilK2TMhyphenhyphenZ0WKn_cG4mZeJfYSipfcQU/s1600/Donnelly+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFSnWfJm-MM74W4VXOlmROGuO5CbYccEp-BU3pvemb2iWyS7gUNJ0865fgLDQnty8JKawzkpxHbyFYsUe7UyvJAcZEA_dwH4K2PoG0Z4KocLgnilK2TMhyphenhyphenZ0WKn_cG4mZeJfYSipfcQU/s200/Donnelly+2.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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And then I couldn't find any more perfect books like these melding historical struggle, love stories (the kind that may involve tragedy but don't leave you there), and realism. I'm still looking. Please, if you know any, send them my way because I WANT MORE. Which of course leads to the next logical decision, well, if you're a writer anyway--to write my own epic historical saga. I'm about halfway through an ugly first draft right now<br />
<br />
People ask me where inspiration for stories comes from, and here it is--the question that starts my process: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em>What am I currently absolutely obsessed with?</em></strong> </div>
<br />
Sometimes it's been the storytelling of Doctor Who. Or Jane Eyre. Usually it's books or TV shows that I can't stop thinking about, that get me obsessive, that make me <em>feel</em> intensely. And then I take that buzzing bug of inspiration as a catalyst and start plot, plot, plotting away. Halfway through the draft, I'm still obsessed with the story, which is always a good sign. It takes over like a fever. I'm thinking about the story almost non-stop all throughout the day and it keeps me up a night. Sometimes I think the key to writing (at least the kind of writing you love) is obsession. Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-56308660001067669032013-09-24T03:18:00.002-05:002013-09-24T16:18:54.095-05:00The Year of Obsessive Reading<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">My son was
reading some Guinness book world records to me from a book he got at the
library (complete with showing disgusting pictures of the guy who can pull his
eyelids out the furthest and the woman who has grown her nails so long they curl
over and over).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">And I think: I
totally get weird personal obsessions like that. Other people look at you and
go, dude, that’s weird to be so committed to something so random, and wow-ee,
look at you getting recognition for your weird random sh**. But to the person
with the weird random sh**, it feels very significant. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For me this year,
it’s been books. Okay, books and obsessive amounts of writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I’ve read over
200 books this year so far since January. This month, September, I’ve read a book
every single day of the month. I realized I was doing it by about
September 15</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13pt;">, and the I was like, well hell, why don’t I keep it
up and read a book every day for the whole month. I chart it all on an excel spreadsheet.
I get excited when I pass big barriers like 100, 150, 200. Nobody in the world
could care less about my weird obsessive reading compulsion, but it brings me
an inordinate amount of glee, on top of the usual book loving glee I get by
reading the actual book ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">It takes me about
4-5 hours to read a 300-400 page book. I've read NA, Christian Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, research books about Romania, lol, basically everything </span><i style="font-size: 13pt;">except</i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> YA.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> And I’ve written about a thousand pages
this year (on 7 different projects). Both of these weird obsessions this year are highly unusual (most
years I read about 60-80 bks and write only one 300 pager). Basically, lately all I do is
write, read books, and binge on Project Runway. Oh and eat dinner with my
family. That’s it. I hear other people talk about, you know, the things they do in their lives, and I'm like...um, I read this really good book and am learning how to better control narrative distance better in my own writing...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">This probably all
makes more sense if I put it in context—I’ve been basically couch-bound all
year because of my chronic illness. Nobody does sedentary busy-body like me. I
should hold the Guinness world record for best couch-bound overachiever ;) Mainly I just feel like this year has been weird, really, really weird. I've actually been really happy throughout it, but yeah. Weird! I doubt I'll ever read this many books in a year ever again, but since I'm in it, like the lady with the crazy unwieldly nails, I'm </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">committed</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">. Lets see how many books I can break before December 31st!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-50553464156947186132013-08-15T16:34:00.002-05:002013-08-16T02:46:26.535-05:00LETTERS TO NOWHERE by Julie Cross - Review & Excerpt!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://livinginabookworld.blogspot.gr/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjI2JIPVp9BczAb7SjVrTI7nc_XOvc01RM-wT3QasyUIw0IBYOKqxF78cDURwq8FGIoh22Fgksj4MpYJViMuLvG3fI-OvQ_VbLDu9wJeVaaqLmFgvAG83z5OoibpnO25lxe-4VFpdkKw/s400/letters+to+nowhere+blog+tour+banner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDulrym49n0Bzxac39N8KFEsYCAKgRq_Tz6TnXNjGIichRRYRrrtDeHdQTitOecrua_nUhZ-vJYe4v7-oi1Y5Rtctyar8r8TDYv3Imjv1jDS4SvJj4Vl4q0T6LPQIPf1p5vCPoLoIC5qI/s1600/Letters+to+Nowhere+Kissing+with+postage+stamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDulrym49n0Bzxac39N8KFEsYCAKgRq_Tz6TnXNjGIichRRYRrrtDeHdQTitOecrua_nUhZ-vJYe4v7-oi1Y5Rtctyar8r8TDYv3Imjv1jDS4SvJj4Vl4q0T6LPQIPf1p5vCPoLoIC5qI/s320/Letters+to+Nowhere+Kissing+with+postage+stamp.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Author: Julie Cross</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Title: Letters To
Nowhere</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pages: 360</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publication Date:
August 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> 2013</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Publisher: Julie Cross</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Genre: Mature Young
Adult Contemporary</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>SYNOPSIS</em></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her family may be
shattered, but her dreams aren't...</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the International
Bestselling Author of the Tempest series</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Mature YA
contemporary set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics. Grief, love and
pursuing dreams are at the forefront of this emotionally powerful coming-of-age
story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">S</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">eventeen year old
Karen Campbell has just lost both her parents in a tragic car accident. Grief
stricken and alone, her gymnastics coach opens his home to Karen, providing her
a place to live while she continues to train, working toward a spot on the
world championship team.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach Bentley’s only
child, seventeen year old Jordan is good-looking and charming enough to scare
away a girl like Karen—someone who has spent ten times more hours on balance
beams and uneven bars than talking or even thinking about boys. But the two
teens share a special connection almost immediately. It turns out Jordan has a
tragic past of his own, grief buried for years.</span></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Karen’s gymnastics
career soars, her nightmares and visions of the horrible accident grow in
strength. She can only avoid facing her grief for so long before it begins to
surface and ultimately spin out of control in a very dangerous way. Can
discovering love and lust (simultaneously) help with the grieving process or will
it only provide a temporary distraction while waiting for reality to hit full
force.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><strong><em>MY REVIEW:</em></strong>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Karen’s world has just collapsed with her parents’ sudden
death in a car crash. Left reeling and attempting to pick up the pieces, Karen
moves into her gymnastic coach’s house since, other than an absentee
grandmother, he’s the closest thing to family Karen has left. Everything Karen
though was important—training with complete discipline, competing as an elite
gymnast, getting into the college she wants—suddenly all pales into comparison
of the realities a fickle world where some people live and other people die.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And then Karen meets Jordan, Coach Bennet’s son. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region> is the
complete opposite of Karen—formerly an elite gymnast himself, he’s left the
sport. He’s rebellious, gets into trouble, and shockingly, he understands Karen
at this vulnerable point in her life in a way that no one else does.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Living under the same roof creates some hilarious
situations as the two get to know each other and spend more and more time in
each other’s company. In a world that no longer makes sense, suddenly something
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i>—<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and what Karen feels when
she’s with him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The characters are all so perfectly drawn. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region> feels
like such a teenage <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guy</i>. Karen’s path
through the cycles of grief are pitch perfect. The backdrop of the world of
gymnastics is absolutely fascinating, and I just loved everything about this
book.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Sweepingly romantic, raw, and completely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i>, Letters to Nowhere is a must read
of 2013.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em>EXCERPT:</em></strong> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“So,” one of the girls said to me, “you must be a freshman, right? I thought you looked familiar.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">I downed about two-thirds of my drink and placed it on a table. That would be just enough alcohol to loosen my tongue, but not enough to tip off Bentley when we got back home.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“How do you know Jordan?” the other girl asked.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“Well . . . we’re . . . uh,” I stammered.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">They both nodded, looking impressed. “That’s so great you guys are together,” one girl said, holding her hand to her heart as if Jordan was a close relative or something. “I’ve been telling Jordan forever that he needed to get a girlfriend and quit messing around.”</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">I coughed loudly, nearly choking on the alcohol still burning my throat from thirty seconds ago.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“Right . . . well, it’s only been two dates. It’s not like we’re living together.”</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“Two dates is progress for him,” the girl on my left said, rolling her eyes. “Trust me on that.”</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“Thanks, guys,” I heard Jordan say. He moved right behind me, resting his hands lightly on my shoulders. “Why don’t you just tell Karen everything you know about me?”</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“Whatever,” they said together.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">Jordan steered me in the other direction, where Tony and a couple other guys were standing. “Sorry about that.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“This is our second date, by the way.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span lang="en-US">“So our first date was buying tampons? </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;">That kind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;">of sucks.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zAR3vyF0HYp7pY0DF1m4HAp3iKCB29maqBSMI_v6FAwjFRog7UbbzPXtOp1q16n6ITD8fWIkgCVqn9YJu_6HCt67QlbrW9oJHGR3-BaSwVvXUhErow0vC-houOXJ_TA-h2SADFtpFTg/s1600/julie+cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zAR3vyF0HYp7pY0DF1m4HAp3iKCB29maqBSMI_v6FAwjFRog7UbbzPXtOp1q16n6ITD8fWIkgCVqn9YJu_6HCt67QlbrW9oJHGR3-BaSwVvXUhErow0vC-houOXJ_TA-h2SADFtpFTg/s320/julie+cross.jpg" width="252" /></a><span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
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<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>AUTHOR BIO</em></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I live in central
Illinois with my wonderful husband and three kids currently between the ages of
7 and 12 (the kids not the husband). My writing journey began in May, 2009 with
a short story in a notebook.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within a year, I had written seven (some good
some God-awful) young adult novels. Not being a college graduate and having
spent the previous fifteen years teaching gymnastics and working as a YMCA
Program Director for Recreational Gymnastics, professional writing wasn't in my
plans. Not even close. But ever since the day I started that short story, I
haven't been able to stop. It was love at first sight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After about a year of writing, I had a three
book deal with St. Martin's Press, and a film option with Summit Entertainment.
Crazy, right? I know. It wasn't until August of 2011 that I quit working full
time in order to be at home with my kids more and of course, write more. My
young adult time travel debut novel, Tempest, released on January 17, 2012. The
rest of my personal story remains unwritten.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Links:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Website:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EL"><a href="http://www.juliecrossbooks.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman;">http://www.juliecrossbooks.com/</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Facebook:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EL"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/FansOfJulieCross?fref=ts"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman;">https://www.facebook.com/FansOfJulieCross?fref=ts</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twitter:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EL"><a href="https://twitter.com/Juliecross1980"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman;">https://twitter.com/Juliecross1980</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Goodreads:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EL"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3429117.Julie_Cross"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman;">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3429117.Julie_Cross</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Goodreads Letters To
Nowhere: </span></span><span lang="EL"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18046135-letters-to-nowhere"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times New Roman;">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18046135-letters-to-nowhere</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>THE GIVEAWAY</em></strong></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/65a0873/" id="rc-65a0873" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-24447330539350608922013-07-17T03:42:00.003-05:002013-07-17T03:43:03.489-05:00Video Q&A From the Shutdown Release Party!Want so see what I'm like IRL? Wish you could come to a signing but don't live in Minneapolis? Voila, problem solved: at my most recent signing, I had the hubby tape the Q&A session, for your viewing pleasure extraordinaire!<br />
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Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-28880537334099043662013-07-08T17:12:00.003-05:002013-07-08T17:12:59.869-05:00What Will You Do With This One Wild and Precious Life?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TVxehYmRA8F-Olp-wXy-xbkXHI095SmKmbaGJZibR24Gc35DmOcUaR-MqoupHBqnU6IqgJ9twbLe3trbtQHKJfbnqciRdzAETQwWHrzq2kbKqjIVlni4AdXv46Oi-ZbJ3_WVK3b6a8k/s1600/golden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TVxehYmRA8F-Olp-wXy-xbkXHI095SmKmbaGJZibR24Gc35DmOcUaR-MqoupHBqnU6IqgJ9twbLe3trbtQHKJfbnqciRdzAETQwWHrzq2kbKqjIVlni4AdXv46Oi-ZbJ3_WVK3b6a8k/s200/golden.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
I just finished reading Golden by Jessi Kirby (which is holy
crap amazing, everybody stop what you are doing and go get your hands on this
book!) and a teacher writes this question on the board as a journal prompt for
the seniors in his class from a poem by Mary Oliver:<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>Tell me, what is
it you plan to do</em></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>With your one wild and precious life?</em></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span>It's a question that drives the characters in the novels to
really reflect on what they want for their lives, and as the reader, you also
can't help asking it of yourself. In the book, the teacher holds onto the senior's
journals for ten years and then mails it to the people, kind of like a time
capsule but better because you get to read the journal with all the straight up
thoughts from your teenage self.<br />
<br />
I just turned 31. I'm at the age where I'd be on the receiving
end of the journal. So, curious, I pulled out my old journals that I've kept
since high-school. They were not as revelatory as I’d hoped. Then again, I was
a quiet kind of nerdy religious girl. There were no epic romances, or even
making out in the back seats of cars. But I did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel</i> things largely. I had epic moments, or at least they felt like
it to me at the time, even if it was only because I snuck out of the library
when I was supposed to be studying, but only so I could go walk alone in the
park by the river. But I always had big plans for myself. I was going to travel
all over the world and be a missionary and go sky-diving and climb mountains.<br />
<br />
But then, part of the process of growing up is going through
bitter disappointments, failure, and disillusionment. Those are kind of the
things that actually force you to <i>grow</i>. There's good stuff too. Like
finding a life partner and understand commitment and raising up little tiny
humans to be full grown humans. But there is also illness and constraints and a
need to pay the bills. There have been lean years where I couldn't manage more
than getting by--physically, financially, and emotionally. And there have been
fat years where my health was better and I would go tubing down the river and
out for drinks with friends and got tattoos and drank gallons of coffee while I
sat in chic coffeeshops writing books.<br />
<br />
So part of me looks at this question about the one wild and
precious life and thinks it's sentimental, unrealistic, and written by someone
healthy. But the rest of me wants to sing and shout it from the rooftops.
Because <i>yes</i>. Even with limitations, all we have is this one wild and
precious life. It should be wild--unpredictable, spontaneous, changeable, not
letting ourselves get caught in the rut of simply existing in the pattern of
wake up, work, eat dinner with family, watch TV or read, then sleep. Where is
the wildness? Even if I can't be wild in body by jumping out of planes like I
wanted, I can still be wild in mind. Like those years I was in grad school
where I could barely sleep at night because of all the <i>ideas</i> I was
learning about in class. Like the times when a new story plot or characters
take over my brain and all I want to do is write, write, write. And it should
be precious, because oh Lord do not let us forget that this is all we have on
this earth. This is life. Here, today. Like the rest of the poem says,<br />
<br />
<em>Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?</em><br />
<br />
When we reach the end of our days we will lament giving up
any single day to the mundane of simply 'getting by', marking the day off on
the calendar with relief because all we want to do is sleep or get to the
weekend or to that vacation. In the end, won't we want every precious day back
that we wasted by sleep-walking through?Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-74570117287779469062013-06-23T00:46:00.004-05:002013-06-23T16:24:19.871-05:00An Open Letter To Christian FictionDear Christian Fiction,<br />
<br />
I really, really like you. In fact, after neglecting your genre for about a decade, I've been reading you like crazy, discovering all the books and authors I missed in the meantime. Seriously, I've read more than sixty books in your genre this year already. And tons more a decade ago when it was all I read. As someone who's been both inside and outside the Christian camp, let's chat.<br />
<br />
First off, some of your books are really, really, like crazy good. Mainly any book by Laura Frantz (oh my gosh I'm <i>obsessed </i>with her books lately, pardon my fangirl) or Deeanne Gist, Tamera Alexander, Lisa Tawn Bergren, Melanie Dickerson, and Julie Klassen. Thoughtful books where the writer's aren't afraid to let bad things happen to their characters. Where there are good and bad people alike, and those lines aren't always determined by whether they are Christians or not. These writers are doing it right.<br />
<br />
But here's my problem with you, Christian Fiction. When others writers among you paint the world as made up of THEM, ie, non-Christian heathens who are evil and immoral and driven only by darkness vs. US, the Christians who maybe make mistakes but always choose the right thing in the end, it makes me kind of sick to my stomach. It's not how the world works and oh my goodness I sure hope you know that.<br />
<br />
And here's the other big thing that ticks me off: when you have God speaking to the characters all the time. Like literally a voice in their heads, in pretty italic letters on the page. Do you not get how painful it is to pretend that's the way the world, and God, work? Do you know how upset I was as a teenager because God never 'spoke' to me like he did in all the books I read and how I thought that meant I must be doing it wrong? And in such plots, God always steps in at the last moment so nothing bad ever happens to the characters. And I want to pull my hair out because BAD THINGS HAPPEN to people. And painting a world like this, where the Christians are always good and do the right thing and hear God's voice... it's just plain wrong and hurtful and destructive, to all parties. I mean it's not just you, it's Christian subculture too. Either way, I was so shocked and unprepared when real life hit in my early twenties. I was unprepared for life's squalls and storms because it didn't fit this picture I'd been fed of how the Christian life worked. I was shattered.<br />
<br />
I get it, Christian Fiction, I do. You have your tropes the same way other genres like Romance or Mystery or even YA do. I don't even mind all the preachy bits because I understand, the point of this genre is you get to talk about God and have your characters talk about God. And I'm generally fine with a little wish-fulfillment fiction. I like happy endings as much as the next girl. I just have a problem when you ascribe it all to God and pretend this is how the real world works. <br />
<br />
In the meantime, I'll keep on reading you, and just avoid the authors who trigger my gag reflex. Because I still enjoy you, Christian Fiction. I like that your characters have depth and go through big emotional character arcs, and I like the way you do your love stories in historical settings, and I like that I can read you without worrying about being assaulted by graphic sexy times every other chapter (which I still like on occasion, but not <em>every single book</em> where it seems like that's all the scenes are just wishy-washy character-wise, all driving toward the sexy times scenes!). And yeah. Like YA, I like that your books seem to have more time and attention spent editing them than a lot of mainstream genre books. Sometimes I even like it when you talk about God. <br />
<br />
Still, please be on notice Christian Fiction. It's hard enough having faith in God in this world. Please don't muddy the waters with your wish-fulfillment on how you WANT God to act and give us a little more of how he DOES act, which more often than not, is silence, requiring faith.Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-36791861031561754082013-06-17T02:37:00.000-05:002013-06-17T02:37:20.221-05:00Giveaway! 2 Signed Copies of BOTH Override & Shutdown!To celebrate Shutdown only being two weeks away from releasing and Glitch being on sale for just $2.99 for Kindle and Nook, I decided it's time for a giveaway! Giving away 2 copies of BOTH Override and Shutdown, you can enter once every day!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS0fQ4odfBuRKVoD3aTPh4fmiEuyNuF-NmX6Q0jvEcayrt2Exxc3z0omZT-jQOyLZ3AzeDtmJTjYvf0XPfXTOiBCJBf7p1fyJtivK01ZQTO_BN5rSv0_UCuAMUEL6-S_ETGNcu9cVhCI/s1600/Giveaway-Time-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS0fQ4odfBuRKVoD3aTPh4fmiEuyNuF-NmX6Q0jvEcayrt2Exxc3z0omZT-jQOyLZ3AzeDtmJTjYvf0XPfXTOiBCJBf7p1fyJtivK01ZQTO_BN5rSv0_UCuAMUEL6-S_ETGNcu9cVhCI/s1600/Giveaway-Time-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm going to paste the rafflecopter code, but if that doesn't work, you can always click this link to it on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeatherAnastasiu/app_228910107186452">https://www.facebook.com/HeatherAnastasiu/app_228910107186452</a><br />
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-62960450987998124522013-06-12T14:22:00.000-05:002013-06-12T14:22:16.771-05:00Write Through Anything
I’ve heard people say writing saved their life, and while I can’t
go that far, I can say that writing has provided stability and sanity in a very
unstable world.<br />
<br />
Writing helps me feel grounded, even in a strange week like
this one where everything else feels all strange and weird. My husband and son
are out of town and it’s just me up in this thirteenth story apartment, too ill
to really go anywhere, feeling like Rupunzel locked in her tower—though maybe
without the glorious golden locks, or does mid-shoulder black and pink hair
count? Nevertheless, I feel very locked-away-in-a-tower-ish.<br />
<br />
But then, when I write, even on days like today where I’m
distracted by All The Internet Things, if I manage to hit my word count, I feel
this nice calm settle over me. I did the work that needed to be done today,
even if everything else seems out of sync and off schedule.<br />
<br />
It’s kind of the magic of developing a discipline of
writing. Like any muscle, it’ll get flimsy and out of shape if you don’t
exercise it. I’ve mostly gotten to the place where writing isn’t something I
get up and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">decide</i> to do everyday.
It’s something I take for granted that I WILL do, come hell or high-water or,
you know, Twitter and Facebook addiction and my normal internal whining about
I-don’t-wanna! ;)<br />
<br />
So tonight, all alone in this empty apartment up in the sky,
I’ve got a smile on my face because I did my second writing session and hit the
2k word count I try to do every day. Officially my required word count each day
is 1k. It’s one of the tricks I use on myself, so that if I only get 1k or only
do one writing session instead of two, I still get to count the day as a win.
When you’ve got this weird amorphous job of being a writer, it’s the little
things that count to make you feel productive.<br />
<br />
The trick is to write through anything. Write through
depression. Write through success. Write through heart break. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Especially</i> write through failure. Write
through sickness, at least as much as able. Write through books being sold.
Write through waiting on submission to see if more books will sell. Write through
failed books that didn’t end up going anywhere and sit as half-done hundred
page documents that will lay forgotten in some random folder on my computer.<br />
<br />
It’s when I stop writing that I get into trouble. I feel
like I can be happy and contented through anything life throws at me, as long
as I can hit that daily word count. Now, none of this is to say that the
writing will be particularly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i>,
especially if there’s something bad or stressful going on in my life. The idea
of the tortured or depressed artist putting out masterpieces might be all good
well in theory, but it certainly never worked for me. I write best when I’m
stable and happy and my family is in a good place. But you still gotta write,
because that way lies sanity and mental health. Come to think of it, I bet it’s
how Rapunzel stayed sane too. She was probably stuck up there with thousands of
sheets of paper and a magical unending inkpot ;)Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3459589963892856944.post-67234638031562522802013-05-29T20:37:00.000-05:002013-05-29T20:37:12.775-05:00You Don't Always Have to Love ItSometimes being a writer, you will be super in the groove, excited about every scene that comes next, wake up the in morning and can't wait to get to your computer. You can't stop thinking about your characters so much that you can't sleep at night and you keep getting out of bed to write another scene. The book I wrote last December was like that.<br />
<br />
And then there are books like the one I'm writing now... where I know the idea and characters are solid, and interesting-ish things are happening, but my passion for the story is only at a low simmer. I sit down each afternoon to write... and then go check twitter again. And Facebook. And maybe watch yet another John Green vlogbrothers video because that guy is so entertaining and compulsively watchable! And then, oh yeah, I'll click back to my Word document and type maybe another hundred words. <br />
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Here is the thing: there is this myth out there that a book will be no good if you don't just loooooove it while you're writing it. That somehow your lack of passion will translate into lack of reader passion because you just can't capture the magic mojo. But this is not true. I know this first hand, since the book that was THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN has gotten the best reviews. I'm referring of course, to Override, which long-time blog followers will know was the bane of my existence for over a year. I wrote it once. And then wrote it over from scratch again. And then AGAIN. I did not love that book when I was writing that last draft. I'm pretty sure that the word 'hate' even got tossed around for awhile there. But I knew that I did have a deadline in a month so the dang thing had better get written.<br />
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And the thing was (and believe me it shocked me more than anyone!), all of the time and attention that book had gotten both plot-wise and character wise had turned it into a really good book.<br />
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Maybe some people in magical candy author land love every single part of every single book they write. But then there's the rest of us, slogging through unending middles, muddling through murky characterization, spending a whole week trying to get one friggin' scene right and then skipping it in the end to figure out later so I can at least avoid stalling completely on the whole project... oh, ahem, that might have veered into describing my own past week a little bit ;)<br />
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Suffice it to say, I may not <em>love</em> this book I'm in the middle of drafting. I think there's lots of work ahead reshaping and crafting it, but like I said, sometimes that can make it an even better book than ones that have slipped out easily the first time around. That's what I'm holding on to as I muddle through the middle! What are you guys working on? What's your process like? Do you give up and move on to another project when the passion dries up, or keep barreling on through?Heather Anastasiuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14974838585457441140noreply@blogger.com0