BANDITS Party KICK-OFF PRIZE

BANDITS is coming! THE Publisher is printing the ARC Copies and I want you to Win an ARC Copy of BANDITS and a $20 itunes Gift Card.

Contest Dates: Jan 1st, 2011 to Feb. 4th, 2011

The winners from THE PACK blog tour are getting their complimentary copy of BANDITS and you can get yours too!

CONTEST RULES:

Check out the BOOK TRAILER and leave a comment with your name = +1 point (go to www.lmpreston.com or double click above to go to youtube and leave comment)

Follow both my blogs: http://lmpreston.blogspot.com/ and http://bookpartylmpreston.blogspot.com/ = +2 points

Facebook friend me: www.facebook.com/people/Lm-Preston/100000094441527

Follow me on twitter: LM_Preston and send DM with your number of points = +1point

First one come, first one serve.

Also, some random conselation prizes of the ARC with unknown goodies will be sent to those who Direct Message me on Twitter

The GREEEEN HORNET Movie Rocked! My Review

Synopsis from Fandango.com:

# Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), the heir to the largest newspaper fortune in Los Angeles, is a spoiled playboy who has thus far been happy to lead an aimless life. After his father dies, Britt meets Kato (Jay Chou), a resourceful company employee. Realizing that they have the talent and resources to make something of their lives, Britt and Kato join forces as costumed crimefighters to bring down the city's most powerful criminal.

# Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz


MY REVIEW:

This is not your typical super hero movie. I really had fun with this one and even had a handful of laughing moments. This movie was quirky, spoofy, and fun. And something surprising happened at the end, I truly enjoyed the maturity of the character who played the Green Hornet. Kato was a great support character also, that you couldn't help but fall in love with because he looked after the Green Hornet sort of like an older brother. Also, it was cute the way the fell into being super heroes, the oddball way they bonded, and the testosterone fits. I have to admit being a bit irritated with the Green Hornet character when he had a case of spoil brat itis and would treat Kato like a servant when Kato didn't deserve it. But Kato, ever the bigger man, would give in - then demand respect.

I would say, don't waste money on the 3D version, and this is an enjoyable clean movie that gets 3 out of 5 stars.

I gotta say I like the foreign version of the poster better:

BEING A WRITER'S ADVOCATE

I can't help myself, I'm an insatiable cheerleader. As a writer, one takes many hits to their self-esteem, art, and sometimes ego. But for some reason we are gluttons for punishment. Becoming a writer's advocate, aka: cheerleader, supporter, encourager and defender happened strictly by accident. However, if you are a writer, or someone who seeks to become one - find your own cheerleader. Trust me, it will be the greatest lift you need in this difficult journey from creating a draft to chipping away at your masterpiece.


HOW DID IT ALL START

When I first started writing I sought out online communities to support my writing. I had finished a full manuscript that was ... in bad shape I must say, but I thought I was ready for the next step. I started submitting some samples of my work and let me tell you - if I didn't have tough skin, I would have folded. People on some forums can be sooooooo mean, nonsupportive and will rip you (yes you personally) and your work to shreds. I didn't give up though, I know my story had great potential. Luckily, I stumbled on a place called Absolute Write (www.absolutewrite.com/forums). Although, there were some meanies there, there was many more supportive writers who encouraged me, gave positive and useful feedback on my work, as well as great advice.

THE LIGHT BULB


Even though Absolute write was great, I was a YA writer and wanted - no needed, a focus on the type of writing I did. Also, I really desired a more supportive place to hang out. A place where...quite frankly someone helped me instead of ripping my work to shreds. By chance I happen to be on twitter and found this hashtag for yalitchat. Shortly after Georgia McBride took it offline to a www.yalitchat.ning.com and writers of like minds helped Georgia build a highly supportive, learning and enriching place to hang out.

It was in that environment that I got the thirst to help other writers grow in a supportive environment - some place that wouldn't tear them down, but help them create their own masterpiece. I joined the Moderators on the YALitchat site. Thereafter, I got involved in a local writing community, I became the coordinator for the Editor and Agent recruitment for our conferences. Then I headed up the writing internship recruitment where I was able to be a personal motivator to young writers graduating from college.

Let's just say - it was the most rewarding, amazing thing I've ever done. In doing so, I've mentored over five authors and two of which are now published.

HOW YOU CAN BE AN ADVOCATE

Get involved. Support new writers. Join an organization that has the same purpose and start one of the most rewarding gifts of being a writer - the gift to be able to enlighten and improve another persons journey. The journey that can make or break a person more deeply than anything else. Being a writer can do that when you get feedback from some beta readers, when your work is rejected over and over by lit agents or publishers. At the end of the day, with a mind for blazing your own path, anyone whether a writer or not, can reach the stars with a cheerleader behind them.

I LIKE WRITING BOYs POV, but DOES it SELL?

I’ve been looking at my current Work In Process (which means books that I’ve written that I have to edit, or books that I’m writing now) and realized that I write a lot of MALE protagonist. I must be honest, it’s totally not on purpose, it is just what comes out of me. For me it’s fairly easy to write because I used to be a tomboy when I was little, but have always had more male friends than female. Not to mention, I’m an engineer who finds herself the only female in the room lots of times.


THE TREND IN YA

I’ve been looking at the 2011 upcoming book list, and I have to admit, the MALE POV (point of view) is scarce. Oh, there are beautiful covers for books for girls that make me want to salivate. But the dwindling boy books has me worried.


SHOULD I KEEP Writing IN BOY?


Since I do love the freedom and difference in writing in boy, all of my books have strong girls. I can’t help writing equally strong females. I personally don’t get warm and fuzzies reading about a girl that needs a boy to save her, or one that’s not that smart and finds herself in messes that she should have seen coming, or girls that are just absorbed in fashion and appearance. Since I don’t personally like to read books like that, I’m soooooo not like that myself, and don’t have many friends that are like that, writing a girl like that is quite a stretch for me.


So that brings me to think, should I re-evaluate my growing list of novels I want to write to include way more girls. I only have 3 out of the 22 ideas in my to-be-written folder with girls.

HERE’s SOME GREAT LIST for BOOKS Coming 2011


COLOR ONLINE’s list of books of People of Color coming out 2011: http://coloronline.blogspot.com/2010/12/2011-yamg-poc-releases.html

GoodReads list of books coming out 2011: Seems to be a lot of paranormal, Dystopian, and Romance books: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4672.Books_coming_out_in_2011

SO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO….

Should I keep writing books with my MALE Protagonist with strong female support characters. Or should I go with the trends and write more FEMALE Protagonist?

As a girl, I do like to read books from the MALE point-of-view….but do other girls? Do guys even want to read these books…or do they just want to read Magna, Graphic novels or Comics?

LAUREN HAMMOND (Lit Agent) & Author of LOVE SUCKS

LAUREN HAMMOND stopped in as our SPOTLIGHT Guest.
(Literary Agent and Author)



Lauren Hammond knew from a young age that she was born to be a writer. After publishing her first novel in 2007, she then went on to write several screenplays and a few award winning poems.She aspires to be a positive role model for young people who have a pencil, a piece of paper, and a dream. Never give up on your dreams, you might wake up one day and regret not pursuing them.She has two more novels in the works, as well as some film projects.


HER BOOK, LOVE SUCKS has been getting great reviews:


NOVEL THOUGHTS Blog: www.novelthoughtsblog.com/.../love-sucks-by-lauren-hammond.html

A Buckeye Girl Reads: http://lovesromances.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-tour-love-sucks-by-lauren-hammond.html

VAMPIRE Book Club: http://vampirebookclub.net/guest-post-lauren-hammond-on-fitting-an-eternity-into-love-sucks/

Book Blurb:In England during the seventeen hundreds, Cara Jones had her human life ended for her and she became a creature of the night. One moment she's an adolescent young woman living her life, the next she's lurking in the streets at night looking for her next meal. The vampire slayings in England became so brutal the whole race was nearly wiped out. So Cara and the clan she called her extended family fled to the U.S. to make a home. They kept to themselves and stayed out of trouble by feeding on recently deceased corpses and cleaning out blood supplies at local hospitals. When one of the clan members makes a mistake, they are once again being hunted and Cara is the only one who makes it out alive. Cara is officially the last vampire on earth. So when Cara awakes from a two hundred year slumber, she awakes to a new city, new people, and a new way of life. Cara sets out on a journey to find her soul mate, the one person who is designed for her. Along the way she encounters a zany new friend, a jealous co worker, and a man whom she can't live without. Dr. Jared Sayers is her destiny. Will Jared give up everything he knows to be with Cara? Or will she wander the earth for the rest of eternity alone?

Questions for SPOTLIGHT guest Author/Agent

Where did you get the inspiration for your books?

My inspiration comes from a lot of places. I usually get the best inspiration for my books when I'm sleeping, lol. I sleep with a notebook next to my bed in case I wake up to write something down..

How long did it take you to write them?

Honestly, it depends on each book. Some take me longer to write than others. The last one took me about seven months. I just finished the final edit on it about a week ago.

Which character in each book are you most attached to?

All of them lol... But I have to say my main character Ellory Graham in A Whisper To A Scream is the one I'm most attached to out of all of my books. She has littles pieces of me in her. I was totally reckless and rebellious when I was her age.

Do you miss your characters when you finish writing?

No... Only because almost all of my books have a sequel. As long as I've been writing, I've only written one stand alone novel and it's the book I'm currently working on, White Chapel.

What is your writing style?

Anything and everything.. I write contemporary, historical, thrillers, mystery's, fantasy.. And almost all of my novels have romantic elements.

How do you build your novels? Outline? Beta Reads? Crit Group?

If I had to say any of those it would be outlining.. But I don't even do outlining that often... I just usually write the first draft then go back and make changes.

Are you doing a Virtual Book Tour? When?

I did a blog tour back in Sept. As far as virtually, I haven't done one yet... Maybe in the future...

How hectic are things for you with 2 books coming out and starting a new career as a Lit Agent?
My life is insane right now... But I'm loving it! :)

Are you working on any writing projects for 2012?

Yes, right now, I'm working on White Chapel, which is YA mystery about a teenage girl living in 19th century England, who witnesses one of Jack The Rippers killings.

What was the turn of events that opened the doors to you becoming a Lit Agent?

I've done some critiques for a friend of mine, who's talent agency is opening up their former literary department. She asked me if I'd be interested and I accepted ..

What are the challenges of balancing your Lit Agent role and Author role?

It's a little tricky.. but I always make time for writing. I try to do most of my writing really late at night so I have time for work during the day...

Are you taking submissions for authors?

I am. But I don't go live until Feb 7..

What types of submissions are you looking for?

Honestly, anything that wows me. I'm open to everything aside from picture books, cook books, and most non-fiction.

Tell me about the lit agency you are with?

I'm with ADA Management Group which is based out of Florida.. They are fantastic and they also handle a lot of writing for the film industry.. When they began, they set up literary connections and they just needed someone to run the department. That's where I came in.

Where can we purchase your books?

My books can be purchased at www.punkinhouse.com www.amazon.com ... And soon they will be available nationally in bookstores both independent and chains.

Where can authors submit manuscripts for your review?

query by email only to lauren@adamanagementgroup.com starting Feb 7

Any thing you'd like to say to your readers?

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.

Any advice you have for the budding author in search for the perfect Lit Agent?

Keep searching. Don't give up.. The right agent for you is out there.

Thanks Lauren, for agreeing to be a guest on my blog!

If you want to submit to Lauren or follow her:
Blog: http://laurenhammondnovelist.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @NovelistLauren

Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lauren-Hammond/100755776636370

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8610521-love-sucks

Book Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLY_qY57n5U

Literary Agent Website: www.adamanagementgroup.com

DRUGS? TEENS? And YA BOOKS

Drugs and teens are a typical satire for many movies, shows and books. As a teen I dealt with the issues of drugs, sex, race issues, crime, gangs, teen pregnancy and diet issues. Those were real and difficult issues for me. Truth is, I really didn’t need a book to tell me about gangs – I lived where gangs were. I didn’t need a book to tell me about drugs, I lived around tons of drug addicts and acohol. But you know what I needed books for? To show me that I wasn’t alone, that there were other kids that handled these same issues differently. Some kids did it better, some kids suffered and failed, others succeeded. Books gave me that resource, and a safe haven to experience the things I’d seen an to process them.

YEAH, BUT REAL LIFE IS DIFFERENT

Real life is different. No book yet that I have read can really depict the things I experienced and have seen firsthand growing up. Truthfully, living it hurts. But reading it gives us insight without the pain.


I’m talking about this now since I have a young family member going through the effects of drug experimentation. The effects are being placed in a controlled environment in hopes of rehabilitation. The kid didn’t grow up seeing firsthand the effects of drugs. Bypassing crack heads as he walked to the corner store like I did. Maybe, just maybe if he’d seen that reality, he would have thought twice before he opened pandora’s box.


HERE are SOME BOOKS that open up conversation about teen issues like drugs, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and more. Please add to the list. I plan on sending some of these books to my teenage relative battling some of these issues.

SNITCH by Allison Van Diepen

TYRELL by Coe Booth

THE FIRST PART LAST by Angela Johnson

CRANK by Ellen Hopkins

CUT by Patricia McCormick

MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers

BAD BOY by Walter Dean Myers

TWEAK by Nic Sheff


SHARE SOME OTHER BOOKS you’ve liked.

Book Launch Announcement! Never Say Never by Kelly Moody

Please give a hooray! To Yalitchat author Kelley Mooney's who's YA book Never Say Never released this month.


Check out interview here: http://adayintothewriter.blogspot.com/2011/01/author-of-never-say-never.html

Book Blurb: Ebook Description
For seventeen-year old, Kat Harper her life in Savannah, Georgia is perfect, but it all changed with one note. Her mother’s sudden departure forces her father to move Kat to the suburbs of Chicago. Cameron Tate is on every girls list of who they’d want to date. When he sees Kat, he’s instantly drawn to her. Kat realizes she needs to let love in again, but is he the one? Purchase here for just $3.99 ebook!

Go check out the free sample read by clicking above.

About Kelly:
Kelly grew up in Southern New Jersey. She currently resides in Pitsford, NY with her husband and two kids. She developed a love for writing teen romances over the last few years. She has now completed three teen romances in hopes of getting them published. There really is nothing like falling in love for the first time, so this is what she writes. Her second book Never Say Never is the second book she wrote and is now available on Smashwords and Amazon.

HUSH, HUSH and CRESCENDO by Becca FitzPatrick

Please welcome our TEEN BOOK reviewer, NYIA! NYIA's in the house. She's bringing you one of her most favored bad boy love stories.




HUSH, HUSH by Becca FitzPatrick

Amazon blurb:

Nora Grey, a dedicated student striving for a college scholarship, lives with her widowed mother in a country farmhouse outside Portland, ME. When Patch, her new biology partner, is suddenly thrust into her life, Nora is both attracted to his charm and put off by his inexplicable awareness of her thoughts. Eventually, she learns that he is a fallen angel who wants to become human. She is susceptible to his control, but other forces are at work as well, and Nora finds herself caught in the middle of dangerous situations and unexplainable events. The premise of Hush, Hush—that fallen angels exist and interact with humans on Earth—is worthy of contemplation and appealing to teens. But stories with such supernatural themes require that the details of day-to-day life be realistic and believable. Unfortunately, most readers won't be convinced that a mother whose husband has recently been murdered would leave her daughter alone overnight in their home far from the nearest neighbor or that a school counselor would be replaced by someone whose credentials were not checked. While teens may enjoy the scenes of tension and terror, most will be disappointed by characters without dimension and the illogical sequence of events.

NYIA's review:

In this book Nora Gray meets this guy that she knows is no good for her. But of course, she can't stay away from Patch. Turns out he's not only bad, but is a fallen angel with a lot of drama. There is someone that hates Patch, and they want to kill Nora. Then another girl who's in love with Patch wants to kill Nora also. I really liked this one, but it has some really slow parts. If you get past the slow parts its worth it. Because poor Nora is the target only because some angel that fell from heaven loves her. I give this 3 out of 5 icicles because of the many slow parts.




CRESCENDO by Becca FitzPatrick

Amazon blurb:

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

NYIA's review:

Patch and Nora get together, but now Patch is a Guardian Angel. Now everyone is watching him, bad people. Unfortunately, Patch ditches Nora for like I think a stupid reason. Then he becomes Nora's enemy's Guardian Angel and stops being hers, which really sucks! Nora starts snooping into places where she shouldn't. It was rather exciting and suspenseful. It's got more of a mystery element in it. I give it 3 out 5 icicles because Nora went on and on about how she felt about the break up and the slow parts.

DIVERSE BOOKS WHERE RACE IS NOT AN ISSUE

It wasn’t until recently that I realized what the meaning of POC (person of color) meant. I admit it, I’ve been hiding away writing, creating my imaginary worlds without any thought about the type of Author I would be considered.

I create worlds in my books where race really isn’t an issue. The worlds I create are much like the one I have lived in for most of my life. I grew up in Washington , DC . I was the product of a bi-racial mother and a family that consisted of African Americans, American Indians, Cubans, and Caucasians. Now the majority of my family was African American, but I was always engulfed and attracted to the diversity of living in a city that crammed every one of all races together.

When I started to write my books, I just depicted all of the different races of kids that I had played with or that my own kids befriended throughout my life. In that I realize that I have been lucky. Also, I may add, my husband is bi-racial, so maybe, just maybe, my main character in this book was created from the influence he has in my imagination.

In EXPLORER X – ALPHA my MG novel, the main character Aadi is bi-racial and there is Scott who is African American and Raiko who is Asian. Truth be told, I didn’t plan it that way at all. My characters are created in my imagination just as they are, and I don’t plan how they look.

Creating these diverse characters in a Science Fiction novel is the best experience ever for me. Science Fiction allows me to break through boundaries and create a world uniquely my own. I twist and shape these worlds based on the foundation that I have in my reality.

In all of my books I tend to spice it up with diversity. I mean hey, I live in a culturally diverse area so why not share our beautiful differences in the stories I create. The kids look past physical characteristics and band together to fight against a larger foe.

I write diverse characters, and place them in situations where race is probably the furthest things from their minds. Usually in situations of life and death, people easily mend their differences.


Lastly, as a POC author, I wanted to write something that my kids and their friends could identify with, and learn from. I believe that my exposure to different cultures naturally reveals itself in my writing, and I hope my readers enjoy the experience of getting to know my characters.

So I ask that you check out some diverse characters in your reading. Some books I liked in YA were:

Sherri L. Smith author of Fly Girl, Click here

Cindy Pon is the author of Silver Phoenix, click here

Malinda Lo the author of ASH, click here

These are just a few. Do you have some to share with us?

You Know...There are more than 1 Way to get Published

I attended the Annapolis Book Festival as a guest author and got a little star struck at the wonderful authors present. I was on the YA Author Panel. Check out thier books in the photo.

Here's the YA Author Panel List:

Paula Chase-Hyman—That’s What’s Up
Caroline Hickey—Isabelle’s Boyfriend
Maggie Mei Lewis—Moonlight Memoirs - Remembering That Family and Friends are Forever
Diana Peterfreund— Tap & Gown: An Ivy League Novel; Rampant
Fish Stark - Our Budding new author on the road to publication
L.M. Preston—Explorer X—Alpha (your's truly)


So many of the different author's I met at the conference and networking at author events had different roads to publication, some had unconventional ways to publication that only impressed the readership and myself even more.

I’m a staunch proponent of figuring out your plan A, B and C to your goals. Some of the authors I’ve met there and as a member of Maryland Writer's Association, had creative ways mixed with luck and tenacity that I’d like to share. Maybe, just maybe it can be an avenue that others can use.

Pick up a Lit Agent At a Conference:

Several authors I met had networked to find their agent at Writer’s Conferences. Some had even set up appointments/pitch sessions with agents in search of their type of work. Even though I’m coordinating the Editor/Agent sessions at the MWA Writer’s Conference, I didn’t realize what a powerful tool/opportunity this could be for writers.

Hire a Writing Coach:

One author I met had approached her writing career as an investment in herself. She’d never written a book before and knew that she wanted hands on help throughout the process. She hired a Writing Coach that helped her through the writing process, critiqued her work as she went, and gave her tips on getting a Lit Agent. After she landed her agent at a conference, she also hired her own publicist to get the word out for her and set up her events. I was so impressed with her that I had to write about her unconventional journey to publication.

Form your own publishing company:

One sixteen year old children's book author, Maggie, researched the road to publication and decided that she wanted to keep control of her book. She wrote the book, Moonlight Memoirs, found her own illustrator and helped her mother form a publishing company for her first book. She’s done an awesome job at promoting and I was tremendously impressed with her book and efforts. Moonlight Memoirs Remembering That Family and Friends Are Forever, is a children’s book that’s beautifully illustrated. She’ll be signing books at Borders as well as kicking off her virtual tour soon.

Serialized Novel:

I met another inventive author that snagged a lit agent with their serialized diary for a novel that they submitted in book form. They did follow the conventional path of querying agents, but invited the agent to peek at the diary of the main character of their novel. They posted their character’s serialized diary on their blog. The book however was different, but the character’s diary piqued the interest of the agent and resulted in them snagging a contract.

All of these wonderful, yet unique, roads to publication affirm my belief that doing things your own way is quite alright. Changing a “no” from a road block to a detour can pave your way to publication.

Yippee! CREATING BOOK TRAILER FOR BANDITS

My artist, Shoshana Epsilon, is busily creating a masterpiece that will become my book trailer for my coming book BANDITS, that comes out JUNE 1st, 2011.

WHY BOOK TRAILERS ARE GREAT

Book trailers are awesome compliments for book promotion. I simply love them and watch at least for to five a week. My artist actually creates each shot, then builds a mini-movie with snips of sentences to capture the plot of my books. Quite frankly, she spoils me. Usually we pick out the music just before she puts all of the frames together for me and my pub to review.

For a writer, this is a great topping to advertising because when posted to the internet... it sticks around for-ever :-D

A TEASE of the wording for BANDITS

Coming up with the short, snappy words that describe the book is probably the hardest. We go through several iterations to get it right. Here's what we have for BANDITS. Tell me what you think - there's still time for changes :-D

-The greatest heist in the universe
-Leads to Murder
-The key to the ultimate treasure sought with betrayal
-Daniel, a trained thief
-Races to retrieve it
-Before an unknown killer captures the prize
-Betrayal, Adventure, Love and Death
-Daniel, his cousin Faulk and Jade
-Have to uncover the secret
-That changed his father's life
-That will change his destiny and theirs
-Forever

SO, if you want a quick read of BANDITS click here - also check out FREE Short Story from F. RAUSHAWN our debut writer and author of SPECTRUM.

Also, if you want to feed your BOOK TRAILER ADDICTION check out BLAZING TRAILERS...you'll get hooked.

IF YOU ARE NOT PUBLISHED YET - CREATE A BOOK TRAILER, it's a nice way to get the word out about your work in progress. I know lots of SOON TO BE PUBLISHED authors that have created a booktrailer. HERE's one from GEORGIA MCBRIDE for PRAEFATIO! She just got an agent and her book should be coming out hopefully by next year!

I DON’T WANT TO BE FULL-TIME WRITER

I DON’T WANT TO BE FULL-TIME WRITER

I know you’ve heard it. I have from tons of would be writers and experienced writers. The insatiable desire to be able to stay at home and write all day drives them to create the next best-selling masterpiece.


IS THAT ACHIEVABLE?

Yes, I believe it is, although it’s not something someone can ‘make’ happen. It’s rather like winning the lotto. I’ve been around and met several best selling and well sold authors. They do stay home and only write. Sometimes they love it, sometimes they hate it. Why? Because now it’s like any job. The core job you love, but the crap that goes with it, you don’t love.


However, because you are now a ‘business’ entity, you have a responsibility to produce a saleable product or – your livelihood diminishes. With the changes in the publishing world, publishers are lowering the amount offered for most works, are being more picky about what they buy – even from best –selling authors. So yes, if you keep your bills at a reasonable amount (low as possible), if you have family support (a spouse who works), if you have established yourself with a good agent/publisher that is selling your stuff. It can happen – realistically. Yet, if by chance (I second by chance) you get a movie deal and all that goes with it – you’ve hit the big time baby!


WHY I DON’T WANT IT?

I love writing, but it’s like a secret treat for me. Thing is – I love my day job. I do amazing things on my day job. Does my day job get on my nerves? Absolutely! Some days I want to throw in the towel and tell my husband I’ve decided to be a ‘stay at home mom’ (he laughs at me because we both know I would go stir crazy at home – even with the writing/promotion/marketing that goes with building a writing career).

There’s the rub, for me, I’m a better writer because of the things I do, I see, I experience outside of writing. Besides I’m such a multi-faceted person that doing just one thing would never keep me excited about all the other possible things I can do with this short life of mine. Lastly, if writing became my main job – I personally wouldn’t love it quite so much.


ARE YOU AN OUT OF THE NORM WRITER?

Do you also go against the typical grain of a writer and don’t want the job full-time (even though I must admit that doing it part-time sometimes seem like full-time to me, lol!)? Is your writing a complement to your already great career? Is your writing a way of taking a mini-vacation from your stresses? Is it something that you think you would fall out of love with if it included the ‘need’ for a viable income in order to pay your bills with the added pressure of success or getting dropped?

Vampyre Kisses by Elizabeth Kolodziej

Blurb from Amazon:
Vampyre Kisses is an enthralling story about a young woman named Faith, who seems content with her life, but deep down craves more excitement. Then a mysterious man named Trent enters her world and everything changes. Surprising to Faith, Trent is a green-eyed vampire from Ireland. She is even more amazed to find out that she is a witch, and the last of her kind. Faith learns that she is destined to restore her witch line and becomes more powerful as she gains confidence and knowledge, but danger lurks everywhere -- especially when unknown assailants steal the most important gems from the vampire master and werewolf royalty. Now surrounded by a world filled with mystifying vampires and werewolves, can Faith gain enough power to help her friends and rescue the stolen gems? "A welcome addition to the vampire/werewolf corpus. Building on traditional legends, Kolodziej creates a world both vast in its sweep and compelling in its details." Stephen Delaney -- Writer, Teacher & Editor Elizabeth J Kolodziej, a young fiction writer originally from Torrance California, is a smart and original thinker who has researched the origins of vampires, werewolves, and witches for many years. She writes her books from the knowledge she has gained while trying to be as original and inspiring as possible. Her books encompass both true folklore facts along with innovative ideas motivated by the great writers around her. This book is her first, but not her last, in a new series entitled Vampyre Kisses.

My Review:

I read this book during a vampire/paranormal book marathon over the holidays. It was an enjoyable fast read. The main character was likeable and I enjoyed how she kind of got swept up into the whirlwind of the vampire and paranormal beings around her. It starts off with a foretelling of sorts (that's in the prologue), and then you delve into the first person dialogue of the main character named, Faith. Faith's voice was perky and entertaining and I must say I enjoyed reading her dialogue more than Trent. The book is told from the point of view of both Trent, and love interest and Faith. Trent's voice came off rather stilted and old fashioned which may have been on purpose since he was an older vampire. That did a great job of making Faith appear newer, younger and fresher than Trent. There is a retelling of scenes from each character's point of view that give insight into what each character felt about the event which was interesting. This isn't too gory that a teen couldn't or wouldn't enjoy it and my teen thought it was enjoyable. It also had a bit of mystery revealed throughout which kept me reading in order to figure out how Faith got mixed up in this intricate dark world. I give Vampyre Kisses 3.5 stars.

SHADOW WALKER review by teen reviewer NYIA

Please come out to YALITCHAT (www.yalitchat.ning.com) twitter chat this Wed. (Jan. 5th) 9pm and follow the hashtag #yalitchat to meet, LA Banks, Best Selling author of SHAWDOW WALKER.

SHADOW WALKER Synopsis from Goodreads:

Set in a post-apocalyptic world following the Armageddon, in Shadow Walker, Sarah and the teenage children of the world’s Guardians of the Light must learn to hone their extra-sensory talents to one day join in the battle with their parents.

While they are secreted away in the Temt Tchaas Academy, (aka Neteru Academy), these students must learn to fight evil as well as learn to resist the temptation of fighting with each other. Although these young people have super powers, they still struggle with the same dramas and insecurities like any other high school student – and just because their parents may be superhuman doesn’t mean their parents are perfect. Far from it. That only makes life more confusing, as peer pressure, budding romances, decisions about whether or not to snitch, or whether or not to use one’s supernatural gifts for personal gain must be sorted out.

In this coming of age story, Sarah Rivera and her twin brother, Alejandro, must figure out when to use their wings or fangs, how to get along with their compound siblings, how to fit in with others in a huge new school, and perhaps most importantly, how to pick their battles to always fight for what is right.

NYIA’s REVIEW:

I’ve never read anything like this before. And I loved it! My mom got this on ebook for just $3.99 (she told me to tell you to pick it up on smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/b/33128) and started reading it and loved Sarah. The kids talk in slang, which made the book really unique to me, and made the kids sound realistic. Sarah scares easy but doesn’t realize she is a Shadow Walker, one of the most strongest guardians there is to fight the evil ones. This world is filled with vampires, zombies, demons, werewolves and angelic mixes with magical creatures. It was very original and interesting enough to keep me reading. There was a little bit of romance, but it wasn’t really a serious one like in most of the teen books. I would have liked to see more of that, but there was so much other exciting stuff going on in the book that I didn’t miss it not having the love triangle that most books have. I liked how Sarah grew into the hero even though she was scared so I gave this book 5 out of 5 FIREWORKS.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAME SYSTEMS (IPOD, PS3, WII, PSP and XBOX)

Things I bet you didn’t know about game systems
With the holiday’s over and tons of kids getting an IPOD Touch, PS3, XBOX-360, and PSPs parents should realize what these games gives their kids access to.


DID YOU KNOW THAT WITH INTERNET ACCESS YOUR KID CAN SURF PORN SITES

Yep, word is that kids are using these devices to go to naughty websites – right under their parents noses. Due to these possibilities our game systems are located in places where everyone is able to see what is being played and how. Although, honestly I don’t have access to my son’s IPOD touch, but there are also free naughty downloads parents should watch out for on those devices and I do a spot check on my son’s device to make sure he hasn’t added anything inappropriate.

HOURS of PLAYING ONLINE

Now with many of these devices my kid can play online gaming. He doesn’t even hang out at friends houses as much anymore because he can play games with them online. Even speak to them via his head piece while they are playing. These games are highly addictive, even my daughter and son were logged in (and PS3 does a great screen split for multiple players).


TEACH YOUR KIDS SAFE GAMING HABITS – THEY ARE ON THE WEB

When playing online gaming kids meet other people all over the world. Make sure you let them realize that PREDATORS hang out online in all forms, and meeting someone through gaming is a high possibility. Most boys can be approached in this manner and let them know that if someone wants to chat off the game website, don’t follow up with them. It could be a form of manipulation from a predator.


BEST WAYS TO GET IN ON THE KNOW

Play with them. Yep, I said it, play video games with your kids. Even though you are not that good, they will still enjoy it, and you will learn all this great stuff about gaming that you would never learn without spending quality time hanging out in your kid’s haunts. Besides that, they love it when you watch them play too! So grab a joystick and get to practicing your gaming.