RULES FOR THE 3rd WHEEL DATING FRIEND

You’ve all been there. As a teenager and an adult. The 3rd Wheel. The friend that accompanies another friend on a date as a chaperone, companion, bail excuse, lookout, body guard and whatever. I played my fair share of 3rd wheel and had friends do the same for me. This came up this weekend with my teens who are dating. One is going on her first 3rd wheel mission so I gave her the tips below :-D

Here’s some rules and tips.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THESE SIGNALS

- Your friend hinting that you should go get popcorn or go to the bathroom or jerking her head to the side means, “I like him – get lost”
- Your friend’s boyfriend winking at you over her shoulder means, “I’m a scumbag who’s trying to have my cake and eat it too.”
- Your friend tugs on your shirt and tell you it’s time for a lady’s room break means, “I have to come up with a plan to ditch this bozo.”


DON’Ts FOR THE 3rd Wheel

- Don’t ever fall for your friend’s boyfriend
- Don’t be clingy – be seen and not heard, remember it’s not your date it’s her’s
- Don’t ever stay alone with the said date/boyfriend – this could backfire and friend may become jealous and think you have eyes for her guy.
- Don’t gobble up your friend’s time/conversation – you could be drowning out her date and tick him off and make her lose a good opportunity to meet someone nice
- Don’t make googoo eyes at your friend’s guy no matter how hot he is.

DOs FOR THE 3rd Wheel

- Do talk to your friend before the date to ask her what the signals are (signals to ‘let’s ditch dude’, ‘I’m having a great time – get lost 3rd wheel’, ‘He’s okay, but I’m not going to do another date with him’, ‘He’s a scum who wants us both, lets ditch him instead’)
- Do let her know that you won’t try to impose on her date by talking girl stuff the entire time, so she doesn’t have to feel like she has to entertain both the 3rd wheel and her guy
- Do let her know that you are there for her and all she has to do is let you know what she needs.

SHOULD YOU BE A 3rd Wheel

Well my kid asked me if she should even do this. I told her yes – sometimes, but don’t make it a habit. It’s nice to be able to see what goes on a date without being a participant. And besides, you may need that same friend to 3rd wheel for you.

HAVE YOU BEEN A 3rd Wheel? IF so do you have tips?

Launch Party Favors! Winners of the Goodreads Bandits Giveaway!

The Bandits Launch Party has kicked off with a bang! Online Giveaway's in which over 200 readers downloaded their free copy of Bandits on Smashwords! 100 books signed and given away at BEA! And for the Launch Day Final Prize giveaway - Goodreads Winner's take the pirate's booty of 10 books.

Here's the winners for the Goodreads Give Away!

Vicki Krivak
Mary Campbell
Janice Crespo
Shawna Guilford
Ruth Thompson
Becca Kher
Keisha Lyons
Jennifer Burger
Mardi Studer
Sharon Hoskison

Still 2 days to download your complimentary Launch Party copy of Bandits, re-release–FREE EBOOK coupon code:LV67U http://dld.bz/YzJw

Why BEA is the bomb for Pubs, Authors & Readers!

This was my first year attending the BEA Conference, and can I tell you – it was awesome! I’m going to be tweeting about the great books I got while at BEA and listing my favs so stay tuned.

MY SIGNING AT BEA

This was the greatest moment of my career as an author and gave me such joy to have signed and given away 100 books at the event this week. The support I got was overwhelming. Especially since I’ve always been concerned that ‘writing in Boy’ wasn’t the most popular thing to do. But because there were very little books featuring male pov’s I was pleasantly surprised to meet people interested in my series. Not to mention, I loved visiting with people who were excited to meet my characters.

WHY ALL AUTHORS should Attend

Whether you are traditionally published, self-published, or trying to get published this is a great networking event. Not only that, but it is an inspiring event as you meet other authors getting their book hustle on, publishers even lit agents hang out at these events. Also, it’s a great way to learn the opportunities within the business. As a self-published author (entrepreneurs) it’s a way to showcase your book to booksellers, lit agents, librarians, bloggers as well as meet organizations that support publishers and such.

WHY ALL PUBLISHERS (Tiny to Big) should Attend

This is also a great place for publishers (small, new, large) to network with publishers interested in purchase of international rights for books. So if you are a small press (like we are) you can pitch to other publishers to sell your International Rights to your books. Also, you can find out all the new things happening in publishing. Definitely attend the IBPA publishing university which is a great learning tool for small press and self-pubbers.

WHY READERS should Attend

FREE books, celebrity authors, tons of parties, meet new and exciting authors, more free books, Blog World – learn how to turn your reading into a business adventure. Networking – yep, readers can network here too and talk one on one to authors, industry heads and have a blast. Meet celebrities – yep, I got to meet James Patterson, Little Wayne, Tony Hawk and so many more celebrity peeps.


SO, Why would you tell an Author, Small Press, Large Pub, Reader, Blogger to attend?

My BEA Booty! Yep, my book treasures

Here are some of the great books I got at BEA (only a few of them in one of my bags, I haven't even opened the other three.)

I have a signing at BEA on Wed at 2pm and I hope you can make it. If not don't forget to pick up your free copy of Bandits in ebook.

YAY! Here's a sample of the books and links I got signed today.

I love you more, by Kim Thompson and Bailey Thompson
http://www.twinsisters.com/onlinecatalog/boardbooksmusiccds/3043.htm

Sophie, by Katherine Gibson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpADU6FOHNY

The Megasaurus Peter Weck (Author), Len DiSalvo (Illustrator)
http://www.amazon.com/Megasaurus-Lima-Bear-Stories/dp/1933872128

Black out, by John Rocco
http://www.amazon.com/Blackout-John-Rocco/dp/1423121902

Sara Emma Edmonds Was a Great Pretender, by Carrie Jones
http://www.carriejonesbooks.com/my-books/sarah-emma-edmonds/

The Lords by Little Ones, Allia Zobel Nolen
http://www.christianbook.com/the-lords-prayer-for-little-ones/allia-nolan/9780736926621/pd/926621

Dude, Fun with Dude and Ben by Lisa Pliscou
http://www.amazon.com/Dude-Fun-Betty-Lisa-Pliscou/dp/0061756903

Tugg and Teeny by Patrick Lewis
http://www.amazon.com/Tugg-Teeny-Book-One-Reader/dp/1585366854/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306279383&sr=1-1

Zapato Power by Jacqueline Jules
http://www.amazon.com/Zapato-Power-Freddie-Ramos-Takes/dp/0807594792/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306279451&sr=1-1

Wire To Wire by Scott Sparling
http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Tin-House-New-Voice/dp/1935639056/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306279504&sr=1-1

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
http://www.amazon.com/Original-Sin-Personal-Demons-Novel/dp/0765328097/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306279558&sr=1-1-fkmr0

The Eleventh plague by Jeff Hirsh
http://www.amazon.com/Eleventh-Plague-Jeff-Hirsch/dp/0545290147/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306279719&sr=1-1-spell

The Faerie Ring, by Kiki Hamilton
http://kikihamilton.blogspot.com/p/faerie-ring_25.html

The Scorpion’s Sting by J.D. Masterson
http://www.jdmasterson.com/

Dry Ice by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson
http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Ice-ebook/dp/B004VMV3Y0

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
http://www.amazon.com/Trial-Fire-Raised-Wolves-Novel/dp/1606841688/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306280256&sr=1-1

The Sword of Darrow by Alex and Hall Machow
http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Darrow-Hal-Malchow/dp/1935618466/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306280350&sr=1-1-fkmr0

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Movie Review

FANDANGO BLURB:

Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed adventure. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love—or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

MY REVIEW:
I love the Pirate’s of the Caribbean movies. This time I had another great ride. But something big was missing – and I wanted it. The chemistry between Johnny Depp, Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Because they weren’t in this movie – I felt a little cheated. Now the new adventure was a fun one – to find the Fountain of Youth. A long lost love for Captain Jack and his awkward and endearing way of getting out of the worst messes with just a bit of offhanded arrogance was wonderful. The exchange with Penelope Cruz was light, and I wanted more of a heated seduction to go on –but hey I’m greedy. I give it a 3.5 black pearls since the missing characters I’ve wanted to re-acquaint with were no where to be found.

PRIEST Movie Review

FANDANGO:

A warrior priest (Paul Bettany) disobeys Church law by teaming with a young sheriff (Cam Gigandet) and a beautiful priestess (Maggie Q). The three band together to track down a band of renegade vampires who have kidnapped the priest's niece before they turn her into one of them.


MY REVIEW:

I will forewarn you, I love Vamps, any kind of Vamp, but especially the guelly kind that are ugly, animalistic and .... hungry. Priest delivered a scifi, twisted, off ball tale of a future where Vamps tried to eat the world. The war's in the past, the Priest have retired, but then there's a twist. A former Priest was turned and the Vamps are back. He leads the animalistic Vamp, kidnaps a former Priest's daughter and Paul - the warrior Priest goes against the 'church (a twisted view of the catholic church) to save her. Overall this was an okay film, it had much more potential but it was entertaining and suspenseful. It kept me watching. I give it 3 out of 5 fangs.

FREE! Ebook BANDITS in Honor of BEA Give Away!

FREE! Ebook BANDITS in Honor of BEA Give Away! http://bit.ly/iNSY8V coupon:LV67U good til May 31st!


Pre-release Promo for BANDITS (Teen Pirates-Treasure-Love-Death) FREE ebook BANDITS http://bit.ly/iNSY8V coupon:LV67U good til May 31st! Check out the great reviews on my website www.lmpreston.com BANDITS has been getting 4 and 5 stars! Please enjoy and post a review on AMAZON

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

NYIA teen book reviewer is in the house!!!! Give her a warm welcome!



Book Blurb Booklist:

Ruby hasn’t had much success with family. Her father left; her protective older sister, Cora, left; and her boozing mother finally leaves, too. Ruby is alone until Cora learns of her situation and swoops in. Suddenly, Ruby finds herself living with Cora and her wealthy brother-in-law, attending private school, and wondering just where she fits in. As in previous books, Dessen takes on a central theme—here the meaning of family—and spins many plots and subplots around it. Most prominent yet least successful is the thread about Cora’s relationship with boy-next-door Nate, who rescues her when she needs it, but has difficulty accepting Ruby’s help, tentative at first, when she discovers he’s being physically abused. Nate seems too good to be true (as does Cora’s husband), while his father is a caricature. And one of the most important elements, the issue of the girls’ mother lying to them, gets lost. Despite the uneven narrative, Dessen’s writing can be beautiful, and her story is involving.

NYIA's REVIEW:

I give this book a 4 out of 5 hearts, mostly because the story was very interesting and had major drama, but it had too much back story so I snatched away a heart. The main character,Ruby, was very likable and grew throughout the story. The side love story was so touching and showed true dedication. I liked that the love story grew throughout the book and was well developed. Like I said before, the back-stories were overkill at times. They answered a lot of questions formed in the book, but there was so much back-story that I wished she made the beginning of the book sooner. The book overall was a great read and the ending was sweet and sad at the same time. I can honestly say that I had no unanswered questions at the end of this book, except the usual one left with the whole love interest thing.

Yippee! I got the Stylish Blogger Award!

I'm uber excited today. I just found out via twitter :-D that I am nominated for the Awesome Stylish Blogger Award!

Thanks soooo much, Yelena Casale! Here's a link to her blog: CLICK HERE

And now, THE RULES :-D

1. Thank and link to the person(s) who nominated you;
2. Share seven random facts about yourself;
3. Pass the award along to five blogging buddies;
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

Here's my Seven Facts

I'm an Engineer and I design and build really cool systems!
I'm a mom of Four kids all of which have a part in my writing experience.
I'm a karate flick nut and go to the flea market to buy them all of the time.
I took karate when I was a kid, but only got to the blue belt when I discovered boys.
I used to do people's english papers in college, write their resumes, and tutor in order to make extra cash.
I'm a product of teen parents and I survived :-D
I met my husband on a blind date when I was 15yrs old and married him after dating just a few months when in my 20's.

Here's the lucky Bloggers who have stylish blogs.

Bookalicious: http://bookalicio.us

Dawn Brazil's http://dawnbrazil.blogspot.com/

Once Upon A Legacy said: www.onceuponatimelegacydevine.com

Writer's Musings: http://tabwriter.blogspot.com/

Write Game: http://writegame.blogspot.com/

Romance in YA

Yeah, love is in the air. I’ve always loved romantic stories. I think it all started with those darn Disney Princess stories but it grew. As a teen I always loved to read about love – even when I read other books.

YA and ROMANCE

To be honest I believe a lot of YA books fall short on ‘romance’ but is heavy on heated love, sex scenes that are just blah or unnecessary and love triangles that are – lets face it, just plain unbelievable. I mean c’mon if there were two hot guys like Edward and Jacob at school – they would be chasing any girl that threw themselves at them and certainly wouldn’t be waiting around for a plain girl named Bella :-D

But we love those stories because – well, we wish that could happen.

I’d like to read a YA novel that actually had a scene filled with true romance (personally without the sex unless it is important to the character) and if they are going to put the sex scene in there, I wish they would be tasteful. But hey, that’s just me. I did however ask my daughter and she mentioned she thought they were just plain sleazy and didn’t add anything to the story for her so she would skip those parts.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SEX SCENES in YA ROMANCE?

I asked my daughter to take a poll of her friends (14-15yr old girls) and her response was that 8 of the 10 girls said they thought they were icky, and spoiled some scenes for them. The other 2 girls said they liked reading them. All girls agreed that it made sex less curious for them and didn’t paint the picture that it was something fun to do. Hmmmmm.

TONIGHT on YAlitchat (check it out on twitter at 9pm on Wed) we’ll be chatting about Romance, so drop in.

BANDITS was released early in EBOOK

Yippee! I have a lot to be happy about. We just released Bandits in ebook format. This was the first time we did it ourselves – hands on when my publisher hobnobbed with some other small presses and they told him it was best to upload the books ourselves rather than have our servicer do it. Oh, they said it would be easy. Well, ebook to Kindle was definitely easy. Ebook to Smashwords took five attempts before it was formatted correctly for the Premium Catalogue which gets your ebook formatted to Barnes.

$2.99 is the intro price for Bandits in Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/LM.-Preston/e/B002R7KUCC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0) and Smashwords.

$0.99 The Pack in Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/LM.-Preston/e/B002R7KUCC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0) and B&N (May-June) (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Pack/L-M-Preston/e/9780984198993/?itm=1&USRI=the+pack+by+lm+preston)

$0.99 Explorer X-Alpha in Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/LM.-Preston/e/B002R7KUCC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0) and B&N (May-June) (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Explorer-X-Alpha/L-M-Preston/e/9780984198924/?itm=1&USRI=explorer+x+-+alpha+by+lm+preston)

The big Paperback Release day is June 1st! So get yours at pre-order price now.

TOUR Plans for MAY

*Tip* on the right of my blog there are links and In Person tour dates. (http://lmpreston.blogspot.com)

Gaithersburg Book Festival on May 21st

Book Expo America!!

I’ll be giving away FREE BOOKS and signing on May 25th (look me up LM Preston).

THOR Movie Review

IMDb BLURB:
The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

MY REVIEW:
I’m a sucker for a Greek hero based on Greek Mythology. This movie is a retelling of such. It also (as my husband the comic book geek pointed out) is rather different from the comic depiction of Thor. The comic book depiction of Thor was a feeble man who had a cane and when he tapped the cane it turned into his hammer. Well as the movie goes I have to say I fell more in love with the villain Loki than I did with Thor. Mainly it was because they didn’t really spend much time developing Thor’s character or his journey as a pompous hot head to a true hero. Not to mention his brief romance left no spark. With all of that said, I still enjoyed the movie. It had great special effects. Let’s face it the guy that played Thor was gorgeous, and the fight scenes were interesting. But to me, Loki’s character stole the show. I give this 3 out of 5 thunderbolts.

MOVIE TIP: If you go – stay til after the trailer for a teaser for the Avengers movie.

CAREERS is STAY-AT-HOME MOM ONE ANYMORE?

I’ve been doing a lot of Career Day sessions at Middle Schools and High Schools lately, and have noticed a change from when I was a kid. No one professes that when they grow up, they want to get married and be a mom. I mean when I went to school, half of the girls there would proclaim that when they grew up they wanted to get married, have kids and be an at-home wife.

Is that a dying career goal for our girls? Is it no longer considered a future prospect or acceptable prospect for a teen girl to depend on her husband to manage the house.

HOW HAVE TEEN GIRLS VIEWS OF FAMILY HAVE CHANGED

With so many divorces, mixed families, or single parent household, many girls don’t believe that they can totally trust that a man or another person will be that devoted to take care of them and the kids financially for their entire lives. They are willing to talk about staying home with their kids – but with the thought to be prepared just in case things don’t work out. Wow!

I can honestly say I get that. My mom didn’t marry my father, and when she did get married the guy was abusive. Also, for as long as I can remember the women in my family weren’t home makers. They worked and coordinated childcare between each other. But secretly, I wanted a ‘normal’ family with mom at home like I’d seen on TV and dad a perfect support and provider (I grew up watching Leave it to Beaver, The Brady Bunch, etc)

HOW HAVE TEEN BOYS VIEWS OF FAMILY CHANGED

I also believe our teen boys are more flexible than in the past. The thought of men staying home as the care-giving parent isn’t such a far-fetched idea anymore. Also, as for my son, he wants his wife to work also. Which shocked me, and I asked him why. He stated well you’re a great mom and you work to, why can’t you babysit my kids and my wife and I work. Huh?! Well that’s not such a crazy idea considering that’s what my mom has done for me. She stayed home with my kids, cooked and cleaned while my husband and I worked. She did it only for a few years, but it helped a lot. Also, with the death of a family friend, who’s wife had been home raising their kids – my son witnessed the financial devastation of the family since the mother had no job skills. As well as my husband stayed home with my younger two kids for 5 years while owning a Real Estate business to supplement lost income. So my son experienced all types of family support structures for the kids.

HOW DOES YA BOOKS PORTRAY THIS

I believe the future is boundless. The make up of family will continue to change with husband and wives freely being able to switch roles as needed. It’s starting to happen in some YA books. More YA lit is showing alternate family structures. Usually though most have a mom and dad – but let’s face it, they’ve probably been killed off. Some I wonder may even have alternative households with single mom, blended families or even a mom or dad that have various sexual orientations. Who knows? So watch out for the shifts.

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY YA with an ALTERNATIVE or DIFFERENT FAMILY STRUCTURE?

FAST FIVE - Movie Review

FANDANGO BLURB:

Director Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious) returns to the helm for this adrenaline-charged sequel reuniting series stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker for their biggest thrill ride yet. With the police in hot pursuit and wanted fugitive Dom (Diesel) in tow, Brian (Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) make their way to Rio, and realize they've run out of luck. In order to earn their freedom, they'll have to pull off their biggest job yet. After assembling a crack team of the top racers in Brazil, the gang prepares to confront the crooked businessman who seeks to silence them forever. Meanwhile, unstoppable federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has assembled his own team, an intimidating group of top cops whose sole mission is to capture Dom, Brian, and Mia by whatever means possible. But as the race heats up, Hobbs loses his ability to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Now, in order to prevent the lawless trio from being turned into roadkill before he can arrest them, Luke puts his pedal to the metal, and begins to rely more on his killer instinct than his police training

MY REVIEW:
Okay, I’m just gonna say it. Yep, right now. TESTOSTERONE overload. I literally swooned with all the action, fast cars, gorgeous guys – I mean there were a lot of guys to chose from and I fell in love with them all. The twist in the heist, goofball macho comedy lines, the downing of the bad guy, the turning of the good guy to bad all made for a high action – full throttle action flick. I mean they threw everything but the kitchen sink in this one. They even had great female characters that had spunk and skill when it came to the ultimate job. I give this one a 4 out of 5 hotties. I took off one point simply because I would have liked just a little more female in your face action (hey, that’s the girl power in me talking).

Oh, and by the way - My husband Loved it! Said it was the best action flick he'd seen in over a month.


GORGEOUS GUYS





FAST CARS: