Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn - A Review

What I'm reading now  Across the Nightingale Floor
I listened to this book.
Go join the fun  on a spooky blog hop and win up to 400 books here
Over 30 authors came together last Saturday at Barnes and Noble in Orem for an awesome Authorpalooza. It was a ball. Heather Gardner posted this pic. of me there. I sat next to cute Jessica Day George. It was fun to sign with so many of my friends and to make new ones. Go to her original post by clicking on her name. She owns Fireandice.blogspot.com and awesome review site!
The review
Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book OneWe enter the story with teenage Tomasu discovering Iida, a warlord, massacring his entire village. Almost getting killed himself, Tomasu escapes into the wild and runs into another warlord, Otori Shigeru. He saves Tomasu and then claims him as his son, renaming him Takeo. Otori teaches Tomasu the ways of the warrior and Tomasu soon discovers he has special skills. These skills are being honed by his master to free the people from the oppressive rule of Iida.

Tomasu is an interesting and likable character. In fact, I liked all the characters in this book. They were well thought out and played their parts well. With all the clan in-fighting, it could have been difficult to follow, but I thought Hearn did a marvelous job in separating all the different plots and at the same time bringing them all together to create a cohesive book. I had a hard time putting this book down (or pausing it, in this case). I was intrigued from the get-go. In fact, I decorated my house for Halloween while I listened to it.


This book is not for the faint of heart, however and it is definitely not for the audience it is intended-Young Adult. There is a ton of graphic violence and one sex scene that is definitely not appropriate for a young adult audience. This is an adult book for sure and not all adults.

I'm currently reading Bound by C.K. Bryant, Armour of Light by Karen Hoover, and The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. I just finished How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper.

Frankenstein's Monster's Toes


The Eats

The giveaway hop is still going strong. Enter here

Frankenstein's Monster's Toes-Thanks Pillsbury!

Your guests won't know whether or not they should eat these yummy toes. They look so ghastly with that odd shade of green and red toe nails-gruesome. You'll have to dare them to take a bite.

1pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix ( or your favorite sugar cookie recipe
1/4cup all-purpose flour
1/3cup butter or margarine, melted
Frankenstein's Monster's Toes1egg
1/2teaspoon almond extract
7drops green food color
36whole blanched almonds
1/2teaspoon red food color

DIRECTIONS

1 In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, melted butter, egg, almond extract and green food color until soft dough forms. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.
2 Meanwhile, place almonds and red food color in resealable food-storage plastic bag; shake bag until almonds are evenly coated with food color. Place on paper plate or waxed paper to dry. Set aside.
3 Heat oven to 375°F. For each cookie, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into 2 1/2-inch finger shape. On ungreased cookie sheets, place shapes 2 inches apart.
4 Press almond, colored side up, into one end of each “toe” to look like toenail. About 1 inch from each end of each “toe,” squeeze dough slightly; with knife, gently make lines in dough to look like knuckles.
5 Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set. (Cookies should not brown along edges.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
Blanched almonds are almonds that have the skin removed. They are widely available in grocery stores.
For more vibrantly colored fingers, use paste food color instead of liquid food color.


Happy eating

Halloween Hi Jinks - Over 400 books to Win!

Halloween Hi Jinks

We couldn't celebrate Halloween without an awesome hop! You have over 400 books to win...Go for it!

Oh yeah! You can also win a book here...and it is sppooookkyy! 

The Fall
by Jennifer Hurst






and I'll even throw in an ebook of Watched or a proof copy-your choice!  Ebooks are on sale for Halloween here for only .99 cents until Oct. 31st. Don't miss out on this awesome price!

How do you enter?

1. Follow this blog +1
If you want more chances to win then
2. Like my facebook page +1
3. Follow iwritenetwork +1
4. Join iwritenetwork Ning +1
5. Follow my Watched blog+2
Just leave a comment telling me what you did and you're set.
Good luck.
Now go check out all the other giveaways!

Halloween Hi Jinks #7 Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

Writing-the craft and Halloween Hi Jinks #7

It's Friday again and you could win  a cool little ceramic pumpkin candle. I wanted to put a picture here, but my daughter took the camera to Oregon with her...so, you'll just have to believe me when I say it's super cute and will help you get some decorating done for Halloweeen. I'll try to post a picture on Monday when she gets back.

First off, if you haven't been over to the iwritenetwork site, now's the time. Tomorrow morning, Sat., at 9 am MST, best selling author,Tristi Pinkston, will be chatting with us. You don't want to miss it.

My first book signing was a blast
Next....Head on down to the Barnes and Noble in Orem between 1-4 for a real awesome treat! Like 30 authors will be there signing their books at an awesome Authorpalooza. I'd love to meet ya'll. Come say hi!

Now to Story Engineering...while Larry can be a rambling sort of guy that repeats himself over and over in his book, he does direct  you to a couple of awesome resources he has created.

The first is a fantastic printable. It is his book summed up in one page. Go get it and use it this next month while you get ready for Nano or while you work on Nano next month. This is an invaluable resource.
  Click here. Larry is cool so pick up Story Engineering at Amazon.com.

The other awesome resource is a questions list he has compiled to help you create your best book ever. It is at the same link above.
 Story Engineering

Happy story engineering!

Night Road by Kristin Hannah - A Review

What I'm reading now Night Road

Don't miss the next edition of  iwritenetwork's blog-talk radio this Sat. 10/ 22 at 9 am MST with Best Selling Author Tristi Pinkston. here

And...come to Barnes and Noble in Orem from 1-4 for a fantastic authorpalooza with like 30 awesome authors.
YOU'll want to be thereLexi Baill, tossed from foster home to foster home, finally finds a permanent one with a great aunt who lovesNight Road. I will...and I'd love to sign your book!


and cares for her despite the greater financial burden she brings.
Determined to live on the fringes of school, Lexi looks for another girl who is on the fringes to befriend. She finds Mia, the daughter of Jude, a mother who likes to be involved in every aspect of her children's lives. Despite her initial reservations about Lexi, due to her marred past and financial standing, she pulls her into the family because she loves that Mia finally has a friend.

Once senior year hits, Jude feels her control of her children slipping through her fingers. She is torn between laying down the law and having her children adore her. It all comes to a head when Lexi, Mia and Mia's brother, Zach, collectively make a terrible decision that ends in tragedy.

Can Lexi, Zach and Jude find forgiveness and live life again?

I listened to this book. I liked the characters. They were rich and inviting. The contrast between the siblings Zach and Mia was striking and interesting. This is a story that could play out in just about anyone's family. Kristin Hannah is a great story teller. I was engrossed and engaged until a couple of things happened. First, this book makes it seem okay to have sex in high school. In fact it makes it seem that everyone does it and therefore we should be prepared for our children to do it. Next, it got so darn depressing for so long, I could hardly bear it.

Despair for me needs to be short lived and the way it dragged on in this story, while it might be somewhat realistic for many, made me not like the story in the end. Even after it was all resolved, I still felt depressed. Yuck.

This book is perfect for people who like realistic fiction that leaves you despairing. Oh, that sounded harsh, but that's not what I intended. I know people who love this type of book. You know who you are.

Teen sex, alcohol and drugs are prevelant in this story-be forewarned.

Halloween Hi Jinks -Meaty Bones Recipe

Halloween Hi Jinks- Meaty Bones
I got this recipe from a book in 2005 called Halloween Party Recipes

Just wait until to set these Meaty Bones on the table in front of your family or friends. You'll get a ton of oooos and ahhhs. I mean, just check out how cool they look. And when they take a bite, all you'll hear is mmmm.

1/2 C. hickory smoked barbeque sauce         
1/4 C. grape jelly
2 Tbl. A-1 steak sauce
1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
12 chicken drumsticks
12 (12 inch) pieces of gauze

1. Turn on broiler to low.

2. Combine  1/2 C. bbq. sauce, 1/4 C. jelly, A-1 steak sauce, and orange rind. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until jelly melts. Stir to blend. Divide in half.

3. Coat broiler rack or aluminum foil with cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Put chicken on rack. Broil on low for 20 minutes until almost no longer pink in center, turning every five minutes. Baste with 1/2 of sauce and cook another 10 minutes, turning twice. Remove from oven and then baste with remaining sauce.

4. Let stand 5 minutes to cool slightly. Wrap bottom portion of each leg with a strip of gauze.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Hi Jinks and Story Engineering-Series

Halloween Hi Jinks #6

Several of the other Hi Jink contests are still open. If you missed them, go check them out. #1#2 ,   #3 , #4 . So, I picked this wicked looking spider today, because I'm giving away spider web and spiders. And, I've been hanging huge and tiny spiders all over my living room. So fun. Nothing like some web and spiders to create a spooky decor. Have you decorated already? Halloween is close...

Want to know how to enter?  
#1 Follow this blog-mandatory
#2 Follow my Watched blog-mandatory
  and for extra spooky entries-only if you want ...
         #3 like my Watched facebook page (+2)
         #4 Follow iwritenetwork blog (+2) p.s...you could win cool books by following
         #5 Join iwritenetwork/ning (+2) p.s...you can win a 30 page edit by joining ***Just leave me a comment with your point count and how you earned them and you're in the running.


Now for Larry Brooks tips on Story Engineering-Series endings.

If your book is a series, you need to remember that loose ends are important.  Of course, the primary plot must be resolved, but what lives on is usually character focused.

Larry uses the Harry Potter series as an example. He says each of the Harry Potter books solves a specific problem, but the overriding story problem, a kid finding a guy who killed his parents, remains until the very end of the series. Of course the way to find the guy gets more and more possible as the story progresses.

Each book, however, must stand alone and the main issue must be resolved completely before moving on. A unique story needs to be told in each one.

This is easier if you plan the final ending early. You can, of course, change the ending as you write each book. Just strategize and plan all the main story points beforehand. Then be flexible.

Are you writing a series? Do you already know the final outcome of the series? Do each of your books have a unique story that ends completely in the final pages of the book?



Happy Endings!

Beastly by Alex Flinn - A Review

What I'm reading now  Beastly
Beastly By Alex FlinnAudible.com was having a sale on audible books for less than 5 bucks and I thought I'd pick up a few. Ever since seeing the movie, Beastly, I'd wondered if the movie did the book justice, because more often than not, the movie stinks and fails the book. Also, it's October and beasts fit nicely into this month.

In this case, it might be the other way around.

Beastly is a story about a boy who is rotten to the core and was taught to be that way by his father. One day, he crosses the wrong girl and finds himself a beast, furry and clawed. The girl put a spell on the boy that requires him to find someone to love him and kiss him while in his beastform within 2 years or he will remain a beast forever.

Cute idea...have I heard it somewhere before?  Sure, but this had the potential to be great. It wasn't. Neither was the movie, but that was expected.

I thought the main character was unbelievable in so many ways and oh so sappy at the end, it almost made me want to puke. I guess it could have been the reader of the book that made me feel this way....who knows. I also thought the love interest was unbelievable and sappy.

Did you read Beastly? Did you think it was sappy? I really want to know. Maybe if I'd read it, I'd have a different view.

Do you think listening to a book slants the way you think of it? Does the reader of a book have that much power?

Happy listening
I'm reading Amour of Light by Karen Hoover, Bound by Christine Bryant, Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I just finished Night Road by Kristin Hannah, Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn, Exiled by RaShelle Workman





Halloween Party Recipe Week- Scary Skull Cakes-

Scary Skull Cakes by Pillsbury

The first time I made these, everyone raved about them. You'll be surprised at how easy they really are...and yummy.
 A definite crowd pleaser
Scary Skull Cakes

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place black or dark brown paper baking cups in 24 regular-size muffin cups. (This is a Pillsbury recipe, but I like to use Duncan Hines Cake Mixes.)
2 Make, bake and cool cupcakes as directed on box.
3 Carefully pull back a small section of paper from each cupcake; insert large marshmallow half between paper and cake of each.
4 Frost tops of cupcakes and marshmallows to look like skull shape with whipped vanilla frosting. 
5 For each skull cake, use 2 mint candies (I used junior mints) for eyes, 1 chocolate chip, point side down, for nose, and 6 to 8 slivered almonds for teeth.
Store loosely covered or freeze until use.

Happy baking!

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #5 Halloween Decorations


Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #5  Halloween Decorations

I love to decorate for Halloween!
All the other holidays slide past me without much fanfare, but Halloween is so much fun, I spend hours decorating.  I thought I'd give one of you lucky followers something
every Friday this month
to either add to your collection or to help you start one.

Todays prizes are Eerie icons mirror stickers: a spider and a skull and crossbones.
Want to know how to enter?  
#1 Follow this blog-mandatory
#2 Follow my Watched blog-mandatory
  and for extra spooky entries-only if you want ...
         #3 like my Watched facebook page (+2)
         #4 Follow iwritenetwork blog (+2) p.s...you could win cool books by following
         #5 Join iwritenetwork/ning (+2) p.s...you can win a 30 page edit by joining and this Sat. at nine a.m. you'll learn about outlining by an awesome author.
***Just leave me a comment with your point count and how you earned them and you're in the running.

Last, but not least, some fun with Larry Brooks and Story Engineering-short and sweet

The Final Act according to Larry.

To have an effective part 4 or final act

1.  No newcomers are allowed
2.  The hero is the catalyst for the end
     a. He must conquer his inner demons and demonstrate that he has learned something big

You must strategize from the beginning of the story how to get to the final act....

I never did. It just happened how it happened...is that bad? Did you strategize and plan the path to your final act?

Happy strategizing

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #4 A FREE Edit?


#4 Happy Halloween Hi Jinks-Proof copies and free editing.

I have 5 signed proof copies of Watched for 5 bucks (free shipping) to the first five to like my Watched Facebook page and comment on this post. Happy Halloween!Make sure you leave your email address so I can get your address to send the book.

And...come have some fun on iwritenetwork and you could win a 30 page edit by Tristi Pinkston just for joining us.

This Saturday at 9 am Betsy Love will be live on the site talking about pre-writing. Need some outlining help before Nano? You won't want to miss this!


Happy outlining!

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #2 Free Books


Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #2 -Free Books

Okay, this is totally amazing.

 You can have a chance to choose between three awesome books just by following a cool new writer's blog- iwritenetwork. This blog is dedicated to you, the writer.  So, come follow and not only will you get tons of cool info, you'll have the chance to snag one of three GREAT books. (and a free 30 page edit...shhh. I want that one)

Happy iwritenetworking!

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #3 Review Fun

What I'm reading now   The Alias by Mandi Tucker Slack

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #3- A review contest.

#3  I'm having a review contest. Wahoo! Anyone who reviews Watched on Amazon.com  before October 31st will be entered to win a $15 iTunes gift card. Earn 2  bonus entries each by reviewing it on B&N.com and Goodreads.com. Make sure to leave me a comment here if want to earn the bonus points.
Now check out this awesome book!
The Alias by Mandi Tucker SlackThe Alias [Book]



Jacey Grayson, hiding from an abusive ex-husband with her son at a friend’s house, soon finds out that

the FBI is after her ex-husband and suspects her of knowing of her ex’s criminal acts. She runs away, across the U.S. in hopes of starting a life with a new identity where her husband will never find her. Unfortunately, it requires her to deceive the very people who help her.
There is something beautiful about how this book was written. I loved the characters and wanted good things to happen to them. I had a hard time putting the book down once Jacey was on the run.
This book is great for anyone looking for clean romantic suspense. Way to go Mandi!

Buy The Alias here. And oh my heck! The Kindle edition is only $3.99. That's a no-miss-price.

Check out more about Mandi Slack on her blog
Read other reviews of The Alias   #1  #2   #3

Later today, I'll have the info. on Halloween Hi Jinks #2....

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks-Ning fun

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks #2
A Green Witch Pointing Her Wand Clipart Image

Come back tomorrow for #2 and #3. I wasn't able to get the links I need yet. But the wait will be worth it...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN HI JINKS- Skewered Worms

Happy Halloween Hi Jinks...All Month Long

So, I started pulling out boxes to decorate for Halloween last Saturday (Sept. 24th)....I know. I know. I am a Halloween Fanatic. I love Halloween. So, to kick off the month, I'm announcing something cool each day this week. You won't want to miss a single surprise!

#1 Hi Jinks. Watched  ebook is on sale on Amazon.com and B&N.com as well as all other places for only .99 cents. Yep. You read right...it's only .99 cents until October 31st.

Celebrate Halloween with a party- Serve skewered worms and everyone will want to kiss your feet...but only if they're not hairy.

Skewered Worms

1 In 11x8-inch baking dish, soak 16 skewers in water at least 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, in 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix  2/3 c. oil, 1Tbl lemon peel, 1/3 c. lemon juice, 1 Tbl. fresh chopped thyme leaves, 3/4 tsp. salt and 3 cloves minced garlic.
3 Slice 2 lbs. beef flank steak across the grain into 1/4-inch strips. For easier slicing, place steak in freezer for 1 hour or until firm but not frozen; slice thinly across grain of meat. 4 Place beef in oil mixture. Seal bag; refrigerate 2 to 4 hours to marinate.
5 Meanwhile, in blender or food processor, place 1 c. ketchup, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 can chipolte chili in adobo sauce.
6 Cover; blend on high speed until smooth. 
7 Thread beef on skewers, twirling 2 to 3 beef strips around each skewer to look like worms. Reserve any remaining marinade.
8 Set oven control to broil. Place skewers on broiler pan. Broil with tops 4 to 6 inches from heat 3 minutes.
9 Turn skewers, and brush with marinade. (Discard any remaining marinade.) Broil 2 to 3 minutes longer or until desired doneness.
10 Serve with sauce. You and your guests will loves these.
Thanks Pillsbury!