A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ace (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441017835
• ISBN-13: 978-0441017836

A TOUCH OF DEAD was released yesterday (Oct. 6th) and you can bet I was at Barnes and Noble, membership card in hand, the minute they unlocked their doors. Can you tell I'm a fan?

I knew going in that this book was a collection of all the Sookie short stories ever written. I already have two books by various authors that include a Sookie story (Many Bloody Returns, Wolfsbane and Mistletoe) but I'm a collector and I had to have this book.

I'm glad I bought it, I love Sookie and I want every sip of her and the vampires of Area 5, but I am a little disappointed in it. First of all, it is only five stories(in all fairness, it isn't hard to figure that out before you buy it. I just thought it would be more). The book retails for $24 here(USA) and $30 in Canada and it's only 5 short stories. I felt a little cheated.

Next, I hate when a short doesn't match what happens in the book. Call me a dork, but I get in to what I'm reading and I want it to all fit together. This is why I have problems watching movies based on comic books. It's never the way it's supposed to be. Yes, I understand you have to add and change things to make a comic into a full blown film, but it erks me. I know I'm in the wrong, but that's me (I can tolerate it in TRUE BLOOD because Ball did such an amazing job with the changes). In the story "One Word Answer" someone died and that someone also died in the book but in an entirely different way. Arrgghh!

Charlaine Harris did tell us in the introduction that sometimes she succeeded in creating shorts of Sookie's life seamlessly, and other time she did not. She admits that it may not fit in exactly with the series and so I forgive her. I love Harris's writing enough to forgive her even if she didn't warn me. She is an outstanding author and I haven't loved Vampires so much since Anne Rice.

I did find a booboo in the text. On page 153, she says "Greg had his hands up" but it most certainly should read "John" as Greg was no where near that scene! But as an aspiring novelist, I know how impossible it is NOT to make those types of mistakes. Blame the copy editor, lol. No biggie, any reader with half a brain cell will understand it's supposed to be John and move right along.

In conclusion, the stories are fun to read, well written and creative. I am just not a big fan of shorts. I like my Sookie in large doses and I need more Vampires! Book 10 can't come fast enough!

Guest Authors @ Readergirlz!

To celebrate Teen Read Week, the "Beyond Daily Life" readergirlz Chat will feature Cynthia Leitich Smith (Eternal), rgz diva Holly Cupala (Tell Me a Secret), and Lisa McMann (Wake) on Oct. 21.

It all happens at the rgz forum (http://readergirlz.blogspot.com) beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 p.m. Central Standard Time, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

See the whole readergirlz "Read Beyond Reality" chat schedule for Oct. 19 to Oct. 23: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2009/10/readergirlz-urges-teens-to-read-beyond.html

beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 p.m. Central Standard Time, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

• eading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525421033
• ISBN-13: 978-0525421030

I bought this book at the Brooklyn Book Festival and had it signed by Gayle Forman herself! Gayle is a super cool chick, by the way.

IF I STAY is a gripping story about Mia, a teen girl pressed to make a difficult decision. After a car accident that leaves Mia an orphan, she finds herself set apart from her comatose body, unable to interact with the living. Mia watches her remaining family members and friends as they come in and out of the ICU. Mia must decide if she should stay with Adam, her boyfriend, Kim, her best friend and her grandparents, or if she should leave and go where ever her mom, dad and little brother went.

I cried. I won't lie. I really enjoyed the heck out of this book. It's sad, but not overly so. I was cheering for Mia to stay! I won't tell you if I got my wish, but I will say I think it had a happy ending. Who doesn't love a happy ending?

VIDEO TRAILER

A little bit about the author (taken from amazon) and don't forget to check in to Gayle's other book, SISTERS IN SANITY. I'll be reviewing it as soon as I have the chance to read it!

An Interview with Gayle Forman

Q: You started your career as a journalist and your first book is a travelogue about going around the world. Is YA literature a departure for you?

Gayle Forman: Actually, it’s more of a homecoming. My first writing job was at Seventeen, where I spent five years on staff and as a contributor reporting the magazine’s social-issues stories. I loved writing for teens then because—contrary to popular opinion—they really care about serious issues (from child soldiers in Africa to kids embroiled in the drug war here) and the engage in their reading with such passion. So, now that I’m writing young-adult literature, it feels like I’ve come full circle.

Q: This book explores some serious themes. Why is this a book for kids and not adults?

GF: It’s a book for kids precisely because it explores serious themes. Teenagers are grappling with choices about life and love as much as adults, so why shouldn’t their reading reflect that? I don’t set out to write YA. It just seems like I’m drawn to stories about young people. That said, I think If I Stay is for adults, too. I love the idea of teens reading this book and then handing it off to their parents.

Q: Many key characters are serious musicians, and songs are referenced throughout the book. Are you a musician?

GF: No. Except for piano lessons when I was a kid and a brief spate of guitar playing in my teens, I’ve never played an instrument. I am, however, a huge music fan. And my husband is a musician; he was playing in a punk band when we met, so I’ve spent a lot of my life ensconced in that scene. I seem drawn to writing about musicians, though I’ve never been all that interested in the cello until Mia popped into my head.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

GF: Music. Oregon. People I have loved. And unfortunately, the book is inspired by a real-life tragedy that happened several years ago.

Q: This is a book about death, but it’s not depressing. Why is that?

GF: Maybe because it’s really about the power of love—of family, friends, music—and therefore it ultimately affirms life.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The last normal moment that Mia, a talented cellist, can remember is being in the car with her family. Then she is standing outside her body beside their mangled Buick and her parents' corpses, watching herself and her little brother being tended by paramedics. As she ponders her state (Am I dead? I actually have to ask myself this), Mia is whisked away to a hospital, where, her body in a coma, she reflects on the past and tries to decide whether to fight to live. Via Mia's thoughts and flashbacks, Forman (Sisters in Sanity) expertly explores the teenager's life, her passion for classical music and her strong relationships with her family, friends and boyfriend, Adam. Mia's singular perspective (which will recall Alice Sebold's adult novel, The Lovely Bones) also allows for powerful portraits of her friends and family as they cope: Please don't die. If you die, there's going to be one of those cheesy Princess Diana memorials at school, prays Mia's friend Kim. I know you'd hate that kind of thing. Intensely moving, the novel will force readers to take stock of their lives and the people and things that make them worth living. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Bike

Not a whole lot going on with me at the moment so I thought I'd do a quick blog about our new bike (I almost said "new toy" but I don't like when people call their motor vehicles "toys" so I didn't) !

Anywho, we've been wanting one of these for a while and we finally got one last night. New Roc harley Davidson is a very nice dealership, by the way.

It's a 2006 Road King Police bike (the one the police ride)

Books

Click the image to grab your copy of REBEL MOON! Includes PARALLEL, a YA supernatural short by me!

REBEL MOON: An Anthology of supernatural tales

by VARIOUS

　

Have you ever wondered what Death would look like if he approached you at a bus stop? Or what would happen if a vampire’s chosen victim turned out to be more than they had bargained for?

Rebel Moon is a collection of stories that will whisk you into worlds of vampires, werewolves and witchcraft so prepare yourself for a bumpy ride as sometimes the dead have more of a life than the living and if this book teaches you anything it is to always expect the unexpected!

From the teen witches you wouldn’t want to cross in One Witch Down to the dark comedy of Evil 101, this is a book you won’t want to put down.

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Rebel Books LLP (May 30, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0956503519
• ISBN-13: 978-0956503510
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces

Can also be purchased from Amazon, WHSmiths, Waterstones and Book Depository.

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My collaborative (free!) short fiction can be found at Tangled Fiction, a blog shared by myself, Valerie Kemp, and Natalie C Parker.

SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater---A MOVIE!

Straight from the author's blog!

Shiver. The. Movie.

Unique Features picked up the film rights -- they are associated with Warner Brothers -- and this is the official word:

Unique Features has acquired screen rights to "Shiver," a bestselling supernatural romance novel by Maggie Stiefvater that is the first of a three-book series.

Pic will be produced by Unique Features partners Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne.

Book covers a bittersweet paranormal romance between a teen who becomes a wolf each winter and his girlfriend, who helps him find the secret to staying human. The first installment was published by Scholastic Press in August and has been on the bestseller lists for six weeks. The sequel novel, "Linger," will be published next August. Unique acquired all three books in the series.

Shaye and Lynne, who at New Line covered such fantasy and supernatural subject matter as "The Lord of the Rings" and "Blade," sparked to the author's voice, and said they couldn't ignore the grip that otherworldly stories have on young viewers.

"I'm not the biggest werewolf or vampire fan, but the author has a strong take on a young adult sensibility," Shaye said. "It's also a sexy love story that isn't too over the top."

Shaye and Lynne used their discretionary fund to acquire the book in a competitive bidding situation. They will bring it first to Warner Bros., where they have a first-look deal, and will set a writer shortly.

Unique adds "Shiver" to a slate of pic projects that include an adaptation of the Paul McCartney children's book "High in the Clouds," a Barry Levinson-directed adaptation of the musical "City of Angels" and the Broadway-bound musicals "Elf" and "Secondhand Lions."

Calling all Teachers!

Author Laurie Halse Anderson (WINTERGIRLS, TWISTED, SPEAK, and many more) needs your help! If nothing else, SPREAD THE WORD and support your freedom to read!

From the author:

TWISTED still under threat in KY - you can help

The English teacher in KY who has been dealing with the challenges to several books, including TWISTED, has to jump through new hoops before the books will be allowed back in the classroom.

Three of the books: TWISTED, LESSONS OF A DEAD GIRL, and RAPTURE OF CANAAN have again been banned by the superintendent. According to the teacher, he does not feel they are appropriate for college level work, i.e. they do not belong as literature circle selections in an AP English course.

The teacher writes: "The superintendent wants to know that other schools are using these books in the classrooms, not in their libraries. If you all know of ANY schools where any of the listed books are being used, or if you have any evidence that they are "college level" and prepare students for college, PLEASE send it ...."

Here is my plea.

If you use any of these three books in your classroom, please email us.

If you can provide your rationale for any of these three books, please email us.

If you are a college professor and you have knowledge of the teaching of these books, please email us.

If you are or were a student who was taught any of these three books please email us.

Send all your information and comments to my assistant, Queen Louise. Her email is queenlouise AT writerlady DOT com . We'll forward everything to the district in questions.

Thanks so much for all your help with this, my friends.