On the Bright Side releases today!
On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.
As if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby’s should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!)
Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future.
Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.
Buy it now at AMZ for your Kindle at 99 cents You can watch the book trailer here.
S.R. Johannes is the author of Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and On The Bright Side ( a tween paranormal). She lives in Atlanta Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. After earning an MBA and working in corporate america, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.
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I never post about music but….
Except now I am! My favorite band has a new single and I love it to pieces. In fact the Kimmo in my book is the bassist for Day Eleven. Check it out and let me know what you think! Get it on Itunes: here.
The Problem with Cale McCaskey…
So last night the illustrious Carolyn Jewel sent a link around to Cale McCaskey’s blog. The post in question is titled The Problem With Romance Novels. Since he wouldn’t approve my comment, I shall quote the parts of his article that made me bring out my angry pants, and laugh at him- while pointing.
The fact that we have nearly a 50% illiteracy rate in this country might be partly to blame.
We do have a literacy problem. However, every reader of the romance genre is not illiterate and you can’t make a blanket statement without following up with a fact. Where is the data that says romance readers are functionally illiterate?
I’ve noticed more and more articles about, and interviews with, romance writers where they are as often as not put on a pedestal—as though they somehow belong in the same class as authors of much higher standing.
Hey, you! Yeah, you! Romance writer. Get down from that pedestal, I’m saving that for a real author! You know, one with five blog followers who writes sci-fi (I do love me some scifi for realz) and says your books are trashy and appeal to illiterate people.
What the modern reader needs to understand is that romance novels by their very nature are meant to be inferior.
Say that to a romance writer’s face and see if you walk away in one piece. I don’t believe anyone sets out to write an inferior novel. Also, inferior to what? You can’t even bring your point across. Inferior to literary fiction? Because I do read lit fic and some of that stuff is crap too. Or are we really talking about you Cale? Are all romance writers (and women) inferior to you and your big bad ass way with words?
I find it difficult to respect something that is purposely meant to be a lessor work. One should always strive to do great work. If an author classifies their own story as romance, that tells me that even they don’t think much of it. That being the case, neither should we.
Thank you, Cale. Without you telling me how to feel about romance novels I would have never been able to form my own opinion.
Reviews: Everneath, Girl Meets Boy, When the Sea is Rising Red, Arcania
Survey says that you guys like when I put several reviews together. So I will be trying out this format for a while and seeing how it works traffic wise. I like the idea. I think if you come to read about one book, you may discover more.
Everneath
From Hicklebee’s (buy now) Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.
Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.
It is hard to put my love for Everneath into words. I am a lover of Greek Mythology and while I always thought I was a purist, Ashton has found a way to shake up the myth and keep me reading page after page with bated breath. The story of Persephone and Hades has long been one of my favorites, Ashton took that myth and gave it a 21st century feel without losing the tang of bittersweet attached to the orignal story.
The characters are beautiful and flawed and dangerous. The MC is strong and vulnerable and in love. I do hope there is a second novel.
Blurb: Persephone and Hades with a chic 21st century vibe. Everneath will delight any lover of myth. Strong debut from Brodie Ashton.
Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story
From Hicklebee’s (buy now) What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of he said/she said stories he tells it from the guy s point of view, she tells it from the girl s. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There s the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated because there are two sides to every story.
I generally love a collection of stories and this one was absolutely stellar. Male and female authors are pitted against one another to tell one story in two parts, one from the feminine side of things and the other from the male. I think James Howe and Ellen Wittlinger should write their story together in a full length novel *hint hint nudge nudge*.
The stories hint at how misconceptions are formed in relationships especially in the teen years. How one can say one thing and mean something completely different and the other can take it a completely different way than how it was intended. The stories are full of love, arguments and the torture that only first love can be.
Blurb: Fabulous collection from Chronicle Books. The stories while not always perfectly melding together gave an added bonus of miscommunication and misconception. A definite for any short story collector.
When the Sea is Rising Red
From Hicklebee’s (pre-order now) After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend Ilven kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven’s death has called out of the sea a dangerous wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg’s caste system, and the whole city along with it.
I read this book on a five hour flight. I raced through it, there was no way that I was going to land and not have finished it. This is the absolute best story I have read about magic in many years. Not only was the story perfectly plotted, the language and phrases used were so beautiful I could feel my teeth getting cavities. The author’s words had me feeling things along with the characters and desperately wanting their stories to have a happily ever after. I have never felt such despair, or hope.
Weeks later I am still thinking about the characters and their plights. I am still thinking about the writing and the use of language and I am hoping and waiting for something else from this author. I am in instant fan.
Blurb: Set in a magical world on the brink of a new age Cat Hellisen guides the reader through the turmoil with expert hands. You do not want to miss this tantalizing debut.
Arcania: Trial by Fire
From Amazon (buy now on your Kindle eink device) Arcania Trial By Fire is an “Active Fiction” title, a new type of e-book from Coliloquy. In this Active Fiction series, your input influences future books from this author. Specifically, in Arcania Trial By Fire, your input influences what happens to Adia, a young sorceress. Born without arcania in her blood, Adia has lived in the shadow of her magical twin, until the day she inherits her sister’s spellcasting talents. As she leaves for the training academy, there are plenty of people to show her the ropes: Grey, the darkly passionate top shield, Seger, a swashbuckling rogue with a talent for daggers, and Finola, a clever and empathic healer. With a battle heating up, Adia must learn to master her magic and earn a spot on a fighting team before the ancient war between the forces of magic destroys her loved ones on Earth. The author sees the aggregate statistics on what option gets picked the most, so the more you read, the more you influence what she writes!
I really liked Arcania. I don’t have sisters but I can imagine what it is like being a twin and always living in the shadow of the ‘good’ twin. The parents are absent in this book but that seems to be the norm for the magical children in this universe. Arcania deals with magic, and alternate realities and the choose your own path style that Coliloquy provides makes the reading more enjoyable. It feels more high stakes, like what I choose effects the storyline and my reading experience.
There is a love story, a familial drama and a delightful catty relationship with another warrior. Our MC must find new friends, learn to control a power that doesn’t belong to her and solve the mystery of her sister’s death all at once. If you have a Kindle e-ink device you should read it.
Blurb: Arcania: Trial by Fire is a rapid story line with high stakes that will leave the reader breathless with their choices.
On stage fright-
I wiggled my way into the YA Lit Chat charity anthology titled Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes. The cover will be revealed sometime soon on The Story Siren’s site. I picked a rhyme (Ring Around the Rosy) and wrote about 3,000 words on a story that will be between 5,000 to 7,000 words long. I left it and concentrated on Mika and my goal of landing an agent. I was on a self imposed deadline. Just now I went back to my story and read through it. All of a sudden I hate it. I want to print it out and tear it to shreds and have a little cry, but I don’t know why. The story is sound, its a good myth and a good rhyme. I’m beginning to think I have stage fright. This will be my first work that appears with authors that I actually consider myself a fan of their work. What if mine sucks in comparison? What if I turn it in and the editing author takes a look at it and scoffs “Noob” at me? What if they know I am not good enough?
The thing is, I am not normally self conscious. I walk into any situation and own it. I am confident and I know I can do things, so why does this bug me so much? I think I am going to take a week and think about my story and finish the rewrites on chapter two of Mika. I think this anthology story can be stronger. I may even use an outline *Le Gasp*.
Here is a list of the contributors. So you can undersand my woe is me fatalistic pity party.
Contributors include:
Cyn Balog
Nina Berry
Sarwat Chadda
Leah Cypess
Shannon Delany
Debra Driza
Leigh Fallon
Angie Frazier
Heidi R. Kling
Nancy Holder
Suzanne Lazear
Karen Mahoney
Lisa Mantchev
C. Lee McKenzie
Georgia McBride
Gretchen McNeil
Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg
KM Walton
Suzanne Young
Michelle Zink
Jessie Harrell
UNPUBLISHED winner of contest to be announced May 2012!
