Decisions, Decisions...

I'm thrilled to say that Monday is over and I managed to survive it. Trust me you don't even want to know! The good news is we're one day closer to Friday!

To start off with, today I would like to bring to your attention an awesome new blog started by six bloggers at various stages of their writing journey. Operation Awesome is brought to you by Lindsay (a.k.a Isabella), Amparo Ortiz, Kristal Shaff, Katrina L. Lantz, Kelly Andrews and Angela Townsend. These ladies are full of wicked talent which is certain to equal a must see new blog! To start things off, on September 1st...and I quote "The awesome will explode with a bang." So be sure to visit these lovely ladies for something certain to be...well awesome!

Now for the big book releases of the week! I'm absolutely over the moon over about the release of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. What's my dilemma you ask? Which to read first...

This one...



Or this one???


So what about all of you? When faced with two wonderfully awesome books how do you decide? And if these books are on your wish list, which one will you tackle first?
Have a great day everyone!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to only sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library. You can find more information on how to participate in the In My Mailbox meme by visiting The Story Siren.

This week in my mailbox:

The first book In my mailbox is of course...
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and it was well worth the wait!





Coming in second is..
The Haunted (The Hollow #2) by Jessica Verday
The first installment in this series left me hanging, so I can't wait to get through this one! And just look at the cover! I could just sit and stare at it!

Goodreads Description:
After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with by the bridge where her best friend drowned - the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead - Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, determined to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into schoolwork, perfume-making and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be able to help her get over Caspian once and for all. But Abbey is never going to truly be able to move on from Caspian and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side: for Caspian is a Shade and Abbey is his destiny. The two are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow and the famous legend that binds their fates - a legend whose true ending and dark truths they are only just beginning to guess...


Meridian (Finestra #1) by Amber Kizer
I've had trouble finding this little number, but when we visited a large Barnes and Noble...there is was.



Goodreads Description:
Sixteen-year-old Meridian has always been surrounded by death. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders burrowed into her bedclothes to die. As she grew, the animals got bigger, and soon they were finding her at school to die in her presence. Meridian became an outcast, labeled by her classmates as Reaper, Gravedigger, and Witch. Each death she witnesses weakens her body, and loneliness weakens her spirit. On her sixteenth birthday, she witnesses a deadly car crash. Though she’s untouched, Meridian's body explodes with the victims’ pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she's a danger to her family and rushed to her great-aunt's house in Revelation, Colorado. It's there that she learns the secret her mother has been hiding her entire life: that she is a Fenestra, the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. It's crucial that she learn how to transition human souls to the afterlife and preserve the balance between good and evil on earth. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos. Dark, lovely, and lushly romantic, MERIDIAN introduces a powerful heroine who will entrance readers.


So there you have it! I have a couple of days before more awesome books will be added to my mailbox and I can't wait!

Happy Monday everyone!

Thank Goodness For Friday!!!

Words escape me when I attempt to describe how elated I am that it is finally Friday!!!!!
I know for my awesome fellow bloggers this week has gone by in a blur.
Not so much here in Back to School land...
But I promise, I am over the shock of being back to work so you will hear no more pity parties about it from me!

So let's get to the good stuff! First of all I would like to welcome all of my new followers! Thanks for joining me on my little adventure! Once in a blue moon, I'm certain it's just sheer dumb luck on my part, I just might post something helpful. (At least I try to be helpful!)

So here's my lineup for the weekend...I'm sharing with all of you because the civilians (non-writers) that I see day in and day out look at me like I have a third head when I tell them!

So here goes...

Saturday:
Sleep in...Starbucks...Finish revising Radiant Fury...print out Radiant Fury...more Starbucks...edit Radiant Fury...Go to dinner...possibly movies...get caught up on Young and The Restless.

Sunday:
Pretty much the same thing...I'll add the edits to my MS and send it off to the lovely Lindsay who has so graciously agreed to beta for me!

So there you have it. Barring the unforeseen this is my action plan for the weekend. Now do you see why the nonwriterly folks think I'm crazy?
What do you all have planned for the weekend? Whatever your plans, I hope it's fantastic!!!

Get Organized!

With the new school year well underway, a boy starting middle school and a diva daughter that keeps things lively...I've had to create a way to get organized. And fast. Either that or give up writing. And that's just not going to happen.

So how does one go about making such changes? What can you do to accomplish more of what you want to do? Here are some immediate suggestions that I've implemented at my house:

1. Choose the easiest place to start-
You don't always have to start at the beginning. If that first step seems the hardest, start with another part of the project instead. I started by listing everything I had to accomplish each day, and went from there.

2.Fix your workspace- During the summer I make it a habit to sit and watch TV with the laptop nearby and leisurely write throughout the day. Not going to happen when I have to work. So I fixed an area that is all mine. Everything I need to write is at my fingertips. That way when I have a few minutes I can jump right in and capitalize on my time.

3.Work from a to-do list- Tackle the more difficult tasks during your prime time. During revisions, I need absolute calm and quiet. The only time this happens at my house is early in the morning while everyone else is still asleep, so I make sure that's what I'm working on at this time.

4.Be realistic about what you can do-don't set unrealistic goals when you only have a set amount of time each day. This will only stifle your creativity and ruin your efforts.

5.Use the minutes available to you
Remember that even five minutes is enough time to get something done.

6.Reward yourself
This is the fun part! After you meet small deadlines, promise yourself a little treat. When the entire project is completed, think on a little grander scale. I'm thinking shopping spree in Kansas City!

7.Create more time
If it seems like there really is no time, carve out a half hour or so from your existing schedule. I found that if I waited until the end of the day, I didn't always get as far as I wanted. To remedy this I get up a half hour earlier.

8.Get started
The hardest part is getting started. Once you're in motion, it will be easier to keep going. I thought going back to work was going to set me back by miles, but with my writing tools organized and my schedule set, I've actually been more productive in the past week than I have been all summer.

So take it from me...it can be done!
Have a great day everyone!

Finally Mockingjay!

Today's the day we've all been waiting for! No, not the first day of school...It's time for the final installment in The Hunger Games trilogy!!!! Now I just have to make it through the work day and book it home to start reading!

But before the excitement begins, I wanted to share a message from Suzanne Collins herself that she released just a few days ago:

"One of the most important things to me is that everyone in the world is going to be able to experience the final book of The Hunger Games all at the same time, and be able to discover what happens in the book without hearing about it elsewhere first. Word will certainly travel fast, but I urge you – before or immediately after August 24th – to please respect the other Hunger Games fans worldwide and avoid sharing any spoilers, so that the conclusion of Katniss’s story can unfold for each reader the way it was meant to unfold."

Okay, you have my solemn vow that even though I'm a superfast reader and will probably be up until the wee hours of the night finishing this very book, I will not post any spoilers. (I wouldn't do that to you guys!)

So here's to happy endings...may this series conclude the way I'm hoping!

Go team Peeta!
Have a great day everyone!

Skip a Starbuck's Day

This is why I adore blogging. Never in my life have I witnessed such generosity from a group of individuals. While I was making my usual rounds around the blogoshpere before making my own post, I soon realized that I had to abandon my original topic and post this instead...

If you haven't yet discovered C.J Redwine then you are truly missing out on an awesome blog!

But she needs our help.

A little over five years ago, after surviving cervical cancer and a full hysterectomy, C.J. and her husband began proceedings to adopt an orphaned baby girl from China. Being adopted myself, I've seen first hand the roller coaster of emotions that couples go through when embarking on this entire process.

Well, a few weeks ago they got news: a court date was set. But the problem is, travel and adoption fees have gone up and even though they had money set aside...it's not enough. So in order for them to avoid losing the chance to welcome this beautiful little girl into their homes she has devised Skip A Starbucks day.

The basic idea? Give up one tiny indulgence today (like a $5.00 coffee) and use it to help save an orphaned baby girl and make a family's dream come true. In return, you get a chance to win some seriously AWESOME prizes. I mean seriously awesome!

C.J. has a ton of amazing giveaways going on at her blog--ARCs, book sets, and all kinds of other cool stuff--and anyone who donates to her adoption fund can enter to win.

Even better? She's asked some of her friends in the blogosphere to run contests of their own. So anyone who donates can enter a number of other awesome contests with some incredibly fabulous prizes (tons of ARCs--including ones from Bree Despain and Rachel Hawkins--gift cards, merch, it's some crazy awesome stuff)--not a bad deal if you ask me.

How to Enter:
*Go to C.J.'s blog and donate to her adoption fund
(The link is in the upper right corner, and she's suggesting a $5.00 minimum)

*While you're there, enter her grand prize drawing, and check out the links to all the other awesome contests.

*You can also read her story in its entirety.

Good luck everyone!

On My Wishlist

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. Mr Linky is always at the ready for you to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.

As I was perusing through my booklist on Goodreads, I discovered this little gem of a series that looks right up my alley...The Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey

First in the series...My Love Lies Bleeding

The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.


Second...Blood Feud
The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge. It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.

This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan’s and Isabeau’s perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

And the most recent...Out for Blood
Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, whe ...more Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends—or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy?

Will I ever get to the bottom of my to be read pile? Time will tell! At least I know I will never run out of fabulous books to read!

Have a great weekend everyone!