WOW: Waiting on Wednesday

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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post started by Breaking the Spine. It is a feature showcases upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.


 The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan – March 22, 2011

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister’s face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah’s world stopped that day and she’s been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn’t feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.

Except, Catcher has his own secrets — dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah’s longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it’s up to Annah — can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return’s destruction?

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Anastasia Hopcus

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Today is release day for Shadow Hills!! YAY! I have been waiting forever to read this! HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!! So let’s celebrate with an author interview! Anastasia was kind enough to agree to an interview so let’s get started!
To start off, welcome and can you tell the readers a little about yourself? 

 
I’m from Austin, Texas, but I also lived for a couple of years in LA.  I love music and TV shows on DVD.  I love horror movies and cemeteries, but I hate haunted houses. I always liked to play dress up when I was little, and since my birthday (October 22nd) was right before Halloween, my birthday parties were usually in costume. 
 
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming or latest release? 
   
My upcoming novel is Shadow Hills.  It’s actually my debut novel. 🙂  It’s a YA mystery with a paranormal twist.  My main character, Phe, has been having cryptic dreams, much like the ones her sister had before she died a year ago.  Phe decides to attend Devenish Prep, the boarding school that her sister mentioned in her last diary entry.  There Phe is drawn to the mysterious and handsome Zach Redford, but he is hiding secrets of his own. 
 
I am a fly on your wall.  What would I report back to my master of your daily schedule?
 
I get up and spend several hours waking up.  Part of that process includes making coffee with my Chemex coffeemaker, which takes a good thirty minutes, at least.  I check my emails and my twitter.  Then I’ll usually sit down and work for awhile.  I finally have a house with an office, but I often find myself working from my living room on my couch, anyway.  I’ll eventually scrounge up something to eat, usually a microwave dinner of some sort.  Then I’ll write for a few more hours until my boyfriend gets off work, and then we’ll usually watch something on DVD.  If it’s a weekend, we’ll do something a tad more exciting, like going to a movie at Alamo Drafthouse, where you can have dinner and drinks while watching the newest releases.  Or, if I’m really lucky, one of my favorite bands will be in town, and we’ll go see a show.  
 
When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors, that are must reads? 
  
I love to read YA, but unfortunately I don’t get to read as much as I’d like.  A few of the books I’ve really enjoyed recently have been Shade, Beautiful Creatures, Shiver, Shadowed Summer, and The Body Finder.
What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book? 
  
I like to have a notebook, index cards, and different colored pens to jot down and keep different plot lines organized.
Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?  Twitter? 
 

Yes, I have lots of ways to keep up with me:  www.anastasiahopcus.com; my Twitter is http://twitter.com/anastasiahopcus; my blog is at www.hopcusblog.com.


Now for some fun stuff:

1. What came first–the chicken or the egg? the egg
2. Edward Cullen or Jacob Black?  Edward Cullen
3. Quick showers or Long Baths?  quick showers
4. Sunrise or Sunset? sunset

Favorite perfume: Armani She
Favorite TV show: Vampire Diaries
Favorite Movie: I have too many favorite movies to pick just one, but Garden State, Adventureland, and Sherlock Holmes are front runners.
Favorite Drink:  coffee
Favorite Dessert: All of them—I love sweets.

Thanks for joining us on My Overstuffed Bookshelf!!

Winners!

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The contest for the 2 copies of To Conquer A Highlander has now ended. The winners are:
and

I will be emailing you and you will have 48 hours to respond and claim your prize! Thanks to everyone who entered! 

In Celebration…

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Monday, July 12 is the anniversary of Henry David Thoreau’s birthday – he would have been 193-years-old!

Henry David Thoreau quote “Words do not lose their truth by time or misinterpretation, but stand unscathed longer than he who spoke them.”

(ARC Review) Radiance by Alyson Noel

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RADIANCE
Author: Alyson Noel
Source Around the World Tours

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Square Fish (August 31, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312629176
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312629175

SYNOPSIS:

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley . . .

MY THOUGHTS:

If you are a fan of the Immortal Series by Alyson Noel, then you are familiar with character of Riley already.  If you haven’t read the series, you can still read this spin-off book without any problems. 

The Immortal Series is geared toward the older young adult crows, but with Radiance, the story is geared more towards middle grade.  Riley passed on to the Here & Now at age 12, and must now find her way around the world of the afterlife.  She is hired as a Soul Catcher by The Council. She has to travel back to the Earthly world to show ghosts or spirits how to move on to the next level of the afterlife.  Buttercup, her lab dog, is with her on her journey as her companion.  With her guide Bodhi, she sets off on her first assignment to get the Radiant Boy to move on.

This was such a cute book.  I had to keep reminding myself that this book is geared towards middle grade readers because I kept wanting to roll my eyes at some of the tantrums and such.  Once you put yourself in that frame of mind, the story is great! It flows effortlessly and smoothly.  The author has a way of making the world she has created come off the pages and into your mind!  A book that will keep you captivated from page one until Riley’s flight of Radiance at the end!

MY RATING:


Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS