May 21, 2013 · 3:00 am

THE LIVES OF TAO by Wesley Chu – Review

Lives of Tao 3DThe Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Genre: Adult Science Fiction

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release date: April 30 2013

Source: ARC from publisher

Pages: 375

five stars

In a word:  an ingenious concept, flawed but likable characters, exciting action sequences, with an emotional payoff at the end.

This whole alien-in-his-body was starting to sound better and better. First, he got to hang out with a hot girl, and now he was going to be James Bond. He would have to go shopping for a new wardrobe to fit his new role. Roen imagined a long trench coat like Neo with cool sunglasses and a big gun hanging at his waist.

The premise of The Lives of Tao is startlingly simple: what if every artistic, brilliant and charismatic game-changer throughout history was controlled by an alien life force inhabiting their body and directing their actions and decisions? This is the impetus behind Wesley Chu’s debut, and it makes for a very interesting and lively story. Imagine an intelligent race of aliens traveling through space, who crash landed on a developing planet millions of years ago. With no way to get back to their own planet, they must figure out how to survive, and so they inhabit the bodies of living creatures—fish, dinosaurs, mammals, and eventually humans—jumping from body to body when necessary, and trying to advance human technology so that they can eventual go home. These aliens, called Quasings, have split into two groups: the Prophus, who want a peaceful existence with humans, and the Genjix, who are driven by their lust for war and conflict. This story had everything I love in a book: great pacing, characters who are conflicted and have lots of growing to do, and all sorts of layers that add unexpected emotional depth.

The story begins right in the middle of the action, as our hero Tao, a Prophus currently in the host body of a man named Edward Blair, is trying to escape from the Genjix who is after him, but has just discovered he’s been double-crossed by a fellow Prophus. Edward knows the only way to save Tao is to “release” him by killing himself, allowing Tao to find a new host and continue his work. Not a great situation to be in, but Edward’s been Tao’s host for years and knows the drill. By the end of the first chapter (which by the way, was one of the best first chapters I’ve ever read), Tao is floating around without a host, with only minutes left to find someone new to call home. Enter Roen Tan, an over-weight computer geek with low self-esteem, whose life is about to change forever. Because Tao has just chosen Roen as his new host, and boy does he have a lot of work to do! When Roen wakes up the next morning and hears Tao speaking in his head, he has no idea what he’s in for.

So begins the strange and dangerous journey of Tao and Roen, as they try to avoid capture by the Genjix.  Roen is the perfect anti-hero, which makes this situation so funny. After convincing him that he has no choice but to act as a host for an alien being, Tao must not only get him in shape, but teach him how to fight, use weapons, and eventually kill in order to stay alive. One of the funniest parts of this book was the ongoing dialog between Roen and Tao. As Tao gives Roen pep talks about how to eat right and lose weight, he also begins to tell him stories about his past lives, and some of the famous (and infamous) people he’s influenced. That’s one of the layers I was talking about. Not only is this a rip-roaring story about spies and infiltrating enemy secrets, but it’s a history lesson as well.

Soon Roen meets Sonya, a human host for a Prophus named Baji. Sonya is sent to help train Roen and get him ready to go on assignments. I expected there might be a romance between the two, but instead Roen meets a woman named Jill who knows nothing about the Quasing, and he begins to date her. Jill’s character was the only thing I didn’t like about The Lives of Tao. I just couldn’t figure out why Roen was attracted to her, because she felt so two-dimensional to me. However, by the end I could see why she might be important (as this is the first in a series), and hopefully Chu will flesh out her character and make her more likeable in the next book. A Tai Chi master named Sifu Lin was a fantastic character with a Yoda vibe to him. But for me, Roen and Tao stole the show. Not only are they great characters by themselves, but the friendship that develops between them is priceless.

About nine chapters into the book, Tao begins to tell Roen his history, in the form of short paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter. In this way, the reader starts to get an idea of just how broad an influence the Quasing have had over the human race. It was a brilliant way to convey a lot of information in a subtle way, without the dreaded “info-dump.” Tao describes the ongoing war between the Genjix and the Prophus, which escalates into unspeakable horrors as each act of vengeance spins out of control. Chu wisely gives Tao a fatal human flaw: despite having lived for thousands of years, he continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. Including some cool ideas in these history lessons, like imprisoning the enemy Quasing in the body of a turtle for hundreds of years, made me downright giddy!

And the emotional payoff I mentioned at the beginning of this review? Just as the reader starts to invest in the characters, the author puts everyone in danger, and you won’t know who makes it until the last page. Chu doesn’t leave us hanging at the end, but he does set things up for book two, The Deaths of Tao, out this October.

Full of heart, humor, danger and a couple of jaw-dropping moments of “what if,” The Lives of Tao is highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Find The Lives of Tao: Goodreads * Amazon * Wesley Chu’s Website

I’m happy to report I’m doing an interview with Wesley in a couple of weeks, and I’ll be giving away my (rare and precious) ARC  of The Lives of Tao to one U.S. winner! Follow this blog so you don’t miss it!

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May 20, 2013 · 3:00 am

Interview + Giveaway – PLOW THE BONES Author Douglas F. Warrick

Author Interview

I’m thrilled to welcome Douglas F. Warrick to the blog today, author of Plow the Bones, which I recently reviewed here. This amazing collection of stories is the first book in the Apex Voices series, which highlights up-and-coming writers of genre fiction.

Plow the Bones

Books, Bones & Buffy: First off, welcome to Books, Bones & Buffy! I appreciate you taking time to answer some questions for my readers. Plow the Bones is one of the most unique story collections I’ve read in some time, and believe me, I’ve read some very unique collections this year. At the risk of asking a very over-asked question, where do your ideas come from? (And I really do want to know!)

Douglas F. Warrick: Ha! Tough question. I don’t really think any person whose trade is in creative fabrications knows exactly where their ideas come from. Maybe we should. Maybe if we were more vigilant and perceptive, we would. In my case, I’m usually working through some frustration or phobia. But that really addresses where my themes come from, not so much my ideas. I guess if I’m being honest, my ideas are probably some combination of the stimuli that I absorb and the obsessions that I nurture. I wish I could offer a more insightful answer!

BB&B: Hey, that answer works for me:) Let’s say someone comes up to you and asks you to describe Plow the Bones. What do you tell them?

DFW: The stories in Plow the Bones don’t stay put in a single genre. Sometimes they wear horror masks or fantasy masks or science fiction masks. They dress up like courtiers, or they pull on their patched-up punk-rock leather jackets, or they stand around naked and stare at themselves in the mirror. They are sad and strange and scared and hopeful. If you like Harlan Ellison, Haruki Murakami, Jorge Luis Borges, Jeff VanderMeer, Catherynne Valente, Alissa Nutting, and writers like that, you like some of the same writers as me. That doesn’t necessarily mean that my writing is anything like theirs, but you can at least open the book knowing that we have something in common.

BB&B: I love Ellison and VanderMeer, I can totally see the comparisons. Your stories are full of images that don’t always fit together in the imagination. Did you make a deliberate choice to use imagery this way in order to make the reader feel uncomfortable?

DFW: The images toward which I gravitate are those that appeal to me. I like combinations of images that make me feel like real life has adopted the logic of dreams. In my experience, there’s a weird flavor of discomfort that overlaps with the sublime. There are two real-life examples that come to mind. The first: in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio, there’s an annual Halloween block party. Bands play, the bars hold costume contests, people wander the streets dressed as dead things and video game avatars and superheroes and fairy tales. That collision of spookiness and sublime abandon, the juxtaposition of all these disparate characters engaged in everyday celebration, it creates a scene that I find both uncomfortable and unspeakably exciting. The second example is Bangkok, Thailand. Walking around Bangkok at night is extremely strange. The tourists cluster inside of Starbuck’s while fifty feet away Buddhists pilot a giant dragon puppet through a neon red-light district. People ride around in tuk-tuks (essentially taxis that look like motorcycles with canopies and couches bolted to the back) past street vendors with waxed mustaches selling mints labeled as Viagra. There’s a mean streak to Bangkok, a nasty misogyny, a huge disparity between rich and poor, but there’s also a lot of joy. That disparity bothers me and compels me. I try to create that same feeling in my stories. Not so much for the reader, who I hope exists, but for my own self-exploration.

BB&B: I know you must have a slew of influences, both literary and artistic. Your stories are so visual, and disturbingly visual at that. Which artists and writers speak to you the most?

DFW: I tend to wear my influences on my sleeve. I’m glad to hear you find the stories to be visual, that’s a huge compliment. Visual art informs a lot of my stuff. I’m a big fan of the Surrealists, Magritte in particular. He’s the best. The films of Lynch and Jodorowski, trashy stuff like Russ Meyer’s filmography, a bunch of Bunuel’s movies. I’m influenced by bunches and bunches of fiction writers. Thomas Ligotti, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Flannery O’Conner, Stewart O’Nan, tons and tons more. These days, I find myself leaning increasingly on music for inspiration. I’m particularly fond of old punk rock acts (Richard Hell, The Buzzcocks, Violent Femmes), lo-fi blues (in particular, I’ve been really digging Black Ace and Son House lately), and spooky ambient music.

BB&B: I like that your influences are so varied. Several recurring themes stood out as I was reading your stories, including inanimate objects that come to life, and your use of very unsettling, non-traditional monsters (like human body parts that are fused together in strange ways). Why do you think you tend to use these images over and over again?

DFW: I was a film major before I started writing. In film school, they talk a lot about auteur theory. Now, let’s be clear, I don’t mean to self-identify as an auteur. I don’t think I am one. But one of the qualities that defines an auteur is a recognizable recursion of themes and images. Fellini has his fat women, his dwarves, his carnivals. Truffaut has his young men in love. Lynch has his awkward conversations, his small-town secrets, his enigmatic nightmares. The Cohen brothers have their hapless put-upon protagonists and their sinister and mysterious strangers. I think most creatives return to something over and over again. With me, maybe it’s inanimate objects or non-traditional monsters. It’s funny, because I believe you when you say that I write about those things over and over, but I don’t do so intentionally and would have a hard time pulling out examples of my own recurring themes.

BB&B: You seem to have a handle on the short story form, but have you written any novels, or are you planning to?

DFW: You don’t even want to know how many novels I’ve started and then abandoned. It’s a self-doubt thing. I’m working on a few things now, and I’m hoping that by mentioning them in interviews like this one, I’ll feel obligated to finish them. One is a surreal crime novel called We Three Slayers of Beasts. The other is a novel about South Korea called The Memento Mori Year. I hope you’ll see one or both of those soonish.

 BB&B: If you had to choose a single image or icon that represents you, what would it be?

DFW: That’s so tough. Only one? I feel kinda compelled to be a jerk and ignore the premise of your question entirely by choosing, like, five images. See, this is why I couldn’t commit to getting only one tattoo. I’m gonna go with… a triceratops ballroom dancing with an octopus. Except that in my head, that looks a lot less silly than it sounds.

BB&B: Wow, I love that one! Just for fun, tell us three things about Douglas Warrick that can’t be found on your website.

DFW: This could be dangerous for me… #1 – In the past year, I’ve become addicted to the gym. Can’t stop going. Love it. #2 – I’m a huge fan of professional wrestling. I watch it religiously. I attend shows put on by independent promotions. I actually own a Mick Foley t-shirt. #3 – “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia is one of my absolute favorite songs ever. If it comes on the radio, I sing it at the top of my lungs. It never comes out of rotation on my iPod. The rest of my taste in music is far less suspect, I promise.

This was a blast…thank you so much, Doug!

Doug WarrickAbout the author:

Douglas F. Warrick is a writer, a musician, and a world-traveler. His first published short story appeared in Apex Digest back in 2006. Since then, Douglas’s work has been published in a variety of periodicals, websites, podcasts, and anthologies, and has grown progressively stranger. Douglas originally hails from Dayton, Ohio, but his travels have taken him all over Asia. Douglas has screamed Buzzcocks’ lyrics with Korean punk rockers in the neon alleys of Seoul, marveled at the oddness of Beijing’s masked opera singers and illusionists, piloted a bicycle through Kyoto on the way to the Golden Temple, broken up a fight between an Australian tourist and a Thai street vendor in Bangkok, and learned that the world is much weirder more wonderful than anything he could fabricate.

Find Doug and Plow the Bones here:

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes &  Noble * Author Website * Twitter

And now you can win your own paperback copy of Plow the Bones. If you are an aficionado of high-quality quirky genre-bending writing and you love to be challenged when you read, then this giveaway is for you. Simply enter the form below! Giveaway is open to US residents only, and ends on May 31 2013.

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May 18, 2013 · 10:39 am

Stacking the Shelves (29)

STS

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is a great way to share your book haul with other bloggers and readers! I had originally intended to also link up to In My Mailbox over at The Mod Podge Bookshelf as well, but I can’t figure out whether it’s happening or not. Does anyone know? In any case, here’s what I received during the past two weeks (click on the book cover to go to Goodreads):

For Review from NetGalley & Edelweiss:

RelicPlaying Tylerghost TimeBuzz Books

Relic (Book of Eva #1) by Heather Terrell. Release date: October 29 2013 (Soho Teen).  I’ve heard this has a Hunger Games-type plot, but although it sounds similar in the description, I love that the characters train to go out and find artifacts from a dead civilization.

Playing Tyler by T. L. Costa. Release date: July 2 2013 (Strange Chemistry). I adore Strange Chemistry, which is the YA imprint of Angry Robot (whom I adore as well!) I can’t tell from reading the summary whether or not this is a thriller or science fiction (or both!), but I don’t care. It sounds amazing!

Ghost Time by Courtney Eldridge. Release date: June 11 2013 (Amazon Children’s Publishing).  Is there a ghost in this story or not? I’m not sure, but I love this beautiful cover that looks like it’s been washed with water colors.

Buzz Books 2013. Publishers Lunch. Now available as a “Read Now” download on NetGalley. This sampler of titles that will be highlighted at BEA this year is a good way to read excerpts from forty Fall and Winter titles. There’s a little bit of everything, including adult fiction, non-fiction, YA, and debut fiction. I’m not familiar with all the titles and authors, so I’m anxious to try them out. In most cases, there is a link to NetGalley to request the complete book if you like what you read. Available to anyone with a NetGalley account.

Thanks so much to Soho Teen, Amazon Children’s Publishing & Strange Chemistry!

Received for Review (From authors or publishers):

The Binding StoneGlitter & Mayhem

The Binding Stone by Lisa Gail Green. Now Available from Fuzzbomb Publications. I’ve seen this book floating around the bloggosphere and have heard really good things about it. When Lisa emailed me to see if I’d like to review it, I said YES despite my ever-growing TBR pile (which I moan about here.) I hope to schedule this for a June review. Thanks Lisa!

Glitter & Mayhem by various contributors. Release date: September 1 2013 (Apex Book Company). OMG, I just noticed Amber Bensen’s name on the cover!! I’m having Buffy flashbacks…if you don’t know who Amber Bensen is, then you obviously aren’t a Buffy fan. After Buffy she started writing, and she’s written several books which I haven’t had time to read. But she’s written the introduction to this crazy collection of short stories from Apex, one of my new favorite small publishers. I’ll be reviewing several more titles from Apex soon, thanks to my pal Lesley!

Won:

A Turn of Light

A Turn of Light by Julie E. Czerneda. I won this from Publishing Crawl, thanks so much Biljana! This is a seriously epic read. It’s quite long at over 850 pages. But it sounds amazing and has received some great reviews.

Signed Books:

011013

Gayle Forman visited Burbank High School recently, and although I was busy and couldn’t make the event, my librarian friend Alicia got a signed copy of Just One Day for me. Thanks Alicia!! I can’t believe I still haven’t read this…

I recently attended a launch party event for Geddy’s Moon, an indie book that I will be reviewing next month. I bought an extra copy to give away, so stay tuned for that!

That’s it for me…what’s on your shelves this week?

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May 17, 2013 · 4:36 pm

Dear Authors & Publishers: I’m Reading As Fast As I Can!

pile of booksIt’s not a secret that book bloggers are also book hoarders. We blithely add books to our TBR piles on a daily basis, often without consulting the Big Picture, which is this: How many promises have we already made to authors and publishers, and will we even be able to get to those new books in that ever-expanding pile? No matter how many systems we’ve devised to stay on track—spreadsheets, Google calendars, white boards—there comes a time when your system fails, and you find yourself buried under a huge and (metaphorically) heavy pile of obligations, clawing blindly to get out.

In the “old” days, before blogging, this wasn’t a problem for me. Surrounding myself with books (and we’re also talking life before Nook or Kindle) was my favorite part of being me. Even if I knew in my heart that I might never get around to reading a particular book, it made me happy just to know that it was sitting there waiting for me, just in case. Some people need to surround themselves with nature, others need friends and family to make them feel complete, but for me, it’s always been books. Even though I now have a family of my own, whom I love dearly, I still feel as if my books are my first children and I can’t imagine life without them. And back before blogging, my books never made me feel guilty for letting them languish in piles and on shelves.

Life’s a bit different now, now that I’m making friends with authors and publicists. (I have a terrible time saying “no,” although I am getting better at it.) They kindly ask me to read and review their book. I’m flattered and say “yes.” And this happens again, and again, and again. Until I realize I may have made a teeny mistake. I have said yes to twenty books when I only have time to read ten (as an example). I now feel the need to freeze time so that I can read those twenty books in the same time frame that I can realistically read only ten.

I know bloggers who are able to read 200-300 books a year (or more!) and I can only think that they are either a) speed-readers; b) skimming through the books; c) don’t ever go to sleep; or d) have nothing else to do but read. (And please, if you are one of these talented bloggers, I’d love to know your secret!!) I am none of these things. I love to sleep and I need a full eight hours every night. I have two teenaged children, two dogs, a husband and a house, all of which require attention and maintenance. I’m heavily involved in the PTA and my daughter’s show choir. And I read every word in every book I pick up. Maybe this isn’t a good quality for a book review blogger, but there you have it.

So let’s break it down, shall we? Here’s what it takes for me to read a book and post a review on this blog:

1. Read the Book. Like I just said, I am not a fast reader. Nor am I a slow reader! I’d say I read books at an average speed. (One of these days I may actually time myself to see how long it takes me, but for this post I’m going to guess.) For your average 350 page book, let’s just say it takes about six to eight hours to read. Keep in mind those are not six to eight consecutive hours. If that were the case, I could read a book every day and be one of those superstar bloggers! It takes me about three days to finish a book, sometimes two if the book is really good. And if I’m not enjoying it, it takes longer because I have to put it down and cleanse my palate before I can pick it up again. (Here’s another thing about me: I always finish everything I start, so I’m one of those bloggers that does not have a DNF pile.) If I’m reading a physical copy, I often have to stop reading and take notes, which is important when I go to write my review. This note-taking could add another hour to the total reading time. (It’s much easier to take notes with a Kindle because you can just highlight things as you go, and it really doesn’t add much time.)

2. Write the Review.  I do not always sit down immediately after finishing a book to write the review. I wish I could be that disciplined, but I’m not. Sometimes I wait a few days before I sit down to write. I’m always worried about making mistakes in my reviews—getting the character names wrong, misinterpreting plot points or character motivations, for example—so I translate my notes into a Word document before I even begin writing the review. As I’m writing, I refer to this document, which I open alongside my review doc.  Each time I write a review I try to make it as thoughtful and complete as possible. I treat it as an assignment, as if I were being graded on it. I try to make my reviews sound professional, probably because I’ve been reading reviews from Publishers Weekly for so many years, and their review style just sticks in my head as I’m writing. It takes me about one to two hours to write a review that I’m happy with. I don’t worry too much about the length of the review, as long as I’ve said everything I want to. My reviews average about 700-1,000 words each.

3. Create the Post. This is the fun part! I do love creating posts. I’m a very visual person, so the way the post looks is important to me. Using the right sized image in the correct position, making sure my text is justified, and creating a well-balanced layout sometimes takes a little trial and error. Linking up images and phrases takes some time, too. I always have links for Goodreads and usually Amazon, and I try to put author links in the post as well.  After I copy and paste my review into the post, I check it over several times and edit it, looking for words I can cut and checking to make sure the review flows and has a beginning, middle and end. I run the spell check function and review everything one final time just to check for errors, missing words, or misspelled book titles or author names (if you get anything right in a post, those two things are the most important!) I know I’m not perfect, but I try to be! The last thing I do is make sure to add the author’s and publisher’s Twitter handles to my “publicize” area, that way they’ll (hopefully) get the news that I’ve reviewed their book. Creating the post often takes another hour.

I also want to point out that I run this blog all by myself. I don’t have any co-reviewers, like many bloggers do, so everything that appears here is mine alone.

If we add up the times for all these steps, it takes me approximately eight to eleven hours to read, write and post a book review. And that’s if things are going smoothly. Throw in writer’s block, internet connection problems and everyday interruptions, and you can see how it’s nearly impossible to complete a book review post in one day.

So I guess there are easier ways to be a blogger. I could blog about my kids or my dogs. I could take photos of weird stuff and post about those. I could write personal essays about deep subjects. But I chose something harder, and I’m not the only one. I chose to do what I really love, and that’s reading and reviewing books. It may take a little longer than talking about how my dog Otis sometimes says “mama,” but I think it’s pretty rewarding. Will I try to take on less and catch up with the books I’ve already committed to? I’ll try for sure, but I know I’ll never stop adding books to my pile. Hang in there, authors and publishers! Your book is next:)

What do you think? How long does it take you to read and review a book? Are you one of those lucky bloggers who can read a lot faster than I can? I’d love to hear your opinion:)

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May 16, 2013 · 5:28 am

Release Event: THE FORGOTTEN ONES by Laura Howard

I’m very happy to be participating in the release event for Laura Howard’s new book. I will be on one of her blog tours next month, and I’m excited to read this book because I keep hearing great things about it. Keep reading, because not only can you read an excerpt, but I have an international giveaway at the end for an e-book of The Forgotten Ones!

The Forgotten Ones

Title: The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard

Release date: May 15, 2013

Genre: Paranormal

Age Group: New Adult

Release event organized by: AToMR Tours

Allison O’Malley just graduated from college. Her life’s plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn’t have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more.

When Allison’s long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

**You can buy The Forgotten Ones for 99 cents at Amazon until May 19th!! Click here to purchase now!

About the Author

Laura Howard Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her  obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

Find the author: Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Read an exclusive excerpt from The Forgotten Ones:

I caught a glimpse of my mother staring out the den window. She held her violin loosely under her chin, and the bow dangled from her fingertips. Her jaw was slack, her eyes locked on something in the trees beyond me. I knew that haunted expression. I froze.

I swallowed hard as her eyes shifted to me. The violin fell from her chin, and I could see her bottom lip trembling.

I should have been used to that reaction from her when she saw me during an episode. It happened every time. But I wasn’t.

I flew into the house as fast as my feet would carry me. The screen door crashed behind me as I came to a halt outside the den. My mother clutched fistfuls of her blonde hair, garbled words spilling from her lips.

“I have to. I have to go out there,” she said. “He’s waiting for me.”

She stood in the semi-darkness, mumbling, the only other sound the hum of the ceiling fan. I clung to the doorjamb as I watched my grandmother approach carefully. She placed her hands on my mother’s shoulders, and on contact my mother’s body stopped quaking. Gram crooned, rocking her back and forth, as she pulled her into her arms and led her away from the window.

My stomach tightened, and I backed away to leave them alone. If she saw me again, who knew what would happen.

I cringed as the floor creaked beneath me, and she jerked her head in my direction. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and the shaking began again. Breaking away from my grandmother, she stumbled backward toward the window. She raked her fingers down her face and hair as she moaned. “Liam…” Tears streamed down her cheeks, causing thick strands of hair to stick to her face.

I entered the room slowly, desperate not to step on another squeaky floorboard. Her green eyes burned into mine, and I locked my eyes on hers. No matter how many times she fought my attempts to soothe her, I had to keep trying. She was my mom.

And now for the giveaway! Please fill out the form below to win an e-book copy of The Forgotten Ones. One International winner will receive either an epub or mobi copy (for Nook or Kindle) only. (PDF copies not available). If you do not own a Kindle, you can download a free ap and read the book on your computer. You can win extra entries for completing various tasks! Giveaway ends Friday, May 24 at midnight, Pacific Standard Time. Good luck!

Big thanks to AToMR Tours for sponsoring this release event!

AToMR purple

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May 15, 2013 · 4:33 pm

PLOW THE BONES by Douglas F. Warrick – Review

Plow the Bones 3D

Plow the Bones by Douglas F. Warrick

Genre: Adult Speculative/Horror Short Stories

Publisher: Apex Book Company

Release date: May 3 2013

Source: e-ARC from publisher

Pages: 228

four and a half

In a word:  hallucinatory, disturbing & unsettling stories, carefully crafted with glimmers of humanity.

They have crafted sharp teeth for themselves from the tiny crystal bones of their dead and mounted them in their mouths. Was it painful? You’re goddamn right it was! Setting crystal spines into their soft tiny moth-gums, drawing fountains of their own blood, God, how they screamed and cried.

I’ve read some unusual short story collections this year (Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Revenge, and The Miniature Wife), but Plow the Bones is almost in a category by itself. I’ll admit I had to read this book in small doses.  Each story by itself triggered goose bumps and an odd feeling of unease, the sort of unease that’s hard to explain. And so I drank this collection in small sips, letting each story settle in my stomach before going back for more. Like a bitter taste that nonetheless grows on you, the stories in this collection as a whole make up an impressive and award-worthy assemblage of monsters, damaged people, hidden rooms, and inanimate objects come to life. Here are some of my favorites:

Her Father’s Collection

An unusual ghost story about a man afraid of losing his beloved daughter, and so he devises a way to keep her with him forever, even after death. I found this story to be very sad but also a bit menacing.

The Itaewon Eschatology Show

Another story with an overall mood of sadness, this is also a good example of the unwieldy titles that Warrick seems to be fond of. I got a Clive Barker vibe from this story, about two men who perform as night clowns in Korea. The narrator, who is also involved with a prostitute, seems to be stuck between two different lives. I looked for a deeper meaning in this story but came up empty-handed. It made me wonder if I missed something, or if the author simply intended the bizarre quality of the story to be simply that: random events brought together for a short time on a piece of paper.

Come to My Arms, My Beamish Boy

One of my favorites, this is the story of a man with Alzheimer’s that is desperately searching for a lost memory of his wedding day. With the help of a ghostly visitor, he gets his memory back, but at a cost. A very affecting and poignant story about life, death, and memory.

Ballad of a Hot Air Balloon-Headed Girl

The title says it all: it’s the story of a girl who is certain her head is about to catch on fire, and so she crafts a hot air balloon envelope and attaches it to her shoulders, so she’ll be ready when it happens. When the narrator falls in love with her, he devises a way to reunite with her after she inevitably floats away.

And she kissed me. Our tongues touched, and I tasted smoke. Her mouth was hot like a stone beneath the sun and she tasted red and brown and old.

A strange but lovely story that gave me chills.

Stickhead (or…In the Dark, in the Wet, We are Collected)

Another head-scratch-inducing title, this story is pure horror. Not only does it contain a monster, like so many of Warrick’s stories, but it becomes terrifying because of the choices the human characters make.

I Inhale the City, The City Exhales Me

A manga artist’s drawings come to life as she draws, or are the drawings controlling her? It’s sometimes hard to tell in this story about the symbiotic relationship between an artist and her creations, but I quite enjoyed the mood and flavor of this odd tale.

Across the Dead Station Desert, Television Girl

It’s dirty in the between-world, a place made of screams, and she is always falling.

The longest story of the bunch, this was my favorite and probably the one with the most traditional narrative style. A company in a futuristic society has created the ultimate sex toy, Television Girl, a completely responsive Artificial Intelligence computer program that you can access through your TV screen. But Television Girl has found a between-world, a place that is neither her holding pen when she isn’t being used (the Shelter) or the bedroom where she is called upon to have sex. In the Dead Station Desert she discovers that she may be able to change her fate. I loved the hopefulness of this tale, and I adored Television Girl. It was a perfect ending to this unique and peculiar collection.

Some of the stories just didn’t work for me, but overall I was very impressed with the Warrick’s mind-bending vision and his skillfully written prose. If you are drawn to stories that explore the darker parts of human existence, Plow the Bones should not be missed. This first book in the Apex Voices series, created to shine a light on little-known writers of high quality genre fiction, is a promising start to the series, and I look forward to reading more.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy. Quotes were taken from an uncorrected review copy and may differ from the finished version.

Purchase Plow the Bones * Add to Goodreads

Come back soon for my interview with Doug and a giveaway of Plow the Bones!

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· 3:00 am

Waiting on Wednesday (56) THE NIGHT ITSELF by Zoe Marriott

Waiting on Wednesday copy

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and is a fun way to share the books you’re excited about with other bloggers and readers! There’s so much to get excited about in the world of books and publishing these days, so this is one of my favorite memes to participate in. This week I’m looking forward to:

The_Night_Itself_cover SmallThe Night Itself by Zoë Marriott. Release date: July 4 2013 (Walker Books). OK, I hate to be uninformed, but I know Walker is a UK publisher, and this is the UK publication date. I’ve done some searching to see if this book has a US release date yet, and I haven’t been able to find it. Nonetheless, I am still excited to read it, no matter when it comes out in the US!! (Perhaps the author can shed some light on this perplexing question??) Plus, gorgeous cover, right? Here’s what Goodreads says:

A breathtaking new urban fantasy trilogy from the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of The Swan Kingdom and Shadows on the Moon.

When fifteen year old Mio Yamato furtively sneaks the katana – an ancestral Japanese sword – out of its hiding place in her parent’s attic to help liven up her Christmas party costume, she has no idea of the darkness she is about to unleash on modern-day London, or the family secrets that she is going to uncover.

The paralysing paranoia that descends on her before she gets to her friend’s party is her first clue. The vivid and terrifying visions that nearly get her killed are a pretty good warning too.

The giant nine-tailed cat demon that comes after the sword and tries to rip her throat out? Overkill.

Seconds away from becoming kitty-food, Mio is saved by Shinobu, a mysterious warrior boy. But it’s already too late. Mio has ruptured the veil between the mortal realm and the Underworld, and now the gods and monsters of ancient Japan stalk the streets of London, searching for her and the sword.

With the help of her best friend Jack, a fox spirit named Hikaru – and the devoted protection of the betwitchingly familiar Shinobu – Mio attempts to discover the true nature of the sword and its connection to the Yamato family. Because if she doesn’t learn how to control the katana’s incredible powers, she’s in danger of being overwhelmed by them. And if she can’t keep the sword safe from the terrible creatures who want it for their own, she’ll lose not only her own life… but the love of a lifetime.

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I love that this book has Japanese elements to it, and I love that the protagonist’s friend Jack is a fox spirit! So all you UK bloggers, July 4th isn’t that far away, so you don’t have long to wait. As for the rest of us, I hope we get to read it sooner rather than later:)

What are you waiting on this week?

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May 14, 2013 · 1:00 am

1816 CANDLES by Amanda Brice – Cover Reveal

I’m happy to be participating in the cover reveal for 1816 Candles by Amanda Brice!

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Title: 1816 Candles

Author: Amanda Brice

Genre: Time Travel Romance

Age Group: Young Adult

Cover Designer: Keith Draws

Expected release date: September 2013

Cover reveal organized by: AToMR Tours

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High school senior Lauren is attending a costume ball at Old Town Alexandria’s famous Gadsby’s Tavern. But when she gets bored by the repetitious historical dances, she goes off to explore in the building and something odd catches her eye.
Is it a woman?

When Lauren follows the mysterious person and picks up a snow globe in the room she’s led to, she somehow ends up in 1816, experiencing the actual events of the “Legend of the Female Stranger” she’s heard her whole life growing up. Now Lauren has to solve the mystery of this ghost, find her way back home…and deal with her own emotions when she falls in love with a guy who lived 200 years before her.

About the Author
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As a little girl, Amanda Brice dreamed of being either a ballerina or the author of a mystery series featuring a cool crime-solving chick named Nancy Flew, but her father urged her to “do something practical,” so she went to law school and spent her days writing briefs and pleadings instead of fiction.

But dance and writing have remained a part of her life. Amanda was a member of the ballroom dance team at Duke University, and continues this interest by her obsession with Dancing with the Stars, so it was only natural for her to set a teen mystery series at a dance school.

Amanda is the President of Washington Romance Writers, and is a two-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award. She blogs once a month or so with The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood. She is also a popular conference presenter, speaking on basic copyright and trademark law for writers.

In her spare time, Amanda enjoys dancing, reading, cooking, traveling, and obsessing over whether Duke will beat Carolina in basketball. Go Devils!

Website | Facebook

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May 12, 2013 · 11:00 pm

RUNES by Ednah Walters – Book Trailer Launch + Giveaway!

Pictures2I’m very happy to be participating in the Book Trailer Launch for Runes by Ednah Walters! Keep reading for more information on the book, your first look at the trailer, and a cool giveaway! You can also purchase Runes for only 99 cents, for a limited time!

Runes (2)

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

Purchase Runes: Amazon Paperback * Amazon Kindle US * Amazon Kindle UK * Amazon Kindle Canada * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords

About Ednah Walters:

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She’s presently working on book six. You can visit her online at http://www.ednahwalters.com or http://www.ebwalters.com.

Contact Ednah:  Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

What reviewers are saying:

HOLY RUNES!I really enjoyed this story especially Torin *swoon*. Ednah did a wonderful job on Runes! It is a must read for fans of YA books!…Breanna-http://two-tall-tales.blogspot.com/

Wow! I’ve got to start by saying that it takes something original and excellent to surprise me, and this book did just that! I found myself about 75% of the way through the book with my mouth hanging open… Carrie Williams (Goodreads)

Oh HOLY COW! This book was a mind-blowing surprise! I loved the way it turned out and I am literally going crazy over the ending. I was not expecting it to turn out the way it did….Maida.  http://loveaffairwithabookreviews.blogspot.ca/

And now for the giveaway! Two winners will receive a t-shirt, pen and a signed copy of Runes! Simply click the Rafflecopter button below to enter. Giveaway is open to U.S. only.

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· 8:33 am

Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop! Win a Three-Pack of Middle Grade ARCs

Children's Book Week HopWelcome to my stop on the Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop! To learn more about Children’s Book Week, click here. This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, Kid Lit Frenzy & Mymcbooks. Over 100 blogs are participating in this hop, and each one is giving away something different. Check out the link below to visit each blog! I’m celebrating middle grade novels today, and I’m  giving one U.S. winner all three ARCs shown below (click on the images to go to Goodreads):

WishGod and WarriorsHocus Pocus Hotel

Wish by Beth Bracken & Kay Fraser. Recommended for ages 10-14. This book has incredibly lovely artwork throughout!

Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver. Recommended for ages 10+. Like Percy Jackson? Then this book is for you!

The Return of Abracadabra (Hocus Pocus Hotel Book 2) by Michael Dahl. This is for a younger audience, recommended for ages 9-12.

To enter, please click on the Rafflecopter button below. Good luck!

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And don’t forget to check out the other blogs that are participating in this hop:

Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop Participants

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