The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Summary:
When Rain's once best friend Wendy is discovered dead in Central Park, she is shocked and upset. Though not liked by everyone at their prep school, Wendy was still full of life and fun to be around. But now the newspapers are accusing Wendy of only being a party girl, whose actions caused her demise. Rain decides she wants to clear Wendy's name and set the record straight - and the best way she can think of doing that is by exposing her murderer.

Review:
I really enjoyed The Girl in the Park. It was short and an extremely quick read, especially for a mystery. However, the book read just like an episode of Law and Order (which I liked very much). I was instantly drawn into the murder and having a great narrator like Rain made the novel that much better. Even though the book is short, the author hits a lot of points and we get backstory on Wendy as well as an array of suspects. Rain realistically looks for clues and questions suspects like Nancy Drew, but it doesn't seem corny or campy. The whole time I was unsure of the culprit but the ending is very satisfying. All the clues added up and I was pleased with how everything was resolved. For such a short book, I thought that the author wrote an exciting mystery that everyone can enjoy.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: received from Flamingnet Book Reviews

2012/Schwartz & Wade Books/217 pages.

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Summary:
After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. But it's not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.(from GoodReads)

Review:
I'm almost done this series!! Well, at least until the next two books are released. I'm only excited because it's taking me so long to read this and I'm getting behind on other books. For my GoodReads challenge I'm 7 books behind! We can't have that.

Anyway this will probably be a short review because I don't really have anything to add. My feelings are pretty much the same as the third book. I liked it and still think this series can be shorter. Oh well.

What I think is pretty cool is that the fourth and fifth book actually take place at the same time, but each has different characters' perspectives. So you can read them at the same time, except the end of A Dance With Dragons eventually moves into new territory.

I laughed at the end author's note, in which George R.R. Martin says the fifth book will be released a year after the fourth one (in 2005). Yeah that happened.

Otherwise, I am looking forward to continuing on and catching up on the tv series. Better get started!

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from my brother

2005/Bantam Spectra/1061 pages

Guest Blog: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Ok, I know I've been bombarding everyone with guest blogs, but there have been a lot of 2012 debut releases recently! Today we have Lynda Mullaly Hunt, whose new MG book One for the Murphys, was released on May 10. Lynda will be discussing writing!

Aspiring Authors: Take an Aspirin and Call me in the Morning

First of all, aspiring authors. Let me tell you this. It’s no coincidence that the word, "aspiring" begins with the word, "aspirin." This journey merits plenty of it.

Most writers I know (including myself) have insecurities. What made the difference for me in going from writer to author was the ability to ignore those insecurities. Notice I didn’t say I cast them off; you can’t get rid of them completely. Nope. When the insecurity monster sat on my shoulder, whispering, “You’re never going to do this, you know.” I’d tell it to take a long walk of off a short pier. Got my revenge by writing more and better.

So, my advice? Work on craft.  Be open to less-than-stellar feedback; although hard to hear, some will be on target. However, also be confident in your own voice—you know what’s right and what isn’t. Believe in your book. Ignore “the odds.”

Work and rework your book. Foster your connections in the industry. Rework your book again. Build a support network for yourself.  Don’t give in to fear. Not in your dealings with industry professionals. And, more importantly, not on the page.

The first time I ever entered a “first pages” activity at an SCBWI event, I submitted some silly PB manuscript. It was read out loud and then there was the dreaded pause. Long enough that I celebrated a couple of birthdays. Until the most prominent editor said, “This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard. Horrible. Some terrible throwback to the 70’s or something.”

Okay. So not what I’d hoped for, exactly. But, I did not despair. I sat back and thought about it, ultimately deciding to write novels. And you know what? I had to write a lousy one before I was able to write a good one. I gave myself the time to learn, and I didn’t submit until I knew the work was ready. Looking back on those “cheesy” stories, I was really just avoiding going deep, afraid to put emotion on the page.

Lastly, I know this is a tough one, folks, but try not to focus on wanting to be published. I think that when we focus on the contract and not on the work, we diminish our chances of that kind of success. Honestly, I never thought I’d get published. No, I really didn’t. Oddly enough, I think that’s why I ended up with a contract. Because I focused so much on the work. Writing to my strengths and revising to my weaknesses.

Believe me. I if can do this, so can you. I do ask you, though, to never take the power that faith in yourself has lightly. It’s just as important as talent or perseverance. I’ve been there—believe me. I know that sometimes it feels like wading through glue, but I’d like to help you on your journey. So take that aspirin I talked about, and call me in the morning.

Thank you so much for visiting, Lynda! Don't forget to check out her new book and her Twitter!

Waiting on Wednesday - 86

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine for bloggers and readers to learn about new books.
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

A wonderful, coming-of-age love story from a fresh new voice in YA fiction.

'Miss Amelia Hayes, welcome to The Land of Dreams. I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I'm open to all kinds of bribery.'

From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost...head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he's 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes? (from GoodReads)

I think this sounds so cute, plus I absolutely love the title! Why is this not being released until December 11, 2010?!

Guest Blog: Katherine Longshore

I have the pleasure of having Katherine Longshore on Simply Books. Katherine is the 2012 debut author of Gilt and today she will be discussing one of my favorite subjects, the Tudors!

Thank you, Megan, for having me on your blog!  It is always such a joy to connect with other people who love books, but more so when I find someone as obsessed with Tudor fiction as I am.

Why do we find the Tudors so fascinating in general?  And Henry VIII and his succession of ill-fated wives in particular?  I have my theories, and thanks to Megan, I have a place to share them:

The Tudors are opulent.  Dazzling.  Gorgeous.  All those rich fabrics – velvets and silks and brocades.  The sumptuous colors – crimson and midnight blue, gold and silver and deep purple.  The gowns with long, luxurious trains, sleeves of flowing silk, all decorated with gold braid, pearls and jewels.  Those doublets with cinched-in waists and broad shoulders.  And jewelry.  Coronets and rings, brooches, bracelets, necklaces and diamond collars.

The Tudors are sexy.  Even before Showtime gave us Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry Cavill, the historical period grabbed the collective prurient curiosity.  A King with six wives?  Half of whom he left/divorced/beheaded so he could marry the next one?  A royal court in which flirtation won popularity and acclaim and sexual innuendoes were tossed like golden coins to those not clever enough to think of them?  Men in tights!  And codpieces.  Let’s not forget codpieces.  The very quintessence of sexual suggestion.

The Tudors changed the world. They changed religion.  They changed political geography (Virginia, anyone?  Named after Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen).  They changed the very idea of marriage and relationships between men and women.  Whatever else we can say about him, Henry married for love more times than not.  This was virtually unheard of – previously, marriage in the sixteenth century was based entirely on political/economic alliance.  For commoners as well as kings.

The Tudors remind us of ourselves.  They were selfish, ambitious, ill-tempered and cruel.  They were generous, beautiful, diligent and thoughtful.  They loved music, theater, sports and games.  They enjoyed the out-of-doors.  They created heart-breaking poetry.  They spent a great deal of time at war.

But I think what has always fascinated me most about the Tudors is how they are viewed by history.  And I have always wondered, what if that isn’t true?

Historians describe Catherine Howard as a promiscuous, empty-headed flirt.  They use words like harebrained and frivolous, bubbly and silly.  I looked at contemporary accounts and saw a girl who wore a new dress every day, was showered in jewels by her husband, insisted on court parties and plays and (horror of horrors) had relationships before she married the king.  I didn’t see harebrained and silly.  I saw myself as a teenager.  I loved clothes and shoes.  I went to parties.  I fell in love more than once.

I asked myself what if Catherine Howard was a cunning, ambitious, sensual girl?  And then I asked: what if she was the Queen Bee before she became Queen?

And that is how GILT was born.

The opulence and the sexiness and the changing social mores and the similarities to the modern world just made it that much more fun to write.

Thank you so much for visiting, Katherine. I'm really looking forward to reading your new book. Don't forget to follow her on Twitter!

Top Ten Tuesday - 32

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like making lists about books.

Top 10 Authors I'd Love to See on a Reality Show

Ok, so this topic is super hard! I'm just going to do the best I can, granted I don't know the personalities of a lot of authors.

1. John Green - Celebrity Apprentice
I love this show and I think he would be very hilarious and entertaining while on it.

2. Cassandra Clare - The Amazing Race
I know she grew up all around the world, which is perfect for all the exotic locations you have to travel to.

3. Stephen King - Fear Factor
Because he's scared so many people with his novels and movies.

4. Philippa Gregory - Manor House
This was a show where they put people into a 19th century house to see how they lived back then. I know Gregory's time period is a little earlier but I think it would still be cool.

5. J. K. Rowling - Who Wants to be a Millionaire
She seems smart so hopefully she knows a lot of random information.

Annnnnd that's all I got. This really was a hard topic! Do you guys have any thoughts on what authors you'd like to see on a reality show?

Guest Blog: Lynne Kelly

I have the pleasure of hosting Lynne Kelly on Simply Books today! She is the 2012 debut author of Chained, an MG novel released last week. Here she is to tell us about writing and editing.

On Santa frogs, creepy dolls, and questionable turkey recipes

I've come across some interesting things while packing up my house to get ready to move. In looking through conference notes, I saw this quote from Isaac Asimov:

"The reader will remember not the phrase, but the effect it has. If the phrase does not have an effect on the reader, change it or cut it."

I don't know what conference presenter relayed the quote to us, and I couldn't confirm that was the exact quote or find where Asimov said that, but that's what I scribbled down at the workshop, so let's just assume he did say something like that at some time.

'Cause I think it works really well with sorting through ten years' worth of stuff. Plus, deciding what to keep and what to throw out reminded me of editing.

By some miracle of physics, the entire contents of one closet filled up the living room. Not all of those things can be worth keeping.

What is this thing and why do I own it? It's-- a frog, I guess? Wearing a Santa hat for some reason. Maybe it's cute, but it doesn't elicit any warm feelings from me. There's nothing wrong with him, really. I love frogs. I love Santa. But the amphibious hat-wearer needs to go.

Maybe when you're revising a manuscript you'll find some phrases or scenes that are like the Santa frog: nice, but they don't serve any purpose. It might even be a favorite scene you've written. But does it advance the plot? Will it have an effect on the reader? If not, there's no reason for it to take up space. So, toss it out like 1997's tax receipts.

Some things worth saving have an effect on us, but not a pleasant one. Like these gals:

Yeah, I know. Lovely, right? Just the kind of thing a little girl would love to cuddle with before falling asleep at night. They live in a box in my closet. Yes, I do worry they will leap out and murder me in my sleep. But they're antique, and they were my grandmother's. So they will stay.

Some scenes are hard to write. I don't mean the writing part, although that's hard too, but I mean because they're unpleasant. Something bad happens to the characters we love. Maybe someone's broken his heart, or punched her in the face. Or your character has lost her home, or her family, his innocence, or everything he's ever loved. You've read books like that, too; anyone who's read Laurie Halse Anderson or Ellen Hopkins knows about scenes that are hard to get through. We identify with the characters and hate to see bad things happen to them, but that's part of their story. And we remember them. They have an effect on us.

On to my favorite kinds of things to find:

That first paper is one I post on the refrigerator every November. It was a "How To Cook a Turkey" assignment my daughter had in 2nd grade. Is it well-written? Sure, for an 8-year-old, I think it is. Is the recipe accurate? I wouldn't recommend using it unless you want to spend Thanksgiving in the emergency room with all your family members. And the turkey's missing a foot. But after ten years, I still laugh when I read the instruction, "Bake for 30 minutes at 104 degrees." We're keeping the turkey.

The yellow paper looks like something the daughter drew at age 2. I think it's a family portrait. Sure, our legs are attached to our heads, but she could write "Dad." No one has arms, but we have ears and knee caps.

When we look over a drafts of our manuscripts, we always find things that need to be rewritten. Maybe the words aren't exactly right, or the sentences are too wordy. There isn't enough detail, or there's too much. Or you're revising something you wrote last year, and you've grown as a writer since then, so you'd write it differently today. But the feeling is there. The scene has an effect on the reader. It isn't perfect, but it's worth keeping.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting a padlock for that box of dolls.

Thank you so much for visiting, Lynne! She included pictures with her post but I was unable to include them :( But please read her book and visit her twitter!