The first cut is the deepest....

So I happen to be a huge, HUGE, fan of Julia Templeton. The first story I ever read of hers was a short titled "Border Lord" in the Parlor Games collection. This story was actually so good that some of my younger brothers have actually borrowed the book to read it. (We're a family who are all fond of all things Scottish, thanks to a small dab of Scottish heritage.) They loved it as well. I've read a fair amount of her other works The Bargain, The Conquest, Sinjin, Victor, Rory, and Return To Me. I have absolutely LOVED them all. All of them are in the Erotic Romance genre so I was a bit curious when she announced she would be crossing over to the YA side of writing.

I seriously had my doubts about how this would be working out. She had such a fail proof technique with the erotic storytelling, what happens when you remove most of that? What's left?

Well this week, knowing I'd be doing traveling during Thanksgiving I got my Kindle out and downloaded her debut YA release "The Deepest Cut" written under the pen name J.A. Templeton. This book is the first in the MacKinnon Curse book series.

I started reading it Thanksgiving day in between routes to various branches of the family tree. I'm so happy I did. I'm a huge fan of the "ghostie" stories and it's been awhile since I've read one that grabbed my attention the way this one did. It might've been a genre change, but underneath was still the fabulous writing that has always held my attention and left me wanting more. More of everything in the pages, from the characters, to the story itself. I literally kept hitting the forward button wanting more. I'm glad to see I won't have to wait much longer, as Book 2 in the series is due out in December. Also, Book 3 is due in February.

I will throw this out there though, before I get into a small synopsis. If you're a squeamish reader, you might want to take this story in pieces, or just be forewarned that there is blood, cutting, and one really angry, angry ghost.

The story is about a 16 yr old girl named Riley, who along with her brother and father have just relocated from Portland, OR to Scotland. (Lucky, lucky, LUCKY girl....at least for that bit.) She's been able to see spirits/ghosts since the accident that took her mother's life a year earlier. Although no one believes her, therefore she has to keep it a secret and try to ignore all the spirits whose paths she crosses. Until of course she meets Ian MacKinnon, the nineteen year old spirit who was murdered over 200 years ago. She ignores him at first, but then when he see's her cutting she accidentally acknowledges him and then the cats out of the bag. When he questions about her cutting his reaction isn't as she expects it to be and soon they strike up a friendship. Not long after though, the girl who cursed Ian to roam his family's land soon shows herself to Riley as well and threatens to make Riley pay if she doesn't leave Ian be and refuse to help him end the curse.

I'm going to stop there so as to not give away any of the good parts. If you've ever watched Ghost Whisperer or anything to that effect you'll love this book as much as I did. I cannot wait to read Book 2 to see what's going to happen next with these characters!

Doctor, Doctor, Give me the news...

This isn't a post to whine or complain, by far the opposite. I'm doing well and I'm alive to see another beautiful day therefore I have no right to do either. I just wanted to stop by and explain why I haven't been around much.

If you've ever happened to notice, most of my blogs are published in the wee hours of the night. Most of my visiting and commenting on other's blogs happens to be done on the same timeline. Well about a month or so ago I called my Endocrinologist for a check up because I was concerned about migraines, insomnia (obviously), and my weight going back up.

I happen to be a medical experiment in a 28 yr old body.

My body is always fighting against me in one way or another. My main enemies are a pituitary tumor and an under active thyroid. They happen to work hand in hand. Migraines, insomnia, and the weight issues are all side effects I deal with on a daily basis. Luckily I have the most wonderful doctor ever and I can always tell that he's always listening to what I have to say and we work together to work out a game plan. Which we did during my appointment then and I was put on a new medicine to cut out the migraines and the insomnia. I won't look down my nose at more sleep, but I have found myself lacking the energy and time to do any blogging lately. Adjusting meds is always a fun roller coaster (said SUPER sarcastically, lol). But if it's what helps in the long run I'm all for having some relaxing me time where my only worry is whether it's too hot in the room to be covered or not.

Also, I've had at least two colds and random side effects from the new medicine.

I mentioned I have a giant distaste for roller coasters, right?

So, all in all that's where I've been. I've been reading a little here and there on Heidi Betts'  "The Bite Before Christmas" and am halfway through it. But with everything going on I've just been taking thing a day, a wink, and a nod off to sleep at a time.

Confessions of a Bookaholic: Haunted Halloween: Cover Voting!

My AMAZING best friend has a cover contest entry up over at Confessions of a Bookaholic's Haunted Halloween Cover Contest!! Please take a moment to go pay a visit and please vote for Cover #2 Emerald's Haunting Dream!! All votes are greatly appreciated!!

Confessions of a Bookaholic: Haunted Halloween: Cover Voting!: Are you ready to vote for your favorite covers?? PLEASE VOTE BY LEAVING A COMMENT * The covers are in the order that we receive...

In the jungle, the mighty jungle.......

.......the lion man is most likely NOT sleeping tonight.

(Image from Goodreads)

I was so excited this week, for multiple reasons but mostly over the fact I'd gotten my hands on the sequel to Breeding Stock. Both happen to be written by the fabulous Melissa Harlow. None of Melissa's books scream out "normal" romance. Which is a good thing to me. It takes someone really creative and brave to think out side the box.

When The Lion Man starts, we're brought back to the post-epidemic world where supplies are few, and women fewer. I've decided I don't want to go into much detail about what happens in the book because even the smallest summary takes away the feeling of the book and the discovery that goes along with the story.

On that note...........the first book turned me on (no I'm not afraid to admit that, it's a compliment actually, so sit back down and shush a minute.), this one......., this one creeped me out. In the scary way, not in the pervy way. There's something out in the woods beyond our hero's and our heroine and it's scary. I really was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I decided to start reading this at night, which might not have been the smartest move, but once I started I was hooked. This was another one of those all nighters. I was so terrified of having nightmares (although possibly erotic...) that I wouldn't stop reading until I had reached the end of the story.

Then once I got there, sorry Melissa, I found a bit of humor. In the 90's one of my family's favorite movies was a movie called "The Pest" (which starred John Leguizamo). If you've never seen it you should. Takes the entire creepiness factor out of what you've just read. Once again though, I totally love the realness to the plague and the aftermath. Also the three way love that exists between our hero's and heroine. I was curious to see how they would play out, with Vaughn and Nicky having a father/son type relationship, but I liked the way the pairing worked. In the end we still got the happy ending, that's what it's all about. Right?

But big girls don't cry...

............although that wasn't true this morning when I was blubbering like a big ole baby.

And there were big, BIG, tears involved. Of course by then I was in "I can't stop reading now!" mode. At 5:30 a.m. no less. No time for Kleenex. Have. To. Finish. Book.

What book would have me up all night and then in tears? The "What If" Guy by Brooke Moss.

(Image from Goodreads.)

I'm sure I won this book. Just not sure where from. It magically appeared one day in an envelope from the publisher. Now that's not exactly an unusual thing around here, but not being to track down where the book came from in an e-mail is. So for now the book fairy brought it.

The book is about Autumn Cole, a single mother who happens to run into her true love her first week back in her hometown. She has bigger problems than Henry to worry about though. Like how to tackle juggling taking care of her father, her son, and getting a job to help provide for both of them. Having Henry's gray eyes turn to steel in her presence, her son growing away from her, and her father's mysterious illness growing more gravely each day are all things she looked forward too even less than coming home to a town where she grew up the daughter of the town drunk. It's not an easy transition for everyone involved. There are plenty of fences that need mending in this story. And a few hearts too.

I usually don't read a lot of contemporary romance as I like being taken away someone old, or having a paranormal element in my romances. This book though, ranks high on my list of contemporary romances. I did mention I ended up crying right? Yeah, about that. Be a good scout and be prepared with a box of Kleenexes. Anything from chapter 20 on will have you leaking tears left and right. I loved the story and the characters. There were a few times I was yelling at Henry........and then times it was Autumn on the other end of the rant. I was totally engrossed in every sentence of this book. This was another one of those books that when you start it, you're not going to want to put it down until you've read the entire thing. I hope each of you enjoys it just as much as I did!

I see your face, but who are you?

^ Seems like a catchy blog title for a romance about people who can easily shift their appearance, doesn't it?

It's not always about what you can see, it's about what you can't see. When I read Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven that's exactly what came to mind.

(Image from Goodreads)

The book is a story about a nymph, as in mythological nymph, and the hydra she's destined to conquer. Nymph's had a tragic history therefore Kyra has her heart locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Marco on the other hand has seen some of the worlds horrors and has become as hard as stone. Their first encounter ends with Kyra trying to take Marco's life and accidentally being poisoned by his blood in the process. From there their romance isn't any easier as they both fight their inner demons............andddd a couple of war gods. One of which being Kyra's father Ares. (Just hearing the name Ares always makes me think of Kevin Smith's character on Xena.) It all comes down to Marco having to completely having faith in Kyra, and her having faith in herself and the power of their love, in order for them to have a future.


This book was not an all-nighter for me. Nor was it an everyday read. I picked it up a couple of times a week, read as much as I could and then left it for a day or two. Now don't think that I didn't like the story, because I did. I think it had more to do with the amount of violence and the real world problems that exist in Rwanda and other war torn countries. When we read romances we're hoping to escape from everything real world related, even if just in our minds, and if if just for a fraction of time. I loved the tie in's of mythology and how the Gods and Goddess' powers would've transform over the years to current times. All in all I liked this book and the short story that happened to be included in the back.

We're all mad here....

Well of course we all are.........aren't we? Well I'm aware I am and if you're not I'll just imagine you are! (LOL!)

So I happened upon the novel "Reign of Madness" by Lynn Cullen a few times and it caught my interest enough that I entered a Goodreads contest to win a copy. Luckily I won a copy and this past Wednesday I picked it up after watching "Elizabeth" the movie for the first time. It set up the mood for this book, very much so, as I saw lots of similarities between the two.

Reign of Madness is about the early life of Juana of Castile, otherwise later known as Juana the Mad. She was born into the royal family of Queen Isabel and King Fernando. She's far enough down in line to the throne that she is happy to become and archduke's wife. Her husband is known as Philippe the Handsome and their marriage starts out happy and full of love. But as her line to the throne grows shorter she encounters more and more problems within her marriage. Eventually her husband decides he would rather have control over lands and the accompanying titles rather than the happiness and love of his wife. Soon after he dies his lies live on to ruin Juana and leaves everyone believing she's gone mad with loss.


This story gripped me from the very first page and I stayed up all night until I finished the last page. To me that's the true sign of a great book, it can claim all-nighter status. The story is well written and was easily readable. Every now and then when you come across a historical tale like this the wording is usually hard on a reader, I had no trouble with that here. I also loved the author's take on the historical tale she had at hand. Often it's hard to piece together a historical person's life, but Juana's life and story were vibrant to me. Each chapter played out like scenes in a movie. I don't remember what was on TV or notice how fast the night got away from me while reading. This is no small book either, it is a novel through and through. 433 pages were read in about 9 hours, and worth absolutely every minute of it to me. I took a catnap after I finished and when I awoke I immediately went to the web looking for more information on Juana. I definitely recommend it to everyone!

(Image from Goodreads)

Double the pleasure, double the fun!

I got a Kindle this week! 

You might have heard my shriek wherever you are. It was heard around the world I'm sure. I had been fighting the e-book evolution, hard. Truly a non-believer. Here recently though I've noticed a lot more self published works and said works only in e-book format. I live in the boonies and my internet has a limit so continually downloading books to Kindle for PC wasn't really an option. Plus who wants to have to lug around a seven pound PC everywhere just to be able to read a book? So the time had come. I cracked. I checked out my options and it just so happened that one of our bills came in lower this month. Just enough to buy myself a Kindle. I ordered it Monday. It was here Thursday. I've read a book and a half so far. Which leads me to my, "OMG THAT WAS AN AWESOME BOOK!", moment.

My first book to load to my Kindle was "Breeding Stock" by Melissa Harlow. 

(Image from Goodreads)

Let me start with the fact this book isn't for the prudish or faint of heart. It's unique and cutting edge with it's story. For me though, I thought it was fresh and it completely consumed me from page one. If you've ever seen the movie "The Crazies" (and if you haven't you should), this to me is the erotic side to that movie. It's also completely feasible for this story to take place in the future. 

'Drea loves Jackson. Jackson as male as he is, of course only realizes this too late. Even further behind that discovery is the realization that he loves her too. She leaves home to do something other than farming and to forget about Jackson. Until the virus hits. Humans and animals alike start dying off by the droves. The country is in chaos. 'Drea hopes she can go home and find Jackson still alive untouched by the virus that has left the world in shambles. Jackson meanwhile, has started a colony where the men inside take    

turns trying to impregnate the women in order to repopulate. The 

colony runs smoothly until Jackson's second in command Bennett brings in 'Drea. The women are to be shared and after seeing the way 'Drea responds to Bennett, Jackson doesn't mind sharing her with his co-founder. The other men however, he wants to keep her from, which goes against all the rules and principles he's set at the colony. It all comes down to Jackson and Bennett realizing they have to leave the colony in order to keep 'Drea theirs, and only theirs. 

I was truly captivated by this book. I started reading it midnight Thursday night and finished it  at 2 in the afternoon Friday. I've been raving to whomever I know will listen about how much I loved this book. Some of Melissa Harlow's other books are even more intriguing and I'm excited to see if they hold my attention as tightly as this one did. 

Hear that?

Ok so I know my blogs are a bit few and far between lately. I started my blog for fun, I'm not out to be the best or have a huge following. I'm sincerely humbled by every view I receive. And I'm still having fun. That's what it's all about for me. :)

Here's a peek into what's been going on here. Currently I'm reading Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven and I'm absolutely loving it. I'll most likely finish it this weekend and post a review soon. I know that was the answer to your first question.

Moving on.

For 8 years I've had at least one child with me every second of every minute of every day. Not anymore. My youngest child started school two weeks ago and guess what?!? Hear that? Silence. Mom has time to think again! My husband works second shift Mon-Thurs and we get mornings together, alone, and Friday during school hours, again alone. It's heaven. I'm absolutely enjoying every minute of it. I've just been kind of relaxing for the first time in years. I'm doing things on my time during the day. Waking up. Moving. Reading. Eating. Existing. I'm blessed. Truly truly blessed. With a wonderful husband (who's birthday happens to be Monday. Happy Birthday Darling!). Two amazing sons. Friends that light up my life. And the rest of my extended family  who round out my complete life.

So if I'm sparse it's because I've thrown a paper umbrella in a fancy wine glass filled with Sprite and am just lying about enjoying not hearing "MOMMY!!!!" a million and 5 times in 2.7 seconds flat.

Towanda!

Such a memorable line from such a memorable movie. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. This line is from the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes". It made an excellent blog title for the book I'm about to review.

As most of you know I fell into reader's block not too long ago where the book I was reading was disappointing. I didn't want to pick up another romance right after it because I didn't want my letdown mood from the first book influence my feelings on the next book. So I gave myself some time off and this week I happened to receive a book from Goodreads.

This is the book:

(Image from Goodreads)

The book is about a woman who after having a stressful couple of days, agrees to accept an invitation to stay the summer with Will's, an old college friend's, elderly great-aunts. She's an aspiring author who thinks this will be the perfect time for her to focus on writing a story loosely based on her own complicated upbringing. In the process of settling in she learns some of the family history and is instantly enamored with it. As she tries to keep her friendship with Will just that, she's drawn to the darker side of his family and also his black-sheep cousin Jake. Living in a house with so much tragic lore leads her to scrap her original novel plans and switch gears into writing about a long ago incident in Will's family.


I don't want to go into too much depth about the story because it's a great story that needs to be read and not just left to it's summary to do it justice.

In this book we get a little early 1900's southern murder mystery, a bit of romance, and a touch of struggling to find oneself. To me this book was a cross between Fried Green Tomatoes and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. From the first page this book kept my attention. Even though the writing style allowed us flashbacks and alternative point's of view it really flowed. For me the writing style actually kept my attention better than most books do. It was like getting a fresh look into things happening in the book. Some of the flashbacks gave us glimpses into the history of the town and Will's family, whereas some of the alternate points of views gave us glimpses in to some secondary characters heads and lives. You know how sometimes you read a book and it plays out in your mind as a movie? This was definitely one of those types of books. The story and characters embed themselves in your head and sticks with you long after you're done reading. When I wasn't reading I wanted to be or I was thinking about the characters. The murder plot keeps you guessing until the very end. I carried this book around with me for a whole day after finishing it. I really wanted the story to continue on and didn't want to have to part with the tale and characters. Anyone I've talked to this week has heard of this book or has had me show it to them and say, "You HAVE to read this.".  If you're looking for a break from you're regular romance reading I really suggest you guys check this one out!

Reader's Block.

So if writers get writers block, is it called readers block when readers find them self up against a wall?

My normal rate for reading is three days or so for one book. I cracked open a fun paranormal book last week and although it's catchy, I'm not fully caught, yet. So I thought well maybe I'm more in the mood for a strong muscular sexy kilted Scottish man and his romance. I went to my lolarific bookshelf and picked up a book I'd saved for a rainy day. I expected to love this book from the first page on. Sadly I didn't. The book didn't seem to have a beginning to me. I felt like I was just thrust into the middle part of a story. This was a first book, so it wasn't that I was going into the middle of a series. Even then if it had, I've read series books that start out better. It may be that the rest of the book is better and that's where I feel like I've hit my wall. Hence readers block. Does anyone else out there ever have this happen to them? Where you want to read, you have plenty of genre's to choose from but you just feel like "blah" when it comes to reading? I don't know if it's just all the random stress I have going on in my personal life or if I've possibly burnt myself out on reading for a bit. Okay well it's not the second, because I'll never burn out on books. Trust me I have 28 years of experience behind that. Lol. So let's just go with possible outside stress.


Still I ask, does anyone else ever get readers block?

Book Hoarding.

My name is Lola and I'm a book hoarder.

Ok so I've admitted I have the problem but I'm not looking to change it anytime soon!

During a conversation with my husband last night he accused me of being a book hoarder. I freely admitted the fact to him at that point. He asked me which books I'd be willing to get rid of. Ummm the list he got back was blank. I replied I would NEVER give up any of of my Autographed books. Or any from my Top 10 authors.  Although I have more books than just those two groups, I've become my own library and loan out books regularly. It's become the new joke around here that if I ever open a bakery my books have to go and the bakery will have it's own library. How about "The Lolarific Bakery & Library" as a shop name? Lol. And of course there would be lolarific library cards! Maybe I could do international shipping and ship a library member a cupcake or cake balls and a book? I'd sign up for that!

But back to the attachment issue at hand......does anyone else out there book hoard?? When do you decide that it's time to let a book go? How do you decide between which ones to keep and which ones to toss?

Trying new flavors.

I love to read unique books, but generally stick to the same broad genre, Romance. Historical, Paranormal, and a few contemporaries here and there. Observing around a few of the blogs I follow, lately I've noticed there's a big convoy of  YA readers out amongst the blogosphere. I read a lot of those when I was younger (we're talking 13-19) but hadn't picked one up in years with the exception of the Twilight series. Which it happens, I read two summers ago AFTER the first movie came out. I actually enjoyed the books much more than I thought I would.

So with those two things in mind I started paying attention to some of the YA books and reading their synopsis' to see if it was something I'd be interested in reading. I've found a handful of them, mostly mermaid themed ones, but there was one whose cover caught my eye right away. Here's the cover:

Gorgeous isn't it?

It's a book about a 16 year old girl, Gwyneth, who discovers she's inherited a gene to time travel. All of this comes as a surprise to everyone, as it's always been assumed Gwyneth's cousin Charlotte was the genetic lottery winner, thus she was the one groomed for time travel. What follows is mystery after mystery with many questions and no answers in sight. Gwyeth gains a time travel companion with the also genetically enhanced and handsome Gideon. Together they set out to try to  figure out their roles in the mysteries at hand.

I won this book in a contest held over at Tynga's Reviews (http://www.tyngasreviews.com/) and received it Thursday in the mail. As soon as my little ones were tucked into bed I cracked the book open and was amazed at how easily the book read and how well it kept my attention. I found myself wanting to rush the book along in a few spots, but only because I wanted to hear more of the story and was totally enraptured in the plot. There's not a strong romance plot in the book, but there is some. The driving point is all the mystery that surrounds the time traveling secret society and the chronograph. I wasn't sure at first how well this book would be but I was highly delighted at the results. I didn't know it at the time but this is the first book in a trilogy. The originals were written in German and now I'm anxiously awaiting the second and third books to finish being translated. 

I seriously hope that you guys will check this book out at some point and just to entice you some more I found another blog doing a giveaway for a copy of Ruby Red that ends Monday the 13th. Here's the link : http://ireadtorelax.blogspot.com/2011/06/ruby-red-book-trailer-and-giveaway.html . She also has the book trailer up on her blog if you'd like to check that out too!

Changes.

As I roam around I'm in awe of all the other book bloggers I come across. Especially those like me with small children in the house (I have two boys ages 8 & 4). These bloggers inspire me in so many ways. I can't thank you guys enough for doing what you do. That goes for all the book bloggers.

My blog didn't start out as a book blog, therefore it was given a generic name and a thrown together look. Not that I don't love my hot pink zebra striped strawberries, but it's time to make some changes. I've thought up some new names and I think "The Lolarific Bookshelf" is in the lead for new blog name.

As far as backgrounds and templates go I've been browsing and have seen a ton I like, but not many that I love. For me it's love or none. So I'll keep looking for now, and I believe over the Independence day holiday you'll see changes here. I hope that you all love them, or at least can tolerate them well. ;)

(I'm hoping to have all the frills when I do make these changes, including an "About Me" section and a section where I can share some of my favorite blogs to read.)

Also I've been winning a few books here and there and will start sharing reviews on those and pics of my actual bookshelves as they fill. Friends and family keep telling me to open a bakery, husband says said bakery will end up having a library. (He's probably not far off with that idea....I'd snack there!)

So hopefully that gives the few of you who do follow something to look forward to.

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Choosy moms choose books.

I've been venturing around the Midsummer's Eve blog hop and I had a quick question for the few followers I have. I'm super curious as to whether you'd rather win a gift card prize or a book prize? For me it's a book prize. Why? Because as a reader everyone has different tastes and different realms of writers they follow. It's always interesting to be introduced to a new book by someone you've never read or have heard about. Or to a book you normally wouldn't give a second glance at. I've come across several that have me thanking the person hosting for showing me something new. Gift cards are a nice prize and all but I'd rather be shown some piece of the blogger's literary personality by a book of their choice.

Which do you prefer?

The sickness.

So I was totally expecting to be knee deep in a book this morning and then I woke up to the sickness. Both my husband and my youngest are stomach sick. Which leaves mommy to take care of them both. So no thon-y reading for me today. I may squeeze in finishing a book I had already started, but my main goal is to not catch whichever virus happens to be roaming about my house. Cant't wait to see how well ya'll are doing with it though!

My First Read A Thon!

This post is to announce to the world that I'm participating in the Spring into Summer read-a-thon hosted by Enna Isilee of Squeaky Books!

This read-a-thon is going to be so great! It's two days where you try do NOTHING but read. It's a great chance to get rid of some of those books that have been sitting on your TBR pile forever.

But that's not all! There will also be awesome mini-challenges and a TON of giveaways! In fact, just for signing up you are entered to win a $25 gift card to Amazon! SO GO SIGN UP! And if you say that Lola @ Lolarific Life sent you, you'll get 5 extra entries to win that gift card! CLICK HERE to enter to win, and know all there is to know about the read-a-thon.

Here's my goal:

I plan to participate on: BOTH DAYS
I plan to read: 3 books
I hope to read: My Favorite Countess by Vanessa Kelly, The Heir by Grace Burrowes and Dangerous Highlander by Donna Grant

Well, have you signed up yet? DO IT NOW!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Learning.

So for those that haven't noticed I'm still really new to the whole blogging thing. When I started I thought I'd rant about my crazy life. Then I realized my life might be crazy but there's not much to rant about. So I thought about where to go from there. About the same time I learned the joys of blog giveaways, in particular blog giveaways. I follow the fabulous Anna Campbell on Facebook and she's always posting different blogs that are hosting interviews with her and other authors. I hadn't really ever done more that just lightly stalk and read what the bloggers or writers had to say about this book or that book that was being promoted. That is until I entered my first giveaway and followed that blog through here. I didn't win that one but I started following those authors that would be guested and from there I found more blogs to follow. Soon after I started leaning all my blogs towards books. When I'm on a tangent I will read non stop until I finish a book. I'm in love with all things books and have a very strong book addiction that this whole blogging world is feeding. Totally nothing wrong with that. I immensely enjoy reading other blogs as well as adding to mine. Often as I've stated before this is where I find inspiration for my blogs.

So it seems as though Lola's blog has taken a literary direction and I only hope that I do well with it. I've found lots of new book blogs to follow this past week through what's called a "blog hop". I stumbled upon one and I'm in love. I suppose I should explain what a blog hop is first, since I didn't even know what it was until a few days ago. A blog hop is where a blog or two hosts a giveaway that includes several other blogs doing individual giveaways too as a way to promote themselves. For me not only am I being able to enter said giveaways, but I'm getting to discover all different types of book blogs. Some are author blogs, some are simply review blogs, and some seem to be just for fun. The just for fun ones are like me I think. Sometimes when you come across an excellent book you want to share your knowledge with someone, anyone! And if you're like me not many people around you read a lot or have the same type of literary appetite as you. I only have a few friends in real life who will tolerate me going, "Oh my gosh I just read THE most incredible book! You have to read it nowwwwwwwwww.".  Some will reply that they'll check it out when they get a chance and then said chance never arrives and I'm still left wanting that discussion with someone who's read the same book.

It's amazingly awesome to find such a community on here where so many of us have common ground. I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every blog I've come across.

I'm ready for summer and the chance to read more and hopefully venture into the reviewing world also. I hope I do well, but most importantly enjoy the books I read and have some fun with my new blogging hobby.

All I wanna do...

........is READ!

This time of year is the worst time of year for me to start a new book. There's planning a birthday, school getting out for the summer, and all sorts of other "summer is here!" activities. I was lucky enough to sneak in a whole book over the span of a little over a day. I'm dying to get back into my habit and can't wait for things to slow down enough for me to indulge some.

I've got a ton of new author's I'm finding and can't wait to dig into each and every book I've read about these past few weeks. I know I'll get there but I have no patience for waiting to read.

I think I'm going to try and sneak in another book this weekend to last me until next week.

Why haven't you read my books yet?

That seems to be a question some authors ask when entering one of their giveaways.

"If you've read my books tell me what you like about them. If you haven't tell me why you haven't yet."

Something to that extent, and for me the answer comes in several forms.

The main reason?

I haven't heard of you yet. Simple as that. I read a ton of YA novels and books as a teenager and then some of the more straight fiction-y books as I aged a little. And then life happened. I had kids, got married, and settled into wifedom and motherhood. I'm just picking back up my serious reading penchant after years off just getting by on grazing the written word. I'd say I'm a year or two back into my habit and just arriving back to the at least one book a week range. There's just that entrance into romance novels after the gap from the YA books where you don't know where to start. I walked into the bookstore blindly to find something to fill my craving for literary imagination guidelines. I wandered into the romance section and happened upon a book by Sylvia Day and a anthology called Parlor Games. After reading those I walked away with two of my favorite writers. Sylvia Day and Julia Templeton. From Sylvia Day I found Sasha White. As I've said before, other writers are the best way to find leads on new ones. This week alone I think I've added about six or seven new (to me) writers to my Facebook. My TBR pile grows by five books with each new add. It excites me though, to find new masterpieces for my mind to consume. I hope to never run out of new creativity to discover!

Do I have to stop reading to go into the store?

There are several different types of responses initially to a book. The "Ooh ooh ooh can't wait to read it!" book, the "Hmmm this sounds like it can be good book.", and the "Eh do I really want to read this?" book.

Yesterday I received a book in the mail that I had won from a blog. From the blog post and excerpts I was already excited to read it. I knew it fell into the first book response category. As soon as I started reading it I knew I'd found book gold.

We had to run a few errands after we got the mail and I didn't want to wait to start reading so I started while we were in the car. I got interrupted a few times when we had to stop and go into different stores and such. When we arrived home though, I locked down with it and stayed up until 5am this morning reading it. I really did not want to stop even then, but knew I needed beauty sleep. I had already passed the halfway mark so I was deep into the climax. As soon as I woke up this morning the book was in my hands and I was transported back to the movie that plays in my head when I read a good book. I always see the characters and their surroundings as plain as day, like it's a real scene I'm just observing play out.. We had to go do some more things in town today (one of my children has a birthday next weekend, so we were making the birthday rounds) and I grabbed my book and took it with me. I read all the way to the first stop and then asked my husband if I could take it in an continue reading as we shopped. I was completely and utterly enamored with this book. A little over 24 hours later I've finished it and I already feel a void. It's the first in a series and the next book in the series doesn't come out for another 6 months.

I'm sure by now you're probably wondering which book I am referring to in this post. The book was The Guardian by Margaret Mallory and I suggest you go buy it now. No not in a lil bit, NOW. This book will not disappoint you at all. I promise. It's perfectly written and the story is unique and this book is just the beginning of the story!

Inspiration.

I get a lot of inspiration for the subjects for my blog from things I see around other blogs and other random things that spark my interest during the course of that day.

Case in point, today I was reading a blog that carried an interview from a writer who'd written a more modern take on Cinderella's story. Which had me thinking that when I wrote my Top 10 list I forgot someone. Probably because I loaned those books out to someone else to read and they are currently inhabiting a dorm bookshelf.

I've only read three of her books, mostly because there was only three written in this particular series.

Cathy Yardley deserves a definite honorable mention to my top ten, or an award all her own to separate her from the others. I think I'd give her the "Fairytale" Award. The three books I've read were all modern erotic re-tellings of fairy tales, and there was one so well written I didn't want to sleep afterwards because I was afraid the antagonists would give me nightmares.

That one was the re-adaptation of Snow White's story and was titled "Crave".

I won't giveaway any details because I believe each book and story is an exploration each person should take on their own without any cheat sheets.

BUT I would like to see at least one writer tackle one of the harder fairy tales, like say..."The Little Mermaid". Something with a mythical touch that would require lots of imagination.

Just had to sneak that one in.

I do love adaptations on fairy tales though and I hope to find more to absorb somewhere down the road.

Used Bookstore Pet Peeve.

There's one thing I hate seeing in a used book bookstore, an autographed book.

Yes it's luck to happen upon one but it always make me go, "I'm sorry little book that you've been sold even though you're unique. I'll take you home and give you a shelf to sit on." .

Autographs are semi hard to come by in this area. The only authors to visit and do book signings are local authors or religious ones. I once stood in a large line at Wal-mart to get Joel Osteen to sign a book for my grandmother. Although it was worth it, my grandmother is worth it and always will be to me.

But other than that I haven't been to a physical book signing. The autograph copies I have I've won through some sort of contest. Although a lot of writers have a deal where you can mail them the book and they will dedicate it and return mail it to you. That just isn't as personal to me.

As a fan of that persons work I want the right to stand in front of them and gush about how much I love their books like a school girl meeting her favorite rockstar. Or even winning a signed copy of an authors book seems a bit more personal to me. Something about communicating your love through entering the competition in the first place.

A dedicated signed copy of a book is the writers gift to you no matter how you come by it. They took the time to get on of their works, that is their baby, and passed it on to you to care for. NEVER would I sell any of my autographed books. I don't care if I liked the story or not. It's a gift and should be treated as something precious.

Referrals

It's becoming my favorite way to find new authors to follow!

I have a newfound appreciation for author forums and blogs. In the past two weeks I believe I've won three or four books from them. Three are from authors I haven't read before. After reading the interviews and excerpts on said forums and blogs though, I'm actually really excited to read these books. There have even been a few that I haven't won but would still really like to read that persons works. Their name goes down on my list that I carry with me when I go to the bookstores.

I'm such a picky reader that it's normally hard to find a good book/author to keep my attention. I bought one book a while back and the first chapter and a half were landscape descriptions. I haven't brought myself to finish that one yet but I'm sure I may down the road. I like books that capture you right away and hold your attention. My husband has come to realize if the book is THAT good I will be up all night trying to finish it. What I like isn't what everyone else likes though and I can deal with that what I might've found boring others might find imaginative. Everyone has their own interpretations.

So since I follow my favorites on their blogs and Facebook I've come to find a good new list of authors I want to get to know through their works. I'm ready to add a good number to the book count!

Keeping count,

I do believe I've come to the decision that I'm going to keep a book count this year.

I know I read as much as I can but I've never seen it in numbers and that's something I'd like to explore a little. How many books a year do I read? Is it where I think it should be? I hope I come up with a good baseline because next year I'd like to set a new goal surpassing what I do this year.

I'm going to continue on my normal reading habits and see what I amass.

As of now I've read:

Return To Me by Julia Templeton
Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day
Healing the Highlander by Melissa Mayhue
Highlanders Curse by Melissa Mayhue
Alluring Tales I by Various Authors
Alluring Tales II by Various Authors

and then there's the odd short story here and there
books I've started but haven't finished (at least 2 so far but one's the one I'm reading currently)

Now looking at that list makes me say to myself, "Gee I thought I had read more this year......", but I suppose I haven't yet.

Yet. :)

I have a list of authors I've just discovered as some of my favorites are getting more thinned out in publishing new works. Not at all complaining though. I appreciate all the time an author puts in to each piece of work and generally am stalking the bookshelves on a release date of one of their works.

So I'm up to 6 books so far............I hope to improve on that number vastly this year.

What's your total so far?

Word Nerd!

Just won an awesome tote bag and can't wait to get it!

I won it in a Facebook contest held by Pamela Fugate Designs. She sells 100% organic cotton canvas tote bags with catchy phrases or images on them. I was introduced to her products by my mother in law who is a huge fan of all things canvas tote bag. They help her carry paperwork for work or odds and ends she may need while she's away from home, whether for the day, or on a trip.

I was super excited to see that I was chosen as a winner of one today and being the total word/book geek that I am I chose this design

I cannot wait to receive it in the mail and to begin using it!

You should find her on Facebook and check out all of her designs. She's doing another giveaway at 800 fans! Or you can find her Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/people/PamelaFugateDesigns?ref=ls_profile .

Guilty Pleasures.

What's the one thing that fascinates you the most? For me it's a tie, although the two do cross paths often.

Cults and Polygamists.

From Jim Jones and the People's Temple to Warren Jeffs and the FDLS in Utah and Texas, I'm utterly fascinated.

What makes a person search so hard for faith and truth that they'd give their all to a deranged mastermind?

These people lead children from parents, wives from husbands, and mother's from their children. Those relationships are some of the strongest human bonds. How are they so easily broken by a basic delusional stranger?

I myself would rather search for the truth myself than to take someone else's word for it. Even the bible has many interpretations, no one's is the same as another's. I have a few books on my bookshelf that pertain to both elements but neither answers the one big question "Why?". What on earth would make you want to follow someone into the poisonous end of the swimming pool? Especially given some of the things these people are preaching? Are you willing to follow Osama to 72 virgins too? It's one in the same. A crazy person trying to tell you he knows the way to salvation. All you have to do is hang onto every word and live your life according to that person. And majority of the time said leader is high on something. The only ones I haven't heard of partaking in narcotics are the FDLS, but they exercise their demons in other ways. It truly does fascinate me that so many people have followed these false prophets to their demise, or in the case of the FDLS isolation from the outside world and live prehistorically.

I could go on and on, but this should give you a taste of my captivation for these semi taboo subjects.

So you now know what bewitches me, what's your guilty pleasure?

The ONE.

What's the one book you've read that will always stay with you?

For me it was "Daughter To Diana" by Allene Corliss. It was old and leather bound. And full of romantic drama. 

When I was younger my parent's (and later my mother) had a bookshelf of old classic books. There were volume's of stories and then collections of Sherlock Holmes adventures. Amiss all the titles stood Daughter To Diana. When I was about 15 or so I thumbed though all the books trying to find something to read until I got my next book. On that search I found it. 

It had a blue leather cover, yellowed pages, and that old book smell that all book lovers know. 

The story is about a mother, a young mother, who's mostly self absorbed. She tends to dismiss the feelings of her daughter and plots to not let her daughter outshine her. The story takes a few twists and turns and plays out over a nice timeline, not just over a week.

This story was written in 1935 although you wouldn't know because the story is so well written that it could've very well been written by one of today's best historical writers. The age of the book is what gives it it's greatness though. That you're holding a literary masterpiece in your hands that was written long ago and it's survived in whole to feed your imagination. There's no greater gift than finding a book that's lived it's lifetime and survived, it's like finding your own buried treasure. 

So what's the one book you've found that's been your buried treasure and stuck with you?

Ten Favorite Authors.

Saw this on another blog about someone being asked if they could list their top ten books and when she had some troubles with it the question was then changed to authors. For me the authors do come alot easier. I'm a loyal reader and once I find an author who captures my imagination (and heart) in the right way I crave their next publication before I've even heard what the storyline is.

So for me these authors are the creme de la creme, the elite of the romance industry.

1. Sylvia Day
2. Melissa Mayhue
3. Sasha White
4. Cindy Miles
5. Julia Templeton
6. Anna Campbell
7. Karen Marie Moning
8. Susan Johnson
9. Magaret Mallory
10. Donna Grant


Now a few of those are newer to me, mostly the last two, but I can't remember a time in the most recent past where I've been hooked by one excerpt alone. Those two have done that and their latest works are on my TBR list. I cannot wait to read The Guardian by Margaret Mallory and to dig into all of  Donna Grant's works.

I know my list is a lil eclectic, but that's me. I hope you guys explore with some of these authors and come back and let me know how my choices were!

Such a hard choice.

Choosing what's next to read that is.

I just read three books back to back. Two were the newest releases in a series and one was one I happened to have won from one of my favorite authors. The two series books were about time travel, gorgeous Scottish men, and the women they're fated to be with. The other was a historical about a vampire who finds his true love 500 years after he's been turned.

Now here's where I find myself, what the heck do I wanna read next?? Something super erotic, a historical romance, or something on a real scale i.e. a biography?

I've won a few books lately and am excited to put them on my TBR (to be read) shelf. But for now I'm in a literary dilemma. Grrrr.

Mind boggling deliberation.

When we move on to what's beyond this life I know we're supposed to meet family and friends we've been missing in this existence. Those who've moved on before us. 

But here's what I'm curious about......which of our loves meets us there?

The first love who life pulled you apart from, but you never stopped loving?

The wife you married and loved until she passed away before you?

The second husband who helped you remember what it's like to be loved and live life again?

Or someone we didn't recognize as our soul's missing half?

I mean I myself don't have anyone in mind for myself, other than my husband. But we as humans hand little pieces of our heart to those we love in our lifetime. Do we really know who get's the most significant piece?

It's just something that has alot of variables and makes me ponder......

Everyone else is doing it.....

.........so why not give it a try? It seems blogging is the new thing lately amongst the incredibly awesome and as I am one of said coolness factor I thought I'd explore the realm as well.

About me: I'm just me. I love my husband with my entire being.  My children are my life. And I have some of the most amazing friends who round out my happy life.

I love to read. Everything.
I love tennis. But I'm not obsessed with it.
I love to bake and cook. Best food you've ever had.
I have a dirty mind. Get over it.
I have an open mind. Everyone should.


And I love living the Lolarific Life.