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.