Again? Really?

By Bonnie Harris

My internet has decided to take on a life of its own. It decides when, where and how long it wants to work. There is no consideration taken into account. I can be checking email, writing a blog post, doing research and it will kick me off. I have to admit, I don't have very kind feelings when that happens.

However, it has brought to mind a thought. What would we do without the internet? Would we know how to communicate with each other if email didn't work? Do we remember how to write a letter? Would we know how to conduct research? Would we remember book stores? Not that I have anything against epublishing, but if the internet didn't work, how would we get our hands on ebook? (I think that's one reason why I really like to feel the pages of my books.) How dependent are we really?

Don't get me wrong. I love to have information at my fingertips and I would have as hard a time as anyone readjusting, but it does make one think. Now, I figure I better get this posted before my internet decides it's had enough again. So I guess you could say this is a venting post, but it has made me think. Happy Saturday! :)

Book Review Thursday

So last night my internet decided it had had enough and stopped working. That's why this post is late. I'm also going to implement a new rating system (I just haven't what pictures to use).

-Loved it will or already own

-Loved it but won't buy it

-Liked it

-It was OK

-didn't like, didn't finish

Anyway, onto the book reviews. It's another twofer. :) Andrew Clements Benjamin Platt & The Keepers of the School We The Children and Elizabeth Chandler's Evercrossed.

Clements book is a wonderful read for anyone. I wanted more from it at the end, but it did a good job setting up the series. This book is a . Take a look at the trailer and the book info on Clements website. Here's a blurb about it:

Benjamin Pratt’s school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true! But lately, Ben has been wonder if he’s going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town—with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. It’s going to change everything. And, Ben is not so big on all the new changes in his life, like how his dad has moved out and started living in the marina on what used to be the "family” sailboat. Maybe it would be nice if the school just stayed as it is. He likes the school. Loves it, actually. It’s over 200 years old and sits right on the harbor. The playground has ocean breezes and the classrooms have million dollar views…MILLION DOLLAR views. And after a chance—and final—run-in with the school janitor, Ben starts to discover that these MILLION DOLLAR views have a lot to do with the deal to sell the school property. But, as much as the town wants to believe it, the school does not belong to the local government. It belongs to the CHILDREN and these children have the have the right to defend it!

Evercrossed is another book in the Kiss By An Angel series. I really enjoyed it and am curious to see where she takes it from here. I would recommend it to most everyone. It does receive a though. Here's a blurb about it:

It's been a year since Ivy's boyfriend, Tristan, died. They've both moved on - Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy's heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.

But then a car crash ends Ivy's life.

As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she's left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost.

But memories aren't all that's come back from the past. And this time, Ivy's not sure love will be enough to save her.

Work In Progress Wednesday

Still working away and being happy with the few paragraphs that are getting done in The Black Orchid. I went to a signing with Lisa Mangum and she said she only gets a few paragraphs written a day during the week so I figure I'm in good company. I've also figured out that I can spend the rest of the day plotting for the rest of the chapter that I'm only getting a few paragraphs done in. I think it's a relief to let myself realize that it's OK to just get a few paragraphs done and not the chapters I want to. Happy Writing!

Book Buzzin'--Cayman Summer

Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison is the last book in the Leesie and Michael Saga. I'm very excited to see what the end result of their relationship is. In honor of the Cayman Summer release, Angela is hosting and M & L Forever contest. Take a look. She also has an entire blog devoted to Cayman Summer. It's pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Snoop around and enjoy the last of our interview questions. :)

What do you hope readers will take away from your work?

I hope they will feel a lot of love. As I wrote CAYMAN SUMMER, post by post on my blog (http://caymansummer.blogspot.com), I was surrounded by so much love from my readers every single day. I think that love made it into the fiber of CAYMAN SUMMER. I think Michael's love for Leesie, in this last novel, becomes a new and different thing--mature, selfless, and inspiring.

How do you feel now that Cayman Summer is complete?

I'm relieved, but kind of sad. Michael and Leesie don't talk in my head anymore. I've got new books to write, new voices to listen to, but I miss them.

What was your favorite scene?

Michael is standing alone on a stretch of Grand Cayman's coast that is famous for blow-holes that spout water from the pounding surf high up into the air. I can't tell you what happens or I'll spoil the plot. But you'll know why I love that scene when you get there.

What is in the works for us now?

My agent is marketing MY ONLY LOVE, the heartbreaking historical YA based on my family history. I hope you all get to fall in love with Will Glover soon. I'm putting the finishing touches on a novel that is very different from my contemporary YAs but has the same type of emotional love story. It's a YA time-travel adventure called SLIPPED. If you took Jane Eyre and Mad Max and stuck them in the middle of Medieval Europe, you'd get SLIPPED. My anti-hero, Jag, is a rogue post-nuclear winter time-traveling assassin who has decided to destroy the past to save the future. Meg tumbles into the mix and has to help him--even though he wants to destroy everything she knows and loves. Watch my website and blog for news on both these books. I'm also working on a musical stage adaptation of SING ME TO SLEEP with Harriet Bushman, who composed the music for "Beth's Song." It's going to be amazing!

Where can we get your books?

TAKEN BY STORM and SING ME TO SLEEP are national releases. They are available anywhere you buy books. They are also both out in ebook form on all the major platforms--Kindle, iBook, and Nook. UNBROKEN CONNECTION and CAYMAN SUMMER are available on Amazon and I released their ebooks via Kindle. You can find purchase links on my blog or website.

Book Review--Out of the Dust and 39 Clues Vespers Rising

It's a twofer today. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse and The 39 Clues Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson.

Out of the Dust was the Newbery winner in 1998. I enjoyed this book, although it was not what I expected. It was really thought provoking and I learned a lot through the perspective of a girl living in the dust bowl. I would recommend this book to anyone. Here's a blurb about it:

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Vespers Rising from The 39 Clues Series was written by four different authors. I loved how they each took a section and gave us a taste of their writing style. That's what I've really liked about the entire series, but this was more immediate. I loved the fact that we learned more about the Cahill family before Dan and Amy. I enjoyed how each author pulled me into the story in a different way. I just loved the story all the way around and would recommend it to any and everybody. Here's a blurb:

In Vespers Rising, a brand new 39 Clues novel, take a whirlwind trip through Cahill history and uncover secrets too explosive to reveal during the Clue hunt.

• Travel back to the days of Gideon Cahill and Damien Vesper to read about the rivalry that shattered the Cahill family . . . and changed the fate of the world
• Learn about Madeleine Cahill's first chilling encounter with Damien and how it inspired her to form the Madrigal branch.
• Follow thirteen-year-old Grace Cahill as she embarks on her very first mission during one of the most dangerous moments of the 20th century.
• Finally, flash forward to the present to join Amy and Dan as they prepare to fight their new enemy--the Cahills' historic rivals--the Vespers.

Work In Progress Wednesday

You know, I'm learning to be happy with the time I'm getting to write. I'm also figuring out how to make it the most efficient writing. The book Writing Tools has really helped me do that. This week I've been focusing on 'ing.' The more of the 'ing' words I get rid of, the smoother and stronger the sentences are. The book explained the reasoning behind it is because and 'ing' ending adds an extra syllable to the word. It makes sense and I've had fun applying it. It's been fun to see that progress.

So Encoded Secrets is with readers now and I'm working on The Black Orchid one sentence at a time. Happy Writing!

Book Buzzin' Tuesday--unbroken Connection

unbroken Connection by Angela Morrison is the second book in Leesie's and Michael's story. I have to say I'm really excited to get my hands on this one to see how their relationship grows and what else I will get to learn about. Take a look at the trailer and you can purchase it here. Here's a blurb about the book.

Against all odds, the couple that swept you away in TAKEN BY STORM is back. Michael is in Thailand diving his dream. Leesie is at BYU living hers.

And they just can't leave each other alone.

Their romance rekindles, deeper than before. They grow desperate to see one another again. To hold one another again. Michael decides there is only one direction their relationship can go and asks Leesie the ultimate question. Her answer challenges everything Michael is and wants to be.

Can she change for him?

Can he change for her?

Enough?

P.S. Angela will be at the Barnes & Noble off of Shea and the 101 tomorrow from 6:30-8:30. It's the perfect time to drop in and say hi as well as pick up her books. :)

What makes you passionate about writing?

I am so happy when I write. I'm grumpy when I don't. So miserable. Most people would look at what I do, and say, bleck. That's such hard work, and you have no guarantee that you'll make a penny from any of it. And if you do end up making a few cents an hour, you'll spend it all on blog contests, other promotions, research or even self-publishing a book. I shrug my shoulders and say, "But I love it." Writing is a vocation--not an occupation. It is a part of who I am, and I'm hugely blessed that I get to spend so much of my life devoted to bending my art into stories.

When and how did you know this would be a saga?

When I finished TAKEN BY STORM, I was so excited. It was my first novel, and I didn't know if I could do it. I had other projects--namely MY ONLY LOVE--to work on, but Michael and Leesie wouldn't leave me alone. They kept talking in my head. I kept dreaming scenes for them--pivotal scenes in a story that would somehow make it to CAYMAN SUMMER.

Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

Michael. He's everybody's favorite.

How do you make your characters come to life?

I get them talking, listen, and scribble. For me, it's all about their voices and following where those voices lead.