Book Review--unbroken connections and Cayman Summer

unbroken connection and Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison are both part of the Taken By Storm Saga. I really enjoyed Michael and Leesie's story. It felt real with all the challenges that they both faced. I liked how they each helped each other through tragedies and were a support. The growth was incredible on both parts. I also really enjoyed the locations, especially in Cayman Summer and Thailand from unbroken connections. I learned a lot about places I've never been. This was a very fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed, but can't say I can recommend it to everyone because of the content. Here are blurbs about both books as well as my review for Taken By Storm and a four part interview with Angela. 1, 2, 3, 4.

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?

Cayman Summer

Michael takes Leesie to the Cayman Islands to heal. Time, sunshine, and Michael's devotion free her of physical pain, but grief and guilt haunt her. Michael will do anything to find the old Leesie who prayed, spoke of visions, and kept the rules. For Leesie, that girl is lost forever. Rules? What's the point now? She's ready to break every one.

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 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.

Book Review Thursday--Taken By Storm

Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison. This really sucked me in. I fell in love with the characters and couldn't get enough of it. As one who has always loved the ocean, I was thrilled to be able to learn more about free diving. I have to admit that the ending made me a little frustrated because I wanted more. I wanted to know what else happened. I'm excited to see what happens with Michael and Leesie's relationship.

This book has been recommended for ages 12 and up. I would love to recommend it to everyone as well, but it does some very mild sex conversations.

Take a look at the Cayman Summer blog. It has some beautiful pictures of an underwater excursion as well as some other things. There is also a contest going on that you can participate in.

Here's a blurb about the book:

Michael's parents died in a terrible storm and now he's drowning in tragedy. All Leesie wants to do is save him. But if she gives into temptations, who will save her?

Book Buzzin' Tuesday--Taken By Storm

Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison. This is the first of three books in this saga. I'm excited to get to read it and will have my review up on Thursday this week. Take a look at Angela's page for Taken By Storm and the contest she is doing to celebrate the release of Cayman Summer, the third book in the saga. Here's a blurb about the book:

Michael's parents died in a terrible storm and now he's drowning in tragedy. All Leesie wants to do is save him. But if she gives into temptations, who will save her?

Here are some questions Angela answered for us.

Who has inspired you as a writer?

My mom took elocution lessons when she was a girl because she hated piano lessons. She presented dramatic readings all over Rexburg, where she grew up, and the surrounding smaller towns. She did some acting in college. She was the BEST storyteller at bedtime. She could do all kinds of cool voices. We had this old brown book of fairy tales, but they were mostly too scary for us because mom's witch voice was so convincing. My favorite story was one she told about Sarah, my great, great grandmother walking the Mormon trail with her grandmother, Granny Glover. Granny Glover was Scottish--so mom deliver all her lines with a decided brogue. The first story I ever published, "All is Well, Sarah" (FRIEND, July, 1998) was based on that tale. I spent decades researching the Glover line--traveled to Kilmarnock, Scotland, where they started out, and Pictou, Nova Scotia and Pottsville, Pennsylvania where they ended up until they went West to join the saints. I'd love to write a series of novels based on their stories. The first, MY ONLY LOVE, is finished, and we're looking for an editor who will fall in love with Sarah's uncle, Will. I turned him into the most romantic collier lad ever to leave Scotland.

Where did this idea stem from?

TAKEN BY STORM was born in a rocking dive boat off the coast of Cozumel. Rain pouring. Teeth chattering. We had to wait up top in rough water and a storm until we could go under again. A guy sitting across from us was full of news. The clouds raining on us were the remnants of a hurricane that had hit Belize the night before. He had a wild tail about a dive boat that got caught up in it and capsized. "All the divers drowned," he said. We found that hard to believe. Divers don't drown. I looked it up when I got home. It was true. I followed the story, couldn't let it go, and kept asking myself, "What if?" What if a guy was on the boat with his parents and dive club. What if they all drowned, but he survived? Where would he go? What would he do? And most important, who would love him?

What's the saga about?

The saga answers those questions. I sent my hero, Michael, to live with his Gram (in my grandmother's old house) in the tiny farm town in Eastern Washington where I grew up. He has to finish his senior year in the tiny high school (that I graduated from). He meets Leesie, the only Mormon girl in town, who lives on the farm where I grew up. She falls hard for him, and she is the only thing he has left to hold on to. But she's a good Mormon girl--and he's a guy of the world. Their relationship fireworks gave me enough conflict for three whole books about them.

What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Write every day. Get THE ARTIST'S WAY (Julia Cameron) and use those techniques as much as you can. Do your homework. Read lots--especially in the field you want to publish in. But everything else, too. If you write because it's a passion you can't do without, keep at it. If you write because you think you'll make lots of money, find another pot of gold. Learn from professional mentors--whether it's by studying what they've written or actually working one on one through a class online, a college class, or a graduate program. These days you can learn tons through author, agent, and editor blogs. If you want to write YA or for children, join SCBWI. Oops, that's more than one. I have a special blog for writers on my website called liv2writ. Check that out. I've got more advice there.

Book Review Thursday/Sing Me To Sleep

Sing Me To Sleep by Angela Morrison. This was such a wonderful, poignant read. I was sucked in from the beginning and had tears running down my cheeks at the end. I loved the character development and felt like I was a part of the story. I could hardly put it down. This is a great story for most people. There is a tiny amount of language and mild conversations about sex. Here's the back cover blurb:

Beth has always been "The Beast"--that's what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth's only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she's selected to be her choir's soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever.

When Beth's choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek's untethered passion--for music, and for Beth--leaves her breathless. Because in Derek's eyes? She's Beauty.

When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek?

The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek's been hiding a dark secret from her. . . one that could shatter everything.

Take a look at Angela's website. There is a book trailer as well as a link to purchase "Beth's Song" and "Take Me Home" on iTunes as well as lots of other cool things.

Book Buzzin' Tuesday

Sing Me To Sleep by Angela Morrison. For the next four Tuesday's I'm going to be buzzin' about Angela's books. Included will be interview questions and book reviews for those books I've been able to get my hands on. I've been intrigued by her books for awhile now and I'm finally far down enough on my stack of "books to read" pile that I've been able to take a look at them. :)

The cover alone on Sing Me to Sleep just makes me smile and want to read it. Here's what it's about: Beth has always been "The Beast"--that's what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth's only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she's selected to be her choir's soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever.

When Beth's choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek's untethered passion--for music, and for Beth--leaves her breathless. Because in Derek's eyes? She's Beauty.

When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek?

The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek's been hiding a dark secret from her. . . one that could shatter everything.

Very intriguing, isn't it. Here are a few questions Angela answered for me about this particular book and her writing.

What lead to your decision to be a writer?

I started writing in first grade like everybody else. Okay, I know some of you smarty-pants out there learned in kindergarten or pre-school. I learned in first grade. And that was it. I never found anything else I wanted to do more than that--except be a mom. I did the mom thing first--devoted two decades full-time to it. When my youngest started school full-days, my mind was turning to jello. I went back to school then, too. I got accepted into Vermont College's low-residency MFA program. I got to learn from professionals how to turn my passion for writing into novels. And I've been writing full-time since I graduated in 2004. It took almost four years to get my first contract.

Where did the idea for Sing Me To Sleep come from?

I used my high school experience for the springboard of Michael and Leesie's romance in TAKEN BY STORM. When I needed to come up with something new for the second book in my contract with Penguin, I stole from my daughter's life. She sang in an AMAZING all-girls, competitive choir when we lived in London, Ontario, Canada. I always wanted to set a novel in that unique world that as a parent volunteer I got to see a lot of. I was as much in love with the Amabile Choirs as she was. But I didn't have a story. A few months before I was at the above-mentioned crisis searching for an idea for my second Penguin novel, a tragedy happened to my daughter's best friend in Amabile's Young Men's Ensemble, Matt. I pitched the idea to my editor. She came back with some plot improvements. And I got a thumbs up from her publisher. That story took a hold of me and didn't let go. It was an honor to write it. Matt's mom and the entire Amabile organization embraced the project and continue to support it. Amabile recorded two of the songs--yeah, songs, I wrote original lyrics and wove them all through the text--and released them on iTunes, "Beth's Song," and "Take me Home."

Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

Derek--mostly because even though I fictionalized him, and my editor insisted I give him a bad boy side, so much of Matt's buoyancy made it into his character. That makes him endearing and much more real.

What part was the most fun to write?

This book was an emotional roller-coaster to write. I cried most days while I worked on it. But, Beth's makeover was fun to write--especially the laser scene. And the scenes where the choir's diva, Meadow, is convinced Derek likes her were fun. Actually, the most fun was getting to go back to my favorite mountain top in Switzerland and introducing Beth and Derek.

Take a look at Angela's website. There is a book trailer as well as a link to purchase "Beth's Song" and "Take Me Home" on iTunes as well as lots of other cool things. Stay tuned for my book review of Sing Me To Sleep that I'll post Thursday and let me know what you think!