I Love my Husband but I Really Love Nate Silver

There's a new post by Lucy, on November Surprises political blog. To read about her dysfunctional love for Nate Silver (and about other her other love relationship too) click here.

Polls and Changing the Furnance Filter

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog. To read about her obsession with the polls and finally changing the furnance filter, click here.

Blog Tour - Between Boyfriends - Review and Author Interview

Today I have the pleasure of being a part of the Between Boyfriends blog tour. Author Sarka Miller graciously agreed to answer my interview questions. Read on for the interview, and my review of her hilarious new novel!

Interview:

Me: I like to do ten-word posts on my blog. Can you describe the story of your book in exactly ten words

Sarka: Brokenhearted 20-something Jan Weston learns about self-sufficiency, independence and friendship.

Me: What is the theme or the message of your novel, and how did you incorporate it into your writing?

Sarka:   My novel, Between Boyfriends, is about finding yourself and making a life independent of relationships, expectations and your past. My main character, Jan, did not receive love and support as a child. She did see plenty of examples of materialism and judgment from her wealthy parents. In her teen and early adult years, she acts spoiled, competitive and rude to everyone except her boyfriends. With boys, she becomes weak, needy and vulnerable. She jumps from relationship to relationship looking for fulfillment.

Many young women follow this path, making poor decisions with men and blowing off their friends, their careers and their own needs while forcing relationships. This never leads to happiness. Between Boyfriends explores a better way.

Me: What did you enjoy most about writing this particular book?

Sarka:   I loved getting inside Jan's head and exploring what made her tick. I had a lot of friends who were boy crazy, never single for more than five seconds. It was really fun to not only figure out why this happens but how to evolve this thinking. Plus Jan is hilarious with her crazy mix of naivete, hope, negativity, compassion, pain, insecurity, and desire to change.

Me: If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?

Sarka:  I think Blake Lively or AnnaLynne McCord would make a great Jan. AnnaLynne would be an amazing Nichole too. It is hard to find any redeeming qualities in the book version of Nichole, but I think she could be more likeable in a movie version. Sarah Paxton would be hilarious in that part as well. Alexis Bledel would be a sweet Lisa. I see someone like Renee Olstead as Becki, or maybe Christa B. Allen. I have no idea who I would cast as Juan. I have a very clear picture in my head of what Juan looks like and I just can't quite match that up with an actor.

Me: What inspired you to become a writer? Are there any favorite authors or books you can name?

Sarka:   I always loved reading when I was a kid and writing short stories. As I got older, my love of writing never went away. I preferred to read fantasy when I was younger. I lovedThe Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I adored theChronicles of Narnia and still do. As an adult, I still read fantasy, particularly series with a strong female protagonist, such as the Merry Gentry series and the Sookie Stackhousenovels. I love chick lit too. I, like most of the world, was introduced to the genre by Helen Fieldings' Bridget Jones books. I then fell in love with Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series and since have read most any chick lit book I can get my hands on.



Review:
Between Boyfriends is a very tightly written and witty novel. Sarka Miller has a very irreverent sense of humor, and I mean that as a high compliment. She is not afraid to write about flawed people, and her main character Jan is the perfect example. I once read that it's okay to make your characters unlikeable as long as they are compelling, and Jan is definitely compelling. She is selfish and spoiled, but underneath that is a genuine desire for self-improvement, and a heart that grows with affection for her friends. And by the end of the book Jan is likeable as well, she just needs to undergo her journey of self-discovery, and face hardships like (gasp) having to get a real job and being without the wealth and privelege she has been accustomed to her entire life. Jan's friends, Lisa and Nichole, are also complex and compelling. I especially enjoyed reading about Lisa, who was born a middle child but lost both of her siblings in a car accident. This is an example of how even in a funny novel, Sarka Miller wasn't afraid to mix in darker subjects of loss and heartbreak.

Although the title would suggest this is a book about finding a man, it's really a story of finding yourself, and doing so with the support of female companionship. If you've been waiting for your next chick-lit read, look no further! Between Boyfriends is just waiting for you!

Romnesia and a Binder of Blunders

 

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog. To read about Romnesia, the second debate, and Monty's return from Ghana, click here.

*Meme originally posted on http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/binder

Going Demo(Crazy)

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog. Lucy is depressed about Obama's slide in the polls, but at least she stood up to her mother-in-law. Read about it here.

Stitch Blog Tour - Review and Author Interview

Today Samantha Durante, author of Stitch (click to buy on Amazon) is here to answer some questions and promote her book. Read on for an interview and a review!

Review:
Stitch, by Samantha Durante, is a truly unique story that will keep you guessing and wanting more. Alessa is a college freshman who lost her parents in a tragic car accident nearly a year before the story begins. She is still struggling with her grief and feelings of displacement as she begins college, so the adjustment is harder for her than it is for most freshmen. She joins a sorority, hoping that it will feel like a home. It doesn’t, but something interesting does happen.


It turns out the sorority house has a history, and part of that history includes a ghost named Isaac. At first Isaac only shows up for seconds at a time. Alessa can see him but he can’t see her. She is drawn to him, and she experiences powerful emotions every time he is near. In addition, Alessa is having strange dreams. Is Isaac involved? What’s their connection? Is Alessa simply processing her grief over her parents, or is this real? Is Isaac even is a ghost, or is everything the reader has assumed so far actually wrong?

All of these questions and more are answered in Stitch, which I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys YA lit, especially tales like The Hunger Games or Divergent. Unlike these books, Stitch is written in third person rather than first. I tend to prefer first person because I like a close connection to main character. However, if that connection is lacking in the first few chapters, it becomes more developed later on, and Durante’s attention to mood and setting are very well done.

At only $2.99 you can’t go wrong. I definitely recommend giving Stitch a try.

Interview:

1.) I like to do ten-word posts on my blog. Can you describe the story of your book in exactly ten words?

Alessa sees a ghost, but not really! Sci-fi twists abound…


2.) What is the theme or the message of your novel, and how did you incorporate it into your writing?

Though Stitch starts out as a paranormal romance, at its core it’s really a dystopian story. However, this first book was mainly about world-building and getting to know the characters, so the dystopian themes will be explored in more depth throughout the later books in the series (it’s planned to be a trilogy).

In this first book, I’d say the main themes were about people being who they are, regardless of circumstances, and (this sounds so cheesy but I can’t think of another way to say it) the power of love and how your feelings for another person – romantic or just love for a family member or friend – can enable you to do things you never thought possible.

I can’t give too much detail about how I worked these in without giving away spoilers, but in vague terms, I established who each of the characters were – and the depth of their relationships to each other – before writing any of the story, and I tried to stay true to those definitions before and after the twist. No matter where you find this character, you’ll see that some things about them will never change, and their motivations are usually clear because they’re mostly driven by the need to protect their loved ones in a dangerous world.


3.) What did you enjoy most about writing this particular book?

Revealing the twist! I shared a few chapters a week with my beta readers as I wrote the story and it was so much fun to see their predictions each week of what was going to happen as the direction of the story changed. I could not WAIT to get to the chapters where I finally revealed the twist, and they were just totally knocked over the head with it - no one saw it coming! And the best part was that they all totally bought into it and loved the way the story changed and took on a new urgency once they knew what was really happening. Now that the book is published, most readers are having the same reaction and it’s been so much fun to talk to people about their experience reading Stitch and what they thought of it. It’s definitely a different kind of book and I’ve been so thrilled to see so many people reacting so positively to it. :-)


4.) If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?

I actually did a guest post on this topic a little earlier in the tour, and I’m SO excited about the actors I chose! Emmy Rossum for Alessa, Alex Pettyfer for Isaac, Willa Holland for Janie and Robbie Amell for Joe – check out the photos over at Kindred Dreamhart!



5.) What inspired you to become a writer? Are there any favorite authors or books you can name?

I just absolutely love to read, and I especially loved to read trilogies or long series where you’re just sucked into this epic journey in an amazing new world and can stay there for hours and hours at a time. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Eragon, The Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones are some of my favorite series and definitely inspired me to try to create something immersive and fun that readers could really get into. Stitch is my very first novel and my main goal was to write something that I (as a reader) would love, so that’s what I set out to do! Hopefully other readers will feel the same!



Thanks so much, Laurel, for hosting the Stitch Blog Tour!! Anyone who’s interested in following along can find the full schedule here and I’m also posting daily updates to my author and Stitch Facebook pages! So excited to share Stitch with readers!

Big Bird and Staying Off Message

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog.  To read about Obama's lack of focus since the debate, and the mixed-message emails she got from Monty click here.

Obama and the Worst Fight We've Ever Had

There's a new post on November Surprises, Lucy's political blog. To read about Thursday's debate, and the worst fight Monty and Lucy have ever had, click here.