My Favorite Reads of 2010

             Late, but still great.    (no order to my adoration.)           

   

There are so many things to say, again, about Charlie Courtland's beautiful Elizabeth Bathory. The best thing to say it that it should be read by all of you.

Amazon Link

“Charlie Courtland has taken a time and event in history and put a story to it that would rival the actual events. She takes the reported facts as well as many of the rumors of the day and spins them into a story so believable that is could be the true events as they transpired.

This story is not for the weak of heart as there is much madness and despair. Be prepared to be sucked into the story and become a part of it. You will see the blood spatters and will feel the actual weight of the horror as it unfolds.”

Amazon reviewer, Sept. 18, 2010

Jason McIntyre unravels your imagination with his words, and presents a better version, which you cannot help but love.

Amazon Link

"This is a roller coaster ride: you're in the hot sun, chugging to the top, anticipating the drop the whole way and then--boom--the drop comes and you're gasping for air. The hot wind blasts you and your guts are in your throat. In the last half of the book, some scenes had me by the larynx. Highly recommended!"

Dvier, Sony Reader Store

  

This is a new cover for Danielle Bourdon's nightmare, and exactly the creature I saw in my own mind.

Amazon Link

"Dreoteth is one of the more unique books I've read in a long time."
Daniel L. Carter, October, 2010

  

Heather Paye illustrates the perplexities of childhood; feeling invisible, yet seemingly always in trouble.

Amazon Link

"...It was hard to put this book down without proceeding further. I found this reading material very close to the heart reading. It is a book I would recommend for all the general public. This young writer I feel will go very far in writing more books in the near future."
Joyce L. Paclik, April 19,2009  

Very shortly, one of my next interviews. Jen Hilborne writes a vicious mystery.

Amazon Link

"I read this book in one sitting--could not put it down! Loved the San Francisco setting and the shout out to the Gold Dust Lounge! Would like to see more of the characters created for this book. Hopefully Ms. Hilborne has more Mac Jackson stories... "
Amazon reviewer, June 30, 2010

The first of my Darcia Helle experiences. She made me laugh, then chilled me before the laughter died away.

Amazon Link

"I have read all of this author's books and have loved them all but this one has it
all humor with an edge. I could not put this book down the characters are still in
my head I hated to see the last page I wanted more."
Lorraine A. Benton, July 14, 2010

I want to flee the earth, in search of this woman; Captain Dace. Jaleta Clegg gave me a new childhood heroine.

Amazon Link

"This book was hard to put down once I got into it. There is something very special about Dace, something very relate-able. This is a wild ride that at points even brought me to tears with the heartfelt and sympathetic character interactions."
Bobbie Berendson, March 19, 2010

 

Maria Savva creates a near vacuum between her two characters, and they still harbor love which can withstand the damage.
Amazon Link

"What's beautiful about this novel is that as the plot opens up and takes its twists and turns, the relationship between husband and wife remains the strength of the prose. These two people are so confused, so in love, and have so much to contend with. They need to talk! And each time they do, they seem to say everything but what they need to say. I kept thinking the world seemed against them, but all they really needed was to confide in each other, to share. Notice how I'm speaking of these characters as though I know them? This is Savva's magic."
J.L. Knox, Dec. 28, 2010

 

Next week's Featured author; William T. Prince.  His character, Clint Buchanan is humble, as he is tall, but he cannot shake trouble, which rides in an outlaw gang of Texas bikers.
Amazon Link

"Action packed, a real triller to be sure. The characters are full, rounded and you come to know them as people you want as your friends. 'Sasquatch' himself is a little part in all of us, the good parts, of course. It was a pleasure to read this book, and I look forward to getting my hands on the sequel."
Jay Henderson, June 4, 2010

Remove the two most powerful men in America, within hours of one another, then stand back to observe if the Constitution will unravel before your eyes. Who, in all the world, might be to blame?
Amazon Link

"As Beaudet adds layer on layer to the story, it’s like a punch in the gut. I kept thinking, this could really happen.…'By a Thread' has the ring of authenticity—It’s obvious that Beaudet has done his homework when it comes to Mormon customs and culture, to the finer points of our Constitution, in the descriptions of exotic locales such as Vienna and Munich. Most importantly, he understands that love is transcendent." [This is an excerpt. To read the full review, click here.]

Neil Badders, Minneapolis, MN*7 November 2010

Happy New Year - go buy this book!

Heather 'Kitty' Paye:  if you are not instantly in love with this delightful Imp, then you are made of stone. Sour, sour stone. This bundle of giggles and fun, was the most endearing find of my entire Indie year. 2010 is precisely the number of laughs she has provided. (really....more like a bazillion) She has some hundred names, in the some hundred places you can find her online, but I call her Kitty. That's the name I put behind the @ when I'm out for Twitter mayhem. She usually beats me to it.

Oh, this person isn't just a youthful presence propelled by mirth - this is a novelist - a writer; a proper author, of a wonderful book about a childhood. When I began to read A Gift From Above I began to grin, and highlight the text in my Kindle copy. It opens as a book of rainbow colors now; Kitty put me in stitches all over the place. I have kids, I know how they behave. Kitty told God's truth about what they think and feel.

Could I have written that well, about childhood, at her age? No. Writing hadn't been invented when I was a kid. My brain wasn't functional until just after college. I was still communicating in grunts and moans. Had I figured it all out, the way Kitty has, I'd be offering eighty or ninety books now. I hope she never runs out of words. She doesn't seem likely to... run out of words...she texts the way other humans breathe - about every eight seconds. Linked texts. They appear simultaneously in almost 40 places.

"About what?" you ask?
Everything.

No subject is mundane. No thought wasted. No smile unshared. I suggest you follow her on Twitter (@kittynadem ) just for the delightful, dizzy feeling that you get. Kitty thinks with her keyboard, at the speed of thirty cups of coffee. (Which she does not like.) I believe she is the first bubblegum powered human.

I didnt' ask her any questions for this New Year's interview. Questions would have gotten in the way. But, we talk that way, over the web, when we run into one another...we just throw thoughts at each other. Between the chuckles, cool things are said.

So, what about this fabulous book?
It gave me a glimpse at the secret Heather C. Paye. She does not live her life, as her online personality would suggest - either manic or deeply asleep. Between the words, and costume changes, is a serious, thoughtful young lady. (She's laughing out loud suddenly.) Celia, her playful main character is not Heather, not an alter ego, yet Celia learns something devastating in her quest for attention, and reacts in exactly the manner that Heather would have reacted.
Utterly calm.

I will let you find that discovery, within the book, for yourself. It was a deeply satisfying truth to learn about Celia, about Kitty, because it was within that event in the story that I began to really see how well the entire book was crafted. Without making it evident, Kitty was showing me something without discussing it in plain text. You get to discover that on your own as well.

You could read my review of the book; I may have given most of these pleasing secrets away there. But it would be nice if you found it the way I did. It was quite unexpected. I had been enjoying the book, but then, found I appreciated it as well. It would be a shame, to think it is only a kid's book - it is YA - and yet, it is so much more than that. I must admit though, I've a lot of kid left in me...years and years worth.

There should be an interview here, somewhere......

Ohoo, here ya go, Joel! If you need anything else, just let me know.

(Note: Joel, I think I went a bit URL happy. And I’m a bit of a babbler, so feel free to cut and kill whatever you want to!) That's fine, Kiddo. Here we go...

Two three-year olds sit discussing lunch with a four-year old. Who mentions bacon first?

I started writing my first novel when I was nine-years-old. I had written two short stories and right away, I decided it was time to make something bigger. It took me about four years to finish, but I became addicted to writing. *sigh* It wasn’t my fault. You see, I would have never thought just “anyone” could be a writer if J.K.Rowling didn’t say so in one of her interviews! That’s why I started writing.


Can you tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi? I can’t.
I do many things in my spare time. One of my favorites is helping others create their own books. Some of my bigger projects include doing the illustrations and layout for Elysabeth Eldering’s Junior Geography Detective Squad series, http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com/ and I’m doing the book cover, layout, and website for J.M.Levi’s MoonZeLent series http://jmlevi.webs.com/. I post most of the work I’m doing on my graphic design website http://hpayedesigns.yolasite.com/


In Fear and loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson wrote... "Order some golf shoes," I whispered. "Otherwise, we'll never got out of this place alive..." What does that mean to you?
To date, I have one novel and one anthology published. A Gift from Above and For You, From Me.

Santa brought you a new smart phone for Christmas, didn't he? 
I have so much in the works right now I’m having trouble prioritizing them! I have one novel, The Jewel of Onsolot, that is the start to a spectacular series of nine, The Artifact Series, which I am in the process of editing. After it’s all done, it will be released by Wild Child Publishing. I’m still writing the second book in The Artifact Series, The Cloak of Erason, it is about 60% finished.

Yes, Taco Bell has Wifi! Whoda thunk it!
A project I’m really excited about is Howl, a novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo http://www.NaNoWriMo.org/, all I have to do is finish up the ending and then get to work editing. I’m hoping it'll be ready in 2011.

 My favorite pie is pecan.
Cherry....Pumpkin.
What's yours?
Finally, I have a short story anthology that I’m putting together for Father’s Day 2011. http://old-man.webs.com/  It’s just like the Mother’s Day anthology, For You, From Me that I put together earlier this year, except this year we have editors and all of the entrants receive a PDF copy of the anthology after it’s finished and before it’s released to the public. I’m accepting entries for it right now, and to be honest, I’m getting a much smaller amount of entries than I expected. It may be because the website URL sounds creepy… If not, I have a feeling it’ll start picking up as soon as the new year rolls around. (I'm entered!)

DO YOU EVER SLEEP?
What’s my favorite pastime other than writing? *silence* Uhh… sometimes I’m a normal teenager. Does that count as a pastime? Oh, I love to watch good quality movies on my laptop with my awesome Realtec speakers! I’m almost always listening to music no matter what I’m doing (beauty of working at home). I LOVE to play piano, guitar, and record my own music. I’m probably not as crazy about reading as I should be… Oh, and I love to annoy my Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace followers/friends.

Thank you for featuring me on you blog, Joel! Can't wait to see the interview up
In one hour, you won't have to wait. It's 10:52 PM, December 31, 2010 right this moment. I'll be up, surely you are. I wonder how many seconds before you notice the post....Happy New Year, Kitty!

***
One other place to be blessed with Heather's wit, is her excellent blog 'Down to the Core'. She's also runnerup for the 'Mad Hatter' award over at Bestsellerbound.com. I'm clearly in the lead there, but bow to her impressive lunacy. Thank you, Heather Kitty, for being the first Indie author on The Tale's The Thing in 2011. It's as fine a beginning for the new year as I can imagine.

Yup - I just jumped over to Twitter, 20 minutes to midnight, and there's Kitty, twelve tweets down the list..... "Party party!"
6 minutes to midnight, there she is again!
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