*Update*

Monday, 4:30 p.m.
The interview with Mr. Rakestraw is complete and am excited to hear the finished product. We struggled with lost connections, static interference and such for a bit so fingers crossed for how it turns out. I haven't received any information about when the link will be posted yet but I'll put it on the blog as soon as it comes in :)
Till then,
Katie

Interview with John Rakestraw on THE BOOK PLATFORM

The day has finally arrived!! Join me at 10:30 a.m. (PST) on THE BOOK PLATFORM with John Rakestraw We'll be talking books.

What's on the Nightstand?

Hello and welcome to our most recent visitors from Bangladesh! For 2011 the totals stand at 3619 and 46 different countries. Woohoo!  This marks the final installment of “What’s on the Nightstand” for 2011 just in time for those last minute gifts you might be struggling with. I’ve discovered some wonderful writers this year. Some of my past finds I’ll be keeping my eye on for future installments and others I’m sad to see come to their enviable end. Most of all, I hope I’ve given you lots of books to be curious about over the last twelve months.

I’ve come across some amazing reads this year so you have lots to choose from. All total for 2011 I’m at 138 books read. To see all of them, click on the different months listed on the right side of the page and look for the posts titled WHAT’S ON THE NIGHTSTAND. Those posts are exclusively  about books I’ve read and enjoyed.

As the year winds down, I want all of you to know how much I appreciate each and every visit you made to the blog. Thank you so much! Your interest and notes left behind about things that strike your fancy or tickle your funny bone have meant so much.  

Come January 1^st a new post will be up so be on the lookout for it. As of yesterday, I’m officially on a rest cycle until after the holidays. My poor eyes are screaming for a break even though I don’t really want to give them one. Big things are planned for the coming year and I want to be prepared. So until 2012 be safe, have fun and don’t forget to read a good book before the year is over. Now I’ll shut it and get to the books. J * throws Christmas tinsel at you*

Till Then,

Katie

 First I’m gonna tell you about the new finds then about books I’ll (or most likely already have) add to my personal library.

(122.) Insatiable and (123.) Overbite  both by Meg Cabot – Meg’s spin on the vampire crazy is different but refreshing. She takes these characters to places you don’t expect and back again.


(124.) Darkest Mercies by Melissa Marr – Melissa did not disappoint with this final installment of the Darkest Mercies books. It gave me everything I’d hoped for with these characters and then some. If you love fairy stories these are excellent.
(125.) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong – Kelley does an excellent job with this book. It sucked me into loving these characters quickly and held me there. If you love paranormal reads Kelley’s Otherworld series is a great one to dive into.

(126.)  Spells (127.) Illusions both by Aprilynn Pike – This is another series that surprised me at how much I became invested in the characters. I had no introduction to the story, just snatched the first book (WINGS) off the library shelf one day. Gone, hook, line and sinker after that. It’s having to wait on great series like this that makes me irritated at myself for reading so fast.  

(128.) Mercy  and  (129.) The Devil Don’t Knock by Susan Sims Moody – Susan and I have swapped a few notes on twitter and I’m happy to call her writer bud. She’s a awesome home town gal, a great writer and her Jennifer Martin mysteries are excellent reads and I enjoyed them very much. FLATLANDS is first then MERCY and THE DEVIL DON’T KNOCK. If you’re looking for a new mystery set in the south to fall into, look no further than these three.

(130.) If I Stay and (131.) Where She Went both by Gayle Foreman  An really great story about loss and the process of not being able to let go then having to face the consequences. A awesome read.

(132.) Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl – I LOVE these books! There’s just no other way to describe them without letting a spoiler out. If you haven’t read this series YOU NEED TO. Beautiful Chaos was an excellent read and kept me guessing right up until the very end.  

(133.) Shift by Jeri Smith Ready – This is the second book in Jeri’s #SHADEboys books. Jeri now holds the title of being the other author besides Colleen Houck who has emotionally wrung me out with smiles and sobs while reading her books. Well played J, well played indeed. I anxiously await my copy of SHINE with tissues in hand. J

(134.) Everlasting by Alyson Noell  - This series has a total of six books with Everlasting being the final installment. A lovely series to check out if you haven’t already.  

(135.) Hush Hush by Becka Fitzpatrick – I told myself a few weeks ago I wouldn’t get hooked into any new series until I finished all the ones I’ve started. Well…this one blew all that out of the water. I await the next book anxiously from the Hernando Library. An excellent read and very colorful characters.

(136.) Raised by Wolves and (137.) Trial by Fire both by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – An excellent series. Jennifer has a  real knack for humanizing the animals all the while staying true to their nature. It’s the best balance of the two things in a werewolf book I’ve read this year. Wonderful series and I’m VERY anxious for the next book.

(137.) Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley – This book was my favorite odd find of 2011. The unusual cover art is what first struck my interest while I browsed the YA section with writer bud Michelle Ladner in Books a Million a couple of weeks ago. The story though, the STORY is wonderful. After I started reading, I couldn’t not find out what happened to these characters. I read the whole book in one afternoon because I literally couldn’t put it down.

 (138.) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – This book is one I’ve been waiting anxiously for. I’m not the first to say it but I’m still pleased anyway to congratulate Cassie on her spot on the New York Times Best Sellers List this week. Both her series have been some of my most favorite books for the past two years after stumbling across City of Bones in my local Books a Million. I highly recommend all Cassie’s books as one of my favorite series of 2011.

OVERALL FAVORITE SERIES 2011

 Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay all by Suzanne Collins

The Mortal Instruments series (City of Bones, Co Ashes, Co Glass, Co Fallen Angels) The Infernal Devices (Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince) all by Cassandra Clare

SEXIEST ADULT PARANORMAL SERIES

Dragon Bound, Storms Heart and Serpents Kiss by Thea Harrison

BOOK THAT KEPT ME GUESSING AND LAUGHING UNTIL THE LAST PAGE

Going Bovine by LIbba Bray

BOOKS THAT MADE ME CRY LIKE A BABY AND LIKE IT

Tigers Curse, Tigers Quest and Tigers Voyage by Colleen Houck

Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith Ready.

FAVORITE VAMPIRE BOOK 2011

Blood Secrets by Jeannie Holmes

FAVORITE ZOMBIE BOOK 2011

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

FAVORITE MYSTERY

Penhumbra by Carolyn Haines

Katie's MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2012

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton

Scattered, Smothered, Covered...

Welcome to the blog! For our new friends in Qatar and Ukraine, I hope you see something that makes you giggle and want to visit again. The blog now hosts 45 different countries, can you BELIEVE that! I know I can't :)

    Did you think for a second after reading the name of this post that it was about hash browns from Waffle house? LOL! Gotcha! Hash browns would be nice right about now though...

Anyway.

    I picked that title because that's about how I'm feeling today. Scatter brained, smothered in laundry and covered up with piles of receipts and filing to do.
    I've devoted every free moment since August to finishing UNWILLING and boy can you tell it by looking around this joint. Last week I got held up by a nice case of Strep throat and my original deadline of Dec. 1st came and went. Disappointing, but it couldn't be helped. I did continue to work while sick but the pace was snail-ish at best. Heavens be praised though, I finished the polish last night and it goes in the mail Tuesday morning. I'm nervous but really anxious all at the same time to hear what readers think about the story. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
    Now it's time to take a day or so to just breathe and maybe dig out from under the gigantic pile of neglected paperwork taking up space in my office chair. Best of all, I'm free to reacquaint myself with the rough draft for the second book and plan out it's next move. FUN! Since finishing last spring, it's been patiently waiting in a binder. Now we can get down to business :)

    It's nearly two in the morning as I write this so I'll leave you with one more thing. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who sent notes and messages of encouragement. They meant the world to me on those lonely nights when I thought the task might defeat me. Thank you all so much!  

    Have a great week everybody and don't forget to join me on The Book Platform with John Rakestraw on December 18th.

Till then,

Katie

Ze Deadline ... She approaches

    Hey guys! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    What's that? You want to know where the heck I've been?  I know, I know ... I've neglected the blogging over the last two weeks. Sorry :( It's been for a good cause I swear!
    I'm prepping Unwilling for beta reads starting December first so I've been wicked busy. Good news is I'm anticipating being done exactly on time. (if not before, which my OCD prefers.)  *cheers, pompoms, and Valium all around! woohoo!
    Seriously, I didn't forget about you guys I swear. Here's a quick run down of what's coming up in December:
December 1st - Those doing beta reads, check your mail boxes the first week of December. Unwilling is coming to you with brand new bells and whistles. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, yet nauseous for being please. Huh, I guess I can't be pleased. Confused yet? Good because I know I am.

December 18th - Interview with John Rakestraw on http://thebookplatform.com/show-schedule/  @ 10:30 a.m. Now for all those who will be in Sunday services, no worries. Of course it would be ideal to have everyone connect to the show at the same time but it being Sunday I understand completely. If you won't be available at 10:30 a.m. you can always listen to the interview on John's website later in the day. I'll be posting the links multiple times so it shouldn't be hard to find. My goal is to be John's most viewed new writer! I'll appreciate all the help I can get with that goal too :) 
   
    The publishing industry is changing faster and faster everyday. One of the ways it's changing is that writers are largely responsible for promotion and advertising now. That's where folks who love writers like John Rakestraw come in. His cares about writers and is doing a great job helping them get the word out about their work. So please drop by his program on the 18th and give me a listen. Going for the goal!! MOST VIEWED GUEST!!!!

   My upcoming blog will be "what's on the nightstand". Unwilling has caused my TBR pile to collect a bit of dust but I plan on rectifying that asap. I'd love to hear about what you're reading too so leave a comment. Now it's back to the rock pile so mark your calendars blog buddies! Katie wants to be the MOST VIEWED GUEST! MOST VIEWED GUEST! Shout it out now! MOST VIEWED GUEST!!!
Till then,
Katie

P.s. There's also John's interview with my writer bud's Jeannie Holmes and Carolyn Haines from back during the summer if you missed them. Check out his past guest list on the website :)

The Idea Fairy

    “How do you come up with these weird ideas?”  Since I started telling folks about my manuscripts, I get this question a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I totally don’t mind answering it. In fact, I LOVE talking about my own stories and other writers books. But at the same time, it’s a hard question to answer efficiently. The smart-aleck in me wants to say, “How do you NOT have constant ideas? My freaking brain never turns off! And who said my ideas are weird?” *paranoid much* That would be a rude answer and I’m southern so I most likely wouldn’t do that.  Plus, my answers never seem to satisfy the person whose asking the question. So we both end up becoming awkward and uncomfortable before switching the subject to something else. Anyway, I thought I’d take a moment and try to explain how ideas come to me.  

    At the moment, I’m attempting to write this dang post around my husband’s incessant babbling about how his gym session went and what’s on ID TV at the moment. Lord help…  So of course the story idea of a woman who beats her husband in the head with his gym notebook and buries his body under the trampoline is buzzing about my noodle. But I digress. Seeeeee, ideas can come from the simplest things.

    I’ve learned though that the problem with random ideas is most of the time they lack the proper elements for a complete story. More specifically, goal, motivation and conflict which help form a well rounded plot line.  Simply said, the poor haggard wife needs more meat to her story before it can be completely plotted. As writers, our elf needs ogres to fight in search of his prize, our vampire needs more than a beautiful neck to slurp on and our zombies need to eat brains because … well … that’s what zombies do. The folks running from the zombies though, they’re the ones who need to have GMC.  The plight of our homicidal wife, though interesting and poignant, just doesn’t contain the proper elements to fill a plot line. Therefore, her story tromps dejectedly back to the drawing board to await more inspiration. And there you go … a story idea in waiting.

     So the next time you wonder how your favorite authors come up with such out-of-this-world things to write about, just look around you. Ideas are everywhere! From the creepy checkout lady in the grocery story who I’m sure is a goblin in disguise to the monsters in our dreams. We draw inspiration from the world around us and from the inspiration boogie-boo’s lurking in our imaginations.  The difference between a great idea and a completed story is whether or not the writer can take it from shiny new idea to a sparkling yet solid reality.

Got to run, I just got another idea!  And in case you're wondering, that's exactly what my idea fairy looks like. :)  LOL!

Till then,

Katie

     

         

What's on the Nightstand?

    Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you’ve all recovered from the Halloween festivities. A big welcome to our newest visitors Nigeria and Malaysia, hope you enjoy the blog and please visit again soon! To date, the blog has had visits from 43 different countries. I’m very proud and humbled by this and want to say thank you all so much.

    I’m afraid my writing might come out a bit scattered today so bear with me. You’re wondering why I bet. Well, it’s because there’s entirely too much candy in my house. I’m contemplating how to throw all of it away without my boys freaking out. Every time I walk by the bag, the voice in my head yells, “Don’t you dare touch that!” and sounds like Jillian Michaels.

    Hopefully writing this blog will take my mind off the candy.  It’s been a while since I did a “What’s on the Nightstand” so it’s about time to catch up on that. Since finishing my last draft, I took a few days to smother myself in reading and rest my brain. From August to October 19th I focused so hard on finishing my manuscript I didn’t read much but boy have I made up for that now.

    I’ve discovered come wonderful new authors and stories in these books. Each one has been a needed break from my own work too. Hopefully, you’ll see something among this list that you want to check out. So get to reading folks! And think of me often, now that I’m entering the editing phase, and send me some positive editing vibes. I’m slaving away so that my own work will shine up nice and pretty and I can join these writers sooner rather than later. There are quite a few great titles to talk about so I’ll shut up and get to the candy … I mean …  books.

Till Then,
Katie

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. -  These books were wonderful reads. I love the fact that it’s told from the male point of view too. The setting being based in a southern town, I could identify with the characters and language on a personal level which made it easy to connect with the story. The next book, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, just hit shelves and is on the top of my TBR pile. If you haven’t already, you can click the link and read how I met one of the author's, Kami Garcia, when her Smart Chicks Tour came to Memphis.

SERPENT’S KISS by Thea Harrison -  This is the third book of Thea’s in the ELDER RACES series. DRAGON BOUND and STORMS HEART are the previous titles. This is a wonderful series! I couldn’t put them down once I started reading. The world Thea has created is expertly crafted and kept me hooked in start to finish.

WINGS by Aprilynne Pike -  A friend and I discussed this book before I started reading. He guessed angels by the title but after finishing, I explained it as more fairies with a smidgen of troll thrown in for good measure. J Aprilynne has created a wonderful setting and some pretty colorful characters with this story. I enjoyed the read and look forward to the next title in this series.

THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson – My mother-in-law gifted me this book for my birthday and oh boy was I anxious to read it! I read it over two days and am happy to report it’s a great read. The story is part of Maureen’s new series and I’m twitchy waiting for the next book it’s so good.

GRAVEMINDER by Melissa Marr – Another member of the Smart Chicks Tour, Melissa writes a great scary story with GRAVEMINDER. This was my chosen Halloween read and it was perfect. Plenty of spooky mixed with mystery. Also by this author:

WICKED LOVELY, INK EXCHANGE and RADIANT SHADOWS - These are all part of the Wicked Lovely series along with the final title Darkest Mercies which is resting comfortably in my TBR pile. I really love this series. Melissa has created a beautiful yet sometimes heart-poundly complex world with these books. I’ve fallen in love with the characters and Melissa’s writing. If you’re looking for a new series to fall into this is a good place to start.

FLATLANDS by Susan Sims Moody – A Jennifer Martin Mystery (set in the area that I actually live in LOL). This was a really fun read, first for the story, and second for all the bits of familiar geography that snuck up and tickled my brain as I read. I have the next Jennifer Martin books requested at the Hernando Library so I’m anxious to see what else she gets into around the Delta.

Speaking of the Delta … DELTA BLUES (an anthology featuring LOTS of my favorite folks) is next. Writer bud Carolyn Haines and friends have put together something really special with this book. Contributors include: Alice Jackson, Carolyn Haines, Charlaine Harris, James Lee Burke, John Grisham, Ace Atkins, Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, Suzanne Hudson, Lynne Barrett, Bill Fitzhugh, David Sheffield, Dean James. Nathan Singer, Suzann Ellingsworth, Michael Lister, Toni L.P. Kelner, Daniel Martine, Mary Saums and Les Standiford.  The line up speaks for itself with this book. I loved it!

More from Carolyn Haines, PENUMBRA. – I love her Bones books of course. This stand alone title was one of my favorite ones from Carolyn. It has just enough heat and seedy mystery to hook you in and refuse to let go. Visit Tyrus Books for all of Carolyn’s re-released stand alone titles.

FORGIVE MY FINS and FINS ARE FOREVER by Tera Lynn Childs – These two books have some really great stuff! I laughed out loud at many of Tera’s fishy phrases. “Son of a swordfish” that one still makes me giggle every time I think about it. The characters are fun and the story is inspired. If you’re looking for a fun series to dive into this one is perfect.