This is the cover for my upcoming e-book (the long-awaited sci-fi vampire revenge epic), by the multi-talented David Terrenoire. I like it a lot, hope you do too.
Monday, 23 April 2012
NIGHTRIDER'S VENGEANCE Cover
This is the cover for my upcoming e-book (the long-awaited sci-fi vampire revenge epic), by the multi-talented David Terrenoire. I like it a lot, hope you do too.
Fictional Distractions of the Week #26
Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.
The books I plan to read this week:
My first task for this week will be finishing Clockwise by Elle Strauss, a really cute time travel novel. While I wouldn't put it onto my list of favorite books so far, it's definitely an enjoyable read.
Goodreads Summary:
Casey Donovan has issues: hair, height and uncontrollable trips to the 19th century! And now this --she’s accidentally taken Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Awkward.
Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just “brotherly” protectiveness?
When they return to the present, things go back to the way they were before: Casey parked on the bottom of the rung of the social ladder and Nate perched high on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her younger brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.
Which of course, she does.
Goodreads Summary:
Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.
She’s been Slated.
The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?
Goodreads Summary:
Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.
Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.
When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?
What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?
Sunday, 22 April 2012
The Chairborne Rangers of the Right Wing: Pushing Barbarism
Latest Newspaper Column:
You know, I've never been to Afghanistan. I've never been in a firefight anywhere, although I have had a gun pointed at me, which is as close as I care to come, thank you very much.
But from some of the reporting coming out of there - such as Sebastian Junger's harrowing book "War" and the accompanying documentary "Restrepo" - Afghanistan is to stress, fear and paranoia what Mount Everest is to rock formations. And it seems like we can't go a month now without hearing about some of our soldiers (almost all of whom have been through multiple deployments) who have completely lost it under the stress.
From the Marine snipers photographed urinating on enemy corpses to the soldier who walked out of camp one night and started slaughtering civilians to the recently released photos of American troops posing with body parts and corpses, it's just one image after another that makes you wonder if maybe we've finally stressed our military past its breaking point.
Now, desecrating the bodies of fallen enemies is not a new phenomenon by any means. In "The Iliad," Homer describes how Achilles, maddened with grief by the death of his best friend, Patroclus, killed Hector, the Trojan crown prince responsible, then desecrated Hector's body by dragging it behind his chariot for nine days during Patroclus' funeral feast.
In the 15th century, the Wallachian prince known as Vlad the Impaler (later the inspiration for the blood-drinking Count Dracula) became well known for desecrating the bodies of vanquished enemies, mainly by sticking the bodies (and more than a few live prisoners) onto pointed stakes and leaving them for the invading Turks to find.
In the harrowing World War II memoir "With the Old Breed," Marine John Sledge describes the mutilation of American corpses by the Japanese on the islands of Peleliu and Okinawa - and the corresponding looting (particularly of gold teeth) and taking of other "trophies" from dead Japanese by our own people. And so on.
What does seem to be new is the idea, particularly among the right, that this is either (a) no big deal or (b) actually a good thing.
Homer describes how Achilles repented from his act and returned Hector's body after being confronted by Hector's weeping father, King Priam, not to mention getting a stern warning from Zeus himself that he was "tempting the wrath of heaven" by his act of disrespect to a dead enemy.
Sledge describes how he was dissuaded from the act of stealing the gold teeth from a dead Japanese soldier by his friend, corpsman "Doc" Caswell, who admonishes him, "You don't want to do that. What would your folks think?" And Vlad ... well, as noted above, his major claim to fame is as the inspiration for one of literature's greatest monsters.
In contrast, when those pictures surfaced of Marine snipers urinating on dead Taliban fighters, conservative radio host Dana Loesch turned gushing fangirl: "I'd drop trou and do it too. That's me, though. I want a million cool points for these guys." Anti-Muslim blogger Pamela Geller tweeted, "I don't CAIR that these Marines wee wee'ed on murderous savages" (CAIR being the acronym for one of Geller's favorite bogeymen, the Council on American Islamic Relations).
Fox commentator Ralph Peters went on the air nearly apoplectic with rage about how the recent photos of soldiers with dead and dismembered enemies were being used by people - including, according to Peters, their own commanders - to "trash our troops."
I look at those images of young Americans, truly our best and brightest, behaving this way, and my heart breaks for them. I don't know if they'll ever make it back to sanity from that. I don't know if any person could.
Then I think of the passage from Sledge's book where he talks about Doc Caswell, the man who dissuaded him from desecrating enemy bodies: "He was a good friend and a fine, genuine person whose sensitivity hadn't been crushed out by the war. He was merely trying to help me retain some of mine and not become completely callous and harsh."
I compare that with the "callous and harsh" and downright barbaric statements from some of the Chairborne Rangers of 24-hour news TV and I wonder if we, as a country, will ever make it back from the abyss they're pushing us toward.
You know, I've never been to Afghanistan. I've never been in a firefight anywhere, although I have had a gun pointed at me, which is as close as I care to come, thank you very much.
But from some of the reporting coming out of there - such as Sebastian Junger's harrowing book "War" and the accompanying documentary "Restrepo" - Afghanistan is to stress, fear and paranoia what Mount Everest is to rock formations. And it seems like we can't go a month now without hearing about some of our soldiers (almost all of whom have been through multiple deployments) who have completely lost it under the stress.
From the Marine snipers photographed urinating on enemy corpses to the soldier who walked out of camp one night and started slaughtering civilians to the recently released photos of American troops posing with body parts and corpses, it's just one image after another that makes you wonder if maybe we've finally stressed our military past its breaking point.
Now, desecrating the bodies of fallen enemies is not a new phenomenon by any means. In "The Iliad," Homer describes how Achilles, maddened with grief by the death of his best friend, Patroclus, killed Hector, the Trojan crown prince responsible, then desecrated Hector's body by dragging it behind his chariot for nine days during Patroclus' funeral feast.
In the 15th century, the Wallachian prince known as Vlad the Impaler (later the inspiration for the blood-drinking Count Dracula) became well known for desecrating the bodies of vanquished enemies, mainly by sticking the bodies (and more than a few live prisoners) onto pointed stakes and leaving them for the invading Turks to find.
In the harrowing World War II memoir "With the Old Breed," Marine John Sledge describes the mutilation of American corpses by the Japanese on the islands of Peleliu and Okinawa - and the corresponding looting (particularly of gold teeth) and taking of other "trophies" from dead Japanese by our own people. And so on.
What does seem to be new is the idea, particularly among the right, that this is either (a) no big deal or (b) actually a good thing.
Homer describes how Achilles repented from his act and returned Hector's body after being confronted by Hector's weeping father, King Priam, not to mention getting a stern warning from Zeus himself that he was "tempting the wrath of heaven" by his act of disrespect to a dead enemy.
Sledge describes how he was dissuaded from the act of stealing the gold teeth from a dead Japanese soldier by his friend, corpsman "Doc" Caswell, who admonishes him, "You don't want to do that. What would your folks think?" And Vlad ... well, as noted above, his major claim to fame is as the inspiration for one of literature's greatest monsters.
In contrast, when those pictures surfaced of Marine snipers urinating on dead Taliban fighters, conservative radio host Dana Loesch turned gushing fangirl: "I'd drop trou and do it too. That's me, though. I want a million cool points for these guys." Anti-Muslim blogger Pamela Geller tweeted, "I don't CAIR that these Marines wee wee'ed on murderous savages" (CAIR being the acronym for one of Geller's favorite bogeymen, the Council on American Islamic Relations).
Fox commentator Ralph Peters went on the air nearly apoplectic with rage about how the recent photos of soldiers with dead and dismembered enemies were being used by people - including, according to Peters, their own commanders - to "trash our troops."
I look at those images of young Americans, truly our best and brightest, behaving this way, and my heart breaks for them. I don't know if they'll ever make it back to sanity from that. I don't know if any person could.
Then I think of the passage from Sledge's book where he talks about Doc Caswell, the man who dissuaded him from desecrating enemy bodies: "He was a good friend and a fine, genuine person whose sensitivity hadn't been crushed out by the war. He was merely trying to help me retain some of mine and not become completely callous and harsh."
I compare that with the "callous and harsh" and downright barbaric statements from some of the Chairborne Rangers of 24-hour news TV and I wonder if we, as a country, will ever make it back from the abyss they're pushing us toward.
IMM substitute: The TBR-pile of insanity [physical edition]
Trying to fill the void that a weekly IMM post leaves once you actually don't get any books, I decided to follow Nickey's (The Book Shop Assistant) idea and show you my physical tbr-pile. I'm stressing the word "physical" because I have just as much unread books on my Kindle as well. This post is just showing me how good it is that I didn't receive any new books this week - this pile is insane.
Any ideas how to tackle it? What books should I read first? What did you love, what did you hate?
You can click on each photo to enlarge it. Have fun laughing at my inability to stop myself from getting new books. :D
What does your TBR-pile look like?
Carina
P.s.: I used this opportunity to re-organize my shelf. YAY!
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Distractive Obsessions #05
Distractive Obsessions are books that are going to be released very soon and that I'm dying to read - books that I know I'm going to be obsessed with until I'll finally hold them in my hands and read them.
This week's pick is SWEET EVIL by Wendy Higgins.
It's going to be published on May 1st, 2012 by HarperCollins.
ISBN: 9780062085610 | pre-order: The Book Depository / Amazon / B&N
ISBN: 9780062085610 | pre-order: The Book Depository / Amazon / B&N
Goodreads Summary:What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.A cross-country trip to meet her father forces Anna to face the reality that hope and love are not options for her kind. When she confronts her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?
A few people were already lucky enough to get an ARC and have already read this. Am I jealous? Yes! Why? Because according to their reviews (e.g. Fiktshun's here), Sweet Evil does not only sound incredibly awesome - it actually lives up to these expectations. I have pre-ordered a copy a while ago and now I'm dying to get my e-mail from The Book Depository that they have it and will send it to me soon. Until then - go ahead and read my awesome interview with the lovely Wendy Higgins here.
Which book are you obsessing over at the moment?
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Review + Giveaway: Embrace by Cherie Colyer (Blog Tour Stop)
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
First published: December 20th, 2011
Source: Received for review
Format: eBook
Pages: 210
Goodreads Summary:How far would you go to save the people you love?Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve.Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him.Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own.Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.Dangerous, intoxicating, and darkly romantic, Embrace is a thriller that will leave you spellbound.
My Rating: 4.0 / 5
First thoughts:
Turning out to be an overall surprising read for me, Embrace exceeded my expectations and made me happy that I decided to read it and be a part of its blog tour. While there might be a few typical YA clichés incorporated, I fell for these characters and how they dealt with the situations they were in.
More detailed:
Change is probably the only constant in human life and that's exactly what Madison has to experience in very difficult ways. In Embrace we get to witness how she fights for herself, for her friends and everything that is important to her - and finally "embraces" the change that has turned her life upside down.
Madison is a very strong character right from the start. But at the same time it's obvious to see how she develops and adjusts to the happenings around her, without ever losing herself in the process. She makes some huge discoveries that I never expected after reading the summary, which just made this novel an even more lovely surprise than it already was.
The love story is heart-melting and wonderfully realistic at the same time. Despite an instant connection, these characters don't profess their love within a few chapters, but remain somewhat skeptical and down-to-earth when it comes to their life-changing feelings for each other - when you're reading Embrace yourself (which I'm definitely recommending) you'll understand what I mean exactly.
Once knowing what Embrace is about, not everything is a surprise anymore though and some things might even be a little bit predictable. But even though it doesn't reinvent the YA genre, its diverse and realistic characters turn Embrace into a very enjoyable read. If you're looking for a fast paranormal read, which fans of Spellbound (Cara Lynn Shultz), My Soul to Take (Rachel Vincent) and / or A Witch in Winter (Ruth Warburton) will enjoy, you will definitely make no mistake by picking up Embrace.
The love story is heart-melting and wonderfully realistic at the same time. Despite an instant connection, these characters don't profess their love within a few chapters, but remain somewhat skeptical and down-to-earth when it comes to their life-changing feelings for each other - when you're reading Embrace yourself (which I'm definitely recommending) you'll understand what I mean exactly.
Once knowing what Embrace is about, not everything is a surprise anymore though and some things might even be a little bit predictable. But even though it doesn't reinvent the YA genre, its diverse and realistic characters turn Embrace into a very enjoyable read. If you're looking for a fast paranormal read, which fans of Spellbound (Cara Lynn Shultz), My Soul to Take (Rachel Vincent) and / or A Witch in Winter (Ruth Warburton) will enjoy, you will definitely make no mistake by picking up Embrace.
Grand Prize Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Cover Comparisons #51: Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.
Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.
Wings by Aprylinne Pike
(US / UK / GER)
While I didn't really love Wings when I read it (and gifted my copy to a person who will hopefully be able to love it more than I can), I've always had a weakness for its covers. The US cover is very simple but oh-so-beautiful, but the more often I see the UK version, the more I like it, too. The German version pales a bit in comparison with the other two (literally), so at this very moment I have to say that the UK cover is my favorite. But that might change in a few weeks. Do you know that feeling?
Carina
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