A Reading Year in Review~

Happy Winter Solstice!

I've been reading up a storm this year. I've read 24 books, if you count A Christmas Carol, which is more of a long, short story. I know there are lots of readers who go through way more than 24 books in a year, but it's more than I've read in a long time. I made a concerted effort to read diverse literature with diverse protagonists or by under represented authors. Some of the books I enjoyed and others I didn't, but I still feel like I learned something from each book, even if it was just what I don't like in a book. Many of the books featured young protagonists, but not all were classified as Young Adult. Here are some of the best:

Books that Moved Me:

All the Light We cannot See by Anthony Doerr - while technically not YA, the book features two young people, a blind French girl and a poor German boy, living through World War II. Heartbreakingly beautiful work.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - about a young Spokane tribal member growing up on a rural reservation in Washington State. Funny at times, but heartbreaking too.

Books that Made Me Think:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot taught me a lot about genetics and tissue sampling I didn't know and actually made it fascinating.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson  and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou were two memoirs I read, both about young girls growing up during pivotal points in history. They shared so much in common, I wrote a blog about it here.

Books That Made me Laugh:

None really, which makes me think maybe 2016 should be the Year of Funny Books. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens warmed my heart. If you've never actually read it, you should. I'd never read it before and it's absolutely charming. It's rather amazing that the moral of a story published in 1843, that wealth alone cannot bring you happiness in this life, is still a universal truth people need to hear today.

On this shortest day of the year, I'd like to close by wishing all readers, both young and old, will find real, true, lasting peace in their lives. Many thanks to my readers and reviewers. I wish you all the best for 2016~  Happy Reading!

Cover Reveal: I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen and Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

I HEART ROBOT Cover Art from Suzanne van Rooyen

I'm not the most artistically inclined. While I do love art and have been known to bust out the pencils and paints myself, it's not an area where I'd consider myself particularly talented. In short, I knew that cover design was something best left to the professional and I had every confidence in Month9Books.

I am so grateful to Georgia McBride for allowing me to have the amount of input I did when it came to cover creation for I Heart Robot. This is a novel that is as much about a civil rights struggle in a futuristic, post-war city as it is about romance, and we wanted a cover that reflected both elements. Finding the right balance between romance and science fiction was a tall order, but Month9Books delivered in spades by presenting me with two stylistically different covers. I loved elements of both, and by working closely with the cover artist and with Georgia we managed to combine all the best parts of both original covers into what we have today: a cover that reflects the gritty world my characters live in while emphasizing the fact that this is above all, a love story.

Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won't belittle her musical aspirations.

Q-I-99 aka 'Quinn' lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power.

Tyri and Quinn's worlds collide when they're accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn's love of music brings them closer together, making Tyri question where her loyalties lie and Quinn question his place in the world. With the city on the brink of civil war, Tyri and Quinn make a shocking discovery that turns their world inside out. Will their passion for music be enough to hold them together while everything else crumbles down around them, or will the truth of who they are tear them apart?

Title: I Heart Robot
Publication date: March 31, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Suzanne van Rooyen

Suzanne is a tattooed storyteller from South Africa. She currently lives in Finland and finds the cold, dark forests nothing if not inspiring. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When not writing, she teaches dance and music to middle schoolers and entertains her shiba inu, Lego. Suzanne is represented by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Life Lesson for writers~

I have some rules for life someone e-mailed me years ago that I kept because I liked them. Today, I'm reminded of one: Once a year, go somewhere you've never been.

I often forget how invigorating this little tid bit is. I personally never would have gone to Magna, Utah to the Great Saltair Theater to see a Panic at the Disco concert on my own. It was my daughter's new found interest in the band that took us there. (That's her in the pic in line ahead of me.)

 

She wanted to go, so as a birthday present, I agreed to take her. I was a little unsure what we were getting into, but after listening to the music, I figured it was probably harmless. In fact, it reminded me of 80's music. For someone my age, that might be considered a plus. Now, had I realized the venue had no air conditioning in July, I might have thought twice. The Great Saltair has big, open windows that let in the salt marsh breezes off the Great Salt Lake, so I guess the name makes sense. If you've ever smelled a salt marsh, you know it has a distinct smell, even putrid at times.
As luck would have it, the day was not extremely hot and the building was not the oven it could have been without all those windows, but that's not to say I didn't sweat like a pig because I did.

 



The Saltair is just a big, open room with a stage at one end. The balcony held the bar, which was nice. Kept all the drinkers upstairs and out of the kids downstairs. I mean, it is Utah. The beer is only 2% alcohol, so I guess you'd have to work pretty hard to get drunk on that. Still, it was nice not to have to worry about my kid mingling with strange drunks.

She mostly had other teeny boppers to mingle with who liked this off beat band as much as she does, which isn't really available to her in our rural Idaho town. I have to admit I feel a little proud of her for not being afraid to step out of the mainstream when there are so many obstacles to her doing so.

That said, she tried to ignore me the entire time. What's dorkier than going to a concert with your mom? That combined with the fact that most of the kids were older than her probably made her feel she had act cool. She met some nice kids though. And what interesting kids they were!

I don't know what you call this kind of clique these days because high school is such a distant memory to me. Maybe its the new normal? They weren't classic emo, although there were a lot of black tee shirts. They had hair dyed every shade of the rainbow, some with disastrous results. Piercings of all kinds, just the sort of thing you'd expect, but there was no angst. Just fun.

It was gold mine for this writer's mind. These kids are definitely going into my next book whether they like it or not. Yes kids, I'm the creepy old lady watching you. Hehehe! Just kidding. I wasn't plotting at the time, but looking back now, I can see an awful lot of great characters, which brings me back to the point of all this yammering here.

I find my best writing comes when I travel, when I step outside my comfort zone and go some place I've never been. Perhaps that's because of the nature of books themselves? The best books take you places you've never been, no? Yes, they do. That's the magic of reading and writing. Remember that writer friends~

Gotta share some little clips with you here, just to give you a flavor for the concert. You can't see much, but lights. Just enjoy the music and check out those pipes on Brendan Urie! Wowza! Great concert guys! :) Rock on!