BOOKS I've been reading - is your book on my list?

Hello everyone!

Thanks to you all for reading my Macbeth-ed up flash fiction for the WEP challenge. I had a lot of fun writing it and apparently those who read it thought the mean girls were a hoot.

I've been reading up a storm as usual. So many good books, both e-book and print. I can't talk about all the ones I loved in one blog post, so I'll talk about just a few today. I'm not even going to mention the James Patterson's, the Jeffrey Deaver's, and the very excellent Richard North Patterson's THE RACE, which is recommended reading for anyone interested in behind-the-scenes US elections. Woah! Boy, does it mess with your mind.  Sorry...I did mention them...

Talk about un-put-downable! The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I devoured it in a few gulps! Imagine you hide a life-shattering secret your whole life. By witholding it you sour your marriage, your relationship with everyone around you--your life is lived by hiding behind the lens of your camera.

But secrets will out in an altogether heart-wrenching way.

Mesmerizing, beautifully written, a tale of regret and redemption.

This lady can write! I've known Cathy since my days writing for #FridayFlash. Some of her stories never leave you, so haunting are they. So when I bought her debut novel, I wasn't disappointed. She's a crack up and her book is mighty funny...but also surprisingly poignant.

In the interest of time I'll paraphrase the Amazon blurb: You think you've got the world by the woo-hoo, don't you? Happily married? Oh yeah. Good kids? Uh huh. That's what Weezie Polk thought until one day the man who would never cheat on her (never, never, oh no, not him) was caught massaging bare boobies ... and they weren't hers!  I've just bought 'Friday Girls', her book of short stories.

I'm planning to go to Cuba next year if the world hasn't already gone to hell in a hand basket -- Los Angeles, Mexico City, Cuba, then a bit more of the Caribbean, before checking out Florida or New Orleans before heading back to Oz. Cuba is the main focus, so to get the research started (well, I did read an excellent book, last year-- The Island that Dared, by Derula Murphy), I picked up blogger Jo Carroll's book. She visited Cuba early this year and already has her book out. In Jo's book I found very un-Lonely Planet up to date info. peppered with personal stories from Cubaneros she met. I'd recommend this to anyone heading to Cuba.

I emailed Jo and asked her a question to accompany my shout out--

Denise: Jo, what is the difference between a tourist and a traveller?

Jo:  ...a tourist is generally on holiday. The focus is on the destination - he/she may be deeply interested in where they are, eat local food, listen to guides etc - but this journey is a pause in their normal way of being.

A traveller is more likely see the journey as part of who they are. They could no more stop travelling than chew an arm off. A tourist would miss holidays. But a traveller cannot imagine not dreaming of the next trip.

Check out Jo's blog  if you like travel books and tales.

I've been reading some sci-fi/romance lately, and this is one of the best. Written in collaboration--bloggers Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. This YA book has won some prestigious awards, including:

• The Aurealis Award - Australia's most prestigious science fiction and fantasy award for Best Young Adult Novel.
• And it has been optioned for television by Haven star Eric Balfour and Off the Grid Entertainment. Can't wait for this.

I'm currently reading it with a Year 9 student and we both love it. 
Here's a taster from the website: 

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver finda strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

And it's a wonderful story. 

So that's just a few of the amazing books I've read lately. Of course my Kindle is groaning with many others. Until next time...

• What have you been reading lately? 

And congratulations to Deniz and Ryan Bevan on the birth of their daughter! 

The Trouble With Blogging. Has your blog moved with the times?

The Trouble with Blogging (Another post):

I've been reading several provocative posts about  blogging lately. How about you? Those who've been around the blogs for, like, forever, know how blogging has changed--so much more competition from other social media and it can interfere with our writing life.

Blogging is arguably the most time consuming of the social media, which is possibly why bloggers are becoming more discerning about who they visit, what they post...some bloggers I know are no longer blogging at all, or very infrequently, citing time constraints, boredom with the whole blogging scenario of cover promos, book promos, helicopter raffles etc etc., which is much the same on all social media.

When I started blogging in 2007, it was exciting. I had no idea who I was in the blogging world or what I wanted out of blogging, or what I could give back. I'm none the wiser, thus my ever-changing blog. My blog posts are becoming more sporadic--IWSG and WEP take care of 2 per month, then I just have to find the other two posts. Remember the days when we all blogged at least three times a week?

A few days ago, I read a post by Karen Jones Gowen. She posted her feelings about the current state of blogging, one of the many I have read recently, but Karen's resonated with me.  Go to her post to check out the full article for her exact words. My responses to Karen's points are italicized. I hope you will add your responses in the comments.

Karen highlighted:

• Bloggers not reciprocating visits. 
• It is social media, so we should interact.
• She's become more selective over time on who she visits. 
• We have to be because of time. Also, if I comment time and again on a blog and they never reciprocate, I might keep visiting, but I rarely comment.
• She sees too many articles on areas she's not interested in, for example, self publishing, thus she often wipes those blogs off her visiting list. 
• This would apply to any blog whose posts hammer away at something we ourselves find boring or uninspiring. I love posts on self-publishing as I may do this one day. But we should blog about what we want to--it is our blog after all, and our own fault if no one visits us.
• She's fascinated by life, and loves to know about meals, workplaces, shopping habits, clothes, entertainment.
• I found this fascinating.  So, Karen, hold me back! I like gourmet meals, my favourite being baked beans on toast, yum -- my workplace is the Brisbane State Library where I tutor eager International students in English as Aussies are bored with all that education -- I am bored with shopping, but I regularly hit the Op Shops in my suburb and delight in finding a designer jacket for $10 -- I love dressing up as long as it is in torn jeans, a shirt and a vest -- my entertainment is watching all the money I save by not going to live shows grow so I can travel and really be entertained...(I hope you don't take offense Karen. Cultural differences. Aussies are rarely serious, (except when someone blows a plane out of the sky, for example), but there is truth in all my responses).
• Karen doesn't like book reviews on blogs, which she can get on Goodreads or Amazon etc (unless it's a blog set up solely for book reviews). 
• Who else notices that their blog comments drop when they review/promote books? But I maintain that if I read 100+ books a year, I must tell you about a few??? Sure, I can do that on Goodreads and Amazon, can't I? But I do like to help selected bloggers promote their books -- it's just one of the ways to spread the word. And it's HARD!
• She's right into blogs that blog about things relative to the stories they write, which keep to their author persona--citing our favourite chick lit author Talli Roland, whose blog posts are life lite (my expression) as are her books. Talli blogged about her latest thoughts on blogging here.
• Basically if you write murder mystery, Karen doesn't relate to blog posts on flowers...well, bloggers, how about poisoned poppies in Amsterdam? Or black roses?
• If you write romantic fiction, for example, Karen suggests your blog posts should be like a romance novel come to life. 
• Perhaps I sounded a little light hearted above (gosh, my critiquers say I keep using 'little' more than a little, ugh, but I really relate to this point). Like many bloggers, I'm not quite sure what to blog about when it's not IWSG or when I'm not sharing my flash fiction once a month (which fits my writer persona in my romantic fiction genre and probably bores you silly if you're not into romance). But as I said, once upon a time I blogged about Travel and Paris on separate blogs, but now I've decided to incorporate that type of post here on my writing blog, as I set my stories in places I've visited. At least now my blog header typifies travel and romance. I don't just travel for entertainment, I travel with the intention of writing about it for travel magazines and for enhancing my fiction and my long-term goal of writing a travel narrative. The first novel I will publish...soon...is set in Fiji, so travel posts are quite apt.
• My next visit is most probably going to be to Cuba, which I have romanticised in my mind over the years, and Mexico, likewise. Perhaps I will share with you some stories from those countries as I research them before I hit their shores. Dare I mention that I'm currently reading a great little book on travel in Cuba, Vultures Overhead by blogger Jo Carroll? I'm learning so much as Jo has just returned from Cuba, travelling alone, brave lady, and has already written about it.

So thank you Karen. You've helped me to consolidate my thoughts a little about how to make my blog better--more interesting? less boring? thought provoking? a romance novel come to life...??? Hmmm.

• I hope that you will leave a comment about this topic so we can learn more about the blogging world.
• Speaking of posting, please join me for the Write...Edit...Publish challenge next week, starting on Wednesday 23rd July. The prompt--A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Go to WEP for details and to sign up, or you can sign up here in my sidebar. Your post can fit your blog persona quite easily.

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