[I received a copy of All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven from its Canadian publisher Random House Canada. This does not affect my opinion of the novel.]

When I heard that Jennifer Niven’s novel was being compared to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park AND has already been optioned for film starring Elle Fanning, I knew I had to give it a shot. I went into it expecting it to be a cute young adult novel about two teens finding comfort in each other; what I didn’t expect was how emotionally affecting and important its message to its readers (teens or otherwise) would be.

The publisher’s synopsis: The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

When Finch and Violet meet on the…

Hell has broken loose and demons have fled;
Beauties on earth Hades bellows must be dead.
I know a weary Crystal lying in her bed;
I must rescue her even if I’ll lose my head.

I walked through fire burning skin of times
Filled with courage, tears, love and rhymes
To find this maiden in her tortured innocence.
Cry not, follow me, please for now in reticence.

Let them take me oh demons of Hades!
My heart handsome mortals have bled for ages.
Leave me you! True love cannot cross my dailies.
She cries, from you men, what have I gotten as wages?

I held unto her as tight as I could,
Poured out my love as honestly as I should.
In my mood I was nude like a Druid,
But will she arise and cease seeing me like another dude?

Can she not see my shining armour?
I cry…

The year 2014 ended with 17 books read, which was way off my intended goal of 30 books.  Again, the problem is that I read some very long books.  In fact, the number of pages was almost as many as 2013.  However, I will challenge myself with 30 books again this year.  But this time, I’ll be reading every night before bed.

In 2014, I was a bit harder on books in terms of ratings, though it may be because I didn’t read many really great ones.  I only gave 2 books 5 stars.  I gave a 4 1/2 and some 4s, though.  I also rated a book that was only 2 stars.

I think that’s where we’ll start.  Let’s look at the worst book I read this year, down at number 17.  After that, the top 5.

Worst of the Year

#17 – The Somali Doctrine

I got this…

Book Description

In an unprecedented move, three corners of Faery have joined together to defend their land from the terrible Leanansidhe. King Arthur has risen once again to the height of power and stands strong with Queen Aiofe at his side. In this final book of the Risen King trilogy, they go head-to-head with the most powerful faery the land has ever faced.

Other Information

The Risen King is the third and final book in the series of the same name. The first book, The Iron Locket, is available for free on all e-retailers.

Buy Links

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/460449

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-risen-king-samantha-warren/1119993088?ean=2940045653428

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/risen-king-risen-king-book/id902170073?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-risen-king-the-risen-king-book-3

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYDUMOW

Author Bio

Samantha Warren is a sci-fi, horror, and fantasy author who spends her days immersed in spaceships, dragons, and vampires. She milks cows for fun and collects zombie gnomes.

Contact Information for the Author

URL: http://www.samantha-warren.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorsamanthawarren

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/_samanthawarren

The second book in The Four Streets trilogy sees Kitty pregnant as Kathleen and Maura plan a way for her to give birth without giving the role of their families away in the murder of Father James, the police doggedly investigate the priest’s death. However, a second murder alarms the residents of the four streets.

The first book in this trilogy was a very satisfying read and this second instalment does not disappoint, in fact I stayed up most of the night to read it. it times of great adversity the human spirit does triumph and this is a theme that runs through the first book and this one. I look forward to reading the final installment in Summer 2015.

Link To Book:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Goodreads

You may have come across A. L. Butcher on her blog, Library of Erana. Alexandra is one of the most prolific Indies I know, so I was looking forward to finding out more about her and her work.

The Usual

Hello Alex, good to have you here. What inspired you to write your books?

The first novel – The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles? It was born from a gaming character, something I’d been working on for a while and a lot of encouragement. I decided to flesh out the character, adapt her to my fantasy world and that was that. The later novels and the short stories have come from the lore of the world. It is a world where magic is forbidden, people are segregated and many enslaved. A tyrannical martial law is imposed, lies and half-truths abound and good and bad are not easily defined. There is a…

© 2014  Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.

© adam121-Fotolia

 

Are you a nonfiction author? Or would you like to be? Would you like to build the community of people who are interested in you and buy your books? Then this article is for you.

Do you have one book already? Great! So, what is your mission, your calling, your “job in the Universe”, of which this book is a part? What are you trying to achieve? Who are you trying to affect? Take a couple of minutes to write out your cause, your motivation for writing this book and others. This is your mission statement.

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing

but in the midst of living.”

~Anais Nin

Can you see a multiyear plan that includes other books you may write? What would those books cover? How can you tie together the…

In the spirit of the season, I’ll share a story of generosity. The true story of my mother, who’s an incredibly giving and generous person. Especially with other people’s stuff.

You see, my mom has been working with various charities through the years. She’s always found painting, sewing and preparing things for sale in countless bazaars, when she’s not teaching orphans. Sadly, she tends to get carried away.

Growing up, I never knew whether I’d find my clothes in my closet, or if she would have given them away to a passerby, or to be sold off at a bazaar. Nor was I alone in my predicament; my father suffered the same fate. To illustrate my point, consider the case of the disappearing pair of jeans.

My dad had this pair of jeans that he loved. He’s a rotund fellow (albeit less so, nowadays) and that one pair of trousers fit…