Banned Book Week

As you know from reading blogs around the blogosphere the week of September 24th to October 1st is Banned Book Week in the US. If you want to know more please check out ALA to find out more about it.

The  Canadian Banned Book Week will be February 26th to March 3rd 2012. I plan on taking part in this one too.

As you can see it doesn't matter where you live because no matter how much we have freedom of speech there seems to be people out there who think that its okay to have books banned.

To clear up challenged and banned books:

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.  Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.

Here is the top 10 challenged books for 2010

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
   Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
   Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
   Reasons:  homosexuality and sexually explicit
10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
    Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

I believe in the freedom to read and not have someone tell me what I can and can't read. So during this very important week I am going to attempt to read a challenged/banned book.

I am still pondering which one I want to read. Do I want to go with a 2010 one or something earlier?

I have to admit when I was looking at all the challenged books I realized that I have quite a few of those books and I plan to make it a point to read more of them.

So I think this week one I am going to attempt to read is:

TTYL (along with the other books in the series, TTFN, L8R, etc.) by Lauren Myracle was the 3rd most challenged book of 2008 for the following reasons:

offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

I have had this in my TBR pile for quite some time so I think this is the perfect book to read. I will be reading this and posting my review and thoughts on this book sometime this week. Perhaps if time permits I will attempt to read another book.

Happy reading everyone
Don't forget to make it a point to read a banned or challenged book this week.

The 2nd Annual Celebration of Authors & Readers

As you may recall I was recently asked to take part in this great event. This is my first year doing this and I am super excited to have been asked. Thanks so much for asking me.

So no great event can go on without a little help so I was kindly asked if i could share this with you.

We welcome you to donate print books (ARC's, paperbacks, hard covers, audio
books, etc.), book swag (book marks, book flyers/sell sheets, book plates,
trading cards, etc.) to the Nurture Your BOOKS, 2nd Annual Celebration of
Authors & Reads Worldwide. We're happy to accept book and book swag
donations until October 15th, 2011 --- any donations that are received after
that time will be kept for the 3rd Annual Celebration, to be held next year.
Please mail all donations to the address below:
Nurture Your BOOKS, 2nd Annual
Attn: Bobbie Crawford-McCoy
1-780-594-5599
P.O. Box 5866 Stn. Forces
Cold Lake, Alberta
T9M 2C4
CANADA


To donate eBooks, please fill-in and
submit this form to us .


About the Nurture Your BOOKS, 2nd Annual Celebration of Authors & Reads
Worldwide:
We nurture the symbiotic author/reader relationship and to encourage the
bond with fun, related events, contests and giveaways. We also believe very
strongly in educating minds and promoting literacy on a global scale.
You can join the Celebration and help us promote Global Literacy from
November 1st - December 31st, 2011! There will be numerous Contests, Book
Giveaways & Prizes for Readers, Contests & Prizes for Authors - free
services &  gift certificates and more! There will be hundreds of eBooks &
nearly 100 print books to be won along with the Get It Write Online Forum
Discussions, Twitter contests & prizes, Sponsored Virtual Author Visits and
much, much more!


When: November 1st - December 31st, 2011 - 24/7

Where:
Nuture Your Books Ning -Online/Worldwide

Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/NYBCelebration

Contact Us: info@nurtureyourbooks.com



So mark your calendar and get ready for this extraordinary celebration! :-)

This sounds like its going to be a fun event I hope you will take part. If you are able to donate prizes please contact Bobbi.

(Meme) Books Bought & The Mailbox Post

Wow I can't believe its already that time of the week again where I get to show you what books have made their way into my house this week. What a week its been with books.

But before I get into that I should thank the wonderful hosts of this meme, In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren and Mailbox Monday (which is a weekly meme that has been making monthly pit stops at various blogs is now visiting Leah from Amused by Books.

In case you are new and wondering what all this means well In My Mailbox and Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday and In My Mailbox can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

As I was editing this vlog I quickly realized that I shouldn't be making vlogs at night because I made so many mistakes with either author names, books in a series etc so I must apologize in advance.

I hope you enjoy my 9th In My Mailbox vlog.


Thanks to Eve Maria Mont for sending me a signed bookmark for her debut novel A Breath Of Eyre that is coming out in March 2012. This is on my wish list.

Borrowed from my son's School library:
-Chester by Melanie Watt (Chester)
-Chester's Masterpiece by Melanie Watt (Chester)
-Snoopy un amour de chien
-Garfield's Ghost Stories
-An Accidental Adventure We are Not Eaten by Yaks by C.Alexander London (book 1)

Books Bought:
-So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev (books 3)
-Goliath by Scott Westerfield (book 3)
-Dreamland by Alyson Noel (book 3)
-A Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
-Sins of the Angels by Linda Poitevin
-Enthralled by various authors
-Fateful by Claudia Gray (book 1)

Linda Poitevin will be signing her book November 5th from 3-5pm at Chapters on St Catherine.

Books for Review:
-Crossed by Ally Condie (book 2) RD November 2011
-Space between by Brenna Yovanoff RD November 2011
-The Accidental Adventure: we dine with cannibals by C. Alexander London RD November 2011
-Embrace by Jessica Shirvington RD March 2012
-The Whats for dinner solution by Kathy Lipp
-So Sweet cookies, cupcakes, whoopie pies and more
-The Brisket Book A love story with recipes by Stephanie Pierson
-Wishes and Stitches by Rachael herron book 3
-falling together by Marisa de los Santos

So this is what I got in my mailbox this past week. I am super excited to get into these great books. What did you get?

An awesome opportunity for Canadians

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They’ve overcome the secrets riddled in Patch’s dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty, and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in each other, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they’ve worked for—and their love—forever.

I was recently contacted by the awesome Simon & Schuster Canada to share this with you my Canadian readers. I am so honored to have been asked.


This is the third book in the series. The previous books are Hush Hush and Crescendo.

Are you anxiously awaiting the third book? I know I am dying to read it. I have loved all the covers to date but I have to say my favorite so far has been Hush Hush. What about you?

To enter this awesome give away please click here. Oh how I wish I lived in Toronto because I would love to go and see Becca in person but perhaps one day she will come to Montreal!

One of the things I love about S&S Canada is that not only are they having this awesome give away but there is so many other great things they have come up with to go along with the books. If you are a fan of Patch you can actually add your image to a picture on facebook by following this link and if you click here you can have a Patch and you story.

I was going to add the countdown widget but once I did I realized that you can hear the ocean, so I removed it but if you would like to add it to your blog, facebook etc you can click here .

Good luck everyone.

(Guest Post) MacKenzie Cadenhead

Today I am truly honored to have MacKenzie Cadenhead stop by to do a guest post for me.

I was give then chance to have MacKenzie do a guest post for me and I have to admit the first thing that popped into my head was "Why did you write Sally's Bones and why should you read it?" because I absolutely loved it and this is what MacKenzie had to say:

Why I wrote Sally’s Bones and why you should read it!

Sally’s Bones started with an image. I can’t remember if it was from a dream or daydream, but I suddenly had this picture of a gawky, dark-haired girl with big eyes and dangly limbs smiling down at a super spirited skeleton dog. She was giggling and the dog was grinning. The image stayed in my head for months. I knew there was a story in that picture but I was editing comic books at the time and was far too busy to write anything myself. (And if you’re ever looking for the best career out there, editing comic books is it! Best job I ever had – next to this one.)
     
Cut to five years later. I had left comics to pursue writing picture books and I immediately returned to that giggling girl and her perished pup. I tried for weeks to write a picture book manuscript about their adventures but the story kept getting longer and longer with plot twists and middle school melodrama to spare. Pretty soon I realized this kid and her dog weren’t interested in a picture book for younger readers – they wanted a chapter book for middle graders all to themselves!
     
Though the mystery in Sally’s Bones is key (and was sooooo much fun to write), what really interested me were those larger themes of adolescence – those often difficult rites of passage that I can’t ever forget (try as I might) and that the image of Sally called to mind so clearly. Wanting to fit in (and not always succeeding at it); dealing with bullies (especially the ones everyone else liked); lunchroom tragedies and after-school triumphs; the horror of dodge ball and the ability to dig down deep and find the strength to show my face at school the day after the girl I thought was my best friend told me she didn’t want to hang out anymore. Too specific? Or do you know exactly what I’m talking about?
    
 To me, Sally’s Bones is about all those things but above all it’s about the hope that if you stick it out long enough you’ll find the thing that makes all the tough times worthwhile; the thing – be it a person, a puppy, profession, principle, or purpose –  that you’ll forever fight for.
     
I can’t say you should read Sally’s Bones – it’s not going to cure cancer or help you ace your math test – but I hope that if you do read it it’ll give you a laugh when you want one, a cry when you really need to get one out, and a friendly reminder that if you’re true to yourself and fight for what you believe in things can turn out more than a little bit right.

Thanks so much MacKenzie for stopping by to write this for me.

Sally's Bones is now available to buy in your local bookstore.

(Review) Sally's Bones

Title: Sally's Bones
Author: MacKenzie Cadenhead
Illustrator: T.S Spookytooth
Pub Date: September 2011
Pages: 176
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Source: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for my honest review.

About the Book:

2 Months, 28 Days, 9 Hours, and 12 minutes earlier...

Sally Simplesmith's life changed forever. She came face-to-face with death - a delightful, dearly departed little dog she lovingly calls Bones. But when the cadaverous canine is accused of a crime he didn't commit, Sally decides to solve the case herself!

Does Sally have what it takes to fetch a thief?

Sally's Bones is the impossibly possible tale of a girl, a crime, and a lovably lifeless, decidedly dead dog.

Oh my gosh what I can say about this book?

All I can really say is that I absolutely loved it and have since read it twice since I wrote my review of Sally's Bones. It was fun, light, mysterious, and it kept me glued to the pages. I actually read this in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down and when I did it was quickly picked up again. Michael is actually in the process of reading this now and he wasn't sure at first because he thought it was scary and the cover is misleading.

I loved Sally and Bones. Although Bones is just a skelton of the dog you can't help but wonder what kind of dog he would have been in real life. I love how the friendship grew between Sally and Bones and she loved Bones for who he was and not what he looked like. I think I fell in love with Bones just as much as Sally did.

Sally is still grieving the loss of her mother and visits her gravesite regularly. Sally is feeling alone in the world and who can blame her when it seems like her father is there but really isn't there and she has no friends. On this one particular day she goes to visit her mother she begs for her own death. I have to admit that this part made me really sad that a sweet girl like Sally was so lonely and unwanted that she would wish for his. I want to reach into the book to hug her but someone greater was listening to Sally because they sent Bones to her. Bones became the friend that she so dearly wished and dreamed for.

You can read my review of Sally's Bones here.

MacKenzie did a fantastic job in writing this book and for her debut novel she did an awesome job and I am looking forward to reading more of MacKenzie's work.

Sally's Bones is now available to buy.

The Mailbox Post

Wow its hard to believe its that time of the week again when you get to take a peak into my mailbox to see what I got this past week. I was hoping to get this post up sooner but its been a busy weekend and only now finding the time to sit down and post it.

As you know In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren and Mailbox Monday (which is a weekly meme that has been making monthly pit stops at various blogs is now visiting Leah from Amused by Books.

In case you are new and wondering what all this means well In My Mailbox and Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks and audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday and In My Mailbox can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

So lets get on with what I got this past week. This is the second part of my vlog and this will contain books I received for review and my contest wins. Please excuse the errors once again.


For Review:
-The Popularity Rules by Abby McDonald (RD October 2011)
-Cutie Pies by Dani Cone (RD October 2011)
-I Love Meatballs! by Rick Rodgers (RD October 2011)
-Devoted (book 2) by Hilary Duff (RD October 2011)
-Hades by Alexandra Adornetto (RD August 2011)

Prize Wins:
-From Ashley at Book Labyrinth I got:

• two bookmarks of Jeri Smith Ready's books Shift and Shade
• a hunger games bookmark
• a really nice note
• Ashley's business card
• a hunger games tote bag

-From Scott Tracey:

• his debut novel Witch Eyes signed
• his bookmarks for the book signed
• signed bookmarks from Leah Clifford for her book The Mortal Touch
• Brusier bookmark
• The Goddess Test bookmark
• Courtney Allison molten bookmark

-Shelf Awareness:

• Curious George big story book
• temp tattoos
• stickers
• activity booklet
• audio cds of Curious George vol 1 to 7

So this is what I got in my mailbox, what about you guys?

(Meme) On My Wishlist

 Its been awhile since I have done an On My Wishlist post. If you are a new reader and are wondering about the meme On My Wishlist you can head over to Book Chick City to find out more about it. You can also see what Book Chick City and others have on their wishlists this week.

For me this week I have Sins of The Angel by Linda Poitevin on my wishlist.

Sins of The Angels is her debut book and its the first in the  The Grigori Legacy. Its set to release September 27/11.

About the book:
When homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis is assigned a new partner in Aramael, a Guardian Angel who doubles as a hit man, they have only one thing in common: a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse. Now they have no choice but to work together-relentlessly, fearlessly, intimately. Because only they can stop the rogue angel from ushering in the end of days.

About the author:

Linda Poitevin is the author of a new urban fantasy series, The Grigori Legacy, from Ace Books. Book one, SINS OF THE ANGELS, will be out September 27/11. Book two, SINS OF THE SON, follows in May 2012. In her other life, Linda is wife, mother, friend, gardener, coffee snob, freelance writer, and zookeeper of too many pets.

Linda currently lives near Ottawa with her husband, three daughters, one very large husky/shepherd/Great Dane-cross dog, two cats, three rabbits, and a bearded dragon lizard. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found in her garden or walking her dog along the river or through the woods.
If you happen to be in the Montreal area:

Saturday, November 5, 2011
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Chapters
1171 rue Ste. Catherine Ouest
Montreal, Quebec

I will be there along with some other local book bloggers. Hope to see you there.

(Author Event) P.J Bracegirdle

Tonight I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch party of a local (new to me author and series of books) P.J Bracegirdle. Thanks Simon & Schuster for the invite.

You truly never realize how huge a city like Montreal is until you get invited out. I have been to the NDG area several times and not once I have noticed this cafe where the event was taking place.

This was the cutest cafe with some amazing food and it was reasonably priced. The food was delicious and the staff was fantastic.

I went with Lucy from Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf. We agreed to go together and decided at the last minute that we should meet earlier and go for dinner so that we could talk. Even though we live in the same city I haven't seen Lucy since the booksale and we talk almost daily via emails so it was nice to meet up with her and talk.

The event was fantastic and alot of fun. We were one of the first few people to introduce ourselves to him and get our books signed.

These are the newest covers of the books.

I saw this and it was in paperback so I had to nab this at the signing to get signed. Isn't it pretty?

This is the book marks that were being handed out.

It was so nice as the evening progressed more and more people showed up for the event. It was a full house. He also decided to do a reading so here is a clip of that:


P.J is reading from Chapter 3 in his newest book Sinister Scenes. Sorry my camera stopped abruptly so I couldnt' get any more. I can't wait to read the second and third book now. I will probably start them very soon.

After he graciously signed our books (all seven of them) he posed for pictures. The lady behind us was so nice to do that for us not once by twice.

Thanks so very much P.J you are truly an awesome author who has written a great series of books. You were kind and gracious with us and your time. If you ever want to stop by and do a Q&A or guest post I am cool with that. Hope to see you at your next book launch.

(Review) The Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds

Title: The Joy Of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds (bk 1)
Author: P.J. Bracegirdle
Pages: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: August 2009
Source: Publisher

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Joy Wells is a proud resident of Spooking, the terrible town at the top of the hideous hill. At the bottom of the hill is Darlington, a plastic suburban "paradise" where Joy and her brother go to school. When the mayor of Darlington announces that a water park is going to be constructed over the Spooking bog, Joy is horrified. She decides that she has to save the mysterious bog and the endangered species in it-but someone is determined to stop her! The Addams Family meets Carl Hiaasen in this quirky mystery with an environmental twist.

I have to start off by thanking the awesome Michelle at Simon & Schuster Canada for contacting me about this book. When I read the synpopsis of the book I knew this would be something that I would really enjoy and be able to share with Michael.

I have to admit that I think the cover goes really well with the book but when I was looking up the books online I spotted the original covers and loved them. I just love the cover art of those books so much so that I have already started to look for them in. Although I have had a few people suggest to me that I should just print them and this way you have to cover and not another book. (I'm not sure that I am able to share those covers but if you go to a book site and search for the book you will see them.)

Fiendish Deeds was a pretty quick and fun read. The perfect read for a middle grader + and I am so happy that I got to discover this author and his books because up until now I have never heard of either or.

This is the first book in the trilogy.

Joy and her family (mother, father and brother, Bryon) live in a little town called Spooking and within eye sight is the picturesque town of Darlington. Think of the movie Stepwives here and you can see what the town of Darlington is like. I instantly thought of that as I was reading the book.

Joy and her brother are bused to school in Darlington and the clearly don't fit in with the local residents especially Joy. She looks nothing like the girls there (she has blonde hair and it seems like all the girls there have dark hair) and she clearly doesn't share the same interest or hobbies as these girls.

Joy is a huge fan of the author Ethan A. Peugeot. So much so that she is probably like most of us staying up all night to read the book to just find out what happens. Joy some how begins to believe that Ethan has actually lived or been to Spooking because of his writing about the bog and a monster that lives there. Joy soon discovers that this bog is soon to be no more because the town of Darlington plan to make it into a water park. Joy knows that her and her brother have to save it even if it means it them against the town.

Will they be able to save the bog? You can only image what they will over come.

I loved Joy and I think Joy beats to the sound of her own drum. She doesn't let what others say affect her. She wears what she wants and does what she wants.

The Joy of Spooking:

1. Fiendish Deeds
2. Unearthly Asylum
3. Sinister Scenes

You can also check out the The Joy Of Spooking website by clicking on the link.

Also if you happen to be in the Montreal area, Simon & Schuster Canada and P.J Bracegirdle have teamed up to do a booksigning for his latest and last book in the series, Sinister Scenes.

I have to send out a huge thank you again to Simon & Schuster for the invite for this and for sending his book as well as introducing me to a new and local author.

I will be there for the book signing as well as some other local bloggers. Come back on Sunday when I share with you some pictures and thoughts about the evening. It sounds like its going to be a fun evening.

(Meme) Books Bought(I went a little crazy with book buying!)

Its that time of the week again when I get to share what book goodies I got in my mailbox for the past week.

As the week was progressing I quickly realized that I would have to break down my IMM vlog into two vlogs because for some reason whenever I use my digital camera to record my vlogs I can't seem to record past 7 minutes. I am still new to the whole vlogging and I have to admit I was a huge chicken and didn't want to attempt to add to another video to the vlog. Mainly because when I am editing my vlog I encounter numerous problems or errors or basically mess up to the point I feel like I am starting all over again.

Before you view this video I should warn you in advance of the rumbling noice you will hear. I don't think it over powers me speaking but if it does I apologize. The city is still working on the street behind my house and as I was prepairing to record there was silence and of course Murphy's Law guess what happens? Yes you got it, noice.

I hope you enjoy the vlog. I apologize in advance if I just made your wishlist and TBR piles grow.

I recently discovered that BookCloseOut.com was having a huge $1.49 children books sale and they had a huge selection of children, middle grade and young adult books to pick and choose from. (BTW the sale is still going on.)

I admit I went a little over board on my book buying but at these prices you really can't complain.

(The following books were either $2.49 or $3.99)
-Never Been Kissed by Melody Carlson
-Envy by Anna Godbersen
-Splendor by Anna Godbersen
-Angel by L.A Weatherly

(The following books were all $1.49)
-What I wore to save the world by MaryRose Wood
-The Glamorous (Double) life of Isabel Bookbinder
-Memories of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
-First Kiss (then tell)
-Love from Hell
-Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Werlin
-Love you Hate you Miss you by Elizabeth Scott
-Undone by Brooke Taylor
-Rules of Survivial by Nancy Werlin
-Give up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
-The Expressologist Kristina Springer
-House of Dance by Beth Kephart
-Nothing but Ghost by Beth Kephart

(bought at Chapters)
-Dear Bully
-The hidden by jessica verday
-Wildefire by Karsten Knight

(For Michael)
-Pokemon Black and White Vol 3
-Mr Popper's Penguins

My question for you guys is have you read any of these books?

(Guest Post) Zachery Richardson

Today I am honored to have Zachery Richardson stop by to do a guest post for me.

Zachery is promoting his book:

About the book:
When you sacrifice the lives of your wife and children to prevent the world's most powerful clan of assassins from unleashing the Apocalypse, what does that make you? And what do you do when you learn that it was all in vain? For Jin Sakai, that sacrifice turned him into a mere shell of a man, filled only with guilt and hatred. When he learns that it was a sacrifice made in vain, he instantly sets out on a violent one-man war to tear the assassins' clan down around their ears. After all, who better to destroy them than the man who brought them together?

Things soon turn down a darker path as Jin uncovers the disturbing truth behind his family's sacrifice; a truth he was never meant to learn. Undone by the revelation, Jin is consumed by doubt and confusion and very nearly loses his life. It is only later when he meets Leah Lawson, a woman with a past almost as dark as his own, that his doubt and confusion vanish and he begins to see a path that will not only lead him to his revenge, but to his redemption.

Unfortunately, there is far more going on behind the scenes than Jin realizes. Forces are at play that have been manipulating the course of his life ever since he was born. By setting out on his quest for vengeance, Jin unknowingly cements his destiny as one of the key warriors in the apocalyptic war that’s brewing just beneath the surface.

So without further hestiation please welcome Zachery to the blog.

What is a typical writing day for you? Tell us about a day in the life of you the writer, what’s your writing day like. Do you balance family and writing, or writing and a job outside the house, or writing, a job and family? What was it like for you to write this book along with your busy life?

It’s funny, because in thinking about how to describe my life, I’m realizing just how insular it is. I’m 22 years old, so I don’t have a family of my own to balance my writing with, but I recently applied for a job at my local Fry’s Electronics, so I may have to find a way to balance my writing with that.

A typical writing day for me usually consists of an early morning walk, an average of 5 hours of writing and 2 hours of video editing, playing some online games with friends, dinner and then sleep. I don’t usually get out a whole lot, so I like starting my day with a walk. The fresh air helps me keep my spirits up, particularly on days when I’m fighting with an especially difficult part of my books. There’s a nature trail close by that I like to walk through. Some of my stories get quite crazy, so I usually go there and let the peace of the place help me focus my thoughts and plan the chapter I’ll be working on that day.

On another note, I’m actually amused that this is the topic for my guest post because I’ve actually started doing a series of video blogs on YouTube called The Vlogging Author. I recently got a new high definition camera that fits in my pocket, so it’s fun to take with me and just film the different parts of my day. It’s one thing for an author to talk about their day with their fans. I thought it would be cool for my fans to actually be able to see my day. This is where the two hours of video editing comes from.My YouTube channel and vlogs can be viewed here and here, respectively.

When I’m done with my writing and vlogging, I usually hop on Xbox LIVE, Microsoft’s online gaming service, and play a few games with friends to unwind and have fun. The game we usually play is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and it is amazing stress relief when my writer’s block decides to act up.

All in all, my life is pretty low-key, and even when/if I achieve the success I’m envisioning, I plan on keeping it that way. J

Book Information:
Title of Book: Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Revenge, Everything is Nothing. 
ISBN: 978-0-578-02176-8
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 20th, 2009
# of Pages: 291

Link to book on Amazon (or where it is sold): http://tinyurl.com/cota-rein

About Zachery Richardson
Zachery Richardson, casually Zach, was born in Seattle WA on August 8th, 1989, and was raised in Lake Oswego, OR. It is perhaps the greatest irony of all that his chosen career is that of an author when as a child, his second least favorite subject in school was writing. Math was number one, and their relationship remains strained to this day.

However, the switch was flipped in middle school when his teacher assigned a creative writing project. Having finally been given a productive outlet for his wildly active imagination, Zach dove headfirst into the world of author-dom and never looked back. By his freshman year of high school, he'd completed his first "book"; a 300 page fanfiction set in the Mobile Suit Gundam universe. Afterwards, he turned his attention to a series of wholly original works that would become Chronicles of the Apocalypse in the subsequent year.

While Chronicles of the Apocalypse (or COTA as he likes to call it) remains his central focus, Zach has also begun work on several other projects in the Young Adult and High Fantasy genres.

He currently lives in Wilsonville, OR.

You can visit Zach's website at www.theauthorphoenix.com

You can also visit Pump Up Your Book to see where Zachery has visited a guest post or to read reviews of the book.

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to visit us Zachery and Pump Up Your Book for the chance to do this.

An awesome morning spent with book lovers

This morning I was truly honored to be able to sit in on the Random House of Canada and McClelland & Stewart fall preview that is taking place at various Chapters across Canada.

I have to admit up until this morning I wasn't sure that I would be able to attend because of the conflicting answers I was getting along with Lucy @ Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf about attending the event because some were saying its for employees only and others were saying its open to the public.

So I really have to send out a huge thank you to the person @RandomHouseCA for helping me out on twitter with finding out the info about the event this morning.

So without a moment to spare I ended up cabbing it to the Chapters because I knew with construction and the busing I wouldn't have made it to the event in time. Once there I saw some of my favorite booksellers (waves to them if they are reading this) and then introduced myself to Jennifer and Mike. I wasn't there long before they started show casing the fall books.

I have to say Jennifer showed so much enthusiasm for alot of the books that I have now added many more to my ever growing wish list based on her recommendations.

I should just add that Random House Canada is visiting various Chapters/Indigo bookstores and talking about a ton of great books that are already out or will be coming out this fall.

So without further adieu let me showcase some of these great books that have peaked my interest: (Sorry I had attempted to post descriptions along with the books but for some reason blogger is acting up on me and not letting me format it properly.)


-The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock (Release Date July 2011)
-Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong (Release Date August  2011)
-The Accident by Linwood Barclay (Release Date August 2011)

-The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (RD August 2011) Isn't the cover pretty?
-Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters (RD September 2011) I have to admit at first this book didn't peak my interest but after hearing Jennifer talk about it I want to read it.
-The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (RD September 13 2011) This cover & book is so much prettier in person. The next book I plan on getting.

-My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K Kelly Martin (RD September 27, 2011)
-The Art of Living: According to Joe Beef by Frederic Morin & David MacMillan (RD October 11/11) Local authors and chefs. The recipes are the exact same things they serve in their restaurant here in Montreal.
-Blood Sun by David Gilman (RD December 27/11) Book 3 in the series

-The Death Cure by James Dashner (RD October 11/11) The 3rd book in the Maze Runner Series
-Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (RD October 11/11) This sounds really good
-The Affair by Lee Childs (RD September 27/11) I book I will have to pick up especially after certain pages were mentioned.

-The Boy In The Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol & Agente Friis (RD November 8/11)
-Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly (RD December 27/11) Book 2 in the series. Love the cover.
Also here are some other books that are coming out from Random House that I am curious about:

• Vital Signs by Tessa McWatt (RD July 2011)
• Tell it to the Trees by Anita Ral Badami (RD September 20/11)
• Natural Order by Brian Francis (RD August 2011)
• Shelter by Frances Greenslade (RD September 2011)
• End of Days by Eric Walter (RD September 27/11)
• The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (RD October 25/11)
• Off Stage On Stage by Michael Buble (RD October 25/11) Yes I admit it I like Michael Buble!

Now if hearing about all those great fall books wasn't enough, they also had some authors stop by to talk to us about their books and those authors were:

• Anita RAl Badami
• William Marsden
• Frederic Morion and David MacMillian

So looking at all those title this morning I think we are in for an awesome fall with some amazing books.

Thanks to Random House and McClelland & Stewart for coming into town to show us those great fall titles and a special thanks to Jennifer and Mike who allowed me to join in.

Happy reading everyone :)

It's Monday, What are you reading? #35

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers to see what they have read and what they are reading this week.

The wonderful host of this weekly meme is Shelia from Book Journey. You can check out Sheila's blog to find out all the details on how to take part in this fun weekly meme. Although I should warn you that this can lead to an ever increasing TBR pile, wish list or borrowed books from the library.

I just realized that this is my 35th post for It's Monday! What are you reading? Time is flying by .

It was another week that not much reading got done and I really thought that once Michael went back to school (Wed) that I would have done some reading but I ended up catching up on things that really needed to be done in the house, errands and being sick. (Once again!)

First day back to school. Aug 31/11 in front of our house.

So this week I am hoping to get into the following books:

Just a reminder that if you live in the Montreal area (or surrounding area) P.J Bracegirdle will be signing his latest book Sinister Scenes, Sept 17th. I want to thank Simon & Schuster Canada for inviting me to attend the signing. I will be there along with some other Montreal Book Bloggers.



So this is what I am currently reading and hoping to finish this week.

The Mailbox Post & Books Bought (The I am sick edition)

Its that time of the week again when I get to share with you the books that came to my door this week. Some were delivered via the mailman/courrier, some were bought and some were given to me personally.

Thanks to the hosts of the Mailbox posts. Kristi from The Story Siren (In My Mailbox) and Leah from Amused By Books. Leah is the September host of Mailbox Monday. Be sure to stop by both of these blogs to see what they and others got this past week in their mailboxes.

This is my 6th IMM vlog and my 119 post for the mailbox post. Wow where does the time go? I didn't realize that I have been doing the posts for that many weeks now. As you can see I am getting use to doing vlogs.

I must apologize in advance for the basically crappy IMM this week because I recorded this Friday night and I am not feeling well. I have a sore throat and stuffiness happening. It figures since Michael is back in school that I would get sick and its the long weekend.

Happy Labour Day to everyone and I hope you enjoy your long weekend.




Books that I won:
- Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs (signed) I won this from Jennifer from Rayments Readings, Rants and Ramblings (She is an awesome Canadian blogger) Thank you Jennifer.
- All the things I've done by Gabrielle Zevin. Thanks MacMillan

Books for review:
A huge thank you to Random House Canada
- The Summer of Permanent Wants by Jamieson Findlay
- You against me by Jenny downham
- Star Academy (book 1) by Edward Kay
- Dark Secrets (book 2) by Edward Kay

Books given to me:
-You have seven messages by Stewart Lewis. Thanks Tina from bookshipper
- Ecstasy In darkness by Gena Showalter (book 8 in the Alien huntress series)

Books Bought:
- Siren Song by Cat Adams
- Afterlife by Ella Jasper
- Everdark by Ella Jasper
- Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter (book 9 in the Alien huntress series)
- Supernaturally by Kierstan White

This is what I got this week, what about you?

What do you guys think of the vlogs?