Frozen Reads: 5 Books to Curl Up with on a Cold Day

funfridaysYipee! It’s Fun Friday again which means, time to chime in on a topic with my fellow members of The Society of YA Storytellers. This Fun Friday topic is Frozen Reads and we’re posting our top 5 recommendations for reads to curl up with on these frozen winter days. And in honor of Of Sun & Moon‘s #1 placing in two sub-categories of free Kindle reads on Amazon, most of these reads (all but one) are also free.  Continue reading “Frozen Reads: 5 Books to Curl Up with on a Cold Day”

Fun Friday: Cringe-worthy YA Monsters

Spooky_Evil_Sheep_by_Fate_Lee

Happy Fun Friday!

In anticipation for Halloween’s arrival, the Society of YA Storytellers are posting on the topic of Top YA Monsters this week. Lately, I’ve had the fortune to happen upon several indie YA novels that I really like, and wouldn’t ya know it? They always have a monster or villain that makes you want to double check the locks on all the doors.

Here are my Top 5 Cringe-worthy YA Monsters of indie novels I’ve recently read. Listed in no particular order.

The Arum – Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout

These creepy aliens harness the power of dark and shadows. They are super fast and seem to pop up whenever you least expect it.

Reapers (specifically Maxx) – Bait by K.C. Blake

The Reapers in this book are incredibly powerful and sly as they come. Don’t cross the reaper.

Ashmen – Archers of Avalon series by Chelsea Fine

I imagine an Ashman to be a mix between a reanimated corpse and a golem. They are unnaturally strong and nearly invincible, plus there’s no conscience weighing them down.

Calliope – The Lost Soul by Suzy Turner

This siren-like goddess controls minds and can hold throw you to the ceiling and hold you as easily as if she were drying her nails.

The Syns – Edge of Truth by Natasha Hanova

My boys tell me that evil robots count as monsters. These droids may not have a mind of their own, but the many nail-biting moments they gave me ranks them high on the uber-creepy scale. The Syns are watching.

See what gruesome frights the other members of The Society have wrangled onto their blogs. Go to http://yastorytellers.com/fun-fridays/ for direct links to YA Monster posts.

This BAIT, I urge you to take…

The YA Indie Author Club is having another great week of releases. This week, we are going to ask you to join us in supporting K.C. Blake. I recently discovered her novel, Vampires Rule, and can tell you first-hand that her books are fun and wildly creative.

So without further ado (drum roll, please) may I present K.C.’s newest novel…

Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm #1) 

Ghosts, a reaper, and a rock star.

bait

At sixteen Bay-Lee is not your typical girl. She doesn’t even try to fit in at school. What’s the point when she’ll be moving to a new place within a few months?

She’s lived her whole life on the run, hiding from monsters.

Then a reaper uses her closet to cross over from the Spirit Realm. It has a message for her. Just when she’s about to join her father at his school for hunters she finds out they are dying on Continue reading “This BAIT, I urge you to take…”

My Buffy Top Twelve for the Holiday

Indie author K.C. Blake recently posted her top twenty picks for her favorite Supernatural episodes. Being the tv-ophile that I am, this has inspired me. I started thinking of my all-time favorite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yes, I am a diehard Whedonite).

So, just in time for Halloween, may I present my top dozen favorite Buffy episodes.

12. Once More with Feeling – Yep, this was the musical one. I’m actually one of those people who bought the CD. I know every word and sing along when I watch. Don’t you?

11. Superstar – When it first aired, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I flipped through my TV Guide, looking for an overlooked episode to explain why I was out of the loop. This one took me totally off-guard when even the opening credits were re-cut to play into the storyline that a spell had changed the world to make the unnoticed geek the hero of the story.

10. Chosen (the final episode) – Angel returns to give Buffy some advice as she confronts the evil of the series finale. One of the best, insightful lines I’ve ever heard. “I’m not done baking.”

9. Fear, Itself – Halloween is always nuts in Sunnydale. The gang goes to a party in a frat house and craziness ensues when the door disappears. Oh yeah, Anya dresses as the scariest thing she can think of…a giant bunny.

8. Passion – What do you get when you mix love and evil? Obsession. Nothing is scarier than a vampire stalker. Character reactions were so well thought out. Often overlooked, but probably one of the best written episodes.

7. The Prom – Hellhounds trained to attack formalware…what more can I say?

6. Band Candy – The adults are acting like teens and the teens are acting like adults. Great performances.

5. School Hard – Spike and Druscilla’s first appearance.

4. Amends – Ghosts from the past haunt Angel and snow in Sunnydale.

3. Restless – The scoobies fall asleep and are held in their dreams. Really cool camera effects and techniques used like over-exposure and long hand-held sequences. It was such a departure from the typical season finale. Want some cheese?

2. Becoming, Part 2 – “Close your eyes.” I still cry when I watch it.

1. Hush – The “quiet” episode was chilling to the core and also had some of the funniest and most touching moments of the series.

Now that I’ve finished my list, I realize how very hard it was to pick just 12. Therefore, if you will indulge me, here are some Honorable Mentions: The Wish, Selfless, Life Serial, The Gift, The Body, Fool for Love, Prophecy Girl.