1. I laughed so hard when I saw this pic, I nearly injured myself.
2. If you know me at all, you realize I've injured myself on far less.
3. It's sort of a talent of mine.
4. Princess J's birthday was Sunday. She turned two!
5. Her new favorite words are "zombies" and "darn it." Yesterday, she wandered around the house saying "Zombies?? Oh no! Darn it!"
6. In case of a Zombie Apocalypse, I have a built in early warning system.
7. You wish you were as prepared as me.
8. The writing of DEFIANCE's sequel has been both a difficult and rewarding experience. I'm happy with the draft (finally) and the scenes are flowing faster for me now.
9. But writing stories with the level of emotional authenticity I want to bring to the table takes a lot out of me sometimes. Maybe I'll blog about that process one day...
10. Today is release day for book 3 in two of my favorite series! Tomorrow, I'll be interviewing Rachel Hawkins in honor of the release of SPELL BOUND, so today I wanted to share Bree Despain's THE SAVAGE GRACE with you:
Here's a peek at the plot:
Grace's life is a mess. Daniel is still a werewolf, Talbot can't be trusted, and Caleb is still out there. With Sirhan's impending death, war seems imminent. Will Grace give in to the wolf to save her family? What will happen to Daniel . . . and can their love survive one last test?
Book one in this series (THE DARK DIVINE) remains one of my all time favorite YA books. I loved the characters, the world building, the tension, the characters, the stakes, the complexity, the characters, and the characters. =D
Book two (THE LOST SAINT) literally made me yell unkind things about Bree (and maybe her mama) and throw the book across the room when I read the last chapter. She broke my characters and LEFT THEM BROKEN. Which left me kind of broken, too.
So now, finally!, book three is here, and I can't wait to curl up with my characters and see them fight hard to get their happily ever after.
Side note: If they DON'T get a happily ever after, I know where Bree lives, and I have the Spork of Doom at my disposal.
If you haven't snatched up this series yet, do! It's not your usual werewolf fare. It's Hounds of Heaven, a broken family that still clings to each other and to their faith, and characters that deserve redemption as much as they deserve to be punished. It's honest, and complex, and full of little moments of tenderness that make you ache for more.
Okay, I'm off to organize a veritable feast of blog posts. Rachel Hawkins is interviewed tomorrow, Thursday is Mad Libs Hat Trick Day with three amazing YA authors participating, and it's possible the Were-llama will return from terrorizing the southern hemisphere and give us his opinion on something this Friday.
Meanwhile, I'll be in my bat cave writing a sequel.
