Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Other Good Reads

So, I mentioned The Fallen books in my last post, and since I'm majorly bored right now I thought I'd post a few other YA favorites that you should check out if you have the time.

First is the Mortal Instruments series (otherwise known as City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass) by Cassandra Clare. These are better than Twilight in my opinion (gasp!). She has a new book coming out in August called Clockwork Angel, which I am very excited about. There's something about her writing that's pretty engaging--keeps you turning the pages. She also does a great job with constant action--there's not a lot of dull moments/backstory filling up the pages before you get to one big climax scene. I try to do the same thing with my writing--hopefully I am successful. Anyway, remember that name: Cassandra Clare. Good stuff. Good stuff.

The second is a new author that I came across. I will now give the shameless plug: she is a friend of mine's cousin. Her name is Angie Fraizer and her debut novel is called Everlasting. It's a historical fiction with a splash of fantasy mixed in there. I will be the first to admit that I absolutely LOVE historical romances... Jane Austen is my hero. This book had a great mix of sea adventure, love, and weird fantasy elements. It's the first in a series (or at least there should be a sequel coming). So stay tuned and keep an eye out for her books. I've also read the Vampire Academy books, most recently book number five: Spirit Bound. The first three books in the series were great, but I'm worried about how the series is going. It almost seems like she needs to end the series in a good place instead of dragging it out. Trust me, she's dragging it out. If the series goes beyond six books, I don't think I can continue on with it. Don't get me wrong, they're entertaining, but the plots are going all whacko.

Moving on to adult reading. If you like short stories and great writing, check out Amy Hempel. She's got an amazing collected works of short stories out there. I also enjoyed Wells Tower's collection: Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. Why the short stories you ask? Because all we studied in my MFA program were short stories. Too bad we didn't study YA or more contemporary writers out there. Anyway, that's my short list. Enjoy... OH! and share your own favorites? Has anyone read "Huge" by Sasha Paley? I know they just made it into a TV series on ABC Family and I have to admit I'm very curious but also a bit apprehensive.

Blog Updates

As you can see, I decided to change things up a little bit. What do you think? I'm into it for now, but I might try to revamp it again.

Writing is going well and guess who've been creeping into my mind lately? The characters from A Jade Bracelet. That's the good news--the great news will be when I finally finish that story. To be honest, I've contemplated not finishing it and starting something new (also on my brain lately). What do people think of fallen angel novels? There are some excellent ones out there right now. I highly recommend the Fallen books (each book has two novels in it--there are a total of two books) by Thomas Sniegoski. They're well written and a good story. The made-for-TV movies back in 2004 (I think) don't really follow the books, but are equally good entertainment. The book I want to write is actually the very first novel I ever wrote. I actually posted it on FictionPress too, but removed it pretty quickly because I thought I wanted to get it published. So goes my process, I guess. I wonder when I'll ever get serious. Anyway, I've rewritten it eight times, but never for a teen/YA audience. I'm kind of excited about writing it. Seems like vampire and fallen angel books are all the rage right now. I feel comforted that I had the idea for it before all the hype. Still... the urge to write again is very exciting.

Anyway, yay for new posts right?