TBR Notice: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

I've heard so much good about this book and Amazon just sent me an email listing this book as #1 on their top books so far of 2012. And who am I not to follow the crowd? I'm still wary of it. I'm not totally sure it's my kind of book, but -- surprise, surprise -- my library has it, so I have nothing to lose, right? 

A Recipe: Not for Disaster

That's what you'd expect though, right? Because this is a writer's blog. So why in the world would I post a regular, old mundane recipe like I'm trying somehow to pretend I'm one of those cool moms who's crafty (and not in a villainous way) and cooks for her family on a regular basis (actually, since I'm still the unpublished sort of writer, this happens more frequently than you'd guess) -- instead of the weird mom who has a (at least) thirty second delay in answering any question put to her. 


BUT these Berry Cheesecake Popsicles happen to be quite fabulous and I couldn't help but share. Since I absolutely won't share the real things.


So, a while back on facebook, I posted the following, fabulous fake cheesecake recipe:
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 8 oz tub of whipped cream
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar

Whip cream cheese until smooth. Add whipped cream and whip together. Add sugar and mix until smooth and no longer grainy.

AND you can use fat free cream cheese and sugar free whipped cream and it's that much, uh, healthier.

Well, it's summer time, so I thought to myself, would this work frozen? And what's better with cheesecake than berries? (I admit I had help from my friends Meri and Mellissa with that part.) So, grab yourself some of those cheap popsicles thingy's people use to make homemade popsicles and make yourself some frozen delight.

*Also, there are no pictures. This isn't a cooking blog. I barely take pictures of my own kids, so what did you honestly expect?

Make the fake cheesecake as described above. I used a little less sugar than normal since I was putting in berries.
Blend 1/4 cup raspberries and 1/4 strawberries (or any combination of berries you love to make up 1/2 cup) in a blender until the desired consistency. If you want big chunks, less. If you want it smooth, more. (Duh.) Mix it in with the fake cheesecake. Spoon the mixture into the popsicle molds (oh, yeah, that's what they're called). And freeze. Then, when they're solid (if you can wait that long), devour them. Possibly all in one sitting. No one here will judge you.

Review: PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White

I'm not quite sure where I first heard about this book. It could've have been seeing the cover on a blog hop. It might have been on lit agent Michelle Wolfson's blog. Wherever I happened across it, I'm SO glad I did. SO glad.

From Amazon: "Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only one who can see through glamours.

But now Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and cryptic messages—and she’s realizing that she may be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal."


The Rating: ***** + (I loved it so much I bought the rest of the series, including pre-ordering the third book)


The Good: 
I have an absolute weakness for witty writing. Witty in a romance and cute lines that make my heart melt. Witty in a fabulous YA voice that just rocks. That's PARANORMALCY. I love, LOVED Evie's voice. I loved her character. I wanted to be best friends with her. (And also Kiersten White, but that's actually called stalking.) The girl loves pink -- she is so someone after my own heart. Her love interest was adorable in this fabulous teenage boy way. I'm so engrossed in Evie's world that I can't wait for the second book to get here and I'm thanking my lucky stars I only have to wait until the middle of July for the third one. Phew. Even if you're not a paranormal fan, you'll enjoy this book.


The Bad:
There's not a lot to say bad about a book I wanted to rate 100 stars. There were some tense changes that popped me out of the first couple chapters, but that's only because I'm a stickler like that. If it happened later, I didn't notice -- I was too engrossed. And I didn't like the other guy, Reth, who wanted Evie's heart, and I felt like I almost should have.


The Recommendation:
When a book has a line as awesome as, "[My driver's license] ranks right up there with lockers. In fact, sometimes I put my license inside my locker, and it's so cool I worry that the whole thing might explode with the sheer coolness of it all." -- Well, let's just say you know it's worth reading, right? And buying all three books? (I didn't even look it up at my local library. Because I'll probably read this book again, and giggle over the line, "His lips -- oh, bleep, his lips.") That says it all.

Disclaimer: Mild (oh-so-very-mild) kissing. And some bleeping, but no actual swear words. Okay, it's really actually quite hilarious in context. There's nothing in this book I'd worry about a 12-year-old girl reading. :D


Buy (no seriously, like right now) PARANORMALCY here.
Follow Kiersten White on Twitter.
Read her blog.

Let's Make a Top Ten List

I drove six and a half hours to Denver by myself this weekend for a fabulously fun writers retreat with some of my writers' group members. That is a lot of podcasts to listen to. After getting my fix of the Stuff You Missed In History podcast, I started Do I Dare Eat A Peach, hosted by Robison Wells and Dan Wells. GREAT entertainment, even though they made me feel uneducated and shallow (So many books I haven't read, Beatles songs I've never heard of, and foods I've never tried).

Somewhere in the middle of Wyoming while on this drive, I thought, you what Top Ten list there should be? There should be a Top Ten list of Best LDS Fiction. I don't mean by LDS authors. That's what the Whitneys are for. No, this is going to be a list of the Top Ten LDS Fiction books. So, on the form at the top of the blog, nominate your favorites. They should be, number one, FICTION; and they should have LDS primary characters or a plot that revolves around LDS issues. (Which means, don't nominate The Book of Mormon or Miracle of Forgiveness. I'll take them off.)

The form will be up for however long it takes to get a reasonable list going. Once we have a good list, we'll vote for the Top Ten. Are you in? (Please be in. This could be really fun!) In fact, I'm going to nominate one of my favorites now.

Words to Write By: On Dialogue

I am so loving my subscription to Writer's Digest, though it's been hard to find time to sit down and read! Still, I keep finding some amazing tidbits of information to pass along.

Today's:

The overwhelming fault in dialogue from many newer writers is dialogue that doesn't sound genuine. It's just not how real people in the real world talk. -"Writing With A Natural Voice," Larry Brooks, Writer's Digest Mar/Apr 2012

Dialog is NOT a place to info dump.

Dialog should sound like a REAL conversation, not the witty, fabulous remarks you've carefully crafted in your head. (We all know that we never think of that great comeback on the spot . . .)

You should READ your dialogue OUT LOUD and listen to what it really sounds like, off the page.

Dialogue is hard. It just is.

Brooks goes on to suggest sitting down somewhere and listening to people talk around you. Record it. Take notes. Figure out how people's conversations happen in real life.

And on that note, good luck.

Staying Motivated

Well, characters anyway. (I could sure use motivation for writing right now though . . . maybe I'll have to go find something on that for us.)

Yesterday I got back a novella that my amazing crit partner Kaylee, who was so good as to look over a first draft for me. She is amazingly awesome because she's like a four-year-old -- in a good way -- and asking "Why?" all the time. Sometimes I'm good at internal character dialog and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I think readers should just get why my character is doing something even though I haven't really hinted at it. Bad idea. 

Here's a few other examples of why it's important that your reader know and understand your character's motivation. 

What if J.K. Rowling didn't mention that Voldemort killed Harry's parents? Readers start asking, "Why?" Why does Harry care? The fact that Voldemort is evil and Harry is a good guy just doesn't cut it. There needs to be a strong motivation that is clear to the reader about why Harry doggedly pursues his course to defeat Voldemort.

What if Jane Austen left out the part about the Bennett estate being entailed to a distant cousin? The reader would ask, "Why?" Why is it so important for the Bennett girls to marry well? Why is it so important for them to marry at all? Why? Because none of Mrs. Bennnett's five daughters will inherit enough to live on -- and that's clear. She pushes Jane to the point of looking ridiculous because Jane's life almost literally depends upon it.

The moral of the story: In every scene, every chapter, every story arc, try to channel your four-year-old. Keep asking why. 

Review: EDENBROOKE by Julianne Donaldson

I can't remember when I first found EDENBROOKE on my radar, but from the moment I did, I was excited to read it. This doesn't surprise you guys, does it? It's a regency romance, so of course it intrigued me!

From Amazon: "Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke."

And we have a winner!

CONGRATS!

To Rachel who won a Kindle edition of FRIENDS AND FOES by Sarah M. Eden. It's a fantastic book, and if you love regency or witty, fun writing in general and you aren't Rachel, you should hop over to Amazon (or wherever you prefer to buy books . . .) and buy it. And read it. 

A big BIG thank you to all of you for coming by and talking about your favorite books. There are so many out there I need to read. And I LOVE getting comments and follows from you all. It rocks.