Review: ARTEMIS FOWL by Eoin Colfer

I'm always on the lookout for a free book. Better, I'm always on the lookout for a good, free book. Several months ago, ARTEMIS FOWL by Eoin Colfer was free as a promotion and my cousin shared the link and said he'd really enjoyed it. I downloaded it right away and wasn't disappointed.

From Amazon.com: Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of them and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action, he doesn't count on the appearance of the extra-small, pointy-eared Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--and her senior officer, Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Review: A TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY WINTER COLLECTION

Remember how I've mentioned a few times that I *know* Sarah M. Eden? And how she gave me the inside scoop on publication dates a while back? This was one of the "scoops" she gave me: the inclusion of her short story "The Road to Cavan Town" in A TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY: WINTER COLLECTION. So, you know, one day when I was on a book buying spree, I downloaded it. Of course.

From Timeless Romance blog: Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, readers will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: Romance.

Sometimes I Bake: Three Ingredient Applesauce Cookies

Me and the little one are having this issue. I like to eat lots of stuff that he doesn't like coming through in my milk. This is no surprise. I've had two previous little ones who were very strict about my diet. This one, though, I'm making an attempt to be even stricter. And I've found out a few things I didn't know could bother a baby. Like grapes, for instance. Seriously. Who knew? I got my education from 8:30 to about midnight last night. Believe me, grapes are so not worth it. Chocolate? Possibly. Grapes? No.

So I got on Pinterest to find some treats that would jive. And I found these two ingredient, banana oatmeal cookies. (And since this was before I knew about grapes being of the devil, I put raisins in them. Bad idea.) Let's just say, they were sort of weird anyway. But the concept ... these cookies had basically two things: bananas and oatmeal. So if you at the entire batch, really all you were consuming was two bananas and like a cup of oats. Healthy! But like I said, the banana part was pretty weird for me. So I thought to myself, What about applesauce? That seems to go better with oatmeal anyway. So off I went to my kitchen for some experimentation.

Review: THE NEXT DOOR BOYS by Jolene Perry

So that bouncing, bundle of joy we were expecting at the Clarks? He arrived. :) He's beautiful. He's adorable. He wants to eat a lot. That equals quality time with him and my Kindle (and pretty much any book I can get my hands on). So while my content on the blog might be spotty for a bit, you can count on some reviews coming!

And first up, THE NEXT DOOR BOYS by Jolene B. Perry. I have been meaning to read this book pretty much since the moment it came out. Jolene is a fantastic critiquer I've relied on in the past and her opinion about a lot of things bookish and writish (and probably any other -ish if I thought to ask ...) really matters to me. Take for instance the release of A CONTEMPTIBLE AFFECTION. I knew nothing, nothing about these self-publishing matters, so I went straight to Jolene.

From Jolene's Website: Leigh Tressman has been known as a lot of things – the girl who sings, the girl who sews, Jaron’s little sister, and last year, the girl with cancer. With her body still recovering from the cancer treatments, she’s determined to be independent and convinces her parents to let her follow her overprotective brother, Jaron, to BYU.

With an ever expanding line of young men ready to be in love with her – not to mention physical frustrations, and spiritual dilemmas – Leigh almost misses the opportunity to be with the man who has been quietly falling in love with her since they met. The Next Door Boys proves that even with (or maybe in spite of) independence, love can be found in comfortable, but delightful places.

Review: NOT MY TYPE by Melanie Jacobson

So you all know how I claim to be writing this fun, contemporary LDS romance? I started revisions the other day and wondered about some things. I've read a lot of romance and def my fair share of LDS romance, but none of them seemed quite like what I was writing. I did know of one person who does write like that: Melanie Jacobson. I bought NOT MY TYPE as research. I swear.

From DeseretBook.com: Twenty-three-year-old Pepper Spicer is not living the dream. She ended her engagement at the last minute because fiance—a musician an soon-to-be reality TV star—wanted her to sacrifice her own career ambitions for his. Now she's stuck at home sharing a room with her little sister, trying to pay off massive debt for a wedding that didn't happen, and spending Friday nights Facebook-stalking everyone who has a better life. Her therapist father urges her to choose her career dreams and count her blessings by writing weekly thank-you notes, but gratitude is a tall order when she botches an important job interview and has to settle for writing an undercover dating web-zine column—the last thing in the world she wants to do. Still, as Pepper (byline:Indie Girl) chronicles her bizarre and hilarious blind dates, she gives her father's challenge a try and slowly finds herself leaving self-pity behind. Life takes a major upswing as Pepper's column hits the big time and she tastes the exhilarating thrill of success. But there's one tiny problem: the intensely hot man she's falling for is having issues with her job (again). Will Pepper trade her personal ambition for another chance at love?

Three-Hundred Thursday #6

Today's Three-Hundred comes from a currently untitled, mainstream novel by brave--er, Lucky Victim #6!

Okay, so now everyone is wondering, what are we supposed to learn from a Three Hundred Thursday entry that's SO CLEAN? Don't worry, you can learn things from good stuff too.

* When you turn in something without grammatical errors, awkward sentences, iffy word choices, etc., it makes an agent/editor/reader take notice. And read on. They'll notice the time and effort you've put in to your work to make it shine. Remember the "Why I Stopped Reading Post" where I talked about if it was this confusing in the first few pages, it probably would be the rest of the book? The opposite holds true. If the author is this precise in the beginning, that will probably continue as well. The same holds true for a query. I can't tell you the number of times during agent Sarah Megibow's #10queriesin10tweets that I've read the line, "grammar and writing are weak" as a reason for her rejecting it. It's important. It's your preview, just like those first words are. This is your first impression. Get. It. Right.

Help out and comment below. Please remember to keep your comments respectful and consider the author and his/her willingness to participate. (Thanks, Victim #6!)

Are you interested? Use the Contact Me page to send your first three-hundred words or your query letter for critique. Be brave!