Follow Friday

Welcome to another Follow Friday!

Thanks for joining me!

Q. How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

Answer:

I usually read about five books a week. It depends on work. I have just started a second job reviewing music for Muzikreviews.com, so learning the ropes has put a slight dent in my reading time.

I listen to audio books (when not doing my music thing), read physical books and love e-books. My iPad is most often clutched in my hands, or close by.

 

Die For Me

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Goodreads

This book was a page turning masterpiece. I was so thrilled to find it on Netgalley! It had me reading into the night and on every break at work. Vincent is one of the hottest zombies on the planet and Kate is a great heroine! I was so glad to find out from Amy Plum herself that there will be a second and third book. So here is my plan...everyone read it and beg for a series. More than three books. This is great stuff and I literally put my head on the break table at work and howled when I got to the last page. It was wonderful. 5/5 stars!

Here is some music that made me think of  this book.

I just bought this track on iTunes today and love it. Hope you all enjoy it too!

An Interview with Ashley Knight

For those of you following my mermaid series here on Dana's YA Bookpile, you may remember my review of Fins by Ashley Knight. A wonderful author and an awesome book, Ashley has agreed to a short interview about her work and a little about her next book. Here we go...

 D. How did you get interested in mermaids?

A. My Mum made me watch Splash! when I was 5 & I've been obsessed ever since. I've breathed unintentionally three times while underwater & am thoroughly convinced I AM a mermaid & just don't know how to phase.

D. Do you base your characters on real life people?

A. Not all of them, no. Thayde is very similar to my husband. Élan (oddly enough) is very much like me & Morgan's voice & thoughts are mine. The rest are all from my imagination, unless I specifically make a note of it in the acknowledgement section. For instance, there's a character in FATHOM, the sequel to FINS, named Jacob Mac, who is named after a friend of mine in high school named Mac. He was several grades ahead of me & was so kind & gracious to everyone. With his permission, I named the character after him.

D. How long did it take you to write Fins?

A. 6 months - 1 month of procrastination = 5 actual months of writing

D. I loved the interior decorating scenes with the Florida house. Where did you get your ideas from? I want a mermaid bathtub now! Oh, and the way you described the rooms and her mother's clothes...wow.

A.Many of my ideas came from how I would want my house on the edge of the sea, how I would want my pool, how I wanted my bed when I was little (Naira's room). I did grab my Pottery Barn catalog once & took a few ideas from a living room I liked, but that's about it.

D. What advice would you give to aspiring writers out there?

A. Don't put off tomorrow what can be done today. Write everything down & don't throw anything away because one day you'll use it!

D. Do you balance your writing around another job?

A. I'm a stay at home Mum, so I write when the 2 year old naps, is playing with the 6 year old, or when they're both in bed. Other than that I'm going 100 mph! I drop dead from time to time, but like a zombie, I rise again!!

D. What is your writing day like?

A. It depends - sometimes I go for weeks without writing & then it's as if a tidal wave hits me & I have to write or I'll lose it. I'll write for hours on end. I lost 12 pounds with FATHOM because that's all I did. So my writing days vary. Today I'm sitting at my desk, the third book, FOREVER, is pulled up on my pink laptop, & I'm looking very becoming in my brown sweat pants & matching gray woolen socks & sweater! I am the very essence of sexy!

D.. Do you listen to music while you write?

A. Most of the time I find it distracts me. When I'm writing intently, I can't have it on, but if I'm trying to get the ol' wheels turning it, can be inspirational.

D. Is there a playlist for Fins?

A.  Yes! If you go to my website, you can check them out. It's www.ashleylknight.com

D. Do you anticipate a trilogy for Fins?

A. Yes, FINS was always intended to be a trilogy.

D. What is the next book going to be?

 A. It's called FATHOM & it's being released in the end of this month!! (May)

D.. Do you have any strange habits when you write? Weird foods, stuffed monkey hanging from your chair...

A. Not that I'm aware of - other than the crazed mad scientist frenzy I fly into when the ideas hit me - children are shoved aside, the cat goes flying, dogs nails scratch the wooden floors in a futile attempt to get out of my way...that sort of thing. But no, nothing really strange no...

D. What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?

A. For FINS - I just wanted my readers to enjoy the read - get involved with the characters, connect with them, care. I wanted them to be swept away into another world for a while. If they were, then I did my job!

With FATHOM, I delved much deeper, but I'll have to save that information for FATHOM's interview.

D. Who did the beautiful cover work for FINS?

A. The artist's name is Ken Koeberlein. He is a native of Idaho & a friend. I've asked him to design all my book covers. He's an incredibly gifted artist & his work inspires me. His website is: www.koeberdesigns.com

A huge thanks to Ashley for coming over to talk to us for a while. If you haven't read Fins  you should find a copy quick. A great book with some great mermaid story action. Don't forget to watch for this month's release of Fathom.



Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her.
(Goodreads)

My thoughts:

I received this book from the publisher for review and also used Netgalley for a more portable version. This book was five star all the way. From the engaging characters to the steampunk environment of Victorian London. I honestly could not put it down. This book should be on everyone's TBR pile.

Finley is an interesting character. She has elements of the proper English servant class, but also a wild side that is brought out when she is threatened. I will be watching for the next book in this series. Excellent read!