Friday Loves: Boys Like Girls



Boys Like Girls: Be Your Everything

I know I've recently shared my love for this band, and this song, but hey- they're so awesome, I just can't help myself. Anyway, this is their new single and the song is just beautiful and I love love love the post-apoc feel to the video. Also, Martin Johnson (the lead singer). Watch the video and I think you'll understand. *grins*

When I posted BLG as my summer soundtrack, I was shocked that a lot of people hadn't heard of them. SHOCKED I TELL YOU. They had a few songs that were well-known a couple years back, unfortunately, they took a hiatus and so have kind of disappeared off the music-map for awhile. I still haven't heard the exact release date of their third album, but I'm practically counting down the days (I know it's fall sometime).

Anyway, they're BACK and I'm PSYCHED. And majorly hoping they'll stop in Calgary (or at least Edmonton) on their new tour with the All-American Rejects.

Okay, I'll stop gushing like a fangirl. What's your Friday Love?

Best Book of August

Today's Road Trip Wednesday asks:

What was the best book you read in August?

Here's what I read this month:

Wolfsbane was a great sequel. Spellbound ended the Hex Hall Trilogy PERFECTLY, and I've raved over and over about the MC's voice. The Name of the Star was a tense read with great characters. All awesome books.

Coming a close runner-up is Incarnate. It was beautifully written, I loved the world, music played a big part which is also a plus for me, and SAM. (I'm still swooning over Sam.)

BUT... my fave book this month? For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. It's almost obvious that I would pick this one, given my love of Persuasion and the fact that I wrote my own redux. But this book, oh my gosh, this book! It was the kind of book that made me feel like the CRAPPIEST author in the world because it was just SO WELL DONE. I don't even like sci-fi that much but I LOVED this book. Diana Peterfreund just did the best job in capturing the feel of Austen but bringing her own spin to the entire thing. I go gaga over this book. And over Kai. And over their letters.

What was the best book you read this month?

Death Comes To Pemberley

I'm taking a break from YA right now and reading a book my mom lent me which she really liked. It's called Death Comes To Pemberley by P.D. James. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

 It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery. 

 

I'm a little over 50 pages in and the mystery hasn't happened yet. Obviously, I'm anxious for all that to get going. Here's my teaser for Teaser Tuesday hosted by Miz B. at Should Be Reading:

"The matter may come to head after the ball, but I own that it is an anxiety to me. I have grown to love Georgiana dearly. But let us put it aside for now. We have the family dinner to look forward to. I must not spoil it for either of us or our guests by worries which may be groundless."

What are you reading right now?

Linky Link

Because I have a stupid summer cold, which equals no sleep for the past couple of nights because I can't breathe, which equals no brains at all this morning, which equals...

A link!

Go to Nathan Bransford's blog because he is a super-funny-genius. He's put the whole publishing process into GIF form. I laughed my freaking head off. (Just wish I could've laughed the cold out of my nose. Wait, that sounds gross.)

Check out the link and have a happy Monday.

Friday Loves

During WriteOnCon, agent Meredith Barnes gave a piece of advice that I found very surprising. She advised writers to blog- but NOT ABOUT WRITING!

Well shoot.

After thinking about it for awhile, I decided to follow her advice a teeny bit. She told writers to blog about something they love (NOT WRITING), and so I decided that every FRIDAY I would do that. Friday will be my day dedicated to something I love (NOT WRITING).

I think you get the point and I can stop all-caps-ing it.

For my first every Friday Loves post, I'm going to share my love of... GLEE!

Okay, I know I'm a little late to the Glee-bandwagon. In fact, I've heard around the internetverse that many people are willingly getting OFF that bandwagon because they've become sick of the show. NOT I! said the pie. That's because I haven't even finished season one yet! I've still got stars in my eyes (and ears) over all the awesome singing/dancing numbers, the relationship drama, and the unexpected tender moments that bring tears to my wide eyes. I still laugh over Sue's over-the-top bad behavior. And I've fallen in love with songs that I've previously despised. (Go figure.)

What's funny is, when the show first came out, I watched one episode and decided I wasn't going to watch any more. Now I LOVE it! Strange.

Anyway, I'm having a major Glee-affair right now and nobody can stop it, not even the up-to-date haters. If, like me, you've ignored the show all this time or didn't give it a chance, here's a little taste. Basically it's the song I get stuck in my head every time I even think the word Glee.

Love List

I LOVE today's Road Trip Wednesday question because it's all about... LOVE!

Inspired by Stephanie Perkins' post on Natalie Whipple's blog, what is your novel's "Love List"?

Isn't Stephanie Perkins the best! Of course she is, she wrote Anna and Lola. (And where is Isla, where is she???) Since I'm in the middle of a major revision on Sway, I thought I'd do my love list about that. So here it is:

beach

second chances

music notes

ocean blue eyes

long flowy gown

Serenade

Bellagio fountain show

ivory piano keys

memories

dancing

best friend

stage

smooth baritone

pool

jalapeno peppers

At This Moment

orchestra

 

And because I'm watching Glee right now and this guy would make the BEST Gage (not the love interest, I might add), he's the last item on my love list:

 



 

What would your novel's love list be? Check out the post above to see what a love list is all about.

The Name Of The Star

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B. of Should Be Reading. Today, I'm getting my teaser from The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.

Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

I am LOVING this book so far. Here's my teaser:

She got up alongside the figure, a smallish person dressed entirely in motorcycle leathers, wearing a helmet. She reached up to the neck to feel for a pulse.

Where the neck was supposed to be, there was a space. (page 3)

What are you reading this week?