More About Jill…

So yesterday I posted about Jill Williamson being up for the Christy Award.

You can find out more about Jill at her website or her Amazon page, where I lifted the opening sentences of her bio to whet your appetite:

“Jill was raised in rural Alaska. Alone with her thoughts and the moose, daydreaming was a favorite pastime. As was reading…”

And now she’s turned her passion for reading into a passion for writing, and a fine job she’s done of it. Here’s her latest book cover from Marcher Lord Press:

You can get a copy at Amazon or at the Marcher Lord site.

And if you’re wondering just how good this book is, here’s a review about Book One:

“This thoroughly entertaining and smart tale will appeal to fans of Donita K. Paul and J.R.R. Tolkien. Highly recommended for CF and fantasy collections.” —Library Journal

And the praise continues for Book Two:

“The second installment of the Blood of Kings series will thrill, surprise, and delight readers just as much as the first. With stellar craftsmanship, the author continues to thrust her characters into a myriad of plot-driven obstacles that will have readers biting their nails late into the night.”

—Christian Miles (Amazon review)

With her first book up for a Christy and her second garnering well-deserved praise, you’ll want to grab a copy quickly before they all sell out. And if you want to get an autographed copy, you can get one at Jill’s website.

Guilty Pleasures

Often writing is an opportunity to free yourself from the chains of the past. To loose the bonds holding you captive, preventing your spirit from soaring. But for me, that freedom always comes with a price tag—guilt. Writing is fun. Losing myself in another world, becoming brave and strong, fearless in the face of danger, is a guilty pleasure. I avoid writing because I enjoy it so much.

When I indulge, my conscience whispers, “Anything that feels this good must be a sin.”

So I put duty before pleasure and crowd out the siren call of the empty page. It’s easier to clean closets or scrub toilets than to pour out my soul on the page. It’s easier to meet deadlines for copyediting or to critique other people’s work than to free my heart. It’s easier to engage in busywork or to cross off items on my to-do list than to let my imagination soar.

Now what’s your excuse?

Tony DiTerlizzi

Check out this fabulous interview by one of my fav illustrators:

http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1821

The art is to die for…

Wow! In the News…

Leap Books has been getting lots of notice. How cool is that?? The most recent was an interview in the Examiner.

Freaksville by Kitty Keswick

Author Kitty Keswick talks about her upcoming book, Freaksville. Plenty of teens and adults are eagerly awaiting this exciting debut novel. Watch for it on January 8, 2010.

For a fun sneak peek, you can check it out on YouTube or TeacherTube.

And for more about Kitty, you can read her blog, Wolfy Chicks, with author Judith Graves, whose book Under My Skin will be out in March 2010.

Freaksvillle is Book One of an exciting new series featuring werewolves, ghosts, Valkyries, and otherworldly creatures. In this book four teens trapped in a haunted theater on the night of the full moon battle ghosts and werewolves to survive.

If you love werewolves, vamps, and ghosts, you’ll love this series by Kitty Keswick.

Another Great Review!

How exciting is this?? Five out five hearts for Summer Lovin’ from The Romance Studio!! Here’s a quick peek at some of the comments:

“One of the best things in Summer Lovin’ is the variety of locales. From a sand sculpture contest on Vancouver Island to a miniature golf course somewhere in middle America, the appealing heroines set forth. They are from different backgrounds, and all kinds of families, but each one is someone the reader would love to know.

And of course, there are the boys. Cute boys, gorgeous boys, even kind and caring boys.

And a few the reader hopes will go away before they cause any more trouble. But there are definitely boys, because how could a girl imagine her summer without at least the hope of one of these guys to make it special. And maybe a few kisses to make the summer extra sparkly.

Read this book this summer, I think its magic is contagious.”

Overall rating:

Review for Rihanna

Just saw this review from Flipkart:

Book Review of Rihanna ( Series – People In The News )

Rihanna (People in the News)

Review by Evelyn Richards

Author Laurie J. Edwards does a wonderful job of presenting Rihanna’s life in a readable format. Beginning with the singer’s rough childhood with her cocaine-addicted father to her signing a contract with Jay-Z at age 16 and her subsequent rise to fame, the biography is a page-turner. Edwards draws you in and keeps you interested throughout as she tells little-known details of the behind-the-scenes persona of Rihanna. Sneak peeks at other performers, such as Gwen Stefani, Maroon 5, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, and many others.

A fun day!

What a great day so far!! My author copies of Rihanna just arrived & our first review for Summer Lovin’ is in at http://lnk.ms/073Fj. And it’s a good one! Yay!!