Thursday, December 17, 2015

2016 Reading Challenge and Bookmark Giveaway

2015 is almost over.  I am happy to report that I was able to complete my Goodreads challenge. I have completed 14 of the 10 books that I wanted to read.  I am hoping to finish The Time Traveler's Wife before the year ends.  I am listening to it via audiobooks through my Scribd subscription. I get one full credit each month.  I am looking forward to writing a review about it.  

In 2016, I will be doing a reading challenge that will be probably the hardest challenge ever.  I am going to participate in the POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge
The Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge intrigued me because of the variety that it encourages in my reading.  Thanks to PR By the Book, I have been reading a variety of books.  The list is about 41 books.  I am really excited about this challengeAs a reader, I will grow more trying to follow the guidelines of the challenge.  `I will be using Goodreads to keep up with the books that I read.

 You can DOWNLOAD the printable.  I have placed the printable in my Erin Condren Life Planner to make sure that I stay on track.  I used washi tape and stickers from my penpal to decorate it.  I placed it on the lined sheets at the end of January.  I think it looks pretty festive and encouraging.   I am really into decorative planning to get things done.  I love it. 

Looking at my year in review on Goodreads, I didn't realize that I had read so many pages of books that were not related to school.  I was very surprised.  I am hoping to read many more with the Popsugar Challenge.  

Bookmark Giveaway:
As an added incentive,  any of my blog readers that participate and keep up with their books read on Goodreads will receive a free bookmark made my me.  The rules of the giveaway:  
  1. Comment your reading goal for 2014. 
  2. Subscribe to my blog.
  3.  Add me as a friend on Goodreads.

Stay tuned for more giveaways in the near future.  I am giving away books next year. So, you need to make sure that you subscribe to my blog to know when those giveaways are happening.    




Now here is what you can do since you have read thus far!!! If you really enjoyed reading about this book, share this post on Twitter or Facebook. Make sure we connect. Don't forget to share you thoughts and comments below. 

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Blog Tour: The Poet's Secret by Kenneth Zak


When I first started reading The Poet's Secret, I was immediately intrigued by how Kenneth Zak begins each chapter.  Each chapter starts with poetry before you get in the narrative part of the novel.  I love this technique.  As I read the book, I soon discovered that the poetry excerpts were from the poet, Cameron Beck.  Cameron Beck is a talented poet, who has gone "off the grid."  An English major, Elia, reminds me of how I was as a graduate student in my MA English program.  When Elia starts her journey to find Beck, he is actually at the top of a cliff about to commit suicide.  This very fact is an indicator of how intense this book is.

I understand how this book could have been a Golden Heart Finalist selection by the Romance Writers of America.  The romance story within the text makes you truly appreciate falling in love. The imagery draws you in as a reader.  Zak is truly able to capture his audience to complete the book.  I mean you will laugh along with the text.  You may even shed a tear or two.  I will not confess about me crying.  I am "too womanly" for that.  I enjoyed this book.  You cannot resist the end of the book. 

Check out the official trailer of the book.  Have you read The Poet's Secret?  What do you think about the book?  Let me know your thoughts.  


ABOUT THE BOOK:

In The Poet’s Secret, young lit student Elia Aloundra sets off to a remote Caribbean island in search of the reclusive poet Cameron Beck, longing to know the man whose words move her so. What she doesn’t know is that as her quest begins, Beck is perched atop a cliff on his exotic island hideaway and about to attempt suicide. Elia soon finds herself swept up in the mystery surrounding his muse, but what she cannot fathom is that Beck’s secret will change both their lives forever.

An island tale filled with mystical sea turtles and sunken treasure, The Poet’s Secret was conceived in a mountaintop village on the Greek isle of Crete while the author was on a three­-year sabbatical. For every copy of The Poet’s Secret sold, $1 will also be donated to The Surfrider Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving the earth’s oceans, waves and beaches.
The Poet’s Secret will appeal to fans of both Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and the Cusslers’ Dirk Pitt series.

More info here:http://www.prbythebook.com/kenneth-zak.



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Monday, December 07, 2015

Guest Post - Giving Books to Build Personal Libraries of Knowledge by Gini Cunningham

Giving Books to Build Personal Libraries of Knowledge
By Gini Cunningham 

We have long espoused the value of reading books to infants and toddlers. Even in the womb, the rhythm and flow of words from the mother or other reader seems to calm and possibly inspire contentment for the baby. While there are numerous other factors in producing healthy, vibrant, book-loving children, reading to them holds enormous value. As we move away from hard print and into a digital age, bound books are sometimes lost. They are still present on electronic devices, but they are not physically present in the age-old turning-of-the-pages way. Reading is eyes to mind as we zip across the page, but it is also the touch of a quality interior, the slide of the fingertip as the next image is revealed, the smell of print, and for babies, the taste of paper, book jacket, and cover.

Research indicates that reading books is powerful, but actually possessing them is even more important. Successful reading often indicates a home library of books. I suppose this encompasses the visual presence, the lined march across shelves, the colorful spines, the engaging font and style of words, and above all the draw of illustrations. Whether on the cover as in books for adults or within as in children's books, pictures ignite the imagination, entice the reader to read, and also guide reading. When a child knows words, s/he reads them; when the child is unsure, the pictures serve as reminders to pique memory and interpretation. My oldest son read in such a manner. He had favorite books that we read frequently and by five he self-read, not really "reading" in the true sense but by utilizing memorization from previous rounds and the illustrations in the book, he could "read" the story orally. "Pretend read", I called it, and it was lovely.

The holidays are here and we are buying gifts like mad. The Internet has taken on a wild life of its own as a click or two bundles packets and packages to speed to our doors. Some claim it is the cyber sales that attract them, but I think it also involves the ease and simplicity of the venture. The biggest problem, of course, is that items sometimes arrive in odd colors, strange sizes, and weird designs. They may be in three pieces instead of one, or come with 99 correct parts and the hundredth one missing from the box. Assembly keeps parents up long past midnight on Christmas Eve to make morning delight ring through the home. And in that delight paper and ribbons and a miscellany of gifts surround the tree and clutter every cranny. Do I have a suggestion to help alleviate this chaos? Books!

Books fit the Santa list perfectly. No worry of size or color, no anxiety with style or design. Local stores have a nice selection and of course, for those who love the Internet, there are thousands of additional choices. Recommendations abound if uncertainty of a title reigns and many offerings allow you to flip through a few pages to scan the rhyme and reasoning of the contents. The clicks easily flow and soon the parcel will land on the doorstep. While there is still sorting and wrapping in store, putting bikes and train sets together is non-existent. No worry about batteries or charging in advance as books require none of this action. They just need the buyer to run a hand over the cover, add a smile of appreciation and a spin through a couple of pages, and the tender enfolding of paper and bows.

Better yet as dinner simmers and roasts, quiet murmurs overtake the scene as Grandpa reads a new mystery, Grandma is engrossed in the latest romance, and Mom and Dad take turns reading aloud about bears and castles, magic and realism, enriching the air with words. Books stack the floor, surround the gathering today and will last a lifetime. Although pages may take on syrup and a tear or a tear, they are possessions of immeasurable benefit to be shared and cherished forever. And if they become old and tired, there are book exchanges available - no trip to the landfill for a good read.

The idea of reading incites brainwaves and begs the reader to learn and understand more. Soon readers discover that books for holidays and birthdays are inadequate for fulfilling the thirst for knowledge. Fortunately, the public library is open and welcoming. I never met a librarian who did not adore books of every shape, size, and genre. A librarian eagerly guides guests through the mounds and arrays to locate the just the right fix. Further, s/he will order more from inter-library loan or add the tome to the library collection. Reading groups, story time, and author visits are just a few of the other wonderful treasures of a library.

There is still time to accomplish your book-giving goal. While the jumble of gifts will take on a new flavor, the fervor of chattering words and oral exchanges will add to the excitement of reading for years to come. Reading is a true, on-going, ever-giving gift. You cannot go wrong with a book!

Article Source: Giving Books to Build Personal Libraries of Knowledge

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4 Ways to Be an Organized Bibliophile

With so much to choose from today, it is easy to be overwhelmed with books and what to read.  I have a growing list on Goodreads, and I have books that I own, which I have yet to read.  You have Scribd, iBooks, Kindle, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the library.  Sometimes,it is so hard for me to choose what I want to read.  I get review copies for my blog.  I really enjoy the review copies.  I mean it makes me feel like a VIP bibliophile.  With my books in storage, Scribd is definitely coming to the rescue.  I do have books on bookshelves in the living room, kitchen, and my bedroom, also in the rooms of my children, as well.  Reading too many books and buying too many books can happen so fast, when you are a true book lover.  You have so many options and so many formats to read. 

I have a few suggestions to help you achieve some sort of organization with your reading.  I hope these help you like they help me.

  1. Start a TBR (To Be Read) list on Goodreads.  This list helps you to add books that you want to read.  When you need to find a book to read, tackle a book on your list.  The TBR list can help you be more focused when you go to bookstores, libraries, or online options. My TBR is very long, but I am tackling it one book at a time, which leads me to number 2.
  2. Start the Goodreads reading challenge.  This past year, I was pregnant and in school, while working.  So, I knew that leisure reading would be very hard to achieve.  At the beginning of the year, I set a Goodreads challenge, which I knew would be achievable.  Every time I read a book, I made it closer to my reading goal.  Currently, I have surpassed my goal. 
  3. Set a book limit per month.  Since I have started using Scribd, I get one audiobook credit per month.  Currently, I am listening/reading The Time Traveler's Wife, and I must say the ride in my car with the 4 J's is quite peaceful.  The kids and I have been listening to since last Wednesday.  The dialogue we have about the book is so refreshing for a bibliophile like myself.  Even when you go to the library or bookstore, set a limit on how many books you will buy or check out.  I know that we are all guilty of getting books from the library or buying books that we never read.  I mean I just love the smell and feel of books. (Yes, I smell books.  Have you ever smelled a William Faulkner's first edition? OMG Just refreshing!!! )
  4. Look at reviews of a book that you are interested in reading.  I know that I am not the only person that feels like time has been wasted when you read a book, and you do not like it.  There are so many reviews available.  Bookstores provide reviews from their staff.  I love reading the reviews from Square Books in Oxford, MS.  Barnes and Noble's staff provides reviews, as well.  Then you have book blogs, Amazon reviews, and Goodreads reviews.  All of these resources can be very helpful when you are trying to decide on what you would like to read. 
Being an organized bibliophile is achievable, especially if you follow these steps.  Don't forget to connect with me on Goodreads.  :)

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Addicted to Scribd

I think I am addicted to Scribd. I've been reading Infidel on my phone. This book has so many themes. It's very hard to put down. I will be writing a very thorough blogpost about it later.

Today, I started an audiobook using the one full credit that I had to go along with my free trial. I listened as I ran errands and took my daughter to ballet. My children were into the book even more than I was.  Ironically, my eight year old practiced a technique described in the book. 

I listened to audiobooks a long time ago. I'm sure I blogged about it then.  I had my children hooked on audiobooks after reading The Help. Somehow, I stopped. I will be giving up some of my ratchetness to continue my love of books. 

So now, I don't know what to do. I'm reading three books at one time. 😩😩😩. I'm reading The Poet's Secret (paperback), Infidel (Scribd), and 18 Minutes. Plus, I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month. Did I mention that I have a two month old, too?!  What am I to do?!  I blame Scribd

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Scribd

I've heard about eBook subscriptions, but I have never tried them. I love the feel of books and seeing them beaming on my shelves. 

Currently, my books are in storage. I miss them dearly. Their absence have me craving for books.  My friends suggested that I check out Scribd. 

Similar to Netflix, Scrib puts books in the palm of your hand, and you only pay $9.00. Skeptical about signing up, I decided to try it using  the 30 day free trial. I wonder if I will become addicted. During my pregnancy, I was addicted to Netflix because I was on bed rest. 

So far, I have two books in my library. I like how an estimated time of how long it will take to read the book is provided. I'm intrigued by this feature. 

Some books have an audiobook option. I spend a lot time in my car when I pick of my children from school. I may try the audiobooks. A subscription for audiobooks is available, too. 

Do you subscribe to an eBook service? What are your thoughts? 

Thursday, October 08, 2015

Book Review: The Hard Times by Russell Scott

The Hard Times by Russell Scott highlights life from the perspective of men.  Scott includes love, tragedy, divorce, theft, and betrayal, among other themes, to portray how love can trump over it all.  Ray Moffett's journey throughout the novel is filled with real-life events that readers can relate.  My curiosity about the ties between Fritz and Ray was fully satisfied as the novel unfolded.

Being a physician from my home state of Mississippi, Scott pays close attention to details throughout the text, just like I am sure he does at the hospital.  This attention to detail makes using figurative language a breeze, as Scott plays on the emotions of the reader. Also, Scott leaves the reader contemplating interactions with others, as well as how the interactions ultimately can impact their lives. Bringing in his medical expertise, Scott narrates a drama that if full of characters with life and drama with surreal emotions.

Overall, I was very pleased with the book.  From the beginning to end, Scott knows how to reveal a captivating story for bibliophiles like myself.



An Interview With Russell Scott

The Hard Times is partially based on your own experience in Africa. How much is fact vs. fiction?

It's almost all true; the bits are just strung together in a way to make a coherent story. The characters are fictional, their circumstances are universal, so it's a story woven from facts.

When did you go to Africa and why?

I've been to Africa several times, both the northern and the southern ends of the continent. But this book comes primarily from the time I spent in Namibia hunting.

Are the two brothers, Fritz and Manfred, based on real people?

Yes and no. I know that sounds disingenuous, but the circumstances are altered. They are both based on an amalgam or real people. As an oncologist, I live with Manfred's story every day, so I am perhaps closest to him, even though he is a bit evil and imperfect. His motives are like many people facing such an event in their lives – they want to protect their family. Manfred can't be judged too harshly, given the circumstances of his childhood. Fritz, on the other hand, is a man who has looked across the sights of a rifle at another man and circumstances have demanded that he pull the trigger. That is something I can relate to as well. He understands both the detachment that that takes and the toll it takes on a man's soul.

Can you tell us about the role of the international diamond trade in The Hard Times?

It is the framework for the story. The Kimberly Process – the name comes from the city in South Africa where the diamond producing states came together in 2000 to try and regulate the trade in "conflict diamonds" sometimes called "blood diamonds" for the blood that is spilled in their wake as a financier of conflicts and regional wars. It was soon adopted by the General Council of the United Nations and resulted in the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. In many ways, its intent has been subverted by the country of Zimbabwe, under Robert Mugabe, and in that country, nationalization of diamond mining has resulted in "artisanal miners" unprotected and exploited, digging diamonds for little or nothing. The destabilization of the Zimbabwean currency, created a state where the diamonds had to be sold for a worthless currency, so many of them flooded into the black market. This story is a fictional supposition of what would happen if...

What do you want readers to learn from your protagonist, Dr. Ray Moffett?

That sometimes we are most blind to that which is most important to us. In Ray's case, it is his wife. In many ways, Ray is an idiot, just like a lot of men, ego and temptation and just plain stupidity conspire to ruin our lives. This story is designed to help see what is important and what's crap.

What did you find challenging about writing The Hard Times?

Publishing it, it was very easy to write, it flowed out. Sometimes it felt like I couldn't catch my breath I was writing so fast. But, when it was finished, and I read it, it was somehow too personal to share. But with some help from my friends, it is here now, and I hope it's worth the reading. We have become too conditioned to heroes and villains, black and white, good and evil, but life is rarely that simple, so I leave you to draw your own conclusions. 


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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Blog Tour: Resist by Tracy Lawson

Resist by Tracy Lawson is book two of a trilogy set that follows the first book, CounteractEven though I read Resist before reading Counteract,  I was still able to follow the plot of the text.  At the very beginning of Resist, the reader jumps right in to Tommy and Careen's current situation, which is being on the run from the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense.

Playing on the emotions of readers, who are familiar with terrorist attacks, Lawson draws the reader into the trickery of the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense and the falsehood surrounding the anecdote.  Furthermore, the text follows the Resistance movement to overthrow a very powerful government.

Lawson paints a powerful picture of what could possibly happen when citizens trust the government to help deal with terrorism.  Citizens have relinquish their abilities to think for themselves, to act for themselves, and the general liberties and freedoms that are normally afforded to citizens.

From the very beginning this book is hard to put down. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading Resist and being drawn into a plot that could possibly become a reality for country's that can be overtaken by powerful governments.

Author's Questions and Answers

1. Can you give us a brief summary of Resist?
QUICK SUMMARY OF COUNTERACT:
The Resistance Series takes place in a near-future version of the United States. The powerful Office of Civilian Safety and Defense has enacted a long list of Civilian Restrictions designed to keep the people safe from frequent terrorist attacks, but it hasn’t worked: as the story opens, the threat of a chemical weapons attack is literally hanging over everyone’s heads.
Careen takes the OCSD’s offered antidote, but the side effects cause her to hallucinate. Her erratic behavior attracts the attention of a young law enforcement officer, who mistakenly pegs her as a dissident. Careen doesn’t realize the antidote is causing her confusion…until she runs out on the day of the anticipated attack.
Tommy, recuperating from injuries sustained in a recent auto accident, is unaware that there’s a link between that accident, which killed his parents, and the chemical weapons attack that threatens him now. When he discovers that working out before he takes his dose of the antidote helps him feel more like himself, he defies the rules to regain his strength and his sanity. On the day of the attack, he meets Careen, who just might be the girl of his dreams, and tries to save her by sharing his last dose of the antidote, even though doing so could potentially hasten his own death.
What Careen and Tommy learn about the true nature of the terrorist threat spurs them to take action; their decisions lead them to run afoul of local law enforcement, team up with an underground resistance group, and ultimately take their quest for the truth to the highest reaches of the United States government.

QUICK SUMMARY OF RESIST:

In Resist, the second volume in the Resistance Series, Tommy and Careen are no longer naïve, frightened teenagers who believe the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense can protect them from terrorist attacks. They’ve discovered the OCSD’s miracle antidote’s true purpose: to create a population bereft of free will, incapable of defying the tyrannical OCSD. They join the Resistance, but on their first mission, things spin out of control and soon they’re on the run, dodging the quadrant marshals in a headlong dash for the Resistance’s secret headquarters.
Being part of the Resistance presents them with new challenges. Not everyone working for change will prove trustworthy, and plans to spark revolution go awry with consequences greater than they could’ve imagined. Tommy and Careen’s relationship is tested when their philosophical differences and the pressures of interpersonal rivalries and jealousy put a strain on their romance. Can they make time for each other while trying to start a revolution?
2. What was the inspiration behind The Resistance Series?

I was mentoring a friend of my daughter’s when the initial idea for Counteract came about. Chase is a pretty sharp guy and an excellent writer—and when he was in high school I had a lot of fun working with him and editing some of his short stories. We had finished working on a story about baseball, a broken nose, and a broken heart, and were ready to start something new, when he suggested we write scenes in response to the prompt: “What if everyone were on LSD and all thoughts were communal?” It was certainly thought provoking! Chase created the characters Tommy and Eduardo, I created Careen, and right away, we knew we were onto something. Obviously, the story morphed and changed a lot before it became the finished version of Counteract—but that was how it all began.

3. Did you always plan to write another book in the series?

I let my husband read the first draft of Counteract when I was about a third of the way through the original outline. He was enthusiastic and supportive and suggested developing a story line that could be carried forward if I chose to make Counteract the first in a series.

I liked the idea of doing more than one book about Tommy and Careen, and as I wrote the rest of the first draft, I pinpointed elements of the story I’d need to develop and expand to pave the way for a series.
4. How do the characters of Tommy and Careen develop in Resist?
Tommy and Careen are law-abiding citizens until they accidentally discover that the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense lied about the terrorist attack and why it mandated the use of the Counteractive System of Defense drug. They go from being accepting and compliant to impulsively joining a rebel group that’s working to overthrow the oppressive government agency, without having a chance to think about what they’re doing and why.
They’ve only known each other for a week, and their relationship has progressed far too quickly—they became a team, then a couple, without really getting to know each other, and soon they realize they don’t have much in common.
Tommy’s all for the physical aspects of revolution, and is eager to learn about guns and explosives. Careen finds kindred spirits among the older leaders of the group, who are committed to sway the public’s allegiance away from the OCSD by waging a war of information. Her pacifistic approach clashes with his need to prove himself on the field of battle, and further complicates their partnership.
5. What do you enjoy about this series that cannot be found in any of your other books?

The Resistance Series is my first published fiction. My other book, Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, is based on a journal kept by my great-great-great grandfather during his family’s 1838 horse and wagon trip from Cincinnati to New York City.

I did a ton of research before writing that book, and amassed two filing cabinet drawers full of information related to the 22-page journal! During the publication process, I nearly went crazy double-checking all my facts and citations, and by the time the book went to print, I never wanted to see another footnote. Fiction? Yes, please!

Now that I’ve had a little break from footnotes, I’m enjoying writing another nonfiction history book. I’m planning to merge my two favorite genres and write some YA historical fiction sometime after I finish the Resistance Series.

6. The main characters in The Resistance Series are Tommy and Careen. Where did you find your inspiration for them? 

My characters are a little bit of me, and little bits of people around me, but as I spend time with them in the context of the story, they become less like people in the real world; I don’t stop developing them until they are individuals: unique and unlike anyone else.

Chase created Tommy, and at first I wasn’t as close to him as I was Careen. That changed as I wrote more scenes for Tommy—especially the scene when he and Careen meet. His reactions and his choices came from inside me; before long, he was unique and independent of any outside influence.

7. How does the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense (OCSD) differ from other dystopian governments in young adult series like The Hunger Games and Divergent?

In the Resistance Series, there has been no rebellion, no cataclysmic event. The dystopian world in which they live has been created by fear, engineered by an enemy masquerading as a protector.

The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense was created to protect against the rampant terrorism that has affected the nation for the better part of the twenty-first century. Little by little, the OCSD usurped power from the traditional three branches of the US government.

The OCSD’s long list of Civilian Restrictions was designed to maximize safety and security. Most people don’t consider themselves oppressed or fettered by their lack of freedom. Teenagers like Tommy and Careen don’t know things were ever different. They can’t remember a time when teenagers learned how to drive and went on dates to malls and movie theaters.
8. What elements test the relationship between Tommy and Careen in Resist?
Tommy and Careen had only each other to rely on in Counteract, and their relationship progressed quickly—perhaps a little too quickly.
Now they’ve joined the Resistance, and they’re part of a community for the first time. They have a hard time adjusting to the constant scrutiny, and Tommy laments about how their relationship seemed a lot less complicated when they were alone.   
Their philosophical differences about how to fight the OCSD drive a wedge between them, and interpersonal rivalries and jealousy test their budding relationship.
9. What do you hope readers take away from this book?
First and foremost, I want readers enjoy the story! I hope they relate to Tommy and Careen, and look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
Books for young adults often reflect the reader’s need to question authority and rebel against the rules set down by older generations; the Resistance Series looks at what can happen when people surrender our civil liberties in exchange for the promise of safety and security.
I hope readers understand that protagonists in dystopian books are often branded as outcasts or rebels because they question the restrictive rules of their societies—and that individuals who change the world rarely do so by going along with the herd.
10. What kind of research did you do for the series?

Please don’t call the police if you see what’s in my browser history! I’ve Googled the effects of various controlled substances, different types of explosives, and interrogation techniques.

I learned to shoot a handgun so that my characters’ first experiences with weapons would be authentic. At first it was scary, but now I enjoy going to the target range. I’m no Annie Oakley yet, but I’m at least as good as Scarlett O’Hara, who once saucily told Rhett Butler, “I can shoot straight, if I don’t have to shoot too far.”

 11. What made you want to write books for young readers?

I love reading YA, and I taught dance classes for twenty years before I got serious about writing. I spent a lot of time around my students, my daughter, and her friends, so it seemed natural to write for a teen audience.

12. How long did it take you to write Resist?  

I wrote Resist in a little over a year. It went a lot faster than Counteract (which took almost three years) because I knew the characters well and had planned ways to continue the story into the second book.

13. Do you have any interesting writing quirks?

I like to write with pen and paper—preferably outside. I sit quietly until one of the characters starts to speak, and then I write down what they say. Some days I’ll scribble for pages and pages, and when I look at the clock I’ll be surprised how much time has flown by! I usually let those pages sit for at least a few hours, sometimes a few days, before I transcribe them into the computer, and that’s where the scenes really begin to take shape.

As far as writing snacks go, I’m partial to sunflower seeds and Diet Dr Pepper!

14. What does your family think of your writing?

My family has been very supportive. My husband knows how to urge me on when I get discouraged, and my daughter says I’m a better choreographer now that I’ve become an author. I guess writing helped me refine how to advance a story through dance.

I haven’t shared much about what happens in Resist with my family. My five teenaged nieces can’t wait to read it, and I can’t wait to hear what they think!

15. Tell us where we can find your book and more information about you. 

My books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle, and on Barnes & Noble’s online store. If you live near Columbus, Ohio, you can buy signed copies of my books at three independent stores: The Book Loft of German Village, Mary B’s, and Urban Emporium.

You can get the behind-the-scenes scoop on all things Resistance Series, see book trailers, and check out my blog at http://counteractbook.com. You can also find me on Twitter @TracySLawson and on Instagram as TracyLawsonAuthor.

Now here is what you can do since you have read thus far!!! You can click on the link and order the book I have just shared with you. If you really enjoyed reading about this book, share this post on Twitter or Facebook. Don't forget to share you thoughts and comments below.

Discovering the Joys of Being in a Book Club

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store Reading has been a sanctuary for me for as long as I can remember. Being surrounded by books provides unimagi...