Favorite 2013 Reads

My Goodreads reading goal for 2013 was to read 26 books. To my delight, I surpassed this goal in the fall and reset it for 32. As of December 31, 2013 I finished reading 39 novels! It was a great year for YA fiction and it's going to be hard to narrow down my favorites, but I suspect that some of mine are on your favorites list as well. In no particular order:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - I love a book with a gut-wrenching twist.

Just One Day/Just One Year - Gayle Forman is back! Just sayin'.

Fangirl - I categorize this as NA. Another great book by Rainbow Rowell.

Shine - Lauren Myracle - How did I neglect reading this for so long? Wonderful!

Prodigy - Marie Lu - The Legend series; Most trilogies I've read or started reading have a weak book. Not this one. Champion will be my first read in 2014.

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor, enough said.

Wintergirls (reread) - Laurie Halse Anderson - Perfect.

The Fifth Wave - Rick Yancey, I love your writing.

Chaos Walking series - Patrick Ness, I love yours, too.

The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith - Jo, you sneaky devil! Refreshing. Renewed my love for mystery/detective books with great characterization.

And because Neil Gaiman's brilliant, even when he's writing a blog post, The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Good creepy stuff!

I'll keep my 2013 list visible on the right of this homepage for a few more days in case you're looking for recommendations for your 2014 TBR list. After that I'll post the list under my Books Read tab where you will find my 2012 and 2013 list. If your're interested I will be adding my 2014 reads to the right sidebar on this page as well as what I'm currently reading.

Also, a special shout out to my two friends who were published this year. Donna K. Weaver and Donna Hosie.
I'm so proud of these women and happy to count them as friends. I wish them continued success and can't wait to see how they'll use their talents this year.

What were your favorite reads of 2013? Were any of mine on your list? What must read book should I add to my 2014 TBR list?

Interview with Donna K. Weaver

I'm thrilled to welcome a long time friend and author of A CHANGE OF PLANS to my blog today. Donna and I met in cyberspace long before either of us began our writing journeys. We both share a passion for Harry Potter and were on the staff of The Leaky Cauldron website together, though in different areas of the forum. Donna has worked so hard to achieve her dream of writing and publishing a novel and I'm extremely happy for her.

Before getting to know Donna in a short interview, here's a look at her debut book.

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old, Colorado high school teacher wants to do is forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. Lyn plans a vacation diversion; fate provides Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship's make-believe world and temporary friendships, her emotions come alive.

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he's navigating, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn is on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs from Braedon and what he has to offer.

Their confusing relationship is bad enough, but when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling excursions in American Samoa things get worse. Paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped and Lyn's fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

Interview with Donna

1. Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and pinch yourself thinking, "I'm a published author!" I still can't believe it. It's funny because the book went live on Amazon early, and my sister-in-law got and read the book. Yet I hadn't received my own copies of it . How ironic that someone else held my baby before me?

2. What was your inspiration for A Change of Plans?
A dream. It had one with a guy and a girl on an island with the huge tree and a tree house. In the dream, they were strangers, though.

3. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I don't outline in the traditional way. My outline's a 50,000 word first draft. I love sitting down to write and seeing where the story takes me. Even when I've thought I knew where the story was going to go, I'm frequently surprised.

4. What are you currently working on and can you tell us a little about it?
I'm editing a companion novel to A Change of Plans. It stars a secondary character--Jori--and begins about 80 pages into ACoP, where the characters go different paths. It's been an interesting experience, both writing a parallel story that goes beyond where ACoP ends but also writing from a male point of view. I'm also working on a short story about Lyn's best friend, Elle.

5. Other than writing, what's your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
When I'm alone, read. When I'm doing something with my husband, we like to go to movies or play video games.

6. Tell us a little about your writing process. Plotter or Pantser? PoV preference?
Since I talked about my Panstering earlier, I'll address point of view. I was actually 12,000 words into ACoP as third person, but I could tell it wasn't working. I'd never really considered writing in first person because it seemed so ... personal? Even though it's not. But once I started writing in first person, it was the right fit for this story. The other 4 1/2 books I've written are all third person.

7. Are there any "must haves" you need while writing? (favorite snack, music, comfy chair cushion...) Quiet. I don't mean silence. I love having music that fits the characters or scenes. I just can't have people talking to me when I'm writing. I used to share my office with my husband, but he's a regular Chatty Cathy, and I couldn't take it. Now I have my own office. Which comes in handy since I got Dragon software for the last NaNo (that's when I wrote Jori's book). No way could I talk a story if I had an audience.

8. You knew I had to ask this...Who is your favorite character from the Harry Potter series and why? Harry. I love that kid. I loved learning his history as the story unfolded. Jo was so wonderful the way she eased us into Harry's back story and showed us things even he hadn't known about. I remember when I was reading Prisoner of Azkaban, and I realized the screaming he heard around Dementors was his mother's death cries. Or how happy I was that Harry's Patronus took the form of James's Animagus because of the connection it gave Harry to his father. Or the scene in the hospital at the end of Goblet of Fire (that didn't end up in the film) where Mrs. Weasley held Harry as he cried--almost like a mother. *sniff* Dang. Now I'm going to have to go back and listen to the books again--for like the bazillionth time.

Thank you, Donna for stopping by. Congratulations! I can't wait to read your book!

For more info about Donna K.Weaver, you can visit her at her awesome blog, Weaving A Tale or Two.

A CHANGE OF PLANS is now available at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Rhemalda Publishing
Goodreads page
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Cover Reveal: A Change of Plans

Today, I have the honor of revealing the book cover of a dear friend's debut novel. Without further ado, may I introduce A Change of Plans, an adventure romance by author, Donna  K. Weaver, published by Rhemalda Publishing.

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old, Colorado high school teacher wants to do is forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. Lyn plans a vacation diversion; fate provides Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world and temporary friendships, her emotions come alive. 

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he's navigating, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn is on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs from Braedon and what he has to offer.

Their confusing relationship is bad enough, but when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling excursions in American Samoa things get worse. Paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped and Lyn's fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

Author Bio:

Donna K. Weaver is a Navy brat who joined the Army and has lived in Asia and Europe. Because she sailed the Pacific three times as a child, she loves cruising and wishes she could accrue enough vacation time to do more of it with her husband.

At fifty, Donna decided to study karate and earned her black belt in Shorei Kempo.

After recording city council minutes for twenty years, Donna decided to write something a little longer and with a lot more emotion--and kissing.

Donna and her husband reside in Utah, they have six children and eight grandchildren who live all over the world.

________________________

Your cover is gorgeous, Donna! I can't wait to read it!

A Change of Plans is due to be released on June 1, 2013.
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