When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song?

I'm making a few changes in my life this year. Oh, I have no idea what these changes will be, but like a storm taking its sweet time to rage and thrash, a shakeup is coming. So it only makes sense I have a theme song. Think Ally McBeal and her dancing baby song (hooked on a feeling). The right song can really hit the spot. So I'm throwing out this challenge, monthly. Pick a theme song and then when you need a boost, or need a specific motivator, maybe a certain song inspires you to tackle your most dreaded chore like balancing your checkbook, choose that one. Maybe you're down and there's a song that always makes you smile, there you go. For January, I'm going for boost, smiles, dancing, fun. I need of that right now.

My pick is Best Day of My Life by American Authors. Gotta warn you, I love this song so much, it might remain my song for the whole year, but I'll pick new ones to add to the playlist. 

I posed this challenge to my mom and sister. My sister chose Pompeii by Bastille. My mom went with an old favorite, Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. 

Happy New Year, my awesome bloggers. I love you guys. How could I not?

Tiny little update here...I decided to create a youtube channel so I could create a playlist of everyone's picks each month. You can find January's playlist here.

Sidekick Showcase [40] Mrs. Claus

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic

• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character

• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in

• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick

• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post theirs throughout the week as well

It's only fitting I salute an awesome female character for my last Sidekick Showcase of 2013. Mrs. Claus puts up with a lot and always has a hug or smile waiting for you (at least when I picture her). There is one character I can imagine being the woman standing by her man with wit, steel, and a core of sweetness, Eve Rosser from Rachel Caine's Morganville series. I know it might seem like a stretch because Eve is mega Goth and makes silver-tipped stakes in her free time and then goes on to stake vamps at any time, but underneath the cake of white face power and shiny leather thigh high boots is a sweetheart. I imagine her going all out at Christmas time and making everyone in the Glass House play along. If Michael thought he could get away with unwrapped half-ass presents, she'd correct his thinking on the spot. If Claire got depressed because she missed her parents during the holidays, Eve would take her out for some much needed shopping and fried food. If Shane stopped talking and stopped playing his games because he missed his sister, Eve would hug him and insult him at the same time, the perfect combo to cheer up that messed up boy. Eve is the go-to girl. Sometimes she gets weepy, but Mrs. Claus probably gets emotional all the time.

Happy New Year my awesome bloggers. You're cool people.

“Hey, Mikey? You get her hurt and I'll end you."
"You let anything happen to Eve and I'll do the same," Michael said. He'd just finished kissing Eve, too. "While you're at it, don't get yourself killed, either, bro."
"Ditto. And don't kiss me."
Claire cocked her head at him, exasperated. "Seriously, Shane? Ditto? That's the best you can do?"
Shane and Michael exchanged identical looks and shrugs. Guys.
"Let me show you idiots how it's done," Eve said, and hugged Claire fiercely. She kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, CB. Please take care of yourself, okay?"
"I love you, too," Claire said, and suddenly her throat felt tight and her eyes burned with tears. "I really do."
Shane and Michael watched them with identical expressions of blank bemusement, and finally Shane said, "So basically, it's what I said. Ditto.”
― Rachel Caine, Ghost Town

Think Out Loud [37] Bratty presents still count!

Do you all remember when I went to the romance writers' conference a couple months back? While I was there I snagged a pink nightshirt that said, "Cade slept here" in cursive on the front and "Trevor slept here" on the back compliments of super awesome author Lainey Reese who wrote the hot and steamy novel A Table for Three. The moment I saw the nightshirt I knew what I was going to do with it...put it in my mom's stocking for Christmas. As far as bratty moments go, it was my favorite in ages. Do not feel bad for her because this is the woman who stood next to 14 year old me in the Sydney airport after our bags were lost and the guy asked me if there was anything easily identifiable and do you know what she said out loud for everyone to hear? "Robyn, did you pack your vibrator?" I wasn't prim and proper even then because I have the table manners of a prison inmate, but I was an extremely innocent 14 year old! Just the word vibrator melted my face! So you see, I'm a brat for a reason. Have a great last week of 2013 everyone!

p.s. After shrugging off the shock of the shirt she told me maybe it will be a good omen. I almost took it back!

Merry Christmas!!

My mom used to put this picture up every year after Thanksgiving. I played an angel in the school play when I was in first or second grade. As the years went by she started putting it up before Halloween thinking she was so clever. You know, since I'm no angel, what a great costume. So here's six year old me wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. I'm a lucky girl to be part of the blogging community and to call you all my friends. Oh, and if this picture doesn't scream cute holiday wishes to you, my five year old is in perfect agreement. He chose the cat below saying, "This is the cute picture."

Merry Christmas!!

It's Christmas break, so here are a few robgirlbooks movie raves!

Here a few movies I watched recently and totally loved!

Frozen!! Oh my goodness, talk about awesome and not completely girly either. This is not a Disney Princess movie even though there is a princess in it. The story is fresh, the twists and turns unexpected, the dialogue current and funny! And the songs rocked. I took my five year old to see it during parent-teacher conferences. We were the only two people in the theater! It was the coolest movie date ever. We talked at a normal volume. We acted out our favorite scenes. John was free to be squirly and bouncy. I only stopped him from ball busting acrobatic maneuvers (for his own good). If you are a fan of animation at all, go watch it! Take the family or make it a date. Whatever. It rocks! And there's romance, funny romance! 

Okay, enough of that. Time to gush about the next movie.

The Croods...Another animation movie, currently on DVD, and surprisingly funny. I wasn't sure because the animation looked odd to me, the premise questionable, and my attention span nil. I watched it with my 5 year old on my computer. A couple times I caught myself leaning in because I was so into the movie! There were moments that felt like I was watching Everybody Loves Raymond meets Journey to the Center of the Earth, but the man/woman stereotypes were easy to overlook because I was wrong about the animation. It was breathtaking. The version of the earth so long ago with the different animals and plant life was amazing! The story was great too with the message to be fearless in life. Rent this one if you get the chance.

Grown up time...The Heat was so damn funny. I laughed until I cried. If you're squeamish about swearing (sorry because I already cussed), this is not the movie for you. There is so much swearing, but I'll tell you it's part of the story. Every single f-bomb combo was necessary. I promise. The physical comedy rocked. I'm a sucker for funny, but this movie also had these two wonderfully talented women who were able to bring true emotion and depth to their characters. This is not a remake or extension of Miss Congeniality. Nope. It's plain awesomeness with chicks who carry badges and guns and have a touch of crazy in them. Watch it, love it, go on now.

Here's one out of the stacks...Hotel Transylvania has been out on DVD for a while now, but I just watched it for the first time. This is a monster musical mash type movie with humor, scary undead things, and rapping. Yep, Dracula raps. I loved the story too. Dracula wants to keep his daughter safe from the big bad scary world of terrifying dangerous humans so he does everything he can to keep her in the land of monsters and then one day an adventurous human shows up. Disaster! Mayhem! And Fun! Check this one out too!

Okay, I know I just listed mainly animated movies, but it's the holidays and we all turn into kids at this time of year, right? 

Think Out Loud [36] Breathing under water is sometimes easier than all of this.

I almost drowned once. It was summer. Floods hit the Midwest like never before. I was stupid. You know the formula. So the kids asked me to go tubing. I said, "Sure, what's tubing?" Already I should have been locked in my room and not let out until I had some common sense. We parked next to a bridge partially submerged by the usually harmless creek beneath. We all had our inner tubes. I watched the other kids jump with huge triumphant grins. I didn't like the look of the water. Too many whirls. Whirls were bad in the ocean, but this was a creek. I took position on a spot not submerged. I swallowed a big gulp of air and jumped. 

I landed with an ungraceful plop, flipped, lost the inner tube, and got sucked into an underwater mountain of debris crammed under the bridge. Pockets of water pulled at my body to draw me further into the tangle of broken branches and muck. I loved water back then. I was a total fish. Could hold my breath for ages. Almost nothing in the water freaked me out. Eels, of course. Big scary assholes that held me under freaked me out too. That's about it. But this? No problem. I even smiled. 

I felt the tug, tug, tug all over. I told myself I had about a minute to fight my way out and up. I imagined breathing water like the movie Abyss. That would be so cool! I pulled and heaved forward. Echos of my name bounced around me. I didn't want anyone to come after me. I loved it, but I couldn't see anyone else feeling the same way. I made it to the surface. Sucked in air while a barrage of kids just as dumb as me yelled and scolded me for freaking them out. I decided right then that tubing sucked balls. 

Why is it almost drowning is so much easier than the land of air and solid ground. I flail out of the water with no clue which direction to take. It was a simpler thing when I had a minute to find the sky again.

Think Out Loud is an anything you want to post meme. Join us and see how cool it is.

Sidekick Showcase [39] Christmas Cheer!

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic

• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character

• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in

• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick

• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

For the month of December we can choose anything Christmas-related. I've decided to hit up my children's book list because there is a particularly wonderful couple I just love from The Bear and Mouse series by Bonny Becker. Bear is the most pessimistic (and funniest) creature ever! Mouse is the sweetest (and most forgiving) thing ever. Bear lives by routine and isolation. Mouse crashes into his life with zest and kindness. There hasn't been a Christmas book written (to my knowledge), but there was a birthday one. Bear did not want a party or presents or company or any kind of disturbance to his busy day of chores. Mouse kept coming back after being tossed out on his mouse bottom. 

I can just see Mouse wearing an elf hat and turning Bear's house into a winter wonderland and Bear throwing the biggest tantrum until he came to his senses and most humbly accepted Mouse's Christmas cheer.  

Think Out Loud [35] Moms mess up too!

The other night, Will had a runny nose. He truly looked miserable. I already prepared myself for this because John coughed all over his big brother...on purpose...just to make me lose my mind! 

The next morning was more of the same. John was snotty. Will was snotty. 

So no school for both boys. 

I left the room and went back to bed. 

Fifteen minutes later, Will nudged me (yes, I had already fallen asleep). "Mom, what should I do?" 

"You're staying home today."

"What!? Sweet!" That was my first clue that I had seriously misjudged the situation. I finally opened my eyes and caught sight of my eleven year old pumping his arms in the air. I also noticed the school uniform and lack of sniffles. Shit. I told myself he could be sick and just overwhelmed with joy, but then he dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups. 

"Uh," was all I managed because then he started doing one arm push-ups.

He went to school after all. And he's still pissed about it.

Think Out Loud is a meme like no other. Post whatever is on your mind, rants, jokes, your favorite song. Join us cause we're cool people. Honest.

I'm all starry over Debbie Macomber's Starry Night!

A few months ago I attended a book signing for Debbie Macomber. Did you all know her last name is pronounced Maycumber? When she told us I almost corrected her. I had never read one of her books, but from the moment she spoke I was a die hard fan. She is just one of those people with that kind of magic. I knew her books would possess the same magic. And I was right!

Starry Night is a lovely holiday romance about a with-it career woman on a mission to prove herself and an untrusting recluse on a mission to maintain his life of easy contentment. Carrie Slayton works the society page for the Chicago Herald. Not a shabby living, but she wants to report real stories. She's given one chance to make that happen: Find elusive new author Finn Duncan and interview him. Finn wrote an adventure book the world sunk their teeth into and fell in love with. Now everyone wants to to know him. He wants his Alaskan wilderness forever free of snoopy reporters. So it's just a wonderful day when Carrie shows up half-frozen with no place to go but inside his cabin.

I loved the banter between the two. I loved the wide range of family dynamics and the fact that everyone in the story was good all the way through. There is no bad guy, unless you personify pains of the past. I loved the Alaskan setting, oh that starry night! The romance build is slow and sweet, but full of so much dang anticipation. The writing is smooth like butter. Nothing fancy full of paragraphs of flowery descriptions. It flowed so well I read the book too fast! I absolutely loved every moment I spent in Finn and Carrie's story. I'm on my second Debbie Macomber book right now. She's magic I tell you.

Sidekick Showcase [38] Grinch!

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic

• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character

• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in

• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick

• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

For the month of December we're choosing holiday/Christmas spirit themed sidekicks! There's wiggle room, so don't fret if one doesn't come to you right away. 

This week I'm choosing Finn Duncan from Debbie Macomber's latest Christmas novel. In Starry Night you have a recluse bestselling author and a society page reporter. No one has a lead on Finn Duncan, but if Carrie Slayton can find him in nowhere Alaska and convince him to give her an interview her career path will be pure gold. Finn is the biggest Grinch. The moment Carrie falls into his life, he can't wait to throw her back, and he doesn't keep those feelings to himself. Does he put great effort into making Carrie feel unwelcome? Yes. Does he scorn all women everywhere? Yes. Does he ever put up a Christmas tree and decorate it? NO. And yet I love Duncan. I wanted to smack him a few times, or at least kick him in the shin. He's stronger than strong. He's one of those uber-burly men and has the beard to prove it. Even though Finn isn't traditionally handsome, I couldn't help envisioning Jo Manganiello (Alcide) from HBO's True Blood series.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded a second time.

"A ... well, my name is ..."

"I don't care what your name is." Finn Duncan (Starry Night, pg 39)

"Is there someplace you'd like me to put my suitcase?" she asked.

"You mean like in a guest bedroom?" he asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, yes."

He snickered. "There's only one bedroom, and only one bed, and I'm telling you right now I'm not sleeping on the sofa." Finn Duncan (Starry Night, pg. 52)

"He really has mother issues, doesn't he?" she told the dog, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"I heard that." Carrie Slayton to the giant dog (Starry Night, pg. 61)

(By Joe_Manganiello.jpg: Ronald Woan derivative work: RanZag (Joe_Manganiello.jpg) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Think Out Loud [34] Has this ever happened to you?

This week I made a quick trip to Costco. Quick meaning no samples, no wandering...if I can't find it, too bad for me. Ten minutes later, I was waiting in line with my cart. I heard birds singing. Happy birds in December? I looked up, nothing. Then more birds chirping merrily and me determined to catch sight of flapping wings. Nothing, dang it! The man in front of me moved forward. I followed suit with most of my attention skyward, but I caught his dofi smile (uh, dofi means missing tooth in Chamorro). I was just about to call him on getting me good because I had never heard anyone whistle like that before, but he broke out in song. My mouth dropped because we're talking a serious rendition of some unknown to me sweaty love song. He got into it with his hips and dramatic expressions. And once in a while he smiled. 

I finally shook off the surprise of someone going all Glee high school musical on me. I felt the words on the tip of my tongue, "You're our very own Cinderella" (wrapped in the body of a forty-something slightly chubby man). I would have called him a girl cartoon. I'm sure of it because I'm like that, but then the checker started singing! True to form, I gaped at him. I looked around to see if this singing thing was catching. The guy who always asks you if you want a box joined in, grinning ear to ear. By the time I was at the counter all I could manage was, "Wow." 

I ended up behind Mr. Cinderella. Not one person looked up for birds as he whistled his way to the exit. I saw two bouquets of roses in his cart. So maybe there was at least one happy bird in December.

Zombies, Water Parks, Sass, and a Sweet HEA, robgirlbooks' movie & book mini-review marathon!!

My plan was to do a movie review marathon but November kicked my butt. I only saw 2 awesome flicks...so I added a couple quick holiday reads that made me smile the whole way through (except at the end because I wanted more).

5 STARS! World War Z is so good. I've watched it three times. You know the premise probably. The world is over. The dead walk the earth, but in this case they run super fast and infect you. Most zombie movies are about survival and sadly most of the cast don't make it. You endure a whole lot of body munching, screaming, and gore. In World War Z, you move past that because there is no survival for anyone if they don't figure out how to neutralize the zombie infestation. So it's a mystery wrapped in an apocalyptic thriller. If you've always wanted to watch a zombie flick but were scared of entrails all over the place, this is the movie for you. Plus Brad Pitt is so very awesome in it. He rocks, and tries to save the world. I love him.


5 STARS! The Way Way Back pulls you into the painful existence that is summer vacation trapped with the worst person ever. Fourteen year old Duncan is stuck spending his summer with his mom and her suck-face boyfriend. I wanted to claw the man's eyes out and kick him in a bunch of places that would make him cry. Luckily, Duncan happens upon a local water park run by a bunch of misfit adults who take him in like he belongs. I loved watching Duncan come to life and I rooted for his mom to follow suit. There's some boy/girl tension. Some divorced parents drama. And the best friend a kid could make in the form of actor Sam Rockwell. Oh how I love him. If you're looking for a feel good journey check out The Way Way Back.


4 STARS! The Gift by Karli Perrin is what I'm dubbing a smiling read. I'm not sure if I've ever read a story where the banter and chemistry entertained me so thoroughly. You have Imogen, a sassy creative writing student and Blake, the best male character ever! Okay, I'll calm down, but Blake is just too good for a tiny novelette. I want more from the pair. Author Perrin does a wonderful job making me swoon and feel giddy for the budding romance, but then the story ends and I kept clicking next page. How could it end like that? Seriously, I needed an epilogue the same length of the mini-book. If you're looking for a fun, swoon-worthy holiday read, The Gift is a great choice. I have to thank Ki at Doing Some Reading for gifting me this book. We had a great chat about it.


4 STARS! Snow Daze by Katie Mettner is beyond sweet. The characters were such solid, beautiful people I cheered for them to get their HEA. Dully is a Special Ed teacher with a heart of gold. He rocks. Snow has a doctorate and a disability that would push away some suitors, but not heart-of-gold Dully. They have a chance encounter that piques both interest and hope. The rest was a giant leap of faith. I enjoyed reading about adults going about having an adult romance. And I wasn't expecting the steamy scenes! If you're looking for a total feel good holiday romance, check out The Gift. I first heard about this novella from Tobi at Forget the Housework, I'm Reading. Check out the post and read about Katie Mettner's awesome mission.

New Cover Celebration Hop!

A Touched Girl Series Cover Reveal Blog Hop

Soul Walker and Soul Bender have brand new covers, and we are celebrating!

Published: December 9, 2012

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Summary: 

"I need to get you to the hospital." He was taking responsibility for me. Only my parents had that job. I stretched my hand out in protest, but the lack of depth perception had my trembling fingers grazing his overheated neck. I swore his whole body shook.

When five-year-old Anna Pierce is offered a chance to have nightmare-free nights for the small price of her voice, she jumps at it. Silence has to be better than all-consuming dreams about blood and death and fangy monsters. The bargain she strikes comes with a secondary benefit, visions of a person's future potential. The combination of visions and silence changes her very nature and soon she's diagnosed with autism. Twelve years of living in her head comes to a screeching halt the moment Peter Davis pulls her out of an icy river. 

Her new life has her twirling, tiptoeing, and crashing through unfamiliar territory, one filled with a cranky grandma, a knocked up cousin, an unpleasant cousin, a bunch of mostly good vampires, and the boy who rescued her.

To top it all off, the deal she made at five is no more. Anna is expected to talk, to figure out her resurfacing nightmares, and to control her ever-growing powers. And she'd better get it done soon because if the good vamps want a piece of a living, breathing Touched girl, the evil ones simply want. They'll take Anna for their very own.

Soul Walker is the first book in the Touched Girl Series. It's approximately 91,000 words.

Get it today at Amazon - 99 Cents

Published: March 11, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Summary:

How much can a soul take before it breaks? 

Anna Pierce has a vampire boyfriend, a driver's license, real friends for the first time since she was five, and now she faces one of her biggest challenges, senior year at a mostly all girls Catholic high school. Sure, she's a member of the talking crowd now, but she'll never be like everyone else. How can she when the first of her kind has camped out in her dreams? 

Little dead girl Emily decides Anna's destiny can wait no longer. It's time for this generation's Touched girl to hunt. Trained in a virtual dream landscape to destroy all in her path, Anna must choose between her destiny, the one beat into her on a nightly basis, and her legacy, the one instilled in her by her parents. 

Along the way, old enemies remain dutifully obsessed, new foes lurk in the shadows, and odd Little Duckie Anna Pierce sets out to be social. 

Get it today at Amazon - $2.99

*Covers created by Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven

About Robyn Jones:

I laugh when people fall down. It's a glitch in my programming, but even my mom has suffered this quirk. I have a BA in Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound. My boys make me laugh every day. I steal pens; I try real hard not to. I collect those free bookmarks at the checkout counter at libraries. I've had more stitches than anyone I know. I love stories; writing them, reading them, watching them. You can email me at robgirlbooks@gmail.com.



Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

COYER Mini-Review Marathon Time! Sterling, Holding On And Letting Go, and Turned at Dark

Is there such a thing as reviewer's block? Every time I sat down to tell you all how much I loved this and that, my mind scattered in a thousand directions. Here's my best shot at lassoing some of those thoughts.

5 STARS!! Sterling (Mageri Series: Book 1) by Dannika Dark took my breath away right out of the gate. Zoe Merrick is completely average and totally cool with it. That's the thing I liked about her from page one, she's a with it character who knows how to wield what she has. Then bam! She's attacked. Killed? Maybe, maybe not? In her very understandable freak out she runs into Adam Razor. Oh, my goodness. I love him. I'll just get that out right now. Adam helps her come back to life, but she has no vision for her future. How do you start over when you feel disconnected from everything and everyone? No worries because she meets Justus De Gradi who knows what's missing in Zoe's life. The road to the magical future she's meant to have is not a pretty one, but Justus vows to show her the way. There's flirting, kissing, and a whole lot of sexual frustration in this installment. My heart raced and swooned. There were moments I wanted to stand with Zoe and fight by her side. The bad guys are worthy of gruesome deaths. The good guys are all so damn hot, even Zoe is a little dizzy. I have book 2 already waiting for me. How's that for cleaning out my Kindle?

"May I have another taste of your cherry?" 

Justus to Zoe p. 113 (it's not what you think)

"And you don't see me carrying a wand, do you?"

"Well..."

"You've always got a counter for everything, don't you?"

Justus to Zoe p. 232

5 STARS!! Holding on and Letting Go by K.A. Coleman had me crying from the beginning. I knew this was a tearjerker. I stepped outside my wussy norm and risked my heart anyway. Emerson Caulfield lost the love of her life. If you're thinking some wild boy who died way too young, you're right. She lost her baby brother who had the most amazing spirit. He was the light of her life. Darkness swallowed her and kept her captive for two years until she returned home. Thing with letting light back in your life, any flicker hurts. Enter Matt, all american hottie, next door neighbor, and Emerson's long ago best friend. He's determined to be there for her. She's determined to continue putting on an act and mourning in private. Emerson's journey out of the dark is a painful, gritty one filled with angst and tears, but I couldn't get enough. I love Matt and Emerson's story. We all have one. We all lose our way at some point. 

"Sometimes it's yourself that you lose, and that may be the worst loss of all."
location 1899


3 STARS!! Turned at Dark (A Shadow Falls Novella) by C.C. Hunter gives us a glimpse of Della Tsang's life before she entered the spooky world of Shadow Falls. You see how she went from perfect daughter in love with the boy her parents actually approved of to the sullen vamped out chick we all know and love. I'm so excited that she has a spanking new spin off series coming May 2014. I enjoyed this quick read, but I wished it was meatier. My emotions weren't tugged in any direction. I'll be looking for Reborn in the spring. I hope you all check it out too!

Think Out Loud [33] The Boy Who Saved Christmas (sort of)

A couple days ago John put on his most solemn face. 

"Mom, is Santa Claus real?"

"Do you think he's real?" I asked.

"Um, no. I don't think so. Dad says he isn't."

"No, your daddy did not say that."

"Okay, you're right. Is he real?"

"Well, Santa means different things for-"

"Will, is Santa real?"

"Of course he is! We saw Santa at the mall last year."

John sat on that for a few seconds.

"Okay, okay. I was wrong. He's real."

And all was right in his world...until this morning when he told me Santa wasn't real but the Easter Bunny definetely was.

Happy Thanksgiving. I am so very thankful for the friendships forged in this awesome world of blogging, fangirling, and ranting. You all rock!

Sidekick Showcase [37] Creepy!!

This week's sidekick is CREEPY, and I had no idea who to pick until one name came to me. Eve's little jerk brother Jason Rosser. I'm talking Rachel Caine's Morganville series here. From the moment Jason skulks around the hot, dusty Texas town, you want him to stumble upon a scary vamp and get good and drained. I never liked him. Once or twice I felt a twinge of compassion. I hoped he would be this big turnaround character for Eve's sake, which only speaks to my unhealthy attachment to this series. Maybe there's hope for him because I can't remember what his character is up to. Every time I think about him, I see flashes of all the crap he's pulled over the years. As for casting someone to play his role, imagine a scrawny, blond, filthy, crazy-eyed, barely-past-puberty punk kid, with stick legs and long bony hands. The last two are all me, but that's the Jason in my mind. 

“Michael, don’t,” Eve said. “He won’t hurt us.” And everyone rolled their eyes at that. Even Jason, which was borderline hilarious.”
― Rachel Caine, Carpe Corpus

Jason talking about Michael -
"Don't do me any favors, Glass Ass," Jason snapped.”
― Rachel Caine, Carpe Corpus

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic

• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character

• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in

• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick

• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

Going dark this week, but I have great book news!

I'm out of commission this upcoming week. Will is on the slow mend from the stomach flu. He's sassing me finally, so all is right in my world. (Update...I have it now so maybe all is not right in my world, but I am thrilled Will is on the other side of this terrible bug.)


In book news, Soul Walker and Soul Bender have spanking new covers thanks to our wonderful Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. We're planning a cover celebration hop/giveaway the first week in December. Anyone who wants to participate just drop a line.



Also, I'd hoped to publish Shadow Town this year, but it looks like January is going to be my magical book release month. Blame my publisher (dang, that's me). Shadow Town follows nineteen year old Maggie Lane. By day she's property manager of Pearl Estates, a housing community owned by her father and occupied by Shadows. By night she's a waitress at a local dive. When a girl at her night job disappears she goes into Scooby Doo mode. She might be able to handle a missing waitress on her own, but when a new Shadow moves in next door and turns her into a blushing, flirting, love-crazed girl, her need for answers reveals a world waiting, stalking, sharpening their teeth for her.

(I originally published this post Sunday night...but it was too depressing at the time since Will was breaking my heart, so I reverted it to draft...sorry for anyone clicking all over the place trying to find it)