Guest Post: Doug Solter

Hey y'all! Today's guest post is by Doug Solter, author of MY GIRLFRIEND BITES. I asked him about his inspiration for this story and I really like his answer! Just keep reading, you'll see, he speaks my language! ~Alli

Hi, Everyone! Alli was nice enough to let me come on her blog today to talk about what inspired me to write MY GIRLFRIEND BITES, a new young adult paranormal novel I released earlier this month.

This is an unusual sub-genre for me to write in. When I wrote screenplays years ago, not one of them was a romance. Sure, many had romantic sub-plots like most movies do. But for the most part, I wrote a lot of dramas, comedies, and a few action scripts. Even my first book, SKID, is more of a action-filled YA with the standard romantic sub-plot woven in. Writing “romance” stories didn't really appeal to me. But then I read TWILIGHT.

Yes, that TWILIGHT.

As a young adult author learning the ropes, I decided that I had to read it to analyze why teenage girls were pining for Edward or Jacob and why they could so emphasize with Bella. So I read the first two books. I did get a better understanding on why girls liked this book. However...I had a different reaction when it came to Bella's character.

I tend to write very strong female characters. I think it's because women fascinate me. The way they look at the world is always interesting to me. Plus, I'm always a sucker for the underdog. I'm not saying that as a put-down. I'm saying that historically, female characters either get shoved in the background, placed in only a supporting role, or there to give the hero something to do in between action sequences. One great thing about YA is that many of the heroes are girls and I see so much potential in young adult books for girls to really do some awesome things. I'm not talking about winning a boy's heart at school. I'm talking saving the world, blowing up the Death Star, leading a movement. Girls who are DOING something to affect the world around them. I love that stuff. Now don't get me wrong, I love the timeless brave-man-saves-the-world stories. But in this day and age, girls can be brave and we should show that in fiction.

Now let's get back to Bella. I think she's a nice girl. She's a quiet and thoughtful girl. Her heart is pure. And she just needs that special boy to give her life meaning. But, she needs Edward to save her...constantly. The poor girl can't tie her shoelaces without Edward making an appearance. Reading this actually made me a little mad. Don't girls want to feel empowered? Like they have choices? Do they want to feel like if they don't have a boy. then they can't function as people?

So that got me to thinking...

If I ever wrote a paranormal romance novel, I would swap the roles. My girl will be strong and it'll be the boy who will have to learn to be strong in order to be with her. She might save him a couple times and that would embarrass the boyfriend enough to change how he looks at himself. Then I thought, okay, the boy needs to be very weak. Like, maybe he's really a coward and needs to learn how to be brave. Then being around this girl will motivate him to be a boyfriend that's worthy of her. But what's so special about this girl? Why is she so strong? I wanted steer away from vampires for obvious reasons. Witches aren't physically strong so teaching the boy witchcraft didn't appeal to me. So what creature in a paranormal universe should the girl be?

A werewolf.

Yes! I love werewolves! And she can be physically strong because even werewolves in human form have all that bone structure and mass build up deep inside them. That would be awesome! A normal teenage girl who packed a big, fury punch. When the boy falls in love, that love for her will motivate him to change and be that strong boyfriend she could count on.

Oh, and the werewolves would be the central focus of the story. They won't be manipulated or be treated like second-class paranormal citizens like on True Blood. I refuse to make them into biker-gang-white-trash werewolves. My wolves will be sophisticated.

Before I knew it, I had this story planted in my brain that began to grow and grow. Pieces of ripe fruit formed here and there. Vines connected the fruit together. Bree Mayflower and Aiden Jay came into existence. Suddenly, I found myself writing a paranormal romance.

And now I think I'm okay with that. :)

Here is an excerpt from 'My Girlfriend Bites'

            “Can I just take you home and we can talk about it later?” I ask. But my voice sounds more like I’m begging.

            “No,” Bree says.

            I stare at the glowing dashboard. “How do I ask this?”

            Her voice softens. “Easy. Just ask.”

            “You’ll think I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy.” I notice my hand twisting on the steering wheel, like Bree’s hand did when she picked me up that rainy afternoon. I can’t look her in the eyes. My stomach burns so bad the acid must be eating through the lining. A part of me doesn’t want to hear the answer to this question. But it’s too late to stop.

            “Are you some kind of animal?” I throw it out there quickly, getting it over with.

            Silence.

            “Yes,” Bree says.

            I search her face for any sign of joking or sarcasm, any sign that this was one huge joke on me. But there’s none.

            My brain goes numb.

            “The light’s green,” she says.

            I stick my eyes on the road and drive across the intersection.

            “There’s a park up ahead. Make a right,” Bree says. “We need to have a talk.”

            Is Bree planning to kill me now? Is that nip she gave me on the train going to be a full bite that rips my neck and throat out? Letting me bleed to death in some city park to be discovered by some hipster out on his morning jog? I think the stomach acid has seeped into my vital organs now.

            I maneuver the truck into the parking lot and switch off the engine. One single street lamp casts a weak, hollow glow inside the cab. A dark shadow covers Bree’s face, disguising that cute girl at the restaurant. The silence inside the truck is the loudest I’ve ever heard.

            We sit there for a moment.

            Or two.

            “Up for a walk?” Bree opens her door and steps out.

            I close my eyes. I have this awful feeling that I know something that I shouldn’t know about. Something dangerous. Something that will reveal its scary self and rip my body apart like Christmas wrapping paper. My door pops open without me touching it.

            “Come. Walk with me.” Bree offers her hand.

            I hesitate.

            “I won’t hurt you,” she whispers.

            My shaky hand grasps hers and I climb out of the truck.

            Bree then leads me into a dark grove of trees.

About MY GIRLFRIEND BITES:

A wimpy 16-year-old boy wants to find a girlfriend. When he falls for the perfect one, she shifts into a werewolf and throws his life upside down.

After his "dream" girl rejects him, 16-year-old Aiden tries to commit suicide. Yet he mysteriously survives. Now he feels like a loser with zero possibility of  finding the perfect girlfriend. Enter Bree, the creepy girl with too much hair who's rumored to be cloned from a frozen prehistoric cave girl that scientists discovered in Canada. But when he accepts a ride from “Cave Girl” during a storm, Aiden discovers this weird girl not only has a kind heart. She's also cute.

Aiden offers to help Bree in Algebra and the two become friends. When Aiden pushes that friendship into a date, Bree accepts. On a romantic night at the zoo, Bree and Aiden fall in love as the animals watch. Unlike Aiden, they can smell what Bree really is.

Bree decides to tell him her deep, dark secret. Her family are werewolves hiding from the Demon Skins, a mysterious new enemy hunting down all the werewolf packs on earth. Aiden struggles with Bree's revelation, but chooses to stand by the girl he fell in love with. But standing by his new girlfriend will be the biggest test of his life.

Too bad Bree can't turn a coward into a fearless werewolf. That bite thing is only a myth.

This forces Aiden to do the unthinkable...believe in himself.

You can get your copy of 'My Girlfriend Bites' here:

Amazon

Nook

Smashwords

Kobo

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Doug went to college at nearby Oklahoma State where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/TV/Film production and worked in local television for 20 years. Doug began writing screenplays in 1998 and became a 2001 semi-finalist in The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. His script Father Figure was one of 129 scripts left from 5,489 entries. His tenth script, Rail Fan, became a quarter-finalist in 2009. Soon after, Doug made the switch to writing young adult novels in 2008. Skid, a young adult novel set in the world of Formula 1 racing, is his first.

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ARC Review: Touch of Death

Title: Touch of Death

Author: Kelly Hashway

Genre: YA Paranormal

Source: ARC from publisher in exchange for honest review.

Fave Quote(s): "Emotions were what caused people to fly off the handle, not control themselves. But we weren't ordinary people. We were Ophi."

Info on Touch of Death from Goodreads:

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.
Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct. 

My thoughts on Touch of Death:

I have been excited about reading Touch of Death for sometime now. When I first saw the cover months ago I just had a feeling this would be a book I'd enjoy. In this one instance I'm so glad I judged a book by it's cover. Touch of Death was pretty as well as awesome! 

It is safely a Young Adult Paranormal but Touch of Death is interesting because of the paranormal elements combined with good story telling are different from other books I've read lately. I think author, Kelly Hashway, hit a winning combination with Greek mythology, necromancers and zombies with just enough romantic tension to keep things warm if not all out hot!

***The next paragraph is borderline spoilery***

Speaking of hot, can we talk about Alex for a moment. That macaroni eating stalker really won me over by the end! Please stalk me and teach me a thing or two about being Ophi! Hot as, well, Hades and lets don't even go down that path!

I think fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Covenant series will appreciate and really enjoy Hashway's Touch of Death. It kind of has the same feel as the Covenant books without being a carbon copy. 

I give Touch of Death 4 out of 5 stars and I'm totally looking forward to the next book in the series, which I believe will be called Stalked by Death due out July 2013! (YAY!! Not long at all to wait!)

Review: Untraceable

Title: Untraceable

Series: The Nature of Grace, Book 1

Author: S. R. Johannes

Genre: YA

Source: Purchased copy

Fave quote: "Life is short. Be sure to make your mark."

Book Photo and Goodreads info on Untraceable.

I actually read this book a while back, when I was on a reading but not review streak. So this review might be rather sparse. But you simply must know that I truly enjoyed Untraceable by S. R. Johannes. To start with the cover is beautiful, a little creepy with the girl peeking out through the greenery but beautiful nonetheless.

First, I must say that I am familiar with the setting of Untraceable in Smoky Mountains near Cherokee, North Carolina. That area is about three hours from my home base so I've been there many times for family vacays and church retreats. It is really incredible any time of year; lush and green in the spring and summer, fabulous fall foliage in autumn, and crisp, cold and possibly even icy and snow covered in winter. I always appreciate when I can really visualize a location in a novel. It just brings a level of realness to the story for me. I'm even including a couple of snappies from my past trips to the area to set the Untraceable mood.

 Now, I'm not saying I'm ready to be hiking up the mountains with Grace but I can at least imagine her doing it now.

Back to the book at hand. I really thought the "survival tips" at the beginning of each chapter was an excellent touch. For example, "Survival Skill # 10: If lost, do not be impulsive. Patience can be the difference between life and death." 

There is a mystery element (multiple intertwining mysteries actually) that runs through the book that kept me turning the pages! But balancing out that need to know urgency while reading was all the traumatic sadness and betrayals. Poor Grace never knew who she could trust and every time she tried to trust someone that person would prove to be untrustworthy, or at the very least not what they seemed. 

Also, she never seemed to catch a good break. She'd get some good info and no one would believe her or she'd find what she was looking for only to have it slip away again. Grace is one of those characters that would probably be really mad at her author if they ever got the chance to meet.

Untraceable does not have a "happy ending." But I think sometimes more books need to need on less than perfect notes. We don't always live happily ever after. Stuff happens (well lots of stuff in Grace's life) but that's how we grow as people, through the STUFF. 

I also thought it was cool how Untraceable is an "environmental thriller." It's awesome that a YA book took on another, more comprehensive issue than just why or why not the main female character doesn't have a boyfriend. Untraceable deals with questionable ethics from adults and community "leaders." Untraceable is about standing up for what's right even at the risk to one's self.

Lastly, there is a boy. Le sigh. The boy. I actually kind of love the boy, even though he is totally sketchy! He's conflicted but brave and totes crush worthy. He's an outdoors man of sorts and smart AND he has a swoon worthy English accent! LOVE!

I give Untraceable 4 out of 5 stars. A very good read by an author from my home state of Georgia. Also, currently the time of this post Untraceable is available on Kindle for $0.99. This is a real steal of deal for some good reading material!

Author S.R. Johannes and Me at YallFest 2012!

Let me tell you why I love me some YA! YAY!!

These are the reasons I love Young Adult literature in no particular order. Maybe I'm wrong on some of them but if that's the case I don't want to be right!

1. I am never, ever , never, ever gonna grow up! YUCK! (And I guess my reading preference reflects that!)

2. I firmly believe that YA authors have to work harder than adult authors to create as good of a story. An adult author can throw in a sex scene or extreme violence to amp up the excitement or use a whole bunch of cuss words throughout. A YA author doesn't have the option to deploy "cheap tricks" to get the job done. (Now I love me some adult fiction too, nothing like a good romance novel for mind candy! But some of the most thought provoking books I've ever read are YA.)

3. YA seems to be able to generate more excitement. (Such as events, release parties, blog tours, etc; it's just really cool world to be a part of!)

4. YA fans, bloggers, authors are some of the best people you can meet!

5. YA books make better movies and TV shows.

6. I read YA because I kind of want to remember my "glory days" of youth or wish I had such days.

7. Or...I want to remember why it's better not to be so young anymore.

8. The boys of YA are totally the most crush worthy. (And this is not creepy because they are FICTIONAL, after all.

9. YA is in a way more smexy than adult. The tension build-up in a good YA can not be beat.

10.  Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, John Green, Maggie Stiefvater, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Beth Revis and all the other great YA authors out there for giving me worlds I want to be a part of!

Click here for Beth Revis' contest post!

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

**********************

I tried to tone it down but this 

whole post could be  

**SPOILERY**

So if you haven't read Deity yet and don't want anything spoiled, please don't read anymore.

Just know I LOVED it and thought it is possibly the best on in the Covenant Series yet.

**********************

Seriously...don't read any further if you are 

anti-spoilers!

**********************

You've been warned...

you could skip down and still enter the giveaways though!

Click here for Goodreads info on Deity.

My thoughts on Deity: VERY good. It is steamy and sexy. There is some hot hooking up going on. (That Alex...play on player!) Alex awakens and book ends on cliff hanger. The plot thickens between the council and Lucian. The gods are more active. More people die. 

Like I said in the very big and bold section, I really, really liked this book! JLA is just such a good story teller. I feel like there is a good balance of action and romance. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book and this series. Great YA reading material!

And I love when books lend me a creative opportunity. (For another example see my Obsidian necklace here.) So when I read a certain section in the ARC, I knew I wanted something "from Aiden" in my collection!

This is what I come up with: 

This is what I started with, I couldn't find what I was 

looking for but I found this pretty rose shaped 

charm at my local craft store

and added a little glitter.

(And yes I cheated and used glitter nail polish!)

"...a dark-red crystal had been intricately designed into a rose in bloom, carved as if the petals were reaching up toward the sun."

"Lights winked and danced off the precious stone and it immediately warmed to my skin."

Not exactly what I originally had in mind and certainly not exactly how JLA described it, but I kind of like how it turned out.

I'm almost scared to ask but what do you think?

Here's a US only giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway And an international one! a Rafflecopter giveaway And a giveaway from the publisher Spencer Hill Press! a Rafflecopter giveaway Blog tour host, Stuck in Books is hosting a Twitter party on Friday! Click here for more info!

*I was sent a free Advanced Readers Copy of Deity from Spencer Hill Press in exchange for an honest review.

Upcoming in Alli's World: November

It seems like November is going to be a great month. We all know, it is the month of THANKSGIVING! Great food, family time, a day of reflection for all the things you have to be thankful for...that's awesome. But there are some other great things happening in my life this month in addition to Thanksgiving, am I blessed or what?

1. Today hubs and I are planning on playing "tourist" close to home. We are going to go to Toccoa, Georgia to see Currahee Military Museum. You know, like from the TV show Band of Brothers. I'm really excited to see this after my recent leadership class where we referenced the show on multiple occasions. We are also planning on visiting historic Travelers Rest. And whatever else we can get into during our day trip outing. 

Band of Brothers on DVD from Amazon.

2. This Sunday is the Athens area local bloggers meeting. If you are a blogger in the area, I really hope  you come out! It's at Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA. For info on the event click here.

3. Saturday, November 10th is YALLFest! This is the first time hubs and I have gone to this and I am soooo super duper excited. There are ton of amazing Young Adult authors scheduled to be in attendance. And it's in beautiful Charleston, SC. (Yaaaaaay!)

4. At the earliest, November 15th, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" will be in theater! (Ahhhhhh!) O. M. Geeeeee! I have been loving this series for years. It's so bitter-sweet, I hate it's coming to an end but I'm so ready to see it already! Click here for more info on the movie. 

Poster from imdb.

That's all I know about for now but wow, doesn't that sound like a great month already!? And of course we are going to have to start Christmas shopping at some point! I've got plenty of good books to read and I'm sure I'll be getting lots more for YALLFest. Just seems like a lot of goodness to me! (And it's my mom's birthday month! Whoo-hoo, Mama!)

So what have you got planned for this month?

Review: Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

"It's {the ocean} nothing to be afraid of," I say fondly. "You just have to remember that it doesn't care. It doesn't want to kill you, but it doesn't love you, either. That makes it dangerous, but it also makes it reliable. You can trust the ocean because it's always the same." 

~Fathomless, page 122.

I love the beach. I love the ocean, the water, the salty breeze, the sand, the marine life (except for sharks), the atmosphere. I love it all. I also love ocean lure. One of the first movies I remember ever seeing in the theater was Disney's The Little Mermaid. I was captivated--there are people that live in the ocean?! WHAT? How do become a mermaid?? I'm not sure I have outgrown this phase. Imagine my delight in the mermaid trend in YA lit!

See my posts on Fathomless Release Party 

and my Fathomless Teaser Tuesday!

My first mer-read is Fathomless by Jackson Pearce. This is book three in Jackson's retelling of fairy tales companion series. (The first was Sisters Red, which is a retelling of "Red Riding Hood" and the second is Sweetly, a retelling of "Hansel and Gretel." Since they are companion books you don't have to read them in order but if you do you are rewarded with little tid bits here and there but not required for understanding and enjoying the current read.) Fathomless is a retelling of "The Little Mermaid," not the Disney version, but rather the original Hans Christian Anderson version. Incidentally, I would recommend you reading the original because it is quite different from the Mouse's version.

This was outside our rental house on Tybee Island.

I thought, surely they put this up just for me!

Having read Jackson's other retellings and having a preconceived love of all things mermaid, I was totally prepared to love Fathomless. I was not disappointed in the least! I totally loved everything about it. From the beautiful cover to the very end, I was enamored by this book. It's tragic yet hopeful. There is so much intricacies going on in this book I fear it will be hard for me to explain the premise at all or review without being very spoilery. You have Lo, the mermaid, and Celia, one third of set of triplets with special powers, and a boy, oh the sweet, guitar-playing, cute boy. Le sigh. If you have read many of my posts before you know I'm a sucker for those love triangles. This triangle tends to border the life and death, with or without a soul line, so the stakes are high!

Pic from our trip to Tybee Island earlier this year.

Relevant to this post. There's talk of a pier in Fathomless.

Also, through out this book there was a lot of discovery of self for the characters which I really enjoyed. It was like we were on the journey of self discovery with them. I found it interesting to watch them develop, deciding who to trust, what was important, how to use their gifts, when to sacrifice for the betterment of another. This book was good on the surface but you could easily delve deeper into the introspective reflections if you were so inclined.

"How could someone without a soul remember what it 

felt like to have one? That's like asking each drop in the 

ocean to remember its time as rain." 

~Fathomless, page 64.

I would recommend Fathomless (and Sisters Red and Sweetly) to anyone willing to listen. Fathomless was beautifully written in a way that made me rush through to see what happens and regret rushing at the same time because I didn't make it last. I give it 4 out 5 stars, if not just a smidgen more than a 4.

High Tide by R.L. Stine

Last week, we while hubs and I were on vacation, we checked out quite a few bookstores. Even though, we own plenty of books somehow we just can't get enough. Really, it is rare for both of us to walk out of a bookstore empty handed. One of the little indie shops we went into had a great kids/teen/young adult section. Hubs and I both picked up books that we would have probably would have begged for back in our elementary school days! Sometimes a little blast from the past is nice, you know, remembering where you came from and all that. Hubs brought home a new Hardy Boys book and I got a Fear Street: Super Chiller book by R.L. Stine. I remember LOVING the Fear Street books when I was younger. The other kids liked Goosebumps but I guess I thought I was more mature by reading the Fear Street ones. 

(And how about that, my nail polish even matches! 

I didn't plan that this time! Swears!)

Anyhoo, so I had this recently acquired book in my possession and I'd just finished the book I took with me on the trip, therefore, High Tide by R.L. Stine became my companion for the flight home. (Well, about half way, the book is only 163 pages long and the flight was from Seattle to Atlanta, you do the math :)

I'm not going say this was the most brilliant piece of literature I've ever read BUT I did totally enjoy it and the nostalgia it brought me. I think what I always liked about Fear Street books was the suspenseful mystery. And High Tide did not disappoint in that area, in fact, it is almost like a YA psychological thriller! 

The main character, Adam, is a lifeguard who is working at the same beach his girlfriend died at the summer before. He is suffering from some severe mental trauma surrounding that event and he's having a hard time with what is reality and what is hallucination. The author sets up a good story and the ending is not what I expected at all. It's kind of cheesy in places but I guess when you take in account it was written 15 years ago, I guess that isn't so bad! I didn't find it to be really believable either but hey, it is fiction! 

My final thoughts: good trip down memory lane and worth the hour or two it took to read it.

What were your fav books when you were younger?? 

Feel free to comment. 

I heart comments!

Teaser Tuesdays (Aug.28)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's Teaser Tuesday comes from my current read, Intangible by J. Meyer. So far I'm liking it very much. It's Paranormal Young Adult Fiction. What's not to like, right?

She knew her heart was wrong, her mind was right. She couldn’t be with him. She couldn’t date him. She couldn’t fall in love with him. 

If only her heart would listen.

(*Thanks to J. for sending me a copy of her book!)