Author Fan Letter: Tamora Pierce

The Author Appreciation Blog Crawl continues today. Kassa started this crawl on her blog and has 29 blogs lined up. Yesterday was Obsidian Bookshelf and today, is me!

Choosing an author for this letter was extremely hard. There are many authors that I love reading and think write amazing books. In the end, I decided to go with the author whose books I've read multiple times.

Dear Tamora Pierce,
I started reading your books after one of my friends told me how great they were. She went on and on about the books trying to get me to read them. (I think the only thing she didn't do was beat me with them.) After I finally gave in, I was hooked.

I want to use my letter to let you know that I absolutely adore your books. You've done a great job of creating magnificent fantasy worlds with great detail. I truly appreciate all of the effort you've put into creating both your Tortall and Emelan worlds. You are, by far, my favorite fantasy author. (And one of my all-time favorite authors!)

You've created realistic characters who accomplish their goals without being cliché. Each of your characters has a unique personality. I love how I can tell all of your characters apart by their personalities and even by just reading a few lines of dialog. I also like how your characters aren't perfect, they all have their flaws - Kel's fear of heights, Alanna's height, Tris's weight, Daine's youth - you've shown women that they don't need to be perfect super models to be successful. You've given us females who start at the bottom rung and are able to work their way to the top, not from relying on men but by working hard and never giving up.

I've really enjoyed watching your writing style grow and change through out your career. It's interesting to see how similar yet how different your style is between Alanna: The First Adventure and Bloodhound. I really appreciate all of the work you've put into perfecting your writing and it definitely shows. I'm eagerly awaiting you next releases to see how it has changed again.

I hope you continue to write for many years to come! I'm always anxiously awaiting your new books. I like how you put the time and effort into your books. Rather than pumping out half a dozen books a year, you can tell that you spend time and put a lot of effort into your books. (Though if you find a way to clone yourself and put out six books a year, I won't complain!)

Thank you for allowing us to read your master pieces!

Ralph

Don't forget to check All I Want and More tomorrow for the next post!

New Blog!

Author Roseanne Dowell has a relatively new blog I thought you guys might be interested in. She's doing a lot of interviews with people in the book industry - publishers, authors, agents, etc. A few Dreamspinner authors will be being interview their this month! (Including William Cooper!)

If you're interested in reading these interviews, you can find her blog at http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/

Also, look for some exclusive content from William Cooper to be posted here this weekend!

Chaos Giveaway - Broken Bones, Mended Hearts

Chris over at Stumbling Over Chaos is having another book giveaway! This time she's giving away a copy of William Cooper's Broken Bones, Mended Hearts! Head on over to her blog before May 18 at 7PM CDT to enter for your chance to win!

Plot summary:
When Noah wakes up in the hospital, he’s relieved to see his best friend Mark at his side. Mark’s always been there for him – ever since a school bully tried to steal Noah’s lunch money. Is it too much for Noah to hope that Mark will want to be a more permanent part of his life?

About the Author:
William Cooper is a new author to the M/M genre. BB,MH is his first book and will be released on May 19 from Dreamspinner Press! You can learn more about William and his book on his website

New Poll!

I just put a poll on my sidebar to see what you guys would like to see more of. Do you want more interviews, book reviews, giveaways, something else? If you'd like to see something not listed in the poll, please feel free to comment here and let me know what you want. Please be honest, I can't grow my blog without feedback from my wonderful readers (and Chris). ;)

Those of you reading through a feedreader will have to visit the site in order to see the poll!

Out of Bounds - Review

Title: Out of Bounds
Author: T.A. Chase
Series: Love of Sports
Rating: 2/5 stars
Review:

Professional basketball player Kasey Johnson makes a point of keeping his sexual preference under guard and out of the public eye. Empty, off-season flings are all he can look forward to until he retires. He figures his secret is safe-until he meets Ingram Fletcher, a nightclub owner who ignites a passionate inferno in his body.
Gram has lusted after Kasey ever since the long, tall basketball player was traded to Phoenix a year ago. But with Kasey-s twin brother running interference, up until now Gram-s been unsure if it-s safe to make a play. Then some incidental contact in the crowded club leads to a kiss that starts Gram wondering if a relationship is possible-now, and beyond March Madness.
A romantic weekend together answers that question. Now the only one remaining is if Kasey is ready make a fast break out of his comfort zone.

The main reason I rated this book so low was the lack of plot. This was definitely more of a porn without plot book than a romance novel. There wasn't much romance, just a lot of sex and the characters magically falling in love. The sex started barely a couple pages into the story and continued for most of the book.

The plot that was there was very thin. Most of the scenes that weren't sex, were about Kasey whining about what would happen if his team mates found out he was gay. Kasey worries over this for a while and doesn't really do anything about it. Through out the whole novella, I really wanted to smack Kasey and yell "GET OVER IT ALREADY."

The characters were fairly one-dimensional. I don't really know anything about Kasey or Gram, I don't know any of their personality traits, their backgrounds, nothing. The relationships were really weak - the characters fell in love after doing nothing but have sex. Even the relationship between Kasey and his twin brother's relationship was week. You didn't feel the love between the two like you would between brothers.

This isn't a book I'd recommend unless you're looking for a book that doesn't have much plot. If you like your books to have a good balance of plot and sex, I would pass on this book.

** Warning ** This novel contains sex scenes and may not be appropriate for readers under than age of 18.

Birthday Book Giveaway - Ryland's Sacrifice

I meant to post this sooner, but the winner of my last giveaway was Lily! Sorry for letting everyone know so late but finals got in the way of everything.

Today is my 20th birthday, so to celebrate, I'm hosting a giveaway that I was supposed to host for Earth Day! Kim Dare has allowed me to giveaway a copy of her ebook Ryland's Sacrifice. This is the first book in her Thrown to the Lions series. It was published February 2010 by Resplendence Publishing.

Here's the blurb for her book:
Principles don’t pay tuition fees. When Ryland’s math scholarship disappears overnight, he has two choices. He can borrow money from fellow student Jason Burrows, who has very interesting ways of collecting debts. Or, he can volunteer to be thrown to the werelions.


One night spent playing the part of a willing human sacrifice will give him enough money to finish his PhD. It seems like a good deal—right up until the moment he finds himself naked, blindfolded, bound and surrounded by lions.

You can find out more about Ryland's Sacrifice and read an excerpt on her website. The novel is available in PDF format. If the winner already has a copy of this book, they may choose another from her backlist.

Contest Rules (Borrowed and modified from Stumbling Over Chaos <3<3):
* To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes Midnight EST on May 13.
* If you share this contest (on Facebook, Goodreads, you blog, etc. I'll give you an extra entry for each medium you use, up to three extra entries.
* You must leave a valid email address with your comment. If you don't include an email address in your post or on your Google Profile, Chris's Blog Gnomes will turn your post into kitty litter for the Chaos Cat.
* Winners will be selected by random number.
* If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
* If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
* This contest is open worldwide!

Book Giveaway - Cow Pie Bingo

To celebrate Earth Day, Addison Albright has agreed to let me giveaway an ebook copy of her short story Cow Pie Bingo. Cow Pie Bingo was published on April 10, 2010 by Smashwords. The story will be available in most formats, and the winner can choose which format they prefer.

Here's the blurb:
Evan lets a co-worker talk him into working a kissing booth at a charity fair. Not quite sure what to expect, he certainly doesn't count on meeting Gary, or kissing him, considering his past. Kissing is what he ends up doing, though, along with playing cow pie bingo for a good cause. Will Gary end up being more than a six-ticket ride?

You can find out more about Cow Pie Bingo and read an excerpt on Addison's website.


Contest Rules (Borrowed and modified from Stumbling Over Chaos <3<3):
* To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes Midnight EST on April 29.
* If you share this contest (on Facebook, Goodreads, you blog, etc. I'll give you an extra entry for each medium you use, up to three extra entries.
* You must leave a valid email address with your comment. If you don't include an email address in your post or on your Google Profile, Chris's Blog Gnomes will turn your post into kitty litter for the Chaos Cat.
* Winners will be selected by random number.
* If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
* If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
* This contest is open worldwide!