The Shadow Throne Book Launch

   

I went to Jennifer Nielsen's book launch for The Shadow Throne yesterday at King's English book shop in SLC with about 100 other fans. She spoke about why she dedicated each of her three books to various family members. In short, writing is a huge journey and her family has been her pillar throughout the process. The funniest part of her presentation was when she read various comments from her blog depicting hyperbole at its best from fans dying (in quite descriptive ways) to get their hands on the Shadow Throne.

I brought my 15 year old daughter with me and we waited for an hour in line to get her books signed. She finished with a strong message as she showed stacks of rejection letters she's received while trying to get her first book published: never give up! Good times. And the cake was amazing.

ASCENDANCE TRILOGY - Favorite Book Series of 2013

I haven't personally  met Jennifer A. Nielsen, but based on the email dialogue we've had back and forth, she's a class act. She took the time to critique the first of chapter of Howie and The Prince of Greed, book one of my young adult fantasy series: The Lackawanna Prophecies. When I make it, and I will, she's been a great reminder of the kind of person I want to be. So I'm giving a shout out to Jennifer Nielsen, not just because she's a nice person, but because her Ascendance book series, starting with The False Prince, has been my favorite book series of 2013. I can't wait to get my hands on the last book, The Shadow Throne. We've had it pre-ordered for months. Get yours! You won't regret it. She's got some of the best one-liner zingers throughout the series.

Thirteen Reasons Why

My eight year old nephew and namesake passed away, and I spent this past weekend in Boston for the funeral. It's only the fourth funeral that I've attended, and the first one that I've been asked to speak at.

While Benjamin died peacefully in his sleep, his body tired from the wearing handicaps he had been born with, it was still a stark reminder of the fragility of life.

I did not purposefully time the reading of Jay's first novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, with the events of this past weekend, but I'm glad it worked out that way. Jay's haunting story ends with hope and a desire to be the type of person who would be celebrated rather than grieved at their passing. Life is a gift, and Benjamin's short life was a blessing to many--more than 500 people who showed up to say, "Thank you." 

This is a book I will ask my kids to read before they start high school, to realize how everything we do impacts someone, even if only ourselves. But most likely--always--there are others that we don't know about. Aren't we lucky that we get to choose how?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

For me, this book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer, is my best read of 2009.  My sister recommended it and while it started just a tad slow for me, once it got going I didn't want to put it down. The style of the book (written as a series of letters) is VERY clever and it is based on actual events on the island of Guernsey off the UK coast during the German occupation.  A must read for anyone who loves great literature.  On a side note, it was Mary Ann's first and only published novel. She passed away in February of 2008.  I hope that I get to publish many books before my time comes.