First off, I wanted to shout out Rachel Harrie’s Third Writers Platform-Building Campaign! I had a lot of fun participating in the last Campaign, and enjoyed meeting a lot of writer friends, and visiting other blogs! If you’re interested, act NOW! The list of Campaigners will close tomorrow, August 31.
Hope to see you around the blogosphere, and on Twitter via #writecampaign
Photo shared generously by Poppy Thomas-Hill
Ok, now to share more love!
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks here, so here are a few highlights from my last few weeks…
While roaming around the blogosphere, I LOVED these posts:
Laurie Halse Anderson: The Nuts and Bolts of Crafting a Creative Life
Carrie Ryan: Revisions, The Why and The How (courtesy of WriteOnCon)
Beth Revis: Don’t Give Up (courtesy of WriteOnCon)
I also twittered a little bit, and I LOVED these tweets:
http://twitter.com/#!/Committed_Jay/status/82263496196227072
http://twitter.com/#!/veertothewrite/status/106797419995475971
I also read a TON and LOVED these books (I wish I could review them ALL):
Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think of Eon and Eona as one epic saga, like Lord of the Rings, versus being a book and its sequel. Goodman did such an amazing job weaving culture, language, magic, action that while I read, the words just disappeared and I was living the story.
Just to emphasize how gripping this tale is, I started reading this book around 9PM Wednesday night, thinking to read a few chapters before bed. Well, I HAD to keep reading, and got to The End around 5AM. I only had three hours to sleep before going to work, but the story was SO worth the lack of sleep. (Besides, that’s what coffee is for!)
Amazing work! I only hope that one day, I can develop my scifi/fantasy to this level of sophistication.
Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (released TODAY, August 30!)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Witchlanders is told through the perspectives of two boys, Ryder and Falpian. Ryder is a farm boy in the Witchlands, struggling to support his family after his father’s death. Falpian is a Baen prince from the Bitterlands, mourning the loss of his twin and his potential for magic. Born enemies, Ryder and Falpian discover they have a common destiny, and need to work together to uncover the mysteries behind the cultural assumptions that they’ve inherited.
Witchlanders delivers high fantasy without plodding backstory and cumbersome terms. Coakley beautifully weaves together cultural traditions, histories, and magic to create a rich, immersive reading experience. It has the scope of being an epic story, and the potential for companion tales. And, though I would read a sequel to this story (and I hope there is one considering how this story ended), I would REALLY be interested in reading a prequel.
*Note: I read Witchlander as an egalley, courtesy of Simon and Schuster’s Galley Grab program.
[I’ll be archiving any of my book reviews on my Book Love page (see menu) and of course, GoodReads.]
Those were some of the things I’ve loved these past few weeks…how about you?
Liza Kane 
Hi Liza! I’m in your Dystopian group – sorry it’s taken so long to pop over and say hello!
No problem at all! I know how time consuming making the rounds can be! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Lisa, I’m stopping by from the campaign and loving your blog. I’ve been eyeing Eon and Eona for quite some time, you just convinced me to get it.
Witchlanders is also on my list… oh I love me some good books 🙂
don’t you though??
Nice to meet a fellow book addict, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Just a heads up, I have set up a Google Reader with all of Dystopian Group 21 in it to help organize all of our . Link is:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/user%2F08181744977128699830%2Flabel%2FDystopian%20Group%2021
ooh, thanks so much since I hadn’t had the chance to set up my dystopian group links! You’re awesome!
Thanks for the resources (blog posts & books)! Your reviews are fabulous and make me want to start reading all three right NOW. Guess I’ll have to choose, Le sigh. Anyway, you’re amazing. Thanks for spreading so much love everywhere you go!
You’re very welcome! I’m glad that my book reviews can be helpful…I feel awkward and stilted writing them so generally (I’m more used to analyzing and knit picking), BUT if they make you want to read these books, then I feel like I did the job! ^_^
Hi liza, I’m a first time campaigner. Have you done this before? Next I’m going to have to tackle Twitter. I like the Monday love. Come by and checkout my Happiness Tuesdays posts.
Hi Bridget! Yes, I participated in the second campaign, and enjoyed meeting writers there!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll be checking out your blog, too! 🙂
(I love twitter–once you get started, let me know, and I’ll be happy to follow you there, too!)
Ooh this makes me even more excited to get reading! I picked up Eon and Eona at the library this weekend after reading your Goodreads reviews. I’m so glad you loved them so much! I’ll have to check out the other one as well.
Yes! Witchlanders is awesome too! JUST released today!! ps, I’m sending out A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie to you! You won my little giveaway!! ^_^