Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: Accepted.

I've just learned about the Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge over at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf and I accept the challenge! Click the picture above for details on the challenge and the linky!
I'm signing up as an Initiate saying I'll read between 1 and 5 witchy books and review them. I only aim so low because of my late start, but I hope to exceed my goal.
Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, which I read and reviewed last month is/was my first witchy read of the year so I'm counting that.
Make sure you check out Melissa's blog! I've just found it and I'm greatly enjoying it!
Do you like witchy reads?

An Author Interview with Jody Gehrman

Last Friday I posted my review of Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman. I loved the book and approached Mrs. Gehrman for an interview, and she said yes! I'm so happy So let's get right into it!

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Jody Gehrman is the author of seven novels and numerous plays. Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is her most recent Young Adult novel. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin's Dial Books). Babe in Boyland won the International Reading Association Teen Choice Award and has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.

Lifeducks: First, I want to say thank you so much for the opportunity to review your book, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft. I really enjoyed reading the book, but for my readers have not, would you mind telling us the general idea of Audrey's story?

Jody Gehrman: It's about a 17-year-old witch-in-training who must hone her newfound magical powers in order to save her mother from an evil necromancer. Oh, and it has magical chocolate cake plus cute boys!

LD:What inspired you to write such a neat story?

JG: I've always been fascinated with witchcraft. I even dabbled in it a bit in my youth. I started writing it about seven years ago as a book for adults, but I never felt like it was quite working. Then I realized it would be better as a YA novel, so I pulled out the old draft and gave it a radical makeover, including a brand new protagonist and a totally different plot.
LD: What about the background love story? Why did you choose to not make the love story the focal point of the novel?

JG: Audrey's attraction to Julian needs more time to really develop, and while I do see the love story getting fleshed out in the next two books, in this first book she's got her hands full. Her primary concern here is getting her magical powers up and running so she can save her mom. Still, Julian's too cute and charming to ignore completely! She feels an irresistible connection with him. I do love romance, when well done, but Audrey's story isn't just boy-meets-girl. She's busy!
LD: What would you say was the most difficult part about writing this story?

JG: This book took me longer to write than anything I've ever attempted. I had to be patient and wait until the story unfolded. That can be super frustrating, but I do believe you can't force a book into being--or if you do, anyway, it usually shows.

LD: Which of your characters do you feel like you relate most to?

JG: That's a hard question. I relate in to Sadie, Audrey and Megan in very different ways. I relate to Sadie's mentoring style, to Audrey's intensity, and to Megan's drive to be a rock goddess. Not that I AM a rock goddess, but I'd like to be! I guess all of my characters reflect a different part of my psyche.

LD: What lessons or feelings do you hope your reader will take away from the experience of reading your novel?

JG: I hope they'll see the magic in everyday life. Audrey's ability to absorb everything around her and channel it does happen all the time on a subtle level; we pull ideas and emotions from our environment and channel it into our work, our art, our interactions. It would be gratifying if readers resonated with that and started to recognize it more.
On the other hand, the wonder of being a writer is that readers always see something I never intended to show them. Maybe they recognize reflections of people they know in the characters. Maybe the setting reminds them of someplace they've been. In a way, the responses that surprise me are even more delightful than the ones I predicted. It's the ongoing alchemy that happens when a reader's imagination encounters the words on a page.



Questions about Life And Other Works
LD: Would you like to tell us a little bit more about yourself? What kinds of things do you like to do when you're not working?

JG: Yoga, kickboxing, swimming, theatre, thrift shopping, reading, movies and eating. I'm a big fan of bacon and chocolate, though not necessarily together.
LD: I’ve read you’re also a playwright. How does play writing differ from writing a novel? Which do you enjoy most?




JG: Plays are all about dialogue; it's your only tool. I think writing plays hones my dialogue skills so when I go back to novels the muscle is stronger. Plays are much more communal by nature, too. You usually work with the director and cast; that helps fight the solitude of writing novels. When you see a play performed you get to feel what the audience feels; you know when a joke falls flat, when a kiss or a monologue moves people. With novels, you have a huge space between you and your readers; only through reviews and emails do you know what they're thinking. But novels help me reach a wider audience, and I get a bigger canvas to paint on. I can delve into setting and pack in all kinds of sensory details. For me it's ideal moving back and forth between the two forms. I call it "cross-genre pollination." My work in one form inspires and strengthens my work in the other.

LD: So Disney has shown interest in your novel Babe in Boyland. How excited are you to have the opportunity to see your novel in movie form? Will you be working on the script?

JG: Disney has their own distinct style, so they're hiring a screenwriter. I'm fine with that. I actually think I can learn a lot more this way; I get to see how another writer transforms my story into something that will work on screen. I think it will be fascinating. Since I've experienced the "letting go" process plenty in theatre (hanging back as a director makes changes or interprets my play in new ways) I'd like to think I'm not as control freaky as most writers. Who knows, though! I'm just really excited.
It's kind of a dream come true, even getting as far as the option.



Questions About the Writing Process
LD: For those of us who are aspiring authors, I can't resist a couple of questions about your experience. What inspired you to become an author?

JG: My first "novel" was really a very long letter sent to my best friend about us riding around on our flying dogs. I was eight. We'd moved to Canada for the year and I missed our imaginary games, so I wrote about them instead. I guess writing for me has always been about delving into imaginary worlds. I still tend to think of each of my novels as long love letters to a place, a time in my life, a person, a feeling.  

In college I discovered playwriting, and after college I freelanced as a journalist. Both of these experiences really confirmed my commitment to writing, in part because they helped with the inherent loneliness that can become an occupational hazard. As a playwright I love working with actors and directors; as a journalist I love doing interviews. These more social aspects of writing balance out the isolation of writing novels.
LD: Where do you like to write? Do you have a specific place or time of day that you like to do your work?

JG: I have an office, we call it "the writing room." It's my favorite place in the world. I'll attach a picture. I'm generally a morning writer, though when I'm on a roll I'll sometimes write all day.




LD: What went into your decision to be a self-published author?

JG: Here are some of the reasons I decided to experiment with the independent route after publishing with large, established houses for the past decade:1) TOTAL CREATIVE CONTROL: While authors occasionally get to offer input into book design and marketing strategies, more often we're sidelined or not included in the process at all. With AUDREY, I hired my own model and sketched out my own vision for the cover. We transformed my writing studio into a photo studio and my husband David went to work. For over a week obsessed over fonts and poured over Photoshop tutorials. We had a blast making it our own. I plan to attack every aspect of marketing with the same gusto. It's liberating, taking control in this way. 2) MASSIVE INCREASE IN ROYALTIES: I know I'll have to sell a lot of books to earn anywhere near the advances I got with my book deals. Still, considering that I'll be going from an average of 10% royalties to a much larger percentage, even a moderate success has the potential to keep me afloat. 3) NO WAITING: Ask any writer and they'll confirm that the waiting process is endless and creatively draining. You have to wait months for editors and agents to get back to you, your pub date gets delayed, your project is on hold until you can get more feedback. It goes on and on. With this process, publishing happens when I say it does.



4) IT'S FUN: I'll probably be singing a new tune if my marketing falls flat and I join the fifty percent of self-pubbed writers who earn less than $500 a year at their craft. After living with the disempowering lack of involvement I often felt with traditional publishing, though, there's a real skydiving-esque thrill to all of this. I'm taking the plunge. The outcome is uncertain. Wish me luck.


LD: Do you have any advice to give to me and other aspiring authors?

JG: One: Write on a regular schedule.

Two: Surround yourself with people who support your writing dreams. 

Three: Know that external validation (getting published, getting praise) can only take you so far. You have to love the process itself, savor it every day. That's where a writer's true pleasure lives.


I really want to say thanks again for the wonderful opportunities you've given me with both the review and this interview. I wish you the best in your future works and I can't wait for the next installment of Audrey's story!


If you missed my review of Jody's newest YA novel, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, Check it out HERE!

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft: A Book Review

When the author approached me for a review of this book, I was little apprehensive. It sounded like a good idea, but so many books do. I'm extremely happy to say, I enjoyed this book. I would like to thank Jody Gehrman for the opportunity to review, and love, this book! I eagerly wait the sequel!

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman
Format: E-book
Published: 30 June, 2012
Publisher: Magic Genie Books
BUY IT

This was the very first book I read on my new Nook Color, and I loved that, but this is a book review. This book is quirky, suspenseful, humorous, and exciting! I easily read a few chapters a day for the first couple of days, but once I hit chapter thirteen, I was hooked. I did not put down my Nook for anything more than a moment. I became enthralled background story of a relationship Audrey develops, not to mention the main story line: chasing the bad guy to save Audrey's mother.

In this book, Audrey Oliver is a 17 year-old girl living an ordinary life. She loves baking, like her pastry chef mother, and chemistry, like her late father. She has a best friend and a talented sister. One day, Audrey just feels that something is terribly wrong. When Sadie, a young estranged cousin, shows up, her suspicions are confirmed. With the story of her mother having to attend to "family business," the girls continue in their life. But weird things are happening to Audrey. She sees weird visions and seems to make things happen. Finally, she learns that she, and her mother, are witches. After that life shattering news she learns her mother is fighting an evil man and that Audrey may be in danger too. How is Audrey supposed to balance family loyalty, self-preservation, and her new magical abilities, not to mention falling in love? What's a witch to do?

As far as the story itself, I liked the idea of it. What can I say? Throw some witches onto paper, have them fight evil and fall in love, I'm sold. I also really loved the characters and their development. Sadie was, by far, my favorite character. I love her quirky personality and how lost she is at first in the Oliver home. I also love her menagerie/entourage.  Meg was also an interesting character, being entirely without knowledge of the truth. Then there's Julian. I love that man. I'm so glad that Ms. Gehrman didn't make him evil or sketchy like so many authors feel the need to do.

My only real complaints are stylistic. I questioned the use of some metaphors and found, I think, two typos (only one I marked as distracting). My first complaint, though was the vocabulary. I'm an avid reader and English major with, what I consider, an advanced vocabulary, but within the first 10 pages, I had to look up 2 words and noted one as and unnatural words for a high school junior. If she was said to be an extremely intelligent or advanced student, I'd probably over look  these words, but for a Young Adult novel I found them to seem pretentious and unnatural. After page 10, though, the unusual wording stopped or died down enough I forgot to notice.

Overall, I give this book a 4 duck rating. I really really enjoyed it, despite me minor, English major-esque, complaints. I really think that anyone who enjoys exciting fantasy novels, novels about witches and magic, or just really good, fast paced reads would really like this book. I, personally, am patiently (or perhaps impatiently) awaiting the sequel! Look below the rating for where you can purchase your own copy to love.

Check out the e-book, available for $0.99 HERE!
Or get a copy from Amazon for only $9.99

Balefire: A Book Review

“The thing about unrequited love is that it doesn’t tend to go away.”
“Darkness is in everyone… In me, in you, in [them] and everyone. And so is light. Darkness is a choice, a path. Every day we all have to make the choice, to choose good, choose light. We make the choice against darkness, against evil, every day, a thousand times a day, our whole lives.”

This is a good, but long book by Cate Tiernan. Granted it is four books in one volume, it reads like one book. I really wish I had read them as four different books. I got kind of bogged down in the length simply because my attention span is horrible. I really did love the twins and the characters. I liked the plot and really loved that Tiernan changed points of view between first person (Thais) to first person (Clio) to third person. It did help keep my attention and thought it was neat to see all sides.
Clio is beautiful, popular, and powerful. Living in New Orleans with her grandmother, she’s grown up knowing she was a witch and learning to use her magick. Que Thais. Thias’s father dies unexpectedly while she is away on vacation. When she is returns she’s swept into the courts and is put in the custody of a woman she’s never heard of, as were her father’s orders. Axelle is abnormal and whisks Thais off to New Orleans, away from all she’s ever known. There she gets enrolled in school and the first day, she finds herself staring into her own face on another girl. From there, Thais is rushed into a world where she has a twin sister, powerful magickal abilities, and a group of witches who need her. The girls have to learn quickly who to help, who can be trusted, and most importantly how to help eachother.
I greatly enjoyed this book. I really think anyone who likes stories of witches will enjoy this. It’s really nice if you like New Orleans or know some about it. I especially adore seeing Thais’s view on summer and live in the deep south after coming from northern states. Like I said, I think most people who love witches will love Cate Tiernan’s take on them.

Demon From the Dark: An Adult Book Review

“My enemies have deemed me fearless. ‘Tis no compliment. The only males who know no fear are the ones who have nothing to lose.” – Malkom Slaine (by Kresley cole)

“If these people execute me, I’m going to be sooo pissed.” – Kresley Cole

“I think I just fell into like with him.” – Kresley Cole

“Two things that can never be contained? Velociraptors and Zombies.” – Kresley Cole

Mmmm, this is yet another of Kresley Cole’s sexy paranormal fictions. The main male, Malkom, is rough and handsome. The main female, Carrow, is an independent, party girl witch. Fantastic, as always! Well done Ms. Cole!
Carrow is captured by an organization set out to destroy, or at least figure out, immortals. To gain her freedom, Carrow is convinced to go into a Hell-like realm to capture a demon, vampire mix. Sure she can do it without a problem, she goes and attempts to lure him in with her body. Little does she know things about this impersonal, selfish mission, with quickly change.
Malkom is an outcast demon-vampire mix, forced to live his lifei n the mountains, feared by all. Suddenly, out of no where, this poor male’s mate is dropped dead in the middle of his territory, vulnerable and weak. He has an undying need to protect her, while she is nothing but distrusting. She doesn’t recognize him! He must now convince his fated mate to love him and accept him.
I highly suggest this book to anyone who likes adult romances, paranormal fantasies, and is mature enough for it. It does have some intimate scenes that may not be comfortable for many people, but the plot itself is excellent! If you’re up for it, check it out.

Once a Witch: A Book Review

“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“You mean intentionally?”
- Carolyn MacCullough
“Do you know what it’s like to grow up knowing that you were meant to be something else, something so very different from all the ordinary filth you see in the in the streets around you?”
-Carolyn MacCullough

Above are a couple of quotes from Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, an amazing first of, what I believe will be, a two part story. I absolutely love the characters in this novel. They’re so easy to fall in love with and fear for the life of!
Tamsin Greene is our heroine, an un-Talented girl in a family of magic handlers with many Talents. Tamsin was supposed to be powerful, wonderful, a “beacon”, but she has no magic in her. She feels out of place at home but find sanctuary at a boarding school in the city. That is until a man comes asking for the help of her sister, Rowena. Tamsin, playing the part of her sister to prove her worth, agrees to help this seemingly distraught professor, but the professor and the item are nothing they seem and soon Tamsin, the unmagical, un-Talented girl finds herself lost in a a quest to find some unknown object and herself.
MacCullough does an amazing job bringing these characters to life. She puts a wonderful twist (or eight) into the plot. You’ll never guess what happens next. This is certainly up there on my recommendations. If you like witches, mystery, adventure, sisterly love, family loyalty, and magic with a slight undertone of romance, this is the book for you.