31 December 2011

2011 Wrap Up!



Wow can you guys believe it's almost 2012?! I met my goal of reading at least 75 books which is really good because i didn't think i would be able too but I'm really glad i did! I'm proud of myself i made it through my first year since starting high school! I made it through Freshman year and now I'm a Sophomore. I started my book blog in August and i haven't given up yet and I'm proud of myself because usually ill start a cool project and then in a few months ill be done with it but i really like blogging it keeps my spirits up because its apart of doing the things that i love reading and writing! 

My reading stats!

Number of Books Read in 2011: 79
Pages Read in 2011: 25,259
Number of New Authors Read: 53

Favorites!

Favorite Cover of 2011: The Iron King By: Julie Kagawa
Favorite Author of 2011: Michael Grant
Favorite Female Character: Zoey Redbird from The House of Night Series By: P.C. & Kristin Cast
Favorite Male Character: Cabel from the Wake Series By: Lisa McMann
Favorite Couple: Sam and Grace from The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series

New Year Blogging Resolutions:

1. To read more then 100 books!
2. To read a lot of arcs and participate in a lot of book tours/ blog hops!
3. To write at least one post a day
4. To get over 200 followers!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! 





30 December 2011

In My Mailbox 14


What's up followers? Sorry for such a long video this week because of christmas i got a boat load of books! I have a ridiculous amount of reading to do!! Usually i would write all the names of the books and link to their goodreads page but since theres so many i'm not even going to try to do that! I hope you enjoy the video and my mountain of books! Remember to leave links to your IMM's in the comment section below!

28 December 2011

Review The Caldecott Chronicles No. 1 By: R.G. Bullet

The Caldecott Chronicles No.1 (Volume 1)The Caldecott Chronicles No.1 by R.G. Bullet

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When I was asked to review this book I accepted but I didn’t know if I was going to enjoy it. But I actually did. It was about an old city I guess and a disease that turns you into a zombie is going around and only a few people have survived. The whole book is a mans journal to his son about how he’s surviving when everybody else is basically zombies.



In the story he meets this little girl Saffy who has also survived this disease even though her whole family hadn’t. At first he see’s a wound on her arm and he thinks it’s a bite from a zombie but it’s really from a nail. She tells him this but he doesn’t believe her and he leaves her. He ends up coming back though which makes me happy because who would leave a little girl alone in a city that’s basically filled with zombies.



The two basically become like father and daughter. They look out for each other. They both come up with a plan to bring the zombies to them so they can kill them but not to close to were they get bitten. They protect each other when sick, even though there’s a chance that they’re sick because there becoming a zombie. It’s a crazy but sweet story and I’m glad I chose to read it. I’m excited for the next parts to the story to come out so I can see how the two of them are doing.



View all my reviews

2012 Sensational Seconds Challenge


Okay people this is my last challenge well actually i have one more challenge that i'm going to post tomorrow but i promise thats it. I chose the Sensational Seconds challenge because i have the hardest time keeping up with the series i started so this challenge will help me actually keep up and stay on track with them. Which is good because i need something to keep me motivated to do that. This challenge is hosted by Reading in the Corner. I'm going to post the levels and which one i chose down below but to sign up for the actual challenge click on the host's name above.

The Levels:

Level 1 (Beginner) 1-4 books
Level 2 (Intermediate) 5-8 books
Level 3 (Advanced) 8-12 books
Level 4 (Crazy) 13+

Since this is one of the many MANY! challenges i've entered i'm going to choose Level 1. Thats not being to risky which is good because i don't work well under pressure. I hope you guys decide to join the challenge with me!

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27 December 2011

Teaser Tuesday




Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme created by MizB over at Should Be Reading. Teaser Tuesday is the one time a week where we get to share a teaser from the awsome book(s) we've been reading! Anyone can participate just make sure you follow the rules below.

Rules:
1. Grab Your Current Read
2. Open To A Random Page
3. Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
4. Make sure you dont share spoilers you dont want to ruin the book for other participants
5. Lastly make sure you include the title and author of the book!

Here's My Teaser:


Night World #1 By: L.J. Smith

Pg. 61

Poppy shifted uncomfortably. "So you, um drink people's blood, huh?" Even after everything she'd seen, she couldn't say it without half-laughing.

I like this teaser it got a nice little chuckle out of me. I hope you enjoy it too!


YA Contemporary Challenge


I chose this challenge because well i've decided that I don't read enough Contemporary and i really would like to, so that's why i chose this challenge! This challenge is hosted by Reading Angel and Katie's Book Blog. For the full rules and sign up place go to either on of there blogs by just clicking on their names. Below i'm going to choose which level i'm going to be taking on!

Levels:
Level 1: 5+ Books
Level 2: 10+ Books
Level 3: 15+ Books

Im choosing Level 1 just because of my book buying money is limited so i'm not exactly sure when i'll be able to get books and when i wont be. But i'm definateley going to try to go over 5 books!

1. Fracture By: Megan Miranda
2. Never Eighteen By: Megan Bostic
3. Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters By: Meredith Zeitlin
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26 December 2011

Standalone Reading Challenge!


Yet again another challenge!!! So the Standalone Reading Challenge is good for me because i'm always reading these random books that nobodys heard of and there not part of a series. So this challenge promotes that kind of reading which is good for me! This challenge is hosted by IceyBooks and I Like These Books. Now to sign up i'm supposed to make a list of stand alone books that i want to read this year so i'm going to make that list on goodreads and link it up down below! I hope you decide to join this challenge with me and if you do good luck!

Goodreads list: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3768910-paige?shelf=standalone-challenge

1. Fracture By: Megan Miranda
2. Never Eighteen By: Megan Bostic
3. Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters By: Meredith Zeitlin
4. After The Snow By: S.D. Crockett
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24 December 2011

In My Mailbox 14



Hey followers! Now as i said in the video this is going to be my original IMM. But on monday i'm going to do an additional christmas vlog because i will have gone book shopping with all my money! So i hope you enjoy the video and all. Leave links to your IMM's below and i'll be sure to check them out as soon as i can. P.S. Sorry for my brothers face at the end lol he decided he wanted to just randomly show his face! P.P.S. Click on the titles of the books to see their goodreads page.

Books i won this week:

Won from Carina @ Fictional Distraction
Crossed By: Ally Condie

Won From Hannah @ Once Apon A Time
The Thirteen Hallows By: Michael Scott & Colette Freedman

The Book i got as apart of an ARC Tour:

From Lisa who is apart of the DAC ARC Tours
Ditched A Love Story By: Robin Mellom

Christmas Eve Presents: From my grandparents, Aunt, and Uncle

Don't Look Behind You and other True Cases By: Ann Rule

The Restless Dead: The Original Stories Of The Supernatural By: Various different authors click to see on goodreads

Hannibal Rising By: Thomas Harris

21 December 2011

YA/MG Fantasy Challenge 2012


Another challenge! I know right? You guys must think i'm crazy but i really want to read a lot of books this year and these challenges really motivate me! So I entered the YA/MG Fantasy Challenge hosted by The Book Celler, because i have a new found love for Fantasy after reading the book True Grime by: Natasha Deen. Ever since i read that book i've been wanting to read so much more fantasy but i haven't been able to! So i'm hoping that this challenge will make me pick up more Fantasy and fall in love with them!!

The rules for this challenge is basically you just have to read 10 YA or MG books! For the full challenge rules and sign ups click on The Book Celler above! I hope you guys join the challenge with me! I didn't write this on my other challenge posts but i would love it if other bloggers that are joining the challenges that i joined would chat with me. You know we could give eachother book ideas for the challenge and talk about how were doing and things like that. Does anyone think thats a good idea? Let me know in the comments! ~Happy Challenging!~

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20 December 2011

Review Thirst #1 By: Christopher Pike

Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice (Thirst, #1)Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice by Christopher Pike

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


**Spoiler Alert** I didn’t know if I would like this book just because it’s an older book but I absolutely loved it! It wasn’t like all the other Vampire books out there it was totally unique and that’s one of the things I loved about it. I wish more vampire books used the rules of a vampire that this one used. When you read It you almost felt like your reading something that’s real that’s how good it is. Not many people who know I’m reading this book have ever read this book or thought about reading this book but I highly recommend it especially if you’ve been tired of the Vampire books that are coming out today.



Alisa or “Sita” was an amazingly strong character. Throughout the whole book she didn’t show and weakness. Really the only emotion she showed is for the few men she changed. She is a strong women and she takes care of herself. She doesn’t need a man to take care of her which is so good! But I do like the few times she got a little emotional over her lovers because you don’t want to be all dark inside you want to have some emotion.



I was so upset when Ray died. When I read the back of this book I thought he would be a main character throughout the whole series but he wasn’t and that kind of made me sad because I really liked his character. Also I was upset in the end when she had to give up Joel too. I have a feeling that she’s going to lose many lovers throughout the rest of the series.



In the end this book is amazing and I can’t wait to read the next couple books in the series! Once again I recommend this book to anyone who is tired of reading the vampire books that are coming out today.



View all my reviews

Support Your Local Library Challenge 2012


So i've decided to enter more challenges! I havent posted them all yet but i'm working on it. My newest challenge is the Support Your Local Library Challenge! Hosted by The Electric Bookshelf. The reason i choose this challenge is because i'm obessed with my library and i'm always picking up new books from them. So for this challenge there are levels and i will leave the levels down below and tell you which one i will be doing. (Note: the actual challenge rules are posted on the hosts blog which you can find by clicking on their name above)

Levels:

Level 1: Read 12 library books
Level 2: Read 24 library books
Level 3: Read 36 library books
Level 4: Read 37+ library books

I am choosing Level 1 because with all the books i have and have been getting lately i have no clue when i'll have time to get the the library. But i will i promise!! Thanks for reading!

1. The Future of Us By: Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
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19 December 2011

It's Monday What Are You Reading?


Hi followers! It's time for another It's Monday What Are You Reading?! Hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey. So i've finished a couple of books since the last post so i hope you enjoy what i'm reading this week! Don't forget to leave links to your It's Monday in the comments section =)

Finished since last post:



Lock and Key By: Sarah Dessen

So this was my very first Sarah Dessen book and i absolutley loved it!! I cannot wait to read more of her work so if you happen to be awesome and have one of her books that you would like to share or just some reccomendations let me know in the comments!









Rian of the Elves: Welcome to the Spire By: Erin Hassinger

Yes i know it took me awhile to read this book but again thats only because i was reading it on my tiny ipod! This was such a good book and i reccomend it to anyone whos a big fantasy fan!

Here's my review: http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-rian-of-elves-welcome-to-spire.html











Currently Reading:



Thirst #1 By: Christopher Pike

Just started reading this one last week and i have to say i'm really loving it so far!!

















Embrace By: Cherie Colyer

I've gotten this book because i am apart of a book tour which will be taking place in January! My tour date is January 27 so be sure to stop by!
















Destiny's Fire By: Trisha Wolfe

This book also was given to me for my part in a book tour! This tour is also in January but unfortunately i forget which date i asked for and the tour host hasn't contacted us yet! Hopefully she will soon!

18 December 2011

Review Rian of the Elves: Welcome to The Spire By: Erin Hassinger

Rian of the Elves: Welcome to the SpireRian of the Elves: Welcome to the Spire by Erin Hassinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Once again i'm really getting into Fantasy. I never thought i would i thought i would be all about the YA and thats it but it's not it i love Fantasy too! Erin Hassinger did a great job on this book. I absolutely love the plot and the characters! This book is about a normal boy named Sam who one day comes home from school and has to take on this evil creature. He wins and therefore he comes the Noble Rian of the Spire. Now at first i was like huh? What does any of that mean but i'm telling you you'll understand if you read the book and you'll love it!

My two favorite characters were Sam and Justus. Sam was my favorite because he's just so like normal in the book. Like he's not some made up character well he is but the book doesn't make him seem that way. The book makes him seem like any other boy he goes to school but hats it and he lives alone with his dad because his mother died long ago. I also liked how he dealt with discovering this whole new world basically i mean i don't know how i wold have handled that. If i came home from school one day and suddenly had to fight something that could break all my bones with one touch? Let's just say i probably wouldn't be here to write this review right now. Also Sam did pretty good accepting that his father wasn't human. It had to of been crazy for him to believe that his dad was an elf and the most powerful one at that.

Now onto Justus, i don't know but how the book describes him he kind of sounds cute to me. I couldn't say for sure because i've never seen a picture but i'm usually pretty good at picturing what the book says. What i like about Justus is that other then his sister Tru he's like the only Albino Sneeble. Which is pretty cool i like that Erin brought things from the real world like that into a Fantasy book it was really interesting. I was really happy when Justus got chosen as Sam's protector because he was one of my favorite characters from the beginning. I knew he would do good protecting Sam even if he was a little bird sometimes. No matter what Justus was always by Sam's side to protect him unless Sam just completely ran away himself, and to me that sounds like a pretty good protector.

I wish i could talk about all the characters in this book but there's just way way too many! I'll tell you who i also liked though. there's Leo, Laurel, Tru, Aubry, and so many more. I loved Leo because he was a really good friend to Sam i mean who would have almost all of there bones broken for a person you just met not 20 minutes ago? Laurel i liked her because she seemed like the shy but very smart type and thats me all the way so of course i would like someone who's just like me! Tru i thought she was cool because well she's the second out of only two Albino Sneeble's in the entire Spire. Last but not least Aubry i loved him because he was an amazing father even though he was so busy all the time. He still made sure Sam was safe and always had what he needed no matter what. So overall i would say if you like Fantasy especially Elf's then this is the book for you! It's really very entertaining!



View all my reviews

16 December 2011

In My Mailbox 13



What's up followers? It's time for another IMM! Created by the one and only Kristi over at The Story Siren. Now i'm not going to get into the details because i'm sure you all know what an IMM is, but anyways i hope you enjoy the backwards video! Also don't forget to leave links to your IMM in the comments section.

Won from Misty @ Bookaholics Book Club

15 December 2011

Workday Reads: 2012 Ebook Challenge


Hi followers! I've signed up for another challenge, and it is the 2012 EBook Challenge. This challenge is hosted by Workday Reads. I've decided to sign up for this challenge because i'm always buying and winning e-books to read so i figured that this challenge would help me be motivated to read a lot of them! So without further adu here's the challenge details (These aren't full details at all if you want full details click on Worday Reads above it will take you to the challenge page)

Levels for the challenge

  1. Floppy Disk: 5 e-books
  2. CD: 10 e-books
  3. DVD: 25 e-books
  4. Memory Stick: 50 e-books
  5. Hard Drive: 70 e-books
  6. Server: 100 e-books
  7. Human Brain: 150 e-books
Since i'm sort of slow reading e-books i have chosen level 2 (CD) which is 10 e-books. Now this challenge is a year long so i'm pretty sure that i'll be able to get more then 10 but i'm trying to start off small because of all the other challenges i've entered! Thanks for reading and if you have any other cool challenges that you think i'd be interested in let me know in the comments.

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13 December 2011

Teaser Tuesday


Hi all, It's time for another Teaser Tuesday! Hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.  Teaser Tuesday is a chance everybody gets every week to basically show off the book they are currently reading anyone can do this just follow the rules below.

Rules:
  1. Grab your current read
  2. Open to a random page
  3. Share two teaser sentences from that page
  4. Make sure you don't share spoilers. You don't want to ruin the book for anyone who reads your spoiler!
  5. Last but not least don't forget to include the Title and Author of the book that your reading.
Here's Mine:



Thirst #1 By: Christopher Pike

There was his great beauty, of course, his long shiny mane of black hair, his brilliant eyes, cool blue gems, set deep in his powerful space. His smile was also beguiling.

Very random teaser but i like it don't you? Don't forget to leave the links to your TT in the comments section =) ~Happy Teasing~

12 December 2011

Review Lock and Key By: Sarah Dessen

Lock and KeyLock and Key by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is my first book by Sarah Dessen and I have to say that everyone was so right. Her writing is so awesome, and I absolutely loved this book! I loved the characters and I loved the story my favorite part is that it had a happy ending which some books don’t have right away. I’m so glad that I was able to really get into this book and I can’t wait to read more of Sarah’s books.



My favorite characters were of course Jamie, Ruby, Cora and Nate.

I loved Jamie because of how much of an awesome person he was. He took Ruby in even though it was basically his wife’s long lost sister. Most husbands probably wouldn’t do that. Throughout the whole book he was so nice and caring. The only time he ever got mad was when Ruby skipped school and it even had me crying when he wouldn’t talk to her that day because he’s so sweet and you know you did something really bad if he wouldn’t talk to you.



Ruby was well at first she kind of seemed strong because of the whole living by herself for a couple months thing but when you get more into the book you know she’s really not that strong because she has trouble trusting people and she also has trouble letting people help her and give her things. But I totally understand why she was like that. I think that she was afraid to let people in because she was afraid to lost them. What I liked the most was her and Nate’s relationship and I’m really glad that he’s in a better situation now and I’m glad that they’re sort of together again because I loved them as a couple.



Last but not least Cora, I would love to have her as a sister because even though she seemed bad in the beginning because she just left she’s really not. Once you read more into the book you realize that she really is a loving caring sister, wife, and friend. She was always there for Ruby even if Ruby didn’t know it. I’m glad that the two sisters were able to find each other again and have a better relationship!





View all my reviews

10 December 2011

In My Mailbox 12


Hi followers it's time for another In My Mailbox hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where we show off all of the books we got each week. Now usually i would do a vlog but since i only got one book this week and a few e-books so this week i'm just doing a post. Remember at the end of this post leave comments and links to your IMM's in the comment section.

The first book I got this week was a book that I won awhile ago from Melissa at Just One Opinion.



I can't remember what this book was about at the moment but i remember when i read the back and i couldnt wait to read it! So i know i still can't wait to =) I left the link to goodreads just click on the title above.













Now for some e-books that i have recieved



I won this e-book awhile ago and i just forgot to show it so here it is again i have no clue what this book is about either but i really really like the cover and well i won it so why not read it right?

















Last week Jessica contacted me on goodreads and asked if i would like to read her book Marked and i accepted it sounds really great. I'll leave the link to goodreads just click the title above and it'll take you there but the title was changed on goodreads, i put this one up because i like this one better then the other one what do you think?












I just won this one this morning but i'm not exactly sure when i'll get to it. I remember entering the giveaway but i didnt realize that this was the third book in the series so i'll have to get the other two books in the series before i'm able to read this one!













Thanks for taking the time to check out my IMM don't forget to leave links to yours down below! ~Happy Reading~

06 December 2011

Teaser Tuesday


It's time for another edition of Teaser Tuesday! Which is created by MizB over at Should Be Reading. This bookish meme is when we share two teaser sentences from the book we're currently reading! Here's the rules:

  1. Grab your current read
  2. Turn to a random page (most likely flip through the pages you've already read so you don't risk spoiling the book for yourself accidently)
  3. Share two teaser sentences from that page
  4. Again becareful not to include spoilers you dont want to ruin the book for other people.
  5. Make sure you share the title of the book and the authors name!
Here's my teaser:



Lock and Key By: Sarah Dessen

"We used to pick up Heather," Gervais said, his eyes still on his book, "when she and Nate were together. She got to eat in the car. Pop-Tarts, usually Blueberry flavor."


I thought this teaser is pretty cool. It kinda made me jealous because they were talking about Nate's ex and i want him and Ruby to date.  But it also made me laugh =) What do you think? Leave links to your TT in the comments! ~Happy Reading~



05 December 2011

It's Monday What Are You Reading?

Hey followers! It's time for another edition of It's Monday What Are You Reading created by Sheila over at Book Journey. This book meme is where we show off what we finished last week what were reading this week and what we plan on reading next week. (If you can get that far) For me i never know what's going to happen the next week for books i might get a book that needs to be finished so i need to put down the book i'm reading then and read that one or i might just stay on track who knows but that's why i dont ever say what i'm reading next week because it always changes! Anyways here's what here's last weeks recap and this week's reads.

Finished Last Week:


Paranormalcy By: Kiersten White

I absolutley loved this book! I picked it up at the library even though i shouldnt have because i have plenty of books at home that i need to finish but i did and i read it pretty quickly thankfully! Here's the link to my review: http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-paranormalcy-by-kiersten-white.html












The Next Thing I Knew By: John Corwin

I got this book as an e-book. It was for the book tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. I read it and again i absolutley loved it! It's about a girl who like wakes up and her and her bestfriend Kyle realize that everyone is dead and the book is about them trying to figure out who killed them and them saving there world. It really is a great book so i suggest it to anyone who likes paranormal type things! Here's my review: http://paigebradish1996.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-and-excerpt-of-next-thing-i-knew.html








Reading this week:



Rian of the Elves: Welcome to the Spire By: Erin Hassinger

Now i know i've been reading this book for awhile, and it's not taking me awhile to read because i dont like it because the book is actually really interesting it's just taking me awhile to read because i have so many other books that i need to finish because i have a time limit! But anyways i reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy especially fairies and elves the book is full of fanstasy! It's really awesome.










Embrace By: Cherie Colyer

I got this book as an e-book. I'm reading and reviewing it for a book tour that is hosted by A Tale Of Many Reviews book tours. The tour is in Jaunary. My tour stop is January 27 so be sure to stop by! I'm hoping to get way more comments then i got on my first book tour!














Lock and Key By: Sarah Dessen

I got this book as a rak and i'm only 6 chapters in but i really love it so far! It's my first Sarah Dessen book and i cant wait to read more of her work!











Well that's all for this week! Anybody who stops by and looks be sure to leave links to your It's Monday in the comments section! ~Happy Reading~

02 December 2011

In My Mailbox #11



Hey followers! It's time for another In My Mailbox! It's really short this week but i hope you still enjoy it! Anyways here's what i got for those of you who can't watch the video (P.S. Don't forget to leave comments and links down below!)



From Jessica's giveaway at a GREAT Read:



30 November 2011

November RAK Wrap up


What's up bloggers! How are you guys? Today i'm wrapping up RAK for the month so down below i'll show you guys what i sent out and what i recieved! There's a lot of these wrap up posts out there so if you wrote one and you want me to check it out leave me a link in the comments section.


This month because i was short on money i only sent out one book and that was




Lies By: Michael Grant

Which comes from an amazing series I loved it so much. I reccomend this series to anyone who really likes dystopian novels! But anyway's I sent this book to Michelle @ Michelle's Cozy YA Blog.












All so this month i recieved some books i got


Tiger's Curse By: Colleen Houck

I was so excited when i got this book so i'm extremely excited to read it! I got this book from Amy @ Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes














Last but not least i got three books all from Michelle @  Michelle's Cozy YA Blog.

13 To Life By: Shannon Delany

I don't even know what this book is about but i really like the cover so that's why i added it to my wishlist
















Night World #1 By: L.J. Smith

I've been wanting to read this series for awhile so i finally got the chance!









Night World #2 By: L.J. Smith

I have no idea when i'm going to get to this but i'm hoping i do soon!













I hope all of you bloggers had a good RAK month as well! ~Happy Reading~

26 November 2011

The Next Thing I Knew By: John Corwin Guest Post + Review


I'm proud to announce that today I will be posting my part of The Next Thing I Knew By: John Corwin Book Tour. (My first ever book tour) This tour is hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. You should stop by that blog and check out all the awesome books that are on tours right now. So today I have a special guest post for you guys by the author of this book John Corwin himself, which i have already read and loved. It kept a smile on my face throughout the whole post so i hope it does that for you too! Thanks for stopping by!



The Next Thing I Knew
By John Corwin
Humanity is extinct

When Lucy Morgan drops dead along with everyone else on Earth she refuses to take death lying down even if, technically, her corpse is.

She drags her ghostly social life back from the grave and enlists her friends to figure out the rules of the afterlife. More importantly, they want to discover who or what killed everyone and why the heck anyone would do such a mean thing.

But what they discover changes everything. And if they can't figure out how to put their newfound ghostly powers to work, humanity will be extinct for good.

purchase links:

Amazon:   HYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/Next-Thing-Knew-Heavenly-ebook/dp/B005CK4X5Q" http://www.amazon.com/Next-Thing-Knew-Heavenly-ebook/dp/B005CK4X5Q

Smashwords:   HYPERLINK "http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79200" http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79200

BN:  HYPERLINK "http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-next-thing-i-knew-john-corwin/1104808377" http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-next-thing-i-knew-john-corwin/1104808377

Now it's time for the guest post!!

The Four Elements of Inspiration


From the day my mom dropped me on my head I knew I was going to be special.  One morning while I was flossing my teeth in the shower, I decided to prove her right.  What could possibly be more special than writing a novel?  Easier said than done, though, right?

A question many of us ask ourselves at some point is:  How does one write a novel?  What could possibly inspire someone to fill three-hundred pages of high-quality cotton-bonded paper with words about make-believe stuff like on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

People often ask me, “How in the world do you think this stuff up?  Are you even human?”

The answer is:  Yes.  I am mostly human.  But what inspires me?  What dark well of traumatic childhood experiences dwells so deep in my soul that it causes me to write about the end of the world and a cat named Nibbles?

I decided to barbeque some spaghetti and think about that for a while because I’m not really sure where my inspiration comes from.  Are any of us?  And then I stumbled upon an amazing discovery.  No matter what novel you’re talking about, all inspiration comes from one of four basic ingredients.  I give you THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF INSPIRATION! (In your mind you should imagine a deep booming male voice saying this with an echo sound effect.  Don’t read further until you get it right!)

The elements are:
Ninjas
Pirates
Dinosaurs
Aliens

You might scratch your head and stare quizzically at this list for hours wondering when you’ve ever read a book inspired by any of these.

“What about Twilight?” you ask.

Answer:  Vampires are ninjas who suck blood.  Werewolves are ninjas who can turn into animals to stalk their prey.  So Stephenie Meyer wrote an entire series about ninjas.  Cool, huh?

“Okay, yeah right,” you might say.  Explain Harry Potter then.”

Aliens!  You see, aliens can make all sorts of weird things happen with their minds and they use laser guns.  Harry Potter and all the wizards and witches were basically aliens with wand-shaped laser guns.

Red-faced and cursing loudly, you might next ask, “And Eragon?!”

Duh.  Dinosaurs.  Seriously, do you even have to ask why?

“Aha!  Ah, ha, ha, ha!” you exclaim.  “You’ll never get this one.  Hunger Games.”

At this point I would polish my fingernails on my shirt and scoff at you.  Pirates, of course.  Only pirates would capture everyone and make them fight gladiator style battles.  Their ships were the hovercraft.

So the next time you’re reading a good novel and wondering how the author came up with their crazy ideas, all you need to do is reference this article.  See if you can figure out which of the Four Elements of Inspiration gave birth to my novel, The Next Thing I Knew and maybe I’ll share some of my barbequed spaghetti with you!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today!



John Corwin Bio:

John Corwin has been making stuff up all his life. As a child he would tell his sisters he was an alien clone of himself and would eat tree bark to prove it.

In middle school, John started writing for realz. He wrote short stories about Fargo McGronsky, a young boy with anger management issues whose dog, Noodles, had been hit by a car. The violent stories were met with loud acclaim from classmates and a great gnashing of teeth by his English teacher.

Years later, after college and successful stints as a plastic food wrap repairman and a toe model for GQ, John once again decided to put his overactive imagination to paper for the world to share and became an author.

John Corwin Social Networking Links:

Facebook:   HYPERLINK "http://www.facebook.com/johnhcorwinauthor" http://www.facebook.com/johnhcorwinauthor 
Blog:   HYPERLINK "http://johncorwin.blogspot.com/" http://johncorwin.blogspot.com/
Twitter:   HYPERLINK "http://twitter.com/#!/John_Corwin" http://twitter.com/#!/John_Corwin
Goodreads:   HYPERLINK "http://www.goodreads.com/johncorwin" http://www.goodreads.com/johncorwin


Wow i loved that guest post, didn't you guys? Now don't leave just yet because the next post down is where you will find an exceprt from this awesome book, and you'll also find my review! So be sure to check those out when your done with this. Thanks so much to the people who are reading this and those who are going to read my review and the excerpt in the next post. I really appreciate all the support for my first book tour. Happy Reading!

Review and Excerpt of The Next Thing I Knew By: John Corwin


Hi again followers! i hope your excited for the second part of my part in this blog tour. I have an excerpt and a review for you today so i hope you enjoy both. Remember to leave comments below! Thanks for the support! 

The Next Thing I Knew - Excerpt


Life pulled the plug on humans at two on a Sunday afternoon.
The last thing I remembered before the end (besides a particularly juicy day dream involving me, Chris Rogers, and the Halleluiah Chorus) was a blinding headache of the brain freeze variety.  Everything blurred for a second and then I was on an endless grassy plain, hands pressed to my head.  Other people stood nearby with headache-contorted expressions twisting their faces.
My head didn't hurt anymore but I still said "Ouch" to make things official.  Others echoed the sentiment.  I looked around and got my bearings.  People dotted the gently undulating terrain like lost sheep.  Even though the place looked like Kansas, I didn't need to tell Toto that my Facebook Places status wasn't anywhere on the planet Earth, much less Kansas.  The sun looked pale, white, and totally alien.
The first person I recognized was Ms. Tate, the neighborhood Bible thumper, who, unfortunately for my sanity, was naked and sagging like rotten fruit in places I didn't think could sag.  I jerked my head away before I contributed the contents of my stomach to her wardrobe.
Ms. Tate wasn't the only fashion victim in the vicinity.  A scrawny wrinkled dude showed his stuff in tight cutoff jean shorts, a pot-bellied guy terrified nearby children in his red banana hammock, and a middle-aged woman sauntered past in nothing but a pink fishnet unitard.  I glanced down, half afraid I'd be strutting my birthday suit or wearing something atrocious like a striped sweater skirt, but I wasn't.  I wore a yellow summer dress like the ones I'd loved to wear when I was little.  Thankfully, this one wasn't kiddy-sized.
Kyle, my best friend, ran over.  He wore jogging shorts, black tennis shoes, and a t-shirt with a Linux penguin on it.  That was pretty much what he wore all the time, attire that stuck its tongue out at the mainstream while maintaining the ability to escape enraged mobs.  He glanced at Ms. Tate and just as quickly looked away.  His eyes looked like they wanted to jump out of his head and run away screaming.  "Lucy, what the hell is going on?"
"I'd use Google to find out, but I seem to have misplaced my house along with my laptop."
"It's like everyone in the neighborhood got teleported right out of their homes."
I reached out a hand and touched his arm.  He felt solid, warm.  The hairs on his arm pricked up at my touch.  He stared at my finger as it traced his skin.  Then he reached over and pinched me on the rib.
"Ouch!"  I pinched him back.
He jumped away and laughed.
"What are you two laughing about?  This is no joke."  Ms. Tate's face twisted into a scowl and her hands latched onto her hips.  A frumpy checkered dress with a choke collar now covered her droopy bits.
"Sorry, Ms. Tate," I said.  "Just making sure we're not dreaming."
Kyle snapped his fingers.  "I'll bet that's it.  Drugs in the water or something.  We're having a mass delusion."
"Terrorists," Ms. Tate said.  "Heavens to Betsy, we're under attack."
Seeing Ms. Tate nude definitely qualified as terrorism but I couldn't count on Homeland Security to lock her away.  "I think Betsy is already in Heaven."  I groaned.  "I just want to go home."
So I did.  Just like that, I was home.  But home wasn't a warm safe place full of life, noise, and activity anymore.  Mom and Dad were there.  I was there.  If I checked the backyard my little brother was probably there too.  Mom rested in a heap on the kitchen floor, a thin stream of drool leaking from her mouth.  Dad lay face down on the floor in front of the TV.  Dead news anchors stared blankly from the TV.
My forehead rested on the edge of the kitchen table, masked by my dark brown hair.  One arm hung limp at my side.  The other arm was propped on the table, a pen in hand.  Correction:  my body was doing that.  My ghost stared at the scene and started screaming.
I rushed out of the backdoor and saw a small body half-hanging out of the tree house my dad had built for Robby.  I screamed some more and waved my arms like I was fending off a swarm of bees.  Tears burned my eyes and I collapsed into a ball.  I bawled for a good while until the illogic of a crying ghost hit me.  Ghosts shouldn't be able to feel or cry or laugh.  If I was dead, I should either be burning with demons or singing with angels.  Somehow I was doing neither.
I couldn't just leave our bodies lying around to rot.  I turned Mom's cooling body over and left it to rest against the cabinets.  Food had stained her blue sari.  I turned Dad over, trying to ignore how death had robbed the sparkle from his blue eyes, and dragged him to the couch.  I had no desire to lug our bodies across town to the graveyard but we deserved a proper burial, maybe next to Licks, our last dog, in the backyard.
Dad's body blipped like a skipped frame in a movie and reappeared facedown on the floor again.  Mom returned to her original position.  It was just like I'd never moved either of them.  I probably should have been surprised, but at that point emotional overload tripped a breaker in my brain.  I whimpered.  I walked to my body and took the pen from my dead fingers, dropped it on the floor.  About ten seconds later, the pen reappeared back in the clutch of my ashen hand.  I squatted and looked into my unseeing eyes, their usual sharp hazel color now dulled and fogged.  I'd always liked my eyes.  They'd been my best feature.  I figured they weren't my eyes anymore.  My old body seemed like a dear friend that I'd never see again.  I brushed the hair from its eyes, slapped its cheeks.  Why was I dead?  A stripe of blood had crusted under my nose.  I'd noticed blood on my dad's ear.  I checked my mom and saw a streak of red under her nose.  What the hell killed us, simultaneous aneurysms?
Another flood of tears hit me.  I rushed into the front yard and gulped a few deep breaths, trying to fight back hysterical hiccups.  Outside, a cool wind blew.  My summer dress billowed in the breeze.  My hair danced in the wind.  I felt alive.  In fact, I felt better than I'd ever felt before.  Well, aside from the nauseating depression hammering in my chest.  Movement down the road caught my eye.  I ran over and spotted Kyle pacing in the front yard of his house.
"Please tell me this is a dream," I said.
He stared at me, eyes haunted.  "Everyone.  It's everyone."
"Everyone?"
He grabbed my hand and marched down the street.  His grip was tight, manic.
"You're hurting me."
"Impossible.  You only think I am."
"Kyle, stop it.  You're squeezing my hand too hard."
He stopped and spun to face me.  "You can't hurt ghosts, Lucy."  He grabbed a landscaping brick from the side of a driveway and pressed it into my hand.  "Hit me."
"Are you crazy?"  The brick vanished from my hand and reappeared on the ground. 
He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand again.  We walked the streets of our Candler Park neighborhood, a quaint area just east of downtown Atlanta.  Bodies inhabited the houses. Crashed cars littered the roads, the drivers and passengers dead.  Dead clerks manned the registers in stores, and dead shoppers lay in the aisles.  Dead joggers lay on sidewalks.  Dead construction workers slumped over power tools.  Dead, dead, dead.  Everyone.
Life had jerked the carpet out from underneath us and left a shattered mess.
Aside from the wounds sustained from falling or crashing, the bodies didn't show signs of trauma that would indicate why they'd died.  They didn't look bloated or diseased.  The streets slowly filled with mourning ghosts as people returned home or to that last familiar place they were visiting before the end came.
Animals seemed to have survived the apocalypse.  We saw dogs licking the faces of their dead owners and cats rubbing against the unresponsive legs of corpses.  A potbellied pig squealed and curled up next to the body of a young woman with spiky green hair.  Squirrels played in the trees and bird songs filled the air.  We could walk right up to wild animals.  Some would sniff the air and look at us but they didn't run.  I picked up a cute little chipmunk but it popped back to its earlier position just like everything else in the real world did when I took it, which kind of sucked.  I'd always wanted a pet chipmunk.  I raised my fist and shook it at the universe.
We stopped at the Flying Biscuit where my cousin Jane worked.  A sick greasy odor drifted from the back.  I imagined a dead cook frying atop the gas stove and choked back puke.
"Can ghosts barf, you think?" I asked Kyle.
"I have no idea.  I think ghosts can probably do whatever they want."
"Jane wasn't working today.  I don't see her body."
"Want to go into town?"
Jane's dad had a condo in Midtown.  She'd used it for parties since he was always away on business.  Jane liked things too crazy for my tastes.  She'd already done pot, cocaine, and just about anything else that would alter her state of mind.  She'd lost her virginity at the ripe age of twelve to Richie Sanders who was fifteen at the time.  They'd done it in my parents' bathtub when we were out of town on vacation.  I'd always wanted to be a free spirit like she was.  I'd wanted to give up the haughty pursuit of valedictorian and go crazy for once instead of fretting all the time about graduating early and getting into law school.  But I was too much of a control freak, OCD about everything when it came to planning my life.  My short little life.  Maybe Jane had it right.
It should have been a long walk to the condo, but the world blurred around us and suddenly Kyle and I stood outside the high rise building just in time to see someone jump off the roof.  I screamed the second I saw the body, arms wind-milling as it plummeted thirty stories.
A man in a charcoal business suit face-planted into the ground about twenty yards away.  The pavement cracked around his body.  Blood and brains splattered, pooled, and raced along the cracks.  I was still screaming and running in place.  Kyle hollered a string of curses.  The cracks healed.  The blood vanished.  The man pushed himself up and stared at the unblemished asphalt, felt his undamaged face.
"Are you okay?" I asked between gasps.
"No."  He brushed himself off, although the dust had already vanished from his cheap slacks.  "This can't be real.  This can't be death."
"It's something," Kyle said.  "Maybe something in between."
"This is worse than death.  Now I have to spend eternity with my nagging wife and mother-in-law.  What did I do to deserve this?"
"I don't think there are rules anymore.  Do what you want."
"I might just jump off this building again."
Kyle shrugged.  "Might as well."
The man looked up.  His body blurred upward to the roof.
"Wow."  I wanted to do that.  So I did.  The surface of the high rise shot past and I joined the man on the roof.
Kyle arrived a second later.  "This is too much," he said.
"Understatement of the year."  At that moment I stepped on the road to acceptance.  This was happening.  I was dead.  All my hard work and dedication toward a better future had been a total waste.  And, wouldn't you just know it?  The finale to my favorite TV show was tonight.  Couldn't the apocalypse have waited one more day?  I ground my teeth.  Yep, this was Hell all right.
After reigning in my anger and disappointment, I realized that I hadn't seen my parents or brother since dying.  Those first few hours of death had blurred together and I hadn't even thought about looking for them.  Most of my neighbors had been there on that grassy plain, but not my parents and they'd died only a few feet away from me.  It was possible I'd overlooked them in that initial flurry of confusion.  Another prospect frightened me.
They might not be in the afterlife.



Now for my review!! I hope you guys enjoy it!!




The Next Thing I Knew (Heavenly, #1)The Next Thing I Knew by John Corwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was really amazing. At first I thought that I wasn’t going to like it because I wasn’t sure if it was the right kind of book for me but it really was and I really really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to anyone who really likes ghosts, because this book really got into the world of ghosts, and I like that because I haven’t read many books like that.



My favorite character had to be Lucy. The reason why is because she was so strong throughout the whole book. I mean who else could handle the whole world dying, and then have to be part of a group who helps put the world back together? I certainly wouldn’t be able to do that. I also like that she was able to balance basically saving the earth and a love life on the side. I have to say I was really impressed to find that she could handle her feelings for Chris and Nick and still find away to save the world. I really liked Lucy and Chris as a couple and I was so sad when Chris left her. I sort of understood where he was coming from but It was still harsh. I’m glad that they got back together before Harb decided to kill him! I was so sad when he died and I felt so bad for Lucy but I was really glad that Kyle was there for her.



The plot was my absolute favorite. Like I said before I’ve never really read a book like this before so I was a little skeptical but I’m glad I liked it so much. I loved being able to see what the authors perspective of the ghost world was. It was really interesting to figure out why they died and who was responsible. I also thought it was really cool that they were able to merge with each other and share memories and things like that. I almost wish we could do that as humans but I’m not sure if I would even try it I’d probably be to scared and shy? What do you think about merging, and the book overall? Let me know in the comments!





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