What's In A Cover?

So, the title might not make sense- but it sounded so cute in my head :) Anyway, YA Highway has asked us wannabe authors what our favorite book covers are. I had to take a moment to think on this because I don't necessarily choose a book based on a cover, but after some thought- I came up with a few recent books that I have picked up in the past couple of years.

First, there are two books that stand out because some of the most gorgeous men in the world grace the covers (not to mention that the material inside is pretty good too).

The cover of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain speaks to me. Of course it is just like the movie cover, but cut me some slack on this one! I just like to stare at it.

The other is Scott Heim's Mysterious Skin...same scenario :) I mean, just look at him.

I also find the cover to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones to be pretty intriguing and then after you read it, it is very telling- like foreshadowing.

Another book that I just finished recently, Chris Lynch's Inexcusable, is another cover that intrigues the reader and makes you want to find out what this field and half-covered female have to do with one another.

A final book cover that I think is really neat is Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The cover plays along with the theme of a colorful and unique narrarator.

Thriving Thursday

Once again, keeping you informed with what readers are looking for, here are the top sellers for the week of January 11th, 2010 according to Publisher's Weekly. Both of the top best sellers in fiction and young adult have links to amazon.com so that you can read what the books are about and decide if you would like to own it yourself.

Young Adult/Children's Literature Top 10:

1. Witch & Wizard- James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet, Little, Brown
2. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press
3. Fallen- Lauren Kate, Delacorte
4. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins, Scholastic
5. Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater, Scholastic Press
6. The Book Thief- Markus Zusak, Knopf
7. Beautiful Creatures- Kami Garcia, Little, Brown
8. Graceling- Kristin Cashore, Graphia
9. Lock and Key- Sarah Dessen, Puffin
10. The Magician's Elephant- Kate Dicamillo, Candlewick

Fiction Bestsellers (Hardcover) Top 10:

1. The Help- Kathryn Stockett, Putnam/Amy Einhorn
2. The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown, Doubleday
3. Noah’s Compass- Anne Taylor, Knopf
4. I, Alex Cross- James Patterson, Little, Brown
5. Impact- Douglas Preston, Forge
6. The Last Song- Nicholas Sparks, Grand Central,
7. Deeper Than the Dead- Tame Hoag, Dutton
8. The Honor of Spies- W.E.B Griffin, Putnam
9. Sizzle- Julie Garwood, Ballantine
10. Under the Dome- Stephen King, Scribner

For more information on the bestsellers of this week, such as audio, paperback, and biography bestsellers (January 11th, 2010) go to the website: Publisher's Weekly and click on the Bestsellers Tab. Have fun!

Stop Sleeping on Christopher Rice!

YA Highway has done it again with their ingenious questions for Road Trip Wednesday! This week the question asks, what is you favorite book that no one has ever heard of. That is so easy for me to answer because it would be any of the Christopher Rice books I've read (he is the son of Anne Rice). They are all great, but the two that stand out to me the most are A Density of Souls and Light Before Day.

A Density of Souls is based on a group of young friends who grow apart when they reach high school. On the surface it seems as if social status is the only reason for the split, but as the novel continues, the reader finds out more devious and sinister reasons for this groups turmoil. The books combines themes of regret, love, friendship, confusion, denial, and mystery.




Light Before Day is a novel that combines gay issues, crystal meth use (and the whole underground drug-trade society) and thriller/mystery elements. It focuses on a lead character who struggles with his own addictions while searching for his missing lover and trying to figure out what is happening in his gay community.






Christopher Rice has two more books that feature gay lead characters and plots full of suspense and mystery - The Snow Garden and Blind Fall.

Tuesday Tantalizer

So, I am going to go back to the start of my novel- Chasing Manson. I posted the beginning of Chapter Three without realizing that it would make sense for me to start from the very beginning. The novel is focusing on a group of teenage boys, fresh from high school, who take a road trip to meet Charles Manson. So, here goes...hope you enjoy, and if you don't act like you do :)

Part One- Fall 1972

Chapter One- Somebody To Love
I loved the way she smelled. The way she trailed her finger up and down my side when we lay in bed always made me want her more. And I could tell she loved me. I just didn’t know if I was there yet. She pecked my cheek, sat up and turned to me as she pulled my Beatles t-shirt over her head. Our song was “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” As well as stalking Charlie Manson, I peeked in on John every so often. She was standing by her bathroom door in the house she inherited from her grandparents when she said it:
“Jake needs new shoes.”
“Shoes?”
“The things that people wear on their feet, Blue.”
“I know what shoes are. Didn’t he just get some?”
“He’s a growing boy. He needs new shoes, dig?”
She was becoming impatient and there was nothing I could do. I didn’t have the money to buy Jake new shoes. I also didn’t have the courage to tell her that I didn’t have the money.
“Yeah, I’ll handle it.”
“I knew you would.” She gave me a courteous smile before she walked into her bathroom. I watched her long brown braid as it touched the back of my shirt. She had the perfect body- slim with the right curves. She had the face of model, a small mole accented her top lip, and her dark brown eyes always seemed to look past me.
“Shoes.” I repeated to myself. I swore Jake grew out of shoes faster than the weeds grew in Sandy’s “garden.” I leaned back against the headboard and reflected on the sex. Sometimes I wondered if that was the only reason I stuck around- I mean sex with her was amazing. It was like taking LSD while riding a roller coaster, but that was where the excitement would end. Our conversations consisted of me begging for sex and Sandy asking for money that I never had. She would throw in an “I love you.” And I would smile back and kiss her-hoping that that would save me from having to say “Me too,” or “Thank you.”

Music Monday: Movie Soundtracks

Since this past weekend was the big Golden Globe Weekend (and the Critic's Choice Awards came on Friday on VH1), I thought I would coordinate my Music Monday with movie soundtracks. There are a few movie soundtracks that stuck with me throughout the years and have impressed me. These could all be inspirational when it comes to writing.

The first that comes to mind is the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. I used to sit around with my sister and cousin and listen to this soundtrack over and over. I was too young to really understand the full meaning of the songs, but they were catchy- like, Mary J. Blige's "Not Gon' cry," Toni Braxton's "Let it Flow,", Brandy's "Sittin' Up in My Room," and of course , Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)."

8 Mile is another impressive soundtrack. Of course, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" is a wonderful song to pull from if you want to write about a coming of age tale. There are a few more gems on this soundtrack like, Boomkat's "Wastin My Time, "Macy Gray's "Time of My Life," and "Rabbit Run," by Eminem. The movie itself could have made a great novel, and the soundtrack helps to move the plot along.

Queen of the Damned is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time! There are so many interesting songs (musically) on this CD. It is not much of an "inspirational" soundtrack for writers, unless you know you want to write about vampires, but it is well done. Some of the highlights from this soundtrack are "System" by Chester Bennington (from Linkin Park and Death by Sunrise), "Slept So Long" by Jay Gordon (from Orgy), "Dead Cell" by Papa Roach, and "Change (In the House of Flies)" by Deftones. The whole soundtrack is amazing and if you have not heard it, give it a try!

Finally, two more recent movie soundtracks that are absolutley genuis would be for the movies, Across the Universe and Once. Across the Universe, of course, highlights some of the best songs from the Beatles catalog. Some of my favorites are "Hey Jude," "Revolution", "Across the Universe," "Strawberry Fields," "Happiness is a Warm Gun," and "I Want You/She's so Heavy."

Once is a movie that features original music from Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Some of the best songs on this soundtrack that could offer so much material for writers are "When Your Minds Made Up," "Lies," "Say It to Me Now," "If You Want Me," and of course "Falling Slowly." If you do not know any of these songs, I suggest you use your iTunes or Rhapsody search engine and find them!


I could go on and on, but I kind of have other things to do :) What are some soundtracks that you think should be on my list?

What Time Is It?

Due to my recent trip to England (and the fact that I did not get home until 3 am this morning) I will not be posting my tantalizing (teaser) Tuesday piece today. I promise to have something for this day next week. If however enough of you whine and complain to me about not having my post up today, then I might just have to do it :)

Writing about Relationships using Song Lyrics

Once again it is Music Monday! (If you missed last week's Music Monday- check it our here: Slipknot- Snuff.) I am so excited to write about this next artist and some of his songs. Whenever I want to write anything romantic, or anything dealing with love, sex, relationships- I turn to - who I consider the Prince of R & B (let's face it, R. Kelly is still the King), Trey Songz!



Not only is he a GORGEOUS man, he also has a sexy, velvet voice and very interesting song lyrics. Obviously if I am looking to write the next literary masterpiece I won't seek inspiration from "LOL Smiley Face :) " but I may look to some of his more intricate song lyrics to help me write a scene in a story from the male perspective.






For example, he has a song called "Yo Side of the Bed"(yes, YO side) he says "All I know is that, Our bed, Our Sheets, Our Pillows, Get lonley...on your side of the bed." Ladies (and some gentelmen), would you not swoon if a man/woman said this to you ????



On the other hand, if you are trying to capture that emotion of losing someone because your love has just died and there is no salvaging it, a good song to listen to by Trey Songz would be "Black Roses." Some of the lyrics help to give some emotional insight to the male side of a break up: "Who knew our love would ever be called a memory? Who knew my home for happiness would soon be misery? Hate that we're so distant girl do you even miss me at all? I guess, life's just not fair."



So, if you are looking for inspiration for writing raw human emotions when it comes to love, sex, relationships, and romance- go for Trey Songz' CD: Ready.





Are there any other artist/song that help you write about relationships?

Go here to check out a live version of: Invented Sex/Say Aaah: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/465669/i-invented-sex-say-ahh-live.jhtml#artist=1838768