BOOKS
New release - cover reveal "Fire Storm" by Ally Shields
This week's new release is Guardian Witch Book Five "Fire Storm" by Ally Shields. If you haven't checked out Ally Shields yet, I suggest you do. she is a prolific writer so for fans of series you don't have to wait long for the next instalment.
Blurb: Six months ago Ari moved in with the vampire prince Andreas. They defied the vampire elders in Europe, killed their enforcer, and have waited for retaliation that never came. Until now.
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Ally Shields will be coming to the blog soon for a Coffee Chat. I can't wait.
Reading Pile
I'm currently reading The Twelve by Justin CroninI didn't realise this was Book 2 of The Passage, but it's written well enough that I don't need to know the backstory. I'm just thrown into the action and I can figure it out. So far it's great.
Also on my to be read pile are the following books:
Watcher of Worlds by Brinda Berry
ISBN: 978-1-941133-00-2
Awakening The Fire Guardian Witch Series Books 1 by Ally ShieldsISBN: 9781937976828
Fire Within Guardian Witch Series Books 1 by Ally Shields
ISBN: 9781939194411
MOVIES
Review
This is one of my all-time favourite movies. Tom Cruise is brilliant as David Aames. This movie really brings out his incredible acting talent, better than any of his other roles. He's got that troubled boy look down pat and my heart can't help but go out to him, even as he makes mistake after mistake. Which is what makes this a great character.
The first time I watched Vanilla Sky I was so moved I wanted to hit rewind and watch it again. There are very few movies that make me do this. Vanilla Sky has fantastic twists, sub layers, cinematography, music, and splices that you need to watch it again just to get the thrill of seeing the plot come at you again. It has so many sub-levels that keep theorists busy for years, but I just want to watch it and love it for it's humanity.
What I love about this movie is how human it is. David Aames goes through life not caring that actions have consequences. He's sleeping with Julie whom he doesn't realise or care is in love with him. Then he meets Sophia and he experiences love at first sight. Sophia tells him that every present moment is a chance to change the future. Yet David gets in the car with Julie and Julie crashes the car, killing herself and badly injuring David.
This is a story of action and consequence that as a writer of fiction I connect with. As a human being I connect even more. Every day we get given second chances and we ignore them, just as David does when he decides to go into a state of animation for 150 years. In his dreams he has the perfect life with Sophia until that dream becomes a nightmare. It's not until the very end that he accepts the consequences and finds inner peace.
This is a movie I watch when I want to really feel human. Humans are flawed. We make mistakes again and again, and we feel remorse again and again for those mistakes but we can't stop making them. We seek perfection yet being perfect isn't what makes us human at all. Just look at all those vampire and android movies - they want to be us, we want to be them. It's crazy, and that's what being human is about.
CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS
Sci-fi/dystopian novel "The Disregarded"
For anyone interested, I am working on the second draft of a sci-fi / dystopian novel. I wrote out the overview this week and have begun going through the manuscript and highlighting what is done and what needs to be done. There is just as much needs to be done as is done so this will take some time. The second draft saw new characters enter the story and a few new subplots. This will be the biggest novel I have written. I'm excited about this challenge.
WRITER RANT
I hate my keyboard. It's new, and still I have to hit the keys with the severity of an angry toddler bashing Lego into the ground. Ít also doesn't like me using the keyboard shortcut to Copy and Paste. There would be no problem if everything I wrote was lowercase. Perhaps this is Logitech's way of speeding up time so office workers can cram more into their day by omitting the need to use the Shift key to Capitalise letters. I also have problems trying to use the shortcut function to Copy and Paste. This keyboard would suit someone who never wants to use shortcut keys or never wants to use correct punctuation. I am about ready to smash the thing against a wall.
I also hate my internet connection. In Australia we still have broadband. This is where I type for an hour and the cursor hovers in space trying to catch up. And forget about trying to have two web browsers open at once, and then if you dare to open your email you risk your entire PC crashing. Supposedly we get a faster internet connection in May 2015. Until then I might as well go live on an island.
FAN PHOTOS
A fan sent me a photo of their Kindle right after they'd purchased my books. I was so excited to receive this photo. Thank you Tracy Farr. If you have a kindle and you're looking for books to add, the Amazon links are below.
Books by D L Richardson
Little Red Gem
Feedback
The Bird With The Broken Wing
POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Below is just a catch upon the posts you may have missed this month.
Win a Kindle fire pre-loaded with 40 YA and NA ebooks
Top 10 Australian independent magazines for teenage girls
Perfect your pitch as early as possible to become the perfect pitcher
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this update.
D L
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D L Richardson is the author of speculative fiction. She has three teen novels and one short story anthology published. Her first novel reached number 2 at OmniLit and number 38 at Kobo Books. Her second reached number 1 at OmniLit. Little Red Gem is her third novel and recently won 2nd place Best Books of 2013 Paranormal Cravings. She lives in Australia on the NSW south coast with her husband and dog.
Contact information
