I've Been Tagged!

I’ve been tagged!

Apparently this one is in the air.  Thank you to Cat at http://katrinadelallo.blogspot.com/2012/02/blog-tag.html and

Kelly at:  http://kellyhashway.blogspot.com/ and

Angela at:  http://angeliaalmos.blogspot.com/2012/02/ive-been-tagged.html for the tags. 

I think I am going to have a hard time finding 11 blogs to tag back…so I changed it to five.  Yes, I am cheating.  At any rate here we go.

The Tag rules:
1. You must post the rules!
2. Answer the questions and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3. Tag five people and link to them.
4. Let them know you’ve tagged them

Your 11 questions.
1. What is your favorite blog(s)? 

Right now my favorite blog is:  http://ladaisi.blogspot.com/

This blog has bit of everything.  Photos, art, writing, whimsy.  I love visiting this blog. 

2. What is your favorite past time besides writing or illustrating?

Being outside.  If the sun is shining and temperature is more than 70, then my butt is usually outside.  I’m in the garden or in the orchard, or at the pond or catching butterflies, or walking in the woods, reading a book or whatever I can think of.  I have decided that is the reason winters are so hard on me.  I am stuck inside.  No, I hate the cold.  When I say I am stuck, I am stuck. 

3. What is your favorite adaptation (movie or TV show made from a book)?

Pride and Prejudice.  The new one with Keira Knightley. 

Phantom of the Opera – any of them. 

I just watched, The Help and have to say that one will be a good one.

The Secret Garden is also up on the list.

4. Dog or cat person?

Either.  I am an animal person.  Dogs are the best as they love to be affectionate and are always happy to see you.  Cats, not so much. They give affection when they want to and usually don’t care to see you one way or another as long as there is food in the dish and water in the bowl.  I still like them though as when they are in the mood to be loving they make up for their lack when they aren’t.

5. What is your dream job (can't be author or illustrator)?

Nothing.  My dream job is being an author.  There was a time I wanted to be a teacher, but now that I am older and wiser I realized, I don’t want to do that anymore. 

6. Do you own an ereader? What kind or why not?

Yes, I have a Kindle.  I love it too! No more hauling ten books around in my bag.  Now I just haul one lightweight Kindle and have all the books I could ever read right at my fingertips.  I still love my books and still plunder the library as often as possible, but the Kindle is really wonderful. 

7. What movie in 2012 can you not wait to see or if you already saw it what was it?

1.         The Hunger Games.  Read the books and hope the movie does them justice.

2.         The Avengers.  I am a comic book fan.  Plus the guy they have playing Thor – Oh my! 

3.         Brave – The new Disney movie coming this summer.  It looks so good and I can’t wait to see it!

4.             Breaking Dawn II – Yes.  I want to see this.  I want to see if they can pull off the last movie.

8. What is your favorite mythical creature?

Fairies.  No really, I love the idea of fairies.  Its one of the reasons I still try to catch butterflies.  Maybe one of these days I will catch not an insect but a creature instead.   I do believe in fairies.  I do.  I do.  (If you don’t know what that is from, you are severely lacking in your Tinkerbell lore).

9. What movie scared you more than anything? 

1.         The Exorcist.  Oh my, to this day, that movie wigs me out!

2.            Paranormal Activity – The first one.  They did such a great job with this movie I actually was afraid to go to sleep for a few days. 

10. Do you have any famous relatives? Who?

Nope.

11. What genres do you read most often?
Horror I read the most.  The next in line and a close next would be romance.  I wonder if because of all the not so happy endings I get with Horror that I need the love story with the Happily Ever After, now and then. 

Okay here are my 11 questions:

1.         Book or Ebook and why.

2.             Do you read indie books?  Why or why not?

3.             What is your favorite animal?

4.             What is your favorite paranormal power and why?

5.             Do you have one place on earth that you dream of visiting?

6.             If your house was on fire, and you had 30 seconds to get out, what would you grab?  You can’t say people or animals, as those are all already safe and sound waiting outside at the meeting place.

7.             Coffee? 

8.             What are your all time favorite reads?

9.             Who is your favorite storybook character?

10.           Do you believe in magic?  Why or why not?

11.           Who is your favorite musical artist.

And here are the blogs I am tagging:

1.        Allyn

2.        Carrie

3.        Becca

4.        Kim

5.        Denise

Have a great week everyone!
ctny 

Book Recommendations - End of a Blog Tour

Thank you everyone who took part in my Virtual Blog Tour hosted by Goddessfish.com.  Aside from a snaffu here and there with Blogger causing issues, the tour went off extremely well.  The turnout of commentors and enterants into the contest was more than I imagined.  I am so pleased and so very greatful to everyone who stopped buy.

The winners of the Amazon Gift Certificates are:  Karen H. and Lyra L7.  If you have not already received my emails to you, please contact me ASAP.

Thanks again to everyone who supported the tour. 

~*~

As some of you already know there was an issue with Thursdays post (2/16/2012).  I have decided to post it here so that it doesn't go to waste.  

Book Recommendations

By Courtney Rene

I love to read.  I don’t mean it’s an enjoyable pastime for me.  I mean I LOVE to read.  I would spend every waking moment with my nose buried in a book if it was plausible.  As for recommendations, well, my book recommendations change all the time, but for this moment in time, here are a couple that have made my list. 

And…I broke them out a little differently.  This is not just your everyday ‘top’ list.  This is a list by Genre.  That way there is something for everyone.  I have also provided Amazon links just on the off chance you want to check any of these reads out. 

Okay, here we go…

HISTORICAL:

1.         Ride the Wind, by St. Clair.  I have been recommending this book for several years.  I just love this book.  It’s historical, it’s thriller, it’s horror, and it’s romance.  It’s fiction and yet its non-fiction.  In a word, it is fantastic. American Indian heritage at its best and its worst.  Ride the Wind 

ROMANCE:

2.         The Harmony Series by Jodi Thomas.  These are easy reads.  Not all that much in the way of the “S” word but very entertaining.  It is full of people that you can get attached to.  From the young all the way to the old and all that’s in between.  I do believe there will be another book added to this series but I can’t tell you when.  I hope it is soon as I could use a nice read.

Welcome to Harmony

Somewhere Along the Way 

Comforts of Home 

YA/TEEN:

3.            Spinners, by Donna Jo Napol. This is the tale of Rumplestilskin from the point of view of, Rumplestilskin.  This is an amazing telling and a take on the story that I never would have thought of.  Phenomenal read.  If you have not read this, go and do it.  Now. Seriously.

Spinners

            Gone, by Michael Grant.  This book could also be considered both paranormal and horror.  Michael Grant is no shrinking violet when it comes to gore and the scary.  It’s an end of the world as we know it book only with children being the only ones left to rule their world.  Great, vivid telling of a book.   

Gone 

THRILLER:

4.            Windmills of the Gods, by Sidney Sheldon.  I don’t know what I expected when I picked up this book.  It was one that had been recommended to me, and frankly sat on my TBR pile for months before I finally cracked open the binding.  It begins with a bang and all the way through it is nail biting action.  I should have read this long ago. 

Windmills of the Gods 

HORROR:

5.         I had a hard time thinking of a good recommend for Horror.  There are so many that have gone the way of just blood and guts, which I like but that is not actually scary for me.  I had to go back a ways to come up with good scary reads.  So my picks in the horror department are:

Lightening, by Dean Koontz. 

Lightening 

The Mist, by Stephen King. 

The Mist 

You can’t go wrong with either of these authors.  These two books are two of my favorites. 

CHILDREN’S:

6.         Small Pig, by Arnold Lobel.  This is a sweet story about an unhappy pig that runs away from home, goes to the big city, and realizes that home is where he belonged all along.  I love this book.

Small Pig

Junie B. Jones, Barbara Park.  This series is fun to read even as an adult.  The zany Junie B. Jones cracks me up with some of her antics.  It is also an easy learning to read type of book. 

Junie B. Jones 

NON-FICTION

7.         Get Out of My Life, but First, Could you Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall, by Anthony Wolf, PhD.  The best parenting book for teens that I have found.  Whether you have a boy or a girl, this is a must read.  Better if you read it BEFORE they hit the teen years, but just as helpful if you wait until you are struggling with a hormonal nightmare.

Get out of my Life... 

That’s all I have for now.  However, if anyone is ever in need of a book recommendation, feel free to drop me a line and ask me.  I am very opinionated and happy to give my thoughts to any that want them, and sadly to some that don’t. 

Cheers.

Ctny

Blog Tour - Shadow Warrior

As anticipated, my virtual book tour hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions, for my paranormal YA Novel, Shadow Warrior, begins today and continues all week long.  

I will be giving away $10 Amazon.com gift certificates to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour. So comment today AND follow my tour -- the more you read and comment, the better your chances of winning.
My schedule for the week:

Monday, February 13, 2012 you can find me at:  It's Raining Books
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 you can find me at:  The Fairy Tale Nerd
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 you can find me at:  Good Family Reads (Yay!  Its up everyone.  Day late, yes, but better late than never.  Head on over to hear about outlines and far off places)
Thursday, February 16, 2012 you can find me at:  We Fancy Books  (Nope not this one either.  Sorry everyone.  No idea what the heck. Let's hope Friday is on board).
Friday, February 17, 2012 you can find me at: Reader Girls

Let me know what you think of the tour.  I will be in and out of all these blogs throughout the week.  Please stop over and say hello. 

ctny

Chronicle - The Movie

First:  there is great new interview up here:  Long and Short Interview

Even though the interview is of me, I am still allowed to call it great, because they did a wonderful job with it.  Be sure to head over and check it out. 

This week I am doing my thoughts (I am not calling it a review) of the movie – Chronicle.

This is a movie, about three high school friends who gain superpowers after making a discovery.   They soon find their lives spinning out of control as they embrace their darker sides. (Darker sides? Okaaaaay…)

 

It stars:  Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly and Alex Russell

Okay, that’s the short blurb.  Mine would be three high school boys (not friends at first), make a strange and wild discovery in the form of what I would call a meteorite with life in it.  After this discovery they begin to exhibit “powers” in the form of telekinesis, which after weeks of practice to hone their skills they can fly, push air, move objects, all with their minds.  They also have a connection to each other.  They never really explain how or why they have this connection but they seem to know when one of the three are in trouble, which by the end of the movie, they all are. 

Add in that one of the boys is a jock, an all American football hero;  one is the clown/mild partier;  and one is the outcast with a dying mother and abusive father.  Out of the three, guess who wigs out?

The story is of their growth, their found friendship, and how power ruins it all. 

My rating?  I give it a 9.  I really truly enjoyed this movie.  My emotions were all over the place with the main characters.  Laughter, sadness, joy, anger, frustration, pity, even a bit of “ewww”.  The effects were so cool.  It had a great sense of humor.  The ending was what I thought it should be. I wanted more, but it was a good place to stop.  If you like paranormal super power movies, you will love this one.  I really did.    

That's all for this week.  Next week is the start of my blog tour so be sure to check back for blogs and dates and places to go.  Have a great one.

ctny