A post about, well, posting

Or more accurately the lack thereof. My feeling on school are this:

It's like a time monster that just eats all time you might have saved up for an emergency or reading. Although I love it up here I find that I have ZERO time to read or even write a post up. I'm still going to post a few reviews here and there but a break from memes is the only way to keep my sanity.

I'm thinking things will open up a bit soon here and I'll carve out some time to blog (although the time monster is VERY hungry ALL the time so no guarantees). One of my classes is only half a semester (thank goodness) so that will help a lot. Anyways enough rambling from me. 

Go on, do it. Do something amazing, be your amazing selves! Make amazing happen. :)

just saying, 

-Kare

You mean there are sites that have nothing to do with books?

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Blogs/Sites You Read That AREN'T about Books

1. MLIA- My life is Average
2. We Heart it- This is where I get all my pictures for daily dose. They have sooo many cute pictures!
3. Netflix- Self explanatory :)
4. Pixlr- This is a free editing program.
5. Pinterest- Hi, my name is Kare and I am a Pin addict.
6. Polyvore- You can create outfits and stuff here which is pretty fun.
7. Meekakitty- I love this girl! You just have to watch some of her videos, seriously!
8. Makin' Cute Blogs- Lots of blogging tutorials that help so much!
9. The Leila Texts- Random text from people she doesn't know + snarky commentary= SO DARN FUNNY!!
10. Grooveshark- A place where you can make playlists.

just sayin,

Kare

Outside!

Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

(as always the pictures were found at We Heart It) 

What inspires you?

just sayin,

-Kare

The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

Epic Wins:

• Right as I read the first page I became captivated, some how Greenland sucked me in with just a few words. 
• The summer complex- Summer is one of my favorite times of the year so it was easy to slip into a book about the summer. I could feel the summer heat, the warm sand, and smell the salty water.
• Em- Em was a rasied-to-be-a-lawyer-from-birth type of kid. She was super smart and headed to Harvard. When out of her parents rule she begins to question what she really wants, who she is. 
• Deep Family secrets- Who isn't a little curious about their family ties? A cousin she never knew existed and a life-changing secret put Em on strange and wobbly ground. 
• Cade- No summer is complete with out a guy to pine for. Cade was romantic, creative, and had a slice of mystery to him that kept you toxically hooked. 
• Fredrick- (the cousin) I love how they hit it off so well. I mean she didn't even know who he was , yet they were such close friends by the end. They are both smarty-pants + they can both decently play chess. 
• Aunt Tilly- Carefree, she helps open Em's eyes to who she really is, who she wants to be.
• The hidden cookbooks- Em's parent's were pretty strict (out of love) so she has to keep her passion for cooking quiet. Thus she was forced to hide cookbooks like it was drugs.
• Gweny- Tight as they come Em & Gweny were as close as sisters can be, best friends. The relationship they had was strong but adorable. Gweny seemed to always be there and encourage Em even in those difficult times where everything falls apart. 
• Message 1- Take a Break. Seriously sometimes you have to back away from your life for a little while to figure things out. For Em it was a trip to her Aunts in the summer. For you it could be as simple as a nap to refocus on your homework. 
• Message 2- Don't let people (even parents who love you dearly) decide your future. They aren't the ones who have to live it, you are. 
• Message 3- Siblings (or a close friend) are one of the greatest suport systems you can have. You may fight like crazy but when it's important they usually have your back. 
• Message 4- Disasters will happen but don't let them derail you for too long.  

Overall: This book made me CRAVE summer. Such a quick, endearing book about how one summer can change the course of you life. 

just sayin,

-Kare

Through the Ears of Shannon Greenland

Today let welcome Shannon Greenland!!

I love rock from the 70’s. Give me Fleetwood Mac any day and I am one very happy camper. However, I cannot listen to music when I write because I get way too distracted by the lyrics. A multi-tasker I am not. On the other hand I can’t have it silent because then I get distracted by, oh, I don’t know: everything! My neighbor going in and out, my dog snoring, the mail man, the whirl of the ceiling fan, and I swear I can hear static electricity.

So to combat all this distraction I have a sound machine. When I wrote the first book in The Specialists I listened to ‘Jet Lag’. The second book in the series was ‘Unwind’. The third book got ‘White Noise’ and the fourth ‘Rain’. For those of you who have read my Specialists series you know which characters match which sound. I mean, ‘Rain’ was so book four in the Amazon, wasn’t it?

For my upcoming release, The Summer My Life Began, I listened to ‘Ocean Surf’ because the book takes place on a fictitious island in the Outer Banks.

When I was first invited to write this blog post I thought, “Gosh, I don’t listen to music when I write” and then I realized I did. Sound machines are definitely their own interesting type of music. Oh, and tonight when I fall asleep I think I’ll listen to ‘Celestial’.


Thanks for stopping by Shannon!


To find more about Shannon Greenland check out these links: Website- Shannon's GR Page- The Summer My life Began on GR


just sayin,
-Kare

White like Snow

Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

(as always the pictures were found at We Heart It) 

What inspires you?

just sayin,

-Kare

In My Mailbox

[In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren]

For Review:

The Fairytale Keeper by Andrea Cefalo - Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne - Blackwood by Gwenda Bond - Shift by Kim Curran

What did you get in your mailbox?

just sayin,

-Kare

Welcome, Caller, this is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Description: Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home. (for more info click here)

Epic Wins:

• Once in a while a book comes along that just screams to be read by you. I don't know if you experience this, as a book reader, but you just know when a certain book is a perfect fit for you before you even read it. Chloe is one of those books for me. 
• Chloe- Funny, optimistic, imperfect, and bright enough to glow off the pages. Chloe has one of those personalities, as a character, that just pulls and lures you in. You just have to know her. 
• The Radio Staff- Chloe finds a mock family and a support system from these people. They each have a fleshed out story that makes them almost round. 
• Duncan- The grey eyes, knobby scarf wearing, Mr. Fix-it. He genuine and kind, always lending a hand. His past and home life are troubled but yet he stands tall.
• Grams- Every good story needs a crazy grandma (think on that: Mulan, The Lorax, Hoodwinked) and Grams is as crazy as they get. She the kooky type who cause havoc and are indubitably in love with Brad Pitt.  
• THE Councilor- Out-to-save-the-world and most likely will. She guided Chloe through her Junior year project with encouragement. 
• FINALLY, a young adult character that communicates. She told people things instead of holding it all in. Despite er big personality and out going self she struggled with things. Her feelings, her thoughts, the outside world. 
• Message 1- Change will happen no matter what. The best we can do is smile and go with the flow. 
• Message 2- Sometimes our world falls apart so it can fall into place. Chloe is stripped of everything, her family, friends, and her totally awesome shoe project. She comes out of her abyss knowing it was for the best, for the big picture. 
• Message 3- People put up appearances, masks. Brie holds a mask of anger to shield from the all consuming sadness. Duncan wears a silence mask to hide his past and present state. Chloe uses positivity, jokes to hid her disorganized home life. We all pick up these masks at times. 
• Message 4- Sometimes we need to shut up and listen. Stop talking, stop thinking and just listen to those around you. 

Overall: This book spoke to me even before I read it. I set my sights fairly high for Chloe and against all odds she delivered more that I could have imagined. A very charismatic debut novel.

just sayin,
-Kare

In Reel Life

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books You'd Like To See Made Into A Movie

just sayin,

Kare

Author Interview with Steve Finegan

Today I am interviewing Steve Finegan, author of Into the Mist: Silver Hand. Welcome Steve!

What was your latest epic win? Epic fail?

Epic fail, immediately followed by epic win: Allowing my golden retriever, Cooper, to somehow lock me out of the house, which left him inside with several bulging grocery bags just waiting to be pillaged. Freaking out about it. Then remembering that I gave a key to my neighbor in case I ever locked myself out. I patted myself on the back for days after. The laughable part was explaining to my neighbor that my dog locked me out of my house. (btw, unbelievable as it sounds, Cooper didn’t go for the food.)  

 
What are your thoughts on your book being turned into a movie?

I got my start as a screenwriter, so naturally I’ve thought about that. Truth is, I pitched the concept for INTO THE MIST to a movie producer a four years ago, and he told me it’d make a great book. But there’s definitely a movie in it. If you read it, you’ll “see” that, or you should. My writing style is totally cinematic, meaning: I do my best to show (i.e., let the reader experience) everything with very little, if any, telling. My primary vehicle for doing this is the dramatic scene. I write scenes, and sequences of scenes, and acts. Simple. I get into scenes late and out early, and I cut, dissolve or fade between them, creating a logical narrative flow that doesn’t require narration. If the words get in the way, the cinematic flow breaks down. I suggest you read SILVER HAND and decide if I’ve accomplished my objective. 

 
What is the last book you read?

Madeline Miller’s THE SONG OF ACHILLES

 
In three words describe yourself:

Light and shadow (like every mortal ever born)

 
One question you wish you had a definitive answer to:

Is there an afterlife of any kind or is this it?

 
A quote you live by:

“Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make proud.”  

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

Not sure I’d like to be a superhero, unless you count Gandalf and Merlin as superheroes. 

 
If given a time machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

The past. Classical Greece, Rome, Celtic-Roman Britain – for sure.

 
Do you have any projects in the works? If so can you tell us about any of them?

Of course, book 2 of my INTO THE MIST series, BRINGER OF THE DAWN. I’m taking a break from writing to answers these questions. DAWN will complete the two-part series, but remain opened-ended enough to continue if that’s what I want to do. No spoilers. :)


Thanks so much for stopping by and answering my questions. Make sure to check out Steve Fineagan's book Into the Mist: Silver Hand (description below).

Into the Mist: Silver Hand by Steve Finegan- 

Description: Thirteen-year-old Gabe Wrenn has always taken refuge in his imagination. Refuge from his hovering mom and bullying brother. Refuge from the smirks and stares of his classmates. Refuge from his epilepsy. But now his imagination seems to be running wild. And he can’t stop it. And the only person Gabe can confide in is a girl who thinks his "weird brain" is the key to unlocking the secret of the Brynmor Witch.


just sayin,
-Kare

April Sent Packing

Books Read in April (this list looks sad...):

• Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
• The Night She disappeared by April Henry
• The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Books Reviewed in April:

• Transendent: Tales of Paranormal
• Pure by Julianna Baggott
• Freshman Year and other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin 

Land of Potatoes:

So I've been going crazy trying to adjust to my schedule and, you know, homework and as you can tell I'm not really reading all that much. HOWEVER I have two things going for me A) I am in the middle of like three books right now (The Hobbit for one of my classes, SocialPunk, and Revive) plus all the stupid textbooks I have to read so it's not like I am sitting doing nothing and B) I've brought Dallin in to blog with me. No idea if he'll actually do anything but hey he's here so I can't complain. 

Dallin's Rebuttal:

For those of you wondering I am having a blast at school so far. This is so where I need to be and I'm pretty sure I'm learning stuff that is going to help me through out my life. For those of you not wondering well here is a some funny stuff to look at:

just sayin,

-Kare

Must Dash

Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

(as always the pictures were found at We Heart It) 

What inspires you?

just sayin,

-Kare