Michelle Madow Interview

Michelle Madow was nice enough to answer a few of my questions.

I hope you enjoy this interview.

1 – Tell us a little bit about yourself?

MM: I live in Florida, and love reading and writing young adult books! My first novel, Remembrance, came out on July 25, 2011, and it’s been amazing being able to share my writing with readers.

2 – Did you always want to be a writer? If no, when did you realize you wanted to write?

MM: I’ve been a writer forever, but I realized it was something I wanted to do professionally when I was a junior in college. I was taking an Intro to Creative Writing class that fall, and when I turned in my first assignment (the first chapter of Remembrance), my classmates and teacher loved it and wanted to read more. Before then I never thought I would be able to complete a novel, but I realized that I would never know if I could complete one or not if I didn’t try. So I tried, and had the first draft completed in less than a year!

3 – I know the video for Love Story by Taylor Swift inspired Remembrance. Can you tell us a little more about it?

MM: In the video, Taylor sees a guy while walking through campus, and the moment their eyes connect, the scene flashes to the two of them dancing at a beautiful ball dressed in clothes that appear to be from around the year 1815. After watching the video, the characters and story in Remembrance pieced together in my mind. I started to write it down, and ended up with a finished novel!

4 – Which of your characters if your favorite and why? (I think you know by now we all have a crush on Drew. :)

MM: Lizzie is definitely my favorite character! (Which is why I chose to write from her perspective ;)

5 – Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming projects?

MM: The second part of the Transcend Time Saga, Vengeance, just released on December 8, 2011! Be sure to check out information about Vengeance by visiting this blog entry. Next project I have to work on is completing some edits from another book I’ve written, and then writing the final novel in the Transcend Time Saga!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog!

Remembrance is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository.

Thank you, Michelle!

You can find Michelle at:
Official Website
Facebook

Twitter

Michelle Madow

Hello, how are you all?

So, after two weeks Author Weekend is back and this weekend we'll get to know Michelle Madow a little bit better!

Author's Profile:

"- I was born in Baltimore, MD, and lived there until college.

- I went to undergrad in Orlando, FL, and moved to South Florida at that time. I love Florida :)

- I currently attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

- I decided to write my first novel ( Remembrance) after I handed in the first chapter as a homework assignment for a college class. It took me six months to finish the first draft, and four months to edit it. I signed with my literary agent, Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency, less than a year after starting to write Remembrance.

- I love warm weather (in the 70s is perfect) and sunshine.

- I drive a white Hyundai Santa Fe. His name is Mango. I named him that when I was 16, and the name stuck!

- I love Disney fairy tales, and like to think that everything ends happily ever after.

- I also love Broadway musicals. Wicked and Phantom of the Opera are my favorites!

- I've written two novels since Remembrance. My agent is currently shopping them to publishing houses. Every day I hope to hear positive news!

- My Myers-Briggs personality type is INFJ. I love personality types, and I type all of my characters.

- Jeans are my favorite article of clothing.

- I would love to travel to Antarctica someday!

- My favorite food in the world is pizza! I also love other Italian food, Indian, and Tex Mex :)

- I love hearing from fans of Remembrance. You are all awesome, and I'm so grateful that you read and enjoyed the book. To everyone who has bought a copy, reviewed it, tweeted at me, added the widget to your blog, or in some way helped me spread the word -- THANK YOU! I appreciate it more than I can ever say." 

Michelle Madow's Books:

Title and Author: Remembrance

Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing

Publication Date: July 27th, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 314

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal

New Hampshire high school junior Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.
Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she seem to get him out of her mind?
Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, the pair of them soon find that fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

Title and Author: Vengeance

Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing

Publication Date: December 8th, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 

Genre:Young Adult, Paranormal





How far would you go to get revenge?
When Chelsea Givens discovered that her ex-boyfriend Drew dumped her to be with her former best friend Lizzie, she'd never felt so betrayed in her life. Then her new friend Shannon tells her she can help set things right. Chelsea's willing to listen, but what Shannon wants her to believe -- that she shared a past life with Drew -- is impossible. And what she wants her to do to get him back … well, it's downright crazy.
Could Shannon be telling the truth? And if she is, what lengths will Chelsea go if it means making Lizzie pay?

*Vengeance is the short story that bridges the events in Remembrance and the final novel in the Saga.


You can find Michelle at:
Official Website
Facebook
Twitter

Review - The Jinx by D.F. Lamont

Title and Author: The Jinx by D.F. Lamont

Publisher: Jetpack Media

Publication Date: September 21st, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 128

Genre: Sci-fi

Summary:

The Jinx is the story of Stephen Grayson, a 13-year old whose run of bad luck gets so bad he worries he is endangering his family. Fearing he is cursed, he flees home to protect his family, only to find that he is in the middle of a tug-of war between a cult obsessed with order and misshapen monsters known as “Chaons” who seem bent on hunting him down.

Review:

I received the Jinx from the author in exchange of an honest review and I have to say this was a fun book.

Thirteen year-old Stephen’s bad luck is so extreme he is sure it is putting his family in danger. After an accident in which his family is hurt and he escapes almost without any scratches, he decides to run away in order to protect them.

After leaving his town and family, the bus Stephen’s on is taken over by strange creatures and he ends up being taken by a bizarre cult that wants to use him in order to make their plans come true.

After being saved Stephen and his savior devise a plan to defeat the cult and make sure the universe remains in balance.

I enjoyed The Jinx. It is a fun and fast paced read. The author is able to create interesting situations that kept me entertained and to explain the chaos theory in an understandable way.

The characters are all well-developed and interesting in their own way.

All in all this a good book and I think the author did a good job when it comes to making it suitable for middle-grade kids. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a good sci-fi story.

Rating: Worth Your Time a (4 Stars)

Goodreads

Link Your Reviews

We all want to promote our reviews, don't we? This is a way of letting other people know about them. Just leave a link to your review below.

Go visit the other reviews and let people know what you think about them!

This will is weekly feature posted on Thursdays. :)

My Book Boyfriend

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader. It is a weekly meme where we talk about a literary crush including stats, a picture of what you imagine he looks like and some quotes from him that make you swoon.  If you are interested in participating please check out the My Book Boyfriend Introduction Page over at Missie's blog The Unread Reader.

This week my book boyfriend is:

Andrew (Drew) Carmichael from Remembrance by Michelle Madow

Stats

Status: Drew is the new guy in school and Lizzie's love interest.

Age: 17

Height:

Eyes: Black

Hair: Brown

More info: Drew always wears a black leather jacket. He tries to push Lizzie away by being rude sometimes but it's obvious he really does like her.

   

"His spiky black hair was gelled to make it appear like he’d just rolled out of bed, although I had an image of what he would look like if it were a bit longer, with no gel. The midnight blue jeans, black shirt, and matching leather jacket that he wore seemed impractical in the summer heat, but I couldn’t picture him wearing anything but dark, heavy clothes."

“Hmm.” He took a moment to soak it in, smirking a second later. “I guess she just couldn’t resist my charms.”
I began to laugh, but stopped myself. “It’s not funny,” I said instead.
“It’s kind of funny.”

“You’re the light of my life, Elizabeth.” He reached his hand to touch mine, holding it protectively. “I love
how much you trust people and want to believe in them. All I hope is that you can still trust me.”

“I got this for the day we could finally be together,” he said, lifting it from the box. “It’s something current, since we’re not quite the  same as we were back then.” The metal glimmered in the light, and I realized therewere words engraved on the heart."

Actor Drew Roy

What about you? What do you think?

Who's your Drew?

Review - The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Title and Author: The Vincent Boys - Abbi Glines

Publisher: Kindle Edition

Publication Date: October 21st, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 

Genre: Young Adult

Summary:

Being the good girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ashton Gray has grown weary of playing the part to please her parents, and to be worthy of the town’s prince charming, Sawyer Vincent. Maybe That’s why she’s found herself spending time with Sawyer’s cousin, Beau, while he’s away for the summer camping with his family. Beau is nothing like her perfect boyfriend. He’s the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, dangerous in ways she’s only day dreamed about, and the one guy she should stay away from.

Beau never envied Sawyer his loving parents, his big nice home, or his position as quarterback. He loves him like a brother. Which is why he's tried everything in his power to keep his distance from Sawyer’s girlfriend. Even if he has loved her since the age of five, Ashton is Sawyer’s girl, so therefore she’s off limits. But when Sawyer leaves for the summer, Ashton, the one girl Beau would move Heaven and Earth for, decides she wants to get into trouble. Stabbing the one person who’s always accepted him and stood by him in the back, is the cost of finally holding Ashton Gray in his arms. Is she worth losing his cousin over?.... Hell Yeah.

Review:

I read about this book on a blog and just had to get my hands on it! It seemed really interesting and I ended up enjoying it immensely.

Ashton, Sawyer and Beau were best friend while growing up. Ashton and Beau were the trouble makers while Sawyer always bailed them out of the situations they got themselves into.

The three of them were inseparable until Sawyer and Ashton start dating and she changes drastically in order to please Sawyer and her father, who is a preacher.

Beau and Ashton grow apart even though he still likes her even though she changed so much she sometimes doesn’t recognize herself. He sees the real her and loves her from afar.

I’ll go ahead and confess I love a bad boy so, of course, I really liked Beau. He’s a mischievous bad boy but he can also be very passionate and sweet. He was never a jerk to Ashton. He simply wanted to help her learn to be who she really was.

I also liked Ashton, and Sawyer as well. They were good characters and I enjoyed reading about how worried Ashton was her feeling would create a wedge between Sawyer and Beau. She was quite selfless and willing to give up both boys in order for their sake. That not always happens in books with love triangles.

Besides the characters, another thing I really liked in this book was the romance between Beau and Ashton. It was definitely intense and scorching hot! Plus, the fact the book is divided in both their points of view makes it easier for the readers to understand what the characters are feeling.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Vincent Boys. This is a well written book with an interesting story and good characters.

The book was able to keep me entertained right until the end and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.

Rating: Somewhere between Worth Your Time and Must Read (4 ½ Stars)

Goodreads

2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge

I signed up for another reading challenge! The 2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge:

You can sign up for this challenge HERE.

What books count towards the SRC?
Any second YA or MG book published by an author in 2012 counts – it can be the second in a series, a new series, or a standalone. The only requirement is that it is the SECOND book the author has published in the YA or MG realm (and it must publish in 2012 in your home country)! I have started a Goodreads list HERE – as you can see, there are probably many many books on that list you are planning on reading already

When does the challenge run?
Books read before January 2013 count for this challenge.

What are the guidelines of the challenge?
Your challenge is to read 10 sophomore YA/MG novels in 2012. To officially participate, you need a Goodreads account or blog where you post reviews in English.

For this challenge I plan on reading the following books:

01. A Million Suns - Beth Revis

02. Try Not To Breathe - Jennifer Hubbard

03. Fated - Sarah Alderson

04. The Fine Art of Truth or Dare - Melissa Jensen

05. Anew (The Archers of Avalon 01) - Chelsea Fine

06. In Honor - Jessi Kirby

07. Dreamless (Starcrossed 02) - Josephine Angelini

08. Original Sin (Personal Demons 02) - Lisa Desrochers 
09. Insurgent (Divergent 02) - Veronica Roth

10.

I'll complete the list when I decide which other books I want to read. :)

Team Smackdown

Hello everyone!

It's time for the another Team Smackdown! Are you ready?

This week's Smackdown is:

Team Jace vs Team Simon (The Mortal Instruments Series)

Jace is being defended by Ajia

Team Jace - Mortal Instuments Series by Cassandra Clare 

Name: Jace Lightwood
Hair: blonde
Eyes: gold
height: 5'11
Age: 17
Species: nephilim

Personality: Charm, confidence and wit make up jace's personality. He comes across as arrogant and distant with his sarcastic comments but inside he is broken because of the love he never got. He never forms emotional attachments for more than a short period of time, if at all, because of the way Valentine, has taught him, that "to love is to destroy". The only people Jace has any feelings of love for before meeting Clary were the Lightwoods. To most people he may seem like a jerk, from the way he insults people but when he loves someone, he is dedicated and lets them see his true self. He is also one of the funniest guys ever, always having something witty to say!

Quotes:

“There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then.”

“Usually I'm remarkably good natured. Try me on a day that doesn't end in y.”

“Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'
Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."
..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.

“Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw Jace shoot her a look of white rage - but when she glanced at him, he looked as he always did: easy, confident, slightly bored.
"In future, Clarissa," he said, "it might be wise to mention that you already have a man in your bed, to avoid such tedious situations."
"You invited him into bed?" Simon demanded, looking shaken.
"Ridiculous, isn't it?" said Jace. "We would never have all fit."
"I didn't invite him into bed," Clary snapped. "We were just kissing."
"Just kissing?" Jace's tone mocked her with its false hurt. "How swiftly you dismiss our love.”

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Simon doesn't have an advocate so I'll let you know a little bit more about him:

Team Simon - Mortal Instuments Series by Cassandra Clare

Name: Simon Lewis
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Age: 17
Species: Human/Vampire

Quotes:

"That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything, they just nod. The nod means, 'I' am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are a badass,' but they don't say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain" 

"I always thought that it was 'Good things come to those who do the wave'", said Simon. "No wonder I've been so confused all my life." 

“The thing about the Mirror is that no one knows where it is. In fact, no one knows what it is.”
"It’s a mirror,” Simon said. “You know – reflective, glass. I’m just assuming.” 

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Now that you've read a little bit about each of the guys in today's Team Smackdown is time to vote for your favorite!  The Team that wins today will face another Team in a future round!

Which Team are you on?

Team Jace Team Simon

pollcode.com free polls

I also have a little giveaway for you!

• One winner will win a bookmark from TheCrimsonMoon. Here's an example:

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

 

Read this past week:

Nightshade - Andrea Cremer

Remembrance - Michelle Madow

Head Over Heels - Jill Shalvis

 

Currently Reading: 

Starcrossed - Josephine Angelini

Upcoming:

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

What about you? What are you reading this week and are you enjoying it?