I'm just saying...when you repeat stuff and it goes bad

Someone tells you there are 20 billion stars in the sky. Hey, that's an interesting face, you think. Maybe you're lacking a little in confidence today, maybe you've just gotten a lower grade than you expected, maybe you want to dazzle your friends with a bit of knowledge. Before you rush off and share what someone has told you in passing, pause for second. Knowledge really is power. If you rush in to share what you've just heard, you may end up with egg on your face.

Consider this scenario:

You: "Wow. Did you know there are 20 billion stars in the sky?"

 

The Know It All (with pursed lips, narrowed eyes, and a derisive scowl on his/her face): "Well, actually there are something like 10¹¹ to 10¹² stars in our galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10¹¹ or 10¹² galaxies. So, with this simple calculation you get something like 10²² to 10²⁴ stars in the Universe. This is only a rough number, as obviously not all galaxies are the same, just like on a beach the depth of sand will not be the same in different places."

 

You: Inwardly cringing and thinking, "Jeez I feel like a total idiot now."

 

Humans like to share knowledge. It's part of our human DNA. But it's not possible for one human being to know everything. We all know a bit about this and a bit about that. We retain what interests us a lot better too. You may avoid embarrassing situations by arming yourself either with the facts or the willingness to learn.

Consider this scenario:

You: "Hey, someone told me there are 20 billion stars in the sky. Does that seem right to you?"

The Know-It-All. (this time with a genuine smile on his/her face) "Well, actually there are something like 10¹¹ to 10¹² stars in our galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10¹¹ or 10¹² galaxies. So, with this simple calculation you get something like 10²² to 10²⁴ stars in the Universe. This is only a rough number, as obviously not all galaxies are the same, just like on a beach the depth of sand will not be the same in different places."

You: "Huh. Go figure."

Review of Feedback (D L Richardson) by BuzzWordsBooks

YA sci-fi/fantasy novel Feedback is reviewed by leading Australian literary site BuzzWordsBooks. This review reveals an insight into the plot for those who need to know more.

Review by Anastasia Gonis "...This is an exciting and fast-paced book with an original story line. D L Richardson has shaped the story extremely well to retain the reader’s interest from beginning to end. It has an open-ending, perhaps with a sequel in mind."

Read the full review here: http://buzzwordsmagazine.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/feedback.html

FeedbackD L Richardson
Genre: YA Sci-fi/Fantasy
Publisher: Etopia Press
ISBN: 978-1-937976-77-4
ASIN: B009LKHUQM
Number of pages: 208
Word Count: 69,263Cover
Artist: Eithne Ni Anluaine
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/vEluhYM8WNw 
Buy the ebook Amazon Barnes and Noble OmniLit

 You might also like:

 

   Buy Phase from Amazon            Buy Whisper of Memory from Amazon

 

 

 

10 Tips For Stress Less Teens

No. 1 Share something that makes you laugh

Facebook is a great place to share funny photos.  It's what many of us live for these days, and according to mental health experts, sharing something that makes you laugh is just what the doctor ordered. There are plenty of sites out there loaded with funny photos just begging to be shared. Try www.funnywallphotos.com or www.killmydaynow.com, and there are many more sites when you search Google.

Dog shaming seems to be one way that owners are getting a good laugh at their pooch's expense. Be warned, you may find photos from these sites irresistibly cute. Try out these sites.
www.dog-shame.com       www.shameyourpet.com     www.dog-shaming.com

Tip - want to make it even more stress free?

Take the photos yourself. It'll get you seeing life in a different perspective.  

 

 

 

No. 2 Swim in the ocean

Have you ever seen anyone without a smile at the beach? Not even when the sand gets inside their bikini bottom and all through their hair, not even when the waves dump them and they suck on lungfuls of salty water,  not even when they burn from too much sun and the ice cream melts too fast and runs down their fingers, it's like it's impossible to be down in the dumps at the beach. 

According to Health Benefit of Water, ocean water contains many minerals needed by your body to help heal and detoxify. Warm baths have been attributed to stress reduction also, but the minerals in the ocean water decrease stress and increase a sense of well-being better. .

Water temperature plays a major role in your emotional health. Cool water soothes the nerves while warmer water soothes the muscles. Salt water is also noted to improve the quality of sleep.

No. 3 Remember that we all make mistakes

We all make mistakes. When you make a mistake, the first thing you need to do is admit it to yourself. There's no point lying to yourself about the mistake. It happened. You need to deal with it and get past it and not let it grip you in terror. You also need to understand that it's not always easy to admit a mistake to someone else. Maybe you have an overbearing parent or a control-freak friend or a stuck-up teacher, there may be people in your life that make you feel as if they're just waiting for you to slip up so they can pounce on you. Dwelling on whether or not you should admit your mistake can place even more stress on you.

 

It can take a great deal of inner-strength and confidence to openly admit to a mistake. With practice this gets easier. And when you eventually go into the workforce, your employers will value your accountability and honesty. And most importantly, never try to cover up a mistake with a lie. The only thing that can't be fixed easily when you make a mistake is the damage caused by the lies used to cover it up.

No. 4 Say no when you need to

You don't have to be a "yes" person all the time. It's mission impossible. School, friends, chores, parents...everybody wants you to do something for them and sometimes all you want to do is something for yourself. It isn't selfish to say no and take time out to recharge your batteries. It's totally normal to say no to someone, even if they think you're bonkers.

There are good ways to say no, and bad ways because nobody likes to be told no. Try starting with something positive. For example, start with "I really like the idea of doing that" and then you can deliver the no blow "but I can't do that this afternoon" and you can finish off with a promise to do it another time. Whatever you do, don't lie about having something else to do. You're likely to get caught. If you're pushed to give a reason, it's perfectly fine to say, "Look, I've got a lot on at the moment and I just need some time to clear my head." You could even explain how you're gonna do this, "I'm gonna listen to this new CD while taking a hot bath and then I'll watch DVDs and eat loads of chocolate". Heck, you may even convince your friend to take a time out, too.

No. 5 Cook a meal from scratch

With all the apps and smart phones and search engines, it's easy to forget that humans were connected to the universe before they were connected to the internet. One of the best ways to reconnect with the universe is to do something very basic and very simple.

Humans have reconnected with Mother Nature for centuries. The idea that we connect with higher powers through the many different spaces we inhabit is an ancient one. Many believe that cooking a meal in the home can encourage good vibrations. For those who believe in magic, giving a gift to mother earth is a means of ensuring the spell works. Mother Nature likes gifts you have made yourself, like a chocolate cake. Even if you don't believe in magic, there is something wonderful that can be gained from cooking a meal from scratch -  you get to eat it. Yummo. 

Here's a simple scones recipe to try.

Scones
150 ml milk
150 ml thickened cream
3 cups self raising flour
pinch salt
dash sugar
1 egg

Turn oven on to 200 degrees celcius / 390 degrees fahrenheit 
Mix wet ingredients
Mix dry ingredients
Combine
Knead dough for 30 seconds - don't over knead the dough
Bake in an oven for 10 minutes or until golden
Serve with jam/jelly and whipped cream

Tip - Cooking a meal has other benefits. You may have a parent that is sick with flu or needs to rest from a trip to the hospital. You may want to treat some friends one weekend. You may even want to impress a boy or girl with your hidden talent.

No. 6 Tell someone you love them

Love is a positive emotion. It lifts our spirits. But if you're stressed, this might not be the best time to put yourself in the possible line of fire by telling someone you have a crush on that you love them. If you're in a steady relationship and you've already expressed your feelings, telling them you love them can be a great boost to your spirits, especially when they tell you they love you back.

If you're not in a steady relationship, you'd be safer to tell a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a sibling or even a close friend just how much they mean to you. Whoever you decide on, telling something that you love them, or even just that they mean the world to you, can be done is ways only limited by your imagination.

Give them a greeting card - the act of giving is as powerful as the act of recieving. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside when we do something good. Who knows, you might even get a card in return or start a new tradition.

Frame a photo - by framing a favorite photo you are capturing a happy moment. If you have lots of happy moments you can put them into a montage and share that with your special person.

Tip - why not combine these two ideas and make your own greeting card using your favorite photo?

No. 7 Play your favorite song

Music is a great way to chill out. Music is personal. Songs speak to each of us in a different way and it's this connection that can help beat stress. Listening to your favorite songs helps to wash away anxiety in a similar way to physical activity. Music also acts as a distraction which can take your mind off the thing that's stressing you out. One of the great benefits of music is that is can be used while you conduct your regular activities such as:

Cleaning your room -  if you tell yourself that you only need to clean for a certain amount of songs and then you can be done, you may work more efficiently, and even come to look forward to doing the job.

Before going to sleep - playing music as you drift off is one way to counteract the effects of stress by taking your mind off of what’s troubling you, slowing down your breathing, and soothing your mind.

While eating - soothing music can trigger the relaxation response, which can lower cortisol levels, making it easier to digest food. 

While cooking - if you put on some music that you enjoy, cooking becomes a fun activity rather than a chore.

Other times music can be played is when you're walking, driving, exercising, and getting ready for school or a date

 
No. 8 Do more of what's important to you

Sometimes what can be causing you stress isn't what you're doing, but what you're not doing. Some people feel that they're destined for one thing and end up falling or getting pushed into something else. Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer, best known for being a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in 2007 and 2011 . Stoner is retiring at the age of 27 because racing is no longer important to him. Knowing what's important in life and doing it can relieve a huge burden off your shoulders.

Mark Twain once said: “Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the things you did do.”

Doing what's important can be a tricky task to accomplish as it can take a lifetime for some people to even realize what it is that's important to them. But if you really want to do something, you should think about ways to achieve it, even if it only volunteering in the field you're interested in.

No. 9 Bee proud of who you are

Wouldn't it be great if everyone was positive and happy all the time? Instead, people can be chronically unhappy, jealous, fearful, prejudiced, or a host of other negative things.

People who are unhappy with their own lives are likely to project their own hatred and anger onto others. People who are jealous are likely to say nasty things to hurt someone who has worked very hard for their success. 

Think of this as the Bee game:

Bee proud of who you are
Bee positive
Bee yourself
Bee happy
Bee with good friends and get rid of the bad ones
Bee prepared to ignore hateful comments from others
Bee confident and base your confidence on real achievements

Tip - Bee proud without hurting others. If someone shows you a photo of their prize-winning cat, say it's a great photo. Don't play the one-up game and say your cat won that award ten times already. 

No. 10 Celebrate when things go well

So you aced that exam. Feels good, doesn't it? So it should. You've accomplished something great and now it's time to celebrate. Celebrating the small things is something that can be done daily and is a great tool to overcome stress. Celebrating can be as simple as catching up with a few friends to throwing a party and letting the whole world know that things are going great.

Try as many of these ideas as you can. They'll all make you feel good.

 

1. Go out for pizza or icecream with friends
2. Participate in some retail therapy
3. Go on a picnic
4. Sing in the rain. Yes, sometimes rain is a good thing and singing in the rain can be freeing and fun
5. Buy yourself flowers or buy someone else flowers
6. Random acts of kindess are a way of celebrating and they have the added benefit of helping others .
7. Compliment someone. Mark Twain once said he could live for a month on one good compliment. Who can you compliment today?
8. Watch the sun set or sun rise with someone you like/love
9. Plan a party and invite everyone you know
10. Make a shrine to your success with images, photos, words, objects and leave it where you can see it everyday, like the fridge or above your bed

How's this for a random act of kindness?

At 8:05 a.m. on July 6, a 32-year-old mother of two pulled up to the Steamin' Bean drive-through window and did something nice for someone else. She paid $3.50 for the 16-ounce latte ordered by the customer in the car behind her. When that stranger learned about the act of kindness, she did the same thing for the next customer. And so it has gone for 12 days now at the Blue Springs coffee shop.

InterestTeen looks at Halloween and Superstitions

The word Halloween a contraction of its original title "All Hallows' Evening". It's more famously known as a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows. Most scholars believe that All Hallows' Eve was originally influenced by western European harvest festivals and festivals of the dead with pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain. Others maintain that it originated independently of Samhain.

Samhain is also known as the Witch's New year. It marks the end of summer proper and the start of winter. It is a time when the veil between past, present, and future is thin and it is possible to see beyond into the otherworld.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, which is a custom that came from disguising yourself from the evil sprits, attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, which came from the Irish when they carved the insides from turnips and lit candles in them to keep spirits out of their homes, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Superstition is an illogical fear or belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any physical process linking the two events, such as astrology, omens, witchcraft, etc., that contradicts natural science.

Opposition to superstition was a central concern of the intellectuals during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. The philosophes at that time ridiculed any belief in miracles, revelation, magic, or the supernatural, as "superstition," and typically included as well much of Christian doctrine.

It seems then that Halloween and superstition go hand in hand. As you head off to the Halloween parties this year, you'd better make sure you have this list of bad luck superstitions with you.

THE POCKET GUIDE OF "IT IS BAD LUCK TO..."

Fasten a button into the wrong buttonhole

Have a black cat cross your path walk away from you (it's good luck though if a black cat walks towards you) If a black cat crosses your path while you're driving, turn your hat around backwards and mark an X on your windshield to prevent bad luck. (I love this one. What if you aren't wearing a hat? Or you're not carrying a felt-tip pen or lipstick? And what about the fact that you're driving a car?!!!)

it's plain to see that this cat is evil. beware!!!

Sit on a table unless one foot is touching the ground

Stumble when leaving his house at the beginning of a journey, or trip or stumble more than once during the course of the journey, it is advisable to postpone it

 

Pass anyone on the staircase

 

Have a candle or a picture fall over

 

Give a pair of gloves to a friend unless you receive something in exchange

 

Encounter a gravedigger coming towards you. Usually this means there will be a severe illness.

 

Spill pepper, because it means you will have a serious argument with a friend

 See an owl during daylight

 

Step on cracks in the sidewalk

 

Sing before breakfast

 

Look at the new moon over your left shoulder
 

Put a shirt on inside out

 

Break a glass while proposing a toast

 

be sure to look at these two new moons over your right shoulder

 

InterestTeen Fact:

Around 50% of adults in the U.S will dress up for Halloween, and around 67% will attend a Halloween party or go trick or treating with their children

 

 

Most popular constumes:

Adult

Witch

Vampire

Pirate

Clown

Vamp/Wench/Tart

 

Children

Princess

Witch

Spiderman

Pirate Pumpkin

 

 

If you're planning on staying home and watching Horror movies, here are a few ridiculously funny (or maybe just ridiculous) Halloween favorites:

 

Young Frankenstein

 

Little Shop Of Horrors

 

Shaun of the Dead

 

Gremlins

 

Beetlejuice

 

 

 

10 things teenagers should know about writing

It's taken me a while to become a published author, and it's something I've wanted for ages. I was about 21 when I really decided I wanted to be a writer.

I felt like banging my head against the wall that everything I wrote got rejected. In some ways, I'm glad that it didn't get published, because I know that I'm a better writer in my forties than I was in my twenties.

This post is aimed at teenagers who have the desire to become writers, and it should hopefully help them in their long, long, long journey. I wish there was a shortcut, but there just isn't. Formal qualifications may help, but they still don't guarantee that you'll come up with that spark of any idea any sooner.

Anyway, these are just some of the things I've learned along the way, and they go a long way to explain why I wasn't published until a few years ago.

10 things teenagers should know about writing

Isn't it weird how many writers are old? That includes writers who write for teenagers. You'd think that to write for young adults you'd need to be a young adult or at least be of an age where you can remember your youth. Right? Actually, that's not the case and for very reasons, which I'll explain.

No. 1 - Build a bridge and get over it
When you write fiction, the basis of the story is to dump a character in the middle of a situation, place obstacles in front of him/her, and get the character to develop solutions to overcome these obstacles and think about how he/she will solve all the problems in the world.

When you're writing fiction, the characters must have issues  to overcome and solutions to find. Yet, the reality is that the majority of young people have limited exposure to problem solving. Teenagers really only begin to sort out their own problems when they become adults, and that's only if their parents have allowed them or encouraged them through this transitioning period. This means that most teenagers don't even get the chance to make a decision, so how will they solve an imaginary issue when fiction is still based on fact? So, while a young adult writer might have fantastic ideas and a well written novel, the fundamental mission behind a novel is to problem solve, and teenagers are limited in this area. It's through no fault of their own, the law usually prohibits teenagers from making decisions, society doesn't fully trust them yet...so for a broad range of reasons, young adults are in that middle stage of life where society wants them to be responsible, but doesn't want them to be responsible at the same time. It's weird, I know.


No.2 - Mirror, mirror
So what did you learn as a baby that you'd do differently? Might seem like an odd question, but hindsight, or wisdom, is what happens when a person looks back over their life and analyzes what they'd keep the same and what they'd change. Wisdom comes from life's experience. Now, this isn't to say that teenagers don't have life experiences. Heck, these are some of the most turbulent times of a person's life and they form the foundations of who we become as an adult. Teenager troubles also form much of the backbone of many a great fiction novel whether it be young adult or adult fiction. But wisdom is also about reflection.

Wisdom is something that is bestowed upon old people for a very obvious reason. They've just about seen and done it all. Yes, the next generation will do it differently, but it is easier to reflect upon something when you look at it from afar. When you're living in the mirror it can be hard to see the reflection of the other side. And let's face it, when you're young, life is about experiencing things, not stopping to disect every little facet of  it. That comes later. Though, I do recommend that you keep a diary because it may be a valuable tool when you look back on your own teenage years.


No.3 - They love me, they love me not
Writers will get rejected many, many, many times. Even as an adult, I find rejection hard to deal with. Add teenage hormones and rejection letters might provoke you into sending harsh emails or writing rants on Facebook.

Fact - Rejection is part of the publishing world. Publishers are the gatekeepers in ensuring the world reads good stuff though occasionally bad stuff gets printed and it drives a writer insane that their work gets rejected and not the rot they've just spend 15 bucks on.

Here's how I look at a rejection letter. It tells a writer that their work is not good stuff. So as a writer you should be thinking on how you can make it good stuff and not worrying about the fact that you've been rejected. Everyone gets rejected. J K Rowling. Stephen King. Every writer does! But if you take that letter as constructive critisicm and perfect your writing, then one day, when it's good stuff, it'll get published. And you never know when an opportunity will open up and present itself. Publishers are always opening and closing their doors. When it's open, you'll need to be ready to jump. Hence why you should never ever engage in rants when you get rejected. Publishers keep files on submissions. If you've written a vicious retaliatory letter, you'd pretty much need to change your name if you ever wanted to get published.


No. 4 - A writer writes
No matter how early or late you start writing, a writer writes. And publishers look for what has been published. If you write a poem, submit it. If you write a short story, submit it. If you get something published, keep a note of the publication date, where it was published, keep a copy of the story or article or whatever in a folder.

The other thing as a writer I hear often is that a person wants to be a writer. Again, a writer writes. Now, if they're talking about being a published writer, well that's another thing entirely. So if you want to be a writer, you need to be writing something every day.

It's okay to have multiple first chapters that never see the light of day. That's good practice.  


No. 5 - Mad men
The publishing world may seem like a big bad world, and it probably is. There are over 75 million books listed on Library Thing. This is a mixture of non-fiction and fiction. But whoa...75 million!! And many more writers these days are heading straight to self-publication. Do I encourage this? No. Not for start out writers at least. What you publish stays published and bad material may come back to haunt you later on when you've finally honed your craft.

Learning about the publishing world is a huge task. If you immerse yourself in it, will you learn to hate it? Is it better to be naive about the publishing world so you don't give up? It's tough work getting published. If you can attend writing courses or conferences, these can be great ways to gain some exposure to the publishing world. You do need to know how it operates, but the more you know, the more you may become jaded.

I once worked in the music industry and I believe this was a catalyst in my decision to give up music. Hence why I never learned anything except what I needed to know about the publishing world.

One thing you'll need to be aware of if the submission guidelines. All publishers have them. You MUST follow these guidelines. No exception. 


No. 6 - Write what you love
There are many writers that state you should write what you know. And as a teenager you might think, "Hey I'm a teenager so I can write a young adult book." Yet the key to successful writing is writing what you LOVE, not just what you know. I know about accounting and that's soooo boring.

I was always fascinated with the supernatural so it makes sense that I write paranormal novels. I need to scream from the rooftops about my work, and this is easy to do when I love what I write. Imagine if I didn't love my work. It'd come across as a meek suggestion that readers enjoy books that I don't particularly believe in. This dishonesty would come across in my writing for sure. And I'm passionate about writing great stories for young adults. I love what I write and readers and reviewers can see this.


No. 7 - To embellish or not to embellish
Now most of what I've talked about is based on fiction. But there are many forms of writing. You may not even want to embark on a creative writing career. Hard facts might be more to your liking. There are literally dozens of writing styles that you can choose from. Here are just a few:

Travel articles
Fashion articles
Good news stories
Reference books for training colleges
Articles for websites
Articles for blogs
Newspaper articles
Policies and procedures for businesses
How to manuals
Position descriptions and employment contracts
Short stories
Poems
Children's books
Young adult fiction - the genres are many
Adult fiction - the genres are endless

You get the picture. There are multiple styles of writing you can do, and there are many writers that flit between a few. I know of many writers that supplement their novel income with magazine articles. Sadly, I have tried and they require two different approaches to writing so I always give up and focus just on the novels.


No. 8 - Aint nothing gonna break my stride
A successful writing career won't come easy. It takes years to perfect your craft. It's upaid work. You have to also do your own promotion. The reward is that you'll work really hard at one thing only to then work really hard at something else. It never stops. Writing, promoting, writing, promotion. But you ask a writer if they love it, and if they answer yes, then they're a writer. Writers never give up.

By all means, take breaks, and gain some perspective or just get on with life for a while, but don't give up.


No. 9 - Get a life!
People have different interests and writers aren't exluded from this need to gather knowledge and experiences.  In fact, we need these two things more than most people. How else can we write about something if we don't know about anything. Lock yourself away in a tower and you'll write anovel that won't relate to anyone.

Writers have mortgages, we want to travel, we have families, cars that don't run on air, appliances that break. We need jobs to pay for the internet to keep your blog running, postage to send the manuscripts to publishers, it costs money to attend conventions and courses. Stephen King was a full time teacher until he sold his first novel Carrie. John Marsden was also a teacher and he wrote young adult fiction because he didn't like what was in the market place.

The other reason writers need to do something else is to enhance the world of literature. Many crime writers have held a career in law enforcement or criminal psychology. If writers didn't experience real jobs, then every character would work in a book store. We need to know how the rest of the world operates.


No. 10 - You wanna write best sellers, read best sellers
This may seem self-explanatory, but some writers say to read everything, even crap, because as writers we need to be able to detect the good from the bad. Sorry, but in my view, reading crap produces crap writing. If you want to write best sellers, read best sellers. Read the classics to understand great plots and character development. The Hobbit, Lord Of The Flies, even Black Beauty is a stunning example of character and plot development. Read current best sellers to understand techniques and how the language has changed. The Hunger Games and Tomorrow, When The War Began are great examples of best sellers that are unique and have a vastly different writing style to The Hobbit for example.

Read good stuff and burn the bad. Use it prop up your table. Don't even bother to analyze it.


I hope you enjoyed these 10 things teenagers should know about writing. If you have any others to add, be sure to leave a comment and I'd be happy to discuss my experiences.

Please note that these are my experiences. You may have different opinions and some of thes may not apply to you. One thing writers do is take everything they learn and use what they want. That's totally okay to pick and choose what you want to take and run with.

Catchya
D L Richardson

D L Richardson interviews Sapphria's Book Reviews

 

It's equally important for authors to get to know the bloggers who review our books. Reviewing on blogs is generally unpaid work, unless the blog has means of advertising to bring in revenue and even then I imagine it's not enough to quit the day job. Bloggers, like most writers, often hold day jobs, have families, and they, like writers, pour their heart and soul into their project way into the night. There are thousands of people who run blogs and write reviews simply because they love books . I salute these industrious bloggers - I have a blog and barely get time to post things.

So, in order for readers to get to know these wonderful people from behind the scenes, I have asked a few bloggers what they hope to achieve from creating and maintaining blogs.

 

Today I feature Amber who runs Sapphyria's Book Reviews.

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com.au/p/book-reviews.html

https://twitter.com/intent/follow?source=followbutton&variant=1.0&screen_name=saphs_books

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2769226624882223221#editor/target=post;postID=3840959936084651885

 

D L Richardson asks Sapphyria's Book Reviews: What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Is it to one day become an author yourself, just for fun, maybe get some online attention, or maybe something very different?

 

Amber from Sapphyria's Book Review replies: My blog is an outlet to promote books whether I've read them or not. It's also a place I can review books and , hopefully, give people a really good reason to pick up the book I just finished. I've been an avid reader since I was a child so writing a review blog just seemed right. Due to some personal issues (a selfish (now ex) husband, to be specific), I didn't read a whole lot from 1997 until 2003 but that all changed a few years ago. It just took me until 2011 to decide to start up a review/promotion blog.

As far as the author part, I didn't specifically set up the blog for that...I've always wanted to be a writer but didn't know how to go about it or where to even start with publishing. I have a huge folder of short stories I wrote when I was a teenager (and some even before that) and really need to go dig them out of the attic. I've learned a lot from being a blogger and hope to eventually incorporate that knowledge into the form of a book. I've started 5 books in the past year but have only gotten about as far as the first chapter before I get distracted.

I work full time outside the home, go to college 1/2 to 3/4 time depending on the semester, and am remarried so I juggle a lot. Sometimes the fun stuff just gets put on the back burner. One day I hope to change that but it won't be right away.

Feature:
Review of The Bird With The Broken Wing from November 17, 2011

Saph's Review:

I very rarely have a hard time writing a review, especially for an excellent book, but that is not the case today.  "Why," you ask?  Because this book is so exceptional and heartwarming and mixed-up, that my thoughts were just flying around in my head and none of them were landing in cohesive sentences.  

First, you have Ben and Rachel, who have enlisted in the military and are in a highly combative zone somewhere in the desert.  After cutting from Ben and Rachel, you then flip to Jet, a teen with a not-so-ideal home life.  A situation she's encountered has her suicidal and stopping at nothing to complete her task.  The unidentified situation causes her to drown her sorrows in alcohol and medication.  When she wakes up she finds herself in what she assumes is a detox center with two other people sharing her space; Ben and Rachel.  

As the story unfolds you realize the gravity of the situation and how Rachel fits into the life of Ben and how Jet fits into the life of both Rachel and Ben.  This is a beautiful story that indicates that it may not be just the human population that is dysfunctional.  The ending made me cry because after the story is all said and done, complete happiness was not necessarily attained for the characters in the way that one might expect.  I can't divulge anything else for fear of spoiling it for you.

Just know this:  The plot is solid, the characters are strong in their own ways and interact exactly the way they are supposed to.  Life is precious and we should do all we can to preserve it; it may not be all wine and roses in the afterlife (if there is such a thing).

Rating:

D L Richardson says thank to Amber for taking the time to share an insight into how she started Sapphyria's Book Reviews