The Tour Goes On!

Have you been keeping up with the Infraction blog tour? Just hop over to the Appearances page to see which blogs have featured Infraction so far. You can read guest posts, excerpts, reviews, and enter to win an ebook of The Burn if you haven't started the series yet. The tour has been fun so far so come along for the ride!

I Try Not to Read Them

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever read (and I can't even tell you who said it--probably just about any writer who's ever written) was to not read reviews of your work. A good review can set you soaring, but a bad review can tear you to shreds.

I read that advice, and I said, "Whatever, I can take a bad review. Constructive criticism, right?"

Kind of.

The problem with bad reviews is that they fall into two categories: 1) people who actually put thought into them and do legitimately offer good advice on improving your writing and what could be improved in the story, and 2) people who just don't like your book but can't articulate why and instead rip you up one way and down the other.

So I started with every intention of reading bad reviews with the intent to find ways to improve my writing, but I quickly ran up against that second kind of bad review. You can guess how depressing the second kind of bad review can be. But it's like a car crash--no matter how gruesome the wreckage, you just can't look away. But finally I stopped and breathed a great big sigh of relief. Because no matter how hard I work and how much time I put into making my story the best story possible, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like it. And that's okay.

So the purpose of this post (I realize it got away from me!) was to thank book blogger Pam from Between the Bookcovers for the kind words she posted about The Burn. The book has been out for nine months now, and it still makes me giddy when someone new likes it. So thank you, Pam.

And for those of you wondering where The Reaping stands, I just finished another draft. One step closer :)

Indie Frenzy

Ashley at The Bookish Brunette runs a great feature called Indie Frenzy, where she spotlights different indie authors. You'll find amazing new reads and authors to follow.

She featured The Burn today, and asked me what my inspiration for the story was. Some of you probably know that The Burn was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's A Little Mermaid. But you should click your way over to her blog to find out why that's waaay different from the Disney version, and how I fit a story about a fish into a post-Apocalyptic dystopian novel.

She also has a giveaway up for an ebook, so be sure to enter! The giveaway closes on December 20.

15 Things You May Not Have Known

If you've never been to the Literary Junkie book blog, you should click on over there and peruse a bit. Lots of fun YA book stuff going on. Sonny is a great blogger, and she's just a lot of fun in general. She posted an interview with me and a giveaway for three ebooks of The Burn. So if you'd like a chance to win my book, head on over there. The giveaway runs until December 24.

The interview is 15 Things to Know about Me. Some things you may not have known:

• I'm a twin, and no, we can't feel each other's pain
• I'm a stay-at-home mom, and writing helps me stay sane
• I'm a runner. And I don't listen to music while I run, I listen to audiobooks. If you listen to music while you work out, you should try audiobooks. I'm telling you, it's a lifesaver

If you want to find out more, check out the rest of the interview.

A giveaway and an interview

Phenomenal book blog I Am a Reader, Not a Writer has a giveaway for a paperback copy of The Burn and three ebooks! Contest ends Dec 30. There's also an interview if you are just dying to know things like what superpower I wish I had and if I'm any good at spouting a Haiku off the top of my head. Stop on by to enter.

Ode to Book Bloggers

Okay, so this isn't really an ode. I don't have time to sit down and write poetry. But this post is to sing the praises of some people that I've found along my publishing journey that I have really come to love.

Book bloggers.

Before I started publishing, I had no idea these people even existed. I had never stumbled upon one of their blogs; I had never had anyone ever mention anything about them. But then I published my first novel and shortly thereafter my second, and suddenly, I discovered the world of book bloggers.

Book bloggers are people who devote their own time and expense to acquire books, review them, open our eyes to new reads, and have lots of fun along the way. They're creative--some of their blogs are incredible! They're all avid readers, a trait I can really relate to. And they do giveaways of great books and other swag. Seriously. Who knew?

I've contacted quite a few book bloggers asking for reviews and help promoting my books. Every single one of them has been respectful, gracious, and kind. If I weren't so busy juggling mothering my girlies and trying to squeeze in extra writing minutes, I could see myself loving being one of these people. And so to you book bloggers that have helped me and other authors along the way, thank you.

And for those of you who, like me, never knew such a thing as a book blog existed, google  it. You'll find gobs of great blogs in every genre to help inform your reading choices.