This morning I got up, checked my email, had a coffee… wanted another coffee… and wondered: Does your main character hate Mondays?

It’s a typical thing in our culture to attribute mistakes, bad attitudes, forgetfulness, and the need for extra caffeine to it being Monday. We have a “bad case of the Mondays” or “Monday brain”… though I imagine for some people, Monday isn’t a bad thing at all. They love their job and love to get cracking as soon as the clock hits 9am.

But even for people who like Mondays, I’m guessing they’ve had a ‘Monday incident’ at some point or another. I hesitate to believe someone who’s never blamed the day for something at some point in her life.

To bring it back to writing (it’s relevant, I swear), when we’re writing a contemporary piece set in Western society, do we remember to include this extremely common convention in our characters’ everyday lives? If your character’s feeling a bit drained, does she blame it on the beginning of the week? If she dribbles coffee down the front of her blouse, or forgets to call her mother and gets a scathing email because of it, does it all come down to Monday?

I’m sure I’ve read books where Monday gets the blame, but of course I can’t think of any examples right now. I’ve used it myself at the beginning of my editing-stage novel A Work in Progress, but what about you? Do you see this often? Have you used it yourself?

Tell me the most creative way you’ve used Monday to create conflict for your characters! Or, if you haven’t used it before, would you consider it? I’m curious…!

In my mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren to showcase books you’ve received for review, bought, borrowed, or swapped. Anyone can participate, and it’s a great way to showcase new books and encourage blogger/commenter interaction!

Umm… okay, so I didn’t actually get anything in the mail this week, so I didn’t think I’d have anything to share this time around, but apparently I can’t resist BUYING books on the week none come in the mail. But I have an excuse, I swear!

I had a coupon. And cash as a late wedding gift (like, two years late) from some family members. So where better to make use of said cash than at the bookstore? The hubby even suggested it. No complaints from me!!!

We definitely geeked out on our choices, though…

Ah, yes... a Star Wars novel. No, I am not ashamed. We looked in THREE BOOKSTORES to find this one.

Have I mentioned I'm an MMORPG pseudo-junkie? I've been waiting for this one for a loooong time now...!

It's entirely possible that upon seeing this in paperback, I shrieked, kissed the book, and began dancing around the bookstore. Possible. Not definite, but possible. Just don't ask the employees...

A random choice... apparently steampunk meets Indiana Jones? Hope it's good!

What came in your mailbox this week?

I don’t typically dedicate entire blog posts to other people’s contests, but this one looked so good (and I really want to win something) that I figured it’s worthwhile.

Here’s what you can win over at 21 Pages (and the contest is International!) — your choice of:

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
The Ivy by Lauren Kunze, Rina Onur
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Fill out the form on the bottom of the blog post, and *voila!* …you’re entered.

Go ahead, give it a shot!

I know this is thinking WAY ahead for some of us… but what will you do to stand out when it comes time to market your work?

We’ve talked about being a zebra among horses before, and I thought about that mostly in relation to the writing itself. But how do we get our voices heard above the crowd, other than standing on a box and screaming “Look at me! Buy my book! Please! Buy it buy it buy it NOW!”

For the most part, we have to get creative. It won’t be our publisher, editor, or even the promotional rep we’re assigned. That’s right — these people, although they have good intentions, don’t always want to take the chance to step out of the box. I understand why, but that means we’ll have to take marketing our work into our own hands.

A few days ago I read a story about an author who did just this, when her assigned publicist did next to nothing to help her.

Know what this author did? She paid actresses to read her book on the subway and laugh.

That’s right! She put out a casting call, auditioned actresses, formed a plan, and got these women on subways reading her book (and they were filmed as well). The whole shebang cost under $1000, and has paid dividends for the author because of the amount of publicity the stunt ended up getting.

Here’s the full article on exactly what she did: “I Paid Them to Read My Book”

Heck, I want to buy her book just because of the sheer brilliance of Jennifer Belle’s marketing plan. Support the creative, I say!

Do you have a creative marketing plan for your book? I mean, you don’t have to TELL us your genius idea if it’s super secret, but have you thought about what it might take to stand out above the crowd? (I haven’t, if that helps…!)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren to showcase books you’ve received for review, bought, borrowed, or swapped. Anyone can participate, and it’s a great way to showcase new books and encourage blogger/commenter interaction!

Here’s what came this week! …and yes, I know I’m a little slow on the draw this week, but I bought a book on Sunday afternoon, so that pushed back the post.

Purchased

For Review

Totally Unrelated to Books But I Think It’s Awesome Anyway

Yep, that’s right — it’s a mini top hat (creepy model head not included), by Etsy seller fairyqueen59, who you should definitely check out if you’re into steampunk/cosplay/gothic/vintage clothes & accessories.

What came in YOUR mailbox this week? Anything exciting, even if it wasn’t books?!

And now for book two! I was so, so excited to read this one, because it’s literally been five years since Billerbeck had a new book out. I also read her blog regularly, so I had the added bonus of knowing how much time, effort, and research went into this one.

Perfectly Dateless – Kristin Billerbeck

Publisher’s Synopsis:

The prom countdown has begun.

Daisy Crispin has 196 days to find the right date for the prom. There’s only one problem–her parents won’t let her date or even talk to a guy on the phone. Oh, and she’s totally invisible at school, wears lame homemade clothes, and possesses no social skills. Okay, so maybe there’s more than one problem.

Can she talk her parents into letting her go to the prom? Or will they succeed at their obvious attempts to completely ruin her life?

Perfectly Dateless is hilarious, shocking, and totally real. You’ll fall in love with Daisy’s sharp wit and resourcefulness as she navigates the world of boys, fashion, family, and friendship.

My Thoughts:

In this novel, Billerbeck has crafted a relatable, realistic teenager with eccentric parents and a best friend who I think I actually liked more than the main character, Daisy… oops!

The story is a growth tale for Daisy, who starts off without a whole lot of backbone and grows into her own skin over the course of the novel. She makes plenty of mistakes along the way — some a little surprising and impulsive, just like you might imagine a teen would — and has to face the consequences of these actions when things inevitably go wrong.

What I liked about this novel is what I tend to like about all of Billerbeck’s works: No one is perfect. Daisy’s parents are very eccentric, strict Christians who mean well and want the best for their daughter, but under their put-together front, they have their own secrets and blemishes. All good people have faults. All ‘bad’ people have some good. That’s life, and no one can be painted with just one brush stroke.

What I didn’t like about the novel is, again, what sometimes irks me about Billerbeck’s works: The dialogue seems to get wonky at times. Sometimes I don’t see a logical flow through people’s conversations, and I have to re-read entire sections to figure out what the heck people are talking about. But then I wonder, since this happens consistently in her novels (note that it hasn’t deterred me from reading & enjoying her books), I wonder if this is a geographical thing. Maybe they really talk like that in California! Who knows!

Without giving away anything from the story, I was also a little disappointed that Daisy’s desire to study neuroscience in college wasn’t addressed to completion. I found her resignation at the end of the novel and the lack of further discussion with her parents incomplete — she gave in too easily, instead of fighting for her dreams. At least, that’s how it seemed to me… but I think there may be more books featuring Daisy in the future, so maybe that was left unresolved for the sake of addressing it in later books. I wish I could elaborate more on this particular point, but I don’t want to give anything away!

In Conclusion…

Billerbeck’s latest is a sweet tale for Young Adults, particularly Christian teens whose parents seem too strict in their eyes (so… all teenagers in the history of the world, is what I’m trying to say… haha). It’s the author’s first foray into the YA genre, but I think she pulled it off well and her writing style suits the audience.

If you know a Christian teen who might need to read a book like this, put it on the Christmas list! Or, add it to your church library… or just go grab a copy and read it for yourself If you enjoy it, be sure to pick up one of Billerbeck’s adult novels as well (I recommend Split Ends).

About the Author

Kristin Billerbeck is the bestselling, award-winning author of several novels, including What a Girl Wants. A Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year, Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. She lives with her family in northern California.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc. Available now at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

*blows vuvuzela*

*runs away from people throwing things*

Okay, okay… I’ll put the horn away for now. But just for now. Why? Because it’s that time again… it’s…

Blog Tour Tiiiime!

Two books this month. Each very different from each other, but I think you (my dear readers) might enjoy them. So, book one — here we go.

Back on Murder – J. Mark Bertrand

Publisher’s Synopsis:

A missing girl.
A corrupt investigation.
They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:

Roland March is BACK ON MURDER

Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he’s disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details•until an unexpected break gives March one last chance to save his career. And his humanity.

All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.

My Thoughts:

You may be looking at this and thinking “aren’t all these blog tour books Christian?” Well, yes and no, and as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Bethany House seems to be transitioning into publishing books with a Christian worldview (ie. that’s the author’s belief system) but that aren’t trying to blatantly present the Gospel to the reader.

This is one of those books! This isn’t a ‘Christian’ suspense novel, this is a suspense novel for the general market. There’s murder, violence, and the main character (also not a Christian) thinks about his wife in a rather physically overt way (the word ‘foreplay’ was used in the book, which was when I realized… oh, this is definitely general market… well done, Bethany House!).

But what about the story? Well, I’ll be honest — it didn’t grip me the way I wanted it to, and I suspect that may be because I had some difficulty relating to the main character. Our MC is a male, middle-aged, in the waning years of his career, and having marriage troubles. Hmm. Interesting, yes, but as a young female at the beginning of her career with a fabulous marriage, it was a bit hard to connect. But that’s all right!

The writing itself was good, and the story held together decently enough. Though I’m not a big reader of crime fiction (so I don’t have much to compare this to) Bertrand certainly came out swinging for his debut (though this wasn’t technically his very first novel — he co-authored Beguiled, a romantic suspense novel, with Deeanne Gist; released earlier this year), and I think he has a promising career ahead.

I’ll be honest — I’m not convinced I’ll read other books in the Roland March series. However, I will recommend them to readers who enjoy crime fiction, as I’m sure that Bertrand’s writing and storytelling will only improve from here. And on that note — this is also a book you could hand to the man in your life, or buy him for a gift. There’s a lot of testosterone in this one.

Want to give it a shot before buying? Try this EXCERPT.

Want to know why Bertrand decided to make his main character a ‘suicide cop’? Or why Bertrand chose to craft the story this way? Read this Q&A with the author!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc. Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

When was the last time you wrote a love letter?

Probably never (unless you were born in a different era, in which case, I hope the recipient saved copies, ’cause those babies are RARE, and apparently the stuff that long, weepy movies are made of).

But what about a love EMAIL?

Now, think about the last couple of books you read. Did you love any of those? Did any of your recent reads make you want to run out and read everything else by that author, or recommend that book to others, or — maybe more likely for some of us — study that author’s techniques so we could learn what he/she did that made the book so engaging?

Jump forward in time a bit. Think about your own book on the shelf, published, its cover gleaming in all its bookish glory. Imagine someone taking that book down from the shelf, reading it (even better if they bought it), and loving it. Maybe it changed their life. Maybe it took them away from the stress of the week for just a few hours. Maybe they found they could relate to the main character more than they’d expected.

As an author, wouldn’t it be SUPER INCREDIBLY AWESOME COOL to know how your book impacted that one person’s life?

Now think about those recent, awesome books you’ve read.

Why not write a quick note to the author to tell him or her how much you loved the book, and if you have time, a reason or two why?

Many authors have contact forms right on their websites, making it even easier to do.

Go ahead — write one love letter this week to the author of a book you adored.

After all, we could be (will be!) on the other side someday… and I’m willing to bet that’s just the kind of love letter we’d LOVE to receive.

In my mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren to showcase books you’ve received for review, bought, borrowed, or swapped. Anyone can participate, and it’s a great way to showcase new books and encourage blogger/commenter interaction!

Here’s what came in my mailbox this week!

Received for Review

Er… and I bought this today, on a bit of an impulse!

What came in your mailbox this week?