Hosted by An Island Life

We all enjoy eating, right?   But there is something I just don’t understand and today that is my question.

Do you enjoy eating very hot, spicy food?   If yes, isn’t your mouth in pain?   How is that enjoyable?

http://btt2.wordpress.com

This week’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Ted asks:
Have you ever fallen in love with a fictional character? Who and what about them did you love?
My answer:
When I first read the question my first reaction was no, but that there are many fictional people, both male and female,  that I could see myself becoming and/or wanting to be friends with.  But the more I thought about the question, there might have been a couple.  Since I mainly read mystery and suspense, there might be some of the “good guys” that I have overlooked because I was too in tuned into the story line.

But the more I sat and thought about the question and went through the catalogue in my mind, there have been characters that I have “fallen in love” with.   They are the male characters in Michael Baron’s books.  I think the fact that the main male characters are created by a male author makes them even more appealing.  These “men” are sensitive, loving, emotional,  loyal, wearing their heart on their sleeves, romantic and tender not only with the woman in their life but with their children and family, which makes them even more attractive.  So yes, after giving today’s question more thought, I have “fallen in love” with a few male fictional characters.

What about you?  Has a character stolen your heart?

I don’t know who to personally thank for this one, but I surely needed an extra day to get caught up on some things!!!!   Twenty-four extra hours, WooHoo!!  Fantastic!!  Isn’t this wonderful news???!!!  lol  What are you going to do with your bonus day?

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He held the phone to his ear hating how Anita cared about him like he was good. He told her he had to go. He said he was sorry.

Kindle  9%

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH THIS INFORMATIVE VIDEO

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: ARE YOU DIABETIC AND/OR

DOES DIABETES  RUN IN YOUR FAMILY?*

*U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

**PER PUBLISHER**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MARCH 12th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

Continue reading “GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION” by Mark Hyman, M.D. ENDED“ →

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

Today’s question:
• Do you read books that are part of a series?
• Do you collect all the books in the series before starting? What if the series is brand new, and the only book that’s been published so far is Book one? As subsequent books in the series are published, do you go back and re-read the preceding books?

My answer:
In the past, I have read some books that have been part of a series.  The first that comes to mind is The Left Behind Series,  which consisted of 13 books.    My bff  had the complete set so I was able to start with the first book and she would give me 3-5 books at a time.     My sons would tease me and ask if either they were all the same  or how many were there, was it like an encyclopedia?   I have to tell you,  those 13 books were read in a matter of 2-3 weeks.   By far, my overall best read books in my lifetime.

I have read other books that were part of a series and always have to start with the first one unless it can also be read as a stand alone novel.  This year, I signed up for a challenge of just this type.  I have some books on my TBR shelves that are “series” books that I have won plus,  my friend, Gina from Hott Books enjoys J.D. Robb, so I thought I would also try that series.  I would never buy the whole series prior to reading one just in case, it turned out that it was something that I did’t enjoy.

What about you?  Do you read series?  Any favorites?

February is being hosted by Metro Reader

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.  According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”

                                        Author                The Hachette Book Group

SCROLL DOWN FOR DAILY POSTINGS.
This is a sticky post for Read-A-Thon progress.

Book:  The Second Time We Met by Leila Cobo
02/24  Friday  Pages Read:    127/361
*Musing–I am reading/reviewing this book for The Hachette Book Group. Once my review is posted, Brianne from Hachette has kindly offered for me to host a 3 book giveaway. For a debut novel, it is well written and holding my attention.

02/25 Saturday Pages Read:  182
                                           Subtotal:  308/361
*Musing—ohh so close to finishing the book but sleep won.
 

02/26 Sunday Pages Read:  53
                                       Subtotal:   361/361
*Musing–Finished The Second Time We Met by Leila Cobo.  Will be writing my review today and starting another book
Didn’t get much reading in.  Between doing things around the house and computer to-dos the day flew by.

Started Book The Ninth Step by Barbara Taylor Sissel
02/27 Monday Pages Read: Kindle 9%
Subtotal:  1 book/ 9% 2nd book
Musing:  Going to be hard keeping track of pages read since Kindle does it by %s, one of the negatives I have with owning a Kindle.

02/28 Tuesday Pages Read:  Kindle : another 9%
                                           Subtotal:  Kindle:  18%
Musing: not too much time spent reading.  Errands, doctor appointment (and wouldn’t you know it) I thought great, I’ll be able to get some reading done in waiting room..was taken right on time lol.  I still haven’t learned all the gadgets w/the Kindle..is there a way to find out page numbers instead of the % read?

02/29 Wednesday Pages Read:  0%
Musing:  Unfortunately I didn’t even open a book.  Due to RL commitments, which I knew ahead of time, I knew that I would probably not get much reading in.  

03/01 Thursday Pages Read:  32%
                                                    Total:  50%

Wrap Up:  Finished The Second Time We Met by Leila Cobo
1/2 through- The Ninth Step by Barbara Taylor Sissel
I was hoping to get at least 2 books read and started on a third during this read-a-thon, however, I also knew  when, I signed up that I had obligations that were going to interfere.   But knowing that I was participating, was an incentive to try and pick up my book as often as I could.

Thank you Stephanie from Once Upon a Chapter for hosting.

If you are a frequent visitor, today’s guest may sound familiar.  He was here back in May of 2011 when he stopped by to talk about his novel Dead of Wynter, which I had stated to put him on your radar.  So when Erin and Kate, from The Book Trib, contacted me to review his latest novel, be part of his tour and scavenger hunt, it was a definite yes.  So please help me welcome back, Mr. Spencer Seidel.

ABOUT SPENCER SEIDEL

Spencer Seidel’s love of reading and writing began as a child after he discovered Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His first novel, Dead of Wynter, was published in 2011 and was well-received by critics and readers alike. When he’s not writing novels, Spencer enjoys playing loud rock guitar, something he’s been doing for over twenty-five years.

You can connect with Spencer Seidel at his website, Facebook, Twitter and Author Page at The Book Trib

GUEST POST

The Terrifying World of a Writer

By Spencer Seidel

Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you that I can be overly scheduled, neurotic, a tad eccentric . . . Well, I won’t go on. You get the picture. Let’s just say that sometimes I’m not real good with going with the flow.

Show me a writer who isn’t a little strange, and I’ll show you a mediocre writer. Writers throughout history have been weird. Hemingway was weird. Same goes for F. Scott Fitzgerald. Do I even have to mention Truman Capote?

I think there’s a simple reason for this.

For those of you who don’t write, let me describe the concept with an analogy. Suppose you woke up one day with a sense of smell as keen as a bloodhound. Can you imagine how awful that would be? You’d smell everything vividly. Every cleaning product on every surface, your own BO, or worse, everyone else’s BO. And I won’t even mention that cat box or God forbid, the old cat herself. And that’s just the beginning. What about the garbage, the laundry hamper, or the week-old milk in the fridge? Even sex would be a challenge. You’d go mental.

But there’s a flip side. Imagine how wonderful freshly baked cinnamon rolls would smell. Or bacon in the morning. No wonder dogs are always begging around for food or dying to get outside. The complex and sometimes overwhelming smells must drive them nuts.

Being a writer is a lot like that, except instead of smells, it’s motivations, emotion, and possibilities. When I get into the car to drive to work every morning, it isn’t hard for me to make my writer voice say things like, “His last day on earth began just like any other.” Yikes! Even on that short drive to my day job, I’m always seeing possibilities. Things that could happen, little things that change lives forever, events that books are made of, like a dropped cellphone on the passenger-side floor that makes someone stray into oncoming traffic, or a blown tire. The more complex the situation, the worse this effect gets. I think this can make writers a little crazy and regimented in their ways as they seek to control their environments.

But, like with our newly found bloodhound senses, there is a flip side. Although some can be extremely introverted, writers are very good at sniffing out people’s angles and motivations. I contend that this makes writers very difficult to lie to. Think your writer spouse could never find out that you’re having an affair? I’ll bet she already knows. Or suspects, anyway. We can be hypersensitive and detect subtle verbal clues and facial expressions people aren’t even aware they’re using. We do that because that’s in part what makes good characterization. That’s a powerful thing.

People are always telling me I would have made a great psychologist. I’ll bet that’s true of most writers. That’s because you really need to understand people at a gut level to make believable characters.

That also gets a little hairy. You can’t just think about all the good things people do, although there is plenty of that around, despite what you hear on the news. Sometimes you have to live inside the head of a killer or rapist or worse, trying to understand how a character like that would think. It can be frightening.

I mean, what if I find out I sort of like it in there? Damn, there I go again.

SCAVENGER HUNT
Next Stop:   http://www.myatlantamommy.com

She’d fallen in love with 227 Cumberland Avenue immediately upon seeing it one snowy day in January a few years ago. She’d gotten damn tired of the scrum-dum one bedroom apartment she’d lived in for years over in Parkside and decided to trade up. She didn’t own and didn’t want to. She was a busy woman and had no time to spend fixing things or waiting for someone else to come and fix things. Here, she had a landlord for that. That cold January day, he’d explained that some young guy was moving out after less than a year there for business reasons. The hardwood floors, the exposed brick in the hallway leading to her bedroom, wrought-iron chandeliers, two full baths, brand new appliances, twelve foot ceilings, absolute quiet, and two entrances, front and back, had worked their magic in a matter of a minute or two. She signed the lease that very visit.

ABOUT THE BOOK