ABC Books "C"

Here's the list for "C" books.


Crime and Punishment- Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Read this in AP English and despite its gruesome subject, it was actually a good book. I don't know if I'd ever read it again, though.


Charlotte's Web- E. B. White. Classic children's book with great characters and message. I'll read it with future children (and watch the movie versions too).


City of Ember- Jeanne DuPrau. I think this was my first foray into a dystopian society, at least the first one I enjoyed. (1984 doesn't count because I didn't like it) The main characters are likeable and it's fun to see them unfold the mystery they discover in their underground city. I've read the second book in the series, which I didn't like quite as much, but have yet to read the third.

Any Volunteers?

I posted this on my facebook page and decided to include it here as well. I'm in need of a volunteer to be the subject for the Cover Art for one of my next books. Here are the details/requirements.

Needs to be a guy, aged 18-30. (You need to look about 24ish) I need a close up photo of just your face, serious or slightly angry expression, neutral background, with extra background above the head. Can be full face or slight profile. Eyes really need to stand out. Hair is required, maybe a messy-ish style without any hair product, unless it's not too noticeable. No facial hair. No piercings.

There will be some "work" done to the photo, but nothing too dramatic. If you're interested, or know someone who might be, send a jpeg photo to kacietaylorbooks@gmail .com  Multiple submissions are fine.

Include your full name if you want to be acknowledged on the copyright page, but the rights to the photo will belong to me. It will be used as the cover art as well as the main promo picture on various websites. You will receive a free copy of the ebook once it comes out. Please don't be offended if your photo isn't chosen. I'm kinda picky. If you have any questions, comment below or send me an email. Good luck!


Here is the general idea.

 

Top Ten Tuesday #3

Here's a list that is very near and dear to my . . . stomach.



Today's Topic: Best Candy Bars

10. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I admit that I can only eat these once in a while, but it's almost like too much of a good thing. Almost.
9. Almond Joy. I eat around the almond first and then go in for the kill.
8. 100 Grand. So crunchy and caramely
7. Hershey's Symphony with Almonds and Toffee Chips. Makes me feel sophisticated.
6. Snickers. Has all the good things.
5. Whatchamacallit. I call it delicious.
4. Reese's Pieces. I like these better than the cups.
3. Kit Kat. I love the regular kind, the white chocolate kind, the dark chocolate kind . . .
2. Caramel Twix. I eat both without feeling guilty about not sharing. Get your own.
1. Dove Dark Chocolate. I go through bags of this stuff. Heavenly.

I know not all of them are "bars" but you get the idea. Candy is candy.

Summer . . .

This has little to do with books or writing, but it does affect my desire to do anything at the moment. Husband and I just moved from AZ (we were there for about a month and a half) back to our home in UT. In case you don't know, AZ is HOT, but the air conditioning in our apartment was super great. We got home and turned on our condo a/c and........ nothing. Being the poor people that we are, we will have to suffer a bit for the next month or so until we can afford to get it fixed. Oh and both of our small room fans are also broken. Hopefully the outside temp won't get much past 80 something for a while longer so we don't melt into a couple of miserable puddles. In the mean time, I'll try to focus on doing useful stuff, like unpacking and reading more Pride and Prejudice.

ABC Books "B"

Here's my list for "B" books.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson- Read this in elementary. Not generally a fan of sad endings, but this book is one I've always remembered liking. Who doesn't like kids with big imaginations?

Beauty by Robin McKinley- Retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story. Can't really go wrong with that. (kind of like my own The Bride, which also starts with a "B", hint hint)

The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain- Grew up reading these great stories. They cover just about everything, from bad habits to getting along (or not) with siblings. I will definitely read these to my future children.

P&P Update

Last week I made a goal to read Pride and Prejudice by the end of September. I'm at chapter eight. Jane has just come down with her cold and she and Lizzie are at Netherfield.  I'm glad that much of the dialogue is pretty much the same as the movies, at least some of the time. It makes the reading a bit easier.

Between chapters of P&P, I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes series, starting with A Study in Scarlet. Quite enjoyable so far. I've downloaded some other classic books like Gulliver's Travels, The Time Machine, and A Little Princess. At this rate, I might have a few classics under my belt by the end of summer.

Top Ten Tuesday #2

It's that time again.

I've recently been watching one of my all-time favorite TV shows on Netflix (Alias) and it is the inspiration for this next list.

Today's Topic: Best TV Couples

10. Carol and Doug from ER
9. Chuck and Ned from Pushing Daisies
8. The Doctor and Rose from Doctor Who
7. Mary and Matthew from Downton Abbey
6. Buffy and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (sorry Angel)
5. Sydney and Vaughn from Alias
4. Jim and Pam from The Office
3. Ross and Rachel from Friends
2. Aang and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender
1. Niles and Daphne from Frasier

There were some close runners up, including Kate and Castle from Castle and Michael and Fiona from Burn Notice. There are a dozen others, I'm sure, but these are my favorites from shows I've watched.

A Little More Convincing, Perhaps?

Sales for my book are slow, but steady. To help things along, I decided to add a link to Chapter 2. Again, please remember that my work is copyrighted and must not be copied, printed or distributed without my permission.

Chapter 2
(This link includes both chapter 1 and 2)

Enjoy!!

ABC Books "A"

Every once in a while, I'm going to make a list of three or four books I've read over the years beginning with each letter of the alphabet and give a brief review. I will either use the book title or series name, depending on if I finished the series or not. Starting with A:

Anne of Green Gables series- L.M. Montgomery.  I grew up loving the movie series with Megan Follows and eventually found all the books at local thrift shops. Anne Shirley's adventures are worth the read. If I ever have a daughter, we'll read theses together.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain.  I read this in Jr. High English class. It's a decent story, though I wasn't a huge fan of wading through the regional dialect. I probably wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been a school assignment.

Angels and Demons- Dan Brown.  I enjoyed this book a lot, along with the other thrilling Robert Langston stories. I'm not usually a fan of mystery books, but this one kept me reading, wanting to know what was going to happen next.


Any recommendations for "A" books are welcome.

A Little Confession

I love Jane Austen. Her stories are absolutely fabulous. If I had to choose a favorite, it would probably be Pride and Prejudice. I love me some Mr. Darcy. But...

I've never read any of her books.

I've seen multiple movie versions of most. (and love them all) I don't know if there is a movie version for Lady Susan, though. I'm not 100% sure why I've never bothered to read the books. Maybe it's because I've become so accustomed to the actors' versions that I'm afraid I won't like the books as much. And I'm an avid believer that the books are generally better than the films, but I worry my Austen world will shatter if this belief doesn't hold up.

This is a silly fear, of course. I just need to buckle down and do it. Since I don't work during the summer, I have plenty of time. So, here is my goal. I, Kacie Taylor, will read Pride and Prejudice by the end of September. Hopefully it won't take me that long, but I'll probably take a break now and then to watch the two movie versions I own.

I feel better now.

Top Ten Tuesday #1

I'm still kind of new to blogging, so I've been trying to think of fun or interesting things to write about. I may take a break from focusing solely on my book once in a while. One idea I found is to do lists. I used to watch Letterman a lot and his top ten lists were usually entertaining. I've decided to start a top ten list of my own. Since alliteration has such a nice ring to it, Top Ten Tuesday was born.

Today's topic: Favorite Rides in Disneyland

A few years before I got married, I had an annual pass and went twelve+ times in about a four year span. Needless to say, I love that place. Here we go.

10. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.  Best score is 441,300. Not too shabby.
9. Haunted Mansion, Christmas style. I'm of the opinion it should be left that way all year long.
8. Matterhorn Bobsleds. I still scream when the abominable snow monster pops out.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean. Great ride for when you need a cool place to sit for a while.
6. Fantasyland dark rides. Snow White, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio. All fun.
5. Winnie the Pooh. I can't help it. Heffalumps and Woozles...
4. Thunder Mountain. Fast, fun, especially in the back seat.
3. Star Tours. Love the revamp.
2. Indiana Jones. I remember waiting in line for about two hours the first time I rode it. Closed my eyes during the entire ride.
1. Space Mountain. Growing up, I was terrified of rollercoasters. I didn't ride Space Mountain until I was in my twenties. Oh, the fun I missed out on!


What are your favorites?

The King

Here it is. The artwork I did for The Bride that's my favorite. Meet Zain Tamohar.

What I See

I often draw/paint pictures that go along with my stories, usually just for my own amusement. Lately I've been using an art app on our iPad which is fantastically awesome. I've done a few for The Bride. If you haven't read the book you won't really know what they are (and I don't plan to give explanations) so I suggest you hop over to lulu.com or amazon and snag a copy!

I have one more, and it's my favorite, but I'm saving it for the next post!

And the runners up are . . .

In my second post, I wrote about the cover image and mentioned there were other choices in the running. Here they are.

There are things I like about each, but ultimately I didn't want the picture to look too much like me. Feel free to let me know which is your favorite.

About the Author

So, I thought it might be a good idea to share a little bit about myself, even for those of you who already know me.

For a long time growing up I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I was older. It wasn't until my senior year of high school, in my AP English class taught by the wonderful Mrs. Roach, that I started thinking about writing. The summer after I graduated I started getting ideas for stories. Many of them have come from simple words or pictures or a scene that pops into my head and turns into a full blown story. The first one that I actually began writing down is one I'm still working on nearly 13 years later. I guess you could say that since it's my first, I want it to be perfect. Thankfully, it's now at a point that I'm happy with and is in the hands of my fantastic editor, Jennifer Maddy, right now. It is the first in a series. The next two in the series are mostly written, but need some serious fine tuning. Three more are outlined. I have many other projects in various stages of doneness as well, with one in particular that is ready for editing. I have a habit of jumping from one story to another, going back and forth as ideas come to me. My husband, who majored in English and creative writing, frowns upon this, but it's kinda how I roll.

As I mentioned above, I have a husband, Garett, who is my biggest fan. We've been married for almost four years now. He offered to be my editor, but we both decided that the author/editor relationship might interfere with our actual relationship. Meaning I didn't want the person I love most in the world to "hurt my author feelings". I am very lucky, however, to have a sister-in-law who has been a professional editor for a number of years. Now that she's a stay-at-home mom, she has some time for little old me. The rest of my family has been very encouraging as well.

My day job over the years has been as a paraeducator, working with special needs students. It's pretty much been the perfect job for me. The kids are awesome and I love helping them. Also, I've never had to work in the summer, which has given me lots of time to write. This particular summer, we're in Arizona while my husband does summer sales with a pest control company. It's very hot here, but I'm enjoying the time I have to write, especially now that I'm seeing some progress in my dream as an author.

Other interests of mine include drawing and painting (I have artwork I plan to share later on), cooking, reading, watching too much TV, spending time with family, snuggling with my husband, eating, ignoring laundry and dirty dishes, pinning stuff on a particular pinning website, the color orange, penguins, going to Disneyland, entering sweepstakes I'll probably never win, and many others that are too boring or weird to mention.  

Hopefully this wasn't too long. I plan to keep most of my posts short and sweet. If you haven't yet checked out the first chapter of The Bride, find the link in my previous post.

The Bride, Chapter One

Okay, I'm learning how to be more tech savvy, so hopefully this works. I've created a PDF for Chapter 1 of The Bride and uploaded it to google docs. Here is the link. (This link now includes chapter 2)
You will need a pdf program on your computer (like adobe reader) to read it.
I hope you enjoy!


(Please remember that my work is copyrighted and should not be copied, printed or distributed without consent from me.)

Book Cover Pic

In case anyone is wondering, yes that is me on the cover of The Bride. I'm certainly not a professional photographer, but I needed someone cheap to pose for the cover photo and I'm as cheap as the get. I edited the photo and added the title all myself. There were other pictures in the running, but this one was my husband's favorite. It might be fun to show the others sometime to see what your opinions are. I plan to do similar pictures for future books (using other people, of course) I might even ask to use pictures of people I know!

Something New

So, I've decided to start fresh with my blog, the reason being that I have something new to blog about. I just published my first book with lulu.com and would like to offer sample chapters. Hopefully this will encourage people to buy the book. It is called The Bride. For the time being, it is only available as an ebook. It can be downloaded to many ebook reading devices, such as iPad, iPhone, Nook, and others as well as downloaded directly to your computer if you don't have an ebook reading device. You can go to my author spotlight page on lulu.com/spotlight/kacietaylor to purchase it.

Sample chapters will be available soon!