Top Ten Books of 2016 + An Epic Giveaway

It's been a while since I did a top ten. Are you ready for this?

2016 was a decent reading year for me: 80 or 90 titles. As always, it's very difficult to chop my list down to JUST ten books. Are you ready for this? (And I warn you, this is an eclectic list.)

10

Very interesting book...somewhat morbid. Was it for middle graders (as labeled)? For teens? Adults? (Yes, I was that confused.) The plot, while short, presents great suspense and it was a fun read...after I got over the initial shock of some very unexpected content.

Get it on Amazon.

9

I have absolutely no idea how this one ended up on my eReader, but I consumed it over Christmas. I don't want to give anything away, but people who enjoy NA and fantasy elements will appreciate this one.

Get it on Amazon.

8

A fantastic book that paints a time period in full color--the brutality, the gender roles, the lifestyle. Meet a protagonist well worth rooting for. This book is for adults.

Get it on Amazon.

7

I love, love, LOVE, Odd Thomas. Koontz paints a rich, word-lovers world with suspense, fun twists, and the injustices. Without spoilers or saying anything more, this has been one of my favorite Odd Thomas books. This is an adult book. Very adult.

Get it on Amazon.

6

Aliens, dystopian society, strange things happening in the main characters head... I was taken right away with this story. An awesome YA book. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Get it on Amazon.

5

THE ONLY mermaid book that comfortably/realistically bridges the world between land and ocean. Although I could see how the story was going to resolve, I enjoyed every moment getting there. A wonderful NA book.

Get it on Amazon.

4

From the first chapter, I wasn't so sure. I'm pleased to say that by the end, I was 100% sold. Cute characters, a fun conflict, and a happy conclusion. Highly recommended.

Get it on Amazon.

3

It's rare I read a book where I just want to linger (because of the author's beautiful language/writing), and can't stop myself from burning through it. This CLEAN regency romance has all the fun of a historical setting, suppressed attraction, and societal expectations, PLUS an actual plot. And beautiful prose.

If you love regency romance, read this book.

Get it on Amazon.

2

When I read the concept of this YA book on a blog, I immediately bought it. (That's rare for me. SUPER rare.) I looked forward to mentally living in that world--but little did I know it would end up being a SINGLE reading session. An AWESOME read. I want to read it again already.

Get it on Amazon.

1

I have never read such a cast of well developed, believable, three-dimensional, DIFFERENT characters. And the plot... I was sitting comfy, thinking status quo when BAM! Whiplash. So I thought, the author got lucky. Hah! It wasn't luck, and just wow! Superb story. SO much fun to read. The only caveat: while labeled YA, this book is TRUE TO LIFE. The characters use language you might hear in a high school hallway. Very authentic.

This one of the best books you've NEVER heard of, but you should definitely read.

Get it on Amazon.

At the beginning of the month, Tracy Clark shared SCINTILLATE along with two truths and one lie. Anyone who guessed the lie correctly was entered to an eBook.

The game:

1. I eat all sandwiches and burgers in a circle, around and around until I get to the middle.

2. I was once crowned Miss Burbank, CA. 

3. I was an extra in the condom commercial in Lethal Weapon 2.

The lie: #2.  

From Tracy: I was 2nd runner up in 1988. Hah!

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Hilary Melton-Butcher!

Congrats, Hilary!

And now, for an AWESOME middle grade book:

WELCOME BACK TO THE FOREST!

Gabe the goblin just saved his town Broken Branch Falls from splitting apart. He also revealed that humans--horrible creatures of myth and legend--may actually be part of their history! But seriously? Nah!

Now Ona, Gabe’s girlfriend, is headed thousands of miles away to Camp Cradle Rock for Spring Break seeking evidence of humans. Gabe knows better than to tell a stubborn ogress she’s crazy, so he’s letting her go and spending the break at the beach like a normal teenage beast. And he’s determined to have a good time without her, whether he likes it or not.

But when Gabe hears Ona went missing, he and his friends set out for the wilds of the west to find her, no matter what dangerous creatures get in his way. Not even humans.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Goodreads

Check out the Book Trailer!

Ready to meet the author?

Tara Tyler

I love to use poetry and songs in my writing, there are a couple of examples of me singing on my YouTube channel. And in my fantasy books, I always seem to find a reason to add a poem or song, like this human bedtime rhyme to warn children about beasts from CRADLE ROCK:

Close your eyes and go to sleep

Not a whisper, not a peep

Else beyond the border creep

Giant monsters, make you weep

When fathers scold

And mothers hold

Dark tales of old

Are often told

From the history of time

Beware the Mist above the line

Across our fences, danger find

Stay safe within or fate unkind

Big, bad, hairy

Monsters scary

Pray for fairy

Sweet dreams carry

Close your eyes and go to sleep

Not a whisper, not a peep

Else beyond the border creep

Giant monsters, make you weep.

Since I love to sing, I have performed in front of a few audiences - but I often screw up from stage fright! It's tough!

Tara Tyler started out as a math teacher. After having a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering and living up and down the Eastern US, she now writes and teaches in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. In addition to her novels, she has published short stories and poetry in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, and Humor. So many stories to tell!

Tara gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win their choice of an eBook, signed PRINT book, OR swag item (bracelet, t-shirt, or tervis tumbler). (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, January 31 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answer on February 1, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. I sang at a friend's wedding, but didn't practice nearly enough so I mixed up two of the verses. I don't think anyone knew... it was from an opera.
2. I sang at the funeral of a friend's mother - hardest thing I've ever done, was shaking and tearing up, barely made it through.
3. In college I had a solo for our "Spring Sing" - was young and fearless and hit that high note with a vengeance, the video is priceless.

So sleuths, which is the lie? Have you met Tara? Do you like middle grade stories? Do you have a favorite book or two from 2016? Share, please!

Valentines, Dragons, and Ninja's, Oh My! (Plus IWSG)

Would you like a chance to win MY BOOKS? (The Maiden of Time trilogy?) Keep reading...

From Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out and Guilie Castilol-Oriard at A Quiet Laughter, and co-hosted by Elizabeth Seckman, Yolanda Renee, Denise Covey. and Alex J. Cavanaugh.

My contribution:

NEVER LOST

I can't do this

echoes loudly

over the petulant stares

and hungry faces

waiting to be fed

my anguish.

I stand straight

smile plastered and cracking

chasing a single breath

blinded to the crowd by

a well of loss.

For he lies in that casket

now closed

to open at some distant date.

Long, long in the future.

Did I know him at all?

Well enough?

Or is he a stranger?

His world so distant.

So dignified.

Farther than I could reach.

Though reach I did,

a child cooing for his pleasure

a girl trusting his grasp while treading ripples

a young woman handing greasy tools beneath an elevated van

a daughter locked behind a piano to produce an adequate eulogy of love.

The song that waits

trapped by four 

bloated words:

I can't do this.

But he is not gone.

He is listening

championing his little girl, though unseen.

My throat opens.

I sing for him.

And though I cannot see him,

I am wrapped in his love.

In my home, Valentines Day is a family holiday. My husband buys/makes gifts for each of his kids and they wake up that morning to a daddy surprise. My father did similar things--surprises. That's one aspect I remember him best for. He passed away in 2004, and though I sometimes speculate about what life would be like if he were physically present, I can attest that he is not far. Those who pass on are closer than we think.

Find the rest of the hop HERE.

As far as IWSG, this is it this month, folks! Emotion is what drives powerful writing--the good, the bad, etc. What emotion are you experiencing right now, and how can you use it to better your writing?

 

Now how about a giveaway? (One that's a little lighter hearted?)

Last week Rena Rocford shared with us ACNE, ASTHMA, AND OTHER SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE HALF DRAGON, along with two truths and a lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win an ebook.

The Game:

1. I once wore the Hope Diamond. I was working at the Smithsonian for my master's degree, and the Hope Diamond was just being put back into its setting after being scanned for a documentary to see if it was possible to get the Hope and another diamond from the Cul de Mar. They were about to shine up the diamond and they were letting the resident scientists wear the diamond. It was surreal.
2. One time, a person fell out of the sky into the middle of a field trip I was leading. Then, he flew away.
3. I once pulled a matched pair of black pearls from an oyster at a pick'a'pearl. But first, I told the guy running the kiosk that I couldn't buy one because I would pull a pair of matched, black pearls, and that would blow his mind. He said he didn't believe me, and the rest is history.

The lie: #1. And by way of fun, Rena said: I did see the Hope up close and personal. They had it out of its setting for a documentary to see if it could have been cut from the Cul de Mar, but I didn't wear it. No one wears it. My adviser held it, but I didn't have the nerve. So, there I am, standing inside a vault, inside a vault and they're passing around the Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond. My brain leaked. Then, I was looking around and there was a diamond necklace. At first, I thought it was a fake. Then I thought about how I had to walk past two armed guards to get into that room. Every gaudy, shiny bit of of everything in the room that had looked like a cheap tourist attraction suddenly looked VERY different. There was a solid gold statue of a camel with crushed rubies mixed into epoxy to color the blankets. The diamond necklace in the box with silk could only be real diamonds. I pointed it out. The guy said "Oh yeah, that's the necklace Napoleon gave to Marie. That's the package he gave it to her in." This necklace. And I held it--in the same package Napoleon held. 

Interesting side notes about the truths: 

I had the matched black pearls made into a pair of earrings. I wear them when I need some extra luck. I'm suspicious that all the luck is worn out of them with that spectacular origin story, or they are wiser than I am and realize I haven't really needed their luck just yet. 

As for the guy who dived into my field trip, he was just launching his parasailer. It hadn't caught the wind yet (it wasn't the best launch). I saw something out of the corner of my eye and slammed on the breaks. The parasailer fell onto the van, dragged his bottom across the windshield, tweaked the antennae and flew away.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Hilary Melton-Butcher!

Congrats, Hilary!

And now for this week's feature... A ninja/demon fusion...

For as long as sixteen-year-old Zade can remember he’s dealt with the thing locked inside, another soul that can use his body...if he lets it. 

As long as he stays away from the nearby villagers, he can control the soul’s strange powers—and its hunger—powers he needs to keep the encroaching creatures of the nether realm from finding the demon gate and destroying the valley where he lives. 

But when Zade saves a village girl from monstrous wolves, he loses the one tool that aids his control: the villagers’ fear of him. 

Now they won't leave him alone and his darker side is getting stronger—a side hungry for blood, and it doesn’t care if that blood is demonic or human.

Get your copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

R. W. Hert spent her childhood dreaming of fairies and dragons, large battles filled with magic, and the impossible coming true. Books were a  portal that allowed her to visit the impossible and believe in the unlikely. Today she uses those dreams to create worlds that others can travel through and enjoy. Today she lives in Utah with her husband and three kids.

She really likes Asiago cheese and Swiss. You might run across her munching some while curled up on the couch watching a movie.

R.W. gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to an eBook of DAEMARKIN, DEMON'S VOW! (Open Internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, February 9 at 1 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on February 10.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. I climbed a waterfall barefoot and when I reached the top gorged myself on wild raspberries. Best raspberries I’ve ever had (and the most awesome climb I’ve ever done). 

2. I ran over a mile in under 4 minutes because I thought I was being chased by a mountain lion. 

3. I was dropped down a twenty foot hole and left to get out on my own. 

ALSO, you have a chance to WIN MY BOOKS, along with R.W. Hert's. (My books are the 7th prize--see the dots below the prize announcement? Yup. A paperback of Soulless for US residents or eBook of MOONLESS and SOULLESS.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So sleuths, which is the lie? Are you missing someone this Valentines season? Do you like ninjas? How about demon stories?

Laurel Garver's Professional Poetry

A quick welcome to my guest today, Laurel Garver! I recently had the opportunity to read her collection of poetry that's releasing NOW. 

One word: awesome. 

And so, I invited her here to find a little more about her writing. Who doesn't love getting to the core of what motivates a writer, eh? A quick bio:

Laurel Garver is a magazine editor, poet, and writer of faith-based fiction.  She enjoys quirky independent films, British TV, and geeking out about Harry Potter and Dr. Who. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.

Welcome, Laurel! Have some cheese, eh? First off, how did you get started writing poetry? 

In my angst-filled teen years, poetry was a way of channeling negative feelings. But once I began to really study poetry in AP English, I was struck by how it can succinctly communicate the most moving and profound ideas. Poems are too powerful to waste on wallowing—that’s what a journal is for. 

I completely agree. Poetry is awesome! So, where do you find inspiration? 

I’m drawn to the weird and off-kilter—things not usually thought of as poetry fodder, like derelict factories, evil chickens, Goth girls, leash-trained gerbils, pica. There is a certain beauty in weirdness, and it has the power to break through our ordinary ways of thinking and being. I also like to explore those small, pivotal moments when we have glimpses of grace or divine presence acting behind the scenes.

LOL! In high school my friends and I considered "weird" a compliment. ;) So, along those lines, can you tell us the back story behind one of the pieces in your collection?

“Sixth Story” is a piece jam-packed with the beauty of the weird. It’s about an actual suicide attempt on a Christian college campus where I was a student. An attendee had a psychotic episode and was threatening throw herself out an upper floor window to escape snakes she saw pouring out of the walls, bidden forth by demons that resided in the hallway. One group after another tried to talk her down, to no avail. Her rescuer, a sort of Christ-figure in the story, played along with her delusion, saying he’d locked up the snakes in handcuffs and she was now safe. The incident epitomized for me how religious communities often deal poorly with mental illness when what’s most needed is simple loving compassion—a core value religion is supposed to embody.

Now that's a story. And now, every writer is influenced by someone else. Who has had the strongest influence on your writing?

Madeleine L’Engle’s work has been the most influential in helping me discover and trust my own voice, and to boldly keep my faith at the center of what I create.

She is amazing. For fun, you’re stranded on a deserted island. What 3 things would you take?

A Swiss Army knife, a water filter and a Bible. I’m sure I could figure out how to write on palm fronds if I weren’t starving and dehydrated (thus the first two tools). And if forced to be a hermit, I’d want to be equipped to get the most spiritual benefit from the experience.

That's entirely too practical. I'd be taking a magical cheese producing machine. (The scientists in my basement are hard at work on that one.) And speaking of cheese, if you could only have one type of cheese for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

It’d be content with an extra-sharp English-made cheddar (though I’d pine for Cotswold).

Mm... Now I'm hungry. Thanks for joining us today, Laurel, and here's wishing you all the success in the world with your wonderful poetry!

About Muddy-Fingered Midnights: 

This thirty-poem collection is an eclectic mix of light and dark, playful and spiritual, lyric and narrative free verse. In an intricate dance of sound play, it explores how our perceptions shape our interactions with the world. Here child heroes emerge on playgrounds and in chicken coops, teens grapple with grief and taste first love, adults waver between isolation and engaged connection. It is a book about creative life, our capacity to wound and heal, and the unlikely places we find love, beauty, and grace.

Check out her book here. 

And how about you? What cheese would you choose if you could ONLY have one for the rest of your life?

A Cup of Cheer

I'm the lamest lame that ever lamed a lame.

Now that the self-deprecation is done... Hello friends! This sorry turnip-tooshied writer has been thumbing it through revisions for the last two months and horrifically neglecting this blog.

EEK!

I know, I know, gator tears, right? Well, I'm building SLOWLY back up, as life is now somewhat manageable again. Somewhat.

(So what's with the pickle, you ask? Nothing. He's shiny and makes me giggle.)

On that note...

A Cup of Cheer

She raised her mug and looked about

The chorus of chipper smiles

But hers had fallen far past its mark

And instead, become tears.

Heart heavy, she lifted the cup a bit higher

And dared herself to say

"I wish you all the greatest season

And happiest Christmas day!"

While voices echoed her longing strain

A glimmer sparked in her heart.

It stretched and groaned and tore until

It burst full into bloom.

The ray that started first as hope 

Rumbled deep inside her chest

And broke through the crowd in radiant hue

Her inner light revealed.

She found, surprised, as you will too,

That joy comes from within

It grows when shared and reaches all

Who turn to see the view.

Where's your cheer coming from this year? (Hee hee, that rhymed.) How are you keeping spirits high, and have you eaten any cheese this week?

I hope you enjoy the Christmas season, and share a cup of cheer, eh?

SHORT: Contest Challenge

S uccinct 

H ook

O f

R apid

T hought

Ideal panel look-alikes

We see it in film all the time, a brief snippet encompassing a complete story. We also see it in poetry. Within a newer art, we find it in flash fiction, and the even more condensed "drabbles". As a slow creature to modern crazes, I've decided to finally try my hand at 100 word perfection. (--In a conglomeration of  poetic drabble-dom.) Join me. Create your own. Add a comment with a link back to your blog, then post your literary masterpiece in your own space. (Or add it as a comment here if you don't have a blog.) A unique panel of 5 judges will pick the best of the best and award (drum-roll) the Drabble Poet badge (for your blog/webpage etc) AND a whopping $5 gift card to Amazon! I know, you can't believe it, right? Five Dollars!! Contest ends September 1st.


Let the Drabble-Poets commence!

Dizzily dancing, she twirled the stage. 
One pirouette, two pirouette, finish with a bow.
Then up she came for the crowd's laud
Greeted by streetlight and graffiti-ed walls. 

Stood lone ballerina, all conundrum and dread
Studio behind, home of the arts, an infamous wreck.

Out stepped a stranger with ominous look.
"I've longed to see thee, lady fair of the stage."
"I've longed to see what I can't, for my age."
 He offered a hand, strange contraption therein.

"This be the means of thy travel. I fear 
Ye never shall return to the then from the here.

You are mine."

Mothers

This one goes out to mine:

She must have known the hours she spent

Laboring each day

Would yield such a marvelous legacy

To keep on in her way.

She must have known the time she gave

Would manifest divine

In the lives of her children, or children’s children,

A heritage of mine.

She must have known the years she dedicated

Denying her own desires

Though painful and tiring, overwhelming to bear

Would, her child, inspire.

Yet in some small hour she must have questioned

If her efforts would yield success.

And then she must have known deep in her heart

God loves the selfless mother.

And so do I.