Become a better writer!

Today I read the following list on: http://www.copyblogger.com/
And I liked it, so hopefully you will too, here goes

Doing these things can help you become a better writer:
1. Become a blogger.
2. Use self-imposed word limits.
3. Accept all forms of criticism and learn to grow from it.
4. Read what you’ve written over and over, until you can’t find any more problems.
5. Show what you write to a trusted friend for feedback.
6. Outline. And then write to that outline.
7. Edit, and edit again.
8. Live with passion.
9. Be open, curious, present, and engaged.
10. Take a break between writing and editing.
11. Learn a new word a day.
12. Get the pen and fingers moving.
13. Write in different genres: blog posts, poems, short stories, essays.
14. Read grammar books.
15. Write without distractions.
16. Challenge yourself: write in a crowded cafe, write on the toilet, write for 24 hours straight.
17. Take a trip. Road trips, beach trips, bus trips, plane trips.
18. Watch movies. Can you write the story better?
19. Write. And then write some more.
20. Read, think, read, write, ponder, write – and read some more.
21. Read your stuff aloud to anyone who can stand it – including the cat.
22. Go back and cut 10% from your word count.
23. Talk to people.
24. Listen to how people talk.
25. Read lots of books. Both good and bad.
26. Make notes of your (fleeting) brilliant ideas.
27. Start your writing ahead of time – not hours before a deadline.
28. Listen to podcasts on writing tips.
29. Use simple, declarative sentences.
30. Avoid passive voice.
31. Limit your use of adjectives and adverbs.
32. When in doubt, cut it out.
33. Kill clunky sentences.
34. Be inspired by other art forms – music, dance, sculpture, painting.
35. Read your old stuff and acknowledge how far you’ve come – and how far you have to go.
36. Write for publication, even if it’s only for the local newsletter or a small blog.
37. Make writing your priority in the morning.
38. Keep squeezing words out even if you feel uninspired.
39. Tell everyone: “I’m a writer.”
40. Recognize your fear and overcome it.
41. Let your articles rest and then return to them with fresh eyes.
42. Comment on your favorite blogs.
43. Keep a journal to keep the writing juices flowing.
44. Use a journal to sort out your thoughts and feelings.
45. Keep it simple.
46. Practice monotasking. Set a timer for uninterrupted writing.
47. Watch people.
48. Get to know someone different from you and reflect on the experience.
49. Try new ideas or hobbies – the more variety you have in your life, the more likely you are to keep on generating good ideas on the page.
50. Read works from different cultures. It helps keep your writing from tasting stale in the mouths of your readers.
51. Rethink what is ‘normal’.
52. Work on brilliant headlines.
53. Check if your assumptions are right.
54. Join a writing group. If you can’t find one, form one.
55. Write during your most productive hours of the day.
56. Designate time to research.
57. Take time to muse and mindmap.
58. Map out a writing schedule for your project and stick to it.
59. Ask someone else to proofread.
60. Read Zinsser’s “On Writing Well” at least once a year.
61. Break out of your comfort zone.
62. Write at the scene. If you want to write about a beach, get a picnic rug and go write by the sea.
63. Go to the supermarket, the ball game, the class room, the building site. Make notes of the sensuous details, the atmosphere, the people.
64. Start with metaphors and stories.
65. Approach writing with gratitude, not just with a ‘must do this’ attitude.
66. Deconstruct and analyze books and articles you enjoy.
67. Know about story architecture. Many writers don’t. Which is like doing heart surgery or flying an airliner by intuition. Survival rates are low.
68. Socialize with other writers.
69. Stretch or exercise in between writing.
70. Make a note of ideas for further development before you leave a piece for tomorrow.
71.Use mindmaps for inspiration.
72. Take risks – don’t be afraid to shock. You are not who you think you are.
73. [Please add your own suggestion in the comment section!]
I hope that one or more of these suggestions has inspired you. Let me know which ones resonated with you. And please add to the list. I look forward to reading your comments! Thanks to all the Write to Done readers who contributed to this list

Speak out
Let us have some variation on the theme
Speak freely
Clear
not thoughts you think we like to hear
But thoughts that sear and form and grow
To change
Change our cluttered cramped ideas
Speak out
For that is why you are here

- Egal Bohen

I died for Beauty, but was scarce

(My altime favorite Dickinson poem!)


I died for beauty, but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth, -the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

- Emily Dickinson

A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!

(42)

A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!
Your prayers, oh Passer by!
From such a common ball as this
Might date a Victory!
From marshallings as simple
The flags of nations swang.
Steady—my soul: What issues
Upon thine arrow hang!

- Emily Dickinson

"Why do I love" You, Sir?

(480)

"Why do I love" You, Sir?
Because—
The Wind does not require the Grass
To answer—Wherefore when He pass
She cannot keep Her place.

Because He knows—and
Do not You—
And We know not—
Enough for Us
The Wisdom it be so—

The Lightning—never asked an Eye
Wherefore it shut—when He was by—
Because He knows it cannot speak—
And reasons not contained—
—Of Talk—
There be—preferred by Daintier Folk—

The Sunrise—Sire—compelleth Me—
He's Sunrise—and I see—
Therefore—Then—
I love Thee—

- Emily Dickinson

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken.
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,Y
ours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kiplin

The Penitent

I had a little Sorrow,
Born of a little Sin,
I found a room all damp with gloom
And shut us all within;
And, "Little Sorrow, weep,"
said I,"And, Little Sin, pray God to die,
And I upon the floor will lie
And think how bad I've been!"

Alas for pious planning—
It mattered not a whit!
As far as gloom went in that room,
The lamp might have been lit!
My little Sorrow would not weep,
My little Sin would go to sleep—
To save my soul I could not keep
My graceless mind on it!

So I got up in anger,
And took a book I had,
And put a ribbon on my hair
To please a passing lad,
And, "One thing there's no getting by—
I've been a wicked girl,"
said I:"But if I can't be sorry, why,
I might as well be glad!"

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

A Dream

Once a dream did weave a shade
O'er my angel-guarded bed,
That an emmet lost its way
Where on grass methought I lay.

Troubled, wildered, and forlorn,
Dark, benighted, travel-worn,
Over many a tangle spray,
All heart-broke, I heard her say:

'Oh my children! do they cry,
Do they hear their father sigh?
Now they look abroad to see,
Now return and weep for me.'

Pitying, I dropped a tear:
But I saw a glow-worm near,
Who replied, 'What wailing wight
Calls the watchman of the night?'

I am set to light the ground,
While the beetle goes his round:
Follow now the beetle's hum;
Little wanderer, hie thee home!'

- William Blake

Read and Review

Crave by J.R. Ward

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Title – Crave

Author – J.R. Ward

Author's Website – http://www.jrward.com

Publisher - SIGNET

Publication – October 2010

Pages – 454

Rating – ++ Good



Summary (from the book jacket)

Seven deadly sins. Seven souls that must be saved. One more no-hold-barred battle between Jim Heron, a fallen angel with a hardened heart, and a demon with everything to lose.

Isaac Roth is a black-ops soldier with a dark past and grim future. The target of an assassin, he finds himself behind bars, his fate in the hands of a his gorgeous public defender, Grier Childe. His hot attraction to her is a totally wrong place – wrong time kind of thing – and that’s before Jim Heron tells him his soul is in danger. Caught up in a wicked game with the demon who shadows Jim, Isaac must decide whether the soldier in him can believe that true love is the ultimate weapon against evil…



Leading Character:

Isaac Roth:

“What had been brought out of holding by Shawn C. was about six feet, four inches of solid muscle. Her client was ‘dressed in’, which meant he had prison garb on, and his hands and feet were shackled together and linked with a steel chain that ran up the front of his legs and went around his waist. His hard face had the kind of hollow cheeks that came with zero body fat, and his dark hair was cut short like a military man’s. Fading bruises were clustered around his eyes, a bright white bandage sat close to his hairline…and there was a red flush around his neck, as if he’d very, very recently been manhandled.”

“His voice was so deep and arresting, she stopped breathing. Those two words were uttered with a softness that was at total odds with the size of his body and the harshness of his face. And his accent…vaguely Southern, she decided.”



Review:



I felt it could have been better. Yes sorry, but I am just going to break the door down, but I honestly thought it could have been better. It was very much like the first book, one ‘messed-up-person’ meet a ‘slightly-more-sane’ person and they fall in love, they both know they shouldn’t and can’t help but fall anyways. Jim comes along and he works with them to safe them and they will live happily ever after. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, I really liked the book. I was really engaged in the story and I’m glad I read it, but…it could have been better. And this was just the second book, in a series of seven. They all have pretty much the same format so I really, really hope that J.R. Ward does make it interesting enough, that she doesn’t fall into a pattern in which she just changes the characters. So I’m curious to see the 3th book.





View all my reviews

Read and Review

Title – Fantasy Lover
Author – Sherrilyn Kenyon
Author's Website - http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/
Publisher - St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication - February 2002
Pages – 337
Rating – ++++ Love it and now that I’m done with it, I’m gonna cry

Summary (from the book jacket)

Dear Reader,
Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn’t. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior’s day.
As a love-slave, I knew everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfuill Grace Alexander’s sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and into the world. She taught me to love again.
But I was not born to know love .I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace – the one thin my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?

- Julian of Macedon

Praise:

‘By turns funny and touching, Fantasy Lover is a compelling story that will make you laugh out loud. The gods haven’t been this much fun since Xena!’
-Susan Krinard, author of Secret of the Wolf

Favorite Quote:

“How did you get trapped in the book? I mean, the ancient Greeks didn’t have books, did they?” – Grace Alexander (p. 40)

Review:

What is there to say, other than; ‘Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon, Julian of Macedon’.
In the book store I found these books in the ‘romance’ section and true, there is a ‘lot of lovin’’ going on in the books. But it is so perfectly combined with Greek mythology that it isn’t just a romance novel. I really enjoyed the book, it was a great read. Your immediately right in the story that takes place in New Orleans, which in my opinion could be more described because I’ve never been there so have no idea what it looks like. But she makes up for all of that with the descriptions of the characters. From the lean, muscled Julian, the Spartan commander, to doctor Grace Alexander and her ‘somewhat odd’ friend Selena (whose motto is: Life is short. Dance naked).

I love the way Kenyon combines the modern world with ancient Greece, she brings the Gods back to life in such a way to want to convert and hail Zeus. The characters are hot, funny and so very believable, they are all so human. Emotions run high and you’ll get sucked in their story.

Leading Character:

Real Name Julian of Macedonia
NickName Augustus Julius Punitor (Julian the Great Punisher)
Pronunciation
Designation Demigod/Oracle
Date of Birth 182 BC
Height 6' 3"
Hair Color Blond
Motto Patience is a virtue, but so is a strong sword arm.
Best Friend Kyrian
Worst Enemy Priapus


‘Good gracious, but his deep masculine voice was rich, with a thick, lilting accent that could only be described as musical. Erotic. And downright yummy.’

‘He has the sleek, powerful build of a finely toned gymnast. His muscles were hard, lean and gorgeous, and well defined in places she didn’t even know a man could get muscles. On top of his shoulders, his biceps and forearms. His chest and back. His neck to his legs. You name it, it bulged with raw, masculine strength.
Even it had started to bulge.
His golden hair fell in haphazard waves around a clean-shaven face that looked as if it really had been carved from stone. Unbelievably handsome and captivating, his face was neither pretty nor feminine. But it was definitely breathtaking.
Full, sensuous lips curved into a halfhearted smile, displaying a set of dimples that cut deep moons into his tanned cheeks.’

Conclusion:

Absolute must-read. Especially now that the cold winter months are coming up, grab a big cup of tea and snuggle up on a chair. Within no time you’ll be warmed from the inside out reading this.

Covet by J.R. Ward




What did I think? Covet is the first book in the Fallen Angel series. It does take place in JR. Ward her favorite city Caldwell. And it does have similar places and settings that the Black Dagger Brotherhood has, which is actually fun to read, she's expanding a world that she created.



Of course as even in JR. Ward her books the leading figure is a man, a hot ex-soldier-now-construction-worker Jim Heron. And of course he has to go through a big change in his life. He dies and eventually comes back as a fallen angel, in charge of saving seven people, or their souls, from the seven deadly sins. He gets his help from two other heavybuild, hot angels, Eddie and Adrian.



It's really typical JR. Ward, which I love of course. The men are real men, the woman are strong and loving. The main character goes through a big change but comes out stronger, there are hot and heavy scenes and the enemy does such horrid things you will hate her in the end. You end up rooting for the main character. Nothing comes easy but everything succeeds.



My favorite quote?
"They're going to live out their days in love, and when they come herein, they shall spend an eternity together in joy" (p 467)



It did take me about 8 chapters to really get into it, the characters really needed to be introduced and things need to be explained but by the end of the book that is all forgiven and forgotten. All you will think of is how soon you can get your hands on the second book of the series (Crave) and see if Jim will succeed again.



View all my reviews

I phased back to inspect the old well I found in the forest, nobody ever came here. The pack didn’t patrol here and it was to far away for the humans. Nobody knew about this well. I couldn’t help but laugh, maybe it was a wishing well. I walked comfortable without my
clothes to the well and leaned over the edge, calling out; ‘Hello’

Helloooo

I laughed again, remembering vaguely something from watching Snow White as a little girl. That if a wishing well talked back your wish would come true.

‘Better safe then sorry’

Sorryyyyy

I tapped my chin, what was the song again that Snow white sang? I put my hands on the edge and looked at the water, smiling.

‘I’m wishing’

I’m wishing

‘For the one I love, to find me’

Find me

‘Today’

Today

‘I’m hoping’

I’m hoping

‘And I’m dreaming of’

Dreaming of

‘The nice things’

The nice things

‘He’ll say’

He’ll say

I half expected a prince to appear next to me in the reflection of the water and sing the last word with me. I laughed and looked around to be sure, but no prince and no seven dwarfs to be found.

‘Damn’
I laughed and phased back, shaking out my fur I began running back to La Push, knowing it would take a while. I remembered another Snow white song.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, heigh-ho
It’s home from work we go

Alone

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

- Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hillfor the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

- Maya Angelou

A Game of Fives

Five little girls, of Five, Four, Three, Two, One:
Rolling on the hearthrug, full of tricks and fun.

Five rosy girls, in years from Ten to Six:
Sitting down to lessons - no more time for tricks.

Five growing girls, from Fifteen to Eleven:
Music, Drawing, Languages, and food enough for seven!

Five winsome girls, from Twenty to Sixteen:
Each young man that calls, I say "Now tell me which you MEAN!"

Five dashing girls, the youngest Twenty-one:
But, if nobody proposes, what is there to be done?

Five showy girls - but Thirty is an age
When girls may be ENGAGING, but they somehow don't ENGAGE.

Five dressy girls, of Thirty-one or more:
So gracious to the shy young men they snubbed so much before!


Five PASSE girls - Their age? Well, never mind!
We jog along together, like the rest of human kind:
But the quondam "careless bachelor" begins to think he knows
The answer to that ancient problem "how the money goes"!


- Lewis Carroll

Fanfiction

Okay guys, I've been reading a lot of Fanfiction lately, mostly at http://www.fanfiction.net/
Most of them Twilight fanfiction. And don't be fooled even though these are all amateur writers, their imagination is huge and the stories can be really good.

Some recommendation:

Blossoming: The Story of Jane: How did Jane become so evil? She has her reasons. Her story is not a happy one and does not have a happy ending. Rated T possible change in further chapters

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6151608/1/Blossoming_The_Story_of_Jane

Bella's Dirty Notebook: *Won 2nd place in The Best Domination Ever Contest!* Bella keeps a notebook full of dirty fantasies. One day while in a hurry to escape her domineering boss, she loses the raunchy book and is desperate to get it back before it falls into the wrong hands..

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5900183/1/Bellas_Dirty_Notebook

Envying Leah Clearwater:A three shot, about those moments when Emily realizes that she envies Leah Clearwater. Callwater. Hints of Jacob/Leah and Sam/Leah

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5070306/1/Envying_Leah_Clearwater

10 Years In The Making:Edward never came back in New Moon. 10 years later what happens when the Cullen run into Bella and find out how much she's changed! Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Stephenie Meyer.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5942635/1/10_Years_In_The_Making

Being Embry Call: Leah used to be the beautiful sweetheart of La Push but hate and bitterness pushed her over the edge. Leah's fall from grace told from Embry's prospective. What does Embry think of Leah? Find out here.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4528885/1/Being_bEmbry_b_Call

Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not,
When I against myself with thee partake?
Do I not think on thee, when I forgot
Am of myself, all tyrant, for thy sake?
Who hateth thee that I do call my friend?
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon?
Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend
Revenge upon myself with present moan?
What merit do I in myself respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind;
Those that can see thou lovest, and I am blind.

-William Shakespeare

Dr. Antony Theodor

God, give my wings might

God, give my wings might
Give me the aroma of cheer.
Help me to hear the whispers of my heart
Let the touch of your beauty
make the strong of my soul vibrant.

God, give me a ladder
and send me and angel
to help me to climb up to you,
to the holiest shrine in the heavens.

Dr. Antony Theodor

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen." ---Leonardo da Vinci

Those lips that Love's own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate'
To me that languish'd for her sake;
But when she saw my woeful state
Straight in her heart did mercy come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet
Was used in giving gentle doom,
And taught it thus anew to greet:
'I hate' she alter'd with an end,
That follow'd it as gentle day
Doth follow night, who like a fiend
From heaven to hell is flown away;
'I hate' from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying 'not you.

- William Shakespeare


This sonnet is unique in the collection, because it is written in iambic tetrameter, instead of pentameter. Because of this it is said to either be one of the earliest works of Shakespeare or not his work at all.

G. Blakemore Evans has said: "[Sonnet] 145 has proved an embarrassment to critics and editors. . . .A playful, neatly turned trifle, 145 conveys no sense of serious emotional involvement or complication, and the richly ambivalent associative language we commonly find in Shakespeare's sonnets is notably absent.”

Personally I don’t care if Shakespeare himself wrote it, history claims it as his and I love it. Read it out loud, let the words flow and you’ll love it too.

Once more: Lord Byron

Adiue, adieu! my native shore

Adieu, adieu! my native shore
Fades o'ver the waters blue;
The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,
And shrieks the wild sea-mew.
Yon sun that sets upon the sea
We follow in his flight;
Farewell awhile to him and thee,
My native Land-Good Night!
A few short hours, and he will rise
To give the morrow birth;
And I shall hail the main and skies,
But not my mother earth.
Deserted is my own good hall,
Its hearth is desolate;
Wild weeds are gathering on the wall;
My dog howls at the gate.

- Lord George Gordon Byron

A Lord Byron day

And Wilt thou weep when I am low?

And wilt thou weep when I am low?
Sweet lady! speak those words again:
Yet if they grieve thee, say not so--
I would not give that bosom pain.

My heart is sad, my hopes are gone,
My blood runs coldly through my breast;
And when I perish, thou alone
Wilt sigh above my place of rest.

And yet, methinks, a gleam of peace
Doth through my cloud of anguish shine:
And for a while my sorrows cease,
To know thy heart hath felt for mine.

Oh lady! blessd be that tear--
It falls for one who cannot weep;
Such precious drops are doubly dear
To those whose eyes no tear may steep.

Sweet lady! once my heart was warm
With every feeling soft as thine;
But Beauty's self hath ceased to charm
A wretch created to repine.

Yet wilt thou weep when I am low?
Sweet lady! speak those words again:
Yet if they grieve thee, say not so--
I would not give that bosom pain.

- Lord George Gordon Byron

A Riddle

The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space,
The beginning of every end, and the end of every place.

- Lord George Gordon Byron


(special shoutout to @AftonVolturiFIT, he was the first one to get it right, the riddle is about the letter 'E')

Read & Review: Dark Lover

Title – Dark Lover
Author – J.R Ward
Author's Website - http://www.jrward.com/bdb/
Publisher - Signet
Publication – September 2005
Pages - 416

Rating – +++- Lost in the story

Amazon Summery:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Praise:
"J.R. Ward's DARK LOVER is an awesome, instantly addictive debut novel. It's a midnight whirlwind of dangerous characters and mesmerizing erotic romance. The Black Dagger Brotherhood owns me now. Dark fantasy lovers, you just got served." -Lynn Viehl, Darkyn series.

Favorite quote:
“Welcome to the wonderful world of jealousy, he thought. For the price of admission, you get a splitting headache, a nearly irresistible urge to commit murder, and an inferiority complex. Yippee.”

Review:
Dark Lover is the first in a series of eight books (so far). They are about this vampire race that is struggling for their survival in this world. In this book you get introduced to the leader, Wrath. He leads the Black Dagger Brotherhood, six warriors that defend the race.
The books aren’t great works of literary but they are a great read. Like you have ‘popcorn movies’, you know the ones that you don’t have to think about, but just be entertained. These are ‘popcorn books’, no thinking just enjoy. You get sucked into this world of danger and love. J.R Ward does a great job of bringing this world to live. You get lost in it. You have to work through the first four chapters, but after Wrath meets Beth…there is no stopping. You won’t be able to put it down. Especially when they get together. J.R Ward is not to shy to include very hot sexy scenes in her books, she describes her vampires as more ‘animalistic’ which shows in the sex scenes.

Leading character:
Wrath: (spoiler alert)
First time he appears in the book he is described through the eyes of a friend:
“Wrath was six feet, nine inches of pure terror dressed in leather. His hair was long and black, falling straight from a widow’s peak. Wraparound sunglasses hid his eyes that no one had ever seen revealed. Shoulders were twice the size of most males’. With a face that was both aristocratic and brutal, he looked like the kin ghe was by birthright and the soldier he’d become by destiny. And that wave of menace rolling ahead of him was one hell of a calling card.”


So. If you love the fantasy, the world of vampires. If your not to shy to read and appreciate hot and steamy sex scenes. I would recommend you get Dark Lover and dive into the world of the warrior Brothers.

Follow Friday: Danielle Trussoni

In twitter tradition today is ‘Follow Friday’, so on Fridays I shall give you special FF’s to an author of choice.

Today I’ve chosen for Danielle Trussoni. I am currently reading her book ‘Angelology’.

Danielle Trussoni wanted to be an author from the age of 6, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison summa cum laude with a BA in History and English. She's currently living in the south of France with her husband and two children.

Her first publication was ‘Falling through the Earth: A Memoir’ and it was chose by the NY Times as one of the Ten best Books of 2006 (Falling Through The Earth, Henry Holt and Company, 2006, ISBN 0-8050-7732-4. A memoir).

Her first novel is ‘Angelology’ it published in 2010, it will be published in over thirty countries. And Colombia already bought the film rights.

Angelology: Mixing biblical interpretation, classic myths and out-of-this world imagination, Trussoni tells an epic tale that centers on Sister Evangeline, a young nun who's unwittingly pulled into the battle against the Nephilim (source USA Today).

I’m just on page 50 in the book, but it’s looking promising.


Links:
Danille Trussoni’s official website: http://www.danielletrussoni.org

Information regaining Angelology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelology_(novel)

Purchase ‘Falling through the Earth’: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Falling-Through-Earth-Danielle-Trussoni/dp/0330443658/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1279903944&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Purchase ‘Angelology’ : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0718155580/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=102KYXSQFC8PA9JCE0TZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294

More information about Angelology and Angels: http://www.steliart.com/angelology.html

Read & Review: The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner

Title - The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner
Author - Stephenie Meyer
Author's Website - http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/
Publisher - Little Brown Book Group
Publication - June 2010
Pages - 192

Rating - +++ - Lost in the story

Summery:
Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree, one of Victoria's newborns, and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens. Story takes place during 'Eclipse'. Meyer chose to write this story because she found it interesting to follow a newborn during the first months of their new life.

Review:
I loved it! I was so happy to hear that Stephenie Meyer would write about Bree. She has interested me ever since I read Eclipse. I'm happy Stephenie took the chance and told this vampire story from another point of view then Bella's and the result is so interesting. It's an intens look into the world of a newborn, very interesting. And it's a great supplement to the movie Eclipse, there are little things in there that happen in the book of Bree. Things that are not told in the book Eclipse but are told in the book of Bree. A lot of fun! I would definitely suggest reading this if your a Twilight fan.

Bree, the character of Bree is actually very surprising. She's much more then you would think. She's not only a little girl who got torn away from her world, but she decided to survive in it. She's though, smart and interesting.

ps. Little Bree is wanted at: http://twilightdesires.ning.com/


Visit Twilight Desires

Poem for Leah Clearwater

YOU left me, sweet, two legacies, -
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;

You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.

- Emily Dickinson


(A present for my sister who RP's as Leah Clearwater. She will understand this poem)