August Author in the Spotlight Wrap-Up + Giveaway

August Author in the Spotlight Wrap-Up + Giveaway

Anna Dressed in Blood Giveaway Ends tonight at midnight!

Girl of Nightmares Giveaway Ends September 9th at midnight!

The last day of August is so bittersweet.  Summer winds down to a close, school starts, the leaves begin falling, the days get shorter and the nights get colder.  So many reasons to celebrate August and to celebrate Kendare Blake, the Minneosta author in the spotlight this month.

The are two contests running for Kendare Blake's books.  Both are international.

Click here to enter:  Anna Dressed in Blood Giveaway
and here:  Girl of Nightmares Giveaway

Please check out my book reviews on Anna Dressed in Blood and the just released sequel, Girl of Nightmares. Blake has created a fast paced paranormal romance that is a unique and entertaining page turner.  Both books are great ghost stories with interesting and creative characters.  The scenes Blake creates are vivid and the characters are powerful and strong.  They are so much fun to read.

Book Review:  Anna Dressed in Blood
Book Review:  Girl of Nightmares

Check out the author interview with Kendare Blake.  She talks about her Minnesota connections, the newest book she is writing and the books she likes to read.  Check it out!

Kendare Blake Author Interview

As August ends I would like to thank Kendare Blake for being the August Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob.  She is a excellent, creative writer and I am glad I got this chance to work with her.  Her books are entertaining and fun to read.  Please visit Kendare at her website:  www.kendareblake.com  and read her books!  

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood, the ghost hunter, and friends are back in the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood.  Cas is missing Anna so much he thinks he is going crazy.  He is seeing her in unlikely places.  Images of Anna suffering in Hell are tormenting Cas, day and night, as she becomes his Girl of Nightmares.  His friends Thomas and Carmel try to get Cas to move on and live his life.  But Cas knows something is wrong with Anna and he feels her calling to him for help from the other side.

Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas and his friends could live. Cas knows that Anna needs help and he plans to return the favor and get her out of hell.  So he enlists the help of his friends and they travel to England to unlock the secrets of the athame and the old order who forged it, hoping to find a way to save Anna.

Blake has written a creative conclusion to Anna Dressed in Blood. Girl of Nightmares will keep you up late at night and have Anna entering your dreams at night.  Blake introduces Justine, a new teen character who challenges Cas.  Justine was a positive addition to the ghost hunting crew.

The scenes Blake creates are vivid and the characters are powerful and strong.  My favorite part of the book is when the crew cross through the suicide forest in Scotland.  I loved Carmel, who is a regular teen that is passionate about protecting the people she cares about and fights for the rights of others.  When I finished Girl of Nightmares, I went to sleep and dreamed about it.  I love it when a book enters your subconscious and takes you deeper into creative thought.

Girl of Nightmares is a nail biting, page turner, which will have you on the edge of your seat rooting for Cas and Anna.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood is a ghost hunter following in his deceased father's footsteps.  Cas has his father's athame (dagger), which he uses to dispatch murderous ghosts to the afterlife.  He feels it in his blood that this is what he is meant to do so Cas travels around the country searching for evil spirits who are taking their revenge on the living.
Cas travels with his mother, who just happens to be a witch, and their cat, who can see evil spirits and warns them of impending danger.

Cas moves with his mother to Thunder Bay, Ontario on a tip that a ghost named Anna is particularly dangerous and has killed the many innocent people who have entered her home.  He plans to learn about her, find out her weaknesses and then kill her (again).  The legend states that Anna was on her way to a dance in a white dress and she never made it.  Her body was found with her throat slit and she was dressed in blood.  Cas meets his match when he meets Anna and one act of compassion puts them on the road to forging an unlikely relationship.

Blake has created a fast paced paranormal romance that is a unique and entertaining page turner.   When Cas meets Anna for the first time he is in awe of her presence and beauty when Anna gives him a break and decides not to kill him.  I love that Anna is a powerful, ass kicking, murderous ghost who is just trying to understand her existence and remember why she can't leave her house.  Cas, like the reader, is drawn to Anna and her story.  Cas finds himself falling in love with the dead girl he is trying to kill.

The whole time I read Anna Dressed in Blood I kept thinking that this would make a great movie.  Seriously someone needs to buy the film rights as a movie could be a whole lot scarier then the book.   I didn't read Anna for the scare factor (it was a nail biter), I read it because I love a good ghost story.  Blake has characterized this book as teen horror and I confess I am not a fan of horror books but because of Anna, I am rethinking that.  Anna Dressed in Blood is a great ghost story with interesting and creative characters.  Anna is a bit gory and gross with the main character covered in blood and dead bodies that talk while trying to kill you.

Reading Anna Dressed in Blood is bloody good fun.

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Raziela Nolan is a woman ahead of her time.  She lives in the 1920's in New Orleans and is love with an amazing man.  She wants to be a doctor and has applied to medical schools.  She is an active feminist urging women to use birth control and leaves pamphlets in library books, all of which is against the law.  The love of her life Andrew supports her and her feminist ideals and worries for her safety.  They are the perfect couple.  Then the unthinkable happens, Razi dies.

Razi remains in this world suspended between time and space.  She becomes a ghost haunting the house of Amy and Scott, 75 years after her death.  Amy, like Razi, has also experienced a deep fulfilling love and lost it.  Amy is altered by the experience and the grief continues to affect her relationship with her husband Scott.  Razi and Amy are linked through experience and for reasons unknown to both Razi and Amy they are drawn to each other.

Razi has friends on the other side.  Some spirits travel on as soon as they die and others remain, stuck in-between worlds.  Domingue has created a believable afterlife for spirits who remain behind, straddling two worlds.  The Mercy of Thin Air is an amazing, deep novel full of love and compassion for others.  I think it is the best ghost story I have ever read.  It is not scary but full of powerful characters and it takes a deep meaningful look into the experiences of life, love and ultimately death.

Domingue has created an original and unique story that travels across generations and through time and memory.  It is a novel that highlights the senses of the body.  The sensation of smell and touch were so ripe with emotion, it was beautiful.  Their is a surprise conclusion to the book that I didn't see coming.  The Mercy of Thin Air is a vivid, powerful love story that will leave you breathless.

I think I will have to read everything Domingue writes from now on.   I am adding her to my favorite author list.

Sit Down and Write Write-a-Thon Wrap-Up

Sit Down and Write Write-a-Thon Wrap-Up

Well, the Write-a-Thon is over and school has started and life is getting busier as we enter Fall.  Busy, Busy, Busy.  Life is always so busy.

I  did not meet my goals but I am very happy with what I accomplished during the write-a-thon.

Goals:
1.  Write 4 book reviews
2.  Write 7 pages (1 page every day) in my novel.

Accomplished:
1.  Wrote 2 book reviews
2.  Wrote 4 pages in my novel
3.  Created an outline for my novel
4.  Read 7 pages in the Screenwriter's Bible by David Trotter.  This is a great book and it informs and inspires me to write and keep writing.  I think every writer needs to read about writing as it helps keep the creative self at work writing.  So I am glad I included this.

Looking forward to my continued daily battle finding time to write and be creative and the next Write-a-Thon.

Kendare Blake Author Interview + Giveaway

Kendare Blake Author Interview + Giveaway

Kendare Blake is the August, author in the spotlight here on Booksnob and she has graciously agreed to answer some questions about her life and her best-selling young adult horror books, Anna Dressed in Blood and recently released, Girl of Nightmares.

Welcome Kendare:

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself? A little about myself…I was adopted from South Korea when I was 7 months old. My least favorite class ever was Statistics, because even though I understood it, I seemed to suck on the tests. Ridiculous. I have a horse named Lassie who was recently dressed as an Indian pony, and I’m pretty fond of fried foods.
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2. What inspired you to write Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares?  I wanted to write something gory and dark. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Cas Lowood raised his hand and said, “I got this.”

3. Usually an author puts some of his own life experiences in the book.  Did you do that?  Do you have anything in common with your characters? In common with my characters? Yes, I frequently kill and stuff bodies in my basement. No wait. I don’t even have a basement. Truthfully, not really. Cas and I share a sense of humor, but that’s about it. Thomas has my best friend’s car.

4.  Do you believe that ghosts are real or are they the work of a creative imagination? I don’t know. I’m not willing to fully believe or disbelieve. If they do exist, it’s sort of sad, unless hauntings are like ghost vacations. Like, they’re somewhere really cool most of the time, but they can come back to jerk us around if they want to.

5. Why did you set the books in Thunder Bay, Canada and places in and around Minnesota?  What is your MN connection? I grew up in Minnesota, and lived there while I wrote Anna Dressed in Blood. Thunder Bay was close enough to drive to for location research, and had the best ghost stories. I also lived in London, which is featured in Girl of Nightmares.

6. Do you like to read?  What authors or books influence you? Of course I read. I read a lot. But sort of slowly. Just about everything influences me somehow. I was really taken by Milan Kundera and Bret Easton Ellis when I was young. And Caitlin R Kiernan always rocks my socks.

7. When will the 3^rd book in the Anna series be released?  Do you have a title yet?  There is no third book in the Anna series. Girl of Nightmares is the end. Next summer, I’ve got a new trilogy featuring Greek Mythology, called ANTIGODDESS. If you enjoy girls who can tear things apart with their bare hands (which I do), you might like it.

8. Tell us in one sentence why we should read the Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares?  Uh…because you need something to read and like entrails?
   
   

Thanks Kendare!

Thanks for having me! Great questions.

If you are interested in winning a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood, click here:  Anna Contest

If you are interested in winning a copy of Girl of Nightmares click here:  Nightmares contest

The Horizontal World by Debra Marquart

The Horizontal World:  Growing Up in the Middle of Nowhere by Debra Marquart

North Dakota is a land of extremes. Extreme cold weather in the winter, with snow piled high.  Extreme hot and humid weather in summer with a sea of praire grass and crops blowing in the wind.  North Dakota is inhabited by hearty people who are drawn to the land and landscape.  Not everyone can survive here.

Debra Marquart was born in North Dakota and raised on a farm that has passed through four generations.   Beginning with her great grandfather who emigrated from Russia in the late 1800's, to Deb's brother who currently owns it, the farm has an undeniable pull on the Marquart family.  Yet from an early age Deb had plans to escape the farm and the rural ways of life and planned to be a city girl.  Milking cows early every morning, driving the tractor, planting corn, all of it hard work.  She yearned for more and as she read books to escape her daily reality, she made plans to leave.

Marquart's memoir is a tale of leaving home and her struggle to retrieve the sense of self she gets from the land we call North Dakota.  Marquart includes her personal family history and their inherent and meaningful ties to the land.  She includes the history and geography of the land we call North Dakota.  You will laugh and cry along with Marquart and try to figure out how you are related after reading The Horizontal World.

North Dakota is the land of farmers and lonely oil boom workers, sunflower fields, beautiful buttes and the stunning Killdeer mountains and canyons.  I have lived in Minnesota all my life and never visited North Dakota until this year.  I read Marquart's book as a way to become familiar with a place I've never been to and to understand it's people and history and I am so glad I did.  Being a midwestern girl myself and spending summers on my grandfathers Wisconsin farm, I could relate to so much of Marquart's life in the middle of nowhere.  I remember plucking chickens and milking cows and smelling like manure most of the time and I couldn't wait to leave.  As an adult who now lives in the city, I cherish my time on the farm and it seems like it is always calling my name and reminding me of my connection to the land I love.

The Horizontal World captures the essence of the people, the place and the land of North Dakota.

Black Elk Speaks

Black Elk Speaks.  Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, As told through John G. Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow)

John G. Neihardt met Black Elk in 1930.  When they met, Black Elk recognized Niehardt as the man he must teach his vision to, so that it might be saved before he died.  Niehardt reflects, "His chief purpose was to 'save his Great Vision for men.'"pg. xix  At this time Black Elk was old, going blind and he lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation where the Wounded Knee Massacre took place in 1890.  Black Elk was a holy man, a visionary and a healer.  He was also related to Crazy Horse through his father.

Black Elk Speaks is the true history of the conflicts between the U.S. Government and the Plains Indians from the Native American perspective.  Black Elk begins by describing his childhood and his sacred vision and from there he details the coming of the white man to the Black Hills, and the battles that ensued like The Battle at Little Big Horn.  He talks about Crazy Horse and how he died, the killing of the buffalo and the Native way of life, and the horrible reservations they were forced on.  He teaches about the coming of the Indian Messiah, Wovoka, and The Ghost Dance, Black Elk participated in, and the massacre at Wounded Knee.

Everyone who travels to the Black Hills in South Dakota needs to read Black Elk Speaks.  It will provide you with a comprehensive history of the area as well as important geographical places sacred to the Plains Indians.  You will learn about the spiritual world of the Lakota, the medicine wheel, the six grandfathers, the importance of visions and the four directions.  I read many parts of this book to my children as we traveled to the places that Black Elk speaks about in the book.

Reading Black Elk Speaks was an amazing experience for me while in the Black Hills.  I spent some time on the Pine Ridge Reservation (where Black Elk lived) while in the Badlands.  I drove for miles and miles and noticed how beautiful the landscape is but could not believe how sparse and desolate the reservation appeared.  I wanted to go to the site of Wounded Knee.  We stopped at the Indian cultural center and I talked to the man working there.  It was 7 pm at this time, we needed gas and food and we were still 2 hours away from where we were staying in Hill City.  We got gas another 10 miles up the road where there were two pumps, and a long line to get gas and they accepted cash only.  The convenience store seemed like the only store in a 40 miles radius (at least from where I drove from).

Black Elk Speaks shows the hope and pride of an Indian nation fighting to preserve their traditional way of life.  Today, the people are living on a reservation that is extremely poor, has a high alcoholism rate, a high dropout rate and are still fighting to maintain their cultural rights.  We need to return to Black Elk's vision and embrace it.

Enter to Win: Girl of Nightmares

Enter to Win:  Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Kendare Blake is the August Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob and she has graciously offered to give away a copy of  Girl of Nightmares, the second book in the Anna trilogy to Booksnob followers.   This contest is open internationally!
If you want to win a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood, the first book in the Anna trilogy enter here:  Anna Contest

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.


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Sit Down and Write

Sit Down and Write - Write-a-Thon

The Write-a-Thon starts tomorrow and I'm excited to participate in it.  I also go back to school tomorrow to get ready for students.  So officially summer is over for me and so is most of my free time but this week, my plans are to use my limited free time to write, write, write.

Here are my writing goals for the week:
1.  Write one page in my novel everyday this week.  The write-a-thon is 7 days so that means I need to write 7 pages.  An author I heard speak uses the goal of writing one page a day.  It is very doable for me.

2.  Catch up on my book reviews.  I have 4 books read and waiting for me to write about them.

So if I can accomplish writing 7 pages in my book and 4 book reviews this week then I will be happy.  I will probably have to cut down on my reading a bit.  Wish me luck.

Anyone can participate, not just writers of novels or stories, but bloggers too.  Michelle at The Story Inside Me blogspot says you can participate is you have book reviews or general blogging to catch up on. Writers of all types are welcome.  For details and to sign-up visit:
 The Story Inside Me

Ingalls Homestead

Laura Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota

Visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder's Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota was a dream come true for me.  I took my kids to the Homestead for the day on July 30th, 2012.  Pa Ingalls built their home and farm on the 160 acres allotted to him by the U.S. Government.  He needed to live there for 5 years and farm the land and then it would be his.  Laura's last 4 books beginning with By the Shores of Silver Lake were written about her life here in De Smet.  Silver Lake is within walking distance of the Homestead.

There is a lot to do here for old and young fans of the Little House book series.  When the Ingalls arrived here, there were no trees and so the cottonwoods on the homestead that stand today were planted by Pa over 100 years ago.  Here your family can enjoy a covered wagon ride, visit a one room school house similar to the one Laura taught at three miles up the road.  You can visit the church they attended next door.  Your children can make rope, a corn cob doll, go on a pony ride and pump water to drink and/or water the crops.  Here you can step inside a replica of their dugout, and shack as well as the house Pa eventually built the family and their barn.  Here is where they spent The Long Winter.

In the town of De Smet is the House that Pa built Ma when they moved to town and a short distance away is the cemetary where the whole family is buried (except Laura, Almonzo and Rose).  Laura's 1st child is buried there with her parents and sisters.  It is a short drive out of town and easy to find.









Laura and I are kindred spirits and have much in common besides our names.  We were both born in 67 (100 years apart), we are both teachers, writers and raised on a farm, lived in Minnesota, and have younger sisters.   When I graduated from college with my teaching degree my mom gave me a doll of Laura Ingalls.  I have visited three of her houses so far.  The one in Pepin, Wisconsin, Burr Oak, Iowa and now De Smet, South Dakota.  De Smet is a place you can stay the whole day and if you want rent a covered wagon and sleep in it for the night.  Who knew Literary places could be so much fun!  I highly recommend you spend the day here in De Smet with your family.

Here I am in a bonnet and dress in the Schoolhouse.  I have no idea how those girls can see in those bonnets.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Audio book review
Read by Christopher Evan Welch

"Your car goes where your eyes go." pg. 94  Advice from Enzo, a dog who narrates The Art of Racing in the Rain.   Enzo loves his human family and is especially loyal to his owner Denny who is a race car driver.  Occasionally Enzo, while narrating the history and stories of his life and his people family,  shares witticisms or advice on the importance things in life.  He uses race car driving as a metaphor for speeding or racing through the days and years of your life cycle.  Put your seat belt on and bark once to slow down or bark twice to go faster.

"How quickly a year passes, like a mouthful of food snatched from the maw of eternity." pg. 240  The Art of Racing in the Rain is a heartfelt story that will capture your heart and make you laugh out loud because of the thoughts of a dog.  If you are a dog owner you will recognize particular traits that Enzo exhibits that relate to your beloved pet and best friend.  Enzo's family goes through some very rough times, a death, a custody battle and the story may bring tears to your eyes but through it all they had a dog who loved and supported them unconditionally.  A dog is a friend when you need one, a shoulder to cry on, a pal to play ball with and is so happy when you come home.

"That which you manifest is before you." pg. 41  Enzo saw a TV show (he likes to watch TV when his people are gone) and believes that when a dog dies he will return in the next life as a human.  Enzo can't wait to be human. 

We listened to this audio book on our 500 mile long drive from Minot, ND to St. Paul, MN.  The Art of Racing in the Rain is one of the reasons we kept driving and made it home ahead of schedule because we just couldn't stop listening to Enzo and his story. There are some swear words and a little inappropriateness for younger kids but my 11 and 14 year old kids absolutely adored this book.  When it was finished and we were only 20 miles from home my daughter said, "This book is a 5 star read for me."  We were all crying and laughing and it was a wonderful moment that I will cherish forever and it's all because we love dogs and books.

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking?  Woof!

Enter to Win: Anna Dressed in Blood

Enter to Win:  Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Kendare Blake is the August Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob and she has graciously offered to give away a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood, the first book in the Anna trilogy to Booksnob followers.   This contest is open internationally!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Good Luck!

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The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
Format:  Audio Book
Note:  This is the first audio book review I ever have written.

Going on a road trip and plan to drive over 2000 miles in 10 days with my kids so I decided to get a few audio books on CD for the trip.  Except that all the titles I wanted from the library were unfortunately already checked out and so I joined www.audible.com Being new to the audio book world I didn't know what to expect.  We chose Battle of the Labyrinth because the kids and I have read aloud together the first three books in The Lightning Thief series and I knew this would be a good fit for our family.

Listening started off well as we drove west toward South Dakota.  Jesse Bernstein narrates The Battle of the Labyrinth with a myriad of unique voices that match the characters personalities.   Percy Jackson captured both my kid's hearts long ago and he is the same adventurous teen with ADHD and Dyslexia who manages to get in trouble the first day he enters high school to register for 9th grade.  Two suspiciously beautiful cheerleaders (demons in disguise) try to kill him in the auditorium.  So begins the summer at Camp Half Blood when Annaliese, Tyson and Grover join Percy on a quest into the Labyrinth to find Pan and stop Luke and Kronos's army from invading.

My kids loved the entire audio book and kept asking to listen throughout the trip.  My mind kept wandering and so I missed huge sections of the story and then I would tell myself that I would read the chapter in our print copy but I never did.  I felt lost at times.  Not sure why I couldn't focus on the story.  Maybe it was because it was the first time listening to an audio book in a long time and my brain wasn't quite trained for the experience.  There was definitely an abundance of interesting characters and lots of crazy and hilarious action.  Maybe there were too many characters to focus on while making a long drive.  Who knows?  When the audio book ended, my kids immediately wanted to start the next book but I didn't.

Have you listened to any good audio books lately?

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake Contest Winner!

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake Contest Winner!

The publisher along with TLC tours has generously given away one copy of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake to a BookSnob follower.  I would like to Congratulate the winner:

Jill from Seaside Book Nook Blog.

Congrats.  Enjoy your new book Jill!

If you didn't win, the book is now available at Amazon and other booksellers.Jenny Wingfield has created a cast of characters who you will remember for a long time and a novel you will cherish.  It is truly that good.The Homecoming of Samuel Lake will break your heart, make you leap for joy, and bring tears to your eyes.

Running after Prefontaine Contest Winners!

Running after Prefontaine Contest Winners!

I would like to congratulate the winners of Running after Prefontaine by Scott Parker, July's Author in the Spotlight.  I would like to thank Scott for giving away 3 copies of his memoir to Booksnob followers.

And the winners are:

Jacque from Utah
Doug from Minnesota
Angy from Ontario

Congrats!!

If you didn't win, don't fret you can order Scott's book on Amazon.  Scott has written a poignant memoir that is not merely about running but it is a philosophical look at how running is a metaphor for life.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge is a retired teacher who lives in a small town called Crosby, Maine.  Olive is married and has a grown son and has made an impact on the people she meets.  Olive gets older as the novel progresses and as we read through the curves that life throws her, she searches to understand and come to terms with her life.

Thirteen interconnected stories weave through the town of Crosby, and the core of the novel is Olive.  Each short story in the book has Olive Kitteridge drifting through the pages as people drift in and out of our lives on a daily basis.  Olive is an ordinary woman, living an ordinary life and yet the importance of the so called ordinary life is evident in the pages of this book.

Fiction mirrors life in Olive Kitteridge.  So often I was reminded of the impact one person has on the people they meet on a daily basis.  We may feel insignificant but Strout shows us that we are anything but.   From a walk in the park to a chance meeting of a student, each event in our lives is significant even though we may not see it.  Strout shows us this and more in the pages of Olive Kitteridge. 

I chose to read this book slowly, allowing myself to read one chapter a day for thirteen days.  Every day I couldn't wait to find Olive somewhere in a new story and see how she fit in to the big picture of life that day.  It was like unwrapping a present with care and grace and savoring the memory.  We are all complicated beings, lovable at times and unapproachable too, yet each one of us makes a difference in the world just by being.  Olive Kitteridge reflects that difference we each create in the world and it is beautiful.

August Hometown Track Author in the Spotlight

August Hometown Track Author in the Spotlight

It's August and time to bask in the warmth of the sun in the last month of summer.  Enjoy the lazy days of summer, watch the Olympics and root for your hometown heroes and teams.  This month on Booksnob, I am featuring a hometown author who gets a gold medal in Young Adult literature for her creative characters and storyline.  So in between watching your favorite athletes in the Olympics you will need to pick up a book by Kendare Blake and get hooked into a riveting trilogy.

Kendare Blake has written two books, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares.
Here are the synopsis from Goodreads:

Anna Dressed in Blood
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story... 
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Girl of Nightmares:  To be Released August 7th.

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor. 

This month you can expect two book reviews, a contest, and an author interview.   The second book in the Anna trilogy, Girl of Nightmares is set to be released on August 7th.  Kendare is busily penning the 3rd book and promoting her 2nd. Visit Kendare Blake at her website:  http://kendareblake.com/


Keep checking in at Booksnob as August is going to be great a month!

 

July Author in the Spotlight Wrap-up + Giveaway

July Author in the Spotlight Wrap-Up + Giveaway.

Running after Prefontaine Giveaway ends tomorrow (Aug, 5th) at midnight.

It is the end of July already and August has started, where does the time go?  I am still away on vacation in beautiful North Dakota.  So here is to warm summer nights, days at the lake and fireworks.  What a beautiful month July has been and it is time for me to wrap-up the month of July by highlighting Minnesota author, Scott Parker.



Tomorrow is the last day to enter the contest to win a copy of Running after Prefontaine.  The contest ends at midnight.  The contest is open for residents of U.S. and Canada.  Good Luck and as always thanks for following Booksnob!


Click here to enter:  Running after Prefontaine Giveaway


Please check out my book review of Running after Prefontaine.  A memoir.  Scott has written a memoir that is inspirational.  Scott's memoir is not merely about running but it is a philosophical look at how running is a metaphor for life.  If you can run miles and struggle through the running race, you can apply that to life's challenges and push yourself to do anything you want.  


Book Review:  Running after Prefontaine


Check out the author interview with Scott Parker.  If your curious about who Prefontaine is and why Scott is running after him, then you definitely need to read this interview as Scott reveals the answer.  Scott has a great sense of humor and like to read.  Check out the authors and books that influence him as a writer and a runner.


Scott Parker Author Interview


Check out Scott's Guest Post as he highlights five important books about the sport of running.  


Scott Parker Guest Post


As July ends I would like to thank Scott for being the July Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob.  He is a excellent, creative writer and I am glad I got this chance to work with him.  Scott F. Parker is the author of Revisited: Notes on Bob Dylan and Running After Prefontaine: A Memoir, and he is coeditor ofCoffee—Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate. Find him online at http://scottfparker.blogspot.com/