Write what you know?

Today I'm going to talk about what I think is common advice that writers hear, and if I'm honest I'd never take it. I know nothing about anything whatsoever. I write Romance when I've never been in half the situations my characters are in. I write about death and mourning when I've only experienced mourning once. I write about domestic violence and I thank god I've never experienced that.I think that it is good advice in theory, if a writer can possibly experience everything that can ever happen to a character. but we cannot and since my life is pretty dull I would never sell any of my work if all I wrote about is what I've been through and/or know about life.Because let's be honest, I'm sixteen. I've never been drunk, and I spend most of my free time writing and reading. I don't think I've ever even been to a party where I've even been offered alcohol. My life's pretty bland and not something I'd want to write a book about (Although Ellie Sweet certainly was amazing at being interesting while still showing a writer's life). 
I think in some ways we should draw from our own experinces for example I wrote this in one of my WIPs;

“You know, I come here to write all the time… it’s weird that I never ever noticed that they sell cakes” she laughed

which is something I've kind of done, I write in my own room and didn't notice that my sister had put up a new poster on the wall next to where I write, and when I write on the bus I never notice when someone comes on and sits down. I love it that I can relate myself in characters and I love doing the same with people in my life another example is in another WIP of mine ; 

“What’s up with the cheeks Rosy?” he pokes my cheek and laughs.

This is something Harry does to me all the time, whenever I'm embarrassed or for some reason my cheeks go red ( which happens quite frequently) he always without fail calls me Rosy and laughs at me, and because I think that's an adorable characteristic in a boyfriend I gave Ryan that line in Aurelia and Ryan's WIP (A new unmentioned WIP) Anyway enough stupid writer thoughts!

Love,

Why I Write Romance:

Hey,
I've been asked this question quite a bit and I thought I'd answer it as best I can. because I guess it confuses me too, why do writers as a group chose the genres they choose? and why do I feel compelled to write romance instead of let's say fantasy?
I guess for me it's what I've always thought of, most of the books on my book shelf are romance and all I got read when I was little were fairy-tales, and all the films I watched had some love in them ( I was obsessed with the little mermaid!). I guess I write romance because that's what I love. and it's weird because I've only ever really had one boyfriend (Whom I love) but he's not big on romance himself. At least not in the way most of my characters are with each other.
I love the feeling when you get butterflies before a kiss, or someone compliments you and you can just feel your cheeks go bright pink. And in my books I love exploring how different couples are in love. For example:

Annie and Carter hide their love from each other in friendship then when it eventually comes out they find themselves having to fall in love all over again after Carter's absence as Annie doesn't feel completely trusting over him anymore.

Jason loves Sabrina like she's a goddess. She's the only girl who ever made him happy and who he wanted to be a better man for, and when she leaves him he still wouldn't let anyone say a bad word about her. When he figured out what Dexter was doing to her, he felt protective over her and confused why anyone wouldn't love her the way he does. His love lasts over years of being apart and he doesn't think it'll ever fade.

because there's no limit to how much you can love someone, and there's no rule on who you can and can't love. Sometimes it's uncontrollable and just happens ever if you don't want it to. Even if it's wrong and will never work out. and maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic but I think it's the greatest thing in the world, and I guess I like seeing other people (Characters) feel it too, and get to participate in their love affairs too. 

Sorry if this was all soppy optimistic ramble, feel free to share why you write your genre in the comment!

Love,

 <--- New name thing!

Book Review: The revised life of Ellie Sweet.

Now another Playlist fiction installment. I have to say this book is the reason I signed up to be on the street team, I would have bought it anyway but either way I would have had to read it. ( Although it was made difficult by Harry's attempts to get me to speak to him when he was round; because I'm the bad girlfriend who sits and reads rather than talks to him :P) Stephanie Morrill is really an amazing writer (Reminds me that I need to post my review of me, just different too :P) and she runs GoTeenWriters which makes her even better! So to the book!

Blurb - 

When ousted by her lifelong friends, teen writer Ellie Sweet takes to story writing as self-therapy. She casts herself as Lady Gabrielle, a favorite in the medieval Italian court, her ex-friends as her catty rivals, and makes a pesky rake of the boy who thinks he’s too good for her in real life. But when Ellie achieves the impossible and her “coping mechanism” becomes a published novel, she faces the consequences of using her pen as her sword.

Seriously when reading this all I could think is how much I want to be Ellie! but she's so relatable (at least to teen writers i assume) and all I could do was shout at my kindle that she should just start dating Chase! and now I've finished it and it's left me feeling strangely upbeat. I think the epilogue was my favorite part, because I could really picture that happening to me (Read it to get it :P ) and everything she said I found myself agreeing with Ellie on everything. Apart from with Palmer.

I loved this book alot, and even though it took me a while to read (thanks harry) it was worth it! Definitely another to recomend.

Love,

Blog tour ; Between these lines.

Hello, Today I have a special treat for you guys, first I have an interview with the author of Between These Lines ; Jennifer Murgia. Which I did a review on a while ago :) So here's the interview:

When I read Between These Lines it left me heartbroken, how do you think 
you managed to achieve that level of emotion?

I think it takes a certain type of person to write about heartache . . . 
some writers pen contemporary or humor very well, and some are able to 
reach deep inside their souls and pull certain emotions to the surface. 
I happen to be the type of person who takes everything to heart—feelings 
hit me hard and I let them simmer. That’s just who I am. So writing a 
book with an emotional plot was fairly easy for me. Once I tapped into 
that vein, the story sort of came out.

Is there any part of the book that you would consider based on your real 
life experiences?

Back in my middle school days a good friend of mine had transferred to a 
local private school. I remember feeling an intense mix of emotions—I 
would miss her, I felt jealous about her prestigious education, I was 
excited for her new journey . . . and a few years after, and for reasons 
I’ll never know, she committed suicide. Part of me felt that after she 
switched schools, she took all I knew about her with her. I’ll never 
understand what she went through—if the school, or her new friends, or 
her family, had anything to do with her decision to take her life.

Did you always want to be a writer? And if not when did you realize that 
you wanted to be?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer—ever since 3rd grade when the other 
kids moaned over the Haiku lesson and I thought it was the coolest thing 
ever. I used to take an electric typewriter outside with an extension 
cord, plant myself on the sidewalk, and write plays for the neighborhood 
kids to star in. Honestly, I thought poetry would be my thing—not 
fiction, or even fiction for young adults. Funny how things turn out.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Oh goodness yes. Lots. The only thing I can do about it is get up and do 
something else. Give the brain a break until it’s ready to re-focus.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Not being judgmental of myself. I’m really my worst critic when it comes 
to my writing, and I suppose it’s that way for many authors. Writing is 
so personal and we see it UP CLOSE – it’s hard not to want to delete it 
all and say it sucks.

Who is your favorite character in Between theses lines and why?

Definitely Chase. He’s the perfect person because he’s so flawed. What 
doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? That’s how I see him. He’s 
seen so much heartache, has had so much prematurely stolen from him that 
he’s learned from it. In his case, his heart has been chipped away at 
over and over again but the little he has left isn’t something he wants 
to keep to himself. He wants to share it.

My second treat is a giveaway for the blog tour, the giveaway includes a free download of the book, Sylvia Palth collected poems, a bookcover necklace and Evie's diary!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck on the giveaway and I hope you all enjoyed the interview and I hope you all read this book because it's AMAZING!

Love,

Book Review : Between These Lines!

So picture this, me up at midnight last night trying frantically to finish Between These Lines, my eyes widen as I realise what's happening and I cry instantly. That was my night! This book's another Playlist book by Jennifer Murgia! Here's the cover:

And now for the blurb - because I think I might give EVERYTHING away if I explain it -:

When a class assignment brings quiet Chase Mitman and the stunning Evie Cunningham together, a mutual attraction ignites. There’s only one problem—Evie already has a boyfriend—one who practically OWNS Whitley Prep, and her.
Knowing their relationship comes at a price, Chase’s life collides with Evie’s, and after entrusting her with a tragic secret, the last thing he’d ever expect is to learn she keeps a few of her own.
An innocent prank turns ugly. An anonymous note changes everything. And lives at Whitley Prep will never be the same.

Seriously this book... killed me towards the end. Evie and Chase are two characters who are so easy to fall in love with, and Shane is such an easy character to hate the guts of. I would really recommend this book and if I gave up my sleep last night when I have school tomorrow (and I'm shattered) then who can deny that it's a fantastic book! It shows the results of school cliques that hate each other (although extreme results that I pray to god don't happen at my school) and it had me rooting for Chase the entire time... Believe me the end will torture you, I had to message Katelyn to make sure I wasn't reading things because I just didn't believe it! Or didn't want to. Anyway enough of me depressing myself over the ending of this book! Just read it! and you'll understand my pain!
Ways to catch up with Jennifer:
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Website (Which by the way I think is so cute!)

Love,

Book Review of Glass Girl (Playlist Fiction)

Hello,
Firstly before I get to the point of this blog post I'd like to share with you my tumblr writing blog, since I update on that alot more often so It might be cool to see some of you catch up with me on that :) Thewordsiwrite! 
Anyway to the point! Today (like a few minutes ago actually) I finally finished the second book for playlist fiction, Glass girl by Laura Anderson Kurk! (See her website here) Instead of my normal overview of the plot I'm going to give you the one on her website since I think if I think about it too much I may cry again :) 

When Meg Kavanagh finds herself in the unthinkable role of grieving sister, she discovers some harsh truths—parents aren’t perfect, life’s not always sweet, and the dead don’t write back. Worried she might have caused Wyatt’s death, Meg folds her heart into a box. Her famous mom grieves by slowly disappearing, and her dad copes by moving them to a small town in Wyoming.What she finds in Wyoming blindsides her.His name is Henry, and he’s a rancher’s son who pulls Meg into his larger-than-life world and shows her that being sensitive is not an excuse to sit this one out. Meg wants to be brave like Henry because the best things in life—like falling in love and finding mercy—require uncommon courage. And Henry has a secret that changes everything.

Oh and here's the cover! which is so pretty!

So it took me absolutely ages to get through this book as apposed to other books that mostly I read really quick. The reason it took me so long is because it's one of those books that involuntarily pulls you in. Makes you feel like you're there with Meg or even are her at some points in it! and it made me want to cry at points so much that I felt like putting it in the freezer like Joey did with the shining in F.R.I.E.N.D.S but I didn't! I just... cried alot :P It shows the raw emotions of grief that I've never experienced first hand while at the same time falling in love with a small town cowboy who just blows you away! So seriously I'd recommend this book to everyone! As long as they're ready to cry abit if they get too into books like I do. Meg is easilly relateable to everyone and you really understand everything she's going through even if you have no idea what that kind of pain feels like. This book released on April 1st (As did it's complicated ) and the sequel 'Perfect glass' releases in June! Which by the way I'm so anxious to read that I really wish it was on the may releases for playlist!! For anyone who wants to check out more about Laura and her writing here's ways to catch up with her!

Facebook | Website as linked above | Twitter | Pinterest | Good reads

Love,

It's complicated + Playlist fiction!

Well Hello people, I'm so sorry that it's been such a long time since I posted. I promise to verbally punish myself for leaving it so long. Well here's a review on It's complicated a book by Laura Smith. It's not released until April first but since I'm on the 'playlist street team' I have a review for you guys!
So as usual here's the cover!

It's a book about 4 girls who become room mates in university, it's so cool because they just kind of find each other, it's like god wanted them together. They all have lots of different issues which surround them and this novel introduces all of them and their individuals lives and issues. I fell in love with them all from the beginning ( Especially Claire) and they had me on a little emotional roller coaster all the way through. I was never sure what they were going to throw at me next. I really really really loved it and I cannot wait to read the second book in her series when it's released. Since I'm on the street team I have some little facts to share with you about the author and the book:

Laura L. Smith is the author of the new Status Updates series. Her first book in this series is It's Complicated. She loves God, her husband, her four children, writing and speaking. She writes real stories for real young women. Her previous books include Skinny, Hot, and Angry. She is a featured columnist at Choose Now Ministries  http://nicoleodell.com/laura-l-smith-on-true-beauty/ and speaks at schools, churches and campuses around the country. Smith lives in the college town of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.www.laurasmithauthor.com  

Plus since it's the 'Playlist line' all the authors come up with a playlist of songs that go with their book, a few of which for this book are, with or without you (U2), We are never ever getting back together (Taylor Swift) and when I was your man (Bruno Mars)

Also I'm giving you links to ways to connect with Laura about her books! 

 Facebook | Twitter | Author Website | Pinterest

Love,