They Way it SHOULD Have Ended

Have you ever read a book that after finishing it, you wished you could rewrite the ending? I have. More times than I can count. I’ve often wondered if this is because I’m a writer or if this is something that happens to a lot of people when they read books.

Take the Wren series by Sherwood Smith for instance. I loved this fabulous series when I was younger, but I always felt that Wren and Prince Conner would have been a perfect match. I read the whole series just waiting for the moment when they would finally “discover” each other. It never happened, and I was left feeling just a little bit cheated because of it. Still loved the series though.

Then there was the Emily of New Moon series--my absolute favorite series of books when I was young. However, you wait so long through that series to see Teddy and Emily fall in love and get together that when they finally do--the story ends so fast you don't even get to see the wedding. Come on, we readers should at least get the pay off of attending the wedding and basking in the glow for one chapter! After all, Teddy had put so much time and effort into his engagement with Ilse before it was broken, he should have done even more for Emily, his true love. Am I right? What can I say, I'm a die hard, hopeless romantic.

The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts was another book I loved growing up. I wanted that book to have a sequel so bad, as a kid, I could almost taste it. What happened to the four kids after they went away to school to learn how to use their powers? What adventures did the four of them have growing up together? The world will never know.

So what about all of you? What are the books you wish had ended differently? How would you have liked them to end instead? I want to hear all about it in comments.

And Even More Reviews

Another review has turned up, this one from Kiss the book. The reviewer this time is a middle school student. It's extra fun to see what my target audience has to say about Forbidden Sea. Check it out by clicking the link above.

Scholastic must be handing out the ARCs left and right these days because reviews of Forbidden Sea are popping up all over the internet. Here is one from Ellie over at Ellz Readz. Thanks for your kind words Ellie--so glad you liked it. And if anyone else liked the book and is planning to write a review in the near future, send me an email when you do and I'll be sure to put a link to it here.

The mermaid sculpture doll I've been working on is almost complete. She has turned out beautifully, even if I do say so myself. : ) I'll post pictures of her as soon as she is finished.

Dreaming of Books ARC Giveaway

Jenny over at Dreaming of Books is currently hosting a giveaway of a Forbidden Sea ARC! If you’ve been dying to get your hands on a copy of Forbidden Sea before the release date in July, this is your chance! Jenny has also posted an in depth review of Forbidden Sea as well as an interview with me. Click here to head on over to Dreaming of Books to enter the ARC contest and read her review. By the way, Jenny, love your new blog layout!

I Need Some Title Suggestions for Great Middle Grade Novels

I'm going to be putting on a library program for middle grade girls in the near future and I need some suggestions for titles of GREAT girl books. These can't just be good books, these have to be the best! Something that any girl in 4th to 5th grade would absolutely adore. The titles have to be found in the children's section of the library not the teen section, so things like Twilight are out this time around. If any of you fantastic book bloggers and readers out there have any suggestions for me--I'd love to have you add them to comments below. And list as many as you want, I'm desperate here. : )

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Library Patrons and Book Buyers Rule the World!

Novelist's recent comment about going in and requesting her library to purchase Forbidden Sea got me thinking. As a librarian, I have seen first hand the power library patrons have if they take the time to actually go into their local library and put in a formal request for a book to be purchased. When someone takes the time to ask for a book, the librarians in my library do everything they can to try and fulfill the person's request. Heaven and earth moves and the book is bought. It's like magic.

I'll tell you a library secret, I've often wished more people would place requests for books, that way we librarians would know what it is that people in our city are interested in reading. The other reason I wish they would is because we often don't have a certain book I want to read--but when I put in a request as a librarian--they tend to ignore it. After all, I'm just one of their coworkers. What do I know about what people really want to read? :) But if a patron puts in a request for the same book, we usually have it within a few weeks! So here is your chance to stand up and use your library patron power--go into your local library and put in a request for that book you've really been wanting to read! What can they do but say no? And odds are real good they will buy the book if they possibly can. Then you finally get to read that fantastic, to-die-for book you've been wanting to read for months.

Sounds good to me.

Reviews of Forbidden Sea

There is nothing more exciting (and frightening) to an author than reviews of their book. Reviews are the feedback you've been waiting for--a sign that someone has actually read your book and that all your hard work has finally paid off. Not all reviews are good, of course. Some are down right vicious at times, but then you can't please everyone. (One of my all time favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, and it is one of the most banned books around.) I've included some links to reviews of Forbidden Sea below. I'm only going to link to the good reviews, because, hey, this is my blog and I choose to focus on the good not the bad. : )

Most of these reviews do not have spoilers, but a few do--so read at your own risk.

Ossining Public Library - My first real teenage reviewer! How exciting!

Goodreads Reviews - Thank you to all the readers who took time to write down what they thought of my book on Goodreads. You guys actually brought tears to my eyes as I read these awesome reviews. Being a librarian I've often used Goodreads for my work, but I never thought that I'd be reading reviews of my own book on there someday!

Cinjoella's Review - Librarian's are the best! Not that I'm prejudice or anything. : )

Two and a Half Book Lovers - Raspberry and Trackgeek of Two and a Half Book Lovers also asked me to do an interview which you can read about here.

La Femme Reader Review - Thanks Eleni, the book may not have been your cup of tea, but your review of it was completely honest and fair, which makes me value your opinion all the more.

More coming soon . . .

Great News! Gotta Share

I have exciting news I've been wanting to share here on this blog, and now I officially can. Forbidden Sea is about to go international. Scholastic UK has picked up the book and it will be published in the UK in August 2010. They even made a new cover. I'm not allowed to post it on this blog yet, but when I can, we'll all have to take a vote and see which cover everyone likes the most. The best part of all is that I was already planning my very first trip to London for later this year. Talk about fantastic coincidences. I could not have planned it better if I tried.