I don’t try to sell things on my blog unless I actually love/ believe in the product. I’ve looked over the materials she’s developed and it seems like something I would have loved to receive as a kid!

Here’s a blurb from the website about what she’s offering at Pick Your Path Books:

At Pick Your Path Books we customize original novels to feature a child’s name, family, and interests. All you do is fill out a form telling us about the child and his/her family, and you receive a book that is personalized for a specific person! In addition to the extensive customization, our books are written in a “pick your path style”, meaning that it is the child’s decisions throughout the story that determine the ending.

Each book is printed and bound just like the paperbacks you find in the store, with a glossy cover. You won’t be able to tell the difference. Books have been written with children 8-12 years of age in mind.

I’ve taken a look at the first title offering, The Mayan Ruins. The writing is solid, the illustrations are great, and the physical quality of the book is equivalent to anything you could find at Borders or Barnes & Noble. On top of that, the kid will experience an adventure while learning about Mayan culture and architecture. Here’s what The Mayan Ruins is about:

One moment you’re on a plane to a theme park, the next you’re being kidnapped by two distinctly disreputable men. They want you to help them pillage some ancient Mayan ruins. Do you decide to help them? Or do you try to take the treasure for yourself?

This title is set mostly in the tropical locale of Belize. Cursed ruins, a tunnel into the past, and ghosts abound!

So it’s time to ask yourself; do you know a child interested in having a personalized adventure set in the Mayan ruins?

Check out the website for more information: www.PYPBooks.com

In case I don’t get a chance to blog again in the next month, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

I love oranges. 

I wrote an entire guest post about my love for oranges. Actually, I wrote two. In those posts, I mention how I’ve purchased books based purely on the title containing the word “orange”.  For Instance, I purchased Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit before realizing it was by one of my favorite authors, Jeannette Winterson. It turned out to be an excellent read.

My luck held out again this week. 

I picked up Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris. I couldn’t put it down. This is one of the best books I’ve read all year. It is sensual and dark historical fiction, full of betrayals and secrets, where oranges are used as weapons instead of food.  I didn’t recognize the author’s name when I picked up the book.  Joanne Harris is the same author who wrote Chocolat. Chocolat was turned into a movie starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp and happens to be one my all-time favorites (my husband’s too). Just one of those weird connections that reaffirms my faith in the power of a ripe, sweet orange.

Some people have lucky numbers. I have a lucky fruit.

Writers must battle the fear of the blank page, and then, the fear that no one will recognize the book is worthy to be published. I’m sure there are more fear roadblocks, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten in the publishing process so far :)

When I stop writing for more than a few days it’s not because of a lack of ideas, but because I’m spending too much time thinking about the business of writing and not actually writing (or reading). Then I read something like the post on Write To Done or the post on Crime Fiction Dossier to write a great book and I remember, “A writer is a person who writes.”

I love reading posts that inspire people to continue writing, especially when it includes quotes from one of my favorite authors. Check out Stephen King’s On Writing for more. It’s part autobiography and part lesson book for aspiring writers. It’s one of the best books on writing I’ve yet read, and I’m not just saying that because The Stand is in my top ten list.

Even though writing is a solitary endeavor, it helps to know other writers (published or unpublished) experience fears similar to my own. Not sure why that’s such a comfort. Maybe it’s a mix of ‘misery loves company’ and ‘I am not alone’ — two sides of the same coin?

That pretty much sums up my life for these past three weeks – and my excuses for not having posted.

I plan to get back on track with posting 2-3 times per week. In the meantime, you can check out the movie review I wrote for Spiral on the QuietEarth website.

QuietEarth

QuietEarth is a website “Dedicated to genre film and everything Post Apocalyptic.”  They post news and reviews of books, movies (including foreign), and more. I link to QuietEarth on my blogroll – they are just that cool.

Check out what they say about Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. This is a short story collection that includes authors like Stephen King and Octavia Butler. I’m about a third of the way through and loving it!

io9

If you happen to be looking for another great science fiction resource, visit io9 – a website “strung out on science fiction”

I star a lot of their posts not only for content but for the incredible images they find. Some are so cool and inspiring – like this concept art from Hatch FX about the Gorgeous End of the World:

Some are just hilarious – like this one, about how Evolution Explains Why LOLCats Control Your Mind:

(Click on images to enlarge)

Expect 2-3 posts per week starting in mid to late January. Make sure to add me to your RSS reader and check back in the new year!