Lengthy Interview about Happy Birthday to Me at The Eclectic Reader!

I was asked by Teddyree at the highly popular and much followed The Eclectic Reader book blog to do an interview and giveaway for Happy Birthday to Me! I talk about my writing process, the research I did to prepare for Happy Birthday to Me, and what I'm working on next!

Here's an excerpt question...

Is there anything you find particularly challenging when you’re writing?

I'm sure most authors feel the same way, but I find the most challenging aspect to writing is tackling that blank page every day. I realized about a year and a half ago the key to writing a novel is giving yourself a schedule, one you can never, under any circumstance, deviate from. When I write the first draft of a novel, I write at least 2,000 words, usually 2,500, sometimes as many as 3,000 words, a day. I don't take Sunday off. I don't take holidays off. I don't skip a day because I feel like it. I've written four novels now, and I've never skipped a day when writing the first draft ever. I just feel it's important, especially considering the amount of ideas I'm wading through and trying to get down on paper. But that blank page is scary, for sure. Every single night when I sit down to write, it typically takes me an hour or so to sum up the courage to write the first sentence of that night's work. But once I settle into my groove and hear the voices of the characters inside my head, it's pure joy from there on in.

Read the full interview by clicking here: The Eclectic Reader

New Interview about Slate with Book Blogger The Bookworm!

Naida at The Bookworm just held an interview with me about my novel Slate!

One of her questions was about who I would cast if this book about the casting world ever got made into a movie! Here's what I had to say...

I basically have two answers, one, who I'd most love to play the role, and, two, who I think would be best in the role. I've had a love affair with Sandra Bullock for nearly twenty years, and it's no coincidence that Vivien is a complex character, in her mid 40's, with long black hair. Sandra's never played a role like this before, and it would be a dream come true for that to happen. But when I think in terms of pure acting excellence, and particularly of a middle-aged actress who would be more willing to drop her clothes for that pivotal sex scene, Julianne Moore would be my ideal Vivien. Choices for other characters would be Joseph Gordon Levitt for Brandon, Sigourney Weaver for Lila, and Zac Efron for Nathan. I think Slate would work best in a half-hour format on Showtime, like Nurse Jackie, Weeds, and the United States of Tara. So if you know anybody in Hollywood, tell them I'm interested in bringing this story to television! Haha! 


You can read the entire interview by clicking on the link here: The Bookworm

New 5-Star Review of Happy Birthday to Me!

Adrienne at An Addicted Book Reader was nice enough to not only hold an interview with me about my YA debut, but also give my book a 5-star review today! My interview will be posted on her site later this week, but you can check out her review now!

Here's a snippet of her review...

"Overall Happy Birthday to Me was an eye-opener to how much importance and meaning there is in every passing day and was also a great, fast read. I definitely recommend buying a copy for your Kindle because you can not beat $0.99 for a great read! I'm really looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy hopefully very soon!"


Thanks again, Adrienne! Here's the link to her full review: An Addicted Book Reader

Major Price Reductions on SLATE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

If you wanted to buy my books but didn't want to pay as much, you are in luck!! haha!!

I have lowered the prices of both my books to 99 cents for the eBook version and $8.99 for the print version! So pick up a copy of one or both of my books today!

Buy the eBook of SLATE for just 99 cents!


Buy the Print Version of SLATE for just $8.99!


Buy the eBook of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME for just 99 cents!


Buy the Print Version of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME for just $8.99!

A Note About My Film Reviews at Suite 101!

First of all, I just wanted to let everyone know I just mailed FORTY FOUR copies of Happy Birthday to Me all over the world, so here's hoping for many, many reviews of my YA debut in the weeks to come!!

I also wanted to let you all know, if you're interested in my writing, I have been writing film reviews, articles, and essays at Suite 101 Online Magazine for the last eight months or so. I'm a huge film buff and love to write about movies. I've been doing so since 1995, when I started writing film reviews on the Prodigy Internet service. From 2000 to 2003 I was the Arts & Entertainment Editor of the Reno High School newspaper, and from 2003 to 2007 I was a Contributing Film Writer for Loyola Marymount University's Los Angeles Loyolan. I've been writing film reviews for over fifteen years, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon! In 2012 I'll finally qualify for admittance to Rotten Tomatoes, too, which is super exciting!

Most recently at Suite 101, I've been writing reviews on contemporary films, top five and top ten lists, and an ongoing retrospective on the film career of Sandra Bullock (she's my all-time favorite!). Also, I was promoted in January to a Featured Writer position, in the Action / Thriller genre of the web site! So expect many more articles about action movies and thrillers in the near future.

Check out my profile page by clicking here.

And here are some of my most recent film reviews...

Last Night


Hanna


Scream 4 


Insidious


Source Code

And look for many reviews on the brand new summer movies in the weeks to come!!

Second Book Blogger Review of Happy Birthday to Me! 4/5!

Siobhan at Love Fantasy Sci Fi Novels just reviewed Happy Birthday to Me and gave it 4/5! She loved it!!


Here are some thoughts from her terrific review...


"Happy Birthday to Me really was a surprise to me. I never really thought I would enjoy it as much as I did. Before Cameron started aging I have to admit I didn't like him. However, I don't think you are meant to. He is self centered and an ass. Once he starts aging we see a totally different side of him, he goes on a personal journey to self discovery and you just can't help but like him in the end. 

The secondary characters are also very important to the story line. Wesley is Cameron's best friend even though they are in different social circles they still make time to spend time together. Wes was the character that had me in tears near the end (cant say much without spoiling it) what he does for Cameron was just beautiful. He really stuck by Cameron even when others didn't. 

Happy Birthday to Me, was the kinda of story that just flowed without a hitch... It it was an addictive read. Im not entirely sure where the author can take this story next. The ending was a fantastic ending that wrapped up the story nicely. However, I look forward to see what happens next in this trilogy."


Speaking of where I'm taking this story next, I start writing the sequel in 10 days! One more week!! And trust me, I have LOTS of ideas for Parts II and III. This trilogy is going to be EPIC!!


My thanks to Siobhan for her amazing review. Click here to go to the full post on her blog!

First Book Blogger Review of Happy Birthday to Me! 5/5!!

The first book blogger review of Happy Birthday to Me was posted this evening, and I couldn't have asked for a better review! Kayla at Caught Between the Pages gives my book a 5/5! She loved it and couldn't stop reading it!

Here is an excerpt from her review...

"I loved the writing style of this novel... I never wanted to stop reading! There were moments when I despised Cameron, moments when I rooted for him, and hilarious times when I wanted to laugh out loud. If a writer can pull you through all of those emotions in a smooth, effortless way, I’m destined to love that book.

And I did fall in love with Happy Birthday to Me. The story was unique as well as interesting-I liked seeing the little changes that came with each passing day. By the end, I was putting aside every other thing I had to do just so I could read the conclusion.

This is a fantastically fun read that I immensely enjoyed and am sad to see finished. The different elements meshed together in a seamless fashion to form a great young adult novel. It’s definitely one of the better books I’ve read lately. I highly recommend Happy Birthday to Me, and give it 5/5 stars."

Thank you for your kind words, Kayla! And read more of her review at the following link... Caught Between the Pages.

I look forward to all the many more book blogger reviews to come!!