Final Countdown!

So.... my book is being released one week from today. WHAOOOOOOO! June 15th, everyone!!! That day is a very big day, Pascal! Most of the time, I'm over the moon to FINALLY be starting this process. Kinda like this:

But then there's those OTHER days... 

THIS ^^ half of me is point two seconds away from storming the digital mine fields of Amazon and ripping back every single 0 and 1 making up my book, protecting my work like a mamma bear defending her cubs. Because, this thing that I wrote? PEOPLE WILL BE READING IT. 

O_O

*breathes into paper bag*

Okay, so realistically, I know that the handful of people who will be reading my book for the next little while are peeps who are likely to still love me no matter if I fall on my face or not. BUT STILL. It does kind of send the freak out vibes into motion, knowing that this precious piece of MY SOUL will be in the hands of blood-thirsty reviewers. 

Oh gosh. Where's that paper bag again??

For now, I think I'm going to put on my big girl panties and go listen to that Fight Song again. Maybe that'll give me the courage to go slay some dragons next Monday. In the meantime, any of you battle-hardened self pub authors wanna give a newbie some advice? I'm all ears!

Fight Song

Recently discovered this new song, and now I'm obsessed:



Doesn't it just make you wanna go write like a billion words and be amazing?!

Free ARCs! Going once... going twice...

Hello, fellow read-a-holics!

I am searching the kingdom, near and far for four or five brave souls to read and review my book--coming June 15th... EEEEeeek! *happy dance* You have all been so kind in the past, offering advice and support and much-needed cheerleading, that I thought I would see if any would like a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Here's a summary:

Kade Finley, of the Scottish Isles, was raised on legends of the sea. His Gaffer, Toran Finley said, that beneath Muireall’s wind-swept cliffs, deep under the waves, there lived a legend as old as the Highlands themselves. Of Manannán Mac Lir, the sea god, and his beautiful sea maidens, the maighdean mhara, who swam the tides, luring sailors to their deaths.

But they’re not just legend. 

Kade saw one on his ninth birthday. On that day, a fierce storm swallowed half the island, and his da, Aidan Finley, was never seen again. 

It’s been nine years since Da disappeared, and Gaffer is dying. 

Desperate to save him, Kade decides to capture a maighdean mhara, of whom the stories say will grant one wish if caught. But Admiral Gilbert Owen, commander of the island’s WWII naval base, complicates things. In his quest for power, the Admiral has enraged the maidens, making it dangerous to be human in maighdean mhara infested waters.

If you're willing, I'd gladly impart you with massive amounts of good karma, magic charms, luck potions, and, of course, a MOBI file for your handy dandy e-Reader. If interested, email me at: julietuovi (at) gmail (dot) com (no spaces) or just leave a comment below. 

As always, thank you for your kind words and encouragement! The online writing community is seriously the best. No joke. 

XO

Waiting on Wednesday...

Hello, lovelies! 

Today I joined a blog event called "Waiting On" Wednesday, which is hosted over at Breaking the Spine, and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. As I'm constantly on the lookout for delicious new books to read, naturally, I thought this was a smashing idea. Bring on the books!!

My chosen pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection TECHNICALLY came out just yesterday, so I know, I know--it's already published. But Since it was JUST yesterday, and I haven't read it yet, I figured I'd put it up anyway:

End of Days, Susan Ee

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other? 

You guys, I love this series in a bad way. I randomly picked Angelfall up in the store one time, not having any idea what to expect--and was hooked by page 2. I then proceeded to devour the first two books, only to find out the third wasn't due out for a looooong time. (Gah! CURSES!) Anyway, if you haven't read this gem (which, incidentally, started out as a self pub-ed book... YEAH!) definitely check it out. You won't be sorry!!

What about you, lovely readers? Any wonderful books to recommend? (Anticipated OR published??) Lay 'em on me!

A Rose by Any Other Name...

While perusing the internets the other day, I came across THIS article on the Huffington Post about authors who change their names.... even further, authors who change their sex! 

Okay, not ACTUALLY, but via pen name for sure.

Possibly the most famous to do so, is our beloved J.K. Rowling herself. I guess technically, she didn't do a complete overhaul on her name, but in the face of the big, scary, literary world, she DID opt for gender neutral initials. On her website, J.K. herself says this: 

"The use of a pen name was suggested by her publisher, Barry Cunningham. He thought that young boys might be wary of a book written by a woman, so Joanne chose ‘K’, for ‘Kathleen’, the name of her paternal grandmother."

My little feminist feathers get a little ruffled when I hear this. I mean, WHY SHOULD IT MATTER if the author is male or female? Harry would have sold either way, right... RIGHT?! 

Okay. I hope he would have. But the truth is, you're right, I know that he might not have. 

*sigh*

But it isn't just lady authors changing their epithets to more masculine sounding names or initials. As the article points out, male authors do it too! (Which, by the way, I had no idea there even WERE incognito guys who wrote romance until I read this article.... which just goes to show how much I know, I suppose. Haha!) But it does make me wonder about the guys who write romance who DON'T change their names... 

... ahem... Nicholas Sparks, anyone?? 

I mean, if there was ever a person to write a better romantic, sappy, cheese dripping novel, I haven't heard of this person. (And I'm totally not mocking, by the way... I love me some Nicky Sparks just as much as the next gal!) But Nicholas Sparks... he's a GUY!! I wonder if HE ever gets irked that he's a man trying to his hawk his wares in the female dominated market of literary romcom? And I wonder if he ever considered changing HIS name (I mean... you know... back BEFORE Nicholas Sparks was Nicholas Sparks...) It makes you wonder what his secret is... HOW he sells chick books to chicks so successfully when he's was a guy... And if his agent ever had a similar J.K. Rowling conversation with him in those pre-publishing days.  

Anyway, I suppose in the end, if we can't expect people to NOT judge a book by it's cover, then we can't very well expect them not to judge names either, right? 

What are your thoughts? Do YOU use a pen name? Why or why not? 

Self Publishing . . . here I come!

Well... I'm finally doing it. I'm self publishing! 

WAHOOOOOO!!!!!

My book, The Sirens of Falkeld, is already available for pre order on Amazon (HERE, if you're interested), and will be coming out June 15th. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?!!!

You guys. Despite all the extra stress and work... I'm actually crazy excited about this! Which is weird, cause, I'll be honest... self publishing wasn't exactly an avenue I originally considered for myself. Because it kinda has a stigma... you know? (Come on. I KNOW you know.) The stigma that "Well obviously she wasn't good enough to publish the REAL way, soooo .." << Yeah. THAT one. 

I admit. I bought into that sentiment for a long time.

*ducks the rotten tomatoes* 

I WAS WRONG, OKAY?! I ADMIT IT!!

Over the years, I've gotten to know many self published writers--a few of which have become very good friends!! They're brilliant wordsmiths. Their books are amazing. And they are SO courageous!! Though them, I quickly began to see self publishing in a very different light. (Though, it still took me a little while to work up the courage to do it myself!) 

Listen, you guys. The industry is changing. Amazon and its e-book warriors are causing a massive shake up in the publishing world. And WHO KNOWS where things will all end up? Isn't it exciting?! I think so! I loved what THIS Forbes article had to say about things. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do! It wasn't like this article made my decision for me or anything. But it DID help tip me over the edge solidly into "Yes, this is the path for me!!" territory!

That and a couple of really awesome already-well-on-their-way-to-greatness self pub-ed authors (ahem, here's lookin' at you, Barb and Sarah!) who were incredibly inspiring and who bent over backwards to help me in my own process!! (Thanks ladies... you're AMAZING!!)

So I'm doing it. I'm self publishing. Already, I love having the final say in what goes into my work . . . I love designing the cover art . . . I love not having to worry about freakin' word counts . . . I love that I don't have to wait three years to see my work out there . . . I love, love, LOVE that I'm going to be able to start getting readers NOW!! It's all so exciting, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it! 

Goodbye query letters, hello readers!! 

What are your thoughts on self publishing, dear readers? Are you as excited about all the industry changes as I am? 

Best Books of 2014

And by "year in review" what I really mean is "review-of-the-books-I-read-while-I-wasn't-writing-blog-posts." Cause, ya know. If you look, I'm pretty sure I've only written like THREE since 2013's "year in review." Pa-thetic. 

On the brights side though, wanna know what ISN'T pathetic? These top five books I'm a gonna share with you. Nope. Not even a little! So without further adieu, I give you, my top five (as always, in no particular order):

Angelfall, Susan Ee

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

The Aviator's Wife, Melanie Hauser

For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong.

Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements—she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States—Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century—from the late twenties to the mid-sixties—and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator’s Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage—revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure. 

The Stranger and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton

Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.

In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration.

That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo.

First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.

Until the End of the World, Sarah Lyons Fleming

Cassie Forrest isn't surprised to learn that the day she’s decided to get her life together is also the day the world ends. After all, she’s been on a self-imposed losing streak since her survivalist parents died: she’s stopped painting, broken off her engagement to Adrian and dated a real jerk. Rectifying her mistakes has to wait, however, because Cassie and her friends have just enough time to escape Brooklyn for her parents’ cabin before Bornavirus LX turns them into zombies, too. 

This is difficult enough, but Cassie’s tag along ex-boyfriend and her friend’s bratty sister have a knack for making everything, even the apocalypse, more unpleasant. When the two attract a threat as deadly as the undead to their safe haven, Cassie’s forced to see how far she’ll go to protect those she loves. And it’s a lot farther than she’d anticipated. This, coupled with Adrian’s distant voice on Safe Zone Radio and, of course, the living dead, threaten to put Cassie right back into the funk she just dragged herself out of. 

Survival’s great and all, especially when you have leather armor, good friends and home-brewed beer, but there’s something Cassie must do besides survive: tell Adrian she still loves him. And to do that, Cassie has to find faith that she’s stronger than she thinks, she’s still a crack shot and true love never dies. 

We Were Liars, E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 


Runner up (Because seriously, its painful picking only five… I gotta give myself a LITTLE leeway…)

Wonder, R. J. Palacio

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, WONDER is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

And, like the Razzies, my year round up just wouldn't be the same without giving a big shout out to my Biggest Disappointments too. Here's to you, my face-palming, eye-clawed-out, head-banged-against-the-wall books… Give it up for:

Into the Still Blue, Veronica Rossi

Fever, Lauren DeStefano 

The Darkest Minds, Alexandra Bracken

Better luck next time, dearies ( ;

And there ya have it: my literary year. It's a wrap.

Also, you may or may not have noticed a bit of a pattern in my reading (don't worry if you didn't… it took me all of 28 years to realize this about myself)… 

I like sad books. 

I mean, it's not like I don't like happy ones too, but as I was perusing my collection for happy books to lend my sister-in-law (who's daughter is undergoing cancer treatments), I found that the number of truly happy books in my collection was LITERALLY in the single digits. 

What does that meeeeeean??! It's like I'm in love with human tragedy or something!! Ack!! Even my top five did not escape unscathed! With the exception of maybe Angelfall and Wonder, ALL of them are pretty weepy books. (And even Angelfall and Wonder could be classified as sad in their own rights). 

Sheesh. Despress-o-bot here. 

But you know what? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it's okay to like sad stuff. Because, lets be honest… so many of "The Greats" are filled with melancholy and gloom. I mean, they aren't called the "Greek Tragedies" for their humor, right? Also, I'm pretty sure Shakespeare didn't have a happy bone in his body. (An over exaggeration, I am aware. But you get the idea). The Great Gatsby . . . Scarlet Letter . . . Uncle Tom's Cabin . . . sheesh, my entire AP high school reading list was one, long, tear-stained tragedy. 

And yet, here we are… WE LOVE THIS SAD SHIZ!!!!

Maybe there's just something in human nature that is drawn to tragedy. Like a car accident on the side of the road, or the news we just can't pull our eyes from. Sad books makes us FEEL. They speak to our souls and leave scars on our hearts. They stick with us until the end . . . haunting us with "What if's" as we lay our heads on the pillow at night. They are the best because they are timeless. In reading them, we recognize our own deepest struggles. Reflections of ourselves. And we discover company in traveling those roads with our dear characters, perhaps making us feel not-quite-so-alone in our own private struggles. So maybe that's why the saddest stories are the ones that stick with us the longest. We can relate to them, because just to be human, is often times one great tragedy. 

Then again, maybe it's just me. And maybe I do need psychiatric help. You be the judge ( :

And on that deep note, I shall leave you! Please, feel free to leave comments about YOUR favorites from 2014… the best, and--if you feel so inclined--the worst, too! I always love a good recommendation!

Pink Slip in the Mail

I absolutely loved this post by A. Lynden Rolland, author of of Breakable Things, about how she got her agent. I found this gem over on Writer's Digest website, and loved it so much that naturally, I copy and pasted the whole thing right here. 

Don't hate me copyright Gods! I linked! I credited! It was just too funny and every emotion so perfectly accurate that I couldn't resist! Enjoy…

PINK SLIP IN THE MAIL

The first time I mailed a query letter the envelope gave me a paper cut. I should have seen it as a sign. The fact that I used snail mail tells you how long ago this journey began, and the fact that I sent out only one query tells you how naïve I was going into it. I checked the mail with a childlike diligence every day. A week later, there was my SASE, perfect lettering and all. My penmanship is typically slop. It’s a cursive-print hybrid mess that only a handwriting analyst might understand. But with lettering so intricately lined, so neatly arranged, the SASEhad to contain good news. I rushed back to house, tossed the rest of the junk on the table, crisscrossed my legs and fell to the floor, ripping open the envelope. At first, I didn’t think there was anything there besides my query. Was it possible that my dream agent had accidentally forgotten to include the shining request for the full manuscript? I expected it to fall out with a thud like a block of gold.

I thumbed through the contents again, flipping the envelope upside down and shaking it. Out fluttered a neon pink square. Pink. Freaking pink. Surely such a positive color would be representative of good news, but immediately the term “pink slip” came to mind. If that was the intention, I’m telling you now, agent: NOT FUNNY. Not funny at all. I didn’t even receive a personalized rejection. Hell, I didn’t even get a full sheet of paper! Just the standard thank you, ‘this business is subjective’ blah, blah, (shoot me in the face) blah.

I didn’t think it would sting quite as badly as it did, but that horrid, pink demon-slip left quite the paper cut on my ego. Everyone gets rejected. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. But writers take things to heart. Writers are perfectionists. We analyze and internalize things more than other people. If we weren’t overly emotional, we wouldn’t write dramatic fiction.

MORE REJECTIONS

Eventually, I racked up over forty rejections. I took the criticism in stride. I rewrote; I reworked; I revised. Every time I wanted to jump off the roof, I reminded myself that my house wasn’t high enough … I’d only break a leg, and then I’d be crippled and still rejected. Pass.

Many agents were encouraging. They liked my writing. They liked my premise, but I was already hearing the word trend. YA Paranormal was on its way out. I came very close with one agent, but in the end, it just didn’t work out. I was thankful for her advice, but I was crushed. Hope is a beautiful thing; each time an agent would request the ms, the elation was such a high. But the tricky thing about hope is that it acts similarly to helium. It doesn’t last forever, and when I was inflated to cloud nine, that only meant I had further to fall. And fall I did. I was done with it.

AND JUST WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO GIVE UP, THIS HAPPENED…

I gave up. I shelved the manuscript. My skin was not thick enough to withstand the knives of rejection. Ironically, the same week, I received an email from Rachael Dugas at Talcott Notch Literary Agency. She requested the first fifty pages. A few days later, she requested more. It was not my first full request, and I was no longer that optimistically eager moron. This time I didn’t get my hopes up. A month later, I checked my email to find:

Hi, Amy–

Thank you for your manuscript and your patience. I simply loved [Of Breakable Things] and would be interested in representing you. Can we set up a time to chat sometime early next week, perhaps sometime Monday afternoon?

Best,

Rachael Dugas

Blink.

Squint.

Reread.

Jaw drop.

My first tiny piece of success as a writer. I fell to the floor in tears. Would the moment have been so gratifying if I’d succeeded the first time? Certainly not. I’d like to believe that those paper cuts have made my skin a little thicker, but if anything, at least they’ve made me a bit more colorful, a bit more interesting, and a bit more appreciative.



Aaaand now I'm going to read her book. Because with a post that good? Her novel has to be even better. Hehe. Logic by me.

Sensory Fiction

Every once in a while I pick up a book so good, that I literally start to feel whatever the character is feeling. Fear. Anger. Happiness…. ahem… lust. (Don't give me that look, hypocrite!) The last book that grabbed me by the hair and DEMANDED that I read was Angelfall, by Susan Ee. The writing… wow… incredible. And without even getting into Raffe's totally gorgeous angel body, lets discuss the intensity of her scenes.  

Have you read it?… And do you REMEMBER that scene in the woods? Ya know what I'm talking about…. when all those creepy pigmy people are bumping up against her "like piranhas" and start taking bites outta her? 

HOLY CRAP-MY-PANTS!!!! 

I mighta had nightmares that night. Just sayin'.

Page turners. They're the best. Arena… Forbidden Forest… Chucky-infested dystopian town… you name it, you're there. But what if you didn't need good writing anymore to do it? 

Well MIT's new "Sensory Fiction" vest might be doing just that. Super smart MIT peeps have come up with a type of vest that lets you not only READ what you're… ahem… reading, but EXPERIENCE it as well. According to the article: 

The reader straps on a high tech-looking vest equipped with a compression system, localized body temperature control and heartbeat and shiver simulator. As you read, they vibrate, change temperature and alter pressure while the cover’s 150 LED lights put on their own show.





The book takes care of the atmosphere with ambient lighting that sets the mood of your character’s journey. Subtle changes on the vest are meant to make you feel what that protagonist is experiencing — physically and emotionally. It might vibrate to speed up your heart rate during an angry fight scene. Pressurized airbags could constrict when your leading lady is afraid. The personal heating device at your collarbone might warm you during a love scene.

Truthfully, I'm not sure how I feel about this lil' gadget. I mean, on the one hand, it could take an already grip-you-by-the-eyelids-and-MAKE-you-read kinda book and make it even better.

On the other?

Couldn't it be a crutch for authors who juuuuust can't quite seem to get their writing where it needs to be? And what would happen to the quality of our dear books then? Would it simply dumb down the craft of writing?

Either way, ya gotta admit… its a pretty freakin' sweet idea!

Radio Silence.

Wow. 

This has to stop. The "Me-not-posting-posts" thing. Actually, its been so long since I HAVE posted, that I seriously doubt anyone is still listening…. 

Houston? Houston? Anyone there?

Yup. Didn't think so. 

Consider this post my leaf turning. My new start. Operation "Blog Image Makeover." Readysetgo!! 

Anyway, I'm reading Outlander right now, and I have to admit, its just… meh. Seriously. I can't figure out what the hype is about. And I say that knowing full well there are thousands of women everywhere… (errrr… or at least there WOULD be thousands, if thousands actually read my blog) who are cursing my name for saying so. 

BUT SERIOUSLY. 

I don't get it. The story idea is fantastic. I mean, who doesn't love a good time traveler?! Add a bit o' Scottish hottie and bada boom bada bing! You got a story! 

But the writing. The sentences. The words. YOU GUYS….  ITS SO BORING. The pacing is just so off for me. The action gets bogged down in every single minute description of every single action she takes in the day. 

*pounds head against wall*

Also, I'm not a fan of the narrative-like style. It makes me feel like she's just telling me the story rather than showing. (I'm such a show-not-tell snob these days. Its sickening. I'm aware.) 

But anyway, anyone with comments actually still tentatively checking my blog for signs of life who wants to weigh in on this, please, share with the class! I know I have AT LEAST two friends who are probably shooting daggers at me for this post…. (here's lookin' at you, Mandi and Michelle!) But seriously, even if you hate me for it, I'd love to chat about it. (Cause I really gotta know… what's with the hype??)

[Side note, I DID watch the first episode of the TV series last night, and it showed promise, so I'm not completely killing the idea of it. But lets just say I'm exactly jumping to put the sequel on my "To Read" list.]

So since Outlander didn't capture my attention the way I hoped, I'm also reading The Strange and

Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. And lemme just say… don't ever let anyone tell you "peeps don't judge books by their covers." Cause they totally do. I'm living proof. But as I'm only on like page 5 of the book (on account of I have a dear little angel that has been quite cantankerous lately), I don't have much of an opinion on it yet. But it has a solid above-four-stars rating on Goodreads, so, ya know. Can't go wrong! 

Any-whooo… I'm gonna "Julie Out!" here now, because its highly doubtful anyone is reading anyway. I must go forth and search out YOUR blogs to bribe you to comment on mine. Muahahahaha!

Julie out.