Breathless Reads Tour: RJ Julia's

I've been hearing so much about the Breathless Read Books, so I was super excited to see some of the author at RJ Julia's - an independent bookstore that great the most amazing authors.

Waiting for the authors to arrive!

The Authors:
Jessica Spotswood - Born Wicked
Elizabeth Richards - Black City
Beth Revis - Shades of Earth
Fiona Paul - Venom
Morgan Rhodes - Falling Kingdoms

 What I Learned from the Q&A:

Why Write YA:
JS: Gone with the Wind made her want to be a writers. YA books are the ones that stayed with her growing up - the ones she read over and over again for comfort. It was a natural fit.

ER: YA is all about firsts!

BR: YA is the beating heart of literature where teens have a passion for life and aren't jaded.

FP: In YA you can mix genres and readers love it

MR: It's a time for self discover and learning what rules are made to be broken.

When did you know you wanted to write?
JS: Started writing at a young age, Gone with the Wind knock offs with strong girl characters - with horses and Yankee boys.

ER: Influenced by J.K. Rowling

BR: Knew she always wanted to write

FP: Wanted to be a lot of things - but found herself reviewing books, the majority were YA - which influenced her to start writing

MR: Read adventure series by Enid Blyton and made up her own stories about the chracters.

What to you do to combat writer's block:
JS: If the character has made a wrong choice, she goes back to the last right choice and rewrites from that point forward. Also she gives herself Care Bear stickers when she reaches a certain goal (I Love this idea!)

ER: Doesn't write in chronological order - but works backwards from a fun scene.

BR: Blows up something or kills off a character

FP: Outlines the book like crazy beforehand - she always writes two books at the same time. When she's stuck on one, she changes books.

MR: Outlines the book prior to writing. If she gets stuck, she eats ice cream.

Tips for Writers:
JS: Write a book for you that you can write - don't be afraid to write for fun and not for publication

BR: Don't give up (Across the Universe was her 11th novel) and write fearlessly

FP: Read! Also don't get discouraged by criticism.

MR: Trust your gut and find your own twist on an idea.

Books I've Read and Reviewed: 
Venom
Falling Kingdoms

Not on the East Coast Tour...but still Breathless Reads
Origin
Prodigy (halfway through so far - review coming soon)

Review: Venom

The night of her friend's funeral, Cassandra goes into the graveyard next to her house. There, she meets a boy, an artist whom she bumped into previously on the streets. He's handsome, but cocky.

She also discovers her friend's body is missing and a corpse of a young courtesan rests in her place. The courtesan has been murdered. Cass wants to uncover the truth about the murder.

Falco manipulates her into investigating with him. Together, they travel to places she, as a lady, shouldn't be going into. As the investigation continues, she lies more and more to her aunt and takes more and more risks. Her life would be ruined if she were caught. Still, she can't help the trill of it all. It's the first time she's felt alive in ages, especially when she's with Falco.

My Thoughts: I wanted to Love this book, instead I'm torn between really liking and just liking it. I had a hard time connecting with Cass. She made so many poor choices that I found myself not respecting her at times. However, I did like that she took her choices into her own hands and refused to let people chose for her. I found her daring, determined, stubborn, and brave. I like how she kept a journal and brought it everywhere with her. I LOVED the descriptions of Venice. I wanted to be there; it was such a magical yet dark setting! As first in the series, it ends with a choice.

Cover Thoughts: Love It!
Source: From Penguin @ BEA
Challenges: YA Historical Fiction 2013 and TRB Pile