The Indie in the Indie

My only complaint about moving to the suburbs is the lack of really cool indie bookstores. I'm sure they will come eventually but, as of now, if I want to do the indie bookstore crawl I have to come into downtown Toronto.
Luckily the really good ones are all very close to each other so I can hit a few, then sit in one of my favorite coffee shops and peruse my purchases.

Today's hawl includes:
The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo Graphic novel Book 2 - I admit I have a bit of an obsession with this series (all versions), visually. Its darkness, and the avante garde look of Lisbeth Salander really speaks to a deeper part of my being.
The Queen's Pawn by Christy English - after reading many glowing reviews of this book I finally found a copy of it and I am very excited to crack it. Its hard to find a depiction of Eleanor of Aquitaine that's generally liked by everyone.

When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer - a novel about Cleopatra that is hard to find. I debated over this but when I went to put it back I physically couldn't because I knew I would regret it, and if I came back looking for it it would probably be gone. I am fascinated by Cleopatra and her sister, Arisone.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - children of infamous parents? Yes, please! I have been looking at this book for years and always had something more pressing to pick up, but now was the perfect time. Moran is apparently brilliant, I have Nefertiti and Madame Tussaud on my TBR pile.

I also do a lot of people watching in these stores because I'm curious about what other people pick up in a non mainstream situation.
And indies are my people. Its important for me to support the community, especially the locals.

So, if your ever in Toronto make sure you hit up BMV books, and Seekers Books on Bloor Street between Bathurst and Spadina. BMV has an enormous range, and a graphic novel section that can't be beat, and Seekers is eclectic and amazing, also with a wide range but not as much floor space.

Do you shop at indie bookstores? Give them a shout out any way you can!

2000 and my thoughts on The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Hi Everyone

The counter is just a few off from 2000, and I can't believe it! Thank you again to everyone for coming by, and for continuing to come back and read my ramblings. I appreciate it, and it means the world to me. Thank you.

I put up a review of The Rising on Goodreads for anyone who's interested, but I thought I'd write a bit more here.
The Rising, to me, really felt like 'the end', more then the end of Armstrong's adult series Thirteen did. The Rising is, really, the last of the Otherworld books for the foreseeable future and I am ok with that. Not that I wasn't ok with Thirteen and the way that it ended, I was. But this really felt like more of an ending for me. It left everyone in a comfortable place, with the possibility of more to come.
The Rising, for me, was really a book about the kids in the series deciding what to do. I won't get into too much detail because I don't want to give anything away, but readers of the series will know that these kids have had some crazy shit (for lack of a better phrase) thrown at them and they're still standing, with two Cabal's chasing after them. (Cabal's are huge multi national corporations run by supernaturals in Armstrong's world....have you read the series yet? You should, if you like the genre. She also has mystery books, but that's another post altogether).
So, it's really come down to what do they do? Their parents think they are dead, and they either get to keep running or come to some kind of of a decision on how best to deal with the Cabal's. I liked the resolution, and I think it really gave a taste of how much power these Cabal's really have.
Now, readers who know of Armstrong's series know that you aren't always going to like every narrator but that doesn't mean that you're going to stop reading. Maya wasn't my favorite, but neither was Hope and that's ok. I think that's part of what makes this series so amazing.

Armstrong really changed the game in so many ways with her supernatural series on so many levels. There are so many things that I'm not even sure I can name them. And in terms of a Y.A supernatural book, there is nothing silly about her work. The romantic aspect isn't in your face all the time, and it's not a bunch of bitchy teenage girls complaining about their problems. It's all very realistic and I like that. That was a key element throughout all her work that I think makes it so accessible and is something that I strive for in my own work.

So, supernatural fans should take a look at Armstrong's series, I think all the adult books are available in paperback now and the first Y.A trilogy, The Darkest Powers, is available in an omnibus as well. Totally worth it.

What I'm Reading

Hi!
I have The Rising by Kelley Armstrong in my lap, waiting to crack it, and I thought I'd write a little post about what I am currently reading, and why I read how I read.
Well, I'm sure you all know that there are never enough hours in the day to read. Because of that I got in the habit of reading more than one book at a time (I just had a vision of myself with a book in each hand....its not like that!). The key to doing that is to make sure that they are different genres, or if you are a person who only reads one 'type' of book make sure the story is different enough that you won't get confused.
Right now I am reading A Game Of Thrones, this is my second attempt. The first time I didn't have the patience to really sit with it, but I am glad I finally did. It took about 100 pgs for the story to really pick up for me and now I am a bit obsessed with it.
I also have started The Painted Girls, about Degas's ballerina's. So far its very good, but I admit Game of Thrones has been taking my attention and I have to get back to it.
Now, with The Rising, it'll take me a few days if that. Armstrong has a way of keeping you sucked in, and its the last of her Y.A books so I am excited to get into it.

What are you reading? Any recommendations for me?
If your interested in what I love, check out my recommended reading section and/or my Goodreads pages.
Happy Reading!

Interview Links

Hello all

I recently had the opportunity to do an interview with the lovely Catherine Gardiner over at Books and Bites. Here's the link so you can check it out, make sure you show Catherine some love:

http://booksandbites.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/author-interview-ravin-tija-maurice/

This is my first interview for Rebirth, so go check it out!

A Bit of Everything

Hello everyone!

As I'm sure some of you have already seen, there is a review of Rebirth on Amazon and Goodreads, and on the Young Adult and Teen Readers facebook page (one of the good people there were kind enough to review it for me). If you haven't seen it already go check it out!

I'm hard at work on a lot of things right now so I've been neglecting this blog a bit, and I apologize! When you put your book out yourself you wear a lot of hats, and some of these hats are new and exciting but very different from anything I have ever done so it's a new experience.
I am working on new material and getting things together to try to bring Ikon (Book 2) along. I am in a happy place with it, and I'm excited for people to read it. I also have to wear my cover designer hat when I am sitting with it, and that is a process that is quite outside of my box. The ideas are there but I don't always have the skills to execute them so its an interesting process for me (I heard a quote once that if you see in pictures you should write, and if you seen in words you should paint, and I totally agree).
The cover for Rebirth ended up coming together like I had visualized so I have high hopes.

And I am also borderline addicted to Game of Thrones. After watching the second season in a marathon with my fiance I went out and finally bought hard copies of the first four books (I have them in ebook but I had a hard time getting into them) and I am ankle deep in the first one and loving it. I wish there was 45 hours in a day so I could spend more time reading! I highly recommend it, but it does take a bit to get into so keep at it, it's totally worth it!

I am in the process of arranging some blog interviews and other fun stuff so I will keep you posted.

 But that's all for now. I'll be sure to write more soon. 

Calling ALL Veronica Mars fans!!

I'm guessing you already know about this, and those who don't I will explain.
Series creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell started a Kickstarter campaign to try to raise $2M dollars in 30 days to make the Veronica Mars movie. If they pull it off, Warner Bros has agreed to help with distribution.

WELL, in literally a day, they have raised almost it. As of 8:47 pm in Toronto Ontario, they have  $1,969,505.

No, I'm not kidding. This is really going to happen! I am so excited I don't have the words.

Veronica Mars has been a huge inspiration in my work since I saw the first episode many moons ago. Since then I've wanted to write a good crime book with a kick ass girl at the helm.
It hasn't happened yet, but it might.

Anyways, if you don't know what Veronica Mars is, here's the wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Mars

And an article about all the action by the CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/the-buzz/2013/03/veronica-mars-fans-kickstart-fundraising-for-proposed-movie.html

I always believed that Veronica Mars would change the world.

Here's the Kickstarter link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project

And just in time for 1750....my first ebook review!!

As most authors in my position know, you spend a certain amount of your day maintaining and looking at your various web presences. Today I happily found my first ebook review on Amazon!
Of course I was pleasantly surprised. There is nothing like the feeling that you have done something right and you have achieved something that you set out to achieve, and that someone else has enjoyed it!

So, I have to send a big thank you to Heather....I appreciate your kind words.

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B00BHLHI42/ref=cm_cr_dp_syn_footer?k=Rebirth%20%28The%20Afflicted%29&showViewpoints=1

And I am hoping that by posting this it'll push my counter over 1750...which is another big hooray! Thanks for coming by, and thanks for coming back!

And if you haven't picked up your copy of Rebirth, it's now available on Barnes and Noble and Kobo as well as Kindle and Smashwords.