Author Interview: Jamie Baywood

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Book summary:

Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading that the country's population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it really means to get rooted.

Author's interview

Hello Jamie. Thank you so much for stopping by at Ja čitam, a ti? I hope you’ll enjoy here at our blog. I have few questions for you so if you are ready...

1. For starters can you tell us more about your debut book Getting Rooted in New Zealand? 
I’m from California. In my mid-twenties, I had bad dating experiences in California and a dream to live abroad. I read in a tour book that New Zealand’s population had 100,000 fewer men than women. I wanted to have some me time and an adventure. New Zealand seemed like a good place to do so.
While living in New Zealand, I had funny experiences that I had trouble believing were true. I wrote the stories down to stay sane. I wrote situations down that were happening around me and shared them with friends. Most of the book was written as the events happened; it just took me a few years to work up the nerve to publish.

2. Like you said this is a story about your time in New Zealand so is this story completely a biography or it has some fiction added to it? 
My book is a true story. My life has been so strange it sounds like fiction, but it is really too weird to be made up. My truth is stranger than fiction. Some, but not all of the names of individuals and organizations have been changed to preserve privacy, but the stories are all true.

3. Can you tell us more about writing style and genre of the book?
I didn’t make a conscious decision to choose a genre. To write my book Getting Rooted In New Zealand, I relied upon my personal journals, e-mails, and memories. Reading my book would be like reading emails from a friend describing her observations abroad.
As an individual I’ve never fitted in easily. I’ve always felt like a bit of a foreigner especially at home in California. The best way I can describe it is a funny travel memoir or an accidental true love story within a comedy of errors. The only thing I can do is be myself, tell my story and hope that readers enjoy reading my book. For the most part I’ve been getting positive feedback.

4. I’ve never been to New Zealand so can you share some of your favorite places there. I have heard a lot about its wonderful nature. 
New Zealand is such a beautiful country. Beaches, mountains, glaciers, lakes, forests, islands, New Zealand’s got it all. It has such freshness about it, like the islands just emerged from the sea. It feels like anything is possible in New Zealand. I also loved the quality of light in New Zealand. It was like looking through a polarized lenses, but more intense. Everything is so colourful and vibrant.

5. From your bio I have noticed that you have lived in different countries and in different continents how much it changed you as a person and how much it changed your views? 
I've lived in five countries; America, American Samoa, New Zealand, Scotland and now England.  I want to go to so many places. The world seems very small now. The thought of living in one place for ever seems foreign now and makes me feel claustrophobic.
I really feel travel is the best teacher. I didn’t know a soul in New Zealand before I went there. Within two weeks of my plane landing in New Zealand, I found a place to live and a job. I don’t know anywhere else in the world you can do that. I’ve been living abroad since 2010. It’s made me resilient, self-reliant, fearless
and adaptable.  I’ve really learned to trust my instincts and believe in myself.

6. Do you have any country in particular you’d love to visit? 
I currently have to live in the center of England. I desperately miss the ocean and being warm at the beach. I really miss the warm, friendly nature of the people in the South Pacific. I stayed in American Samoa on  the island Tutuila before I went to New Zealand and volunteered at a museum helping rehouse artifacts after they were hit by a tsunami. I love American Samoa, I'd love to go back and visit again.

7. You’re working on a second book now, right? Can you tell us more about that or your future plans?
I plan to divide my books by the countries I've lived in. My next book will be about attempting to settle in Scotland.

8. I do tend to finish my interviews with the author's favorite quotes or some message for their readers. So can you share any of that with our readers?
“No matter how wonderful our dreams, how noble our ideals, or how high our hopes, ultimately we need courage to make them a reality. Without action, it’s as if they never existed.” – Ikeda

About the author

Jamie Baywood grew up in Petaluma, California. In 2010, she made the most impulsive decision of her life by moving to New Zealand. Getting Rooted in New Zealand is her first book about her experiences living there. Jamie is now married and living happily ever after in the United Kingdom. She is working on her second book.

Author's Facebook / Twitter

Until the next time,

**All pictures are taken from Wikipedia. 

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

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Book summary: 

Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever. Down on the windswept beach, where the seals lie in herds, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts her spells - and brings forth girls from the sea - girls with long, pale limbs and faces of haunting innocence and loveliness - the most enchantingly lovely girls the fishermen of Rollrock have ever seen.
But magic always has its price. A fisherman may have and hold a sea bride, and tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she is. He will be equally ensnared. And in the end the witch will always have her payment.

          Don't be surprised if you see plenty of people putting this book as DNF as this books takes time. It takes time to feel its magic and get into the story. Luckily for me they are my favorite type. Also luckily for you because I'll try to make you read it and experience the real magic.

         Everything starts in Rollrock Island, a very lonely place where most of the people are fisherman and they're pretty much cut out off from the outside world. They visit other islands from time to time but most of their lives they spend in Rollrockll. Beside being lonely this island is also very special and magical, very magical. It's the place where on the beach you can see seals lying in herds and only one person can wake them up. And everything starts with her...

         Once upon a time Misskaella was just a simple girl in Rollrock and as many other girls she dreamed of marring and having a normal life, only some other things stopped her in that. Which lead to another thing - her magic and soon enough from the village's outcast she became the most powerful person, which changed lives of all village for many generations to come.

          If you have a brilliant mind (as I do) and start reading this book without reading the blurb first you'll be lost. I mean you'll be lost anyway because this book has different narrators but as the plot unfolds you get to understand the connection between them, but I was extra lost. Don't bother if the whole idea seems pretty wicked as it really is, the writing here will keep you going and probably you'll start believing everything the author says. It's like magic where her words bewitched me and I couldn't but love this book.

          I'm sure not many people will appreciate the suffering to discover the beauty here, but not me. I'm that kind of person that doesn't like that beauty that everyone can see, I like to search, go deeper to discover that beauty inside, the one that's hard to get but once you have it you feel fulfilled.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

Blog tour and Scavenger Hung: 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper

Hello all. Today I'm pleased to be one of the hosts for 15 Minutes blog tour. So check out the guest post and don't forget to enjoy the scavenger hunt.

Buy the book at 

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Book summary:

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend. Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

Guest post

Fast paced. High Energy.  Full on emotion assault.

That’s what I wanted 15 Minutes to be when I first started writing it and when I finished, I was not disappointed.

A roller coaster ride for the writer, main character, and hopefully readers, I wanted  people to feel what Lara feels as she struggles to discover the rules to the new world that is now her life.

There is no going back. There is no undoing the damage that she’s done.

What is it she’s done? She’s changed the past and in doing so, unleashed a can of worms that cannot be contained.

In 15 Minutes Lara Crane uses time travel to save her mother in a mugging gone wrong. In the distant future, time travel hasn’t just been discovered, it’s been regulated by the government.

Break the time travel laws and you face jail time, or worse, death.

Interacting with the past is a crime and as such you will appear as a hologram in the past, the people you see, will not notice you. You are an observer only and are not allowed to interfere with the course of history.

There are rumors that there are some who can break this rule and can in fact touch and talk with those in the past. But it is strictly forbidden to try. To do so might destroy not only time, but your mind.

The knowledge of several time lines at the same time, in the same brain, causes it to overload. What follows are painful headaches and nose bleeds that grow worse over time as memories assault you.  The brain will eventually hemorrhage and will bleed out. No time traveler has ever changed time and successfully lived to tell about it.

Lara Crane. Rebellious. Defiant. Doesn’t take no for an answer. She’s about to change the course of history.

What would you risk to save someone you love?

About the author

Jill loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love, through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundaries, but most of all strives to entertain. She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances. Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats. 

Author's 

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Scavenger Hunt

It's time for today's hint.

hint #7: Lara sees this 'tower' on Mass Avenue. 

Continue hunting at Shut up and Read. In case you've missed a stop check out the tour schedule.

Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#61)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Our pick #1

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.

Expected publication: April 22nd, 2013

Our pick #2

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

Expected publication: January 4th, 2014

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Book Blast: The Prodigal by Michael Hurley

Hi all. Today I have a book blast for you. You can find all the info about The Prodigal below and don't forget to enter the giveaway! 

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Book summary:

Pride, betrayal, forgiveness . . . and the eternal sea. The Prodigal tells the mystical tale of four people on Ocracoke Island whose destiny is tied to an abandoned schooner, thought to have been lost at sea more than a century ago, that one day drifts ashore. Marcus O’Reilly, a renegade Catholic priest, must confront his inner demons. Ibrahim Joseph, a Bahamian fugitive, must face his past. Aidan Sharpe, a fallen lawyer, struggles with self-doubt and his growing affection for Molly McGregor, a fearless towboat captain who cannot find the courage to love. They will all be drawn into a 2,000-year-old mystery that unfolds with the reappearance of the ship.

Trailer


About the author

Michael Hurley lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife Susan. Together they have four children ranging in age from 19 to 23.  Born in Baltimore in 1958, Michael studied English at the University of Maryland and law at St. Louis University. He is licensed to practice law in Texas and North Carolina.  A lifelong sailor, he obtained his captain’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1992 and took six months off from the practice of law to work as a sailboat charter captain in New Bern, North Carolina. Between 1995 and 2003, while practicing law full-time, he also wrote and published Paddle & Portage, a quarterly literary journal on wilderness canoeing enjoyed by more than 10,000 subscribers in 48 states.  When he is not sailing or writing or canoeing, Michael continues a hopeless quest to prove that his piano teachers at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute were wrong about him all along. Find more about the author at his website.

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Until the next time,

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

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Author's 

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Book summary:

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.
In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler’s pitch perfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author’s award-winning, widely read work.

          And here I though that my high school sucked, boy. After reading any of YA book that deals with high school students I really can't help but wonder if is it like this in real life - cheerleaders and football players owning the school and stuff. It's sounds surreal to me, but different continents, different cultures will do that. Anyhow I wouldn't want to be part of Tyler's high school.

           Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the authors who won't tell you a story about first and sweet teen loves nor did she try to create perfect happily ever endings. Not, instead she will give you a real story. One that you can play in your head and one that deals with real nowadays issues. So this is story about Tyler, a guy who was average aka invisible. Being sick of that position he decides to change things and do something big that would bring him on the top of high school hierarchy. And he does, only the result is not the one he expected. After getting busted his reputation is now different. As punishment for his actions he spend the whole summer doing outdoor work and that doesn't and that does wonder for his physique. Now he appears to be a bad boy with muscles and in reality he is just trying to get his crush to like him.

           Tyler has a lot of issues on his backs - his father doesn't seem to forgive him his crime and now he is on thin ice. Things in his family haven't been good in a while and they only get worse plus he has a lot of AP subjects to ace. Most of the time it only makes him give up and all he wanted was to be more popular.

           I can say that Laurie did an amazing job with Tyler's character. Not only is he realistic but at the same time we have a really great picture of a boy trying to survive puberty.  At the same time he really is a sweetheart. He tries to be a good brother, son and friend but that one mistake makes downgraded him in every way.

          With Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson brings a realistic story about becoming a man and all that in Tyler's witty, funny and at times really emotional voice.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

Book Blast: Sisters in Love by Melissa Foster

Morning all. Today I'm hosting a book blast for Melissa Foster's Sisters in Love book. Check out the blurb and don't forget to enter the giveaway.

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Book summary: 

Danica Snow has always been the smart, practical, and appropriate sister. As a therapist, she prides herself on making reasonable, conservative choices, even if a bit boring, and as part of the Big Sister Program, she has little time for anything more in her life.
Blake Carter is a player. He never gets bored of conquering women, and with his sexy good looks and successful lifestyle, he has no trouble finding willing participants. When his friend and business partner dies in a tragic accident, he suddenly, desperately, wants to change his ways. The problem is, he doesn’t know how to stop doing what he does best.
When Blake walks into Danica’s office, the attraction between them is white hot, but Danica isn't the type to give into the heat and risk her career. Danica’s desire sets her on a path of self-discovery, where she begins to question every decision she’s ever made. Just this once, Danica wants to indulge in the pleasures of life she’s been so willingly ignoring, but with her Little Sister in turmoil and her biological sister’s promiscuousness weighing heavily on her heart, she isn’t sure it’s the right time to set her desires free.
SISTERS IN LOVE is a light, uplifting work of women's fiction and will resonate with readers who enjoy emotional journeys of the heart with strong heroines and sexy, lovable heroes. Readers of books by Jane Porter and Beth Kendrick will enjoy Danica and Blake's story.

About the author

Melissa Foster is the award-winning author of four International bestselling novels. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on The Women’s Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Join Melissa and the YaYa Writer Girls at their annual in-person event. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Author's 

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Giveaway 

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Until the next time,

Fractured by Teri Terry

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Book summary: 

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?
Kyla's memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.
Or so she thought.
Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...
Set in a disturbing future world, FRACTURED is an engrossing, fast-paced read that establishes Teri Terry as a master thriller writer.

       With all middle books or second books in series I've noticed some pattern, but mostly this happens in dystopians. While in the first book the whole idea is presented and you need to wrap your mind around something, second books leaves you to connect all the smaller things and mostly to get to know the main character and other characters too. This one follows that patter.

        While in the first book you get the whole idea of Slated was nicely presented in the first book and what I mostly like about this series is that's really believable. We got to meet Kyla better here and we get to meet not only her present but her past as well. After being Slated she got a new opportunity to get a new life and start all over. With appearance of some new characters, meaning Nico something changed inside of her. She started to remember, but at the same time she is not supposed to. That brings memory of another self Lucy and that past life and another person she once were - a fighter Rain. Kyla has to be all three and she has to balance herself not to be suspicious. It might sound complicated but it really isn't as the author managed to pull out that idea nicely so that you don't get confused. With all that, the whole idea of fighting back, she has another burden to carry - Ben. It still hurts not to know what happened but she is determinate to find out. Only the things is that the truth might hurt her even more.

        At the time when a lot of series suffer from middle-book syndrome Fractured continued with the same light it started in Slated. You'll enjoy while discovering the bigger picture and the inner characters. Now it's time to get the final show in Shattered and whit that title I can't wait to see more.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

ARC Review: Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

Expected publication: October 8th, 2013

Author's 

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Book summary:

Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds. 
It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want?
Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us's Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time. 

           Time Between Us was one of the first time travel stories that I've read and as such will always have a special place in my heart. After reading it I had mixed feelings about the sequel but then it showed up on Netgalley and I decided to try it out. I took it as a gamble and it really was.

            I was back with Bennett a boy that managed to swipe me off my feat with his gentleness and desire to fight the universe to be where he wanted to be. Then there was Anna, a girl who also fought and lived in fear that she might not see Bennett ever again. The two of them never knew when the universe might kick them and when they might part. It's love they won't give up.

            I mustn't tell you more about the story as you have to read Time Between Us first but I can say that Time After Time confirmed some of my fears but at the same time Tamara Ireland Stone really knows how to write sweet stories that I cannot resist. So the main problem and at the same time my biggest fear here was that this book won't bring anything new. Unfortunately more or less it happened. With slight adds to the original story it didn't offer much to the whole time travel department. It plays with my logic though, but it seems like all time travel books do that lately and I'm not yet sure how to feel about it.

           At the other hand this story is everything that Time Between Us was. I still enjoyed both Anna and Bennett and their love story and I feared for them and hoped for them as I did the first time. That's something that didn't change here. But still I think it's time to let them go...

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, via NetGalley. Thank you! 
I'm not paid for writing this review- I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal.

A Castle of Sand by Bella Forrest

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Book summary: 

What Sofia has with Derek feels like a sandcastle; temporary and something that the waves of life and time will soon ruin...
Since the return of Gregor Novak, the island has turned several shades darker. His hatred toward Sofia and thirst for fresh blood lead to a brutal war igniting between father and son. 
Meanwhile, the hunters are gaining formidable strength and resources by the day; they know that the safety of The Shade hangs entirely on its ability to remain hidden from them. 
And a sinister secret lies in wait for Sofia within the bowls of an Egyptian desert... a secret that threatens to crush her sandcastle much sooner than she could have expected.

          With every book in this series it gets harder and harder to review them. Ever since A Shade of Vampire I became the fan of this series and even now three books later things haven't changed. I still enjoyed the story and once again I can't wait to read more.

           In the previous sequel A Shade of Blood some things made me realize what I do like and what I don't like when it comes to this series. For instance I enjoy Sofia and Derek's relationship so much that I don't think even after reading hundred books about them I could feel different. Simply I can feel it and enjoy it that much. When they are parted it brings some problems to me but luckily after some ups and downs they were back together. Only things aren't even close to perfect because many are against them and they have to fight with everything they have and more.

            One thing that annoyed me is Ben, truth to be told he still annoys me. Even though I got to meet him better and maybe see him in different light for me he lost all his chances. But still even I was surprised with some of his actions here.

             What is special about this series is that books are relatively short - around 200 - 300 hundred pages and it's just the right size to gets you to enjoy the story and adds some drama but still it stops when it's time to stop so when some time after you get to continue with the next you really get excited. That's why I can't wait to see what A Shadow of Light has for me.

            I really enjoyed this one but still A Shade of Vampire stays my favorite.

Rating: 4 stars.

Until the next time,