Melissa Tumbles

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Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:43:52 -0400

dutdutgoose: watchmeramble: dutdutgoose: this guy i know...

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:40:35 -0400

watchmeramble:

dutdutgoose:

this guy i know called josh hates this movie because he says it’s “a girl movie”

josh and i are not friends

Are we friends cos’ this is one of my top 5 movies of all time?

keith we are friends for many reasons.

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Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:39:51 -0400

Everytime I even glance fleetingly at Clockwork Prince on my bookshelf, I become filled with anxiety and heartbreak. I don't think I'll ever truly recover from the series.

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:39:51 -0400

theherondaleboys:

I genuinely don’t think I will be able to re-read it until after I know if CP2 makes all the pain worthwhile. I mean I like an angsty book probably more than the next person, but even I have a limit on how much unrelenting torment I can watch my favourite character go through. If it proves to have been worth it in the end of CP2, then I will re-read the whole series happily, but until then…

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm:...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:39:18 -0400

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is as strong as death.

the girl on fire

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:37:34 -0400

the girl on fire

Neil Gaiman's Commencement Speech

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:17:00 -0400

Okay, so it’s no secret to anyone that I love Neil Gaiman and have loved this man for like ever! And I mean love as in love him as a person (I know he’s married and congratulations Amanda Palmer on scoring a wonderful husband! =o). Neil has some of the best lines from anyone that I’ve ever known. But … before I talk about his recent commencement speech, I want to update everyone on progress for book three, The Return.

Okay, I was going to write up a cool blog post on the Superstars Writing Seminar that I attended in Vegas but unfortunately I can’t because I had to leave Vegas early. =o( Why? For an interview. I’ve been job hunting and interviewing for a while now since my last project with the Utah Data Center ended in April. It was a project on which I worked and ended when the work ended, so, *sigh* now I am on the road to finding a new project. So, it’s been quite a road and I think I may be being too pickly in choosing a new project but then again, I want it to be something I love. I’ve had people contacting me almost everyday and I’ve been so busy responding and interviewing that I haven’t had much time to write. But as soon as it’s over, I’m going to get back on my writing schedule and finish this thing! Because I want it to be done as much as my readers do! =o)

Anyway, so, what did Neil have to say? He gave a commencement speech for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and made some points that I found very interesting. One that stood out in my mind was that he said whenever he wrote “just for the money,” his projects always ended in bitter disappointment. He said to write for the love of writing and let it take you to places you’ve never been. Whenever it starts to feel like work, stop and write something else that doesn’t.

He also said that when you get to the point where you feel like you are walking naked down the street and revealing a bit too much of yourself, then you have gotten to the point where you are doing it right. This is when you have found your true voice. Relish it. And, the advice he got from Stephen King that he didn’t listen to: “All this success you have is really great! Enjoy it!” Neil said that he didn’t enjoy it as much as he should have because he was always so worried about what was next – the next publishing deal, the next book signing, the next story to write. He said he wished he had enjoyed it more.

Another pearl he had was that you want to make mistakes because you learn from them but always be yourself. During the down times, because there will be down times, take advantage and make good art. Always make good art and don’t pay attention to the rules. Especially don’t pay attention to the rules now because in this new world of art, old barriers are breaking down and a new order is being established. So try things that no one else has tried and do what you want, because now, artists have options they’ve never had before!

And have fun!

Luv you Neil! Keep up the good work!

Happy Reading!

~ Melissa

The Iron King

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:28:14 -0400

Alright, so, I’ve done something I rarely do. I’m giving a book less than five stars. I know, it’s shocking. =o) I’m usually an all or nothing reviewer. If I’m not absolutely hooked into a book, I usually don’t finish it and it doesn’t get reviewed but in this case, I pushed myself through. And I really do mean push. I really had to force myself to continue with it. Why?

The reason is because of the situational repetition. The main character Megan Chase was constantly getting herself into trouble, falling into traps, and making a deal with whichever character she bumped into at the time to get herself out of a sticky spot. Add the fact that the first rule of faery is to never promise them anything and this just gets old. It ruins any kind of suspense that the book had going for it in the beginning.

On the plus side, the cover is absolutely beautiful and the whole premise of the story was really good – this concept of iron fey and how it relates to our world. The author has a wonderful imagination and as I pushed myself through the book, I actually became very enchanted with her world. Halfway through, I was so wrapped up in Megan’s and Ash’s relationship that I didn’t have to force myself to read any longer and really started to enjoy the story. I just wish there would have been more of their interaction in the first half of the book – more tension, more feeling and more emotion.

I do recommend this book for teens. I think I may be bias perhaps because of my age, but overall, this is a very good read. I give it four stars.

Happy Reading!

~ Melissa

Neil Gaiman: Reposted as something that can be reblogged. ON WRITER'S BLOCK.

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:14:00 -0500

Neil Gaiman: Reposted as something that can be reblogged. ON WRITER'S BLOCK.:

neil-gaiman:

I’ve seem to be hitting writer’s block far too often now. My grade in my creative writing class is suffering because i don’t turn in anything because i’m never really satisfied with anything i do. all my good ideas seem to turn into bad ones once i write it down. How do you get pass writers…

“If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:12:51 -0500

“If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really exist at all?”

Love this!

Zook Country

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 10:30:36 -0500

An online friend, Bill Swears, asked me if I would read and review his new release, Zook Country, but since I have so many books on my to-read list, I promised him I’d do a post to help introduce it.

So what is Zook Country all about? Here is the book summary from Amazon:

Jake Chestnut and partner Gary Landon are partners in Seraglio, a small company hired by local governments and businesses to exterminate zooks – victims of bite delivered metamorphic plague, a fatal disease that causes victims to behave like rabid apes and move so quickly that a normal person can’t track them by eye. The hardened men and women who hunt zooks have been on the front line of a virtual war for five years, killing monsters who were once people. Jake relays Seraglio’s story with a contagious blend of cynicism and gallows humor.

Entire cities have been devastated, and nobody knows which way the fight to survive will go.

Against that backdrop, Jake must discover why the consortium that just hired Seraglio to clear zooks from the first in a series of plague-safe enclaves for the very wealthy is suddenly trying to kill him. What he learns may lead to civil war.

It does sound very interesting doesn’t it? Hmm, I think I will be putting it on my to-read list as well! =o) So what are people saying? Well, so far the book has received seven 5-star reviews on Amazon. Here are a few excerpts:

“This book is definitely worth your time, I banged it out in an afternoon… and it was a great afternoon, in which I accomplished nothing else. Perhaps you will have more self control than I did, and can stretch it out over a couple of nights, but this book is worth the paltry price for hours of fun. I love being entertained, and this book was way better than any movie I’ve seen lately.”

~ Drew, Amazon Review

“Zook Country is a fast-moving, fresh new look at zombies and vampires. No shambling undead or romantic sparkles here — zooks are vicious, ferocious, and terrifying, and only a small minority of people can deal with them in any way except as victims. The protagonist and his partner are among that minority, but that doesn’t mean they have an easy life, or even that they always win.”

~ Warrick M. Locke, Amazon Review

“From my view, this is a very, very well written thing. It’s an easy read, flows nicely, giving you substantial imagery without getting bogged down in it. It’s technically crisp, aestetically articulated and, at times, emotionally touching. And the characters make the whole thing come together. Can’t wait for the sequel to see how that business in Oregon pans out.”

~ David Walker, Amazon Review

It sounds like Bill has a winner here! If you think you’d like a different take on vampires and zombies, I definitely recommend going out and getting a copy of Zook Country now!

Happy reading!

~ Melissa

City of Lost Souls Masterpost

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:50:30 -0500

catreadsbooks:

the cover

the chapter titles

the prologue

the outtakes, teasers and snippets

the deleted and cut scenes

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Everything To Do With Books

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:10:45 -0500

I’d like to give a big shout out to Rebecca of Everything To Do With Books for participating in The Firelight of Maalda blog tour. She posted her review of Firelight today on her blog and said she was looking forward to The Return, the third and final book of the series. Thank you, Rebecca!

Who is Rebecca? Here is some info from her About Me page:

Rebecca is a total geek, majoring in statistics and philosophy at university. While she does indeed love maths she still loves reading and obsesses about books to the point where she had to make a blog about it. As well as reading and writing, Rebecca’s interests include mathematics, computers especially computer games, and food. Rebecca is a huge mystery fan and loves watching tv shows such as Psych, Monk and Bones.

So what did she think of Firelight? Here is a snippet from her review:

After reading The Raie’Chaelia last year I was so excited to be able to read the second book, The Firelight of Maalda. Needless to say, I loved The Firelight of Maalda just as much as I loved The Raie’Chaelia. I absolutely love The Firelight of Maalda and the entire Raie’Chaelia series. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy story and I know I definitely can’t wait to continue the series.

Thank you again, Rebecca. I look forward to finishing The Return and sharing it with you for the next blog tour!

Happy Reading!

~ Melissa

photomaniper: Favourite TMI Moments~“I want to find my mother....

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:50:52 -0500

photomaniper:

Favourite TMI Moments~
“I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them.”

photomaniper: Favourite TMI Moments~“You were too gentle. Too...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:49:02 -0500

photomaniper:

Favourite TMI Moments~
“You were too gentle. Too empathetic. You felt others’ pain as if it were your own; you couldn’t even bear the death of your pets. Understand this, my son- I loved you for those things. But the very things I loved about you made you no use to me.”

photomaniper: Favourite TMI Moments~“The boy never cried again,...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:48:33 -0500

photomaniper:

Favourite TMI Moments~
“The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he’d learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.”

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Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:48:06 -0500

CP answers . . . and spoilers!

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:47:20 -0500

cassandraclare:

When Cecily comes to the Institute, will she tell Tessa to stay away from Will or be mad at her for breaking his heart? And from snippets we’ve seen Jem treats Cecily like a little sister so does that mean no romance for them?

— youhadason

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I love it when Cassie answers questions from her readers! You rock Cassie!

Firelight on the Amazon Best-Sellers List

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:13:00 -0500

Okay, this is so cool, I’m sharing it with everyone. Last night, I decided to do a 5-day free promotion on Amazon for The Firelight of Maalda and today I noticed that it jumped up to #7 in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Magic in the top 100 Amazon best-sellers list, right next to Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance! I thought it was so cool, I took a screenshot.

What struck me about the picture is the similarity of the covers. In fact, I think Firelight’s cover is better, but I may be just slightly biased. =o) I have to give a big shout out to Brielle Porter who designed and created the cover for Firelight. Brielle is an awesome and talented new artist! A big thank you goes out to her.

Another shout out and thank you goes to Terri at My Book Boyfriend for posting her review and interview for the tour on her blog. Thank you, Terri!

Terri is a friend I met online who offered to participate in the tour this month. I was lucky because Terri’s feedback is very helpful. So what did she think of Firelight? Here is a snippet from her review:

This book takes place not far from where the first book left off. Basically starting in a new place, this author stays true to her style and world builds with rich Technicolor. The vivid imagery helps build the palate in your mind as you read. I found the story line very interesting and captivating. So for those readers who enjoyed the first in the series, this one will not disappoint. Pick it up now and read. For those fantasy lovers, pick this story up. It’s fresh and new and will hold your interest.

Thank you, Terri! I hope to see you again at the next tour for The Return, the third and final installment of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia.

Happy Reading!

~ Melissa

The Mortal Instruments

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:10:06 -0500

The Mortal Instruments