Monday Musings

I decided to start off my first Monday Musings back to kind of fill everyone in on what I've been up to.

Whoa. It's been awhile.

In 2009 I started on this journey of writing and getting published. I queried agents and even got a few nibbles.

In 2011 I had my first child and everything kind of went a little lopsided. I didn't know what I was doing with parenting and trying to balance all things books. Luckily I met an author named GP Ching who turned me on to self-publishing and in December 2011 my first YA book was self-published.

Yeah...it didn't do so hot.

I was ready to give up. It took months before I even got close to making what I put into it. I didn't even know why I started writing YA and there was a lot of fighting with my husband and crying and wondering where I went wrong.

So August of 2012 I self-published my New Adult novel, My Paper Heart, and all of a sudden my luck turned around.

Since then I've put out A LOT of books ranging from Young Adult to New Adult to even one erotica. EEP.

But somewhere along the way I got lost. I found myself drowning in a numbers game in which I was obsessed with ranking and making lists. I spent too much time on social media and not enough time living my life.

After years of depression, a second child, and a move across the country (okay and a lot of pushing and prodding) I decided not to be a crazy woman and start writing for me.

How are things going now?

Meh...it's okay I guess? There are days I have my ups and days I have my downs.

So, how are you doing? Are you writing? Blogging? Reading?

Babies, Books, and a Break

First off, thank you everyone for an amazing release! The Only Exception hit the number one political book in three countries AND top 500 in Amazon UK!

Which makes me also pleased to announce that there will be a companion novel coming this fall!

I'm not giving away too many details yet, but it is NOT a sequel. It will still take place at Central College and Trey and Monica will make apperances, but it isn't their story.

But while I"m working on that, I also will be busy with someone else. I am having my second daughter on the 17th. Which means a lot of my free time for awhile is going to go...

Which is where the break comes in. I probably wont have as much time to post on here, Twitter, or Facebook, but I promise to try and be around as much as possible because I heart you all so much.

(All gifs are from http://allthesupernaturalgifs.tumblr.com/ )

Barnes & Noble's real problem

(Photo from Barnes and Noble website)

My daughter is staying with her grandparents for a week so my husband and I had a date night out. By date night I mean we went to Steak and Shake and then went to Barnes & Noble so he could find a programming book.

Literally, I haven't been inside Barnes & Noble for almost a year. I buy A LOT of Ebooks and my paperback and hardcovers are usually bought online because they're cheaper. BUT there is something to be said for actually going into the store and looking for the book that you want.

But here is the problem with B&N, the books that people actually want to sit and look through instead of just purchasing online are in limited quantities.

Example:  My husband likes buying computer books for programming. These things are giant and like fifty bucks each. The computer books section at our local B&N is only a tiny shelf and he spends hours looking through that shelf and usually has to go home and find something he think might help on Amazon.

WHAT? Yeah, a giant book that he wants to spend a ton of money on and they don't have it available? How does that help B&N?

The same thing is true for niche books like baby journals. When we went to look for a baby journal for this latest daughter, there was only a tiny shelf and guess where it was? ALL THE WAY AT THE BOTTOM! Yeah, my big pregnant butt had to sit on the floor just to look through the selection of five baby journals that they had. And, yes, I wanted to actually get one in person not just look online. Why? I want to preview it, see if it has everything I want and not just a two page sample. That is what a real book store is for.

And that adds into B&N next problem. People go into bookstores because they like looking at books. They like grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting in the cafe and reading a magazine or just perusing the stacks. Borders use to have a huge cafe that I loved to go and sit in, but B&N, not so much. It seems like every B&N I've gone to has downsized there cafe so they have a few tables, but they are always crowded. People get there, stack their books high, and then never leave. I would go and sit on a nice comfy chair to check out the baby journal, but they don't even have any sort of sitting areas. It's like they want you to get out of the store ASAP.

I've read recently that B&N is planning to close 20% of their brick and mortar stores. This saddens me because it is the ONLY bookstore in my town and I don't live in a small town, it's a city, actually. There are two major insurance company headquarters and two colleges. You would think we would have more in the realm of books, but sadly we don't. In the digital age more people are buying things online, but there are those things we want to see in person. We want to feel the book store vibe. We want to sit down with a cup of coffee and go through our giant programming books.

And if B&N wants to survive, instead of all their plans to cut stores and push the Nook on us as soon as we walk through the door, they should really focus on those niche things. The things that actually bring us into Barnes & Noble.

Do you still go to your local Barnes & Noble? Have you noticed the lack of niche books?

Valentine's Day is approaching

Here's a Valentine's Day trivia question for you. What's more romantic than a sizzling love story?

NOTHING!!

That's right. If you're in search of the perfect Valentine's Day gift, look no further, because I'm about to point you in the direction of some dreamy books. Whether you gift a collection of e-books or wrap one special paperback up in pretty paper with a single red rose on top, you're bound to score BIG POINTS on Valentine's Day with these novels.

ARTEMIS RISING by Cheri Lasota

BOUND by C. K. Bryant

CLOCKWISE by Elle Strauss

CROSS MY HEART by Katie Klein

DESTINED by Jessie Harrell

EXILED by RaShelle Workman

GLIMPSE by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

HOW TO DATE AN ALIEN by Magan Vernon

THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle

TANGLED TIDES by Karen Amanda Hooper

UNTRACEABLE by S.R. Johannes

THE VEIL by Cory Putman Oakes

WATCHED by Cindy Hogan

and...

IN HIS EYES, an anthology from The Indelibles, featuring love stories from the swoon-worthy guys from our novels arriving on V-Day! For those of you who read How to Date an Alien, Ace will be telling a short story of his side of things on Valentine's Day: A Very Alien Valentine's Day. And the best part? It's free!

What about you? Any great love story recommendations?

Book bloggers wanted!

Do you read science fiction/fantasy?

Are you a sucker for a good YA romance?

Would you like to participate in a blog tour?

If so comment here with your blog name or email authormagan@gmail.com for more info!


And that's all I've got for today.  Stay tuned.

Book Tag

Now that the little one has been taking longer morning naps I've found some time to catch up on blogging, YEAH!  (Now if I can just get some motivation to write and not delete the 1200 words that I wrote while her dad was playing with her last week...)



Well, to start off some more blogging I was tagged in Kelsey Ketch's book tag post.  I usually don't do these, but this one was really cute, so I couldn't resist.  I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to do it as well you can.  Or if anything you can just see what I'm reading :)



1. What genre do you prefer?
I like Young Adult.  Usually I prefer contemporary, but I've really started to get into Science Fiction works (maybe it's because I wrote one?) I do read some chick-lit and romances, but I just like the realness and relatability that I have to YA characters.  (Probably because I secretly think that I'm a 16 year old boy trapped in an old woman's body).


2. Must have books in your library?
My personal library or the public library?  Let's go with my personal library...The Sookie Stackhouse series, The Hunger Games series, All of John Gile's books (signed by him, including The First Forest and I wish I could Read), and my signed copy of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White


3. Most expensive book you own?
I think I got rid of most of my college textbooks except the ones that were actual books (Guyland and some others).  My husband has a couple computer books that run like fifty books each and then I have a grammar work book that is probably the most expensive.  (I think that writing, having critique partners and a friend that's a freelance editor has helped more than the grammar work book ever could).


4. What books do you covet most?
Well...it's unpublished, but I would really love to pick up a copy of one of my own books.  Other than that, books by my writer friends which include (Not all have been published):  Death's Island by Kelsey Ketch, The Prince and the Corner Bakery by Kienna Riley (I believe it's been published under this name?), Seven Rivers (I believe that's the title?) by Laurie Hayes, Road to Redemption by Laurie Larsen, The third Ghost and the Goth book by Stacey Kade and The Rules by Stacey Kade
5. Favorite authors? You can name three.

Megan Mccaferty, Charlaine Harris, Ann M. Martin (I'm diverse)


6. How much do you spend on books in general?

I recentlly started getting more ARCs, so I haven't spent as much recentlly, but for awhile it got pretty bad.  I was spending atleast $50-$100 a month on books and knew that I had to stop.  I also share books with my MIL, so that's saved some costs that she buys a book and then I read it after her.


7. Favorite book store?
I love little local book stores with cafes and all that jazz, but since there isn't anything like that around here I'll go with Barnes and Noble (which I think is the only book store near me currently...sad).


8. What do you think the current trend in young-adult is?
There is A LOT of paranormal romance out there and I think it's getting kind of saturated.  I think that contemporary will NEVER go out of style and really think there could be a shift to more Science Fiction with Beth Revis making the NYT best seller list.


9. What series do you wish had more books?

Hunger Games...I wanted a better way for Mockingjay to end and I want more Katniss/Peeta loving.


10. Books you’ve always had in your library?

The Dr. Seuss books and John Gile's picture books (He's from my hometown)





11. Books currently in your bag or purse?

I carry a diaper bag which I don't put books in because my daughter has a blow out poop problem which may cause me to put poopy clothes in her diaper bag.  But I do carry my Ipad which currently has an ARC of The Near Witch and Wherever You Go on it.


12. Most prized book in your collection?

That's a really hard one...I would have to say John Gile's The First Forest (I feel like I'm a broken record about this book).  But the illustrator lives down the street from most of my family and I grew up reading John Gile's works (hometown guy again), so it's a book with a great story and something I can pass down to my daughter.


13. What non-fiction books are on your shelf?

Let me just say that I was a Women's Studies and Political Science major, so my non-fiction books are pretty interesting...they include: Guyland:  The perilous world where boys become men and I believe some other Women's Studies books that I used in my thesis.
So, to finish… Tag! You’re it!

The Fangirl Recommends

The Fangirl has been lacking on interviews lately, but I promise that there will be more coming!  I have a few questions lurking out there to authors in cyber space and you all will be the first to know when I get them!

So, I guess you’re expecting something of the Fangirl since I have this nifty new banner, so I decided to help you out with your Christmas shopping this year!  The Fangirl is going to list for you the best books to get for those oh-so-picky friends and family members on your list.  Pay attention and you may even have some new titles to Fangirl over yourself!

The Recipient:  Your hopeless romantic friend-  The girl that always drags you to those cheesy chick flicks that you almost always know the ending to, but she insists on seeing every one of them.  She may not have a serious boyfriend, but if you need a shoulder to cry on she is always there to give dating advice!

Recommended:  PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles.  It’s your high school Romeo & Juliet love story with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks and the blonde cheerleader whose struggling to be perfect.  She’ll laugh, she’ll cry, and she’ll cheer for these characters.

The Recipient:  The pre-teen/teenage boy- He finds the world of his video games a lot more entertaining than the real world and rolls his eyes whenever an adult asks him if he’s trying out for the basketball team with his recent growth spurt.

Recommended:  THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY By Suzanne Collins.  You could start out with just the first one, but you may have a very angry young man on your hands when he’s eagerly awaiting for the conclusion in the series.  A dystopian series with two teenagers in the center of a battle for survival that sparks a revolution.  Your pre-teen friend will be asking you to join the revolution with him in no time!

The Recipient:  The Un-Reader- Your friend hasn’t picked up a book since the required reading you had for Senior English.  She has no idea where to start, but would like to start actually reading for enjoyment instead of assigned reading.

Recommended:  THE TWILIGHT SERIES  By Stephenie Meyer.  Okay, so we all know my feelings towards this series, but in all honesty it’s the series that got me reading again.  Yes, my tastes have changed in the past few years, especially with trying to write a novel of my own, but it’s definitely a start.  With a page turning romance and the YA style of being a fast read, your friend will have it done within a few hours and can start moving onto other novels.  Your friend will probably either love or hate this series.  If they love it you can point them in the direction of other paranormal romances, and if they hate it you can point them in the direction of other paranormal romances and tell them how GOOD these other ones are compared to this one.

The Recipient:  The pretentious friend.  The guy/girl who seems to own everything and things they are a gift to humanity.  Speaking of which, why are you actually friends with pretentious friend?  Something about high school loyalties and the like...

Recommended:  THE FIRST FOREST by John Gile and Tom Heflin.  The author and illustrator are both from my hometown (the illustrator actually lives within a mile of parent's house), so of course I would pick this one.  It's a story of not being selfish, the beginning of pine trees, and has beautiful art work.  Your friend might put it in a drawer, or might display it on their coffee table.  But do you really care what they think as long as you get to see these beautiful pictures?

The Recipient:  Everyone and anyone else extra that you need to buy for (Family, co-workers, etc).

Recommended:  Cake Wrecks:  When professional cakes go hillariously wrong.  If you don't read the blog, you need to check it out.  At least once a week I stare away from my usual work and go read through cake wrecks and giggle loudly at my desk, so that co-workers glare at me.  It's likely to put a smile on anyone's face!

Monday Musings

Okay so preggo mama wasn't too good with traveling this weekend, so I didn't get the reading/writing done that I wanted to.  So the big question, did I have a muse for this weekend?

No...okay well except for The University Of Missouri's beautiful quarterback...but that's another story.

So today for my Monday Musings I am going to give you some recent book and movie recommendations that can help out your writing or just give you some entertainment!

Books:

1.)  The Ghost and The Goth by Stacey Kade-  I've never read a book that made me thing a teenager wrote it herself!  Not that she talks like a teenager, but there was never a moment were I felt like I was "out of the story."  Stacey has a way of writing that is fresh and makes her characters feel like real people.  The sequel comes out in June, but I will have an ARC in a few months to share a review on :)

2.)  Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - I was told as a feminist I'm not supposed to like this book, but I can't help it.  Becca does the right amount of sexual tension without going too far.  She left me breathless at times and always wanting more.  (That sounded sexual...)

3.)  The Sookie Stackhouse series- (I couldn't go without one adult book/series recommendation)  Do you want a fun read full of allegories for racism, sexism, and just good ol' vampire love making?  Why yes it does have all of those!  The show has strayed a bit from the book (True Blood), but I can't help being a Truebie...and I'll admit that I left work early one day to get my hands on the latest book in the series the day it came out in stores.

Movies:

1.)  The Breakfast Club-  If you haven't seen this movie, SHAME ON YOU.  This movie shows the basic high school stereotypes:  The geek, the jock, the princess, and the stoner, but takes a new spin on them that isn't stereotypical and makes you wonder if there will ever be another John Hughes (though I heard Easy A is pretty close).

2.)  The Covenant - For all those people writing paranormal romances or tales set in a private school then this movie is for you.  Okay and if you aren't writing either of those...Chase Crawford is REALLY pretty.  Yes, I know this is an older one too, but I love the friendship and love/hate relationships of the characters...okay so we all know I really just rented this movie to see Chace Crawford, but in the end I found myself watching it over and over again.

3.)  Keith-  Move over Justin Bieber, Jesse McCartney was here first and he can act!  The pretty girl with the put together life falls for her chemistry partner, who seems like a jerk but really has a secret that even she doesn't realize till after she's fallen hard for him.  I swooned, I cried, and I wanted to sing "Beautiful Soul" over and over again.

BLOGFEST

It's finally here!  It's blogfest time!

From today (September 10th) till Sunday (September 12th) at noon I will be participating in Blogfest!

The question?  What is Mrs. Magan Vee going to give me?

Well The Fangirl really wanted to spoil you guys and decided to give you a CHOICE of TWO books from authors that I have interviewed for my Fangirl Friday slot.  (Three of them are upcoming).

So what books do you have your choice from?

YOU WISH by Mandy Hubbard
PRADA & PREJUDICE by Mandy Hubbard
PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White
QUERY TO THE CALL by Elana Johnson (her novel will be published in 2011, but this is a great book for your querying process!)
CHRONICLES OF CASEY V by Laurie Larsen
PREACHER MAN by Laurie Larsen
THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger
A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL by Kristin Walker (Interview coming soon!)
THE GHOST AND THE GOTH by Stacey Kade (Interview coming next week!)
PERSONAL DEMONS by Lisa Desrochers (This is a pre-order since it's not coming out till Tuesday and her interview is also coming soon!)

How do you enter?  Well I tried to do a form thingy...but that didn't work out so well and I broke something (oops).  So just comment below to be entered.  Let me know if you are an old follower ( plus 2 points), A new follower ( plus 1 point), or Tweeted the contest (plus 1 point and make sure to reply me, @mrsmaganvee).

Sorry this contest is not international this time, but is open to all of the US and Canada.

And then after you're done checking out this contest hop on over to Girls just reading and enter that contest!

**UPDATE**  Even though Tiffany, did win since people thought this contest didn't end till Midnight I am going to be giving away another set of books tommorrow!!!!  September13th!

Happy Blogfest!

Writerly Wednesday

I'm not going to write you a review, because you asked for it, because you need one

Let me start out with saying that I have nothing against giving book reviews, but I am just not going to write them.  This all started because of a little extrodinary book that I am reading entitled HUSH, HUSH.  You say, "That book has been out FOREVER dude."  I am well aware of this.  I have been wanting to read it for months, feeling the cover everytime I go into Barnes and Noble and even going as far as reading the prologue.

So, then what stopped me from buying it?

The reviews.

Now I should start off by saying that I really didn't enjoy the prologue either (third person prologue set in the past with a first person narrative, ehhhh not a fan).  Actually the whole beginning kind of threw me off, but as I dove into the book it mesmerized me and I couldn't put it down.  But I would have never gotten a chance to read this wonderful book if I didn't learn to ignore the reviews.

If you look on Amazon and Barnes and Noble dot com there are alot of horrible reviews for this book.  People talked about how Nora was a terrible character, the relationship wasn't believeable with her and patch and even more so they talked about her annoying best friend.  I'm going to have to say that I disagree with all of these statements.  Seriously this book was one of the best that I've read this year and I almost didn't read it because of a few reviews.

So, in turn, I will not try and sway you one way or another on a book (unless it's mine).  I know that not everyone has the same tastes in books (thus critique partners can be really hard in this sense), so I'm not going to push my views one way or the other.  I like a wide range of books (Everything from the YA comedies of Georgia Nicholson to the very adult Nora Roberts) and I think it would be unfair for me to rate them either way.

Other than that...I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday and cheers to you!

My favorite literary characters

So in honor of my loves..and to kind of mirror a post I did over on Steph Bowe’s blog, I decided to write my top ten favorite literary characters and the reasons as to why I love them.

10) Maggie (In her Shoes)- There are two big things I look for when I read characters, a.) I want them to feel like real people and b.) I want them to really develop and grow into their characters. Maggie is no exception to this. She starts out as just some dumb blonde little sister and fully grows into a remarkable young woman that helps her sister out when she needs it the most.

9.)Bridget (Sisterhood of the traveling pants) – Okay so she’s a little bit my favorite of the characters because I kind of had a girl crush on Blake Lively for a long time, but that’s beside the point. I thought Bridget was the most well rounded character; when she felt sad I really felt sad. I loved hearing her story and think that she could have carried her own book all on her own.

8.) Bubba (The Sookie Stackhouse series) – For all of you who have read the series you know about Bubba aka Elvis. I picked Bubba as one of my favorite literary characters just because Charlaine Harris knows how to work a character! Who would have thought to make Elvis a slow vampire that likes cats? Even his demeanor just makes him so likeable! If you’ve only seen the show you really need to read the book series, if for nothing else to read about Bubba!

7.) Jacob (Twilight) – Now I am not some little Twi-hard or anything or on Team Jacob, but I do think that his character (on and off screen) was the most developed. I really believed in his change from innocent native American boy to troubled werewolf. The only change I saw in Edward was him becoming more of a pansy and with Bella, her becoming more needy. Now you can bash me all you want, but like I said I want characters that really develop and grow, and I think throughout the franchise Jacob was the only one that really did that for me.

6. ) Brittany (Perfect Chemistry) – Can I just say that I absolutely adored this book? I loved the chemistry of the two main characters and how they grew together and as their own people. I chose Brittany over Alex, just because I can relate a little bit more to the female character and I LOVED her back story. If you haven’t read this book yet, it’s not the typical blonde cheerleader meets bad boy, there is a whole other level that is just amazing.

5.) Sumner Lee (That Summer) – I really don’t care that he cheated on the sister; I still don’t believe he did in fact I think Sarah Dessen lies. I love me some southern boys and just the description of his lazy Alabama accent and care free attitude drew me in. He may have not been the most believable character with his thirty million jobs and love of hanging out with fifteen year olds and old people, but I just can’t help it…ladies love country boys.

4.) Holden Caulfield (Catcher and the Rye) – How can I do a list without Holden? One of the most beloved literary characters of all time! When I read this book, I felt like Holden was in modern times I didn’t even think about how long ago this was written. He was such a well developed and real character that I couldn’t put the book down. Bravo high school English class you did good!

3.) Charlie (The perks of being a wallflower) – This has only been a recent read for me, but I couldn’t help but fall in love with Charlie. He may cry more than any other human being, but his awkwardness is more than charming, it’s downright irresistible. There are some very dark moments in this book that you will only understand at the very end, but when you realize it, it will take your breath away.

2.) Jessica Darling (The Jessica Darling series) – If you haven’t read any of these books, GET THEM. I’ve said before that Marcus Flutie and Jessica Darling are my favorite literary couple and I have to stick by that. I love how well Jessica is developed and Megan Mccafferty did an excellent job of creating the female Holden that she longed for. I really wish that Jessica was real so that we could hang out and eat some donut holes while listening to Barry Manilow.

Number one is a tie are you ready for it?


Get ready…


Get set…



Number one is…

Libby Gentry and Blaine Crabtree!

Yes, yes I did pick my own characters, but really what’s not to love? They have every essence that I could put into them to make into characters that I would love and I must say that I succeeded. I love the suburban socialite and the Southern boy charm; it makes me happy every time I read my manuscript. Someday they will be in print and everyone may just love them as much as I do…

Book titles

Some of you know what my book is about. Some of you have even read it. Well I think I need a better title. So even if you haven't read it or just have a gist of what it's about it, help me with a title? just say what jumps out to you!

A paper summer
My paper heart
My own summer
My (Potential) summer love story
The paper princess
1000 miles
Somewhere between love and Louisiana
Love and Paper
Hot off the presses
Front page story
From sorority to swamp
Paper girl
Love on paper


I haven't found the one I'm in love with yet, but I think I'm getting closer...