Tuesday Teasers - What I'm Reading

So here's a teaser from Maggie Stiefvater's LAMENT: THE FAEIRE QUEEN'S DECEPTION:

"You've got something on your shoulder." While Sara watched, he lightly ran a finger across the skin of my shoulder up to my ear. My stomach dropped so far out from under me that I didn't think I was ever going to get it back."

I just read LAMENT this weekend and enjoyed it. The fact that I started it one night and finished it the next day tells you something, given my often overly-busy schedule.

Here's part of the blurb from inside the jacket:

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand - one who can see faeries.

Unexpectedly, Deirdre finds herself infatuated wtih a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmataic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass - a soulless faerie assassin - and his interest in her might be something darker than summer romance.

***

If you liked Twilight, you'll like this story, with it's intertwining romance and other-worldly mystery. Maggie does a great job of keeping the reader guessing and weaves in the magical elements of the world of the fey in a believable way.

What are you reading?

Midweek Madness - Bowen Press Closed - Change is the one sure thing...

Many of you have heard the shocking news of the recent shake-up at Harper Collins whereby the Collins portion of the company was closed along with the Bowen Press imprint. Every day seems to bring another reality check as to exactly how far-reaching our economic downturn has become. Change is always unsettling, and unexpected change can be especially traumatic. My best wishes go out to Brenda Bowen and those at the Bowen Press as they forge ahead toward new opportunities. You know what they say - if it doesn't kill ya - it makes ya stronger. Based on Brenda's last post on the Bowen Press Blog, I have confidence she will turn change into triumph. Read her thoughts here.

Midweek Madness - Stephen King Smackdown

Okay, starting today, Wednesday is my new Midweek Madness day. The rest of the week I try to stay to writing related topics but a girl can only be so good....From now on, Wednesdays are a free for all - I can post anything I want. (Bawahhhaaa - I love power!) So, to kick it off, I'm starting with a writing related post. Go figure.

I don't know why this caught me as so funny, but given the controversy that seems to swirl around Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT series from the writing community's perspective, (in that, some like her writing and some don't) I thought this was hilarious that in offering up his opinion, Stephen King just let's it rip. I hereby predict that he will be eating some of those words....

Here's how it went down: "In what should have been a controversy-free interview with USA Weekend to promote his latest book, the horror master has slammed Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer's writing prowess....by flat out saying she has none."

The article goes on to say: "What started as an innocent question on the juggernaut success of fellow mainstream writers Meyer and JK Rowling quickly devolved into a full-scale denouncement of the former's skills. "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," he said. "She's not very good."

Ouch. C'mon Stephen, don't hold back, tell us what you really think.

Now, of course, you all know that Stephen King is not only respected for his writing but also for his book on writing called appropriately enough, Stephen King On Writing. So, the guy has the chops to state his opinion. But you gotta wonder what the hell he was thinking to completely slam a bestselling author. Whatever happened to the brotherhood of writers? Er...or maybe I just made that up.....

The weird thing is I had a conversation with an agent (who shall remain nameless) at a SCBWI conference last spring who was sneering at Meyer's work. To me, it really begs the question of defining what parameters measure a novel's success? Is it based on prescribed measures of writing style that have been defined by those in the publishing world? Or is it measured by those who read and love the story? (and ultimately cough up the dough and BUY the book).

So, I'll leave that question for you to answer as I'm not getting in the middle of this one. BUT, for the record, I read TWILIGHT over a year ago and LOVED it. I read TWILIGHT, NEW MOON and ECLIPSE all in the same weekend. In retrospect, I much prefered the first book, but regardless, they captured my interest enough to read them all in a short period of time which is saying something. And I have to say that I feel sorry for Stephenie Meyer. I've never heard her tout her books as though she thinks she's the world's greatest writer. Instead, the public has done it for her. And that should tell us all something.

What do you think?