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I should start off by saying I'm a bad person. Well, maybe not a bad person - just a bad reviewer. It's easier for me to write a 100k word novel than it is a simple review - even on a book I really enjoyed. I stress over it. I fuss over. I decide everything is too generic, then I decide I'm giving away too much. So that's why I'm a bit late on my review of Stacey Wallace Benefiel 's Glimpse .  Before I begin, here's the description of Glimpse (stolen from Amazon):  Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom’s high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual. As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like 35, and she is

Yesterday, I mentioned Stacey Wallace Benefiel , the super neat author of Glimpse . I'll be posting the review of the book tomorrow. But today, you get to see how she answered the questions I asked her. 1. Can you tell me about a little bit about yourself & your writing? I am originally from the Midwest, but have lived on the West coast since 1993. I’ve always been involved in the arts-I’m a major theatre geek, I played the clarinet and oboe in band, and have always written-especially poetry and monologues. I have degrees in theatre, creative writing, culinary arts, and floral design. I also have a mountain of student loans. 2. What inspired you to write Glimpse? Do you remember that show Roswell ? My little sister and I were addicted to it. When it ended my sister challenged me to write a book in the same genre. I’d never written a novel before, but I thought it would be fun to try. I knew I wasn’t going to write about aliens, but that the main character was

Hello everyone! Here's a quick few tidbits: Stacey Wallace Benefiel author of the young adult paranormal romance Glimpse - posted an interview with me a few days back, and I, in my silliness, forgot to mention it here. So here's a link to the interview & her review of My Blood Approves : here .  (Sidenote: In response to the question "Who is your favorite literary character of all time?" I forgot to include Falstaff on my list.) Also, on Tuesday this week I'll be posting my interview with her (wherein, I ask her questions) and the review of her book Glimpse . Hint: It's pretty awesome.  In a related note, she's super nice and her book is really good, so if you haven't bought it - why not? Go buy it.  Also, here's a funtastic review at Paranormal Romance Addicts . Here's a fun fact: In my comment to the review, wherein I say thanks, I spelled my own name wrong. I need an editor any time I write anything. I was gonna post my reading-list

It's nearly five a.m., and instead of doing anything productive, I'm trying to watch every season of Weeds. I've made it a third of the way into the third season in the past week, so I'd say pretty good at wasting time. But for reasons that aren't clear, while I was watching Weeds , I kept getting more and more upset about the ending of Labyrinth . I'm about to Spoiler Alert if you haven't seen it, but I think that's fair, since you've had like 25 years to watch it.  Why does Sara go back? It doesn't make any sense. Yes, David Bowie is an abusive boyfriend, and I'm not necessarily abdicating that she stay with him (even though I totally would - I am in no way a role model, people).  But clearly, she fit in better with the Labyrinth crowd and made a buncha swell friends. Plus, that whole frickin place was magic! MAGIC! I bet they had a unicorn somewhere. Or David Bowie could get her one. And sing awesome songs. I get the rescue Toby part. And

I napped today from 7 pm until midnight because I don't know how to nap properly, but I'm finally getting tired again, so I'm about to shove off. I just wanted to stop in and say a few things. First, Ronnell Porte r - the genius behind the glorious book trailer - wrote a lovely review of My Blood Approves on his blog, so you should check it out . My favorite part: " The first in a developing cult phenom, My Blood Approves ..." Also - I'll be posting a review of Imogen Rose 's Portal tomorrow. (Hint: I liked it.) As of right now, it's looking like I'll be releasing Switched - the first book in a new series - mid-July. Originally slated for a September release, I decided it'd be silly to wait. It's going through some final edits, then I'm trying it out on some readers, so we'll see how it goes.  I'd love to see a July 12th release, cause it's my birthday, and I like celebrating, but we'll see how it goes.  The working

Imogen Rose is the author of Portal , a sci-fi romance with time travel. It's been on the list of top 50 best rated, best selling books on Kindle, and I've read it myself, so I know its awesome.  Here's the description (borrowed from Amazon ): " Come Find Me Two Years Ago... Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension. She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it's a life she's always lived in. Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens. As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. . PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of

So I'll be honest and say that I wasn't a firm believer in book trailers. Especially after I saw the one for Richelle Mead's Spirit Bound . I wasn't sure if I ever wanted one for myself. Then Ronnell Porter offered to do a book trailer for me, and after seeing the amazing job he did for his own book The Undying , I had to check it out. What he came up with for My Blood Approves is just fantastic. It's turned me around completely, and now I'm a big fan of the book trailer. So, check it out: And for fun, here's the trailer for his own book The Undying :

In my life, I've felt like I've accomplished things sometimes. I put together my desk. I painted the living room. I wrote a book. I held my breath under water for ten seconds. (You read that right. Ten seconds is an accomplishment to me.) But here's something I've never done: Made a person. On Wednesday, my very good friend Kalli had a baby. And not just any baby, but the cutest, chubbiest, fanciest baby to ever grace the planet.  It's the most fascinating thing in the whole world to me. I haven't had much experience with pregnancy or babies. Not because I don't like them. They just.... weren't around me, I guess.  But it's so hard to fathom. I know people have babies all the time, and it's not that not rare of a thing. My mother had a baby once (me), and then spent a good deal of her life trying to have another one, but she didn't. On bad days, she'd complain of how easy it was for some people to have babies and how some people took them

Okay here is something people aren't saying (probably because they're not thinking it:) Fitzwilliam is an awesome name. A truly awesome name.  In fact, my second-born son will be named Fitzwilliam. (My first born son will be named "Johnny Danger" and he will save the world.) Fitzwilliam will woo women undaunted for years, and have sonnets written about him by uniquely rebellious girls in colleges everywhere. That whole sentiment is inspire, of course, by Jane Austen, who invented Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice , forcing women to swoon over him for the next century and a half.  I love Jane Austen, and I suspect that my assistant would love her too. Unfortunately, he can't stand period pieces. He rolls his eyes every time he catches me watching a film adaption on the TV (he rolls them particularly hard if he catches me crying). But I forced him to watch Clueless , and he admitted to enjoying it very much. So I'm declaring him a Jane Austen fan, and

Here's something else I realized while watching both The Breakfast Club and Lucas today: Saying I love "bad" 80's movies is pretty redundant. No movie from the 80's good. Don't get me wrong. I love them. All of them. If it's from the 80's, I'm totally into it. And The Breakfast Club is one of the most awesome movies of all time. (I have a movie poster of it in my office, and my ringtone on my phone is "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.) I actually cried when John Hughes died, and then suffered incredible frustration when I spent the next week explaining to everyone who John Hughes was and why he was so friggin amazing. But let's be honest - The Breakfast Club is so cheesy. It really is. And Lucas ends with a slow clap! It actually ends with everyone in the school looking at poor adorable Corey Haim and doing a slow clap! I've been my whole life for a real-life slow clap moment, and I still haven't found one.

I just watched The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. I didn't cry. I didn't feel anything. It may be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I posted a review of it on Amazon (I'm working on reviewing more things). Here's what I wrote: I wanted to like this. I've been a fan of Gilliam's for years. I love his work on Python , and Twelve Monkeys is one of my favorite films. I even loved Baron Muchausen . So I was prepared for weird. Absurd. Outlandish. I've also been an avid fan and ardent mourner of Heath Ledger. I knew the challenges presented to the director trying to film around scenes that were already shot and could never be added to. The death of Ledger left an absence in the screen that would be hard to correct. What I was not prepared for was a film so disjointed, so incoherent, it scarcely had a plot. The CGI was so terrible - particularly in the scene where Valentina is running through broken glass. I've seen better graphics in a SyFy

Tonight, I'll be watching the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus for the first time, in which I'll turn into a blubbering mass of sadness (I'm assuming, since I cry every time I see the preview), and then proceed to tweet/facebook obsessively about the tragic loss of Heath Ledger. I've always been fascinated by death, not in a morbid Jeffrey Dahmer sorta way, but in a I-don't-believe-its-possible way. There. I said it. I don't think death is real. I don't think I'll ever die. It's just not possible for me not to exist. It's not. This leads to confusion and excessive mourning when people do die because I don't understand where they are. I don't understand how its possible or what happens. They can't not be here anymore. It doesn't make sense. This especially true with celebrities. I can still their face on the screen. They can't be dead. See? There they are. And I've been blessed with a life that's been virtually death free.

Apparently, folks are having issues with comments again, which makes me angry faced, but I'm not sure how to fix it. If you're familiar with blogspot and understand the problem, please let me know. Also, I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words after my last blog. I really appreciated it. It was like a giant eHug! :) Twimom followed up my fun interview with a wonderful review on her blog, so check it out: here . I've read lots of  reviews of my books (and thanks everybody for putting in their input!!!!), and one of the most common complaints I hear about My Blood Approves is that Alice doesn't find out they're vampires until halfway through the book. Now, I'm defending or disagreeing with these comments. This is a fact, and some people feel like it takes too long, so it does take too long. I value their feedback, and I plan on applying that to other books. But what I am going to do is take a moment to explain why I have her wait so long, and even th

What some of you may know is that its my goal in life to procure a sponsorship and/or lifetime supply of Red Bull. My plan to do this is become a world famous, best-selling author and name drop Red Bull every chance I get.  Sure, writing good books that everyone wants to read is awesome, but getting free energy drinks until I die? That's the real measure of success. Unfortunately, I fail.  I've once again done an interview and forgotten to mention Red Bull. How can I be so careless? It's as if I don't want to succeed. Maybe I'm like Jesse James, and I want to self-sabotage. Except instead of cheating on America's sweetheart, Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock with a bunch of skanky hermaphroditic racists, I forget to talk about Red Bull. So it's very, very similar. Anyway, the good people (or rather, person) at Twimom 227 blog have interviewed me and reviewed my book. The interview is posted today, and I thank her greatly for giving me the opportunity to ramble abo

I've added soundtrack links for my books under the My Books tab . Instead of just a list, it actually has the songs so you can hear them. I enjoy music, and I enjoy sharing. So there. To check it out, click here: My Blood Approves soundtrack , Fate soundtrack , and Flutter soundtrack . Also, the contest is still going on at Rex Robot Reviews . I know I said was going to have a contest when I sold a thousand books, but because she has one going on, I don't want to conflict with that.  I'll figure something out later to celebrate when I sell 1,000 of My Blood Approves. And if you haven't read Rex Robot Reviews wonderful review of My Blood Approves , read here.    Here's a quick excerpt of my favorite part: "So we've got a cute, fresh take on the vampire bloodlines aspect of the story. If you like vampires and young adult novels- check this book out! Amanda is definitely an author to watch out for." Victorine Lieske , author of Not What She Seems ,

What fun! Rex Robot Reviews did an interview with me and is also having a giveaway for the first book in the series, My Blood Approves . You have the option of either PDF or paperback, which makes it an added bonus for ereader aficionados. To check it out, click: here . Rex Robot Reviews is a great blog that has lots of reviews on paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and lots of great author interviews, including one with Robin Becker, author of Brains: A Zombie Memoir . So even if you don't read my interview or enter the contest, you should still check out her site. (But my interview doesn't answer the age-old question, what do I do when I'm not writing?) In other fun news related to me, one time I was quoted in SPiN magazine.  (Yes, I did say that. Yes, I did own Hanson. Yes, this is my biggest claim to fame. Yes, it is from 6 years ago.)

Or more accurately, Brian Henson did. But more on that in a second... I read an article today about the BP oil spill, and some analysts think the oil spill won't end until Christmas. Meaning 4 million barrels oil would be dumped in the Gulf. And (I'm quoting) "That much oil would wipe out all life in the Gulf and completely change the ecosystem." (read the full story here ) Let me repeat that:  That much oil would wipe out all life in the Gulf. In less than a year, those greedy bastards and their lack of foresight will probably lead to the destruction of an entire ecosystem.  Fish, crabs, eels, dolphins, sea turtles, and all the plant life. Here's a list of how and what animals are effected by this: here . This doesn't even mention the economic damage it will do to tourism and the jobs of people who thrived on fishing and dependency on the Gulf life. One more time: That much oil would wipe out all life in the Gulf. Let's put aside how devastating it is to

I don't like talking about my books. When people ask me about them, I always get very vague and evasive, and change the subject as soon I'm able. I don't know why I'm so uncomfortable. I love my books. I think they're good and funny and enjoyable. And I can talk endlessly about any other topic in pop culture. I could spend 2 hours explaining ad nauseum why Keiran Culkin is the best Culkin. (And he is, but all the Culkins are good. All of them.) What is it about talking about something I've done that makes me so awkward? I can talk about myself in relation to celebrities. I was once in a music video (truth). For a few months, I regularly exchanged messages via the internet with Craig Fairbaugh of (+44 ) and Transplants fame (he is very nice.) Debra Jo Rupp once made a joke at my expense. And I stared blankly at Michael Ian Black . Oh, and the other day I got recognized. In real life. A lady stopped me and said, "Hey, you're the girl that writes those v

May was a tremendous month for me, and I want to share the love. But I don't know how yet. I'll devise a plan, I'm sure. With Flutter out, I'm looking ahead to Wisdom. And I've been thinking about the cover. I don't know what I'm going to do. Every book I've written has a color scheme when I'm writing. (In My Blood Approves , the color of blue is mentioned frequently - Jack's eyes, his bedroom, Alice's clothes, etc. In Fate , purple is strung through out, most noticiably in the character Violet.) But for Wisdom , I don't know what the color is. I suppose I have time to figure this all out. Also, I'm going to be participating in an event on Book Rat's blog . It's Jane in June (as in Jane Austen), and she has a lot of really great giveaways and blogs going on all month. You can also link up any reviews or any Jane related activities you have going on too. If you're a Jane Austen fan, or just like good things, you should d