Join me to celebrate the release of my debut novel. I will give a short presentation about the book and my road to publication. Bring your questions for a Q&A session. There will be light snacks, prizes, and giveaways.

For more details or to register for the event, click here: REGISTER

​My book release coincides perfectly with this year's Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. On Friday night, I will be signing my books along with dozens of other northwest authors. Scary, but exciting.

The signing event is open to the public, and it's free. I'd love it if you stopped by to support me. Plus, you will have a chance to meet many other authors. 

Let me know if you plan to attend, so I can look for you. 

Now that Dickensen Academy has finished with the big edits, I have shifted much of my time to creating and implementing a marketing plan.

It's a whole new world as I learn about the hundreds of ways I can promote my book. Some free and some with a huge price tag. Of course, I can't do everything, so I'm trying to prioritize as well as spend some time each week editing my work in process and re-reading Dickensen Academy now in a PDF version to make make sure it looks good they way it is laid out on the pages. Until this point it has been in Word.

Back to updating my website. And then time to take Ruby for a walk. 

​I am in the process of revamping this website. As of now, I’m keeping this Blog Page up but am not actively blogging for a couple reasons.
 
1  –  I need to decide the best focus of this blog.
 
2 - My writing time is being stretched between working with The Wild Rose Press to get Dickensen Academy ready for print, editing my work in progress, critiquing other’s works, and preparing to market my book when it comes out later this year. 
 
I am continuing to read as much as I can. I am currently reading Social Media Just for Writers by Frances Cabello. Learning lots! I anticipate it will be a five-star rating. J
 
I regularly post my reviews on Goodreads but currently am not finding the time for the more detailed reviews on this blog. Check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  
 

​I apologize for not posting as regularly to this blog as I used to. Most of this year I have been busy drafting my second book and am now well into the editing phase.
 
I’m continuing to read as much as I can. I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA to improve my writing, and as a mother, I am always on the lookout for MG and YA books for my children to read.
 
I regularly post my reviews on Goodreads but currently am not finding the time for the more detailed reviews on this blog.Check out my ratings and reviews at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Length: 197 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Twelve-year old Catherine simply wants her life to be normal. But normal is challenging when you have an autistic brother. This summer a girl is moving in next door, so hopefully they can become friends, if her brother David doesn’t find a way to ruin it like he does for everything in her life. Catherine has created a list of rules for David so he can learn to behave normally, and just as importantly, allow Catherine not to be embarrassed.
 
Unexpectedly Catherine meets Jason in the waiting room of David’s speech therapist. Jason is wheelchair bound and communicates by pointing at pictures in his speech journal. What starts as drawing special word cards for Jason, so he can talk like a normal teen, leads to a special friendship. Meanwhile, Catherine is taking tentative steps towards a friendship with her new neighbor, Kristi. But when Kristi suggests that Catherine invite Jason to a dance, Catherine needs to decide what to do because she has not had the guts to tell Kristi of Jason’s special needs. And bringing a boy in a wheelchair to a dance is not exactly normal in Catherine’s eyes.
 
My Review
This is a book I had a hard time putting down. (The same held true for my twelve year old daughter.) The characters were so real, particularly Catherine and Jason. Nothing earth shattering occurred in the book, but I still had to know what happened next. I believe it was because Catherine’s struggle to fit in and be normal is something that so many pre-teens (and even adults) face.
 
The book was written in first person, which helps bring the reader into Catherine’s world. We feel her struggle as she tries to figure out what to do: the right thing or the normal thing.   
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I am constantly reading YA and MG books to improve my writing, and as a mother, I am always on the lookout for books for my children to read.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: Twice Upon A Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap
Author: Wendy Mass
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Length: 172 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
This is a fairy tale retelling based on Sleeping Beauty. In this story, the main plot of the original fairy tale holds true: Princess Rose is still cursed to fall into a one hundred year sleep when she pricks her finger on a spindle. However, this retelling follows Princess Rose and the Prince as they grow up.
 
Princess Rose faces the challenge of being perfect in so many ways, thanks to the gifts of the fairies. Additionally, she must live with overly protective parents who hope Rose can avoid the fairy’s curse by hovering over her and not allowing her to participate in any activities where she might hurt herself.
 
Meanwhile, we get to know the Prince as he grows up one hundred years later. He lives with his own challenge: a mother who has some ogre blood which causes her to feed, sometimes on humans, two times a month. He discovers a castle, eerily similar to his own, deep in the woods covered by briars and is drawn to enter it. Like Princess Rose, the Prince also has very little independence making it difficult to investigate the hidden castle.
 
My Review
This is was a fun book to read. The story was told in first person, alternating chapters between Princess Rose’s and the Prince’s point of views. I really enjoyed how the author developed these two characters so we got to know their personalities much better than in the original fairy tale. I especially enjoyed seeing how Princess Rose’s gifts of beauty, cleverness, grace, and perfection at singing, dancing and music could be its own curse by not allowing her to fail causing her to seek out activities where she might fail. Both main characters were very likable as well as each of their best friends.
 
This book is classified as Middle Grade and is therefore intended for ages eight to twelve, but I believe anyone interested in fairy tales would love to read this twist. Additionally Wendy Mass has written a few other fairy tale retellings that would likely be of interest to people who enjoy this story.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for books for my children to read.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.     
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: Up to this Pointe
Author: Jennifer Longo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: 355 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Harper Scott is a seventeen year old that wants to be a professional ballerina. She has made a plan with her best friend, Kate. They will both dance for the San Francisco Ballet and share an inexpensive loft together and live in the city forever. However, it is clear from page one that something has gone wrong with The Plan because Harper has arranged to spend six months in Antarctica working as a science research intern. Thanks to her ancestor being Robert Falcon Scott, one of the first explorers to reach the South Pole, she has been given a coveted spot.
 
My Review
This is an excellent book that pulled me in from page one. The story was told in alternating chapters between the present, when Harper arrives at the McMurdo science station on Antarctica, and the past, 140 days earlier when she was preparing for the San Francisco Ballet audition. Therefore, I was anxious to keep reading to find out the reasons that led Harper to leave her life for six months.
 
I picked up this book because a local male author told me that he loved it, and it brought him to tears even though he didn’t care a bit about ballet. I had to laugh as I read it because it is a book that is definitely going to appeal more to girls, particularly teens although as an adult, I loved it.
 
The author does an excellent job at character development, particularly with Harper. Written in first person, it is easy to empathize with Harper who is vulnerable and raw with emotions. People will relate to this book because it is about losing a childhood dream and coming out on the other side. Even if ballet wasn’t your dream, so many children dream of near impossible to achieve careers, e.g. professional or Olympic athletes, artists, or musicians. And unfortunately, often during the teen years, reality takes those dreams away.
 
This book is classified as Young Adult and is therefore intended for ages twelve to eighteen. I plan to recommend it to my own twelve-year-old daughter but wouldn’t go younger. There are references to premarital sex and drinking although this is primarily something Harper observes among the adult residents of the science station. She does have a few drinks one night and kisses a boy. I don’t recall any foul language.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: The Magicians
Author: Lev Grossman
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Quentin is a seventeen-year old prodigy who enjoys performing magic tricks. On the surface, he seems to have everything and anticipates being accepted into a prestigious college soon. However, he feels there is more to life and can’t enjoy what he has. He dreams of living in a place called Fillory, the fantasy world in his favorite children’s books.
 
One day Quentin is whisked through a secret portal to Brakebills where he is immediately tested and accepted. It is a school for magic located in upstate New York but is protected from discovery by magical spells that keep the school hidden.
 
At Brakebills, Quentin discovers magic is real. Over his four years at Brakebills he is immersed in a new world of friendship and magical spells. But once the novelty of magic wears off, Quentin is still unhappy and continues to search for something more.
 
 
My Review
This is an intriguing book and reminded me of Harry Potter crossed with The Chronicles of Narnia, but for a college-aged person. The first four-fifths of the novel read as light-fantasy. But the last fifth, when they crossed into Fillory, read as high fantasy.
 
I loved Quentin’s time at Brakebills and going through the magic curriculum with him. I felt Quentin’s excitement as he discovered magic was real. Personally, I would have liked the book to end during this time as I prefer happy endings.
 
However, that is not real life and the author did a great job of keeping Quentin true to his own depressive, precocious personality. I experienced Quentin’s disappointment when he realized magic did not make him happy. I felt his depression upon graduation when he was thrust back into the real world into a life of one non-stop drunken state. And then, when he got what he always dreamed of — a chance to go to Fillory, I felt his fear at discovering his ideal Fillory wasn’t what he imagined. Instead, it was quite dangerous and the humans did not always emerge victorious.  
 
I would like to read the next two books in the series to see where they take Quentin and learn if he can ever find true happiness.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: Cinder, The Lunar Chronicles Book #1
Author: Marissa, Meyer
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Retelling
Length: 387 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Cinder is a sixteen-year old cyborg growing up in New Beijing, one of a handful of Earth’s new empires created after WWIII. She is a skilled mechanic living with her stepmother and two stepsisters. She was adopted by her stepmother’s husband five years earlier although Cinder doesn’t remember anything of her first eleven years. Since Cinder is a cyborg, she is considered less than human and therefore is owned by her stepmother, similar to a slave.
 
Kai, the prince of New Beijing, is about to become emperor after his father dies from the deadly plague that is running rampant on Earth. Before his untimely death, the emperor was trying to form a partnership with Queen Levana, the ruler of the Lunars, a settlement on the moon. Kai agrees to marry Queen Levana in exchange for the vaccine developed by the Lunars that will stop the plague.
 
Meanwhile, Kai has fallen for Cinder yet doesn’t know she is a cyborg. With the help of the doctor who is researching cures for the plague, Cinder begins to discover more and more about her mysterious past and learns that someone went to great length to spare her life and hide her true identity.
 
Using her skills as a mechanic, Cinder discovers important information buried within the prince’s android, information about Queen Levana’s true intentions. Cinder needs to get to the ball in time to communicate this knowledge before the Queen uses her special powers to marry the prince.
 
My Review
My twelve-year old daughter recommended this book to me. I had never read a fairy tale retelling and didn’t expect to enjoy it. But I devoured it. The storyline was creative and unique and the characters were well developed and likable, aside from the Queen of course. In fact, I now plan to read more fairy tale retellings and am considering writing my own.
 
This book is first in series of three: Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress. Plus there are two companion books about the characters and the Lunar society.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.