Book Blogger Hop No. 131: My Most Read Author In The Past Two Years

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

This Week's Question

What author have you read the

most in the past two years?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth @

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

I thought at first that I wouldn't be able to say that I have read one author more than any other in the past two years. Since I'm such an eclectic reader, I'm constantly switching around to different authors and books. Sometimes, though, I will try to see a series through to the end. That's what happened with the Vampire Academy series. I did read the entire series of six books -- two of them in 2015, and the other four in 2016. So I guess I'll go with the author of these books: Richelle Mead. 

Mead is a writer of Young Adult Fiction, specifically in the categories of fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. Her VA series is immensely exciting and appealing to YA readers, and so is her spinoff series, Bloodlines, which I also want to read. It, too, consists of six books.

Mead's characterizations in the VA series are very vivid, and she puts you right into her characters' heads. The action is amazing, too! However, she also has slower passages, in which she delves into psychological conflicts between the characters. This is something I find totally fascinating, and as compelling as the action.

Another thing I love about this series is the world-building. Mead has no problem at all making the reader suspend disbelief, and plunge right into her world! She's a truly skillful writer, one who totally engages all of the reader's senses.

Not since reading my beloved Twilight Saga have I been so absorbed in a world of vampire characters -- specifically of the YA variety. I have also read four of the books in the Vampire Diaries series, by L.J. Smith, but didn't like them that much. (I read these in 2010.) As for the House of Night series, by P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast, the very first book, Marked, was quite disappointing for several reasons, although, paradoxically, I did like the plot. (I read this one in 2011.) However, that wasn't enough for me to love the book. Nor was it enough for me to want to go on to the rest of the books in the series.

It's been a totally different story with Richelle Mead, who is now one of my favorite YA authors! I have enjoyed her Vampire Academy series tremendously, and want to continue to enjoy her books!

Note to Self: Be sure to start on the Bloodlines series as soon as you can!

Here are the books in the Vampire Academy series. Click on each cover for access to my review of each book.

 

  

Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.

A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.

Website/Goodreads/Facebook 
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Book Blogger Hop No. 110: Author Thanksgiving Party

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

If you had an author-only

Thanksgiving party, who

would you invite?

(Submitted  by Kristin @ 

Lukten av Trykksverte)

My Answer

This is an interesting twist on the typical "having lunch with favorite authors" type of question!

My own list would include quite a few YA authors, of course, since I post mostly about YA fiction on this blog. However, I do feature adult fiction pretty often, as well, so I am also including adult fiction authors. 

So here's my list, in no particular order, with my reasons for the invites! (Click on each author's name for their Goodreads pages.)

YA FICTION AUTHORS 

J.K. Rowling: I don't think I need to explain why I would want to invite her. Harry Potter is in my blood! AND DUMBLEDORE LIVES. 'Nuff said! 

Stephenie Meyer: Speaking of blood....lol. She's the creator of the sweetest, sexiest non-threatening vampire in history, as well as the most romantic werewolf with the BEST abs! I will NEVER forget Bella, Edward, and Jacob!!!!

Andrea Cremer: Speaking of werewolves....I LOVE the Nightshade Series!!! Calla and Shay totally ROCK.

Leigh Bardugo: I have read Shadow and Bone, from the Grisha Trilogy, and I need to read the other two! Plus, she wrote a Wonder Woman novel -- Warbringer!!

Lisa T. Bergren: This Christian author wrote the AWESOME River of Time series, featuring the kick-butt She-Wolf sisters!! And their boyfriends totally ROCK. Gabi and Marcello are one GREAT couple!

Richelle Mead: For her FANTABULOUS Vampire Academy series!! Rose and Dimitri are another favorite couple of mine!! And Rose is DEFINITELY a kick-butt heroine!! 

ADULT FICTION AUTHORS

Mary Balogh: My FAVORITE Regency romance author!! I ESPECIALLY LOVE her poignant Christmas stories! I also LOVE how her female protagonists always make it SO easy to be unforgettable to their men.... My favorite novel is A Precious Jewel, which reminds me of a 19th-century "Pretty Woman"!!

Amanda Ashley: Her books were my first introduction to the romantic vampire. Her heroes are SO sweet, and her novels are pretty clean, considering the genre she writes in. My faves are A Darker Dream and Midnight Embrace!

Melody Carlson: For writing the most beautiful, touching Christian fiction Christmas romances I've EVER read. They are collected in a beautiful, touching,  omnibus volume, appropriately titled The Christmas Bus.

Kendra Leigh Castle: For her Dark Dynasties series, featuring some VERY appealing vamp heroes....such as shapeshifting vampire Tynan MacGillivray, who dazzled me (although he didn't sparkle) in Dark Awakening! 

Elizabeth Davies: Yes, I know, I'm OBSESSED with vampires....but ONLY if they're on the romantic side. Although the hero of her Resurrection series, Roman, is a bit on the rough side, he truly loves Grace, the human woman he falls for. And, of course, he DOES mellow out.

L.G. O'Connor: For her Angelorum Twelve Chronicles! She has created a VERY compelling mythology involving angels and demons! I GREATLY enjoyed the first book in the series -- Trinity Stones!

I think this is a good number to invite to a Thanksgiving party. I'm certainly thankful that I was able to read their books! And I'm sure all of them -- and me -- would have a LOT to talk about while dining on sumptuous Thanksgiving fare! (Catered, of course, as I don't cook....lol.)

I realize that these two lists feature mostly romance authors, although their books also include other elements. What can I say? I have been such a fan of romance novels for such a long time, I always gravitate right back to the genre, usually in the sub-genres of historical romance and paranormal romance.

Now I need to start working on a list of favorite fantasy and science fiction authors, as I love those genres, too!

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Book Blogger Hop No. 98: Lunch with Favorite Authors and Bloggers

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

If you could have lunch with any

living authors and/or book bloggers,

who would you choose and why?

(Submitted  by Kitty  @ 

Vicarious Bookworm)

My Answer

There are several people who come to mind immediately, in response to this question.

In regards to living authors, there are two I would LOVE to have lunch with: Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling. They are the authors of my two favorite Young Adult Fiction series: The Twilight Saga, and the Harry Potter series. 

Meyer's series is full of lovable characters, and her story is beautifully told. The romance between Edward Cullen, vampire, and Bella Swan, human, is absolutely enthralling and powerful, too. 

I also ADORE the movies!!

So I would definitely be honored to sit down with Steph to discuss the series, what her writing techniques are, how she developed her characters, and on and on and on!

As for Rowling, I also fell in love with her series right away! Of course, Harry Potter himself is my very favorite character, but I also love many other characters in these books!  If I were to go to lunch with J.K., I would ask her many of the same questions I would pose to Steph. I would add questions regarding the world-building, as this is one of the things that makes the novels so exciting!

As for bloggers, there are several I'd love to have lunch with! I have come to treasure my friendships with them, and am sad that we all live so far away from each other....

I have to mention Michele and Mckenzie, whom I like to call "The Dynamic Book Blogging Duo". They are a mother-daughter blogging team who blog about books at A Belle's Tales.

Michele and Mckenzie are very dear friends of mine, although we live in different states. I ADORE their blog, which has such interesting posts! Their reviews are FABULOUS, and they read an eclectic mix of books, including YA, mysteries, and romance of the paranormal and contemporary variety. Plus, they are very sweet and kind people. Lunch with the two of them would be absolutely WONDERFUL!

Another blogger who comes to mind is Brian @ Babbling Books, who lives in the upper part of the state of New York. Brian writes very interesting, intellectually stimulating reviews about classics, literary fiction, and nonfiction. Besides that, he is a very nice person.  It would be great to discuss feminism with him, as this is a topic we're both very much interested in! (We both LOVE Star Trek, too, so we'd probably greet each other with the Vulcan salute, lol.)

Then there's Elizabeth, who blogs at Silver's Reviews, and lives in Pennsylvania. She's a very sweet lady, and I know her mostly from the Book Blogger Hop, although we've also emailed each other on many occasions. Although our tastes in books differ, I know I would still enjoy having lunch with her to discuss the genres we both read, and why we like them.  From what I've seen so far, it looks like she tends toward historical fiction, mysteries, and some thrillers. 

Wendy, who calls herself "Literary Feline", and blogs at Musings of a Bookish Kitty, is another blogger whom I'm very happy to call a friend! Her posts are very interesting, and she's an eclectic blogger who frequently includes YA books in her reading repertoire. And I LOVE that she frequently mentions her daughter, nicknamed "Mouse", on her blog! Wendy's bookish and non-bookish "mews" are such fun to read! I know we would have a great time at lunch!

Another blogger I would love to have lunch with, and who lives in Australia, is Verushka @ Pop.Edit.Lit. (I am unable to link up her blog, for some reason. You can access it from my sidebar, though.) She has an interesting mix of books, too. Although she doesn't usually read YA, she does read books I would never usually come across, such as diverse reads. In addition to this, she's a very sweet person! Over time, we've also become friends. Since she's an editor and works in the publishing business, I'd love to discuss this with her, as well as how her blog relates to her work. And, since she's from India, I would LOVE to have lunch with her at a great Indian restaurant!  I could ask her about Indian authors, too, which I really don't know that much about, as well as find out how she emigrated to Australia.

Another great blogger I know is Amy @ A Magical World of Words. She blogs about movies as well as books. Most of the books she reads are in the Young Adult Fiction genre, which is just GREAT! She's also a very nice person, and leaves me fun (as well as funny) comments very often! Lunch with her would be a lot of fun, of course! I'd love to discuss the topic of feminism, which is an interest we both have in common!

There's yet another blogger I'd love to have lunch with! I've just met her, too, and I have found out that she's a super nice person! Her name is Mailén , and she lives in Argentina. Her blog is in Spanish, and is titled Blog de Una Lectora Apasionada (A Passionate Reader's Blog). Mailén recently entered one of my giveaways, and we've been commenting on each other's blogs ever since! She reads mostly Young Adult Fiction, and I've just discovered that she's a Twilight fan!! YAAAAAAY!! Having lunch with her would be so much fun, since we could do a lot of fangirling about Twilight, Harry Potter, and other YA bestsellers! Since I'm fluent in Spanish, we could converse perfectly well in that language! 

Then there's Barb @ Booker T's Farm -- Books and Nails and Puppy Dog Tales. Barb is such a fun, sweet person! She frequently has her dogs "host" her "Can't Wait Wednesday" post, to my great delight! I always make sure to leave a "WOOF, WOOF" greeting for her boys, lol. 

Barb's tastes in books are not quite the same as mine, but we do have some books in common. And she's very considerate about warning me whenever she's going to feature a horror novel on "Can't Wait Wednesday", as she knows I don't like this genre! Lol. Lunch with Barb would be loads of fun!

Then there's Greg @ Book Haven. He's an eclectic blogger who loves Science Fiction just as much as I do, and frequently posts AWESOME SF art on his Sunday Post posts. Also, he loves EDM (check out the videos at the top of my sidebar), which is something I absolutely ADORE. He's very nice, as well! I do need to get to know him better, so I will be visiting his blog more often.

It would be just AWESOME if, in addition to having lunch with all of these great bloggers on an individual basis, we could ALL have a nice group lunch together!! Heck, we could even make it a yearly event! Of course, this is only wishful thinking.....but it's nice to dream, isn't it? After all, being around bookish people who also happen to be truly NICE is every bookworm's dream!! 

 

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Book Blogger Hop No. 91: Meeting Favorite Authors

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

If you could meet one author,

dead or alive, who would it be?

(Submitted  by Kristin @ 

Lukten av Trykksverte)

My Answer

These questions in which we're asked to pick one of whatever-or-whoever-it-is are just too "hard" for me! Lol. The thing is, I can never pick JUST ONE. Nope! Impossible!

I should mention that I have met some favorite authors, but very briefly, at book signing events. What this question refers to, though, is probably a more personal meeting, one in which you could REALLY get to know your favorite writer(s).

The authors I've met at book signing events are: Stephenie Meyer, Meg Cabot, Melissa de la Cruz, Kami Garcia, and Maggie Stiefvater. These are all Young Adult Fiction authors.  

I really don't have to think that hard for a list of names of authors I'd love to meet and be able to chat with, but I am indeed having a hard time choosing! And so, several Classic Great Names and More Recent Great Names float in front of my consciousness, in no particular order: Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ray Bradbury, Lisa T. Bergren, and even a somewhat obscure but beloved author -- Elswyth Thane. And then there's Thomas Hardy, and Hermann Hesse, and OF COURSE Stephenie Meyer, and Richelle Mead, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark Twain, and Lloyd C. Douglas (who penned that great Christian classic, The Robe), and Cordwainer Smith, and Ursula Le Guin and Daphne du Maurier.....and, well, you DEFINITELY get the picture by now!

I would be greatly honored to sit at the feet of any of these wonderful authors, telling them how greatly I had enjoyed their works, and asking them as many questions as I dared. 

But you know, I would also love to meet those authors whose works I have yet to read. Those might be the most interesting conversations of all! I would ask them to just read from one of their works, becoming a particular character as they read. If they were willing to do this type of thing, I would greatly enjoy myself! And these are the authors I would pick: Kurt Vonnegut (I might have read his Cat's Cradle somewhere along the way, although I don't quite remember), Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Nora Zeale Hurston, Larry Niven, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, and Anthony Trollope. PLUS these YA authors: Mary Lindsey, Stephanie Perkins, Melissa Landers, Sophie Jordan, and Nicola Yoon!

So I find myself unable to pick one single author, or even three! There are just too many who have held my mind captive with the pictures painted by their magnificent words, the conjured quests of their various heroes and heroines, the slithering, venomous plotting of their Totally Nefarious Villains, and the sheer beauty of their imagined worlds, whether or not they are based on reality. Those whose books I have not yet read also hold the promise of all of the above, as I've seen from plot summaries of their works.

If it were possible, I would love to meet ALL of these wonderful people, have tea with each of them, and try very hard to treat them like regular folks. It would not be easy for me to do so, though, because I think that writers, artists, and heck, ANY creative people are much more important than royalty or those who are wealthy and/or hold political power. I would try VERY hard, though, to hold my fangirling as much as possible, and ask them interesting questions about their work, while enjoying fun conversations with them! 

And don't get me started on NONFICTION authors! Lol.


                       

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