Week 1: NaNoWriMo Update

The first week of NaNo was a toughie (to those of you who don't know what NaNoWriMo is the calendar above explains it all). Between schoolwork, the books on my bookshelves that are tempting me to read them, and a plethora of other things there seems to be very little time to write. When I do find the time I get out about 4k words in one sitting. 

So to those of you who are doing NaNo this year how much have you gotten down so far? Did you participate last year? If so, how did that go.

My current word count:
8747 Words

NaNo stats say that by this rate I'll be done by December 4th....
But hey, there's still 24 days left. We can do this thing!

Here's my NaNo page if you want to add me as a buddy.

Week 1: NaNoWriMo Update

Happy Halloween and NaNoWriMo Eve!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

If you're planning on doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year then use the candy you got today as your fuel for the rest of the month. Trust me, you're going to need it. ;)

I've only decided to take part just last week. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with the word count goal because of the overload of schoolwork (and the pressure of Junior year) but I'm optimistic that this year's NaNo will go as well as last year did for me. So is anyone planning on doing NaNo this year? Have you won in previous years? Would you like me to add you as a buddy? Please leave a link to your profile in the comments.

Happy Halloween and NaNoWriMo Eve!

I won NaNo!!!

I did it! I won NaNoWriMo! I know I should be extremely excited right now, and I am, but at the same time I’m worn out and dreading the days to come of editing this mess of a novel. I’m posting a review later this week of Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton which was also a NaNo novel. Isn't that amazing?

Congrats to all of the other Nano winners out there! It was so much fun writing alongside such amazing people! :)

I won NaNo!!!

YA Debut Authors!

Okay so I’ve made this list of books coming out by YA Debut Authors. The ones I’m most looking forward to have these * next to them. I’m so excited to read them!


DECEMBER 2010-

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins* This one has raving reviews on Goodreads and a 4.76 rating

JANUARY 2011-

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis*

XVI by Julia Karr

UNERTHYLY by Cynthia Hand*

ENTANGLED by Cat Clarke

FEBRUARY 2011-

THE IRON WITCH by Karen Mahoney

A TOUCH MORTAL by Leach Clifford*

ANGELFIRE by Courtney Moulten*

MARCH 2011-

CLARITY by Kim Harrington*

WITHER by Lauren DeStefano

I haven’t been blogging much this month due to NaNoWriMo which is going pretty great by the way. :)

Now, what debut books are you looking forward to reading the most in 2010-2011?

YA Debut Authors!

Nightshade Book Review

Nightshade
by Andrea Cremer

Originality -

Nightshade was definitely original. I was thinking that this book would be like every other werewolf book that I’ve read but it was not. The werewolf society that Andrea Cremer created felt real and was easy to dive into.
5/5

Characters-

Calla is a strong female protagonist that gives orders rather than taking them. She’s fierce but still has a soft side. But most importantly she’s easy to relate to. I have mixed feelings about the male leads though, especially in the beginning of the book.
4/5

Dialogue-

I think this story has some of the best dialogue. Why? Because the things Calla said/ thought at times made me bend over with laughter! The comic-relief in this book was gold. The more serious times were also fantastic. The author also did a great job of incorporating modern day teen speech without making it look like she tried too hard.
5/5

Setting-

The setting wasn’t mentioned as much, but I got the feeling that Calla lived in a place close to the woods. She is a werewolf after all.
3/5

Voice/Writing-

Andrea Cremer’s voice was amazing, and easy to melt into. Her voice alone was what made me decide to read past page 1—and I’m glad that I did.
5/5

Cover-

At first I wasn’t so amused by the cover but I guess it’s grown on me overtime. The purple is really eye-catching.
4/5

Overall Rating= 4/5

Otherwise known as a MUST READ. I highly recommend this book. The ending will literally have you begging for more. :)

Happy reading,

~Ezmirelda

Nightshade Book Review

50th Follower Party

It’s a lot less empty here than when I started blogging last May. My small voice started off as a echo is a large empty hallway, to a much louder voice. So I just wanted to say thank you to all my followers—for listening to my rants and helping me grow as a writer. I made some really awesome friends here, and learned a lot more about both publishing and novel-writing.


October is nearly over and once November starts I’m going to be busy as ever with Nanowrimo and school activities. I’ll try to post either here or on the NaNo blog as often as I can.

Also I’ve written this article on How To Write a Query Letter on the Writing Tab. Feel free to check it out for those of you who aren’t already familiar with it.

Happy Writing,

~Ezmirelda


Random Question:

Every Halloween I feel so tempted to write a short story in the horror genre. It always ends up being about a kid going into a haunted house and getting scared out of his wits. Haha :) Is anyone else thinking about writing a short story for Halloween?

50th Follower Party

Are you ready for NaNo?

NaNoWrimo 2010

During the month of November I’ll be doing most my blog posting on my Nanowrimo blog. Please come and check it out, even if you think you won’t be doing it this year. I love how Nanowrimo gets us all together to do the thing we love to do: writing. And the fact that we have a deadline makes it even more exciting! (Am I starting to sound crazy yet?) Sure, I’ll be tired and extremely busy for an entire month—but the outcome will be well worth it. :D

If you have a Nano account leave a link to your page so I can add you as a writing buddy.

We can do this thing! :)

~Ezmirelda

Are you ready for NaNo?

Teaser Tuesday: Elixir

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to:

-Grab your current read
 -Share 2 teasers
-Don’t include any spoilers
-Include the title and author: Elixir by Hilary Duff

This is my first time doing a teaser Tuesday. I picked the most non-spoiler quotes I could find. Enjoy!

Quote # 1

“I finally found a shadow high in the corner of the frame, and fresh goose bumps danced up my arm.” Pg. 51

Quote # 2

“My dreams of this man may have been vivid but they were just dreams. They had nothing to do with reality; not mine, and clearly not his.” Pg. 164

Also, I started a blog just for Nanowrimo this year. It’ll be most active during the month of November, but stop by to vote on the poll if you can. :)


~Ezmirelda

Teaser Tuesday: Elixir

October Chills & NaNo

It’s October. The warm weather is disappearing & the leaves are changing colors, leaving a big mess of leaves in our backyard. And I love it!  I’m really excited for NaNoWriMo next month. I’m contemplating whether to use Idea # 1 which involves curses or Idea # 2 which involves rivalry. Both ideas are tempting but I’m going to have to choose one of them sooner or later.

Does anyone else think they’re going to be participating this year?

I’m currently reading Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (an 18 year old author) I’ve read very mixed reviews about it but I like to read books myself before making judgment on them. I also finished reading Mockingjay recently and I’m not really sure how I felt about the ending. 

If there’s any book that I’ve been looking forward to the most then it would have to be Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead. It’s going to be the last book in the Vampire Academy series. I met Richelle at a book signing about a year ago and she’s as amazing as her books are. 

I really like this cover, although I can never tell which character it's supposed to be.

Hope you guys are enjoying the rest of your weekend!

~Ezmirelda

October Chills & NaNo