Prince Jorg Ancrath

JORG ANCRATH

I have had the privilege of either meeting or interacting with a few authors as a result of drawing fan art. Christopher Paolini, Stephenie Meyer, Peter Brett and Patrick Rothfuss have all taken time to recognize my meager attempts at illustrating the characters from their books. 

I mentioned before what a complex character Jorg is. He's from the Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. After seeing my WIP of Jorg on Facebook, he contacted me and said he wanted to send me the third book, Emperor of Thorns as a thank you. Can you believe that?! All the way from England. 

 His gift was so unexpected and generous. I started reading it and of course, like it's predecessors, the book started sucking me into it's pages...something I cannot allow right now with deadlines so I reluctantly handed it to my son-in-law so he could read it. That took a lot of self-restraint but I really want to savor each page free of guilt. 

BTW, the reviews have been fantastic.

Things I'm Anticipating in 2013

I know, 2013 is in full swing. Should have done this in January. Story of my life right now, as you can tell by my lapse in blogging. SmART School finished last week and I will miss it terribly. Some of the students are trying to stay in touch with critique groups so we can motivate and encourage each other...keep the momentum going.

I haven't blogged about books too much but here are a couple I am looking forward to reading. 

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stievfater

This is the second in the Raven Boys series. Maggie has a distinct voice that I've come to love. Her book,  "Scorpio Races" is one of my favorites. Sept. 17th. 

This is already out and my daughter took it to read so I wouldn't be tempted to start reading instead of working. Quintana is the conclusion of the Lumatere Chronicles I raved about in an older post. It is the carrot at the end of the stick after I finish the children's book finals.

A lot of buzz about this one by Rick Yancey. It's going with me on the airplane to Kansas City next weekend. (More on that later).

A Facebook friend recommended this trilogy to me. It begins with the Prince of Thorns. I almost stopped reading but was rewarded at the end. Excellent writing. Unpredictable. A complex character I'm still not sure about but definitely invested in. Aug. 8th

I've clamored on and on about Mr. Yancey's Monstrumology series. This isn't for everyone but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. This concludes the story of dear, Will Henry and I fear for him. Sept. 10th.

There are many movies I'm looking forward to but Ender's Game is at the top of the list. If they botch it, I will throw a tizzy fit. November 1st. Get ready Jake. You know where you and Grams are going to be on your birthday. 

How about you? Any books to pass on? Movies? Events?

The Lumatere Chronicles

 Do you like...

wonderful world building, unpredictable plot twists, rich mythology and believable (and to-die-for) characters...oh yeah, and romance...?

...then give the Lumatere Chronicles a try.

I have been down and out with a sinus infection which gave me the excuse to do some reading. I really enjoyed Finnikin of the Rock when I read it over a year ago. So when the sequel came out, I thought I'd skim through the pages just to refresh my memory and ended up re-reading the entire book. I had forgotten how much Melina Marchetta can make you care for her characters. Book #2 of the Lumatere Chronicles is titled, Froi of the Exiles, and is even better than the first. WOWZA is all I can say. When you can take a small, quite unlikable character from the first book and built a story around him and at the end have not only compassion and understanding for him, but a serious crush on him to boot,...well, that is the work of a master wordsmith. The sad news is that book #3, Quintana of Charyn will not be here in the USA until 2013. Anyone who is a fan of Megan Turner's Thief series, Sherryl Jordan's Secret Sacrament or Sherwood Smith's Inda quartet will love these.

The Near Witch

I haven't posted much about books lately. Going to post a few that have stood out from the pack. The first is, The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab.

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4+ Beautiful, lyrical writing. Part ghost story, part love story, with a pinch of fairy tale. I look forward to more from this author.


View all my reviews

Clary Fray

Study for a character from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

A Greater Journey

I've been listening to a wonderful book by David McCullough, entitled,
The Greater Journey, Americans in Paris.
(Yes, I do read non-fiction occasionally)


Seriously, it is one of the best books on art history I've read in a long time. Give is a try and see what you think.