Waaaay past my bedtime...

Lately, I've been sleeping horribly so I've been hittin' the sack around 1am or so. This leaves me lots of time, that I don't use. Let me rephrase that: that I don't use constructively. I normally play WoW to put me to sleep but before that (and sometimes after!), I usually check up on some author's blogs. My favorite is Brigid Kemmerer's. If you haven't heard of her, you will! Her debut novel, Elemental, is coming out in Spring 2012. It's a while away, but I'll be reminding everyone I know to check it out!
Anyway, what I really love about her blog is her advice and insight.
For instance:

"Just like in any kind of story, I needed to keep character motivation at the forefront of my mind. I need to keep character at the forefront of my mind. The plot needs to keep moving. I write every scene with a goal of maintaining conflict on every page. Conflict adds tension, and tension keeps the pages turning. I read my friend's edit letter, and the editor had a fantastic insight: every scene should add a minor turn to the plot. If it doesn't, it's unnecessary."

- The hell with research. Just make it up., March 8, 2011

See what I mean? What she said makes perfect sense. She also posts little tidbits of her writing, which is really good and right up my alley! Both are what keeps me coming back for more!

In which the blogger tries to be coherent, but is not

I've been holding off on posting the review for Angelfire for about a week. Not because I didn't have time. Not because I hated it, quite the opposite really! I held off, mainly, because I really want to be coherent and not squee through the entire thing.

Let me start by saying that I've been waiting for this book to come out for awhile. I'm not quite sure when or how I heard about it, but the premise is just so intriguing! And quite refreshing after so many vamps and ghouls, unicorns and Fae! That being said, it took me until the teacher dying to really get into it. After that, I devoured it!
* The thing I really, REALLY love about Courtney Allison Moulton is that she is amazing at writing action scenes! I could picture exactly what was happening. The pacing felt natural.

*I loveloveLOVE the relationship that is Ellie/Will! It's not overly simpering and it feels real. Ms. Moulton has a great feel for the teenage voice!

*A white Audi named Marshmallow? Uh...yes, please!!

*I really wish the mini-storyline with Ellie's dad could have been more fleshed out. It felt like he popped in, got angry and yelled, then left. There was a brief sentence or two about when he started, but that's about it. My theory is that he's been kidnapped/killed and replaced with a vir (a powerful shape-shifting demon). At close to 500 pages, I can see why some things might have to have been cut. I hope we get more elaboration in the next book.

Other than that, I have nothing bad to say about this book. In fact, after I finished it, I couldn't pick up another book for a couple of days! All in all, I will recommend this book to everyone I know! I have a feeling it will be on bestselling list soon!