UPDATE: The winner of the contest is…BN!
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I’m late getting started at work today.
And it’s all Alisa Lynn Valdes’s fault.
I’m embarrassed to admit that between being a full-time writer and editor, it’s hard for me to find time to read for pleasure. I do read plenty—mostly news articles and magazines, things about climate change, world politics—stuff that makes me crazy, so I often wonder why I do it. I’m sure the stress is shortening my life, but my addiction is news-porn. Plus, it’s rare for me to pick up a book by someone I’ve never read. When I read fiction, it’s usually something I read years ago, a guilty-pleasure read, because I don’t have to pay close attention to it, and I can relax. For me, these days if I have downtime, I’m usually pulling out my paints and paper.
For a writer, that’s sacrilege, right?
Well, I was doom-scrolling through Twitter yesterday morning over my first cup of coffee and saw a short video from an author named Alisa Lynn Valdes. It wasn’t a slick presentation, which would turn me off. It was natural, just her filming while driving down a gravel road, talking about one of the places that inspired her latest book, Hollow Beasts. She read something from the opening pages, and I was instantly struck. Hooked. I hit the link to her book, discovered to my delight that it was FREE in KU, and loaded it to my Kindle, where books that intrigue me usually go to die. I rarely open them after I load them, but yesterday, when I was done with work, and before I brought out my paints, I opened my Kindle app and began to read.
I finished just a few minutes ago. I haven’t been that engrossed in years. The characterization of the characters was sooooo good. Everyone who had pages devoted to their POV was distinct from the other—sometimes, with very opposing viewpoints. The main underlying topic was timely (no spoilers), and the suspense had me on the edge of my seat.
I’m going to check out her backlist as soon as I upload this post.
So, my question to you is what have you read lately that kept you glued to your phone/Kindle/book? Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
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I actually haven’t read anything in a while that has kept me glued to the book (I generally read print) – not since the last JD Robb In Death book in February.
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The last book I read was Preston and Child’s The Cabinet of Dr Leng. It is the 2nd of the current Pendergast trilogy. It wasn’t in 1 sitting though. I read it to my blind sister on the phone and I am on the honor system not to read ahead. That just about kills me because she has dialysis 3 days a week and sleeps the rest of those 3 days. Their books are awesome and it is hard to tell where facts end and fiction begins.
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The little grave. By Carolyn Arnold
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Soldier Cowboy by Heatherly Bell
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I loved Into The Tide by Laura Pavlov. It was such a beautiful love story.
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I’ve heard good things about Hollow Beasts–will have to check it out! As for a recent couldn’t-put-it-down read for me, Beth Bolden’s Sweet as Pie. Super cute m/m contemporary…
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I’m reading a Mary Higgins Clark book Two Little Girls in Blue – it’s amazing. I’m racing through it.
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nothing lately
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The last one was one Gail Koger’s Colletti Warlord books
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Nothing has kept me glued to a book recently, I’ve been a reading slump since the beginning of this year, but the good book I read was Nanny for The Neighbor by Lily Gold.