Thursday, August 18, 2011

Bout of Books Read-a-thon!


I will update this post during the read-a-thon with my progress!

This is what I plan to read: 
1. Burden of Blood
2. Paradise 21
3. Forts: Fathers and Sons
4. Vampire Curse
5. Raie Chaelia
6. Picture Perfect

This is what I got read:
True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

Vampire Curse by S.J. Wright
Burden of Blood by Wenona Hulsey
The Raie Chaelia by Melisaa Douthit
Hidden by Blood by Laurie London
Picture Perfect by Deena Remiel
The Willows: Haven by Hope Collier

Blog Tour: Shades of Grey by L.M. Pruitt

The Shades of Grey Blog Tour is presented by The Bookish Snob Tours.
You can see the entire tour schedule by clicking HERE.
You can read my review by clicking HERE.
You can buy a copy HERE or HERE.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!
Please welcome L.M. Pruitt!!!

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. Titles written include New Moon Rising, Shades of Gray, the first novel in the Jude Magdalyn series, as well as Hole in the Wall, a Jude Magdalyn short. She is currently at work on Taken. She makes her home in Florida with one two cats—one smart, the other an idiot.


Now - Please welcome L.M. Pruitt and her guest post!!!

The past decade or so has seen an explosion of vampire-centric media. Twilight, True Blood, Underworld, have all captured the attention – and sometimes the rabid fandom – of people worldwide. It’s hard to deny the allure.
    The bigger question is what exactly is the allure of the vampire?
    Is it their beauty? There’s a trend in the majority of commercial fiction to portray the vampire (the “good” one, anyway) as a thing of exquisite beauty. Whether you like your vampire lean and mean, heavily muscled and tattooed, or just plain sparkly, there’s one out there for you. We’re visual creatures, even – or especially – while reading.
    Do you want your heroine to fall in love with the straggly haired, popping pustule covered, thoroughly emaciated and, dare we say, smelly vampire?
    I didn’t think so, either.
    But then again, maybe we’re fascinated by their strength and brutality. We’re a nation of might makes right, despite efforts to change our culture from punitive to rehabilitive. The biggest kid on the playground commands the most fear, the most respect – and usually gets the coolest toys. Does that belief translate into our literature? To some extent, I’d agree, but I don’t think that’s the real reason for the vampire allure.
    Maybe the appeal lies in their immortality. Dying is an almost taboo subject, despite the fact it’s very much a part of living. We ignore it as much as possible, facing death only when the very realness of the event is thrust in our faces. To not have to die, to live indefinitely – it’s one of the few myths science still attempts to turn to reality.
    I believe – and this is just my opinion, so do with it what you will – I believe we’re fascinated with vampires not because they’re immortal. But because we aren’t. And it’s a constant reminder to push ourselves, to strive, to live.
    Say what you will about the Twilight movies, but the original tagline was phenomenal. When you can live forever, what do you live for? Even taking out what’s before the comma, it’s a thought provoking question, one we as readers and Jude and other characters in Shades of Gray have to answer somehow.
    So—What do you live for?

The next stop on the tour is: Aug 19 - Hesperia Loves Books
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Reading.