My Favorite Fiction Reads of Winter 2019

March 20, 2019March 19, 2019 / saraletourneau / 5 Comments

Did anyone else have a weird season of reading? For my first few books of 2019, I’d love or enjoy one book, then be disappointed by the next one. I was even worried that I’d fall into a reading slump – and I think we can agree that those are never pleasant.

Luckily that back-and-forth didn’t last long. (Hooray!) So out of the 10 fiction books I read over the winter, I’m highlighting seven of them in today’s post. And I have to admit, I like this season’s round-up a LOT. It features a great mix of genres, a couple “hidden gems” that deserve more attention, and a couple early contenders for Favorite New Book of 2019. 😉

Ready for some new book recommendations? Let’s start with…

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Three Books for a Desert Island (A Blog Hop)

October 10, 2017October 9, 2017 / saraletourneau / 20 Comments

How’s this for a blog hop challenge? Fellow blogger and writer friend Joanna Maciejewska tagged me on the Three Books for a Desert Island Blog Hop, which she created over the summer. The idea is to choose three books in your collection that you’d bring with you if you had to travel to a deserted island. It’s a neat idea, and a tough one, too – it took me a couple months to figure out which books I’d bring with me! But now I’m ready to share my choices. 🙂

First, let’s go over…

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Chronicling The Craft: On Beta-Readings, New Writing Projects, and the Future of This Series

January 10, 2017January 9, 2017 / saraletourneau / 23 Comments

On Beta-Readings, New Writing Projects, and the Future of This Series

Chronicling The Craft is a series where I share my experience with working on my YA fantasy novel THE KEEPER’S CURSE. These articles alternate between progress reports, fun WIP-related content, and writing / revising / editing tips. Today’s post serves an update on TKC’s beta-reading stage and the beginning of Draft #1 of “The Novella.”

Starting a new phase of the writing process is always exciting. And nerve-racking. And scary. But mostly exciting. However, what makes this “new beginnings” Chronicle unique from past ones is that it covers not just one writing project, but TWO!

Today’s Chronicle is mostly updates on my YA fantasy novel The Keeper’s Curse and my fantasy novella-in-progress, which is tentatively titled The Novella. (Not very imaginative, but I don’t have any title ideas yet. *lol*) I’ll also share my plans for the upcoming round of Chronicles – and if you’re interested, I could use your help with deciding what “fun stuff” to share during the progress reports.

Also, because I saw the movie “Moana” recently, I declare today as Moana GIF Day. ❤

moana-ocean

Ready? Let’s start with…
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Sara’s Favorite Reads of 2016, Plus Two Times the Giveaway Fun!

January 5, 2017January 22, 2017 / saraletourneau / 52 Comments

Since it’s still the first week of 2017, it’s still a good time to look back on the year that was, right? 😉 On Tuesday I shared my annual reflection on writing, personal life, the blog, and goals for the new year. Today, it’s time to share my list of favorite reads of 2016!

Last year I split my year-end list into two posts: brand new books, and previously published books. But this year, I decided to “condense” and put it all in a single post. So, which books ended up as my favorite reads of 2016? You’ll find a few hints if you look closely at the banner image. Otherwise, let’s head on in and see the full list – and maybe a chance for you to win one of the honored books!

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Looking Back on 2016… and Looking Ahead to 2017

January 3, 2017January 2, 2017 / saraletourneau / 38 Comments

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the December holidays and had a fun, safe end to 2016. 🙂

Looking back on the year, one of the words that comes to mind is “growth.” This site especially was booming. Thanks to all your shares, likes, and comments, 2016’s stats in terms of page views and visitors doubled 2015’s. And that’s despite the fact that I slowed my blogging schedule to once a week. I may be the one who writes and runs this site, but you, the readers, deserve much of the credit.

So, thank you for stopping by and coming back, for sharing your thoughts and offering feedback, for spreading the word and celebrating milestones with me. But most of all, thank you for encouraging and inspiring me. Yes. You inspire me to be not only the best writer I can be, but also my best and fullest self. And for that, I’m truly grateful.

So, let’s get to the annual year-end wrap-up, along with some quotes that reflect my feelings about 2016 and my hopes for 2017.
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My 10 Favorite Reads of Fall 2016 (+ Win Your Choice in a Giveaway!)

November 29, 2016December 14, 2016 / saraletourneau / 83 Comments

When I announced in September that I was reducing my blogging schedule, I knew that change would mean ending the monthly Recent Reads series. But I didn’t want to walk away from the idea of discussing books we’ve recently read. Then I read Leanne Sowul’s summer reading round-up here, and inspiration sparked. Why not do a seasonal reading recap – and also make it fun for my readers?

So, today I’ll share my 10 favorite reads from Fall 2016 (September through November). What you’ll find after the jump aren’t reviews, but rather blurbs that mention why I enjoyed each book with links to my full reviews at Goodreads and Amazon. As for the fun part: The title says it all, so stay tuned for the Rafflecopter link and instructions at the end of this post! 😉
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Beautiful People, Vol. 18: What Does Nomaro (Future Novella Protagonist) Look Like?

August 18, 2016August 16, 2016 / saraletourneau / 18 Comments

Beautiful People is a monthly blog meme hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In. Every month they pose 10 questions for writers to answer about their writing and give readers the opportunity to learn more about the writer’s characters.

This month’s Beautiful People topic (describing a character’s appearance) threw me off a little. I was hoping to cover another supporting character from my WIP The Keeper’s Curse, but when Cait and Sky revealed their questions, I couldn’t think of anyone right away. But there’s always a certain protagonist from the novella I’m planning to write when TKC’s with beta-readers…

So, if you liked learning about Nomaro during last year’s Beautiful Books post or his first BP post back in March, you’ll be pleased with this month’s subject again. 😉 Ready?

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.)

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The Author’s Oracle Writing Tag

April 23, 2016April 23, 2016 / saraletourneau / 20 Comments

I spotted this tag at Faith Rivens’ blog not too long ago and absolutely knew I wanted to do it, too. It’s inspired by the Major Arcana, the first 22 cards in a tarot or oracle card deck.

Now, I’m aware that not everyone believes in the accuracy in tarot or other divination tools. But being a believer isn’t necessary here. The following questions take each card’s themes and applies them to your WIP or your writing process. So, this is a more “inclusive” tag than you might think. 😉

Any story-specific questions in this tag will focus on my WIP, The Keeper’s Curse. To learn more about this novel, you can either read the current draft of its blurb or visit the Chronicling The Craft series. Continue reading →

Beautiful People, Vol. 13: Nomaro, One of the Protagonists for a Future Novella

March 17, 2016March 16, 2016 / saraletourneau / 24 Comments

Ohhhhhhhhhh am I excited about this month’s Beautiful People! Most of BP posts discussing The Keeper’s Curse have showcased characters I’ve been working with for 3 years. Which means I know them pretty well at this point. Today’s, however, ventures into (mostly) unknown territory.

Last November, when Cait and Sky did Beautiful Books in honor of NaNoWriMo, I decided to share my brainstorming on a novella I’m planning to write (or start writing) when TKC is with beta-readers. I already know one of the protagonists well (it’s Eva from TKC, though 13 years old instead of 17). Her “co-star” – not so much, apart from the little bits in his character profile so far. Continue reading →

Beautiful People, Vol. 11: 2016 Writerly Goals and Resolutions

January 19, 2016January 18, 2016 / saraletourneau / 41 Comments

This month’s Beautiful People isn’t so much about our stories or characters. Instead, it’s about the writers themselves! We’ve been asked to share our writing-related goals and resolutions for 2016. I sort of did this already for my Happy New Year post. However, the following questionnaire will reveal more details for those plans, as well as other insights such as beta readers and critique partners, which character I’d like to get to know better, and which craft book I want to read this year. So, let’s get to it! 🙂

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.) Continue reading →