The Best Book I Ever Read: Vampire Edition by Guest Author Lisa Kessler!

Please help me welcome our very first guest to the blog for The Best Book I Ever Read!  I'm so excited to have Lisa Kessler here today! Welcome, Lisa!

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Hi everyone –

I thought this was such a cool blog series idea that I emailed Kinley right away that I wanted to post one, so thank you to Kinley for saying yes even thought I didn’t tell her which book I would choose. J

The best book I ever read was THE VAMPIRE LESTAT by Anne Rice, because it’s the first book that made me want to write.

Let me explain what I mean.  I have always been a voracious reader, but after high school, I never made time to write.  In fact, I didn’t realize that I even wanted to write.  I dropped out of college when I got pregnant with my daughter and my focus shifted to working to keep a roof over our heads.

But I always had a book in my hands. 

I grew up reading Stephen King, and then branched out to Dean Koontz and John Saul.  The only female author I read regularly was Anne Rule who wrote true crime stories.  I only mention this because it’s odd to me that it took Anne Rice to show me that women could weave a really dark twisted story just as well as any man.  (I am woman hear me roar! LOL)

Anyway, my first taste of Anne Rice was actually TALE OF THE BODY THIEF.  I grabbed a copy in an airport on my way out to a trade show for work.  I devoured that book!  I had never read a vampire book before, and had no idea it was part of a series.  So on the flight home I picked up a copy of The Vampire Lestat…

And for lack of a better word I was… *wait for it*… Bitten.

I wanted to write.  I wanted more vampires.  I wanted my own vampires.  She inspired a burning desire within me to tell stories.

For the next few years I hooked up with other Anne Rice fans and we wrote our own characters in an interactive online role-play group.  I wrote so much that I filled my 1 gig hard drive with text files!  *boggle*

At that point I still had no inkling I would ever be able to write a book.  They seemed too long and monumental, but looking back, I learned so much from all the “practice” writing I did!  I started carving out writing time every single day.  I researched and honed my sentences.  I learned about character development and point of view…

And I’m not sure I ever would have started if Lestat hadn’t jumped off the page and introduced himself.

“I am the Vampire Lestat.  I’m immortal.  More or less.”

He had so much swagger that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the Brat Prince.  I also fell in love with first person point of view.  Anne Rice was the first author I had ever read who wrote in first person.  I lived with Lestat.

And I loved it!

Fangs, danger, blood, history, loyalty, and betrayal all lurk in the pages of The Vampire Lestat, and it was instantly The Best Book I Ever Read.  If you’ve never read Anne Rice or the early Vampire Chronicle novels, you’re missing out on one of the most incredible anti-heroes ever!

So if you love vampire books, what was the vampire novel that started your obsession? J  Can’t wait to hear!

Lisa

Night Walker - Available now!
Across the Veil - Available now!
Website - http://lisakessler.wordpress.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/LdyDisney
Facebook - http://facebook.com/LisaKesslerWriter

He gave up his soul for a second chance to love her...

Two and a half centuries ago, Calisto Terana lost everything when a zealous priest murdered the woman he loved. Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life.

She's haunted by dreams of her own death...

After catching her fiance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she's drawn to him in ways she doesn't understand.

They've waited in the shadows for centuries...

Calisto has no doubt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he's ever loved again.

The Best Book I Ever Read: Expectations in the Classics

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens is The Best Book I Ever Read because it changed my perspective on reading. Does anyone else remember the “AR” system? It was a system in middle school where you read books and then had to take tests on them. Obviously, in 8th grade I chose GREAT EXPECTATIONS because the test was worth a lot of points. Each student had to get so many points per quarter.

The reason this book changed my perspective on reading is because I read it start to finish. In an era when people were heavily depending on Cliff Notes, I read the whole thing. And I liked it! I was absolutely captivated by young Pip. As a thirteen year old, I didn’t have a major understanding of why GREAT EXPECTATIONS was a classic. But I enjoyed the reading experience.

I haven’t read the book again since I was in middle school. And I don’t plan to do so. I don’t want to sully the memory. For the first time as a student I was confused why people used Cliff Notes when the story was so good. It also led me to actually read every single book ever assigned in school from that point on. I swear, when I was assigned twenty-five novels in one quarter of college, I was in heaven.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS changed my expectations when it came to reading. My memories of the actual story are foggy. I’m not even sure if I remember the end. But it gave me an appreciation I didn’t have before. I read a lot of classics after that. But I don’t read a lot of classics anymore. Now, I read romances. It’s not because I haven’t read the classics and don’t appreciate them. It’s because there are amazing romance writers out there creating awesome worlds.

As much as I love what Charles Dickens gave me as a young teen, it really can’t compare to what romance authors did for me as an adult. Charles Dickens changed my expectations regarding reading. Romance authors inspired me to write.

Do you remember a classic book that changed your perspective on reading?

Our first guest will join us on January 30^th! See you next week for another Best Book.

If you are interested in being a guest on The Best Book I Ever Read, please e-mail me at kinleybaker[at]gmail[dot]com for more information. 

RUINED: Book One in the Shadowed Love Series: Now Live on ARe!

Hey everyone.

I found out exciting news. RUINED, Book One in the Shadowed Love Series is now LIVE on ARe!

Check it out here: All Romance eBooks

I'm really looking forward to starting edits on Book Two: Caleb's story. His heroine is one of my favorites to date, and I love the way the story combines their two very different cultures. Right now, the working title is ROUSED. I will update you as soon as I know more information!

Oh, and I'm still scheduling out Guests for my The Best Book I Ever Read series. Please e-mail me at kinleybaker[at]gmail[dot]com for more information.

One last thing! Look at this:

I currently have a foot of frozen snow in my backyard. We rarely get snow so it's definitely been a tough week in the Pacific Northwest. I hope everyone is staying warm! What kind of weather are you having in your area? I need to hear tales of warmth.

-Kinley

New Blog Series: THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ: My First Romance

Welcome to my new blog series: THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ. Today we’ll be starting with my very first romance. While I primarily read and write romances, I will be attempting to keep this blog series fair. So we’ll be flirting with all the genres.

The first best book I ever read is RISING TIDES by Nora Roberts because it is the first romance novel I ever read. I won’t tell you exactly how old I was when I read it but I was a young teen. And wow, let me tell you . . . RISING TIDES rocked my world.

At one point in the story, Ethan acts a little out of character and goes after what he wants! At that moment my young teenage heart pounded faster than a thundering drum. Next thing I know the hero and heroine are kissing and I’m cheering them along. Then they’re suddenly doing other stuff that went straight over my young teenage self’s head. I had no idea how to process the logistics but the story amazed me. I knew what I needed to know. Two people had found each other and ended happily ever after. Much better than all the books in school about war, violence and death (i.e. history books).

THEN . . .

Several years pass . . .

And I find romance again. I start reading like crazy! Then one day I stumble upon a Nora Roberts book, I’m reading away and then BAM! Ethan takes what he wants! Huh? I asked myself. This sounds familiar . . . because it was. I read RISING TIDES again but this time I read it in the order of the series and as an adult. I read SEA SWEPT first and saw Ethan in a whole new context. Then we got to the sex scene and I actually understood the innuendo that had gone straight over my teenage head. To be honest, if you would have asked my young self if there was sex in the book, I would have said “no”. I still find that funny.

RISING TIDES gave hope to a young teenage girl who might have been a tad boy obsessed. But Ethan showed me that some men are worth waiting for. RISING TIDES also showed me that some men are honorable when they don’t need to be, so it’s okay for a woman to go after a man and get what she wants.

RISING TIDES is THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ because it rocked both my young teenage mind and my adult one. It brought everything full circle and reminded me when I first started out writing that, oh yeah, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a happy ending. And it made me love books that aren’t afraid to tell the whole story, including the intimate moments.

What was the first book you ever read that made you think THIS IS THE BEST for the first time?

If you are interested in being a guest on THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ, please e-mail me at kinleybaker[at]gmail[dot]com for more information.

“I object!”--(For some reason this blog post reminds me of Legally Blonde… *shrugs*)

A few weeks ago I burst into a conversation because I simply could not help myself. I had an honest to goodness: I object--Legally Blonde Moment.

I’m not much for eavesdropping, but at the day job my desk is positioned in the center of everything. Not only that, but there are walls surrounding me, so people conveniently forget that I’m there. This is fine most of the time because I hardly ever react to what I hear. I have perfected my office “blank face” and when I first started this job people on my team used to comment I was remarkably even keeled, which to this day still makes my husband laugh. Just last week a man asked me if people ever tell me to: “Just calm down!” (Sarcasm. Haha.) In reality I may in fact be the very definition of neurotic.

But earlier this week, I couldn’t stop myself from intervening. A man was talking about how marriage is an “economic agreement”. I’ve heard negative viewpoints on marriage before by this co-worker, but this particular phrasing literally made me jump out of my chair. My romance bleeding heart simply could not stomach the idea that anyone could view marriage in any way other than a sacred connection between two people who love each and don’t want to leave each other until death do they part! So I got up, ran all the way around my cube and said: Wait a second . . . “I object!”

Because this is where I’m coming from: I married young. And I tend to see the world in sunshine and roses. When I have trouble keeping an upbeat perspective I read ROMANCE novels. (I read a lot of romance novels . . . Lol.) I want everyone to have a happy ending. This is my curse. But I’m also not naïve enough to believe that everyone gets one, let alone that everyone wants one. Some people want to be miserable, alone and utterly grumpy. And that’s fine. (It will never be fine, but I will live with it. It’s not my life . . . not my place to say anything.)

But moving along, I’m up on my high horse. After all, I’ve been married almost four years! I know. You’re all rolling your eyes. What do I know about marriage after four years? Well, more than some people. (Insert socially acceptable Kim Kardashian joke here.)

And just to set everyone straight (and mainly in case the people at my office discover my pen name and he ends up reading this post), this gentleman who called marriage an “economic agreement” is neither miserable, alone or grumpy. His argument was simply that you don’t marry someone and want to have children with them if you don’t believe they can financially support you and that they will uphold their end of the marriage pledge. This goes for both man and woman, including whatever agreement you’ve worked out between you. If the man is going to be a stay-at-home dad, the woman would want to marry a man who she believes will take good care of their children in her absence. Makes sense. This is a completely rational argument.

My argument was that I became engaged to my husband when I was in college. We were engaged for quite a while before we married. At the time, I had no job. He made a little more than minimum wage. We had no idea what life would bring us, but we decided to marry. It hurts my heart a little when I hear such an utter lack of romanticism when it comes to marrying and creating families.

But the biggest thing I took away from that day was not my argument. And it was not his argument. The biggest thing I took away from that day was that I listened. I heard his viewpoint and we reached a point in the discussion where I could appreciate his perspective. I learned more about his outlook, which is only going to help make me a better writer.

Sure, the conversation ended with notions that they, too, were optimistic at my age. But I also made a decision. I’m no longer going to allow the prospect of what’s going to happen tomorrow influence my opinions and what I blog about. The world might very well be invaded by aliens on Friday (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check my skylight in the mornings for big, clunky spaceships), but living in fear of a destiny I have no control over no longer feels worth the worry. My happy ending might turn into a nightmare tomorrow, but I’m just going to have to enjoy today.

I might have horribly unhappily-ever-afters in my future. I’ll never know what the future brings despite the fact I write about characters who sometimes do. What I can control is my outlook, my perspective. And if I go into all conversations with my ears and my mind open, I will be a broader, wiser person. So my rant of sorts today is to embrace this new year and listen to a thought or viewpoint you don’t understand. It’s a lot harder to discover where someone else is coming from than to dismiss them.

The New Year Blog Hop!

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WINNER ANNOUNCED for the eBook copy of RUINED.


Congratulations, Dawn Marie Hamilton! I will be e-mailing you the copy of RUINED.


Thank you to everyone who commented! I'm overwhelmed and hope you all enjoyed the Blog Hop.

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Happy New Year! 

Celebrate 2012 by winning a FREE KINDLE FIRE or $80 to Amazon! Scroll down for Contest details!

Over 60 authors reveal their favorite New Year Memory! What does that mean for you? We are giving away gift cards, books, and other swag goodies throughout the day! Each author will chose their own winner - so that means over 50 winners! And you can win on multiple pages!

And the best thing? We have TWO Grand prizes. 

First Grand Prize: a Kindle Fire!

Second Grand Prize: $80 Amazon GC!

The winners for the grand prizes can be found on any of the sites. You can go on each of the 65 pages, make a comment and be entered to win 65 times.

(One comment per person per site please.)

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My Favorite New Year Memory

Since the early years of my childhood, New Year’s Eve has always been a quiet night at home spent with the family. I remember loving it. There was usually pizza, a good movie and fireworks (on television). Plus, I got to stay up way late. These influences from my youth heavily influenced how I celebrate New Year’s Eve now as an adult.

One of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories is actually from the most recent year, 2011. My husband and I had his family over and we played Scrabble, watched some fun things on TV and drank a few adult beverages. It was a nice relaxing night. We ate great food, watched Kathy Griffin embarrass Anderson Cooper and saw the ball drop (on television). The ladies in my family love Anderson. :-)

I think a great start to a new year is to spend it with those who matter most. I’m glad I had the opportunity to relax and not worry about being out and around town on a holiday. But then, I’m not much of a big group partier. I save all my wildness and adventures for the books I write. And the crazy adventures I do have in real life, I'll probably never write about online. Lol.

A day full of reading great books and a night spent with family is a perfect New Year's Eve to me. I know you have lots of places to hit on the Blog Hop. Keep going and good luck! I’m envious of that Kindle Fire. :-)


Question for the Comments: How did you spend New Year's Eve this year?

For more contest details, scroll down! Comment below for a chance to win three prizes! 

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My debut novel released in 2011. To celebrate I provided a little information about the first book in the Shadowed Love Series.

REVIEWS for RUINED

5 Stars and a Top Pick!

PNR 2011 Best Fantasy Nominee

"If you like fantasy with elements of historical and paranormal romances, this IS the book for you, no doubt about it! If I were incredibly rich, I would buy this book for everyone to read."

---Zenith from The Romance Reviews

For the full review CLICK HERE.

5 Fairy Kisses!

"Ruined by Kinley Baker is a fast, fun read with twists and turns, and there's not only a tortured hero, but a tortured heroine, each made for the other."

---Dottie from Tink's Place

For the full review CLICK HERE.

5 Stars!

"When I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down . . . I truly enjoyed this novel, and look forward to books from her in the future, she definitely has made a new fan out of me."

---ParaYourNormal

For the full review CLICK HERE.

5 Fairies!

"There was some really great world building in this book. I felt myself falling for the lead characters but also the secondary ones too. I hope there will be a few more books coming out about these wonderful characters and more on the worlds they live in."

---JBP Reviews

For the full review CLICK HERE.

BLURB:

Jessa is one healing away from death. Under the thrall of her gift, the Court's Senior Healer risks giving her life in exchange for her patient's.

Vale is a rebel ruler. When his brother is killed, he's given the throne and the decree from the Court to produce an heir or lose his family's hold on the land--and his deceiving advisors aren't afraid to use murder as a weapon if their directive to stay away from the Senior Healer goes unheeded.

But Vale burns to possess Jessa. The heat between them leaves a wake of smoke, and even the powerful forces above want to bind them in a union that lasts forever. Vale taking another would be a betrayal neither could survive.

Their enemies fear a child born of such a powerful Healer and Warrior, but the true threat lies in the bond forged in shadows and fused in fire.

EXCERPT:

"You." Fury burned hot under Jessa's skin as she glared at Vale. "Who do you think you are, demanding I come live in this castle? You can't just order your guards to enter a woman's home and pack up her things."

"Well, I did." Vale came around the desk and propped one hip against it, more of a threatening than casual movement.

"Someone tried to kill me. It makes sense that I have my Healer close by."

She released a pent-up breath. "Why couldn't you have explained that instead of mandating?" Silly. Her imagination had run away with her. The king needed his Healer. But the realization he didn't want her made her angrier.

"Because I didn't want to give you the option of saying no."

She most definitely would have said no.

"If you would have explained your reasoning, I would have complied. Your safety and health come first, even if I-"

"Even if you what?"

"Loathe you." She bunched her fingers into two fists, seriously tempted to hit him. For all the nonexistent pain it would inflict upon him.

"Do you?" His tone deadened with calm. "Because I can't stop thinking about you."

"That's normal." She brushed off the claim. "I saved your life."

He moved in a blur. A true Shadow Shifter. One second he stood near his desk, the next he had her in his arms, one locked around her waist and one hand tangled in her hair. Their lips almost brushed.

"I can't stop thinking about you." His murmur played down her spine, leaving a tingling trail. His scent invaded her. His voice embraced her like bare skin against satin sheets.

Her heart beat fast, her pulse jumped.

She disliked him, but didn't want him to let her go.

"Have you been thinking about me?" His soft tone feathered over her flesh.

"Only how much I dislike you." Lust pulsed in her belly.

He pulled her head back gently by her hair, so they looked straight into each other's eyes. Their bodies pressed tightly together. "Liar."


BUY LINKS
Amazon Paperback Buy Link
Kindle Buy Link
Barnes & Noble Paperback Buy Link
NOOK Buy Link

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CONTEST DETAILS

For a chance to be entered into the contest to win a Kindle Fire or $80 to Amazon, please comment below on how you celebrated New Year's Eve this year! Please leave your e-mail in the comments so we know how to reach you.

For the chance to win an eBook copy of RUINED, leave a comment and I'll pick a winner once the grand prize winners have been announced. 


Thank you for participating in the Blog Hop! Have a great 2012!

Dear Kinley (of 12 months ago): A Warning for 2011

Dear Kinley (of 12 months ago),

I’m writing from the future. It should not shock you that this is possible. You have an overactive imagination and I can attest that a year has made you no less crazy. But I have to warn you. Someone has to. I can’t allow you to go through the next year without the option of stopping writing now. You might want to turn around on this path. 

I will list some pros and cons.

In January you will sell your first novel. You will be driving on the freeway with your husband on the way home from your day job. You will read the e-mail, scream and almost cause an accident. Your husband will glare at you for disrupting his driving, but then it will turn into a smile because he finally understands what you’re saying.

Someone wants to BUY your book.

HOLY COW.

You will spend money you don’t really have on building a website and doing all those other things you didn’t want to pay for until you had something tangible to hold onto.

You will quickly become overwhelmed. Every single little thing will be a HUGE deal.

You will have your first panic attack when you view the first round of edits. It won’t be the last. You will freak out for approximately one hour. Then you’ll toughen up and get to work. You will spend hours and hours on edits. And hours. You will completely overcompensate and send your Editor all these new “ideas”, which you’ll quickly learn is overboard. 

Your Editor will be amazing.

You will plan your blog tour and spend a lot of time doing “stuff”. I can’t define said “stuff”. You wouldn’t believe me. Stuff = It’s just a new author’s burden.

Your book will release! You will spend hours trying to get reviewers to read it by sending review request emails. You will have no idea what you’re doing.

You will get a super, awesome, amazing review from a popular romance site that makes you cry. Someone likes your work. They get it. They get you. You have one fan.

You will be nominated for Best Fantasy 2011 at said romance site. Karen Marie Moning will win in your category. You don’t mind. She rocks and you own most of her books.

You will experience deep emotional crevices. In the mountain of the publishing journey, you will find yourself lost in a dark hole. The light will be ten feet up. And you’ll wonder how the hell you’re supposed to get up there.

You will be infinitely grateful for every single copy sold of your book.

Your husband still won’t read it.

You won’t sell another series in 2011.

You will completely rewrite Book 2, which is already contracted.

You will turn in Book 2 and secretly think it’s awesome, but really have no idea if it is.

You will learn that rejection is just around the corner. You will learn that people will dislike your book.

You will learn that any Best Selling Author is a rock star. Because they went through all this and somehow miraculously came out on the other side.

You will wish desperately to be on the other side.

You will realize there is no other side.

You should probably go back. The reality is that you barely survived this. You end the year on a two month funk and don’t do anything very productive, or at least nothing that feels productive. I’m warning you away from tough times.

After 2011, you start 2012 with 14,000 words in your pocket and a new high concept idea. If you could just get it written. You start 2012 ready to roll, more thankful than ever that anyone took the time to read a few of your words, let alone the whole book. You start 2012 knowing more interesting people than you knew at the beginning of 2011. Actually, you start 2012 in a pretty good place.

Maybe you should appreciate all that 2011 gave to you. Or I guess… I should appreciate it since I’m the version of us from the future. OH, so I’m writing this post to get to HERE… This is where my future persona wises up to the facts. 2011 was all worth it and a great year. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m never going to send this letter to Past Kinley. I happen to know Past Kinley pretty well. And I know for a fact she would run.

Sincerely,

Future Kinley (Older and wiser. Although five pounds heavier. Okay, maybe ten.)