The Rabbit Has Fled

Earlier this month I talked about Rabbit in the Road and how it was on sale.  Sadly, Amazon decided that they didn't care that the book was on sale for a short period of time only.  No.  They decide (and apparently the fine print says this too) that they can charge whatever they think the customer will pay for your e-book if you publish it through them in their system.

You read that right.

Check out the article about them pulling their book from Amazon here:  http://betweenhimandher.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/and-then-the-rabbit-fled/

I'll be honest, hearing this, reading the fine print is what pushed me from the Kindle Fire I was considering to the Nook.  I'm not gonna financially support a company that doesn't support it's customers and vendors.

18 days....ooops

I believe I mentioned previously, in my first blog post, that I am horrible about updating, especially when things get busy.  Boy did they get busy the last three weeks.  Between work and being sick, my creativity and time to write went out the window.  Factor in Christmas, Christmas shopping and everything else, well you get the drift. 

Time flies by when you're busy.

But I have also been reading a lot, which should give me some fodder to get things going as far as book reviews go.  Yay.

While I didn't get a Nook for Christmas (booo) I do plan to pick one up with money and gift cards I received for Christmas, so that makes it almost as good as getting it for Christmas, at least in my books.  I just have to go brave the stores to get one.  I have been anti-e-book reader for a long time, but now looking at them closer, the Nook Simple Touch seems to be right up my alley:  not back lit so easier on my eyes.

We'll have to see how it goes.

Check back for more posts this weekend and next week.

Not Musing Monday Answer Today

Since today's topic is actually a topic I want to cover in a longer, more indepth discussion that's multifaceted, I'm not doing today's Musing Monday's produced by Should Be Reading.

Instead, later today I should be posting a review of No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Quicksilver by Joy Spraycar.

If you're interested in answering the Musing Monday question in this post, feel free to. The question is:

I once knew a man who read about WWII. He read everything he could get his hands on on the subject. He had a whole wall of books that were all about WWII. It amazed me. How could he continue to find one subject that engrossing? My mother, on the other hand, loves to read best sellers. I’ve known other people who read science fiction to the exclusion of everything else; for others it was philosophy, self-help, or history. 

So, to the questions...

• What kind of books do you like to read? 

• Why? Provide specific examples.

What's On Your Christmas Wish List, Book Wise?

Looking for a Christmas gift for
an avid reader? This would make a
great gift, the first 8 novels in
the series

I am horrible about creating my Christmas Wish list each year.  In fact, this has to be the first year I actually wrote them down before a week before Christmas.  Part of this was brought on by the Musing Monday question asked by Should be Reading Nov. 28, found here.

It sparked me to write out some of the books I want for Christmas, as well as other reading related items I wanted.

Topping the list is either the Nook or the Kindle.  I don't really care which one, as long as they have the E-Ink capability and I can read without any more strain on my poor eyes which are subjected to staring at a computer 10 hours a day.

The following books are on my current want-in-paperback-form list:

• A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
• Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series #5) by Charlaine Harris
• Definitely Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #6) by Charlaine Harris
• All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #7) by Charlaine Harris
• From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #8) by Charlaine Harris
• Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #9) by Charlaine Harris
• Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #10) by Charlaine Harris
• Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #11) by Charlaine Harris
• Home Free by Fern Michaels
• Hide and Seek (The Sisterhood: Rules of the Game, Book 1) by Fern Michaels
  
• Deja Vu by Fern Michaels
  
• Cross Roads by Fern Michaels
  

The above is just a sampling of the books I want and what I have been devouring lately.  Almost anything by Gena Showalter and Sherrilyn Kenyon is on my list.  Too many books to list!

And of course, I mentioned my son's list as well in the earlier blog, but I'll go ahead and list them below complete with links.

• Halo the Flood by William C. Dietz
• The Janitors Son
• The Basket Counts
• Slam Dunk
• Shoot for the Hoop
• Tough to Tackle
• Origami Yoda (not quite sure if this is the book he wants, or if it's the book that teaches you how to create an Origami Yoda.  His title brings up a lot of matches, but nothing exactly "Origami  Yoda")
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordin
• The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordin
• Lemonade War
• This Means War

What books are on your Christmas Wish List?

Please note:  All books are linked to my Amazon affiliate account and give me a tiny bit of revenue. If you're wanting to purchase one of the books, please help a poor writer out and purchase through my links.  I have not been asked to promote any of these books, I am just doing so because these are the books I like and want to read and want to provide easy access to finding them for others.

WWW Wednesdays - Dec. 7, 2011 Edition

Here's the answers to this week meme's from Should Be Reading's blog. Feel free to leave your comments with the answers to these questions and be sure to check out their blog as well for other's answers.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions in the comment section or in your own blog then link it from the comments.

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?  Unfortunately, the answer at the moment is nothing.  I just finished Acheron this weekend.  This week is a busy week between Christmas parties and planning to run a booth at the mall this weekend.  I don't have time to read this week, but I bet at the booth I'll have a couple books with me to read.

What did you recently finish reading? The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  One of the books in her Dream Hunter series, part of her larger Dark-Hunters series, the book tells the story of Were-Jackal Lydia, who is a Dream Hunter as well, and Egyptian Demigod Seth.  Perhaps one of Kenyon's darker books, the story revolves around trust and trusting others.

This is gonna be a two-fer.  I also finished reading Acheron from last week.


Acheron tells the story of an Atlantean god, Acheron's human birth into the world of the Greeks, how he was raised as an abomination, the trials he faced, and ultimately overcame.  It covered his birth through the time he was 21.  After which it jumps several times, covering how the Dark-Hunters were created, their purpose and what Acheron's purpose is.  It then jumps to present day where we eventually get to meet the woman who will help show him what love is.

A review of these two novels is forthcoming.


What do you think you will read next?  I plan to pick up the book I was reading before these books came in the mail called Crusader Gold by David Gibbons.  Apparently the second book in a series regarding archaeologist Jack Howard.  Naturally, I picked up this book, the second in the series, at a garage sale without checking to see if it was in a series.  The good news, you can pick this book up without knowing anything about the previous books and be okay reading it.  There's some references to a previous expedition in the book, but there doesn't seem to be any details you'd need to know about the previous expedition for the current one.  This is a pure fiction book, with a bit of historical mystery mixed in- no romance involved at all- so good for anyone who likes to read a book without romance.

This Post Will Prolly Stir Up Some Angst....but

Photo courtesy of Darwinism on Facebook

Most of you don't know enough about me to know my likes or dislikes.  Obviously you know I like Charlaine Harris and the Sookie Stackhouse novels and Sherrilyn Kenyon and her novels, which must mean I like paranormal romance that has all sorts of fun paranormal characters in it. You know, vampires, werewolves, gods, shifters, etc.

What may come as a surprise to some of my readers is that I abhor the Twilight series.  I won't touch the books (except to maybe burn them, but I won't buy them to burn them because she makes money off that and I'm not willing to have her make money off my burning spree).  I won't watch the movies.   I won't have anything to do with the series, the writer, or anything else.

My reasons why are multifold, but the foremost is, she's a poor writer at best, a bad writer at worst.  I'm being generous here, just in case you can't tell.

The second, and you will find as I write reviews, I abhor characters that continually make bad mistakes and don't learn from their previous bad mistakes which is the case with Bella.  Let's be honest ladies and gentleman, killing yourself isn't the solution to an idiot boy who leaves you.  You're better than that -find someone else that deserves you.

Third, her book teaches girls all sorts of wrong things about growing up and boys.  If you want to raise your pre-teen/teenage-daughter right, I definitely wouldn't let her read these books.  Trust me, teenage girls don't think beyond the hormones and how "romantic" Edward is.  They hope that their emo-goth boyfriend will be just as wonderful.

Fourth, the Twilight Series is by no means original.  Not one bit.  There's another series I read at age 17 or 18 that has *Gasp* a young high school young lady who falls for this guy who ends up being a vampire and he has a nasty evil brother.  They can go to school and all by *Gasp* altering the weather to where it's always cloudy.

At least they don't sparkle.

Fifth, she attempts to change the mythos behind vampires and possibly weres (please note,  I haven't read the book so not positive on the were mythos if she changed it).  But let's be honest here.  Every character has to have a flaw.  The biggest flaws for vampires is that sunlight burns and kills them.  That becomes a challenge for the character.  They have to hide from the sunlight, conduct their business after the sun sets.  They have amazing paranormal powers, but all of that becomes itty bitty when touched by sunlight.  A vampire that just sparkles in the sunlight doesn't make them flawed, it makes them sparkly and pretty - Yuck.

I also -loved- how they called Edward a "vegetarian" vampire because he only fed from animals, not from humans.  Really?  Vegetarian?  Right.  I think if you called Bill or Eric in the Sookie Stackhouse novels vegetarians for drinking TrueBlood, you'd be without a throat.

While I understand the novels are "young adult" novels and are appropriate for pre-teens and teenagers to read, I really have to ask if anyone questioned the lessons the books would teach to those teens.  Sure, they're easy to read, have vampires in it, attract young readers, but do the books really teach young girls what they should be learning?  I don't think so.

Sherrilyn Kenyon does do some Young Adult books in the Dark Hunter Series.  Based on one of the frequently seen characters in her other books, Infinity: Chronicles of Nick and Invincible: Chronicles of Nick, are available for purchase or at the library and are based around Nick at the age of 14, when he was attending High School.  The book covers all the topics, from being the odd-kid out at a private school when he's not wealthy, to protecting friends and saving the world (and keeping secrets to save the world), Kenyon has life lessons in each of her books.  The next in her series, Infamous: Chronicles of Nick is due out in March 2012.

Musing Mondays - Dec. 5, 2011 Edition

Part of the weekly blog meme hosted by Should Be Reading, I (and you) get to answer the following question:

How many books do you read in a week? Month? Year?

That's a hard question for me to answer.  It all depends on the size of the book and the author.  The Series of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin easily took me a week to read the first book, and a couple weeks to read each of the subsequent books.  I haven't touched a Dance with Dragons yet, mainly because I don't own it (and it's on my Christmas list), but I expect it to take a couple weeks to read through, especially with Christmas coming up.

Typically though, I can read 1 to 2 books a week.  If they're short books, like Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels, I can read each of her books in 2 nights.  The bigger the book, the longer it takes me to read.  

Of course, it also depends on what I'm doing.  If I'm travelling and doing a lot of flying, I obviously will read through books quicker, especially if I grab a book that interests me at the airport.

So looking at it.  I guess it could be said that I read between 4-8 books a month, which would be between 60 and 90 books a year.  Wow.

That's a lot of reading.

What's your numbers look like?

Another Book Available for Free Download

Own a Nook?  Own a Kindle?  Or own the apps on your smart phone?  If so, you're in luck.  The Frugal Girl's Blog posted that A Hearth in Candlewood ebook is available for free download.

You can download it for your kindle here.

You can download it for your Nook here.

Happy reading.

Change the Word's Twelve Days of Christmas

My co-worker and fellow blogger, Laura Chapman, has a nifty little contest going on over at her site, Change the Word.

Quoted from her article:

During the next three weeks, I will release four posts each week (Monday through Friday) sharing some of my favorite writing tips. This will include how to generate story ideas, find motivation, exercises to develop your writing and more. In conjunction I will also have a weekly drawing to give one lucky reader a prize.

How to win:

•  At the end of each Twelve Days of Writing post I will have a prompt. Everyone who answers it in the comments section will be entered into a drawing for that week's prize.

•  Prompts will also be included on Reading in the Kitchen posts. 

•  Entries must be received every Friday by 1:45 p.m. CDT. 

•  Winners will be announced on the blog at 2 p.m. CDT Friday.

•  Winners will have 48 hours to contact me at lmchap@gmail.com to provide directions on how I can deliver the prize.

•  Only one entry per post, but you can enter on every post. 

•  Prizes will only be delivered in U.S. or Canada this year. (If participation is good, I may open it up to overseas next year.)

Check out all the details and what's up for the first prize here:  http://change-the-word.blogspot.com/2011/12/twelve-days-of-writing.html

Good luck to anyone who enters!

WWW Wednesdays - Nov. 30, 2011 Edition

Another of the meme's from Should Be Reading's blog. Feel free to leave your comments with the answers to these questions and be sure to check out their blog as well for other's answers.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

As mentioned in a blog post earlier this week, books that I had been waiting to come in finally came in from Hastings, so I spent the weekend devouring the books and playing video games. That being said, my answers to the questions are as follows:


What are you currently reading? The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  One of the books in her Dream Hunter series, part of her larger Dark-Hunters series, the book tells the story of Were-Jackal Lydia, who is a Dream Hunter as well, and Egyptian Demigod Seth.  Perhaps one of Kenyon's darker books, the story revolves around trust and trusting others.  Almost finished reading this one.


What did you recently finish reading? No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  This tells the story of one of the were-bear quadruplets, Dev.  I knew of Dev from a few of the past books, but this tells Dev's story and his falling in love with a Dark-Hunter and vice versa.  Once again, a great story, unique characters and enemies you love to hate.




What do you think you'll read next? Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  This is actually a re-read. I borrowed the larger hardcover book from the library and read it.  Twice.  And now I'll be reading it a third time.

Musing Mondays - Nov. 28, 2011 Edition

As an addition to my regular blog posts, I will be participating in the blog topics shared by Should Be Reading when I can.  Musing Mondays asks a question of blog owners and their readers to answer.

Today's question:  Will you be buying books for the holidays, this year? If so, for whom, and why?


My Answer: Yes.  Every year I purchase books for my son and often for myself.  Occasionally for my husband, but not so much as he's into reading e-books and I still like the solid paperback novels that I can wack a spider with.

This year, my son gave me an extensive list of books (as well as video games) that he wanted for Christmas.  They include:

• Halo the Flood
• The Janitors Son
• The Basket Counts
• Slam Dunk
• Shoot for the Hoop
• Tough to Tackle
• Origami Yoda
• Red Pyramid
• The Throne of Fire
• Lemonade War
• This Means War

I'm actually impressed that he submitted a list of books he wants to read (even if one seems to be instructional).  My son has a great love for reading and I will gladly encourage that as best I can however I can when he requests books as gifts.

Cyber Monday E-Book Deals

A quick collection of books and e-books for sale through various retailers this Cyber Monday.  Enjoy!

• Random House has a bunch of romance e-books on sale for .99 today only.  Check out the books here:  http://www.randomhouse.com/category/romance/index.pperl?max_returns&cat_id_ex=abc%3A3693&best&top=3722&page=0&sortfield=price
• Hastings Book Store - Paperbacks:  Type in the code CYBERMON to get 50% off bestsllers, 30% off new books, 3 for $21 used books and more.  To shop paperback books click here: http://www.gohastings.com/browse/BOOK/Ne/2464/N/2456+4294938212.uts
• Hastings Book Store - E-Books:  A bunch of ebooks can be found here for free as part of Cyber Monday:  http://www.gohastings.com/browse/BOOK/Ns/p_rank/Ne/2455/N/2456+3575+4294938197/departmentName/BOOK.uts
• Barnes and Noble has 50 children's books at 50% or more off retail prices: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Kids-Books-Sale/379003305/
• 50% off Best Sellers at Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/new-york-times-bestsellers-books/379001143/
• Usborne Book Sale: Up to 70% off books: http://www.myubam.com/ecommerce/main.asp?sid=C3033&gid=130891485&hid=HOS209192
• Rabbit in the Road: $0.99.  As mentioned in a previous blog, you can purchase Rabbit in the Road for only 99 cents.  Check article here for details and where to purchase.
• Amazon Cyber Monday and Other Holiday Sales:
  
  

If you know of any other great book deals that I'm missing, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Happy shopping!

What Got Me Reading Sherrilyn Kenyon

I wrote this review a little more than a year ago for Romancing the Page.  It was the first book I had picked up written by Sherrilyn Kenyon, a novella in all actuality, but the short, sweet nature of the book and her writing style got me hooked.

As mentioned in the very first part of the review over there:

I was looking for something new and figured if there was a small novella to read, I could judge if I would continue reading books by that author.

That novella sold me. After I got home, and started reading, I couldn’t put it down.  At 86 pages, it was incredibly short compared to the size of novels I usually read.  However, it was very well written and told the story, generating my interest me in one of her many worlds.

It is still a book I pick up and re-read when I want something quick to read and enjoy.

Check out the review here: http://www.romancingthepage.com/2010/09/02/dragonswan/

For more information on her books, please visit: http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/

To purchase the book, click the image below.

Free E-Book Download: Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Thanks to the Frugal Girls site and post on Facebook, I learned of a free e-book available on all publishers (meaning Amazon and Barnes and Noble).

Check out their article on it here: http://thefrugalgirls.com/2011/11/free-nook-download-remembering-christmas.html

Nothing beats a free book right?

And So Thanksgiving Weekend is Almost Over...

And I realize, starting a blog just before Thanksgiving wasn't one of my most brilliant ideas, but I did it anyway.  I posted a couple of posts, didn't post during the holiday, and now that the weekend is ending tomorrow, I'll be working on some semi-regular posts.

However, not posting allows me to post some good news today.  Yesterday my books that I ordered from Hastings finally arrived.  They will be in my pile of books to review down the road, but I'll go ahead and give a teaser, it's from one of my favorite paranormal romance novel authors, Sherrilyn Kenyon.  She has put a twist on the modern day were's almost as much as Charlaine Harris did for Vampires, shifters and the whole paranormal scene in her books.  And thankfully, neither of them made their vampires glitter.

I will say, unlike Charlaine Harris' books, Kenyon's books have a lot more sex to them, a lot more descriptive sex, so if you don't like reading romance novels with heavy sexual scenes in them, these probably aren't for you.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna talk about one of my reviews on Romancing the Page, as well as a post regarding what I like to read.  Until then, enjoy!Publish Post

Rabbit in the Road: On Sale Now

My buddy Oliver, who co-wrote Rabbit in the Road with his wife to be Danika, is turning 30.  In celebration of this momentous event, he's knocked down the price of his e-book.  He had the following to say on their blog regarding the sale:

Therefore due to the nature of the shopping season and because every single penny counts, for the next 30 days, Rabbit in the Road on BOTH Barnes & Noble  and Amazon is dropping down to a smooth 99 cents. The discounts are live as of RIGHT NOW!


Cheaper than a double cheeseburger at McDonald’s. Cheaper than a cup of coffee. I think the value is there.  Why are we dropping the price that low? Because the money isn’t important. READING is important. I’d rather have you read cheaply as opposed to having to ponder on a  cash spending decision. And I can tell you, without ego, that this 99 cents worth of pocket change is worth your time. If you’ve been on the fence about trying us, this would be an excellent opportunity to take advantage.

So, to help make his birthday better, I'm spreading the word.  The book can be purchased via links below at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

Amazon: Rabbit in the Road
Barnes and Noble: Rabbit in the Road

A Review From Earlier this Year: State of Mind

Since this is a new blog for me and I plan to get a handful of posts written to schedule to post over the weekend, I figure for today I will toss out a link to a review I had written over at Romancing the Page.

This book, called State of Mind, by Sven Michael Davison, was not yet released when I reviewed it back in February.  It is available now and can be purchased via the link below.  This book was provided to me as a review copy by Bedouin Press.

This was the first review where the publishing company, Bedouin Press, quoted a part of my review in their praises for the books, which was kinda cool for me to see.

Check out the short review here:  http://www.romancingthepage.com/2011/02/21/state-of-mind-available-soon/

If you have any sci-fi lovers in your family, this book might be a nice little read for them for Christmas.

Purchase book by clicking on image above.

Author of Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey, Dies

I heard rumors about this earlier today, but finally found confirmation on Wired Magazine's article found here.

I remember reading a number of her books when I was younger, I don't remember them well, but I do remember reading them and her writing helped me fall in love with reading.  Then again, I was a voracious reader from the time I was five through today.

This woman contributed a lot to the fantasy genre and to women writers in general.

She will be missed.

About Kayhynn's Turn the Page

I teased, Nov. 22, 2011, that I would be posting about something I had in the works on Facebook.  What I was referring to was this blog.  And I'll be honest here: I suck at blogging.  I have my personal gaming blogs on my own site, but seeing actual followers, having actual people read what I write is kinda rare to me.  So it was suggested that if I want to be seen, want to get opinions, reviews and commentary on books out there, to start a blog.  Looking at Klout, Blogspot or Tumblr seemed the way to go. Tumblr ended up losing out, so here I am.

I said it earlier, I'll say it again: I suck at blogging.  However, this will be my first attempt at successful blogging for a number of reasons, mainly because I like writing and if I can write reviews on a regular basis and see some interesting feedback and conversations on it, encourage people to buy, and more importantly read, books that I've enjoyed, GREAT.

I also have a number of friends who are authors, who have published books both past and present and I plan to post about those books and encourage sales for them too. Why?  Because I support what they have done
and continue to do.

I have reviewed books for other sites, such as Romancing the Page - several of those reviews will be linked here over the next few days - and I will continue to cross post reviews there with the owners permission, but for once, I want to own my reviews, not someone else.

This blog will contain not only reviews of books, but various editorials and commentary on writing, what I enjoy reading, what makes me pick up a book and more.

I can't promise daily updates (refer to the above about how I suck at blogging) but I will promise regular updates.  The more feedback I have the more updates I'll end up doing as well.