Jen Castleberry's Blog, page 4

The nature of writing for me is both depressive and euphoric.  Currently, I am in the latter stage – a deceptive, but infinitely more enjoyable, place to be.  This is the lush, sunset-drizzled landscape in which I can dance like Anne of Green freaking Gables because I’ve done it – I’ve written something, and it’s PERFECT.  I have not forgotten anaor anof, nothing is misspelled, and all my run-on sentences are so superbly done that nobody will notice them.  The dialogue is charming, the lead characters are as dimensional as an eight-sided die, and praise will surely rain down on this little book from the heavens for decades to come.That is where I am.  I’ve been here before.  It is the pre-simmering, pre-editing, pumpkin-carriage-and-glass-slippers phase.  How remarkable, then, that six months from now, I will inevitably want to throw this perfect manuscript of mine into the fireplace, burning it beyond recognition so that nobody will ever know my brain was capable of such utter garbage.Then I’ll start editing.  And swearing.  And moping.  And…it will get better.  My heart-wrenching criticisms will improve.  And when it is done, if nobody likes it…well, I won’treallycare.  I will know how many hours, how many weeks and months I shouted at it; how I molded it and remolded it until it looked just right to me; how it is my best, which is all any of us are capable of anyway.This is a trek I’ve taken countless times, and I’m not alone.  This istypical, at least insofar as I have read – the natural progression of the novel, so I have some solace in that.  This time around, I’m doing something different.  I’m inviting you all to come along with me, to tell me my work-in-progress is not so bad, or that it isreally, really bad,and WHY – mostly because I have far too much social anxiety/social awkwardness to join an actual, in-person critique group.Swoon Reads is an excellent venue for intentions like these, allowing members (registration is free and only requires your e-mail) to comment on a submissionas they are reading it, to rate it on varying scales, to answer pointed questions aimed at specific areas needing improvement, and so on and so forth.  It even shows authors the exact point where DNF-ers DNF-ed.Beyond this, if I did somehow manage to write something utterly un-put-downable in a month (which is my average first-draft timeline), then Swoon Reads, which is acrowdsourcingpublishing house, might offer me a contract..!So, keeping in mind that SABLE BRIGHT AND THE GOLDEN BOY might be THE MOST AMAZING THING YOU’VE EVER READ (but also, probably, might be just-okay at best, having had ZERO edits), I invite you to share your loves/likes/hates and constructive criticisms with me.  I promise I’ll remember you when I’m famous (cough).Your (favorite) starving author,-JClickHEREto readSABLE BRIGHT AND THE GOLDEN BOY

Hello Monday, and hello readers! I have been BUSY and HAPPY lately, which is the best way to be!STOWAWAY debuted this past Saturday, and I cannot WAIT to hear what everyone thinks of book two in The Reservation Trilogy! You can check it outhere.The Fantastic Flying Book Club will be hosting a virtual tour to celebrate its release! Check back for updates, or follow the tourhere.Other exciting life-stuff?1. Spent this past weekend in Baltimore. A quick trip, but it was lovely!2. Currently duel-reading Glass Sword, by Victoria Aveyard, and An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir. Both are amazing.3. Currently writing Freight (TRT Book 2), A Wild and Unremarkable Thing (TTTH Book 2), and Sable Bright and the Golden Boy, all of which have me super pumped!4. I turn 28 in FOUR DAYS! If ever there was a time to go SPRINTING after life-goals, it's now!Happy Monday, everyone!-J

JACKET:"For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. It turns out, though, that Real Max is nothing like Dream Max, and getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.When their dreams start to bleed dangerously into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?"MY REVIEW:THIS is a GOOD BOOK. Seriously. How freaking cute is...EVERYONE?I loved this book. LOVED. Honestly, there were a few moments when I thought - three stars, for sure. But I couldn't help myself. It's just so adorable, and so funny. Four stars, all the way.First of all: FUNNY.  I don't think I've ever laughed out loud at a book so often. The dialogue is hilarious. Please, someone, make this book into a movie, because without a doubt, it would be on my top-five-comfort-movies list, the types of movies that cheer me up when I'm in a sucky mood, right there with The Princess Bride and Land of the Lost.Seriously, I want to LIVE in this world. And it's a CONTEMPORARY! I usually only pine after magical, fantasy worlds. Honestly, I only picked it up because Tumblr has been Freaking.OUT. about it forEVER. Not my genre at all. But Lucy Keating has brought me over to the dark side.I want to be best friends with Alice and Sophie. I want to date Oliver and Max. (But mostly Oliver...I mean, right? Come on, he's better.) I want a Jerry-dog, I want to live in a historical Boston mansion with a silly, factoid-spewing dad. Just, everything.Read it. You will not be sorry you did.Four stars because CUTE. Thanks, Lucy Keating, you brightened up my whole week.Happy reading,-J

Some days, I have my coffee, a blouse that miraculously doesn't need ironing, and an endless supply of bobby pins.Other days, (let's face it,mostdays)...not so much. Today is one of those days. A storm is coming on, the sky is inky blue and the breeze is gloriously crisp and I could not care less about makeup or hairspray or whether I look taller and thinner than I actually am in the photos I take.So what if I'm a little bit curvy where I'd rather be flat, and a little bit flat where I'd rather be curvy? This morning, I feelhappyandpeacefulandsilly, and these are the loveliest feelings in the world.My OOTD today is a buttery-soft maxi from Lularoe, a wrinkled crop-top from Vans, and nothing else. No jewelry, no bronzer, and no sucking-it-in. Just me and my sweet puppy and a smile,  And I'm 100% okay with that.Sending a happy day your way!-J

JACKET:My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.MY REVIEW:Oh man, what can I even say? I read this book in two sittings and it is lovely. A very brisk read that will make you fall head-over-heels in love. Honestly, your life will feel incomplete by the end of it (or even by the middle) because you do not have an Olly of your very own. The fast pace and short, nontraditional chapters remind me a bit of Wink, Poppy, Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke, as does the clever/heartbreaking/heartmending twist at the end.This is a very deep story that reads in a very simple way. It doesn't give you a headache, it just makes you smile and gasp and cry and cry, (and cry...I cried no less than three times in three hundred pages)...and then you sit back and retroactively realize how utterly poignant it is, this tidy, silly, sad, happy little book. There are a few details that require some suspension of disbelief, but the story whizzes by at such a rapid pace that you don't really have time to mind them.All in all, it seems like a book that everyone, and especially every young person, should read. I highly recommend it!Four stars!

Wow! What a fun book! I can't wait to pick up the next installment!Victoria Aveyardis a master of world-building. The scenery is dynamic and rich, with well-paced, detailed descriptions and interest to spare. The world is BIG but never confusing. Aveyard makes each distinct area unique, so you don't get lost in the sheer size of this world.I really enjoyed the narrator, Mare. I thought, as a character, she was very consistent. Not once did I say, "hm, I don't think Mare would do this." She makes mistakes and acts on impulse sometimes, but I truly felt that everything she did was appropriate for her character. Not only that, but she felt like ateenager.She was flawed, but believably so. She evolved, in strength and intelligence, as the story progressed, which I really liked. I didn't find myself shaking my head and saying, "oh, Mare, not again. Won't you ever learn?" Instead, she felt like a person who was disinclined to make the same mistake twice. She seemed to learn from every experience, and although she was strong in the beginning, with sass to spare, it was nothing compared to how strong she was in the end.I didn't love Kilorn.  Honestly, I'm not sure whether I'msupposedto like him or not. He definitely plays an important role in this story, if only to act as a foil to Mare. I know their romance is an important part of Mare's backstory and drives some very important plot points, but I just find myself sincerely hopeful that they will not end up together. Mare is such a strong person, a problem-solver, and no matter Kilorn's seeming bravery, I could never get over my initial impression of him: that he's sort of a pessimistic defeatist.As far as Maven and Cal, I just don't know who to root for. I'm holding onto a hope that, (spoiler alert), Maven is being controlled by Elara's powers and really isn't as terrible as he seems. I know this might sound like a stretch, (and if you know whether I'm right or wrong, please don't tell me!), but I just fell so in love with him over the course of the story and I want him to be the person he was (supposedly) pretending to be! Cal, on the other hand, I never really liked, until the ending, when I decided I REALLY liked him...gah! All in all, I have no idea who to root for, and it's super emotionally distressing for me, which I think is the mark of a FANTASTIC first installment...even though it's driving me absolutely bananas.This book is smart. The political aspects are very well-done, and honestly, there is not a single member of the main cast whom I would call all-good or all-bad. In some ways, I can sympathize with them all. (Although there are a few for whom my sympathies are strained...but these are the villains and that is to be expected.)All in all, it's a very smart story with a very smart cast. A quick, action-packed read and a clear, interesting world. I can't wait to read the next one!Four stars!

Sometimes you have coffee and (vegan) creamer in the house...and sometimes...well, 7-11 is just soclose.Sorry-not-sorry that this OOTD was adorably interrupted by the original G (eh hem...Gambit, that is). He's way cuter than I am anyway..!Dress, flats, watch, earrings...all of it, basically, is a gift from the Target gods.Smiling three times as big because my stern-faced puppy is mean-mugging so hard!(That moment you think the auto-snapper is done and it catches you mid-dance-party with your pet grizzly bear.)Happy Tuesday, everyone!-J

I am SO excited to announce another virtual book tour withThe Fantastic Flying Book Club! I had so much fun working with the FFBC after the release of CARGO. An upbeat and highly responsive team + creative blog stops = a MUST for newbie and established authors alike!Bloggers, click the banner above to sign up for the tour!  And readers, stay tuned October 17th-23rd for all the fun!See you on the interwebs!-J

One day, I'll have books upon books upon books, and a charming little space dedicated to worshiping them. In the meantime, I'll just let Tumblr fuel my fantasies of what that cozy nook might look like...If you're looking for me fifteen, twenty years from now, this is where I hope I'll be!THIS. That little window, the no-frills coffee mug on the sill, and what I imagine is a whole, undisturbed forest just outside. Can't you just hear the birds singing? Can't you smell the grass and the trees? I'mpiningfor that sweet, rustic ambiance. (Get it?)The ShackbyWm. Paul Youngwould be a perfect pick for this spot!Ah, to be so devastatingly seaside. Can you imagine? This would have to be a rainy-day reading spot I think...otherwise, I'd be ankle-deep in sand and nose-deep in a good, beachy book, likeSkinny DipbyCarl Hiaasen.Stop it. That view. If you know me at all, you know Ihatecold weather butloveto watch the snow fall. If I ever make bank with this writing thing, maybe my ski-loving hubby and I will buy a snowy vacation spot. (Ah, dreams). He can spend his holiday on the slopes while I'm curled up with something likeNorthern LightsbyNora Roberts.Then again, if Idon'tmake it big, I think we could probably spring for a perfectly helter-skelter treetop retreat. I can see myself re-readingOrigin, byJessica Khoury, a dozen times in this little treehouse!How amazing is this cozy, Victorian corner? I thinkMarie Antoinette: The Journey, byAntonia Fraser, would be much enhanced (as if it's notperfectalready) by this cozy reading nook!Last but not least:this. Crisp mountain air. Lakes and rivers and streams. Green and green and green forever. I think I would do more writing than reading here, and that is perfectly okay with me!Here's to fantasy homes, and all the books we would read there!  What's your dream reading spot? Leave it in the comments!-J

Wow, guys! I can't thank you enough for reading my debut novella and for taking the time to leave your honest ratings and reviews! I can't wait to hear what you think of book two!Stowaway will be available on Amazon and Kindle October 15th!-J