Artist, Vyvyenne Withers

Readers,

Vyvyenne Withers (photo edited by self)

I have this friend named Vyvyenne Withers (pictured right).  We met at a book signing.  What a surprise, right?  There's been bonding over books and twitter ever since.


I learned very early on that Vy is dedicated.  One thing she always carries with her is a sketchbook.  Personally, I'm lucky if I remember to bring chapstick.
When I got my hands on one of her many sketchbooks I was wowed.  Vy, is a ridiculously talented artist.  She puts her heart into her work.  And it pays off.  You can see the effort she makes.

Read & Riot button by Vyvyenne Withers

I'm lucky enough to have met her in the first place.  So, I know, I'm d*** lucky to have her with Read & Riot.
She will be doing all the artistically inclined things on Read & Riot unless I tell you otherwise.
Even I don't know everything she has in store, but I trust her and her ability completely.

Stacey O'Neale's Rowan drawn by Vyvyenne Withers

I think it's past time that I showcase Vyvyenne's talent.  Don't you agree?
You can see is a one of Stacey O'Neale's dashing characters on the left.  I made up my own embarrassing word that describes Rowan (pictured left), and I prefer not to repeat it.  If you ask nicely I might tell you ... Or Vy will.
(If you would like to read an excerpt written by Stacey click HERE).
I always love seeing what Vy is working on, and to date have not been disappointed.
I just know her incredible talent is not going to go to waste.
I am so grateful to have met her, because now I can share her work with all of you.


A asked Vyvyenne a couple of questions so you could get to know her a little better.  Funnily, I learned things too.

Favourite place:  Inside a book store.

Favourite book:  Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

Favourite movie:  Edward Scissorhands.

Favourite TV show:  Law and Order SVU.

Favourite author:  Holly Black.

Favourite artist (as in ART):  Brian Froud and Victoria Frances.

Favourite band or singer:  Muse, Emilie Autumn, Abney Park.

Favourite colour:  Black.

Sweet or salty?  Definitely sweet.

Rain or snow?  Rain.

If you ran away to the circus what part would you play (eg: lion tamer)?  *ponders* The clown in the tiny car! XD

What fictional world would you love to live in?  It would have to be the Curse Workers World.

Name some pet peeves.  I've got nothing really.

What inspires you?  Books, Movies, People, Music, Other Artists.  Anything I can get my hands on really.

Favourite thing to draw?  Anything related to the fantasy world.  I like to think it’s up my alley.

If you could live anywhere where would you choose?  I’d love to live in England.

Dream career?  To work for Simon and Schuster’s Design Department.

Are you listening Simon & Schuster?  I know I'm biased, but you can't deny the girl's got talent.

Holly Black's Cassel Sharpe drawn by Vyvyenne Withers

Are you currently taking drawing / artistic requests?   I AM currently taking requests.

What do you charge?  As for charging it mainly depends on what the client would like.

Anything for your website - buttons or banner etc--> $30 and up (But these depend on the clients).

Character drawings - $40 and up (depending on clients).

What I learned from Vyvyenne's answers:

- Her favourite book is not by her favourite author.

- I must annoy her more to find a pet peeve.

- I owe her my next paycheck.

Want to contact Vyvyenne Withers?  Here's how:

Deviantart:  Vy Withers

Twitter:  @vywithers

Thank you for reading, as always.

Love,

Terri

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Now, normally, I just celebrate this holiday with a lot of chocolate, (so, it's not much different from every other day), but last week I was approached by (hopefully) soon-to-be-published author Rose Mannering.


We emailed back and forth, and long story short, I want to share some of Rose's work with you.
She wrote a cute short story titled Valentine's Play inspired by, what else, Valentine's Day.


So, if you want to see a sample of Rose's writing you can click HERE.
If you want to learn more about Rose, and her writing you should check out her website:  www.rosemannering.com.
This is her twitter:  @rose_mannering.
And facebook:  Rose Mannering.

Also, you should stay tuned for an interview with Rose that will most likely be posted this week.
I'm sorry.  I can't help that I work so much.  Hopefully, you'll all forgive me when you see what I have in store for Read & Riot.


I just have one more thing to say about this holiday.  I know it's (mostly) for couples, but isn't it really supposed to be about love?  So, my request is that you tell those who you love that you love them.
Thank you.  And I love all of you for taking the time to look at Read & Riot.


Love,
Terri

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Length: 372 pages

Publisher: Penguin Young Reader Group

On-Sale Date: December 7, 2010

Format: Hardcover

Anna Oliphant, born and raised in Atlanta, is dropped in France to spend her senior year at The School of America (SOAP).  Her parents thought a year in The City of Lights would be the perfect experience for her.  They couldn’t possibly be sending her away, could they?  Whether their reasons are noble or not Anna has never felt more alone.  She has been left in a foreign city surrounded only by strangers.  It seems too good to be true when the friendly girl living beside her comes to her rescue.  When Anna meets Meredith she is also introduced to all of her friends.  One of those friends is the fetching, (and taken), Étienne St. Clair.  Nearly every girl at SOAP has a (not so secret) crush on St. Clair, and Anna is not any different.  Still, finding love is not on the top of Anna’s list of priorities, but sometimes you find what you didn’t even know you wanted.

Anna and the French Kiss is magical.  It may not have potions or spells but it has plenty of fireworks.
Since Anna is first and foremost a love story it seems only fitting to discuss the heroine and her love interest first.  I am proud to say that Stephanie Perkins has created a strong and powerful heroine, as well as equally dynamic supporting characters.  It is just the worst feeling in the world to hate the protagonist of any story you’re reading, so it was nothing short of wonderful to love Anna (the character) as much as I did.  I want to be friends with her, but will settle for keeping Anna and the French Kiss at my bedside.
At the beginning of the novel, Anna is extremely vulnerable and you just want her to fit in and make friends in this strange city.  Even when she starts to get comfortable in Paris she still has that piece of vulnerability in her character, and that makes her so relatable.  Anna has so many flaws, but you almost can’t see them because of how much you grow to care for her.  She also doesn’t see herself as everyone else does, which is why it is interesting to see how the characters react to her.  I loved the relationship Anna didn’t even know she had with her ex-boyfriend, Matt.  I was very surprised to see how that friendship worked because, as the reader, you are only able to see from Anna’s perspective.  You almost can’t compare Anna at the start to Anna at the end, because of what she went through.  All the characters struggled and benefited because of it.

Étienne St. Clair.  Étienne. É-ti-enne.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love that name.  Étienne St. Clair is an American boy with a French name, and an English accent.  I am probably the only girl in the world that does not swoon when she hears a boy speaking in that famous accent.  But I turned to mush every time I read the name Étienne.  If I find a boy with the name Étienne (or willing to change his name to Étienne) … I plan on keeping him.  Now, back to Étienne St. Clair.  St. Clair is the boy that every girl wants … or doesn’t realize she wants.  He was charismatic and charming, and the perfect love interest for Anna.  (Or he would be if he wasn’t already in a relationship of his own).  St. Clair was so sweet.  Melt.  Swoon.  Fans self.  He was the best friend to Anna.  You never would have noticed that she was taller, because he commanded such presence.  As you read, you see more of Étienne St. Clair than anyone, because he shared himself with Anna.
Anna is NOT a love triangle.  It’s closer to a love pentagon.
When reading Anna I found myself waiting for the inevitable cliche.  It never came.  Anna was simply marvelous.  It was a love story screaming to be heard.  Once you listened you could never forget it.
I was waiting, and WAITING for the french kiss.  But, oh boy, when it FINALLY came I melted right where I sat.  Seriously.  Paris and a boy named Étienne?  I never had a chance.

Yes, I spent the above paragraphs talking about the wonderful love story that is Anna and the French Kiss.  Except now I have to tell you that Anna is so much more than a love story.  It’s about a girl finding herself even when she didn’t know she was lost.  Hell, it’s about learning how to find yourself.

When reading Anna, I stumbled upon a question.  ["Besides, he's just an attractive boy.  Nothing to get worked up over." page 65]  Don't we always get worked up over the cute guy?  Can we help it?  I don't know.  I certainly haven't been able to get over it yet.

When Anna returned home for Christmas break I could see her in a different light.  I loved seeing that side of her.  At that point, she missed Paris and she didn’t realize she would.  I believe that that homecoming was a turning point for Anna.
One of the characters I loved was Josh, the artist.  His quietness spoke volumes.  Generally, the less you say the more you hear.  Therefore, he was full of surprises.  I found him to be a great friend.  I think all the characters played important parts in the multifaceted friendship.

Anna was so good that Gilmore Girls was strictly background noise.  I, eventually, turned down the volume so all I could hear was a gentle humming noise.

Anna was disarmingly romantic.  I'm still living, breathing, FEELING, Anna.
Anna bewitched me.
Stephanie Perkins deserves all the glowing praise she gets.

Anna was easy to love.  (The book and the character).
Thank the Lord for a heroine who is not stupid.

"Anna and the French Kiss" est un de mes livres préférés.

Rating:

Premise: 4/5

Plot: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Words that describe Anna:  radiant, gleaming, luminous, sparkling, bewitching, foxy

The following may be considered spoilers, so read at your own risk.
Warning:  Language may not be suitable for all ages.
Favourite Quotes:
"They have turned him into a bestseller and a total dick."  page 5
"Sorry, Chef Pierre.  I'm a little distracted by this little English French American Boy Masterpiece."  page 26

"I'm just as big a fool as the rest of them."  page 29
"Boys turn girls into such idiots."  page 35

"Did you just have a foodgasm?" - St. Clair page 88 (Foodgasm = best word ever. Why have I never heard the word foodgasm before?)
"They blush more for his smile than anything else."  page 105
"There.  You're officially Canadian.  Try not to abuse your new power." - St. Clair page 116
"Girl Scouts didn't teach me what to do with emotionally unstable drunk boys."  page 140
"Funny, but I never imagined my first sleepover with a guy being, well, a sleepover."  page 179
“‘And you're beautiful.’ (St. Clair)  I trip and fall down on the sidewalk.”  page 189
How you know the author rocks:  "There's a lot of blood.  And Mickey Mouse ears." page 211
"Granddad is bellowing for his bonnie lass.  That would be me."  page 237
"Toph is an insensitive douchebag motherhumping assclown ... "  page 245
“Why is it that the right people never wind up together?  Why are people so afraid to leave a relationship, even if they know it’s a bad one?”  page 264

"Anna and the French Kiss" est un de mes livres préférés." translates to: Anna and the French kiss is one of my favourite books.

Afterlife Contest

Hi! *waves*

Michelle Hodkin is a debut author that I have had the pleasure of talking to over twitter.

This is the perfect opportunity for me to gush over her sweetness, as well as enter a lovely contest.

Michelle's debut, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, is released this September by Simon & Schuster Publishing.

"Mara Dyer believes life can’t get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.  It can. 

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.  There is. 

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.  She’s wrong." (Summary taken from Goodreads).

Every time I read that snippet I wish I had Mara Dyer right in front of me.

Not to mention the cover.  Do you see how beautiful that cover is?

Michelle is holding a contest to win a signed ARC of Afterlife by Claudia Gray, the conclusion to the Evernight series.  I have not finished the series yet, but would like to continue it.

Either way, I'll get my hands on both these books eventually.

This text is the link to Michelle's contest.  You should check out her blog while you're there!

Goodnight!

Love, 

Terri

Book Blogger Hop

Happy Friday!

This week I'm going to start something new.  (And by start, I mean do it this week and try to remember to continue with it).
Crazy for Books hosts a weekly Book Blogger Hop that helps book bloggers interact with each other.  I think that's great, and we all know I can use all the help I can get.

I will probably make every mistake possible.  I've actually already started on the Mistake Checklist. But enough about me!  Let's get to what's really important ... BOOKS!

This week's question:  What are you reading now and why are you reading it?

Right now I'm reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

I'm reading it because I have never stopped hearing about it.  Anna is everywhere, and let me tell you, it SHOULD be everywhere.  I have completely fallen head over heels in love with Anna (and Stephanie Perkins by extension).  I cannot wait to get off this computer, and read the second half.  I read so many wonderful things about Anna, and now I can fully stand behind them all.  This book just really makes me happy.  What's more, is that without twitter it would have taken much longer for word of Anna to reach my ears.  So, I am SO grateful.


Now, I'm going to go read, and you should too!


Love,
Terri