The Hidden Hazard of Cerebral Cooking

After ten years of living together and grocery shopping together, it wasn't until this weekend that I realized that Cody and I have drastically different grocery shopping styles. His style is very fast and to the point, which is the way we usually grocery shop. We have a list, we have a handheld basket (because Cody gets road rage the moment he places his hands on the handlebar of a shopping cart, though he protests each time that he won't),

It Worked!

After sitting at 180 followers on Number One Novels for eight weeks, I've finally reached the goal of 200! Much silly dancing

Guerrilla Marketing

I love hosting Number One Novels. I love getting the word out to lots of enthusiastic readers about new authors and their exciting new books (often new series) that are debuting. I'm thrilled that the followership has reached the 180 mark, too. When NON first capped 100 back in August 2009, I was ecstatic. It seemed incredible that 100 unique people go to my blog every week to read new author interviews.

I'm still a bit awed by the fact that 180 or so people follow my blog and on average 140 to 200 unique people visit the blog a week.

Cake Withdrawls

One week ago, I was getting ready to eat my third (and fourth) helping of wedding cake for the third day in a row of wedding celebrations. I was high on multiple parties and on getting married (I'm still floating in a cloud of bliss at the slightest thought of being married). Then the parties ended. A few days later, the cake was gone.

I'm craving cake now.

Writing by the Book

Ilona Andrews' Magic Bites has been sitting on my to-be-read fantasy shelf for at least six months, if not longer. Every time I went to pick it up, I wasn't in the mood for as violent a book as it sounded. Even when it made it to the first-sentence test phase (a way I help sort out which book will be my next read by which has the best-sounding first line), it never stood up to the test.

The Book I Wasn't Going to Read

I typically don't read young adult novels, which is why I had no intention of reading a second YA novel this year, but when Holly Black's White Cat showed up as a free advanced reader's copy, I decided to give it a shot.

Black's writing style immediately hooked me, and the way she built the world and main character in the opening pages was a testament to how she became a New York Times bestselling author, but by the twentieth page, I was ready to stop reading.

A Return to the Regularly Scheduled Life

It feels bizarre to be here again, in normal, non-wedding-planning, non-wedding-partying life. All of our wedding plans (one wedding day, three parties) were spectacular. I've had trouble staying focused today and I've had trouble falling asleep the last few nights because I've been replaying all the great things that happened. I'm married! I'm a wife! It's going to be a while before either of those statements ceases to cause a thrill of joy to burst through my entire body.