Oliver Awesome's Book Corner with Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

I recently had the pleasure of reading Sandra's novella, Lyon's Legacy. SciFi isn't a genre I read much, though I do enjoy it, so I was very much looking forward to diving into her book. I wasn't disappointed. Here is the blurb:

Sometimes being a geneticist isn’t enough to understand your family....


When scientist-in-training Joanna Lyon learns her rich uncle plans to have their rock legend ancestor, Sean Lyon, cloned, she’s disgusted. Uncle Jack pushed her into music when she was younger, and she hated it. So it’s particularly galling that he wants her to travel through a wormhole to an alternate universe and sample Sean’s DNA. She only agrees to go so she can secretly sabotage the project. But meeting Sean forces her to re-examine her feelings about her family, including her estranged father. Can she protect the unborn clone from her uncle, and will she have to sacrifice her career and new-found love to do so?


What I liked: This book definitely contains a lot of science but it wasn't so bogged down in it that it lost me. Sometimes the technical aspects of SciFi books can get overwhelming, but this had just the right touch of "ooo that's kind of cool" without being so over-the-top technical that it's impossible for anyone without a PhD in Genetics to understand.

Jo is a great character, very real and relatable and I connected with her right off the bat. It was fun to watch her in a situation she didn't want to be in and to watch how it changed her. Her love interest, George, is just lovable and I liked that their romance was very present in the story without overtaking it. It was woven very well into the main storyline. This book just had a little bit of everything; science, time travel, romance, major character growth, a bad guy you want to smack upside the head, heartache, and hope.

I also liked that the story felt complete. Many novellas I've read do not. While this is Book 1 in a series, and there is definitely more to the story, this book does well standing on its own and doesn't feel like it was just cut off in the middle of the book in order to create a series as many novellas I've read do.

What I didn't like: The only thing I didn't really like (and this is very nitpicky) was that one of the characters called the woman who raised him Aunt Grandmother (or various versions of this). It got a little confusing. Every time I saw an instance of this, I found myself wanting to spend some detailed time with his family tree instead of paying attention to the story. However, this was a very minor part of the story and didn't affect my enjoyment of it.

Overall, I loved it :)

If you'd like to purchase a copy of Sandra's book (and I'd highly recommend you do) :) it is available through the links below. I will be posting an interview with Sandra on my blog tomorrow, so everyone be sure to head over!!

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Sandra's Blog

Oliver Awesome's Book Corner - Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

Today it is my extreme pleasure to spotlight the debut novel of a very dear friend of mine - Shifting by Bethany Wiggins. I first read this book several years ago when we first met. She gave it to me printed out in a binder so I could do a crit. After a chapter or so I sort of forgot that I was supposed to be critting and read it straight through, binder cover to binder cover, by that night. And I think my first comment to her was "I can't believe this isn't published yet!"

I love this book. LOVE. It has shifters, but unlike those in other books I've read. It incorporates legends and myths, but some I had never heard of till then. It has romance, mystery, danger - everything I love in a story. Including an amazing main character that I fell in love with immediately.

Here's the Amazon blurb:
After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.


Bethany was also kind enough to answer a few questions for us :)

OA: Where did the idea for Shifting come from?

BW: A few years ago, a good friend dyed her hair from blond to black. The effect was amazing--it made her light brown eyes look gold! And because of that, a new character started living inside of my head and my main character, Maggie Mae, was conceived.



OA: Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication?

BW: My journey to publication was a long, hard one! I wrote several books, two of which I queried with little success (and reading over them again, I can see why I had no success--my writing was terrible!). Then I wrote SHIFTING, polished it, queried it, got rejected, polished it some more, got rejected, polished it some more, got rejected . . . A long while later, I picked my top ten agents, sent them queries (several I had queried previously) and crossed my fingers. The amazing Marlene Stringer of Stringer Literary loved my book! And she sold it to Walker Books.

OA: What surprised you most about the publishing process?

BW: The amount of work that goes into a single book! There's the author, editors, assistant editors, interns, copy-editors, a marketing team, the girl who makes the cover, the publicist (and I'm sure there are many I haven't listed) . . . SO many people are part of the publishing effort .

OA: Any words of advice for aspiring authors?

BW: Dear aspiring authors, if you want something bad enough, and are willing to work for it, then WORK FOR IT! If you can't get an agent for your book, write another. If you can't get an agent for that one, write another. Every single thing you write will only make you a better writer, so one day, you'll write something amazing that everyone wants to represent/publish.

***

Huge thanks to Bethany for hanging out with us this morning and an even bigger CONGRATS on the upcoming release of your book (which comes out this Tuesday the 27th!!!)

AND! We will be giving away a SIGNED copy of Shifting to one lucky commenter. All you need to do is comment on this post and we will randomly draw a comment. The winner will be announced next Thursday.

Oliver Awesome's Book Corner: Middle Grade Madness!!

For today's Book Corner Saturday, I'm going to highlight two of my favorite MG reads this fall. Both authors have YA titles out, and I'm a HUGE fan of them. After hearing they were tackling a different age group/category, I was very excited to see what they came up with.

And folks, they did not disappoint. There's an overload of magic, adventure, creepy villains, originality, and awesome. Okay, that last one isn't very specific, BUT it's true.  

Without further ado, here are two MG books you should watch out for:

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

Make sure you boy your copy of Liesl & Po on October 4th!!

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

The Unwanteds is available in stores now, so go get your copy! 

Oliver Awesome's Book Corner

We are starting a new feature on the Operation Awesome blog - Book Corner Saturdays. There are so many wonderful books out there that we decided it would be fun to highlight new books coming out. Each Saturday we'll choose a book we are excited about to share with you. Sometimes we'll have interviews, reviews, giveaways, or just a spotlight sharing info about the book.

For our first Book Corner, we'll be spotlighting Jessica Verday's The Hidden. Here's the Amazon blurb:

In the long-awaited conclusion to the bestselling saga of Abbey and Caspian, readers finally learn the truth about Kristen's untimely death, the dark destiny that links Abbey to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and the hard choices that Abbey must make if she is to accept Caspian's love and their unexpected fate. Beautifully spun, emotionally gripping, and irresistibly romantic, The Hidden will leave readers breathless.



If you haven't read the first two books in the series, The Hollow and The Haunted, I'd highly recommend them. The Hollow starts out a little slow but after a few chapters I couldn't put it down and I devoured The Haunted in just a day. It's a sweet love story between Abbey and Caspian, mixed in with a murder mystery, all set against the amazing backdrop of Sleepy Hollow...complete with new twist on the Headless Horseman legend. If you like paranormal romances with a good dose of mystery, you definitely need to check out this trilogy!