Author Event | Gretchen McNeil and Kendare Blake

Two nights ago I got the chance to go to Mysterious Galaxy for an author event. It had been a few months since I went to any author event so I was really excited to go even though I have met both Gretchen McNeil and Kendare Blake before. The event started at 7:30pm and I was a wee bit late.

As usual, McNeil was in an amazing dress and shoes! I love her style and always admire what she's wearing. Blake is also so cool, and she shared with us that she recently got a quote from the Illiad, which makes her that much more awesome! Anyways, the authors began by telling us a bit about their books.

I'd heard of 3:59 previously from McNeil herself at another event so I was really excited to finally grab a copy. Earlier that week, I had picked up a copy of Antigoddess, but I hadn't even read the synopsis yet, so I was completely fascinated as Blake told us all about it. It sounds so good, and I can't wait to finally dive into it.

Both authors are great when speaking to crowds, and it was obvious that neither of them wanted to read from their books (just because they didn't know what to read from them!) so they jumped straight into questions. I never ask questions (actually, I did ask a question once but that rarely ever happens) but I am always interested in what others ask, especially if they don't know the author or his/her writing.

After the questions died down, there was the signing and I always feel super awkward talking to authors cause they are so awesome and stuff. I went to purchase my copy of 3:59 and also grabbed a copy of NOS4A2 by Joe Hill which Kendare Blake highly recommended, and so did the book seller.

Even though I didn't say much to either author, I did ask to take pictures with both of them after they were done signing my books. I am really looking forward to reading both books since I have previously enjoyed their work. And that was my night! Happy reading :)

Literary Fashion | Ghost Hand

If you take a look at my review of Ghost Hand by Ripley Patton, you will see that I absolutely loved Olivia, the protagonist. She's a kick ass girl who is a bit...morbid. She wears all black clothing (which her mother does not approve of one bit) and I figured I could sort of play around with some outfits for her. Even though her colors are limited to...one, it was still fun to look at all the options. Plus, I couldn't resist creating a set after reading about her coffin backpack which I've only seen once in real life.

Review | Ghost Hand by Ripley Patton

Ghost Hand by Ripley Patton
Series: The PSS Chronicles #1
Genre: YA - Paranormal Thriller
Publication: 12.11.12
Format: E-Book
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★★

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Black has a rare birth defect known as Psyche Sans Soma, or PSS. Instead of a right hand made of flesh and blood, she was born with a hand made of ethereal energy.

How does Olivia handle being the girl with the ghost hand? Well, she's a little bit morbid and a whole lot snarky.

Her mother thinks her obsession with death, black clothing, and the local cemetery is a bid for attention. But when Marcus, the new guy in Olivia's calculus class, stares at her like she's a freak, Olivia doesn't like it. And when her hand goes rogue, doing things she never imagined possible, Olivia finds herself running for her life with Marcus from a group of men bent on taking the power of her hand for their own nefarious purposes.

Ghost Hand provides what I look for in paranormal books: a unique main character that is snarky, smart and can kick ass, a unique paranormal gift, some romance but not too overwhelming (although I don’t mind overwhelming romance all that much *sigh*,) action, suspense and a great supporting cast. This was a freebie I got off of Amazon for no particular reason, and the only book I had downloaded on my Kindle app. So when I was on a plane flight, done with all my physical books, and only my iPad on hand, I turned to this. And Ghost Hand pretty much blew me away. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was definitely not to enjoy this as much as I did.

From the start, we are introduced to Olivia and her “birth defect” (aka: an awesomely creepy ghost hand that does weird stuff that is awesome) and we are immediately thrown into the story. Loved that. The story after immediately gets moving with a creepy accident, some interesting actions, chase scenes and some rolling around with a strange hot guy (not that kind of rolling around though) and I was hooked! I could not put this down.

I really loved Olivia as a protagonist, the writing was great, the story was well paced, and there were great dynamics in the story. This is one of those books that if I talk too much about it, I may give something important away. All I can say is that thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to Ghost Hold, which will be released on September 30th!

★★★★★