June is "Favorite Gentlemen" Month.

Reading has been slow going lately. I just cannot seem to get into any book and I have started falling seriously behind in my reading goal for the year. And I just don't see that changing much in June since I will be going back to work in the next week or so and participating in Camp NaNoWriMo starting Friday. Busy is what I will be.
So I started thinking what I could do to get myself back in the reading game so that I don't fall even farther behind in my goal. That's when it hit me. Why not revisit some of my favorite literary gentlemen to rekindle my love for the written word? I always say that I am going to re-read certain books, but never do. So in June, instead of trying to force myself to read a new book I'm going to go back to some that I already know I love. My favorite books span over many genres so I narrowed it down to "favorite guy" books....that and I need some romance in my life.

My June reading list consists of:

• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Dimitri Belikov)
• The Fault in our Stars by John Green (Augustus Waters)
• Blood Fever by Karen Marie Moning (Jericho Barrons) (also, not YA)
• Divergent by Veronica Roth (Four) I may also end up reading the sequel, Insurgent, right after.
• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer I haven't read this book in years. I want to see if now I am Team Edward or Team Jacob.
• My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking (Peter)
• The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Conrad)
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Ettiene St. Clair)

So there's my list with just some of my favorite literary guys. I'll also throw a couple review books in there, but this list is what I will be focusing on.

Hopefully one of these books will get me back on the reading horse. And instead of doing a review for each of them, since I have reviewed most of them already, I'll write up a post about why the book's leading man is one of my favorites.

Is there any certain book(s) that you go back to when you need to rekindle the passion between you and reading? Or do you just push forward until you find a new book that does it for you?

Interview with Teresa Lo, Author of Hell's Game

"On Halloween night in Deer Creek, Kansas, Jake Victor, Ashley and Ashton Gemini, and Kristin Grace convince Ronnie Smalls to meet them at the town cemetery, which local folklore has always rumored to be the Gateway to Hell. Their intention was only to scare him, but soon the wicked prank becomes actual horror as the group learns the Gateway is all too real. After demons snatch Ronnie and drag him to Hell, the terrified foursome vow to keep what they had seen a secret.

Two years later, the group receives a mysterious letter, an invite to play a high-stakes game in Hell. If they win, they release Ronnie’s soul as well as their own from eternal damnation. If they lose, they are stuck in Hell forever. Choosing to play, they face nightmare after nightmare as each level escalates in intensity and forces them to face the seven deadly sins.

Inspired by the legends of the Gateway to Hell in Stull, Kansas, Hell’s Game explores the cruelty that teenagers can inflict upon each other as well as the horrors that exist amongst mankind. It is a dark, action-packed young adult novel that will both scare its readers and make them question the true meaning of evil"-Goodreads.

Tell us five things about yourself that most people might not know.

TL:

1. I grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas.
2. Last year, I adopted a cat named Paige, and I renamed her Paige Turner because I’m a bookworm!
3. When I was in middle school, I owned and read the entire Goosebumps series from R.L. Stine.
4. The book The Shrine at Altamira by John L’Herueux inspired me to write fiction.
5. I was the president of the pre-law fraternity in college, but I never ended up attending law school. I went to film school instead!

FBL: Your cat's name is the coolest ever. Just sayin'.

What audience would enjoy reading Hell’s Game?

TL: Hell’s Game follows a group of popular teenagers who are forced to play a high-stakes game in Hell after they play a mean prank on the school nerd. As the group moves from level to level in the game, the settings intensify, and each level is a manifestation of one of the seven deadly sins. I hope that Hell’s Game can be enjoyed by lovers of horror and by a broader audience. If YA readers enjoy the writing of L.J. Smith or Suzanne Collins, they most likely will enjoy Hell’s Game.

FBL: I love new takes on the seven deadly sins! This book sounds right up my alley.

What influences your story lines and settings?
The Midwest greatly influences my stories and settings. I like to write about real people and examine their psychology. When I write horror, I try to avoid cheap thrills, but instead, I think about what I’m the most afraid of, and I try to bring that out through characters that a lot of people have met in their lives.

FBL: That sounds like such a great way to write a horror story and actually make it scary. 

What are your favorite horror movies?

My favorite horror film is Frailty, starring Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey. It’s very creepy, and the audience has no idea where the story will go. I like horror that genuinely surprises, and Frailty has one of the best twist endings I have ever seen. I also like Rosemary’s Baby, Silence of the Lambs, and The Craft.

FBL: Frailty blew my mind the first time I saw it. The ending completely took me by surprise.

What is the main message that you’d like your readers to take away from Hell’s Game?

Every character in Hell’s Game is affected by some form of evil, whether it’s harm inflicted by another person or harm inflicted by a supernatural force, and those evil acts create a negative ripple effect in everyone’s lives. The main message I wanted to share was that those who see or know of evil acts and do nothing are just as guilty as those who committed the crime. Hell’s Game is very much a morality tale that I hope will influence its readers into doing the right thing.

FBL: Thank you so much for the interview, Teresa! I cannot wait to dig into Hell's Game! I'm always looking for a good horror novel and yours sounds perfect.


You can check out Teresa's website and Goodreads page for more information on Hell's Game. And then head over to Amazon to purchase it for your Kindle.

Teresa Lo’s website: www.tloclub.com

Hell’s Game on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Game-ebook/dp/B007S3HYTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333928392&sr=8-1

Hell’s Game on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13584901-hell-s-game

Check it out: The Lure of Shapinsay by Krista Holle

"Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant. 


Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure. 

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?"-Goodreads.

Released December 16th 2011 as an ebook by Sweet River Romance. Soon to be released as a paperback. 260 pages.

I for one cannot wait to read this book! I grew up hearing stories of selkies so I was incredibly excited when Krista emailed me about her book. You should also check it out and let me know what you think!

A Quick Note:

my dear lovely followers, i feel terrible that i have not been around these past couple of weeks. some very serious life stuff has kind of shaken up my world so i have been taking some time to work through everything. but i will be back and posting regularly again, god willing, by the end of the week. thank you for being so patient and waiting around for me to come back. it meanps a lot. p.s. i am also terrible sorry for how crappy this note is. i am doing it on my phone and i guess my phone does not believe in capatilizing anything or letting me use certain punctuation.