The Thursday Thirteen: THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex

It's Thursdays so that must mean it's time for the best thirteen words of the week! Where we review books in 13 words or less. Anyone can play, punctuation does not count towards word limit, but emoticons do :) That's 1. If you'd like to be featured here, email me at shielacblank(at)aol(dot)com and I'll get it posted. Try it, you'll like it :)

Today's review is the 2007 Middle Grade book THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex.

Here we go. Ahem.

Sassy girl, sweet alien save Earth from worse enemy. Hilarity ensues. Edutaining read!

And there's your lucky thirteen. See you next week!

Happy reading and ¡Buen Provecho!

Cupid's "Surprise Agent Invasion" Info!

First of all, a hearty Bienvenidos to my new followers courtesy of Wip: The Movie blogfest. So glad you are here, hope you enjoy your stay :) What a wonderful bloghopping experience!

Secondly, yes it's late Mon night, but I wanted to get word out for Cupid's Literary Connection's Surprise Agent Invasion. You have until tomorrow by 11am EST (8amPST) to enter the second window. Click below for more details:


Cupid's Literary Connection: Submitting to "Surprise Agent Invasion" and Info!: FIRST WINDOW IS FULL!!!!! Still sending emails.  *Fyi: I will be donating the funds for Helping Hearts for Britta very soon. If you're i...



Best of luck to whomever gets in!


Happy Cupiding and ¡Buen Provecho!

My WiP: The Movie. Starring...

Welcome to the premier of HOW SNOW CAME TO THE DESERT!


In the time before memories, when marvelous and terrifying creatures still roamed our world, a little piece of heaven was hidden deep within the misty mountians of Oldest Mexico. ¡Bienvenidos a CIELITO LINDO!

Starring:



Selena Gomez as Brisana de la Cerra, an emotionally repressed, half-human 16-year-old who fears being alone almost as much as she fears the monsterous Jaguar Warriors hunting her human blood. But her non-human half, hidden deep within her blood, could be more than the key to unleashing the were-jaguars' imprisoned ice-god: it could save her life and the lives of those she loves. If she can figure out how to tap into it in time.



Edward James Olmos as Genernal Matanza, the cunning Jaguar Warrior leader. He has learned how to release his imprisoned ice-god master using Brisana's rare human blood and unleash a second ice age where they all can reign again. 

 




Hector Elizondo as Aurelio, Brisana's godfather and mentor.

He is responsible for bringing Brisana to live in her
late father's fabled homeland of Cielito Lindo.









Javier Bardem as Garfa, a lower Jaguar Warrior, who strikes an ill-fated but life-changing relationship with Brisana.




Benicio Del Toro as Garra, Garfa's savage older brother. He will stop at nothing to secure Brisana for General Matanza. But he may have (literally) bitten off more than he can chew.





Moises Arias as Brisana's older,and smaller, half-brother Emiliano, who will do anything to protect his sister.

Victoria Justice as Mariposa, Emiliano's fiery fiance, who is threatened by Brisana's arrival.





 AND





Jay Hernandez as Eberardo



                         





Eduardo Verastegui as Aldo



 Cousins who both fall for Brisana and go from best friends to bitter rivals. One will do the unthinkable to enusre Brisana's love, sealing all their fates.







And a big thanks to both Kyra at Write Here, Write Now and Rachel at Writing on the Wall for hosting such a fun event!!

Happy Blog hopping and, as they say in Cielito Lindo, ¡Buen Provecho!



The Thursday Thirteen: THE RUNNING DREAM by Wendelin Van Draanen

Bienvenidos to the Thursday Thirteen! Where we review books in 13 words or less. Anyone can play, punctuation does not count towards word limit, but emoticons do :) That's 1. If you'd like to be featured here, email me at shielacblank(at)aol(dot)com and I'll get it posted.

Today I'm reviewing Wendelin Van Draanen's 2011 YA novel THE RUNNING DREAM.

Oh, and I've added another rule - I told you we'd evolve them as we went along ;) - made up words count. Like this:

Track star loses leg, dreams of competing. Learns impossible means try harder. Inspireading!

There's your lucky thirteen. Until next week...

Happy reading and ¡Buen Provecho!

Wednesday Writer Workout Tip: Shop Local

I haven't posted on this subject in a while. That's very telling to the state of my body. You know it's been too long since a workout when cleaning the floors leaves you tired and sore.


Sigh. Floors 1, Shiela 0. Not my proudest moment.


The Wii's been relocated to my son's room since Christmas. They kids got new games as gifts and it was just easier to let them play in their rooms than in the living room. Moving the system back and forth is so inconvenient that I haven't used it since. That's as good excuse as I got.


Fortunately, it's not all doom and gloom. I did lose those 10 holiday pounds, strictly through dieting. But that turns out to be another excuse for not exercising. I don't like to work out when I start eating less because I'm already hungry. Add in the metabolism boot from moving more (weight loss = eat less + move more) and I'm starving. Not a good mix at the beginning. It's hard enough as is.


Now that the extra pounds are off, though, that excuse gets a swift kick in the pants. A good exercise, btw :)


So I wanted a change of scenery - get out of the house to work out. There's only so many Wii tennis games you can play. I can't afford a gym, but I found something within my budget. It's nearby, too, across the street from my kid's high school. Our local Rec Center: the Red Mountain Multigenerational Center.

There, I can take a Zumba (ZUMBA!) for as low as $2 per class. I went. I loved it. I went back. I still loved it. Every bead of sweat (there was lots), every sore muscle (lots of those, too), every stitch in my side from the Latin hip dance moves (lots, and lots). I loved it all.

Of course, I am the only one there wearing a Slytherin t-shirt, but that's how I roll :)


Will it replace my Wii work out? Prolly not. But it's a nice change of pace. And anything that keeps me moving is a good thing.

My new goal, because I always need a goal, is to lose 7 more lbs by Memorial Day Weekend. Why that weekend? That's the Phoenix Comicon (we have William Shatner AND Patrick Stewart!) and I like to be feeling my best for the hardest working weekend of the year.

TIP: Check out your local options. You can probably find something affordable that you just may love.

Happy moving and ¡Buen Provecho!

WiP: the Movie Blogfest

I'm about to take my first plunge into a blogfest - given my love of all things movie related, it's one I simply couldn't pass up!. Kyra Lennon at Write Here Write Now and Rachel at Writing on the Wall are hosting WIP: The Movie. Join us!




The details from Kyra's blog:

WiP: The Movie Blogfest

Since I've been blogging, the fun of blogfests has helped me meet some awesome new people and also helped me to learn a lot of things I would have otherwise missed out on. I love reading snippets of everyone's work, and getting to know each individual writer's style and genre.


With that in mind, I would like to announce a brand new blogfest which I am co-hosting with Rachel at Writing On The Wall!



WiP: The Movie - March 9th
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to post a photo of the actors or actresses you would like to play the characters in your WiP if it were to be made into a movie. It can be just one character, or the entire cast!


Secondly, we want you to soundtrack your movie! Head over to YouTube, and post a song that best describes one of your characters, or your story as a whole. Again, you can pick one song, or several, it's entirely up to you!


All we ask is that you follow these simple rules:
1, Follow me
2. Follow Rachel
(We will follow back) 3. Sign up using the linky list at the bottom of the page
4. Add one of our funky graphics to your blog to promote the event
5. Post your entries on March 9th, and hop around to see the other entrants on the list!


The Prizes


Rachel and I will each pick a winner at random, and we will be giving away a copy of one of our favourite books which were turned into movies!


Please note: If you write a blog post about this fest before March 8th, you will get an extra name in the draw to win a prize!



From me:
Water For Elephants OR Bridget Jones' Diary


From Rachel: The Princess Bride OR The Hunger Games (which is tipped to be AWESOME!)


If you have any questions, feel free to ask because I am sure I will have missed something out lol! Hope you can all join in!

Happy casting and ¡Buen Provecho!

The Thursday Thirteen - THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nancy Farmer

Bienvenidos to another installment of THE THURSDAY THIRTEEN where we review books in 13 words or less. Anyone can play, punctuation does not count towards word limit, but emoticons do :) That's 1. If you'd like to be featured here, email me at shielacblank(at)aol(dot)com and I'll get it posted.

Today, I review Nancy Farmer's award winning 2002 novel, The House of the Scorpion. Here we go:

Cloning and mind control on dystopian Mexican border; heart-pounding and -breaking adventure.

Happy reading and ¡Buen Provecho!