I've Moved

I've decided to make the jump from Blogger to WordPress. Having a .com site will help me grow my network as both an author and book marketer/publicist.

I'll still be blogging about books, but the website will have a strong focus on marketing tips and techniques for new authors. If you want to read my new material, please visit me at:

ErikaSargent.com

What's Your Favorite Book? (Careful with Your Answer)

Can we talk about one of my biggest bookworm pet peeves? It has to do with the simple question "What's your favorite book?"

I often ask this question when I'm looking for a new book recommendation. I want something that I can check out from the library, read in three weeks, enjoy, and return. There are literally hundreds of thousands of options to choose from, but somehow when I ask, "What's your favorite book?" so many people name a series instead of a single title. 

Harry Potter is not a book title.

The Lord of the Rings is not a book title. 

The Lunar Chronicles is not a book title. 

The Hunger Games...technically is a title, but you know they're not just talking about the first book. 

I am by no means bashing on trilogies, sagas, chronicles, sets or series. In fact, a good chunk of the books on my shelf are boxed sets. All of the series listed above I've read and loved and own. (I own part of the Lunar Chronicles, but only because I'm poor and need to buy food instead of books.)

It's frustrating to look up a title recommendation only to find there are five other books I'll need to read in order to have the full plot resolved. That's not a three week read, that's an investment!

So please, the next time someone asks you, "What's your favorite book?" answer the question correctly. Not books. Not book series. Just book. 

The Lord of the Rings

The Hunger Games

Harry Potter...I'm missing book two!

The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers

The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers

When you use the word "exquisite" in your title, you're setting the bar for your book pretty high. The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers delivered!!!! Not only are the flowers exquisite, but the instructions are clear and easy-to-follow and there are templates for each project in the back of the book. Let's just say that thanks to this book, paper flowers are officially my new favorite hobby. 

I first found paper flower crafts on Pinterest (surprise, surprise). While the step-by-step photo instructions seemed clear, my flowers never turned out like the ones in the Pinterest pictures (surprise, surprise). I looked at a few paper flower books and after flipping through their pages at Barnes & Noble decided that The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers looked like I was getting the most bang for my buck.

You can see from the pictures on this post that, while I am not going to be opening an Etsy paper flower shop anytime soon, the flowers actually look like flowers! There are 27 different types of flowers featured in the book. Each one comes with a template, a list of materials needed, step-by-step instructions, photos, and tips so that you can learn how to make poppies, roses, and sweat peas (to name a few). 

I can't say enough good things about this book! Instead, head over to my Instagram account @bookfaire to win a copy for yourself!

Title: The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers 

Author: Livia Cetti

Publisher: Stewart, Tabori, & Chang

Published: April 8, 2014

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble
Goodreads

5 Baby Names Inspired by Pride and Prejudice

There are few books that have inspired generations of baby names like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It's a love story that still leaves girls swooning after Mr. Darcy, and it's chalk full of great names.

Before I wrote this post, I looked up other Pride and Prejudice baby name lists. Most of them focused on famous FIRST names in the book: Eliza, Lydia, and even Fitzwilliam. While Regency Era names like Jane and Charlotte are both beautiful and timeless, these aren't the names that I fell in love with when I first read Pride and Prejudice.

My top 5 baby names from Pride and Prejudice are actually all LAST names from the book!

5. COLLINS (Rev. William Collins)

While Mr. Collins has a bad wrap in the book for being a bit of an overbearing creeper, he has the good fortune of having a great name. One of the things I like most about the name Collins is that it's gender neutral, and thanks to The Blind Side I wouldn't mind having a daughter named Collins.

4. LUCAS (Miss Charlotte Lucas)

I have to admit that I fell in love with the name Lucas while I was serving a church mission in Brazil. Lucas is Portuguese for Luke (go figure, right?) and is such a solid yet uncommon name. It's gaining popularity right now, so this might have to be my firstborn's name!

3. DENNY (Mr. Denny)

Mr. Denny is a minor character in Pride and Prejudice. His role in the militia may have been overshadowed by Mr. Wickham, but his name definitely was not. This is a nice change from the more common Daniel or Danny. I really like how changing one letter (the "a" for the "e") creates a fresh new name. Denny is a great name a boy could grow up with as it suits toddlers, teens, and adults.

2. BENNETT (Miss Elizabeth Bennet)

You probably noticed the spelling change from the Pride and Prejudice's famous Bennet family. It's just a personal preference adding an extra "t" on at the end. I've always loved the nickname Ben but was never in love with Benjamin. Bennett adds a foreign feel to the full name while still letting me keep my more traditional Ben.

1. DARCIE (Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy) 

This name is hands down my favorite, and the proof is in the fact that I couldn't wait for a daughter and ended up naming my dog Darcie. I opted to change out the "y" for a more feminine "ie." This name is both strong and delicate, which makes it the perfect girl name! Now...will my daughter be named after my dog or Pride and Prejudice?

The Art of Not Breathing

The Art of Not Breathing

The Art of Not Breathing has an intriguing plot line that's part murder mystery part adventure story. Elsie Main's twin brother drowned five years ago, but even though she was with him the day he died, she can't remember exactly what happened. Her parents have forbidden her to go to the beach, but it's only when she's in the water that pieces of her memory return. Little by little she realizes that her family and friends have all been keeping secrets from her. Only if she dives deep (literally) will she be able to answer the question: What really happened the day Eddie died? 

Intriguing, right?

Well add in the fact that Elsie's mom is an alcoholic, her dad hates the world, her brother is anorexic, her "boyfriend" randomly disappears, she's bullied at school, and has self-esteem issues. Oh, and her dead twin brother, Eddie, talks to her in her mind. Ya. There's a LOT of heavy subplot going on.

Things that seem important at the beginning of the book (Elsie hearing Eddie's voice in her head) end up being trivial (he's all but silent by the end). The fact that every character is dealing with their own drama made me wish that SOMEONE could have had their life together. It's a little draining hearing how awful and unhappy everyone is all the time. 

I was so excited to explore the country of Ireland! But, the accents disappeared after the first chapter and the vague descriptions of the town and ocean made it sound like this story could just as easily have taken place in New England. Luckily, the only time I've ever been to New England was when I was a little kid. New England is just as foreign as Ireland, so The Art of Not Breathing was still a nice escape for me.

Title: The Art of Not Breathing

Author: Sarah Alexander

Publisher: Sourcebooks 

Published: January 5, 2016

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble
Goodreads

There is one particular quote in the book that I really take to heart:

"Go with your heart, not your head, because your head doesn't know what it wants. It only thinks about the moral high ground. And if your heart isn't happy, when you try to share it, you'll make others unhappy too."

Isn't that beautiful?

The Hobbit: Apple Turnovers

Hobbits are known for their ability to eat. I mean:

• Breakfast
• Second Breakfast
• Elevenses
• Luncheon
• Afternoon Tea
• Dinner
• Supper

And if they can eat that much, it must be some pretty delicious meals that they're cooking up! So when I think about hobbits I can't help but think of hearty country meals. I didn't have any roast chicken on hand, but I decided to make apple turnovers. 

While we were honeymooning in New Zealand I ate more than my fair share of fish and chips...and apple turnovers. And now I crave apple turnovers all the time!

Here's a great recipe (perfect for a first time apple turnover baker like myself).

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 4 cups water
• 2 Tbs butter
• 4 granny smith apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 Tbs water
• 1 (17.25 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets
• 1 egg (beaten)

1. Place apples in water lemon mixture (prevents apples from browning)
2. Melt butter and add just apples
3. Cook and stir 2 minutes
4. Add brown sugar and Cinnamon
5. Stir 2 minutes
6. Add corn starch and 1 Tbs water
7. Cook 1 minute until thickened
8. Cool slightly
9. Preheat oven to 400°
10. Trim puff pastry sheets into squares
11. Spoon apple mixture onto center and fold corners over into triangles
12. Press edges with fork to seal pastry
13. Cut 3 vent slits into top of pastry and place on baking sheet
14. Brush beaten egg over top of each pastry and sprinkle with sugar
15. Bake 25 minutes until lightly brown

Enjoy for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper (or dessert!) It's delicious hot from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

This Is Where It Ends

This Is Where It Ends

A quiet rural town is getting back into routine on the first day of school. The students and teachers are gathered together in the auditorium for the principal's annual "Welcome Back" pep talk. Everything is normal, until the assembly ends and the teachers realizes that all the auditorium doors are locked from the outside.

There's a shooter in the room, and this first day of school will tear the town apart. 

I have never read a school shooting novel before. I like to read to escape real life, and unfortunately violence, hate, and bullying in schools are all over the news and social media sites. For some reason though, I picked up this book and decided to read it. It was a good choice!

This Is Where It Ends is written from four different character perspectives (with a few special sections interspersed throughout). Jumping from view point to view point normally makes the story too jerky and disjointed for my liking, but Marieke did a wonderful job of keeping her timeline in order. In fact, the timeline was one of the things I thought was brilliant. 

The entire span of the book only takes place in one hour. Each chapter is broken up by different time increments (i.e. 10:32-10:35 A.M.), so you're reading in real time. The different narrators are located in various places: inside the auditorium, outside the auditorium, outside the school, so you're able to get a full spectrum of what's going on. Brilliant. 

The plot is violent (it's all about a school shooting), and every single character feels misunderstood (typical teenager). Despite the heavy subject matter, it didn't weigh down the flow of the story too much. Marieke did a good job of balancing dark backstories with hope and determination. 

While this book isn't a new favorite that I'll reread over and over again, I am glad that I gave it a chance. It reminded me that I need to be part of the good in the world. It doesn't take much to be kind, but it can make the biggest difference in the life of someone I'm kind to.  

Title: This Is Where It Ends

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher: Sourcebooks 

Published: January 5, 2016

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble