FF: If I Could Re-Write a Book . . .

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On 4/6/15 I traded in my Swagbucks for a $100 Amazon Gift Card. No lie. LOVE LOVE Swagbucks!! Join here or read below for more information! They have GB Amazon Cards on there too!

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Yep. If you haven't heard of Swagbucks yet, it's a Google-powered search engine that earns your free bucks that you can trade in for things like $5 Amazon Gift Cards. I've earned $300+ in Amazon GC since 2009. Join here now to get some free just for signing up. Yes, I will earn points as you earn points if you sign up under me, but once you sign up, you earn points from all your friends who sign up too! Win win! PLUS = FREE BOOKS! Here's my Swagbucks Tutorial for all the information you need!

Question of the Week: If you could re-write a book, which one would it be and what changes would you make?
This is a hard one. I usually stop reading books when I think the plot has either gone south or the author's writing style is just horrid. It's hard to choose a book I do like, but there are a lot of popular books that I thought could be tweaked a little.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins was loved by everyone, but I always always a bit annoyed with the obvious whining/immaturity of the MC, Anna. There was a little too much whining for me. A better alternative book, with a similar theme, is I See London by Chanel Cleeton. PLEASE read that one if you liked AATFK. So.Much.Better. :)

FF: Tattoos

This weekly link-up is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read!
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On 4/6/15 I traded in my Swagbucks for a $100 Amazon Gift Card. No lie. LOVE LOVE Swagbucks!! Join here or read below for more information! They have GB Amazon Cards on there too!

EARN FREE AMAZON GIFT CARDS! NO SPAM OR GIMMICKS!

Yep. If you haven't heard of Swagbucks yet, it's a Google-powered search engine that earns your free bucks that you can trade in for things like $5 Amazon Gift Cards. I've earned $300+ in Amazon GC since 2009. Join here now to get some free just for signing up. Yes, I will earn points as you earn points if you sign up under me, but once you sign up, you earn points from all your friends who sign up too! Win win! PLUS = FREE BOOKS! Here's my Swagbucks Tutorial for all the information you need!

Question of the Week: If you were to get a tattoo, what would it say or what would the graphic be?
Hmmmmm . . . I've never actually wanted a tattoo. Something about being 80 and having a wrinkly old black inked thing on me has never appealed to me. I'd probably go with either the phrase "She Became a Butterfly," or "SBAB," or a pic of butterfly. The color would either be purple or teal - the colors of sexual assault survivors.

FF: Stepping into the shoes of . . .

This weekly link-up is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read!
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On 4/6/15 I traded in my Swagbucks for a $100 Amazon Gift Card. No lie. LOVE LOVE Swagbucks!! Join here or read below for more information! They have GB Amazon Cards on there too!

EARN FREE AMAZON GIFT CARDS! NO SPAM OR GIMMICKS!

Yep. If you haven't heard of Swagbucks yet, it's a Google-powered search engine that earns your free bucks that you can trade in for things like $5 Amazon Gift Cards. I've earned $300+ in Amazon GC since 2009. Join here now to get some free just for signing up. Yes, I will earn points as you earn points if you sign up under me, but once you sign up, you earn points from all your friends who sign up too! Win win! PLUS = FREE BOOKS! Here's my Swagbucks Tutorial for all the information you need!

Question of the Week: If you can step into one characters shoes (in a book) and be them for a day who would it be and why?

Hmmmmmm. . . I think I might choose to be Hercule Poirot in any of Agatha Christie's Poirot novels, because I'd love to get inside that "egg-shaped head" and see what else is really going on in there. I'm sure there's much more than what Christie shares with us!

Dialogue Pet Peeves

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Book Dialogue Pet Peeves

1. In general, I dislike writing in which characters from other countries don't speak how they normally would in real life. For example, if you have an Irish character straight out of Ireland, they should use Irish phrases instead of American phrases. It sounds/reads strangely and unrealistic if the character with an Irish brogue who just showed up in America isn't speaking in an Irish manner. Bugs me!

2. The following dialogue is in almost every book I read, lately, and it's driving me BATTY!

Character 1 (usually male): Hi.
Character 2 (usually female): Hi, yourself.

WHO SPEAKS THAT WAY???!!! I have never in my life said, "Hi," to someone and had them respond with, "Hi yourself," nor have I ever said it to anyone else. I don't think real people speak this way unless it's a way of speaking in another country from my pet peeve #1. I am seriously going to start counting how many books I read that have that dialogue in there at least once. Even some of my favorite authors use it, and (as you can tell) it makes me CRAZY! Do you speak this way? Have you ever heard anyone speak this way? Do tell. Maybe I'm wrong.

3. The overuse of a character's name in a scene when they're the only two people in a scene (especially if it's a male and female which make pronouns easy to infer). Let's say Sue and Tim are speaking to one another in third person, but the author rarely uses Sue's name when referring to her, but always uses Tim's. WHY??

Example (and yes I know it's generic, but it makes my point):
"I love you, Tim," she told him.
"I love you too," Tim said.
Sue reached across the seat and held Tim's hand. Tim had such soft hands and she really liked Tim's soft hands. She loved to hold Tim's hand. ETC ETC ETC.

FF: Are You a Writer?

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Question of the Week: Are you also a writer and what genre or did you ever consider writing?
When I was very small, I began telling people I was going to be an "author" when I grew up. Up until high school graduation, I was still planning on majoring in creative writing. When I received a full academic scholarship to a university, I ultimately decided to major in musical theatre because music was near and dear to my heart. I couldn't imagine a life without music and performing onstage in it. I planned to take creative writing courses in school, but they always seemed to conflict with my required theatre classes. To this day, I STILL haven't taken a class, although I really want to! I did attend a writing workshop in Brooklyn, NY in April with the lovely Alex Franzen. I HIGHLY recommend attending one of her workshops to get the juices flowing!
I guess the big question is - Am I writing now? Yes. I'm working on a memoir discussing overcoming sexual assault & ptsd and I'm also getting ready to start my first new adult novel. The memoir just needs to be formatted; the NA book, just, well, started!

FF: Social Media

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Question of the Week: Social Share! What is your favorite social network and leave us a link so we can join you!
As a book blogger, my favorite social media network is Bloglovin'. I like getting a daily feed email, showing me all the books my online book friends have reviewed. I get to learn about new books that I might like, which is always a plus for a crazy reader like me!

Of course, I'd love it if you'd follow me, as I'm relatively new. I review YA, NA, Mystery/Thrillers, and Memoirs.

FF: My Fave Mugs

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Question of the Week: Post a photo of your favorite coffee mug (or mugs if you can’t choose just one).
I must admit that I have 2 that I use when drinking tea or coffee at work or while I read. Both mugs are representative of my relationship with my friends.

My friends and I are slightly obsessed with The Golden Girls and like buying each other presents on that theme. My friend Jen is a Rose, Emma is a Dorothy, and Nan is a Blanche (although not in the slutty sense), which leaves me being Sophia. I am the most sarcastic of the lot, so I'll be Sophia. For this past Christmas, I bought us a set of mugs - 1 for each of us. Mine is the Sophia one, of course. :)

My 2nd mug has a pic of Jen on it, smiling, in a turtleneck . . . in the ocean. As a teacher, she gets yearly photos, and a few years ago, we thought it would be funny to buy mugs with her pic on them. Apparently you can now put your child's school photo on any number of things like a mouse pad, So, here's my Jen mug:

FF - Armchair Travel

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ALSO: If YOU would stop by THIS POST & list a fave book or two of yours from 2008-2013, I'd be grateful. I'm going to a HUGE booksale at the end of June!

Armchair Travel! Tell us about your favorite book in a setting you’d like to visit (a real place for this question).
I'm going to go with I See London & London Falling by Chanel Cleeton. Check out my book blitz for info on London Falling, the sequel!

Maggie Carpenter is ready for a change—and to leave her ordinary life in South Carolina behind. But when she accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, a university attended by the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders, Maggie might get more than she bargained for.

Half French, half Lebanese and ridiculously wealthy, Samir Khouri has made it clear he doesn't do relationships. He's the opposite of everything Maggie thought she wanted…and he's everything she can't resist. Torn between her dream guy and the boy haunting her dreams, Maggie has to fight for her own happy ending. In a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.

Follow Friday: Guilty Pleasures . . .

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ALSO: If YOU would stop by THIS POST & list a fave book or two of yours from 2008-2013, I'd be grateful. I'm going to a HUGE booksale at the end of June!

What are your non-book guilty pleasures? Like TV shows, food, websites, hobbies, etc.
1. Pretty Little Liars - Season 4 is being shipped to me from Amazon TODAY! SOOO excited!

2. Vampire Academy movie - Also being shipped. I actually really liked the movie after reading the books. What's YOUR opinion?

3. VERONICA MARS - Totally own the movie and watch it at least once a week. I'm a marshmallow all the way! What was YOUR fave part of the movie?

4. I have a side business creating Disney Autograph Books

5. I'm performing in a musical right now: White Christmas. I'm dancing in it and I choreographed it. I have a musical theatre degree from college. :)

FF: Dinner with Authors

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I'd also love it if you'd participate in my Book Blogger Buddy Meme! Let me know if you do!

Question: What living author or authors would you like to have dinner with? And because I'm me, I'm going to throw in some deceased authors too!
Dinner Guest:
Lisa Gardner hands down. LOVE every single book of hers. She writes suspense thrillers. If you like Tami Hoag, you'll love Lisa.

Authors Who've Already Passed:
1. Jane Austen
2. Dame Agatha Christie

Follow Friday: Pets

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I'd also love it if you'd participate in my Book Blogger Buddy Meme! Let me know if you do!

Please read my latest review: I See London by Chanel Cleeton

Question: Tell Us About Your Pets
I have 3 "kids": Maisie (10), Lola (8) and Thurston (8).

Follow Friday

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I'd also love it if you'd participate in my Book Blogger Buddy Meme! Let me know if you do!
Question of the Week: Tell us about a book that you didn’t like and why we shouldn’t read it (as nicely and respectfully as possible.

I'm not sure if I can pick just 1 book and say, "This is the worst book ever; don't read it!"

I wasn't a fan of The Scarlet Letter - maybe being forced to read a classic in high school isn't the best way to experience it? The same with A Separate Peace, although that was middle school.

I hated Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - not just because I loathed the characters - I thought the story just went on and on and on and . . . well you get the idea. People who've had real life psychopaths in their lives (like me) probably don't want to read about them, especially such an intense look inside their minds.

Did YOU like any of these books?

Follow Friday

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I'd also love it if you'd participate in my Book Blogger Buddy Meme! Let me know if you do!
Question of the Week: Snap it Time! A picture is worth a thousand words. Anything and anything. Just give us a pic.

In another life, I was an actor. Here are some photos from my past. If you act also, I'll love to see a pic of you! You can always email them to me at pookielocks at ymail dot com - just make sure you put Follow Friday in the subject line!

NOTE: I'm the redhead in all the pics!


Music Man - Zaneeta Shin


Jekyll & Hyde the Musical - Chorus/Dancer (my bestie is on the right)


The Pajama Game - Dancer (our final pose @ Summer Stock)


Godspell - Player/Dance Captain


The King & I - Tuptim


1940's Radio Hour - Ginger Brooks


A Cheer to a Kill - Jessie Belle (dinner theatre)


Last of the Red Hot Lovers - Bobbi Michele (no - that's not real pot)

Follow Friday

This weekly link-up is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read!
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: How have your reading habits changed in the past few years? Did you get interested in a new genre? Do you read more? Less? Why do you think your habits changed, if they did.

Like most book bloggers, I've been a reading fiend forever. I've always loved escaping into a good book and have been known to read more than one at a time. That said, as someone who suffers from Bipolar II (mostly Depression) & PTSD, there are times when I am unable to read. My mind may either be too distracted to be able to pay attention to the words/story or it may be that my mind is on overload and doesn't process the material I'm seeing before me. For example, please read the following sentence: Aunt Sandy read the book on the table. When you just read that sentence, your mind thought, "Aunt Sandy read (red - as in past-tense) the book on the table." When my mind is "acting up" it would comprehend the sentence as follows: "Aunt Sandy (reed - as in present-tense) the book on the table." Do you see the difference? Our brains are such that they automatically pick up the correct tense in a sentence so that it makes sense. When my brain is not working properly, I end up deciphering words like "read" that can sound differently when different tenses are used in the incorrect way. What are some other words like that?

Ok, so after that tedious brain explanation . . . lol. Bet you thought my FF was going to be some light & fluffy fun answer, right?

I've recently taken up reading again - as in the past 2 months. The real world has become a challenge to me due to my PTSD flaring up, so escaping into a good book has been a lifesaver for me. I know it's not always a good idea - this idea of escaping and hiding from the real world - but sometimes it helps calm me down and gives me relief from my anxiety.

I'm currently reading a lot of Jane Austen and Jane Austen-inspired books. After seeing the movie Austenland, I had to read the book by Shannon Hale and it's sequel. You can find my review on all 3 here. That put me in the mood to read more Jane and stories set in the Regency period.

I do have one question. With my recent resurgence into reading, is there a link or site I can go to that can tell me the difference between all the genre terms? If I read something like that, maybe I can actually post which genres I like to read. :) There's New Adult and Dystopian and YA Contemporary but what do those all mean? Help a book blogger gal out, will ya? :)

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Twitter: @SheWroteSheRead

If you'd like to be listed on my blogroll, let me know. I'd love to swap links.

Also, please post my Book Blogger Buddy Meme on your site! It's a great way to share your link with other book bloggers! Let me know if you do it and I'll stop by!

Follow Friday

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

Question of the Week: Spring is in the air! Show off your favorite outdoors reading spot. If you don’t go outside...well where else do you read that isn’t inside your house? We want pics!

I wanted to participate this week, but I don't have any photos of me reading outdoors. When I do, I like to lay on a chaise lounge and feel the spring breeze. I won't lay out there if it's summer though!

Here's a picture of me so that you at least know what I look like. :)

Follow Friday

1. Brave New Girl by Louisa Luna

A fourteen-year-old trying to find her way in the world, Doreen is as much an outcast at school as she is at home. Marginalized by her peers, misunderstood by her parents, and mourning the loss of her older brother who disappeared when she was just a child, Doreen finds solace in her fierce love of music and in her best friend, Ted. But when her older sister begins dating a bewildering twenty-one-year-old named Matthew, Doreen must confront feelings she never knew she possessed. Forced into adulthood kicking and screaming (not to mention swearing), Doreen ultimately impels her troubled family to forge a new understanding of the world -- and, maybe more surprisingly, of one another. High school is bad enough; it's worse when you have only one friend in the world and a family that just doesn't get it. This breathless coming-of-age novel explores the alienation of adolescence and introduces a bold and shimmering new voice in fiction.

2. Girl by Blake Nelson

"After I saw Todd Sparrow something deep inside me began to change. It was not a big change and I didn't shave my head and I didn't really think any differently about my life or Hillside or anything like that. But one glimpse of Todd and you immediately realized how limited you were and all the things you could do if you could just break out of your normal existence and stop worrying about what everyone thought."

3. Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Rosie and Alex are destined for each other, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, the are separated as teenagers when Alex and his family relocate from Dublin to Boston. Like two ships always passing in the night, Rosie and Alex stay friends, and though years pass, the two remain firmly attached via emails and letters. Heartbroken, they learn to live without each other. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel of several missed opportunities, Rosie and Alex learn that fate isn't quite done with them yet. Show more Show less