Guest Blogger: Sammie Faye Rogers - Christmas Reads

I would like to start this post by thanking Kris for his support and for allowing me to take control (ha) of his blog for one day to post this for you all. As a fellow writer and someone I met during NaNoWriMo, I have a lot of respect for Kris and am just so appreciative of his support. Today I have written a post on the books I plan to read this Christmas time.

Reading during Christmas is something that I love to do because I just love getting into that magical and spectacular feeling. Christmas has always been a big family holiday for me but it’s also a time for giving, loving, and there’s just this lovely magnificent feel to the entire season. Therefore, during this Christmas period I plan to read books that have the same kind of feel to them.

          

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern
I have long been a lover of Cecelia Ahern’s books and so when I heard about her newest release, I simply had to get it. And as I know her books usually fill me with happiness and are full of magic, I am looking forward to saving it for Christmas.

Heart Waves by Danielle Sibarium
The synopsis of this book sounds so intense and heart-breaking and magical, and I simply cannot wait to dive straight into it! But with all the romance side of it, I think it’ll be a perfect Christmas read.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
This book has such an amazing premise and the reviews of it have all said that it is amazing, plus I have read the first chapter and loved it. So I am looking forward to carrying on with this story but thought it best to wait until Christmas as it’s a wintry read!

             

The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable
I have had this book in my possession for way too long now without picking it up! It stares at me all the time and I just want to pick up because it is so pretty and purple. But it’s set in winter with a snowy cover and I have been waiting for the perfect moment to dive into it!

Night School by C. J. Daugherty
This I actually got almost a year ago and have been meaning to read all year but never got the chance. Because it’s about witches, sounds spectacular and has a sequel on the way next year, I really want to read this over Christmas.

A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton
This book has been on my radar for a really long time and it also makes me think it’ll give me the same feel that Christmas gives me so I’m looking forward to getting to it this month! It has also been recommended to me too, so I am really excited to start this.

As you can see, most of these questions aren’t your typical Christmas reads but that’s what I like about them. They’re different, unique, and can bring that Christmas feel to a person at any time of the year.

What books are you hoping to read this Christmas?

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Why Blog?

It's probably appropriate that after returning to Four Thousand Words from my successful Nanowrimo hiatus that my first blog entry for absolutely aaaaaaages is selling someone else's dream rather than my own.

My friend Sammie (also known as Faye), who I met through Nanowrimo, is attempting to win a competition run by teen fiction publishers MiraInk to win an awesome job - blogging for a wage.

Contrary to popular belief, those of us that bare our souls on the internet so that the rest of you have something to read that is slightly more informative than the Daily Mail or the Sun are, shockingly, not financially rewarded for our efforts. I know, I know. When I began this enterprise as a way of venting my spleen that wouldn't see me banned from public places or having an aneurysm at the sheer bloody awful state of things, I expected to have a following of millions of smiling, attractive followers within the week, and enough advertising revenue and merchandising to retire forever to Miami within a few months. After all, I have a IQ in three figures and a vicious sense of humour, which puts me on a rough social par with Frankie Boyle. But unfortunately, I'm also about as wealthy as a typical Glaswegian. Anyway, I digress.

Sammie is one of ten hip young things who have a chance to win the blogging contract, and it would really help her efforts if we could share her sixty-second entry far and wide to ensure that she nets this prestigious prize.

Click here to see Sammie's entry.

The question that Sammie asks in her entry is, 'Why Blog?' Unlike me, she has a slightly more in depth answer than 'if I don't get the crazy out, I'm scared I might pop a vein.' Sammie reviews books - those much vilified and sadly underrated cornerstones of civilisation that are disregarded by so many in an age of instant gratification and reality television.

In addition to a role contributing something positive to society, Sammie is sweet and friendly, and has lots of time for her audience. Her blog, 'A Daydreamer's Thoughts', can be found by clicking on the link.

Sammie is right that it takes guts to put a piece of yourself on the internet - that unforgiving, all-encompassing web that has access to all your drunken pictures and never forgets all the silly things that you have to say. But when you have the reward of knowing that something you have produced is enjoyed and shared with others, it makes the whole act of producing something so completely worthwhile. In short, it is what being a writer is all about.