Summary:
R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

My thoughts:
I admit that I read this book because I'm dying to see the movie and I prefer to read the book before I see the movie adaptation. Having said that, I wish I would've read the book before I saw the movie trailer. Why? I love the trailer. It cracks me up. I thought the book would be more comedic than it is. Having said that, I did really enjoy the book.

I remember people saying zombies will never be big because they aren't sexy. Enter R. Even though I was grossed out by him describing the body parts he was eating, I still fell for him. He is trying to hold on to his humanity and be more like the living. How can you not swoon over that? I did. I wasn't crazy about Julie's character though. She was really mean to R's best friend M, and I didn't see a reason for it. He was helping to protect her. If she could see the humanity in R, I felt she should've seen it in M, too.

The dynamic between R and Julie was very well done though. There's plenty of conflict but I rooted for them despite everything they had working against them. I have to admit the ending was predictable, but even though I knew how the book was going to end, I still enjoyed it. It was the logical ending for them in my mind.

Just for fun: Can a zombie be sexy?

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop  If you are looking for the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop, click here. The giveaway runs until the 22nd.
2. Thank you!  Last Monday Touch of Death was the Daily Kindle Deal, and I was blown away at how many people downloaded it. I can't thank you all enough. It was an incredible day, so thank you for making it so special.
3. Stalked by Death  Final edits are finished. August 13 is just around the corner, and I'm SO excited to share this book with you. Poor Jodi is up against some really tough odds in this book.
4. Editing  I have three client edits lined up for the rest of this month and one already set for the beginning of April. I'm going to be busy. :)
5. Love All  The reviews are coming in for Love All and I'm so pleased! This book is special to me because I was in a similar love triangle in high school. So while the events in the book are fictional, the emotions are very much my own.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Kindle Daily Deal!  Touch of Death was selected to be the Kindle Daily Deal today! I'm beyond excited. For today ONLY you can get Touch of Death on Kindle for $1.99! Yes, I said $1.99! Squee!
2. School Library Journal  Touch of Death got a great review in the March issue of the School Library Journal. :)
3. Happy birthday to my dad!  Today is my dad's birthday. If you're reading this, happy birthday, Dad!
4. Drafting put on hold  I've had to put my WIP on hold for the time being. I have client edits and edits on my own books to get through, and unless I give up sleep completely, I just can't draft a new book right now. :(
5. Giveaway  I'm participating in the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop on Friday. My post will actually go up on Thursday since they like them up early, so check back for a giveaway for some great books.

Today I'm happy to share the cover of Meradeth Houston's latest novel, The Chemistry of Fate, due to release April 2013.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Birthday Party  Yesterday was my daughter's birthday party. Lots of fun.
2. Sweets Blogfest  The Sweets Blogfest is Wednesday, March 6. I'm looking forward to it. Be sure to stop back for a chance to win some sweet books.
3. YALitChat Debut Author Chat  I'm a guest on tonight's YALitChat Twitter chat at 9pm (EST). I hope you'll stop by to chat.
4. Stalked by Death  The release date for Stalked by Death was pushed back a few weeks to August 13, 2013, but you can now pre-order it on Amazon and B&N.
5. Into the Fire is on Goodreads! My YA paranormal, Into the Fire, releasing spring 2014 through Month9Books is now up on Goodreads. Woo hoo! You can add it to your TBR list here. And here's the description for you:

One of the things I learned early on is that writers need other writers. Writing is a tough business. We face rejections on so many levels, whether it's from agents, editors, or readers. I've come to think that the only way to survive in this industry is by connecting with other writers.

I joined YALitChat, She Writes, the blue boards, and the Writer's Retreat. All online communities for writers. I also have a critique group, participate in twitter chats such as #YALitChat and #KidLitChat, and I recently joined Scene13, which  is a group of writers with books coming out in 2013. 

My discovery? Writers are the greatest people. We support each other. We cheer each other on. We're there to lend a shoulder. This is such an amazing community to be a part of. So I just want to say how thankful I am to be a writer and to have met so many other amazing writers over the past few years.

How has the writing community helped you?

Lately I've been having the same problem. I'll get an idea for a new manuscript and as soon as I flesh it out, another one hits. Getting ideas is great. We couldn't write without them. But why do they have to come at the same time?

Last week, I fleshed out my plotting for a new YA novel and wrote 8,000 words of it. Then I had to stop to work on edits for my MG novel. I finished the edits and the manuscript is in the hands of 6 of my lovely CPs as we speak, so I thought I'd go back to working on my YA novel. Wrong. I woke up Sunday morning at 4am with another idea. An idea that I love. 

The beginning of the book came to me so clearly, so I got up at 5:45 and starting writing it down. I had to because I didn't want to lose the MC's voice, which was so clear in my mind. And after writing that small section, I loved the idea even more.

So now the question remains, do I work on both novels at the same time, something I admit I'm not good at doing? Or do I let one novel take over and put the other aside?

What do you do when multiple ideas come at you at once?

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. My daughter's birthday!  Tomorrow is my daughter's 6th birthday. How did that happen? She's getting so big.
2. Scholastic Book Fair  I'm working at my daughter's school all week to help the PTO out with the book fair. I'm going to have to write like the wind in the afternoons to make up for working in the mornings.
3. New novel idea  I woke up at 4am Sunday morning with yet another book idea. I'm currently doing edits on my MG novel and I'm drafting another YA already, too. I need to clone myself so I can get all this done.
4. Warm Bodies  I'm dying to see this movie. I'm reading the book right now and will be reviewing it soon.
5. Sweets Blogfest  There's still time to sign up for the Sweets Blogfest on March 6th. The rules are simple, just post the blogfest button and link to me and my co-host Beth Fred. Then write about your favorite sweet, favorite sweet couple, favorite sweet romance, or promote your own sweet romance. That's it! You can sign up below:

Summary:
Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend's ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn—but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can't conquer?

My thoughts:
I've been dying to read this book, yet I put it off because I didn't want this series to end. Hush, Hush is hands down my favorite YA series. I fell in love with Patch and Nora in book one and their relationship just gets stronger as the series progresses.
In Finale, Nora and Patch find themselves on opposite sides of a war, but if you've followed the series, you know they can overcome anything. Nora has to lead the Nephilim army in a war against fallen angels or she'll die since she swore an oath. Over the course of the book, she comes to side with the Nephilim, understanding that they are victims in this battle, and she truly wants to help them. Only she's hiding a big secret—or two. She killed their former leader and she's dating a fallen angel.
The twists in this book are amazing! As they were revealed, I thought, "I should've seen that coming!" But I didn't, which I love. I did predict something major that happened at the end, but I was okay with it because if it hadn't happened, it would've felt unrealistic to me.
I got teary when I finished the book because I don't want to say goodbye to Patch and Nora. This is definitely a series I'll read again and again.

Just for fun:
What's your favorite book about angels?

Yes, you read that correctly. I made a recent discovery that I like to set scenes in bathrooms. Why? Weird things happen to me in bathrooms. Weird things happen to my family members in bathrooms. So, it only seems natural that weird things would happen to my characters in bathrooms.

To be different, I'm sharing a video I made of me reading one of my favorite bathroom scenes in Touch of Death. Enjoy!



Do you have any weird settings that pop up often in your books?

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Presidents Day  Happy Presidents Day! My daughter and husband are both home for the holiday.
2. Taxes  We're getting our taxes done this morning. I hate sitting through this, but the refund is always nice.
3. New SUV  We're picking up my husband's new Escape this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll like driving this better than his previous vehicle, which felt like a bus to me.
4. New WIP  Yes, I'm still plotting this book. I keep getting snippets of dialogue instead of an overall plot ARC. Very strange, but I'm very "go with the flow" when it comes to plotting.
5. Love All Reading  I decided to make a video of me reading the opening of Love All, my YA romance novella. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out below. And Love All is still only $1.29 on Kindle and Nook.

Hi, everyone! I'm really excited today because I have Shannon Duffy with me. She's my publishing house sister, a great friend, and the author of the middle grade novel Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta, which released yesterday from Month9Books.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Good News!  Face of Death, the third and final installment in the Touch of Death trilogy is under contract with Spencer Hill Press. The deal was announced in Publisher's Marketplace last week: "Kelly Hashway's FACE OF DEATH, the final book in the Touch of Death trilogy, to Trisha Woolridge at Spencer Hill Press, in a nice deal, by Lauren Hammond at ADA Management Group."
2. Being sick is awful: My daughter and I have been sick for a long time now, and I'm so done with it all.
3. Working at my daughter's school:  I'll be helping out at my daughter's school Wednesday and Thursday with Valentine's Day sales and group photos. I love getting to see her with all her friends.
4. Sweets Blogfest: To celebrate the release of our sweet love stories, my friend Beth Fred and I are hosting The Sweets Blogfest on March 6! And we'd love it if you'd participate. You can sign up in the linky below.

Synopsis:
“Everyone trusted me back then. Good old, dependable Diana. Which is why most people didn’t notice at first.”

"Your shirt is yellow."
"Your eyes are blue."
"You have to stop running away from your problems."
"You're too skinny."

Fifteen-year-old Diana Keller accidentally begins teaching The Obvious Game to new kid Jesse on his sixteenth birthday. As their relationship deepens, Diana avoids Jesse's past with her own secrets -- which she'll protect at any cost.

My thoughts:
Wow. This is such a powerful story. Diana is fifteen, and she hates herself. She thinks she's fat and unworthy of love, unworthy of happiness. Then she meets Jesse. She falls for him hard and while he trains for wrestling, she starts a diet that turns her into a skeleton. She's sick. But she doesn't want to stop because her weight is the only thing she feels she can control in her life. Her mother has cancer and her treatments are sending her on a roller coaster ride that Diana is afraid will lead to her death. 

Diana's thoughts about herself are scary. They ripped at my heart. I cried for her. I cried for her mother. The pain Diana feels comes right through the pages, and I wanted nothing more than to get her help. She became that real to me. I've known people with eating disorders. I've known people who've watched loved ones suffer from cancer. The two are so powerfully woven together in this story.

This is one of those stories that every teen girl should read. It's a warning because it's so real. 

Just for fun:
It seems odd to have a "Just for fun" section for a book like this, but the story is called The Obvious Game because Diana loves to play a game where all you do is state the obvious. I'm going to start.  

Books are powerful.

Now it's your turn.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Love All Poll  Since my new novella, Love All, which just released last week, has a love triangle, I thought it would be fun to hear from readers and see if more people are Team Ash or Team Noah. So in my sidebar, you'll see a poll. And, yes, you can choose both guys if you find yourself torn between the two. You can even change your response if you change your mind as the series continues.
2. Touch of Death Facebook Quiz  I'm working on a FB quiz for Touch of Death, so read up and get ready! More details soon.
3. Seeking Pictures!  If you've bought one of my books, take a picture of you holding it. (Yes, ebooks totally count.) I want to post them on FB and my website. As a thank you, I'll send you SWAG.
4. Buy Links  It took me long enough, but I finally got the Amazon buy now buttons on my website and right here in my sidebar. It was so easy I felt a little silly for not being able to figure it out without asking for help.
5. Novellas  I'm really loving novellas right now. They're quick reads, so I can tear right through a lot in a short amount of time. With my schedule lately, that's a really good thing.

This month I received a comment from one of my amazing editors saying that she loved how I could say so much in so few words. She was referring to alterations she suggested to strengthen the story, but it made me think. My style is to say more with less. That's me.

I'm not one for books with lengthy descriptions or long, drawn-out explanations. I don't want to insult my readers by spelling everything out for them. So I try to say more with less. Honestly, I learned this writing short fiction because I was constantly having to tell full stories within small word counts. I guess that carried over into my novel writing. 

I admit that books with lengthy paragraphs of narration scare me. I shy away from them and prefer more white space on the page. Maybe that too contributes to my "less is more" attitude.

What about you? Do you prefer when authors can say a lot in fewer words or do like more lengthy descriptions?

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Love All is only $1.99!  In honor of Valentine's Day, my publisher Swoon Romance lowered the price of Love All to $1.99. Grab your copy here before the price goes back up.
2. Advantage: Heartbreak and Perfect Match  Novellas two and three in the Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series have been pushed back to May 7 and October 15. I'm relieved. Spacing them out will make them much easier for me to promote. I've extended the time on the Team Ash or Team Noah poll in my sidebar to span the entire series. Don't forget to cast your vote. :)
3. Touch of Death FB Quiz  The quiz is up and running! Now you can see how well you know Jodi and the other Ophi in Touch of Death. I've seen some of you have already taken it and posted your results on FB. Thank you! I hope you found it fun.
4. Plotting a New Novel  I've been researching for a new book and playing around with Scrivener to help me plot it. So much fun!
5. Into the Fire Cover Reveal  Month9Books made a video to reveal the covers of their new books and showcase those coming out soon. My YA paranormal Into the Fire is in it! I'm so excited. It's gorgeous! And it's the thumbnail for the video! Check it out!