2013 Rewind: My Top 10 YA Reads

As 2013 comes to a close, I joined my fellow crew over at the YA Buccaneers to look back at my top 10 YA reads for the year:

10. ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake

9. SHATTER ME by Taherah Mafi

8. UNRAVEL ME by Taherah Mafi

7. JUST ONE DAY by Gayle Forman

6. THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey

5. THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS by Sarah Ockler

4. CROWN OF MIDNIGHT by Sarah J. Maas

3. THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas

2. SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

1. SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo

If you hopped over here from the YA Buccaneers site***, you already know I picked SIEGE AND STORM as my #1 pick, for the following reason:

SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo wins my favorite book for 2013, thanks to the compelling story arc and amazing cast of characters. Like many, I'm a huge fan of the Darkling and can't wait to see where Bardugo takes him and Alina in book #3 -- but a new character introduced in this second installment, Sturmhond, was the one I couldn't wait to read more of! This character's quick wit and great sense of humor had me flying through the pages -- and I'm really hoping there will be more of him in RUIN AND RISING. A lot more of him.

So, so many great reads this year, it was hard to pick just ten. Especially since there were many I didn't get a chance to read yet, that I'm sure would've made the list -- like THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater, RUBY RED by Kerstin Gier, and FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell. Who knows, maybe they'll make my list for 2014!

***Don't forget to head back over to the YA Buccaneers to check out the top 10 lists for the rest of the crew -- and enter to win this month's giveaway to win an autographed copy of ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth!

I'd love to hear, what were some of your favorite YA reads this year?

Happy 2013: My Word For The Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'd probably say 2012 brought a few challenges my way, but overall, it was a pretty successful year. 

First and foremost, I managed to do a complete rewrite on THE LUCKY FEW - which was beyond one of the biggest / craziest undertakings I've ever attempted, in my writing endeavors. I didn't know I had it in me to scrap over 50,000 words in my manuscript and rewrite them all over again. And I never thought I'd be even happier with the outcome, than before I started. 

The day I got to hit the send button and ship it off to Mr. Agent Man, was a happy day indeed! 

And speaking of Mr. Agent Man - we've been working exclusively together for 17 months now. And within that time, I've done two revisions and the one massive rewrite. He's been amazing to work with and honestly, I think THE LUCKY FEW is in a much better place than it ever has been.

Now all I need to do is wait. And man, the waiting is pain.ful. 

But, I've decided 2013 is going to be an even better year than 2012! It includes a few goals, such as hoping to hear good news from Mr. Agent Man on my rewrite - and more importantly, that he wants to sign me. I also really want to get moving on book number two in the series (aside from getting my outline down on paper, I've only written a few chapters). I've also just started a new relationship with Scrivener, but until I'm completely comfortable, I haven't walked away from Word, just yet. And I'd also like to attempt to blog more - especially since February brings my third year on the web!

So to follow suit from Katy Upperman and a post she wrote today on her Word Of The Year - I thought I'd also come up with a word for 2013! And this year's word is:

Perseverance

Perseverance (as defined by Merriam-Webster): continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : steadfastness

But I think Winston Churchill said it best:

So, what does 2013 mean for you? What will your Word Of The Year be?