It seems like this month has zipped by on hyper drive. I can't believe it will soon be my favorite time of the year, October, with pumpkins and witches and lots of goodies. The nights are getting a little cooler here in Georgia, and the trees are beginning to change colors and drop their leaves. Another September highlighting the bend in the road that leads to winter—and another birthday for me come Christmas.

Note my picture: My sister and I got to meet up this September. She lives in Nevada so we don't get to see each other very often. It was a nice visit and fun to see how her kids are growing up.

With school in session we are crazy busy, but I love watching my kids grow and make friends. Their hours away from home give me more time to write, edit, review—whatever I'm into at the moment, and sometimes I even sneak a little shopping trip into my day. I've hit the clearance and consignment sales this month so I'm all ready for fall weather, which seems to be taking its time getting here.

The last few weeks I have been working on the final edit for a unique technological thriller called THE WILCO PROJECT that will be published soon from Solstice Publishing. I look forward to seeing it come out—we worked hard on that one (the author and I) and I believe it will be well-received. I've already done the first read through on my next editing project and it's a winner as well. I found it very ironic that after my husband went on a work-related trip to Hawaii for a week leaving me behind, my next editing assignment is set in Hawaii. Is the universe trying to tell me something? Like time for me to hit the beach?

Looking ahead, my back burner project, OCEAN'S TIDE, is really on my mind a lot these days. I think I've got my characters all figured, and I'm ready to sit back down and work on a plot map to get this story fleshed out. Every time I try to imagine my heroine, Ocean, in my mind, I picture the actress Kristen Stewart, so I think she may be my muse for this little girl lost story. I've known since I started the first few pages that my brother, an Iraq war veteran, would be the inspiration for my hero. Throw in the beach and some romantic tension, and I think we're ready to go.

I'll be updating my website for October soon so make sure you check in for the book trailer of the month winner and for updates on my releases. Have a great week, bloggers!

~daniellethorne

Crow’s Nest Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This week, check out my Crow's Nest review for my monthly newsletter, THE PRIVATEER NEWSLETTER. For monthly fun, sign up to receive this short and sweet and a little bit silly update about the writing world: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePrivateerNewsletter/?yguid=197416267


Title: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
Author: Jeff Kinney
Disclaimer: I received no compensation for reviewing this novel.

That's right, I said DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. Why? Because it's one of the most memorable books I've read this month. People everywhere are talking about the "cheese touch" so I had to see the movie and read the book to understand this cootious phenomenon. What I learned is that middle school is just as tough now as when I was a kid, if not worse.

Lucky for me, I have a reader in the house who has collected them all, so I only had to sneak into the bedroom of an elementary school-aged child to get a hold of this hot series. It's all about poor Greg Heffley who has to start middle school after not growing any all summer like some of the other kids who are already sprouting...(GASP!)...hair. His older brother, Roderick, warns him to keep his head down, but Greg is determined to be popular enough to make the yearbook. As life usually does, things don't go according to plan, and thanks to his cruel older brother and best friend, Rowley (who would rather be himself than be cool), middle school does not go so well.

Sketched illustrations gave the story a comic book edge, and Greg's sarcastic observations about his sneaky successes and dismal failures kept me in stitches. I haven't read a book this fun since I picked up the first HARRY POTTER novel so many years ago. It's a totally different genre, but like POTTER, it touches something universal—though not in a "cheese touch" kind of way. With or without little nippers, I recommend this series to anyone who wants to laugh until something squirts out their nose.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Powder Flasks

It's an Electronic Reader, Not a Vegetable!

The other day I was mulling over the frustration of not being able to get my kids to eat vegetables when I thought about some of the reluctance I come across when people unfamiliar with e-readers are approached about them. Some folks are so stubborn at the thought of reading a book electronically, they remind me of my kids at dinner. Rather than explore the options of different readers, or just take a taste and try reading a short story on a computer or hand-held device, they declare they are too old-fashioned or unable to work such modern gizmos. Some screw up their faces like a kid with a plate of greens in front of him. For Peter's sake, print books aren't going anywhere, but the efficiency and convince of e-books are here to stay, and things will only get better. And easier. I think the next time someone makes a face when I tell them I publish electronically, I'm going to hand them a can of spinach.