Z is for Zombies vs Unicorns

I can't believe it's the END of the #AtoZ Blogging Challenge. I'll admit, there were days throughout the month where I wondered how I could write another post, and on almost every Sunday, I felt great relief that I didn't have to post again...but now that we've come to the end, I feel a little empty.

Just a little, though. Kudos to the 1500+ bloggers who took part in the challenge this year. I met some fabulous new writers, made some new friends, and absolutely honed my blogging chops. How did you fare?

My watchYAreading series ends with ZOMBIES AND UNICORNS, an amazingly fantastic anthology of stories written by bestselling teen authors including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfield and many more.

Twelve awesome stories delving into the strengths and weaknesses of being a unicorn, and the good, the bad, and the really ugly of zombies. It's the anthology that will have you wondering which team you're on: Unicorn or Zombie?

After reading this amazing book, I'm not ashamed to admit, I'm a little on the fence still. I think it could use a sequel...

That's it. The end! What "Z" book would you have used to round out the challenge? Comment and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

Y is for YOU by Charles Benoit

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

I actually haven't read YOU. But that isn't for a lack of trying - I can just never find it when I'm looking for it...and despite its glowing reviews by teens, and literary agent Janet Reid, I keep forgetting to order it until...well, until moments like this.

But I do remember when I first read about the book, LONG before its expected release date, and how I'd become more and more frustrated when I couldn't find it in stores. Which leads me to wonder how much advance hype a book should receive, and whether this one in particular lived up to its high praise.

Have YOU read YOU? What did you think? Comment and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

Xombies by Walter Greatshell

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

And uh, this is a total cheat. I have never even heard of this young adult series, but a quick Google scroll (while looking for "X" books) revealed some decent reviews. 

Looks like I'll have to give the first book at least a chance.

Got a different "X" book? PLEASE tell me! Comment and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

W is for Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

Growing up, I was obsessed with Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairies, a humorous and beautifully illustrated scrapbook of...well, fairies squished between its pages, some of them crude, others fairy tale beautiful. Between that book and Disney's Tinkerbell, I admit, I had a somewhat narrow view of the fae.

Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely changed that. While I have blogged about the rest of the series in this A toZ Challenge, Wicked Lovely is truly the book that started it all...and Melissa Marr may very well be the reason I began writing young adult fiction in earnest. 

From the opening page, I was drawn in to a faery world so different from my previous perceptions - and Marr uses brilliant writing, incredible characterization, and swoon-worthy romance to keep you turning the pages...well into the night.

Is this your "W" book of choice? Let me know what you think in the comments below and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

Each of the Narnia books could have made this list - C.S. Lewis was a brilliant writer, and these books have earned their "classic" stature. Voyage of the Dawn Trader might be favorite  of the novels simply because my name's in the title. (Kidding! Mostly.)

I devoured the series more than 15 years ago, but the characters and stories remain fresh, as though I'd only read them last week. Impressive.

Somewhere along the way, my taste for fantasy waned, and I looked to romance, and then paranormal to satisfy my insatiable thirst for good fiction. Revisiting the adventures of Narnia has reminded me that perhaps it's time to give fantasy another chance.

Is this your "V" book of choice? Let me know what you think in the comments below and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

U is for Under My Skin by Judith Graves

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

To say I loved Under My Skin would be one of the biggest understatements of my life. While there is much to admire about her technical skill, Judith Graves digs deep into her seemingly endless talent pool and fills every page of this book with romance, adventure, and creeptastic, paranormal fun. 

Of course, it would be easy for me to be biased. Though it's been just over a year since Judith and I met one fated WordsWorth evening, I can't imagine a time when we weren't scheming, plotting and writing together. In the short time we've become writing partners - and friends - Judith has taught me the importance of outlines, modelled professionalism and discipline (she writes at 5-freaking-am), brainstormed brilliant marketing plans, and truthfully, she's taught me to believe in myself. When Judith cracks her whip, I write...because it would kill me to let her down. Few people - husband included - have even a fraction of that much influence over my productivity.

Under my Skin is Judith's debut novel, but trust me, she's just getting started. Last week she launched the sequel book Second Skin, AND SPIRITED, where her short story Strangeways vs the Blood Brothers is causing quite a buzz. So much so, Leap Books is publishing her first steampunk novel based on the character Amelia Strangeways. 

I am honored and proud to not only know Judith, but to spend even a little time sucking up some of her crazy talent. Haven't read Under my Skin? Do it! Now. You're going to be hearing a LOT more about Judith, my friends.

I doubt you know a better "U" title, so let's talk Under my Skin. Isn't Eryn just kick-ass? Let me know what you think in the comments below and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn

T is for Twilight by Stephenie Myer

I'm one of more than 1500 bloggers taking part in the A-Z Blogging challenge this year. The goal is to blog everyday in April - except Sundays. You don't need a theme...but I've got one.

It's called watchYAreading. Each day, I'll blog about a  young adult book I have read - and loved (or at least really liked). 

I make a lot of fun of Twilight. But the truth is, when I finally jumped on the Edward and Bella bandwagon at least a year after the craze had begun, I read all four books in two days.

That said, I recognize the whole series, Twilight included, isn't an example of exemplar writing craft. Even the story is cliched when you drill right down to the bare bones.

And yet, I could not stop reading it.

Perhaps there was a little writer envy - that seemingly overnight success, the ability to transform reading habits of young girls, and truthfully, the impressive skill in creating chemistry between the two main characters. Whatever you say about the series overall, it's hard to deny, author Stephenie Myer understands a thing or two about teen romance. And sparkles or not, Edward was quite the charmer.

But yeah, kind of creepy.

Though not a series I'd read again and again, I can appreciate Twilight's charm.

How about you? I KNOW you've got a better "T" title for me. Let me know in the comments below and at the end of the month I'll choose three readers to win a copy of SPIRITED, an anthology of haunting YA fiction.

Now, go check out the rest of the blogs in the A-Z Challenge, including my Dawn Ius site where I blog about songs and artists who have inspired me, and at the Most-Wanted Monsters blog where the awesome Judith Graves and I are waxing poetic about 26 creeptastic beasties.

- Dawn