Friday, December 27, 2013

3 Gates of the Dead by Jonathan Ryan


It has been far too long since I've read just for fun. I came across author, Jonathan Ryan online and decided to try out his recently released and much lauded thriller novel, 3 Gates of the Dead. Sooo glad I did! I was entertained, and creeped out, and thrilled... but I also felt like I had received something.
 Ryan is not only a good story teller, he's very insightful and adept at "showing", in a gently didactic way, some deeply human dilemmas and opposing philosophies that truly resonated with me. I read it quickly, due to his smooth and interesting narrative, and enjoyed it very much. I love a book that is fun to read but also makes me think. 
The characters are well drawn and the suspenseful story crescendos into a big, scary finish that you won't want to miss. This is the first in a series and I totally look forward to seeing what happens next in this spooky world that Ryan has created. 

BUY THIS SUCKAH ON AMAZON!!! CLICK!

Sometimes, the most evil things come from the most holy….
Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan Schaeffer, a young assistant pastor, is in a constant state of spiritual turmoil. When Aiden learns that his ex-fiancee is the first victim in a string of ritualistic killings, he finds himself in the middle of an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted by spirits, Aidan throws himself into investigating Amanda’s death; all the while supernatural forces have begun to attack the people around him. The more questions he asks, the more he is drawn into the world of a mysterious Anglican priest, a paranormal investigation group and a rogue female detective investigating the murders. As the gruesome rituals escalate, ancient hidden secrets and an evil long buried threaten to rip Aidan’s world apart.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Peggy Eddleman's book launch for Sky Jumpers



The Cube had a chance to hang out at Peggy Eddleman's book launch last night. It was fun to see some of our other author friends there and celebrate the release of her much anticipated MG book, Sky Jumpers.
Random House has really gotten behind it. Looks like its going to be a good one! 


We're thrilled to have her present at our Teen Author Boot Camp 2014 in March.


We're so excited for you, Peggy! Congratulations!

Friday, September 13, 2013

TABC goes to SLC Comic Con

Writers Cubed had a booth at the first ever Salt Lake City Comic Con. There were over to 70,000 people there! Which is record breaking for first year Cons.


Crazy crowd in a fan frenzy! Many in costume! 

It was a lot of fun to have many of our Teen Author Boot Camp alumni stop by and visit us! And to meet so many new possible recruits.






Custom props courtesy of Schaffer Studios

At Comic Con we announced our two keynote authors for TABC 2014...drum roll...James Dashner (The Maze Runner Trilogy) and Allie Condie (Matched series)!!!It's going to be a fantastic year with our two keynotes and at least 15 other awesome, published authors.




Here I am with Frank Cole and James Dashner at Comic Con

And... I admit after the first day there I realized I needed to resort to dressing like Xena. Haha!
Here I am with "Xander" (Buffy) and "Hercules"!
Can't wait for the upcoming Teen Author Boot Camp! It will be a blast!






Monday, March 25, 2013

TABC 2013

This year we had an incredible group of authors hanging out at Teen Author Boot Camp.
(Cindy C. Bennet,  Tess Hilmo, J.R. Johansson, Clark Schaffer, Kiersten White, Jannette Rallison, J. Scott Savage, Marion Jensen,  agent Amy Jameson, Tyler Whitesides, Frank Cole, Jo Schaffer, Lois Brown, Margie Jordan, Shannon Hale, James Lewis, Jennifer Jenkins, Aprilynne Pike.)


We had a blast! Almost 400 teens attended! Can't wait for next year. We already have an amazing keynote speaker lined up as well as a handful of awesome authors to teach in our break out sessions.





The first chapter contest winners showed impressive talent. The future of writing is in good hands! These teens are talented!

Highlights for me : 
*A hilarious keynote by author, Shannon Hale.
*Interacting with all the great teens!
*Performing a skit/song with author, Tyler Whitesides. (Which ended with a kilted bagpipe player that made the audience roar!)
* Using my ninja skills to throw author, Frank Cole on his back. (; (Love ya, Frank!) 

Many of the classes and our hilarious promo video are available on our site! www.teenauthorbootcamp.com





Thursday, February 7, 2013

Teen Author Boot Camp Livestream!

 
ATTENTION!

Shine those combat boots and sharpen your pencils, Recruits. Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the nation’s largest writing conference for teenagers, is going virtual on March 16, 2013.

The Utah-based conference (created by WritersCubed) will host seventeen amazing presenters—including Newbury-award winner Shannon Hale (Princess Academy.) While the conference is in its third year, this is the first time it will be broadcast live on the internet. This will allow for teens nationwide to have the opportunity to join in the fun as well as teachers, librarians, and writers of any age.

The keynote address by Shannon Hale will be free for anyone to watch. A subscription to the entire Live Broadcast costs $4.99 and includes the following: (Remember these are all Mountain Standard Times, so adjust to where you live.)

9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.—Writers Cubed: Welcome

9:15 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.—Keynote by Newbery Award winner Shannon Hale (Princess Academy)

10 a.m to 10:45 a.m.—Tyler Whitesides (Janitors)  Class: Imagine and Create. 

10:55 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.—Janette Rallison (My Fair Godmother)  Class: Bad dialogue can kill a story.

12:50 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.—NYT bestseller Kiersten White (Paranormalcy)  Class: Plot Like a Villain.

1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.—J. Scott Savage (Farworld)  Class: Finding Your Voice.

2:50 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.—Journey to Publication Panel: Agent Amy Jameson & authors Chad Morris, Tess Hilmo, J. Scott Savage, Cindy Bennett

3:35 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.—NYT bestseller Aprilynne Pike (Wings)   Class: World-building is the invisible foundation to your book.

4:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.—Writers Cubed: Closing remarks.

If you just can’t get enough of TABC, there is also an All Pass Subscription to the rest of the conference (including more than fifteen awesome presentations, including mine--haha). That only costs $9.99 and, as if it wasn’t a sweet enough deal already, you can watch the whole conference whenever you want for an entire year.

To register to watch Shannon Hale’s Keynote for free, visit www.teenauthorbootcamp.com and click on Livestream. It only takes a minute. While you’re there, check out the other presenters who will be teaching at the conference under the tab “Drill Sergeants.”

Stay tuned for details on how to win a subscription to the TABC Live Broadcast for FREE on this blog.


Lois D. Brown is a co-founder of Writers Cubed, a group of Utah writing activists who created the Teen Author Boot Camp in 2010. She is also the author of CYCLES, a top five finalist of The Kindle Book Review 2012. Please visit her website at www.writerscubed.com.

Friday, February 1, 2013

On the radio with author, Tyler Whitesides

Teen Author Boot Camp 2013 is getting closer and closer! Recently Writers Cubed went on the air with host, Rebecca Cressman, and author, Tyler Whitesides to talk about writing and TABC 2013!

Listen to the interview here!








 

Afterwards we got some breakfast!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Case FIle 13, Zombie Kid Book Launch

Tonight, Writers Cubed partied at J. Scott Savage's book launch for his new book, Case File 13, Zombie Kid.
The Cube knows him as Jeff or "Dad" because he was actually the man who, in a way, gave Writers Cubed their start by encouraging critique groups in a community writing class that he taught in our area.


 Jeff Savage is the author of eleven published books including the Farworld fantasy series, the Shandra Covington mystery series, The Fourth Nephite, the Case File 13 series by Harper Collins. He has visited over 400 schools and teaches many writing class and conferences.


At the launch he rapped about the living dead, handed out gruesome prizes and fans were fed brains (delicious cupcake confections shaped as brains) during the book signing.

Savage will be teaching a course on Finding Your Voice at this year's Teen Author Boot Camp, presented by Writers Cubed.

Way to go, "Dad"!