Winner Announcements

So sorry for being late on two of these giveaways. But let's dive right into it and announce the winners:


The winner of an ebook copy of Being by TR Mousner is:

Maureen
(claimed =D)

The two winners of signed copies of Ada, Ledgend of a Healer by RA McDonald is:

Meredith Miller
(claimed =D)

&

Julie S.
(claimed =D)

The winner of an ebook copy of Warrior Reborn by KH LeMoyne is:

Vivien
(claimed =D)

Thanks so much for being patient and visiting the blog!! And congrats to the winners =) I've emailed everyone so please respond by Tuesday, August 2nd.

Review & Giveaway: Being

Being

T.R. Mousner

Series or Stand Alone: Book one in a planned series

Release Date: March 2011

Publisher: Tamara Mousner

Pages/Format: .pdf ebook

Author Site: http://www.trmousner.com/

My Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Received for review from author

Synopsis:

[from goodreads.com]

For elite extraterrestrial pilot EBN-Reyoz-X, awaiting rescue while hiding out in a trailer park in Lancaster, California, is a grueling nightmare. She’s injured, lacks proper supplies and can’t blend in with the indigenous population because she’s seven feet tall and can’t control the trail of wildflowers blooming in the wake of her footsteps. She’s unprepared to begin sexual maturity in the alien land and when she develops feelings for Shale, the mute teenage boy next door, she’s convinced circumstances can get no worse.

Except rescue never comes and once word spreads that her touch holds miraculous healing abilities, EBN must find a way to fix her ship, evade capture by the United States Air Force and survive long enough to return home.

Review:

Although I have a lot of sci-fi books on my TBR I haven’t really had a chance to delve into the genre. Being succeeds in providing many of the reasons why I want to read sci-fi and reminds me to have an open mind when I read them. I enjoy books that are able to convey universal messages from the author with subtlety and grace. Being was mostly successful in not being too brash about environmental issues that should be important to every person living on Earth. Overall Being is a nice breathe of fresh air in the YA genre!

I also enjoyed how smooth the different POVs between EBN, Shale, and Aix went. EBN, while somewhat knowledgeable on Sent (human) life, is injured and completely alone after crash landing on Erox (Earth). After numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact her grand-Ada (grandfather) for a plan of rescue EBN copes by befriending Shale. Although she has broken many rules by getting involved with Shale and his sister, EBN begins to feel things she has never felt before. It was so easy to start to really care for EBN and her well-being as she struggled through each day.

Shale has his own issues to work through as he comes to term with his feelings for EBN. I found it fascinating how different Shale and EBN’s opinion of each other’s appearance was with the rest of the world. Both Shale and EBN were irresistibly drawn to each other and both were beautiful to the other person. The rest of the world found them weird, gawky, and too different. Their blossoming relationship was a very welcoming part of the book and one I really enjoyed.

I think my favorite character is Aix because I was more interested in his mission to finding the truth about EBN. He is brave and intelligent just like his sister and I felt his POV was more interesting. I say that because he’s back on Pharallax and his POV talks about his culture and the similarities/differences between Sent life and Adelian and Nadreen life. I love when authors are able to really step out of their comfort zones and create new worlds and ideas and still tie them in to modern life.

I’m looking forward to seeing what T.R. comes out with next regarding EBN. Being was exciting, different, and filled with loving values that will come across very easily. Love, family, and taking care of where we live is important to T.R. and her characters as it should be important to everybody. I think Being will be a real winner with YA and adult readers alike.

P.S. (cover talk)

While I’m not totally in love with it I think it goes along with the story nicely. I also know the cover has a special place in T.R.’s heart which is pretty cool.

Thanks to the lovely Tamara Mousner I have an ebook copy available for 1 winner!

To enter simply fill out this form!

Giveaway ends July 21st

Open Internationally

Good Luck!

Q&A with Tamara Mousner

I'm so delighted to welcome author Tamara Mousner to P.S. I Love Books today!

Tamara Mousner studied acting with an Oscar-winning teacher in Los Angeles, played a few anime characters, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston with a Creative Writing degree, did a little theatre, studied with award-winning novelists, published a few articles (under her maiden name), wrote a manuscript for a novel, rewrote said manuscript many times and self-published said manuscript, a paranormal romance for young adults with a sci-fi edge entitled, Being.

 
Welcome Tamara! I appreciate you taking the time out to visit P.S. I Love Books.


Thank you so much for having me as your guest!

Can you tell us a little bit about Being?


Being is about an extraterrestrial whose ship crashes in California after colliding with space trash orbiting Earth.

But Being is also about family and the connections we share with those we love most. The story showcases two families, one human and one extraterrestrial. My extraterrestrials are similar to humans in many respects, except they have different philosophies and a different, more peaceful way of being than humans do.

What was one of your favorite and least favorite things about writing it?


Most favorite: exploring the narrative, getting to know the characters & my creative process. Least favorite: All the trees I killed getting the story where I wanted it (guilt!)

Which of the characters did you enjoy working with the most?


I love them all, but I’d have to say EBN. She held the biggest surprises.

If you had the chance to do it all over again would you change anything in Being?


I’d try to tighten it up more.

What do you think of the cover?


I couldn’t be more pleased with it. The background image is a photograph I took a few years ago, so it’s especially personal and meaningful, just like Being.

If Being were made into a movie who would be your ideal cast for the main characters?

Well, l’m no casting director. However, I could see either Saoirse Ronan or Dakota Fanning playing EBN, Zac Efron would make a stellar Aix and I’m not sure for Shale. Shale’s role has undiscovered talent written all over it.

If you could write a book about absolutely anything with any other author (dead or alive) what would it be about and who would you choose?

Wow! That’s some question. Let me see … the easy answer is I think Dr. Seuss and I could’ve had a blast working together; Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury and Stephen King too. But the more I think about it, the more writers come to mind and truth be told, I have no idea what it would be about because of the nature of the collaborative process. We’d both have to agree on the subject matter.

If you didn’t have a passion for writing books what do you think you’d be doing as a career?


Physician.

I’m always looking for books to add to my ginormous TBR (to be read) pile. What books are you currently reading or have read recently? Any good recommendations?


My current faves are City of Thieves by David Benioff and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

What are some of your favorite things to do when given a break from the writing life and other work-related things? 


Running, working out, seeing my friends & family. I don’t get much time to do either unfortunately.

Are you currently working on any projects that we may see from you in the future?


I’m doing the prep work for Being’s sequel, getting inspired and writing scene sketches.

Thank you so much for stopping by Tamara! Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

My blog: http://www.trmousner.com/

Follow me on Twitter: @TRMousner

Being on Amazon: http://amzn.to/hZIQ6b

Being Fan Page on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/fG14ox

Being on goodreads: http://bit.ly/gm26B4

Coming soon: Being on Barnes & Noble!

Come back to see my review of Being and enter for a chance to win an ebook copy!