Updates Aug 2nd

 Hello, readers!

It's August (most obvious statement ever), and the voting period for the Verve Lit Award has crossed the halfway mark. You can vote HERE, on this website, or on Facebook.

And if you haven't seen it yet, here is some news I posted on Facebook about a book/series that became eligible in two categories because of YOU GUYS! :

Big news! I was checking the fill-in responses on the poll, and Molly Evangeline's books have qualified in two new categories: The Pirate Daughter's Series [edited; this is not a trilogy] in SERIES, and The Pirate Daughter's Promise in INDEPENDENT (a book must receive three votes as a fill-in to qualify in a new category).

Also, the only books in the whole lot that have not received one vote are The Running Dream and Wonder Struck. I guess my fellow Indie-published/Small Publisher fans are sending a message! ;-D

If you haven't voted yet, you still have until August 15th. Don't wait too long, go out there and support your favorites (even if it is a fill-in :-) ).

(source)

Tomorrow, tomorrow.

HEY READERS.

Tomorrow the poll will be open! You will be able to give your favorite books a vote of appreciation! It will be fantastic!

 As I said earlier, the voting now runs from July 15th to August 15th, 2012.

 There is also another surprise.

 There's a wild card category! Because I (Jess) was unable to get my act together, the lovely looking books that our blog readers suggested were not reviewed or officially nominated. So to make up for this, voters will have the option tomorrow of supporting one of these books:

• The Charity's Diary Series by Elisabeth Allen
• The Pirate Daughter's Promise by Molly Evangeline
• Firmament: Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington

That's it for now. I will be posting updates and news (plus a late review or two) later this week. If you would like to see another book on our wild card list, please comment on this post by this Tuesday. My final list will be updated on the 'nominations' page by tomorrow.

For the smaller updates and random polls, check out our Facebook and our Twitter.

Blessed,

-Jess

Guest Post from Author Grace Pennington!

 That's right folks,the famous narrator is now a published author! This month J. Grace Pennington released the first book in her Firmament series, Radialloy. The series is about a young Christian girl who lives in a spaceship with her father.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time to read her book in time to review it for the VLA, but I would like to wholeheartedly welcome her to our blog to tell us about a subject that matters to many nerdy readers (and writers) like myself: novel titles.

By Any Other Name

One of the big questions that always comes up when writing a story is the matter of titles.  What are you going to call this story?  When someone asks, “What are you writing?” are you going to be stuck saying, “Well, it’s this story that’s sort of cool story in space about this girl who, like, helps her dad and stuff”?  Or are you going to be able to say “It’s a Christian young-adult novel called Radialloy”?

Which one is going to interest your potential reader more?

I love titles, and I love titling stories.  I’m particular to clever and short titles, and take great writerly delight in coming up with them.  Writing a series, however, adds a whole new level to titling.  Not only do the titles have to sound interesting and accurately represent the story, but there has to be a logic to them that transcends each book, extending to the series as a whole.

For my sci-fi Firmament series, I gave a lot of thought to the logic behind the titles of the individual books.  The first book, Radialloy was released earlier this month, and the other seventeen books are in various stages of revision, drafting, outlining, and planning.  Basically, the titles fall into two basic categories:  they are either named for the book’s theme, or its premise.

Radialloy is a word I created myself, for the central object of the story.  The next book, In His Image has to do with the theme, the significance of the idea that man is made in the image of God.  Machiavellian is the same way--the story’s theme addresses the Machiavellian principle of “the end justifies the means.”

Reversal Zone has to do with the premise.  Gestern is a word in another language that exemplifies the theme.  No Man also deals with the theme, as does Eleftheria, which is also another language.  Humanoid, interestingly, deals with both, as do Intoxication, Till Death Shall Part, Timestream and Wandering Jew.  Hypochondriac deals with the premise, Programming deals with both, Pandemonium with the premise, Phagocardiosis with both, and Myopia with the premise.  Stars, the last novel, deals with both.

Some of the titles and ideas are subject to change, but you get the idea.  Basically what I do is boil the story idea down until I have a direct theme and premise, then look at the two and first decide which I want to emphasize, which is the strongest and the most interesting.  Then I look for a word or a term or a short phrase that epitomizes the idea that will also be intriguing.  Sometimes it takes several tries.  What’s currently titled Gestern was originally called Vienna and has changed six times so far.  I’m still not sure whether it’s going to stay where it is now or not.  Radialloy was retitled multiple times, and was called Never be Shaken for almost a year (for reasons that no longer have anything to do with the story).   So sometimes, titling is a process, rather than a simple lightbulb moment.

There are also those rare titles that come to me first, begging for a story.  Myopia and Pandemonium were both of that type, and I worked out premises and themes for them.  But more often I have the story and must go hunting for the perfect title to go with it.

I love titling, but that doesn’t make it easy for me.  Sometimes I’m about ready to bash my poor, tired head against the computer screen in frustration while searching in vain for the perfect word or combination of words.  But the moment when you find the right one, the moment where suddenly it fits, and it’s perfect makes every second of frustration incredibly worth it, and it will make a huge difference in making people interested in your story.

 Now that you are standing in awe of her mature and knowledgeable creativity with writing, go check out her book on Amazon already! (Radialloy on Amazon) The excerpt is utterly delightful and reduced me to giggles with the utterance of the line... "The eagle has CRASHED!"

 You should also check out her Twitter page.

Yay! *updates*

 For some reason, I was terrified to ever post something that wasn't a book review on here, but now I see that was ridiculous and ya'll need updates!

 First off, I'd like to welcome LeAnne to the Committee! You can check out her bio on the committee page. I am looking forward to her review of The Destiny Trilogy by Sarah Holman. It is such a blessing that someone volunteered to review a self-published book because I was about to completely freak over how much I was going to have to do by myself in the next month. LeAnne, you rock. :-D







 Secondly, I just found out my library got in Ruby Redfort and Cheesie Mack, which have been sitting on my Bucket List for a long time. Although I'm nervous, because someone said that Ruby Redfort has some big deal about a Budha, and Cheesie Mack is crude. We shall see. At least I'm not going to have to buy them!

 Picking books has been really difficult. Anyone taking a gander at my Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge will see that I've read a lot a books, and mostly it's because I wanted to find a wide variety for Verve Lit Awards. Okay, there was some personal reading fun going on there too. The problem is, most awesome books are too inappropriate for the theme of VLA. Whereas books like Dream of Night and The Wednesday Wars are super awesome, but published before 2011. I know that the Committee voted unanimously that books from the last decade (2002-2012) should be open for nomination, but I was holding out for books this year. Oh well, I guess Dream of Night, The Wednesday Wars, The Penderwicks, and Melanie Dickerson it is! Tomorrow I'll be posting a poll for you all to decide which Melanie Dickerson book we pick to nominate! Then, I'll finally get around to nominating the awesome and completely reading-worthy Wonder Struck.






I think next year, we're going to make this less difficult. Promise.


 Blessings,

Jess Verve

The Running Dream [nomination]

 You know how some books start out utterly depressing and just get worse by The End? This wasn't one of those books. Jessica Carlisle thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a bus accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?  This book had so many good point, where do I start? Running Dream made me think of Soul Surfers [the movie], only more upbeat (!) and more conclusive. I know it's not fair to compare a true-life story with fiction, but that's just what this book made me think of: a girl loses a limb, and it stinks, but she's going to keep going forward. Only this wasn't tainted by Hollywood drama.

 Writing style: amazing. Just enough inner dialogue, just enough emotion without being too much, and you know exactly what is happening, because the style is very clear. Many times I get a headache from trying to figure out what the heck the character is trying to say. Especially when the main character is a high school student--yikes.

 Characters: diverse personalities, and can't be classified as 'all good' or 'all bad'.  Though everything is pretty straightforward with the people around her, it's not like they are some plastic robots from Mainstream Fictionville. For instance, Jessica's little sister is a moody junior high student (weren't we all), but she actually shows a range of emotions aside from angsty snarls. And for once, here is a story that isn't SUFFOCATED with boy drama! I don't know about you, but boy drama gets a little old after a while (*gives guy friends a look*). There was a smidgen of it, mind, you, but I think if you read this book you'll be satisfied with how everything turns out. ;-D (and not in a total cliche way, either)


 There was something small, almost nonexistent that I wanted to mention because it meant a lot to me personally. Yes, I do believe wholeheartedly in God the Creator. Yes, I love to read books with Christian views, as long as they aren't tainted with depressing, wishy-washy, inconclusive Contemporary Christian philosophy. However, this book doesn't really mention God, except once.
 Jessica, at one point in the book, says "I don't blame God for this."
 Wow. I almost started crying.
 This says more than many Christian books do today. 

 As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.
  
 The best part of this book? It felt refreshing. There were some bad times, good times, hilarious jokes, prom avoidance, and it told the story perfectly. I loved the ending.

 How is this different than all of the other books I gush about? Well... I don't just gush about a book to get on someones good side or to be perky. I do it because the novel says something, something unique. This isn't just a feel-good story (though it is in many ways). I can't describe it, because you really have to read it for yourself to understand that this isn't just a 'generic' hope story.
 I think this line from Ms. Van Draanen's website says it well:
  "There are certain things I believe we need to keep in our emotional arsenal as we navigate through life. Hope is a big one." 

 Hope is everything. It gets you to a point of positive believing.

  

Have you read this book? Post your thoughts and discuss the books by making a comment.


 NOMINATED BY: Jessie V.


The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Ember Books, 2011, Length 332 pages, Age range 12/13+ (accident and related issues not described at length)

(Young Adult/Teen Fiction)