My friend Rachel and I are watching "The Originals" on CW and figured out how to shirk our responsibilities via vampirism. You're welcome, anyone who is tired of adulting! 

Anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is my favorite holiday. There is nothing I love more than "what's that sound?" creepy feelings, cinnamon-pumpkin smells, chills in the air, thoughts of the supernatural and hocus pocus, and of course: the books and movies that accompany this time of year.

​Yes, I know it's only September. Yes, I know it's not technically fall yet. Yes, I am throwing your salty self out for ruining my Halloween buzz.  

Around this time of year is usually when I start systematically re-reading the Harry Potter series for the 145,234,578th time, reading one Stephen King novel and re-reading Sleepy Hollow. But this year I thought I'd give some new authors a chance after spending time at Dragon Con, an annual Atlanta conference that is the Southeast's answer to Comic Con. There, I met so many writers that loved the grim and creepy as much as I do that I thought I'd make a list of their books I've now read that have spooked, enchanted, thrilled and amazed me. So curl up with your favorite cider/hot chocolate/adult/caffeinated-past-the-legal-limit beverage and enjoy. Preferably with the lights on. 

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

This won't be out until September 20th I believe, but I managed to get a hold of an advanced copy and it is SO. WORTH. IT. It's a southern ghost story at it's finest, and come September 20, you need it.  (Click on the pictures to check out the book)
Read if you like: Bag of Bones by Stephen King

The Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective Series by E.J. Stevens

​I met this beautiful author and person at the Con and loved our conversations so much that I decided I would obviously love her books just as much. Turns out, I was right. This series is Urban Fantasy gold and I am hooked. ​
Read if you like: The Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones or The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

​Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Technically I didn't meet the author, but I did meet Cat Scully, the artist that created the map for this book and the map is FIRE (for my older readers, that's a good thing). However, I also got a chance to read the first chapter and it was gorgeous writing and it makes me want more. We only have to wait TWO MORE DAYS until it comes out (September 17). 

​Harvest Moon by James A. Moore

I read Harvest Moon last October and this novel about a town plagued by the heebee jeebies kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. I'm also totally biased because James is one of my favorite human beings, so don't take my word for it, read the book for yourself. It's a perfect Halloween book for people who love horror movies.
Read if you like: The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Strangely Beautiful by Leanna Renee Hieber

Eerie ghostly happenings, Jack the Ripper, a school that teaches students how to kick butt, strong female characters, all set in Victorian London. If you're asking for more than that, you're probably greedy. 
Read if you like: The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

Of Saints And Shadows by Christopher Golden

I just started reading this book by Christopher Golden, who quickly became another favorite human of mine, and so far I love it. I'm such a sucker for a broody dark protagonist (see: my love of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden) and a vampire who protects humans from his own kind? Me likey. For dark urban fantasy/crime fiction lovers, this series is fantastic.  
Read if you like: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

I have given this book to many friends as a gift, because to me, Roshani's writing is truly magical. This book will make you hear the sounds and smell the smells the heroine is describing, the story-telling is just THAT good. Plus it's a fantasy that is steeped in Indian culture, which hasn't really been done before. 
Read if you like: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (similar descriptive, magical writing)

I hope you like these suggestions! Tell me: what books are you reading this Hallow's Eve? 

   Happy almost New Year! Hope your holidays were magical, everything you wanted them to be, the most wonderful time of the year, etc.

  Every year around this time, I look back at how my life has changed, and if I've achieved any of the goals I set out to accomplish. This year, I find myself thinking back on my goals I set for myself after I graduated college, particularly about my writing. I was always coming up with book ideas, some of them good, some of them bad, and I promised myself that one day I would complete a novel; that I would hold a book I wrote in my hands, and possibly see it in a bookstore. 

  I'm proud to say I'm very close to achieving that goal. 

  However, I have several extremely creative and intelligent friends who haven't been able to complete this goal, due to time constraints, responsibilities, writer's block, etc. So to get started on my new and shiny website, I decided to answer a question a lot of people have asked me: "what is your writing process?", and "how does one go about writing a novel?" So here are my answers: