Whoops! I just checked my "read in 2008" list and saw that I have 11 books that I haven't yet reviewed on my blog! The oldest one I read in MAY! Geez. So. I'll be posting a book review about every other day now, peppered occasionally with news about the numerous plays I'm in/directing, and whether or not I get my wisdom teeth out this January (I'm terrified. I'm kinda old to be getting my wisdom teeth out, and I'm really not a fan of pain, or fat-cheeks.).

So, hobey-ho here we go!

~Enna Isilee

I have read 79 books this year, that is one of my lowest counts ever! I've got to bring that up. So, for the last 9 days of December I am going to cram. But the thing is, I need more books! I dunno what to read!

So, welcome to another recommendation post! What have you read that you really liked?

Woohoo! Ya'll are reading words written by the next Norma Henshaw! I got the part! The play is called The Diviners. There's very little information out there.

I'm so happy. All of my finals are over. School is over for the entire year(heh)! I've got nearly all my gifts. So happy!

~Enna Isilee

I had call backs today. I was hoping to read for the part of a crotchety old woman who didn't believe in "divine intervention" and that sort of stuff. Instead, the director only had me read for the part of an over ambitious true believer, and I fell in love with the character. She is funny! I love funny! And she's obnoxious, which is fun too. All the other people who auditioned said that I have the part in the bag, but I'm not so sure. I'm really nervous. We find out tomorrow at 3 pm who made the cast.

Eeps!
~Enna Isilee

Gulp. I audition tomorrow at 3. I just finished my pre-audition ritual*. I'm auditioning at the same time as one of my best friends (who is going to help me with the play I'm directing this spring, and was in You Can't Take it With You with me), we plan on giving each other moral support.

I memorized my monologue in about 20 minutes, I'm a really fast memorizer, and I hope it shows enough depth of character. Eeps! I dunno what I'll do with my life if I don't make this play! Work... I guess... earn money for next fall's tuition... but that's no fun!

Wish me Bonne Chance!
~Enna Isilee

*my pre-audition ritual consists of taking a very long bath (sometimes with bubbles) in which I shave every part of me that is meant to be shaved (legs, pits, and even my feet [I have hobbit feet], I know TMI), then I lotion myself, blow-dry my long (it's never been this long) hair to shiny-sleekness, lay out my nice clothes, read a book for a few minutes, and then take some melatonin (a sleep aid). *sigh*

Yes! The third Squeaky News Newsletter is out! If you've signed up then you should have received it. It contains info on some good books, an interview with Kristi over at www.thstorysiren.com, and some shameless begging (please help me with those contests, PLEASE).

Plus, there are some apologies in there.

Happy reading!

~Enna Isilee

Yay! I'm trying out for another play. I'm super-excited, but super-scared, because I'm not sure how well I'll fit in this one. There may not be a part for me. I'm not going to tell you what the play is yet, but I will post my monologue that I'm using for my audition:

The Possessed
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

VARVARA: Stay, hold your tongue, don’t be in a hurry! You’re a sensible girl, and there must be no mistakes in your life. Now … though you will have the money under my will, yet when I die, what will become of you, even if you have money? You’ll be deceived and robbed of your money, you’ll be lost, in fact. But married to him you’re the wife of a distinguished man. Look at him, on the other hand. Though I’ve provided for him, if I die what will become of him? But I could trust him to you. Stay, I’ve not finished. He’s frivolous, shilly-shally, cruel, egotistic, he has low habits. But mind you think highly of him, in the first play because there are many worse. I don’t want to get you off my hands by marrying you to a rascal, you don’t imagine anything of that sort, do you? He’s an old man, but you know, that’s all the better for you. You understand me, don’t you? Do you understand me? He will complain of you, he’ll begin to say things against you behind your back, he’ll whisper things against you to any stray person he meets, he’ll be forever whining and whining; he’ll write you letters from one room to another, two a day, but he won’t be able to get on without you all the same, and that’s the chief thing.

Tada! Wish me luck. I audition on Tuesday, and find out if I made callbacks Thursday, and then find out if I made the play Friday!

Christine and Ethan Rose’s new book Rowan of the Wood. Rowan tells the story of Cullen, a twelve-year-old foster-child/bookworm. Cullen loves to read, fantasy epics are his favorite, and suddenly he finds himself in one! Cullen finds a wand in the forest and his body is no longer his, Rowan, a druid priest from the 500s, is inside his mind after having been imprisoned in the wand for nearly 1,500 years!

Rowan longs to be reunited with his love, Fiana, but despares that she is dead by now. Little does he know that Fiana has been searching for him all these years, but she had to turn to dark magic to keep herself alive, so she may not exactly be as he remembered…

I’m going to be completely honest: I did not expect to like this book. I have gotten so many stinky books lately that I’ve been really depressed and wasn’t planning on putting this book on the top of my “to-read” list, but then I saw the contests the authors are hosting: http://www.christineandethanrose.com/?p=394
Holy cow! I want to win one of those! (Check your e-mails soon, I'll be sending around my newsletter with more information about those contests) I immediately sat down with the book and gobbled it up in one day.

And ya know what? I actually liked it! I thought that they were able to artfully blend pagans and druids, vampires and epics, modern times and ancient times. It was just the thing to get my mojo back again!

With that said, I do have to say this:

I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone under the age of 14. I know the intended age range is 10-12 year-olds, but I don’t think it’s quite right for them. The writing is simple enough, but there are some things that I just don’t think kids would understand-- Cullen has some deep thoughts about God; he’s treated cruelly by his foster parents (but they don’t beat him, which I liked); and there are a few sexual references (not many, but enough for me not to recommend it to someone age 10 or 11).

Aside from that, though, I thought it was a fun, light read. It’s no Marillier or Hale, but then again, Marillier and Hale have almost reached god-like status. ;)

~Enna Isilee

What exactly is the purpose of a book trailer? I suppose it's the same as the purpose for a movie trailer: a teaser into what the feature is about. It's a strange concept though, because a book isn't in a visual medium like a movie is. Trailers work well for movies because they're like mini-movies, giving you a taste of what will be in the full length movie, but a book trailer (unless the author/publisher has a tens of thousands for a trailer budget) is normally just still images, moving text, and mood music. It really doesn't have much to do with the experience of the book.

Book trailers seem to be one of those things that are done to simply help market a book on the internet. Now if we could only get people to watch these commercials! Okay, they're not that bad, but visual image with mood music and fleeting lines of teasers is not how I decide to read a book. I like to pick up and hold a book in my hands, examine the cover, read the synopsis on the back, and maybe the first page, even check out who wrote the endorsements.

So why make one?

Well, we live in a techno-savvy, YouTube-watching, web 2.0 visual world. We're all much more visual now. I even incorporate YouTube into my college-level Composition II class! Having a book trailer is just another way for a book to be seen.

Okay. So. Ready for another why-am-I-watching-this book trailer? Actually, ours is pretty good (if we do say so ourselves). Here it is:



Leave us your comments on this blog for a chance to win a limited-edition print of Christine's Green Man II painting AND leave comments on the YouTube Channel TheTuberRose (and follow the other steps) for a chance to win a digital camcorder! Then you can make your own live action book trailer!

Book trailers do have a place in today's book promotion process, but a way should be found to make them more interesting. If they are funny, interesting, and or enticing, than they will be worth watching for their own sake and, in consequence, become a much more effective marketing tool, something that anyone who sees it will want to share with their friends.. (until then, we just have to bribe you with prizes!)

Speaking of prizes! We're giving away more prizes worth over $500 and some signed books on our blog. All contests end at the end of our Geekalicious Yuletide Book Blog Tour: 9pm CST, December 16th.

Christine and Ethan Rose are the authors of the new YA fantasy novel Rowan of the Wood, available wherever books are sold. They live in Austin, TX with their three dogs and Shadow the Cat.
www.christineandethanrose.com * www.rowanofthewood.com