My Favorite Books (Part 1)

In addition to writing, I love reading. I thought I would take a little while to catalog some of my favorite books, and share them with you. I'm going to split this into 2 posts and I'm sharing them in no particular order, just as they occur to me. This is fiction books. I'll make another post for non-fiction later.

Please share your favorite books with me in the comments and maybe they'll become new favorites of mine.

The Declaration by Gemma Malley -This is the first of 3 books, and I include them all here. This is the tale of a future society where the secret to eternal life has been discovered. The catch: to op-in to life-ever-more you have to sign The Declaration vowing never to have children, thus keeping the planet's population stable. Anna, is a surplus (an illegal child). Let the fight against injustice begin.
 

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown - I love lots of books by Dan Brown, but this is my favorite. Dan Brown is a master of creating mystery and tension that keeps you engaged and turning the pages.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - Along with this, I'll include all of the Ender books and the entire Shadow series, which is a companion series. This is a great sci-fi series filled with an awesome world, fantastic and dynamic characters, and pearls of astonishingly poignant truths about life and human nature.

Empire by Orson Scott Card - This is a thriller about a modern day civil war in the U.S. It's full of political maneuvering, deception, and manipulation. Especially great for anyone who cringes at the thought of the word "progressive" when it comes to politics.

The Choice by Nicolas Sparks - I love almost all of Nicolas Sparks' book, but this one was especially compelling. It features not only a sweet love story, but a heart-wrenching choice everyone who's truly loves dreads ever having to face.

Deception Point by Dan Brown - This is my second favorite book by Dan Brown, also filled with great gotta-know-what-happens suspense. This is a mystery of Political maneuvering and government cover up with a side of astonishing scientific discovery. 

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling- It's a modern classic. I think what I love most about these books is how detailed and integrated they are. A minor, though interesting, detail in one book will later turn out to be a key clue to an important mystery one or two books later. As an author, I take my proverbial hat off to J.K. Rowling. 

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer - I know, I know. These books are cheesy and melodramatic, but they are also fun and create such vivid characters. I enjoy the books just as much on a serious level as I do poking fun at them. They had to make the list since I've read them all at least half-a-dozen times (gasp).

The Odd Thomas Series by Dean Koontz - A fascinating tale of a guy, Odd Thomas, who can see dead people. Though his ability pulls him into some truly terrifying situations confronting sadistic, monstrous people, Odd Thomas manages to remain truly good. Good in spite of the evil, not because he's sheltered from it, but because he chooses to be good knowing full well what the options are.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin - I love the subtle and clever wit as much as the love story. Jane Austin is one of my favorite authors, though I love listening to the audio books best.

Lightning by Dean Koontz - This is an exciting thriller about love, tragedy, strength through adversity, history, and the future, with a fabulous and surprising sci-fi twist.

Lost December by Richard Paul Evens - A modern-day Prodigal Son story told in a relatable, surprising, and gripping manner that makes this book an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.

Part 2 of My Favorite Books list

Fabulously Quotable: Friendship

I love great, pithy, poignant quotes. Here are some of my favorite quotes on the topic of friendship.

Please share any quotes or thoughts you have on friendship in the comments!

 

 

 

Recalling A Lesson From the Flowers

We had a fun little activity at my house recently. As a family, we started a little garden, planting seeds in bowls that we will later transplant outside when they grow big enough in a few weeks. It was fun showing Allie how to plant the seeds and letting her help. I doubt she really understood what we were doing, but it was still fun playing in the dirt, and we'll show her the plants' progress as they sprout and grow.

 

Our little activity inspired me to pull out a poem I wrote years ago. It is called "A Lesson From the Flowers". Even though we were planting bell peppers, not flowers, I'm sure you can see the connection.

So now, I'd like to share my little poem with you.

A Lesson From the Flowers

by Melanie James

The wisdom of flowers is so often overlooked. 
Flowers are quiet and still and subtle yet can bring so much joy.  
They don’t get discouraged if people don’t stop to take notice.  
They just stay there and wait until someone comes along
 who needs the joy and peace that they have to offer.

Flowers are so pure.  
They don’t change themselves to impress others or pretend 
that they are a different color or kind of flower than they are.  
Holding their petals high, they take pride in what they are and what they bring to the world.  
In so doing, they bring beauty, happiness, and peace to a green meadow or a wild or lonely heart.

 

Flowers are friendly. 

They don’t pick and choose which flowers they will grow next to.  

A rose is perfectly content to grow next to a poppy or a dandelion. 

One flower never views itself to be better than another.  

They all are different, but they recognize that in reality they are all so very much alike.

What would the world be like if we all paused and took a lesson from the flowers?

The Twisted Tree

The Twisted Tree is a teen fantasy novel full of fairies, goblins, magic, deception, love, and triumph. It was the first novel I ever wrote, beginning when I was about 15 years old. I finally pronouncing it "done" for the last time after 7 years of working on it on-and-off. It received quite a few major rewrites over the years, and I am pretty satisfied with how it finally turned out. 

I'm sharing the entire novel here on my blog. All I ask is that you let me know what you think once you've read it. If you would like to share the story with someone else, please refer them here, to my blog. Thanks and enjoy! 

Here's a little blurb about the book:

 After Aneth's best friend, Geoffrey, disappears, her search for him uncovers secrets she never dreamed could be true--fairies, a magical Twisted Tree, an underground world of mystical creatures, and a tyrannical Dragon Lord.

With her life and the lives of many others at stake, Aneth undertakes a dangerous quest to cut off the Dragon Lord from his ultimate source of power and defeat him once and for all. But will she be able to complete her quest before time runs out, or will she remain forever trapped in the world guarded by the Twisted Tree.

Read The Twisted Tree

First Novel Coming Soon

The first novel I ever wrote, entitled The Twisted Tree, is a teen fairy-tale novel. I'm getting it formatted and ready to post on the blog, so look for it in the next few days.

Here's a little blurb about it:

 After Aneth's best friend, Geoffrey, disappears, her search for him uncovers secrets she never dreamed could be true--fairies, a magical Twisted Tree, an underground world of mystical creatures, and a tyrannical Dragon Lord.

With her life and the lives of many others at stake, Aneth undertakes a dangerous quest to cut off the Dragon Lord from his ultimate source of power and defeat him once and for all. But will she be able to complete her quest before time runs out, or will she remain forever trapped in the world guarded by the Twisted Tree.