Si, Se Puede--Yes, you can!

1. The light is at the end of the tunnel! Next Friday is the last day of school and then it's summer break! This chica is totally burned out. After all the pushing to get son's math scores up, after his STAR testing? I was done. 2. Fellow YA Book Central editors Jen @cupcakegirly and Mandy @mgbuelhren are at BEA13 this week! Check out their posts on Twitter! 3. Just finished reading book two in The Selection series. Loved it! Now can't wait for the next book THE ONE. 4. Right now reading a regular fiction book which is amazing: An architect is asked to build 'priest hold' like hiding places in Paris for Jewish Parisians during the Nazi invasion. Love the voice so much! 5. Almost done with this book: This one is perfect for Veronica Mars fans. Great voice! YA Books Central review coming soon! **Guilty Pleasure: Husband and I plan to see this movie

What is genre fiction: Genre fiction is kind of wide category. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, romance. Though often dismissed or ridiculed by the more “literary” minded, these novels often deal with complex themes and issues and some of the world’s most beloved authors write in these categories. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice, Deborah Harkness, Douglas Adams, P D James, J R Ward and George R R Martin to name a few. Genre fiction can take us to places we never imagine, experience scenarios we’ve always dreamed of and open up new worlds to explore. Armchair BEA If you’re a reader of genre fiction do you have a favourite author or series? Wow. I have so many! My all time favorite series has to be OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon Love Claire and Jaime(omg, he's so hawt!) Their love story is amazing. There's a little of something for everyone: time travel, romance, hawt Scottish guys, amazing writing, did I mention hawt guys, and a love story that e...

Why, reader, do you love classics?" "Tell us all the reasons you love classic literature. What are your favorite classics? If you could give a list of classics to someone who claims to hate them to make them change their mind, what would be on it? How would you convince them to give classics a try? And why do you keep coming back to those old favorites?" Okay, confession time: I'm not a huge fan of the classics. In High School I hardly remember any of them. One book though did stand out: GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens. I loved the whole premise of a girl trained up to shun her suiters. But mostly I loved this one scene that never left me: There was just something equally disgusting yet fascinating about keeping a wedding feast for eons as a way for the jilted bride to never forget that terrible day. I also think it shows her own attempt at gaining control of a terrible situation by making her niece learn never to open her heart to anyone. ...

Though I can't attend BEA this year, I was excited I can be a part of this group! Here's the link: http://www.armchairbea.com/2013/05/armchair-bea-is-coming-prep-your.html To start off with they wanted us to introduce ourselves. Here's the five questions I answered: 1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? My name is Kim Baccellia and I've been blogging since 2006 after I took a YA writing class from author Lauren Barnhold. She told us it was a must when taking her class. I was hooked. I've always loved writing and blogging is perfect! Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. I'm blogging from Southern California. I'm a 25 minute drive from Disneyland. And I'm 37 miles away from a nuclear plant. **I found this out after that one scary tsunami back in...

1. Scoring is over! Yay! Now they're asking if I'd help with 7th grade essays. I've been debating on this as I'm pretty much burned out. Plus, my stories are calling out to me! 2. Went to AAA and started to put together my (or more like Jordan, Selena, and Grams) Paris trip. So many fun tours out there. Son got into it to and was disappointed when he found out this was research for my book. Maybe this will work in my favor as he's now bugging husband that we should go too! 3. Finished reading PRAEFATIO: My YA Books Central review: http://www.yabookscentral.com/component/content/article/28-young-adult-indie/15362-praefatio Teaser: PRAEFATIO is one wild ride where Fallen angels, Archangels, and mythology collide. The first chapter hooked me right in. The author does a great job of showing the confusion that Grace feels in the hospital room. I wanted to read more to see where this story would take me. The one thing I loved about this story had ...

1. Still scoring. So far they're 87% complete. This means I'll probably be done sometime next week! Then it'll be back to my writing again! Yay! 2. Really didn't have much time this week for reading. I know, shocker, huh? But here's what I read: This is the second book in the GLOW series. Think Sci-Fi meets LORD OF THE FLIES with a dash of HANDMAIDEN'S TALE. This series is totally addicting! YABC review coming soon! 3. Love this YA paranormal series from Alyson Noel: 4. And wowza, found this ad in the latest Seventeen magazine: THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CURSED Here's the blurb: After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris. In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. ...

1. Still scoring essays! I have another two or so weeks to go! And yes, at the end of the week I feel like this: 2. Got a sneak peek at my cover for NO MORE GODDESSES. It's not quite there but what I've seen so far? I'm really loving! Can't wait to reveal the final cover to everyone! Stay tuned! 3. I'm totally on a Paris kick right now! I signed up to take beginning French at Saddleback College this summer; got a niffy Paris theme handbag: T-shirt from Urban Outfitters: 4. Here's some Parisian settings in some recent YAs I'm either reading or read: Love this series by Amy Plum. Here's the blurb on this amazing paranormal series: Introducing a new supernatural mythology, the DIE FOR ME trilogy presents Kate, a 16-year-old American who moves to Paris after her parents' death. She finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears. Love, mystery, & horror are combined in t...

1. Even without STAR testing, it's been another crazy, busy week! I ended up getting a phone call on Monday to go to a meeting with paperwork that I didn't even start on yet. Sigh. 2. Then some good news. Not for me but for Mandy, the YA Book Central goddess! She'd been hinting around that she had news to share and finally did! http://strangechemistrybooks.com/2013/05/01/announcing-our-newest-author-m-g-buehrlen/ 3. Another former critique buddy got a book deal too: ******ALLELUIA!!! After nine years and five novels, I finally sold one!******* Kym Brunner's debut WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, about two teens possessed by the spirits of Bonnie and Clyde who soon discover that the legendary outlaws plan to continue where they left off, to Jacquelyn Mitchard at Merit Press, for publication in 2014, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World English). **I loved this story and can't wait to read the final version! 4. Reading this amazing book right now:...