Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Happy Birthday, The Life of Glass!

It continues to amaze me that some of us have already graduated from our debut years, and are on to releasing our next books into the world. Jill is next up on that list, with the release of her second book, The Life of Glass. I get the privilege of posting on the book's actual release date, so make sure you head over to Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million or your local indie and order a copy!

This is usually the part where I say that I can't wait to read it, and that I'll be stalking my mailman until he delivers my copy. However, after much begging, cajoling and attempted bribery, Jill graciously sent me an ARC. So I can honestly, truly say that this book is wonderful. It's beautifully written, with a high-relatable main character dealing with realistic, real-life struggles as a teenager. The title relates to the narrative in such a unique way; here's the first sentence: "The last thing my father ever told me was that it takes glass a million years to decay."

I got about five pages in before I emailed Jill with something like this: "OMG! LOVE IT! SOOOO GOOD!" Clearly, I have difficulty articulating when excited.

My long-winded point is this: buy this book. Jill is also giving away a signed copy this week, to celebrate the release, so leave a comment to enter!

So this week, Jill chose Love Stories as the topic. For me, what really hits me square, aren't huge, romantic gestures between two characters. It's more the little, everyday things like a shared look, a slight arm nudge or a teasing smile. I think it's much more difficult (and much more realistic) to convey chemistry and love through two characters teasing each about about, say, rival sports teams, than through candles, champagne and flowers.

What about you guys? What works for you in love stories? Don't forget to comment to win a signed copy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

First congrats to Jill.Whooo hoo! So exciting.Second I love romances where the the hero and heroine hate each other so much they're too blind to realize they love each other.I love the petty arguments they get into.The constant 'leave me alone I hate you but I'm really diing to kiss you' theme. {Sighs dreamily} I just love it.

:)

Jillian Cantor said...

Thanks for all the nice words! And yeah, I agree -- the little unique moments make for a much better love story than the cliche ones.

Michelle said...

I love when a couple is evenly matched, so there's a little bit of a struggle for dominance in the relationship. I'm not a big fan of unequal relationships where one half is totally needy and weak and the other half is the strong one. It makes me want to shake the weak half silly!