{"id":1084,"date":"2012-10-02T21:46:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T21:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katrina.effexhost.com\/index.php\/2012\/10\/02\/book-review-the-accidental-siren\/"},"modified":"2012-10-02T21:46:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T21:46:00","slug":"book-review-the-accidental-siren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/2012\/10\/02\/book-review-the-accidental-siren\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Accidental Siren"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

 
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\n\"\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

Mara Lynn is the most beautiful girl in the world. James Parker is the ordinary boy who discovers her power.<\/p>\n

The year is 1994. James, a pudgy twelve-year-old, responds to an ad for a used camcorder at a mysterious suburban home. Before he can knock on the door, he notices boys\u2013a dozen at least\u2013frozen amongst the trees behind the house. Their faces are blank. One boy presses \u201crecord\u201d on a walkman and holds it above his head\u2026 and then James hears it, the voice of a little girl. Sweet; high like a songbird without the shrill. It was a church song. It came from inside the house.<\/p>\n

James doesn\u2019t know it yet, but the girl he\u2019s about to meet is a modern-day siren.<\/p>\n

The Accidental Siren<\/em> depicts the joys and consequences of young love as Mara and James meet, shoot a movie, fend off bullies, and explore the potential of infinite beauty.<\/p>\n

Review:<\/u> This is one of those books that hook you from the first page and you don’t stop until you’ve reached the last page. You start with James and his desire to make a movie and can’t quite figure out what role the girl in the house will have. Then suddenly, everything shifts. I was pulled into the story. It was one of those books where you recognize the characters and almost become a part of it. I won’t give away the ending, but trust me, you’ll want to pick this one up and check it out for yourself..and not just because the author is one of Michigan’s own.<\/p>\n

Follow Jake Vaner Ark on his <\/p>\n

Official Site and Blog<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> , Twitter<\/a> and on Goodreads <\/a>. Feel like you want to buy the book? It can be found on: <\/strong> Amazon<\/a> \/ Lulu<\/a> \/Barnes & Noble<\/a> Prefer yours in an eBook?<\/p>\n

Kindle<\/a> \/iBookstore<\/a> \/Nook<\/a> \/EPUB from Lulu<\/a> \/ Smashwords <\/a>(Free until October 16th)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/a>About Jake VanderArk <\/h1>\n

\u201cWhat I really want to do is direct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, I was that kid.<\/p>\n

I spent my high-school career as the ghost of the art room, passionately constructing a portfolio that would provide the first step toward a creative occupation. Luckily, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago didn\u2019t consider GPA when selecting applicants, so I was immediately accepted into one of the most prestigious art programs in the country.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the only thing I learned in art school was how much I hated art.<\/p>\n

But I found myself! And that\u2019s important, right?<\/p>\n

I graduated with a BFA in 2006 and moved to Los Angeles to harness my dream of becoming the next Ingmar Bergman (thanks a lot, art school).<\/p>\n

In LA, I began writing screenplays as a means to direct. I found a job reading screenplays for the same reason. I read a lot of crap. I wrote a lot of crap. But little did I know\u2026 I was learning.<\/p>\n

In the three-year process of creating short films and pursuing funding for features, I learned that directing came naturally to me, but producing did not.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t able to get a project off the ground. When my father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009, I moved back to my hometown of Grand Haven,<\/p>\n

Michigan with nothing to show but three screenplays.<\/p>\n

One day, while working as a stage manager for a national dance competition, I had an epiphany that only a repressed, depressed, living-with-his-parents artist could have: what if I wrote books? Unlike screenplays, a book is finished when it\u2019s finished. When the final draft is complete, a book becomes a marketable product. If I work my butt off, maybe I could actually make money doing what I love!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a millionaire yet\u2026 but I did write four novels in three years and I\u2019m proud of the accomplishment. Currently, I\u2019m engaged to my soul-mate,<\/p>\n

self-publishing all four books, and developing a sequel to The Accidental Siren.<\/p>\n

Dreams, here I come.<\/p>\n

The Accidental Siren is FREE until October 16th on Smashwords<\/a>.
\n
<\/span>
\n*The Accidental Siren* is one of four books in the “Blank Canvas Series.” They’re all very different books, but all related thematically. The other books are *Lighthouse Nights*, *The Brandywine Prophet*, and *The Day I Wore Purple*. The first three are all available on Smashwords and Amazon.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The author is having a giveaway! Fill the form out below to enter for a chance to win :<\/p>\n

a Rafflecopter giveaway<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts, comments, and typos are 100% mine.<\/i><\/span>
\nIf you like what you’ve read here, please share it with others using these buttons:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Mara Lynn is the most beautiful girl in the world. James Parker is the ordinary boy who discovers her power. The year is 1994. James, a pudgy twelve-year-old, responds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifewithkatie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}