Welcome to the Serena Psalm Website... co-author of the Saga of the Son series, as well as the upcoming Ironhand series for children.
What can be said about Harry Potter? Well, a lot. The characters were brilliant, the dialogue was snarky, and the universe was awe-inspiring. One day, I plan on sitting down and picking Rowling's brain, over a cuppa English tea.
As a teenage girl who frequents malls and movie theaters, I enjoyed this series immensely. As a writer, I had a few complaints. I found Meyer's characters to be 2-dimensional and bland, and the plot was simply dull, dull, dull.
This book holds a warm place in my heart, as it was the first book I ever bought. That being said, I also love it for the sheer amount of character development that Mr. Sachar does in so few pages. Wow.
I love the world that Tamora created, both in these books and her other series. The land is vibrant and magical, and sucks the reader in quickly and easily. Trickster's Choice inspired my first foray into novel writing, thanks to the slavery theme she so magically intwined into the plot.
This little book had a huge effect on my writing. It taught me the evil of adjectives, the simplicity of "He said, she said," and how to trust the reader's imagination.
My favorite Broadway musical is based off of this book. Though the plot takes about 75 pages to get started, the characters are riveting.
I loved Paolini's fresh take on dragonlore: he gave them personalities and spunk. I did find the prose to be a bit disjointed at times, and the fact that we are STILL waiting on Book 4 drives me a little crazy.
Below is a collection of some of my favorite books, with a little blurb on why I liked them.