Clear Eyes, Full Shelves

Sarah, Queen of Everything

Sarah - Queen of Everything

Well, she wishes… *sigh*

Sarah edits Clear Eyes, Full Shelves and is responsible for its design and name. (So, basically, anything screwed up is her fault.) She also edits the podcast audio.

Sarah grew up out in the sticks of Oregon, in a town that’s a Pacific Northwestern version of Dillon, Texas, where people also actually say, “y’all.” As a result of there not being much else to do besides going to the library or the occasional pilgrimage to a little used bookstore you have have heard of, Sarah has always been a voracious reader, egged on in her addiction by her English teacher mother.

Her favorite authors span many genres, but she loves novels featuring smart, engaging, funny characters and that create a strong sense of place. She has a couple of degrees in Women’s Studies, so weak, waffly female characters need not apply. She has a special place in her heart for excellent contemporary YA and loves urban fantasy, unique mysteries (especially those in urban settings), novels with authentic sports themes, and contemporary fiction, especially with a unique approach to the old fashioned “boy meets girl” trope. She’s also firmly in the Team Australian YA camp, and is always seeking out fresh fiction from our friends Down Under and also has a burgeoing interest in graphic novels and digital/interactive books. Sarah is kind of afraid of science fiction and high fantasy makes her feel dumb. She dabbles in reading the occasional memoir (especially sports and humor) and in non-fiction with a storytelling approach. She has a soft spot for writers from, and books set in, her beloved Pacific Northwest.

When she’s not reading, Netflixing or watching sports (Mariners! Blazers!), Sarah teaches at an awesome little art college and runs a digital communications and writing business out of her home in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her very understanding husband and two Australian Shepherds. She also is co-host of The Postscript, a podcast about sports, culture and other important things.

Sarah feels that it’s important that y’all know that her favorite episodes of Friday Night Lights are Hello, Goodbye (Smash’s last episode), Mud Bowl and Always (the finale). Her favorite characters are Smash Williams and Tami Taylor. She aspires to one day achieve the perfect Connie Britton side ponytail.

CEFS Posts | Twitter: @SarahSMoon & @FullShelves | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr

Laura - Seeking a Clever Title

Laura, Seeking a Clever Title

AKA “Stealth Editor, YA Evangelist & Novels-in-Verse Pusher”

Laura grew up around and in (in that order) Buffalo, NY. She flinches when people refer to that region as “Upstate” and stongly prefers the term “Western New York.” She is a tortured Buffalo Bills fan who still cringes upon hearing the phrase “Wide Right”.

Laura’s favorite books as a child were the “Betsy” series by Carolyn Haywood and the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. She soon progressed to The Baby-Sitter’s Club and Judy Blume. One day, while grounded by her parents for receiving a B on her report card, she discovered her older brother’s collection of fantasy novels by Piers Anthony and Raymond Feist. She is currently going through a Young Adult phase, strongly encouraged by Sarah, Noelle & Maggie, which will not end anytime soon, if ever. Laura has recently discovered that there are Steampunk and Urban Fantasy novels worth reading.

Since moving to the Portland, Oregon area in 2004, Laura’s books have been funded by her work as a piano technician and her husband’s generous Kindle gift card donations. She also enjoys cooking kalbi and attending Portland Trail Blazers games.

Laura has no plans to ever set foot in the state of Texas, but will gladly watch Tim Riggins say “Texas Forever” on an endless loop. She has developed a unique rating system in her reviews, known as the “FNL Character Rating,” which has been adopted by the rest of the CEFS contributors.

Laura’s CEFS Posts | Twitter: @StetchedOctave | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr

Sandra, Aspiring Nancy Drew

Sandra—who happens to also be Sarah’s mom—is a retired high school English teacher with a lot of opinions and a newfound love of YA literature and urban fantasy—she’s a longtime fan of horror, campy mysteries and police procedurals. As a kid, her goal was to grow up to be Nancy Drew, so much so that she carried around a notebook to report on her neighbors’ potential criminal activities. She is a devoted watcher of Law & Order reruns and is always on the lookout for a good mystery.

Sandra obsessively watched all of Friday Night Lights in 2011 after much harrassment from Sarah. She is a huge fan of Tim Riggins and Tyra Collette—and Tyra’s College Essay is her favorite episode.

CEFS Posts | Goodreads | Pinterest

Rebeca aka “Renegade,” Official Romance Correspondent

Rebeca grew up in various small towns scattered around Arizona but has recovered remarkably well. She currently calls Portland, Oregon home even though she hasn’t managed to move into a Powell’s store yet.

She inherited her love of books from her father, who still does a wonderfully terrifying Golem voice. She’ll read anything she can get her hands on, although her love of Happily Ever Afters lends itself well to romance novels. Books that don’t take themselves too seriously make her very happy.

Rebeca is still being educated in all things FNL. Sarah gives surprisingly brutal pop quizzes.

CEFS Posts | Goodreads Profile | Twitter: @RenegadeReader | Pinterest

♥ Guest Contributors ♥

Hannah, Actual Teen

Hannah Renton is a 17-year old aspiring writer from London, England. Her love of stories and books originated from her father reading her the Harry Potter books—complete with funny voices for all the characters—when she was about six because she was too little to be able to read them by herself. From then on, she has been reading everything she can get her hands on. Her life’s goal is to write one novel from every genre, and so far she has completed exactly zero, (though she has plenty of ideas). She blames her lack of progress on school work, but in reality it is probably because she has fierce addictions to far too many television shows and spends too much time on Tumblr.

Twitter: @Han_Renton | Tumblr: The Problem with Hannah

Noelle

Noelle is an avid reader who regularly maxes out her hold list at the library. She primarily reads young adult (all genres), contemporary fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction and urban fantasy novels. You can find her YA reviews at Young Adult Anonymous. She’ll be contributing non-YA reviews, along with featurettes and collaborative posts here at Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.

Noelle’s day job as a graphic designer has introduced her to her new favorite hobby: making book-inspired artwork. She welcomes requests, especially if she’s read the book in question.

One of Noelle’s life goals involves a plane ticket to Australia and a suitcase of books. Another involves being Tami Taylor when she grows up.

Twitter: @YA_Anonymous | Goodreads Profile

Maggie, Sweet Valley High Alumnus

Maggie hails from Los Angeles, California. Her greatest influences growing up were her Korean mother, Clair Huxtable, Ann M. Martin, and Jem. She grew up wanting to be a lawyer who moonlights as a rockstar-babysitter. She is still growing up. However, lawyer is definitely off the list.

Maggie has actually been to Texas. The first time a gorgeous, real live Texan spoke to her, she stared deep into his brown eyes and said, “I have NO idea what you just said.” They are now married and have three kids. As if. Real life isn’t a Victoria Dahl novel, people! Since that eventful trip, where she actually witnessed a Friday night football game in the town of La Grange, she has refused to go back — unless invited by Gregg Popovich or Tim Duncan.

When not watching the Spurs, Arrested Development, or Korean dramas, Maggie is reading. Her favorite genre is YA, especially Aussie YA. She also enjoys contemporary fiction, classics, pretty cookbooks that she’ll never use, biographies (but not autobiographies), and pretty much anything on France. You can read her YA reviews at Young Adult Anonymous.

Maggie’s CEFS Posts | Twitter: @YA_Anonymous | Goodreads Profile

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