Christina Daley
Biography
Christina Daley made her first book with neighborhood friends when she was four years old. They "wrote" out some semblance of lettering with crayons, cut up a cardboard box for the cover, and bound it all together with clear adhesive tape. It was brilliant.
Quite a few years later, Christina is trying her hand at writing "real" books. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with a pet plant named Herb.
Where to find Christina Daley online
Where to buy in print
Books
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Smashwords book reviews by Christina Daley
- Errant
on July 19, 2011
I found this to be a surprisingly entertaining short read. Peterfreund has a clever and yet poetic voice that drew me into this world straight away. I am now interested in seeking out her traditionally-pubbed features.
- Doodling
on July 19, 2011
Once I'd suspended my meager understanding of natural law and physics, I thought this short story was rather clever. Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll came to mind often while I was reading it, though there are no children involved in this story. I believe there is a great deal of inside jokes in the characters and situations that, as an outsider, I was not privy to understand. And I didn't quite understand the purpose of the title until the end, and I wonder still if another title would have been more fitting. All in all, I found Doodling to be a light and clever read, but like Alice in Wonderland, perhaps not necessarily a memorable one.
- Rose of Par Kluhnd: A Fairy Tale
on July 25, 2011
When I saw the title of this book, without reading a description, I thought that maybe this was a story about an exotic character from an exotic place (i.e. a twist and a fairy tale from India or the Middle East or something). Instead, Rose of Par Kluhnd's influences feel much more familiar, like medieval Europe with some Grecian influences. Ash has a beautiful style of prose that's fitting, maybe not for the first couple chapters, but certainly for the rest of the book (perhaps that was the author's intent). I was glad to see the host of fantastic characters weren't your usual elves, dwarves, werewolves, etc., but some new (or new to me) ones like the selkies, leshies, and so on.
While Ash's flowing language was easy to follow, the plot sagged immensely in the middle with all the details of Rose's travels. I wished that those parts could be tightened up to only highlight the events that drove the plot forward. There are many instances of non-events, in which there is promise of an action sequence, but I was disappointed when I didn't get to see them because they were dealt with off screen and everything worked out fine with no real threat.
And while I liked the mix of characters, it was a bit hard to distinguish some of them (i.e. Scaythach and Sienna) because they spoke exactly the same way and had the same mannerisms. It would've been nice to "see" their personalities come about in the dialogue and action, rather than have to be told about them by either the narrator or another character.
The best parts, in my opinion, came towards the end, when the pace and the action picked up. I would've liked to see a similar treatment more throughout the book. It doesn't have to be more violent (not at all), but it would've been nice to move the plot along quicker. That could've also helped bring down the whopping 111,000+ word count to the more YA-friendly range of 45,000 to 65,000 (give or take about 20,000).
All in all, an enjoyable read.
- Adventures In Funeral Crashing (Funeral Crashing #1)
on July 27, 2011
I was really looking forward to reading this book simply based on the title, and I'm glad that I wasn't disappointed. Harris' prose is energetic, fun, and fitting for the age group that Adventures in Funeral Crashing aims to please. The plotting and pace were perfect and the cleverness of the mystery kept me wanting to know what happens next. A great twist in the climax and a great resolution. It's a clean story with no sex but does contain a few instances of strong language, so I would recommend it for readers at least 12 and up. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
- The New Girl Who Found A Dead Body
on April 18, 2012
This book was okay, though I can't say it was up to par with Harris' Adventures in Funeral Crashing, which I enjoyed and rated five stars. It felt a little laborious sometimes trying to keep up with the rather large character cast, and the writing felt a little choppier and distant, and there were a few moments that didn't seem to follow a logical flow, and the ending was a bit predictable. I can't really say it was a particularly memorable story, but it was interesting nonetheless.
