About Ciara

An avid reader and aspiring author, Ciara Stewart lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she can be found drooling over books, pushing books on her friends, and arguing about how much better Seattle is than the rest of the world, if you are a slug. She graduated with honors in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ciara is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Greater Seattle RWA chapter, the Beau Monde RWA chapter and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

Her first manuscript is a finalist in the 2008 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Teddy Roosevelt, US President

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Ben Franklin, American Statesman, aspiring poet and founder of my alma matter

FAQs:

Q: What is this blog about?
A: BOOKS - reading them, writing them, traveling with them, drooling over them, etc. Mostly Romance Novels in all their glory, but also Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Young Adult (YA), and occasionally Middle Grade.

Q: What is your rating system?
A: Hearts, written in the geek alphabet = <3

5 hearts = best book eva’ (very rare)
4 hearts = really really good
3 hearts = good
2 hearts = meh
1 heart = don’t bother.

This is my place to pimp the books I love, so this is really a book RECOMMENDATION site, rather than a REVIEW site. I realize how incredibly hard it is to a) write fiction b) finish a manuscript c) get an agent for said manuscript d) get an editor for said manuscript e) get said manuscript published. Every single book, good or not, represents thousands of hours of blood, sweat and tears, and I’m impressed with anyone who publishes. That said, I choose only to write about books that make me want to GUSH about them, blubber about them, and push them on all my friends. Do you think I’ll adore your ARC or novel? I’d love to hear about it. I also really love to interview authors.

Q: How do you pronounce your name?
A: KEER-ah. Ciara is one of the most popular girls names in Ireland, the only country in which people know how to pronounce it. The female form of Ciaran, it comes from the Gaelic word ciar meaning dark or black. Also the name of a Saint from Tippurary in 679 AD. Ciara rhymes with Lira….like Keirra Knightley, NOT like the singer.

On the plane back from Malawi where my parents were in the Peace Corps, my pregnant mother sat next to a priest from Tippurary and she asked him for a list of Irish girls names to go with my maiden last name of Brady. He wanted to name me Fiona, after a woman he had once known named Fiona Brady. My mother selected Sinéad, Siobhán, and Ciara, and when I arrived decided that Ciara fit me best, probably because I was a Dark little lassie.

Q: How can I contact you?
A: I love to hear from authors and book lovers and do my very best to respond to all email. Please send me a message at ciara (at) ciarastewart (dot) com.

I also blog with a cadre of wonderful and witty romance readers on Desert Island Keeper Ladies Rule!

Other places to connect with Me:

• Goodreads
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter

Have a question for me? Have a book recommendation? Leave me a comment!