Friday, November 29, 2013

Guest Post: Author Catherine Banks

Reading and writing has always been a passion of mine. People told me it was “weird” to read so much or to write my own stories. Personally I think it is weird when I talk to people who are my age (late twenties) who haven’t read anything aside from the required reading from school. Reading transports you to a new place and to new people. It gives you the ability to experience a wide range of emotions and lets you connect with characters in ways that you might not be able to connect with from real people. I enjoy being teleported to a vast countryside where people have to travel days to reach destinations while fighting trolls and avoiding being cooked.  I also enjoy being teleported to a place where magic is everywhere and it’s weird to be “normal” or without magic. Writing gives me these same things except I get to decide what the story is about and what happens. I get to create a new world where werewolves exist alongside humans or where a human girl is raised by elves. I become one of the characters and I experience every emotion right along with them as I write down their story. Sometimes their story writes itself and if I had a plan for them, it is thrown out the window as I write a scene that grips my heart and frightens my character and myself as we experience it. Sometimes that scene changes the entire plan and I allow the character to write the story herself.
 
I self-published my books so that others could enjoy the stories I created and to be transported to a place not quite like ours. Some don’t like my stories and that’s okay, not everyone likes the same things, but others love my stories and enjoy reading about my characters’ journeys. That is why I self-published. I don’t need to be a famous bestseller. I don’t need my book made into a movie. I want to hear others say how much they loved a specific character and how they felt their pain in certain scenes and the love in others. Hearing the joy my books brings others makes me feel good inside.
 
Facts about me:
 
Favorite movie: Princess Bride (great book too)
Favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip
Favorite place to read: outside
Married or single: married since 2007, but together since 2002
Children: Two: Erica born 2007 and Calvin born 2012
Tattoos: 4 and more to come!
 
Top 5 favorite adult series:
 
 
Top 5 favorite young adult series:
 
 
About the Author:
 
 
I'm just your average nerdy bibliophile. I love books, video games, music and movies. In 2010 I self-published my first novel and now I have several titles under construction. I love fantasy and have an extreme love for werewolves. I spend my days off work writing one of my novels or with my husband, daughter, 3 dogs, horse and cat. I love writing stories and they seem to flow out of me constantly. I just want people to read my stories and enjoy them.
 
Contact me! I love talking with my fans!
 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Guest Post: Author Kristin Bailey

After her parents died in a fire and her grandfather disappeared, Meg Whitlock thought her life had come to a standstill. But when she learned that the pocket watch her grandfather left her was really an intricate key, Meg, with the help of a stable hand named Will, uncovered the Amusementists: members of an elite secret society dedicated to discovery and shrouded in mystery.

Now the Amusementists are convening in London, and Meg is determined to join their ranks. But being the first girl in the Order has its difficulties, and with Will away in Scotland Meg fears she can’t trust anyone but herself. Her worries are only supported by the sabotage happening at the academy, with each altered invention being more harmful than the last.

With threats lurking around every corner, and while trying to prove her worth as the first female Amusementist, Meg must uncover the identity of the academy’s saboteur before the botched devices become deadly. And after she finds evidence of a sinister and forbidden invention, Meg must stop it - or risk the entire future of the Amusementists.
 
Writing into the Gap

Hi everyone, and thank you for inviting me. I want to write about a phenomenon I've seen in the YA world that helped prompt the idea for THE SECRET ORDER trilogy.

When I decided I wanted to write Young Adult, I remembered the the time in my life when I was twelve and thirteen and I loved reading. I desperately used the books I read to try to make sense of the world around me. I also read them to have fun. I wanted to see in them, characters, especially girls I could aspire to be. Like the roller-coasters I loved so much, I wanted my books to be a wild ride. I loved those stories, and they inspired me to learn and grow.

According to the American Library Association, the Young Adult genre spans the ages from twelve to eighteen years old, though there are obviously adult readers as well. Middle Grade is usually defined as ages nine to twelve. So, between MG and YA books, there should be a smooth gradient of childhood reading with content for every age in the spectrum, with the fuzzy break happening for kids who are about eleven and twelve years old.

The problem is that there has been a trend to push toward older and more mature stories and characters in YA novels. So much so that former "YA" books broke out into a new genre called New Adult. Content for young adult novels has grown darker and edgier, pushing content that is solidly intended for an audience of sixteen and up. I don't know if the influx of the adult readers into the genre has helped to push characters and contact toward this higher "maturity" but the trend seems pretty clear.

I watched this trend unfolding and it broke my heart, because I saw a gap opening where I could find less and less books that formed a bridge from shorter middle grade novels into the young adult genre.

I wanted to write into that gap even though it terrified me. It meant going against the trend and writing for the kids that are just coming out of Middle Grade, but not quite ready to wrap their minds around content intended for older teens.

So for just a moment, I'd like to stand in defense of immaturity, and I hope you will join me, because I'd hate to leave the girl I was at twelve alone in the dark.

Here are some of the things I did when I was young.

I instantly fell in love, frequently. I found nothing at all wrong, weak, or abnormal about this process. I also never saw it at a failing of my personal character. Some of the people I loved so intensely I could feel the constant ache in my chest were, Legolas Greenleaf, Christian Slater, the entire cast of Young Guns, several rock stars from the eighties and early nineties that had amazing hair, at least half of my brother's friends, and one boy I completely made up in my own head.

I hid old skool Romance novels under my bed and read them with a flashlight late at night when my mother wouldn't catch me, then became baffled by the mechanics of what I was reading, and even though I was curious, I tended to regard some of those scenes with the morbid fascination that one uses when trying to figure out exactly what animal a lump of road kill used to be.

I refused to kiss a boy in a closet during a game of spin the bottle because I just wasn't ready for that and didn't want my first kiss to be a game.

I later regretted that decision when I found out all my friends did.

Then later didn't regret that decision as I grew up and learned my instincts were right.

I made stupid impulsive mistakes, over and over again, including an attempt to buy a year book for my middle school by showing up for school super early, which had the unintended consequence of terrifying my parents because they thought I had run away.

I was not allowed into a club called the "Odd Squad" because I was too odd.

And I survived all my own foibles with enough self composure that I can laugh about them now.

We need books for the young end of the YA market. We need books for the awkward, crazy girl I was, because she needed the example of how to grow and mature. To do that, sometimes we have to start young. Sometimes we need characters who show that same immaturity, and we have to give them the room and faith that they will grow and become stronger. They will show us the path so that maybe, just maybe, that path will be easier for another crazy odd girl shouldn't have to grow up so quickly.

Happy Reading,

Kristin Bailey
 About the Author:
 
 
 
Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

Kristin loves hearing from readers but asks that all Goodreads messages stay on the subject of books. E-ARCs are available through Edelweiss.
 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

In My Mailbox (120)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week?

For Review:
 
Defy (Defy, #1) by Sarah B. Larson (Thanks to Scholastic Press)
 

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

Friday, November 22, 2013

Review: Beautifully Broken (Spellbound, #1) by Sherry Soule

Deadly Witchcraft. Ghostly Threats. Doomed Romance.They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Fallen Oaks. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.

When sixteen-year-old Shiloh Trudell takes a summer job at Craven Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes enchanted by his charms.

Finally, Shiloh’s met someone who is super cute and totally into her, but Trent is immersed in the cunning deception that surrounds the mysterious Craven Manor. So much so that he may lose sight of what is truly important to him. And she can’t decide whether she wants to shake him or kiss him. Yet neither one of them can deny the immediate, passionate connection growing between them.

With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, Shiloh will finally begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist and decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.
 
One of the main reasons I love getting recommendations for new books to read is because without a helpful hint here and there, it's a simple fact that there are just too many great books out there to read.  It's a problem that I welcome as opposed to the other side of the coin, but it also makes it nearly impossible to read each and every great title out there.  So when I get the opportunity I try my very best to check out each and every recommendation I'm given.  In this case, I was asked to participate in a blast post revolving around Soule's Spellbound series and the chance to read and review her first two installments.  I can only say that while I liked the sound of the book's synopsis, it was about all I had to go on.  I had never read anything else of Soule, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found was an individual that was doing what she was meant to do.  Soule's writing flows without any blips or hangups, and readers are free to cruise right along with her fantastic characters while enjoying this wonderful and unique world she's created for audiences.
 
Shiloh is a heroine that readers will root for and want to know more about.  Her background and characteristics are unfolded in many layers but wonderfully spun out at just the right times and places.  The dialogue between Shiloh and the rest of Soule's characters, mainly her best friend and love interest will hold readers to the pages and have them feeling as if they're apart of all the action as well as each conversation. 
 
And with each and every remarkable twist and turn this story takes, the cliffhanger at the ending left me reeling.  I was immediately begging for the chance to read and review the second installment not only to find out what happened right after that doozy of an ending but to see what all would be in store next for these characters in this fresh and fun new world.  I can't wait to dive right in and find out for myself.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Guest Post: Author Lydia Kang

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.
The Best Fortune Cookie Fortune, Ever
 
Well, at least for me. :)
 
I received this fortune cookie while I was in Las Vegas recently for the Vegas Valley Book Festival. I always get weird fortune cookies that are usually about nothing (a memorable one: “You have tasted the sweetness and the bitterness of coffee.” Whut?)
 
But this one was important.
 
 
It means so much. Much of my life, I was shy and not happy about being thrust into the spot light. But several times in my life, I had to do enter extremely uncharted territory because there were no others to do the job, and no one to teach me what I had to learn.
 
Like writing. I’d taken minimal classes on writing and I already had a career in medicine and a family that took up much of my time. But no one was going to show me how to write, or make me a schedule, or solve my plot problems but me.
 
I think that Zelia, in my book CONTROL, would have appreciated this fortune. She has to save her kidnapped sister. She’s not allowed to exist in the world that most people live in. And she can’t even trust her own new, foster family to help her. She’s smart and determined, and that’s really all she has.
 
She’s on her own, and it’s absolutely frightening.
 
But I think that this fortune speaks the natural resiliency and resourcefulness that we all have, but maybe have forgotten in this day and age of easily accessible everything. We can lean on friends and family for support, but at the core of the fight for anything that’s worth fighting for is...ourselves.
 
Learn by going where you have to go.
 
About the Author:
 
 
 
Lydia Kang is an author of young adult fiction, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. She graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine, completing her residency and chief residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She is a practicing physician who has gained a reputation for helping fellow writers achieve medical accuracy in fiction. Her poetry and non-fiction have been published in JAMA, The Annals of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Great Weather for Media. She believes in science and knocking on wood, and currently lives in Omaha with her husband, three children, and a terrarium full of stick bugs.
 
Lydia is represented by Eric Myers of the Spieler Agency.
 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Guest Post: Author Robin Constantine

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.
The Siren Song of Bad Boys
 
Confession: I love bad boys. When I was ten years old, a mom and her two teenage sons moved into the second floor apartment of the house next door. The boys were too old to hang out with the kids on the block, so we never really got to know them, only saw them coming and going but something about them seemed troubled.
 
The brothers had epic yelling matches that would sometimes end up turning physical on their front lawn. There were also riffs between mother and sons, which would inevitably end up with one of boys barreling out of the house, cursing. The younger of the two brothers had unruly brown hair, wore a bomber jacket and walked with what I can only describe as a determined swagger whenever he left the house.
 
I was smitten.
 
I don’t know why. Maybe because he was so different from my parochial school, white bread life. Maybe I wondered what it was that troubled him so much. Maybe I just liked the way he looked. Whatever the reason, any time I could steal a glance at this exotic, jean clad, teenage creature as he sauntered up the street…I would. Where was he going? Who did he hang out with? Why did he fight so much? He never even said hello to me.
 
One night his mom fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand, igniting the bed, but thankfully not hurting anyone or setting the house on fire. The gossip in the neighborhood was that she’d been drunk at the time. They left the burnt, powder blue mattress by the curb on garbage day. Shortly after, they moved out. My ten-year-old heart still wonders what happened to them after they left.
 
I got another dose of bad boys in Freshman Lit when we read S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, which is pretty much a bad-boy-a-palooza. Oh, and the movie. Matt Dillon as Dallas Winston? Hot. A police record a mile long. Loyal to his friends. And that pout? When Cherry said “I could fall in love with him” – Yep, I totally understood.
 
So it may come as a surprise to some readers that I don’t think of Grayson Barrett as a bad boy. I mean, he is, sort of – but I don’t like to pigeonhole him like that. When I was workshopping The Promise of Amazing with my critique group, I remember some of the first critiques kept mentioning ‘bad boy’ Grayson. And all I could think was “Don’t label him.” A hurt boy. A misguided boy. A boy who doesn’t think before he acts sometimes, but not all bad.
 
I adore Grayson. He’s unlike any character I’ve ever written. He’s a colossal jerk at times, but he knows it. More than once, it felt like I was writing myself into a corner with his actions but it was always fun figuring a way out. What I love most about Grayson is his humanness - his love for his father, his desire to be a better person, his ability to go after and fight for what he wants and the fact he wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to Wren. Those attributes don’t sound bad to me at all.
 
Why are we so quick to judge someone? The truth is all of us have the capacity to be both good and bad. That bad boy neighbor of mine? I suspect he really wasn’t that bad. The burnt mattress at the curb must have humiliated him, maybe his family as well. What if when he left his house he was heading to the library or a movie and not to the bay to drink with his friends as I had suspected? And even if he had been drinking at the bay…does it make him a bad person?
 
No. It makes him human.
 
The allure of a bad boy is undeniable. Bad boys are flawed, sure. That alone makes them interesting, different. Bad boys live out loud and who doesn’t want to do that, at least some of the time? What better place than in the safety of a fictional word can you get a dose of bad boy, without it really disrupting your life? If someone can be so…bad…isn’t there a chance that at the heart of it, there is some good? That what it comes down to is that they are passionate about life, even if at times that
passion is misdirected?
 
These are the reasons why I think the bad boy trope continues to be popular, but most of all?
 
When a bad boy smiles…oh, hot damn, there’s nothing like it.
 
How about you?
 
About the Author:
 
 
Robin Constantine is a born and bred Jersey girl who moved down South so she could wear flip-flops year round. She spends her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, well, eventually but not without a lot of peril, angst and the occasional kissing scene.

Her YA debut, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING, will be released on December 31, 2013 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
 

Monday, November 18, 2013

Author Interview: Jessica Schein & a Giveaway!!

A new four-book e-novella series featuring four different characters trying to find out the answer to one big question: where is Lizzy Ross?

Book 1: Mimi Lerner and Lizzy Ross have been best friends since high school began and now, as seniors, they've made big plans together—from a trip to the Bahamas only months away to going to college the following year and ruling it like they do high school. But when Lizzy goes MIA after a party Mimi throws at a posh Manhattan hotel, everything is suddenly up in the air and Mimi must face facts: Lizzy Ross may not be the girl she knew, and the life she thought she'd have is going in a very different direction.

Please note that this book ends in a cliffhanger and book 2 will be told by another character.

Keep an eye out for the next installment, as told by a different character, of the Lizzy Ross series in early 2014!

Name three things you loved about writing The Disappearance of Lizzy Ross.

I have to say that I loved writing Mimi’s character. She’s complicated in that she’s incredibly selfish, narcissistic, and yet vulnerable, although she may not think so. She’s also one of the most insecure characters I’ve written and part of how she deals with it is through an addiction to coke. Given that she’s high a lot she’s an unreliable character so it was interesting to see where she’d go and what she’d do.

I also loved seeing where the story would go. I started with a loose outline but the book took twists and turns that not even I could have predicted when I started writing it in May of 2012.

And last but not least, I loved writing the scenes between Jared and Mimi. They have a real rawness between them that I found to be both honest and somewhat disturbing at times.

What's your best advice for someone that wants to be a writer?

Keep going and do it every day. Writing can be a very lonely hobby, process, passion--what have you--and it’s easy to question whether you should keep at it. But if it’s something you love, don’t stop. When I can squeeze in time to write, it’s the best part of my day.

Also, listen to criticism (maybe cry, laugh, and cry again), take it or don’t, and move on. You don’t get anywhere by re-reading reviews, both good and bad, over and over again.

Your debut novel just came out, how does it feel? What was your favorite part of this whole process?

It feels awesome but also, quite frankly, scary. I spent a while creating this story and character using nothing but my imagination, and for a long time, Mimi Lerner was my own. But now she’s out there, and being judged, and while it’s been amazing (and very interesting) to see how people have reacted to her, it’s always a bit gut-wrenching to see someone hate the book because they aren’t a fan of hers.

I don’t know if I can pick a favorite moment of the process but here are some highlights: receiving the cover from my designer who totally nailed it; working closely with my agency’s (Trident) ebook department because they’ve been so amazing and supportive; and reading the reviews, both good and bad. The process never ends!

After spending so many years working in the marketing departments of a number of children's publishing houses, what sticks out the most from the experience? Any useful tidbits that helped while you were working on your own release?

You are your best promoter, especially given the rise of social media over the past few years.  Also, don’t be afraid to try a promotional idea. You may fail but if it works, think about--in the words of Dr. Seuss--the places you’ll go! And last but not least, be genuine on Twitter, Facebook, etc. and don’t be afraid to show your personality.

What's in your reading pile right now? Any recent favorites you'd recommend or tell us to steer clear of?

I’m finishing up Robin Wasserman’s The Walking Dark (hello scary) and prior to that, I adored Gayle Forman’s Just One Day. My favorite YA book of the year, however, is Rainbow Rowell’s
Eleanor & Park. It was absolutely perfect. Next up on my reading shelf is: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The
Lowland, How to Love by Katie Cotugno, and Len Vlahos’ Scar Boys (out in January 2014).

Which literary character is your dog, Owen, named after?

OWEN MEANY FROM JOHN IRVING’S A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. If you’ve read the
book (and everyone should!) you’ll know why I just went caps-crazy. :)

If you could travel anywhere you wanted, where would you go and why? If you could only take three things with you, what would they be and why?

Funny you should ask because my dream trip is happening soon: Hawaii! I work full-time and between that and writing my own stuff I’m super busy. So I’m excited to be taking a ten day
vacation to Oahu over Christmas with my boyfriend where I hope to relax, rest, and relax more. The three things I’ll be bringing are: sunscreen (I had melanoma last year--it was scary and I’m fine but I’m now more than ever a sunscreen devotee); a whole pile of books (see above for the list, as there’s a good chance I don’t get to any of them before the holidays); and my laptop. After all, I have the next book in the Lizzy Ross series, The Search for Lizzy Ross (as told by Jared), to finish!

About the Author:
 
Jessica Schein was born and raised in Manhattan and is a graduate of both Bates College and Lesley University, from which she received her M.F.A in Creative Writing. After school, she spent nearly eight years working in the marketing departments of a number of children’s publishing houses and dreaming of the day she'd publish her own stories. She currently lives in Seattle with her dog, Owen, who is—of course—named after a well-known literary character. When not writing, she can be found cooking, running, doing yoga, or spacing out.
 
 
Giveaway Details:

All you have to do is fill out the form below and cross your fingers your name will be one of the three Rafflecopter randomly selects. Good luck everyone and thank you so much again Jessica for stopping by for an interview and for offering up this wonderful giveaway!!
 
 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Sunday, November 17, 2013

In My Mailbox (119)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

What did you guys get this week?

So it's been a slow week as far as books are concerned.  Nothing new to review at the moment, just a few titles that fall outside of the YA category that I'm reading just for fun.  But I'm slowly working my way through the YA pile I have that are awaiting my attention and am doing my best to get through those and get some new reviews up.  If anyone's read anything recently that you think should be on my radar let me know and I'd love to add those titles to my TBR list.  With the holidays quickly coming, there's always room on my list for a few more titles to ask Santa to put under the tree for Christmas morning!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Guest Post: Author Cori McCarthy


If there is one thing that seventeen-year-old Rain knows and knows well, it is survival. Caring for her little brother, Walker, who is "Touched," and losing the rest of her family to the same disease, Rain has long had to fend for herself on the bleak, dangerous streets of Earth City. When she looks to the stars, Rain sees escape and the only possible cure for Walker. And when a darkly handsome and mysterious captain named Johnny offers her passage to the Edge, Rain immediately boards his spaceship. Her only price: her "willingness."

The Void cloaks many secrets, and Rain quickly discovers that Johnny's ship serves as host for an underground slave trade for the Touched . . . and a prostitution ring for Johnny's girls. With hair as red as the bracelet that indicates her status on the ship, the feeling of being a marked target is not helpful in Rain's quest to escape. Even worse, Rain is unsure if she will be able to pay the costs of love, family, hope, and self-preservation.

With intergalactic twists and turns, Cori McCarthy's debut space thriller exists in an orbit of its own.

Why I Love to Kill Characters
 
At my grad school, Vermont College of Fine Arts, we loved to throw around the phrase, Murder your darlings! This writing advice gem comes from Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and is one of those things you can say when you want to get people debating loudly. Is it necessary to kill off important characters? Does it make the reader feel more invested because they’re emotionally wounded? And most importantly, when is a character’s death really warranted?

I don’t know! All I can say is that when a character dies in a story that I’m reading, I either fall in love with the book or throw it across the room. 

As a writer, I like to dance upon this line. I’m a big fan of the idea that (in thrillers like my The Color of Rain) everything that can go wrong, should go wrong. When I’m assessing the emotional journey of my main character, the notion that they might lose someone close to them comes up over and over again. This isn’t to say that I take people away from my main character willy-nilly (I’m looking at you, Joss Whedon!) But I do like to take a step back and evaluate what kind of deaths make a story stronger.

I’d like to use Katherine Paterson’s The Bridge to Terabithia as an example. (If you haven’t read it, please stop reading now as I don’t want to spoil it for you—plus you really should read it!). Leslie and Jesse’s story is magical and timeless. It talks about friendship and a reveals a quiet yet memorable coming of age. But then, just when you think you’re reading about the universal power of the imagination, Leslie dies.

That fast.

If you’re anything like me, you didn’t see Leslie’s death coming. It is a shock to the reader that cleverly parallels Jesse’s stunned experience. For me, Leslie’s death is the moment where the story transformed from entertaining to important. Reading Jesse’s grief is an experience like no other. And as a young reader, this book broke my heart and then put it back together in a way that prepared me for some of the real deaths in my life.

To date, I can admit that my books are full of loss, both The Color of Rain and my upcoming book Breaking Sky. Though this might be a punch to readers, I hope that the stories work on cathartic levels, and that the main character’s journeys—whether it be in space or at a junior Air Force academy in the arctic—ring with true emotional stakes.

About the Author:
 
Cori McCarthy is the author of the space thriller The Color of Rain, out now from Running Press Teens. Her second book, Breaking Sky, will be out at the end of 2014 from Sourcebooks. Cori is the cohost of the short-n-funny vlog series, The NerdBait Guide, which discusses YA stories as well as fangirl subjects and all things nerdlore. She lives in Michigan with her family and beloved jade trees. Follow her @CoriMcCarthy
 

Monday, November 11, 2013

Countdown: December 2013 (2)


The holidays are almost here and for me, it's always a crazy busy time of year, as it is for a lot of people. But with all the craziness also comes a lot of fun. There are family get togethers, friends celebrating left and right, the wrapping of packages (which my family has made an art form) and the giving of gifts. As much as I love to receive presents (I mean who doesn't?) I actually love giving them even more. Picking out the perfect present for someone, wrapping it up to make it even more personal, and seeing the faces of loved ones open up a great gift that they'll love is the best ever! While I do try to find perfect presents for everyone on my shopping list, I also tend to throw in a book along with whatever else I've found them. Bibliophiles or not, I enjoy helping to add or create a library/collection of great books for everyone on my list. Here are a few coming out in December that I'd love to receive and might possibly throw in for some friends and family as well.
 
Countdown Pick #1:  Control (Control, #1) by Lydia Kang (12/26/2013)
 

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.


The short description about a few of the things that the future of this book supposedly has put my curiosity into overdrive.  It's like when Back to the Future 2 came out...wasn't everyone going crazy thinking about what "could" be available and possible in the future?

Countdown Pick #2:  The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine (12/31/2013)


Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.


Yay for the chance to read a sweet and delightfully fun sounding romance this Winter!

Countdown Pick #3:  Taste of Darkness (Healer, #3) by Maria V. Snyder (12/31/2013)


She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.


My opinion stands; Maria V. Snyder can do no wrong!  Every series and book she puts on the shelves is pure magic with a capital M.  He characters are well developed and fantastic, her plot lines are fast paced and incredibly addicting.  Each and every title is an automatic purchase for me, I never have any doubts that I'll fall in love with her next story.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Blog Tour & Review: Waterfell (The Aquarathi, #1) by Amalie Howard

 

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age.

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

 
I have to admit that I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when the opportunity to participate in the tour came around.  I figured I'd give it a shot after checking out the book's synopsis and finding it interesting enough.  I cannot express how happy I was that I did.  Without the chance to jump on this blog tour I'm not sure if I'd have come across this book quick enough and that would have been a sorry state.  If you're in the market for a great read, and maybe one that hasn't been plastered all over the Internet but deserves every bit as much attention, look no further.
 
While every reader and fan of YA literature most likely will have come across a book featuring an under-the-sea type of world, I highly doubt you'll have come across one quite like this.  Howard has taken a unique idea and worked her magic.  What might have started out normal enough quickly turned into something extraordinary!
 
Nerissa might appear to be the typical high school girl attending a private school with the hopes of doing well and surviving like the rest of her classmates, but in fact, she's far from normal.  She's got secrets her fellow classmates could never possibly imagine and things are about to change.  The plan might have been to fly under the radar and go about her normal routine as if nothing was amiss, but soon things change and she has no other choice than to face facts, and realize that actions will need to be taken, and quickly.
 
There's a new boy at school's who has caught her eye and of course seems to be showing up wherever she is, and there's something different about him.  But who's Nerissa to judge...after all, she's not exactly human...no matter how hard that might be to believe, or how good of a job she's done to have everything thinking otherwise.  Secrets unfold, tensions begin to mount, and Nerissa is running out time.  She's got to act, and in order to get things done and solve the problems she's faced with, she'll need help...there's just no way she can do this on her own.  Luckily for her she's got help.
 
This novel is full of surprises and plenty of action and romance that will leave readers content and on the edge of their seats, all at the same time.  I can't wait to see what Howard has in store next for the series, and will be on the lookout for the next installment's release date so that I can start the countdown.  Because with any great series and it's opener, there's always a cliffhanger to leave readers wanting more and to plain and simply drive them crazy.  Howard quickly jumped to the top of my favorite authors list and I'm truly looking forward to what she brings to the bookshelves next!
 
About the Author
 
 
A rising star among young adult writers, Amalie H oward developed a loyal following after releasing her debut book, “Bloodspell,” in 2011. Now, she is returning with five new books that are sure to excite her devoted fans and catch the attention of new readers.
 
A bookworm from the beginning, Howard grew up on a small island in the Caribbean with her nose
buried in books. When she was just 13 years old, her poem “The Candle” was published in a University of Warwick journal, marking a sign of great things to come. Howard immersed herself into other cultures, globetrotting through 22 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. After moving to the United States, she earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and French from Colby College in Maine. She also holds a certificate in French literature from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France. Traveling around the world, Howard has lent talents as a research assistant, marketing representative, freelance writer, teen speaker, blogger and global sales executive.
 
Howard is a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society award, an international youth writing competition. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers Howard’s first book, “Bloodspell” (June 2011, Langdon Street Press) earned rave reviews and was named a Seventeen Magazine Summer Beach Read. Readers will hear more from Howard as she releases a pair of two-book series, “Waterfell” (November 2013, Harlequin TEEN) and “The Almost Girl” (January 2014, Strange Chemistry), as well as “Alpha Goddess” (March 2014, Skyhorse/Sky Pony Press) over the next two Howard lives in New York with her husband, three children and one willful feline that
she is convinced may have been a witch’s cat in a past life.
 

In My Mailbox (118)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week?

For Review:
 
Ink is Thicker Than Water by Amy Spalding (Thanks to Entangled Teen)
 

For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.

But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.

It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.


Friday, November 8, 2013

Guest Post: Author Shelly Crane

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?
 
Top 25
 
1) First, I'm a paperback addict. Like a real one. I need meetings. It's bad. But I love it.
 
2) I could watch Kitchen Nightmares reruns all. Day. Long. I'm obsessed.

3) My favorite color is Teal. (Go Jags!)

4) My absolute favorite place to be is a balcony at the beach.

5) I eat green olives out of the jar.
 
6) My uber favorite band right now is Imagine Dragons. But my all-time favorite is Snow Patrol.

7) I love mushy, gushy, ooey-gooey books. If I can find real YA books that focus on the love story, I'm hooked!

8) I've read Vampire Academy, The Host, and Callum & Harper like fifteen times.

9) My two boys are hilarious and lots of times give me book ideas without even realizing.
 
10) I'm a very quiet person, which usually surprises people b\c I'm not really that way online.
 
11) I get in full-blown panic when I have to speak in front of a group of people.
 
12) Black licorice makes me gag.
 
13) I have a deep, deep love for turtle cheesecake.
 
14) My curly hair has been the bane of my existence since birth.
 
15) My body wakes itself up at 7 every morning. No idea why.
 
16) I wrote Significance in three weeks.
 
17) I would rather eat playdough than do dishes.
 
18) Speaking of playdough, it's fun. It was my fav thing to do with my boys when they were little.
 
19) I was chased by a deer once.
 
20) I was also chased by a cow. I only survived by my mad running skills.
 
21) I served Brett Micheals at Sonny's BBQ in Jacksonville where I worked 12 years ago.
 
22) First day at a new school, freshman year, I fainted in gym class because I didn't eat lunch. Go me.
 
23) I wanted to be a cop when I was a kid. That stuck until junior year of high school.
 
24) The thing I most want for my boys is to know how to treat a girl with respect and don't settle. The right person is out there for everyone if you'll just wait for them.
 
25) I believe in love at first sight. I believe in destiny and fate. I believe in Santa Claus.
 
About the Author:
 
 
 
Shelly is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.
Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.
 

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