Adventures in YA Publishing

Haunted South Spring Blog Carnival Winners!

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

We've picked the winners for our booth in the Spring Blog Carnival, and Holy crackers, you have all amazed us!

One winner turned in a whopping 75, not even kidding, 75!!! answers. And a slew of others turned in entries in the double digits. Color us impressed. You all know and love your books, and these books are well worth loving. Enough said.

Congrats to the winners, and thanks again--and again and again--to the wonderful authors who made this all possible by writing and donating their books, signatures, and time. We love you all!

Happy reading,

Martina and Jan

Our Favorite Southern Gothics signed by the authors!

GRAND PRIZE - The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

WINNER: Christina Kit.

(paperbacks of Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, and Beautiful Chaos plus hardcover Beautiful Redemption), all with bookplates autographed and personalized by Kami Garcia

"There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations.

Mysterious, suspenseful, and romantic, "Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness," "Beautiful Chaos," and "Beautiful Redemption "introduce a secret world hidden in plain sight. A world where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending.

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
signed hardcover

WINNER: LYSETTE LAMB

Draw a circle... place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood...

Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Graveminder by Melissa Marr
signed paperback

WINNER: CATIE TAYLOR

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
signed paperback

WINNER: BRANDY GRAVES

Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

Fallen by Lauren Kate
signed paperback

WINNER: SARAH MARSH

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
signed paperback

WINNER: AMANDA

Although she was orphaned at birth, Eden Moore is never alone. Three dead women watch from the shadows, bound to protect her from harm. But in the woods a gunman waits, convinced that Eden is destined to follow her wicked great-grandfather--an African magician with the power to curse the living and raise the dead.

Now Eden must decipher the secret of the ghostly trio before a new enemy more dangerous than the fanatical assassin destroys what is left of her family. She will sift through lies in a Georgian ante-bellum mansion and climb through the haunted ruins of a 19th century hospital, desperately seeking the truth that will save her beloved aunt from the curse that threatens her life.

Character Bucket List: Nisha Arvi from CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS by Miriam Forster

2013-05-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but also her life.

What do you wish for when you're an abandoned sixteen year old girl with no caste and no place in the world? Just the basics...

Nisha Arvi's Bucket List

1. Stand on top of the city wall and look out onto the forest.
2. Find someone to redeem her away from the City of a Thousand Dolls.
3. Find the parents who abandoned her in the first place.
4. Keep her freedom, whatever the cost.
5. Live through the book.

About the Author

Miriam Forster learned to read at the age of five, wrote her first story at the age of seven and has been playing with words ever since. In real life Miriam is a recovering barista, a terrible housekeeper and a bit of a hermit. But in her mind she’s a deadly international assassin-ninja AND a fantastic dancer. When Miriam isn’t writing, she plots out fight scenes, obsesses about anthropology, nature shows and British television, and reads far too much.

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Where's the Magic? (There is No Magic.) by Amy McNamara

2013-05-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend my honey and I saw writer/filmmaker Sarah Polley’s STORIES WE TELL a documentary she made to address a piece of her family’s mythology and its effects on all involved. She opens the film with a quote by Margaret Atwood from her novel Alias Grace.

“When you are in the middle of a story it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion… It’s only afterwards it becomes anything like a story...”

I love that quote. Story is something we pull together, afterward. Things happen, then we shape them into something with more structure.

I have a weakness for magical thinking. Some might think this is a good, even necessary quality in a person who spends much of her time imagining other worlds, but one lesson I learn over and over again is that where the storytelling impulse is great, you must choose the story you tell yourself about your life and your work very carefully.

Stories are incantatory, of course. Any reader can tell you that. Words wend us river-like along plot’s current. They mean something. And meaning makes us. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were going to write as soon as they could find the time, I wouldn’t need to work for a living. In those instances, I usually nod and smile, because I believe we all have the right to tell ourselves into being, to say the truth of our own lives without uninvited editorial input, but if I were invited to comment in those circumstances, what I might say is, ahh, I know the ending of that particular story and it doesn’t result in a novel.

The stories we tell become the truth of our lives. And so with our work.

After lofty thoughts such as these, you might think I’ve got it figured out, I’ve swept away the vestiges of magic and superstition with a stiff-bristled broom and set out to work clear-headed on a daily basis.

And yet.

A few months ago I was fretting to a fellow writer about writing. The fear went something like this: Lovely, Dark and Deep wrote itself. It came from an unfathomable well of personal grief. I was torn open by feeling, unnamable magic took over, and three months later, there on my desk was a new beast, a stack of pages with a pulse and the promise to begin breathing on its own.

That’s a nice little story. And while it’s fact that I was in a blurry fog of grief over the loss of a friend when I set out to write that book, the truth that particular origin story elides - the one my wise friend pointed out when she told me it was time to stop mythologizing the writing of that book - that truth is that I worked on it. I may print that out and hang it on the wall above my desk.

I worked on it.

I wrote and rewrote that story. I carried it with me both literally and figuratively every day, every minute I could, even when the minutes didn’t have the luxury of joining themselves together into hours. I read my previous day’s work on the tiny screen of my phone while taking my children to school. I wrote it in my head as I was falling asleep and then again when I woke up. I wrote notes and scenes in text messages to myself on the subway and on my morning jog. I made notes on it when I was preparing dinner. I read huge passages of it out loud every day, often before sleep, so I had, despite a herky-jerky working schedule, a continuous flow of it running through me, because for me, that helps it carve its own banks, rush along, and begin to take shape. I wrote scenes, chapters, and characters that all ended up in the recycle bin. I felt discouraged, but I carried on anyway.

Why would I forget that part of the story? Why did I let go of the fact that words were not set down in their final form at each sitting? And why would I hold myself to that impossible standard now? I made lists; I had whole days devoted only to the items on that list – an example – go through entire manuscript and look at all references to Character X. Make sure even though she’s a minor character she’s got integrity; she holds together in a believable, whole-person kind of way.

I don’t know why I’ve had to learn this more than once and will likely have to again. I’ve been writing all my life. I have experienced ecstatic moments of “flow,” times when the work grew so large I had the bliss of forgetting myself, of being lost in it. But those experiences are miniscule and rare in comparison to all the hours I’ve spent wrangling language and letting language wrangle me - all those agonies pooling themselves into poems, stories, and letters, bits of language that have reached out beyond me and done something in the world.

So why would I edit them out of my personal narrative? Why latch onto the simpler story, the one with magic in it? Maybe there is something important about learning and relearning to stay with the work, the sloppy, lurching, contradiction-filled movement through time that makes up life’s messy tangle.

For me, it comes down to this: the difference between being someone who wants to write and an author is that the author understands the magic comes from doing the work and not the other way around.

About the Author

Amy McNamara is the author of LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP and a manuscript of poems, the new head chronometrist. LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP was an ABA/ABC New Voices Pick, Fall 2012 and won a 2013 International Reading Association Children’s and Young Adult’s Fiction Award. Her poems appear in a wide variety of literary journals and have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has a BA in French Literature and an MFA in Poetry from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. She lives with her family in NYC.

Check out Amy's website
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Amy's Facebook

About the Book

Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somewhere she can be alone.

Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

Buy Lovely, Dark and Deep Amazon
Find Lovely, Dark and Deep on Goodreads

Tarot for Writers: Using Tarot to Find & Nurture Your Creative Muse by Sarah Ockler plus a HUGE Giveaway

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Tarot and Me: A Love Story

My fascination with tarot began long before I started writing YA. I was still in college when my aunt, a woman I’ve always admired for her passion and willingness to try new things, learned to read cards. While the rest of my family loved getting readings, I suffered from a major case of urban legenditis (I blame Celeste from Days of Our Lives). After months of watching everyone else enjoy their readings, I finally figured out the obvious: the cards aren't magic or cursed or blessed or otherworldly. They're simply a creative tool to help us gain insight and perspective about ourselves, our relationships, and our world.

Years later, I bought my first deck and began studying the cards for research on my novel, Fixing Delilah. The more comfortable I got with reading tarot for research, the more I wanted to explore how writers could use the cards in other exciting and inspiring ways.

Tarot is highly symbolic, and as such, deeply connected to universal human experiences and storytelling traditions. The cards help uncover and connect unconscious thoughts and ideas already lurking in our minds and hearts -- something all writers and artists strive to do. Call it the muse, call it the universe, call it plain old inspiration. The cards are just one way to find and explore it.

Tarot Tips for Writers

Since those early Fixing Delilah days, I've learned to use tarot in my writing practice in a number of ways:

• Plot brainstorm. Perfect for plotters and pantsers alike. Whether you already have characters and other story elements in mind or you'd like to start fresh with a blank slate, you can do a plot spread, drawing one card to represent each step in the hero's journey (or beat sheet, 3-act structure, universal story, Truby's 22 steps, or any other plot method or non-method you're using). For pantsers, you can flip cards to generate ideas for random scenes and see how you might fit them together later. I've used the standard Rider-Waite deck for quick plot brainstorming because it's colorful and the symbols are fairly easy to interpret, especially when you're looking for some quick jumping off points that don't require a ton of introspection.

• Character development. Each card is like a beautifully colored springboard of potential personalities, physical traits, strengths and weaknesses, issues, careers, passions, and personal history ideas! Even without knowing the card's intended meaning, writers can brainstorm by looking at a card that features a person and asking: what is this character wearing? What's going on in his world? What words come to mind when I study his face, his surroundings? If I stepped into the card and looked around, what would I see through her eyes? Who are her friends? For those ready to experiment with card meanings, you can do different spreads for individual characters and relationship, such as a 3-card past/present/future spread, or a single card that answers a question: What do I need to know about my main character? What is she hiding? What is her biggest fear? Who is her closest ally? Using the Deviant Moon deck (perfect for exploring deep issues and a character's "shadow side"), I combined the past/present/future and "what do I need to know" exercises for some of my prewriting with Jude and Emilio in my latest YA, The Book of Broken Hearts. The cards helped clarify their relationship and Jude's narrative goals. Finally, since the major arcana card meanings are largely connected to Archetypes, you can start with card and its archetypal meaning, and then journal ideas to generate deep character from there, or reverse the traditional meanings for a new twist on the familiar. For example, I'm working on a project with a character inspired by the High Priestess card, but reversed -- a powerful, imposing woman with good intentions that got twisted into something sinister.

• Conflict and stakes. Similar to the character development exercises above, you can do a spread that answers questions like: what does my character stand to lose in this scene or in the novel overall? Who is her greatest foe, or who is the character most likely to get in the way? What other rocks can I throw at her? How can I make these mini-conflicts even worse? What's the worst possible thing that can happen? Of course, each of these questions can turn into sub-questions, and each card can build into new spreads and new questions that weave together in exciting, unpredictable ways.

• Writing prompts, story ideas, and unblocking writer's block. Whether you're looking for some writing prompts to practice outside of your big work in progress, ready to start something new, or you've hit a wall and you just don't know where to go from here, throw down some cards. Pick one, or do a spread, and write about it. You can use a combination the example questions above or just free write whatever comes to you. See what sparks your creative mind. This exercise is especially helpful if you need a break from your project, because it's like permission to write something completely random and off the wall. Without deadlines or expectations, you might loosen the chains enough to surprise yourself with something amazing. Even if the new piece doesn't turn into anything, it can still jumpstart your creativity and allow you to return to your work with fresh eyes and a hopeful pen.

• Prioritizing multiple projects. On those rare occasions when I don't have a deadline or other project looming, I might do a spread to focus broad ideas or chose between two or more competing ideas. I'll ask the cards: what should I work on next? This exercise helped me decide to work on a project that I ended up selling to Simon Pulse in a 2-book deal a few months back, so I stand by it 100%! The cards, they are the smarts!

• Dreaming. I've found that regular tarot reading and journaling makes for more lucid, vivid, and frequent dreams. And you never know when a particularly intense dream will trigger a bestselling story idea! If you're a daydreamer, you can also draw cards at random, space out, and just see what creative images and words float in.

• Navigating the emocoaster. This might be one of the most important uses of tarot for authors. Once you get comfortable doing readings, you can use the cards to evaluate your career path, calm your thoughts after reading a tough review, cope with rejection, plan for the future, learn from past mistakes, make difficult creative or career decisions, and embrace the inevitable uncertainties that come with any creative endeavor.

• Lots of other ideas! In an informal Twitter poll, a few tarot-savvy authors shared their own favorite uses for tarot in their writing. @ebelleful used cards for foreshadowing and devising a method of killing. Tarot helps @amandacoppedge do some out of the box thinking and character personality development. ‏@Sibarium has a tarot reading in her WIP. @malindalo enjoyed getting her own reading and mentioned a creativity retreat where a teacher used tarot.

These are just a few of the many ideas for incorporating tarot into your writing practice. The more you play and experiment with the cards, the deeper and more often you'll be able tap into your own creative well in ways you never would've imagined. Truly, the possibilities are endless!

So… where do you start? The cards, of course!

Picking a Deck

Because the imagery on the cards can be so personally symbolic and meaningful, I highly recommend picking up your own deck so you can get a close look at each card, hold it in your hand, see it from different angles and perspectives. But even if you don't have a deck, you can still view card images and interpretations online (I'll list a few sites in the Tarot Resources section below). Also, if you're just starting out, I suggest using the popular Rider-Waite deck until you're comfortable with the basics before moving on to some of the more creative and nonstandard decks out there.

And all those old tropes about how you must be given your first deck as a gift, or the deck must be blessed by ghosts from Romania, or cried on by the tears of an angel, or held by a dead man, or charged under a blue moon, or anything else you've seen on TV? Forget about it. I bought my first deck at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, my second one came as a gift from a writer friend to celebrate the launch of Bittersweet, and my third one I ordered online because I came across the artist's website and loved the images. So order a deck online, pick one out at your local metaphysical store, even grab one of the many sets on display at most bookstores. Once you have your deck, you can perform any rituals you want -- just don't get caught up in old legends and lose sight of the most important things: getting comfortable and familiar with your cards, and incorporating them into your writing practice!

Tarot Resources: A Few Faves

If you're ready to give Tarot a try or you're looking for a few places to explore, here are some excellent starting points:

• Tarot for Writers, by Corrine Kenner. Corrine is an experienced reader, teacher, author, and tarot deck creator. I was so excited when this book came out! I use it whenever I'm working on something new. It features spreads for story creation as well as plotting tips, tarot-inspired prompts, and card interpretations -- lots of things I've incorporated into the exercises above. And guess what? We're giving away a copy to one lucky winner! More on that at the end. :-)

• Tarot Plain and Simple, by Anthony Louis. This tarot reference book includes how-to notes on popular tarot spreads and detailed interpretations of each card and its reversal (for cards that come out upside down). It's easy to follow and perfect for beginners (my aunt sent me this book when I began studying tarot, and I still refer to and recommend it often).

• Psychic Tarot - Using Your Natural Psychic Abilities to Read the Cards, by Nancy Antenucci and Melanie A. Howard: I wish I'd read this book when I first started learning tarot! It helps aspiring readers learn to interpret cards intuitively rather than memorizing standard card meanings. Each card has a basic general meaning and symbolism, but beyond that, cards resonate differently with each of us. This book helps readers hone their intuitive skills, so it's a perfect way for adventurous beginners to dive right in. Since I picked up this book after I learned to read cards, I bought a new deck (Paulina Cassidy's Joie de Vivre deck, which has an uplifting yet surreal Alice in Wonderland feel to it that I find perfect for writing practice) with different, less obvious imagery so I could still benefit from the lessons on intuition. I'm still working my way through the book and loving it so far.

• Aeclectic Tarot: This massive website features tons of helpful information including pictures and deep interpretations of the cards, reviews of specific decks and tarot books, tarot spreads, and community message boards covering every tarot topic imaginable. The site can be intimidating at first glance, but they have a helpful section called "Are you brand new to tarot? Start here!" I use this site whenever I'm looking for a new spread or a new perspective on card meanings.

• Llewellyn Worldwide: Llewellyn publishes metaphysical books and resources, including many of the most popular tarot decks. (For YA fans, they're also the parent company for the Flux imprint). The Tarot & Divination section of their website includes tarot blog posts and articles, deck reviews, and accessories (good for when you start getting addicted and find yourself suddenly and quite desperately needing things like spread cloths and incense and candles and tarot bags!)

• Tarot Tribe - Beyond Worlds: This tarot podcast, hosted by Donnaleigh de LaRose, is geared toward intermediate readers who are ready to go a bit deeper. But, I discovered it as a semi-beginner and I've already learned a ton from each episode! Donnaleigh has regular contributors as well as guests who discuss various decks, methods, resources, and uses for tarot (and that is a highly condensed version of what this in-depth podcast covers!).

• Local metaphysical or spiritual stores: Shop indie! Your community may have a store that sells tarot decks, books, accessories, and other resources. Mine does, and I love hanging out there. Snoop around and find out, especially since you can go check out decks and books in person and see what resonates with you.

Just For Fun: Tarot in YA

Since I'm such a tarot fangirl, I love reading YA novels that feature tarot. So far, I've come across them in the following novels:

• The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater. Martina knows my undying love-slash-obsession for this book, and I'm counting down the days until The Dream Thieves (book 2) hits the shelves this September. In The Raven Boys, main character Blue Sargent comes from a family with all sorts of psychic gifts. Reading tarot is just one of their otherworldly skills (along with seeing the dead and precognition and other fun stuff), and Blue's family associates her with the Page of Cups, who I've always viewed as an artist and a dreamer and a really positive, hopeful card. Coincidentally, Page of Cups makes an appearance in…

• Fixing Delilah, by Sarah Ockler. Did you like that smooth transition? ;-) In this story, main character Delilah's aunt Rachel uses the cards to reflect on their family struggles as Delilah, her mother, and Rachel come to terms with the recent death of Delilah's grandmother and an older family tragedy involving the youngest Hannaford sister. Lots of family secrets here, and the cards know all! Plus, when the Page of Cups appears in Delilah's spread, Rachel totally predicts the whole "falling in love with the artistic dreamer boy next door" thing.

• Poison Princess, by Kresley Cole. I really loved this unique take on tarot, because in Cole's novel, the cards are the characters! Rather, each character is a manifestation of one of the major arcana cards come to life, fighting an ancient battle in the wake of an apocalyptic event. Poison Princess has a bleak "The Road" kind of feel to it, woven through with swoon-worthy sexual tension and life-or-death stakes. While I didn't agree with all of Cole's interpretations of the cards (particularly The Hermit and Death, which get a bad rap! Hey, Hermits unite, man!), I loved this unique and fast-paced story, and I'll definitely pick up the next in the series this October.

• Andromeda Klein, by Frank Portman. I haven't read this one yet, but when I saw the Three of Swords card on the cover and this line in the summary -- "Andromeda's tarot readings are beginning to predict events with bizarrely literal accuracy" -- I immediately added it to my TBR list. Plus, I really liked the humor in Portman's King Dork, so I've got high hopes for this one.

• The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books by Cassandra Clare. These books gets an honorable mention not because tarot is featured in the stories (it's been awhile since I've read them and I don't remember specifically), but because Clare is having a tarot deck created based on the characters in the series'! I've been watching her blog and Twitter updates about the deck with much anticipation. I can't wait to see the finished set… and then promptly snap them up and incorporate them into my writing practice! Tarot cards based on YA characters? That's like, double mojo!

I keep thinking there has to be more YA novels that feature tarot, so if you've read any that I missed here, please leave your suggestions in the comments!

A Tarot-Tastic Giveaway!

To celebrate my love of tarot and encourage you to give it a try in your writing practice, I'm giving away a Tarot for Writers goodie box with the following books:

• Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner
• Poison Princess by Kresley Cole
• An autographed copy of Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
• An autographed copy of Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler, which admittedly has nothing to do with tarot, but it does have a lot to do with cupcakes, an equally important item in any writer's toolkit!

To enter, just fill out the form at the bottom of the post. You can earn an extra entry by leaving a comment about your experience with tarot, how you'd like to use tarot in your writing process, or a book you read that contained Tarot. Please note this giveaway is US only.

Thanks so much for hosting me, Adventures in YA Publishing! Happy writing, dreaming, and creating to all!

-Sarah Ockler, bestselling author of The Book of Broken Hearts and other YA novels

About the Author

Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of critically acclaimed young adult novels Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, and Bittersweet. Her books have been translated into several languages and have received numerous accolades, including ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, Girls’ Life Top 100 Must Reads, IndieNext list picks, and more. Her short fiction and essays will be featured in two upcoming young adult anthologies: Defy the Dark and Dear Teen Me.

Sarah teaches advanced young adult fiction writing at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver. She’s a champion cupcake eater, coffee drinker, night person, and bookworm. When she’s not writing or reading, Sarah enjoys taking pictures, hugging trees, and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex.

Check out Sarah’s website
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Finding the Perfect First Sentence by Jessica Brody

2013-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, I read a newspaper article about a teen girl who was the sole survivor of a plane crash. I was instantly fascinated by the story. Namely because they had no idea why she survived when no else did. I started brainstorming reasons as to why she was so lucky. One particular reason (a rather intricate, science-fiction-inspired one) stuck in my mind and refused to leave. It continued to grow and blossom until I had an idea for an entire trilogy. A trilogy that starts with a mysterious plane crash and a single survivor.

When I set off to write UNREMEMBERED, I knew exactly what I wanted the opening of the first book to be. I could see it so clearly in my mind.

Imagine waking up in the middle of an ocean surrounded by debris. You have no idea who you are, where you are, or how you go there. Even more terrifying, you have absolutely NO memory of anything in your life before that moment.

I thought this would be such a creepy way to start a book. And I purposely wrote the book in first person so that YOU, the reader, were in my character’s head and could experience exactly what she is going through. It was very important that my reader not be one step ahead or one step behind the narrative. You are right there with her, every step of the way.

So if you can’t imagine what it’s like to wake up floating in an ocean with no memories, don’t worry. Just read the book. I’ll take you on that journey. :)

Book openings are so important. Sometimes, as a writer, all you get is one page, one paragraph or even one sentence to hook a reader. So it’s crucial to pick the right opening. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to start your story at the beginning. The most effective opening could be somewhere in the middle of the story, or even at the every end. It all depends on the writer and the story he/she wants to tell.

When I start a book, I agonize for a while about what that essential first line will be. For me, it needs to be just as “inspired” as the title and like the title, it needs to say something about the book, or in some way fit the theme of the book.

In UNREMEMBERED the first line is: “The water is cold and ruthless, lapping against my cheek.”

This was designed to set the tone of the story and set up who my character is and what kind of predicament she finds herself in (waking up with no memories).

In 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER (a contemporary comedy), the first line is: “My father is going to kill me.”

And in THE KARMA CLUB, it’s: “I can tell you right now, it’s all Karma’s fault.”

I chose these lines because on some level they represent what the entire book is going to be about. In just one line.

I think a good first line is one that you read and immediately think, “Ooh, this is going to be good!” I will sometimes browse the bookstore looking for perfect first lines.

Here are some of my favorite first lines from books:

“I used to be someone.” – THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary E. Pearson

“They came in the night.” – CREWEL by Gennifer Albin

“It’s harder to drive a polar bear into somebody’s living room than you’d think.” – TIMMY FAILURE by Stephan Pastis

“My mother thinks I’m dead.” – LEGEND by Marie Lu

“When you’ve been struck by lightning as many times as I have, you start to expect the worst pretty much all the time.” – STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth

So...what about you? What are your favorite first lines from books?

About the Author

Jessica Brody knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples and electrical tape.

After graduating from Smith College in 2001 where she double majored in Economics and French and minored in Japanese, Jessica later went on to work for MGM Studios as a Manager of Acquisitions and Business Development. In May of 2005, Jessica quit her job to follow her dream of becoming a published author.

In four short years , Jessica has sold nine novels (two adult novels to St. Martin’s Press and seven young adult novels to Farrar, Straus, Giroux.) The Fidelity Files, her debut, (which was recently optioned for film) released in stores (in real binding) in June of 2008 and the follow-up, Love Under Cover (aka The Good Girl’s Guide to Bad Men in the UK) in November 2009. The Karma Club, Jessica’s debut young adult novel released in April of 2010 and her second YA release, My Life Undecided hit bookstores in June 2011.

52 Reasons to Hate My Father (which was also optioned for film) recently released in July 2012 and Unremembered, the first book in a new teen sci-fi/suspense trilogy, is now out in stores!

Jessica’s books are published and translated in over fifteen foreign countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Israel, and Taiwan. Click here for a full list of foreign sales and publishers.

Jessica now works full time as a writer and producer. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Colorado.

Check out Jessica's website
Follow Jessica on Twitter

About the Book

The only thing worse than forgetting her past . . . is remembering it.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Buy UNREMEMBERED on Amazon
Buy UNREMEMBERED on Indiebound
Find UNREMEMBERED on Goodreads

Announcing the Top 25 for the May Pitch+250 Contest

2013-05-12T15:29:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the top 25, who will be moving on to Round 2 of Pitch+250!

Accordian Girl – Sharon Edge Martin
Caretta, Caretta – Deborah Rocheleau
Crossing the Divide – Heather Raglin
Dog Days of Summer – Sheri Levy
Dot Reaper – Mike Saunders
Dragoneer: Hard Truths – Sumbee
Earth to Earth – Amanda Leigh
Fighting Chance – Amy Trueblood
Firebird – Melissa Grey
Harvester – Rachel Russell
Hum of the Hills – Corrie Haluga
Livid Shift – DiNae’ Billingsley
Nightmute – Courtney Washburn
No Such Thing – Sarah Glenn Marsh
Of Blood and Roses – Molly Pinto Madigan
Play It Cool, Claire – Olivia Hinebaugh
Rancho Tails – C. Ramirez
Roach – Cristy Burne
Soul Seeker – Sescha Young
Soul Ties – Lisa Swallow
The Drink and the Wheel – Fonda Lee
The Good Demon – Ryan Hill
The Truth about Justice – Meg Eastman Thompson
To Save My Life – Lindsey Frydman
Whiff – Becky Swanberg

And a HUGE thank you to our fabulous Round 1 judges!

Brenda Drake

You all know Brenda, right? She's the genius behind Pitch Madness. She writes young adult and middle grade novels. Look for her debut young adult novel, LIBRARY JUMPERS, coming February, 2014 and its sequels February, 2015 and February, 2016 from Month9Books.

Follow Brenda on Twitter
Brenda Drake Writes

Talynn Lynn

Talynn has been writing books, stories, and theatrical plays for the past 25 years. She has been working on the first book of a series based on her family history and the historical the events surrounding her family.

She is busy writing the 2nd book in her family heritage series, and she’s also written several YA books she is querying. Also under her belt is a children’s series, released on the Android App, ZigZag Stories. Her first children’s book was loosely written based on the creative imagination of her 8 year old son and his side kick and partner cousin.

Currently, she is an Editorial Intern for Entranced Publishing, a book reviewer for Pam Van Hylckama Vlieg, and a writer's assistant to Kate Brauning, who is an assistant editor for Month9Books.

Follow Talynn on Twitter
Ink in the Book

Natalie Aguirre

Natalie Aguirre is an aspiring middle grade and YA fantasy writer. She’s an attorney by day, a wife, and a mother of one child. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She joined Casey as a blog partner on March 7, 2011. She interviews authors, many who are debut and/or middle grade authors, and spotlights their books with ARC or book giveaways on Mondays.

Literary Rambles

Dahlia Adler

Dahlia is an Assistant Editor of mathematics, a Copy Editor of romance, a founding member of YA Misfits, and a YA writer trying to become a YA author. She's also on a quest to make the perfect French macaron and enjoying all the flawed ones along the way. (Except the ones she accidentally made with garbanzo bean flour.) She live in New York with her husband, who makes seriously good challah and mostly doesn’t mind when she yells at the TV.

Follow Dahlia on Twitter
The Daily Dahlia
YA Misfits

Kate Hart

Kate is a young adult writer and history nerd represented by the lovely and brilliant Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary.

She and her husband build treehouses, and on Fridays she writes the round up at YA Highway. She has two little boys, an oversized garden, and a fairly strong Southern accent.

Follow Kate on Twitter
Kate's Blog
YA Highway

Julie Musil

Julie is a YA author represented by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary Agency. She's wife to her high school honey, and the mother of three amazing sons. When she's not shuttling my boys here, there, and everywhere, she's either tapping away on her keyboard, researching for nonfiction, or keeping up with writing tips and markets.

Follow Julie on Twitter
Julie's Blog

Jaycee DeLorenzo

Jaycee is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Art Education. She has lived most of two of her three decades in Tucson, Arizona, and still lives there now with her wonderful husband, a precocious three-year old Diva, and an adorable infant son whose smile melts her heart like nothing else. By day, she teaches English Language Learners between the ages of 5 and 12, and by night she's a wife, mom, writer, Romance Diva, voracious reader, blogger, web designer, and cover artist. She write New Adult romances here and there, when she has time.
She's a member of Romance Divas, Romance Writers of America and The Saguaro Chapter of Romance Writer's of America, and a NA Alley Sister.

Follow Jaycee on Twitter
Jaycee's Blog
NA Alley

Kristin Lenz

Kristin Lenz is a social worker whose career has taken her from a teen runaway shelter to an urban hospital, from rural Appalachia to inner-city Detroit. Currently, she lives with her husband and daughter in Michigan. She is the newsletter editor for the Michigan chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is a contributor at YA Fusion

YA Fusion

Jennifer Malone

Jennifer is a contemporary middle grade and YA writer with a love of juvenile pop culture (if it was an ABC Family Movie, she probably can quote it). She also teaches in the Film program at Boston University, drawing on her experiences as former New England Head of Publicity and Promotions for 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films. She is a contributor at YAtopia.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter
YAtopia

Jolene Haley

Jolene is a 26 year old writer and lover of all literature. She loves it so much that she got her degree in English, much to the dismay of her father (who suggested Business), and she's currently not using her degree at all to pay rent.

She is using her degree and her love for literature by night, when she morphs into a full-fledged novelist, writing for pleasure, pain, and sheer need to get these stories out onto a piece of paper.

She contributes to several sites besides Pen & Muse, such as YA Stands, Brazen reads, and a secret project she writes anonymously.

Follow Jolene on Twitter
Jolene's Blog
Pen & Muse
YA Stands

Nine Agents Tell Us What They're Looking For (Plus Mash-Ups!)

2013-05-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to all of the fabulous agents who participated in our round-up this month! Here's what we asked the agents:

What books or movies do you feel epitomize or encompass the manuscripts that you're looking for? Why? Is there a “mash-up” you would you love to see? (ex: Hunger Games meets Doctor Who, Downton Abbey meets Harry Potter)

Jennie Goloboy, Red Sofa Literary

I think YA editors are increasingly interested in realistic fiction-- things that could happen in the real world. Given my personal preference for funny novels, I'd like to find something as engaging and enjoyable as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but for older readers. (No illustrations necessary!)

Books that are clearly mashups (like Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) would be hard to sell right now. On the other hand, mashing two ideas together to come up with something wholly new is still a great way to gain inspiration. What if a repressive society like the one in Hunger Games invented time travel? Would it bolster the society, or bring a revolution? Could you write a story about a boy like Harry Potter-- the neglected son of heroic parents who finds his own way to finish what his parents had started-- but set in the magic-free, class-bound society of Britain in the 1910s? I think both of these stories could be done, and they could be really interesting.

Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary

I actually don't want a "mash-up"--I want something that's so different that it's not something that can quite be put into a "this meets that" formula or something that so unique that I wouldn't have ever thought to put them together.

Suzie's Blog

Amy Boggs, Donald Maass Literary

Aside from my own authors' books, I assume? (Although honestly, client books are always a good way to gauge an agent's tastes.) For fantasy, The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner and Ash by Malinda Lo. For sci-fi, Blade Runner and Firefly. Right now, I'd love see just-about-anything-spec-fic meets Revenge (which itself is The Count of Monte Cristo meets the Hamptons). Also, as ever, I'm looking for book with a setting that is steampunk meets 1st century Maya.

John M. Cusick, Greenhouse Literary

Confession: I love television almost as much as I love books (almost). I do think y.a. follows t.v.: sexy historicals after Downton Abbey, serial-killer protagonists after Dexter, etc. But beyond the trends, television has a lot to teach authors about plot, scene, and motivation. I’d love to see a y.a. slowly revealing a variegated back story, like American Horror Story. Don Draper’s struggle (and often, his failure) to be better, more self-aware in Mad Men is something I’d love to see in a teen protagonist. PBS’s new Mr. Selfridge is an excellent example of how historical figures (especially ones we haven’t seen represented much in popular culture) can make fascinating and compelling heroes. Battle Star Galactica and Doctor Who, though tonally very different, were wonderful examples of how sci-fi concepts can tell intensely human stories, asking that great question What If? What if our enemies lived among us? What if a stranger offered us a life of adventure…but couldn’t guarantee our safety? Television is an excellent writer’s tool, not for teaching prose or style, but for examples of immediate, gripping story, and complex, multi-dimensional characters.

John's Blog

Jordy Albert, The Booker Albert Agency

I would love to see more Indiana Jones type books because there's action and adventure mixed with history. I would also love to see a book along the lines of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Time travel is cool, and I love the idea of a time traveling phone booth (totally took a page from Doctor Who!). I would also love to see a (YA, NA, Adult) paranormal romance series along the lines of Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter. I love the premise and characters of both series; very original, and fantastic writing! I also have a soft spot for Karen Marie Moning. She wrote the very awesome Highlander and Fever series (also the first book of a new series--based on the Fever world out now too); I always lose track of time when I am reading her books.

Mash-ups: Doctor Who meets Gulliver's Travels, Star Wars meets Sherlock Holmes.

Jordy's Blog

Stephen Fraser, Jennifer DeChiara Literary

I would love to see Holes meets The Secret Garden: a freshly original contemporary story but with an inner sweetness. I’m tired of jaded, smart-alecky voices in middle grade and young adult novels. Middle grade novels especially should
offer the best stories because these are the best and most loyal readers!

Natalie Lakosil, Bradford Literary

My go-to movie that describes my tastes is THE FIFTH ELEMENT, because it’s a little out there with sci-fi/fantasy elements, romance, action, humor, kickass female lead, and is fresh and unique. If I had to pick a perfect book to represent, it would be ELLA ENCHANTED; fun, funny, heartwarming, romantic, again with fantasy and magic, but I’d want it sitting right next to a book like BEFORE I FALL, a darker, sad or gritty even, contemporary with a magical twist, sandwiched thisclose to THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Definitely tend to like the darker contemporaries, and not afraid to cry. The adult romance I love is epitomized by DREAMING OF YOU by Lisa Kleypas and LORD OF SCOUNDRELS by Loretta Chase, sprinkled with a dash of early-2000’s Julia Quinn; I’m a sucker for historical novels with feisty, fiery females and alpha males, though truly any sort of Beauty and the Beast fan fiction works for me.

Right now, I can’t say there’s any real mash-up I’m super looking for, but I would love to find an adult contemporary romance, with lots of humor and heart, small town even, maybe HART OF DIXIE meets THE DECOY BRIDE, or an adult fiction with magical realism. Definitely steering away from paranormal or even sci fi and fantasy because I have a lot of authors on my list who write that!

Natalie's Blog

Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

I love the Harry Potter books and movies both. Their extraordinary characters and whimsical magic combine to create something totally different. Entertaining plus enlightening on the issues of right versus wrong. As far as mash-ups, I’d love to see Downton Abbey aboard a long haul spaceship, Twilight with aliens and colonists on a distant planet, and a post-apocalyptic space adventure like Lost in Space meets Planet of the Apes for YA. Yeah, I guess you could say I’m in a science fiction kind of phase these days! I think it’s the next trend in YA.

Laurie's Blog

Pooja Menon, Kimberly Cameron and Associates

What books or movies: This is a bit hard for me to answer. There are so many amazing books and movies out there, but since they're already out there, I would probably want something that is different and unique in its own way. I haven't had the chance to read much (apart from subs) in the past year, but the list of YA books that have come out in the last two years alone are mind-blowing. Cinder, Enchanted, Origin, Anna Dressed In Blood, Shadow and Bone, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Hate List, 13 Reasons Why, Stormdancer- all of them are so different, so fantastically well-written! I would love to find submissions that are so creative and mind-sweeping, with stellar voices, great writing, and tremendous heart.

Another thing I would love to see are multi-cultural YA books with a well-written voice and an exciting plot. Think Indiana Jones or Isabelle Allende's Daughter of Fortune, but written from a YA perspective. What could be more interesting than that? Another great movie that could be written from a YA perspective is an old time favorite of mine, The Interpreter, where Nicole Kidman plays a woman escaping from her home in Africa, from a past that is more than shadowy and heartbreaking. I would love a YA take on a story about a white girl set in a conflicting time period in Africa or India or any other country that was once occupied, and her trials growing up in such a climate. A coming of age story with forbidden romance, the day-to-day problems, a dysfunctional family, and the political turmoil in the background. I think the bottom line is that the story I read should be different and heartfelt. It should move me. I've read a lot of fantasy submissions and dystopian fiction that's beginning to sound very similar. Even Sci-Fi seems to be heading in the same direction, which is why when I read Cinder, I was blown away. A world of cyborgs in New Beijing! C'mon! Awesome. :) Give me more.

Mash-ups: I'm really really bad at mash-ups. I think I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Devil Wears Prada in the world of Cinder. To clarify, in a world of cyborgs, high-tech, and robots, a rich cyborg girl gets an internship at a popular (insert establishment) and needs to fight tooth and nail with her other cyborgs competitors for the grand price, only for it to mean nothing when intergalactic forces rain down on her parade and try to take over her world. :)

This Week for Writers 5/11 - Pubtips, Giveaways, Writing Craft, Inspiration, Industry News & More

2013-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Roundups in this edition:

Books and Giveaways
Inspiration and Smiles
Writing Craft
Story Elements
Story Structure
Getting Published
Networking and Promotion
Industry News and Trends
Other Roundups

Quote of the week:

There's a quote I came across twice this week, and there's an old saying about when you hear something in stereo, you'd better listen. Author Leigh Bardugo and David Vandagriff over at the Passive Voice Blog both referenced an article by Tobias Bucknell, where he said:

Author C.C. Finlay has a quote he uses that runs something like: “A novel doesn’t excite readers because you took all the bad stuff out of it, it excites them because of all the good stuff that’s in it, regardless of the bad.”

At a workshop not too many years ago a newer writer began to condemn a best selling novel, pointing out all its flaws and jagged edges. I listened for a long time, nodding.

“All those things are true,” I said. And gave him the C.C. Finlay quote. “But until you learn what the good parts were that excited the reader, you’re always going to be bitterly upset about what is wrong with that bestseller. Learn to spot what worked in that book, and you’ll be able to move forward. And you’ll be a lot less upset all the time as well.”

More thoughts on reading:

Author Kami Garcia shared an inspirational graphic, which I loved:

Author Steven King, in his wonderful book On Writing, has a similar quote:

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”

He has another one also, which is one of my favorite writing quotes of all time:

You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”

Which goes along with another great quote of his:

“I'm a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, most fiction. I don't read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read.”

It's mind boggling when you think that a lot of us, writers I mean, think we don't have time to read. We can feel guilty because reading feels like pleasure and not work. We stop giving ourselves permission to read for fun.

Literary agent Joanna Volpe wrote about "readers block" on the wonderful PubCrawl blog this week about reading manuscripts with a view to what they could become, in which she mentioned that Stephen King writes four hours a day and reads four hours a day. And no one can call him lazy. So there you go. Read. Go ahead. You have permission. :)

What have you read this week (books, blog posts, articles, thoughts, whatever) that struck a chord with you?

Happy reading (and writing),

Martina

Books and Giveaways

PW Picks: The Best New Books for the Week of May 13,...
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

COVER REVEAL AND GIVEAWAY: THIS LOVE by NAZAREA ANDREWS
from The Bookish Babe

Young Adult Review: Invisibility by David Levithan...
from Candace's Book Blog

New YALit Releases 5/10-5/17 plus EIGHT Giveaways!
from Adventures in YA Publishing

Also Known As by Robin Benway
from The Story Siren

What Books Will We Remember in 100 Years?
from GalleyCat

Giveaway: The Program by Suzanne Young (US only)
from Latest blog entries

Giveaway: Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu
from Latest blog entries

Mundie Moms Giveaway: The Program by Suzanne Young
from Mundie Moms

Book Review / Blog Tour: IF I SHOULD DIE by Amy Plum
from Mundie Moms

Help 15 Authors Finish a Short Story on Goodreads
from GalleyCat

[Giveaway & Excerpt] Nobody's Secret by Michaela MacColl
from Reading Teen

Interview & Giveaway with Fields of Elysium's Author...
from Writer's Alley

LISA GAIL GREEN INTERVIEW AND DJINN: THE BINDING STONE...
from Literary Rambles

Waiting on Wednesday: TARNISH by Katherine Longshore
from Writer on the Side

Cover Reveal: Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout
from Reading Angels

SCBWI Crystal Kite Members Choice Awards
from Cynsations

Blog Tour: Silent Orchids by Morgan Wylie; Excerpt...
from Mundie Moms

Giveaway & Event Report: Ball by Mary Sullivan
from Cynsations

Top Ten Light Reads
from Reading Angels

Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun
from Pure Imagination

Mirror of Shadows by T. Lynne Tolles Excerpt & Giveaway
from The Autumn Review

May BOOKMOBILE Books of the Month: UNRAVELING and...
from YA Highway

Twitterview: Sara Zarr
from Stacked

Twitter Tuesday - Holly Black
from Mundie Moms

E-Books in Libraries: The Final Major US Publisher...
from The Official SCBWI Blog

May 2013 YA/MG Releases
from Mundie Moms

New Reads: May 6-12, 2013
from The Story Siren

How to enjoy a larger variety of books (and consequently...
from The Alliterative Allomorph

Reading group: The Great Gatsby is right on time
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

THE WEEKLY REWIND, #50
from The Bookish Babe

Destiny Gift by Juliana Haygert Blog Tour Interview...
from Bookittyblog YA Book Reviews

Review of Orphan Train and a Double Giveaway of Tween...
from The Write Stuff

Welcome to the Haunting South -- Win 9 Great Southern...
from Adventures in YA Publishing

Spring Blog Carnival: The Land of Make Believe~ a...
from Candace's Book Blog

So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Author Bryan...
from Stacked

REBOOT! Tomorrow!
from The Lucky 13s

Conclusion to an Epic Series
from Author Heather McCorkle

Wistful YA: CAGED GRAVES & Giveaway!!
from Writer's Alley

Transparent Quotes!
from Between Fact and Fiction

Links of Note: May 4, 2013
from Stacked

MISMATCHED Cover Reveal
from The Sharp Angle

Flashback Friday (The Saturday Edition): If I Stay...
from Mundie Moms

This Week's Bestsellers: May 6, 2013
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

Inspiration and Smiles

Letting Go of the Novel: How to Deal with Empty Pen...
from Writers On The Move

On Sincerity
from The Kindness Project

Famous Writers' Desks and Workspaces-- The Importance...
from How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book

Clawing Our Way Back to the Creative Center
from Writer Unboxed

SCBWI Success Story: Tracy Clark
from The Official SCBWI Conference Blog

How to Stop Getting Paralyzed and Start Making Better...
from Goins, Writer

Giving Back: Researching Donation Options
from Words from the Woods

This Will Shatter Your Image Of Tywin Lannister
from BuzzFeed - Latest

Intuition and the Creative Instinct
from Beyond The Margins

Prejudice vs. Kindness
from The Kindness Project

The Artist Unleashed: PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS, by Hart...
from The Alliterative Allomorph

Indie Life – Be encouraged!
from Laura Pauling

Self-Discipline for the Writer
from The Kill Zone

On Being Vulnerable in a Very Public Place
from Caroline by line

Struggling? Ira Glass has something for you.
from Justine Dell--official blog

Expanding Our Vision
from Julie Musil

Top Ten Book Super Words
from Reading Angels

5 Ways To Stay Motivated in Your Writing Career
from BookBaby Blog

How To Get Over A Destructive Critique
from Karen Woodward

Avoiding fear by indulging in our fear of fear
from Seth's Blog

Writing Book 2 (from the Archive)
from YA Muses

Top Ten Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up...
from Pure Imagination

How to Be Less Scared of the Blank Page
from Jane Friedman

Me & My Chainsaw
from Mad Woman in the Forest

Celebrate You!
from WOW! Women On Writing Blog

On Rejection and Beyond
from Writer Unboxed

A bit of shameless self promotion with a point
from YA Stands

Is the stress getting to you? A post by Nicole
from Bent on Books

Forty Inspirational Workspaces of the Famously Creative
from Buzzfeed

Writing Craft

Writing blocks due to your Inner Critic? Blow it up!
from Time to Write

Flash Fiction Challenge: Smashing Sub-Genres
from terribleminds: chuck wendig

More Verbs To Drug You Through
from Live Write Thrive

Feedback, But When?
from The Bluestocking Blog

The Best Writers Break the Rules
from LitReactor

Writing Resources 04 May 2013
from Gene Lempp ~ Writer

Perspectives on Process
from Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room

May 1st 5 Pages Workshop with Mentor S.T. Underdahl...
from First Five Pages Workshop

Writing Exercise: Flexing Your Verbs
from Karen Woodward

Minimizing Risk as a Writer—a Guide for the Risk-Adverse
from Mystery Writing is Murder

More Answers to Questions About Commas
from Daily Writing Tips

The Much-Maligned Adverb
from AuthorCulture

Hiding Emotions: Just Act Normal
from The Bookshelf Muse

Thank the Guy Who Punches You in the Teeth by Alexander...
from Adventures in YA Publishing

On My Writerly Bookshelf: Editor Proof Your Writing
from Stina Lindenblatt

That is the Question
from Writer Unboxed

How to Avoid Writing Info-Dumps
from Writability

Learn To Write By Studying (and writing) Poetry
from Babbles from Scott Eagan

Of Fiction Writers and English Majors
from Marcia Hoehne

Are You Cheating Your Reader?
from Operation Awesome

Write, Learn, Revise, Rinse, Repeat – A Guest Post...
from chasingthecrazies

Your Book In One Sentence Pt 2
from MOODY WRITING

Power to the People: Magic in Fantasy
from LitReactor

Are Tense Shifts Advisable?
from Daily Writing Tips

How To Maximize Your Word Count And Write More Every...
from terribleminds: chuck wendig

Straitjackets and Outlines
from Ingrid's Notes

What Do Authors Have in Common with Orchestra Conductors?
from fcmalby

The All Mighty Opening by Christian Schoon
from Adventures in YA Publishing

The Tropes I Like
from Magical Words

The fate of today’s book bloggers
from The Passive Voice - Latest Updates

Reader’s Block, 2.0!
from Pub(lishing) Crawl

Seven Tips To Make An Old Story New – Advice From...
from C H Griffin

Grammar ABCs: V is for Verbs
from Blood-Red Pencil

How to Revise Wrong, in 3 Easy Steps
from A. Victoria Mixon, Editor

Monday Quote Day!
from Wavy Lines

My Dirty Little Secret
from YA Author Elana Johnson

Energize Your Writing with this Easy Trick
from The Write Practice

TOTW - Fresh Fairy Tales
from The Enchanted Inkpot

Write Tip: Thou Shalt Not Sin With Commas
from Bryan Thomas Schmidt

3 Reasons Critiquing Will Improve Your Writing
from The Write Practice

Come to Your Senses
from The Editor's Blog

Focus Better and Write More with this Free MP3 Audio
from Nick's Writing Blog

"At a workshop not too many years ago a newer writer...
from LEIGH BARDUGO

Bold Storytelling Statements That Are Almost Always...
from Storyfix.com

Lessons Learned From Bestselling Indie Authors On...
from The Creative Penn

Pre-Project Prep
from YA Stands

Webliography: Resources for Locating International Publications
from Library Journal

Story Elements

Character Clinic: PTSD in Action
from The Character Therapist

HERO IS NOT A NOUN. IT IS A VERB
from Writing In The Crosshairs

Atmosphere in a Southern Gothic by Tessa Gratton
from Adventures in YA Publishing

More on Dialogue Subtext
from Stavros Halvatzis

Likeable Characters
from Writers In The Storm Blog

Character Archetypes 101: The Explorer
from The Character Therapist

Most Common Mistakes: The Do’s and Don’ts of Dialect
from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors

Killer First Lines
from Words & Pictures - Online Magazine of SCBWI

Ways to Avoid Wooden Characters
from All Write - Fiction Advice

Story Structure

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New YALit Releases 5/10-5/17 plus EIGHT Giveaways!

2013-05-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

* * * *

Truth or Dare
by Jacqueline Green
Hardcover Giveaway (3 Copies)
Poppy
Released 5/14/2013

When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it's no longer a party game. It's do or die.

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin "Angel" Thomas to prove she's more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn't even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they're forced to play along - or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who's behind this twisted game?

Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.

Purchase Truth or Dare at Amazon
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Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Truth or Dare?

My favorite thing about TRUTH OR DARE has to be the setting. I loved creating a whole town, with vistas and restaurants and traditions that I myself would want to be a part of. I drew a lot of inspiration from one of my favorite places in the world-Gloucester, MA-and I had so much fun taking elements from a place I loved and making them my own. When I dropped them into the creepy, haunted world of Caitlin, Tenley and Sydney, they almost seemed to take on a life of their own!

* * * *

The Rithmatist
by Brandon Sanderson
Hardcover Giveaway
Tor Teen; 1 edition
Released 5/14/2013

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson: his debut novel for the young adult audience
More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings--merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing - kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery, one that will change Rithmatics--and their world--forever.
Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense, the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Rithmatist?

This answer was transcribed from audio the author recorded specifically for this interview:

My favorite thing about The Rithmatist was the chance to write a world like our own, but not. Most of my other books take place in a secondary world fantasy, where the world I build from the ground up has no specific relationship to Earth. With The Rithmatist I wanted to do something that was more of a hybrid--a world that has one foot on Earth and one foot in the realm of fantasy.

So I really let my imagination go wild. I turned the United States into the United Isles. I played with U.S. history and did a lot of things that were, honestly, a little bizarre, like coming up with clockwork weapons. I didn't restrain myself to the laws of physics, which I normally do in my fantasy novels. I let myself go in whatever imaginative direction I wanted to go and built the world from there.

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* * * *

Out of This Place
by Emma Cameron
Hardcover Giveaway
Candlewick
Released 5/14/2013

A powerful novel in verse captures the voices of three teens as they struggle against hardscrabble realities - and move toward their dreams.

Luke spends his days hanging out at the beach, working shifts at the local supermarket, and trying to stay out of trouble at school. His mate Bongo gets wasted, blocking out memories of the little brother that social services took away from his addict mom and avoiding the stepdad who hits him. And Casey, the girl they both love, longs to get away from her strict, controlling father and start anew in a place where she can be free. But even after they each find a way to move on and lead very different lives, can they outrun their family stories - and will they ever be able to come together again? Set in Australia and narrated in alternating points of view, here is an affecting look at the evolving lives of three friends from talented new author Emma Cameron.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Out of This Place?

Prior to publication I was given literary feedback on Out Of This Place which said that besides being a strong written work for readers it also lends itself to being a performance monologue. The fact that Candlewick Press has chosen to release it not only as a hardback novel but also as an audio book validates this, so my current favourite thing about the novel is that people will be able to hear it as well as read it!!! The story is set in Australia and besides being stoked at how much effort the Candlewick editor took to hold its Australian flavour, I was also gobsmacked to learn that the readers of each character's story in the audio edition all have Australian connections of sorts. I love it when something so serendipitous happens and I can't wait to hear the audio version.

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View Out of This Place on Goodreads

* * * *

Formerly Shark Girl
by Kelly Bingham
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Candlewick
Released 5/14/2013

Jane Arrowood, otherwise known as Shark Girl, has been living with just one arm for over a year. Now she's searching for a new normal.

It's been a year since the shark attack that took Jane's arm, and with it, everything she used to take for granted. Her dream of becoming an artist is on the line, and everything now seems out of reach, including her gorgeous, kind tutor, Max Shannon. While a perfectly nice guy from her science class is clearly interested in Jane, removing her fear that no one ever would want a one-armed girl, Jane can't stop thinking about Max. But is his interest romantic? Or does he just feel sorry for her? Formerly Shark Girl picks up where Kelly Bingham's artful, honest debut novel left off, following Jane as she deals with a career choice (should she "give back" by trying to become a nurse, or is art an equally valid calling?) along with family changes and her first real romance - all while remembering who she was before she was Shark Girl and figuring out who she is now.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Formerly Shark Girl?

My favorite thing about Formerly Shark Girl is getting to spend time with Jane again. I love Jane and I enjoy watching her work her way through the many ups and downs of life. In this book, it was fun for her to discover more about herself as she approaches high school graduation, and all the hopes and fears that accompany such a milestone. As she prepares to separate from her friends and possibly move from home, Jane really begins to think of herself as more of an individual, with a wide range of possibilities before her. I liked the experience of watching Jane deal with more of the typical struggles any girl her age would, and not have to be so frail and wounded this time around. Jane is very human to me, very real with a wide range of flaws that I can relate to. I kind of like it that she can be crabby at times, and insecure. But she's also a very strong, kind, creative person. I enjoy her thought process, and her fumbling ways of dealing with awkward situations, such as first dates. I like it that she is so determined to get what she wants and is willing to work hard for those things. I think helping Jane find her way to the final choice she needed to make---artist or nurse?--was a joy. I hope everyone else feels the same way.

I have to say I also really enjoyed getting to know Rachel a bit better this time around. Rachel is Jane's best friend and she has a little bit more prescence in this book. I also had a great time expanding the character of Max, who was pretty much only a fleeting character in Shark Girl. Both Rachel and Max were fun to be with.

And last but not least, I enjoyed the opportunity to answer my reader's questions, which is the entire reason I wrote this book in the first place. Over the years, I have had many people ask the same handful of questions, and it was an honor to have a way to answer them. I hope they like what I came up with.

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View Formerly Shark Girl on Goodreads

* * * *

The Cydonian Pyramid
by Pete Hautman
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Candlewick
Released 5/14/2013

The much-anticipated sequel to The Obsidian Blade transports readers to the terrifying and thrilling world of Lah Lia, the enigmatic girl who changed Tucker Feye's life.

More than half a millennium in the future, in the shadow of the looming Cydonian Pyramid, a pampered girl named Lah Lia has been raised for one purpose: to be sacrificed through one of the mysterious diskos that hover over the pyramid's top. But just as she is about to be killed, a strange boy appears from the diskos, providing a cover of chaos that allows her to escape and launching her on a time-spinning journey in which her fate is irreversibly linked to his. In this second volume of the Klaatu Diskos trilogy, Tucker Feye and Lah Lia each hurtle through time, relating their stories in alternating viewpoints that converge at crucial moments. Fans of the first adventure will be intrigued by the chance to see the world through Lah Lia's eyes - no matter how disturbing the vision might be.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Cydonian Pyramid?

The Cydonian Pyramid, the second book in The Klaatu Diskos trilogy, was a joy to write. In the first book, The Obsidian Blade, I spent a lot of time building the characters, the worlds, and the scaffolding. In The Cydonian Pyramid, I got to kick out the jams. The main character, Lah Lia, comes to life in a way I found extremely satisfying. I have a soft spot for smart, determined, ass-kicking young women in fiction, from Pippi Longstocking to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In real life, scary girls kind of terrify me, but Lah Lia was a gas to write about, and I think I did her justice.

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View The Cydonian Pyramid on Goodreads

* * * *

The Kissing Booth
by Beth Reekles
Paperback Giveaway
Ember
Released 5/14/2013

A cool, sexy romance novel, written by seventeen-year-old British sensation Beth Reekles.

Meet Rochelle "Elle" Evans: pretty, popular, and never been kissed. Meet Noah Flynn: badass, volatile, and a total player.

When Elle decides to run a kissing booth at her school's Spring Carnival, she locks lips with Noah and her life is turned upside down. Her head says to keep away, but her heart wants to draw closer. This romance seems far from a fairy tale.

Is Elle headed for heartbreak or will she get her happily ever after?

Purchase The Kissing Booth at Amazon
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View The Kissing Booth on Goodreads

* * * *

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

* * * *

Zenn Scarlett
by Christian Schoon
Paperback
Strange Chemistry
Released 5/7/2013

Winner: Sarah Marsh

When you're studying to be exoveterinarian specializing in exotic, alien life forms, school... is a different kind of animal.

Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she's learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn's all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she's feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn't enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she's started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can't deny what she's feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what's happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she's actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients... or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year....

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Zenn Scarlett?

My favorite thing about Zenn Scarlett? Easy: May 7th.* Why get all swoony about my book's release date? (Beyond the obvious "Hey, my book's on a shelf. Cool.") The thing is, I've sold scripts for animated and live-action teen and children's TV shows, and I've had the serious fun of seeing my stuff produced and aired. But there's this: the TV properties I wrote for were just that, properties. As in: someone else's properties. Don't get me wrong. I was glad to have the work and I learned plenty. But I was in somebody else's yard, playing on their swing set, with their characters and story arcs.

The day that Zenn Scarlett is released, I get to invite readers into my very own yard. Well, Zenn's yard. Then, I get to wave them on into Zenn's house (cloister compound, actually), and her world (a dystopian Earther colony on Mars), and her universe (a place teeming with exotic races and cultures, crazy-fascinating animals, disturbing cross-species ESP and some problematic romance). So, instead of collaborating with a whole HR department-full of directors, animators, lighting directors, casting directors, best boys, gaffers and craft-services-elves (all perfectly wonderful people, mind ya), I was able to do all those jobs myself. Which was a blast. So, May 7; that's when the curtain goes up on a sprawling, off-world stage that I was allowed to conjure up from nothing but neuronal sparks and using whatever starry bits I wanted to toss in. I don't know how you'd feel about doing something like that, but I think it just might be my fave thing ever. Anyway, thanks for letting me rattle on here. And please feel free to wander into Zenn's cloister compound any time. She can't wait to introduce you to some of her favorite things.

*May 2nd in the UK. Lucky Brits.

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View Zenn Scarlett on Goodreads

* * * *

Coda
by Emma Trevayne
Paperback
Running Press Kids
Released 5/7/2013

Winner: Melinda Gray

Ever since he was a young boy, music has coursed through the veins of eighteen-year-old Anthem - the Corp has certainly seen to that. By encoding music with addictive and mind-altering elements, the Corp holds control over all citizens, particularly conduits like Anthem, whose life energy feeds the main power in the Grid.

Anthem finds hope and comfort in the twin siblings he cares for, even as he watches the life drain slowly and painfully from his father. Escape is found in his underground rock band, where music sounds free, clear, and unencoded deep in an abandoned basement. But when a band member dies suspiciously from a tracking overdose, Anthem knows that his time has suddenly become limited. Revolution all but sings in the air, and Anthem cannot help but answer the call with the chords of choice and free will. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Coda?

This is a really tough (and therefore awesome) question. Obviously there's a lot I love about my book--it would be weird if there wasn't. But, since I have to choose, I'm going to be a little mean (in that unique way authors have) and say my favorite part is the emotions it's elicited from the people who have read it. Legend has it that when my first agent was reading it prior to offering me representation, she threw her kindle at one point. There's another point about which my best friend still yells at me every day and she first read the scene in question exactly two years ago. I've had similar comments from people I don't know, about certain points in the book. As a writer, the number one thing I want to do is tell stories that make people feel things, so my favorite thing about Coda is that it occasionally succeeds there.

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* * * *

Criminal
by Terra Elan McVoy
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
Released 5/7/2013

Winner: The Magic Violinist

A searing and gripping read that explores the depths of desperation true love can inspire, from the author of Being Friends with Boys.

Nikki's life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can't imagine herself without him. He's hot, he's dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There's nothing Nikki wouldn't do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime - a crime that ends in murder - Nikki tells herself that it's all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki's love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional - but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers.

Purchase Criminal at Amazon
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IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

* * * *

The Color of Rain
by Cori McCarthy
Paperback
Running Press Kids
Released 5/14/2013

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 M. McCarthy's debut space thriller exists in an orbit of its own.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Color of Rain?

There were many fun things about writing The Color of Rain'space travel, teen prostitution, and futuristic world building, not to forget a rather untraditional love triangle, but my favorite thing about the story is that it is a grief novel at its core.

Rain is driven by the idea of saving her little brother's life, but he's more than that. He is her last link to the sense of family that she lost in crossing the Rubicon into adulthood. I tried to capture Rain's emotional journey as she grieved for that loss of home after childhood. It's one of those aspects of my own life that has haunted me with questions and led me to write them out.

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View The Color of Rain on Goodreads

* * * *

Firecracker
by David Iserson
Hardcover
Razorbill
Released 5/16/2013

Being Astrid Krieger is absolutely all it's cracked up to be.

She lives in a rocket ship in the backyard of her parents' estate.

She was kicked out of the elite Bristol Academy and she's intent on her own special kind of revenge to whomever betrayed her.

She only loves her grandfather, an incredibly rich politician who makes his money building nuclear warheads.

It's all good until...

"We think you should go to the public school," Dad said.
This was just a horrible, mean thing to say. Just hearing the words "public school" out loud made my mouth taste like urine (which, not coincidentally, is exactly how the public school smells).

Will Astrid finally meet her match in the form of public school? Will she find out who betrayed her and got her expelled from Bristol? Is Noah, the sweet and awkward boy she just met, hiding something?

Find out in this hilarious tragicomedy from New Girl and SNL writer David Iserson!

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Firecracker?

My favorite thing about FIRECRACKER is Astrid Krieger, the main character. And if Astrid Krieger were to read the book her favorite thing would also be Astrid Krieger. Astrid is not an easy person to like, but it's no fun to write easy people to like.

I've been working on some version of this character for a long time and about five years ago I started dating this girl who read what I'd written and was shocked to find that Astrid was basically her--things she did and said in real life were right there in the story. And now, years later, we're married. So, I invented a character, met her, then I married her (though my wife is less filthy rich and much nicer.) My wife's (headless) picture is even on the front cover.

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* * * *

The Sweet Dead Life
by Joy Preble
Hardcover
Soho Teen
Released 5/14/2013

"I found out two things today. One, I think I'm dying. And two, my brother is a perv."

So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what's left of the family by working two after-school jobs - difficult, as he's stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn't survive the accident at all. He's an "A-word." (She can't bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn't just dying: she's being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother's mysterious depression and father's disappearance.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Sweet Dead Life?

I love this new series so I have MANY favorite things, but if pressed, I think my favorite thing is my narrator Jenna. She is funny and sarcastic and she has this sharp eye for observation of the world around her-- all of which makes her a pleasure to write. Jenna hangs around my head a lot, actually. And if I can cheat and pick a second, it would be the book's different take on the angel genre. TSDL was originally pitched as Fallen meets Veronica Mars meets Pineapple Express. So not exactly your typical YA hot, tattooed angel falling in love with clueless girl with a destiny kind of thing. Which I'm thrilled about and so is Kirkus, who recently reviewed the book and said, "Hallelujah" for its breaking the mold.

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* * * *

Parallel
by Lauren Miller
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/14/2013

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice - taking a drama class her senior year of high school - changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Parallel?

My favorite thing about PARALLEL is its layers. There are so many details, so many points of connectedness. They're easy to miss, I think, if you're just reading for the plot, or if you're hurrying to get to the end. I wanted my story to be something you could keep chewing on even after you put the book down. Some of the passages dealing with the science of parallel universes are pretty meaty, and maybe a little mind-bending, but the beauty is, there's no race to figure it all out.

I wrote a book like this on purpose. Not because I wanted to befuddle readers, I promise! But because I wanted the experience of reading the book to mimic what happens in real life when we encounter something inexplicable. A strange coincidence. A marvelous serendipity. An eerie feeling of deja vu. In those moments, we have this sense that there is so much going on in our lives that we can't see, but we can't really comprehend how that could be possible, so our brains shut down a little. I wanted PARALLEL to do that -- to make readers' brains shut down a little, if only to remind them that the world is a mysterious, marvelous, mind-boggling place. We just forget that sometimes.

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* * * *

The Rose Throne
by Mette Ivie Harrison
Hardcover
EgmontUSA
Released 5/14/2013

Richly-imagined fantasy romance from the author of Princess and the Hound, a tale of two princesses--one with magic, one with none--who dare seek love in a world where real choice can never be theirs. For fans of Megan Whalen Turner, Catherine Fisher, and Cassandra Clare.
Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father's court. Marissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Rose Throne?

One of the trickiest things in writing The Rose Throne was the pov shift from Ailsbet to Issa. When I wrote The Princess and the Bear, I had a shifting pov between the two main romantic leads, Richon and Chala, but they were different genders and very different in experience (Chala was originally a hound), so it was much easier to make the switch there. I also had a strict alternating chapter format, so readers would know which character's voice to expect. I never had a problem with that book in distinguishing between the two voices.

Although Issa and Ailsbet are, in fact, very different personalities, they are both princesses and that made it difficult to distinguish between them easily, from chapter to chapter. I had also decided to have a looser structure of switching back and forth between them. I didn't plan the novel this way. It just worked out that I needed to introduce each character and her kingdom in the beginning more fully, without switching to another character and kingdom early on. But when I began switching more often between them, my editor complained that it was hard for her to remember who was who. In the end, the solution was both simple and complex. I made sure that each chapter begins with an early line using the character's name. And then I had to spend some time making Issa's voice in particular more distinct from Ailsbet's, and making her character as interesting and complex. She was always the "good girl," but in earlier drafts, she was more passive and that didn't make for a great contrast to Ailsbet. She needed to have her own specific goals and she needed to really go for them.

I think this turned out to be one of those old lessons of writing, relearned. Basically, all your characters have to be fully realized. You can't rely on the reader to fill in the gaps. You can't assume that a passive female character will be more relatable than a stronger one. I think readers like both Ailsbet and Issa in different ways, but I suspect no readers find them hard to distinguish at this point.

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MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

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Towering
by Alex Flinn
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/14/2013

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she's always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That's why he's been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that's never been read, not even by her overbearing mother - until now.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Alex Flinn knows her fairy tales, and Towering is her most mind-bending interpretation yet. Dark and mysterious, this reimagining of Rapunzel will have readers on the edge of their seats wondering where Alex will take them next!

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Winger
by Andrew Smith
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released 5/14/2013

A teen at boarding school grapples with life, love, and rugby in a heartbreakingly funny novel.

Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn infographics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

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The Rules for Disappearing
by Ashley Elton
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 5/14/2013

She's been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she's been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they've given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do - or see - that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits' rules, and her dad's silence. If he won't help, it's time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn't counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who's too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there's only one rule that really matters - survival.

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The Rithmatist
by Brandon Sanderson
Hardcover
Tor Teen; 1 edition
Released 5/14/2013

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson: his debut novel for the young adult audience
More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings - merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing - kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery - one that will change Rithmatics, and their world, forever.
Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense - the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

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Golden
by Jessi Kirby
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released 5/14/2013

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost may be a distant relative of Robert Frost, but she has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she's about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a mystery in her lap, one that might be the key to uncovering the truth behind a town tragedy, she decides to take a chance.

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School Spirits
by Rachel Hawkins
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 5/14/2013

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy's older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it's not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it's strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

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Character Bucket List: Nesy from DOMINUS by Christine Fonseca plus THE GIRL GUIDE Giveaway!

2013-05-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

We are thrilled to have Christine Fonseca back on the blog today! Not only does Christine write great YA novels, but she also writes non-fiction. We have a copy of her forthcoming non-fiction book for teen girls, The Girl Guide. Enter at the bottom of the post for a chance to win!

The Girl Guide: Finding Your Place in a Mixed Up World
releases 5/14/13

Finding your unique voice in a noisy world can be hard. Very hard. But not if you have a great guide! The Girl Guide: Finding Your Place in a Mixed-Up World is a must read for girls in grades 6-9 as they enter the tumultuous world of adolescence. Packed with fun worksheets and quizzes, as well as stories from older girls and women, The Girl Guide covers everything a teenage girl needs to know on the journey toward her own identity. Proven strategies for dealing with stress management, confronting relational aggression, being safe online, navigating the changing mother-daughter relationship, and more make this the ultimate guide for any girl to get through the teen years and discover her unique point of view in the world.

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I am thrilled to be back with my buddies at Adventures in YA Publishing, bringing you a little glimpse into the heart, and mind, of the main character of Dominus, Nesy.

Dominus is the final book in the Requiem Series. Told from dual points of view (Nesy and Lilith), this story brings more action, more romance, and more betrayal as the story of Aydan and Nesy wind to an end.

When I was first asked to talk about a character’s bucket list, I immediately thought of Nesy and how the things in her bucket list have changed over the series:

• In Lacrimosa (book #1), we are introduced to Nesayiel, a fierce Sentinal, the warriors of Celestium. Her sole purpose is the vanquishing of the UnHoly.

• In Libera Me (book #2), we are introduced to Nessa, the probably mortal incarnation of Nesy. She is scared, afraid of who she really may be.

• In Dominus, we are introduced to Nesy, the Seer. Gifted with the ability to see demons and angels, Nesy wants nothing more than to give that gift away and disappear into humanity.

Her hopes and desires have changed throughout the story, as has her bucket list. Take a sneak peek into the changing thoughts and desires of Nesy:

Nesayiel the Sentinal’s Bucket List:

As a Sentinal, one of the warriors of Celestium, my bucket list is simple: I want to see the realms free from the likes of Azzaziel and his followers. That is my bucket list, plain and simple.

Nessa the girl’s Bucket List:

Life isn’t anything I thought it would be. One boy tells me I am, or was, a warrior. He tells me he loves me. An angel no one else can see tells me I am angelic. He loves me too. The truth is, I don’t know what I am – or who. For me, I want to know what I am. I want my memories back. That is all I want. I don’t need to “do” anything, or “go” anywhere before I die. I just need to know who and really am.

Nesy the Seer’s Bucket List:

My memories are back. My love is gone. I have nothing now. I just want to be completely human. Not a Seer, not angelic or demonic. Just human. What’s on my bucket list? Getting out of this place, leaving the wars behind and living out my days as human. Only human.

There you go – the changing characterization of Nesy. What will her life really entail? Will her bucket list change again? Doesn’t it always?

About the Author

Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca is dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. Her titles include the YA Gothic Romance Lacrimosa, the YA thriller, Transcend, parenting guide, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students, and the anticipated book for teen girls, The Girl Guide, releasing May 14, 2013.

In addition to The Girl Guide, Christine will be releasing Dominus (Requiem #3) in June 2013, and Quiet Kids, a parenting book for parents of introverted children, in October 2013.

When she’s not writing or developing programs to support children with exceptional needs, she can be found spending time with her family, sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and Twitter.

Visit Christina's website
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About DOMINUS

“It’s been six months since my memories returned. Six months since Aydan was again ripped away from me. Six months since I broke a piece of my best friend’s soul.
Six months...”

Nesy has found her memories, her life. Now all she wants is to forget and be human. Only human. But fate holds a different destiny. Forced into a war she wants no part of, Nesy is put to the test in ways she never thought possible as she seeks to fix the mistakes she has made. And the mistakes of her former master, Mikayel. Will she be the Sentinal she was destined to be and put an end to the fighting once and for all? Or will she fail and send humanity into slavery?

The future of three worlds depends on the choices, and sacrifices, she must make in this final installment of the Requiem Series.

Christine's note to readers:

“Each character's decisions, each twist of fate has led to this - a time when confusion reigns supreme, when up is down and down is up. And when the fate of humanity rests in the balance. In this final installment, the decisions of the past have come back to haunt the future, and the fate of Nesy and Aydan, Zane and Cass, Celestium and Infernum, hang in the balance. The only question is, who will survive.

This story is filled with anguish and betrayal, love and sacrifice, as I bring the series to an end. It's a story that has been part of my life for many years. Saying "goodbye" to these characters will be a profound experience for me.

I hope all of you have enjoyed their stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them.”

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Thank the Guy Who Punches You in the Teeth by Alexander Gordon Smith

2013-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

I guess you know you’re a writer when you get punched in the face hard enough to lose some teeth and the first thought that enters your head is, ‘I can use this in a story.’

Well, maybe not the first thought. I think the first thought was, ‘Oh Jesus I’m gonna die here.’ Because at this point in my life I’m sixteen, and in a really notorious bar, and this guy is still hitting me in the face. Back then I was a bit of a brawler, some might say a troublemaker, but only amongst my peers. I think this is the first time I seriously thought I was going to get pounded into an early grave. I didn’t, obviously. Luckily he backed off – I had a fractured cheek and missing teeth, probably looked like I’d had enough – and cut me some slack, but it could have ended so differently.

I’m not even sure why I’m sharing this with you. I just quite liked that opening paragraph (even when writing blogs I’m trying to get the first line right). And yes, that incident has beaten its way into my writing ever since. It’s like that man hit me so hard the echoes are still rippling through my life. It got me thinking about that old chestnut – ‘write what you know’ – and how when I was younger I used to get really angry when people said it because I wanted to write about monsters and aliens and all kinds of stuff that I could never truly know. It took me a while to work out what they were actually saying.

Nowadays I write about monsters all the time. About gods and aliens, ghosts and demons, all kinds of stuff that is inherently unknowable. But at the heart of what I do are the truths of my own experience, the things I absolutely, conclusively know. This is especially true with my characters. Alex, in my Escape From Furnace series, is a teenage tearaway, a troublemaker like I was. I didn’t set out to write about myself, because by the time I started writing I was older, I wasn’t that guy any more. I started writing about this version of me who didn’t get pulled back on track like I had, who took a different path, who ended up being a proper criminal and sentenced to life in prison.

I knew Alex. I knew what his life was like. I knew how much he hated himself for the things he did, how much he wanted to be saved but resented the idea of anyone saving him. I knew how his first response to any threat, any criticism, was aggression, anger, violence. I knew that past the bluster was a streak of cowardice, an instinct to put himself before anyone else no matter what the consequences. Alex isn’t a good person when the story starts. And I guess I knew what that’s like too, not being good. It wasn’t easy looking back at that part of my life, about getting to know that version of myself again. But I think it’s why the book works. Nobody is 100% good, everybody has dark sides of themselves. Look at your own faults, past or present, be honest with yourself, share them with the people that you write about, write them as you know they really are. Your characters will feel so much more real to you, and to the reader too.

Because I was so honest with myself about who Alex was, the Furnace books became almost a bonding experience. It’s hard to explain, but I wasn’t looking down and writing about this guy, I was him. I knew that if he didn’t break out of Furnace, then I’d never truly come to terms with who I used to be, I’d never fully let myself heal. I would forever be the ghost in his cell, or he the ghost in mine. When I look back at the weeks where I was writing Furnace, I don’t remember anything from the real world, but I recall every sound and sight and smell from inside the prison. It was more real to me than my own life. That’s what ‘writing what you know’ is all about, I think. You take something of your own life, something that means so much to you, and you use it. It makes everything genuine.

It’s the same with The Fury. My favourite character in the book is Brick, a guy who has anger management issues. He wants nothing more than to be happy, to be accepted, but he won’t ever let anyone close. That comes from my teenage years too. I vividly remember the anger – anger at the world, anger at myself, anger at not being able to control anything. It’s a time in your life when everything changes, and it’s terrifying. Brick felt alive to me when I was writing The Fury because I knew his story. In so many ways it was mine too. His behaviour, his motivation, is real.

The great thing about writing what you know is that it gives you no place to hide. You’re forced to look at your past, at the defining moments in your life, the difficult times, the impossible times, the ones you thought you’d never escape from or would always be hiding from. You have to confront the versions of yourself that you don’t show the world, that you don’t even like to think about. But writing is power. Writing gives you control. When I finished the Furnace series I hadn’t just come to terms with that version of myself, that ‘Alex’, I loved him. We’d been through so much together that I knew why he’d been the person he was, why he’d done the things he’d done. The same with Brick, I understood why he – and I – had been so angry. And yes, by the end I loved him too. When you go to hell and back with somebody, how can you not?

Write what you know. Let your other selves step out into the light. Write them into a story and listen to what they have to say. It makes for incredible writing, because these are people you know inside out. Their decisions will seem real, because they are real. But in terms of your own life, too, it’s an exhilarating and liberating experience. It lets you know yourself, it lets you forgive yourself, it lets you heal. Nowadays I don’t look back at the difficult parts of my life and feel ashamed, or embarrassed. I look back and see the versions of me that might have gone on to do incredible things – break out of Furnace, or save the world. I know it’s just fiction, but there’s a truth there too, a very welcome one.

I just wish I could thank the guy who knocked out my teeth.

About the Author

Alexander Gordon Smith, 33, is best known as the author of the Escape From Furnace Series, made up of Lockdown, Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives and Execution.

His new series, The Fury, has just been released in the UK and comes out in the States in 2013.

He also wrote The Inventors - which was runner-up in the national Wow Factor Award - and The Inventors and the City of Stolen Souls, both of which were co-authored by his eleven-year-old brother Jamie.

He is the author of two creative writing handbooks, Inspired Creative Writing and Writing Bestselling Children's Books, a number of screenplays that are currently in development, several non-fiction books and hundreds of short stories and articles.

Gordon is the founder of Egg Box Publishing, an independent, non-profit imprint designed to publish and promote talented new writers and poets, and is the co-owner of Fear Driven Films, a production company filming its first feature in 2013.

He is also the founder of Inkling Studios, a brand new venture which specialises in creating books, films, television programmes and computer games for children and young adults. He actively encourages people of all ages to read and write, and runs creative writing talks and workshops across the world. In 2009 he was named by the Courvoisier Future 500 as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom.

He is called Gordon, rather than Alexander, because his Mum and Dad liked the name Gordon but didn't want his initials to spell GAS, so called him by his middle name.

Gordon's Website
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About the Book

Imagine if one day, without warning, the entire human race turns against you.

Every single person you meet becomes a bloodthirsty, mindless savage, hell-bent on killing you – and only you.

Friends, lovers, even your mum and dad, brothers and sisters – they will turn on you, and they will murder you.

And when they have, they will go back to their lives as if nothing has happened.

The world has the Fury.

It will not rest until you are dead.

Cal, Brick and Daisy are three ordinary teenagers whose lives suddenly take a terrifying turn for the worst. They begin to trigger a reaction in everybody they meet, one that makes friends and strangers alike turn rabid whenever they are close. One that makes people want to tear them to pieces

Cal and the other victims of the Fury – the ones that survive – manage to locate each other. But just when they think they have found a safe haven, a place to hide from the world, things get worse.

Some of them begin to change…

They must fight to uncover the truth about the Fury before it is too late.
But it is a truth that will destroy everything they know about life and death.

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The All Mighty Opening by Christian Schoon

2013-05-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

A quick-and-dirty sampling of advice about openings, from inspiring to simply effective, seems to boil the issue down to a few pivotal elements: give us a unique voice, surprise us, juxtapose conflicting character traits, oh and be sure to foreshadow your theme, etc. etc. We’ve heard all of this before. And, of course, the opening scene of any book is important, for all the obvious reasons. But my own experience has led me to believe this: openings have been getting way too much press lately - and it’s gone to their lettery heads. It’s shoveling more stress onto pre-stressed writers than is necessary. There’s so much weight being dumped onto the first ten words-to-three-paragraphs of our stories that it’s making us writers freak out a little. And as a result, some of us end up putting the word-horse before the narrative-cart; i.e., we dangle more tempting bits in the open than can be delivered in the remainder of the book.

So, I’m saying that when it comes to starting a book, we writers might benefit from taking a nice, deep breath, un-tensing our jaw muscles a little and just Starting the Book. Sure, you want an opening that has some… suchness… to it. But don’t let that little sucker handcuff ya. You can, and almost certainly will, go back during the writing journey and revise your open. Just don’t give these initial sentences so much power over you and the process that it voodoos your author-brain into believing the All Mighty Opening is mighty to exclusion of all else. Ease up on yourself. It’ll come when it comes and ye shall know it when it cometh….

So, how’d I start my young adult science fiction novel in a way that I felt set up the story to come? Here’s my first attempt, early in the process:

“Zenn could see herself reflected in the gigantic eyeball, as if she stood before a gently curved, full-length mirror. She didn’t like what she saw. It had nothing to do with being inches away from a two-foot-wide eye; she’d seen bigger eyes. It was the odd angle of the tank-pack strapped to her back. She hadn’t noticed before – she was too preoccupied with getting into position on the bridge of the whalehound’s nose.”

I really liked this opening (and, no, it didn’t then go into a description of Zenn’s physical appearance. That’s one variety of opening you’ll want to avoid). But then I split my one long book into two, and after more rewrites, decided a prologue (yes, the dreaded P-word) was needed to intro the series. I also decided I wanted to lower my readers a little more gently into Zenn’s world, at a time when she was younger, and had yet to start climbing up on whalehounds. And, I wanted readers to enter my off-world world with something familiar to anchor the scene. How about an old pick up truck? Homey. Common-place. And yes, they use refurbished trucks on my dystopian Mars…

“Wind clawed at the canvas tarp covering Zenn in the cargo bed of the ancient pickup truck. The truck picked up speed, rattling and bucking down the rutted dirt road, and it took all her strength to keep the coarse cloth from being ripped out of her hands. But more speed was good. It meant her father and Otha hadn’t noticed her hiding beneath the tarp… yet. The truck hit a bump; she lifted several inches into the air, then came down painfully against the rusty surface.

Never leave the cloister.”

Was the earlier opening more memorable and thrilling? Sorta. But it wasn’t what was needed under the changed circumstances of the two-book story. So, I didn’t anguish. And, importantly, I didn’t discard it, either. The first opening I wrote now starts Chapter One after the Prologue. Win-win.

OK. Enough of all that. Here are a few openings I like, and that really work for me without being over-wrought or self-consciously open-y:

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Low-key and mildly humorous, not reaching out to grab you by the nose-hairs, but a great set up for what follows. Adams effortlessly establishes his comic premise that as far as the rest of the universe is concerned, our sun and the humans circling it are not only less than special, but actually rather dowdy and déclassé.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
A brave but ever-so-perfect, here’s-a-fact-for-ya start (recall that in ’37 no one knew what a hobbit was). Seriously economical! A simple, not pushy-smart or startling open, but easy-going and predictive of the upcoming reluctantly ventured-upon adventure.

“On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology. The governess was always getting muddled with her astrolabe, and when she got especially muddled she would take it out on the Wart by rapping his knuckles.” T.H. White, The Once and Future King
Um… remind you of some other academic setting? Not surprising. Wart, who will grow up to become King Arthur, will undergo what may be one of the earliest literary examples of a wizarding education. This opening establishes his world with minimal fuss and admirable specificity.

So, that’s my take. Your mileage, and inspiration, could vary. Wildly, even. But thanks for letting me hang out here for a bit. No, go forth and show those pesky words who’s boss!

About the Author

Born in the American Midwest, Christian started his writing career in earnest as an in-house writer at the Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. He then became a freelance writer working for various film, home video and animation studios in Los Angeles. After moving from LA to a farmstead near Iowa City several years ago, he continues to freelance and also now helps re-hab wildlife and foster abused/neglected horses. He acquired his amateur-vet knowledge, and much of his inspiration for the Zenn Scarlett series of novels, as he learned about - and received an education from - these remarkable animals.

Check out Christian's website
Follow Christin on Twitter

About the Book

Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.

But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.

Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be.

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Welcome to the Haunting South -- Win 9 Great Southern Gothics

2013-05-06T00:01:00.001-04:00

The Southland Booth

Crumbling mansions, trees cloaked in Spanish moss, characters dripping with Southern charm and eccentricity . . . What do you think of when you think Southern Gothic?

Tessa Gratton, author of the fabulous Blood Journals series, including Blood Magic and its companion novel The Blood Keeper, was kind enough to do a guest post for us about what goes into creating this type of book. Check her post out here, but be sure to come back for the contest!

What to Do to Win

You'll find covers and book blurbs for some of our favorite Southern Gothic novels shown below. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the authors, we have signed copies of these to give away to the people who can provide the most answers to our Spot the Modern Gothic Element Game.

Here's how to play:

1) Find and describe as many of the following Southern Gothic elements in one or more of the books in our contest as you can:

An atmospheric southern setting that becomes a character in the book
A small southern town overflowing with tradition, folklore, and history
A stranger coming into town and triggering conflict, drama, or violent events
A character set apart by some unusual characteristic or unique world view
A sense of literal or metaphorical imprisonment
A southern belle, beautiful on the outside but ruthless and determined
A deeply eccentric character or one skirting the edges of crazy
A character mired by obligation
An innocent who needs to bring redemption to someone or the town
A crumbling antebellum mansion
A ghost, witch, voodoo priestess, or other element of the supernatural
A significant story element that involves the Civil War
A story element of starcrossed lovers or lost love
A character who sacrifices for someone else or the greater good
A character who represents moral ambiguity
A character on the outside of society who longs for connection

2) Got one or more of the above elements? Good. Fill out the form below, and for a bonus entry, leave a comment on this post saying how many you found and described. One is fine. That's all it takes to enter.

For example:

Small southern town: Gatlin in Beautiful Creatures;
Atmospheric Southern Setting: The cemetery in Blood Magic;
Small southern town, etc: Claysville in Graveminder;
A stranger, etc: Sylvie in The Splendor Falls;

We will enter you into the contest once for each correctly identified item, and then pick the winners at random. U.S. and Canadian entries only, please! You must be 13 or older to enter, and have parent/guardian permission if you're under 18.

What You Win

Our Favorite Southern Gothics signed by the authors!

GRAND PRIZE - The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
(paperbacks of Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, and Beautiful Chaos plus hardcover Beautiful Redemption), all with bookplates autographed and personalized by Kami Garcia

"There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations.

Mysterious, suspenseful, and romantic, "Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness," "Beautiful Chaos," and "Beautiful Redemption "introduce a secret world hidden in plain sight. A world where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending.

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
signed hardcover

Draw a circle... place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood...

Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Graveminder by Melissa Marr
signed paperback

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
signed paperback

Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

Fallen by Lauren Kate
signed paperback

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
signed paperback

Although she was orphaned at birth, Eden Moore is never alone. Three dead women watch from the shadows, bound to protect her from harm. But in the woods a gunman waits, convinced that Eden is destined to follow her wicked great-grandfather--an African magician with the power to curse the living and raise the dead.

Now Eden must decipher the secret of the ghostly trio before a new enemy more dangerous than the fanatical assassin destroys what is left of her family. She will sift through lies in a Georgian ante-bellum mansion and climb through the haunted ruins of a 19th century hospital, desperately seeking the truth that will save her beloved aunt from the curse that threatens her life.

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Be sure to visit the other booths at the Carnival!

Atmosphere in a Southern Gothic by Tessa Gratton

2013-05-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

Hello Southland Booth!

Thanks for the invitation to participate in this carnival! I’m thrilled to be here talking about Southern Gothic. It’s such a lush, disturbing genre, how could it not be one of my favorites?

There’s an idea that gets passed around among writers and readers, that a good setting becomes a character itself. I think that couldn’t be more true – especially in Southern Gothic, a genre rooted very firmly in setting. It’s even in the name of the genre itself!

Southern Gothic novels are usually dripping with atmosphere. They’re mysterious and strange, with decay seeping through the shadows, derelict old buildings that mirror the crumbling traditions of the past, and sinister imagery. What does it mean to make this intense setting into a character?

It has to directly affect the characters and plot.

You don’t want your setting to be merely the background. You want it to shape your protagonist and antagonist, your secondary characters, the motivations that drive your novel. You want it to be part of the stakes of the novel.

Think about where you live. How does it affect your goals? Do you want to stay forever, do you long to escape? Do the mountains hem you in? Does the ocean tease you with adventure? What about where you were born? How did that make you exactly who you are?

Those are the questions we think about when creating setting and characters – the two are inextricably linked.

My novel BLOOD MAGIC revolves heavily around the crumbling old cemetery at the edge of town. It divides the two heroes, literally and metaphorically, and I built it to not just be any cemetery, but to represent the heart of the tale. I not only gave it specific details, but I let the two heroes Nick and Silla react to it differently. That builds layers into the setting, shows that there isn’t only one way to view it. Nick sees it as a dangerous place, but he’s drawn to the excitement of his past. Silla finds peace there, and also great sorrow, and learns to feel safe in the cemetery.

For that to feel genuine to readers, I can’t just write what the place looks like and smells like. I have to show how people react to it. Why does it matter that Silla spends so much time there? What about it excites Nick? I have to convince my readers that if this cemetery didn’t exist, neither would the story. That Nick and Silla would be entirely different characters without it, just like they’d be different characters without their parents, their culture, or each other.

This all goes for any setting of course, not just Southern Gothic. But with a genre to firmly rooted in place – it’s specifically about the dark center of old America, about this tangle of history and blood that you can’t find anywhere else in the world – you have to be very aware of the interplay between setting and character.

You give your setting life by making its heart beat.

About the Author

When Tessa was a kid, she wanted to be a wizard. Or a paleontologist. Maybe both. She’s neither now, but magic and monsters are still her favorite things.

Born in Okinawa, Japan, while her Dad was on duty with the US Navy, Tessa moved around throughout her childhood and traveled even more. She’s lived in Japan, California, Kansas, and England, and visited 4 continents.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 2003 with a degree in Gender Studies, she went on to graduate school for a Master’s in the same. Halfway through, she ditched the program in favor of the blood, violence, and drama of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic epic poetry and to focus on her writing. Tessa doesn’t have a graduate degree, but she did translate her own version of Beowulf!

Despite having traveled all over the world, she settled in Kansas where the sunsets are all in Technicolor, with her partner, two cats, and a mutant mutt named Grendel.

Visit Tessa's website
Follow Tessa on Twitter

About the Book

Draw a circle... place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood...

Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

You can win a signed copy of Blood Magic by playing our game here!

Announcing the Top 50 for the May Pitch+250 Contest

2013-05-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Congratulation to the authors of the top 50 entries in the May Pitch+250 Contest! These entries will be moving on to Round 1, where they will be scored by our fabulous blogger judges.

Accordian Girl - Sharon Edge Martin
Cadence - Julia Byers
Caretta, Caretta - Deborah Rocheleau
Creatures of Smokeless Fire - Alwyn Hamilton
Crossing Lau Dai La - Hong Tran
Crossing the Divide - Heather Raglin
Dog Days of Summer - Sheri Levy
Dot Reaper - Mike Saunders
Dragoneer: Hard Truths - Sumbee
Duplicity - Natalie Knaub
Earth to Earth - Amanda Leigh
Field of Bones - Ava Jae
Fighting Chance - Amy Trueblood
Firebird - Melissa Grey
From Everywhere to Here - Sandra Cormier
Gerta and Isobel - Nicole Martin-Iverson
Girl of Light and Shadow - Emily Watson
Harvester - Rachel Russell
Hum of the Hills - Corrie Haluga
Inkstained - Rebecca Ann Jordan
Livid Shift - DiNae' Billingsley
Mighty Mike and the Alien Pez Dispenser - Marlene Moss
Moon Strings - Leslie S. Rose
Mouth of the South - Patricia Nesbitt
Nightmute - Courtney Washburn
No Such Thing - Sarah Glenn Marsh
Of Blood and Roses - Molly Pinto Madigan
Off Edge - Carol Barreyre
Play It Cool, Claire - Olivia Hinebaugh
Prom B*tch - Ami Allen-Vath
Ragdoll - Pasha Westbrook
Rancho Tails - C. Ramirez
Roach - Cristy Burne
Smoke and Ashes - Michelle Merrill
Soul Seeker - Sescha Young
Soul Ties - Lisa Swallow
The Drink and the Wheel - Fonda Lee
The Existence of Bea Pearl - Candice Marley Conner
The Expiration Date - Erica Martin
The Good Demon - Ryan Hill
The Lucky Few - Erin L. Schneider
The School in the Sky - Ryan Howlett
The Thirteenth Subject - Krystal Marquis
The Truth About Justice - Meg Eastman Thompson
Tic Tac Toed - Jill Donaldson
To Save My Life - Lindsey Frydman
Unfinished Business - Mel Hill
Voice Lessons - Kindra Keitel
Whiff - Becky Swanberg
Zorya - Tom Brosz

Question of the Week: Do You Set Writing Goals?

2013-05-05T05:00:00.000-04:00

May 5, 2013

Question of the Week:

Do You Set Writing Goals?

Many writers set goals for themselves: In one year, I will have a completed manuscript, or in three years, I will be published, or in five years, I’ll be a best-seller. You might also have short-term goals: Today I will write two thousand words, or This week I will submit my proposal to my editor, or I will query seven agents this month.

Do you set goals for your writing career? What kind: daily, weekly, yearly, long-term career goals? Are they detailed or more general? Do you share your goals with anyone?

My answer: I set weekly and yearly goals. My weekly goals might be “Write ten thousand words in my manuscript” or “Plot Book Two” while my yearly goals are more big-picture and career-related. Some of my writing friends and I email our weekly goals to each other every Sunday. Posting our goals to the group gives us accountability, and it also helps us create a plan for the week. The following Sunday we report back if we met our goals, and then we set new ones for the upcoming week. We congratulate each other when we’ve met our goals, and commiserate when we don’t. We also set yearly goals, which we store in a group file.

Most of my weekly goals are attainable, but I try to set at least one “superstar” goal that makes me really work for it. I don’t make my superstar goal every week, but when I do, it’s a great feeling of accomplishment. For me, setting goals, and particularly reporting the results to my friends, is extremely motivating.

Your turn: Do you set writing goals? Short- or long-term, or both? Do you share your goals with anyone?

This Week for Writers 5/4/13: Pubtips, Craft, News, Trends, Inspiration and More

2013-05-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Don't forget the May First Five Pages Workshop with mentor S.T. Underdahl opens for submissions at noon Eastern today. Check out the Workshop rules here.

Writing Craft

Want to write bigger stories or just think bigger?...
from Time to Write

Revision Tips
from The League of Extraordinary Writers

To Lay or To Lie—That Is the Question
from Live Write Thrive

Best Business Advice for Writers: April 2013
from Jane Friedman

4 Ways to Improve Your Prose
from YA Stands

10 of My Favorite Writing-Craft Sites
from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors

Should You Maintain the Same POV Distance Throughout...
from The Other Side of the Story

A Short Anecdote, and How to Build Reader Empathy...
from The Bookshelf Muse

The Week in Writing: My Favorite Posts & Tips 5/3/13
from Kami Garcia -- NYT Bestselling Author (The Beaut

Style & Story: How “What Not to Wear” Teaches About...
from Cynsations

It’s live! New Nail Your Novel book shows you how...
from Nail Your Novel

Boundary setting for sensitives and writers
from Jenna Avery

Editing Tips and Tricks
from The League of Extraordinary Writers

5 Examples of Proper Style for Proper Nouns
from Daily Writing Tips

Stretching the Story Seed
from Blood-Red Pencil

Managing Critique in Writing Workshops
from Beyond The Margins

Develop Your Narrative Voice By Stealing From Bestselling...
from Write to Done

Three Tips for Better Storytelling
from Jami Gold, Paranormal Author

Questions for Your Manuscript
from Artzicarol Ramblings

Why Your Novel May Not Be Historical Fiction After...
from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors

Never, Never, Never Lose Your Work!
from Rachelle Gardner

Writer's Survival Guide #IWSG
from .W.I.P. It

What novelists can learn from song writers
from The Kill Zone

Writing Advice You Should ALWAYS Follow
from Novel Rocket

Managing Your Conference Expectations (From the Archives)
from YA Muses

Story Flaw Fixes, Part Two
from WOW! Women On Writing Blog

JESSICA BELL INTERVIEW AND SHOW & TELL IN A NUTSHELL/...
from Literary Rambles

Uncertainty: The Normal Writing Process
from Fiction Notes

Editing Tips and Tricks - or how to find out what...
from The League of Extraordinary Writers

Adverbs and Clichés in a Nutshell
from Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight

Murphy's Law And Writing - Be Like a Boy Scout and...
from Babbles from Scott Eagan

Monday Musings: Writing Communities
from chasingthecrazies

Screenwriting Tip: Know who you’re writing for
from Go Into The Story

3 Steps To Better Prose
from Karen Woodward

Want to solve a writing or marketing problem? Ask...
from Time to Write

Info Dumps, Lectures, AYKB, and Other Author Intrusions
from Mystery Writing is Murder

Editing Tips & Tricks
from The League of Extraordinary Writers

A Conversation Between Critique Partners: In Defense...
from Pub(lishing) Crawl

Why Is Storytelling Ability So Important?
from Jami Gold, Paranormal Author

How to Research
from WOW! Women On Writing Blog

5 Writing Links You Can Use in the Field
from Copyblogger

Perpetual WIPs
from The Daily Dahlia

Tips for Formatting Your Manuscript
from WOW! Women On Writing Blog

What Novelists Should Know About Short Fiction
from Writer Unboxed

Revisions: Knowing When You've Got It Right.
from YA Highway

Three Keys to Writing Memorable Fiction
from Anne R. Allen's Blog

4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
from Daily Writing Tips

Creating A Style Of Your Own: Why It’s So Hard (And...
from Write to Done

TOTW: Plot Generators, What-If Tools, 37 Dramatic...
from The Enchanted Inkpot

Getting Published

A Hero’s Guide Writing Contest
from Novel Novice

Query Critiques: More Important Than You Think
from Writability

The Secret Recipe for Writing a Perfect Pitch
from Kristen Lamb's Blog

FIRST FIVE FRENZY – Tricia Lawrence with Erin Murphy...
from chasingthecrazies

How Many Books Would You Have To Write To Quit Your...
from Karen Woodward

Greenhouse author Michelle Schusterman interviews...
from Sarah's Blog

VIDEO: Cover to Cover: Book design in focus
from BBC News - Home

Call For Submissions: First Kiss
from Miss Snark's First Victim

Being Published Is Not Simply A Privilege
from Babbles from Scott Eagan

CONFERENCE COMMANDMENTS
from YA Muses

What if I’m not happy with my agent?
from Chip MacGregor .com

"The Writer's Voice" Rafflecopter Sign-Up!!
from Cupid's Literary Connection

Ask The Agent: When to Nudge Agents, Hiring Editors,...
from LitReactor

The Top 3 Myths About Writing Contests
from BookBaby Blog

Three Workshops and a Blog Post
from Storyfix.com

Why Writers Shouldn't Rush Into Publication
from Author, Jody Hedlund

The New Era of Self-Publishing
from Writer Unboxed

Writing a Book Proposal – Yes? No? Who’s Right?
from Behler Blog

Cassandra Clare: On Writers Getting Paid to Write
from Mundie Moms

Announcing the May First Five Pages Workshop with...
from First Five Pages Workshop

The Benefits of Having an Agent
from Rachelle Gardner

Career Planning and Agents
from Babbles from Scott Eagan

Inspiration and Smiles

How to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone – Without Freaking...
from Writers In The Storm Blog

Writer's Fear
from Novel Matters

The Imposter Syndrome
from Pub(lishing) Crawl

Advice For New Writers
from Karen Woodward

Writing Tips and Quips From the Great Fitzgeralds
from Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

Goodbye, Fear
from Novel Matters

You Might be Looking, but do you SEE?
from The Other Side of the Story

The 39 Most San Francisco Things That Ever Happened
from BuzzFeed - Latest

Respecting your dreams
from Andrew Jack Writing

Can You Guess the Authors by Their Nobel Citations?
from PWxyz

Book Review: Making Your Creative Mark by Eric Maisel
from Blood-Red Pencil

Where Do You Get Your Inspiration? by Gina Damico
from Adventures in YA Publishing

The Absolutely True Secret to Success in Writing and...
from Words from the Woods

Slay The Doubt Monster?
from Julie Musil

Reader Question: Finding Inspiration
from Jodi Meadows

When The Words Won't Flow: 5 Quick Writing Exercises...
from YA Highway

Five Authors Who Prove It's Never Too Late To Start...
from LitReactor

Juvenilia and Loving the Writer You Were
from YA Highway

Inspirational song of the day
from Buffy's write zone

Writerly Humor: The Mood for Creative Inspiration
from Rob D Young

The Truth About Rejection
from Paranormal Point of View

21 Tips That Will Brighten Your Work Morning
from BuzzFeed - Latest

Networking and Promotion

Blurb Etiquette
from Rachelle Gardner

Blog or Website—Which Does a Writer Need?
from Novel Rocket

Lessons from a Conference Junkie
from YA Muses

Get More Followers! Creative Ways to Use Twitter!
from Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG

Best of the Web Book Marketing Tips for the Week of...
from Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG

Goodreads Alternative Riffle Goes Live
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

How To Sign a Digital Author Autograph Online
from GalleyCat

Web Tips for Authors: The April Roundup
from BookBaby Blog

Do Free Ebooks Really Hook New Readers?
from Author, Jody Hedlund

6 Book Marketing Tips that are Sure to Increase Your...
from Writers On The Move

I LOST THREE Followers—Twitter & Tips to Keep from...
from Kristen Lamb's Blog

Book Marketing Q&A with Scholastic’s Social Media...
from Publishing Perspectives

Uncomfortable Social Media
from Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room

Using Pinterest for Pinspiration
from Mystery Writing is Murder

The Ultimate Guide To Goodreads For Authors
from The Creative Penn

Facebook: Fans Are Brand Currency
from Heidi Cohen

Book Marketing Is Also Murder
from Mystery Writing is Murder

Rooted Marketing: Preplanning Your Marketing as You...
from Live Write Thrive

News & Trends

Tests show Pablo Neruda had cancer
from BBC News - Home

Social Media for Publishers
from Catherine, Caffeinated

James Patterson: Prototypical Indie Author?
from The Passive Voice - Latest Updates

“How’s the Book Doing?”
from Carolrhoda Books Blog

How Many Copies Make a Self-Published Bestseller?
from GalleyCat

Writing Question: Are you thankful for your creativity?
from Go Into The Story

Checking In On Our #FollowATeens
from BuzzFeed - Latest

Hachette to Sell Frontlist Ebook Titles to Libraries
from School Library Journal

Top 10 indie bookstores
from CNN.com - Top Stories

Anne Frank's diary isn't pornographic – it just reveals...
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

Character studies
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

Profits rise at S&S in first quarter
from Bookseller news

Screen-Free Week Happening Now! (with Quotes)
from Wavy Lines

Fifty Shades of Grey boosts book trade
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Author Solutions...
from Writer Beware ® Blogs!

Hachette US to make new e-books available to libraries
from Bookseller news

Children's Job Moves: April 2013
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

Talk About Burying The Lead
from Pub Rants

World Peace and Other Aspirations: The Role of Play...
from School Library Journal

Architects of Dreams: Anythink’s Pam Sandlian Smith...
from School Library Journal

27 Unexpected Ways Coffee Can Improve Your Life
from BuzzFeed - Latest

The New York Times Book Review's retirement plan |...
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

Ether for Authors: Take Me to Your Data
from Publishing Perspectives

BEHIND THE SCENES, Out in the Open
from The Daily Dahlia

Required Reading
from Oasis for YA

Two Great Free E-Books for Writers!
from Nick's Writing Blog

News Briefs: Week of April 29, 2013
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

2013 Jane Addams Children's Book Awards
from Mitali's Fire Escape

New Adult, you confuse me
from Steph Bowe's Hey! Teenager of the Year

This Week in Fiction: Jonathan Lethem
from Page-Turner

Weird Writing Trends: Sexy Stalkers?
from Writability

Best Summer Books & Summer Reading 2013 - Top 10 List

From Publisher's Weekly

Story Elements

In Romance Writing, Let The Romance Grow - Don't Force...
from Babbles from Scott Eagan

Creating Characters with Character
from The Indelibles

Donald Maass On Why Books Don't Sell
from Karen Woodward

Creating Multi-Dimensional Characters #2—Everybody...
from Kristen Lamb's Blog

The Protagonist Problem: why is the hero or heroine...
from Writing Forward

Love at first line: Opening sentences that grab
from Writers In The Storm Blog

Picking The Right Time
from Kidlit

Handling Scene Transitions With Multiple POVs
from The Other Side of the Story

Create a Compelling Protagonist
from Go Into The Story

Ask a Million Questions: Worldbuilding by Kristin...
from Adventures in YA Publishing

From Serviceable to Memorable: 5 Principles for Dialogue...
from Mythic Scribes

Write great dialogue scenes in 7 steps
from Nail Your Novel

How Paradoxes Deepen Character
from Stavros Halvatzis

WritersRoad Chat: Key Elements of a Bestseller
from Author Heather McCorkle

Character Archetypes 101: The Caregiver
from The Character Therapist

Back to Business: Craft Chat about Fake Places
from Writer on the Side

Story Structure

How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending
from The Write Practice

The End of Happily Ever After
from LitReactor

Character’s Relationship with His Setting
from Novel Rocket

Beginning and Ending
from Writer Unboxed

Story breakdown: Sense and Sensibility, Act I
from Alexandra Sokoloff

Storyteller’s Rulebook #185: Heroes Should Ascend,...
from Cockeyed Caravan

Don’t Let Structure Box You In
from Anna Staniszewski

Cliffhangers
from Karen Woodward

"The Rules" - Understand Them Before You Break Them...
from Seeking the Write Life

YA Books and Giveaways

Quick-Fire Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
from Reading Teen

New Releases 5/3-5/10 Plus 3 Giveaways!
from Adventures in YA Publishing

True by Erin McCarthy
from The Story Siren

DFWCon and Win SOLSTICE!
from ROOTS IN MYTH

Mother's Day 2013: 10 best books
from Christian Science Monitor | All Stories

Free Books for Cinco de Mayo
from GalleyCat

Breaking the rules of YA (with CODE NAME VERITY)
from We Heart YA

Books to Watch Out For: May
from Page-Turner

Character Bucket List: Zenn from Christian Schoon's...
from Adventures in YA Publishing

Giveaway: $50 Amazon Gift Card!
from Katie's Book Blog

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - review
from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar

YA ICONS TOUR: Take me to Your Reader!
from Beth Revis

Where have all the Canalettos gone?
from Book Maven

Giveaway: Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells...
from Latest blog entries

Giveaway: The How-To Handbook (US/Canada)
from Latest blog entries

Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You by Joyce...
from Reading Teen

[Blog Tour & Giveaway] The Watcher by Lisa Voisin
from Reading Teen

Giveaway: ICONS Prize Pack by Margaret Stohl (US/Canada)
from Latest blog entries

Giveaway: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill (US/Canada)
from Latest blog entries

Birthday Giveaway! Win an ARC of Incarnate 3
from Jodi Meadows

Birthday Giveaway! Win an ARC of Incarnate 3
from (W)ords and (W)ardances

New George R R Martin for Christmas
from Bookseller news

Book Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
from Mundie Moms

2013 YA Contemporary Challenge: May Reviews!
from Katie's Book Blog

Cover Reveal: SHADOWLARK by Meagan Spooner + US Giveaway
from Latest blog entries

Fourteen Killer Thrillers, just 99 cents each!
from Alexandra Sokoloff

Writing Inspiration & Cover Release Wednesday
from Stina Lindenblatt

Book News: ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth
from Mundie Moms

April Wrap-Up + May TBR Suggestions + Giveaway!
from Katie's Book Blog

Fiction Series Update | May 2013
from School Library Journal

For YA Readers: Read These Now
from Writability

International Giveaway: Feral Nights & Eternal: Zachary's...
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The Wish List (2)
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Help a great cause and win a TON of ARCs! - Bears...
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Character Profiles + Giveaway: Off Sides by Sawyer...
from YA Stands

Icons Review and Giveaway
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newleafliterary: Win this entire pile of ARCs! Enter...
from LEIGH BARDUGO

New YA Releases: April 30, 2013
from Novel Novice

Ray Bradbury Classics Finally Coming as eBooks
from The Passive Voice - Latest Updates

Giveaway: Win a Barftastic Backpack of Boredom Busters!
from School Library Journal

AWAKENINGS by J.E.Shannon ... Cover reveal!
from Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffe

Blog Tour: Review & Give@way of How I Lost You by...
from Candace's Book Blog

ICONS Blog Tour Schedule
from Margaret Stohl

Double Giveaway -- The Truth of Me and Kicking In...
from The Write Stuff

The Power of the Indie
from From the Write Angle

New Reads: April 29-May 5 2013
from The Story Siren

Kids’ Favorite Books: Top 100 Lists
from Fiction Notes

YA AND MIDDLE GRADE BOOK GIVEAWAY
from Literary Rambles

BEA 2013: All Our Coverage
from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles

Memorable Openings by Cecilia Robert
from Adventures in YA Publishing

Writing Life

Google Keep Gets Its Own Chrome App for Standalone...
from Lifehacker

Work More Efficiently by Identifying Your Unique Working...
from Lifehacker

True Confessions of a Juggler: Time Management Tips...
from DIY MFA

David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants—Health Insurance...
from DavidFarland.net

Dealing With Your Emotions As You Write
from Courage 2 Create

How to Stop Getting Paralyzed and Start Making Better...
from Goins, Writer

How Breaks Make You More Productive
from Books & Such Literary Agency

These Are The Things That Make Us Anxious: Matt Haig...
from Notes from the Slushpile

Writing Spaces - from clutter to creativity
from Words & Pictures - Online Magazine of SCBWI

Question of the Week - What are your essential writing...
from Adventures in YA Publishing

Should You Quit Your Day Job to Write?
from The Kill Zone

Other Weekly Roundups

Cynsational News & Giveaways
from Cynsations

The Week in Writing: My Favorite Posts & Tips 5/3/13
from Kami Garcia -- NYT Bestselling Author (The Beaut

Publishing News of the Week
from Foreword Literary

Field Trip Friday: May 3, 2013
from YA Highway

Twitterific
from Mystery Writing is Murder

New Releases 5/3-5/10 Plus 3 Giveaways!

2013-05-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm over at DIYMFA today with a post about setting up your social media presence and expectations. (It's full of things I wish I'd known when I started blogging!) Please stop by and say hello. The DIYMFA site is wonderful, in case you haven't discovered it yet.

http://diymfa.com/writing/four-questions-to-define-your-social-media-presence

Also, don't forget we have a new First Five Pages Workshop starting on Saturday with S.T. Underdahl as the wonderful guest mentor this month. Check the link in the sidebar on the right for all the rules and how to enter.

Happy writing and reading,

Martina

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

* * * *

Zenn Scarlett
by Christian Schoon
Signed Paperback Giveaway
Strange Chemistry
Released 5/7/2013

When you're studying to be exoveterinarian specializing in exotic, alien life forms, school... is a different kind of animal.

Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she's learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn's all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she's feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn't enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she's started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can't deny what she's feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what's happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she's actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients... or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year....

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Zenn Scarlett?

My favorite thing about Zenn Scarlett? Easy: May 7th.* Why get all swoony about my book's release date? (Beyond the obvious "Hey, my book's on a shelf. Cool.") The thing is, I've sold scripts for animated and live-action teen and children's TV shows, and I've had the serious fun of seeing my stuff produced and aired. But there's this: the TV properties I wrote for were just that, properties. As in: someone else's properties. Don't get me wrong. I was glad to have the work and I learned plenty. But I was in somebody else's yard, playing on their swing set, with their characters and story arcs.

The day that Zenn Scarlett is released, I get to invite readers into my very own yard. Well, Zenn's yard. Then, I get to wave them on into Zenn's house (cloister compound, actually), and her world (a dystopian Earther colony on Mars), and her universe (a place teeming with exotic races and cultures, crazy-fascinating animals, disturbing cross-species ESP and some problematic romance). So, instead of collaborating with a whole HR department-full of directors, animators, lighting directors, casting directors, best boys, gaffers and craft-services-elves (all perfectly wonderful people, mind ya), I was able to do all those jobs myself. Which was a blast. So, May 7; that's when the curtain goes up on a sprawling, off-world stage that I was allowed to conjure up from nothing but neuronal sparks and using whatever starry bits I wanted to toss in. I don't know how you'd feel about doing something like that, but I think it just might be my fave thing ever. Anyway, thanks for letting me rattle on here. And please feel free to wander into Zenn's cloister compound any time. She can't wait to introduce you to some of her favorite things.

*May 2nd in the UK. Lucky Brits.

Purchase Zenn Scarlett at Amazon
Purchase Zenn Scarlett at IndieBound
View Zenn Scarlett on Goodreads

* * * *

Coda
by Emma Trevayne
Paperback Giveaway
Running Press Kids
Released 5/7/2013

Ever since he was a young boy, music has coursed through the veins of eighteen-year-old Anthem-the Corp has certainly seen to that. By encoding music with addictive and mind-altering elements, the Corp holds control over all citizens, particularly conduits like Anthem, whose life energy feeds the main power in the Grid.

Anthem finds hope and comfort in the twin siblings he cares for, even as he watches the life drain slowly and painfully from his father. Escape is found in his underground rock band, where music sounds free, clear, and unencoded deep in an abandoned basement. But when a band member dies suspiciously from a tracking overdose, Anthem knows that his time has suddenly become limited. Revolution all but sings in the air, and Anthem cannot help but answer the call with the chords of choice and free will. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Coda?

This is a really tough (and therefore awesome) question. Obviously there's a lot I love about my book--it would be weird if there wasn't. But, since I have to choose, I'm going to be a little mean (in that unique way authors have) and say my favorite part is the emotions it's elicited from the people who have read it. Legend has it that when my first agent was reading it prior to offering me representation, she threw her kindle at one point. There's another point about which my best friend still yells at me every day and she first read the scene in question exactly two years ago. I've had similar comments from people I don't know, about certain points in the book. As a writer, the number one thing I want to do is tell stories that make people feel things, so my favorite thing about Coda is that it occasionally succeeds there.

Purchase Coda at Amazon
Purchase Coda at IndieBound
View Coda on Goodreads

* * * *

Criminal
by Terra Elan McVoy
Hardcover Giveaway
Simon Pulse
Released 5/7/2013

A searing and gripping read that explores the depths of desperation true love can inspire, from the author of Being Friends with Boys.

Nikki's life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can't imagine herself without him. He's hot, he's dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There's nothing Nikki wouldn't do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime-a crime that ends in murder-Nikki tells herself that it's all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki's love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional, but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers.

Purchase Criminal at Amazon
Purchase Criminal at IndieBound
View Criminal on Goodreads

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

* * * *

Identity Theft
by Anna Davies
Paperback
Point
Released 5/1/2013

Winner: Tiffany Johnson

The third title in our exciting relaunch of Point Horror!

Hayley is going to have the best year ever. After years of careful planning, she's ready to serve as student council president AND editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Ivy League, here she comes!

However, just before student council elections, someone creates a fake facebook profile for Hayley and starts posting inappropriate photos and incriminating updates. It must be the work of a highly skilled Photoshopper, but the attention to detail is scary. The embarrassing photos of "Hayley" in her bathing suit reveal a birthmark on her back--a birth mark Hayley has never shown in public. . . .

The situation escalates until Hayley's mother reveals some shocking information. Hayley isn't an only child: She has a twin sister who was adopted by a different family. And that's not all. Soon, Hayley discovers that her long-lost sister isn't just playing a prank--she's plotting to take over Hayley's life . . . by any means necessary.

Purchase Identity Theft at Amazon
Purchase Identity Theft at IndieBound
View Identity Theft on Goodreads

* * * *

The Last Academy
by Anne Applegate
Hardcover
Point
Released 5/1/2013

Winner: The Magic Violinist

Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Last Academy?

My favorite thing about The Last Academy is how the relationship with Camden and Mark ends up. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say I like what they learn from each other, and how those lessons play out for them. I also loved the setting of the school itself. When I was fourteen, I left home for boarding school. It was interesting to go back to those memories as an adult. Especially when there were weird overlaps between my reality and theirs -- Camden and Mark meet up by a fateful old phone booth very much like one I used to frequent when I wanted to place a call and needed a little privacy.

Purchase The Last Academy at Amazon
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View The Last Academy on Goodreads

* * * *

I''m With Stupid
by Geoff Herbach
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/1/2013

Winner: Tiffany Drew

"We have problems, but we're so lucky, too. That's the mortal coil. It's the whole thing, all of it, and it's easy to hate that mess in yourself, fight it, hate those who seem to cause it. But, whoever we sit next to in school is the same and whatever jerk you read about on ESPN is the same and whoever honks their horn at you at the intersection is the same. They struggle. Do you know what I mean? They suffer, too. We aren't alone. [...] We can act. Maybe not fix everything. But we can make it better for those others and that makes it better for us. I see it. I've seen it. Good comes back around."

Felton made me cry three times in the final installment in what may be one of the best YA series out there. I saw what happened to him coming, and it tore me up because I just like this character so damn much.

Longer review to come -- really, the quote up there says it all.

Purchase I''m With Stupid at Amazon
Purchase I''m With Stupid at IndieBound
View I''m With Stupid on Goodreads

* * * *

How I Lost You
by Janet Gurtler
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/1/2013

Winner: Alyssa Susanna

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about How I Lost You?

I love that the main character, Grace, is a really strong female lead. She's nurturing and very protective of her best friend which gives her blinders sometimes, but at her core, she's pretty kick butt. Like most of us, she just needs to figure that out for herself. There are twists and there are boys, but to me, in the end it's a girl power story. From within.

Purchase How I Lost You at Amazon
Purchase How I Lost You at IndieBound
View How I Lost You on Goodreads

* * * *

The Boyfriend App
by Katie Sise
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 4/30/2013

Winner: Rabiah Rowther

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can't wait to get out of high school. Her father's death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler-and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she's the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Boyfriend App?

I'm going to answer this one twice! :) My favorite thing about The Boyfriend App as a book is that it features a whip-smart, loyal, and kind protagonist with a tight-knit group of similarly loyal and kind friends.

My favorite thing about The Boyfriend App as a whole is that my dad loves it. He hadn't read any fiction that I wrote before this (not since I was a little kid, at least!) and he didn't know what to expect. I waited until I had a galley to show him. Getting the phone call from him after he read the book for the first time is my absolute favorite part of the process! I even wrote down what he said and taped it next to my computer to look at any time I get stuck writing the follow-up book to The Boyfriend App. At the end of the day, not everyone is going to like what you write. But if the people you love do, and if you loved the moments you spent writing it, then that's pretty awesome.

Purchase The Boyfriend App at Amazon
Purchase The Boyfriend App at IndieBound
View The Boyfriend App on Goodreads

* * * *

Absent
by Katie Williams
Hardcover
Chronicle Books
Released 4/30/2013

Winner: Krystal Marquis

Forever is a long time to be stuck in high school.

Seventeen-year-old Paige is dead, the victim of a freak fall from the roof during Physics class. Now she's a ghost, permanently bound to the grounds of her high school. It isn't all bad, she can find out everyone's secrets, which can be amusing-for a while. But then Paige hears something that isn't amusing at all: the rumor spread by the most popular girl at school that her death
wasn't an accident-that she supposedly jumped on purpose.
Paige is desperate to stop the gossip, but what can a ghost do?
Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess living people when they think of her, and she can make them do almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get inside the girl who's responsible for the stories. . . and have a little fun turning the tables while she's at it.

Katie Williams's second novel is a suspenseful page-turner full of eerie wit and a touch of the otherworldly

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Absent?

This is going to sound small and silly, but I love the ghost frogs in my book. The high school in ABSENT has trapped the ghosts of things that have died within its boundaries, including the frogs chloroformed for dissection in biology class. So every once in a while, Paige and her friends will come across hopping, croaking ghost frogs. ABSENT isn't a comedy; in fact, it deals with serious subject matter, which is maybe why I like the touch of grim humor the ghost frogs bring. At one point during the revision process, I thought we were going to have to cut them because my editor pointed out that frogs wouldn't have the presence of mind to walk on constructed ground--this is something the ghosts in my book have to practice--but then we figured they'd just sink through to the dirt-floor basement, a fitting place for ghost frogs to be!

Purchase Absent at Amazon
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View Absent on Goodreads

* * * *

Defriended
by Ruth Baron
Paperback
Scholastic Inc.
Released 5/1/2013

Winner: Cindy R. Wilson

A friend request from beyond the grave . . .

Jason has met the perfect girl. OK, so maybe he hasn't actually MET Lacey yet, but they talk online all the time. Yet despite spending most nights chatting, Lacey refuses to meet up in person. Suspicious, Jason starts googling, and his cyberstalking leads to a shocking discovery: According to multiple newspapers, Lacey died a year earlier.

Soon, Jason finds himself enmeshed in a disturbing mystery. Has he found a way to iChat with the dead? Or is someone playing a dangerous trick? Either way, Jason has to discover the truth before it's too late. You can't put up away messages from beyond the grave. . . .

Purchase Defriended at Amazon
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View Defriended on Goodreads

IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

* * * *

Chantress
by Amy Butler Greenfield
Hardcover
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Released 5/7/2013

Lucy's Chantress magic will make her the most powerful-and most hunted-girl in England.

"Sing, and the darkness will find you." This warning has haunted fifteen-year-old Lucy ever since she was eight and shipwrecked on a lonely island. Lucy's guardian, Norrie, has lots of rules, but the most important is that Lucy must never sing. Not ever. Now it is 1667, Lucy is fifteen, and on All Hallows' Eve, Lucy hears a tantalizing melody on the wind. She can't help but sing-and she is swept into darkness.

When she awakes in England, Lucy hears powerful men discussing Chantresses-women who can sing magic into the world. They are hunting her, but she escapes and finds sanctuary with the Invisible College, an organization plotting to overthrow the nefarious Lord Protector. The only person powerful enough to bring about his downfall is a Chantress. And Lucy is the last one in England.

Lucy struggles to master the song-spells and harness her power, but the Lord Protector is moving quickly. And her feelings for Nat, an Invisible College apprentice and scientist who deeply distrusts her magic, only add to her confusion.

Time is running out, and the fate of England hangs in the balance in this entrancing novel that is atmospheric and lyrical, dangerous and romantic.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Chantress?

It took me five years to write Chantress, and part of what kept me going was that I had so much fun diving into its world - a wild and dark not-quite London of long ago, full of dangerous music and magic and devious doings. But a story-world needs people to bring it alive, so my very favorite thing about Chantress actually might be the part that came hardest to me: the romance between Lucy and Nat. They weren't people to look for shortcuts, and as an author I didn't give them an easy time of it. If they were meant for each other, I needed them to prove it. And in the end they did. While there's plenty of adventure and intrigue in Chantress, it's also a love story about two very different people who find their way to each other.

Purchase Chantress at Amazon
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View Chantress on Goodreads

* * * *

Reboot
by Amy Tintera
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/7/2013

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren's favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she's ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he's always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there's something about him she can't ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line-or she'll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she'll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Reboot?

My favorite thing about REBOOT is writing about characters who are viewed as "evil." In the book, Reboots are enslaved by humans because they think they're soulless monsters. I thought it would interesting to tell a story from the point of the view of the monster, not the person running from them.

Creating my main character, Wren, in a world where everyone thinks she is the worst of the monsters was especially fun. I liked getting to explore a character who wasn't sure if she was good or bad, and what would happen when someone came along who truly made her consider her own emotions and feelings.

Purchase Reboot at Amazon
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View Reboot on Goodreads

* * * *

Riptide
by Lindsey Scheibe
Paperback
Flux
Released 5/8/2013

Grace has one summer to prove she's good enough

For Grace Parker, surfing is all about the ride and the moment. Everything else disappears. She can forget that her best friend, Ford Watson, has a crush on her that she can't reciprocate. She can forget how badly she wants to get a surf scholarship to UC San Diego. She can forget the pressure of her parents' impossibly high expectations.

When Ford enters Grace into a surf competition-the only way she can impress the UCSD surfing scouts-she has one summer to train and prepare. Will she gain everything she's ever wanted or lose the only things that ever mattered?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Riptide?

Hmmm. That's a toughie. Besides hottie Ford?

I'd have to say I loved writing the surfing scenes. For me, it's almost like the setting is it's own character. The beach, the surfers, the sun, the spray of salt water crashing against surfboards. It's magical.

The first time I road a surfboard, I was a goner. Head over heels in love with it. I surfed in Galveston, Texas growing up. So all the surfers in the US with better waves might be thinking how can you surf Galveston? Well, you can. The water might be a little browner and the waves choppier, but in the winter the waves get better. And tropical storms always help kick the waves up a notch, too. And yes, I can remember being on the beach before a tropical storm hit and hearing the local lifeguards going up and down the beach telling everyone to get out of the water because there was a tropical storm coming in.

I've surfed in Maui, Oahu, and Saladita, Mexico - all very beautiful places to surf. I've been landlocked for several years and for a while was pretty into rock climbing.

Writing Riptide and enjoying memories of what made surfing and the beach magical was a blast.

Purchase Riptide at Amazon
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View Riptide on Goodreads

* * * *

Fifteenth Summer
by Michelle Dalton
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
Released 5/7/2013

Love blossoms by the lake in this sweet summer romance, in the tradition of Seventeeth Summer and Sixteenth Summer.Chelsea isn't looking forward to her summer at the lake. It's the first time her family has been there since her grandmother died, and she can't break out of her funk. But her summer takes a turn for the better when she meets a boy who works in the bookstore. Josh is cute, sweet, funny-and best of all, seems to like her as much as she likes him. As the days pass by in a blur of boat rides, picnics, and stolen kisses, she can't believe how lucky she is. No one has ever made her feel so special, or so beautiful.

But Chelsea knows her days with Josh are numbered. She'll be heading home at the end of the summer-and he'll be staying behind. Will this be Chelsea's summer of love? Or will it be the summer of her broken heart?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Fifteenth Summer?

When I write, my first inspiration is almost always the setting. Maybe that's weird, I know many writers start with, you know, the characters. Anyway, in FIFTEENTH SUMMER, the season is really part of the setting. We're different in the summertime. We give our brains a rest and we daydream and read and doze. And we get to be more physical, more sensual, with all that swimming and hiking and heat, watermelon and barbecue and ice pops. It's the most luxurious time to fall in love. So many concerns of daily life are set aside and you can just be. I love how, because she's away from home, living in a quirky town on a lake, and because it's summer, Chelsea gets the space to just feel so intensely. She feels this cathartic grief for her grandmother and mad swooning for Josh are cathartic. We're all so, so busy. You've got a summer job or internship, or you have your reading list for school or even just the constancy of your social life and online life--it can be exhausting. So I think the simplicity of this kind of summer, which in part makes Chelsea and Josh's intense love possible, is appealing to everyone.

Purchase Fifteenth Summer at Amazon
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View Fifteenth Summer on Goodreads

* * * *

The End Games
by T. Michael Martin
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 5/7/2013

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of "Bellows"-creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors-survivors who don't play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

T. Michael Martin's debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The End Games?

I'm proud of a lot of things in The End Games, including its action and sense of place, and the way it tries to grapple with the spiritual questions that arise from an apocalyptic event.

But my favorite thing is the relationship between the book's main characters, two brothers named Michael and Patrick. Michael is seventeen and Patrick is five, and the book began, really, as a kind
of love letter to my own little brother. I named the characters after us, because even though the fictional Michael and Patrick are very different from us, I wanted to examine the particular kind of
protective love I've always felt for my brother. It was a relationship I'd never quite seen in YA, and I've been so thrilled that early reviews of the book have mentioned that they found the relationship a convincing and powerful one. For all its spooky action and terror and laughter, The End Games is fundamentally the story of a love shared between siblings at the end of the world, and I hope that
readers will find the relationship as fun to read as I found it to write.

Purchase The End Games at Amazon
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View The End Games on Goodreads

MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

* * * *

Mystic
by Alyson Noel
Hardcover
St. Martin''s Griffin
Released 5/7/2013

Since arriving in Enchantment, New Mexico, everything in Daire Santos life has changed. And not all for the better. While she's come to accept and embrace her new powers as a Soul Seeker, Daire struggles with the responsibility she holds navigating between the worlds of the living and the dead. And with the fate of her boyfriend Dace in the balance, Daire must put aside her personal feelings and focus on defeating Cade, whose evil plans threaten everyone she loves and the world as she knows it.
MYSTIC is the third book in The Soul Seekers, a magnificent new series about a girl who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noel.

Purchase Mystic at Amazon
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View Mystic on Goodreads

* * * *

If I Should Die
by Amy Plum
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/7/2013

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France's immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn't be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he's not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we've already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying-to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others-so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Purchase If I Should Die at Amazon
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View If I Should Die on Goodreads

* * * *

Invisibility
by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan
Hardcover
Philomel
Released 5/7/2013

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life - because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen's mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen's NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don't go as planned, especially when Stephen's grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they're willing to make for Stephen to become visible - because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

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The Originals
by Cat Patrick
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 5/7/2013

A riveting new story from Cat Patrick, author of Forgotten and Revived.

17-year-olds Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey Best grew up as identical triplets... until they discovered a shocking family secret. They're actually closer than sisters, they're clones. Hiding from a government agency that would expose them, the Best family appears to consist of a single mother with one daughter named Elizabeth. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey take turns going to school, attending social engagements, and a group mindset has always been a de facto part of life...

Then Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, a guy who seems to see into her very soul. As their relationship develops, Lizzie realizes that she's not a carbon copy of her sisters; she's an individual with unique dreams and desires, and digging deeper into her background, Lizzie begins to dismantle the delicate balance of an unusual family that only science could have created.

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15 Days Without a Head
by Dave Cousins
Paperback
Flux
Released 5/8/2013

A compelling US debut about family, forgiveness, and hope

Despite having a depressed alcoholic mother and a little brother who's convinced he's a dog, fifteen year-old Laurence Roach is trying to live a normal life. But when his mom doesn't come home after work one night, Laurence is terrified that child services will find out she's gone and separate him from his brother.

For two weeks, Laurence does whatever he can to keep her disappearance a secret. Spinning a web of complicated lies for friends, neighbors, and the authorities, Laurence even dresses like his mother to convince everyone she's still around. By following clues, the brothers are finally able to track down their mother's whereabouts. And that's when the real trouble begins in this powerful story about what it means to be a family.

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Reluctant Assassin
by Eoin Colfer
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 5/7/2013

Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick.

In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.

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Game On
by James LaRosa & Monica Seles
Hardcover
Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition
Released 5/7/2013

The Academy is an International Sports Mecca for teen athletes of all sports. There are only two ways in. Deep pockets or enough talent to score a scholarship.

Young tennis star Maya's dreams have finally come true when she earns a scholarship to The Academy. Plucked from her small town, Maya moves to the sports training facility/boarding school to (hopefully) start the beginning of her pro career. But Maya's fantasy of The Academy doesn't quite match the reality. Because where there are hot, talented teens, there's a lot of drama. Meet the players:

Cleo: Maya's rebel/punk roommate who is nearing the top of the golf world.
Renee: The gorgeous swimmer with enough money to buy her way into The Academy.
Nicole: A tennis star who feels threatened by Maya (but she'd never admit it).
Travis: The son of The Academy owner--perfectly groomed to be the next NFL star.
Jake: Travis' younger brother--the bad boy to his brother's good.

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Maid of Secrets
by Jennifer McGowan
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released 5/7/2013

Seventeen-year-old Meg Fellowes is a wry, resourceful thief forced to join an elite group of female spies in Queen Elizabeth's Court. There she must solve a murder, save the Crown, and resist the one thing that will become her greatest freedom-and her deadliest peril.

For Meg and her fellow spies are not alone in their pursuit of the murderer who stalks Windsor Castle.

A young, mysterious Spanish courtier, Count Rafe de Martine, appears at every turn in the dark and scandal-filled corridors of the Queen's summer palace. And though secrets and danger are Meg's stock-in-trade, she's never bargained on falling in love.

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How My Summer Went Up in Flames
by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
Released 5/7/2013

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she's on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel's packed with drama and romance!

Rosie's always been impulsive. She didn't intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend's car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she's served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she's heartbroken-and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie's parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie's spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new.

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Nantucket Blue
by Leila Howland
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 5/7/2013

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she'll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn't.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it's the things Cricket hadn't counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

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Icons
by Margaret Stohl
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 5/7/2013

Your heart beats only with their permission.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.

Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future.

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Thorn Abbey
by Nancy Ohlin
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
Released 5/7/2013

Nothing is as it seems in this darkly romantic tale of infatuation and possession, inspired by Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.Becca was the perfect girlfriend: smart, gorgeous, and loved by everyone at New England's premier boarding school, Thorn Abbey. But Becca's dead. And her boyfriend, Max, can't get over his loss.

Then Tess transfers to Thorn Abbey. She's shy, insecure, and ordinary-everything that Becca wasn't. And despite her roommate's warnings, she falls for brooding Max.

Now Max finally has a reason to move on. Except it won't be easy. Because Becca may be gone, but she's not quite ready to let him go.

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The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
Hardcover
Putnam Juvenile
Released 5/7/2013

The Passage meets Ender's Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

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Savage Blue
by Zoraida Cordova
Hardcover
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/7/2013

The ocean is a vicious place. Deeper and darker than Tristan could have imagined. Beneath its calm blue surface, an ancient battle is churning—and no one is safe.

In the quest for the Sea Throne, Tristan has already watched one good friend die. Now he must lead the rest on a dangerous voyage in search of the trident that will make him king. But while Tristan chases his destiny, the dark forces racing against him are getting stronger, and the sea witch of his nightmares is getting closer.

Battling sea dragons and savage creatures of the deep, Tristan needs his friends' support. But they each have their secrets, and a betrayal will force Tristan to choose between his crown and his best friend Layla—the only girl he's ever loved.

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Character Bucket List: Zenn from Christian Schoon's ZENN SCARLETT

2013-05-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

(THEME MUSIC UP AND UNDER)

Announcer: Hello and thanks for joining us for this edition of “What’s on YOUR Bucket List?” here on the Sol-Sys Holo-Cast Net. Today, we’re coming to you live from Mars. We’re at the Ciscan Cloister Exoveterinarian training clinic, on the outskirts of Arsia City, in the deep end of the Valles Marinaris canyon system. Today’s guest is Zenn Scarlett, a young woman in her novice year of exovet training at the cloister. So Novice Zenn, tell us…. say it with me, everybody… “What’s on YOUR Bucket List?”

Zenn: All right… this is a little weird, but the main thing I want out of life right now… is to get a message shard from my dad. Or any kind of message. He’s a lawyer out in the Enchara colony which is, like, 60 light years away. And he’s sort of just dropped off the map lately. We, um… we argued right before he left. I really wish now we hadn’t done that. But he kept at me about how I was too young to start my novice year of training, that it would be too dangerous. I said I was more than ready. And I am! I’ve tagged along with Uncle Otha on his rounds to treat the alien animals here at the clinic since I was old enough to walk. I already know more than most third year students. Anyway, we haven’t heard anything from my dad for a couple of months, and I’m getting a little worried. Just a little. But still.

Announcer: Well, we all know that communications from the Outer Reaches have been a little spotty lately. We all hope you hear from him soon. So, moving along, what’s next on your list?

Zenn: Well, I’d like to pass my end of term tests and move up from Novice Second Order to Novice First Order.

Announcer: Tests! I hated tests! Tell us, what will they be grilling you about?

Zenn: Actually, the first one is pretty simple: a medicinal eye-wash for a Mu Arae whalehound.

Announcer: A whalehound? Those things are pretty big, aren’t they? Huge, really. Maybe your dad was right… about the danger thing.

Zenn: Whalehounds are about 80 feet long. But we’ve got bigger animals here at the cloister. And hounds aren’t really a threat to humans. Like most animals, you just need to use a little common sense and stay safe around them. We’ll gentle him down using the general sedation field, then I’ll climb up onto his muzzle wearing a tank-pack filled with antibiotic solution and rinse his infected eye. Shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.

Announcer: All righty… if you say so... Next item?

Zenn: I’d seriously like to get some straight answers from Liam Tucker. About why he’s seems to be hanging around so much lately.

Announcer: Ah, a boy enters the picture! What a surprise. Let me guess: he’s about your age, and he’s kinda good looking?

Zenn: Well, yes, he’s my age. But good looking? I’d never say that. He’s hard enough to put up with already… Anyway, he’s a towner boy, one of the few towners who comes out to the cloister on a regular basis. Most people in town don’t like us. Well, they don’t like that we keep big, alien creatures at the cloister compound. Anyway, Liam’s suddenly started showing a real interest in the animals here. Which is great. But odd. I mean, he’s had a rough life so far. His mom ran off with a perma-frost miner, left him on his own. Just doesn’t strike me as someone who would want to learn about off-world animals. Sister Hild says he’s actually more interested in talking to me than finding out about whalehounds or Kiran sunkillers… you know… that he’s being “friendly”, teen boy hormones and all that. I really couldn’t say. But either way, it’s kind of annoying, and I don’t really have time right now to figure him out. I need to focus on school.

Announcer: Probably a good idea. So, another thing you’d like to check off your list?

Zenn: I’d really like a passing grade on my second test. That’s an in-soma pod insertion on a Tanduan swamp sloo.

Announcer: Right. For our viewers who aren’t familiar: just what is an in-soma pod?

Zenn: It’s a self-propelled medical vehicle, three feet wide, eight feet long, shaped like a big pumpkin seed. We use it for doing internal exams and treatments on the biggest animals. Like our swamp sloo. She’s about 200 feet long, 50 or sixty feet high, kind of like a prehistoric Earther plesiosaur crossed with a giant ant eater… So, the exovet lies down inside the pod, and the lid is sealed. Then, the pod is either inserted into the animal, or the animal is encouraged to swallow it. I can control the pod once I’m inside the patient, and make examinations, administer meds, or scan nearby organs as the pod enters the esophagus and passes through the gastro-intestinal tract.

Announcer: Better you than me! (Laughs nervously). I’m almost afraid to ask what else you want to do before you die!

Zenn: I’d like to have a chance to treat a Stonehorse. You know, a Lithohippus indra. These creatures are just so remarkable.

Announcer: Well, everyone is familiar with indras, of course. There wouldn’t be star travel without them, would there?

Zenn: Yes, that’s just it. To evolve the ability to tunnel through space-time, to move an entire starship across a dozen light years in the blink of an eye. Their biology is just so incredible. It kind of gives me chills every time I think about even being around one them. And with the recent disappearances of indra-powered ships, well, it’s a serious problem, and we need to figure out what’s causing it. So, yes, I’d want to add that to my list: to someday have the chance to help solve the mystery of the vanishing indra ships.

Announcer: Wouldn’t that be amazing? All I can say is I hope you get your chance. Now, time for just one more bucket listable.

Zenn: All right. I’d like to somehow be able to make people understand that just because an animal is different, you know, big or strange looking or kind of scary or… alien… that these animals deserve basic, humane treatment. They deserve to live lives free of pain or fear. They have a right not to be hunted, or caged up or exploited or treated like they don’t feel the same pain or terror or longing to be with their own kind that humans feel!

Announcer: Well, that’s admirable, Zenn. Of course, I’m not sure the New Law faction that’s gaining power on Earth these days would agree with you. They’re pretty adamant about the fact that it was aliens who brought the Orinoco virus to Earth. After the chaos that caused, the New Law seem to think we’d all be better off if there were simply… no aliens anywhere, ever.

Zenn: But that’s just it! There’s no scientific basis for thinking like that! The origin of the Orinoco has never been established. There’s zero proof it was carried by alien animals and—

Announcer: Well, I’m afraid we’ve ventured into a subject that’s a little above my pay grade. And, unfortunately, we’re out of time! So that’ll wrap it up for today. I’d like to thank our guest, Zenn Scarlett, and wish her all the luck in the universe during her novice year here at the cloister exovet clinic. Sounds like she’ll need it! Now, be sure to tune in tomorrow as I go aboard the starship Kiran Pride. Be there as I gain admittance to the sanctum sanctorum of the indra pilot room to ask astro-navigator Thendra Reth Cannia “What’s on YOUR Bucket List?” B’bye for now!

(THEME MUSIC UP AND UNDER, FADE OUT.)

About the Book

Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.

But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.

Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be.

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About the Author

Born in the American Midwest, Christian started his writing career in earnest as an in-house writer at the Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. He then became a freelance writer working for various film, home video and animation studios in Los Angeles. After moving from LA to a farmstead near Iowa City several years ago, he continues to freelance and also now helps re-hab wildlife and foster abused/neglected horses. He acquired his amateur-vet knowledge, and much of his inspiration for the Zenn Scarlett series of novels, as he learned about - and received an education from - these remarkable animals.

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Where Do You Get Your Inspiration? by Gina Damico

2013-05-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

I get asked this all the time. In every Q&A session. In emails from readers. Sometimes people bang on my bedroom window as I'm trying to sleep, slamming their fists onto the glass like brain-hungry zombies, droning, "INSPIRAAAATIONNNN..."

Well, here's my professional author tip: you can't just pick up inspiration in bulk from your local Costco. (Second professional tip: zombie juices are impossible to clean, even with Windex.) You can't schedule inspiration into your calendar--at least, I can't. I can't sit down at my computer with a blank screen and force myself to pluck an idea out of thin air. It just doesn't work that way.

Want to know how I came up with the idea for the CROAK series, about a bunch of teenage grim reapers? People like to think that I spent all my free time moping around cemeteries and/or interning at a morgue and/or dragging a dead body around with me everywhere, Weekend-At-Bernie's style. But no. The idea for Croak didn't arise from any sort of preoccupation with death. It came from a particularly boring day at my job at a bread store.

Bread! The most un-death like food of all! But we had no customers, nothing to do, and the girl I was working with wasn't a stellar conversationalist. So I did what I always do when I'm bored: a crossword puzzle. And then it happened, just like that. The idea of a grim reaper teaching his teenage niece the family business--it all just popped into my head while I was thinking of a seven-letter world for something that probably had nothing to do with death at all.

That, more than anything, seems to be the consistent theme in how I get inspired: nothingness. Let me tell you when my best ideas came to me and what I was doing when they came: driving a car down a desolate highway. Riding a subway and staring at the ads. Aimlessly wandering around a bookstore and catching a single word out of the corner of my eye. See, your brain is like flypaper--most of the time it's just flapping around in the breeze, being all gross and unpleasant to look at, but every once in a while it'll catch something, with almost no effort from you at all.

Of course, books don't just jump, fully-formed, into your head. There's a lot (a lot, A LOT) of work you have to do after that initial spark. But here's a good litmus test to see whether it's a good spark or a bad spark: wait. Don't write anything immediately after the idea comes to you (or write the gist of the idea down, but no more than that). Now go do something else.

Can you not stop thinking about it? Have the possibilities overwhelmed you, like the always-daunting Cheesecake Factory menu? How long does it take for you to give in, run up to your computer, and dive in to chapter one? If it's less than twenty-four hours, you may have something there. If it's less than two, then you've definitely got something there. The minute I got home from the bread store, I started writing CROAK. The minute I got home from that long car ride, and that subway ride, I started writing. I had it: the itch. And the advice is same, whether for writing or for measles: if you have an itch, you really need to do something about it.

So if you want inspiration to strike, my advice is this: do nothing. Let your mind wander. You can keep your hands busy--knit a scarf, chop some onions--but allow your brain to think about whatever it wants. Or, if the thought of doing nothing scares you--or the thought of chopping onions without concentrating scares you--read a good book. Better yet, read a bad book. You'd be surprised how much motivation can come from reading a piece of crap and thinking, "Well, there are a couple of interesting ideas here, but you know what would be even more interesting?"

And just like that, your book about zombie-juice cleaning products is born.

About the Author

Gina Damico grew up under four feet of snow in Syracuse, New York. She received a degree in theater and sociology from Boston College, where she was active with the Committee for Creative Enactments, a murder mystery improv comedy troupe, which may or may not have sparked an interest in wildly improbable bloodshed. She has since worked as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker and breadmonger. Croak was her first novel, Scorch is her second, and the third and final book in the trilogy will be out in Fall 2013. She lives in Boston with her husband, two cats, one dog, and a closet full of black hoodies.

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About the Book

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to Damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But now Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home. To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop all the senseless violence that she caused—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to the bloodshed?

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Ask a Million Questions: Worldbuilding by Kristin Bailey

2013-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

My favorite part of the craft of writing is building new worlds. I started out writing Science Fiction and Fantasy because there is nothing more challenging and fun that creating an entire world from scratch. I found the key to good world building is to ask a million questions. When starting from scratch, you have to question everything. What is the geography? What is the climate? Does the climate make sense for the geography? With the geography and climate, what resources are available to people who live there? How would animals adapt to this climate? Given the resources, what social structure would be most likely to develop in a society there? How does this influence the politics? How does this influence the history of the area? And on and on it goes.

I was scared at first of writing what is primarily a historical novel, because I was used to being able to mold and flex all the pieces of the puzzle in my made up worlds. Dealing with fixed historical constraints seemed daunting but as I got into the process, I found it worked the same way. I still had to ask a million questions, only now, I had to look up the answers to make all the pieces work. Some of the questions I had to address when creating my secret order of underground inventors were, why must they remain secret? What benefits come from being a part of this society? How do they distribute these benefits within the Order? How do people become a part of the Order? Where do they meet? Who leads them? Where do they get the strange parts for their machines? Why would the workers who make the parts of the machines keep secret as well? Where does the ore and raw materials for the parts of the machines come from? Would the foundry that makes these parts have access to shipping channels so they have access to these materials?

And again, the questions never stop. I remember having to actively look up what a poor girl in Victorian London might reasonably wear to bed. I also ended up discovering the volume of horse poo that was hauled out of London daily in the 1800s. It was staggering, for the record. I came across that little tidbit while trying to determine the stamina of a horse moving at a fast trot. I had to line these constraints up against historical maps, then look into the climate and geography of the new areas of England I wandered into. It takes a remarkable amount of work to do it well, and every novel, from magic-based fantasy to contemporary drama, needs this level of scrutiny in how the world of the book is created.

So, here are my overall tips.

1. Take nothing for granted. Every detail that you focus on as a point in the book deserves careful consideration to make sure it makes sense with the whole of what you are writing.

2. Research is your best friend. Start with researching the big picture, then narrow your focus down to the detail you are trying to address. Keeping an eye on the big picture of your research helps when you have to decide what details are significant, and what ones can be placed in the background.

3. Try to look ahead and determine what you are going to need from your world. This can be difficult for people who write without outlining and prefer to write in the moment, but it is hard to be in the moment if you have to stop and wonder if the pieces of your world fit together every three paragraphs. The pitfall of not looking ahead is either world building that doesn't make sense, but is convenient to the plot, or a frustrating manuscript that can't ever be wrestled into shape because the pieces don't fit.

So good luck building beautiful and fascinating societies and worlds, from the interior of high schools, to alternate history fantasy worlds set in the future.

Good world building is the foundation for all of them, so keep asking those questions.

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 some really plump little fish and a pair of snails who are secretly ninja assassins.

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.

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About the Book

My head swam. I couldn't move my feet. I tried to breathe. The stays of my corset gripped too tight. I just couldn't breathe.

Desperate, I ran down the lane, but the fog confused me. I found myself in a small and quiet square. There was no place to run. I turned to face my attacker.

A man in a dark coat stalked down the lane beneath the skeletal trees. His face remained hidden behind his high collar and the brim of his hat. The mist swirled around him as he slowly raised the gun.

I was going to die.

When a fire consumes Meg's home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key only Meg can use— that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg has no choice but to follow. She has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect, and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg will be swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny.

Buy Legacy of the Clockwork Key on Amazon
Buy Legacy of the Clockwork Key on Indiebound
Find Legacy of the Clockwork Key on Goodreads

Memorable Openings by Cecilia Robert

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone, I am over at the Enchanted Inkpot today with a post about free online tools and tips for plot development and getting over writer's block. Please stop by and say hello once you've finished the guest post below from Celia Robert.

Happy writing,

Martina

In most cases, our senses lead the way for us, letting us know if something is worth our attention or not. This goes for the first lines of stories as well. The key to having a great first line is to hook the reader and have him/her turn page after page. It acts as an appetizer. It can help set up the tone of the book and describe where the story is taking place. It is always a good idea to open that first line with the main character in order to familiarize the reader. The best advice I can give anyone is write a line that instantly grabs the reader, makes him/her curious, and leaves an impression. Something memorable. This doesn’t mean hitting the reader with an action scene at the beginning, and then two paragraphs later make them wonder what happened all of a sudden.

Some of my favourite first lines:

I greeted his tombstone the way I always did—with a swift kick. ~COLORS LIKE MEMORIES by Meradeth Houston

This line drew me in. I was curious to know why she kicked someone’s tombstone. The mood I found on this one was maybe the character was frustrated, but I wanted to know why.

It was the biggest night of my life, but all I could think about was my cheetah bra. ~BITTERSWEET by Sarah Ockler

I loved this one because of the contrast between it being the biggest night of the character’s life and her cheetah bra. I really wanted to know why she was looking for it. And besides, the comparison between life and bra made me smile.

It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure. ~DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

This opening had me curious. I knew that this book was about love, but that it is declared a disease had my curiosity meter rolling. Why would love, one of the strongest emotions of all, be declared a disease?

What do you think about first lines of the novel? Do you have any memorable ones?

About the Author

Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, anything romantic, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.

Cecilia's Blog
Follow Cecilia on Twitter

About the Book

17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

Buy Reaper's Novice on Amazon
Find Reaper's Novice on Goodreads

Question of the Week - What are your essential writing tools?

2013-04-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

Submissions for the next Pitch+250 Contest will be accepted starting today at 3:00pm Eastern time. The submission window will close on May 3rd at 11:00pm Eastern time, or when we receive 100 submissions, whichever comes first. The entries will consist of a pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your manuscript. Please note that the pitch word limit has been lowered. Think logline, not query. Click here for the contest info. Find out about our fabulous judges here!

April 28, 2013

Question of the Week
What are your essential writing tools?

We all have our favorite writing tool, whether it be a book on craft, or computer software, or index cards. An ergonomic chair, perhaps. An MP3 player loaded with motivational music. A specific mug filled with a specific tea. It’s something that, once discovered, we can’t imagine how we had ever written without it. What writing tools do you consider to be essential?

My answer: Because my family is crazybusy and sometimes I have to write wherever and whenever I can, I cannot be dependent on a specific place or certain conditions in order to write. However, one thing I can’t imagine writing without is Scrivener writing software by Literature and Latte. Coming in a close second is Freedom software, which turns off my laptop’s internet connection for a length of time so I won’t be distracted by email and Twitter. When I’m away from home, I make heavy use of my smartphone’s Evernote app. I use it to jot down ideas for both my current and future manuscripts, and sometimes I even write complete scenes on it. When I return home, all I have to do is sync my notes to my laptop. Easy peasy. My only low-tech essential tool would have to be my knit, rainbow-striped slipper socks. Because, as everyone knows, cold feet block the flow of creativity.

YOUR TURN: What are your essential writing tools?

This Week for Writers 4/27/13 - Pubtips, Inspiration, Writing Craft, Industry News & More

2013-04-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

New Releases 4/26-5/3 Plus SEVEN Giveaways!

2013-04-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

Submissions for the next Pitch+250 Contest will be accepted starting on Sunday, April 28th at 3:00pm Eastern time. The submission window will close on May 3rd at 11:00pm Eastern time, or when we receive 100 submissions, whichever comes first. The entries will consist of a pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your manuscript. Please note that the pitch word limit has been lowered. Think logline, not query. Click here for the contest info. Find out about our fabulous judges here!

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

* * * *

The Last Academy
by Anne Applegate
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Point
Released 5/1/2013

Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Last Academy?

My favorite thing about The Last Academy is how the relationship with Camden and Mark ends up. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say I like what they learn from each other, and how those lessons play out for them. I also loved the setting of the school itself. When I was fourteen, I left home for boarding school. It was interesting to go back to those memories as an adult. Especially when there were weird overlaps between my reality and theirs -- Camden and Mark meet up by a fateful old phone booth very much like one I used to frequent when I wanted to place a call and needed a little privacy.

Purchase The Last Academy at Amazon
Purchase The Last Academy at IndieBound
View The Last Academy on Goodreads

* * * *

How I Lost You
by Janet Gurtler
Paperback Giveaway
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/1/2013

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about How I Lost You?

I love that the main character, Grace, is a really strong female lead. She's nurturing and very protective of her best friend which gives her blinders
sometimes, but at her core, she's pretty kick butt. Like most of us, she just needs to figure that out for herself. There are twists and there are
boys, but to me, in the end it's a girl power story. From within.

Purchase How I Lost You at Amazon
Purchase How I Lost You at IndieBound
View How I Lost You on Goodreads

* * * *

The Boyfriend App
by Katie Sise
Hardcover Giveaway
Balzer + Bray
Released 4/30/2013

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can't wait to get out of high school. Her father's death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler - and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she's the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Boyfriend App?

I'm going to answer this one twice! :) My favorite thing about The Boyfriend App as a book is that it features a whip-smart, loyal, and kind protagonist with a tight-knit group of similarly loyal and kind friends.

My favorite thing about The Boyfriend App as a whole is that my dad loves it. He hadn't read any fiction that I wrote before this (not since I was a little kid, at least!) and he didn't know what to expect. I waited until I had a galley to show him. Getting the phone call from him after he read the book for the first time is my absolute favorite part of the process! I even wrote down what he said and taped it next to my computer to look at any time I get stuck writing the follow-up book to The Boyfriend App. At the end of the day, not everyone is going to like what you write. But if the people you love do, and if you loved the moments you spent writing it, then that's pretty awesome.

Purchase The Boyfriend App at Amazon
Purchase The Boyfriend App at IndieBound
View The Boyfriend App on Goodreads

* * * *

Absent
by Katie Williams
Hardcover Plus Swag Giveaway
Chronicle Books
Released 4/30/2013

Forever is a long time to be stuck in high school.

Seventeen-year-old Paige is dead, the victim of a freak fall from the roof during Physics class. Now she's a ghost, permanently bound to the grounds of her high school. It isn't all bad, she can find out everyone's secrets, which can be amusing - for a while. But then Paige hears something that isn't amusing at all: the
rumor spread by the most popular girl at school that her death wasn't an accident - that she supposedly jumped on purpose. Paige is desperate to stop the gossip, but what can a ghost do?
Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess living people when they think of her, and she can make them do almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get inside the girl who's responsible for the stories. . . and have a little fun turning the tables while she's at it.

Katie Williams's second novel is a suspenseful page-turner full of eerie wit and a touch of the otherworldly

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Absent?

This is going to sound small and silly, but I love the ghost frogs in my book. The high school in ABSENT has trapped the ghosts of things that have died within its boundaries, including the frogs chloroformed for dissection in biology class. So every once in a while, Paige and her friends will come across hopping, croaking ghost frogs. ABSENT isn't a comedy; in fact, it deals with serious subject matter, which is maybe why I like the touch of grim humor the ghost frogs bring. At one point during the revision process, I thought we were going to have to cut them because my editor pointed out that frogs wouldn't have the presence of mind to walk on constructed ground--this is something the ghosts in my book have to practice--but then we figured they'd just sink through to the dirt-floor basement, a fitting place for ghost frogs to be!

Purchase Absent at Amazon
Purchase Absent at IndieBound
View Absent on Goodreads

* * * *

Identity Theft
by Anna Davies
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Point
Released 5/1/2013

The third title in our exciting relaunch of Point Horror!

Hayley is going to have the best year ever. After years of careful planning, she's ready to serve as student council president AND editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Ivy League, here she comes!

However, just before student council elections, someone creates a fake facebook profile for Hayley and starts posting inappropriate photos and incriminating updates. It must be the work of a highly skilled Photoshopper, but the attention to detail is scary. The embarrassing photos of "Hayley" in her bathing suit reveal a birthmark on her back--a birth mark Hayley has never shown in public. . . .

The situation escalates until Hayley's mother reveals some shocking information. Hayley isn't an only child: She has a twin sister who was adopted by a different family. And that's not all. Soon, Hayley discovers that her long-lost sister isn't just playing a prank--she's plotting to take over Hayley's life . . . by any means necessary.

Purchase Identity Theft at Amazon
Purchase Identity Theft at IndieBound
View Identity Theft on Goodreads

* * * *

I'm With Stupid
by Geoff Herbach
Paperback Giveaway
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/1/2013

"We have problems, but we're so lucky, too. That's the mortal coil. It's the whole thing, all of it, and it's easy to hate that mess in yourself, fight it, hate those who seem to cause it. But, whoever we sit next to in school is the same and whatever jerk you read about on ESPN is the same and whoever honks their horn at you at the intersection is the same. They struggle. Do you know what I mean? They suffer, too. We aren't alone. [...] We can act. Maybe not fix everything. But we can make it better for those others and that makes it better for us. I see it. I've seen it. Good comes back around."

Felton made me cry three times in the final installment in what may be one of the best YA series out there. I saw what happened to him coming, and it tore me up because I just like this character so damn much.

Longer review to come -- really, the quote up there says it all.

Purchase I''m With Stupid at Amazon
Purchase I''m With Stupid at IndieBound
View I''m With Stupid on Goodreads

* * * *

Defriended
by Ruth Baron
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Scholastic Inc.
Released 5/1/2013

A friend request from beyond the grave . . .

Jason has met the perfect girl. OK, so maybe he hasn't actually MET Lacey yet, but they talk online all the time. Yet despite spending most nights chatting, Lacey refuses to meet up in person. Suspicious, Jason starts googling, and his cyberstalking leads to a shocking discovery: According to multiple newspapers, Lacey died a year earlier.

Soon, Jason finds himself enmeshed in a disturbing mystery. Has he found a way to iChat with the dead? Or is someone playing a dangerous trick? Either way, Jason has to discover the truth before it's too late. You can't put up away messages from beyond the grave. . . .

Purchase Defriended at Amazon
Purchase Defriended at IndieBound
View Defriended on Goodreads

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

* * * *

Quintana of Charyn
by Melina Marchetta
Hardcover Giveaway (3 Copies)
Candlewick
Released 4/23/2013

Winners: Heidi Grange, The Magic Violinist, BN100

The climactic conclusion of Printz Award winner Melina Marchetta's epic fantasy trilogy!

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi and his companions travel through Charyn searching for Quintana and building an army that will secure her unborn child's right to rule. While in the valley between two kingdoms, Quintana of Charyn and Isaboe of Lumatere come face-to-face in a showdown that will result in heartbreak for one and power for the other. The complex tangle of bloodlines, politics, and love introduced in Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles coalesce into an engrossing climax in this final volume.

Purchase Quintana of Charyn at Amazon
Purchase Quintana of Charyn at IndieBound
View Quintana of Charyn on Goodreads

* * * *

Pretty Dark Nothing
by Heather L Reid
Signed Paperback Giveaway
Month9Books, LLC
Released 4/23/2013

Winner: Zeena

It's been twenty three days since Quinn has slept for more than minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her, and whispering of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life. Energy drinks and caffeine pills don't make a dent. When Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. The demons are determined to keep them apart, and Aaron from discovering the secret locked away in his memory. Together, they could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Pretty Dark Nothing?

Pretty Dark Nothing is full of demons, and I don't mean the hot fallen angel, bad boy types. These demons are the evil, hairy, sulphurous kind, bent on manipulating and destroying Quinn's life. They feed on her insecurity and magnify her fragile emotional state. She's not sure if she's going crazy or if they're real, all she knows is that she wants her old life back, to go back to being popular and in control, but the demons have other plans for her. What I loved most about Pretty Dark Nothing was writing the juxtaposition of Quinn fighting a private, frightening war with her demons while trying to navigate the reality of her contemporary high school life and keep it all together. She's gone from being popular and in control of her life to being plagued by nightmares of demons and she doesn't know why. She doesn't trust herself and fears she might be going crazy which makes her feel isolated and alone. She wants to reach out, but doesn't quite know how. While she struggles with an emotional internal battle, she still has to deal with family, friends, rivals, grades and a cheating ex-boyfriend. Throw in some romantic sparks with a mysterious psychic amnesic named Aaron, all while the demons are pushing her to the brink of madness, and I hope it's a recipe for something darkly paranormal and not quite typical. I won't give anything away, but I love the ending and can't wait to see her rising from the ashes in book 2.

Purchase Pretty Dark Nothing at Amazon
Purchase Pretty Dark Nothing at IndieBound
View Pretty Dark Nothing on Goodreads

* * * *

The Rules
by Stacey Kade
Hardcover Giveaway
Hyperion Book CH
Released 4/23/2013

Winner: Candice Conner

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don't get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don't fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane's survival-and that of her adoptive father-depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) "project."

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief's son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening-and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Rules?

I loved seeing the relationship develop between Ariane and Zane. I had fun with that, as neither one of them were expecting it and it certainly made things more difficult for both of them at times. I feel like people come into our lives at just the right time to shape our journey or nudge us along a slightly different path, and that's what I hope comes across through their relationship.

Also, though I know people will hate her, I had so much fun with Rachel. It is really very freeing to have the chance to unleash your worst impulses, to do things you would never do, through a fictional character. Sometimes, it feels good to be bad. ;)

Purchase The Rules at Amazon
Purchase The Rules at IndieBound
View The Rules on Goodreads

MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

* * * *

Anthem for Jackson Dawes
by Celia Bryce
Hardcover
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Released 4/30/2013

When Megan arrives on the cancer ward for her first treatment, she's frustrated to be on the pediatric unit. There's only one other teen there: Jackson Dawes. He's cute, rebellious . . . and obnoxiously charming. Megan can't stand the way he meets his illness with such positive energy. But when her own friends are scared off by her illness, Megan finds she doesn't really mind Jackson's playful antics. As they begin the tentative stirrings of first love, they also start the most aggressive round of treatments on their tumors. Can the power of first love overcome the heartbreak of cancer? Fans of Lurlene McDaniel will flock to this emotional debut.

Purchase Anthem for Jackson Dawes at Amazon
Purchase Anthem for Jackson Dawes at IndieBound
View Anthem for Jackson Dawes on Goodreads

* * * *

Our Song
by Jordanna Fraiburg
Hardcover
Razorbill
Released 5/2/2013

Olive Bell has spent her entire life in the beautiful suburb of Vista Valley, with a picture-perfect home, a loving family, and a seemingly perfect boyfriend. But after a near-fatal car accident, she's haunted by a broken heart and a melody that she cannot place.

Then Olive meets Nick. He's dark, handsome, mysterious . . . and Olive feels connected to him in a way she can't explain. Is there such a thing as fate? The two embark on a whirlwind romance - until Nick makes a troubling confession.

Heartbroken, Olive pieces together what really happened the night of her accident and arrives at a startling revelation. Only by facing the truth can she uncover the mystery behind the song and the power of what it means to love someone.

Purchase Our Song at Amazon
Purchase Our Song at IndieBound
View Our Song on Goodreads

* * * *

If He Had Been With Me
by Laura Nowlin
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 5/1/2013

If he had been with me, he wouldn't have died.

Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable - they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...

The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy.

Purchase If He Had Been With Me at Amazon
Purchase If He Had Been With Me at IndieBound
View If He Had Been With Me on Goodreads

* * * *

Gorgeous
by Paul Rudnick
Hardcover
Scholastic Press
Released 5/1/2013

Inner beauty wants out.

When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle's mother dies, she's summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world's top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He'll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he's producing a hidden camera show called World's Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she's remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself - an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness.

Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there's not enough magic in the world.

A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace, Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.

Purchase Gorgeous at Amazon
Purchase Gorgeous at IndieBound
View Gorgeous on Goodreads

* * * *

The Loop
by Shandy Lawson
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 4/30/2013

Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days - both the best and worst of their lives - they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate's clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie's only shot at not dying is surviving apart?

Purchase The Loop at Amazon
Purchase The Loop at IndieBound
View The Loop on Goodreads

* * * *

The Program
by Suzanne Young
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
Released 4/30/2013

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.
Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Purchase The Program at Amazon
Purchase The Program at IndieBound
View The Program on Goodreads

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Adventures in YA Publishing

Haunted South Spring Blog Carnival Winners!

Character Bucket List: Nisha Arvi from CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS by Miriam Forster

Where's the Magic? (There is No Magic.) by Amy McNamara

Tarot for Writers: Using Tarot to Find & Nurture Your Creative Muse by Sarah Ockler plus a HUGE Giveaway

Finding the Perfect First Sentence by Jessica Brody

Announcing the Top 25 for the May Pitch+250 Contest

Nine Agents Tell Us What They're Looking For (Plus Mash-Ups!)

This Week for Writers 5/11 - Pubtips, Giveaways, Writing Craft, Inspiration, Industry News & More

New YALit Releases 5/10-5/17 plus EIGHT Giveaways!

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Character Bucket List: Nesy from DOMINUS by Christine Fonseca plus THE GIRL GUIDE Giveaway!

Thank the Guy Who Punches You in the Teeth by Alexander Gordon Smith

The All Mighty Opening by Christian Schoon

Welcome to the Haunting South -- Win 9 Great Southern Gothics

Atmosphere in a Southern Gothic by Tessa Gratton

Announcing the Top 50 for the May Pitch+250 Contest

Question of the Week: Do You Set Writing Goals?

This Week for Writers 5/4/13: Pubtips, Craft, News, Trends, Inspiration and More

New Releases 5/3-5/10 Plus 3 Giveaways!

Hi Everyone,

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Character Bucket List: Zenn from Christian Schoon's ZENN SCARLETT

Where Do You Get Your Inspiration? by Gina Damico

Ask a Million Questions: Worldbuilding by Kristin Bailey

Memorable Openings by Cecilia Robert

Question of the Week - What are your essential writing tools?

Question of the Week What are your essential writing tools?

This Week for Writers 4/27/13 - Pubtips, Inspiration, Writing Craft, Industry News & More

New Releases 4/26-5/3 Plus SEVEN Giveaways!

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Question of the Week
What are your essential writing tools?