Adventures in YA Publishing

The Heroic Journey Every Writer Has to Face

2013-06-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path.” ~ Joseph Campbell

This is a guest post that I wrote for the Querytracker blog back in February, but I thought it would be a good time to repost it here. It's long, but please bear with me. I've been hearing a lot of people saying they want to give up, or that they're frustrated, or that they're discouraged. Believe it or not, that's NOT a bad thing.

Why is wanting to give up not a bad thing?

Because that means you have an opportunity.

Heroes Don't Quit.

The reason heroes succeed, often the only reason they succeed, where other people fail, is because THEY. DO. NOT. QUIT.

An Impetuous Decision

When I first decided to write a novel, I didn't stop to think where I was going or how long the journey was going to be. I simply wrote, because writing was something I had always wanted to do. And then I discovered that my novel needed—deserved—more than that.

My novel needed me to have a clue about what I was doing. Inconsequential things, you know, like um, structure and story elements and stuff. So yeah.

Knowing Where to Put Our Energy

As writers, we can try to reinvent the wheel, sure, but we will get farther faster if we start with a working wheel and then concentrate on making a different or, hopefully, better wheel.

Maybe a few of us are lucky enough to have taken English or Literature or Creative Writing in college. For the rest of us, learning the basics of crafting fiction is a do-it-yourself MFA program. These days, many of us are doing that program together. We make the same journey and blog about it en route, or share it with a handful of fellow travelers. Of course, some of us are trudging along on foot while others are in race cars.

But that's okay!

Everyone's pace is different. We can't compare our pace to anyone else's, or we'll break ourselves.

My pace? Think turtle crawl.

But I want to share something with you, and I hope it makes your own journey's easier.

Starting to Make Sense of It All

One of the first books of wisdom I encountered on the road was The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell. From there, I devoured Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey. As I was searching for a way to tighten up the framework of my manuscript, I began to correlate all the brilliant insight from these teachers and various other sources into something I called the Complications Worksheet. I go back to that worksheet each time I start a new project, and the other day while I was on the phone with the brilliant Angela Ackerman (co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus and The Bookshelf Muse blog, I had a revelation. The journey the hero takes in our manuscripts is essentially the same journey many of us take as writers.

THE ORDINARY WORLD

Here we are, bumbling through our careers and family lives, vaguely uneasy and unfulfilled but maybe not even aware that there's a void inside us, a gaping wound. Why haven't we written yet? It could be that we tried and failed, or that we had to get on with the business of making a living, or raising kids, or maybe we have a family who has always dismissed writing as a pointless pursuit—something everyone wants to try but only a chosen few achieve. Implying, of course, that we are not good enough. So we shelve our illicit hopes, paint on a smile, and get on with our lives not realizing that something inside is tugging us in a different direction than the path we are still trudging down.

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

But then . . .

Then we have a dream. Or we read a book, or see a movie, or witness an event that shakes us. Something stirs inside us, an elusive wisp of an idea scented with adventure. It begins to rise and pull us with it, beckoning us to come along, to put our own spin on the wheel of inspiration.

REFUSAL OF THE CALL

Of course we refuse. We're human. We're afraid.

We don't have time, we don't have money, we don’t have the knowledge to pursue something as overwhelming as writing an actual book.

Or maybe we don't refuse. Maybe we take those first tentative stops, only to hear someone else, someone who means well, who doesn't want to see us hurt or disillusioned, make the refusal for us. For our own good. Because really, the idea of writing for publication is absurd, laughable, and we shouldn't have any um, expectations.

MEETING WITH THE MENTOR

And yet. Someone, somewhere, gives us a few words of encouragement. Maybe it's something as small as a sentence in the Author's Note of a book that resonates, or something we read in an interview or on a blog, or maybe we're lucky enough to know a writer. It could even be that someone reads our first hesitant scribblings and has the kindness not to laugh. These encounters give us our first supplies for the long trek, the first guideposts to set our feet on the long and rocky road. We reach deep and dig out some hidden spring of courage and take that initial, hesitant step.

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

At the end of Act One, we've committed to venturing beyond the Ordinary World of 8 to 5, diapers, homework, cooking dinner, cleaning house. We step into a mist-shrouded swamp, someplace new and different filled with rules we don't know and emotions we're not prepared to feel.

TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES

We don't exist in isolation. Suddenly, we encounter all sorts of other people with feelings and opinions about us and about the journey we are taking.

Some of those people help us, and some make us wish we'd never even thought of writing. Some aren't actual people at all; our manuscripts themselves serve in the role of every character a hero encounters in his travels: herald, ally, mentor, threshold guardian, villain and enemy, shapeshifter, and trickster. Every role and character tests us in some new way while we sort out its meaning and figure out how to navigate around it or bring it with us. Some of the things we encounter deserve, and need, to be left behind. The people who criticize us to make themselves feel better, the manuscripts that weigh us down and keep us rewriting for seven years. We are better off without them. After a while, that's easy to see. Other quagmires are harder to recognize. Some people present so much drama we're worn down trying to help them instead of helping ourselves. Some manuscripts have so much promise that it's nearly impossible to recognize that they really don't say anything new that hasn't been said by a hundred published books already.

We have to fight free of all these things, or drag them with us. Whatever we end up doing, every step of the journey teaches us something about ourselves. Every person, every manuscript, every misstep, every small success helps us settle into the voice that will shape our themes and writing.

APPROACH

Finally, we approach the biggest obstacle. At the time, we probably don't even know it's going to be that hard. We've got the manuscript written. Rewritten. Edited. Refined. Polished.

We think the story is solid: plenty of conflict, no plot holes, no sagging middle, no weak Peggy-Sue characters. The writing shines.

We've gathered our critique partners, our beta readers, and they have trained with us, cheered for us, pushed us until we know that we are ready to battle through to submission. And make no mistake, querying the marketplace is the biggest battle we will face.

THE ORDEAL

We prepare the list of agents or publishers to query, and we think that puts us almost at the end of our journey. In truth, we have barely reached the midpoint.

But it is the most crucial point, the initial test.

Did we do more than write a book? Did we write a saleable book, a book that's unique, a book that's the right marriage of story and writing craft? One that readers will eventually hold in their hands and make greater by bringing their own experiences and ideas into the reading?

Addressing this question, we face our greatest fear, the question of worthiness. Have we spent months, years, writing something no one will ever read? We die a little each time we obsessively check the inbox and read another rejection letter.

THE REWARD
Rejection sucks.

It does. No doubt.

But there's a hidden treasure in every rejection, a measure of achievement. Whatever happens, we have tried. We have succeeded at putting ourselves out there. And we are learning that being creative requires us to face rejection. We are preparing ourselves for years of rejection yet to come. Rejection by agents. Rejection by editors. Rejection by acquisitions boards. Rejection by readers. By reviewers. .

Art is subjective.

Not every agent is going to love our work, and when we submit our first book, or our second, or third, or sixth, we may discover that it's still meeting with rejection.

But maybe, maybe, instead of a form rejection, if we keep battling, we glean a piece of knowledge that points us in the right direction. We learn what we are good at writing. Do we have a great voice? A way with description? A facility with rhythm? Plot? Characterization? We're not going to have all those things, but maybe we have one of them, and that's something to build on.

We learn what work we have yet to do, all the elements of writing where we need improvement.

We discover that rejection can be energizing, and we realize that we stand on the brink of a landscape that is only just opening up before us.

THE ROAD BACK

Having come through the initial battle, we regroup.

We pull out the craft books. We dig deeper. We seek more experienced mentors. We attend different kinds of writing conferences—conferences focused on craft instead of sales. We read more fiction than we have ever read before, and we begin to read it in a different way. Critically. Not to find fault, but to peer beyond the curtain of story to examine the motions and machinations of the wizard.

We are determined now to complete the journey and come home with an agent and a book deal. We can smell success… Our mentors can smell it on us. (And yes, this is often the point whenre we do find ourselves wearing the same pajamas the entire weekend and feeding our families leftover pizza for breakfast on Sunday morning.)

THE RESURRECTION

The faster we race toward that finish line, the more painful it is to trip and fall. But we will go splat at some point. Guaranteed. Painfully so.

Getting a Revise and Resubmit on a manuscript may make us believe we are almost ready for publication. Or at least, we convince ourselves that the next manuscript will surely be an easy sell.

After all, this time, we've done everything right. Or so we tell ourselves.

We've plotted. We've schemed and themed.

We know (and like) our characters better than our siblings and in-laws. (At least some of them.) We would love to move out of our current homes and take up residence in our storybook settings. Because they are awesome.

And yet.

And yet. Even though we are close, when it comes down to it, we may still not be close enough.

At the climax of the writer's journey, we are going to be tested again. Usually when we think we can see a champagne bottle set out on the table for us.

That's the splat moment. The moment we stumble and go down. Think Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars.

We fail.

Again.

At that moment, while we're lying curled in a fetal position on the steps leading to the podium and whimpering silently for chocolate, the thought of picking ourselves up and facing the humiliatiom or rejection seems like more heartbreak than we can bear.

Another round of revisions? Another unagented manuscript? Another unsold book? Or one that's published but undersells or underperforms our hopes? It's all useless anyway. What's the point?

We can't DO this anymore. We can't keep spending a year or more writing a manuscript, pouring ourselves into the pages, only to fail again.

But wait!

This—yes, THIS—this exact moment, is the defining moment!

The darkest moment. Our long night of the soul.

W can pick ourselves up and keep climbing the stairs and laugh in the face of the fall, at least outwardly, or we can lay there in a puddle of tears and wait for Hugh Jackman to come along and pick us up. And while that is REALLY tempting, how much more empowering is it to just get up and laugh?

Everything we create comes from within us. By sharing it with the world, we lay ourselves naked for judgment and ridicule. That's painful. It's hard. It's the writer's battle. Sometimes it can feel as if death would be easier. Of course it's easier to give up at this point.

As Walter Smith once put it, "Writing is easy. You just sit down at the typewriter, open a vein, and bleed it out drop by drop."

Yep. Writing fiction is hard. But it is both a selfish and selfless endeavor.

We write to communicate. The human spirit aches to share experiences. There are readers out there hungry to escape or enhance their own lives. They may be struggling with a problem they will solve through or during the reading of a book. They may be searching for just the thought, the sentence, or idea, or emotion that we have labored over within the pages of a book. A book we have written.

How amazing would that be?

The moment of communion when a reader feels a book was written just for them—we've all felt like this when reading, right?—is what lets a book live on and grow beyond us. It's the elixir we are all hoping to find and bring back. The writer's holy grail.

The lucky few writers who achieve a communion like that leave behind a legacy. And doesn’t that deserve a battle?

Aren't we willing to fight for it? Aren't you willing to keep learning to achieve it, fighting to achieve it—because, yes, you will have to keep fighting, fighting harder, with every new manuscript you begin.

If we want, need, that elixir, we will pick ourselves up after that long night of the soul.

We will be reborn into a world that's very much bigger even than the one that we believed we had found. We finally know how very little we actually know, and we see the breadth of what we have yet to learn. That in itself is staggering! But if we are committed to a lifetime of learning, experimenting, reaching, we will get through it.

We will.

You will.

You will be strengthened by your successes and your failures. And in the act of pushing past your dark moment, you will finally break through that dark veil of doubt that held you back from writing in the first place. The turmoil in which you began will finally be resolved, and whatever wound or need prompted you to write will finally be satisfied.

Believe.

RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR

The result you get may not be publication or reaching the New York Times bestseller list. Of course I'm not promising that. But let's face it--not even that would necessarily satisfy the need of every writer. That's an external goal, and truly that's only half the journey. The external part. The internal part is the most important.

Once you identify what drives you to write, whether it's the connection to your characters, to other writers, to readers, to a truer understanding of self or the universe, or your place in the universe, the rest all becomes easier. When you understand that, you write from the heart and not "for publication." And oddly, that's when it happens. When you write the story that is real and true and meaningful to you.

When we write our "true" story, I am convinced we know it.

Oddly, maybe that's when publication doesn't matter as much as it did anymore. For me, I remember the exact moment I felt that way when I was starting a new book. I realized that if a book deal happened, it would be wonderful.

Miraculous.

But even if it never happened, if I told that story the best way I could, when I had served the characters instead of having the characters serving me, I knew there would be a part of me that would always know what I had done. What I had accomplished. And suddenly, I was at peace. I was prepared to continue the journey of the writer, however long it took.

We Carry Success Within Us

Whether you have achieved the first stage of publication or finally broken through with a novel that takes you to the next step, or anything in between, you carry success within you.

We all carry success within us.

And when we no longer feel like we're in a hurry to get "there," wherever "there" is, we can finally let ourselves fall in love with the process. We can love the writing, the current book, the next book, knowing that there is an endless well of creativity inside us.

Not every book will sell. That's the truth.

Not every book will sell well. That's another truth.

But every book will teach us something. About ourselves. About our world.

Every book is a brand new journey.

Follow Your Bliss

"If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be." ~ Joseph Campbell

Write for yourself.

Learn everything you can about how to write, and read everything you can read in every possible genre. Live an examined writing life. ;But when you sit down to write, don't write for a trend or some notion of what you think you should be writing.

Write what moves you. What speaks to you. What you want to read and can't because it hasn't been written yet. Chances are, someone else will want to read that, too.

Win a Workshop with Christopher Vogler

Incidentally, if you're interested in learning more about The Hero's Journey, Lorin Oberweger of Free Expressions, has generously offered up a registration to the STORY MASTERS four-day workshop with Christopher Vogler, James Scott Bell, and Donald Mass as the Grand Prize for our Million Visitors Giveaway. Enter by 6/21 for a chance to win!

Where Are You on the Journey?

Can you relate to any of this, or am I crazy for seeing the parallels between the writer's journey and the hero's journey? Where are you on your own journey? I would love to hear!

Write Your Opening in a Way That Lets Readers Know Their Effort Will Be Rewarded by Charlie Price

2013-06-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Even before I finally committed to writing seriously, I cultivated the habit of noting anything that I wanted to see on a page -- any person, scene, or situation that intrigued me. Though at that time a whole book was far beyond my conceptual level, I began writing first lines to imaginary novels.

When I awoke I’d been dead for six weeks. The hangover was also murder.
Almendorf, as you’ve probably already guessed, was Cambodian.
She was tall, dark, and elegant. I was short, plump, and optimistic. Though we’d just met, I knew we were made for each other. I considered how best to propose while I searched for a rag to mop the motor oil I’d spilled on her evening gown.
Jake’s girlfriend told him any boy who had been molested by his father ought to see a therapist. Jake had a different idea. He knew where his dad kept a pistol.
This year, damn good and finally, Vernal Goans knew what he wanted for Christmas and it wasn’t “just more chickens.” He hated to say it aloud. His mom would tell the whole county. “Sport coat,” he croaked, keeping his eye on his mother’s feet and waiting for her snort.

Over the years, one of these made it all the way to agents, but not all the way to print. Finally, in two thousand six, I got my first book published.

Dead Connection

The wait of the dead was the loneliest thing Nikki could ever have imagined. Lonelier than thinking her friends were making fun of her. Lonelier than sitting by herself in the gym on a bottom bleacher while others danced. . . . Do the dead cry? Do they ache in sorrow? Do they weep in helpless frustration?
You know they do.

I hoped, in that opening, to create an empathetic link between the reader and the dead. I also hoped to demonstrate that the novel’s prose would be hard-hitting and occasionally lyrical. I wanted my opening to be honest and reflect what the book was capable of delivering. I’d reach my goal if a reader looked over the first paragraph and continued reading as she lost track of time. That sometimes happens to me with a book. Couldn’t it happen for me if I worked out a very good beginning?

The Deal-maker or Deal-Breaker

Since a story’s opening is usually the deal-maker or deal-breaker, I didn’t want to start with a lengthy description of setting or character. That kind of opening can foretell an overall pacing too leisurely for most current reading preferences. I revised the beginning a hundred or more times, seeking to create a scene rich enough and accessible enough to invite further exploration, a scene that might suggest the reader’s effort would be rewarded.

Four Openings to Avoid

In other books and stories I threw out beginnings like:

I awakened to someone screaming. (too stock, too clichéd in its hope to generate excitement)
Evelyn knew she was the only person who truly understood her cat. (coy and limiting – how many readers care about her cat?)
Girls can differ from boys when it comes to school. (too obvious – this level of opening insight is not like to draw readers farther)

Novelist Elmore Leonard adds “never open a book with weather.” But I wonder, what if it really was a dark and stormy night?

Openings that Worked

Here are some of my favorite openings:

When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon. -- The Last Good Kiss James Crumley

Soon before daybreak on my sixth birthday, my mother’s breathing wheezed more raggedly than ever, then quieted. And then stopped.
The remembering begins out of that new silence. Through the time since, I reach back along my father’s tellings and around the urgings which would have me face about and forget, to feel into these oldest shadows for the first sudden edge of it all. -- This House of Sky Ivan Doig 1978

At nine a.m. the doorbell rang. I couldn’t see who it was because of the high wall surrounding the house, but after a moment’s debate whether I shouldn’t just ignore it, I picked up the crowbar we’d been keeping handy and started across the courtyard to the security door. I’d talked with the girls about getting a gun in the black market but we hadn’t gone that far yet. -- Whiteman Tony D’Souza 2006

About the Author

Young Adult author Charlie Price has lectured at New York’s New School Forum on Writing for Children, has given SCBWI workshops in Asilomar and northern California on Creativity, Writing Process, Pacing and Revision, and has been featured in the Shasta College Distinguished Writer Series. Last November he presented on Mystery Writing at the National Council Teacher’s of English/American Library Association in Las Vegas. He will be writer-in-residence in Fairhope, Alabama, beginning January 2014.

His fourth book, DESERT ANGEL, immediately earned a starred review from Kirkus and made the 2012 Best Book Young Adult list and the Junior Library Guild Selection shortlist. A major television/film company bought its option.

His fifth book, Dead Girl Moon, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, comes out October 25th. Dead Connection and Desert Angel have also been bought by Random House, London, UK, and will be translated for world distribution. Thierry Magnier, Paris, has published all four books in French translation.

Raised in Colorado and Montana, Charlie graduated from Stanford in the late 60's and has lived in Italy, New York City, Oakland, and Mexico before settling in Northern California. From street schools in Bedford-Stuyvesant, to locked psychiatric units, to Academic Dean in a therapeutic boarding school, he has worked with adolescents and adults in trouble since the early seventies. Currently he consults and coaches for public and private agencies.

Charlie has been delightfully married for the past thirty years and, in spite of abundant flaws, he's a decent guitar player, fly-fisherman, and free throw shooter. He currently lives on a river in Northern California.

Visit Charlie's website
Check out Charlie's blog

About the Book

A taut thriller about Angel, a 14-year-old who is pursued by a man who has a deadly need to silence her.

In a keenly evoked California desert setting, Angel desperately seeks to escape. Inadvertently, she finds help with a group of caring Mexican-American neighbors, who refuse to let her face her nemesis alone. A loner, Angel’s been homeschooled by a meth-addict mother who has hooked up with a “long string of abusive boyfriends picked with the accuracy of a heat-seeking missile.” Her latest, Scotty, is a doozy, and when Angel finds her mom buried in the desert, he realizes she can put him behind bars. A hunter of contraband, he proceeds to use all his wiles to keep her quiet. Neighbor Abuela makes a plan to help her escape, resulting in the entire family becoming targets. Angel struggles with trust, guilt and maintaining her focus even as she is frightened to death. Suspense never lets up, as the third-person narrator monitors Scotty’s pursuit when Angel doesn’t. Kids and their teacher at a Head Start classroom provide a sense of normalcy and yet are clearly potential victims, upping the ante even more. The small, decaying towns, the Salton Sea and the desert heat provide a vivid backdrop for the unfolding drama. Angel is a tough heroine who needs help but knows if she accepts it, she is risking other lives, too.

Relentless, heart-stopping suspense. (Thriller. 12 & up)

Buy DESERT ANGEL on Amazon
Find DESERT ANGEL on Goodreads

Million Visitors Blog Celebration Giveaway (#4 of 4) 18 Books to Give Away

2013-06-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 4 (sadly, the last day!) of our Blog Party honoring all the people who made 1,000,000 visits possible! The giveaways run 6/8/13, 6/9/13, 6/15/13 and 6/16/13. Be sure to visit each day separately! I'll announce the winners on 6/22/13.

There are prize packs on each day for Young Adult readers (scroll down), and also prize packs for writers. Scroll down to see them all, and please, take the time to read about the amazing people I want to honor. There wasn't room for everyone individually. Most importantly, none of this would be possible without the support of the authors who so generously share their books, their time, and their writing talent to bring you giveaways and guest posts every week. It wouldn't be possible without the publishers who send us ARCS and finished copies to share with you.

I do want to give an extra shout-out to Jan Lewis, though. I mentioned her in the first post, but I can't possibly thank her enough for all she does!

Happy reading (and writing),

Martina

Prize Pack 27: Clara's Picks

I first met Clara Kensie at one of the first workshoppy things I did here on the blog, and she was awesome. So awesome that we have been friends and critique partners ever since. After a stint sharing the hunt for great articles for the This Week for Writer's Posts, she took time off to focus on her wonderful book. Naturally, she nailed that the way she nails everything else. Now she's back with us for the Sunday Question of the Week series. Yay!

Clara writes twisty mysteries and chilling thrillers, she's juggling more things than any two people ought to have thrown at them.

Check out Clara's Blog
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What's your favorite way to celebrate a success, Clara?
I’m not ticker-tape parade, big-crazy-party type of person (at big crazy parties, you’ll most likely find me hiding in the host's laundry room, playing with the cat). To celebrate a big success, I like to hang out at home with my family or a small group of close friends and eat carryout while watching a movie. Is that boring? Yeah, that sounds boring. Okay, fine. I’ll tell you a secret: once I’m alone, I squee and do this. About two dozen times.

Muppet-flailing aside, writers experience many more rejections and defeats than successes. That’s why I celebrate every single good thing that happens to me. With a Sharpie, I note every success, big or small, on a cork from a wine bottle. Some of my corks say: Finished draft of X manuscript! Attended X writers’ conference! Sent first query letter! Full request from agent X! Signed with an agent, ohmygod wheeeee! I keep them on my mantle where I can see them every time I’m in the room. At first all I had was a loose handful of corks. Now my corks fill a large wine glass. Soon I will have to buy a vase to hold all my corks (that’s on my to-do list for this week, as a matter of fact). When that’s filled, I’ll get a bigger vase, and then a bigger one. My cork collection is constant inspiration and it’s how I celebrate every single success.

What do you think makes young adult books special for writers and for readers?
Being a teenager is wonderful. And horrible. Teens are discovering who they are, and they still have time to become who they want to be. Teens make mistakes. Teens hold their futures in the palms of their hands. Teens have so many choices to make. And all the firsts: first crushes, first kisses, first loves, first breakups. Emotions run deeper. Hearts break harder.

Teens have this combination of bravery, vulnerability, cynicism, ambition, rage, and hope that just isn’t found in people of any other age.

Dystopian, historical, romance, paranormal, thriller: the genre doesn't matter. What makes YA Lit unique and special are the teen protagonists and their unique inner journeys. That’s why I read and write YA.

Clara's Fiction Pick

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
by Fanny Flagg
Giveaway
Ballantine Books
Released 6/16/2013

In Fannie Flagg’s high-spirited first novel, we meet Daisy Fay Harper in the spring of 1952, where she’s “not doing much except sitting around waiting for the sixth grade.” When she leaves Shell Beach, Mississippi, in September 1959, she is packed up and ready for the Miss America Pageant, vowing “I won’t come back until I’m somebody.” But in our hearts she already is.

Sassy and irreverent from the get-go, Daisy Fay takes us on a rollicking journey through her formative years on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. There, at The End of the Road of the South, the family malt shop freezer holds unspeakable things, society maven Mrs. Dot hosts Junior Debutante meetings and shares inspired thoughts for the week (such as “sincerity is as valuable as radium”), and Daisy Fay’s Daddy hatches a quick-cash scheme that involves resurrecting his daughter from the dead in a carefully orchestrated miracle. Along the way, Daisy Fay does a lot of growing up, emerging as one of the most hilarious, appealing, and prized characters in modern fiction.

Purchase Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man at Amazon
Purchase Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man at IndieBound
View Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man on Goodreads

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Clara's Craft Pick

Save the Cat Goes to the Movies: Guide to Every Story Ever Told
by Blake Snyder
Giveaway
Michael Wiese Productions
Released 6/16/2013

In the long-awaited sequel to his surprise bestseller, Save the Cat!, author and screenwriter Blake Snyder returns to form in a fast-paced follow-up that proves why his is the most talked-about approach to screenwriting in years. In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Snyder delivers even more insider's information gleaned from a 20-year track record as ?one of Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriters, ? giving you the clues to write your movie. Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives readers the key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, from Alien to Saw, from 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters who came before you tackled the same challenges you are facing with the film you want to write ? or the one you are currently working on.

Purchase Save the Cat Goes to the Movies: Guide to Every Story Ever Told at Amazon
Purchase Save the Cat Goes to the Movies: Guide to Every Story Ever Told at IndieBound
View Save the Cat Goes to the Movies: Guide to Every Story Ever Told on Goodreads

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Prize Pack 28: Cyn's Picks

My daughter read Twilight along with the rest of the teen girls on the planet. She had a learning disability, so she'd always had a hard time reading for fun. She wasn't great fan, and she stopped in the middle of New Moon. Then one day, she started talking about a book she kept calling Tantalizay that she had borrowed from a friend. She raved about it, and kept saying, "You have to read this, Mom."

So I did. The book was TANTALIZE by New York Times and Publisher's Weekly best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, who writes both for young adults and younger children. I read it, and then I read the rest of her series, and the FERAL series, and then I read every book for young adults I could get my hands on. And I haven't stopped reading or writing YA since. I owe that to Cyn. Corresponding with her for the first time, I lapsed into gawky fangirldom, and I still get a thrill every time. She's my inspiration for undertaking this incredible journey that I'm on.

If you haven't met her yet, stop by her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com. It was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.

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What's your favorite way to celebrate success, Cyn?
I'm a creature of two minds. Part of me wants to throw a huge, joyful party for my friends -- lots of book-themed books, music and decorations. Part of me wants to sit in a rocking chair on the front porch of a country B&B, sip an icy tea and appreciate the view, wherever I may be.

What do you think makes young adult books special for writers and for readers?
YA literature celebrates the cusp of young people turning into the heroes they're meant to be. And I mean that literally. We're all the heroes of our own story and the process of reaching the precipice of adulthood is as fascinating as it is inspiring.

Cyn's Fiction Pick

Blood and Chocolate
by Annette Curtis Klause
Hardcover Giveaway
Ember
Released 6/8/2013

Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?

Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.

Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

From the Paperback edition.

Purchase Blood and Chocolate at Amazon
Purchase Blood and Chocolate at IndieBound
View Blood and Chocolate on Goodreads

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Cyn's Craft Pick

What's Your Story?
by Marion Dane Bauer
Paperback Giveaway
Sandpiper
Released 6/8/2013

Discusses how to write fiction, exploring point of view, dialogue, endings, and revision.

This ALA Notable Book is used by writers of all ages. It is accessible enough for young writers and insightful enough to give assistance even to experienced adult writers, especially those wanting to write for children.

Purchase What's Your Story? at Amazon
Purchase What's Your Story? at IndieBound
View What's Your Story? on Goodreads

Prize Pack 29: Georgia's Picks

When I didn't know anything about anything, one of the GREAT things I did was eavesdrop on the #yalitchat events on Twitter. Watching the tweets fly by was exhilarating and scary and mind-blowingly confusing, but eventually I discovered TweetChat and that helped. I lurk whenever I can because I love the interaction between new writers, established authors, agents, and editors. It's wonderful, and it's the brainchild of Georgia McBride. Georgia is not only a writer, and the founder of YALitchat.Org, which has grown into a whole non-profit organization to further young adult literature, writers, she is also the publisher of Month9Books and Swoon Romance. Her debut YA novel, PRAEFATIO is out now!

Check out Georgia's website
Follow Georgia on Twitter

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success, Georgia?
Always with friends, lemoncello cake and wine!

What do you think makes young adult books special for writers and for readers?
YA mimics the time in one's life when the world is alive and ripe with opportunity and when everything one feels is the best, worst or most intense emotion ever. It's a time when anything is possible and everything is doable. We are invincible. We are YA.

Georgia's Craft Pick One

On Writing
by Stephen King
Giveaway
Scribner; 10 Anv edition
Released 6/16/2013

"Long live the King" hailed "Entertainment Weekly" upon publication of Stephen King's "On Writing." Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999--and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, "On Writing" will empower and entertain everyone who reads it--fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Purchase On Writing at Amazon
Purchase On Writing at IndieBound
View On Writing on Goodreads

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Georgia's Craft Pick Two

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print
by Renni Browne and Dave King
Giveaway
William Morrow Paperbacks; 2 Sub edition
Released 6/16/2012

Hundreds of books have been written on the art of writing. Here at last is a book by two professional editors to teach writers the techniques of the editing trade that turn promising manuscripts into published novels and short stories.

In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated with examples, many drawn from the hundreds of books Browne and King have edited.

Purchase Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print at Amazon
Purchase Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print at IndieBound
View Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print on Goodreads

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Prize Pack 30: Lorin's Picks

Last year, I decided I needed to make a leap forward in my writing skills to be able to pull off a tough revision. I've been a member of SCBWI for three years, and I was going to conferences, which are excellent. But I wanted something really immersive and transforming. A writing friend recommended the Your Best Book workshop. It was the best decision EVER. She's an award-winning writer in her own right, and Lorin Oberweger’s students and clients have millions of books in print and have been published by imprints of HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin, Scholastic, and other mainstream and independent presses. They have also gained representation with some of the industry’s leading literary agents. She and the workshop team, including lovely Brenda Windberg, wonderful Emma Dryden, the amazing team of Josh and Tracy Adams, the incredible YA Muses, and every one of the workshop participants, were teachers, cheerleaders, and butt-kickers. I came out of that week with a whole new arsenal of writing tools.

And if that wasn't enough, which it TOTALLY was, Lorin has offered up a phenomenal opportunity for a lucky writer to win a registration to the STORY MASTERS workshop with Donald Maass, James Scott Bell, and Christopher Vogler.

Click Here to Enter on Giveaway #2

Visit Free Expressions
Peek at Lorin's Blog
Follow Lorin on Twitter

How do you celebrate a success, Lorin?
How do I celebrate a success? My own, or my clients'? In the case of the latter, I celebrate by spreading their good fortune far and wide and taking time to honor the faith and commitment that go into each and every moment of writing. Where my own successes are concerned, I'm pretty low-key in celebrating. (I think this is a Jewish thing about not getting too far ahead of oneself or daring the universe to come and institute a reversal of good fortune.) At best, I usually celebrate with a few triumphant phone calls, a little daydreaming, and a taking stock of all the OTHER work I have to do.

What do you think makes young adult books special for writers and for readers?
In some ways, I feel that our adolescent selves stay with us for our entire lives. Deep within, we still carry the longings, the insecurities, the desires, and also the brilliant, unfettered capacity for dreaming. We grow coping mechanisms and, one hopes, greater reserves of security and self-confidence, but that thrumming tender heart continues to beat within us all. I truly believe that.

So, young adult literature taps into that place within us, a place we're smart to nurture. And it also offers the ability to live--or relive--so many of life's juicy firsts: first love; first kiss (and then some); first forays into independence; first tests of ability and competence. It offers, for adult readers and authors, a place in which we can be both nostalgic and inspired at the same time.

Lorin's Craft Pick 1

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler
Giveaway
Michael Wiese Productions; 3rd edition
Released 6/16/2013

See why this book has become an international best seller and a true classic. The Writer's Journey explores the powerful relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style that's made it required reading for movie executives, screenwriters, playwrights, scholars, and fans of pop culture all over the world. The updated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself.

Purchase The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers at Amazon
Purchase The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers at IndieBound
View The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers on Goodreads

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Lorin's Craft Pick 2

Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling
by Donald Maass
Giveaway
Writer's Digest Books
Released 6/15/2013

Capture the minds, hearts, and imaginations of 21st century readers!Whether you're a commercial storyteller or a literary novelist, whether your goal is to write a best-selling novel or captivate readers with a satisfying, beautifully written story, the key to success is the same: high-impact fiction. "Writing 21st Century Fiction" will help you write a novel for today's readers and market, filled with rich characters, compelling plots, and resonant themes. Author and literary agent Donald Maass shows you how to: Create fiction that transcends genre, conjures characters who look and feel more \real\" than real people, and shows readers the work around them in new ways.Infuse every page with an electric current of emotional appeal and micro-tension.Harness the power of parallels, symbols, metaphors, and more to illuminate your novel in a lasting way.Develop a personalized method of writing that works for you. With an arsenal of thought-provoking prompts and questions, plus plenty of examples from best-selling titles, "Writing 21st Century Fiction" will strip away your preconceived notions about writing in today's world and give you the essential tools you need to create fiction that will leave both readers and critics in awe."

Purchase Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling at Amazon
Purchase Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling at IndieBound
View Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling on Goodreads

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Prize Pack 31: YA Highway's Picks for Writers

One of the first YA group blogs I discovered was YA Highway, and it has remained one of my favorite blogs. The writers on the blog come from different corners of the globe, and they epitomize what I think is a huge part of young adult literature, the ability to explore, to push boundaries, to bridge divides, to fly and soar. These women do, in their books and in their lives. They're inspiring. And a little frightening. :)

Kirsten Hubbard
Kristin Halbrook
Kaitlin Ward
Kate Hart
Stephanie Kuehn
Sarah Enni
Amy Lukavics

Lee Bross
Leila Austin
Sumayyah Daud
Veronica Roth
Debra Driza
Emilia Plater

If you haven't met them yet, go take a peek.

YA Highway's Fiction Pick

Charm & Strange
by Stephanie Kuehn
Giveaway
St. Martin's Griffin
Released 6/12/2013

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

Purchase Charm & Strange at Amazon
Purchase Charm & Strange at IndieBound
View Charm & Strange on Goodreads

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YA Highway's Craft Pick

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott
Giveaway
Anchor; 1 edition
Released 6/15/2013

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said. 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
With this basic instruction always in mind, Anne Lamott returns to offer us a new gift: a step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. From "Getting Started,' with "Short Assignments," through "Shitty First Drafts," "Character," "Plot," "Dialogue." all the way from "False Starts" to "How Do You Know When You're Done?" Lamott encourages, instructs, and inspires. She discusses "Writers Block," "Writing Groups," and "Publication." Bracingly honest, she is also one of the funniest people alive.
If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a writer, what it means to be a writer, what the contents of your school lunches said about what your parents were really like, this book is for you. From faith, love, and grace to pain, jealousy, and fear, Lamott insists that you keep your eyes open, and then shows you how to survive. And always, from the life of the artist she turns to the art of life.

Purchase Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life at Amazon
Purchase Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life at IndieBound
View Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life on Goodreads

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Prize Pack 32: Bonus Pack for Readers

Mountains Beyond Mountains (Adapted for Young People): The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would
by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition
Released 4/9/2013

Meet Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard-educated doctor with a self-proclaimed mission to transform healthcare on a global scale. Tracy Kidder follows Farmer's quest as he focuses his attention on some of the world's most impoverished people and uses unconventional ways in which to provide healthcare, to achieve real results and save lives.

Purchase Mountains Beyond Mountains (Adapted for Young People): The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would at Amazon
Purchase Mountains Beyond Mountains (Adapted for Young People): The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would at IndieBound
View Mountains Beyond Mountains (Adapted for Young People): The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would on Goodreads

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The Language Inside
by Holly Thompson
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 5/14/2013

A nuanced novel in verse that explores identity in a multicultural world.
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts, to stay with Emma's grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment.

Emma feels out of place in the United States.She begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.

“With beautiful language and deep sensitivity, Holly Thompson explores the courage it takes to find your own voice.” —Patricia McCormick, author of National Book Award finalist Never Fall Down
“Thompson, working in a free-verse style that becomes a seamless piece of a world imbued with poetry, weaves [the plot strands] together skillfully. The result is a touching portrait of Emma working through loss and opportunity as Lowell becomes not just “not-Japan,” but the site of new connections and a possible romance.”—
Publisher’s Weekly
Purchase The Language Inside at Amazon
Purchase The Language Inside at IndieBound
View The Language Inside on Goodreads

Prize Pack 33: Bonus Pack for Readers

The Beautiful and the Cursed
by Page Morgan
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Press
Released 5/14/2013

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

Purchase The Beautiful and the Cursed at Amazon
Purchase The Beautiful and the Cursed at IndieBound
View The Beautiful and the Cursed on Goodreads

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Doomed
by Tracy Deebs
Hardcover Giveaway
Walker Childrens
Released 1/8/2013

Pandora's just your average teen-glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends-until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father-her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Doomed?

his is actually a hard question for me to answer simply because I both really love and really hate this book. Doomed was the hardest book I've ever written (and I've written 27) and I cursed it every day I was writing it-- and every day for six months after it was done. But it's also the book I am most proud of. If I have to choose one thing that I love about the book now that it's finished, it's my three main characters. I think Pandora is a kick-ass female heroine who is trying to do her best to undo her mistakes even as the world falls apart around her. Theo and Eli, who are my modern day take on the Titans Prometheus and Epimetheus, are also really strong in the face of continuing adversity. Both play a huge part in the Pandora myth and in Doomed. It was a challenge to capture their personalities for 2012 as depicted in the myths about them, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out (especially Theo, who I think is an awesome YA hero). I really hope my readers agree :)

Purchase Doomed at Amazon
Purchase Doomed at IndieBound
View Doomed on Goodreads

Prize Pack 34: Martina's Picks

Tantalize
by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Giveaway
Candlewick; a edition
Released 6/16/2013

CLASSIFIED ADS: RESTAURANTS
SANGUINI'S: A VERY RARE RESTAURANT IS HIRING A CHEF DE CUISINE. DINNERS ONLY.
APPLY IN PERSON BETWEEN 2:00 AND 4:00 PM.

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then, as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their new hire into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses -- or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything? TANTALIZE marks Cynthia Leitich Smith’s delicious debut as a preeminent author of dark fantasy.

Purchase Tantalize at Amazon
Purchase Tantalize at IndieBound
View Tantalize on Goodreads

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Grave Mercy

by Robin LaFevers

Giveaway

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1 edition

Released 6/15/2013

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Purchase Grave Mercy at Amazon

Purchase Grave Mercy at IndieBound

View Grave Mercy on Goodreads

Prize Pack 35: Martina's Picks

What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles #1)

by Kat Zhang

Giveaway

HarperCollins; 1 edition

Released 6/16/2013

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Purchase What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles #1) at Amazon

Purchase What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles #1) at IndieBound

View What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles #1) on Goodreads

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Lips Touch Three Times

by Laini Taylor

Giveaway

Arthur A. Levine Books; Reprint edition

Released 6/16/2013

A National Book Award Finalist, now in paperback!

Everyone dreams of getting the kiss of a lifetime... but what if that kiss carried some unexpected consequences? A girl who’s always been in the shadows finds herself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging -- literally belonging -- to anther world entirely, full of dreaded creatures who can transform into animals, and whose queen keeps little girls as personal pets until they grow to child-bearing age.

From a writer of unparalleled imagination and emotional insight, three stories about the deliciousness of wanting and waiting for that moment when lips touch.

Purchase Lips Touch Three Times at Amazon

Purchase Lips Touch Three Times at IndieBound

View Lips Touch Three Times on Goodreads

Million Visitors Blog Celebration (3rd of 4) with 22 Books To Give Away

2013-06-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Photo by Tamara Craiu

Welcome to Day 3 of our Blog Party celebrating all the people who made 1,000,000 visits possible! The giveaways run 6/8/13, 6/9/13, 6/15/13 and 6/16/13. I'll announce the winners on 6/22/13.

Each day is a separate entry with its own prize packs, so be sure to enter all four days. There are prize packs on each day for Young Adult readers (scroll down), and also prize packs for writers.

And remember our GRAND PRIZE, courtesy of Lorin Oberweger and the amazing FREE EXPRESSIONS team, is a registration to STORY MASTERS, an incredible opportunity to study writing with Donald Maass, Christopher Vogler, and James Scott Bell over the course of a four-day workshop held November 7-10 in Minneapolis, MN. Go here to enter.

Happy reading (and writing),

Martina

More People I Want To Thank

Prize Pack Sixteen: Lisa's Picks

Lisa Gail Green was one of the first group of writers I met online. I fell in love with her sense of humor and her intelligence while reading her Paranormal Point of View blog, fell in love with her writing when I was lucky enough to get to read her manuscripts, and with her warmth and generosity while sitting next to her beside the pool at an SCBWI International Conference in LA while we both tried to pretend that eating dinner with M.T. Anderson was no big deal. She has mentored the First Five Pages Workshop with me since its inception, and invariably manages to say far more in a few well-chosen words than they could glean from reading an entire book on writing.

Lisa writes paranormal and fantasy. THE BINDING STONE, the first novel in her Djinn series is now available on Amazon! She would most definitely have a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.

Check out Lisa's blog
Follow Lisa on Twitter

How do you like to celebrate success, Lisa?

I love celebrating with my family and friends. And if there are cupcakes involved I'm even happier!!

What do you think makes Young Adult literature special for writers and for readers?
YA is more forgiving with the rules and imposed genre restrictions. Teens are more open minded (sorry grown ups) and willing to follow the character and writer to new territory. It's especially empowering for teens to see characters their own age going through tough situations and surviving - even coming out on top or saving the world.

Lisa's Fiction Pick:

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray
Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1 edition

Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?
All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Purchase Going Bovine at Amazon
Purchase Going Bovine at IndieBound
View Going Bovine on Goodreads

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Lisa's Craft Pick

On Writing
by Stephen King
Giveaway
Scribner; 10 Anv edition

"Long live the King" hailed "Entertainment Weekly" upon publication of Stephen King's "On Writing." Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999--and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, "On Writing" will empower and entertain everyone who reads it--fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Purchase On Writing at Amazon
Purchase On Writing at IndieBound
View On Writing on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Seventeen: Susan's Picks

Susan Sipal is a fiction editor and marketing consultant for an independent publisher, and she's the author of Harry Potter for Writers, a book I stumbled on a couple of years ago and loved. Her essays analyzing the Harry Potter series have been published both in the US and the UK, and she teaches workshops on writing craft.

Susan and I have become friends and critique partners, and because we both love Joseph Campbell and arcane bits of history and mythology, our minds seem to travel the same twisted paths. She has been an invaluable, incredible support for me, and there is no way that I can possibly repay her for the hours and hours of encouragement, editorial insight, and listening-to-Martina-doubt. (Yes, that's a THING. Ask Jan.)

Check out Susan's blog

Check out the Harry Potter For Writers blog

Follow Susan on Twitter

How do you like to celebrate a success, Susan?

Ways to celebrate a success -- It depends on how large the success, but I usually like to get a new writing tool, anything from a new notebook to my most recent digital voice recorder. Just anything I can use to help me write more...and have more successes.

What do you think makes Young Adult books special for writers and for readers?

I think YA books are so special because, when well done, they let the reader share in a time in life when young people, for the first time, are truly coming into their selves, into their own skin, discovering who they are and what they hope to do in life, who they want to be with. Futures are shaped as YA heroes and heroines take their first steps into adulthood.

Susan's Fiction Pick

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J.K. Rowling
Giveaway
Scholastic Paperbacks

Harry Potter is midway through his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup. He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

Purchase Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at Amazon
Purchase Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at IndieBound
View Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Goodreads

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Susan's Craft Pick

Writing the Breakout Novel
by Donald Maass
Giveaway
Writer's Digest Books; 1 edition

Take your fiction to the next level! Maybe you're a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.

Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.

You'll learn to: establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and placeweave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing storycreate larger-than-life characters that step right off the pageexplore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readerssustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finishdevelop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competition Then, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.

Purchase Writing the Breakout Novel at Amazon
Purchase Writing the Breakout Novel at IndieBound
View Writing the Breakout Novel on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Eighteen: Elana's Picks

I honestly can't think of anyone who works more tirelessly and enthusiastically on behalf of other writers as Elana Johnson. From the very beginning, here at the blog, she was always the first person to jump into any contest, post, or crazy-next-thing I cluelessly asked her to do. Her e-book, FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL, is an invaluable resource. And she's one of the League of Extraordinary Writers, a founding writer on the Querytracker blog, and she helps to organize WriteOnCon.

As if that's not enough, she's also the author of the Possession series, which includes POSSESSION, SURRENDER, and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET and RESIST.

Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Check out Elana's website
Follow Elana on Twitter

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success, Elana?

Breakfast out with my family! There's nothing better than bacon and eggs and pancakes!

What do you think makes Young Adult books special for writers and for readers?

I think YA novels are unique because it's the world of firsts. First date, or first crush, or first kiss. It's an exciting time for young people, and that's why books are important for them.

Elana's Fiction Pick

Birthmarked
by Caragh O'Brian
Giveaway
Roaring Brook Press; 1 edition

IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.
In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.
A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

Purchase Birthmarked at Amazon
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View Birthmarked on Goodreads

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Elana's Craft Pick

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You''ll Ever Need

by Blake Snyder

Giveaway

Michael Wiese Productions

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

Purchase Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You''ll Ever Need at Amazon

Purchase Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You''ll Ever Need at IndieBound

View Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You''ll Ever Need on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty: Stina's Picks

Stina Lindenblatt is one of the most seriously analytical writers I know. I doubt there is a craft book she hasn't read ora piece of great YA fiction she hasn't taken apart to see how it works. And then she is generous enough to share what she learns with the rest of us.

I invariably read Stina's craft posts with awe!

In addition to juggling motherhood, photography, and a slew of other things, as well as writing YA and NA novels (usually involving emotional damaged characters, chocolate, and running), she blog on her own site and contributes to the Querytracker.net Blog.

Check out Stina's website
Follow Stina on Twitter

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success, Stina?

It depends on why I’m celebrating. Usually I don’t go all out. I try to appreciate the small successes and the large ones. And add something chocolate-y to the mix.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for writers and for readers?

I love YA books because they appreciate the raw emotions that teens experience, regardless of the situation. I love how they explore topics in a heartfelt way and recognize the unique qualities of that age. And I love that a romance can have a happy ending, but it doesn’t have to be a happily-ever-after ending. Most teen relationships aren’t that way, so why should they be in books?

Stina's Fiction Pick

Lock and Key
by Sarah Dessen
Hardcover Giveaway
Viking Juvenile

Ruby can take care of herself.
She's used to counting on no one and answering to nobody. But all of that changes when her mother vanishes and Ruby is sent to live with her older sister, Cora. Now Ruby's got her own room in a fabulous new house, she's going to private school, and—for the first time—feeling as if she has a future. Plus, there's the adorable and sweet boy next door, Nate. Everything should be perfect. So why is Ruby so wary? And why is Nate keeping her at a distance? Ruby soon comes to realize that sometimes, in order to save yourself, you've got to reach out to someone else.

Purchase Lock and Key at Amazon
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View Lock and Key on Goodreads

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Stina's Craft Pick

Editor-Proof Your Writing: 21 Steps to the Clear Prose Publishers and Agents Crave
by Don McNair
Paperback Giveaway
Linden Publishing

Veteran editor Don McNair lays out an easy-to-follow and systematic method for clearing up foggy writing—writing that’s full of extra, misused, and overused words—in this guide to producing sparkling copy that attracts readers, agents, editors, and sales. McNair explains the common mistakes made by most writers and shows how eliminating unnecessary words strengthens action, shorten sentences, and makes writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A superb addition to any writer’s toolkit, this book will not only make writing clearer and more grammatical, it will also make it more concise, entertaining, and appealing to publishers.

Purchase Editor-Proof Your Writing at Amazon
Purchase Editor-Proof Your Writing at IndieBound
View Editor-Proof Your Writing on Goodreads

Prize Pack Twenty-One and Twenty-Two: The Publishing Crawl Picks

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Publishing Crawl is a group of authors and industry professionals (formerly known as Let the Words Flow) who blog about all things writing, publishing, and books! Separately and collectively, I admire their knowledge of craft, their writing, their willingness to share what they know with others, and oh, did I mention their writing? While some of the members are agents and editors, others have written some of my favorite books. Publishing Crawl is like a one-stop shop for brilliance.

Who are the members, you ask? Drool over this list. Go ahead. No one's looking:

Leigh Bardugo, Erin Bowman, Alexandra Bracken, Susan Dennard, Vanessa Di Gregorio, Julie Eshbaugh, S. Jae Jones (JJ), Amie Kaufman, Biljana Likic, Jordan Hamessley London, Marie Lu, Sarah J. Maas, Jodi Meadows, Rachel Seigel, Joanna Volpe, Kat Zhang

Because there are so many members, and some of them are out on an incredible book tour for a wonderful cause right now, they had a hard time coming up with two books, let alone answers to the questions. So instead, we're doing two separate prize packs of books for writers. (You will find several books by PubCrawl members scattered through the four days of giveaways, too!)

Prize Pack Twenty-One:

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott
Giveaway
Anchor; 1 edition

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said. 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

With this basic instruction always in mind, Anne Lamott returns to offer us a new gift: a step-by-step guide on how to write and on how to manage the writer's life. From "Getting Started,' with "Short Assignments," through "Shitty First Drafts," "Character," "Plot," "Dialogue." all the way from "False Starts" to "How Do You Know When You're Done?" Lamott encourages, instructs, and inspires. She discusses "Writers Block," "Writing Groups," and "Publication." Bracingly honest, she is also one of the funniest people alive.
If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a writer, what it means to be a writer, what the contents of your school lunches said about what your parents were really like, this book is for you. From faith, love, and grace to pain, jealousy, and fear, Lamott insists that you keep your eyes open, and then shows you how to survive. And always, from the life of the artist she turns to the art of life.

Purchase Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life at Amazon
Purchase Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life at IndieBound
View Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life on Goodreads

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Eats, Shoots, and Leaves
by Lynne Truss
Giveaway
Gotham

Now in a handsome, hilariously illustrated new edition: The stickler-tickling punctuation polemic that has sold more than 1.6 million copies in North America is even more fun with the whimsical art of acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist Pat Byrnes.

The runaway bestseller that has everyone minding their p's and q's (and their commas and semicolons), Eats, Shoots & Leaves has delighted audiences around the world and elevated Lynne Truss to superstickler status among those in the know. Language lovers everywhere will cheer the arrival of this new edition, beautifully packaged in a larger format with a red cloth-over-board cover and containing more than fifty vivid, full-color drawings. Created by renowned cartoonist Pat Byrnes, each illustration brings to life a different punctuation pitfall in a wickedly playful style that matches Truss's trademark wit. Eats, Shoots & Leave Illustrated Edition is also accompanied by a colorful foreword by wordsmith extraordinaire Frank McCourt.

Published just in time for holiday gift-giving, Eats Shoots & Leaves Illustrated Edition is sure to be at the top of wish lists coast to coast.

Purchase Eats, Shoots, and Leaves at Amazon
Purchase Eats, Shoots, and Leaves at IndieBound
View Eats, Shoots, and Leaves on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty-Two:

Reading Like a Writer
by Francine Prose
Giveaway
Harper; 1ST edition

Long before there were creative-writing workshops and degrees, how did aspiring writers learn to write? By reading the work of their predecessors and contemporaries, says Francine Prose.

In Reading Like a Writer, Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers—Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov—and discovers why their work has endured. She takes pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; she is deeply moved by the brilliant characterization in George Eliot's Middlemarch. She looks to John Le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue, to Flannery O'Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail, and to James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield for clever examples of how to employ gesture to create character. She cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which literature is crafted.

Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.

Purchase Reading Like a Writer at Amazon
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View Reading Like a Writer on Goodreads

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On Writing

by Stephen King

Giveaway

Scribner; 10 Anv edition

"Long live the King" hailed "Entertainment Weekly" upon publication of Stephen King's "On Writing." Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999--and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, "On Writing" will empower and entertain everyone who reads it--fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Purchase On Writing at Amazon

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View On Writing on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty-Three: Bonus for Readers

Prep School Confidential

by Kara Taylor

ARC Giveaway

St. Martin's Griffin

Released 7/30/2013

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne could care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

Purchase Prep School Confidential at Amazon

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View Prep School Confidential on Goodreads

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Love and Other Perishable Items

by Laura Buzo

Hardcover Giveaway

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Released 12/11/2012

Love is awkward, Amelia should know.

From the moment she sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, 15, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris--at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts--first love, first job, first party, and first hangover--debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.

Purchase Love and Other Perishable Items at Amazon

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View Love and Other Perishable Items on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty-Four: Bonus for Readers

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.

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

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Fat Angie

by E. E. Charlton-Trujillo

Hardcover Giveaway

Candlewick

Released 3/12/2013

Her sister was captured in Iraq, she’s the resident laughingstock at school, and her therapist tells her to count instead of eat. Can a daring new girl in her life really change anything?

Angie is broken — by her can’t-be-bothered mother, by her high-school tormenters, and by being the only one who thinks her varsity-athlete-turned-war-hero sister is still alive. Hiding under a mountain of junk food hasn’t kept the pain (or the shouts of "crazy mad cow!") away. Having failed to kill herself — in front of a gym full of kids — she’s back at high school just trying to make it through each day. That is, until the arrival of KC Romance, the kind of girl who doesn’t exist in Dryfalls, Ohio. A girl who is one hundred and ninety-nine percent wow! A girl who never sees her as Fat Angie, and who knows too well that the package doesn’t always match what’s inside. With an offbeat sensibility, mean girls to rival a horror classic, and characters both outrageous and touching, this darkly comic anti-romantic romance will appeal to anyone who likes entertaining and meaningful fiction.

Purchase Fat Angie at Amazon

Purchase Fat Angie at IndieBound

View Fat Angie on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty-Five: Bonus for Readers

Dead River
by Cyn Balog
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 4/9/2013

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong.
Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Dead River?

When I was just starting out after college, I had a great job in marketing
and was really living the dream-- I was making good money and successful,
but I was feeling unfulfilled. When my husband had the opportunity to move
to a remote part of the country for his job, people thought I was crazy to
let him accept, because it would be impossible for me to work as a marketing
manager out there. But I kept thinking, I'd have all this time to write! And
I could experience different parts of the country and THAT would give me
things to write about! So I tendered my resignation and we moved to the
desert of California, and a year later, up to Maine. It was a roller
coaster ride, which often led me to wonder if it was worth all the work, or
if I might have been happier and more successful had I just stayed the
course in my boring marketing career.

But even though I moved a few times and traveled a lot as well, trying to
accumulate "life experience" to write about, until now, the only place I'd
ever written about has been where I grew up-- New Jersey. It's been my rut,
the place I just normally fall into whenever I start writing. When I started
Dead River, though, I realized it was my first time writing based on an
experience that happened during those travels after I left my job. Although
so many people thought I was crazy and it was a risky move, I feel like Dead
River is a product of those years-- something that never could have happened
if we hadn't taken that risk.

Purchase Dead River at Amazon
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View Dead River on Goodreads

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manicpixiedreamgirl
by Tom Leveen
Hardcover Giveaway
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 4/23/2013

Sometimes the most dramatic scenes in a high school theater club are the ones that happen between the actors and crew off stage.

Seventeen-year-old Tyler Darcy's dream of being a writer is starting to feel very real now that he's sold his first short story to a literary journal. He should be celebrating its publication with his two best friends who've always had his back, but on this night, a steady stream of texts from his girlfriend Sidney keep intruding. So do the memories of his dream girl, Becky, who's been on his mind a little too much since the first day of high school. Before the night is over, Ty might just find the nerve to stop all the obsessing and finally take action.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about manicpixiedreamgirl?

There are many things I love about the novel, but I think my favorite is how perfectly ridiculous Tyler is. This novel—compared to my previous novels Party and Zero, anyway—is my most autobiographical, even though it’s only about five percent from my own life. Tyler, the protagonist, definitely has a lot of the same feelings I did when I was in high school, and he handles most of them just about as badly as I did, too. He can’t help it; he’s A) a boy, and B) in love. Mix those two together and mayhem will follow.
So on that note, I’d say my favorite thing is how realistic—both good and bad—the story is, and how much fun—usually—it was to go back revisit those old thrills and mistakes. It really is a great and awesome time to be alive. I hope everyone has as much fun as I did!

Purchase manicpixiedreamgirl at Amazon
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View manicpixiedreamgirl on Goodreads

Prize Pack Twenty-Six: Martina's Picks

Where She Went
by Gayle Forman
Giveaway
Speak; Reprint edition

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Purchase Where She Went at Amazon
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View Where She Went on Goodreads

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On the Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta
Giveaway
HarperTeen

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

Purchase On the Jellicoe Road at Amazon
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View On the Jellicoe Road on Goodreads

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Prize Pack Twenty-Seven: Martina's Picks

Beautiful Creatures
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Giveaway
Yen Press; Reprint edition
Released 6/15/2013

Ethan Wate, narrator, is haunted by dreams of an unreachable raven-haired beauty. When she moves into the small Southern town Blackwood mansion of her protective Uncle Macon, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her. As her 16th birthday nears, Lena must choose - or will the family curse choose for her?

There were no surprises in Gatlin County .. the middle of nowhere.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was a curse.

There was a girl.

And in the end, there was a grave.

Purchase Beautiful Creatures at Amazon
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View Beautiful Creatures on Goodreads

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Wicked Lovely
by Melissa Marr
Giveaway
HarperCollins; 1st edition
Released 6/15/2013

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.

Purchase Wicked Lovely at Amazon
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View Wicked Lovely on Goodreads

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New YALit Releases 6/15-6/21 plus SIX Giveaways: SOLSTICE, TARNISH, INTUITION, LINKED, A TRICK OF THE LIGHT, THIS SIDE OF JEALOUSY

2013-06-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

Solstice
by P.J. Hoover
Hardcover Giveaway
Tor Teen; First Editio
Released 6/18/2013

Piper's world is dying.

Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed--a sphere of gods and monsters--and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

An imaginative melding of mythology and dystopia, Solstice is the first YA novel by talented newcomer P. J. Hoover.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Solstice?

Ah, this is such a hard question! There are so many things I love about SOLSTICE. So I'm going to cheat a little bit and clump a couple of them together. The thing I love the most about SOLSTICE is the world building. There are two distinct worlds in SOLSTICE: The world above ground, specifically in Austin, Texas, where global warming is destroying the earth, and the world below ground, the underworld. While writing and revising SOLSTICE, the heat of the world was such a real thing. I could feel it and live it and let it soak into me, just like the main character, Piper, does. As for the underworld, it is filled with so many distinct places and people, and I adored bringing these to life. I also love how the two worlds, though so different, parallel each other as the story progresses. Just talking about it makes me want to read it all over again :)

Purchase Solstice at Amazon
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View Solstice on Goodreads

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Tarnish

by Katherine Longshore

Signed Hardcover Giveaway

Viking Juvenile

Released 6/18/2013

Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court--and to convince the whole court they're lovers--she accepts. Before long, Anne's popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice, but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart's desire and the chance to make history.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Tarnish?

The characters. Anne's voice came to me while I was on a six-hour drive, and I had to pull off the side of the road and start writing immediately. I originally intended Thomas Wyatt to be a foil and an antagonist, but then she fell in love with him, so I did, too. And the king? I had a fabulous time writing a sexy rockstar Henry VIII. I hardly feel like they are my creation at all. They're rooted in history, but what grew through the writing was beyond my imagining.

Purchase Tarnish at Amazon

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View Tarnish on Goodreads

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Intuition
by C.J. Omololu
Hardcover Giveaway
Walker Childrens; 1 edition
Released 6/18/2013

As Cole begins to accept her new life as Akhet, someone who can remember flashes of her past lives, every new vision from her past lives helps explain who she is in this life. As her passion for Griffon grows, she learns to identify other Akhet around her, including Drew, the young self-made millionaire who reveals his startling connection to Cole-he was her husband in Elizabethan England and gave her the ankh necklace that has been returned to her after centuries in hiding. Drew's attentions are overwhelming as he insists that their connection in the past signals their future destiny together, but before she can decide who she truly loves, Cole must learn to harness her unique Akhet abilities if she is to ever understand her role in this strange new world.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Intuition?

My favorite thing about INTUITION was getting to see how the characters have changed and matured over the course of the story. I'm used to characters driving the story and frankly, often making terrible decisions, but I was really happy with how my main character Cole resolves one of the issues that is facing her in this book. This part of the story takes a small, intimate problem and raises it to epic, world-saving proportions and writing the action and figuring out who the bad guys were was a lot of fun. I love the premise that everyone has past lives but only a small group of people remember them, and watching Cole transition and gain knowledge was really great. Hope you enjoy the story!

Purchase Intuition at Amazon
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View Intuition on Goodreads

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Linked
by Imogen Howson
Hardcover Giveaway
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she's been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she's promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she's been seeing the world through another girl's eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl--Lin--who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose--secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Linked?

LINKED is set in a futuristic world, so my favorite thing is all the fun little bits of made-up technology I've used in the story. My favorite one of all is the self-clearing dinner table.

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This Side of Jealousy
by Lili Peloquin
Hardcover Giveaway
Razorbill
Released 6/18/2013

Nothing ever came between sisters Alice and Charlie.
If by nothing, you mean everything. The sisters haven't been able to stop fighting since they arrived in Serenity Point two weeks ago. Those two weeks changed their lives. And Serenity Point has changed them.

Friends didn't.
Charlie has a new group of friends and a new life. Jude and Cybill are beautiful, exciting, and dangerously seductive. And though Sasha is proving to be a friend and confidante to Alice, Alice can't get away from the people, places, and events that mire her in the past.

Boys couldn't.
Alice loves Tommy, but the memory of Camilla, dead and gone, is driving a wedge between them. And Alice's ex-boyfriend Patrick won't give up on her, no matter what she says to keep him away. Jude is slowly giving up his bad boy ways for Charlie, but it's not smooth sailing if Cybill has anything to say about it. And then Nick arrives: Dr. Van Stratten's former intern seems to know things about last summer--things that Jude and Tommy would rather not be revealed. Alice is determined to find out what.

Their family falling apart never would.
While the sisters grapple with the terrible truth about their family, the one-year memorial of Camilla's death looms. The tension mounts and sparks fly as bright as July Fourth fireworks--and Alice and Charlie team up to find out the truth that everyone seems to be hiding.

Until they got to Serenity Point.
Is Camilla their enemy and rival, even six feet under? Or is she their sister, whose memory they have to protect? And what really happened to her that night on the bridge? In a town built on secrets and lies, can the truth stay buried for long?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about This Side of Jealousy?

This Side of Jealousy is the second book in a three-book series called The Innocents, a combination teen soap opera and whodunnit. Book one is about all about setting up the mystery. And book three is all about resolving the mystery. So book two is the most fun because it's all about deepening the mystery, complicating the mystery. Plus, you really get to spend time with the characters--get to know them, their histories, their eccentricities and, best of all, their secrets!

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* * * *

A Trick of the Light
by Lois Metzger
Hardcover Giveaway
Balzer + Bray
Released 6/18/2013

Mike Welles had everything under control. He was a good student, an outfielder on the baseball team, a good son, a loyal friend. But that was before. Now things are rough at home, and they're getting confusing at school. He's losing his sense of direction, and he feels like a mess.Then there's a voice in his head. A friend, trying to help him regain control. More than that: The voice can guide him to be better and stronger than he was before, to rid his life of everything holding him back. To figure out who he is again. If only Mike will listen.

Writing with devastating power and precision, acclaimed author Lois Metzger gives us the story of one young man's battle with his own shadows--a spare, stark, and vital tale of the way in which the things we build to protect ourselves can threaten to destroy us.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Trick of the Light?

The narrator.

When I started this book nearly ten years ago, I always imagined the book would be written from the point of view of Mike Welles, age 15. And so I began to tell the story of how Mike starts to hear a strange voice in his head, a voice that frightens him at first but then seems to be trying to help him. Mike is having a hard time; his parents are separating, and there’s a new girl at school he likes, but when he works up his courage to talk to her, he really messes it up. The voice in his head calms him down, and wants to show him the way to become fit and strong, to handle all the chaos in his life.

In an early version of the book, Mike himself was the narrator, although his story was interrupted more and more frequently by the voice. The voice’s suggestions lead to more and more destructive behavior that ultimately threaten Mike’s survival, making it hard, as I found out, for Mike to keep telling his own story. So I played around with several narrators. I tried third-person narration (“he said, she said”). And then I tried telling the book from the viewpoint of Mike’s friend, Amber. At one point in my rewrites, I had Mike’s mother narrating a few chapters.

Then a strange thing happened. The voice in Mike’s head starting telling the entire story all by itself! I was surprised at how the voice felt so comfortable as narrator, as if it had always been destined to be the voice of the book, speaking straight to the reader. “A Trick of the Light” was then rewritten to accommodate this new, disembodied narrator, and that is how I came to write a book told from the point of view of a voice in someone’s head.

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LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Boy Nobody
by Allen Zadoff
Hardcover Giveaway (3 Copies)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

Winners: Jennifer Pickrell, Rosi, Marjorie

They needed the perfect soldier: one who could function in every situation without fear, sympathy or anger; who could assassinate strangers and then walk away emotionally unscathed. So they made Boy Nobody-a teen with no name or history. The perfect soldier.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target. But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter seems so much like him; the mayor smells like his father. And when memories and questions surface, the Program is watching. Because somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the kid he once was, the teen who wants normal things like a real home and parents, a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

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How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend
by Allyson Valentine
Hardcover Giveaway
Philomel
Released 6/13/2013

Winner: Jessica Piazza

A funny and smart romantic comedy about getting the guy. . . and finding yourself.
Sophomore Nora Fulbright is the most talented and popular new cheerleader on the Riverbend High cheer squad. Never mind that she used to be queen of the nerds--a chess prodigy who answered every question first, aced every test and repelled friends at every turn--because this year, Nora is determined to fully transition from social pupa to full blown butterfly, even if it means dumbing down her entire schedule. But when funny, sweet and very cute Adam moves to town and steals Nora's heart with his untra-smarts and illegally cute dimple, Nora has a problem. How can she prove to him that she's not a complete airhead? Nora devises a seemingly simple plan to barter her way into Adam's classes that involves her classmates, friends, and her older brother Phil's award-winning AP history paper. But soon, Nora can barely keep track of her trades, and struggles to stay in control of her image.

In the end, the only thing that can save Nora is a chess tournament--that she has to compete in wearing her cheerleading uniform. Can she prove to everyone that she can be both a butterfly and a nerd?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend?

My favorite things about How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend (I couldn't come up with just one!):
I love the secondary characters. Some people have told me that their favorite character is Nora's little brother, Joshie, and I think he might be my favorite, too. He's funny without trying to be, he's vulnerable, innocent, but with a distinctly impish streak. He's a compilation of kids I've known and loved, especially my own two boys and my brother when he was a little kid. Joshie's was the dialogue that required the least revising because his voice always came out loud and clear, and he spoke so fast I could barely get his words on the page. I also really love the Teapot. She's genuine, full of heart, so present in every moment. I really appreciate her loyalty and her humor. I was so happy that she got to go to the Homecoming dance, and never saw it coming until the moment it did. And I'm still excited for her about the way her story resolves. I've never actually known someone quite like the Teapot; someone so confident to just be who they are without worrying who's watching. She inspires me! And the story is filled with character I would love to know more about. Like Krista's boyfriend, Dex. He's sweet and warm and obviously entirely devoted to Krista. I picture him as being from a very solid family, blue collar, salt of the earth. I still think about him from time to time and wonder what he's doing right now. I love Geoff the fish, Eric (aka Chubby Stripes), Vanessa. I even have a soft spot for Mitch, creepy as he is.
I like the relationships that grow and deepen through the course of the story and how writing them put me in touch with my own past relationships. To write the budding romance between Nora and Adam I had to completely immerse myself in a particularly sweet high school romance with a boy called Michael. The relationship between Nora and her Mom included the same kinds of push and pull that I experienced with my own mother growing up. And when I was in high school, it looked for a while there like my father was leaving us. The anger and hurt I felt back then fueled the conversation between Nora and her father. My relationship with my own father has healed and I am definitely pulling for Nora to go to school in Boston! .
I adore the title! The working title for this book was Swapped, as Nora's swaps are a huge plot point. When the editors suggested changing it I felt very unsure. And when they suggested changing it to How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend, at first I was really uncomfortable. I never would have seen myself writing a novel with such a title. But the more I thought about it the better I liked it. When I saw it on the cover I was totally sold. Now, I think it's perfect.

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* * * *

Night School
by C.J. Daugherty
Hardcover Giveaway
Katherine Tegen Books
Released 5/21/2013

Winner: Simon P.

Allie Sheridan's world is falling apart. Her brother's run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she's just been arrested.

Again.

This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.

But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.

When she's attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.

And that she is not who she thought she was.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Night School?

Cimmeria Academy. The school where Allie is sent by her parents after her arrest is nothing like she expects. She thinks she's going to reform school, with tough kids and iron bars on the windows. Instead she finds it's an extraordinary place -- a sprawling Victorian mansion set amid vast gardens and many acres of forests, and with a ruined castle on the hill above it. It's Hogwarts without witches and she soon falls in love with it.

Buildings like Cimmeria are not at all uncommon in England -- in fact, when creating it, I used as my inspiration a boarding school near my home -- but, as an American ex-pat, I've never stopped being impressed by them. Every time I walk into a school that reminds me of Cimmeria -- as I often do on book tours -- I find myself wishing again I could have gone to a school like that. Had such beauty around me every day.

In Cimmeria I invented my dream school. Of course, it's terribly dangerous there -- everything beautiful has its price.

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Burning
by Elana K. Arnold
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Press
Released 6/11/2013

Winner: rhapsodyinbooks

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Burning?

The best thing, for me, about BURNING was the ability to get into the heads of two characters--Ben Stanley and Lala White. I structured this book so that the odd chapters are in Ben's voice, and the even chapters are in Lala's.

I set the story in a fictional version of a real town, Empire, Nevada. I first heard about Empire on NPR. Empire was a company town, meaning that the entire town was owned by a company that mined gypsum, which is used to make wallboard. But since the housing market crashed, the demand for gypsum has fallen, too, and everyone in Empire had to leave. The whole town shut down. And Empire was located really close to where the annual Burning Man festival occurs.

I started thinking about the teens who lived in Empire, and what their lives must be like in their final days in their town. Right away I heard Ben's story.

Lala's voice was more difficult to find, but I knew she would be a Romani Gypsy. I dove into research and became fascinated with the Gypsy culture, the family dynamics, the particular struggles these people face. And there was so much potential for conflict in the clashing of their worlds, in the burning heat of the desert summer.

I was on fire for this book. Everything about it--the Tarot reading, the scorched landscape, the tension between Ben and his friends, Lala and her fiance Romeo, the shuttering town--I couldn't write fast enough. And the two voices, Ben's and Lala's, drove me forward, demanding to tell their stories.

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Rush
by Eve Silver
Hardcover Giveaway
Katherine Tegen Books
Released 6/11/2013

Winner: esined615

So what's the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game--her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn't really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn't. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Rush?

Does "everything" count as an answer? I love the characters--damaged Miki Jones who draws on an inner well of strength, enigmatic Jackson Tate, easy-going Luka Vujic. I love the dual settings of Rochester, NY and the game Miki's sucked into where she has to hunt aliens or be hunted by them. I love the action; there are a lot of scenes where the reader lives the game right along with Miki. I love the whole gaming aspect. I love the way the reader discovers the answers right along with Miki. But most of all, my favorite thing about RUSH is the fact that I have the chance to share this story with readers.

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* * * *

Deviant
by Helen Fitzgerald
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Soho Teen
Released 6/11/2013

Winner: Katy Upperman

When 16-year-old Abigail's mother dies in Scotland--leaving a faded photo, a weirdly cryptic letter, and a one-way ticket to America--she feels nothing. Why should she? Her mother gave her away when she was a baby, leaving her to grow up on an anti-nuclear commune and then in ugly foster homes. But the letter is a surprise in more ways than one: Her father is living in California. What's more, Abigail discovers she has an eighteen-year-old sister, Becky. And the two are expecting Abigail to move in with them.

After struggling to overcome her natural suspicions of a note from beyond the grave (not to mention anything positive) Abigail grows close to her newfound sister. But then Becky is found dead, the accidental victim of an apparent drug overdose. As Abigail wrestles with her feelings and compiles a "Book of Remembrance" of her sister's short life, she uncovers a horrifying global plot aimed at controlling teen behavior: one that took her sister's and mother's lives, with vast implications.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Deviant?

Abigail hates rainy Glasgow. She thinks moving to LA will turn her into someone else; someone who's happy. But it's not where you are that makes you happy or sad, it's who. And no matter where she's living, I love feisty, complex, confusing, confused, Abigail. She's my favorite thing about the book. She's tough but she's also kind, she toes the line but she's also deviant, she longs for intimacy yet she pushes it away. I only wish she loved herself as much as I love her.

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* * * *

Insomnia
by J.R. Johansson
Paperback Giveaway
Flux
Released 6/8/2013

Winner: Michele Luker

It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he's had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people's fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets--and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.

Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia's eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he's gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it's Parker.

Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Insomnia?

My favorite thing is the twists and turns the plot takes combined with the unreliable narration. With Parker, we have a main character who can't tell what is real and what is not. When the reader is viewing it through his eyes, every aspect of the story is called into question. It makes for quite a bumpy ride.

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* * * *

Another Little Piece
by Kate Karyus Quinn
Hardcover Giveaway
HarperTeen
Released 6/11/2013

Winner: Cassandra Brown

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape--unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Another Little Piece?

Oooh, this is tough! I love the little poems sprinkled throughout ALP. I love the romantic relationship that develops between Annaliese and Dex. I love the layering of time so that flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the current time narrative. However, if I must pick, my very favorite thing is the relationship that develops between Annaliese and the mom. In many ways, I feel that this is the heart of the ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE and that without the mom's steady and constant love, this book would've had a completely different ending.

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* * * *

Underneath
by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Paperback Giveaway
Flux
Released 6/8/2013

Winner: Olivia Hinebaugh

With New Agey parents and a Pakistani heritage, it might have been difficult for Sunny Pryce-Shah to fit in. Thankfully, she had her older, popular cousin Shiri to talk to--until now. Shiri's shocking suicide brings heartwrenching pain and grief, and also seems to have triggered a new and disturbing ability in Sunny: hearing people's thoughts.

It's awful, especially when Sunny learns what her so-called friends really think of her. Feeling more comfortable with the Emo crowd, she tells them about her strange talent and uses it to help cute, troubled Cody. But when his true motives are revealed, she isn't sure whom to trust anymore. Sunny hopes to find answers in Shiri's journal. Was her cousin also cursed with this "gift"? Will Sunny end up like Shiri?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Underneath?

Much more than I originally expected, the book ended up talking about the messiness of navigating relationships: friendships, family, love--they aren't necessarily easy, and sometimes they even require work (surprise!). Sunny has this gift that enables her to catch glimpses of what's going through others' minds, but in reality, it's not much more than we mere mortals ever get. The work of the relationship still has to be done--the reaching out, the trusting, the giving of ourselves and accepting of the other person. And in the end, Sunny learns how powerful (and sometimes difficult) those seemingly everyday things really are. I didn't approach the book with that theme explicitly in mind; it was just something that emerged as I wrote and re-wrote. Because this particular book was a challenging one for me to write--it's gone through a LOT of drafts and lived through at least two abandonments--it was incredibly rewarding to see themes like this one take shape and give cohesion to the story, making the characters come alive in a way they hadn't for me before.

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* * * *

Belle Epoque
by Elizabeth Ross
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

Winner: Vivien

When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service--the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive.

Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.

But Isabelle has no idea her new "friend" is the hired help, and Maude's very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.

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IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

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Proxy
by Alex London
Hardcover
Philomel
Released 6/18/2013

Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want--the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox's. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox's father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Proxy?

My favorite thing about Proxy is that it exists at all.
One hears a lot of negative things about the publishing business and working with giant conglomerates, but I have to say, I have had some amazing experiences in my short career working with Penguin Books for Young Readers.
When I started writing for young people, I wrote Middle Grade novels--stories for 8-12 year olds. The series I wrote, The Accidental Adventures, are silly, goofball adventure comedies and Penguin Books has worked hard to help them find their way in the world. So when I showed my editor an early partial draft of Proxy, a futuristic action-thriller with some pretty dark themes, they could easily have given me a song and dance about branding, about consistency, about any number of reasonable business-y things and declined to publish it. But instead, they said go for it. Tell the stories you need to tell.
And so I wrote Proxy and turned it in.
And that was the second surprise I had for my publishers.
In the process of finishing, the main character, Syd, had revealed himself to be gay. I hadn't planned it that way, it just happened and it made sense for him. So, into my futuristic thriller, there came a gay 16 year old boy, fighting for his life against giant corporations and violent criminals and messianic rebels all with impossible odds. There are meditations on debt and society, identity and power, and the meaning of freedom. While Syd's sexuality doesn't play much of a role in the story, it is present, it is part of who he is. He is a lot of things in addition, but being gay is part of him. Hardly the stuff of instant best-sellerdom and hardly standard fare for an action hero, it seemed.
However, instead of balking, instead of telling me to make a change, to put Syd in the closet, my publisher said "Go for it, as long as you keep the story exciting, the characters honest, and tell the stories you need to tell." They helped me to make Proxy the most exciting, moving, and inventive thriller I could make it. They told me to go bigger! They told me to tell the stories I needed to tell.
And I have.
I've been very lucky to work with such a great team, to tell a story that matters to me, and hopefully, will matter to other people too. The process of writing Proxy, of bringing it into the world, has really showed me that young adults are smart readers, engaged readers, skeptical and passionate readers, and that they are hungry for all kinds of characters in all kinds of stories.
So my favorite thing about Proxy is that it is the story I needed to tell.
Also all the part with the robot explosions. I love that part.

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* * * *

Star Cursed
by Jessica Spotswood
Hardcover
Putnam Juvenile
Released 6/18/2013

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers--if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Star Cursed?

I love STAR CURSED. It was a steep learning curve for me; in writing it (and rewriting) I learned so much about pacing and stakes. It's full of growing tension as the battle between the witches and the Brotherhood - the priests who outlawed magic - heats up. There's a book burning, a protest, visits to an insane asylum, at least one death, and one enormous betrayal - and we find out for certain which of the Cahill sisters is the most powerful. But even though I tried to keep readers frantically flipping pages, I hope that it never sacrifices character for plot, because writing swoony kissing scenes and intense sibling rivalry are still my favorite things!

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MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

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The Watcher in the Shadows
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 6/18/2013

It was an unforgettable summer....
When fourteen-year-old Irene Sauvelle moves with her family to Cape House on the coast of Normandy, she's immediately taken by the beauty of the place--its expansive cliffs, coasts, and harbors. There, she meets a local boy named Ishmael, and the two soon fall in love. But a dark mystery is about to unfold, involving a reclusive toymaker who lives in a gigantic mansion filled with mechanical beings and shadows of the past.

As strange lights shine through the fog surrounding a small, barren island, Irene's younger brother dreams of a dark creature hidden deep in the forest. And when a young girl is found murdered, her body at the end of a path torn through the woods by a monstrous, inhuman force, Irene and Ishmael wonder--has a demonic presence been unleashed on the inhabitants of Cape House? Together, they'll have to survive the most terrifying summer of their lives, as they try to piece together the many mysteries and secrets hidden in a town torn apart by tragedy, amidst a labyrinth of lights and shadows.

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* * * *

Character Bucket List - Jag Barque from the Possession series by Elana Johnson

2013-06-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Jag Barque is a complicated character. He’s been able to control people with his voice since he could talk, and he lost his parents when he was only five years old. His brothers raised him, and he took over as leader of the Resistance when he was only thirteen.

He keeps most people out, choosing only to trust his older brothers and his best friend Zenn—until Zenn betrays him, resulting in Jag’s brother’s death. After that, Jag keeps everyone at arm’s length. At least until he meets Violet Schoenfeld. Then, all bets are off.

Jag’s bucket list is fairly short. He’s lived through lean times when he didn’t know where his next meal would come from or what city he’d call home for the night. So yeah. His bucket list only includes a few things:

1. Eat a home cooked meal for a week straight.
2. Teach Vi how to hoverboard.
3. Settle down in a small country town to accomplish #1 and #2 above.

Jag just wants a chance at a normal life, with the girl he loves. That’s not too much to ask for, is it? Apparently, when you live in the Association – the world in the Possession series – it just might be.

About the Book

Rebel and Thinker, commander and subordinate, friend and enemy: Rivals Jag and Zenn have always had a combative relationship. And Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there's more at stake than a few broken hearts.

But there is a traitor among them...and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.

Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers' reign. Their success means everything...and their failure means death.

Buy Abandon on Amazon
Find Abandon on Goodreads

About the Author

Elana is the author of the Possession series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION, SURRENDER and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET (ebook only) and RESIST (free here!).

Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult science fiction and fantasy.

Using her boring human powers, she graduated from Southern Utah University with Summa Cum Laude honors in Elementary Education with a minor in Mathematics. She started her teaching career as an upper grade music and art specialist. After a four-year stint in 3rd grade, she is currently the technology specialist.

In her world, Oreos and bacon would be the only food groups. Everyone would drive 10 over the speed limit. Winter would be eliminated as a season, and Jeff Probst would be President. As it is, she lives with her husband and two kids in central Utah, gets cited when she drives too fast and eats Oreos only on special occasions.

She is the author of From the Query to the Call, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query.

She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon. She is a member of SCBWI, ANWA, and LDStorymakers. You can follow Elana on Twitter here.

Elana is represented by Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary.

WOW Wednesday: Georgia McBride on Winding Roads to Publication

2013-06-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today's WOW guest is the picture of perseverance and resilience. Not only does she have a new book out this month, she has a new publishing company that she's running, and she's the founder of YALitChat.org, a non-profit organization for those interested in fostering the advancement of young adult literature, a phenomenal resource for writers of young adult fiction at every level.

A Road Full of Potholes

by Georgia McBride

The road to publication is longer for some than others. Mine was long, windy and with many potholes and forks.

To further enhance the metaphor, let's say I ran out of gas, got lost several times and even endured at least two accidents (through no fault of my own).

When you are "aspiring," everyone has advice for you, even those who have absolutely no idea of what they speak.

I was lucky though. I had the benefit of two agents (I am no longer agented), as well as editors who were willing to not only read my work, but who freely offered advice on how to make it better. I even paid book doctors to, well, doctor on my manuscript. Too bad those "doctors" had little to no experience editing Young Adult books. Live and learn.

Perhaps the best advice I never received was to follow your gut. So many times my gut told me to do things that went against typical or expected publishing business practice. But I didn't listen because I was held back by fear.

So, do the below. Don't do what I did.

Don't change the genre you write in because it "won't sell." If you're patient, interest in what you write will eventually come. I was told that paranormal books were going out of style and that readers were tired of angel books especially. And, PRAEFATIO was originally written as a New Adult with Grace turning 19 in book 1. I was advised by many in the business that it would be impossible to sell to the big houses, that bookstores wouldn't know where to shelf it, and readers don't care about heroines over 17! Now, New Adult is a super hot category with readers, publishers and booksellers alike embracing it as the new "it" thing!

Don't be afraid to self-publish. Self-publishing is the new traditional publishing. Authors who have found success by self-publishing in many cases have gone on to big traditional deals. So, as my grandmother would say, "there is more than one way to skin a cat!" Who does that, by the way, skin cats? And self-publishing (now often called indie-publishing) has become a viable way to not only make a living as a writer, but also to build readership, and attract the interest of both agents and editors.

Don't stay with an agent for fear that being unagented is a stigma. You need an agent who is right for you, not just an agent for the sake of having an agent. And, even though I had two awesome agents in the past 5 years, in the end, our vision(s) were not aligned and therefore, our professional relationships suffered. Find YOUR perfect agent, and also remember that having an agent isn't for everyone.

Don't stop believing!

About the Author

Georgia was born and raised in NYC but has been living in NC since 2006. When not writing or running Month9Books or Swoon Romance or the non-profit literary organization YALITCHAT.ORG, which she founded, Georgia visits schools and talks to kids about writing books!

Georgia writes speculative fiction for teens and tweens and even has an adult non-fiction book brewing in that overactive brain of hers. In her spare time she can be found rounding up 2 kids, 1 German Shepard 3 Chihuahuas, and 1 parrot. She loves music of all kinds, wine and movies, and is addicted to coffee and bacon. Some of her favorite creators are George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams and Ridley Scott. She would cut off her right (or left) arm to work with any of the above.

She supports adoption (people and dogs), music appreciation, reading/literacy, animal rescue, cultural exchange, eco-friendly activities, equal rights for everyone and believes that we must achieve world peace.

Find Georgia at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter. You can also join in the fun at #YALitChat every Wednesday at 9:00 PM EST on Twitter. It's an amazing way to interact with writers, authors, agents, editors, and readers!

Georgia’s debut YA novel, PRAEFATIO came out May 21, 2013.

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup and her family from worry over her safety. Authorities believe that Grace is ill, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace's claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace's story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace's account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it's sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?

Buy Praefatio on Amazon
Buy Praefatio on Indiebound
Find Praefatio on Goodreads

Twitter Bio Tips for Aspiring and Published Authors by Victoria Scott

2013-06-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

Before I started writing, I spent four years studying marketing at Texas A&M University. After that, I worked in marketing for some of the largest media companies in North America. I then returned to college to get a master’s degree in the field. Needless to say, marketing was a big part of my life before writing, and it still is today. I adore the subject, and today I want to talk about something that many writers overlook—the Twitter bio.

A strong Twitter bio does three things:

1)Narrows your specialty.
2)Tells other Twitter peeps why they should follow you.
3)Shows people you’re human.

Let’s take a look at an aspiring author’s bio that could be stronger (made up):

Mother of 3 and writer of fun fiction. Lover of chocolate, comedy, and a strong margarita. And dancing!

Let’s start with why this doesn’t work. First, it doesn’t narrow your specialty (are you a specialist at mothering, writing, chocolate?). Second, it doesn’t tell us why we should follow you (what can you provide us?). It does show us you’re human, but in a vague way.

Here’s how I would change it:

Writer of paranormal romance and a member of RWA. Currently querying literary agents. Lover of dark chocolate and strong margaritas!

In this bio, we’re told what this person specializes in (she’s a writer of paranormal romance). We find out why we should follow her (maybe you like para-romance too!). And the last line lets us know she’s human.

Let’s do one more. This is a bio for a published, agented author (again, made up):

I write ghost stories that make you want your mama. Parent to two Cocker Spaniels. I make a mean hot chocolate!

Now, let’s rewrite it:

Writer of horror and paranormal romance. Author of A GHOST STORY (Penguin, May 2013). Represented by Jane Doe. Cocker Spaniels = Awesome.

This tells us her specialty (she’s an author of horror and paranormal romance), why we should follow her (she’s published and represented, maybe she has writing tips/ARCs/excerpts for me!), and we know she’s human (she loves her some hot chocolate).

Another way to think of this bio writing stuff is what NOT to do:

1)Don’t congest your bio. Tell us one or two things you like and/or do, not seven.
2)Mention what you specialize in FIRST so people who aren’t interested in that can move on.
3)Avoid mentioning anything that’s too generic (i.e. I love my kids/pets –don’t we all?)
4)Don’t post buy links. Instead, post a link to your website where readers can learn more about you and your book.

A couple more suggestions:

1)Use a nice, clean avatar image.
2)Include a link to your website (but not in the Twitter bio text field).
3)Most importantly, ignore advice you don’t like, including mine!

Now go Twitter!

About the Author

Victoria Scott is a teen fiction author represented by Sarah Crowe. She’s the author of the DANTE WALKER series (Entangled Teen) and the FIRE & FLOOD series (Scholastic). Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and adores cotton candy.

Check out Victoria's website
Follow Victoria on Twitter

About the Book

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of Hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of Hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

Buy The Collector on Amazon
Find The Collector on Goodreads

Breaking the Rules in Your Novel Opening, Plus a Critique Giveaway by Liz Coley

2013-06-10T06:00:00.001-04:00

Please welcome today's guest Liz Coley! She has generously offered to give away a two page (max 500 words) critique. Enter to win at the bottom of the post.

When I wrote the first three words of Pretty Girl-13, I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t planning ahead. The simple phrase my fingers produced were a Christmas present from my subconscious--more an early Christmas present, because it was November 1, 2009, the start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). More than three years later, in early 2013, their significance hit me between the eyes like an arrow. I laughed as it struck home.

The first three words? “You had forgotten…”

Of course. How perfect. The whole novel is about things forgotten and things remembered, about things repressed and things recovered. But I can’t claim credit. It just happened.

Establish a Voice, a Setting, and a Conflict
In fact, the rest of the prologue chapter, Lost Time, fell out of my brain the same way, in a flash of inspiration. The final version is 99% untouched from that day because the opening did what openings are supposed to do—it established a voice, in this case a creepy and mysterious observer reporting in second person, recalling to Angie the circumstances of her disappearance; and it established a setting, a character, and a conflict. Most importantly, the opening followed the principle that I had been taught: the story starts when the world changes.

At a writing workshop I attended, the faculty read some opening sentences, and we voted on whether we would read on: yes, no, maybe. Common reasons for “YES” included beautiful language, clever imagery, engaging voice, surprises, or words having to do with death or violence. There was always the promise of time well spent.

When Your Writing Is Ready, You Can Bend the Rules
Beginning writers are told any number of rules. Don’t begin with a weather report. Don’t begin with dialogue. Don’t begin with self-examination or back story. Don’t begin with a world-building information dump. By the time your writing is mature enough to earn publication, you’ve earned the right to fold, spindle, and mutilate these rules. Some examples from my bookshelves:

(1) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
(begins with a “weather report” like we’ve never seen)

The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.
Of course, Tally thought, you’d have to feed your cat only salmon-flavored catfood for a while, to get the pinks right. The scudding clouds did look a bit fishy, rippled into scales by high altitude wind. As the light faded, deep blue gaps of night peered through like an upside-down ocean, bottomless and cold.
Any other summer, a sunset like this would have been beautiful. But nothing had been beautiful since Peris turned pretty. Losing your best friend sucks, even if it’s only for three months and two days.

(2) The Third Witch by Rebecca Reisert
(begins with dialogue, but what dialogue!)

“’Tis time to rob the dead.”
Nettle kicks me again. I pull my tattered wolfskin closer about my shoulders and curl into a tighter ball, scooting across the packed dirt of the floor to move as near as I dare to the embers in the fire pit.
“Rise up, lass. Stir your lazy bones, or else half the gleanings will be gone before we get there. Do not think to sleep away the day like a princess in a castle.”
She kicks me again and I open my eyes. Although she is a small woman, she towers above my pallet, her face and shoulders tense as always. If a sorcerer were to bewitch a needle into life, that creature would be Nettle.”

(3) The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
(begins with explicit self-revelation in a voice that sings)

Before anyone reading this thinks to call me a slut—or even just imagines I’m incredibly popular—let me point out that this list includes absolutely every single boy I have ever had the slightest little any-kind-of-anything with.
Boys I never kissed are on this list.
Boys I never even talked to are on this list.
Dr. Z told me not to leave anyone off. Not even if I think he’s unimportant.
In fact, especially if I think he’s unimportant.

(4) The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
(begins with world-building jargon, a disenfranchised hero, a killer premise)

If you’re reading this, then it must be a thousand years from now. Because nobody around here reads anymore. Why bother, when you can just probe it! Put all the images and excitement inside your brain and let it rip. There are all kinds of mind probes—trendies, shooters, sexbos, whatever you want to experience. Shooters are violent, and trendies are about living in Eden, and sexbos, well you can guess what sexbos are about. They say probing is better than anything. I wouldn’t know because I’ve got this serious medical condition that means I’m allergic to electrode needles. Stick one of those in my brain and it’ll kick off a really bad seizure and then—total mind melt, lights out, that’s all folks.
They call me Spaz, which is kind of a mope name, but I don’t mind, not anymore.

------------------------

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes.

About the Author

Liz Coley writes fiction for teens and for the teen in you.
Her first published work was science fiction short stories, published in Cosmos magazine and several anthologies.
Self-published YA novel "Out of Xibalba" features a contemporary teenager thrown back to ancient Mayan times. "The story starts when the world ends."
Upcoming "Pretty Girl-13" from HarperCollins will be released in at least ten languages and audiobook."There are secrets you can't even tell yourself."
Liz lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, her teenaged daughter, a snoring dog, and a limping old cat. When she's not involved in writing-related activities, she can be found sewing, baking, shooting photos, playing tennis, and singing.
Liz loves reading aloud.
Visit Liz on her website
Check out Liz's blog
Like Liz on Facebook

About the Book

Pretty girl
13 when she
went missing

lost
to her family
to her friends
to the world

found
but still missing
her self

In Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery, sixteen-year-old Angie Chapman must piece together the story of her kidnapping and abuse. Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing—and ultimately empowering—page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.
Buy PRETTY GIRL-13 on Amazon
Find PRETTY GIRL-13 on Goodreads

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Million Visitors Giveaway #2 of 4: Prizes include STORY MASTERS Registration and 14 Books

2013-06-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Photo by Tamara Craiu

Welcome to Day 2 of our Blog Party celebrating all the people who made 1,000,000 visits possible! If you haven't stopped by Day 1, please pop over.

The giveaways will run 6/8/13, 6/9/13, 6/15/13 and 6/16/13. Each day is a separate entry with its own prize packs, so be sure to enter all four days. I'll announce the winners on 6/22/13.

The Surprise Grand Prize

I was lucky to go to the YOUR BEST BOOK WORKSHOP in Charlotte last September, where I met Lorin Oberweger and Brenda Windberg from FREE EXPRESSIONS SEMINARS AND LITERARY SERVICES. They and the rest of the faculty at the workshop were the warmest, most caring and dedicated mentors anyone could possibly ask for. And when she found out that we were celebrating this milestone, Lorin got in touch and offered an incredibly generous Grand Prize. Even though I had intended not to accept any prizes because this was supposed to be about me giving back, I couldn't turn down the chance to share this fantastic opportunity with you!

Lorin is donating a registration to STORY MASTERS, an opportunity to study with three masters of fiction craft: Donald Maass, Christopher Vogler, and James Scott Bell. There isn't anything these three authors don't know about writing. Their books are featured in our four giveaways among our favorites, and they are known for breaking writing elements into brilliantly understandable steps.

The four-day workshop will be held November 7-10 in Minneapolis, MN. It's an incredible opportunity for a lucky writer to do amazing things for his or her career.

There's no need to enter separately for the Grand Prize. Just complete the form on today's giveaway and be sure to mark that you're a writer!

More People I Need To Thank

Prize Pack Nine: Marissa's Picks

Three years ago, I was with Marissa Graff at an SCBWI conference, listening to an agent tell a room full of authors that we HAD to blog. Neither of us had a clue what a blog even was. We decided to throw our cluelessness together and Adventures in YA Publishing was born. Marissa has since gone off to pursue first teaching and now her MFA in Children's Literature from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, but her legacy lives on here. I'm beyond grateful to her for the ideas, hard work, enthusiastic community building, and support. We truly would not be here without her.

In keeping with the idea of celebrating with the people who most inspired me, I have asked Marissa to share the title of her favorite YA novel and her favorite craft book.

What's Your Favorite Way to Celebrate Success, Marissa?
Okay, a success: This will probably sound highly obsessive, but I like to celebrate a success in writing with setting a goal that helps keep that momentum going. If, for example, I've struggled on a scene or tackling a particular revision, and I finally get it, I try to ride the wave of that success into another day of productivity. Maybe add in a dash of a sweet treat to reward myself ;)

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writer?

As for why YA is my favorite genre, I'm into my thirties and I feel as though that search we see in YA for individual growth and purpose is ongoing. It's not like I came out of my teens and just figured it all out. YA allows readers to be in touch with that journey, whatever their age. I mean, who ACTUALLY has it all figured out?

Favorite Fiction

Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
Hardcover Giveaway
Hyperion Book CH; First Edition edition
Released 5/15/2012

Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

A Michael L. Printz Award Honor book that was called "a fiendishly-plotted mind game of a novel" in The New York Times, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other.

Purchase Code Name Verity at Amazon
Purchase Code Name Verity at IndieBound
View Code Name Verity on Goodreads

* * * *

Favorite Craft Book

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
by Martha Alderson
Paperback Giveaway
Adams Media
Released 10/15/2011

When it comes to writing bestsellers, it's all about the plot. Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down--but you don't have to be one of them. With this book, you'll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers--one scene at a time.Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that's as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you'll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to:

Use the power of the Universal Story
Create plot lines and subplots that work together
Effectively use a scene tracker for maximum impact
Insert energetic markers at the right points in your story
Show character transformation at the book's climax
This is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners that sell!

Purchase Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master at Amazon
Purchase Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master at IndieBound
View Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master on Goodreads

Prize Pack Ten: From the Bookshelf Muse -- Angela's Picks

One of the first things I ever did after Marissa and I started the blog was to write a post about this miraculous discovery called The Emotion Thesaurus on a blog called The Bookshelf Muse. I couldn't rave about it enough. Little did I know that practically every writer in the world already knew about Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi and The Emotion Thesaurus, and that it was soon to become a best-selling writing book! Fortunately for me, Angela and Becca have become friends, mentors, and great sources of inspiration. I am truly blessed to know them.

Angela Ackerman is a bacon aficionado who is well versed in zombie-preparedness. She writes on the Dark and Mysterious Side of Chapter Books, Middle Grade and YA. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression is a fabulous resource for any writer.

What's Your Favorite Way to Celebrate Success, Angela?
When I have something small to celebrate, I usually do something that usually makes me feel guilty. Haha, that sounds crazy, doesn't it? It might be something small, like goof around online, or buy a chocolate bar, pick up some fast food, or go do a bit of "me" shopping. The point is, when I'm celebrating, the part of my brain that's poking me about watching my weight or getting back to revisions or doing some chore...it shuts off and I can enjoy the little things.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writer?
I love the way YA books have a sense of empowerment to them. Characters go through terrible things, truly awful circumstances, yet throughout the book, they adapt, grow and overcome. As a teen, so many things about my life made me feel weak, overwhelmed, victimized. I love reading books where the characters push to overcome their fears and doubts and deal with whatever comes. Their experience leaves me feeling empowered.

Angela's Fiction Pick

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
Giveaway
Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition
Released 9/27/2011

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Purchase Daughter of Smoke and Bone at Amazon
Purchase Daughter of Smoke and Bone at IndieBound
View Daughter of Smoke and Bone on Goodreads

* * * *

Angela's Craft Pick

Writing Screenplays that Sell
by Michael Hauge
Giveaway
Collins Reference; Anv edition
Released 3/15/2011

For more than twenty years, Writing Screenplays That Sell has been hailed as the most complete guide available on the art, craft, and business of writing for movies and television. Now fully revised and updated to reflect the latest trends and scripts, Hollywood story expert and script consultant Michael Hauge walks readers through every step of writing and selling successful screenplays. If you read only one book on the screenwriter's craft, this must be the one.

Purchase Writing Screenplays that Sell at Amazon
Purchase Writing Screenplays that Sell at IndieBound
View Writing Screenplays that Sell on Goodreads

Prize Pack Eleven: From the Bookshelf Muse -- Becca's Picks

In addition to being Angela's Muse-in-Crime at the Bookshelf Muse, Becca Puglisi writes YA fantasy and historical fiction. If she could mainline Mountain Dew, she would.

What's Your Favorite Way to Celebrate Success, Becca?
When it comes time to celebrate, I usually do it with food, lol. Dinner out is a must, usually with dessert, followed by an extra Mountain Dew.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writer?
I think that YA books are special because of the need they meet for their target audience. The teen years are so up-and-down, with more than their fill of self-doubt and uncertainty. Books can provide a welcome escape, or a sense of identification when readers see themselves in the characters. These books can also can open the reader's eyes to issues, scenarios, and ideas they've never before experienced. Books were very important to me as a teen; the main reason that I choose to write for the YA audience is because I want to create the same reading experiences for today's teens that I had when I was growing up.

Becca's Fiction Pick

Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
Giveaway
Harcourt Children''s Books; First Edition edition
Released 10/1/2008

His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn't shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn't seem human....

Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released her from her spell.

Cocky, she thought. Cocky and arrogant, this one, and that was all there was to make of him. Whatever game he was playing, if he expected her to join him he would be disappointed.

In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Purchase Graceling at Amazon
Purchase Graceling at IndieBound
View Graceling on Goodreads

* * * *

Becca's Craft Pick

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You''ll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder
Giveaway
Michael Wiese Productions
Released 5/25/2005

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

Purchase Save The Cat! at Amazon
Purchase Save The Cat! at IndieBound
View Save The Cat! on Goodreads

Prize Pack Twelve: Nicole's Picks

Right after I discovered the Bookshelf Muse, I found WORD for Teens, which was founded by Nicole in 2005 while she was a student. It has since been featured in Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens and Nicole has been quoted in Publisher's Weekly. She has spoken on the Children's Book Council's forum event 'From the teen's perspective' in 2011, and moderated a young adult discussion panel at New Paltz's Inquiring Minds in 2012. Her reviews and insights on books and Young Adult lit are fantastic.

What's Your Favorite Way to Celebrate Success, Nicole?
With a good book and some chocolate milk! I think, when it comes to successes, it's important to celebrate them and what you've accomplished - but for me, every time I do something successfully, I'm always looking ahead for the next thing to work on. So I really celebrate by, yes, reading a good book and drinking a glass of chocolate milk, and then jumping straight into my next venture.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writer?
The connection to raw emotion. The wide variety of storytelling. The ability to jump straight into the story. The universalism of the themes, despite the wide variety of the characters. The authors. The bloggers. The readers. The readers.

Nicole's Fiction Picks

Eyes Like Stars
by Lisa Mantchev
Giveaway
Feiwel & Friends
Released 4/13/2010

All her world’s a stage.

Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.
That is, until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.
COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.
ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.
BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.

Open Curtain

Purchase Eyes Like Stars at Amazon
Purchase Eyes Like Stars at IndieBound
View Eyes Like Stars on Goodreads

* * * *

Thief's Covenant
by Ari Marmell
Giveaway
Pyr
Released 2/21/2012

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city's aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces-human and other-stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder. Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon's underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It's not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it's hers. But now, in the midst of Davillon's political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she's built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her-but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don't finish the job first.

Purchase Thief's Covenant at Amazon
Purchase Thief's Covenant at IndieBound
View Thief's Covenant on Goodreads

Prize Pack Thirteen: Bonus Prize Pack

Spirit's Chosen (Princesses of Myth)
by Esther Friesner
Hardcover Giveaway
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 4/23/2013

Esther Friesner's fanbase is growing. Readers who love girl-centric teen fantasy-adventure are happily following her from ancient Greece to ancient Egypt and now Third-century Japan.

Himiko's world is falling apart. An attack by the Ookami clan has left many from her tribe dead or enslaved. And those who remain in the ransacked Matsu village are certain they've angered the gods. Amid the chaos and fear, Himiko hatches a plan to save her beloved tribe. Traveling through the treacherous wilderness with her best friend Kaya, their only goal is to free her clanfolk from the Ookami. At every turn she encounters other tribes and unforeseen challenges. But just when it seems that she will outwit Ryu, the cruel Ookami leader, she is captured. Held agains her will, Himiko starts to realize that not all of the Ookami are her enemies and every step of her unconventional journey has prepared her for something greater than life as a princess. Though she may not see her path as clearly as the spirits seem to, there's more adventure (and even unexpected love) for this young shamaness and warrior.

Purchase Spirit's Chosen (Princesses of Myth) at Amazon
Purchase Spirit's Chosen (Princesses of Myth) at IndieBound
View Spirit's Chosen (Princesses of Myth) on Goodreads

* * * *

Out of This Place
by Emma Cameron
Advance Reader Copy 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.

Purchase Out of This Place at Amazon
Purchase Out of This Place at IndieBound
View Out of This Place on Goodreads

Prize Pack Fourteen: Bonus Prize Pack

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
by Meg Medina
Hardcover Giveaway
Candlewick
Released 3/26/2013

In Meg Medina’s compelling new novel, a Latina teen is targeted by a bully at her new school — and must discover resources she never knew she had.

One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.

Purchase Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass at Amazon
Purchase Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass at IndieBound
View Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass on Goodreads

* * * *

The Year of Luminous Love
by Lurlene McDaniel
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 5/14/2013

In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, but for teens, this inspirational novel is set against the backdrop of Tennessee horse country as well as the historic cities of Italy and the Italian countryside. The story unfolds as three teenage girls, recently graduated from high school, plan the next phase of their lives while dealing with immediate life issues. McDaniel subtly explores the many types of love the girls experience--including love for one's family, one's friends, and intimate love--and the sacrifices they choose to make (or not) for each of them.

Purchase The Year of Luminous Love at Amazon
Purchase The Year of Luminous Love at IndieBound
View The Year of Luminous Love on Goodreads

* * * *

Prize Pack Fifteen: More of Martina's Fiction Picks

The Sky Is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson
Hardcover Giveaway
Dial; 1 edition
Released 6/8/2013

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

Purchase The Sky Is Everywhere at Amazon
Purchase The Sky Is Everywhere at IndieBound
View The Sky Is Everywhere on Goodreads

* * * *

The Book of Broken Hearts
by Sarah Ockler
Hardcover Giveaway
Simon Pulse
Released 5/21/2013

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

Purchase The Book of Broken Hearts at Amazon
Purchase The Book of Broken Hearts at IndieBound
View The Book of Broken Hearts on Goodreads

Thanks for celebrating with us, everyone!

Happy reading and writing,

Martina

Million Visitors Blog Celebration (1st of 4) with 18 Books To Give Away

2013-06-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

WE'RE CELEBRATING!

It's absolutely amazing to me, but Adventures in YA Publishing is about to hit a major milestone: a million visitors. Yes. A million.

A MILLION!

That's crazy-making. And jaw-dropping. And happy-dance-inspiring.

Via Rae

It delights me that so many of you have been here to share joy in young adult literature, the craft that goes into writing it, the authors who make it special, the bloggers who spread the word, and most of all, the readers who love to read it. So thank you.

THANK you!

Via Rachel K

And what better way to express my thanks than to turn the celebration into a shower of books?

Beyond toasting a happy day with prosecco, dancing around the house, and eating something with far more calories than dancing can possibly burn off, sharing a celebration with the people who made it possible is my favorite way to celebrate. Sharing a book celebration full of young adult literature is a double whammy.

Young adult literature is magical. It's full of firsts and emotion. Self-exploration. Breathless love. Heartache. Heartbreak. Heart-pounding fear. Healing. Joy. Freedom. Discovery. Possibility. Hope. The books are tightly plotted, fast paced, genre-bending, and beautifully written. They are filled with characters who reach out from the pages and become lifelong companions.

To express my gratitude to the people who, over the past three years since I began blogging, have introduced me to the books, authors, writers, and book reviewers I have come to love, I have asked a few of them to tell me their favorite book titles so that I could give away prize packs in their honor.

Their prize packs are listed below, and I'm throwing in two prize packs of my own, plus two additional bonus prize packs to sweeten the pot. Some of the gift packs include books on writing craft and are for those who both read and write YA. Other packs include only fiction. No worries. There's a spot on the form to let you tell us your preference pack type.

The giveaway will run 6/8/13, 6/9/13, 6/15/13 and 6/16/13. Each day is a separate entry with its own prize packs, so be sure to enter all four days. And I'll announce the winners on 6/22/13.

Happy reading, thank you, and good luck!

Martina

Prize Pack One - Jan Lewis' Prize Pack Pick

Jan joined Adventures in YA Publishing at the end of last year after I'd been struggling to keep things afloat. She is now our scheduling guru, our spread sheet wizard, and our gatekeeper of all things contest. I can honestly say that I do not know what I would do without her.

In addition to being far more organized than I am, she is unfailingly kind, optimistic, professional, and ready to cheer for every author, every book, every blogger, and every writer out there.

In short, Jan is amazing, and I am beyond fortunate to have her with me on the blog and as a friend.

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success?
Going out with my husband to our favorite sushi restaurant. There's nothing like gyoza, edamame, and a solo boat!

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writers?
When I was a teenager, reading was my escape. I was so passionate about the books that I loved, and finding one that I could really connect with was magical. To write a book that a young adult might feel that way about would be an honor. I feel like my life would be complete if I was able to touch just one reader the way that so many authors touched me as a teen.

Jan's Giveaway Picks:

Incarnate
by Jodi Meadows
Hardcover Giveaway
Katherine Tegen Books; First Edition edition

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Purchase Incarnate at Amazon
Purchase Incarnate at IndieBound
View Incarnate on Goodreads

* * * *

Box Set: The Giver, Messenger, The Gathering Blue
by Lois Lowry
Paperback Giveaway
Laurel Leaf
Released 6/8/2013

Discover the worlds of Lois Lowry in this beautiful boxed set. This perfect gift collection by New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry, which includes the award-winning titles The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger, is available to coincide with the publication of Lowry’s newest book, Son. Lowry was twice the recipient of the Newbery Medal, for Number the Stars and for The Giver. Her powerful and provocative novels are full of suspense, drama, and heart-wrenching action.

The Giver: When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out for special training from The Giver. Now it’s time for Jonas to learn the truth. There is no turning back.
*
Gathering Blue: Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. When she is given a task that no other community member can carry out, Kira realizes that she is surrounded by mysteries and secrets—and finds that she possesses an extraordinary power.
*
Messenger: Matty has always been proud to be Village’s Messenger. But now that Village is closing its once-welcoming doors, Matty must make one last journey through the treacherous forest—and one great sacrifice to save the place he loves.
*
Lowry’s novels feature remarkable characters. This boxed set reveals the unexpected connections among their lives.
The Worlds of Lois Lowry boxed set is the perfect gift this holiday season.

Purchase Box Set: The Giver, Messenger, The Gathering Blue at Amazon
Purchase Box Set: The Giver, Messenger, The Gathering Blue at IndieBound
View Box Set: The Giver, Messenger, The Gathering Blue on Goodreads

* * * *

Prize Pack Two - Casey McCormick (for writers)

Casey McCormick is the founder of Literary Rambles, one of the first websites I ever visited when I started dipping a toe in the online writing community. Her Agent Spotlight series is an incredible resources to anyone querying or researching agents. If that isn't enough, she is also founding member of WriteOnCon, which offers a FREE online writer's conference every year for any writer interested in writing for children and young adults.

She is a literary agent intern, wife, and mom (x2), and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. If you're writing for young adults and you don't know Casey, you need to run to Literary Rambles and set aside a week or two for browsing.

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success?
On the blog, we love to celebrate our successes with big book giveaways. On a more personal level, there's usually something sweet and decadent involved.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writers?
I think young adult books are special because they're often innovative and cover a period of life that's intense and formative. There are YA books out now that I believe could have changed the
trajectory of my life had I read them as a teen. They're that powerful, and I hope today's teens are finding the books that speak to their present and future selves.
Casey's Giveaway Picks:

The Sky Is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson
Hardcover Giveaway
Dial; 1 edition

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

Purchase The Sky Is Everywhere at Amazon
Purchase The Sky Is Everywhere at IndieBound
View The Sky Is Everywhere on Goodreads

* * * *

The First Five Pages: A Writer''s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
by Noah Lukeman
Paperback Giveaway
Touchstone; Original edition

IF YOU'RE TIRED OF REJECTION, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.

Note from Casey: The section on submitting is a bit outdated. Check the individual websites for agents and publishers.

Whether you are a novice writer or a veteran who has already had your work published, rejection is often a frustrating reality. Literary agents and editors receive and reject hundreds of manuscripts each month. While it's the job of these publishing professionals to be discriminating, it's the job of the writer to produce a manuscript that immediately stands out among the vast competition. And those outstanding qualities, says New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, have to be apparent from the first five pages.

The First Five Pages reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out errors to be avoided, such as

* A weak opening hook

* Overuse of adjectives and adverbs

* Flat or forced metaphors or similes

* Melodramatic, commonplace or confusing dialogue

* Undeveloped characterizations and lifeless settings

* Uneven pacing and lack of progression

With exercises at the end of each chapter, this invaluable reference will allow novelists, journalists, poets and screenwriters alike to improve their technique as they learn to eliminate even the most subtle mistakes that are cause for rejection. The First Five Pages will help writers at every stage take their art to a higher -- and more successful -- level.
Purchase The First Five Pages at Amazon
Purchase The First Five Pages at IndieBound
View The First Five Pages on Goodreads

* * *

Prize Pack Three - Natalie Aguirre (for writers)

Natalie Aguirre may well be one of the first people who commented on the blog back when we first set up shop and barely knew what a comment was. And she has continued to comment every week, if not almost every day, since. But it isn't just Adventures in YA Publishing. Natalie tirelessly supports more blogs than virtually any other writer out there. She is a constant source of inspiration and joy, and it is always a pleasure to come across Natalie's comments elsewhere in the blogosphere.

Casey was smart to snatch Natalie up when she needed help at Literary Rambles, and Natalie jumped in with some of the best author interviews I have ever seen. If that isn't enough, she's also a writer, a mother, and a lawyer.

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success?
We don't do anything exciting at my house so I mostly celebrate by going out to dinner. On a rare and really special day, I don't do any work and do my favorite things--reading and writing.

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writers?
I think YA novels are so compelling because the characters are old enough to be independent and mature enough to make adult-like decisions. YA novels tend to be well-plotted with lots of action and are fast paced and always moving the plot forward. The characters are dealing with teen issues we can all relate to and often also issues that affect their world. And there's always fantastic books in all the genres to choose from. I think that's why both teens and adults want to read these books.

Natalie's picks:

Unraveling
by Elizabeth Norris
Hardcover Giveaway
Balzer + Bray

Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

Purchase Unraveling at Amazon
Purchase Unraveling at IndieBound
View Unraveling on Goodreads

* * * *

Plot and Structure

by James Scott Bell

Paperback Giveaway

Writer's Digest Books; 5 edition

Released 6/8/2013

Craft an Engaging PlotHow does plot influence story structure? What's the difference between plotting for commercial and literary fiction? How do you revise a plot or structure that's gone off course?

With "Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure," you'll discover the answers to these questions and more. Award-winning author James Scott Bell offers clear, concise information that will help you create a believable and memorable plot, including: Techniques for crafting strong beginnings, middles, and endsEasy-to-understand plotting diagrams and chartsBrainstorming techniques for original plot ideasThought-provoking exercises at the end of each chapterStory structure models and methods for all genresTips and tools for correcting common plot problems

Filled with plot examples from popular novels, comprehensive checklists, and practical hands-on guidance, "Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure" gives you the skills you need to approach plot and structure like an experienced pro.

Purchase Plot and Structure at Amazon

Purchase Plot and Structure at IndieBound

View Plot and Structure on Goodreads

* * * *

Prize Pack Four - Katie B. from Mundie Moms

I have discovered many of my favorite books over at the Mundie Moms blog. Since founding the site in 2009 as a place to share their love of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, Katie and her minions have branched out into supporting young adult books in virtually every genre. They offer reviews, author chats, forums, news for fans, and much much more. They have even branched out into Mudie Kids, for books middle grade and below.

Although she now has help from Sophie and Shandra, Katie runs the bulk of the blog and the other sites and oversees the forums. She does the majority of the reviews on both blogs, hosts all the Mundie Moms blog tours, runs the chats with Sophie's help, participates in the blog tours, and does her best to keep the blog up to date with YA book news.

What's your favorite way to celebrate a success?

My favorite way to celebrate a success is to: Okay this is going to sound weird, but when I accomplish a big thing I allow myself a minute, if that, to bask in the feeling of accomplishment, and then continue on with the new project I am currently on. Don't get me wrong, I feel extremely excited, and sometimes even shocked when everything comes together and I've successfully done something, but I don't ever want to feel like I get to a point where I except everything to always work out. I've had a lot of failures too, and those have helped me to realize you work hard, you take a moment to enjoy the success, and then you continue on. But if it's a big success, I do reward myself with something I've really wanted, which usually turns into buying a book, or two or three. lol

What do you think makes Young Adult books unique and special for readers and/or for writers?

I think what makes YA books unique and special for young readers is the fact that so many of us can relate to what we're reading. As adults we've either been in similar situations or felt similar emotions that the characters we're reading about have felt, or as teens, we're experiencing them now. YA books not only give us an outlet to escape the real world, they give us a connection. They make us, no matter how old we are, realize we're either not the only ones, or we weren't the only ones to experience a certain event or have certain feelings. YA books make us not feel so lonely. YA books also allow us the escape from our mundane routines. I think they in some ways help us feel more alive. For some readers they've made them realize that no matter our age we can still accomplish the dreams we had long ago. Over all YA books give us that excitement, the adventure, the heartbreak, the romance, the snark, and the incredible journey that sometimes we can only get out of a book. There's just times I need that excitement of sitting down with a great book that I know will allow me to escape into an incredible new world, meet memorable characters, and go on an unforgettable journey, whether it's in fantasy world, or a realistic fiction one.

Katie's Picks

Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
Hardcover Giveaway
Henry Holt and Co.

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

Purchase Shadow and Bone at Amazon
Purchase Shadow and Bone at IndieBound
View Shadow and Bone on Goodreads

* * * *

Clockwork Princess
(Infernal Devices)
by Cassandra Clare
Hardcover Giveaway
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013.
Danger intensifies for the Shadowhunters as the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy comes to a close.

If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it?

The clock is ticking. Everyone must choose.

Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment.

Danger closes in around the Shadowhunters in the final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.

Purchase Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices) at Amazon
Purchase Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices) at IndieBound
View Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices) on Goodreads

* * *

Prize Pack Five - Martina's First Prize Pack Pick

Two of my favorite pieces of fiction.

The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Purchase The Scorpio Races at Amazon

Purchase The Scorpio Races at IndieBound

View The Scorpio Races on Goodreads

* * * *

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

Giveaway

Scholastic Press

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

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Prize Pack Six - Martina's Seconds Prize Pack Pick (for writers)

Two of my favorite craft books.

Wired for Story

by LIsa Cron

Paperback Giveaway

Ten Speed Press

This guide reveals how writers can utilize cognitive storytelling strategies to craft stories that ignite readers’ brains and captivate them through each plot element.

Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.

The vast majority of writing advice focuses on “writing well” as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail—they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won’t hold anyone’s interest.

Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.

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Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing

by Cheryl Klein

Paperback Giveaway

Asterisk Books

Whether you dream of writing a book for children or young adults, or you want to take a finished manuscript to the next level, it always helps to get a fresh point of view. Try a little Second Sight.

In this collection of talks, a professional editor offers insights from the other side of the publishing desk on a wide range of writerly topics:

* Terrific first lines and how they got that way

* What makes a strong picture book manuscript

* Why the Harry Potter series was such a tremendous success

* Finding the emotional heart of your story

* Worksheets and checklists for building characters and bolstering plot

* The Annotated Query Letter from Hell

* And an Annotated Query Letter That Does It Right

With its wit, intelligence, and practical tools for analyzing and revising your work, Second Sight will be a first resource for writers of children's and young adult fiction.

This book has not been endorsed or approved by J. K. Rowling or any of her publishers or representatives, and all thoughts expressed here on all matters, including the Harry Potter series, are solely Cheryl B. Klein's own, and should not be taken as the official opinions, intentions, or interpretations of any of the writers or publishers mentioned.

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Prize Pack Seven - Bonus Prize Pack

If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition
Released 3/26/2013

There are some things you can’t leave behind…A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

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Kindness for Weakness
by Shawn Goodman
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 5/14/2013

Goodman's heart wrenching account of boys trying to become men gives readers a glimpse into the darkness that takes over without the proper guidance during this critical journey. I have a fondness for books that reference other books, exposing the layers and connections a reading life can offer, and this one is filled with literary references that serve as anchors during the storm. Sadly, I see too many of my students within Goodman's characters; boys who believe in the "kindness for weakness" philosophy.

"What's real strength, Samson? " he says.

"It's when you're a balanced man. When you can think as well as you can use your body. And you have to know who you are and be OK with it. If that means that you're not ripped or tough or a badass, so be it," says Samson.

"But the most important part," he says, " is that you have to believe in something that is real and true. A lot of guys don't believe in anything. They will tell you what they're against, what they don't like, but they can't tell you what they are for. Because they don't actually believe in anything."

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Prize Pack Eight - Bonus Prize Pack

Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl
by Carolita Blythe
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 4/9/2013

Faye doesn't mean to hit the old lady she and her friends are mugging. But she does. The old lady isn't moving, but Faye has no reason to feel guilty for leaving her there. The old lady might be ancient and wrinkly now. But back in the day, she was as beautiful as they come—a famous movie star. And everyone knows that pretty and mean always go together. But Faye does feel guilty. So she comes back. Slowly, Faye and the old lady form an unlikely friendship, one that pulls Faye out of her life with her abusive mother and destructive "friends" and allows the old lady relief from her loneliness. But in an unfair world in which the pretty girls, no matter how mean, always seem to get everything, while Faye gets nothing, will Faye be able to keep from slipping back to her old ways? Will her mother ever be happy? Will her father ever come home to stay? And what if Faye goes her whole life without Michael Jackson ever loving her back? Faye is an honest, straightforward narrator who is likable even in her most flawed moments and will be cheered on by readers of every age and from every walk of life.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl?

My favorite thing about Revenge Of A Not-So-Pretty Girl? I have to cheat a little on this because I actually have two favorite things, which I rank equally. The first is Faye’s (my protagonist) voice. Although she’s only fourteen, Faye has had a pretty complicated life. She’s not had a lot of friends, or support, or kind words come her way. It would be easy for her to look at the world through jaded, pessimistic eyes. And while she doesn’t hold back from pointing out certain negatives, she does it in a dry, part-humorous way. I think the humor is what keeps her afloat and keeps her from giving up completely on the possibility of one day being happy and having a good life.

My other favorite part of the book is the idea that we all have the ability to change our lives. It’s definitely not easy to do, but it’s not impossible. We have to be able to recognize and admit that there might be something keeping us down—keeping us from being the person we should and could be. We have to be able to look into ourselves and say, “I’ve not been generous,” or “I’ve been mean to a particular person,” or “I need to exercise and get better about my health.” Once the issue is identified, we can begin working on it. Faye sees her faults, admits to them, and slowly begins to change what’s in her control—despite the cards she has been dealt. I think that’s pretty inspirational.

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Mojo
by Tim Tharp
Hardcover Giveaway
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 4/9/2013

All Dylan wants is mojo. What is mojo? It's power. The ability to command respect. It's everything Dylan doesn't have. He gets no respect at school, and when he finds the dead body of a classmate, even the police push him around. All the thanks he gets for trying to help the investigation with his crime drama skills is a new nickname at school: Body Bag. So when Dylan hears about a missing rich girl from the other side of town, he jumps at the chance to dive into this mystery. Surely if he cracks a case involving a girl this beautiful and this rich, he'll get not only a hefty cash reward, but the mojo he's looking for.

His investigation takes him into the world of an elite private high school and an underground club called Gangland. As Dylan—along with his loyal friends Audrey and Randy—falls down the rabbit hole, lured by the power of privilege, he begins to lose himself. And the stakes of the game keep getting higher.

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New YALit Releases 6/7-6/13 plus TWELVE Giveaways!!

2013-06-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY

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Boy Nobody
by Allen Zadoff
Hardcover Giveaway (3 Copies)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

They needed the perfect soldier: one who could function in every situation without fear, sympathy or anger; who could assassinate strangers and then walk away emotionally unscathed. So they made Boy Nobody-a teen with no name or history. The perfect soldier.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target. But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter seems so much like him; the mayor smells like his father. And when memories and questions surface, the Program is watching. Because somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the kid he once was, the teen who wants normal things like a real home and parents, a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

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How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend
by Allyson Valentine
Hardcover Giveaway
Philomel
Released 6/13/2013

A funny and smart romantic comedy about getting the guy. . . and finding yourself.
Sophomore Nora Fulbright is the most talented and popular new cheerleader on the Riverbend High cheer squad. Never mind that she used to be queen of the nerds--a chess prodigy who answered every question first, aced every test and repelled friends at every turn--because this year, Nora is determined to fully transition from social pupa to full blown butterfly, even if it means dumbing down her entire schedule. But when funny, sweet and very cute Adam moves to town and steals Nora's heart with his untra-smarts and illegally cute dimple, Nora has a problem. How can she prove to him that she's not a complete airhead? Nora devises a seemingly simple plan to barter her way into Adam's classes that involves her classmates, friends, and her older brother Phil's award-winning AP history paper. But soon, Nora can barely keep track of her trades, and struggles to stay in control of her image.

In the end, the only thing that can save Nora is a chess tournament--that she has to compete in wearing her cheerleading uniform. Can she prove to everyone that she can be both a butterfly and a nerd?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend?

My favorite things about How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend (I couldn't come up with just one!):
I love the secondary characters. Some people have told me that their favorite character is Nora's little brother, Joshie, and I think he might be my favorite, too. He's funny without trying to be, he's vulnerable, innocent, but with a distinctly impish streak. He's a compilation of kids I've known and loved, especially my own two boys and my brother when he was a little kid. Joshie's was the dialogue that required the least revising because his voice always came out loud and clear, and he spoke so fast I could barely get his words on the page. I also really love the Teapot. She's genuine, full of heart, so present in every moment. I really appreciate her loyalty and her humor. I was so happy that she got to go to the Homecoming dance, and never saw it coming until the moment it did. And I'm still excited for her about the way her story resolves. I've never actually known someone quite like the Teapot; someone so confident to just be who they are without worrying who's watching. She inspires me! And the story is filled with character I would love to know more about. Like Krista's boyfriend, Dex. He's sweet and warm and obviously entirely devoted to Krista. I picture him as being from a very solid family, blue collar, salt of the earth. I still think about him from time to time and wonder what he's doing right now. I love Geoff the fish, Eric (aka Chubby Stripes), Vanessa. I even have a soft spot for Mitch, creepy as he is.
I like the relationships that grow and deepen through the course of the story and how writing them put me in touch with my own past relationships. To write the budding romance between Nora and Adam I had to completely immerse myself in a particularly sweet high school romance with a boy called Michael. The relationship between Nora and her Mom included the same kinds of push and pull that I experienced with my own mother growing up. And when I was in high school, it looked for a while there like my father was leaving us. The anger and hurt I felt back then fueled the conversation between Nora and her father. My relationship with my own father has healed and I am definitely pulling for Nora to go to school in Boston! .
I adore the title! The working title for this book was Swapped, as Nora's swaps are a huge plot point. When the editors suggested changing it I felt very unsure. And when they suggested changing it to How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend, at first I was really uncomfortable. I never would have seen myself writing a novel with such a title. But the more I thought about it the better I liked it. When I saw it on the cover I was totally sold. Now, I think it's perfect.

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Night School
by C.J. Daugherty
Hardcover Giveaway
Katherine Tegen Books
Released 5/21/2013

Allie Sheridan's world is falling apart. Her brother's run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she's just been arrested.

Again.

This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.

But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.

When she's attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.

And that she is not who she thought she was.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Night School?

Cimmeria Academy. The school where Allie is sent by her parents after her arrest is nothing like she expects. She thinks she's going to reform school, with tough kids and iron bars on the windows. Instead she finds it's an extraordinary place -- a sprawling Victorian mansion set amid vast gardens and many acres of forests, and with a ruined castle on the hill above it. It's Hogwarts without witches and she soon falls in love with it.

Buildings like Cimmeria are not at all uncommon in England -- in fact, when creating it, I used as my inspiration a boarding school near my home -- but, as an American ex-pat, I've never stopped being impressed by them. Every time I walk into a school that reminds me of Cimmeria -- as I often do on book tours -- I find myself wishing again I could have gone to a school like that. Had such beauty around me every day.

In Cimmeria I invented my dream school. Of course, it's terribly dangerous there -- everything beautiful has its price.

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Burning
by Elana K. Arnold
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Press
Released 6/11/2013

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Burning?

The best thing, for me, about BURNING was the ability to get into the heads of two characters--Ben Stanley and Lala White. I structured this book so that the odd chapters are in Ben's voice, and the even chapters are in Lala's.

I set the story in a fictional version of a real town, Empire, Nevada. I first heard about Empire on NPR. Empire was a company town, meaning that the entire town was owned by a company that mined gypsum, which is used to make wallboard. But since the housing market crashed, the demand for gypsum has fallen, too, and everyone in Empire had to leave. The whole town shut down. And Empire was located really close to where the annual Burning Man festival occurs.

I started thinking about the teens who lived in Empire, and what their lives must be like in their final days in their town. Right away I heard Ben's story.

Lala's voice was more difficult to find, but I knew she would be a Romani Gypsy. I dove into research and became fascinated with the Gypsy culture, the family dynamics, the particular struggles these people face. And there was so much potential for conflict in the clashing of their worlds, in the burning heat of the desert summer.

I was on fire for this book. Everything about it--the Tarot reading, the scorched landscape, the tension between Ben and his friends, Lala and her fiance Romeo, the shuttering town--I couldn't write fast enough. And the two voices, Ben's and Lala's, drove me forward, demanding to tell their stories.

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Rush
by Eve Silver
Hardcover Giveaway
Katherine Tegen Books
Released 6/11/2013

So what's the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game--her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn't really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn't. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Rush?

Does "everything" count as an answer? I love the characters--damaged Miki Jones who draws on an inner well of strength, enigmatic Jackson Tate, easy-going Luka Vujic. I love the dual settings of Rochester, NY and the game Miki's sucked into where she has to hunt aliens or be hunted by them. I love the action; there are a lot of scenes where the reader lives the game right along with Miki. I love the whole gaming aspect. I love the way the reader discovers the answers right along with Miki. But most of all, my favorite thing about RUSH is the fact that I have the chance to share this story with readers.

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Deviant
by Helen Fitzgerald
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Soho Teen
Released 6/11/2013

When 16-year-old Abigail's mother dies in Scotland--leaving a faded photo, a weirdly cryptic letter, and a one-way ticket to America--she feels nothing. Why should she? Her mother gave her away when she was a baby, leaving her to grow up on an anti-nuclear commune and then in ugly foster homes. But the letter is a surprise in more ways than one: Her father is living in California. What's more, Abigail discovers she has an eighteen-year-old sister, Becky. And the two are expecting Abigail to move in with them.

After struggling to overcome her natural suspicions of a note from beyond the grave (not to mention anything positive) Abigail grows close to her newfound sister. But then Becky is found dead, the accidental victim of an apparent drug overdose. As Abigail wrestles with her feelings and compiles a "Book of Remembrance" of her sister's short life, she uncovers a horrifying global plot aimed at controlling teen behavior: one that took her sister's and mother's lives, with vast implications.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Deviant?

Abigail hates rainy Glasgow. She thinks moving to LA will turn her into someone else; someone who's happy. But it's not where you are that makes you happy or sad, it's who. And no matter where she's living, I love feisty, complex, confusing, confused, Abigail. She's my favorite thing about the book. She's tough but she's also kind, she toes the line but she's also deviant, she longs for intimacy yet she pushes it away. I only wish she loved herself as much as I love her.

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Insomnia
by J.R. Johansson
Paperback Giveaway
Flux
Released 6/8/2013

It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he's had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people's fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets--and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.

Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia's eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he's gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it's Parker.

Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Insomnia?

My favorite thing is the twists and turns the plot takes combined with the unreliable narration. With Parker, we have a main character who can't tell what is real and what is not. When the reader is viewing it through his eyes, every aspect of the story is called into question. It makes for quite a bumpy ride.

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Another Little Piece
by Kate Karyus Quinn
Hardcover Giveaway
HarperTeen
Released 6/11/2013

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape--unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Another Little Piece?

Oooh, this is tough! I love the little poems sprinkled throughout ALP. I love the romantic relationship that develops between Annaliese and Dex. I love the layering of time so that flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the current time narrative. However, if I must pick, my very favorite thing is the relationship that develops between Annaliese and the mom. In many ways, I feel that this is the heart of the ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE and that without the mom's steady and constant love, this book would've had a completely different ending.

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Underneath
by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Paperback Giveaway
Flux
Released 6/8/2013

With New Agey parents and a Pakistani heritage, it might have been difficult for Sunny Pryce-Shah to fit in. Thankfully, she had her older, popular cousin Shiri to talk to--until now. Shiri's shocking suicide brings heartwrenching pain and grief, and also seems to have triggered a new and disturbing ability in Sunny: hearing people's thoughts.

It's awful, especially when Sunny learns what her so-called friends really think of her. Feeling more comfortable with the Emo crowd, she tells them about her strange talent and uses it to help cute, troubled Cody. But when his true motives are revealed, she isn't sure whom to trust anymore. Sunny hopes to find answers in Shiri's journal. Was her cousin also cursed with this "gift"? Will Sunny end up like Shiri?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Underneath?

Much more than I originally expected, the book ended up talking about the messiness of navigating relationships: friendships, family, love--they aren't necessarily easy, and sometimes they even require work (surprise!). Sunny has this gift that enables her to catch glimpses of what's going through others' minds, but in reality, it's not much more than we mere mortals ever get. The work of the relationship still has to be done--the reaching out, the trusting, the giving of ourselves and accepting of the other person. And in the end, Sunny learns how powerful (and sometimes difficult) those seemingly everyday things really are. I didn't approach the book with that theme explicitly in mind; it was just something that emerged as I wrote and re-wrote. Because this particular book was a challenging one for me to write--it's gone through a LOT of drafts and lived through at least two abandonments--it was incredibly rewarding to see themes like this one take shape and give cohesion to the story, making the characters come alive in a way they hadn't for me before.

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Belle Epoque
by Elizabeth Ross
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service--the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive.

Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.

But Isabelle has no idea her new "friend" is the hired help, and Maude's very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.

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LAST WEEK'S GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Abandon
by Elana Johnson
Signed Hardcover Giveaway
Simon Pulse
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: Sarah G. Marsh

The fight for independent thought becomes a matter of life or death in this sizzling and intense conclusion to the Possession trilogy.Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there's more at stake than a few broken hearts.

But there is a traitor among them, and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.

Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers' reign. Their success means everything--and their failure means death.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Abandon?

My favorite thing about ABANDON is that it's THE END. Seriously. Writing a trilogy is A LOT of work, and A LOT of words, and it's very satisfying to see if come to a conclusion. Also, Jag Barque narrates, and I kinda like him, too. ;)

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Rebel Spirits
by Lois Ruby
Advanced Reader Copy Giveaway (2 Copies)
Point
Released 6/1/2013

Winners: Heather Raglin and Sumbee

Infused with history and mystery, this tale of ghosts, love, and murder takes place in present-day Gettysburg, where the Civil War still looms large.

Lori Chase doesn't know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings...right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone's mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori's parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers.

Then Lori meets one such soldier--the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel's soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori's help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets.

At the same time, she can't help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her....

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Rebel Spirits?

Lori and Nathaniel are desperately in love, despite the fact that one's very much alive, and the other's been dead for a century and a half. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, or life after death, or reincarnation, anyone with a beating heart has to believe that true love triumphs over all these obstacles. The question is, how?

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* * * *

Openly Straight
by Bill Konigsberg
Hardcover Giveaway
Arthur A. Levine Books
Released 6/1/2013

Winner: Candace

A funny, honest novel about being out, being proud . . . and being ready for something else.

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.

And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.

So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.

This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate being different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Openly Straight?

My favorite thing about Openly Straight is that it feels raw and authentic, and that's a product of me not really knowing what it was I was writing when I started. There's this whole thing in the book where the main character Rafe's English teacher shares a quote for E.L. Doctorow: "Writing is an exploration. You start with nothing and learn as you go." I used it because I wanted Rafe to use writing as a way to explore his feelings in the book (I know, very meta). What I didn't understand as I was writing was that I was doing the same thing. I was unaware just how much I was tired of being labeled gay before any other aspect of my personality. So as Rafe was busy putting away his label, I was experiencing my own version of the same thing. I like the raw emotion that Rafe experiences toward the end of the book, because it feels real to me and I know it has been impacting other people the same way.

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* * * *

The Pirate''s Wish
by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Paperback Giveaway
Strange Chemistry
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: Ellie

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies -- and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Pirate''s Wish?

I have a couple of favorite moments in the book. One is toward the end, and it's bit of a spoiler --all I'll say is that the two main characters, Ananna and Naji, visit a strange new place. Another favorite part is when Ananna and Naji and the rest of their crew wind up on an island full of manticores, as the manticores' honored guests. It was tremendous fun writing the manticore society, since I imagined them as being fairly elegant creatures, even if they are technically monsters.

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* * * *

Outcast
by Adrienne Kress
eBook Giveaway
Diversion Books
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: Krystal C.

After six years of "angels" coming out of the sky and taking people from her town, 16-year-old Riley Carver has just about had it living with the constant fear. When one decides to terrorize her in her own backyard, it's the final straw. She takes her mother's shotgun and shoots the thing. So it's dead. Or not? In place of the creature she shot, is a guy. A really hot guy. A really hot alive and breathing guy. Oh, and he's totally naked.

Not sure what to do, she drags his unconscious body to the tool shed and ties him up. After all, he's an angel and they have tricks. When he regains consciousness she's all set to interrogate him about why the angels come to her town, and how to get back her best friend (and almost boyfriend) Chris, who was taken the year before. But it turns out the naked guy in her shed is just as confused about everything as she is.

He thinks it's 1956.

Set in the deep south, OUTCAST is a story of love, trust, and coming of age. It's also a story about the supernatural, a girl with a strange sense of humor who's got wicked aim, a greaser from the 50's, and an army of misfits coming together for one purpose: To kick some serious angel ass.

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* * * *

Tempest Revealed
by Tracy Deebs
Hardcover
Walker Childrens
Released 6/4/2013

**Giveaway of Tempest Rising, book one of the series**

Winner: tammy216

Half-mermaid Tempest Maguire is trying to have it all: fulfilling her duties as second-in-line to the merQueen Hailana while periodically returning home to the California coastline to be with her family and longtime boyfriend, Mark. Living under the sea and rebuilding Coral Straits is grueling work, while being back home reminds her of everyone she loves and misses. But when her old flame Kona arrives bearing news that Hailana has died and Tempest is now officially merQueen, she returns permanently to Coral Straits--even though it devastates her family and rips her apart from Mark. Once there, she discovers that an old enemy has resurfaced, hell-bent on taking over her throne...with or without her. As Tempest prepares for her final showdown against Tiamat and anyone who stands with her, she must decide what--and who--is really important to her. Because there will be few survivors in the ultimate sea battle that is brewing--and Tempest isn't sure she will be one of them.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Tempest Revealed?

My favorite part of Tempest Revealed is the fact that Tempest really comes into her own. In the first two books in the series, we see Tempest try to decide what direction she wants her life to go. Land or sea? Mark or Kona? MerQueen or surfer? In Tempest Revealed, we finally get the answer to all these questions and more. Plus, even more fun for me, is the fact that we finally get to see her powers come full circle and watch as she faces down old enemies, finds true love and finally settles into her own skin and the life she was born to have.

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* * * *

Tidal
by Amanda Hocking
Hardcover Giveaway
St. Martin''s Griffin
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: Dannie Morin

With Penn and Lexi determined to kill Gemma and replace her with another siren, Gemma's life is in grave danger...unless she can break the curse before it's too late. With the help of Harper and Daniel, she'll delve deep into her enemies' mythical past--and their darkest secrets. It's her only hope of saving everything she holds dear: her family, her life, and her relationship with Alex--the only guy she's ever loved.

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* * * *

Witch Fire
by Laura Powell
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: Tiffany Drew

Lucas and Glory are hard at work in WICA (Witchkind Intelligence and Covert Affairs). As part of their training, they learn more about the witch-terrorist organization Endor. It is believed that Endor has infiltrated a boarding school for young witches in Switzerland, so WICA sends their two youngest agents--Lucas and Glory--to the school undercover. There, they learn more about an experimental brain implant that blocks the power of the fae. It's a dangerous procedure . . . more so than they could ever have imagined.

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* * * *

The Wall
by William Sutcliffe
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Walker Childrens; 1 edition
Released 6/4/2013

Winner: bn100

Joshua lives with his mother and step-father in Amarias, an isolated town, where all the houses are brand new. Amarias is surrounded by a high wall, guarded by soldiers, which can only be crossed through a heavily fortified checkpoint. Joshua has been taught that the Wall is the only thing keeping his people safe from a brutal and unforgiving enemy.

One day, Joshua stumbles across a tunnel that leads underneath the Wall. The chance to catch a glimpse of life on the other side of The Wall is too tempting to resist. He's heard plenty of stories about the other side, but nothing has prepared him for what he finds . . .

Set in a tense reality closely mirroring Israel's West bank, this deeply affecting parable of a boy who undertakes a short journey to another world lingers long after completion.

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IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

* * * *

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
by April Henry
Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
Released 6/11/2013

When Cady wakes up, she has no memory of who she is. All she knows is that there is a pillowcase over her head and a person in the room has instructed another to "take her out back and finish her off." Cady must find a way to save herself. But how can she do this when she doesn't even know her name?

April Henry has written another nail-biting suspense thriller that explores such themes as murder, memory loss, identity theft, and biological warfare. As with her other novels, her strong female protagonist joins forces with a teen guy and together they race against the clock to stay alive and save Cady's missing family.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die?

My favorite thing about The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die is that almost every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, and not cheesy ones either. Plus it's got amnesia!

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* * * *

Charm & Strange
by Stephanie Kuehn
Hardcover
St. Martin''s Griffin
Released 6/11/2013

When you've been kept caged in the dark, it's impossible to see the forest for the trees. It's impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He's part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He's part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he'll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths--that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Charm & Strange?

My favorite thing about Charm & Strange is that it addresses topics and issues that are uncomfortable, but that are real and need to be discussed. However, it's also a story that explores its content on an emotional level, not a didactic one. It lets you get inside the mind of someone who is struggling and experience his world with him. It's from this vantage point that you can see the narrator, not for his frailties, but for his true strength and resilience.

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MORE RELEASES IN STORES NEXT WEEK

* * * *

Dance of the Red Death
by Bethany Griffin
Hardcover
Greenwillow Books
Released 6/11/2013

Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death, the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death.

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby's world is in shambles--betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves--or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

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* * * *

The Sacrifice
by Charlie Higson
Hardcover
Hyperion Book CH
Released 6/11/2013

The Sacrifice picks up after Small Sam and The Kid arrive at the Tower of London at the end of The Dead. Though Sam finds safety and friendship at the Tower with Jordan Hordern's crew, he can't settle down. The only thing he wants is to be reunited with his sister, Ella. Despite Ed's protests, Sam and the Kid strike out westward, through the no-go zone.
Meanwhile, Shadowman is tracking Saint George across north London, watching him build up his army. Shadowman knows that Saint George is an extremely dangerous threat, but no one will take his warnings seriously.
Some answers to the questions we've been wondering about--What is the Disease? Where did it come from? Is there a cure?--are addressed by an unexpected source: a diseased adult nicknamed Wormwood who has the ability to speak, though his ravings are difficult to decipher.
Unspeakable horror, edge-of-the-seat suspense, and stomach-churning plot twists continue in Book 4 of Charlie Higson's masterful Enemy saga.

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* * * *

Mortal Fire
by Elizabeth Knox
Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released 6/11/2013

Sixteen-year-old Canny Mochrie's vacation takes a turn when she stumbles upon a mysterious and enchanting valley, occupied almost entirely by children who can perform a special type of magic that tells things how to be stronger and better than they already are. As Canny studies the magic more carefully, she realizes that she not only understands it--she can perform the magic, too, so well that it feels like it has always been a part of her. With the help of an alluring seventeen-year-old boy who is held hostage by a spell that is now more powerful than the people who first placed it, Canny figures out the secrets of this valley and of her own past.

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* * * *

Linked
by Imogen Howson
Hardcover
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Released 6/11/2013

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she's been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she's promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she's been seeing the world through another girl's eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl--Lin--who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose--secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.

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* * * *

Infamous
by Lauren Conrad
Hardcover
HarperCollins
Released 6/11/2013

Infamous brings Lauren Conrad’s juicy, gossipy Fame Game series to a stunning conclusion.

As the star of MTV series The Hills, Lauren Conrad understands Hollywood life. She uses insider knowledge to tell the story of Madison Parker, Kate Hayes, and Carmen Curtis, stars of The Fame Game, the reality TV show that follows the girls as they try to become famous in L.A.

Kate and Carmen are about to become big stars, but they’re going to have to survive some backstage drama first. Madison is learning hard lessons about fame as she deals with backstabbing “friends” and family, out-of-control paparazzi, and a scandal reported in every tabloid.

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* * * *

Ship Out of Luck
by Neal Shusterman
Hardcover
Dutton Juvenile
Released 6/13/2013

In honor of Old Man Crawley's eightieth birthday, the Bonano family has been invited to celebrate with a weeklong cruise to the Caribbean aboard the world's largest, grandest ship. But whether on land or at sea, Antsy can't manage to stay out of trouble: He quickly finds himself the accomplice of stowaway and thief Tilde, whose self-made mission it is to smuggle onto the ship and across the U.S. border illegal immigrants from her native Mexico. When Antsy steps in to take the fall for Tilde, he becomes the focus of a major international incident and the poster-child for questionable decisions.

Equal parts clever and riotous, Ship Out of Luck brings back the beloved cast of characters from Neal Shusterman's acclaimed The Schwa Was Here and Antsy Does Time.

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* * * *

Spies and Prejudice
by Talia Vance
Hardcover
EgmontUSA
Released 6/11/2013

Pride & Prejudice meets Veronica Mars in this slick romantic spy-thriller where nothing's as it seems.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She's busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she's sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant, and gorgeous, Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her "nothing amazing," it's no loss for Berry. She'll forget him in no time. She's more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother's death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can't Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

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* * * *

Born of Illusion
by Teri Brown
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 6/11/2013

Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she's street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and seances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920's New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

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Character Bucket List: Nora from How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend by Allyson Valentine

2013-06-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

As a writer I am constantly evaluating my characters’ wants versus their needs. Yes, she wants to have the highest Popularity Quotient possible, but what she needs is to come to terms with why she feels so inadequate. Then, my job is to track the arcs of want versus need and make sure that each rises and falls in correlation with the other, and in a believable way that will satisfy the reader. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to create a Bucket List for Nora! It allows me to step away from the page and wonder about her wants without attachment and without wondering how I as a writer am going to make them happen.

So, Nora. What’s in your Bucket List?

I’m going to make enough money that I can have a freezer at home stocked with a never ending supply of Molly Moon’s ice cream. Theo’s Coconut Kiss for me, Earl Grey for Adam and some Vivace coffee (with a side of fudge sauce) for Krista.

If Chelsey gets into Louisville I’m going go there at least once to watch her cheer.

After high school Krista and I are going to London to spend an entire day in the cosmetics department at Harrods giving ourselves fabulous makeovers.

I want to take my little brother Joshie to the Woodland Park Zoo this summer to see their bug collection and then surprise him with tickets to Zoo Tunes afterwards. Adam will have already settled in with a blanket and a picnic dinner and we’ll snuggle in close as the night air turns cool and Adam will lean in and—oh wait, we’ll have Joshie with us. Never mind.

The Teapot and I have made a pact that when she gets a role in a Broadway play Adam and I will buy front row seats to opening night. I’ll wear something that says “stylish yet understated” and Adam will be blown away by my sophistication and grace.

I don’t know when, but one of these days I am going to show up on my dad’s doorstep in Boston and challenge him to a game of chess. I wonder who is going to win?

About the Book

Sophomore Nora Fulbright is the most talented and popular new cheerleader on the Riverbend High cheer squad. Never mind that she used to be queen of the nerds—a chess prodigy who answered every question first, aced every test and repelled friends at every turn—because this year, Nora is determined to fully transition from social pupa to full blown butterfly, even if it means dumbing down her entire schedule. But when funny, sweet and very cute Adam moves to town and steals Nora’s heart with his untra-smarts and illegally cute dimple, Nora has a problem. How can she prove to him that she’s not a complete airhead?

Nora devises a seemingly simple plan to barter her way into Adam’s classes that involves her classmates, friends—and her older brother Phil’s award-winning AP history paper. But soon, Nora can barely keep track of her trades, and struggles to stay in control of her image.

In the end, the only thing that can save Nora is a chess tournament—that she has to compete in wearing her cheerleading uniform. Can she prove to everyone that she can be both a butterfly and a nerd?

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About the Author

Allyson Valentine is a writer! And a mom. And a wife. She cooks meals, romps with the dog, cleans cat barf off the carpet. She has brown hair and brown eyes and usually wears glasses because contacts make her eyeballs itch.

She worked doing technology stuff but when her kids came along she found herself telling stories. All the time. She started wondering what the difference was between oral and written storytelling, and began taking writing classes. She published in kids magazines. She published non-fiction books. She kept taking writing classes. She did a certificate program at the University of Washington. She completed a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. And she started writing novels.

For Allyson, writing is therapy. When the world is crashing at her feet she can sit with her laptop or her journal and go away to a world where things are better, or at least different. And when her own world feels mundane, her writing brings her to a place where there's WAY more fun going on. When life is a heaping bowl of red-ripe cherries, writing brings her a profound sense of peace and accomplishment. Even if what she's just written turns out, upon later reflection, to totally stink. The joy is in the act of writing.

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The USP: What is it, and why do you needs it, my preciousss? by Christian Schoon

2013-06-05T11:00:00.000-04:00

I started my writing life as a copywriter. I wrote film synopsis copy, trailer scripts, press releases, behind-the-scenes video scripts and a boatload of other marketing elements as an in-house writer in the home video division of the Walt Disney Company in beautiful downtown Burbank. After a couple of years with The Mouse, I bailed out and went full-time freelance, working for most of the major studios and a number of independents and entertainment ad agencies in Los Angeles. I was still writing lotsa marketing stuff but then also started selling scripts for live action and animated kids/tween/teen TV shows. Now, I write YA science fiction novels from a 170-year-old farmstead in the sylvan Midwest where I grew up, but that’s a whole ‘nother post.

So how does slaving away as a beady-eyed word-weasel in an over-air-conditioned cubical in a trailer on the back lot where they used to shoot Zorro prep one for flouncing off into the blue-bell-bedecked meadows of free-spirited, gypsy-bandana-wearing I-laugh-at-your-weekly-paycheck-ball-and-chain fiction writin’? What I offer up here is not so much advice as deceptively simple analytic principle, which would be: your USP, your Unique Selling Proposition. Also sometimes known as WTP: “What’s Their Pain?”

Yes, it’s an elementary and cold-eyed j-school premise that’s certainly re-heated the chilly hearts of legions of skinny-tied Mad Men, but it generally transfers just fine to your warm-hearted, puppy-eyed artsy novel-wrestling beatnik types chasing down their fleeing and terrified muses in a Tribeca loft or Venice beach hut. I bring no secrets, and you’ve likely heard this before, of course, but this straight-from-the-mktg-dept. viewing angle might give you a POV that’s just a bit different and so helpful in some small way. Hey, I live to serve.

Applied to your protagonist, for instance, discerning their USP is pretty much your first and most important job. All right, “selling proposition” may be a bit blunt, but you get the concept. What does your hero/heroine want (or fear) more than anything else in their world? To find true love? To find reasonably true love that lasts until this dance is over and/or the band takes their first break? To find their lost father/mother/sibling? To escape a monster? To escape their job? To escape the person who was ‘sposed to be their true love but turned out to be - yikes! – a monster? Same goes for all your supporting cast. In each chapter, in each scene, pretty much in each paragraph: what’s the main pain this character is feeling or dreading (or causing), and how do they (you) plan to make it end? (Or, how do they plan to intensify that pain, if they swing that way. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Main point: ID pain, make plan, act.

But don’t stop there, industrious writer/author. Ferret out the USP of your story overall. Is it to illuminate the human condition? To consider weighty themes of sacrifice, redemption and self-discovery? To entertain the teeming masses with a light-hearted foray into pulpish serial slayings and resources-they-didn’t-know-they-had-in-‘em survival-and-retribution? This may sound obvious, but if, like me, you’re going the traditional and sometimes thorny find-agent/land-publisher path, you’re gonna need to whittle down your book’s USP vis a vis theme to a finely honed and dangerous point before you start the query process. Your USP will also feed into pinning down your genre, demographic/psycho-graphic bracket and other identifying characteristics that any agent is gonna wanna know up front, unambiguously and no messin’ around, before they read beyond the first two fascinating sentences of your query.

Admission: I didn’t know my USP or my WTP or even my WTF when I sat down to start my novel Zenn Scarlett (from Strange Chemistry Books, available now online and in finer blah blah blah… ya knew this was coming, dinchya? Sure ya did.) One day, I was visited with the image of a fearless young girl wearing hand-me-down coveralls and some sort of medical-equipment backpack as she perched on the furry, toothsome snout of an indeterminate carnivore the size of a schoolbus. Later to be the size of two schoolbuses. I just sat down started writing. But before long, it became clear that my book’s USP was a heroine whose compassion for all alien creatures large and small would eventually save the universe as we know it. Compassion. Yeah, that’ll sell.

So that was my USP when I queried the book. Unconventional heroine, has exoveterinarian field kit, will risk life to rescue critters she loves and, incidentally, civilization itself. The query snared the interest of an agent and eventually this USP hooked my publisher, the YA imprint of the awesome and furiously metallic Angry Robot Books. And judging from reports from the readers and reviewers who have been kind enough to read/review Zenn’s adventure, her compassion and empathy are doing more than selling books. They’re weaving minds-not-my-own into her world and her story. And that, IMHO, is a damn good proposition for writing anything in the first place.

So, thanks for letting me ramble on. Now, go out there and make your USPs the unique-est most proposition-y things ever. And may you then sell a boatload of ‘em. Cheers!

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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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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