@StrangeChem Author Slambook: M.G. Buehrlen + Giveaway

Author Bio
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When she's not writing, M.G. moonlights as a web designer and social media/creative director. She's the current web ninja lurking behind the hugely popular website YABooksCentral.com, a social network for YA (and kids!) book lovers. If you look hard enough, you might spot M.G. hiding in these places: in her creaky old house nestled in Michigan pines, sipping coffee on her porch, playing in leaf piles, cooking over campfires, and dipping her toes in creek beds.

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? My childhood self would say Magenta, mostly because it's such a fun word to say. My grownup self would say Autumn. All colors of Autumn.

2. Favorite food? How about an entire food group: Dairy. Slather it on, please and thank you.

3. Favorite movie of all time? The Princess Bride, hands down.

4. Favorite song? Currently? Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart

5. Favorite book of all time? Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. Also The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

I've always loved stories. My father is a natural story-teller, keeping visitors enraptured long into the night at his dinner table, so I may have caught the bug from him. I didn't have money to buy books, and I lived on a farm too far from the library, so if I wanted stories to read, I had to write them myself. First I scribbled in notebooks, then hammered away on the typewriter, then saved entire chapters on my old Commodore 64. I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't writing. It's always been a part of me.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to carve out full days of writing when I can. Two days a week I go to the YABooksCentral.com office for The Day Job. The rest of the week I commit to writing: from the moment I wake until the moment I crash in bed. My husband is the amazing kind who brings me coffee and meals, and reminds me to take breaks. I prefer marathon writing to little spurts here and there.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I always outline in some form or another. I have to know what's coming next or else I lose interest in the story. When I know a particular thrilling or delicious scene is coming soon, it pushes me to keep writing until I get there. Sometimes the outline remains in my head, sometimes I sketch out each act in a notebook. Currently I'm trying a post-it method on my wall, and it's working beautifully.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

57 Lives is a time travel story, so the hardest part was building a world that obeyed specific time travel laws. (Time travel might be the absolute hardest genre to write. It'll break your brain more than once.) Also, when Alex travels back in time, there's a lot of research that goes into each historical time period in order to present them accurately. I'm always afraid I'll get some tiny detail completely wrong. The easiest parts were the contemporary scenes when Alex is at home or at school. Alex is a lot like me — a tech geek loner chick — so having her navigate her present day life flowed easily. Even though I love the sci-fi and historical elements of the book, in some ways I love Alex's contemporary scenes the most.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I'm almost always working on YABooksCentral.com, running book giveaways, promoting authors, and creating book haul videos. YABC has been around since 1998 (!!!) so the traffic is huge and managing it is a 24/7 gig. When I'm not working on YABC, you can find me reading, plowing through TV seasons in my jammies, going to movies (I'm addicted to movie-theater popcorn), camping on remote islands, road tripping (cars + travel = WIN), and waxing poetic about all things coffee.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is the author gets to decide the outcome. When you write, you get to decide how characters respond to each other and how they react to certain situations. You can tie the ending up in a nice pink bow or you can leave it messy and scarred. In reality, however, you can never know what's going on in someone else's head. You can never know how they'll react to some stupid thing you've said. You'll never be in full control, and you'll never know how things will end. That makes reality infinitely more fascinating and dangerous, but also makes fiction infinitely more fun. You get to build an entire world, then tear it down, then build it back up again. It's a safe place to cause destruction.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I'm learning about a new time period or culture for 57 Lives. In the book, Alex is a reincarnated soul, so she's lived in many historical time periods throughout the years. When she goes back in time to explore those lives, I want those scenes to be real. I want the reader to feel like they've stepped into a speakeasy in 1927 Chicago, or on a steam train in 1876 Missouri, or slid into the driver's seat of a Corvette cruising through Cincinnati in 1961. But when I think about it, I'm always researching. Living your life, getting out there, meeting people, having adventures — that in and of itself is a wealth of research for novels. (I also consider binge TV and film watching very important research.)

3. I can write better when I have coffee. I don't need to drink it necessarily, I just need a warm mug in my hands, steam rising to my chin. I need quiet, usually, and something pretty to look at out the window. I also need to be alone. I like to work out conversations between my characters aloud, and I feel pretty silly doing that in front of others. I used to do it as a kid, walking around the farm carrying on conversations with people who weren't there, which led to a lot of teasing from my older brother. So... yeah. Alone is preferred.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to recharge those plotting muscles. Sometimes you dive too deep into a story and can't find your way out. Sleep always gives you a fresh perspective in the morning. You get to come up for air.

5. A room without a book is bland. Books make the best decor. Plus, the more books you have on display, the more intelligent you'll seem to others, which equals twelvity-five bonus smarty pants points.

Books

Cover of The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare was first revealed on YABC!

  

Title: The Fifty-Seven Lives of Alex Wayfare (Alex Wayfare #1)
Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
Released Date: March 6, 2014 (UK) | March 4, 2014 (US)
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Synopsis:

One girl. Fifty-seven lives. Endless ways to die.

For as long as 17-year-old Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for America, living in Jamestown during the Starving Time, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair.

But these brushes with history pull her from her daily life without warning, sometimes leaving her with strange lasting effects and wounds she can’t explain. Trying to excuse away the aftereffects has booked her more time in the principal’s office than in any of her classes and a permanent place at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Alex is desperate to find out what her visions mean and get rid of them.

It isn’t until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth: Her visions aren’t really visions. Alex is a Descender – capable of traveling back in time by accessing Limbo, the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is one soul with fifty-six past lives, fifty-six histories.

Fifty-six lifetimes to explore: the prospect is irresistible to Alex, especially when the same mysterious boy with soulful blue eyes keeps showing up in each of them. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Alex to travel again. Ever.

And will stop at nothing to make this life her last.

Giveaway !!!

The Rules:

• Open Internationally 
• Must be 13+ to enter
• Winners will be notified via email
• A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
• Use the Rafflecopter to enter. I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
• Contest ends March 6, 2014

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Strange Chemistry: Bryony Pearce + Giveaway

Author Bio
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Bryony Pearce is a chocolate-loving vegetarian, who lives in a village on the edge of the Peak District with her husband, two small children and cat. She writes books which are much darker than she initially appears and since publication her friends have started looking at her as if she is going to start serial killing any minute. She is unlikely to do so. Her first book, Angel's Fury was published by Egmont in 2011 and won the Leeds Book Award and Cheshire Schools Book Award. Her second novel, The Weight of Souls was published in August 2013. She has a head full of stories and won't stop writing them down any time soon.

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Dark red

2. Favorite food? Thai red curry with Tofu. Anything chocolate.

3. Favorite movie of all time? The Princess Bride, The Matrix

4. Favorite song? Shake it Up, Florence and the Machine (at least today)

5. Favorite book of all time? Anything by Terry Pratchett, I love his work. Also Tom Pollock City's Son, Shakespeare's King Lear, Anne Macaffrey's Ship Who Sang . sorry I went on a bit far there.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

In a love of books that has existed since I was old enough to listen to my mum reading them to me.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I fit it in whenever I can. With two small children my life is not very organised. Riley started school just a week ago, so I'm trying to be more organised now. I think it'll take me another week to get properly sorted out into set times though.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I work with an outline. I am a very serious pro-plotter!

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The hardest part is when you are between exciting scenes and you feel a bit like you are dragging the storyline forwards. Occasionally I've been stuck for a couple of months between 'good bits'. I also find the waiting for edits really hard. I'm a very impatient person. The easiest part is when it all flows well and you get a great day's worth of writing in. I love that feeling.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I look after the children, I like to watch films, I read, I do karate. My current aim in life is to get a black belt (and another book deal of course!)

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is words on a page

2. Research is what I'm doing when I really want my book to ring true

3. I can write better when I am not distracted

4. Sleep is an excellent way to organise my brain full of ideas

5. A room without a book is a pencil without a lead -pointless.

Book

Title: The Weight of Souls
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Released Date: August 6, 2013
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Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…

She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she’s bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she’s not going crazy.

But then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn’t know who killed him, so there’s no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave… and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death.

Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him?

And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

Giveaway !!!

The Rules:

• Open Internationally 
• Must be 13+ to enter
• Winners will be notified via email
• A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
• Use the Rafflecopter to enter. I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
• Contest ends November 21, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author's Slambook: Steve Whibley, author of Dean Curse Chronicles

Author Bio
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Steve believes in pixies and fairy dust, and the healing power of unicorns. When he's not writing epic tales of horned beasties, he's working as a look-a-like for Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, Zac Efron, and Seal. He spends his free time training hairless mole rats to be service animals for the colorblind, and dreams of one day inventing a thanksgiving dish that will rival the infamous turducken.

Steve also believes most readers do not read author biographies.

To learn more about Steve Whibley, please visit www.stevenwhibley.com

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Blue, but I say that with the caveat that I'm colorblind.

2. Favorite food? Vietnamese spring rolls with peanut sauce.

3. Favorite movie of all time? The Matrix.

4. Favorite song? My favorites change from time to time, but I will say that Greenday, One Republic, and Cold Play are my favorite bands. If I had to pick one song I’d say Cold Play’s Viva la Vida.

5. Favorite book of all time? This is another tough one, I have a number of books I’d call my favorites. But if I had to choose just one, I’d pick THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas. It’s a revenge story unlike anything I’ve ever read.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

I don’t sleep a lot, and one very early morning I decided to try to write something. It was awful; suitable only as an interrogation tool for the very worst criminals, but it sparked something inside me, and I was hooked. It was a few manuscripts later that I wrote something that got any attention.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I write early, early, early in the morning. It’s usually four hours or so before anyone else wakes up, and it’s a time of the day that I can be very productive.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I outline, but I give myself permission to deviate. But when I deviate, I adjust my outline. I always know where the end is, and how my character is going to get there.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The hardest part of writing any book is pushing through those moments when you don’t feel like writing. It can be exhausting to write a book, and that’s not something non-writers understand. The easiest part is coming up with plots. Every writer I know has hundreds of book ideas just waiting to be written.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Read. I love getting lost in a good book. I also love playing with my son, and when the opportunity comes up, I love to travel.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is very small. To quote Shakespeare: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than can be dreamt…”

2. Research is what I'm doing when I’m awake. Writers are often called thieves since they watch people, and capture moments to use in their work.

3. I can write better when the world is silent.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to… wait, sleep? What’s that?

5. A room without a book is a crime against all humanity... um, was that too dramatic? How about I go philosophical and say a room without a book isn’t a room at all.

Books

Title: Glimpse (The Dean Curse Chronicles #1)
Genre/s: MG/YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Self- Published
Date Published: April 11, 2013
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Synopsis:

"Save them, Dean. Save them all...."

Dean Curse avoids attention the way his best friend Colin avoids common sense. Which is why he isn’t happy about being Abbotsford’s latest local hero – having saved the life of a stranger, he is now front page news. Dean’s reason for avoiding the limelight? Ever since his heroic act, he’s been having terrifying visions of people dying and they’re freaking him out so badly his psychologist father just might have him committed. Dean wants nothing more than to lay low and let life get back to normal.

​But when Dean’s visions start to come true, and people really start dying, he has to race against the clock – literally – to figure out what’s happening. Is this power of premonition a curse? Or is Dean gifted with the ability to save people from horrible fates? The answer will be the difference between life and death.​

Title: Relic (The Dean Curse Chronicles #2)
Genre/s: MG/YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Self- Published
Date Published: July 2013
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Synopsis:

Fourteen-year-old Dean Curse is still having horrifying visions of the soon-to-be-dead. But after saving his sister, he sees it for the gift the mysterious society intended it to be.

So far, Dean’s ability has cost him a few broken bones and a standing appointment at group therapy. But those are small sacrifices compared to the lives he’s saved. But now, Dean—and his best friends, Colin and Lisa—are forced to make hard decisions that could get them in serious trouble with the law. They have less than twenty-four hours to decide if a few wrongs really can make a right.

Author's Slambook: Leila Sales, author of This Song Will Save Your Life

Author Bio

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Leila Sales (www.leilasales.com) is the author of the novels Mostly Good Girls, Past Perfect, and This Song Will Save Your Life. She grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Chicago. Much like the characters in This Song Will Save Your Life, Leila regularly stays up too late and listens to music too loud. When she’s not writing, she spends her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, chocolate, and the meaning of life. But mostly chocolate. Leila lives and writes in Brooklyn, New York, and works in children's book publishing. Follow her @LeilaSalesBooks

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Purple

2. Favorite food? Chocolate

3. Favorite movie of all time? Waking Life

4. Favorite song? I have too many!

5. Favorite book of all time? I have too many of these, too! These are not fair questions!

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

I've always loved stories. I've wanted to be a professional writer since I was five years old and learned to write.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to write one full day on weekends and one weekday evening once I get home from work.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I try to outline. I WISH I would outline. But mostly I just write.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The middle is the hardest! It's easy to get bored or to despair during the middle.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Go out dancing, walk around and listen to music, ride my bike and explore new neighborhoods, go out for brunch with friends.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is that there is a cohesive narrative to fiction.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I don't know enough to just make it up.

3. I can write better when I have chocolate chips nearby.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to escape your problems.

5. A room without a book is too neat.

Books

Title: This Song Will Save Your Life
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Date Published: September 17, 2013
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Synopsis:

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

Author's Slambook: M.M. Vaughan + Giveaway

Author Bio
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M.M.Vaughan (Monica Meira Vaughan) is the author of THE ABILITY (Simon & Schuster, Apr.2013), a middle-grade novel described by Publishers Weekly as "a fast-paced, superhero-tinged spy novel" and picked by TIME for Kids as one of its '12 Books For Summer'. Her second book, MINDSCAPE, will be on sale March 2014. Monica likes to start writing after midnight and it has been, until recently, her secret hobby. On the weekends, she dedicates her time to building cardboard cities for her three-year-old daughter and catching up on sleep. She lives in London, England. Learn more on her website.

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Bright blue.

2. Favorite food? Tortilla (spanish omelet). My mother would make this for me whenever I wasn't well, or to celebrate anything. Actually, she still does.

3. Favorite movie of all time? Wizard of Oz. I have to say that, because my three-year-old daughter wouldn't forgive me otherwise!

4. Favorite song? "Me and Bobby McGee", the version by Janis Joplin.

5. Favorite book of all time? I have about two hundred favorite books! I'm sure you don't want the full list here so I think I'll choose 'Brave New World' because of the profound effect it had on me when I first read it at the age of thirteen. I still take it out from time to time to reread.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

Although I'd always been an avid reader, I only started writing when I left school and began my teaching degree. I wanted to get children inspired to read more and decided to try writing stories for my pupils. They weren't very good, but the children liked them!

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to write at least 1,000 words a day. It doesn't always work out that way; sometimes I write more, sometimes less, but having that target gives me something to work towards. When I'm writing, I try not to take any days off as I find it very difficult to get back into the story after a break.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

Definitely with an outline. I always have a new notebook for every project and work everything out before I actually start writing the story. I start with a rough outline; a simple beginning, middle and end and build up from there. Once I have a sentence or so for each chapter, I start writing the story. The outline will always change as I progress with the story.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

As THE ABILITY was my first book, the hardest part was making the time to write when I had no idea if it would be published - everything else in my life took priority. The easiest, unexpectedly, was doing the first edit for my editor. Although it took up a lot of time, I was so excited by the prospect of my book actually going to print that I just didn't want to stop!

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I don't read when I'm writing, as I find myself getting too distracted. So, when I'm not writing, I'm reading.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is, ideally, not always obvious.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I can't pretend I know something.

3. I can write better when I set goals for myself.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to recharge. That's what I have to keep myself when I find I'm still working at 3am!

5. A room without a book is not a room in my house!

Books

Title: The Ability (The Ability #1)
Genre/s: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret McElderry
Released Date: April 23, 2013
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Synopsis:

Delve into the extraordinary abilities of the twelve-year-old mind in this thrilling start to a middle-grade series that expands the possibilities of power.

No one has any confidence in twelve-year-old Christopher Lane. His teachers discount him as a liar and a thief, and his mom doesn’t have the energy to deal with him. But a mysterious visit from the Ministry of Education indicates that Chris might have some potential after all: He is invited to attend the prestigious Myers Holt Academy.

When Christopher begins at his new school, he is astounded at what he can do. It seems that age twelve is a special time for the human brain, which is capable of remarkable feats—as also evidenced by Chris’s peers Ernest and Mortimer Genver, who, at the direction of their vengeful and manipulative mother, are testing the boundaries of the human mind.

But all this experimentation has consequences, and Chris soon finds himself forced to face them—or his new life will be over before it can begin.

Giveaway Time!!! 

Le Rules:

• Open to US only
• Must be 13+ to enter
• Winners will be notified via email
• A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
• Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
• Contest ends October 30, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author's Slambook: Helen Keeble, author of Fang Girl and No Angel

Author Bio
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Helen is not, and never has been, a vampire, angel, or supernatural being of any kind. She has however been a teenager. Her novel Fang Girl, a YA paranormal comedy about a teenage vampire fan girl who unexpectedly becomes a real vampire, was published by HarperCollins last year. Her new novel No Angel is out in Oct 2013, and is another YA paranormal comedy, about a boy who discovers that being the only guy at an all-girls' school isn't exactly heaven on earth. Helen lives in West Sussex, England, with her husband, daughter, and two cats.

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Turquoise, though for some reason my wardrobe seems to be entirely purple at the moment. How did that happen?

2. Favorite food? Can't beat a big, rare T-bone steak… unless it's being cooked in the UK, in which case it is probably going to be like chewing boots. Brits seem to have a deep and terrible fear of cows, and cook them for hours to make sure they are entirely dead. (I am half-English and half-American, so I can be rude about both countries *grin*)

3. Favorite movie of all time? I don't watch a lot of movies, but I do love Galaxy Quest. I identify a bit too much with all the SF geeks in it, who really wish that their favourite show was real…

4. Favorite song? House by the Sea, by Iron & Wine

5. Favorite book of all time? The Last Unicorn, by Peter S Beagle

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originated?

As a kid, I wrote my own private stories because I wanted to combine all the best bits of my favourite books (Spock and Legolas having adventures riding dragons in Pern…). I never thought of writing for other people though until I went to university and joined a role-playing group. I started writing little stories about our characters for my friends… which turned into posting them online for other fans of that particular game (Legend of the Five Rings, for the curious). People seemed to enjoy them so I kept writing, and eventually joined a critique group for fanfic writers. Through that group I met some professional writers (like the SF writer Yoon Ha Lee) who encouraged me to start writing my own original stories. So I did, and started sending them to SF/F magazines… and many, MANY rejection letters later, I finally had a story accepted. After a few successes with short stories, I finally decided to try writing a novel. And so Fang Girl was born…

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I have a full-time job (I'm an industrial software engineer) and a two-year-old, so my schedule is rather hectic! I write in the evenings, after my daughter has gone to bed and my husband and I have had dinner. When I'm working on a book, I try to write something every day, though sometimes after a long day it's a struggle to force myself to sit at my computer and not just mess around on the internet! But when the writing is going well and I'm in my groove, I can easily start typing at 8pm and not even look up until 2am… good for the book, not so good for my day job or my husband!

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I used to just write. Nowadays I HAVE to outline, because editors tend to like to know that you have some vague plan and aren't going to kill all the characters in despair halfway through the book. *grin*

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The hardest part is having the discipline to sit down and get the words out. I hate writing first drafts! On the other hand, I love editing and rewriting - taking that dreadful first draft and polishing it into something that's actually readable. I know a lot of authors who are exactly the opposite though!

In No Angel specifically, the hardest part was working out the metaphysics of the angels and demons - there were so many different, conflicting pieces of mythology to choose from, so I had a hard time picking between them! The easiest part was the dialogue, because all the characters had very distinctive personalities that naturally clashed with each other. I had particular fun writing the Headmistress, who gets all the best, most sarcastic lines!

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Read every book I can get my hands on. I also love games of all sorts -- in the past I've been into roleplaying games (both tabletop and computer), but at the moment I'm obsessed with board games. Unfortunately board games take up a lot more space than computer games… between them and the books, there's hardly enough space for people in my house!

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is smaller than people think.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I'm awake.

3. I can write better when all the characters are fighting with each other in my head.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to dream up the next book!

5. A room without a book is UNTHINKABLE *grin*

Books

Title: No Angel
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Expected Publication: October 8, 2013
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Synopsis:

Rafael Angelos just got handed the greatest gift any teenage boy could ever dream of. Upon arriving at his new boarding school for senior year, he discovered that he is the ONLY male student. But what should have been a godsend isn't exactly heaven on Earth.

Raffi's about to learn that St. Mary's is actually a hub for demons-and that he was summoned to the school by someone expecting him to save the day. Raffi knows he's no angel-but it's pretty hard to deny that there's some higher plan at work when he wakes up one morning to discover a glowing circle around his head.

Helen Keeble's debut novel, Fang Girl, has been praised for its pitch-perfect teen voice, and VOYA called it "refreshing and reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series." No Angel brings you angels and demons like you've never seen them-complete with the wry humor of Vladimir Tod, sinfully irreverent romance, and some hilariously demonic teenage dilemmas.

Author's Slambook: Shannon Delany, author of Weather Witch

Author Bio
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Shannon Delany has been writing since she could hold a pencil and string words together in some vague semblance of a sentence. She loves myths, legends, folklore, music, art and research, and when she isn't writing, revising or obsessing over a story she enjoys spending time with her family and taking trips with them. She maintains a small farm featuring heritage livestock, rescued dogs, and adopted cats. Her novels include: 13 to Life, Secrets and Shadows, Bargains and Betrayals, Destiny and Deception, Rivals and Retribution (the 13 to Life series through St. Martin's Press), and Weather Witch, Stormbringer (January 2014), and a 3rd upcoming novel in the Weather Witch series (also through St. Martin's Press, summer 2014). Her 13 to Life novels are available in translation in Brazil, Turkey, Germany, France, and Hungary. She has also contributed to three charity anthologies: Spirited: 13 Haunting Tales (Leap Books); Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes (Month 9 Books); Very Superstitious (October 2013, Month 9 Books).

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? As a brown-eyed girl, I most love the blue of both my husband's eyes and my son's eyes.

2. Favorite food? Homemade pizza!

3. Favorite movie of all time? The Princess Bride--it's so witty and silly!

4. Favorite song? The Ballad of Love and Hate by the Avett Brothers

5. Favorite book of all time? Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey--it made me think about many things differently.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

I had some great teachers early on and my parents were always supportive of my creative endeavors.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

Crazy and obsessive. Hours and hours of writing, pacing, and making crockpot meals so my family eats. :)

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I started by writing 13 to Life online at Textnovel.com and won the first-ever cell phone novel contest in the western world because of that. But mainly I stay clear of the internet when I'm on a writing binge and I just type on my laptop like a crazy woman.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

All of my books are different... The hardest part is probably when I revise a book--I get very picky! The easiest is usually the actual writing of the rough draft--that usually comes rushing out of my fingertips.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I do some art, check out live music and museums, take online classes, and, most importantly I love spending time with my family.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is nearly non-existent some days

2. Research is what I'm doing when I'm starting to develop a book and when I'm filling in details in the book

3. I can write better when I'm properly caffeinated!

4. Sleep is an excellent way to keep my brain working for writing when I wake back up.

5. A room without a book is a room improperly designed and yet undecorated

Books

Title: Weather Witch
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin Press
Date Published: June 25, 2013
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Synopsis:

In a vastly different and darker Philadelphia of 1844, steam power has been repressed, war threatens from deep, dark waters, and one young lady of high social standing is expecting a surprise at her seventeenth birthday party–but certainly not the one she gets!

Jordan Astraea, who has lived out all of her life in Philadelphia’s most exclusive neighborhood, is preparing to celebrate her birthday with friends, family and all the extravagance they might muster. The young man who is most often her dashing companion, Rowen Burchette, has told her a surprise awaits her and her best friend, Catrina Hollindale, wouldn’t miss this night for all the world!

But storm clouds are gathering and threatening to do far more than dampen her party plans because someone in the Astraea household has committed the greatest of social sins by Harboring a Weather Witch.

Author's Slambook: Laure Eve, author of Fearsome Dreamer

Author Bio:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Laure Eve is a French-British hybrid who grew up in Cornwall, a place saturated with myth and fantasy. Being a child of two cultures taught her everything she needed to know about trying to fit in at the same time as trying to stand out. She speaks English and French and can hold a vague conversation, usually about food, in Greek.

She has worked as a bookseller and, for one memorable summer, a costumed bear for children's parties. She now lives and works in London. Follow Laure at www.laureeve.co.uk or on Twitter: @LaureEve

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Probably burgundy.

2. Favorite food? Haagen Dazs cookie dough ice cream. Or possibly Roquefort on baguette. Or keftedes with lemon juice. Sometimes it's ratatouille. Moules mariniere. Cake. Any kind of cake. I really love food.

3. Favorite movie of all time? TOO. HARD. TO ANSWER. I don't have a favourite - they all do different things for me, depending on mood. Today I'll say Who Framed Roger Rabbit? just because I've seen it a trillion times and yet if it's on TV I still have to watch it.

4. Favorite song? As above! Today let's say Every Day is Exactly the Same by Nine Inch Nails. It's a dystopian pop song. Honestly.

5. Favorite book of all time? Man, you're killing me. For the moment we'll go with Stephen King's It. That book changed my life.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originated?

From the moment my mother read me fairytales as bedtime stories, I think. I've always wanted to write, really. Writing is so freeing. It's a way to escape, to become something more. We all want to become something more.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

Sort of insane :) I have a full time job, so when I'm in the middle of a book I tend to work 11 or 12 hour days for weeks on end. And weekends. I wouldn't change it for the world, though.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I start with a scene, one scene, that I can't get out of my head. I'll write that scene first. Then I'll let it sit for a while. Then I start to build a story around it, a world, and people, and relationships, and a very loose idea of plot. Often I won't know how something ends before I begin writing it. But that's half the fun.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The hardest part is revisions. Going through your words again and again, combing, looking for mistakes, inconsistencies, plot holes, boring bits... after the tenth or eleventh readthrough it starts to drive you insane, and you begin to lose faith in what you have created. But you have to stick with it, and get through it. It's all worth it.

The easiest part is that first scene I write :)

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I'm a massive movie buff, so I love to have movie nights. I love yoga too - writing can be very sedentary, so I like taking classes just so I get to move around! And reading, of course. I don't often get time to do it, between work and writing, but nothing beats a fabulous book.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is a point of view.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I'm procrastinating.

3. I can write better when I'm on deadline.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to live other lives through dreams.

5. A room without a book is just a box.

Books

Title: Fearsome Dreamer (Fearsome Dreamer #1)
Genre/s: Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Expected Publication: October 21, 2013
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Synopsis

There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.

This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.

There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.

These people are dangerous.

And wanted. Desperately wanted.

Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.

But she doesn’t know that she is being lied to. She doesn’t know that the man teaching her about her talent is becoming obsessed by her, and considered by some to be the most dangerous man alive ...

Author's Slambook: Elizabeth May + Giveaway

Author Bio
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Elizabeth May currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her fiancé, Mr May. THE FALCONER is her début novel. For more information, follow her on Twitter @_ElizabethMay or visit her website www.elizabethmaywrites.com

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? Teal! Or, maybe, violet.

2. Favorite food? I probably enjoy anything put down on a plate in front of me, but cake makes me happiest.

3. Favorite movie of all time? Some Like it Hot makes me irrationally happy.

4.Favorite song? Right now it’s NIN’s “And All That Could Have Been”, but that could change as soon as next week.

5. Favorite book of all time? GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

Mostly in an attempt to be an exceedingly clever and insolent child in grade school. What did I do on my summer vacation? Lounging on the couch isn’t an answer? Fine. I hunted for monsters. I found the Loch Ness Monster in the pool. Etcetera.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

It goes something like this:

2 cups of coffee in the morning, write for 2 hours.

Nap.

More coffee. Write for 2 more hours.

Consider napping, but write for another hour.

Nap.

Naps are very important, you see.

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I work with a general outline, but it’s nothing set in stone. I’m able to outline about 2/3 of the book to pretty detailed accuracy (with wiggle room for plot developments, but usually it works well enough that I don’t have to toss it in the bin), but the last act of the book is less clear until I begin writing. I always, always have the end game in mind, but I’m pretty foggy on how that plays out.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The hardest part is writing the rough draft. I have Blank Screen Anxiety, which is where you look at the curser blinking in Word, the empty white page, and you realize you have to come up with all the words that are going to go on that page. And those words? Yeah, they’re not always pretty to read at first. In fact, they can be downright awful. So the entire rough draft process is a self-flagellating period where you say to yourself, “Your writing sucks. This book sucks. I hope you can make it better. Because it really sucks.”

Which leads to the easiest part for me, and that’s the editing. All the words have been written, the ideas are already there so you can focus on the words and the story and how to make them better.

I can’t remember where I heard it, but it’s something like: I may be a horrible writer, but I am a great editor.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to slink around the Scottish countryside and take pictures of pretty things.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is that I can personally fly in one, but have to use a plane in the other.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I don’t want to write, but I feel like I should.

3. I can write better when drinking copious amounts of coffee.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to experience the zombie apocalypse, because if you get bitten, at least it’s not permanent.

5. A room without a book is a cry for help. You should help by putting books in it.

Books

Title: The Falconers
Genre/s: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Steampunk
Publisher: Gollancz (UK)
Expected Publication: September 26, 2013
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Synopsis: 

Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

Giveaway Time!!! 

Le Rules:

• Open to US, CAN, UK
• Must be 13+ to enter
• Winners will be notified via email
• A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
• Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
• Contest ends October 26, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author's Slambook: Erin Richards + Giveaway

Author Bio
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

After lamenting the lack of young adult books to read, Erin wrote her first novel at the age of eighteen hoping to shift the tide. Then everyday life took its toll on her writerly dreams until 2003 when she couldn’t ignore the writing bug any longer. By then, she had immersed herself in reading adult fantasy and romance novels. Writing paranormal & fantasy romance was a no brainer. Erin has published two adult romance novels: CHASING SHADOWS, a paranormal romantic suspense (EPPIE award finalist and Night Owl Romance 5-Star Top Pick) and WICKED PARADISE, a fantasy romance released in August 2012. Erin finally realizes her lifelong dream of publishing a young adult novel with the debut of VIGILANTE NIGHTS in July 2013. Erin Richards lives in Northern California. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and American muscle cars.

Favorites

1. What is your favorite color? It’s all about the purple! (I just redesigned my website from blue to purple tones. Check it out!)

2. Favorite food? I LOVE Mexican food.

3. Favorite movie of all time? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

4. Favorite song? Comeback by Redlight King

5. Favorite book of all time? Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

All about Writing

1. How did your interest in writing originate?

Because I was in love with books at an early age, I always had an active imagination and would create scenarios in my head of my favorite characters. I wanted to emulate my favorite books and eventually began writing my stories in a notepad. Then I wrote my first novel at eighteen, inspired by S.E. Hinton’s, The Outsiders, one of my all-time favorite novels. I read The Outsiders as a teen, years after it was published when there was little YA fiction on the shelves. Gritty, thrilling, and real, The Outsiders left me awestruck. I was also doubly impressed when I learned Ms. Hinton was only sixteen when she wrote it. I then decided if she could write a book at sixteen, then I could write one at eighteen! I had grand hopes to shift the tide and bring more young adult books to the shelves. It took a long time, but I finally realized that dream with my recent release of Vigilante Nights.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

Since I have a day job, I try to spend at least 2 hours a night writing, editing and doing promotions. My weekends are all mine and I’ll start my mornings off catching up on social media, handling promotional tasks, then get down to writing for a couple hours. Then I take a break to return to real life tasks, and I’m back to writing for another hour or so in the evenings. Of course, Facebook and Twitter sometimes hijack my writing time!

3. Do you work with outline or just write?

I started out as a “panster” (winging it by the seat of my pants), until I learned about goal, motivation and conflict (GMC) charts. Now, I do a high level plot outline and a GMC chart for my main characters before I start my first draft. However, my muse isn’t a 100% sold on the outline process. “She” usually throws in subplots of subplots so I start to veer from my outline. I recently prepared a new YA book proposal for my agent, which included a summary (synopsis). This was the first time I’ve done a full synopsis for a book I haven’t totally written yet. It was a challenge, but it has become helpful to keep me on track as I continue writing the book.

4. What was the hardest part in writing your book? The easiest?

The biggest challenge was writing from a 17-year-old boy’s point-of-view, in first person, no less. Writing three romance novels with alternating female and male POVs helped greatly. I had already read a lot of novels with male POVs, and I took it a step further and read some “boy” books from popular YA authors to see how they handled POV. In fact, I didn’t know if I had actually accomplished it until an editorial director of a big NY publisher read & critiqued an early version of the first fifty pages and told me I had nailed it. Of course, I also wanted my book to appeal to females, and writing in a love interest was a natural progression since all my books have a romance element.

The easiest part was the editing. I think I’ve reached that point after writing six books that I’m comfortable editing, and my first drafts are not so bad anymore! People learn from doing, and I won’t say I’ve mastered editing, but I’m way better at it than when I started writing with publishing in mind.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Other than spending time at my day job, I love to read, watch TV, dabble in photography and my newest project is re-landscaping my backyard.

Finish the sentence

1. The difference between fiction and reality is a fine line. One toe in either direction and you just never know where you’ll end up.

2. Research is what I'm doing when I’m cruising the internet, even if I’m shopping at Amazon (it’s not just for books) or socializing on Facebook!

3. I can write better after my commute home from my day job. My long commute gives me time to create my next scenes in my head, or to solve plot problems and holes.

4. Sleep is an excellent way to recharge and bring clarity to my mind in order to put words on the page in a logical and exciting order.

5. A room without a book is like an empty dreary room without a view.

Books

Title: Vigilante Nights
Genre/s: Young Adult Contemporary, Supernatural
Publisher: Merit Press/F+W Media
Date Published: July 18, 2013
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Synopsis:

His beloved twin dead, his future destroyed, Lucas forms a vigilante posse to take revenge on the gang members responsible. Can his new love, and his sister’s voice from beyond death, stop Lucas from self-destruction?

After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren’t identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.

After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he’s crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver’s former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver’s death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver that can be accounted for by mere chance.

Giveaway Time!!! 

Le Rules:

• Open to US and International
• Must be 13+ to enter
• Winners will be notified via email
• A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
• Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
• Contest ends October 25, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway