The Here. The Now. And the Books!

Blood Magic-Tessa Gratton

2011-06-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

It starts off simply.

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

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

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

Goodreads has a nice description of Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton...but I think mine would be more like:

So, you like haunted towns and cemeteries, right? Of course you do.

You love hot, fictional characters who actually have some character to them, right? Yeah, you do.

And you love magic and blood (without vampires).

Since you love all of the above, you'll be IN love with Blood Magic.

Blood Magic is a book worth reading. It has a dark atmosphere throughout the book, and the characters are people I really wish I knew, especially Nick.

He's not Prince Charming, he's a realistic boy. A witty one.

Plus Silla is a girl who's gone through a lot of crap, and while she obviously is trying to cope, she's not falling apart to a point where she's a heap of emotional goo.

Silla + Nick = ♡♥❤ <---smexy romance

The villains in this book are fleshed out through diary entries, and, through that, I went through loving, sympathizing, and fearing said villain. There's history behind everything, and that get's sorted through. Nothing was left unknown, but nothing was answered too soon.

Not necessarily a beach read, but definitely something worth reading a night! Grab it next time you're at a bookstore.

I give Tessa many stars! (★★★★★★★★★★★★★)

P.S.

Some references in this book will please either

A.) Those who adore Linger by Steifvater

B.) Those who support Razorbacks. ;)

The Factionless

2011-06-01T06:31:00.000-05:00

So, Kim and I have put our heads together again and used our love of the Divergent Trilogy to create an actual fansite: thefactionless.com

This fansite has it all.

We'll have shirts, buttons, wallpaper, latest news, fan art, videos, interviews, playlist, everything relating to Divergent/Veronica Roth!

We've been working on it for a month now, and will keep adding and adding.

Check it out!

What Say You? (Hunger Games Casting)

2011-05-31T14:29:00.002-05:00

So, how many of you got to snag a copy of EW's Hunger Games issue?

And how many of you click refresh every 30min. on the Hunger Games' FB, Twitter, etc page to see new casting?

Well, if you've done one or the other, what are your thoughts on the HG Casting?

I'm in love with them all...Yeah, Jennifer Lawrence looks a little too old, but I think it'll work out.

I'm just so excited to see this being made epically. This isn't indie, and this isn't some half shot attempt...they're really going all out with well known actors/actresses.

Leave your say in the comments! :)

Donate= Books

2011-05-10T17:51:00.009-05:00

I am apart of Destination Imagination, a creative problem solving event.

My school has multiple teams, and this year 6 teams won 1st place in state to go to Globals in Tennessee.

So, yay for that, but it does cost around $900 per student...I've been in fundraisers for the past 4 weeks now, but I finally have one where it does not require the person to be there. I'll be honest, I'm desperate to get right amount of ticket sold. If I don't, team has to cover it as a whole ($ coming out of wallets to pay for fee).

Basically, you pay for a $25 ticket, and you have 1/400 (if all tickets are sold, which, in reality, not all 400 tickets will be sold) to win $2,500 and two more tickets will be drawn for consolation prizes for $250.

PLUS...this is a book blog, so if you decide to donate, I will send you a book. I really don't expect a many if any peeps to donate (I understand, I still love every one of you!), but I've chosen five books (first come, first serve).

Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles...SIGNED.

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon, never been read.

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe (perfect condition) and Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell (ARC version, a little worn).

If there happens by some miracle to be more donatees, there will be more books!

Email me at readergirl321@aol.com with

*Name

*Addy

*Phone #

*Email

*Book you want

I will reply with a PayPal request form and ticket #.

Sorta going by honor system here...I trust paypal. I won't use your information for anything other than for this donation. I will send you the book ASAP along with ticket stub.

If you win, I will notify you, and you will receive the money through mail or paypal.

You don't have to have a PayPal account in order to donate.

I know this asking a lot, but I really would appreciate it.

And like I said, I love every one of you regardless!

Also, I do plan to continue blogging. I need to get over finals within the next two weeks, and summer will be here.

There's also a Sekrit Project of Awesome, but that's all I'm allowed to say.

FOREVER Trailer

2011-05-02T17:33:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I'm not sure what's for the future, but I'm not ready to give up blogging just yet. With school out of the way in a month, I hope to set up a more stable environment!

Everyone knows I'm a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan so this is a must see:

Awesome, right? The song is Maggie's (Sam's?) 'Summer Girl'. There's also another version using Jonas and Pluckett's version of 'Summer Girl'. Both are nice.

You saw the hesitating wolf, right? :P

So, since I know you want to pre-order FOREVER, here's a cool link to do so:

http://tinyurl.com/3n8rq7s

They're AUTOGRAPHED~

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

2011-01-25T00:58:00.003-06:00

I posted this a few months ago, but since the release is coming up for Delirium, I thought I'd post it again along with my trailer I made last summer.

*A little spoilerish*

The idea that love is a disease is mind boggling from the start. How can you live without love?!

But in Delirium they do. It’s rather depressing at times, the way parents have no love for their children, only the responsibility of taking care of them.

The way married couples are looked down on when showing affection in public. But they’re not in love.

It’s a responsibility to work together, not love.

Lena understands that love, more commonly known as the deliria, is a disease. Without love, there is no hate. No war, fights, and life is measured and safe.

She cannot wait to turn 18 so she can finally be out of love's way. She’ll be evaluated, her husband will be chosen, as will her job and the amount of kids that seem fit for her. Hopefully, they’ll let her go to college.

So when her best friend, Hana, starts breaking the rules, breaking curfew, listening to non-government-approved music, and even going out to parties where boys and girls are integrated, she fears Hana will soon catch the disease and be forced to have the cure early, a dangerous thing that can cause deadly side affects.

But then there’s Alex. Alex who makes her heart jump, a clear side affect of deliria, makes her mind go fuzzy, another side effect.

She knows she should ignore him, just wait the few more months until the surgery will be given to her and she doesn’t have to worry about the disease. So it’s pretty bad when she says yes to meeting him…and even worse when he admits to being an Invalid, someone who disagrees with the cure and live in the Wild, pass the gates surrounding her city.

But then she realizes that maybe the government’s wrong, maybe they’re lying about love being bad. When she runs off to another party to warn Hana about a raid coming to take people who disobey any rules, she’s too late.

She sees the violence coming from the people who are supposed to ‘protect’ the citizens during the raid.

Alex saves her from the raid and from that night she’s soon plummeting further and further from her old life, the safe one. She might have deliria, but she’s doesn’t care.

She just wants to be with Alex.

But when the whole world is out to destroy something you love, how can you escape?

I truly loved this book.

It was magnificent and the ending was stunning and heart wrenching. Alex and Lena were marvelous, brave, characters who I enjoyed reading about. I loved reading each secret peeling off from Lena’s safe life even if some were hard to learn.

Lauren was able to show how love can never be erased and how far people will go to keep it with them.

The romance was sweet and true to heart.

I did cry, I laughed, and I screamed (In my head, at least!). Okay, I cried a lot in real life.

I was inspired!

So what do I do when I'm inspired? Make things. So I made a trailer.

I think this trailer is my best yet, and I hope you enjoy it.

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

2011-01-19T02:54:00.002-06:00

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with he werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger -- in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her -- not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

- taken from goodreads.

I was worried I would have NO clue what was going since it's been well over a year since I read The Dark Divine, but Bree was able to keep you intact with previous actions without throwing it all out there at once.

Honestly, I was hoping this would be better.

I loved TDD, so I had high hopes for this.

No, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as I had hoped.

First off, Grace is very, very naive. I can handle that characteristic to a degree, but it got kind of silly.

Fortunately, Grace's character grows magnificently well throughout the book, I think she gets over that innocent stage.

I love how determined she is. Most characters in YA are very strong and good will, but something about Gracie just stands out. She knows her beliefs, and they won't be moved.

Unlike The Dark Divine, this book actually did not have as much of a dark theme as I remembered TDD having, but it still kept of a mysterious plot of who did what.

Daniel is...not really present in this book, so hopefully he'll play more of a character in the third book. Grace and Daniel's relationship didn't spark, it was kind of like: Yup, we love each other. The end.

But it was sweet at times, and I can see it growing stronger after this book.

The lore and myths are very interesting, I enjoyed hearing them.

I really wished all the good stuff hadn't been saved for the last two chapters. We finally get answers, and then the book ended.

There's a bit of a cliffhanger, but with how the story was set up, it wasn't as climatic as it could've been.

Not horrible, just very average. I plan on buying the third book!

Matched by Ally Condie

2010-12-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

Unlike every other attendee at BEA last May, I didn't get an ARC of Matched, so when I saw it at Books-A-Millions, I gave my mom puppy dog eyes. It worked...:p

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.- taken from Goodreads

Like a lot of people, I love dystopian novels, so I was looking forward to reading this...and it was good....just not totally fantastic like I thought it would be.

It wasn't bad, not at all, but it was predictable. You knew she was going to rebel, you knew a lot of things, but you had to wait for the inevitable to happen. So when it does, you're (Or at least I was...) sitting there thinking: Finally! No shocker.

It was predictable, but I did love the story. It was good.

The characters were a tad bit bland...that said, I love reading from Cassia's POV. That, mixed with Ally's writing, was a wonderful experience.

I think if you like sweet romances, dystopian, and a bit of rebellion to go ahead and read Matched, because it was a good book. It was also a giant introduction, so I felt like not a lot happened. I also have a feeling what's to come will be a lot better since we'll be getting into action taking place, not just the realization of Cassia's government being a bit wrong.

This series has tons of great potential, I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Lost Saint

2010-12-22T05:00:00.002-06:00

Eeeek! Cannot wait for the sequel to The Dark Divine, The Lost Saint.

I might (I REALLY) need to read The Dark Divine again, though. It's been over a year, and when reading TLS synopsis, I barely remembered what happened. I do know I loved it, though, no doubt about that!

(Beautiful Cover Alert!)

*Spoiler Alert* - If you have not read The Dark Divine, this synopsis may contain spoilers.

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot—a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger—in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her—not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

-taken from Lostsaint.com

Awesome trailer, too:

Comes out Dec. 28th!

Just in time for Holiday Money Shopping!

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

2010-12-20T05:00:00.001-06:00

*Spoiler Warning: Don't read if you haven't read previous books!*
No need to tell you the sadness of this being the last book in Rose's POV...*sadness*

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?- taken from Goodreads

So, I was a little bored with the beginning, it was slow. But of course it picked up and turned into a work of art. It's hard to imagine such an epic series could end with anything less than epic, and Mead made sure that wasn't the case!

We were left off with Rose being framed to killing the Queen, something we all know she didn't do. I had no guesses as to who actually killed her, I'm not good a predicting books. But when you find out (Not until the last few chapters!), you'll be like: Oooh! Yeah...I can see that. Or How could ___ do that?!?

We were also left off with Dimitri, a non-Strigoi man, and Adrian being Rose's boyfriend. That brings some MAJOR complications since Rose and Dimitri kind of run off...together.

Plus, Lissa can't vote. She's the last Dragomir...or is she? Yeah, that gets taken care of.

I'll leave it to you to read who's her long, lost sibling.

I loved the book, but it wasn't my favorite. But it was still awesome!

If you haven't read it, read it. Good ending to the series.

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

2010-12-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

Hello!

I got this as a holiday present (Thanks, Kim!)...and I probably should have waited to open it. But curiosity took over, and I opened it. It being Return to Paradise, sequel to Leaving Paradise.

Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.

Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She’s determined to make a new life for herself.

But then Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie’s accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.- Taken from Goodreads

I pretty much love anything Simone writes, so I dropped the book that I was reading (trudging through...), and I decided to read this...took me a day.

I admire Simone for be able to write books that hold the reader's attention through emotions and thoughts. Certain events happen, but it's not just the events that keep you reading.

Throughout the whole book, I was captivated by Caleb and Maggie's thoughts and feelings.

I assume this is the end of the road for the Paradise books...(If I'm wrong, tell me!) since it did have a pretty wrapped up ending.

The characters all brought a good element to the story.

I loved this one character named Lenny, he was a trip.

I also loved that Simone had all of her characters dealing with something from their past that affected them. Everyone was reeling from mistakes, no one was perfect.

The chemistry between Caleb and Maggie was hot and also sweet.

So, if you loved Leaving Paradise, you'll love this. I recommend it entirely!

Hello! I'm not dead.

2010-12-17T16:59:00.002-06:00

I'm not dead...life's been hectic.

I've read quite a lot since October, so I'll make sure to post some reviews.

Sorry for letting y'all down!

I'll try to be a better blogger.

Thanks! *hugs*

Crossroads Tour Finale: Judith Graves (Contest!)

2010-10-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

*sniff* This is...the last crossroads interview... :(

BUT...today the Crossroads bring you the lady who started it all...JUDITH GRAVES! Yes, she is the master mind of the Crossroads, of course, and I'm happy to be apart of her awesome idea.

Ms. Graves here has written Under My Skin...and that, my friends, is about...

*drum roll*

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life…

Redgrave, Alberta had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief’s son and Redgrave High’s resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn–in fact, she’s lethal. But she can’t help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding–human Alec. And then her world falls apart.

A normal life? Now that’s the real fairytale.- taken from her website, here.

Cool, right?

The Interview:

1.- You write about a town that has a lot of…creepy things! Do you ever wish you lived in a town filled with vamps, weres, and the oh my! ?

You mean I don’t? Now that’s disappointing…lol…

2.- I hate to ask…would you want to date a werewolf of a vampire?

In the Skinned series werewolves are very nasty creatures – soulless, mindless beasts - not unlike some guys I dated back in the day. However, if you’re talking lycan/wolven-ish shapeshifters, then I’d be much wiser now and choose one of those to date over a cold-blooded, scary-assed un-dead vampire.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

The Bride of Frankenstein, or Marge Simpson, or better yet – Marge Simpson as the Bride of Franky. Why? The updos of course! Hold on a minute, has anyone seen Marge and The Bride in a room together at the same time? Hmm…..

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Like that great episode of Buffy. Nice. Well, this year I’m going as the WWII propaganda machine that was Rosie the Riveter, so I’d likely be going around saying “We can do it!” and flexing my wimpy biceps. ;)

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’m working on several projects, Second Skin, the next book in the Skinned series, where darkness settles over Eryn like a second skin…as well as a contemporary YA novel that I’ve been picking away at.

So, remember back when I interviewed Shannon Delany...my first interviewee? Author of the awesome book, 13 to Life? Well, now you have a chance to WIN 13 to Life! In the comments below, tell me the best costume you've ever worn, the best costume you've witnessed, or the best costume idea you have and you'll be entered to win it (randomly)! (You have until Nov. 6th!)

Add your email, please!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, READERS!

P.S.

There will be a chat with the authors from the tour over at Page Turner's Blog today and tomorrow! Check it out!

Crossroads Tour: Tonya Hurley! (Swag Contest)

2010-10-30T15:14:00.003-05:00

Today we have the queen of all ghost, Tonya! You might have heard of...GHOSTGIRL? Perhaps gazed at the beautiful covers?

Gorgeous and gothic right?

Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she's dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn't stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal.

If you thought high school was a matter of life or death, wait till you see just how true that is. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we'll go to be seen.

R.I.P. - Read In Peace

-taken from ghostgirl.com Tonya's website is here.

1.- Do you believe in ghosts?

Well, I never really had an opinion one way or the other until recently. I went to the Amityville horror house tag sale, the actual house on Long Island, and bought a blue chandelier. Let’s just say that some strange things have been happening since I put it in the house. I’m told that spirits travel in glass.

2.- Did you have to go through any research for ghostgirl?

The only research was looking back on my own life and on the lives of the people I knew then and know now.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Hit Girl in Kick Ass! That’s what my daughter is going to be this year. That, or I would wear a ball gown made out of raw meat like the Mark Ryden portrait, but Lady Gaga already beat me to that. The only thing I’d add would probably be fly strips for earrings.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Sophia Coppola.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

Writing more.

Thanks, Tonya!

Readers, leave a comment telling me if you've had any ghostly experiences or not, and you'll be entered to win some swag!

Crossroads Tour: Lucienne Diver!

2010-10-29T16:15:00.004-05:00

Today we get all vamped out with Lucienne Diver, author of VAMPED (and REVAMPED):

Hey, all, it's me… Gina Covello, fashionista of the damned. Yeah, I know, I managed to get almost all the way through high school without cracking a book and now here I am immortalized in one. Well, actually, the immortalization process might have started a bit earlier, like in the broom closet at the after-prom-party, somewhere around the time Bobby-freakin'-Delvecchio started gnawing on my neck. Anyway, this is one book I'd maybe even phone a friend about, since it covers all my adventures going from chic to eek. Because, let me tell you, eternity without a mirror or tanning options—totally uncool. And they don't tell you in, like, Vampirism 101 about crazy conspiracies, psycho-psychics and other hazards of unlife. But I will, so stay tuned.- taken from Lucienne's website, here.

Interview:

1.- Would you freak out if you were turned into a vampire suddenly?

Well, it depends whose universe I woke up in . If I was one of those vampires who could tolerate the sunlight, eat sumptuous meals and still stay slender, I’d be great with eternal youth and beauty and all the other perks that come along with joining the bite club! I kinda like the thought, though, that with great powers come great vulnerabilities. My vamps have some traditional drawbacks, like sun allergies, pointy stick phobias and the complete inability to keep down mochachinos. I’d almost certainly freak out if I were to wake up in a world without caffeine! Consorting with a vampire, though…that’s another matter entirely.

2.- Since she can’t look into a mirror, I read were Gina mentioned turning a person vamp so they could be her stylist! Would that be something you recommend, as well?

I never even let my stylist blow dry my hair after a cut—with my type A personality I can’t see taking time for something that will happen on its own if I just wait an hour. Also, I can’t imagine dooming anyone else to a life without tanning options, so I’m pretty certain I’d go around looking stupid a good deal of the time, with hair sticking out every which way and lipstick that completely misses the point. I’d make a very scary vampire indeed, and for all the wrong reasons.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

My favorite costume from when I was a kid was Isis, from the old television show by that name. Every Sunday at 2 p.m. I’d drop whatever I was doing to watch Isis the way I did Buffy when I reached adulthood. The heroine was an archaeologist =and= a goddess/superheroine. That’s my dream come true—right after literary agent/published novelist/ruler of the known world! (Side note: unfortunately, a few years ago I got my hands on old VHS tapes of Isis, all excited at my find, only to discover that they don’t hold up. At all. They play now like a bad after-school special. “What’s that? Billy inflated a life raft in the science lab? Clearly we need an ancient Egyptian goddess to save the day!”) [Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn29b0cgnaE&feature=related]

Today, I’d probably still choose a goddess. Maybe Athena.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Insert ancient goddess here. I was an anthropology and writing major in college. I particularly love the myths and legends. Let the smiting begin!

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’ve just turned in the third Vamped novel, Fangtastic. The fourth, Fangtabulous, is definitely on the horizon, since it’s contracted, but the muse is messing with me at the moment. Something a little darker (and unrelated) is starting to call to me, but since I don’t have all the kinks worked out, I’ll be a little mysterious about that for now.

Crossroads Tour: Amy Brecount White!

2010-10-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

An author you will not forget, Amy White, joins us today!

Her first novel, Forget-Her-Nots came out in March of this year. (Did you totally catch the 'you will not forget' and the title of her book similarity? Should I stop with the whole trying to be funny? Yeah...)

With a cover in a lovely shade of pink, here's some info on Forget-Her-Nots:

When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door,Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn’t so awful after all — until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something — something magical — is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can’t seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don’t always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she’s soon besieged by requests from girls — both friends and enemies — who want their lives magically transformed — just in time for prom.- taken from her website, here.

Interview of awesome flower power:

1.- Finally! Flower power!!! Where’d this idea come from?!

I’ve always loved gardening, and I found out about the language of flowers when I was a freelance writer on the lookout for story ideas. I never wrote the article, but I did make a symbolic bouquet, a tussie-mussie, for a friend who was very ill. She loved it, and I so wanted my flowers wishes to come true. Then I started thinking, what if they did….

2.- Silly questions this may be but…can you look at flowers the same now?

No, I definitely look at flowers differently. I can’t walk by one without smelling it. If it has no scent for me, I wonder if it would for my main character Laurel?

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

I’d be a tussie-mussie of orange crocuses (for mirth), snowdrops (for hope), and parsley (for the feast of life, because I plan on eating lots of chocolate!)

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Yikes!! I probably would have been lazy and thrown a witch’s hat on and grabbed a broom. Although magic powers could be fun, and I’d be a white witch, of course.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

Just finished up a contemporary novel called String Theories. It’s about a 14 y.o. girl who gets in over her head, a stream, the physics of relationships, and getting even.

White bellflowers for hosting me!!

Omg, if String Theories is literally about the physics of relationships, I'm at the bookstore at midnight! And if it's not, it STILL sounds awesome! 14 y.o....I can relate! ;)

Thanks for stopping by at the crossroads, Amy!

Crossroads Tour: Angie Frazier!

2010-10-27T16:16:00.003-05:00

(Sorry for the lateness...won't happen again. I hope. I'm scheduling one. I know, I know. Lauren, why didn't you schedule, ya know, a lot of them at once?! Well, A.) I'm a very slothy person. and B.) It wouldn't be the Lauren Way if it wasn't done last minute. So, tomorrow: Be here at 10pm for next post.)

But today we have...Angie! Angie Frazier! Angie Frazier, author of Everlasting!

So, first of all, the summary. (Phase one of falling in love with a book before reading it).:

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty. On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous - and alluring - magic. The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who - and what - matters most.- taken from her website, here.

Phase 2: The wonderfultastic cover. Because it's pretty effin' beautiful!

Phase 3 of this Blog Post: The Interview!

1.- Since Camille in Everlasting wants to sail the waters, did you have to do some research? Perhaps a cruse was in order?

The only research I did was through books—I am SO not a sailor! I get seasick very easily, so I envy that part of Camille’s character.

2.- Everlasting is your debut novel! How long did it take you to write it?

From start to finish, SIX very long years. However, I did write other manuscripts during those years, only coming back to Everlasting every now and again for a new draft. But still, it took me a long time to figure out what the real story was. The first draft was something totally different.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

The more outrageous and random the costume the better IMO, though I can never think of anything great. This year I’d like to dress up as an Egyptian goddess a la Cleopatra. That would require preparation though, and I’m not so great in that department!

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Is this a permanent spell or something that lasts for 24 hours? If it’s only for a day, I’d love to be dressed up as Katniss, but only if I don’t, you know, end up in the Games :)

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

My first middle grade mystery, THE MIDNIGHT TUNNEL: A SUZANNA SNOW MYSTERY is releasing on March 1, 2011 (so excited!!) and then in June 2011 the sequel to EVERLASTING will be released!

Thanks, Angie! Check back soon for upcoming contest, peeps!

Crossroads Tour: Rosemary Clement-Moore!

2010-10-26T16:50:00.002-05:00

Ack, sorry for the lateness! *hides face in shame*

But!!!!

We do have an awesome author with us for the Crossroads today...Rosemary Clement-Moore...author of The Splendor Falls! (Man, my book wish list is getting LONG. ;))

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

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

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

-Taken from Goodreads, but Ms. Moore's website is here!

1.- It seems that a lot creepiness happens in the South. What made you set Splendor Falls in Alabama?

I’ve visited Alabama quite a bit because my best friend lives there. The setting is actually her fault, because she told me about Old Cahawba, the real ghost town that inspired the setting for The Splendor Falls. And it’s easy to imagine spooks and haunts in the South. There’s a lot of superstition and history, both of which are still very strong there. Plus once you get out of the city, and away from the interstates, there are some beautiful, natural places that make it the perfect place for Sylvie’s story.

2.- What type of research did you go through for Splendor Falls?

I researched the real history the region--not just the state history, but the prehistory as well. The legend of Prince Madoc landing in Mobile bay, for example, is a real legend. (I love taking things like that and running with them.) I did visit Old Cahawba (I took my little dog with me, too!) to get a ‘feet on the ground’ feel for the place. It really is kind of spooky there.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

A fairy princess. Pretty AND magical!

4.- What’s next in your writing career?

I have another gothic/mystery/ghost story/romance coming out in June of next year, called Texas Gothic.

Crossroads Tour: Stacey Kade

2010-10-25T05:00:00.003-05:00

Another author who has a book with an AWESOME title and cover, Stacey Kade, author of The Ghost and the Goth!

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star…and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect,especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?- taken from her website, here.

1.- There’s the the ghost cheerleader…and the goth! Two totally different ends on the Social Network of High School. Which ‘class’ were you? (I’m a total band geek!)

I didn’t really belong anywhere! ;) I was welcome in several circles but never quite found one place to call home. I kind of floated around the periphery watching everyone else maneuver! : )

2.- I absolutely love the cover of The Ghost and the Goth! Did you have any say in it?

My editor, the amazing Christian Trimmer, and I talked about it. We looked at movie posters and DVD covers, and I sent some stock images that my mentor and fellow writer, Linnea Sinclair, helped me find.

But really, it was all the brilliant Hyperion folks! And the models—aren’t they perfect?

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Oh, dear. Um, I’ve always wanted to go as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, that would have to be one heck of a costume because I do not look the part! : )

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Shamefully, on most Halloweens, I would just be me! I’m the one who answers the door, wrangles the dogs, and hands out the candy. No time for costumes in all of that!

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

The sequel to the Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, comes out next June. I’m also working on the third book in the series, title TBD.

Crossroads Tour: Jackie Morse Kessler! (Swag Winner Announced)

2010-10-24T14:33:00.004-05:00

I really can't wait to read HUNGER by Jackie Kessler! Haven't heard of it?!

Here:

"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world."

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens. -Taken from Amazon

Find blurbs at Jackie's website, here!

Awesome, right? Love the cover.

1.- Many of your other books are adult. Did something happen to make you suddenly switch over to YA or did inspiration just hit and the heroine happened to be a teenager?

Got it in one! HUNGER just happened to have a teenage protagonist. I didn’t set out to write YA; that’s just how the story unfolded.

2.- In Hunger, Lisa finds out she’s Famine in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Will we get to read/learn about the other horsemen?

Absolutely. But not everything will be in HUNGER. J

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Wilykit from Thundercats. No, wait – Dark Willow!

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Zoe from Firefly. (Not from Serenity!!!)

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

Right now, I’m all about the Riders’ Quartet: RAGE, the second book, will come out in spring 2011, and I’m currently writing LOSS, the third book.

WINNER:

Heather from Buried in Books! Send me your addy to readergirl321@aol.com

Awesome swag headed your way! :)

Crossroads Tour: Jeri Smith-Ready!

2010-10-23T14:42:00.002-05:00

Today the Crossroads Tour brings you Jeri Smith-Ready, author of SHADE:

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.-taken from her website, here!

Interview:

1.- Have you had any ghostly encounters?

No, and I don’t want any! I am very easily creeped out—it’s the curse of a strong imagination.

2.- Where did the idea that everyone born after the Shift can see ghost come from?
I’m honestly not sure where it came from, but I thought it would be the ultimate “generation gap.” I mean, every teen feels like no one understands him or her, but for these teens (and kids younger) it’s really true! They have a completely different experience of the world than their parents or older siblings or even older friends do. I think it’s forced them to grow up faster, so they end up being more mature than those older than them.

3.- What’s next in your writing career?

In December, I’ll have a short story in a YA vampire anthology called ETERNAL: MORE LOVE STORIES WITH BITE. Then SHADE’s sequel SHIFT comes out in May. My fourth vampire book for adults, LET IT BLEED, comes out in August. Next fall, Logan Keeley from SHADE and SHIFT gets to tell his story in an anthology called ENTHRALLED, which is a collection of stories by the authors on this year’s Smart Chicks Kick It Tour.

Crossroads Tour: Karen Kincy!

2010-10-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

I recently released author, Karen Kincy, joins us today! She's the author of...OTHER.

I can’t last much longer. It’s been one week, three days, and I forget how many hours.

My belly cramps, and I curl on my bed, staring out at the stars. A delicious breeze glides through my window and cools my sweaty forehead. The air smells of summer–mowed grass, recent rain, lingering barbecue–and tempts me more than I want to admit. Shards of moonlight and shadow shift on the wall. I clench my teeth and toes and try to ride out the pain. My bedroom drifts counterclockwise, and I shut my eyes.

It can’t be good for me, not shapeshifting.

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never

met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate–into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and–most importantly–stay alive. -taken from her website, here!

Ah, gotta love those shapeshifters.

1.- If you could be an Other, what mix would you be? A Pooka?

Yes, I would definitely be a pooka or some other sort of shapeshifter. Come to think of it, being a werewolf would be fairly hilarious, too, considering how you could get away with snarling at people you don’t like and sneaking around at night.

2.- What gave you the idea to use shapeshifting in your writings?

I have always been obsessed with the idea of shapeshifting; I dream about it at least once a week, and it’s always my special ability as Dream Karen. Able to jump from tall buildings and turn into a bird, or plunge into oceans and turn into a fish! Usually, with bad guys in hot pursuit. Yeah. I have a one-track mind.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

I’d love to dress up as a Viking warrior woman with boots made for stomping and a lovely sword. Chainmail would be cool, too.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

I’m a Viking warrior woman now? Uh-oh. Guess that means I have to charge into the nearest mall while screaming myself raw and start pillaging.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

The sequel to Other, titled Bloodborn, comes out Fall 2011! Werewolves on the run with police on their tails. Plus angst. And romance. We meet Brock, an everyday farm boy who becomes the very thing he hates: a werewolf. As a newly bitten bloodborn, he seeks revenge and a second chance at love with the girl he thought he knew. But everything he knows turns out dead wrong…

Thanks, Karen! :)

Sorry for the lateness of today's post...let's just say I saw Paranormal Activity 2 last night...scary stuffs. Late night. But it's here now!

Swag Contest Here: HERE.

Crossroads Tour: Amanda Ashby! (Swag Contest 1!)

2010-10-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Perhaps some debate with the whole Team Zombie vs. Team Unicorn will arise with today's Lovely Lady, Amanda Ashby!
Ms. Ashby has this awesome book called...ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH. The name right there should just tell you how good it is...ok, I'm a little biased, I'm Team Zombie. But after reading an excerpt, admiring the cover, and smirking at the title, I'm going to check this book out!

A prom night Mia will never forget...

Quiet, unpopular, non-cheerleading Mia is blissfully happy. Rob-super hot football god-has asked her to prom! Life couldn’t get any better. Enter Samantha -cheerleader queen and Miss Popularity-who has made it quite clear that Rob should be her prom date. Mia is desperate to make sure she doesn’t end up dumped in front of the whole school. So with prom in just a few days, she turns to Candice-her holistic, hypochondriac best friend-and decides to try a love spell to make Rob stay with her. Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus on her whole class instead, and she is their zombie leader! At first she loves all the attention. But when she learns from zombie hunter hottie Chase that her classmates will actually try to eat her in a few days, she’s not too thrilled. She’s sure she and Chase can figure something out, but in the meantime, she’s suggesting that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy.

-Taken from Amanda's website, here.

(Btw, I love that dress that girl has on the cover!)

(Swag Contest After Interview)

Interview:

1.- Do I need to ask? Team Zombie or Unicorn?

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Please don’t tell anyone but one of my favorite books in the whole entire world is The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle, so while I’m not saying I love the mythical, pointy horse things, I don’t exactly hate them either!!!

2.- I am a big zombie freak, and I sometimes get the idea that maybe there will be a total zombie apocalypse. Do you think we should start preparing our zombie survival kits?

If by kits you mean large compounds with zombie-proof fences, lots of food and weapons, then yup, I’m totally up for having a zombie survival kit. On the other hand if you’re thinking of stock piling a couple bottles of water and some batteries for the radio then, I hate to tell you Lauren, but we are all doomed…..

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Like everyone, I love and adore Audrey Hepburn, especially when she wore black dresses and tiaras so I’m think that an Audrey Hepburn zombie would be full of awesome goodness!!

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Well, being a big Buffy fan I am of course always prepared for what would happen if your Halloween costume came to life so obviously I would dress up as Princess of the Whole Entire Universe (or most commonly known as She Who Must Be Obeyed)

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’ve just finished the copy edits of my next YA book, called Fairy Bad Day, which is the story of a girl who goes to an elite slaying school and wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps and become a dragon slayer. Instead she gets stuck with fairies. Then, if things can’t get worse she is attacked by an invisible killer fairy that no one else can see. And, thanks to a bad case of the girl who cried wolf, no one believes her and she is forced to ask the guy who took her dragon slaying spot for help.

It’s not out until next June, but I’ve just seen a sneak peak of the cover and it is completely awesome!

eeek! A faerie book to come?! Yay!

Thanks so much, Amanda!

So, are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? Answer in the comments (Yes, I want some debating, but nothing offensive to others, of course. :)) and you'll be entered to win a SWAG PACK.

Now, here's a picture of the swag, but you're not getting all of it...now. It will be a portion of that. And next time, another portion (I'll probably half it...), and the next Ghostgirl Swag Pack. (I haven't received the swag, it's in the mail. That's why I don't know as of now specifically what will be given out. But it's all awesome, no?)

So, leave a comment with what side you're on and your email, and you'll be entered! Winner will be announced SUNDAY. :)

Crossroads Tour: Joy Preble!

2010-10-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

Hey, Awesome People!
Today is Joy Preble! I thoroughly enjoyed Dreaming Anastasia...it stayed with me! It's still with me, and I can't wait until the sequel.

Haven't read/heard of Dreaming Anastasia?

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no

one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets. - taken from her website, here.

And now you want to read, riggghtt?

Onto the interview! :D

1.- What gave you the idea for Dreaming Anastasia?

I’ve been fascinated by the tragic Romanov story since I was in junior high. Such amazing, pretty people all gone in a blink of a revolution. The story just always resonated with me. Much later, when I’d started taking writing seriously, the character of Anne came to me. She was in history class, writing a note to a friend who would eventually turn out to be Tess. Somehow those two things – my Romanov obsession and this smart, brave girl character – combined. The rest is history.

2.- So, do you dream any weird dreams while writing?

Sometimes, yes. I have always had very vivid dreams. I actually remember dreams from when I was five or six. And like Anne, sometimes I when I dream, I’m not me. So how crazy is that?

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

I have tried and tried to be a costume person, but I’m never comfortable for some reason. That said, if I really could be anything I wanted, I think I’d come as a zombie. I’m such a ridiculous control freak that I guess being an out of control zombie would be quite freeing. But I’m sure I’d end up being a zombie with a to do list.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Hmmm. Well, not the zombie from #3. In this case, I’d be Wonder Woman. Cause who wouldn’t want super powers. Plus all that twirling. And the cape.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’m thrilled to announce that HAUNTED, the sequel to Dreaming Anastasia, comes out on February 1, 2011. More Anne and Ethan romance. More Tess. More Baba Yaga.

Thank you so much, Joy! Can't wait to read HAUNTED! :D *fangirls*

Crossroads Tour: Linda Joy Singleton!

2010-10-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today we have...Linda Joy singleton! Linda has written The Seer Series (Don't Die Dragonfly, Lost Dance, Fatal Charm) and the Dead Girl series (Dead Girl Walking, Dead Girl Dancing, Dead Girl in Love)!

Swag Pack info coming SOON, my dear readers. :)

I am so dead... Now, was I supposed to go left or right at the Light?

Seventeen-year-old Amber Borden has a lousy sense of direction—so lousy that she takes a wrong turn when returning from her near-death experience. She ends up in the body of the most popular girl in school, who has just tried to commit suicide.Can a girl who can't even navigate the halls of Halsey High discover the secrets of her new identity and find her way back to her own life?From the author of THE SEER Series- Amazon- Dead Girl Walking

Check out Linda over at her website hia: http://www.lindajoysingleton.com/

Onto the interview:

1.- You’ve written quite a few books! Is the writing process the same for all of them?

Pretty much. I usually spend some time thinking and taking notes before I start writing the book. I think of the main characters and what they want from this book on two levels; a surface goal and an inner goal (I call it Plot A/Plot B). I usually give characters conflicting and complementary goals, and I also plan out how the book will end. Once I have an idea of the beginning, middle & end, then I think of an exciting or pivotal moment for the book to start, and I write Page One.

2.- Will you continue to write books set in a paranormal atmosphere?

Yes. I wrote MY SISTER THE GHOST (1995 Avon Books) then a cloning YA series in 2000 (Berkley) and THE SEER psychic series sold in 2003—before paranormal books became so hot. It’s a genre I like, and although I do have some midgrade novels without paranormal elements, my heart is stuck on supernatural mysteries.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Maybe one of Lady Gaga’s outrageous outfits – the ones with lots of clothing.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

I would be dressed in sleek glittery black as a cat (my fave animal) and I’d tuck up my tail and go out for a moonlight prowl (g).

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’ve queried Flux with a 2^nd spinoff title from THE SEER series about the Goth psychic Thorn. I am finishing a middle-grade about loss and finding courage. I have two essays coming out in anthologies. And I have a back-up plan if nothing sells soon; a dystopian midgrade I’d love to write. The future is always a surprise and I can’t wait to find out

Thanks so much, Linda! *waves*

Crossroads Tour: Kitty Keswick!

2010-10-18T05:00:00.004-05:00

One of the Wolfy Chick Sisters (Along with Judith! *waves*), Kitty Keswick is here today!

She wrote the book with an awesome title: Freaksville. Awesome, right?

High school is hard enough when you’re normal. There’s peer pressure, book reports, the in crowd and the enormous zit that has a life of its own. Having a family whose skeletons in the closet lean toward the paranormal is not a topper on anyone’s list. Sophomore Kasey Maxwell is busy juggling the typical teen angst. Add visions, ghosts and hairy four-legged monsters into the mix and you get FREAKSVILLE. It’s a wonder Kasey has survived.
Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick Gillie Godshall consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new waters, a lead in a play, a haunted theater…and into the arms of the Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE? Taken from here website, HERE.
Interview:

1.- So, sometimes High School can suck. Or scary. Have any crazy high school stories?

Sadly my high school years didn’t contain a smidge of abnormal…no vamps or werewolves for that matter. I did, however, start scribbling my werewolf lore back in high school. I used my former alma mater as the basis for Freaksville.

2.- If you could have the gift of sight, would you want it?

Er, I’m a bit noisy, so yeah I think I would want it. I don’t like surprises. I like to know what’s hiding around the corner, whether it’s good or bad. That way I can either plan or brace for it.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?
I’ve been dressing up in the same theme every year. A witch, I’ve been doing it for ten years. If the hat fits wear it… I also do a great cackle that rivals the witch from the wizard of OZ.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?
See answer three.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

I’m working on edit for book two, Furry and Freaked. It’s a bit darker than Freaksville which has been a challenge to balance.

Thanks, Kitty!

Readers, have any freaky school stories? Or just, ya know, any stories worth telling?
I...don't, really. There was that time I jumped on a bench in the girl's locker room and started singing "Hey Jude"...but that's not totally off for me. ;)

Crossroads Tour: Jordan Deen!

2010-10-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

This awesome lady wrote The Crescent:

Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future, that everyday life has past her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, she's almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues, leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey’s fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she’s ever known. -Taken from her website HERE.

Check her out! As a fan of werewolves, I'll be checking this book out. Christmas *is* coming soon...!

Onto the interview!!!

1.- Werewolves are made of awesome. Which do you prefer, though, when turning into a wolf? Wolf Man wolves or real wolves?

Oh no, it *must* be real wolves. I’m strictly a werewolf, four legs, sleek fur, almond/golden eyes, type girl. Hands down.

2.- What kind of research do you have to go through for your writings?

I try to identify with my characters the most. So, I people watch. I look how people move, their interactions and their mannerisms. I really want the characters to be identifiable, more than anything. You’ll find me observing, more than participating, in most activities. That’s where my inspiration comes from- real life.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

I’d be Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Yup- geeky. I know. But, she’s hot.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

Ohhh great question. More than likely I’d be a witch. I already have the hat, wand, and candles for it. J So, I guess I’m already prepared.

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

The sequel to ‘The Crescent’, (Half Moon) is releasing on January 13, 2011. Currently, I’m working on one novel for a publisher and outlining the storyline for ‘Full Moon’—the end of the trilogy as well.

Thank you so much, Jordan!

Readers: Tune in everyday! Who knows...the answer to today's question (Which can be found here) might be lurking in the interview! And you'll be that much closer to winning awesome prizes.

Also, next week (And every week during the tour...!) there will be swag packs to be given away...stay tuned for more details!

Crossroads Tour: Shannon Delany!

2010-10-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

So, you've probably heard of this fine lady...author of 13 to Life. Yes, HER. :D

Check her out at her website, here.

As described on the website, 13 to Life is...

"A tale of teenage love, loss and—oh, yeah—werewolves."

Now, onto the interview...! :D

1.- Would you want to date a werewolf?

Being married to a “simple human” I must say no. BUT. If I weren’t married (and younger) and one of my werewolves was available... Sure.

2.- 13 to Life is the title of your debut book. Where did the title come from?

The title started out as a phrase that simply wouldn’t let me be. Then I realized it was connected to my proprietary werewolf blend (my werewolves have a very unique feature due to genetic makeup) and I knew I had to use it because it’s also highly symbolic for the Rusakova werewolves.

3.- If you could dress up as anything you wanted for Halloween, what would it be?

Not Lady GaGa. I hear everyone’s going as her this year (how embarrassing to be in the same outfit! ;)—even babies! Hmm. I think I’d choose something like Jess’s Halloween outfit in the upcoming Secrets and Shadows (shhh—there’s a Princess Bride reference I probably shouldn’t spoil—although maybe I just did...). Anyhow, it’s pretty and kind of romantic but not too over-the-top.

4.- Oh no! You’re at a Hallows Eve Party and at 12am you actually become what you were dressed up as! Who/what would you be dressed up as?

If we return to question 1, and I’m not married and significantly younger *cough* and thinner *cough-cough*, and hanging out with the Rusakovas at their Halloween bash I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood. In those circumstances I like to think most of us would make the same choice. ;-)

5.- What’s next in your writing career?

Whew! I just turned in my revisions for Bargains and Betrayals (book 3 in the 13 to Life series) and book 2 (Secrets and Shadows) is already available for pre-orders and releases February 15, so promotions are kicking back in. Writing-wise I have a string of projects I’m working on, mostly YA and mostly paranormal, but very rarely werewolf.

Thanks, Shannon! Check back on October 31st for your chance to win 13 TO LIFE (Aka, book of awesome...!).

Tune in tomorrow for Jordan Deen and maybe an answer to the questions posted (daily!) here: http://tinyurl.com/2eddnhg

Welcome to the Crossroads Tour!

2010-10-15T20:00:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow until October 31st, I will be apart of Judith Grave's Crossroad's Tour: 16 Days, 16 Authors, 16 Blogger Stops.

It'll be a blast. Each week? Swag packs.

Throw in some books....AWESOME author interviews. And a hunt that YOU (Yes, you) will be apart of, too.

Details:

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new research question will be revealed here on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page (http://judithgraves.com/events/the-crossroads-tour/), and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween.

Send your answers to judithgraves at ymail dot com by midnight on October 31^st to win a fab grand prize consisting of:

signed copy of Under My Skin by Judith Graves
copy of Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
copy of Freaksville by Kitty Keswick
gothic stickers
funky Halloween decorations
a DVD featuring Classic Horror Films
a $10 gift certificate for Leap Books
a Leap Books T-shirt

Tune in every day for an interview with an awesome YA author. Get prizes...collect clues...HAVE FUN! :)

Austin Teen Book Festival...AGAIN!!!! WOO!

2010-09-25T11:19:00.003-05:00

I am so so so so ready for this festival again.

It takes place in Austin, TX (One of my favorite places, actually! I wouldn't mind moving there!).

There are some FLIPPIN' awesome authors.

FRIENDS! Love meeting Twitter/Blogger Peeps!

But this is my random babbling...here's pretty much all the info. You should totally drive/fly out. You'll want to once you see the author line-up!

About the Festival:

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010

Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm

Location: Westlake High School

4100 Westbank Drive

Austin, TX 78746

Keynote Author: Ellen Hopkins

Panels & Authors:

The Dastardly Daydreamers: Fantasy – Melissa de la Cruz, Kiersten White, Sophie Jordan, Nancy Werlin, & Alexandra Adornetto

The Mustache Twirlers: Evil Machinations – James Dashner, Pam Bachorz, S.A. Bodeen, Catherine Jinks, Ally Carter

The Boundary Breakers: Realistic/Edgy Fiction – Ellen Hopkins, Kenneth Oppel, Susane Colasanti, and Jon Skovron

Mission: Fostering a community effort to celebrate and promote reading by connecting teens to local and award-winning authors, whose writing spans across genres and interest levels.

The festival is free and open to anyone. Seating preference will be given to teens at the author sessions.

Books and concessions will be available for purchase.

Goals of the Festival:

Have fun!

Connect teen readers to local and award-winning authors

Encourage interaction between aspiring writers and established authors

Bring together teens who enjoy reading and to encourage struggling readers

Support, promote, and celebrate recreational teen reading

Promote life-long reading

Festival to-do List (for teens):

Meet all of your favorite or soon-to-be favorite authors

Listen to music by local teen bands

Have an author autograph your book

Hang out with your new and old friends and others who enjoy reading

Purchase books and ATBF t-shirts

Get your picture taken in our super cool photo booth

Ellen Hopkins is our key-note speaker. Attendees will want to get here on time to hear her presentation. She is amazing!

Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to each panel of authors.

Books will be sold throughout the day so bring cash or cc to purchase books. You will want to get them signed at the end of the day!

Pizza slices and drinks will be sold at lunch for $1/each. Amy’s ice cream will also be sold (range $3-$5). So please bring extra cash for concessions.

Authors will be signing books at the end of the day. Most are good about taking pictures with attendees.

Local teen bands will be performing at lunch and during the book signing

The UT/OU game will be televised throughout the day so that no one has to miss the game

We will have a professional photo booth set up during the day for students to take pictures with their friends. This is free! (http://www.magbooth.com/ - to see how it all works)

Questions?

contact Heather Schubert, festival chair: hschubert@eanesisd.net or 512-732-9224

want to volunteer or know of volunteers? Contact Leslie Wilson, volunteer coordinator: lwilson@eanesisd.net

ELLEN HOPKINS! Melissa De La Cruz! James Dashner! Pam Bachorz! Nancy Werlin! Alexandra Adornetto! Sophie Jordan! Kiersten White! More! I am SO excited. And last year...Egmont supplied a GENEROUS amount of ARCs...just sayin'. ;)

If you want a little more in details info, where to go, schedule, sponsors, names of groups and bands, etc. go to the website: http://austinteenbookfestival.com/

I'm SO EXCITED!

Will you be coming?!?! Tell me!!! (One with red hair...that's me. It's curly. I'll be bouncy. And smiling...)

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

2010-09-15T22:58:00.004-05:00

As soon as I discovered The Haunted was out (And, ok, BEFORE it actually was supposed to be out…), I went straight to my local bookstore…and they didn’t have it. So, I waited…a week. They didn’t have it.

I had birthday money, so I went to Amazon and had it delivered to me with 2 day shipping…money well spent!

I loved the creation Verday made in the Hollow, the characters, the places, the relationships, even the paranormal aspects. Going back to them was a sweet joy.

I wanted to delve right back in, be entranced in the world of Abbey. And I was!

The spooky town still remained, the genuine characters were more….alive (I kinda just giggled really loudly!) than ever. In The Haunted, you are taken deeper into everything. Deeper into secrets that were opened up in The Hollow, about Kristen, about Caspian, about Nikolas. Taken deeper into romance. Let me just give a GIANT compliment to Jessica…she was able to write very steamy, sexy, thrilling, moments between Abbey and Caspian…and they can’t touch. Yeah.

No touching…yet still completely smoldering and sexy.

The paranormal aspect went deeper, as well, of course. We found a bit more of what’s going on, but still have questions that will be anxiously wanting to be answered.

Kristen…the girl might be dead, but she knows how to leave a mark. Her actions, the good and the bad, still leave marks on everyone in the story, she’s not forgotten.

The town still holds the pure richness that I think it will always have, and Abbey still holds passion for it, as I think she always will.

The ending…came too soon! I am left with a lot of questions!

I actually think the ending could have had a bit more, I’m not just saying that because I want more, I’ll always want more, but it was like Abbey was slashed with a knife over and over and we’re left with her wounded and lost.

(No, that really didn’t happen.)

I did not want this book to end, I really didn’t. I’m going to miss all the characters, because they are all relatable in different ways, they are all realistic.

Congrats on the well deserved Bestseller (#10!), Jessica!

The Haunted made me read fast, regret reading so fast, but still reading on, hooked on every page. Hauntingly good, if I do say so myself!

Winners and Thanks!

2010-09-13T16:37:00.003-05:00

NIghtshade Contest has been extended, if ya want it, head over to Kim's place!

HUSH, HUSH WINNER: @KaitorTot from Kaitlyn in Bookland

Rules of Attraction/Perfect Chemistry: Haven't heard from previously announced winner so...a new one has been chosen! Kathy, from I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, please send me your addy!

BEFORE I FALL: Ashley from Ashley's Bookshelf!

Thank you to EVERYONE who participated in this event, you were awesome. I hope readers enjoyed this!

Reviews to come, news about a book festival, and another book tour I'm apart of, so stay tuned!

Back to Books

2010-09-03T16:46:00.004-05:00

So sorry for lack of posting!!!! School is slowly devouring our lives. This saddens me, too. But! I'm a year older (How old am I? Guess in the comments!)

But today we have...Judith Graves!!!

Coil Notebooks: A Writer’s Obsession

Back to school can be a dark time in my house. Not because my husband is a high school social studies teacher and I’m an elementary school library technician – and back to school means an end to summer. Nope. I’m talking about my coil notebook obsession and how it drains our bank balance every fall

As a young adult paranormal fiction author, I’ve made it my duty to scoop up any gothic notebooks I find. But I write edgy YA as well, therefore I stand in line for the tattoo-ish, doodle designs as well. And I have a few picture books I’ve been working on, so I have to nab the cutise ones too.

What do I use all these notebooks for, you ask? Well, some are for future plot ideas, character trait journals, random dialogue, nifty word diaries, flash fiction pieces, lyrics, poetry….and some are too stunning to write in at all. Those are for pure wow-ain’t-that-pretty moments of inspiration.

I found a few of my favourite notebook companies online, you can check them out here:

Ecojot (http://www.ecojot.com/) - recycled paper, cute designs and Canadian! Can’t ask for more.

Carolina Pad (http://www.carolinapad.com/) – cool notebooks, bags, you name it.

Etsy (www.etsy.com) also has an amazing selection of handmade, unusual designs. I could spend hours skimming through the online shops to find steals like these (some are more elaborate and expensive than others):

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54582093/apocalypse-xxiv-awesome-leather-journal

http://www.etsy.com/listing/34524093/wildflowers-notebook-recycled-paper

You can even go to a site like Vista Print (www.vistaprint.com) or Café Press (www.cafepress.ca) and have notebooks custom made – a great idea for a school fundraiser, art class projects, or team/club bonding thingie. ;)

I feel I’m neglecting another important facet of back to school shopping. Along with each gem of a notebook, there must be an equally fantastic pen…but that’s another post. Happy Back to School Season!

Who am I? I’m Judith Graves, YA paranormal author of Under My Skin (Leap Books, 2010) and Second Skin (Leap Books, 2011) and a member of the amazing Class of 2k10. Check out my site: www.judithgraves.com and the 2k10 site to meet 23 coolio debut authors: www.classof2k10.com

Back to Books Post 8: Wednesday Contest

2010-09-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

This post it written by (as Kim would say) The Other One!

Before I say anything, can you believe it is ALREADY September?

By the time this post is up, it'll be the first day of school for me. All those relaxing summer days? THEY'RE GONE...the bright side is, today is Wednesday, which means school starts at 9. More sleep? Heck yes. *happy dances*

And there's always those pesky rumors about your new teachers. Sometimes, they turn out true, and other times, they don't. First days aren't usually "first days," just teacher introductions. Gah, I wish I had one more week...Please cross your fingers for me to have a very good first day! In case you are wondering, I'm going into my sophomore year of high school...

When school starts, I always say to myself, "Hey, at least you'll have more books to read!" And it's true! For today, I'm going to give away a SIGNED ARC of NIGHTSHADE--something for all of you guys going back to school to look forward too. It is a wonderful, wonderful book. Expect the review to come this month...and a trailer... ;D

To enter, just comment on this post with a short paragraph on the funniest thing that happened during this summer. If we get enough entries, I will pick from the funniest. If not, randomizer FTW. If our contest is THAT lonely, we'll just open this up to extra entries...let's see how it goes ;) I'll leave this contest up until the end of the B2B special. Ends 09/13 midnight, California time

FUN!

Back to Books Post 7!

2010-08-31T16:35:00.007-05:00

Back to school!

I admit it. When I was in elementary, middle, and high school, I absolutely loved going back to school. I'd have my first-day-of-school outfit picked out days in advance, from shoes to earrings. I was always something new and cool that didn't look like I was trying too hard. I'd daydream about who the teacher w

ould assign me to sit next to. An interesting new kid? The guy at the pool I'd been crushing on all summer? A snarky girl with lipstick on her teeth? New school supplies, a new book bag, a home-packed lunch complete with a foil-wrapped drink (to keep it cold)--I loved every last detail.

I'd know who my teachers were and when I got into middle and high

school, I'd have my class schedule memorized. But then I went off to college and something strange happened. On my first day, I got up late, threw something on, and biked to campus with absolutely no clue what classes I'd signed up for, let alone where on the enormous campus they were located. Of course, with time I figured things out, but those first couple of weeks, I just kind of walked around in a haze, unpunctual, uncoif

fed, and unstyled.

So, what about you? Are (or were) you one who planned everything out when school started, or did you just kind of show up and hope for the best?

Wendy Toliver
Author of Teen Fiction
visit me at http://www.wendytoliver.com/

To win a SIGNED copy of The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, use this form! Swag is also included in this giveaway, and will be mailed by the author! Ends 09/13 at midnight! (California time)

Back 2 Books Post 6!

2010-08-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

Today I bring you...Lauren Oliver, author of BEFORE I FALL and upcoming DELIRIUM, two VERY wonderful novels.

After reading this, there's a SURPRISE. But first, read the awesomeness that Lauren blogged:

As I am writing this, it’s August 24^th and I’m in Paris, eating loads of baguette and watching vespas zoom on the single-lane, cobblestone-lined street beneath my window, and I am thinking about school.

You might wonder why I’m thinking about school. Shouldn’t I be thinking about accordian-playing mimes, and cute French waiters, and more baguettes?

Mais non, mes amis.

Parisians take summer vacation very seriously. VERY seriously. Everybody takes vacation in France in August—and not for one week, or ten days, but for the entire month. That is not an exaggeration. Bakeries shut down. Butchers shutter their windows; boutiques lock their doors. The streets are empty of Parisians. The mornings dawn misty and quiet, the evening smolder in silence. It is actually a very peaceful time to be in France…if you don’t want to buy anything!

Here’s another example of how seriously French people take les vacances d’ete (summer vacation). There is a famous, famous ice cream shop here called Berthillon. It has exactly one location, on the Ile St Louis, an island in the center of Paris. It does not export its ice cream. You cannot find its ice cream outside of France, or even outside of Paris. And it sells nothing but ice cream—no cookies, no chocolate, no bars of nougatine. Just ice cream.

It is also closed for two full months of every year. Guess which ones?

July and August.

And then, suddenly, at the end of August is la rentree: literally translated to the re-entering, it is when Parisians pour back into Paris, and the bakeries fling open their doors again and begin churning out their heavenly baguettes, and the boutiques and papeteries are packed with families shopping for back-to-school clothing and supplies. This might be my favorite time to be in Paris: la rentree is all about optimism, and energy, and hope for the new year.

That’s what I always loved about going back to school in the fall. It offered a chance of reinvention: new clothes, new binders, untouched sheaths of paper, unused pens. The promise of new friends and (possibly, please God, please God) new adorably hot transfer students who would fall madly in love with you during chem..

And okay, yeah—so most of the time it didn’t work out that way. Within a week, your new clothes are just newer old clothes and you still have nothing to wear, while that annoyingly perfect student body vice president looks like a freaking runway model every day of her life—meanwhile, the only transfer student is weird and short and smells permanently like meatball subs. (Or, if he is cute, he’s already dating the student body president.)

But the point is the start of the school year is all about hope and new beginnings—so much more so, I think, than the actual new year. (Who wants to celebrate new beginnings when it’s like, negative five thousand degrees outside and everyone you know has the flu?)

So make a wish. Heck, make a resolution. And happy New Year!

Thanks, Lauren!

Now, fill out this form, and you can win BEFORE I FALL!

FORM.

P.S.
Winner of Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction HERE!

Back 2 Books Wednesday 1 Winner is...

2010-08-29T18:33:00.002-05:00

Bookish in a Box from http://bookishinabox.blogspot.com/!

You win Rules of Attraction and Perfect Chemistry SIGNED by Simone Elkeles!

Send your addy to readergirl321@aol.com

CONGRATS!

If this is not claimed in one week, another winner will be chosen!

Back to Books Post 5! (Contest! Linger! Signed!)

2010-08-27T16:56:00.004-05:00

I present to you the one, the only, SHELBY! :D

Hi everyone! :) I think Lauren is going to mention this anyway, but I’m Shelby (@sbarwood, sbarwood.livejournal.com). This is my first real guest blog, so I’m pretty excited. I’ve decided to tell you a True High School Story. (Wow, MTV should totally get the rights to that. Just sayin.)

My high school experience was…incredibly bizarre, really. I live in a town of approximately 15,000 people. Sounds small, right? It is. My graduating class only had about one hundred people. If I didn’t know all of their names, I at least knew all of their faces. As you can imagine, this made it incredibly hard to just stick to myself and read, the way I like to do. I didn’t fit into any cliques, and let me tell you, in a rural Alabama school, if you’re not in a clique you might as well be dog shit. (Wait, can I say that? Whatever. Let’s PG-13 it up.) Sure, I had friends, but let’s face it: I was an outcast. And not the cool one with a k who can drop beats.

Enter Mr. Jameson. Mr. Jameson was fresh out of college when they hired him to be our Geometry teacher, and…well…sometimes I felt sorry for him. Mr. Jameson was very good at Geometry, but he had no idea how to teach Geometry to his students. He could work the problems in just a few minutes, but showing us how to do the problems put so much stress on him you would have thought he was trying to teach a bunch of Portugese-speaking Rottweilers. About a week into the school year, he decided that from then on, every day, we would come into Geometry, and he'd hand us a Connect-the-Dot and if we did it, we’d get an A.

You can’t make this up. To this day I have no spatial sense whatsoever.

Well, Mr. Jameson’s class was in the middle of the long hallway that comprised the 300 building. Apparently, way back in the sixties when our high school was built, one set of workers had started building on one side of the building, and another set of workers had started building on the opposite side of the building, and when they met in the middle, they didn’t have enough room left for a complete classroom. So the Geometry classroom was inanely small. We had so many desks in our classroom that there were no aisles; you literally had to climb across the desks to reach your seat. As you can imagine, the fire safety people conveniently overlooked it.

Into the middle of this cruel and unusual torture-chamber I was thrust. I usually got the Connect-the-Dot done in the first five or seven minutes of class and read a book the rest of the block. Mostly everyone else, of course, behaved like monkeys, which only further disturbed our on-edge Geometry teacher. Well, for some reason that September day, this nightmarish girl LaShonne who always had something to say about anyone decided that it was time to start firing her mouth off about me.

Now, I wasn’t having the greatest day. I had just found out that the boy I had been crushing on for weeks had started dating one of my band frienemies. On top of that, I had forgotten my lunch money and had only been able to get a Rice Krispy Treat for lunch, even though our school had promised our parents that they were instituting “Healthy Lunches.” (Oh, please! Since when is fried chicken and pizza a part of a healthy lunch?!) So I was very ready to snap at someone, if they gave me the chance.

LaShonne was as dumb as she was mean-hearted (she actually graduated a year late) so she didn’t notice the Look of Doom glaring out of my eye sockets. She started loudly telling me how ugly my outfit was and how fat it made me look. When I fixed her with the Death Glare, she demanded, “What the hell are you looking at?”

“Shut up, LaShonne,” I warned.

“Bitch, don’t tell me to shut up! I’ll say whatever the hell I want! You can’t tell me to do nothing, you fatass.”

“Shut. Your mouth, LaShonne.”

“You need to take your fat horse away from me before I knock you out!”

I’m still not sure why, but something inside me kind of…snapped. I slammed my book down on my desk, flung myself out of my seat, and shouted, “I’m not putting up with this anymore!” I spun around to storm away, but was trapped by the blockade of aisle-less desks. In a fury, I climbed on top of them, walking and leaping over several people’s (thankfully) empty desks, and stomped to the door, slamming it painfully behind myself.

Of course, I couldn’t make quite the exit Anger had planned for me. Anger wanted me to triumphantly storm home. (I was just a freshman, too young to have a car yet.) As I walked down toward the band room, though, I realized that Anger had grossly miscalculated, as it is wont to do.

I had left my purse in the Geometry class. Keys, money, learner’s permit, all there in that bag. I stopped, feeling hot, humid Alabama air on my face. I didn’t want to go back, but I didn’t want to leave anything valuable in there alone, either. Sighing, I turned back.

As I walked, anxiety crept into my throat. I had just broken at least twenty school rules and slammed the door in my teacher’s face. My feet got heavier. I was in so much trouble. I wondered how many weeks of detention I would get for this. Detention in a rural Alabama school isn’t like detention in a normal school. In a rural Alabama school, you’re shoved in a room with no air conditioning and no fans even though it’s a hundred plus degrees out. Talk about hell. On top of that, they would probably call my parents, and who knew what they would do to me. I’d never really been in trouble in my life, or been grounded. I was just a “good kid,” y’know?

I hesitated outside the peeling door of my Geometry class before steeling myself for the onslaught that waited for me and shoving open the door. It was silent as the grave inside—fitting, since I figured I’d soon be in one. Mr. Jameson looked up at me as I came in. “All right, people,” he barked. “We’ve had about enough for today, so just finish your work.” And we did, sitting with our heads down, not speaking at all. I sent furtive glances in Mr. Jameson’s direction, certain that at any moment he would tell me how much trouble I was in.

As I dreaded, when the bell rang Mr. Jameson called me to the front. I didn’t have any excuses on hand. I’d never acted like that before. I considered pretending to cry. I considered crying for real. Mr. Jameson leaned over his stool, staring into my face. I stared back, trying to remember how to make my chin quiver.

His face burst into a smile. “Great job, Barwood. I’ve been waiting to tell that girl off for weeks. She really needs to learn when to keep her mouth shut.”

I gaped. Was he serious? “Ummm…”

He flashed me the thumbs-up sign before turning away, effectively dismissing me. I stood there numbly for a few seconds before I remembered how to operate my legs. As if that weren’t disconcerting enough, a girl from band smiled at me and said, “That was seriously awesome. She’s awful, isn’t she?” I just nodded, realizing that I had apparently done something cool.

And you know what? LaShonne didn’t say another word to me the whole year. :)

Hope you guys enjoyed! A gigantic shout-out to Lauren and Kim for hosting this thing and being completely awesome about my procrastination addiction!

And now, just for fun, I have a shameless promotional GIVEAWAY of Maggie Stiefvater's SIGNED SHIVER and LINGER! :D Get excited.

...Not that excited. Pull it back, pull it back.

Here are The Rules:

1. Open to anyone on the continent of North America. (If you don't live on the continent of North America, follow me on Twitter to learn about my upcoming inter-continental contest! :D)

2. The Giveaway will be open until September 5th, 2010 at 7:00 CST. The winner will be announced and notified the next day, September 6th, 2010 (Labor Day) between 10:00 and 12:00 CST.

3. Fill out the Entry Form. All fields marked with an asterisk MUST be filled out! If they are not filled out, your entry will not be counted.

4. Extra entries will be factored in accordingly, and each individual entry will receive a number. A winner will be randomly selected using random.org.

***FOR EXTRA ENTRIES***
Before you attempt extra entries, please be aware that I WILL be checking to make sure no one is attempting to cheat. Also, please don't create blogs/Twitter accounts merely for the purpose of entering this contest. (It's just dishonest!)

Follow @sbarwood on Twitter (+1)
Friend sbarwood.livejournal.com (+1)
Comment on any entry at sbarwood.livejournal.com (+2)
Follow The Here. The Now. And the Books! OR And Anything Bookish (+2)
Tweet about the contest WITH THE HASTAG #BacktoBooks (+3, max. 3 times) If you don't put the hashtag, the tweet will be disqualified!
Mention the contest on your blog (+3, max. 2 times)

If you have any questions, feel free to leave comments and ask them! Have fun, and good luck! :)

Thanks SO much, Shelby!!!

P.S. Signed Rules of Attraction and Perfect Chemistry Contest ends TOMORROW at midnight. :)

Back to Books Post 4!

2010-08-26T16:16:00.002-05:00

Today I give you some awesomeness coming from Nicole from WORD for Teens!

The Library Before First Period
Or, in which we learn that throwing books is a really bad idea.

I am a nerd. I wear the label proudly, as do most of my friends. We call ourselves the Nerd Herd; I've been called Queen of the Nerds; our favorite English teacher calls himself our Emperor, and our librarian argues with him and insists that she is the one who really leads us.

Either way, last year was my last year of high school. (Sad!) The group of us spent as much time as possible in the library before we left - during lunch periods, whenever we had a free period, when our teachers would let us out of class.

But, most importantly, we hung out in the library before first period.

This was something that we had done since freshman year. The entire point of this post is that going to the library - or at least, in my case - is a great way to make friends. I would need both hands and both feet to count the number of people I've met and become friends with just by hanging out there. We're computer geeks, book nerds, comic obsessed, manga lovers - you name anybody who falls under the 'May Be Socially Awkward' division, and we're in the library. And you become really good friends with your librarian.

This is very beneficial. And I can't even start with the number of stories I have from the library that would have gotten us in trouble had my friends and I not been close to my librarian.

For instance:

Sophomore year, my friends Keith and Gerald and I were working on a project for our English class. We had two options: make a video of whatever skit we were working on, or present the skit live to the front of the class. None of us liked the idea of presenting the skit live. We were all rather awkward in front of large groups.

Besides, our skit involved throwing things.

See, we had to write a scene, ten years after the end of the play, for The Taming of the Shrew. I was playing Kate, Keith was playing Petruchio, and Gerald was playing a poor servant who gets hit as I throw books.

Our librarian at the time was Mr. Stevens. (This changed at the beginning of our senior year, and I'm closer to that librarian than I ever was to Mr. Stevens. She also happens to read WORD regularly, so we always have a lot to talk about.) Now, Mr. Stevens was your typical nerdy male librarian. He agreed to let us stay after school and perform the skit, and he would film it for us. He even supplied old, kind of crappy books for me to throw so I wouldn't have to ruin any of mine.

Now, I have really bad aim. It took multiple tries to even get a shot that looked like I had hit Gerald. Most of the time, I ended up hitting Keith.

But none of my bad aim compares to what happened to poor Mr. Stevens. As Gerald went to toss one of the books back to me, it flew at an awkwardly low angle just as Mr. Stevens was standing up.

And it hit him in a very, er, precarious spot.

Needless to say, I coudn't stop laughing, Keith was rolling on the ground, the library assistant was doubled over, and Gerald was trying to help Mr. Stevens stand back up.

He still let us finish filming, too.

What was the point of this story? You can make friends in the library so long as you just say something. Talk to your librarian. Ask what other people are reading. Just say hi and introduce yourself.

Oh, and if you can't aim - don't throw things.

Thanks for posting, Nicole!

Reminder:

Contest from JP for HUSH, HUSH Here: Click!

Contest from me for Rules of Attraction and Perfect Chemistry SIGNED by Simone Elkeles HERE!

Thanks!

Back to Books Post 3: Wednesday Contest

2010-08-25T05:00:00.009-05:00

So, today I post. So, technically it's not guest posting for here. But next week Kim will post on Wed. and then the next Wed., I will. And then Kim will. Get it?

Ok, so school...I have mixed feelings to say the least. I have the passion to learn...but only with things I want to learn, which, as you can imagine, are limited.

Getting up at 6:30am for school seems like Hell to me, too. Why can't we have night school? I'd function better!

Yes, school does put a dent in reading time, but it doesn't stop me from reading, of course! We have a specific period of 30min. to read each day, actually.

Usually, I'm the only one reading, though. *sigh*

There aren't a lot of readers at my school, unfortunatly. I blame this on the fact that A.) Some people just don't like to read. B.) Reading is a challenge for some. or C.) The person has not found the right book, yet.

Up until 4th grade, I hated reading. No kid.

I mean, come on! The school's books were pretty boring. And I'm a picky reader. I'm not that reading gal that can pick up any book and read, I don't work that way.

But I started reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, which lead to Artemis Fowl, which lead to Harry Potter, and then to Twilight.

A Series of Unfortunate Events was my starting point. I love those books. I was finally able to see that reading was indeed enjoyable. I found my right book. My starting book, so to speak.

So, in honor of going back to school soon (Or, like me, you're already in school!), I'm giving away 2 books. Hopefully, you'll love them, maybe spread them to a person as their spark for reading.

The books will be given away together, and they are:

Likey?
These books rock! Sexy, edge-y, romantic. And SIGNED! Love!

All you have to do is fill out THIS form.

Of course, if ya want, check out Kim's post (same as this)! http://andanythingbookish.blogspot.com/
Note: No, you can't enter in both places. If you do, one entry will be taken away. If you lie, faeries will come dance with you until you die. :)

*Edit* This contest ends Saturday! Winner will be announced Sunday.

Back 2 Books Post 2!

2010-08-24T05:00:00.004-05:00

We have a very special treat for you today! Not only guest blogging but a prize, too!

This will guest blogger is JP from YA Urban!

Hello!

So today I'm posting about Back 2 Books. . .and I'm going to be talking mostly about the school environment - oh, and cliques. Maybe some people think there are the same "groups" in every school; maybe you don't. But I'm here to tell you that the school I go to isn't the same as a lot of schools. We are a small Catholic school and we have somewhere around 600 students total, Pre-K through eighth grade. In the higher grades, there are the jocks, and the other people. Not even kidding. We don't have "preppy girls," "cheerleaders." I guess you could call us (the non-jock, book/music people) indies. When we were immature, say, fourth grade, there was an infinite siege between the two forces; now, the "indies" are the matures ones (IMO), and we just ignore it when the sport-obsessed jocks think they're the hottest thing out there. We're cool like that. ^^

So - to celebrate Back 2 Books, I'm having a national giveaway of HUSH, HUSH. Why this book? Because a lot of the story's plot and/or storyline is set at school, and the novel often focuses on that. To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post. If you want +1, tweet "Back 2 Books: School + HUSH, HUSH. @jpmsull @WonderGirl12 or @Sunxxmoon "http://tinyurl.com/2e4g6u2" I'll be in charge of the contest.

Thanks!

You heard him! HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick!!!

Kim's Version of this Post: http://andanythingbookish.blogspot.com/

Check back tomorrow for a Wednesday Contest Post from Kim or me! :)

*Edit* Contest ends when Back 2 Books ends, Sep. 13th.

Back 2 Books Post 1

2010-08-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

So, we being the Back 2 Books month long extravaganza!

So, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday there will be a guest post from YA Bloggers talking about books...and school! Every WEDNESDAY, Kim or I will be posting with a giveaway. Plus, some guest bloggers have giveaways of their own!

So...today I present to you:

Sandy from Pirate Penguin's Read!

So summer’s ending and that means it’s time to go back to school.

I can already feel my internal clock readjusting itself in preparation for getting up early.

But you know what school can’t take away from me? The time to sit down and read a book; sure, I’ll have to carve out a few minutes of each day but as an intense bookworm, I make that commitment (even when it’s time for finals!). While I love gobbling up new stories, there are some books that I always revisit every year. You could call them my comfort reads; I’m pretty sure everyone has some. Today I’ll be telling you my Top Five Comfort Reads. Maybe we’ll have some in common! :D

Top Five Comfort Reads

1.) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-I was first introduced to Jane Eyre when I was around 11 or 12. My friend (who was also the same age as me (and they say kids don’t read!)) lent me the book, saying that I’d love it. Her copy had a dark, almost dreary cover and was very beat-up; I wasn’t convinced that I’d love it—but I gave it a try and ended up falling passionately in love with the story. The main character, Jane Eyre, had all the traits that I wanted in a heroine. She is clever, brutally honest and has an iron will that wouldn’t bend for anyone-not even the love of her life. She goes through so much but gets her happy ending without compromising her moral values. It’s an amazing book and it’s perfect for a rainy day!

2.) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen-who hasn’t heard of Mr. Darcy? Again, the same friend who introduced me to Jane Eyre made me try P&P and my life hasn’t been the same since. Jane Austen was the author that really pulled me into the British regency period and made me curious to know more. Tall, handsome, intense and insanely rich, Mr. Darcy also happened to be my first major literary crush and although he’s no longer #1 in my heart (Mr. Thornton has that title now), he still holds a special place in my heart (and has a fanbase that could rival Edward Cullen's stalkers--er, fangirls.)

3.) Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes-I found this gem by accident one day when I was looking through a pile of books at the dollar store. The cover didn’t do much for me but the summary caught my attention; on a whim I decided to buy it and it sat on my bookshelf for months. Another friend of mine had picked it up from the library and once she finished it, she raved about it—realizing I had it on my shelf already I picked it up and read. I was transported into a world where there was a war between two classes of shape shifters—add some political intrigue and romance and I was set! If you’ve had any doubts about Atwater-Rhodes, I suggest you pick this one up first. Her writing in this book truly shines.

4.) Just Listen by Sarah Dessen-Oh Sarah Dessen; you’ve been with me since the beginning of my high school career. Dessen is one of the reigning queens of YA and if you haven’t read any of her work, you should be ashamed. As for those that are familiar with her novels, most readers think The Truth about Forever stand above the rest. I used to agree until I reread Just Listen and sawooned over Owen, the bad boy with a penchant for honesty and eclectic music. He’s been my favorite Dessen boy ever since. Every girl needs to meet the Dessen boys—they are hot!

5.) The Host by Stephenie Meyer-Don’t be put off by the fact that Stephenie Meyer is the author. There are no sparkly vampires in this book! There are aliens instead ;) Don’t look at me like that—whether you admit it or not, Stephenie Meyer can tell a story; she excels with this particular novel where she seamlessly blends sci-fi with romance. I was initially skeptical but once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I loved this book so much I even have a copy of it in Spanish! I would definitely recommend this one for anybody that wants a thought-provoking read (with romance, of course.) ;D

Thank you for guest posting, Sandy!

Check back tomorrow for a post by JP!

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

2010-08-16T21:56:00.003-05:00

Blood Promise-Book 4 in Vampire Academy Series

For this review, I’ve decided to make is FULL of spoilers. Sorry if you have not read Blood P

romise, but I need to review this and, reviewing without spoilers at this is point is just silly because it’s the 4^th book in the series.

But for those who haven’t read it, I will say:

It was a different setting, yes, but it was still a wonderful addition to the Vampire Academy Series. If you have any doubts about reading it, erase them.

Also, I would not attempt to read out of order. (I’m looking at you, Kim.)

Okay, now. Are you ready for my first thought when opening up this book?

Where in Rose’s giant mind does she think she’ll actually be able to kill Dimirtri, the boy-excuse me, man- she loves? Get real, Rose.

With that thought out of the way, I was very happy to read about her adventures in Nightingale. Reading about a main character in a different country, Russia, was fun! And a little exciting. I did miss the Academy life and gang…a lot, though.

When first meeting the Alchemist, Sydney, I was a little…freaked out by her. As Rose was, I guess.

I think the thing was that I didn’t like her personality…but she was a good character. Mead is able to write characters that are so unique and personal that you can actually form opinions on whether you like them or not! That’s good, in my opinion.

Okay, so Rose is traveling along and…won’t stop talking about Dimitri and Lissa. Which is totally reasonable and realistic and all but Jesus! Lissa, Lissa, Lissa. Dimitri, Dimitri, Dimitri.

After awhile, I got used to it, I guess. It was a bit annoying, and it seemed like a way for Mead to avoid boring trip details. Plus, come on. Rose just happened to be able drop in at all the right times with Lissa, eh?

That said, I was grateful for the Lissa Time. I was happy to be able to see what was going on with her, Adrian, Christian, and….Avery. Avery…I knew this girl was bad. Just sayin’. I bet a lot of people knew this, as well, but still. That girl didn’t set right with me from the moment I read her.

Ok so now Rose is in Baia. I. Loved. Meeting. Dimitri’s. Family.

And it also made me cry when she had to tell them that he was…dead. Or undead, rather.

I was so sad!

I loved how his family worked, though. Close, always got each other’s back and such. I thought it was kind of weird but kind of cool how they accepted her as…what? Their daughter in law widow? I don’t know, but it was interesting. I liked Yeva.

It was also cool to hear advice from Mark and Oksana, the other Shadow Kissed couple. Abe was…interesting, too. I’m giggling now since I know who is after reading it all. That was cool that he ended up being her father.

Then Rose ends up at Strigoi Estate…and wow.

I will say this: I’m proud of her trying to kill Dimitri.

I was a bit annoyed, though, that I was reading this wonderful, strong, character, Rose, become…a blood whore! It was shocking and saddening.

And Dimitri…it was like something that was too good to be true. I wanted to be happy he was there, but I knew he wasn’t the Old Dimitri.

So when she staked his ass, I wasn’t too sad over it. Okay, I teared up. It was a hard thing for her to do, but Rose is Rose. She did what she had to do. And the whole escape was pretty kick ass.

And the Bridge Scene…Dimitri was finally dead! After reading 30 pages of attacking Dimitri, he was finally dead. Rose could go home.

But, of course, she had to have an epic Mind Battle. That itched my mind, the concept. It was…mind niggling. But boy did I wish Rose could have met Avery to give her ass a good kick. Ugh.

But when Rose finally got back to St. Vladmir’s, I was relieved. It was like I had traveled with Rose, gone through her exhaustions, and now, finally, we could breath. I swear, it was like I went through Hell and back with Rose. I was practically mind blown at this point with all that happened. Slowly, my mind got back together. Lissa and the Gang were safe. They could begin…recovering.

And then Rose get’s Dimitri’s note.

“You forget another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemy is dead. Looks like we’ll have to go over the lesson again the next time I see you-which will be soon.

Love, D”

Hot damn, my mind is blow AGAIN! Can’t wait until I get my hands on Spirit Bound. Which should be ASAP.

Shadow Kiss by Mead

2010-08-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa-the last Dragomir princess-must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov,some rules are meant to be broken...

But since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling right. Something dark has begun to grow in her mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy's iron gates. And now that Lissa and Rose's sworn enemy, Victor Dashkov, is on trial for his freedom, tensions in the Moroi world are higher than ever.

Lying to Lissa about Dimitri is one thing but suddenly there's way more than friendship at stake. The immortal undead are on the prowl, and they want vengeance for the lives that Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmare, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most..but will her choice mean that only one can survive?- Taken from Goodreads.

Yes, another Vampire Academy book. That's what I'm reading!

Okay, so the 3rd book in this series, Shadow Kiss, has a lot more to it than Frostbite did. I enjoyed that it went straight into what happens next. Even with grief surrounding the campus, things had to move on, so Rose did what she needed to do: Trudge through. Since Rose is Rose, she probably should I have spent time trying to get through her grief, but no, she jumped right back up.

I love reading new ideas, so Mead's Vampire Academy ways was a delight. I loved reading about their classes, specifically that the Guardians had to go through 6 week training were they stood by those they were trained to protect, the Moroi Vampires, while their professors dressed up and randomly attacked them. Now that was fun to read.

Plus, I liked how more than one BIG event happened in this book. Rose and the gang went to a whole different city, had an adventure, and came back to the Academy. Mead could have dragged that out as a book, but she didn't, thank the gods.

Another aspect I respect is that we don't know what's happening. We are as clueless as Rose at this point.

*Spoiler*

I didn't if she was seeing ghost because she was crazy or because the ghost was real and trying to tell her something.

It's always intense but fun to have that in a book.

I will say, there was one thing that I thought Rose and Adrian and Lissa should have figured out sooner than they did, but when they did, it was well written and understood.

One review of this book noted the fact that it was good to read Rose have some doubt about constantly protecting the Moroi, and I agree. The dhampirs are so selfless at times it's almost unreal! I'm glad there was some doubt put in there.

The romance was...good. I loved the romantic tension but really there was not a lot of making out or anything. Which is okay with me. But when something DID happen, it did seem kind of rushed.

I don't know if you've ever felt this, but when reading a book where the characters pull together and say: You know what? Let's kick some ass., I feel adrenaline! It's so much fun. And when they actually DO kick some ass? Totally freaking awesome. I was more than happy to read about CHRISTIAN and ROSE (Yes, I know, shocker if you haven't read the book yet.) kicking some Strigoi.

The ending was very emotional. I'm wondering how Mead will take Rose to her goal and what will come out of it.

With a quick beginning, intense middle, and sobering end, Shadow Kiss was a lovely sequel to Frostbite.

I can't wait to read Blood Promise.

Waiting on Wednesday

2010-08-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

I am DYING, yes DYING, to read...

The Haunted by Jessica Verday. I cannot wait to get my hands on this!

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with by the bridge where her best friend drowned - the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead - Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, determined to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into schoolwork, perfume-making and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be able to help her get over Caspian once and for all. But Abbey is never going to truly be able to move on from Caspian and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side: for Caspian is a Shade and Abbey is his destiny. The two are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow and the famous legend that binds their fates - a legend whose true ending and dark truths they are only just beginning to guess...Taken from Goodreads.

As sequel to the Hollow (Review HERE), The Haunted, I expect some good ol' creepiness, hotness, and awesomeness to come!

What about you? Have you read the Hollow? Did you like?

YA Sisters- Episode 2

2010-08-10T02:52:00.001-05:00

Episode 2 of YA SISTERS (Kim and I) has a new episode up! Check it out over on the YA Sisters tab.

Or go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rw3FL8g7lY

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

2010-08-09T05:00:00.002-05:00

Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladmir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians-including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vladmir's holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose-and her heat-are in more danger than she ever could have imagined.-Taken from Goodreads.

If you only KNEW how reluctant I was to read this book. I had it planned out in my head as another New Moon incident where boy goes away, girl meets other boy, gets old boy back. Or maybe a House of Night incident where the main character falls in love with...four boys?! Bah!

I didn't even consider the OTHER things that could have happened, things not involving romance. It was a stupid thought on my part. I had the same trouble with reading the first book in the Vampire Academy Series.

I don't know why.
But with both books, I was able to *finally* pick it up and be immersed into a wonderful adventure.

I loved it, of course.

First off, I enjoyed reading Rose as a character. It's refreshing to be able to pick up a book and read a character that's snarky, strong, and kick-ass instead of a frightened girl who finally overcomes her fears. Rose might have fears, but she'll be damned if she lets anyone know them!

That's another thing: Rose knows she's hot. She knows she has skills.

But it never was a bother to be in her head, she was never rude or obnoxious.

While reading the book, I also had the aspect of how worldly vampires are. We had guest in the academy from every country, and I liked reading something that had that to it.

Ok, can we say funny? Christian, Rose, Adrian: Funny. The snarky comments had me laughing out loud. Seriously, there's some good humor and sarcasm in this book. It was a great way to break some tension.

Speaking of tension...there was some tension! Both because of danger and romance. I loved the relationship between Rose and Dimitri, who is now on my list of fictional crushes. Long hair, Russian, tall...*swoon*!

I think with today's YA books one of the things that the author does purposely or not is create a barrier with a relationship. There's always something keeping them apart. And I think a key aspect when writing a good YA novel (Keep in mind, I'm not talking about EVERY YA novel.) is to be creative with how they can't be together. And Mead came up with another interesting and creative reasons as to why Rose and Dimitri can't be together: 7 year age difference and duty. Romance would get in the way of their main job: keeping the Moroi safe.

My only complaint is that maybe Mead could have made the whole nocturnal schedule more apparent.

I recommend this book for those who have read Vampire Academy Book 1! And who like danger, hot guys, and vampires with a good twist.

I'm reading the sequel as of right now! I'm hooked.