1. It's August Already?  Where does the time go? My daughter got out of school at the end of May and she's going back at the end of August. I can't believe it's August already. The summer flew by!
2. After Loving You  My social media manager and I have a lot of awesome things in the works for my upcoming Ashelyn Drake NA romance. I have two really cool giveaways planned. The bigger one will be exclusive to my street team Kelly's Coven, but the good news is you can still join here.
3. Back-To-School Sales!  Is it just me or does every writer get giddy browsing the back-to-school bins? I bought flash drives in every color available and was practically squealing in Walmart over the price.
4. Editing  I'm editing for a client this week, so that will keep me busy.
5. Reading  I've been struggling to find reading time lately. I did just finish one mystery, but I still am working through a thriller and a suspense. I need a day to just read.

P.S. I LIKE YOU By Kasie West Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Point (July 26, 2016)  Language: English Age Range: 12 and up Grade Range: 7 and up What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery? While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has

Enter to win autographed copies of Rocket-Bye and Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?, written by award-winning author Carole P. Roman and illustrated by Mateya Arkova. Giveaway begins July 23, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends August 23, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

Heidi is exceptionally good at hiding. She can blend in anywhere!

Kind friends know Heidi’s amazing skill and let her win whenever they play hide-and-seek, but is hiding away really the best way to have fun with your friends? What might they be good at? What might they most enjoy doing?

Fiona Woodcock‘s playful and stylish début, Hiding Heidi is a lovely exploration of friendship and thinking of others. Heidi’s delightful friends help her learn that you don’t always have to be the best at something to enjoy it, especially when you know your friends are having a good time too.

Mixing the delight of spotting Heidi in her various hiding places, with fresh and joyful illustrations and a story perfect for fostering kindness and understanding, Hiding Heidi is an uplifting read. To celebrate its publication this month I recently caught up with Fiona Woodcock and asked her a few questions about her journey to becoming a published illustrator. I’m really pleased to share our conversation with you today.

Portrait of Fiona Woodcock taken by Sandy Suffield, in front of a painting by John Hoyland at the Newport Street Gallery.

Playing by the book: Wanting to draw was in your fingertips from an early age I believe – can you tell me a bit about your early art making experiences? How were you encouraged? What experiences were particularly informative and encouraging?

Fiona Woodcock: I was always drawing as a child and my parents found it hard to get me to stop and read instead. At primary school I was selected along with two other budding artists from each class to join a lunchtime art club. We exhibited our work in the local library. So from a young age, being creative formed my identity really.

I would also add that, not only was I always drawing as a child, I did a lot of looking too (or some might say staring!) But I think that being observant and taking everything in is a big part of being creative.

One of my earliest collaborative art making experiences must have been at a preschool class when I was about 3 or 4. We had to screw up pieces of coloured tissue paper which were poked into a huge polystyrene board. The end result was an image of Alice in Wonderland, which I remember being utterly amazed by.

A family snap of Fiona and her brother. This photo inspired the climbing frame spread in ‘Hiding Heidi’ (see below)

Playing by the book: I really love your comment about the importance of observation. I’m sure this was something you developed further whilst studying – can you tell us a bit about your course at the Glasgow School of Art? How much illustration – and children’s book illustration in particular – was part of the course?

Fiona Woodcock: I studied Graphic communication at Glasgow School of Art, which I loved as it was very drawing and ideas based. It was there that I got into animation – I just loved making my drawings move.

There was a lot of drawing on the course, we’d draw on location every week in places like Kelvingrove Art Gallery, The Transport Museum and The Botanical Gardens. And went on an amazing field trip to Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

Sketchbook detail from Fiona’s Glasgow School of Art trip to Uist

Whilst at Glasgow I did a couple of book projects, but not specifically children’s books. I always enjoyed the challenge of sequential images, which is probably why I was also fascinated by animation.

After graduation, I came to London and sought out illustrative animation projects. It became clear that my favourite aspect of the animation process was the design / illustration and so my route into illustration came that way.

Playing by the book: I’d love to know about about your process for making the art in ‘Hiding Heidi’ – including the materials you used, the research you did. What would your top tips be for kids who wanted to have a go at creating art inspired by ‘Hiding Heidi’?

Fiona Woodcock: My process for ‘Hiding Heidi’ started with lots of pencil sketches to help refine the characters. I like to draw on animation paper, it’s a habit I can’t get out of. In some cases I’d use the initial pencil drawings for the final artwork as the redrawn version would loose the expression and energy of the original sketch.

I created the colour work by cutting my own rubber stamps and printing with ink pads to create textured shapes of colour. I also cut stencils and used charcoal and children’s blo-pens. Then everything is composited in the computer and endlessly tweaked.

This shows the print and stencilled colour work, which is combined with charcoal tone and pencil work. You can also see here an early concept image for the stairs spread from the book.

The way I work has evolved from lots of playful experimentation and I’d encourage children who wanted to create Heidi inspired art to do the same. They could try doing simple potato prints to create imagined places for Heidi to hide in and add extra drawn details. Or use stickers and collage to create their own patterned sofa to hide Heidi on. But essentially just play, that’s how great surprises happen!

An interior spread from ‘Hiding Heidi’. Inspired by the earlier family snap (see above).

Playing by the book: Yes, playful exploration! My sort of thing Is there a secret hidden in the illustrations for ‘Hiding Heidi’ that you’d be prepared to share with us?

Fiona Woodcock: There are a couple of very subtle things to spot on the boating lake scene on the last page, which are different to the other earlier illustration of the boating lake. An indication that even though Heidi is still camouflaged, something has changed. But I’m not going to say, it’s just there for the most observant of readers!

Playing by the book: Brilliant! We’ll all be going back to take a closer look now :-)I love your celebration of a playful approach when it comes to making art. On my blog it’s all about the play inspired by the books we’ve read. What’s the last thing you did (other than creating illustrations) inspired by a book you loved?

Fiona Woodcock: I was very inspired by Cloth Lullaby by Amy Novesky and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. It reminded me about the wonderful fabric drawings and cloth books by Louise Bourgeois, which has lead me to hatch a plan do some bold graphic fabric based creation myself.

Playing by the book: What a great idea – I can easily imagine your eye for colour and design coming up with some fabulous fabric prints. I do hope your plans come to fruition!

What’s up next for you on the book front? And do you have any time to work on animation at the moment?

Fiona Woodcock: I’m presently working on my second author illustrated book with Simon and Schuster called ‘Bloom’, which will be out next year, and there are other exciting projects that I will be sharing soon too! I’m devoting most of my time at the moment to developing books, so I’m not able to take on any big animation projects, but I really enjoyed working with some friends to produce this short animated trailer for the book.

I’m indebted to Fiona for her generous answers and insight today. I hope you’ve enjoyed our interview, and will seek out Hiding Heidi. It’s given us lots of ideas for project we’d like to try at home – from making sunflower hats (inspired by this), holding bouncy hopper races, making simple boats to sail to the river this holiday, and reading an old, related favourite, Halibut Jackson by David Jackson, to trying our own version of Liu Bolin’s invisibility art!

And here’s some TERRIFIC news! Like the sound of Hiding Heidi? Well… I have one SIGNED HARDBACK to giveaway – and this time the giveaway is international!

Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.

Find out more about Fiona on her website or on Twitter:
http://fionawoodcock.com
@FionaWoodcock)

Enter to win a copy of Packing Evil, Book One in the Kylxon Chronicles, written by P.E. Yudkoff. Giveaway begins July 21, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends August 21, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

Hey Everyone, welcome to my blog tour post for Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies by Laura Stampler. I've been so excited about her debut YA novel hitting the shelves (as it officially will do on July 19)! For more about the tour itself, click on the banner above or go straight to www.rockstarbooktours.com.

Read more about the book and the author below, as well as enter the Rafflecopter giveaway! We also have a guest post and links to the rest of the tour. Please stop by each one as they open up in the next three weeks to find more guest posts, character interviews, and reviews.

You can pre-order a personalized, signed copy of LITTLE BLACK DRESSES, LITTLE WHITE LIES at Oblong Books through July 9th. Details can be found HERE! 

About the book

Title: LITTLE BLACK DRESSES, LITTLE WHITE LIES

Author: Laura Stampler

Release Date: July 19, 2016

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 352

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Description:

The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City in a wickedly funny debut novel about a girl who lands a dream internship at a magazine in New York City. If only she hadn’t lied about being a dating expert on her resume . . .

Harper Anderson has always thought she should have been born somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick’s backyard can one girl take?

Already resigned to working at a Skinny B’s Juice Press for the summer, Harper is shocked when the ultra-prestigious teen magazine, Shift, calls to say they want her to be their teen dating blogger for the summer. All she needs to do is get her butt to New York in two days.

There’s just one teeny, tiny problem: Apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn’t have a whole lot of dating experience. So when Shift’s application asked for an “edgy” personal essay, Harper might have misappropriated her best friend’s experiences for her own. But she can just learn on the job...right? Will the house of lies Harper has built around her dream job collapse all around her, or will she be able to fake it until she makes it in the big city?

Find it

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | INDIEBOUND | SIMON & SCHUSTER | GOODREADS

Guest Post

Five Things You Should NEVER Apologize For

by Harper Anderson

When I started my internship at Shift magazines, one of the first things I learned on the job was: Shift Girls Don’t Say Sorry. Ever.

Not because it’s cool to be catty (although, off-the-record, a ton of the Shift Girls totally are) but because women tend to apologize way too much for things that they absolutely shouldn’t be sorry for. Like, asking a question. Or having a bad phone signal.

Only after I started weeding the S-Word out of my vocabulary, did I realize that I’d being using it so much the word had started to lose its meaning!

So here are five things that I promise to never say “sorry” about again:

1. Crying

I can’t count the number of times I’ve apologized for crying after a teacher or mean girl said something, well, mean. I also can’t count the number of times I’ve apologized for crying at my internship because a BuzzFeed listicle was JUST TOO SAD. But there’s nothing to be sorry about! Human beings are allowed to have feelings! (And God gave us tear ducts for a reason.)

2. Having to go to the bathroom on an airplane

What should you do when you’re feeling the effects of all that free Ginger Ale but seriously want to avoid side eye from the grumbly, armrest hoarding person sitting in the aisle seat? Go to the bathroom without any remorse! Just as humans are entitled to have feelings, humans are entitled to pee! So go forth and go to the bathroom. This isn’t worth embarrassment or getting a UTI over.

3. Sending back the wrong order at a restaurant

While you definitely shouldn’t be a jerk when your server brings you a side salad instead of fries, you also don’t need to apologize for politely pointing out the error so that you can get what you asked (and paid) for.

4. Someone else bumping into me

I once apologized when some dude stepped on my toe on the subway.

5. Needing some “me” time.

No matter what your friends (or FOMO) are telling you, you don’t have to be social all the time. I’m not saying you should blow off your bestie’s birthday with zero warning to take a bubble bath, but don’t feel bad about opting for spending the night in instead of crashing some dude’s party. You’re allowed to put your needs (and sanity) first.

Sorry not sorry.

<3 Harper

About the Author

Laura Stampler is a Californian turned New Yorker. After graduating from Stanford University, she became a journalist, interning—and then worked on staff—at various newspapers and magazines. Laura has written about everything from dating to social media stars to social justice issues at Time magazine, Business Insider, Huffington Post, The Nation, The New Republic, and The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably looking at pug GIFs on the Internet.

Find the Author

TWITTER | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Giveaway

There is a tour-wide giveaway for a hardcover copy of LITTLE BLACK DRESSES, LITTLE WHITE LIES to TWO (2) winners – US only

Must be 13 or older to enter. Giveaway is US only. Giveaway ends July 26th at 11:59 PM Pacific. Book will be ordered from Amazon. Prizing courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours.

The Tour Schedule

Week One

July 6th – Please Feed the Bookworm – Review

July 6th – Read Now Sleep Later – Guest Post (you're here!)

July 7th – Worth Reading It? – Review

July 7th – YA Book Madness – Review

July 8th – Awkwordly Emma – Review

July 8th – YA Reads – Character Interview

Week Two

July 11th – Fictional Fox – Review

July 11th – Curling Up With A Good Book – Author Interview

July 12th – Fiktshun – Review

July 12th – The Anatomy of a Bookworm – Review

July 13th – The Phantom Paragrapher – Review

July 13th – Whatever You Can Still Betray – Guest Post

July 14th – Creatyvebooks – Review

July 14th – Latte Nights Reviews – Review

July 15th – Here’s to Happy Endings – Review

July 15th – Books & Beauti – Guest Post

Week Three

July 18th – Swoony Boys Podcast – Review & Character Interview

July 19th – Book Briefs – Review

July 19th – A Dream Within A Dream – Guest Post

July 19th – All The Crannies – Review

July 20th – The Mind of a Book Dragon – Review

July 20th – Dazzled by Books – Author Interview

July 21st – Vibin With Books – Review

July 21st – The Recipe Fairy – Guest Post

July 21st – Oh, For The Love Of Stories - Review

July 22nd – Books and Bindings – Review

July 22nd – Underneath the Covers – Guest Post

Congratulations on your debut, Laura! 

FTC Disclosure: I received complimentary review copies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The giveaway prizes are provided by the publisher.

Hello everyone! I am happy to announce a great giveaway today--1 winner will receive hardcover copies of Journey and Quest, by Aaron Becker, to celebrate the August release of Return, the third book of this wordless picture book trilogy. US & Canada only please! Giveaway ends on 7/10/2016. Read on for more about the books.

Journey

Book # 1 in the Journey Trilogy
A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book

Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

Quest

Aaron Becker, creator of Journey, a Caldecott Honor book, presents the next chapter in his stunning wordless fantasy.

A king emerges from a hidden door in a city park, startling two children sheltering from the rain. No sooner does he push a map and some strange objects into their hands than he is captured by hostile forces that whisk him back through the enchanted door. Just like that, the children are caught up in a quest to rescue the king and his kingdom from darkness, while illuminating the farthest reaches of their imagination. Colored markers in hand, they make their own way through the portal, under the sea, through a tropical paradise, over a perilous bridge, and high in the air with the help of a winged friend. Journey lovers will be thrilled to follow its characters on a new adventure threaded with familiar elements, while new fans will be swept into a visually captivating story that is even richer and more exhilarating than the first.

One more video, then it's time for the giveaway!

Giveaway Time!

Enter to win hardcover copies (1 each) of Journey and Quest by Aaron Becker. Prize provided by Candlewick Press.

1. Open to the US/Canada only, ends 7/10/2016.
2. No purchase is necessary to enter the giveaway. Void where prohibited.
3. We and the publisher/publicity department are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
4. One set of entries per household please.
5. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
6. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
7. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
8. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected]
9. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps, but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.

Good luck, everyone!

Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy this post? Follow us on Bloglovin' to make sure you don't miss a thing! I'll also be back in a couple of weeks with the review post for Return, the latest in the Journey Trilogy.

Hello everyone! I seem to be a day late and a dollar short on everything this year. In any case, I'm glad you're reading this--our blog tour post spotlighting Ann Redisch Stampler's new YA suspense novel, How to Disappear! Make sure you read through to the end to enter to win a prize pack that I put together just for this tour.

About the Book

This electric cross-country thriller follows the game of cat and mouse between a girl on the run from a murder she witnessed—or committed?—and the boy who’s sent to kill her.

Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she’s pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette’s house. Which is why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A’s and athletic trophies can’t make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth and lies.

About the Author

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of the young adult novels Afterparty and Where It Began as well as half a dozen picture books. Her work has garnered an Aesop accolade, the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor honors, the Middle East Book Award, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year mentions. How to Disappear (Simon Pulse, 2016), her first young adult thriller, will be released on June 14, 2016. Ann lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Rick.

Preorder Promo Giveaway

Order a signed copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR before June 14th, 2016 and you’ll receive a swag pack with your book order.

With your signed book, you’ll receive a bookmark; the tiny flashlight from Nicolette’s escape kit; Nicolette Holland and Cat Davis’ (fake!!!) ID's; and one skeleton key in a pretty tulle bag (there are lots of different kinds of keys) that Nicolette used to unlock the doors at the Bluebonnet.

To receive your swag, order your copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR online at shoponceuponatime.com and in the Order Comments field, enter a name if you would like to have the autograph personalized, or "signature only" if no name is required.

If you pre-order an electronic copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR, forward your receipt or proof of purchase to [email protected] with the name & address where you’d like your goodies sent.

Offer valid in the only in the United States.

To find out more about Ann at annstampler.com, follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @annstampler. Please tweet with the hashtag #howtodisappearblogtour!

Preorder the book from Once Upon a Time to receive the special swag pack pictured above. To enter to win the blog tour giveaway, scroll down and use the Rafflecopter widget to record your entries.

Pre-Release Blog Tour Schedule

May 30 - The Consummate Reader

May 31 - Fiktshun

June 2 - Movies, Shows, ‘n’ Books

June 5 - Charting by the Stars

June 6 - Recently Acquired Obsessions

June 7 - Read Now Sleep Later

June 8 - Once Upon a Twilight

Pre-release Blog Tour Giveaway

Enter to win a signed copy of HOW TO DISAPPEAR by Ann Redisch Stampler, as well as a special swag bag of stuff! (Sorry, not everything is in the photo--the book and a special surprise item are not pictured.)

1. US only, giveaway ends June 11, 2016.
2. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited.
3. One set of entries per household.
4. The blogs/author/publisher are not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail.
5. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
6. One winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
7. If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected].

Hi everyone! I goofed up and missed my date for the blog tour for Beth Kephart's This Is the Story of You. Sorry about that! Here it is: make sure you read through to the end and enter the giveaway (open to US & Canada, ends 6/14/2016).

FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The publisher also provided the blog tour giveaway prize. 

This is the Story of You
By Beth Kephart

YA Fiction

About the Book

On Haven, a six-mile long, half-mile-wide stretch of barrier island, Mira Banul and her Year-Rounder friends have proudly risen to every challenge. But then a superstorm defies all predictions and devastates the island, upending all logic and stranding Mira’s mother and brother on the mainland. Nothing will ever be the same. A stranger appears in the wreck of Mira’s home. A friend obsessed with vanishing disappears. As the mysteries deepen, Mira must find the strength to carry on—to somehow hold her memories in place while learning to trust a radically reinvented future. Gripping and poetic, This Is the Story of You is about the beauty of nature and the power of family, about finding hope in the wake of tragedy and recovery in the face of overwhelming loss.

About the Author

Beth Kephart is the award-winning author of nineteen books, including Going Over, Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir, and Small Damages. A National Book Award finalist, Kephart is also a winner of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fiction grant, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Leeway grant, a Pew Fellowships in the Arts grant, and the Speakeasy Poetry Prize. Kephart teaches workshops at many institutions, to all ages and creative nonfiction workshops at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a popular keynote speaker and frequent contributor to the Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and many national journals. She blogs daily at beth-kephart.blogspot.com

Q&A with Beth Kephart

Beth Kephart: Hello, Read Now Sleep Later (Such a GREAT blog name; I’m there; I get it; do I sound sleepy?)

RNSL: :D

Q: Did you have a "Project Flow" in school? If yes, what was it; if not, what do you think it would have been if required?

BK: I did not have a Project Flow, but I have a book named FLOW, an autobiography of one of Philadelphia’s rivers. I’ve been out there teaching FLOW and natural history and environmental empathy to young people for a long time—a program that is actually called FLOW under the care of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. So these Project Flows come from a very real place in my life, and I thank you for noticing.

RNSL: The style of THIS IS THE STORY OF YOU leans toward more poetry than prose. How much of that was intentional as the writing unfolded? How much of it just develops organically because of how you create your work?

BK: I hang my head. I confess. I can’t help it. I write language as I hear language. Language as mood, passion, need.

RNSL: When you write, are you often influenced by real life, or are more of your ideas born in your mind and on your page? For example, the way Jasper Lee puts words together or collects sand, or the rituals of the Year-Rounders?

BK: I am very interested in studying the real world and projecting it back onto the page. I have written of the Berlin wall (Going Over), Florence and neuroscience (One Thing Stolen), Centennial Philadelphia (Dangerous Neighbors), Juarez (The Heart Is Not a Size), etc. All of my books—fiction or nonfiction—are deeply researched. Jasper Lee’s words erupted; I’m not sure from where. The rituals of the Year-Rounders were both observed and researched.

RNSL: This novel is very lean, all the excess trimmed away. Was there anything "left on the cutting room floor", so to speak, that you wish you had kept in?

BK: Well, much was edited, but the edits were what I felt to be the edits required by the excesses of my own language. I had a very particular story I wanted to tell. I saw no need to clog it up with tangents. There is a storm. It had an impact. A mystery emerges in the aftermath. There are best friends and a brother-sister, and sisters, and a daughter-mom, and an old woman, and teachers… There’s a whole community here. No one gets short shrift. But I’m not interested in false, novel-extending plot tangents. I guess I never am.

(I hang my head again.)

RNSL: Did you have to do any research for this book? For what elements, and how did you go about it?

BK: Of course. We’ve all lived storms. But how well do we know anything until we really study it? So I read all about storms. All about rising seas and vanishing cities and sea monsters and dolphins and survival. And then I talked to people who had survived Storm Sandy. And of course I did more research on Hunter syndrome.

RNSL: Names are very significant to Mira. Can you tell us about some of the names you chose for characters, like why you chose them?

BK: I am LOVING your questions, by the way. Mira’s last name, Banul, is the last name of a student I’d had at Penn—a young man who taught me so much about courage. Nearly every survivor we meet on the beach has the name, and a characteristic, of a friend (reading the acknowledgments provides a tip to some of that). Deni Norfleet’s last name is the last name of a very solid minister friend. And, etc.

RNSL: What's your preferred weather?

BK: Autumn.

RNSL: Do you have a favorite poet, and if you do, who is it, and why?

BK: Many, many, many poets to love. Mary Oliver. Jack Gilbert. Gerald Stern. Stanley Kunitz.

RNSL: What's the most memorable piece of writing advice you have ever received?

BK: I was never taught writing. Which is odd, since now I teach it myself at the University of Pennsylvania and at workshops across the country—and even wrote a book on the craft of memoir (Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir). I think less about advice, I’d have to say, and more about the impact of books I read. Can I be as urgently poetic as Michael Ondaatje or Colum McCann, say? As precise as Sallie Tisdale? As elegiac as Patricia McCormick? As wise as Ali Benjamin? As clear as Mary Oliver? I read across all genres. I ask myself what is working and why. And then I go back to my own pages.

RNSL: My co-blogger Thuy always asks: Cake or pie? (Or both? And why/what flavor?)

BK: Cake cake cake never pie. And my mother’s chocolate chip cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, which I miss so much and have missed so much, ever since she passed away.

RNSL: Thank you so much, Beth! Readers, I loved this book. Full review to come. I hope you'll love it, too.

Giveaway Time!

Enter to win a copy of Beth Kephart's This Is the Story of You. The prize will be provided by Chronicle Books.

1. Open to the US/Canada only, ends 6/14/2016.
2. No purchase is necessary to enter the giveaway. Void where prohibited.
3. We and the publisher/publicity department are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
4. One set of entries per household please.
5. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
6. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
7. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
8. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected]
9. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps, but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.

National Geographic The Angry Birds Movie: Red's Big Adventure Release Date: 4/5/16 Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books ISBN-13: 978-1-4262-1684-8 Genre: Middle Grade Non-fiction Age Range: 8+   100 Things to Know Before You Grow Up by Lisa Gerry Release Date: 3/8/16 Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books ISBN-13: 978-1-4262-2316-4 Genre: Middle Grade Non-fiction Age Range: 9-12  Awesome 8...

THE CRESSWELL PLOT By Eliza Wass In Stores June 7, 2016   ABOUT THE BOOK   “This family keeps its secrets buried.”   The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty...

The Tokyo Cover Girls Author/Illustrator:  Jackie Amsden Release Date: May 6, 2016 Publisher: independent ISBN-10:0994886217 ISBN-13: 978-0994886217 Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Age Range: 12 - 18   About the Book New York has Jacobs, Paris has Chanel, Milan has Versace and Tokyo has . . . Hello Kitty toilet plungers? With...

Enter to win your choice of one of fifteen designs from a series of colorful journals known as The Friendsbook! Giveaway begins May 23, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends June 22, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST.

FTC Disclosure: Sweet by Emmy Laybourne giveaway prize is provided by the publisher for promotional purposes.

Hey gang! Just popping in really quick (still in recovery mode after putting on the Tots, Tweens, & Teens Book Festival) to let you know you can enter to win a paperback copy of Emmy Laybourne's SWEET from Macmillan. Ends 6/6/2016, US/Canada only please.

Hint: You can find the link to read the story behind the redesigned cover if you go to Emmy's Facebook page.

About the book

The luxurious celebrity cruise launching the trendy new diet sweetener Solu should be the vacation of a lifetime. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv's invitation. She's already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host Tom Forelli—the hottest guy ever!—and she's too sick to even try the sweetener. And that's before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange. 

Tom knows that he should be grateful for this job and the chance to shed his former-child-star image. His publicists have even set up a 'romance' with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when the hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it's Laurel that he's determined to save. 
Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 trilogy, takes readers on a dream vacation in Sweet that goes first comically, then tragically, then horrifyingly, wrong!

Sweet comes out in paperback on June 7, 2016. You can pre-order the book at:

Giveaway Time!

1. Open to the US/Canada only, ends 6/6/2016.
2. No purchase is necessary to enter the giveaway. Void where prohibited.
3. We and the publisher/publicity department are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
4. One set of entries per household please.
5. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
6. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
7. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
8. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected]
9. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps, but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.

Good luck!

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Burning by Danielle Rollins Release Date: April 5, 2016 Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's   About the Book Tucked away, deep in the woods, Brunesfield Correctional Facility's cold walls and empty hallways keep dangerous girls away from the world . . . girls like Angela Davis, whose fate was determined by one bad...

Powerless Series: The Hero Agenda Authors: Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs Release Date: May 3, 2016 Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire   About the Book Kenna is tired of being “normal.” The only thing special about her is that she isn’t special at all. Which is frustrating when you’re constantly surrounded by...