HarperCollins has established a new partnership with JetBlue. Henceforth, the content platform on JetBlue’s Fly-Fi (a special inflight Wi-Fi program) will feature content from HarperCollins books.
For this month, passengers will be able to read excerpts from Patricia Cornwell’s thriller novel Flesh and Blood, Amy Poehler’s memoir Yes Please, and James Dean’s children’s book Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses. Readers will have also have the option to purchase any of the available titles from a plethora of booksellers.
Here’s more from the press release: “At launch, JetBlue customers will be able to choose from excerpts of books by Daniel Silva, Martin Short, Anthony Bourdain, Patti Smith, Joyce Carol Oates, Carine McCandless, Paulo Coelho, Patricia Cornwell, Dorothea Benton Frank, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Dick Couch, Amy Poehler, James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton, Peter Lerangis, Herman Parish, James Dean, Nate Ball, Dan Gutman, Lauren Oliver, and Erin Hunter. Titles will change monthly. Books from these HarperCollins authors will be available to customers as e-samplers via JetBlue’s Fly-Fi Hub, which is currently accessible on 35% of their fleet.”
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Corbin Dallas had to visit the vet this week. It wasn't a regular checkup, he got hurt one night when he refused to come inside. Only after he had licked the fur off around his wound did I realize how seriously he was injured. I was told the wound was actually a cat bite and infected. The vet informed me cat bites are always nasty.
Corbin is taking antibiotics, not cordially, but he's still allowing me to administer to him. I dab hydrogen peroxide on his ouchy twice a day which helps and there isn't anything for him to lick off. He's recovering nicely and will be fine in a few more days.
What I find so intriguing is when I tell others about Corbin's late night adventure, I don't refer to him as my cat, but by his name. He's part of the family. My close friends know him as easily as they know the names of my children and grandchildren.
Writing a pet into a story is another way to explore the insights of main characters. How they interact with their animal, how they care for it, relays all types of information to the reader without the writer having to spell it out. The pet can be a minor character or part of a discovery with the heroine or hero in the story. I've always enjoyed stories with pets in them.
I've listed a few who have been extremely successful writing "nonhuman themed books."
* James Herriot has many animal stories he shared from being a veternarian in England; One of his still popular books is All Creatures Great and Small.
*Rita Mae Brown with Mrs. Murphy's Mystery series, The Big Cat Nap is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is available on Amazon and other places I'm sure.
*Erin Hunter has a juvenile fiction series called Warrior Cat and has made a big dent in filling the need for exciting kid stories with animals as the main characters.
Do you plan to write in a pet into your next WIP? Have you a pet in your latest work? Do you have a pet of your own and has it become one of the family?
Share with us today!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Just because we work for HarperCollins doesn’t mean that we only read our own books – we frequently exchange books with our colleagues in other publishing houses. That being said, there are some die-hard Potter fans here in our office (Me! Me! Me!) and we’re all completely psyched for the upcoming HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II.
So while I’m waiting with bated breath for the last movie to come out (July 15th!), I have a few suggestions of Harry Potter read-alikes (click through to read synopses and additional info). Feel free to share this with the kids in your library!
What do you recommend for kids who have devoured the Harry Potter series and are looking for more of the same?
Also, check out these Harry Potter Read Alike booklists from your colleagues in libraries around the country:
And because we’re just THAT excited, here’s the preview for the last movie, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II:
It seems that each day brings a new way to publish literature digitally. HarperCollins Children's bestseller "Into the Wild," the first in Erin Hunter's Warriors series, is one of the first titles that Harper is making available for free on their website. HarperChildren's Audio has produced some of the newer titles in the Warriors series as audiobooks but not "Into the Wild." Too bad - since a free download of an audiobook would also be a great sales boost for the entire series.
I'd love to see audiobooks included in the promotional buzz around Harper's free digital books & the
announcement by Random House of books available for download chapter-by-chapter. Sadly, although the first Random House digital chapter title "Made to Stick" is available as an audiobook, you cannot buy a chapter-at-a-time download. I'll be looking for an alliance of the print and audiobook divisions of publishers to unite in the promotion of digital literature.
According to the New York Times, Harper Collins is launching an on-line initiative where readers can view the full content of select books for free on-line. They have equated it with flipping through a book at a shop or the library before deciding to take it home. Most of the titles on offer are adult, but Erin Hunter's enormously popular Into the Wild, Vol. 1 of the Warriors series, is one of the titles available. And speaking of Erin Hunter, it looks as if she is branching away from cats and on to bears. The Seekers Vol. 1: The Quest Begins is due for release in May.
Firestar's Quest
Warriors Super Edition
by Erin Hunter
Several months have passed since the battle with BloodClan, and life in ThunderClan is settling back to normal. But then Firestar begins having visions of a strange gray cat with white patches, and of a group of terrified, fleeing cats. What does it mean? Then Firestar learns that there used to be a fifth clan, a clan that was driven out of the forest by the other clans, apparently with the consent of StarClan. Did StarClan lie when it said that there have always been four clans in the forest? Accompanied by Sandstorm, Firestar sets out on a quest to find and restore the lost clan. But can anything restore Firestar's faith in StarClan?
A standalone book set between the first and second Warriors series, Firestar's Quest is probably the best Warriors book so far. The quest format drives the story along, while the themes of faith and responsibility give it depth. It's quite satisfying watching Firestar and Sandstorm assemble a ragtag group of cats into a true clan. The fact that it's a story that's been done before—for example, in sports movies from The Bad News Bears to Major League—doesn't reduce its power as a story, and it's very well done here. It's also satisfying to finally see Firestar work out his relationship with Sandstorm, and work through his conflicted feelings about Spottedleaf. We were cheated on seeing that bit of his life, since The New Prophecy books start with the relationship pretty settled and Firestar a family man.
Firestar's Quest is a must read for fans of the series; longtime fans will especially appreciate the return to Firestar's point of view. Those new to the series should find that this book stands fairly well alone, although some time will be needed to acclimate to the Warriors culture and terminology.
By the way, it's hard to tell from the cover image, but the cover isn't yellow, it's a beautiful gold foil.
"Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red." Leafpool, the medicine cat for ThunderClan, receives this prophetic warning from the ancestors. Leafpool struggles to interpret this message, even
Review of Warriors: The New Prophecy #5: Twilight (Warriors: The New Prophecy)
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I have two ferrets in my fantasy series. They are my warlocks "familiars." In quotes because that's what he calls them. They've nothing really to do with his magic. ;) They are based entirely on two ferrets I owned several years ago, and readers have liked them very much. They're staying as series regulars.
DL, ya know how much my dogs mean to me. Just been a week now since losing Shadow. :-(
Gina: I know, it's so hard to lose our beloved family pets. Only time and good memories can help. Remember that!
And Juli - ferrets? That's awesome. I would call that a great hook to your story and an intriguing twist to regular pets a warlock might have.
Thanks for sharing ~
DL Larson
The hero in one of my books gave the heroine a puppy when he declared his love to show her he understood her need for a settled life and a home.
Great post, I enjoyed ready reading it, Keep posting good stuff like this.