JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 7 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: YOUNG ADULT, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 2,379
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: YOUNG ADULT in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
If you stopped by last Friday, then you'll recognize this author. I'm featuring her two weeks in a row because she has a lot of great books out. Check out Fall Far From the Tree by Amy McNulty!
Terror. Callousness. Denial. Rebellion. How the four teenage children of leaders in the duchy and the neighboring empire of Hanaobi choose to adapt to their nefarious parents’ whims is a matter of survival.
Rohesia, daughter of the duke, spends her days hunting "outsiders," fugitives who’ve snuck onto her father’s island duchy. That she lives when even children who resemble her are subject to death hardens her heart to tackle the task.
Fastello is the son of the "king" of the raiders who steal from the rich and share with the poor. When aristocrats die in the raids, Fastello questions what his peoples’ increasingly wicked methods of survival have cost them.
An orphan raised by a convent of mothers, Cateline can think of no higher aim in life than to serve her religion, even if it means turning a blind eye to the suffering of other orphans under the mothers’ care.
Kojiro, new heir to the Hanaobi empire, must avenge his people against the "barbarians" who live in the duchy, terrified the empress, his own mother, might rather see him die than succeed.
When the paths of these four young adults cross, they must rely on one another for survival—but the love of even a malevolent guardian is hard to leave behind.
"An original story, with vivid details told in alternating chapters... There was drama, action, intense moments and soul searching and new friendships born." ~Sheri W., Juniper Grove
"Intense and brutal and just a whirlwind of a ride... Watching them slowly come to terms with the fact that their own morals might not actually align with those of the people who raised them makes for a wonderfully compelling story." ~Daiz
"It is so easy to read that this book can be read in one sitting. It's impossible not to like this book after reading it." ~Alex the Shadow Girl
Amy McNulty is a freelance writer and editor from Wisconsin with an honors degree in English. She was first published in a national scholarly journal (The Concord Review) while in high school and currently writes professionally about everything from business marketing to anime. Her YA romantic fantasy debut, Nobody’s Goddess, won The Romance Reviews Summer 2016 Readers’ Choice Award in Young Adult Romance. In her down time, you can find her crafting stories with dastardly villains and antiheroes set in fantastical medieval settings.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Today I have not one but three books to share with you! Check out The Never Veil Series by Amy McNulty.
In a village of masked men, each man is compelled to love only one woman and to follow the commands of his “goddess” without question. A woman may reject the only man who will love her if she pleases, but she will be alone forever. A man must stay masked until his goddess returns his love—and if she can’t or won’t, he remains masked forever.
Seventeen-year-old Noll’s childhood friends have paired off and her closest companion, Jurij, found his goddess in Noll’s own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever chosen her. She is in fact the goddess of the mysterious lord of the village, a man who refuses to let Noll have her right as a woman to spurn him.
Thus begins a dangerous game between the choice of woman and the magic of man. The stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death—and neither Noll nor the veiled lord is willing to lose.
Winner of The Romance Reviews' Summer 2016 Readers' Choice Award in Young Adult Romance.
For the first time in a thousand years, the men in Noll’s village possess the freedom to love whom they will. In order to give each man the chance to fully explore his feelings, the lord of the village decrees all marriages null and void until both spouses declare their love for one another and their desire to wed again. What many women think will be a simple matter becomes a source of village-wide tension as most men decide to leave their families and responsibilities behind.
Rejected by the lord and ashamed of her part in the village’s history, Noll withdraws from her family and lives life as an independent woodcarver. This changes when her sister accuses her of hiding her former husband Jurij from her—and when Jurij eventually does ask to move in. Determined not to make the same mistakes, Noll decides to support her male friends through their new emotional experiences, but she’s soon caught up in a darker plot than she ever dared imagine possible from the men she thought she knew so well. And the lord for whom she still has feelings may be hiding the most frightening truth of them all.
Men can love, but they can also hate. Noll knows too well that the men in her village have adjusted poorly to the freedom of their hearts, but she hopes to bring peace back to her community. With the lord’s return, Noll feels confident that together, they can work to settle down the villagers, but in his rebirth, he remembers only one thing about her: that she caused the curse that tortured him for a millennium in the first place.
Determined to start anew, Noll must accept that, romantically, she and the lord are better without one another, but she’ll need his help to uncover what’s really behind all of the suffering in her village. Escorted to a land beyond the mountains, Noll uncovers the truth about her village and the strange occurrences in which she’s had a hand. When someone who loves her discovers the same things and betrays her, Noll feels powerless to stop her village’s fate. By learning to forgive and seek forgiveness, Noll finally understands true love of a free heart—along with true sacrifice.
Amy McNulty is a freelance writer and editor from Wisconsin with an honors degree in English. She was first published in a national scholarly journal (The Concord Review) while in high school and currently writes professionally about everything from business marketing to anime. In her down time, you can find her crafting stories with dastardly villains and antiheroes set in fantastical medieval settings.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Once every one hundred and fifty years he emerges from the darkest depths to feed. With each soul he takes, he grows stronger. There is but one gift he needs in order to gain the power he seeks. One gift that will allow him to walk amongst all the precious little children.
And it’s the one gift Mattie Hathaway possesses…the ability to bring images to life with just a drop of her blood. The demon Silas has warned her to never reveal this ability, not even to her father who shares her power to communicate with the dead. She’s heeded his warning, but hiding it may no longer be an option.
Children are disappearing all over the Charlotte area. When their bodies are recovered, they are always the same—broken, beaten, and bruised. Fear is spiraling out of control in the Queen City as parents glance nervously around each corner, seeing the boogeyman in every shadow.
When one little girl goes missing in Mattie’s neighborhood, it’s up to her and Officer Dan Richards to find the truth. In doing so, she uncovers a far greater evil than she’s ever come up against. The one thing she was bred to defeat.
Deleriel. A fallen angel…one of the first demons. He is powerful, ambitious, and now that Mattie is on his radar, she’s all he needs to complete his arsenal.
Amid of whirlwind of secrets coming to light, Mattie is faced with uncovering the truth about her own heritage. She must come to grips with it before she can begin to prepare for the battle of a lifetime…a battle she never asked for but is caught in the middle of.
Can she face her own truths before it’s too late?
MEET APRYL BAKER: So who am I? Well, I’m the crazy girl with an imagination that never shuts up. I LOVE scary movies. My friends laugh at me when I scare myself watching them and tell me to stop watching them, but who doesn’t love to get scared? I grew up in a small town nestled in the southern mountains of West Virginia where I spent days roaming around in the woods, climbing trees, and causing general mayhem. Nights I would stay up reading Nancy Drew by flashlight under the covers until my parents yelled at me to go to sleep.
Growing up in a small town, I learned a lot of values and morals, I also learned parents have spies everywhere and there’s always someone to tell your mama you were seen kissing a particular boy on a particular day just a little too long. So when you get grounded, what is there left to do? Read! My Aunt Jo gave me my first real romance novel. It was a romance titled “Lord Margrave’s Deception.” I remember it fondly. But I also learned I had a deep and abiding love of mysteries and anything paranormal. As I grew up, I started to write just that and would entertain my friends with stories featuring them as main characters.
Now, I live Huntersville, NC where I entertain my niece and nephew and watch the cats get teased by the birds and laugh myself silly when they swoop down and then dive back up just out of reach. The cats start yelling something fierce…lol.
I love books, I love writing books, and I love entertaining people with my silly stories.
I'm so excited to share the cover of Fading Into the Shadows because I actually designed it myself and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Check it out!
When sixteen-year-old Ella Andrews’s best friend, Avery, goes missing, she’ll do anything to get him back—starting with punching the no-brain cop who couldn’t care less about the disappearance.
Ella’s convinced Avery’s been kidnapped, and she tries everything to find him—even following a strange shadow to another world where the constellations are real-life figures in the sky. But three star groups have fallen and are destroying the world.
The fallen constellations are not the only enemy. Melanie, the princess of Stellaris, is forcing Ella, Avery, and an army of other kids kidnapped from their world to fight the rogue constellations, even as the land is draining away their life. The longer they stay, the more they fade into substanceless shadows—a fate worse than death.
Can Ella save Stellaris before there’s nothing left of her and Avery?
Dying is easy; death is hard. Dez is about to learn the difference.
Bleeding to death on the side of a rural highway turns out to be the easiest part of Dez Donnelly’s unexpected Saturday. Swept away to Atman Station, the crossroads of the afterlife, Dez discovers her unprepared soul is trapped between worlds in a limbo existence where she’s given two choices: join the program or face the consequences.
Limbo is no picnic. Her new reality is conduct manuals, propaganda, and unrelenting staff orchestrating a complex program designed to help transitional souls accept death and move on. Resistance is met with swift consequences, not the least of which is an invasive procedure that links Dez’s mind to that of a senior staff member. To make matters worse, the beautiful and enticing Atman City—a stunning but dangerous metropolis that borders the outer boundaries of the station—is strictly off-limits to underage souls.
Dez has to choose: go along to get along, or fight for the future she believed in. In an afterlife on hold, the only thing harder than getting out is getting through.
You can preorder the Kindle version, which releases November 8th, or grab the paperback version now!
Michelle was born in a small Midwestern town, to which she has returned to raise her own family. Her imagination and love of literature were fueled by a childhood of late nights, hidden under the covers and reading by flashlight. She is a passionate adoption advocate who lives in Wisconsin with her husband, son, and their yellow lab, Sully.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween.
NaNoWriMo Starts Tomorrow! If you're taking part in NaNo, buddy me. My name is khashway on the site. And good luck!
Editing Even though I'm drafting a new book, I have client edits to tackle this month. Eek! NaNo is pretty much my way of showing myself I can find balance between doing work for others and doing work for myself.
Field Trip I'm chaperoning my daughter's field trip on Friday. Um, when am I supposed to write for NaNo? I'm not panicking. Nope. Not at all. Okay, maybe a little. I guess I'll be writing in the evening on Friday. Send coffee please.
Fading Into the Shadows Fading Into the Shadows is fully edited, proofed, and ready to go over two months early! I'm so excited for this book. E-ARCs are in, so if you have time to read the book before January 16, 2017 and would like an ARC in exchange for an honest review, sign up here. The cover reveal will take place November 16th-18th. If you're interested in sharing the cover on any social media site, you can sign up for that here.
To help celebrate Halloween, Into the Fire is only $.99 today through October 31st!
Grab your copy today!
In one month’s time, seventeen-year-old Cara Tillman will die and be reborn from her own ashes…
Her life of secrecy has never been easy. She’s watched her younger brother, Jeremy, burn and rise again in a coming-of-age process called rebirth. And just like her brother, when her time comes, she won’t remember anything from her first life other than she’s a Phoenix—a member of a small group of people descended from the mythical Phoenix bird.
The last thing she needs to worry about is falling for the new guy in town—Logan Schmidt.
Cara is drawn to Logan in a way she can’t explain, but she’s not exactly complaining. Everything is perfect…except it’s not. Once she’s reborn, she’ll forget Logan. And to make things worse, a Phoenix Hunter is on the loose, and Cara’s involvement with Logan is bringing out her Phoenix qualities—the very qualities that will draw the Hunter right to her.
Desperate times call for desperate measures…
Afraid of hurting Logan, Cara breaks it off for good. But her attraction to him runs deeper than a typical high school crush. She wants him—needs him. And if he proves willing to stay by her side, their love might destroy them both.
Can Cara hide from the Phoenix Hunters long enough to survive her rebirth? And if so, will it mean a new beginning with Logan—or the beginning of the end?
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
NaNoWriMo I have decided to officially participate in NaNoWriMo next month. I've unofficially participated in the past, writing a novel in the month of November, but since I have an adult mystery that needs to be written, I'm committing to doing this. Who else will be participating?
Editing I'm finishing up another client edit this week.
Plotting I have the research done for my adult mystery, but I need to flesh out my plot before NaNo begins.
Fading Into the Shadows e-ARCs e-ARCS for my YA paranormal (releasing January 16, 2017) Fading Into the Shadows are being formatted tomorrow! I'm so excited for this book. If you'd like to sign up for an e-ARC, you can do so here.
Cover Reveal Signups If you're interested in signing up to help me reveal the cover of Fading Into the Shadows on November 16th-18th, you can find the form here. This is a social media cover reveal, so you don't need a blog to participate.
In this modern day retelling of Rapunzel, Anya has her books, her photography, and her daydreams. She doesn’t think she needs anything else.
She lives in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother, who goes to extreme measures to keep her daughter safe. Anya doesn’t even go to school, but instead has a private tutor. Anya tries not to acknowledge her loneliness; she puts her efforts into pleasing her mom, and gives her heart to her stories, secretly wishing for a story of her own.
Then one day at the library, the only place she's allowed to go, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy.
Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out late at night to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she will have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.
"It's sweet, it's got a great heart, it's got cute boys, and great books, and was generally just one of those reads that left me sighing happily as I read. Plus, cupcakes--who doesn't like cupcakes?" -Meradeth Houston
"The story is just so sweet and delicious. It's the perfect YA read and a great one for adults to enjoy too. I accepted it as a fairy tale and just enjoyed it. I'm sure anyone who loves YA would enjoy this one too." -Valerie at Stuck in Books
"Rachel Schieffelbein is so good at creating loveable characters and putting them in situations that make me really care what happens to them. It was fun to see how she'd taken the base story of Rapunzel, a girl kept apart from the world and falling in love for the first time, and made it all her own." -Susan Crispell
Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there with her husband, their four kids, three cats, and a perfectly overweight black lab. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
Fading Into the Shadows I've set some dates for my upcoming mythology-based YA, Fading Into the Shadows. The book will release on January 16, 2017 and the cover reveal will be November 16-18. More info soon. :)
Editing I have two edits on my plate this week. I'm finishing round three on one and starting another.
Book Events I really need a master list of every book convention and expo (Do they make one of those?) so I can plan which ones I want to attend in 2017. So far, I'm doing YA Fest in March and my local book expo, which is usually in April.
Revisions I'm hoping to have some time to work on revising my adult suspense this week.
Proud Mom Last week, my daughter got to read the morning announcements at school because she was chosen Student of the Month. I got to hear her do the announcements, and I was blown away by how much feeling she puts into reading aloud. She reads aloud at home all the time, and I feel like it's really help her learn tone and inflection. So proud of her. :)
Seventeen-year-old Allyssa appears to be the ideal princess of Emperion--she's beautiful, elegant, and refined. She spends her days locked in a suffocating cage, otherwise known as the royal court. But at night, Allyssa uses her secret persona--that of a vigilante--to hunt down criminals and help her people firsthand.
Unfortunately her nightly escapades will have to wait because the citizens of Emperion may need saving from something much bigger than common criminals. War is encroaching on their country and in order to protect her people, Allyssa may have to sacrifice her heart. Forced to entertain an alliance through marriage with a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom, she finds herself feeling even more stifled than before. To make matters worse, the prince has stuck his nosy squire, Jarvik, to watch her every move.
Jarvik is infuriating, bossy and unfortunately, the only person she can turn to when she unveils a heinous plot. Together, the unlikely pair will have to work together to stop an enemy that everyone thought was long gone, one with the power to destroy her family and the people of Emperion. Now the cage Allyssa so longed to break free from might just be the one thing she has to fight to keep intact. In order to save her kingdom, she will have to sacrifice her freedom, her heart, and maybe even her life.
Jennifer graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she finally married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids’ creativity.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
I never dreamed my mom would choose drugs and alcohol over me.
I was wrong about that too.
I thought teachers were there to instruct, to guide, to counsel.
Wrong doesn’t begin to describe what nearly happened that last day of my Junior year. Lesson learned; trust is for suckers and actions speak louder than words.
New plan. Keep up my grades, earn a scholarship, tuck into as tight a ball as possible and roll on out of this town and this life.
But this boy, this Casanova transplant with a funny accent, who’s way too charming to be healthy for a girl... Why won’t he let me be?
I wish I hadn’t let him in on my secrets...well, most of them.
I wish I hadn’t grown to look forward to our daily walks to work.
But mostly, I wish I hadn’t freaked out when he tried to steal a kiss.
Maybe I wouldn’t be parked in the friend zone. Maybe he wouldn’t be dating a girl I loathe. Maybe I wouldn’t be in this hell of wanting what I can’t have but having what I thought I wanted—to be left alone.
If this story seems like it was ripped from the headlines, there is some truth to that impression.
The year my son began high school, I learned at a parents' booster meeting that an esteemed teacher had been arrested for having a sexual relationship with a student. The teacher's spouse also worked at the high school. Both teachers taught classes in my son's magnet program. The teacher went to jail. A family was torn apart.
My thoughts, however, were with the student and student body. What led to the affair? Who made the first move and was coercion involved? How did the victim react to the publicity, the criminal charges and trial? What did the other students think and believe?
Although Louder Than Words is a fictional account, my goal in writing Ellen's story was to use a far too common event as a vehicle to convey strength and courage to readers, especially those whose voices have been hushed by fear, lack of self-confidence or damaged self-esteem.
Thank you for reading! Iris
Iris St. Clair is the pen name for a long-suffering cubicle worker by day, a Walter Mitty-like dreamer by night.
No matter what genre she writes, she prefers witty, insecure heroines and kind, persistent heroes able to break through to the gooey heart inside.
In high school she was voted most likely to win at Monopoly and Clue, but least likely to throw a ball anywhere near a target. Thank goodness writing requires less hand-eye coordination, punctuation errors notwithstanding.
Iris believes in the two-year "fish or cut bait" dating rule and has a 20+ year marriage and two teenaged sons as proof of concept. She lives, writes, dreams and dances in the rainy Portland, OR area.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
4 yummy frosted ginger cookies Cover Love: I'm not sure. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. I just don't feel it is very eye catching nor does it fit the tone of the book, however, I like it as a cover. I like the font and the huge, accusatory title.
Why I Wanted to Read This: I was in the mood for a suspense book and this one sounded like it fit the bill. Here's the synopsis from GoodReads:
It’s better to know the truth. At least sometimes.
Halfway through Friday night’s football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Wildcat mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta’s surging Chattahoochee River.
Just like that, she’s gone.
Eight days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds will be the only ones who know why.
Romance?: Not really. There are a lot of romances that happen or were already happening in the book (it's set at a high school), there just isn't any romance for or between our main characters.
My Thoughts: I really liked this book for several reasons. First off, it takes place at a boarding/prep type school. Although there is a dorm, there aren't a lot of "boarders" and they are kind of looked down upon by the local kids who attend the school. I like this reversal for a prep school type setting. Normally, the local kids are the ones looked down upon, rather than the boarders. Because of this setting the population of kids is pretty small, everyone knows everyone and the class lines area kind of blurred. Seniors are friends with lower class men and pretty much everyone knows everyone else!
The author writes from several different points of view during the course of this book, with Benny and Virginia being the main two characters. One thing I loved was how the author wrote about the perceptions each character had of the others. Benny constantly was devaluing Virginia in his head and she was constantly thinking about what a nerd Benny was. Neither of them truly saw what was going on with each other, nor were these perceptions easily changed. It just felt really true to teenagers and high school because sometimes its so hard to change your reputation. People don't want you to change who you are!
The mystery was also really well done, a lot of red herrings. I found the "who done it" to be a little implausible, but overall was keep interested the whole book. I also liked all the little kernels the author threw out there that didn't get answered. This book is titled "Strange Truth #1" so I am looking forward to learning more about Benny and Virginia in upcoming books. There is a mystery involving Virginia that is alluded to several times in the book that I am especially looking forward to learning more about. I really liked Virginia!
Overall, I liked the setting of a small. elite school and the mystery. The smallest thing that kind of bothered me was the ages of Benny and Virginia, they seemed a bit older and more mature than 15. To Sum Up: Even though Benny and Virginia are 15 year olds, I feel that there were a few things in this book that make it too mature for my library. However, it's a great mystery and a fun read so I will recommend our high school librarians buy it for their collections.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy!
0 Comments on My Thoughts: We Know it Was You by Maggie Thrash as of 9/27/2016 10:13:00 AM
Thanks so much for hosting me, Kelly.I appreciate the opportunity to visit with you and the folks that follow your blog.Some of whom I know, some who I look forward to getting to know.
Today, I’d like to mention a few brief facts about white cats.
White cats are unique in the fact that they’re prone to deafness, especially if they’re blue-eyed.They’re also prone to skin cancer.In some cultures white cats are considered good luck.
But what do white cats have to do with sundials? In general nothing, in this particular story it’s the pet that leads the protagonist, Sarah Miles, to discover the sundial.
He came through time to find her.
As Sarah Miles drives down Eighteenth Street a stranger materializes in front of her car. She throws on her brakes, braces for impact and...drives straight through him. For a brief moment, his voice echoes in her head, "Saura." Then he's gone. Later that day, she discovers the SUNDIAL and her incredible journey through time begins.
Excerpt:
“Meghan, don’t try to come through this, you’ll get scratched. I’m getting the pesky cat and coming out.”
When in trouble, Monet was the pesky cat, the damn cat, or the bad cat.
Shewalkedoverandbentdowntopickhimup.Aflash of color blinded her. She blinked then squinted. For the firsttime,shesawthatMonet had plopped down besideanold sundial.
Meghan gave an exaggerated sigh. “You said not to come in.”
“I’ve found an old sundial. Or rather Monet has.”
“A real one?”The rustling began again as Meghan started pushing her way through.
“Appearsso.”Shesquatteddowntostudyit.“Looksto be a hundred years old. I bet it’s valuable. You should see the intricate detail. This willmake a great piece to paint!”
Words embossed thefaceofthedial.“There’swritingonit.”Sheread aloud,“Fatecannotbe...drat,mosshasgrownovertherest of the words.”
A wave of superstitious terror washed over Meghan. Suddenly, the pieces all fell into place. And as the old woman prophesied, she believed.
“Sarah, don’t. Get out of there now. Please, Sarah, please,” she cried, her teeth chattering.
“What’s wrong with you?
“There’sactuallyheatradiatingfromit.Surprising,it’snot that warmout.”
“Sarah,please, don’tyouremember whattheoldladysaid?” Shefoughtherwaythroughthe overgrowth, barely feelingthescratchesathornybranchlefton herfaceorthewarmbloodtricklingdownhercheek. The thicket conspired to keep her out.
Tearsstreameddown herfaceasshepushedatthe bracken separating herself and her aunt.
She broke through just as Sarah reached down to brush the moss from the sundial.
“No, Sarah, no,” she screamed.
Later her mind would play the scene over again in slow motion:Sarah’shandasit reachedout;Monetjumping playfullyatherfingers,bringingthembothintouchwiththe sundial; the boom; the jagged streak of white; and then nothing.Theyweregone,leaving Meghan alone in the clearing with the sundial.
Sundial is on sale for .99 September 19-25 at Amazon.
Sandra writes YA Fantasy, Romance, and Metaphysical Nonfiction. She lives in sunny North Carolina with her husband, a brood of critters and an occasional foster cat. The last animal member of the family, a kitten, came hurtling out of the woods in southern Illinois to land at her feet. He made the trek back to North Carolina, with her and her husband, and wasted no time settling into the household.
Although shopping is high on the list, her greatest pleasure is sitting on her porch, listening to the birds, sipping coffee or a latte and enjoying a good book. She's a vegetarian and a Muay Thai enthusiast.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
TIMELESS (#3 Maiden of Time) by Crystal Collier #CoverReveal
Book Title: TIMELESS (Maiden of Time #3)
Author: Crystal Collier
Genre: YA Paranormal Historical
Release Date: November 1, 2016
TIME IS THE ENEMY
In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.
In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.
Crystal Collier is an eclectic author who pens clean fantasy/sci-fi, historical, and romance stories with the occasional touch of humor, horror, or inspiration. She practices her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend†(a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. You can find her on her Blog,Facebook, Goodreads, or follow her on Twitter.
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
Into the Fire Boxset Preorder Only $.99! My publisher has put the Into the Fire trilogy into a boxset. It's set to release September 20th, but if you preorder it, you can get all three books for only $.99! You have to grab it before September 20th though, so grab it now here.
Into the Fire FREE on September 13th! The deals don't stop! If you aren't sure about spending $.99 for the boxset, you can try Into the Fire absolutely FREE on Tuesday, September 13. Grab it here.
Scholastic Book Fair I'll be working the Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter's school this week. You know what that means. Books!!!
School Visit I'm visiting my daughter's fourth grade class on Wednesday to talk about writing. Hopefully I don't embarrass her. ;)
Editing In addition to the book fair and school visit this week, I have a client edit to work on.
The creative genius of HL Carpenter shines in their latest book. Pirate Summer is the story of a sister and brother who discover the importance of each other and the consequences of lying. Enter the handsome privateer who steals Josey’s heart and commandeers her on the adventure of her life and you now have the perfect summer read for all ages.
Fifteen year old Josey is a liar. She’d like to stop. But after Mom left, the lies started popping out, like the time Josey left her little brother at the library and told Dad he’d run away.
Then Josey meets a boy who tells bigger whoppers than she does. He says he’s the son of a privateer who’s been dead two centuries. He’s so convincing Josey’s brother believes every word and sets off to find the privateer’s hidden treasure.
When her brother disappears, Josey is sure she knows where he's gone. But everyone thinks she's lying again. Everyone, that is, except the so-called privateer’s son. He knows she’s telling the truth because jeweled riches are only part of his tale. There’s also the snooperscope, a device that makes time leaps possible, like the one that brought him to the present.
The story is fantastical...and yet Josey will do anything to save her brother, including traveling back in time two hundred years with a boy she can’t trust. EXCERPT
The basic tale hadn’t changed since the first time I’d heard it, though Gran had added a few embellishments. I wondered who she’d been practicing on, then remembered she was on call as a substitute teacher for the Sea Cove school system. Thanks to her, generations of Sea Cove residents knew the legend of Alastair Morgan, a pirate who’d haunted the Florida coast during the early 1800s. Andy jiggled on the seat. He had a vivid imagination, a by-product of his oversize I.Q., and he was caught up in the midst of the hurricane Gran was describing. The huge storm had blown the Morgan pirate ship off course and into Sea Cove.
“Alastair Morgan was familiar with Sea Cove,” Gran said. “He sought refuge in the harbor. When the skies lightened, the rain slowed. He rowed to shore with his son, some of his crew and seven trunks of gold and jewels. They had buried the treasure and were rowing back to their ship when the storm started again.”
“Didn’t he realize the calm was only the eye of the hurricane?” Andy asked.
“Good question, and no, he didn’t. He was surprised when the winds and rain picked up, only from the opposite direction.”
“Silly of him. He should have known. Being a sailor and all.”
Gran met my gaze over Andy’s head. Her lips twitched.
I grinned, forgetting for a moment how annoyed I was. By the time I remembered, Gran had looked away, out the front windshield.
She gasped. “Brake, Josey!”
I jerked my head around. I’d only been distracted for a second—exactly enough time for the truck to drift to the right side of the road. A skinny teenage boy walked there, his back to us.
“We’re going to hit him!” Andy shouted.
I leaned on the horn, smashed the brake, and yanked the wheel to the left. The tires screeched. The seatbelt dug into my hips. Andy shouted again as an invisible force shoved him back, then forward. Gran shot out her arm to hold him in place.
In front of us, the boy whirled. He yelled and raised his palms toward us as if he could ward off the truck with his bare hands. At the last moment, he flung himself onto the dirty sand beyond the edge of the black pavement.
I lost sight of him as the pickup jolted to a shuddering, shaking stop, sideways across the highway.
Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter write sweet, clean fiction that is suitable for everyone in your family. The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, they enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit their website to enjoy gift reads and excerpts and to find out what’s happening in Carpenter Country.
Neal Shusterman is the New York Times best-selling author of the National Book Award-winning Challenger Deep; Bruiser, which was a Cooperative Children’s Book Center choice, a YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick, and on twelve state lists; The Schwa Was Here; and the Unwind dystology, among many other books. He lives in California with his four children. Visit: www.storyman.com
Neal's "Challenger Deep" is the winner of this year's 2016 Golden Kite Award for Fiction.
Neal tells us about where "Challenger Deep" came from. About his son's mental illness and struggle and ultimately rising above it. Not a story about his son, but inspired by thing things his son went through. He took the artwork his son had created while he was in the emotional depths, the mental depths, and built a story from that.
"Challenger Deep frightened me. ...I wanted it to be emotionally honest," and something that his son would be proud of. It took him four years to write. How he was so nervous about his editor's response, and how gratified he was by her response that it was "a masterpiece." And then he gets a great laugh when he says that praise was followed by a ten-page editorial letter!
"Challenger Deep is a call to action. To talk openly about mental illness."
0 Comments on The 2016 Golden Kite Award-Winner For Fiction: Neal Shusterman for Challenge Deep as of 1/1/1900
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?
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.
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.
A LOVE THAT DISTURBS by Medeia Sharif Evernight Teen, June 17, 2016 Purchase from Amazon (merchant sites will be updated on the author's site) Maysa Mazari is alarmed by her mother’s talk about arranged marriage. As a hijab-wearing Pakistani-American, she wants to find love on her own. Her judgmental Muslim clique has protected her from racist taunts, although the leader is turning on her as Maysa strays from the group because of her attraction to Haydee. Haydee Gomez is a former gang member and juvenile detention student. Now living with a clean-cut aunt, she wants to turn her life around, even though one person will never let her forget her roots—Rafe, her abusive pimp. Haydee attempts to pull away from a life of prostitution when she develops feelings for Maysa, although Rafe isn’t willing to give her up too easily. Finding themselves in danger from Maysa’s friends and Haydee’s pimp, it’s apparent their love disturbs everyone around them as they fight to stay together.
Hi all! Stacey here with my buddy and fellow PubCrawler Stephanie Garber. There may come a time in your life where you will be asked to moderate a panel or facilitate a discussion. Here are our ten hot tips for moderating success.
1) Read the panelists’ books. The best panels in my opinion are the ones in which the moderator asks questions tailored to the author’s works. Obviously, this isn’t always possible, but at least be familiar with the book’s main ideas and stand out points. Don’t be afraid to ask your panelists’ publicists for books. It’s in the publishers’ interests for you to be informed about their author’s works. My secret weapon is to listen to the panelists’ audiobooks, when available. You can make your commute go by faster, and you can listen to them at 3x speed.
2) Send questions ahead of time. Some panelists can answer questions easily on the fly; others would rather visit the dentist than be unprepared. The more you can make your panelists comfortable, the easier time you will have facilitating a conversation.
3) Introduce your authors using the same tone and length. Often moderators will simply read an author’s bio for the introduction, but this invites problems. I recently participated in a panel where the moderator relied on our bios. My own is short and humorous, and doesn’t mention awards or distinctions, whereas the bio of the woman next to me mentioned every degree and award she had received. By contrast, I couldn’t help feeling like the village idiot. This might take a little work on your part to make your intros ‘match,’ but you’ll come across as more polished, and your authors will thank you.
(Note: I have encountered diva/divo panelists who want to be introduced a certain way. I tell them I will do my best, but make no promises. I firmly believe in treating every panelist with dignity and respect, and that means not putting one above the other).
I have spoken on panels where the moderator asks each author to introduce herself, which I find awkward and painful. Not everyone is comfortable talking about herself, and on the flip side, some authors can run at the mouth, viewing the intro as a way to self promote. You can avoid potential awkwardness by doing the honors.
4) Help your audience distinguish between panelists by presenting them as individuals. I have used labels such as, “a rising star,” “a thrilling new voice in contemporary fiction,” “a living legend,” “a NYT bestselling author.” Obviously, make sure your descriptions are complimentary.
5) Go with the flow. A recent panel I moderated featured two authors who were good friends and pros at public speaking. They had great chemistry, and meandered from topic to topic without much prompting from me. I had prepared questions in advance, but found myself needing to replace them with ones that were more natural to the conversation at hand. An additional challenge was to include the third panelist in the discussion as much as possible. This is where a good working knowledge of the authors and their books is essential, because sometimes you have to improvise, and the best way to improvise is to come prepared.
6) Resist letting authors read from their books. I personally find this a waste of time. The audience is there to learn something they can’t learn by merely picking up the book. Plus, not every author is good at, or comfortable with, reading out loud.
7) Remember, it’s not about you. As the moderator, your job is to guide conversations so that the panelists shine. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t bring yourself into the discussion by using examples from your own life to illustrate a particular question. And if you’re asking panelists individual questions, they love it when you’re able to sincerely mention how much something in their writing resonated with you.
8) The moderator sets the tone for the panel, so be personable and engaging. Think of yourself as the first sentence of a novel, the thing that pulls readers into the story. It’s the job of the moderator to engage the attention of every guest in the room.
9) Repeat questions asked by the audience. Just because you can hear a question doesn’t mean the entire room can hear it. Repeating the question also gives your panelists a little more time to think about their answers.
10) Try to have a little fun! Everyone appreciates humor, so if at all possible, weave some into your questions and your introductions—as long as your humor is respectful to the panelists.
Swati Avasthi does a brilliant job moderating a panel at the Multnomah Library that includes myself, Tess Sharpe and Isabel Quintero.
In the comments, let us know if you’ve seen a good moderator recently. Why was s/he good? What things could the moderator have improved upon?
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.
Preorder the book from Once Upon a Timeto 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.
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.)
US only, giveaway ends June 11, 2016.
No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited.
One set of entries per household.
The blogs/author/publisher are not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail.
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.
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.
Hi everyone! I goofed up and missed my date for the blog tour for Beth Kephart'sThis 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
A masterful exploration of nature’s power to shake human foundations, literal and figurative.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review
This beautifully written book works on many levels and is rich in its characterization, emotion, language, and hint of mystery.
— School Library Journal, starred review
We fall in love with Kephart more and more every year.
— Bookpage
An exploration of the unrelenting power of nature and a reminder of the one thing in the world that is irreplaceable: family.
— Booklist
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.
Enter to win a copy of Beth Kephart's This Is the Story of You. The prize will be provided by Chronicle Books.
Open to the US/Canada only, ends 6/14/2016.
No purchase is necessary to enter the giveaway. Void where prohibited.
We and the publisher/publicity department are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
One set of entries per household please.
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.
Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected]
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.
The truck should have turned Libbi Piper into a Libbi pancake, but a mysterious boy named Aaron saved her life instead. The problem? Aaron’s the local Grim Reaper. The bigger problem? He saved her life so she can take over his job.
Libbi has just days to choose between dying like she was supposed to or living a lonely life as Death Incarnate. The choice only gets harder when she learns Aaron’s reasons for wanting out of the whole morbid business. Basically, his job sucks.
Still, when Aaron looks at her, there’s something more in his eyes. Something dark and secret. Something he’s hiding. Libbi will be damned if she’ll die without figuring it out. And she’ll be damned if she lets him go.
Excerpt:
The creep is back.
I may not be able to see him, but I know he’s here, somewhere. Call it intuition. Or maybe it’s just the eerie memory of when the guy stared me down last night. I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances.
I hunch over my history final and release my thick hair from behind my ears. It swings forward like a dark-brown curtain and hides my face.
Show’s over, buddy.
I can’t look around, not with Mr. Winkler on “cheater duty.” Hopefully, the guy will get bored and go wherever the hell he went last night when he took off.
The final is what’s important. I need to focus on this test.
I read the next question on the page, but the loser’s gaze bores through my dark shield of hair and my arms erupt in gooseflesh. Before I can skim the multiple choice answers, my eyes betray me and shoot up to scan the classroom.
Mr. Winkler sits at his desk scratching at some poor schlub’s paper with his red pen of doom. His bald head gleams in the harsh fluorescent light. God, I hope it’s not my paper he’s destroying. I can’t afford another bad grade in this class.
I quickly scan the rest of the classroom through the part in my hair, but everyone is working. Eerie feeling or not, nobody’s looking at me.
But I know someone is watching. Just like last night, I can feel his stalker stare.
This is ridiculous. I shake my head and rub my arms to dispel the goose bumps. This guy has freaked me out so much I’m imagining his eyes on me now. I don’t have time for this. I have an exam to finish.
The tip of my pencil hovers over the letter C, and something in my peripheral vision shifts. I snap my head up and finally see him.
The guy I caught staring at me at the art show last night, the guy who warned me something bad was going to happen to me today, stands at the tiny rectangular window in the door. He tilts his head and his ice-blue eyes lock on mine, sending a shiver through my body.
Shake it off, Libbi, I tell myself. He’s just a crazy boy with a crush.
Actually, with his tousled black hair and his nose pressed against the glass like that, he looks a little like a lost puppy. If he wasn’t so creepy, I’d almost feel sorry for him. But couldn’t he choose a better time than the middle of my history final to eyeball me? Plus, he said he wanted to talk to me alone, and this is most certainly not alone.
I point to my partially finished test and mouth, “Final exam.”
He nods. A half-smile lifts the corners of his lips.
“Bye.” I wave my hand.
“I need to talk to you,” he mouths.
“No,” I reply, but he continues to stand at the door.
Dude, catch a clue already. I spin away from the door, sneak a peek at Mr. Winkler, and shove the eraser of my pencil between my teeth. I yank the eraser out of its metal holder and flick it at the back of Haley’s head. Her chair squeaks as she jumps and whips around to glare at me.
“What?” she whispers.
“Look.” I point over my shoulder with my pencil to the classroom door. “That crazy guy I told you about is at the window.”
We turn to the door together, but the window’s empty. He must be a shy creeper.
“Where?” Haley says.
“Never mind. He’s gone.” I slump back in my chair. At least I can finish my test in peace.
Elizabeth Holloway is a maternity nurse, an avid reader, an artist, a karaoke singer, a music lover, and a kick-ass Pictionary player. She lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up. Add a Comment
Author Sita Brahmachari‘s latest book is Car Wash Wish, her second novella for Barrington Stoke, a UK publisher who specialise in making books accessible to struggling readers, with a special emphasis on dyslexia. It’s an inter-generational story … Continue reading ... →
.jpeg?picon=2287)
.jpeg?picon=3655)
Author Sita Brahmachari‘s latest book is Car Wash Wish, her second novella for 