Shift Giveaway

Thanks to Simon Pulse, I have a great giveaway for you guys. To celebrate the release of Shift, one winner will receive a copy of both Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready. Open to US addresses.



Check out the awesome trailer below if you haven't already seen it.

About Shift:

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to. Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift. As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

About the author:

Jeri Smith-Ready's previous adult novels include Wicked Game, Requiem for the Devil and Eyes of Crow. This is her first teen series. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and a retired racing greyhound. Learn more at www.jerismithready.com.

To enter, you must live in the US and fill out the form below. One winner will receive a copy of both Shade and Shift. Ends June 21st.

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Random Acts of Kindness

I just love signing up for RAK every month. I've been bad about posting what I've gotten in a separate post. So here I am (for once), posting what I got in May.

I received one book. I actually got an email in April from Jen (At Random) asking me if she could send me Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder but said she couldn't send it until May.


Well, I figured out why...

I opened it up and it was signed to me! :) So huge huge huge thanks to Jen! You totally made my day when I got that in the mail!

Sign up for June over at Book Soulmates.

Check out my wishlist.

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Top Ten Distractions of Angie Frazier

Today, I have the wonderful Angie Frazier, author of Everlasting and Eternal Sea. She's here to talk about the distractions in her life!

Right now, my life is all about distractions. It’s my curse to be hit with a number of stressful, time-consuming events all at once. What would I rather be doing? Writing. Every day, all day. Yes, I’m addicted. And when I don’t write, I get cranky. Everyone within a one-mile radius suffers for it, too. So here’s my current list of Top Ten Distractions (in no particular order):


10.) Moving. I once read a list of the top ten most stressful life events and “moving” ranked number one. Now, I understand why. This girl really needs a vacation. Fast.

9.) Children. Man do these little creatures take up a lot of time and energy. And for some reason, they’re just not getting the whole “you’re getting on my nerves!” glare I send them regularly. Thank goodness they’re cute. (I exclude the 3 month old baby, who is of course cute, but not a recipient of the “glare”. Yet.)

8.) Books. More specifically, the book I’m devouring right now: WARPED by my fabulous critique partner Maurissa Guibord. I’ve already read this amazing YA fantasy, but wanted to get lost in its amazingness again. Hello, a hot young nobleman changed into a unicorn by an evil sorceress and then magically woven into a tapestry, only to be released from his prison 500 years later by a teenage girl? You NEED to read this book.

7.) Book Releases. THE ETERNAL SEA will be my second book released this year. Woot! The first was back in March when THE MIDNIGHT TUNNEL, my first Suzanna Snow mystery hit the shelves.

6.) Johnny Depp and Kyle Chandler. I refer, of course, to the new Pirates movie and the new Spielberg movie, Super 8. I just might have to treat myself.

5.) The Internets.

Dear Twitter and Facebook,
You take up way too much of my time. My poor little blog is feeling quite left out. Play fair.
Love, Angie.

4.) Summer Vacation. It’s coooommming. The children will be home all day, every day. I refer to Distraction #9.

3.) One-Star Ratings. I always tell myself to ignore them (thankfully I don’t have too many), that it’s inevitable, that all writers receive them. But still. :-P

2.) BEA. I’d wanted to go, but Distractions #10 and #9 prevented it. Instead, I used Distraction #5 and relentlessly stalked all the #BEA11 Tweets.

1.) Revising my WIP. I think about it nearly all day, longing for the moment I get to sit down and open up the Word document, picking up where I left off the day before. It’s an addiction!! The best kind.


I definitely understanding some of these distractions! Like wanting to go to BEA, summer break coming up and the internet sucking up all sorts of imaginable time. Thanks for sharing Angie!

Find Angie:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

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This or That with Allison van Diepen

Today I have Allison van Diepen with me, author of The Vampire Stalker and these are her preferences. :)

Tea or Coffee?
Coffee. Tons of milk. No sugar.

Sweet or Salty?
Salty. Specifically poutine, which involves three good salty things—french fries, gravy and cheese curds.

Hot or Cold?
Hot—weather, temper, and romantic heroes.

Paperback or Hardcover?
Hardcover. Lasts longer. Better weapon in a pinch.

Vampire or Werewolf?
Vampires, of course!

Unicorns or Zombies?
Zombies. I love The Walking Dead, though I spend most of the
show trying not to look.

Movies or TV Shows?
Both.

Music or audiobooks?
Music!

Relaxer or busybody?
Relaxer by nature, busybody by necessity.

Board games or computer games?
Neither.

Dogs or Cats?
Dogs. Cats make me sneeze.

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Sekrit Project revealed

So, Kate and I had made a decision to finally commit to a combo blog, a million names, designs and other stuff later.. we now are launching today! Click on the cute button!



What does this mean for Bookworming? After I finish up some tours in June and July, this blog will be a dead zone. April Nichole has been really busy, I've been really busy and I've been rethinking blogging in general and decided a fresh start with an old pal is really gonna rock.

So come on over and check it out. It's super cute and lovely.

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Character Interview: Iris from What Comes After

This or That List

1. Tea or Coffee?

Coffee, definitely, though as I said in WHAT COMES AFTER, I did have this agreement with my dad that I wouldn’t drink too much, and that I would only drink half-caf when I did.

2. Sugar or Salt?

Neither one, really. I like spicy food, though. But lately it’s pretty much been Fig Newtons and Snapple, with the occasional foray into the goat cheese and crackers.

3. Hot or Cold?

You’d think coming from Maine that I’d love cold the best, but I don’t really care. I’ll take whatever weather you’ve got, I guess. The goats can’t stand rain or snow, and they’ll certainly let you know it, too. But I don’t mind. I’m just happy whenever I get to be outside.

4. Cats or Dogs?

You know Gnarly, that dog of Aunt Sue’s and Book’s? Well he’s coming with me when I leave the farm. I’m not such a big cat fan, but they’re infinitely better then ferrets.

5. Brains or Brawn?

Brains. Not like my cousin Book or his pal Tiny.

6. Quiet or Loud?

Quiet. Like Littleberry. Also funny. And sweet.

7. Paperback or Hardcover?

I just love books, no matter what sort of cover. Especially books about intrepid girls. And animals.

8. Ebooks or physical books?

Physical. I don’t have a lot of money. Thank god for libraries (and great local bookstores).

9, Rain or Sun?

Both.

10, Movies or TV shows?

Who’s got time for either one? Life’s always calling. And so are the goats, and the chickens, and Gnarly, and Littleberry, and Shirelle, and Mr. and Mrs. Tuten, and the softball team. Gotta run. Thanks for having me on your blog.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule Iris to answer my questions! :)

Read my review here.
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Author Guest Post - Jo Treggiari

Today I have with me Jo Treggiari, author of Ashes, Ashes, which I had reviewed previously here.

You can find Jo:
Website
Twitter
Facebook

In Her Own Words

I was born in damp and rainy London, England but like a sunflower I always turned towards my Italian heritage, and the small mountaintop village of my grandparents and the hot smells of wild fennel, fresh pasta, ripe figs and dusty, sun-baked earth. There is no place on earth I love as well. Rocca Sinibalda- doesn’t it sound romantic?!

After flipping between England, Italy and Ontario, Canada, (my parents are teachers), we moved to California. I majored in Creative Writing and European Literature at college. I always wrote but I ended up dropping out and spending the next ten years punking around, flirting with disaster, falling into a job with a record distributor, and eventually owning my own indie record label. We began with gangsta rap, and then expanded into alt rock, punk and electronica. The music business was fun back then. I had an expense account, a beeper and fancied myself the Harvey Weinstein of music, at least until Puff Daddy came along.

Ten years later I married my boyfriend- the only man I ever dated who was not a musician, rapper or film maker, dragged him across the country to NY and had a baby. It was only then that I started writing again seriously. I used to balance him over my shoulder and type away. I was full of stories and he was a very amenable baby.

I sometimes wonder where I would be if I had stayed on track with my education. But then I think, if I had, perhaps I wouldn’t have so many experiences to draw on. I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life and they are all fodder for the page.

So much of my writing comes from the personal, things that I have felt (or perpetrated). I can imagine if I have to, but I have to be able to put myself there first in order to write it truly. This does not mean however that if my character catches fire, I need to light a match to my clothes.

I’m going to be serious for a moment because actually I am very serious about writing. It matters a lot to me.

Writing is about truth. It can be a miniscule truth or a gigantic truth or an all-encompassing truth, but it cannot ring false. You can’t get all tricksy with your readers.

So whether that be a realistically portrayed society in the aftermath of an apocalypse, or the reactions of a girl who discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her, or the smell of fresh-mown grass in September, I think there’s a responsibility to hew as close to the real as we can.

Thank you Jo for sharing that!

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Review: What Comes After

Author: Steve Watkins
Publication Date: April 12, 2011
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Copy provided by: Teen Book Scene
Summary (via Goodreads): A gripping portrait of a teen’s struggles through grief and abuse - and the miraculous power of animals to heal us.

After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

Why I read this: I really thought this one sounded good, despite it not being my favorite genre and decided to give it a try.

Plot: This book is a mix of emotions. Iris goes through a lot, she loses her dad, the friend she was staying with forces her to leave because her parents were fighting, and then she has to deal with an abrasive aunt who turns out to be more abusive than Iris first thought. I have to say, the way she coped was very realistic, she turned to what she knew she loved - animals, and used them to keep going.

Characters: I can't imagine being in her shoes, but I feel like Iris was a very realistic character. The way she reacted to things really pulled her character together and made her so concrete. I thought the villain of the story - Aunt Sue - is probably one of the most realistic villians I've encountered as well. She's not over the top violent, but she takes deep offense when Iris does anything against her and she finds a way to make her miserable. Aunt Sue abuses Iris physically and mentally and you hate her for it, but you get this glimpse of how sorry a life she's lived behind all that anger.

Relatability: It's hard not to relate to one of the many themes in the book - moving away, trying to fit in, abuse, loss of a parent, and the love of animals.

Cover Commentary: Very pretty.

Rating: 5/5 Roses

Find it on Goodreads

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Guest Post with Helen Stringer + Giveaway

Today, I have with me author Helen Stringer, author of Spellbinder and The Midnight Gate, two wonderfully spooky and supernatural middle grade novels. I just reviewed Spellbinder last night and will be reviewing The Midnight Gate later this week, both are spectacular middle grade novels, with a great combination of funny commentary and seriously spooky moments.

I asked Helen if she would talk a little about where she got the inspiration for some of the creepy places that her novel take place in.



Playing In The Hall

One of the things that has always got my imagination firing on all cylinders is places. Old places, new places, buildings, countryside, towns, cities – it really doesn’t matter. Most of the time, particularly with historical sites, the only view you are going to get is as part of a tour group. Often this is fine – when I was at school we were taken to an old Elizabethan house outside Liverpool so many times that the actual tour blurb is engraved on my memory. The house is called Speke Hall, which became Arkbath Hall in Spellbinder, where the tour guide that takes Belladonna and her classmates through the house spouts, verbatim, the old Speke Hall tour of my childhood!

Many real places pop up in Spellbinder and Midnight Gate, an old monastery near Barrow in Cumbria, a 1930s apartment building in Liverpool, and an electric store/vaudeville theater in Los Angeles, as well as my old school – Belvedere, which really is made up of three Victorian Houses joined together. The one place that I grew to know almost as well as my school, however, is the fabulous Croxteth Hall.

Croxteth was the home of the Earls of Sefton. It is a vast pile right on the edge of Liverpool and was such a mish-mash of styles that after the last earl died the National Trust turned down the opportunity to run the property. Enter the city council. They took on the old place and when the surviving countess gave permission for them to have the family papers, I was hired to catalog them. This was my first job. It was supposed to be for six months and I was totally unqualified, which didn’t matter as I was only supposed to be making lists. Then the first of two disasters struck. First, the countess changed her mind about the papers (oh, no! I’m going to lose my job!), then the local paper ran a campaign questioning why the place wasn’t open to the public (hooray! I get a new job!).

The scramble was now on to prepare the place for visitors. There was only one problem: the countess had sold off nearly all the furniture, so the first part of my new job was to research the family history and put together a tour with what we had to hand. The second was to actually do the tours at the weekends.

It was kid in a candy store time! A bunch of my friends were hired to help do the tours (what were the managers thinking?) and during the week I spent most of my time either downtown in the central library reading the personal diaries of the lady who was countess in the early 1900s or wandering around the huge house, keys in hand, seeing what they would open. The answer to that was…everything!

We meandered all over the place, found the earl and countess’s ceremonial robes, complete with coronets (and tried them on, of course), found boxes and boxes of photographs taken by the same countess who wrote the diaries (she was a keen photographer and had a dark room at the top of the house), and explored the absolutely massive kitchens.

The kitchens consisted of a giant room with dozens of stoves and huge worktables, as well as smaller rooms for the preparation of vegetables, meats and confectionary. (This is the kitchen that Belladonna finds in the House of Mists in Spellbinder.) The kitchen also featured a large dumb waiter that was powered by water. The servants would simply load up the dumb waiter and pull an enormous lever. There would be the sound of rushing water and the huge box would move slowly upwards to the dining room. Needless to say, we had to experiment with this. One of my friends climbed into the box, we closed it, pulled the lever and ran up the servants’ stairs to the small ante-room next to the dining room. It seemed to take forever, but eventually the box hove into view and we got our friend out. His name was Steve, which is odd, because it’s exactly the kind of thing Steve Evans would do! (I should probably pause here and point out that it was really dangerous and could have gone wrong in so many ways. But it didn’t. Heh.)

By the end of the summer I had worked seven days a week for almost a year. I was exhausted but had absorbed everything about the old house and grounds and it has never left me: the perfect proportions of the eighteenth century rooms that make you feel calm as soon as you step into them, the winding servants stairs and basement passages, the grand main staircase and pillared balconies, the tiny servants’ bedrooms at the top of the house, and perhaps most of all the details of the life of the daunting woman whose domain it was in the days of balls and hunts and garden parties.

These days the house is run like a well-oiled machine, with a proper visitors center and glass cases of artifacts. But I prefer to remember it as it was – a chaotic playground and an inspiration that I find myself returning to again and again.

Spellbinder series giveaway! Three lucky winners will receive one copy each of THE MIDNIGHT GATE and SPELLBINDER along with some bookmarks! To enter, send an e-mail to SpellbinderSeries@gmail.com. In the body of the e-mail, include your name, mailing address, and e-mail address (if you're under 13, submit a parent's name and e-mail address). One entry per person and prizes will only be shipped to US or Canadian addresses. Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on 6/17/11. Winners will be selected in a random drawing on 6/18/11 and notified via email.

For excerpts, games, links, and more, visit Helen's website at: http://www.helenstringer.net/

Read Helen's blog: http://helenstringer.net/blog/

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Spellbinder

Author: Helen Stringer
Publication Date: September 2009
Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal Fantasy
Copy provided by: Publisher
Summary (via Goodreads): Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It’s a trait she’s inherited from her mother’s side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it’s a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible?

It is convenient, though, after Belladonna’s parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed . . . until everything changes.

One night, with no warning, they vanish into thin air—along with every other ghost in the world. It’s what some people think ghosts are supposed to do, but Belladonna knows it’s all wrong. They may not be living, but they’re not supposed to be gone.

With the help of her classmate Steve, a master of sneaking and spying, Belladonna is left to uncover what’s become of the spirits and to navigate a whole world her parents have kept well-hidden. If she can’t find her way, she’ll lose them again—this time for good.

Why I read this: Because the lovely ladies at Blue Slip Media asked me to do a blog tour for the second novel and they kindly sent me a copy of this one. And because it sounded so good...

Plot: I was definitely thinking about my students when I read this book. They are always looking for funny but scary books and this one really fits into that niche well. The plot moves well along and is just so interesting. Belladonna can see ghosts, which is helpful since her parents had died but still live with her now as ghosts. Although when ghosts start disappearing suddenly. There's a ton to cover in this new world, where one small girl is the Spellbinder, which doesn't mean much to her until she starts reciting words she couldn't possibly know, opening doors to other worlds, and solving what is causing all the ghosts to disappear.

Characters: Belladonna is a loner, so I relate to her a bit. I wasn't quite like her, but I was definitely a quiet kid when in school. Steve reminds me a lot of my next door neighbor who I played with until we were in middle school, he was funny, always getting in trouble and definitely a great companion.

Relatability: I think a lot of kids can relate to either of the characters in these books and definitely will be interested in reading about ghosts.

Cover Commentary: Interesting, definitely one I'd think my students would pick up because of the cover.

Rating: 5/5 Roses

Find it on Goodreads

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Review: Ashes, Ashes

Author: Jo Treggiari
Publication Date: June 1, 2011
Genre: YA Dystopian
Copy provided by: Teen Book Scene
Summary (via Goodreads):

A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.

Why I read this: I love post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories, and this one looked really good.


Plot: Definitely a fast-moving survival plot, involving natural disasters, the invasion of militant-like Sweepers stealing people whenever they please, and even some budding romance. It all revolves around Lucy, who decides to abandon her seclusive camp of the past few months when hunting dogs find her and a young man saves her and tells her about the group he stays with. She's reluctant, but when a tsunami takes over her camp, she's forced to higher ground and gravitates towards Aidan's camp - Hell's Gate.

Characters: I really enjoyed getting to know Lucy. She did what she had to in order to survive. She didn't instantly become super-woman either. Lucy was a nicely balanced character and I loved her interactions with Aidan and Del. My favorite character would have to be Grammalie, a resilient old woman of 80 who ran the Hell's Gate camp and was very wise in her ways.

Relatability: I think fans of a more realistic post-apocalypse novel will enjoy this one.

Cover Commentary: Pretty cool. Definitely how I'd imagine a big city to look after severe natural disasters and plagues had run through it.

Rating: 5/5 Roses

Find it on Goodreads

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Guest Post with Amy Plum + Swag Giveaway

Today, I have Amy Plum with me, courtesy of the Teen Book Scene Tour for Die For Me. She's going to share a bit about how she came up with the mythology in her novel. Stay tuned at the end for a giveaway!

Creating Mythology with Amy Plum:

I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask about creating mythology, because I didn’t do it in a very organized way.

With my revenants, I started with the idea of an undead being that died over and over again, coming back to life at his original death age. In my mind, a revenant was something between a god and a zombie. And after that I just had to ask myself all of the why, how and when questions and kind of wait for the rationale to come to me.

Little by little, as I wrote, clear rules started to crawl out of the primal sludge. And as each rule emerged, it gradually clarified what the revenants were in my mind. For example, at some point, I thought, “Well, if there are good revenants, there have to be evil ones too.” And then I had to decide what they were and how they functioned.

It all came down to two things, I guess: equilibrium and truth.

In DIE FOR ME, when explaining the difference between the revenants and their enemies, Ambrose tells Kate, “The universe likes an equilibrium.” Mythology also likes an equilibrium: between humans and immortals. Between good and evil. Between fate and chance. If a mythology is too lop-sided it doesn’t seem real to me. So if you follow the equilibrium rule and write half of your mythology, by the default of equilibrium you’ve got the other half practically figured out for you.

And truth. No matter how wacko or out-of-this world a mythology is on the surface, if you read it and it sounds true, than the myth-maker has done her job. Every time I wrote a supernatural passage, I asked myself if it sounded true. And if it didn’t, I worked on it until it did. Or scrapped it altogether.

I think truth comes from a story’s connection with the real world and with other stories. If you can find links with history or with quirky but true aspects of the real world, you will have a firmer, more honest foundation to build from.

Beyond that is the scary (for me) step of making an actual hard-and-fast decision for your mythology that has nothing to do with equilibrium OR truth. Because sometimes you just have to decide that something is the way it is because YOU SAY SO. (I sound like my mom.)

For example, I got to this point in the book where I realized that I had to make my revenants impervious to bullets. The whole mythology needed it, even though there was no rational reason for it. So I just came out and said it in my text.

“ We use guns when we’ re expected to,” answered Charlotte, “ if we’ re fighting alongside humans in the cases I mentioned . . . bodyguarding and the like. But bullets don’ t kill revenants.”

My editor came back and said, “Why? I don’t get why bullets don’t kill revenants.”

So I put on my walking shoes and walked about five miles going over and over in my mind why revenants couldn’t be killed by bullets. And the only thing I came up with was “because my mythology needs it to be like that.”

At that moment I had this kind of revelation. I thought of all of the writers before me who had created the rules for vampires, werewolves, zombies and the like, and they ALL used the no-bullets rule. (Unless it was a special kind of hard- to-get bullet.) But I realized that they all must have gotten to the point as well where they said, “It just has to be this way or my story won’t work.” Which was kind of cool.

I went back to my desk and added on to Charlotte’s sentence:

“ But bullets don’ t kill revenants” —she paused—“ or others like us.”

And with those last four words I linked my revenants to already-established monsters, making my decision legitimate by historical usage.

Mythmaking is hard-going. It makes you kind of obsessed, because even on your off-time, your brain is trying to figure out how things work. But when it all comes together, man does it feel great.


I love your way of finding out how to work the mythology of the world your book is set in Amy! Thanks for sharing with us that process.

--Contest--

Please leave a comment below. If you live in the US, you will be entered to win a signed bookmark for Die for Me. Please mention that you live in the US if you want to be entered for the contest. Ends Friday, May 27th.

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Link a Contest Thursday

Rules (or at least STRONG suggestions):
1. Name the item being given away (instead of the blog name)
2. Give the end date in () after the name
3. Make sure to link DIRECTLY to that contest post - if you don't know how to do this - just click on the title of the contest blog and it will give a direct URL you can use.
4. If you want to post a contest you've found, make sure it isn't already posted.
5. Must be book-related giveaways.

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Interview with Stacey Kade

Today, I have the fabulous Stacey Kade with me, author of The Ghost and the Goth and it's sequel Queen of the Dead. And here's what I asked her!


Do you have a favorite theme or genre that you like to write about? Is there a genre that you'll probably stay away from and why?

I tend to write stories about identity. Figuring out who you are or who you don’t want to be and coming to terms with those choices. Some paranormal element almost always works its way in there, too.

I’m not sure I’d rule out any particular genre. I always want to be open to whatever idea or character presents itself. That being said, I think I’d be hard-pressed to write a Western, never having read one!

If you could work with any author, who would you choose?

Oh, that’s a tough one! There are so many authors I admire, but I think I’d be afraid to work with them—I might mess them up! And selfishly I’d want to have the joy of experiencing of their next new book as a reader, not as someone attempting to write part of it. Yikes! But if I had to choose authors to learn from, ones that I would love to have a deeper understanding of how they do what they do—Meg Cabot, Jennifer Echols, and Suzanne Collins.


How was writing Queen of the Dead different from The Ghost and the Goth?

Writing Queen of the Dead was a very different experience. The book that exists now is almost a complete rewrite from the original draft. Writing the second book was really difficult because I wasn’t sure how to balance the needs of a new story while still being consistent with the previous story and the characters and world as we knew it in G&G. But I’ve discovered from talking with other YA authors that this dilemma, something I’m going to call Second Book Syndrome (AKA feeling like your second book is going to kill you), is actually very common and eventually sorts itself out.

And I’m very happy with how the revised draft turned out. It’s much better than what I’d originally written, and I owe a huge debt of thanks to my editor for helping me find my way.


What is one question that you've always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

Oh, dear. Hmm. I think most people ask which character I’m the most like, giving me the option of either Will or Alona. Of the two, I’m most like Will, but honestly, of all the characters in the book, I feel I’m probably most similar to Lily. Or at least, what we know of her.


What's next for you? Are you currently working on or have plans for future projects?

Right now, I’m working on my 2013 YA novel for Hyperion. It’s the first in a series, and it’s called The Rules. It's about a girl who was created as a genetic experiment and raised in a lab for the first part of her life. She's now living as a "normal" sixteen year old, hiding in plain sight from her creators by following a set of rules that keep her safe but also confine her existence. And then she meets a guy with troubles of his own who tempts her to break those rules for the possibility of love.



Wow, doesn't her next book sound great? Thanks for stopping by Stacey! Check out my review of The Ghost and the Goth and Queen of the Dead.

Find Stacey:
Twitter
Goodreads
Website

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Review: Queen of the Dead

Author: Stacey Kade
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal
Copy provided by: Teen Book Scene/publisher
Summary (via Goodreads):

After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.

Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.

Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.

Packed with romance, lovable characters, and a killer cliffhanger, Queen of the Dead is the out-of-this-world sequel to The Ghost and the Goth.

Why I read this: I really enjoyed the first book and was interested to see where it was going in the second.

Plot: Well, there was definitely more action in this one. This book introduces a group of people that are similar to Will, but they may not be a perfect match to help him. The pace of this book was fast paced and it was a whirlwind of fun, romance, and some new intrigue added into the mix. I like the exploration back to Will interacting with his father and glimpsing a little into the future of Alona's parents without her.

Characters: I find Alona growing on me. Yeah, she can be selfish and mean and definitely is used to getting her way. There's also something more and I can't completely brush her off as a character I dislike.

Saying that, I like Will a lot more. Maybe because he's partly clueless (as most guys are), but also because he really is just trying to figure out how to deal with what life throws his way.

Mina is the girl I'd expect Will to fall for if there was no love interest with Alona. She's like him, somewhat cynical and has a bit of a family problem that really sums up a lot about how she's acts. But Alona is Will's dream girl, even if she's really only a ghost.

Relatability: I think fans of paranormal and comedy will enjoy this combination. And I think the writing is just fantastic and really brings you into the story with the characters, which means virtually anyone can enjoy this book.

Cover Commentary: Not sure I love it, especially since there's not much time spent in the diner Will works in. But it's definitely close to how I pictured the characters.

Rating: 5/5 Roses

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Review Link-Up for the 2011 Bloody Jack Reading Challenge

So, I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I am a little behind...

If you would like to join us and read some of the Bloody Jack books this year, click the picture above.

If you're participating, please leave any links to your reviews below so I can come and visit them to see what you thought!

Here are mine so far, if you guys would like to read them!

1. Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
2. Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer
3. Under the Jolly Roger by L.A. Meyer
4. In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer
5. Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer
6. My Bonny Light Horseman by L.A. Meyer

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Link a Contest Thursday

Rules (or at least STRONG suggestions):
1. Name the item being given away (instead of the blog name)
2. Give the end date in () after the name
3. Make sure to link DIRECTLY to that contest post - if you don't know how to do this - just click on the title of the contest blog and it will give a direct URL you can use.
4. If you want to post a contest you've found, make sure it isn't already posted.
5. Must be book-related giveaways.

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Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It is to spotlight books that are soon to be released that we wished would be released sooner. Here are our picks.

Kristen's Pick:
Title: The Lost Crown
Author: Sarah Miller
Expected Publication: June 14, 2011
Description: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. Like the fingers on a hand--first headstrong Olga; then Tatiana, the tallest; Maria the most hopeful for a ring; and Anastasia, the smallest. These are the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, grand dutchesses living a life steeped in tradition and priviledge. They are each on the brink of starting their own lives, at the mercy of royal matchmakers. The summer of 1914 is that precious last wink of time when they can still be sisters together--sisters that link arms and laugh, sisters that share their dreams and worries, and flirt with the officers of their imperial yacht.

But in a gunshot the future changes for these sisters and for Russia.

As World War I ignites across Europe, political unrest sweeps Russia. First dissent, then disorder, mutiny, and revolution. For Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, the end of their girlhood together is colliding with the end of more than they ever imagined.

At the same time hopeful and hopeless, naive and wise, the voices of these sisters become a chorus singing the final song of Imperial Russia. Impeccably researched and utterly fascinating, this novel by acclaimed author Sarah Miller recounts the final days of Imperial Russia with lyricism, criticism and true compassion.

April Nichole's Pick:
Title: Crush Control
Author: Jennifer Jabaley
Expected Publication: June 9, 2011
Description: Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind–and more importantly, the heart–is something you can really control.

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Review: Shadow Walkers

Author: Brent Hartinger
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal
Copy provided by: Teen Book Scene
Summary (via Goodreads):

Living with his grandparents on a tiny island off the Washington State coast, Zach feels cut off from the world. Especially when he's forbidden to chat with his online friends. But then his little brother, Gilbert, is kidnapped. To find him, Zach discovers how to astral project. Soon, his spirit is soaring through the strange and boundless astral realm—a shadow place.

While searching for his brother, Zach meets a boy named Emory, another astral traveler who's intriguing (and cute). As they track the kidnappers from the astral realm, their bond grows—but each moment could be Gilbert's last. Even worse, there's a menacing, centuries-old creature in their midst that devours souls and possesses physical bodies. And it's hungry for Zach.

Why I read this: I love the paranormal novels Flux has been putting out lately, so I jumped on this one when I heard about it.

Plot: For how short this book is, I felt like there was a pretty good plot line that involved almost a dual plotline. The main story is that Zach is looking for his brother Gilbert by using astral projection, a new talent he has found with the help of some interesting incense. In the astral realm he finds another boy who he connects with instantly, but also a creepy octopus like substance that seems to want to harm him. He must find a way to help his brother while fending off this evil thing after his soul.

Characters: I have to say I wish there was a bit more character development on the part of the two main characters. I feel like I only glimpsed into the two boys that found each other on this astral realm. I didn't feel completely connected to either of them so I felt this distance to who they were and couldn't quite connect the way I like to when reading a novel. I did appreciate Zach's love for his brother and how it brought him to risk his soul to save him.

Relatability: I think it's an interesting read for anyone who likes a twist of paranormal in an otherwise realistic fiction plot. The main character is also gay, which also may interest readers.

Cover Commentary: Not a favorite of mine.

Rating: 4/5 Roses

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Spring Carnival Contest Winner!

The winner of the Spring Carnival Contest was:

#182 - Lisa Richards!

Lisa won a book of choice $15 and under from the Book Depository! Congrats! I will be emailing you soon.

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