Giveaway + Interview: The Giant (Quarantine #4) by Lex Thomas

The Giant (Quarantine #4) by Lex Thomas

September 1, 2016 from Carolrhoda Lab™

In the violent early days of the quarantine, Gonzalo joins a gang of thieves who live in the ductwork of McKinley High School. There he falls in love with Sasha, but as he grows too big to fit, he is forced to leave without her. 

A year later, he scours the infected zone for her. No matter how many murderers, puncture wounds, or militia he has to survive, Gonzalo can't give up on Sasha. 

In the fourth installment of the Quarantine series, Lex Thomas delivers two intertwined stories about love and longing, which merge in a conclusion where the fate of the entire infected zone hangs in the balance. 

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You can find Lex Thomas at their website

As the series progressed, was it easier for you to collaboratively write? Was there a moment where you knew where the other was going to take a character or story since you've been writing together many years?

Interview & Giveaway: Tracked by Jenny Martin #tracked

Tracked by Jenny Martin

May 5th, 2015 from Dial Books

The Fast and the Furious gets a futuristic twist in this action-packed debut!

On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn't stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble. When she and her best friend, Bear, attract the attention of Charles Benroyal, they are blackmailed into racing for Benroyal Corp, a company that represents everything Phee detests. Worse, Phee risks losing Bear as she falls for Cash, her charming new teammate. But when she discovers that Benroyal is controlling more than a corporation, Phee realizes she has a much bigger role in Castra’s future than she could ever have imagined. It's up to Phee to take Benroyal down. But even with the help of her team, can a street-rat destroy an empire?

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You can find Martin at her website
You can purchase at BookPeople or Indie Bound

I have been lucky to know Jenny for many years, and I am so happy TRACKED is just about here! It's a book that has been a long-time coming and watching your friend receive good news through-out the years on something that is so dear to her is a fun thing to watch! We are both so lucky to live in a literary hub - TEXAS - and I wanted you to get to know you Jenny Martin through a series of questions based on one of the best thing we have in common - TEXAS! 

Interview: Vengeance (Fracture #2) by Megan Miranda

Vengeance (Fracture #2) by Megan Miranda
February 4th, 2014 from Walker Childrens

Nobody really believes in a curse. Until you know the people who disappear. Too much coincidence, you look for reason. Too much death, you grasp for something to blame. Carson pulled Delaney out and he died on the side of the road with her mouth pressed to his. Her air in his body. Troy. She told the cops it was suicide. Didn't matter. The lake released her and grabbed another. But when Decker's father dies in a pool of spilled water on their kitchen floor, all Decker can feel is a slow burning rage. Because he knows that Delaney knew that his dad was going to die. She knew and backed out of his house and never said a word. Falcon Lake still has a hold on them both, and Decker can't forgive Delaney until he knows why.

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You can find Miranda at her website

So excited to have Megan at the blog today to talk about this sequel. I was so curious to know if a sequel was always planned and how it all come together. Welcome, Megan!

Did you feel pressure from readers to write a sequel or were you encouraged by their enthusiasm? Did the characters just have more to say or had you always planned on a sequel? TELL ME EVERYTHING!

First of all, thank you for having me on your blog!

Interview & Giveaway: The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos
January 21st, 2014 from EgmontUSA


A severely burned teenager. A guitar. Punk rock. The chords of a rock 'n' roll road trip in a coming-of-age novel that is a must-read story about finding your place in the world...even if you carry scars inside and out.

In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay--help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores--Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life.

The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality.

Interview: New Money: A Novel by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

New Money: A Novel by  Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
September 10th, 2013 from Thomas Dunne Books

Savannah Morgan had high hopes. She dreamed of becoming a writer and escaping her South Carolina town, where snooty debutantes have always looked down on her. But at twenty-four, she's become a frustrated ex-cheerleader who lives with her mother and wonders if rejecting a marriage proposal was a terrible mistake. Then Savannah's world is shaken when she learns the father she never knew is Edward Stone, a billionaire media mogul who has left Savannah his fortune on the condition that she move to Manhattan and work at his global news corporation. Putting aside her mother's disapproval, Savannah dives head first into a life of wealth and luxury that is threatened by Edward's other children--the infuriatingly arrogant Ned and his sharp-tongued sister, Caroline, whose joint mission is to get rid of Savannah. She deals with their treachery along with her complicated love life, and she eventually has to decide between Jack, a smooth and charming real estate executive, and Alex, a handsome aspiring writer/actor. Savannah must navigate a thrilling but dangerous city while trying to figure out what kind of man her father truly was.

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You can find Rosenthal at her website
Read my 5-star review of Other Words For Love HERE

Interview & Giveaway: The Well's End by Seth Fishman

The Well's End by Seth Fishman

February 25th, 2013 from Putnam Juvenile

Mia Kish is afraid of the dark. And for good reason. When she was a toddler she fell deep into her backyard well only to be rescued to great fanfare and celebrity. In fact, she is small-town Fenton,Colorado’s walking claim to fame. Not like that helps her status at Westbrook Academy, the nearby uber-ritzy boarding school she attends. A townie is a townie. Being nationally ranked as a swimmer doesn’t matter a lick. But even the rarefied world of Westbrook is threated when emergency sirens start blaring and the school is put on lockdown, quarantined and surrounded by soldiers who seem to shoot first and ask questions later. Only when confronted by a frightening virus that ages its victims to death in a manner of hours does Mia realize she may only just be beginning to discover what makes Fenton special.

The answer is behind the walls of the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics. Mia’s dad, the director of Fenton Electronics, has always been secretive about his work. But unless Mia is willing to let her classmates succumb to the strange illness, she and her friends have got to break quarantine, escape the school grounds, and outsmart armed soldiers to uncover the truth about where the virus comes from and what happened down that well. The answers they find just might be more impossible than the virus they are fleeing.

Interview: Oona Crate and Shawn Thomas Odyssey (The Wizard of Dark Street)

 

The Magician's Tower (Oona Crate Mystery #2) by Shawn Thomas Odyssey
July 26th, 2011 from EgmontUSA


Despite her extraordinary magical abilities and sleuthing skills, Oona Crate’s detective agency has failed to take off. But a new challenge captures her attention—The Magician’s Tower Contest.

Held every five years, no one has ever completed the array of dangerous tasks (such as racing on flying carpets or defeating a horde of angry apes). As the competition commences, a case emerges. A rare punchbowl—one with unparalleled magical powers—has disappeared from the carnival surrounding the Magician’s Tower. If Oona can find the culprit, she could use the bowl to answer her question about her mother’s and sister’s tragic deaths so many years ago—was she really at fault?

Guest Post: Victoria Scott Talks Texas

I am totally jazzed to have Texas author Victoria Scott talking about one of our favorite subjects...TEXAS! Victoria is the author of that hunky book right up there that drops April 2nd from Entangled Teen and she has plenty more in the works! She was also added to the YAB Fest lineup which is May 11th right here in north Austin. 

Texas is known for being BIG - without looking it up, how big is Texas? 

8 trillion miles wide. And 5 inches.

Favorite place to write: 

My office. There's a bird feeder right outside my window. I like to watch the birds...and my cats trying to eat the birds. Don't worry, they never succeed. They're less the athletic type and more the Kitty Weight Watchers type.

Best chips and salsa: 

The chips and salsa from Mattitos in Dallas. The. Best.

Review, Interview, & Giveaway: Fox Forever (Jenna Fox Chronicles, #3) by Mary E. Pearson

Fox Forever (Jenna Fox Chronicles, #3) by Mary E. Pearson
March 19th, 2013 from Henry Holt

Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he’ll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance- and into Raine’s life.

Another series, that I love, is coming to an end. *pass the tissues* If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it! Jenna Fox has been on so many Best Of and state-wide librarian lists it probably set a record. In this final installment, Locke is giving back to the resistance that helped him escape from his engineered life. He searches for a life of his own and in a sense tries to catch up to Jenna who has been living for over 200 years. What he finds is adventure, love, and a career dedicated to helping people. Any review will just about spoil something for a new reader. So, you have to trust this librarian that the series is more than worth a read. Great for middle grades who love science fiction, but not really looking for aliens and spaceships. Dystopian lovers and beginners new to the genre will also enjoy!

Review: Operation Oleander by Valerie O. Patterson (+Giveaway & Interview)

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You can find Patterson at her website

Ninth-grader Jess Westmark had the best of intentions when she started Operation Oleander to raise money for a girls’ orphanage in Kabul. She named her charity for the oleander that grows both in her Florida hometown and in Afghanistan, where her father is deployed. But on one of her father's trips to deliver supplies to the orphans, a car bomb explodes nearby and her father is gravely injured. Worse, her best friend’s mother and some of the children are killed, and people are blaming Operation Oleander for turning the orphanage into a military target for the Taliban. Is this all Jess’s fault?

I thank my lucky stars that I haven't lost anyone to war, and my heart goes out to all of those in the Armed Forces. When I think about all of the kids who have parents in the military my heart breaks for them. To live in fear every day praying your parent(s) make it home is something I can't fathom. Jeff has lived with this fear and her nightmare comes true - her father is injured in an attack at an orphanage that Jess has been collecting school supplies for. What's worse, her best friend's mother is killed in the same attack. Jess has to somehow juggle all of these emotions of blaming herself over the death of her best friends mother, her father's injuries, and being the strong and steadfast big sister. Bless her, the girl tries. She has been taught to be tough, reliable, and a fine upstanding military daughter, and I was waiting for her to just break. She did, but not for long and her friend Sam was there beside her.

Interview: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
January 8th, 2013 by Knopf Books

I am happy to have Amy Timberlake on the blog today! You might know her from her picture book The Dirty Cowboy or That Girl Lucy Moon. 

What came first? Plot, character, or setting? 
Setting. Wait! That isn't completely true. What is true is that setting seems to be my impetus for putting butt-in-chair and writing a particular story. In the case of One Came Home, being infuriated by the sisters in “Taming of the Shrew” was probably the true beginning. See, about a year before I started writing the book, I saw a fine production of Shakespeare’s play and became downright agitated over Kate and Bianca’s relationship. Ranting? Yes, lots. I believe I even told my husband I was going to write a novel that would “fix it.” (I know, I know… fix Shakespeare? Yeah. . . .) But did I at least start writing? Nope.

Nothing truly transpired until I read about a passenger pigeon nesting that occurred in my home state of Wisconsin in 1871. This nesting was the largest ever recorded—a historian estimated its size as 850 square miles. Whoa—that’s a lot of nesting, and a lot of birds. Why I hadn't I heard of this? I should have heard—I grew up in Wisconsin!

Dear Teen Me - Review, Interview, & Giveaway

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves

October 30th, 2012 from Zest Books

I am so thrilled to talk about this book and encourage everyone to read/buy/scrapbook. I have been reading the Dear Teen Me blog for....a long time. When word came out that it was being made into a book I was thrilled for the editors and contributors! The day I got the book in the mail I read all the way through. I cried, literally laughed out loud, blushed, and said the word "awe" a lot. I read a few stories to my husband and kids and eventually my 14-year-old read the entire book. People we know and love writing to their teens selves - what is not to love? 

A few stand out letters were Jessica Lee Anderson's and Ilsa Bick's. Both were totally different stories, but I remember them in detail months after reading. Anderson talks about the pressure of achieving and getting into a good college - something millions of us can relate to. I related a lot to her story, even the epic trip to Mexico. Bick's was a completely different story and absolutely took my breath away. It is one of the longest letters and yet when it ended I wanted another page. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but let's just say her letter talks about a 40+ year-old secret and hidden past. When I meet Bick face-to-face again, this story is something I will be asking her about.

Review: Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso (+Interview & Giveaway)

Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso
August 14th, 2012 by Atheneum Books

Three weeks ago I tried to run away from home. Now all I want is to go back.


When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard just to hold on to her sanity as she battles her parents, her therapist, and vicious fellow patients. But even as Taylor struggles to hold on to her stubborn former self, she finds herself relenting as she lets in two unlikely friends-Margo, a former child star and arsonist, and AJ, a mysterious boy who doesn’t speak. In this striking debut, Laura Lascarso weaves together a powerful story of anger and self-destruction, hope and love.

You've seen that cover and thought to yourself, "What is wrong with that girl?" I thought the same thing and that is exactly why I wanted to read this book. We meet Taylor as she is checking into a psychiatric facility  after a failed runaway attempt. As you can guess, Taylor isn't too thrilled about being there. Even though she was absolutely miserable living with her alcoholic mother, home was better than this place. She gets on the wrong side of some female patients and just when she is at her breaking point, she befriends a feisty girl named Margo. I liked Margo and it took me a bit to try to figure out her character. I didn't know if she was going to go all Girl Interrupted on me. She was a bit of a comedic break in this sometimes gut wrenching story. Without Margo's friendship, I'm not sure how Taylor would have gotten through some of the rough times in that place.

Where's Winona & What Is a Blovel with author Abbey Campbell

What is a "blovel?" 
A blovel is a novel serialized on a blog. What's so great about a blovel? Well, just like a blog it's free so you can read it on your computer, tablet or phone. Also, it has pictures! Because what's better than reading about tight rippling abs? Pictures of tight, rippling abs! Is this the future of fiction? Let's hope so.

Why did you decide to blovel instead of maybe self-pub? 
I was working as an editor at PopSugar.com and it was during the time when many young stars were running around Hollywood without any underwear on. My coworkers and I got to see these pictures firsthand and we were just as confused and shocked as everyone else. Britney Spears was the biggest surprise to us. She had been portrayed as such a good girl up until then. It got me wondering how someone goes from telling the world she's saving herself for marriage to getting out of a car without panties on in front of a throng of photographers. Had her people just been able to hide who she really was that whole time? Was she on drugs? Or had a Britney Spears look-alike stolen her identity and the real Britney Spears was tied up in a basement somewhere? Anyway, that's how the story came to me. And I knew it had to be told through a blog and would have to have pictures. Of course there is a downside to doing it this way. None of my friends wanted to play Winona so I ended up having to do it myself. During my creative process I may or may not have had to trespass onto private property, go out in public wearing not much more than a coat made of Care Bears, and grope my husband in a public hotel bathroom while his best friend stood on the sink and took pictures. So there's that.

Embrace - Interview with Author Jessica Shirvington

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
March 6th, 2012 from Sourcebooks Fire

I am happy to have Jessica Shirvington at the blog today! She hails from Sydney, Australia and has written The Violet Eden Chapters, AKA the Embrace series. Here, we chat about publicity, her books, and her great characters. Welcome, Jessica!

How did it feel to see your name and book in Cosmo for the first time?
It's great. To be recognized and have a presence in any of the well-established and hip publications like Cosmo is awesome.

I read that EMBRACE started with the character of Violet. What flowed next? The plot or other characters?
First, I concentrated on getting a grasp on the key characters. It was really important to understand who I was working with, rather than just creating cardboard cutout characters that exist just to move my plot forward. Characters are the key and once I had them I was able to focus on the plot and the research.

Review - The Five Lives Of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin (+Interview & Giveaway)

The Five Lives Of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin
April 1st, 2012 by Amulet Books

Oona and her brother Fred aren't thrilled about their beloved cat Zook (Zucchini) being kept at the vet after an illness. They decide to take matters into their own hands and break the cat out of kitty jail. In order to convince Fred that Zook will get better, Oona tells some pretty tall tales about the previous lives of Zook. Zook has been a Royal Cat among princes and princesses, and a Ghost Cat living with a wretched old woman. Each story reflects Oona and her brother's Fred lives as they try to accept their father's death two years prior and their mother struggles to move on. As Oona and Fred fantasize about Zook's previous existences, Oona wrestles with the real-life events that led Zook to live with them.

I am still smiling months after reading this book! I love the dynamic characters, especially Oona, and the way Oona puts her own little spin on everyone. Her mom's new potential boyfriend is "villain" not Dylan, for example, and she has such an analytical and inquisitive mind. She is more than just creative, I would venture to say that she is one smart cookie (that is a real scientific term), and her use of rebus's to engage her brother are quite genius. She is more than likable, and when the tender moments come along with Zook and even her mother, I proudly bawled like a baby!

Waiting on Wednesday - Dear Teen Me by E Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally (+Interview)

Dear Teen Me by E Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally
November 2012, from Zest Books

Dear Teen Me includes advice from over 70 YA authors (including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends-and a lot of familiar faces-in the course of Dear Teen Me.

It is rare when you are excited that a ton of your friends get to do something cool and you aren't invited, but  Dear Teen Me is exactly one of those cool things!! I am so excited for this book and even more excited to read some seriously embarrassing stories from some of my favorite people. I have stayed tuned to the Dear Teen Me website for(ever) a long time and I'm happy that all this will be wrapped up in a package I can share and take home with me. I can picture the release party right now.... I hope you check it out!

Book Trailer Debut - The Mapmaker & The Ghost by Sarvenaz Tash (+Interview)

I am thrilled to debut the super cute book trailer for The Mapmaker & The Ghost! Up first, a quick interview with debut author Sarvenaz Tash. Kick back and follow the jump for the book trailer.

What was the working title of MAPMAKER? 
Oh, boy. I am notoriously awful at titling things. We went through a list of 72 suggestions before we hit upon The Mapmaker and the Ghost. I will tell you that when I first started writing it, it was called - you'll laugh - Goldenrod Moram and the Spitbubble Master. Yes, that is awful. For a bit of time, it was also called The Legendary Adventures of Goldenrod. Which I do still like, though I think The Mapmaker and the Ghost is really what it was meant to be all along.

When talk of cover art first started, what were your concerns and what did you want most?
You know, I really didn't ever visualize the cover because I knew that it probably wouldn't look like whatever I thought it should in my head so why set myself up for that? I also knew that there were going to be professionals working on it who were infinitely more talented in that department than I was. I was just excited to see what they came up with and I was not in the least bit disappointed. The illustrations by Gerald Guerlais were more beautiful and perfect than anything I could have ever dreamed up.

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters - Interview with Meredith Zeitlin (+Giveaway)

I am THRILLED to have debut author, Meredith Zeitlin on the blog today! Her book, Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters, is being released today! It is the, by far, the funniest and sarcasmatic book I've read in a very long time. I hope you all pick yourself up a copy. Welcome, Meredith!

You were a, uh....theatre geek (ducks) and a gifted singer. Anything online I can take a gander at? 
Hey, I went to Stagedoor Manor and Northwestern. How could I not own being a theatre geek!? So no need to duck... YET. (Mwahahahaha.)

I don't think there's anything online of me singing, except maybe a clip or two on my cartoon reel, though I'm voicing a little girl and a fish in those, so maybe not a great example. But here is a LINK to the playbill notice for an off-broadway show I was in about a thousand years ago before I stopped performing onstage. You may recognize my castmate and friend Billy Eichner, who is now starring in his own hilarious show on Fuse (very proud of him, obv)! Oh, and also me looking totally hideous. What is that pose about, exactly?!

Enjoy. Okay... that's enough now. Stop that laughing!

Here is a duet with a darling boy named Patrick Gagnon. I come in second... no idea how to alter the beginning, so your readers can just enjoy the whole thing. This is "Email Love Song," and it is about email. (because at the time email was brand new.) This is from the 1997 Waa-Mu show, Northwestern's huge (and huge deal, believe it or not, as in "stayed up all night to find out if I got cast") student-written musical. I was a freshman and it was a CRAZY huge deal that I had an actual part in the show with my own song - only 2 freshman girls were cast, period. Once again, I had juniors getting mad at me. Getting cast was one of the non-disasters. There were, of course, many disasters (like almost puking on the director after my audition because I was so nervous, for example). But that's a different post... ;)



Can you dish a little bit about the cover for FRESHMAN YEAR?

Well, I knew from a friend's experience with her debut novel that I would have exactly zero say about the cover - so I was prepared. The only thing I asked (read: begged) for was that they not use a picture of a real girl on it, because I always like to make up what characters I read about look like. Also, sometimes they change the covers later and put a different girl on there and you end up being like, "What!? That is NOT what Anastasia looks like at ALL!"

Diabolical - Interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith +Giveaway

Diabolical was released this week and I'm happy to have author Cynthia Leitich Smith at the blog today. We live in the same town and she is a big part of the awesome YA and Kidlit community here. Today, we're talking about the Tantalize series and all things devilish! If you haven't seen my review, you can check it out HERE. Welcome, Cynthia!

DIABOLICAL is book four in the TANTALIZE series. When you started to think about writing Quince and Kieren's story, did you think it would go this far?
I had hopes! It didn’t begin as a series, but rather a single title followed by another single title and then another. Now, it’s being repackaged and marketed as a series. My initial concept was to engage in a conversation of sorts with Bram Stoker’s classic novel, DRACULA—to offer a contemporary extension of its mythology with strong romantic elements, some humor, mystery, suspense, a dash of girl power, and a diverse cast. Each of my Gothic novels inches closer to that source material, and in DIABOLICAL, we visit to the legendary Scholomance, where the Count supposedly learned his malevolent magic.