Crescendo Paperback Release Tour: Guest Post From Becca Fitzpatrick + the Hush Hush Crew

Crescendo is now out in paperback! I simply loved Crescendo - you can read my review here! I adore this series, and I was excited to hear that Crescendo has a bonus chapter from book four! That basically means I need it now :)

I can hardly believe it's already 2012! But with 2012 comes a new year and new resolutions.  I still am thinking about all my New Years Resolutions - I know for sure my big one is going to be eat healthier and get into shape. But, this isn't about me, here is Becca and the Hush Hush characters resolutions for this year!

In honor of the new year Becca and our favorite HUSH, HUSH Saga characters are sharing their resolutions. 

Patch: Keep Nora safe.

Nora: Keep Patch safe. It's my turn!

Vee: I’ve resolved to lose a few pounds this year. Yeah, I may have made this resolution a time or two before, but this will be my year. I’ve got my eye on a certain guy. 2012 will be the year I’m lucky in love, I can feel it.

Marcie: I don’t need to do anything different this year. I’m perfect just the way I am.
Scott: Gonna party like it's 1999.

Dabria: I have my heart set on a certain old flame. I’m going to do everything I can to win him back.

Becca: I'm resolving to finish Book 4 and send it to my editor by the end of January!

Have you made a resolution this year?

I love hearing all the different characters resolutions! It's a bit of a nice hold over until book 4 is out :)

You can visit Becca on the web at her website, twitter, and blog. I also wanted to share that Becca is doing a Live Video Chat on Goodreads along with Moira Young on January 10 at 7 pm EST, because I definitely will be there and am all sorts of excited. All the details are here.

On a Dark Wing Tour: Guest Post from Jordan Dane

I am super excited to have Jordan Dane by the blog today on her On a Dark Wing blog tour with a guest post! Jordan Dane is the author of In the Arms of Stone Angels and On a Dark Wing for young adults, and many books such as Reckoning for the Dead and The Echo of Violence, for adults.


Lyrics That Make Your Heart Bleed

I don’t think I could write a YA book without thinking of music. Lyrics really grounds me in a character’s world. They can be powerful. One of my favorite research things to do is discovering music for the book I’m working on. Maybe you can help inspire me for future books by sharing your favorite song and share why you LOVE it.

Sometimes an inspiration is only one song that triggers something in me about a character or feeling. Listening to certain songs can stir my creative juices and entice my characters to come out and play with me. When I know I’ll be writing a scene for a specific character, I often will listen to the song that reminds me of them before I start. That gets me in the mood. I love how lyrics can connect us all. Books are like that too.

I’d actually love to hear from readers when they find good songs with lyrics that make your heart bleed. Yeah, I tip the scales toward Emo when I write.

Two songs played a part in the writing of ON A DARK WING. Abbey Chandler has a crush on a boy she thinks is perfect, Nate Holden. He’s a great guy, but reminds her of all the things she’s not. Abbey doesn’t feel worthy, but that doesn’t stop her from fantasizing about the guy. The lyrics to the song “Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman became a melancholy reminder to her that she was never going to “get” the guy, but those same lyrics told a different story for another character. Her best friend, Tanner Lange, knew this song reminded Abbey of Nate, but Tanner had his own crush on his BFF, Abbey. Those lyrics worked him over, hard. When he heard that song, which Abbey played often, he knew she was thinking of someone else—someone with two good legs and not in a wheelchair. Here are a few lyrics that inspired me from “Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman and an excerpt from ON A DARK WING from Tanner.

“Not meant to be” by Theory of a Deadman (Inspiration Lyrics)

“Baby, I’m starting to see

Maybe we’re not meant to be.”

“It’s never enough to say I love you.

No, it’s never enough to say I try.

It’s hard to believe,

That there’s no way out for you and me

And it seems to be the story of our lives.”

Excerpt from ON A DARK WING – Tanner

            The sun had already gone down by the time Tanner got home from Anchorage. For the last hour, he’d been sitting in his wheelchair, looking out his bedroom window with only one lamp burning. As he listened to the song “Not Meant to Be”, one of Abbey’s favorite songs, he thought about her. The lyrics put him into an epic tailspin, but they seemed to make her happy, so he played the song because it reminded him of her.

            He imagined her skulking through the woods on her way to see him. Sometimes she’d come to his front door, but the times he liked best was when she climbed the tree and came through his bedroom window. He knew that wasn’t going to happen tonight, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to see her.

            Guess he missed his best friend—and not just a little bit.

Another song that I thought was very haunting for this story is “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles. The lyrics can make anyone long for love, the kind that doesn’t hurt. But in ON A DARK WING, Abbey comes face to face with the grief and guilt she feels for the part she played in her mother’s death and also must come to grips with the reality of her fantasy boy and what love truly is. Here is a beautiful YouTube video of the song with the lyrics and an excerpt from the book—from Abbey.

“Gravity” by Sara Bareilles (Video with Lyrics)

Excerpt from ON A DARK WING – Abbey

By the time my dad got done with his ax, freaking me out like he was Jason on Friday the 13^th (so not funny), he came in breathing a little heavy and got a fire going in our stove. I smelled the wood burning and heard the crackling as I shut the door to my room. The place was always real quiet, which drove me crazier than usual. I had to have music in my ears and snag alone time behind closed doors, scarfing on a Kit Kat bar. Lying on my bed, I got completely wrapped in my tunes.

            When one of my favorite Sara Bareilles’ songs came on my iPod—“Gravity”—it reminded me of Nate. Listening to her sing about wanting to drown in love and being fragile always made me cry. I imagined Nate looking at me, really seeing me. In my dreams, I looked thin and smelled really good too, like chocolate. Nate’s blue eyes were the color of new denim and they always made it hard for me to breathe. Even in my daydreams, it was the same. I wanted to know what it would be like to touch a boy, for real.

            The lyrics made me ache to kiss him…and hold him…and know what it felt like to really be in love. When my throat tightened, tears rolled down my cheeks and my room turned into a major blur, making it easy to cuddle up in Nateworld. I would never even come close to having someone like him and he sure didn’t need me. He had a real life ahead of him. I could totally see him saving lives and doing real stuff, but that didn’t stop me from fantasizing. I closed my eyes and blocked out the cabin to picture him with me now.

            That would’ve worked too—except for Dad.

            He barged into my bedroom and ruined everything. I jumped off my pillows and wiped a hand over my face as I pulled the music from my ears.

            “Come on, Dad. Knock.” I couldn’t look at him or else he’d know I’d been crying.

So for future reference in books to come, please share a song that you LOVE and share the reason it makes your heart bleed. Who knows? You could inspire me. 

Something extra special is happening here - Whoever suggests a song that inspires me for Joirdan's current book INDIGO WARRIOR (Crystal Child series),Jordan may use their name in the book (in some fashion--in a scene or as a character), but she reserves the right NOT to pick a song (therefore no name) if nothing inspires her. How cool is that?! I know I'll be suggesting a song :)

Make sure to check out the rest of the tour - the schedule is here. Also, Jordan is giving away a Kindle Fire to one lucky winner and 10 blogs will be hosting giving away copies of the books. Find all this information and how to enter HERE. All the winners from the tour will be announced during her LIVE CHAT on JANUARY 5.  

The Mephisto Covenant Tour: Author Book Picks

I am super excited to have Trinity Faegen by the blog today sharing some of her favorite book picks!

Trinity Faegen is the author of The Mephisto Covenant, which is coming out from Egmont TOMORROW. So make sure to go pick up a copy tomorrow. You can find her on the web at http://www.trinityfaegen.com/index.html.

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I always feel a little sideways talking about books I love, because there are so many, and for each one, my adoration is directly tied to who I was when I read it. I’m a “Woman of a Certain Age,” so my youthful reading is different than my children’s, or kids in today’s fourth grade. Still, I think some of them stand the test of time. There are the obvious books, like Charlotte’s Web, Old Yeller, and the entire Little House collection, but I also had an insane love of horse books. Any and all: The Black Stallion series, Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka. I also loved biographies, and gobbled up Queen Victoria, Florence Nightingale, and Martha Washington.

I know this definitely is not a book cover,
but it is simply my favorite movie adaption
cover, so I shared it!

At ten, on the edge of adolescence, I read Jane Eyre, and my love of romances began. I discovered Victoria Holt, and read every one of her books. I read and loved Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel. Then I found Mrs. Mike and Christy, both so lovely and charming in their own, unique way. There weren’t so many books written for young adults then, but I managed to find those that were: Seventeenth Summer and My Darling, My Hamburger. I just now went and looked at Goodreads for these books and it was interesting to read current day views on the reads. Seventeenth Summer was old when I read it, back in the day, and I remember being frustrated with the social strictures, but something about that book sang to me. First love, first kiss, first ‘real’ relationship. I was in love with falling in love. All these years later, I still am.

When I was a freshman in high school, I stumbled across a Kathleen Woodiwiss historical romance that was whoa, sexy times. Being a wide-eyed, naïve type, I was completely shocked. And spent lots of babysitting money to buy more. I carefully hid these from my mother, and read in the closet with a flashlight, late at night. It’s not that Mom would have minded the sexy times, but she was always a lit snob. I should have been reading Tolstoy or Kafka. Later, I discovered the classics, because my high school English teacher, Mrs. Thrush, kind of insisted, and I loved Dickens and Thackery, but hated Joyce and Dostoevsky.

Now, in my middle years, I don’t feel as shy about what I read. I unapologetically read romance novels because I’m always looking for That One, filled with witty banter, beautiful prose, or just crazy-page-turning-I-can’t-read-fast-enough entertainment, which will take me to another time and place, and I can fall in love all over again. One of my favorite historical romances is Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. It’s my go-to book for those who dis romance, but have never read it, or who read Danielle Steele or Nicholas Sparks and call it romance. This sends romance writers off the page.

I gravitate toward romances in young adult fiction, and have become addicted to Simone Elkeles’s Perfect Chemistry series. Not so romancey, but I adore Heather Brewer’s Vlad Tod books. I confess to being a sheep and reading what everyone else is reading, but there are way worse things to be than a sheep – and when the books are as awesomesauce as The Hunger Games and Anna and the French Kiss, all I can do is bleet and sigh and wonder, how did they do that? I’m in awe. And so grateful to live in a world with books, with an education that allows me to read them. My entire life, books have been my tireless companions, always there for me.

Thank you for having me here, Erica, and allowing me to blather on about books. I’m realizing I never mentioned Stephen King, or Eric Carle, or Neil Gaiman, or….

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Thanks so much Trinity for stopping by! You can find Trinity on the web at her website, blog, Twitter, and Goodreads. You can also read the first chapter of The Mephisto Covenant here.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

Skyship Academy Tour: On the Fringes with Cassius

I am SUPER excited to be a part of the blog tour for Skyship Academy! Today, I have a guest post from Nick James about the character Cassius and his inspiration. There is another post on the tour up at http://readingfever.blogspot.com/ today and tomorrow's stop is over at http://intothemorningreads.blogspot.com/ so make sure to check those all out! And if you're starting in on the tour late, refer to the lovely banner in my sidebar, with the names of all the blogs on the tour! Also, you can check out Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars on Amazon and Goodreads.

Full Name: Cassius Stevenson

Age: 15

Fights for: The Unified Party

Cassius Stevenson works under the mysterious Madame at the Department of Energy Acquisition. He’s training to become a Pearlhound and collect the precious orbs for the Unified Party. He looks toward Madame as a mother-figure, even though she hasn’t officially adopted him. Still, he’s privy to many more Unified Party secrets than other teens his age. In many ways, he’s the perfect burgeoning soldier. He continually exceeds expectations when it comes to training and battle preparation.

Author’s Inspiration: Just like with Jesse Fisher (and all of my characters, really), I drew on portions of myself for Cassius. Most specifically, we share a competitive nature. Cassius is very competitive, and wants nothing more than to be the best at everything he does. This can definitely get him into trouble. I really wanted him to be as different to Jesse as possible, and I think that can be seen right away in the first few chapters.

If I were to cast an actor to play Cassius in a movie: I’d choose Connor Jessup, from TNT‘s Falling Skies. I think he’d be able to pull off the more serious role as Cassius, coupled with the vulnerability hiding just underneath his cocky exterior.


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2862041/

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CLUE #6: On the “World of Skyship” page, there is information about important characters that live specifically in the Unified Party. How many characters are mentioned here? This number is your piece of the coordinates today!

http://nickjamesbooks.com/world-of-skyship

What's the deal with the clues? You collect them all and you can have a chance to win a supplemented copy of the book with a bonus Skyship diagram and bonus chapter or annotations.

How cool is that?


How the clues work: Throughout the tour's 15 stops, there will be 8 clues scattered on the blogs. Make sure you go to every stop on the tour so you can find the clues. These clues spell out a secret coordinate and you need this coordinate so you can win on the last stop of the tour.

Then, Thursday night, the 8th, Nick James will be doing a ustream chat at 5 pm Central/6 pm Eastern time.

Last thing, my review of Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars will be going up today, so make sure to check that out! :)

Here Lies Bridget Tour: Paige Harbison's Current Book Picks

I am super excited to be part of Paige Harbison's tour for Here Lies Bridget. A little while back I reviewed Here Lies Bridget, and now I have a guest post from Paige Haribson with a few of her current favorite books!

Paige Harbison is the author of Here Lies Bridget, which was her debut novel. She is a graduate of Towson University. You can find her on the web at http://www.paigeharbison.com/

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

            This book was awesome. Lara’s life is in shambles, and she finds herself haunted by her great-aunt Sadie. I loved Sadie’s wit and biting insults, and I loved that sometimes I didn’t agree with Lara fully. I liked watching her fix herself, and I loved seeing everyone learn a little something.

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin

            Obviously I’m not alone in loving these books—but I really did! I loved not knowing who my allegiance lay with. I think it’s awesome when a story makes me wonder about myself.

At Home by Bill Bryson

            This man could make salt and pepper interesting—and he does, in his most recent book. He’s done several different kinds of books: travel memoirs, a childhood memoir, and ones like these, where he delves into a particular subject and makes it fascinating. In this one, he explores why everything in our homes are the way they are, and how they came to be. He’s hilarious. I highly recommend The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, which is not as recent but probably some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever read.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

            Everything he writes is hilarious, but he also writes with a touching sensitivity that not every comedian is capable of. I love that he’s had so many different lives, and that he’s enviably self-aware throughout all of his stories.

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Thanks Paige for stopping by! You can find her on the web at her website, Twitter, blog, and Facebook!

Tunnel Vision Tour: Book Picks from Susan Shaw

Today I have Susan Shaw by the blog sharing some of her favorite book picks over the years. Susan Shaw is the author of Tunnel Vision, One of the Survivors, Safe, The Boy from the Basement, and Black-Eyed Suzie. You can find her on the web at her website: http://www.susanshaw.org/index.html

I’ve had so many favorite books I can’t name them all, but here are a few that have stayed with me. PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
HOLES
A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE
TEPPER ISN’T GOING OUT
anything by Mark Twain
anything by Shakespeare.

The list goes on.  All of my favorite reads make me forget I’m reading.

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Thanks Susan for stopping by the blog :)


So who has read any of those? I have only read Shakespeare's work and To Kill a Mockingbird, I definitely need to check out the rest :)

And Then Things Fall Apart Tour: Character Book Picks

I am super excited to have Arlaina Tibensky by the blog today on her tour for And Then Things Fall Apart sharing some of her characters book books :) Arlaina Tibensky is the author of And Then Things Fall Apart. She currently lives in New York and went to Columbia University.

And Then Things Fall Apart is as much about books and reading as it is about a neurotic virgin with chicken pox, a hot boyfriend, and parent issues. So OF COURSE I have thought long and hard about Keek’s favorite books. They happen to be some of MY favorite books too and so here is a list just for you cool cats who read this amazing blog (AKA the Book Cellar) that is also about good books and great reading….

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (duh).
Keek loves The Bell Jar for many reasons but I think she loves it so much because it was a book that was written before “YA” about being a young adult. It takes growing up and madness and first love very seriously. And Esther Greenwood is messed up AND funny AND wants to be a writer all at the same time… just like Keek.

2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
OK, I know, tons of eye-rolling all around. But. This. Book. Changed Keek’s life (and mine) a little too. Just like Keek, Holden’s inner voice is loud and persistent and circular. He is telling his story in his own voice for the whole book. Keek was very moved not as much by Holden’s story as by they way he told it because it mirrored how she sounds to herself. And she loved all the 1940’s New York stuff because she’s vintage like that.

3. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Best book ever. Keek hates contemporary fiction about depressed women who are wondering about how or when to leave their husbands. She also hates Jane Austen. Geek love is about an albino dwarf and her family of freaks. It is also about mothers and daughters, doing what is right over what is easy, and is just amazing.

4. Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Because it has characters that she wished she knew. They live in the Chicago suburbs, just like Keek and go to the same places And John Green and David Levithan? They are, at least in Keek’s mind, the Shakespeares of our time.

5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.
Have you heard of this book? You never forget your first love and Keek remembers her parents reading this to her before bed at night. Her parents were still married, and she was still a kid, and they took turns reading her chapters every night. She loved getting lost in the world of Hogwarts, had a huge crush on Harry, and loved the way her parents made it all come to life.

Thanks Arlaina for stopping by the blog! You can find Arlaina on the web at her website and twitter.

Blood Ties Tour: Into the Past with Mari Mancusi

I am super excited to be on the blog tour for Blood Ties. I reviewed Blood Ties a little while back, and I'm super excited to now have a guest post from Mari Mancusi about books she would recommend at the ages 5, 11, 16 & 20 :) I know I definitely now need to check out some of these books!

Mari Mancusi is the author the Blood Coven series, in addition to Gamer Girl, Sk8er Boy, among others.. She is a graduate of Boston University (I saw this and had to throw it in, as that's where I'm off to in the fall) and is a two time Emmy Award winner. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob and their dogs Mesquite and Bowie.  You can find her on the web at http://marimancusi.com/.

When I was growing up, I was always the kid who brought home stacks of books from the library. I remember they had a limit on how many you could take out at one time and I was always at the maximum allotted. Books had the ability to transport me from my mundane suburban reality to fabulous foreign--and sometimes even magical worlds. I couldn't get enough.

When I was five years old, I would have recommended Charlotte's Web. It was a book that my mother read aloud to me before bedtime. Though the ending is pretty sad, I remember really loving the story about the unlikely friendship between spider and pig.

At age eleven, I would have recommended the fabulous middle grade Green Sky Trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, starting with BELOW THE ROOT. It was basically my first dystopian novel about a group of sky people who lived harmoniously in giant trees, never knowing about the secret race of people who were trapped below the root. There was also a really cool videogame of the same name that I was obsessed with. Snyder wrote some other great, award winning middle grade fiction as well--mostly with a paranormal twist--and I loved all her books. But Below the Root will always have a special place in my heart. Recently I sent her an email to let her know how much I loved the series and how her writing inspired me as a kid to become an author.

There weren't a lot of teen books when I was sixteen so I was mostly reading adult fiction. V. C. Andrews, Stephen King--stuff not all that appropriate for teens, now that I think about it. My favorite book, however, and the one I'd recommend to others was The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. There's just something about that vampiric brat prince anti-hero that is so sexy and appealing. I still think he's one of my favorite characters to this day. The other books in the series are also worth reading, but Lestat is by far the best.

At age twenty, I would have recommended a book that remains my favorite to this day. The Mists of Avalon. It's a feminist retelling of Arthurian legend, starring the usually vilified Morgan Le Fay. It's a beautifully written, almost lyrical novel that changed my whole outlook on the Camelot tale. I reread the book about once a year and even named my newborn daughter (8 weeks old today!) Avalon after the enchanting, mystical isle of old.

You can find Mari on the web at her website, twitter, facebook and blog.  Also make sure to check out the super fun site for the Blood Coven University, which has fun things about the characters, downloads and even your own chance to join The Blood Coven!

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Beauty Queens Tour: A Guest Post With Libba Bray "Chick Flick Favorites"

I am super excited to be on Libba Bray's blog tour for Beauty Queens! She is here today with a guest post about some of her favorite "Chick Flick" Movies! Libba Bray is the author of several novels: Beauty Queens, Going Bovine, and the Gemma Doyle Trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing).
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I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the term, “Chick Flick,” because it’s often used dismissively, as in “Oh, that’s just a movie about/for women.” So I’m choosing to use it here in the context of, “Got my girls, got the big screen, got the popcorn and M&Ms—what could be better?” With that in mind, I humbly submit some of my favorite “Chick Flicks.”

“Alien”
I have a love affair with Ridley Scott for directing my favorite movie of all time, “Blade Runner.” But I loved the way he reinvigorated the horror genre with this Monster-In-Space flick featuring a kick-alien-butt heroine in Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley. Quite frankly, I would have hidden in a closet and waited to become acidified by H.R. Giger’s monster. Not Ripley. Her survival instinct is crazy strong. And she can do it in her underwear, too.

“Annie Hall”
After I saw this movie, I wanted to dress only in rumpled chinos, vests, and ties and say, “La-di-dah.” It might be a Woody Allen movie, but it’s really Diane Keaton’s wholly original Annie Hall who steals the movie, and who manages to go from charming neurotic to self-actualized neurotic. And I love it when she sings “Seems Like Old Times” in that bar wearing a tuxedo with aplomb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRPru9CnPhM

“All About Eve”
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. The writing is as sharp as well-aged cheddar. And I love that Margo Channing isn’t interested in being “good.” She’s narcissistic, entertaining, larger-than-life, hilarious, cutting, kind, exasperating, and willing to admit when she’s screwed up and learn from it. She’s all too human. And man, can she deliver a line. This scene is chock full of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnr3AMCmJ3A

“The Women” (1939 original version)
I get my love of this movie from my dad. (See? This is what I mean about gender lines.) We would sometimes look at each other, put out our fingers and say, “Jungle Red!” and laugh. In retrospect, it’s got a lot of catty, girl-against-girl stuff that I’m not always so down with. But when it’s written this well, stars some of the best of old Hollywood, and pretty much wears its “Yeah, this is going to be a free-for-all of aggression, so jump on or jump off the Bitch Train, honey,” I’m game. And did I mention the fashion show with the gowns by Adrian that just pops up out of nowhere? Trust me, you’re going to want to see that if nothing else.

“His Girl Friday”
The great Rosalind Russell stars as newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in this classic screwball comedy. She’s hard-hitting. Fast-talking. Smart as all get out. And clever enough to realize that there’s more than one way to be happy—and making yourself fit into a pre-fab mold might not be it. A boffo script by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, and Charles Lederer, with the great Howard Hawks directing.

My Fave Teen Girl Movie Medley: “Bend It Like Beckham”/”Little Darlings”/”The World of Henry Orient”

The first time I saw “The World of Henry Orient,” I was about twelve and home sick from school. It really captures the insular world of teen girl friendship as young teens Val & Gil stalk their beloved rock star pianist (played by Peter Sellers) all around NYC and indulge in their fantasy world with a gorgeous 1960s New York City as their playground. It’s funny and sad and true, and I could watch it forever.

“Little Darlings” is another one that gets it right. Tatum O’Neal is the privileged girl to Kristy McNichol’s working class girl with no patience for Tatum’s “I know everything about sex and romance” tales. They make a bet on who can lose her virginity first. There’s a lot about coming of age, sex, friendship, breaking away from your parents, and heartbreak, and the tire swings scene with Kristi and Tatum near the end kills me. This one also stars a really beautiful teenaged Matt Dillon and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda on “Sex and the City”) as a hippie girl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrqDjs0W4ho&feature=related

“Bend It Like Beckham.” I love this movie. Love Jess and Jules. Love the soccer (I’m a fool for any kind of sports movie). And even though I’ve seen it about a gajillion times, I still get anxious when Jess is trying to pull off honoring both her family and her love of the game. Hey Hollywood, how about more movies like this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsmbObwStSQ


“Romancing the Stone”
This is everything I want in a movie: Rollicking adventure tale? Check. Smart comedy? Check. Hot romance? Check and double-check. It would be easy for Michael Douglas’s scruffy-sexy rogue to steal the show (“Woo! What a ride!”) but Kathleen Turner steps it up and gives us a heroine who’s only starting to realize what she’s made of.

“Clueless.” Why didn’t I include “Clueless” in my teen girl medley? Because I’m making the rules, that’s why. It’s impossible not to love Alicia Silverstone’s Cher as she meddles, lovingly and ridiculously, in everybody’s lives while also lusting after shoes. (Like you do. Or maybe that’s just me. I like my soliloquys with a side of shoes.) When she says, “Way harsh,” I feel it in my bones. That it’s based on Jane Austen’s Emma makes it that much sweeter. Oh, and Paul Rudd is in this movie. Paul. Rudd.

“Get Christie Love!”
This was a 1974, made-for-TV film that spawned a TV series which lasted for a nanosecond. I watched it religiously. Teresa Graves stars as a bad-ass undercover cop going after the bad guys with smarts, knuckles, killer lines, AND a dynamite fashion sense. (Go-go boots for the win.) I am notoriously doll averse, but the one doll I still have and cherish is my Christie Love doll complete with oversized red shades. I wanted to be Teresa Graves so bad. I used to walk around my house saying, “You’re under arrest, sugar.” This one is hard to find, but my husband found the DVD through a collector and gave it to me for Christmas a few years back. My squee-ing could be heard throughout Brooklyn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0XQrvzoF6c&feature=related

“Bring It On”
Cheerleader throw-down? Please. I’m already popping the corn and melting the butter. And the Clovers are so fierce. Ready? OK!

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Make sure to check out the next stop on the blog tour, on Wednesday June 8th at La Femma Readers!

Scholastic has launched a new online community called This Is Teen to connect readers with their favorite YA authors and books. Visit their page on Facebook for all the latest news on Libba Bray and her new book Beauty Queens: www.facebook.com/thisisteen.

Ladies and gentlemen, we want to know WHAT MAKES YOU A BEAUTY QUEEN? Being
a Beauty Queen like the ones in Libba Bray's new novel means being true to
yourself and who you want to be. Tell us in 500 words or less what makes
you a Beauty Queen, and you could win a $250 Amex Gift Card to use toward
whatever makes you feel most awesome. Or you could opt for a $250 gift card to Sephora. Whatever you choose, we will also send you a signed copy of the book and your very own tiara!

To enter go to http://www.thisisteen.com/Contest.htm

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal US residents ages 13 to 18. Deadline to enter 5pm EST on July 1, 2011. Void where prohibited. For complete details and official rules go to http://www.thisisteen.com/

Contest Video:



Here's about the book, in case you haven't already heard. And make sure to check out my review of Beauty Queens, which will be up later today!

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and complete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eye liner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program – or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan – or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

Breath of Angel Tour: In Her Own Words

Today, I'm part of the Breath of Angel tour. I have a post from Karyn Henley, In Her Own Words. Breath of Angel comes out June 21. Here's a bit about it, in case you haven't already heard.

The stranger’s cloak had fallen back, and with it, a long, white, blood-stained wing.

When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.

Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

I was born in Austin, Texas in a house near a creek. My first memories are of green yards and parks and trees. When I was four, my family (I’m the oldest of four girls) moved to West Texas. The big, beautiful sky is awesome there, but I missed trees. Still, I had lots of adventures. I loved building playhouses out of boxes and boards in my backyard. (Once I tried to make bricks with what I thought was a pile of dry cement. I mixed it with water and poured it into shoeboxes to mold the bricks, but of course, the “bricks” never hardened. The “cement” turned out to be ashes. What a mess!) My grandad was a cowboy, so I spent a week every summer on his ranch, where I rode horses, counted jackrabbits, and ate rattlesnake. But no matter where I found myself, my favorite pastime was reading. Reading let me journey around the world – even into imaginary worlds. I fell in love with story, especially myths, fairy tales, and high fantasy. Now I live in Tennessee, and I’m delighted that my yard is once again full of . . . you guessed it . . . big, beautiful trees! Maybe that’s why Breath of Angel centers around a very special tree.

The Iron Queen Blog Tour: A Guest Post from Ash

Hello everyone! Welcome to the last stop on the Iron Queen blog tour! I am thrilled to be a part of the tour, and I hope you all have been following the tour as it ran it's course - I know I have been! Here's a summary of The Iron Queen.

My name is Meghan Chase.




I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

I am so excited to say that today, a super special guest from the Winter Court has stopped by. Yes, my friends, Ash has stopped by, so without further ado here is a post from him:

Sigh.

If you know me at all, you know I don’t want to be here. I am not a trained monkey; you cannot just put me on stage and expect me to caper for your amusement. If anyone does think that, please step forward so my blade can demonstrate just how mistaken you are.

Oh, very well. Let’s get this over with. My name is Ash, third son of the Unseelie Court. I’m supposed to sing the praises of the Winter Court today (though there will be no singing), so it will be a rather short list. Virtues: we don’t have many of those. We’re strong, we’re ruthless, and we don’t show mercy to our enemies. The Winter Court doesn’t prance around trees or dance under the moon like Summer. We’re good at fighting and killing; those are our virtues.

Although…there is beauty in the Winter Court, if you know where to look for it. The Crystal Woods are quiet and peaceful. You won’t even hear a bird chirp, mostly because they’re all frozen . And farther north, the Icetooth Mountains are impressive, though you have to keep alert for avalanches and wendigos.

In any case, it’s not a good idea to venture too far into Winter, especially if you’re human. If you do find yourself in Mab’s court, be sure to have a gift for the queen. She’s particularly fond of human infants. And don’t turn your back on the redcaps. That’s good advice wherever you are.

-Ash

Or here is a direct link to the trailer, here.

The author of The Iron Queen is Julie Kagawa. I feel the urge to throw out that The Iron Queen hit the NYT Bestseller list at #6, which is absolutely awesome! Julie is the author of The Iron Fey Novels (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and the forthcoming The Iron Knight). You can visit her on the web at her her website, her blog, her twitter.

If you would like more information about the tour, including past stops, check out the Iron Fey Facebook Page here. For all you Winter Court Folk make sure to check out my two co-captains stops on the tour here and here!

I am super excited to announce that I have an epic giveaway that 5 lucky people will get! What is it may you ask? *drum roll*

Exclusive Iron Queen Winter Court prize packs, featuring an Iron Queen blanket, hooded jacket and hat!

Seriously, I am so jealous! I wish I could enter at my own blog, ha! So 5 winners will get these. To enter, fill out the following form and leave a comment on this post. Open to US only and will end February 28th.

Blog Tour: Head Games Playlist + Giveaway

Keri Mikulski teaches writing and resides at the Jersey Shore with her family, where she plays a ton of pick-up basketball and worships Derek Jeter from afar. A three-sport athlete back when she was in school, Keri took enormous pride in her lucky game day scrunchies and half-top Nike Air Jordans. Find out more at http://www.kerimikulski.com/.

I asked Keri this question: Can you share 5 or so songs you think relate to Head Games?

Thanks so much for having me, Erica! :) You gave me a great idea to include a playlist on my blog. :)

THE HEAD GAMES PLAY LIST


1. You Belong with Me – Taylor Swift






2. Shot – LMFAO (basketball shots :))




3. Fifteen – Taylor Swift

4. Hot and Cold – Katy Perry








5. We Are the Champions - Queen










Keri's book, Head Games, hit stores on January 6th! Here's a bit about it :)


Taylor is calm, cool, collected, and ferocious on the basketball court. A total all-star. Not so much in real life. She may be tall, gorgeous, and an incredible catch, but just try telling her that!

And lately, Taylor doesn't know which way to turn: The summer showcase game is almost here. Her BFF Hannah roped her into a fashion show (eek!). And she can't decide between Zach - the super-popular, super-tall, super-off-limits basketball dynamo and Matt - the sweet boy from her math class (who may just be dating her BFF's older sister). It's enough to make any girl's head spin!

Can Taylor strike a pose, land the boy of her dreams, and win the game?


Leave a comment on this post, because thanks to Keri, one lucky commenter will be receiving a $10 iTunes giftcard!

Traveling To Teens: Guest Post from Leila Sales

I am very excited to have Leila Sales, the author of Mostly Good Girls here at the blog today with a fun guest post! You can visit Leila on the web at http://leilasales.com/

------------------

4. HUMOR WRITING – PART THREE

So we’re talking about humor writing, and how to be able to do it TOTALLY EFFORTLESSLY. Or at least a little bit effortlessly. So far on this blog tour, I’ve talked about the importance of agreement and using gifts. On to another handy weapon for your arsenal of hilarity:

3. RULE OF THREE.

The rule of three is simply this: Things in threes are funny. Things in twos are not funny. Things in fours are not funny, either. Things in threes are. There is probably a psychological “reason” for this, but I don’t know what it is.

One way to use the rule of three is “big, bigger, biggest.” Like, “We’re going to make one hundred dollars!” “No, we’re going to make one thousand dollars!” “Nuh-uh, we are going to make one hundred billion dollars!”

The other way to use the rule of three (and my preferred way—again, I don’t know why) is “normal, normal, weird.” With the first two items in a list, you give the reader expectations for what the third item is going to be. And then you proceed to totally subvert those expectations.

Roughly eighty percent of humor is just leading your audience to expect something, and then giving them something else.

A rule-of-three example from Mostly Good Girls:

She surveyed the mess of clothing covering her bedroom floor. “I read in a
magazine that guys like low maintenance chicks,” she said.
“Okay, great.
Let’s go for the ‘low maintenance’ look, then.” I put on Katie’s mom’s old
Radcliffe sweatshirt. “I am so low maintenance!” I tried saying to the mirror.
“Man, I just throw on any old sweatshirt, and I am ready to go!”
“We could
just show up naked,” Katie suggested.
“Right, good, naked is low
maintenance.”
“We’ll be like, Look, I didn’t think this evening was
important enough to get dressed up for. Hell, I didn’t even think it was worth
getting dressed for.”
“What magazine did you read this in, again?” I asked.
Katie shrugged. “Cosmo? Seventeen? National Geographic?”

Ladies’ magazine, ladies’ magazine, totally bizarre and out-there non-ladies’ magazine! Boom! Humor in action!

One more example from Mostly Good Girls:

On Sunday, I babysat for a four-year-old boy, Tommy, who
accidentally-on-purpose let his dachshund out of the house. Tommy and I had to
run all over the neighborhood chasing after it. It took us forever to catch the
dog because Tommy kept complaining that he couldn’t run that fast. Also he kept
stopping as he got distracted by motorcycles, ambulances, the sidewalk, etc.

Vehicle, vehicle, thing that doesn’t move! More humor!

Okay, I think you get the picture. Further humor writing techniques to come…

----------------------------------

Thanks so much for stopping by Leila! Make sure to check back for a review of Mostly Good Girls and a giveaway later in the day!

Also, be sure to check out the Traveling To Teens site for more information about the tour and other blog stops.

Blog Tour: Guest Post with Kersten Hamilton - Book Recommendations

I'm delighted to have Kersten Hamilton here at The Book Cellar today! Kersten Hamilton is the auhor of Tyger, Tyger. You can visit her on the web at http://www.kerstenhamilton.com/.

Here's a bit about Tyger, Tyger if you hadn't already heard.

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right.

The goblins are coming.

I’m an omnivorous bibliophile. I never even think about genre—I just ask myself, “Is it good? Is it truthy?”

So, instead of recommending current YA books, which are getting a lot of blogger buzz anyway, I thought I’d throw genre to the wind and give your readers a list of good and truthy books that they may never have heard of:

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
Down the Long Hills by Louis L’Amour
Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein (with the original ending, as Heinlein intended)
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Read the play. Read it!)
Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (Tristan. Let me just say, Tristan.)
The Anansi Boys by Neal Gaiman (Listen to this one on audio. Brilliant!)
The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Go wild! Read EVERYTHING!

Thank you for hosting a stop on my blog tour, Erica!

•Each stop on the blog tour will be posting a letter that, when unscrambled, will form a word related to Kersten Hamilton and at the end of the tour please visit THIS link and enter your name, email address, and the unscrambled word for a chance to win a KINDLE!

The letter for the Kindle giveaway for this stop is K


You can also check out the full tour schedule for the Tyger, Tyger blog tour here and make sure to stop at tomorrow's stop at Flipping the Pages For All Ages!

I have a pre-ordered copy of Tyger, Tyger to give away - open internationally - and will end October 29th! Fill out the form below to enter.

My Darkling Hacks The Book Cellar + Help Needed

Hello book (blog) lover!

Lauren Mechling, author of the Dream Girl books, here. I have hijacked Erica's blog in order to convey some Very Important Information.

You might not know it by looks alone (no pink hair, no metal bar through my septum), but I've become a total hacker worthy of her own "Dragon Tattoo" installment. And I'm not just talking about how I've cracked the code and broken onto The Book Cellar. My new book MY DARKLYNG, which I co-wrote with Laura Moser (my hilarious co-author on the "10th Grade Social Climber" books), is a YA thriller chockablock with multimedia awesomeness that will be appearing in serialized form on the awesome website Slate.com. The first installment runs today, and there will be more excitement every Friday for the rest of the summer. Also: it's free!




Slate is calling MY DARKLYNG its "juicy summer read for vampire lovers (and haters!)." It's about a normal 10th grade girl named Natalie Pollock whose own fiction addiction gets her into major trouble. She's been reading Fiona St. Claire's yummy "Dark Shadows" book series since middle school and when she sees a post on Fiona's blog about an open casting call for the model for the next book's cover, well, she can't resist. What she had thought was just a random field trip turns into a dark and terrible new-best-friendship, scarier and more thrilling than any of Fiona St. Claire's vampire novels.

MY DARKLYNG is different from anything you've ever read before--it's a first-of-its-kind story told in simultaneous platforms. Huh? you ask. Okay, so here's the deal: While you are perfectly free to follow the MY DARKLYNG chapters on Slate and leave it at that, we have been milking the magic world of the Internet for all its worth. Why limit a story to mere words? What about pictures and videos and weird Tweets and scary Facebook wall posts that bring texture to the story and bring the characters to life? With that in mind, we found real (and really awesome) teenagers to play our characters. Here's a picture:




Pretty, right? Expect to get to know these faces really well over the course of this book.

Without further ado, this is the Slate page that will host the chapters.

Here is Natalie's Facebook page--well worth "liking" so you can follow when weird things start happening on it.

Natalie's Twitter page is here.
Fiona's (the vampire writer) Twitter page is here.
Natalie's best friend Jenna tweets here.
James (the vampire model) tweets here.
And Fiona's loving sister Tilly uses this Twitter page.

Natalie and Jenna post Youtube videos here. Here's a sample video that shows them getting ready for the audition that will change their lives.




Now YOU can help make our great experiment in Internet fiction even more amazing. There is an upcoming scene that has a missing detail. We need to come up with a funny title for a YA book that's about vampires and field hockey. Again, we are desperately seeking A TITLE FOR A YA BOOK ABOUT VAMPIRES AND FIELD HOCKEY. Please write in your suggestions in the comments section. The winner will be chosen in a week and featured in MY DARKLYNG--if your answer is selected, it'll be like the story is actually winking at you from the screen.

I know this is all a bit much to wrap your head around. Sorry for any confusion--just read the first installment and take it from there. Please please post comments or send us emails telling us how you're finding the series. We can be reached by my website.

And if you find yourself feeling afraid, don't say I didn't warn you!

your humble hacker,
Lauren Mechling

Guest Post: How Books Can Influence Writers

As Mistwood Week continues here at The Book Cellar, Leah Cypress has kindly written a guest post on how books can influence writers. Here's what she has to say:

Writers are also readers, and one of the issues we grapple with is that of influence. For example, let’s say you’re writing a retelling of a well-known fairy tale. Do you read all the other retellings of that fairy tale, to make sure your own is original? Or do you avoid even the summaries of those other stories, to make sure your own retelling is not unduly influenced by theirs?

This is something I’m thinking about, because I recently started writing a book about two magically-linked sisters, one of whom lives only in the other’s reflections. A few months ago, I was browsing the deals room at a science-fiction convention and I saw a used copy of Jane Yolen’s Sister Light, Sister Dark.

I stopped short. I read that book in high school, and I loved it. I still remember exactly where I was sitting when I finished it – on the floor of my bedroom with my back to the radiator. What I do not remember is anything specific about the plot. Except that it was about two magically-linked sisters, one of whom lives only in reflections.

I bought the book, and it is now sitting on a shelf while I decide whether to read it. On the one hand, I don’t want my own book to be unduly influenced by Jane Yolen’s masterpiece. On the other hand… let’s face it, it probably already is. Maybe I should read the book so I can at least be aware of the extent of that influence. What if I finish my book and it turns out to be a word-for-word duplicate of Sister Light, Sister Dark? Or – which is more likely -- a pasty, inadequate imitation?

This led me to think about Mistwood, and about the book that without question was the biggest influence on it: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I watched the movie version of The Last Unicorn for the first time when I was about seven years old, and approximately twice a year ever since. I loved it so much that until this year, I didn’t read the book because I was afraid it would “ruin” the movie (and yes, I know the book came first; and yes, that’s kind of ridiculous; and yes, the book turned out to be even better than the movie). I know all the songs by heart. When I was bored in school, I would sometimes play the entire movie in my head, from beginning to end. On my wedding day, I walked down the aisle to the tune of the theme song.

Then I wrote a book that (a) starts with two men riding into an enchanted forest inhabited by a supernatural creature; (b) traps that supernatural creature in the form of a human girl; (c) brings that supernatural creature into a castle full of dark secrets; and (d) confronts her with a good prince who had a bad father.

What amazes me is that I actually didn’t notice this until after I had sold the book. One day I was revising the manuscript based on my editor’s suggestions and writing a new scene in which an apparently defenseless girl faces down a powerful sorcerer, who throws a magical attack at her that turns to smoke and fades away. I wrote the first draft of the scene, read it over, and thought, “Ooooooh. Right.”

(Those of you who have read Mistwood and watched The Last Unicorn know exactly what I mean. Those of you who haven’t… well, I guess you had better go do that right away. Mistwood goes on sale this week… I’m just saying…)

In retrospect, I’m glad it happened that way. If I had been aware of what I was doing as I wrote, I would have been so intimidated by the idea of comparison to The Last Unicorn that it probably would have frozen me. And while I don’t think Mistwood is in any way comparable to The Last Unicorn, I do have a fond belief that it possesses a little bit of that same sense of magic and wonder. And that’s something I can’t plan; that’s something where I have to let my subconscious do the work.

So I’ve decided not to read Sister Light, Sister Dark for now. Whatever subconscious influence it has on my writing can only improve it. And when I’m finished, that’s when I’ll read Sister Light, Sister Dark and discover exactly how much influence there was and how it played out. It’s a little bit of a risk, but I think it’s a risk worth taking.

-------------------

Thank you Leah! :)

Don't forget to visit Leah on the web at www.leahcypress.com. You can also find her on twitter here

Traveling To Teens Tour: Guest Post with Kitty Keswick

Today, Kitty Keswick is here with a guest post about high school! Kitty Keswick is the author of Freaksville, which comes out tomorrow!

Here's a bit about Freaskville:
High school is hard enough when you’re normal. There’s peer pressure, book reports, the in crowd and the enormous zit that has a life of its own. Having a family whose skeletons in the closet lean toward the paranormal is not a topper on anyone’s list. Sophomore Kasey Maxwell is busy juggling the typical teen angst. Add visions, ghosts and hairy four-legged monsters into the mix and you get FREAKSVILLE. It’s a wonder Kasey has survived.

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick Gillie Godshall consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new waters, a lead in a play, a haunted theater…and into the arms of the Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?


High School equals Freaksville

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times… Hmm, I wonder if Charles Dickens was describing high school?

My teen years weren’t exactly a horror story…

I grew up in a small town in central California, where cows and fog were in the majority. The town has changed a lot. Now the cow-patty fields hold a Target, Kohl’s, and Borders books.

I was average, I think. I enjoyed some aspects of high school: yearbook and speech and debate. The cool thing about speech was the tournaments. We spent the weekend away from home in hotels and had a lot of fun. I plead the fifth on how a fake pink flamingo ended up in my possession.

I hated math class and counted the hours until it was over. Cried my eyes out over crushes gone bad. Thank God for Corey Hart on the boom box… Nope, we didn’t have iPods back in the dark ages.

I had a wonderful group of friends; some I’m still friends with. I think that’s what made high school bearable. Without them, well, I’d be in Freaksville.

Kasey Maxwell, my heroine in the novel Freaksville, has a great support system in her BFF Gillie Godshall. The two are cut from the same cloth in many ways—sparkly and fuchsia, maybe even trimmed with faux fur—even though Gillie towers over Kasey!

Friends make our lives richer. Without them our worlds would be a darker place. Kasey wouldn’t have as much inner strength without Gillie. Gillie is the researcher of the group, the one who provides Kasey with the info she needs to tackle the ghosts and the furry beasts…and even the British hottie who catches Kasey’s eye. When I wrote Freaksville, one of the first scenes that came to me was one where Gillie and Kasey were hanging out discussing how hot the guys from the TV show Supernatural are. It originally started out as a discussion of Spike vs. Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but to make it more up to date, I changed it to Supernatural.

The way the girls laughed and munched on Oreo cookies and a plethora of other junk food was so real, the scene solidified their friendship in my mind. I ended up trimming a lot of that scene down to the essence, but still it served as the backbone of Kasey and Gillie’s friendship.

I didn’t base Freaksville on real people or events, but I did draw from my life experiences, as all authors do. Ironically, I use to tell werewolf tales in high school. Some things never change.


Thank you so much for stopping by Kitty! You can visit her on the web at: http://www.kittykeswick.com/. Also, you can check out her blog Wolfy Chicks - which is a blog shared by her and Judith Graves (whose novel, Under My Skin, comes out in March).

Guest Post with LM Preston author of Explorer X - ALPHA

Today we have LM Preston, the author of Explorer X - Alpha here with a guest post about Dreaming Big! Explorer X - Alpha hits shelves this February! Watch for my review closer to the release date!

Here's a bit about LM Preston!

LM. Preston was born and raised in Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. With a thirst for knowledge she attended college at Bowie State University, and worked in the IT field as a Techie and Educator for over sixteen years. She started writing science fiction under the encouragement of her husband who was a Sci-Fi buff and her four kids. Her first published novel, Explorer X - Alpha was the beginning of her obsessive desire to write and create stories of young people who overcome unbelievable odds. She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.

HOW TO DREAM BIG

Dreaming big is something we do most when we are children. Yet, when we hit the teenaged years, our dreams have gotten so beat up that we start to ‘Dream Safely’ or not at all.

For me, growing up in the inner city with teenaged parents, I was counted out before I even started. In order to persevere, I had to have a spirit for survival in order to catapult me to the person I am today. Most people, who knew me, would meet me and never grasp the struggles I had growing up. Truly, I didn’t grasp them because I always saw the glass as half full, yet it could get empty if I didn’t hustle to make something happen. I never allowed myself to stay down for long. I would talk myself out of it by looking in the mirror and cheering myself on while forcing a smile on my face.

Dreaming big, is taking your dreams, and mapping them into reality then talking yourself out of moments of depression to push through no matter what. No matter how many times people tell you that you can’t, you smile then say ‘I will’ and make up another roadway to your success.

Here are my steps for Dreaming Big:

KNOW THY SELF AND LOVE YOURSELF

Dreaming big starts with taking time to get to know the person you are turning into, and the person you want to become.

I loved myself at an early age, and knew myself relatively well. Part of the reason why was because I imagined myself as what I wanted to be. I would create versions of myself in my minds eye when I was a kid, while I talked to imaginary friends. I believed that I would be a warrior that killed dragons while I rode in on my unicorn. I even wrote little stories about my imaginary adventures.

When I look closely at my created worlds when I was young, I realized that I created a place in my imagination where I could win. In that world, I never took ‘no’ for an answer. In that world I had revealed a lot about myself.

DREAM, YOU CAN DO IT…DREAM OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BE

First of all, you have to DREAM it in order to ACHIEVE it. That was a motto I learned at a summer camp, and it stuck.

As I got older, and started to listen to the many people in my life that told me that I couldn’t do this or that, I staggered in my dreaming. I started to dream safe dreams. I didn’t allow myself to wish for something beyond what I could see.

Don’t ever do that! You don’t want anyone else to have control over your dreams or aspirations. You own them, and you can make them happen.

PLAN IT! RE-PLAN IT!

All dreams can come true. However, you want to think about how you can do it. You have to have a plan A, B and C. If none of those work, figure out another way.

REJECTION WON’T STOP YOU!

Never let a ‘NO!’ stop you.

Brush it off and move onto plan B. If plan b, c, d, e, f is not working then you need to take a step back and re-evaluate if you are ready to pursue the next plan.

s a writer, our first draft is not complete. I have had to revise, edit, and rewrite my books up to ten times. In the end, it was a better, cleaner, shined up piece of work.

BE WILLING TO REDIRECT

Sometimes you set forth on a dream and find that you are no longer willing to pay the price for that dream.

Redirect – Take what you have learned from that dream and build your next dream.

Unlike most writers, I never dreamed of becoming a writer. I just wrote because I loved it. Some friends told me that I mentioned to them that I wanted to become a writer, but I truly didn’t remember that dream. My original dream was to be a CFO (Chief Financial Officer). I know that’s not exciting, but I really wanted to do that. Okay, to be honest my first dream was to be a teacher, and then it was CFO.

Well like most people, I had unrealized talents. I went to college and became a Financial Analyst. I hated it. I worked as a Financial Analyst for one year, and then I went back to school for my Masters in Information Technology. I loved working in the Information Technology field, and took to it like a fish in water. My recreational writing came to a stand still and I started writing technical documentation and designing large computer systems.

After sixteen years in IT, I decided to apply for a job teaching at the University. I loved teaching. It allowed me to create all of these really cool science fiction type devices for my students to design.

While working as an Engineer, I ran across a published author who I revealed that I wanted to write a book but I didn’t have the time. He encouraged me to write a page a day. After our conversation I put that thought away and did not start writing. Later that same year, my husband suggested that I should write a book, and once I started I couldn’t stop. Explorer X - Alpha, and many more books I have written were created from that small redirected dream.

I’ve had many Big Dreams, and some of them I have reached, others I have not. The pleasure of pursuing those dreams, and the lessons I’ve learned in doing so has given me a fulfilled life. I don’t ever have to look back over my life and say “I wish I would have tried to do that.”

You only ever get one life, so don’t be afraid to Dream Big and pursue your dream.

by LM Preston, www.lmpreston.com , Author of EXPLORER X - Alpha