Summer Giveaway/Hop

Don't forget to enter my other giveaways too:

Lazy Days of Summer (ends August 1st)

A giveaway of Susan Dennard's SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY (ends August 2)

A giveaway of Kristen-Paige Madonia's FINGERPRINTS OF YOU (begins August 3)

The Giveaway:

One lucky winner can choose any one of the following novels:

Crash: Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude's everything she knows she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart.

Insurgent:  One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Easy:  A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

City of Lost Souls:  This Barnes & Noble exclusive edition includes a letter to Jace from his father!

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon. Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Until I Die:  I wish there was only today, just right now, and no forever.

It seems fitting that I fell in love in Paris, the most beautiful city in the world. And if I pretend, I can almost believe that my life is normal and everyone I care about is safe.

But as long as I’m with Vincent, “normal” doesn’t exist. Gorgeous, charming, and witty, he’s everything you could ask for in a boyfriend—but his destiny is so much more.

Even more terrifying than his destiny are his dangerous enemies, enemies who will kill for immortality. How are Vincent and I supposed to be together forever if we’re always in danger?

I know I’ll do whatever it takes—even if it means lying to the people I love—to fight against a fate that is trying to tear us apart.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Monday Muse: Cavo - "Thick As Thieves" - Official Video

More heavy, exciting stuff! I will be featuring this music for the next few weeks...I'm coping with moving right now. :p

Feature Friday: Susan Dennard

If you are looking for the Lazy Days of Summer YA Giveaway/Hop, please go here.

Today, we have the fabulous and friendly, Ms. Susan Dennard!

Susan is a reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She used to be a marine biologist, but now she writes novels–and not novels about fish, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues. She lives in Germany with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, twitter, or facebook. Her debut, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available from HarperTeen on July 24, 2012!



  

Interview:

A.L.:

What advice would you give to a budding author?

Susan:

Dream big and never, ever give up! So much of publishing is timing and luck, so even when things seem slow or frustrating, you have to just keep on pushing. You'll reach those dreams one day! Heck, if I can do it, anyone can!

A.L.:

Something Strange and Deadly has such an interesting premise, where did you get the inspiration for it?

Susan:

Oh, it's such a silly answer (I always feel like a cliche goon when I respond). The idea for SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY actually came from a dream! You know those dreams you have that leave you feeling changed when you awaken? Well, this was one of THOSE dreams, and in it, I had an older brother who was missing. I knew I would do anything to find him--even join that weird team of outcasts (yes! This really was actually in my dream!).

I took that initial idea and "fleshed it out" by finding a setting I thought would be interesting and provide a great source of conflict: 1876 Philadelphia, when the first American World's Fair took place. And because I love being scared, I thought I'd throw in a paranormal twist. I literally scanned my bookshelves for something that scared me, and when my eyes settled on Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, I knew I'd found it: walking corpses, murderous ghosts, and necromancy. His books always give me the shivers! Ultimately, my take on necromancy is very different from Nix's amazing and mind-bogglingly clever approach, but the initial idea was taken from his creepy stories! And best of all, the minute I settled on ghosts and corpses, it all just CLICKED. My method for building the setting might have been roundabout, but at the end of the day, it worked out perfectly. ;)

A.L.:

Did you hit any snags while writing the book?

Susan:

Oh absolutely! There were so many days I wanted to throw in the towel. By the fifth revision of SS&D, I was downright SICK of it. By the tenth, I wanted to gouge my eyes out with staples. BUT...I also knew deep down that this was The Book--the one I wanted to share with the world. The story I needed to tell. So, after a deep breath, I'd dive back in.

A.L.:

Who is your favorite character in Something Strange and Deadly and why?

Susan:

I'm not sure I can pick just one favorite! In book 1, I suppose I could say Daniel--he has so many secrets and so much guilt that guide his life and emotions. His character really changes as the series progresses, and I love that about him. Of course, Eleanor, Jie, and Joseph also grow and change with each book, so... I can't choose just ONE!

A.L.:

So, you absolutely love reading. What’s your favorite book and why?

Susan:

I can't pick just one!!! IMPOSSIBLE! However, if I had to pick only one book to bring with me on a desert island (ha! See how I totally changed your question! Sneaky, eh?), I would pick JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL. That book is so expansive, so creative, and soooooooo magical--I've read it three times, yet the 900 page tome still calls me back for another reading!

A.L.:

Is it hard writing a historical piece?

Susan:

Yes, it has certainly been harder than the other books I've written--but only in the added research and the restrictions that go along with writing in a historical setting. The plot and characters weren't any harder than other stories, but getting the setting right sure was! I spent so much time researching 1876 Philadelphia before I even set my hands on the keyboard--and the same amount of time studying 1876 Paris before I started book 2. Then, as I wrote, I would constantly hit snags or gaps in my research--such as what was the proper type of carriage for a trip to the opera versus a ride in the country?

Even though I meticulously researched details like that, not all of them made it into the book. This is another difficult thing about writing historicals--finding the balance between how much information is Just Enough to give the feel of the time without bogging down the reader.

A.L.:

We hear you’ve got a crippling addiction to cookies…What’s the absolute, best flavor cookie possible? The one you just can’t say no to?

Susan:

I think...it's a tie between snickerdoodles and ginger molasses cookies. I love how chewy and rich--yet simple--those cookies are!

A.L.:

What are you working on now?

Susan:

Right now, I'm working on the series' final book (#3), which takes Eleanor and the gang through the south of France and across Egypt. Book 2--A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY--is at copyedits, meaning it's "finished" (at least all the hard stuff is!)--so even though book 3 (which isn't titled yet) isn't due until December, I'd like to get it wrapped up so I can start working on new worlds and characters!

A.L.:

So, you’re trained as a marine biologist, do you think you’ll ever combine your two passions (writing and marine biology, not cookies) and write a book about the ocean? Or maybe a marine biologist character?

Susan:

I'm not sure I'll ever go back to marine biology--at least outside of a hobby, surface love. But I've definitely considered the possibility of a marine biologist character! Or just a scientist character...or perhaps a book set at sea or in the Arctic (where I did my research). Write what you know--isn't that the old adage? One day, I think I will. :)

The Giveaway:
Susan is giving away a signed copy of her debut novel, SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY!

Something Strange and Deadly: (Formerly titled The Spirit-Hunters)

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

How to Enter:
Regulars:  Contest entry options have been changed, please make sure you re-read entry options.
Enter  the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow  the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may  have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner  (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This  contest is open to international entrants.

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Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway/Hop

I'm also giving away a signed copy of Susan Dennard's SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY on my Feature Friday page, don't forget to enter that too! CLICK HERE.

The Giveaway:
One lucky winner can choose from any one of the books below!

Such a Rush:  A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.  When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.

Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they're determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.

The Prisoner of Cell 25: The start of an action-packed teen series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans.

To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans introduces a character whose risk-filled exploration marks the beginning of a riveting new series. With only his powers, his wits, and his friends to protect him, Michael will need all his strength to survive….

Daughter of Smoke and Bone:  Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Abarat:  “I know that many of you here have waited years for this Hour,” Mater Motley said, using that voice that, though it was barely conversational in volume, was somehow heard everywhere. “The waiting is over. Tomorrow there will be no dawn. Only midnight, absolute and eternal.”

And so begins a new chapter in the epic story of sixteen-year-old Candy Quackenbush and her journeys through the world of the Abarat, where every hour is an island in one eternal day, and nothing is as it seems.

Candy travels through the Abarat from island to island and across the sea with an unlikely band of friends: the escaped prisoner Malingo the Geshrat, the quarrelsome John Brothers, who all share the same body but never the same opinion, and the many other colorful characters they meet along the way.

The problem is that trouble finds Candy wherever she goes. And soon she discovers a secret plot, masterminded by the diabolical Mater Motley, who is obsessed with becoming Empress of the Islands. Her method is simple. She will darken the skies, putting out the suns, moons, and stars. She will bring absolute midnight.

The Faerie Ring:  The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. They survive by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Monday Muse: Dead by April - Within My Two Faced

Today's a heavy day! I enjoy the unholy union that is this song, LOL.

Feature Friday: S.J. Kincaid

For today's interview we have debut author, S.J. Kincaid, who is super sweet and totally dedicated to being a writer!

S. J. Kincaid was born in Alabama, grew up in California, and attended high school in New Hampshire. She also interned for a politician in Washington, DC, and received degrees from universities in Illinois and Ohio, but it was while living beside a haunted graveyard in Edinburgh, Scotland, that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Several years, several manuscripts, and several jobs later, Ms. Kincaid now lives outside Chicago, and Insignia is her debut novel.

Interview:

A.L.:

What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

S.J.:

It took me seven manuscripts and hundreds of rejections to get published. Be prepared to persist in the face of repeated failure. The only sure path to failure is to quit.

A.L.:

What’s your favorite book and why?

S.J.:

LEGACY by Susan Kay, a novel about Elizabeth I from birth to death. There's a bit more romance than I like nowadays, but that book had such an incredible impact on my life.

A.L.:

Who is your favorite character in Insignia and why?

S.J.:

Ooh, this is hard to say. I really do love a lot of them. Right now, I'd say Vik.

A.L.:

What gave you the inspiration for Insignia?

S.J.:

I read an article about likely futuristic technological developments. The article mentioned the likelihood that future warfare was mostly going to be conducted by unmanned drones, and it just put this whole idea in my head of two advanced powers fighting a war remotely, almost like a massive video game, and the idea just grew and grew.

A.L.:

Was it difficult writing a character as cunning, intelligent, and military-oriented as Tom?

S.J.:

Glad you think that! Well, I always wanted Tom to be clever in a very unconventional way-- very quick on the uptake, but entirely without conventional, book learning. There are some instances when the character is very ignorant, others when he's very sharp, and I definitely have to pay attention when I'm writing so I can be sure I'm consistent there. Regarding the military: technically, the kids are civilians, just wards of the military. I mostly did this because I wanted a lot more freedom for setting up their everyday lives. After all, this book is not set so far in the future that I can pull a 'Starfleet' and completely reinvent the military. Therefore, the entire setting of the book is at a place in the 'clasp' of the military, so to speak, and there are some characters who are officers, but it is not an account of anything close to military life.

When it comes to Tom, he begins the story with a very unpredictable, erratic, unstructured life. It made sense to me that he'd be drawn to something on the other extreme, a life far more structured where expectations are clear, etc. Whether he fits inside that rigid structure, well, that's another matter.

A.L.:

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what inspired you to become one?

S.J.:

I always enjoyed writing, but I never planned on it as a primary career. I just didn't think it was a field where you could support yourself without a day job. So far, I've been quite lucky, and quite surprised.

A.L.:

Since there’s not a ton about yourself on the net, we have to ask: If you won a Golden Ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, in what part of the factory would you just have to stop and take a taste?

S.J.:

Ooh, probably at that chocolate river thing.

A.L.:

Since Insignia is mapped out to be a trilogy, we assume you’re working on the next book in the series, but is there anything else that you’re also working on?

S.J.:

When I'm working on something, it kind of takes over my brain. I have room for about one crushing obsession at a time, so although I get plot bunnies from time to time, I just write them down and put them away for later. This series currently owns my brain.

A.L.:

There has always been a lot of discussion about whether it’s difficult to write from the male character’s POV as a female writer. Can you tell us a little bit about how you approached writing Tom? Or wasn’t it different at all?

S.J.:

Hmm. I wrote girls the first five (unpublished) manuscripts, then I switched to boys for the next two because I just needed a change. I've never really given much thought to this-is-a-girl, this-is-a-boy or what attributes I need to emphasize. It's really the character that makes the narrative. The boy character I wrote in the manuscript before this one was a much sweeter, more sensitive kid, so he definitely had a different narrative voice than Tom, who is definitely not the most sensitive person out there. I do think I'd have a tougher time writing a convincing male POV if I wrote in first-person.

A.L.:

Did you hit any snags while writing Insignia? If so, how did you overcome them?

S.J.:

One of the snags was just the balance of characters and their traits.

When I started INSIGNIA, I was just coming off my sixth manuscript about this sweet, sensitive boy, Sam. Sam had this friend and nemesis named Dalton who was wildly confident in his abilities, very cocky, rather dark and just a lot of fun to write. For manuscript seven, I wanted someone closer to Dalton, not Sam, as the main character.

I started writing INSIGNIA and noticed I was slipping back into Sam-mode, and he was so not the right character for this story, so I went too far in the other direction, making Tom far too cocky. My agent loved the story but found Tom absolutely infuriating.

At this time, I had five main characters, not four. Two of them were girls-- one a maladjusted girl who had a bit of a crush on Tom, the other a hyper-intelligent girl who had a thing with Yuri. In both cases, neither of those girls were fleshed out enough in my mind or in the story, so instead of dealing with Tom right away, I made this decision to remove those two girls and create one major, second-only-to-Tom girl character. I used some of the traits of both those girls, but a lot of new elements because this girl was so much more real to me, and she became Wyatt Enslow. As soon as I had Wyatt in the story, it was like things fell into place. Suddenly, Tom worked. He was still cocksure, etc. but there was a lot more that came out when Wyatt was in the story with him.

So... Yeah. That was probably the main snag, just getting those main characters in place, getting their traits right, that sort of thing.

A.L.:

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to publication?

S.J.:

The short story: I wrote seven manuscripts before I got a contract. It definitely broke my heart to let go of some of the old ones, but I feel it happened at the right time. It really was just a matter of persistence and always trying to write a better, bigger story than the previous one.

For the long story, it's all here.

The Giveaway:
For today's giveaway we have a hardcover copy of S.J.'s debut novel, INSIGNIA, to give away to one lucky winner!

Insignia:  More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test, and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War Three. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?

Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid’s futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.


Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Monday Muse: SafetySuit - Someone Like You

A lovely little piece for a Monday morning. I'm beginning to have a heart-crush on Safety Suit!

Feature Friday: Katie McGarry

For this week's Feature Friday we have the lovely Ms. Katie McGarry!

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Her YA novel, Pushing the Limits, will debut with Harlequin Teen on July 31, 2012.

Interview:

A.L.:

What advice would you give to a budding author?

Katie:

Write. Read. Find a great critique group. Never give up.

I began writing because I have characters alive in my mind and stories they demand for me to tell. I love the rush of my fingers tapping against the keys as I delve into a scene that’s been begging to be released on the page. Try to never lose that joy.

A.L.

Where did you get the inspiration to write Pushing the Limits?

Katie:

I found the inspiration to write Pushing the Limits when I was free writing for another story. I thought it would be fun to write a scene with my characters in therapy. Halfway into the scene, I realized that my heroine’s voice had changed. That new voice became Echo.

I gave Echo room to play and when I asked myself who would be the best person to bring her out of her shell, Noah was created.

A.L.:

Did you hit any snags while writing the book?

Katie:

Yes. About three-quarters of the way into the book I had originally planned for Noah to do a certain something. No matter what type of scene I wrote, I could not force Noah to participate in what I had plotted.

Once I realized that Noah wanted control of his own destiny, I replotted with his plans in mind. This meant I had to backtrack and rewrite about ten thousand words.

A.L.:

Who is your favorite character in Pushing the Limits and why?

Katie:

I absolutely love Echo and Noah, but I have to say that Isaiah (Noah’s best friend) is a guilty favorite of mine. One, he’s gorgeous in that tattooed rough type of way. Two, he’s loyal and would defend a friend to the end. Three, he means what he says and says what he means. Four, he’s devoted. This is the type of guy a girl would love to date.

A.L.:

What’s your favorite book and why?

Katie:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This is my personal favorite and an absolutely amazing story. The story encompasses friendships, family, and loyalty. The main character tears at your heart. This was the first story I ever stayed up all night to read. It’s the first book I ever read over and over again until the cover fell off. It’s the first time I ever read something that, for a few seconds, made me stop feeling completely alone.

A.L.:

It seems that most YA authors are focusing on paranormal, dystopian, and futuristic novels, did you purposely chose to write a contemporary piece or did it just kind of fall in your lap?

Katie:

Pushing the Limits sort of fell into my lap. I love the other genres that you mentioned above, but once I found Noah and Echo I was hooked. Their story was pretty complicated and I think I would have been overwhelmed if I had tried to write them within another genre.

A.L.:

If you could meet one dead famous person, who would it be? What one question are you burning to ask them?

Katie:

Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. I would love to know what she thought really happened between Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara after the story ended.

A.L.:

So, you love reality television. What’s your favorite show of all time and whose your favorite character?

Katie:

Hands down: Big Brother. I watch it religiously every summer. I don’t have a favorite character but I do enjoy anyone who has a great attitude, cracks jokes, and I’m a sucker for a show-mance!

A.L.:

What are you working on now?

Katie:

I’m currently working on revisions for Dare You To. This story follows Beth, a secondary character from Pushing the Limits. Dare You To is scheduled to be released in 2013.

A.L.:

So, you have a ballad written for Echo, the main female character in Pushing the Limits. Is Angela McGarry a family member?

Katie:

Yes. Angela is my sister-in-law and friend. Angela is an extremely talented song writer and singer and she brilliantly captured Echo in the form of a song. You can check out a sample of the song, Can You, at http://bit.ly/N2VDQX and buy it on itunes at http://bit.ly/NsxjHn .

A.L.:

Do you think Echo and you have a lot in common?

Katie:

Yes and no. While I’ve never experienced anything to the level of what Echo experiences in Pushing the Limits, I have experienced the grief of losing a loved one and I also had a repressed memory. I was bitten by a dog when I was in second grade and repressed the memory until I was in college.

Once I found Echo’s personality, I funneled some of my experiences and emotions into her.

The Giveaway:
 Katie's going to send and autographed copy of her debut novel, Pushing the Limits, to one lucky winner.  You'll have to wait a couple of weeks to get this special prize cause it's not even out yet!  But it's totally worth the wait!

Pushing the Limits:  "I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series.

Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to US entrants.

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YA Steampunk Reads

I'm so very late in posting it, but this is the list of YA Steampunk reads that was compiled for the Steampunk YA panel at Steampunk World's Fair 2012.  There aren't links cause I don't have the time or patience for that, but they are all easily found on Goodreads.  If you have any more suggestions or comments on the list, please feel free to leave a comment!

NOTE:  This should be for YA reads only, please don't suggest adult Steampunk books, that's a post for a different day! :D


My list:

Scott Westerfeld: Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath

Kady Cross: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, The Girl in the Steel Corset, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Lia Habel: Dearly, Departed

Leanna Renee Heiber: Darker Still

Cassandra Clare: (The Infernal Devises: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince)

Alison DeLuca: The Night Watchmen Express

Cheri Priest: (The Clockwork Century) Boneshaker, Clementine, Dreadnaught, Ganymede

Arthur Slade: The Hunchback Assignments, The Dark Deeps

Kenneth Oppel: Airborn, Skybreaker

Philip Reeve: (Larklight Series: Lark Light, Starcross, Mothstorm); (Hungry City Chronicles: The Mortal Engine, Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices, A Darkling Plain); (Hungry City Chronicles Prequel:  Fever Crumb, The Web of Air, Scrivener’s Moon)

Philip Pullman: (His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife,  The Amber Skyglass), Sally Lockhart Mysteries

Daniel Walls: The Vyne

D.M. Cornish: (Monster Blood Tattoo) Foudling. Lamplighter, Factotum

Gordon Dahlquist: The Glassbooks of the Dreameaters

Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell : The Barnaby Grimes series; The Edge Chronicles

Jay Lake: Mainspring

Nick Valentino: Thomas Riley

Robin Jarvis: Deathscent

Stephen Hunt: (Jackelian) The Court of the Air; Kingdon Beyond the Waves, Rise of the Iron Moon

Richard Harland: Worldshaker, Liberator

Michael Pryor: Blaze of Glory

James Roy: Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery

Victor Appleton: Tom Swift

Panelist Suggestions:

Mary Robinette Kowal: Shades of Milk and Honey

Shelley Adina: (Magnificent Devices: Lady of Devices, Her Own Devices)

M.K. Hobson: (Veneficas Americana: The Native Star, The Hidden Goddess, The Warlock’s Curse)

David H. Burton: Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure

Fantasy with some Steampunk Elements:

Catherine Fischer: (Incarceron Series: Incarceron, Saphique)

Garth Nix: Keys to the Kingdom

Jeanna DuPrau: City of Ember

Michael Scott: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flammel

Monday Muse: "This Night" music video by Black Lab

If you're looking for the Summer Reads giveaway/hop go here. If you're looking for the Feature Friday giveaway/hop, go here.

Whew, this one is a little late, but here none-the-less. I'd like to share with you my complete and utter love for a band named Black Lab. This song, among many others by this band, is on my Hill Dweller Radio mix which, some of you may know, is a playlist for my first YA novel: Scar-Crossed. It's such a dark and moody piece, but you can't deny the sexiness either! It's the best anthem for that broody male character who always seems to hurt the one he loves. :)

Feature Friday: Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine

This giveaway is part of the Summer Reads giveaway.  You can enter the rafflecopter here or go to the Summer Reads giveaway/hop page (here).  Either way, it's the same rafflecopter entry panel. 

For today's Feature Friday we have Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris!  Together, this husband and wife team write the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels and orchestrate the accompanying anthologies that are part of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences collection.  They even do fun podcasts of the shorts in the anthologies!  You can visit their awesome page here.

Philipa (Pip) Ballantine:  Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Philippa has always had her head in a book. For this she blames her father who thought Lord of the Rings was suitable bedtime reading for an eight year old. At the age of thirteen she began writing fantasy stories for herself.

She first earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Political Science and then a Bachelor of Applied Science in Library and Information Science. So soon enough she found herself working in the magical world of libraries where she stayed for over a decade

Her first professional sale was in 1997, and since then she has gone on to produce mostly novel length fiction. In 2006 she became New Zealand’s first podcast novelist, and she has voiced and produced Weaver’s Web, Chasing the Bard, Weather Child and Digital Magic as podiobooks. Her podcasts have been short listed for the Parsec Awards, and won a Sir Julius Vogel award.

Philippa is the author of the Books of the Order series with Ace- Geist and Spectyr out now, and Wrayth (2012) and Harbinger to follow. She is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series with Tee Morris. Phoenix Rising debuted in May 2011 and The Janus Affair will be out in May 2012. She also has the Shifted World series with Pyr Books, with the first book Hunter and Fox coming in June 2012.

When not writing or podcasting, Philippa loves reading, gardening, and whenever possible traveling. With her husband Tee and her daughter, she is looked after by a mighty clowder of five cats.

Tee Morris:  Tee Morris began his writing career with his 2002 historical epic fantasy, MOREVI The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana. In 2005 Tee took MOREVI into the then-unknown podosphere, making his novel the first book podcast in its entirety. That experience led to the founding of Podiobooks.com and collaborating with Evo Terra and Chuck Tomasi on Podcasting for Dummies and its follow-up, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies. He won acclaim and accolades for his cross-genre fantasy-detective Billibub Baddings Mysteries, the podcast of The Case of the Singing Sword winning him the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama. Along with those titles, Tee has written articles and short stories for BenBella Books’s Farscape Forever: Sex, Drugs, and Killer Muppets, the podcast anthology VOICES: New Media Fiction, BenBella Books’ So Say We All: Collected Thoughts and Opinions of Battlestar Galactica, and Dragon Moon Press’ Podthology: The Pod Complex.

When he is not writing, Tee enjoys life in Virginia alongside Philippa Ballantine, his daughter, and five cats (3 female, 2 males). Considering the male-to-female ratio in his house, Tee understands how General Custer felt near his end.

The Giveaway:

Phoenix Rising:  Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!
Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

The Janus Affair:  Evildoers beware Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents.  Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.

The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.
Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.


How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Reads Giveaway/Hop

This giveaway is running as as part of my Feature Friday giveaway for the following bundle of books!
The Giveaway:

Phoenix Rising:  Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!
Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

The Janus Affair:  Evildoers beware Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain's best-kept secret agents.  Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.

The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.
Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Muse: Cher Lloyd - Want U Back ft. Astro

If you're looking for the FREEDOM TO READ GIVEAWAY/HOP go HERE.

If you're looking for the Feature Friday giveaway of OLDSOUL by Dan Haring go HERE.

Yeah, don't judge me. I actually love this song! It's so teen angst and I double-heart Cher Lloyd's grunting in the background. She sounds like she should be doing the Haka with the New Zealand All Blacks. :)