Contest!!!

Okay. I'm doing it. My first contest.

I've got two ARCs and matching t-shirts for MONSTER HIGH by Lisi Harrison, author of the Clique Series (audiobooks of her already published books available through Audible).

Here's the deal:

To enter, leave a comment about what kind monster you would choose to be...vampire, werewolf, zombie, demon, Loch Ness...whatever you want. Or even make up something.

<50 comment means I only give out one book/t-shirt set this round. >50 comments means I'll give away both sets.

The contest will end Saturday July 3rd. At noon.


I do want more followers (of course I want more followers), but I'm not going to require that to get free books. Just know that I do have around seventy pounds worth of books to hand out, including:

GIRL PARTS, SHADOW HILLS, MATCHED, REVOLUTION, PERFECT CHEMISTRY, DELIRIUM, GUARDIAN OF THE GATE, ASCENDANT, SAPPHIQUE, MONSTER HIGH, CLOCKWORK ANGEL and many more.

So, it might be worth following to make sure you don't miss anything.

Audiobook of the Week

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks

E. Lockhart

Frankie enters her second year of boarding school a new girl. Seniors she hung out with the year before with her sister don’t even recognize her, but one likes what he sees. He calls her adorable and eventually his girlfriend, but Frankie knows he’s hiding something...membership to a male-only secret society that her father belonged to when he attended the school. Frankie decides to infiltrate that world and stir things up a bit.

As a reader:

I love how the book explores the theme of seeing and breaking the unwritten rules that bind us, especially as girls/women. Though I do think the sexual conflict between the most popular senior boy and his inexperienced sophomore girlfriend could have been handled in a more believable way without taking away from these broader themes.  

As a writer:

I also appreciated, to my surprise, the strong but unidentified narrator of this book. The author took some risks I’d advise most would-be writers not to take, but E. Lockhart is established and (I’m convinced) talented enough to pull it off.

If you like this you might also like:

The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things and Vegan Virgin Valentine- Carolyn Mackler

Viola in Reel Life- Adriana Trigiani

Peace, Love and Baby Ducks- Lauren Myracle

Looking for Alaska- John Green

Free Audiobook Downloads

Shelli at Market My Words let me know about free audiobook downloads offered through the Audiobook Community. YALSA (YA Library Services Association) has more info about the YA offerings here:

http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2010/06/01/psyched-about-sync-free-audiobooks/

Audiobook of the Week

Fragile Eternity-Melissa Marr

In this sequel to Wicked Lovely, Aislinn (pronounced like Ashlyn in the audiobook) is settling in as the reluctant faerie queen of the summer court. She made a deal with her King, Keenan, that they would rule together but not as a couple. That way Aislinn can keep her mortal life, which includes school, her grandmother and her mortal boyfriend, Seth. But deals with faeries never turn out as planned, and Aislynn feels drawn to Keenan despite her love for Seth. Seeing the writing on the eternal wall, Seth decides to try for forever, but his deal with the highest faerie of them all will have consequences none of the rest of them can see clearly.

As a Reader:

I like Aislinn’s struggles to write her own rules about how to be queen. I’m not usually into politics, supernatural or otherwise, but the characters are so strong…all torn by the roles assigned to them verses their personal desires…that I find these books thoroughly enjoyable. This is a to-be-continued ending. Radiant Shadows is out now, but it looks like another companion novel like Ink Exchange, so we may have to wait for more of Seth and Aislynn.

As a writer:

As I’ve said before, I prefer first person in my reading and writing. It’s to the point where head popping and omniscient stuff…even when done on purpose…can pull me out of a story. But if I ever have a story idea that won’t work in first person and/or needs multiple POVs, I'll aim to do close third person as well as Melissa Marr. 


If you like this, you might also like:

Minister's Daughter- Julie Hearn
Keturah and Lord Death- Martine Leavitt
Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle series)- Libba Bray
Valiant- Holly Black
Impossible- Nancy Werlin

Book Expo

BEA. The crowds. The lines. The buzz. And it's all about books. So many books, mostly ARCs, and I plan to give them away on this site. Yes, that's FREE BOOKS. (More on that later)

It was over two weeks ago, and in some ways, I feel like I'm still recovering. The sixteen hour days. The endless rushing. The aching feet. And the commutes into NYC that ended with hauling at least seventy pounds of books down four flights of stairs through the subway and port authority (Luckily, I only had to do three steps up).


As my guides, I had Shana Silver who provided an hour by hour priority list, heavy on the YA. Denise Jaden, who introduced us to some of her fellow debut authors from 10'ers. Shelli Johannes-Wells who offered much-needed marketing advice to me, the newbie blogger. And Jen Hayley who helped fill in our wait times with commiserating stories about being on submission and lively talk about books.

Well, we all talked about books. And I learned that, despite listening to around 150 audiobooks a year, I lose out on a lot of new releases and debut writers since they don't come out in audio right away...now I have seventy pounds worth of books that will help me solve that dilemma :)

I got to meet Kody Keplinger, whose incredible book, THE DUFF, was the first one I read out of my stash. I'm keeping my signed copy, but I managed to snag a few extras to give away on here. I also got a signed audiobook (MP3-CD) of THE RED PYRAMID, Rick Riordan's new series, which I'll also be giving away.  Other contests will include GIRL PARTS, SHADOW HILLS, MATCHED, REVOLUTION, PERFECT CHEMISTRY, DELIRIUM, GUARDIAN OF THE GATE, ASCENDANT, SAPPHIQUE, MONSTER HIGH, CLOCKWORK ANGEL and many more.

I met bloggers, Amy Reads and Bloody Bookaholic and chatted with the very sweet 10'er author, Holly Cupula, whose book TELL ME A SECRET comes out June 22nd. Most important, I got to meet my wonderfully amazing agent Suzie Townsend in person for the first time.

I want to thank Critique Circle, the writer's organization that got me into BEA (I still owe them a discussion thread, which I'll get to soon). I met Shana and Denise through this supportive group and would encourage writers of any experience level to check it out.

Audiobook of the Week

Cupcake-Rachel Cohn

Cyd Charisse is about to take on the Big Apple in a big way…or not. Skipping her culinary class to scope out guys in Central Park while she pines for her true love, Shrimp (see also, Gingerbread and Shrimp) may not seem like the best way to make a new, grownup life for herself, but somehow she stumbles into one anyway. Then Shrimp appears, back from surfing in New Zealand, to mess up all her non-laid plans.

As a Reader:

I love Cyd (Cee Cee) with her brass talk, unconventional family and quirky friends. Her takes on NYC and the bi-coastal contrast of settings are great. And from what I’ve seen, the city is still a little cupcake crazy.

As a Writer:

I prefer plots (like this one) that are a journey rather than the relentless goal-seeking quest most plot-writing advice will tell you to do. A nagging little part of me says this is a sign I need to improve my plot writing skills but another part argues that this is a more natural way to tell a story. To me, believable and likable characters can flounder around, take detours, change their minds and sometimes just aren’t sure what they want. And for some, what they want ends up not being what’s best for them. 

If you like this, you might also like:

Gingerbread, Shrimp- Rachel Cohn
Soul Enchilada-David Macinnis Gill  
Liar- Justine Larbalestier
Looking for Alaska- John Green
King Dork- Frank Portman