Debut Author Challenge (and FREE ARCS)

I signed up a while ago, put their icon and my blog then sort of forgot about it.

The challenge is to read twelve debut authors in the year. As an audiobook listener this is tough since most debut authors don't come out in audio until the book is wildly successful.

This keeps me from supporting debut authors as much as I should, especially since I'd very much like to be one myself.

So, I'm going to share the only two debut books I've read so far. Then I have some Free ARCS of one, THE DUFF, to share with those who can give me recommendations on who to read next.




This book, DESIGNATED UGLY FAT FRIEND, is about a girl who learns about herself through a seemingly dysfunctional relationship. It comes out Sep. 7th, and will be available in audio the end of Oct. I read it right after BEA, and it is so worth all the hype.





I read LOSING FAITH before the author sold it, as Denise Jaden is one of my wonderful critique partners. But I'm not just promoting this because my name is in the acknowledgments (which it is, BTW). I love Denise's writing style. She says so much with so few words, which is always my goal when writing. Plus, this one has grief, mystery, romance and a cult. What more could you ask for?

Now, as I said, I have a few FREE ARCS of  THE DUFF to give out to those who give me debut author recommendations of where to read from here. I'll pick the ones that sound most promising, and send the ARCS to them. I also have signed LOSING FAITH bookmarks for anyone else who helps me out in getting to my twelve books by the end of the year.

What debut authors do you recommend?

Audiobook Review

Incarceron- Catherine Fisher

A prince lost in a prison that is a world unto itself. The warden’s daughter living in a prison of conventions where she will be forced to marry a man she does not love. Both have keys that link them together and could be the means of their escape.

As a Reader:

It took me a few chapters to get into the story. It would have been even harder if I hadn’t known and liked the premise before I started. Otherwise, I loved the dark Alice in Wonderland/Big Brother feel of the prison, the multi-world aspects, and the themes of prisons and what it means to be free.

As a Writer:

I feel I’ve become oversensitive to clichés. After all, it's the lost prince and the legend, Sapphique, serving as part prophecy/part map, that makes this book clearly fall into the Fantasy genre. The overdependence on coincidences also stood out to me, but having the two keys fall into the right hands at the right time not only makes the story but adds to the fantasy elements. Cliché, to me, means overdone, but at what point a certain element starts to feel overdone is subjective for different readers, writers and (it seems) the publishing world. Also, readers do want familiar elements, so I try to aim for familiar with a twist. I do shy away from most coincidences, preferring to build in enough believable backstory to make situations seem more logical than coincidental.

If you like this, you might also like:

The Maze Runner- James Dashner
Hunger Games and Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins
The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson series)- Rick Riordon
Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr- Christopher Paolini

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.

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.