Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

BALLAD

by Maggie Stiefvater

Fantasy Young Adult
Flux
www.MaggieSteifvater.com

5 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, October 2, 2009



About the Book:

Remember us, so sing the dead, lest we remember you

James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween—the day of the dead—draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul.

Book Trailer:

Check out our exclusive interview with Maggie Stiefvater!

1. A soul-snatching faerie? Sounds like something we should be afraid of! Where'd you get the idea for a character like this?

Actually, I was reading through one of my absolute favorite books, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAIRIES by Katharine Briggs, and I came across the entry for the leanan sidhe -- a fairy that traded creative brilliance for your health.

Yeats spoke about the leanan sidhe too, and the concept of a hungry muse, the idea that creativity could be dangerous, the idea of a tangible threat tied to brilliance -- I loved it. It was a great way to play with two of my favorite things -- faeries and music.

2. Did you study any traditional faerie lore in writing this series or did you make up your own? Or a combination of both?

Definitely a combination. I started with a base of traditional lore and then added and cobbled together other pieces I'd invented or warped -- like the idea of Nuala having to burn every sixteen years.

3. Which is your favorite character in the series to write? Which is your least favorite? Or maybe I should say, which is easiest to write? Which is most difficult?

James was easiest to write, hands down. He has the same sort of humor as me and is incredibly complex and rewarding. Nuala was trickier. She would've been easy to write in a really two dimensional way and I was trying to keep her more nuanced.

4. You have a lot of fabulous things going on: This series and the bestselling *Shiver * series. How do you balance your time and creative energy between the two? Do you ever feel drawn to one world while you're on deadline to finish a book in another?

I definitely do feel torn between them, usually after working on one of the books for awhile. I start longing to write a book with more folklore (if I'm writing a Shiver book), or start dying for more realism (if I'm writing a Lament book). My schedule after the Shiver trilogy is done sort of perfectly balances folklore and realism books, one and then the other and then back again.

5. What's up for you next? Will you continue to write books for both series? Will you start a new series?

There is definitely new stuff in the works that I can't talk about. And I don't think I'm done with the Lament gang quite yet. After Forever, the third Shiver book, I'm working on something top secret that involves blood and beaches and kissing.

About the Author:

Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have revolved around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical writer (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists (she's made her living as one or the other since she was twenty-two). Maggie now lives a surprisingly eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, and neurotic dog. Visit her online at: www.MaggieStiefvater.com

**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post, while appreciated, are not used as entry. Thanks!

Goddess Boot Camp - Winners!

TEN lucky winners will be receiving free autographed copies of Oh. My. Gods and Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs!

And here they are...

Oh. My. Gods.
1) Daejione Jones
2) Caroline Chue
3) Autumn Hill
4) Jill Remington
5) Chris Jones



Goddess Boot Camp:
1) Laura Frantz
2) Julie Peterson
3) Liz Paulhus
4) Melissa Stock
5) Krisztina Riez


If you didn't win, but still want to read the Oh. My. Gods. series, you can order your own copy of the first book on Amazon by clicking here!

Or find it in our Free Book Friday Amazon Store!

Another great author is coming up in less than 24 hours so be sure to check back!

Oh. My. Gods. series by Tera Lynn Childs

OH. MY. GODS. and GODDESS BOOT CAMP

by Tera Lynn Childs

Commercial Young Adult

Dutton
www.TeraLynnChilds.com

10 Signed Copies (5 of each!!!) will be given away on Friday, September 25, 2009!

About Oh. My. Gods.

When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and plans to move to an island in the Aegean Sea, Phoebe’s well-plotted senior year becomes ancient history. Now, instead of enjoying a triumphant track season and planning for college with her best friends, Phoebe is trying to keep her head above water at the überexclusive Academy. If it isn’t hard enough being the new kid in school, Phoebe’s classmates are all descendents of the Greek gods! When you’re running against teammates with superpowers, dealing with a stepsister from Hades, and nursing a crush on a boy who is quite literally a god, the drama takes on mythic proportions!

*Winner of the 2009 RITA awards for Best First Book!!!

About Goddess Boot Camp

Phoebe, who recently discovered she’s a descendant of Nike (the goddess, not the shoe), is finding that supernatural powers come with a crazy learning curve. Her stepfather, headmaster of the Academy for descendants of the Greek gods, has enrolled her at Dynamotheos Development Camp—aka Goddess Boot Camp—with a bunch of ten-year-olds for the summer. Embarrassing as that is, hopefully it’ll help her gain control over her powers in time to pass the test of the gods, continue training hard enough to qualify for the Pythian Games, and enjoy her godly boyfriend, Griffin, all while avoiding the ultimate mistake of accidentally misusing powers.

It’s another fast-paced myth-inspired heroine’s quest that’s sure to bring out the goddess in anyone.

Read our exclusive interview with Tera Lynn Childs!

1) Descendent from the Gods? What a great concept! Where did you get the idea?

From the mafia. No, seriously. Back in 2005 there was a reality show on A&E called Growing Up Gotti, about the mob boss John Gotti's daughter and grandsons. (It was insane, btw.) I was playing around with title ideas, tweaking reality tv show names, and came up with Growing Up Godly. I loved the title immediately. From there it was just a matter of figuring out the story that fit. Who was growing up (enter Phoebe) and what did godly mean (descendants of the Greek gods)? We ended up changing the title so readers didn't think it was religious fiction, but I love the title Oh. My. Gods. even more!!

2) Did you have to do much research on Greek mythology to get the story just right?

Some. But I've been in love with mythology and all things ancient since forever, so I already knew a lot of the details I needed in the book. I spent more time researching stuff like travel from California to Greece, hydrofoil ferries, the number of steps on the Eiffel Tower, and the amazing beauty of the Greek islands (sadly, not in person). The mythology research I had to do usually came up on a case-by-case basis as I wrote. Like figuring out what god would expect his descendants to be doctors when I realized that Troy's family was pressuring him to abandon music for medicine. But that definitely wasn't work. I love research.

3) What fictional character (excluding your own!) would you most like to have coffee with?

Oh, I already get to have coffee with my characters, so I don’t need any more time with them. The girl whose head I'd really like to get inside right now is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. She has some serious skills and the heart of a warrior, but she's also someone dedicated—to the point of self-sacrifice—to protecting the people she loves. You've got to admire someone like that. Also, she might let a few details slip about the third book and I'm dying that I have to wait an entire year to learn how everything turns out!

4) As writers, we all love to procrastinate. What’s your favorite procrastination activity?

Favorite? You mean I have to pick just one? I think I have three main means of procrastinating. 1) Shopping. Especially at Target. If every other store on the planet disappeared, but there were still Targets, I'd be okay with that. 2) Cleaning. My apartment tends to have areas of perpetual mess, but as soon it's time to work I get suddenly motivated to do the dishes, run Wilbur the Roomba, and dust the blinds. 3) Web/graphic design. I love designing bookmarks and web pages and character MySpaces. This is the trickiest one because, in a delusional world, it can be seen as productive. It's promotion, right? Really, between those three it's a wonder I ever get anything done.

5) I read you have a new book coming out…about mermaids! How cool! Can you tell us a little bit about that?

I am so very excited about this book. (Not that I wasn't excited about my other books, you understand.) It's called Forgive My Fins and it's about a half-mermaid princess who goes to high school on the mainland and all the trouble that brews up when she accidentally bestows her magical first kiss on the wrong boy. Not only have I been slightly obsessed with mermaids all my life (I used to be a competitive swimmer and dreamed of discovering I was secretly a mermaid), but I'm also excited because I started this book three long years ago. It's been waiting a long time to see the light of day. We sent it out to a select group of librarians and booksellers for advance feedback and it's all been really great. I can't wait to send Lily, Quince, and the rest of the gang out into the world at large.

About the Author:

Tera Lynn Childs is the author of the prequel to Goddess Boot Camp, Oh. My. Gods., and lives in Houston, Texas. She started her writing career as a romance writer, but followed her movie preferences to the teen side of things and discovered YA fiction, where she’s still bringing the romance. Visit her online at: www.TeraLynnChilds.com

**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post, while appreciated, are not used as entry. Thanks!

Crazy Beautiful - Winners!

Two lucky winners will be receiving free autographed copies of Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted!

And here they are...


1) Kristine Livingston
2) Claire DeLucca


Congrats to the winners!


If you didn't win, but still want to read Crazy Beautiful, you can order your own copy of the first book on Amazon by clicking here!

Or find it in our Free Book Friday Amazon Store!

If you haven't already checked out the Free Ugg Boots Giveaway over at Whoogaboots, be sure to check it out by clicking here!

Another great author is coming up in less than 24 hours so be sure to check back!

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

CRAZY BEAUTIFUL

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Commercial Young Adult
Houghton Mifflin
www.LaurenBaratzLogsted.com

2 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, September 18, 2009



About the Book:

In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself.

Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her.

But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering.

Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.

Read our exclusive interview with Lauren Baratz-Logsted!

1) Crazy Beautiful is written from two points of view: Lucius’s and Aurora’s. Which character was easier to write and why?

Oddly enough, Lucius’s. I’d never channeled a 15-year-old boy before but once I started, his voice came through loud and clear. He’s got a very distinctive way of speaking to the reader and I have to say, even if he’s my own creation, he started getting to me on an emotional level. Aurora’s more difficult to write because she’s almost the straight man of the piece, as it were.

2) If your main character, Aurora could give one piece of advice to teen girls, what would it be?

She’d take advantage of you, piggybacking one piece of advice onto another in a compound sentence. She’d say, “Try to look past people’s surfaces, whether it be beautiful, or flawed to the person beneath; and try to be as kind as you can to others.”

3) This sounds like a very powerful story and it’s gotten tremendous reviews. Where did you get the idea?

I've always liked Beauty & the Beast best of all the Disney-fied fairy tales and, after seeing it on Broadway, concluded the reason it's so successful is that it's the only one where the male lead is more than just mere window dressing to make the female look good; if anything, he's by far the more compelling character. So I decided I wanted to do my own version, focusing on how surface values - Aurora's beauty, distinctive physical features like Lucius's hooks, even rumors - affect how others perceive and treat us, thereby affecting how we perceive and treat the world in return.

4) Your husband is a writer too. How does this affect your relationship? Is it a competitive environment or completely supportive? Do you critique each other’s work?

It’s supportive. My husband Greg Logsted and I have a writing group that meets here every Friday night. We have wine and critique each other’s work. Oh, and our nine-year-old daughter Jackie is a writer too. Together, the three of us created The Sisters 8 series for young readers, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

5) What’s up for your next? Are you working on something new?

It seems like there’s always something new going on, and don’t think I’m not grateful! I've got four new books coming out in 2010. Two more YA: The Education of Bet, due out in April, is set in the Victorian era and is about a 16-year-old girl who impersonates a boy in order to get a proper education; and The Twin's Daughter, due out in the fall and also set in the Victorian era, about a girl whose life is changed forever when she discovers that her gorgeous and wealthy mother has an identical twin who was raised in the poorhouse. The other two books are Books 5 and 6 from The Sisters 8 series for young readers that I mentioned in a previous question, the one I created with Greg and Jackie. Phew!

About the Author:

Lauren Baratz-Logsted has also written Angel’s Choice and Secrets of My Suburban Life. She lives with her family in Danbury, Connecticut. Visit her online at: www.LaurenBaratzLogsted.com

**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post, while appreciated, are not used as entry. Thanks!

Wake - Winners!

Five lucky winners will be receiving free autographed copies of Wake by Lisa McMann!

And here they are...


1) Jason Tong
2) Stephanie Roop
3) Aracely Castaneda
4) Anne-Marie Ducharme
5) Meghan Lloyd



Also! We have a bonus giveaway this week! One free autographed copy of the second book in the series, Fade!

And that winner is...

Bonita Hall

Congrats to the winners!

If you didn't win, but still want to read Wake, you can order your own copy of the first book on Amazon by clicking here!

Or find it in our Free Book Friday Amazon Store!

If you haven't already checked out the Free Ugg Boots Giveaway over at Whoogaboots, be sure to check it out by clicking here!

Another great author is coming up in less than 24 hours so be sure to check back!

Wake by Lisa McMann

WAKE

by Lisa McMann

Paranormal Young Adult
Simon Pulse
www.LisaMcMann.com

5 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, September 11, 2009

A New York Times Bestseller!



We're also giving away one bonus autographed copy of FADE, the second book in the trilogy!



About WAKE:

Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

Read our exclusive interview with Lisa McMann!

1) Where did you get the idea for a character who gets sucked into people’s dreams?

I got the idea from a dream. I dreamed I was inside my husband Matt’s dream, watching what he was dreaming about. I woke up, wrote down the dream thinking it would make a good story, and in the morning it still sounded like a good idea.

2) The dreams you describe in your books are so realistic. They read just like real dreams (strange and disjointed). Were any of the dreams in your book based on your own?

Yes. The main one that came from my own cache of dreams is the nightmare Carrie has in WAKE. That is very close to a recurring nightmare I had when I was a kid. There is another personal dream in the third book, GONE, coming in Feb. It’s the second dream that happens in the book.

3) If you could have dinner with one of your characters who would it be?

Tough question! I’d have to say Captain. I have a feeling she could teach me a lot of vital stuff.

4) This series would make an awesome movie. So visual and chilling. Any interest from studios or producers?

Thanks! After nine months of negotiating we basically had a film deal put together, but it fell apart when a studio got sold and people changed jobs…the person who loved it left the company. It was sad but I really want the right group to make the WAKE movies, so we’ll keep searching. We’ve had good interest since then, and now my film agent is about to put a package together with an incredible screenwriter and hopefully we’ll find a studio who loves it again.

5) The final book in the trilogy, GONE, will be released in February 2010. What will you do once the series is over?

I will keep writing! My next book after GONE is a standalone YA paranormal thriller. Fans of the WAKE trilogy will like this one too – creepy, sexy. I can’t say much about it yet except that we have a tentative title, CRYER’S CROSS, and it’s scheduled for release in Spring 2011, again with the awesome Simon Pulse imprint of Simon & Schuster.

P.S. If you haven’t read the free short story from Cabel’s perspective, you can get to it from my website, http://lisamcmann.com . Or grab the magic McWidget for your own site and keep up on everything new – it automatically updates when something cool is happening. Just click "Share" on the widget below to grab it!




About the Author:

Lisa McMann lives with her family in the Phoenix area. Visit her online at: www.LisaMcMann.com

**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post, while appreciated, are not used as entry. Thanks!

Black is for Beginnings - Winners!

Five lucky winners will be receiving free autographed copies of Black is for Beginnings by Laurie Faria Stolarz!

And here they are...


1) Katherine Velasco
2) Lourdes Alonso
3) Lucy Tonkin
4) Cynthia Huynh
5) Kyle Evans


Congrats to the winners!


If you didn't win, but still want to read Black is for Beginnings, you can order your own copy of the first book on Amazon by clicking here!

Or find it in our Free Book Friday Amazon Store!

Special Announcements!

Every so often, something fantastic crosses our paths and we feel the need to share it with all of you! Here are two special opportunities that we thought we'd pass along.

1) Free Ugg Boots Giveaway!

Our friends over at Whoogaboots are giving away a free pair of Ugg boots every month! Click here to get all the details! This opportunity is open to residents of all countries!

2) Attention Central Iowa Book Lovers!

The famous, bestselling author Rachel Caine will be visiting libraries throughout Central Iowa this month. Click here for a list of locations and dates!

***

Next week we're featuring the fabulous Lisa McMann, author of the bestselling Wake series. Be sure to check back Saturday morning for our interview and free book giveaway! Don't miss out!