I am revising like a fiend. If you squint your eyes a little bit, I almost look like a Wolfson Wolf Pack Cub–keeping up with the pack. And I love it because the Wolf Pack is fabulous and I’m so proud to be a part of it. My Wolf Pack girls are insane, crazy producers and what makes them special is that they don’t just write quickly, they write amazing books.

(Usually this is me–slowly chewing on my thoughts in the corner. LOL!)

That’s why I wanted you to check out what’s new and coming your way. Wahhooooooo…

Kierten White: The author of the New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy (Paranormalcy, Supernaturally, and Endlessly) also has Mind Games, the first in a new series, out on February 19th. And she has an Egyptian mythology-based standalone, The Chaos of Stars, following in fall 2013, with the sequel to Mind Games in February, 2014.

Daisy Whitney: By day, Daisy Whitney is a new media producer, reporter and on-air host. At night, she writes novels for teens and is the author of THE MOCKINGBIRDS and its sequel THE RIVALS (Little, Brown). Her third novel WHEN YOU WERE HERE releases in June 4th, 2013 (Little, Brown), and her fourth novel STARRY NIGHTS (Bloomsbury) hits shelves in Fall 2013.

Kasie West: her debut novel, PIVOT POINT, will be published by HarperTeen Feb. 12, 2013. (Followed by its sequel a year later.) And THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, her contemporary YA novel, will be published in the July 2, 2013 (HarperTeen).

Linda Grimes: is an author of light urban fantasy. Her first book, IN A FIX, was published by Tor in September 2012. The second in the series, QUICK FIX, will be released in the summer of 2013 (8-20-13).

Jennifer Iacopelli: Her first novel, GAME SET MATCH, will be released by Coliloquy in Spring 2013! (Cover coming soon!)

See I told you–awesome! What are you looking forward to reading from the Wolf Pack? Did you get your hands on any of these ARC’s yet? Since you can’t have these just yet, what are your Friday Reads?

Tags: Daisy Whitney, Game. Set. Match., In A FIx, Jennifer Iacopelli, Kasie West, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Linda Grimes, Michelle Wolfson, Mind Games, Pivot Point, Quick Fix, Starry Nights, The Chaos of Stars, The Distance Between Us, When You Were Here, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

Get out your TBR list because MIND GAMES by my Wolf Pack sistah Kiersten White needs to be on it!

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…

or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

*Barnes & Noble

Kimberly’s Review:

I’ve erased this review like ten times because I’m having trouble. When I say that MIND GAMES is not the Paranormalcy Trilogy, I find myself stuck in an endless loop because I loved the Paranormalcy Trilogy, so I don’t want you to think for a minute that this is better, because it isn’t better–but yet–its better. *sheesh* The most accurate thing I can say is that Kiersten White has only begun to play mind games with her readers. It is evident by this unique, exciting and riveting book that White has just proven she’s not a one trick pony. She’s tiny like a pony–but she has lots of tricks and I love them. I love them so much, I want the sequel to this book NOW! So much so, I’m going to start harassing my agent to automatically put me on the top of the ARC list for MIND GAMES #2. Make a list. Check it twice. I’d better be on it. I know you hate me because it isn’t February yet, and you’re justified, but guess what–I’m not even a little bit sorry, because yeah, it was that good. LOL!

Tags: Harper Collins, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Mind Games, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

Are you excited to read ENDLESSLY by Kiersten White?  You should be.

You can pre-order ENDLESSLY here…Barnes & Noble, Amazon, IndieBound and for additional links check Goodreads.

Kimberly Sabatini’s review of ENDLESSLY by Kiersten White…

*Sigh* I am so bleeping sad that the Paranormalcy Trilogy is over. I was lucky enough to obtain an ARC of ENDLESSLY through my agent Michelle Wolfson’s Wolf Pack ARC Tour. But the fact that Kiersten is an agency sister plays no bearing on my delight in reading ENDLESSLY and my disappointment that it’s over.

I am going to miss Evie and all the characters in her paranormal world. They were unique and I know that they will never come my way again.

What else did I love about this book and all the books in the trilogy? I adore Kiersten’s humor for starters. I always find myself laughing at her quirky bleeping way with words and her creativity. Her take on the paranormal world is delightful. And my favorite thing about the books? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that Kiersten writes fluff, because it’s just so much fun to read, but if you’re paying attention, she has depth and layers to what she shares with her audience. She gives deep thoughts and guidance in a way that is never patronizing. She doesn’t talk down to her readers–she wins them over and is a role model through her characters. I mean–who wouldn’t want to grow up to be just like Evie. And I’m not just saying that because I want a pink taser!

Without a doubt, ENDLESSLY comes to a fulfilling end, but I may never stop asking Kiersten to whisper in my ear about what happens to Evie in five, ten, twenty years–she’s become a friend and I don’t want to let her go.

Congratulations, Kiersten–You’ve done a fantastic job. Can’t wait to read your next book. <3

You can find out more about Kiersten White, ENDLESSLY and the Paranormalcy Trilogy here…

*Kiersten White’s Website

*Kiersten White’s Blog

*Twitter

*Facebook

*Goodreads

Tags: Book Review, Endlessly, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Michelle Wolfson, Paranrmalcy Trilogy, Touching the Surface, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel, YA Writer

By the time you grab your coffee and read this, I’ll be eating a bagel at the Marketing Workshop at the New York SCBWI Conference.  That’s a thumbs up for bagels and marketing knowledge and a raspberry for getting up that early in the morning.  Thinking ahead–yes, I AM talking about me.  *gives you the stink eye* I planned out today’s blog post and Monday’s because I’ll be spending my first day after the conference in bagel detox.  And sadly, reclimbing Mt. Laundrious as my kids have come to call that pile of clothes in their closet that almost touches the ceiling.  Cheeky little bugger aren’t they.  So, since I was out in the wild at the train station, this morning, I thought that In The Wild would be a wonderful theme for today’s blog.

Not too long ago I mentioned that my local B&N had relocated the YA department from–right next to the kids section…to snuggled up in the adult section.  I asked my friend Linda (who works there) how the change was going and she gave it a thumbs up. I also promised some pictures of the new arrangement…

A display table that is chock full of books and the aisles behind the table are all YA!

So many of my favorite titles and authors hanging out on the shelves.

Sorry, these didn’t look this blurry on my phone. Grrrr…

And as I was wandering around, petting and hugging the books, I found some books that I’d never seen out in “The Wild” before. You can click on the picture to find out more about the book and it’s author.

Double Apocalypsie Trouble–Click on the pic for a link to more info about Brodi Ashton’s EVERNEATH and click HERE for more info about TEMPEST by Julie Cross

UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi–An Apocalypsie!!!

THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney–one of Michelle Wolfson’s Wolf Pack!!!!

DARKER STILL: Magic Most Foul Book #1 by Leanna Renee Hieber–Also and Apocalypsie!!!

Another Apocalypsie!!! FRACTURED by Megan Miranda

Another Wolf Pack author!!! Two out of three of the PARANORMALCY series by Kiersten White–Did I tell you that I’m reading ENDLESSLY RIGHT NOW!!! Yes, be jealous.

My class of 2k12 girl–Robin Bridges with THE GATHERING STORM Book#1 of the Katerina Trilogy

Apocalypsie Double Trouble! Click on the picture for a link to Brodi Ashton’s EVERNEATH and click HERE for more on TEMPEST by Julie Cross.

My Simon Pulse Housemate–Lucas Klauss with EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE

Apocalypsie and NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR Marissa Meyer and CINDER!!!!!

I can’t even tell you how exciting it is to see all these books out in the wild.  So exciting!!!!  Can’t wait to stop in again soon and see who else is peaking out at me from the shelves.

FYI–I’ll be blogging about the conference when I get back, but in the meantime you can follow the conference live from twitter–just follow #NY12SCBWI  I’ll do my best to keep you up to date.  So, have you read any of the books that I’ve spotted out in the wild?  What did you think?  Any that you’re lusting for?

Tags: Apocalypsies, Arissa Meyer, Barnes & Noble, Brodi Ashton, Daisy Whitney, Julie Cross, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Leanna Renee Hieber, Lucas Klauss, Megan Miranda, Michelle Wolfson, Robin Bridges, Simon Pulse, Touching the Surface, Veronica Rossi, Wolf Pack, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel, YA Writer

In my last post, I talked a little bit about Marketing Your Unborn Book.  Today I wanted to follow up with a similar topic.  Word of mouth.  This is very closely related to what I previously talked about.  When you make genuine connections with people, there is a good chance that those people will support you.  That’s what friends do.  It’s also what smart people do–they don’t bite the hand that feeds them.  And if you’ve been doing a good job marketing your unborn book, it means that you have invested a lot of time and energy into supporting your peers the way you would like to be cared for when it is your turn to sell a book.  The cool thing about the kid lit community is that this is a group of people who was born with the “do-for-others gene.”  They are writing to help kids for goodness sake.

So, how do we really sell our books?  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the best way is by word of mouth.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are lots of things that you can do to stack the deck in your favor.  I’m doing things like compiling lists of school librarians so that I can send them out a post card with my information on it.  It never hurts to put the effort in.  Sending out a post card is a lot more personal than hoping, wishing and praying that a librarian or a bookseller accidentally stumble upon TOUCHING THE SURFACE.  But, at the end of the day, think about who you listen to when you want a book recommendation.

I can tell you what I do…

*I watch what people I trust tweet about on twitter.  If my agent or editor recommends a book, I’m sold.  If Kiersten White, my agency sister is singing the praises of an author, I believe her.  If the kid lit community rallies around someone like Lauren Myracle, I will read that book and hand sell that puppy until someone puts a restraining order out on me.

*I ask my friends and family what they’re reading.  I trust them.

*I check out the staff recommendations at the bookstore.  These folks may or may not be my “friends” but they are talking up a book that they feel passionately about.  Yes, they are selling books, but they’re selling ALL the books in the store.  So it means something when they talk about a book that resonates with them.

I HAVE NEVER READ A BOOK THAT SOMEONE HAS SPAMMED ME WITH–EVEN IF YOU HAVE OFFERED IT FOR FREE.

That’s the truth.

I’ll leave you with a little story that shows you the true power of word of mouth…

The other day my boys and I were talking about graphic novel/cartoon characters.  Who we liked and what super powers we’d like to have.  If you have boys, you’ve probably had this conversation many times LOL!  I happened to reveal to my kids that when I was their age, I had a secret super hero identity.  I put on my dark and powerful cartoon narrator’s voice and told them…

Out of the dark regions of the universe,  comes a super crime fighting hero…Captain Apple!

They thought that this was hysterical.  They wanted to know all about Captain Apple.  I can’t remember much about how it started.  I may have been apple picking with the girl scouts or something, but for some reason I have always remembered Captain Apple.  I forgot all about our talk until a few days later, when my middle son got my attention at dinner.

Him: “Do you remember that day we were talking about Captain Apple?”

Me: “Uh huh.”  Nods in his direction while making dinner and pulling back packs apart.

Him:  ”Yeah, well it’s kind of cool because all my friends are playing Captain Apple in school.”

Me: Drops stuff and gives middle child my full attention.  ”What do you mean?”

Him: “I though Captain Apple was cool so I told my friends about it.  They thought it was cool too.  So we’ve been playing Captain Apple on the playground and making up our own comics.”

Me: Stands up straight and smooths hair.  ”They really liked it?”

Him:  ”Yeah, mom–he’s pretty cool.”

Me:  ”Think you can finish dinner by yourselves boys?  I’ve got a new idea for a book that I’d like to fiddle with…”

Okay–maybe that last line wasn’t exactly true.  And yes, I will sue you if you steal my Captain Apple book idea.  You won’t though–that would make you rotten to the core.  *scribbles notes that that would make a great line in the book*  But you get the picture.  Word of mouth can sell things that aren’t even for sale…yet.  My best advice for selling your book or your future book is to go out and sell someone else’s book.  How cool is that?

And one final warning…negative news travels by mouth a gazillion times faster than good news.  It’s the pits *jots down more notes* but its a law of the universe.  So, my final recommendation for you is to remember to use your words wisely.  And get a cool cape.

Tags: Captain Apple, Kiersten White, Kimberly Sabatini, Lauren Myracle, Librarians