I’m off and running–literally. I’m taking my 12yo for his first run. SQUEE! He came in 2nd place at a 5k at his school the other day and now he wants to run with me. So much fun!!!!! But I thought I’d pop in and let you know that I was invited to join the Bookanistas. I’m so excited…
Who are the Bookanistas?
Who We Are
We are a group of writers in various stages of the publishing process who have banded together to recommend/review the special books of our peers.
Combined, we reach over 10,000 followers
We recommend and review all kinds of children’s books, but focus mainly on YA, middle grade and now, picture books. (yes picture books too! Shocker!). As fellow writers, we have decided to only recommend books we absolutely LOVE, therefore, we do not post anything negative!
Yes, that’s right! We give nothing but love! There’s enough negativity in the world.
We post every Thursday covering a variety various book topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, diamonds in the rough, classics, and even dish out some cover love from time to time.
Come join us on Thursdays and you can be be fashionable, too.
Because The Bookanistas think books are the new black!
You can check out my warm welcome to the Bookanistas and our prayers going out to Boston HERE. And I’ll be posting my first Bookanistas Review on 4/25. Okey dokey…NOW I’m off and running LOL! Have a great weekend.
I have a new addiction and it is so much healthier than the chocolate covered potato chips from the alps.
And yes, I sampled them when I went down to take the picture. Wouldn’t you? LOL! But hey–back on task–let’s talk about my other addiction. Squee! It’s school visits. Seriously people, they make me very, very happy. I’ve mentioned before that I was a teacher and that I was ok leaving the profession because it wasn’t a perfect fit for me. But author visits–It’s like taking a salty potato chip and dipping it in your favorite chocolate. It just works. It feels really good. I get to take the best parts of me (that I brought to the table as a teacher) and combine them with the heart and soul work I’m doing as a writer. Seriously, I could go on and on ad nauseam, but vomit isn’t pretty, so I’ll stop right after I tell you about the middle school boy who asked me to sign his arm yesterday. He mumbled something about not realizing he should have gotten the book. *heart squish* The thing is, there is more than one amazing thing going on when you’re an author for young adults. You have the potential to connect thorough your book, but you also have the weird ability to connect outside of your book. When you talk to a classroom of students, there may be kids who don’t pick up the book you’ve written, but they still hear what you say. And those words might be the right words at the right time. The possibilities and the potential are endless. But I promised to stop babbling. *covers mouth with hands*
Did you really think I’d shut up? Silly you. If you are located in the Hudson Valley area, I would love to arrange a visit to your local school. If you’re interested, let a teacher or librarian know that I’m available and how to contact me.
And because not everyone is close enough for me to stop over while my kids are in school, I’m doing a TOUCHING THE SURFACE giveaway for your favorite middle school or high school. Anyone can enter and the contest details are below.
And in case you still want to chat, I was wondering if any of you have stories of influential guest speakers visiting you in school. Did they make an impact on you? Didn’t have any guest speakers or they were duds? What author would you have loved to come and speak to you?
It’s your lucky day! I’m having a creepy giveaway. I’ve got two books here that will make your hands sweat while you’re reading them. First up is DISPIRITED by Luisa M. Perkins…
Cathy sees things that are invisible to everyone else. Her new stepbrother’s bizarre behavior. A ghostly little boy. An abandoned house in the woods. But she doesn’t see how they’re all connected. And what she doesn’t see might just kill her.
Luisa M. Perkins is the author of Dispirited, published by Zarahemla Books in March 2012, and co-author of the novel The Book of Jer3miah, forthcoming from Shadow Mountain in August 2012.
Past publications include the cookbook Comfortably Yum and the LDS YA novel Shannon’s Mirror. She has had numerous short stories and essays published in print and online. She has been a member of the Whitney Awards Committee for the past two years. She and her husband Patrick live with their six children in New York’s Hudson Highlands.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of DISPIRITED…
DISPIRITED is one little creeper of a book and I mean that in the very best of ways. What I loved about it was that Perkins made reality, myth and the paranormal seamlessly blend in a way that captured my attention and made me wonder if there was really a lot more going on under my day to day reality. If you’ve ever had a chill run down your spine for no reason–DISPIRITED will make you wonder if perhaps you weren’t just being perceptive.
Bonus love for this book because Perkins wrote this while living in my area and her writing was peppered with local references making the story even more believable and interesting for me. If you like IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma or a darker story that makes you think AND shiver…DISPIRITED is a perfect choice for you.
The second book you have a chance to win is WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND by Tracy Bilen.
“Don’t even think of leaving…I will find you,” he whispered. “Guaranteed.”
Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it. Each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.
Tracy Bilen is a high school French and Spanish teacher in Michigan where she lives with her husband and two children. Before moving to Michigan, Tracy taught at a ski school for high school students in Vermont (Spanish, not skiing!). In college she spent her junior year abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris where she lived in a dorm run by nuns (and where she had to run down four flights of stairs to take a phone call). She enjoys cross-country skiing and walks in the woods. Her debut young adult novel, What She Left Behind, will be released by Simon Pulse on May 1, 2012.Tracy Bilen is a high school French and Spanish teacher in Michigan where she lives with her husband and two children. Before moving to Michigan, Tracy taught at a ski school for high school students in Vermont (Spanish, not skiing!). In college she spent her junior year abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris where she lived in a dorm run by nuns (and where she had to run down four flights of stairs to take a phone call). She enjoys cross-country skiing and walks in the woods. Her debut young adult novel, What She Left Behind, will be released by Simon Pulse on May 1, 2012.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND
If you like Elizabeth Scott, I think you’ll absolutely adore Tracy Bilen. WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND is one of those stories that is morbidly beautiful. It is the harsh reality of a less than ideal life, threaded with moments of love and hope. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from what was unfolding on the pages. I immediately connected with Sara and I adored the healthy relationships in her life. I read this story with a rapid pulse and sweaty palms–praying that the last page would be just as good as the build-up. I wasn’t disappointed.
Oh, and bonus–both books will be shipped to you directly from the authors so you’ll get to have them signed!! What do you have to do to enter this giveaway? Tell me what piece of reality you find scarier than fiction. Or you can tell me the creepiest thing that’s ever happened to you. Or you can just gush about how much you want both of these books. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN THE COMMENT SO THAT YOU CAN WIN!
Thanks to the lovely and generous Daisy Whitney, author of THE MOCKING BIRDS and THE RIVALS, I was able to read an ARC of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by my fellow Apocalypsie–Trish Dollar. And because I *love* you, I’m going to have a contest and give someone else a chance to read it too. Before I explain how you can win this amazing book, let me tell you a little bit about the SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL, Trish and my response to her debut YA novel.
SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by Trish Doller
When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.
It seems like every writer’s conference I attend, someone is always trying to pin down what is meant by that wonderful, but hard to define thing called VOICE. In my opinion, the best way to explain the magic of voice is to have a list of books that contain a distinct and powerful one. Trish Doller’s SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL would absolutely go on my “voice list.” I’m in awe of what she did here.
I’m not sure where to start, because this book has endless depth and layers, but what I do know is that it’s going to be one successful debut. Doller’s knowledge of the military, the amazing nuanced relationships between all the characters, the internal and external struggles, the friendships and the love–It’s all here and I adored every minute of it. There are certain books that I read, where I connect very deeply to the story and the characters because the author has stripped down to his or her vulnerable parts and risked a lot to put a kind of truth down on the page. This is one of those books and Trish Dollar is one of those authors. I am officially a fan-girl for life.
About Trish Doller…
I’ve been a writer as long as I’ve been able to write, but I didn’t make a conscious decision to “be” a writer until fairly recently. For that you should probably be thankful.
I was born in Germany, grew up in Ohio, went to college at Ohio State University, got married to someone really great, bounced from Maine to Michigan and back to Ohio for awhile. Now I live in Florida with my two mostly grown kids, two dogs, and a pirate. For real.
I’ve worked as a morning radio personality, a newspaper reporter, and spent all my summers in college working at an amusement park. There I gained valuable life skills, including counting money really fast, directing traffic, jumping off a moving train, and making cheese-on-a-stick. Also, I can still welcome you to Frontier Town. Ask me sometime.
These days I work as a bookseller at a Very Big Bookstore. And I write.
You can find out more about Trish Doller and SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL here…
Now that I’ve got your interest, I bet you’re wondering how to win this ARC. Easy-peasy! In the comments section, please tell me something about yourself that makes you feel less than normal. Don’t be shy, I’ve got a list of things as long as my right arm. Feel free to share them all or just tell me one. And remember… “like normal” is the new normal–so you’re in good company. Don’t forget to leave your contact information in your comment. You can’t win this amazing book if you I can’t reach you. And trust me, you want to win this book. Yup.
I just found out yesterday that TOUCHING THE SURFACE is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble and I’m crazy excited!!!! I thought that I’d celebrate by giving one lucky winner a pre-order of the book. I know–you won’t get your prize until October 30th, but I will send ahead some SURFACE swag along with your preorder confirmation.
What do you have to do to win?
1. Please check out my the book on Barnes & Nobel and click on the section that says… Nook Books: Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher. And while you’re there feel free to hit any LIKE buttons that you come across.
2. Second, leave a comment telling me what has captured your attention about TOUCHING THE SURFACE. Is it the cover? Synopsis? Is it because we know each other? There’s no wrong answer–I’m just curious to know what has drawn you to the book.
*Please make sure that you leave a contact email address in your comment so I can get in touch with you if you are a winner.
Titles of books change all the time. It’s a fact. Period.
As an writer, I’m well aware that when a story is “adopted” by a publisher, they might want to change the name of their new child. Of course, their intent is to give each book the best life it can have. I was very lucky with TOUCHING THE SURFACE–Simon Pulse kept my original vision. This was a huge relief because I loved it–I was attached. But also because my titles play a very large role in the story I am trying to tell, in fact I can’t even begin to write a new book if I don’t have that key piece of information. I need a title to anchor my thoughts. Then it must grow and twist through the story like a vine, with the weaving of the theme being strong enough to support just about anything else I throw into the story…
Now that’s good weaving LOL!
But wait! I must have a reason for all this title talk, right? Of course I do. I’m approaching the end of my first draft to THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY which means 90% of my brain is in complete obsession mode. All I can think about is THAT STORY!!! But…the final 10% is thinking ahead, starting to mull over the next book. Getting to know new characters. Thinking about new questions that I need answers for. So, since book three is starting to tickle my brain, I thought I would share my title with you. Who knows if I’ll get to keep it, but for now…Book Three is called CHASING ADAPTATION. It just feels right.
How do you pick your titles? What are some of your favorites? What do you think makes a good title?
I’m a little lost in the ending of THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY right now–unable to even listen to audiobooks because I’m drowning in the songs that I associate with this WIP. I play them over and over and try to let my mind dance with the words and go to the place it needs to go in order to write it right. There are the songs that now remind me of the early chapters and there are the recent songs that have just helped the story take shape and now there are the songs that I’m running to get close to–so they can whisper in my ear. Here’s one of them…
My wish? That I never stop being this vested in what I write. What are you chasing right now?
In a weird coincidence, I’d just cracked the spine on my very own copy of THE GATHERING STORM by my Class of 2k12 sib Robin Bridges, when the ARC Tour copy showed up in my mailbox. Guess I was reading the right book at the right time. I love it when the universe sends me cosmic confirmation signals. Here’s a little bit about THE GATHERING STORM in case you have had the chance to drool over it yet…
In superstitious 1880’s Russia, Katerina of Oldenburg hides a dangerous secret: she can raise the dead.
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.
An evil presence is growing within Europe’s royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina’s strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar’s standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina’s help to safeguard Russia, even if he’s repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.
The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?
Click HERE for a list of other available booksellers
Kimberly’s Review of THE GATHERING STORM
The absolute coolest thing about this book was the melding of paranormal and historical. And what really intrigued me most was that this wasn’t your “typical” historical era that we so often read about–this was Russia!!! The story was filled with all kinds of new and unique things that I’d never read about in a YA book before. Obviously, there was a mind boggling amount of research that must have gone into THE GATHERING STORM and that’s what I loved about it. It felt authentic–which meant that when Bridges introduced her paranormal elements into the story–the lines between reality and fiction were often blurred, making for fantastic story telling.I also really loved Katerina’s drive to be a doctor and her own person and more importantly, I adored her father. He only wanted the best thing for his daughter, even if it defies convention.The Gathering Storm had love, intrigue, history, magic and all of my attention. I can’t wait until the next installment of the Katerina Trilogy!!!
By day, Robin is a mild-mannered writer of fantasy and paranormal fiction for young adults. By night, she is a pediatric nurse. Robin lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband, one soon-to-be teenager, and two slobbery mastiffs. THE GATHERING STORM is her first novel.
Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She’s about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia’s arch nemesis–who she thought she’d destroyed–is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She’ll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina’s horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.
You can find out more about Robin Bridges and The Katerina Trilogy–THE GATHERING STORM and THE UNFAILING LIGHT here…
I’m reading TOUCHING THE SURFACE to my three boys. Just a chapter a night. Now before you ask–my book is categorized as 14 and up and my kids are 11, 9 and almost 7. I’m not recommending SURFACE to kids under the age of 14, but my kids are in a unique circumstance. They have the author AND their mother in their bedroom at night, speaking directly to all their thoughts and questions. As always, I advocate that parents be actively involved in a book dialogue with their children. What is good for one child might be all wrong for another. Each kid is different and it is important that we know them as individuals. I know my three so I’m very comfortable. Here are some of my reasons for sharing my book with my boys.
First, they NEED to be a part of this. Their names are in the book–they LOVE that. It’s their laundry that’s been missed in the writing of this novel. It’s their mother who’s the crazy one with the voices in her head. And the thing is–they’re so insanely proud of me–it makes me want to lasso the moon and take it for a ride. They feel so special when they tell other people that they are reading it–I know because it comes back to me and it always makes my heart swell.
Second, I NEED them to be a part of this. I write with the same voice that I love them with. They are pretty familiar with my weird and wacky ways, my honesty, my assumption that children are continually under estimated. They KNOW me, so reading my writing is truly just understanding more of their mom. This book is some of the very best of me and I can’t imagine not sharing that with three of the most important people in my life.
Third, they are funny. It’s no secret–I have a potty mouth. The rule in our house is…you can say whatever you want when you have your own kids. Life isn’t fair and I don’t think it will hurt them to figure that out with the little things in life. They need to watch their language. Even though they’re used to me needing to be *bleeped* they seem to find it endlessly amusing when I swear while reading my book. The 9 year old actually asked me to re-read a section because he was “confused about who was speaking” only to have the almost 7 year old rat him out for wanting me to read the swear word over again. ROTFL! We had a long discussion about the authenticity of teen characters. We used their older cousins to prove the point. Now the almost 7 year old tells everyone… “yes, my mother uses curses in her book but it’s there to make the characters realistic.” My author-mama heart explodes with pride every time I hear him say that.
Fourth, they surprise me. My 11 year old interrupted our chapter one night to ask me a question about the afterlife. I proceeded to go off on a tangent where I told him how I really didn’t know what was out there etc… His reply was… “Sheesh, I finally have the author right here in my room and I still can’t get an answer. You wrote the book–you’re supposed to know everything about it!” I smacked my head like it was a V-8 commercial. He didn’t mean the “real afterlife” just the one in my book. And I know this sounds silly, but I realized that I don’t have my mind completely wrapped around the idea that people are going to be really focused on my book–that I’m the one, the only one, who can really answer those questions. The thought of it gives me shivers.
Fifth, they satisfy me. As I’m reading–they’re responding. And they are doing it in all the right places. They get mad at me for leaving them hanging at the end of a chapter. They strongly dislike certain people and they have soft spots for others. Even more important–their reactions to the characters are changing–just the way I had hoped they would. The boys ask interesting questions–smart questions and that makes me proud of them and the book. And the cutest? I’ve actually caught them “fighting” over who would get to be who if they were playing TOUCHING THE SURFACE. I know–how cool is that???
I promise to let you know what they think of it when they’re done. How do you feel about the books that kids are reading? Should be reading? Shouldn’t be reading? How did your choice of reading material impact you when you were a kid?
In general I’ve been writing up a storm lately. Of course I’ve had a day or two–here and there–where that thing called “life” has gotten in the way. But in general, I’m very excited to have the creative juices flowing. In fact, I’m in that stage where I’m a little bit obsessed with the book. I only want to listen to music off of THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY PLAYLIST, I fall asleep thinking about the book and I wake up with the story running around inside my head. My activity of choice right now, if I could completely put life on hold, would be to just sit down some place cozy and get the thoughts out of my head and on the paper.
It wasn’t so long ago where this was the exact opposite. I spent most of my WIP writing time–well–not writing. I wrote other things like blogs, did revisions and edits etc… But, when it came to book two, I could only get small amounts onto the paper at a time. Some days it felt like swimming in mud. Technically, I guess I could have slowly and methodically kept writing and erasing all my dead ends, but that doesn’t work for me. I’ve learned that I need to know my story and my characters really well to make the writing happen. Besides, the act of day dreaming on paper seems like such a slow way to work. My mind functions so much faster than my fingers.
I used to feel a little crappy about this. Pretty sure the judgement police were going to give me a BIC (butt in chair) Citation, but I’ve learned that perhaps I do better trusting my instincts and being me. I’ve even started to think of this period of my story building, as my “astral projection phase.” I imagine it must feel glorious to travel without the weight of your body holding you down, but the closest I can say I’ve come to this experience is a couple really great flying dreams–I love those. Or maybe it’s the time spent in the in-between of a day dream–plotting a story. I know how other people work the best. And I’ve always compared my methods to theirs, but I’ve been wondering…
Option #1
Heavy and cumbersome–forcing thoughts out onto the page…
OR
Option #2
Light and dreamy–where I let my mind go wherever it wants to take me.
Here’s the thing, I wasn’t completely sure that this was true until the last couple weeks, when all my brain cells decided to get together and have a party. Finally, I know with certainty that there is a complete book here–not just tendrils of thought that I am trying to weave together. I know that the first book was not just a fluke. So, here’s what I want to tell you. Be educated. Know what “writers” need to do to make it in this business. Once you know that, you are loaded for bear. Then…look at what YOU need to do to be a writer. Pick the tools that make your magic happen. Don’t think of yourself as a screw-up. Think of yourself as innovative, gifted and trend setting. Trust yourself as much as you can and then give yourself a little more credit–even if you have to fake it. And of course–be sure to write the book. You can’t be unique and take the world by storm without the book!
So, what do I think about THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY now that it’s starting to live and breath on it’s own? Here are the questions I ask myself…
Will it be any good?
I sure hope so, but who the hell knows.
Was it what I should have written?
The truth–it’s the only thing I could have written–let the chips fall where they may.
Is it anywhere near done?
Not really–but that’s because I’m a weaver and I won’t be happy with it until those original tendrils of thought have come together to make a whole that is bigger than its parts.
And thinking ahead…
Now that I’ve gained all this enlightenment, will the 3rd book be any easier?
Not a chance–but that’s why we feel so proud and accomplished when we’ve finished.
Happy writing! Don’t forget to tell me what makes you unique as a writer? Or tell me what you would actually do if the judgement police weren’t watching. I promise not to tell a soul–maybe.
