Squee!!!!! It’s SCARLET #2 aka LADY THIEF by A. C. Gaughen. I’ve been waiting forever to sneak back into Scarlet’s world and hang out with my boyfriend Robin. <3
Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.
Kimberly’s Review of LADY THIEF:
Dear A. C. Gaughen,
The sheer awesomeness of this book is driving me crazy. Scarlet is a serious badass, but sweeter than ever at the exact same time. How did you manage to pull that off? And that thing you did with Gisbourne–too many feels for a character I dislike as much as him. He’s such the perfect creeper. And about my favorite band of merry men. I still love them all *crushing hard* but how could you??? It was amazing it was awful. It was shocking–yes that’s what it was–it was shocking!!!! So this leaves me with one BIG question–WHEN DO I GET TO READ SCARLET #3??????
Love,
Me
You can order LADY THIEF by A. C. Gaughen here…
*Amazon
*Barnes & Noble
*IndieBound
ok, no, AC does not stand for ACCUWEATHER. but last time i tried googling myself, the first thing that comes up when i type “ac” is “accuweather.” go figure.
i’ve been madly in love with writing since I was in kindergarten. not kidding–some of my earliest memories revolve around books and writing, like reading in front of the class, reading with my mother, and writing a story in first grade that was so funny (it dealt with a gorilla finding someone naked in the shower, and was, sadly, the culmination of my humor writing skills) it got me kicked out of class. which was also the first and last time for that.
no that’s a lie. in third grade i got detention for ripping bark off a tree.
i know, i’m a rebel.
from there, it was a long road. i wrote all through middle school and starting submitting novels (I hope I still have those very kind, gentle rejection letters somewhere) when I was thirteen. ACK you have no idea how bad those novels looked. All through high school I was writing in a notebook instead of taking class notes (explaining the less than perfect GPA). It was always novels for me–the first time I seriously wrote short stories was at the end of my college career, to get into my graduate program, and it felt awkward and weird.
but i got in to grad school, wrote like a fiend, and when i graduated i spent three miserable years as a freelance writer while working on several different novels. I wrote them, prepped them, submitted them, and kept on working, because as far as I can tell, the actual writing is the only thing that i can control, and it’s the part that really makes me happy. oh, and i have two dogs. because every writer should have dogs.
You can find out more about A. C. Gaughen and LADY THIEF here…
*Website
*Blog
*Tumblr
*Twitter
*Facebook
*Goodreads
Want to know what other badass books the Bookanistas are reading? Here’s a list…
Jessica Love is captivated by LIV, FOREVER by Amy Talkington
Katy Upperman praises PANIC by Lauren Oliver
Christine Fonseca applauds DANGEROUS by Shannon Hale
Lenore Appelhans is riveted by THE GLASS CASKET by McCormick Templeman
Scarlet is a wiz at getting in and out of tight places undetected. If you could be really good at one Navy Seal style skill (no super powers please) what would you choose? I think I’d have to go with absolutely NO fear of heights with some really good balance for extra measure. LOL!
Tags: A. C. Gaughen, Bookanistas, Historical Fiction, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lady Thief, review, Scarlet, YA, YA Author, YA Book
A funny thing happened on the way to my NaNoWriMo revision. I had a complete epiphany about how the book should be written. Out of the blue, a new supporting character walked up, plucked me in the forehead and said…I’M HERE! She is sooooo different and interesting–I just had to let her tell me who she was and where she came from. And as I started to give her some space on the page, she also illuminated the main character. And now that I know my MC so much better, she’s begun to pull in other characters and plots I hadn’t been expecting. Interesting things have started happening and it gives me chills.
But what about my draft I worked so hard on? While I had the best experience putting my inner editor away while participating in NaNoWriMo, right now I’ve found myself slipping comfortably back into my old drafting style. And surprisingly it feels amazing–like pulling on the coziest pair of sweat pants I own.
Does that mean that NaNoWriMo was a waste of time for me? Hell no! I figured out what I wasn’t supposed to be writing–which is kinda important. LOL! And some how the very act of doing something completely different has taught me how to do the familiar better than I was doing it before.
What a tangled web of words we weave.
What strange and convoluted things do you do to weave your word web?
Tags: drafting, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, NaNoWriMo, weaving, writing style
You might have noticed I missed Tuesday’s blog. I attempted it, but the 11yo and I either came down with food poisoning or the stomach plague early Monday morning. I spent most of Monday in a heaving, feverish stupor, using all of my energy to get the 8yo to and from school. We’re finally feeling better, so this morning it was back to getting the youngest two boys on the regular schedule. Adding to the morning madness, the 13yo (on spring break right now) was also going into school with them to get some dyslexia testing done in preparation for next year.
Sounds easy enough–except it wasn’t. It rarely is.
For starters, the 11yo, on top of being sick this week, was having a lot of anxiety about school–a product of our WCSD fiasco. Grrrrrr So in addition to calming nerves, I was also making lunches and trying to find red clothes for the 8yo’s school production. There was lots juggling going on, but we finally got in the car. And then I realized my keys were in the jacket I wore yesterday. Time was getting tight now. So I started to back out of the driveway when I realized…SHIT! The 13yo is still in bed sleeping!!!!! I threw the car in park, regretting the decision to bring my regular coffee mug instead of a travel mug in the car as I sloshed all over, run inside and start bellowing. By the time I got to his room, the 13yo’s eyes were still clouded with sleep, but he was standing in the middle of the room staring at me like a zombie.
ME: YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL AND WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN 2 MINUTES!!!!
HIM: but is was sleeping.
ME: AND NOW YOU’RE NOT. PUT ON THESE CLOTHES *rips things out of closets and drawers* BRUSH YOUR HAIR AND TEETH AND PUT ON DEODORANT.
HIM:
ME: NOW!!!!!
HIM: but i was sleeping.
ME: YOU NOW HAVE A LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. I’LL MAKE YOU AN ENGLISH MUFFIN FOR THE CAR. GO!!!!!!
HIM: ok
ME: *sends death glare and runs upstairs and makes english muffin*
ME AGAIN: (BELLOWING) WHY ARE YOU STILL DOWNSTAIRS?????
HIM: *sauntering up the stairs with a big grin on his face* You are so lucky I’m not a girl. *mutters something about make-up under his breath*
ME: I DON’T WEAR MAKE-UP. YOUR SHOES AND COAT ARE BY THE DOOR. DO NOT DRIP BUTTER ALL OVER THE PLACE.
We get in car…
OTHER BOYS: WOW! You guys did all of that in 3 minutes. You’re really lucky we’re not girls, Mom. *snort*
HIM: Why is there coffee all over my seat?
ME: I’M A GIRL AND I’M FAST. I’M LIKE THE FASTEST GETTING READY GIRL YOU’VE EVER MET. AND JUST SIT IN THE COFFEE. YOUR PANTS WILL WIPE IT UP. IT’S NOT LIKE YOU DON’T USE THEM FOR A NAPKIN ANYWAY. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD GET BUTTER ALL OVER.
HIM: *shakes head*
OTHER BOYS: You ARE fast but that’s probably because you don’t wear make-up. But Dad’s really slow for a guy and he doesn’t wear make up. *scratches head*
ME: BECAUSE DAD IS DAD!!!!! *guns accelerator* NOW EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION AND STOP TALKING ABOUT MAKE-UP. WHEN WE GET TO THE PARKING LOT IT’S A FOOT RACE TO THE DOOR. WE’VE GOT TO MOVE PEOPLE!!!!
And we did. Except for the discussion about the water mark on the wall of the gym and how it got there. Clogged gutter? But what matters is that WE WERE ON TIME and all was well. And after some fun retelling of the morning’s events to the school staff, my heart fell back into a normal rhythm. In fact, as I was walking back out of the school with a tiny little ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, I actually smiled until I realized…SHIT!
I forgot to do today’s blog post. Seriously? But I was already drafting in my head on the way to the car when I started to laugh at an Ah-ha moment that hit me on the head like a thawing icicle. Back in the day, these kinds of fiascos would have have stopped me in my tracks. They would have been the road blocks in my day that I just couldn’t get around. Instead of laughing it off and going home and writing a blog post, I would have considered myself a sucky blogger. I would’ve convinced myself that since I wasn’t “perfect” at it–I shouldn’t do it at all.
I let my mind extrapolate on that thought. And then I realized that all the successful writing I’ve ever done has been since I’ve had kids. That’s an interesting correlation to ponder because it certainly isn’t because of the calm, cool and collected mornings the kids bring to my life. Or afternoons, evenings, weekends, holidays etc. You get the picture. No, the connection between having kids and being a successful writer is that they forced me to change how I operate.
They were the first things in my life where quiting was not an option.
And since I’m obviously a deep and sticky vat of mistakes as a parent and a person (like we all are) I was forced to come to terms with my imperfections. I had to learn to get over myself.
I used to lay in bed at night as a child, wishing I had the power to hit a switch and get a do-over on my life. I truly believed that at any point in my own childhood I’d screwed it up so much I’d never get out from under my mistakes. And these weren’t big mistakes. It might be forgetting a homework assignment or something else just as insignificant in the big picture. I didn’t seem to have a gage for that sort of thing. No importance-o-meter. The funny thing was that no one put this pressure on me. But it was there. I some how grew up believing that there was a clear right and wrong and once you lost your way it was impossible to find it again.
Luckily for me, my kids saved me.
Not all my mornings are as wacko as today’s was. But I’ll be honest, we have our fair share of these little chaotic nuggets sprinkled throughout our existence. And when I tell these stories, which the writer in me can’t help but do, I see a lot of people holding their stomachs, tears in their eyes laughing as they ask…
And how do you ever get any writing done when you’re a mom?
And I just laugh and shrug and tell them it’s a challenge.
But the truth is that those little wackos are they only reason I ever got any writing done.
Tell me–how have kids changed your writing life? Or just your life? Are you crippled with perfectionism? Or maybe just freaking unorganized in the morning? Spill your guts–tell me I’m not all alone with the wackos. :o)
Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Mom, raising kids, wackos, writing, writing style
It’s time for some Bookanista thrills and chills and no one does it better than my fellow Apocalypsie Gretchen McNeil. She makes me crazy giving me characters I fall in love with and then putting those people I now care about in heart pounding situations. Meanie!
Josie Byrne’s life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she’s betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can’t get worse.
Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.
Jo’s life is everything Josie wants: she’s popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they’re just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.
Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo’s perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.
But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo’s boyfriend, he hates her. Jo’s mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.
By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?
From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.
Kimberly’s Review of 3:59:
This was my favorite Gretchen McNeil book to date!!! I’m more of a thriller reader than a horror aficionado and things like overlapping universes, doppelgängers and portals just make all my neurons fire. Add in intrigue, characters behaving unexpectedly and shadowy creatures and you’ve got an absolute page turner. And the ending???? I WANT MORE!!!!
You can find 3:59 here…
*Amazon
*Barnes & Noble
*IndieBound
Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror POSSESS about a teen exorcist debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her follow up TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – was a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a Romantic TimesTop Pick, a Booklist Top Ten Horror Fiction for Youth, and was nominated for “Best Young Adult Contemporary Novel of 2012” by Romantic Times. Gretchen’s 2013 release is 3:59, a sci-fi doppelganger horror about two girls who are the same girl in parallel dimensions who decide to switch places.
In 2014, Gretchen debuts her first series, Don’t Get Mad(pitched as “John Hughes with a body count”) about four very different girls who form a secret society where they get revenge on bullies and mean girls at their elite prep school. The Don’t Get Mad series begins Fall 2014 with GET EVEN, followed by the sequel GET DIRTY in 2015, also with Balzer + Bray. Gretchen also contributed an essay to the Dear Teen Me anthology from Zest Books.
Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4’s Code Monkeys and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen blogs withThe Enchanted Inkpot and is a founding member of the vlog group the YARebels. She is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Want to find out what the rest of the rest of the Bookanistas have been reading? You don’t have to go far…
Jessica Love is out-of-this-world excited about ALIENATED by Melissa Landers
Tracey Neithercott is loving BETTER OFF FRIENDS by Elizabeth Eulberg
Katy Upperman is riveted by NIL by Lynne Matson
And of course I need to know. If you had the chance to visit a parallel universe, who would be the one person in your life (besides yourself) that you’d want to check out and see what they were like?
Tags: 3:59, Apocalypsies, Book Review, Bookanistas, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini
We are on the 2014 NY SCBWI conference recap homestretch!!!! But just like with attendance at a conference, even though you’re sad to have it come to an end, you should also be feeling those itchy fingers wanting to write and create now that you’ve been inspired.
One of the very best Keynotes of the Conference was by Kate Messner: The Spectacular Power of Failure
Everyone in the room was affected by the power of Kate’s words. Why? There were multiple reasons, but the biggest were that Kate’s a dynamic speaker and the topic was relevant to everyone. Relatable and inspiring. Here are some of her best moments…
*Why do a talk on Failure? Because we share the shame we feel over the fear of failure.
*Be Brave. But it’s okay to be afraid. Of course you’re nervous–>if it weren’t , it wouldn’t be worth doing.
*Fight or Flight Fear is different than Fear of Failure, but it’s just as strong.
*On Art and Fear: You learn how to make your work by making your work.
I saved my chocolate fix for just the right spot…
*The act of sitting down to do the work brings on the idea fairy. (My idea fairy obviously likes chocolate-that’s why we get along so well.)
*Fail Fast, Fail Often: Sometimes losing can help you win.
*If we want to make art–failures are pretty good trail markers pointing us in the right direction.
*A problem that is insurmountable is manageable, when we talk to a friend. We are not afraid of our friend’s failures LOL!
*The only thing we can control is how we do our work. (Can I get an amen?)
*Failure let’s us be role models.
*High-stakes testing undermines divergent thinking. (I seriously LOVE this!)
Thank you, Kate–this pep-talk was exactly what I needed, right when I needed it. You’re the BEST! <3
Next up…Keynote Panel: The Art of the Picture Book
SS–Shandra Strickland
OJ–Oliver Jeffers
MF–Marla Frazee
RC–Raul Colon
PB–Peter Brown
Moderated by AL–Arthur Levine (If I have to tell you who he is–you haven’t done your homework well enough)
Just a few little tidbits that stuck to me…
*SS–When something isn’t working: sometimes you have to walk away to figure it out.
*MF–It’s hard to know when a piece is going downhill. I keep thinking I can fix it.
*SS–Turning down a project that doesn’t resonate is an ability that comes with maturity.
*RC–The illustrator doesn’t just want to illustrate the text–they are there to extend it.
Additionally Peter Brown got into a lively debate about authors and illustrators having more connection and collaboration in the picture book process. Everyone else on the panel felt strongly about giving the illustrator room to create without the influence of the author. Peter understood this, but felt there were advantages for authors to learn to think more spatially. I will tell you that he was getting a lot of cheers from the picture book writers in the audience LOL! In my humble opinion, both sides of the debate were fascinating and relevant.
I’m going to be honest–I was so bummed that Sharon Draper had to cancel due to a family emergency. I’d just finished reading OUT OF MY MIND with the boys and we are HUGE fans. But Nikki Grimes is such an eloquent speaker and writing royalty, I couldn’t stay disappointed. In fact, I could listen to her description of a girl’s first kiss all day long. Her voice. Her words. He perception and humor. It was amazing.
*I have been day dreaming for the better part of my life.
*It’s all right. Just keep writing. You’ll figure it out eventually.
Some other conference highlights as the big weekend comes to a close…
Tomie dePaola giving out the Tomie dePaola Award for Illustration
Jane Yolen giving out the Mid-list Author Grants (And it was her birthday!)
Hanging out with my roommie. It was Jeannie Intrieri‘s first national SCBWI conference. I think she’s hooked. <3
Getting more Kate Messner books for the boys and I to read. <3 We are uber fans!!!
The hustle, bustle and blur of everyone trying to meet their favorite authors and get their books signed.
And the moment you realize that it’s a l-o-n-g time until the 2014 LA SCBWI Conference in August. *le sigh*
I’ve done it! Another conference blog for the archives. Even though they are a lot of work to put together, I know I’m going to continue to look back at these memories and bits of wisdom and be so glad that I’ve journaled them. I also really enjoy how many people have told me how much they love the conference blogs. You guys rock!
What other kinds of blog posts–here or on other sites–do you find the most useful/memorable?
Tags: #NY14SCBWI, Arthur Levine, Conferences, Failure, Jane Yolen, Jeannie Intrieri, Kate Messner, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Marla Frazee, Nikki Grimes, Oliver Jefers, Peter Brown, Raul Colon, SCBWI, SCBWI Winter Conference, Shandra Strickland, Tomie dePaolo
