Yesterday kicked off SUPER SWAG SUNDAY!! Fellow Apocalypsie, Laurisa White Reyes, debut author of THE ROCK OF IVANORE: Book One of the Celestine Chronicles is hosting SUPER SWAG SUNDAY on her blog–A Thousand Wrongs. And guess what? I’m one of thirty-one authors participating…
SUPER SWAG SUNDAY PARTICIPANTS:
The Rock of Ivanore – Laurisa White Reyes
Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman
Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
Claws by Mike & Rachel Grinti
Blind Spot by Laura Ellen
Emily’s Dress & Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak
Starters by Lissa Price
Fingerprints of You by Kristen-Page Madonia
Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Seeing Cinderella by Jenny Lundquist
Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Cracked by K.M.Walton
The Prisoner of the Shadows (Heroes of the Highest Order) by R.K. Hinrichsen
The Downside of Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Small Medium At Large by Joanne Levy
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
The Dark Light by Sara Walsh
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
The Wicked & the Just by J. Anderson Coats
The Marble Queen by Stephanie J. Blake
Fishtale by Hans Bauer & Catherine Masciola
Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Fair Coin by E.C. Myers
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire LeGrand
Auracle by Gina Rosati
Time Between Us Tamara Ireland Stone
Chained by Lynn Kelly
You Can’t Have My Planet by James Mihaley
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
The Secret Sisters Club by Monique Bucheger
Here’s how it works…
SUPER SWAG SUNDAY is a celebration of the best in new kids and teens
literature. What is swag? Swag is all the fun stuff authors giveaway
to promote their books and I’ve got TONS OF IT!!!!
31 authors (many who are Apocalypsies) have donated everything you can
imagine for this event: signed bookmarks, postcards, tattoos,
stickers, pins, magnets, pens, frishbees, rubber bugs, origami, guitar
picks, fortune cookies, and more!
Every day for 7 days I will spotlight 4 or 5 new titles from the most
amazing up and coming children’s and teen authors. Then, next Sunday,
June 10th seven (7) giveaway winners will be announced. Each winner
will receive a MEGA SWAG PACK containing swag from every spotlighted
author!
You can enter the giveaway just once or every day for more chances to
win! This is great way to kick off your child or teen’s summer
reading! Come on by first thing tomorrow morning and join in the fun!
http://1000wrongs.blogspot.com
Here are some of the goodie you can win…
What are you waiting for? Oh, right–I always ask you a question. What is your most prized piece of book swag you’ve ever received?
Tags: A Thousand Wrongs, Apocalypsies, Contest, Contest. swag, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Laurisa White Reyes, Super Swag Sunday, Swag, Touching the Surface
Next week is Book Expo America (BEA) week in New York City which means that a plethora of publishing folks take a bite out of the Big Apple during a weeklong discussion and celebration of books, books and more books. Yeah, my kind of a get together. This is my first time going to BEA so I’m not sure exactly what to expect, but I know I’m really excited to hook up with my agent, Michelle Wolfson. Hang with out with my Editor Anica Rissi and meet a whole slew of people from Simon Pulse. I’m also so excited to meet more than a handful of members from the Class of 2k12 and the Apocalypsies for the first time. And of course I’m thrilled to spend more time with the ones I have met before. Last but not least,I’m really excited to meet some of the book bloggers that I follow online. Remember, first and foremost, I’m a reader and I depend on those wonderful reviews to figure out what goes to the top of my reading list.
No need to reinvent the wheel. The lovely Sarvenaz Tash, debut MG author of THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST, put together this amazing list of events that I’ll be participating in. Here are all the places I’ll be–so if you’re going to BEA, or if you’re a blogger, teacher, librarian or a reader who wants to get out of the house, feel free to come to one or all of these events. I’d be super stoked to see you.
Monday, June 4, 2012
What: BEA Kick-Off Party/Breaking into KidLit Panel with the Class of 2K12
Where: Bank Street Bookstore
610 112th St., New York, NY
When: 7 PM
RSVP: Your invitation is here!
Info: Kick off BEA week with the Class of 2K12. We’re going to talk a bit about how we broke into the kidlit business before mingling in a fun party atmosphere.
Tuesday, June 5th
What: Meet the Apocalypsies at BEA
Where: Javits Center, Room 1E04
655 W. 34th St., New York, NY
When: 3-5 PM
Info: Come meet over 20 of this year’s debut MG and YA authors. There will be raffles, prizes and cookies! You do need a BEA pass to attend this event.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
What: Mix, Mingle and Win with the Class of 2K12
Where: Tenth Rail
413 10th Ave., New York, NY
When: 6 PM
RSVP: Your invitation is here!
Info: Our big BEA party complete with appetizers and awesome raffles where you can win books, swag and critiques!
*I won’t be there for the Thursday event because I don’t have a book yet, LOL!!!! Only 150 more days to wait!!!! But there is another Class of 2k12 event at Books of Wonder that sounds awesome. Wish I could be there.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
18 W. 18th St., New York, NY
When: 6-8 PM
RSVP: Your invitation is
here!
Info: Come meet some of 2012’s debut kidlit authors (including me) and get your books signed!
And here are the official flyers for the events…
I also have a really cool post card to show you from the Apocalypsies, but due to a Level 2 cover reveal today, I’ll be sharing that one with you at a later time. Hope to see you at BEA. Before you go…have you been to BEA before? Any tips for me? Any questions about the event? I might be able to answer them. Hope to go some day?
Tags: Apocalypsies, BEA, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Simon and Schuster, Simon Pulse, The Class of 2k12
I’m going to come right out and admit this…Lynda Mullaly Hunt is a soulmate. From the moment I met her, I knew that we had an incredible bond. And I’m struggling to try to capture the depth of my emotion for her and her debut novel ONE FOR THE MURPHYS. I want to share what’s in my heart, but I can’t–I’m not that good of a writer. So you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. You are getting a glimpse of one of the new heroes in the world of children’s literature…
A moving debut novel about a foster child learning to open her heart to a family’s love
Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she’s blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong–until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She’s not really a Murphy, but the gifts they’ve given her have opened up a new future.
You can order ONE FOR THE MURPHYS here…
*Barnes & Noble
*Amazon
*IndieBound
*Additional on line book sellers
Kimberly’s review of ONE FOR THE MURPHYS…
Lynda Mullaly Hunt is a fellow Class of 2k12er and I had the luck to meet up with her during the 2012 NY SCBWI conference. After talking to Lynda about ONE FOR THE MURPHYS–I knew that I was going to love this book. It was obvious to me that Lynda wrote from a very emotional and honest place and I gravitate towards books that make me feel things deeply.
This book is beautiful.
I’ll start with the cover–which is perfect. Well done Nancy Paulsen Books–this couldn’t be better. But it’s what’s between the covers that grabs a hold of me and won’t let go. Oh, Carley–you make me both ashamed and proud to be an adult. You remind me that children put up walls to discover if the grown-ups are willing to scale them. You hammer home the truth–that we learn from our children if we take the time to listen to them. You remind me that adults must make the tough choices, the ones that are the best for the child, but that we can be kind and gentle in our tough love. You awaken my desire to be somebody’s hero and I want to hold you in my arms. Lynda hasn’t written a character–she has introduced me to someone I will love and think about forever.
And then there is Mrs. Murphy–who comforts me as much as she comforts Carley. Because even as an adult, I need to know that there are good people in this world who lead with their hearts. I need those role models in my life–she’s who I want to be when I “grow up.”
Each and every character in this book played a part in creating this wonderful read. I want to talk about every one of them, but I’m treading on spoiler ground if I don’t reign myself in. So I just want to say that it takes a village to “raise” a child and this community of characters, flawed and growing, rises to it’s own occasion. They never reach perfection, but that’s okay, because neither do I. This book is ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, but it’s also one for the Sabatini’s and it’s one for you…
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
I was born in the late sixties–the age of “flower children.” I must admit, though, that I ended up more as a “flour child” and a coffee lover. How did this happen?
Being the youngest of five children, I can fend for myself pretty well. I was a tom-boyish girl who loved skateboarding, climbing trees, playing baseball, and seeing everything there was to see on my bicycle. I must confess that one of those bicycles had a banana seat, was bright green, and had “Dill Pickle” written (complete with a picture!) on the chain guard; it was big enough to be read from a long distance away, too. Funny…I’d always wondered why no one ever tried to steal that bike…
After graduating from Conard High School in West Hartford, CT., I attended UConn and got two degrees in education. As a teacher, I really learned how much I loved writing for the fun of it. I mostly wrote stories that had structural errors so that I could give the kids red pens, tell them to give me an “F” if they wanted, but they better be able to explain why. Kids relished the opportunity to fail the teacher, so they dug deep. Oddly, it was a lot of fun.
When my daughter was born, I left teaching to be home with her. After her brother joined us and I realized that I was finding Sesame Street to be genuinely stimulating, I told my husband that I was joining a writers group at the local bookstore. I did and the rest is history! Well, maybe not quite yet… ;-
So, how about the writer’s journey? Did I want to be a writer since I could hold (and eat) a crayon?
You can learn more about Lynda Mullaly Hunt and ONE FOR THE MURPHYS here…
*Website
*Blog
*The Class of 2k12
*The Apocalypsies
*Twitter
*Facebook
I need to know…who is your hero?
Tags: Apocalypsies, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Middle Grade, One for the Murphys, The Class of 2k12
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.
You can Pre-order SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL here…
*Barnes & Noble
*Amazon
*IndieBound
Kimberly’s Review of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL…
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…
*Website
*The Apocalypsies
*Blog
*Facebook
*Twitter
*Goodreads
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.
Tags: Apocalypsies, Book Review, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Something Like Normal, Trish Doller, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel, YA Writer
Just like my Freaky Friday Interviews of aspiring authors, I’ve discovered that there’s a whole world of YA bloggers just starting out. I thought it would be fun to highlight some of these newbie bloggers because-lets face it-bloggers are freaky book lovers too and we should all work together in our quest to take over the world one YA book at a time.
Today’s baby book blogger is Riya from The Teen Book Guru. Riya and I hit it off when she requested an ARC of TOUCHING THE SURFACE for review. Of course the people at Simon Pulse know I have absolutely no impulse control and are wise not to let me have the keys to the book vault, but that’s okay. I got a new friend out of the request and I just had to share her with you.
Bio: 15. Book Lover. Blogger. Totally Invincible.
Could you tell me a little about you and how you came to be a blogger.
My name is Riya, but all my friends call me Ira (my middle name), and I am an 8th grade student–In just a few months I will proudly be able to say that I have survived Middle School! If there is one thing you should know about me, it’s probably the fact that I am a complete and utter dork. Seriously. But I mean that in the best way possible; I dream of a day when the world is full of more people like us. 😛 I am always engulfed in a story… you won’t be able to find me without a book in hand! I love singing, (much to the dismay of people anywhere in a five mile radius!), writing, blogging, eating, and sleeping. Those are my favorite things to do in the whole wide world. I’ve always been an avid reader as far as I can remember, but I only got immersed in the book blogging community a little more than a month back. I remember very clearly, one day I was on the internet looking up a book and I started to come across all of these wonderful book blogs that dedicated themselves to reading, writing, reviewing and everything and anything to do with books. I remember feeling so much admiration and awe at the dedication, effort and passion they put into all of their posts, and I was inspired. Simple as that. Inspiration hit me in the head, and… bazaam! The Teen Book Guru was born! I think that it is such a great way for me to share my love of reading, and especially my obsession with Young Adult literature, which I do believe is taking over the world.
I love it when inspiration strikes. And because I’m an utter dork too…I absolutely agree, we should take over the world. Now tell me, who has had an influence on you in the blogging community? What have they taught you? Who do you look up to?
I’ve had a lot of influences in the blogging community, and I am so very thankful to all of them. But just to name a few… Rabiah, from Confessions of a Readaholic, who I know personally, and she is just so down to earth and a kind and amazing person; Jessica, from Peace, Love, Books (a gorgeous blog which I often find myself obsessing over), who so generously and patiently offered me words of wisdom and kindness when I felt hopeless; and, of course, Kristi at The Story Siren– lets face it, who has NOT heard of this phenomenal blogger? Those are just a few of the bloggers who have inspired me (if I were to name all of them, we would be here forever!). Some other people who I absolutely adore and could not live without are my best friends, who always encourage me to follow my dreams, but are also there to slap me a couple of times and bring me back to earth when I need it— I love you guys!
Best friends are the BEST! It sounds so cliche but I don’t know what I would do without mine. What advice would you give new book bloggers? Is there any big mistakes you’ve made that they should avoid?
Wow. This might take some time. If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would definitely be to just ENJOY it. I would tell myself to stop worrying about the number of followers you have, or your stats, and don’t… please don’t compare your blog to other blogs, because that, my fellow bloggers, is the recipe for a disaster (and possibly a meltdown). To all new book bloggers (keep in mind, that I am only a month old myself,), if the number one reason you are starting up your blog is not because you WANT to and you love reading, then don’t do it. Have fun. Hang out with your friends. Eat chocolate. Blog. Life is good. 🙂
I think that’s a great mind set to have. I feel the same way about this debut author ride I’m on. I’m just trying to soak it in and enjoy every minute. What do you want to see from author/blogger relationships and interactions, considering they are always growing and changing?
I personally love the way the relationship between authors and bloggers are progressing. I love interacting with authors and talking to them about their books… they really are such lovely people— without them, we wouldn’t have stories and books!! I mean, I don’t really want to see any change, but I just hope that things stay the way they are. What really excites me is that I get to promote books that I so strongly believe in and work alongside the author to spread the news… and the best part is that people actually listen!! That makes me smile. I just feel so happy to do what I believe in and meet all these amazing people who are so inspiring.
And you are so appreciated for your hard work, love and enthusiasm. Thank you so much for all that you do to promote good books. *heart squish* Now you must tell me your top 5 most loved books that have had an impact on you and why.
Hmm… this is a hard one! In no particular order…
*Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – This is the book that I have grown up with. It’s such a charming fairytale, and has a special place in my heart.
*The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – One of my most beloved classics. Whenever I feel sad, this is the book I go to. The storytelling is amazing and Burnett’s writing is so magical.
*Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – My copy is battered and creased from all the times I’ve read it. The tragic love story of Cathy and Heathcliff struck a chord inside me– I couldn’t think straight for a whole week after I read this heart-breakingly beautiful classic!
*The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien – One of my absolute favorite series. Tolkien truly is the master of fantasy–his books come alive and the world he creates is so magnificent… I remember wishing I could be transported into the story!!
*Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan – These books introduced me into what is now one of my major obsessions– greek mythology. Riordan craftily incorporates greek myths into a modern day society. I love Percy!
Thanks so much for having me!!! xox Riya
Riya, it was my pleasure. It has been so nice to get to know you better. If you’d like to learn more about Riya you can check out her blog THE TEEN BOOK GURU.
Tags: Baby Book Blogger, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, The Book Guru
