I’m so excited! Tomorrow is the Book Birthday of DESTINED by my friend Jessie Harrell. I’m here to celebrate, introduce you to Jessie and tell you why you’re destined to buy DESTINED.
“As he approached, I heard the flapping of wings, like an overgrown eagle. The sound dissolved when he landed at the edge of the open window. A rush of wind flew past me and extinguished the flames in the fireplace. Stars glimmered behind him but his body was encircled in black.”
***
When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.
As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.
Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.
Here is the DESTINED Book Trailer…
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of DESTINED.
I can’t lie, but that’s okay, because I don’t want to. I’m personally vested in this book. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve shown up in the acknowledgements page of a novel. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I first met Jessie at a NY SCBWI conference and we critiqued each other’s manuscripts. I am blown away by the amazing changes that DESTINED has undergone since I first read it. Both Jessie and Psyche have traveled on quite a journey.
I have to start off with the cover, which I absolutely love. The minute I saw it, I knew that it was the perfect fit for DESTINED. I also love the fact that the book has a modern voice in an ancient setting. What a wonderful companion book this will be in the classroom. Reluctant readers of a classic tale are going to be forever grateful to have such an exciting read to help walk them through the myth. My other favorite part of the book is the maddening way that the miscommunication between the characters causes so much havoc. Too often in real life I see how incorrect assumptions can lead to drama. I think DESTINED does a wonderful job of reminding us all to think a little before we jump to conclusions.
Psyche is a sweet and strong heroine that is easy to love–much like Jessie Harrell. <3 And of course I’ve got a girlie crush on Eros.
Interview with Jessie Harrell.
First off, can you give a little bio/synopsis of you?
By day, I’m an appellate lawyer. By night, I’m a wife, mother of two, and author/lover of all things Greek mythology. I’m a native Floridian, frustrated world traveler, unrepentant dreamer, lover of acoustic music and not-so-closet geek.
How cool is this? You and I met several years ago at a NY SCBWI Conference! Back then we were critiquing each other’s manuscripts and dreaming of having books someday. Now here we are–both of us going to have our babies out into the world. It really makes me smile. Hmmm there must be a question in here somewhere… What is the best and worst part of this journey that you’ve taken from there to here?
There’s no question that the best part of this journey has been meeting friends like you, Kim, both at conferences and online. When I started out on this road so many years ago, I could never have imagined how amazing and supportive the YA lit community would be. Rather than being like a big race or competition, everyone just cheers everyone else on. It’s pretty amazing.
The worst part had to have been the waiting. Sending query letters and waiting. Sending partials and fulls. Waiting some more. Entering writing competitions. And waiting. I am not a patient person by nature and the process of getting Destined out into the world has actually made me more neurotic, I think, rather than less. I’m pretty sure my compulsive e-mail-checking habit was born of the quering process.
I agree–the whole friend thing is priceless. It’s the best!!!! And as for waiting–yeah, that’s a killer some days. I’m waiting on my cover and I just get a little jiggly shiver whenever I think about it. LOL!
First I want to pick your brain about self-publishing. I’m fascinated by the whole process and ashamed to say that I don’t think I have the discipline to be amazing in so many different areas at once. But you and Destined are taking the world by storm and I want to hear all about it. Can you tell me how you decided to go the self-pub route?
Awww… you make me blush. “Amazing on so many fronts” isn’t exactly (or at all) how I would describe myself. Trust me — I have made some bungles and wanted to pull out my hair along the way
But as far as the decision to self-publish, I actually got some great advice from
Georgia McBride, who said it was obvious I wasn’t going to just “trunk” the novel, so why not self-publish it and start building a fan base while I shopping Book 2? While I was mulling that over, I fortuitously happened across both my cover designer and the photographer/model who is now Psyche. When the cover came together like it did, I knew there was no turning back. That was the cover I wanted. So with cover in hand and an ever-supportive hubby behind me, I made the leap!
See–a great cover can change the world!!!! I think that is both smart and brave. So, you mentioned mistakes. Lay ’em out for us. Ya know–so we don’t make the same ones. *grin*
Making me air my dirty laundry in public, eh? That’s okay. Happy to help if I can. Okay, for starters, don’t spend the extra money on a fancy countdown widget that allows people to pre-order your novel. Now, I think people did like my widget and it made me happy to see it working around the blog-o-sphere, but you want to know how many pre-orders I got before my blog tour started (we’re talking a week of release)? five. Yes 5. Now granted, I didn’t have it set up so you could pre-order Kindle or Nook versions (print only), but I’m pretty sure the free countdown widget would’ve served the purpose.
Ahhhh I see, this is good stuff. Did you have someone edit for you? I just sent back copy edits and I’m constantly amazed at how much I don’t know LOL! How did you handle that?
I did. I hired editors and I think if you’re going to self-publish “the right way,” this is a must. I have set aside too many Indie novels with great potential that had editing flaws that drove me nuts. Of course, I exhausted my critique parters before turning to the content edits, so thankfully, the content editor didn’t have too many suggestions. Except in those damned first two chapters, which I must have re-written at least 20 times in the past few years. ARGH! Then, after running it through another spell checker, I compiled the ARCs and had a copy editor review for typos, etc. And he found some. Like, there’s a line in one of Eros’ chapters where he says, “I’m pretty perfect as-is, don’t you think?” Only instead of perfect, it says prefect. Not a single one of my beta readers or CPs (or me in the 70 billion times I read it!) caught this typo. *face palm* I’m happy to say you will not find that flaw in the final version now though! And for a final check, I hired a type-setter so I’d be sure none of the final versions looked wonky, regardless of whether they were print or ebook. So yes, it was a little pricey, but I consider it an investment in me, in myself as an author, and since I don’t have to share royalties with anyone at the end of the day, hopefully the risk will pay off.
Well worth it and I’m always amazed at how the mind plays tricks and just fills in the word that should be there. The clock is ticking…your pub date will be here any second. What should readers know about your book that they might not be aware of. Come on–tell us a secret!
Hmm… a secret, huh? Well, it’s not much of a secret as far as I’m concerned, but some readers have been surprised by the anachronistic style that Destined is written in. (Yeah – I didn’t know that’s what I was doing – or even what the word meant – until someone told me at a writing conference. How’s that for a secret?) But basically, it means I’ve put together two things that you don’t normally associate together – for me, this was the ancient setting and a modern-day voice. I didn’t want anyone to feel like they were having to wade through stiff, heavy language to get my story. Frankly, I hated that as a teen. I wanted readers to be able to relate to Psyche and Eros immediately, regardless of the time period, so that’s why I made the choice that I did in writing it. I also decided to make Psyche a strong character so she would be a good role model — I didn’t want the Bella Swan backlash that the historically-accurate character would’ve gotten. Now, I’ve had a couple of reviews where the readers thought this crushed the historical accuracy, but I don’t regret the choice for a minute. Most people seem to have enjoyed the style of writing. And I assure you, the actual historical details were well researched. I didn’t gloss on those just because I went with a modern voice.
I love how you used a modern voice in an ancient setting. I was just chatting with a teen last night who was talking about how inaccessible the classics can feel. What a wonderful way to combine the best of both worlds. So, last question…what are you working on now? You mentioned a book 2. When can we expect to see it. I have a feeling your fans are going to want more from you right away. :o)
First, I’m so glad you liked the modern voice in the ancient setting. Making it relatable for teens was my primary goal.
Working on next… I co-wrote a YA novel set in modern day with
Nikki Katz. It’s called
Beneath the Surface and has some Greek mythological influence. I also just came up with an outline for a companion book to Destined. It will have the same modern style in an ancient setting, but will be about another couple, not Psyche and Eros. Once the Destined launch is over, I plan to dig into it! Hopefully you’ll be seeing them soon.
Thanks for doing the interview Kim! I loved your format for this.
Everyone should also know that since DESTINED is out TOMMORROW-if you make DESTINED your WOW pick of the week and
link back to the entry form on Good Choice Reading, they can win one of the first official DESTINED prize packs, which includes Psyche’s ring from the cover!!!
You can find out more about Jessie Harrell and DESTINED here…
Tags: Cupid and Psyche, Destined, Greek mythology, Jessie Harrell, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, myths, Shouting From the Roof Tops, YA Author, YA Novel, YA Writer
I just finished my third book from the Class of 2k12 ARC Tour. ARC stand for Advanced Reader Copy. I absolutely loved AURACLE by Gina Rosati. Let me tell you a little bit about the book before I start my gushing. I’ve pulled all the information about the book and author from Gina’s blog and the Class of 2k12.
On the surface, there’s nothing remarkable about Anna Rogan: She gets average grades, she’s not especially fashionable, she spends most of her time just hanging out with her best friend Rei. But Anna does have a remarkable secret: she has the ability to do astral projection. She uses her out-of-body experiences to explore the universe, until one day when there’s an accident at school and her classmate Taylor gets into her body. Now Taylor’s using her new identity to accuse an innocent boy of murder and she shows no signs of leaving Anna’s body. The only person who knows Anna’s secret is Rei, and as her feelings for Rei grow she must face a future where they can never touch…unless they can get find a way to get Taylor out of Anna’s body, stop the murder trial, and discover the true nature of Anna’s power.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of AURACLE.
Reading AURACLE was an amazing experience for me, particularly because I was the first person on the list of the Class of 2k12 ARC Tour. I know it sounds silly, but I felt special because I’d gotten an early peek at a book that people are going to go bonkers for. I loved everything about this story. I’ll start with the cover–it’s magical and mysterious and just plain beautiful. The cool thing is that all the very same words–that I just rattled off–also apply to the story inside. The plot feels new. I hated putting the book down because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. In fact, I was even clutching it on my lap at a recent dentist appointment. I took it with me everywhere, on the off chance that I would have a free minute or two to read it. The characters are real and flawed and relatable and so well done. I immediately fell in sync with Anna and fell in love with Rei. But there are other characters in the book that I have strong negative reactions to, and while their flaws are not sugar coated at all, I found empathy during the journey I took with them. In my opinion, Rosati gives a master class in “show don’t tell”–all the rich detail of AURACLE’s characters and setting are seamlessly woven through the story. I devoured this book, racing to the end only to find myself deliberately slowing down, hoping to stop the magic from coming to an end. Is it too soon to start wondering what Rosati will write next?
As soon as Gina Rosati could ride a bicycle, she’d visit her local public library and check out as many books as she could fit in her bike basket. When she was 15, Gina got her first ‘real’ job in the Newton Free Library shelving books. Leaving the library for a job as a supermarket cashier was a huge mistake … not only did she have the misfortune to be working the night three guys showed up with panty hose masks and sawed-off shotguns to rob the store, but Gina became trapped in the food industry. After many years of scooping ice cream, decorating cakes and assorted secretarial drudgery which included fetching coffee for a boss who called her his “Tomato”, she finally escaped. Now Gina happily writes and volunteers at her local middle school library in southern New Hampshire, where she lives with her husband and two teenagers. Look for Gina’s debut YA paranormal romance, AURACLE, from Roaring Brook Press in the summer of 2012.
You can find out more about Gina Rosati and AURACLE here…
Goodreads
Tags: Astral Projection, Auracle, Gina Rosati, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, YA Author, YA Novel, YA Writer
If it had been up to my parents, you’d soon be reading a novel called TOUCHING THE SURFACE by an author named Kelly Sabatini. Now–all you girls named Kelly out there–it’s a great name. Wear it with pride. I love the name for YOU–it’s just not the right name for me. Now granted, if the neighbors who lived in our apartment building when I was born, had had a dog named Bruno, instead of a German Shepard named Kelly then I’d likely be a Kelly and be none the wiser. Odds are, that I would have led a well adjusted life, completely oblivious to the fact that I’d be short a Wednesday blog post forty something years later. *grin*
But… even when I was a little kid and my parents told me the whole dog/name story, I always breathed a little sigh of relief. I couldn’t help but think that I’d been a little too close to spending my whole life with the wrong name. I’m sensitive that way and Kellypoppins just doesn’t have the same effect as Kimmiepoppins. *Phew*
My name had other benefits too. Growing up, I always classified other people by the name that they called me by. If someone walked up and addressed me Kimmie–I just figured that we were related. My family called me Kimmie–they still do. And the rest of the world just called me Kim. I’ve always liked both names so, it’s never been an issue. The only problem was that I also secretly liked my other name–Kimberly–but no one ever used it. I guess I’m just surrounded by nick-namey people. But I like that. It makes me feel loved. Even so, it never stopped me from also wanting to use my “full title”, so to speak. At one point in elementary school, I thought about making a public announcement that everyone should call me by Kimberly, but honestly I wasn’t that gutsy. Or convinced that I could handle a more “sophisticated” name. So, I came up with a plan. I decided that I would sign all my writing with the name Kimberly. It would be my author name and someday I would use it on the cover of the book I would write. I started to address myself as Kimberly in my diary and I began to sign all my writing the same way…
You can really see where my tendency to write dark, dramatic material started. *snicker*
It wasn’t too long ago when my agent, Michelle Wolfson and my editor Anica Rissi asked me if I would be using Kim or Kimberly on the cover of my book. For just the briefest minute, I thought about using Kim, because I’ll be honest, I’m still not used to people calling me Kimberly out loud. Sometimes I even look over my shoulder to see if they’re talking to me LOL! But then I remembered my dreams and I figure they were big enough to carry me along during those years when I forgot what I was wishing for…
What name would you put on the cover of your book?
Tags: Anica Rissi, Author, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kimmiepoppins, Michelle Wolfson, Names, YA Author, YA Novel, YA Writer
I don’t know if I explained this last time I wrote about a 2k12 book, as each member of the Class of 2k12 gets an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of their book, we’ve been circulating the books throughout the twenty class members. It’s called an ARC Tour and as long as the author wants us to, we make notes inside the book as were reading and after the book has made the rounds, it will go back to the author as a kind of souvenir of our time together. *heart squish* I’m so looking forward to letting these wonderful new friends read TOUCHING THE SURFACE.
I just finished my second ARC Tour book, THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST by Sarvenaz Tash. This was also a middle grade novel and while very different than MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose, it was just as wonderful. Let me tell you a little bit about the book. All the information I’m providing about Mapmaker and Sarvenaz, comes directly from her website.
Ages: 8-12
Grades: 3-7
Pages: 256 pp
ISBN-13: 9780802723406
ISBN-10: 0802723403
Publisher: Bloomsbury/Walker
On sale: April 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Price: $16.99
Goldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest. Intrepid, curious, and full of a well-honed sense of adventure, she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark, and to map the forest right behind her home. This task is complicated, however, by a series of unique events—a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag gang of brilliant troublemakers. And when she stumbles upon none other than the ghost of Meriwether Lewis himself, Goldenrod knows this will be anything but an ordinary summer . . . or an ordinary quest.
Kimberly Sabatini’s Review of THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST
I can’t wait to get my own copy of The Mapmaker and the Ghost. This is one that I’m dying to re-read with my boys. They’re going to love this story. Mapmaker has all the components of a great middle grade book, starting with the fact that it’s funny. The cool part, is that that the humor is written with multiple layers. It’s “gross” and slap-stick, to amuse the MG reader and equally as intelligent and quirky for the adult reading out loud. The characters and the plot are grounded in truth, making them believable and relatable, but the magical realism makes everything unique and very interesting. To top it all off, the reader gets to learn a little bit about maps and history along the way. I know the minute my kids finish reading this book, they’ll be out in the woods, having adventures and making maps of their own. I can’t ask for more than that.
First I’ll give you a crash course in how to pronounce Sarvenaz’s name. This way you can rock her world when you catch her at a book signing.
– My name is pronounced Sar (like the first part of Sara) – ve (rhymes with meh) – naz (rhymes with ‘cuz).
Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. This means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY where all the streets are laid out in a delightfully simple grid system. THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST is her debut novel.
You can find out more about Sarvenaz Tash and THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST here…
The Class of 2k12
The Apocalypsies
Sarvenaz Tash’s Web Site
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Tags: Caroline Starr Rose, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, May B., MG novel, Sarvenaz Tash, The Mapmaker and the Ghost, YA Author, YA Novel, YA Writer
