HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!!!

TOUCHING THE SURFACE is out in paperback TODAY!!!!!

Where you can find it:

*Amazon

*Barnes & Noble

*IndieBound

Can you believe it’s been almost a year since I became an author? And even longer since I sold my first book and got an agent. Here’s a little walk down memory lane. Humor me–I’m nostalgic today. So in no particular order because that would add a layer of organization I’m not capable of, here’s just a few of my most fabulous moments between finding my agent and birthing a paperback…

Standing outside the Simon & Schuster offices.

Apocalypsies at the LA SCBWI Conference!!!

Meeting my agent (Michelle Wolfson) and editor (Anica Rissi) for the first time. <3

The Class of 2k12!!!!!

Came home from a run to find my ARC’s had finally arrived!!! Such a squee moment!!!

The ARC!

Authors, Simon & Pulse friends and Writer Buds at the NY SCBWI Conference. <3

Bookmarks!!! Thanks Jeff Fielder.

Bringing my book to the Golf Bag Holder (Eastern PA Poconos Mountain Retreat with Jodi Moore.)

First book I ever signed went to Laurie Halse Anderson. Love her.

This made it feel so real.

Loved participating in the YAmazing Race with my Apocalypsies!!!

First author event, even before my book was out. LOL! With my buds from the Class of 2k12. <3

Making friends at BEA!!! Lisa and Kim.

First BEA was even sweeter because I got to spend time with my fabulous agent. <3

Blogger love <3  Finally got to meet Erica!!!!

Joining YA Outside the Lines. 

It was a BEA Apocalypsie event of awesome.

Ummmm I got to hear JOHN GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Made amazing new blogger friends. Kim and Grace. <3

Hanging with Jay Asher at LA SCBWI–Dude, it was awesome.

Joining the Bookanistas!

Kimmiepoppins met Mary Poppins!!!! I met Julie Andrews!!!!

Signing my contract!!!!!! I AM GOING TO BE AN AUTHOR!!!

My book was at Bologna. Takes my breath away.

Wow!

My Yanni dance girls wearing TOUCHING THE SURFACE T-shirts. <3

Signing books at my book launch.

Good friends drove in from far away despite all the trouble with Hurricane Sandy.

Just an amazing experience.

Unable to thank my friends and family enough for their love and support on that special day.

More book launch at Oblong Books. I LOVE that bookstore and everyone in it. <3

Dad–there–even when he couldn’t be. The dedication.

On bookshelves in bookstores.

Kimmiepoppins finally gets a book launch in NYC after Hurricane Sandy delayed it. Mean Hurricane–awesome party.

Woo hoo!!! I got to speak at the NY Public Library.

I’m a fangirl–it’s A.S. King people!!!!!

I’m a fangirl–it’s Sharon Creech people!!!!

My first SCBWI faculty gig at the Eastern NY SCBWI Conference–where I got paid to talk with my hands about things I love.

Connecting with teen readers and making hedgehogs. *grin*

Loving on my writer mama, K.L. Going. <3 Wouldn’t be here without her.

And because you made it to the end of my reminiscing…you shall be rewarded with a chance to win a signed copy of the brand spanking new TOUCHING THE SURFACE paperback!!!!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tags: Anica Rissi, Apocalypsies, ARCs, Barnes & Noble, BEA, Bologna, Book Launch, Bookanistas, Contest, Dad, dance, dedication, Golf Bag Holder, Jay Asher, Jeff Fielder, Jodi Moore, John Green, Julie Andrews, K.L Going, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kimmiepoppins, laurie halse anderson, Mary Poppins, Michelle Wolfson, Oblong Books, Paperback, SCBWI, Signed Copies, Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse, The Class of 2k12, Touching the Surface, Wolfson Literary, YA Outside the Lines

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ROSE UNDER FIRE

by Elizabeth Wein

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

Kimberly’s REview of ROSE UNDER FIRE:

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, Elizabeth Wein, Historical Fiction, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Rose Under Fire

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For today’s Bookanistas Review, I have fellow Bookanista Tracy E. Banghart and her very intriguing YA novel BY BLOOD.

For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.

Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.

But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom…and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.

Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.

By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.

Kimberly’s Review of BY BLOOD:

I really enjoyed BY BLOOD because it walked the line in several unique and wonderful ways. So many books tend to sit in a predictable pocket, but this one did several things I really, really enjoyed.

*My favorite thing about BY BLOOD was that Banghart wrote an ethnic MC that was subtle and natural. We often talk about not just raising kids who are accepting of differences, but rather raising kids who are color blind because they look deeper into a person to discover who they are. In my opinion, Emma Wong was written from that beautiful color blind perspective. Banghart created a feisty, fun and flawed character that carried me through the whole story because she was simply a great character.

*Another thing I really enjoyed about BY BLOOD, was how it was a contemporary novel with a paranormal feel. I think it was very innovative for Banghart to have the depth of an emotionally darker contemporary, the heat of a steamy romance, and the magic, intrigue and mystery of a paranormal through the exploration of the druids. I would consider this a great hybrid read.

*Lastly, the setting was fabulous. You can’t read BY BLOOD and not want to go to England immediately. I wanted to visit pubs, eat the food, see the art and just walk the cobblestone streets.

Can’t wait for MOON CHILD (By Blood 2)

Coming August 2013!

Before Emma’s adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer…

Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.

Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.

Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?

A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight…if you dare!

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, By Blood, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Moon Child, Tracy E. Banghart, YA Author, YA Books, YA Novel

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Want to see me in full-on fan girl mode? This is me getting an ARC of THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US by Lauren Myracle.

Are you checking this out? It’s me getting hugged by Lauren Myracle!!!!

My copy of THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US from BEA had a different cover–you can sort of see it in the pictures. But I think I love the new one even more…

It has all the things I love about the ARC cover but a zillion more things that encompass the heart of this story.

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?
Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.
And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . .
Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US is available on August 2o, 2013 . You can Pre-order here:

*Amazon

*Barnes & Noble

*Indiebound

*Books-A-Million

*Indigo

*ABRAMS

*iBookstore

Kimberly’s Review of THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US:

There are a million things that I love about this book. First and foremost–it is a gorgeous love story. The kind that’s better than a fairy tale, because it’s sweet and real and very believable. It IS what happens when souls collide. But as the cover flap suggests, souls have bodies. I love how this book talks about sex in a loving, beautiful, responsible and informative way without an ounce of preachiness. It approaches sex bravely–without societal or religious shame–but also without the smutty feel of Hollywood gone wrong. After standing in the storm of the Fifty Shades “phenomenon,” this story feels a little bit like the sun coming out after the rain. With the pendulum of sexuality swinging between promise rings and feathered handcuffs, THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US finds the sweet spot. Why does this resonate with me so much? More than anything, as a mom of three boys, Lauren Myracle illustrates what it means for young men to be kind and respectful of women, whether its their souls or their bodies colliding. Be safe. Be respectful. Be loved. Be someone who reads THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US.

Lauren Myracle is the author of numerous young adult novels. She was born in 1969 in North Carolina. Lauren Myracle holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. she has written many novels, including the famous IM books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r.

Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected as one of ALA’s “Best Books for Young Adults” for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the “Top Ten Youth Romances” of the year, as well as one of the “Top Ten Books by New Writers.” Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, followed by its YA sequels (Twelve, Thirteen, Thirteen Plus One) .

Want to see what the other Bookanistas are talking about? Check out our website THE BOOKANISTAS and here are this week’s Bookanista reviews…

Rebecca Behrens leaps over THE MOON AND MORE by Saran Dessen

Elana Johnson has props for THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting

Tracey Neithercott croons about CROAK by Gina Damico

Kimberly Sabatini delves into THE INFINITE MOMENT OF US by Lauren Myracle

Corrine Jackson touts TEMPEST

What’s your take on bodies colliding in YA literature? Who does it well? Who over does it? Is it needed? Is it over done? Inquiring minds want to know.

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lauren Myracle, The Infinite Moment of Us

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Yesterday I was talking online to a bunch of my writer buddies and someone said…

The more I learn about publishing the more I realize the best promotional tool is to write the next book and the next and the next…

That makes a HUGE amount of sense. It resonates with me on more than just the promotional level. I also connect to it on a deeper, more personal level. I use writing as a way to make sense of the world. The less time I have to write, the less the world makes sense to me.

I love my social media, but ultimately it is the writing.

To me blogging isn’t just a publishing tool. It’s a kind of journaling that works really well for me BECAUSE it’s interactive. So I really do love doing it. A lot. But I’ve been toying with this for awhile and I’ve finally come to realized that it’s time for me to adjust my blogging schedule a little bit. I need to do this partly because I DO NOT want to give up my membership in either YA Outside the Lines or the Bookanistas. I love those groups. And partly it’s because I also like to do guest posts, interviews and judge writing events whenever possible. Between the blogs and the extra posts, too much of my writing time is being eaten up.

For example: July 2013’s Projected Blog Schedule

Post due for my own blog–14

Post for YAOTL–1

Posts for the Bookanistas–1 or 2

Guest posts for Blog Tour–5

Other Interviews for blogger events–2

Interviews I had to turn down because I was at risk for losing my mind–More than one 🙁

That’s a grand total of at least 23 posts and or interviews. And on average these take me 60 minutes or more to brainstorm, write and add links/graphics. (There have been days they’ve taken longer.) That’s a lot of time I could and should be using to write.

And on a personal front…I HAVE THREE BOYS!!!! Yeah, that. And I like them enough to want to spend quality time with them as often as I can. And I’m moving in the fall. So I’m staging and showing and pretending I’m organized on a regular basis. Remember me? The one who doesn’t get the laundry done on a good day.

So, I’ve decided that I’m going to take a small two-week blog hiatus while I’m traveling with the family over the end of July. (July 22-Aug. 2) and then I’ll be back on TUESDAY August 6th followed by THURSDAY August 8th. This will kick off my official move to a Tuesday/Thursday schedule. By doing this, I will drop down to 8-10 posts a month on average. Much more manageable.

If you think you’re going to have trouble remembering to stop by on the new dates, please sign up to have my blog posts sent right to you. On the right hand side of my blog I have an RSS feed sign up and and email sign up. I’ll also do my best to put up some reminders for the two weeks off and the new schedule. I love you for understanding why I need to make the change.

Do you blog? And if you do, do you have a schedule? I recommend having specific blogging times, so people do know when to show up to connect with you, but flexibility is important too. You never want to get so frustrated you squeeze an innocent hedge hog puppet. Totally not cool.

Any other blog tips you want to share with me? Any questions about blogs? Fire away!

*No hedge hog puppets were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Tags: blogging, blogging schedule, Bookanistas, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Promotional tools, social media, YA Outside the Lines

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Today is the official relaunch day for the BOOKANISTAS!!!! If you’ve been following along, you know that I’m one of the newest members of this group. When I was invited to join the Bookanistas I jumped at the chance because they are perfectly in line with my own personal feelings about reviewing books.

Nothing But Love Policy 

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but as an author, I feel there is no room in my life for negatively critiquing the work of my peers. If I have a book gripe, I share it on a personal level, not a public one. But on the other hand, I have multiple reasons for wanting to positively promote books.

Here are some of my reasons…

*It helps authors to have reviews posted in places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads etc… If you want to help your favorite author continue to write books, please support and endorse them. It does help, but even if it didn’t, I’m positive it would make that author very, very happy to know you care.

*I love connecting books I love with people I love. *fist pump* And it’s even more fun if after the connection, we get to talk about the books. Yup–I’m a book nerd and seriously proud of it!

*I enjoy writing quirky reviews. I am incredibly impressed with the time and effort that goes into the in-depth reviews that most bloggers write, but I honestly don’t feel I can live up to the standard they’ve set. Rather than not share at all, I review books in my own unique way. I try to see the book through my own personal filter. Hopefully, by coming at it a little differently, I catch the attention of someone who will love the book the way that I do .

Not sure what a REALLY UNIQUE Kim review might look like? Here’s an example…  LOL!

*I read reviews. They help me to pick out my own books. I can only read about 100 books a year (I hate that I’m such a slow reader) so I like to increase my chances of finding something utterly awesome. Plus, I’m simply fascinated by the fact that so many different people can feel completely different emotions about the same book. The oddities and intricacies of human nature simply suck me in, I also like being a part of the process–not just a taker, but a giver too.

As I mentioned earlier, with May drawing to a close, we’re celebrating the start of summer and another great beginning: THE RELAUNCH OF THE BOOKANISTAS! New members, new logo, new website design and a whole lot more of the book love we all adore!

Signed copies of these Bookanista-authored books…

IF I LIE and TOUCHED by Corrine Jackson PLUS ARCs of JUST ONE DAY and SPEECHLESS

LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger

BY BLOOD by Tracy Banghart

POSSESSION, SURRENDER and ABANDON by Elana Johnson

TOUCHING THE SURFACE by Kimberly Sabatini (plus a swag surprise)

BAD TASTE IN BOYS by Carrie Harris

AUDITION by Stasia Ward Kehoe

THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca (plus sweet swag)

MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza

LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans

AND A SECOND WINNER WILL GET A BOX FILLED WITH Bookanista-beloved reads including WILL GRAYSON WILL GRAYSON (signed!) by John Green & David Levithan, DITCHED by Robin Mellom, JELLICO ROAD by Melina Marchetta, TAKEN by Erin Bowman, CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare, MONSTROUS BEAUTY by Elizabeth Fama and SPARROW ROAD by Sheila O’Connor.

* You can find lots more Bookanista Relaunch Book Love at our sites around the interwebs: Carolina Valdez Miller, Carrie Harris,  Christine Fonseca, Corrine Jackson, Debra Driza, Elana Johson, Jessica Love, Katy Upperman, Lenore Appelhans,  Nikki Katz, Rebecca Behrens, Shannon Messenger , Shelli Johannes-Wells, Stasia Ward Kehoe, Tracey Neithercott , Tracy Banghart  

What has you the most excited about the BOOKANISTAS Re-launch?

Tags: Bookanistas, Books, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Nothing But Love Policy, reading, Relaunch, reviews

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I fell in love with Katherine Longshore‘s writing with her debut novel GILT.

TARNISH by Viking Juvenile, is available on June 18th (Pre-order HERE) and it’s even better!

GOOD READS SUMMARY

Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court–and to convince the whole court they’re lovers–she accepts. Before long, Anne’s popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice–but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart’s desire and the chance to make history.

MY REVIEW

I LOVED Katherine Longshore’s debut novel, GILT, and you should get excited because TARNISH is even better! The one thing that kept running through my mind as I read TARNISH, was how hard it must have been to be a woman in a man’s world. To have very little, or no control of your own destiny. The thought is frightening. And yet, against the odds, Longshore gives us Anne Boleyn. She wants more. Anne has a spark and it makes me think of her as one part of a long, bright, string of lights. Anne is part of a chain of women through out history, that have helped to shape our role in the world today. But it’s not just Anne. Reading TARNISH made me realize that Longshore is another light–one that continues to guide our way.

Katherine Longshore takes history and mystery and weaves it into magic. Irresistible.

ABOUT KATHERINE LONGSHORE

(Taken Directly from Katherine Longshore’s Website)

I’ve always been a writer. I’ve been writing stories since I learned how to hold a pencil, asking my dad how to spell words while I worked under the bar stools at our kitchen counter.

In my teens, I fell in love with theater. I wanted to act. On the stage. I loved the hush of the crowd, the sticky odor of pancake makeup and the dusty resin of wax on the stage floor. I loved to be able to look out over the audience, the flash of glasses reflecting the stage lights. I loved to hear their laughter. But mostly, I loved losing myself in a character made of words. To make that character live and breathe. Now, that is magic.

I played bit parts (including that of a catatonic in a mental institution—my only line was a scream) and grew into bigger roles on the high school stage. I spent five summers spouting Shakespeare beneath stars and redwoods, hoping one day to play Rosalind in As You Like It.

I got an acting scholarship to a good university and went on to study acting and costume design for two years. But then I traveled on the Semester at Sea—a program on which students study on board a ship and travel around the world, visiting ten countries in one hundred days. It changed my life. I realized I didn’t want to spend my entire life in a windowless black box (a theater) but in the greater world.

So I created my own major, planning to use it to be a travel writer. I spent two months traveling Europe by train. I worked for nine months for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association on a research boat as a steward (making beds and washing dishes) in order to earn the money to backpack around the world. The ship went to Chile and the Antarctic, and even stopped at Easter Island—one of the most remote locations in the Pacific Ocean. After so long at sea, I needed time on land, so I packed up my sister and her puppy in a beaten-down station wagon and drove across North America.

And then I packed a single bag and flew to Africa. Alone. I spent five months in southern Africa—South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, but primarily Zimbabwe. I saw elephants and rhinos and kudu, was woken up from a dead sleep in a tent by the roar of lions and sat for hours on the banks of the Zambezi watching Victoria Falls. I spent the rest of that year in Southeast Asia—mostly eating coconut curry. After a few restless months at home, I traveled to Australia and New Zealand and completely depleted my travel fund.

And then I went to England, invited by an Englishman I’d met in Zimbabwe. I went for two weeks and stayed for six months—I left the day before my visa expired—and the next year I married him.

I lived in England for five years, in a little town in the county of Kent. I lived within spitting distance of Hever Castle—Anne Boleyn’s childhood home. Penshurst Place, once owned by the Duke of Buckingham and Knole House, once owned by King Henry VIII himself were also nearby. I grew to love the English countryside—so different from the forests and volcanic mountains of California. And I came to love English history—so much more violent and colorful and ancient than my own.

In the course of my life, I’ve worked as a dishwasher, lingerie seller, coffee barista, cake decorator, ship’s steward, video rental clerk, freelance journalist, travel agent, waitress, contracts manager, bookseller and Montessori preschool teacher.

But in writing for teens, I’ve finally found my calling.

And through writing, I am able to encompass all my loves. Becoming a character made of words. Exploring new worlds. And living history.

YOU CAN CHECK OUT MORE GREAT BOOKANISTAS REVIEWS HERE

Elana Johson is enthralled by CROWN OF EMBERS by Rae Carson

Stasia Ward Kehoe is mesmerized by GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers

Christine Fonseca  adores DEAD SILENCE by Kimberly Derting

Corrine Jackson revels in ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sara Dessen

Katy Upperman is charmed by QUINTANA OF CHARYN by Melina Marchetta

Kimberly Sabatini is touched by TARNISH by Katherine Longshore

Lenore Appelhans  loves The Originals by Cat Patrick

What amazing women do you think has/had the spark that’s helped to change the role of women in the world today?

And yesterday I told you that I had a BIG Anniversary coming up today. I’d like to wish my wonderful, amazing husband, John a Happy 20th Anniversary today.

I love you more today than yesterday. <3

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, Gilt, Katherine Longshore, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Tarnish

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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

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, running, YA Author, YA Books

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