Today is your lucky day–you have multiple chances to win my ARC of ALL FIXED UP (Ciel Halligan #4)

by the fabulous Linda Grimes!!!!

Linda is one of my Wolf Pack Sistahs at Wolfson Literary and she was super-duper sisterly and sent me an advanced copy of ALL FIXED UP!!!  I love her for not making me wait to find out what happened to one of my favorite characters in the book world. And since I just finished reading ALL FIXED UP, I get to tell everyone how awesome it is AND I get to be one of the nicest people on the planet because I’m sharing my copy with another Ciel fan.

But before I get to the giveaway, let me tell you a little about the book…

Coming May 24, 2016 — Tor Books

The hilarious adventures of human chameleon Ciel Halligan continue in the fourth installment of this original urban fantasy series, All Fixed Up.

Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, has a lot of experience filling in for her clients–as them. A rare genetic quirk gives her the ability to absorb human energy and project it back out in a flawless imitation. She’s hard at work, posing as a well-known and celebrated astronaut, about to make a stunning announcement on behalf of the space program…when the photographer documenting the job sees right through her aura. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that he not only knows Ciel’s not who she’s supposed to be, but means her harm.

When Ciel’s elderly Aunt Helen—also an aura adaptor—is murdered in Central Park, and the same photographer shows up at the funeral, Ciel starts to feel even more exposed. Then more adaptors are killed in the same way, and she becomes terrified her friends and family are being systematically exterminated … and it’s starting to look like she’s the ultimate target. She turns to Billy Doyle, her best-friend-turned-boyfriend, for help, but when an unexpected crisis causes him to take off without a word, she’s left to rely on her not-so-former crush, CIA agent Mark Fielding.

Staying alive, keeping control of her romantic life, and unraveling the mystery of why adaptors are being pursued becomes a harder balancing act than ever in this new Ciel Halligan adventure from Linda Grimes.

And here is my review of ALL FIXED UP:

I’m just going to say it–I LOVE the Ciel Halligan books! I don’t know how Linda Grimes does it, but ALL FIXED UP is my favorite to date. The more she writes, the better she gets. Once again Grimes captures the perfect balance between humor, steamy romance and heart. If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, but want to add a supernatural twist, you are going to love Ciel Halligan!!!!

And in case you’ve some how managed to miss this fabulous series, I wanted you to get a look at all the covers and some of the fabulous reviews. You do see that OUTLANDER’S Diana Gabaldon thinks it’s awesome too! Right along with RT Book Reviews and Library Journal. And me, of course.

And I don’t want you to leave without getting to know Linda a little better…

Linda grew up in Texas, where she rode horses, embarrassed herself onstage a lot, and taught teenagers they’d have to learn the rules of English before they could get away with breaking them for creativity’s sake. She currently resides in Virginia with her husband, whom she snagged after he saw her in a musical number at the now defunct Melodrama Theater in San Antonio. (There’s nothing like a rousing chorus of “If You Wanna Catch a Fish You Gotta Wiggle Your Bait” to hook a man for a lifetime.)

Like IN A FIX’s globetrotting main character, aura adaptor Ciel Halligan, Linda has spent her fair share of time overseas, though fortunately under less stressful circumstances. Kidnapping and daring rescues are all well and good in fiction, but she prefers sanity in her real life.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. It’s time to give my ARC of ALL FIXED UP to one lucky winner!!! The Rafflecopter below will give you all kinds of chances to win.

Ready. Set. Go!

****If you haven’t started this series yet–Linda is also throwing in a signed copy of her first book in the series IN A FIX for the winner!!! It’s your lucky day!!!!!****

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tags: All Fixed Up, ARC, Ciel Halligan, Contest, Diana Gabaldon, giveaway, Janet Evanovich, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Library Journal, Linda Grimes, Michelle Wolfson, Outlander, RT Book Reviews, Stephanie Plum, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

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It’s Day 2 of #LA15SCBWI and I can’t imagine a more inspirational start then hearing Dan Santat speak. Dan was this year’s Caldecott winner with BEEKLE, but what really makes it this keynote special is that Dan “grew up” in the SCBWI. Like many of the speakers I’ve heard over the years, he got his start in this tribe and he made that very clear…ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE TASTE: STORIES OF HOW THE SCBWI HELPED ME AND HOW I GREW AS AN AUTHRO WHEN I WASN’T AT THE CONFERENCE

Over the course of Dan’s keynote, he made us laugh and he imparted tons of wisdom and inspiration. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place at the end of his speech. Here was my best take aways from Dan…

*Understand why YOU like–don’t be censored.

*If you have a closed mind, you’re going to miss out on the beauty of things.

*Comic books are soap operas for nerds.

*Learn from others. Ex. BREAKING BAD is a study in character development.

*Read Goodreads reviews with some common sense. You know when someone is giving you useful information that can help you grow. Also read the bad reviews of the classics to gain some perspective.

*Study the fundamentals–when you understand them, you then have the freedom to move around.

*Learn by imitation–don’t become a clone, use it to ADD to your fundamentals.

*If you do something hard once, you know you have it in you to do it again.

*Find your voice–stop imitating and start INNOVATING.

*Do what you love when the work will find you.

*Do it because you are passionate about what you do.

*If you put money in the equation, you’re never going to find it. It’s like chasing a shadow.

*Live and die by your own sword. If you put your faith in yourself you will tread water and survive.

*You don’t want to live with regrets. If I had quit I never would have had the Caldecott Medal. *cue sobs*

Next up was the AGENT’S PANEL: INSIDE THE CHILDREN’S BOOK MARKET

JR—Jodi Reamer (Writer’s House)

AP—Alexandra Penfold (Upstart Crow Literary)

KN—Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary Agency)

BG—Barry Goldblatt (Barry Goldblatt Literary)

BB—Brenda Bowen (Greenberg Associates)

JB—Jenny Bent (The Bent Agency)

MODERATOR–LO—Lin Oliver

Here’s the advice and information that I took note of…

AP–You’re not acquiring a book, you’re taking on a life.

BG–Competition to get manuscripts read by editors is immense, so your MS needs to be in the best shape.

BG–9 to 5? WHAT IS THAT?

BG–You are the one in the driver’s seat. You get to choose.

JB–I don’t care who you are–there will be downtime in your career.

JB–Respect and honesty on both sides are key.

AP–Write the book that can get you above the noise.

BG–Editors should have the ability to take a flyer because a great smaller book can become a huge best seller. Ex–WONDER

JR–Social media should be natural. It should be you.

BG–We are colleagues. We’re not out to undercut each other. You’re not competing with anyone in this room.

AP–You never know where the connections are going to come from.

AP–If it makes me feel–I’ll follow you anywhere.

BG–We get jaded, but then we see something that knocks us off our seats and want to sell it!

AP–If you have a rich reading life, you will have a rich writing life.

BB–Best promo for a book is the next one. Keep writing.

JB–Be a mensch–Be kind. Be helpful. Be generous.

JB–I see social media as an opportunity to be kind to people and share.

Next up was my first Workshop of the Day. BONNIE BADER–CHAPTER BOOKS: WHAT’S WORKING AND WHAT’S NOT

Some things that make a book–a chapter book…

-a milestone event

-a protagonist around the age of the reader (7-10 year olds)

-Roughly 80-120 pages

-size of type, density of illustrations

-expand the details of your character to make them unique.

-use a universal theme with a twist

What kinds of chapter books that are successful…

–Magic Tree House

–Junie B Jones

–Princess in Black

–George Brown, Class Clown

–The Dory Books (Dory Fantasmagory)

–Captain Awesome

LUNCH TIME!!!!

The next keynote of the day was Jane O’Connor–BORROWING FROM LIFE: CREATING A CHARACTER

Here were some Fancy Nancy style tips to remember…

*Leave out all the stuff that’s boring.

*Eavesdropping is crucial to writing.

*Middles are a bitch.

Jane was followed by Varian Johnson–IF IT WERE EASY, EVERYONE WOULD DO IT

Varian was open and honest and so touching with his ability to share his hard publishing moments with the audience. He had so much inspiration to share…

*The hard is what makes it great.

*We make the time.

*We all deserve to be part of the conversation, but we have to do the work.

*My job is to put words on paper. If the muse shows up that day–BONUS.

*Writing is a job that deserves to be treated as such. Set up a schedule.

*Don’t talk about it. Be about it.

*And while I’m not looking forward to my next failure…I know it’s coming.

*We’re writers…IT’S OUR JOB TO MAKE FICTION COME TRUE. <3

My second Workshop of the day was with the lovely Wendy Loggia–FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Ia addition to hearing Wendy rave about my fabulous agent Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary and my Wolf Pack Sistah Kiersten White…

…I loved learning a little bit more about Delacorte Press. Did you know…

*Delacorte plans their books out way in advance to give them the best marketing attention they can give. If you were to sell a book to Delacorte today (8/15) It would not be slotted for publication until Spring of 2017.

*Delacorte does not have a acquisitions board. Editors can acquire what they choose.

*Delacorte does not compete with other imprints at Random House

*Wendy does all her own editorial reading.

*Why Wendy purchases a manuscript?

-emotional connection

-loves the voice

-thinks it deserves to be published

Our next keynote was Molly Idle–YES, AND: SETTING THE STAGE FOR CRAZY CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Sorry–was having an afternoon brain fart or a caffeine low and missed getting a picture of Molly. Just imagine a highly energetic creative teaching us how to use theater to create stronger writing and illustration on the page.

Ummm no pictures here either. I swear I wasn’t sleeping LOL! This was a great panel on DIVERSITY IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

MODERATOR–MP—Miranda Paul

NY—Nicola Yoon

VJ—Varian Johnson

BC—Brandy Colbert

JC—Joe Cepeda

IWG—IW Gregorio (didn’t attend due to illness)

This may have been my favorite diversity panel I’ve heard yet. Here are some bits from my notes…

VJ–You don’t need permission to write diversely, but you do need to do your due diligence. And remember you aren’t trying to write the experience of ALL the people–just the one that’s your character. Your research is not different than any other research for a character.

JC–I try not to overthink the issue too much.

VJ–I’m not a fan of the term, CASUAL DIVERSITY, but it’s when the characters featured are diverse, but the diversity isn’t the issue. Ex-Lando in Star Wars

NY–I’ve never been sassy a day in my life! (on sassy diverse sidekicks)

JC–Write and illustrate without fear and if you have fear, pretend you don’t.

And then it was time for the Saturday Gala! This year’s theme was Sparkle and Shine. And FYI the sugar cookies were amazing–I ate them before I could get a picture LOL!

I hope all this fabulous information is helping your writing to sparkle and shine. You can catch me first conference blog installment here…LA SCBWI 2015 Part 1 At the end of that blog, you’ll see that I’m still running a contest to win a signed copy of…

WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN by Jodi Moore

So don’t forget to head over there and take advantage of the opportunity. I’ll be back on Thursday with LA SCBWI 2015 Part 3!!!

Tags: #LA15SCBWI, Alexandra Penfold, Barry Goldblatt, Beekle, Bonnie Bader, Brandy Colbert, Brenda Bowen, Caldecott, Captain Awesome, Chapter books, Class Clown, Contest, Dan Santat, Delacorte Press, Dory Fantasmagory, Fancy Nancy, George Brown, Greenberg Associates, IW Gregorio, Jane O'Connor, Jenny Bent, Jodi Moore, Jodi Reamer, Joe Cepeda, Junie B Jones, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Kristin Nelson, Lin Oliver, Magic Tree House, Michelle Wolfson, Miranda Paul, Molly Idle, Nelson Literary Agency, Nicola Yoon, Princess in Black, Random House, SCBWI, The Bent Agency, Upstart Crow Literary, Varian Johnson, Wendy Loggia, When A Dragon Moves In Again, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary, Writer's House

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I get so excited when things I love collide. Today, for my Bookanistas review, I have a mash-up of awesomeness that I can’t wait to share with you.

It’s a contemporary novel that hits my sweet spot–not so serious it’s dark, but deep enough to make me fall in love with the characters. Just an all around awesome read.

AND it was written by my fabulous Wolf Pack Sistah Kasie West!!!

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Kimberly’s Review of THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US:

Some times you read a book that’s dark, heavy and serious and it feel like a punch in the gut in a weird, but wonderful way. Other times you might read a book that’s so light and fluffy, it floats in one ear and out the other after you’ve breezed through it’s pages. It’s delightful cotton candy, so perfect in the moment, but doesn’t have a lot of sticking power. Fun but frivolous.

Then there’s a book like THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US. It’s the perfect pairing. It’s peanut butter and chocolate. It’s mozzarella and tomato. It’s warm chocolate chip cookies and cold milk. (I’m noticing I have a lot of chocolate and_________ comparisons I could use but I’m trying not to go there LOL!) One more…It’s chocolate and caramel. Yum!

Anyway, back to the real sweet stuff. West has a talent for finding the balance between light and dark, funny and serious, familiar and unique. If you like really great contemporary–particularly the awesome reads of Sarah Dessen, you’re going to want to pick up THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Kasie West. You don’t want there to be any distance between you and this book. <3

You can find THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US here…

*Amazon

*Barnes & Noble

*IndieBound

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels, published through Harper Teen are: PIVOT POINT, its sequel SPLIT SECOND (Feb 2014), and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US (a contemporary novel). I also have two more contemporaries, ON THE FENCE coming out July 1, 2014, and THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND coming out the summer of 2015. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

You can find out more about Kasie West, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN us and her other totally awesome books here:

*Blog/Website

*twitter

*Facebook

And you can find more perfect reads by the Bookanistas here…

Jessica Love adores WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN by Kristin Rae

Katy Upperman raves about PUSH GIRL by Jessica Love and Chelsie Hill

What other books do you recommend that have the perfect balance? And what else should I pair with my chocolate? LOL!

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, Contemporary YA, Kasie West, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Michelle Wolfson, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel

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I LOVE it when I get the opportunity to write a FABULOUS Bookanistas review for a member of Michelle Wolfson’s Wolf Pack. I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it is to be one of Michelle’s pups. Not only are my pack sistahs sweet and fun people, but they are fabulous authors too. Ahwooooooooo…..

SPLIT SECOND — February 11, 2014 

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

PRE-ORDER Split Second here…

*Barnes & Noble

*Amazon

*Other online options

Kimberly’s Review of SPLIT SECOND:

Kasie West did everything right! SPLIT SECOND is a fabulous and worthy follow-up to her first book. I really loved PIVOT POINT for it’s thoughtful and exciting creativity. I get really pumped about a well executed book with a great premise–especially if it has characters that really work. I love books that make me think long after I’ve closed the cover. Without a doubt, PIVOT POINT delivered everything I wanted in a debut novel, but not all second books know the secret to taking characters and plot to the next level.

Kasie West has it all figured out. SPLIT SECOND gave me all of the things I loved about PIVOT POINT, but didn’t rest on the familiar. She expanded the plot, extrapolated on earlier characters, brought in new ones and gave me Connor to swoon over. (In my humble opinion, that boy stole the show and I want more of him and Laila ASAP!) Additionally, I was also really impressed with the twists and turns involving Duke. I like my characters a little messy. And then West’s world building makes me want to crawl into her head to see what’s really going on in there. I love the way she thinks. I’m hoping that someone makes a TV series out of PIVOT POINT/SPLIT SECOND so I can see everything come to life on the screen.

While I hated flipping to the last page, at the end of SPLIT SECOND, West left me blissfully satisfied while still wanting more. *sigh* I can’t wait to read what she writes next. If you haven’t read PIVOT POINT, don’t waste a split second because SPLIT SECOND is almost here and it’s a must read!

You can find out more about Kasie West and SPLIT SECOND here…

*Kasie’s Blog

*Twitter

I love to write–too much. It’s a sickness really. My debut novel, PIVOT POINT, is out now with HarperTeen. (And will be followed by its sequel, Split Second on February 11, 2014.)

Tags: Bookanistas, Kasie West, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Split Second, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary, YA Books, YA Novel

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I’m a sporty girl. I’ve played and coached soccer. I run and dance. And I usually enjoy myself at sporting events. I even own a tennis racket.  But the truth is, I don’t really know a darn thing about tennis. Seriously–I’m clueless. But that did not matter one, tiny, iota when I was reading GAME. SET. MATCH. I LOVED IT!!!! In fact, in addition to feeling like I read a great book about friendship and romance, there was a secret side effect. I now feel like I know tennis a little better.

And as if GAME. SET. MATCH, being a great read isn’t enough to make me love it, debut author Jennifer Iacopelli, is one of my Wolf Pack Sistahs and I love her to pieces.

But we’re not here to talk about the pups. Let me fill you in on GAME. SET. MATCH. (Outer Banks Tennis Academy, #1)

Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world’s most elite training facility. In this pressure-cooker environment, futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.

Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she’s hell-bent on extending her family’s legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after…until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She’s thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.

With so much at stake, dreams—and hearts—are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.

Kimberly’s Review of GAME. SET. MATCH.

I’m going to jump right in and say, my favorite part of GAME. SET. MATCH, is how much I liked ALL of the GSM characters–even when they were behaving badly. Iacapelli has built an academy of players that I enjoy the way I love the cast of the television show Friday Night Lights. Just like FNL, there was so much going on at any given time, yet it was NEVER confusing. These flawed and fabulous characters were dropped right in the middle of the fast-paced life at OBX Tennis Academy, where romance, heartache, friendship and disappointment gets volleyed back and forth almost as much as the tennis balls do, making this a fast and fun read.

Although I know very little about tennis myself, I was quickly pulled into the story and never once felt lost. In fact, I think I now know more about tennis than I ever have. Even so, I consider myself athletic, and as a soccer player in high school, I groaned in sympathy every time someone at OBX had to do Einsteins. (One of the adorable details found in GSM that made it so entertaining and believable.) Iacopelli knows and loves her sports and her audience, making me more than willing to invest in all things OBX.

I’m also a big fan of the tasteful, but hot and steamy way that the romance was done. GSM walks the line and it does it brilliantly, leaving plenty of room for a YA audience to transition into NA. So, if you’re a fan of Miranda Kenneally’s very addictive, contemporary, sports related, romances–I know you’re going to love Iacapelli’s writing too. I absolutely can not wait to see what happens next at OBX!

You can get your own copy of GAME. SET. MATCH. here…

*Amazon for Kindle

*Barnes & Noble for Nook

Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave…ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor’s degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master’s in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.

GAME SET MATCH was released on 5/1/13 by Coliloquy! Check out the official GSM Facebook Page and a teaser trailer for the series!

Talk to me about female athletes in the Kidlit world? What are you favorite books in the space? What do you want to see more of?

Tags: Book Review, Coliloquy, Game. Set. Match., Jennifer Iacopelli, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Michelle Wolfson, New Adult, Wolf Pack, YA Books

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Yesterday, Daisy Whitney posted this tweet…

Hi Bloggers and Readers and Librarians! If you liked When You Were Here, please leave a review on Amazon or BN! They help so much!

— DaisyWhitney (@DaisyWhitney) June 6, 2013

And of course it got me thinking. Reviews ARE important. Really important. We live in a media and statistical world, at least until the zombie apocalypse comes. This means that review are right behind the act buying the book in importance to an author’s success.

Kinda cool. Kinda scary. But here’s how I’ve been visualizing it. It’s like surface space…

In today’s social media age, a book without reviews is like a flat piece of paper. It’s there, but it has trouble standing out. Add reviews (positive or negative) and the book starts to become more visible and textured. It’s surface space appears to expand and it catches the eye. There are more options to touch the surface. Yeah, I went there LOL!

The truth is, authors need your reviews, just as much as we need your word-of-mouth recommendations.

This, of course, got me thinking about effective marketing strategies. The world is a busy place. Who has the time to write a review when there are a zillion other things we could be or should be doing. I’m guilty of this myself. In such a busy world, is there an incentive to get those fingers typing?

I didn’t have to look far for a great idea. My wolf pack sister, Jennifer Iacopelli (debut author of GAME. SET. MATCH.) and her publisher Coliloquy came up with this…

GSM Review Raffle: be in the 1st 100 reviewers! Win a $200 Amazon GC or a $50 GC from @smashingonline! #OBXers amazon.com/Game-Match-Ten…

— Jennifer Iacopelli (@jennifercarolyn) May 14, 2013

I LOVE the idea! So here’s what I’m going to do…

I would love to increase the number of reviews on my Amazon TOUCHING THE SURFACE page and my Barnes & Noble TOUCHING THE SURFACE page. If you write a review of TOUCHING THE SURFACE for Amazon, you’ll entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. If you write one for Barnes & Noble, you’ll be entered to win a $100 Barnes & Noble gift card. If you’ve written a review on Goodreads already, all you have to do is post it to Amazon and Barnes & Noble for two entries. If you write one review for Amazon, it can also be posted on Barnes & Noble or visa versa. One review (that you may have already written) gets you entered once or twice for a gift card.

In order to make sure I can reach the winner, use this Rafflecopter to record your entry. The contest will be open for the whole summer. And I’ll be posting it on my website home page so it’s easy to follow.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. And if you have other authors that you love and you’d like to see them continue to put books on the shelf, help them out with a review. They will love you so much, they want to share their chocolate with you. I’m serious.

Tags: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Review, Coliloquy, Contest, Daisy Whitney, Game. Set. Match., Jennifer Iacopelli, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Touching the Surface, When You Were Here, Wolf Pack

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I am revising like a fiend. If you squint your eyes a little bit, I almost look like a Wolfson Wolf Pack Cub–keeping up with the pack. And I love it because the Wolf Pack is fabulous and I’m so proud to be a part of it. My Wolf Pack girls are insane, crazy producers and what makes them special is that they don’t just write quickly, they write amazing books.

(Usually this is me–slowly chewing on my thoughts in the corner. LOL!)

That’s why I wanted you to check out what’s new and coming your way. Wahhooooooo…

Kierten White: The author of the New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy (Paranormalcy, Supernaturally, and Endlessly) also has Mind Games, the first in a new series, out on February 19th. And she has an Egyptian mythology-based standalone, The Chaos of Stars, following in fall 2013, with the sequel to Mind Games in February, 2014.

Daisy Whitney: By day, Daisy Whitney is a new media producer, reporter and on-air host. At night, she writes novels for teens and is the author of THE MOCKINGBIRDS and its sequel THE RIVALS (Little, Brown). Her third novel WHEN YOU WERE HERE releases in June 4th, 2013 (Little, Brown), and her fourth novel STARRY NIGHTS (Bloomsbury) hits shelves in Fall 2013.

Kasie West: her debut novel, PIVOT POINT, will be published by HarperTeen Feb. 12, 2013. (Followed by its sequel a year later.) And THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, her contemporary YA novel, will be published in the July 2, 2013 (HarperTeen).

Linda Grimes: is an author of light urban fantasy. Her first book, IN A FIX, was published by Tor in September 2012. The second in the series, QUICK FIX, will be released in the summer of 2013 (8-20-13).

Jennifer Iacopelli: Her first novel, GAME SET MATCH, will be released by Coliloquy in Spring 2013! (Cover coming soon!)

See I told you–awesome! What are you looking forward to reading from the Wolf Pack? Did you get your hands on any of these ARC’s yet? Since you can’t have these just yet, what are your Friday Reads?

Tags: Daisy Whitney, Game. Set. Match., In A FIx, Jennifer Iacopelli, Kasie West, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Linda Grimes, Michelle Wolfson, Mind Games, Pivot Point, Quick Fix, Starry Nights, The Chaos of Stars, The Distance Between Us, When You Were Here, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

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Get out your TBR list because MIND GAMES by my Wolf Pack sistah Kiersten White needs to be on it!

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…

or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

*Barnes & Noble

Kimberly’s Review:

I’ve erased this review like ten times because I’m having trouble. When I say that MIND GAMES is not the Paranormalcy Trilogy, I find myself stuck in an endless loop because I loved the Paranormalcy Trilogy, so I don’t want you to think for a minute that this is better, because it isn’t better–but yet–its better. *sheesh* The most accurate thing I can say is that Kiersten White has only begun to play mind games with her readers. It is evident by this unique, exciting and riveting book that White has just proven she’s not a one trick pony. She’s tiny like a pony–but she has lots of tricks and I love them. I love them so much, I want the sequel to this book NOW! So much so, I’m going to start harassing my agent to automatically put me on the top of the ARC list for MIND GAMES #2. Make a list. Check it twice. I’d better be on it. I know you hate me because it isn’t February yet, and you’re justified, but guess what–I’m not even a little bit sorry, because yeah, it was that good. LOL!

Tags: Harper Collins, Kiersten White, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Mind Games, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

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For years I’ve been hearing people talk about NaNoWriMo –National Novel Writing Month. From November 1st until November 30th, participants set a goal of writing a 50,000 word novel. I’ll admit it, part of this has always intrigued me, but it has also scared the crap out of me and because of that, I’ve never seriously toyed with the idea of participating. I’ve had a list as long as my arm of reasons I could not participate and this year the excuses have grown with TOUCHING THE SURFACE coming out on October 30th. Just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ll share the highlights from that list with you…

*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!!

*I’m working on revisions for book #2

*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November.

*Thanksgiving

*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts.

*I never get enough sleep.

*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house.

*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly.

*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break.

*I blog.

*I’m a procrastinator.

So, it’s obvious that I’m not going to be able to do NaNoWriMo this year…WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY I REGISTERED ON SATURDAY AND I’M SIGNING UP TODAY!!!!!

Ha! Bet you didn’t see that one coming. *grin* Yes, I know that I’m insane. Now let me tell you why I’m going to be giving this a shot…

*First of all–I’m going to be doing this because the SCBWI–particularly my Hudson Valley Shop Talk Members ROCK! Lisa Koosis, one of my local writer buds gave a guest presentation at my local Shop Talk and she got me sooooo excited to break out of my box and give this a try. She told me a million things to make me want to give it a go, but the three that stuck out the most were…

1. It’s just supposed to be fun.

2. Even if you don’t finish, you’ve probably done more than you would have without participating.

3. You can discover unexpected things about yourself.

As Lisa talked and I got a bunch of fluttery tingles in my belly–usually a sign that I’ve eaten something bad or I’m excited–I started to think about why I might want to participate in this event.

*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!! And as exciting as this is–I’m scared. There I’ve said it. It’s exciting AND scary. (There will be a spin off blog post on this later) But I suddenly realized that it might be a really good thing for me to have a reason to step away from the madness. It’s a full circle thing–when a book is born, perhaps the best way to celebrate is to write something new. So…I think that it might be very healthy to have a reason to unglue my eyes from reviews and Amazon’s Author Central.

*I’m working on revisions for book #2. I love revision–it’s easily one of my favorite parts of the writing process. The story is there, it just has to be manipulated. I don’t know how long that process will take me, but I know that when it’s over, there will be the typical wave of fear and insecurity about having to write another first draft again. What if I can sneak in a part or all of a first draft while I’m revising? This idea intrigues me. I’ve been marinating ideas for book 3 for quite a while, but I don’t feel “ready” to tackle it yet. But what if I trick myself into thinking that NaNoWriMo is nothing more than hard-core stretching and training for the writer in me. What if I give myself permission to take a crack at this rough draft under the guise that it isn’t “real writing”–its an activity, an event, a journey.

*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November. Yeah–and how many hours is that out of my life? Not enough to use it as an excuse. The truth is that I have days when I’m drafting, where I have six hours to sit and write and there are days when I squeeze in 45 minutes while the boys are at jujitsu. Not always, but often, I’ve managed to write the same amount of words on both of those days. Perhaps this is about FOCUS.

*Thanksgiving. I do not host Thanksgiving at my home. I spend the day eating and socializing. I watch the parade and I do kicks in my living room along with the Rockettes on TV. I can squeeze this in or I can double up on another day. Using this excuse makes me a turkey.

*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts. At least this is how I think of myself. I have a system for writing and I like it–it works for me. The only time I really have trouble with it is when the other members of the Wolf Pack whip off manuscripts in sick amounts of time. It makes me queasy and insecure even though intellectually I know better. But what if I can do things a little differently. When I’m investing myself in a book I revert to wanting to attack it in a familiar method–one I’ve had success with. But this is a little like tricking myself into doing something different. What if shouldn’t be the gateway to potential failure–it should be a question that makes us want to try.

*I never get enough sleep. But I watch TV. I mean–not crazy amounts–but I make choices. It’s only for a month, right?

*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house. But I still have a month to put things to rights and realistically, everything I clean is always going to get dirty again…dishes, laundry, kids. By the time I start, I’ll be much more organized than I have been in awhile. So I just have to make that effort to stay on top of daily chores so that I don’t go under physically or emotionally.

*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly. I’m going to have three busy boys from now until forever. I started writing SURFACE when they were 2, 4 and 6 years old. I have no recollection of when I actually did that–but I must have. LOL! Besides, soccer ends mid-month, there is break after the recital and we do have a Thanksgiving break. Plus–they support me. And my lovely hubby has been traveling a lot which means I have no excuses.

*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break. No reason to stop. I write in my head when I run anyway. I let my subconscious take the lead when my feet are in a rhythm. No need to change that–it might help me get my words out faster when I sit down.

*I blog. Ha! I’m sure it’s going to give me lots to blog about.

*I’m a procrastinator. Sometimes, but not always…

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo? Completed it? Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Have you been avoiding it like me? Secretly long to try? Have a great excuse for not playing? Tell how you NaNoWriMo or NaNoNoGo.

Tags: Chasing Adaptation, drafting, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, NaNoWriMo, revision, The Opposite of Gravity, Touching the Surface, Wolf Pack

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***THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED***

Yesterday was my faux book birthday–the date that my book was originally, tentatively, going to be released. Oh, thank my lucky stars that they changed it. A book launch with three kids, the day before the first day of school, would have been less than ideal. LOL! But–yesterday was the REAL book birthday of my Wolf Pack sistah Linda Grimes. Her debut novel, IN A FIX hit the shelves and I just happened to be in the bookstore and couldn’t help but take that baby home with me. Of course I also have my pre-ordered copy in transit, so to celebrate my Faux Book Birthday and Linda’s Real Book Birthday, I’m giving away one of my copies of IN A FIX!!!!

The start of an original new urban fantasy series starring human chameleon Ciel Halligan

Snagging a marriage proposal for her client while on an all-expenses-paid vacation should be a simple job for Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire. A kind of human chameleon, she’s able to take on her clients’ appearances and slip seamlessly into their lives, solving any sticky problems they don’t want to deal with themselves. No fuss, no muss. Big paycheck.

This particular assignment is pretty enjoyable… that is, until Ciel’s island resort bungalow is blown to smithereens and her client’s about-to-be-fiancé is snatched by modern-day Vikings. For some reason, Ciel begins to suspect that getting the ring is going to be a tad more difficult than originally anticipated.

Going from romance to rescue requires some serious gear-shifting, as well as a little backup. Her best friend, Billy, and Mark, the CIA agent she’s been crushing on for years—both skilled adaptors—step in to help, but their priority is, annoyingly, keeping her safe. Before long, Ciel is dedicating more energy to escaping their watchful eyes than she is to saving her client’s intended.

Suddenly, facing down a horde of Vikings feels like the least of her problems.

Yes, I rock for sharing, but I have even bigger motivations than howling about the awesomeness of the Wolf Pack. (Although that would be enough.)  Besides the fact that IN A FIX and Linda are made of awesome and martinis, I have another great reason to pimp her book–It’s Darcy Pattinson’s Random Acts of Publicity Week. Woo hoo!!!!! Oh, wait–you haven’t heard? Here’s the info directly from the Facebook event page…

4th Annual Random Acts of Publicity 2012, September 4-7

The Random Acts of Publicity 2012 will focus this year on Conversations about Books. The basic idea of the Random Acts of Publicity is to take the focus off you and your books for a week and instead focus on a friend’s book or a favorite book. How can you help that book’s sales? We know that the basic things you can do is to Blog, link, Like, review, or talk about the book .

This year, we want to focus on Conversations about Books. What are the talking points of the book you want to feature? How can you start a conversation? Are there behind the scenes stories that make the book sound more interesting? Do different audiences require different talking points and different conversations? How do you create online conversations? How often do you start in-person conversations about a book? Let’s TALK about Talking about Books this week.

Tags: Contest, Darcy Pattison, In A FIx, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Linda Grimes, Random Acts of Publicity, Wolf Pack, Wolfson Literary

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