It’s Book Festival time and I am so excited to finally be returning to in-person events. One of my favorite places to hang out is the Poughkeepsie Book Festival and this year there will be over 40 authors and illustrators (covering reading ages from preschool to Young Adult), costumed book characters such as Elephant and Piggie, Esteban the Magnificent from The Day the Crayons Came Home, Curious George, and more! There will also be fun crafts and activities for the kids. Signed books will be available for purchase.
Where to go and when to be there…
Saturday, April 2, 10 am to 4 pm
Poughkeepsie High School–70 Forbus Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
I’ll be signing copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE and would love to hang out with you.
Cover of TOUCHING THE SURFACE by Kimberly Sabatini
Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal novel that will send your heart soaring.
When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.
Elliot just wants to move on, but first, she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together thesecrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
Where in the world is TOUCHING THE SURFACE? Well, let me tell you…
Here are some of the upcoming events, where you can get signed copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE and hang out with me and talk about writing, agents, publishing and books. You know I ALWAYS love to talk about books.
I’ll be hanging out all day, chatting with readers and signing books. And if you have the time, don’t miss this fabulous panel…
You’ve Written a Novel For Teens: Now What?– 4:00 – 5:00pm
YAModerator: Jake Wizner with panelists Gail Carson Levine, Jennifer Castle, Barbara Dee, and Kimberly Sabatini.
Join young adult author Jake Wizner (Spanking Shakespeare) as he talks to Newbery medal honoree Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), and award-winning authors Jennifer Castle (The Beginning of After), Barbara Dee (The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys), and Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface) about the paths that they took to get their work published. How did they decide which age group to write for? Find out what it takes to succeed in the world of young adult and middle grade literature.
There is so much to do in quaint Millbrook–visit the shops, grab some fabulous food and make a day of it! You can find the full list of authors and panels HERE.
* * *
And where in the world is TOUCHING THE SURFACE next?
I’ll be DOUBLE TROUBLE at B-FEST, the TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL at Barnes & Noble!!!!
What is B-Fest???
B-Fest is the place for teens to: •Be in the Know and participate in fun, interactive trivia and games based on popular teen series and books •Be First to receive exclusive content like chapter samplers and advance reading copies of upcoming teen book releases •Be Part of the Story and participate in writing workshops, meet authors and illustrators and express their fandom through cosplay and photo ops with popular character standees •Be Rewarded with prizes, giveaways and enter-to-win items •Be Heard and Influential by giving Barnes & Noble and publishers feedback through social media campaigns and vehicles for their feedback in stores during the weekend
And what will I be doing at B-FEST???
Do you have a reader at home, who loves to write and might like to be an author someday? Bring them to see me at B-FEST. I’ll be sharing my insights on writing, agents and publishing. I can answer your questions about how to get started or where to go next on your current project. I’ll also be signing copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE while I’m there. And of course, I love talking about anything involving YA Books–so stop by and we’ll hang out!
I’ll be at the Barnes & Noble (Poughkeepsie, NY) on:
Saturday, June 11 at 1 PM 2518 South Road Poughkeepsie, New York 12601
Of course, I’ll be there supporting Beacon and signing books.
Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster)
Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.
Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
“Sabatini creates an exquisitely tangible alternate reality, ordering the cosmos with impressive authorial derring-do, crafting answers to ontological questions with grace, disarming simplicity, and nary a trace of dogma. All while believable teens–teen souls, that is–tangle with affection, selfishness, and doubt. Thought-provoking and romantic, Touching the Surface takes risks with narrative and form, and succeeds on multiple levels.” –RBW (Chronogram)
“Soulful and inventive. A thoroughly original vision for what happens next.” –Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds
“This gorgeous, lyrical read will sweep you away.” –Jessica Verday, bestselling author of The Hollow trilogy
Can’t make the Hudson Valley Winter Book Fair and would like to give a signed copy of TOUCHING THE SURFACE for the holidays?
Please contact me HERE and I’ll make sure you get what you’re looking for.
If you’re local, I’d appreciate you posting, reposting and sharing about the Book Fair to help make it a success. Hope to see you there!
This past week, my husband and kids spent two days laughing at me. Or rather, my childish delight at being in Universal’s Harry Potter Theme Park of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and Gringotts. But they were pretty blown away by the awesomeness of the experience too.
We’re all HP fans. <3
But the thing that stuck with me the most was my husband wandering around, continually repeating how amazing it was to get to walk around in someone else’s imagination.
I can’t possibly agree more.
I wish you’d all been there with me too. Maybe we can have an SCBWI event there sometime, right??
But in the meantime, here’s a picture tour of JK Rowling’s imagination come to life…
The Hogwarts Express
Hogsmeade at night
Hogwarts!!!!
Butterbeer
Honey Dukes for Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans
The Sorting Hat
Olivander’s Wand Shop…where the wand picks the Wizard.
Then…
I unexpectedly rounded a corner into Diagon Alley. My 12yo is still laughing about the squeal he heard me make before he got inside. <3
The Weasley Twin’s joke shop–Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes
And a fire breathing dragon atop of Gringotts
I applied for an account!
More butterbeer–because I could!
Even the toilets were just right!
There was also the Leaky Caldron
And Flourish & Blotts for school books too.
And there was so much more…
It’s a tiny picture , but it’s all I could upload with a panoramic.
And don’t forget the Knight Bus…
For getting around on the Muggle streets of London LOL!
And King’s Cross Station–Next time I’m going to get to go in. Platform 9 and 3/4 is on my HP Bucket list. <3
Ahhh I miss it already. I can’t wait to go back. What about you?
Have you been inside JK Rowling’s imagination? What was your favorite part? Are you planning to go? What is on top of your HP Bucket List?
A couple weeks ago you may have heard me talking about The Ladies Noir, a group of YA writers who’ve banded together to help each other with the creation and marketing of our stories. Since then, the group realized The Ladies Noir wasn’t the right name to encompass the diverse writing styles of 30 different authors. So…drum roll please…we are now the YA Story Sisters (YASS) which I LOVE!
And to celebrate our, we are kicking off our new group with an epic back to school giveaway that includes 15 books from 11 of our authors…
Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for a prize–one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!
Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are EIGHT (yes, you heard me correctly!) contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GOLD TEAM!
But there is also RED, BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE, TEAL, PURPLE, & PINK teams. You can participate in all the hunts for a chance to win different sets of signed books!
If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
Directions: Hidden somewhere below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number in GOLD. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the GOLD team, and then add them up. And don’t worry if you have to take off your socks and use your toes to keep track. A calculator works too.
Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: This contest is open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by 04/5/15, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Alexandria Monir
Alexandra Monir is an author and recording artist in her twenties. SUSPICION is her third novel published by Random House. Her debut was the popular time-travel romance, TIMELESS, followed by the 2013 sequel, TIMEKEEPER. Alexandra currently resides in Los Angeles, where she is at work on her next novel, while also composing and recording original songs. Her music can be found on iTunes, and you can visit her website at www.alexandramonir.com. Follow Alexandra @TimelessAlex.
“If Alfred Hitchcock had directed Downton Abbey, the result would have been this book. Alexandra Monir takes us on a gripping, nonstop thrill ride with just the right amount of supernatural and an ending that you definitely won’t suspect. I devoured it in one sitting.”–Jessica Brody, bestselling author of the UNREMEMBERED trilogy
“There’s something hidden in the maze.”
Seventeen-year-old Imogen Rockford has never forgotten the last words her father said to her, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family’s English country manor.
For seven years, images of her parents’ death have haunted Imogen’s dreams. In an effort to escape the past, she leaves Rockford Manor and moves to New York City with her new guardians. But some attachments prove impossible to shake—including her love for her handsome neighbor Sebastian Stanhope.
Then a life-altering letter arrives that forces Imogen to return to the manor in England, where she quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind Rockford’s aristocratic exterior. At their center is Imogen herself—and Sebastian, the boy she never stopped loving.
Combining spine-tingling mystery, romance, and unforgettable characters, SUSPICION is an action-packed thrill ride.
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Hi Readers! Thank you for joining us on the YA Scavenger Hunt! For my bonus content, I’m excited to share the opening scene from my upcoming fourth novel for Delacorte Press, THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE!
I hope you enjoy this opening scene! While you’re waiting for GIRL IN THE PICTURE to come out next year, check out my current release, SUSPICION. I’ll be giving away 2 signed copies for the scavenger hunt- to enter, please follow me on Twitter @TimelessAlex and mention SUSPICION and YASH!
Love and Happy Reading!
Alexandra Monir
THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE by Alexandra Monir
Chance
At first it’s no more than a blurry shape on the ground, large enough to beat me up, slow enough for me to get away. Then my focus clears, and I see why the body won’t move. Its limbs are tangled and twisted amongst the fallen leaves. Mud cakes the sleeves of a well-worn varsity jacket. A once-familiar face has turned an ashy gray, its mouth frozen on the last word spoken, a word now echoing in my ears. “You.”
I take a step closer, bracing for the gut-wrenching pain of recognition. But as I stare at my maimed self lying in the woods behind the soccer field—my soccer field—there is no pain. No emotion at all, really. I guess I shouldn’t expect to feel anything. I’m dead.
Still, there is a flicker of something, an image—no, images. They push to the forefront of my mind, growing stronger the more I stare at my rigid body. Lips on lips, the sound of her voice calling after me, a jagged rock hovering above my skull, the last face before it all went black.
Footsteps. They’re coming, mere seconds away from finding my body. Soon this section of the woods will be roped off with yellow tape, newscasters and Oyster Bay students clamoring for a view of where I died, of what happened. Then the detectives will swarm, full of theories and names.
I think I know who the first two names will be.
I have somewhere to go, don’t I? Some afterlife waiting to check me in?
But I can’t go just yet.
I need a little longer.
One more glimpse of her.
I need the truth.
Thanks, Alexandra!!!!! And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Alexandra Monir, and at least 7 or maybe more than SEVEN fabulous authors! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is. Have you figured it out yet? Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the GOLD team and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
CONTINUE THE HUNT
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next GOLD Team author, Katherine Longshore!!!
Spread the word by Tweeting #YASH
And before you go…BONUS CONTEST!!!!!!
Here’s a chance to win TWO signed copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE–one copy for you and one copy for your favorite school or local library. Check out my Rafflecopter for the details on how to win.
What is the YA Scavenger Hunt? Let me fill you in…
The YA Scavenger Hunt is a biannual online event that promotes collaboration between YA authors from different publishing houses, offering fans an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in young adult literature. During the hunt, we showcase exclusive bonus material, give readers access to top secret insider information, and offer fabulous prizes and giveaways for zealous YA fans.
Yup–totally awesome. And because I want you to be ready to play on April2-5th. I’m giving you a sneak peek of the participating authors and their books. I’ll start you off with my group–TEAM GOLD!
A fabulous group! And here are all the rest of the teams…
The YA Scavenger Hunt is a biannual online event that promotes collaboration between YA authors from different publishing houses, offering fans an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in young adult literature. During the hunt, we showcase exclusive bonus material, give readers access to top secret insider information, and offer fabulous prizes and giveaways for zealous YA fans. I’m sharing never-been-seen information about TOUCHING THE SURFACE!
This year we have 125 authors participating. Yes, you read that right. One hundred and twenty-five! We’ve made six teams which has never happened before. Incredible! You’re going to want to set aside your whole weekend for this hunt.
Want to see who is participating and what team they are on? CLICK HERE
Not sure how the Hunt and these color coded teams work? Never fear. Everything you need to know is right HERE. But don’t be afraid of just jumping in and figuring it out. It’s not that hard and totally worth it. With 125 authors and 6 teams, you will have a very full 72 hours (October 2-5) to go through some or all of the teams. You might have so much fun reading all the content and learning about new authors and books you’ll have to cancel your weekend plans LOL! Never a bad thing for us book lovers.
And don’t forget to spread the word–To keep the hunt going, we need YOUR help. Start tweeting #YASH
Sample Tweets…
Like hunting for new reads? Join the @YAScavengerHunt to find 125 #YA books! http://bit.ly/1mE8uqC #YASH
Are you #TeamYA? With over 125 #YA books given away you don’t want to miss the @YAScavengerHunt! http://bit.ly/1mE8uqC #YASH
See, not too bad. But now I’m curious. What team are you going to start with? What book would you beg, borrow, steal or scavenge to get your hands on? Any idea what the bonus information from TOUCHING THE SURFACE might be?
The contest kicks off on Thursday October 2nd at midnight Pacific time. That’s 3am on the East coast. I can’t wait!!!! See you on Thursday…
I read YA week is here!!!! And you can be a part of it. Follow @this_is_teen and the #IreadYA hashtag on twitter. Every day we’ll be talking about a different topic.
Go HERE to download on of your own colored icons for I read YA week.
I read YA is also active on Facebook at This is Teen.
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.
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…
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.)
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, my contemporary YA novel, was published July 2, 2013 (HarperTeen).
My agent is the talented, funny, and sometimes crazy, Michelle Wolfson.
Looking for more amazing BOOKANISTAS REVIEWS? Don’t worry, I’ve got them right here…
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