Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bridge from Me to You


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:






The Bridge from Me to You
by Lisa Schroeder
Published by Scholastic
Expected Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Add to Goodreads












The Bridge from Me to You is a YA novel that is part verse, part prose. It is told alternately by a 17-year-old girl who is new to a small town with a family secret, and the star football player she meets who is having a tough year and has big dreams beyond the field.


Why I'm Waiting

Lisa drew me in with her verse style writing and she keeps me interested with her storytelling. Even though this one doesn't come out until summer, I'm happy to know that she has another YA book coming out and to share it here.






Monday, October 28, 2013

YALLFest Author Interview: Jocelyn Davies

On November 9th, 2013, the 3rd annual Young Adult Book Festival - YALLFest will take place in Charleston, SC. The festival will host 50 of the country’s top YA authors, including 25 New York Times bestsellers. Today I, along with other enthusiastic bloggers, are hosting a series of interviews of authors who will be at YALLFest. For all of the details about YALLFest, check out their website at www.yallfest.org


Featured today is Jocelyn Davies, author of A Beautiful Dark Trilogy


What one thing do you need to have when you write?
COFFEE! And a cocoon of silence.

Describe your book in 5 words
Girl has angel blood, torn.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
It differs from book to book--really, it's anyone's guess! Sometimes, the first line is hardest, because I'm just getting started and I'm not warmed up yet, and by the time I get to the end, I've got the momentum of an entire book to propel me into that last line. Then again, sometimes a first line just pops into my head, and the whole idea unfolds from there. Theres usually no way to know what is going to happen until it's happening, which is often the approach I take to writing.

Best writing tip you ever received?
“Create interesting characters, give them an excuse to meet, and the story will write itself.”

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
I'm a dog person--cats kind of freak me out.

I was a theater kid in high school. I used to dream of being an Oscar-winning actress.

I love everything about autumn.

I live a few blocks away from my best friend from high school.

In my day job, I'm also a children's book editor.



What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
I love magical realism—a novel that's set in the real world, but ever-so-slightly different.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
I usually have a pretty strong sense right from the moment the idea comes to me. I start writing knowing I’m embarking on a novel.
 

Friday, October 25, 2013

YALLFest Author Interview: Lisa McMann

 
On November 9th, 2013, the 3rd annual Young Adult Book Festival - YALLFest will take place in Charleston, SC. The festival will host 50 of the country’s top YA authors, including 25 New York Times bestsellers. Today I, along with other enthusiastic bloggers, are hosting a series of interviews of authors who will be at YALLFest. For all of the details about YALLFest, check out their website at www.yallfest.org
 
Featured today is Lisa McMann, author of the Wake and Visions Series 
 
What one thing do you need to have when you write?
Silence.
Best writing tip you ever received?
“Think of the one thing your main character would never, ever do. Now make her do it.”
What are you working on now?
We’ll be ramping up the releases of books 5, 6, and 7 in the Unwanteds series, so I’m working on Unwanteds book 5 right now.
What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
I really enjoy writing in a variety of genres, from realistic to paranormal to dystopian fantasy. At the moment, fantasy is winning, but that could change at any moment. My favorite genre to read is memoir.
At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
As soon as I have a one line concept that gives me a little shiver.
 
 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

YALLFest Author Interview: Michelle Hodkin

On November 9th, 2013, the 3rd annual Young Adult Book Festival - YALLFest will take place in Charleston, SC. The festival will host 50 of the country’s top YA authors, including 25 New York Times bestsellers. Today I, along with other enthusiastic bloggers, are hosting a series of interviews of authors who will be at YALLFest. For all of the details about YALLFest, check out their website at www.yallfest.org
 
 
Featured today is Michelle Hodkin, author of the Mara Dyer Series 
 
Describe your book in 5 words
Romeo and Juliet meets Hitchcock

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
I spend a lot of time thinking about my first lines. A lot of time. Too much time. Luckily the last lines usually come to me as I write. 

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
What I love about YA is that I don't have to choose a genre. I can blend elements and mess with conventions from all of them—horror, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, whatever. I'm not sure I could choose a favorite, if I were ever told that I had to. And my reading is all over the place, but right now I'm reading a lot of old school sci-fi and fantasy, with some literary fiction thrown in.

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?
The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It's not YA, but it is about a teenager who reminds me of my teen self. And maybe also my adult self. Anyway. I basically push the book into the hands of everyone I meet. It's just that good.

What are you working on now?
A secret project that is secret. But I'm wildly excited about it, and I think my readers will be too.

 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Audiobook Giveaway: Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin


I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.

And now I’m going back.

After ten years.

I hope I can explain that after all this time.

I still want her to be my forever girl.



Forever My Girl is book one of the Beaumont Series by Heidi McLaughlin. I have completely fallen in love with these books and love sharing them with readers time and time again.  Thanks to Heidi, I have another copy the Forever My Girl audiobook to giveaway.
 
Must be 18 years or older to enter. 
Enter by Rafflecopter below.


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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Fast Fiction by Denise Jaden


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:






Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First Draft Novel in Thirty Days
by Denise Jaden
Published by New World Library
Expected Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Add to Goodreads










 Writers flock to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each November because it provides a procrastination-busting deadline. But only a fraction of the participants meet their goal. Denise Jaden was part of that fraction, writing first drafts of two subsequently published novels in that tight time frame. In Fast Fiction, she shows other writers how to do what she did, step-by-step, writer-to-writer. To insure success, her program begins a month before the month of drafting. This prep period is when plot, theme, characters, setting, etc. are thought through. Then Jaden provides day-by-day coaching for the 30-day drafting period. After reader / writers race to the finish, they are not left high and dry. Jaden’s "After the Draft" revision tips allow readers to determine if a draft is not just workable but compelling, so that they don’t waste months or years in development. Her camaraderie and skill allow Jaden to both instruct and inspire.

Why I'm Waiting 

 Not every reader is a writer, but I know that there are many of us who have a story in us that we want to tell. Some of us need a little help and this book offers step-by-step, day-to-day coaching to get that story out. It sounds exactly like what I need.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I just came back from a dinner date with my husband. I can't give the books all of my attention. But now I'm in a food coma. I'm not sure how much longer I can make it.



2) What have you finished reading?

So Far I've read The Twits by Roald Dahl, Nix Minus One by JIll MacLean. I started reading The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan, but traded it for Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay. I listened to a few chapters of the Grave Mercy audiobook (while folding laundry).



3) What is your favorite read so far?
 
Love and Leftovers

4) What about your favorite snacks?

I thought it would have been the peanut butter lollipop (peanut butter on a spoon), but the pineapple was the best. 



5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I've connected with other readers on Twitter instead of their blogs.

Currently Reading:
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume

Dewey's Read-a-thon: Book Spine Poetry Challenge






 Here is my entry for the Book Spine Poetry Challenge hosted by Capricious Reader:


Sloppy Firsts
Who I Kissed
The Boyfriend List
I Know It's Over
Things I Can't Forget

Dewey's Readathon: Intro Questionnaire


1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Virginia 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - this is a reread for me

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Bananas and peanut butter lollipops

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

 I work in academia. I have a wonderful husband who willingly supports my bookish habits. I like Iced Green Tea Lattes (and wish I had one now). I'm a book pusher and my favorite reading buddy is my little Yorkshire terrier.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I've added some audiobooks into the mix to rest my eyes when they get tired.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-thon


Tomorrow I participating in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. An entire day dedicated to reading?? Yes, please. I've participated in Dewey's Read-a-thon in the past, but I've missed the last few. Luckily my schedule is free tomorrow, so I get to read and read and then read some more.

My TBR Pile


(links to Amazon)
Nix Minus One by Jill Maclean
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
Her and Me and You by Lauren Strasnick
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

I've selected some books that I've wanted to reread and included some shorter reads, but I'm not committed to reading only these books. Why limit myself, right? I have a couple of audiobooks queued up so that I can take a break, rest my eyes, makes some meals, or do some errands around the house.

I'll post many of my status updates on Twitter. If you want to check my progress you can follow me there @ActinUpwb

Are any of my reader participating? Let me know and I'll cheer you along!



YALLFest Author Interview: Lisi Harrison

On November 9th, 2013, the 3rd annual Young Adult Book Festival - YALLFest will take place in Charleston, SC. The festival will host 50 of the country’s top YA authors, including 25 New York Times bestsellers. Today I, along with other enthusiastic bloggers, are hosting a series of interviews of authors who will be at YALLFest. For all of the details about YALLFest, check out their website at www.yallfest.org
 
 
Featured today is Lisi Harrison, author of The Clique Series and Monster High
 
What one thing do you need to have when you write?
A scented candle. Each book has it’s own scent.

Describe your book in 5 words
Popular freshmen’s secret journals revealed.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
First. 100%

Best writing tip you ever received?
Stop writing in the middle of a chapter instead of the end. It will be easier to start up again the next day.

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?
Stargirl.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
I can’t run.
I have a tattoo with a type-o. It’s supposed to say, “creativity” but it says, “dry.”
In college I thought it would be cool to get a tattoo written in Chinese characters.
I was supposed to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. I changed my reservation at the last minute. Now every time I look at a clock it says 9:11.
I can’t stand being asked about my “favorites.” I don’t have favorites. If I did I’d forget what they are the minute you asked and would remember them the minute you leave. It’s maddening.
I prefer to give 6 random facts. 

Where's your favorite place to write?
My office.

What are you working on now?
Pretenders #2: License To Spill.


 

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Forever My Girl Audiobook Giveaway

THE GIVEAWAY you will want to win!!!


 I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.

And now I’m going back.

After ten years.

I hope I can explain that after all this time.

I still want her to be my forever girl.



Anyone who knows me and anyone who follows this blog knows that I am a huge fan of Heidi McLaughlin and her Beaumont books: Forever My Girl and My Unexpected Forever. I cannot stop talking and tweeting about these books. I want everyone to read them. I've convinced most of my IRL reader friends to read them and if they haven't, I bought them a copy so they don't have an excuse not to. I love these books. I love that they are set in a small town and are about hot sexy rock stars.

(from my review)
Forever My Girl had me on an emotional roller coaster. There was a heaviness to it, but there were many smiles, some laughs, heart-warming moments, and lot of anticipation.  It is a really sexy story and the idea of what might be contributes to that. The story builds and builds . . .

My Reviews

Thanks to the lovely Heidi, I am giving away a copy of the Forever My Girl audiobook. I want to win this!! Sadly I can't, but you can!!! Must be 18 years or older. Enter by Rafflecopter below. 






YALLFest Author Interview: Shannon Hale

On November 9th, 2013, the 3rd annual Young Adult Book Festival - YALLFest will take place in Charleston, SC. The festival will host 50 of the country’s top YA authors, including 25 New York Times bestsellers. Today I, along with other enthusiastic bloggers, are hosting a series of interviews of authors who will be at YALLFest. For all of the details about YALLFest, check out their website at www.yallfest.org
 
 
Featured today is Shannon Hale, author of Princess Academy and Austenland
 
Describe your book in 5 words
Boarding school for children of famous fairytales

Best writing tip you ever received?
People remember a story for its characters.

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. It’s smart, engaging, and discusses so many things I was struggling with.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
I have 4 kids (including identical girl toddler twins). 
My husband likes to wear masks and hide around the house to scare me. 
I like to read while lying on my belly. 
I love the sky. 
I’m not a very good speller.

What are you working on now?
The third Princess Academy book.


 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Guest Post and Giveaway: Karen Rock - Wish Me Tomorrow



Visiting the blog today is Karen Rock, author of Wish Me Tomorrow and co-author of the Camp Boyfriend series. This summer I read Camp Boyfriend which Karen wrote with her sister-in-law, Joanne Rock. It was fun and entertaining and the perfect summer read. When I learned that Karen wrote a contemporary adult novel, I knew that I would want to read it.

Since Karen has written books for teens and adults, I've asked her to share the books that made her fall in love with reading as a child and as an adult. 
 
Welcome Karen!!

Thank you so much for inviting me on Actin’ Up with Books Blog. It’s such a treat to get to interact with fellow book lovers like me! I’m thrilled to answer your exciting question: “What books made me fall in love with reading from childhood to adulthood?” Because who doesn’t love dishing about their favorite books?


My earliest memories involve books. One of my favorite books was a book on tape, Cinderella that was done using the voices from the Disney movie including my favorite mouse, Gus! Unable to actually read, I lay on my sunlit front porch/playroom and turned the pages when the tiny ‘ding’ sounded, over and over again. One day, my father offered to read the book to me and I surprised him by saying I would read it to him. As I’d heard it so often, I’d memorized the words that went with each, beautifully illustrated page. When I’d finished, my father was speechless and called my mother in to witness the miracle that their four-year-old daughter could read. Needless to say, they learned the truth once Pinocchio was handed over and I was asked for a demonstration. *sigh* almost a genius. Lol. But it did fill me with the magic of reading, and its power, at a very young age.


Since my family was quite poor, we had only a handful of picture books that I quickly outgrew. Thankfully, I discovered a place that is still holier to me than a church: a library. I marveled in school when my teacher took us to a room filled with books and I was allowed to take any of them out. The only problem was that school wasn’t open in the summer. What would I do? Of course you are laughing because the answer is obvious. But to my young mind, I’d never been brought to a public library and didn’t know that these miracles existed. Luckily a friend and I bicycled to one and worked up the courage to approach an intimidating woman with hair that resembled a beehive and a personality more poisonous than a wasp. Nevertheless, she granted us a library cards with several warnings… warnings I should have heeded. My favorite books quickly became Nancy Drew when I discovered an entire shelf devoted to them. I loved them so much that rather than return them, I would hoard them. Week after week, the librarian admonished me to bring back the novels, but how could I part with something as precious as books? I’d never owned any and it was heady stuff until the police rolled into my driveway, lights flashing. To my mother’s shock, they announced our librarian had sent them to retrieve the books where they discovered over thirty hidden under my bed. (As well as some dust bunnies, chewed gum wads, and dirty socks. Let’s here for our men in blue!)


The loss of these books proved to me, more than anything, the power stories have on readers. I wanted to create novels that would move people to the point of being arrested- okay- maybe not that far. But still. I wanted to touch and effect other’s lives as books had mine. I knew I wanted to write, yet I lacked the courage to show my stories to anyone besides my closest friends. In high school, I discovered the classics and loved the tragedies of William Shakespeare, the witty love stories of Jane Austin, the adventures of Mark Twain, the thought-provoking works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alice Walker, and Ray Bradbury. At the same time, I found out that the movies Carrie and The Shining were based on books written by Stephen King and I snapped them up and became a horror fiction fan as well.


Yet, during a sleepover, I was crushed when a friend told me that her plans for us were to read and she pointed to her shelf of Harlequin Romance novels. I’d never seen heard of this publisher before and was, in fact, disappointed that the night of games and movies I’d envisioned would revolve around reading these books. Yet before I left for home the next day, I’d stayed up all night and devoured two novels and begged to borrow a few more. Clearly my friend Lynette didn’t know of my brush with the law because she loaned me the books and I fell head over heels for Harlequin romance.


High school molded me into the eclectic reader I am today. I am as likely to pick up a science fiction novel as I am to read a historical, a classic, a suspense thriller, horror fiction, a memoir (David Sedaris- you are a god!), a young adult, fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, or romance novel. It’s kind of like pizza. I don’t care about the toppings as long as it’s cooked well. A strong story-teller will captivate me from start to finish, regardless of topic or genre. Recently I read a true story about a man who’d rescued people trapped during Hurricane Katrina called Zeitoune. I thought I’d find it mildly interesting to get such insider information, but the author, David Eggers, swept me up in a harrowing tale that kept me awake as I breathlessly turned page after page until dawn.


Thank you so much for having me on Actin’ Up with Books! As you can see from my checkered history in reading, I’ve been actin’ up with books for a long time ;)- Karen Rock


Wish Me Tomorrow
by: Karen Rock
Release Date: September 1, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin
 Can they build a future on hope alone? 

For years nurse and grief counselor Christie Bates has been teaching her patients to confront their fears, express themselves and trust in hope. But as her feelings for cancer survivor Eli Roberts and his two children grow, can she overcome her own fear and love a man who lives every day with the possibility of recurring illness?

Tackling cancer and single parenthood simultaneously has turned Eli into a devout realist. Which is why he finds Christie's perpetually upbeat attitude so aggravating. Still, despite himself, she's making a place in his heart. If only he could offer Christie more than an uncertain future.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Since Karen Rock’s grandmother passed her shopping bagfuls of Harlequin Presents as a teen, it’s been her dream to add her voice to the Romance genre. Now an author of Harlequin’s latest contemporary line, Heartwarming, Karen is thrilled to pen wholesome, tender, deeply romantic stories that all can relate to. Her first novel, WISH ME TOMORROW, is out in September 2013 and her next, HIS HOMETOWN GIRL, is out in spring 2014. Additionally, Karen is a young adult contemporary romance co-author with fellow Harlequin author, Joanne Rock for the CAMP BOYFRIEND series that debuted July 2013 with Spencer Hill Press.
 
When she’s not busy writing, Karen enjoys watching anything starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, cooking her Nona’s family Italian recipes, and occasionally rescuing local wildlife from neighborhood cats. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, her very appreciated beta-reader daughter and two King Charles Cavalier cocker spaniels who have yet to understand the concept of “fetch,” though they’ve managed to teach her the trick! Hmmmm… wonder how that happened?! She loves to connect with other romance fans!
 
Please check out her website at http://www.karenrock.com, her Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/karenrockwrites, and follow her on twitter http://www.twitter.com/karenrock5 or Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/karenrock




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