ARC Spotlight – ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE by Kate Karyus Quinn

 

 

A reckless wish taken from the darkest desires of the heart…

A bloody razor engraved with the names of the girls who turned to dust…

An endless cycle that feeds of loneliness and craves destruction…

Together, these pieces form a twisted puzzle that Annaliese Rose Gordon has to solve. Trapped in a body that isn’t hers—with no memory of how she got there—she must unlock the secrets of her past in order to escape the horrors of her future.

I loved this book! It is just the right amount of scary. The pacing is excellent, the story unfolds piece by piece, giving you just enough info about Annaliese to keep you burning though pages. The characters are all fantastic, Annaliese’s parents aren’t just caricatures, they’re real and you care for them, as does Annaliese. Although it has the feeling of a classic Stephen King story, it’s also new and edgy, definitely a YA must!

Another Little Piece is available for preorder and will be out June 11^th from Harper Teen.

 

ARC Spotlight - INK by Amanda Sun

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

This book made me want to visit Japan! The main character, Katie, is immersed in Japanese culture, and it feels like you are too. You learn a bit about Japanese culture while reading an exciting story about Japanese gods. Oh, and what an amazing cover!

Ink will be available June 25^th, 2013…the same day as my book! J

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll be back next Monday.

 

Comparable Titles for IN THE AFTER

Want to find out a few comparable titles for IN THE AFTER? Of course you do, so stop by the 2K13 site and check them out. While you're there, enter my giveaway. You could win not one, but two YA books. Here, I'll make it super easy and post it right below...

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Another Giveaway!

I'm sponsoring a giveaway at the Class of 2K13. You can win a copy of my Class of 2K12 mentor, Robin Bridge's book,  The Gathering Storm.

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

So enter below and check in at the 2K13 site tomorrow for my guest post on IN THE AFTER comparable titles.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

E-reader Advice

So I’m finally going to get an e-reader!

 

But there are a lot of choices and I’d love some advice.

Which ones do you have? What do you love about them, hate about them? I’m leaning toward the Kindle…but am open to any suggestions.

Also…there’s still time to enter my giveaway so you can win an ARC of In the After. Just click on the giveaway tab!

ARC Spotlight – Gone Fishing by Tamera Wissinger

 

 

Nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad. So when his pesky little sister, Lucy, horns in on their fishing trip, he’s none too pleased: “Where’s my stringer? / Something’s wrong! / The princess doll does not belong!” All ends well in this winsome book of poems—each labeled with its proper poetic form, from quatrain to tercet. Together the poems build a dawn-to-dusk story of a father-son bond, of sibling harmony lost and found—and most of all, of delicious anticipation. Charming line drawings animate the poetry with humor and drama, and the extensive Poet’s Tackle Box at the end makes this the perfect primer to hook aspiring poets of all ages.

Since I mostly read YA, I didn’t know how I would like this MG book, but I absolutely loved it. Gone Fishing explores many different types of poetry in a fun and interesting way. I love how the story unfolds, jumping from one type of poem to another. The illustrations work perfectly reminding me a bit of Roald Dahl’s. This book will definitely get younger children interested in poetry.

There are also extras at the back, telling you what each poem type is and the rules to writing that particular type of poem, which will encourage children to begin writing their own poems. Since they’re at the back of the book though, they don’t mess up the flow of the story.

Gone Fishing releases 3/5/2013 and is currently available for pre-order.

Writing vs. Editing

I just turned my first draft of book 2 in last week and am happy to have a few days off before I dig into editing. I learned A LOT from editing the first book, and where as editing used to be really intimidating, I’m looking forward to starting my book 2 revision.

I know some people absolutely hate editing and some people love it. How do you feel? Is editing harder than writing?

Also, IN THE AFTER is now available for pre-order on Barnes& Noble so check it out! J

 

Why I Love My Cover for IN THE AFTER

 

I think that it perfectly portrays my book, letting you know right away that it’s post-apocalyptic. I love the starkness, the gray pavement with just a touch of color for the weeds. This gives it a creepy feel, but it’s not too dark. Although my book is about flesh-eating creatures, it’s not exactly horror, more of a suspenseful thriller.

I love that the tagline leads right into the cover. They destroyed Before. Now we live…IN THE AFTER. How catching! The lettering works awesomely as a fading road stencil with a graffiti feel.

I also love that this cover is non-gender specific. I think that a boy is just as likely to be drawn to this cover as a girl, so it appeals to a wider audience. I’m glad, because I think boys will like IN THE AFTER, (high on action, low on romance) and this cover lets them give it a chance. While girls (I’m just going to say it, who may have a bit more depth J ) will be drawn to the mysteriousness of the cover.

I really do love my cover, but of course I’m biased. Are there any covers that you love? Why?

And don't forget to enter my giveaway for an ARC, just hit the giveaways tab at the top.