THE CHAOS OF STARS by Kiersten White: Cover Reveal

Epic Reads revealed Kiersten White's cover for her November 2013-release, THE CHAOS OF STARS:

*faints from the pretty*

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.
Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.
Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

I love that this book has a young girl dealing with being normal around paranormals, so to speak, just like Paranormalcy did. Of course, Evie finds out she's a lot more than normal in that trilogy. Will Isadora discover she has more power than she thinks, too? Methinks so. :) 

Kiersten also has a psychological thriller called MIND GAMES coming out this month, but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to read it. I'm one of Kiersten White's biggest fangirls, pretty much from the moment I met her blog and her adorable book. But MIND GAMES is a different sort of book from what I generally read. It makes me nervous, the way HUNGER GAMES did when I first heard of it. I may cave and read it, but probably not before I have the pleasure of diving into Isadora's world in THE CHAOS OF STARS!

Squee! So excited!

I am over here. Now I am over here.

I'm OVER HERE today on Operation Awesome with a book giveaway of one of my all-time favorite YA wonders:

Paranormalcy

goodreads 

The third book in the trilogy comes out July 24th, just one month after my baby is due! So go to Operation Awesome now for the giveaway of Book 1. :) You're welcome.

What I *should* be doing today...

I'm over at Operation Awesome today talking about Read for Relief, a writer-driven auction/relief effort for hurricane victims.







For the sake of accountability, here's what I'm (supposed to be) working on right now:

1) Editing my Paranormal romance from third person limited to first person... limited. I guess that last part goes without saying.

2) Coming up with a really great ending. (Yes, I'm actually editing BEFORE the ending is concrete, but I kind of know how it's going to end. Kind of.)

3) Teaching my four-year-old to write his full name, address, and phone number for emergency purposes.

4) Ignoring the Shiny New Ideas that keep harassing me! They have the worst timing in the world!

What I am doing:

1) Blogging

2) Laughing at Kiersten White's blog.

3) Letting my kids watch Eloise on Netflix watch instantly

4) Eating pancakes with real maple syrup. Mmmmm....


Now for a laugh:

Yahoo! news quoted NY Times Bestselling Author Kiersten White in one of their articles... only they seemed to have no idea she's a bestselling author. Read the full story here and here.

Update: Yahoo! edited the article in question to focus on whose fault the blackout was, so it no longer includes the charming tweet quote by "San Diego resident Kiersten White" about not having A/C and not missing it. *sigh* It's probably for the best.

Happy Days

Not the show, just the idea.

Picture from this site, which also explains some of the fun surrounding the farm

Today has been just such a happy day. Thanks to a bunch of great church people, my boys and I got to go to Underwood Family Farms this morning, and it was a blast.

They rode the ponies.

We learned that horses poop while they walk.

They gave me photo ops on the wooden train.

And, not pictured, they slid down from a humongous combine harvester with a revolving reel (thank you, tractor board book) into a cushion of sand multiple times. My little 1 1/2-year-old diving head first down that long slide was just an inspiring sight. He's fearless.

The turkey and peacocks yelled at us and we yelled back.

We spotted a goat climbing across the Underwood Family Farms sign way up high, which was also quite a sight.

We hung out in the chicken coop (roosters scare me, but my boys are totally cool with them).

We left the farm store with fresh strawberries, kettle corn, and (my favorite) honey sticks. Got home in perfect time for long, restful naps.

And then....

You know those times when one of your heroes does something to prove even more how awesome they are?

I found this:

Kiersten White singing her own original song about Math People and English People and how they should never date.

So it's been a great day for me. I hope you all are enjoying this day, rain or shine, as well.

Name one happy thing that's happened today and spread the cheer.

NINE Winners and SUPERNATURALLY Cover Love!

It's MONDAY and I'm happy! Operation Awesome had over 100 entries in the Follower Love Month: Agent Query Critique CONTEST!!! We were overwhelmed with the awesomeness as you guys spread the word on twitter, facebook, and writing forums all over the web.

Nine lucky entrants won query or page critiques, two from our incredible participating agents, Natalie Fischer and Josh Getzler. These are two of the nicest agents with whom I've had the pleasure to correspond.  

And the winners are... over here!

The query I get to read is for YA Paranormal! I'm very excited about that, as that happens to be my favorite genre in the world.

And on to the COVER LOVE portion of today!

Have you seen this?

Life's never fair when faeries are involved.  Add it on GOODREADS

Stole my breath when I saw it on Kiersten White's super fun blog! Sigh. August 30th, you can't come fast enough!

It's the sequel to this...

So much for normal.

...which was hands down the most fun read of 2010!

If you haven't read it yet, run to your nearest indie or snatch it up on amazon.com. Actually, you can pre-order the sequel now, too!!

How are you all doing with your writing? Are the words flowing or are you plodding along like me?

I wonder if he's using the same wind we are using...

For Princess Bride fans, that title should ring vaguely familiar. Inigo Montoya says this after the mysterious ship following them from a distance suddenly appears within 200 feet behind them.

"He is right on top of us! I wonder if he's using the same wind we are using..."

Naturally, this made me think about writing (hee hee) and how we all write at different paces.

Kiersten White wrote the bestselling PARANORMALCY in something like 3 weeks! My fastest is still two months! And that was for a 40k-word middle grade story.

I'm not going to place value on one writing process over another, because everybody's different. But, it did get me thinking about how Elana Johnson writes a blog post a day, comments on a bazillion other blogs, critiques for her friends, and still manages to write a book as awesome as the upcoming POSSESSION!!

It hardly seems fair!

Until I realize she's using the same wind I'm using. She's just figured out a more efficient way of using that wind.

Of course there are other variables, and technically we aren't all using the same wind (nor do we all have the same amount of time). Still, it makes me wonder. How much could I get done if I practiced the discipline some of these prolific, super-social-networking authors have mastered?

If you're thinking, "Inconceivable!" then I'll remind you that Inigo also said, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Nothing is impossible. I'm off to tackle this darn wind!

What are you guys working on today?

Compel Me, Dark Faerie!

Before I forget, there's an Operation Awesome interview with WriteOnCon's Jen Stayrook today! 


Now onto today's blogfest:
Elana Johnson, along with Jennifer Daiker and Alex Cavanaugh, has created The Great Blogging Experiment, explained in detail here.


Basically, on September 24th, a whole slew of writer/bloggers will write about Writing Compelling Characters. 

Fairy wren...no kidding

I'll be using PARANORMALCY's favorite scary faerie, Reth, as my example. 


Kiersten White created a whole cast of compelling characters, but Reth stood out to me as particularly compelling. (BY THE WAY, Congratulations to Kiersten White on debuting at #7 on the New York Times Bestsellers List in the first week!! That is EPIC!)


As I read this book for the first time, I found that if Reth was on stage, I couldn't even put my book down to go to the bathroom! I just knew something incredible/freaky/twisted was going to happen before he vanished again. 


How did she do that?


Here are some thoughts:

• She limited his appearances: Reth only shows up when it matters. There's no idle chit chat with him. She doesn't show him going to the bathroom (if faeries even do that sort of thing).
• She showed other people's responses to him: We see the gestures of fear, hear the interior monologue of the MC whenever he's around--and after he leaves. Because we know how Reth makes her feel, we know how he ought to make us feel. 
• She made him round: We all remember from school the difference between a round character and a flat character. Flat is like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. She has no character arc, learns no lesson, makes no great change. She is who she is, and that's an evil pink dictator. Round, like Reth, is a character who is both good and bad, who has depth, who may change at any moment, or whom we are just now getting to know. Through the whole book, I think I know what kind of faerie Reth is, and then Wablammy! My perception of him changes with one well-placed revelation.
• She gave him a connection to the main character:  There's a reason I picked a side character for this little analysis. Main characters are almost always well-developed. We spend the most time with them, creating their back stories, giving them a favorite color, favorite TV show, favorite pet peeve. Reth is not the main character in Paranormalcy, but you get the feeling at times that it's his story, too. Kiersten accomplishes that feeling by giving him a very strong connection to the main character. He isn't just a possessive faerie, as he first seems. He's much more to Evie. Even before any grand revelations, we can feel that connection and it makes him important--compelling. 

So that's what I think makes a character compelling. 

What does it for you?

Linky Thursday: Writerly Links for Today

I totally spaced in my last post on linking to some seriously awesome stuff for writers. So here I go with a special Linky Thursday post. Chickity-check it:

Join THE GREAT BLOGGING EXPERIMENT over at Elana Johnson's blog, plus get some great tips on how to blog effectively as a writer.

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner lets you sit in on a Pub Committee Meeting to see what editors and marketing directors think about your book.

My awesome CP, Kelly Andrews (or is it Andred?) writes about pen names and what prompted her to use one over at OPERATION AWESOME.

And if you still don't believe Paranormalcy is the IT book this year, don't take my word for it. Check out Shannon Messenger's glowing review and a contest where you can win a signed copy

or read author Kiersten White's response to hitting #7 on the NYT Best Seller list in the first week! This is her first published book, people!

Ask a Literary Agent (Year 1) is an awesome free e-book available for download that compiles questions and answers about writing and publishing by agent legend Noah Lukeman, author of The First Five Pages and The Plot Thickens.

My Latest Favorite Book Debuts at #7 on NYT Best Seller List!

Can you guess what book I'm talking about?

Okay, go ahead and read ahead, then.

It's pink and black.

It's in my side bar.

I've been blahging about it for months, even before I actually read it.

I read it last week and fell in love.

I've got a pending interview with the awesome author.

On September 24th, I'll be breaking down characterization based on this book.

I'm recommending it to everyone I know, male, female, adult, or teen.

It has a special place on my bookshelf.

I have a huge platonic author-crush on the writer.

You guessed it (or maybe you cheated and checked out the links) :-)

It's...

Congratulations to Kiersten White on making the New York Times Best Sellers List in her first week of publication!! This book has already been optioned as a film (and it's looking like it's really going to happen) and the second book in the trilogy has been written (it's called Supernaturally). This series is sure to inspire excitement for a long time to come!

Are you feeling it?

PARANORMALCY: My Review (finally)

Paranormalcy

The Blurb:

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal. 

My Rating: 5/5

My Thoughts:

This book rocked my socks off, and I went into it--like everyone else--with super high expectations. It's hard NOT to expect greatness when you've been reading the author's work (okay, just her blog, but still) since you first discovered her existence. I just knew I was going to love her book because her blog made me fall in love with her voice from day one. 

I was not disappointed. Somehow Kiersten White succeeded in melding her blog voice with her novel voice, which I think is pretty rare. (I know I use a slightly different version of my voice for my blog than I do when I'm penning manuscripts.) Because of this, if you've been reading Kiersten's blog for any length of time, you will feel like you are coming home when you crack open the spine of Paranormalcy. 

Aside from a delightfully genuine teen voice, there are many other reasons I drank this book up, root beer, ice cream, and all. 

• Holy Pacing, Plotman! It was perfectly paced, taking me from introductions to inciting conflict to serious complications without once seeming contrived. This kind of seamless continuity suggests a master storyteller, and was certainly not something I expected from a debut novel. Kudos to Kiersten White again! 
• Prophecy, Foreshadowing, and Clues, Oh My! For people who like a little mystery to solve, Paranormalcy has that, too! How are the paranormal beings dying? Who is doing this and why? Will Evie give into Reth's seductive powers or go for Lend's more wholesome mischief?  
• Blend of Dark and Light: Even though some serious sad stuff is going on in her life, Evie's story never got too dark because Evie's just not a dark person. She is too busy relishing the novelty of high school lockers or feeling tingly crush-love or comparing real life to her favorite high school soap opera. As easy as it is to fall in love (okay, love is a strong word and I'm not trying to get a restraining order--we'll say author-crushdom) with Kiersten via her blog, it was that easy to fall for Evie's strong-yet-vulnerable, spunky personality. 
• The Paranormal Beings! Oh, the Paranormal Beings! There were some super interesting creatures in this book that I did not expect to find, like water elementals! And something truly and wonderfully bizarre that I'm not going to give away. I'll just say it was a brilliant creation and served as a brain-tingling, heart-tingling metaphor as well--about love and emptiness and the difference between using people vs. loving them.

So, to recap, five things I did not expect:

1. super pacing
2. deep metaphors
3. obscure paranormal beings
4. ethical dilemmas
5. twists galore

You are not likely to find this one in your local library (checked in, at least), so I recommend you hurry to your favorite bookstore and buy this pink and black book before it sells out and you have to wait until the next printing. Because you will be so sad if that happens. 

Now, because I can't resist a fun contest, here's my entry in the At Home with Paranormalcy Contest at Kiersten's blog:

Reading my Children's Bible with PARANORMALCY (and little guy)

Late Nights and Good Books: Hunger Games & Paranormalcy

Oh boy! I bet you wish you were me. I'm currently reading

 
An Abundance of Katherines

and tomorrow, a magic mail carrier will bring THESE to my doorstep:


The Hunger Games                           Catching Fire                                 Mockingjay

And I'll get to devour them for the first time, all in a row--no excruciating wait while the publishers get things together. Buwahahaha!!

As if that weren't enough!! Guess what's coming out in a few days (that's also going to appear magically at my door)!!

If you're having trouble, check my sidebar, dudes. It's RIGHT. THERE. Has been for months now. It's...

**drum roll**


Paranormalcy

Despite the ferocious popularity of the dystopian trilogy above, I'm the most excited about Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. I've already glimpsed the first seventy pages per the publisher's website. And now I really, really, really want to know how it ends.

These amazing books are bad for one thing: SLEEP.

I'm not getting much lately, and I can't blame it on my kids (who are angelically sleeping through the night in a shared bedroom these days, thank you very much). No. It's my own fault. Or maybe I should blame the purveyors of awesome themselves: authors.

The other thing keeping me up at night is--if possible--even more exciting! The upcoming launch of Operation Awesome. I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that this explosive event will take place in two days. September first, here we come!

Get your Nutella ready.

Honorable Mention--It's not a Paranormalcy ARC

Remember that embarrassing contest entry I created and then posted as a permanent fixture at the top of my blog?

The results are in!

I did not win. :-( But I can't feel too bad because the winners were particularly spectacular! <--Say that five times fast. No, don't. I don't want to be sued when you sprain your tongue. ;-)

Check out the winners for yourself at Kiersten White's lovely, lovely blog.

I did get an honorable mention, complete with a link to my silliness on youtube, so I'm pretty excited about that!

Kiersten White knows I exist!

In other news (ah, who am I kidding; it's more about Paranormalcy): THE BOOK comes out in thirty-five days!!

Proof I'm Excited About Paranormalcy: A Contest Entry

Per the ARC contest on Kiersten White's adorable blog, I'm creating something to show my excitement about her upcoming debut novel: PARANORMALCY. (contest ends July 24th)

First of all, take a moment to click on the cover to your left. GORGEOUS, isn't it? Okay, now go ahead and read this bleeping awesome little pink poem that goes with the music video:

PEEP IF YOU'RE PARANORMAL

Evie's in the city and it's time to rock.

She's wearin' pink, tasing vampires on-the-clock,

But when she's done reading spooks their para-rights,

She's off to chill and watch some Easton Heights.

It isn't normal at all what she can do,

But it's a trick we humans wish we knew

'Cuz when the ghosts and ghouls come out to play,

They think we're food--oh bleep--as E would say.

Will she choose Lend, or go back to her faerie?

Is Lish's fish-scaly a little scary?

Please don't tell (if you have read the book),

I want to give her world a fresh-eyed look.


HOOK: Peep if you're paranormal. Peep! Peep!

(Oh, and I made this t-shirt before I saw the contest:)

If you think I'm a silly fangirl (sometimes true), be sure to check out the reviews on goodreads.