Max's Big Deal Debut: THREE PARTS DEAD

So not only did Max Gladstone win one of our very first Mystery Agent contests over at Operation Awesome (what seems like ages ago). He also worked his butt off and got a two-book deal with TOR! TOR! That's no small potatoes. So when he contacted me to let me know his cover had been revealed, I was thrilled just at the thought of his book becoming a real life book (we writers are all Pinocchios at heart).

Imagine my elation when I saw HIS COVER!

Add it on goodreads

Isn't it GORGEOUS?!! We were honored to be a very small part of this book's journey to publication.

Blurb:

A God has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. 

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot. Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help is Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead God, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith. 

But when the duo discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and the city’s slim hope of survival. 

Max's exciting steampunk fantasy debut is featured on Operation Awesome today so head over there to squee with us. 

Dies Irae Blog Tour with Christine Fonseca!! Understanding Gothic and Thriller Subgenres

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Christine Fonseca to my blog!!

You may know Christine from her very cool non-fiction about gifted children, but if not, then here is a real treat, because you get to meet her at the start of her YA debut! Dies Irae!

Short Blurb for DIES IRAE (Goodreads)

Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love.
Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all
costs. But when he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth as
teenagers, following the rules is more difficult than they expected.
Being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst
to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a
tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia.
Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces, and fighting
against his rising emotional, Mikayel must now decide how many rules he
is willing to break to save his friends, a decision that could reignite an
ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the
survival of humanity.

“Dies Irae is the perfect introduction to Christine Fonseca’s Requiem series. The beauty of the words will tempt you, the tragedy of the story will break you, and the love, woven throughout like music through the trees, will haunt you for days afterward. Dies Irae promises a tale unlike any you’ve read before.”

~Ali Cross, Author of BECOME

Christine Fonseca

School psychologist by day, critically acclaimed YA and nonfiction

author by night, Christine Fonseca believes that writing is a great

way to explore humanity. Her debut YA Gothic series, The Requiem

Series, including DIES IRAE and LACRIMOSA, examines the role

of redemption, sacrifice and love. When she’s not writing or spending

time with her family, she can be sipping too many skinny vanilla lattes

at her favorite coffee house or playing around on Facebook and

Twitter. Catch her daily thoughts about writing and life on her blog.

Now, here's Christine...

My Type of Writing: Understanding Gothic and Thriller Subgenres

Thanks, Katrina, for being part of the blog tour for DIES IRAE. Today I want to talk about the types of stories I like to write—namely Gothic stories and thrillers.

We’ll start with Gothic stories. While DIES IRAE is not strictly a Gothic story, it does have several elements of this subgenre. Typically a Gothic novel has the following features:

·         Setting: Typically a Gothic tale takes place in an old castle of house, full of gloomy shadows, long dark hallways, trap doors, etc. In more modern takes, a Gothic tale may take place in a rundown part of a city.

·         Mood/Tone: An atmosphere of suspense and mystery overrides every aspect of a Gothic tale. Typically, the setting itself is used to portray and enhance the tone.

·         Story: Gothic novels usually include an ancient prophesy of some type, omens and nightmares, women in distress of one form or another, and mystery.

·         Characteristics: A Gothic tale has supernatural occurrences in the story and usually pulls on mythology and Jungian archetypes.

·         Language: The rhythm of the writing is somewhat fluid and lyrical. The emotional content is intense and overwrought throughout the majority of the story.

·         Romance: Yes, there is often a romance, usually involving a woman trying to get away from a tyrannical male, and the hero meant to save her.

The Requiem Series fits nicely within these guidelines, tapping into almost all of them.

The other genre I enjoy writing, is thrillers. Specifically psychological thrillers. Similar to the Gothic story elements listed above, thrillers are dark, spine-tingling stories. A few of the common characteristics include:

·         Setting: Since I write psychological thrillers, I fill focus on the mind, using it as the setting for the story in many ways. I may even make it a character of sorts.

·         Mood/Tone: Varies, but it is typically dark. Foreboding. And can be done through a series of literary devices designed to elicit the emotional response of fear.

·         Story: A thriller typically focuses on WHO committed the terrible act, or HOW it was committed. The pacing is typically fast and furious, all designed to keep the reader at the edge of their seat.

·         Characteristics: These are not your overarching moral-tale kind of stories. Thrillers are all about one thing—eliciting a feeling of fear from the reader.

·         Language: Simple and quick, designed to mirror the pacing. It may be fluid and lyrical, but the variance of sentences will still maintain the pacing.

·         Romance: I use romance, albeit a dysfunctional romance, in my thrillers as a motivating factor for the crimes being committed. I find love the best emotion to elicit a response, you know?!?

As you can see, there is a lot in common between these sub-genres, and indeed, I fluctuate between them often, pulling elements of each into every story I write. I don’t know, I just like writing the somewhat creepy stuff. I hope my readers will like it too!

Thank you, Christine!! I love this insight into writing psychological thrillers! What an exciting genre!

Here's a peek at the beautiful Lacrimosa cover:

Short Blurb for LACRIMOSA (Goodreads)

As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it. Nesy is the best of the warrior angels called Sentinals. She never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets emotionally involved. Until she meets Aydan.  He is evil incarnate; a fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate.  But she can’t, because he’s also the love of her former life as a human girl—a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she was never supposed to feel.
Now Nesy must choose between doing her duty—damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell—or saving him, and condemning herself.  

"LACRIMOSA reaches out, grabs readers by the heart, and takes them on an emotional journey from the first page to the last. The last novel you'll need to read to understand true sacrifice." - Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSION 

Additional Titles in the series include LIBERA ME (Nov 2012) and REQUIEM (March 2013). 

BOOK TRAILER!!!

For more information about Christine Fonseca or the series, visit her website – http://christinefonseca.com or her blog http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com.

Unique YA Paranormal: SHIFTING by Bethany Wiggins

Le blurb: 

After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.

Full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, this dark take on Navajo legend will haunt readers to the final page.

You can read my Afterglow Review of this book here (that's a review written within the hour of finishing the book so you get my rawest reaction).

What's so unique about this book?

• The setting: It's refreshing to see a setting that's a) not a big city and b) feels like a real place, not just generic Small Town America. From the opener, you can feel the author's love of New Mexico in the vivid descriptions of the horizon and the sky. But you can also feel the protagonist's dread at starting over in a barren place like this. Lots of little details combine to draw a clear picture of New Mexico even for people like me who have never spent time there.

• The proactive protagonist: Maggie Mae is not perfect, but she's certainly proactive. After being introduced to the reader as an orphan with a juvie record for showing up naked in the morning streets, Maggie could easily have lounged around her new digs for a while, sulking. I totally would have understood. But she didn't. She went to school on day 1, even without shampoo to wash her hair or decent clothes to wear - no complaining to her new foster mom. And by lunchtime, she had a lead on a possible part-time job. She knows people stare because of her strange looks, and she embraces the loner label even though she'd rather be wearing a different one. Basically, she takes what life gives her and deals with it. She's got guts.

• A real girl: Maggie Mae cries. She doesn't do it to get attention or to manipulate someone. Her crying isn't stigmatized as 'being a girl'. But she's put in horrible situations, and she responds like a real person would. Sometimes she's mad at herself for crying. Sometimes she lets the tears flow. But even though she's been drawn as a tough character, she owns her vulnerability. I got the sense that Maggie just accepted herself in a way that one mean girl antagonist (Danni) didn't. Of course, there's one thing Maggie doesn't accept about herself...

• The paranormal ability: Maggie Mae wishes she didn't shift. This was different from a lot of the paranormal books I read where the character discovers he/she can do something amazing and geeks out about it pretty much immediately. For Maggie, it's kind of a curse and she lives in constant dread of somebody finding her out. But it really is an awesome paranormal ability. There's one shifting scene that had me grinning from ear to ear, even though it didn't actually work out the way Maggie Mae intended. Oh, and one more thing about this: the paranormal didn't swallow the characters. It's an important part of the book, but I didn't feel knocked over the head with it. It's also unique because it's drawn from Navajo legend. Lots of people have heard of Skinwalkers, but I've never seen a novel based on it. That makes this one pretty special. 

• The romance: I saw a review of this book that claimed Bridger was 'the hot guy that inexplicably likes the ordinary girl.' I didn't get that sense at all. I thought the romance was very well-developed. I loved the author's use of gossip to introduce ideas that had a grain of truth but were ultimately false. Maggie Mae catches Bridger's eye first because of her appearance, but it's her attitude and skill on the track field that hold his interest. And then, of course, when he looks closely he sees more of what makes her special (as we all do when we choose to look more closely at someone we're already crushing on). Like everything else in this book, it felt real to me. He struck me as cocky, but in an endearing way. Also, when we get to know him a little better and what he can do, the confidence is not unwarranted. :) The attraction between them makes for some great charged moments throughout.

• The bad guys: are so creepy. Maggie Mae gets attacked a lot by mysterious things. She's strong, but she's not that strong and I pretty much freaked out every time she was pursued by the creepies. And I was suspicious of everyone, for which I give kudos to the author. :) 

So there you go. My breakdown of what makes SHIFTING by Bethany Wiggins a unique YA paranormal. 

Its book birthday was yesterday, so if you head out to your bookstore today, you should be able to go home with it!! Happy reading!

Happy Book Birthday to my Critique Partner, Michelle McLean!

Woot! *throws streamers* Happy Birthday, HOMEWORK HELPERS: ESSAYS AND TERM PAPERS!! This awesome book bears the name of none other than my Operation Awesome partner in crime, Michelle McLean! She is an amazing writer, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. If you aren't following her blog yet, you need to get over there now! Not only is she having a big giveaway to celebrate her book debut, but her daily posts are some of the best writing advice I've seen on the web. She didn't get this nonfiction contract for nothing! This girl knows how to write a fun, conversational, spot-on how-to!


Lots of people are talking about her today, including these guys:


Christine Fonseca, 
Elana Johnson, 
Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Saxton, 
and Lisa Amowitz.


If you comment on each blog, that's how many entries you'll get in the big giveaway going on all week. And be sure to check back here next Saturday (not this one, but next: Jan 29th) because I'll have a brilliant (Seriously. I'm not exaggerating. This will change your writing life.) guest post by the skillful and delicious author.


Now for a few other nuggets of awesome around the blogosphere:

• WriteOnCon has invited Pippin Properties (amazing collaborative literary agency) to live chat with all their followers on Monday, January 24th, 5:00pm EST! You will not want to miss this! So do your research and tune in to ask your questions.

• Congratulations to Beth Revis, author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, for debuting on the New York Times Bestseller List at #7! Must be a magic number and bodes well for this book b/c Kiersten White's Paranormalcy occupied exactly the same spot in its first week! 

• The fast-growing Best Damn Creative Writing Blog Ever now has a book club! Check it out and get in on the book discussion.

What's got you excited on the blogosphere today?

Paul McCartney, Prancing Poodles, and Girls Who Play Football: Ask Miranda

My first author interview of the new year is up on Operation Awesome today and it's one you won't want to miss!

Miranda Kenneally, author of the debut YA novel SCORE, has infused the interview with her awesome personality and even included some free verse from her upcoming novel. Here's the blurb:

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though—she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team…and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

SCORE, my debut YA novel, will be released by Sourcebooks Fire in December 2011!

Add SCORE on Goodreads!   

Read an excerpt from SCORE

You read that right. A girl is the captain of the football team. I can't wait to read how the new guy is taking it!

The cover has been chosen, but we're not allowed to know which one it is yet. How's this for reader eye candy?



Now go check out the interview and ask her some questions of your own in the comments. Miranda will be around to answer questions today (Friday).

And please visit The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog to read my latest contribution: Memorable Query? Wrong Kind of Memorable and show some comment love. Thanks, guys! And...


HAPPY FRIDAY!!

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?

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.