Top Ten Tuesday for December 3, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN 2014 RELEASES I'M ALL **GRABBY HANDS** ABOUT!

What are you looking forward to reading next year? I'm always on the lookout for things to add to my TBR list, so let me have 'em!

YALLFest 2013: An Interview with Veronica Rossi

I'm honored to participate in the blog tour for this year's YALLfest Authors. For those who don't know what YALLfest is, you can find out more about the awesomeness and the all-star list of authors participating by clicking here. And if you live in the Carolinas or within driving distance of Charleston, SC, mark your calendar for November 9th! I want to hug all of you!!

Last year I was desperately craving a dystopian fix and happened across UNDER THE NEVER SKY at my local indie bookstore. Now I am obsessed with all literary things Veronica Rossi, and when she announced earlier this month that she'll be venturing into New Adult Romance under a pseudonym, I may have fangirled the 'eff out! Without further squealing or squeeing from me, here's a little about Veronica and her books. 

About the Author

Veronica Rossi is the author of post-apocalyptic fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, is the first in a trilogy. Released in January 2012, it was deemed one of the Best Books of Year by School Library Journal. The second book in the trilogy, THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT, debuted in January on the NY Times and USA Today Best Seller Lists. The final book in the series, INTO THE STILL BLUE, is expected to release January 2014.

Foreign rights to the UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy have sold in over twenty-five territories to date and film rights have been optioned by Warner Bros.

She completed undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons. When not writing, she enjoys reading, painting, and counting down the minutes until she can get back to making up stories about imaginary people. 

Her work is represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Yeah, those. And all the ones in between!

Best writing tip you ever received?

               $5. Just kidding. Um… tip… I think it’s probably to allow yourself to suck when writing early drafts. It takes away a lot of the fear of generating good material. It’s not easy to be creative when you’re judging your work.            

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

1.       In the past year, I discovered a deep love of Brussel sprouts

2.       I talk to myself. Heck. Sometimes I argue with myself.

3.       I’m arguing with myself about including that last point at this very moment.

4.       My favorite animals are elephants.

5.       Dresses with pockets make me happy.

Where's your favorite place to write?

               I usually work in my home office, but I love working in hotel rooms. No distractions!

What are you working on now?

               Something I’m very excited about! Can’t divulge any details yet, but it’s an idea I’ve been mulling over for years.

About the UNDER THE NEVER SKY Trilogy

Worlds kept them apart.

Destiny brought them together.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Top Ten Tuesday (6): June 25, 2013: Top Ten (so far) of 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. <~~~Click Here to learn more and join the blog hop!

Top Ten Books of 2013 (so far)

I can't believe we're not quite half way through the year and I've nearly met my reading goal for 2013. I guess that's what happens when you're waiting to hear back on queries, partials and fulls. Here are my top ten so far this year. 

10. Love and Leftovers--Sarah Tregay--though I am a staunch detester of novels in verse (so much so that I make up words about how much I dislike them) I actually really enjoyed this read. 

9. It's Kind of a Funny Story--Ned Vizzini--For a book about depression, this was pleasantly painless to read. I think it deals with the topic in a very real way for teens and yay for YA Contemp with male MCs that will appeal to both male and female readers! 

8. Under the Never Sky--Veronica Rossi--Dear publishers, please keep printing Dystopians. Love a sucker for them. Not the most unique of the bunch, but I still enjoyed the characters, voice, and plot enough to pick up Book 2 as soon as it was released!

7. Daughter of Smoke and Bone--Laini Taylor--I'm glad I knew nothing about this book when I borrowed it from a CP because had I know what it was about, I probably would not have read it. Demons and Seraphs in general are not my thing. I'm so glad I read because this series is AMAZEBALLS! Cannot wait for the third installment!

6. Going too Far--Jennifer Echols--I still think this is the very upper, upper edge of YA (in the same way my book is) but I loved it. A good, gritty contemporary, if you're into that. (And I am.)

5. Girl of Fire and Thorns--Rae Carson--Not a typical fantasy reader but I heard about this one too much at SCBWI Carolinas last year not to pick it up. Sucked in right away and moved immediately on to book 2 without even consulting my TBR list. One of my favorite female MCs in a long time. 

4. The Selection--Kiera Cass--Picked this one up from the author's agent who was giving away copies online. One of those books you're super pissed you didn't think to write yourself. Genius! 

3. Lola and the Boy Next Door--Stephanie Perkins--Even better than Anna and the French Kiss. I LOVE the characters in this book so hard. And it doesn't hurt that one of them shares my daughter's very unusual name. :)

2. Eleanor and Park--Rainbow Rowell--Championed by John Green? Set in the 80s? Funny and poignant and just on the cusp of gritty? How can you go wrong? The answer is you can't. Read this book if you haven't already. No, for real. 

1. Shades of Earth--Beth Revis--For me 2013 has turned in to the Year of the Wrapped Up Trilogies. And for the most part I've been extremely disappointed. (Seriously, what the HELL was that "ending" to Reqiuem?) However, fellow Carolina gal Beth Revis did not diappoint. Start to finish, Across the Universe is a fantastic series. Loved, loved, loved Shades of Earth. It is, indeed, better than Cats.

What are the best books you've read so far in 2013?