Cover Reveal: HOW TO BE SOMEONE ELSE by Rachel Del

Cover Reveal: MEAN BOYS by Barbie Hall

Mean Boys

by Barbie Hall

Release Date: 05/2014

Summary from Goodreads:

“So...you're forcing me to be your slave?” I inhaled deeply even though my body had calmed. “Is that what you're telling me?”

A reformed bully. Two damaged boys. Bound by blackmail.

The only thing Bianca Wilbur wanted was to forget her past and sail through her first and only year at the prestigious Battle St. John Preparatory, by making new friends and maintaining perfect grades. That is until one scandalous raunchy night of Truth or Dare with two of the school's most infamous bad boys, the peculiar Judas and the reckless Zeus, aka The St. John Gods, leads to the unthinkable.

She's intrigued by one and despises the other.

As Bianca is forcibly dragged into their troubled world secrets spill and dirty lies come out.

What happens when the bully becomes the prey?

Mature YA/New Adult. Excessive swearing, sensitive subject matter, and sexual situations.

About the Author

Barbie Hall is a typical girl in her early twenties except she has a deep passion for writing. Particularly young adult! Barbie got her first taste of writing in the sixth grade and has never stopped ever since. She's into Japanese pop culture: including manga, fashion, and dramas. She's also addicted to Youtube (with a Youtube channel of her own), make up, and blogging.

Author Links:

  

Fangirl Friday: An Interview with Jen McConnel

Fangirl Friday is a feature here on the blog where I talk about authors I love and why their books are so awesome. Today I'm super excited to be interviewing Jen McConnel, who I met at my very first SCBWI conference, back when we were both new at this. Now Jen has a fantastic New Adult title on the shelves this month and a YA Paranormal coming in early 2014! Here's a little about Jen and her brand spanking new book babies!

About the Author

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga.  Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.  She is the author of The Secret of Isobel Key (NA 2013) and Daughter of Chaos (YA 2014).  Visit http://www.jenmcconnel.com to learn more.

Tell us a little about your writer's journey so far:

It’s never been boring, that’s for sure! I started writing fiction seriously about six years ago, and in 2009 I participated in my first NaNoWriMo.  That NA book eventually became THE SECRET OF ISOBEL KEY, coming from Bloomsbury Spark in December.  In between NaNo and now I self-published, sold a nonfiction book, signed with a small press for my first YA novel, and started navigating the murky waters of life as a hybrid author.  I’m learning something every day, and I love it!

Okay, let's hear your Twitter Pitch! (140 characters or less.)

Lou’s life is a mess, but a trip to Scotland may hold the answers she’s looking for.  But everything comes with a price.

What inspired you to write this book? How is it a book only you could write?

I’ve always been fascinated with the history of witch trials, but the first time I went to Scotland, I wasn’t in love with the country.  I didn’t realize how much I wanted to go back until I’d been home for a few years, and the story of ISOBEL KEY spilled out of me.  It’s a story about transitioning into adulthood and becoming the person you want to be, regardless of the expectations of the people around you, and that’s a journey I’ve lived.  I think it’s a journey many of us have lived.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

I love when my characters surprise me.  I’m a pantser, and I rarely have an outline, so it’s fun when the book twists and turns in unexpected ways.

What's your least favorite thing?

Timing.  It feels like the publishing world moves at a different pace from the rest of my life, and it’s hard to wait for the right moment to send my stories into the world.

Now it's time to brag a little--What do you love most about your book?

I love the sweet love story, and I love the way the book and the characters have blossomed and evolved since I first drafted the tale.  It’s so amazing seeing it take shape and exist outside of my mind. Basically, this book is my baby twice over, and I love, love, love it!

Okay, now a little about you. (And yes, I stole these questions from In the Actor's Studio with James Lipton.)

What is your favorite word?

Inconceivable. But I don’t think it means what you think it means. ;)

What is your least favorite word?

Should.  I use this word WAY too much, and I hate it.

What turns you on?

A good book and a glass of wine.

  

What turns you off?

Cranky people.

What sound or noise do you love?

Windchimes; I’ve got them scattered around outside my house, and it’s like magic.

What sound or noise do you hate?

Anything high pitched or shrill (like nails on a chalkboard).

What profession, other than your own, would you most like to attempt?

I used to dream of being an archaeologist, and I would still love to be a part of a dig someday.

Finally, what's the one question you've always wanted to answer in an interview? (And of course, you have to answer it!)

What colors have you dyed your hair? (My hair has been my natural color for so long, most people don’t know about my wild and crazy past!) In order: Green, Fire-Engine Red, Purple, Pink, and Burgundy,

New Adult

The Secret of Isobel Key (2013)

Lou is in the middle of a quarter-life crisis. Fresh out of college, she’s unemployed and unsure of herself. But when she gets the chance to escape to Scotland with her best friend, it could be the answer to her quest for self-discovery. The trip is not at all what she expected, especially when her tour guide turns out to be the dreamy historian Brian, and together they embark on a hunt for information about Isobel Key, a woman accused of witchcraft in the seventeenth century. 
They set out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but Lou isn’t prepared for the knowledge that awaits her. She must face her own demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.

Flashing between seventeenth century Scotland and a contemporary romance, THE SECRET OF ISOBEL KEY is a mystery that will please readers of all ages.

Re-releasing in 2013 from Bloomsbury Spark. 

DAUGHTER OF CHAOS (2014)

Releasing March 11, 2014, from Month9Books.

A newly declared Red Witch, governor of one third of the chaos that exists in the world, aspires to a better life devoid of destruction and pain… only to find out that the only way out may cost the lives of her family, as well as her own.

Witches must choose the path they will follow, and Darlena Agara is no exception. She’s been putting it off long enough, and in her case, ignoring it has not made it go away. In a moment of frustration, Darlena chooses to follow Red Magic, figuring she had outsmarted the powers that be, since there’s no such thing as Red Magic. But alas, Darlena’s wrong (again) and she becomes a newly declared Red Witch.

Her friends are shocked and her parents horrified by the choice Darlena has made. As a Red Witch, she now governs one third of the world’s chaos. She is the walking personification of pandemonium, turmoil, and bedlam, just as the patrons of Red Magic would have it to be.

But Darlena believes there must be more to Red Magic than chaos and destruction, and she sets out on a journey to achieve balance. Only doing so puts her at odds with the dark goddess Hecate, who simply will not allow Darlena to quit. She encourages Darlena to embrace who and what she is and to leave good magic to the good witches. If only Darlena could, life would be simple, and she would not be the Daughter of Chaos.


DAUGHTER OF CHAOS is the first in a YA paranormal trilogy.


Coming in 2014 from Month9Books 

The Top Ten Things I Learned at WriteOnCon 2013

If you follow me on Twitter you may have gathered by now that I am a HUGE fan of WriteOnCon. For those who don't know, WOC is an online conference for writers of KidLit from picture books through New Adult. And? It's FREE. It's also a great place to see what other writers are up to or even for readers to just check out what people are writing these days. There was some amazing stuff in the forums this year.

Like all writing conferences, I've come away feeling overwhelmed with all I've learned, appreciative of the insights of our community, and inspired to get back to work! Here are the top ten things I learned at this year's WriteOnCon...

10. Jessica Spotswood's questions to consider when creating sibling relationships was a fantastic exercise for this only child.

9. There are actually writers of modern YA fiction who have no what humanoid elves are. 0.0

8. I loved this quote from Neil Gaiman shared by author Dianne Salerni:  

"Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong." ~ Neil Gaiman

7. Though there are definitely exceptions, there's a lot of support in the industry for New Adult that wasn't there six months ago.

6. That your debut year, a time when it's probably pretty easy to become self-absorbed, is a great time to pay it forward. (via Caroline Starr Rose)

From the keynote: A Writer's Manifesto

5. So, I sort of already knew this, but it bears repeating: Pete Knapp is awesomesauce.
And when you write a great novel, you don’t merely show what courage looks like but allow the readers to experience it. It’s no wonder that among the highest praise a reviewer can offer to a novel is that it is “courageous.” The strength of these stories isn’t that they are fulfilling but that they are empowering.

4. There is a home for every well-written pitch: While Suzie Townsend and Kathleen Ortiz were flat out sick of retellings and superheroes, the gals at Spencer Hill Press were all about them. And sometimes you may be rejected, simply because the agency is already representing a similar book.

3. Chuck Palahniuk once wrote an excellent editing post about eliminating thought verbs that joykill your narratives and that every editing writer should read.

2. Live pitch readings are less bitter and more sweet when there is pie involved. (Mackenzie Brady & Duvall Osteen)

1. Seeing your characters through the eyes of an illustrator is wicked awesome.

Created by L.L. Tisdel--view her incredible portfolio here.

If you missed the conference, check out these links anyway. The content is still there for your perusing, and they keep the boards up year round. Also, if you attended, please consider donating HERE so this conference can remain FREE.

What were your Take Home messages from this year's WriteOnCon? What are your goals for the next few weeks to implement those lessons?

Cover Reveal: SLEEPER by S.M. Johnston

I've been a fan of Sharon Johnston's since last year's Pitch Madness (because blog contests rock) and I am super excited to participate in the cover reveal for her upcoming New Adult speculative fiction title SLEEPER! Get your **GRABBY HANDS** ready, kids!

About the Book:

Title: Sleeper (Book I in the Toy Soldiers series)

Author: S. M. Johnston

Release Date: December 2, 2013

Publisher: Entranced Publishing

Genre: NA speculative fiction

After a life saving heart transplant, eighteen-year-old Mishca Richardson is plagued by nightmares and an urgent desire to find her birth parents, which she puts down to post-operation depression. But her new heart seems to bring more than a second chance at life in the form of speed, strength and love at first sight.

About the Author:

Sharon is a writer from Mackay in Queensland, Australia who has short stories published in anthologies and was also runner-up in the Australian Literary Review's Young Adult short story contest with KARMA. By day she is a public relations executive and by night she writes weird fiction and soulful contemporaries while her husband, two sons and cat are fast asleep.

If you aren't already, you can stalk Sharon online via the following links:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsmjohnston
Twitter: https://twitter.com/S_M_Johnston
Website: www.smjohnston.com
Blog: www.downunderwonderings.blogspot.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4019418.S_M_Johnston

Without further delay, prepare to oooooh and aaahhhhh along with me! 

There is so much I love about this cover, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the actual book! Is it December yet? (Blargh! That's so far away.)  In the meantime, use the button below to add SLEEPER to your TBR list now!