The Immortal Rules - Review and Giveaway

I was lucky enough to receive access to a galley of The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. Remarkably, I hadn't read anything else by her, even though the whole bloggosphere has been raving about the Iron Fey series forever. The series just didn't strike me as something I'd like, but I'm definitely going to try them out now.

From Goodreads:

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Vampires? Really? I mean they've been done to death, and brought back to life. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) The approach, however, is completely different. These vamps are not fuzzy-wuzzy sparkle puffs. Despite the fact that there is an organised system for obtaining blood, these vampires still kill on occasion. And when Allie joins the ranks, she has a real struggle with who she is and not hurting those around her.

Another refreshing thing about this book is that it combines vampires with a few other speculative fiction arenas. It's a postapocalyptic world. A virus has killed off much off the human race. The rules of living have been redefined. Allie lives in a Vampire City. The walls protect the humans from rabids and in return most of the humans are Registered to donate their blood to keep the vampires fed. It seems like a semi-equal exchange. But in the very first scene, some Unregistereds are brought to justice for stealing, even though there is no food provided for Unregistereds. The opression adds dystopian elements to the plot.  And of course, there are the rabids. The rabids are essentially zombies. Like all zombies, they seem to have one overwhelming impulse: eat.

Let's not forget that the kick-butt heroine, Allie, is Asian. Honestly, I can only think of one other spec-fic YA book with an Asian heroine.

I think it's the combination of all these things: vampires, post-apocalypse, dystopia, rabid/zombies - that make the book a winner.

But there are 2 more elements I feel like I should mention. Zeke and Kanin. Zeke is a possible love interest. He's been raised to despise vampires and Allie knows this. Since leaving the city, she's been surviving by pretending to be human, but how long can she really keep that up, right? Then there's Kanin, the vampire that changed Allie. Kanin is all "Oh, humans are just your food," yet he doesn't kill them, and is as humane as someone can be to their prey. And Kanin is obviously troubled. I fell right into him. Totally wanted to hug him and make it all better, and then go beat up the people that made him feel bad. lol.

To win a copy of THE IMMORTAL RULES, just tell me what's your fave type of vampire?
This contest is open internationally until Wednesday April 25 at 11.59 pm EST.

Review, Giveaway -32

The winner of one copy of

CRACKED UP TO BE

is...

Natasha Areena!

Congrats Natasha! Email me your full name and address at muchlanguage(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll get it right to you.

FIRST THE BAD NEWS

I'm going to be discontinuing the weekly giveaways at the end of August. Honestly, it's a bit exhausting. I have to read up to 3 books each week to figure out what to giveaway. I have to write a review. Or contact an author, get a response, and write an interview. And then there's actually imputting addresses and ordering prizes. I knew it would be tiring, but I promised myself to stick with it if I had a lot of interest. But most weeks, it's 5 or less entries.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS

There's another reason why I'm discontinuing the weekly giveaways after August. I have some really, really special I'm going to do in September. One lucky, lucky person- follower or not- will have the chance to win HUGE. And YOU, my fantastic Honey-bunches, are going to get to choose who that person is. STAY TUNED! Something wicked, this way comes!

THIS WEEK

Firstly, the cover blurb is awesome. You immediately get a taste of Brooklyn Pierce. She makes bad decisions- except not really. I mean you wouldn't think having a party would end in burning down a model home, right?

Brooklyn is so convinced that everything she touches will turn to mush that she decides to put her entire life in the hands of her blog readers, and promises to follow whatever decisions they make. It actually takes quite a while to get to the whole "start a blog" bit, and normally I hate when books do that- advertise something on the back and then there's a whole chunk that doesn't do it. Except Brooklyn's story pulled me in so completely that I wasn't impatient.

Add in a stellar supporting cast- a best friend that's a bit of a twat, the requisite super sexy love interest, a new friend and a crabby old lady- and you've got yourself a winner!

Like Brooklyn, I make a lot of bad decisions. To win this week, tell me:
What's your relationship with decision-making? Do you like it? Do you make good decisions? How do you react to the bad ones?
This week is followers only.
Contest is open until Wednesday 11.59 pm EST and international as per usual.

Good luck!

Congrats to the winner of

WRITE GREAT FICTION:
PLOT AND STRUCTURE

is...

Sophia Richardson!

Congratulations, Sophie. It's on it's way.


Remember how back in January, I promised to have some multicultural offerings in the giveaways?

May I present Buxton Spice by Oonya Kempadoo, who has lived in several Caribbean territories as well as England.

From Goodreads:

Told in the voice of a girl as she moves from childhood into adolescence, Buxton Spice is the story the town of Tamarind Grove: its eccentric families, its sweeping joys, and its sudden tragedies. The novel brings to life 1970s Guyana-a world at a cultural and political crossroads-and perfectly captures a child's keen observations, sense of wonder, and the growing complexity of consciousness that marks the passage from innocence to experience.

I honestly don't read a lot of books by Caribbean authors. Lots of Caribbean books seem to take the super-literary take itself too seriously route. And that's fine for some readers, but not for me.

The thing that most stands out to me in Buxton Spice is the portrayal of sex. I'd never really thought about how the facets of sex are different in the Caribbean than how I've seen it portrayed in mainstream books. In some ways, sex is always just below the surface here. Many of the calypsoes (songs) have a double entendre, with other words used to cleverly (or not so cleverly) take about sex. There's an old calypso, where a man and a woman are dancing together and the women says to the man, "Something in ya pocket keep sticking me," and the man responds, "It's a ripe plaintain."

Kempadoo also provides a look at politics and corruption in Guyana. When you say corruption, I think of Guyana. Guyana has just about every natural resource I can think of: gold, diamonds, bauxite, lumber, a little oil, etc, etc. It should be one of the richest countries in the world. Instead it's one of the poorest countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. In my view, that's mismanagement and corruption.

Buxton Spice also shows so many of the "characters" in a Caribbean neighbourhood. Things are a lot more "Americanised" than they were in the '70s, but there is a lot that hasn't changed.

There is one caveat. The book uses a lot of dialect. It's not particular hard to understand, but it does take some getting used to. I suppose it's not so much dialect as a Caribbean style of speech. For example, instead of using "very" we repeat a verb for emphasis. "After a long day of work, I tired tired tired."

RULES:
Make a comment to enter.
Contest open til 1159 pm EST Wednesday.
Followers only.

Good luck!

Review and Giveaway- 29

Don't forget to email your list of 10 books every writer should read, for your chance to win.

Great zombie stories from last week's entrants. I've never seen Shaun of the Dead, though. *Hangs head in shame.*

Last week's winner

of Carrie Harris' BAD TASTE IN BOYS is...

DIANA!!!

Congratulations, Diana. Send me your full name and address and I'll get that right to you.

Today up for grabs is WRITE GREAT FICTION: PLOT AND STRUCTURE by James Scott Bell

So far, this book is my favourite book dedicated to plot. And I think that's mainly due to the concept at the centre of the book: the LOCK system.

Lead
Objective
Confrontation
Knockout

Lead- You start with a character. Who is he/she? What makes them interesting?What do they do? What do they love? Who do they love?

I love that Bell lets character take such a prime role in plot, because really plot and character are intertwined. Think of your fave plot-heavy mysteries, procedurals, etc. Sherlock Holmes stories, CSI, Murder She Wrote, Miss Marple... they all work because of their characters. I think plot and character are intertwined. The best plots fall flat without the right characters. And characters only get to show themselves and their qualities if the plot allows.

Objective- What does the character want?

Confrontation- What stands in his/her way?

Knockout- The final blow to wrap up your story.

Apart from the LOCK system, Bell goes into to detail on how to structure your story, how to get ideas, how to build scenes, how to fix plot issues, common plots within certain genres, etc. I loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone who struggles with plot, wants to fix plot problems, or wants to take their plotting to the next level.

I've mentioned several times that plot is the weakest of the "pillars of writing" in my arsenal. I don't plot beforehand, because it kills my interest in a story, and so far, all my stories end up with plot holes bigger than my country.

For your chance to win, tell me: What's your relationship with plot and/or structure?
This contest is open to followers only until Wednesday, 11.59 pm EST.

Interview and Giveaway - 27

The winner of last week's SIGNED copy of ORCHARDS

is...

CaliforniaMeaghan!

Congrats!

Today, I have an interview with Mina Esveguerra, who wrote one of my favourite reads of the year, Fairy Tale Fail. Let's give Mina a friendly Points of Claire-ification welcome.

I'm a fairy tale-aholic, so I loved your novel Fairy Tale Fail. Can you tell us a little about the book and where the idea came from?
Fairy Tale Fail is about Ellie, a twenty-five-year-old living in Manila. She's fascinated with fairy tales, to the point that she stubbornly tries for "happily ever after" with the guy who breaks up with her, even though everyone else in her life is telling her to move on already. The story was inspired by something that happened to a friend, but I used the fairy tale template to give it structure.

The book is set in the Philippines. Did you make any special considerations to tailor it to the international market?
Surprisingly, not that much. There's a growing demand for English-language chick lit/women's fiction in the Philippines, so I wrote it for that market originally and didn't rewrite when I released it on Amazon. Whether it's accepted as is internationally, it's a toss-up. Some people can tell right away that it's not the usual America- or UK-based story, others don't notice until the few foreign words come in. Some mind that it's set in an unfamiliar place, others don't.

I hope though that people who wind up buying Fairy Tale Fail learn a little about what it's like to be a certain kind of woman in the Philippines. Maybe some experiences are the same, and hopefully whatever's different will be interesting anyway.

You were traditionally published for earlier books, but you now self publish. Would you like to share the reasons behind the switch? What are the pros and cons for you of traditional publishing and self-publishing?
In a way, I haven't made a complete switch yet. I still submit manuscripts to my traditional publisher. The way it works in the Philippines, if you want to reach more readers within the country you'll still have to work with a publisher who can offer nationwide distribution. Amazon's Kindle Store isn't that popular here yet, mostly because you need a credit card to buy, and many people here don't have one. But even people who have credit cards and Amazon accounts, many of those I've talked to don't really know what's up with the Kindle Store. Usually I end up explaining the Kindle store, the free Kindle apps, how to buy other formats at Smashwords... and that's a bit overwhelming for someone who just showed some interest in reading my book.

When I started the self-publishing experiment, I found out that my audience for that was global, rather than local. So now I try to do both: develop some stories for a local audience (to be submitted to my traditional publisher) and some stories I let loose onto the world via self-publishing.

Can you give us a quick idea of what to expect in your new novella, LOVE YOUR FRENEMIES?
Love Your Frenemies is about Kimmy, beautiful, twenty-seven-year-old manager-in-training, who isn't very well-liked because she's brash and headstrong. But then her wedding is called off humiliatingly close to the date, and it shakes her enough that she escapes overseas to regroup. The novel opens with her return to Manila, having decided that all she needs to make it work there again is to make some changes in her life, and get away from the people who got her in that mess to begin with.

Any pearls of wisdom to share with us, the aspiring authors still in the trenches?
What held me back for so long was a lack of confidence, and I didn't even really have it when I finally got published. For me it was a series of moments when I felt brave and just decided to go for it -- to finish the novel, to let someone else read it, get it published. Usually there's crushing regret and doubt immediately after, but at least I moved forward bit by bit. So if I were to share anything it would be that: write often, and then when the moment comes and you feel brave enough to put it out there, do it.

Beautiful advice. Thanks you for joining us, Mina!(Btw, Mina means 'everyone' in Japanese, so it feels weird every time I say it. lol.)

To win your copy of Fairy Tale Fail, just tell me:
Have you ever clung to a fairy tale instead of reality?
Open until Wednesday at 11.59 pm EST.
Open internationally, to everyone.

Good luck!

YA Contemp Month- ORCHARDS (SIGNED!!!)

The winner of Ally Carter's Heist Society

as selected by random.org

is #1...

Sidrah!!!

Congrats Sidrah! It's in the mail...

Today, I’m especially excited to welcome Holly Thompson to Points of Claire-ification. Holly is the author of several books, most recently ORCHARDS, and the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Tokyo. Thanks for joining us Holly.

Thanks so much for having me during YA Contemp Month.

From the beautiful cover art and the name, it’s not hard to tell that the book has something to do with mikan- Japanese mandarin oranges. Can you give us a quick synopsis?

Kanako Goldberg, a half Japanese and half Jewish-American from New York, is sent to her grandparents’ mikan farm in Shizuoka after the suicide of a classmate. In Japan she attends school part-time and helps in the orchards, all the while, addressing Ruth, the classmate who died. Kana is confused and resentful, but gradually as she works in the groves and as she becomes more immersed in village life, she comes to a deeper understanding of Ruth and of her own bicultural identity. But then news from home sends Kana reeling into orbit all over again.

I was really happy to read a book where Japan so seamlessly integrated, without necessarily being the focus of the story. How did you go about gathering the information you needed on the setting?

I actually was apprenticed to a mikan farmer for 18 months as research for an adult novel about an American woman who marries into a mikan growing family. I learned everything I could about mikan cultivation, and for a while I lived in the village with my young daughter so that I could more fully immerse myself into village society. I have thousands of photographs and pages and pages of research notes. Midway through my work on the farm, the farmer’s American-born niece visited, and briefly seeing her there, somewhat out of her element, sparked ideas for Orchards.

What tips can you offer for writing multicultural YA novels?

I think that multiculturalism has to be a part of who the author is for an author to be successful at writing multicultural characters. The author needs to have a deep understanding of the cultures portrayed--even if the main characters have only a shallow understanding of those cultures. Research and experience are essential, and not just surface research and a brief visit to another country. Dig deep and learn far more than will ever be used in your book.

I think it’s also important to keep in mind that so many teens cross cultures now—through relatives and friends, living outside the country where they were born or have citizenship, accompanying parents overseas, and as children of migrant laborers. There are so many stories to be told.

ORCHARDS is a verse novel. What made you choose this medium? What are some of the challenges of verse and how does it compare to using prose?

Orchards started out in verse. The voice was too intense and too lyrical for me to fit into prose. With verse the aim is to distill scenes into those few key brush strokes that will convey the action and emotion effectively. Dialogue is difficult to do in verse, but verse is a great vehicle for teen voices and roller coaster emotions. I love playing with the white space on the page, having more control over the pacing through stanzas and page breaks, and working with rhythm and different poetic elements. The challenge is to make the verse elements seem invisible and organic so that the scene arcs and overall story arc are at the forefront.

What’s your writing process like? Are you a pantser? Plotter? Somewhere in between?

I do a lot of plotting in my head and make charts and tables. I do plenty of research including character studies. Some of this I do before starting the manuscript, but often I start the story because of a voice and character, then research and plot along the way. It’s a mixture of planning and then chasing after the characters.

Please tell us about your publication journey. How did you meet up with your agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton?

As I was pushing to complete my first draft of Orchards, I decided to apply for the Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program. Although I attend all of the SCBWI Tokyo events, living in Japan I don’t have as much opportunity to meet agents and editors, take courses in writing, or work with mentors, so I thought a six-month low-residency type program would be perfect for me. Nevada was not the most convenient location for me, but it was exactly the program I needed and presented me with excellent opportunities. On the opening conference weekend, I was able to confer with my mentor Esther Hershenhorn, meet Jamie, give a public reading, have the first page of Orchards critiqued by Jamie, and attend a key session on revision. By the end of that program, I had an agent and a polished manuscript, and soon afterward, Orchards was accepted for publication by Delacorte/Random House in a two-book deal.

In between being a university lecturer, having a family, organizing SCBWI events, and having a life, how do you even find the time to write?

Well, the reality is that some days I don’t write. Some days are just for family or work or soaking up life in Japan or wherever I am—those days feed my writing, ultimately. Other days I can immerse myself completely in my writing. I don’t have as many days with long stretches of time for sustained writing focus as I’d like, but I am always thinking writing—drafting in my head or doing a few moments of editing or jotting notes—even on my busy days.

Many of my readers are aspiring writers. Any advice for those of us still in the trenches?

Realize that the learning curve is steep and endless, and that we are all still in the trenches even after we are published! Read constantly and write steadily. Attend writing conferences, join critique groups, and join writing networks like SCBWI. Learn from other writers. Get on twitter and participate in chats like #kidlitchat and #yalitchat. Follow agent and editor blogs. Set deadlines for yourself. Submit stories to magazines. Challenge yourself with different voices and genres and styles. And get out and plunge yourself into life and the world around you so that you’ll have stores of material and can write your own unique stories that no one else can possibly tell.

Thanks Holly! Wow! So many pearls of wisdom.

TO WIN:
Tell me your favourite Japanese/multicultural story.
Enter by Wednesday 11.59 pm EST
Entries open to all, internationally.

BUT WAIT!!!

Since this SIGNED copy of ORCHARDS is physically coming from me, this week's winner gets an added bonus!

Kitkat special flavour: Zunda!!! (Specialty Kitkats are available- I think- only in Japan.) Zunda is made from Edamame, a type of bean, and is a Specialty KitKat flavour from Sendai, Miyagi.

Good luck everyone!

Sadly, this is the last week of YA Contemp Month, but giveaways continue every week, and will still be open to non-followers the first Thursday of every month. I hope you'll join me next week for another awesome interview and giveaway.

YA Contemp Month: Heist Society

It's YA Contemp Month which means another YA Contemporary giveaway her on Points of Claire-ification.

But first, last week's winner...

*Trumpet fanfare*

Abby Stevens!

Congrats Abby!

Today's giveaway is Heist Society by Ally Carter.

I read this book over a year ago, so why did I decide to give it away now?

1. UNCOMMON CRIMINALS, the sequel to HEIST SOCIETY came out on Tuesday.
2. When people think contemporary, they often think average, daily life, but thrillers, horrors, crime, etc, are also contemporary.

From the GOODREADS summary:


When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

This book is GOSSIP GIRL meets OCEAN'S 11. There's a high society vibe of inclusivity, plus the fast pace of the traditional heist story. The premise makes sense. Kat has given up the life, but then her Dad's in trouble.

I love the way the book is set out in days to go. It adds a certain urgency to the plot. I love the writing style. Carter has a hypothetical way of describing what's going on.

"He did not see the boys hold their breath as they waited to hear him say, "Well... alright."

"If you lived in 1921, and if you had more money than time, and if you were a woman, there were a few acceptable ways in which you were allowed to spend your time."

"Any other student might have flinched in that bright spot-light, but from the moment Katarina Bishop set foot on the Colgan campus, she'd been something of an enigma."

"The guards might have seen the boy throw his arm around the girl's neck and hold a camera out in front of them, snapping pictures. They might have noticed how the couple paced from one end of the waill to the next. They didn't, of course."

I loved this style. I thought it captured the vibe perfectly. By constantly showing what might have happened, you are constantly reminded that things could be different. And if they were different, it could be trouble for Kat and her crew.

The characters rock. This team could steal from you so stealthily you wouldn't even notice you're missing something. And with the exception of the butler- yes the butler, they're not even old enough to drink.

And then there's W.W. Hale the Fifth. The mysterious billionaire. Please catch me if I swoon.

DA RULEZ
To enter, answer in the comments: What's your favourite heist story? (I'm an Ocean's 11 girl myself.)
Contest is open internationally.
Contest closes at 11.59 pm EST on Wednesday, June 29.

YA Contemp Month: Ten Things I Hate About Me

Welcome back for another edition of the YA Contemporary Month giveaways. I'm your host Claaaaaaiiire Daw-awn!

lol!

First congratulations to the winner of last week's giveaway

of The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder...

BEE!!!!

Bee, email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com with a full name and address, and I'll mail it right off to you.

---

From Goodreads:
"At school I'm Aussie-blonde Jamie -- one of the crowd. At home I'm Muslim Jamilah -- driven mad by my Stone Age dad. I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can't keep it up for much longer..."

In honour of the concept I thought I'd give you Ten Things I LOVED about this book.

1. Finally a multiculturally YA that doesn't make me want to strangle myself with a United Colors of Benneton flag.

2. Jamie/Jamila. :S

3. Teen views of tensions between Muslims and whites.

4. Sydney, Australia.

5. Mustafa, the rapping Aussie Lebanese-Muslim teen.

6. Even though it's totally not a love triangle, waiting to see if she picks Timothy or John.

7. Jamilah's Dad. You get him, but you still ache for her.

8. The way how the issue is so obviously important but still totally irrelevant. (Not a lot of books do that without getting preachy, and I'll admit this one had a few borderline moments.)

9. Shereen, Jamilah's political activist sister.

10. Jamilah's piping hot and steamy big brother, Bilal. *Grins*

Answer this question in the comments to enter: Were there racial tensions at your high school? (or neighbourhood/workplace/etc)
Open internationally and to anyone.
Open until Wednesday, June 22, 1159 pm EST.

YA Contemporary Month: The Lipstick Laws

So last week's winner

of The Secret Year

is...

E.J!!!

Guess you'll get to read that boy narrative after all. Email me your address and I'll get that sent to you.

---
Today's Contemporary YA giveaway is The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder.

Amy's been kind enough to join us today. Hi Amy. Welcome to Talk Back Thursdays and thank you for agreeing to have a chat with us.

Thanks so much for having me! I love your blog!

Wow! I'm blushing.
Tell us, Amy, where did you get the idea for The Lipstick Laws?

The idea for The Lipstick Laws started with the main character, April. I knew I wanted to write a fun story about the ups and downs of high school, and April’s quirky, self-deprecating, teen angst voice is the first part of the story that came to me. The whole plot evolved while free-writing in her voice and putting her character into what-if scenarios.

The book is very “Mean Girls”, a genre that if not done well, tends to lean into very stereotypical portrayals. How did you keep from crossing the line?

I don’t necessarily think that I avoided stereotypical portrayals within the story. In fact, I purposely played off of stereotypes at times to create some of the humor and over-the-top situations in the book. However, I tried to make the characters well-rounded and three-dimensional by giving them backstories, real teen insecurities, and quirky personalities to bring more depth and interest to their characters and the story. My intention was to push the envelope on playing with stereotypes for entertainment purposes while avoiding the cliché that can be a result of stereotypical portrayals. I hope I achieved that.

Yes, the book is full of insecurities. April, for example is a bra-stuffer. Why did you choose this as her issue? (I’ve never had that particular problem, but I think that most –if not all- teenage girls have something they’re wildly insecure about.)

To be honest, I’ve never had that problem either… and I think that’s part of what inspired me to pick that insecurity for April. It was an insecurity that didn’t hit too close to home for me so I could write about it very candidly without crying into a pillow. It’s also something I think many girls and women can relate to, even if it’s not something they’re dealing with directly.

We all have things that we don’t like about ourselves. Since dealing with insecurities is usually a big part of adolescence, I wanted to give April a relatively common female body image hang-up. I had a very good friend in high school who lamented over her flat chest frequently, so I secretly borrowed that quirk from her (but if I want to stay alive, I will forever keep her name anonymous). The bra-stuffing was just a natural way for April to conceal her insecurity… and it allowed me to add a lot of boobicle cubicle humor to the plot.

Tell us a bit about your publication journey. How did you match up with Sarah Davies?
My path to publication was extremely unconventional! I did things a little backwards… I got published first and found my agent after that. I had every intention of querying agents after writing the manuscript draft of The Lipstick Laws. However, around that same time I happened to make a networking connection at HMH who was willing to pass my manuscript on (and avoid the dreaded slush pile). I delayed querying agents to submit the manuscript directly to the publisher on a whim with my fingers crossed; never imagining anything would come from it. I was surprised and ecstatic when I found out a few weeks later that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt wanted to publish it! I’m still so grateful to say that The Lipstick Laws was never rejected!

As far as how I matched up with Sarah Davies, once I received adaptation interest from a Hollywood producer, I knew I was out of my league and that I needed to find an agent who knows the business and could help guide my career ASAP. I did a lot of research before querying agents and was very impressed with Sarah! She’s been working in the publishing field for 20+ years, she has fabulous international connections, her clients speak very highly of her, and she’s a great person with a fantastic sense of humor (which is very important to me). After she read some of my work, we hit it off on the phone and I was thrilled to accept representation from her. Sarah also introduced me to my film agent, Jerry Kalajian (who is amazing as well)! I feel very lucky to have both of them in my corner.

Speaking of Hollywood, congrats on The Lipstick Laws recently being optioned! Can't wait to see it on screen!

Many of my readers are aspiring writers. Any advice for those of us still in the trenches?
My tips are to practice your writing craft daily, read the genre you want to write, study the publishing market, never give up, and network your tail off (the more people you know in the industry, the better your chances will be to avoid the slush pile). I also think it’s important to be careful not to stifle your own writing by comparing it to other writers’ successes or failures. Always avoid a creative comparison coma by celebrating the uniqueness of your individual writing style and journey.

Thanks for joining us today, Amy. Good luck with The Lipstick Laws!

Thanks again for having me here!! Good luck with your own writing journey!

--

To win, answer this: April was a bra-stuffer, what was/is your biggest insecurity in your teen years?
Contest open internationally to followers and non-followers.
Ends Wednesday at 11.59pm EST

YA Contemporary Month: The Secret Year

Congrats to the winner of last's week's giveaway:

SIDRAH!!!

It's in the mail. :) (Or at least it will be as soon as Amazon wakes up. It's about 6 am in that part of the world. lol)

It's YA Contemporary Month (thanks to The Contemps). Every Thursday this month, there will be a YA contemporary book up for grabs. It's international and open to anyone! Good luck!

Today's offering: THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer Hubbard.

From Goodreads:

Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly.

Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one—not even Julia's boyfriend— knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

I'm embarrassed to admit that this book has been sitting in my bookshelf since it came out. I've picked it up and put it back down several times, because I didn't want to read another sad book about death. I only picked it up last night because of this contest. And then I practically inhaled the book. I'd forgotten the meaning of "page-turner". In fact, this book is so gripping that I took it to class last night and my colleague got thoroughly absorbed in it. In the middle of class!

The summary does a good job of summarising the novel,so I'm just going to share a few points.

5 (not-so) Secrets about THE SECRET YEAR.

1. A boy narrates. WIN!

2. Sex. But not gratuitous. Or vilified. Or glorified. Just another fact of life.

3. It's more about the person who died, than the death itself.

4. Class distinctions.

5. It's about love. All types.

To enter:
Tell us in the comments, did you ever have a secret from the whole world? How did you handle it? (Don't worry, you don't have to tell us the secret!)
Open to everyone, internationally.
Entries close Wednesday at 11.59 pm EST.

Winner, Review, Giveaway 21

I loved last's week's definitions of love.

Especially Sana's "Love is whatever feels like home."

Simplicity is beautiful.

Now off to random.org and ...

#3

KATE!!!

Congrats! Shoot me an email with your full name and mailing address.

Today I'm reviewing THE LOVE GODDESS' COOKING SCHOOL by Melissa Senate.


QUICK SUMMARY:

According to her fortune-telling grandmother, Camilla, Holly's great love will be one of few to like 'sa cordula'- an Italian delicacy made from lamb intestines. After a string of heartbreaks, Holly moves to her grandmother's to take over her cooking school. But Holly can barely make a marinara. And her four students are more interested in Camilla's 'love lessons' than in Holly's ravioli.

MY TAKE:

Do not read on an empty stomach!

The book is filled with beautiful aromas and tastes. And since Holly is just getting the hang of this cooking thing she spends a lot of time in the kitchen. You'll find yourself craving Italian the entire time.

There's also a wonderful element of magical realism. (Magical realism is really hard to define, but I like to think of it as the magic in real life. That old woman who lived on the corner of your childhood street and always wore black? Remember how you never actually saw her do anything, but swore she was a witch anyway?)Camilla is a fortune-teller in a tiny island community. The island's inhabitants all think she's a witch and think there is magic in her food and in taking her class. Even though Holly isn't sure about the fortune-telling bit, the novel walks a thin line between reality and the infinite possibilities of the supernatural.

TO WIN:
Since this mouth-watering novel revolves around food, simply tell me: What's your favourite ethnicity of food?
Enter by Wednesday 11.59 pm eastern.
As always, open internationally.
Only followers are eligible. (Come back next week for a contest open to all!)

Winner, Review, Giveaway 20

The winner of last week's giveaway of

THE SUMMER BEFORE BOYS

is...

Marsha Sigman!!!

Congrats, Marsha!

Today's giveaway is OTHER WORDS FOR LOVE by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal.



In a literary world filled with 23-oz steaks, cherry-red Corvettes and Main Street USA parades, OTHER WORDS FOR LOVE is a night curled up with your favourite movie and a cup of hot chocolate. It's simplicity is both it's beauty and it's curse. I've had this book on my Kindle since it was released in January, but have only just got around to reading it.

It's about a girl's first love, but it is so much more. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, but the name drew my eye to all the different types of love in the book- and there were a whole battalion of them.

The Boyfriend: Ari doesn't think herself worthy of the boy she's crushing on. He's almost too good to be true. But he does have a major flaw, something that cripples him and pushes him towards bad decisions. (I actually loved this. Some books/movies would have you think that perfect, nice guys don't have issues. Everybody has issues.)

The brother-in-law: When the book opens, Ari has a major crush on her brother-in-law. She's jealous of her sister's relationship, and even though she'd never dream of doing anything, a rabbit can dream, right? (Another winner. People do things they're not supposed to all the time. Having a crush on a sweet, off-limits guy? Who could resist?)

The best friend: Ari's bff is a bit of a twat, to be frank. She's the type who wins a crown by climbing over the other contestants. But Ari loves her to pieces.

The new friend: When Ari switches schools, she make a new friend, Leigh. It's hard to explain their dynamic without giving away too much of the plot, but it's another thought-invoking one.

The sister: Ari spends a lot of her spare time helping out her boisterous, but easily-depressed, never-thankful sister.

The mother: Was your mother the type that always knew when you'd been out at the coffee shop with friends when you claimed you were studying? That's Ari's Mom. And she is one tough nut. She's constantly on Ari's "failed" sister's back, making Ari feel sorry for her sister and pressured not to be like her.

The father: Tough, but detached- not the hugging type. But Ari loves the way he steps up when it matters.

And that's just the beginning. The other characters all have complex relationships with each other and their own friends and family. It got me to thinking about all the things that are love.

DA RULEZ:
Comment by Wednesday, 1159 pm EST and answer this question: "What is love?"
Open to followers only.
As always, open internationally.

Winner, Interview, Giveaway 19

The Winner of Alex J. Cavanaugh's

CASSASTAR

is

Sophia Richardson!

Congrats!

Email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com with your real name and a mailing address.

Today's offering: THE SUMMER BEFORE BOYS by Nora Raleigh Baskin



COVER COPY:
Julia and Eliza are best friends, spending the summer together. Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard and Julia spends all of her time trying not to think about what could happen. So the girls lose themselves in their summer, hanging out at the resort where Eliza's father works. But when they meet a new boy, neither one of them is prepared for what it does to their friendship.

Honest truth: I read this because I had access to the ARC. I did not expect to like it. Julia and Eliza are 12. And even though I read YA, middle grade is hit and miss for me. But I don't even think of this book as being middle grade. I think of it like Shrek: existing on 2 levels. As a kid, you see one thing. As an adult you see another.

I really identified when the boy started to come between Julia and Eliza. Not because I've done that, but because I've been guilty of putting my priorities in the wrong place, and letting others down. I think we all have.

Another thing was that this story is intertwined with a narrative about Julia's mother, who is fighting in Iraq. I'd never imagined the ambiguity of feelings. Julia wants everyone to remember her mother's in Iraq, but she doesn't want them to bring it up. She wants to be able to cry, but she doesn't want anyone's pity.

THE SUMMER BEFORE BOYS was a wonderful offering that might take you back to your pre-teen days or might teach you a thing or two about the world, or even yourself.

To win, let me know: have you ever priotised wrong and hurt someone?

Rules:
Contest open until Wednesday 11.59 pm EST.
Followers only.
Open internationally.

Winner, Interview, Giveaway 18

The winner of last week's

SERVING CRAZY WITH CURRY is

Sana Castellano!!!!

Congrats! email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com with your address!


Today, Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of CassaStar, stops by to chitchat. You can win a copy of Cassastar by following the instructions at the end of the interview. And trust me, you want to win- CassaStar was great (and I don't even read sci-fi)!



---

Welcome to Talk Back Thursdays and thank you for agreeing to have a chat with us.
Tell us, where did the idea for CassaStar come from?

I grew up with Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica and really dug the idea of space battles. I wrote the first manuscript when I was a teen. When I pulled it out again a few years ago, I decided the story was lame but the characters were strong. I wrote a new story from scratch and the result was CassaStar.

As a sci-fi novel, where much of the world is your creation, what preparation and research did you do before putting the proverbial pen to paper?

My science fiction movie/TV habit and experience with fighter jets turned out to be a big plus. I also talked to fighter pilots and did some research online while writing.

There is no love interest in CassaStar- something I found strange, but is probably fairly common in sci-fi- but there is an incredible friendship between two males. What made you decide to forego romance in favor of bromance?

I think you just coined a new term! I guess I just wasn’t comfortable tackling romance yet. And the focus of the story was friendship, something that’s important to me. However, I have inserted a lead female character into the sequel…

Tell us a bit about your writing journey?

I wrote some when I was younger, but it was never a big dream of mine. When I found my old, partial manuscript, I challenged myself to write a full novel. I sent out many queries before landing a small press. I’ve been pleased with the response, especially from women readers. That really surprised me! Now that I’m working on the sequel, the pressure’s on to make it even better.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Never give up, never surrender! Oh wait, that’s from Galaxy Quest.
Consider all angles of your story.

Thank you for joining us today, Alex. We appreciate that you took time out of your busy schedule.

Thank you, Claire!

---

First giveaway of the month, so it's open to everyone, non-followers, followers and international.

To WIN, simply tell me what's your favourite sci-fi book (or movie or tv show)?

Winner, Review, Giveaway

The winner of last week's craft package giveaway

of a copy of WRITING FOR DUMMIES

and a copy of WRITING & SELLING THE YA NOVEL is...

Natasha M. Heck!!!

Congrats Natasha! Email me - muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com, with your address.

Today's review:


I started this book at 7.30 am, while waiting on the bus to Tiny School. I went to school, taught, got a cold, took medicine, slept, went to movie night with my friends, and still, the book was such a page-turner that I was wrapping it up at midnight.

In an attempt for the review not to be a total fan-girl gush, I'm going to review it in music!

One of the coolest things about the story is that it takes place over one night only. (Jennifer Hudson)


Another thing is the representation of gays in the novel. I am not a champion for a gay rights by any stretch of the imagination, but I hate feeling like every "issue" person in novels has to be struggling with that issue. All Blacks are in turmoil over the fact that they're black. All Asians are struggling with being Asian. Gays are fighting not to be gay or to be accepted. You can't just be Black/Asian/Gay and cool with it. You can't just be like, "This is who I am!" (Jessica Andrews)


Music is so interwoven with this story that it's a theme, a setting, almost a character. The two main characters meet on account of music, and they have music in common. (Rihanna)


Both Nick and Norah's ex's have roles to play in the tale. And both their previous relationships were dysfunctional for different reasons. And both Nick and Norah struggle to come to terms with that.


A personal pet peeve of mine is the prevalence of books which deal with topics through the same lens as the topic. The language of a love story must be beautiful. If a story is about death, it has to be a tearjerker. But this novel is set in the punk-rock/queer core NYC music scene- not exactly a setting that makes you think of wedding marches and honeymoons. I love the juxtaposition of these two things, because you don't have to be a sappy, romantic (like me- lol) to fall in love. Sad stories happen in happy places and vice versa. It's like Singing in the Rain. (Gene Kelly.)


This weeks rules:
Open til 11.59 EST
Open internationally
To win, tell me, what single night (or day) most changed your life?

Good luck!

Winner, reviews, giveaway- Craft books

The winner of CHASING HARRY WINSTON

is...

Kulsuma!!!

Congrats! Email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com, with a name and mailing address.

Thanks to the unavailability of internet last week, I didn't do a giveaway, so I'll be making it up with two books this week. Also, this is the first giveaway this month, so it's open to everybody and their sister!

Today I'm giving away 2 craft books:





WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES

For me, the reading was a little dry and it took a while to get through it. (I'm not a big fan of non-fiction.) Also I wasn't totally sold on the types of scenes listed in the book.

I thought the book was really thorough. It showed a few highlights of the business side: whether or not you need/want and agent, what the agent does, what happens all the way to publication. And it took me through the entire creative process from first draft to final edit. I especially liked that Ingermanson and Economy described (and showed benefits and drawbacks for) a set of creative paradigms:

Seat-of-the-pants
Edit-as-you-guy (like seat of pants, but with pauses to edit periodically)
Snowflake (start with big picture and fill in more and more details)
Outliner

WRITING & SELLING THE YA NOVEL

One of my fave things about WSTYN is that Going never acts like the way she describs is the only way. She points out possibilites and even the repercussions in some cases. (For example, of course you can have sex in your book, but be prepared that some people are nto going to like it.) Going also includes teen feedback on simple questions like "Who's your favourite character and why?" which is useful if you haven't been YA yourself for a while and would like to find out more about what teens today like.

Personally, I was quite thrilled to find that she builds her stories idea-character-plot, as it seems that many people go idea-plot-character. Nice to know I'm not alone.

RULES
1. Entries are open to everyone, follower or not.
2. You can enter until 11.59 pm EST on Wednesday.
3. Entries are open internationally.
4. To enter, tell me what's your creative paradigm? How do you attack a first draft?

(PS, Thanks for the love on my Sad News post.)

WASTED- Review, giveaway, winner

The winner of WHAT KATY DID is...

Jon Paul!

Congrats Jon Paul. Email me a mailing address at muchlanguage(at)gmail(dot)com.

Today I'm giving away a copy of WASTED by Nicola Morgan, winner of the Coventry 'Read it or Else' award. (I'm trying for a little internationalisation- it's a British book.)



From Nicola Morgan's website:

Wasted is about luck, chance, risk, fate, danger, passion, hate, alcohol, music, and why leaving the house a few seconds later could change your life.

Jack worships luck and decides his actions by the flip of a coin. No risk is too great if the coin demands it. Luck brings him Jess, a beautiful singer who will change his life. But Jack’s luck is running out, and soon the stakes are high. As chance and choice unravel, the risks of Jack’s game become terrifyingly clear. An evening of heady recklessness, and suddenly a life hangs in the balance, decided by the toss of a coin.

--

This book is different from anything I've ever read. And for that reason, I feel like you either hate it or love it. And I love it.

From a stylistic point of view, it's rare. It's a YA novel written in omniscient POV, meaning it follows all the characters and has access to information they don't know. But the story really couldn't be told any other way. It's almost as if some unseen Goddess of Luck is telling it, showing us possibilities that don't occur and how close they came to occuring, an almost mocking Jack and Jess for tinking they know, but not really having a clue.

The presentation of different scenarios makes the book read a little like a Choose Your Own Adventure. (Remember those? Where you picked between alternatives and it influenced the end result of the story?)

WASTED explores a concept that crosses our minds from time to time. What if? Jack believes there is no chance, that everything is the result of a string of events and that even the tiniest departure can change your life. Real life example: My 3rd cousin worked in the World Trade Centre. On the morning of September 11th, nothing went right. Finally as he headed through the door, his shoelace broke. Frustrated, he headed bsck inside and called in sick. It probably saved his life.

RULES

1. Post a comment by 11.59 EST on Wednesday to be entered.
2. This contest is open to followers only.
3. This contest is open internationally.
4. To win, provide a personal 'what if'. (I'll give the exaple that's been on my mind recently. On my programme we don't have a lot of say in where we are placed. I chose this prefecture, but 'What if I'd been assigned to a coastal town?' I might have been caught up in the tsunami. It's the tiniest things sometimes...)

What Katy Did- Review, giveaway, winner, and help Japan

The winner of last week's HERE LIES BRIDGET is...

Abby Stevens!

Congrats Abby! Email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com.

--

In light of what happened here, in Japan, I'll be donating 200 yen (about $2 USD) per entrant, so please spread the word.

So, I've been reading a little differently of late. YA classics and women's fic. The first of the YA classics that I read was WHAT KATY DID.

What I didn't like:

It's an old classic. So it follows a lot of the old norms. It's a bit preachy sometimes, and there is way too much description (especially for non-visual me), and it's way slower than what we're used to.

What I did like:

It's an old classic. There's something about it that makes you kind of feel like you're curled up at a storyteller's feet. And I liked the theme: What Katy Did is a story about being responsible and grown up even when you don't want to. I'm an adult, and I sometimes feel very much like Katy.

The rules:
Because of the special circumstances, you don't need to be a follower to enter today.
This contest is open internationally.
To enter, tell me what's your fave children's classic.
You've got until Wednesday 11.59 as per usual.

Don't forget I'm donating 200 yen per entry. Spread the word.

Here Lies Bridget- Review, giveaway, winner

The winner of If I Stay is...

JUDIT!

Judit, send me an email at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com and confirm your address.

This week up for grabs, HERE LIES BRIDGET by Paige Harbison.



I discovered this book when I signed up for the
Story Siren Debut Author Challenge

Quick Summary:

"All I could think about was how sorryeveryone would be when they found out." That's what Bridget is thinking as she does fifty-five into a curve.

Bridget is queen of her little world. But when Anna Judge arrives at her high school, suddenly she's not so popular, the teachers don't fall over themselves to excuse her, and her stepmother doesn't let her walk all over her.

My one bad thing:

I mentioned this yesterday, in the setting post. Overselling your setting. Statements like, "We're supposed to enjoy drinking in high school," (not an exact quote) kept popping up. And it drew me out of the story and made me feel like the book was written by a 97 year old. Like I said, when you are a part of a group, you don't keep mentioning it unless you're talking to outsiders, or being purposely patriotic. Think about it, how many times a week do you say the name of your country?

My one good thing:

The mean girl who doesn't know she's mean. The personality theorist in me loves this! Mean ppl are a dime a dozen in teen literature. But they're always carefully calculating how to be evil. Bridget is calculating, that's for sure. But she doesn't realise that the things she does hurt others.

And that made it so real for me. Because there are people who set out to e evil for fun. But more often they're just painting the world with their own brush and don't notice that it's clashing with everyone else's.

Rules:
Open internationally
Followers only
Answer this question: If you had a friend who was mean to you, what would you do?


PS. Forgive me, I didn't mean to do two books on death in a row. It just happened that way. Looking for a happy book for next week. :)

IF I STAY, review, giveaway, winner

Firstly, I apologies for being a day late. I was running around like a headless chicken yesterday. And unfortunately, I can't preprogram a post that depends on random.org

The winner of SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR is....

Sidrah!!!

Email me at muchlanguage (at) gmail (dot) com with your address.

Today, up for grabs, a copy of IF I STAY by Gayle Forman.



Quick summary: Mia and her family are involved in a terrible accident, which claims her parents' lives. She then has to choose whether to stay and live without them, or to go and join them, wherever they are.


The raw truth:

I did not connect with this book. And it really bothered me. Because my Mom was in a band just like Mia's parents, and I identified with a lot of what she mentioned. And because the prose had a certain simple beauty to it. Also, everyone on the blogosphere raves about this book. I WANTED to love this book.

I read IF I STAY at the end of last year, and it has taken this long for me to post about it, because I was trying to figure out what was missing for me. And then it hit me. The fundamental problem is whether to live or die. That's what Mia spends the majority of the book debating. And that's never even a question for me. (Life is hard as a bipolar. If God gave me half a choice, I'd be gone before you could blink. Don't worry I'm not suicidal. Just realistic.)

My one bad:

The present tense. It's hit or miss when you move a book out of the past tense. The present tense, in particular, pulls a reader into the moment. Unfortunately, if it's a moment that you don't want to be in, the present tense has an effect that is the polar opposite of the desired one. It would be like being made to watch years of home videos featuring a family you didn't know.

However, if this is a question that you'd puzzle over, then you'll probably love the present tense in this book.

My one good:

The relationship between Adam and Mia. I get really tired of YA pretending that relationships are all roses and lollipops. Adam and Mia didn't even feel like teens in their relationship. And that makes sense, because of who Mia is- she's applied to Juilliard, so that means when other people her age are out getting drunk, she's practicing the cello with music students or her tutor.

IF I STAY is well-written and thought-provoking. I think it would be an asset to anyone who wonders about the line between life and death.

RULES:

First week of the month, so this is open to everybody.
It's international.
To win, tell me: Would you stay if you'd already lost your family/friends?