The Making of a Book Blog Tour: The Creation of Compass South

Today I'm excited to be a part of a very special blog tour for Compass South, a MG adventure graphic novel by Hope Larson and illustrated by Rebecca Mock. Each stop on this tour is going to be sharing some behind-the-scenes info about what went into the making of Compass South, so be sure and follow along to get all the juicy details! I'm kicking things off today, so I'd like to extend a very warm Supernatural Snark welcome to Hope Larson!

I have always loved adventure stories. As a child, all my favorite books were fantasies and quests. I spent weekends traveling through Narnia, Prydain and Middle Earth. When I discovered comics, I traveled the world along with Tintin, and Europe with Astérix and Obélix. I loved quieter books, too, but I never tired of seeing a protagonist rise above humble beginnings to become a hero. For an introvert, it’s a great comfort to be told that one can become more than she is; that friends and guides will appear to help when they are needed; that there’s a happy ending on the way.

Still, it took me a long time to write a story like this. Compass South, my first adventure book, is my seventh graphic novel. There are several reasons for this: While adventure stories are the bread and butter of the comics industry, they are mainly confined to the mainstream comics industry–that is, superhero comics. No one would discount the importance of Bone or Amulet, but they remain exceptions in traditional publishing. It’s tricky to fit a big, rollicking story into 200 small pages, and equally tricky to make a publisher commit to more than one graphic novel at a go; comics are expensive and time-consuming to produce, and backing one is a significant financial risk.

Compass South would not have been possible without A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. The success of that project enabled me to lobby for a bigger, bolder, more action-packed story, and it also showed me the important of such stories: because they appeal to reluctant readers. When Wrinkle came out, I heard from many parents who explained that my adaptation was the first book their son or daughter had read on their own. This touched me, and for the first time I was able to justify my work as a cartoonist. I love comics, but for years, when I was asked to explain the importance of the medium, I didn’t have a solid answer. Because that’s what I’m drawn to? Because I love words and pictures? Because it’s how I envision the stories I tell? Just . . . because? Now I could see that comics were a way for kids intimidated by walls of text to enjoy reading. That kids with learning disabilities or autism could pick up a comic and understand the characters’ emotions through pictures in a way that is impossible with words alone.

I started writing a story that would be big and fun, but not intimidating. I made my protagonists brother and sister, so the book wouldn’t feel gendered. I adopted the episodic, chapter-based structure of A Wrinkle in Time and broke the story into small chunks. I enlisted the help of illustrator Rebecca Mock to bring it all to life on the page, and found the sort of brilliant, passionate collaborator all comics writers dream of.

I am so proud to share Compass South with the world, because getting it out into the world has been its own adventure. The story began humbly, a few sentences scribbled down on a plane. It swelled into an outline, then a script. An artist and editor appeared to lend their aid, and the three of us had many adventures and endured many trials. We sacrificed sleep and evenings and weekends, but we knew it would be worthwhile–that, someday, there would be a book. I can’t think of a happier ending than that.

Thanks so much Hope!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

COMPASS SOUTH

It’s 1860 in New York City. When 12-year-old twins Alexander and Cleopatra’s father disappears, they join the Black Hook Gang and are caught by the police pulling off a heist. They agree to reveal the identity of the gang in exchange for tickets to New Orleans. But once there, Alex is shanghaied to work on a ship that is heading for San Francisco via Cape Horn. Cleo stows away on a steamer to New Granada where she hopes to catch a train to San Francisco to find her brother. Neither Alexander nor Cleo realizes the real danger they are in — they are being followed by pirates who think they hold the key to treasure. How they outwit the pirates and find each other makes for a fast-paced, breathtaking adventure.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR

Hope Larson adapted and illustrated A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, for which she won an Eisner Award. She is also the author and illustrator of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers, and Mercury. She lives in Los Angeles.

Website

Rebecca Mock is an illustrator and comics artist. Her work has appeared  in various publications, including theNew York Times and the New Yorker.  She is co-organizer of the Hana Doki Kira anthology. Compass South is  her first book

Website

Be sure and check out all the stops on the tour for more peeks behind the book creation curtain!

June 27th — Supernatural Snark
June 28th — Love is not a Triangle
June 29th — Forever YA
June 30th — YA Bibliophile
July 1st — Sharpread
July 2nd — Watch. Connect. Read.

Dare to Disappoint Blog Tour: A Look at the Creative Process

Today I'm excited to kick off a fun and unique blog tour for Dare to Disappoint, a new graphic novel from Ozge Samanci. This tour is going to focus on Ozge's creative process and the unusual materials she used in the creation of her book, with each blog highlighting one material in particular. I always love getting behind the scenes information on how a novel comes to life, so I hope you guys follow the tour to see more of Ozge's work!

The first unconventional material on the tour is stamps, complete with an image of the stamps she uses as well as how they look in the context of Dare to Disappoint!

STAMPS

I combine comics and collage. Sometimes three-dimensional objects from real life become part of my images. I used ten different kinds of stamps in Dare to Disappoint. I found some of the stamps at thrift stores, I bought some of them from a stamp store, I made some of them myself by carving an eraser-like plastic material. I repetitively stamp the paper with the stamp and create backgrounds, landscapes that contribute the atmosphere of the image.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

DARE TO DISAPPOINT

Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress?  Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?

In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship.

Ozge Samanci is an artist and an associate professor. She was born in Izmir, Turkey, and currently lives in Chicago, Illinois. Dare to Disappoint is her debut graphic novel.

Find Ozge:

Website • Facebook • Tumblr • Amazon • B&N

Body Parts Blog Tour!

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I'm thrilled to be participating in a very cool and different blog tour for Maris Wicks' nonfiction graphic novel, Human Body Theater. Each stop on this tour will share an original illustration as well as a few interesting tidbits about the part of the human body it features, so be sure and follow along (full schedule below) so you can pick up all kinds of fun things to toss out at your next social gathering:)

THE STOMACH

 

It’s not just the nose, mouth, throat, and eyes that make mucus; our digestive tract does it too. Mucus coats the surface of the stomach to protect the stomach from…itself!  The stomach also makes acid to break down food. This acid is so strong that it would break down the lining of the stomach as well if it weren’t for that protective mucous layer. The stomach is made of muscle, but we can’t flex it like we flex our biceps. Instead, the stomach moves on its own, churning a mixture of food and acid, eventually leading it down to the intestines for further digestion. This movement, along with gases in the stomach, are what cause our stomachs to growl, gurgle and rumble. 

On a personal note, I just want to say that if that was my stomach in the above illustration, it would be reaching its little arm toward a big bag of chocolate. Or perhaps a cupcake. Or cookies. Probably not a nice healthy apple though ;-)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

HUMAN BODY THEATER

Welcome to the Human Body Theater, where your master of ceremonies is going to lead you through a theatrical revue of each and every biological system of the human body! Starting out as a skeleton, the MC puts on a new layer of her costume (her body) with each "act." By turns goofy and intensely informative, the Human Body Theater is always accessible and always entertaining.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

MARIS WICKS

 photo courtesy of Dave Waller

Maris Wicks lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. She has harnessed the power of her various biological systems to draw comics for Adhouse Books, Tugboat Press, and Spongebob Comics, and written stories for Image and DC Comics. Wicks is the illustrator of the New York Timesbestselling Primates, with Jim Ottaviani. When she's not making comics, Wicks works with New England Aquarium. She's especially proud of her pulmonary system.

Website • Tumblr • Twitter

Fuse #8, 10/5

SLJ Scope Notes, 10/6

Sharp Reads, 10/7 

The Roarbots, 10/8 

Supernatural Snark, 10/9 

The Busy Librarian, 10/12

Watch Read Connect, 10/13 

The Book Rat, 10/14

Love is Not a Triangle, 10/15

Librarian’s Quest, 10/16

Last Man Blog Tour: Author Interview

Today I'm thrilled to welcome authors Bastien Vives, Michael Sanlaville and Balak to the blog to answer a few questions about their hugely entertaining Last Man series. This week is apparently my week to step outside my comfort zone as I don't read too many graphic novels, but I had a great time meeting protagonists Richard and Adrian, and as always, was fascinated by the artwork. I hope you all enjoy the interview, and don't forget to check the bottom of the post for the full list of participating blogs!

Richard Aldana, young Adrian’s mysterious partner in the fighting tournament, has a very blunt way of dealing with people. If he were teaching a class in the art of fighting instead of Mr. Jansen, what would his first three tips to students be?

Number 1: Don't do it. Have a beer. Smoke good cigarettes. Life is too short to spend it being punched in the face.

Number 2: Don't listen to adults. They may look like they know what they're doing, but it's just pretend. Hell, don't listen to me.

Number 3: God dammit, why are you still here?
 
If Adrian found his way into our world, which martial artist or professional fighter, past or present, would he be most fascinated by?

Bastien: Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Balak: Gina Carano. Or... allow me some French "Pied Noir" pride here, and let's say the great Marcel Cerdan.

Michael Sanlaville: The Great Khali!

What villainous character from any other piece of fiction or film would Richard most enjoy facing down in the tournament if he could?

Balak: Bloody Ivan Drago in Rocky IV!!! This bastard must go down twice for what he did to Apollo Creed. And that would be a fight we would like to see.

Bastien: Adolf Hitler.

Each volume of the Last Man  series leaves us on a cliffhanger of sorts. What one other series has the most brutal cliffhanger you’ve ever come across?

Bastien: When Joey proposed Rachel in Friends, season 8.

Balak: When Kelly Kapowsky cheated with her boss, leading to Zach Morris and her breaking up in season two of Saved By The Bell. I was twelve and the pain was real.

Michael Sanlaville: When CC Babcock and Niles kiss eagerly after years of wickedness in "The Nanny"... OUCH!

*Jenny dies laughing*

If Adrian knew his and Richard’s adventures were detailed in book form, what one reason would he give potential readers to encourage them to pick up his story?

Bastien: "Buy this book, the royalties are good."

Balak:"That's the best comic book I have ever read. Well, comic books don't exist in my world, so I don't know if that is a valuable piece of advice, but still."

• • • • • • • • • • • 

LAST MAN: THE ROYAL CUP

(Volume 2)

Richard Aldana, the mysterious stranger who entered the Games in the first volume of Last Man, continues to defeat all of his competitors, despite his outlandish refusal to use any magic, and to rely solely on martial arts. With young Adrian fighting at his side, he’s beginning to look like a likely contender for the Royal Cup.

But in a breathtaking twist, everything changes: this world is not what you thought it was, and Richard Aldana is certainly not who he claimed.

With the same fast-paced action-oriented storytelling and gorgeous art as The Stranger, the second volume of the Last Man series changes all the rules, and will leave readers eagerly awaiting book three!

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • 

THE AUTHORS

Bastien Vives studied illustration and animation at the Ecole des Gobelins. After movie-making classes, he dived into comics, and his first title came out in 2007.

Michael Sanlaville graduated from the Emile Cohl school, and later the Gobelins, after which he followed twin careers in animation (at the Xilam studio) and in comics with Casterman Publishers.

Balak (aka Yves Bigerel) works as a storyboard artist, 2D animator and TV show director in France. He works with Marvel Comics on the new digital Infinite Comics brand, as a storyboard artist (Avengers VS X-men with Mark Waid, Guardians of the Galaxy with Brian M. Bendis, Wolverine: Japan's Most Wanted with Jason Aaron and Jason Latour).

• • • • • • • • • • •

THE TOUR

Each stop on this tour will be featuring a fantastic Q+A with the authors, so be sure and follow along for more magic and martial arts!

Good OK Bad, 6/15http://goodokbad.com/

Supernatural Snark, 6/16 http://supernaturalsnark.blogspot.com/

The Book Wars, 6/17 https://thebookwars.wordpress.com/

Alice Marvels, 6/18 http://www.alicemarvels.com/

Comics & Cola, 6/19 http://www.comicsandcola.com/

Fleen, 6/22 http://fleen.com/

Graphic Policy, 6/23 http://graphicpolicy.com/

The Book Rat, 6/24 http://www.thebookrat.com/

Graphic Novel Resources, 6/25 http://graphicnovelresources.blogspot.com/

Women Write About Comics, 6/26  http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/

Blog Tour: The Last of the Sandwalkers

A number of you are probably looking at the repeated word "beetles" on this blog tour banner and scratching your heads (possibly because you feel like there might be beetles on you now that I've brought it up), but I really love participating in tours that are a little different, and the group at First Second Books (and Macmillan in general) never disappoint!

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Jay Hosler to the blog to share with us some facts about the Carrion-Burying Beetle Family, along with a custom illustration. While you may suffer a slight loss of appetite after reading about this particular family of insects, you'll at least have newfound knowledge to pass along at your next social gathering! Nerd win. Be sure and check out Jay's newest release, The Last of the Sandwalkers for more fascinating tidbits about the insect world!

Character Name:  The Carrion-Burying Beetle family

Species:  Nicrophorus sp
Length:  25-35 mm
Color: Black with organge markings on the elytra
Habitat:  all over the place
Superpower: masters of food preparation

Most of us are familiar with the numerous, gigantic families of honey bees, wasp and ants. They usually contain a massive queen pumping out babies that are cared for by thousands (sometimes millions) of siblings. These are industrial-sized, assembly line families. By comparison, there aren’t too many social beetles and those that are social run more of a Mom-and-Pop operation.

Burying beetles start their family by looking for something dead. They have antennae that are tuned into the odors associated with rotting corpses. After a male of female has located a dead mouse or bird, they will wait for a member of the opposite sex to show up. Once united, the couple may have to fend off other couples that also want the yummy dead thing.

In some cases, the carcass needs to be moved to a suitable location for burial. To do this, the beetles will crawl under the corpse, lay on their backs, lift with their legs and shift the body. Imagine getting under your car, lifting with you hands and legs and moving the car down the road a couple inches at a time. Impressive. You can watch them at work in the National Geographic video.

Eventually the winning couple will bury the carcass and remove any skin, hair and feathers. Then, the beetles will treat the dead critter with digestive enzymes, anti-microbial and anti-fungal secretions from their mouths and butts. As the carcass is turning into a pasty, grey goo, the female lays eggs around the chamber and waits for the larvae to hatch and crawl over to the food. The parents look over the larva as they develop and prepare for metamorphosis. At this point, the larvae burrow into the surrounding chamber walls and begin the pupation period. With their parenting work done, the adult burying beetles will leave the burial chamber in search of a new carcass.

In Last of the Sandwalkers, our beetle explorers meet a family of burying beetle and make a surprising discovering in their food.

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE LAST OF THE SANDWALKERS

(releases April 7th)

Nestled in the grass under the big palm tree by the edge of the desert there is an entire civilization—a civilization of beetles. In this bug's paradise, beetles write books, run restaurants, and even do scientific research. One such scientist is Lucy, who leads a team of researchers out into the desert. Their mission is to discover something about the greater world...but what lies in wait for them is going to change everything Lucy thought she knew.

Beetles are not the only living creatures in the world.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • • •

JAY HOSLER

Photo: Lisa Hosler

Jay Hosler is a biology professor at Juniata College, and a cartoonist. He enjoys telling stories about science and the natural world, and his first graphic novel (Clan Apis) won a Xeric Award and was selected for YALSA's 2002 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. His latest book, Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth, was a 2011 Junior Library Guild selection, a nominee for YALSA's 2012 Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and has been included in the Texas Library Association's Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List. He lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and his two little nerdlings.

Website • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

TOUR

Don't forget to check out the rest of the participating blogs for additional beetle info as well as original artwork from Jay!

Tuesday, March 24
Seven Impossible Things

Wednesday, March 25
Great Kid Books

Thursday, March 26
The Brain Lair

Friday, March 27
Supernatural Snark

Monday, March 30
The Book Rat

Tuesday, March 31
Miss Print

Wednesday, April 1
Mr. Schu Reads

Thursday, April 2
Geek Dad

 Friday, April 3
Cuddlebuggery

Monday, April 6
Librarian’s Quest

Tuesday, April 7
SLJ Scope Notes

Wednesday, April 8
Alice Marvels

Thursday, April 9
The Roarbots

Friday, April 10
Sharp Read

Count Spatula's Guide to Baking: Blog Tour + Recipe

Today I have something hugely fun and different to share with all of you for my stop on the Count Spatula's Guide to Baking tour. Having participated in a wide variety of blog tours over the years, it's always exciting for me when an author or publisher comes up something completely unique, so I hope you guys enjoy the below as much as I did!

For those of you who don't know, Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula is a graphic novel by Andi Watson that releases tomorrow from First Second Books. For the tour, Count Spatula himself (who just happens to be a vampire and a chef) is hopping from blog to blog sharing kitchen tips and tricks, recipes and all sorts of other delightful things you don't want to miss. I have the pleasure of sharing a very special recipe with you, one I'm greatly looking forward to trying as anything sugar-related is an automatic win for me!

Without further ado:

• • • • • • • • • • • • 

PRINCESS DECOMPOSIA AND COUNT SPATULA

Princess Decomposia is overworked and underappreciated.

This princess of the underworld has plenty of her own work to do but always seems to find herself doing her layabout father's job, as well. The king doesn't feel quite well, you see. Ever. So the princess is left scurrying through the halls, dodging her mummy, werewolf, and ghost subjects, always running behind and always buried under a ton of paperwork. Oh, and her father just fired the chef, so now she has to hire a new cook as well.

Luckily for Princess Decomposia, she makes a good hire in Count Spatula, the vampire chef with a sweet tooth. He's a charming go-getter of a blood-sucker, and pretty soon the two young ghouls become friends. And then...more than friends? Maybe eventually, but first Princess Decomposia has to sort out her life. And with Count Spatula at her side, you can be sure she'll succeed.

Andi Watson (Glister, Gum Girl) brings his signature gothy-cute sensibility to this very sweet and mildly spooky tale of friendship, family, and management training for the undead.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • • •

ANDI WATSON

Andi Watson was born and raised in the north of England where he loved to draw and read books. It rained a lot. Upon graduating college he realised this was the perfect background for a cartoonist. He has created comics for grown ups and children and those somewhere in between. Occasionally he's been nominated for awards (three Eisners, a Harvey, and a British Comics Awards). He works from home where he should buy fewer books or more bookshelves. He lives in Worcester with his wife and daughter.

Website • Facebook • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BLOG TOUR

Be sure and check out all the stops on the tour for more guest posts, recipes and magical kitchen fun!

Monday, February 16 - Stacked
Tuesday, February 17 - Bumbles & Fairy Tales
Wednesday, February 18 - Love is Not a Triangle
Thursday, February 19 - Alice Marvels
Friday, February 20 - Haunted Orchid

Monday, February 23 - Supernatural Snark
Tuesday, February 24 - Cuddlebuggery
Wednesday, February 25 - The Book Rat
Thursday, February 26 - The Midnight Garden
Friday, February 27 - The Book Smugglers

Review: Ares

ARES: BRINGER OF WAR
Olympians #7
George O'Connor
Graphic Novel
80 pages
First Second Books
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The myth continues in the tenth year of the fabled Trojan War where two infamous gods of war go to battle. The spotlight is thrown on Ares, god of war, and primarily focuses on his battle with the clever and powerful Athena. As the battle culminates and the gods try to one-up each other to win, the human death toll mounts. Who will win this epic clash of power? And how many will have to die first?

MY THOUGHTS
Ares is the latest addition to George O’Connor’s Olympians series, taking us on a very quick journey through the tail end of the Trojan War as the gods and goddesses of Olympus debate and bicker among themselves as to whether or not they should intervene. Ares is larger than life in his anger and love of blood and chaos–a striking contrast to Athena’s love of strategy and planning–but like so many of the Olympian gods, he’s also in possession of an inflated sense of self and an easily-bruised ego, causing him to sulk one minute and erupt in an all-out rage the next.

The artwork itself is absolutely stunning, the panels beautiful, colorful and easy to understand for the most part (the sheer number of Olympian gods does create some confusion here and there as we try to identify and keep track of each one), allowing us breeze through this piece of the Trojan war in no time. The back of Ares contains a breakdown of–and explanation for–a number of panels, giving us unique insight into the story itself while also bringing to our attention things we may have missed as we read through initially. Quick and fun, Ares provides a different perspective on the final days of the Trojan War and shows how powerful yet vulnerable some of the Olympian gods can be.
 

Find George and the Olympians series:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon 

 

 Don't forget to check out the other stops on this tour for more reviews of Ares!

The Rise of Aurora West Blog Tour: Review + Artwork Reveal

Today I'm super excited to be a part of the promotional tour for The Rise of Aurora West, a graphic novel featuring a young girl who battles monsters right alongside her superhero father. As many of you may have guessed based on the posts you find on this blog week in and week out, I don't read and review graphic novels very often, but it's always fun for me to take a step outside my paranormal YA comfort zone and try something different. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Aurora and look forward to seeing what the next book holds in store!

Before I get to my review, I have the pleasure of sharing with you a piece of original artwork by David Rubin to give you an idea of what Aurora and her father face night after night. Meet Sadisto!

MY THOUGHTS

The Rise of Aurora West introduces us to a young woman learning how to battle the monsters that lurk in shadowy corners and dark alleys, taking instruction from none other than her father and mentor. The dynamic between the two of them is of particular interest above and beyond the action and artwork that are staples of graphic novels, as heroes and heroes-in-training are so typically robbed of their parents at a young age. While Aurora's mother is notably missing, having been killed years ago, her father is present and accounted for, though that presence extends primarily to being physically in her life while remaining emotionally absent. His mind is solely focused on hunting down those responsible for his wife's death, and his tunnel vision prevents him from seeing Aurora as anything other than a protege; another mind and body to help him fight back the tide of evil. Part of the appeal of the next installment is the desire to see if their dynamic can change, shifting from master and apprentice to the much more nuanced relationship of a father and daughter.

The artwork, as is always the case for me with graphic novels, was one of the main things that grabbed my interest initially, and I loved seeing what the imaginations of Mr. Pope, Mr. Petty and Mr. Rubin were able to conjure for Ms. West and her father. I will say that the black and white of the illustrations at times made it more difficult to discern what exactly was taking place than has been my experience with full color graphic novels, but that is a minor complaint and one more personal in nature. Overall, The Rise of Aurora West is quick and entertaining, giving us enough information about Aurora and her family situation to have us rooting for her in the present while leaving us greatly looking forward to seeing how things continue to unfold for her in the next installment.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

THE RISE OF AURORA WEST

The extraordinary world introduced in Paul Pope's Battling Boy is rife with monsters and short on heroes... but in this action-driven extension of the Battling Boy universe, we see it through a new pair of eyes: Aurora West, daughter of Arcopolis's last great hero, Haggard West. A prequel to Battling Boy, The Rise of Aurora West follows the young hero as she seeks to uncover the mystery of her mother's death, and to find her place in a world overrun with supernatural monsters and all-too-human corruption. With a taut, fast-paced script from Paul Pope and JT Petty and gorgeous, kinetic art from David Rubin, The Rise of Aurora West (the first of two volumes) is a tour de force in comics storytelling.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

Be sure and check out the other participating blogs for more original artwork by Mr. Rubin!

Wednesday, September 24^th – Bunbury in the Stacks http://bunburyinthestacks.com/

Thursday, September 25^th – Green Bean Teen Queen http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/

Friday, September 26^th – The Book Rat http://www.thebookrat.com/

Saturday, September 27^th – The Book Wars http://thebookwars.wordpress.com/

Sunday, September 28^th – Fly to Fiction http://flytofiction.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 29^th – Panel Patter http://www.panelpatter.com/

Tuesday, September 30^th – Finding Wonderland http://writingya.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, October 1^st – Fleen http://fleen.com/

Thursday, October 2^nd – Beth Fish Reads http://www.bethfishreads.com/

Friday, October 3^rd – Supernatural Snark http://supernaturalsnark.blogspot.com/

Saturday, October 4^th – Book Sake http://booksake.com/

Zita the Spacegirl Blog Tour: My Favorite Thing + Artwork

I'm super excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for the newest release in Ben Hatke's best-selling graphic novel series, Zita the Spacegirl. I'm typically not a huge graphic novel reader for no other reason than I simply never think to pick them up, but I've recently discovered the error of my ways and couldn't be happier I was given the opportunity to read Zita.

The fabulous group at First Second Books asked tour participants to share their favorite thing about this series in either written or artistic form, and since graphics come far easier to me than words, I designed a special Zita the Spacegirl poster. Before I share that though, let me just say what a truly outstanding trilogy this is, humor and creativity combining with a standout young heroine to make an afternoon of reading fly by.

I have to admit the humor element was an unexpected delight, catching me off guard a number of times and forcing me to snort in public:)

My absolute favorite thing about this series though is Zita's unwavering loyalty to her many and varied friends. She meets a number of individuals–human and otherwise–on her travels, and whether she's known them minutes or months she's the first to come to their aid and the last one out of harm's way so as to make sure they all get out ahead of her.

Mr. Hatke's creativity is nothing short of remarkable; the creatures that inhabit the various worlds Zita visits an intriguing assortment of both organic and mechanized species, so it's this element I wanted to play with in my Zita design. There's a book Zita flips through in the first volume when searching for the entity that took one of her friends, so I tried to create something that might appear in this book right alongside the rest of Mr. Hatke's imaginings.

One thing I noticed while reading is that Zita's closest group of friends is predominantly male, so I thought it might be fun to add a girlfriend for her to the mix. With that idea in mind, I came up with with an owl/octopus hybrid creature concept and named her Maddie :) I hope you all like her, and I honestly can't recommend this series enough!

• • • • • • • • • • •

THE RETURN OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL

Zita the Spacegirl Volume 3

Ben Hatke brings back our intrepid space heroine for another delightful sci-fi/fantasy adventure in this New York Times‑Bestselling graphic novel trilogy for middle grade readers.

Zita the Spacegirl has saved planets, battled monsters, and wrestled with interplanetary fame. But she faces her biggest challenge yet in the third and final installment of the Zita adventures. Wrongfully imprisoned on a penitentiary planet, Zita has to plot the galaxy's greatest jailbreak before the evil prison warden can execute his plan of interstellar domination!

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

Blog Tour: Aphrodite by George O'Connor

I'm so pleased today to welcome graphic novel author and artist George O'Connor to the blog to talk a little bit about the sixth book in his Olympians series, Aphrodite. I'm a huge fan of all things Greek mythology and a lover of art in all its various forms, so I can't wait to dig into this series and see how Mr. O'Connor brings Aphrodite's story to life. Welcome to Supernatural Snark George!

Hello, Supernatural Snarkians. My name is George O’Connor, and as part of my ongoing blogcrawl celebrating the release of my book Aphrodite: Goddess of Love I’ll be your guest blogger today at Supernatural Snark. Aphrodite is the sixth volume of Olympians, my graphic novel series that retells classic Greek myth one deity at a time.

If you’ve been following along with me so far on my blogcrawl, you’ll know that I try to theme what I write about with either the title or mission purpose of my hosting blog. When I saw that Jenny had graciously offered to allow me to guest star on her blog, I initially thought I could write about snark, because yeah, that would be sooo exciting (see what I did there? God I’m sooo clever). But then I thought, no you fool, that’s the wrong word to focus on—as books about mythological beings, supernaturality (not an actual word) abounds in Olympians. However, when it came time to sit down and write about something, it was a bit of an embarrassment of riches. In stories where every single thing that happens could be classified as supernatural, how do I choose what to write? The subject was too broad. So I read the “about me” portion of Supernatural Snark and saw that Jenny’s moms played an important part of the blog. Inspiration!

So I’m going to write about supernatural moms in Aphrodite, or maybe, to be more accurate, Aphrodite’s lack of a mother. Wait, you cry, pulling your nose out of the copy of The Iliad you were just reading, Aphrodite has a mom! Her name is Dione and she totally consoles Aphrodite in that one scene and then, like, never appears again in Greek myth!

Look, I’m sorry to break it to you, dear reader. Homer was wrong. Aphrodite is not the daughter of Zeus and this ‘Dione’ character (whose name is essentially just a feminine version of Zeus anyway, or just a generic name meaning ‘goddess’). I know that Greek mythology doesn’t have its own bible, and that there are many acceptable variations of events and stories, but really, in this case, we have to agree that Homer just missed the ball and that Hesiod was right. Hesiod’s the guy who first describes the goddess Aphrodite (whose name means ‘born from foam’, incidentally) as being born from the mixing of sea foam and what I tastefully describe as the severed “seat of love” of Ouranos, the sky. We’ve all seen Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, right? It doesn’t depict a lady Zeus giving birth to a baby, It shows the majestic creation of the most beautiful goddess in the world, a self-realized creation of sea foam and pure love introducing herself to the cosmos, a cosmos forever altered by the entrance of this personification of erotic power.

I want to affirm that just because I prefer a motherless Aphrodite I am in no way anti-mom. Mothers are great; my own mom being the greatest, of course, and I’ll lick anyone who says otherwise. But Aphrodite the goddess is a being best appreciated and understood in terms that are both unique and oversized. Her self-birth from the sea is awesome because its uniquoisity (again, not a word) is perfectly suited to a goddess who, even amongst the vast and strange Greek pantheon, is so unusual and powerful and untamed. If a deity as awesome as Aphrodite were to actually have a mother, rather than being a self-conceptualized embodiment of the generative power of life, well, I’d really want her mom to be something more than a half-realized version of her father in drag. Aphrodite is breathtaking, and magnificent—her mother should be as well.

*Just as an aside to readers of this blog: I'm calling all of you Supernatural Snarkians from now on. Thank you for that, George!

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APHRODITE

In volume six of Olympians, graphic novel author/artist George O'Connor turns the spotlight on Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Look for the same thoroughly researched and wonderfully accessible comics storytelling as O'Connor tackles the story of the Aphrodite from her dramatic birth (emerging from sea-foam) to her role in the Trojan War.

O'Connor has outdone himself with this volume: the story is riveting and the artwork is beyond compare. Greek mythology has never been so vivid!

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GEORGE O'CONNOR

George O'Connor is the author of several picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Kapow!, Kersplash, and Sally and the Some-thing. JOURNEY INTO MOHAWK COUNTRY was his first graphic novel, a long-held dream that weaves together his passion for history and ongoing research into Native American life. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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BLOG TOUR

Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour for more guest posts, interviews and giveaways! 

Saturday, February 1
Book Banter

Sunday, February 2
Wastepaper Prose

February 3
Charlotte’s Library

February 4
Cuddlebuggery

February 5
What’s Good in the Library?

February 6
The Book Monsters

February 7
Sare-endipity

February 8
The Book Rat

February 9
Good Books and Good Wine

February 10
Dear Teen Me

February 11
Supernatural Snark

February 12
Books 4 Your Kids

February 13
The Book Wars

February 14
Finding Wonderland

February 15
Literary Grand Rounds