Summer Fun HarperTeen Style: SPF9 Epic Giveaway

Who's excited for summer? *raises hand* Though it's not quite as exciting as it was when I was in school and summer meant 3 months off, I still love this time of year, and the people over at HarperTeen are trying to make it even better with some amazing giveaways and opportunities to experience their books. Love it.

Before I get to all the giveaway goodness though, HarperTeen has a few other things made of win I wanted to share with you. First up:

See the art.

Spread the love.

Join the Resistance

Love is not a disease.

Follow the above link to join the Resistance from Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium by sharing some beautiful posters with your friends to help encourage recruitment.

EPIC READS

Have you heard of Epic Reads? No? Well HarperTeen has recently launched EpicReads.com, a central location of awesomeness for all of HarperTeen's books, and now we can all officially join. Yay! The people at Harper can explain it a bit better than I can, so I'll let them give it to you straight from the source:

EpicReads.com is the new hub for all of HarperTeen’s books. We’ve also launched two channels, for readers who prefer particular genres. If you’re a huge fan of paranormal or dystopian fiction, PitchDark.com is the channel for you! Rather read about romance than werewolves? Then you should definitely explore the StoryCrush.com channel! Each channel has its own blog, contests, polls, quizzes and forums – so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved, win free books, & chat with authors!

I just registered this week, I hope to see you guys on there!

YA CRUSH TOURNAMENT

This tournament isn't related specifically to HarperTeen but I wanted to include it because it should be a blast. The YA Sisterhood is hosting their Crush Tournament in which all our favorite book boyfriends go head to head to see who's the hottest crush of the year. It's nomination time again, and now through June 19th you can nominate your top 10 YA crushes and see who's already topping the list.

Topping my personal list this year is The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer's Noah Shaw, followed closely by Kaidan Rowe of Sweet Evil. The fabulous Michelle Hodkin is offering fans extra incentive to add Noah to their lists (as if we need it) by offering up a special scene of our choice should he receive enough nominations. Maybe it will be another scene from his POV! You can find all the details on Michelle's Blog.

SPF9 GIVEAWAY

Last but not least, I have the SPF9 Giveaway (from HarperTeen):

Did you know… books provide excellent shade? HarperTeen is giving you the chance to sample your very own Sun-Proof Fiction with nine of our most fantastic summer reads in paperback. During the month of June, we’ll be tweeting our favorite beach reading photos with #spf9 hashtag, giving away books and more on HarperTeen’s Facebook, and spreading the word that books can be better than sunglasses.

To enter the giveaway, just visit HarperTeen's Facebook Page.

WAIT! Before you run off and enter (because this giveaway is unbelievably awesome), HarperTeen has given me the privilege of hosting a separate giveaway here on the blog. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and you'll be entered for a chance to win. Giveaway is open to US residents only, good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lies Beneath Blog Tour: Word Associations

Today as part of the promotional tour through Teen Book Scene I get to share with you some fun word associations from author Anne Greenwood Brown. I sent her a random assortment of words and she replied with the first thing that popped into her head. Love it. Lies Beneath  just released this week, and you can check out my full review HERE.

Hot chocolate -    Skiing

Stiletto -    Not in this Lifetime

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious -    Something Quite Atrocious

Green thumb -    The Hulk

Michelangelo -    Naked David

The Chronicles of Narnia -    Stupid Edmond

Gift -    Crap, I didn’t get you anything!

Supernatural -    Haunted Houses

Mr. Darcy -    Ahhhhhh. Darcy.

Fairytale -    Horror Story with Princess

Laundry -    Kids

E-reader -    Soulless

Summer vacation -    Lake Superior

Underwater -    Tinny

London -    Big Ben

Heroine -    Anne of Green Gables

Thanks for playing Anne! More information on Anne and Lies Beneath can be found here:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Buy Link

LIES BENEATH (from Goodreads)

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. 

But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. 

Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Goddess Interrupted: Interview + Giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you an interview with Aimee Carter, author of the paranormal young adult Goddess Test series. Also, thanks to the fabulous people at Harlequin Teen and Media Masters Publicity I have one copy of Goddess Interrupted to give away on the blog, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for details.

I'm a huge fan of all things Greek mythology so this series is right up my alley. While I have a few small issues with Kate and Henry (you can read my full review of Goddess Interrupted HERE), I really enjoy this series overall and cannot wait to get my hands on the third book!

As this interview was provided for me, some of you may have read it already, but I hope those of you who haven't enjoy reading as Aimee dishes on the series!

How familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test series?  Was a lot of research required?

I first fell in love with Greek mythology when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there. I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right, but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and characters together in unexpected ways.

Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, The Goddess Test?

It was both easier and harder, in a strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of course, but it was much easier.

However, the pressure to deliver a sequel worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”, where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the end, I was very happy with the results.

You give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James.  Why did you do that and do the more contemporary names have any significance?

This was something I went back and forth on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft, I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.

I did choose each name for what it means, some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names – and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July 31).

Goddess Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new life as an immortal.  Given Kate’s innate strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?

Not so much, to be honest – her progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess and queen.

Kate finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades).  Neither seems to be black and white, but rather varying shades of gray.   Were any of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve been through?

Not personally, no, but I did try to make Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?  Least favorite?

Outlining is by far my favorite part of the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though, which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to make sense.

Do you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?

I love so many quotes that I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite.

How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?

My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to this day, I still can’t quite believe it.

When is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book 3?

Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy, will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they form one story.

The third book in the series, The Goddess Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are pretty clear by the end of the sequel!

After the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR lists for this summer. What’s on your TBR list?

I’m so excited for a slew of books coming out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of those and more!

Yearbook Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who would you vote for?
 
•    Most likely to succeed? - Hera
•    Class clown? - Hermes
•    Nicest? – Demeter or Hephaestus
•    Best dressed? - Aphrodite
•    Best dancer? - Apollo
•    Most school spirit? - Iris
•    Most likely to attend summer school? - Ares
•    Teachers pet? - Athena

More information on Aimee and her books can be found here:

Goddess Test Official Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy at Harlequin
Watch the Trailer

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Harlequin Teen and Media Masters Publicity, I have a copy of Goddess Interrupted to give away on the blog today! To enter, just fill out the form. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only, and will run through midnight EST on Friday, June 22nd after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone!

Review: My Life Next Door

MY LIFE NEXT DOOR

Huntley Fitzpatrick
Contemporary Young Adult
395 pages
Dial Books for Young Readers
Available June 14th
Received through Teen Book Scene for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

MY THOUGHTS

The pages of My Life Next Door contain more than simple black and white words, juxtaposing the chaotic warmth of a loving environment with the cool detachment hidden by a mask of perfection–two families worlds apart but yet separated by mere feet and a sturdy fence. Both the Garretts and the Reeds could be called the “ideal” family depending on one’s definition of ideal, and it’s fascinating to learn how the view of both from the outside is nothing if not skewed, reflecting none of the joy, pain, love, loss, strength, weakness or truth lingering within. The Garrett family lives in a home—pieces of them infused in the very wood and mortar holding it together–whereas Samantha and her sister and mother reside simply in a house–four walls and a roof all perfectly decorated and absolutely beautiful to those looking superficially—and we as readers are granted the glorious opportunity to follow Samantha as her world and her life are completely redefined.

Sam is quite literally an observer of life rather than someone who actually lives it each day, watching the Garrett family for years as they argue, play, support, and tease one another before returning to her fairly empty existence. Her gradual integration into the Garrett household is beautiful to watch, almost as though we can see the love they radiate flush her cheeks and pebble her skin, continuing to seep into her until she glows with a new confidence and knowledge that she is important and cared for now and always. There are times when she reverts back to her role as observer, watching the madness around her and allowing it control her rather than taking control of it with both hands, but she soon quickly realizes what she’s done and stands up in defense of a new love for Jase and the entire Garrett family as well as a new love for herself.

The romance with Jase is as perfect as any reader and lover of romance could wish it, gradually building and steadily growing without a cliché or common plot device to mar its beauty. Not a single preemptive declaration of love is uttered, no all-consuming attraction exists between them, and no third party enters into their relationship once it’s established; instead we get a sweet and awkward foray into emotional attachment and physical intimacy that has us giggling with glee and sighing in utter satisfaction. While the relationship between Jase and Sam is prominent, the relationships formed with all the secondary characters are exquisitely executed as well, the boisterous members of the Garrett household splitting our hearts into multiple pieces, each family member retaining ownership long after we’ve set the book down (though George’s piece might be the largest).

At times the reading of this tale can be a bit slow, the day to day lives and troubles of the Garrett family not necessarily causing us to flip the pages with record speed, however, there is a tension prevalent that refuses to dissipate, a simple knowing that tragedy is on its way that has us secretly wishing the quiet, simple moments could be drawn out to the fullest extent to allow them all happiness before the darkness rolls in. As hard as we wish we’re unable to keep that darkness at bay, and when it hits, our pain is acute and our anger powerful as the portraits of two very different families are torn to shreds and left in fragments of warm and cool colors that bleed together at our feet. Luckily for us, our beloved characters are stronger than we might have given them credit for in the beginning, and we’re left with the hope that those fragments will slowly find their way back to the whole.

Rating: 4.5/5

Interview: Nalini Singh

Those of you who read this blog with any regularity are well aware that I'm a huge fan–dare I say a complete and utter fangirl–of Nalini Singh and both of her adult paranormal romance series. It goes without saying then that I'm absurdly excited to welcome her back to the blog today to answer a few questions about her latest release in the Psy-Changeling series, Tangle of Need. I think Nalini writes absolutely captivating characters, and hers are stories that bring a smile to my face every time without fail, so I hope anyone who has yet to pick up one of her books will give her a try!

You give those of us who absolutely adore Hawke and Sienna a gift in Tangle of Need by continuing their story right alongside Adria and Riaz’s. Is there one scene between Hawke and Sienna in this book that is a particular favorite of yours?

This is a really tough question! If I absolutely must choose, I think the scene with them in bed after the mating ceremony has a particular poignancy and power to it, showing us just how deeply they understand one another.

If you were to join the SnowDancer pack, what position in the hierarchy do you think you’d fill, and what skills do you have that would most benefit them as a whole?

Hmm. I’d probably end up Dalton the Librarian’s assistant. I would continue to be a storyteller, but the tales I’d tell would be those of the pack, and as Dalton would say – the past informs our future, so it’s important for the pack to never forget their history.

Let’s say there is a supernatural Guild Hunter/Psy-Changeling wife swap and Sienna spends a week learning Raphael’s world while Elena spends a week learning Hawke’s. What’s one trait each male would say they most admire in the other man's mate after spending time with them?

Though they are very different women, I think it may well be the same trait that would strike both Raphael and Hawke about each other’s mates: an internal strength that means the two women never give up, even when the odds seem insurmountable.

They are both women a man can rely on to walk by his side, no matter the obstacle in front of them. And that of course, speaks to another trait they share—their bone-deep loyalty to those they love.

The Psy-Changeling world is extraordinarily complex, and while each book focuses on mainly one couple, there are always multiple storylines playing out side by side. How do you keep track of all character and world intricacies you’ve created?

I do have a series bible with all kinds of notes in it, but each world exists as a whole in my head – and it’s such a visual creation that I feel as if I step into the particular world with each book, able to see the myriad story threads.

Is there any one aspect of Adria and Riaz’s relationship that surprised you while you were writing? Something that wasn’t necessarily planned?

I’m not a planner as such (not in terms of laying out a book from start to finish), so the evolution of every couple’s relationship is a surprise – Riaz and Adria were no different. I learned about them as they learned about one another.

Do you do anything in particular when you’ve finished a book for one series to help you get in the right mindset for the switch in world and characters before you start the next series?

I might take a few days break after I finish a story, watch DVDs of my favorite tv shows, catch up on some reading…but honestly, I’m usually itching to get back to the world I haven’t been in for a few months.

If you could take one of your characters on a book tour with you, who do you think would keep you and the fans entertained the most?

Can I pick one from each series?

For the Guild Hunter series, I think Illium would be the hands-down fan favorite. Not only does he like humans, he’s both fun and charming.

For the Psy/Changeling series, I think Drew would be great company—like Illium, he’s witty and intelligent, and also playful.

(And sneaking in one more…) I also think Brenna would be great fun to tour with—she’s so smart with technology that she’d be on top of everything, and she has a friendly personality that means she could strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Also, she could dish about Judd. ;-)

Okay, I’ll force myself to stop there…though I could keep going and going and going…

The last time you were here I asked you this question:

If Hawke were to describe Sienna with a single word the moment he saw her upon her defection from the PsyNet, what would that word be? If he had to describe her now?

And you answered:

I think now and then, he would always call her strong. But now that he knows all the facets of her personality, he’s likely to use words like compelling and intriguing, too,…as well as one other that I’ll tell you after Kiss of Snow releases.

Can we have that last missing word now? :-)

Mine. :-)

*Jenny can no longer run this blog because she has died of an overdose of love (and also lust) for Hawke*

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Nalini! More information on Nalini, the Psy-Changeling series and the Guild Hunter series can be found here:

Website
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TANGLE OF NEED (from Goodreads)

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

One Moment Blog Tour: Character Interview with Pete

As part of the promotional tour through Teen Book Scene, I'm super excited today to welcome Pete from the upcoming release One Moment to the blog. One Moment releases June 26th from Egmont, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary young adult fiction. I absolutely adored this book, and will be on the lookout for everything Ms. McBride writes in the future!

If you had to choose a song that best describes the dynamic of your friendship with Maggie and the others prior to Joey’s death, what would it be? 

Something fun and fast and twangy, with a bunch of instruments mixing together to make a perfect harmony. After his death? A slow tune with gloomy guitar/harmonica combination.

What is the craziest thing you, Joey, and Adam have ever done (aside from jumping off cliffs in the gorge)? 

One time, we had this contest to see who could hold on to the tailgate of Joey’s truck longest while riding through curvy backcountry roads on a skateboard. Joey won, of course.

The friendship between the six of you in One Moment is complex and not without its various secrets. Are you the type of person who would share someone else’s secret in the hope of fixing a delicate situation, or are you the type to keep it to yourself hoping everything will work out? 

It depends on the situation, but I’m more the type to keep it to myself and let things work out naturally. That said, I wouldn’t be afraid to jump in if needed.

Let’s say it was possible for you to have one more minute with Joey. What would you most want to say to him?

Either, “Dude! What were you thinking?” or just a simple “I love you, man.” It’s a toss up.

Joey planned a pretty perfect-for-her date for Maggie when they first got together. Where would you go and what would you do on a date you considered perfect for you? 

An all-day music festival, guitar in hand, with a girl who’s not afraid to grab a hand drum and join in the music mix. One of my favorite things in life is an impromptu jam session.

Thanks for stopping by Pete! More information on Kristina and One Moment can be found here:

Website
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Goodreads

 ONE MOMENT (from Goodreads)

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?