Waiting on Wednesday: Long May She Reign

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

LONG MAY SHE REIGN

Rhiannon Thomas

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases February 2017 from HarperTeen

From Goodreads:

Freya was never meant to be queen. Twenty third in line to the throne, she never dreamed of a life in the palace, and would much rather research in her laboratory than participate in the intrigues of court. However, when an extravagant banquet turns deadly, and the king and his courtiers are poisoned, Freya suddenly finds herself on the throne.

Freya may have survived the massacre, but she is far from safe. The nobles don’t respect her, her councillors want to control her, and with the mystery of who killed the king still unsolved, Freya knows that a single mistake could cost her the kingdom – and her life.

Freya is determined to survive, and that means uncovering the murderers herself. Until then, she can’t trust anyone. Not her advisors. Not the king’s dashing and enigmatic illegitimate son. Not even her own father, who always wanted the best for her, but also wanted more power for himself. 

First, pretty cover is pretty. I have no idea what the futuristic tentacle-like wires of smoke and magic are at the bottom, but they intrigue me, as does the castle in a bottle. Story-wise, I love that Freya had absolutely no illusions that she would sit on the throne given there were 22 people in line before her, so I feel like she'll be a true underdog in the viper's pit that is court politics. There's nothing I like more than rooting for an underdog (except of course romance – hello, there king's dashing and enigmatic illegitmate son!), so I'm starting my countdown for this one already. Please come faster February!

Goodreads • Amazon 

The Shadow Hour Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

Today I'm thrilled to be back action after vacation, welcoming author Melissa Grey to the blog once again as part of the promotional tour for The Shadow Hour, the sequel to last year's The Girl at Midnight. I absolutely loved The Girl at Midnight and have been counting the days until this book released, so I jumped at (or begged for, whichever) the opportunity to ask Melissa a few questions. Be sure and check the bottom of the post as well for all the details on a fantastic giveaway!

Echo is facing innumerable changes in her life now that she's the firebird. If she could return to a simpler time with plenty of hours in the day to read, what are 3 books we might find on her shelves?

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (the omnibus edition so I can count this as one book)

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (another omnibus edition so I can continue cheating and count this as one book)

Winds of Fate by Mercedes Lackey

If Echo could turn to any YA heroine for advice in dealing with the total upheaval of her life, who do you think she would most want to talk to?

Blue from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater would probably be a good person for Echo to talk to. Blue is exceptionally practical and sometimes, Echo needs someone to pull her back down to earth with a little real talk. 

While dragons and firebirds are pretty spectacular paranormal creatures, what's one other supernatural being you would love to write a story around?

I’ve always been fascinated by the kitsune of Japanese folklore. Foxes are great. Shapeshifting foxes are even better.

There's little better for me than finding a new book boyfriend, especially when said boyfriend just happens to be a dragon prince. What are a few of the characteristics in a book boyfriend that really make you swoon?

I like the strong silent types. A little brooding goes a long way.

Other than the fact that she's the firebird, what is one fundamental way Echo would say she's changed from the girl we met in The Girl at Midnight?

I think she’s a little more cautious these days. At least, she likes to tell herself she’s a little more cautious and looks before she leaps now, but I suppose time will tell on that one.

Thanks so much for stopping by Melissa!

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THE SHADOW HOUR

Everything in Echo's life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.

The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.

Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she's already overcome.

She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.

Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature--or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what's left of her world to the ground?

Welcome to the shadow hour.

Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

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MELISSA GREY

Melissa Grey penned her first short story at the age of twelve and hasn't stopped writing since. As an undergrad at Yale, she learned how ride a horse and shoot a bow and arrow at the same time, but hasn't had much use for that skill since graduating in 2008.

Her debut novel, THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT (Delacorte/Random House), is out now. The second book in the trilogy, THE SHADOW HOUR, will be published July 2016. The third and final book of the series will come out summer 2017.

Website | Twitter |Instagram

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GIVEAWAY

Two lucky winners will each receive copies of both The Girl at Midnight and The Shadow Hour, so fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter! Giveaway is open to US/Canada only.

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WEEK ONE:

7/4: Reading Teen - Best Snarky Girls

7/5: Fiction Fare - Q&A

7/6: Paperback Princess - Dual Review

7/7: Novel Heartbeat - Review

7/8: Lovin' Los Libros - Review

WEEK TWO:

7/11: What Sarah Read - Review

7/12: Supernatural Snark - Q&A

7/13: Wandering Bark Books - Review

7/14: Bookish Broads - Q&A

7/15: Mundie Moms - Review

Break Time!

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick post today to say I'M GOING ON VACATION! Well, it's a staycation really since my husband and I aren't actually going anywhere, just taking time off, but I couldn't be more excited. Normally when I take vacation time I still keep up with the blog, but for the first time in 6 years, I'm taking time off from everything. Except reading. I'm going to get some serious reading done and I can't wait! Please leave me lots of good recommendations in the comments, I want to know the best thing you guys have read recently!

Posts will resume as normal the week of July 11th:)

*bear hugs all of you*

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!

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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.

A Season For Fireflies Blog Tour: Playlist + Giveaway!

Welcome to Day #5 of the A Season for Fireflies Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of A Season for Fireflies by Rebecca Maizel (6/28/16), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Rebecca and 10 chances to win a copy of A Season for Fireflies, as well as a chance to win a Summer Reading Prize Pack in the Grand Prize Giveaway!

A Season for Fireflies Playlist by Rebecca Maizel

These are the songs I listened to while writing Fireflies:

Stop by A Dream Within A Dream on Monday for Day #6 of the tour!

Blog Tour Schedule:

June 20th – The Fandom

June 21st — Bookhounds

June 22nd — Daisy Chain Book Reviews

June 23rd  — Mundie Moms

June 24th — Supernatural Snark  
June 27th — A Dream Within A Dream

June 28th — The Book Cellar

June 29th — PageTurners

June 30th — Bookish

July 1st — Parajunkee

A SEASON FOR FIREFLIES

A captivating contemporary novel about first love, second chances, and the power of memory, by the author of Between Us and the Moon, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Katie Cotugno.

One year ago, Penny Berne was the star of her high school’s theater department, surrounded by a group of misfits and falling in love with her best friend, Wes.

Now her old friends won’t talk to her, her first love, Wes, ignores her, and her best friend is the most popular girl in school. Penny is revered—and hated.

But when a near-fatal lightning strike leaves Penny with no memory of the past year, or how she went from drama nerd to queen bee, Penny realizes she may have the second chance she never expected.… 

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Indiebound • Goodreads

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REBECCA MAIZEL 

Rebecca Maizel hails from Rhode Island, where she teaches high school literature at her alma mater the Wheeler School. She tries not to force her students to read her books, though. Rebecca is the author of several published novels for young adults, and recently achieved an MFA in Writing for Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also enjoys Indian food, her dog Georgie, and running moderately long distances.

 Website • Twitter • Facebook

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GIVEAWAYS

There are two separate giveaways for this tour (WOO HOO!), so be sure and enter for a chance to win both! First up is a copy of A Season For Fireflies. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and then skip down to all the details on the Grand Prize Giveaway! Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

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Grand Prize Giveaway!

 

• One (1) winner will receive a Summer Reading Prize Pack featuring a beach bag stuffed with A Season for Fireflies, flip flops, sunglasses, a beach blanket, and a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (total value $96) — everything readers need to hit the beach in style!
• Enter via the rafflecopter below
• US Only
• Ends 7/3 at midnight ET

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Friday Flourish: I'll Be Yours

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope you guys are all having a great summer so far! Mine is flying by, I can't believe it's almost July already. Since the official first day of summer was this week, I thought I'd share a recent cover design that's perfect for your summer reading lists (even if technically football takes place in the fall ;-))!

As much as I love illustrated covers and effects-heavy designs for all that they teach me new and fun things in Photoshop, it's equally rewarding to work on projects that are a little more straightforward visually and focus on the simple gorgeousness of color, type or photography. Author Jenny B. Jones got in touch with me for one of her recent releases, a sports-themed contemporary YA romance, and I had an absolute blast bringing I'll Be Yours to life on the cover!

While I of course wanted this cover to feel like it fit with the genre, I also wanted to make it as unique as possible, incorporating the football element in a more subtle way. For the main image we focused on a specific lakeside scene from the book, but I knew I needed to bring the football element in as well since it played such a pivotal role. I could have gone with a university-style font consisting of large block letters that scream sports, but since that's been done and done well on a number of covers, I wanted to take us in a slightly different direction. I found a big, bold and rounded font with tons of personality that I knew I needed in my life immediately, and once I saw it in place, how to introduce the football element finally clicked for me. Since both football plays and romance can be expressed with x's and o's, I thought it would be cute to bounce them in and around the type, making the title treatment a strong visual statement against the colorful sunset sky.

I absolutely love how this one turned out, so I hope you guys do too! Plus, any cover with a dog on it is an automatic winner to me:)

She’s the coach’s brilliant daughter, clueless about love. He’s the dethroned football star, ready to teach Romance 101. When dark secrets and sparks collide, there’s no playbook for what happens next.

The day Andrew Levin arrives at Washington High, Harper O’Malley knows he’ll make the perfect starter boyfriend. The school’s newest band geek is totally in Harper’s league, yet completely out of this late-bloomer’s reach. Between fitting in with a new family, scoring the first chair in band, and rescuing dogs for the local animal shelter, Harper’s never had the opportunity to hone her dating skills. But even though Harper’s love life is far from perfect, she’s got the perfect plan.

Harper knows she’s insane to agree to tutor Ridley Estes, a notorious heartbreaker and the star of her high school’s football team—but in exchange, he’s offered to school her in the game of love. Just when she sees promise with her crush, a football scandal rocks her family, her town, and Ridley’s entire future. Harper suddenly has everything to lose—her family, friends, and even her heart. When the dust of the scandal settles, nothing will be the same. Including the girl who asked the most popular jock to teach her about love.

Find Jenny:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

You can check out more of my design work at Seedlings Design Studio!