The time it was a cover reveal

You guys.  I am so excited to be part of the cover reveal for Origin.  I mean, it's Daemon Jennifer L. Armentrout, so of course I was in.

Without further ado...

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

I don't even have words for this...

 

Yeah...that pretty much sums it up.

 

Anyhoo.

 

Make sure you add it to your GoodReads shelf.  Origin releases on 8/27, but you should preorder it now at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

 

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Huge thanks to Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Heather Riccio from Entangled Teen for including me!

 

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true.  When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories....which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

 

You can find Jennifer on her website, Twitter and Facebook.  

 

The time it was an inquiry

So.  Everyone should know about my epic love for Michelle Hodkin and all things Mara Dyer.  Especially Noah Shaw.  Even though I flew to Chicago for her, I want to fangirl over meet her again.

Today the cover for Retribution was released and it is stunning.

  

Look at them all together.  Aren't they gorgeous?

 

 

I realize that it's too early for Michelle to know tour dates.  However, it's not too early for me to be trying to get her to Southern California.  I've already been in contact with Maryelizabeth at Mysterious Galaxy and she is more than happy to put in a request with the publisher to get Michelle to the Redondo Beach store.

 

This is where you come in...

 

Would you come see a Michelle Hodkin event?  I need to provide Maryelizabeth with some basic stats as to how many people would be attending.  She needs to give that to the publisher to show that it would be a great stop with excellent book sales.

 

As far as I know, Michelle hasn't been to the LA area.  When she toured for Unbecoming, she was up in San Francisco. 

 

Please please please leave a comment below if it's something you would go to.

 

Thank you!!

 



The time I reviewed a book -- 2

Okay.  Another book has captured my brain and held it hostage. I know that I said I wouldn't do reviews all the time, but I refuse to take the blame for this.  I'm holding Susan Dennard completely responsible for creating such an phenomenal world and characters.  It's her fault that I can't get Something Strange and Deadly out of my head. 

First of all, look at that cover.  It's gorgeous.  The colors.  The model.  The gears behind her.  The font.  Everything about this cover makes me happy. 

I had heard the buzz about Something Strange and Deadly right from the beginning.  I put it on my "to buy" list and figured I'd buy it eventually.  And then I saw Susan tweet something about how it was going to be on sale at CC before it was officially released.  Annnnnd, I'm not one to skip that sort of opportunity.

But, let's get down to business.  Here are the reasons I'm horribly in love with this book.

1. Eleanor

I'm a sucker for a smart girl.  I love love love when authors write their heroines as witty and charming instead of needing to rely on a boy.  And my ideal heroine is one who delivers snarky retorts and proves how awesome she is without changing a damn thing about herself. 

Eleanor is all of those things.  And more.

She fights the Dead with a parasol.  She gets into the thick of things right from the beginning and never wants to leave. She's the younger sister to an older brother who can't come home for some reason.  The family is almost out of money and the responsibility to marry quickly falls on Eleanor's shoulders.  And does she falter? Nope.  Not at all.

2. Daniel

Daniel is swoony without even knowing it.  He's smart and gruff and so delicious in his not acting properly around a society lady.  Even better, he knows how he's supposed to act and does the exact opposite.  He calls Eleanor "Empress".  He buys her a parasol when she loses hers. 

At the same time, you can tell he doesn't know what to do with Eleanor. And it's absolutely amazing to watch it all unfold and see the interactions between them. 

3. The promise of more in Book 2

Eleanor. Daniel. Paris.  The end.

Something Strange and Deadly takes place in Philadelphia.  There are zombies.  Smart zombies who are being controlled by a necromancer.  And some pretty awesome steampunk-like science experiments that help destroy the zombies. 

Go buy it. 

As I said in my epic Comic-Con recap, I briefly met Susan.  She's adorable and charming and I absolutely want to meet her again so I can fangirl on her the way she properly deserves.

The time all of the books had pretty covers

So obviously, a book cover is important when marketing a book. I don't remember there being such a big deal about cover pictures being released until I started reading YA books.  But, those marketing people are doing something right, because I've bought several books just from the cover alone...

The upside to living in SoCal is that LA is really close and a lot of authors come through LA eventually. However, the idea of "eventually" is one that I'm not too familiar with, I really don't like to wait.  Such is the case for all of the books to follow. :D

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti sucked me in right away. The dress, the shadow of the wings, and the model are all gorgeous. I especially love the script of the title.  I was able to get my hands on an ARC and read it in one night.  After reading it, I contacted Aimee and we started talking about tour dates.  She's always been so so so sweet about my incessant nagging.  Once I saw that she posted her first date at Fountain Bookstore, I wanted to support her, so I ordered the book. If/when I get to meet her, I'll ask her to sign my ARC.

I had seen the cover for The Selection and was absolutely hooked.  I love the colors and the dress and the everything... I had asked Kiera if she was going to be touring when the book was released and because she was pregnant at the time, she didn't think there would be too many events.  I was also able to get my hands on an ARC [thanks, Kassiah], so when I saw Kiera's events start to post, I just picked a date and ordered away...

I read The Sky is Everywhere after a swoony book reccommendation that Lo from Swoontini made about it.  These ladies have never let me down before, so I was all over that book ASAP.  As always, they didn't disappoint, it was amazing...

Anyhoo.

Since I was a bit late to the party on this story, it was already in paperback by the time I read it, so Jandy wasn't doing any sort of touring for it.  And then, one day when I was stalking Jay Asher's website, I noticed that he was going to be at an event that Jandy Nelson was going to be at.  The problem is that it was going to be nearly impossible to get to Palo Alto on a Friday...

I don't even know where I heard about Amy Plum's books.  All I do know is that the cover for Die For Me is amazing, I read that book in one sitting and immediately went on a search for her tour dates.  After seeing that none of her dates were remotely near me [sobsobsob], I picked Parnassus Books to buy from.  I ordered Amy's books and Jandy's book on the same day and then tweeted about needing a private plate or helicopter so I could get around to all of the events. 

And Amy's response was epic:

I really hope I get to meet her one day.  And both covers are just so gorgeous. I'm so in love with Paris that it's a little scary.

If only book covers would get ugly.  I bet it would save me some money.

The time I wanted the Australian cover

I fell in love with Graffiti Moon instantly. The lyrical way Cath Crowley tells the story of Lucy and Ed while they look for Shadow made me feel as if I was in the van, right next to them.

As soon as I finished the book, I first went looking for Cath's website to see if there was a chance to get a signed copy. After it seemed nearly impossible, I then went hunting for a copy with an Australian cover. Not that the US cover isn't pretty, because it is....

However, with just the lone, stark yellow spray can on a black background, I feel like the Australian cover embodies the entire book.

Now. Tracking down an Australian version was more difficult than I thought it would be. I found and emailed several Australian bookstores with online stores asking about the book and the possible shipping costs. All of the stores came back and said they would be more than willing to ship the book, if they had it. One store even told me to try to contact the publisher directly.

Slightly defeated, I posted something about my search on Twitter and included Cath in the post... We ended up having a delightful conversation about the different covers. And then she told me that I should enter the contest she was having on her website to win a copy of the book.

So, off to her website I went.  And this is what I found:

"Write one line describing something that you love. Send it along in the comments section.

I’m thinking something along the lines of art or poetry or avocado on toast or gliding under water rather than that guy or girl on the bus who will not look at you no matter how hard you will them to with the power of your eyes, but really, who am I to judge? Send along any love that gets you through the day.

Write it in an interesting way, though, and we’ll put the whole thing together as a full piece. The two loveliest loves get a book. Everyone else gets the good feeling of being words on a page.

And if no one enters, well, I’ll write the piece myself. It will be much nicer the other way, though."

The line I immediately entered? I love to smell the pages and feel the glossy cover of a brand new book, right before I open it to be transported to a new world.  Right after I entered, Cath tweeted me and and commented on how great my line was. 

Flash forward to the end of the competition...

Out of the blue,  I got an email stating "Cath Crowley is now following you on Twitter".  10 seconds later, I got a DM from her.  Cath told me that while she loved my line and really wanted me to win, she didn't pick me because she felt like it would have been rigging the contest and then advertising it on Twitter.  But that if I sent her my address, she would send me a copy of the Australian version because I loved the cover so much.

I was stunned by her offer, even more that she wouldn't let me pay for the book or for shipping.  I gave her my address and Cath said it would go out in the mail right away.

I got the mail today... And here it is.  Not only did I get a copy with the Australian cover that I am in love with, it was signed.

I have never been so floored... I just keep staring at it.  I'm so so so so so excited and couldn't be more amazed at her generosity.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a return address, so hopefully, Cath will see this post as my thank you/love note.