The time it was eleven pipers piping

All I can imagine is what eleven pipers piping would sound like.  And what the various bird menagerie would do when they heard it.  Anyhoo.  Here we are for day eleven of the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!

Today we have fellow Whovian Trish Doller to share her favorite Christmas tradition. Let's welcome her, yes?

When my kids were little (and still believed in Santa) we would go to midnight Mass together and then they would go to bed. Instead of wrapping their presents early, I would wait until Christmas eve after they were asleep and the house was quiet. I'd keep the Christmas tree lit and sometimes--softly--listen to music as I wrapped. Or, I'd just enjoy the solitude. After I finished wrapping, I'd creep upstairs to sleep for a handful of hours before going back down so I could see the kids' faces when they discovered their presents from Santa. They're too big for that now--my son is 22 and my daughter is 18--but it will always be my favorite Christmas tradition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Huge thanks to Trish for taking the time to share that sweet tradition.  Make sure you're following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, subscribing to her blog and adding all of her books on your GoodReads shelves.

And now for the giveaway!!

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

That's right, I have a copy of Where the Stars Still Shine up for grabs. Rules for the giveaway are under "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget. This contest is international and the book will be coming from The Book Depository.

**Good Luck!!**

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

The time it was about family

Once upon a time, Bloomsbury set me up on auto-approval on NetGalley.  When I was done freaking out, I immediately grabbed Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller.  And after I devoured it, I begged asked Trish if she had time to do an interview. Thankfully, she said yes!

But, before we get to her answers, let's check out the book.

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Sounds amazing, right?

1. Where did the idea for Stars come from?

The first time I walked down Dodecanese Blvd--the main street of the sponge docks area of Tarpon Springs--and I was totally amazed by how very Greek it was. The people around me were speaking the language. Little old men with white beards and fishing caps were smoking and drinking coffee. There were more Greek restaurants and bakeries in that small area than I've ever seen in my entire life. It's like they transplanted a little bit of Greece in Florida. And I had kind of a "what if..." moment. What if my character was an outsider dropped into Tarpon Springs and expected to fit in? What if she was always meant to be part of that community but something kept her from growing up there? What kept that from happening? When the answers came, Callie's story started taking shape.

2. You have a way of writing realistic, fleshed out characters, and even the secondary characters are important to the story.  How did Callie and Alex evolve?

Alex was actually the first character. I'd been kicking around a completely different story from the perspective of a boy who sometimes went to school smelling of fish because he had to go out early in the morning to catch fishing bait. But after I visited Tarpon Springs, I knew Alex was a sponge diver on a working boat during the week and on the tourist boat on the weekends. Until I started writing Callie, though, I didn't know what Alex's relationship was to the other people in the story.

Callie was a lot like Travis (from Something Like Normal) in that once I gave her the setting and the situation, she lodged herself in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about her. Unlike Travis, though, she was a quieter character and I had to coax out her personality and her feelings about everything that had happened in her life. One thing that was unusual about Callie is that I had a hard time settling on a name for her. Travis and Cadie (the main character in my next book) came to me with names, but for Callie I need a full name that was Greek with a not-so-Greek nickname. She tried on a few different names until I found the one that fit best.

3. Both Something Like Normal and Stars deal with emotional subjects and you do them such justice.  Do you enjoy the angsty goodness and the flails you're subjecting your readers to?

I don't consciously set out to make readers flail or cry, but I do try to get inside the character's mind and heart so I can tell the most authentic story. If that leads to tears or flailing, I'm definitely okay with it. 

4. Describe Stars in 5 words.

Food. Family. Friendship. Forgiveness. Love.

5. What is your favorite Doctor Who episode and companion?

This question is SO HARD because I have a few favorites, but if I'm forced to choose I think "Vincent and the Doctor" is my absolute favorite episode. And my favorite companion is Rose, but I will admit Clara is closing the gap fast. 

Speed [ish] round:

1. What's your go to guilty pleasure thing to eat?

Honey mustard & onion pretzel pieces

2. What are you reading right now?

The Program by Suzanne Young (although by September I'll probably be reading something else)

3. Who are your favorite swoony boys?

Top Five: Ryan (Raw Blue), Jonah (Jellicoe Road), Poe/Jamie (Secret Society Girl series), Eli (Along for the Ride), and Brigan (Fire)

4. Are there any authors that you fangirl over?

Melina Marchetta makes me lose my mind. If I ever met her in real life, I'd probably make an idiot of myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge thanks to Trish for taking the time to deal with my incessant rambling answer my questions!

Make sure you check out her website, blog, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter pages.  And don't forget to add all of her books to your TBR shelf on GoodReads.

Now. Dying for a copy of Where the Stars Still Shine? Well, I've got one for you.  Rules for the giveaway are under "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

**Good Luck!!**

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The time it was all bookish mail -- 1

Obviously, I can't be at all of the signings, which is a tragedy.  Thankfully, I haven't had any serious problems with various bookstores across the country when it comes to ordering for events. And sometimes, I have awesome friends or family get stuff for me....

I had been chatting with Trish Doller on Twitter about Something Like Normal [among other things].  When the time came to ask about getting a signed copy, Trish was awesome enough to give me the number to the Barnes & Noble that she works at so I could order a copy.  She did say that they had signed stock, but that she would happily personalize my book.

When the line up for Austin Teen Book fest was announced, I really thought we were going to go.  I misunderstood some of the information and thought Beautiful Redemption and Reached were both going to be released early at the event.  After I found out that I was completely wrong, I begged asked Christine to get me a copy of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. She also got my Dear Bully signed by Sophie Jordan.

I had talked with Kat Zhang about sharing my arc of Sever by Lauren DeStefano in exchange for cookies.  Unfortunately, with the time restraints between the both of us, I was unable to share it with her. I had plans to get What's Left of Me and as soon as I saw that Kat was signing with CJ Redwine [whose Defiance I was dying to read], I knew I'd be ordering both.

The day of the event, either Kat or CJ had tweeted a gorgeous picture of Parnassus Books, where the event was going to be held. I answered back that I was jealous that I couldn't be there.  A couple of days later, I got some lovely books in the mail and they were in the super nifty bags that Parnassus ships everything in.

When I went to Chicago for Michelle Hodkin, I saw that R.L. Stein was going to be appearing at the same bookstore later in the month.  I had asked if I could ship my copy of Dear Bully to be signed.  At the time, the events manager wasn't working, so they told me to call back. Instead, my sister and brother in law offered to attend on my behalf.  I called and ordered a copy of Red Rain, shipped my Dear Bully and waited.

On the night of the signing, I started getting text messages from my SIL.  It was their first book signing, they both had a great time.  And....they even took all sorts of pictures for me.

I'm so happy that everyone is so accommodating when calling to order books.  Sometimes, I wish they would say no so I wouldn't spend so much money.  Same goes for family members.  :D