Guest Post and Contest: When I'm Not Writing by Melissa Douthit

Introducing Melissa Douthit...

Melissa Douthit grew up in North County of San Diego, California. After graduating with a Computer Science degree in Southern California, and working for a summer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, she moved to the Bay Area to work at NASA Ames Research Center for a year and then at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for another four years. From there, she moved to Monterey, California, to work at the Naval Postgraduate School on a government project for two years. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, working with the Army Corps of Engineers on another government project. Since high school, she has been a voracious reader of books of all genres, with an emphasis in fantasy and science fiction. Her literary work is strongly influenced by her professional experience and includes many elements of her scientific background. You can find out more about Melissa on her website: http://melissadouthit.com

When I'm Not Writing

When I’m not writing, I love to cook and listen to audiobooks, with my favorite coonhound, Copper, laying in the kitchen, hoping to get a bite of whatever I’m making. Just recently, I was in the kitchen cooking pasta and steaks (it was a dual meal - not everyone wanted pasta, especially Copper =o) and I was listening to the Hunger Games for the first time.

It is on a very rare occasion that I run into a book that grabs me so completely and doesn’t let go until I am done with the whole book or series. I was so drawn into this story, I stayed up practically the whole night listening to it, even after dinner was over. =o) The next day, I went in bleary-eyed to work, with my iPod attached to my ear all day and was listening to, you guessed it, the same audiobook. I stayed like that everyday and night until I had the whole trilogy done.

It was amazing. I laughed, I cried, and I whooped when the characters succeeded. The ending was so good - heartbreaking but happy. I loved the whole story. All through the story, though, I couldn’t help but think how similar the heroine, Katniss, is to the heroine of my story, Chalice. I love that Katniss is so strong, fierce and independent. Both she and Chalice share that. They both start off where they are experiencing hardship but they have fighting skills and know how to stay alive. They can survive on their own and they do, easily. I love that Katniss is her own self. What I mean by that is that she has value in and of herself without the need of a man in her life, even though there are plenty of them who want her. Chalice is exactly the same way.

The only differences I saw between Chalice and Katniss was that where Katniss is a bit rough around the edges because she comes from poverty and a hard life, Chalice is more refined, having been raised in a well-to-do community by her grandparents. Where Katniss uses weapons and kills for survival, Chalice does not use weapons, mostly because she is trained in The Way of the Empty Hand fighting art. Therefore, she is more reserved and not so blood thirsty, unless she is extremely provoked or has absolutely no love for the object of her aggression. Also, because the Raie’Chaelia is a fantasy, Chalice has powers that Katniss doesn’t have, which gives her an edge over her opponents.

Lastly, when it comes to love interests, Katniss is a bit tough on both of her men (and I love the fact that she has two! =o), where Chalice is more tender-hearted toward her guy. She is also very faithful. She is a one-man woman. The love story between she and Jeremiah lasts throughout the first book, culminates in the second, and comes to a dramatic finish in the last book (but I don’t want to say too much before the last two books are written). Lastly, I am hoping, when I am done with the second and third books, to take the reader on a roller coaster ride just like Suzanne Collins did, making the reader feel the happiness, the heartbreak, the laughter, and the triumph all the way to the very end.

Contest:

Prizes--Free e-reader or $100 gift certificate

Enter a drawing and win a free e-reader of your choice or a $100 gift certificate to your favorite store by answering the following question:
What does Melissa like to do when she isn’t writing?
To answer the question go to this link and fill in the information (place answer in Message field):
http://melissadouthit.com/contact-me-2/
Contest ends September 10, 2011. Winner will be announced September 12th on Melissa Douthit's Blog.

Thank you for your time, Melissa! And thank you, Teddy for making this Virtual Author Book Tour!

LiLi

Teen Book Scene: Songbird-Dani's Book Picks

Since you guys know my opinion about Songbird, I think it's time we find out what books main character Dani Mays is interested in...

Dani's Book Picks
Dani is a romantic at heart and, despite everything she's been through, she holds onto the idea that love is worth any pain that can come of it. Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver and Linger, and Wake by Lisa McMann are some of Dani's favorite paranormal romances.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is also on her shelf after reading it in middle school. It has such an amazing message about accepting the differences in people. Stargirl is just one of those characters that Dani wishes she could be like, so carefree and open.

She also really enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Normally she's not interested in fantasy, but after watching the movies she couldn't not read them.
One book that holds a special place in Dani's heart is Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. And no it's not because Reece is always throwing the line at her. It's the one book Dani can remember her mom and Jace reading her when she was little.

About the author: Angela Fristoe is a debut novelist with Little Prince Publishing and is gearing up for the release of her first YA Romance, Songbird. She was the winner, and double finalist, in the Romance category of The Strongest Start Contest 2010 hosted by The Next Big Writer. When not writing, she teaches and spends time with her family.

Seeing as how my post is the last in the tour, I'd like to say thank you to Angela and The {Teen} Book Scene!

LiLi

Teen Book Scene: Crush Crontrol (This or That List)

Introducing the author of Lipstick Apology and her latest release, Crush Control, Jennifer Jabaley....

Born in New York and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Jennifer Jabaley is a graduate of James Madison University and Southern College of Optometry. She began writing in 2006 and tries to manage optometry, writing and motherhood. She lives in Blue Ridge, Georgia with her husband and two children.

Cookies or Brownies?

I like both, but eat way more cookies than brownies :)

Small-town or Big-city?

I live in a small town but love to visit the big city.

Heels or Flats?

Heels. High when I'm going out, medium variety when I'm just toting the kids around. I'm five three - I need some vertical help :)

Fiction or Reality?

Fiction for books/TV/movies. Reality when it's hearing stories from my friends.

Library or Book Store?

Both. I could spend hours in either :)

T-shirts or Tanks?

T-shirts

Beach or Mountains?

I live in the mountains but I really really love the beach! I would eventually love to have a second home at the beach.

Laptop or PC?

Laptop

Twitter or Facebook?

I'm very very new to Twitter. I love Facebook because it has connected me to so many old high school and college friends. But I see the value of Twitter - especially for connecting to other authors and bloggers and people in the publishing industry.

Better experience: High school or College?

Hmmmmmm. I had really fantastic friends in high school but I think I preferred college because of all the freedom. I loved living on my own, really feeling like a grown up and making all my own choices.

Thank you Jennifer for telling us your preferences! And to Teen Book Scene for establishing this blog tour. :)

LiLi

Teen Book Scene: Songbird by Angela Fristoe

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing (June 25, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0615470491
ISBN-13: 978-0615470498

There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen years-old, she still hasn't put it behind her.

After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes, until she found a permanent place. And a reason to stay: Reece Tyler. He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from Reece.

Faced with possibly losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the memories of her brother's death and the influence it has over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening phone calls.

Review:

Dani has always had to deal with the death of her older brother, including the memory of her abusive father shooting him right in front of her. Jumping through foster homes was no picnic for her, and when she finally settled down in one that was perfect enough to be called home, she still had to deal with the constant reminders of the past haunting her. Being putting through hell at such a young age steeled Dani and prepared her in a sense not known to most children her age for harsh reality. Having the innocence of childhood robbed from her, she took solace in her best friend and the love she found in his protectiveness of her. Reece Tyler became Dani's rock in fifth grade and has been nothing more for the following seven years. When all their history finally intensifies their friendship and Dani can't hold back anymore, it's Reece who's put in the hot seat.

Soon after he makes his decision the unexpected reappearance of a forgotten foster brother stirs up what was left of Dani's inner peace. An ensuing love triangle begins to form, one of the most endearing you'll ever read.

At first, as I was reading through Dani's history I thought she was a bit naive when it came to making relationships and processing their progress. However, it became obvious that her tendency to categorize the people in her life into particular roles is her rational thinking trying to make sense of what state her life is in and dealing with it. Everything truly came down to how the connections and emotions built up when she was little and with her fractured family affected her future daily life. Both of her relationships with Reece and Colin really made Songbird an engaging book to read because through Dani's eyes it was like a chain reaction. The author made it seem like all the people Dani loved were connected in a way. That in turn made the book more approachable because of the reader's ability to relate with the main character.

Songbird was easily was one of those touching tearjerkers that has a strong main character to root for till the very end. Fristoe's writing style was uncomplicated and easy to follow along as the flashbacks were multiple and interspersed throughout the book. The plot itself made you predict numerous outcomes for the ending but  it was what caught me most off guard and was most satisfying of all.

Grade: B

Source: Teen Book Scene

LiLi

Blog Tour Review and Interview: Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2011)

ISBN-10: 0802722318

ISBN-13: 978-0802722317

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

Review:

Tempest has a lot on her plate with her seventeenth birthday coming up; it's not surprising that it comes as a shock to her when her mermaid tendencies come a couple weeks before they were expected to manifest. In fact, it comes as a terrifying revelation that they took up where they had left off six years earlier, where a sea witch was willing to drag Tempest to the sea floor for unknown reasons. For bad purposes are Tempest's guess.

When Kona/Kai is first introduced, it is doubtful you can resist his wash-board abs and mysteriously dark physique. While Tempest may have the perfect life--and no matter how hard she tries to hold on to it--Kai's addition makes for one rocking birthday that knocks Tempest back to the ocean in a confrontation with her dead-set decision she never thought she'd second guess.

Deebs mastered the waves that rolled and crashed in Tempest Rising. The main character, Tempest Maguire, was mindful of her past and she let it bleed into her perception of how she has viewed her mother for the past six years. Her resentment towards her is no secret, and she had long ago made her decision to be nothing like her mother. I believe that she had the right amount of blame for her mother and agreed with how she took it into consideration of all her mermaid-related choices. However, throughout the book, the reader gets a view of the variety of obstacles she endures in order to keep her secret hidden and her decision true. The book initially surpassed my expectations as I read the abrupt twists that were shocking and how fast Tempest was able to acclimate with it all. The plot was rough but original between the relationship of a mermaid and a selkie and their underwater world.

Honestly, I had low expectations when I saw in the synopsis that the author was going to attempt to create an underwater world to the plot's continuousness and I wasn't wrong to have them. I do believe that it could have been perfected and the knowledge behind underwater living could have been made more realistic but to a degree it cushioned the writing style of not going too in-depth of the scenery background and more into the character background. For that I was grateful.

My favorite character, who I just must mention because he had a major impact on the book subtly, was Tempe's father. Talk about the most loving and supporting dad ever. He not only was going through the same emotions that Tempest expressed in terms of her missing mother but he was compassionately supportive when  it came to be her time of decision-making.

The ending was a big hit with me as well, because it was written to accommodate the lessons and acceptance that Tempest was helpless to learn in her journey through the great big ocean. Overall, I enjoyed reading the struggle and adaptive qualities that made Tempest Rising an addictive debut. You not only want to know more about Tempest's relationships but also about how other characters will fare out in the future.

Grade: B+

ARC Source: Publisher

Interview:

1) To introduce new readers to Tempest Rising, what is your take on your fabulous debut?

I don’t even know where to start. I’m so excited that Tempest Rising is finally going to be on the shelves, but also really nervous (I swear, I have pterodactyls in my stomach instead of butterflies) as I wait for release day.

I really love this book. It’s my first YA, my first first person narrator, my first surfer book, my first mermaid book … you get the picture. When I was writing it, I poured so much of myself into the book that it’s both terrifying and exhilarating to realize that it will finally be out there for people to read and judge … I just hope my readers like Tempest as much as I do :)

2) With this new sweep on sea creatures going through the YA genre, what are your favorite sea-related reads and why?

I love selkies. I think they’re totally cool, and while I haven’t read another YA with them yet, I really like Virginia Kantra’s Immortal series with them. I also like the new books that are coming out with sirens as main characters—Siren by Tricia Rayburn was a great YA. I also really liked Tera Lynn Childs’s Forgive My Fins

3) If you could, would you consider living coastal-side in California, or is this your fantasy residence only?

I grew up in San Diego, and the beaches Tempest surfs in the book are the beaches that I surfed and roamed when I was her age. Though I am currently landlocked in Austin, Texas, I would love the chance to move back to the California coast.

4) Would you consider writing a sequel for Tempest Rising, or do you consider it a stand-alone?

I’ve always wanted the Tempest books to be a trilogy. The second book, Tempest Unleashed, is under consideration by my editor right now as we wait to see how Tempest Rising does.

5) How much would you enjoy have your own Kai that'd like to sweep you off your feet and into something even more dangerous? :)

I love Kai. I really love Kai (whose name, incidentally, got changed by my publisher to Kona in the final draft), although Mark is no slouch ;) I actually married my own dark, sexy and mysterious guy, and in some ways Kona is a much younger version of my husband (except for the whole selkie thing, which would have been very cool, LOL).

But seriously, when I created Kona and Mark, I wanted them to represent the best part of Tempest’s life on land and in the water. A choice between them isn’t just a choice of the guy, it’s a choice of the life she wants. In Tempest Rising, as she’s exploring the underwater world that she’s both loved and hated for so long, Kona really is the best choice for her. In subsequent books … we’ll have to see ;)

What! What is this "In subsequent books..." teaser? That's just plain mean. Thank you, Tracy, for answering my questions and congratulations on your debut, Tempest Rising releasing May 10.

LiLi

Blog Tour: Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (March 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1599904985

ISBN-13: 978-1599904986

According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object—an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas—it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.

The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking—er, focusing on—Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own.

In this sweet story of first love, Lindsey Leavitt seamlessly balances heartfelt family moments, spot-on sarcastic humor, and a budding young romance.

Review:

Fifteen-year-old, freshman Payton Gristas is an amazingly dynamic character. Soon after discovering a bizarre view at home that coincides with an even more shocking truth, she does what most everyone does in a state of acute denial--finds a displacement object and focuses the hell out of it. Her father's disease is slowly taking him more and more away from his love in life: basketball, and the fact that he used to practice with Payton made it all the more disparaging. When the school counselor suggests Payton use a Focus Object to help her work through her onslaught of emotions, she resorts to something that can change periodically but has gone unknowingly unnoticed: Sean Griswold's head. This soon leads to the brilliant deduction that in the seven years they've known each other, they don't really know each other.

"You go through enough with a person over a long enough period of time and they just become a part of who you are." (15)

The setting in which Sean and Payton finally meet is in their Biology class which soon has a significance later on in the book that has to do more with not knowing much about their teacher. It is pretty amazing how many aspects of this book go into greater detail as all the events play out. The one thing that Sean and Payton eventually have in common is the love for bicycling, and I have to say that that was my favorite part in and out of their relationship. It is the one solid point that carries the reader through the ups and downs and is monumentally there at the very end when it plays the biggest role in connecting all the pieces of Payton's life together.

Only two things I disagree with in the entire drama that is Payton's life, just two. One: the most obvious would have to be how long she holds the grudge against her parents for keeping her father's disease quiet for six months. One thing I'm secure of myself about is that when I hold a grudge, 1) the grudge-ee is aware of my feelings, 2) I will most likely not be the first to realize the situation could have been handled better, and 3) forget about apologizing. (You'd best be on your knees by then.) That is why, when Payton Gritas finds out that her parents lied to her, I was like "Yeah! Right there with you, sister." However, that factor seemed to automatically matter so much more than her father's initial diagnosis. Now, Payton does care--don't think she doesn't just because she's giving her parents the silent treatment for a while. What I have a problem dealing with is how LONG she maintains that "while" and inevitably--going psychological here--displaces that anger-with-underlying-fear to her friends. Besides the fact that she confronts herself in the end and gives herself a HUGE mental slap, I have to say that she's on an emotional roller coaster. I accepted this, especially when I read the conflicting hurdles that stand in her way on her path to, shall we say, self-discovery.

Now that I've ranted about her inability to deal, my second tickle I have is minor but felt worthy of being mentioned. I did not like the very last page, the very last scene written about Sean and Payton. This may just be a fan-girl thing, but it is noteworthy indeed; it just did not satisfy my additive need of reading about complex but horny teenagers. Some juice would have been nice!

Exceptionally, to the more exciting and hilarious quotes in this book. I had the best time reading Payton's entries in her "Payton's Focusing Exercise" journal , and the fact that she referred to Sean's head as a dome just about killed me. Some great traits of Payton are the activities she gave up on when the Truth came out. I found that totally understandable, and ended up really loving the way Leavitt wrote Payton as an avoids-hard-topics/her-feelings kind of girl because in the end it just made her all the more of a stronger character for it. As for her best friend Jac, who plays an important role in the book in general, needs to encode privacy into her vocabulary. Some may find her outgoing attitude just this side of sane, but I found it down right irritating; her never-ending variety of nicknames for Payton drove me just a tad over the edge. However, I do believe this was mostly because we only got brief glimpses of how Jac's background taints her forthright temperament. In fact, I would have liked to have read more about Sean home life as well. I have to admit that Leavitt did a phenomenal in describing him as person, likes/dislikes, accomplishments, his view of the world, etc. As for his parents, or previous years of schooling--that were mostly spent with Payton, by the way--would have been enjoyable to read as well.

Overall, I must conclude that Leavitt has an admirable style of writing and I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of her debut, Princess for Hire, soon. (Especially since the sequel, The Royal Treatment, is due out early May.)

Grade: B-

Quotes:

"I bet if you corralled all the renegade socks and stitched them into a blanket, it'd cover more of the earth than the waning ozone layer." (21)

"I would be lying if I said I didn't get a kick out of the assignment. Here I am, a "troubled youth," and my self-chosen treatment is to become a stalker. Okay, not a stalker. Research Analyst." (27)

"Trent raises a waxed eyebrow. Yes, I'm related to a male eyebrow waxer who, surprisingly, Very Much Straight. He started waxing his eyebrows after he shaved his legs, which was after the Nair-on-the-chest debacle. He's a swimmer, that's his excuse--but come on, is extra eyebrow hair really going to slow you down in the water?" (36)

Regarding Payton's dad's MS disease:

"And nothing is scarier than a life filled with what ifs--living day by day without predictability and control. Some people end up losing feeling. Some have uncontrollable spasms. Some can't function. Some end up blind or in a wheelchair. Some end up bedridden and paralyzed.

It's hard to know who 'some people' will be." (38)

Regarding the Hall of Terror:

"I had a locker in this hallway at the beginning of the year. It was close to most of my classes, so I declined the two offers to switch. One day, while I was getting my books out of my locker, the looks-like-he's-twenty-and-probably-is junior with the locker above me leaned down and said, 'Those among the living should not walk among the dead.' Then, he BIT me." (60)

And finally my favorite entry in Payton's "PFEs" journal has to be the Five Senses of Sean. Especially the Taste category...

"3. Taste: Gross! What am I supposed to do, lick him?" (74)

These quotes are not nearly all the ones I noted in Sean Griswold's Head, but they are some of the best.

This ARC was provided by the publisher for my honest, uninfluenced review.

LiLi

Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: Entice (Need, #3) by Carrie Jones

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (December 14, 2010)

ISBN-10: 1599905531

ISBN-13: 978-1599905532

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not quite how things have worked out.

For starters, well, Nick is dead. Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?

And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned. She's Astley's queen.

 

Review:

Coming to terms with her new self is not something Zara is quite ready for, something that is shown repeatedly as she looks to her friends for comfort and reassurance. Being a pixie does have it's perks, she can't deny herself that. But after finding her friends time after time questioning her judgement and her sense of self, Zara still has her doubts as to if the transformation was the right answer after all. Entice has a dual duty when the theme is put into question: to save Nick--determination, and for Zara to blend being a pixie queen with her everyday life--acceptance. There's also a bigger power at work in her small town that must be dealt with in order to bring back Nick, their ultimate warrior against the ensuing battle. Will Zara succeed with Astley's help to find Nick in the mystical Valhalla? And Zara's most dreaded notion, will he choose to come back at all?

After reading Entice, you can vividly see that Zara is still the Amnesty girl who wants to save the world and have as much help as possible couldn't hurt. Astley is one of my favorite characters in Entice; if not my very favorite. He has his past and background hidden around him like a mysterious cloak, but his kindness toward Zara, his new queen, is undeniable and quite heart-warming. Dare I say, he looks after her and cares for her quite a bit more than rugged Nick ever did. I hope to see more of them as couple throughout later books if possible. Zara needs him repeatedly throughout Entice; and he's always there. They work together trying to find where Valhalla lies and for the return of Nick. The fluidity of Entice and how it flows as an installment in the Need series is put to the test when Jones throws in the difficult obstacles the characters must work through. I was anxious at first to see how their personality and loyalty to each other was tested and for some it did prove to be too much, but for others it started a revelation that showed their true colors as characters and supporters in Zara's story. The sacrifices made for Zara's benefit in gaining purchase on the Valhalla trail were crucial and cost dearly. That actually almost broke the spirits of some of the characters most loyal to Zara, but I loved seeing how they were real people who had action views on Zara's transformation and all the changes that came along with it.

I thought that Entice ended on a good note that will serve to intrigue readers into the further challenges ahead for Zara and her crew. Some rough spots were unanswered and I look forward to seeing if they will be resolved.

And of course, if you couldn't tell before, I'm Team ASTELY.

Grade: B

This ARC was sent by Bloomsbury for my uninfluenced review.

Other exciting Need series news...Check out the links below to answer polls, be a fan on Facebook and watch the trailer!

Poll on Team Nick or Team Astley: http://www.facebook.com/NeedPixies?v=app_138079047824
Be a Fan on Need Series' Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NeedPixies

Giveaway:

To enter to win your own finished copy of Entice by Carrie Jones and some new Need/Drake Chronicles bookmarks, just fill out the form below!

Giveaway ends January 2nd and only US participants may enter.


Giveaway is now closed.

LiLi

Blog Tour Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (September 14, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599905108
ISBN-13: 978-1599905105

Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

Review:

After witnessing her parents brutal death, Avery Hood feels numb with the missing pieces from her memory still out of reach. Living with a grandmother she never really understood--and still calls "Renee"--Avery feels more lost and desolate than ever. When a new boy comes to Woodlake and ends up being her would-be neighbor, she feels like nothing has changed; and little did she know that he would turn world upside down.

Closing in on the mysterious murders in Woodlake gave the setting of Low Red Moon a suspenseful tone. The author created a town with its independent characters that share the knowledge of their town's inhabitants with a feeling of liberation. Avery's parents always thought it better to keep to the woods where they felt more at home than they ever could be badgered by the local real estate agent and their town's small strip mall. That is, until last year when Avery's parents insisted she start at the local high school. Further ahead in the book, I wondered if this was written as a convenience to have Avery already known at the high school during the events in the book were taking place. In relation to that, I wondered if a lot of the book's plot was written up for convenience to get to the next event.

Low Red Moon had a lot of repetitive sentences and rhetoric questions that soon got me thinking, "What exactly were the editors and other readers thinking when they passed over the same idea in different wording three times?"

This book does have its moments of brilliance. They mostly consist of the moments of imagery of the woods and its creatures. Devlin really made the traumatic, rural angle work for Avery's story of her parents tragic death.

Overall, I wouldn't call this a memorable book because it has too many common qualities with other YA Paranormal Fantasy novels (Raised by Wolves, particularly). It does end with a cliffhanger, so I expect their to be a sequel of some kind. I would like to know what happens with the town of Woodlake but I won't be "waiting by the phone."

Grade: C-

This Advanced Readers/Reviewers Copy was sent by the publishers at Bloomsbury Children's Books for my uninfluenced review.

LiLi

Blog Tour Giveaway: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

From Goodreads: 
Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

Enter to win your own finished copy of Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin.
Giveaway ends Sept. 30th at midnight EST. Open to US residents only. The winner's address will be sent to the publisher, who will send the book to you. Thank you, Kate! I will be posting my review of Low Red Moon later today.

This giveaway has ended.

The Dark Divine Blog Tour

Everyone, please welcome Bree Despain--author of her debut novel, The Dark Divine--as she travels through the blogosphere to celebrate her release. ChicaReader is one of the many lucky tour spots that get to host Ms. Divine for a day. I have the delight to present you readers with an interview that Ms. Divine so graciously accepted to participate in.

1. What were your worries/delights during the process of writing The Dark Divine?

While I was working on TDD, I worried that no one would want to publish a book that delved into Christian/religious themes and paranormal mythology in the same story. But even though I thought there was a possibility that the book would never be published, I knew I had to write it. It was the story inside of me that needed to be told. I think the biggest delight has been just how well most people have responded to the story that I feared no one would ever get to read.

2. What are some [major] changes in your daily routine that were caused by the writing/publication of your novel?

The biggest change is the time commitment to my writing and also to the business side of being an author. I used to write for a couple of hours in the afternoon while my kids napped, but now that they are older and I am much busier, I’ve had to hire a mother’s helper to entertain them for a few hours a day so I can focus on my work—especially when I’m under a deadline.

3. Not saying that you dislike the original cover, but if you could design it, what would the cover of The Dark Divine look like?

First of all, I have to say that I LOVE my cover and I definitely couldn’t come up with something better myself. However, when I first sold my novel, I envisioned it having a cover that was a picture of girl’s back (kind of like A Great and Terrible Beauty) who was wearing a white dress with a bright red or purple sash wrapped around her waist.

4) What are some great reads that you've enjoyed lately that you would like to recommend to your readers? Why?

If any of my readers haven’t read SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr yet, I think they would really love it. I read this book after I’d already sold TDD to my publisher, but I was surprised a similarity in the two books (in a non-paranormal way). The two books are quite different, yet have a similar idea to them about a girl dealing with the reproductions of an old friend suddenly reappearing in her life.

5. What gave you the idea for the dark, murky background settings for the different eventful scenes in The Dark Divine?

Hmm, interesting question. I started writing the book while living in downtown Salt Lake City. My neighborhood was mostly comprised of very old houses, mixed in with a few new buildings, old statues, and a few churches that were built over a hundred and fifty years ago. I think I just kind of had this urbany feeling in the back of my head while I was writing.

6. How did it feel writing all the male roles in the plot that made such an effect in the story? (Jude, Pete, and Daniel, of course :))

I am actually surprised at how much I enjoyed delving into these male character’s brains. Not because they were male, but because of all the conflicts they had going on in their lives.
I used to think that I could never write from the male POV, but I am considering doing to in a future book.

7. With all your history of working with/for young teens, how do you see yourself as a writer in the next few years? Staying in the young adult genre or risking a different territory?

I love YA. It really is where my voice belongs and I love the audience. I’ve had a few ideas for some middle grade or adult books, but nothing that has screamed “Write Me!” yet. If that were to happen, I wouldn’t be afraid to try something new.

8. From the acknowledgments, you can obviously see that you have a lot of people to give props to in their helpfulness in The Dark Divine. Could you possibly say which scene it was that your writing posse helped you so graciously to revise?

Ah, the @$&% scene? That would be the one where Grace and Daniel rescue Baby James in ravine and bring him home. That scene was rewritten many more times than any other scene in the book. Each time I turned it in, my editor would say, “It’s good, but it needs to be fantastic.”

At the time, I cursed him for it, but now I am so grateful to him for pushing me to make it what it is now. So many people have told me that is their favorite scene. And I’m also extremely grateful to my writing posse for reading that scene over and over again and giving their suggestions.


From the good people of Goodman Media International, Inc., I have received some lovely purple nail polish to giveaway with for this blog tour. I have three bottles available for 3 winners that will selected specifically for their answers to this question left in the comments: Do you have a loved one you'd practically give anything to save? If it's not to personal, who is that person to you? Eg. Mother, boyfried, father, husband, brother, friend, etc.

Remember to visit the next blog tour stop for Bree Despain in the blogosphere at The Story Siren tomorrow.

Catch up on new things happening with Bree on her...
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
Facebook

Become a fan of The Dark Divine on Facebook.

LiLi

Forget-Her- Nots Debut Release/Author Interview!

Here’s the blurb:
When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door,Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn’t so awful after all — until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something — something magical — is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can’t seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don’t always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she’s soon besieged by requests from girls — both friends and enemies — who want their lives magically transformed — just in time for prom.

Celebrating the awesome release of Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White, we are being treated to an interview with the fabulous author herself. Let it begin...(what secrets will she uncover about herself/her novel??)

What type of environment are you in when you're writing? Eg. music, background, etc.

*I really prefer to write in absolute silence whenever I can. Otherwise, it’s hard to hear the characters talking to each other in my head. My sentences have a rhythm, too, that I need to listen for. Lots of times I read what I’m writing out loud, so it’s not very quiet. You’d probably think I was nuts if you were in the other room. :)

What were your initial hopes and fears when Forget-Her-Nots was going through the whole editing and publishing process?

*I think every writer is a tad nervous when she’s awaiting that editing letter. I was, but Greenwillow has always been very respectful of me, and I came to agree with the vast majority of their edits. Every writer also hopes her book will find a home in the hearts of many readers. Most of my ARC readers (and Publishers Weekly) love FHN, so it’s been wonderful already.

How have you been--or are going to be--celebrating the your debut release of Forget-Her-Nots?

*Woo-hoo! I’m having a really big release party at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. (I love paintings!) About 300 people are coming, including lots of teen girls I’ve taught or coached, and all my friends. OMG – that’s tonight! I can’t wait!

What was the mind set that had you inspired to start writing a novel about flowers particularly?

*I’ve always loved gardening, so when I found out about the language of flowers, I started thinking what if flower wishes came true ….

What were you thinking when you first began writing the novel?

*I was actually pretty clueless. I’d read so much for all of my life that I thought it would be pretty intuitive to put a novel together. It’s actually more like a puzzle requiring complicated engineering and architectural skills! I love it. The solutions come at the oddest times, too, like when I’m roller blading. It’s a good reason to exercise.

What are some lessons/experiences that you've been through, that you'd like to share?

*Oh, gosh. I think I’ll do that through my novels. I don’t want to give all my material away. The most important piece of advice I can give everyone is to grow and give more flowers. They bring peace, happiness, and beauty to the human condition. (Now I’m really starting to sound like the teacher I once was!)

Miscellany:

What are your top 5 favorite movies?

The Princess Bride; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Ten Things I Hate About You; Henry V; Pride and Prejudice.

What flower do you favor the most?

It’s very hard to choose! I love them all, but especially Siberian irises, the scent of gardenias, dogwood trees, lily of the valley, and bleeding hearts.

If you were stranded living in a small cabin surrounded by endless snow cutoff from any communication, what would be essentials that you would ensure you have to survive?

That sounds like my winter!

Water, chocolate, pen & notebook, and a few Russian or Gabriel Garcia Marquez novels that would take me a very long time to read and reread. And Earl Grey tea with milk, please.

This is where I gush about nervousness over the questions I created. This is what she nicely says to calm my psyche down:

*You did a great job! Fun and different questions. Thanks so much for having me!

Now since I am participating in Amy's blog tour of flower-love-spreading, I was required to choose a flower of my favor so I chose *cough* Lily of the Valley....duh! Plus they're kind of a contradiction toward all flowers every where, look below to see what I mean:

Aren't they just the darnest things?!! According to The Language of Flowers they are supposed to represent the return of happiness, where as I would spread to you followers that love to read the crap I type to cheer you up from any past pains that you've recently suffered. Bless your wide eyes for reading this!

I thank Amy for being with us on her release date, now I shall sign off with a command: Read the blurb above and tell Amy how awesome she is in the comments...GO!

LiLi

Gringolandia Book Tour! (Edited)

Brief Description:

Though haunted by memories of his father's arrest in Pinochet's Chile, Daniel Aguilar has made a new life for himself in the United States--far from politics. But when his father is released, Daniel sees what years of prison and torture have done. Trying to reach his father, Daniel, along with his "gringa" girlfriend, finds himself in the democracy struggle of the country he thought he left behind.

Gringolandia
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Curbstone Press 2009
ISBN: 978-1-931896-49-8

To celebrate Halloween, here is my first author interview and a giveaway!

Interview with Lyn Miller-Lachmann

1. If you ever listened to music while writing--or if you already do--what type would it be? Examples!

Oh, I definitely listen to music. In general, I listen to the music my characters would listen to. For Gringolandia, that includes Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Sting for my protagonist, Daniel, and his girlfriend, Courtney. When Daniel's father is a heavy presence in the scene, and for the scenes that take place in Chile, I listen to a lot of the protest music from Latin America that was popular during the time-recordings by Victor Jara (who was killed by the military in the first days after the 1973 coup in Chile), Inti-Illimani, Angel and Isabel Parra, and the musicians who helped me research the novel, Schwenke & Nilo.

For my novel-in-progress, the characters share an interest in Metallica, so I've been listening to a lot of Metallica. The young woman who's the principal narrator of my adult novel, Dirt Cheap, is a huge Dave Matthews Band fan. I have broad tastes, so I can pretty much accommodate the musical interests of all my characters.

2. If you ever wrote another book, what would you title it and why?

I'm working on another teen novel right now, which has the title “The Minus World.” It's a companion to Gringolandia-the protagonist is Daniel's younger sister, Tina, three years later. In 1989 Tina travels to Chile to visit her family living there and falls in love with a dangerous boy. The title refers to a secret level of Super Mario World, a video game Tina and her new boyfriend play (while listening to Metallica), but it also refers to Chile's location in the Southern Hemisphere if you plot it on a graph, as well as the constant sense of menace in a divided country going through major political changes.

3. Did you have any specific writing process when you wrote "Gringolandia"?

I usually worked on the novel after dark, once I finished my regular job, and I wrote until one or two in the morning. I also did a lot of writing on weekends, when I could finish a chapter a day. Sometimes when the writing was going well or I was obsessed with a really intense section, I'd cut out of work for days at a time. Fortunately, I'm in New York and my boss is in Florida, so I could get away with it, as long as my work got done in the end.

4. As Editor-in-Chief for Multicultural Review, do you take your work home? As in, does most of your inspiration for your books come from the workplace? If so, how so?

I work at home so I'm always taking my work home. My inspiration doesn't come from work, but from my experiences over the years. In the case of Gringolandia, it came from teaching English to refugees from Central and South America in the 1980s and organizing concerts of Latin American music through an organization made up mainly of exiles from Chile who missed the music of their country. In the case of Dirt Cheap, it came from living in a suburb that I hated and where I didn't fit in. I used to say that the only thing worse would be if the suburb were built on a toxic waste dump, so I ended up writing a novel set in an upscale and rather unpleasant suburb built on a toxic waste dump. By the way, I moved about six months before the novel came out, and I really like the new place.

5. Do you have a preference when writing for teens or adults?

Not really. It depends on the story and the characters. All of my fiction has prominent teenage characters, even Dirt Cheap, but whether the teens are main characters or secondary characters determines if the book will be considered young adult or adult. I used to teach high school history and English in the New York City Public Schools, and I still teach seventh graders part-time in a religious school program. I like being around young people and listening to their stories. And in the program where I teach now, we write plays as a group. Some of them have been very good, and one of them is now under consideration for publication in an anthology.

Author's bio:

Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review, the author of the award-winning reference book Our Family, Our Friends, Our World: An Annotated Guide to Significant Multicultural Books for Children and Teenagers (1992), the editor of Once Upon a Cuento (2003), a collection of short stories for young readers by Latino authors, and the author of the novel Dirt Cheap (2006), an eco-thriller for adult readers. For Gringolandia, she received a Work-in-Progress Grant from the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators.

Now the part you've all been waiting for, Giveaway Time!

On all the blogs that have joined this book tour there will be a giveaway and winner for a signed copy of Gringolandia everyday of the tour!

Rules:

Leave a comment with your email addy! (You may me email at chicareaderATgmail.com if you do not feel comfortable leaving a comment :-)

Extra Entries:

+4 for asking Lyn a question

+2 for being/becoming a follower

+1 link on your sidebar or twitter (please leave a link)

Contest ends today at 12:00 PM EST

I will email the winner and send their addy to Jo Ann who will send it to the author who will mail the prize autograph book to you!

Lyn will be answering any question/comments that are left for her only today. So get you chance at fame and talk directly to the author of this inspirational novel.

The upcoming stops (and one that did a fantastic job already for the tour):

Oct 29 Kelsey The Book Scout http://thebookscout.blogspot.com/

Oct 30 Lilibeth ChicaReader http://lilibethramos.blogspot.com/

Nov 1 Reggie The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) book http://theundercoverbooklover.blogspot.com/

Nov 2 Melaine Melaine’s Musings book review

Nov 3 Mariah A Reader’s Adventure! http://mariah-readingadventure.blogspot.com/

Nov 4 Erica The Book Cellar http://thebookcellarx.blogspot.com/

Nov 5 Erica The Book Cellar http://thebookcellarx.blogspot.com/

Nov 6 Sarah Sarah’s Random Musings http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com/

Nov 9 Faye Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm http://fayeflamereviews.blogspot.com/

Nov 10 Melaine Melaine’s Musings http://melanies–musings.blogspot.com/

Nov 11 Hope Hope’s Book Shelf http://www.princess2293.blogspot.com/

Oh, and I must mention the fantabulous Jo Ann Hernandez who has been nothing but helpful when it came to the bloggers hosting the book tour! She is awesome, check out her blogsite: http://authorslatino.com/wordpress

Jo Ann Hernandez at BronzeWord Latino Authors organizes YA Book Tours for authors. If you are interested in having a tour or being a blog host contact her at BronzeWord1 AT yahoo com

LiLi

Side-note: Happy Halloween!