The Rise of Self Publishing - Guest Post with S.R. Johannes

The Rise of Self Publishing

In 2013, over 500,000 books were self-published. This was way over 100% more than in 2012. And this number is expected to multiply again in 2014.

Some reasons self-publishing continues to grow:

1. Traditional Publishing is changing every day. It takes longer to get published and longer to get a book out through the traditional route. The process is an old one.Now, traditional publishe rs aren't looking for debut authors as much. They are turning toward book packaging, ghost writers, and using the authors they have worked with in the past or those with a track record. It's harder to break in now than 5 years ago.

Downside - Traditional publishers own print distribution whereas self-publishers can't compete.

2. Authors want more control over their books/careers. With self publishing, authors can write a book, edit it, get it ready, publish it, and own the whole process (good or bad). In an industry that doesn't allow much control, this is appealing - and fun!

Downside - For a while quality suffered, I think that is changing but it is still an issue overall. I also think the lower quality books diminishes the value of good writing and good books.

3. Marketing dollars are scarce. 80% of marketing dollars go to 20% of authors. Many traditional authors have to write their own jacket copy, do their own swag, call libraries and schools for visits and other marketing. So authors are questioning what the traditional publisher can add. Self pubbers do all their own marketing anyway.

Downside - Self publishers have to focus more on online marketing. They can't afford traditional marketing channels.

4. Readers don't know publisher names - Readers don't care where a book  comes from as long as its good and affordable. Now it is much easier to reach a reader through online channels. It used to only be possible through retail stores or catalogs.

Downside - The number of books is growing every year which makes it hard to stand out in a saturated market.

5. Ebook pricing - Traditional ebooks are still priced too high. Self pubbing is growing because most self pubbers have inexpensive ebooks. However, self-pubbers don't sell many print copies anyway. If traditional publishers ever lower the price - they could negatively impact the self-pubbing market.

No matter what is going on in the publishing industry, both sides are changing and evolving. I still believe we will all find a way to coexist at some point - to both thrive - as long as both side continue to be open to change. The industry needs brick and mortar stores, we need ebooks, and we always need good books - no matter how these get to the reader.

Reading will always be in style.

Virtual Tour for Young Readers + Guest Post - Truck Stop by Anne F. Rockwell (Illustrated by Melissa Iwai)

Title: Truck Stop

Author: Anne F. Rockwell

Illustrator: Melissa Iwaii

 Pages: 40

Published: May 16th 2013 by Viking Juvenile 

ISBN: 9780670062614

Source: Sent for honest review

 Description: Early each morning,  before the sun is even up,  the Truck Stop opens for breakfast,  and the trucks start pulling in.  Eighteen wheeler,  milk tank, moving van, and flatbed!  Their drivers order eggs and bacon, pancakes with syrup, and a blueberry muffin. For the boy who helps his parents at the counter, there is nothing better than seeing all the trucks roll in; he knows every single one . . . and can tell when one is missing!

I Give This ...
 

I had a hard time reviewing this book.  Not because I didn't like it.  But, I feel it has a somewhat limited audience.

I have 2 children, both happen to be girls.  My oldest is kind of past picture books but my youngest loves them.  This book never caught her interest.   However, she's not into trucks at all.  So, I took it to school to read to my preschoolers.  I read it to my younger class who I felt the book was maybe a little bit more geared towards.  I should have taken into account that that class has one boy.  I don't think the girls really cared.   But that one little boy LOVED this book.  He kept commenting on the pictures.  I'm not sure he grasped the concept of the story though.

I liked the story.  I thought it had a good message on working as a family and helping your community.  These people that the little boy saw everyday were as much a part of his family and his mom and dad.  It really showed when the one truck didn't show up in the morning and he kept his eye out for it all the way to school.

A book I would definitely recommend for younger boys.  

Happy Breakfast to All

Anne Rockwell

As an author of over 100 picture books, I'm often surprised to see the finished product. A picture book is a perfect union of words and pictures as seen by a young child. A lot can go wrong between dream and reality. But I loved Truck Stop when I saw it as a book with Melissa’s illustrations. Melissa’s interpretation of my words fit seamlessly, and I saw not my words or her pictures, but a finished book. And the book once illustrated is about friendship, comforting and predictable routine of getting together at their truck stop. The boy narrator/hero looks out for his pals, and even finds the one who’s missing.

Since my book is about breakfast at a truck stop café, Melissa and I thought it would be fun to share our favorite morning meals. Mine is café au lait in a French rural café, France’s version of a truck stop. I mean café au lait where the café owner pours hot milk from a pitcher in one hand, black chicory flavored coffee from a pitcher in the other hand, into a bowl, not a cup. He brings a fresh baked baguette, a bit of butter, and jam. (Breakfast is the only meal in France where butter is offered with bread.) You might even be able to get a jus d’orange pressée.

But that’s a dream breakfast. My favorite substitute at home in the States is a homemade blueberry muffin, or blueberry pancakes. As well as black coffee please! And don’t forget the orange juice!

You can check Melissa’s blog www.thehungryartist.wordpress.com. That’s where she gives a great and healthy recipe (http://thehungryartist.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/truck-stop-giveaway-and-mini-blueberry-muffins/) for flatbed’s driver’s blueberry muffin. You can see her portrait of this driver her illustrations in our book Truck Stop, published by Viking May 16. Yes—muffins right out of the oven, and a picture book right off the press.

Melissa Iwai

When I was first offered to illustrate Anne’s story, Truck Stop, I was thrilled because I was already a fan of her work, and I loved the story. The setting—a truck stop diner—is very unique. In fact, when I was doing research for the book, I found there were no other truck stop books out there! I also love the way Anne wove together elements of family, friends, and food in Truck Stop. In my illustrations I wanted to communicate that warm feeling one has when eating a hearty breakfast among loved ones—the perfect way to start the day!

Thinking of breakfast foods, one of my family’s favorites is popovers.  The first time I ever ate a popover was when I was recently transplanted in New York many years ago. It was at an expensive restaurant on the Upper West Side that specialized in—you guessed it—popovers. Fast forward fourteen years to our home in Brooklyn when we discovered how easy it is to make them from scratch! The ingredients are butter, eggs, milk, flour, and a pinch of salt—that’s it. It is amazing the way the popovers expand and “pop over” the muffin tin in the oven. But don’t be tempted to open the oven door too soon or they will deflate and you will have popovers no more…!

Here is the recipe we use for our breakfast popovers (from Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen):




Popovers
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and melt butter.
2.    Brush the insides of 12 muffin cups with melted butter.
3.    Break eggs into the mixing bowl.
4.    Add milk and beat well.
5.    Add flour and salt and whisk until reasonable well blended – it doesn’t have to be perfect.
6.    Use a ¼-cup measure with a handle to pour batter into each muffin cup. They should be one-half to two-thirds full.
7.    Bake 30 minutes without opening the oven.
8.    Remove muffins from the pan and prick with a fork to let the steam escape.  Spread with butter and/or jam, and eat!
Makes one dozen.

These are delicious eaten fresh out of the oven with raspberry preserves or a drizzle of maple syrup or just a sprinkle of powdered sugar!

Guest Post and Giveaway from Deborah Swift author of The Gilded Lily

Books about Maidservants – The Gilded Lily

I thought I’d share with you some of the other books about feisty maidservants that I came across in my research for THE GILDED LILY, which is a novel about two serving girls who are on the run in the dark alleys of snowbound Restoration London. What makes maidservants interesting to write about is that often they have aspirations to better their lot, and in this respect my main character Ella Appleby is no exception. The only trouble is that she is intent in dragging her more naïve sister, Sadie along with her, even when Sadie has her doubts about her bolder sister Ella’s methods of advancement.

It is a challenge to write a literary novel about sisters who are illiterate. Often writers choose to somehow enable their characters to learn to read and write so that they can tell the story in their own words. I chose to leave my two main characters illiterate, but this meant that hearsay and stories formed a large part of the girls’ education and moral compass, and storytelling became a major theme in the book.

I read quite a few books about maids as part of my research and here are a few I would recommend.

The Book of The Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse (Medieval YA)
Although this is designated as a young adult book it is a read that will also satisfy historical fiction fans of the medieval period. Set in the 1400’s, it is about Johanna, the maid of Dame Margery Kempe, a Holy Woman who went on pilgrimage to Rome. The Book of Margert Kempe  is thought to be the first autobiography in the English language, and in it Margery constantly criticises her maid. It was a wonderful idea to re-write the journey from the maid’s perspective.

Johanna only 14 years old, and has to witness the devotions of Margery – mostly weeping, wailing and ordering her (Johanna) about. But Johanna’s instincts for self preservation are forced to come to the fore when she is abandoned by her mistress in the middle of nowhere.


The Observations by Jane Harris
This book is set in the Victorian era and begins in 1873 in Glasgow, Scotland. One of the best things about this novel is the growing literacy of Bessy Buckley the maid as she grows in confidence through her diary, and her unique and brazen Glasgow ‘voice’ which is both comic and eye-opening.

By chance, and because she needs the work, Bessy starts work as a maidservant at the house of James and Arabella Reid. James is mostly absent, and Arabella - the delicate, somewhat other-worldly mistress - issues a series of strange commands, one of which is that Bessy must keep a journal, detailing her every action and even her innermost thoughts. As Arabella’s behaviour grows increasingly bizarre, Bessy soon discovers that she is the consuming subject of her mistress’s ‘observations’. The changing relationship between the employer and employee is one of the pleasures of this novel.

The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon
This is a tiny pocket sized book that packs a powerful punch. Set in 1831, fifteen year old Mary is one of three farm girls, with ‘hair the colour of milk.’ The book beautifully establishes the harshness and matter-of-factness of farming life, and eventually so there is one less mouth to feed, Mary is sent to be maid for the local vicar. Mary is sharp-tongued, but ambitious, and wants to escape her drudgery by learning to read.

The horrifying story of what she must trade during this process, and how it all ends is gradually revealed through Mary’s spartan but clear-eyed journal. Like Bessy in The Observations, Mary’s access to reading and writing is through her employer. Like Bessy, Mary has a price to pay for this knowledge.


Below Stairs by Margaret Powell
Margaret Powell’s classic memoir of her time in service in the 1920’s and 30’s, is the true story of a serving girl who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped trying to better her station. Margaret started as a kitchen maid – the lowest of the low. Work started at 5.30am and went on until after dark. Margaret Powell's true story of a life spent in service is a fascinating “downstairs” portrait of the glittering, long-gone worlds behind the closed doors of Downton Abbey. As a genuine biography, this lacks the drama of the other books I’ve mentioned but is none the less fascinating for its period detail.




THE GILDED LILY by Deborah Swift

A spellbinding historical novel of beauty and greed and surprising redemption.

England, 1660. Ella Appleby believes she is destined for better things than slaving as a housemaid and dodging the blows of her drunken father. When her employer dies suddenly, she seizes her chance--taking his valuables and fleeing the countryside with her sister for the golden prospects of London. But London may not be the promised land she expects.  Work is hard to find, until Ella takes up with a dashing and dubious gentleman with ties to the London underworld. Meanwhile, her old employer's twin brother is in hot pursuit of the sisters.

Set in a London of atmospheric coffee houses, gilded mansions, and shady pawnshops hidden from rich men's view, Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily is a dazzling novel of historical adventure.

Watch the Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSXtKFVGGV8

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gilded-Lily-A-Novel/dp/1250001900


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Guest Post with Joy Preble author of the Dreaming Anastasia Series + Giveaway!!

People often ask what my inspiration was for the DREAMING ANASTASIA series. And part of the answer, of course, is my fascination with the tragedy writ large that is the Romanovs. Like so many people, I have always wanted to believe that there was more to it than political assassination and a girl who died before she could be what she could be.

But then there’s the other part of the answer. The part of me that wrote Anne because I’d grown up with a love of genre fiction and then cut my writerly teeth on the work of Joss Whedon.  That girl is an unrepentant geek. A nerd. And so of course I’d end up writing a book with witches and mermaids and soul jar trope dudes who can’t be killed and a romantic hero who’s handsome and blue-eyed but really kind of a doofus at heart. We geek girls write stuff like that. It’s in our DNA or something. We memorize the titles of Buffy episodes and we go with our friends to the opening day of Serenity and when Adam Baldwin guest stars on Castle with Captain Mal himself, Nathan Fillion, we squeal with geeker joy. And we Tweet that our husband just quipped, “Hey. I hope they run into the Rievers.” And the other million geeks who follow us on Twitter tweet back that this is the greatest line they ever heard.

And stuff like that.

So I present to you: You Know You’re A Geek Girl When. With geeky bullet points and everything.  And yeah, it’s all true. Get over it, folks. This is the real me.

You Know You’re a Geek Girl When:

•    You agree to appear at Comic Con in Austin with your fellow geek authors. In a mermaid costume. For two days.
•   Your favorite moment of the above is meeting James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy. And getting a picture. Signed. (Which you babble about for two days, at least when you can get a word in over Tricia (PJ) Hoover’s rambling about her photo op with Kevin Sorbo.
•   Did I mention the seaweed boa?
•     You put physics and economics jokes in your manuscript and your agent tells you that maybe this is not as funny as you think it is. But you believe that giving a character a t-shirt that reads ‘Fission Chips’ is hysterical. And that the joke “Two protons walk into a black hole… that’s the joke” is also the funniest thing ever. Really.
•   You Google ‘nerd t shirts’ while you’re eating your lunch. More than one day a week.
•   You still know the titles of every BTVS episode. And can still quote lines. And if someone says anything close to ‘dance of joy’ your first thought is of Season 2 of Angel when the gang went to Pylea.
•  When you realized that you now knew and worked with the blogger who used to blog as Moonrat, you were happy for like a million days. Maybe more.
•  You saw The Avengers on opening weekend.  And you knew that you had to stay seated when the final credits rolled because it wasn’t really over.
•    You also saw The Cabin the Woods. And chatted with your fellow geeks about how it was a meta-horror genre movie. Possibly too meta. But whatever.
•   You played viola in the high school orchestra. And were first chair. And dated the 1st chair bassoon player.
•  You own a full collection of the paperback novelizations of the original Star Trek series.
•   You used to write Star Trek fan fiction. Before there was the Internet. Yes, you and your geek friends exchanged yellow legal pads of manuscripts. Mostly about Mr. Spock’s love life. You now believe that if only you had titled it Fifty Shades of Spock, you would be on easy street now.
•  You continue to believe that there is such a thing as a tesseract.
•   You wish there were more people who would get excited about the Baba Yaga episode on Lost Girl.
•    You screamed in horrified delight at the end of this season’s Vampire Diaries.
•    You have worn socks with Birkenstocks. In public. But maybe only once.
• You could continue this list for another thousand pages.

In honor of the relase of the 3rd book in the series...I'm pleased to be able to giveaway a prize pack consisting of all 3 books in the Dreaming Anastasia Series by Joy Preble.  Just enter the rafflecopter below!

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Guest Post with Lisa M. Stasse author of The Forsaken

Lisa M. Stasse was born in New York, and has since lived in Spain, Russia, Hawaii, and North Carolina. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government and English lit, and is currently a digital librarian at UCLA.  Lisa loves watching science fiction movies, cooking Spanish food, and dancing around her house to 80′s music.  She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband and their two-year-old daughter.  All three of them are learning how to surf. Say hi at lmstasse[at]yahoo[dot]com. 

I'm pleased to have Lisa on the blog today for a little bit of This or That!

  

Noise or Silence? SILENCE (except when I'm writing I like to listen to music)

Tv or Movies? MOVIES (although there's a lot of awesome TV shows right now)

Chocolate or Vanilla? CHOCOLATE (I can never get enough chocolate, truly)

Sunrise or Sunset? SUNRISE

Cookies or Cake? CAKE

Sun or Moon? SUN

Summer or Winter? SUMMER

Pen or Pencil? PEN (I looove pens! I have a bunch of cool ones that I've collected over the years.)
 

Skittles or Starburts? STARBURSTS

Ocean or Mountains? OCEAN (I love the ocean--it's one of the best parts about living in California. But I also love camping in the mountains too)

High heels or flats? HEELS

Call or Text? TEXT

Laptop or Desktop? LAPTOP (it goes almost everywhere with me!)

Gust Post with Kate Hinderer author of Emerald Isle

I'm pleased to have Kate Hinderer, author of Emerald Isle and Aurora Undefined, here at the blog.  

Hi. I’m author Kate Hinderer and I’m lucky enough to be guest posting for the day as part of the blog book tour for The Emerald Isle. This book is part paranormal, part contemporary fiction and has adventure, romance, suspense, and a whole lot of sand.

For today’s post I thought to feature my favorite classic reads. If I’m honest there are a lot of classics that I have never read. I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never ready War and Peace or Great Expectations. Still, there are some great old school books out there – great even if school makes you read them! 

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I loved this story before it was cool to like it, with the upcoming movie. To me, the best part about this story is the contrast that exists between the good and bad choices. It illustrates in a most graphic way what happens with the decisions we make.

The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas – I actually really liked The Count of Monte Cristo when I read it. But since it is so commonly known, I thought I’d list this smaller, lesser known work. The story of two men trying to grow a black tulip and the love and intrigue that happens as a result is captivating.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux – Sure, the movie is great. The soundtrack is oh so dramatic. But the book is even better. You feel for the phantom and the life he has to endure. It’s wonderfully tragic.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – This was the first and only book my father ever took away from me! He found me reading it several nights in a row instead of doing my homework. As a result he confiscated it for two weeks until I had my priorities straight again. I just couldn’t get enough of Scarlet and her selfishness. And while, most people hated the ending I thought it was epically awesome!

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok – There was something in this book that struck me at the very core of my being. The main character wars between a talent he was born with and a religion that tells him it is wrong. His inner turmoil is astounding.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – This was the first assigned reading book for school that I actually enjoyed and read through without waiting for the assignment dates. There is something abut Jane’s character – her ordinariness, her virtue, her love – that had me flipping each page wanting more.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I’m a huge fan of dark novels and this one is the ultimate! There is something so disturbing and so romantic about a love that can never be that still calls to the person from the grave.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – This book and its themes struck me long after I read the last page. The way the story dealt with childhood, race relations and a rape was beautiful and striking. 

Title: Emerald Isle

To escape a bad break-up and fighting parents Audyn takes a job as a lifeguard at Fascination Island. The posh five-star resort lives up to its name in every way, including the strange rules the owner has about entering the water at night. Despite declaring it a boy-free summer, it isn’t long before the shy, endearing Levi and the mysterious, tattooed Tristan begin vying for her attention. When Levi tries to push his advantage and Tristan comes to the rescue, Audyn realizes there is more to both these boys and the island they inhabit. Suddenly, she’s forced to acknowledge a reality she’d never considered and to pick a side in the conflict that has been waging for decades 

Deleted Scene from Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

I'm pleased to be a part of Sourcebooks Deleted Scenes Tour for the Dreaming Anastasia series by Joy Preble.  The following deleted scene is from book 1 Dreaming Anastasia. 

“It occurs after Anne and Ethan have found Professor Olensky murdered in his office. They are desperately trying to figure out what to do and being chased by Viktor's henchman Dimitri. And my initial impulse was that I very much wanted them to share their first kiss on that El train platform. It felt like the perfect moment -- the classic 'everything is going crazy and this is the person I've been running from but really he's exactly the right person for me' passionate kiss... followed by danger looming and breaking them apart.”

And then, we’re alone.

The wind’s whipping our hair and Ethan’s still holding my hand, our fingers lacing together. Neither of us says a word. The wind swirls a piece of newspaper around on the track and a couple of pigeons peck at the platform across the tracks, looking for bits of food.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan says as a twenty-something guy wearing an unzipped grey hoodie over his green scrubs plops himself down on the bench across the tracks and the pigeons, startled, fly off to search for other crumbs. He lets go of my hand and thrusts both his hands in his jacket pockets.

“You’re right. It is your battle. Probably as much as it is mine.” He blows out a breath.

“We were all so certain after the assassination that at any moment we could find a way to fulfill the prophecy. Get Anastasia back. Restore the Romanovs to power through her. But we didn’t. Ten years passed, then another ten. Then – well, it’s easier than you think for the years to slip by. Each time I though I’d found the girl who could do this, it turned out I was wrong. And each time, I think I just slipped a little farther from the person I used to be. The person who was so clear of his purpose. I never gave up, but I think I stopped trying as hard.”

Ethan stops. Looks down the track for a bit. There’s no train in sight. Across the way, a tall girl in a denim mini and black leggings joins scrub suit guy on his bench. She’s bobbing along to whatever is playing in her headphones. Everywhere I look, it seems, the world is going on like normal. Except I know it’s not.

Ethan’s gaze holds mine, his blue eyes so tired and sad that I feel like crying except I think I’ve used up my quota of tears today. “If Viktor’s betrayed us,” Ethan says, “it’s because I let him. Because I just stopped paying attention. And that part, I do have to bear alone.”

I’m not sure what to say to him. In fact, I’m pretty sure this is one of those times where I probably don’t need to say anything. But he’s standing there in such pain that I start talking.

“We’ll find her, Ethan,” I say, even though I’m not at all sure that’s ever really going to happen. “I mean, you found me, didn’t you?”

And then we just stand there. The wind dies down for a bit, although I can tell from the clouds that it’s going to pick up again soon. Underneath my feet I can feel a slight vibration. Far down the track, our train is coming. Ethan steps closer to me. My heart beats harder: thump, thump, hop in my chest.

I study his face. Those blue eyes. That shaggy chestnut hair all tousled from the wind. 

He’s going to kiss me. And I guess it should be weird or whatever. But it’s not. It’s just me and him – and okay, the two strangers across the way – and all the other stuff just sort of drops away. Because when you’re going to kiss someone – really kiss someone – it’s got to be just about that and not anything else.

And then he does. Kiss me, I mean.

He bends down a little, cause he’s taller, and presses his lips to mine. And it’s way better than the kiss on the forehead. And way, way better than the dream kiss since this time he’s just kissing me, not trying to suck the life out of me. His lips are warm and full and sweet, and they feel good against mine.

So I kiss him back.

 “I almost lost you, too,” Ethan whispers against my lips. His breath tickles and little sparks tingle their way down my spine. “Here, I’ve just found you, and I almost lost you.” We kiss some more. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. I rest one hand on his shoulder – right where he’s got that lion tattoo etched into his skin.

In novels, you always read phrases like ‘they kissed and time stood still.’ And until now, I’ve always thought what a load of crap that was. Cause even when I was making out with Adam Greene, time was marching right along.

And maybe it’s because Adam was a sort of slurpy kisser. And that’s why my mind kept wandering to images of Buster lapping water from his dish. 

Or maybe he just wasn’t the right one.

But right now, time is still. And Ethan’s lips, and his hands that are resting against the small of my back, are filling my head so completely there’s no room for anything else.

But then our train pulls up to the platform. The doors open, and I let Ethan take my hand and lead me inside. We settle into our seats as the train gives a lurch and starts up again, headed downtown. I’m sitting next to the window. Ethan’s looking at me like I’d always hope someone who’d just kissed me would look at me.

And then he’s not. Looking at me, that is.

Because he’s looking out the window beyond me. Back over, I realize as I turn my head, to the staircase that leads up the platform we just left. Watching as the familiar figure of Dimitri rushes into view, just as the train picks up speed and carries us away.

 

I've previously reviewed the first two books in the series...

 

Dreaming Anastasia 

Haunted

Please come back August 28th for a guest post from Joy Preble, a giveaway for the entire series, and my review of Anastasia Forever!

Interview with Tracy Deebs author of Tempest Unleashed plus Giveaway!!

 I would like to welcome Tracy Deebs to One Book At A Time.  We did a fun little interview were I gave her one word and then she said the first thing that came to her mind! 

1. Ocean—Tempest (of course ;)  Oh, and sharks run a close second—I am deathly afraid of sharks

2. Blue—Berries (I love blueberries)

3. Surf—Freedom (but I love surfing more)

5. Love—My husband (I fell in love with him in less than a week)

6. Breathe—Ocean (I never feel as open and relaxed as I do when I’m at the beach)

7. Magic—Xandra (character from my upcoming urban fantasy, Soulbound)

8. Loss—Afraid 

9. Destiny—Exciting, Dangerous

10. Past—Fortune-telling

11. Selflessness—Theo (character from my upcoming dystopian YA, Doomed)

Now, it’s my turn.  What’s the first word that comes to your mind when I say mermaid?


Now for the giveway!!

Tracy is providing a SIGNED copy of Tempest Unleashed.  Giveaway open to US and Canada only and ends June 8, 2012!

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  Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

And for all of those who want the unedited version:
Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

Guest Post with Stacey Kade author of The Ghost and The Goth Series

Today I have Stacey Kade author of the book Body & Soul (which is the 3rd in The Ghost and The Goth Series).  Welcome Stacey!

 1.    What would you be if you weren't an author?
I was a copywriter for a number of years before I was an author, so there’s that. But when I was a kid, I always told my mom I wanted to be a librarian so I’d get first pick of the new books coming into the library. ;)

2.    What's your favorite book?
Oh, dear. I always have to be difficult. ;) I don’t actually have ONE favorite book. I’m way too fickle for that. I love different books for different things about them. The humor, the love story, the setting, etc. But if we go by the number of times I’ve reread a single book (and watched the various movie and TV adaptations), it would have to be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

3.    What's your favorite thing about Alona?  Will?
Hmm. I love Alona’s snark. I think sometimes she says what we’re all thinking, even if we know we shouldn’t be thinking that. As for Will, I love that no matter how hard his life has been (and it has been downright awful at times—sorry!), he doesn’t give in to despair or hopelessness. He just keeps fighting, in his own way. Maybe not exactly in the way Alona would want him to, of course, but she’s working on that. :)

4. Any plans to write an adult book?
I have a few ideas rattling around in my head, but I love writing YA and I’ve got a full plate at the moment, which is AWESOME! :D

5. What's next after The Ghost and the Goth is done?
I have a new series starting in 2013. Project Paper Doll is the series name, and the first book is called The Rules. I’ll have more details to reveal soon, but it’s got a little more of a science fiction edge to it. Dual first person again. Ariane and Zane. :) Ariane is a genetic experiment raised in a lab for the first six years of her life. She’s trying to blend in among the “full-blooded” humans. Zane is the guy who notices something is different about her, but he can’t quite figure out what. The greatest danger for Ari is someone figuring out who/what she is, and yet, there’s this deep desire in her for someone to really know her.
And though I think there have been rumors about it being a dystopian, it’s not. (I do love those books, though!) It’s set in the here and now. Modern day Wisconsin, actually. :)

As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead. 

From her first childhood scribbles about a magical necklace that would turn people into cats, Stacey has long been fascinated with what happens when the “ordinary” bumps up against “out of this world.” What if aliens landed on Earth? What if the afterlife is really just another dimension?

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their three retired racing greyhounds, Joezooka (Joe), Tall Walker (Walker) and SheWearsThePants (Pansy). When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television with her Roswell DVDs, staring rapturously at Jason Behr.


*Pic and Bio taken from author's website ....

Guest Post with Lisa Bergren

When I’m not writing, I like to hang out with my family. We have some favorite TV shows we watch together—Amazing Race, Food Network Star, Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

We also like to cook and sit down for a good meal together. Favorite meals include pasta and something off the grill—salmon or steaks. And we love to have friends over; we have company every other week. Pizza off the grill is always a hit. Here’s a post we wrote for Reading Teen, in which we tell you how to do it…

We’re occasionally family travel bloggers—our sites are www.TheWorldisCalling.com and www.TeenTravelers.com So exploring new places, traveling whenever we can afford it, is a constant draw. In October, I took my daughter Emma to Italy, and we spent ten days in Rome, and five in Venice. It was wonderful!

Much to my kids’ chagrin, I get a kick out of hiking, so we’re always looking for a new, family-friendly trail. Here’s one we took when the aspens were in their golden glory, here in Colorado: http://www.theworldiscalling.com/2011/10/devils-head-peak-trail/

Going to movies, a thought-provoking, spirit-stirring Bible study, fixing up my house, Twitter and Facebook fill much of my free time. I also think reading is a luxury—to curl up with a good book is still one of my favorite pastimes. I just finished Cynthia Hand’s Unearthly and loved it. I try to review anything I read, inspired by book bloggers like you!

Lisa is offering 20 copies of River of Time books as prizes, as well as 3 Kindle readers ($79 version)! You can gather points at her blog/rafflecopter form for visiting each of the blogs on the tour and commenting, as well as doing a scavenger hunt.

Please visit http://lisatawnbergren.com/2012/01/teen-scene-blog-tour-contest/ for full details on this contest!

Guest Post and Giveaway with Shelley Workinger

I’ve been asked many times if “Solid” has a soundtrack (and now “Settling” as well). I’m not sure that everyone understands my answer – “No, but it has a playlist” – so I’ll explain.

From the time I dreamt the scene that became chapter twelve of “Solid,” this series has been very sensory to me. I could watch scenes in my mind, hear the characters speak, and, yes, hear the background sounds and songs. But when you ask me about the series’ music, I don’t think of those kind of scene-supporting melodies producers use to enhance a story for the screen; I think of the music that Clio thinks about – what she listens to and records in her lyric journal.

Clio has very strong feelings about music; in “Solid,” she says: I loved how the words to a song could perfectly capture my feelings about a moment, or a day, or a friend. I imagined someday putting together a massive compilation, like a sort of soundtrack of my life….And she hears through the music to the story behind it and the truth within it, partly because of the appreciation of words she’s learned from her novelist mother, but mostly because, as the saying goes, every teenage girl is a poet. So the music that’s important to her – that resonates in her mind – is not even always music that she likes, but that speaks to her. Speaks so loudly, in fact, that by the end of “Solid” she’s decided to write a song of
her own.

So here is the playlist for “Settling,” which you can see is significantly longer than that of the previous book, mainly because as she settles into this new life, Clio has more and more experiences that she can’t find the right words for, but that she can find expressed in songs. This playlist is a true reflection on the events of the second book of the series.

I’m Yours – The Script
Believe It Or Not – James Taylor
Let Me Go – 3 Doors Down
Starless – Crossfade
You Found Me – The Fray
My Way – Frank Sinatra
Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Far Behind - Candlebox

For more information on the Solid series or Shelly herself visit any of the following

thesolidseries.com
facebook.com/solidseries
twitter.com/SWorkinger
bookfare.blogspot.com

In honor of the release of Settling, I pleased to be able to giveaway a signed copy along with a bookmark. Open to US resident 13 and up only.  Contest ends 7/2 at 11:59 PM. 

Guest Post with Dawn Metcalf author of Luminous

I was really intrigued by the idea that people have powers in the Flow, so I asked Dawn what power she would have.   And here is what she said ...

If I had a power in the Flow, I think I'd like the ability to be able to physically reach out and touch the unique spark that lives in everybody. That might sound a bit "aww, fluffy!", but I assure you that I'm a wry, twisted cynic with the heart of an idealist, but I really do mean it. Think about it like this: who you are as a human being exists once in forever. The variables of where you were born, when you were born, your particular family, friends, experiences and opinions is a combination that has never happened in exactly that way before and will never happen in exactly that way ever again. Each person is a 100% unique individual and, if you're inclined to believe it, a once-in-a-lifetime divine gift to the world. If you can become aware of that when you're meeting another person, or (even better) realize that about yourself, then I think we'd all be a lot nicer to ourselves and one another.

So if I could reach out a finger and touch that firefly of light that rings like a chime inside your heart so you knew it and felt it without doubt, remembering it always? Yeah, I'd like to do that.

“I like my books like my chocolate–
dark, bittersweet, and a little bit nutty.”

 

Short Version:
If you want to know about me, read one of my books.
Or ask my mom, she’ll tell you.

Medium Version:
I have no good excuse for the way I write. I lived in a normal, loving, suburban home, studied hard, went to college, went to graduate school, got married, had babies, and settled down in northern Connecticut. Despite this wholesome lifestyle, I was clearly corrupted by fairy tales, puppet visionaries, British humour and graphic novels. As a result, I write dark, quirky, and sometimes humorous speculative fiction.

Luminous by Dawn Metcalf

Release Date: July 7, 2011

As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.

When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela's way home.

Guest Post with Killian McRae

I would like to welcome Killian McRae to One Book At A Time.  Killian is the author of 12.21.12.  Check out my review HERE.

 

When I first read the synopsis of 12.21.12, my first reaction was "How in the world did she think up combining ancient Mayan prophecy with Cleopatra?"  Turns out I had the opportunity to ask her.  And this was her answer ....

I didn't watch much TV after I got to be to in high school. But, there were a few programs that, if I knew they were going to be on, I'd be certain to catch. One such show was the BBC/PBS production (later shown on various cable networks), "Connections." In "Connections," legendary historian James Burke took the viewer through an hour-long exploration of history not categorized by the year or region, but by conceptional congruity. One moment we'd be learning how American farmers were using satellite imagery to plan and maintain field, the next we'd learn how ancient South American cultures used mountain-top views to plan irrigation systems, and in the next we'd learn how Ancient Egyptian used the annual floods of the file to feed an empire for a whole year.   

Across all the epochs of history, one fact remains true outside all else: no matter our differences or even our interaction, we always have far more in common than we even realize.  And when one beings to take two seemingly dissimilar cultures and examines them more closely, the actual similarities become startling.

I am hardly the first who has drawn attention to the similarities between Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations the early empires of the Near East (Egypt, Sumer, Babylon, etc.) But outside of common structures of government, law and commerce, when we examine even further the striking similarity of modes of adornment, knowledge of the cosmos and medicine, and the design and purpose and iconic pyramid structures, one has to wonder if perhaps these cultures didn't share an immediately common link. How could their advances have been so in tune with each other when we have little to no evidence that suggests they were even aware of the other's existence?

This is where the historian has to rely on abstract notions of coincidence born of coincidence. It is the place, however, where a fiction writer can pull back, smile, and say, "Yeah, it's highly unlikely they had any communication, but, just maybe, what if....?" 

And then, if one is going to image a what if that connects these two cultures, one also begins to look into the realm of the cultures keystone events, achievements, and catastrophes ask again, "now, if that, then what if this."  What if Cleopatra wasn't really a victim of suicide, but of murder? No doubt many stood to gain from her death under August's watch, and more than a few enemies and patriots alike would have thought the presentation of her "suicide" a least-harm solution to the situation at hand. What if the Mayan prophecy stated that the world will end on 12.21.12 has some merit to it? What could possible be the impetus that would set that fate in motion?

Then, if I'm going to suppose all this, what if they're somehow connected?

History is not a constant, but all of its variables are not known. I decided I wanted to take what is known and plug it in a few new formulas. This is the synthesis behind my novel, 12.21.12: The only way to future is to decode the past. The only way to decode the past is to save the future. 

Napoleon said, " History is a set of lies agreed upon."   Perhaps fiction can be a collection of truths ignored. 

Born and raised in rural Michigan, Killian used the local library- a single room in a her village's firehouse- as an escape to visit distant worlds, meet brave heroes, learn of classic mythologies, and develop a lifelong love of learning and reading.  An avid reader since a young age, there was always suspicion that Killian may end up a writer. She completed her first novel at age sixteen, though she wouldn't find the courage to publish her work for nearly fifteen more years.  She holds a BA in Near Eastern History from the University of Michican.

Originating from Southeastern Michigan, she now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.