tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84517506893253637952024-03-07T10:00:18.420-05:00Friday the ThirteenersErin Bowmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11415377887347978552noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-48566553097798611392014-04-10T00:21:00.000-04:002014-04-10T00:21:00.426-04:00Happy Book Birthday, POINTE!Brace yourselves, people. Brandy Colbert's <i>Pointe </i>comes out today!<br />
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<i>Theo is better now.</i></div>
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<i>She’s eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate,
and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her
oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with
his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and
his abductor.</i></div>
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<i>Donovan isn’t talking about what happened, and even though
Theo knows she didn’t do anything wrong, telling the truth would put
everything she’s been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be
worse.</i></div>
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I am so thrilled to get the chance to welcome this book into the world. It's beautifully written, hard-hitting, and has some of the most realistically flawed teenage characters I've ever read. <i>Pointe </i>deals with some tough issues, including anorexia and molestation. Yet it never feels sensational or over the top. Readers will cheer for every one of Theo's hard-earned revelations and hold their breath as her long-buried secrets threaten her carefully constructed life and her hopes for a future as a professional dancer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/images/my-life/profiles/2012-05/teen-ballerina-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.teenvogue.com/images/my-life/profiles/2012-05/teen-ballerina-00.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>19 year-old ballerina Michaela DePrince, making the spectacular look easy. Seriously, HOW DO BALLERINAS DO THIS?</b> Photo source: <i><a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/my-life/profiles/2012-05/teen-ballerina-michaela-deprince" target="_blank">Teen Vogue</a></i></td></tr>
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This is truly one of the finest contemporary books you'll read all year, if not ever.<br />
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I'll leave you with some more images of Theo's favorite thing in the entire world.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/01/24/e4/0124e452c2be90cbf6c828847ea1b257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/01/24/e4/0124e452c2be90cbf6c828847ea1b257.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Theo always rides the subway to ballet class in the city.</b> Source: http://www.pinterest.com/chantelrenee21/live-laugh-dance/</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dancenet.s3.amazonaws.com/images/i682/94064.456ballet_girls_auditio.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://dancenet.s3.amazonaws.com/images/i682/94064.456ballet_girls_auditio.jpg" height="336" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>She has been taking ballet ever since she was tiny.</b> Source: http://www.dance.net/topic/6177744/1/Ballet-Beginners/Oh-no-first-BALLET-CLASS-Ultimate-guide-for-beginners.html</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s2.hubimg.com/u/7892763_f520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s2.hubimg.com/u/7892763_f520.jpg" height="400" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>If <i>Black Swan</i> didn't convince you ballet will completely destroy your feet, <i>Pointe </i>will. </b>Source: http://pointeperfect.hubpages.com/hub/Does-Pointe-Shoe-Fit-Really-Matter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/11/18/Style/Images/The%20Washington%20Ballet%27s%20The%20NUTCRACKER_Photo%20by%20Brianne%20Bland_111201_474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/11/18/Style/Images/The%20Washington%20Ballet's%20The%20NUTCRACKER_Photo%20by%20Brianne%20Bland_111201_474.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>What Theo wants more than anything is to dance professionally.</b> Source: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/shannon-harkins-the-face-of-african-american-ballet-dancers-struggle/2013/11/26/06c28738-5083-11e3-a7f0-b790929232e1_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2005/June/Assets/MAD-Harlem.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1522413/thumbs/o-MISTY-COPELAND-COACH-facebook.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1522413/thumbs/o-MISTY-COPELAND-COACH-facebook.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Professional ballerina Misty Copeland. </b>Source: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/misty-copeland-coach-video-_n_4467234.html" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dancetabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/rs-swan-lake-celine-gittens-and-tyrone-singleton-sorrow_1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dancetabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/rs-swan-lake-celine-gittens-and-tyrone-singleton-sorrow_1000.jpg" height="579" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Dancers from the Birmingham Royal Ballet. </b>Source: <a href="http://dancetabs.com/2012/10/birmingham-royal-ballet-swan-lake-gittens-debut-birmingham/" target="_blank">DanceTabs</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.knightarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DTH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.knightarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DTH.jpg" height="435" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Going pro is incredibly demanding.</b> Source: <a href="http://knightarts.org/">KnightArts.org</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2005/June/Assets/MAD-Harlem.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2005/June/Assets/MAD-Harlem.jpg" height="640" width="443" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>It takes hours and hours of practice each week.</b> Source: <a href="http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2005/June/html/MAD-harlem.html" target="_blank">Education Update</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theperformerswarehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ballet-on-piano-960-59840_960x447.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.theperformerswarehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ballet-on-piano-960-59840_960x447.jpg" height="297" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A good pianist is crucial, especially if he's hot and slightly mysterious.</b> Source: <a href="http://www.performerswh.com/" target="_blank">The Performer's Warehouse</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://marinaharss.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/black-swan-1-michaela-deprince-and-sam-wilson-photo-by-matthew-murphy-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://marinaharss.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/black-swan-1-michaela-deprince-and-sam-wilson-photo-by-matthew-murphy-1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Michaela DePrince again. This girl is badass, people. You should read about her.</b> Source: http://marinaharss.com/tag/dance-theatre-of-harlem/</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Spinning_Dancer.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Spinning_Dancer.gif" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sorry, I couldn't resist the optical illusion dancer. Is she spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise?</b></td></tr>
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Now you're curious about the person behind this amazing book, right? Here she is. . .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://brandycolbert.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/webb_n5d3921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://brandycolbert.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/webb_n5d3921.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Jessie Weinberg</td></tr>
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Brandy Colbert was born and raised in the Ozarks—more specifically, Springfield,
Missouri—and earned a bachelors degree in journalism from Missouri State
University. She worked as an editor for several national magazines and
currently works as a copy editor for both books and magazines. She is represented by Tina Wexler at ICM Partners.<br />
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Yay, Brandy! Yay, <i>Pointe</i>! All of us at the Thirteeners are so excited this book is out in the world now. Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-36265750948650266842014-04-01T06:00:00.000-04:002014-04-01T06:00:01.238-04:00Happy book birthday to SALVAGE!We're so excited here at Friday the Thirteeners because today is the publication day for Alexandra Duncan's debut, SALVAGE! Here's a little about this sci-fi feminist book, which explores choice, agency, rebellion, and family:<br />
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<i>Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated, conservative deep space merchant ship </i>Parastrata<i>, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean. This is a sweeping and harrowing novel about a girl who can't read or write or even withstand the forces of gravity. What choices will she make? How will she build a future on an earth ravaged by climate change?</i><br />
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SALVAGE was named a 2014 Indies Introduce Pick by the American Booksellers Association, and will appeal to fans of Margaret Atwood and Beth Revis.<br />
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Kirkus Reviews said "Duncan's settings and diction are vivid," and that "haunting, colorful environments distinguish this debut novel about a girl fighting for survival in the far future."<br />
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Feminism, family, and rebellion, all set in a thrilling sci-fi novel? We're absolutely sold!<br />
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Congratulations, Alexa! We're so proud of you and can't wait for everyone to read your amazing book!<br />
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SALVAGE is available from HarperCollins' Greenwillow Books, and if you'd like to pick up a copy (which we highly advise!) you can purchase from the following places:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.malaprops.com/book/9780062220141" target="_blank">Malaprop's</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.spellboundchildrensbookshop.com/" target="_blank">Spellbound</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/salvage-alexandra-duncan/1115554680?ean=9780062220141" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062220141" target="_blank">Indiebound </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Salvage-Alexandra-Duncan/dp/0062220144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396216038&sr=8-1&keywords=alexandra+duncan+salvage" target="_blank">Amazon</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Salvage-Alexandra-Duncan/9780062220141" target="_blank">Book Depository </a></span></div>
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And here's more about Alexandra, our friend and author of the fabulous SALVAGE:<br />
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<i>Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian. Her short fiction has been published in several Year's Best</i><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsF6idqGEIFLtcKdYj4fotTvVCeViGE-O8R3GX_pyJflRA9SvHvcX3crL0B3Ctk04TnbM6_LUgcFYY_NT9C9u9a4qs6cqxa58CTJh829NF-XYSVoBQQcUjNxKgM9Ohra7Yk5V3dhmeK9Ba/s1600/AD+-081+WEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsF6idqGEIFLtcKdYj4fotTvVCeViGE-O8R3GX_pyJflRA9SvHvcX3crL0B3Ctk04TnbM6_LUgcFYY_NT9C9u9a4qs6cqxa58CTJh829NF-XYSVoBQQcUjNxKgM9Ohra7Yk5V3dhmeK9Ba/s1600/AD+-081+WEB.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Kristi Hedberg</i></td></tr>
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<i> Science Fiction & Fantasy anthologies and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her first novel, Salvage, is available now from Greenwillow Books. She loves anything that gets her hands dirty—pie-baking, leatherworking, gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi. Alexandra lives with her husband and two monstrous, furry cats in the mountains of Western North Carolina. You can find out more about her at alexandra-duncan.com.</i><br />
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<br />Brandy Colberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029213252943248400noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-74163302154291404872014-03-21T06:00:00.000-04:002014-03-21T06:00:06.968-04:00Megan Shepherd Takes the Truth<br />
Today I'm answering a tough truth: <i>What book do you lie to people about having read?</i><br />
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I’m going to be very honest with you guys, and admit something I never admit to anyone. Are you ready? It’s a doozy.<br />
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<b>I haven’t read the Harry Potter series.</b><br />
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I can feel the shame crashing down on me already. It’s okay! Judge me! I deserve it! Here’s the thing—I adore the Harry Potter world. I’ve seen all the movies multiple times. I have pictures of Alan Rickman on my office walls. I’ve been to Harry Potter world theme park. I am constantly inspired by J.K. Rowling and have watched every interview and speech she’s done. I first knew Harry Potter was special when I worked in the mailroom at a boys’ summer camp. One day we got in 300 thick manila envelopes, because it turned out every single camper had begged their parents to send them a copy of <i>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</i> on its release day. Camp activities (cool stuff like hang-glide training and windsurfing) had to be suspended so all 300 boys could sit down all over camp and just read straight through the book. It was magical.<br />
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I even own the entire series…see?<br />
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But I haven’t read them. Why? There is no valid excuse. I just started off with the movies, and loved the movies so much I didn’t want to read the books and spoil what was going to happen. (I’m going through the same thing now with <i>Game of Thrones</i>.) Then when the movies ended I had every intention of going back and reading the series, but by then I was writing full-time, and just didn’t have time to devote to pleasure reading.<br />
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There is a happy ending to this story, however. Now that the third and final <i>Madman’s Daughter</i> book is turned in, and I’m well under way for my next series, <i>The Cage</i>, I’m finally starting to have time again. And first up on my to-do list?<br />
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Harry Potter read-a-thon.<br />
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So now you know my secret shame. It feels good to get it off my chest. Hate me if you must, but let this photo of me with a butter beer mustache be proof that I really am a fan at heart.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Megan Shepherd is a young adult writer living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She is the author of The Madman's Daughter (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins) and its sequel, Her Dark Curiosity. The third book in the series comes out January 2015. She’d love to hear from you at her</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.meganshepherd.com/" style="color: #e57f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">blog</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/megan_shepherd" style="color: #e57f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Megan-Shepherd-Author/151819421593279" style="color: #e57f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">, or on</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12291438-the-madman-s-daughter" style="color: #e57f06; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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Megan Shepherdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07183250728834483243noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-8377441493095449082014-03-14T03:00:00.000-04:002014-03-14T03:00:04.173-04:00Natalie Whipple Takes The Truth (AKA: Getting Your Book In The Mail Is Awesome)It was on this blog six months ago that <a href="http://fridaythethirteeners.blogspot.com/2013/09/natalie-whipple-big-fat-ninja-secret.html">I announced I would be taking my first foray into indie publishing</a>, and today I bring you the results of that adventure. I still can't quite believe it...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GW2CbftzWQE" width="480"></iframe>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00287123568015662813noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-70248985487703575292014-03-07T05:00:00.000-05:002014-03-13T21:37:59.757-04:00Alexandra Duncan Takes the Truth<br />
I have a lot of guilt. It comes with being raised Protestant. So when I tell you about my guilty pleasures, you should know that I actually feel guilty about these things. Sometimes. (Okay, most of the time). It isn't just a turn of phrase.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaL_ih52CPCL-rwGEFj_ML2qT72UU7qfkzniF2l0xcdZGHB-UG2hGQGaphJ0a-pJ-OYsK6P2WFyLTIBf8P_ufiNb2q1SSKNjfTbOVJFvjqMLsnk9pxFGlH3JHZJCSeUzKKMz9nnUqJgtm/s1600/chocolates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaL_ih52CPCL-rwGEFj_ML2qT72UU7qfkzniF2l0xcdZGHB-UG2hGQGaphJ0a-pJ-OYsK6P2WFyLTIBf8P_ufiNb2q1SSKNjfTbOVJFvjqMLsnk9pxFGlH3JHZJCSeUzKKMz9nnUqJgtm/s1600/chocolates.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a><b>Guilty pleasure #1: chocolate fruit</b><br />
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I will eat all kinds of chocolate fruit, but this is the kind I snack on most often. <b>-------------></b><br />
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I tried to swear it off this summer, because chocolate is not good for you when consumed in great quantities, but I can usually talk myself into getting some anyway. <i>Well, you need to buy some so you can take a picture of it for this blog post</i>, I told myself earlier today before tearing into the package. <i>You can't just go take a picture of it on the grocery store shelf. You don't want to be the weirdo in the deli taking pictures of sweets, do you?</i> Point taken, brain. No, I do not.<br />
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<b>Guilty pleasure #2: reality television</b><br />
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I'm in love with <i>Project Runway</i> and <i>Face Off</i>, which involves makeup artists constructing fantastical creatures. My husband will actually watch the second show with me, because it sometimes involves monsters.<br />
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The one show I've been really obsessed with lately, though, is <i>Fatal Attractions</i> on Animal Planet. It's all about people who are killed or mauled by their exotic pets. I'm not talking about hedgehogs or iguanas, although both of those can give you a nasty case of salmonella. Most of the people on the show seem to think they have a special relationship with their Bengal tiger or cobra that will prevent the animal from striking when they aren't looking.<br />
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Obviously, this is not how things play out. Given the number of times my housecat has attacked my feet in the middle of the night, I don't know how anyone could think things would go differently with a tiger.<br />
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Why do I like this show so much? Probably because when I was a kid, one of the stories I would always beg my mom to tell was the one about the teenager who broke into the Washington Zoo, stole a Gaboon viper, took it on a city bus, and then (after it bit him, naturally) had to be treated with all of the rattlesnake antivenin on the entire Eastern seaboard before stumbling back from the brink of death. She is a nurse, and was on duty when the paramedics brought him into the hospital. Her account was even more entertainingly weird than this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/08/us/around-the-nation-youth-bitten-by-viper-is-reported-recovering.html" target="_blank"><i>New York Times</i> article</a>.<br />
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This is the show I watch to unwind in the evening. Sometimes I even fall asleep to stories about people being trampled by buffalo, partly because being raised by a nurse warps your brain a little bit and partly because I'm so tired in the evening. Which leads me to my third guilty pleasure. . .<br />
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<b>Guilty pleasure #3: falling asleep on the couch</b><br />
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I have a lovely, comfortable bed. I sleep much better in it than I do on the couch. I'm much less likely to be sat up on by cats or wake up with a crick in my neck. And yet, there's something inexplicably wonderful about a couch nap.<br />
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Do you have a guilty pleasure? Tell us about it and you'll be entered to win an ARC of my book Salvage, coming April 1st! (No kidding.)<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/175d2b1/" id="rc-175d2b1" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><br />
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ETA: Our contest winner is Xander! Xander, we've sent you an e-mail about how to claim your ARC.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcr158O_Ui7byKMKu05gv5K7v9ybayPMFsIKNwLjDa5MP66pexrKGA40IuR9OdHP4JtRBonfpPBebTBXutUNfZlicn4fJybBgzZuoJ2kkakI09PBcfTEXip8PrT-UmVklgAdfYNJOlTrR/s1600/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot+for+web.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcr158O_Ui7byKMKu05gv5K7v9ybayPMFsIKNwLjDa5MP66pexrKGA40IuR9OdHP4JtRBonfpPBebTBXutUNfZlicn4fJybBgzZuoJ2kkakI09PBcfTEXip8PrT-UmVklgAdfYNJOlTrR/s1600/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot+for+web.jpg" height="200" width="167" /></a></div>
Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian. Her first novel, <i>Salvage</i>, is due to be released by Greenwillow Books on April 1, 2014. Her short stories have been featured in <i>The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction </i>and<i> The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy</i>. She loves
anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking,
gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi, to name a few. You can find her online at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/DuncanAlexandra">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768905.Alexandra_Duncan">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Duncan/631425283566779?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and her <a href="http://alexandra-duncan.com/" target="_blank">web site</a>.
Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-31750181723917707472014-02-28T07:00:00.000-05:002014-02-28T07:00:07.862-05:00Erin Bowman Takes the Dare!This fabulous dare came in from Andrea, one of our readers, and it sounded like too much fun to pass up:<br />
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<i><b>Write a short Dr. Seuss-inspired poem version of your book and post it on the blog.</b></i><br />
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I absolutely adored Dr. Seuss as a child. These stories were some of the first read to me, and the first I was able to read on my own. (Did you know <i>Green Eggs and Ham</i> has just fifty words, only one of which is more than one syllable?) And even with such a simplistic vocabulary, these books were drilling some very important lessons into my little head.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">If Dr. Seuss books were titled according to their subtexts, via Buzzfeed</span></i></div>
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Ahem. Moving on to my dare...<br />
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I spent a little time browsing through a bunch of Dr. Seuss books, and finally settled on the one I thought I could rework to represent my debut novel, <i>Taken</i>.<br />
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<b>So now, here is my Dr. Seuess-esque poem for <i>Taken</i>, inspired by <i>Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!</i></b><br />
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Your birthday’s come.<br />Your birthday’s now.<br />You’ll go, go, go!<br />We’re not certain how. </blockquote>
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You will go by Heist.<br />You will go, ciao!<br />Gray Weathersby, you’ll be going now. </blockquote>
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You can try to fight it.<br />You can kick and scream.<br />But it’s still coming for you.<br />So don’t struggle,<br />Please! </blockquote>
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We don’t care.<br />You can’t escape that light.<br />You can’t escape that light even if you like.<br />If you try to run, it will still find you.<br />Just go, go, go.<br />Accept it, please do. </blockquote>
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Gray Weathersby, I don’t know how.<br />Gray Weathersby, you’ll be going now. </blockquote>
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You will go in a flash.<br />You will go in a blink.<br />You will go in a burst of light, I think.<br />If you wish not to, alas you’re stuck<br />Your birthday’s here, you’re out of luck. </blockquote>
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Don’t run away,<br />Please, Gray,<br />You’ll be going either way. </blockquote>
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Gray Weathersby<br />We don’t know how.<br />Gray Weathersby<br />You’ll be going now! </blockquote>
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We said go and go we meant.<br />The time had come.<br />So Gray…went.</blockquote>
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Yeah, I might have had a little too much fun doing this. Another Thirteener will be up next week to answer a new truth or dare, but until then, you can always get your book-nerd fix on our <a href="http://fridaynightwriters.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Thirteeners tumblr.</a><br />
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Thanks again for the fun dare, Andrea!<br />
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<i>Erin Bowman is a YA writer, letterpress lover, and Harry Potter enthusiast living in New Hampshire. Her debut novel, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11044367-taken" target="_blank">TAKEN</a> is now available from HarperTeen, and FROZEN releases 4/15/14. You can visit her <a href="http://embowman.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> (updated occasionally) or find her on <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/erin_bowman" target="_blank">twitter</a> (updated obsessively).</i></div>
Erin Bowmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11415377887347978552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-56740280155558894852014-02-21T07:30:00.000-05:002014-02-21T07:30:01.282-05:00Alexandra Duncan Takes the Truth<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thatfilmguy.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/What-Dreams-May-Come.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thatfilmguy.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/What-Dreams-May-Come.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sexxxy!</td></tr>
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Some of you may remember from our <a href="http://fridaythethirteeners.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-way-we-were.html" target="_blank">post</a> this past summer that I married my high school sweetheart. One of our readers asked us to describe the first time we ever went on a date, so of course my thoughts went straight to the first date my now-husband and I went on. We went to see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">What Dreams May Come</a> and then, despite having just watched a movie about death starring Robin Williams, we kissed on the back porch of my parent's house. It was my first kiss, and I was so self-conscious that I don't really remember anything about it except that it happened and I was super excited about it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My future husband and I having a picnic. I'm 17, he's 19. We don't yet know that Mountain Dew is disgusting.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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But then I remembered an even earlier date, a date so early I don't really know if you can technically call it a date. But I'm going to tell you about it anyway.<br />
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In elementary school, I had a crush on a boy in my class named Keith.* He was blonde and skinny and grew up to be a drug addict, but at the time, we were two innocent schoolkids. On the second to last day of fifth grade, we decided we were "dating," and then proceeded to not see each other for the rest of the summer. We had only a tenuous grasp on the concept.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISasOODWBe6IVSlP-l55mHNWS6S45l0_9NZ194ZqlaMKGQ9h5GEQIwcav6CjBtESamEI1xbwHncO6iQ4mSZp9qVrZnU4v0Tnt-9OrCoic2kzW_9c1VXz69cpbg1_U5wTJwyJx2wF8cCN5/s1600/soccer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISasOODWBe6IVSlP-l55mHNWS6S45l0_9NZ194ZqlaMKGQ9h5GEQIwcav6CjBtESamEI1xbwHncO6iQ4mSZp9qVrZnU4v0Tnt-9OrCoic2kzW_9c1VXz69cpbg1_U5wTJwyJx2wF8cCN5/s1600/soccer.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Likes to run. Not very nice to boys.</td></tr>
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Toward the end of the summer before sixth grade, my aunt gave me a gift certificate for two tickets to a local movie theater. The idea was that one of my friends and I would go see a movie together for my 11th birthday. Only I wanted to take Keith. Despite some concerned looks, my mother agreed to pick him up and drive us to the movies. I don't remember what we saw, but I do remember challenging Keith to a footrace outside the shopping center while we were waiting for my mom to pick us up after the movie. At the time, I saw no reason to let a boy win a footrace against me, even if I liked him. I beat him pretty soundly and I doubt I was very nice about it. Not surprisingly, Keith decided we should "just be friends" shortly after sixth grade started. <br />
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So, I'll leave it up to you, readers. Which one of these was actually my first date?<br />
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*Of course this is not his real name.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcr158O_Ui7byKMKu05gv5K7v9ybayPMFsIKNwLjDa5MP66pexrKGA40IuR9OdHP4JtRBonfpPBebTBXutUNfZlicn4fJybBgzZuoJ2kkakI09PBcfTEXip8PrT-UmVklgAdfYNJOlTrR/s1600/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot+for+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcr158O_Ui7byKMKu05gv5K7v9ybayPMFsIKNwLjDa5MP66pexrKGA40IuR9OdHP4JtRBonfpPBebTBXutUNfZlicn4fJybBgzZuoJ2kkakI09PBcfTEXip8PrT-UmVklgAdfYNJOlTrR/s1600/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot+for+web.jpg" height="200" width="167" /></a></div>
Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian. Her first novel, <i>Salvage</i>, is due to be released by Greenwillow Books on April 1, 2014. Her short stories have been featured in <i>The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction </i>and<i> The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy</i>. She loves
anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking,
gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi, to name a few. You can find her online at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/DuncanAlexandra">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768905.Alexandra_Duncan">Goodreads</a>, and her <a href="http://alexandra-duncan.com/" target="_blank">web site</a>.
Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-43974415583604551592014-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:002014-02-14T08:34:59.902-05:00Full Moon + Valentine's Day = Our Kind Of HolidayHere at Friday the Thirteeners we like to roll a little off-kilter. When we saw that the full moon was landing smack on top of everyone's favorite romantic holiday, we thought we'd take advantage of it with a little foray into the imaginative dating lives of the fake people we've created. Or if our book was going to date another book, who would they pick?<br />
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<b>Mindy McGinnis:</b><br />
<br />
It was suggested to me once at a book signing that Lynn from NOT A DROP TO DRINK would be an ideal girlfriend for Daryl from <i>The Walking Dead</i>. I think that could work - but first they'd sidestep around each other with weapons drawn for about two years before either of them admitted to liking the other.<br />
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<b>Erin Bowman:</b><br />
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TAKEN would date THE MAZE RUNNER! They'd be besties!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGadRbWx4DflFHNlcE2Y4-awUVjOtZxtw8lCmUqT8kIsr4nOjk7KUTFwvLNTf4Jim3l9CsxyuQWslLHmPRcBjfPAT9fb_v8_tljMZlHHl5aFy0Cszwdc-3UqvjF6FpoeCh_-TSbFH22ATn/s1600/TAKEN+VAL+POST.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGadRbWx4DflFHNlcE2Y4-awUVjOtZxtw8lCmUqT8kIsr4nOjk7KUTFwvLNTf4Jim3l9CsxyuQWslLHmPRcBjfPAT9fb_v8_tljMZlHHl5aFy0Cszwdc-3UqvjF6FpoeCh_-TSbFH22ATn/s1600/TAKEN+VAL+POST.jpg" height="151" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>Alexandra Duncan:</b><br />
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I think SALVAGE would probably get along really well with SHIP BREAKER, by Paolo Bacigalupi. They have a few key things in common - worlds ravaged by global warming and people living off the scraps or our former prosperity - but they also have enough that's different that they would have something to talk about. SALVAGE is a little more emotional than SHIP BREAKER, but I think they would balance each other out nicely.<br />
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<b>April Genevieve Tucholke:</b></div>
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BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA just had its heart broken by a Stephen King short story collection and is now going to hook up with Richie Cusick's THE LIFEGUARD, just for the summer.</div>
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<b>Megan Shepherd:</b></div>
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THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER is going on a date with THIS DARK ENDEAVOR by Kenneth Oppel. Dr. Moreau's daughter and a young Dr. Frankenstein? Yes, please!</div>
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What do you think of our choices?</div>
<br />BBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13750774359232145507noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-13165435004561664582014-01-31T06:30:00.000-05:002014-01-31T06:30:00.328-05:00Mindy McGinnis Gets Polar VortexedMindy was trapped in her home for six days recently, and decided to do a little Truthing via her Ask box on <a href="http://tumblr./">Tumblr.</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/FZ8VbVAwOmo?list=UU9HW61Y5edCBQix50ZTEl9Q" width="560"></iframe>BBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13750774359232145507noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-67350567182108408462014-01-02T06:00:00.000-05:002014-01-02T06:00:04.648-05:00Get Ready to be BLINDSIDED!!!Wow--it's a big week for us here at the Thirteeners. We got to celebrate the awesome release of WARRIOR (by Ellen Oh) on Tuesday, and now here it is Thursday and we get to celebrate another sequel:<br />
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Yep--it's BLINDSIDED, the sequel to TRANSPARENT, by the ever fabulous Natalie Whipple!!!!! (I know--I can't believe we already get to read it either. Hooray for less than a year waits!)<br />
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If that adorable cover doesn't already have you dying to get your hands on a copy, here's the official summary from goodreads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Three months after Fiona escapes from her father's syndicate, all seems well in her tiny town of Madison, Arizona. She and Seth are happy together - apart from the teensy fact of Fiona being jealous that Seth can see through her invisibility - and her family and friends are safe. But when the local syndicate and even the Army show up, it's clear there's more going on in town than she could ever imagine. It seems like these huge powers are interested in the old Radiasure factory - could they be reproducing the infamous drug that caused mutations? - and everyone suspects Fiona of knowing more than she should. As Fiona and her friends try to cover their tracks, they discover that they do have some dangerous knowledge. Though at first determined to stop anyone from remaking Radiasure, Fiona learns a secret that could change everything, including her invisibility. Torn between her own desires and the greater good, Fiona might be too blindsided to see the real villain coming</i></blockquote>
AHHH--ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS I AM??????????????????????????????????????????????????<br />
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If you want to get your hands on a copy, here's some handy links:<br /><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blindsided-Transparent-Natalie-Whipple/dp/1471402150/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1388637161&sr=8-4&keywords=blindsided"><span style="font-size: x-large;">amazon</span></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Blindsided-Natalie-Whipple/9781471402159"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Book Depository</span></a></div>
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And if you would like to order a SIGNED copy, you can call and order one from the King's English--but you'll want to act fast on that one. The launch party is tonight!</div>
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<a href="http://www.kingsenglish.com/"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The King's English</span></a><br />
801-484-9100<br /><br />HAPPY BOOKDAY, Natalie! </div>
Shannon Messengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003607156860716462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-14763430311821851692013-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:002013-12-31T10:00:03.338-05:00A WARRIOR has arrived!Do you guys know what today is????????<br />
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Yes, it *is* the last day of 2013 and New Years Eve and all that jazz--but even more exciting than that: <b><span style="font-size: large;">IT'S WARRIOR'S RELEASE DAY!!!!</span></b><br />
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Yes--that's right. The awesome sequel to PROPHECY is finally hitting stores today (side note: holy crap--I can't believe our group has now reached the point of sequels. Seriously, WHERE does time go?) And if that gorgeous cover doesn't already have you desperate to read, here's the official summary from goodreads:<br />
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<i>First an outcast, now a hero.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>But her fight rages on.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer who fiercely protected her kingdom—and the crown prince—has been proclaimed the Dragon Musado of the prophecy. With the defeated the evil shaman.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>But it wasn’t enough.<br /> <br />Hansong is in chaos. The Demon Lord’s minions have infiltrated the city, treason is brewing among the military ranks, and Kira is buried by the overwhelming loss of her parents. She’s also plagued by the annoying feelings that blossom whenever she’s around Jaewon. But she is determined that nothing will stop her from finding the second treasure needed to fulfill the Dragon King’s prophecy. Not even the army of half-breed demons hot on their trail. If only she could learn to trust others…</i> </blockquote>
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<i>Her father always said one person can change the world. Will it be Kira?</i></blockquote>
Sounds epic, right? And if you are as eager as we all are to get your hands on a copy, here's a few handy links to help:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-The-Dragon-King-Chronicles/dp/0062091123/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388425803&sr=8-2&keywords=ellen+oh"><span style="font-size: large;">amazon</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warrior-ellen-oh/1115554607?ean=9780062091123"><span style="font-size: large;">barnes & noble</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Warrior/Ellen-Oh/9780062091123?id=5312732985496"><span style="font-size: large;">books-a-million</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062091123"><span style="font-size: large;">Indiebound</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Warrior-Ellen-Oh/9780062091123"><span style="font-size: large;">The Book Depository</span></a></div>
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HAPPY BOOKDAY, Ellen! </div>
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And happy shopping to everyone else. We'll see you in 2014!!!</div>
Shannon Messengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003607156860716462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-7568166355190566762013-12-13T06:00:00.000-05:002013-12-13T18:56:50.763-05:00A Helping Hand for 2014Wow, I can't believe it's our last Friday the 13th in 2013--where has the year gone????<br />
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Don't worry, we'll be back in January with more truths and dares and public humiliation. But as we move forward into a new year, we thought it might be fun to do something a little special for the 2014 Authors who are about to enter the madness of their debut year. We know how crazy and awesome and stressful the book-launching process can be, and we wanted to share one piece of advice we've learned through our own adventures and experiences.</div>
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So, inspired by <a href="http://www.wofford.edu/sharedworlds/handinhand.aspx">THIS</a> post, we give you: <i>Thirteen Helping Hands!</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Erin Bowman:</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11044367-taken?from_search=true">TAKEN</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18089999-frozen?from_search=true">FROZEN</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Elsie Chapman</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13401993-dualed?from_search=true">DUALED</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13649079-divided">DIVIDED</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Brandy Colbert</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13360957-pointe?from_search=true">POINTE</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>From Renee Collins</b></span></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16079090-relic?from_search=true">RELIC</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Alexandra Duncan</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13518102-salvage?from_search=true">SALVAGE</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Jenn Johannson</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12260608-insomnia?from_search=true">INSOMNIA</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18579803-paranoia">PARANOIA</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Mindy McGinnis</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13112869-not-a-drop-to-drink?from_search=true">NOT A DROP TO DRINK</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Shannon Messenger</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13445306-let-the-sky-fall?from_search=true">LET THE SKY FALL</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13645358-let-the-storm-break">LET THE STORM BREAK</a>. Also <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842828-keeper-of-the-lost-cities">KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13260670-exile">EXILE</a> for middle grade readers)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Ellen Oh</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10129062-prophecy?from_search=true">PROPHECY</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13628527-warrior">WARRIOR</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Megan Shepherd</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12291438-the-madman-s-daughter?from_search=true">THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16182304-her-dark-curiosity">HER DARK CURIOSITY</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From April Genevieve Tucholke</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12930909-between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea?from_search=true">BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667954-between-the-spark-and-the-burn">BETWEEN THE SPARK AND THE BURN</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Kasie West</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11988046-pivot-point?from_search=true">PIVOT POINT</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15792316-split-second?from_search=true">SPLIT SECOND</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15283043-the-distance-between-us?from_search=true">THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18298225-on-the-fence">ON THE FENCE</a>)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From Natalie Whipple</span></b></div>
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(Author of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11973377-transparent?from_search=true">TRANSPARENT</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18243852-blindsided?from_search=true">BLINDSIDED</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15728807-house-of-ivy-sorrow?from_search=true">HOUSE OF IVY AND SORROW</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18467531-relax-i-m-a-ninja?from_search=true">RELAX, I'M A NINJA</a>)</div>
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There you go, 2014ers! We wish many happy launches and lots and lots of sales!</div>
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If you aren't already following the awesome 2014 debut group blog, make sure you check them out <a href="http://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com/">HERE</a>. </div>
Shannon Messengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08003607156860716462noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-19486878697679071352013-12-06T02:00:00.000-05:002013-12-06T02:00:01.053-05:00Fandom Confessional With Natalie WhippleI'm back! With my usual antics in hand—<a href="http://fridaythethirteeners.blogspot.com/2013/09/natalie-whipple-big-fat-ninja-secret.html">no crying like last time</a>, I promise, even if this is another truth.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yo5b5sX2uP4" width="480"></iframe>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00287123568015662813noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-24850470319050673402013-11-30T11:14:00.002-05:002013-11-30T11:14:27.198-05:00In Defense of InstaLove<i>by Mindy McGinnis</i><br />
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I know, you're probably looking at the title and thinking that there's no way Mindy is the author of this blog post. Mindy, who is so clearly acerbic and a downright instigator when it comes to the demise of the HEA. But, I think this makes me the perfect person to write in defense of insta-love in YA, because you can rest assured that I'm not being reactionary in regards to my own book. (You'll notice that Lynn and Eli don't ever say, "I love you." Why? Because- <i>ick</i>).<br />
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So, with that pre-disposition of <i>ick </i>in mind, I can still honestly defend the presence of insta-love in YA. Because even though I'm an old, bitter, cautious woman now, I haven't always been. Yes, Mindy used to fall in love, often and easily, just like the vast majority of teens everywhere... which is who YA is being written for in the first place.<br />
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Yes, teens fall in love quickly. And there's plenty of evidence to show that they really can't help it. This article from <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> regarding the maturation of the teen brain goes into detail regarding their risk-taking, but the last section focuses on how their changing brains function socially:<br />
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<i>The teen brain is similarly attuned to oxytocin, another neural hormone, which (among other things) makes social connections in particular more rewarding. The neural networks and dynamics associated with general reward and social interactions overlap heavily. Engage one, and you often engage the other. Engage them during adolescence, and you light a fire.</i></blockquote>
Yep, it's true. Love is just better when you're young. Their brains are chemically predisposed to fall in love, and anyone who spends more than the average amount of time around teens can attest to this. They enter into emotionally-drenched connections with someone they truly believe is their soul mate in December, then discover in February that it's actually the girl from English class they're into. And the truth is - they probably <i>are</i>. I don't think it diminishes the weight or value of their love to fall into it so easily and so quickly when they are biologically predisposed to behave in this manner.<br />
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What I don't like to see in any genre is insta-love that happens as an excuse for lazy writing, with zero spark between the characters and a simple forced-upon-the-reader: <b>These two are in love now. Fact. </b>Most of the time when I see people complaining about insta-love it's because the writer didn't sell the relationship, not because the relationship shouldn't exist in the first place.<br />
<br />
My other beef has nothing to do with insta-love, it's insta-stability. I firmly believe teens do fall in insta-love, but they also fall out just as quickly. It's when I see teens portrayed as meeting their one-and-only and being-blind-to-all-others-for-an-extended-period-of-time-with-no-question-of-the-happiness-that-will-extend-into-eternity that I start to get a bit pissy.<br />
<br />
Sorry, I don't buy that.<br />
<br />
In fact, I don't care how old the characters are.<br />
<br />
______________________________________<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i>Mindy McGinnis is a YA author and librarian. Her debut, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13112869-not-a-drop-to-drink" target="_blank">NOT A DROP TO DRINK</a>, is a post-apocalyptic survival tale set in a world where freshwater is almost non-existent, available from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins September 24, 2013. She blogs at <a href="http://writerwriterpantsonfire.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Writer, Writer Pants on Fire</a> and contributes to the group blogs <a href="http://bookpregnant.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Book Pregnant</a>, <a href="http://fridaythethirteeners.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Friday the Thirteeners</a>, <a href="http://www.fromthewriteangle.com/" target="_blank">From the Write Angle</a>, <a href="http://classof2k13.com/" target="_blank">The Class of 2k13</a>, <a href="http://thelucky13s.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Lucky 13s</a> & <a href="http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The League of Extraordinary Writers</a>. You can also find her on <a href="https://twitter.com/MindyMcGinnis" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://mindymcginnis.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> & <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MindyMcGinnisAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</i>BBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13750774359232145507noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-15428779775604185932013-11-01T19:33:00.000-04:002013-11-01T19:33:14.160-04:00And Now...WE Dare YOU!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIymMEekAxtz2zCWd9QbklGgGoAPvQST6ByQiobQloJKeNBrxRPmdzYvA1Ved04wCfBNfygY00ITYFqUXGRk5IgFqfQzA4Jo2ZSlgxTafnzz9h4eiA7jNhjPM2eefpts-iaTdUdOcZ3cl1/s1600/girldare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIymMEekAxtz2zCWd9QbklGgGoAPvQST6ByQiobQloJKeNBrxRPmdzYvA1Ved04wCfBNfygY00ITYFqUXGRk5IgFqfQzA4Jo2ZSlgxTafnzz9h4eiA7jNhjPM2eefpts-iaTdUdOcZ3cl1/s400/girldare.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
FOUR of the Friday the Thirteeners - Kasie West, Natalie Whipple, J.R. Johansson & Renee Collins - are at the Vegas Valley Book Festival this weekend!<br />
<br />
So this week, WE dare YOU to come endure the craziness that is us! We will all be on panels and have signings tomorrow (on Saturday). You can find more information on the <a href="http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org/schedule/">Festival site here</a>.<br />
<br />
Stop by and say hello! We DARE you!J.R. Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02671109654769467131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-70998368852282760212013-10-25T15:03:00.001-04:002013-10-25T15:10:34.448-04:00Kasie West take the dare!<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/aOLT-NmaNmQ?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
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<br />
So yeah, the little girl wasn't supposed to be a floating head. I swear when I recorded it, more of her body was there. Ha. So that was fun. Thanks Riv Re (from Rivreads.blogspot.com) for the dare! If you'd like to leave us a dare (or truth) click on the Truth or Dare tab above.Kasie Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14169629001145903361noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-90535732889688288832013-10-18T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-18T05:00:06.504-04:00Alexandra Duncan Takes the Truth!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->Today is the day when I offend everyone. I’m answering the
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<br /></div>
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Let's rewind about thirteen months. Late last summer, the director of the public library where I work asked my boss to read <i>Fifty Shades</i> to help decide whether we should carry it in the library. There weren't a lot of critical reviews available at that point, which is one of the main ways we decide which books to carry, but we were getting flooded with requests for "that sex book. You know the one." *significant look*</div>
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After about ten minutes of skimming, I found my boss sitting
in the workroom with this look on her face. . . .</div>
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She looked up at me. “I can’t do this. Will you read it?”</div>
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How could I resist? Clearly, from her expression, there was
something magnificently horrifying happening between the pages. I had to know what had brought that look to her face. I took the book home and managed to stop giggling like a 12-year-old long enough to crack open the cover.</div>
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<a href="http://sc.cw-usa.com/common/images/products/large/twinings-earl-grey-tea-bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://sc.cw-usa.com/common/images/products/large/twinings-earl-grey-tea-bags.jpg" width="200" /></a>In the end, I couldn't do it either. I stopped reading and
started skimming around the time Bella and Edw. . . I mean, Anastasia and
Christian have an extraordinarily awkward conversation (that was maybe supposed
to be sexy?) at a hardware store. To me, the steamy scenes were just. . . kind of squicky.* It was not my cup of tea.</div>
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This Truth has me thinking about how we
write about sex in Young Adult literature versus how it’s portrayed in New Adult like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fifty Shades</i>. Granted, not all New Adult is straight-up erotica. Take the insanely talented Gayle Forman's novels, for example, or <i>Fangirl</i>, by Rainbow Rowell, which I am dying to read. But <i>Fifty Shades </i>has brought erotica to the forefront of New Adult, and because of that, people are starting to think of N.A. as fundamentally characterized by cover-to-cover graphic sex.<br />
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In Y.A., however, sex is an incredibly
touchy subject. If you don’t believe me, read <a href="http://www.bethrevis.blogspot.com/2013/09/well-thats-okay-banned-books-week-sex.html" target="_blank">this wonderful blog post</a> by Beth Revis on a librarian’s response to learning one of her books
contained sex, or take a look at the ALA’s yearly list of <a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks" target="_blank">banned books</a>. "Sexually explicit material" is the number one reason why books are banned or libraries are challenged for stocking them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/sites/ala.org.bbooks/files/content/challenges%20by%20reasons%201990-99%20and%202000-09_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.ala.org/bbooks/sites/ala.org.bbooks/files/content/challenges%20by%20reasons%201990-99%20and%202000-09_0.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Source: American Library Association</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On one hand, I get it. Adults want to protect children from
situations and ideas they’re not ready to handle. I struggled with how to
portray sex in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Salvage</i>, which deals
in part with sexual relationships and pregnancy. As a librarian, would I feel
comfortable recommending my own book to teen readers and their parents? Would I
be okay with my fifteen year-old sister reading this? On the other hand, teenagers
are surrounded by sexual content in daily life. It’s on TV and in movies. It’s
in advertisements. It’s in music. It’s a topic of discussion on the school bus.
It’s everywhere.</div>
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Sometimes we adults also forget that our teenage years were
the time when we first fell in love, started dating, and became curious about
sex and sexuality. Some of us even began having sex when we were in high
school. If we’re writing honestly about teenage life and the process of
becoming an adult, sex is a legitimate subject. For those teens who are
sexually active, portraying sex in Y.A. accurately reflects their experience
and gives adults a way to talk with teens about how to protect their hearts and
their bodies. For those who aren’t, books are a safe place where teens can
explore the idea of sex without becoming sexually active. It’s an opportunity
to start a conversation about what is and what isn’t healthy in a relationship.</div>
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My personal philosophy about writing sex in Y.A. is that
above all, it should be realistic. By that, I don’t mean I think everyone should
be writing really extensive, detailed sex scenes. I mean that when it comes to
talking about sex for a teenage audience, I don’t want to write the kind of
unrealistic fantasy sex I’ve seen in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fifty
Shades</i> and other New Adult erotica. If I’m going to write about sex, I want
to convey the combination of love, lust, confusion, anxiety, pleasure, and discomfort
that go along with a real person’s first sexual experiences. I want to look at the
dangers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> the joys. I want to give
teens the information they need to take care of themselves.</div>
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I think we owe teens honesty about this experience that’s
looming large in their futures and imaginations. We owe it to them not to add
to the misinformation they’re likely getting from locker room gossip and rumors
on the bus. (Just to refute a few things I heard when I was fifteen - Yes, you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i> get pregnant the first time! No, taking
monthly oral contraceptives is not the same as getting an abortion. Yes, sex can be
great, but it doesn’t guarantee true love.) Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying
every Y.A. book should deal with sex. Sometimes I just want to read about slaying
dragons and things blowing up without the complication of a romantic
relationship. But when we Y.A. writers do tackle this difficult subject, we
need to do it with maturity, care, and awareness of our audience.<br />
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*One word: tampons <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kj06vGj9mf3xUTKJNnUgQdOd-H3WTVScsuKUALvH-Z4pImtJfGTknbTVivTJjUyMEOf7CjKA3eZBdT6aw-c7zpBus9zx-mhgqwDg7qp3XpnIWHyfDsx1r6AuDD1LZ3yUzc9nF5f1d2eg/s1600/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kj06vGj9mf3xUTKJNnUgQdOd-H3WTVScsuKUALvH-Z4pImtJfGTknbTVivTJjUyMEOf7CjKA3eZBdT6aw-c7zpBus9zx-mhgqwDg7qp3XpnIWHyfDsx1r6AuDD1LZ3yUzc9nF5f1d2eg/s200/Alexandra+Duncan+headshot.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian (plus amateur photographer, crochet
enthusiast, cinemaphile, and, or course, book fiend). She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from the
University of North Carolina at Asheville, and has been a frequent
contributor to <i>The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction</i>. She loves
anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking,
gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi, to name a few.Her first novel, <i>Salvage</i>, is due to be released by Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins April 1, 2014. You can find her online at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/DuncanAlexandra">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768905.Alexandra_Duncan">Goodreads</a>, and her <a href="http://alexandra-duncan.com/" target="_blank">web site</a>.
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Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-48269981490407113032013-10-14T05:00:00.000-04:002013-10-14T05:00:01.809-04:00PARANOIA Cover Reveal and Giveaway!Fact: J.R Johansson is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. She's friendly, generous with her time and a great listener/advice-giver. And yet, somehow, she has some of the <i><b>creepiest</b></i> book covers out there. Go figure.<br />
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You all remember the freaky awesomeness that was the INSOMNIA cover? You know: shattered glass, darkness, a soul-sucking evil eye? Yeah, that's the one.<br />
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Well, today, we present the cover to the sequel, PARANOIA. And let me tell you, it rivals the INSOMNIA cover in creeptastic delights. I truly can't decide which one will haunt my dreams more.<br />
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Behold!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0vQTq_IXSmKHJrT3HKWSHSX1qDz_yu3hVlt92R50v5m4zJsJ2IT_Ek_CPaQLv2rpkTSQ-OpH2AondzrISSCIxe_QlMmGfn1SE427CyGV1XakyNdhR_hthmK5DvN34hxJ98QfrBE7trQ/s1600/Paranoia-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0vQTq_IXSmKHJrT3HKWSHSX1qDz_yu3hVlt92R50v5m4zJsJ2IT_Ek_CPaQLv2rpkTSQ-OpH2AondzrISSCIxe_QlMmGfn1SE427CyGV1XakyNdhR_hthmK5DvN34hxJ98QfrBE7trQ/s640/Paranoia-final.jpg" width="415" /></a></div>
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I wasn't kidding, right? CREEPY. In all the right ways. Check out the chilling back cover blurb:<br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In
the aftermath of the events that nearly killed him, Parker Chipp is
trying to learn to cope better with life as a Watcher. And it seems to
be working...until he wakes up in jail with a hangover and 12 hours of
missing time. Darkness has somehow taken control and Parker doesn't have
a clue how to stop him. He finds an unlikely ally in Jack, the
mysterious guy in the motorcycle jacket who offers to help Parker master
his abilities as a Watcher. But even as they practice, the darkness
inside Parker is getting more and more powerful, taking over Parker’s
body and doing everything he can to destroy Parker's life.</span><br />
<br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">When
Jack reveals that there is another kind of Night Walker, known as a
Taker, Parker starts to wonder if the strange things happening in
Oakville are more than just a coincidence. After all, people are more
than just sleepwalking. They're emptying their savings accounts with no
memory of doing so, wandering into strange parts of town and
disappearing, they're even killing other people--all in their sleep. If
Parker wants to find out what's happening or have any hope of seeing his
father again, he’ll have to defy Jack and put his own life in
danger...because the more he learns about these other Night Walkers, the
more certain he becomes that his life isn't the only one that could be
lost.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> * * *</span></div>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">To celebrate this awesome cover, there's an equally awesome giveaway! </span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fec2f111/" id="rc-fec2f111" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Enter the contest! And feel free to stare at that cover, so long as you don't blame me for any nightmares that come as a result.<br />
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Renee Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08170818341212519937noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-56266256606210931072013-10-11T07:00:00.000-04:002013-10-11T07:00:03.818-04:00Ellen Picass-Oh takes a dareHello everyone! So I'm usually on the group tumblr these days (if you haven't checked it out - <a href="http://fridaynightwriters.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">go here</a>) but I came in to do a dare and make a fool of myself once again. So this dare is great if you are a fantastic artist, like all 3 of my kids. But not so great if you have problems drawing a straight line or a circle. Which would clearly be me. Knowing my inability to draw, Elsie dared me to draw my MC, Kira from Prophecy. And I foolishly took the challenge!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kUt45Nyowq0/UldyHW2BAyI/AAAAAAAACLc/uOgj9n04HQE/s1600/badkira.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kUt45Nyowq0/UldyHW2BAyI/AAAAAAAACLc/uOgj9n04HQE/s320/badkira.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here was my first attempt. It was important for me to make sure I was accurate by including the yellow eyes and a bow and arrow. The boots were just a special extra I did. But my youngest came by and berated me for drawing her naked. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4eDpT6Z0FY/UldyHG9dPBI/AAAAAAAACLY/8pOoM4Z6mzo/s1600/kirastick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4eDpT6Z0FY/UldyHG9dPBI/AAAAAAAACLY/8pOoM4Z6mzo/s320/kirastick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So I gave her some clothes and a sword. But then apparently my middle daughter came by and asked me if I was drawing a sailor. Damn it, she is not a sailor! So my youngest said, put her on a horse!<br />
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My oldest shows up because of the shrieks of laughter emanating from my room and she takes a look and says "why is she riding a platypus?" At this point, I decided to call it a night and loaded up my self-portrait.<br />
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They have now taken to calling me Mama Smurf. <br />
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And BTW - here's how real artists do it:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IuwUE44qNmg/Uld8iLWJ9II/AAAAAAAACMM/CnN-v5c3Jx8/s1600/IMG_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IuwUE44qNmg/Uld8iLWJ9II/AAAAAAAACMM/CnN-v5c3Jx8/s640/IMG_0097.JPG" width="457" /></a></div>
Kira by our very own and extraordinarily talented Natalie Whipple.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLnd1NfMw2k/Uld8JSg5SlI/AAAAAAAACME/8prUoEZQkYU/s1600/KIRA+fanart+Joni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLnd1NfMw2k/Uld8JSg5SlI/AAAAAAAACME/8prUoEZQkYU/s640/KIRA+fanart+Joni.jpg" width="388" /></a></div>
Another Kira by the amazing Joni who blogs at <a href="http://laceandfogauthoress.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Lace and Fog Authoress. </a><br />
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From now on, I shall leave the art to the artists!! Ello - Ellen Ohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-61679500595924243212013-10-04T02:03:00.000-04:002013-10-04T02:03:36.373-04:00Renee Collins Takes the Dare!Today's dare comes from Alyssa Susanna! <i>Share a passage from one of your old, non-contracted manuscripts.</i><br />
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Trunk novels. We all have them. Very few writers publish their first book. And that's okay! No novel is a waste. This is how we grow and improve, right? But let's face it, those early works can sometimes bring a cringe of shame. And that is what I present to you today. Not just a trunk novel. THE trunk novel.<br />
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Today I take you all the way back to 2005, to the very VERY first novel I ever began. You'll note I say "began," because I never actually finished this book. And the world is a better place because of that. This novel never made it past page 40, though I edited and rewrote those 40 pages half a dozen times. And yet, for all my efforts, I couldn't make myself *not* want to punch my MC in the throat.
To be honest, the book sucked.
<i> </i><br />
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<i>BUT</i><br />
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But it wasn't all for nothing! Something good did come out of the dull, obnoxious, info-dumpy mass of pages. And that was the idea of magical relics, an idea which you should be familiar with, if you know anything about my debut novel. <br />
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Yes, it's true. These first awkward, embarrassingly bad attempts at writing yielded a concept which would get me my first contract.<br />
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But we didn't come here for a warm, fuzzy "no work is in vain" moment. You guys want the humiliation. So without further ado, I present a passage from The Trunk Novel of all Trunk Novels, which I lovingly refer to as "The Magic Twin Princesses Novel." The title pretty much says it all. But other than that, you should know that the father of said Twin Princesses is dying and has called his daughters before him.<br />
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Enjoy and you're welcome.<br />
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<i>“Rose. Camellia. My daughters. I am sorry that it has come to this,” he croaked. Rose gave him more to drink. “Surely you must know by now that I am dying.” </i><br />
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<i>Rose felt her throat tighten. Camellia already had tears glistening on the corners of her eyes. </i><br />
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<i>“One of you must take my place to carry on the Coren dynasty.” </i><br />
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<i>There was a very long pause. Both of the girls had dreaded the thought and never spoken it to each other. </i><br />
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<i>“Do not be afraid,” he continued, “There have been fine Empresses in our past such as . . .” The Emperor gazed at the wall, his mind perplexed with something. </i><br />
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<i>“Empresses such as Drucilla Coren,” Rose offered. </i><br />
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<i>The Emperor nodded slowly again.
“Rose, my girl, you always knew your history of the Corenian Empire.” He smiled weakly and coughed. To his daughters’ dismay, despite his failing memory of history, Coren remembered the task at hand.
“One of you must take my place. Take the Staff.” </i><br />
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<i>His hand made a motion to his right. There, in a marble alcove, built since the Emperor’s illness, stood the brilliant Soltarian Staff. </i><br />
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<i>Rose’s breath trembled ever so slightly, and she felt the tightness in her throat.
The staff itself was carved from the finest, strongest trees in Tove. It had then been plated in gold from the Treeland Alps. Narabian jewels were encrusted in dazzling patterns down the staff. The Corenian Emperors were always eager to emphasize the fact that these countries and all their finery belong to them. </i><br />
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<i>Though, the glory of the Soltarian Staff was clearly the centerpiece. From the top of the staff rose a glimmering pearl unicorn horn. The only whole, unblemished magical object ever to be unearthed shone from the top of the staff, so close to Rose and Camellia that it seemed ridiculous. There stood the most coveted and legendary magical piece in history. It alone had ensured the dominance of the Corenian Emperors. </i><br />
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<i>Named Soltarian for it’s solitary status in power the Staff was so sacred to the Emperors that no one even knew what it looked like, unless they were one of the privileged few who had seen it with their own eyes. The Staff now existed as the only magical relic remaining in the Empire. </i><br />
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<i>“So important,” Coren said, almost to himself. His eyes suddenly fixed on the Staff. </i><br />
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<i>“Father?” Camellia asked hesitantly. </i><br />
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<i>But their father drifted into memory. </i><br />
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<i>Twelve years before Xavier Coren the 11th faced a terrible reality, one that threatened to destroy everything his ancestors had built over the centuries. So long ago, when the pristine horn of the Soltarian Staff fell into the hands of Alexander Coren the 5th the Corenian Empire was born. Alexander Coren wielded the supreme power of the Staff to solidify control on all borders. The magic of the Soltarian Staff bought peace for half of the world and they prospered. </i><br />
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<i>Jageth Coren the 7th initiated a mass mining enterprise and magic, once belonging only to the strong, became available to all. For hundreds of years citizens of the Corenian Empire used magic relics to help them harvest corn and scrub dirty clothes. The Corens condoned such magic. And before long relics could be found in every corner of the Empire. </i><br />
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<i>Unfortunately, power cannot be contained for long. On a pouring summer morning a messenger burst into the Court. With his clothes still drenched, the breathless page choked a deadly message to the Emperor, Xavier Coren the 11th. An unfathomable danger had been created in the North.
</i><br />
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<i>“Magic had to be banned!” cried Coren so suddenly, and so loudly that Rose and Camellia both jumped in their seats. Heaving coughs shook the Emperor. </i><br />
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<i>Camellia clasped her father’s trembling hands.
“Rose, some water,” she said, and her sister again brought the goblet to his mouth. </i><br />
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<i>“Magic had to be banned,” he repeated weakly. </i><br />
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<i>“Yes father, we know. It was the only way.” </i><br />
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#humiliation<br />
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Renee is a YA writer and professional
ponderer. She loves historical settings, fantasy, and semi-tragic romance. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16079090-relic">RELIC</a> is her first novel, now available from Entangled Teen!</div>
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<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i>Renee Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08170818341212519937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-7153413356603597702013-09-27T06:00:00.000-04:002013-09-27T06:00:02.218-04:00Happy Book Birthday to NOT A DROP TO DRINK!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: left;"><i>(vid cred for gifs <a href="http://www.anyclip.com/movies/waterworld/drinking-recycled-piss/" target="_blank">1, 2, 3</a> & <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQh4AimZhEo" target="_blank">4</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>I
had the chance to read an ARC of Mindy’s NOT A DROP TO DRINK a few months ago,
and I still think about it now. It was one of those books I come across far too
rarely, the kind that gives me a little thrill as soon as I start reading and
never lets up until I’m done. I loved Lynn from the very start, her voice and
attitude, the whole entire premise of the book which absolutely kept me riveted. </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>When I approached Mindy with some ideas of what to write about for this release-week post, she thought some Q&A about how "possible" DROP could be as a survival story would be interesting. (Let it be noted here that Mindy--being the librarian that she is--also sent me some links to read as prep. Seriously, I love this girl.) </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>I'm so very happy to be able to talk about NOT A DROP TO DRINK today! Mindy, huge congratulations on the release of your debut, and thank you so much for
writing this incredible book!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elsie: Did
any specific real-life event spark the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK? Or was it
more of a slow burn of a whole bunch of different scenarios and timing just
coming together in the perfect way? </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mindy: Definitely
a real life event, but it was a slow burn. When I was in college I had to take
a geology class and there was one paragraph in my textbook about aquifer
depletion. (Google it, you'll be terrified). I went to class expecting everyone
to be freaking out and nobody seemed bothered (or, ahem, they didn't do the
reading). In any case the idea stuck with me, but it recessed until I watched a
documentary called <i>Blue Gold </i>which is not about aquifers, but
rather the simple math concerning depletion rate of freshwater sources and
human population. It was chilling. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I do
have a small pond in my backyard and I went to bed that night ridiculously
grateful for it. I dreamt about teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so
that she could help me defend my pond. I woke up and said, "Hey.. I wrote
a book in my head just now." </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue;">I had
to wonder what kind of person this child would grow up to be... and Lynn was my
answer.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elsie: Does
the fact that you live in the midwest have any influence in your decision to go
with water shortage as the issue for DROP? For example, where I live, it's
mostly earthquakes and floods that we talk about, so when I think of natural
disasters, those are the first things to come to mind. Is water shortage an
issue with which you were already familiar? </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mindy: Quite
the opposite, actually. It's set in the Midwest because there *is* plenty of
water here. Unfortunately, if the taps were suddenly turned off a lot of places
in the west would simply... be screwed. (Sorry, westerners). Where I live there
are ponds, small streams, a lot of us have hand-dug wells. So, while there IS
water here, it's still a limited supply. I thought, "You know, once
someone has established a claim on their source, they're not going to give it
up." And out of that, comes violence.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elsie: In
DROP, water is highly valued and protected. Did you ever consider adding a
dystopian slant to an already pretty plausible post-apocalyptic premise? Such
as water becoming a currency, or a way for a government to control its people,
depending on how its allotted? </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mindy: Nope :)
I wanted NOT A DROP TO DRINK to be a survival story, pure and simple. One of
the most frightening things about where Lynn lives is that there *is* no law,
no governing force. It's everyone for themselves, and that brings out the
worst in most of us, right away.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elsie: Do
you feel compelled to keep bottled water in the house at all times in case of a
natural disaster? What do you think about the human tendency to hoard, most
likely at the expense of others?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mindy: I do
drink a lot of water, I'll admit to that! But I don't keep it around, bottled
up or anything like my characters do. In that sense, I'm a total poser because
I totally rely on my tap. I do have three different capped wells on my property
though, so... they're there if I need them.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hoarding...
oh man. Well, its not healthy - I'll say that. I'm actually very anti-hoarding.
I go through every room in my house every six months and if I haven't touched
it, used it, worn it, watched it, or interacted with it since the last time I
did a sweep it goes to Goodwill. There is no point me having something that other
people might need.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However...
again I am a poser because the exception here is my library. I do weed it every
now and then, but I'm not clearing out the shelves every six months!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi0Z8KGFbcrG5yltWEF04Zl8OmLcm0B_45Y3bPQssrw9uUg2kg1zMNQ6Bm4izI13vHPHzM_8jRkOOl1IrX62IIf92sUfXqZOsb-7L9twAGzwddO_b1maMtvCQZPUl1uqddlc5DT2hEf0/s1600/drop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi0Z8KGFbcrG5yltWEF04Zl8OmLcm0B_45Y3bPQssrw9uUg2kg1zMNQ6Bm4izI13vHPHzM_8jRkOOl1IrX62IIf92sUfXqZOsb-7L9twAGzwddO_b1maMtvCQZPUl1uqddlc5DT2hEf0/s640/drop.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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NOT A DROP TO DRINK is Mindy’s debut novel, a survival story set in a world where freshwater is almost nonexistent. Available from Harper Collins / Katherine Tegen 9/24/13. Find it at your local bookstore, or online at <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-a-drop-to-drink-mindy-mcginnis/1114298557?ean=9780062198501" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Not-Drop-Drink-Mindy-McGinnis/dp/0062198505/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361737555&sr=8-1&keywords=mindy+mcginnis" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780062198501-0" target="_blank">Powell's</a>, or <a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Not-Drop-Drink/Mindy-McGinnis/9780062198501?id=5654800839325" target="_blank">Books-A-Million</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N4bfyajVN9jgUqSojSbzHMHV-gJkhEZSCKE-h7ZWkOQjy5dkCFDv9uLEG-hdN_3j2xTShiSEq-vVHpM0yf9lIiDrIdBUOwGPuTpD9PUiaC6jRTqxFzR9HIeKAF2Bscn9fO-OXBaXG5w/s1600/mindy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N4bfyajVN9jgUqSojSbzHMHV-gJkhEZSCKE-h7ZWkOQjy5dkCFDv9uLEG-hdN_3j2xTShiSEq-vVHpM0yf9lIiDrIdBUOwGPuTpD9PUiaC6jRTqxFzR9HIeKAF2Bscn9fO-OXBaXG5w/s200/mindy.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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Mindy McGinnis is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. Mindy has a pond in her back yard but has never shot anyone, as her morals tend to cloud her vision.Visit Mindy on her <a href="http://www.mindymcginnis.com/index.html" target="_blank">website</a>, on <a href="https://twitter.com/MindyMcGinnis" target="_blank">twitter</a>, and <a href="http://mindymcginnis.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">tumblr</a>! </div>
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Elsie Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07256871951982313181noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-15422272412929382502013-09-20T04:00:00.000-04:002013-09-20T04:00:10.362-04:00SALVAGE Cover Reveal + ARC GiveawayThree exciting things are happening in this post today!<br />
<br />
1) We're revealing the final cover and release date of Alexandra Duncan's <i>Salvage</i> (which, by the way, has just been selected as part of the <a href="http://www.bookweb.org/node/27408" target="_blank">American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce</a> Spring promotion. Woo hoo!) This past June, the preliminary cover design came out on <a href="http://www.epicreads.com/blog/winter-2014-cover-reveals-roundup/" target="_blank">EpicReads</a>, but Greenwillow Books has made some tweaks that make it even better.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://static.squarespace.com/static/5202e0f4e4b097413cf1591a/t/5202f813e4b0a1e62379619e/1375926292099/ARE%20salvage%20new%20CVR.jpg?format=500w" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://static.squarespace.com/static/5202e0f4e4b097413cf1591a/t/5202f813e4b0a1e62379619e/1375926292099/ARE%20salvage%20new%20CVR.jpg?format=500w" width="425" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TA-DA!</span></b></div>
<br />
<span id="freeText469400030295727029">And it's coming April 1, 2014! A little more about the book,</span><i><span id="freeText469400030295727029"> </span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span id="freeText469400030295727029">Ava, a teenage girl
living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata,
faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own
hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap
in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and
thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the
Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.</span></i><br />
<br />
2) Alexandra's new web site, <a href="http://www.alexandra-duncan.com/">www.alexandra-duncan.com</a>, is going live! You can check there for updates about <i>Salvage</i>, events, and other news. <br />
<br />
3) To celebrate both of these things, we're giving away an ARC of <i>Salvage</i>. Use the widget below to enter!<br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/175d2b0/" id="rc-175d2b0" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-12670466119530513152013-09-13T04:00:00.000-04:002013-10-17T23:29:14.847-04:00It's Friday the 13th and we're full of bad ideasWriters have lots of ideas. We wake up in the middle of the night to scribble a plot twist on a notepad or write down an incredible character name on the back of a receipt in line at the post office. Some of these ideas are fantastic, like, say, invisible crime-fighting girls or dystopian societies based on death matches.<br />
<br />
Some are not so good.<br />
<br />
In fact, they're bad.<br />
<br />
Okay, they're terrible. Really, really terrible.<br />
<br />
Today we're pitching our very worst story ideas to you. Some of us actually started to write the things you're about to read before realizing what we were doing was a horrible idea . Don't judge us. (Well, actually, <i>do </i>judge us, but we'll get to that later.)<br />
<br />
First up is <b>Natalie Whipple</b>,<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://cityoftongues.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/triffid01.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cityoftongues.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/triffid01.gif" width="138" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.mischieflabas.co.uk/web/images/stories/portions/large/triffids_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><i>Sixteen-year-old Lily Martel can't live without her earphones and
endless hours of music, because when she's not listening to songs all
she can hear is the whispering of plants around her. Her worst nightmare
comes true when her mother sends her away from New York to live on her
father's Napa Valley vineyard for the summer, where she is so surrounded
by plants she's sure she'll go nuts listening to all their chatter she
can't reply to. But as she settles in, she realizes there's another
voice on the air who can talk to the foliage and her as well. Not
only that, the plants seem to know things that could put her father's
vineyard at risk. Can Lily figure out who the mysterious voice is AND
save her dad's business without looking insane? Only the plants can
tell.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Shannon Messenger</b><br />
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<a href="http://img2-3.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/news/080211/new_kids320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://img2-3.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/news/080211/new_kids320.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>16-year-old Grace despises Hollywood almost as much as she hates waiting
on celebrities at her mom's LA Hot Spot restaurant. So when the cute
guys of Mach 5--the latest global boy band sensation--take a seat at one
of her tables, she's as unimpressed by their flirting as she is by
their cheesy songs. But group heartthrob Ryan can't stop thinking about
the first girl who's ever turned him down, and romantic serenades and
swoony stunts quickly become a part of Grace's life. So do the
paparazzi, whose aggressive tactics force Grace into hiding at Ryan's
family home in nowheresville, USA. Ryan seems embarrassed by his humble
roots, but Grace prefers this other side of him--more than she'd like to
admit. But can she really separate the boy from the fame? Or is she
destined to be the story behind Ryan's next tragic love song?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Alexandra Duncan</b><br />
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<i><i>When fifteen-year-old Kitty Katz's parents die in a horrifying
jet-ski accident while vacationing in Jamaica, stranding her alone on
the island, she thinks life can't get any worse. That is, until she's
kidnapped by pirates. But with a little spunk and her grandfather's
key-tar (it's an electric keyboard AND a guitar!), she soon has the
pirates singing a different tune. Who knew the pirates were also orphans
with a lifelong dream of forming a rock band? Join Kitty and her
sea-faring ruffians - including a sexy boy pirate, of course! - as they
stop boarding ships and start conquering the waves - the AIRwaves, that
is!</i></i><br />
<br />
<b>Megan Shepherd</b><br />
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<i><i><i>When all the bees in Middleburg disappear, the townspeople don't know
what to do! Without bees, they can't enjoy honey or jam with their
morning toast. Mr. Appleby, the kindly old apple farmer, explains the
science of pollinators and colony collapse disorder to the town mayor,
who doesn't like honey or jam anyway, so he basically tells him to stuff
it. Then the stakes are raised when the other pollinators disappear:
flies, bats, and hummingbirds! (direct quote: "bless their tiny wings.")
Luckily, with Mr. Appleby's guidance and rambling environmentalist
monologues, the townsfolk convince the mayor to plant a bunch of
dandelions and the bees come back. They all eat toast and jam!</i> </i> </i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>J.R. Johansson</b><br />
<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~salemuncommons/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/10101643aboris-karloff-the-mummy-posters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://home.earthlink.net/~salemuncommons/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/10101643aboris-karloff-the-mummy-posters.jpg" width="145" /></a><i>When Sophie's archaeologist parents force the family to spend the summer
on a dig in Egypt, the last thing she thinks they'll come home with is
an ancient disease that makes them faster, fiercer, and slowly depletes
their bodies while giving them a monster-sized craving for brains. When
the disease starts spreading to other areas of the country, Sophie's
family must find out who is spreading it and stop them while striving
against the clock to find a cure. When it comes to zombies, the
family that slays together, stays together. </i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Renee Collins</b><br />
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<i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378750446694_4884">Ten year old Amelia dreams of
traveling the world. Just a girl and her camera, taking pictures for the
National Geographic. But that dream is shaken one morning when she
wakes up to stunning news: the Eiffel Tower is missing. Gone. Vanished
without a trace. Then, the next week, it's the Great Wall of China. The
Pyramids! The Washington Monument! Scientists scramble, but no one can
understand where these wonders of the Earth have gone. Amelia is
determined to figure it out. With the help of her friend Corban, a
fervent alien-believer and UFO expert, they'll follow the clues that
lead to a truth even harder to believe. Someone collecting these
monuments as souvenirs. Someone from another planet. And if Amelia
tries to stop him, she'll have a full scale global invasion on her
hands. Is her dream worth fighting for, even if it means world war?</i><br />
<i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378750446694_4884"> </i> <br />
Now comes the judgment. In the comments below, tell us who you think had the worst idea. Everyone who votes will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of one of our books from the writer with the winning (or is it losing?) pitch.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>ETA: We have a winner!</b></span></div>
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Cait, send an e-mail containing your shipping address to fridaythethirteeners@gmail.com and we'll send you an ARC of <i>Salvage</i>, by Alexandra Duncan.<br />Alexandra Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936060014512086582noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-53409403861549988272013-09-06T03:00:00.000-04:002014-03-13T18:09:43.394-04:00Natalie Whipple & The Big Fat Ninja SecretI've been keeping a big secret for awhile now, but today I'm gonna tell you. You know, if you can get through my blubbering in the video. Even when I'm doing a truth I can't help but embarrass myself, it seems.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jPstrmWAlgo" width="480"></iframe>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00287123568015662813noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451750689325363795.post-2297040779070614742013-08-30T00:00:00.000-04:002013-08-30T00:00:05.197-04:00Mindy McGinnis Tells the Truth About Parenting Your Book BabySure, they're pretty. But if you're not careful, that book baby can turn into a spoiled mess.<br />
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BBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13750774359232145507noreply@blogger.com9