Introducing Our Newest Mystery Author!

I'm so excited to introduce you to the newest Thirteener! Please join me in welcoming the lovely Brandy Colbert to the group!

Brandy was born and raised in the Ozarks – more specifically, Springfield, Missouri – and earned a Bachelors Degree in Journalism from Missouri State University. Brandy works as a freelance magazine copy editor and while she's a picky eater and a vegetarian in real life, she's an adventurous foodie at heart. She tap dances and is an avid fan of Degrassi, the Flintstones, Louis C.K., and Hello Kitty. Brandy is represented by Tina Wexler at International Creative Management. Her debut novel, A Point So Delicate, comes out Fall of 2013 from Putnam/Penguin.

We know 2013 is still pretty far off, and fall of 2013 even further still, but we can't help but squee over Brandy's book. Check out this premise:

A ballet prodigy's life begins to unravel when she’s forced to admit to the role she played in her childhood friend’s abduction.

Talk about an amazing one-line pitch, huh? Maybe you want to go add A Point So Delicate on goodreads. (*nudge, nudge*)

And now comes the best part of introducing new members: truth or dare! Leave your especially torturous dares for Brandy here. She'll be answering one a week from today. In the meantime, let's give Brandy a warm welcome in the comments.

Introducing our next mystery author!!

It is my extreme pleasure to introduce our fifth mystery author to the blog. She is a dear friend of mine and all around cool person. (I may be a bit biased but I don't think so.)

Jenn R Johansson!!!!! Yay!!

J.R. Johansson (Jenn) has two amazing sons and a wonderful husband who keep her busy and happy.  In fact, other than her cat, she is pretty much drowning in testosterone. They live in a valley between huge mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines more than 300 days per year. She loves writing, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time.


Welcome, Jenn. We're so excited to have you. Not only because we think you're great, but because your book is amazing too! And I know, because I've read it. INSOMNIA will be published through Flux in the spring of 2013. It's creepy and twisty and awesome! Trust me, you're going to love it! Here's a blurb so you can get excited for it:

Sixteen-year-old Parker spends every night trapped in the dreams of 
the last person he made eye contact with, and it’s killing him. He 
misses soccer practice, falls asleep at the wheel, and his mom thinks 
he has a drug problem. His exhaustion from never reaching the deeper 
levels of sleep is getting worse every day, and he knows his time is 
running out. Until he meets Mia. 

Mia’s dreams are the first Parker’s encountered where he can finally 
get real sleep. A good night of rest after so long is addictive. He 
has to have it. But getting it means he must follow Mia and find a way 
to make eye contact every day. Mia is increasingly freaked out, even 
turning Parker’s best friends against him. To make matters worse, Mia 
starts to receive threatening e-mails, and her wonderful dreams become 
scenes of a horror movie—and Parker is cast as the villain. He must 
discover who is truly tormenting her, and clear his name, before she 
turns him in for a crime he hasn’t committed–or worse, the true 
stalker makes good on his threats to end her dreams forever. 

Doesn't that sound amazing? So now is the time where we torture the newest member. Leave your especially torturous dares here for Jenn. :) Because we want to see her squirm. And stay tuned, her completion of the selected truth/dare will be posted next Tuesday! But don't forget to check back this Friday because Elsie will be tackling a truth or dare.

Introducing our Fourth Mystery Author!

Ahem, drumroll please...

We Friday the Thirteeners are very very very excited to introduce our fourth Mystery Author:

Alexandra Duncan

Alexandra is a librarian by day and writer by night. Her debut novel, SALVAGE, is coming in 2013 from Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

SALVAGE is young adult science fiction with a feminist slant. Ava, sixteen, has spent her whole life aboard the ship Parastrata, where polygamy, hard labor, and illiteracy are the norm. When she receives the news that she is to be married, she holds out hope that her childhood friend, Luck, will be her future husband. But what starts as an innocent mistake causes Ava’s people to turn against her, and she must run for her life. She barely escapes to Earth, where she finds refuge in a floating city of trash and debris. India has become the heart of this future world, yet life beyond the country’s borders and on its social fringes is rife with violence and danger. Can Ava find a way to survive outside the insular world of her youth? Will she ever see Luck again? And is what she has been told about her own past the whole truth?

Sounds so cool! We're sure you can't wait to read it, just like us. You can also connect to Alexandra on her blog or Twitter.

Alexandra will be tackling her first Truth or Dare on Tuesday, May 1. We know you are dying to get to know Alexandra, and there's no better way than a little soul-searching public humiliation. So leave Alexandra a special truth or dare on our Truth or Dare page.

Introducing our Third Mystery Author!

Ahem, drumroll please...

We Friday the Thirteeners are very, very, excited to introduce our third Mystery Author:

Mindy McGinnis

Mindy's making her YA debut with her novel NOT A DROP TO DRINK. To be published Fall 2013 from Katherine Tegen/Harper Collins, here's a teaser:

NOT A DROP TO DRINK, the story of a teenage girl surviving in a rural America where an ounce of fresh water is worth more than gold and death wanders the countryside as thirst, cholera, and the guns of strangers; when her mother dies in an accident, the girl must decide between defending her pond alone or banding together with a crippled neighbor, a pregnant woman, a filthy orphan, and a teenage boy who awakens feelings she doesn’t understand.

Not only does NOT A DROP TO DRINK sound fabulous, but Mindy's pretty awesome herself, and we are more than ecstatic to have her join us! But her hazing just wouldn't be complete without a Truth or Dare, so make sure to submit one for her here. She'll be answering a week from today, March 27th, so make sure to check back to see how she does.

In the meantime, please join us in giving a huge welcome to Mindy, our newest Friday the Thirteener!

Introducing our Second Mystery Author!

Ahem, drumroll please...

We Friday the Thirteeners are very very very excited to introduce our second Mystery Author:

Megan Shepherd

photo credit Kristi Hedberg Photography

Not only is Megan super sweet, with an amazing YA debut coming out in 2013, but she's also an extra in the Hunger Games movie. She won't tell us any of the details, but we captured this evidence from the trailer!! See?

Clearly this is the only reason why we invited her to join the ranks.

But in all seriousness, we can't wait to get our hands on her novel, THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER, either. It is the first in a trilogy and will be available from Balzer + Bray early next year. Check out this scrumptious summary:

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Doesn't that sound amazing? Why is 2013 so far away still?!

To make the wait seem shorter, or at least to entertain ourselves in the meantime, we are pushing Megan straight into the truth and dare pool. So leave a special truth or dare just for Megan on the Truth or Dare page. (Don't leave 'em in the comments as we'd like to keep them a surprise!) Megan will be answering one of them a week from today, so be sure to check back.

Until then, please help us give Megan a warm welcome as our newest Thirteener!

Introducing our First Mystery Author!!!!

Ahem, drumroll please...

We Friday the Thirteeners are very very very excited to introduce our first Mystery Author:

Shannon Messenger

 

Shannon is an amazing author who's not only debuting a YA book in 2013, but has her MG debut coming out on October 2, 2012! And her cover is stunning. Just take a look!

Keeper of the Lost Cities 

Twelve-year-old Sophie has always been different -- she's years ahead of the other kids in school and can read minds. She's always assumed there's some kind of logical explanation for her talents, but when she meets an adorable and mysterious boy, she finds out the shocking truth. She's never felt at home because she, well, ... isn't.

There are secrets buried deep in her memory, secrets about her true identity and why she was hidden among humans, that others desperately want and would even kill for. And she must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Now that all of you are amazed by her MG debut, let us give you a taste of what to expect from her YA debut:

LET THE SKY FALL

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston is the only survivor of the category five tornado that killed his parents. Every night since the storm, a beautiful, dark-haired girl has swept through his dreams. She's the only clue to his past, and he clings to the hope that she's real.

Audra is real, but she's also a sylph. An air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even twist it into a weapon. She's also a guardian--Vane's guardian--and has sworn an oath to protect him at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra must help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim--the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock a memory Audra wishes could be erased. And as the storm bears down on them she starts to realize the greatest danger might not be the warriors coming to destroy them, but the forbidden romance that's grown between them.

Set amongst the desert airstreams of Coachella Valley in California, and alive with wonderful wind-swept prose, LET THE SKY FALL is about two teenagers broken by their pasts, divided by their futures, and bound by love.

Coming Spring 2013 from Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

I bet you all are totally dying to read that, right? Well get in line cause I just might expire before next spring!

It's been really hard keeping her a secret, but now that her deal has gone public (click here for the details!) we are rolling out the red carpet, welcoming her with thunderous applause and grinning evilly as we push her straight into the truth and dare pool. This is the official call to arms for truth and dares for our newest member! Leave us a special truth or dare just for Shannon on the Truth or Dare page. Don't leave'em in the comments as we'd like to keep them a surprise!

So please give a warm welcome to Shannon our newest Thirteener!