SALVAGE Cover Reveal + ARC Giveaway

Three exciting things are happening in this post today!

1) We're revealing the final cover and release date of Alexandra Duncan's Salvage (which, by the way, has just been selected as part of the American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Spring promotion. Woo hoo!) This past June, the preliminary cover design came out on EpicReads, but Greenwillow Books has made some tweaks that make it even better.

TA-DA!

And it's coming April 1, 2014! A little more about the book,

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.

2) Alexandra's new web site, www.alexandra-duncan.com, is going live! You can check there for updates about Salvage, events, and other news.

3) To celebrate both of these things, we're giving away an ARC of Salvage. Use the widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Friday the 13th and we're full of bad ideas

Writers 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.

Some are not so good.

In fact, they're bad.

Okay, they're terrible. Really, really terrible.

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, do judge us, but we'll get to that later.)

First up is Natalie Whipple,

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.

Shannon Messenger

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?

Alexandra Duncan

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!

Megan Shepherd

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! 

J.R. Johansson
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. 

Renee Collins

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?
 
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.

ETA: We have a winner!

Cait, send an e-mail containing your shipping address to fridaythethirteeners@gmail.com and we'll send you an ARC of Salvage, by Alexandra Duncan.

Natalie Whipple & The Big Fat Ninja Secret

I'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.

Mindy McGinnis Tells the Truth About Parenting Your Book Baby

Sure, they're pretty. But if you're not careful, that book baby can turn into a spoiled mess.

Happy Birthday RELIC!

We Thirteeners are so excited today because it's the release of Renee Collins' book, RELIC! This book is so fantastic we can't wait for everyone else to be able to read it, too. Read this summary and you'll see why.

After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive the best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.

Working in a local saloon, Maggie befriends the spirited showgirl Adelaide and falls for the roguish cowboy Landon. But when she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren’t always clear, Álvar trains Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for evil before it’s too late.

Relic is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good.

Guys...THIS BOOK! Maggie is amazing and strong in the face of so much adversity. And the setting is fresh, visual and alive. Old west, cowboys, mesas and magic? YES PLEASE! 

Here are some visuals that remind me of the feel of RELIC to get everyone in the mood. 

Cowboys...yum, k?

Old West Saloons!

Cowboys IN Saloons!

Wealthy relic barons...

And HORSES!

And, we really can't emphasize this enough...

hot cowboys!

Who ride horses!

And are oh so clean...yeah...yum.

All of this, AND MAGIC. So yeah...you need to get this book now! You can buy it at any of these links.

Relic on Indiebound / Barnes & Noble / Amazon

And just one more cowboy image to leave you with...

You are welcome.

Huge congratulations to Renee and Relic! We're so happy for you!

Megan Shepherd Takes the Dare

I wanted to do something extra special for this dare, since it's been so long since I've done one, and I've so missed the public humiliation. So I decided to revisit one of my most popular previous dares, that went as follows:

Design an original cover for your book.

For the record, here are the real covers of The Madman's Daughter, and the sequel, Her Dark Curiosity, which comes out in January 2014 and is available for preorder. I just adore these covers. They're so atmospheric and classy and elegant and just beautifully photographed and designed.

I tackled this dare for the first time back in February 2012, for The Madman's Daughter, before that book even had a real cover. I came up with this gem. Lovely, no? Can't you just feel the tropical heat and tension in the air? It might not have quite the professionalism of the original, but you have to admit, it's just as classy.

For this dare, I wanted to continue with a similar graphic design, and show you my interpretation of the core story found in Her Dark Curiosity, which is inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and picks up a few months after The Madman's Daughter ends.

Ta da!

Like my first cover design, I think this one really showcases the book's strengths. There's obviously a much darker tone. There's mystery (that cloaked shadowy character in the bottom left), an atmospheric setting (Victorian London at Christmas...note the mistletoe), a hint of danger (lightning crash!), a deep and meaningful theme (the comedy and tragedy masks in the banner symbolize the duality of human nature, and also there's a really cool masquerade scene in the book), and a healthy dose of romance! My husband asked why the image was so grainy and I said that was clearly meant to be snow, but in case it was confusing, I decided to enhance the cover with lots of more obvious snow.


What do you think, does my cover design make you want to read it even more??

-----

Megan Shepherd is a young adult writer living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her debut novel The Madman's Daughter (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins) is the first in a Gothic thriller trilogy. The second book in the trilogy, Her Dark Curiosity, will be released January 2014. She’d love to hear from you at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, or on Goodreads.

Happy Birthday DEVIL!

Us Thirteeners are very excited today, because April Tucholke's BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA is finally on shelves! *blasts off confetti cannon*

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Guys, THIS BOOK! I read it in one of its earliest form (April and I (Erin) have been critique partners since we were both unagented and chasing a dream), and even then DEVIL blew me away. The morally ambiguous characters! The gorgeous, visceral prose. The copious amounts of Creepy. And let's not forget the haunting gothic setting.

A crumbling estate...

set against an angry sea...

bordered by train tracks and tunnels...

and a sprawling graveyard.

All of which only become creepier after River rents Violet's guest house. Yes, River. With his crooked smile, and mischievous ways, and sexy swagger.

  

River, who Violet can't help loving even when she knows she shouldn't. 

Go grab your copy today! Just make sure you keep the light on while reading.

Congratulations, April! We couldn't be happier for you!

Blurbs for POINTE + a Giveaway! [Contest Now CLOSED]

UPDATE, Aug. 15:

The winner of the giveaway is Alyssa Hatmaker! Congratulations, Alyssa—your books are on their way to you. And thank you so much to everyone who entered the giveaway!

So, yesterday was a pretty great day.

Got my ARCs. Yeah. These guys.

(Still finding it hard to stop staring at and/or petting them. I know you get it.)

Now that my ARCs exist, I want to share the very kind words two of my favorite authors had to say about POINTE! Their novels—their debut novels, in particular—have been such an inspiration to me, and in addition to being insanely talented writers, they happen to be two of the coolest, nicest ladies on the Internet. Here's what they had to say about my book:

"A brave and resonant debut that is as captivating as it is heartbreaking. Brandy Colbert has given us a portrait of life after trauma that is skillfully rendered, raw, and unflinching. This novel haunts me." 

—Nina LaCour, author of Hold Still

"POINTE is an impressively written and affecting portrait of loss and self-forgiveness. Brandy Colbert's debut is beautiful, sharp and memorable."

—Courtney Summers, author of Cracked Up to Be

Flattered doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about these blurbs. Surreal seems like a good starting point.

And because I am so excited about receiving my galleys, I'm giving away a signed copy of POINTE to a reader, along with one copy each of Courtney and Nina's debuts. These are two of my favorite books of all time, and I think everyone needs to read them. Want to know a little more about them? Click on the Goodreads links above the covers!

CRACKED UP TO BE

HOLD STILL

To win all three books, comment on this blog post (any comment will do, even just a hello) and leave your name and email in the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway is open from Wednesday, July 31 through August 14, 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time. A winner will be chosen that day and announced here on Thursday, August 15. Sorry, but this giveaway is only open to those 13 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canadian mailing address. (I hope to do an international giveaway in the future!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you want to learn more about POINTE, see below:

Theo is better now.

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.

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.

You can add POINTE to your Goodreads shelves here!