Archive by Author | Meredith

Release Day Launch: The Warrior by Victoria Scott

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to share this release day blast with you! Please join me in wishing a Happy Book Birthday to Victoria Scott and The Warrior!

Entangled Teen is excited to be announcing the release of Victoria Scott’s The Warrior, the third and final book in the Dante Walker series, which readers are already raving about!

Warrior Cover War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good.

Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll.

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before — faith.

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Find The Warrior online:

Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Victoria Scott photoAbout Victoria Scott:
 
Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe of the Harvey-Klinger Literary Agency. She’s the author of the FIRE & FLOOD series published by Scholastic, and the DANTE WALKER trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets including the UK, Turkey, China, Poland, Israel, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and hearts cotton candy something fierce.

~*~*~*~

Find Victoria Online:

Website | Twitter

Facebook | Author Goodreads

Cover Reveal: Empower: Fight Like A Girl (Anthology)

Hey everyone! I’m so incredibly excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Empower: Fight Like A Girl (Anthology) (Words Empower Media, May 1, 2014). It’s a gorgeous cover!

Are you ready for it???

Are you sure?

It’s gorgeous!

Okay, ready?

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..
….
..

Here it is!

Empower COVER_Medium
 
Amazing, right?? Here’s the official synopsis for Empower: Fight Like A Girl:

Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you’ll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:

  • Amy Berg
  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
  • Akela Cooper
  • Liz Edwards
  • Jane Espenson
  • Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight
  • Lisa Klink
  • Pang-Ni Landrum
  • Lauren LeFranc
  • Kam Miller
  • Jess Pineda
  • Jennifer Quintenz
  • Lisa Randolph
  • Kay Reindl
  • Kira Snyder
  • Jeane Wong
  •  
    All proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Lupus Foundation of America to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus.

    Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl
    “Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original.”

– Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.

    Goodreads | Amazon

    Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

    Review: Reboot by Amy TinteraReboot by Amy Tintera
    Series: Reboot #1
    Published by HarperTeen on May 7, 2013
    Pages: 365
    Format: Hardcover
    Buy on Amazon
    Goodreads
    three-stars

    Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

    Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

    The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

    While the general plot of Reboot intrigued me, overall I felt let down and unsatisfied with this book. The characters were interesting, but not overly so. The pace was slow and, at some points, even came to a screeching halt. The last chapter, though, was enjoyable and left me eager to start book two.

    As far as man characters go, Wren wasn’t a stand-out for me. In the beginning, especially, she was so detached from everything. I know she was supposed to be, because of how long she was dead. But it reflected in the tone of the writing. She (and the romance in this book, for that matter) was also very predictable; from early on, I knew that Callum would be the one to melt her icy heart and with that, she would become less detached. This became evident, especially, when she stopped referring to him as “Twenty-Two” and instead started using his real name. As far as character development goes, Wren had some but not enough, in my opinion. I wanted to see more from her by the end of the book. I’m still hoping to see more from her in book two.

    I adored Callum. He was adorable, cute, sweet, kind, amazing… I could go on, so I’ll just stop here. But seriously, he was my favorite character in the book. Often, especially in YA, it’s the girl who finds out she’s got powers or a giant destiny or something like that. It’s the girl who is new and helpless to everything, who needs to learn to adapt. I kind of really liked the role-reversal in Reboot; it was Callum who was new and young, who needed to be told the rules and who fought against them. I found that to be unique and intriguing. Honestly, he’s the reason I kept reading and didn’t DNF this book. So I’m really excited that book two, Rebel, has his POV. I’m hoping that makes for a better book, honestly!

    Normally when I read a book, there are at least a few secondary characters that stand out for me. Even though they don’t have a big role, there’s something about them that I like and I enjoy reading sections of the book with them. Unfortunately, there were only two stand-out characters in Reboot. One wasn’t in a lot of the book and the other met an… unfortunate fate. So I’m definitely hoping we meet more stand-out secondary characters in Rebel.

    There’s a certain section in the book that I can’t discuss in detail, but I thought at that point in the book, things would pick up a lot. But if anything, the pace slowed dramatically at this point. I had so much trouble getting through the last 100 pages, I wanted to cry. I wanted to DNF. But I figured I only had 100 pages left and I loved Callum, so I kept going. The sad part is, the beginning of the book was amazing. The first chapter was dark and gritty and, immediately, I loved the Reboots and wanted to learn more about them and their back-story. I loved that this was a non-zombie back-from-the-dead book and I found myself intrigued by the plot. But, as I said, the second half of the book slowed to a crawl and it wasn’t until the last two chapters that things picked up again.

    With that being said, the last two chapters were highly entertaining, especially the very last chapter. There was a lot of action and my heart was in my throat for a good portion of it. It absolutely left me dying for the second book. Overall, while I’m disappointed with book one, I’m eager for book two. I’m hoping Rebel doesn’t let me down the way Reboot did, especially with Callum’s POV to look forward to!

    three-stars

    Cover Reveal: Tracy Tam: Santa Command by Krystalyn Drown

    Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

    Tracy Tam: Santa Command by Krystalyn Drown

    presented by Month9Books!

    Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

    KDrown_TracyTam_1650x2550

    Tracy doesn’t believe that Santa can deliver all of those presents in one night with out a little help from science. A flying sleigh can only be powered by jet engines, and Santa’s magical abilities can only be the result of altered DNA. In order to test her theories, she sneaks onto Santa’s sleigh and ends up at Santa Command, the place where a team of humans monitors Santa’s big night. When Tracy attempts to hack into their computers, she accidentally introduces a virus to their system. As a result, three states get knocked out of sync with the rest of the world. Before the night is over, Tracy has to fix time and help Santa finish his deliveries. And she has to do it all with Santa’s magic, which she doesn’t believe exists.

    add to goodreads

    Title: TRACY TAM: SANTA COMMAND
    Publication date: October 22, 2014
    Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
    Author: Krystalyn Drown

    Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Krystalyn spent thirteen years working at Walt Disney World in a variety of roles: entertainer, talent coordinator, and character captain. Her degree in theatre as well as many, many hours spent in a dance studio, helped with her job there. Her various other day jobs have included working in zoology at Sea World, as an elementary teacher, and currently as a support technician for a website. In the evenings, she does mad writing challenges with her sister, who is also an author. Krystalyn lives near Orlando, Florida with her husband, son, a were cat, and a Yorkie with a Napoleon complex.

    Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

    Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

    Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

    (Winners will receive their book on release day)

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    Author Interview + Giveaway: Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

    Hey everyone! I’m so excited to have Katie Finn, author of Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend (May 13, 2014) here for an interview today! Here’s the official Goodreads excerpt for the book:

    Broken Hearts, Fences, etc
    Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

    Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?

    When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

    Gemma’s plan is working (she’s finding it hard to resist Josh), but she’s finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?

    Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.

    Hope you guys enjoy the interview!

    Question: Describe your book using no more than three adjectives. Go!
    Answer: Fun, beachy, revenge-y!

    Question: How did you come up with the idea for Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend?
    Answer: I thought it would be fun to tell the story of someone who did something wrong in the past, but is very much trying to make things right. When I realized I could pull in the mistaken-identity part of it, I realized it would create a lot of fun situations and mistakes.

    Question: The title is so unique and interesting. Did you have any say in it? How did it come about?
    Answer: I actually thought of the title for the sequel (Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold) first. And then I realized I liked that construct, and came up with the title for Broken Hearts. I had the titles before I even started writing, and it really helped me figure out what the story was. It helped me put together the pieces – okay, she has a broken heart. She’s trying to make things right. The titles kind of led the stories, in a really interesting way!

    Question: Why the Hamptons? In what ways does this setting make the perfect backdrop for this book?
    Answer: I’ve spent time in the Hamptons, and always loved it. (Plus, this way I got to go back and call it “research”). I like that it seems a bit like a world apart. Gemma only lives an hour and a half away in Connecticut, but it’s like this whole other world. I also liked that she’d encounter different people – people who just come for the summers – than she would back home. Which was also helpful, because she’s going under another identity for much of the book!

    Question: Which scene do you most regret having to cut during edits?
    Answer: I feel like I can’t quite answer that without giving away a major spoiler! But I can say, that looking back on it, it was the right thing to do! My editor was right, as per usual.

    Question: On the flip side, what was your favorite scene that got added during edits?
    Answer: I don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s a scene toward the end of the book where Gemma and Josh (the love interest!) end up having an impromptu sleepover and watching the Princess Bride, and it’s now one of my favorite scenes in the book. But it was nowhere to be seen in the first draft!

    Question: Can you give us any hints as to what the sequel will be about?
    Answer: The biggest hint can be found in the title – Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold. Revenge is definitely afoot, and Gemma ends up having to get a job at the local ice cream parlor. The book picks up about 12 hours after the first book ends – so you jump right back into the action!

    Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
    Answer: It’s for a throwaway line, but I went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about Iceland with this book. Now I’m desperate to go visit!

    Question: Biggest writing quirk?
    Answer: I always spend time making a really great playlist, but almost always turn it off and write in (mostly) silence. Music can help when I’m planning or thinking about what to write, but when I’m really writing, I find it too distracting.

    Question: What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
    Answer: At least one beverage – preferably two or three. But always something caffeinated. Starbucks iced lattes and diet coke are essential. My glasses – I only wear them for writing, so they’re like my signal to myself that it’s time to start working. And I use Mac Freedom to turn the internet off!

    Question: Are you working on anything new?
    Answer: I just finished the sequel to Broken Hearts! I’ll revise that, and then get started on the third book in the trilogy – Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross.

    —————————————–

    Thanks to Macmillan, we have ONE ARC of Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend for giveaway!

    -Giveaway is US only

    -Winner has 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be selected.

    -You must be 13 or older to enter OR have your parents’ permission.

    -I am not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.

    -I reserve the right to change any rules as I see fit for each individual giveaway

    *The above giveaway rules were borrowed and modified from Jessica @ Just a Book Lover.

    With that being said, I wish you luck! May the odds be ever in your favor!

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    Review: In the After by Demitria Lunetta

    Review: In the After by Demitria LunettaIn the After by Demitria Lunetta
    Series: In the After #1
    Published by HarperTeen on June 25, 2013
    Pages: 455
    Format: Hardcover
    Buy on Amazon
    Goodreads
    four-stars

    They hear the most silent of footsteps.
    They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
    And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.

    Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

    After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.

    Rebellious, courageous, and tender, this unforgettable duo will have you on the edge of your seat as you tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta

    In the After was a deliciously creepy, gritty survival story. I loved the plot, the writing, the pacing and the characters. I was intrigued by the world Lunetta created and, when I got to the end of the book, stunned by the revelations.

    I loved Amy. She was strong, smart and resilient. The first few chapters SHOULD be classified as an info dump, but the way Lunetta wrote it was fascinating and I couldn’t put the book down. Normally, a character grows from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. But we saw a huge amount of growth in Amy just in the first few chapters alone. She was alone for so long and, yeah, at first she crumbled under the fear and isolation. But eventually she learned how to thrive, how to survive on her own. And a typical girl her age never could have cared for a toddler on top of that.

    Baby was a fascinating character. Right from the beginning, she was different. I always knew she was different and I had my theories about her from day one. The bite, the mark… I knew something wasn’t right. She was highly intelligent for a child, though, and a great companion for Amy. Though young, she knew how to be silent, how to hide and how to take care of herself.

    The second part of the book held so many answers, yet for every answer we got, three new questions popped up. Also, 98% of the time, when the MC stumbles into a thriving community of survivors and someone starts talking of their desire to ‘isolate the best, weed out the worst’ and bring about a ‘new civilization’ in Dystopians and Post-Apocalyptic stories, it usually means trouble. It never ends well. That wonderful utopia, away from the all the evils of the outside world, is usually hiding some nasty, dark secrets. And, as predicted, this was the case and bad things happened – I won’t spoil it for you, but there were many people that could not be trusted and many people I did not like, such as Dr. Reynolds and Amber and… Well, someone else… I can’t say… MAJOR spoilers. But you’ll see when you read it!

    I loved Rice though. He was kind, compassionate, cautious and honest. He was good for Amy. He helped protect her and he kept her and Baby safe. He also kept some things from her.. But I do hope we see more of him in book two. I also loved Kay. She was such a hard-ass on the outside, but deep down, she truly cared for the safety of New Hope and for Amy. Gareth was another one I loved; he was the father figure Amy needed, as well as her protector. Finally, Vivian was the friend Amy deserved and I’m disheartened with how her story ended, though I had a feeling it would happen very early on and it DID lead to a major revelation.

    Part three of the book was definitely the most action-packed. It held almost all of the answers and had at least three HUGE, MAJOR revelations. I actually had a ton of theories as early as half-way through the book. Unintentionally, Rice gave away a lot of things in his actions and words. Lunetta really pulls the rug out from under us in this section of the book. Everything you thought was true… Well, you’ll see.

    Overall, I completely loved this book. It was creepy, intriguing and page-turning. Lunetta is definitely an author on the rise and I’m incredibly excited for the second and final book in this duology, In the End.

    four-stars

    Stacking the Shelves #17: In Which I Did a Lot of Book Buying

    Stacking the Shelves

    Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

    Books I Mentioned
    Mortal Danger by Ann Aquirre
    Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
    Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine
    Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano
    The Worlds We Make by Megan Crewe
    Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn
    Steadfast by Claudia Gray
    Tease by Amanda Maciel
    The Season by Sarah MacLean
    Daughter of Chaos by Jen McConnel
    Insanity by Susan Vaught
    Split Second by Kasie West
    House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

    eBooks (Not Mentioned in video. Source in parentheses)
    My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris (Rockstar Book Tours)
    Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway (Amazon)
    A Matter of Forever by Heather Lyons (Inkslinger PR)
    The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan (Edelweiss)

    Publisher’s I Mentioned
    Macmillan

    Cover Reveal: Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes

     

    Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

    Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes

    presented by Month9Books!

    Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

    Shadows Fall Away 1600x2400

    Mark Stewart is one incident away from becoming a juvenile delinquent, and his parents have had enough. They ship Mark off to London England to stay with his eccentric aunt Agatha who is obsessed with all things Jack the Ripper. After a strange twist of luck, Mark is struck by lightning, and he wakes to find himself in 1888 Victorian London.

    His interest in a string of murders Scotland Yard has yet to solve make him a likely suspect. After all, why would a young boy like Mark know so much about the murders? Could he be the ripper they’ve been searching for? Convinced the only way to get back home is to solve the murders, Mark dives headfirst into uncovering the truth.

    Mark’s only distraction comes in the form of the beautiful Genie Trembly, a girl who is totally out of his league and who may have already caught the attention of the infamous ripper. To save her, he’ll endanger both their lives, and risk being trapped in the past forever.

    add to goodreads

    Title: SHADOWS FALL AWAY
    Publication date: September 23, 2014
    Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
    Author: Kit Forbes

    Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author

    Kit Forbes has been a lover of books, history, and all things paranormal for as long as she can remember. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her youngest daughter and an assortment of cats who give new meaning to the world bizarre.

    Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

    Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

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    Blog Tour + Author Interview: Between Two Worlds by Katherine Kirkpatrick

    Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be a part of Katherine Kirkpatrick’s blog tour for her novel, Between Two Worlds (April 8, 2014)! For my blog tour stop, I have an interview with Katherine. First, here’s some more information about Between Two Worlds:

    Between 2 Worlds cover for blog
    On the treeless shores of Itta, Greenland, as far north as humans can settle, sixteen-year-old Inuit Billy Bah spots a ship far out among the icebergs on the bay–a sight both welcome and feared. Explorers have already left their indelible mark on her land and its people, and a ship full of white men can mean trouble.

    The ship carries provisions for Robert E. Peary, who is making an expedition to the North Pole. As a child, Billy Bah spent a year in America with Peary’s family. When her parents went to America years later, they died in a tragic scandal. Now, Peary’s wife, daughter, and crew are in Itta to bring him supplies. Winter comes on fast, and when the ship gets caught in the ice, Billy Bah sets out to find Peary. The journey will imperil her life, and that of the man she loves.

    By turns lyrical and gripping, Between Two Worlds is an impassioned coming-of-age novel set in a land of breathtaking beauty and danger, where nature and love are powerful and unpredictable forces.

    Goodreads

    Amazon | Barnes & Noble

    And now here’s the interview! Hope you guys enjoy it!

    Question: What made you realize you wanted to be a writer?
    Answer: In the sixth grade I wrote a story about vampire bats attacking a scientist. My teacher praised it as “absolutely superb!” And it was fun to startle my classmates. After that I wanted to be a writer.

    Question: Why did you choose the historical fiction genre? Specifically, what drew you to YA historical fiction?
    Answer: I grew up in Stony Brook, New York, a town rich in history. My mother frequently took me on tours of local colonial houses, and my brother loved old cemeteries. We lived near a cluttered and dimly lit carriage museum, where my favorite exhibit was a gypsy wagon with a costumed manikin peering out of it. Spooky!

    When I started to write novels, I found myself drawn to YA’s coming-of-age themes of independence, discovery, maturity, and relationships.

    Question: How did you come up with the concept for Between Two Worlds?
    Answer: In the Hall of Meteorites at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, I noticed a photo of four-year-old Marie Peary, the daughter of Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary, onboard a ship with the gigantic Ahnighito meteorite. After researching Marie’s life, I started a novel. I showed it to editor Mary Cash at Holiday House, along with stunning photographs of Marie in Arctic Greenland. With the photos in mind, Mary encouraged me to write a nonfiction book, The Snow Baby, which she published in 2007.

    Years later I returned to the novel. It took on new life when I decided to switch perspectives, telling the story from an Inuk girl’s point of view.

    Question: Between Two Worlds is based on a true story. What’s real and what’s made up?
    Answer: About eighty percent of the book is based on historical events. Sixteen-year-old Inuk Billy Bah joined the Peary family on Peary’s ship Windward, which became locked in ice for eight months in 1900-1901. The incidents that will shock you the most in the book are unfortunately true. But the love story involving Billy Bah and the sailor is fictionalized.

    Question: Tell us about the real Billy Bah.
    Answer: Billy Bah, also known by her Inuk name, Eqariusaq, was born around 1884 in a remote coastal area of Arctic Greenland. When she was about eleven, she spent a year in Washington, D.C. with Peary’s family. She was both orphaned and married around age fourteen. Peary referred to her as his most expert seamstress. She sewed the fur coat that explorer Matthew Henson wore during the famed Peary expedition of 1909 to the North Pole.

    Question: Let’s talk about the editing process. What scene do you most regret having to cut?
    Answer: My editor Wendy Lamb asked me to create flashbacks from Billy Bah’s year in America. I added fifty new pages of backstory then, of course, had to cut most of it. I especially liked the scenes of Billy Bah experiencing nature. Growing up in a polar climate, she’d never even seen trees or squirrels – parts of life that are so common to us, we almost forget them most of the time.

    Question: On the flip side, what was your favorite scene that got added during edits?
    Answer: In a flashback, Billy Bah’s father teaches her not to be scared of darkness. He shows her how the winter sky glows with the colors of their Ancestors (the beautiful display we know as the Northern Lights). She remembers: “Only years later, after I’d returned from the white man’s land, did I fully appreciate the calm and softness, the peace and joy, of our starry season. By then I’d learned about real terrors.”

    Question: The setting of 1901 Arctic Greenland plays a distinct and significant role in the novel. How did you make Billy Bah’s story come alive for today’s teens?
    Answer: The key to historical fiction or drama is to put the past into the present by zeroing in on universal themes that everyone can relate to such as the desire to belong or the need for independence. Regardless of their time period, people have always shared many of the same core fears and desires. A common teenage dilemma is that at some point we must act under pressure and make difficult choices. That’s when we show “our stuff”— our strength of character. This was as true in 1901 as it is in 2014.

    Question: What was it like to have Madeleine L’Engle as a writing teacher?
    Answer: Madeleine was the most extraordinary person I’ve ever known. She was magnificent, regal, wise, kind, radiant. In her long, colorful, loose-fitting African dresses and exotic jewelry, she was also eccentric and a great deal of fun. As a writing teacher she wasn’t what you would expect. Instead of talking about plot, character, or story structure, she preferred more abstract themes about the larger role of writing and art in our lives, such as the concept of story being truth. Her belief about writing was that it’s an entry into the larger Cosmos. Writing is about taking a shared journey, she said. In the ten years I knew Madeleine, she taught me about the life of spirit and the value of community. I met most of my closest friends through her.

    Question: What is a typical day like for you, as far as your writing schedule goes?
    Answer: I write in the mornings until the early afternoons. Later in the day, I take my two middle school-age daughters to their music lessons and other activities.

    Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?
    Answer: I researched Inuit women washing their hair with urine. It would have put off readers, so I ended up not including that info.

    Question: What books would you recommend to a reader who loved yours, and wants to read something similar?
    Answer: The Snow Baby is a great companion title. All known photographs of Billy Bah appear in that book, as well as a spectacular photo of the ice-locked Windward. Also check out Boreal Ties: Photographs and Two Diaries of the 1901 Peary Relief Expedition, edited by Kim Fairley Gillis and Silas Hibbard Ayer III. Billy Bah makes a cameo appearance in the YA novel Smiler’s Bones by Peter Lerangis. And if you think you can stand to learn all the gory details of Peary’s 1897 expedition and its aftermath, read Give Me My Father’s Body by Kenn Harper.

    For Arctic adventure stories and books on doomed voyages, Google Ernest Shackleton, the Endurance, Robert Scott, Raoul Amundsen, or the Franklin Expedition. Readers interested in historical YA books featuring native characters should definitely check out titles by Louise Erdrich and Joseph Bruchac, as well as older titles by Scott O’Dell.

    In more general terms, Between Two Worlds follows in the vein of serious, edgy historical fiction like Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (my good friend, Google our names together for articles about us), Fever, The Book Thief, Between Shades of Gray, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.

    Question: Are you working on anything new?
    Answer: I’m writing a novel set in England and Egypt in 1922-1923, during the opening of King Tut’s tomb. My real-life protagonist grew up in Highclere Castle, now popular as the set for the hit British TV series “Downton Abbey.” I’m excited to return to Highclere this April.

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    Katherine author photo
    I grew up in Stony Brook, New York, the youngest of three children. My mother instilled in us a love of reading. I published two nonfiction titles, The Snow Baby and Mysterious Bones. Like The Snow Baby, my new young adult novel, Between Two Worlds (Wendy Lamb Books, April 2014), involves Arctic exploration. Currently I’m working on a novel set in England and Egypt in 1922-23, during the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

    Aside from reading, writing, history, and archaeology, some of my other interests include playing the harp, growing orchids, drawing, painting, hiking, camping, and bird watching.

    Fancy, my old, gray tabby cat, keeps me company while I work. All freelance writers should have pets.

    Find Katherine Online:

    Website | Blog

    Twitter | Facebook

    Review: My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris (Blog Tour + Giveaway)

    I received this book for free from Rockstar Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

    Review: My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris (Blog Tour + Giveaway)My Not So Super Sweet Life by Rachel Harris
    Series: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #3
    Published by Entangled Teen on April 21, 2014
    Pages: 250
    Source: Rockstar Book Tours
    Buy on Amazon
    Goodreads
    five-stars

    Cat Crawford just wants to be normal—or at least as normal as a daughter of Hollywood royalty can be. And it looks like fate is granting her wish: she’s got an amazing boyfriend, Lucas; her fabulous cousin, Alessandra, living with her; and her dad planning his second marriage to a great future stepmom. That is, until her prodigal mother reveals on national television that she has something important to tell her daughter…causing a media frenzy.

    Lucas Capelli knows his fate is to be with Cat, and he’s worked hard to win her over once and for all. Unfortunately, Lucas has his own issues to deal with, including a scandal that could take him away from the first place he’s truly belonged.

    As secrets are revealed, rumors explode, and the world watches, Cat and Lucas discover it’s not fate they have to fight if they want to stay together…this time, it’s their own insecurities.

    Well, and the stalkerazzi.

    Super Sweet Banner copy
    Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the My Not So Super Sweet Life blog tour! I’m very excited to be a part of this blog tour! Rachel is AMAZING and I absolutely loved My Not So Super Sweet Life!! I hope you enjoy my review!

    Rachel Harris has done it again! My Not So Super Sweet Life (MNSSSL) was an amazing journey filled with beloved characters and timeless lessons. I’ve loved every book that Harris has written and she will continue to be on my auto-buy list for a long time to come.

    Cat has grown so much since My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (MSSSC, book one). In the beginning, she kept her feeling and emotions well guarded. She didn’t trust anyone and didn’t let anyone get too close. She didn’t have many friends because of this and she refused to let herself fall for anyone, for fear she would end up heartbroken. So much of this changed after her trip to the past, but she still had a lot of trust issues. In MNSSSL, she really worked through a huge chunk of those trust issues. I definitely think having Alessandra around helped. She also never forgot the lessons she learned in the past and she constantly tried to remind herself of those lessons. I wasn’t a huge Cat fan in MSSSC but I really grew to love her in MNSSSL.

    Lucas… Wow, Lucas… Can I just say I swooned over him and leave it at that? No? You want more details? Okay. Lucas is amazing, kind, sweet, patient, loving and wonderful. Like all of Harris’ swoon-worthy guys, he makes you grin like an idiot and wish fictional boys were real. He knew when to be there for Cat and when to give her space. He was always a gentleman and always seemed to say the right thing. I LOVED LOVED LOVED having his POV in this book. Getting into his mind took this book to a whole new level. I felt like we really got to know him and feel for him and we got to see a whole new side of Cat by seeing her through his eyes.

    I still adore Austin to pieces and I’m glad he was in MNSSSL as much as he was. He and Alessandra are amazingly adorable together and I loved how he had Cat’s back and the ways in which he was there for Lucas.

    I LOVED LOVED LOVED Ransom. Before reading MNSSSL, I saw a lot of friends reading and commenting on how amazing he was – they even asked, begged and pleaded for a book with him. Now that I’ve read it, I can see why!!! And I truly hope he gets his own book, as well!!! I’d love to learn more about him, get inside his head and find out about his past.

    I also loved the little bit we got from Reyna’s perspective and I’d absolutely love to see her get her own book, too. She’s a fascinating character. Until now, we’ve only seen her as a Gypsy guide. She’s constantly helping others, but I’d love to see her help herself for once. She deserves a happily ever after and, as a reader, I’d love to go on that journey with her.

    There were some really intense, emotional scenes in this book. And I feel like I went through every single emotional upheaval that the characters went through – When they were happy, I was happy; when they were crushed, I was crushed. My heart broke for them at times; yet, at times, my heart soared with joy for them. The ending felt like it went full-circle from the first book, too, which gave closure to everything.

    Overall, I adored this book so much; I could go on and on, gushing about it for hours. But I’ll leave you with this: Rachel Harris is amazing. Everything she writes is amazing. All her guys are swoon-worthy and hot. If you haven’t read her books yet, DO IT. What are you waiting for?!?! I promise, you won’t be disappointed!!

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    rachel-harris-199x300
    As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

    She grew up in New Orleans, watching soap operas with her grandmother and staying up late sneak reading her mam’s favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.
    She homeschools her two beautiful girls and loves watching reality television with her amazing husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult Fun, Flirty Escapes, and LOVES talking with readers!

    Find Rachel Online:

    Website | Blog

    Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

    And finally, we also have a giveaway going on for this blog tour! Up for grabs?
    -One handmade sterling silver necklace that retailed over $130. It is an eight petal rose and a replica of the one Lucas gives Cat for Valentine’s Day in the book.
    – One rare, signed paperback. US Only.

    necklace 1 necklace 2

    Please enter by using the Rafflecopter below:

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Full Tour Schedule:

    Week One:
    4/21/2014- Jenna Does Books– Review
    4/21/2014- Coffee, Books and Me– Interview
    4/22/2014- Meredith & Jennifer’s Musing– Review
    4/22/2014- Vi3tbabe– Excerpt
    4/23/2014- Pandora’s Books– Review
    4/23/2014- Stuck In Books– Guest Post
    4/24/2014- The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club– Review
    4/24/2014- Library of a Book Witch– Excerpt
    4/25/2014- Every Free Chance Book Reviews-– Review
    4/25/2014- Book Loving Mom– Excerpt

    Week Two:
    4/28/2014- The Book Belles– Review
    4/28/2014- Mercurial Musings– Excerpt
    4/29/2014- Mundie Moms– Review
    4/29/2014- The Cover Contessa– Guest Post
    4/30/2014- Book Angel Booktopia– Review
    4/30/2014- Swoony Boys Podcast– Interview
    5/1/2014- Bookaholics Anonymous– Review
    5/1/2014- TSK TSK What to Read– Excerpt
    5/2/2014- Once upon a twilight– Review
    5/2/2014- Fantasy Book Addict– Guest Post

    five-stars