Celebrating Around the Web

We woke up to rain today – hooray! When you're living through a California drought, every drop is celebrated :) I'm also celebrating the release of WISH YOU WEREN'T with friends around the internet. Here's where you'll find me this week:

• Laurel's Leaves: I'm sharing some of my favorite research tips and giving away a WISH YOU WEREN'T prize pack.  
• K. Troutte: I'm chatting with my friend and critique partner about my writing process.  
• Geo Librarian: MG librarian Heidi Grange will be reviewing WISH YOU WEREN'T and giving away a prize pack. 

And that's just today!

On Wednesday, Tonja Drecker at Bookworm for Kids will be reviewing WISH YOU WEREN'T and giving away a prize pack. (Her blog recently received a Best of the Blogs award from Middle Shelf Magazine -- cool stuff!!) On Thursday, Melanie at Mel's Shelves will post her review and give away a prize pack. And on Friday, I'll be stopping by for an interview with Inspired Kathy at I am a Reader where she'll be giving away a prize pack as well. So many chances to win!

If you don't want to wait, you can always get your very own copy of WISH YOU WEREN'T from these magnificent retailers. And when you buy the print version from Amazon, you get a free e-book download, too -- bonus!

Amazon   |  Kobo  |  B&N  |   Smashwords  |   Solvang Book Loft


Thanks for celebrating with me!

Never Enough...Book Giveaways!

Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt like you weren't enough? I know I can think of several. Okay, yeah, a LOT of times. In high school I worried about not being thin enough, not being cool enough. Actually, those worries still plague me at times, but at least as an adult I'm comfortable enough with myself to not let those passing insecurities overwhelm me.

As part of the release for NEVER ENOUGH, the newest YA novel from my agent-mate Denise Jaden, several author-friends contributed their thoughts on not feeling like enough. You can see them on the video embedded below.





But wait! That's not all!

Denise is also hosting a HUGE book giveaway. Leave a comment here and then visit her blog and share the link back to this blog, and that will earn you TWO entries--one for commenting, and one for sharing the link. You can see all the books she's giving away by visiting this post: http://denisejaden.blogspot.ca/2012/07/blog-tours-and-entries-and-prizes-oh-my.html

Speaking of which, I can tell you exactly what I never have enough of: shelf space for all the books I want to read! 

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

I don't have a review today, but I do have some ARCs to give away, courtesy of my fabulous local indie, The Book Loft. Two are middle grade, one is YA, all three will be coming out next month.

First up, SHARK WARS by E.J. Altbacker. Unlike most ARCs, this one is actually hard cover!

(From the back cover:) Journey into the ocean's depths for a middle grade adventure series that has all the action of Warriors and Star Wars...but brings the battle underwater!

(From Goodreads:) Since the dawn of time, prehistoric shark clans called Shivers have ruled over the earth's oceans, fierce protectors of all who swim. For eons, the Big Blue has prospered under Shiver Law, and the delicate balance of sea life kept sacred. Until now.

Rising sea temperatures and overfishing have caused food to become scarce, and the battle for new hunting grounds has brought with it corruption and warfare.

Now, with the ocean on the brink of chaos, a young reef shark named Gray - exiled from the safety of his peaceful reef home - must venture deep into Open Water to unlock the secrets of his destiny and bring peace back to the ocean. But first, he'll have to discover the truth about who - and what - he really is.

Coming from Razorbill June 28, 2011 

THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE by Kathryn Erskine, author of Mockingbird


(From Goodreads:) Mike tries so hard to please his father, but the only language his dad seems to speak is calculus. And for a boy with a math learning disability, nothing could be more difficult. When his dad sends him to live with distant relatives in rural Pennsylvania for the summer to work on an engineering project, Mike figures this is his big chance to buckle down and prove himself. But when he gets there, nothing is what he thought it would be. The project has nothing at all to do with engineering, and he finds himself working alongside his wacky eighty-something- year-old aunt, a homeless man, and a punk rock girl as part of a town-wide project to adopt a boy from Romania. Mike may not learn anything about engineering, but what he does learn is far more valuable.

Coming from Philomel June 9, 2011  

And because some readers can never get enough dystopia (yeah, that would be me!)

ASHES, ASHES by Jo Treggiari

(From Goodreads:) A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.
Coming from Scholastic June 1, 2011


If you'd like to win one of these books, let me know in the comments. I'll randomly select some names Sunday night and announce the winners next Monday, May 23. 

If you're looking for some Marvelous Middle Grade reviews, check out these bloggers:
Shannon Whitney Messenger
Shannon O'Donnell
Joanne Fritz
Myrna Foster
Brooke Favero
Anita Laydon Miller
Deb Marshall
Barbara Watson
Michael Gilmartin




And are we all glad to have Blogger back to normal?! Yeah, Friday the 13th indeed!!

Clearing Off the Night Stand

The stacks really are out of control over here and I need some help finding the top of my nightstand so I'm counting on you to help me out.

How?

I'm giving away some books and FIVE of you are going to win. That's right, five books will be coming through the mail, quite possibly to your doorstep.

And how can you win?

It's very simple really. Two steps:

1. Follow this blog.
2. Leave a comment.

That's it. But in the comment, you MUST choose one of the books. Last time some of you tried to cheat and say you'd take any book. That's very nice and all, but I'm sorry. Your name will only be entered if you've chosen ONE book. So let's take a look at the selection, shall we?

Need by Carrie Jones  YA Fantasy   paperback
Pixies and werewolves and kissing -- oh my! Book three in this series comes out tomorrow. If you haven't read the story that started it all, here's your chance to win a copy.


Mirrorscape by Mike Wilks  Upper MG Fantasy    ARC
Enter the Mirrorscape - an amazing world limited only by the artist's imagination...One that involves stepping through paintings into a world where the bizarre is commonplace and all logic is irrelevant. A world where angels, pyramid mazes, imaginary monsters, talking houses and - most importantly - the simple paintbrush all combine to form a hugely original and deeply compelling fantasy. (from Goodreads) This book came out in 2009, the first ever released by Egmont.

Subject Seven by James A. Moore  YA SF/Action/Adventure   ARC
Years ago, scientists began developing the ultimate military weapon: deadly sleeper assassins housed within the bodies of teenagers. Now, Subject Seven, the dangerous alter-ego living inside a 16-year-old boy, has escaped the lab and is on a mission. His objective? To seek out others like him and build an army capable of destroying their creators. (from Amazon) This book releases in January, but you can read it before everyone else if you win it here!

Ellen Raskin Compilation  MG Mystery  ARC
Penguin is re-releasing three of Ellen Raskin's books: Figgs & Phantoms, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel), and The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues. I have the ARC for all three books in one volume. If you're a fan of The Westing Game, you'll want to read these stories as well.

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread my Wings and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates  YA  ARC
Winner of longest title ever! This book came out in 2006, but I am finally parting with my ARC. Here's the Amazon description: Jenna Abbott, 15, is struggling to come to terms with the car accident that killed her mother and nearly took her own life as well. Formerly athletic and smart, she suddenly finds herself unable to concentrate or communicate with anyone. She is broken in both body and spirit and desperate to escape into the blue, which is how she remembers the drug-induced haze immediately after the accident. Not wanting anything to do with her father and his new family in California, she moves to New Hampshire to live with her aunt and uncle, and begins looking for ways to escape. She steals OxyContin from her uncle's medicine cabinet and becomes friends with Trina, who is dealing with her own substance-abuse problems. It takes two near-disasters for Jenna to tentatively open up to her classmate Crow and face her fears and grief.

Make your choice in the comments. You have until midnight on Sunday to leave a comment. I'll announce the winners on Monday morning. And yes, I am willing to ship internationally. Good luck to you all!!

Great Expectations

Sometimes things don't turn out the way you expect.

This picture was taken five years ago when my daughter had just turned two. She was SO not interested in sitting on this fat guy's lap and I'm sure he'd had his fill of cranky babies, too. All the same, this is one of my favorite Christmas photos ever, precisely because it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to!

It's like that when I write sometimes. I was literally typing away last week when I realized, "Omigosh, this happened to her! I had no idea!" It was almost like I'd discovered this secret the character had been trying to hide. I know I'm a geek, but I got so excited. I figured out something new about this character that I thought I already knew so well!

Has a character ever surprised you that way? And then forced you to go back and change the story to accommodate this new discovery? It's cool. It's fun. But it's also a LOT of work!

Well today is the Second Day of Christmas. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go back and read this post then come back and join in the fun. And now, for the randomly generated winner from the First Day of Christmas, please give it up for:




Congratulations, Mim!! Email me at solvangsherrie at gmail dot com and let me know which prize you'd like receive.

For the Second Day of Christmas you have three choices again. Choice #1 is another ARC, this time of AVALON HIGH by Meg Cabot. Ever heard of her? Yeah, I thought so. I actually bought this at the library when they were having a sale of used books. Of course I snatched it up. It was the first Meg Cabot I ever read! And it was just as good as I expected it would be :)

Choice #2 is Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. This is a great MG retelling of my favorite fairy tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. If you haven't heard of it, read this post.

Choice #3 is this über cool bracelet by Ubuntu. Sales of these bracelets help women and orphaned children devastated by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Perfect for men or women, these bracelets pretty much go with anything in your closet :)

Remember, you must be a follower to be entered to win. I'll draw for this one Sunday night at 10pm PST. Let the comments begin!