Sunday, February 26, 2012

Upcoming Event with 9 Authors!

Hi guys! I will be announcing winners to the epic contest for the Breathless Reads tour soon, and I'll also be doing a post about the awesome that happened, but for now I'm spending one more week away from home: at a writing retreat that doesn't have internet. But before I go, I wanted to let you know about an upcoming event that's going to be HUGE.

What: NINE YA authors talking about writing, books, and publishing, followed by a signing


Who: Myself, Brenna Yovanoff, Tessa Gratton, Myra McEntire, Jackson Pearce, Victoria Schwab, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, and Carrie Ryan

When: March 1st, at 7:00 pm

Where: Malaprops Bookstore, Asheville, NC

Why: Because those ladies are awesome, that's why!

More: So, basically, this is going to be one huge event, full of authors. We might livestream, we might not (depending on tech/availability/etc.). But we will be talking and signing and having SHENANIGANS. I'm fairly certain we will be inappropriate. I at least will be inappropriate, as per usual.

SO! Come to the event! Meet us! Ask your pressing (possibly inappropriate) questions! Get signed books! More details HERE.

And if you can't come to Asheville (honestly, why don't you just invest in that teleporter, yo?) then you can also order signed books through Malaprops HERE.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Adding to the Giveaway...

Hi everyone!

The tour is going GREAT. It's been so fun to meet so many of you in real life, and get a face to go with a blog or Twitter handle! So far, only three people have asked for the secret code word for the giveaway, so it's basically our little secret. :)

And speaking of the giveaway...

The Facebook Page has shot way past my goal for it (we're getting close to 3k, yay!), and we're approaching 5k entries, and the sampler's been shooting up the charts, so...

Let's add one more book to the giveaway! On the very last day of the tour, I will be on a panel at Passion & Prose (if you're in the LA area, check it out! Tons of YA authors + a reduced rate to get in!). On the panel will be the usual suspects--Marie, Jessica, Andrea, and I--but also Sara Wilson Etienne, author of HARBRINGER. So, I'm adding her book to the pile of goodies I'm collecting for the giveaway--that means SEVEN signed books, PLUS HARBRINGER (which may or may not be signed, depending on what's available and time). Also: badges from the tour! And (quite possibly) posters!

What are you waiting for? Go enter!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Like Falling in Love All Over Again

So I'm on book tour right now, and while it's been WONDERFUL to see so many people and talk with everyone and tour the lovely cities Penguin is sending me to and get to know Andrea, Marie, and Jessica better, it is also EXHAUSTING. So...I've not posted nearly as often as I usually do. But! I do want to take a moment to remind everyone of two things:

1) If you want signed copies of my books (or any of the other books by the lovely ladies on tour with me) we have signed stock at every single book store event, and they have copies available and are able to ship nationwide (and worldwide in the case of the larger stores). Please check out the list of tour stops and contact the store closest to you for signed copies.

2) Don't forget to enter my contest for ALL SEVEN BOOKS ON TOUR--SIGNED! You guys have officially brought the Facebook Likes for the Breathless Reads page over 2,500, so ALL SEVEN BOOKS are going to one grand prize winner! And true to my word, I've been collected some additional prizes along the way...so there will actually be multiple winners. I have badges already (YAY!) and hope to get some posters soon. Also, there might be ARCs involved. Just sayin'. Contest entry post is the one directly below this post.

OK! Onto the post!

So, last night PRIDE AND PREJUDICE was playing on the hotel movie channel, and it got me thinking about writing (surprise, surprise). I realized that the love in the movie is actually very similar to my different stages of writing a novel. I'm currently in the midst of rewriting SHADES OF EARTH (with a new! exciting! ending!), and it's put me firmly in Stage Three of the Falling In Love Writing Process.

How is writing like falling in love, Jane Austen Style?

Stage One: Lydia and Wickham

In PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the stupid sister, Lydia, becomes infatuated with the horrid player Wickham. She makes a stupid decision to run off with him, which would have led to her "ruining" in society had Mr. Darcy not forced Wickham to marry her. Nevertheless, Lydia never sees anything wrong with Wickham and thinks that he's the most wonderful man on Earth, despite the fact that he's a complete and utter douche.

This is the first stage of writing, the final copy of the rough draft. When I first finish a novel, I look at it with starry eyes. It can do no wrong. I truly believe I will send it out to critique partners or my editor, and it will come back with nothing but gold stars and smiley faces on the manuscript. I have no idea that my manuscript is flawed; I see right past it all and believe it's nothing but good.

Which makes me as stupid as Lydia at this point.

Stage Two: Elizabeth and Darcy Hate

When Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy first meet, it's hate at first sight. They don't get along. They see nothing but each other's flaws. They want to utterly tear down the other one, and spend their time ranting at each other.

This is when I first start editing. I look at the book and wonder why I ever wrote such trash. I taste bile when I think about how I actually let other people READ it. Ugh. This thing needs to go in the trash. I might as well start over.

Sure, there might be a few redeeming qualities. After all, Elizabeth admits that Mr. Darcy is a handsome man, and polite. Maybe the manuscript needs an overhaul, but there are a few scenes that might be okay...after some time apart, I might start seeing a few glimmers of hope (just as Elizabeth started liking Darcy when they were separated)...

And this leads me straight to... Stage Three: Elizabeth and Darcy Love

There's a moment in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE where Elizabeth suddenly realizes that Mr. Darcy's not a complete tool. She recognizes that he's not perfect, but she's able to see past that to his intent, and realize that he's actually a good man. And perfect for her. Likewise, somewhere between editing/rewriting and finishing the new draft, I reach a moment where I can both see what was wrong before, but look past it to the beating heart of the story.

It's a magical moment, just like falling in (real) love. It's when I can see that the story's not perfect (no story ever is) but I'm reaching the point where it is perfect for me. I love it--really love it, not like Lydia loves Wickham. Lydia turns a blind eye to Wickham's faults, but Elizabeth doesn't--and neither do I. I see the faults, and I try to make them better, or I try to make the reader see that the faults are a part of the story. I am not afraid to chop off parts that don't work, I'm not afraid to admit that my opinion was wrong. I love it, and I want to make it better. And I believe in it.

This is the point where I'm at with SHADES OF EARTH right now. I went through the Lydia love--I actually expected to have just a few edits, lol! And for much of the past two months, I've been in the Hate mode. I couldn't see any value to the book at all, and I wanted nothing more than to throw it all away. But I'm back in love now, real love, and I've found the beating heart of the story, and all I want to do is relish in the words and sling them about like flower petals at a wedding.

Monday, February 13, 2012

A Breathless Giveaway!

I cannot believe that it's tour time again! I did the Breathless Reads tour last year as well, and it was amazingly awesome.

Long time readers of my blog know that I tend to celebrate good things with giveaways, and this year's tour celebration will be no different!

First, the prizes!

Signed copies of the books on tour:


Across the Universe
by me :)

Born Wicked
by Jessica Spotswood

Nightshade 
by Andrea Cremer

Legend
by Marie Lu

AND: You might have noticed that two authors on tour (myself and Andrea) have sequels out. If the entries for this contest reach 5,000 *or* the Breathless Reads Sampler download hits the top 100 list in either Amazon or BN *or* the Breathless Reads Facebook Page hits 2,500 likes, I will add THREE more books to this giveaway--the sequels to Across the Universe and Nightshade.



That's right: you could win up to SEVEN signed books! 
One prize-winner will take home EVERYTHING.

AND: If I pick up any goodies along the way--such as a signed Breathless Reads tour poster--I'll be sure to add it to the pot. And if I get more than one poster, I'll add those to send to multiple winners...

So, how do you enter? Simple. Basically, I want to make sure everyone knows about the tour. If these tours are successful, Penguin will keep doing them. As it's really important to me to spread the word, all the entries to the contest are linked to that.

In the Rafflecopter below, there are easy ways to spread the word via Tweet, Facebook, etc. Even if you're not online, you can simply tell a friend about the tour and enter that way. (And of course, multiple entries are welcome!)

Additionally, there are three things you can do to get extra entries.

(1) Post the Breathless Reads poster somewhere online, and link it back to the Breathless Reads page. Remember, if the page reaches 2,500 likes, I'm adding more books to the prize!


(2) Download the Sampler of the Breathless Reads books on either Kindle or Nook. Remember, if these hit the top 100 lists during the tour, I'm adding extra books to the prize haul!


To download a free chapter sampler, click here:

(3) Actually come to one of the stops on the tour. Ask me for the codeword, and I'll tell you a secret word to plug into the Rafflecopter. I know this one's a little biased towards the people who can actually come to the stops, but I really want to give props to the people who come, and I've given everyone else other ways to enter. To find out where the stops are, click here.

Contest Details:
  • Open internationally
  • Must have parent/guardian's permission to enter if below age 18
  • Only entries in the Rafflecopter form below qualify as entries to the giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, February 11, 2012

IMPORTANT: Reschedule Event

Hi guys!

If you were planning on coming to see me and the lovely Megan Miranda in Asheville tonight at Malaprops Bookstore, the snow is putting a crimp in our plans! We are gong to have to reschedule the event to a later date. Don't drive if you don't have to!! The roads are slick, and there's a chance they will refreeze.

We hate doing this--we know people make plans and we hate having to re-arrange them. But we're afraid that people who come out...might not be able to get home.

I'll let you know when we reschedule :)

(And don't worry; this is only for TONIGHT'S event--this is not effecting any of my other scheduled events or the tour.)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Try Breathless Reads for Free!


If you've not read AtU yet--or any of these wonderful titles--check it out now! You can get sample chapters of all the ladies from the Breathless Reads tour (starting next week! squee!) for FREE, from either Kindle or Nook.

And speaking of free, dude, Penguin's doing so much to make this tour awesome. For example: tour badges!


Every person who comes to the event will get one (unless by chance they run out, but I don't think that'll happen). And you want one! Because (a) they are cool, (b) they give you an entry into a giveaway...including a free Samsung Galaxy Tablet!

So if you're anywhere near the tour stops, please come by! And don't think that you have to buy all the books or anything (although I will give you a hug if you do). Because you can still collect signatures--everyone who comes to the tour will also get a free poster, and we'd love to sign it for you!


(It is so pretty. And shiny!)

Basically, this is me saying that the Breathless Reads tour is going to be EPIC, and I really want to see you there!

For more information on the tour, 
To download a free chapter sampler,
click here:
Kindle  |  Nook

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Winners all around!

Quick post! I did some giveaway last week, and have selected the winners! And one of them might be you, so check out below!

Winner of a SIGNED copy of TEMPEST by Julie Cross:

Jordan E. (I've already emailed you :)

Winner of a SIGNED copy of A MILLION SUNS for coming up with a clever plot twist:

(random drawing winner): @MilyHopeEc for this tweet 

And because I simply couldn't resist, there was one plot twist that made me laugh out loud--it was perfect for me, and so I want to give it a prize, too. Problem is? The entry was Anonymous. So, Anon, send me an email with your address so I can get you a prize! The winning anonymous entry is:
Amy steps foot onto Centauri earth to find a black cat named luna who tells her she is Sailor Centauri A and she has to save everyone from the megaverse. Oh, and Elder's tuxedo Mask for kicks....

PS: Tomorrow I'm doing a pod cast interview with AuthorsAreRockstars. Have a question for me? Ask it here!