Blog Tour: Goddess by Josephine Angelini

2013 will be the year that kills me because so many of my favorite series are ending. I fell in love with the Starcrossed series in 2011. It has been an emotional, turbulent ride with lots of actions (and quite a bit of kissing) along the way. I'm so sad to see this series draw to a close, but I am thrilled to have a chance to talk to Josephine Angelini about this series and what it means to say goodbye to Helen, Lucas, and many other characters I will miss more than I can say.

~The Interview~

1. The Starcrossed series has been one of my favorites to read, but how does it feel as the author to say goodbye to characters that you created?

 I did a lot of theater growing up, and the final performance always felt like goodbye.  But with books it’s different.  With a play, the show ends, the cast goes their separate ways and that’s that.  But with a book, I’m finding that it’s never really gone.  New readers discover the series every day, and their excitement keeps all three books right in the front of my mind.

2. Which book was your favorite to write?

Oooh, tough question.  Godess was the easiest to write.  It just spilled out of me and barely needed any revision—after all, I’d spent two years with this ending crouched in the back of my mind.  But Starcrossed was the most thrilling.  It was the first book I ever wrote, and giving myself permission to be a writer, getting over my fear and really going for it, and hang the consequences, was such a special experience. 

3. If you could have lunch with two of the characters you’ve created in this series, who would pick and why?

 Well, Noel—if she’s cooking!  But Daphne is the one I really want to sit down with.  I have a lot of questions for that chick.

4. If you could talk to Josie Angelini from 3 years ago is there any advice you would give a younger, less experienced you?

 I’d tell her to pace herself.  Every career has a thousand twists and turns, and you can’t rush through any of it, so take it one mile at a time.

5. What are you currently working on?

 I’m working on two things, actually.  Talk about telling myself not to rush, right?  Geeze, maybe I should take my own advice, but I’ve finished the first book in a new series I’m tentatively calling CRUCIBLE, and another project that I can’t discuss just yet.

6. Are there any books coming out this year you’re excited to read?

 Yes!  Tessa Gratton’s THE LOST SUN, and Amy Plum’s IF I SHOULD DIE, and Tara Hudson’s ELEGY, and Anna Carey’s new book BLACKBIRD.  There’s a ton more, but those are the one’s I have to read right now.

Thank you SO much, Josie!

~The Author~

About Josephine Angelini - website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. A real-live farmer's daughter, Josie graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

~The Series~

The Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini

Available Now!!

• Starcrossed: Goodreads |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
• Dreamless: Goodreads |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
• Starcrossed City (novella prequel to Starcrossed): Goodreads |  exclusively on Josephine's website

~The Giveaway~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~The Tour~

Monday, May 20th - Starryeyed Reviews

Tuesday, May 21st – fiktshun

Wednesday, May 22nd – The Irish Banana

Thursday, May 23rd – YA Bibliophile

Friday, May 24th – Supernatural Snark

Monday, May 27th - Birth of a new Witch

Tuesday, May 28th – Refracted Light Reviews

Wednesday, May 29th – Tales of a Ravenous Reader

Thursday, May 30th – Hobbitsies

Friday, May 31st – Reading Teen

Monday, June 3rd - Parajunkee

Tuesday, June 4th – Buried in Books

Wednesday, June 5th – Candace Book Blog

Thursday, June 6th – Alison Can Read

Friday, June 7th – Book Twirps

BEABlitz: HarlequinTEEN

Ask anyone who attended BEA in past years and they can attest to the massive crowd that the HarlequinTEEN hour amasses. I was fortunate enough to attend both last year and it was an absolute dream mkeeting several of my favorite authors in one fell swoop. Today I have the amazingly kind Lisa from HarlequinTEEN, who was gracious enough to share some of her past experiences, offer some sound advice and give us a glimpse into what HarlequinTEEN has in store for BEA goers this year!

1.) How many years have you attended BEA? 

This upcoming BEA 2013 will be my third year in attendance.

2.) How would you compare BEA to other book conferences/events?

I’ve actually only been to RWA (Romance Writers of America Conference), which are both completely different events.  In comparison, BEA is much like you would expect a conference to be: it is held in a very large hall (the Javits Center), there are many booths and a lot of catalog’s/brochures. However, don’t think that means it is dull; for anyone who loves the written word, it is a book paradise.

3.) Any suggestions for how bloggers/librarians should approach publishers at BEA? (I will admit I just stood around staring at booths until someone approached me because I was shy about it.) 

Be nice, up front and honest with any questions you may have. I would suggest first asking if there is someone in the booth who could address you specific questions, that way you are placed with the correct person right away.

4.) How much planning goes into an event like this for you and your coworkers?

A lot of planning is involved for BEA. We start in January and don’t stop until it ends on Saturday, June 1^st.

5.) Are there any titles from HarlequinTEEN you're excited will be at BEA this year?

Our teen authors are always a great draw! This year we will be having Katie McGarry and some of the first finished copies of DARE YOU TO (June 2013), debut author Amanda Sun will be signing copies of INK, and Julie Kagawa will be signing copies of THE ETERNITY CURE (May 2013).

Thanks, Lisa!

Be sure to check out the signings going on at HarlequinTEEN during BEA:

Booth#: 1238

Harlequin TEEN hour: Friday, May 31, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Katie McGarry, signing copies of DARE YOU TO

Julie Kagawa, signing copies of THE ETERNITY CURE

Elizabeth Scott, signing copies of HEARTBEAT

Amanda Sun, signing copies of INK

Big author signing: Saturday, June 1, 10:00-11:30 am

Katie McGarry, signing copies of DARE YOU TO

Julie Kagawa, signing copies of THE ETERNITY CURE

Elizabeth Scott, signing copies of HEARTBEAT

Amanda Sun, signing copies of INK

BEA Blitz: Kat Zhang

Last year Kat Zhang was a debut author promoting copies of What's Left of Me. This year Kat will return to BEA not only promoting the much-anticipated sequel, Once We Were, but also as a kick start for the YAGB Tour. Even if you can't catch Kat at BEA, make sure you see her (and some friends) at one of the tour stops in June.

1.) How many years have you attended BEA?

This will be my second year :)

2.)What was it like being a debut author last year?

It was fantastic! I fell so much in love with BEA--all those writers and readers and publishing people. The book energy was wonderful. It was awesome to meet my agent and editor for the first time, as well as others at HarperCollins. I was amazed every time someone mentioned having read and enjoyed my book (this was just after ARCs first went out!). I was lucky enough to have had WHAT'S LEFT OF ME chosen as a BEA Buzz book, so I got to go hear my editor talk about the book on a panel, as well as do a panel and signing myself. It was the best time, ever :)

3.) When you aren't signing books, are you hopping in line to meet authors? Or passed out in the back from exhaustion?

I definitely went to a few signings, and spent a lot of time just wandering the floor with other authors. I wanted to see everything I could!

4.) What's your favorite BEA memory?

Oooh, I dunno! Probably just getting to hang out with my editor and agent in general :)

5.) This year BEA kicks off the start of the YAGB Tour for you and a few of your friends: Tell everyone a little bit about this tour and where than can catch you if they miss you at BEA.

You can learn more about the tour at our tumblr: http://youngauthorsgiveback.tumblr.com/

Basically, though, it's a ~2.5 week, 7 city tour starting at BEA in NYC and covering NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, and Chicago. Erin Bowman, Susan Dennard, Sarah Maas, and I will be doing signings (open to everyone!) at each city, as well as organizing free writing workshops for writers aged 13-22! We hope to see many readers there :)

BEA Tips & Tricks: Part 8

Tips & Tricks - 

Part 8: Schedule Mania

The schedule.

THE SCHEDULE.

This is something BEA enthusiasts, book lovers, and attendees have been avidly awaiting. That blessed moment when you realize the author signing schedule has been posted and you can start formulating a plan of action. It’s also the time you feel like your stomach’s going to fall out of your butt because you realize there is no freaking way you can be in 20 places at once.

Everyone has their own way of planning. Their own way of attacking BEA, if you will. Some just go and wander and see what happens. Others plan to the nth degree and wind up having a mental breakdown when their plans get shot to hell. The vast majority of us fall between those two.

Last year I procrastinated and kept saying I had plenty of time and then two weeks before I went to BEA (when I told myself I would start making a legit schedule), my personal life shifted into mega overdrive. I wound up with a new job which meant I had to quit my old job, had my wisdom teeth removed, and my brother opted to get married in a whirlwind flash—we seriously threw a wedding together in 2 ½ weeks the end of May/beginning of June.

I started a schedule and never touched it because my life got so chaotic, there was no way I could take the time to finish. Thankfully someone awesome (Julia) sent me a copy of her schedule which I mooched off of, and I managed to fumble my way through BEA last year.

This year I’ve already started my color-coded schedule that will hopefully help me retain what precious scraps of sanity I have left. Several other bloggers have made awesome schedule tips posts, and I’ll link to those at the end of this. This is my take on the schedule.

1. Booked Solid

It is so easy to look at that glorious BEA schedule in front of you and start happily clicking signings you want to attend. Then you get to the last page and realize you’ve clicked over 100 books you want to get signed.

This is fantastic! You will get 100 books signed by authors you love!

Wait, a second. You want to attend 6 signings from 11:00-11:30 on Thursday. No problem, right? You just can’t hang and chat with the authors for a while. You need to keep jumping from line to line to line to—

Not gonna happen, my friend. It’s not gonna happen. For every signing you want to go to there will be another 50-250 people in line. And did I mention there’s limited copies of these books authors are signing? And that in the autographing area they really do make the author stop signing when their time is up, even if there’s still 100 people in line and more than enough books for everyone?

This is why you need a plan going into BEA and why you need to prioritize.

2.  Check Your Priorities

There are so many incredible authors I want to meet at BEA. Fact is, unless I bring my handy dandy cloning machine, I will not meet all of them. For example, on 5/31 Kat Zhang, Susan Dennard, Erin Bowman, Katie Cotugno, Joelle Charbonneau, Rick Riordan, and Richelle Mead are all signing at 10:30, most of them for only 30 minutes.

Unless there is a sudden BEA plague and I am the only one there that day, I cannot hit all those signings. Despite my intense love for each and every one of those authors, it won’t happen.

The key is to figure out which one signing I want to hit the most. And then the second most important one, and so on. And there is nothing wrong with having 6 possible signings to go to at one time as long as you realize you can’t make them all.

3. Overschedule Your Heart Out

I habitually overschedule myself at BEA. I have 6-7 signings at the same time. This way if I can’t make one, I have a backup. If I get done a signing, I scope out the others I was interested and hopefully join in on the fun.

There is so much going on at BEA, it is damn near impossible to keep it all straight. Don’t try to make yourself remember everything. Make a schedule and keep it handy.

This is just a quick overview, but check out these awesome schedule posts others have made:

Bewitched Bookworms
Poisoned Rationality

BEA Blitz: Little, Brown & Company

When I was at BEA last year, the first booth I went to (by chance) was the Hatchette Group, specifically the Little, Brown & Co. booth. It quickly became one of my favorite places. They had great signings, a ton of galley drops, and always someone waiting to talk books. I also met Faye, a publicist I had emailed with several times and have continued a relationship with. Faye is fantastic and agree to share some highlights of past BEA's and what you can expect this year.

1.) How many years have you attended BEA?

2013 will be my fourth BEA. Time flies! Back in 2010 I went as a spectator, and in 2011 and 2012 I was with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 

2.) How would you compare BEA to other book conferences/events?

Wow. Well, BEA is the biggest trade marketing conference in publishing, and we see a lot of booksellers, librarians, journalists and (of course!) book bloggers. That's a lot of combined enthusiasm for authors and books! The sheer volume of people gives the conference a great energy – librarian conferences are typically more focused (by geographical region, on educators, on school librarians). At BEA there's something for everyone, and we want attendees to learn and get excited about our upcoming books.

3.) Any suggestions for how bloggers/librarians should approach publishers at BEA? (I will admit I just stood around staring at booths until someone approached me because I was shy about it.)

No need to be shy—the best point of entry is to ask a question or comment on one of the books on display. "What are you most excited about this season?" is always a good one, or "I love Jessica Darling, can you tell me more about these new middle grade books?" We're here to talk! Honestly, the best part about BEA for me is getting to chat with other people who love books. If it's an especially busy time (say, during author signings) you can always come back when it quiets down. 

4.) How much planning goes into an event like this for you and your staff?

It's the biggest single event that we do, and because so many different people attend BEA, pretty much every person is all hands on deck. Marketing takes care of booth experience—layout of the booth, the furniture, swag, timed ARC giveaways, etc.—along with advertising and promotion. Publicity works on author events, like signings in the autographing area or in the booth, as well any off-site entertaining. We start planning as early as January—and maybe a bit before that!

5.) Are there any titles from Little, Brown or the Hachette Book Group you're excited

will be at BEA this year?

I'm always excited about books :) Holly Black's THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN is our big YA book this fall (eep, haven't finished it yet), but I'm really excited about A.S. King's REALITY BOY, which is about a boy who spent his early childhood on a reality TV show like Supernanny or Nanny 911. As you might guess, his already dysfunctional family just gets more dysfunctional. And in true A.S. King fashion, she makes you sad and angry and hopeful all at once. Another is ROOMIES by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando, told from the perspectives of two girls who are assigned to be each other's college roommates. They strike up a correspondence over the summer, and change each other's lives before they even meet! It's a brilliant book about friendship and growing up. 

Review: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Title: If I Should Die

Author: Amy Plum

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 5.7.2013

Pages: 405

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series: Revenants #3

Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: A-

Summary (from Goodreads):

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Review:

With If I Should Die Amy Plum puts another of my favorite YA series’ to rest. I first fell in love with these amazingly vibrant and brilliant characters Plum created three years ago and I’m still just as in love with them today. After a shocking twist at the end of book 2, I genuinely worried this book would be a failure for me. I’m so happy that it was everything I wanted and more.

Kate and Vincent still make me swoon. They are still one of my favorite YA romances. This was really Kate’s book to shine though, and while the evolution of her character was completely predictable, I still enjoyed the ride nonetheless. Plum has this fantastic way of writing that makes me nod and happily go along with whatever she throws out. This series also has one of the best supporting cast of characters I’ve read in a long time. They pick up the slack when one of the leads gets to be a little too much.

The end felt a bit rushed to me. I got about 3/4 of the way through this and realized Plum was actually going to try and resolve everything in 50 pages or less. While everything was resolved, I wish there would have been a little more elaboration and time spent. Also, I’m a girl who likes to linger with her favorite characters after the battle is won and everyone is reflecting. It’s my version of post-climax cuddling with my characters. My cuddle time was cut short.

At the end of the day this is another fantastic series I am sad to see come to a close in 2013. I fell in love with Kate, Vincent, the Revenant, and Paris. I think if I ever go to Paris one day I’ll always be looking for these characters that Plum brought to life in my head.

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository 

Waiting on Wednesday (43)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly waiting to get into our hands.

This week I'm waiting on....

Wild Cards

By: Simone Elkeles

Summary:
After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

Why I Want It:
If you follow me on twitter or Facebook, you know I am obsessed with this book and since the cover reveal was last Friday (seriously - gaze at the gloriousness of it, people!), I've been dying to share this with you.

I'm a huge Simone Elkeles fan. In truth, I don't know that I would even be blogging right now if I hadn't picked up a copy of Perfect Chemistry several years ago. That book totally changed how I reviewed YA books. It's edgy and tough and dark. I loved every second of it.

Ever since I read the synopsis of this book I've wanted it because it combines two things I adore: Simone and football. I am dying to get my hands on a copy of this book and you should be, too!