Cover Reveal: Ignite by Sara B. Larson

Hello &  welcome to today's cover reveal for Sara B. Larson's IGNITE! The second book in her Defy series. Check out this cover!!!

What do you think of the cover? I love it! I think it's the perfect companion to DEFY's cover. I can not wait to read this book. 

About IGNITE

By: Sara B. Larson

Published by: Scholastic

To Be Released on: January 6, 2015

Series: Defy #2

Pre-Order it from Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Add it to Goodreads

Murder, abductions, and forbidden romance abound in this thrilling sequel to Sara B. Larson's acclaimed YA debut, DEFY.


Alexa remains by the newly crowned King Damian’s side as his guard, ever committed to helping him rebuild Antion and reclaim the hope of Antion's people, despite continuing to harbor a secret love for him. However, when another threat to Damian and his kingdom emerges, and blame is cast on their newly forged allies from Blevon, Alexa knows things are not what they seem. With the fate of her nation hanging in the balance once again, will Alexa be able to protect her king and uncover the true enemy -- before it's too late?

About DEFY

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and heart racing romance.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

About Sara B. Larson

Sara's debut YA fantasy novel, DEFY, released in January of 2014 from Scholastic. The sequel will come out in early 2015--stay tuned for announcements about the title, cover, and synopsis! Sara lives in Utah with her husband and three young children. She writes during naptime and the hours when most people are sleeping. Her  husband claims she should have a degree in "the art of multitasking." On occasion you will find her hiding in a bubble bath with a book and some Swedish Fish or some mint chocolate truffles. She is represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

Find Sara via: Her Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads


The Giveaway

Thank you to Scholastic, we have 3 arcs of Ignite to giveaway!! ** Please note that with this being a January release, arcs are not currently available. Winners will receive them as soon as they become available. *US only


To enter to win, please fill out the form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck!

BEA 2014 Recap: Part 1

Tuesday & Wednesday

May 27 & 28, 2014

Tuesday morning started off bright and gorgeous. The night before Andye (Reading Teen) spent the night at my house since we were driving - OK, Andye was driving, Jen and I were praying - to NYC. We left after Andye encouraged my niece, Aria, to have Auntie Hannah read about Hedwig to her.

Nice try, Andye.

We picked up Jen (Jenuine Cupcakes) who lives a few minutes away from me and then we were off on a fairly uneventful road trip. The biggest problem was keeping the cupcakes out of the sun. Jen was constantly rearranging them so make sure they didn't melt from the sun. So to answer your question, yes. She really does come with cupcakes. And it pays to be part of the cupcake entourage.

We dropped our belonging off at the hotel and then drove the car over to Brooklyn to park. Having never been to Brooklyn, I loved it. Andye took us down to the promenade, which included a very shaky walkway in the air that had me bouncing and giggling, Andye smiling and Jen a little nervous. 

We walked around a bit, grabbed a late lunch at a fabulous pizza place and then Andye and Jen escorted me to the subway station so I could catch a train back to the city and meet Nicole (Paperback Princess) for dinner. I went back to the hotel and officially checked in, making sure our luggage was brought up to our room (which was a bit dated, but seriously spacious) before heading out.

Nicole's birthday was the next day, so I came in early to celebrate with her. We went out to dinner, walked around Union Square, and then went to The Strand (it was my first time), where we ran into almost a dozen bloggers who were in town for BEA. I might've bought a few books, too, because ... why not? 

I went back to the hotel, took a quick shower and chatted with Jen (Andye was in another room with some other bloggers) and then we crashed fairly early because the next day was going to be busy.

Wednesday felt significantly cooler than Tuesday (thank the Lord) and less humid. Jen and I quickly packed up an vacated the hotel to move to the hotel we would be using for the remainder of the trip - the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Penn Station. I absolutely adored this hotel room. It was huge, had a great view and was very central to everything. 

Jen and I found a Starbucks and I blankly stared into oblivion as she sucked down caffeinated goodness. Then we went out and headed to the Little Brown/NOVL brunch. We had been to this building back during PubCrawl and it was no less amazing this time around. Only difference is now we knew how to work the elevators and looked semi-smart to the others who showed up with us.

The NOVL brunch was fantastic and they had an entire presentation for us on their top 6 upcoming titles, a super-secret sneak preview, and they showed us how much work goes into designing a cover. At the end we got to make our own swag bags with ARCs they had laid out for us.

We left shortly after to meet up with Gabrielle, my mom, and aunt who would be staying with us the rest of the week. We checked into the hotel and then grabbed something to eat before heading off to the Javits to get our passes.


Was anyone else bummed we didn't get lanyards this year? Oh, well.

Before BEA, Jen and I had set up a meeting with Erin & Courtney from Berkley/NAL. We met them at JacquesTorres for some of the best chocolatey goodness ever. We chatted about some upcoming New Adult books and my love of romance for a bit before we had to go. 

Jen and I made it back to the hotel with enough time to grab Gabrielle and freshen up a bit before waiting in an endless, frigid line for a taxi to go to the EpicReads party. Fortunately we weren't too late and made it to the party without any problems.

Other than minor frostbite.

I loved this party. I got to meet Amy Ewing, Amy Plum, Heather Demetrios, and a ton of other plus reconnect with some of my blogger friends. It was loud and crazy and fun. 

All too soon it was time to leave (OK, seriously I was exhausted and craved sleep at this point), and to bed because BEA officially kicked off the next day.

Blog Tour: In Darkness by Nick Lake

I’ve written before about various influences on In Darkness, from studying Creole to watching news reports showing people being dug out of the rubble after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

But it struck me recently that these are only influences on the fabric of the book, on its outer manifestation. The body under this fabric, the core of the book, could be set anywhere, and I can think of one event in particular that clearly shaped it, which I don’t think I’ve talked about in any meaningful way before.

This event happened to me in a hotel in Oxfordshire, about as far from Haiti as could easily be imagined. My wife and I were staying for a wedding. We went to bed late, and tired. For various reasons we were not feeling optimistic, had been knocked back, nearly knocked out. Out of love with life. Though we were still very much in love with each other.

I said something like, “there’s no point to anything. Growing up means realizing that there is no magic in the world.”

“No,” said my wife. She smiled. We were… um… not safe to drive at this point, let’s say. She pointed to the large wardrobe in the corner of the hotel room, which was an attic room in this old, maybe 16^th century hotel. “There’s a door at the back of that wardrobe,” she said.

“This isn’t Narnia,” I said.

“Still. There’s a door. Open it and see.”

I should specify that we had not been up to the room before this point. Not all night. Not at all. I walked over to the wardrobe, opened it, and… there was a door. A small door, waist height. I opened it, called to my wife.

“No way,” she said. “I was joking.”

“Yeah, well,” I said. I led the way through the door. There was an ancient passageway on the other side, paneled with oak. A single light bulb hung from cobwebby eaves. The passageway twisted and turned. We followed it, feeling like we were crossing the whole attic of the large hotel. At the other end was another small door: we opened it and were looking down into someone else’s bathroom. In the morning we asked about it, were told that it was probably a secret passageway built when Catholics were persecuted, were hiding themselves in priest holes, escaping through passages like this.

“See?” said my wife, when we got back to our room that night. “Magic is real.” She was right. And perhaps not coincidentally, we now live in the village in Oxfordshire where we had that experience.

When I started writing In Darkness, I began with the idea of a boy trapped in the rubble. But I was also consciously thinking about magic, and how it is real, and how this is something that teenagers – all of whom are going through a difficult time, though to varying degrees – need to know. I was thinking about specific pieces of everyday magic that I knew about from my masters degree in Linguistics: such as the way that the human ear acts as a bandpass filter, privileging sounds in the 4000 – 6000 hertz range, where a large part of human speech resides. Which means that when people are trapped, after an earthquake, rescue workers are programmed by biology to hear their cries for help, to hopefully hear them, among the noise of machines and creaking and digging.

But I was also, I realized afterwards, thinking about that passage, at the back of the wardrobe. Shorty, in the book, is mostly trapped inside his mind: he can’t see or even really explore his surroundings. The room he is locked in is himself. But I ended up giving him a door, without really thinking about it or consciously intending to: a passageway that he crosses, in his imagination, into the mind of the revolutionary slave leader Toussaint l’Ouverture, three hundred years before. It allows him to escape: to lead another life, to be another person. Which in turn gives him strength, from Toussaint’s strength.

This was important, I thought, though perhaps not consciously. Because magic is real, and magic opens passages into other places.

One very obvious example is a book. A book is a passage into another place. Into another person. It’s an everyday machine of absolute, wonderful magic.

It is.

It really is.

And, after that grand sweeping statement, a necessary corrective: sometimes I like to get one of those miniature Coke cans they give out on airplanes, and a funsize Mars bar, and pretend to be a giant.

Nick Lake is the much-acclaimed author of In Darkness, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, and Hostage Three, which received three starred reviews and was named a Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Boston Globe Best Book of the Year. His next book is There Will Be Lies, out in January 2015. He is also the Publishing Director for fiction at HarperCollins Children's Books UK. Nick lives near Oxford, England. Visit him online at www.in-darkness.org and on Twitter at @NicholasLake.

Here is the description of his next book, THERE WILL BE LIES, due out in January 2015:

In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.

Shortly after, her mother will steal her from an Arizona hospital without explanation, and take her on a winding road trip toward the Grand Canyon.

All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn’t, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel—his most commercial offering yet. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning.

Blogger Talk: Conferences and the Elephant

*Disclaimer: This post is my person opinion and does contain some language*

Truthfully, this is a post that has been marinating in my mind for quite some time now, but I always talked myself out of writing it (OK, actually my fellow blogger friends did), but I think there's a few things that need to be addressed in light of the BEA drama and some stuff going on over the last few days.

I made a series of posts regarding BEA last year and in one particular post, I mentioned attendees (not just bloggers) who I had seen grabbing multiple copies of books. I still - after 3 BEAs - stand by what I said. Playing the BEA police is no one's job but BookExpo America and the publishers. 

Yes, you're going to have a few random asshats who take several copies in greed for themselves or to barter off or to look cool. But you also have idiots who whip into parking spots during the Christmas rush when you've had your blinker on and been sitting there waiting for that spot for 5 minutes while a mom of 5 wrangles her kids into the minivan, loads the packages and then backs out slower than molasses going uphill in a snowstorm. Life isn't fair and trying to right all the minor wrongs of the world to keep a balance will drive you crazy.

If you've never been to a conference, I can see where you might get annoyed seeing bloggers who post pictures of 100 books on day one. Trust me, I get blogger jealousy. I've been a victim of it more times than I can count. I've also been one of those bloggers who walked away with 100 books from a conference.

*crickets*

Yeah. I just admitted it. Because I had to decide in a short amount of time if I was interested in a book or not and might want to read it. So I took it and brought it home for consideration because I accepting a review copy in no way is equivalent to signing a contract saying I will review this book. Quite the opposite, actually. I am not being paid, my blog is not monetized, and I have a right to read, DNF, review, refuse, or ignore every single book on my book shelf.

But let's talk about this year and what happened.

This year I was so incredibly lucky to attend several huge YA Blogger parties during BEA. Want to know what was given out at most of these parties? Swag bags. With books. Some I had never heard of and would likely never read. But when someone hands you a gift, you don't snort and hand it back saying, "No, thanks."

Unless your parents did a crappy job of raising you, you know that isn't cool. 

Want to know what I did with these books? I took a picture of them and said thank you. Yes. That's right. I thanked the people who so generously gave me something even if I didn't necessarily want it. I posted about it on social media, giving the book(s) some attention. And then I walked them across the hall of my hotel and handed them to a friend's sister who is a teacher for a financially poor, rural county in PA. Their school has no money for new books for the library for teens, so I (and a lot of other blogger friends) have taken to cleaning out our shelves during conferences when we are handed books we don't want so that these books get into the hands of people who will read them and appreciate them.

So I apologize for donating books to a school district that has a very minimal library budget because it's a poorer area and people don't have a lot of free money to spend on books.

And for the record, I have told publishers I do this. I've had several friends in publishing offer to send even more books to this friend, or insist I take multiple copies so they can get into the hands of teens who otherwise wouldn't see them.

I truly do understand wanting to go to a conference. I had people last year and this year asking me to grab them books because they can't afford to go. When I said no, they got huffy because it's not fair that they can't go because they can't swing it financially.

Well guess what? I work for my money. I don't have a ton of extra spending money that I can drop on a trip to NYC for a week at any given time. I plan and budget and save all year long to afford this trip. I go without things and miss other events so I can afford to go to BEA each year. I book my hotel room in July so I can get a good rate. I didn't start attending BEA until I was almost 30 and had a big-person job. I couldn't have made this trip happen when I was 19!

In case you were wondering, I will not be deleting or censoring any comments here. Feel free to call me a bitch if that's how you feel. I know who my friends are and they know who I am. This is my hobby - not my life. I love books and authors and publishers and fangirling about it all, but it does not define me as a person. I have met some incredible people through blogging who I would move Heaven and earth to help whenever I can, but while blogging may have been a common ground for us at one time, it isn't the foundation of our friendship. 

I'm absolutely sick to death of the whining, bitching and overwhelming sense of entitlement people feel about books and review copies. Every time a publisher does an ARC mailing, my feed is 45% pictures of excited reviewers, 45% tweets about grumbling and jealousy and 10% images of Theo James (only 1 of those 3 categories annoys me).

You do realize that an ARC is an advance copy, right? As in the book will soon be finished and on an actual bookshelf from a place you can buy it (allow me to introduce you to Amazon) or borrow it (I'll help you find a local library). ARCs are not the only way to read and review books. 

Can we all just stop acting like children now? PLEASE?

For more specifics on what happened, check out Jen's much more eloquent, concise post: http://jenuinecupcakes.blogspot.com/2014/06/like-i-said.html

Gone BEAin'

Gabrielle and I are out this week for BEA 2014! Make sure you check us out on twitter & instagram, and even if you can't actually be at BEA, there's still a ton of stuff happening this week to check out like the #YAPARTY on Thursday night and Armchair BEA all week!

Expect a full recap of the awesome (and chaos) when we get back!

Review: Take Me On by Katie McGarry

Title: Take Me On

Author: Katie McGarry

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Publication Date: 5.27.2014

Pages: 544

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Issues

Series: Pushing the Limits #4

Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her-fighting for her-is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

Review:

It's like the year simply doesn't work without a Katie McGarry book in my life. Over nearly 3 years, she has become one of my absolute favorite authors, and I love owning every single one of her books in multiple formats. With TAKE ME ON, McGarry is back in full force with Rachel's bad boy brother, West.

West definitely caught my attention in Crash Into You. I loved him and was drawn to him, so getting the chance to see how his mind really worked in TAKE ME ON was fantastic. He's loyal and stubborn as hell, but he has a habit of carrying around the weight of the world on his shoulders while laughing it off to everyone else.

Enter Haley, a girl with more issues than Us Weekly, who sees through his BS and bravado. Haley, who has her own scars and demons and issues, but these two somehow find a balance and solace with each other.

I breezed through this book, absolutely loving every second of it. But when I finished, I realized I still had some questions. A lot of loose ends that didn't make sense and were never fully resolved. Sometimes they felt like random moments that served as unnecessary fillers. There were a few extra characters that just felt out of place and if it had been a movie, their scenes would have been on the cutting room floor.

Overall, you cannot go wrong with a Katie McGarry book. You simply can't. She could write a book about lawn furniture and make it romantic. She's that good. Anytime someone asks for a swoony recommendation, I immediately point them to this series.

Buy: Amazon

BEA with Little, Brown

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

BEA is our biggest event of the year! Our goal is to present our upcoming books to key influencers: the people who will spread the word and increase sales at the time of the book's publication. Since attendees of BEA include all swaths of book people: booksellers, librarians, authors, agents, media, bloggers, distributors, foreign publishers, digital publishers, and now, with BookCon, consumers—anyone who pitches our books to anyone works at BEA. Marketing does the promotion, advertising, giveaways and booth experience, and Publicity does author events and entertaining. We also work closely with our Sales team to staff the booth.

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

BEA is the one-stop-fits-all for all book industry folks. Other conferences usually have a more specific focus: teachers, librarians, digital publishing, bookseller trade shows, etc. BEA is where you get everything. Except a chance to take a breather! (Kidding.)

3.) Any suggestions for how bloggers/librarians should approach publishers at BEA?

The best time is when there isn't an in-booth event going on. If there's an author signing, or a big giveaway happening, the staff running the booth will primarily be focusing on that, so it will be difficult to have a conversation. Come back at a quiet time, comment at what catches your eye, and ask us questions! 

4.) What advice would you offer a first time attendee?

There will always be too much to see, read, and do. Come prepared with your "musts" and go with the flow for everything else! 

5.) Are there any titles from Little, Brown/Hachette you're excited will be at BEA this year?

The question is OBVIOUSLY yes! Be on the lookout for Ryan Graudin's THE WALLED CITY, which is set in the real-life, only-demolished-in-the-90s city of Kowloon, in Hong Kong. The city is almost a character in and of itself—if you think Manhattan is densely populated, you should google "Kowloon Walled City". Then come back, I'll wait.

Crazy, right? People living on top of each other, with hardly any daylight peeking through. Drugs, brothels, gangs… you name it. THE WALLED CITY features three characters with interweaving story lines and reads like a dystopian thriller, but then you realize that it was based on a real place. I've heard the editor throw around the term "histopian." Bloggers, can we make that a thing?

There are also new books by old favorites (Holly Black, A. S. King, Paolo Bacigalupi, Rebecca Serle) and new favorites (Kendall Kulper's SALT & STORM, Josh Sundquist's WE SHOULD HANG OUT SOMETIME). Come to booth #2820 and we'll tell you all about them!

#YAPARTY during #BEA14 - are you going?

HOST LIZA WIEMER CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND

THE #YAPARTY

WHERE: Twitter

WHEN: May 29, 2014, 8-11 PM EST

(Please tweet during those hours!If you won’t be around during that time, I recommend scheduling tweets using TweetDeck. ONLY entries during that time will count!)

WHY: Because space for the BEA YA Author/Blogger Party is very limited and I want everyone to be able to participate.

***Special thanks goes to Andye Eppes of Reading Teen and Hannah McBride of The Irish Banana, YA Author/Blogger Party Organistas Extraordinaire – Please follow them and enter the two special prizes (#24 & #25)!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the publishers and bloggers who provided the prize packages! See each one below.

(You must be 13 years old or older. This post and the prize packages are accurate as of 5-23-14, but are subject to change until the 11:00 PM EST on May 29, 2014. Notification will be done through Twitter. Prizes are not exchangeable. Winners will be notified by June 15, 2015 or sooner. Shipping will be done through the prize donors. You must contact the donor within 24 hours or another winner will be chosen.)

What do you need to do?

It’s Simple:

Follow @LizaWiemer on Twitter

Follow the publisher or specific prize donor and tweet (information listed below for each prize)!

PRIZE #1: (INTERNATIONAL)

From Paper Lantern Lit: An e-copy of each title from The Studio OR an editorial review of 50 pages of a manuscript OR an editorial review of 15 pages of a plot outline.

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty and follow @PaperLanternlit & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win a 50 page manuscript review. http://www.whorublog.com

Or

I joined the #YAParty & follow @PaperLanternlit Liza Wiemer. Hope to win a 15 page plot outline editorial review. http://www.whorublog.com

Or

I joined the #YAParty & follow @PaperLanternlit Liza Wiemer. Hope to win an e-copy of each title from The Studio. http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #2: (USA Only)

From Little Brown @TheNovl

• Rapture Practice Paperback

• The Walled City ARC

• Famous in Love ARC

• Secrets & Lies Hard Copy

• Just Call My Name ARC

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @TheNovl & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win a Little Brown five-book package! Info: http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #3: (USA Only)

From Spencer Hill Press and Spencer Hill Contemporary SIX (6) NEW TITLES!

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @SHContemp & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win a six-book package! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #4: (USA Only)

From Strange Chemistry, your choice of five books!

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @StrangeChem & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win five SC books, my choice! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #5: (USA Only)

From Books of Wonder a signed copy of DOROTHY MUST DIE

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @BooksofWonder & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win a five SC books, my choice! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #6 & #7: (USA Only)

From Bookish Delites, bookish bracelets made by Kassiah Faul.

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @SwoonyBoys & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win one of two bookish bracelets! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #8 & #9: (USA Only)

From Fic Fare, YA Signed Contemporary Book Package! (Better Off Friends, Ask Again Later, My Life with the Walter Boys)

. . . YA Signed Dystopian/Alternate Future Book Package! (Plus One, Control, In the After)

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @ErinLee20 of Fic Fare & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win YA Contemporary Book Package! http://www.whorublog.com

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @ErinLee20 of Fic Fare & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win YA Dystopian Book Package! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #10 – #23 (USA Only)

From Wicked Bookcraft, (14 winners) A handcrafted bookmark (like the one pictured, various book themes, including Harry Potter & Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children!)

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @WickedBookcraft of Reading Teen & Liza Wiemer. I hope to win a handcrafted bookmark! http://www.whorublog.com

PRIZE #24 (USA Only)

From the YA Party, a signed “We Love YA” Board from our YA authors – at least twenty-five signatures!

Tweet: I joined the #YAParty & follow @ReadingTeen @Irish_Banana. I hope to win a signed “We Love YA” Board from YA authors! http://www.whorublog.com 

PRIZE #25 (USA Only)

From the YA Party, a tote bag filled with books/ARCs/Swag from the event.

Tweet:  I joined the #YAParty & follow @ReadingTeen @Irish_Banana. I hope to win a tote bag filled with YA books/ARCs/Swag! http://www.whorublog.com

Thank you for joining us! We hope you had fun. Good luck! Winners will be notified by June 15, 2014 or sooner.

- See more at: http://www.whorublog.com/2014/05/23/join-the-yaparty-may-29-2014-8-11-pm-est-25-awesome-prize-packages/#sthash.dN9Ienno.J4

BEA with Spencer Hill Press

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

We start brainstorming a year out, while we're still at BEA. We make notes for what works best and what we want to improve. But we start working out the specifics of which books and authors will be featured about six months out, since we need to make sure that the books are ready in time. It takes months of work, planning, ordering books, SWAG, and stuff for the booth. This year, Jessica Porteous, one of our senior editors, has done the lion's share of the planning. She is made of awesome. 

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

It's by far the biggest event of the year for us, and it is the one event we never miss. 

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.)

Attendees should bring a LOT of business cards! Please include your name, your email address, and your blog name (or the name of the library, etc.--whatever the book-related info might be). If you are interested in our books, we'd love to have a way to tell you more about them. Feel free to come up and say hi to someone in a booth--we love to talk about our books, and if you have a set question or two, such as, "Do you have any books you'd recommend for kids in junior high who don't like to read?" or "I'm a huge romance fan--am I in the right place?" we'll be happy to steer you right. Even a generic, "Do you have a mailing list?" or "What kinds of books does your company publish?" will work. 

4.) What advice would you offer a first time attendee?

Bring comfortable shoes, a rolling suitcase, a bottle of water, a snack or two, and lots of business cards. Check the signing schedules and make up a list, so you don't miss the ones you really, really wanted to catch. Oh, and pack one of those external batteries to charge your cell phone--there's some kind of weird energy field in the Javits Center that drains cell batteries wicked fast. 

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

Thanks for asking! right now, we have the following schedule: 

Spencer Hill Press Signing Schedule
Booth 2567 (by the autographing area)

Thursday

10:00 – Colette Ballard (RUNNING ON EMPTY)

1:00 – Elizabeth Langston (I WISH) & Jennifer Murgia (FOREST OF WHISPERS)

3:00 – Kelly Hashway (MONSTER WITHIN) & Lisa Amowitz (VISION)

Friday

10:00 – Danielle Ellison (FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS) & Alex Kahler (MARTYR)

1:00 – Nikki Urang (THE HIT LIST), Megan Whitmer (BETWEEN), & Erica Cameron (cover reveal)

3:00 – Kelsey Macke (DAMSEL DISTRESSED) & Dahlia Adler (BEHIND THE SCENES)

Time TBD - Rachel Harris (THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING) – main autographing area

Saturday

10:00 – Jennifer Allis Provost (COPPER GIRL & COPPER RAVENS) & Errick Nunnally (BLOOD FOR THE SUN)

11:30 – T. J. Wooldridge (SILENT STARSONG) & Laura Diamond (ZODIAC COLLECTOR)

1:00 – Kell Andrews (DEADWOOD)

Time TBD - Daisy Whitney (BEN FOX, SQUIRREL ZOMBIE SPECIALIST) – main autographing area

Time TBD - Jennifer L. Armentrout (THE RETURN: A TITAN NOVEL) – main autographing area

Please note that times are subject to change.

Fierce Reads Hits #YADC

This past weekend was spent being fierce.

OK, not that kind of fierce. This kind of Fierce:

I spent two crazy, but amazing days with the Fierce Reads authors. It kicked off on Friday night at Hooray for Books in NoVA where I joined my amazing fellow YADCers to see Gabrielle Carolina from The Mod Podge Bookshelf moderate a panel consisting of Marie Rutkoski, Katie Finn, Lindsay Smith, and Anna Banks.

Katie Finn, Lindsay Smith, Marie Rutkoski, and Anna Banks

This was a hilarious, fun-filled panel that had the entire audience cracking up. All four women are engaging and fascinating. Afterwards we did a signing and 

YADC & Fierce Reads

Then it was off to dinner, YADC style (this means a lot of people, a lot of laughter and silliness, and cupcakes).

Gabrielle & me

Steph, Stacey, Jenn, Stephanie, Jess & Gabrielle

Andye & Steph

Steph & me (with complimentary horse photo bomb)

Sadly the party had to end (well, until we're all united in NYC for BEA next week), but my weekend was only half done. I had been asked to be the blogger for the Fierce Reads stop during the Gaithersburg Book Festival!

Armed with caffeine and Stephanie, I embarked on the journey to Gaithersburg. We wandered the area for a bit, popping in and out of tents before we got to catch up with our Fierce Reads authors (this time sans Marie, but with the hilarious addition of Emmy Laybourne). I had a chance to sit down and interview the authors (which I will be posting as soon as my computer stops being a butt and lets me download the file) and just chat for a bit before their panels began.

Katie, Lindsay, Anna, and Emmy Laybourne

It was a seriously amazing weekend with some fabulous women. Thank you Mary VanAkin and Ksenia Winnicki and all the other fantastic people at Macmillan who made this happen. Thank you Katie, Marie, Emmy, Anna, and Lindsay (who is now out newest YADC member!) for sharing your words and time with us. And thank you to my fellow YADC members who make everything more fun. 

GIVEAWAY:

The awesome folks at Fierce Reads are letting me give away a prize pack of books to one lucky winner! Included are:

-The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski 

-Sekret by Lindsay Smith

-Of Neptune by Anna Banks

-Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Winner must have a US mailing address and by over 13. 

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