YA Fiction Pick and Mix 9/7 Edition Plus THE DREAM THIEVES Giveaway

by Martina Boone

Okay, I lied! I did more line edits this week, and so I am even more behind on edits, and I have the workshop coming up CRAZY fast. The good news? My lovely editor is making sure this book is going to be so much better than I could ever have made it on my own.

So. A very quick post today, but a FABULOUS giveaway of an ARC of Maggie Stiefvater’s THE DREAM THIEVES, the second book in The Raven Cycle.

First, a couple of pieces of business.

SEPTEMBER FIRST FIVE PAGES WORKSHOP STARTS TODAY

This month’s workshop opens at noon today (Saturday, September 7th). The workshop will feature guest mentor Leila Rasheed, author of CINDERS AND SAPPHIRES and the forthcoming DIAMONDS AND DECEIT. We will take the first five entries submitted at noon..

Read the rules and get your pages ready!

LOVE YA BOOKS? WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN INTERN!

Qualifications:

Be comfortable handling emails.
Ability to enter data into a spreadsheet on Google Drive.
Experience with blogging. Blogger platform preferred.
Basic HTML knowledge is a plus.
Love of YA books.

Here are the tasks you will be handling:

Finding upcoming YA releases and entering them into a spreadsheet. This includes: release date, author name, book title, ISBN number, and author contact information. We will tell you where you can find all of this information.
Handling emails from authors and publicists. This includes providing requested information from our website; thanking them for providing interview responses, guest posts, and/or giveaways; sending reminders to authors who have upcoming guest posts; and scheduling guest posts.
Sending giveaway winners’ information to the author or publicist providing the giveaway.
Responding to select comments on the blog to answer questions and provide information.
Entering guest posts on Blogger and scheduling them to post.
Assisting Jan with coordinating contests.

What you will receive in return:

Access to our NetGalley and Edelweiss accounts, where you will be able to request ARCs.
Access to the ARCs we receive from publishers.
A chance to get some great experience working with people in the publishing industry.

If you’re interested in applying to be our intern, please send an email to 4kidlit [at] gmail [dot] com with the following:

A little bit about yourself.
Why you want to intern with us.
Which of our qualifications you meet.
Links to any blogs you have worked on in the past, including your personal blog if you have one.
Your three favorite YA books.
Why we should choose you.

Thought for the Week

Young Adult Novel Giveaway This Week

An ARC of

The Dream Thieves

by Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic

Releases 9/17/13

Add to Goodreads Shelf | Preorder on Amazon

The gorgeousness of this book and my love for these characters knows NO limits! It’s so gorgeous that last weekend, a bunch of writers (we will remain nameless) got together to ~~gush~~ chat about where the characters and where the plot is going. You are going to have to pry this out of my hands. BUT, I am going to share, because it would be a sin not to share it.

The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

Last Week’s Young Adult Giveaway Winner

Sara Hayet

Two Boys Kissing
by David Levithan
Hardcover Giveaway
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 8/27/2013

New York Times‘ bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record–all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites–all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

This follow-up to the bestselling Every Day showcases David’s trademark sharp-witted, warm-hearted tales of teenage love, and serves as a perfect thematic bookend to David’s YA debut and breakthrough, Boy Meets Boy, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013.

Purchase Two Boys Kissing at Amazon
Purchase Two Boys Kissing at IndieBound
View Two Boys Kissing on Goodreads

Young Adult Reader of the Week:

Wilhemenia Von Drake

Wilhelmina is a homeschooling teen who loves to read and talk about YA book. She works at a library where she puts her shelving OCD to good use, and takes home almost as much as she puts away. She love to bake and write her own vegan recipes, and she writes poetry.

She loves Hayao Miyazaki’s films, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink, but only for Duckie. Also, natch, she loves Harry Potter, The Infernal Devices, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Shatter Me, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Wildwood Dancing, Entwined, and many other books.

You can find her on her book blog, I Bleed Ink.

* Want to be the reader of the week next week? Leave a comment on our Thursday or Friday posts!

Young Adult Writer/Blogger of the Week:

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn has always loved to read and watch television and movies, so it was inevitable that she’d eventually create her own stories. She writes YA novels, short stories, and screenplays, and she has made two short films. She’s also an animal lover with a menagerie of pets; and, yes, she’s one of those people who puts party hats on their dogs and makes them “cakes” for their birthdays.

Check out Jocelyn’s blog!

* Want to be the blogger of the week next week? To be honest, this is pretty much the only way I have time to discover new blogs, so it’s a great way to get into my twitter feed and into these round-up posts if you have great content to share. Leave a comment. I’ll pick from among the bloggers who leave comments here on the blog today through Wednesday.

Writing Tip of the Week

Another Writing Tip

“Don’t say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers Please will you do the job for me.” — C.S. Lewis

Writing Brain Fuel

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Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Sep 6, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Fiction Giveaways | Young Adult Fiction

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← Previous: THIRTEEN YA Book Giveaways plus New Releases 9/6-9/13 Next: YA Book Blogger Roundup →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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