Do you ever have moments of doubt? They may be totally unfounded, but they sneak up on all of us. I’ve been having one this week, and it feels like I’m trying to juggle too many plates. I’m awake at 3:00 in the morning sure I’m about to drop things because I’m not dextrous enough or smart enough or skilled enough or ready enough to keep all those plates in the air.
I know I’ll eventually get through this, but I’m curious. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Give me a a hint or two?
Have a great week!
Martina
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Young Adult Novel Giveaways This Week
A. When I lived in rural northern California, the nearby lake was a flooded valley that had once been the site of a small village. Imagined ghosts of this underwater town haunted me, leading to an obsession with flood narratives, from Noah’s Ark to Plato’s Atlantis to Mesopotamia’s Gilgamesh.
I was especially drawn to the legend of Atlantis: a glorious and advanced ancient civilization that disappeared so completely under the ocean it slipped into the realm of myth. For several years I knew I wanted to write about Atlantis, but I didn’t know whose voice would tell this story–until EUREKA! I like to spend a few months in the gathering and absorbing phase before I move into writing. That means a stack of every book I can find on the topic of interest, and, when I’m lucky, a trip someplace where people think about that topic differently than I do.
To research Atlantis, I began with Plato. He wrote two strange, unfinished texts called Timeaus and Critias, which are the earliest (and, many scholars say, the only “true”) accounts of Atlantis. Plato gives compellingly exact descriptions of the place—down to the measurements of the land and the types of metals found in the ground—so we know he had a very clear vision of what Atlantis looked like. What we don’t know is whether or not Plato believed in Atlantis.
For those who do believe—from the occultist writers whose strange books I devoured while preparing to write Teardrop, to the Turkish and Greek graduate students who led me on an Atlantean research-scavenger hunt through Athens, Greece and Ephesus, Turkey—Atlantis’ existence is historical fact. For me, there is an important poetic truth in Plato’s writings. They were the foundation of my research and the backbone of the series.
Teardrop
by Lauren Kate
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 10/22/2013
Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.
But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance–a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.
Purchase Teardrop at Amazon
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Indigoby Gina Linko
Hardcover
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 10/22/2013
A gift?
A curse?
A moment that changes everything. . . .
Caught in an unexpected spring squall, Corrine’s first instinct is to protect her little sister Sophie after a nasty fall. But when Corrine reaches out to comfort her sister, the exact opposite occurs. Her touch–charged with an otherworldly force and bursting with blinding indigo color–surges violently from Corrine to her sister. In an instant, Sophie is dead. From that moment on, Corrine convinces herself that everyone would be better off if she simply withdrew from life.
When her family abruptly moves to New Orleans, Corrine’s withdrawal is made all the easier. No friends. No connections. No chance of hurting anyone. But strange things continue to happen around her in this haunting, mystical city. And she realizes that her power cannot be ignored, especially when Rennick, a talented local artist with a bad-boy past, suggests another possibility: Corrine might have the touch. An ability to heal those around her. But knowing what happened to her sister, can Corrine trust her gift?
Purchase Indigo at Amazon
Purchase Indigo at IndieBound
View Indigo on Goodreads
Young Adult Novel Giveaway Last Week
Redemption(Beautiful Creatures)
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Giveaway
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 10/23/2012
WINNER: Amber Hsu
Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?
Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.
Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan’s return, vowing to do whatever it takes — even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect.
Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.
Purchase Beautiful Redemption (Beautiful Creatures) at Amazon
Purchase Beautiful Redemption (Beautiful Creatures) at IndieBound
View Beautiful Redemption (Beautiful Creatures) on Goodreads
Books, Books, Books
Want a sneak peek at the Positive Traits Thesaurus by the wonderful Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi?
Here you go!
It’s a writer’s job to create compelling characters who can withstand life’s fallout without giving up. But building authentic, memorable heroes is no easy task. To forge realistic characters, we must hobble them with flaws that set them back while giving them positive attributes to help them achieve their goals. So how do writers choose the right blend of strengths for their characters–attributes that will render them admirable and worth rooting for–without making it too easy for them to succeed? Character creation can be hard, but it’s about to get a lot easier.
Inside The Positive Trait Thesaurus, you’ll find:
* A large selection of attributes to choose from when building a personality profile. Each entry lists possible causes for why a trait might emerge, along with associated attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
* Real character examples from literature, film, or television to show how an attribute drives actions and decisions, influences goals, and steers relationships
* Advice on using positive traits to immediately hook readers while avoiding common personality pitfalls
* Insight on human needs and morality, and how each determines the strengths that emerge in heroes and villains alike
* Information on the key role positive attributes play within the character arc, and how they’re vital to overcoming fatal flaws and achieving success
* Downloadable tools for organizing a character’s attributes and providing a deeper understanding of his past, his needs, and the emotional wounds he must overcome
If you find character creation difficult or worry that your cast members all seem the same, The Positive Trait Thesaurus is brimming with ideas to help you develop one-of-a-kind, dynamic characters that readers will love. Extensively indexed, with entries written in a user-friendly list format, this brainstorming resource is perfect for any character creation project.
Check out the 22 things that belong in every bookworm’s dream home, including a gigantic book bed, bookshelves with a built in slide, book nooks, and more!
Reality Boy by A.S. King comes out on this week, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I read the author’s guest post on how she came to write it. (Look for the post tomorrow and enter the giveaway in yesterday’s post!) Donald Maass has speculated that The Hunger Games will be taught in schools a hundred years from now as a literary reflection of our times. I think that Reality Boy is equally more important to consider. The drama of life and death as a spectator sport may be missing, but there’s a kind of internal life and death that plays out in all of us as kids and teens and shapes us into who we are. What kind of parents, what kind of society, turns that into a television show? And what does it say about the state of humanity? Go get your preorder in and read the book!
First, I like the epigraph. You’ll have to read it yourself (It’s like a treasure hunt!) but it says a lot for me.
Next, I like that the book explores our reality TV culture and how it might affect us, and not just the people on these shows. Sure, the book is about a boy who appeared on reality TV as a young child, and whose reputation was molded by that appearance, but I hope it pushes readers to explore their own realities and ask questions like: What, on TV, do I believe? Why do I choose to believe what I believe? What shows on TV are real? How do I know when I can trust a source?
And last, I think my real favorite thing about REALITY BOY is that like many of my books, it attempts to show a way out to anyone who is in pain. Through Gerald’s struggle it illustrates that there is life after something that seems insurmountable. And who knows? Maybe a reader might understand that the lies people see and hear on the Internet, TV or even though gossip are not all that entertaining after all.
Troubled by these strange flickerings and fearing she is being stalked, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.
There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—a conspiracy that could end her life and change mankind forever.
Scintillate is the first book in this lush and exciting new trilogy, full of romance, adventure and metaphysical mystery.
View on Goodreads | Pre-order on Amazon | Pre-Order on Barnes & Noble
And another cover reveal from Jennifer Armentrout!
Don’t Look Back
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.
Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it’s one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took “mean girl” to a whole new level, and it’s clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She’s getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she’s falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.
But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn’t just buried deep inside of Sam’s memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?
Pre-Order on Amazon | Pre-Order on Barnes & Noble | View on Goodreads
Young Adult Reader of the Week:
Kimberly Griffiths Little
I started scribbling stories almost as soon as I learned how to write, and never stopped. When I was a kid, I wanted to be one of those authors who *live* on the library shelves. I can tell you that it’s a very cool place to hang out! My novels: BREAKAWAY, ENCHANTED RUNNER, THE LAST SNAKE RUNNER. Tracey Adams, agent extraordinaire, sold a THREE BOOK DEAL for me to Scholastic Press! THE HEALING SPELL, 2010; CIRCLE OF SECRETS, 2011; WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME, 2013, THE TIME OF THE FIREFLIES 2014 AND my YA DEBUT Fall of 2014 with Harpercollins!
* Want to be the reader of the week next week? Leave a comment on our Thursday or Friday posts!
Blogger of the Week:
Hi. I’m Christine. I write YA novels, drink coffee, and review books (occasionally). I work for books, cookies, and clothes.
“It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J. K. Rowling
* 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
“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that – but you are the only you.”
Another Writing Tip
Writing Brain Fuel
