C.J. Redwine

There are three trailers for the book VARIANT. I'm intrigued. What do you think?

Today's book trailer is for a book I'd heard nothing about until I found this trailer on Harper's YouTube channel, but once I watched this video, I decided to put DARK EDEN on my TBR list! What do you think?

Thank you to all who entered the contest for the copy of Victoria Schwab's THE NEAR WITCH. As always, I used random.org to choose the winner. And the lucky winner is:

Denise Zaky
Congratulations Denise! You will receive a confirmation email from me shortly. Thanks for entering and happy reading!

1. I don't think today's list will be very long. I don't feel like I have a lot to say.

2. I might surprise myself, though, so be forewarned.

3. I didn't spend much time online this past weekend, so I was totally shocked pleasantly surprised when I saw there are a handful of intrepid souls actually willing to take on the formidable job of being my assistant even though my compensation package is ... odd.

4. I actually was just having fun with that post. I DO need an assistant at some point, but until I can pay someone in cash instead of books and llamas, I'll wait.

5. I do, however, now have a short list of those who are interested, so that's awesome!

6. Johanna is talking up a storm these days. She seems to learn new words every day.

7. Yesterday, I was reading a book to her, and I pointed to things and asked her to say them as I turned the pages.

8. The conversation looked like this:

Me: Can you say "apple"?

J: Apple.

Me: Can you say "fish&q…

I've decided the general mayhem of my life would be greatly improved if I could find an assistant. Naturally, any assistant of mine will need to have some unique qualifications. I've decided to run this potential ad by my blog readers before I post it on Craig's List.

Job Description:

Personal assistant to full-time writer, mother of four, consummate food-snorter, and general lunatic.

Qualifications:

*Must love to read YA books in any stage of completion. In a related note, must be willing to read chapters that will change fifteen times, must not bat an eye when established plot lines are thrown into the garbage disposal, and must be able to intelligently discuss things like swoony almost-kisses and how to blow things up.

*Must enjoy cooking or at least fake it really well.

*Must never, under any circumstances, bring green beans into my house.

*Must be able to keep shiny seekrits.

*Must understand social networking, have relationships with bloggers and reviewers, and must …

Today I'm excited to have Victoria Schwab, author of THE NEAR WITCH, on the blog. Victoria's cover is one of the prettiest I've ever seen, and it perfectly matches the writing within. THE NEAR WITCH is a fairy tale (an original fairy tale which required Victoria to research all kinds of interesting things in order to create a unique mythic structure), and Victoria's writing is lovely, ethereal, and haunting. Here's a peek at THE NEAR WITCH:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious …

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway for a signed copy of Brenna Yovanoff's THE SPACE BETWEEN. As always, I used random.org to select the winner. And the lucky winner is:

Krista
Congratulations, Krista! You will receive a confirmation email from me shortly. Happy reading!

Today's trailer is for the movie adaptation of one of my favorite books: THE HUNGER GAMES. In my opinion, this trailer is enough to make me sign up for the midnight premiere. And I will probably need a handy supply of tissue before the movie is through. What do you think?

1. Before I give you the few carefully cultivated gems I've been hoarding up over the weekend, let's get a few important (and fun!) housekeeping items out of the way.

2. First, the winner of the "Friend Me on YABC and Win the Book of Your Choice" contest is Lori M. Lee! Congratulations, Lori. Please send me your book choice ($20 or less, please choose from Book Depository), along with your shipping info. :)

3. Second, today is the last day to enter to win a signed copy of Brenna Yovanoff's amazing THE SPACE BETWEEN. Brenna is a fabulous writer. You don't want to miss this!

4. Okay, housekeeping items dispensed with. On to the gems.

5. We spent this past weekend in Florence, Kentucky (just across the border from Cincinnati) with three other families from our China travel group so we could celebrate the girls' Gotcha Day together.

6. It was a fabulous time. We went to the aquarium, let the kids swim in the hotel's indoor pool, had a terrible dining e…

Today's post is brought to us by author Jus Accardo. Enjoy her hilarious (and disturbing) turkey warnings and check out her new book at the bottom of the post!





They seem innocent enough… Waddling through the high grass and by the side of the road…. Their eerie cry can be heard from over a mile away and their bloodlust is insatiable. I speak of course, of the Wild Turkey.




No, not that Wild Turkey, this one.






People foolishly think the month of November belongs to them—but it doesn’t. It belongs to the Turkeys. While we sit at our tables, fat and happy and indulging in turkey with mashed potatoes lust, the Wild Turkeys are out there… Plotting their revenge.






They strike when you least expect it. I know this because I’m a survivor of one such attack. It’s hard for me to speak of, but for the sake helping others, I’ll somehow manage. It was several Novembers ago… I used to drive with my windows down, zipping along without a care in the world. That day was like any other. I was on my way…

I became a fan of Brenna Yovanoff's writing earlier this year when I read her first book, THE REPLACEMENT. Brenna's writing is vivid, gritty, and full of heart. And she is one of a handful of writers who knows how to write a book from a boy's perspective and have it actually sound authentic. When I saw she had another book hitting the shelves, I couldn't wait to invite her on the blog so I could introduce her to all of you. If you love unique stories and incredible writing, you'll want to pick up Brenna Yovanoff's books! Here's a peek at her latest book, THE SPACE BETWEEN:

Everything burns in Pandemonium, a city in Hell made of chrome and steel, where there is no future and life is an expanse of frozen time. That’s where Daphne lives.



The daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, she wonders what lies in store for her. Will she become a soulless demon like her sisters? Or follow in the footsteps of her brother Obie, whose life is devoted to saving lost souls o…

This week's Trailer Tuesday post actually has two very different trailers for the same book. The second trailer is pretty creepy. This is the third installment in Clive Barker's Abarat fantasy series. What do you think?

Chances are, if you frequent this blog, you're a book lover! One of my favorite things is to connect with other book lovers and share reviews and recommendations on the books I love. My favorite site for this is Young Adult Books Central (YABC). Not only is this a fabulous site for readers, it's a site that offers a lot of fabulous things to authors too! So, I thought I'd take a day to introduce you, my fellow book lovers, to YABC by interviewing M.G., the girl who runs it. Make sure you check the end of the interview for a FUN!! contest. :)


1. How long has YABC been around?


YABooksCentral.com has been around since 1998, back during the Dawn of the Internet. It was founded by Kimberly Pauley (the author of the Sucks to Be Me Series) as a basic stopover for people looking for information on young adult books. It was originally part of the same network that is now About.com. Since then, YABC has evolved into one of the largest book review sites targeted towards teen and twee…

Today's Thursday Throwback blog post is one I wrote in (I believe) 2008 in which I recount a particularly fierce battle with one of my arch nemesii (Nemesises? Or is it like moose and therefore just "nemesis"?). Here's the link:


The Automatically Flushing Toilet
Enjoy!

This week for Trailer Tuesday, I'm posting a trailer for a book that came out several years ago. I loved this book, and I think the trailer does it justice. What do you think?