tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-237495282024-03-18T21:46:05.350-06:00Susan AdrianI write YA and MG novels, because I can't help it. My day job is scientific editing.Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.comBlogger900125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-73861463365953974202016-06-27T09:06:00.003-06:002016-06-27T09:06:27.650-06:00THREE MONTHS OUT!It's 3 months today until THE DARK AT THE END, the sequel to TUNNEL VISION, is out!<div>
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-78279987011343301512016-01-21T09:29:00.001-07:002016-01-21T09:29:42.703-07:00Happy anniversary, TUNNEL VISION, and sequel news!<div style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
It's hard to believe it, but it's been a year today since TUNNEL VISION was released. It's been a year of excitement and new adventures: touring, events, meeting new friends and connecting with old ones, and celebrating the achievement of my dream.</div>
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Thank you to everyone who supported me and TUNNEL VISION, whether you read the book, came to an event, posted a review, or sent me a message of support or congratulations. YOU have made this an amazing year for me.</div>
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And now I'm ready to move to the next adventure with Jake...and I hope you'll come with me! Want to know more?</div>
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*drum roll please* *ba da ba DUM* *ba da ba DUM*</div>
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The title of the TUNNEL VISION sequel is...</div>
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THE DARK AT THE END</h2>
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releasing SEPTEMBER 27, 2016.</h2>
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<em>Jake thinks he has only one more step and he'll be free: he just has to meet with Vladimir, his grandfather's Russian friend, and get the serum to stop his power for good. But when they get to Florida Vladimir is dead, and there's no sign of the serum. Then someone takes Myka and his mom. With the government and the terrifying Mr. Smith still after him while he has his power, he doesn't have anywhere to turn.</em></div>
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<em>What will Jake do to get his mom and little sister back?</em></div>
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<em>Anything.</em></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-23765268944783294192015-08-05T11:04:00.001-06:002015-08-05T11:04:00.284-06:00Tunnel Tour Wrap-Up!<div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-52668fd4dbc3e75b878f" style="background-color: white; clear: none; color: #404040; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; height: auto; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px 17px 12px; position: relative; transition: box-shadow 0.1s ease-in-out;">
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GUYS. WHAT A CRAZY SIX MONTHS THAT WAS.</div>
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The official stops of the Tunnel Tour are over! It's time to take a breath, relax a little bit, and look back at the awesomeness. And <strong>thank you</strong>, all of you who were such a big part of it.</div>
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Since January, I have:</div>
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--Had 18 (18!!) major events at bookstores or schools. I truly did cross the country, with events in: Butte, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Santee, San Diego, Pasadena, Salt Lake City, Denver, Berkeley, Virginia, Nebraska, Portland, Missoula, St. Louis, Boston, and New York. WHEW. What did I discover? I love doing events. I KNOW. It's something I never would've guessed going in, but meeting booksellers and fellow authors and readers, and chatting with everybody and telling stories? Second only to the actual writing. Thank you so much to the bookstores, and those hard-working booksellers and customer service reps who helped organize this and ran them flawlessly.</div>
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--I got to hang out with 44 other authors!! Well, even more than that, because many of you fabulous people came who weren't actually on the panels. But I did events with 44 other kidlit authors, debuts and long-timers, my people to a one. THANK YOU, other authors, for sharing your stories with me.</div>
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--I did my first podcast, and 2 radio interviews, one with the renowned Cherie Newman of NPR's THE WRITE QUESTION. Oh my god, that was so much fun. You can listen to it all if you want to! <a href="http://www.susanadrian.net/mediaskype-visits/" style="color: #160688; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.susanadrian.net/mediaskype-visits</a>/</div>
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--I did 4 school events, and would love to do more of these! The Best when you're actually talking to kids, and you SEE them get excited about stories and reading.</div>
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--I did blog interviews, all over, and I am so grateful to the bloggers who read and feature our books, and reach out to authors and spread the word. Thank you.</div>
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There are a lot of thank yous up there, right? That's the most important bit of this post, because none of this, this little "friend tour" dream I had the summer before publication, would've worked without the support of all the bookstores and authors and friends and readers. It would've been me, sitting alone clutching my book. Instead it was this:</div>
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And I loved every minute.</div>
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By the way, though the Tunnel Tour is done, I'm not going into hiding! I'll be at the Missoula Book Festival September 10-12, and the Montana SCBWI intensive September 18....</div>
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-76515399814121102022015-04-28T10:45:00.001-06:002015-04-28T10:45:01.827-06:00Thankful Tuesday: Readers<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1430238328333_2481" style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
When I was struggling...for fifteen years, struggling...to get a book published, my husband would sometimes challenge me. "Why are you doing this?" he would ask, always logical. "What is your goal?"</div>
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I'd sniff, and waffle around for a while: 'to get a big 5 contract' 'to see my book in stores', all sorts of things. But when it came down to it, I always ended at the same, deep goal: "I want other people to read and enjoy one of my stories."</div>
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That's it, in the end. I wanted people to read my stories. </div>
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Fast forward to now, 3 months out from the release of my first book. It's easy--soooo easy--to get caught up in the stress of it: getting another deal, worrying about sales numbers and store placement and comparing. Sometimes I fall prey to it like everyone else. But when I do, I have a very simple strategy for overcoming the stress.</div>
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I go and look at Worldcat, and I see that my book, a story I wrote all from my own head, is in libraries. All across the country, across the world. Not only that--it's checked out, in lots of places. Hundreds of copies are checked out right now. It's in people's hands. And you know what that means?</div>
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People are reading my story. No matter the rest of it, no matter how many bookstores it's in or who bought it today, someone, somewhere, is probably reading it right now. That was my goal, my dream, and that is real now.</div>
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So I want to thank you, the most important people in this equation: the readers. Especially thank you to the ones who blog and review on Goodreads and Amazon and all that, who recommend and share with other people. I am so grateful to you for spreading the word. Thank you to the excited readers I've met at signings, to the ones who email their love. But also thank you to the kid who checked it out from the library yesterday, who's curled up with it on their couch tonight, who's sneak-reading it when they should be doing chores or homework. Even if you quietly close it at the end and smile, and never tell anyone.</div>
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Thank you for making my dream come true.</div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-64508594797447889272015-03-26T10:07:00.000-06:002015-04-03T09:38:55.210-06:00Announcement: YA SCAVENGER HUNT!<div style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hello Everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m so happy to announce that I'm participating in the Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">We have eight outstanding teams this season. I am going to be a part of #TeamGreen! The Scavenger Hunt runs from April 2nd through April 5th beginning and ending at noon Pacific time on those days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">If you’ve never been a part of the hunt before you should give it a try. It's my first time! It runs like a giant blog hop, introducing you to new YA authors and books along the way. There are tons of prizes including a grand prize for each team. If you win one of the grand prizes you will get a book from each author on that team! For more information and to make sure you get hunt updates, sign up for news on the #<a href="http://yascavengerhunt.blogspot.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">YASH</a> website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">And...I will be hiding an exclusive never-before-revealed deleted scene from TUNNEL VISION. :) You don’t want to miss out on this fabulous and fun event, but play fast because the hunt is only live for three days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.6666660308838px;">Here's my team! </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_17_2_4_1427385612877_7662" style="font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">I hope you are all as excited as I am!</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_17_2_4_1427385612877_7659" style="font-size: 24pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong id="yui_3_17_2_4_1427385612877_7658" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">THE HUNT BEGINS 4/2/15!</strong></span></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-48187340000330336872015-02-10T11:25:00.001-07:002015-02-10T11:25:12.471-07:00Thankful Tuesday: Fellow Authors<div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-6554a750e04009873fb4" style="-webkit-transition: outline 0.1s ease-in-out; background-color: white; clear: none; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; height: auto; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px 12px 12px; position: relative; transition: outline 0.1s ease-in-out;">
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I honestly couldn't do this--any of this, any one day of this--without the support of all the wonderful other authors I've met along this journey.</div>
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Example A: The Tunnel Tour. If you <a href="http://www.susanadrian.net/events/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">go to the event page</a> and look at the pictures on the right? I'm touring with (or planning on touring with) 25 other authors. TWENTY-FIVE very busy people who agreed to come and spend their valuable time and energy at a bookstore or library helping to support me and TUNNEL VISION. (And yes, fortunately they have fun and get publicity and sales out of it too, I HOPE!) They're amazing, all of them. This is not even counting all the authors who tweet/FB events, and come and hang out and talk and give me advice and are generally lovely.</div>
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Example B: The big example: my acknowledgments in TUNNEL VISION!</div>
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I know it's huge. I KNOW IT. Look at that amazing list of people. And I still forgot some, didn't have room for all, and have met new writer friends since!</div>
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I'll let that list stand, though, because it says what I need to say.</div>
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Thank you, writers. You cheer each other, root for each other, console each other, and make it so we can all do this crazy thing together. THANK YOU.</div>
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Love,</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1423591182711_5313" style="letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px;">
Susan</div>
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-10512939048919538862015-02-03T11:50:00.001-07:002015-02-03T11:50:53.503-07:00Thankful Tuesday: Bookstores<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2979" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
I spent much of the past week traveling for the TunnelTour, and most of that in bookstores. </div>
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I am so, so grateful for bookstores. I love ebooks too, in a different way, but there is just SOMETHING special about walking into a real, live space dedicated to books, running your hand over the lovelies on the shelf, cracking one open to browse, and just looking at all the joy and adventure there waiting for you. (It also might have something to do with the fact that my husband and I both spent years managing bookstores, and that's where we met--they're important.)</div>
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Bookstore people are wonderful, too. <span id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2975">Over the past couple weeks I have been tremendously grateful to the bookstores and bookstore people who have carried my book, welcomed me with open arms, ordered it or brought it out for me to sign when I stopped by, or are working with me on an event. I have to do a shout-out to all of you. And to the bookstores who aren't on this list (yet), thank you to you too!! I wish I could visit all of you.</span></div>
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THANK YOU to:</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2749" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<em>Butte, Montana:</em><br /><strong>Books & Books: </strong>They are handling signed, personalized copies for me. If you want a signed copy and you're not near any of the other areas, contact them (<span id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2967">booksbutte@booksbutte.com, 1-800-273-9520)<br /><strong>Hastings: </strong>The Butte Hastings generously brought books to my launch party to sell, and are hosting a hometown signing for me this Saturday (February 7) from 2-5 pm. They've been wonderful!</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2994" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<span id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_2996"><em>Houston, Texas:</em><br /><strong><a href="http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2847" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble Champions Village</a>:</strong> This B&N hosted my Houston signing with Joy Preble, Mary Lindsey, and Becky Wallace, and were so kind and enthusiastic. They have several signed copies in stock!</span><br /><strong><a href="http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2635" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble Westheimer</a>:</strong> They have 1 signed copy!<br /><strong><a href="http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2643" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble Town & Country</a>: </strong>They have 1 signed copy!<br /><strong><a href="http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Blue Willow Bookshop</a>: </strong>This is a fabulous indie that couldn't host this time, but are really fantastic. I left 3 signed copies with them!</div>
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<em>Seattle, Washington:</em><br /><strong><a href="http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/home/home.taf?" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">University Bookstore</a>:</strong> Can't say enough about how welcoming and supportive they were for my signing with Lish McBride and Kendare Blake. I signed 20 copies for stock, and they will ship them for free!<br /><strong><a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Elliott Bay Book Company:</a></strong> They were sold out when I stopped by, but they have it back in now!<br /><strong><a href="http://www.seattlemystery.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Seattle Mystery Bookshop</a></strong>: I was so excited to discover this place!</div>
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<em>San Diego, California:</em><br /><a href="http://www.mystgalaxy.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Mysterious Galaxy:</strong></a> This great bookstore--I used to go browse there when I lived in San Diego--is hosting the TunnelTour San Diego stop on February 17th, with Kiersten White, Stephanie Diaz, Shannon Messenger, and Maggie Hall. Can't wait!</div>
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<em>Pasadena, California:</em><br /><a href="http://www.vromansbookstore.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Vroman's Bookstore:</strong></a> Vroman's is hosting the L.A. TunnelTour March 12th, with Gretchen McNeil, Livia Blackburne, and Mary McCoy!</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_3013" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<em>Salt Lake City, Utah:</em><br /><a href="http://www.kingsenglish.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>The King's English:</strong></a><em> </em>Hosting my March 20th event with Courtney Alameda, Jenn Johansson, and Valynne Maetani!</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_3011" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<em>Denver, Colorado:</em><br /><strong><a href="http://www.tatteredcover.com/colfax-avenue-theater-ideas" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Tattered Cover:</a> </strong>This event was just confirmed! March 21st at 2 pm, with NK Traver!</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_3009" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<em>Berkeley, California:</em><br /><strong><a href="http://www.mrsdalloways.com/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mrs. Dalloway's Literary and Garden Arts:</a> </strong>Hosting the Bay Area TunnelTour stop on March 24th, with Stacey Lee and Whitney Miller and...moderated by S.J. Kincaid!</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1422987113768_3007" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.0980392); color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-top: 24px;">
That's it for now, but I will definitely be updating my thankful-to list of bookstores as I continue to travel around and add events. A huge thank you to all of these great stores!</div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-14613422421419963152015-01-27T09:21:00.003-07:002015-01-27T09:21:15.549-07:00Thankful Tuesday<div class="body entry-content">
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HI ALL!<br />
<br />
It's
been a week since TUNNEL VISION released, and wow! What a ride! I had a
successful, amazingly fun launch party with my hometown crowd, family
and friends. I got to have the first stop of the Tunnel Tour in Houston,
with the fabulous Becky Wallace, Joy Preble, and Mary Lindsey. And I
saw such a wonderful outpouring of support from friends and readers
online. THANK YOU!!<br />
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Today I want to start a (hopefully) (at least
for a while) weekly series on people or places or things I'm thankful
for, and today's shout-out is to LIBRARIES. One of the highlights this
week has been peeking at WorldCat and seeing all the far-flung, big and
small libraries my book has made it to, seeing it on the "holds" shelf,
dancing when I see it checked out. THANK YOU to all the libraries who
ordered TUNNEL VISION, who work to get books into the hands of teens and
all kinds of readers every day. Here's a call-out to a few of the
libraries I saw on that list, randomly chosen! But thank you ALL.<br />
<br />
--Eagle Valley Public Library, Eagle, Colorado<br />--McConnell Air Force Base Library, McConnell AFB, Kansas<br />--Plano Public Library, Plano, Texas<br />--Santa Monica Public Library, Santa Monica, California<br />--Glen Ellyn Public Library, Glen Ellyn, Illinois<br />--Mishawaka Penn Harris Public Library, Mishawaka, Indiana<br />--Boca Raton Public Library, Boca Raton, Florida<br />--Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York<br />--Minuteman Library Network, Natick, Massachussetts<br />--Horowhenua Library Trust, Levin, New Zealand<br />
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Don't forget libraries when you're looking for books! And support your local library!</div>
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-24246040420675345942015-01-13T17:06:00.000-07:002015-01-13T17:06:47.528-07:00Hi all!<br />
<br />
Getting CLOSE now. One week until TUNNEL VISION is out!<br />
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In the meantime, a couple things to get you ready for January 20th:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. RELEASE DAY CHUCKS! </b><br />
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<b> </b><br />
<b>2. BLOG TOUR! TUNNEL VISION is going traveling. There will be reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways. Get ready to check out these fabulous sites next week:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Tuesday, January 20th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.fiktshun.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Fiktshun</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">A Dream Within A Dream</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.theyoungfolks.com/"><span style="color: blue;">The Young Folks</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Saturday, January 24th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Dani’s Book Nirvana</span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sunday, January 25th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.litbites.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Lit Bites</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Monday, January 26th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://unboundbooksblog.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Unbound Books</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Tuesday, January 27th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.jessabellareads.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Jessabella Reads</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Wednesday, January 28th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://wordspelunking.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Word Spelunker</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Thursday, January 29th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 164.35pt;" valign="top" width="164">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://journeythroughfiction.blogspot.ie/"><span style="color: blue;">Journey
Through Fiction</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Friday, January 30th</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
</td>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://dorinewhite.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">The Write Path</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Saturday, January 31st</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.bibliophiliaplease.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Bibliophilia, Please</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sunday, February 1st</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.lindsaycummingsbooks.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Lindsay Cummings Books</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Monday, February 2nd</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://myguiltyobsession.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">My Guilty Obsession</span></a><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-27695423491422446172014-12-22T11:27:00.001-07:002014-12-22T11:27:06.329-07:00TUNNEL VISION soundtrackIt's kind of a thing for authors to release a playlist for YA books, something they listened to while they wrote, or that inspired them.<br />
<br />I went a step further with TUNNEL VISION: I call it a <b>soundtrack</b>.<br />
<br />
Each chapter of TUNNEL VISION lists a song as the chapter heading. The songs and genres vary wildly, from The Clash to Dave Matthews to Blues Traveler to Ray Charles. Each song is closely tied to the chapter in some way, relating to the action, the dialogue, or most often the emotion.<br />
<br />
I started the soundtrack early on, when I realized how visual this book is, and wanted "background music" to go with a scene. I started putting it together as I wrote, listening to it over and over to put me in the mood, adding new titles as I wrote new chapters. I only chose music I thought Jake would choose himself. Some of it is very specific to him (and not me), like the soundtrack "Revenge" from Call of Duty: Black Ops.<br />
<br />
To celebrate that TUNNEL VISION releases on January 20th, just under a month, I made a playlist of the TUNNEL VISION soundtrack on Spotify. You can get a taste of Jake's story now, and see how each song relates to the chapter when it comes out!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://open.spotify.com/user/susan_adrian/playlist/1N9n2XehE39AIa1N2Ouu96">TUNNEL VISION Soundtrack</a><br />
<br />
Hope you enjoy, and share!Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-33089777017326411842014-12-19T10:03:00.003-07:002014-12-19T10:07:44.538-07:00Terrible Alternate Titles to TUNNEL VISION<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is fun. My fabulous fellow Fearless Fifteener debut <a href="http://www.aishasaeed.com/">Aisha Saeed (WRITTEN IN THE STARS, March 24, 2015</a>) tagged me in the "Terrible
Titles" blog hop!<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The
rule is simple: Scroll through your manuscript and stop on random place.
Whatever you land on becomes one of eight terrible titles. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
<br />
<span style="background: white;">So here
we go! This made me LAUGH. Eight terrible titles that could have been the title
of TUNNEL VISION, pulled at random—I picked the first short sentence I saw when
I stopped scrolling:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.
And Still Not a Video Game<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2.
How Much Did She See?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3.
I Sure as Hell Want To<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4.
And Whatever Comes After That<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">5.
That Surprises Him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">6.
It's Simple<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">7.
I Think It's Time for an Afternoon Nap<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">8.
Crazy, I Guess<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I gotta say,
a couple of those are fabulous. Can't you see some of them as titles?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I tag five
more Fifteener debuts, the first ones I saw on Twitter:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.keormsbee.com/">K.E. Ormsbee,author of THE WATER AND THE WILD</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7359319.Dhonielle_Clayton">DhonielleClayton, author of TINY PRETTY THINGS</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://literatureandlaura.wordpress.com/">Laura Tims,author of PLEASE DON'T TELL</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.francescazappia.com/">Francesca Zappia, author of MADE YOU UP</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://maya-rock.com/">Maya Rock,author of SCRIPTED</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-76817676346040556712014-11-12T13:36:00.004-07:002014-11-12T13:36:39.481-07:00Reviews and Tours, Oh My!<div class="tr_bq">
So apparently this book thing is actually going to HAPPEN!!</div>
<br />
Reviews for TUNNEL VISION have been pouring in the past couple of weeks! So far, so good! In fact, really good. I'm so excited! Check them out:<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
"An exciting plot paired with a sympathetic protagonist makes for a roller-coaster adventure that asks some big moral questions: Is it ethical to tunnel into another person’s mind, even to do good? Which is more important, the individual or the country? The action moves at a quick pace that fans of adventure fiction will appreciate while still leaving room for deeper contemplation. Danger, intrigue, a dash of romance, and a good, hard look at ethical dilemmas—a pretty complete package. —<em>Kirkus Reviews</em> (<a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/susan-adrian/tunnel-vision-adrian/" style="color: #121212; text-decoration: none;">full review</a>)</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">"</span><span style="color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Debut author Adrian offers a refreshing spin on the suspenseful spy novel with brisk scenes, adrenaline-fueled cliffhangers, and a sympathetic protagonist. There is much to savor in this thriller.” —</span><em style="color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Publisher’s Weekly</em><span style="color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
<em></em>"Jake Lukin has a secret talent: if he holds an object that belongs to a person, he can instantaneously "tunnel" to that person—envisioning them physically, pinpointing their location, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel. After Jake reveals his skill at a high school party, he quickly finds himself on the run from government agents who would harness his talents for their own purposes. This YA novel is a heart-racing thriller set at full throttle from the opening page, and it never decelerates. Fans of Cory Doctorow and Anthony Horowitz will consume this title with a passion and will excitedly anticipate a sequel."—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL, <em>School Library Journal</em><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px;">
"Adrian has crafted a tension-packed spy novel about a likable teen with a special power and his equally likable family and friends. Twists of plot, kids outsmarting the bad guys, and a relatively low-tech but fascinating superpower ratchet up the action to a bizarre conclusion that begs a sequel. With a grandfather that would make Richard Peck or Joan Bauer proud, and government goons, male and female, who morph between good and evil with a single look or comment, this is a must-read." —<em>Booklist</em></blockquote>
ALSO, I just posted the first batch of events for...THE TUNNEL TOUR! I'm joining with fantastic YA authors all over! So far: Butte, Seattle, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego, with more to come! Keep up on my events page here: <a href="http://www.susanadrian.net/events/">http://www.susanadrian.net/events/</a><br />
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-21202939126530976912014-07-08T09:00:00.002-06:002014-07-08T09:01:18.343-06:00Query Series postWould you like to see what my original query for TUNNEL VISION looked like? And (more interesting to me), what my agent thought when she read it?<br />
<br />
Hop on over to YA Highway, where you can read our Query Series post!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.yahighway.com/2014/07/query-series-author-susan-adrian-and.html">http://www.yahighway.com/2014/07/query-series-author-susan-adrian-and.html</a>Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-91740314913644405462014-06-23T09:08:00.000-06:002014-06-23T09:08:05.309-06:00Writing Process Blog Tour: My Turn!<div class="MsoNormal">
I may be a bit late to the party, but I've been tagged inthe
Writing Process Blog Tour! The inestimable Cindy Rodriguez posted her responses
last week, and threw it my way. Thanks, Cindy! First, here's some info on her:<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Cindy L. Rodriguez is the the author of When Reason Breaks,
a young adult novel that will be published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books USA on Febuary 10, 2015. Yes, she's not only a
fellow Fifteener, but her book comes out only a couple weeks after mine!! I
know Cindy as an admin for the Fearless Fifteener group, and an all-around
impressive person. She teaches middle-school reading and college-level
composition too, AND is a mom!</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22032788-when-reason-breaks?from_search=true">When Reason Breaks is available for preorder now!</a></blockquote>
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To the questions:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What am I working on?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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This week I’m working on my first-ever set of copyedits, for
my YA thriller <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22537667-tunnel-vision">TUNNEL VISION</a>, which is coming out January 20th from St.
Martin's Press! As a copyeditor myself, this is actually fun. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm also working on several other projects: revisons on a
middle grade book called NUTCRACKED I'm SO excited about. It's magical realism,
about a 12-year-old dancer named Georgie who gets chosen to be Clara in the
Nutcracker, the role of her dreams, but also discovers the secret, dark world
of the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King that exists just beneath the world she knows. She
also has to deal with the splintering of one relationship when her best friend
doesn't get the part too, and the start of an interesting new friendship with a boy named
Noah.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm tinkering with a sequel to TUNNEL VISION, and plotting
out the beginnings of a new YA thriller I can barely keep to myself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How does my work
differ from others of its genre?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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My books always have a strong, driving plot—TUNNEL VISION is
a thriller about a teen psychic spy, after all—but there's also always a very
strong element of family. Several readers have confessed that Jake's little
sister Myka is one of their favorite characters, and his grandfather (Dedushka)
plays a huge part as well. Georgie has a huge, tumbled family with a full life,
and her parents and siblings are a critical piece of who she is too. The new YA
book is about sisters. I guess to me the background, making sure the character
is a whole, real person, and their family and friends are too, is just as
important as making sure you want to turn those pages.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Why do I write what I
do?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Because I can't help it? TUNNEL VISION is the story I told
to myself before I ever decided to write it down and try to get it to readers. It's
the book I wanted to read. NUTCRACKED was inspired because I was lucky enough
to dance the part of Clara when I was 13 (though I didn't have a magical
Nutcracker, sadly enough). The new book started from an image I couldn't get
out of my head, and has been hounding me ever since.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How does my writing
process work?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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When I’m rough-drafting, I generally start at the beginning
and work my way through to the end, with a few occasional circles through the
text. I hardly ever know where it's going to go when I start—I work from a
character in a situation, and see what happens. This results in VERY messy
first drafts, which have to be revised many times before anyone sees them. During revisions I do
pull out the colored charts and outlines when necessary to keep myself straight
and make sure I'm following a thread evenly all the way through. I also always
write very sparely at first, and add descriptions and more original language
later on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Basically, you don't want to see my first drafts. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I am very methodical, too, in that I now write nearly every
day, at 5:30 in the morning on weekdays and 6:30 on weekends. I don't write
much in a day—my goal is usually somewhere between 600 and 800 words—but at
that speed I can write a draft in a few months, and revise pretty quickly. In
the tortoise and the hare race I'm definitely the tortoise, but I get it done.
I live for those moments when I get so involved in a book that I think about it
all day long, and when I'm going to sleep, and I can't wait to get back to it
in the morning!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2y7_3qmsVfBWRWGeC4XQipIB8hrktSEkbovZ14kgBaHYDoekCoMTcxSCo55vyU0VU2CCT5PYHROMppzWGz3sHV1ywtfNzS793sRC3fOZGZ2G8FD-8e85cTU6_yNAQGB244l5/s1600/10268704_10100417793552021_5538731710255852732_n(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2y7_3qmsVfBWRWGeC4XQipIB8hrktSEkbovZ14kgBaHYDoekCoMTcxSCo55vyU0VU2CCT5PYHROMppzWGz3sHV1ywtfNzS793sRC3fOZGZ2G8FD-8e85cTU6_yNAQGB244l5/s1600/10268704_10100417793552021_5538731710255852732_n(1).jpg" height="200" width="106" /></a></div>
****<o:p></o:p></div>
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Next up is Jessica Spengler. She is currently in the process of writing
her first full-length novel, a fantasy adventure called The World Where Geese
Reign. Since 2010 she's run the website <a href="http://drink-matron.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">http://drink-matron.com</span></a>,
a blog dedicated to cocktail recipes, the history of alcohol, and other
drinking facts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can also find her at <a href="http://jessicaspengler.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">jessicaspengler.com</span></a> or<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><a href="http://whatarewewritingfor.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4;">http://whatarewewritingfor.tumblr.com/</span></a>.<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-64030325201203101732014-03-28T08:00:00.000-06:002014-03-28T08:00:05.735-06:00Help Isabella come home to her family!<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a very dear writer friend who I've never met--which isn't unusual, in the online world I navigate in--but love and respect regardless. C.J. Redwine is a fantastic writer, but more is a friend, supporter, cheerleader, and great mom, to her kids both biological and adopted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right now, C.J. and her family need OUR help. They adopted a little girl from China already, and now they are hoping to adopt a second one, a little girl who needs extra help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From C.J.:</span><br />
<blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCWImJf_LfaiIfxZh8U723HHYBYkkPsPk9Rf2S-P3njrJ2vrqwbmdHKOKxc7VXJHNR78cumxMnsdXj7U1ILwYRSPna0oXG0PunFdiBeiVue9lcdKNeG3HQVP22-WqfHtKIeki/s1600/Isabella3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCWImJf_LfaiIfxZh8U723HHYBYkkPsPk9Rf2S-P3njrJ2vrqwbmdHKOKxc7VXJHNR78cumxMnsdXj7U1ILwYRSPna0oXG0PunFdiBeiVue9lcdKNeG3HQVP22-WqfHtKIeki/s1600/Isabella3.jpg" /></a></div>
<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1395847720354_12995" style="line-height: 19.97333335876465px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Isabella Grace Xiaofang was abandoned beneath a highway overpass when she was four months old. She had severe pneumonia, along with her heart disease and cleft palate, which were both causing her medical difficulty. That says to me that her parents loved her, and they tried for four months to care for her in secret, either to avoid paying the second child penalty fee, which is prohibitive for poorer families, or because they couldn’t afford her medical care, and when they realized she was going to die without care, they put her where she would be quickly found. Highways in China, especially in cities, are much different than ours. They are choked with pedestrians and bicyclists. She was sure to be found quickly.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1395847720354_12999" style="line-height: 19.97333335876465px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A month after she was found, she had heart surgery to repair four different defects in her heart. She was in and out of the ICU for recurring pneumonia during her first year. In her second year, she had two surgeries to repair her lip and palate and to remove her extra thumb. At two years old, she’s still tiny (wearing 9 month clothing size), she’s not walking on her own yet, and she doesn’t have many words yet. Her delayed development is a result, I feel certain, of her constant surgeries and hospital stays.</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1395847720354_13002" style="line-height: 19.97333335876465px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The orphanage reports that Isabella is quiet, shy, and loves to smile and grab onto the nannies and play with them. I can’t wait to bring her home! Her brothers and sister are very excited to meet her and love her as well!</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1395847720354_12993" style="line-height: 19.97333335876465px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is where you come in. Because this process is moving so much faster than we anticipated, we need to run a fundraiser to raise Isabella’s orphanage fee of 5k and the 10k we need to travel to China and to stay there for the two and a half weeks it takes to finalize her adoption. When we brought Johanna home, we did an online fundraiser I called Skip a Starbucks day in which I asked my friends to post about it on their blogs/Tumblr/FB and to tweet about it throughout the day. The idea is that if people will skip Starbucks and donate that money toward Isabella’s adoption fund instead, we can raise the money.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is a Skip a Starbucks day for Isabella. If you can, please consider skipping a Starbucks (or, in my case, that snack I probably shouldn't have anyway) and donate to C.J.'s family to help bring Isabella home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can donate here: </span><a href="http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1395847720354_13045" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #196ad4; line-height: 19.97333335876465px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://cjredwine.blogspot.com</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks!! And please spread the word!</span>Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-62056883989374245282014-02-08T06:00:00.000-07:002014-02-08T06:00:03.676-07:00Bright Before Sunrise: One Night that Changed My Life<br />
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<strong><em id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391612232234_3624">"One night can change how you see the world.</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391612232234_3624">One night can change how you see yourself."</em></strong></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.4;">In celebration of Tiffany Schmidt's fabulous new book </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13634097-bright-before-sunrise?ac=1" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13634097-bright-before-sunrise?ac=1" style="color: #444444; line-height: 1.4;" target="_blank" title="BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE Goodreads">BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE</a><span style="line-height: 1.4;">, I was asked to contribute a story of one night that changed my life. Most of my stories take place in the day--it's easy to think of a DAY that changed my life. But night? My memory popped straight back to this one.</span></div>
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You can see all the One Night stories on the <a data-mce-href="http://brightbeforesunrise.tumblr.com/" href="http://brightbeforesunrise.tumblr.com/" style="color: #444444;" target="_blank" title="BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE Tumblr">BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE</a> Tumblr.</div>
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As a teen, and through into college, I didn't have a lot of confidence. Probably many of you can relate to that. I was bullied in grammar school and high school, and had a messy family life, and it carried over. I kept to myself—it was safer. Way less painful to never let anybody in than to try and then get slammed down. So I lived in a bubble of my own, drifting through the world, but not really happy with myself.</div>
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I still can't quite believe I had enough confidence to apply for a year-long study abroad program in England, much less get through all the interviews and meetings, but I did. My junior year of college I set off for the University of Sussex, to see how I would do in the wider world. The first six months were tough. Living abroad requires a certain amount of sociability, the courage to step outside your comfort zone. At first I didn't do that. I hung out with other Californians, in a very small group, for the most part. I had fun, but I didn't change. I was still in the safe bubble, just a little farther away from home.</div>
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Then one night, I met J.J.…still an American, but from New Hampshire. And her friends, who were actually British and Scottish. We sat on the ground at a party, drinking Newkie Brown ale, and talked. </div>
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And clicked. I talked about <em>myself</em>. I let someone in, for the first time in ages, let someone see a glimpse of the real me.</div>
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And then we did a road trip east, all of us piled into a little creaky car. I don't even remember what we did at first—all I remember is the feeling, the miraculous feeling of connecting to people and being accepted. Laughing <em>with</em> the jokes. Being part of the group.</div>
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We ended up at the seawall, at Eastbourne, sometime in the wee hours. I don't know why. J.J. and I climbed over the wall, onto the round English rocks. The waves crashed at our feet, the spray washing over us, the roar deafening. We shouted, together, into the waves. I shouted all my frustrations, my loneliness, my happiness right at that moment.</div>
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And something snapped in me, let go. Nothing dramatic changed, outwardly. I had a wider group of friends from then on, I involved myself more, and when it came time to go home I really wanted to stay. But inside, I was different. From that night I had a renewed confidence in myself, and in friendships, in people. That there were people like me out there—I just had to find them. That I could be myself. That I could shout myself into the ocean, into the world.</div>
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<strong style="line-height: 1.4;"><br /></strong></div>
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<strong id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391700432329_46887" style="line-height: 1.4;">BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE description:</strong></div>
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<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391700432329_46651">Jonah and Brighton are about to have the most awkwardly awful night of their lives. For Jonah, every aspect of his new life reminds him of what he has had to give up. All he wants is to be left alone. Brighton is popular, pretty, and always there to help anyone . . . but has no idea of what she wants for herself. Her seemingly perfect life is marred only by Jonah, the one person who won't give her the time of day, but also makes her feel, well, something. So when they are repeatedly thrown together over the course of one night, anything can—and does—happen. Told in alternating chapters, this poignant, beautiful novel's energy and tension, amidst the humor and romance<em>,</em> builds to a new beginning of self-acceptance and hope.</span></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>About Tiffany Schmidt:</strong></div>
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<strong id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391700432329_46668">TIFFANY SCHMIDT</strong><span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391700432329_46665"> lives in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles. And while she thinks sunrises are quite beautiful, she'd rather sleep through them. <em>Send Me a Sign</em> was her debut novel. Find out more about Tiffany and her books by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt or visiting <a data-mce-href="http://www.tiffanyschmidt.com/" href="http://www.tiffanyschmidt.com/" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391700432329_46893" rel="nofollow" style="color: #444444;" target="_blank">www.TiffanySchmidt.com</a>.</span></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-30505593116099072062014-01-30T15:28:00.000-07:002014-01-30T15:29:34.007-07:00Susan updateHELLO.<br />
<br />
It's been a while since I posted anything HERE. Don't worry, I've still been all over the internet--mostly on <a href="https://twitter.com/susan_adrian">Twitter </a> and over at the <a href="http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/">Fearless Fifteeners blog</a>, and even occasionally on <a href="http://susanadrian.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>. Poor blog, you kind of get the short end of the stick.<br />
<br />
Anyway. I thought it time for a quick bloggish update on what's going on over here.<br />
<br />
--I got my edits on TUNNEL VISION. And they were totally doable, so I revised and turned them back in!<br />
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--All sorts of exciting craziness has been happening in my inbox since. Cover talk, blurb talk, other authors reading my book talk, Real Actual Book Coming out Next Year talk. I have to keep from bouncing constantly, pretty much. Or chair dancing.</div>
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That's most of my excitement at the moment. But in addition to that, let's see:</div>
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<ul>
<li>The Fearless Fifteeners group is coming along great--I think we're up to 72 members, and going strong. </li>
<li>I'm going to NY for BEA! Woot! Also London for a family vacation late this summer. Planning them both is making me slightly dizzy.</li>
<li>I'm back in choir, this time singing a mix of Austrian composers (Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn) and songs from The Sound of Music. Guess which set I like better?</li>
<li>Sparkle Girl is in a crazy period too, with a robotics competition this weekend, Future Problem Solvers, clarinet, and a part in Disney Jr. Cinderella. AND she's writing a short story for an American Girl magazine competition, which I'm trying not to be too Mom-writer about.</li>
<li>I'm plotting out Book 2. Jake is in my head again, yay!</li>
</ul>
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Yeah, that's probably enough. Please comment...what's going on with you?</div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-75858515977665898242013-12-02T09:10:00.000-07:002013-12-04T11:04:17.292-07:00Interview with the Amazing Amy Spalding: INK IS THICKER THAN WATER<div id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1385999180950_3074" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the winner is...Krista Van Dolzer! Congratulations, Krista!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, I am SO excited to be hosting the Amazing Amy Spalding. (yes, that should be her title, if it isn't officially) Her second book, INK IS THICKER THAN WATER, comes out tomorrow!! YOU have a chance to win a *signed* copy for free. Details at the bottom...but first, a somewhat wacky interview with Amy.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">INK IS THICKER THAN WATER is a contemporary YA, <a href="http://www.stackedbooks.org/2013/11/ink-is-thicker-than-water-by-amy.html">already getting major praise</a> for its real-life portrayal of family and relationships. From <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17343437-ink-is-thicker-than-water">Goodreads</a>:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">INTERVIEW:</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1385999180950_3073" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Everything I've seen about INK talks about how authentic the teen voice is, how it truly feels like it was written by a 16-year-old girl. How do you go back to that place to write a teen so authentically? Are you secretly a teenager? *eyebrow*</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always have conflicted feelings about hearing how authentic my teen voice is. Obviously compliments are wonderful, but also that's just sort of the voice that comes out of me when I write? I never think of going back; it just sort of...happens. Hopefully this means my subconscious is just really gifted and not that I'm emotionally stunted.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i><b>Once when I was telling my life story to an editor, she thought it funny how with my messed-up childhood I choose to write positive, supportive (if complex) families. That seems like exactly the type of family you're writing about here…and *cough* if some tweets are true, your history may not have been all peaches and cream either. Why do YOU choose to write a functional, if unusual, family instead of the dysfunctional ones more typically seen in YA?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because, honestly, my family was more functional than not, or at least it felt that way. And it seemed to me pretty common among my friends as well. Sure, we fought with our parents, and sure, some people had divorced parents or other drama, but in general it felt like most of us were loved and supported, even if things weren't always easy-breezy.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also knew I wanted to explore the dynamic of Kellie watching her sister Sara reconnect with Sara's biological mother (Sara was adopted as a baby), and to me that would be more interesting if Kellie's family maybe once looked like The Perfect Family, and now looked like something completely different. After all, families can look like a lot of different things and still be filled with so much love and respect and support.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i><b>In the book I just wrote, my character has a best friend named Kaitlyn who is drifting away due to differing interests. Your book has that too. DID YOU STEAL THAT FROM MY BRAIN? (more seriously, tell me about Kaitlyn and Kellie, and how their friendship changes)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been accused before of stealing things from people's brains, and, trust me, if I had that ability, I would get A LOT more done!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for Kellie and Kaitlyn, I think a lot of us at MULTIPLE points in life go through periods where all of our relationships seem to be shifting. I know in high school there were a couple times where it felt like my friendships were out of my control and people were pulling away from me. Of course in retrospect, a lot of that was just that we all had to figure ourselves out and couldn't always worry so much about each other, but at the time it feels like the greatest betrayal.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was Kellie's age, I definitely felt like my best friend was way too cool for me, which is hilarious in retrospect because we were both dorks, just in different ways.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i><b>Let's talk about Oliver. He turns out to be not quite what Kellie thought he was, right? Kelly on Stacked even referred to him as "clingy". Is it true—and if so, are you messing around with gender stereotypes there?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually wrote Oliver kind of as a reaction to a lot of the YA I was reading back in 2008 when I wrote INK's first draft. There were so many romances where very quickly a boy would fall for a girl, and it would be intense and world-shattering...and the girls would always be soooo into it. And all I kept thinking was, "Whoa. This would REALLY stress me out!"</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my goal was really to write about a consuming romance kind of in a "real world" setting, and how that would actually go, and maybe what that would stem from. But, also, absolutely to gender stereotypes! Girls are often written as the ones who go overboard with romance, but from my personal experience, I saw just as many if not MORE guys fall for someone in that all-encompassing way. I know guys and girls sometimes act pretty differently, but I think deep down they're more alike than not.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i><b>I understand Kellie writes humor columns for her school newspaper. Can you give us an example of the type of things she writes? </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a little preview of Kellie's first column:</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The grounds of Ticknor
Day School boast native Missouri plant life immaculately maintained by a
hardworking grounds crew. Surrounding our students in such an environment is
just one way we at Ticknor strive to not only provide a quality education, but
the best setting possible for academic growth.</i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So begins the “Campus Grounds” section in the
Ticknor Day School promotional brochure, a paragraph those who spend each
weekday at T.D.S. might find difficult to take seriously. After all, is the
word “immaculate” synonymous with “poop-smelling”? Is “the best setting
possible an area that smells like the elephant pen at the zoo?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amy Spalding grew up outside of St. Louis. She now lives in Los Angeles with two cats and a dog. She works in marketing and does a lot of improv. She has more tattoos than she can count.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amy would love for you to visit her online at <a href="http://www.theamyspalding.com/" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">www.theamyspalding.com</a> or on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/theames" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1385999180950_3762" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">@theames</a>.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOW, how do you enter to win a SIGNED copy??</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
<b>Because it's the holidays and we all have a lot to do, I'm going to make it REAL easy for you. Enter by commenting to this post! If you want an extra entry, tweet about the contest and @ me (@susan_adrian). That's it!! The contest will close at 5 pm MST tomorrow, December 3rd, which is Launch Day for INK!</b></span><br />
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<b>Thanks so much, Amy!</b></span><br />
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-27888345487004826672013-11-19T13:45:00.002-07:002013-11-19T13:47:46.901-07:00The scoop on Tunnel Vision<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi all!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I've gotten a couple requests for more information on TUNNEL VISION, I thought it might be good to put the info in one place. Easily accessible and complete.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weird concept, I know. But sometimes I get these crazy brain flashes, and...here you go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TUNNEL VISION FACTOIDS:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Story, short version: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A teenage boy who has a power he
calls <i>tunneling</i>—he can sense where anyone in the world is (and what they’re
seeing) by holding something they own—comes under the uncomfortable attention of the U.S.
government, and suddenly has to balance normal life with psychic-spy life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Story, long version: </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jake Lukin just turned 18. He's
decent at tennis and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halo</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and waiting to hear on his app to Stanford. He's also being followed by a creep with a gun, and there's a DARPA agent
waiting in his bedroom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His secret is blown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jake holds a personal
object, like a pet rock or a ring, he has the ability to "tunnel"
into the owner. He can sense where they are, like a human GPS, and can see,
hear, and feel what they do. It's an ability the government would do
anything to possess: a perfect surveillance unit who could locate fugitives,
spies, or terrorists with a single touch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If he doesn't agree to help the government, his mother and sister may
be in danger. Suddenly Jake's juggling high school, tennis tryouts, flirting with
Rachel Watkins, and work as a government asset, complete with 24-hour
bodyguards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forced to lie to his friends and
family, and then to choose whether to give up everything for their safety, Jake
hopes the good he's doing—finding kidnap victims and hostages, and tracking
down terrorists—is worth it. But he starts to suspect the good guys may not be
so good after all. With Rachel's help, Jake has to try to escape both good guys
</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> bad guys and find a way to live
his own life instead of tunneling through others.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who's Publishing It:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press. My editor is the fantastic and super-cool Brendan Deneen.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When's It Coming Already?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently scheduled for early 2015! I'm part of the <a href="http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/our-books-and-authors/young-adult/">Fearless Fifteeners</a> debut author group. Yes, we are (mostly) fearless. Especially about deadlines and juggling books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Who's the Audience?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Um, ANYONE WHO LIKES TO READ. It's listed as a YA thriller, but I'm going with that. It's got spy stuff and car chases and guns in a cemetery and video games, but also Rachel-who-will-not-be-left-out, and Jake's disturbingly smart little sister Myka, and Liesel Miller, who frankly kind of scares me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Who Is Your Agent?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ladies and gentlemen, I present the amazingly patient and persistent <a href="http://ktliterary.com/">Kate Schafer Testerman</a> <a href="http://ktliterary.com/">of ktliterary</a>. TUNNEL VISION is also represented for film/tv rights by Jon Cassir of Creative Artists Agency. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What else would you like to know? Let me know in the comments if I left out any burning questions!</span>Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-43038299800491563432013-10-29T10:24:00.001-06:002013-10-31T09:22:11.906-06:00The I-Got-These-Books-At-BEA-And-Loved-Them Giveaway!*******<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">THANK YOU so much for entering, everybody!! The winner, by random draw, is....</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">KRISTIE MATHESON for a copy of ANTIGODDESS!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Congratulations, Kristie!! I'll email you today.</span></span><br />
*****<br />
<br />
HELLO.<br />
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It's been a busy couple of months! With vacation, and launching the <a href="http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/">Fearless Fifteeners</a>, and crazy Sparkle Girl after-school activities...whew.<br />
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But writing-wise, it's been a little slow. I'm still waiting on feedback for two different books, so I took some time off to read. (And while I've started writing a new book now, I'm taking it slowly, so still reading too.)<br />
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And lo and behold, I had this pile of ARCs from BEA to occupy me!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TLhM_NnXrJkHVj5wmdtNxlSkIfrUEqhBf3WIOsuSn-rT9mXaWv5igxMAuhCnRmZ0j5B-7WmaZKFALHiLrj7LI5QrXbu31qlISVxX7432d0bkSWTUaw_isbf_1_DE6trtQucD/s1600/BMg6xcTCUAAtgZA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TLhM_NnXrJkHVj5wmdtNxlSkIfrUEqhBf3WIOsuSn-rT9mXaWv5igxMAuhCnRmZ0j5B-7WmaZKFALHiLrj7LI5QrXbu31qlISVxX7432d0bkSWTUaw_isbf_1_DE6trtQucD/s320/BMg6xcTCUAAtgZA.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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TREASURE.</div>
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I've now read a good chunk of these--and you guys, they were ALL SO GOOD. I loved them, in different ways!! I want to share the fabulousness with you. </div>
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But I am NOT giving you my signed ARCs, sorry. I love you, but not that much.</div>
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Instead, I am going to *buy* one of you lovelies a copy of one of these books, which are all out now. Hardcover and everything. <b>All you have to do is reply to this post and tell me which one you would want! (and an email address or way to get ahold of you, used only for contacting you if you're a winner) </b>I'll do a random draw and the winner will get the book of their choice.</div>
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Here are your choices, in alphabetical order:</div>
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<b>ACROSS A STAR-SWEPT SEA by Diana Peterfreund</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9HgKkbdVK9UzP3p8PehSZglC10lk0m425R9Nt_BqtqMeUEccsb8BCtZZv5hYviFz3MMOT5sz9JsZ1I3WRekZau5hvMTXSepW6IQ2pO83N9wrcCm___Zi0bOiB_p7PGDxhknl/s1600/16102412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9HgKkbdVK9UzP3p8PehSZglC10lk0m425R9Nt_BqtqMeUEccsb8BCtZZv5hYviFz3MMOT5sz9JsZ1I3WRekZau5hvMTXSepW6IQ2pO83N9wrcCm___Zi0bOiB_p7PGDxhknl/s200/16102412.jpg" width="131" /></a> From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16102412-across-a-star-swept-sea?from_search=true">Goodreads</a>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.</i></span></div>
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In this thrilling adventure inspired by </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The Scarlet Pimpernel</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine</i>.</span><br />
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It's THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, reimagined. So very well done--I devoured it.</div>
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<b>ANTI-GODDESS by Kendare Blake</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWxpNo6JUjCJCVY1LkSI-e9skdrcdp-IiIWrtJQzxs4WrydKbSW0HpsNnVLf0u1Yja_BCGMuGJfFgboAWqKdYRNDPaGL3swbKOZM5us55oLMH6AuWBJFEQ037v7hbnlZUVEid/s1600/13246736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWxpNo6JUjCJCVY1LkSI-e9skdrcdp-IiIWrtJQzxs4WrydKbSW0HpsNnVLf0u1Yja_BCGMuGJfFgboAWqKdYRNDPaGL3swbKOZM5us55oLMH6AuWBJFEQ037v7hbnlZUVEid/s200/13246736.jpg" title="" width="139" /><span style="text-align: left;"></span></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13246736-antigoddess?from_search=true">From Goodreads:</a> <i style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Old Gods never die…</span></i></div>
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The Goddess War is about to begin.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I absolutely loved ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, and this first book in a new series lived up to it. The characterization is amazing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9nSwApahtM_ugUD9rpGV9pfMz_A7RFiZj2BRLycI5dOX6HKl1MPijvFlnhEztMsyP9h6_n5J-k1SNowFNClb65U06fYX2ncViS6HTrJfs5inmJmO0-QYoJKluKV3y0H_tg_c/s1600/16068905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9nSwApahtM_ugUD9rpGV9pfMz_A7RFiZj2BRLycI5dOX6HKl1MPijvFlnhEztMsyP9h6_n5J-k1SNowFNClb65U06fYX2ncViS6HTrJfs5inmJmO0-QYoJKluKV3y0H_tg_c/s200/16068905.jpg" width="134" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068905-fangirl?from_search=true" style="text-align: left;">From Goodreads</a><span style="text-align: left;">: </span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">From the author of the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> New York Times</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> bestseller </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Eleanor & Park</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">.</span></i></div>
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. </strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Cath is a Simon Snow fan.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">For something completely different...not fantasy, not alternative universe, not thriller. A thoughtful, wonderfully drawn contemporary that I related to tremendously, even though I never wrote fan fiction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262236-rose-under-fire?from_search=true">From Goodreads:</a> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?</i></span></div>
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /></i>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Code Name Verity</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b> </b>Yes, it's as good and wrenching as CODE NAME VERITY. That's all I knew going in, and that's all I'm going to say.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>VICIOUS by Victoria Schwab</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Note: this isn't a YA book, it's an adult book. Though I'm not sure ROSE UNDER FIRE is a YA book either.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEcTzEb5T6wN3_ZgDCy7jDwrkNecCU3UF3FRIGOcbvcGP22ptvXg_joHwIIOIdTU3POPSY_uJXXOX2tnKJ2YO2OvGVVXVH3Ccydn8RTxxwSO2KGP0Wzs3eWOU1_rWnL7-i9Dv/s1600/13638125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEcTzEb5T6wN3_ZgDCy7jDwrkNecCU3UF3FRIGOcbvcGP22ptvXg_joHwIIOIdTU3POPSY_uJXXOX2tnKJ2YO2OvGVVXVH3Ccydn8RTxxwSO2KGP0Wzs3eWOU1_rWnL7-i9Dv/s200/13638125.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13638125-vicious?from_search=true">From Goodreads</a>: </span></span><i><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Vicious</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">It's tremendously different, and darkly delicious. You'll be surprised who you find yourself rooting for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">*****</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Okay, that's it! Five books to choose from. This is a fast giveaway, so you only have until tomorrow at 5 pm Mountain Time to enter. Spread the word far and wide, please!!*</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Rules:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">--You must comment on this post with which book you choose (only one!) and your email address, or other way to contact you if you win.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">--North American entries only. Sorry!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">--Entries must be received by 5 pm Mountain Time October 30th. I'll do a random drawing after that, and contact the winner to mail the prize.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">--If the winner doesn't contact me back by Friday, I'll draw again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">*Hidden super-secret extra: if I get more than 50 entries, I'll draw TWO winners. Tell your friends!</span></span><br />
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Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-62678662635667856532013-10-22T06:00:00.000-06:002013-10-22T06:00:04.196-06:00The Fearless Fifteeners are LIVE!IT IS TIME.<br />
<br />
The Fearless Fifteeners, the inclusive group for 2015 debut MG and YA authors, is OPEN for applications!<br />
<br />
I am so, so thrilled about this. We have a fantastic group of admins, all handling various aspect of the group, such as Twitter, Facebook, ARC tours, interviews of the OneFours...you name it. We've all been working hard together to make sure everything is ready for new members to hang out together, commiserate, support each other, and promote each other.<br />
<br />
So what can you do?<br />
<br />
Follow our wordpress site, here: <a href="http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/">http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/</a><br />
There's a blog there, where we will be doing all sorts of things, including interviews and special features.<br />
<br />
Follow us on Twitter, here: <a href="https://twitter.com/Fearless15ers">https://twitter.com/Fearless15ers</a><br />
<br />
Like us on Facebook, here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fearlessfifteeners">https://www.facebook.com/fearlessfifteeners</a><br />
<br />
And, if you are a debut author with a book coming out in 2015, check out our membership requirements and apply HERE: <a href="http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/becoming-a-member/">http://fearlessfifteeners.wordpress.com/becoming-a-member/</a><br />
And then JOIN US!<br />
<br />
If you're an editor or an agent, please send your 2015 YA and MG debuts our way. We promise to be a great source of support behind the scenes, in the community, and to readers!<br />
<br />
Be Fearless.Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-84788130566309648932013-10-04T10:56:00.003-06:002013-10-04T10:56:31.812-06:00How Writing is like Candy Crush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdCUf9MU1fDr3Nq-i12XEWNy8DPQtKkwO1z4d61WpePoWCup1ay2GdV4SR2YdTFhUDdhUSDp2_xYFjNB8xCV9aeeI-duyT13v74TTvgQJzo3HunIRbYxDLBJxpV4MYZlU9faD/s1600/Screen-Shot-2013-05-07-at-11.40.38-AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdCUf9MU1fDr3Nq-i12XEWNy8DPQtKkwO1z4d61WpePoWCup1ay2GdV4SR2YdTFhUDdhUSDp2_xYFjNB8xCV9aeeI-duyT13v74TTvgQJzo3HunIRbYxDLBJxpV4MYZlU9faD/s320/Screen-Shot-2013-05-07-at-11.40.38-AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Like probably a few of you, I've become addicted to a certain game on my phone, Candy Crush. I tried to resist it, but the call was too strong. It's not unhealthy. Really.<br />
<br />
No, really. I lunge for the phone a couple <i>minutes </i>after the lives come back. I only dream about it a <i>few </i>times a week.<br />
<br />
*cough*<br />
<br />
Anyway, I realized this morning that my current favorite game has a lot in common with my other favorite <strike>pastime</strike> <strike>career</strike> obsession, writing. Here are a few ways, in no particular order:<br />
<br />
HOW WRITING IS LIKE CANDY CRUSH<br />
<br />
--<b>There are always more levels.*</b><br />
No matter how far you get--having an agent, getting a book contract, getting a starred review--there are ALWAYS MORE LEVELS. You can pound on one of those levels for weeks in Candy Crush (hello, level 65) or years in writing, and then you finally, finally get it! You dance and pound your fist! And then you hit "Next." It's never over, and you're never satisfied with your progress for long. Who gets level 65 and stops?<br />
Especially if you're like me. I get a level, woot, and immediately move to the next one before I even take a break. Yes, I do this in writing too.<br />
*There probably is an actual limit to Candy Crush levels. I wouldn't know. I'm on 108.<br />
<br />
--<b>The obstacles change, and get harder as you go.</b><br />
When I hit chocolate, I was like WTH IS THIS I WILL NEVER GET PAST THIS, and kind of despaired. Just like when I got all those piled-up agent rejections, long ago. But I figured it out, and got past that part. And then I hit the bombs. (Leaving my past agent, I guess, would count as the bombs...or when I quit temporarily.) I figured that out too, eventually. With a lot of swearing and wanting to cry. (argh bombs!) Now I am juggling bombs and chocolate and licorice on one <u>screen </u>and still getting past. Now I have a book deal, and keep reaching for more, keep writing more, keep improving. I have no idea what the next obstacles are, in Candy Crush or writing. But I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to get past them. So are you.<br />
<br />
--<b>It requires both skill and luck to get past the tough levels.</b><br />
Yes, that's right. I'm saying sometimes you need to have all the striped candies and round ball thingies (what are those called?) fall in the right places to win. Sometimes you need to land in someone's inbox at the right time, be on the right edge of a trend, talk to the right person. Sometimes you need luck too. Oh, and sometimes you need help. I have looked at those cheat sites, on occasion, for tips. I have certainly asked fellow writers what to do next. A lot.<br />
<br />
--<b>Candy and chocolate are involved.</b><br />
C'mon, you get this one. We're WRITERS. Sugar is fuel for the brain.<br />
<br />
--<b>There are forced waiting periods.</b><br />
One thing I find soooo frustrating about Candy Crush is the life expiry...and even more, the forced 24-hour breaks for quest levels. I don't like waiting. I want to keep moving forward.<br />
Writing has forced waiting periods too. LOTS. Once you get into the publishing part, more forced waiting periods than you could have imagined. I still don't like them. But I understand them. I have to wait until it's my turn again.<br />
<br />
--<b>Despite how difficult it is, and frustrating, it's also fun. And you just keep going back.</b><br />
This. Exactly, mostly, this. I can't stop. I can't quit. I have to push, and try, and hit Next. Even knowing there is no "end".* I will make it past level 108, eventually. I will make it to the next level of writing. And the next.<br />
<br />
Now if you'll excuse me, for just a couple minutes. My lives just came back.<br />
<br />Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-48629085219286591312013-09-13T10:14:00.000-06:002013-09-13T10:32:11.449-06:0015 is a good numberIt has been an interesting couple of days.<br />
<br />
I have not-great news. And good news! And the not-great news makes the good news possible, so it all works out.<br />
<br />
Not-great news: the release date for TUNNEL VISION has been moved a few months, to early 2015. I think this is actually a good thing for the book, but you will have to WAIT a little longer. Sorry!<br />
<br />
But because the few months' bump put me into 2015, I am no longer really part of the OneFourKidLit group I've been hanging out in. And I found out there wasn't a new group already there for 2015.<br />
<br />
So, being me, I'm creating one!<br />
<br />
All I know so far is the name: <b>Fearless Fifteeners.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This group will be for YA and MG authors, traditionally published, not previously published or self-published, and debuting in 2015.<br />
<br />
If you fit these categories and would like to be an admin/help organize the group, please let me know ASAP (fearlessfifteeners@yahoo.com)<br />
<br />
If you fit these categories and would like to join the group as a member, please hold off for a bit, but watch this space/my social media. It'll hopefully be soon!<br />
<br />
Because we are FEARLESS. :)<br />
<br />
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<br />Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-57588038560926818652013-08-29T08:38:00.001-06:002013-08-29T08:38:46.971-06:00Next Big Thing Blog Hop: NUTCRACKED<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So has anyone been a little bit curious about this mysterious middle-grade I've been working on? :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ANSWERS ARE HERE. Today I'm participating in the Next Big Thing blog hop. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #323232; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The blog hop is a series of questions for authors to talk about what they have in the works.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #323232; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was tagged by </span><a href="http://robinconstantine.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robin Constantine</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1. What is the working title of your next
book?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">NUTCRACKED</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2. Where did the idea come from for the book?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">NUTCRACKED is about a
girl who gets to play Clara in the Nutcracker. I was fortunate enough to get to
be Clara myself when I was 13, and I knew someday I'd want to write about that
experience. Of course I didn't have magical adventures like Georgie does
(unfortunately).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3. In what genre does your book fall?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Middle grade, magical
realism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4. What actors would you choose to play the
part of your characters in the movie rendition?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Oh! I have no idea,
sorry. I've never been good at that. But the little girl in this picture looks
like my main character, Georgie, to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzYOqysBv5Cbw8rxeMj3RJNC6niwXCMuOrnVUv7jro7cWzCOlAkm4ef2HkgItFDEHRTyWPzPeDa1dPcrSgHm0N3HTrWlhne471pM-oE0FwNwYD7y-WnMlUMSEeLH4oDZPJRdG/s1600/tumblr_m8d5rxjXgm1qcgnljo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzYOqysBv5Cbw8rxeMj3RJNC6niwXCMuOrnVUv7jro7cWzCOlAkm4ef2HkgItFDEHRTyWPzPeDa1dPcrSgHm0N3HTrWlhne471pM-oE0FwNwYD7y-WnMlUMSEeLH4oDZPJRdG/s320/tumblr_m8d5rxjXgm1qcgnljo1_1280.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo by Tracie Taylor, <a href="http://tracietaylorphotography.tumblr.com/">tracietaylorphotography.tumblr.com</a>)</span></span></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your
book?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Two sentences. This is
my first stab at it, so I cheated a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Twelve-year-old
Georgie gets her dreamed-for role of Clara in the Nutcracker ballet, but her
best friend doesn't…and then Georgie manages to lose her director's heirloom
Nutcracker, triggering long-buried magic. Can she solve the magical clues to
get the Nutcracker back, save her show, and hang on to her friendship, while
rehearsing ten hours a week?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6. Who is publishing your book?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This one is going out
on submission in the next month or two! Wish me luck! (Um…and if you're an
editor, please let me or Kate know if you want to be on the sub list. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">7. How long did it take you to write the first
draft of the manuscript?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">About 3 months. Though
there have been several drafts since then! It's changed tremendously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">8. What other books would you compare this
story to within your genre?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I've been really going
for the classic, old-school middle grade feel, like BALLET SHOES by Noel
Streatfeild, or the magic in A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">9. Who or what inspired you to write this
book?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Molly O'Neill,
formerly at Harper Collins, told me on Twitter to go ahead and write it when I
said I wanted to write a Nutcracker book someday. Quote: "Write it. Write
it NOW." </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">10. What else about the book might pique the
reader’s interest?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I couldn't jam it into
the synopsis, but another major piece of the book is the development of
Georgie's friendship with a boy named Noah, who ends up becoming her partner in
the magical adventures. Georgie's dad is a high school football coach, so
there's also a touch of football, and the rest of her big family. And cats!<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So what do you think? It really couldn't be more different from TUNNEL VISION, but I am so, so excited about it. They're both completely <u>me</u>, in different ways.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And now on to the next two writers!! I've tagged two fellow One Four Kid Lit authors to participate:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://michellekrys.com/">Michelle Krys</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://mariaeandreu.com/2013/08/29/the-next-big-thing/">Maria Andreu</a></span></div>
Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23749528.post-57457972080625817932013-08-21T10:51:00.002-06:002013-08-21T10:51:49.476-06:00The Importance of Writing HeroesI was recently asked for a list of my favorite authors. If you're a voracious reader, much less a writer, that's an almost impossible task, right? Like what movies I like best or which kind of dessert is my favorite. ALL OF THEM, SILLY. (It's even worse because I have so many author friends. I feel horrible leaving anyone off.)<br />
<br />
So I redefined the question in my head, and it snapped clear. Who are my writing heroes? Yes, there are SO MANY authors whose books I love to read. But there are only a few who somehow, for indefinable reasons, got under my skin. Most of them are authors I read early on (surprise surprise, kidlit author here), but a couple I didn't meet until high school or college. Still, they're on the list. I read everything (or almost everything) they wrote. I read their books over and over. I memorized pieces of their books, bought collections, moved Every Single Book from home to dorm room to apartment to other apartments to house. I've read their books with my daughter, or I will. I fangirl them. They are, each of them, part of the reason I write, part of the reason I thought it was possible to write. I even type their names with a touch of reverence.<br />
<br />
Madeleine L'Engle<br />
L.M. Montgomery<br />
Susan Cooper<br />
Mary Stewart<br />
Douglas Adams<br />
(and yes, Jane Austen)<br />
<br />
Sadly, I missed the chance to meet most of them, or write to them, to express in some way how very much their books meant to me. Only two on that list are still living.<br />
<br />
I'd rather thought of all of them as unreachable...not instantly accessible, certainly, in the way authors are now. But a couple years ago, when I was at my <a href="http://distraction99.com/2012/06/08/turning-point-or-the-tunnel-at-the-end-of-the-darkness-guest-post-by-susan-adrian/">very lowest writing point</a>--I'd quit writing, and was thinking of leaving my agent, and was despairing a fair bit--I discovered that a good friend of mine (Vicki Pettersson) shared an editor with Mary Stewart. And more amazingly, I could write a letter to Mary Stewart (who was in her 90s), and the editor would pass it on for me. (Thanks, Diana Gill!)<br />
<br />
I wrote one. I poured out how much I'd loved her books, how they'd gotten me through all sorts of times...how much she'd touched me with her stories. I told her I wanted to be a writer, but I was struggling, but she was still an example for me. I sent it off, glad I'd told her at least.<br />
<br />
I was absolutely floored when she wrote back.<br />
<br />
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<br />
It's probably hard to read, but that last line, there? Says "Good luck with your writing!"<br />
<br />
It's a simple note, but I cried as I read it, it meant so much. Just that I'd made contact with one of my heroes, and that she'd reached back. I keep the letter, still, in my jewelry box as one of my treasures. And I wrote another book, left my agent, got another one, and eventually sold the book. I can't say it was all due to her letter--the book dragged me back in, really--but it helped, that encouragement.<br />
<br />
So when I saw that Susan Cooper was going to be at Book Expo America this June in New York City, I booked my ticket. I went to BEA for other reasons too, meeting my editor and agent, meeting up with friends, networking, all that good stuff. But I really went, underneath, to MEET SUSAN COOPER.<br />
<br />
I was first in line, an hour before. I held the sign for her line. And then this happened:<br />
<br />
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<br />
If I look a little giddy, I WAS. But I managed to be coherent enough to tell her that her books are part of the reason I became a writer. She replied, graciously, "That's the best thing a writer can hear from another writer." I grinned, I'm sure.<br />
<br />
I think maybe it's important to have writing heroes, people you admire and respect and whose work you devour, who aren't quite on the same level as you, on Twitter every day and instantly accessible. Or maybe it doesn't really matter HOW readers connect with those heroes, just that somehow, sometimes, it happens, and the authors reach back. As an author, I never expect to be anybody's hero. But I do plan to reach back if anybody reaches out to me.<br />
<br />
Who are your writing heroes? Who would you love to meet, or who were you lucky enough to meet or contact (and squee over?)<br />
<br />
<br />Susan Adrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730673696950405605noreply@blogger.com3