UNRAVELING AND THE SELECTION GIVEAWAY AND ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH LENNY LEE

Hi everyone. I'm back. We had a fun visit with my husband's family in Dallas last week. Lots of good food, fireworks, and fun time with family and friends.

And thanks to everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. We had a quiet day at home. I got a fair amount of writing done and did no cooking. My kind of day.

Thanks for those of you who stopped by for my interview with Laurisa White Reyes and the giveaway of her upper MG fantasy THE ROCK OF IVANORE. If you haven't stopped by to read her advice, especially on middle grade marketing, and to enter the contest for her awesome book, I'd encourage you to do so. The link is at the top of the blog. And Laurisa is having a t-shirt contest here.

Next I've got winners to announce. Yay!

The winner of WHILE HE WAS AWAY is MARYBELLE!

The winner of TO RIDE A PUCA is LEIGH!

And the winner of TRACING STARS is BARBARA WATSON!

Congrats! E-mail me your addresses so I can send you your book.

Today I've got a great giveaway for you. And I’m excited to interview Lenny Lee, a 12 year old, 7^th grader, who is an aspiring author and a fantastic blogger. If you haven’t checked out Lenny’s blog, I really recommend it. He doesn’t blog that often but whenever he does, his posts are as complete and mature as any adult’s. They always blow me away with all the useful info and how well-written they are.

Hi Lenny. Thanks so much for joining us.

1.  Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your school, and what you like to write.

hi miss natalie! thanks for having me on your cool blog. i have a teacher that comes to the house so i dont go to a regular school. im a “go green” guy. i love the earth and wanna to help protect it. i love animals especially raccoons. we have a critter café on our deck and feed lots of wild animals. i love to swim and snorkel. i like sports. im a braves and falcons fan. i love to write! mostly i write kids books and im learning how to do picture books. in my stories i always have something kids can learn that could help them in their life.

2.  My daughter loves swimming too. That's so cool you write. And I always admire picture book writers because you have to say so much with so few words. What made you decide to start blogging? Tell us a bit about your blog and what you like to blog about. 

my doctor got me started blogging. she knew i love to write and said it would be a  good place to share things. i got hooked up with writers because i love writing and wanted to learn from good writers just like you. mostly i post about writing but sometimes i do posts on stuff that maybe a lot of people dont know like the ones i did about the italian lifeguard dogs or sea lions and dolphins in the navy. on my posts i try to have a catchy title and keep then short and colorful and i always add a picture.

3.  That's some awesome doctor advice. Your writing advice is always and it sounds like you're an adult, not a 7th grader. What kind of books do you like to read?

i like all kinds of stuff.  i like adventure stories, science fiction and books about animals. i love books that get my emotions going and make me feel stuff.  i love books that get me laughing. those wimpy kid books make me laugh soooo much.

4.  I like adventure stories and science fiction too. It's nice that more sci-fi books are being published.  How has blogging changed what you read, if at all? What books are you waiting to be released?   

blogging is a big help in letting me know what books are out there. i love the blogs that do marvelous middlegrade monday. they review mg books and that gives me a good idea if i want to put a book on my “wanna read” list or not. right now im waiting not so patiently for miss hilary wagners mg book called goblin shark rising and her next book in the nightshade chronicles called kings of trillium.  

5.  I can't wait for both of Hilary Wagner's books that are coming out. And I learn so much about new books from the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday bloggers too. I enjoy posting with them when I can. Do you buy most of your book, receive ARCS, or get them at the library? How often do you go to a bookstore?

right now most of the books on my shelf i won from the blogs. im just real lucky. yikes! i got a ton of them to read. sometimes i get arcs. ive got my own account at amazon.com and i get books from them. theres a  library 5 minutes away and we go there lots. we dont go to the big book store so much. Sometimes we go to the used bookstore.

6.  I love winning books too and getting ARCs when I can. Do you read any teen book blogs, author blogs, or author or publisher websites? Become a fan of an author on Facebook? Why? 

mostly i got to blogs about writing but i go to all kinds of blogs because i can learn something from everyone. im not on facebook or twitter so i dont follow anyone there. i follow my favorite authors on their websites or blogs. my favorite mg author is miss hilary wagner. for sure i follow her blog.

7.  I know you follow blogs too because we follow some of the same blogs. Tell us how you found out about the blogs you follow and the kind of blogs you like to follow.

when i got started blogging and started getting some comments i went to those blogs and read them and did comments and started following them.sometimes id look and see who theyre following and go visit some of those blogs and if i liked them id follow them. then lots of them came to my blog. you gotta be friendly to get friends. mostly i follow blogs that have something to do with  writing but i follow some others about things im interested in, especially animals.

8.  So true about being a good friend gets you friends on your blog. It's critical to helping your blog grow. Are there things your favorite authors could do that would make you more likely to visit their website, their blog, or become a fan on Facebook? 

for me book reviews are the most helpful. and, i love interviews with authors so i can know more about them and their life. most of them are just real encouraging. i like blogs where the post is short and interesting and has graphics. i hardly ever read a loooong post unless its got a catchy title and is about something super interesting. 

Those are great tips on what makes a good blog post. Thanks Lenny for sharing all your great advice.

So now onto my ARC giveaways. Click on the titles to read a description of the books from Goodreads. I'm following Lenny's advice and trying not to make my post too long.

First, there's UNRAVELING by Elizabeth Norris. 

I really enjoy mysteries and was intrigued by the idea that Janelle, the main character, comes from a FBI family background. I was immediately sucked into the story in the first few pages when Janelle is hit by a truck, dies, and then Ben brings her back to life. I was totally with her as she tried to figure out how Ben could have brought her back to life, what her father, a FBI agent, is investigating about her “accident,” and her discovery of the ticking clock.

The pacing in this book is amazing and full of twists that I had no idea were coming. Because then there is a more serious murder that Janelle is compelled to solve. Sorry I can’t tell you who so I don’t spoil it. And then there was this amazing sci-fi aspect of the story I had no idea was coming that deepened the story so much, if that was possible, and made me unable to put the book down. Again, I don’t want to spoil it for you.

Janelle’s very independent and self-reliant, in part from taking care of her younger brother when her mother is unable to and her father is gone a lot. I really liked those qualities in her and her loyalty to her brother.

Ben is a mysterious loner, but a really good guy. One of the things I enjoyed was watching the very natural progress in Janelle’s and his relationship from hardly knowing each other to something much more.

Elizabeth Norris doesn’t hesitate to dump the worst on Janelle or continue to surprise us, the readers, up to the end. I can’t imagine how she’ll top this in book 2 and can’t wait to see where the story progresses.

Next, I'm giving away THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass.

This book gets a good review from not only me but from my daughter. She loves dystopian books, but I wasn’t sure she’d like this one because she’s more of a tomboy kid. I thought she’d be put off by the cover. But she really liked it and told me more than once that I should read it before I got to it. 

This is a really different dystopian tale. After the United States is destroyed, a new country called Illea is born that is run by a monarchy. The society is divided into castes, with One being the best cast to be born into and Eight being the worst almost non-cast. When Prince Maxon is picking his bride, it is an opportunity for 35 girls to get a chance to change their life. But right from the beginning, America, the main character, has no interest in being part of the Selection. Instead, she wants to marry Aspen, a guy in a lower class than her that she’s having a secret relationship with. It’s secret because no one is this world would consider marrying down.

After a stormy break up with Aspen and her mom’s nagging to enter the Selection, America reluctantly agrees to enter her name in the selection and of course gets selected. But one of the things I liked about America is that even when she went to the palace and experienced a life so much better than her own, she did not change her mind that she did not want to be selected by a prince she did not think she’d like. Unexpectedly, she meets Prince Maxon privately and a friendship develops. 

America is a great character. She holds true to her ideals and isn’t afraid to speak her mind, even to the Prince. She’s loyal to her family and wants to stay in the selection so they can get better food and other perks while she’s there.  And she’s a good friend to Marlee, one of the girls she meets on the trip to the Palace who she tries to help get selected by the Prince, and to her maids. 

Prince Maxon is reserved and not very experienced in being with girls. But he’s very attentive and kind. You can tell he’s trying to make a good choice and is concerned about his role as future leader. I enjoyed watching the deepening relationship between America and him.

The one thing I hope we learn more of in book 2 is why the rebels are attacking the Palace and what they’re fighting for. And I hope America takes a more active role in this political struggle.

I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel and my daughter is already hoping I’ll get an ARC of it. 

  

So there will be two winners. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment on Lenny's interview by midnight on July 28th. Let me know what book you'd like and why in the comment too. I’ll announce the winner on July 30th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment. International entries are welcome.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. 

Here's what's coming up:

On Wednesday, I'm interviewing Leigh Bardugo and giving away a copy of SHADOW AND BONE. I just finished it and it's as fantastic as everyone says. You want this book! I can't wait to share Leigh's interview with you.

Then next Monday, I'm interview Natalie Lorenzi about her middle grade book FLYING DRAGON. It's a multi-cultural story about a Japenese-American girl who has to give up her soccer dreams to study Japanese and help her cousin, who just came here from Japan, with his English. I was mesmerized from the first page.

Next Wednesday, Casey has a post with Laura Lascarso with a giveaway of her book COUNTING BACKWARDS.

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday Agent Spotlights.

Hope to see you on Wednesday!