PANIC/ELUSION/HALF BAD/THE SHADOW THRONE GIVEAWAY & ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW

Happy Monday Everyone! Hope you’re having a fantastic start to your week. I just started to clean my way too messy basement this weekend. And I found a coffee carafe I've been looking for the last ten years. I was so excited! And at least part of the basement looks much better. I still have the hard room to tackle, but I'll break it up into sections. It's hard when you live with pack rats, but I'm proud of my husband for letting some things go to charity.

So I have two winners to announce.

The winner of ALL THAT GLOWS is Kim Van Sickler!

And the winner of BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC. is Joni!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner.

Today, I’m excited to interview Gina Gao, a new college student who’s an aspiring author and who blogs at Modern World

Hi Gina. Thanks so much for joining us.

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

I’m Gina, and I am currently an aspiring author who is studying pre-med in college. My blog is about my experiences, both past and present. The posts on my blog are usually reflective stories of my past. I like to write about experiences that reflect the world through my eyes. I enjoy reading books like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, basically any book that can take me to another world for a couple of hours.

2. I love books that take me to a different world too. I know you’re an aspiring author too. Tell us a little bit about what you’re working on.

Right now I am working on a series of short stories. The posts on my blog are mostly short snippets of a longer story. I'm still looking for a publisher and agent that can help me through this process of getting my stories to print.

3. I’ve never tried writing short stories. How did you find out about the books you read while in high school? Has that changed at all since starting college?

Most of the books that I read in high school were introduced by friends. They'd say something like, "Oh, this book is amazing, you should read it." Otherwise, it's classics that are required by class. These books always surprise me because I don't expect to enjoy them, but I do anyway. An example would be Jane Eyre. If not for required readings for class, I would not have picked it up.

Now that I'm in college, my reading process is different from high school. Now, I usually just browse through the classics section of the library and check out those that might interest me. Now I'm reading Anna Kerenina.

4. Awesome how you’ve found out about books from friends. How has writing changed what you read, if at all? What books are you waiting to be released?

Well, writing has really opened my eyes to the various bloggers that post their work, however short, online. Although most of these writers don't write professionally, I realized that these writings were to be admired. I've been reading blog posts ever since then.

The one book that has caught my attention so far is Ruins (Partials series #3). I've read the two previous books, and they have caught my attention. I got Partials as an advanced readers copy, and I was surprised that I liked it so much, so I've kept on reading.

5. I haven’t read that series but I’ve heard great things about it. Do you buy most of your book or get them at the library? How often do you go to a bookstore?

Well, if I've never read a certain book before, I would check it out at the library and read it. If I really enjoy the book that I've just read, then I'll go ahead and buy it from the bookstore or Amazon. I go to the bookstore (Barnes & Noble) every weekend, mostly because of the books and how I can study there.

6. That’s so cool you go to the library every week. Do you read any teen book blogs, author blogs, or author or publisher websites? Become a fan of an author on Facebook? Why? Has this changed at all since you started writing and now that you’re in college?

Well, I regularly check up on teembookguru.com and harpercollins.com. I have not yet found an author that I had not previously met on Blogger as of yet. I am looking forward to changing this fact now that I'm in college and get much more active in the local writing community.

7. When you were in high school, did your teachers recommended any blogs or websites to your class or to you?

Unfortunately, none of my teachers in high school recommended any blogs or websites to visit.

8. Too bad. 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?

Well, I'm already a really big fan of J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, and I have visited both of their sites and Facebook pages. One think that I would like to see from J.K. Rowling is a continuation of the Harry Potter books, even though that is just wishful thinking. Suzanne Collins is an extremely talented writer in my opinion, and I can't wait to see what she has to offer in the future.

9. I love both those authors too. Have any authors visited your high school? Who? Is there anything you’d recommend that an author do to make their presentation more interesting to you and other kids at your school?

There hasn't been an author that has ever come to my school, but Sherman Alexie has made an appearance at the public library. I'm a particular fan of his work, and a way that authors can appeal to the teenage audience is to somehow make them care more about literature. There's always going to be a group of teenagers (such as myself) that will support local authors, but it would be nice if authors such as J.K. Rowling made these activities more acceptable to mainstream culture.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Gina.

Today I’m sharing and giving away a few of the ARCs I’ve been reading that I don’t have author interviews scheduled for. Click on the title for a blurb from Goodreads.

ELUSION by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam

Thanks to Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss for this ARC. This is an e-book giveaway.

This is a dystopian story where the world of Elusion is so appealing to everyone because of the lack of nature in their own world. I loved that the setting is Detroit because I live about forty minutes away and go there regularly for court. I really enjoyed discovering the secrets behind Elusion with Ryan and I got a much different sense of Elusion from her experiences there. This was a pretty good page turner with twists that left me trying to figure out things until the end.

PANIC by Lauren Oliver

Thanks to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for this ARC. This is an

e-book giveaway.

This is a fantastic contemporary which shows that Lauren Oliver, one of my favorite authors, can write in many different genres and for many age groups. Panic is a terrifying game these teens in a small boring town play in the summer. The mom in me wanted to shake Heather and Dodge on occasion when they continued on with it. Both have interesting pasts which help explain why they feel the need to play this game. It was a real fast read for me.

HALF BAD by Sally Green

Thanks to Viking Juvenile for this ARC. This is a print book e-book for US and Canada and an e-book for International giveaway.

This got a lot of buzz at Bologna last year and has already sold in 42 countries. It’s an urban fantasy set in England and a bit in Ireland, a setting I really like. I enjoyed that this was told from fifteen-year-old Nathan’s POV. He’s fairly isolated because he doesn’t want to draw the attention of the White Witches who monitor and punish the Black Witches. It was interesting watching him journey out on his own as he tried to find out what kind of witch he really is, learn more about his family, and find the person who will give him three wishes on his sixteenth birthday so he doesn’t die. The plot kept moving and I found it to be another pretty fast read.

THE SHADOW THRONE by Jennifer Nielsen

Thanks to Scholastic and NetGalley for this ARC. This is an e-book giveaway, but I’d get you any e-book in this series.

This is the third book in one of my favorite series. Jaron is fully in his role as King and his country faces war. But he’s also torn because Imogen has been kidnapped by his enemies who he must try to rescue. I loved watching him as he journeyed to save both his country and try to save her. The problems keep on mounting and my heart was broken at points. It was a totally satisfying conclusion to the series for me. I can’t wait to see what Jennifer Nielsen writes next.

So to enter the giveaway, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment telling me which book you’d want through March 8th. Please also leave a comment for Gina. I’ll announce the winner on March 10th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, please leave it in the comments.



If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 or older to enter.
 
Here’s what’s coming up:

On Monday I’m interviewing Natalie Lloyd and giving away an ARC of A SNICKER OF MAGIC, a contemporary magical realism MG story I loved. The characters are so well developed and the setting is a vivid, small town set in Tennessee. This is one of my favorite reads of 2014.

On Wednesday I’m interviewing follower Kelly Polak and giving away ROCK 'N' ROLL PRINCESSES WEAR BLACK, her new MG contemporary story that sounds really good. And I'm participating in Sheri Larsen's IT'S ALL ABOUT GRATITUDE Blog Hop.

Friday next week I’ll be participating in the Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop. I’ll have lots of new YA releases to choose from.

The following Monday I’m interviewing debut author Christina Farley and giving away a copy of GILDED, her fantastic YA contemporary fantasy set in Korea. You really felt like you were there and I really loved this page-turner.

The Monday after that I’m interviewing debut author Kristi Helvig and giving away an ARC of BURN OUT, her YA sci-fi story. It’s a great story set on Earth about Tora, who may be the only person on Earth, who really needs to leave and has to decide if she can trust the people who come knocking on her door.

And don’t forget Casey’s Agent Spotlights.

Hope to see you on Monday!