Friday, May 28, 2010

Egmont Debut Week: Kay Cassidy

Hello from NYC!

I'm planning on spending the day sight-seeing and hopefully doing a little bit of shopping!! (As soon as I kick some slave trafficker butt with my part time ninja assassin skills and escape from this closet.) I'm in the city until Sunday, but today's the last day of the Egmont Debut Week Author Tour, and I'm hosting Kay Cassidy. Kay is the author of the wonderful THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY and also a marketing guru--and she has a great little something to give away to one of my readers (except I really want it so I might wrestle y'all for it) so stay tuned after the interview.

First here's little bit about TCS and Kay:

What's a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn't want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen year old Jess Parker has always been an outsider. So when she receives an invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret society of the most popular girls in school, it's like something out of a fairy tale. Swept up by the Cindys' magical world of makeovers, and catching the eye of her Prince Charming, Jess feels like she's finally found her chance to fit in.

Then the Wickeds--led by Jess's arch-enemy--begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers there's more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself on the outside. She has unknowingly become part of a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and now the Cindys in charge need Jess for a mission that could change everything.

Overwhelmed, Jess wonders if The Cinderella Society made a mistake in choosing her. Is it a coincidence her new boyfriend doesn't want to be seen with her in public? And is this glamorous, secret life even what she wants, or will she risk her own happy ending to live up to the expectations of her new sisters?


BOOK TEASER:

I opened the card, my hands trembling in dread and the faint remnants of what I used to call hope, as a tiny silver high-heel pin bounced into my hand. I juggled the pin for a second, barely managing to keep it from falling, and flipped open the note with my other hand. The words inside were not a message but an invitation that sent shivers down my spine:

Your presence is requested at The Grind.

Tonight, 7 p.m.

Wear the pin.
Discretion MANDATORY.


AUTHOR BIO: Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. She is the founder of the national Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM reading program for kids and teens and the host of the inspirational Living Your FiveTM web project. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, movies, music, and reading. Lots and lots of reading. She hopes her debut YA novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY (April 13, 2010 - Egmont), will help girls embrace their inner Cindy.


On to the Q&A:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Ooo… I have dreams a lot where I'm flying, so that's the first thing that comes to mind. Although in those dreams, I'm usually being chased by someone who can leap like Michael Jordan so I'm never quite out of reach. So maybe I wouldn't be a great flyer after all. Oh, I know! I would totally want to be INVISIBLE. So I could go get the mail in my pajamas and nobody would even know. And, you know, for other cool uses too. (Okay, it's mostly for the mail.)


2. Pretend you're on death row . . . What crime have you been accused of committing? Are you innocent or guilty? What would your last meal be?

Stealing all the cupcakes in the city. Mwahahaha. :-) And, of course, I would probably be guilty. (Wait, are these cherry chip cupcakes with cherry frosting? They are? Then I would definitely be guilty.) Since I would probably have both stolen AND EATEN every cupcake in the city, it's a fair guess that I would have a little tummy ache from the sugar. So I'd probably want pepperoni pizza as my last meal.


3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it be? What would you do?

If I was a teen, I would totally pick Harry Potter. I would want to go to Diagon Alley for a little shopping first. Maybe pick up some cool magical titles at Flourish & Blotts before having an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's. Then we could go to Hogsmeade to meet up with Ron and Hermione and the gang. Probably to Madam Puddifoot's, especially if it was on Valentine's Day when she has cherubs throw confetti on the couples dining there. To top it off, a trip into Honeydukes Sweetshop for some tasty delights to take home with me as edible memories. Ah, bliss.

Giveaway time:

Kay is offering up one of her gorgeous glass slipper bookmarks to a lucky reader. Since TCS is all about girl power how about you tell me about your favorite female fictional heroine in the comments to be entered to win. (Seriously, I want this bookmark!)

And huge props go out to Kay for organizing this author tour!

P.S. I'm over at Lindsay Eland's blog today. Be sure to stop by and enter to win a bottle of TDD nail polish.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Egmont Debut Week: Chelsea Campbell

Hey friends-

I hope it's safe to say that I'm having the time of my life in NYC. (Again, hopefully I'm not being held hostage by slave traffickers while hubby hunts them down using his ex-CIA skills of awesomeness.) Anyway, one of the people I should be meeting up with is Chelsea Campbell a fellow Egmont USA author (we share the same editor!) and the evil mastermind behind THE RISE OF RENEGADE X. Chelsea is here on the bog today to answer a few questions and give a little something, something away.

THE RISE OF RENEGADE X: Damien Locke knows his destiny–attending the university for supervillains and becoming Golden City’s next professional evil genius. But when Damien discovers he’s the product of his supervillain mother’s one-night stand with–of all people–a superhero, his best-laid plans are ruined as he’s forced to live with his superhero family.

Going to extreme lengths (and heights), The Rise of Renegade X chronicles one boy’s struggles with the villainous and heroic pitfalls of growing up.

Ages 14+. Available now for purchase, or look for it at your local indie book store!



Bio: Chelsea Campbell grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot. And then rains some more. She finished her first novel when she was twelve, sent it out, and promptly got rejected. Since then she’s written many more novels, earned a degree in Latin and Ancient Greek, become an obsessive knitter and fiber artist, and started a collection of glass grapes. As a kid, Chelsea read lots of adult books, but now that she’s an adult herself (at least according to her driver’s license), she loves books for kids and teens. Besides writing, studying ancient languages, and collecting useless objects, Chelsea is a pop culture fangirl at heart and can often be found rewatching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, leveling up in World of Warcraft, or spending way too much time on Livejournal and Facebook.

Interview time:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Teleportation! Then I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, for FREE. I could go to any con and not have to pay airfare or hotel expenses, since I could just go home for the night. I could visit foreign countries all the time, and if I needed to research a place for a book... ta da. It would make life so much easier.

2. Pretend you're on death row . . . What crime have you been accused of committing? Are you innocent or guilty? What would your last meal be?


I've been accused of the world's supply of hamburgers, but I'm not *quite* guilty because I left all the ones with toppings I didn't like (which would be quite a few), but no one believes me and I'm at least sort of guilty. My last meal is roast beef with potatoes and tons of butter. And maybe some cheesecake for dessert.
3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it be? What would you do?

Hmm. It's so hard to choose! Maybe Peter Parker, from the recent Spider-man movies. But he would probably show up late and then have to make excuses to go stop bad guys, so I would try and keep it casual, just some fast-ish food or something.

Thanks so much, Chelsea!

On to the giveaway:

Chelsea is giving away a signed bookmark to a lucky commenter. So tell us what you'd want your superpower to be, and I'll enter you in the drawing. Winners will be announced next week.

I'm over at Kristina McBride's blog today. Stop by and check out the interview!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Egmont Debut Week: Alexandra Bracken

Hey all-

Hopefully by the time read this, I will have arrived safe and sound in NYC and I'm off to Book Expo America to meet Editor Greg and and a bunch of other author/industry friends. (If not, I hope I've been diverted to the Bahamas and not that I've been kidnapped by international slave traffickers at the airport.) One of the folks I will hopefully get to meet at BEA is the lovely Alexandra Bracken, author of BRIGHTLY WOVEN. But in the meantime, Alex is visiting the blog today for an interview.

BRIGHTLY WOVEN (Available now!): Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.
In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.
Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

Author Bio: Alexandra Bracken wrote Brightly Woven as a birthday present for a friend, and the story grew and flourished during a year of unpredictable, wild weather. A native of Arizona, she is a recent graduate of the College of William and Mary, where she majored in History and English. She now lives in New York City.


On to the interview:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The power of invisibility. How handy would that be?? To be a fly on the wall during major historical events, to slip by all of those RESTRICTED ACCESS signs? I think I’m too nosey for my own good…

2. Pretend you're on death row . . . What crime have you been accused of committing (it can be a funny/absurd/unheard of crime)? Are you innocent or guilty? What would your last meal be?

A crime of passion—I’ve broken into Scholastic’s warehouse to steal copies of MOCKINGJAY for all of my friends, and we got so excited we accidentally told the rest of the world how the story ended. Scholastic decided to inflict some HUNGER GAMES-style justice instead of putting us in jail. I’d ask for Spagettios, but let’s be honest—they’d probably give me a piece of bread as they launched fireballs at my head.

3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it me?

Ron Weasley. I’m sorry, I have a weakness for gingers—especially gingers with an amazing sense of humor. And an awesome family.

***Alex, if you're going after a copy of MOCKINGJAY, take me with you!!***

That's all for now. I'm visiting Alex's blog today so head on over there to check out the interview and enter to win a bottle of TDD nail polish.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Egmont Debut Week: Kristina McBride

Hey Everybody-

It's day two of the Egmont Debut Week author tour and I have a very special treat for you all. Today is the book B-day for Kristina McBride's THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES and I'm lucky enough to be hosting an interview Kristina right here in Readbree Land.

So let's give Kristina a big welcome!





THE TENSIONS OF OPPOSITES: What happens when your best friend is kidnapped - and returns home two years later?














Author Bio: Kristina McBride, a former high-school English teacher and yearbook adviser, wrote The Tension of Opposites in response to the safe return of a child who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friend’s house. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two young children. This is her first novel. Visit her online at www.kristinamcbride.com.

On to the interview:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

I would like to be able to read people the way I read books. I often wonder about random people I pass, wishing I knew the full story of their lives. It would work like this: I see someone I am interested in knowing about, and I flip some internal switch to be flooded with their memories, experiences, and feelings. I immediately know about their life as if I have lived it myself. I’m not sure what I would do with this information – maybe use it to feed a writer’s block that might crop up in my future. Regardless of the benefit of such a super power, I think it would be super cool!

2. Pretend you're on death row . . . What crime have you been accused of committing? Are you innocent or guilty? What would your last meal be?

I am on death row for hoarding the world’s supply of chocolate, and am terribly guilty. My last meal: A very large bowl of chocolate ice cream smothered with chocolate chip cookie dough, super thick hot fudge, and chocolate sprinkles. (Yum!)

3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it be? What would you do?

Atticus Finch (sigh). I love him. I’d take him to a nearby nature reserve so we could walk through the woods. Then we’d go to the dinner somewhere fancy and eat an incredible meal. Later, we’d hang out by a crackling fire. The best part of our night would be the conversation, which would never lag. He’s a wonderful man, that Atticus, and I have always wanted to spend time with him, simply talking for hours.

*** Atticus Finch--what a great choice! I totally love him, too. Thanks so much for being here on your special day, Kristina. I hope you have lots of fun and eat a ton of chocolate!***

Okay everybody, be sure to wish Kristina a happy book b-day!!

Kristina McBride
The Tension of Opposites
May 25, 2010
Egmont USA
Website: www.kristinamcbride.com

I'm leaving for NYC this morning, but you can visit me today over at Chelsea Campbell's blog for a fun interview. (And I'm giving away a bottle of TDD nail polish over there.)

Monday, May 24, 2010

Egmont Debut Week: Lindsay Eland

Hey all-

This is a special week for me: I'm heading off to NYC for Book Expo America. I get to meet my editor and many other authors and industry folk. The idea of navigating around NYC on my own has me a bit terrified (can you say "directionally challenged"?) and hubby just watched a movie about girls who get kidnapped by slave traffickers at an airport so he's kind of wigging out. But really, I know it's going to be a blast.

While I'm away, I'm going to be participating in a blog tour for Egmont USA authors--hosted by Egmont USA authors--to celebrate the debut of several Egmont Spring titles. I'll be visiting their blogs, and hosting them here in Readbree land.

First up is the wonderful Lindsay Eland who's book SCONES AND SENSIBILITY shared a debut day with my book back in December. She's graciously answered a few fun questions for us and has offered a small giveaway for readers. (So stay tuned.)

First a little bit about Lindsay and her adorable book:



SCONES AND SENSIBILITY: Overly-romantic and overly-dramatic 12-year-old, Polly Madassa, decides to matchmaker for the people in her small beach town...whether they want to be or not.




Bio: Lindsay Eland lives in the
mountains of Colorado with her husband, their four kids, one dog, three rats, and the various other foxes, bears, and elk that venture into their backyard.





On to the questions:

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?


My first thought would be to be able to fly but...but then I realized that I throw up almost every time I fly, so I think that one would have to be ruled out. Let's see...I'd like to be able to talk to animals and trees and things...that would be super interesting, unless of course the dog or the tree has nothing interesting to say. Still, that would be awesome-sauce.

2. Pretend you're on death row . . . What crime have you been accused of committing (it can be a funny/absurd/unheard of crime)? Are you innocent or guilty? What would your last meal be?

I've been accused of committing the unpardonable sin of eating the Queen of England's last chocolate eclair...the one she has every single night. And though I wish I was filled with even a tiny bit of remorse for doing what I did...because I did do it...I'm not in the least sorry cause it was extra good. And my last meal would most definitely be...chocolate eclairs.

3. If you could go on a date with any fictional character, who would it me? What would you do?


Edward Cullen, of course. He would throw me onto his back and before we made our way through the trees to the beautiful meadow, he would turn to me and say, "Hang on tight, Spidermonkey." Which I have to say, is the worst most-cheesy line in all of movie-dom...and that's why I love it...I can't help laugh every time I even think about it. And a guy I date has to be funny.

Okay folks, time for a giveaway. Lindsay is giving away a signed bookmark and a vintage lace handkerchief to a lucky commentor. Since Lindsay's character, Polly, works in a bakery, she'd like to know what your favorite baked good. So comment away! The winner will be announced some time next week.

I'm visiting Kay Cassidy's blog today. Go check out the interview and leave comment there for a chance to win some TDD nail polish.

P.S. If you're going to be at BEA, I'm signing on Wednesday at 4:00pm. Come visit me!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mothers Day and Street Team Winners

May 9th, 2010

Guest Post by ReadBree Admin (aka-Hubby-aka-Brick)


As a Mother's Day reprieve, and because Bree is madly working on final edits before her deadline tomorrow, I have graciously offered to guest blog for her this evening. Yes, I really am that sweet and awesome and cool. (Sorry ladies but obviously I'm already taken). But believe it or not, I'm the one who lucked out. In fact, if you do not know how awesomer Bree is, then you must be new to this blog. Its infectious and, frankly, impossible to miss if you've ever had any interaction with her.

But enough with the gushing. On to the supreme coolness that is her offspring.

At school, Kid A was given a worksheet that had several fill-in-the-blank options to describe his mother and how well he knows her, so he could give it to his mom as a mother's day present. Well, being Kid A (and 4 years old) he decided not to take this assignment at face value. Rather, he decided a mad-lib/roasting version would be much better appreciated and received than anything sweet or gushy. Which I should add, only shows that he really does know his mother quite well. So without further ado, I give you Kid A's version of "I Know My Mother Well":


In case you can't read it, I've copied the answers below with my commentary--

1.) My mom looks prettiest when: she gets dressed. (Yes- because this is apparently an occasion at our home.)

2.) My mom's favorite food is: chicken noodle soup. (Um.... did he forget that Bree is allergic to noodles?)

3.) My mom's eyes are: blue. (Actually they are green. But Kid A's eyes are blue. Wait, Bree just leaned over and said her eyes are brown. I knew that.)

4.) My mom likes to: shower. (Again- this is apparently an occasion at our home-- though it is something that needs to be announced repeatedly when it does happen. Sometimes even when she is currently in the shower and telling him "I need my privacy" and that he should go back to watching Dinosaur Train.)

5.) She is happy when: I'm good. (Ok. He nailed that one.)

6.) My mom is ____ years old: 5 (Well, at least that's much better than the kid who said his mom was 6,000 years old.)

7.) If my mom could go anywhere she would go: to a restaurant. (Does this speak to how often we end up eating out or is he trying to tell me something about my cooking?)

8.) Her best friend is: my dad. (Ok. He nailed that one too.)

9.) Her job is: to clean. (Whuck? Who's teaching this kid these things?!)

10.) I love my mom because: she is so pretty! (Well at least he knows how to drop the compliments :D).

STREET TEAM WINNERS

Right--now on to the really fun stuff. As many of you know, Bree and I launched a street team effort last year to help promote the release of THE DARK DIVINE. We were more than surprised by how many people expressed interest in participating and helping out. The result was an awesome group of people that did some fun stuff to share the TDD love, like hand out swag, make and share book trailers, and be all around advocates for the book wherever they went.

Well as part of the street team challenges, members were being evaluated for creativity, quality, and quantity of their efforts to help promote the book, because the best street team member would win the grand prize: getting a character named after them in THE LOST SAINT.

Unfortunately... they were all way too awesome and it was really really really hard to pick the winner. So here's what we did...

We decided to give the prize to lots of people! Whoohoo! Here is the list of names to look for in THE LOST SAINT.

Grand Prize Winner who will have a significant supporting character named after her:
Katie Bartow of Mundie Moms (the character will use her maiden name- Katie Summers).

Runners Up who can also find their name in the book:
Angela Leonard
Debbie Lambson
Emily Ellsworth (who earned extra points for bringing a flock of teenage girls to a signing when she was in labor)
Jules Pullman
Kim Woodruff
Rachel Simon (I don't think your last name made it...still a cool character though.)
Stacey Canova

Congratulations to all the winners! We wish we could have put all the street team members in as everyone was great and very supportive, but unfortunately, there just can't be that many characters in the book.

Extra special congrats to Katie and thank you for being such a great advocate, fan, and friend, and for continuing the effort even beyond the official close of the street team activities.

-Brick

Friday, May 7, 2010

Want to be one of the first to read THE LOST SAINT?

Hey all,

Just a quick note to tell you about a wonderful auction my fellow Egmont author Myra McEntire is hosting called DO THE WRITE THING FOR NASHVILLE to raise money for victims of the Nashville flood.

There are so many awesome book-related prizes up for grabs: Signed books, manuscript critiques, t-shirts, swag, getting a character named after you in a book, agent/editor consultations, book trailers...The list goes on and on.

Well, since my twitter friends Myra McEntire and C.J. Redwine are some pretty cool Nashvillians, and hubby's little brother (who is actually his BIG brother--he's a rugby player***) also lives in Nashville--I decided to contribute a TDD prize pack for the auction.

Here's what you can win:
Signed copy of TDD, TDD T-shirt, TDD nail polish, and one of the very first ARCs of THE LOST SAINT.

(Note: The ARCs are not available yet, but the first one I get will go to the auction winner.)

A limited number of ARCs will probably be available in June (ish) but since TLS doesn't release to the public until the end of December, that means the winner will get to read the book a whole 6 months before almost everybody else.

So if you're dying for more Grace and Daniel, or just really interested in helping out flood victims CLICK HERE. (I'm item #15. You may have to scroll to find it.) There are so many awesome prizes, I'm sure there's something there for anyone who's interested in contributing.

***(Side note: Has everyone here seen the awesome movie that is FOREVER STRONG? Hot guys? Rugby? What's not to love? Anyway, one of the reasons I love that movie so much is because it's based on my bro-in-law's high school rugby team. Many of the characters are a conglomeration of the players from the real team--including hubby's brother. Be sure to check it out if you haven't seen it--after you visit the auction, that is.)

P.S. I'll be signing books at The Purple Cow bookstore in Tooele, Utah on Saturday at 2:00 pm. If you're in the area, stop by to say hello.

P.S.S. I just discovered a Goodreads quiz for TDD. I took the test and only got 8/10 correct?! Oh boy, that's when you know you've been revising for too long. Did I mention I had a 17.5 hour writing spree from 11am Thursday to 4:30am Friday. So tired. Must sleep.

Here, see if you can do better than me: http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/take/2379

P.P. S. S. (?!) Hubby just called to say that he got 9/10 correct on the quiz. *bangs head on desk.* I'm going back to bed now.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

BIG NEWS and the winner of the Amazon gift card.

Hey all-

Sorry for the blog silence, I've been holed in my writing cave working on revisions for THE LOST SAINT (due in less than a week--ACK!) But I wanted to pop my head out of the cave in order to share some BIG NEWS (to me anyway--but hopefully, some of you will be excited, too) and of course thank everyone for helping out with my paranormal romance questions and award the $25 Amazon gift card I promised.

So gratitude first: THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your help with PNR presentation! It was a packed house and all your insights helped me decide what to talk about. Everyone who contributed had wonderful things to say, but since there can only be one winner I used Random.org to select:

Stella (Ex Libris) as our winner.

(Stella: Email me at Readbree@gmail.com to claim your prize.)

Okay on to the BIG NEWS...

It's officially official: THE DARK DIVINE is officially going to have a THIRD BOOK!!!!

Yep, TDD is going to be a Trilogy!!!

Like I said, I've been holed up in my revisions cave, completely oblivious to the outside world, so when my agent called to tell me that Egmont wanted to buy 2 more books from me (yes, I said 2--more on that in a minute) I was kind of shocked--but elated. I am so happy that Grace and Daniel's story gets a third installment!! And believe me, some of you would not be happy with me if their adventures ended in THE LOST SAINT.

Also, not only did Egmont buy and Third TDD book, they bought a fourth book from me. However, this fourth book is "unspecified" at the moment. As in, it's NOT a fourth installment of TDD. But I do have plenty of ideas for what that unspecified book will be about--and I can't wait to dive into it.

The third TDD book will most likely come out a year after TLS (so in December 2011) and the all new book will probably debut a year after that (December 2012) but only time will tell for sure.

And to top it all off, I can't tell you how excited I am to continue working with Editor Greg (aka Jimmy Olsen) and the rest of the Egmont crew. They are the best!

Anyway, here's the official Publisher's Marketplace announcement that makes it feel all shiny and real:

Anyway, I'm off to SQUEE!!! a bit more and then get back to work on TLS.

Do any of you have some good news to share?