Book Recommendation - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Have you read DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE?

When it comes to YA, I'm partial to contemporary. I read other things, and often enjoy them, but I still find myself most excited about a new book by my favorite contemporary authors - John Green, Sara Zarr, Sarah Ockler, Lindsey Leavitt, to name a few.

But Laini Taylor's latest, a YA fantasy, I had been excited about reading for at least a good year. First of all, I know the girl has a magical way with words, as is evidenced by her DREAMDARK books as well as LIPS TOUCH. Second of all, there were so many cool things that piqued my interest as I read about the various parties held to celebrate the book, both here and in the UK. Wish bones? Teeth? Blue hair? Marionettes? I could go on and on! Finally, the early reviews raved about it. I mean, RAVED.

And so, a few weeks ago, I finally got to read it. I really have no words for how much I loved this book. The writing is gorgeous, and the story original and fascinating. The worlds she created blew me away. And the mysteries she weaved into the story kept me guessing, and when things were revealed toward the end, it all made perfect sense and yet, I hadn't seen any of it coming.

It's made PW's and Amazon's Best Books of 2011 lists and I'm sure we'll see it on many more lists to come. And rightly so.

I'm not one who gets into trilogies, most of the time. I read the first book, a year goes by, I can't remember much of what happened in the first book to care enough to read the second book. I can't tell you how many books I've read that were the first in a trilogy and then I never read beyond that first book. The exception to this would be THE HUNGER GAMES.

But this trilogy, I'm in it for the long haul. I cannot wait for the second book. Like, I'm DYING to read the next one.

I think Laini Taylor is one of the greatest writers of our time. Yes, I'm lucky to call Laini a friend, but just go and read all of the 5-star reviews on Amazon, and you'll see that many, MANY people feel the way I do. She is one very talented lady!

Don't miss this book. Seriously.

Chasing Brooklyn in German

Yesterday I got a package from my editor. I was so surprised when I opened it.

Small, adorable books, written in German!

Here is IN LIEBE, BROOKLYN next to her big sister, CHASING BROOKLYN, so you get an idea of the size. It's almost pocket-sized.

And check out the bookmark that is sewn into the book:

I would love to give away a couple. If you read German or know someone who does and might like to read this book of love and loss, healing and hope, let me know with an e-mail address and I'll get in touch with you.

Danke!

Two things every middle grade author should do

It can be hard to figure out where your money is best spent when it comes to promotional activities.

I did a checklist and timeline a year or two ago to help authors organize those activities. You can find that HERE.

But two things I've discovered over the past year I wanted to share here, in regards to middle grade novels.

First - a reading/discussion guide is one of the BEST things you can do for your book. I paid to have one done for It's Raining Cupcakes, because I wasn't sure what went into one and I wanted to make sure it was done well. For Sprinkles and Secrets, I decided to try and do one on my own. As I got into it, I found it wasn't really that hard, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Check with your publisher too - they may be willing to do one for you!

Because I'm using a web site that doesn't allow for documents to be uploaded, I state in a couple of different places on my site to drop me an e-mail and I'll send the document along that way.

I'm actually glad now that I did it this way, and here's why. When a teacher or parent or book club member e-mails me, I can reply with the document she's requested for AND ask if she'd like some signed bookmarks to give out at the meeting or event. They seem to really love that I do this.

(By the way, I get a lot of mother-daughter book clubs requesting my discussion guide. Do you know how happy this makes me? VERY happy!)

Which leads me to the second thing I think you should do if you're publishing a middle grade novel. Have bookmarks made! I can't find a digital copy of the ones I had done with both covers on the front, but here are the ones I had made before It's Raining Cupcakes came out.

Anytime someone e-mails you about the book, offer to send some. Especially if you've written a series - as soon as you have the cover for the second book, get bookmarks made with both books and send them to everyone you can. This way, they have a visual that lets them know there's a second book coming. (Make sure to list the release date of that second book too).

As far as where to get bookmarks made? I LOVE www.iconix.biz. Ask for Kelly - she's great!

Vegas Book Festival Recap

I flew to Vegas this weekend to be a part of the Vegas Book Festival. This was the first year they had a Teen Book Festival as a part of it. So much fun! Thanks to all the teens, parents, teachers and librarians who came out. It was great to meet you!

Below are some pictures, courtesy of Suzanne Young, Crystal Perkins and Heather Davis, because I seem to forget to take many pictures. Okay, actually, it's just that I don't have an iphone and everyone else does and they snap pictures right and left while I seem to just get in them and smile.

Friday Night:

Suzanne Young, Liz Gallagher and me, as we looked for a place to eat

After we saw Blue Man Group - what an strange amazing show! 

Me, Suzanne Young, and Lindsey Leavitt waiting in the freezing cold to eat at Serendipity's.

The large topiary outside Serendipity's. Is that a milkshake? Yeah, I think it's a milkshake.

Saturday:

Contemporary panel w/ Lindsey Leavitt, Emily Wing Smith, Daisy Whitney, me, Liz Gallagher, Jay Asher

All of the YA authors with Crystal Perkins, B&N bookseller extraordinaire

Saturday Night (Paranormal Ball):

Suzanne Young and I dressed up like vampire slayers.

James Dashner (The Maze Runner series) was dressed in black. And scared of us.

Be careful James. Sometimes when you least expect it...

Cute kitty Heather Davis (latest book is WHEREVER YOU ARE) and me

A great time was had by all. Now, back to work!

From my mail

Author Cynthia Lord does a blog post every few months with lines from her mail that made her smile or touched her. I've never done one of these, but today, I'm going to!

These are from both e-mails and actual letters I've received over the past few weeks.

Thank you readers - I love hearing from you!


"I actually hated reading until I discovered I Heart You, You Haunt Me at the book fair at my school. I am reading Chasing Brooklyn at the moment. I love how you wrote them in verse form." ~Candie, 14

"I read Chasing Brooklyn last night. I couldn't put it down! My mom said 30 more minutes and you have to go to bed. I stayed up until 1:45 reading it!" ~Caitlynn, 12

"I would like a reading/discussion guide for It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets. Thanks so much. I am a school librarian and my kids LOVE them." ~Christy

"I stayed home sick today and my dad said NO TV!!!! At first I was terrified ~ and my mom finally came home, she got me a brand new copy of Sprinkles and Secrets. On the first page I fell in love with your book. I looked on your web site to see if there are any other books in this series. I was devastated when I found out there are no more." ~Kaitlyn

"I was trying so hard to be patient for the ending (of Sprinkles and Secrets) but it was hard and so intriguing. I am so sad it's over. Please write a third because I would be thrilled." ~Samara

"I'm going to give you come special things too. A handmade bookmark signed by me!" ~Isabelle

"I just read your books It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets. They are my favorite books in the world." ~Brianna

"Will there be an It's Raining Cupcakes 3? This is just an idea, don't you think you could do a donut one?" ~Ashlee

I'm off to Vegas bright and early tomorrow morning. If you're in the area, come and see me at the Vegas Book Festival. I'm on a YA teen panel Saturday afternoon at 11:25.

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration

Authors get asked about inspiration a lot.

It's not always a cut and dry answer for me. And I think there's different kinds of inspiration, too. The kind that provides story ideas. The kind that keeps you writing day after day. The kind that picks you up when you're feeling down. Some of it is not inspiration as much as it's perspiration, right? But still, I think it can be helpful to spend time thinking about what inspires you. Because when you are in need of a little inspriration, then you know where to look!

Nova Ren Suma, author of Imaginary Girls, is doing a month-long event at her blog to provide inspiration to people doing NaNoWriMo this month.

You can read my post about inspiration HERE.

Goodreads giveaway - SPRINKLES AND SECRETS

I dressed up as a cupcake for Halloween!

I'm all out of candy to give away, so I'm giving you a chance to win a signed and personalized copy of SPRINKLES AND SECRETS over at www.goodreads.com, hoping to help get the word out that there is another book out about Isabel and Sophie!

Go HERE to enter!

Good luck!

Also, if you have read SPRINKLES AND SECRETS enjoyed it, please consider reviewing it over at Amazon. It only has a couple of reviews over there and I would love to have more. Thanks!!