Bella Donna

I'm blogging over at the Teen Fiction Cafe today about my recent visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum!

Click HERE to read it and tell me about the art/artists that inspire you!

DARK FLAME Nominated!!

Hey Everyone-

I just learned that DARK FLAME is nominated for TRR's "Best YA Romance of 2010 Award"- !!!!

To see the full list and vote for your favorite, click HERE!! (Note: Scroll all the way to the end of the page to see the YA list!)

Have a great day!

A

:)

Since I've Been Gone

Hey Everyone!

Just back from an amazing week in beautiful New Mexico where I saw things like this:

And this:

And this:

And ate things like this:

I'd been to NM several times in the past, but always as a quick weekend visit--this was the first time I spent an entire week taking pictures, taking notes, talking to interesting people, soaking in hot springs, and, of course, eating!!! (The blue corn pancakes above were a definite fave!).

And since I was there to do research for my upcoming SOUL SEEKERS series, I was thrilled to get the chance to interview several locals who provided a ton of insight that I couldn't have gotten otherwise--so a big THANK YOU to Emily, Daniel, and those who prefer not to be mentioned by name--you know who you are!!

But, of course, while I was gone, tons of stuff came in, and since I had limited Internet access, this is the first chance I've had to post them--so without further ado, here goes!

First off, the sweet, talented, and crazy stylish Melissa Walker posted my thoughts on the EVERLASTING cover, which you can read HERE!

Also, as NIGHT STAR was just released in the UK - (have you seen the commercials? For my UK readers they're playing on E4 TV )-- I did a piece for Amazon UK on my thoughts on finishing the series, which you can read HERE! (Note: you may have to scroll down a bit since it originally posted several days ago!).

Also for UK readers, there's an awesome giveaway going on over at My Kinda Book, click HERE for your chance to win!

And to keep up on all of my UK releases, you can friend the UK Facebook page HERE! (PS- You can watch the commercial on FB too!).

And, I have to say that as someone who was once told by one of my OC high school teachers that I'd "never amount to anything"-- it was pretty cool to be chosen as OC Metro magazines "20 Women to Watch for 2011" which you can see HERE!

And last, but most definitely not least . . . I just learned that EVERMORE is nominated for Colorado's Blue Spruce Young Adult Award!! To see the full list of nominees click HERE!

And . . . I've got some incredibly exciting news to announce . . . just waiting for the final OK so stay tuned for that!!

But meanwhile, SHIMMER is releasing next Tuesday, March 15--and I really hope to see you at one of the signings, which you can find HERE!

Okay, I think that covers it . . . now back to my post-vacation Laundrypalooza!!!

Have a good night, all!

Alyson

xoxo

SHIMMER Signings & More!

Hey Everyone-

SHIMMER's release is less than three weeks away--in stores on 03.15.11--and the early reviews are starting to come in!

Bookwormygirl gives it 4 Stars, saying:

"There's just something about Riley that I absolutely love! She's spunky, sassy, funny and even though she's dead, she's so full of life . . . Although these books are mid-grade books, they can easily be enjoyed by adults as well. Riley shines! She is a superstar! I'm intrigued by the thought of the Here & Now and I can't help but want to see what adventure Riley will find herself in next."

To view the trailer, read an excerpt, or check out the SHIMMER Q&A click HERE!

Also, new signing events have just been confirmed, so here's the latest update:

Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 6:00PM

SHIMMER Talk/Reading/Signing

Barnes & Noble

El Camino North Shopping Center

2615 Vista Way

Oceanside, CA 92054

760-529-0106

***

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 7:00PM

SHIMMER Talk/Reading/Signing

Kepler’s Books

1010 El Camino Real

Menlo Park, CA 94025

(650) 324-4321

***

RT Book Lovers Convention

April 4-6, 2011

Westin Bonaventure Hotel

Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, April 7

11:15 - 12:15—Panel: "Not Another Teen Panel: YA for Adults"

Saturday, April 9, Teen Day!

2:30 - 3:30—Author Speed Dating

4:30 - 5:30—Panel: "How Do You Build A World-And Characters For It: An Interactive Workshop

*For all the inside scoop on the RT Teen Day, follow on Twitter - friend on Facebook - or click HERE to see the RT Teen Day Page!

***

Ontario City Library Teen Book Fest!

Saturday, April 16, 2011 1:00 PM

Talk & Sign along with YA authors:

Katie Alender, Cynthia Hand, Nancy Holder, & Marlene Perez

Ovitt Family Community Library

215 East C Street

Ontario, CA 91764

***

LA Times Festival of Books!

April 30 - May 1

USC Campus

Los Angeles, CA

Details coming soon!

***

Also, coming June 2012-- the EVERLASTING Tour-- Stay tuned for details!!

(If your city is not mentioned, please know that I don't pick the locations, I just go where they send me!)

Hope to see you at one of the stops!!

Alyson

xoxo

Updates, Giveaways, & a video!

Hey Everyone-

It seems it's time to play a little blog catch-up here, so here goes:

First- the giveaways:

Over at Free Book Friday Teens they're giving away 5 signed copies of NIGHT STAR! For your chance to win, click HERE!

Over at YA Fantasy Guide, they're giving away a signed copy of EVERMORE to "my biggest fan." Think that's you? Click HERE and tell them why for your chance to win!

Now, the updates:

I'll be dropping by GoodReads all week, from Monday 2/21 to Saturday 2/26, chatting and answer your questions, which you can start posting now by clicking HERE!

Also, while we're still working on the final Spring/Summer signing schedule for both the SHIMMER and EVERLASTING releases, here are some local, Southern California events that are now confirmed:

Saturday, February 26

2011 SCIBA Childrens Books & Literacy Dinner

Pasadena, CA

April 6-10 RT Book Lovers Convention

Westin Bonaventure Hotel

Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, April 7, 11:15 - 12:15 Panel: "Not Another Teen Panel: YA for Adults"

Saturday, April 9, Teen Day!

2:30 - 3:30 Author Speed Dating

4:30 - 5:30 Panel: "How Do You Build A World-And Characters For It: An Interactive Workshop

For More info on Teen Day, click HERE!

Follow on Twitter!

Friend it on FaceBook!

For more info on the Covention click HERE!

Saturday, April 16, 1:00

Ontario City Library Teen Book Fest!

Talk & Sign along with YA authors:

Katie Alender, Cynthia Hand, Nancy Holder, & Marlene Perez

Ovitt Family Community Library

215 East C Street

Ontario, CA 91764

April 30 - May 1

LA Times Festival of Books!

USC Campus

Los Angeles, CA

Details coming soon!

More event listing coming soon--so stay tuned!!

And the video:

This video comes courtesy of the wonderful Scholastic Book Fair People who spent an entire day at my house filming--mostly chasing the light as we'd just moved in and I had no window coverings, and not much in the way of furniture either for that matter! Anyway, it's for RADIANCE, which is a featured Scholastic Book Fair Pick!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Alyson
xoxo