Teen Read Week!

Teen Read Week has officially started, and I, for one, am thrilled! Not only because I'm all about teens and reading (especially reading teens!), but also because SAVING ZOE is nominated for YALSA's Teens Top Ten Award!!!! Alongside these awesome titles:

Laurie Halse Anderson. TWISTED.
Holly Black. IRONSIDE: A MODERN FAERY’S TALE.
Libba Bray. THE SWEET FAR THING. (Gemma Doyle Trilogy, #3)
Meg Cabot. JINX.
P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. BETRAYED. (House of Night, #2)
Cassandra Clare. CITY OF BONES. (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
Jenny Downham. BEFORE I DIE.
Jessica Day George. SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW.
Anna Godberson. THE LUXE.
Ellen Hopkins. GLASS.
Catherine Jinks. EVIL GENIUS.
Jeff Kinney. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: GREG HEFFLEY’S JOURNAL.
Juliet Marillier. WILDWOOD DANCING.
Melissa Marr. WICKED LOVELY.
Richelle Mead. VAMPIRE ACADEMY. (Vampire Academy, #1)
Stephenie Meyer. ECLIPSE. (Twilight, #3)
Andrew Nance & Colin Polhemus, illus. DAEMON HALL.
William Nicholson. JANGO. (The Noble Warriors, #2)
Alyson Noël. SAVING ZOE!!!!
James Patterson. SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS. (Maximum Ride, #3)
Mal Peet. TAMAR.
J.K. Rowling. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS.
Neal Shusterman. UNWIND.
Scott Westerfeld. EXTRAS. (Uglies, #4)

Voting takes place from Sunday October 12 to Saturday October 18th, and all you have to do to vote for your favorite (er, SAVING ZOE perhaps??) is click HERE

Happy Sunday Everyone!!!

Cover Girl!

Ever wonder about the journey behind a book cover? How it goes from idea to picture, and just who's responsible for getting it to look that way anyway? And just how much input, (if any), the author had?

Well, wonder no more! The awesome Melissa Walker has been posting a weekly cover story on her blog, and today it's my turn as I tell all--giving you the story behind the story on the CRUEL SUMMER cover!

All you have to do to read all about it, just click HERE.




Oh, and how's this for the power of television! Straight from the New York Times mass-market paperback bestseller list:

1. NIGHTS IN RODANTHE, by Nicholas Sparks
2. THIRD DEGREE, by Greg Iles.
3. BOOK OF THE DEAD, by Patricia Cornwell
4. DEAD UNTIL DARK, by Charlaine Harris
5. STONE COLD, by David Baldacci
6. PLAYING FOR PIZZA, by John Grisham
7. COMPULSION, by Jonathan Kellerman
8. LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS, by Charlaine Harris
9. PROTECT AND DEFEND, by Vince Flynn
10. SANDPIPER WAY, by Debbie Macomber
11. CLUB DEAD, by Charlaine Harris
12. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
13. DEAD TO THE WORLD, by Charlaine Harris
14. SWEET REVENGE, by Diane Mott Davidson
15. SHOW NO MERCY, by Cindy Gerard
16. KEEPING FAITH, by Jodi Picoult
17. DEAD AS A DOORNAIL, by Charlaine Harris
18. TRUNK MUSIC, by Michael Connelly
19. DEFINITELY DEAD, by Charlaine Harris
20. ALL TOGETHER DEAD, by Charlaine Harris

Yup, that's Charlaine Harris occupying a ton of (count 'em--seven!!) spots for her Sookie Stackhouse series, which HBO's new show, TRUE BLOOD is based on! I don't even know Charlaine and I've never read the books (though I have watched the show), but I was so excited for her when I saw this--talk about an author's dream come true! Rock on, Charlaine!

And speaking of writing, literary agent Donald Maas is giving away free downloads of his book, The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success

All you have to do to download your copy is click HERE!

That's it for now--

Happy Monday Everyone!

Keeps Gettin' Better!!

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another round of Jessica Brody's FREE BOOK FRIDAY!
This week she's featuring the awesome Lisa Lutz who's giving away a signed copy of her New York Times bestselling novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES, so be sure to go HERE for your chance to listen to the podcast interview and win a copy of this amazing book!



Also, talented debut author of UNDONE, Brooke Taylor, (who I was lucky enough to meet at the RWA national convention in San Franciso last summer and she totally rocks!) is holding a Monster Giveaway (seriously monster sized!) on her blog this month, with prizes so great you won't want to miss it! I'll be giving away a signed ARC of the first book in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE, at the end of the month, but trust me, you're going to want to head over there now for your chance to win the awesome, New York Times bestselling, HOUSE OF NIGHT series! Just. Click. HERE!

And, don't forget about the Secret Fates Blog contest that's also running all month in celebration of Kelly Parra's (who I also met at the RWA convention and she's sooo nice!) new release INVISIBLE TOUCH. Today, Erica Orloff (who writes one of the best blogs on writing- ever!) is not only spilling secrets but also giving away a copy of her YA hit, THE POKER DIARIES! I'll be giving away a signed copy of EVERMORE this month too, and since I'm running pretty short on copies, this maybe your only chance (other than Brooke's giveaway) to get a first look, so don't miss it! Go HERE now!


And did anyone watch THE EX LIST last night? I did, right after GHOST WHISPERER, it's kind of a MY NAME IS EARL (mostly because of the list) meets SEX AND THE CITY (mostly because of the dating--only it takes place in L.A.) hybrid. If you didn't see it, it's about a girl who goes to a psychic and learns that she has one year to get married (or it will never happen) and that her soul mate is someone she's already dated. So I'm guessing each show will be about her going through her (long) list of exes, trying to figure out who it could be. And while it got me thinking about my own list of exes (not that long-- I swear!), it also reminded me of the time I went to a psychic with a friend who predicted my future husband to a T. Seriously. All the way down to his education, birth place, astrological sign, etc. The reading took place eight years before he would come into my life (which she also predicted!) and it seemed so crazy at the time I put it right out of my mind- until the night we met, (yup, 8 full years later), and it went just as she said . . .

So, in celebration of all things paranormal, Halloween, and THE EX-LIST, tell me:
Have you ever been to a psychic--and did any of the predictions come true?

Vote!

Okay, I admit, I totally have election fever!

Seriously.

Debate watching party? Check.
Lapel pin? Yes!
Bumper sticker? Mais oui!
T-shirt featuring my candidates logo? You bet!

And while I won't tell you who to vote for (even though I'd LOVE to), I will urge you to vote.

Yes YOU!

Vote!

It's never been more important!

Seriously.

PS- and if you're not old enough to vote, you can still bug other people to vote!

Speaking of Books . . .

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of books this week, including:

It's Cybils time again! That's right, nominations for the Children's & Young Adult Blogger's Literary Awards are open for nominations! To nominate your favorite book, just visit HERE and leave the title in the comments section--it's so easy!


Also, the Leave a Mark auction has begun! This is the one where various authors (including moi), mark up one of their books (thereby turning it into a sort of director's cut edition!), and auction it off to benefit First Book, a wonderful charity providing books for the needy! This amazing idea was the brainchild of Lauren over at Shooting Stars Magazine and Chelsea at The Page Flipper. They'll be auctioning off a different title every few days (including my marked up version of SAVING ZOE- though I'm not sure which day it will run so check back!), and all you have to do to participate is click HERE!

And, as it that wasn't enough, today also marks the start of Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza! In celebration of her latest release, INVISIBLE TOUCH, from now til the end of the month, she'll be featuring various authors spilling secrets and giving away prizes and you won't want to miss it! I'll be giving away a rare (um, rare because I'm running out of copies!) ARC of the fist title in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE!! But since I'm not sure which day I'm up--you should probably visit everyday since there's loads of good stuff you're going to want! And all you have to do to win, win, win--is just click HERE!

That's it for now-- Happy October Everyone!