Cover Stories: Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

Debut author Heather Davis is here to share the cover story of her 2009 release, Never Cry Wolf. Kirkus Reviews says, "What's a girl courted by an amber-eyed hottie to do? Fans of paranormal romance will enjoy this sweet debut." Nice!

Here's Heather:

"From the beginning, I think my agent, my editor and I were all on the same page for the cover for Never Cry Werewolf. There is a pivotal scene where Shelby, the protagonist, is lost in the forest -- and with the tie to the folk tale Little Red Riding Hood, well, it just seemedright to have the cover nod to that connection. That, and Shelby is wearing a red hoodie in the story and well... there is a wolf involved.

"We'd discussed the idea of Shelby in the forest in her red hoodie. Then, they asked me to provide a detailed description of what Shelby looked like and who she was on the inside. It was probably the deepest character study I'd done to date. From those paragraphs of description, they really pulled an amazing image together.

"The first time I saw the cover, I was blown away...."

Read the rest of Heather's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and check out her new novel The Clearing!

Rgz Seattle HOST: Heather Davis!

Hello, readergirlz!

Liz here! I'll announce the winners of our Heather Davis THE CLEARING and Carrie Ryan THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES giveaways at the end of this post!

But, first, let me tell you what went down in Seattle last night: Heather's release party!

You know by now that THE CLEARING is a story about a modern-day girl and a boy stuck in the endless summer of 1944. So there were 1944-themed treats! Heather made biscuits! And brought lemons! And apples! (There's totally an apple tree in the book.) And the awesome bookseller at Queen Anne Books made oatmeal raisin cookies!



Once everyone was done enjoying the tasty treats, Heather did a reading and answered a few questions.



The crowd was awesome! Street team Sarah came out! A bunch of YA people, too!


Here's poster girl Jackie Parker, me, Heather, author Dona Sarkar, and diva Holly! Kevin Emerson was there, too. Hiding, obviously. Or off looking at books with his daughter and her toy unicorn. Probably the second one is more likely.

I had to wait out a long line of admirers, but I did get my classic Liz-with-Author photo. You know, just so no one would be disappointed.


Photo by Willow Emerson

I'm definitely spending today reading! Finally, my chance to read THE CLEARING. Been waiting with Heather for its release, and I'm so excited to dig in!

And now . . . the giveaway winners!

I used random.org to generate comment winners, and here they are:

The lucky winner of THE CLEARING is . . . Misty!

The lucky winner of THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES is . . .Christinabean!

If you winners see this, please comment with your email addy so I can get your mail addy (Misty won all the way from Australia!). If I don't see a comment by Monday, I'll track you down via your own blogs! =)

Yay! See you next time!

Yo, Seattle! Heather Davis has rocked the drop #operationtbd

@HeatherDBooks has released a book into the wild at Seattle Center. Learn more about her books here.

Rgz Shoutout: Heather Davis!

Two chances to win free books at the end of this post!

Today's a big day for Heather Davis, author of Never Cry Werewolf! Her new book, The Clearing, is out today!



Here's how Heather describes The Clearing:

This book is a time-travel, paranormal YA romance published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It's the story of Amy, a girl who moves out to the country to recover from an abusive relationship. All she's looking for is some peace at her aunt's farm, but in a misty field at the back of the property, she finds Henry, a boy living in the endless summer of 1944, staving off a tragedy that could rip his family apart. Both teens must gain the courage to face what is meant to be, even if it means losing each other forever.

And here's a special hello to you, readergirlz!



I've got one signed copy to send to a lucky commenter on this post. Comment all week! I'll announce the winner on Saturday!

Heather's running her own celebration, with more free copies over at her blog that she shares with YA authors Dona Sarkar, Marley Gibson, Stephanie Hale, Tera Lynn Childs, Tina Ferraro, and Wendy Toliver: Books, Boys, Buzz!

So say a quick hi to Heather here, then go over there, increase your chances to win, and find out more about how you can help Heather help teens in need all week just by commenting over there.

Heather says:

Because so many teens don't have a place to go to recover from abuse like Amy (the main character in The Clearing), I will also be making a donation to Teen Feed in honor of The Clearing's release. Teen Feed is a wonderful organization in my city that serves homeless teens hot meals and helps them find the resources to get identification and counseling that will lead to employment, housing, and a new life. I will donate 50 cents for each unique commenter during the release week, up to $250.

I think it's amazing that Heather's using her release week to help teens--let's help her rock that idea!

Seattle HOST: Rebecca Stead!

Before anything else, I just have to say: WAY TO GO, SEATTLE! The turnout to see and hear Rebecca Stead tonight was absolutely amazing. So many people, so many young readers, so many great questions.

Dear Rest of the Country: KEEP IT UP!

I had a feeling Rebecca would be an amazing speaker, and I was not disappointed. Wow, is she.

First, she read a couple of bits from WHEN YOU REACH ME. Then, she had what was basically an in-depth conversation with a roomful of people.

We got to hear about Rebecca's writing process (solitary, then with feedback from trusted friends and lots of hard work), her childhood encounter with Madeleine L'Engle (a shy hello and a signed book that she still has!), her favorite thing about WHEN YOU REACH ME (the freedom to explore Miranda's weird inner world), how difficult it is to learn about time travel (very!), and lots of other stuff. The night basically felt like having coffee with a very talented writer, without the coffee but with plenty of excitement buzzing in the air. I left more inspired to write, and I know other people did, too . . .

. . . like all of the other middle grade and YA authors who showed up!

Thatcher Heldring and Suzanne Selfors

Linda Johns, Sundee Frazier, Sundee's adorable baby

Heather Davis, aspiring writer Emily of Damsels in Regress, me, Jen Bradbury

The traditional Liz with Author photo was difficult to get because of the looooooooooooong line of people waiting to get their books signed (keepsakes just like Rebecca's signed book from Madeleine L'Engle!), but I did my best.

Definitely catch Rebecca if she's touring near you. Here's the whole list of cities she'll be visiting this time around.

See you soon!

Rgz HOST: Heather Davis Release Party!

Hello, readergirlz! Proof that this fall is chock full of awesome YA book events: I'm back already, this time freshly home from the release party for debut novelist Heather Davis's Never Cry Werewolf!

The party went down at Queen Anne Books.

This was Heather's very first event for her very first book: she was so excited, and I was so happy for her. Tons of friends, family, and readers turned out. Some of her former students even drove two hours to support her!

Here's Heather with the awesome bookseller Tegan, who has great taste and was super-thrilled to share her enthusiasm with the crowd.

Next, it was time for Heather to read. Historic moment! Her first reading! It was great -- spunky, funny, vivid.

Friends were in abundance! Here's Heather with author Dona Sarkar. These girls do a blog called Books, Boys, Buzz with each other, and with more awesome YA writers. Visit to find out who!

I feel like you girlz are probably getting tired of this series of Photos of Liz Smiling Next to Authors, but here's one more for posterity.

Before I left, I had to grab a snack from the table. Heather says that gummi worms play a pivotal role in the book. I'm off to read and discover what it is!