rgz Newsflash: Thank you, everyone!

As we look back over the day, you all rocked the drop from Glasgow to Georgia, from zoos to restaurants, from one reader to the next, and we thank you! What a celebration for Support Teen Lit Day. You all posted, tweeted, tumbled, and pinned. The photos are awesome on #rockthedrop and the readergirlz facebook page. Be sure to scroll through and enjoy what we did together. It's AMAZING!

Crissa, rgz HOST, always rocks the drop with style! Take a look at her video drop. Thank you, Crissa!

And here are just a few pics to remember the day:

Thank you, publishers, such as Team Egmont!

Thank you, libraries, such as San Diego County!

Thank you, authors, such as Sara Zarr in Salt Lake City to...

Liz Gallagher in Seattle.
Thank you, schools:
Courtney Craig Merritt
I am a Spanish and English teacher at Del Norte High School and a bunch of my Education In Action club kids will be dropping off books in the 4S Ranch community. Keep your eye out! We're so excited to be a part of this wonderful, literary cause.
and thank you, readergirlz!



Bravo, everyone! Bravo!

Rock the Drop: Photo Op! A Favorite!

Thanks to our former diva, Liz Gallagher, and the Fremont Troll! This is such a fav! :~)

Sweet Goodbyes: Holly Cupala, Liz Gallagher, and Martha Brockenbrough

So in every organization, there's a flow of staff, coming in and going out. As a volunteer organization, this certainly occurs at readergirlz as every contributor is a YA author herself. It's time to say goodbye to three staff members this month.


First is Holly Cupala, our Design Diva. Holly has been our rgz face, essentially. She has donated hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours to make posters, videos, banners, bookmarks, newsletters, and other visuals hot and engaging for our community. We will miss Holly so much! Her sweet, giving spirit is always infectious. We send her off with our best as she works on her third YA novel. Thank you, dearest Holly! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We love you dearly.



Liz Gallagher is also stepping away from readergirlz this month. She has been our head rgz HOST, networking and representing us in the industry. Her joy and belief in the organization have always been inspiring. We will miss her in the day-to-day dealings of rgz. Thank you, Liz! Here's to your next YA release! We love you much!



And then the ever-so-brilliant Martha Brockenbrough is stepping down as well. She has been our PR agent and general advisor for all things future. Between her gifts, talents, and networking abilities, she enabled the YA lit world and beyond to know the amazing things we were doing as a community. Thank you, Martha, for every effort, especially those press releases, TBD blog rolls, and Twitter hashtag posts. You-wow-me. Congrats on the sale of your first YA novel! We heart you!



Both Justina Chen and Dia Calhoun, my fellow co-founders, will be retreating toward their own writing as Holly, Liz, and Martha are doing. However they aren't too far away. :~)

So, your current rgz team will be: Micol Ostow, Melissa Walker, Little Willow, with me, Lorie Ann Grover as the representing co-founder. You'll see a few changes, fantastic new ideas and projects, and amazing blog posts as we continue to feature a different author every week.

No worries. Your rgz community is alive and thriving. Spread the word, and take a minute to give your love to our volunteer YA authors who are departing. Thankfully, they are in our Circle of Stars and will always, always, always be readergirlz. Thank you, ladies. We really do love you each so much!

Now, rgz: READ, REFLECT, and REACH OUT.

rgz Seattle HOST: Deborah Reber! (With Giveaway!)

Hello, Readergirlz!

It's been a while since I've done one of my favorite things - going to book events and telling you about them. That's changing now, though, because it's an exciting time for book releases in Seattle!

On Wednesday night, I got to gather with other local YA writers and friends (including divas Holly and Martha!) to celebrate the release of Deborah Reber's first novel!

You've seen Debbie around here before. She's also the author of a bunch of non-fiction books that we here at readergirlz highly recommend, plus she runs an amazing blog called Smart Girls Know.

Love, Love, Love is actually two books in one: Debbie's Language of Love, plus Cupidity by Caroline Goode. If you're a fan of the Simon Pulse series of romantic comedies, I can guarantee you'll love both!

Here's what Language of Love is all about, from the back cover:

Janna is quickly adapting to life in Seattle as a high school exchange student from Hungary. Or at least Julian, the cute boy she met in a coffee shop, thinks she is. The truth is, he overheard Janna using a phony accent, and now she's stuck playing the part ... Will Julian want to be with the real Janna? Or will she discover that lies don't always translate to love?

To celebrate, Debbie hosted a super-fun party at Secret Garden Books. There were hot-pink cupcakes and Valentine's Day Peeps! She also put together a quiz about other love stories set in Seattle. Guess what? I won the quiz! Which means I have a copy of Love, Love, Love to give away!

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a random winner (US only)! Plus, I also won a raffle prize that I'll throw in! It's a copy of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which Debbie worked on. You've got from now 'til next Saturday, the 12th, at noon pst to comment and win both! Please leave an email address in your comment so I can let you know if you won.

Me, Debbie, Peeps and the giveaway books

Now, I'm off to get in a Valentiney mood with Love, Love, Love!

Thanks to the UW Information School!

Liz Gallagher and I (Holly) got to chat about readergirlz and YA this weekend with a roomful of librarians and future librarians at the UW Information School's iYouth Conference - a fantastic event! If they sound familiar, perhaps it's because you've seen this?

The brilliant spoof came out of the very same library school, and we even got to meet some of the stars and their friends! These are definitely some cheeky librarians and information specialists, and we were honored to be there.

Bonus: we got to hear keynoter Nancy Pearl tell her meaningful stories about the importance of children's and teen librarians and meet many educators dedicated to the future of learning.

Thank you so much for inviting us, UW Information School!

Story Secrets: THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher + giveaway!

Liz Gallagher - author, readergirlz diva, Through the Tollbooth blogger, VCFA grad and all around awesome friend is here to chat with us about her debut book, THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE and the companion novel, MY NOT-SO-STILL LIFE (coming in May 2011!).

Thanks, Liz, for stopping by to tell us your secrets!

*****

THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE is about Alice, a Seattle girl learning the difference between a crush and love and love and best-friendship as she’s caught between her always-been-there boy best friend and a crush who starts noticing her. It’s also about art and confidence, and it’s set at Halloween because I love that time of year.

MY NOT-SO-STILL LIFE is a companion to OPPOSITE. It tells the story, set a few months later, of another Seattle girl’s struggle to keep from growing up too fast as she’s caught between her innocent old friends and a group of not-so-innocent older coworkers at an art shop. The girl in the companion is Vanessa, Alice's rival in OPPOSITE.


Holly Cupala: I love the Seattle in OPPOSITE, almost a character in itself. What was your inspiration?

Liz Gallagher: OPPOSITE was inspired by the fall and the Seattle neighborhood of Fremont, where it’s set. I was walking through Fremont one near-Halloween day, and I got the idea of a character trying on a witch dress at this junk shop. My original first line was, “It all started with this dress.”

The second book has a more unusual origin story: I never planned to do it! My agent and editor both thought it would be cool to explore one of the more minor characters in OPPOSITE, and Vanessa was my natural choice...

Learn more about Liz's secrets and enter to win THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE here...

~Holly Cupala

rgz Seattle HOST: Amy Efaw!

Hey, Readergirlz!

Who's read After? *----Link has awesome video giving the whole story behind After, and how the book came about for author Amy Efaw. It's not an easy book to read, because it deals with a very tough issue. But it's well-done and definitely worthwhile!

I got to go hear Amy read and meet her last Thursday. Holly Cupala and Jackie Parker joined me, as did the awesome librarian Rachel McDonald, and we all had a blast talking to Kari Yadro, the bookseller who hosted the event. There's a photo of all of us with Amy somewhere, but my own camera was out of batteries . . .so just use your imaginations! Two authors, two librarians, a bookseller, and a guest-of-honor author. My idea of a great group!



After deals with a teen who has to come to terms with her own denial and admit that she's hidden a pregnancy (even from herself) and given birth. After the baby's born? She puts it in a dumpster.

Holly took a video of Amy reading from the first chapter!



I was amazed when Amy said that this same thing happens once a day in our country, and that most of the women who throw away babies are good students, achievers, people with resources. They're in extreme denial for deeply emotional reasons.

Amy did tons of research and has actually become one of the most knowledgeable people to talk to about this phenomenon. The statistics are hard to keep, because a lot of cases are never found out. Reading After is a great place to start if you're interested in the psychology behind a decision that seems so irrational and unbelievable.

I'm so impressed with Amy for tackling such a difficult subject. It was great to hear her read and to learn more about this problem. You can learn lots about it, too, at her web site!

I did manage to get my classic Liz-with-Author photo!:



See you next time!

Liz Gallagher rocks the drop! #operationtbd

Liz Gallagher (@lizgallagherliz), a readergirlz diva who wrote THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE, says, "I dropped at a community center. Forgot how great the feeling of a drop can be! What a great day!"

Check out her site here. 

Carrie Ryan! She writes! She talks! She reads! She's awesome!

Hey, readergirlz! Exciting day! Carrie Ryan's here, and we announce a giveaway toward the bottom of this post.

Carrie Ryan is on a blog tour right now to celebrate the release of The Dead-Tossed Waves, the companion book (in the same world! with zombies!) to The Forest of Hands and Teeth.





Today, Carrie's with us. We couldn't be happier to host her! We've got a video conversation with Carrie, me, and Holly Cupala!

Carrie talks about: How The Forest of Hands and Teeth was born from a worry over tuna.


Carrie talks about: Having a fiance who's also a writer and how they work together. (He'll become her husband on April 1!)


Carrie talks about: Her writing process.


Carrie talks about: What she's publishing next -- lots! (Also, Holly does her motherly duties with our adorable unseen audience member.)

Go here for more about Zombies vs. Unicorns, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, and with stories by lots of readergirlz faves including this month's featured author, Scott Westerfeld (woo!).

Special treat! Carrie reading from The Dead-Tossed Waves. She gave the audience a choice between Kissy Scene and Zombie Scene, and the audience promptly chose zombies. There's still plenty of kissing in it. :)

Many thanks to University Bookstore for giving us space to talk with Carrie, and for hosting an awesome Zombie Pizza Party with her, even if they might've only been kidding about brains on the pizza. Note the awesome forest/fence scenario they set up for Carrie to read in front of. Also had a soundtrack of waves going.


*****Giveaway alert!*****
Carrie signed a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth for one lucky readergirl! Comment on this blog post, and we'll pick a random entry to win!

Check out more of Carrie's blog tour. Here's where she's just been:
The Page Flipper
Through A Glass, Darkly

And here's where she'll be next:
Mundie Moms
Cheryl Rainfield

Follow along!

Also! You can talk to Carrie on www.RandomBuzzers.com, Random House's interactive author site. She'll be answering questions there from tomorrow, Mon, March 22 through Sat, April 2.

So get reading The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and then get talkin' to Carrie!

You can also friend The Dead-Tossed Waves on Facebook, and view Carrie's book trailers there. Plus, check out www.CarrieRyan.com to learn more, see trailers, visit Carrie's blog and follow her tweets.

Far be it for me to deny you readergirlz anything, so here's the latest Liz with Author photo (slightly modified classic pose).










Plus, bonus super-cute Holly with Author photo!

Steampunk at Library Journal!

Perhaps you've heard Leviathan referred to as a Steampunk book. Perhaps, like me, you're still not entirely sure what Steampunk actually is. Or maybe you just want recs for more great Steampunk reads.

Readergirlz postergirl Jackie is a librarian goddess, you know, so she pointed me in the direction of School Library's list of 20 Core Steampunk Titles.

The article does a great job of introducing what Steampunk is all about, and it recommends a slew of books from the genre, including both classics and new arrivals. My favorite bit is how it says that steampunk usually has a positive outlook on the future.

We were both especially excited to see one of our suggested reads on the list: Cherie Priest's Boneshaker!








What do you like about Steampunk? Have any titles to add to the list?

rgz HOST: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!

Hey, readergirlz!

What a great Sunday! I just got home from Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, where I and rgz Postergirl Jackie Parker got to hear Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl talk about and read from Beautiful Creatures!

Highlights:

Kami and Margaret are long-time friends who came up with the idea for Beautiful Creatures over Mexican food and refill after refill of Diet Coke.

They proceeded to actually write the book based on a dare from Margaret's daughter.

Margaret's daughter and her lucky friends passed the book among themselves as first readers, and helped shape the plot by asking questions Margaret and Kami hadn't thought of.

Both ladies write everything in the book, back and forth, going over and over each others' work. They even lose track of who wrote exactly what.

The movie rights have sold, a script is in the works, and a big-time director is attached.

There will be a sequel! Kami and Margaret will announce more soon, but for now, all they're saying is it'll come out this fall. Watch this blog for more info!

Also, stop by Caster Girls, the official fan site for Beautiful Creatures, to get in on the Beautiful Creatures Unlock the Curse Contest, in which you can win the locket from the book--handmade by the authors! The contest involves answering questions about six books: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Tithe by Holly Black, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, and Rampant by Diana Petrefreund. Being a readergirl comes in handy sometimes! Don't worry if you haven't read all six books because you can work in teams (see link for all the details).

I'm sad to say that my camera was being moody, so I got mostly blurry shots (I'm sure you're relieved to see that my traditional Liz with Author pic, below, came out fine), but I wish they'd all turned out well because Jackie and I also ran into Street Team Sarah and soon-to-debut author of The Body Finder Kimberly Derting!

Okay, gotta get back to reading Beautiful Creatures now! It's so much fun!

See you soon!

rgz Seattle HOST: Carrie Jones and Alyx Harvey!

Hello, again, readergirlz!

So, my posted schedule had me going to see Heather Brewer last night, and I wish I could've been in two places at once. I missed Heather because a friend of mine from the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults was in town: Carrie Jones! Carrie's a wonderful writer with a super-fun blog (link on her site), another blog called Through the Tollbooth that she and I keep up with seven other Vermont Grads (it's about the craft of writing, how to get down and dirty with words), and can I please just mention that her books NEED and CAPTIVATE are both currently on the New York Times bestseller list? So, basically, Carrie is made of awesome.

She's touring the west coast with Alyx Harvey (at left, Alyx is Little Miss blurry and Carrie is Little Miss Naughty), who is making a big splash with her debut novel, HEARTS AT STAKE, the first in THE DRAKE CHRONICLES (lots of info on her site), a new vampire series that also works as a spin on the Snow White story. Trusted booksellers and librarians have assured me that it's fun and amazing and that even if you're a bit burned out on vampires, you should give it a try. I hope to bite in (couldn't resist) this weekend.

It was SO MUCH FUN to hear these two chat about their books and their lives. They told oodles of interesting stories. Some highlights: Alyx lives in a haunted house but the ghosts are friendly, Carrie wrote an awesome haiku in second grade, both of their books feature blue-skinned non-human characters, Carrie's writing space is small and rickety and Alyx's features photos of Johnny Depp, Mr. Darcy, and all the other important men, both writers love and raise dogs, and both have more exciting projects that you'll hear lots about in the near future (Victorian ghost book for Alyx! Co-written book set in spooky Maine town for Carrie!)

One of the most fun parts of the event was the group of authors and obsessive-in-a-good-way book lovers (rgz street team member Sarah, in particular) who came out. On the left, that's Sarah with rgz Diva Holly Cupala and Seattle-area author Suzanne Selfors. Holly and Carrie share the same literary agent. What a lucky agent! Other awesome people were spotted, too! The bookseller Kari said she wished there'd been a red carpet. :) I wish all of you readergirlz could've been there. Keep an eye out for this tour! Check here to see if they're coming near you!

Liz with Two Authors for your enjoyment:

See you soon!

Seattle: Mark your Calendar!

Hello, rgz! It's been way too long since I've updated you on Seattle's happenin' teen book scene, and that's mostly because authors/bookstores/libraries take breaks during the winter holidays. Never fear: February is fixin' to be a big month (despite any preconceived notions we may all have about the size of February).

Here are three awesome Seattle teen book events that are coming up. Hope to see you there! And if you can't make it, check back here for re-caps (I may not be able to make the whole event on the 9th, but will try to at least catch the end of it!).

Monday, February 1, 6:30 pm
Rebecca Stead -- that's right, the very recent Newbery Medal winner for WHEN YOU REACH ME, and also the author of the amazing YA novel FIRST LIGHT -- will be at the University Village Barnes & Noble. Check here for a complete list of city stops on Rebecca's tour.

Saturday, February 6, 7:00 pm
Seattle author Mary Jane Beaufrand celebrates the release of THE RIVER at University Bookstore. MJ is also a contributor to the University Bookstore's 110/110 collection, which means if you buy THE RIVER, you'll also get a copy of 110/110 (even if you're not in Seattle and you buy it at their online store; enter code happy110). Ahem, and if you do pick up 110/110, look for other stories by readergirlz Divas and other friends of ours, too. Yay!

Tuesday, February 9, 7:00 pm
Do you enjoy the slightly lighter side of vampires? Come meet THE CHRONICLES OF VLADMIR TOD author Heather Brewer at Secret Garden Books in Ballard. Click here for a full list of Heather's tour appearances, and get ready for Vladmir's junior year!







See you soon!

January 2010: rgz Newsflash!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

2010 will be a big year for readergirlz, and let us count the ways:

We're introducing a new diva...
Liz Gallagher, author of THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE, is our new Host Diva. This means she'll be setting up events for authors touring the Seattle area, and helping other hosts do the same thing in key cities across the countryFor readers, this means even more opportunities to meet and chat with authors in person.

If you haven't read Liz's book yet, pick it up. There's a brand-new paperback edition, and you'll devour the story of Alice, who has to figure out the difference between a crush and love. (Yes, there is kissing.)


We're traveling to the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting...
Our Diva Holly Cupala, author of the forthcoming TELL ME A SECRET, will be hanging out with fabulous librarians at this conference in Boston. If you're going or know anyone who'll be there, do say hello!


We have an incredible lineup of authors...
E. Lockhart, author of the delicious Boyfriend Books and the National Book Award finalist, THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS.

There's so much to love about this book, from the clever wordplay to the quick, inventive plot. Perhaps the most lovable of all is Frankie herself, who's courageous, funny, clever, sneaky, vulnerable and unforgettable.

Mark this date on your calendar: January 20, 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST. That's when we'll be chatting with E. Lockhart herself right here at the readergirlz blog.

Last bit of author-in-residence excitement with Beth Kephart...
Beth Kephart is the amazing author of several books (including the delicious mystery NOTHING BUT GHOSTS), and she's been our author-in-residence since December. We have one last chat with her on January 6 at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST. Don't miss it!

See more about the Writer-in-Residence program at http://www.readergirlz.com/residence.html.

We introduce our next author in residence, Elizabeth Scott...
Elizabeth Scott wrote LIVING DEAD GIRL; SOMETHING, MAYBE; and STEALING HEAVEN. We are going to have a great time exploring her work and her writing process.

...Meet our Street Team for 2010!
These fabulous folks can help guide you through the wonderful world of YA books: Miss Erin, Priya, Silence, Vanessa, Sarah, Enna Isilee.


And we're grateful to our 2010 postergirlz, who act as our advisory council:
Little Willow, Jackie, Miss Erin, ShelfElf, HipWriterMama.


Thank you all for a terrific year!

*****

So there you have it, readers! Please join us at our chats, our blog, and our featured author site.

the readergirlz divas~

Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia
Justina Chen, North of Beautiful
Holly Cupala, Tell Me A Secret (June 2010)
Liz Gallagher, The Opposite of Invisible
Lorie Ann Grover, Hold Me Tight
Melissa Walker, Lovestruck Summer

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P.S. More on this later, but check out our trailer for Operation Teen Book Drop - and get involved!