Read about her adventure at Beacon High School. And enjoy her cover here:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
One More Drop Rocker: Nina Malkin!
Nina Malkin, whose lovely SWOON (Cover Story here) is out in paperback this spring, rocked the drop in NYC!
Read about her adventure at Beacon High School. And enjoy her cover here:
Read about her adventure at Beacon High School. And enjoy her cover here:
Cover Stories: Mia the Magnificent by Eileen Boggess
I usually feature Young Adult books in the Cover Stories slot, but today I have Middle Grade author Eileen Boggess talking about her Mia trilogy.
Here's a little about the latest book, Mia the Magnificent: "Mia Fullerton's life so far has been a series of misadventures, sometimes exciting, sometimes mortifying, and always hilarious (to anyone but Mia). But having already battled her shyness in Mia the Meek and acquired new confidence in Mia the Melodramatic, Mia has to face her greatest challenge yet--independence--in Mia the Magnificent.
Take it away, Eileen!
"I have absolutely no artisitic talent, so I had no idea how my cover should look. Fortunately, my editor, Bruce Bortz, hired Tammy Grimes to design the cover for Mia the Meek and I loved it! I have been happy with the covers ever since.
"For Mia the Meek, Tammy designed three covers and Bruce asked which one I liked best. Both of us agreed that we liked the same cover, so it was easy.
"For Mia the Melodramatic, there was a little more input. At first, I thought the cover should have Mia dressed as a clown. But when I saw the design, I thought it was a little scary and too childish for middle grade readers. Plus, I discovered there are a lot of people who are scared of clowns, which isn't a good thing when you are trying to sell a book! So, after a lot of revisions..."
Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com!
Here's a little about the latest book, Mia the Magnificent: "Mia Fullerton's life so far has been a series of misadventures, sometimes exciting, sometimes mortifying, and always hilarious (to anyone but Mia). But having already battled her shyness in Mia the Meek and acquired new confidence in Mia the Melodramatic, Mia has to face her greatest challenge yet--independence--in Mia the Magnificent.
Take it away, Eileen!
"I have absolutely no artisitic talent, so I had no idea how my cover should look. Fortunately, my editor, Bruce Bortz, hired Tammy Grimes to design the cover for Mia the Meek and I loved it! I have been happy with the covers ever since.
"For Mia the Meek, Tammy designed three covers and Bruce asked which one I liked best. Both of us agreed that we liked the same cover, so it was easy.
"For Mia the Melodramatic, there was a little more input. At first, I thought the cover should have Mia dressed as a clown. But when I saw the design, I thought it was a little scary and too childish for middle grade readers. Plus, I discovered there are a lot of people who are scared of clowns, which isn't a good thing when you are trying to sell a book! So, after a lot of revisions..."
Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Still Rocking: Kathleen Duey
Hey all!
I just saw this in the comments and wanted to be sure you all saw it. WAY TO GO, KATHLEEN DUEY! Read this Rock the Drop story by the National Book Award Finalist:
"I left three books in various places in San Antonio TX--where I was attending an amazing library conference. On the way home, there was a young man in the airport crying. I sat near (not by) him and when he glanced up, I asked if there was anything I could do to help.
His answer: "Make this deployment go by fast." I put out my hand and he gripped it hard for a few minutes, then wiped his face and pulled in a long breath. Then he sat up straight and we talked a little. I saw a book poking out of his travel bag. He said it was "dark stuff, kind of like twilight, but not." So I asked him if he would accept a gift from me and I signed my last copy of Skin Hunger for him. He is in Iraq by now. He is 19. Send him and everyone else in the war zones good thoughts. Please."
So....awesome.
I just saw this in the comments and wanted to be sure you all saw it. WAY TO GO, KATHLEEN DUEY! Read this Rock the Drop story by the National Book Award Finalist:
"I left three books in various places in San Antonio TX--where I was attending an amazing library conference. On the way home, there was a young man in the airport crying. I sat near (not by) him and when he glanced up, I asked if there was anything I could do to help.
His answer: "Make this deployment go by fast." I put out my hand and he gripped it hard for a few minutes, then wiped his face and pulled in a long breath. Then he sat up straight and we talked a little. I saw a book poking out of his travel bag. He said it was "dark stuff, kind of like twilight, but not." So I asked him if he would accept a gift from me and I signed my last copy of Skin Hunger for him. He is in Iraq by now. He is 19. Send him and everyone else in the war zones good thoughts. Please."
So....awesome.
Still Rocking the Book Drop!
A few more awesome photos from Operation Teen Book Drop have come through. Author Andrea Kramer (her novel NIGHTSHADE is out in October and looks riveting!), Rocked the Drop at the Seward Co-op. Here's to John Green in the cereal aisle!
Second, there's the Chick Lit Book Club at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, ME. They bought some super-amazing books:
Then students stealthily rocked the drop!
Thanks again for participating, everyone!
Second, there's the Chick Lit Book Club at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, ME. They bought some super-amazing books:
Then students stealthily rocked the drop!
Thanks again for participating, everyone!
April: The Guy Warning Signs List
Featured author Deb Caletti says, "Quinn's mother keeps a list of warning signs on her refrigerator (click here to see it). What would you add to the list? What would you take off of it?"
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Cover Stories: Mexican High by Liza Monroy, Part 2: The Paperback
Last week, Liza told the tale of her hardcover design. Today, she's here to share what went on behind the scenes of the paperback!
"The paperback, which came out this month, took a different direction. Again, the first one I saw (left), I hated -- that miniskirt! That disembodied-girl flying over a city that might not even be in Mexico! And again, my wonderful publishers were willing to listen. My favorite cover of all was born: the milagros remained, but instead of a torso, it has a quarter of a beautiful, pensive face with a thoughtful look in her eye -- I could see this as Mila, with dyed hair. Now, I love the cover and am proud of the way it looks:
"But, the funny thing is, even though both the hardcover and paperback are out, I still continue to play around with imagery in my head! In the end, my ultimate vision for the Mexican High cover that will never exist is this: an off-white, unfinished, texured paper background, with a colorful, embossed Virgen de Guadalupe in the center, and cursive, lowercase text for the title above it. The Virgen de Guadalupe might be Mexico's most iconic image, and if I ever write another book set in Mexico, maybe I'll get to use it!"
I thought the hardcover was cool, but I adore the paperback cover. Just the right lightness and magic. (And that first version--eek, glad it wasn't chosen.) What do you guys think?
PS-Alea has the Hardcover vs. Paperback post on her blog!
"The paperback, which came out this month, took a different direction. Again, the first one I saw (left), I hated -- that miniskirt! That disembodied-girl flying over a city that might not even be in Mexico! And again, my wonderful publishers were willing to listen. My favorite cover of all was born: the milagros remained, but instead of a torso, it has a quarter of a beautiful, pensive face with a thoughtful look in her eye -- I could see this as Mila, with dyed hair. Now, I love the cover and am proud of the way it looks:
"But, the funny thing is, even though both the hardcover and paperback are out, I still continue to play around with imagery in my head! In the end, my ultimate vision for the Mexican High cover that will never exist is this: an off-white, unfinished, texured paper background, with a colorful, embossed Virgen de Guadalupe in the center, and cursive, lowercase text for the title above it. The Virgen de Guadalupe might be Mexico's most iconic image, and if I ever write another book set in Mexico, maybe I'll get to use it!"
I thought the hardcover was cool, but I adore the paperback cover. Just the right lightness and magic. (And that first version--eek, glad it wasn't chosen.) What do you guys think?
PS-Alea has the Hardcover vs. Paperback post on her blog!
Thank you for rocking Operation Teen Book Drop!
Thanks to everyone who participated in Operation Teen Book Drop!You can read about all of the awesome YA authors who rocked the drop, see the amazing TBD wishlist put together by Colleen Mondor over at GuysLitWire, and visit Powell's Books to buy a book for a Native teen.
Many hands devoted themselves to helping readergirlz get books into the hands of Native teens living on tribal lands: GuysLitWire, YALSA, If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything, publishers, and the many librarians, teachers, and champions of YA and Native teens who helped us make this project a reality!
Dia Calhoun, Rachel McDonald, Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen:
Thanks also to Richard "Blackhawk" Kapusta and Symbion Project for the haunting trailer music, and to Cory Doctorow for plugging his vast network into the TBD cause.Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, Cory Doctorow, and Holly Cupala:
Here's to another fantastic year - thank you, everyone!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
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!
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!
Cover Stories: Mexican High by Liza Monroy, Part 1: The Hardcover
I professed my love for Liza Monroy's Mexican High on I Heart Daily, and now she's here to share her Cover Story. Today I'm posting the hardcover tale--next week, the very different paperback saga! Here's Liza:
"Mexico City (left) is such a visual place, colorful, vibrant, gritty, and full of life, and I definitely wanted the cover of Mexican High to capture that. Of course, capturing the spirit of one of the world's largest metropolises on an 8-by-5-inch book jacket is no easy feat! While I was thinking big (city-scale big), my publisher, Spiegel & Grau, were more inclined toward the character-level -- the book, after all, centers on seventeen-year-old protagonist Mila (Milagro) Marquez, who moves to Mexico City for her senior year of high school with her U.S. diplomat mom, and her coming-of-age misadventures in the city.
"Milagros--Mexican charms said to bring good fortune in different areas such as love, work, and health--play an important role in the story. Milagro takes her name from them, since her mother wasn't supposed to be able to have kids; she was a miracle, and surprise. In Spanish the word means both things. They come into play both symbolically and then physically in a major plot-twist, so I definitely knew that milagros had to play a central role in the book's design.
"Initially, I imagined a large-sized heart milagro, el Sagrado Corazon, sacred heart, in the center of the cover. You can see this one in the photo I took in a church in Puebla, Mexico (left). To me, it represented my main goal for my novel, that it have heart.
But the very first cover (for the hardcover) my publisher showed me wasn't Mexican at all. It's pink and the model is blond, which echoes Gossip Girl -- and while Mexican High does showcase the Gossip Girl-types of Mexico City, I felt it did need to portray a cultural aspect. Mexico City is totally different from Southern California or Manhattan so I felt it was important that the cover show that. I'll admit it -- I hated that first cover! Not for what it was, I think it would be perfect for a book that was set in SoCal, I just felt it was wrong for this novel.
"My publisher was very understanding and soon I saw another version - this one with milagros! The length of the skirt scandalized me (left), so they pulled it down a little (see final cover). We liked the edginess of the cigarette, and I always thought it ironic that smoking rates were so high in the already very-polluted Ciudad de Mexico, which Mila points out. But what everybody involved in the design, myself included, missed was that teen magazines and parents might mistake it for encouragement! And so the paperback is very different..."
I like the hardcover, but I have to admit I was surprised to see the cigarette on a YA cover. Still, it prepared me for a gritty read, and that was cool. What do you guys think?
Ooh, wait till you see the paperback next week! Yes, you can just google it, but what's the fun in that?
"Mexico City (left) is such a visual place, colorful, vibrant, gritty, and full of life, and I definitely wanted the cover of Mexican High to capture that. Of course, capturing the spirit of one of the world's largest metropolises on an 8-by-5-inch book jacket is no easy feat! While I was thinking big (city-scale big), my publisher, Spiegel & Grau, were more inclined toward the character-level -- the book, after all, centers on seventeen-year-old protagonist Mila (Milagro) Marquez, who moves to Mexico City for her senior year of high school with her U.S. diplomat mom, and her coming-of-age misadventures in the city.
"Milagros--Mexican charms said to bring good fortune in different areas such as love, work, and health--play an important role in the story. Milagro takes her name from them, since her mother wasn't supposed to be able to have kids; she was a miracle, and surprise. In Spanish the word means both things. They come into play both symbolically and then physically in a major plot-twist, so I definitely knew that milagros had to play a central role in the book's design.
"Initially, I imagined a large-sized heart milagro, el Sagrado Corazon, sacred heart, in the center of the cover. You can see this one in the photo I took in a church in Puebla, Mexico (left). To me, it represented my main goal for my novel, that it have heart.
But the very first cover (for the hardcover) my publisher showed me wasn't Mexican at all. It's pink and the model is blond, which echoes Gossip Girl -- and while Mexican High does showcase the Gossip Girl-types of Mexico City, I felt it did need to portray a cultural aspect. Mexico City is totally different from Southern California or Manhattan so I felt it was important that the cover show that. I'll admit it -- I hated that first cover! Not for what it was, I think it would be perfect for a book that was set in SoCal, I just felt it was wrong for this novel.
"My publisher was very understanding and soon I saw another version - this one with milagros! The length of the skirt scandalized me (left), so they pulled it down a little (see final cover). We liked the edginess of the cigarette, and I always thought it ironic that smoking rates were so high in the already very-polluted Ciudad de Mexico, which Mila points out. But what everybody involved in the design, myself included, missed was that teen magazines and parents might mistake it for encouragement! And so the paperback is very different..."
I like the hardcover, but I have to admit I was surprised to see the cigarette on a YA cover. Still, it prepared me for a gritty read, and that was cool. What do you guys think?
Ooh, wait till you see the paperback next week! Yes, you can just google it, but what's the fun in that?
Little Willow's Book Bag
This Week's Picks
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter
Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman
For Your Younger Sister
Cinderella Cleaners #3: Rock and Rule by Maya Gold
Play Pick
All This and Moonlight by Charles R. Johnson
This Month's Spotlighted Title
The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter
Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman
For Your Younger Sister
Cinderella Cleaners #3: Rock and Rule by Maya Gold
Play Pick
All This and Moonlight by Charles R. Johnson
This Month's Spotlighted Title
The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
Friday, April 16, 2010
One more! Zu Vincent & Carrie Watson Rock the Drop!
One more drop to add from yesterday!
Zu Vincent, author of The Lucky Place, and Carrie Watson, author of Quad, drop a copy of one another's YA novels in a Northern California coffee shop.
Love the idea of trading drops!
Zu Vincent, author of The Lucky Place, and Carrie Watson, author of Quad, drop a copy of one another's YA novels in a Northern California coffee shop.
Love the idea of trading drops!
Diva Delight: Blue Slip Media
Right before TBD, we were partying it up with industry peeps.
First, Mitali Perkins came to town and the rgz got together at a tea house to chat it up.
Left to right: Martha Brockenbrough, me, Mitali, Jackie Parker, Janet Lee Carey, Holly Cupala, and Dia Calhoun.
We talked industry and all things rgz. Thinking about moving the chats to Twitter. Any input, anyone?
Then it was onto a cocktail party with Robin Cruise who was hosting the delightful ladies from Blue Slip Media, Sarah and Barb. They offer such a great marketing service to authors. Definitely check their site out! (Barb was a supportive contact for our first TBD back in 2008!)
Third, we went to the SCBWI Conference Drinks Night, which was absolutely lovely. So much energy!
Between parties and TBD 2010, I'm ready for a writing retreat! Anyone else hoping for one?
First, Mitali Perkins came to town and the rgz got together at a tea house to chat it up.
Left to right: Martha Brockenbrough, me, Mitali, Jackie Parker, Janet Lee Carey, Holly Cupala, and Dia Calhoun.
We talked industry and all things rgz. Thinking about moving the chats to Twitter. Any input, anyone?
Then it was onto a cocktail party with Robin Cruise who was hosting the delightful ladies from Blue Slip Media, Sarah and Barb. They offer such a great marketing service to authors. Definitely check their site out! (Barb was a supportive contact for our first TBD back in 2008!)Third, we went to the SCBWI Conference Drinks Night, which was absolutely lovely. So much energy!
Between parties and TBD 2010, I'm ready for a writing retreat! Anyone else hoping for one?
April: What's the Bad Boy Allure?
Featured author Deb Caletti says, "Frances Lee's mother, Joelle, describes her allure to a moody bad boy. All of the main characters later discuss this with Brie at dinner. Do you think there is a 'Bad Boy' allure? If so, why do you think it exists?"
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Mary Jane Beaufrand rocked the drop! #operationtbd
Mary Jane Beaufrand dropped a copy of her new book The River at the Bellevue Public Library! Teen librarian Darcy Brixey kept a watchful eye to make sure the book went to a worthy reader soul.
Kiersten White rocked the drop! #operationtbd
@kierstenwhite, the author of PARANORMALCY (which everyone wants and is dying to read), left a book alongside a strange and terrifying statue sort of thing. (See it here.)
Better, though, to get your jollies at her website, which is scary in a good way.
Better, though, to get your jollies at her website, which is scary in a good way.
TBD 2010, Post-Op Party!
Welcome to the TBD 2010, Post-Op Party! Did you Rock the Drop? Did you hit the TBD Wish Lists? Then join us here at the top of the hour.And if you weren't able to drop a YA book in your community with 100 authors across the country, jump into the conversations anyway and celebrate the 10,000 new books donated by our beloved publishers. Today in honor of Support Teen Literature Day, those books fell into the hands of teens on tribal lands.
Kudos to rgz partners: YALSA, Guys Lit Wire, and If I Can Read I Can Do Anything. Kudos to everyone of you who is passionate about teen literacy. Let the party begin!
Natalie Whipple rocked the drop! #operationtbd
You have to check out the statue at her old high school, where she dropped a copy of her book.
Natalie also has a terrific blog, Between Fact and Fiction.
Natalie also has a terrific blog, Between Fact and Fiction.
Jessica Love rocked the drop! #operationtbd
The Forever YA book blogger (read her stuff here) dropped three Sarah Dessen books. rgz loves Sarah Dessen! And book bloggers!
Robin Benway rocked the drop! #operationtbd
She left a copy of AUDREY, WAIT! at Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood. So fancy!
Here's the photo.
Follow her on Twitter @robinbenway, or check out her website.
Here's the photo.
Follow her on Twitter @robinbenway, or check out her website.
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