Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

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The Monster Within by Kelly Hashway Book Blitz and Giveaway

Once again I welcome back another great writing buddy of mine. Kelly Hashway is here sharing her awesome YA paranormal The Monster Within (see my 5-star Goodreads review here). Be sure to enter the giveaway!

 

The moment seventeen-year-old Samantha Thompson crawls out of her grave, her second chance at life begins. She died of cancer with her long-time boyfriend, Ethan, by her side—a completely unfair shot at life. But Ethan found a way to bring her back, like he promised he would. Only Sam came back wrong.
She’s now a monster that drains others’ lives to survive. And after she kills, she’s tortured by visions—glimpses into her victims would-have-been futures had she not killed them. Barely able to live with herself and trying to make things right, Sam ends up a pawn in a vicious game of payback within the local coven of witches.
But when the game reveals what Ethan had to do to save Sam, she must make a choice that will change all their lives forever.



buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

 


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Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as a freelance editor for small presses as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets. 

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The car stopped, and Ethan’s hand slipped from mine. I turned to him, blinking against the fluorescent lights of the gas station. 
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just needed to get some gas and a few things from the convenience store. There’s no food at the cottage. I thought I’d grab some crackers and soda. Stuff like that. I’ll even see if they have black licorice for you. I know you love it.” 
I nodded and started for my seat belt. 
“No. You stay.” Ethan opened his door and stepped outside. I let my hair fall across my shoulders, trying to warm myself against the night air. “I’ll be right back.” 
The trunk opened, and a moment later, Ethan opened my door, handing me one of his sweatshirts. “Here, you look cold.” 
I smiled. “Thanks.” He knew me so well. I watched him walk inside the store and heard the soft click of the car locking again. He wasn’t taking any chances with me. I knew he’d protect me from anything. He’d already protected me from death. He was my every- thing now. I would never see my family or friends again. I had to start over. The thought terrified me, but at least I had Ethan by my side. 
I hugged the sweatshirt to my body. I was too tired to actually put it on, and, this way I could breathe in Ethan’s scent while I kept warm. I inhaled deeply at first, and then my breaths became shallow, which was weird considering how tired I felt. I yawned. Exhaustion overwhelmed me. Apparently it took a lot of energy to return from the dead. 
I leaned my head on the window, hoping the cool glass would keep me awake, but my head spun, making me dizzy. My arms and legs tingled with the sensation of pins and needles. I felt like I had a million spiders crawling all over me. I threw the sweatshirt off me and onto the floor. My arms were bare. No spiders. But the feeling didn’t go away. I panicked. The walls of the car were caving in on me. The air around me was tight, strangling me. 
I searched the convenience store windows for Ethan, but all I saw was a guy in a cowboy hat, and a woman taking her little boy to the bathroom. Where was Ethan? The lightheadedness was getting worse—more intense. My breathing was labored. In a panic, I reached for the door handle. It took me a moment to remember it was locked, but when I finally got it open, I stumbled out of the car into the fresh air. I gulped oxygen into my lungs, hoping it would make me feel better, but it didn’t. 
I was suffocating. Life was draining out of me. I collapsed to my knees, skinning them against the pavement. Wheezing, I crawled forward, trying to reach the convenience store door. Trying to reach Ethan. I needed help. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but it felt like I was dying…again. 

Giveaways terms and conditions:

No purchase necessary.
You must be at least 13 years of age or older to enter.

Fandom Monthly Magazine is not responsible if the promotion sponsor does not fulfill their giveaway prize.

Winner(s) will be contacted shortly after the giveaway ends. The winner(s) will then have 4 days most to respond and claim their prize.
Any questions? Feel free to email us.

 


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Cover Reveal YA Romance UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett

I’m excited to bring you this amazing cover for Michelle K. Pickett’s upcoming YA romance UNSPEAKABLE. I’m a big fan of Michelle’s (check out my 5-star review of her YA paranormal PODs). Everyone give her a big welcome and don’t forget to enter the Goodreads giveaway!
COVER REVEAL:
UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett


Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance (Realistic Fiction)
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Release Date: February 10, 2015

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Unspeakable by Michelle K. Pickett

Unspeakable

by Michelle K. Pickett

Giveaway ends September 30, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
We are excited to share with you the official cover reveal of UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett. UNSPEAKABLE is a young adult contemporary romance that is scheduled to release in February of 2015. Check out more information below and make sure to add it to your TBR List! 

Summary from Good Reads:
“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.”

On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of. 

She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had just… but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choices. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind.

When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide.

Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe?

ABOUT MICHELLE K. PICKETT:

Michelle is the bestselling author of the young adult novel “PODs.” She was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in a sleepy suburb outside Houston with her extremely supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound “lap dog,” and a very snooty cat.

Red Bull or Monster Khaos are her coffee of choice, and she can’t write without peanut butter M&Ms and a hoodie. A hopeful romantic; she loves a swoon-worthy ending that will give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups. She loves to hear from her readers.

Michelle signed her new young adult contemporary novel— Unspeakable, with Clean Teen Publishing in 2014. 

Keep up-to-date on her current and future projects at www.michelle-pickett.com.
 

 

 

 


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Remembering When I Used to Attend Conferences

The kidlit writing world is abuzz with the goings on at the annual SCBWI conference in L.A. this weekend, and alas I’m once again not there. Instead of having sour grapes about it, I’m remembering the last time I went to the L.A. conference and all the great wisdom I gained while there. So I went into my archives and found a post from way back in 2010, which I’m reposting now.

Enjoy these great nuggets from some great writers!

M.T. Anderson:

  • Books take us away from home, so we can actually see our home.
  • Literature restores a sense of unknown to what we already know.
  • Understanding the past is just as much about forging ahead to the future.

Gordon Korman:

  • What do you use more as an adult? Your sense of humor or your ability to recognize foreshadowing.
  • Kids are more subtle than you think they are. It’s not that stuff is going over their heads; it’s just the stuff we think is important, they don’t care about.
  • Kids are not an exotic subspecies. When we are writing for kids, we are writing for ourselves.

E.B. Lewis:

  • We spend so much time scratching to get some wealth that we miss out true wealth: our children.
  • Sometimes we don’t scratch deep enough to find the true value of our kids. It’s more valuable than gold. We scratch them too deep sometimes and destroy our children.
  • As artists, we need to fill ourselves up to flowing and give it all back.

Rachel Vail:

  • Trick to being a good listener is to actually listen.
  • Spying is key to being a writer. Put on your headphones in a public place, but don’t really listen to music.
  • How can two people in same conversation have such different experiences of what happens?
  • When I get stuck, I make some tea and force myself to remember.

Gail Carson Levine:

  • When you make a list, no idea is stupid.
  • The magic and joy of being a writer is learning about yourself in your writing.

Carolyn Mackler:

  • By standing out, you put yourself out there for a fall.
  • Be proud of what you wish for and stand by it, even if it’s harder than you expected.

Gennifer Choldenko:

  • Human beings need stories; we always have and we always will.
  • Harness the energy of your dreams.
  • Give yourself the right to take risks; you’re not making real risks if you haven’t risked and failed.

Paul Fleischman:

  • Research should be like slip; it should be there but never show.
  • Laughter gives you a sense of control.
  • There’s now way around but through–that’s the writing life.

Firebolt by Adrienne Woods Book Blitz

I love the cover of today’s featured book Firebolt by Adrienne Woods. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy!

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FireboltAbout the Book:

Firebolt by Adrienne Woods

Genre: YA/Paranormal/Fantasy

Published by GMTA, November 17th, 2013

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Firebolt-The-Dragonian-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00GS5SUM6

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/firebolt-adrienne-woods/1117456833?ean=2940149030019

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20517266-firebolt

Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself.

Adrienne WoodsAbout the Author:

Adrienne Woods resides in South Africa with her husband and two beautiful little girls, where she work as a full time writer and lives her dream. Thunderlight is the second part of The Dragonian Series which will be available in November 2014. Firebolt, book 1, of The Dragonian Series is available for purchase at all the big online stores.

Twitter: @erichb3
Blog: Adrienne Woods Books and Reviews woodsadrienne.wordpress.com
The Dragonian Series blog: http://thedragonianseries.blogspot.com
Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/pages/The-Dragonian-Series/301375039891281?_rdr

An excerpt from Thunderlight, BOOK TWO in the series

The girl had made it.

The Rubicon saved her life, so a part of him was still fighting me. I could still see her eyes searching mine. They bore into my soul, seeking answers. How was this possible! The wall wouldn’t allow any human to go to the other side.

Albert’s laughter echoed inside the castle; s startling reminder that good would always win. He would pay dearly for this. I would find a way, but I promised she wouldn’t live much longer.

I got up, rubbed my face hard and let the emotion of my anger escaped my lips. The rage that emanated from deep within me overpowered the haunting laughter and echoed throughout the entire castle.

“Master,” Cain’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Speak my loyal servant,” I said out loud. “What is the news?”

“Everything is in place. We won’t fail you,” his voice said in my head.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out hard. “We’ll see.”

Chapter One

Castle of Etan

Anger, betrayal, and hate turned my stomach acid, it consumed my mind and I watched as bottles, papers and books on the desk, flew off and crushed to the floor.

A maid rushed to my side. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes reflected fear. The dustpan in her hand trembled as she started to sweep up the jagged shards of glass. Rising from the floor she began to straighten the books that had fallen to the floor in a heap. Every few seconds I would notice her eyes dart nervously in my direction as if a mere breath would make me lash out as her with my outstretched hand.

I touched her face gently until my hand reached her neck, tightening slowly as my anger began to rise once again. My grip tightened around her soft, shapely neck as I lifted her up from her position on the floor at my feet. Listening carefully I could hear her heart fluttering like a bird trapped inside a cage.

“How did I become this way?” I thought, giving voice to my reality softly.

She just stared at me with round, brown unblinking eyes. Her eyes were sunken deep into the surface of her face and her cheek bones were sharply defined.

Looking at her sullen face made me feel worse. I lifted up my other hand and struck the woman hard across her cheek.

A cry left her mouth and I threw her from me as if she weighed nothing. She skidded across the floor landing in a heap against a wall of cold, unforgiving stone. If I was a dragon I would blast fire, redeem this wretched place to a pile of insignificant ashes.

Two other maids, hearing the startled cry, rushed into the room. Their eyes were wide as they took in the room and the immobile heap near the far wall. “Sorry, me lord,” the older one said. “She’s new, we will train her better.”

They picked up the maid who had come too and begun sobbing. She clutched the side of her face, cover the huge red hand print where I struck her.

I nodded. The old maid knew her place well, although I still didn’t care for her name, she knew where she stood.

I plunged myself down onto the chair and closed my eyes. A silent roar growled inside of me lighting a fire of rage deep in my core.

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Creating Conflict with Kimberly G. Giarratano Author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards

I’m pleased to welcome fellow new mom and author Kimberly G. Giarrantano, who is celebrating the release of her YA mystery Grunge Gods and GraveyardsKimberly is offering up some thoughts on creating conflict in stories and a giveaway. Welcome, Kimberly and congrats on your new book and baby!

GrungeGods800Everybody Hurts

by Kimberly G. Giarrantano

Being that my debut novel, Grunge Gods and Graveyards, is set in 1996, I couldn’t help but give this guest post a 90s song title. “Everybody Hurts” isn’t just the name of an awesome REM song, not to mention memorable video, but the secret to incorporating excellent conflict into one’s writing — make everybody hurt. More specifically, make your protagonist hurt.

Conflict is one of the most important, if not the most important, building blocks of novel writing. And yet, so many new writers, myself included, forget about it. So, what is conflict? Conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces. It’s what moves the story forward. There are characters who drive plot, but conflict drives those characters to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. Desperate times and all that.

So, how do I create conflict?

I take my main character and dump crap all over her. In every scene. That’s my formula.

It’s not enough that Lainey feels like she is directly responsible for getting Danny killed. She then goes back to school to find the entire senior class thinks the same thing and they hate her for it. The mean girls dump their spaghetti lunch on her. The jocks label her a murderer. She failed Spanish and won’t graduate. Her dad ignores her. The love of her life is dead. It’s always something. I’m the puppet master and she’s my puppet and I do something to her in every scene. Because each piece of crap dumped on her pushes Lainey to do something else. And because each awful thing brings her to a breaking point. She must say to herself: am I going to continue to let life screw with me or am I going to fix it somehow?

It can never be just one thing. Lainey failed Spanish AND is in danger of not graduating the hellscape she knows as high school AND she needs to write a major research paper to graduate AND deliver an oral presentation in Spanish AND she sucks at languages AND her Spanish tutor is the boy she loved who died in her arms.

I also like to burden Lainey with setbacks. Just when Lainey is close to figuring things out, someone (a nemesis perhaps) interferes and screws it all up for her. And the reader keeps turning pages to find out how Lainey is going to pull it all off. Now, with every setback there has to be small successes too otherwise it would be a downer of a book. All that suffering can’t be in vain.

I guess my story board might look something like this:

Dump crap

Dump crap

Dump crap

Dump crap

Breaking Point

Still crappy, but handles it

Success

Set Back

Disaster

We Shall Overcome

We Overcame

End

Now humor me and leave the name of your favorite REM song in the comments section. I’ll go first. My fave REM song is “Leave.”

Your turn.

Grunge Gods and Graveyards blurb:

Parted by death. Tethered by love.

Lainey Bloom’s high school senior year is a complete disaster. The popular clique, led by mean girl Wynter Woods, bullies her constantly. The principal threatens not to let her graduate with the class of 1997 unless she completes a major research project. And everyone blames her for the death of Wynter’s boyfriend, Danny Obregon.

Danny, a gorgeous musician, stole Lainey’s heart when he stole a kiss at a concert. But a week later, he was run down on a dangerous stretch of road. When he dies in her arms, she fears she’ll never know if he really would have broken up with Wynter to be with her.

Then his ghost shows up, begging her to solve his murder. Horrified by the dismal fate that awaits him if he never crosses over, Lainey seeks the dark truth amidst small town secrets, family strife, and divided loyalties. But every step she takes toward discovering what really happened the night Danny died pulls her further away from the beautiful boy she can never touch again.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPBSGA0/&tag=redadeppubl-20

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grunge-gods-and-graveyards-kimberly-g-giarratano/1119636379?ean=2940149530946

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/grunge-gods-and-graveyards

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kimberly_G_Giarratano_Grunge_Gods_and_Graveyards?id=HG2yAwAAQBAJ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20887429-grunge-gods-and-graveyards

Kim - UpperAbout the Author:

Kimberly G. Giarratano, a forever Jersey girl, now lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and small children. A former teacher and YA librarian, Kimberly adores Etsy, Jon Stewart, The Afghan Whigs, ’90s nostalgia, and (of course) everything YA. She also speaks Spanish, but is woefully out of practice.

Kimberly always dreamed of being a published author. Her other dream is to live in Key West, Florida where she can write in a small studio, just like Hemingway.

You can visit her blog at kimberlyggiarratano.com or tweet her @KGGiarratano.

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