Category: Young Adult (Page 23 of 27)

Reading Wrap Up 2014 or The Year of Change

January 12, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

This past year marked a big change for me in my reading habits. It was the first year where I read more digital books than print ones. I’ve been reading digital books for years, but 2014 was the year the scales tipped way in favor of digital.

There were several factors for this: one being that I joined NetGalley and started reading digital ARCs, another being digital is a great way for my writer friends to share their books with me for little cost to either of us, and a third being how easy and low-cost it is to acquire digital books. But the overriding factor was definitely my own life. With The Boy having sleep issues earlier in the year and adding The Prince into the mix with all his nursings, I’ve had a lot of time where I’m sitting quietly but where reading a print book would be a bit impractical. So I read on my Nook a lot and on my phone a whole lot.

So much so that early in the year I realized my original goal of reading 67 books (in par with the past several years of reading) was going to be surpassed. I reset my goal to 80 books and exceeded that by 2, for a grand total of (tough math, I know!) 82 books! (You can check out my full 2014 reading list over on Goodreads.) The 82 includes mostly novels and some novellas and short stories. It doesn’t include the many, many, many picture books and board books I read (and reread) to the boys.

It also doesn’t include the quite a few (estimate of about 6 or so) books I did not finish (DNF). Though this may seem like a small number, it’s significant for me because in the past I’ve almost always finished a book once I’ve started it. As in 2014’s DNF list is probably as long as my previous DNF list for many previous years.

Again I think this change has a lot to do with all the digital reading I’ve done. I took a chance on free books and $.99 books, many self-published or with small presses but a significant portion on traditional published book as well. And books across all three publishing models made my DNF list (I don’t actually keep an official list for this, just a mental one). I’ve also found it’s a lot easier to just stop reading a digital book vs. a print one. The reasons behind that could probably be a whole blog post by itself.

Does all my digital reading mean I don’t like print books or that I think print is dead? Absolutely not. In fact, from what I’ve read about book sales in 2014, it seems the digital market has finally flattened out (after years of crazy growth) and the print market surged a little. The market has finally started to settle into a new normal where both print and digital can coexist.

As for my personal tastes in 2014 (again, could be a whole blog post by itself, but I’ll just give you the highlights here), I read lots of really good fantasy. Stand-out titles being THE FALSE PRINCE and the entire Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen, THE KISS OF DECEPTION by Mary E. Pearson, and BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater.

I definitely had some serious paranormal fatigue by the end of the year. There are still good titles in the genre, but I found many just didn’t stand out enough and hit too many of the same notes. I’ll probably be less likely to pick up these titles this year.

I read more middle grade than in the past and have been really enjoying it. Middle grade books seem to be taking more chances and doing different things, much like YA was doing right before it blew up and became hugely popular. I’ll probably continue to read more MG this year.

And I’ve read lots of good indie/small press authors, including S.J. Pajonas, Mary Waibel, Kai Strand, and Meradeth Houston. (In an attempt at full disclosure, yes, these authors I would consider writer friends, so I want you to check out their writing first because it’s awesome and second because they are awesome people!) Supporting indie authors has become an important part of my reading practices and will continue to be in 2015.

All in all, my bread and butter reading was (and has been for some time) YA, often fantasy. That’s just my personal tastes and I think I will always gravitate toward that age group and the fantasy genre. But I do enjoy branching out and hope to do more of that this year. And I will absolutely keep reading authors I know personally or online (and that list grows every year…it’s getting harder and harder not to know the authors I read). Of course with the boys, I’ll continue reading lots of picture books, old favorites and new ones too. Lately, we’ve even started reading small chapter books, which is a fun addition.

What were your reading habits and favorite reads of 2014?

Guide to Self-Publishing with Ellen Allen Author of THE SHAM

November 20, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Today Ellen Allen, author of the YA thriller THE SHAM, is sharing some insights on the self-publishing process, which is something I think all of us authors, if we’re not doing it already, have at least thought about doing. Welcome, Ellen!

A writers guide to self-publishing

by Ellen Allen

Having recently self-published my first book and because more and more people are choosing to do so instead of following “traditional” routes to publishing (and asking me how I did it), here’s a handy cut out and keep guide – basically everything I would have liked to have known beforehand!

1. Get a critique of your final draft. If you’re going to spend any money, it should probably be in the editing process (as well as in preparing the cover). Otherwise you run the risk of publishing what agent Mary Kole calls, “just a printout of (your) manuscript bound between two thicker pieces of cardboard, and about as fulfilling as a pile of scratch paper”. Sites such as youwriteon allow other writers to critique portions of your book and sites such as wattpad and widbook will help you connect to readers to see if they like it.

2. Get your “platform” ready.If you’re starting at zero you’ll need time to find twitter followers and facebook friends. It also takes more time, and organisation to link all your different mediums together so that people can find you more easily.

3. Get some beta readers to review your book. Once you’ve got yourreal final draft (after editing and critiques) put it in the hands of actual readers. Goodreads has lots of groups of people who are willing to beta read and will offer really constructive feedback on your story.

4. Decide how to publish your book. For example, are you going to use a professional service, like BookBaby or do it yourself, through Amazon’s CreateSpace? Your decision will depend on money, confidence and your strategy. You may want more hand-holding than other people and want professionals to be available to answer questions about Digital Rights Management – DRM – for your book, etc. The answer also depends on distribution. Do you want your book available everywhere or just Amazon?

5. Create your cover. It probably pays to use a professional but regardless, make sure the name of your book is clear in the thumbnail. Spend time investigating the look and feel of other book covers; readers will use your cover to decide whether or not they’ll read your book!

6. Preparing your final document will take much longer than expected, as you’ll need to proofread and check the formatting. You’ll have greater distribution possibilities if your book is available in all three main formats (mobi for the kindle, epub for nook and iBooks and of course, pdf) but they’ll all need to be proofed separately.

7. Get your marketing blurbs ready. You need to distil your book into one or two sentences for taglines and you’ll also need long blurbs, short blurbs, A4 summaries (with plot spoilers and without) and a variety of teaser paragraphs. Make sure you also have your cover photo stored somewhere online in a really high resolution that you can link to different sites (Photobucket will let you do this). Keep all these marketing documents in a word document on your desktop so it’s easily accessible to cut and paste from at a moment’s notice.

8. Sort out your advertising. Are you going to run giveaways, youtube book trailers or pay for ads on sites like goodreads? Are you going to try to get some author interviews fixed up? You need to think about this before your book is out.

9. Line up reviewers before the book is launched. If you don’t have reviewers lined up for your book, then no one will read it! There are lots of places to ask for reviews but goodreads is a good start.

10. Finally, remember to celebrate the small victories. You are your very own, editing, marketing, advertising and production department and you have a very long road ahead of you. It won’t happen overnight, if at all (you only need to trawl through the millions of goodreads authors to understand how few people actually manage to become successful self-publishers) so remember to enjoy the small things: the jump from ten to fifty twitterfollowers; reaching 100 likes on your book’s facebook page; gaining a real footing on goodreads, where you have met some great friends, supporters and fans. Don’t spam your followers with “all about me” posts but do publicise your good reviews!

THE SHAM blurb:

When love leads to death, be careful who you trust…

Eighteen-year-old Emily Heath would love to leave her dead-end town, known locally as “The Sham”, with her boyfriend, Jack, but he’s very, very sick; his body is failing and his brain is shutting down. He’s also in hiding, under suspicion of murder. Six months’ ago, strange signs were painted across town in a dialect no one has spoken for decades and one of Emily’s classmates washed up in the local floods.

Emily has never trusted her instincts and now they’re pulling her towards Jack, who the police think is a sham himself, someone else entirely. As the town wakes to discover new signs plastered across its walls, Emily must decide who and what she trusts, and fast: local vigilantes are hunting Jack; the floods, the police, and her parents are blocking her path; and the town doesn’t need another dead body.

WARNING: this book is unsuitable for younger teenage readers. It depicts adult situations, murder scenes, conversations about sex and profanity.

Giveaway

The Sham is a YA contemporary thriller with scenes that are unsuitable for younger readers. If you want to read what other people think of The Sham, check out the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. If you want to win a copy of The Sham, enter the facebook giveaway here.

About the Author:

On her inspiration for The Sham

The idea for this book came to me in a nightmare. It was so vivid that I imagined I was 17 again, at school, in the same group of 4 friends that I used to hang around with. We were involved in a murder and cover-up. I started writing partly as a way to get it out of my head and then the characters turned into real people… and Emily and Jack were born.

More about Ellen

In a previous life, Ellen Allen was an Associate Director in a small consultancy firm (focusing on Sustainable Development and Climate Change) running research projects and writing client reports. She doesn’t find fiction writing too dissimilar in process but she gets to use her imagination considerably more! She now lives in the south of France with her small daughter.

If you want to contact Ellen Allen you can find her on twitter @EllenWritesAll or facebook www.facebook.com/EllenWritesAll or on her writing blog: www.writingright.net. If you want to buy her books, find her on Amazon.

The Women in THE UNHEWN STONE by Wendy Laharnar

November 7, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Wendy Laharnar was gracious enough to stop by the blog today to give us some insight into the women in her YA historical fiction THE UNHEWN STONE. Thanks for sharing today, Wendy!

The Unhewn Stone is 18 yr old Stefan’s search for identity as he tries to restore honour to his family name which has long been tarnished by the Wilhelm Tell legend. From modern day Switzerland, Stefan is transported back to his ancestors, in the Wilhelm Tell era of 1307AD, on a mission to prevent the legend from happening.

While searching for the hero he hopes to find within himself, Stefan finds the heroism he seeks in the women in The Unhewn Stone.

21^st century:

Heidi – sister of Stefan’s best friend Uri.

Ursula – Stefan’s unrequited love.

Marta – Stefan’s sister

Stefan’s mother

14^th century:

Frau Gessler – the tyrant governor’s mother, a healer.

Cassandra – – a prophetess

Yelka – a wanton strumpet

Eva Tell – Wilhelm Tell’s daughter

Hedwig Tell – Wilhelm Tell’s wife

The sibyl – a shapeshifting prophetess.

Ingrid –the innkeeper’s daughter.

I’ll concentrate on four of these women who represent the differing cultures in medieval life and reflect different aspects of Stefan’s changing character.

The sibyl (means ‘prophetess’; ‘oracle’):

Because many peasants, in the Middle Ages still believed in Greek and Roman mythology, I modified this mythical figure based on the Roman ‘Cumaen Sibyl’ to represent the superstitions still lingering in the Middle Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire. She is the bane of Stefan’s life.

Stefan is drawn to this shape-shifter because she bears a strong resemblance to Ursula, the beautiful 21^st century woman Stefan loves. The sibyl appears as a lovely courtesan, a withering crone, a Snow White lookalike and a large black bat. She mistakes Stefan for his ancestor, the alchemist, who, with her help, invented the magic orb. This orb opens the wormhole between 14^th and 21^st century Bürglen in central Switzerland. The sibyl needs the orb to serve her own evil purpose and pursues Stefan relentlessly to get it back. She is ruthless and dangerous, the antithesis of Stefan, the pacifist, who is forced to pit his wits against hers. He finds her both appealing and repulsive. I believe he equates her ugly side to his own ugly complex.

Eva Tell (Eva means ‘life’; ‘living one’; ‘the first woman’):

Eva is a zealot, dominated by her religion, her father and the vision of a united and liberated Switzerland. Tell’s wild daughter fights by his side and yet she is drawn to Rolf, son of the enemy, the tyrant governor Gessler. Their love is stymied by the feuding families, and family is all-important to Eva. Her courage and stubbornness fascinate and confuse Stefan. He sees her as a threat as well as a saviour. When she swaps her clean grey cloak with his filthy blue one, in order to camouflage him, she receives his reluctant admiration. In effect she cloaks Stefan with her identity. This is a significant turning point for Stefan.

Ingrid Gasparin (Ingrid means ‘fair’; ‘beautiful’; more recent meaning ‘a hero’s daughter’):

The innkeeper’s cheeky daughter also has eyes for the nobleman, Rolf, who encourages her advances. To Stefan, Ingrid is simply a peasant, a flirtatious, buxom wench in need of her father’s discipline and a long, hot bath. But the reader knows Ingrid is an innocent; intuitive and just. When Stefan learns that behind the façade she is pious and brave beyond measure, Ingrid becomes his inspiration.

Frau Gessler (unnamed in the book, but clearly she must be a Sophia because this name means ‘wisdom’):

A noble woman, Frau Gessler is the mother of Hermann Gessler, grandmother of Rolf, and great grandmother 7 times removed, or more, to Stefan. She is a pagan, a healer, merciful and kind even to her enemy, but she is quite prepared to physically defend her family when attacked. To Stefan, who is searching for acceptance, Frau Gessler, the matriarch, represents family. He needs to hear her acknowledge him as her grandchild (Grosschind) just once while he is trapped in the 14^th century.

In this era where myth, magic, religion, and science collide, these women embody the conflicting attitudes of the medieval world within themselves and in their society. Their influence on Stefan is profound.

THE UNHEWN STONE blurb:

The Wilhelm Tell legend has a new hero but he belongs to the wrong side . . . on the wrong side of time.

When Swiss teen, Stefan Gessler, answers the call to restore his family’s honour, he discovers it might be easier to change base metal into gold than overcome evil in the Middle Ages with modern day ‘magic’.

With his medieval cousin, Rolf, Stefan is trapped inside the legend, caught in the turbulent events of 1307AD. Pursued by an avaricious shape-shifting sibyl and an evil knight who want him dead, he is hindered in his mission and unlikely to escape the 14thC alive.

Life in the Middle Ages is a dangerous game even for Üserwäälti, the Chosen One.

THE UNHEWN STONE is available at the MuseItUp bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, and Amazon.

About the Author:

Wendy Laharnar lives on the south coast of NSW, Australia, with her husband and mini Schnauzer, Spitzli. She writes historical fiction, science fiction and children’s stories.

Several overseas trips took her to Europe where she collected ideas and information for her stories. In Switzerland, she researched her medieval novel, The Unhewn Stone, and made lasting friendship with two Swiss women who helped her with their language. Her Arts degree in English Literature and History opened up new worlds to feed her imagination and love for research.

When she isn’t writing, Wendy enjoys spending time with her husband, their son and daughter and their families. She likes to sew and knit and take Spitzli for long walks by the sea.

Contact Wendy via her website, Facebook page, or Twitter account.

New Release AN ABSENCE OF LIGHT by Meradeth Houston

November 5, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

The fabulous Meradeth Houston is celebrating a new release, her upper YA with a sci-fi twist AN ABSENCE OF LIGHT. I love Meradeth’s writing and this one is on the top of my TBR list. And make sure to enter the giveaway. Welcome back, Meradeth!

Thanks so much for hosting me! It’s my pleasure to get to share my latest release today: An Absence of Light. I’ve always described this book as Buffy meets the X-Files, and I really hope that you get a chance to check it out!

Leah’s always seen the shadow creatures. She thought she was immune to their evil—until now.

She’s walked into a massacre, stolen a BMW, and is running from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. Nineteen-year-old Leah’s life just went from mildly abnormal to totally crazy at lightning speed. But no one will believe that the shadow creatures are framing her for the murder, because she’s the only one that can see them. At least that’s what she thought.

When Leah stumbled across a group who share her ability, she discovers they have something she doesn’t: a way to fight back. When the group offers to teach her how to kill the shadow creatures, Leah jumps at the chance. But something is brewing with the creatures. They’re tracking down the hunters like there’s no tomorrow. Leah suspects that maybe there won’t be, and it’s up to her to make sure tomorrow comes. Because she’ll do anything to stop the shadows, including risking her life—and the life of the one she loves—to keep the world from being lost to darkness forever.

Check it out on Amazon: Barnes and Noble: Evernight Teen: Goodreads.

Did you ever watch either Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or The X-Files? Any favorite episodes? 🙂

Check out any of these books here!

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Meet Aoife Marie Sheridan Author of HUNTERS

October 3, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

This week’s guest blogger is Aoife Marie Sheridan, whose paranormal story HUNTERS (The Demon Series #1) was just released. Let’s give a big welcome to Aoife as she shares a little about herself and her writing.

What have you published recently?

Recently I have published Hunters. Demon Series Part one. It will be released on the 1^st of October.

What is a typical day like for you as a writer?

Well I work so I don’t have a lot of time to write. My writing goes something like this. If I have a spare moment – grab a pen, the house is empty – type. Quiet at work – get a notepad, ect. Just any moment I can find to write, I will. J But I never suffer with writer’s block, when I finally get to write I know exactly what I want to say.

What types of writing do you do?

Mostly Paranormal/Fantasy but I would love to do a contemporary romance, maybe one day.

What are your favorite characters that you have created? Tell us about them

I just love Cathy. She is part of Abigail’s group. Her story and background are very sad but it gives her a flair. Cathy can be nasty or overly self-confident but she does all this to hide her insecurities her full story comes to light in Book Two (Hunted). But she was fun to write.

Secondly of course is Abigail. She was a very complex character to write. She’s an alcoholic so I had to do a bit of research on this. Also her trauma of seeing her family die has damaged her. She’s fuelled with anger, guilt and self-doubt constantly. We don’t see Abigail in a happy light until we reach Book two (Hunted). We see a more mellow side to her. Over all it was a challenge to write her, but I enjoyed it.

What music do you listen to, while writing?

I have a playlist for hunters. I listened to all these songs on repeat.

“Another Love” by Tom Odell
“Seven Nation Army” by White Stripes
Swedish House Mafia (Club scene)
“Watchtower” by Delvin Feat – Ed Sheeran
“Clown” by Emeli Sande
“Runaway” by Linkin Park
“In the End” by Linkin Park
“Talk” by Kodaline

What do you eat while writing?

I am not as bad as I use to be, so I don’t really eat, (THAT IS WHILE WRITING) J normally my downfall is caffeine.

Five for Fun:

What is your favourite non-alcoholic drink? Coffee.

What is your favourite cartoon character? I love the little girl from Despicable me.

What is your favourite movie of all time? War of the Worlds.

What TV shows do you like to watch? Games of Thrones.

What do you like to do for fun or just to relax? Read, Watch movies or go out for meals.

Where can we find you on the web?

Website: www.aoifemariesheridan.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Aoifemariesheri

Blog: aoifesheri.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6551996.Aoife_Marie_Sheridan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aoifesheri

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+AoifeMarieSheridan

Linkedin: http://ie.linkedin.com/pub/aoife-marie-sheridan/66/760/942

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aoifesheri/

HUNTERS blurb:

Abigail is nineteen. Her job, she hunts demons.

Her life so far has been tough. Having witnessed her family’s death and her mother’s suicide, she’s been taken in by a priest, who believes her when she says that she sees ghosts. Father Peter trains her as a demon hunter with three other members, one being Daniel, who isn’t what he seems.

But when a possession goes wrong, and ghosts start to attack Abigail, the tight rope she has on her emotions soon starts to loosen. Abigail draws the unwanted attention of the Reote, and she finds out a lot more than she was willing to learn.

Knowledge is power, but for Abigail, it’s her undoing, and the only thing keeping her together is Daniel.

All Amazon Purchase Links: http://authl.it/22e

About the Author:

Aoife Marie Sheridan has loved reading from a very young age, starting off with mills and boon’s books, given to by her grandmother her love for romances grew, by the age of 14 she had read hundreds of them.

Aoife had a passion for writing poetry or in her eyes her journal entries. It was something she did throughout her teens and into her twenties. Aoife won first place for two of her poems and had them published at a young age of just nineteen. Realising she needed to get a real job (What writing isn’t) she studied accountancy and qualified working in that field for many years, until her passion for reading returned and she found Maria V Snyder. Poison study one of her favourite books has been read and re-read countless times.

Aoife’s first book Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) came to be after a dream of a man and woman on a black horse jumping through a wall of fire and the idea of Saskia was born. Now with her first novel published and taking first place for Eden Forest with Writers Got Talent 2013, Aoife continues to write tales of fantasy and is currently working on her third book for the Saskia Trilogy amongst other new works.

To contact Aoife you can email her at aoifesheridan101@gmail.com.