Tweet News (2)

I'm collecting newsy bookish tweets for this new feature I've started, so please feel free to @reply me on Twitter with links to newsworthy tweets so I can include them. So, what did you miss on Twitter this week?

Author Kimberly Derting revealed the cover of her next book... TWEET.

Author Jessica Leader announced some news about Nice and Mean... TWEET.

Hannah Moskowitz, author of Break, sold her first Middle Grade novel... TWEET.

Sisters Red by Jackon Pearce got a cameo on Good Morning America... TWEET.

Author Rachel Hawkins sold Rebel Belle and two other novels... TWEET.

Author Courtney Moulton shared the cover of her debut novel, Angelfire... TWEET.

Who's going to be reading the audio book of Knightly Academy by Violet Haberdasher? TWEET.

Journalistic advice on the Twilight Saga from the Fake AP Stylebook... TWEET.

A new ARC tour site was unveiled... TWEET TWEET.

Literary agent Michelle Wolfson sent out a reminder about Paranormalcy's new release date... TWEET.

Author Erin Bow shared a video of her BEA panel... TWEET.

Read the first two chapters of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised By Wolves...TWEET.

 Author Lisa Desrochers shared a sneak peak of her upcoming novel Personal Demons... TWEET.

Read sample chapters of Cyn Balog's Fairy Tale and Sleepless... TWEET.

Rachel Hawkins shared the paperback release date for Hex Hall and a secret... TWEET. 

Author Insight: Are you ready to rock!?

Music or silence when you write? Do you
develop playlists for your books?

"I listen to music before and after I write, but never while I'm writing. My share of Beautiful Creatures was written to my personal soundtrack of: Black Sabbath, AC/DC, The Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard (lots of Southern rock), the Smiths & the Cure. When I'm actually writing, I need complete silence because I hear the characters' voices in my head. It's almost as if I'm watching the story play out, and I'm just writing down what I see. Margie and I listen to very different music while we write. So we don't have playlists for the books themselves, but there are character playlists on our website." - Kami Garcia, co-author of Beautiful Creatures.

"Each character has a song or short playlist, the book has a playlist. The playlist for The Near Witch is up here." - Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch.

 

"Neither. And I don’t have a playlist for my book, unless you count my son’s music blasting from his room. Music while I’m writing is kind of distracting, especially if it’s music I like. But it doesn’t have to quiet either. I have three kids, so chaos is the name of the game. I can write with the TV in the background, the kids arguing, and a houseful of nine-year-olds." - Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder. 

"No playlists. Gotta be quiet. My husband (that angel) built me an office out in our detached garage so I could have a room of one’s own where nobody was hollering 'Mom!'" - Rhonda Hayter, author of The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams.

More Author Insight: Literary Devices

What is your favorite literary device?

"I'm not a fan of cliffhanger endings. If any are in my books, they are not on purpose. LOL. I love using humor, especially during serious moments. Because in life, I am one of those people who in crisis, can make everyone laugh. And my characters usually do the same." - Suzanne Young, author of The Naughty List.

"Rhymes. Can’t often put them in novels, though." - Jessica Leader, author of Nice and Mean.

"Foreshadowing. I love writing and reading stories with little hints dropped along the way that come together in the end so you want to immediately go back to the beginning of the book and see where the clues were hiding all along!" - Dawn Metcalf, author of Skin & Bones.


"I LOVE FORESHADOWING. I do it WAY TOO MUCH in first drafts, and almost always have to trim it back so I don’t give the entire book away in the first fifty pages. It’s definitely something you need to sprinkle through your story with a light touch, but it’s almost always very powerful." - Alexandra Bracken, author of Brightly Woven.

The Collected Works of Maggie Stiefvater Contest

How many bloggers does it take to give away books? Well normally one, but Pam from Bookalicious was in town and we are giving away Maggie Stiefvater titles, including Linger, so you guys get twice the vlogging power! Be afraid.

The whole ordeal started with a trip to Fountain Bookstore. We went to pick up some books Pam had ordered and learned that Maggie had recently been in to sign the stock of paperback Shivers they had just put out. I already had a hardback of it to giveaway in  honor of the release of Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2), which hits shelves on July 20, but when I saw the paperback copies I knew I needed to grab one and add another winner to the contest. Pam saw me pick it up and decided to have a contest of her own.

It spiraled out of control from there because, you see, Fountain Bookstore has an "Autographed Copies" shelf. You can see where this is going, but Pam and I decided to tell you anyway...

CONTEST

I'll be giving away series packs to two winners - A Wolves of Mercy Falls prize pack and a Books of Faerie prize pack. The signed, doodled Shiver will go solo. Just fill out the form below and you're entered for all three. I'll pick three random winners, but you can only win once. If there is a book or prize pack you don't want, note it in the "Opt Out" section on the form and I'll pass you over for that item.

Tweet News (1)

I see news on Twitter all day long, so I've decided to create a new weekly feature where I relay all the bookish news I've heard throughout the week so you can check out the tweets and get up to speed. And because I have a hard enough time keeping up myself, I'm encouraging readers to @reply me on Twitter with links to writerly tweets that are newsworthy so I can include them. Sound good? Let's do this thang!

 

Author Laurie Halse Anderson shared her schedule for ALA...TWEET.

YA releases flying under the radar... TWEET. 

Good Morning America will features a YA book tomorrow... TWEET.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White has a new release date... TWEET.

Author Insight: Literary Devices

What is your favorite literary device?

"Plot twists!" - Leah Cypess, author of Mistwood.

"I like the idea of similes, but I can't honestly say I use them that much. I don't think I have one specific literary device that I once often." - Alexandra Diaz, author of Of All the Stupid Things.

"Voice is incredibly important to me. It's what differentiates writers, as well as characters within a novel. All my favorite authors have very distinct and original voices, and they don't try to sound like anyone else. They have worked to develop their own voices, and they sound like THEMSELVES. I also love a good plot twist. I don't like to see what's coming, unless it was the author's intent. Some books just kick you in the gut or break your heart. I'll take that over a perfect, unrealistic ending any day. Perfect is overrated." - Kami Garcia, co-author of Beautiful Creatures.

"Oh gosh! I’ve never thought about that. Probably metaphor. A good metaphor can stop your heart." - Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall.