Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New update again :)

Hey guys its that time again... :)

1. What are you reading?

2. Favorite young readers series (that you still secretly read or want to read)
A. Boxcar children
B. American Girl
C. Babysitters Club
D. Goosebumps


Thanks guys :)

Monday, April 6, 2009

update...

I need to know what your reading for the next edition.

Also two new poll questions:

*Best Movie adaption:
Twilight
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
SotTP 2
Eragon

*Favorite chick lit author?
Meg Cabot
Judy Blume
Sarah Dessen

Newsletter 4- Part 2

We're Reading:
• Ashley is reading Giving up the V
• Erica is reading Bad Girls Club.
• Paper Movies is reading Reckless.
• Prophecy Girl is reading Extreme Kissing by Luisa Plaja

Releases:
•Fate by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (March 10)
•Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast (March 10)
•The King's Rose by Alisa Libby (March 19)
•Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (March 19


blog tips:
• Don’t do the paid ads. Some blog sites offer money for having ads that pop up on your blog, but if I can’t get through a review without having to hear about an acne cream and some sexual site I can promise I won’t be returning.
• Update often. If your blog says you’ve been reading the same book for two months I’ll assume you don’t give a crud. Care to get readers.
• Don’t bounce from idea to idea. If you say you’re starting a weekly feature don’t stop and move to another without telling us you’re doing so.

newsletter 3 stats:
• 83 % of workers did what was asked…. Why are we sinking? :p
• Kori said newsletter three, “turned out great.”

Publishers:
I run a YA book blog at Mrs. Magoo Reads. I conducted an interview with Jessica Zimmerman in order to do a publisher spotlight on St. Martin's Press for this newsletter. I hope you like it!

What type of books do you primarily publish?

St Martin’s Press is part of Macmillan and specializes in adult trade fiction and non-fiction. We wear many hats here publishing edgy memoirs such as Augusten Borough’s Running with Scissors to conservative classics like Pat Buchanan’s State of Emergency to the amazing Emily Giffin and her beautiful novels, her latest being Love the One You’re With.

Can you name some titles that will be released soon?

We have a few YA titles coming out this spring/summer and I’m very excited about them! Post Grad by Emily Cassel is coming out this June and is based off the motion picture Post Grad Survival Guide staring Alexis Bledel that’s opening August 14, 2009. This is a book for all recent graduates or fans of Legally Blonde.

Alyson Noël’s first novel in her new IMMORTALS series Evermore became an instant hit when it came out earlier this month, debuting at number 3 on the New York Times children’s bestseller list and quickly becoming number one. The second book in the series, Blue Moon, is coming out in July. For more information, check out Alyson’s website at http://alysonnoel.com/IMMORTALS. We’re so excited about this series and all the amazing feedback we’ve been hearing from readers everywhere.

How do you market your novels?

That really depends on the type of book and the author. For out YA books, we like to use the internet to reach out to our readers and fans in the most effective way. Our HOUSE OF NIGHT series has become such a huge success that the authors PC and Kristin Cast are going on their first national tour for Hunted, the fifth book in the series and the first hardcover. Hunted just came out last week, March 10, and they begin their tour today, March 16! We believe so strongly in this series that we’re hoping to introduce even more fans to this addictive series. PC and Kristin have a host of great events coming up this week—if you’d like to check them out, you can do so at http://www.houseofnightseries.com/ or http://us.macmillan.com/Tour.aspx?id=315.

How are you unique from other publishing companies?

I think we are unique in how vast and varied our list is. As I mentioned before, we really do it all here: political nonfiction, memoir, chick-lit, physiological thrillers, YA, cookbooks, how-to’s, you name it, we got it! We are dedicated to giving voice to as many authors as possible by publishing many books a season with the occasional blockbuster.



Some spots open. If you's like a part email me at princessashley9@gmail.com
If you want the full newsletter email me as well.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Newsletter 4- Part one

We are now onto newsletter 6 so I'm a tad behind. If you would like all newsletters on time email me at princessashley9@gmail.com. I also need a few more workers. If you are up for that let me know!

Who's Who?
• Ashley and Erica are putting this together.
• Hope told us what contests were happening.
• Lisa May interviewed an author.
• Jenny filled us in on the UK


contests:
• Melissa Walker - new contest every Wednesday
• The Page Flipper - new contest every Monday
• The Shady Glade - new contest every Monday
• Free Book Friday Teens - new contest every Friday
• What: A full signed and personalized set of all of Mary Hogan's books from The Compulsive Reader. Ends: March 31st. Link: here
• What: Win TEN ARCs from The Story Siren (make sure to congratulate her for her 100,000 visitors!) Ends: April 7th Link:here
• What: Win one Jenny Valentine book or one Cathy Hopkins book. (Open WORLDWIDE.) Ends: March 15th. Link: here
• What: First prize winner gets an ARC of Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph, there are also second and third prizes. Ends: March 21st Link: shootingstarsmag
• What: Win a copy of Jewels Treasered by her Family. Ends: March 24th Link: here
• What: Keri Milkulski is giving away a bunch of wonderful looking spring-y books in her YAY for YA Spring Giveaway. Ends: April 30th Link: here
• What: 100+ Giveaways Link: here
• Elizabeth is having a contest all March. Link: here
• Carrie has good books: here
• 3 copies of Wherever Nina Lies available: here
• The Not So Closet Geeks are giving away a number of titles in honor or Geek Fest ends (depends on contest). here
• Insert Book Title Here is giving away a copy of Hunted by P.C and Kristin Cast ends march 20 win hunted here:
• Korianne is having a Twlight DVD Release Contest ends march 21 win twilight here
• Sharon is giving away an ARC of Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle ends march 22 win ducks here
• Lauren is giving away a signed copy of A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian ends march 24. win advice here
• Mrs. Magoo Reads is giving away a copy of This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen ends march 24. win Dessen here:
• Kelsey is giving away a copy of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey ends march 27. win dating
• Karin is celebrating her 2year blogoversary with a mega contest ends march 27. mega wins

• TruBlu is giving away five copies of Kiss Me, Kill Me and Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson ends march 29 win kisses
• Just Your Typical Book Blog is giving away a copy of Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott ends march 30 win something
• In Bed With Books is having a great range of contests ends march 31. win books
• Word For Teens is having a March '09 Giveaway ends march 31. win
• Genevieve is giving away and ARC of What Would Emma Do by Eileen Cook ends march 31. win Emma
• Bookluver Carol is having a "...going to Floriday Giveaway" ends april 1. spring break wins
• Sarah is giving away a copy of Mackenzie, Lost and Found by Deborah Kerbel ends april 4. win
• Keri Mikulski is having a Yay for YA Spring Giveaway ends april 30 spring wins

new blogs:
• http://bookgirlsbookshelf.blogspot.com/

authors say:
Allison van Diepen is the talented writer of Snitch, Street Pharm and the her newly released book, Raven. Allison, who is a full-time high school teacher, stopped by to talk about being an author and to fill us in about Raven...

To begin with, can you tell us a bit about your latest book, Raven?

Sure. Raven is the story of Nicole, a teen who works underage at a New York City dance club. Nicole is madly in love with Zin, the head of her breakdancing crew, a gorgeous guy with a mysterious past. Nicole believes that she and Zin are like magnet and metal -- destined to be together. But Zin has a very good reason for keeping his distance...

Have you always wanted to be an author?

I've wanted to be an author since I was about twelve -- that's when I fell in love with reading. Writing my own stories was a natural extention of that. A couple of years later, I finished my first manuscript, and I was officially hooked on writing. I promised myself that I would hold on to my goal of becoming a published author, and I did.

Where do you get your inspiration for your stories?

Anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes a character or a premise just pops into my head while I'm listening to music. Other times a story idea comes from the day-to-day issues I'm concerned with; I'm a high school teacher, so I see a lot of real-life teen drama on a regular basis.

What do you think makes a good story?

It's all about believable, real characters. When I read a book, I don't need it to be artfully written, but I do need to care about the characters and what happens to them

Do you listen to music when you write?

Oh yes. Music is essential to get me in the mood of a certain scene. For Raven, I listened to dance music for the club scenes, and ballads for the romantic scenes.

Who is your favorite character you've created?

That's incredibly tough, so I'll have to go with my latest love, Zin from Raven. He's got this charisma, this something about him that draws Nicole. And I've already heard from readers that they're falling in love with him.

What other great things can we look forward to from you in the future?

I have two novels coming out in 2010 from Harlequin's new teen line. And I have a great idea for another paranormal and another gritty urban book -- all I need is the time to write them!

Thanks Allison!
Raven by Allison van Diepen is out now! Check it out here on amazon :)
You can also find out more about Allison on her website, http://www.allisonvandiepen.com/

UK Books:
From Amazon: John works in his family’s mortuary and has an obsession with serial killers. He wants to be a good person, but fears he is a sociopath, and for years he has suppressed his dark side through a strict system of rules designed to mimic “normal” behavior. Then a demon begins stalking his small town and killing people one by one, and John is forced to give in to his darker nature in order to save them. As he struggles to understand the demon and find a way to kill it, his own mind begins to unravel until he fears he may never regain control. Faced with the reality that he is, perhaps, more monstrous than the monster he is fighting, John must make a final stand against the horrors of both the demon and himself.

This book is brilliant. It's dark, scary and humorous, and is perfect for fans of the show Dexter. It won't appeal to everyone, but if you're looking for something a little bit different, I would highly recommend I Am Not A Serial Killer. You can read my review here.

Coming Soon/Recently Released in the UK
Extreme Kissing by Luisa Plaja (April 2nd)
Maximum Ride: Max by James Patterson (April 2nd)
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy (April 6th)
Gone by Michael Grant (April 6th)