(BLOG TOUR) Guest Post and Giveaway: Author Tens List (HENRIETTA, THE DRAGON SLAYER)

AUTHOR BIO:
Beth coaches and teaches writers and those who want to write. She's done so in two of her favorite places in the world (so far): the San Francisco Bay Area and Paris, France.

Raised in Sonoma County, California, Beth knew she wanted to be a writer from a young age, and started at age 7 by writing her first book about her family's cats with her brother.

Beth started teaching writing by teaching it to ESL students in Oakland, California. Soon, they were surprised to be writing short stories in their new English-language skills, and most importantly, they were enjoying it. (Well, most of them were.)

Certified as a Creativity Coach and an EFL-instructor, Beth is driven to help writers and authors get their message out into the world, gain confidence in their self-expression and discover how they can get noticed and sell books to their audience.

AS A WRITER AND AUTHOR
Determined to get published, Beth published her first journalism article in the Paris Free Voice while she was living in the City of Lights in the early 1990s. It only took four tries and five rewrites!

From working in journalism for 15 years, Beth switched her focus to fiction, and now writes fantasy and science fiction. She currently has a young adult fantasy novel under consideration by agents and editors.

Beth hasn't forgotten her love of nonfiction and is the author of two books on writing, THE WRITER'S ADVENTURE GUIDE and OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK.

On her off-hours, Beth enjoys the outdoors, gardens, watches movies, and reads!

Beth is married to singer/song-writer and high school physics teacher, Ezra Barany.

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Author bio and photo courtesy of Beth Barany WEBSITE.

Book cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

I received a finished copy of HENRIETTA, THE DRAGON SLAYER as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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I'm excited to have author Beth Barany here today to discuss her Top Ten List of Guilty Pleasures from her book HENRIETTA, THE DRAGON SLAYER. So, without further ado, take it away Beth!

Henrietta, the hero of my new YA fantasy, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, is a hard-working gal. To be the kingdom's legendary dragon slayer and a former army scout, she's been busy.

Okay she was hard working.

At the start of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, she's been traveling toward the warm beaches, so ready for a hard-earned vacation.

But ...

Even though she can't stomach the thought of one more kill, in order to save her dying mentor, she must go on one last quest. And forget laying in the sand of the southern beaches.

But will misfit companions, seasickness, and an ego maniacal king derail the quest for the healing stone? And will she be able to cut past her conscience and kill the dragon?

To get a taste, read an excerpt of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer here.

And you'll just have to read it the rest of the book to find out what happens.

“When Beth asked me to review her book I was so excited! The book is a beautiful story about friendship, a heroine, and a quest to kill a dragon. Who wouldn’t be excited? The entire concept sounded interesting and I was not at all disappointed.” — Brittany Morrow

What other readers are saying!

While she's adventuring across Bleuve and to the Oro Islands, she definitely has her guilty pleasures.


So here's my list.

Top Ten Guilty Pleasures of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer

1. Holding a wooden mug in her hands in front of a roaring fire at an inn.
2. A well made knife that she either bought or made herself.
3. Her special rainproof leather coat and leather boots that she's worn all along the Traveler's Road.
4. Running the hills around her village in the Skye Mountains.
5. Doing acrobatics atop a horse with her dragon-slaying partner, Sytiphell.
6. Sharing her dragon tales with Jaxter.
7. Singing (Shh! don't tell anyone.) Nobody knows that she loves to sing. She never sings solo around others.
8. Jenever (It's a drink Henrietta discovers in the Oro Islands.)
9. Any homemade meal cooked by Jaxter. The man can cook!
10. Hanging out with her friends around the camp fire

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What is your favorite guilty pleasure that you care to share? I'd love to know!

Comment to enter to win a copy of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer. If you comment, you also enter to the Grand Giveaway for the necklace featured on the cover of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer. Winners chosen at the end of August. Giveaway rules HERE.

For more information on Beth Barany, visit her WEBSITE.

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(BLOG TOUR) Author Interview: G.S. Wolff (THE GIRLZ OF GALSTANBERRY)

AUTHOR BIO:
Author, Scientist, Professor, and Medical Student! A true Renaissance young woman that has lived in Boston, New York and Washington D.C. Born and raised in Michigan she attended the prestigious private school Detroit Country Day from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade.

Miss Wolff is an '07 alum of Wellesley College, a women's college renowned for its prominent alumni, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, and Diane Sawyer. Throughout her Wellesley years, she conducted biological research at Duke, Wayne State and MIT. She graduated with a B.A. in Neuroscience.

Additionally, she holds a Master of Science (MSc) from Wayne State University's School of Medicine. During the 2009-2010 academic year, she moved to Washington D.C. to conduct research at the National Institute of Health (NIH) as an Intramural Research Award Fellow.

Writing the Galstanberry series is just one of Miss Wolff's many accomplishments. She has been the recipient of multiple awards, such as the Hitachi Foundation's Yoshiyama Award; and featured in national publications such as, Ebony Magazine (October ‘09) and Essence Magazine (June ’10), for her mentoring program, OfficialCityPrep.

Currently, Miss Wolff is a medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM).

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Author bio courtesy of The Girlz of Galstanberry WEBSITE.

Book cover courtesy of GOODREADS.

Character pictures courtesy of author, G.S. WOLFF.

I received a finished copy of THE GIRLZ OF GALSTANBERRY as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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Describe yourself in five words.

1) Spunky
2) Determined
3) Confident
4) Sassy
5) Clever
Interestingly, those are the 5 exact adjectives I use to describe my Galstanberry girlz…


What author and/or book has influenced your writing the most?

Authoress Isabelle Allende! Her book, House of Spirits, is pure genius. Seriously. Although she writes magic realism, I’ve learned tremendously from her. My writing reflects her use of vivid details in order to make characters and settings jump from the page. For example, I meticulously detail the sacred pearling ceremony in Book #2, from the grand tent to the faculty’s robes. Narration is also one of Allende’s literary gifts. Like her, I want readers to feel like they have a companion reading with them. A narrator that can emphasize the seriousness of particular moods, while joking about others.

How difficult was it for you to write in five different, yet distinctive, voices?

Great question! It was definitely a challenge to write 5 distinct voices. Each Galstanberry character represents an aspect of my personality. However, they are fully expressed in a particular character. For example, Lillian embodies the spunky and fun part of me. From singing while walking down the street (despite the strange stares) to performing at a fair—I am Lillian and she is me! The other material for the characters comes from my diverse group of girlfriends.


Was there one character that was harder to write than the others?

Nisha was perhaps the most difficult. She is quite complicated and although I can sympathize with her struggles, I’ve never experienced them to the degree she has. Regardless, it’s this complication that makes her very intriguing and relatable to girls.


Out of the five girls, which one is the most like you were at their age?

Funky Fei Chen! She marches to her OWN drum and thus reflects me 100% at 12 years old. I was (and still am) very confident and uninfluenced (to some degree) by others’ opinions. While some girls hung out at the mall, I was busy wrapping a hot dog in foil and seeing if it would cook under the hot sun in our backyard. Nerd—No; Adventurous—Yes.

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(Blog Tour) Author Interview: Janet Ruth Young (THE BABYSITTER MURDERS)

AUTHOR BIO:
Janet Ruth Young, who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, graduated from Salem State College and from the creative writing program at Boston University. She was a co-editor of the literary magazine stet and a founder of Writers' Circle, the writing workshop at the Cambridge Women's Center. Her travel articles and book and theater reviews have appeared in The Boston Globe and other local publications. She left her job as an editor at a publishing company to write The Opposite of Music.

The Opposite of Music, published in 2007 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, a division of Simon & Schuster, garnered enthusiastic reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, The Denver Post, The Boston Globe, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and the website TeensReadToo. It won the PEN New England Discovery Award and was a Book Sense Pick, a Borders Original Voices selection, and an American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults nominee. A paperback edition was released in May 2008.

Janet's second novel, The Babysitter Murders, about a babysitter who has thoughts of harming the child she cares for, will be published in July 2011.

Janet has appeared as a featured speaker at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Library Association, on the cable TV program The Writer's Block with John Ronan, and on the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's Real Recovery Podcasts.

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In THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, what character was the hardest for you to write?
Malcolm Pinto needed special tending. I had to make sure he had sufficient motivation to respond to Dani the way he does. His behavior toward her stems from his idolization of his father. To still be obsessed with Dani when others have moved on, Malcolm has to believe Dani ruined the paradise he built with his dad. And despite Michael’s and Malcolm’s frequent references to the physical attributes of this or that girl or woman, the paradise they’ve created excludes women. The father/son relationship in this novel was really satisfying for me to develop, and I hope readers and reviewers pick up on it.

If you could choose a soundtrack for THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, what are the top three songs you would pick?
I’d like “Trouble Child” by Joni Mitchell when Dani is running along the Charles River in Boston, hiding behind sunglasses and a big hat. The Hawtones (the high school a cappella group in the book) could rehearse the Doris Day classic “Secret Love” with Shelley, who is just coming out as gay, singing lead. Several people in the group have crushes on others, so eye contact would be flying around the room. Very cinematic! And we would need some maddened, fast-paced background music representing Dani’s obsessive thoughts. Yesterday I heard a J.S. Bach partita for solo violin that would fit the bill.

Do you have any rituals you do when writing?
I have a beautiful study that I consider the most important room in the house. When I sit down to write I check my favorite websites (two e-mail accounts, Facebook, and The New York Times) one last time and then, if I’m worried about being distracted, I shut off the modem so I don’t go back to them again. I don’t answer the phone unless I know the person calling has a knack for keeping it brief. I also close the door, and my boyfriend, who lives with me, is not allowed to interrupt. If he’s home and hears the clacking of the keyboard he usually practices his guitar and does a great job of leaving me alone. There’s enough activity on the street (I live close to our local high school, the train station, and a free meals program) and in the tree outside my window (ornamental cherry blossoms, cedar waxwings, butterflies) to provide stimulation without true interruption.

What author and/or book has most influenced you?
When I decided that The Babysitter Murders would have a tight, complicated, and suspenseful plot, I thought immediately of Tom Perrotta’s book Little Children. Like my story, his has a character who’s considered sick and evil and a police character who’s determined to protect others from that person. I also thought of House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, which features a squickily inappropriate police character. Both books do a great job of making the characters collide in a way that seems inevitable.

Are you working on a writing project now? If so, can you share with us what it is?
I’m working on a third book to be published by Atheneum. It’s YA, first person, present tense; it deals with another mental illness; and it follows a couple of the same characters I wrote about in my first two books as well as introducing a whole new environment and a bunch of new teen characters.

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THE BABYSITTER MURDERS cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

AUTHOR BIO courtesy of Janet Ruth Young's WEBSITE.

I received an electronic copy of THE BABYSITTER MURDERS as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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For more information on THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, author Janet Ruth Young and her writing, visit her WEBSITE.

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Find THE BABYSITTER MURDERS at your local indie bookstore.

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(Blog Tour) Character Interview: Ashlei (THE PRISM OF ASHLEI)

AUTHOR BIO:
Christine E. Schulze has been creating books since she was too young to even write them in words. Her collection of YA fantasy books, The Amielian Legacy, is comprised of series and stand-alone books which can all be read separately but which weave together to create an amazing fantasy. She hopes to inspire readers throughout the world with these books by publishing in both traditional and electronic formats to make them available to all readers.

Christine has published several stories with Calliope and Kalkion magazines and is an active member of the WEbook online writing community. She has also published several Christian/fantasy books which are available at various online retailers, as well as publishing several eBooks via Writers-Exchange.

Her latest and most exciting venture includes her publications with Old Line Publishing: Bloodmaiden and Tears of a Vampire Prince: the First Krystine. She also anticipates her upcoming publication with Old Line, Lily in the Snow, as well as releasing The Chronicles of the Mira with Writers-Exchange in both paperback and electronic forms.

Christine currently lives in Belleville, Illinois in her first and most thrilling apartment.

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Tell us about yourself in a few sentences.
My name is Ashlei, and I am of the race of the Fyres, a red-headed people with a gift in magics of fire and light. My brother, Merritt, and I, orphaned as infants, have lived all our lives with Bromwell, a kindly old swordsmith. In the midst of the Forest-footer elves, I often feel like an outsider, like I don’t belong. I long to break free someday and find where I really do belong.

Describe how you felt at the beginning of your quest. Were you scared, excited?
Well, when the attack came on, it was so sudden. That was when I was first really launched into the quest. Before, talking to the princess in the shard, it was all so surreal, you know? But when the attack fell, I was lurched jarringly into reality. A combination of fear and adrenalin drove me to fight. When I was defending Bromwell, I almost forgot my fear, only caring about him and protecting him.

By the time I fled into the woods and met my first quest member, Aryl, I was snared by both sorrow and anger, both at the enemy and at myself. Sometimes, I think these emotions were greater than the fear and helped me get through the adventure.

What was your first impression of Aryl?
Well, obviously, I seem to find him a little annoying when we first meet. Well, back up a few steps—when he changes from that tree into a Nymph, I’m a little shocked, then thinking he is a little bizarre. But mostly, I find myself attracted. Besides being very handsome, he is so unique; I’ve never met anything like him. He’s clever, if a bit conceited, and so very confident in himself, which I am not. He intimidates a bit, and I try to hide this by returning his smart-alic remarks. Soon enough though, his layers will unravel, and he’ll proved a steadfast, faithful friend, as well as a real person with his own troubles and inner struggles.

What five words (or less) would you use to describe your adventures?
Exhilarating. Beautiful. Dangerous. Mysterious.

If you could go back in time and not find the prism, would you? Why/why not?
Yes, I think I would, especially having been through everything and looking back now. I found new, brilliant friends. I found the man who will one day be my husband. I found a mother and a father. I witnessed the reuniting of an entire kingdom, its being healed and made whole again. And most of all, I learned a very important lesson about myself, about friendship and forgiveness, about love and sacrifice, and about who I truly am.

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THE PRISM OF ASHLEI cover art and author bio courtesy of GOODREADS.

I received an electronic copy of THE PRISM OF ASHLEI as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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Want to win THE GAILEAN QUARTET and have a character named after you? Enter author Christine Schulze's contest HERE

For more information on THE PRISM OF ASHLEI, THE GAILEAN QUARTET and author Christine Schulze, visit THE GOLDEN HEALER

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(Blog Tour) Guest Post: Author Dana Reinhardt (THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY)

AUTHOR INFO:
Dana Reinhardt is a published author of young adult books. Her published credits include A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, Harmless, and How to Build a House.

Dana Reinhardt is originally from Los Angeles, but currently resides in San Fransisco, with occasional trips back to Los Angeles during summers.

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TOP TEN BOOKS YOU'D LIKE TO BE A CHARACTER IN

Many books I love I would NOT like to be a character in (The Executioner’s Song comes to mind, as does the Barry Unsworth novel Sacred Hunger which is about a slave ship) so it’s a stretch to think of books I’d like to be a character in since I tend to like dark books and sorrowful books. Come to think of it, it’s hard to think of any adult fiction that I’d want to be a character in, though I’ll do my best to come up with something, though I have a feeling the list will primarily include children’s literature. Also, it’s hard to do this when I’m away from home (as I am now) and my bookshelf. But here goes:

All of a Kind Family
The Great Gatsby
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
most Jane Austen novels
Harry Potter
Around the World in 80 Days
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
The Boxcar Children
Pippi Longstocking
The Borrowers


Great list, Dana! Thanks for joining my readers and I today!

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THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

Author Info and photo courtesy of GOODREADS and Dana Reinhardt's WEBSITE

I received an ARC of THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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For more information on THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY and author Dana Reinhardt, visit her WEBSITE.

Click HERE to purchase THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY from The Book Depository.

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(Blog Tour) Book Review and Giveaway: THE PRISM OF ASHLEI (THE GAILEAN QUARTET)

TITLE: THE PRISM OF ASHLEI

AUTHOR: Christine Schulze

IMPRINT: CreateSpace

PUBLICATION DATE: 26 February 2010

PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

Ashlei almost dropped the glass, for a reflection suddenly stared at her in the Prism, a face which was not her own. The person also possessed red-gold hair, thick waves cascading over her shoulders. A dark indigo cape pulled close around her shoulders; her lips shone a vibrant red, her eyes a vibrant violet. For a moment, Ashlei was reminded of herself, though this person was certainly someone of great importance. Yet she was also the closest thing Ashlei had ever seen to a Fyre. The impossibly beautiful person staring at her must be a Fyre. Ashlei's heart pounded as those piercingly solemn and commanding eyes stared right at her. Seeing she'd commanded Ashlei's full wonder and attention, those crimson lips parted to speak: "Hello, Ashlei."

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THE PRISM OF ASHLEI description and cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

I received an electronic copy of THE PRISM OF ASHLEI as part of a blog tour arranged by the TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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THE TWEET
Escape into the lush world of THE PRISM OF ASHLEI, where a young girl must complete a quest to stop the evil Rachendorf from taking over.

WHAT WORKED
THE PRISM OF ASHLEI is a wonderful story that is easy to escape into for a few hours. For me, it was the perfect "summer read." I loved the lush descriptions of Ashlei's world and the character interaction was great.

What drew me in to THE PRISM OF ASHLEI was the action right from the start. This is a classic adventure story, with a few twists thrown in, that pulls a reader in and doesn't let go until the conclusion of the story. It's fast paced, yet easy to read and understand, despite being set in a very different world from reality.

I liked how the author used a flashback to tell Ashlei's story to Aryl during their initial encounter. Since the story begins with Ashlei having already started on her journey, it was necessary for the author to give some sort of backstory to explain how Ashlei got to that point. The use of a flashback to do this kept the story interesting and was as far away from an info dump as possible.

I also liked how, despite this being part of a series, THE PRISM OF ASHLEI is a complete story with a definite ending (no cliffhanger!). While I appreciate the use of cliffhangers to make readers want to continue with the series, I personally want to read a complete story with an ending. You can still hook readers without having to end a novel suddenly in the middle of an event or story arc.

OVERALL
Fans of fantasy and adventure will enjoy THE PRISM OF ASHLEI. The story itself may be a little conventional, but the fast paced action and adventure keep it interesting.

THE PRISM OF ASHLEI is appropriate for middle grade and teen readers alike.

MY RATING IS

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Want to win THE GAILEAN QUARTET and have a character named after you? Enter author Christine Schulze's contest HERE.

For more information on THE PRISM OF ASHLEI, THE GAILEAN QUARTET and author Christine Schulze, visit THE GOLDEN HEALER.

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(Blog Tour) Author Interview and Giveaway: Jane George (THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS)

AUTHOR BIO:
Jane George writes novels and young adult novels. She makes pictures to go with words. She illustrated her first young adult novel, titled THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS, and is working on ideas to expand that notion and create a (separate) series of heavily illustrated young adult novels. Something between a graphic novel and an illustrated novel.


More About Jane George (in her own words)
I love horses, was previously a horse owner, and hope to have another horse.

We have four cats, Skibbleshanks, Papillon, Lizzy Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Although Darcy really should have been named Bingley because there is little of which he does not approve. And he'll walk right in the neighbor's house.

I love old things with excellent workmanship.

I am not afraid of watercolor.

I do not ski.

I celebrate and observe the Wheel of the Year.

I am a Pisces sun sign, Scorpio moon, Scorpio rising. I have been known to laugh in the face of Mercury Retrograde and later regret it.

I am a writer and illustrator because that's what I am. I fought it for a long time, but the truth of who you are wins eventually.

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Jane George bio and photo courtesy of Jane George's WEBSITE.

I received an electronic copy of THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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Describe THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS in a few sentences.
A beaten down girl with nowhere else to go ends up at a struggling magical circus. If she can accept the truth and value of who she is, she might have a chance to save the circus and make it her home. But along with fighting her inner demons, she must discover the traitor behind a string of circus disasters, before he puts her ‘out of business’ too.

What character in THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS was the hardest for you to write?
The main characters all developed pretty easily. It was a minor character who gave me the most trouble by remaining flat and boring. Chuck started out as the boss hostler and head canvas man. A boss hostler is in charge of all the stock, the horses etc. And a canvas man takes care of advertising. It wasn’t until I decided to make Chuck the circus “Fixer” as well, that he really took shape. A “Fixer” is a bit of a snake-oil salesman, often with some legal knowledge, who would help a circus get out of scrapes with towns and townspeople. When I read about “Fixers,” I saw Chuck as a greasy wheeler-dealer in a Seventies suit and cowboy hat. Chuck’s basically a good guy. His heart’s in the right place, just don’t examine his methods too closely. The Ringmaster is a dreamer, an idealist, and in consequence not a very good manager. Chuck tries to compensate by cutting corners and red tape here and there.

What book and/or author has made the biggest impression on you as a writer?
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. Some of the imagery in that book hits you broadside like a whale. I love it.

When not writing, what activities do you like to do?
I try and get out in nature as often as I can. Or get my hands in dirt. I love it when I’m out in the garden and the cats are there with me. In contrast, I also like to hear live music, such as The Decemberists. They’re great live. Or I go see unique exhibits, like the Wicked Plants show at the San Francisco Conservatory. I’m looking forward to that one.

Are you working on another writing project now? If so, can you share some details?
I’m working on two books right now. The sequel to The Mumbo Jumbo Circus, which is titled, The Daring Young Man:
Dante Delgado is a teen without a profession, a home, or a country. Once he was one of the few trapecistas to do a quad. Now, his family's circus in Mexico is bust, his hand is crippled from working in a meat-packing plant, and he's selling oranges on the streets of L.A. Can he stomach joining The Mumbo Jumbo Circus as a translator in order to avoid a murderous gang? Or will the circus turn out to be the more dangerous choice?

I’m really enjoying working on Dante’s story. It’s pushing me to learn about and explore all kinds of things, from trapeze arts to the Day of the Dead.

And I’m writing a dark comedy for adults called The Cookie King:
What happens when the mild-mannered man behind the high-powered woman known as the Cookie Queen discovers she’s dead? One option is to put her in her top-secret recipe freezer and pretend it's business as usual. Only it's difficult to continue the ruse as he becomes attracted to the Cookie Queen's drone of an assistant and the company's continued existence depends upon winning a snooty European baking contest. He's an accountant, not a cook!

Thanks for inviting me to visit!

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Thank you, Jane, for doing this interview! I loved THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS (read my REVIEW) and am really looking forward to reading its sequel, THE DARING YOUNG MAN.

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GIVEAWAY TIME!

Comment below (include email for winner notification) and you will be entered to win a MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS T-SHIRT. Contest in open to US Residents only and will end on 5 July 2011.

Complete choice of styles and sizes can be found at CafePress

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For more information on THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS and author Jane George, visit
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

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(Blog Tour) Book Review: THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS

TITLE: THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS

AUTHOR: Jane George

IMPRINT: Red Willow Publishing

PUBLICATION DATE: 15 April 2011

PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

When the enigmatic Ringmaster asks 15-year-old Evanja (Evan) Leane to run away and join the circus, she says yes. Anywhere’s got to be better than foster home Number Eight. Evan learns that this ragtag circus, a haven for throwaway teens, relies on more than spectacle and illusion. This circus is built on magic. Each of the teens possesses a donvrai, a true gift, that manifests only in the presence of the Ringmaster’s mysterious Ju-Ju. Unlike many of the other teens who must wait for their donvrai to emerge, Evan’s gift surfaces on her first night: she can read horses’ minds. This would be totally awesome except she has been deathly afraid of horses since foster home Number Three. But circus is a dying art. If Evan wants to save her beloved new-found home, she must concoct a brilliant horse act that will bring in the crowds. And she’d better get over herself and get on with it fast; there’s a traitor close to the Ringmaster who will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn’t succeed.

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THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS description and cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

I received an electronic copy of THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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THE TWEET
THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS: an imaginative story of a magical circus, a teen girl w/a special ability & her journey to find a place to belong.

WHAT WORKED
I requested to be part of this tour because the book synopsis said it was about a teen girl who joins a magical circus to get away from an abusive life. Really, what could be better than a circus and a magical one at that? Nothing apparently! THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS was an adventurous novel that gave readers an inside look at circus life. And the magical aspect of the story really drew me into the plot and characters.

Evanje, a.k.a. Evan, is a wonderfully developed character. I was immediately drawn into her story and could empathize with her feelings of wanted to escape her abusive foster home and find a place where she would not only belong, but where she would be truly loved. And she found this at the circus. I especially liked the development of the unconventional family the circus members represented. Even though they were not all related by blood, they stood up for their fellow circus folk and were willing to do anything to help each other. This was a great contrast to the "family" situation that Evan escaped, where she was treated completely opposite.

THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS also contained black and white illustrations that made the story come alive for me. They made the imaginative and magical story seem more real because I would actually see an artist's rendition of the world and people existing in it.

OVERALL
I loved the circus atmosphere described in THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS. The individual characters and their special abilities, or donrovai, were interesting to read about and made THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS an exceptional story.

MY RATING IS

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For more information on THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS and author Jane George, visit
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

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(Blog Tour) Guest Post: Author Jason Ancona (THE SEXT CRIME)

AUTHOR BIO:
Jason Ancona grew up geeky in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, sporting braces, spouting gigahertz, and painting figurines. He turned frat boy in college, spending time with humans, speaking with said beings, and dancing like a dork--even with some females.

Jason Ancona snuck out of Bradley University with a marketing degree and fled to Los Angeles, where he donated a lot of dough to UCLA, writing screenplays for nearly a decade.

Author bio and author photo courtesy of www.jasonancona.com

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Great to have you on An Avid Reader's Musings again, Jason! Today Jason will be sharing his favorite books with us when he was ages 5, 11, 16 and 20. He's put together a great collage of his choices.

AGE 5: OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO by Dr. Seuss, THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein and THE JUNGLE BOOK by Rudyard Kipling

AGE 11: THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien, THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton and THE BLACK STALLION by Walter Farley

AGE 16: CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger, SHERLOCK HOLMES by Arthur Conan Doyle and WISE GUY by Nicholas Pileggi

AGE 20: A TIME TO KILL and THE FIRM John Grisham and PATRIOT GAMES by Tom Clancy

BOOKS I WISH WERE AROUND IN MY YOUTH: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE by J.K. Rowling and THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

Thanks for sharing with my readers, Jason!

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For more information on THE SEXT CRIME and Jason Ancona, visit

WEBSITE
FACEBOOK

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Read my review of THE SEXT CRIME HERE.

I received an electronic copy of THE SEXT CRIME as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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(Blog Tour) Author Interview and Giveaway: Geoff Herbach (STUPID FAST)

AUTHOR BIO:
Hello. I’m Geoff Herbach. I am a book author first. My new Young Adult Novel, Stupid Fast, is just out (read some early reviews) and will be followed in spring of 2012 by its sequel, Nothing Special. I also wrote The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg from Three Rivers Press.

I do love writing for performance, though. Right now, I’m working on a new story show called Tales from the Poor House that will be broadcast on KMSU out of Minnesota State, Mankato (where I teach in the English Department).

My past is filled with that stuff. I’m the co-founder of The Lit 6 Project, a group dedicated to bringing literary storytelling to broader audiences (via humor and beer). I wrote and performed in The Electric Arc Radio Show, a literary tragi-comedy done in the radio style, which aired on Minnesota Public Radio. I co-hosted Powderkeg Live, with my partner Steph. And, I am one of three authors of the original musical, Don’t Crush Our Heart.

If you’re in New York or traveling that way, I’m also helping out with my pal Sam Osterhout’s Radio Happy Hour. It is an amazingly good show! Go to it!

If you like writing, join me at Minnesota State University — Mankato. You should definitely apply there.

Other than that, I have two perfect kids, Leo and Mira.

What were you like in high school? Did you play football or another sport?

I really liked high school, which is weird considering I was on fire and in pain constantly through 8th grade (could not sit still, could not think, could not shut up, smelled weird). I actually remember walking to school the first day of football practice my freshman year thinking, “Now it gets better.” Football was really at the center of who I was (jumpy!). My instincts were right. People noticed I was good, liked me for it, and that gave me space to be to be myself, really sort of a theater/musical geek. When I wasn’t at some sports practice, I was doing theater and other music. Lots of the other athletes at my school ended up doing theater and music, too. The social blending was awesome. Our high school class was very close. A lot of the inspiration for the book came from that experience (everyone is to be respected).


If you could go back to high school, is there anything you would do different? An event you would like to change the outcome of?

Oh yeah, there are many (I liked high school, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t an total idiot at times). I accidentally flipped off the band and was kicked out of the music department during study halls. I accidentally wrote the name of a freshman girl I loved on a desk using white-out, and then couldn’t get wipe it off with my hand, then I licked the white-out and got white out all over my tongue and face. I accidentally threw a bunch of beer bottles on my girlfriend’s neighbor’s lawn. The girl thought I was bullying her, which I wasn’t at all. Her dad thought so, too. Her dad threw some beer bottles at me when I drove by the next time (I felt awful, plus they dented my car). There are some other more personal disasters, too and some really devastating events (especially suicides among friends) that I can’t help but wish I had known more and done more. Maybe high school wasn’t so great?!


What character was the hardest for you to write in Stupid Fast?

Aleah Jennings, the main character’s girlfriend. I really, really wanted her to seem amazing and brilliant, but also real. I watched so much youtube of great women classical musicians – taking notes on how they attacked the music – and I tried to blend the personalities of girls I knew who were booky and arty and funny. I just worked so, so, so hard to make her real. She’s really one of my favorite characters ever, so… hope it worked!


Who/what has inspired your writing the most?

My parents were both English teachers (and I teach English at a University… hmm… how strange that I became this…). There were always tons and tons of books around. I read JD Salinger over and over. Later, I went to work at a regular 9-5 job. This place had about a million cubicles and the lights were too bright and I had to answer the phone and pretend I knew what I was talking about. I felt a little crazy. After about a year, instead of working, I sat there in my cube writing stories all day long until I had to quit or I’d be fired. After that, I couldn’t stop writing. I realized that my whole world would have to revolve around writing, or I’d get fired a lot. So, something about having English teacher parents and freaking out at a real job caused this total obsession.


What's your favorite sport? Athlete?

Football for sure. I’m a huge Sconnie Cheesehead Green Bay Packer fan. I have to say, although it is strange for me to say it, Aaron Rodgers is my favorite player (not Brett Favre as it has been for what feels like my whole life). I also love Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji, Charles Woodson, Donald Driver, and Greg Jennings.

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For more information on STUPID FAST and author Geoff Herbach, visit:
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK

Click HERE to purchase STUPID FAST from The Book Depository.

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STUPID FAST cover art courtesy of GOODREADS. Geoff Herbach bio and photo courtesy of GeoffHerbach.com

I received an ARC of STUPID FAST as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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INTERESTED IN READING STUPID FAST? Comment below to be entered to win a copy! Contest open to US/Canada residents only until 14 July 2011. One entry per person.

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(Blog Tour) Guest Post: Into The Past (BLOODSPELL)

AUTHOR BIO:
Amalie Howard grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Maine in International Studies and French, and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. She has also lived in Los Angeles, Boston, and New York City. She has worked as a research assistant, marketing rep, global sales executive, freelance writer, and blogger. A lover of other cultures and new experiences, especially of the culinary variety, she has traveled extensively across North America and Europe, and as far east as China, Indonesia, and Australia. She currently resides in New York with her husband, three children, and one very willful cat that she is convinced may have been a witch’s cat in a past life.

Amalie Howard’s debut novel, Bloodspell, evolved from a short story that took on an eerie life of its own, and is undoubtedly the result of a lifelong infatuation with witchcraft, vampires, and excessive amounts of chocolate.

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What books would you recommend for kids/young adults aged 7, 14, 16 and 20?

Seven is a great age because I think this is where you really start to develop an interest in books. I have a six-year-old son and I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting books for him. It’s definitely a key age to cultivate a love of reading. Here are some of the books I read around age seven, and some of the ones I would recommend for young readers:-

Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Magic Tree House, Pippi Longstocking, Beverly Cleary, the Famous Five and the Secret Seven (and pretty much anything by Enid Blyton), The Lightning Thief, Shel Silverstein poems, The Brothers Grimm, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess.

Twelve is a more complicated age because you’re in that space between child and teenager, so it may be hard to find books that appeal to a particular reader – it all depends on maturity or gender. At twelve, I was a voracious reader so I read anything and everything. Reading was my escape. Here are the books I devoured and would recommend at twelve:-

Little Women, Trixie Belden, Anne of Green Gables, White Fang, Black Beauty, the Narnia series, The Witches, the Harry Potter series, His Dark Materials, the Princess Diaries series, Coraline, the Eragon series, Lord of the Rings (for the more advanced reader), and anything by Judy Blume.

At sixteen, which is another odd age because it is in its own way a transitional age, I think you’re either a reader or you’re not. Readers at sixteen would most likely already have specific ideas of what kind of books or genres they are partial to. At sixteen, I read a wide variety of books mostly in the fantasy genre like David Eddings or Mercedes Lackey (of course, only when I had the time after reading very thick textbooks for high school). At sixteen, I would recommend the following books:-

The Belgariad and The Mallorean, Go Ask Alice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, the Hunger Games series, the Twilight series, The Mortal Instruments series, Fire or Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Lovely Bones, Romeo & Juliet, American Gods, A Great and Terrible Beauty, Atonement, Dracula, Girl Interrupted, Wintergirls.

Twenty is a more discerning age, and a reader would be more inclined to read a greater range of books, perhaps venturing into non-fiction or the classics. More than likely, readers at this age would be in college so finding time to read outside of their course-load would be a challenge. Here are some of the books I would recommend reading at twenty:-

Paradise Lost, Tuesdays with Morrie, Hyperion, Memoirs of a Geisha, Freakonomics, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Life of Pi, Great Expectations, Dune, Brave New World, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Confessions of a Shopaholic, In Her Shoes, The Passage, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

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Great choices, Amalie! Thanks for visiting today and sharing with my readers.

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TITLE: BLOODSPELL

AUTHOR: Amalie Howard

IMPRINT: Langdon Street Press

PUBLICATION DATE: 1 June 2011

PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

The spell was simple...

Cruentus Protectum (Defend the Blood)

But what do you do if your blood is your enemy?

Victoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds -- much less one that reveals she's a witch with unimaginable power.

What's more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own...

Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood's deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself?

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For more information on BLOODSPELL and Amalie Howard, visit:

BLOODSPELL WEBSITE
Amalie Howard WEBSITE

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BLOODSPELL description and cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

Amalie Howard author photo courtesy of bloodspellbook.com.

I received an ARC of BLOODSPELL as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE

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(Blog Tour) Guest Post: Character Tweets (THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON)

I have a unique guest post for my readers today. Get a sneak peek into the characters of the novel, THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON, by reading some character tweets. If you've read the book, can you guess which username corresponds with with character? If you haven't read THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON, enter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win your own print copy.

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Dancingisliving: Come watch me perform Swan Lake 2night @TrentonArena
Wonderbread: I’ll be there front row! Love u!
PrincetonBound: Me too!
BBB: Swan Lake? More like Ugly Duckling.
PrincetonBound: @BBB that was just lame. If ur gonna insult my sister at least b clevr
Dancingisliving: @PrincetonBound Who is that?
PrincetonBound: no idea

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PrincetonBound: Just got n 2 Princeton. What what?
Dancingisliving: Congrats, sis. Knew u could do it
BBB: u only got in cuz ur black
Dancingisliving: that is an awful thing to say. Who is that?
PrincetonBound: Ignore her, she’s just jealous.
Dancing is living: how do u know it’s a her?

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Wonderbread: I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world!
Prettygirl93: Aw. Thanks, Will.
Wonderbread: not u, psycho. We broke up 4eva ago. Talking to @dancingisliving.
Prettygirl93: whateva. U’ll be mine again. Trust me.
Dancingisliving: ur amazing too, Will! Luv u!
PrincetonBound: I’m puking over here
Prettygirl93: I mean really. What do you see in her anyway?
Wonderbread: Go away, Ashley. And stop following me. On Twitter and in real life.
PrincetonBound: what’s up with the wonderbread handle? What’s that supposed to mean?
Wonderbread: it’s a basketball thing. u wouldn’t understand.
BBB: Careful, Will. We all know who the real psycho is. Go take ur medication.
Dancingisliving: OMG! That is cruel. Who are u?
BBB: U’ll find out soon enough.

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LD: rents gone 4 weekend. Party at my house. I’ll tweet the deets
Prettygirl93: I’m there
BritBrit: me too
PrincetonBound: Me too
Dancingisliving: Sasha? How can u go to a party at Lauren’s house?
LD: It’s Lauren DeHaven. Not Lauren. Get it right, Freak.
Dancingisliving: See what I mean? How can u possibly go to her house?
PrincetonBound: As student body president, I need to be there to make sure there are no problems.
BBB: @Dancingisliving if you believe that ur dumber than u look
Wonderbread: @BBB I don’t know who you are but you better back off
BBB: @Wonderbread or what? Be careful, Will. I know all ur secrets. I know everyone’s secrets.

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Want to be able to connect the Twitter usernames with the actual characters? Comment on this post and one winner will be chosen to receive a print copy of THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON. Contest is open to US/Canada only from now until 14 June 2011 (midnight EST).

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To learn more about THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON and author Leslie DuBois, visit her WEBSITE.

Read my review of THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON HERE.

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TITLE: THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON
AUTHOR: Leslie DuBois
IMPRINT: Little Prince Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: 17 May 2011
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights. Maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star, white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer?


THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON description and cover art courtesy of GOODREADS.

I received a finished copy of THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

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