The Eclectic Reader is celebrating its 1st Blogoverasy by holding a Spookalicious Giveaway in which you can choose from these books:
Oct 8, 2009
Oct 7, 2009
Author Interview: Tera Lynn Childs
Ladies & Gentlemen, let's give a warm round of applause to:
TERA LYNN CHILDS!
TERA LYNN CHILDS!
Hi Tera! Thanks so much for stopping by TCM!
I was going through your site, and ended up in the section that talked about you. There it said that you’re a goddess wannabe. Can you tell me which goddess you’d choose to be?
I’m not allowed to choose. I have to write about all of their descendants in my books, and if I played favorites…. Well, let’s just say that the last time Hera, Athena and Aphrodite duked it out they started the Trojan War. I’m not taking any chances. (But, shhh, when I took the quiz I got Athena. And I’m good with that.)
Your upcoming book is called Forgive my Fins, and it’s about a half-mermaid, half-human girl. Mermaids happen to be my favourite mythological creature (Therefore, I can’t wait to read this!). If tomorrow you were turned into one, would you choose to stay that way, travel through the oceans, meet new places and people; or go back to being human right away?
I’m a water baby, all the way. Since as far back as I can remember I’ve loved swimming and water and marine life and beaches and ocean. When I lived in California my cousin and I were in love with the movie Splash. We used to try splashing water on ourselves to see if we were secretly mermaids. I think we finally decided that it had to be saltwater, and if we could just get to the ocean then we could swim away. I don’t think I’ve ever really let go of that dream. So, yeah, I’d probably choose to stay a mermaid. (Assuming, of course, there were other merfolk around and I wasn’t all alone in the big vast ocean.)
And in Goddess Boot Camp, Phoebe has to learn how to use her recently discovered powers. If you could have a power, what would it be and why?
Just one?!? Okay, this isn’t one of the twelve powers from Goddess Boot Camp, but I’d like dvr-type control of real life. To be able to pause and think before you answer a tricky questions, to rewind a few seconds and avoid spilling hot coffee on your laptop, or to fast forward through the boring parts, like traffic and lines at the post office. That would be awesome. It would come in especially handy around deadline time because I could give myself some extra hours to polish that first draft!
Now for the musical part. What song would you choose to represent Phoebe and Griffin’s relationship?
Hmmm, well, I’m not sure I can pick a single song to represent their relationship. They’ve had a pretty rocky road, if I get to write a third installment, let’s just say it’s not exactly a smooth ride to the finish. But I wrote Oh. My. Gods. back in the summer of 2005 and I can share some of the songs that were repeating on my iPod at the time.
- Pon De Replay by Rihanna
- Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
- Lonely No More by Rob Thomas
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
- Ohio (Come Back to Texas) by Bowling for Soup
- You and Me by Lifehouse
- We Belong Together by Mariah Carey
Could you name some of your favourite books from this year?
(These aren’t all books from this year, just fave books I’ve read this year.)
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Wake by Lisa McMann
- Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
- Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins
- What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
Team Bunny, Team Unicorn, or the recently added Team Zombie?
Well, while I like both bunnies and unicorns very much, I don't think I'd like to be on a team with them. I mean, bunnies can't do much to save you in battle other than wrinkle their noses. And unicorns might spear the enemy with their horn, or the could just as well go back to grazing on grass. Then again, zombies want to eat my brains, so that's a no thank you. How about Team Mermaid? I'd definitely be on that one.
Thank you for stopping by The Clock Monkey! I’m glad you took the time to answer my questions :)
And since it's not December 1st yet, I'm linking to her website, her blog, her facebook, her twitter, and to get her books: Amazon, B&N, Indiebound, and The Book Depository.
Oct 6, 2009
FTC's New Law for [Book] Bloggers
(from Sarah's Random Musings):
W. T. F.
What is going on here? I'd love to know. Sarah's calling the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) on Monday, and she's taking note of any questions you may want her to ask any FTC representative that talks to her. Follow the link above to go to her site.
According to this Interview with FTC's Richard Cleland, every time a Book Blogger reviews a book, giving it a "positive" review, he or she will have to return the product (in this case, the book given for review) to the person from whom he or she got it from. If the Blogger was to keep the (book), it'd be considered a "compensation", and the Blogger would be fined (once the law was settled).
From the way Cleland puts it, the FTC is convinced that we Bloggers are only after personal benefits, such as keeping the book we're given, after we've reviewed it. Like we only care about having our houses filled with books just because we like it that way. Not because we are truly interested in discovering new and exciting worlds through reading, oh no! What am I thinking? Or course that's not what we do.
This man obviosly has no clue of what the Book Blogging Community means to the Bloggers and Authors. I think that if I had enough books, the last thing I'd do would be opening a book store.
Because if I really liked a book, I'd lend it to my friends and family, and urge people to go and buy that book!
Do Authors really think we'd re-sell the books we've been trusted with? That would be a very mean thing to do to an Author. Even if we didn't like a book, we wouldn't sell it, we'd give it to someone who'd enjoy it more than we did.
Not always Bloggers write positive reviews, so, when there's a "negative" one, we're free to do as we please?
"As of December 1st, bloggers are going to be required to state in the review that you have been compensated. This means that if you keep the review copy, you must disclose it or risk quite the fine. You are going to have to include this on your taxes, too. Fun stuff, right? So, we are going to have change the way that we run our blogs. You also can't link to Amazon or anywhere that you can buy books. Not even author's websites."
W. T. F.
What is going on here? I'd love to know. Sarah's calling the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) on Monday, and she's taking note of any questions you may want her to ask any FTC representative that talks to her. Follow the link above to go to her site.
According to this Interview with FTC's Richard Cleland, every time a Book Blogger reviews a book, giving it a "positive" review, he or she will have to return the product (in this case, the book given for review) to the person from whom he or she got it from. If the Blogger was to keep the (book), it'd be considered a "compensation", and the Blogger would be fined (once the law was settled).
From the way Cleland puts it, the FTC is convinced that we Bloggers are only after personal benefits, such as keeping the book we're given, after we've reviewed it. Like we only care about having our houses filled with books just because we like it that way. Not because we are truly interested in discovering new and exciting worlds through reading, oh no! What am I thinking? Or course that's not what we do.
“If a blogger received enough books,” said Cleland, “he could open up a used bookstore.”
This man obviosly has no clue of what the Book Blogging Community means to the Bloggers and Authors. I think that if I had enough books, the last thing I'd do would be opening a book store.
Because if I really liked a book, I'd lend it to my friends and family, and urge people to go and buy that book!
Do Authors really think we'd re-sell the books we've been trusted with? That would be a very mean thing to do to an Author. Even if we didn't like a book, we wouldn't sell it, we'd give it to someone who'd enjoy it more than we did.
“If there’s an expectation that you’re going to write a positive review,” said Cleland, “then there should be a disclosure.”
Not always Bloggers write positive reviews, so, when there's a "negative" one, we're free to do as we please?
"Cleland informed me that the FTC’s main criteria is the degree of relationship between the advertiser and the blogger.
“The primary situation is where there’s a link to the sponsoring seller and the blogger,” said Cleland. And if a blogger repeatedly reviewed similar products (say, books or smartphones), then the FTC would raise an eyebrow if the blogger either held onto the product or there was any link to an advertisement."
This really blows me away. What relationship are they thinking we have? Or what do they want us to do? What does linking have to do with all of this?
What are they looking for to accomplish with this law?
I'll be looking forward to reading the blog post from Sarah once she gets to talk to the FTC.
What's yout opinion about all of this?
Oct 3, 2009
Let's help save Shrinking Violet!
Danielle Joseph's terrific YA novel Shrinking Violet follows a shy high school senior trying to find her voice and reach her dream of becoming a DJ, despite the obstacles that stand in her way.
Danielle needs our help!
For more copies to be printed, more people have to place orders for the book.
So here's what we can do, straight from Danielle:
"Please tell anyone that you think might be interested to place an order now – at Amazon or Indiebound – before it's too late. Guys, girls, grandmas, grandpas, you're never too old to read humorous teen fiction!
I'm also running a contest for those that want to have some fun! There will be four winners, each receiving a $25 gift certificate to iTunes or the bookstore of their choice.
So how can you win?
1. Post a review of Shrinking Violet on Amazon.com or B & N.com and earn 2 points
2 Blog, Tweet or Facebook about the Save Shrinking Violet Campaign and earn 1 point for each mention
3. Take a picture of yourself wearing a sweater and mimicking the book's cover (you must have the book in the photo too) and earn 2 points
Contest begins at 11pm on Thursday, September 24, 2009 and ends at 11pm on Thursday, October 15, 2009.
After you enter, you can either email me at danielle@daniellejoseph.com or leave me a comment on my blog under the entry, Save Shrinking Violet!"
Here's more about Shrinking Violet...
"High school senior Teresa Adams is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tere surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, sexy Sweet T to everyone's shock, she's a hit! Even Gavin, the only guy in school who she dares to talk to, raves about the mysterious DJ's awesome taste in music. But when The SLAM announces a songwriting contest, and a prom date with Sweet T is the grand prize, Sweet T's dream could turn into Tere's worst nightmare. . ."
And some well-deserved praise-singing for the book:
"Bella, eat your heart out. Tere is the girl every young woman truly wants to be. . . . Brilliant work, Danielle Joseph." -Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Identical
"Danielle Joseph takes readers into the glamorous world of Top 40 radio, with a character who is both funny and relatable. Readers will cheer when Tere finds her voice!" -Alex Flinn, author of Breathing Underwater and A Kiss in Time
"A funny, romantic, and truly inspirational Cinderella tale for any teen who's ever been shy, loved music, or dreamed of going to the ball. Wait, that's pretty much everybody." -Gaby Triana, author of The Temptress Four
Please remember... you can NOT enter the contest here. You MUST go to Danielle's blog to leave contest comments!!!
Let's keep supporting YA literature!
Oct 1, 2009
Author Interview: Becca Fitzpatrick
With only 12 days to the release of Hush, Hush, the awesome Becca Fitzpatrick has answered some questions I dared to ask her a while ago. I was scared that she'd say she couldn't, because she was to busy, but I was really surprised when she said she'd do it. This put a huge smile on my face, and this is how I learned Authors and Bloggers have a special connection, and that we as Book Bloggers mustn't be afraid to reach out to them, the worst that could happen is an Author apologizing for having to much work to answer your Interview. And who are we to stop them from Writing?
So if you've seen Interviews at different Blogs, but are to scared to contact an Author for fear of being turned down, remember this: Authors are very cool people, who love those of us who read their work, and they love reading that people are interested in them. Stuff like Interviews and Guest Blogs are really helpful to them,
because is a different way of promoting their work.
Becca was the first Author I had the nerve to ask for an Interview, and she taught me that we're all equals, there's no need to be afraid of them.
Thanks Becca!
So, without further ado: Becca Fitzpatrick!
So if you've seen Interviews at different Blogs, but are to scared to contact an Author for fear of being turned down, remember this: Authors are very cool people, who love those of us who read their work, and they love reading that people are interested in them. Stuff like Interviews and Guest Blogs are really helpful to them,
because is a different way of promoting their work.Becca was the first Author I had the nerve to ask for an Interview, and she taught me that we're all equals, there's no need to be afraid of them.
Thanks Becca!
So, without further ado: Becca Fitzpatrick!
-----------------------------------
Hi Becca! Thanks for being here today! I'm very happy to have you here.
Hey, Ella! Thanks so much for inviting me!
We’re very close to the release date of Hush, Hush. Are you excited?
I'm nervous! I think there's quite a bit of excitement beneath all
the layers of nervous anticipation, but the questions foremost on my mind are: Will people like the book? Will they want to read more?
Will I be able to make a career out of writing, or will this book kill
the idea on the spot? There are so many unknowns! But after all
that, yes, I'm incredibly excited!
I read on a blog that you worked on this book for five years and that you have over two thousand pages of deleted scenes to show for it. That’s a lot of dedication. I’m sure you must be happy you kept writing it.
I can laugh about those five years now, but it was
definitely one of the most frustrating periods of my life. It was
such a roller coaster. When an agent would ask to see pages, or even offer to read a rewrite, I would be way up on cloud nine. When the rejections rolled in, I'd feel a mix of despair and renewed conviction
to keep writing until I got the story right. I still have most of
those many, many pages, but I haven't looked at them in over a year.
I'm afraid the sight of them might make me throw up! But the one
thing I can say for sure is it's the things we work hardest for in
life that bring the most satisfaction and joy. To writers out there
who're feeling discouraged: keep at it. Persistence is key.
They’re calling your book dark, sexy and mysterious. Did any of this words come to mind when writing it?
That's a great question. I don't really remember any of those particular adjectives coming to mind, but I do remember trying to maintain a sinister and suspenseful tone.
Also, people who’ve read it and reviewed it claim that there are several scenes in the book that reminded them of Twilight. What do you think of this?
I can see where people would get that. After all, in
both stories the biology classroom is an important part of the
setting, and both have otherworldly heroes. I remember at one point
while I was submitting to agents, one of them asked if I'd be willing
to rewrite the opening scene to take place in a health class, because
biology was just too similar to Twilight. I had to laugh, because
this comment didn't come until 2007, when Twilight was big. Nobody
seemed to have a problem with setting the story in biology before
that! On an interesting side note, when I submitted Hush, Hush to
agents starting in 2003, the book's title was Eclipsed. I think
sometimes similarities are nothing more than unexpected coincidences.
That said, I enjoyed Twilight very much and I'm looking forward to
reading the rest of the series.
Team Bunny or Team Unicorn?
Team Unicorn!
Favourites of this year?
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, The Monstrumologist
by Rick Yancey, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan and The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.
I saw the playlist for Hush, Hush over at your site, and noticed that you’d put The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”. That is one of my favourite songs. My question is: did you listen to this song while writing, or selected it for the playlist after the book was finished?
I plot my books while exercising, so I actually listened to that song while
running and hashing out Hush, Hush's plot. I love music in the
planning/plotting stage, but when I sit down to do the actual writing,
I need quiet. When I write to music, I find that I think my writing
is better than it actually is. That's the power of good music!
Thank you for stopping by The Clock Monkey! I’m glad you took the time to answer my questions.
Any time! It was a lot of fun! Now I'm super curious how you came up
with the name The Clock Monkey. Tell!
Becca Fitzpatrick.
----------------------------------------------
Someday I'll tell, Becca. Someday...
This was really fun, and I'll always remember you as the First Author I ever Interviewed!
Thanks for being such a sweetheart!
Becca's Upcoming Events:
October 13, 6:30PM
Book launch party!
Readers Cove in Ft. Collins, CO
October 15, 5PM
Educator Reception Night
Loveland, CO B&N
October 16, 7PM
Reading & signing
Fort Collins, CO B&N
Read the first two chapters online at Simon&Schuster.com
Countdown to Hush, Hush's Release!
Find out more about Hush, Hush!
Want this widget? Visit Becca's site and grab it!
Pre-Order Hush, Hush from Amazon/B&N/Indiebound
Hey, Ella! Thanks so much for inviting me!
We’re very close to the release date of Hush, Hush. Are you excited?I'm nervous! I think there's quite a bit of excitement beneath all
the layers of nervous anticipation, but the questions foremost on my mind are: Will people like the book? Will they want to read more?
Will I be able to make a career out of writing, or will this book kill
the idea on the spot? There are so many unknowns! But after all
that, yes, I'm incredibly excited!
I read on a blog that you worked on this book for five years and that you have over two thousand pages of deleted scenes to show for it. That’s a lot of dedication. I’m sure you must be happy you kept writing it.
I can laugh about those five years now, but it was
definitely one of the most frustrating periods of my life. It was
such a roller coaster. When an agent would ask to see pages, or even offer to read a rewrite, I would be way up on cloud nine. When the rejections rolled in, I'd feel a mix of despair and renewed conviction
to keep writing until I got the story right. I still have most of
those many, many pages, but I haven't looked at them in over a year.
I'm afraid the sight of them might make me throw up! But the one
thing I can say for sure is it's the things we work hardest for in
life that bring the most satisfaction and joy. To writers out there
who're feeling discouraged: keep at it. Persistence is key.
They’re calling your book dark, sexy and mysterious. Did any of this words come to mind when writing it?
That's a great question. I don't really remember any of those particular adjectives coming to mind, but I do remember trying to maintain a sinister and suspenseful tone.
Also, people who’ve read it and reviewed it claim that there are several scenes in the book that reminded them of Twilight. What do you think of this?
I can see where people would get that. After all, in
both stories the biology classroom is an important part of the
setting, and both have otherworldly heroes. I remember at one point
while I was submitting to agents, one of them asked if I'd be willing
to rewrite the opening scene to take place in a health class, because
biology was just too similar to Twilight. I had to laugh, because
this comment didn't come until 2007, when Twilight was big. Nobody
seemed to have a problem with setting the story in biology before
that! On an interesting side note, when I submitted Hush, Hush to
agents starting in 2003, the book's title was Eclipsed. I think
sometimes similarities are nothing more than unexpected coincidences.
That said, I enjoyed Twilight very much and I'm looking forward to
reading the rest of the series.
Team Bunny or Team Unicorn?
Team Unicorn!
Favourites of this year?
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, The Monstrumologist
by Rick Yancey, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan and The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.
I saw the playlist for Hush, Hush over at your site, and noticed that you’d put The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”. That is one of my favourite songs. My question is: did you listen to this song while writing, or selected it for the playlist after the book was finished?
I plot my books while exercising, so I actually listened to that song while
running and hashing out Hush, Hush's plot. I love music in the
planning/plotting stage, but when I sit down to do the actual writing,
I need quiet. When I write to music, I find that I think my writing
is better than it actually is. That's the power of good music!
Thank you for stopping by The Clock Monkey! I’m glad you took the time to answer my questions.
Any time! It was a lot of fun! Now I'm super curious how you came up
with the name The Clock Monkey. Tell!
Becca Fitzpatrick.
----------------------------------------------
Someday I'll tell, Becca. Someday...
This was really fun, and I'll always remember you as the First Author I ever Interviewed!
Thanks for being such a sweetheart!
Becca's Upcoming Events:
October 13, 6:30PM
Book launch party!
Readers Cove in Ft. Collins, CO
October 15, 5PM
Educator Reception Night
Loveland, CO B&N
October 16, 7PM
Reading & signing
Fort Collins, CO B&N
Read the first two chapters online at Simon&Schuster.com
Countdown to Hush, Hush's Release!
Want this widget? Visit Becca's site and grab it!
Pre-Order Hush, Hush from Amazon/B&N/Indiebound
