Unhappily Ever After: Remember when children's books frolicked through tales of ponies and princes? The latest kid-lit craze is stories about living through the apocalypse—now by Karen Springen from Newsweek. Peek: "Kids' post-apocalyptic books aren't all doom and gloom. They typically feature smart, courageous children who figure out answers to problems with scant adult help, and they tend to end on a positive, if not happy, note." Source: Susan Beth Pfeffer.The Candy Heart Contest: debut YA author David Macinnis Gill at I Am Chikin, Hear Me Roar is hosting a contest to win an advanced reader copy of Soul Enchilada (Greenwillow, 2009)! Deadline: July 31!
Attention Austinites: "Create Your Own Future with Goals and Time Management" with P. J. Hoover from Austin SCBWI will be on July 19 at Barnes and Noble Westlake. P.J. is the debut author of The Emerald Tablet (Blooming Tree, Oct. 2008). The Emerald Tablet is the first book in her middle grade science-fiction trilogy, The Forgotten Worlds Books. Note: see you there!Warning: Almost Sold Out!
Austin SCBWI's "A Day with an Editor" featuring Jill Santopolo, author and senior editor at Laura Geringer/HarperCollins, and author Cynthia Leitich Smith will be Sept. 13. Jill is interested in literary novels, quirky middle grades, and picture books. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and is the author of Alec Flint, Super Sleuth: The Nina, The Pinta and the Vanishing Treasure (Scholastic/Orchard, 2008). Note: as of this past Wednesday (the 16th), there were only two critique and four non-critique spots left! This event will sell out before the early-bird deadline! If you're interested, the time to commit is now!Creating Suspense by Bruce Black at wordswimmer. Peek: "[Robert B.] Parker introduces the mystery in the first chapter, showing readers how a nameless boy comes to his untimely death. But Parker doesn't show the murder itself. Instead, he lets the reader eavesdrop on the scene."
Preventing the destruction of Australian Publishing from YA author Justine Larbalestier. Peek: "I have friends who have not been picked up by publishing houses in the U.S. and the U.K. because their books are 'too Australian' and not sufficiently 'universal to have appeal outside Australia'." Which leads to more considerations... See also Justine's The Problem with Being a Small English-Speaking Country.Librarians assemble book cart drill team by Amy Hadley from News8 Austin. Peek: "During rehearsal, the Bibliofiles can be heard singing in a very seductive voice, 'I want to be your librarian/I want to check out your books.'" See also: Bibliofiles Win Silver at the Library Book Cart Drill Team World Championship from the Austin Public Library at MySpace.
Here's a fan-created trailer for Don't Die Dragonfly from The Seer series by Linda Joy Singleton (Llewellyn, 2004). Read a Cynsations interview with Linda Joy Singleton.
An Interview with Melissa Marr by Dee Gentle at ParaNormal Romance (scroll to read). Peek: "I don't consider writing to be limited to the physical act of fingers on keys, so to some degree I think I'm always writing. Stories simmer in our minds for months or years before they are ready to be served up on to the page." Read a Cynsations interview with Melissa.
I am the Very Model of a Modern SF Novelist by Jim C. Hines. Peek: "I am the very model of a modern SF novelist; I've manuscripts space opera, anime, and fantasist..." Source: AlmaNews.
Giveaway Reminders
Congratulations to Tish in Kentucky, winner of Black Pearls: A Faerie Strand by Louise Hawes (Houghton Mifflin, 2008)! Read a Cynsations interview with Louise.Here's a reminder of ongoing opportunities!
The Cynsations grand prize giveaways for July are two signed copies of Wake by Lisa McMann (Simon Pulse, 2008). To enter the giveaway, email me (scroll for address) with your name and snail/street mail address by 10 p.m. CST July 31! Please also type "Wake" in the subject line. Note: one autographed copy will be awarded to a YA public librarian (please specify library with entry) and one autographed copy will be awarded to any Cynsations YA reader.
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2007, 2008)(Listening Library, 2008)(audio sample) goes on sale in paperback in the U.S. July 22!To celebrate, I'm giving away three signed copies of Tantalize in paperback, each with a Sanguini's T-shirt of the winner's choice! Note: Sanguini's is the fictional vampire-themed restaurant in the novel.
In addition to the popular Sanguini's logo shirts, graphic design genius Gene Brenek has created the all-new "I 'heart' Baby Squirrel" shirt; the "Cell Phones Will Be Eaten" shirt; the "Drop In for a Late Night Bite" shirt; and both a birds-theme and a dragon-theme "predator or prey" shirt. See below; click for larger views. Note: I don't make any money off the sale of the tie-in shirts.
To enter the Tantalize paperback and Sanguini's T-shirt giveaway, email me (scroll for address) with your name, snail/street mail address, and preferred T-shirt design by midnight CST July 22! Please also type "Tantalize Paperback and Sanguini's T-shirt" in the subject line.
One prize will be awarded to a YA teacher or librarian (please specify school/library with entry; university professors are eligible) and two prizes will be awarded to any Cynsations YA readers.Additional Sanguini's T-shirts of the winners' choice will be awarded to a member of Tantalize Fans Unite! at MySpace and to any YA bookseller.
To enter the Sanguini's T-shirt (only) giveaway, email me (scroll for address) with your name, snail/street mail address, and preferred T-shirt design by midnight CST July 22! If you are a member of TFU! please indicate that, and if you are a bookseller, please specify your bookstore. Please also type "Sanguini's T-shirt" in the subject line.
On a related note, Tantalize is now available in hardcover for order from Walker Books Australia and New Zealand! See the publisher listing. It looks like the paperback edition will be available in 2009.
To celebrate, I'm going to give away a signed hardcover copy to one Cynsational YA reader from Australia or New Zealand! To enter, email me (scroll for address) with your name, snail/street mail address, and preferred T-shirt design by midnight CST July 22! Note: if you have already entered the ongoing Tantalize Paperback, Eternal Excerpt, Sanguini's Giveaway in celebration of the U.S. paperback release, you don't have to send another email. Your existing entry will count for both giveaway programs!
