Contest: Win Bad Apple by Laura Ruby!

Laura has kindly donated a finished copy of Bad Apple to one lucky winner! Here's a little something about it:

For Tola Riley, life is not a fairy tale, it only feels like one. She's got evil classmates, a runaway dad, a wicked stepmother, a possible Prince Charming, and her very own troll. But it's only when someone accuses her of having an affair with her art teacher that her whole world turns into something out of Grimm's. Because the person accusing her is her own mother.

"If I really wanted to open up, I'd confess that I really am the liar everyone believes I am."

High-school junior Tola has green hair, a nose ring, an attitude problem, and a fondness for fairy tales, which are a great escape from real life. Everyone thinks she's crazy; everyone says so. Everyone except Mr. Mymer, her art teacher. He gets her paintings and lets her hang out in the art room during lonely lunch periods.

But then rumors start flying and Tola is suddenly the center of a scandal. The whole town is judging her—even her family. When Mr. Mymer is suspended for what everyone thinks is an affair, she has no choice but to break her silence. Fairy tales won't help her this time . . . so how can she tell the truth? And, more importantly, will anyone believe her?

To Enter:
Fill out this form.

Info that you might miss:

• Open to U.S. residents only.
• Dec. 19 is the deadline.
• Good luck! =)

*Thanks to Laura!

Author Interview: Laura Ruby

I have Laura Ruby here with us today! She is the author of many books, including children, YA, and adult. Her latest release was Bad Apple, which came out October 6!


What made you write Young Adult?
I'm still a huge reader, but I think my most intense reading experiences happened when I was a teenager. I remember being able to fall into a book and not come out again until I was finished. The characters and their worlds felt so real to me. I wanted to write the kind of books that teens could get lost in, if I possibly could.

Did you know you were going to become an author?
I think I always knew I would write, I couldn't seem to help it. But I didn't know that I would ever write books for a living, I didn't know that I was going to be a professional author. I didn't know that was even a possibility. When I went to college, I planned on being a psychologist. But I suppose both jobs — author and psychologist — require an intense curiosity about what makes people tick.

What are your strengths and weaknesses in writing?
Hmmm. I'd say a strength is my interest in writing stories from different points of view. For example, I wrote BAD APPLE primarily in my main character Tola's voice, but I followed every chapter with "comments" from many other characters in the novel, similar to the comments you might find after a blog post. (I'm so nosy that I want to be anyone and everyone, if only a little while.)

I'm also interested in writing characters that aren't necessarily the most likable or admirable. Tola is sarcastic, desperate, and quirky. She isn't the type of person that everyone falls in love with. But I hope that though she might not always be likable, she's relatable. That even if a reader doesn't necessarily like something Tola says or does, the reader will still find Tola intriguing and/or understandable.

But then I think some would consider these interests as weaknesses, as not everyone likes that sort of viewpoint-switching, or enjoys reading about people who are less than perfect, or perhaps somewhat odd. But I think you can only write the kind of books you like to read, and I like reading stories told from various viewpoints, so there it is.

How are you and Tola alike? How are you different?
We're not very alike at all. She's tiny, I'm tall, she's a troublemaker and I was shy and obedient, she's an artist and I can barely manage stick figures, I was teased here and there, but never bullied like she is.

But, like Tola, my parents got divorced and my family was a little...dysfunctional. I had a fierce mom, a good stepdad, a wicked stepmom, and a crazy cat who thought he was a dog. And like Tola, I always felt like an outsider when I was young. I know what it feels like to be confused and misunderstood.

If I had to pick the character that was most like me in the book, I'd have to say Madge (though I wrote about all the things that made me angry instead of screaming about them).

What was the most difficult aspect of writing Bad Apple?
This is going to sound weird, but the most difficult aspect of writing BAD APPLE was writing BAD APPLE. I wrote the first draft of this book waaaaay back in 1994, and it took more rewrites than I can count over many years — dozens and dozens — to figure out what I was trying to say.

Is there a particular part/scene in Bad Apple that is your favorite?
I mentioned the comments sections earlier. I *loved* writing those comments, they were so much fun.

What is the best piece of advice for those young aspiring writers out there?
The standard stuff: read as much as you can, even stuff you're not sure you're going to like (you never know what will inspire you). And then write as much as you can. Try to finish what you start. Be willing to revise — a lot!

One more thing: read what you write out loud, or better yet, get a friend to read it out loud back to you. It can be time consuming, but you can find the boring bits, the repetitive phrases, the awkward sentences, etc. so much more easily when you're listening rather than when you're reading silently.

If you weren't an author, what would your dream job be?
Actress, I think.

Lastly, is there anything else you'd like to add?
Thanks so much for the interview!

Thank you Laura! Be sure to check out Laura's Website! =)

Beautiful by Amy Reed

Title: Beautiful
Author: Amy Reed
Publisher: Simon Pulse (October 6, 2009)
Pages: 240
Reading Level: Young Adult

When Cassie moves from the tiny town where she has always lived to a suburb of Seattle, she is determined to leave her boring, good-girl existence behind. This is Cassie’s chance to stop being invisible and become the kind of girl who’s worth noticing.

Stepping into her new identity turns out to be easier than Cassie could have ever imagined...one moment, one choice, changes everything.

Cassie’s new existence both thrills and terrifies her. Swept into a world of illicit parties and social landmines, she sheds her virginity, embraces the numbness she feels from the drugs, and floats through it all, knowing that she is now called beautiful. She ignores the dangers of her fast-paced life…but she can’t sidestep the secrets and the cruelty.

Cassie is trapped in a swift downward spiral tinged with violence and abuse, and no one—not even the one person she thought she could trust—can help her now.

Beautiful is a book that you won't forget for a long time. I found this book to be very unique. You expect something great, and you do. It has a great start, making you want to read more.

Reed's writing is so powerful. Something really unique about Reed's writing is the words she chooses. Reed, so far, is the one who uses the most descriptive and powerful words. The plot was almost flawless. There was one part that I found to be a little unrealistic, although everything else was fine. All the events happened at the right time.

I found Cassie to be an interesting character. She had just moved so she was always trying to fit in with her classmates. She is a 13 year old who is in seventh grade. Obviously, she would be dealing with teen issues, crushes, pressure, etc.. I could relate to her very well since I have gone through some of the things she had. Although, I do think that some of her actions could have been avoided. She could have prevented the bad. I found Alex to be a bad influence for Cassie, she would just make everything worse for her, I think that if she had been left alone, Cassie would have been a better person.

Overall, Beautiful is again, a book that you won't forget. I think it's a great debut novel. A great addition to the YA market! I strongly recommend you read this, although I just want to warn you guys, especially to all the young readers that there are issues of drug abuse and sexual situations in this book, I prefer that people only 14+ read this.

Cover: .7

Ending:

Writing:

Overall: (Go buy it now! =)

*Thanks to Anna at SS for sending me a review copy!

Tuesday's Chatter (8)

"Tuesday's Chatter" is where I interview a blogger, new or old, doesn't matter! But it makes me happy when I help others out and also I'd be showing some awesome blogs, which some people might not know about. :)

Today I'm happy to feature Choco from In Which A Girl Reads!

Name: choco
Age: 15
Blog Name: In Which a Girl Reads
Blog URL: http://inwhichagirl.blogspot.com/

Can you tell us a bit about you?
I'm a junior in high school, and I'm an unrepentant bookaholic. I have an affinity for chocolate, as you might've guessed already. I love to read, write, and eat yummy foods. And I live in fear of the day when the library comes to collect on the fines I owe them. Oh, and I like to write.

What is one thing that not many people know about you?
I'd say that most people have no idea that I used to live in Denmark. Good times, those were. It's a shame that I was so young, because now I can hardly remember anything--just snatches of Europe--foggy Norway fjords, the Colosseum at sunset, the statue of the Little Mermaid. This makes me want to travel so badly--go back to Europe and try to remember. Somehow, when I'm older, I'm going to manage to travel around the world. Easier said then done, unfortunately.

Describe your blog & it's features.
My blog is the epitome of a good ole book blog. I regularly do such memes as In My Mailbox, Teaser Tuesday, and Waiting on Wednesday. Other than that I post...book reviews. Every once in a while I try to mix it up and post something different, something fun. I'll probably be adding in more features as I go along, as my blog is fairly new.

Why did you start a blog? Who inspired you?
A year ago, I knew absolutely nothing about blogs. In Which a Girl Reads actually started off as a writing blog, because I'd found a community of blog-happy writers and I thought it'd be fun to join in. But in the first two months, I almost never updated it, and when I did it was to post book reviews. So eventually, I decided to focus entirely on book reviews. I'd been looking at such blogs as Steph Su Reads and The Story Siren, so I thought it'd be cool to do something along those lines. And since I read so many books and love to talk about them, writing book reviews is fun for me. Really, book blogging is perfect for me; it combines reading and writing, my two favorite things to do.

Is there anything unique about your blog?
Hmm. Well, I've started this thing called "Friday Favorites" where I review one of my most beloved books. I'll warn you, there's muchos gushing involved. And lots of "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS NOW, OR YOU'RE LIVING A UNFULFILLED LIFE!" follow-up comments. I'm eager to share books that are the reasons I love reading, so Friday Favorites is a good way for me to do that. Also, I guess the blog is unique because...it's prettiful? And I'm very excitable when it comes to books, so there's a lot of crazy stuff over at my blog. Which makes it unique, I think. Hopefully my blog will grow in uniqueness!

Favorite book? Author? Color? Drink?
I really can't pick a favorite book. I just can't. I'm incapable of doing it. (Have a look at my user profile if you want to see what happens when someone asks me that question). If I had to do authors, I'd say Diana Wynne Jones. I'm obsessed with her books (in the I-used-to-reread-a-book-of-hers-every-day-and-prolly-memorized-them way). But I still love tons of other authors too, so I feel like I'm cutting myself short if I only name one. So here it goes, I'm trying to limit myself: Marcus Zusak, Suzanne Collins, Tamora Pierce, J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl, P.G. Wodehouse, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Dodie Smith...Oh dear. I'll stop before this gets out of hand.

My favorite color is that soothing, pale sort of green, the one that makes you relaxed.

And my favorite drink is Jasmine Green Tea. Unless you're counting milkshakes? Mmm.

Tell us 3-5 random things about you.
1. My favorite weather is a perpetual, misty sort of rain. I'd be happy if it was overcast every day. I need to move to Oregon or something.
2. I've had strep throat 7?8?9? times already. So many times that I've lost count. If I'm sick, I've got strep throat. I have this theory that with me, the flu mutates into strep throat. Either that, or I'm improbably strep-throat prone.
3. I want to own a castle when I grow up. The more moldering, the better.
4. If not a castle, I'll settle for a chocolate factory. Or a chocolate amusement park! Like Willy Wonka, but only better. Everything edible. Mmm.
5. For some reason, I often write backwards. No, not Leonardo da Vinci mirror backwards. Like, I'll start the last paragraph first and gradually work my way up to the first. As a matter of fact, I did this part of the interview first! Weird, huh?

Thanks so much for having me for an interview! :)

Your welcome! Remember to go check out the blog! Link is on the top. =)

Want to be featured on a Tuesday's Chatter? Click here to fill out the form!

Author Interview: Melissa Walker

I have Melissa Walker here with us today! She is author of the "Violet" series. With her very busy schedule she was able to do a mini-interview with me! =)

Books:



Can you tell as a bit about you?
Sure. I'm a gemini, I grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, I love iced coffee and yoga, and I watch too much TV.

What inspired you to write Violet in the Runway, Violet by design, and Violet in Private? Why with "Violet?"
I was working as an editor at ELLEgirl, and I often interviewed models. I got really intrigued by their world. And I just loved the name Violet!

Did you always know you were going to become an author?
I always knew I loved writing, and first I worked for my high school yearbook and college newspaper. Then I transitioned into magazine editing for my career. I never knew I'd write a book, but I love doing it now!

What are some of your strengths and weaknesses in writing?
I love finishing a book. I hate starting!

What's your favorite TV show?
I have a ton but right now I love: Oprah, Mad Men, Gilmore Girls, My So-Called Life, Arrested Development and Hoarders.

What are you most afraid of?
Being disliked. Silly, I know, but I really want everyone to like me.

List 5-10 of your favorite things, it doesn't need to be in any order
salt & vinegar chips, old family photos, mix tapes, carolina basketball, people who play guitar, and gossip

Lastly, what's the best advice for those young aspiring writers out there?
I wrote a piece about this for Seventeen. Here is is:

http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/17-buzz/violet-buzz-092407

Thanks Melissa! Be sure to enter my SWAGtastic post for some awesome bookmarks! =)

SWAGtastic (3)

The 3 people who get SWAG from last SWAGtastic; Lauren, BookWhisperer, and Alineta. I already emailed you guys! =)

This week I will be giving away a bookmark for Violet In Private! Thanks to Melissa for sending me 22! I have 10 spare bookmarks... so I will give two to each person, meaning 5 people get it!

Fill out the mini form below! And this is open to everyone!

Name
Email Address

(When you click it goes back to my blog (home) so don't worry, I will receive them.)

As always, this ends whenever I need it to. Meaning if you enter, you don't know if it's still open. Sorry! =(

Contest: Win Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison!

Angela has kindly donated a signed hardcover copy of Taken By Storm! Here's a little something about it:

"Sometimes only love can save you... Seventeen-year-old Leesie Hunt has rules: no making out. No sex. And definitely no falling for a non-Mormon. She pours all of her passion into poetry, thoughts of escaping her tiny town and getting into her dream school, BYU. The Michael Walden arrives in Tekoa and everything changes. He is a free diver, which means he can hold his breath for minutes at a time. This is how he survived the storm that took his parents' lives, and the world as he knew it. Leesie and Michael couldn't be more different: his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above: Yet they are drawn to each other, even when jealousy, unbearable rules, and haunting memories threaten to tear them apart. Every time Michael goes diving, Leesie is afraid he'll never come back up. He is drowning in tragedy and she knows it's up to her to save him. Somehow. But when temptation becomes too strong to resist, who is going to save her?"

To Enter:
Fill out this form.

You might want to know that:

• Only open to U.S residents.
• December 15 is the deadline.
• Good luck! =)

*Thanks to Angela! =)